By David Fleet

Editor

April 10, 1865—Chattanooga, Tenn., 20-year-old Union Pvt. Tom Tucker and Brandon Township resident soldier who joined the 22nd Michigan Infantry in August 1862, reflected his daily activity in his diary.

“Rainy and cold weather. I am on guard duty at the jail post #2. We heard this morning that the reb General Lee surrendered he and his army to General Grant yesterday.”

Tucker’s report of the news came about 24 hours after the Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought on the morning of April 9, 1865, one of the final engagements of the Civil War.

“By the time the Civil War was ending the Union had effective telegraph lines so news could travel pretty fast,” said Tim Puzella, a re-enactor with the Multi Lakes Association for Civil War Studies. “Not so much for the southern states and the Confederates.”

The life of Civil War soldiers like Tucker will be discussed by Puzella from 7:30-8:30 p.m., May 17, at the Brandon Township Public Library, 304 South St., Ortonville. Puzella will present the lives and unique experiences of soldiers during the war. He will be addressing the attendees in a period correct uniform and presenting artifacts, equipment, and food that the soldiers had available to them at the time. The event will include a rifle firing demonstration

April 15, 1865—Chattanooga, Tenn. Tucker writes to his parents in Brandon Township about the assassination of Lincoln.

“It has been pleasant day. I am not on duty today. We had inspection of armies and knapsack this afternoon. We got sad news that Abraham Lincoln was shot last night while at the theater and died this morning and the flags are at half mast. We think that is awful bad news. A fellow by the name of Wilkes Booth shot him.”

“In the 1860s news was still printed and much of it arrived very late after the event—a lot of stories were word-of-mouth,” he said.

Puzella, 36, a Detroit resident, earned a degree in history from the University of Michigan. He is the current president of Multi Lakes Association for Civil War Studies with more than 100 members representing Confederate solidiers of Fourth Texas Company E Confederate and Union solidiers from 16th Michigan Company B Unions. Throughout its existence, 1,343 men were assigned to the Fourth Texas Infantry, of them 256 (19 percent) were killed or mortally wounded in battle another 486 men (35.9 percent) were wounded. The 16th Michigan included 761 enlisted and officers with 12 officers and 235 enlisted men killed in action or mortally wounded. Another 143 enlisted men died of disease.

“These units, the 4th Texas and 16th Michigan, engaged each other in the Battle of Gettysburg in early July 1863 which included the fight for Little Round Top,” he said. “We have both Confederate and Union solidiers to portray both sides of the war. However, we have zero tolerance for discrimination—keep in mind enlisted men were not slave owners—actually only about 10 percent of those who fought in the Civil War were (slave) owners.”

“It’s a war that really never ended,” he said. “It officially ended on April 1865, but it’s not the kind of completion of other wars. It lives on.”

Puzella will discuss the reenactments at a national event which includes 10,000 soldiers on a battlefield.

“The soldiers had wool uniforms and footwear was a big problem for many,” he said. “They also carried tools and even toothbrushes of which they shared with others. The games they played too– they use a deck of cards with no numbers on them.”

June 16, 1864—Pvt. Tom Tucker on guard duty near Chattanooga.

“This evening, a little while ago, I walked out to where the prisoners are and a large percentage of them are young boys, 15 and 16 years old. Some of them are fine looking young fellows, black eyes and long curly hair. I talked with some of them and they did wish the war would end. Really, I felt sorry for the poor fellows, for they were ragged and some of them had no shoes.”

The event is free. Contact Shauna Quick, 248-627-1461.