Having been born on the other side of the Mason-Dixon line, I have now lived in VA longer than I did growing up in NY. I am southern in my heart!
Living in Virginia was an education on the Civil War. To my knowledge, nowhere north is that war so remembered, and I have learned a lot, that was not taught, as far as I can remember, in school on LI.
My VA born grandson’s favorite place to go is the New Market Battlefield and museums, walking the battlefields, visiting the Bushong house, and seeing the movie about the Field of Lost Shoes.
I have read John Heatwole’s book, The Burning, several times. I also have enjoyed seeing Civil War re-enactments while volunteering at Waterford every year.
In researching my family history, there is a connection to both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. I knew of the Civil War connection to a certain regiment out of NY, and the first time I ever saw that particular regiment in a re-enactment was at the Waterford Fair. The lovely little town of Waterford has always piqued my interest, because somewhere there is supposed to be a Quaker connection far back on my paternal side. A topic to research at a later time.
While bringing boxes of family slides to my son recently, we found a tiny statue which renewed my interest in this particular line of family history.
In one of the New Market Museum dioramas, there are small figures of different uniforms of the Civil War. To my surprise, there was a Zouave soldier in the mix. My grandson was thrilled, although he thought it a very odd uniform!
Zouave units were on both sides of the Civil War. The uniforms were North African in origin, and were adopted by many other countries. A short bolero style jacket, baggy pants called serouel, with a sash, and fez type cap called a chechia completed the uniform.
Discovery of this little statue sent me down a rabbit hole to find out more about my ancestor, who was more of a fairy tale to me, than a real person.
James Whytal was indeed real, and muster roles show my 3x great grandfather enlisted in NYC at the age of 24. He enlisted on April 25th, 1861, mustered in as a private, with Company C on May 9, 1861. He served 2 years, and was wounded at Manassas Plains, on August 30, 1862. James lost an arm in battle, and was discharged in Alexandria, “for disability”, on October 13, 1862.
Whytal’s regiment was Company C, 5th NY, Duryea’s Zouaves, which participated in more than a few battle engagements in VA. His regiment Colonel was Gouverneur K. Warren. My grandmother’s uncle is named Warren after him, so obviously James thought highly of his Colonel.
What I don’t know is, what had attracted young James to sign up in that particular regiment? Was it the convenience of being in NY? Was it the strange and exotic uniform that appealed to him? We will never know. I do know he lived with my paternal grandmother’s family after the war, when he was older, and she was a little girl. Apparently, my grandmother and he had a close relationship. Since they are both gone, I can only rely on my Aunt’s few memories, my research, and this little statue, which was made by a cousin, for each of the 3 kids – my father, and his two sisters.
Wrapped in an old newspaper, my dad’s statue was tucked in a box of his old slides. It looks to be handmade, made in 1954, with the regiment info incised on the bottom. Although this statue has both its arms, there apparently exists a tiny lead version with only one arm.
Family history is, at times, fascinating, and if records are not kept, little details and memories get lost in the past. The research continues, and living in the midst of such a wealth of information and history will hopefully make my search for answers easier.
In the meantime, the little Zouave soldier stands at attention, in a place of honor, waiting for the rest of his story to unfold.
Enjoy watching the leaves change color and fall, and the pumpkins on every porch and storefront. All is well here at Mountain Meadows, this fine autumn day, the same month,162 years ago, that James Whytal was discharged from his regiment.
