TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Help a Fellow Civil War Buff Find His Ancestor

UPDATE: Mr. Short’s ancestor was paroled in April 1865, not 1864 as was posted originally.

TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog reader John Short recently sent us the following email:

Hi – in the midst of an ever-expanding geneaology project, I’ve discovered that one of my ancestors was a POW at Andersonville.  Isaac Bobb (OH) was one of 4 brothers to serve in the Union Army.  He enlisted in mid 1864, was capture in TN, and sent to Andersonville.  He was paroled in April 1865, but died of disease a month later in New Orleans, LA.  This is all per Civil War databases created and maintained by Ancestry.com.  Is there any way to confirm any of these details?  And how can I find out where he might have been buried?   I was hoping there would be a National Cemeteries database with an index of all soldiers interred – but I am not finding it.  Thanks.

So, how about it fellow students of the Civil War?  I’m no genealogy expert, so I am depending on the community’s knowledge on this one.   Does anyone know of any national or state cemeteries databases John can use to help pinpoint where his ancestor’s remains might be?

UPDATE: Mr. Short replied to me with the following extra information:

Hi Brett – thanks for posting this.    A couple of corrections from my original email – Isaac was paroled/exchanged in April 1865 – not 1864.     I have found databases for other National Cemeteries – where two of the other brothers are buried.    I also found a database listing union soldiers at Andersonville – and that database does confirm that he was released in April 1865.   From what I’ve read on the National Cemteries in Louisiana – it appears that some contain mass (re)burial of remains that were moved from other cemeteries.   If Isaac did die of disease in New Orleans in May (probably never fully recovered from whatever happened to him at Andersonville) – it may be that he ended up in one of these graves and not been identified.

Just as an FYI – the two oldest brothers – Jacob & Joseph Bobb inlisted in summer of 1863 and served in the same Heavy Artillery unit in Tennessee.   Jacob died of disease in July 1864 and is buried at Knoxville National Cemetery.   Joseph (my great-great-grandfather) survived the war, married and had a family – and died in 1890 in his birthplace in SE Ohio.
David – the youngest brother, joined up in February 1865 and mustered out in September.   He moved to Kansas sometime after the war, and is interred at Leavenworth National Cemetery.

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5 responses to “Help a Fellow Civil War Buff Find His Ancestor”

  1. Hayden Battle Avatar
    Hayden Battle

    I’m a librarian at Tulane University, and we just got access to a database called “The American Civil War Research Database.” I plugged your ancestor’s name into the search engine and got the following:

    Isaac Bobb (Union)
    – Isaac Bobb is buried at Chalmette National Cemetery, Chalmette, LA

    Enlistment:
    – 20 years of age at time of enlistment
    – Enlisted on Aug 25 1864 as Private

    Mustering information:
    – Enlisted into B Company, 175th Infantry (Ohio) on Sep 10 1864
    – Died of disease while serving in 175th Infantry (Ohio) on May 18 1865 at New Orleans, LA

    Listed as:
    – POW on Nov 30 1864 at Franklin, TN

    Sources for the above information:
    – Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio, (1886)
    – Roll of Honor of Ohio Soldiers

    Chalmette National Cemetary is attached to the Chalmette Battlefield (where Andrew Jackson defeated the British in 1815). It’s located right on the Mississippi River, just a few miles from the French Quarter. You can probably contact them for exact grave location information.

    Hope this helps!

    Hayden Battle

    Reply
  2. Joe Reinhart Avatar
    Joe Reinhart

    Two places to check for veterans; graves are

    Find-a Grave
    http://www.findagrave.com/

    Veterans Admn. Cemeteries
    http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/j2ee/servlet/NGL_v1

    Reply
  3. Patricia B. Swan Avatar
    Patricia B. Swan

    There is something wrong with the data presented. He would not have enlisted in mid-1864, been captured and then “paroled” in April 1864. As there were several CW soldiers named Isaac Bobb, is the researcher certain of the data?

    Reply
  4. Roy Gearl Avatar
    Roy Gearl

    According to the Civil War Data Base IsaacBobbenlisted on8/25/1864.Mustered intoCo, “B” OH 175th Infantry 9/10/1864.He died of disease 5/18/1865, He was listed as a POW 11/30/1864 Franklin TN

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  5. John Short Avatar
    John Short

    Thanks everyone – especially Hayden for the great information! I google’d Chalmette National Cemetery – can got a list of headstones in the result. I did find an entry for “Robb, Isaac” – died May 18, 1865. Pretty sure this is my GG Uncle.
    – John

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