<\/p>
A startling coincidence emerged when Terry Sheppard, a retired TV engineer and programmer from Somerset, England, began researching his paternal family history. He had connections to two civil wars.<\/p>
After many years of research, Terry traced his family back to his 8x great grandfather Caleb Sheppard who was born in 1618 in Keynsham, near Bristol. Records prove that Caleb was the town\u2019s parish constable during the English Civil War<\/a> (1642\u20131651).<\/p> \u201cKeynsham was occupied by Oliver Cromwell\u2019s Parliamentarian army in 1645, and they used the Lock Keeper Inn as a guard post,\u201d Terry explains. \u201cCaleb, as parish constable, would have been up close and personal with the troops during the Siege of Bristol which led to a Royalist defeat.\u201d<\/p> More than 200 years later, one of Caleb\u2019s descendants Henry Sheppard (later known as Thomas Henry) became even more immersed in civil war, this time in the USA. \u201cHenry was born in Bristol in 1823, and is my first cousin, 3x removed.<\/p> \u201cIn 1853, he emigrated to the USA with his wife Louisa and they settled in Almont, north of Detroit, Michigan. They had a farm, and raised 10 children.\u201d<\/p> Henry so loved his adoptive country that when the War Between the States erupted in 1861 he enlisted on the side of the Union. He became a colour sergeant for Company E of the 1st Michigan Cavalry, responsible for carrying the regimental Stars and Stripes into battle.\u00a0<\/p> The flag held huge significance. Soldiers looked to it for direction in battle when it was impossible to hear directions or bugle calls. The bearer was usually at the vanguard of the regiment, drawing heavy enemy fire.<\/p> The flag held huge significance<\/p><\/blockquote> The flag was also symbolic in terms of inspiration. It was a sacred emblem of the cause that Union soldiers were fighting for. Men would sacrifice their lives to protect it from enemy capture.\u00a0<\/p> Terry has learnt much through the research of his American relative Vincent DeLuca, who is a direct descendant of Henry. Vincent kindly sent Terry information the family had gathered, and a magazine article about their relation\u2019s exploits. There is also a book about him called He Kept the Colors: The True Story of the General, the Old Man and the Flag<\/em> (AuthorHouse, 2007), by LE Johnson.\u00a0<\/p> Henry took part in many skirmishes and larger battles, including the Shenandoah Valley campaign which began in 1861. He also served at the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg, which raged for three days in 1863.<\/p> \u201cAt Gettysburg, Henry held the flag high amid the charge of the 1st Michigan Cavalry. It was already riddled with bullet holes.\u00a0<\/p> \u201cDuring the affray, Henry was slashed by a sabre and struck from his horse. He tried to escape, despite having wounds in his right shoulder and ankle. However, it became clear that he would be taken prisoner, so he tore the flag from its mast and concealed it under his clothing.\u201d<\/p> Henry was held in a number of hell-hole camps, including Andersonville, Georgia, where many prisoners died due to starvation and disease. \u201cExperts agree that concealing the flag put Henry in danger of severe punishment, even execution.\u201d<\/p> Despite his 16-month ordeal, Henry survived the camps and returned to his family in 1864. His daughter Nellie said that he was just skin and bones.\u00a0<\/p> Henry treasured the flag, and held it high during veterans\u2019 rallies in Almont. The \u2018Sheppard flag\u2019 is now on display at a museum in Dearborn, near Detroit. Curators and Sheppard family members are both campaigning for Henry to be awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest US military decoration.\u00a0<\/p> After Louisa\u2019s death, Henry remarried and had more children. He died in 1901 aged 77, and the community mourned his loss. \u201cI am a pacifist, but I admire Henry\u2019s determination and service.\u201d<\/p> Do you have a personal family hero? Email wdytyaeditorial@ourmedia.co.uk<\/a> for your chance to be featured in the magazine and win a year’s subscription to Findmypast<\/a>.<\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n By Gail Dixon Published: Friday, 19 January 2024 at 11:46 AM A startling coincidence emerged when Terry Sheppard, a retired TV engineer and programmer from Somerset, England, began researching his paternal family history. He had connections to two civil wars. After many years of research, Terry traced his family back to his 8x great grandfather […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":30820,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2024\/01\/my-ancestor-was-an-american-civil-war-hero.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2024\/01\/my-ancestor-was-an-american-civil-war-hero-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2024\/01\/my-ancestor-was-an-american-civil-war-hero-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2024\/01\/my-ancestor-was-an-american-civil-war-hero-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2024\/01\/my-ancestor-was-an-american-civil-war-hero-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2024\/01\/my-ancestor-was-an-american-civil-war-hero.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2024\/01\/my-ancestor-was-an-american-civil-war-hero.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Gail Dixon Published: Friday, 19 January 2024 at 11:46 AM A startling coincidence emerged when Terry Sheppard, a retired TV engineer and programmer from Somerset, England, began researching his paternal family history. He had connections to two civil wars. After many years of research, Terry traced his family back to his 8x great grandfather…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/30819"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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