James Johnson survived the 11th New Hampshire's attack at Marye's Heights at Fredericksburg.Įight months later, he was killed in a train accident in Indiana. “I spoke to him,” Proctor explained to Johnson's widow, “but he did not no me or eny one elce.” It was obvious Johnson was a hopeless case – he lived for about 20 more minutes. “He had his leage all smashed up about half way down from his knee,” Proctor wrote to the soldier’s wife, Joann, “and his head was hert verrey bad so that the blood was coming out of his ear.” (See Proctor letter and complete transcript below.) He found Johnson, a 36-year-old laborer fom Enfield, N.H., on his back, barely alive. Proctor waited for his car to stop before he leaped from the train to see if anyone had been injured. Riding ahead of Johnson, 11th New Hampshire Private Peter K. Five cars were frightfully piled upon each other, two of which were reared like a combed roof.' The bridge spanned a ravine and a deep stream.Īccording to a Philadelphia newspaper correspondent, 'the accident threw horses and negroes pell-mell into one end, but none were hurt, though they scratched their wooly heads with astonishments at this unexpected deliverance.' 'When about one hundred and fifty or two hundred yards past the bridge, one car that had been running on the edge of the bank, rolled down the embankment, stopping the whole train with a crash. 'The train was midway on the bridge when the first car left the iron, and the three cars in the rear followed, cutting the ties and bridge timbers nearly off,' the 51st Pennsylvania historian wrote. Some soldiers, including men in the 51st Pennsylvania, had been riding atop the train cars, a dangerous practice in the daytime let alone at night. Shortly after the fast-moving train had passed the hamlet of Shoals, Ind., the cars somehow ran off the tracks, violently tossing Johnson and other soldiers to the ground.

16, 1863, Johnson and other soldiers were traveling by train through Indiana. Like this blog on Facebook | Read more condolence notes here.Įight months after James Johnson survived a hellish assault on Marye’s Heights at Fredericksburg, the 11th New Hampshire private found himself on detached duty more than 600 miles west.

2 and today is a designated National Cemetery for soldiers.The cars on Private James Johnson's train, perhaps one much like this one, plummeted into a ravine. Of course, the training camp also includes graveyards for both camp workers and families of soldiers who died there as well as the soldiers themselves. There is a marked area on site where family and workers are buried but no individual markers. At the southwest end of the camp was the Nelson General Hospital with 10 wards, a laundry, offices, nurse’s and doctor’s quarters, a cookhouse, mess hall and a convalescent center for soldiers. There was, of course, a post office and a prison. They had a slaughterhouse, killing 800 animals a week, hogs and cattle, just to feed the troops. There were dozens of cook houses, mess halls, and a large bakery that produced 10,000 loaves of bread a day. The camp included 20 warehouses, six industrial workshops to build and repair wagons and ambulances, shoe horses, repair harnesses and provide lumber. There were carpenters, blacksmiths, cooks, wagon makers, harness makers, teamsters, cooks, clerks and laborers all which served under Chief Quartermaster, Theron E.

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