By Harry Miller
| Martin Bloss, b. abt. 1827, Germany, d. 16 Dec 1864, Foundry Hospital,
Louisville, KY; burial Cave Hill National Cemetery, Louisville, KY, m.
Sarah Rohrbacher, Buffalo, NY, 23 Oct 1849.
Martin and his family lived in Hornell, NY, an apprentice in shoemaking, and in 1861, moved to Elmira where he opened a shoe shop with his brother. He enlisted for three years, 28 Jul 1862, into Capt. Morgan's Co. E, 107th Regiment, NY Vols. at Elmira, NY. He was promoted to the rank of Corporal 10 Apr 1863. According to Prisoner of War Records, dated 18 May 1863, Martin was captured during the Battle at Chancellorville, 3 May 1863; confined at Richmond, VA, 9 May 1863; paroled at City Point, VA, 15 May 1863. He was apparently accused of being a deserter, but that claim was latter recanted by C.C. Auger, Maj. Gen. in a letter dated 11 Nov 1863. Martin was wounded in the foot in a skirmish 15 Jun 1864 during “The Battle of Pine Knob” located at Kennesaw Mountain, GA. He was attached to Cumberland General Hospital, Nashville, TN on 20 Jun 1864. He apparently remained there until early December, 1864, when because of his disabilities (extent unknown) was reassigned from the 107th Regiment to Co. G, 5th VCR (Veterans Reserve Corps). While being transferred to Indianapolis, Indiana, to join his new unit, the troop train in which he was riding, experienced a partial derailment. After carrying those soldiers in the rail cars that remained on the track, to Cave City, the train returned to pick up the rest of the men. Apparently while trying enter a car, the train started moving, Martin fell beneath the car wheels. “Both of his legs were cut off close to the body.” A notarized deposition by Henry Goetze, former Sgt. Co. K, 141st Regiment, related the story how he knew Martin well as they were both patients at General Hospital. He also related that he witnessed Martin being “pushed” by a guard, resulting in his falling beneath the train wheels. It was found that the accident occurred through no fault of Martin’s. Sgt. Goetze carried Martin from the train when they arrived at Louisville, KY. Sgt. Goetze was a resident of Elmira, Chemung, NY. That deposition was contained in Martin’s widow’s Application for a Civil War Pension File. Another deposition in that file, that by the Sheriff E. W. Howell of Chemung County, NY, attested to the credibility of Mr, Goetze. Sarah, Martin’s widow married Anthony Nagle 17 May 1866, after Martin’s death, but lived with him for only two months in Olean, NY, when she returned to Hornell, NY, and lived with her daughter Lena’s (Jacob Dick) family until 1900, when she removed to Buffalo, NY to live with her daughter Margaret’s (Joseph Beilein) family. Sarah Nagle died 1905 in Buffalo, NY.. Martin was my gr. gr. grandfather. Harry L. Miller |
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Last Update February 15, 2020