he weathered, nearly identical marble gravestones of the Prentiss brothers stand side by side not far from the chapel of the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. Both evidenced a readiness to die so their causes might live. Posted on 07/04/2003 1:29:14 AM PDT by sarcasm
he weathered, nearly identical marble gravestones of the Prentiss brothers stand side by side not far from the chapel of the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. Both evidenced a readiness to die so their causes might live.
The history behind these headstones is a sobering tale of enmity, forgiveness and patriotism. The saga of the brothers' final resting place came to light thanks to the work of volunteers seeking the lost Civil War veterans of Green-Wood.
Of the nearly 600,000 people buried at Green-Wood since 1840, it is believed that at least 4,000 were Civil War soldiers and sailors. Although veterans' groups and Boy Scout troops place flags on the graves of known veterans, until now there has been no systematic effort to identify or care for all the monuments of the Civil War dead.
Now, as volunteers are working to find these veterans, they are also learning their remarkable stories. Especially poignant is the discovery of the Prentiss gravestones and their link to the brothers' extraordinary past.
Clifton Prentiss, who is buried on the left, joined the Union Army in 1862 and ultimately rose to the rank of brevet colonel. His younger brother William enlisted that same year. But he donned the butternut garb of the Confederate Army, and so Clifton vowed they would never speak again.
Both fought for their antithetical ideals throughout the war, and when Gen. Ulysses S. Grant ordered the advance on the Petersburg, Va., earthworks on April 2, 1865, it was Clifton Prentiss who led the assault on the breach. This broke the Confederate line, which happened to include his brother William.
As Clifton brandished his sword to urge his men forward, he was shot; a bullet lodged in his lung. As for William, he was struck by a shell fragment above the right knee, and his leg had to be amputated. At a field hospital, William learned that his older brother was nearby. Initially Clifton refused to see the man he called a traitor. But in time, and in pain, they eventually reconciled.
The brothers Prentiss were brought to the Armory Square Hospital in Washington, and their nurse, Walt Whitman — that Walt Whitman — was stunned by this coincidence of war. Whitman wrote that the brothers were "brought together here after a separation of four years." William succumbed on June 24; Clifton on Aug. 18. "Each died for his cause," Whitman wrote. Soon they were side by side at Green-Wood.
"Our cemetery is a repository of New York's history, and yet there are so many things we don't know," said Richard J. Moylan, president of Green-Wood. "Not only is it important to us to learn more about our past, but also these stories are so meaningful and moving."
The effort to recover the cemetery's Civil War past accelerated rapidly after Sept. 11, 2001, when, Mr. Moylan said, "we noticed a resurgence in patriotism and a greater appreciation and gratitude for the sacrifice of our veterans." A growing fascination with the Civil War has also swelled the ranks of the volunteers.
But there is new urgency to their quest. "A lot of the stones are deteriorating rapidly thanks to age and acid rain," said Jeff Richman, the cemetery's historian, who provided the history of the Prentiss brothers. "Some are gone already. Now it's a race against time."
And so, in May, a group of 50 volunteers — history buffs, Civil War re-enactors and members of veterans' groups — gathered for a day in the peaceful eastern greensward of the cemetery's 478 acres to conduct a systematic search for veterans' graves. Another search is planned for Sept. 20; those interested in participating, or in doing research, can e-mail Mr. Richman at Grnwdtours @aol.com.
Finding the Civil War veterans is a matter of some imprecision, given the entries in Green-Wood's more than 60 "chronology books," the massive 22-by-16-inch burial ledgers that were inscribed in spindly script by clerks in the cemetery office. The scribes did not designate veteran statues, although some left clues, like listing "gunshot wound" as cause of death.
The volunteers seek not only the names of the veterans and the locations of their graves, but also their extraordinary exploits. "The stories offer a level of valor that we can scarcely imagine today," Mr. Richman said.
He sighed. "There is such concern about our losses in Iraq. But how can you comprehend the loss of the 25,000 who were killed or wounded in one day at one battle, Antietam?"
The passion of Anthony P. DellaRocca, a 44-year-old Civil War re-enactor, is tracking down members of the 14th New York State Militia, a Brooklyn regiment that from 1861 to 1864 fought at Bull Run, Antietam, Gettysburg and the Wilderness. "A big part of this research is walking," he said. "The other day I'm walking there, and something tells me to stop, and walk up the hill. And there, under a tree, is a soldier's stone: William Nuthman, Company E, 14th Militia."
"It looked like someone put it there a week ago," Mr. DellaRocca said. Perfect condition."
Several hundred veterans' headstones have so far been identified by the volunteers. Thanks to the Internet, to more accessible government archives and to the recent availability of a searchable online version of The Brooklyn Eagle, "there are more research tools available than ever before," Mr. DellaRocca said.
In June, Mr. Richman discovered a trove of 12,000 index cards stored in the New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. They listed applicants for a Civil War veterans' benefit: a free gravestone. Mr. Richman found the names of 151 veterans whose stones were approved for Green-Wood.
Some veterans, like Capt. Alexander Menzies, who died on Oct. 25, 1865, have been located by collectors who bought veterans' inscribed swords or pictures (in the captain's case, his revolver) from antiquities dealers. Tracing their history led them to Green-Wood.
Many of the volunteers bring strong emotions to the search. "When you find somebody? It is the best feeling in the world," Mr. DellaRocca said. "Better than hitting the Lotto. It takes these veterans out of history's oblivion." It can also enlighten a veteran's family: Mr. Richman was able to uncover a picture of Clifton Prentiss and send it to his descendants in Arizona.
In the preternatural quiet of Green-Wood's manicured hillocks are monuments to 16 Union generals and two Confederate generals whose Yankee relatives buried them there. Because of concerns about vandalism, the Confederate gravestones made no mention of military service. For example, the monument for Robert Selden Garnett, a Confederate who was the first general officer killed in the Civil War, simply bears his name and the legend "To My Wife and Child."
Among the enlisted men, the volunteers' research has matched a graceful monument with the brave actions of Henry Clay Wooley, a corporal who held the Union flag aloft at Gettysburg and was killed there in 1863. And the search has newly illuminated the valor of Lt. Henry B. Hidden, a 23-year-old cavalry officer who was killed leading 14 dragoons against 150 Confederates "in a gallant and successful charge," as his monument says.
The goal of the volunteers is to create a database of Civil War veterans. This online collection of biographies, photographs and headstone images would be part of a larger inventory of Green-Wood's historical personages.
Ultimately, the Civil War archive could aid in the transition to Green-Wood's future role, after it runs out of space for burials, a turning point Mr. Moylan predicted would occur less than a decade from now. "Identifying all these grave sites, and telling these stories," Mr. Moylan said, "could be one component of a historical park."
Meanwhile, Mr. DellaRocca will carry on his search for the headstone of Nathaniel E. Carleton, a 24-year-old sergeant in the 14th New York State Militia. A newly discovered Saratoga index card revealed that he was buried at Green-Wood. The date of burial, Sept. 3, 1863, led to the discovery of his obituary. And further research uncovered his picture and the written words of a fellow soldier, who lamented the death of "poor dear good Nate," wounded at the railroad cut at Gettysburg.
"He's been lost," Mr. DellaRocca said forcefully. "But I can guarantee you one thing. We are going to find him."
It contains the highest point in Brooklyn where a Revolutionary war battle took place a monument is there now.
I understand it is the second largest cemetery in the United States after Arlington.
A little history of Battle Hill here where 400 Marylanders sacrificed their lives to prevent George Washington from being captured in August 1776.
Interesting site. Thanks.
Two of my cousins, John Bale's sons, were killed at Nashville and at Dandridge. They are buried side by side in the Coosa Methodist church cemetery. "In death they were not divided." John Bale himself died in 1864, some said of a broken heart.
All my other relations survived the war, although some were wounded and one I think was never the same afterwards.
Time to bukmp this to the top again.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.