Daniel Bemis Culbertson
Also known as “D.B.” Culbertson
A Short, But Grand Life of
Adventure
Introduction
On March 30th of 1840 in Meadville,
Crawford County, Pennsylvania
a son was born to James Denny and Anna Maria (Yorty) Culbertson. They
would name this child Daniel Bemis Culbertson, later in his life he would go simply
by D.B. Culbertson. Now the Culbertson family had deep roots in Pennsylvania
by the time D.B. Culbertson was born there in the spring of 1840. His
great, great, great grandfather John Culbertson had first brought the family to
Chester County, Pennsylvania
in 1712. John and his brother Robert had traveled to the colonies
together with their families at the same time. The brother’s landed in New
Castle, Delaware.
It’s from New Castle that both
families traveled to and settled in Chester County,
Pennsylvania. John and Robert’s
father William Culbertson and their younger brothers Andrew and Samuel joined
them in Chester County
around the year 1720.
The Culbertson Family History
One can trace the Culbertson family name back to Andrew Culbertson who was born
on May 31st of 1612 in Midlothian, Scotland. On April 26th of 1644 Andrew was
wed to Elspeth Johnstone in Leith, Midlothian,
Scotland. About 1654 Andrew and Elspeth had a son
William (exact date unknown). The
Culbertson family belonged to a group known as Scotland Lowlanders. They were far different from their Highland
brethren or their other neighbors, the English.
Today one associates Scotland
with the Highlanders. This was not
always the case, as the area of Scotland
consisted of both Lowlanders and Highlanders.
The two groups were very different and had very little in common. Today, the Lowlanders are gone and Scotland
is inhabited almost completely by the Highlanders and they are what one
associates with Scotland. Lowlanders such as the Culbertson family were
forced leave their home of Scotland
a dispossessed people.
The boarders had been moving back and fourth as the Highlanders and the
English battled. The Lowlanders would be
caught in this struggle. For them, it
would become known as the killing times.
The battles between the Highlanders and the English took place where the
Lowlanders lived and many died as a result.
So in the mid 1600’s; the entire people would set out in search for a
better place to live for themselves, their children and their children’s
children. This resulted with an entire people
fleeing their home for strange new land some twenty miles across the sea in Ulster,
Ireland. On a clear day one can see Ireland
from Scotland.
This is how the people would become known as the Scots Irish. A dispossessed people they would find that
they were unwelcome in Ireland
as well. They had left one troubled land
to wind up in another troubled land. In Ireland
the Scots Irish were not only unwelcome in their new home, but they also had no
rights besides being unable to own land.
They were at the mercy of the English Lords who showed little to no
mercy towards the Scots Irish. With not
having any rights; the rents on their homes, business and farms could be doubled
or tripled and they could do nothing about it.
This was of course better treatment then they would receive from the
Irish who tried to kill and massacre the Lowlanders of Ulster.
It was in this migration that William Culbertson, the son of Andrew and Elspeth
would settle in Londonderry, Ulster,
Ireland. It would be here that the Scots Irish would
be caught up in another struggle between two other groups battling one another. Two Kings were battling for the English
thrown. One English King was Catholic
with the other English King being Protestant.
England
had left the Catholic Church, becoming Protestant and this was to be a fight to
decide whether England
remained Protestant or would return to Catholicism.
It was in Ireland
where James, the Catholic claimant, chose to begin the battle for the English
thrown. James chose Ireland
for both the allies in the Catholic Irish and it was where the Protestant King
of William II was the weakest. James set
out to lay siege to and capture the Protestant stronghold of Londonderry
in December of 1688. William Culbertson
and the other citizens of Londonderry held the Catholic force
at bay till King William II of was able to drive off the Catholic army. The city was under siege till July of 1689, for
one hundred and five days in total.
The gratitude of the citizens was evident as the men of Londonderry
were eager to join the ranks of the Kings army when he arrived to personally take
charge of the fight. They saw King
William II as saving their families. It
was not long till William Culbertson and the other men would get the
opportunity to fight for their King. The
battle would become known as “The Battle of the Boyne”
in the year 1690 and is one of the most historic of English battles in
history. It was a decisive victory in
which King William II was able to virtually destroy any chance of the Catholic
Church had of returning to power in England.
After the battle William would stay in Ireland
for a time and began his family, eventually raising five sons in Ulster. The oldest son John was born about 1690. The siege of the city, the battles going on
between the English and Irish that there had to still be a better place for
their families. Around 1700 many Scots
Irish were choosing to cross the ocean settling in the America. It would become a second great migration of the
Scots Irish. Eventually almost all of
the Scots Irish would come to settle in America,
very few stayed in Ulster. Most would settle in Pennsylvania
and with some also settling in New York
and Virginia. Today their descendants total some twenty eight
million Americans.
It was John and his younger brother Robert that chose to leave for the America’s. John and Robert would land in New
Castle, Delaware in 1712. From there the brothers traveled to Chester
County, Pennsylvania. John had settled in Londongrove and owned
property there by 1713. William would
live in Ireland
till he sons Andrew and Samuel joined the two eldest sons of John and Robert in
Chester County
in 1720.
Here in Pennsylvania, William
Culbertson would live to be well over one hundred years old. It was not old age that would eventually take
the life of William. At about one
hundred and two years old, William would be killed in battle by Indians on
November 17th of 1756 at Shippensburg, Cumberland
County, Pennsylvania. Joining him at Shippensburg was his eldest
son John who was also killed there by Indians on that very same day. In one day, two generations were lost in the
battle. There since has been a tradition
of members of the Culbertson family serving in battle or for ones country.
John had a son John Culbertson Jr. who would continue in the tradition of
military service in the family, serving as a Captain in the “French and Indian
War”. John Jr. would have a son John
Culbertson III who was to serve as a Major in the “American Revolutionary War”. It is unsure if John III son James Culbertson
ever served in the Military. James would
have a son named James Denny Culbertson, the father of Daniel Bemis “D.B.”
Culbertson. D.B. who along with his
brother John would goon to fight in the “Civil War” continuing in the tradition
of serving ones country in battle.
As for the history of other family names that D.B. is descended from the
amount known about these families varies in what is known and ho far one can
trace back in history. Starting with
D.B.’s mother who was Anna Maria (Yorty) Culbertson, her parents/ D.B.’s
Grandparents were David and Barbara Yorty.
It is thought that they lived in Cumberland County,
Pennsylvania at some time in their lives
and may also have lived in Crawford County, Pennsylvania
at some point as well. David Yorty was
the son of Henry and Catherine (Kneisley) Yorty.
This is the other ancestry of D.B. that is still known of today. Now, D.B.’s grandmother Janet (Dixon)
Culbertson was the daughter of James Dixon.
It is also known that his great grandmother Sarah (Denny) Culbertson was
the daughter of William (Major during the Revolutionary War) and Sarah (Henderson)
Denny and granddaughter of William Denny.
We also still know that his great, great Grandmother Eliza Culbertson’s
maiden name was Rogers. Beyond this info there is nothing else that
has been passed down to the present day on D.B.’s ancestry.
As impressive as what knowledge has survived on D.B.’s ancestry, it pales in
comparison on what is known about the ancestry of his wife Mary. We can trace the Mason family name back to
her 5th great grandfather Robert Mason who was born about 1600 in Lancashire,
England. The “Revolutionary War” saw her great
grandfather Brooks Mason fight for independence from England. On the other side there was her great
grandfather William Clarke, who would take the side of England
in the “Revolutionary War”. Later, he would
have to relocate to St. Johns in New
Brunswick, Canada
with fellow loyalists after the war.
Another ancestor of note of D.B.’s wife Mary’s was her 5th great
grandfather John Russell who in 1653 authored the "Woburn Memorial for
Christian Liberty" which was the first popular petition for Separation of Church
and State in America. John Russell was the son of Sir Francis
Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford and his wife Catherine (Brydges)
Russell. Catherine was the daughter of
Sir Giles Brydges, 3rd Baron of Chandos Sudeley and a descendant of
Emperor Charlemagne of the Holy Roman Empire. D.B.’s wife Mary was a 34th great
granddaughter of Charlemagne, and close to forty generations her ancestry can
be traced back. The 1st Earl
of Bedford John Russell, her 8th great grandfather was best friends
with King Henry IIIV of England
(also executor of Henry’s will), a Knight in England’s
“Royal Order of the Garter”, the “High Steward of “Oxford
University” and the Admiral of England’s
“Royal Navy”.
A Child on the Frontier
After generations of living in Chester County,
Pennsylvania it was D.B.’s grandparents,
James and Janet (Dixon) Culbertson,
which would be the first to set out to become pioneers and homesteaders.
They were bit by the pioneer bug as some might say. James and Janet would
settle in Chautauqua County, New
York by 1802. This is where D.B.’s father James
Denny Culbertson was born in 1812. The Culbertson family would later
return to Pennsylvania, settling in
the town of Meadville in Crawford
County sometime during the
1820’s. James Denny would continue with this pioneering spirit tradition
and later was followed by his son D.B. as well. D.B.’s Grandfather James
continued to pioneer and would eventually be buried on McKee’s Creek four miles
north of West Liberty in Logan
County, Ohio in September of
1831.
The first big change in D.B.’s life came when he was about four and a half
years of age. His parents James Denny and Anna Maria (Yorty) Culbertson
would leave Crawford County
in Pennsylvania to travel west to
pioneer and homestead in the Wisconsin
Territory. Land was abundant
and cheap in the territory, and many looked to take advantage of the “Homestead
Act” by making improvements and living on the land for a period of five years. After the five years they would be given the
land for free (there was a small filing fee). The Culbertson family
looked to take advantage of the “Homestead Act” when they settled the family on
forty acres in late August of 1844, just to the northwest of the present day
town of Brandon, in then the newly created Metomen Township of Fond du Lac
County located in the Wisconsin Territory (Brandon did not exist at the time of
their arrival and Wisconsin was not yet a state).
Metomen Township
was still a wilderness when they arrived in Fond du
Lac County and the
Culbertson family would be one of the earliest settlers in Metomen. The
Wisconsin Historical Society Gazetteer has mentioned that Culbertson family was
one of the first six families to settle in Metomen. Now being one of the first to settle the
area, there would have been many hardships for the family. They had to
build themselves a home and other shelters for the farms animals before winter
set in. Besides having to erect the homesteads buildings, they would have
to start to clear and prepare the land so when spring arrived they would be
able to get a crop in the ground.
Being one of the first settlers there were very few if any neighbors to call
on to help to build their first homestead.
In later years there would be neighbors that would gather together to
help build a barn or a house in just a few days, but. A similar tradition
continues in the present time among the Amish communities in rural Wisconsin. The family’s first house was likely constructed
of logs. Dimensional lumber would not be
out of the question, but such materials would have been hard to come by.
The original home no longer stands today.
Nature has taken back over and trees now grow where the house once
stood. What is known is the house had a
foundation that was made of fieldstone.
It also had a fireplace and chimney constructed with cream colored bricks. A well made of fieldstone that still survives
today can still be found at the end of the farms driveway along Brandon
Road. This
well may or may not date back to the original homestead (material and
construction method for well are correct to time period for it to be that old). If it was their original well, it is the most
intact part of the original homestead and was the source they got their water
from.
Now, his father James was a well seasoned pioneer before coming to Wisconsin.
The work required on the family homestead would have been something he would
have known quite well. James Denny Culbertson had been born on the
frontier in western New York State
in February of 1812 to James and Janet (Dixon)
Culbertson. The Culbertson family was one of the first two families’ to
have settled in the Town of Ellicott,
Chautauqua County, New York.
When his father was born, the area was still wilderness and only a handful had
settled there by the time of his birth in 1812. The knowledge he learned
while growing up on the frontier in western New York
would be perhaps the biggest asset as he would take his family to pioneer in the
Wisconsin Territory.
Another factor that helped the family as they homesteaded was that his mother
Anna Maria (Yorty) Culbertson had family living and homesteading in Metomen as
well. The area was settled by several members of the Yorty family. There was Anna’s older brother Levi Yorty and
younger brother David Yorty. Her nephews
Andrew and Elliott Yorty (Levi’s sons) were starting their own families at that
time as well. Her brother David came to Metomen with his family at the same
time in 1844. Levi and his sons left Pennsylvania
at the same time, but settling in Rock
County of the Wisconsin
Territory, only to move to Metomen
in 1846. Levi had been a Blacksmith and
operated a shop in Rock County,
but upon arriving in Metomen would take up the trade of a Stone Mason joining
his older brother David in the occupation.
Having relatives as your neighbors on the frontier wilderness was an added
benefit at this time in history. This could be of great help during the
first few years homesteading. If someone got ill, or something bad
happened to one family, the other families could help their relatives deal with
it. This could help in the long run to make the homestead successful, by
being able to weather a bad event with help from your relatives. With out this help extra help; it would have
been more likely that the farm would have failed, as many did in that era on
the frontier.
This experience D.B.’s father James Denny Culbertson had as well as having
family to help with the endeavor would lead to great success for the Culbertson
family in the early years of homesteading. The family would sell their
homestead on their original forty acres in the fall of 1849 (received the
homestead from the government on September 1st of 1849 for having
lived there for the period of five years to qualify for the “Homestead Act”,
and would be eligible to sell the farm after that date). The original
forty acre homestead had been successful enough that they were able to sell it
and purchase a two hundred and twenty acre farm less then a mile to the southwest.
This new farm is where the Culbertson family would be living by the time the
1850 Federal Census that was taken on September 26th of 1850. The new
farm was worth $1000 at the time of the census. The new farm is where
Metomen had erected the Culbertson marker showing homesteads of the original
settlers and other historic places for the 1976 Bicentennial. Sadly the
markers have since been taken down. However, this farm has survived and
can still be seen today. The location of
the farm is along Wisconsin Highway 49 just to the west of Brandon
(it is the first farm north of the present day railroad tracks on the east side
of the road) not far from “Round Prairie
Cemetery” (the location where
several Culbertson and Yorty family members are buried).
Their original homestead was sold to D.B.’s cousin Elliot H. Yorty. Elliott
Yorty had the neighboring farm directly bordering to the east of the Culbertson
family’s homestead. The land was of greatest value for the cleared land
it brought, giving Elliott more and larger fields to expand the variety and
amount of crops that could be grown. The Yorty farm had been forty acres
in size, so the purchase doubled the amount of land they could till and
cultivate. By combining the two to create a larger farm they increased
the value of the acreage owned, as larger farms were sought after more.
An eighty acre farm was far more valuable then two separate forty acre farms.
Evidence of the Culbertson family having had great success, besides having
been able to buy a larger farm, was that the 1860 Federal Census listed their
farm as one of the wealthiest in the county. The farm was listed as being
worth $9,600 and the family had an additional $1160 dollars in cash
worth. In both cases, this would be a considerable amount of money in
1860 Wisconsin. The average person at that time in history
would make between $300 to $500 a year.
The average farm’s land value was worth somewhere in-between $600 to
$1200 at that time in history. The
census shows the Culbertson family was doing quite well by 1860.
One finds 1860 was to be a great year for not only the family having one of
the best farms, but it would be a memorable year for D.B. as well. It was
on February 23rd of 1860 that D.B. would be wed to Mary Abigail Mason.
Mary was the daughter of the local Free Will Baptist minister. Mary’s
father the Reverend John Bucklin Mason would preside over the wedding ceremony
that took place in Metomen (likely at one of their homes). D.B. was still
nineteen and Mary was fourteen or fifteen at the time that they were wed.
D.B. and his new bride Mary would stay in Metomen and take up farming.
By 1862 D.B. and his brother John were running their families farm. Their
older brother David had a sixty acre farm that bordered on the south of the
family farm (its buildings are located south west of the curve where present
day Highway 49 turns from east, west to north, south just south of where the railroad
tracks cross 49, with the modern day roads curve cutting through this farm).
This brought the acreage the three brothers were farming to a total of two
hundred and eighty acres.
Their lives would be quiet and uneventful for a short period of time.
This did not last though, as the War of the Rebellion had broken out. Today
it’s better known as the “Civil War”. It was just a matter of time before
it would affect his life. D.B. would leave farming behind to become a
soldier, fighting for the “Grand Army of the Republic” (Union Army), trading in
the plow for a rifle. D.B. would enlist in Berlin of Green Lake County,
Wisconsin.
The War of the Rebellion
D.B. chose not to enlist in Metomen as most of his neighbors had, but
instead he traveled to Berlin to
enlist in the Army. This was a very wise money decision on his
part. He likely made the decision of where to enlist based on the
financial reasons, but without knowing, the decision to enlist in Berlin
rather then in Metomen to fight alongside his neighbors may have saved his
life. Now D.B. did not make it through his service in the war unscathed,
but he was lucky to return alive. Many of his neighbors that enlisted in
Metomen were not so lucky and did not make it back. The regiment from
Metomen had a high amount and percentage of soldiers killed in action in
comparison to his regiment. The regiment D.B. joined had hardly any
soldiers killed in action, only 27 men during the entire war died in battle.
At the time of his enlistment there was a bounty by the government giving a
bonus of $300 to those enlisting, this was on top of the wages they would make
while serving in the military. This was as much or more money then many
people made in an entire year at the time. It had always been $300, but
in many places of Wisconsin it
was often considerably more. In small places such as Metomen, one would
expect to only receive the $300 bounty as an enlistment bonus. In larger
towns and cities it was most often much higher then that. Wealthy people,
organizations and businesses often donated money to increase the bonus for those
enlisting. Also adding to the bonus were donations made by citizens who
were patriotic but could not join to fight, as they were too old, but still
wanted to help the Union cause. Often these efforts made the bonus
several hundred dollars more. In the city of La
Crosse, Wisconsin it was said
to be $900 at one time for men enlisting there.
The amount that D.B. received for enlisting is not known exactly. Berlin
had normally offered bonuses that well exceeded the $300. It is likely
circumstances at the time of his enlistment made for a very large bonus that he
received. The 32nd Wisconsin Infantry from Berlin
had just recently lost approximately a hundred and fifty men who came down with
scurvy. The loss of so many men to this disease made Berlin
desperate to replenish their ranks of the regiment from there. To do this
quickly, the city had a drive to raise money to make the bonus higher.
This made the bonus that he received to be a considerable amount of money. Likely it was well over $500 at the time of
his enlisting.
We know where D.B. enlisted and it’s rather obvious that he made the
decision of where to because of the monetary reason. The thing that is
hard to answer is why he chose to enlist and fight in this war. There
were countless reasons why he may have and it could be any of them or some
combination of reasons. Perhaps because there were so many reasons, it
was just inevitable that he enlisted to fight in the war that he could just as
easily stayed out of as it was his decision volunteer.
There were many who chose to serve because they were patriotic and felt it
was their duty to fight for their country. Others may also have been
patriotic but the bigger reason was they felt it was their duty because their
ancestors had served in previous wars and now it was their turn to serve.
In his case it could have been either of these reasons or they may have played
a role or as some part of why he enlisted. He could also have been very
patriotic, causing him to enlist.
Now there may have been the family duty factor with the feeling of needing
to serve in this war. Besides the
Culbertson family members that fought in battles and wars, D.B.’s great, great
grandfather William Denny was a Major during the “American Revolutionary War”.
In his wife Mary’s family, her great, great grandfather Brooks Mason had also
fought in the “American Revolutionary War”.
So this may have played a roll, but is unlikely for it to be the only or
sole reason. The best evidence of it not
being the sole reason of his enlisting was the fact that the war had been going
on for some time at the point when he had enlisted.
There is still another factor that could have played a part in his
enlisting. The bonus money he could get for enlisting could have played a
rather large role in why he may have enlisted. When D.B. enlisted, his
wife Mary was pregnant with their first child. Did D.B. see a chance to
help make a better life for his young family with the money he would receive
for enlisting and serving in the war? The only thing with this idea is
that it is unsure if they knew she was pregnant at the time he enlisted, as
Mary was less then two months into the pregnancy. It’s hard to say if
they did or did not know. It could be a big reason why he enlisted, but
then there is the possibility that had he known, he would have never left to go
off and fight.
The reasons currently remain a mystery on why he did volunteer to fight, but
what we do know today is that D.B. Culbertson would enlist in the “32nd
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment” in Berlin,
Green Lake County, Wisconsin
on December 20th of 1863. D.B. would join “Company I” of the “32nd
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment”. “Company
I” would was officially mustered into service in Madison,
Wisconsin on January 13th of 1864. The
“32nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment” trained at “Fort
Bragg” in Oshkosh,
Wisconsin (a memorial for “Fort
Bragg” is located north of the old
hospital and across the street from the park). “Company I” would leave Wisconsin
to join “32nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment” in their winter camp in Memphis,
Tennessee. “Company I” arrived in Memphis
on January 28th of 1864.
The “32nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment” was under the command of “General
William Tecumseh Sherman”. It was in 1864 that Sherman’s
forces would take part in the “Atlanta Campaign” and was the year his famous
“March to the Sea” would begin. It was Sherman’s
goal to march to Atlanta, raze the
city to the ground and then continue on unstoppable marching to the sea in an
attempt to demoralize the south, hoping that they then would quit and or surrender.
The “Atlanta Campaign” and the “March to the Sea” are amongst the most famous
events of the war and D.B. was to take part in both.
Sherman’s army would take part
in several battles on the way to their destination of Atlanta.
The General saw these battles as mere skirmishes on his way to the big battle
to take place in Atlanta. Sherman
saw it as almost that of training for his men during these small fights so come
Atlanta his army would be
ready. These battles almost came to be a nuisance to Sherman
and he became annoyed that they were slowing his march to his prize of
capturing and razing of the city of Atlanta.
Sherman’s army would arrive in Georgia
that summer and the “Atlanta Campaign” began. General Sherman and General
Grant had their armies surround the city and started the siege. There
were several smaller battles that took place during the siege. General
Sherman would dispatch small portions of his large army to take care of these
smaller battles. The “32nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment” took
part in many of these smaller skirmish battles around Atlanta.
By the time the “Atlanta Campaign” began General Sherman considered his army
an elite fighting force. He thought his army was the best in the country
on either side. He would talk that if he could choose any men to be in
his army, that he would choose all the men that currently were serving him at
the time. In his eyes his army was unstoppable. Even with this
strong belief and high regard of his men they still managed to surprise him.
A large part of why his army became and was so successful was the fact Sherman’s
men loved their General. The reason for this respect and adoration by his
men is because of how he treated the men. Instead of trying to make
soldiers out of every man he would play off their strengths. In return
the men would do anything for their General and fought their harts out for him.
If a regiment was comprised of professional soldiers who were used to be
given orders, he could do that. However, Sherman
found that a majority of his ranks were not soldiers, but farmers from the “Great
Lakes Region”. They were farmers there to fight for their country, not
because they wanted to become soldiers.
They were not soldiers that were used to taking orders. Sherman
was shocked to find in many of these regiments and companies from the “Great
Lakes Region” of the country, which instead of someone giving orders, that these
men would vote on what should be done.
Sherman also allowed a freedom
with his men that were unheard of in the military. Instead of marching
his men in formation while traveling from place to place he allowed them to
casually walk. Men would walk while talking with each other and many
would read books as they walked along. Perhaps they should have called it
“Sherman’s Walk to the Sea” or “Sherman’s
Stroll to the Sea”. Either of these would have been more of a fitting
name, as there had been very little marching on the way to the sea for Sherman.
The General also was known to let men leave the group as they traveled,
allowing them to explore the countryside during the day. These men would
later return to tell the others what they saw and the adventures they had that
day. The time most Generals would drill their men, Sherman
usually gave this time to his men for relaxation and personal time. These
are just a few of the things Sherman
did that made his men adore their General and why they fought so hard and did
anything for him.
This was something no other General would try and something that was
contradictory of what most military personnel were taught then and now.
Instead of trying to make a perfect soldier by trying to mold them into what
was considered the perfect soldier Sherman chose to find out how use the man’s
strengths, realizing that he could have just as good if not better men fighting
for him by not trying to make them soldiers.
Sherman would find out many of
his men were such excellent marksmen, the likes that he never saw before in
both quality and numbers. Most of these men brought their own guns as
well, with many being far superior to what was issued by the government at the
time. These men, now soldiers had been farmers and pioneers who had honed
their skills while hunting wild game to feed them and their families. The
hunting of this game gave these men many other traits of value such as
tracking, the ability to easily move over any terrain type as well as being
excellent at seeking cover in order not to be seen.
During some of the small battles that were taking place around Atlanta
while the siege was taking place, the reports of how lopsided the victories by
his men surprised Sherman.
One of the biggest surprises was after one of these battles; his men reported
that only a couple men in Sherman’s
army had been killed in the battle and on the other side over three thousand
Confederate soldiers lay dead on the battle field. All this killing was
getting to Sherman. It
bothered him so much at one point he actually sent messengers ahead in some
cases, warning that they should surrender and or disperse. That if they
attacked or chose to battle his army they would have no choice but to kill
them.
This may played a large role in the battle for the city. A large final
battle was expected to take place at some future date to take the city, after
the siege weakened the city. The huge battle that was expected never
happened. “General Hood’s Confederate Army” would choose to abandon and
flea the city under the cover of darkness rather then fight. Looking at
the prospect of having to take on Sherman’s army would have been an uphill
battle, the fact that General Grant was also there with his army, rather then
fight the two best Union Generals and armies, Hood chose to run rather then
fight.
As they fled, the Confederates ignited their ammo dump setting off a
gigantic explosion that rocked the city. The explosion signaled the city
had fallen to the two Union Armies. As daylight broke Sherman and Grant
were able to march their men into the city uncontested and there was no blood
shed during the taking of the city. What easily could have been a bloody
battle luckily never happened. Had the
battle for the city, scholars believe that the battle for the city would or
could have been one if not the bloodiest battles of the war, rivaling or
surpassing the blood shed at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
At this point, the campaign also switched from that of a siege to razing the
city to the ground. Sherman wanted to scorch the earth by turning the
city into a pile a ruble that no one could use and make it a place that no one
would want to live ever again (today we know the city would be rebuilt).
The entire city’s population became refugees. The citizens were given a
little time to gather possessions before they had to evacuate. At this
time Sherman’s army became one
gigantic demolition crew as they began blowing up, burning and tearing the city
down. The extent of this complete
destruction of Atlanta is seen in
the example of the breaking of individual bricks, so they could not be reused.
There were many photos taken during the “Atlanta Campaign” but most were
unfortunately lost in a fire. Some did manage to survive luckily and show
Atlanta during this time showing
General Sherman’s men. They document and show what was happening there
during this time. The pictures show the refugees being evacuated, things
being done during the dismantling destruction phase and Sherman
with his men taking time to relax. There are a lot of the Generals men in
these photos so there could be an outside chance that D.B. is in one of these
photos taken there.
During that fall, as the city was being razed to the ground, General Hood
would regroup with a small army of Confederate soldiers. Their numbers
were small and no match for General Sherman’s men. Instead of taking on
the Union force with one large group, head to head in battle, Hood would make
small raiding parties to take part in gorilla and terrorist attacks on the
Union Army occupying Atlanta.
In return, Sherman sent out a small
force to find Hood’s men and drive them away. D.B. would be part of this
force sent on the mission to hunt and chase down Hood’s small gorilla force.
While chasing after Hood’s men in Northern Alabama, D.B.
would become injured. It happened one night when D.B. was in pursuit of
one these gorilla fighters from a Hood raiding party. The area that D.B.
was chasing him through at the time was a very swampy area. While
crossing a stream while attempting to catch the gorilla fighter, D.B. would
slip and fall between two logs, injuring his back.
The force returned to Atlanta,
that by now it was close to being done being turned into one large pile of
rubble. A few days later the job was to be finished and Sherman
would continue on to the sea. The injury was not considered at the time
to be that serious and did not warrant being put on the last train headed north
that carried those in Sherman’s army that were hurt and wounded that could no
longer continue with the last part of the march to the sea.
As the last train departed Sherman’s
men would destroy the tracks before leaving themselves. The place where
once a city stood was a pile of burning and smoldering ruble. The only
thing not razed to the ground were a couple of houses belonging to some Union
loyalists who had their homes spared only because they helped to destroy the
city and helped find supplies for the Union Armies. Originally they were
to leave as well and their homes razed, but their help and hard work they did
along with the constant begging, they were allowed to stay and have their homes
spared.
D.B. was to take part in the march to the sea where Sherman’s
army took part in a scorched earth tactic where they burned, destroyed or took
anything that was of value to the south. The army created a swath of
destruction in it’s path. It was a success as Sherman
would make the Atlantic coast that spring, victorious in what he set out to do with
his army. The march to the sea by his troops was one that would go down
in history. Upon the arrival at the sea and the conclusion of the march, D.B.
would be given a thirty day furlough on April 22nd of 1865 to return home to Wisconsin
for some rest and to see if the doctors could do anything for his ailing back.
A Wisconsin Homecoming
D.B. would be reunited with his wife and this was the first time that he
would get to see his first child William. It was a joyous time to see his
wife and infant son. The circumstance for the early return home was the
unfortunate part of the homecoming. The pain he had from the back injury
was a hard price to pay for returning. There was also the chance once the
back was healed, he may return to action. The future was uncertain, but D.B.
was home with his family and resting in hope that his back would heal.
The military would send D.B. to Doctors and hospitals all over the state (likely
Madison and Milwaukee)
only to find out there was nothing that could be done. The military
decided that he was no longer of use to them, so he was mustered out of service
on June 23rd of 1865 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (place in Milwaukee is where the
Veteran’s Hospital stands today). His career as a soldier was officially
over and he was now a farmer again. His family could continue to move on
with their lives, as the chapter of his life in the military was over.
His arrival home to Wisconsin
may have been before most of his men in his regiment and company, but he would
officially be done with the military until sometime later then they would. The war was ending at this time. The company and regiment would be mustered
officially out sooner then he would. The
reason D.B. was not mustered out at the same time was the government wanted to fix
or take care of the back while he was under their supervision and control
because they were responsible for his condition. This would keep him in the military till it
became evident that there was nothing they could do to help his back
condition. It was only after the time it
took for medical experts to check him over and tried everything that they knew
to help him, that they would finally muster him out of the military.
Trying to Move On
It was tragic that D.B. had his back injured but he was now set to move on
with his life. He went back to farming in Metomen, trying to pick up
where he left off prior to enlisting. D.B. could now look forward to
spending time with his family, moving on with life, looking forward to the
future. D.B., who was unable to be there the previous year when Mary gave
birth to their son, was able to help celebrate William’s first birthday on the
1st of August of 1865.
What was just a joyous occasion with the celebration of William’s first
birthday, it would soon be followed shortly after by tragedy. William
would pass away on September 23rd of 1865, leaving D.B. and Mary the sad job of
having to say goodbye and bury their toddler son. William would be laid
to rest just down the road from the family’s farm, in the Round
Prairie Cemetery.
D.B.’s kid brother Samuel, who had also passed on, making it only to his first
birthday, was the first person to be laid to rest in this same cemetery.
This tragedy was far worse and must have made the injury to his back
insignificant and an after thought, when faced with the death of his first child.
It is at this time that D.B. and Mary would decide to leave for a while to help
deal with the tragedy of losing William.
There were far too many things that reminded them of William. They
had hoped that a change of scenery and being around family would help them in
getting over this horrible loss.
It was said the couple would say that they had decided to take the advice of
some of the doctors, by trying to see if a change of climate would help his back.
This is not advice they had received. The doctors meant a warmer climate
such as Texas, not Crawford
County in Pennsylvania.
The fact they went to be with relatives back in Crawford
County, showed that his back was
being used an excuse of why they were leaving Wisconsin. The real reason was William’s death, which
devastated the young couple.
A New Start
D.B. and Mary would stay in Pennsylvania
with their relatives for that fall, winter and part of the spring of
1866. They would return to Wisconsin
and the family farm back in Metomen in time to get the crops planted for that
year. They would continue on as best they could. It must have been
a surreal experience for the couple. What little life they had built
together, had been swept away by William’s passing and their return that spring
may have felt like starting over.
They would push on with life and continue to farm the land. With time,
normalcy would eventually return to D.B. and Mary’s lives. Things would
brighten for them as time passed. They
were to be blessed with their second child as a son; John Dixon Culbertson was
born to them in Metomen in 1868. This surely helped them in leaving some
of their sorrow in the past and move on with their lives.
In the fall of 1868 we know that D.B. was still living in Metomen and would
take place in that falls election as we find his name published in the Brandon
Times on Saturday, October 17th of 1868 as being registered to vote. We know that his father James Denny
Culbertson is also listed as registering to vote for the election. This is the last time we can find any
document on D.B.’s father as he is not found in any census records taken in
1870. This indicates that he may have
passed away sometime during 1869.
D.B. would take his family and would leave Metomen sometime during the year
of 1869. D.B. would get bit by the pioneer bug as his father and
grandfather had before him. This perhaps happening after his father
passes away. What we do know is that he
would take his family west to homestead in Leola
Township located in Adams
County, Wisconsin. D.B.
is found here when the 1870 census is taken.
The new homestead was eighty acres in size (present day it has been
divided into three separate land parcels and is covered by a mixed hardwood
forest) and the closest town was Plainfield
in neighboring Waushara County, Wisconsin.
This area had been open to settlement for a few years by this time, but
there was still plenty of land for those to homestead on. Joining D.B. in
settling in Leola were several family members.
His father-in-law the Rev. John Bucklin Mason and mother-in-law Laura
Abigail (Shaw) Mason would settle there with sons
Brooks and Fredrick, who were still
living at home at that time. The family
of his sister-in-law and brother-in-law Candice Eliza (Mason) and Martin Booth
also would leave Metomen for Leola. The
last known relative to settle in Leola along with D.B. and his young family was
his uncle David Yorty, who had recently been remarried to woman named Malinda.
All of D.B.’s and his wife Mary’s relatives that settled in Leola were their
close neighbors there. The
homesteads/farms are about three miles south of the present day Wisconsin State
Highway 73 along County Highway G in Adams
County. The soil of this area is almost completely
composed of sand and the land is very flat.
Some the areas fields are used for traditional farming and crops aided
by modern watering machines. There are
several modern tree farms in the area that today grow and harvest white pine for
lumber and paper mills. The farms were a
good six miles from Plainfield,
which by today’s standards is not much, but in the 1800’s it was a couple hours
travel. The other local town was that of
Hancock, Waushara County, Wisconsin. It was a little closer then Plainfield,
but a lot smaller in size.
D.B.’s brother John would stay in Metomen with a farm that was forty acres
in size. John’s farm contained a small portion of land that was part of
the family farm, with the majority of the forty acres having belonged earlier
to the eldest brother, David. The remaining two hundred and thirty acres
of the two farms would be carved up and sold. The largest block of land
carved out of the farms was only one hundred and fourteen acres in size. Evidence seems to indicate the farm was sold
off after their father James Denny Culbertson passes away sometime during 1969. It is also unsure if John stayed in Metomen
or came back at a later date (he is not found in the census taken there in
1870) and repurchased the land that once belonged in the family.
Arriving in Adams County
we find D.B. had left behind his days of being a farmer for a living and had
taken up the trade of a stone mason. It’s likely the family still had
animals and cultivated some fields as well, as almost every family during this
time period did. Pioneers would raise animals for food and crops for food
for themselves and food for the animals as well. However, D.B. now would
make his living as a stone mason. This
would become the primary source of income for the family. The extra grown in their fields or from the
animals that they did not need for food or clothing would be sold for a
supplementary income.
There is a correlation with the changing of his occupation with the moving
to this new homestead. Changing careers may not have been one of his
choosing. By settling on this land he likely was forced into it. It
would not have taken long for D.B. to realize that this new homestead would not
bring the good fortune or the success like the farms back in Metomen had.
The new homestead was a sand farm and had soil that was poorly suited for
agriculture (the region was once the sandy bottom of an ancient glacial lake
that once covered most of central Wisconsin). The futility of sand farms of this region has
since become famous by Aldo Leopold, when he wrote the “A Sand County Almanac”,
depicting the sand farms of central Wisconsin.
It is likely Stone Mason was something that D.B. could have easily
learned. Both of his uncles, Levi and
David Yorty had been Masons while living in Metomen (Levi being the older
brother may have taught his younger brother David to be a Mason as David was a
Blacksmith in Rock County, Wisconsin Territory before coming to Metomen and
becoming a Mason in 1846). One or both
of his uncles had likely taught D.B. the trade of being a Mason. With his uncle David moving to Leola at the
same time as he moved there it is likely that he worked with or for his uncle
David.
The family would come to settle into their new home Leola. It was not
to long after arriving in Leola the family would be blessed with another child,
as daughter Laura Abigail Culbertson would be born there on October 17th of 1870.
This was to be followed by the birth of their son Freddie (Fredrick Bemis)
Culbertson in 1877. The decade of time
living in Leola was most quiet and most things such as the children’s births
would be joyous times in the family’s life.
It was perhaps the longest period of calm and happiness in D.B.’s life.
This does not go with out saying that nothing bad occurred while living in
Leola. Also known to have happened
during this time period was D.B.’s father-in-law the Reverend John Bucklin
Mason had his second stroke that made him retire as the Free-Will Baptist
minister in the Leola and Plainfield
areas in 1877 (had a stroke while living/preaching in New
York). It is
known that the doctor from the local town of Hancock,
Dr. Reynolds was the one to treat him for the stroke. The first stroke years earlier were mild and
with him also being younger, it was something he was able to get over with and
return to his ministry. This second
stroke was much worse and at an older age it brought on retirement, something
that loomed very soon in D.B.’s own future, a future he hoped to prolong as much
as he could
Lawman
D.B.’s back was worsening as time wore on. It was not long before it
was time for a change of lively hood once again for him. Being a stone
mason was no longer possible with his back like it was. He had to find a
job doing something that did not require hard labor, as his back could no
longer take it. He would find such work by becoming a lawman. In
December of 1879 D.B. ran and was elected as a constable for Packwaukee
Township in Marquette
County, Wisconsin. D.B.
and his wife Mary would sell the eighty acre homestead in Leola to her parents,
John Bucklin and Laura (Shaw) Mason. Packing up the family and it was off
to Packwaukee and his new job.
His wife Mary was pregnant at the time of his election. She was to
give birth in March to their fifth child as the family picked up and moved
south to Packwaukee Township,
Marquette County, Wisconsin.
D.B. would start to serve as constable that spring and on March 9th of 1880
daughter Ida May Culbertson was born.
The birth of his new daughter was likely the high point
of his life while living in Packwaukee. During his tenure as constable,
his back would continue to worsen. The injury from the “Civil War” was
slowly and painfully crippling him. The low point would occur in November
of 1882 as his term of constable was nearing an end. The injury had
finally crippled him by this point and it would confine him mostly to bed for
the rest of his life at this point. No longer able to work for a living,
he would file and receive a government pension of $50 a month for having served
and being injured in the “Civil War”. It
also list D.B. as having a disease to the lungs; this might be something he
caught, or result of being bed ridden from his back.
The End Draws Near
D.B. and Mary celebrated their 25th anniversary in February of
1885 at their home in Packwaukee. Part
of this celebration was a party at their home.
According to an article in the local paper, nearly the entire town was
in attendance. After this celebration it
was not that long before D.B. and his family would return to the Plainfield
area. This time their home was just north of Plainfield
in Pine Grove Township of Portage County, Wisconsin.
This move would have made it possible for his wife to have help with household
chores and to help with the caring for D.B. in his crippled state. It may
have also been for emotional support, as his condition was slowly
deteriorating. The end was clearly near
for him.
Life during his last few years was mostly a life of being confined to bed
and one of great pain for him. This did not allow him to do much.
What it did allow is time to watch his children grow a little older. The
only thing he would do out of his bed that is known about, is on August 22nd of
1885, D.B. would become a founding member of “Walter Waterman G.A.R. Post, No.
197”, that had been formed by veterans of the war, who served in the “Grand
Army of the Republic”.
D.B. would manage to hold on, and fight for life for only a bit longer after
joining this veteran post. He manages to fight for life, making it to his
46th birthday. Turning forty six was his last accomplishment in
life. Having accomplished this, he would take leave of what now was a
crippled body and pass on. He left behind his wife Mary and children John,
Laura, Freddie and Ida. D.B. had been preceded in death by his infant son
William. Walter Waterman Post would burry D.B. in Plainfield
Cemetery with full military honors.
Two years later his father-in-law the Reverend John Bucklin Mason passes
away and would be buried in the family’s lot in Plainfield
Cemetery. Mary buried her father there because he
passed during the heat of summer.
Originally Rev. Mason was to be taken and buried next to his wife in Ohio,
but Mary chose Plainfield because
she could not afford to send him to Ohio.
His wife Mary would also be buried here after she eventually passes away years
later. Their children would eventually move from the Plainfield
area and would be buried elsewhere.