I have always had a passion for learning about the Civil War even as a child and maybe its just ingrained in my DNA because of him. Peter was a testament to true strength throughout his entire life. Peter James Myers was the third child of Hiram Myers and Barbara Traxler Myers, following a sister Elizabeth and a brother Charles. Peter was born on April 19, 1841 in Chatham, Ontario, Canada, when he was three his parents moved with his three siblings (a younger sister named Caroline joined the family in 1842) to Sparta, Kent county, Michigan where they settled and started a successful farming and lumber business. At 19 years old Peter's father Hiram bestowed him a generous piece of land (as he did each of his sons) to become a farmer himself. The oncoming of the Civil War with the surrender of Fort Sumter on April 13, 1861 caused a lot of personal pride in one's country (whether it was for the South or the North) and on May 13, 1861 Peter enlisted in the Union Army in Grand Rapids at 20 years old, anxious to participate and serve a growing need for able bodied men to fight for their cause. According to his enlistment record Peter was 5'8'' and 135 lbs, and had a fair complexion (remember this for later). On June 10, 1861 Peter was mustered into Company C, Third Regiment of the Michigan Volunteer Infantry as a private. Peter would partake in many of the major battles of the Civil War, including Second Bull Run, Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, and Mine Run. I'm going to hit on these battles in particular. At the battle of Second Bull Run, Peter was seriously wounded on the first day of battle on August 29, 1862. Per his statement on his 1870 pension request he was 'wounded by gunshot in the left side, the bullet popping out under the left shoulder blade'. He was taken from the battlefield to Georgetown Hospital first then transported to Bellevue Hospital in New York where he was admitted on September 12, 1862. He would be on furlough from October to November and returned to duty. On December 13, 1862 General Burnside (who took over after the death of Phil Kearny and the removal McClellan by Lincoln) after crossing the Rappahannock pushed Lee's forces to high ground known as Marye's Heights and took Fredericksburg. With the advantage on Lee's side being on the high ground, the Confederate army beat back the Army of the Potomac. By the end of the day the Union forces lost over 12,000 men while the Confederate forces lost less than half that number. This would be the first battle of Peter's return to war. Think about it, shot through the side and shoulder, muscles, ligaments, etc damage, three months in recovery (when medicine and medical care definitely wasn't the best) and NO physical therapy. He went right back to war, I can only imagine the thoughts running through his head then. On December 15, 1862 the Army of the Potomac withdrew the men badly battered and the loss of men taking a toll on their moral. This would be the last battle Burnside would command. In the spring of 1863 General Joe Hooker (a rather well known name in Civil War history) was given command of the Army of the Potomac replaying Burnside. Hooker had done a admirable job of repairing the Union forces after their last winter battle. In April as the unpaved roads (mind you roads were all dirt then) were drying out and movement for both forces were made easier, Hooker led his troops of about 100,000 strong back towards Fredericksburg and Richmond. The next major battle to ensue that Peter was involved in would be that of Chancellorsville. Another battle that would end in a Confederate victory due to poor communication and management.
On May 2, 1863, before dusk the Battle of Chancellorsville was underway. Jackson and Lee conducted a bold plan, Jackson with 30,000 of his Confederate troops would attack the right of the Union forces on their exposed flank. This attack surprised the Union Eleventh Corps and would threaten Hooker's position. However the attack ended with the mortal wound that would end the famous General Stonewall Jackson. On May 3, 1863 the Confederate forces would resume their offensive and drove the Union forces back to the Morton's Ford. Lee would defeat the separate Federal Force near Salem Church that was a threat to his rear forces, hence the victory for the Confederacy at Chancellorsville, and the Confederacies last favored battle. The casualties in total were over 17,000 for the Union forces and over 13,000 for the Confederacy. Peter was one of the soldiers awarded the Kearny Cross (a form of the Medal of Honor named after their beloved leader General Kearny who was killed in 1862), for his acts of valor during the Battle of Chancellorsville.
Next would come Gettysburg.... In the summer of 1863 Robert E. Lee capitalized on his victories including his most recent at Chancellorsville and began his second invasion of the Northern states. In June of 1863 General Hooker was replaced by Major General George G. Meade for the Union forces. Lee would cross into Pennsylvania in mid-June and by June 29th they had made it to the Susquehanna River opposite Harrisburg and Wrightsville. The Union forces would collide at the town of Gettysburg on the morning of July 1st 1863. The first day of fighting was in favor of the Confederate forces as the swept the Federals from the fields that are west and north of the town but were unable to secure Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill to the south. On July 2, 1863 the battles of Little Round Top, Big Round Top and Devil's Den, The Peach Orchard and the Wheat Field took place. Reinforcements arrived this day for both sides. Heavy losses would be felt this day on both sides as two rejuvenated forces clashed.
The 3rd Michigan was involved at the Peach Orchard and Big Top and Devil's Den. Peter would have been in one of these area's most likely at the Peach Orchard. The final day July 3, 1863 culminated at Cemetery Ridge and Culp's Hill. The battle of Gettysburg in a final skirmish which is now known at Pickett's Charge. The Union forces beat back the badly battered Confederate army and Lee was forced to retreat and regroup. Staying wasn't an option without risking more loss. The casualties were totaled at 51,112 total. The Union taking 23,049 and the Confederates 28,063. This was the first significant battle the Union army would take and is known as the turn of the Civil War for the Union favor.
Peter's pension records stated that he was left sick at a convalescent camp near Alexandria, Virginia on August 16,, 1863. I'm am sure this is a result from the battle at Gettysburg. He would return to duty in September but an exact date was not given. On November 30, 1863, Peter was captured at Mine Run. He was first confined at Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia and then transferred to Andersonville Prison, in Andersonville, Georgia. He would remain there for 17 months, surviving the harsh treatment and conditions that have become known for Andersonville. His older brother Charles, wouldn't be so lucky. He was also captured two month prior to Peter and a prisoner at Andersonville. He would pass a POW at Andersonville of dysentery. On April 28, 1865 Peter would be paroled at Jacksonville, Florida and sent to Hospital Division Two in Annapolis, Maryland on May 11, 1865. On June 20, 1865 his time in the Union army was over and he was mustered out a Corporal. Remember how I said take note of his physical appearance when he first joined the army? When he was returned home it is told by several family members that he weighed only 94 lbs and was sickly. The time at Andersonville had it's impact and would take it's toll over time. Two weeks after his arrival home he married Henrietta Emmons and 18 year old from Sparta, Michigan. This relationship had to of begun while he was in the Army given the ages. Peter was 24 and Henrietta 18 when they married, their wedding day would be July 4, 1865. Peter and Henrietta settled into farm life and would have six children together: Euphemia Barbara Myers 1866 Clarence Myers 1870 (he would pass as a baby of 8 months) George Nathaniel Myers 1874 Ethel Myers 1876 Grace Myers 1878 Eugene Myers 1879 (Eugene would be born in Nebraska)
On April 5, 1879 Peter sold his land to his brother Daniel for $1400 (a decent sum for the time). The reasoning for this would be that the family travelled to Nebraska in a covered wagon where Peter ran threshing crews until the end of his life. At some point between this time and April 12, 1883 Peter and his family returned home, I suspect he knew his time was coming to an end on earth. A document for the application of Widows pension stated`, from a Dr. John Brady of Grand Rapids, that ' I visited the above named soldier at Sparta on 19, April 1863 and found him dying of croupous pneumonia.' On August 4, 1883 a document stated the pension granted to Henrietta Emmons Myers and her four minor children, it stated 'for herself and the four children of Peter Myers who died from the effects of Typhoid Pneumonia and Scurvy contracted in the rebel prisons of Andersonville, Richmond, and Belle Island on 19, April 1883. There ends the life of Peter Myers and extraordinary man who lived a short life. This is just a glimpse of his time on earth. To go into full detail would take several chapters in a book.
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