Friends Who Served in the Union and Confederate Armies During the American Civil War (Part I) by Patrick T. Smith 2 Printed 2012 in the United States of America by Emma Gus Press Copyright © by Patrick T. Smith, the author. All Rights Reserved by the author. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author. Edited by Patrick T. Smith Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Friends Who Served in the Union and Confederate Armies During the American Civil War (Part I) Patrick T. Smith Includes references and index ISBN: 978-1-4675-1324-1 LCCN: 2012939919 1. Civil War Records of the Friend Family, 2. Patrick T. Smith (Book Cover: Union forces pushing past the Dunker Church at the Battle of Antietam, unknown artist) 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page Dedication 7 Acknowledgement 9 Introduction 11 Chapter I Men Who Served in the Union Army Friends traced to Nils Larson Friend 23 List of Men with the last name of Friend that served the in Union Army 355 Chapter II Men Who Served in the Confederate Army Friends traced to Nils Larson Friend 375 List of Men with the last name of Friend that served the in Confederate Army 421 Index 427 Friend Family Association of America (FFAA) 445 Ordering Additional Books from the FFAA 449 About the Author 451 11 Introduction The American Civil War has been called one of the defining events of American history. Over three and a half million men would serve in both Union and Confederate forces during a war that would exceed all initial expectations and encompass every aspect of American life. William Tecumseh Sherman is considered one of the war's most able generals, yet his sanity was questioned when he stated the war would last years and claim more than a hundred thousand lives. The American Civil War would last over four years (1861 to 1865), claiming the lives of more than 623,000 men. The two-day Battle of Shiloh resulted in over twenty three thousand hundred casualties, a sum that would surpass all other previous American wars combined. The loss of life at Shiloh was unfathomable to the American public. To paraphrase the historian Shelby Foote, when trying to understand Shiloh, one has to consider there were thirty more such battles to follow. In a single day in September 1862, over twenty three thousand men would fall in and around the small town of Sharpsburg, MD, on the banks of Antietam Creek. In July 1863, more than one hundred and sixty thousand men would clash at Gettysburg in the largest land battle on the North American Continent. Over fifty three thousand men fell during a three day battle that was determined by the bravery and an uncompromising sense of devotion of men to their cause of freedom. The Battle of Gettysburg would dramatically influence the course of the war. On November 19, 1863, six months after the battle a National Military Cemetery was dedicated at Gettysburg. Everett Everett, the preeminent public speaker of his time, would regale a crowd with a narrative of the battle for over two hours, after which the president was invited to make “a few appropriate remarks.” He would speak for three minutes. Using two hundred and seventy-eight words 12 Abraham Lincoln would clarify the reason and course of the conflict, as well as define the American experience for generations to come. I have presented four different groups of men in this work. It is my hope that this book will serve as a seed for future projects. The men in this book probably represent less than 1% of the Friends that served during the war, yet they are all I have compiled to date. The first group of men are the Friends who served in the Union Army and have been traced back to Nils Larson Friend 1. I have included brief family histories with these men, as well as pictures, some service and pension records. The second group is a list of men with the last name of Friend that served in the Union Army. The third group of men served in the Confederate Army and have been traced back to Nils Larson Friend with brief family and service histories. The fourth group are men with the last name of Friend that served in the Confederate Army. Compiling service records from the American Civil War can be a daunting task. Although military records were diligently chronicled through the war, many accounts are incomplete, inaccurate and somewhat difficult to obtain. The Northern and some Southern states have retained the original regimental rosters and pay rolls and most states have incorporated these records into books. These rosters can often be found at the state archives and most states have posted the compilations online. Because of the interst in the war, every regiment, in both armies, can be researched through multiple books and websites. Several complications arise when searching for a specific soldier. The pivotal obstruction in most inquiries arises from the fact that a large percentage of men from both 1 Nils Larson Friend (Frande) is the patriarch of a large American family, emigrating from Sweden in 1642. Nils is my 8x and 9x great grandfather. 13 sides of the struggle could not read or write. Their names were entered into the regimental records with a phonetic spelling. Present day surnames vary greatly to those of the 1860’s, making a family connection challenging. Secondly, the same name may appear in several different companies throughout a regiment.2 Ascertaining if one is dealing with a single person or several men in the same regiment is an arduous task. Cousins with the same name would often serve in the same regiment and it was not uncommon for a man to transfer from one company to another with in the same regiment. For example, two William H.H. Friends, two Benjamin Franklin Friends and numerous John and Joseph Friends were serving in the 2nd and 3rd Regiments of the Potomac Home Brigades of the Maryland Infantry at the same time. These men were all born within twenty five miles of each other in Allegany Co. MD3 between 1830 and 1840. Several sources must be utilized to determine if you are dealing with one or two people within the same regiment. Two of the most unexpected solutions in this problem are gravestones and death certificates. Veteran's headstones were often inscribed with birth and death dates as well as regimental and company information. Death certificates often list parents and spouse's name and the cemetery were the veteran was buried. Both can be used to sort out these histories. Inaccurate records and family legends are another problem. The official records will claim a soldier served three years in a specific company and regiment, yet his pension records show the man was discharged after a single year. Many soldiers were listed as deserters and it was difficult to remove this blemish from a record even after the 2 At the beginning of the war, most regiments consisted of 1000 to 1500 men. The regiment was divided into companies ( A, B, C, so forth) of 100 to 150 men. 3 Present day Garrett Co. MD was formed from this part of Allegany Co. in 1873. 14 situation was resolved. The soldier can be listed as a deserted one year and discharged (or muster out) a year or two later. One family story stated a soldier was seriously wounded in a specific battle in the Western Theater and never recovered from his wounds. Research would show his regiment was eight hundred miles away at the time of the battle. A number of online sites can aid when searching for ancestors that served during the war. The Historical Data System (HDS)4 is the best site to start an initial search, in my opinion. This site presently has an annual subscription of $25.00, which is well worth a database that contains the names of most men that served in the conflict. The HDS site's principal appeal rests in a very accommodating search engine. One can search for a man by the last name, first, or a combination of the two. Searches yield the requested name and all similar names (Smith, Smite, Smyth, Sythme, so forth). The real strength of the site is reflected by searching for part of the first and or last name with an asterisk (Example, Last name: Staf* and first name: P*). This search will generate all similar names such as Staford, Stafford and Pat, Patrick, Peter, respectively. This minimizes the problem of finding a man whose name was entered into to a regimental books phonetically. One can also search the HDS site by state or whether the soldier survived the war. Most of the profiles on this site include enlistment dates (muster in) and discharge dates (muster out), initial rank, promotions, prisoner of war (POW) status, if a soldier was wounded and whether he survived the war. A number of records on the HDS site include a physical description of the soldier and details of his life after the war. Subscribing members have downloaded a few photographes of the soldiers to the site 4 www.civilwardata.com 15 from the war and in later life. The regimental histories of most units are found on this site. You can find a specific regiment and then search the personnel alphabetically.