Grave #2194: Samuel J. Allen

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

Samuel J. Allen, Private, Co. C, 17th Vermont Infantry. Enlisted December 24, 1863 and mustered in March 2, 1864. Wounded at the Battle of Spotsylvania on May 12, 1864 from grapeshot to the leg and died May 22, 1864 of wounds. It is likely that one of his sons is also buried in the National Cemetery as an unknown burial.

Images

Grave #2194: Samuel Allen

Draft Registration for the Third Congressional District of Vermont. Samuel J. Allen is listed.

Handwriting, Rectangle, Font, Material property

Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 1

Handwriting, Font, Material property, Rectangle

Company Descriptive Book -- Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 2

Company Muster-in and Descriptive Roll -- Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 3

Company Muster-in Roll for March/April 1864 -- Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 4

Company Muster-in Roll for May/June 1864 -- Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 5

Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 6

Company Muster-out Roll -- Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 7

Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 8

Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 9

Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 10

Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 11

Casualty Sheet for May 12, 1864 wounding -- Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 12

Back of Casualty Sheet -- Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 13

Casualty Sheet for May 21, 1864 death -- Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 14

Back of Casualty Sheet -- Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 15

Casualty Sheet stating Allen was Killed in Action on May 12, 1864 -- Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 16

Back of Casualty Sheet -- Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 17

Casualty Sheet -- Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 18

Back of Casualty Sheet -- Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 19

Casualty Sheet for the 17th Vermont-- Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 20

Back of Casualty Sheet for the 17th Vermont-- Samuel Allen Compiled Service Record, page 20

Pension file, page 1

Application for Widow's Army Pension (June 11, 1864) (pension file, page 3)

Application for pension, page 2 (pension file, page 4)

Handwriting, Font, Material property, Paper

Marriage record of Samuel and Mary Allen, married on November 10, 1840 (June 14, 1864) (pension file, page 9)

Notary for marriage record (pension file, page 10)

Back of marriage record (pension file, page 11)

Rectangle, Parallel, Tints and shades, Pattern

Pension file, page 20

Pension file, page 21

Adjutant General's Office report for Samuel Allen (August 10, 1864) (pension file, page 5)

Statement from Frank Kenfield testifying to the circumstances and dates of Allen's wounding and death (May 20, 1865) (pension file, page 30)

Back of Kenfield statement (pension file, page 31)

Rectangle, Parallel, Font, Tints and shades

Notary (pension file, page 6)

Statement from Frank Kenfield, captain of Allen's company, about Allen's wounding and date of death (November 4, 1865) (pension file, page 7)

Kenfield statement, back (pension file, page 8)

Brief in the pension case of Mary Allen (November 16, 1865) (pension file, page 2)

Pension file, page 18

Pension file, page 19

Rectangle, Tints and shades, Parallel, Symmetry

Application for an increase in Widow's Army Pension (November 2, 1866) (pension file, page 14)

Increase application, page 2 (pension file, page 15)

Statement of Ethan and Diana Allen in support of the increase in pension for Mary Allen and her two minor children (November 7, 1866) (pension file, page 28)

Allen statement, page 2 (pension file, page 29)

Record of birth for Eva Allen, born October 15, 1863 (February 22, 1867) (pension file, page 24)

Notary (March 15, 1867) (pension file, page 12)

1867 document, front not scanned? (pension file, page 13)

Brief in the pension increase case (March 20, 1867) (pension file, page 32)

Mary Allen was on the pension roll until her death in 1901 (pension file, page 16)

Pension file, page 17

Pension file, page 25

Pension file, page 26

Pension file, page 23

(March 2, 1865) Pension file, page 22

Statement about the wounding and death of James Glines in June/July 1864 (February 25, 1865) (pension file, page 27)

The Allen Monument in Randolph Cemetery, Morristown, VT: The front panel lists Ethan Allen and the back panel lists his wife and daughter (Emma L. Allen and Olive M. Allen)

The family monument is also a cenotaph for Ira and Samuel Allen. One side lists Ira H. Allen with the quote "Our loved ones lie not here, They sleep in a distant land, Far from home and kindred dear."

The other side lists Samuel J. Allen with his wife, Mary

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

In the book Full Duty: Vermonters in the Civil War (Howard Coffin, 1993) there is a story about Samuel J. Allen and his sons: “In the fighting around the Brock-Plank roads intersection had been a father and two sons from a family with its roots in Stowe. The father was shot in a leg on May 5 and died 11 days afterward. One son came through the battle unscathed. His brother was hit in the chest and died on May 12. The father’s name was Samuel Allen, the surviving son was Ethan Allen, the dead son Ira Allen.” The story is not entirely correct because Samuel J. Allen was not wounded at the Wilderness, he was wounded on May 12, 1864 at Spotsylvania and died May 22 of his wounds. However, the fact that two of his sons were at Wilderness, and one died is accurate.

Three of Samuel Allen’s sons enlisted in the Civil War: Ethan, Edwin, and Ira. All three enlisted in the 12^th United States Infantry in November 1861 and Ira likely lied about his age since he would have been 16 or 17 that year (based on census records). Ethan and Edwin Allen both only served with the 12^th US Infantry; Edwin was discharged in December 1863 (and would not have been present in the 1864 campaign) and Ethan served until the end of his term in November 1864. Ira H. Allen served with the 12^th US Infantry until August 1862 when he was discharged for disability. He reenlisted as a substitute, taking the spot of Benjamin Sutton, and joined the 2^nd Vermont Infantry in August 1863. He was wounded May 5, 1864 at the Battle of the Wilderness and died in Fredericksburg on May 12, 1864 (the same day his father was wounded at Spotsylvania). Ira Allen’s regiment was fighting at the Brock and Plank Roads like the story said, but Ethan’s regiment would have been on the other end of the field at Saunders Field.

There is a second Ira H. Allen that served in the 3^rd Vermont, in the same brigade as the 2^nd Vermont, who was also killed in action on May 5, 1864 at the Wilderness. Also 18 at enlistment, this Ira Allen enlisted in the 3^rd Vermont in April 1861 and served in the same regiment until his death in May 1864. Neither Ira H. Allen is an identified grave in the National Cemetery but it is likely that one or both of them are buried there.

Sources

Pfanz, Donald C. "Where Valor Proudly Sleeps: A History of Fredericksburg National Cemetery, 1866-1933." National Park Service, 2007. (Available at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP)

Cemetery Roster & Book File, Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP

Ancestry: Federal Census; U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914, 1859-1863, A-D; Pension Index for Ethan Allen

Fold3: Compiled Service Record for Samuel J. Allen; Pension for Mary Allen; Compiled Service Records for Ira H. Allen (12th US/2nd VT) and Ira H. Allen (3rd VT)

Revised Roster of Vermont Volunteers and Lists of Vermonters Who Served in the Army and Navy of the United States, 1861-1866. Compiled by Authority of the General Assembly under Direction of Theodore S. Peck, Adjutant-General. Montpelier, VT: Press of the Watchman Publishing Co., Publishers and Printers, 1892. (Accessed through HathiTrust)

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Photograph by Kathleen Thompson

U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865. Vermont. 3rd. Vol 3 of 3. Page 22. Accessed through Ancestry, May 18, 2021.

Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Volunteer Organizations During the American Civil War, compiled 1890 - 1912, documenting the period 1861 - 1866. NARA Record Group 94, ID 300398. Accessed through Fold3, May 18, 2021.

Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Veterans of the Army and Navy Who Served Mainly in the Civil War and the War With Spain, compiled 1861 - 1934. NARA Record Group 15, ID 300020. Accessed through Fold3, May 18, 2021.

"Ethan A. Allen." Find A Grave. Accessed May 19, 2021. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29753621/ethan-a.-allen.

"Ira H. Allen." Vermont in the Civil War. Accessed May 19, 2021. https://vermontcivilwar.org/get.php?input=7833.

"Samuel James Allen." Vermont in the Civil War. Accessed May 19, 2021. https://vermontcivilwar.org/get.php?input=7871.