 Born in 1823, Martin
Short married Matilda Norman in
Bakersfield, Vermont in 1844 and sometime before
1849 removed to Macoupin County, Illinois where
it is indicated by the 1860 census that their
daughters - Mary, Elizabeth, and Eunice were
born. By
1862 the family had removed from Illinois to
Saratoga, Winona County, Minnesota where son
George was born.
One year, eight
months, and fourteen days after the birth of his
son, Martin who was 41 years old, enlisted in Co.
K of the 9th Regiment of the Minnesota Volunteer
Infantry. The pension papers state he had black
eyes, brown hair, dark complexion and was
5’7½ inches tall; and it indicates he
had signed his enlistment papers with an
"X."
Although his
papers and all census records of Martin list his
birth place as Vermont, no record has been found;
and family stories passed through the generations
recall that Martin was born in France, that the
original name was Courte/Court and that he had
kept a journal written in French.
Less than ten
months after Martin enlisted, he was captured at
Brice's Cross Road in Mississippi on June 10th
and taken as a prisoner to Andersonville Prison
in Georgia. While there, he died of scurvy
on the 17th day of August 1864, leaving behind a
wife and four young children.
Martin Short's
burial is listed in the Roll of Honor recorded by
the U.S. Quartermaster's Department . He was
buried in grave #5941 (above).
|
