April 2014 – Edition 109

Thomas had a very interesting career. In the previous article we left him serving in the Union Army in the American Civil War in 1862.

In fact the only Civil War photographs were taken in black and white and required the use of “time lapse” photography. The photographs were “staged” with everyone staying completely still so that movement in the scene did not cause blurring, the result being that close up battlefield photos were not possible because of the movement in the field.

Unable to withdraw due to his injury Thomas was captured by the Confederates and placed in Libby Jail in the Confederate capital of Richmond, but was fortunately released twenty-seven days later. This release probably saved his life.

Prisoners suffered from disease, malnutrition and a high mortality rate. In 1862, seven hundred prisoners were crowded into large open rooms in the top two floors of the former warehouse, with open, barred windows leaving them exposed to weather and temperature extremes. In the following year the number of prisoners was increased to one thousand.

The jail achieved fame for one of the biggest “escapes” in history, perhaps second only to the Second World War “Great Escape”. In February 1864, 109 Union officers escaped from the jail through a tunnel.

The article related how General McClellan (the Union commander at the time, shown in the photo) amidst considerable fanfare boarded the first steamer to arrive and “shook the hand of every soldier who had a hand to shake” (the newspaper’s phraseology). Perhaps he shook the hand of Thomas when his steamer arrived the next day

Even so, his chances of recovery were not guaranteed when he was admitted to a Union hospital. The survival rate was not high due to the lack of knowledge in those days of simple hygiene and precautions to guard against infections.

Scientists had yet to come up with the theory that germs cause diseases. Doctors didn’t know that they should wash their hands before operating. As soldiers from small towns came together in large groups, they became newly exposed to pathogens that their bodies had never encountered before. But there were no antibiotics and no antiseptics.

No doubt due to his medical condition Thomas was honourably discharged from the Army in December, 1862, and returned home to Essex to recuperate. However he would have been little use on the farm for some time because he was unable to do any active work for more than a year.

On the other hand he may have received a pension.

Regardless of my romantic notions, it is a fact that several years later Thomas married Rebecca (born in 1845) in his home town of Essex in 1865. They had four sons, three born in Essex (William bc 1867, James A bc 1870, George H bc 1875) and Charles (known as “Harry”) born in Nebraska (bc 1883).

Thomas described himself in the 1870 Census as a Labourer, indicating that his family would have been living in very modest circumstances, but fortunately this was to change later.

The family moves to Iowa and then Nebraska.
The family lived in Illinois until 1875, when they moved one State west to the town of Grant in Iowa, where he was engaged in farming for the next 5 years. In the spring of 1881 they moved one State west again, to Glenwood in Nebraska where in a dramatic change of scale and fortunes Thomas finally purchased a very substantial property of 160 acres. He developed the place into a valuable farm, largely raising livestock but also growing cereal crops.

Thomas was obviously not keen to take the plunge back into matrimony with its potential benefits because it was not until eleven years later that he remarried. In a very practical move Thomas married Frances Jane (Black) Hill, a widow, who had 3 children by her first marriage.

Move to Beatrice. Two years later Thomas and Frances moved to the city of Beatrice (also in Nebraska), well known for its Courthouse (see photo). They bought an attractive home and for practical purposes he retired at the early age (for those days) of about 60. No doubt this was the culmination of his dreams, with his childhood days of hardship in Essex and his adventures in the Civil War distant memories.

The children Thomas obviously intended that his children would not have to go through the financial struggle that he had endured during his earlier years, by ensuring that they had a reasonable education. For instance in 1918 William was a travelling salesman of agricultural equipment and machinery, James was a farmer, George was in the meat marketing business and Charles (known as “Harry”), now in his late teens, worked in a bank.

Thomas’s second wife had obviously been of a similar mind because her son Raymond was a carpenter/builder, Bessie a schoolteacher and Laura a librarian.

A “Post” was a local Civil War veterans’ association named after a prominent military person or the town in which it was formed. Thomas’s Post was named after Union General John Aaron Rawlins (1831-69).

There were thousands of these organisations, with a peak membership, of more than 490,000 in 1890.

The Grand Army of the Republic was perhaps similar to the Returned Services League in Australia, however in addition to its advocacy role to support veterans it supported Republican political candidates. It was dissolved in 1956 following the death of its last veteran member.

The photograph shows a very patriotic 1915 postcard of a local association.

The picture made me think of the summers we spent there. A lot has changed on Anna Maria, but the Gulf of Mexico has stayed the same.

Hope all is well with You and Sherry……..Alec

Our last Anna Maria Island image appeared in the Jerrems Journal November 2009.