Boscobel-A Medal of Honor Recipient, a Woman Soldier, and a Reenactment

In 1846, the first settlers began arriving into the area that would become Boscobel, the word being derived from "bosc" for wood and "belle" for beautiful, describing the magnificent grove of oak trees located in the vicinity of what would become the town.  By the 1850's, settlers were purchasing the wild prairie land for 50 cents an acre.

When the Civil War broke out, the small Wisconsin town organized two companies of volunteers in

From Fold3

April, 1861, the first to do so in Grant County.  One of those to heed the call was farm boy Francis Jefferson Coates who enlisted using his middle name in Co. H, 7th Wisconsin Infantry on July 20th, 1861, a month before his 18th birthday. During his service, Coates was promoted from private to corporal on September 17th, 1862, and then to sergeant on March 8th, 1863.   He was wounded twice, once at South Mountain and then at Gettysburg.

On July 1st, 1863, the first day's fighting at Gettysburg, the 7th Wisconsin, part of General John Reynolds' First Corps, was deployed to aid General John Buford's cavalry brigades at McPherson's Ridge.  However, Heth's Confederates were able to drive the Iron Brigade, of which the 7th Wisconsin was a part, from their position with considerable loss.

During the fighting, Coates was struck by a ball on the right side of his face, which caused him to lose both of his eyes.  For his courage, the Wisconsin farm boy received a brevet promotion to captain in addition to the Medal of Honor, which was awarded on June 29th, 1866.  His citation reads:

For extraordinary heroism on 1 July 1863, while serving with Company H, 7th Wisconsin Infantry, in action at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, for unsurpassed courage in battle, where he had both eyes shot out.

From FindAGrave.com

On September 22nd, 1864, Coates was discharged and returned home to Boscobel where he learned to make brooms for a living.  He married and had 5 children.  In the early 1870's, Coates and his family moved to Dorchester, Nebraska.  There, he died of pneumonia on January 27th, 1880, at the age of 36 and is buried in Dorchester Cemetery in Saline County, Nebraska.  Click (HERE) to visit his memorial page on Find A Grave.

Boscobel erected a monument in his honor on July 1st, 1989, the 125th anniversary of his actions at

Gettysburg.  The stone sits in front of the G.A.R. Hall, a former Baptist church, which was purchased in 1889 to serve as a meeting place for the John McDermott G.A.R Post #101.  Hailing from nearby Fennimore, Captain McDermott of the 20th Wisconsin Infantry was killed at Prairie Grove, Arkansas on December 7th, 1862, while retrieving the flag from a fallen comrade.

Since the death of the last Civil War soldier, the hall has been preserved as a memorial to veterans and continues to serve as a meeting place for the L.G. Armstrong S.U.V camp #49.  Leroy G. Armstrong of Fennimore served in the capacity of surgeon or assistant surgeon for the 6th, 8th, and 48th Wisconsin Infantry units.  After the war, he was instrumental in organizing the John McDermott G.A.R. Post #101.

In the picture, the monument to Coates is clearly visible in front.  Speaking of Coates, I wonder if he was ever aware of Rebecca "Georgianna" Peterman of Ellenboro who served as a drummer and scout in his regiment, the 7th Wisconsin Infantry.  She had a connection with Boscobel as well.  After mustering out and returning home, Peterman decided to reenlist, a feat which proved to be difficult considering how much the press hounded her after learning of her service.   Everywhere she went, people knew of her, Boscobel included.  On March 6th, 1865, the Janesville Daily Gazette, carried a story from the Boscobel Broad Axe detailing Peterman's past service and her current attempt to enroll as a recruit.  Her gender was discovered during the examination.  And, according to the article:

"...she was politely informed that, though Uncle Sam was anxious to get men, women were not wanted in the military service, and if she did not leave town immediately, she would be placed under arrest.  As she did not choose to take this rather strong hint, she was arrested, but finally settled the matter by leaving."

Thank goodness Boscobel is a lot more welcoming today!  Indeed, every time I go back to the town of just over 3,000, I meet more nice folks.  And I am very honored to have been asked to once again give my talk on women soldiers at their annual reenactment called Muskets and Memories.  It will be on Sunday, August 2nd at 11:00 a.m. under the big Event Tent.  This is a fairly large event, drawing about 500 reenactors and over 800 spectators the first weekend in August every year.  My talk went great last year and was well received.  I am hoping for the same this year.

So if you're in the area next weekend, stop by and I will not only tell you more about Peterman, but also share the stories of other women soldiers from Wisconsin.  On top of that, I will talk about the accounts of women who participated in Pickett's charge and Bentonville, the two engagements we'll be recreating over the weekend.

Click (HERE) for the Muskets and Memories website.  (Yes, there is a mistake on it.  But it's supposed to be corrected.)

Prior to the event, on Friday, July 31st from 9-10 a.m. central time, Mark and I will once again be on the WRCO morning show, which is based in Richland Center.  If you are in the area, the station is 1450 AM or 100.9 FM.  Or click (HERE) to listen online.

Sources:
http://genealogytrails.com/wis/grant/history_boscobel.htm
Gettysburg Medal of Honor Recipients by Charles Hanna
http://www.suvcw-wi.org/garhall.html
http://www.suvcw-wi.org/camps/camp49.html

Until next formation.....rest.

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