THE REMARKABLE HANNAH DAVIS CLARK

          Do you remember the old Tom Leher line about Wolfgang A. Mozart? That when Mozart was Leher’s age, Mozart was already dead? Leher’s point was that Mozart had accomplished great things in less time than Leher had already lived. Funny line.

          There is another case in point, this time involving a lesser-known citizen than either Mozart or Leher. She was a Massachusetts resident named Hannah Davis Clark, born in 1648.

          A little historic perspective is in order. Hannah Davis Clark was born 28 years after the Mayflower completed its most famous voyage to the New World. The military actions we now call the Indian Wars were not really in full swing yet. Massachusetts was a growing colony then, but human technology had yet to perfect central heating and the winters were brutal for the colonists.

          Survival was a test of endurance, skill and luck. Medical practices were chancy, at best. Everything was organically grown in those days and there was no refrigeration. The most important resource that was in shortest supply was iron nails. Nails were removed from previous emplacements and reused whenever possible because the only source of new ones was somewhere across the Atlantic Ocean.

          There were no television shows but reality was very dramatic.

          Into this struggle came Hannah Davis on November 16, 1648. Born in Reading, she would die in Gloucester. In between there is a remarkable story.

          Hannah Davis was married three times. She out-lived all three husbands but while they were around, she stayed busy. According to one online source, Hannah and her husbands produced 28 children, most of them girls.

          A close look at some of the reports indicates that Hannah and her men actually generated a smaller number of offspring, perhaps 20 or less. It looks like some of the children credited to her by some sources were actually grandchildren. One pair of births, for example, was 40 days apart and another pair was split by only 78 days.

          Hannah and her final husband, Joseph Clark, probably had seven offspring during their marriage. Their final child was born when Hannah was 47, less than a year before Joseph passed away in 1696.

          Joseph Clark fought in the Indian Wars in 1675, when he was about 25 years old. Then, 21 years later, he joined Hannah’s other two mates in the checkout line.

          It’s a darn good thing Hannah Clark was so resilient. There is a family connection to Your Loyal Blogger and many, many good things could not have happened without Hannah’s enduring maternal instincts, specifically during her third marriage.

          Hannah Davis Clark finally rested in peace at the age of 71 years.

          We honor Hannah for her life’s work and we thank you for reading.

The 123rd Ohio and a family tree

          Reuben Berlien enlisted in the Union army August 11, 1862 and became a member of the 123^rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment’s F Company. Born in Pennsylvania, Berlien was 30 when he enlisted.

          A private, Berlien was captured by Confederates during action around Winchester, Virginia on June 15, 1863. He was paroled slightly more than a month later and he rejoined his company October 31, 1863.

          The fight at Winchester was the first action the regiment took part in, but the 123rd was busy for the remainder of the Civil War. According to documents displayed on www.Civilwarindex.com, the 123^rd was involved in 11 more actions, including another fight at Winchester.

          Most interestingly, the 123^rd, with Berlien, was involved in the Appomattox campaign in Virginia and was with the Army of the Potomac when RE Lee surrendered to US Grant on April 9, 1863. Berlien was mustered out of the Army June 12 of the same year.

          Done with his service, Berlien went home to Ohio and here comes the important part of the story. He got married and, in 1880, he and his wife Mary produced a daughter. Reuben died at age 56 and Mary died 37 years later but the family tree had grown a new branch. A few generations later, Mrs. Leeway came into the world.

          That’s four generations that are descended from a veteran who survived 11 Civil War battles and a month as a prisoner of war in a Confederate prison. It would be very difficult to count the number of honest, intelligent and productive people who could not have been born had Reuben Berlien somehow not survived his service as a Civil War soldier.

          The number of military casualties from the Civil War is generally agreed to be in the range of 600,000 or so. Civilian casualties have to be added to that number but, lacking a reliable estimate, we’ll assign that figure to the unknown because the point is that while hundreds of thousands of lives were lost, millions served both the Union and Confederate causes and most of those survivors contributed to their family tree.

          That means that many, many millions of us are descended from Civil War veterans. The Civil War is the story of how we came to be. What could possibly be more important than that?

          Thanks for reading.

Classy Civil War read

          Your Loyal Blogger just finished reading John C. Waugh’s outstanding book, “The Class of 1846 From West Point to Appomattox: Thomas J. Jackson, George McClellan and their brothers.” This is a tremendous piece of writing.

          Sometime ago this blog published a list of favorite 11 Civil War books read by the blogger. Waugh’s book on the class of 1846 joins that list and gets very high up in the standings. This is a very fine read if you like history or if you like people. It is a people story about the Civil War era, the impact one class at the United States Military Academy had upon the US Army and the Confederate cause.

          The book studies closely the impact these men had upon history as well as their impact as classmates on each other. The US Army was a small force at the time and the classmates served with each other often in the years before the nation was split apart by seccession. When Civil War split the nation, the graduating class of 1846 was split as well.

          The book is about the cadets.

          McClellan and Jackson wooed the same woman for her hand in marriage as young men. Waugh’s research into the competing romances is masterfully done. If you don’t know who won, the beans will not spill here. You’d best read the book.

          McClellan was expected to be the star of the class. He graduated second. He eventually became the commander of the entire United States Army. At that point, he had overreached his competence and Waugh looks carefully at McClellan’s shortcomings.

          George Stoneman was a ranking cavalryman for the US Army. He graduated 33^rd in the class of 59 graduates. There is a chapter about his activities during the Chancellorsville campaign and Waugh masterfully used that information as a lead in to Jackson’s greatest performance and final days.

           Jackson was a lesser student at the academy. He struggled his first year and then gradually improved as a student and finished in the middle of the class. From there, Jackson was effective during the Mexican War and became the best-known Confederate commander, except for Robert E. Lee.

          George Pickett was also a member of the class of 1846, finishing dead-last as a student. Best-known as a participant in what we now call Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg, he was a better fighter than he was a cadet.

          How these men navigated the academic difficulties that make up matriculation at West Point is an interesting story by itself. Their interaction as friends and soldiers in the years prior to the Civil War is a little-studied part of our military history. Waugh’s book sheds light on all of this.

           Waugh is a former newsman. His writing is newspaperesque: Sharp, to the point and informative. This is heck of a book. Warning, the book was published back in 1994 and our copy was purchased for five (that’s 5) dollars at a used book store in Tucson, Arizona. You might have to peruse one of the online book sources to get your copy.

          The Class of 1846 was published by Warner Books.

          Thanks for reading.