By the summer of 1865, it had been two years since the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg, and the terrible war was finally at an end.  Many soldiers started the trek home, but some remained with additional duties to perform.

The veteran 1st Connecticut Cavalry, a regiment that was not present at Gettysburg, but was on duty in Virginia in July 1863, was one such unit.  The horse soldiers were busy throughout the weeks after the Lincoln assassination, having been dispatched from Sheridan’s Cavalry to join the hunt for John Wilkes Booth.  They served in Washington to quell any possible riots associated with Lincoln’s murder and the termination of the four-year conflict.¹

One of the youngest members of the 1st Connecticut Cavalry was 17-year-old Private Charles Pease.  He had enlisted in Company M when he was just 16 years old.  He would have an interesting claim to history, especially at Gettysburg.  However, it was a tragic one.

Charles was born in 1848 in Enfield, Hartford County, Connecticut, one of six siblings.  His parents were Walter Raleigh Pease and the former Sophia Bidwell.  Charles was just eight years old when his mother died after childbirth in 1856.  His father remarried soon afterward, and five more daughters joined the family in the ensuing years.²

It is not known for certain what inspired Charles Pease to enlist for service in the Union, whether it was patriotic fervor alone or if it was accompanied by the desire to leave a rather crowded home in Hartford.  In December 1863, the sixteen-year-old youth joined the cavalry, Company M, and saw significant duty in his time at the front.³

In addition to guard duty at the nation’s capital at the close of the war, the 1st Connecticut Cavalry was present at the Garrett barn near Port Royal, Virginia, where Lincoln’s assassin was captured and killed.  Led by Colonel Brayton Ives, the regiment served as an escort for a portion of cavalry and infantry who were from southern Pennsylvania, who were boarding trains for home.  The Adams Sentinel recorded that “ remnants of Co.’s B and G of the 138th Regiment (PA) with a portion of Anderson’s Cavalry (5th PA Cav) the principal part of whom were from this county, returned home.  They were met at the cars by a procession of citizens under the marshalship of Col. Buchler and as an escort from the 1st Connecticut Cavalry under the command of Colonel Ives who arrived on Friday morning to participate in the celebrations of the 4th and are now encamped on Culp’s Hill.”⁴

The 1st Connecticut Cavalry camped at the base of Culp’s Hill for several days, accepting the invitation of the citizens of Gettysburg to join them for the upcoming holiday commemoration.  They celebrated the 4th of July in weather that alternated between extreme rain and excessive heat, similar to the weather that existed during and immediately after the Battle of Gettysburg.  The elements affected the men who were obliged to remain in their tents out of doors.  Soon, some of the cavalrymen fell ill.  One of them was Private Pease.

On July 18, the Sentinel printed: “Charles F. Pease, a member of Company M, 1st Connecticut Cavalry, died in camp while his company was here attending ceremonies of the Fourth.  He was a resident of Connecticut and was only 16 years of age.  He was a special favorite in his company and his death was greatly lamented by his comrades.”⁵

The cause of death was bronchitis. 

Private Pease is buried in Evergreen Cemetery.  His grave lies among those who were buried by Elizabeth Thorn after the Battle of Gettysburg.⁶

Private Charles Pease is the last Union soldier to die doing his duty in the late war at Gettysburg.  It is fitting that he lies buried among so many others who preceded him at the pivotal battle in Pennsylvania.

Sources:  The Adams Sentinel, 4 July, 1864.  The Adams Sentinel, 18 July, 1865.  Angelovich, Robert B.  Riding for Uncle Samuel: The Civil War History of the 1st Connecticut Volunteers .  Grand Rapids, MI: Innerworkings, Inc., 2014.  Evergreen Cemetery, Gettysburg, PA.  Pease Family Tree, Ancestry.com.  Charles Pease military records, National Archives (na.gov).  Newspapers accessed at newspapers.com.