Have you ever looked at a tombstone and seen the story of a person’s life in the stone? Perhaps you find their birthdate, the names of their spouse and children, a symbol for an organization they belonged to, their military rank and unit, or their death date. Combined, all these tell the part of the life story of a person. However, what if the story on the stone is false or misleading? Should the story from the tombstone be accepted at face value? Or, should it just be the starting point to find more sources that document the story? To answer this question, let’s look at the story of Private William Rufus Depew. A tombstone for Private Depew; located in the Chattanooga Confederate Cemetery, Chattanooga, Hamilton, Tennessee, identifies him as: Private William Rufus Depew Company D 29th Tennessee Infantry Confederate States of America 1841 January 28 1863 From this, his story would be, and had been repeatedly stated as, William Rufus Depew was born in 1841, likely in Tennessee. He enlisted in the Confederate Army where he served as a Private in Company D in the 29th Tennessee Infantry, and died in combat in Chattanooga, Hamilton, Tennessee, 28 January 1863. However, only part of this story is true. Was Private William Rufus Depew born in Tennessee in 1841? While the tombstone states he was born in 1841, and his membership in a Tennessee Division implies he was likely born in Tennessee, the 1850 and 1860 US Censuses help confirm this was likely true. In 1850 while living in District 1, Harlan, Kentucky, William R Depew was listed as ten years old and born in Tennessee. Further, in 1860 living in Walker, Hancock, Tennessee, he was listed as nineteen years old, born in Tennessee. Based on these two census records it appears Private William Rufus Depew was born between 1840 and 1841 in Tennessee, so this part of the story is likely true. For the next part of the story, did Private William Rufus Depew serve in Company D, 29th Tennessee Infantry? Fold3.com has the Confederate Service records for Private William R. Depew. These files do in fact state he did serve in Company D, 29th Tennessee Infantry. At this point the story appears to be true, as told by this tombstone, yet all is not as it seems. Here we must turn to the death date, January 28, 1863, and if Private William Rufus Depew was killed in Battle in Chattanooga, Hamilton, Tennessee, or if this part of the story is untrue. There were actually three Battles of Chattanooga, so the question then becomes which battle matches the death date for Private William Rufus Depew? The First Battle of Chattanooga was an Artillery bombardment of the city and the confederate forces stationed there on 7-8 August 1862. As this was a full four months before his death, this battle can be ruled out. The Second Battle of Chattanooga was another Artillery bombardment of the city on 21 August 1863, and as this was after his death, it can again be ruled out. The third was a series of battles called the Chattanooga Campaign or The Battles for Chattanooga 23-25 November 1863, once again months after his death. As the three Battles for Chattanooga were either several months before or after Private Depew’s death, he was clearly not killed during these battles. During this time, it was customary to bury soldiers where they died, so if he was not killed in combat in Chattanooga, how and where did he die? The answer to this question is also found in his Confederate Records on Fold3. In the file for Private William R. Depew, there is a record of his being listed in a casualty report at the Battle of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 31 December 1862, also known as the Battle of Stones River 31 December 1862- 2 January 1863. In this report, he was listed as “slightly wounded”, so just under a month before his death Private Depew was injured in the opening day of the Battle of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 100 miles away from Chattanooga. One final document from his Confederate file gives the final answer to this question, and the rest of his story. A letter from Academy Hospital Chattanooga, Tennessee, tells the tragic end to the story of Private William Rufus Depew: Academy Hospital Chattanooga Tenn Second Auditor of the Treasury February 1 1863 Sir Private Wm [William] R Depew of 29 Tenn “D” Died at this Hospital Janny [January] 28 1863 of Rubola [Rubella] leaving no effects As can be seen from these records, Private William Rufus Depew was slightly injured in the opening day of the Battle of Murfreesboro, or the Battle of Stones River. Following his injury, he was taken to a hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he contracted Rubella and died, not from combat but from disease. While a tombstone can tell us a lot about our ancestor’s life story, as the case of Private William Rufus Depew shows, that story should only be used as a starting point to find other records to verify the story.
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Larry De Pew
Is a professional genealogist with an Associates Degree in Applied Science n Family History Research from Brigham Young University-Idaho. His areas of focus are military and great plains research. Archives
October 2023
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