Yuletide
of 1864 found Company B and the 91st still encamped near Nashville. In a community decidedly secessionist, when Union
soldiers entered town their reception was anything but cordial. After so many months spent in the field
without amenities, Everett and a few comrades on a day-pass went into town for a
hot meal, ignoring rude comments. The
food was good and later they had hot baths at a bathhouse.
Company B moved southwest along the Tennessee River to Clifton where they garrisoned the town, protecting the waterway from wayward raiders for nearly a month before ordered east with Schofield's Corps.
In late January they boarded a steamer (similar to the one in the top photograph) that took them up through Tennessee and Kentucky, into the Ohio River and then to Cincinnati. [These states now mostly pacified, the Union army wanted most of what was left of the Army of the Ohio in the west quickly transported east to where the fighting was.]
There, boarding a train, thirty soldiers crammed into each freight car, they sat on their packs, making themselves as comfortable as possible.
Fortunately, the trip through Philadelphia and down to Washington City, the nation's capital, took only four days. When the troops arrived, they were marched onto waiting ships [most likely on the Potomac River that emptied into Chesapeake Bay] for the trip down the coast that would land them near Fort Fisher, North Carolina, which had fallen to federal troops in January, 1865 HERE.
When the voyage commenced, Everett felt uneasiness in his head and stomach. He'd survived the war so far but, since his illness, had struggled to be present for duty. Some days he wished he hadn’t joined up; other days he looked forward to the next adventure. On the sea voyage south in rough water Everett spent time being sick over the rail or curled in a fetal position.
Mercifully the trip was brief but he couldn't seem to recover.
When the units moved into their encampments, Everett was unable to report for duty. He was sent to the regimental doctor, who found nothing wrong with him. Not wanting to be labeled a malingerer, he approached his sergeant and explained his difficulty. He was told to do his best and the company would do what it could for him.
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| Nashville is on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, Tennessee |
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| View of Nashville |
Company B moved southwest along the Tennessee River to Clifton where they garrisoned the town, protecting the waterway from wayward raiders for nearly a month before ordered east with Schofield's Corps.
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| Clifton, Wayne County, Tennessee |
In late January they boarded a steamer (similar to the one in the top photograph) that took them up through Tennessee and Kentucky, into the Ohio River and then to Cincinnati. [These states now mostly pacified, the Union army wanted most of what was left of the Army of the Ohio in the west quickly transported east to where the fighting was.]
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| Cincinnati is on the Ohio River in Hamilton County, Ohio |
There, boarding a train, thirty soldiers crammed into each freight car, they sat on their packs, making themselves as comfortable as possible.
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| Train of boxcars with soldiers on top and the Federal cavalry watching from the hill beyond. |
Fortunately, the trip through Philadelphia and down to Washington City, the nation's capital, took only four days. When the troops arrived, they were marched onto waiting ships [most likely on the Potomac River that emptied into Chesapeake Bay] for the trip down the coast that would land them near Fort Fisher, North Carolina, which had fallen to federal troops in January, 1865 HERE.
When the voyage commenced, Everett felt uneasiness in his head and stomach. He'd survived the war so far but, since his illness, had struggled to be present for duty. Some days he wished he hadn’t joined up; other days he looked forward to the next adventure. On the sea voyage south in rough water Everett spent time being sick over the rail or curled in a fetal position.
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| Everett may have steamed down the coast on a ship like this |
Mercifully the trip was brief but he couldn't seem to recover.
When the units moved into their encampments, Everett was unable to report for duty. He was sent to the regimental doctor, who found nothing wrong with him. Not wanting to be labeled a malingerer, he approached his sergeant and explained his difficulty. He was told to do his best and the company would do what it could for him.
They landed near Fort Fisher, North Carolina, on February 9th, 1865. Almost immediately Company B and the regiment were engaged in the fight - against Confederate Major General Hoke's Sugar Loaf Line, February 11 – 14; Fort Anderson, the 18th and 19th [Schofield commanded 6,000 troops in that attack - a map HERE], and Town Creek the 19th and 20th. Schofield’s army captured Wilmington on February 22. Everett took part in this fighting. (A good summary HERE)
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| Wilmington is in New Hanover County, North Carolina |
As the army approached Goldsboro, Company B was placed on reserve, a relief for Everett, whose ailments had debilitated him during battle. He'd struggled through, weakened and exhausted.
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| Goldsboro is in Wayne County, North Carolina |
The Union army was bringing tremendous pressure against Confederate General Johnston, his army now a shadow of its former self, his men dispirited and ready to surrender. Goldsboro fell on March 21st and the army advanced on Raleigh, occupying the town on April 14th, five days after Lee surrendered his army to General Grant up in Virginia. But Everett and the others didn't yet know of that major victory.
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| Raleigh is in Wake County, North Carolina |
When their officers announced that President Lincoln had been assassinated on the evening of the day they took Raleigh, shock swept through the assembled soldiers; tears coursed down weathered cheeks for the man they'd revered. Later that day B Company assembled in a stand of trees away from camp and Capt. Bogan read verses from the Bible and they recited the Lord’s Prayer. Their captain said a few words, emphasizing Lincoln's good works and the need for them to persevere to finish the war.
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| Abraham Lincoln - nearly the last photograph taken |
When news of Lee’s surrender did arrive, it buoyed Sherman’s grieving army and soldiers celebrated quietly, knowing their fight wouldn't end until Johnston’s army surrendered.
Schofield’s divisions pushed north for the next two weeks, taking prisoners, many weary Confederates waiting for them on the roadside. Finally, at Bennett’s house, Johnston surrendered his forces on April 26th.
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| Bennett's Farmhouse on left where General Johnston surrendered. |
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| Bennett's Farmhouse is in Durham County, North Carolina |
Indiana's entire 91st Regiment spent its postwar days near Raleigh until it moved up to Salisbury on May 3rd.
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| Salisbury is the county seat of Rowan County, North Carolina |
Because of his good reports of service, Colonel John Mehringer's staff had detached Everett on April 10th, allowing him to spend the remainder of April and all of May doing light duty in the Quartermaster Department of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 23rd Army Corps. [I'm unable to find a photo of Colonel Mehringer, but his gravesite is HERE]
[The 91st Regiment lost a total of 136 men during service; 2 officers and 18 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 2 officers and 114 enlisted men died of disease.]
With the end of hostilities, the
several Union armies began the chore of standing down and sending men
home. There was a parade in Washington
for Meade’s army and then, later, a parade of Sherman’s troops, its participants mostly regular army
veterans. Volunteer soldiers were mustered out and sent home from where they'd halted.
Everett’s turn came at Salisbury, North Carolina, on June 26th. Approaching the table, he signed the roster, received his discharge paper and watched the paymaster count out seventy-five dollars. He'd never seen so much money.
Everett’s turn came at Salisbury, North Carolina, on June 26th. Approaching the table, he signed the roster, received his discharge paper and watched the paymaster count out seventy-five dollars. He'd never seen so much money.
“Well, private, what are you going to
do with that fortune?” asked an officer.
Everett replied, “Sir, I’m going home
and buy a farm.”
“Good luck to you, young man.”
“Thank you, sir."
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| Everett Rainey's Discharge describes him as 5'9" with gray eyes and "light" hair. Mark Raney, oldest son of Pat Raney, older son of Paul Raney, oldest great-grandson of Everett, retains its possession. Anyone wishing a copy can contact me and I'll email you a scan you can print out and frame if you like. |
Everett and scores of blue-clad soldiers - ex-soldiers - boarded trains on rails that had been quickly repaired between Charleston, South Carolina, and Washington to facilitate the movement of Union soldiers going north and paroled Confederate soldiers heading south. Glad the shooting and killing had ended, Everett was ready to go home to work the land and gaze at the green hills of southern Indiana. Not having to squat in a freight car now, he sat in a windowed coach on hard wooden seats.
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| Everett would have seen Richmond in ruins as his train passed through |
[Before I add Pat's postscript, I want to recount the only anecdote I recall our grandfather Frank Raney telling me about his grandpa Everett. Everett was scouting with a couple of other soldiers and his best friend "Buck" who'd entered the army with him and whose real name I've forgotten - this might have occurred in Georgia - they were out in the open and rebels began shooting at them from the trees. Having no place to shelter, Everett and the others ran for their lives. Everett came to a rail fence and leaped completely over it. He said he never understood how he managed that. As a caveat, Grandpa must have gotten this story from his dad because Everett moved to Missouri before Grandpa was very old.]
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| Buck and Rail Fence |
POSTSCRIPT
Everett's sister Serena married William Mason in early December, 1865.
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| Photograph of Everett's sister taken years later (found on Ancestry.com). Perhaps they had a similar family look because our grandfather Frank Raney had Everett's gray eyes noted on his discharge paper and the shape of the head is similar to our grandfather's. |
Two weeks later, Everett
and Nancy Jane Dougan wed (December 14,1865). They moved into a small place on a quarter
section near Pleasantville (about to be changed to Spurgeon) and began their lives together.
The first baby arrived in late 1866 and
was named Sarah. Everett doted on her
and felt that his two ladies made his life complete. Despite his disabilities, which flared up now
and again, Everett could put in a crop and make ends meet. He was helped by Nancy's
good sense and her homemaking. Their first year was good and
they looked forward to a long life together.
On December 30, 1868, James Samuel [our great-grandfather] joined the family. He was a robust baby and thrived. Their life on the farm was typical of the times; it took a lot of work from dawn ‘til dark, but the four of them made it work. The two kids grew and began helping as soon as they were able. There were eggs to gather and animals to feed. Chubby little James followed Sarah everywhere, getting into everything. In 1872 Cordelia was born.
On July 4, 1875, Everett hitched his horses to their wagon and the family rode to Princeton where they celebrated Independence Day. It had been ten years since the war had ended and the community took pride in honoring the living and the dead from that awful time in history of our country. The family attended a band concert in the park. Everett proudly wore his army coat and hat.
Tragedy struck in the mid-1870s [we aren't certain of the date]. Everett was working in the barn with
James. Sarah and Nancy were in the kitchen. The wood
stove was hot to the extent that the top was glowing orange. It was very cold outside, so the hot kitchen
was welcome. The two were busy making
hot chocolate for their men-folk as a surprise.
The sleeve of Sarah’s dress
caught fire. She screamed and ran
about the kitchen, setting the curtains on fire. Nancy rushed to her but the flames were so
intense, in a matter of seconds she and the entire kitchen were afire. It was the kitchen
window glass breaking that alerted Everett in the barn.
By the time he reached the house, it was too
late. Both Nancy and Sarah
perished. The back half of the house was
destroyed. Why the front part didn’t
burn is a mystery. Little Cordelia survived.
The mother and daughter were buried in the Log Cabin cemetery south of Spurgeon near Lynnville. No stone marks their grave and the location has been lost.
Everett, James and Cordelia moved in with Everett's mother Milly for a while. Everett's father James had died before 1870 [Milly appears as head of household in the 1870 census]. His older brothers Absolom and Larkin helped Everett rebuilt the farmhouse. This helped console Everett and his two remaining children.
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| Everett's photograph likely taken in 1877 when he married Polly. |
Polly had two miscarriages and the couple despaired of having children. But then Henry was born in 1882, Rosa on June 4, 1884, Alminta on March 3, 1885, Cora Elizabeth on September 20, 1888, and Rebecca on
March 20, 1890. They
were born on the farm near Spurgeon. In September, 1894, the family moved to Scott County,
Missouri, hoping for an improvement in Everett's health.
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| Blodgett is in Scott County, Missouri |
The family rented a farm near Blodgett, Scott County, Missouri.
There Everett attempted to bring in a crop and rear his family, but was
unsuccessful at farming. Records show they
also were in Sulfur Rock, Arkansas, probably on the misconception that the
medicinal qualities of the water would help him recuperate. This didn’t happen and the family was at Blodgett in 1898.
Everett took to his bed in early
winter and continued to fail. Polly
worked out as a housekeeper and cleaning woman. She earned about a dollar a
week. The oldest girl, Rosa, also was
boarded out as a house worker to help the family.
Worn out from his sicknesses, when Everett died on January 26, 1899, no one was with him. Polly returned to find him dead in his bed. She bought a coffin from the Blodgett Mercantile from salesman
Benjamin Marshall. Mr. L.L. Grieve and
Mr. M.G. Café buried him in the Blodgett cemetery. A simple stone with ER carved on it marks the
spot.
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| Everett Rainey's tombstone |
Polly’s troubles continued. She applied for a widow’s pension, but met obstacles wherever she turned. She was penniless until after 1901, claiming her four girls had no coats or shoes, and that she possessed two featherbeds and an old cookstove. In the first part, she went to a notary to aid her in the applications. She left him all the records she had for duplicates to be made. He misplaced them, leaving her in the lurch. When she reapplied, she had to sign many affidavits about who she was and who were her children. She sent to Petersburg, Indiana, the county seat, for a copy of her marriage license. This all took time because of slow communication.
Because the children were born at home with no official birth record, each girl had
to swear to her birth date and parents. In the end Polly received small compensation for the girls.
March 15, 1899 Benefits plus additional $2 per month begin for:
Rosa ending 23 June 1899
Alminta ending 2 March 1901
Cora E ending 11 Sept 1902
Rebecca ending 11 March 1904
She subsisted on the small government pension supplemented by what she earned by her labor.
In an interesting footnote to this
story, when Laura Smith, our grandmother Mary Raney's sister, died in 1955, Mary coaxed her brother
Gus to come to Spokane to live with Frank and her.
He used the spare bedroom, the one with
photos of ancestors on the walls.
One day, when Mary and Frank were out shopping, there was a rap on the front door. Gus opened the door and an old woman pushed her way past him and set down her bag. She introduced herself as Rebecca Raney, Everett’s youngest daughter. She also told Gus she was moving in and would he show her to her room. Gus, a soft-spoken man, was surprised and tried to explain to this harsh stranger that the only extra room was the one he occupied. She insisted he move out as she was staying.
Mary and Frank returned home to be confronted with this fracas. No amount of reasoning would convince Rebecca that her plan was unworkable. I met Rebecca, a thin, sharp-faced woman, sitting in the living room brooding, while our grandparents and my parents, Geneva and Al Charbonneau, sat on the front porch. I tried to get past her for water from the kitchen, but she held me spellbound by rattling on about the poor way Grandpa was treating her. Taught to be polite to the elderly, I had no way out until she paused to take a breath. A few days later in desperation, Frank called the police, who escorted "poor" Rebecca from the house. No word has been heard from that branch of the family since.
[Thank you, Pat, for sharing Everett's story. We're all proud to be descended from him. I'll close with Ashokan Farewell HERE written for Ken Burns' Civil War series, downloadable on Netflix. If you watched it years ago, watch it again - it will seem more personal.
Postscript: Through the endeavors of Mark Raney, son of Patrick Raney, great-great grandson of Everett Raney, Everett's grave in Missouri now has a proper marker, placed May, 2021.
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| Army veterans Mark S. Raney and his father, Patrick Raney, honor their ancestor Everett Raney |
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| Family attendees at the dedication |
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