Minerd.com Biography of Joshua V. and Lucretia Armstrong of Cardington, OH

Joshua V. Armstrong
(1843-1862)

Annapolis National Cemetery
Courtesy Find-a-Grave - "ricemeterylady"

Joshua V. Armstrong was born in 1843 in Ohio, the son of William Forster and Mary (Denmon) Armstrong.

He was but a boy when his mother died, followed by the passing of his stepmother Clarissa in 1856 when he was age 13.

Then in 1857, when Joshua was age 14, his father married a third time, to Elizabeth (Miner) Wilson.

Joshua grew up in Cardington, Morrow County, OH, where his father earned a living as a shingle-maker.

The federal census enumeration of 1860 shows that Joshua lived under the roof of carriage maker G.R. Cunningham in Cardington, where he was one of four apprentices working to learn the trade.

On April 18, 1861, less than a week after the Civil War erupted, the 18-year-old Joshua enlisted in the Union Army. He was assigned to the 4th Ohio Infantry, Company K, and was mustered in on May 4, 1861 at Camp Dennison, OH. His term was to have been three months. For reasons not yet known, only two months later, he mustered out of the Army on June 14, 1861.

Joshua then re-enlisted in the same regiment, the 4th Ohio, which had been reorganized for troops serving three-year terms. The regiment is known to have seen action at Rich Mountain, WV (July 11, 1861) -- Romney, WV (Sept. 23 and Oct. 26, 1861) -- Winchester, VA (March 23, 1862) -- Front Royal, VA (May 30, 1862) -- Port Republic, VA (June 9, 1862) -- and Antietam, MD (Sept. 17, 1862).

Above: Camp Dennison, where Joshua enlisted in the Union Army. Below: Rich Mountain, WV, his first action of the war, under the command of Gen. George B. McClellan, against Lt. Col. John Pegram's Confederates.

Sadly, two days after the Battle of Antietam, on Sept. 19, 1862, Joshua died in Annapolis, MD. It is not known if he took part in the battle, but his demise is recorded by one source to have been caused by "disease." His remains were interred in Annapolis National Cemetery, with the name "J. Armstrong" inscribed on the standard-issue military marker, in Section I, Site 1890. The cemetery lists his date of death as one day differently, Sept. 20, 1862.

There is no evidence to suggest that his grieving parents applied to receive a military pension as compensation for his loss.

Joshua's name is recorded in two places in the multi-volume series Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio(Akron: The Werner Company, 1893), in Vol. 1, page 80 (first enlistment) and in Vol. II, page 118 (second term).

He is not to be confused with "Joshua A. Armstrong (1831-1862), also of Ohio and also a Union Army casualty of the Civil War and Antietam battle. On Aug. 4, 1855, in Allen County, OH, Joshua A. wed Lucretia Matilda Morris (June 15, 1837-1918). Together, the pair produced a trio of offspring -- Isaac Armstrong, Alice Armstrong and Amasa Armstrong. Joshua A. served with the 23rd Ohio Infantry, Company F, and died on Sept. 20, 1862, three days after being wounded at Antietam.

Battle action at Antietam. Below, the battlefield today.