Wounded at Shiloh

Shiloh was one of the most bloody, devastating battles fought during a civil war encapsulated by an unprecedented loss of life and carnage. On April 6th and 7th, 1862, battle raged near a country church named Shiloh, the Hebrew word for "peace". Casualties at Shiloh alone proved to be greater than all previous American wars combined. At the tender age of 23, this young man was wounded during the battle, languished for a month, and later died in Newport, Kentucky. As a member of the 15th, Shiloh was the first major battle seen by the regiment. The 15th arrived at Shiloh on April 7th as a member The Army of the Ohio, Second Division, Sixth Brigade. They emerged into battle in the early morning hours, and engaged in battle with Confederate forces near the Corinth Road and Sherman's headquarters. Young Joseph received his mortal wound in this area of the battlefield, and was no doubt subjected to the unclean methods of 19th century battlefield medicine. No attention was paid to sanitation or disinfection. Wounds were prodded with dirty hands, left uncovered to fester in the hot sun, and men died slowly and in agony. I can only hope this young man found peace and rests easily. 

June 2nd, 1692: A Guilty Verdict for Bridget Bishop

On June 2nd, 1692, the Court of Oyer and Terminer (From French, meaning to "hear and determine") convened in Salem to decide the fates of those who were suspected of witchcraft. Bridget Bishop was the first to receive a guilty verdict. Bishop was seen as less Puritanical than the rest of those in the community, as she was outspoken and frequently quarreled with her husband. 12 years before, she had been tried and acquitted of witchcraft. This made her an easy, obvious target for the "afflicted" to accuse her of tormenting them. As she was questioned in front of the court, the girls who accused her squirmed and screamed, claiming to be tormented by her spectre. Spectral evidence, or proof that the spirit left the body to seek out new victims to torment by various means, so they would become conscripts to Satan, was taken seriously by the court until very late in the trials. As more and more were executed or left to languish in prison, officials began to consider that Satan was using the form of Godly people to do his work, without them being in line with the Satan (It is important to note that those presiding over the trial did not cease to believe that spectres existed; they simply came to the conclusion that Satan could be creating the spectres in the form of those they knew and trusted, without their knowledge, in order to delude the community and drive them away from God). A confession was never given by Bishop, who maintained her innocence until the moment she died. After she was found guilty, she was hanged on June 10th, 1692. 

Cawnpore Massacre

Rev. D. E. Campbell,

Maria Irvine Bigham, 

His Wife,

Fanny and William,

Their Children, 

Were Slain By The Sepoys,

At Cawnpore, India,

June A.D. 1857.

_____________

Rev. E.D. Campbell,

Only Survivor Of The Family,

From The Massacre At Cawnpore,

Died At Monmouth, Illinois, 

Aug. 15th A.D. 1885, Aged 32 Years,

Rev. v11 14th. 

     The bloody events that occurred in Cawnpore, India were a result of tumultuous relations between the British and native Indians. Nearly all of the men, women, and children who were situated in this town with The East India Company, which controlled trade relations with India, perished. The following newspaper article from the period states that Rev. Campbell and his family were acting with others as Presbyterian missionaries to the Indian people. Fanny and William Campbell were only 4 and 2 at the time of their deaths. The entire account is quite bloody and horrible...

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=TC18580430.2.20 

Presumably, their final resting place is in India. On Wikipedia, it states that many of the bodies were thrown down a dry well after death, but this is disputable. The event gave fervor to the British in their treatment of Indians, with chants of "Remember Cawnpore!" being used in future clashes and battles. 

Their memorial is located in Oak Hill Cemetery in Millersburg, OH. 

'Memento Mori' & 'Fugit Hora'

This beaten and battered headstone exemplifies the stark, straightforward relationship that early Americans had with death. Children often did not live past early childhood, disease was not understood or easily prevented, and life was shorter and much more dangerous than it is now. The world was often bleak and hard, and God's judgement was used to explain the tragic randomness of death. With life being so unpredictable, our forebearers were closer to and more realistic about death and dying. 

The death's head on the stone is flanked by a pair of angel wings, which is graduated from the more viscerally morbid skull flanked by crossbones. The wings show the promise of heaven amid the brutality of life and death. To the right of the skull and wings is an hourglass, symbolic of our limited amount of time on earth, and the words 'Fugit Hora'. This saying is Latin for 'The hour flies' or 'Time flies'. It asks passersby to think about the brevity of life and how to make it count. When looking at the left side of the headstone, the phrase 'Memento mori' can be seen. At one time, this phrase was highly common on headstones, and it translates to 'Remember that you will die'. It asks the living to always remember that your time is limited, and to live life as best you can, but always be prepared to die. Say what needs to be said, do what needs to be done, and always live with this reminder in the back of your head. The crossbones accompanied by this saying drives this reminder home.

As American religious, funereal, medical, philosophical, and personal views evolved, the focus on bodily mortality disappeared, and the focus on the importance of the life lived and memories left behind became the prominent mode of mourning. We can learn from our forebearers, though: We all will die, and we should live while we are alive. 

George Jacobs: Victim of the Salem Witch Hysteria

The hanging victims of the Salem Witchcraft Hysteria suffered in death as they did in life. As if hanging was not a punishment enough, the families of the executed were not allowed to recover the bodies of their loved ones. The "witches" were not allowed a Christian burial, so their bodies were thrown in a mass grave with little fanfare. It is rumored that families risked severe punishment so they could recover the bodies of their loved ones and give them a proper burial. 

One of the accused "witches" was named George Jacobs, Sr. He was an elderly man when he was accused, nearly crippled but armed with a fiery tongue. He was hanged on August 19th, 1692. It is rumored that the relatives of George Jacobs, Sr. went, in the black of some night, to the hanging grave and brought his body home to be buried on the family farm. 

Fast forward hundreds of years, and the Jacobs farm has been sold and the story of George Jacobs' reburial has passed into legend. As unassuming farmer uncovered a body in the area where Jacobs was always rumored to have been buried. The bones are assumed to be his, although there is really no way to tell.

The body was moved to the Rebecca Nurse Homestead cemetery. Rebecca Nurse was a fellow victim of the Witchcraft Hysteria who was executed on the same day as Jacobs, and is also rumored to be buried on her family farm. A new headstone was carved for Jacobs in 1992 to mark his new and hopefully final resting place.

The body in this grave may not belong to George Jacobs. I would almost have to say that it probably does not. This is a matter of small importance, though, in the eyes of those who suffered and those who empathize with the victims today. The victims of the Hysteria were unfairly murdered in the throes of religious zealotry, and their families were not even given the simple peace of being able to bury their beloved remains. The fact that one of the victims was able to be given at least a headstone and a voice to scream across the ages is more than was able to be done for the rest of the victims. The voice of George Jacobs, Sr. still stands in the face of the injustice that took place:

"Well! Burn me or hang me. I will stand in the truth of Christ"

Further Reading:

http://www.hocuspocustours.com/alone_in_a_sea_of.htm 

The Ceely Rose Tragedy

In 1896, a case of love misunderstood in the seemingly misnamed Pleasant Valley area of Ohio led to the tragic murder of 3 innocent people. A young woman named Ceely Rose was the catalyst and culprit for these murders. By today's standards, she was severely learning disabled and could not do many tasks on her own. While she matured physically, she remained mentally immature. Nearly everyone made fun of her.

With the onset of physical maturity, she naturally fell in love with a local farmer named Guy Berry, who was one of the few people who treated her with any degree of respect. However, she did not understand that he was just being kind to her, and did not love her or want to marry her. Ceely began telling everyone that would listen that she and Guy were soon to be married! Guy did not want to hurt Ceely's feelings, so he told her that they could not be married because Ceely's family did not approve of him. This revelation sent Ceely into a rage that would prove to be deadly.

Accounts differ, but Ceely either soaked fly paper in water and poured it over cottage cheese, or she laced coffee with rat poison. Either way, she killer her father (David Rose), mother (Rebecca Rose), and brother (Walter Rose). Mr. Rose succumbed almost immediately, on June 30th. Walter lingered for a few weeks and later died on July 4th. Apparently, Mrs. Rose figured out what Ceely had done, and tried to protect her from authorities, but Ceely gave her another dose of arsenic and she died on July 19th. 

Ceely eventually confessed to a neighbor, after being heartbroken when Guy Berry left town to avoid blame and scrutiny. She spent the rest of her life in a mental institution, and died at the age of 83. Ceely is buried on the grounds of the Lima State Mental Hospital (or so I have heard). 

The Rose Home can be found on the grounds of Malabar Farm State Park, and the Rose family was laid to rest in a small cemetery just up the road, called Pleasant Valley Cemetery. 

The Rose Family Home at Malabar Farm:

http://www.ohiodnr.com/parks-blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Ceely-Rose-House-003.jpg 

Ceely, shortly after her arrest:

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn254/fairweatherlewis/paintings/Archives/CeelyRose.jpg 

Quit Harping On Me

What is a harp indicative of when it is located on a gravestone? Sometimes, it is a nod to the Irish heritage of the deceased. The harp has become associated with Ireland because of the prominence of harp use among musicians and poets in the Celtic and Gaelic cultures. Harps are also a symbol of praise to God, in the Christian tradition. The angels and saints are often portrayed playing a harp for God, since they are the most holy and able to sing Gods praises. On a gravestone, a harp may suggest that a person was very active in the church.