GOPHER RECORDS

If you need records, we will gopher you.

A Kearny Medal Mystery

Capt. Solomon T. Lyon of the 5th Michigan Infantry has been described as a recipient of the Kearny Medal and there is a photo that seems to prove it.  The trouble is that, not only was Capt. Lyon not on the official list of recipients, but he apparently didn’t qualify to receive the medal.  So

A Pension for Annie Etheridge

Annie Etheridge is one of at least four women who are known to have received the Kearny Cross.  And, although she never actually enlisted in the army (serving as a volunteer field nurse or “vivandiere”), she is frequently described as one of the very few female private citizens who received a pension for her service to the

Iowa at Gettysburg

In “The Battle of Gettysburg Discussion Group” on Facebook, Jessie Weedleton pointed to an article in the The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which said that a memorial to Civil War soldiers in the city cemetery in Lisbon, Iowa included a large boulder that had been moved from the battlefield at Gettysburg.  According to the article, “The

On the trail of the Kearny Cross and Charlotte E. McKay

As some of you know, I’m writing a book about the Kearny Cross: a medal which was awarded by Union General David B. Birney (and named in memory of his predecessor) to members of the First Division, Third Corps, Army of the Potomac. There were two versions of the medal: the “Kearny Medal of Honor”

Veterans who attended the 1938 Reunion at Gettysburg (long)

The list of veterans who attended the 1938 reunion at Gettysburg is well-documented … in theory. The official report of the Pennsylvania Commission1 includes a list of those veterans who attended but there are several problems with that list. First, the book is hard to find and therefore not readily accessible to most researchers. Second,

Gettysburg tablets of the cast iron variety

Did you know that, despite what MapQuest says, the road that runs along the northern edge of the Pennsylvania State Memorial is NOT Pleasanton Avenue? Did you know that part of Wheatfield Road is labelled by the National Park Service as “McGilvery Artillery Avenue?” And did you know that the NPS doesn’t officially recognize a

Attendance Figures for 1913 and 1938 Gettysburg Reunions

For those who may be interested, these are the attendance figures for the 1913 (50th) and 1938 (75th) veterans reunions at Gettysburg as published in the official reports of the Pennsylvania Commission: Attendance at Gettysburg Reunions 1913 1938 (50th Anniversary) (75th Anniversary) Residence # Union+Conf. # Union+Conf. Alabama 200 (0+200) 26 (6+20) Arizona 10 (7+3)

Roster of Veterans at the 1913 Gettysburg Reunion

The 1913 Gettysburg reunion was the largest meeting of Civil War veterans after the war. Yet genealogists and other researchers have never had access to a list of those who attended. I am very pleased to report that I have discovered what I believe are the original, unpublished registers that were signed by the veterans

North Dakota at Gettysburg?

This photo is of a badge that was worn by a veteran from North Dakota at the 1913 (50th) reunion at Gettysburg. Of more than 53,000 veterans in attendance, only 165 were from North Dakota. This is one of only two such badges that are known to still exist.  It is in our collection at

Surgeons at Gettysburg

I’ve been researching the surgeons at Gettysburg field hospitals for inclusion in Pocket Gettysburg.  One of the best sources is “A Vast Sea of Misery” by Gregory A. Coco (Gettsyburg: Thomas Publications, 1988).  As always when I add a new source to Pocket Gettysburg, I try to reconcile that new data with the my previous sources,