Sarah's Story

On March 14, 1900, Sarah Commodore appeared at the federal pension office in Baltimore and was interviewed by a special examiner regarding her recent application for widow's benefits. Her husband, George William Commodore (right) served as a landsman in the navy from 1864 to 1867. Sarah told the examiner about her marriage and life after his death. Her four-page testimony is preserved in her pension file (with his tintype) at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Here is the transcript of her statement. The original is one long paragraph. I divided this transcript into paragraphs, inserting breaks where it appears the special examiner asked a question. The line of questions is based upon a preliminary investigation in 1899 and a review of Commodore's service record.

I am about 65 years of age but cannot state positively. My post office address is 1623 Brunt St. Balt. Md. & a laundress. I am the widow of George W. Commodore who served in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War. I cannot say when he enlisted or was discharged. I think he enlisted early in the war. He served for three years. He enlisted at Baltimore and a few days afterward I visited him in the ship he was on. I think it was called the “Allegheny.” I did not see my husband again until he was stationed at the Washington Navy Yard & I then visited him often. He was not then on a vessel but was a cook on shore in the Navy Yard.

The picture that I now show you was taken at Washington, I think, while he was there in the Navy Yard. I know that he sent it from there to me & I have kept it ever since.

The enlistment I have stated was the only time he was in the Navy & he was never in the Army or in any other service. I am sure he enlisted under his own name which was George William Commodore.

My husband died in April and I think 15 years ago. A society he belonged to gave me a lot at the time of his death & my husband is buried in that lot. I show you the deed. (She owns that lot 385. B. Sharp St. Cemetery, Balt. Was deeded by the Trustees of said Cemetery to Sarah Commodore on Apl. 23, 1885. The deed is signed by the Pres. & Sec. with seal embossed. M.A.W. Spl. Ex.).

I was married several years before the war but cannot give the date or even approximate. I had a certificate but lost it years ago & failed to have it renewed. I was married to sailor Geo. W. Commodore by Rev. Savage Hammond a minister of the A.M.E. Church, & was pastor of the Bethel Church Baltimore. I was married at the house of a cousin of mine, Mrs. Susan Golden who lived on Little Monument St. bet. St. Mary and Orchard St. Mrs. Golden is dead. Georgiana Jefferson was my bridesmaid. She is now Georgiana Clayton & is still living. Mrs. Harris was also present when I was married and she is now dead. Rev. Hammond died years ago, either during the war or soon afterward, in Baltimore. I do not recall any one except Mrs. Clayton who was present when I was married & who are now living.

My maiden name was Sarah Jones. Both my husband & myself were raised in Baltimore and both were freeborn. We were boy & girl together & I had known my husband for six or more years before we were married. He was about 3 years older than I was. I have not remarried since my husbands death but am still his legal widow. Neither my husband nor myself have been married before our marriage to each other. We were never separated but lived together for about 40 years & he was with me & I nursed him during his last illness & until his death.

We then lived on St. Mary St., had half a house with a man named Pearce & my husband died there of heart disease. We had 7 children but all are dead. The last child died about 7 years since. But one was living when my husband died & she was married at that time.

I do not know my husbands age when he enlisted. Cannot say whether he was 39 or 40 or what, but my oldest living child was about 8 years old when her father enlisted & she was my fifth child then being 4 children older but who were dead at that time.

My husband had no marks or scars of any kind that I remember. My husband never had small pox since I first new him. He has said that when young he had small pox but he had no marks of such so far as I ever saw or knew of.

He was a dragman when he enlisted. He was short in height, not very stout, was dark in complexion, hair & eyes. He wore his mustache as shown in likeness when he went away to enlist, if I recollect correctly. My husband was at the Washington Navy Yard most of his time. I think he only served on vessels for a few months not a year altogether.

So far as I know or heard my husband had good health while in the service. Never knew or heard of him being sick at any time until after the war, when he first had trouble with his heart.

Soon after my husband left the Navy he bought a little piece of land across the river from Washington, in Maryland, & his mother & sister went there to live. We never received any benefit from it and after his mother & sister died I do not know what became of it. We never attended to it or paid taxes on it & never visited it. After my husband died I just let it be as before & have never paid taxes on it. I can’t say what it cost but my recollection is that my husband paid about $80.00 for it. He did not own any other property. He had no life insurance. He belonged to the Odd Fellows & they buried him & gave me the lot. I have never received any other benefits from any society or in any way, and have never had any income of any kind except from my own labor.

My daughter could not help me for she had to work for her children, for her husband did not help her. After her death I have had to take care of my daughters children, & I have them still with me. The two eldest help me a little & the two youngest are at school. The eldest is nearly 19.

After my husbands death I went out to service, first with Mr. Arthur Palmer with whom I worked 11 months. I then went to Bishop Paret & served there 4 years. Then my daughter died & I had to take care of her children, so rented two rooms & have had them with me ever since supporting myself & them, by washing & other work that I can get to do.

My husband did not apply for a pension during his life time. He had good health & so have I & we get along comfortably so did not think we were entitled. He was only sick about a year before he died. After his death I did not apply for a pension because I had lost my marriage certificate & my husbands discharge. Lately I was told by a friend that I could get a pension under another law, & would not need the papers I had lost, so I put in a application as I was greatly in need of help & was getting old. I do not know who I can furnish to prove that my husband or myself were not married before our marriage, except Mrs. Clayton. I know that Richard Owens and Maria Johnson both knew me when I was young and since but I don’t know where they live. Sarah Chambers also knew me.

I will be present here if I can when my witnesses are examined by my attorney. Mr. A. Parleff Lloyd is prosecuting my claim. I have made no arrangement with him as to fee, and have never paid him any fees. My statement has been read to me, I have understood your questions & am correctly recorded.

Witness: N.N. Hill

Sarah (her X mark) Commodore
Deponent

Layton Morris: Missing in Action

Today I received this low-resolution scan of Corp. Layton Morris of the Twenty-fourth U.S. Colored Infantry. It appeared for auction on eBay, date unknown.

The individual who sent it to me is a genealogist who specializes in researching African American descendants. This person does not own the original image, which appears to be a carte de visite inserted into a period photograph album page.

I want to find out who the rightful owner of this image is, and, if he or she would share this photograph with me for my forthcoming book on African American soldiers.

Please contact me if you have any information about this image.

A Most Unusual Photo Album

First Lieutenant Theodore Francis Wright of Dorchester, Mass., was described as a student of a serious turn of mind and a dedicated diarist. In the spring of 1864 he wrote in his journal, "I have for some time been deliberating about leaving college to go to the war, and I have, at last, with the consent of my parents, determined to study for a commission in the colored troops."

Wright (pictured here, standing on the right, in his uniform) received a commission as first lieutenant. He explained his first assignment:

"My assignment to the 108th U. S. Colored Infantry organizing at Louisville, Kentucky, came June 14th, 1864, and I was ordered to report immediately. Attached to 'F' Company, Captain John H. Lee of New York, I spent one month at Louisville, the month of August at Maysville, Ky., aiding the enlistment of negroes; September at Muldraughs Hill, Ky., guarding from guerillas the Louisville and Nashville R. R., enjoying military life exceedingly. About October first the entire regiment, under command of Lieutenant Colonel John J. Bishop of Indiana, started for Rock Island Barracks, Illinois, where we spent the long and very severe winter, guarding rebel prisoners. The men improved scanty moments of leisure to learn to read and write, while I studied over my old classics."

In March 1865, 1st Lt. Wright and his company stepped into a Rock Island photographer's studio. Each man had their carte de visite portrait taken. Wright penned a brief note on the back of each image. On the reverse side of Kendrick Allen's carte, Wright wrote, "Now Serg't and an excellent one, and commands dedication." Allen made the army his career after the war as a Buffalo Soldier. Wright wrote honest appraisals of his men: On the back of the carte de visite of Pvt. Alfred Thompson is written "Second rate man."

Wright placed the entire collection of company cartes into a photograph album and presented it to his mother, Sarah Augusta (Hunt) Wright.

Wright (1845-1907) went on to study theology and earn two degrees from Harvard University. He is best remembered for his contributions as a pastor and author. Yet the photograph album he presented to his mother, filled with brief, honest remembrances of a company of African Americans who fought for freedom, is among the most unique of all Civil War photograph collections. The album is part of the Randolph Linsly Simpson African-American Collection, James Weldon Johnson Collection in the Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Seeking the Story Behind an Iconic Image

The Chicago Historical Society possesses one of the finest collections of African American soldier photographs that I've ever seen. Of these twenty-seven terrific tintypes, one is identified: Sgt. James L. Baldwin of the Fifty-sixth U.S. Colored Infantry. His iconic image, shown here, has appeared in numerous publications.

All the published examples of Baldwin's likeness I've found include the briefest of captions. It is for this reason that he will be included in my book. I want to tell his story. I started researching his life and military service yesterday and found that he started the war with the Third Arkansas Infantry (African Descent). Government authorities later designated the regiment as the Fifty-sixth. Baldwin applied for a disability pension in 1889.

I look forward to learning more about him, and providing a fresh take on this image by providing details of his war service. If you have any information to share, please comment.

Recognize These Fellows?

Chris Marquez sent me a scan of an albumen photograph of fifteen Union infantrymen, most in the group are sergeants. On many of the forage caps can be seen the familiar cross-shaped badge of the Sixth Army Corps. The soldiers are gathered around a flag. In the distance is visible a group of cabins, perhaps winter quarters for these men.

Take a close up look at this large scan.

If you recognize any of these fellows, please contact Chris.

New Review Appears in Latest CWN

The August issue of Civil War News — on of the few publications I read from cover to cover — includes a generous review of Faces of the Confederacy by Michael J. Winey, familiar to many historians as a curator (now retired) at the U.S. Army Military History Institute in Carlisle Barracks, Pa.

My favorite part of Mike's review: "It is a book that you just want to read one more story before you put it down, and then you want to read one more."

I also like this quip: "Those of you who are Yankee lovers only probably won't want to dirty your hands holding this very Southern-oriented book! For myself, I was pleased with each and every image printed so I never needed to wash my hands."

Read the complete review.

Frederick Douglass' Photograph Album

Today I had the opportunity to see Frederick Douglass' personal photograph album, part of the collection of Howard University's prints and photographs holdings at the Moorland Spingarn Research Center. The album holds four images per page (front and back) and contains a number of cartes de visite, including a portrait of Douglass' son Sgt. Maj. Lewis H. Douglass, who served in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. His image and story will be included in my book. The album binding is loose, and a number of pages are empty. Nevertheless, it belonged to Frederick Douglass, and I felt privileged to see it up close, thanks to Joellen El Bashir, Curator of Manuscripts. She was extremely helpful and made my visit a success.