A Remarkable Ancestor: Soldier and Marine

A Remarkable Ancestor: Soldier and Marine is the book that I just finished reading. This is no ordinary book. It's not a book that you can buy. And it's not written by anyone that you know. It was written, in fact, by my Great-Great-Great Grandfather William Philip Schwartz.

It is not really a book. It's more of a collection of letters that he wrote to the family during his time in the military. He was born in 1812 during the War of 1812, the James Madison administration. He lived a good portion of his life in Gettysburg prior to the Civil War. War records indicate that he participated in the Civil War and was among the many that stormed Fort Sumter. William P. Schwartz died in 1866 at the Brooklyn Naval Hospital. It is not known where he was buried.

Granddad joined the army in 1840 after problems with drinking and a separation from Grandmom. Granddad became a teetotaller rather than an advocate of temperance. He began writing a series of letters to his parents, brothers and sisters, many of which were saved throughout the generations of my family. My Great-Uncle John Schwartz found these letters in 1987, typed them on a type-writer and had a book bound with the type-written letters. He gave a copy to his sister Lenore, my aunt, and she gave a copy to me as a Christmas gift in the same year. Being 16 at the time, I thought it was one of the dumbest gifts ever. Now being 110 years old, I find it fascinating. Note - my grandmother Bonnie was John and Lenore's sister, passed away in the early 1960's, so Aunt Lenore was more like a grandmother to me.

During the early part of the book we follow Granddad on his travels through Mexico during the Mexican War. He was in battle against Santa Anna and served under General Wool. He often mentions General Taylor (future President Zachary Taylor) and General Winfield Scott. He seemed to like Mexico, but often wrote of running into banditos. He was wounded several times, stabbed, but also celebrated many fandangos.

After serving for several years in the Army it appears that he defected and went to California during the gold rush, then sailed the Pacific, spending much time in Japan, China, the Sandwich Islands, etc... He even saved enough money to purchase his own sailing vessel and hired a crew to man it. He wrote letters from Peru, Panama, and Hong Kong.

After a several year absence of letters, he shows up again, this time as a Marine aboard the U.S.S Constellation, the famed ship docked in the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. They sailed throughout the Mediterranean, stopping in the nations that now comprise Italy (Sardina, Messina, Genoa, and Spezzia). He also wrote from the Holy Land, Egypt, Spain, and Libya or Morocco.

Granddad was a humorous writer. While spending time in Cuba he mentioned that it was so hot that butchers and cooks were no longer employed as the cows were walking out of pasture already well-done. In another passage he mentions that local villagers were invited aboard the ship as many had never seen a war frigate. While aboard, the crew did a 21 gun salute causing many of the women to lose their water (meaning they peed themselves).

I think I may retype the letters into digital format. My Uncle John's preface to the letters indicates that he typed the letters as they were written using the spelling that Granddad had used. However, I believe there to be many typing mistakes. For example, I doubt that Granddad wrote 'teh' or 'delf' when he meant self.

Unfortunately, my Uncle John passed away last year, making me realize, yet again, how important it is to spend that precious time with them while they are here. I'm sure he would be excited to talk with me about Granddad and his amazing journeys around the world.