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The worst part of doing a jigsaw puzzle might come after you lay out all the parts. The box says there are 100 pieces... but you have counted 102... What to do????

5/28/2017

Just like the puzzle, in the John Hanna story we need to throw out a few parts.

The last two blogs in this space brought you part of this story. A fellow from Nova Scotia by the above name moved off to the US pre Civil War days, and signed up when the war began. Gunshot wounds saw him in and out of hospitals and doing service in three different army outfits. In the third, he was selected to serve as one of the 29 honor guards of the remains of President Lincoln during the escort from DC after the assassination to his final resting place in Springfield. For this incredible honor John was awarded the Medal off Honor as where the other 28.

But in 1917 the government decided to take back the medals... illegally,.. with hundreds of others in the purge, a matter well documented in this space over the past 4 years.

All that aside, for years the whereabouts of John's grave has been a mystery to family and anyone else interested in the case. Recently, with the incredible help of a researcher based in the DC area and a great supporter of this blog, John's pension file was located and within that, both his and his wife Julia's graves were identified as being in Pottsville Pa, where both had lived from pre CW days until his 1891 death.

Here is a picture of Nova Scotia's Medal of Honor recipient, First Sergeant John Lindsay Hanna, some years after his retirement in the US Army's Veterans Corps in 1865.

File documents talk about how well he was liked in Pottsville and, from the image here, he looks like he was a most dignified member of the community.

As noted in an earlier blog, this is the pension index card for Canada's John Hanna. The card shows that his first regiment to serve in was the 40th NY Volunteer Infantry, in H company. At the bottom the card also shows he then served in L company of the 2nd US Cavalry, and lastly, in B Company of the 14th Volunteer Reserve Cops.

This card gave the application number, and the subsequent granting certificate number for pensions, for both John, and after death, for his wife Julia.

It was from these numbers supplied to my friend in DC, that a trip to the national archives and a search produced the widow's files and lots of info about John's service, widow's pension, their deaths and burial.

Sounds simple... but then comes along an extra piece in the puzzle. Here it is....

This is another pension index card for another fellow named John Hanna. But note that he is not listed as serving in any of the above 3 regiments. In fact his service is limited to just one... the 95th Pennsylvania Infantry.

The Pottsville cemetery feels that it is this Hanna, born in Philladelphia, rather than the Canadian Hanna that is buried at their cemetery. As does web site called www.pennsylvaniagravesites.org.

Here are the grave markers at Pottsville...

And here is what the web site featuring these grave markers says about John....

It clearly says the man at Pottsville is the soldier from the 95th PA infantry. A net search of Medal of Honor recipients from that regiment will reveal the names of three Medal of Honor heroes, but none had the surname Hanna.

Back in 1880 a Pottsville Pa. census lists John and Julia Hanna. The document claims he was born in "Mass" as where his mother and father. I suggest that it may have been a little easier for the person taking the information down, to add in MASS, rather than Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia, as supported by various NS Genealogical record.

Pre the Civil War John had moved to the US. It is known that 2 brothers either went with him or came earlier or later. One served in the navy and the other also in the army during that war. There are a number of family connections in the Norfolk area, and thus, if he wrote down he was from "Mass", that might be part of the reason.

Moving on, here is an obit found for one of the John's the very day the Canadian John died back in 1891. It was sent to me by one of a group in the US who are now trying to help get to the bottom of this puzzle.

Note that Hanna is reported as having lived in Schuylkill Avenue. The number was # 706 and is often mentioned in the Canadian Hanna pension file. The obit also noted service in 3 regiments. The American Hanna is only mentioned as serving in one. This document... created the very day he died, says that the Hanna being reported on was a member of the Lincoln Honor Guard.

It also notes a birth... over 50 years after the fact, that he was born in the Norfolk area, as stated re the census details of 1880, and also above commented on.

I think from all that I have mentioned so far, you can see that there are a few pieces of the puzzle that ought to be discarded. So now its time to look at some more smoking guns.

I showed you the American born Hanna's pension index card for a reason. Once it was found I also asked my DC friend to have a look for the Yank's file, and soon is was located and portions sent to me.

This certificate, though difficult to read, came from the file. It states that Hanna, a Philadelphia born soldier served in the 95th and served from Sept. 1861 to Aug. 1862. It adds that he was then discharged due to disability. If discharged, how he could be possibly be still in the military three years later and be involved in the Lincoln honor guard?

Here's a bigger smoking gun...

From the same file comes this document. At item 6 it says this man Hanna died in 1897, while the marker at Pottsville clearly shows the Cdn soldier died in 1891. Item 12 shows that he died at Philadelphia and item 14 says he was was buried... NOT AT POTTSVILLE. but at Mt Peace Cemetery which happens to be in Philadelphia Pa.

From the same American soldier's file comes this document..an affidavit seeking a pension for his wife. She signs the document as SARAH Hanna. The Pottsville grave gives the name JULIA. The above pension certificate number.. 14910, is the very number found on the above index card for the American soldier. The above also claims that the ONLY regiment he served in was the 95th...so how in the world can he be the fellow buried at Pottsville Pa. ?

From the American's file also comes this notice of his wife Sarah's death in 1924. The Pottsville grave shows Julia passed away in 1905.

And from the above certificate of Sarah's death, if you look at bottom center of the page you will see that she joined her husband at rest in the same plot at Mt Peace in Philadelphina ... not Pottsville Pa.

And perhaps the biggest smoking gun is the one I saved for last. I have spoken to a descendant of the Hanna who was born in Canada. I am told that as a youth that individual was handed the actual Medal of Honor by that person's grandmother. Curious! If not the family, how did the family get the medal.

I anxiously await being sent some images of the medal. I hope to to here from the cemetery at Pottsville, the group from the US looking into this matter, and the website with the incorrect info with regards to what steps will be taken to correct this story so that the family, and the public, including descendants on both sides of the border can see history corrected and shared heritage preserved.

See you next week with yet another MOH mystery being worked on and partly resolved.

Bart

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Try fighting injustice after you've been dead a quarter century. Add another century and its almost insurmountable. Soon that hopefully changes!

5/21/2017

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On Wednesday I stated to bring you the story of Nova Scotia born John Hanna. Like some 50,000 other British North Americans, he risked his life by joining the US Civil War in efforts to keep the United States from splitting up.

Many would die on US soil. But he'd be one of the lucky ones and while wounded, lived to tell his story. His wounds caused him to spend a lot of time in and out of hospital and leaving one regiment to join a 2nd and ultimately a third when his injury became so bad he could not continue at the front lines.

Perhaps he saw an advertisement like this and ended up serving with the 60,000 Volunteer Veterans Corps. It would be here that John would be selected as one of the most trusted and sent on a very special assignment. The president had been assassinated and 29 hand picked men were needed to act as an Honor Guard to stay with the President's remains 24 hours a day from when the funeral train left Washington DC along the route to Springfield where Abraham Lincoln would be finally laid to rest some 2 weeks later.

The funeral route was almost a reverse of the President's trip to DC for his inauguration. It made numerous stops in several states and well over 3 million were estimated to have come out to pay their respects and admiration for their slain Commander if Chief.

President Johnson promised each of the 4 officers and 25 First Sergeants...John being one of these, a Medal of Honor for performing this duty. Each was so awarded on 5 May 1865.

While many would question why such a high award was presented, when there are so many others that performed so bravely during the war years before getting their medals. But you must remember that the requirements for the medal were not what they are today. And with over 50 different types of bravery awards in the service today, during the CW there was ONE. The president had authority to make this award and he did so.

It was just a year earlier that John married a Pottsville Pa woman, and so, when the war ended John turned to civilian work and at one point was working as a letter carrier. He remained in the area till death in 1891.

This is what is called a pension index card. It gives you numbers of files that you can go and hunt for at the appropriate National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) offices or elsewhere. From this you can see he served with the 40th NY Infantry, then, from the comments at the bottom, with the 2nd US Cavalry and finally with the 14th Veterans Corps.

At the upper left we see that John applied for an invalid's pension in mid 1887, and since a certificate number is given at the right, it shows his application was successful. Just off the page in upper left is a stamp DEAD, mostly not shown, When the pensioner dies, this is affixed, and usually a date of death given. It is missing on this card.

After death a widow, or mother or other authorized person can apply for a continuation of the pension, in the case here... as a widow. Usually, but missing on this card, is the widow's first name. As is the date of her application. Note the APPLICATION NUMBER for the widow's pension. It is important... as you shall soon see.

Using the latest pension application number, in this case, those of the widow, a web search produced no files. But millions have yet to be scanned and uploaded. But then a NARA search located the file. About 70 pages have been sent to me. Great stuff within. Some files have well over 100 pages, some a dozen... It is often the luck of the draw.

And within these pages there is an affidavit signed by the very undertaker who saw the body of John Hanna at death on 31 July 1891 and actually buried the man on August 4th.

Here is the affidavit. Note the widow's application number on the 2nd line, and the application number on the pension file. They are both the same number.

This documents that the John Hanna mentioned above is buried at the Presbyterian Cemetery at Pottsville Pa.

So, looking for this cemetery on the net you can find the above image. It shows that they have only two people with the surname Hanna at the cemetery, a John and Julia, the same names of our man and his wife. The same names in the widow's pension files.

This is her marker, and john's is below.

But note a major problem on the left. Back in 2009 someone added a description here of another John Hanna, a fellow that also served in the Civil War, but with the 95th Pa Volunteers. This regiment had 3 Medal of Honor recipients. None was named Hanna.

When I asked the cemetery for a copy of any records they had on this plot and those within, the only document they could locate is this card above. Not sure who the third person is, but note the spelling of Hanna is not correct 3 times on same document, and does not even match the spelling on the very grave markers shown above.

When I searched for some info on the Hanna the cemetery claims to have buried there, I found the above card. It shows that this fellow did not join the military until mid September 1861. The Canadian Hanna joined 27 June, 3 months earlier, and was still serving till 2 Dec 1862, when he left the 40th NY to join the 2nd US Cavalry that same day. The fellow above got out 7 months earlier.

While I have yet to locate the actual pension file for this other Hanna, I have found the pension index card. And I note something very strange. The card clearly shows that In Sept of 1862 he is applying for a invalid pension. The Canadian is still serving at this time, and does not apply for his invalid pension till 1887.

This cemetery is the final resting place of Colonel Frick, a Medal of Honor hero from the days of Chancellorsville. While research is ongoing in several fronts to get to the bottom of this case, it would be wonderful to see the day in the near future where Mr Fricks, a Pottsville man and Hanna, a long time Pottsville man, once again chatting from above about their due recognition from days long gone.

And there is some irony here. Just about 70 miles to the South East is the famous grounds of Valley Forge where well over 3,500 MOH recipients are honoured, despite the fact that the heroes convention hall above, houses those 3500, and I'd bet even have room for the 1917 boys as well.

I will bring you more of this as the story improves.

Bart

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Despite obstacles, another Canadian chapter on Medal of Honor men is slowly seeing light of day!

5/17/2017

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It really got closed a century ago... almost to the month. But things are slowly changing.

It however is a shame that it involves the same concept about the Rule of Law that is currently making eyes and ears glued to the TV sets, the radio and newspaper and the net 24/7 all across North America. Perhaps much of the rest of the world as well!.

All to "Make America Great Again." Hmmmmm!

The incredible buffoonery and foot-dragging in DC suggests the hard lessons are yet to be learned by many. Similar lesson plans were also available back in 1917 but also seem locked up in some vault waiting to this very day to be bust open.

And the main stream media, a force that is supposed to be comforting the inflicted and inflicting the comfortable, has yet to do the busting and get on with the inflicting.

A decade ago John J Pullen wrote a book called..."A Shower of Stars." It told of the 27th Maine, who's medals were forwarded when most were sent in error. It added that the commander tried to return them and got rebuffed so he hid most in his barn. Upon his death kids found a handful and were playing with them in the streets...and thus... a Shower... of stars.

Those stars were Medals of Honor. A handful of them had the names of Canadians inscribed on their backs.

Looking to the right of this blog you will see that at the bottom of a long list, blogs in this space started over 4 years ago. Within the first 2 dozen blogs you will find considerable evidence that the purge of Medals of Honor conducted in Feb of 1917 was illegal. The issue has been noted numerous times over the past almost 400 blogs.

Not one has been challenged by anyone of authority to this date.

I won't be elaborating on it today.

But from that purge also several dozen other than the men of the 27th Maine fell victim to this unlawful action. And today's blog is about one of these men.

His name was John Hanna, and you have probably never heard of him before. And you should be upset about this. You have heard of Sgt York, and Audie Murphy and Teddy Roosevelt and Charles Lindbergh. They all were awarded medals of Honor. So was Hanna. But no one told you that.

If you go to the thousands of hits on the net about the Medal of Honor after posing the question .. How many Medals of Honor were awarded, most will tell you about 3500 or a little more.

EVERY ONE OF THEM IS WRONG!

To these numbers can be added at least 900 that were purged in 1917. Being purged, legal or otherwise does not mean they were never awarded. This is not Rocket Science. But the vast majority of sites do not tell you this. Many of those that talk about the purge have done little in the way of in-depth research on the topic and get the story quite wrong. Often with flippant comments.

And thus, stories like John Hanna's have been buried along with the very recipients for a century or more. They and their descendants have been robbed of their proper place in the history of the US Military, and of America itself, and Canada... and perhaps 30 or more other countries.

I had never heard of John until a researcher in eastern Canada found my website and wrote asking for help finding where John died and rests in peace today. I in turn reached out to another great researcher and supporter of my work, and I think the mystery has been solved after some give and take experience between the cemetery, some other researchers and myself. More on that in a follow-up blog.

His hometown is known, and will be revealed soon. More is needed on his pre military life, and after and is being pursued.

His days in uniform where not unlike thousands of others. He joined the infantry rather late in life, for those days, at a whopping age of 25. He'd rise through the ranks from Pte to First Sergeant, would serve on many battlefields and get a serious gunshot wound to the left wrist/arm/or hand that would see him in and out of hospitals several times and ultimately having to leave the front lines to join a veterans' battalion.

Like so many others, John did not leave the military, but moved on to another regiment. In this case it was the 2nd US Cavalry, with an enlistment that same day. But medical issues saw more hospital time and ultimately having to leave that front line fighting and joined a veterans Corps consisting of some 60,000 men who wanted to still serve but jut could not handle the front lines any more.

Private John Hanna is shown here at age 25.

How little would he know that when he donned that uniform, destiny would see him travel well over a thousand miles as a Lincoln Guard a few years later. He would join the ranks with several Canadians who would some day have a chance to share with friends and families, their own stories of contact with Abe.

Past blogs in this space have told you of General Caldwell who would be called upon to be an escort when the President was assassinated in early 1865. He is buried in New Brunswick. Others have told of Canadian General Farnsworth, a colleague and personal friend of Abe's who actually nominated Lincoln for office and representing the very party he helped to start many a year ago.

Still others told of James Allen who would help to build the famous Lincoln touring car, a railway boxcar but somewhat more elaborate. Yet others told of the Torontonian Edward Doherty who as a cavalry officer would lead the detail sent off to capture John Wilkes Booth who pulled his derringer out at the 10th street establishment now famously known as Ford's Theater... and then shot Abraham Lincoln just after 10 pm on April 14th 1865. (Some Good Friday that was.) He would pass away the next morning as a handful of authorities and friends, including a Canadian were gathered at the side of his death bed.

Here is an image of the railway touring car that Medal of Honor recipient James Allen helped to build. It was too elaborate for Lincoln's style so he never used it. Upon his death Allen and others were called back to gut the inside and turn it into a FUNERAL car.

Little did I know it, when including this picture several times in past blogs, but of the 25 First Sergeant's that were specially handpicked to be personal funeral honor guards to the President's remains, one of these would be our man John Hanna. He could very well be one of the three shown above.

These may also be two of the 25 First Sergeants. These men were the only ones allowed to physically move the coffin from the train, to a carriage at the many stops along the way of the funeral train's almost 2000 mile, 2 week journey to Springfield. They would be responsible to also move the coffin into all of the venues were the casket was opened for viewing by literally millions, along the dozens of stops, would be on hand guarding the remains at all events and also even guarding the box car itself.

The government insisted that to avoid any mishaps along the route, the train could not go over 20 miles per hour. They even had another train run ahead of it to ensure safety as it followed, and even seized all railway line from all other traffic en-route.

This is one of the carriages en-route that would take the body from the train station to the place of public viewing.

On 9 May 1865 the new President awarded the 4 officers of the guard and the 25 First Sergeants a Medal of Honor for their services to the country. Requirements for the awarding the medal were met but some 50 or more years later, with the creation of NEW REQUIREMENTS, all of these medals, mostly posthumously, were virtually removed from the history books of the United States with the 1917 purge.

So far this is the only medal from this special honor guard that I can find. It is believed that this medal has the recipient's name, and above inscription. The medal's citation in above case and perhaps all was... In testimony of his faithful and exemplary conduct as one of the escort to the remains of President Lincoln to Springfield Illinois.

It was just a few months later that new President, Andrew Johnson authorized yet more medals of honor in mass, to those involved in the actual capture of Confederate President Jeff Davis. I cannot find any reference to any medals actually awarded for this event, though the President certainly had the power to do so. If memory serves correct, I believe I have names of some Canadians involved in that search as well, and entitled to medals.

The list of the honor guard is above. Note John Hanna's name about a dozen from the bottom.

On Sunday I will bring more on this story.

Bart

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Still Waiting on important details...

5/14/2017

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I have a great story in the works on another Medal of Honor that came to a Canadian. But important details I had hoped to have by now are still yet to arrive.

If not obtained by Wednesday I will bring you what I have then. This fellow's name is not readily known by the MOH world and you will be getting probably the first detailed accounting of the story right here and very soon.

It is a great story... so please hang in!

Bart

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Here's Another Maritime Story Not Well Known!

5/7/2017

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Several weeks ago I was preparing some information for last week's blog about Lenah Higbee.

This nurse pioneer became the 2nd Superintendent of the US Navy's Nurse' Corps, one of only 4 women in the US Navy's history to be awarded the Navy Cross, and the only one awarded whilst still alive. Her story is amazing and if you missed last week's blog, you might want to have a look at it today.

Of interest to blog readers is the fact that this NC recipient, (only one down from the Medal of Honor) was born at Chatham New Brunswick.

Possibly as a result of running that story a good friend in Nova Scotia emailed to ask me if I knew who was the first female hero in Canada to have a monument erected by government in honour of her heroism.

My first thought went of course to Laura Secord during the War of 1812. Her famous 19 mile trek through swamps and wilderness and tale of driving her cow, through it all as a guise, is well known. As was her apparent mid summer 1813 utterances that the "Americans were coming" so that the British, Canadians, natives etc could prepare for a pending attack.

But the above monument at Drummund Hill Cemetery, Lundy's Lane was not erected till 1901.

Her utterance was somewhat of a twist from the ride of Paul Revere and William Dawes in Apr 1775. While Longfellow's poem made their warning that the British are Coming famous, it was somewhat off mark!

The two men were caught by the British before they had a chance to deliver what they didn't. That message was delivered by Doctor Sam Prescott. A man that shortly thereafter was caught by the Brits and taking to Halifax Nova Scotia where he died and probably buried in some unknown grave there.

And I might as well throw in that Sam had a sister... Lucy. She married a fellow named Johnathan Fay Jr. And a descendant of theirs was a woman named Harriet Fay. And she married a man named James Bush. And they had a son named Samuel Prescott Bush and further down this same line came two men who lived in the White House.

But getting back to the question about the first monument, there is another much earlier to be considered. And that is for the heroin Madeleine Jarret.

It's from way back in 1692 near Quebec at a place called Fort Vercheres (in new France.) This 14 year old Canadian born girl was left holding down the fort while her parents were off to town for supplies. When the Iroquios attacked the farmland outside the fort where she was gardening she escaped being captured, made it to the fort to protect her siblings and a few others and even managed to fire of the cannon to scare the natives away. Her actions over a two day period literally saved the fort and those within. Many a year layer her heroism was recognized and commemorated with the erection of the above monument at Montreal. But that was much later... in 1911.

So my Nova Scotia friend won the challenge by telling me the story that you need to look at yourself by googling the name... Mary Elizabeth Crowley.

Like the old Tom Sawyer books tell it, Cornelius Crowley and a brother arrived from Ireland at the shores of Saint John NB. From there to WALKED some 200 miles and finally sat down for a rest in the wilderness, not far from today's Pugwash Nova Scotia.

Soon they had log cabin built and a farm started. Then followed a marriage and ten kids. But as duties called the parents away, tragedy struck the cabin in 1869. A fire broke out and while most of the children were away or saved, it fell to Mary Crowley, herself only 12 yrs of age, to convince her 9 year old brother to jump out of a window. A 7 yr old sister was so distraught and suffering badly from burns. But Marry, also badly burned, carried her sibling out and both collapsed, but later lost their lives from the horrors that day.

My friend is a descendant of that 7 year old boy!

The very doctor who had treated the children told the story in the Nova Scotia Legislature and put forth a motion that that youthful Mary, who died saving her brother and sister, and later lost her own life because of the fire, ought to have a monument erected on honour of her bravery.

The Premiere and Legislature agreed unanimously. In 1870 the government funded and unveiled the above monument at the Catholic cemetery in Pugwash where Mary rests to this day.

According to the Nova Scotia government this is the first monument in Canada, honouring a female hero, that has been funded and unveiled by any level of government in the country.

Next week I will bring you another Nova Scotia story about a Medal of Honor man I am sure you have never heard of before.

And the following week I have some great updates on a story oft told in this space. And it will solve a 100 yr plus mystery at the same time.

cheers till then,

Bart

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The worst part of doing a jigsaw puzzle might come after you lay out all the parts. The box says there are 100 pieces... but you have counted 102... What to do????

Try fighting injustice after you've been dead a quarter century. Add another century and its almost insurmountable. Soon that hopefully changes!

Despite obstacles, another Canadian chapter on Medal of Honor men is slowly seeing light of day!

Still Waiting on important details...

Here's Another Maritime Story Not Well Known!

Author;
Bart Armstrong, C.D.,
Recipient, Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers

Archives

Categories

The worst part of doing a jigsaw puzzle might come after you lay out all the parts. The box says there are 100 pieces... but you have counted 102... What to do????

Try fighting injustice after you've been dead a quarter century. Add another century and its almost insurmountable. Soon that hopefully changes!

Despite obstacles, another Canadian chapter on Medal of Honor men is slowly seeing light of day!

Still Waiting on important details...

Here's Another Maritime Story Not Well Known!

Author;Bart Armstrong, C.D., Recipient, Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers

Archives

Categories

Author;
Bart Armstrong, C.D.,
Recipient, Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers