Cpl. John W. Crow, 10th Alabama Infantry, Company A, 1841-1865

I haven't really been concentrating on the Crow side of my family lately, but since Bill West issued his Civil War challenge here, I thought I'd go ahead and put together what I know about my 3rd cousin (5x removed) who perished in the war.

John W. Crow was born March 8, 1841 in Ashville, St. Clair County, Alabama.  He was the third of 10 children born to Roland Bryant and Elizabeth (Lankford) Crow.  I know very little about his childhood at this point, except that his father was a farmer.  I have been able to get my hands on some of his military documents from Footnote and Ancestry, and I am hoping to obtain some additional documents from the archives in Alabama when I make the 4-hour drive to Montgomery in a few weeks.

On June 4, 1861, at the age of 20, John enlisted with the 10th Alabama Infantry Regiment (Company A) of the Confederate Army.  During his enlistment, he participated in the following battles:

Dranesville (20 Dec 1861)
Yorktown (5 Apr - 3 May 1862)
*absent at Williamsburg (5 May 1862)
Seven Pines (31 May - 1 Jun 1862)
Richmond/Frazier's Farm (30 Jun 1862)
Second Manassas (30 Aug 1862)
Harper's Ferry (12 Sept - 15 Sept 1862)
Sharpsburg (17 Sept 1862)
Fredericksburg (13 Dec 1862)
Chancellorsville
Salem Church (3 May 1863)
Gettysburg (1 Jul - 3 Jul 1863)
Bristoe Station (Oct - Nov 1863)
Mine Run (27 Nov - 2 Dec 1863)
Wilderness (5 May - 7 May 1864)
Spotsylvania Courthouse (8 May - 26 May 1864)
Hanover Junction (23 May - 26 May 1864)
Atley's Station
Siege of Turkey Ridge
Wilcox Farm
Courtesy of Civil War Service Database found at Alabama Dept. of Archives and History

John W. Crow was appointed the rank of Corporal on April 1, 1864.  He was captured at Ream’s Station on June 29, 1864 and taken to the POW camp at Point Lookout, Maryland, where he died on April 22, 1865 from dysentery and was buried.

I found a record of him at Point Lookout Confederate Cemetery at Find-A-Grave, which gives a bit of history of the cemetery:

Originally, the soldiers were buried in two cemeteries near the prison camp. However, because the cemetery land started to erode into the Chesapeake, in 1870 the state of Maryland removed the remains. In 1910 they were moved again and re-interred in a burial trench one mile inland, near where a federal monument was constructed that year. The 80-foot granite obelisk marks the site, just outside Point Lookout State Park, but the actual boundaries of the pit are not marked.

Point Lookout POW Camp (Camp Hoffman) was established after the Battle of Gettysburg to incarcerate Confederate prisoners.  It was in operation from August 1863 through June 1865. Being only 5' above sea level, it was located on approximately 30 acres of leveled land. It was the largest Union prison camp for Confederates.  Point Lookout was one of the most secure POW camps, being surrounded on three sides by water from the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River, with Union cannons pointed toward the prisoners from Ft. Lincoln and guns of Union ships anchored in nearby waters.  Only an estimated 50 escapes were successful.  A more in-depth history of the prison camp can be found here.  Warning: the website also contains stories from some of the survivors of Point Lookout.  They are quite graphic.

The records that I have been able to review show that John was absent at the battle of Williamsburg in May 1862.  It is possible that he was in the hospital during that battle, and I hope to find out for sure if I am able to find additional records in Alabama to fill in the blanks.

Ancestor Approved Award

Just a few days ago, I was so excited because my blog had gone "international" (meaning that folks from other countries were reading it ... Canada, Romania, South Africa, Germany, Russia, Australia, South Korea, and the U.K.).  Now I feel like I just won an Academy Award or something!  I've only been blogging for a short time, so I am quite humbled and honored.  Thank you, Leslie Ann!

The award comes with a couple of requests:

1.  List ten things that you have learned about your ancestors that surprised, humbled, or enlightened you.

2.  Pass the award to ten other genealogy bloggers.

I certainly won't have a problem finding 10 other bloggers who are quite deserving of this award (provided they haven't already received it, that is).  I have read some fantastic blogs over the last several months.  Where do you guys find the time?!

Ten things I've learned about my ancestors ... hmmm.  Let's see ...

1.  I was surprised to learn that my paternal great great grandfather, John Charles Slowey, may have been born a year earlier than everyone thought.  All of the documentation I've seen points to a birth date in 1861.  However, a U.S. Census taken in Lafayette County, Wisconsin in 1860 may prove otherwise.  I'm trying to obtain a birth certificate to confirm.

2.  I learned that my paternal great great grandmother, Theresa (Trasey) Burns Slowey, was a midwife.  Apparently, she was a good one too, because according to "Slowey History" compiled by Bob & Phyllis Hanson, she was "well known as a midwife and was much in demand at childbirth and other sicknesses."

3.  My paternal great grandfather, Thomas Patrick Slowey (son of John Charles and Theresa Slowey above), got his hand caught in some type of corn picking machine in his early adulthood and was never able to use his hand properly again.  While that's not all that unusual, here's what is: John Charles' brother, Barney Slowey, also got his hand caught in some type of corn picking/shredding machine and lost his arm in 1894 ... two decades before Thomas Patrick suffered the same type of accident!  (I have made a mental note to stay away from farm equipment).

4.  My maternal 3rd cousin, John W. Crow, was a member of the 10th Alabama Infantry Regiment in the Civil War.  He is said to have been present at the siege on Harper's Ferry, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg.  In 1864 he was taken prisoner at Reams Station and held at Point Lookout, Maryland, where he died.  He is said to be buried in a POW graveyard in Maryland, but I have not confirmed this. 

5.  John W. Crow's brother, Ferrington, was a member of the 28th Alabama Infantry during the Civil War.  In July 1862, his regiment was camped less than 10 miles from where I currently live.  Two days later, they camped at Tyner Station, about 10 miles on the other side of me, to await their trains and artillery.

6.  My paternal great grandfather, Louis Phelisa Lanctot, was killed in 1922 when a truck loaded with lumber turned over and pinned him underneath.  The truck belonged to a neighboring homesteader in Casper, Wyoming.  They were hauling lumber to build the homestead for his mother, as time was running out to get her house built to secure the homestead claim.  It is unclear that they ever told her that it was her lumber.  The truck came around a curve and met another vehicle with bright lights, which blinded the driver.  Louis was in the back of the truck (the cabs weren't big enough for 3 in those days).  They thought Louis had tried to jump out of the truck, but his coattail caught on the lumber and it threw him under the truck.  His neck was broken and the hub of the wheel rested on his temple.  (This is according to a letter written to me by my great aunt, Josephine Margaret Lanctot several years ago).  My grandfather was only a year old when his father died.  It made me very sad that he never knew his father.

7.  My paternal great great grandfather, Joseph Zenophile Lanctot, and his wife Elizabeth (Bourke) Lanctot, ran the first hotel in Armour, South Dakota.  It was called Armour House.  He ran the hotel until he died in 1913.  It is said that Elizabeth ran the hotel for a short time after that.  Records show that Hans Boock was the proprietor in 1916.  I wonder if this is some relation to Elizabeth Bourke.  Seems like more than a coincidence to me.

8.My other paternal great great grandfather, Louis Schneider, lived in Utica, South Dakota, and grew cane for sorghum, tobacco for his pipe, and broom cane and made brooms.  He used large beer pans to cook the sorghum and as roofs for his buildings.  I'm not sure what a beer pan is ... and apparently neither does Google.  It's a little scary that they are big enough to use as a roof for a building.

Wow ... this is harder than I thought!

9.  My paternal grandmother, who is still alive and kicking, was called "Mackie" when she was younger (her given name is Maxine).  She was a member of the Glee Club in high school, and performed in "The Whole Town's Talking" in her Junior year.

10.  My paternal grandfather, who is also still alive, played football and was on the track team in high school in Yankton, South Dakota.  He also served in the National Guard during World War II, re-enlisted and served during the Korean War.

Now I would like to present the Ancestor Approved award to the following deserving bloggers:

1.  Climbing My Family Tree
2.  Have You Seen My Roots?
3.  Greta's Genealogy Blog
4.  Mascot Manor Genealogy
5.  Finding Our Ancestors
6.  Branch Out Genealogy
7.  Caro's Family Chronicles
8.  Journeys Past
9.  Long Lost Relatives.net
10. Shakin' the Family Tree