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Note: Fort Donelson National Battlefield Tour Stop 11 (National Cemetery) Bivouac of the Dead In 1863, after the Battle of Dover, the Union garrison rebuilt its fortifications. Dairy accounts left by soldiers of the 83rd Illinois Regiment, stationed here after the Battle of Fort Donelson, explain how demanding soldiering could be. Besides working on the new fortifications, the garrison protected the Union supply line. Soldiers frequently commented on the constant threat of attacks by guerrilla parties. Sgt. Maj. Thomas J. Baugh wrote in 1863 that the rebels (had) been trying to blockade the river" again. Pvt. Mitchel Thompson, who was often detailed to repair Union telegraph lines, described the area as being filled with "rebel bands of thieves and robbers." Slaves began coming into the Union lines soon after the victory in 1862, seeking shelter, food, and protection. The issue of how to deal with the large influx of slaves who were still considered property by the slave owners and individual state laws presented a problem for both the Union army and the Lincoln administration. In 1862 Grant chose to protect the slaves and put them to work for the army. Eventually freedmen camps were established across Tennessee, and it is estimated that approximately 300 slaves wintered at Fort Donelson in 1862. The army employed men as laborers and teamsters, while women commonly served as cooks and laundresses. In 1863 the Union army also began recruiting free blacks from Tennessee and Kentucky. Soon after the war, this site was selected for the establishment of the Fort Donelson National Cemetery and the remains of 670 Union soldiers were reinterred here. These soldiers had been buried on the battlefield, in local cemeteries, in hospital cemeteries, and in nearby towns. The large number of unknown soldiers-512-can be attributed to haste in cleaning up the battlefield and to the fact that Civil War soldiers did not carry government-issued identification. Today the national cemetery contains both Civil War veterans and veterans who have served the United States since that time. Many spouses and dependent children are also buried here. More About SAMUEL CARROLL: Burial: 1864, Union Army Hospital Cemetery, Fort Donelson, Stewart Co., TN Cause of Death: Pneumonia Census: 1850, Knoxville, Knox Co., IL6 Medical Information: Gray eyes, brown hair Military service: July 25, 1862, Enlisted as a Private, Union Army7 Occupation: Shoemaker Samuel Carroll died on 29 April 1864 at Ft. Donelson, Tennessee, USA, at age 39; died at the army hospital of pneumonia, while serving with the 83rd Illinois Volunteers. Yes you are correct re Samuel Carroll. Since then I have received the attached photos from a cousin. Samuel's daughter (and my gggrandmother) Mary apparently visited Sam at Fort Donelson when she was 8 years old. Nancy Belle had died 10 months earlier and Mary and her brother Isaac were living with Eunice Taylor, Nancy's mother. Mary died at age 27 and I am told that she was prone to fits. Isaac ended up in Colorado, I have attached his obit. I am leaving tomorrow for Tennessee for the birth of my granddaughter. I hope to be able to visit Fort Donelson and take some photos. I am fairly certain that Samuel was buried in the hospital graveyard after his death in April 1864 from pneumonia. He is not listed in the grave index on the Fort Donelson website but since his wife was deceased and his children were young there was no one to claim the body, or, I suspect, no money to transport it back to Illinois. I will send some photos when I return. Regards, Steve Irons 33712 Big Sur Street Dana Point, CA 92629 Ph: 949.248.5677
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Note: (Research):I have thought about this and read all of the biographies of the commanding Generals (Grant's and Sherman's are particularly good). It is hard for us moderns to appreciate that death was a very real part of life in the mid 1800's. Infant mortality was very high as was death of Mothers as a result of childbirth. While researching my family I have a number of ancestors who died during or soon after childbirth. There were also terrible epidemics of typhus, diphtheria, whooping cough, cholera, etc. that killed thousands. So death was very familiar to that generation. The tactics of that war lagged the technology of the day. The rifled musket, the minie ball, the Gatling gun and the Parrot gun were devastating weapons against the Napoleonic tactics that were studied at West Point. What I don't understand is why the Generals did not rethink their tactics after the devastating frontal assaults of Fredericksburg, Pickett's charge at Gettysburg, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, etc. I can only conclude that the egos involved would not allow them to consider other tactics for fear of the ridicule of their peers and superiors. Lee was such an innovator in tactics but still sent Pickett's division against a hardened defensive position with no cover, obstacles like fences in the field, into the teeth of point blank artillery which mowed down rank after rank with grapeshot. I am a particular fan of Sherman's. I believe that he won the Civil War for the Union and saved the United States by taking Atlanta, which resulted in the re-election of Lincoln and his ardent advocacy of his march to the sea which was not initially embraced by Grant or Lincoln. It turned out to be a brilliant maneuver which eviscerated the South's ability to wage war by destroying railroads, factories and stores and which ultimately discouraged the populace of the South. He accomplished this with very little loss of life although he is vilified to this day in the South. Thanks again for the picture of Samuel Carroll. My cousin has the bible that it is framed in with the inscription to my gggrandmother Mary H. Carroll who married Ephraim Irons. Ironically, she died in childbirth in 1881. If you go to findagrave.com you will find the grave of her brother Issac and other Carrolls. Regards Steve Irons Dana Point, CA 800.963.3439 Cell: 949.291.3037
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