By: Mark Holtsberry
Three Brothers
This tragic story is about three brothers from Carryall Township: Jonathan, Reynolds and George Gordon. The Gordon boys were the sons of George and Lucinda Rachel (Shaw) Gordon. This couple was married in Williams County, October 6, 1839. Both were born in New York, Lucinda in 1823 and George in 1812. In 1850, the couple were the parents of six children, three boys and three girls. They were living in Crane Township on a family farm. Jonathan, the oldest, was born in 1840, Reynolds was born in 1842 and George in 1846. In 1860, the family was living in Carryall Township. The amount of children had grown to twelve. As America was drawn into a Civil War, the Gordon family changed forever.
Jonathon C. Gordon travels to Toledo to enlist in Company G. 14th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, August 26, 1861. He was appointed Corporal then appointed Sergeant. While in Nashville, Tennessee, Jonathan contracted Typhoid Fever and passed away at General Hospital #7 in Nashville, Tennessee. He was buried in the Nashville National Cemetery, Tennessee, plot A., Grave 4630.
Brother Reynolds joined Company G. 14th Ohio Volunteer Infantry December 14, 1863 as a private. Reynolds, on July 9, 1864, while on the Georgia Campaign, received a shoulder wound, this become fatal. On August 3, 1864, Reynolds passed away in General Hospital #1 at Nashville, Tennessee. He also was buried in Nashville National Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee.
The third brother, George, also joined Company G. 14th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, on February 11, 1864, as a private. On August 8, 1864 near Atlanta, Georgia, George was captured and sent to Andersonville Prison in Georgia as a prisoner of war. After Andersonville was under threat from Sherman’s march to the sea, prisoners were sent to Florence Stockade, Georgia, a walking distance from the Florence railroad line. As many as 18,000 northern troops and a small number of sailors were imprisoned there. On November 18, 1864, George passed away, probably from disease.
Trench burials were common. One military stone placed alongside one burial trench is marked by saying 131 unknown burials. Could George be one unknown soldier in that burial site? Sad lesson of war for the Gordon family from Carryall Township. George and Lucinda had two more sons born into the household after 1864. The father George passed away in Paulding, June 6, 1871 and was buried in Banks Cemetery. His wife Lucinda, filed for Reynolds’ pension, September 23, 1879, and filed for Jonathon’s pension July 18, 1888. Lucinda passed away December 3, 1891 and was buried with her husband in Banks Cemetery.
…Until Then!
