ETCHED IN OLD STONE: Joseph Cackett, POW Civil War

Smith/POST: Sarah Sophia Post (sister of 2nd GGF John Franklin Post, Jr.) was married to Joseph Cackett for one day.

detail from Andersonville POW prison camp poster

Let Us Forgive, But Not Forget

Joseph Cackett, the young husband of Sarah Post (sister of my 2^nd GGF John Franklin Post, Jr.) was born in 1845 and served in the Michigan First Regiment of Engineers and Mechanics during the Civil War between 1863 to 1865. Born in Pluckley, Kent, England, Joseph emigrated to America as a child. At eighteen, he enlisted for three years of military service in Company L of the Michigan Volunteers on Dec. 14, 1863 at Brownstown, south of Detroit. Ranked Musician 1^st Class, he was taken prisoner at Murfreesboro, Tennessee on Dec. 15, 1864. (See official reports below)

 

He was held for sixteen weeks as a Union POW at Camp Sumter, better known as the notorious Andersonville Prison, where he was released as part of a prisoner exchange on the 5^th of April, 1865 -four days before General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox.  President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated the following week. Records show that Joseph was discharged from military service at Camp Chase, Ohio, on June 12, 1865. 

 

A year after his discharge and questionable recuperation, Joseph was married to Sarah Sophia Post, 17, “at the residence of John M. Adams” in Frenchtown, Monroe County, Michigan on June 7, 1866. (Officiated by Presbyterian Rev. C. N. Mattoon, D.D., who assisted at the wedding ceremony of Major Gen. George Armstrong Custer two years earlier.) The marriage was witnessed by Sarah’s twin siblings, R[oswell] Harmon Post and Ruth H. Post. 

 

The following day, on his twenty-first birthday, Joseph Cackett died. In the span of twenty-four hours, Sarah had been transformed from bride to widow. Joseph was buried in the Post plot of Potter Cemetery, the brief record of his life and death etched into the headstone shared with the young wife of Sarah’s brother, Abraham Post. (Abraham also administrated Joseph’s probate estate.)

Potter Cemetery, Ash Twp. Monroe, Michigan

The following reports from the Tennessee Historical Commission help to tell the story of Joseph’s military fate from both sides of the Civil War:   

December 15, 1864 – [Confederate] Capture of railroad train near Murfreesborough

[Report of Maj. Jerome B. Nulton, Sixty-first Illinois Infantry, of operations December 12-15, 1864.]
“HDQRS. SIXTY-FIRST ILLINOIS INFANTRY, Murfreesborough, Tenn., December 22, 1864.

SIR: I have the honor to make the following report in regard to the recent expedition to Stevenson, Ala., which resulted in the capture of the entire train and a portion of the escort:

 

Pursuant to instructions from the general commanding, the Sixty-first Illinois Infantry, 150 strong, and about forty of the First Michigan Engineers, left Murfreesborough, Tenn., on the 12^th instant, with orders to proceed to Stevenson, Ala., and return without delay with the train laden with supplies for this garrison. We arrived at Stevenson on the 13^th with but little difficulty, and after having procured the supplies required we started for Murfreesborough early on the morning of the14th. 

 

The train was delayed at the Cumberland Mountains in consequence of being unable to ascend the grade, but we finally succeeded in crossing and reach Bell Buckle about dark in the evening, where we received intimation of an enemy in our front. About 2 o’clock at night [i.e., the 15^th] we were fired into at or near Christiana, and upon being informed by the conductor that he could not run the train back we immediately debarked, formed a line so as to protect the train, and moved on, repairing the road as we came, but our progress was necessarily very slow, from the fact that the enemy had cut the road in various places. 

 

Here allow me to state that while in this condition we dispatched a messenger to Gen. Rousseau to notify him of our situation and asking for re-enforcement. Fighting continued by the enemy, at which time we were entirely surrounded by the enemy, with the road cut in our front and rear. Soon after daylight the enemy dismounted and charged our line, but they were handsomely repulsed, with considerable loss in killed and wounded. They then brought their artillery into action, which soon convinced us that we could not hold the train against such fearful odds. 

 

Consequently, about 8 o’clock [the 15^th], the colonel, 1 captain, 2 lieutenants, and 81 enlisted men belonging to the Sixty-first were captured, together with the entire portion of the First Michigan Engineers, including the lieutenant in charge.” ~~~ J.B. NULTON, Maj. Sixty-first Illinois Infantry, Cmdg. Regt. OR, Ser. I, Vol. 45, pt. I, pp 620-621.

[Excerpt from the Report of Major-General Nathan Bedford Forrest, C. S. Army, commanding cavalry, on operation from November 16, 1864 to January 23, 1865, relative to the capture of a Union supply train on December 15, 1864.]

“…Brig.-Gen. Jackson, who had been previously ordered to operate south of Murfreesborough, captured, on the 13^th, [i.e., 15^th] a train of seventeenth cars and the Sixty-first Illinois Regt. Of Infantry, commanded by Lieut.-Col. Grass. The train was loaded with supplies of 60,000 rations, sent from Stevenson to Murfreesborough, all of which were consumed by fire, after which the prisoners, about 200 in number, were sent to the rear.” ~~~ OR, Ser. I, Vol. 45, pt. I, p. 756.

Tramp, Tramp, Tramp

Composed by George F. Root in 1863

It is said that this popular Civil War song ‘struck a chord’ in the hopeful heart of every prisoner of war. Rumors within the prison confines of Andersonville -that Union troops were soon to liberate the soldiers held there- bolstered the spirits of men like Joseph Cackett as they waited for their release. Prison conditions were deplorable, with disease, malnutrition, overcrowding and exposure taking many young lives before the war’s end. Used as a POW prison camp for only fourteen months, 13,000 of the 45,000 men held there would never see home again.

CHORUS:

“Tramp, tramp, tramp. The boys are marching.

Cheer up, comrades, they will come.

And beneath the starry flag, we shall breathe the air again,

of the free land in our own beloved homes."

THE STRAIGHT LINE: Welsh Warriors

 (Straight/Mayfield/Seese/Glover)

 --Originally posted 3/14/2013 as “WELSH WARRIORS (Straight/Seese Family)--

Revised 4/12/2018

ROOTS: Cardiganshire, Wales

Welsh defiance to English rule appeared to be 'in the blood' of our Straight generations for centuries.  By the late 1600’s, however, we find our ancestor, Capt. Jacob Straight, taking sides with England against the French in America -with descendants later defending the new America from French, Indian, and English control.

Unlike the Welsh Morgans, who came from Glamorgan in the south, the Welsh Straights originated on the west coast of Wales in Cardiganshire. Although I haven't yet found much 'official' documentation to help support that claim, it does appear that at least one Straight, the father of our first transatlantic ancestor Captain Jacob, stepped over the border to England, married, and raised two sons there.   He was said to be the only one of William Straight Sr.'s sons who did not live and die in their beloved Wales.

Below is a generally-accepted lineage that is as factual as the few, conflicting records allow:

10th GGF William Straight (1612 - 1691) m. Margaret Lesh (It is believed that William was born and died in Aberporth, Cardiganshire, Wales)

William Straight, said to be descended from the Welsh branch of the Six Nations of Celts, became a supporter of King Charles I in 1645. From 1649 to 1660 William Straight with his wife, four sons and two daughters continued to live as Welsh without interference by the English. In 1664 he was made a magistrate in his native district, a post he held until his death in 1691. His wife Margaret Lesh died in 1686. Their sons, Robert, Jacob, William, and Joseph, with two daughters were born in Cardigan (Cordican).  All of his family -with the exception of son William- lived and died in Wales.

William Straight (1642 - 1717)  m. Abbie Bruce or Brice (William born in Cardigan, Wales; he and his wife died in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.) One source suggests that William may have been a shareholder in a trading vessel based in Bristol that had a Northern European trade route.  After ten years as shareholder, William sold his interest in 1701.

Capt. Jacob Straight -to America in 1689 (1663 - ) m. Elizabeth Moorefield in 1687 (Jacob was born in Cardiganshire, Wales; died in England)
Jacob Straight, eldest son of William and Abbie Straight, was born in 1663, and his brother William Jr. was born in 1665. They both had military school education and were "Guards of Honor" in 1685.  In 1689, these sons of William Straight were sent to the American Colonies as captains in the King's Service, active in the first of four French & Indian wars, King William's War, 1689-1697. It is believed that they both retired from the King's service in 1695 and lived in Philadelphia for three more years before returning to England. 

John Milton Straight  (1688 - Unk)  m. Ann Carhart in America in 1712
(John was born in Gloucestershire, England; prob. died in Pennsylvania)

According to Horne’s research, and subject to some confusion, John Milton Straight was born on 12 Nov 1688 in Bristol, England and crossed the Atlantic with his parents as an infant in 1869.  Since he and Ann married in Chester County, Pennsylvania, it seems unlikely that his parents returned to England before he became an adult.  Although American Genealogical Society records reportedly show he was a “captain in the New York Militia Company in the third of four French & Indian wars, King George’s War; 1744-1748,” it is possible that his military service may have been confused with that of his son, Jacob.  This is further suggested by the fact that the shared date and place of his death match that of son Jacob, who died during military service in 1758.

Jacob Straight “1^st Generation American” (1715 - 1758)  m. Rebecca Brown

Son of John Milton Straight, Jacob Straight was born in Philadephia in 1715.  He learned the cooper trade (barrel making) in Philadelphia and worked for William Conwell in 1738, later settling in Frederick County, Maryland.  He served as a guard at Fort Frederick, Maryland in 1757.  In October, 1758, Jacob Straight died in the service of General Forbes' Army at Will's Creek near present day Cumberland, Maryland.

[Note: Oct. 12-13, 1758 a French force attacked Gen. Forbes's army at Ft. Ligonier and was repulsed. The British continued to advance toward Fort Duquesne.]

“The 60 Maryland volunteers went out and attacked them with vigor and courage”

- General Forbes to Richard Peters, 16 October 1758

Jacob Straight, Jr. (1741 - 1786) m. Elizabeth Ann Dragoo

Jacob Straight Jr. was born in Frederick Co. Maryland in 1744.  According to one family account, Jacob trained as a surveyor.  He did the first surveying on Indian Creek, (Monongalia Co.) Virginia in 1767 and also surveyed for David Morgan in 1769 and in 1772.  He served in Lord Dunmore's War in 1774 as a frontier guard along the Monongahela River above and below Morgantown. According to DAR and SAR records, Jacob served in the Revolutionary War as a captain in Zackquill Morgan’s company, Virginia Militia.  A record of his enlistment is found in a manuscript known as the Pittsburgh Payroll, listing Virginia soldiers who served on the Western front in 1775.  (It shows he served for 162 days, receiving 123.0 pay.)  Captain Straight was a Wood Ranger in 1774-1775. He also served in 1777-1778 with Captain Will Minor and was one of the Rangers that drove the British soldiers from the Dunkard Valley in 1779.  The story of Jacob's death can be found on this blog at Raid at Chunk’s Run.”  [His widow, Elizabeth Dragoo Straight survived the attack at Chunk's Run and later married William Kennedy, Jr.]

Jacob Kennedy Straight (1787 - 1853) m. Permelia Shuman

Some researchers show Jacob being born more than a year following his father’s death and prior to his mother’s marriage to William Kennedy; some suggest he may have been born earlier than 1787.  Either way, it seems most likely that Jacob was conceived prior to Jacob, Sr.’s death and born earlier than October of 1787.  [The middle name "Kennedy" may have been used to differentiate him from another Jacob Straight of the time.]  His widowed mother, Elizabeth (Dragoo) Straight, had four children with the surname of Straight before she remarried William Kennedy, Jr., an immigrant from County Mayo, Ireland who had served as a private in the Revolutionary War. Elizabeth and her four Straight children moved to the Kennedy farm on McFarland’s Run south of Morgantown in Monongalia County. Elizabeth had six more children with William Kennedy, all of whom were given the Kennedy surname. 

Jacob K. married Permelia Shuman in 1810.  They settled on Big Indian Creek near the head of Chunks Run where both the Shuman and Kennedy families lived. (The present-day county line between Marion and Monongalia Counties divided Jacob K.'s farm on the Monongalia side from the Kennedys.)  Their first child, daughter Permelia, continued our family line.

“Jacob K. supplemented his farm income as a cobbler and boot maker. The story is told that two of his sons, Levi J. and William Milton, walked from Marion County, WV to Chillicothe, OH, worked for two years in timber along the Ohio River, and walked back home in the same boots that they had started out in.” (from Roane Co. WVA GenWeb) Sixty-six year old Jacob K. died of a stroke at his home on 20 July 1853 and was buried with a fieldstone marker on a ridge near his home in the Straight/Floyd Cemetery, Chunks Run, Monongalia Co.  Upon her death in 1874, his widow was interred by his side.

Following a “Straight Line:”

Although the Straight surname ‘died out’ in our family with the marriage between Permelia Straight and James Madison Mayfield, this family line continued with three generations of daughters into the twentieth century Glover/Seese family:
Permelia Straight (1810 - 1879) m. James Madison Mayfield

(3^rd Great grandmother) daughter of Jacob Kennedy Straight [note: seeking additional birth documentation]

Temperance Mayfield (1835 - 1910) m. Jonas Seese

daughter of Permelia Straight

Joan (or Joanna) Seese (1873 - 1963) m. Thomas Jackson Glover

daughter of Temperance Mayfield

Ira Russell Glover (1895 - 1964)

son of Joan Seese