Tufts Soldiers of The American Civil War

Charles Crittenden Tufts, Illinois; November 2012

 

Charles Edgar Tufts, Civil War soldier, and his family story. 

By Thomas Tufts.

I love a good genealogy inquiry on a rainy Sunday morning. I often devote Sundays to genealogy, and I am working on all Civil War Tufts soldiers, so down the rabbit hole I went.

Curtis Gann, Jr. sent me an email about his second great-grandfather Charles Edgar Tufts. Curtis has done a lot of research and his initial inquiry was about any information I might have about William Tufts, ancestor of Charles and himself, and a lightning strike at William’s home. (The lightning strike news article is likely a different William Tufts in Salem, Massachusetts.)

My first reply when receiving inquiries usually includes requests for more data to find the right Tufts line. I also reply with links to my blog Tufts Family Genealogy, and the Tufts Kinsmen Association websites. This line of Tufts was easy to find as I had done some research on some of their ancestors.

Charles Edgar Tufts (1843-1929)

Charles was the son of William Tufts and Charlotte (Corbett) Tufts. He was born in 1843 in Washington, New York. The William Tufts family moved from Massachusetts to New York and settled in Virginia.

Ancestry:

Peter Tufts (the immigrant) (1617-1700), Charlestown, Massachusetts and Mary Pierce (1626-1702)
Jonathan Tufts (1660-1722) Malden, Massachusetts and Rebecca Waite (1662-1775)
James Tufts (1681-1733) Medford, MA and Ruth Grimes (1681-1721)
William Tufts (10 June, 1713-29 October, 1783) and Katherine Wyman (1717-1748/9)

George Tufts (1746-1796) Medford, Massachusetts, and Elizabeth Hartwell (1748-1823)

George Tufts (1768-1818) Medford, Massachusetts, and Rebecca Frost (1766-1838)

 

At the age of eighteen, in June 1861, just two months after the battle for Fort Sumter initiated the beginning of the Civil War, Charles went to the Goochland courthouse and enlisted in the Confederate Army. He was boarding in Goochland and working as a clerk. They placed him in The Light Artillery. The Goochland Light Artillery was organized in May 1861, with men recruited in Goochland County. Serving in western Virginia they fought at Carnifex Ferry, then moved to Tennessee. Here the company was captured at Fort Donelson in February 1862. He was also held at Camp Douglas, in Chicago, Illinois. This prison was called the “Andersonville of the North” an unlikely place to survive. Then he was exchanged for Union prisoners and Charles’ unit returned to Virginia and was assigned to the Department of Richmond (detail from National Parks website). Charles’ battery served as heavy artillery at Chaffin's Bluff until February 1864, when it was converted to infantry. During March and April, the unit was broken up. Captains John H. Guy and Jonathan Talley were in command. Charles was a Corporal in some records and his pension indicate that his right foot was injured in the war by the recoil of a cannon as a carriage wheel passed over his foot. In April 1865, Charles was captured again and imprisoned until the war’s end in June 1865. There are definitely more records that could be discovered to fill in the rest of his service. I have only highlighted the details available to me as of this writing (2023). Please forward any corrections or additions to ttuftsy@comcast.net

This story is eerily similar to the story of Union soldier Caleb Tufts of New Hampshire. He was captured at his first battle and spent time in three prisons in the south, including Andersonville. (link to Caleb book)

 

After the war, Charles married Mary Ann Wiltshire (1868) and had four children: Robert Edgar, Charles Leonard, Joseph Byron, and Mary E(?). Charles’ wife Mary Ann died in 1878 at 32 Years old. It appears that after her death, the children went to her father’s home and were raised in the Wiltshire family. They are listed there in the 1880 census in Jackson, Virginia. Charles is never listed again in a census with his children. Charles married Annie E. Martin on Aug 21, 1889, in Virginia. They had no children.

 In March 1887 Charles was representing the Grass Killer company of Richmond selling hoe & rakes. On April 19, 1889, he was hired by M.C. Strasburger Liquor Store to work in the sample room/saloon, while he worked for a shipyard as an express wagon driver. Charles was probably working at the express wagon during the day and the saloon at night.  A newspaper at the time stated that Charles was a polite and agreeable gentleman. On September 27, 1929, Charles lost his house from tax delinquency.

Two pension documents from 1915 and 1922 contain Charles’s address, age, and a description of his war injury. In 1922, his status was changed from partial to full disability. He was a member of the R. E. Lee Camp until his death. (The R E Lee camp was a Confederate soldier’s organization and home in Richmond, Virginia.) His cause of death in 1929 was carcinoma of the bladder (bladder cancer). He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia. There is a biography and some family members at his findagrave page.

 

Biography information by Researcher Curtis Gann Jr.

Information gathered for Charles E. Tufts from newspaper and military records. I verified through all census records in Virginia(?) that he was the only Charles Tufts (other than his son, Charles Leonard) living in that state. Thus, all the newspapers articles I found are indeed for him. Also, some information about his children was gleaned from a family bible.  Additional information was obtained from ancestry.com and familysearch.org

Images are available on the Encyclopedia Virginia website and held as original glass plates at the Virginia Historical Society.