George Leonard Merritt: The Yankee in the Swamp

We began our family research looking for an Indian.  Rumor had it our grandmother, Carrie "Mae" (Merritt) Musgrove *was one-quarter Native American and her father was born in the Okefenokee Swamp. 

Carrie "Mae" (Merritt) Musgrove

But instead of a Native American in Georgia's famous bog, we found George Leonard Merritt; a young Union soldier originally from Connecticut. He was grandma Musgrove's grandfather. An earlier blog about our grandpa George Leonard Merritt misstated his age and wondered how he ended up in the Okefenokee Swamp. We've found some answers since then.

In the War

Our previous blog - based on an incorrect birth date - claimed our grandpa George was a child; too young to fight in the Civil War. That's been proven wrong.

Fellow soldier Charles K Cadwell served in the same regiment as our Connecticut ancestor. In 1895 he wrote in his book, The Old Sixth Regiment, Its War Record, 1861-5;

"The object of this work is to give a true and impartial record of the old Sixth Regiment during the war. The author collected the facts from a private diary kept by himself while in the service." 

The Old Sixth Regiment, Its War Record, 1861-5

In his work, the author provides a roster of soldiers by rank. The 'drummer boys' have a separate list. Our ancestor was wounded early on the morning of July 10th, 1863, at Morris Island, South Carolina.

In the Swamp

Our Connecticut grandfather served his full term and mustered out with his unit on September 11, 1864, in Virginia. He made his way back South to Georgia.

He fathered his first and only surviving child - George Henry Merritt - with Lydia (Stewart) Webb on March 23, 1867. In 1869 they had a daughter who died in childhood. 

In the Records

Grandpa George Leonard Merritt doesn't appear on the 1870 census with his wife, her older children, and his two kids. He caught a train back to Connecticut shortly after the railroad came through. We've often wondered if he was 'hiding out' in the swamp. But in April 1868 he's found listed in the Returns of Qualified Voters and Reconstruction Oath Books.

Fugitives and outlaws don't usually register to vote, and many of the men in this oath book signed with an "X." So we can say this much. Grandpa George Leonard Merritt was literate and went through motions to settle in Pierce County, Georgia by mid-1868.  His daughter was born in 1869. And then he left his family and went back to Connecticut.

George Leonard Merritt: Blog post links:

Part 1: Okefenokee Merritt Family             Part 5 Burning of Jacksonville
Part 2 George Merritt and Lydia Stewart   Part 6 Brothers-In-Law 
Part 3 From the North                                Part 7 Deserters
Part 4 A Connecticut Yankee                      Part 8 Yankee in the Swamp

*Note: Relationships, such as grandmother, 2nd great, etc., are expressed from the perspective of the grandchildren of Willis Edgar and Carrie (known as) Mae (Merritt) Musgrove.

Terms of relationship - grandmother, uncle, aunt, cousin, etc.  - are used here generically to include relatives such as fourth great grandfathers, great grand uncles, second cousins twice removed, etc.