THE LAST BILLY YANK - A Story of Community and Reconciliation

By Mark Hubbs, Camp #53 Huntsville

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

SERVICE IN THE CIVIL WAR

Samuel Sweinhart was just two months past his seventeenth birthday when he answered his country’s call.  Seventeen is young, but Sam had already been on his own for a over a year after his mother died and his father abandoned his family.  He made his way from his home town in Ohio to Elkhart Indiana where he found work as a carpenter.  

Just a few weeks after the disastrous Union defeat at Bull Run in July 1861, Samuel signed his name on his enlistment papers making him a new private in Company C of the 9th Indiana Infantry.  He could not know that his new unit would become one of the most traveled and combat hardened regiments in the western theater of the Civil War.

Samuel’s service records show that he was 5 ft 10in tall with brown hair and black eyes.  He appears as “present” in every muster roll of his company with no time away on detail or in the hospital. He avoided the camp sicknesses that debilitated or killed so many other soldiers during the Civil War. 

He would have participated with the regiment at each of its battles, including the blood lettings at Shiloh, Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Kennesaw Mountain and the Atlanta Campaign.

The 9th Indiana Infantry reenlisted in mass at Whiteside Tennessee in December 1863 becoming a “Veteran Volunteer” regiment.  Samuel was promoted to corporal soon after “for his bravery and efficiency as a good soldier.”  The 9th Indiana was stationed in Huntsville from December 1864 until March of 1865.  This is when Sam first became acquainted with Huntsville and North Alabama. Many occupying soldiers during the War commented on the beauty and fertility of the land and tidiness of the city.  Samuel Sweinhart would have been no different. 

                                     Brady's photo of Co C, 9th Indiana taken at Whiteside Tennessee

The 9th’s service did not end with surrender of the Confederate armies in April 1865.  That regiment, along with scores of others, were sent to New Orleans and then to Texas as a show of force.  French forces, then occupying Mexico, threatened invasion over the Rio Grande River.  The invasion never came.  The 9th Indiana and most of the other War time volunteer regiments in Texas were mustered out in September 1865.

Sam had survived eight major battles and countless skirmishes and had never fallen ill enough to take him from his duties.  He states in his pension application “Have never been in a hospital during 4 years and 2 months of my service and but once excused from duty on account of sickness when wounded.”  Wounded?  Along the Guadalupe River, near Victoria Texas, a Yankee bullet almost did what Rebel bullets could not. 

“…While I was going for water for coffee, a comrade who was crossing the river, who was about being drowned, called me to assist him, the bank being steep where he was, I caught the muzzle of his gun and on his taking a step the hammer of his gun must have struck a rock or the bank so as to discharge his gun, the bullet entering my left hand between the thumb and fore finger and passing out at the wrist.”

The projectile could have just as easily passed through his chest or head.  His wound festered off and on before healing, “small pieces of bone came out near where the ball had made its exit.”

Sam would never regain full use of his left hand.  As he aged, the hand became increasingly stiff and non functional.  A one handed carpenter cannot prosper. 

RETURN TO HUNTSVILLE

Samuel returned to Indiana with his regiment in September 1865 and remained in the same community as his comrades.  He married Alida Pratt in 1867.  But opportunities must not have been rosy in post-War La Porte Indiana.  Sweinhart and two of his fellow veterans moved to Huntsville, where they had been stationed in the closing months of the War.  

James Speakman in his affidavit for Samuel’s pension application wrote: “. . . we all moved to Huntsville, Ala. (Spearman in Oct 1869, Swinehart in March 1870, and Martin in May 1870) where we have been neighbors ever since.”  Andrew Martin, had been Sweinhart’s Company Commander during the War.  All three settled in and began to raise families, putting deep roots in the Huntsville community. 

Although his friend James Speakman was a carpenter, it seems that Sweinhart never returned to that trade.  He first tried his hand at the grocery business, but eventually secured a job as a letter carrier with the US Postal Service. He was able to purchase a home on Walker Street, near Five Points, to make room for a growing family - Durwood, born in 1870 and Mae in 1873.

Sam’s job as a letter carried undoubtedly brought him in contact with many folks in the community, both native Huntsvillians and others who moved into the city after the War. He and his other Union veterans joined Camp #53 of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) a large veteran’s organization that had chapters in every state of the Union.

FORMER ENEMIES BECOME COMRADES

Samuel seems to have been well respected in the community.  Some of his friends were the most unlikely.  The GAR camp in Huntsville was never a very large one, but another veteran’s organization, the United Confederate Veterans (UCV), obviously enjoyed excellent membership in Alabama and all the other former Confederate States.  The Egbert C. Jones Camp of the UCV in Huntsville was no exception. 

Despite being bitter enemies decades before, the common experiences of hardships and dangers of a soldier often brought these organizations together for both ceremonial and social gatherings.

In 1892 Sam traveled to Indiana for a reunion of his old regiment. His remarks during the reunion were recorded in a souvenir booklet.

“For over 30 years I have lived among the “Johnnies;” the captive of a woman of the Southland.  The people of my section have always treated me well and among my very best friends are men who carried a musket in the Confederate army.  Many of you no doubt remember Huntsville and Northern Alabama very well.  We have a beautiful country in the Tennessee Valley and some of you boys used to think we had some beautiful women. And you were right, we have!

. . . the boys in gray are now my best friends and they told me to tell you, old Yanks, to come and see them and you would be received with open arms, as comrades. I can assure you that the old fighting men of the South have solid respect for the fighting men of the North.”

As the years passed, there were fewer and fewer old soldiers remaining.  James Speakman died in 1895 and is buried in Ohio.  Andrew Martin passed in 1903 and is resting in Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville. 

Eventually Sam Sweinhart was the last Billy Yank in Huntsville, and the Grand Army of the Republic ceased to exist in Madison county. 

But Sam was not alone among Civil War veterans. His “Johnny” friends soon adopted him.  He was invited to become an honorary member of the Egbert C Jones camp of the United Confederate Veterans in Huntsville.  He attended all of their meetings. That organization too, continued to shrink as its aging members passed on.

His obituary in the Huntsville Times explained: 

“Sweinhart was the only man in this section of the country who had the distinction of belonging to the United Confederate Veterans and the Grand Army of the Republic at the same time. He is one of the few veterans of the Civil War who have achieved close comradeship with soldiers of both sides without ever being censored by the other.”

In February 1928, Samuel Sweinhart posed as part of the last known group photo of the Jones UCV camp. (Seated, second from Left) 

The association with the UCV continued until 1929, even as Sam’s and Alida’s health continued to decline.  The flu was always a danger, especially for older folks.  Sam and Alida both contracted “flu-pneumonia” in early January 1929.  At the age of 84 Sam died and his spirit ‘Passed over the river to rest in the shade of the trees.”  His beloved “woman of the Southland” Alida, died less than 48 hours later. 

January 13, 1929 saw a rare double funeral at Maple Hill cemetery. Sam and Alida were laid to rest on that day. But unless you knew the people there, you would not have known the most remarkable aspect of this ceremony.

The surviving members of the Huntsville UCV served as pallbearers for this old “Billy Yank” and his wife.  Sam’s “Johnny” friends paid one last tribute to their old soldier friend.

Grave stone of Alida and Samuel Sweinhart at Maple Hill Cemetery

The Huntsville Times reported:

“In his passing Madison County has lost its last surviving veteran of the Federal Army and one of its oldest and highly respected citizens. - a man who fought the South in those historic days of ’64 but who had come to love and revere this section during the past 58 years so that he had often wished he had been born beneath the Dixie skies.”

Author’s Note - The Huntsville times was incorrect in naming Sweinhart the last Union Veteran of Madison county.  At least one other man holds that distinction.  He was, however, that last Grand Army of the Republic member in Madison County.  

The legacy of GAR and Billy Yank and the UCV and Johnny Reb are still carried on to this day in Huntsville by Camp #53 of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and by the Egbert C Jones Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Sources:

Civil War Pension Applications of Samuel Sweinhart. National Archives, Washington DC. 1867, 1912. 

Comments by Samuel Sweinhart, Reunion Book of the Ninth Annual Reunion of the 9th Indiana Infantry, Rensselaer, Indiana. Aug 30-31 1895. Pages 13 and 22. 

Another Old Ex-Soldier Passes On To Join His Comrades Across the River. Huntsville Times, Huntsville AL, January 11, 1929. 

Confederate Veterans to Carry Union Hero and His Wife To Grave. Huntsville Times, Huntsville AL, January 12, 1929.

Soldiers’ Home Notes (Announcement of death of James Speakman). Dayton Herald, Dayton OH. September 28, 1895

Writing Contest for Young Historians

The Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table is holding a writing contest for young historians.  The TVCWRT is based in Huntsville, Alabama, but entry is open to kids in the Tennessee Valley which encompasses most of North Alabama and Southern Tennessee.  (see rules below.)

There are three age categories from first to twelfth grade.  If you know a budding historian who is interested in American Civil War history, please pass this on to them. 

This contest is being held as part of the TVCWRT's Sesquicentennial celebration and a prelude to our November Civil War Symposium.    

 

 

Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table 2013 Writing Contest

Contest Rules

 

 

Topic:  Why Is Learning about the American Civil War Important to America and Americans?

Qualified Entries:  To be qualified for the Contest, an entry must answer the question in 200 words or less:  Why is learning about the American Civil War important to America and Americans? (hereinafter referred to as “the Contest”).

Eligibility:  The Contest is open to all (and only) students in grades 1-12 enrolled as of the time of the Contest in public, private and parochial elementary, middle, and high schools, and respective home-schooled youth, in the 2013-2014 school year in the Tennessee Valley area.  No purchase necessary. 

Entry Categories:  There are three entry categories:  elementary school students (grades 1-6), middle school students (grades 7-9), and high school students (grades 10-12).

Entry Period:  The Contest begins at 12:00 a.m. Central Time on August 15, 2013, and entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. Central Time on September 30, 2013.

How to Enter:  Submit your entry via email to tnvalleycivilwarrt@gmail.com. 

Your entry may be included in the body of your email or as an attached MicroSoft Word (and only M/S Word) document. 

If you prefer, your parent or guardian may email your entry for you. 

Include the following information in your email:          

Full name and telephone number of student.

Name of school and grade level (e.g., third grade, ninth grade, etc.)

Questions may be submitted via email to the same address, or you may call 256-541-2483 (if no answer, please leave a message).

Only one (1) entry per person.  Any attempts to submit more than one (1) entry by using multiple/different email addresses, identities, registrations and logins, or any other methods, may result in disqualification of that student’s entries. 

Entries exceeding maximum word limit will not be judged.

There is no fee to submit an entry. 

By submitting an entry to the Contest, each entrant agrees to comply with and be bound by these Official Rules, and acknowledges that the decisions of the TVCWRT shall be final and binding in all matters relating to the Contest.

There will be a limit of fifty (50) entries per student category, on a first-come basis.  Entries received in excess of that limitation in each student category will be retained by the TVCWRT, but not judged.

 

Winner Selections: 

Judging will commence at the time the Contest begins and continue until all entries submitted prior to the Contest end time have been reviewed.

All valid entries will be screened by one or more persons appointed by the TVCWRT Board of Directors in its sole discretion.  The screening panel will submit its findings and recommendations to the Board.  The Board will select the winner in each of the three student categories, subject to the following limitation

 There must be a minimum of three entries in a student category (elementary, middle, and high school) for judging and determination of a winner in that category.  Any category in which a minimum of three entries is not received will not be judged and no winner will be determined.  In this case, the TVCWRT will recognize each entrant in that category at the awards announcement on November 2.

The Board of Directors will select one Contest Winner in each of the three student categories, based on the following criteria, weighted equally: (a) originality, (b) creativity, (c) quality of expression, and (d) usefulness in understanding why the study of the ACW is important to America and Americans today.

The Contest Winner in each category will be notified via email no later than Saturday, October 26, 2013. [This is one week before the symposium.]

 

PRIZE:  The Contest Winner in each category will –

Be introduced and allowed to publicly read his/her winning entry at the TVCWRT Civil War Symposium currently scheduled to be held November 2, 2013, at the main library facility of the Huntsville/Madison County Public Library in Huntsville, Alabama.  If for some reason the Symposium is not held on that date or at that location, the TVCWRT will notify each Contest Winner of alternate arrangements,

Receive a TVCWRT Symposium tee shirt.

Receive a complimentary family membership to the TVCWRT for one year (2014).

 

GRANT OF RIGHTS:    All entries become the property of TVCWRT.

By submitting an entry, the entrant grants to the TVCWRT (a) the right to edit the entry for grammar and spelling; and (b) a non-exclusive, assignable, perpetual, license to produce, publish, distribute, transmit, exhibit, exploit, and license the entry and any portions thereof in any format (collectively "distribute" or "distribution," as applicable) by any and all means, uses and media, whether audio, print, audiovisual or otherwise, now or hereafter known, in all languages.

Entrant further agrees that TVCWRT shall have the first right to distribute the entry unless TVCWRT waives that right, in writing; provided that, TVCWRT’s first right to distribute shall automatically expire on September 30, 2014.

Entrant retains the copyright and all other rights in the work.

 

 

 

Sensible Rebel Advice

A common misconception among most Americans is that the American Civil War ended on April 9th 1865 with the surrender of the Gen Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia.  That is simply not the case.  Lee only surrendered the army that he directly commanded.  Two other major Confederate armies were still operating, The Army of Tennessee , commanded by Gen Joseph E. Johnston, surrender on April 26, 1865.  The Army of the Trans-Mississippi, commanded by Gen E. Kirby-Smith, gave up six weeks after Appomattox Courthouse on May 26, 1865.  Besides these three major armies, smaller scattered commands surrendered at various times between late April and June of 1865. 

The last significant force of Confederate troops surrendered to Federal troops at Jacksonport, Arkansas on June 8th, 1865.  This force was styled "The Army of Northern Arkansas."  It was an "army" in name only.  These men had not functioned as a fighting force for months, and many came out of hiding just to be paroled and seek some protection under the law for the bushwhacking and banditry they had committed against the citizens of the state of Arkansas. 

Their commander, Gen Jeff Thompson had little regard for the majority of these men.  His farewell address must be one of the most scathing "good bye's" ever delivered by a commanding officer.  This is an account of the surrender and Thompson's address that was published in a St. Louis newspaper.

 


CS Gen Jeff Thompson

 SENSIBLE REBEL ADVICE.; Address of the Rebel Gen. Jeff. Thompson to his Men at the time they were Paroled.

From the St. Louis Republican, June 16.

A gentleman who left Jacksonport, Ark., on the 8th inst., arrived in this city yesterday, and furnished us with some of the particulars of the paroling of JEFF. THOMPSON'S army.

Col. DAVIS paroled at Wittsburgh and at Jacksonport, over seven thousand officers and enlisted men, the officers numbering about six hundred. There still remained, at Helena and Mound City, (opposite Memphis,) a few hundred more, who were to be paroled by Col. DAVIS on his return. That would swell the total number to near eight thousand.

Colonel REEVES, who is understood to be the rebel officer who shot Major WILLIAMS and five of his soldiers, last fall, in Missouri, and for which act Major WOLF was condemned to be shot, and held so long in Gratlot Prison, has been trying hard to have his parole accepted. He kept himself out in the county some miles, but had sent a number of persons to Colonel DAVIS, and had written two letters pleading his case. Colonel DAVIS' reply to him was that his request could not be granted, as he did not consider him entitled to such leniency.

JEFF. THOMPSON's address to his army, at Jacksonport, was in the following words:

FELLOW-CITIZENS, who have been my fellow-soldiers: It is proper that we should embrace this opportunity to have one more family talk before we are scattered to our several homes, most probably not to meet again on earth, and most certainly not to meet as we have heretofore met; and possibly you may not be allowed to meet again in such numbers as would make you dangerous; therefore, I have called you together that I may advise you as to your status and proper course to pursue for the future. It is useless now to criminate or recriminate, but the fact is evident that as an independent nation we are badly whipped, and the fault and blame rests upon ourselves; for had we been more obedient and industrious, we would have succeeded. Officers and soldiers have put their private judgment against the laws of the land and the orders of their superior officers, and have deserted their flag or neglected to return to their post when furloughed; and many farmers have neglected or refused to raise grain, because their patriotism did not equal their love for money; and between these two classes our armies have been reduced and the country impoverished, until the brave, faithful officers and soldiers, who have remained at their posts, have been overpowered by superior numbers, and forced to surrender. The noble armies of Gen. LEE, Gen. JOE JOHNSTON and Gen. DICK TAYLOR, comprising all the Confederate States troops east of the Mississippi River, were surrendered before I accepted the terms offered me for you, and I but complied with the military necessity when I agreed to surrender. You have now assembled to be paroled, and in conformity with my agreement and order, and I hope you are complying with the spirit of my order, and are acting in good faith, for unless you are doing so the object we are so desirous to attain will be missed, and instead of peace and quiet we will still have petty feuds, murders, house-burnings and troubles that will be worse than open war. Let each man determine, when he leaves this place, that he will go to his home, there to remain, and work night and day to repair the damage that has been done by the war, and never go off his farm except to go to the mill; and, if there are private quarrels between himself and neighbors, he had better pack up and hunt another neighborhood; and if not willing to submit to the laws of the United States he had better leave the country. You must remember that you now have no rights, and can only claim such as may be given to you by the conquerors, and the less you say about politics, until you have become naturalized, the better for you. The Yankees have won the negro, and we must let them dispose of him as they please. When your opinion or advice is asked you can quietly give it, but do not volunteer either. We have fought four long and bloody years for our rights and have lost, and now we cannot get them by simply talking what we have failed to win with our arms; and the matter was talked over forty years before the fighting began. All who cannot or will not be submissive should leave the United States as soon as possible, and I presume that many young men will go. I am sure there will be no hindrance, for the government should be glad to set rid of all who are not disposed to be peaceable. To the Missourians who are present, I would speak plainly, and advice them not to think of returning to Missouri unless they have a clean record. There are many who have been fair, honest and chivalrous soldiers, who can have no charges against them, except the one of being true to the South; there are many others who have forgotten the laws of God, the laws of man, and the laws of war, and they, of course, cannot expect to live in Missouri in peace. Then there are others who, though they have been honest soldiers, had determined in their hearts to have private revenge at the end of the war, had we succeeded, and some who have said that the Union men must leave if they won. Each of you know to which of these classes you belong, and you must "do as you would be done by," and act accordingly.

Monument to Confederate Troops at Jacksonport State Park, Arkansas

 

Thompson moved to New Orleans after the Civil War.  He was a civil engineer in civilian life and designed a program for draining and improving the Louisiana swamps.   The work eventually destroyed his health.  He returned to his home town of St. Joseph, Missouri in 1876.  He succumbed there to tuberculosis and is buried in Mount Mora Cemetery in St. Joseph, Missouri.