Sheridan Family Civil War History
The information used to create these narratives includes
military papers, pension files, church records, and cemetery listings.
Timothy
Sheridan
On February 14, 1861, at the age
of about 17, Timothy Sheridan (brother to Anora) enlisted as a
private in the Union army. At the time he was a farm laborer living in Castleton, Vermont.
He is described as being 5 feet 6.5 inches tall, with blue eyes and sandy colored hair.
After serving three years in the 7th
Infantry, Company A, Timothy deserted on Sept. 27, 1864 in Brattleboro VT. He was arrested
October 4 1864 in Elizabeth NJ. The papers from his military file state, "He came to
this office with a broker to enlist as a volunteer and was about to be sworn in the
service when he voluntarily stated that he could not be sworn in as he was already in the
service of the US and produced his furlough and that he had been on a spree and had cousin
Ted to enlist again". Timothy had been on a furlough but did not return when the
furlough expired.
In a statement taken at Washington St.
Prison, Alexandria, Va., Timothy says, "I re-enlisted into the United States service,
Feb 15th, 1864 at Barancas, Fla. I received $210 bounty. I left the regiment
while passing through New York on a pass. I did not return at the expiration of my pass,
but reported the next A.M. (Oct. 4, 1864) to the Marshal in Jersey City, and asked to join
my regiment, but he committed me to prison." So it seems Timothy deserted for a short
time, but had a change of heart and went back to re-enlist.
He was forwarded to Washington, D.C.
October 10, 1864 and was received at Forrest Hall Prison, Georgetown, DC. He was then sent
to Alexandria, VA on October 21, 1864, received at Defenses South of the Potomac October
31, 1864 and sent to Camp Distribution Dec. 17. He rejoined his regiment on January 5,
1865. Timothy finished his term and was mustered out March 14, 1866.
The desertion charge was
later removed from his record. Timothy was born in 1846 Co. Tipperary, Ireland and died
May 17, 1870, at the age of 24, when hit by a train while working on the railroad tracks
in Castleton, VT. He is buried in Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Rutland, Vermont.
Among the pension
papers were several testimonies stating the good character of Timothy. One such testimony
given by his cousins John Clifford and Patrick Clifford states:
" We knew the soldier
Timothy Sheridan from our earliest recollection to the date of his death, which occurred
at Castleton, VT, on about the date of May 17, 1870. We attended his funeral , he was
buried in Rutland Vermont. His death was caused by a Rail Road accident which occurred
near Castleton. His death was not the result of vicious habits. So far as we have
ever known or heard he was a man of good habits. We were in the habit of seeing him
as often as once or twice a week. And we know he never married and that the claimant, his
mother, was dependent on him for support. She is not ? of any means of support but is
dependent on those who are not legally bound to support her. She is living with her
son-in-law William Seward. The soldier left no person
dependent on him for support, except the claimant. The soldier was a half brother to our
mother [Mary Sheridan Clifford]."
John
Sheridan
Another Sheridan to serve in the Civil War was John jr., a half brother to Anora and
Timothy (see above). They shared the same father (John Sheridan Sr.) but had different
mothers. John jr. was a product of the first marriage, while Anora and Timothy were of the
second marriage of John Sr. to Catherine Carey. John signed up, at the age of 30, as a
private in Company A of the 7th Infantry, on September 3, 1864. He is described
as being 5 feet 7 inches tall, with a light complexion, blue eyes and brown hair.
At the time of his enlistment, John was a
farm laborer in Castleton, Vermont. He was married to Julia Morris and had the following
children: Mary, Patrick, Bridget, Robert, John, James Edwin, and William.
John was only in the service for two
months when he became ill. By November 25, 1864 he had chronic diarrhea and fevers and was
admitted to St Louis USA General Hospital in New Orleans, LA. He stayed there until he
rejoined his regiment in February of 1865. John then had an accident and was sent back to
St Louis hospital. His pension claim states, "In new Orleans, LA Jan. or Feb. 1865
while assisting others in the moving of a building, a lever came against his left leg
below the knee joint, fracturing the bone and several weeks previous to the injury being
received he has an attack of chronic diarrhea." On April 14 John was transferred to
Castleton, Vermont and on the 15th was admitted to the Gov. Smith Hospital in
Brattleboro, VT. He remained in the hospital until his honorable discharge on June 3,
1865.
The illness and leg injury would continue
to affect John's health for the remainder of his life. His pension files contain several
doctor reports describing John's deteriorated condition until his death in November 1898.
One report lists, "this man is so disabled from ulcer left leg as to be unable to
perform manual labor." By the age of 60 John is described as "walking very lame,
heart action much weakened, eyes grown so weak he is almost blind and has chronic
diarrhea." The cause of death is listed as "atrophy of the heart that was due to
a gradual absorption of poisonous matter arising from chronic ulcers upon the limbs and
intestinal lesions."
When John died he left behind his second
wife Anna. His first wife, Julia, died in 1875. John married Anna later that same year.
The second marriage produced no children. At the time of his death in 1898 John
"owned a house, a barn and 2.5 acres of land not worth more than $500. There was also
20 or 25 acres of woodland on a mountain owned by him which is not worth more than
$50."
John died in Castleton, Vermont but it is
not known at this time where his grave is located.
For more information on Vermont in the
Civil War
please go to http://www.vermontcivilwar.org/
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