On my father’s side of the family, my great-great-grandparents were Augustus and Elvira (Baldwin) Bodwell. The Bodwell family is well documented, tracing back to the late 1500s. In my direct lineage, there is an incredible history of Bodwells who served in various branches of the military from King Philip’s War to the Civil War. Augustus answered the call of duty and enlisted at the outbreak of the Civil War. Interestingly, Augustus’s cousin, George Bodwell, took part in the eventual capturing of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
Shelby Foote, whose impressive three volumes on the Civil War, wrote of the capture of Jefferson Davis but questioned if the Union Soldier was, in fact, named Bodwell. Foote’s account in “The Civil War” page 1010: Before he [Jefferson Davis] [h]ad gone twenty paces a Union trooper rode up (Bodwell?), carbine at the ready, and ordered him to halt.
Amid my research of the Bodwell family, I came across an 1864 diary housed at the Connecticut State Historical Society, penned by a POW serving time at the Andersonville Prison in Georgia. The term diary is loosely used, as it is a small leather-bound pocket daily calendar. Each page contained some lined space for three days. Private Samuel E. Grosvenor, who kept the diary, served with the 16th Regiment, Company B, for the state of Connecticut. Augustus served with various companies throughout the war and saw action at the Battle of Fredericksburg, as did Grosvenor.
I thought that if they served in the same battle, they might have crossed paths. Long story short, they didn’t. However, I found Grosvenor’s diary so intriguing; I transcribed it, did extensive research on his time in the military, read half a dozen books on Andersonville, visited Andersonville, and traced Grosvenor’s genealogy going back to England into the late 1700s.
Then in 2011, I released Almost Home: The 1864 Diary of Sergeant Samuel E. Grosvenor. Usually, when I publish a title, I do a bit of marketing, give some presentations, blast it on social media, and then I’m on to the next project. Almost Home refused to be shelved as it keeps on breathing a life of its own.
Shortly after its release, Loren Evarts contacted me. He is a direct descendant of Mary (Grosvenor) Evarts. Samuel had eleven siblings, one of whom was Mary. While Samuel was imprisoned in Andersonville, Mary kept a diary and jotted down how the family was coping with the lack of news about their loved one. It was interesting to see the contrast between Samuel’s writing about the hopes of an exchange and his faith (or lack of) in God, while Mary wrote about the family’s worries for Samuel. Although he mailed a few letters to her, communication was minimal.
Tracy Tomaselli, who was compiling material for a book, also contacted me. She wrote Civil War Soldiers, Guilford, Connecticut, a book of brief biographical sketches of all the soldiers who served from the historic town of Guilford, Connecticut. This included Samuel and his two brothers, Daniel and Joseph. After a few conversations, she permitted me to append her book to mine. Almost Home was then re-released as a second edition to include excerpts of Mary’s diary and Tracy’s book.
Interestingly, in 2014, C-SPAN called me. The station was putting together a series that featured literary writers living in big cities. Fort Myers—where I was living at the time—was on their list. The show featured seven authors (including me) who lived in Fort Myers for their hour-long episode.
Not long after the C-SPAN show aired, I decided the title Almost Home wasn’t letting potential readers know what the book was about. So, I re released it—once again—this time under the title The 1864 Diary of Union Soldier Sergeant Samuel E. Grosvenor: A First-Hand Account of the Horrors at Andersonville Prison.
Here’s the strangest discovery since the original book was released in 2011. It turns out I’m related to Samuel. His sister, Emily, married Abner LeBarron. They had two daughters, Bertha and Grace. Bertha married Louis Jacobs, who is in my Jacobs lineage. Therefore, through the marriage of Samuel’s niece, we are distantly related. A fact I did not know while researching this book.
One last thing to share, this book keeps on getting attention with no effort on my part. I created a Facebook page for it in 2015, and after doing some sharing and posting, I’ve let the page idle. Yet, it continues to gain likes and views weekly. Maybe I’ll put aside some time and rethink a social media plan. Maybe not. For now, the Facebook page will remain “live,” and the video will perhaps always be on YouTube.
I genuinely hope that Samuel Grosvenor would be pleased with my efforts and know that his contributions to the Cause he gave his life for are not forgotten.
T.M. Jacobs, a native to the shoreline area of Connecticut, now resides in various locations along the east coast with his wife traveling and working from their RV motorhome. He has written and published 15 books (one of which was featured on C-SPAN), over 450 articles published in various newspapers and magazines, teaches classes on writing and publishing, and is currently the owner of JWC Publishing. He is the founder and former editor for Patriots of the American Revolution magazine and has been a freelance writer since 1988.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjacobsghostwriter/
Website: www.jacobswc.com
Email: [email protected]
