GETTYSBURG: IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ANCESTORS
by Jo Clark
I feel driven to trace the footsteps of my great-great Grandfathers. It is as much a journey of love as a lesson in history. Both men served in the 38th Virginia Infantry during the “War of Northern Aggression.” Neither man ever owned a slave. They fought because that is what Virginians did—like Robert E. Lee, they fought to defend their home state. Both men fought in Gettysburg, where one was captured, and a mini ball felled the other. I wanted to walk where they walked. Touch the wall where one died. See the last sights they saw.
ON BIG BLEND RADIO: Travel writer Jo Clark discusses her roots travel experience in Gettysburg. Watch here in the YouTube player or download the podcast on Podbean.
Family Tree
I started this journey as a teenager, asking questions of my parents and starting a hand-drawn family tree. But life and making a living got in the way, as it often does. Then in 2007, Ancestry.com had a free weekend…and…I was hooked! I love researching and learning about these ancestors I never met. I felt the blood of these proud, stubborn, brave men surging through my veins as I planned my trip to that battlefield in Pennsylvania. I planned to follow in their footsteps—riding up the farm lanes and across the fields where they marched, camped, and ultimately fell.
My journey into the past collided squarely with my genealogy. My family tree goes directly to six Civil War soldiers; four died during the war, two from wounds, and two from Rubeola (also called red or 10-day measles). Sadly, more men died of disease than from enemy bullets during the war. Fortunately for me, most left behind offspring who grew to adulthood and became my ancestors. I often think of those children who waved goodbye to fathers they would never see again.
I know more about my paternal great-great Grandfather, John Branch Gregory, because of his letters to his wife, Martha, and their children during the two years before Gettysburg. Those letters are precious and paint the portrait of a man who did his duty for Virginia but longed to return home; longed to see his family.
As his initial one-year enlistment was nearing an end, the CSA enacted a law that held or conscripted men between 18 and 35 (those born between 1827-1844) for a three-year term of service. This April 16, 1862, law meant an additional two years for John, Isaac, and the rest. I read his pain as he faced the sinking realization that he might never see home again.
Passages from John Branch Gregory’s Letters Home
“We passed where many thousands have passed. We hope we will do more good than if we had stayed at home. We must not grieve nor take anything crazy and far. I hope we will all come home after a while.”
John B. Gregory, August 9, 1861
To his eight-year-old son: “My feelings is so hurt I can’t half write. This conscript law holds me here two years longer. I don’t think I can stand it I want to see you all so bad. I can tell the truth I hope you will do well if I never see you.”
John B. Gregory, May 1, 1862
“I often think of the happy days I have seen in Pittsylvania Co with you all. I hope the time will soon come when I can reach that happy place once more.”
John B. Gregory, May 14, 1862
“I don’t feel like writing. You don’t know the trouble that rests in my bosom, can’t rest night nor day.”
John B. Gregory, February 1863
“I think, Martha, you don’t know how bad I want to see you and all the rest. I would give all I have got and fifty dollars more to be with you all.
John B. Gregory, March 5, 1863
The 38th Virginia Infantry
The 38th was formed in the southern counties of Pittsylvania, Halifax, and Mecklenburg during May and June of 1861. The 38th assumed the nickname “Pittsylvania Regiment” because seven of the ten companies were recruited in Pittsylvania County. Company B proudly wore the name of Pittsylvania Vindicators. Throughout the war, about 1,600 men served in the 38th, with approximately 400 available at any one time.
Less than a year earlier, census takers unknowingly recorded a list of the men who would go to war for posterity. An in-depth study by Civil War author Robert Lee Snow states, “Seven Virginia counties and six North Carolina counties bordering the recruitment area of Pittsylvania, Halifax, and Mecklenburg would contribute men to the 38th Virginia. The 38th Virginia Infantry was in the fields of battle from April 1862 in Yorktown to April 9, 1865, in Appomattox. The largest losses the 38th suffered were at the Battles of Seven Pines, Malvern Hill, Gettysburg, Chester Station, and the 2nd Battle of Drewry’s Bluff.”
Ninety men of the 38th, including Chris Gregory (John’s brother), remained to follow Lee to Appomattox at war’s end. And remarkably, over 100 men, including two of Snow’s relatives, died of disease before the unit saw action in their first major battle in Williamsburg on May 5, 1862.
Local men, mostly farmers with families, enlisted, got their affairs in order, and left their homes in defense of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Company B was known as The Vindicators. Most men came from four towns: Callands, Chatham, Museville, and Swansonville (generally, the midwest section of Pittsylvania County.)
Branches of the Same Tree
Gregory
The first Gregory to enlist was great-great Grandfather’s brother, Richard P. “Dick” Gregory, who joined the 38th, Company B on June 4, 1861, in Callands, Virginia. He was unmarried, so his decision to join the fight was probably more easily made.
When researchers look at the regiments and companies men were in, they often say that a man wouldn’t have been in a particular company. There were ten companies per regiment. The 38th was unique, with seven of the ten companies recruited in Pittsylvania County. That is where family lineage fills in the gaps.
A Family Affair
When Dick’s brothers joined the war effort a week later, they traveled to Winchester, Virginia, to enlist in the same unit. They may have enlisted along with Dick but were given time to return home to prepare their wives and children for departure.
Arriving to enlist in Winchester on July 10, 1861, were Dick’s married brothers (great-great Grandfather) John Branch, Nathan Lowry, and unwed 24-year-old Christopher “Chris.”
Chris joined as the color corporal; he was wounded in the charge on Malvern Hill. He recovered and was wounded three times while carrying the colors during Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg. Chris was also trained as a blacksmith and was still with his unit on April 8, 1865, when the Regiment camped in the New Hope Baptist Church churchyard in Vera, Virginia. The next day General Lee surrendered. Seven years later, Chris would marry a relative of J.E.B. Stuart.
Brother Doctor “Doc” also enlisted in 1861 but was in the 18th Virginia Infantry, Co. A (Garnett’s Brigade). At the battle of Fredericksburg, a bomb exploded near his left side, destroying his left eardrum. Later he was wounded in the foot. He was in Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg.
As he turned 16, their younger brother, Thomas “Tobe,” enlisted. On November 18, 1864, he joined Company I of the Virginia 52nd Infantry Regiment. He served less than a year until the war ended.
I can only imagine great-great-great Grandmother Elizabeth’s broken heart as first one son, then three more, marched away. Then, as the war continued and younger children came of age, they enlisted. Of the eight Gregory sons, seven went off to war. Only three returned. The eighth son, Henry Clay, was only 15 when the surrender was signed, so her baby was the only son who never enlisted.
Grant
Like my Gregory ancestors, my 30-year-old great-great Grandfather Isaac Grant enlisted in Callands on March 10, 1862. He joined the unit in which his brother Peter already served. Peter, at 44, had joined the 38th as a Corporal when the company formed in June 1861. He had another brother in the 10th Calvary. Perhaps he was swayed to choose the 38th because so many men were from Pittsylvania County.
Isaac had rotten luck—plain and simple. He was admitted to the hospital in Farmville for rheumatism in January 1863. He returned to duty in mid-May, just in time to march to Gettysburg…where he was captured. He was kept a prisoner of war for nearly a year and admitted to Pt. Lookout’s smallpox hospital in December of 1863. He returned to the prison and was in a prisoner exchange in late April 1864—in time to return to his unit to fight at Drewry’s Bluff—and be hit in the arm three weeks later. Just two days later, he died of the wound.
The High Water Mark
By the end of June 1863, the 38th was double-timing the road to Gettysburg. Beginning their northward march from Berryville at 3 a.m. on June 24 with three days of rations, the men were in Bunker Hill at 4:30 p.m. The next three days saw more of the same movement, bringing the 38th to a site just two miles north of Chambersburg on the York Road. To remain secreted, the men marched through fields, avoiding public roads.
On July 1, the first segments of the Confederate army engaged Union forces at Gettysburg. The 38th had three drills that day. July 2, they moved through Chambersburg toward Gettysburg. They settled for the night in the woods near Marsh Creek, about three miles west of Gettysburg. On July 3, the 38th was given orders to advance with Pickett’s division. They moved about five miles on farm roads and were in position after daybreak. The brow of a ridge and the tree line provided concealment for the men during a morning shower. By mid-day, the 38th took a position in the shade of Spangler’s Woods.
Living, Breathing History
Gettysburg is indeed a “living” history museum. According to photographs taken right after the battle, houses, barns, and even fences have been meticulously restored. You can arrange tours for walking, driving, riding (horses or bikes), and even in carriages.
Riding the road that the Confederates took and not seeing tourists or even cars passing by on the highway gave me a genuine appreciation for the strategy used for the troop movement. General Lee’s plan for the day was an assault on the center of the Union’s line, at a “copse of trees” easily seen on Cemetery Ridge. Pickett’s division, which included the 38th, was the freshest on the field, so those men spearheaded the assault.
Brigades lined up shoulder-to-shoulder, two ranks deep underneath the hill. The tree line at Henry Spangler’s Farm severely limited visibility and the men were placed here by design, out of sight. General Pickett took this farm for his headquarters. Codori’s red barn north of the tall ridge has three spires that pierce the sky. Another ridge between those two ridges (guides call it “No Name Ridge”), protected the men as they moved diagonally across the field. Kemper’s men crossed Emmitsburg Road to the right of the Codori’s barn and Garnett and Armistead to the left.
A stone wall with an angle bisects the field at the copse of trees, with an angle where the two fields divide. That angle formed a virtual arrow pointing the men of my great-great Grandfathers’ company to the enemy’s centerline. I’m sure Pickett’s cry, “Up men, and to your posts! Don’t forget today that you are from Old Virginia!” was ringing in their ears, all but drowning out the sound of cannon fire.
What We Know
Later, a neighbor of the Gregory family wrote home saying, “I saw John fall, struck in the forehead with a mini ball crossing the stone wall.” I wanted to see that place, touch the rocks of that wall, and understand the grit and determination of these men. So, my tours with Confederate Trails of Gettysburg led me to the places my ancestors walked, where they camped, and where they fell.
Tour leaders Andie, Jim, and Ken knew the fields, the trails, and the stories of the area and days of battle. These experts shared the stories of the days leading up to the battle and the following days. The leaders knew my story and why I was there, so they wove the facts into our ride, helping me relive that day. The group riding with me learned more about the 38th than they expected! But then, adding passion by putting a living, breathing face to the story is what great history teachers do! And Andie Custer Donahue is a great teacher (yes, that Custer, but that’s another story!)
I don’t know where Isaac was captured, but it was on this battlefield. The Grants either didn’t write home, or that side of the family is not where I inherited my pack-rat tendencies! I know most of those captured had crossed the stone wall and engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat. After ammunition was exhausted, they used bayonets, rifle butts, and fists. Later, when a Massachusetts soldier spoke of the 38th, he said, “Valor could do no more.”
The Beginning of the End
The 38th’s charge which started with about 484 officers and men, saw nearly 40 percent casualties by day’s end. The Virginians who survived and evaded capture streamed back across Emmitsburg Road. Pickett had a vantage point from Codori’s farm and witnessed the devastation of his division. General Lee addressed the returning Pickett, warning him to prepare his division for a possible Union counterattack; Pickett tearfully responded, “General Lee, I have no division now!”
On July 4, at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, a 17-mile-long wagon train of wounded and retreating men started down the Chambersburg Pike for Virginia…without either of my Great-great Grandfathers.
Sacred Ground
Today the Gettysburg Battlefield is over 6,000 acres of National Park Service land. It remains the sacred burial place of untold men from both sides. Men were buried where they fell or moved to softer ground. Not just a thing of beauty, farmers stacked those rock walls as they cleared the land for cultivation and grazing. The underlying ground did not offer itself for easy digging.
When the two armies moved out of the area, they left behind more than 7,000 dead, 40 from the 38th, and over 21,000 mortally wounded men. The number of those in the 38th who later died from their wounds accounted for an additional 23 losses. It was summer, and nearly 90 degrees that fateful day, so it fell to the locals to act quickly.
The armies might have buried their dead, but a massive storm front moved in just after the battle on July 3, with rain that came not in drops but sheets and lasted for days. It unearthed the shallow graves that had been hastily dug, so eventually, the armies marched away. Wounded left lying near stream beds couldn’t move, and many drowned.
There were only 1,800-2,000 residents of Gettysburg in July 1863, but the job of undertaker fell to these few. As a result, many men were buried in unmarked graves. Farmers tried to keep records of who was buried on their land and where the graves were. They went through pockets and recorded any information found, along with physical descriptions. The carcasses of more than 5,000 mules and horses were also left behind. Residents said that the stench lingered for weeks.
National Cemetery
The bodies of 3,354 Union soldiers were exhumed later that year and reburied in the newly dedicated Soldiers’ National Cemetery. Confederate soldiers were left where they were. The ladies of the South, including the Hollywood Memorial Association, took steps to return the dead to their home states. They worked through Rufus Weaver to remove all Virginian remains, including the unidentified. On June 13, 1872, the first shipment of 708 remains arrived in Richmond for reburial. More remains followed before the year ended, and more were retrieved in 1873. These 2,935 bodies now rest in Hollywood Cemetery’s Gettysburg Hill section, marked by a massive pyramid of James River granite.
After the war, many of the bodies were returned to family members, in large part due to local recordkeeping. Some found information that allowed them to contact families. In Richmond, Virginia, the United Daughters of the Confederacy raised money to bring home others. Great-great Grandfather John B. Gregory was among those moved from the battlefield to Hollywood Cemetery’s mass grave. I like to think he rests among his friends on that shady Virginia hillside.
Many graves were unmarked, and some property owners moved from the area, leaving nothing behind to indicate gravesites. So, some men still rest somewhere on those 6,000 acres. Because of that, the entire park is considered sacred ground.
Sixty-one men of the 38th were captured, many of them seriously wounded. If necessary, they were treated, and the prisoners of war were put on a train from Gettysburg to Fort McHenry. An additional 42 men without injuries were captured and taken on a two-day march to Westminster, Maryland, and put on trains to Baltimore. I know that Isaac Grant went through Ft. McHenry, so perhaps he had wounds I have not yet discovered.
Unsung Heroines of the Battle
I also heard stories about the women of Gettysburg during my tours. We learned about Jennie Wade, the only civilian killed during three days of fighting. She was in the kitchen making bread. And there was Elizabeth Thorn, the pregnant wife of a local cemetery manager, who buried over 100 dead. The corpse of a woman, disguised to enlist with the Confederates, was found near the stone wall. Another masquerading woman lost a leg on Cemetery Ridge.
Each morning at the Battlefield Bed & Breakfast, breakfast is served with a helping of history. Daily speakers educate guests on the history of the area and the everyday life of a Civil War soldier. I was fortunate to hear two different speakers and see a demonstration of how to fire a period musket. Those things are LOUD!
Outside of town, the Inn at White Oak provides seclusion on thirty tranquil acres. Guests are surrounded by gardens and ponds. Wildlife can be seen while walking on the nature trails through woodlands. When you return after a day packed with history, tempting treats will be in the dining room. And breakfast, well, you will want to arrive on time!
From Gettysburg, I traveled to York and on to Ft. McHenry. The Star-Spangled Banner’s birthplace is where great-great Grandfather Grant was held before being transferred to Fort Delaware and his ultimate confinement at Point Lookout. Unfortunately, those two prisons were not in my plan this time, so I see another trip in my future, don’t you!?
Lingering Thoughts
I wonder—did John Branch Gregory march beside Isaac Grant? Did these men ever dream that their grandchildren would meet, fall in love, and marry one day? Could they have imagined that more than 160 years after their deaths, their great-great-granddaughter would have a bone-deep hunger to understand her heritage and travel the same roads to follow in their footsteps and lay her hand on that stone wall?
Both men now rest on Virginia soil. I guess that is what’s known as closure. Ernest Hemingway said it best, “Every man has two deaths, when he is buried in the ground, and the last time someone says his name. In some ways, men can be immortal.”
A version of his remark appeared in Patricia Briggs’ Raven’s Shadow, “Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken? A man’s immortality can be found in his children.” And I would add…in his children’s children’s children.
As long as I live, my great-great Grandfathers will live. Rest easy, soldiers; Gregory and Grant blood still flows through hearts that love Virginia.
When you go:
Places to stay:
- Battlefield Bed & Breakfast (www.gettysburgbattlefield.com)
- The Inn at White Oak Bed & Breakfast (www.innatwhiteoak.com)
Tours to take:
- Confederate Trails of Gettysburg Guided Battlefield Tours (www.confederatetrails.com)
- The Victorian Carriage Company Guided Battlefield Tours (www.confederatetrails.com)
- Reluctant Witness Historic Gettysburg Town Walking Tour (www.confederatetrails.com)
- Gettysburg Heritage Center (watch this short video after you walk the battlefield—it will make so much more sense. Then take the riding tour!)
Sources:
Gregory, G. H. (1988). 38th Virginia Infantry. Lynchburg, Va: H. E. Howard, Inc.
McCabe, J. S. (2022, April 7). HUNDREDS OF CONFEDERATES WERE BURIED IN GETTYSBURG’S FIELDS. THIS MAN’S TASK WAS TO SEND THEM HOME. Retrieved from History Net: https://www.historynet.com/hundreds-of-confederates-were-buried-in-gettysburgs-fields-this-mans-task-was-to-send-them-home/
Snow, R. L. (2019). 38th Virginia Infantry: Finding the Men in the 1860 Census (2nd ed.). Cartersville, GA: Eastern Digital Resources.
Snow, R. L. (2020). 53rd Virginia Infantry: Finding the Men in the 1860 Census. (J. Clark, Ed.) Middleton, DE: Robert Lee Snow.
Jo Clark is a travel writer and photographer based on South Carolina’s Grand Strand. She has a thirst for knowledge, history, great food, and wine! She does her very best to live up to her podcast title and Instagram handle, “Jo Goes Everywhere!” Follow her there and on her Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/HaveGlassWillTravel/. She is the editor of http://www.RecipesTravelCulture.com
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