THE BOWMAN BUGLE
Newsletter of the Four Corners area
SONS of UNION VETERANS of the CIVIL WAR.
THOMAS E. BOWMAN CAMP No. 12
Durango, Colorado
Department of Colorado & Wyoming
2004 “Most Successful New Camp in the Nation”
FEBRUARY 15, 2005
Issue #11
COMMANDERS COLUMN
There are several cemeteries in our part of the country that may have Civil War soldiers
or sailors buried in them without appropriate markers. If you are willing and able to
research a cemetery to try to locate them so that we can order headstones for them, please
let me know and I can get a list to you of the fellows supposedly buried there. This is
from a list that I received from Brother Charles Sharrock Sr. from his research at the
Colorado archives. Remember, THIS is one of the specific tasks that we, as members of
the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, have been charged with. Greenmount
Cemetery has a great computer printout listing of grave locations for many of the
cemeteries in La Plata County. Apparently though, some of the locations for the real early
burials have not made it into that list. I can order the headstones if we can document the
burial place and identification of the veteran. Get in touch with me for more information.
Since our Camp 12 is sponsoring the Auxiliary to the SUVCW and we have to have a
committee to approve the ladies’ membership applications I have appointed a committee
of Jerry Crawford, Duane Smith and Robert Foisel for that purpose.
Just a reminder, be sure to mark your calendars for the Department Encampment in
Colorado Springs, CO on June 18, 2005. Location is on the Department website, and I
will also get it to you, with the meeting time, when the date gets closer. If you have
questions please contact me. For our Department Encampment all members of the
Department are allowed to vote at the Encampment. So not only do you have an
opportunity to meet the other Brothers in the Department, but you also have an
opportunity to elect officers and help guide the direction the Department is going in the
future.
Jim Davenport
Camp Commander
MEETING DATE CHANGE
Due to the fact that some of us will either out of State or out of Country on March 12, and
the bagpipers are having a meeting at Jerry Crawford’s home on March 12, the next
SUVCW meeting will be set back a week to March 19th, 2005 at Jerry Crawford’s home
at 9:30 AM. Hope to see all of you there. It is my understanding that the ladies may also
meet there at that time for an organizational meeting of the Auxiliary to the SUVCW.
ACTIVITIES
So far this winter, while my leg is still is a cast/walking boot, I have researched the
muster in/out dates, birth/death dates, AKA names, and information on the wounding and
capture (POW) dates and places, on about 2000 of the about 4500 Union soldiers that are
entered into the national database as being buried in Colorado. I hope to have the project
completed by June. A time consuming task but it is enjoyable and gives me something to
do while my leg continues to heal.
We have Memorial Day coming up the end of May. Let’s try to have a good turnout of
Camp members in uniform, or at least wearing our SUVCW membership badges, for the
ceremony at the Fairmount Cemetery. If you live outside of Durango, and can not make it
for that ceremony, please try to attend your local ceremony and then let me know about it
so that I can report it in the newsletter. Remember to report any Civil War related activity
that you participate in so that it can be reported.
There are several cemeteries in our part of the country that may have Civil War soldiers
or sailors buried in them without appropriate markers. If you are willing and able to
survey the cemeteries and do research on them to determine the location of those
unmarked graves please let me know and I can give you some information on who the
Colorado archives says is buried in those cemeteries.
The above photos are of a couple of C.S.A. headstones that Brother Charles Sharrock Sr.
obtained for a fellow in Marshall, TX who requested his help in getting them. The one on
the right is for Brig. Gen. Horace Randall who fought at Vicksburg, Mansfield, Pleasant
Hill, and was killed on the last day of fighting at Jenkins Ferry in Arkansas. The other
soldier was John G. Morris of Lanes Rangers who lived to the ripe old age of nearly 83
years. Thanks, Charles, for sending this information on some of your activities, and
Thanks for obtaining the headstones for these Civil War veterans. We do not have to limit
out activities to only Union veterans buried in Colorado with the headstone projects.
ANCESTOR
Our ancestor for this issue is the Great-Great-Grandfather of Brother Donald Curtis
Shoemaker, Jr., our camp member living in Albuquerque, NM. He is Rodolph H.
Whitmer, sometimes referred to as Rudolph Whitmer. He was born in New York and was
a tailor by profession. He was 5’ 10” tall, dark hair and blue eyes. He was 41 years of age
when he enlisted in CO. K, 34 Regt. Kentucky Infantry Volunteers on August 15th, 1862.
He served as Orderly Sergeant in CO. K until about June 1, 1863 and was then detached
for recruiting service to recruit CO. B in the 34th KY VOL Infantry. He was mustered in
as 2nd LT in CO. B, then 1st LT, his commission dated May 30, 1864. He served as the
adjutant of the company until he was commissioned Captain of CO. B dated March 30,
1865. On May 28th, 1865 he received the Majors commission dated May 9th, 1865. He
was mustered out as a Captain at Knoxville, Tennessee on the 24th of June 1865.
Sergeant Whitmer may have seen action in the battle of Munfordville, where elements of
the 34th (including CO. K) were surrendered to General Bragg. Brother Shoemaker says
“My guess is that while on parole he was detached for recruiting duty for CO. B of which
he was commissioned a 2nd LT”.
Whitmer spent some of his service in the Cumberland Gap area-a strategic area guarding
the gateway into Southeastern Kentucky. While a 1st LT on or about July 1, 1864,
Whitmer was detailed to the 4th Tennessee Battery (Artillery) under Captain Beelee at
Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, in charge of Forts E and F with CO. B, and remained on
artillery duty until about the 1st of December 1864 at which time the regiment received
orders to go to Knoxville, Tennessee.
Lt Whitmer also performed some special duties. Sometime in 1864 he was detailed to
escort Confederate prisoners to the Union prison camp at Rock Island, Illinois.
An extract of his orders reads:
Head-Quarters District of Kentucky
Office Provost Marshall General
Louisville,, 1864
Special Order 27 Extract
Lieutenant RH Whitmer CO B, 34th KY V. Infantry with a guard of 54 men will
take possession of Two Hundred and Twenty Four (224) prisoners of war & proceed to
Rock Island, ILL. Where he will deliver them to the Commanding Officer of that post,
after which LT. Whitmer and guard will return without delay to this city.
By order of
Brigadier General Burbridge
From March into May of 1864 he was in the Branch D Clay General Hospital in
Louisville, KY. While in the Officers Hospital, Whitmer was detailed to serve with other
officers on a General Court Martial Board.
After the War, Whitmer returned to his home in Perry County, Indiana and joined the
Grand Army of the Republic, Post #3 of Perry County of the Department of Indiana on
August 3rd, 1867. He eventually received a disability pension of $11.25 per month.
Brother Shoemaker is lucky to have the original documents of his ancestors commission
papers, discharge papers, pension certificate, GAR enlistment and various and sundry
papers that he carried and received during the war.
I am in NEED of another ancestor history if you have a civil war veteran ancestor on
whom you have not yet sent in the history.
FUND RAISING
What do you brothers think of having a YARD SALE in the Durango area this spring
when yard sale season starts? It is one small way to add a few $$ to our camp treasury. It
would consist of donated items with the total, or in some cases, a portion of the sale price
going into the treasury. Since we are a non-profit, tax exempt, organization I believe that
the value of the donated items would be tax deductible. I’m not a tax expert so you had
best check with someone to make sure if you intend to claim it as a donation. We can
discuss it at the next Camp meeting on March 19, 2005 at Jerry Crawford’s home. Check
with your families to see what you might be able to contribute if we decide to have one. It
WILL NOT be held on a Camp meeting Saturday. I, Brother Jim, would welcome any
comments between now and the next meeting if you desire to share them. Either contact
me by email, jimjanie@fone.net or at 970-565-9225, or 901 Garrison Drive, Cortez, CO
81321 if you feel in the letter writing mood.
GENERAL ORDERS
Hopefully each of you Brothers in Camp 12 received the General Orders # 1 & 2 from
Dept Commander Doyle Brewer that I forwarded via email or snail mail. If you did not
receive them let me know and I will send them again. Briefly Gen. Order 1 establishes the
James E. Jewell award for the Department member who recruits the most new members
in a year and #2 instructs the Dept Historian to document the items in ‘The Trunk” and
recommend the disposition of those items for storage.
I hope that you enjoyed this edition of the BOWMAN BUGLE. Please feel free to
contribute if you feel so inclined.
Brother Jim Davenport
Editor