EDWIN BARLOW 1842 - 1904
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Edwin Barlow, Sr., was born in 1817 in county Lancaster, England, probably at Manchester, and was a son of James Barlow, a blacking maker of Manchester.
Family records say that he and his family left their Manchester home in 1848 and embarked at Liverpool on a sailing vessel for America. Arriving after 15 weeks at sea, they made their way to Flushing, Michigan, where already an English settlement had been formed.
Edwin Barlow was a son of James Barlow, a blacking maker of Manchester. He and his family came to the United States in 1848 and settled at Flushing, Genesee County, Michigan, where he was recorded as a laborer in the 1850 census. He died on 26 February 1893, at the age of 76 at Flushing and he was buried there in the Flushing Cemetery.
Edwin Barlow married his first wife Harriet Bacon Matley, 30 April 1839, in the Manchester Cathedral at Manchester.
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Harriet Bacon Matley, was born in 1821 in England and was a daughter of Jonathan Matley, a green grocer.
Edwin and Harriet Barlow, and their sons James and John, were recorded living at Jenkinson Street, Chorlton on Medlock, Manchester, England, in the 1841 census.
Apparently Edwin and Harriet separated in the 1850's and they probably soon divorced.
She was recorded as Hannah Matley and living with her children at Flushing in the 1860 census.
James Barlow born on 12 March 1840, at Chorlton on Medlock, Lancashire, England.
John M. Barlow was born in 1841 in England, probably at Manchester, Lancashire. He was recorded at Flushing, Michigan, in the 1850 and 1860 censuses. He enlisted on 23 August 1864, at age 23, at Flint, Michigan, for 1 year service in the Civil War in Company F of the 1st Michigan Engineers and Mechanics Regiment which was organized on December 11, 1861, at Detroit, Michigan. John Barlow would have been with the 1st Michigan Engineers when the unit was stationed in Atlanta in the fall of 1864. When the army left on the March to the Sea, Sherman's Chief Engineer, Capt. Orlando Poe would report, "General Sherman directed me to destroy with engineer troops all railroads and property belonging thereto; all storehouses, machine shops, mills, factories, &c., within the lines of the enemy's defenses at Atlanta. The work of destruction was thoroughly done, under my personal supervision, by the Michigan Engineers." John Barlow was reported absent sick in March 1865, and apparently died, as his father filed pension application no. 356669 on 21 June 1887.
Edwin Barlow was born at Hulme, Manchester, Lancashire, England, and was baptized on 16 October 1842, in the Manchester Cathedral.
Alfred Barlow was born on 22 March 1844, at Hulme, Manchester, Lancashire, England. He was baptized on 14 July 1844, in the Manchester Cathedral. He was recorded at Flushing, Michigan, in the 1850 and 1860 censuses. He enlisted at age 19 in the Civil War on 18 October 1861, at Detroit, Michigan, in Company C of the 14th Michigan Infantry Regiment and was mustered in on 07 January 1862. He was wounded and lost an arm in battle at Jonesboro, Georgia, around 01 September 1864. He was discharged at Fayetteville, North Carolina, on 14 March 1865. He filed pension application no. 77392 on 13 July 1865, and he received certificate no. 53222. He died and his widow Eleanor F. Barlow, a resident of California, filed pension application no. 663585 on 09 November 1897.
Maria [Emeline] / Mary Barlow was born on 31 March 1847, at Hulme, Manchester, England. She was baptized on 09 May 1847, in the Manchester Cathedral. She was recorded as Emeline Barlow, age 1 and born in Michigan, in the 1850 census. In the 1860 census she was recorded as Mary Barlow, age 10 and born in Michigan, and living with her brothers and Hannah Matley at Flushing.
Frederick A. “Freddy” Barlow was born in 1849 probably at Flushing, Michigan. He died on 18 January 1856, at age 7 at Flushing and was buried there in the Flushing Cemetery.
Sybella ‘Belle’ Barlow was born in 1853 probably at Flushing, Genesee Co Michigan. She married Vincent Smith of Mikado, Alcona County, Michigan. I cannot say if there is a connection, but Sybella's brother Edwin's daughter, Ethel, would name one of her daughters, Mary 'Belle'. Always a possibility that she was named for her Great Aunt.
Edwin Barlow [hereafter referred to as Barlow] enlisted in Company C of Stockon's Independent Regiment in 1861. The Regiment went into the Union Army as the 16th Michigan and was Attached to Butterfield’s Brigade, Fitz John Porter’s Division, Army of the Potomac and went into camp at Hall’s Hill, Washington.
Butterfield’s Brigade was reorgainzed as the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 5th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac still under command of General Fitz-John Porter.
Barlow was with the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula Campaign and the advance on Richmond in 1862.
On June 27, 1862, the Battle of Gaines Mill, part of the Seven Days Battles before Richmond and Barlow was wounded in action.
According to the medical records, Barlow was wounded by a bullet that entered his body at about the 5th and 6th ribs on the left side, shattering the ribs, then passed behind his heart and lodged behind the right shoulder.
My thought is that Barlow was in the firing line, holding his rifle to shoot, which would have presented his left side to the front when he was wounded but that is just a guess. Barlow would carry that bullet in his body for the rest of his life.
Left for dead on the battlefield, the first document in Barlow’s pension file is a casualty sheet listing Barlow as Killed in Action. In the official report for the regiment, the officer commanding stated, “It is more than probable that most of those reported missing were killed or wounded, since only those were reported killed or wounded who were known to be such.”
Not dead, but badly wounded, Barlow was either captured by Confederates or made his way to the Union Army Field Hospital at Savage Station, Virginia. This massive field hospital with over 3,000 Union Army wounded was abandoned by the Union Army on June 29th. Wounded soldiers were told they could make their way to the new Union Army base at Harrison’s Landing or be captured.
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Photo shows a makeshift field hospital with wounded soldiers sitting and lying on the ground while some receive care. Includes the straw-hatted Sixteenth New York Infantry who fought at Gaines' Mill on June 27. Most were captured when Confederates overtook the area during the battle of Savage's Station on June 29. ​ Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540
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Either way, Barlow ended up in a Prisoner of War camp on Belle Isle in Richmond, Virginia.
At that point in the war, captured soldiers, especially wounded, were paroled or exchanged as soon as possible for soldiers captured by the other side. It wasn’t until 1864 that prisoner exchange was stopped and the large prison camps were established.
Barlow, on July 19th, went from Belle Isle, through Libby Prison in Richmond for processing then on to City Point, Virginia where he was picked up by Union Naval Transports and brought to Camp Hamilton, near Fortress Monroe, Virginia.
During this time it is doubtful that Barlow received any medical attention other than being bound up to stop the bleeding. That would have been standard practice for a wound like that.
(In a story in the New York Times, titled Left for Dead in Virginia, the author tells the story of a soldier named Perkins. “Perkins was taken to a field hospital, where a surgeon examined him and located the bullet, which had lodged in his right chest. Pvt. George Copeland, a family friend who served with Perkins, happened to be on the scene. Copeland described the surgeon’s response: “He said he would not extract the ball as it would make no difference.” Perkins was in the 22nd Massachusetts and fighting less than ¼ of a mile from Barlow. https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/28/left-for-dead-in-virginia/)
Recovering from his wound at Camp Hamilton, Barlow was classified as disabled by his wound and invalided out of the army on Nov. 14th, 1862.
Unable to perform any type of physical labor, Barlow returned to Michigan by December, 1862.
Barlow was awarded a pension, certificate no. 10800, worth $6 a month on April 7, 1863.
Barlow married Julia Eadies on July 20, 1866, in Genesee Co Michigan.
By 1870, Barlow was working as a ‘Watchman” and living in Whitehall, Michigan with his wife Julia and daughters, Ellin, Edith. Daughter Ethel Mae was born in 1874.
Julia Barlow died in 1881 and Barlow moved to the Dakota Territory,near Aberdeen in Brown County, where he had land that may have been part of Civil War Veteran Land Grant.
Barlow stayed in Dakota for nearly 20 years and while in Dakota, he married Ida Lewis in 1883. They had one son, Earl Barlow.
By 1900, Barlow had returned to Michigan, living first near Morgan then settling in Kalamazoo.
Barlow died Feb. 12, 1904.
Barlow’s Obituary read:
EDWIN BARLOW died Friday night at his home, 940 Denner street.
He is one of Kalamazoo's oldest and well known war veterans, and served through the war with "Stockton's Independents," a regiment formed in Detroit under Colonel Stockton. It was while he was with this regiment that he received many wounds which finally caused his death. Although he has suffered ever since the war with these wounds he had only been confined to his bed since Jan. 12.
Mr. Barlow was born in Manchester, England, in 1833, and when 6 years old came with his parents to America, the family locating in Flushing, Genesee county, Mich. Four years ago he moved with his family to this city, where he had resided since.
There survive the wife, two daughters and one son. The funeral will be held at the house Sunday afternoon at 2 o'clock in charge of the G.A.R. of which Mr. Barlow was a member. Rev. J.H. Pinchard will officiate. Burial will take place at Riverside.
KALAMAZOO EVENING TELEGRAPH, Kalamazoo, Mich., Sat., Feb. 13, 1904, Pg. 8, Cols 6-7, Art. 5
