The Family Link - Anglin Civil War Soldiers

Suel Anglin has left a new comment on your post "Civil War":

"Hello, I've enjoyed reading all of your information. I would like to add as a matter of interest that William and Raburn Anglin from the Cane River area were the uncles of the two other men you've mentioned. James and William who joined on the same day were also brothers. William and Rabe were brothers to their father, John William Anglin (1819-1898) from Jack's Creek. So there were two sets of brothers from Yancey county and both of the Williams did not survive."

Mr. Suel Anglin left the above comment on our last blog, and I felt it was worthy of adding to the blog for all to see.  The information he gives is true, and will help a number of readers understand the broad connection of the cousins, uncles, fathers, sons, who were all dedicating themselves to one another and their community by joining together, when called to do so.

In the years since Isaac Anglin came to Yancey County the family had grown through several generations, and since I am not well informed about the details of these extended families, I often don't make comments about them.  But it's necessary to know that these families are interconnected to see a much large picture.  And to understand the impact a war like the Civil War could have on a community like Yancey, or any other where so many were kin.  But these men had cousins and in-laws in multitudes of other family names as well, so the story takes on a new perspective, when we realize that the units formed from this community were mostly extended family.

The following is my response to Suel, (with edits) to whom I am most thankful for the comment.  And welcome more insight as we proceed down the path from these men joining the Civil War to the Battle at Chickamauga, where "our" William was wounded.  Suel's comment will help us understand that more than one William must be followed to understand the truth, and the whole story:

"You are so right Suel.  In an earlier post and to many family members, I have tried to explain this, but for the sake of simplicity as I discuss our William I haven't broken it down.  I will however post your comment and affirm it for the sake of those who are reading the blog.  Every time I try to include all the extended cousins, when explaining things to our family, I get confused looks.  It tends to be too much information.  My take is that, in fact there are so many extended cousins of all these men, that practically the whole unit was family, which makes the story both more tragic and more wonderful at the same time.  It makes for me, a story of courage and conviction that brings war on our own soil into perspective unlike the wars of modern eras.  It also makes me think a lot about the family that was left behind as their men were "forced" to leave.  The Anglin Legacy as a whole is  a blessing to my heart.  And I do want all the family to know there were many of our extended ancestry who were involved.  It actually goes way beyond NC. There are Anglin men who were involved in every state, from Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and beyond. And not all were Confederate soldiers.  It is always in the back of my mind, how true the statement is that the war pitted brothers and cousins against one another, often without them even knowing they were facing kin.  It boiled down sometimes to which faction reached them first to enlist or conscript soldiers, and less on what anyone believed about the political issues of the war. But for our men, their homes, families, lands, and heritage were on the line. It is important for all the soldiers of the Yancey and surrounding counties whose name was Anglin to know their connection.

This post war document, of surviving soldiers and their wives who were due benefits, includes a William B. Anglin, who was a member of the 29th NC, enlisted in 1864 and was also dismissed in 1864, but experienced Typhoid, Mumps and Measles while enlisted. This attests to the fact that many troops were weakened by illness, more than once during their enlistments. Many, like our own William, went into battle weakened from illness, lack of food, and long marches
without rest.  Here we have another William, but one who survived. Knowing the details helps us distinguish one from the other.

 

I wish I had more time to give to telling the story.  I had hoped to have been much further into what I know about the progress of the 58th NC by now. But I will continue to tell the story in the perspective of "our" William Anglin, because the story is to focus on the only man about whom I know the details. I have spent a lot of time tracing him, by the dates, so I could answer my own questions about where he was when he died, and to confirm that he is buried at Marietta. It is his story that I know how to tell. But welcome the comments of others, who may have insight along the way.  May I say that I was going to post the picture I have of the page out of a book at Chickamauga, which shows the men you speak of.  Perhaps now is a good time to include it.

 

Thank you so much for following the blog.  I will try to put more effort into posting the story, knowing there are some who are looking forward to knowing more.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Wilkerson"

The above pages and the one below were some of the first information we found about the Angin Civil War Soldiers.  This page from the noncommissioned Roster shows 2 of the Anglin men, and was found at the library at Chickamauga Battlefield. The one highlighted in yellow is "our" William Anglin, JR, Private. This information tells us he was wounded at Chickamauga, Ga, and died on Oct. 5, 1863.  The last statement that says where he died and thus is buried, is unreported. That statement began to haunt me.  I wanted to find this man.  His memorial tombstone in the family cemetery in Yancey Co, NC, states he is buried in Marietta Confederate Cemetery. * (see the Anglin burials page for more info.)  So someone had gone before me to find his grave.  But how could I find the timeline, that would lead me there?  What proof could I offer to readers?  I discovered the truth, partly in the records that showed the month by month movement of the 58th NC, and after he was wounded and separated from them, in the medical records of the movement of wounded soldiers, and where those records indicated wounded men would have been moved at certain dates along the way.  We start with these rosters, to trace the story.

The section of Anglin men listed below is from another roster found online. It includes some of the men to whom Suel Anglin refers above. The last entry is another reference to "our" William, which reiterates some of the information from above. There is a slight discrepancy in the enlistment dates, but this info tells us he was MWIA/Mortally Wounded In Action.  .

  Below the line on this page is information, a quote, I found from notes in an unrelated roster in another state, when I researched the meaning of the Initials listed in the Rosters, ie. MWIA, in our case. Upon further research I discovered it means he died from the effects of his wounds, at some time after being wounded