Long Beach area cemetery site of burial for Civil War Medal of Honor Winner
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| Medal of Honor, 1862–1895 Army version (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
A Hero of the Civil War
Battle of Staunton River Bridge
Lies Buried in Long
Beach, California
by: Gerrie Schipske
In search of warmer climate and business opportunities,
these men who bravely fought for either the Union or Confederate side, made the
seaside city their home and final resting place.
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Photograph of Nelson W. Ward
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One such veteran, Nelson W. Ward, lies in the southeast
section of Sunnyside Cemetery with his second wife Emily and son Joseph and daughter-in-law
Cora.
Nelson W. Ward was born November
20, 1837 in Madison Township, Columbiana County, Ohio. Shortly after his first wife, Mary died, he enlisted
on August 26, 1861 as a Private in Company M (formed in Ohio) of the 11th
Pennsylvania Calvary, the 108th regiment of the line. This specific
unit was organized by Colonel Josiah Harlan of Philadelphia and became known as
Harlan’s Light Calvary.
The Civil War was an on-going series of battles that
inflicted deadly disease, injuries, death and property damage on both sides. Ward
served bravely in several of these battles. However, it would be the Battle of
Staunton River Bridge on June 25, 1864, that would provide his legacy as a
Medal of Honor recipient.
The Battle of Staunton River Bridge was waged because of the
critical importance of the rail lines that carried supplies back and forth from
the city of Petersburg via the South Side & Richmond and Danville railroads.
Union General Ulysses S. Grant ordered a
series of attacks to systematically destroy roads, railroad tracks and bridges
leading in and out of Petersburg, knowing that if the supply lines could be
cut-off, Petersburg would be abandoned, making it easier for a direct attack on
the capitol of Richmond.
On June 22, the Union cavalry began its attacks led by
Brigadier Generals James Wilson and August Kautz. Although Sgt. Nelson Ward was ill for several
days, he volunteered to take another soldier’s place after his Captain, Gerard
Reynolds, called for a replacement.
The battle should have been easy for the Union troops who
outnumbered Confederates 5,000 to 296. But as Ward later wrote, it was to
become “an awful slaughter and hopeless effort.”
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Photograph taken after the destruction of rails in
Southern Virginia in 1864.
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Ward stood alongside his
Captain as he gave the order to charge the bridge. Moments later Captain
Reynolds lay dying. Ward ordered the remaining troops to continue the
fight. Under intense fire, Ward attempted
to carry his fallen Captain back behind enemy lines, remaining by his side for
twenty minutes. When it appeared hopeless, Ward retrieved the Captain’s “money,
watch, revolver and spur” and retreated with the remaining troops. During the
ordeal, Ward was hit by a bullet in the heel of his boot and another bullet
which “passed through the skirt of his blouse.”
The “old men and young boys’ brigade” had beaten back the Union
offensive for over three hours. Union troops retreated but not before suffering
the loss of 60 men. The Confederates
suffered 10 killed and 24 wounded.
For his heroic efforts during the Battle of Staunton River
Bridge, Sgt. Nelson W. Ward was cited with the Medal of Honor on September 10,
1897 because he “voluntarily took part in a charge; went alone in front of his
regiment under a heavy fire to secure the body of his captain, who had been
killed in action.”
After the war, Ward received a soldier’s pension, married
his second wife, Emily, and worked as a “house carpenter” in Springfield,
Missouri. He worked later as a traveling salesman and in 1912, moved his wife,
son Joseph and daughter Virginia to Long Beach, California.
1937 photograph of 336 Pacific Avenue showing Florence
Apartments on the right.
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After his second wife Emily died in
1916, the 80 year old married Mrs. Minnie S. Hall who was 30 years
younger than he. Before he died in 1918, Ward wrote poetry and self published
his ecletic comparison of actual Jewish history with the Biblical stories of
the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ: “The Master Key to the
Problems of Passion Week and Resurrection According to the Scriptures.”
His son Joseph, was a 1916 graduate of Long Beach High
School and later became prominent in political circles in Long Beach, serving
as the Exalted Ruler of the Elks. Daughter-in-law Cora, was active in the East Side
Christian Church and Ebell Club. Joseph and his wife Cora are buried in
Sunnyside Cemetery, adjacent to his parents’ grave.
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Final resting place for Nelson Ward, his second wife
Emily and his son Joseph and his wife Cora.
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 Joseph Ward is shown as part of the Class of 1916 at
Long Beach High School. He is second from right in second row. |
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Gerrie Schipske is the author of several books on the
history of Long Beach, California.
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