Lately, I've been studying the Civil
War. I'm no expert, far from it. That's why I read about it. I'm not going to claim I "like" the Civil War. I don't like it, but I
do find it fascinating and baffling at the same time.
A while ago I came across a man by the
name of Albert G. Martin. He was a Canadian (oddly enough) who in May
of 1863, at the age of 18, enlisted with the 16th New York Cavalry,
Company B as a private.
In October of 1863, Martin and several other
Union soldiers were captured by the Confederates and sent to Belle
Isle Prison in Richmond, Virginia.
If anyone is unfamiliar with Civil War
prisons, they were bad. "Bad" being an understatement.
Horrendous. Inhuman. Overcrowding, lack of food, lack of latrines
(the water the soldiers drank was the same water they relieved
themselves in), lack of protection from the elements all contributed
to thousands of deaths in the camps. Andersonville in Georgia is an
infamous Confederate example. But it went both ways. Point Lookout in Maryland
was a particular heinous Union POW camp.
(If one is interested, the 1996 movie
Andersonville is worth a watch if you're in the mood for
viewing deplorable human behavior.)
Belle Isle Prison, from the accounts
I've read, was just as bad as Andersonville. While nearly 13,000 died
at Andersonville alone, roughly 1,000 died at Belle Isle (though
sources vary).[1]
Yet here's how Albert Martin described
his "stay" at Belle Isle (all spelling/grammar is Martin's
own):
"I cant complain of the useage
for we get used vary well here all is a fellow cant run about as
much is
if he was in his own Lines" (November 6, 1863).[2]
I tried to find more information about
Martin but besides one website (the William L. Clements Library at The
University of Michigan, where the majority of my information comes from) he seemed to be lost to
history. The web was no help nor any of those things called books. I
couldn't even find his date of death. All I could find was this:
"In November [1863], Martin finally wrote to his mother to inform her of his capture . . . but from this point onward, Martin disappears from the [historical] record."Well, that's an interesting little mystery, isn't it?
But someone had to know, right? He was a Union
Soldier after all. The Union Army, for the most part, kept meticulous
records. Then again, he was a prisoner at Belle Isle and records were
the least of their worries. Still, I felt that whatever happened to
Martin had to be recorded somewhere.
So I searched the National Archives
(okay, so I e-mailed the National Archives to have them search for
me, but you get the idea). And they found something. So I sent them
$3 and they sent me this:
 | ||||
| Under "Remarks" it says: Captured at Lewinsville, VA Oct. 1. 1863. Admitted to Hospital at Richmond, VA. Feb.7. '64 where he died Feb. 24, 1864 of diarrhea ch.[?] |
Albert Martin's Death Certificate.
Morbid, I know.
Granted, the mystery was easily solved, however I believe--but have no way of
confirming--I'm the first person in roughly 150 years to read this
document (not counting the person who copied it for me, but I'm going
to pretend they didn't actually read it).
I just may be the first person since
the Civil War to hear of his fate. His mother may have known:
"In a letter written in 1884,
probably in relation to a pension application, Martin's
mother seems to imply that Albert died
in the service. However, she is not listed
in the state records as a pension
recipient for that year."
Or maybe she just assumed he died in
the service? Since the government has no record of her receiving
money for his death?
A little depressing, isn't it? Sorry
about that. Yet interesting, right? That's History for you.
A closer look at the Certificate
clarifies a few things even the W. L. Clement Library didn't seem to
know:
-- It seems he was 21, not 18, when he
entered service.
-- He joined the army as a Private in
May but by June was promoted to Corporal.[3]
-- His death, and cause of, are
clearly listed and quite specific.
I don't know who Albert G. Martin was.
I don't know what he liked to eat for breakfast, whether he liked
coffee or chocolate or cats, or whether he was married or had
children (though highly doubtful considering his age when he joined
the Army and his unfortunate early death).
He may have been a terrible person. Or
he may have been the kindest person in the world. I don't know. But I
know when he died. I thought someone should. And now you do, too.
So here is Albert G. Martin's Death Certificate.
With his name, his physical description, his occupation (farmer), his rank, his fate. Proof of his existence. Now on the
internet for all to see. For all eternity.[4]
And who doesn't want their name to live
forever?
1. Far more men died of disease in their
own camps than they did in actual battle and POW camps combined.
According to Time Life (so take it with a grain of salt) roughly
390,000 Union and Confederate soldiers died of disease compared to
around 60,000 of both armies who died as prisoners of war.
2. All quotes from the Albert G. Martin
papers, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan.
Used, um, without permission.
3. That's a pretty dang fast promotion, by the way,
but it may be because the 16th New York had a less than stellar
reputation when it came to deserters and needed all the men they could, though they did seem to have tangled with Mosby's Rangers, which may have accounted for the many desertions.
4. Or at least until the inevitable collapse of society.
