John W. Derr..."When ya' comin' back?"

As previously mentioned in prior posts, there is a 15 month gap in the letters of John W. Derr spanning January 1863 and March of 1864.  During this period of time, there was a bit of a lull in the action for the 48th PVI after the tragic battle of Fredericksburg.  Fortunately for John...and myself by extension...he was still convalescing in the hospital in Philadelphia from his wounding at the Second Battle of Bull Run.  The battle of Fredericksburg in December of 1862 was where John H. Derr...mentioned previously in other posts...was wounded.  John H. Derr would die a month later in January of 1863 of these wounds and was buried at the  National Cemetery in Washington, DC.

http://www.jwdletters.com/2012/01/visit-to-distant-relative.html

Subsequent counter offensives were ordered by General Burnsides in early January, which were later rebuffed by President Lincoln, after significant protests from subordinate officers.  Later in January, General Burnsides would be replace by General Joseph Hooker via General Order 20, after Burnsides request to the president to relieve Hooker and other generals, was rejected.

January and February of 1863 saw little action for the 48th PVI and in fact paved the way for their eventual transition to provost duty in Lexington, Kentucky.  It was around this time that John W. Derr returned to duty with the 48th PVI.   Below are JWD's muster records for the period, which initially proved confusing, but later became clearer.

Muster rolls for November/December 1862, January/February 1863, and March/April show JWD as present for duty.  So, I was a bit confused by this since his letters shows him transferring to the Broad and Cherry Streets Hospital in Philadelphia in mid-December of 1862.   Later I was able to obtain ancillary muster roll cards from the the Broad and Cherry Streets Hospital, which showed him present there.  I suspect that the standard unit muster rolls were augmented after the fact to ensure he was paid out of the appropriate regimental pay bucket.  It would also appear that included in John W. Derr's  muster roll cards was John H. Derr, previously mentioned.  The writing looks similar to a "W." but is actually an "H." and is consistent with the fact that John H. Derr was wounded at Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862.  One other interesting note on the John W. Derr muster card from November/December of 1862 is that he deserted.  In actuality, he transferred from the Georgetown College Hospital on December 13, 1862 to the Broad and Cherry Street Hospital in Philadelphia.  I guess one part of the army did not coordinate with the other and his record shows him as deserted...when they could not find him in Washington DC during roll call on December 31, 1862.

48th PVI Co. D muster rolls (Nov 1862 - April 1863):

Then I found these which seem to confirm that he was still in the hospital until later January 1863:

I am confident...based on family oral history...that he spent time in Kentucky and Tennessee.  Additionally, his re-enlistment in December 1863 at Blains Crossroads in Tennessee, confirms this.

Additionally, I was able to find an official record of JWD's capture and parole that he describes in his letter in September 1862 after the Second Battle of Bull Run....

Jim D.

Letter #15 - New Berne, North Carolina - June 11, 1862

The letter of June 11th, 1862 is much like others...repetition of prior letters, but in this case it includes an acknowledgement of the receipt of a letter from his parents.  In prior posts, I wrote about how soldiers often wrote multiple letters of the same subject due to the lack of confidence in the postal service, especially within a theater of war.  I wonder how many soldiers in other wars such as World War I and World War II did the same.   I suspect that it is not a frequent practice today owing to the use of the internet, email and telecommunications, which makes real time communication much more available.  Such is the life of a Civil War era soldier....and John W. Derr.

In previous posts, JWD had requested that his mother send him shirts that he could wear under his uniform frock.  The usage of wool as the primary material for uniforms in the 19th century made the utilization of cotton and soft flannel, a necessity.  Being June in North Carolina, and based on his prior descriptions of heat and unhealthy air, a nice new set of shirts was what he needed to stay somewhat comfortable.  JWD was wise to request gray flannel shirts vs. the white shirts his cousin John H. Derr requested...as he describes.  Keeping white shirts clean-looking was a real chore and downright impossible in the environment in which the soldier lived.

Overall, not a very revealing letter, but it does close the loop on the concern JWD had for the lack of parental correspondence!

And now Letter #15....

Camp near New Berne, N. C.

June 11^th, 1862

My dear Father,

                                                      I take my pen in hand to inform this few lines to you to let you know that I am well at present time and I hope that this few lines will find you in the same state of good health.  Further, I let you know that I received your letter on Saturday the 7 and my box on Tuesday the 10 with our shirts and we was very glad to have them and my shirts fit very well.  But the others are much too light and they are too long but I am well satisfied with them and John H. Derr he is very thankful for the favor which you done for him but he is sorry that he didn’t send for some grey ones like mine but he is well satisfied with them and you mentioned in your letter that you drawed my money again for the last two months and I am very glad that you did and take good care of it.  So I didn’t know much more to write this time so I will come to a close and say good by for this time.  Answer this letter as soon as you get this from me.

                                                                                                                              Your respectful son,

                                                                                                                              John W. Derr

                              Direct your letter to John W. Derr, Co. “D” 48 Regiment PA., Burnsides Expedition, North Carolina in care of Capt. W.W. Potts

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Letter #14 - Camp Near New Berne, North Carolina -- June 4, 1862

The letter of June 4th, 1862 provides no new insights into the path to be taken by JWD.  As is true and well documented by many soldier past and present, war tends to be short horrific battles with long routine interludes.  JWD was in one of these "interludes" between the battle of New Berne earlier in the year, and  the imminent movement of the 48th back into Virginia in preparation for the ongoing Peninsula Campaign of 1862.  Though the 48th would transition back in July of 1862 for support to this campaign, they would ultimately see another destiny as a key element of the union disaster at the battle of Second Bull Run.  As you will read in a few months, Second Bull Run changed forever, the life of JWD.

Letter #14 continues the discussion between JWD and his parents regarding the break down of communication between them.  As I have mentioned before...the reliability and slowness of a war time postal system for in the field communication...caused much anxiety amongst the troops.  In the case of JWD, it revolved around monies that he sent through the mail, that he believed had been lost.  It also highlights a method he uses throughout the war of repeating letters in order to ensure that eventually one would get through and his message would be heard.  Clearly, every one of the letters I post here in thes blog made it through....I have no idea how many did not.

References in this letter include his cousin, John H. Derr, corporal of the 48th who later dies and is buried in Washington DC in 1863.  (Note prior blogs for December 2011).

                                                                                                Camp near New Berne, N.C.

                                                                                                June the 4^th, 1862

My Dear Father,

                        I take my pen in hand to inform this few lines to you to let you know that I am well at present time and I hope that this few lines will find you in the same state of good health.  Further I let you know that this is the fourth letter that I wrote to you since April and didn’t get no answer yet.  Now I Can’t think what is the reason that I don’t get no answer to the first one that I wrote home.  I wrote for some shirts that you should send to me and I had ten dollars of money in it and I didn’t hear anything yet about the shirts yet and neither about the money and John H. Derr he wanted to have some sent along.  I wrote in my letter that our boys should go over to his parents and fetch his shirts and put it in my box and send them in my box.  And John H. Derr he got a letter from home and said that his parents sent his shirts off in my box and I didn’t get no box and no letter yet.  Now I wish you would let me know whether you got that letter or not with that money or not and whether you did send them shirts or not.  So I must come to a close.  Don’t forget to answer this letter.

                                                                                                Your respectful son,

                                                                                                John W. Derr

Direct you letter to John W. Derr, Co. “D”, 48^th Regiment PA., Burnsides’ Expedition North Carolina, in care of Capt. William W. Potts

Jim D.

Letter #11 - New Berne, North Carolina -- April 22, 1862

The letter of April 22, 1862 is one of many written by JWD that highlight his concern regarding his money and his pay.  Overall, this particular entry is not noteworthy with the exception of mention of John H. Derr who I have discussed in previous blog entries. (note September 10, 2011 entry at http://www.jwdletters.com/2011/09/john-w-derr-or-john-h-derrohand-thank.html and January 7, 2012 http://www.jwdletters.com/2012/01/visit-to-distant-relative.html).

John H. Derr was a Corporal in company D of the 48th PVI and a cousin of JWD.  His death in January of 1863 in Washington DC and his subsequent burial at the U.S. National Cemetery at the "Old Soldiers Home" is recorded in the January blog of this year.

The letter also gives a little insight into regular army camp life and how JWD and his cousin JH Derr wanted to have undershirts sent from home for them to wear under their very itchy wool frocks.  The practical side of JWD asks his mother for "grey flannel" shirts...since they don't get as dirty as the white ones he brought with him.  JWD does his own laundry and I suspect that the shear sweat and grime of daily army life made getting anything clean, next to impossible.  He opted for the infinitely more practical gray flannel which could, at least, hide the dirt.  JH Derr has asked for two "jacks" shirts, which I have translated to "checked" shirts...another style of the era.

                                                                                                April the 22, 1862

My Dear Mother,

            I take my pen in hand to write these few lines to you to let you know that I am well at present time and I hope that these few lines will find you in the same state of good health and I hope that these few lines will find you in the same state of good health (his repetition).  I will make a remark to you to do a favor for me.  I want you to send me two shirts,  if you please in a box.  I want you to buy some grey flannel like my overshirt was, and make me two like that was with pockets in.  We have nothing but these white flannel shirts, and we have to wash them ourselves and they get as dirty in few days that you can hardly get them clean.  John H. Derr wants to have two jacks (checked?) shirts sent along.  Our boys can go over to his parents and fetch them over to our house and then you will put them in my box and send them to us and if you have to pay for it, let me know what you have to pay so that each man can pay for his share alone.  Direct the box to John W. Derr, Co. “D” 48^th Regiment, PA. , Burnsides Expedition, North Carolina, in care of Capt. W.W. Potts.  Further I will let you know that I will put ten dollars of money in this letter.  It is a ten dollar bill.  Let me know whether you got it or not, and if you do get it take good care of it.  But you will take some of my money to buy the shirting and to pay the box.  So I must come to a close.  Don’t forget to write to me and send it as soon as you can.  Write a letter to me the saem time so that I know whether you did send it to me or not. 

                                                                                                Yours with respect,

                                                                                                John W. Derr

A Visit to a Distant Relative....

Back on September 10, 2011, I wrote in my posting about Corporal John H. Derr, 48th PVI, company "D".  JH Derr was a cousin of JWD and was mentioned in his letter of April, 1862.  In my post I mentioned that it was rather sad that this distant relative's grave had probably never been visited by family members due to the difficult nature of travel in the 19th century.  I felt compelled to make the relatively short trek to his grave in order to show a level of respect and remembrance due this family member.

Original post of September 10, 2011....

http://www.jwdletters.com/2011/09/john-w-derr-or-john-h-derrohand-thank.html



On December 28, 2011 I got the opportunity to forget about work for a day and travel with my wife to the U.S. National Cemetery in Washington, DC...across from the "Old Soldier's Home"...now called the Soldiers and Airmen's Home.  If you ever get a chance to go to this small cemetery, I highly recommend taking the trip.  It is dwarfed in comparison to Arlington National Cemetery, but still has the beautiful setting and the care deserved by our national heros.

Below are a few of the photos and a video of my visit.  Please excuse the audio quality...the wind started up and so it is of marginal quality.

 

Jim D.

John W. Derr or John H. Derr?...oh...and Thank You

I'd like to thank the people who have emailed me with both praise and thanks for the work I am doing.  I do appreciate the encouragement and recommendations....it keeps the project exciting and worthwhile.  So...thank you.  A special thanks to my family and friends as well as encouragement and linking recommendations from Ranger John Hoptak (author of the definitive history of the 48th PVI on his unbelievable website 48thpennsylvania.blogspot.com), Dave Derbes (President of the Historical Society of Schuylkill County www.schuylkillhistory.org) and Stu Richards (Author of the long running website schuylkillcountymilitaryhistory.blogspot.com ).  I recommend following these websites for stories, musings, historical information, and entertainment.

Some of the interesting artifacts you find while doing primary and ancillary research for a project such as this are not only the supporting data for your story, but the roadblocks and erroneous information that you find.  People make mistakes, and records are kept in error as a result of those mistakes.  I guess it could frustrate the amateur researchers such as myself, but in reality, I find it rather interesting and fun.  I like finding these little "nuggets" of fact and error....it keeps the work engaging.

Last week, while researching a letter that JWD wrote in April of 1862, he made a reference to John H. Derr.  Though I haven't fleshed this out yet, I assume that most of the Derr's in the Deep Creek area around where JWD lived were related in some way.  Census Records for the Barry Township area only show Derr's in the area around 1830, or so, and before that time in the 1820 Census Records, there is no mention of the Derr's.  In discussions with my father, he remembers our relatives saying that the family moved from the Philadelphia area to Schuylkill county around the 1830s.  So, I will use that as a reference point as well as a rationale for why I think the JWD and John H. Derr were somehow related.  I suspect they were cousins.

John H. Derr was a Corporal in Company D of the 48th and was a superior to JWD.  In prior blogs, I mentioned the pension affidavit of Levi Derr, JWD's cousin, also a Corporal in Company D of the 48th.  So, I believe that John had two cousins who were in his company serving as Corporals.

While doing research, I saw that John H. Derr died on January 2nd, 1863 and was buried in Washington, DC at what was called, the Military Asylum Cemetery (now called the Old Soldiers Home National Cemetery).  It is located on the grounds of the Old Soldiers Home in Washington DC, the same location that houses the summer cottage frequented by President Lincoln during hot and humid summer months in Washington.  This cemetery was one of the first used by the country during the war and is has over 14,000 union dead buried there.

I continued researching information about both JWD and John H. Derr utilizing the Pennsylvania State Archives online ARIAS system to look at soldier's service cards (3x5 index cards typed up and available online).  There I found a discrepancy....or really... an error.   See the cards below:

Well....John W. Derr did not die in 1863 and was not a Corporal as this card indicates....Also, you'll see the references to the death date, death location, and the reference to his "Rolls give initial: H".  Also, in JWD's discharge papers his description is closer to that referenced in the card below....his height being 5' 8" not 5' 11".      Also notice the remarks regarding his re-enlistment at Tennessee in 1864.   

And finally......the definitive indicators:

Headstone of John H. Derr at the Old Soldiers Home National Cemetery, Washington, DC.

Headstone of John W. Derr at St John's (Kimmel's) Cemetery, Barry, Pennsylvania.

I will come back to this story sometime in the future as I have decided that I would like to go to the gravesite of John H. Derr here in the Washington DC area.  I suspect that after he died and was buried here, that there is little chance that his family had the time, money or transportation to get to Washington, DC.  I think it would be fitting and respectful to be the first relative to visit his final resting place, nearly 150 years after his death in the service of his country.



Jim D.