By Thomas Zei
Walking through Stones River National Cemetery, most of the Civil War headstones tell little more than the name of the deceased and the state they were from. But it leaves us to wonder who was the soldier, when and how did he die and whether there is an interesting back story to the individual.
But in a cemetery with over six thousand burials from that war, how do we find the stories? Is it a stab in the dark and hope that we can find an interesting story in the cemetery and Civil War military records as well as the genealogy records. Many of the stories written on the web site at National Cemetery Stories started out this way. Sometimes we hear of a story and find out the soldier is buried in the cemetery.
But with so many graves, with about 40% unknown, odds are most research will just find a young man that died in a bloody fight or of disease in the unsanitary conditions. But their story still deserves to be told. In this story, I asked my wife to provide thirty numbers between 1 and 6100 to see what information could be found about the soldier. Here are their stories.
Grave 3 – Unknown soldier buried in Section A. Member of the Indiana 21st Infantry Regiment buried on the battlefield per the cemetery records but the unit as a whole did not serve in Tennessee.
Grave 6 – Unknown soldier buried in Section A. Originally buried on the battlefield.
Grave 57 – Unknown soldier buried in Section A. Originally buried on the battlefield.
Grave 97 – Private Walter Barnsley (Alternately R.W. Barnsley) buried in Section A. Member of the Indiana 15th Infantry Regiment, Company H. Died on February 15, 1863 of disease. Buried on or near the battlefield. The 15th Indiana was organized in Lafayette, IN under the command of Colonel George Wagner. The unit fought at Shiloh, Corinth, Perryville and Stones River before continuing to Chickamauga and Chattanooga. Unit contained Chaplain John Whitehead, Medal of Honor recipient at Stones River.
Grave 101 – Private George H Hanks buried in Section A. Member of the Ohio 2nd Infantry Regiment, Company E, in a brigade commanded by Colonel Benjamin Scribner. Died on January 14, 1863 in Murfreesboro of pneumonia.
Grave 151 – Unknown soldier buried in Section A. Originally buried in Murfreesboro
Grave 407 – Unknown Soldier buried in Section A. Originally buried in Columbia, TN
Grave 496 – J.M. Hartman buried in Section B. Member of the Illinois 17th Infantry Regiment, Company E. He died on October 10, 1863 in Shelbyville
Grave 763 – Unknown Soldier buried in Section B. Originally buried in Columbia, TN.
Grave 962 – Unknown soldier buried in Section B. Originally buried in Athens, AL.
Grave 1000 – Unknown soldier buried in Section C. Member of the United States Regulars 16th Infantry under the command of Lt. Colonel Oliver Shepard. Died during the Battle of Stones River.
Grave 1111 – J. Osborn buried in Section C. Member of the United States Regulars 18th Infantry, Company G, under the command of Lt. Colonel Oliver Shepard. Originally buried on the battlefield.
Grave 1201 – Private William A Hord buried in Section C. Member of the Illinois 38th Infantry Regiment, Company B under the brigade command of Colonel William Carlin. Died on March 21, 1863 in Murfreesboro at Guard House Number 2 of bronchitis. Born in 1844 in Lawrence County, Indiana and later moved to Clay County, Illinois. Unit fought at Corinth, Perryville and Stones River.
Grave 1342 – Private Lindsay W Holladay (or Lindsey V Holiday) buried in Section C. Member of Indiana 39th Infantry Regiment, Company A. Died on May 15, 1863 in Murfreesboro.
Grave 1642 – Illegible burial record only identifies the burial as W. S---- in Section D. No further information about soldier. Based on other burials in the same area, it is likely that he was killed at the Round Forest during the Battle of Stones River.
Grave 1805 – Private Robert B Simpson buried in Section E. Member of Indiana 15th Infantry Regiment, Company K, in brigade commanded by Colonel George Wagner. Died on December 31, 1862 during the Battle of Stones River, most likely near the Round Forest.
Grave 2134 – Private Thomas Staton buried in Section E. Member of the Indiana 12th Calvary, Company K. Died on December 13, 1864 in Murfreesboro of disease.
Grave 2345 – Private James Alan Curtis buried in Section F. Corporal in the Kentucky 8th Infantry, Company E under brigade commander Colonel Samual Price. Born in 1839 in Estill, KY. Died on August 16, 1863 at Union College in Murfreesboro of congestive fever. Unit had fought at Perryville and Stones River. Almost 75% of the deaths in the regiment were from disease.
Grave 2814 – Unknown grave in Section G. No further information about soldier. Based on other burials in the same area, it is likely that he was killed at the Round Forest during the Battle of Stones River.
Grave 2961 – Private Ebenezer C McKinley buried in Section H. Member of Kentucky 3rd Infantry Regiment, Company G. Born about 1832 in Russell County, Kentucky. Died on August 3, 1862 in Decherd, TN at the regimental hospital of congestive fever.
Grave 3150 – Private William Watson buried in Section H. Member of the Ohio 125th Infantry Regiment, Company E. Died on April 19, 1863 at the regiment’s hospital of pneumonia and was originally buried in the vicinity of Franklin. Unit was organized in Cleveland Ohio in October, 1862. Deployed to Franklin, TN on March 5, 1863 and repulsed an attack four days later.
Grave 3179 – Private Elias M Scott buried in Section H. Member of Indiana 88th Infantry Regiment, Company F, in brigade commanded by Colonel John Beatty. Died on January 3, 1863 in the vicinity of Murfreesboro of a gunshot wound.
Grave 3916 – Private Daniel Lake buried in Section J. Member of Illinois 155th Infantry Regiment, Company B. Born in 1841 in Cumberland County, Illinois. Died on April 24, 1865 in Tullahoma at General Hospital of consumption.
Grave 3923 – Private James A Tindall buried in Section J. Member of Illinois 80th Infantry Regiment, Company I. Born in 1843 in Randolph, McLean County, Illinois. Died on February 10, 1863 of pneumonia at the regimental hospital in Murfreesboro and originally buried near the hospital. Unit organized at Centralia, IL in August, 1862. Fought at Perryville and pursued General Morgan at the end of 1862. On duty in Murfreesboro at time of death.
Grave 4567 – Unknown grave in Section K. Original burial location was on the battlefield but no further information is available.
Grave 4907 – Private Henry W (or A or H) Archibald buried in Section M. Member of Illinois 98th Infantry Regiment, Company H. Born about 1837 in Wayne County, Illinois. Died on February 14, 1863 in Murfreesboro.
Grave 5000 – Private John Clinkinbeard buried in Section M. Member of Illinois 123rd Infantry Regiment, Company A. Born in 1834 in Coles County, Illinois. Unit fought at Perryville, KY and Milton, TN. Died on April 21, 1863 in Murfreesboro in General Hospital Number 5 of bronchitis.
Grave 5732 – Private Abraham Ringlespaugh buried in Section O. Member of the Ohio 99th Infantry Regiment, Company C. Born in 1824 in Lancaster, PA and moved to Loramie, OH in Shelby County. Died on May 30, 1863 in Murfreesboro at the regimental hospital of chronic heart disease. Unit was organized at Camp Lima in Allen County, OH in August, 1862. Unit fought at Perryville and Stones River.
Grave 5923 – Private Arthur J Stark buried in Section O. Member of Michigan 1st Engineers and Mechanics, Section E. Died on May 1, 1863 in Murfreesboro.
Grave 6010 – Private J Henley buried in Section O. Member of the 5th Tennessee Cavalry, Company H. Died on July 25, 1863 in Murfreesboro. Unit organized at Murfreesboro, Nashville and Carthage, TN on July 15, 1862. Fought at Stones River. Unit was fighting at Fosterville and Guy’s Gap as part of the Tullahoma Campaign on date of death. No record was found for cause of death.
Walking through Stones River National Cemetery, most of the Civil War headstones tell little more than the name of the deceased and the state they were from. But it leaves us to wonder who was the soldier, when and how did he die and whether there is an interesting back story to the individual.
But in a cemetery with over six thousand burials from that war, how do we find the stories? Is it a stab in the dark and hope that we can find an interesting story in the cemetery and Civil War military records as well as the genealogy records. Many of the stories written on the web site at National Cemetery Stories started out this way. Sometimes we hear of a story and find out the soldier is buried in the cemetery.
But with so many graves, with about 40% unknown, odds are most research will just find a young man that died in a bloody fight or of disease in the unsanitary conditions. But their story still deserves to be told. In this story, I asked my wife to provide thirty numbers between 1 and 6100 to see what information could be found about the soldier. Here are their stories.
Grave 3 – Unknown soldier buried in Section A. Member of the Indiana 21st Infantry Regiment buried on the battlefield per the cemetery records but the unit as a whole did not serve in Tennessee.
Grave 6 – Unknown soldier buried in Section A. Originally buried on the battlefield.
Grave 57 – Unknown soldier buried in Section A. Originally buried on the battlefield.
Grave 97 – Private Walter Barnsley (Alternately R.W. Barnsley) buried in Section A. Member of the Indiana 15th Infantry Regiment, Company H. Died on February 15, 1863 of disease. Buried on or near the battlefield. The 15th Indiana was organized in Lafayette, IN under the command of Colonel George Wagner. The unit fought at Shiloh, Corinth, Perryville and Stones River before continuing to Chickamauga and Chattanooga. Unit contained Chaplain John Whitehead, Medal of Honor recipient at Stones River.
Grave 101 – Private George H Hanks buried in Section A. Member of the Ohio 2nd Infantry Regiment, Company E, in a brigade commanded by Colonel Benjamin Scribner. Died on January 14, 1863 in Murfreesboro of pneumonia.
Grave 151 – Unknown soldier buried in Section A. Originally buried in Murfreesboro
Grave 407 – Unknown Soldier buried in Section A. Originally buried in Columbia, TN
Grave 496 – J.M. Hartman buried in Section B. Member of the Illinois 17th Infantry Regiment, Company E. He died on October 10, 1863 in Shelbyville
Grave 763 – Unknown Soldier buried in Section B. Originally buried in Columbia, TN.
Grave 962 – Unknown soldier buried in Section B. Originally buried in Athens, AL.
Grave 1000 – Unknown soldier buried in Section C. Member of the United States Regulars 16th Infantry under the command of Lt. Colonel Oliver Shepard. Died during the Battle of Stones River.
Grave 1111 – J. Osborn buried in Section C. Member of the United States Regulars 18th Infantry, Company G, under the command of Lt. Colonel Oliver Shepard. Originally buried on the battlefield.
Grave 1201 – Private William A Hord buried in Section C. Member of the Illinois 38th Infantry Regiment, Company B under the brigade command of Colonel William Carlin. Died on March 21, 1863 in Murfreesboro at Guard House Number 2 of bronchitis. Born in 1844 in Lawrence County, Indiana and later moved to Clay County, Illinois. Unit fought at Corinth, Perryville and Stones River.
Grave 1342 – Private Lindsay W Holladay (or Lindsey V Holiday) buried in Section C. Member of Indiana 39th Infantry Regiment, Company A. Died on May 15, 1863 in Murfreesboro.
Grave 1642 – Illegible burial record only identifies the burial as W. S---- in Section D. No further information about soldier. Based on other burials in the same area, it is likely that he was killed at the Round Forest during the Battle of Stones River.
Grave 1805 – Private Robert B Simpson buried in Section E. Member of Indiana 15th Infantry Regiment, Company K, in brigade commanded by Colonel George Wagner. Died on December 31, 1862 during the Battle of Stones River, most likely near the Round Forest.
Grave 2134 – Private Thomas Staton buried in Section E. Member of the Indiana 12th Calvary, Company K. Died on December 13, 1864 in Murfreesboro of disease.
Grave 2345 – Private James Alan Curtis buried in Section F. Corporal in the Kentucky 8th Infantry, Company E under brigade commander Colonel Samual Price. Born in 1839 in Estill, KY. Died on August 16, 1863 at Union College in Murfreesboro of congestive fever. Unit had fought at Perryville and Stones River. Almost 75% of the deaths in the regiment were from disease.
Grave 2814 – Unknown grave in Section G. No further information about soldier. Based on other burials in the same area, it is likely that he was killed at the Round Forest during the Battle of Stones River.
Grave 2961 – Private Ebenezer C McKinley buried in Section H. Member of Kentucky 3rd Infantry Regiment, Company G. Born about 1832 in Russell County, Kentucky. Died on August 3, 1862 in Decherd, TN at the regimental hospital of congestive fever.
Grave 3150 – Private William Watson buried in Section H. Member of the Ohio 125th Infantry Regiment, Company E. Died on April 19, 1863 at the regiment’s hospital of pneumonia and was originally buried in the vicinity of Franklin. Unit was organized in Cleveland Ohio in October, 1862. Deployed to Franklin, TN on March 5, 1863 and repulsed an attack four days later.
Grave 3179 – Private Elias M Scott buried in Section H. Member of Indiana 88th Infantry Regiment, Company F, in brigade commanded by Colonel John Beatty. Died on January 3, 1863 in the vicinity of Murfreesboro of a gunshot wound.
Grave 3916 – Private Daniel Lake buried in Section J. Member of Illinois 155th Infantry Regiment, Company B. Born in 1841 in Cumberland County, Illinois. Died on April 24, 1865 in Tullahoma at General Hospital of consumption.
Grave 3923 – Private James A Tindall buried in Section J. Member of Illinois 80th Infantry Regiment, Company I. Born in 1843 in Randolph, McLean County, Illinois. Died on February 10, 1863 of pneumonia at the regimental hospital in Murfreesboro and originally buried near the hospital. Unit organized at Centralia, IL in August, 1862. Fought at Perryville and pursued General Morgan at the end of 1862. On duty in Murfreesboro at time of death.
Grave 4567 – Unknown grave in Section K. Original burial location was on the battlefield but no further information is available.
Grave 4907 – Private Henry W (or A or H) Archibald buried in Section M. Member of Illinois 98th Infantry Regiment, Company H. Born about 1837 in Wayne County, Illinois. Died on February 14, 1863 in Murfreesboro.
Grave 5000 – Private John Clinkinbeard buried in Section M. Member of Illinois 123rd Infantry Regiment, Company A. Born in 1834 in Coles County, Illinois. Unit fought at Perryville, KY and Milton, TN. Died on April 21, 1863 in Murfreesboro in General Hospital Number 5 of bronchitis.
Grave 5732 – Private Abraham Ringlespaugh buried in Section O. Member of the Ohio 99th Infantry Regiment, Company C. Born in 1824 in Lancaster, PA and moved to Loramie, OH in Shelby County. Died on May 30, 1863 in Murfreesboro at the regimental hospital of chronic heart disease. Unit was organized at Camp Lima in Allen County, OH in August, 1862. Unit fought at Perryville and Stones River.
Grave 5923 – Private Arthur J Stark buried in Section O. Member of Michigan 1st Engineers and Mechanics, Section E. Died on May 1, 1863 in Murfreesboro.
Grave 6010 – Private J Henley buried in Section O. Member of the 5th Tennessee Cavalry, Company H. Died on July 25, 1863 in Murfreesboro. Unit organized at Murfreesboro, Nashville and Carthage, TN on July 15, 1862. Fought at Stones River. Unit was fighting at Fosterville and Guy’s Gap as part of the Tullahoma Campaign on date of death. No record was found for cause of death.