| Home |
| Photo of the Month January 2024 |
| See Previous Photos Unknown Faces and Places |
 |
|
George Potter (left) and Reuben Leonard |
Brothers-in-law Reuben Leonard and George Perry Potter are pictured in this image of an 1892 Civil War veterans reunion at the Ohiopyle House in Fayette County, PA.
Reuben, son of Benjamin and Sarah (Harbaugh) Leonard, is said to have served with distinction with the 168th Pennsylvania Drafted Militia despite affliction with from malaria and heart disease. He later said that when his regiment arrived in Newberne, NC, he "had to lie on ground that night, suffered very much with cold which resulted in Dumb Ague [fever and chills] and weak Back." His captain, J.C. Stacy, later wrote that: "... while on a forced march from Suffolk, Virginia to New Berne, North Carolina, [Reuben] contracted intermittent or malarial fever, caused by wading streams, sleeping in wet clothes, and bivouacking in the cold night air in the snow; that many of the most able-bodied men in [the] company broke down and never again recovered their health; that [Reuben's] health was broken down, and that he has never recovered..."
George, married to Mary Leonard, was drafted into the Union Army and served for four months in the 199th Pennsylvania Infantry. After his discharge, in February 1865, he re-enlisted in the 97th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Fellow soldier Marcus Church remembered that while on duty in March 1865 in Goldsborough, NC, George "became disabled by reason of exposure while marching, cold rains, wading streams and sleeping in wet clothes with out Blankets. He incurred what appeared to be rheumatism, disease [of the] bowels and kidneys being affected with severe pains and weakness in back... I also remember of his complaining of chills + fever which was caused by being in malarial districts for several months, first near Richmond, Va. + afterwards in North Carolina." Ephraim Vansickle recalled that George "was taken sick, his skin being of a yellowish color, and his symptoms indicating liver disease."
The other veterans in this photograph are, left to right: Oliver Sproul Sr., William P. Jackson, J.T. Lambie, Arch Boyd, Deacon Morris, Squire Collins, Andy Hall, Francis Cummingham, John Williams, A. Smalley, unknown, unknown, Col. Andrew Stewart, unknown, Doc Shipley, Billy Williams, Alan Bryner (with cane) and Paul Stull.
This image is provided courtesy of the Fayette County Historical Society. It has been published in Marci Lynn McGuinness's 1998 book, Stone House Legends and Lore. A reprint of the photograph is matted and framed with soldier identifications and has hung for years on the walls of the Old Stone House along Route 40 (the famed National Road) near Farmington, a restaurant and inn dating to 1822.
 |
|
Copyright © 2024 Mark A. Miner |
