Thus begins a “simple statement of my ‘War Record'” penned by George Washington Walling, Sr. a few years before his death in 1916, at the request of his son Thomas Burrowes Walling. (1) This document is one piece of the Walling Papers, the discove…
Thus begins a “simple statement of my ‘War Record'” penned by George Washington Walling, Sr. a few years before his death in 1916, at the request of his son Thomas Burrowes Walling. (1)
This document is one piece of the Walling Papers, the discovery that I wrote about here. Below is the entire transcription, but I’ve also included a digital image of one line with an illegible word (at least to me!) If anyone has any idea of what that last word is, please comment with your thoughts. It feels like a critical word in an important sentence.
This is the first ancestral civil war narrative I’ve read that was not part of pension application file. In other words, its purpose was not to highlight physical infirmities suffered on account of service. (From that standpoint, it’s refreshing.) Nor does it glorify participation. It’s just a matter of fact.
Continue reading ““Yes! I was a soldier in the civil war between the States….””
Family Epic 