John Z. Wagner: The Other Civil War Ancestor

John Z. Wagner

It's been a few weeks since my last post...and as I mentioned then...2013 will be void of any letters from John W. Derr.  The letters of 1863 are lost to time and therefore there will be a gap between letter #31 and letter #32 of approximately 15 months.

I thought that this might be a good time to reintroduce my other great-great grandfather, John Zartman Wagner...or John Z. for short.  I mention John Z. in a few prior posts but it is probably a good time to reiterate his service in the war.

John Z. Wagner was born on September 27, 1841 in the Deep Creek area of Barry Township.  A farmer and laborer by trade, John Z. enlisted in the United State Army on April 20, 1861 as part of President Lincoln's call for volunteers during what was supposed to be a 90 day suppression of the rebellion.  John Z. was mustered into the 6th regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Company E, to serve his 3 months of service to his country.  He was part of the famous First Defenders that came from the great state of Pennsylvania.


As we all know...what was thought to be a 3 month war, ended up being a 4 year struggle that would tear the country apart.

John Z. served his 3 months of duty...mostly on provost and guard duty in the Williamsport, Pa. area of the county and was mustered out of service on July 26, 1861.  He would return home only to re-enlist in the newly formed 55th PVI (Company E) on September 13, 1861...after taking a 1 1/2 month rest from his prior service.

Mary Ellen Wagner Derr (left), John Z. Wagner (right)

As I mentioned in my prior posts, John Z. Wagner knew John W. Derr, owing to the close knit nature of the Deep Creek community.  Eventually, his daughter Mary Ellen Wagner would marry the son of John W. Derr, George Washington Derr, my great grandfather.  My great grandmother, Mary Ellen Wagner Derr...or Mom Derr...would produce 1 daughter and 4 sons, of which one was my grandfather, James Monroe Derr.

My father, Donald James Derr, was born in 1927 and remembers, as a little boy, sitting on the lap of John Z. Wagner, as the old man would sing and talk to him.  His great grandfather would still chew tobacco from a plug... taking the little tin brand markers that were pinned into the plug and pressing them into the window sill.  That is what my father remembers most about John Z. Wagner.

John Z. Wagner would serve all 4 years of the Civil War, surviving to become a hard working old man and living for 88 years.  John Z. worked until he was 80 years of age, attesting to his good health and fortitude.

Jim D.

Documents, Thoughts and Apologies

Ok...I've been very negligent with the blog over the last 3 weeks.  I was on vacation in England and in India, but to be perfectly honest, I had internet access at both places and decided to be lazy.  I'm finding the that longer I go between posts, the tougher it is to stay focused, get inspired and get excited.  This happened over the last 3 weeks as I had kind of a writers block trying to decide how to organize this blog.  The general layout is fine...e.g...publishing the letters on the same day 150 years after they were first penned by John W. Derr (JWD), but the real challenge is to put some context around the letters and the man.  This is the so called "putty" in the story which is a lot more challenging to construct and organize.

My last post revolved around various affidavits that were submitted by family members and fellow soldiers in the 48th PVI.   I plan to post more of those documents in the future.  They will be timed to correspond with the events they describe.  For example, the pension depositions by fellow soldiers in the 48th PVI regarding the digging of the Petersburg Mine, that resulted in the Battle of the Crater in July of 1864, will be accompanied by a letter written by JWD just before the explosion occurred.  In that letter, which had no censorship, he describes how "there will be a great explosion" and how they are undermining the rebel lines.  This be my overall approach to the design of the blog.  The "putty" posts in between letters will put other documents, thoughts and comments into play as backup and context filler.

For this week, I plan to present some of the many documents I have that are part of the pension application process pursued by JWD's wife, Magdalena.  The more I delve into these documents, the more fortunate I feel that I am to still have them in my possession.  They are an invaluable asset in the development of this project.


It was common for war veterans and veteran widows to obtain a copy of the subject soldier's discharge orders.  Many times original discharge papers were lost or destroyed in the course of returning home from the war and so it was necessary to obtain copies from Washington, DC.  I can't imagine how long that must have taken, especially after the pension law was passed in the late 1870s and hundreds of the thousands of soldiers and widows applied for copies of discharge papers, as well as the actual pensions.

In this case, the discharge certificate copy was requested in 1909 by JWD's wife, Magdalena, a full 33 years after his death and nearly 30 years after the pension was first issued to her.  The reason for this will become clear later in this 4 year project when I show the overall battle she had with the pension board...one she fought to her dying days...and part of our family's "secret".

Discharge Copy #1 showing JWD's service from 1861-1863

Discharge Copy #2 showing JWD's service from 1863-1865

Pension Certificate for Soldier JWD to support Magdalena Derr and her sons

George W. Derr...son of JWD and Magdalena and my Great-Grandfather