A short tribute to some of my family's Civil War Veterans. Contact me for sources and more.
Horatio S. Banks (Pictured 1863) (1844-1873) : CT Cavalry 1st Regiment Company C
Brother of Annabelle Frances Banks, my paternal 2nd great grandmother
Horatio grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut and was the son of Horace and Eleanor (Hill) Banks. He enlisted in the Union Army at age nineteen. In June 1864 he was captured at Reams Station, Virginia. He was held as a prisoner of war in Andersonville Prison in Georgia, a prison of absolute horror where over 13,000 Union soldiers died of starvation and disease. Horatio miraculously survived until his release in April 1865. He made it home to Fairfield by June but suffered from lingering illnesses and trauma. He married Adreana B. Nichols in 1867. They lost their first two children in infancy, but eventually had two boys, Edgar and Isaac. However, Horatio never fully recovered from his time in the war and died in 1873 at the young age of 28.
Charles E. O. Gerlach (1839-1919) : RI Infantry 11th Regiment Company K
My maternal 3rd great grandfather
Charles Ernest Otto Gerlach was born in Eisenach, Germany and immigrated with his parents and siblings in 1853, ultimately settling in Providence, Rhode Island. He volunteered for a year of service in the Union Army long before becoming a citizen. He went on to marry Catherine Muhler in 1864, became a naturalized citizen in 1866, and raised eight children in Providence.
Andersonville Prison, Georgia
Jeremy Goodrich (1835-1864) : CT Infantry 16th Regiment Company C
My maternal 3rd great granduncle
Jeremy Goodrich is a distant relative but his story was remembered to me by my mother. She knew that her father, Jeremy B. Gerlach, had been named after a relative who died in the Civil War. Eventually, I found Jeremy Goodrich, the son of Jeremy and Harriet (Belden) Goodrich from Rocky Hill, CT. Jeremy enlisted in 1862 and was captured in April 1864 at Plymouth, North Carolina. He was held in deplorable conditions at Andersonville Prison for five months before he tragically died, one of over 13,000 casualties reported at that Confederate prison.
Children of Deville and Cyrene (Freeman) Reynolds
Deville Reynolds (1822-1864) : NY Heavy Artillery 13th Regiment Company E
My paternal 3rd great grandfather
Deville Reynolds, son of George and Julia (Purdy) Reynolds, lived in Scott Township, Pennsylvania on the border of New York. He married Cyrene Freeman in 1843 and they had four children together. Deville was 41 years old when he enlisted along with his brother, Elijah. We are blessed to have his diary which reports that he was ill for months, treated with quinine and also developing dysentery. He died at Fort Ringold, Virginia on July 10, 1864 after collapsing on his way to the mess tent. His wife, Cyrena, died of consumption at their homestead only twelve days later. This left their children, Ella, Julia, Josiah and Elbert as orphans. Julia and Josiah were nearly adults at the time, but Ella was sixteen and little Elbert was only three years old. The children were easily cared for by their nearby relatives, especially Fidelia Freeman, Cyrena's sister. Fidelia petitioned the government to receive pension benefits, saving her correspondence which is well preserved and in my possession.
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