By Thomas Zei
The most important person related to Stones River National Cemetery is not buried in the cemetery nor is his name etched onto a monument or plaque. The name most associated with the cemetery is U.S. Army Chaplain William Earnshaw. Although his name is often written when documenting the cemetery’s history, little is written about the man himself.
William Earnshaw was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 12, 1828 to George and Eliza Earnshaw. Both of his parents had emigrated from England. He married Margaret Hutchison on October 10, 1855 and census records show the couple having at least five children.
Earnshaw’s 1860 Census record indicates his occupation as a Methodist Episcopalian Minister in Shippensburg, PA. Records indicate he was an itinerant minister circuit riding where he was needed, which was a characteristic of the religion. The Methodist Episcopal Church had a historic connection to the Church of England but separated after the American Revolution. The Church was considered anti-elitism and anti-slavery and was favored by the lower class and African-Americans. The religion was known for tent revivals and eventually grew to the largest denomination in America. By 1845, the Church splintered into two religions divided by slavery.
When the Civil War started, Earnshaw enlisted on August 27, 1861 at the age of 33. He initially was a private assigned to the home front defense but the muster roll of October 24, 1861 indicated Earnshaw was a chaplain attached to the Pennsylvania 49th Regiment. The 49th Infantry participated in the Virginia Peninsula Campaign and at Antietam along with other battles in the mid-Atlantic. The unit also fought at Gettysburg. In April 1863, Earnshaw was assigned to the Chaplain unit of the U.S. Volunteer Infantry. He was first assigned to the Army of the Potomac but after Gettysburg he was reassigned to the Army of the Cumberland to the personal staff of General George Thomas. He is credited with being part of nineteen battles in a non-combatant role.
Non-combatant does not mean he wasn’t in the battle. It only means he didn’t carry a rifle. Chaplains were usually on the battlefield experiencing crossfire while retrieving the wounded and providing comfort to the dying. Chaplains were sometimes awarded Medals of Honor, including at Stones River, for their heroic actions in the midst of battle.
In 1864, as the Civil War was drawing closer to conclusion, The War Department became concerned about the U.S. Army dead spread out in graves throughout the southern countryside. Orders went out to create national cemeteries to consolidate the burials into centralized locations. General Thomas immediately took steps to create cemeteries in Middle Tennessee where he headed the military operations. Thomas decided the first national cemetery would be at the site of the Battle of Stones River.
Thomas selected Captain John Means of the Ohio 115th Volunteers Infantry Regiment to head the effort. Captain Means had experience in designing cemeteries. Means selected the location and made the initial design for the cemetery. Before implementation, the Civil War ended in 1865 and Captain Means mustered out with his unit. In his place, General Thomas turned to his trusted staff person and appointed Chaplain Earnshaw as the superintendent of Stones River National Cemetery.
Earnshaw developed a comprehensive plan to find and recover all of the fallen Union soldiers over an assigned area of over 80 miles from Lavergne to Cowan, TN. He utilized the services of troops from the U.S.C.T. 111th Regiment to find the graves and move them to the grounds of the national cemetery for a proper burial. Some of the soldiers were originally buried in remote rugged countryside making the work extremely difficult. Through all of their efforts, Earnshaw reported at the end that all were recovered except for less than twenty.
While in Murfreesboro, Earnshaw was pastor of the Key United Methodist Church which had a school and chapel. The school worked to provide reading and writing skills to the African-American population. He was an advocate for the establishment of Freedman communities in the Murfreesboro area.
A newspaper article from the Memphis Daily Press in October, 1866 stated that Earnshaw participated in a state convention of Methodist Episcopalian ministers. During the meeting, he served at the funeral of fellow ME minister Rev. William Ross of Shelbyville who died of cholera. Ross and his daughter Sarah were buried on the grounds of Stones River National Cemetery. Read more about the Rosses at Children
After completing the assigned task at Stones River, Earnshaw was then assigned by General Thomas to head the development of all the remaining cemeteries under his supervision. Earnshaw personally took charge of the new Nashville National Cemetery. This cemetery was for the area from Johnsonville, TN to 200 miles up the Cumberland River from Nashville and from Nashville north to Cave City, KY. He also oversaw the burials of over 1100 soldiers at Rose Hill Cemetery in Columbia, TN.
Earnshaw, with two fellow officers, also were responsible for selecting the locations of national cemeteries at Shiloh, Corinth, Fort Donelson and Memphis. He traveled to each location to choose the proper sites for the graves.
Newspaper articles show that while Earnshaw was in Nashville in 1867, he took on the additional responsibility as the pastor of the 2nd Presbyterian Church holding services and conducting Sunday school classes for the children. It is unknown why a Methodist Episcopalian minister was a pastor of a Presbyterian church except we know that he always went where his services were needed.
In July 1867, Earnshaw was appointed as the chaplain at the new Soldiers’ Asylum in Dayton, Ohio. By 1870, it was called the Soldiers’ Home. He oversaw construction of a stone chapel on the grounds. He became a leader of the Grand Army of the Republic and was the first grand commander of the national G.A.R. He also served as commander of the Ohio chapter as well as the chaplain for both the Ohio chapter and the national unit. He also took on the responsibility of librarian for the Soldiers’ Home.
In February 1885, Dayton was hit by extreme cold which froze the gas pipes throughout the Soldiers’ Home. The maintenance supervisor used wood naphtha, a highly flammable oil distillate, to thaw the pipes. Chaplain Earnshaw at this time turned on the gas line in his residence and lit it with a match. In the resultant explosion, Earnshaw was severely burnt in the face and suffered damage to his lungs and heart. Newspapers throughout the area posted regular stories about his convalescence.
On July 17, 1885, Chaplain William Earnshaw eventually died from his injuries in Dayton, Ohio. He was widely praised for his life works and service to the nation’s veterans. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Dayton with a simple marker.
The most important person related to Stones River National Cemetery is not buried in the cemetery nor is his name etched onto a monument or plaque. The name most associated with the cemetery is U.S. Army Chaplain William Earnshaw. Although his name is often written when documenting the cemetery’s history, little is written about the man himself.
William Earnshaw was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 12, 1828 to George and Eliza Earnshaw. Both of his parents had emigrated from England. He married Margaret Hutchison on October 10, 1855 and census records show the couple having at least five children.
Earnshaw’s 1860 Census record indicates his occupation as a Methodist Episcopalian Minister in Shippensburg, PA. Records indicate he was an itinerant minister circuit riding where he was needed, which was a characteristic of the religion. The Methodist Episcopal Church had a historic connection to the Church of England but separated after the American Revolution. The Church was considered anti-elitism and anti-slavery and was favored by the lower class and African-Americans. The religion was known for tent revivals and eventually grew to the largest denomination in America. By 1845, the Church splintered into two religions divided by slavery.
When the Civil War started, Earnshaw enlisted on August 27, 1861 at the age of 33. He initially was a private assigned to the home front defense but the muster roll of October 24, 1861 indicated Earnshaw was a chaplain attached to the Pennsylvania 49th Regiment. The 49th Infantry participated in the Virginia Peninsula Campaign and at Antietam along with other battles in the mid-Atlantic. The unit also fought at Gettysburg. In April 1863, Earnshaw was assigned to the Chaplain unit of the U.S. Volunteer Infantry. He was first assigned to the Army of the Potomac but after Gettysburg he was reassigned to the Army of the Cumberland to the personal staff of General George Thomas. He is credited with being part of nineteen battles in a non-combatant role.
Non-combatant does not mean he wasn’t in the battle. It only means he didn’t carry a rifle. Chaplains were usually on the battlefield experiencing crossfire while retrieving the wounded and providing comfort to the dying. Chaplains were sometimes awarded Medals of Honor, including at Stones River, for their heroic actions in the midst of battle.
In 1864, as the Civil War was drawing closer to conclusion, The War Department became concerned about the U.S. Army dead spread out in graves throughout the southern countryside. Orders went out to create national cemeteries to consolidate the burials into centralized locations. General Thomas immediately took steps to create cemeteries in Middle Tennessee where he headed the military operations. Thomas decided the first national cemetery would be at the site of the Battle of Stones River.
Thomas selected Captain John Means of the Ohio 115th Volunteers Infantry Regiment to head the effort. Captain Means had experience in designing cemeteries. Means selected the location and made the initial design for the cemetery. Before implementation, the Civil War ended in 1865 and Captain Means mustered out with his unit. In his place, General Thomas turned to his trusted staff person and appointed Chaplain Earnshaw as the superintendent of Stones River National Cemetery.
Earnshaw developed a comprehensive plan to find and recover all of the fallen Union soldiers over an assigned area of over 80 miles from Lavergne to Cowan, TN. He utilized the services of troops from the U.S.C.T. 111th Regiment to find the graves and move them to the grounds of the national cemetery for a proper burial. Some of the soldiers were originally buried in remote rugged countryside making the work extremely difficult. Through all of their efforts, Earnshaw reported at the end that all were recovered except for less than twenty.
While in Murfreesboro, Earnshaw was pastor of the Key United Methodist Church which had a school and chapel. The school worked to provide reading and writing skills to the African-American population. He was an advocate for the establishment of Freedman communities in the Murfreesboro area.
A newspaper article from the Memphis Daily Press in October, 1866 stated that Earnshaw participated in a state convention of Methodist Episcopalian ministers. During the meeting, he served at the funeral of fellow ME minister Rev. William Ross of Shelbyville who died of cholera. Ross and his daughter Sarah were buried on the grounds of Stones River National Cemetery. Read more about the Rosses at Children
After completing the assigned task at Stones River, Earnshaw was then assigned by General Thomas to head the development of all the remaining cemeteries under his supervision. Earnshaw personally took charge of the new Nashville National Cemetery. This cemetery was for the area from Johnsonville, TN to 200 miles up the Cumberland River from Nashville and from Nashville north to Cave City, KY. He also oversaw the burials of over 1100 soldiers at Rose Hill Cemetery in Columbia, TN.
Earnshaw, with two fellow officers, also were responsible for selecting the locations of national cemeteries at Shiloh, Corinth, Fort Donelson and Memphis. He traveled to each location to choose the proper sites for the graves.
Newspaper articles show that while Earnshaw was in Nashville in 1867, he took on the additional responsibility as the pastor of the 2nd Presbyterian Church holding services and conducting Sunday school classes for the children. It is unknown why a Methodist Episcopalian minister was a pastor of a Presbyterian church except we know that he always went where his services were needed.
In July 1867, Earnshaw was appointed as the chaplain at the new Soldiers’ Asylum in Dayton, Ohio. By 1870, it was called the Soldiers’ Home. He oversaw construction of a stone chapel on the grounds. He became a leader of the Grand Army of the Republic and was the first grand commander of the national G.A.R. He also served as commander of the Ohio chapter as well as the chaplain for both the Ohio chapter and the national unit. He also took on the responsibility of librarian for the Soldiers’ Home.
In February 1885, Dayton was hit by extreme cold which froze the gas pipes throughout the Soldiers’ Home. The maintenance supervisor used wood naphtha, a highly flammable oil distillate, to thaw the pipes. Chaplain Earnshaw at this time turned on the gas line in his residence and lit it with a match. In the resultant explosion, Earnshaw was severely burnt in the face and suffered damage to his lungs and heart. Newspapers throughout the area posted regular stories about his convalescence.
On July 17, 1885, Chaplain William Earnshaw eventually died from his injuries in Dayton, Ohio. He was widely praised for his life works and service to the nation’s veterans. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Dayton with a simple marker.
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