Comments on: The Role of the Wagoner!

By: bonmac

bonmac — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 21:00:08 +0000

Doug: Thanks for stopping by. My great grandfather George was mustered into the Civil War and was a soldier. According to a friend of mine who retired from the Quartermaster Dept. of the Army, he felt that George had skills they needed. His father John Barclay worked as a carpenter for about 3 months at the end of the war. George said in his Civil War pension file, which I am starting to post about, that he was never attached to a unit. I have no idea what that means. He did not go into a big explaination which was unfortunate. Alexander, George’s brother, did get his Civil War pension but he Marched with Sherman to the Sea. George never did get his Civil War pension, although he tried and so did his my great grandmother many times. His father John, served as a civilian carpenter and never got any pension. I have posted about all this on the blog so if you search around you will see a lot of variety in who got a pension and who did not. Regarding colored troups, you would have to talk to genealogists with African-American genealogical experience perhaps in your area. Ask at the local genealogical society or historical society and maybe they would know someone who knows someone. Your local NARA (National Archives) office might also be able to help you. Don’t just ask one person at NARA, some are volunteers. You need the more experienced ones or the ones that actually work there. I know very little about that topic I do know that more and more information about the service of colored soldiers is being featured online and in other publications. It is about time. In my poking around, I tried to find out more about the Quartermaster Department of the Army at that time and I believe that those records are at the National Archives in Washington D.C. I have not taken the time to check out that source. I also spent a lot of time trying to find pictures showing wagons involved in the war and that was tough. I even got interested in using mules, oxen and horses and the why of that because George said a mule fell on him and that was the reason for his pension application. In studying Sherman’s March to the Sea, I learned how he planned the supplying of his troups during that march and it was pretty amazing. So just keep digging. Bonnie

By: Doug Cantaral

Doug Cantaral — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 11:18:30 +0000

Hello,

I have enjoyed your site immensely. I too have a family member who was a wagoner during the Civil war supporting the 32d Infantry, USCT. I hope, some day, to learn how wagoner’s became wagoners… were they soldiers detailed to the job or civilians hired to do it. How were wagoners perceived by the soldiers? Where they members of the units the supported? I assume there was some sort of agreement with the government as John Mull, my great great grandfather, filed for and apparently received a pension from the government. Another subject I would like information pertains to Caucasian serving in colored units. I have found very little about colored troops, let alone white members of those units. Any thoughts?

Best Regards,
Doug

By: bonmac

bonmac — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:19:30 +0000

Susan: I am sorry you are having trouble subscribing. Let me know if it doesn’t work. The wagon size is a guess on my part. I have tried to study photographs of the Civil War but the supply lines are not a big draw as opposed to a battle and the dead. I do believe they probably had a variety of sizes depending on the load and distance and terrain. Thanks for stopping by.

By: Susan Zack

Susan Zack — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 04:18:47 +0000

I have tried to subscribe to your blog and am failing something awful. Will try again Love this posting, it really reminded me to keep looking for more details regarding the Civil War. Realizing the size of the wagon for instance, gave me a completely different perceptive. I guess I had envisioned the wagoneers wagon to be smaller. Thanks for sharing!

By: bonmac

bonmac — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:41:44 +0000

Kayellen: Thank you for stopping by. It has been awhile since I looked into this whole subject of wagoneers in the Civil War. I just took a minute right now and used Google’s search engine and had a few more hits. So others are starting to write about the subject. Men of short stature on the wagons as a practice would be difficult to answer. In the case of my great grandfather George I think it was more his skill level, knowledge and age. He was just turning 18 years old. The wagoneers were tied to the Quartermaster department and I did not go to the National Archives to dig further but that might be very interesting. Both my great grandfather George and his brother Alexander were on the same side but it was not that uncommon for families to be divided between north and south. Another problem I had was finding photographs that showed the use of wagons in the war. Most of the photographers liked to take photographs of the battles, soldiers and the dead. If you get a chance and visit a museum that has wagons, go stand by them and you will be really amazed that your ancestor and mine where able to do this type of work. I think my great grandfather suffered later in life for his efforts. According to him and his Civil War pension a mule fell on him. That would hurt! Of course the soldiers suffered marching hours in muck, swamp and more. Good luck in your search and let me know if you find out anything really interesting. This post about the wagons seems to be very popular. Good Luck! Bonnie

By: gmaw2000

gmaw2000 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:23:23 +0000

I found this very interesting, especially since I was also researching exactly what the role of a Wagoner was during the Civil War. My Great great uncle, George H. Stakes, was also a Wagoner during the Civil War. He was 29 and stood 5′ 3″. His service records show he was in 34th Illinois Infantry (Union). The 34th participated in the Battle at Shiloh.

Do you know whether it was common practice to place men of short stature on the Wagons or was this just an odd coincidence that both your and my ancestors were of short statures?

In researching my family I have found that my Great great Grandfather Richard P. Stakes was Confederate (served twice) while his brother, George H., was Union. I can understand the division since most of our family moved from Indiana in 1852 and settled in Louisiana, George went out on his own and settled in Illinois and then later in Iowa.

Thank you for posting the information and links.
Kayellen Stakes