Civil War Soldiers William & Edwin Van Wart, Father & Son

On April 25, 1861, an eager and enthusiastic Edwin Forrest Van Wart, only 20, either very patriotic or very bored with his cap cutting job, answered President Lincoln’s call to arms to suppress the rebellion.  New York was required to send 17 regiments of men who appeared to be over 18 and under 45 and in physical strength and vigor.   To circumvent this problem, Edwin claimed to be 21, and his father, William Van Wart, claimed to be 40 instead of 44 when he signed up to join his son on muster day, May 9, at Fort Schuyler, for 2 years.  As a police officer, William must have thought he was in perfect shape to be a soldier.

 

 Battle Flag of the 5^th NY Zouaves, Companies A - H 

Colonel Abram Duryee had been asked to raise the regiment.  He must have given stirring rousing speeches because he raised the regiment in less than a week.  Edwin and William’s company, H, was recruited mostly from York city, Brooklyn, Flushing, Greenpoint, Tarrytown and West Point. William was from the Tarrytown area, but the family had been living in Manhattan during Edwin’s whole life.

 

 

 The fancy uniforms of the Zouave units certainly helped with recruiting, which also capitalized on the reputation of the original Zouaves, elite French soldiers with a fierce reputation. They began when France conquered Algeria and derived their name and dress from the Zouaoua, a Berber tribe in North Africa.  The uniforms might differ, but each was distinctive and included a fez, embroidered jacket, vest, sash, and baggy trousers, all in bright colors.  Zouave uniforms were tremendously popular in the US Civil War on both sides.  At the start of the war, each regiment’s uniform was unique; standardized uniforms were not begun until the confusion began to kill people who couldn’t tell friend from foe. 

 “Also known as the National Zouaves, …the regiment became renowned for its parade ground precision… in the 2^nd Division, V Corps…  (Their) first taste of action occurred at Big Bethel on 10^th June 1861…  One Zouave could proudly state, “I have seen enough to satisfy me first, that war ain’t play and second, that our regiment ain’t got no cowards in it.”  The regiment suffered 6 dead and a Confederate commented that their bright uniforms contrasted greatly with the pale, fixed faces of their dead owners.”  For 8 months, until 30^th March 1862, the Duryee Zouaves occupied the divided city of Baltimore and eventually became much admired by the townspeople.”

 

 

 The regiment's movements:

• May 23, 1861 - left New York
• May 25, 1861 - at Fort Monroe, Va.
• May 27, 1861 - in Pierce's Brigade, at Newport News, Va.
• July 27, 1861 -  at Baltimore, Md.
• April 11, 1862 - with the Army of the Potomac 

Duryee’s Zouaves, as they were known, participated in one of the first major battles, the Battle of Big Bethel, near Newport News, Va., a Confederate victory.   See https://www.historynet.com/battle-of-big-bethel.htm for more description of Edwin and William’s participation in the battle.

 

Disease during the war killed more soldiers than bullets, and Edwin and possibly William follow that example.  On April 30 and June 30, 1862, Edwin was absent from his company, sick with a fever (a description applied to any unknown disease with fever symptoms) in General Hospital, Annapolis.  The USA General Hospital muster rolls show him present with pneumonia.  From May 20, 1862 to May 21, 1863, he was attached to the hospital as a nurse.  Many recovering soldiers not well enough to return to battle were used as nurses, and I think it would enable them to get paid.   

Possible confusion between the names Edwin and Edward may have led to him being officially listed as a deserter during his time in the hospital, but when his widow Margaretta applied for a pension in 1901, the War Dept “determined the charges erroneous.”

Before the regiment set out for its next assignment, Edwin and William were discharged at Baltimore; William on May 31, 1862 upon being “certified with disability” not related to his service by the army surgeon for being unable to fight for 2 months due to hemorrhoids.

Not only did both survive the war, but they went on to live long healthy lives.  See Sorenson Pedigree Chart for their place in the family.

Sources:

From Karen Van Wart:

Concerning the entry about Edwin Forrest Van Wart, I have a copy of a paper from the War Department Record and Pension Office dated December 6, 1901: Edwin F. Van Wart, age 21, Co, H.5, Reg't NY Inf. was enrolled May 9 1861 and held the rank of private and during that period the rolls show him present except as follows: April 30, 1862. Absent. sick in General Hospital, Annapolis, Md. June 30, 1862, Same. Aug. 31, 1862. Absent without leave since April 21, 1862 Oct. 31, 1862. Reported as a deserter Oct. 2, 1862. Muster rolls of U. S. A. Gen'l Hospl. Annapolis, Md. reports him as follows: June 30, 1862. Present, attached to hospital as nurse May 20, 1862. To April 30, 1863, Same No personal description found except occupation cap cutter. The medical records show him treated as follows: April 21, 1862, Fever April 19, 1862 to ______ (Diagnosis not stated) April 22, 1862 to May 21, 1863 - Pneumonia No additional record of disability found. It has been determined by this Department that all charges of absence without leave and desertion against this man are erroneous, and that he was discharged the service May 21, 1863, having been retained in service by competent authority after the muster out of his company. By authority of the Secretary of War: F C Ainsworth, Chief of office, Dec. 6, 1901. Commissioner of Pensions

 NYS Military Museum & Veterans Research Center

First Legion Miniatures

New York in the War of the Rebellion, 3rd ed. Frederick Phisterer. Albany: J. B. Lyon Company, 1912.