Thursday, April 25, 2019
Not All Stories Have Happy Endings
The Ashtabula book certainly has served to provide me with delightful stories of my family's history, especially concerning my third great-grandfather, Ozey R. Broyles. Samuel Maverick Van Wyck, grandson of Dr. Ozey Broyles' close friend and neighbor Samuel Maverick, may have made both the Maverick and Broyles families happy when his proposal to Margaret Broyles resulted in uniting the two old friends as family, but that joyous event in 1855 came on the eve of an ominous period of life in the south.
After his wedding, the young Samuel had continued his college education, graduating from the medical department of the University of the City of New York in 1860. By that time, he and Margaret were proud parents of three sons of their own. The family moved to Huntsville, Alabama, where Samuel set up his medical practice.
That arrangement didn't last for long. With the outbreak of war, he served as surgeon for a cavalry unit under the command of Nathan Bedford Forrest. Late in 1861, after enduring his first battle, the young doctor wrote (as reported in Steven M. Stowe's Doctoring the South), "shot and shell fell thick and fast around me, and strange to say I was more collected and calm than when I used to pray in church."
His service as surgeon in the Confederate Army was not to last for long. On the last day of November in that same year, Samuel Maverick Van Wyck was shot and killed. Regardless of which report was the more accurate—one story held that he was killed in action along the Ohio River, while another mentioned that he was murdered by a local Kentucky citizen while riding through Crittenden County alongside Nathan Bedford Forrest—Samuel's bride of six years was now a widow.
Labels:
Broyles,
South Carolina,
Van Wyck,
Wars
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If you ever get a chance to visit a Civil War Hospital Museum, you will get a good understanding of Samuel’s experience. The museum in Gordonsville, Virginia is outstanding. I walked through 3 floors with my mouth open and eyes squinting at the horror. I thought doctors helped everyone, but no. There was a system of deciding who to help and who to let die. Amputees were the lucky ones.
ReplyDeleteAh, perhaps that is the origin of the concept of the triage system, gruesome as it sounds. If I ever make it back to Virginia, Wendy, I will keep your tour recommendation in mind!
DeleteWhat a horrible time.
ReplyDeleteSo true, Miss Merry!
DeleteIt was indeed a horrible time, but it seems (to me) that God had just finally had enough of the great sin that southerners were clinging on to with a tight grip.
ReplyDeleteOn a lighter note - I found another book set in Pendleton. "A Rebel Came Home," the diary of Floride Clemson. She was a young girl who had lived in the north, so her acquaintance with the locals was limited. The Broyles are not mentioned (except for Maggie) - but there are interesting accounts of the Van Wyck family, and their troubles during the war.
Oh, Lisa, you know the mention of Floride Clemson means I'll have to share a story far too long to include in a comment. I'll save that one for next week. The Clemsons were far more connected to Pendleton and Anderson County than you might suspect from her northern address.
DeleteOh boy! I look forward to that story. A little ways into Floride's book, I can tell already that the Clemsons and Calhouns were a big part of the community.
DeleteI've not come across any books yet that have mention of my ancestors but I think perhaps I am going to delve into a few about someone unrelated that can give me this kind of insight into their daily lives. I have been researching family from Portsmouth, VA and many many of the ancestors died in the 1855 yellow fever epidemic. I think I will see if I can find some books that can tell the story of life before their tragedy. Your research and writing is always so inspirational. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteOh, I hope that will be a productive search for you. I was surprised to see how much I could uncover by starting on such a process, myself. Even if you don't find mention of your specific surnames, reviewing the minutiae of everyday life in that local area may lead to clues that eventually help, when you get back to focusing on your specific family line.
DeleteThose field surgeons had lots of tough decisions to make I can only imagine the horrors of that war :(
ReplyDeleteAll wars bring horrors--your comment reminds me of my father in law's own story, albeit for World War II, where he, too, served in a medical capacity. But in the case of the Civil War, I imagine the lack of adequate medical supplies, antibiotics, techniques and other parts of the medical profession that we now take for granted made it doubly difficult.
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