Tombstone Tuesday ~ Joseph Wortick

Joseph Wortick was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Siege of Vicksburg on May 22, 1863. 

Leon Cemetery, Butler Co., KS

Wikipedia (Information)
Geni.com (Photograph)
Online information with multiple surname spellings

I missed my birthday

Not really, I remembered, but I didn't celebrate or blog about it.

I've been busy with my photography business and I've taken a little break from blogging. That hasn't stopped me from taking cemetery walks though. 

Long car rides are not how I like to spend my time. So, when visiting my son we drive halfway. In early August we made the trip to welcome him home from his second deployment in Afghanistan. Coming home we stopped in Springfield, MO and I visited 3 cemeteries: Hazelwood, Springfield National and Temple Israel. 

I checked my list of walks and the count is 348 cemeteries in which I have taken photos. The big question I must answer by the end of my new flickr year is do I keep paying to have them online? What will happen to them when I step into eternity? I don't have time (or the desire - don't ask) to put them on Find-A-Grave. I've considered contacting and donating to Ancestry.com (would they even want them?). Do you have any suggestions? I'd love to hear from you.

Springfield National Cemetery

P.S. It's my 5th blog birthday

Cemetery vandalized

Last week Eastside Cemetery was vandalized. I took it personally. I have been working on recording and preserving the records and lives of those resting at Eastside since 2006. 67 headstones were toppled with some of them breaking.

Here is a photo of a section of Civil War veterans that had their stones broken. After Memorial Day I will do a thorough walk through with the sexton and record the damage. Thankfully I had already photographed most of the 21 broken stones.

Saw Lee surrender

He saw Lee surrender

One Hutchinson Veteran Found Who Was It At Finish

One Hutchinson veteran has been found who was at Appomattox when Gen. Lee’s army surrendered to Grant. George W. Lester was there, and was close enough to see Lee hand over his sword to Grant.

Mr. Lester was in a Pennsylvania cavalry regiment, which happened to be stationed not far away, when the historical incident occurred. He secured a piece of the wood of the famous apple tree under which the surrender took place.

Hutchinson News

April 14, 1910

Lot 374

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• Factual reporting?
• The surrender took place where?
• What did he see? If anything?
• Was he there?
• George’s headstone shows his service as Co A, 3 NJ CAV
• George’s obituary lists 3 Cav and 25 Cav, both Co A
• Ancestry.com records list 3 Cav Co A and 25 Cav Co I
• Where is the wood today?

An urge for momentos now possessed the men of both armies. The unfortunate Wilmer McLean was besieged by Yankee officers who made off with many items from the surrender room. A few tried to assuage their consciences by forcing a payment upon the reluctant host, but the fact is that nothing was taken with his willing permission. The apple tree where Lee had rested while he waited to hear from Grant also paid for its notoriety. "Our men wanted pieces of wood from the tree under which General Lee sat," a Pennsylvania soldier explained. "They began breaking twigs and then everyone wanted a piece of the tree for a souvenir. Before they finished they had cut down five large trees."

 http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/civil_war_series/6/sec6.htm

 …and in certain areas of popular imagination it may prove far more difficult to dislodge or qualify than the story that Grant and Lee signed the surrender papers under an apple tree, a legend that arose after Lee spent time waiting for Grant on April 9 in an apple orchard.

http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Surrender_at_Appomattox

 New Jersey Cavalry - 3rd Regt

Organized at Camp Bayard, Trenton, N.J., and mustered in by Companies as follows: Company "A" January 26, Company "C" January 22, Company "E" January 4, Company "F" January 12, Companies "G" and "H" January 6, 1864; Company "D" December 2, 1863; Company "B" January 29, and Companies "I," "K," "L" and "M" March 24, 1864. March to Annapolis, Md., April 5-7, 1864. Guard Orange & Alexandria Railroad April 29-May 5. Attached to Cavalry, 9th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to May, 1864. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac and Middle Military Division, to June, 1865. Defenses of Washington, D.C., to August, 1865.

SERVICE.--Campaign from the Rapidan to the James May 3-June 12, 1864. Wilderness May 5-7. Near Germanin Ford May 5. Picket on the Rapidan May 6. Guard pontoons May 7. Expedition to Fredericksburg May 8-9. Spotsylvania May 9-12. Spotsylvania Court House May 12-21. United States Ford May 19. North Anna River May 23-26. On line of the Pamunkey May 26-28. Totopotomoy May 28-31. Mechump's Creek May 31. Ashland Station June 1. Cold Harbor June 1-12. Totopotomoy, Gaines' Mill, Salem Church and Hawes' Shop June 2. Hawes' Shop June 3. Bethesda Church June 11. White Oak Swamp June 13. Smith's Store, near St. Mary's Church, June 15. Weldon Railroad June 20. Jerusalem Plank Road June 22-23. Milford Station June 27. Picket duty at City Point until July 16. Duty at Light House Point July 16-25. Before Petersburg July 25. Mine Explosion, Petersburg, July 30 (Cos. "A" and "E"). Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign August 7-November 28. Winchester August 17. Summit Point August 21. Middleway August 21. Near Kearneysville August 25. Abraham's Creek, near Winchester, September 13. Battle of Winchester September 19. Near Cedarville September 20. Front Royal September 21. Milford September 22. Waynesboro September 29. Bridgewater October 2. Tom's Brook ("Woodstock Races") October 8-9. Picket at Cedar Creek until October 13. Cedar Creek October 13. Battle of Cedar Creek October 19. Newtown (or Middletown) November 12. Rude's Hill, near Mr. Jackson, November 22. Expedition from Kernstown to Lacey's Springs December 19-22. Lacey's Springs December 21. Sheridan's Raid from Winchester February 27-March 24, 1865. Occupation of Staunton March 2. Action at Waynesboro March 2. Occupation of Charlottesville March 3. Near Ashland March 15. Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9. Dinwiddie Court House March 30-31. Five Forks April 1. Fall of Petersburg April 2. Namozine Church April 3. Sailor's Creek April 6. Appomattox Station April 8. Appomattox Court House April 9. Surrender of Lee and his army. Expedition to Danville and South Boston April 23-27. March to Washington. D.C., May. Grand Review May 23. Mustered out at Washington, D, C., August l, 1865.

http://www.civilwararchive.com/Unreghst/unnjcav.htm

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Hutchinson News
1/14/1918

Hutchinson News
1/15/1918

The obituary calls him an old settler. He was in Reno County as early as the 1880 Federal Census.

1880 Reno Co., KS Federal Census

Sleeping Heroes

I am excited about this research program the state of Kansas has planned for school children in 3rd through 8th grade over the next few years.

I am developing a program to assist teachers in my county.

GAR section at Eastside Cemetery

Kansas State Historical Society Press Release - January 25, 2012

Students Research Local Civil War Veterans 

Through Sleeping Heroes Project

TOPEKA, KS— Attorney General Derek Schmidt will launch “Sleeping Heroes,” a Civil War veteran documentation project for students grade three through eight at 3 p.m. Friday, January 27, at Memorial Hall, 120 SW 10th Avenue, Topeka. The public is invited to attend. The Sleeping Heroes website can be found at kshs.org/17356.

Sleeping Heroes is a collaboration between the Kansas Historical Society, Kansas State Department of Education, Freedom’s Frontier, and researchers John Jackson and Don Lambert to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, 2011 – 2015. This project encourages students to research Civil War veterans in their community’s cemeteries through the use of primary sources. Students share what they learn through an online database. The project was conceived in 2006 by students at Glasco Grade School.

Kansas’ connection to the Civil War is unique. Kansas Territory witnessed bloodshed over the expansion of slavery—some claim the Civil War actually started in Kansas.  After the war, Kansas earned the nickname, “the soldier state” because so many Civil War veterans settled here.

From the Kansas State Historical Society web site:

http://www.kshs.org/p/sleeping-heroes-the-impact-of-civil-war-veterans-on-kansas-communities/17356

In recognition of the 150 anniversary of the Civil War, 2011 – 2015, the Kansas Historical Society, along with its partners, is encouraging Kansas teachers to have their students research Civil War veterans in their community. Kansas’ connection to the Civil War is unique. Kansas Territory witnessed bloodshed over the expansion of slavery—some claim the Civil War actually started in Kansas. After the war, Kansas earned the nickname, “the soldier state,” because so many Civil War veterans settled here.

With this project, students will help document information about the contributions made by Civil War veterans in Kansas through the online database. The project also provides students an opportunity to see the practical applications of conducting historical research using primary sources.

Benefit to Students and Community

The Sleeping Heroes project is a great way to engage your students in doing history—not just reading about it.  The Kansas State Department of Education supports this project. The project meets many state history standards in grades three, four, seven, and eight. The project also provides students an opportunity to see the practical applications of conducting historical research using primary sources.

We are encouraging all Kansas schools to get involved, to research Civil War veterans in their communities, and submit their findings to the Historical Society’s Sleeping Heroes database. Researcher John Jackson of Chanute created the original database and made thousands of entries, most from southeast Kansas cemeteries. The database contains entries for Union and Confederate soldiers. Our goal is to add to this database through work done by Kansas students.

Another important aspect of the project is for students to use their research to answer the question “What impact did Civil War veterans have on my community?” This project is an exceptional opportunity to create a special writing project since student’s work is not just for a class grade but has real-world application.  See suggested performance assessments and projects undertaken by Glasco students for more ideas.