A discovery

On the left, you see my great-great-great grandfather. He enlisted in the Union army (alas!) in the early summer of 1862. He saw action at Antietam and the Wilderness--I'm not sure about in between, and must have been present with the rest of his regiment--the 11th Pennsylvania Infantry--at Lee's surrender at Appomattox, for the old man was mustered out in May of 1865.

Until today, all that I knew was that he had been in the war. My grandfather had thought that David (his great grandfather) had served as a drummer boy. Well, as it turns out he enlisted as a private, so he was not a drummer boy. Also, until today I had been led to believe that he had been from Missouri. Now I know Pennsylvania, and perhaps with that detail I can find out about his ancestors, about whom I know absolutely nothing.