Civil War Markers

9 years ago

We know that the house we purchased was built before the Civil War, but after doing some genealogy research on the various owners through the years, I have found the two of them were Union Soldiers. I would like to honor them in some way, and thought about some sort of plaque on the front the says "Civil War Solder Lived Here" or something like that.

Has anyone seen anything like that?

I also thought about getting copies of their Military Records and framing them as artwork, but the current residents (My DD, SIL & grandkids) won't really appreciate it the way I do.

Or I have a pallet that I have been trying to decide what to do with, and was thinking of painting it as an American Flag and hanging it on the detached garage. Maybe I should do their regimental flag instead (if I can find it).

What I would REALLY like is a Civil War era cannon in the side yard, but that's probably not going to happen :)

Any other ideas?

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Comments (8)

bragu_DSM 5
9 years ago
you might inquire as to whether anyone is assembling a time capsule, and you could include the information in that.

Your county recorder's office may have even more info.

You might talk to a local re-enactment group to see if they need help in return for recognizing your soldiers, or some such: i.e.:donate some gear in the name of your soldiers. Be creative. Hats off to you in your endeavor.
graywings123
9 years ago
I like the plaque idea. People in my neighborhood put plaques on their houses with the year the house was built and name and occupation of the first owner. You can read them from the sidewalk.
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barbcollins
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you for the suggestions.

Contacting a re-enactment group is probably a good idea. Next time I go hiking at Antietam battlefield, I might stop in the gift shop and see if they have any ideas.

Leaning towards making something out of my pallet wood. Maybe something that has their Regiment Name, and their Ranks & Names
MiMi
9 years ago
I could look on Ancestry.com for you and see if there might be photos of them, also you could look on FindAGrave,might be a photo of them there also....
barbcollins
Original Author
9 years ago
dbfirewife - Thanks, I am on ancestry.com. I reached out to a descendant from.. They never heard of the house but they said they will reach out to the great-grandparents to see if they know anything. I have my fingers crossed there might be family pictures showing the house as it looked ages ago.

Yes, I have also found their graves, and most of the family is buried at a local church not far from the house.
toxcrusadr
9 years ago
It's great you are researching this history and collecting information. Keep in mind YOU will not always be here. Keep a file with copies of documents and all your notes about who, what, where and when. It should go with the house if/when it is ever sold. And you can provide copies to the local Historical Society too.

History is out there but the act of finding and collecting information and putting it in context is the key. You have to make sure all that is preserved for future generations so your efforts are not lost after you're gone.
bulldinkie
9 years ago
Do you have any original deeds?We found out a col.geoge himes lived here in 1800 we have a deed with his signature
on it.We went to deeds Ours was in court hose dated house back to 1700s
.I was told they found something that pertained to civil war,deserters they thought..where abouts are you?Were near Gettysburg. Pa.
barbcollins
Original Author
9 years ago
toxcrusadr - I am a big advocate of going "paperless". Everything I have found has been saved on Dropbox, so if my computer crashes, it will still be there. I am really paranoid about that so I also have a Carbonite Subscription. And yes, I plan to leave any info I find.

bulldinkie - Good idea about checking with the courthouse. The house is in Maryland, not far from Antietam. There is a large boulder in the basement (I guess they got tired of breaking up rocks as then dug). And I mean large.. like a VW Bug. I try to imagine what it must have been like for that family living there during the battle. It must have been very loud. If they didn't flee, I would be she was huddling down there by the boulder with the kids.

{{gwi:2144312}}

I have traced the deed back as far as I could. Maryland has access online, but those don't have actual signatures on them. But the clerk of the court had beautiful (but hard to read) handwriting.

I did find this 1853 newspaper ad that I am 99% sure this was for the house. The person who ran the ad owned all four houses on that side of the street. And the original section (log) of our house is about that size. In 1860 the a family was living in the house but did not own it. They bought it in 1865.

{{gwi:2144313}}

Not sure what an "ordinary" size family is back then, but in 1860 they had 6 kids ranging from Age 15 to a 1 year old. Yikes in that tiny house with no bathroom, and no kitchen.