By Matthew Cumberledge, GCHS Executive Director
Old family photos are perhaps among the most important and interesting relics an historian can study. They are that one single item that can truly bring us back to the human story of past events in lieu of just a list of dates and facts.
The Greene County Historical Society artifact this month represents a story that may easily be forgotten be it not for this one lone photo.
The Greene County Historical Society archives a pamphlet made for Memorial Day in 1910 that celebrates the life and honors the sacrifices of many of our young men who fought and died in the American Civil War. Among the many pages in this small booklet, one can find a photo of Private John W. Eddy of Company A of the 140th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.
This photograph appears different than many of the others. Most photos in the pamphlet show men, well advanced in age, and photographed in techniques common to the early decades of the 1900’s, but Mr. Eddy’s photo, appears very grainy and shows quite a young man with a very innocent look on his face. That innocence would not last long – John didn’t survive the war. He died in the Confederate prison at Belle Isle near Richmond on January 27, 1864.
John was born sometime around the year 1839 to John and Elizabeth (Kughn) Eddy, on a lonely farm on a ridge named after his family in southern Wayne Township, Greene County. He spent his whole life on that farm, working hard with his parents and siblings, planting and bringing in crops. It’s likely he rarely ventured into the big city of Waynesburg, but we know he did at least once. On September 4th, 1862, he and some of his brothers rode into Waynesburg and enlisted in Company A. John enlisted for three years, and the next solid information we have on him is that he fought at the Battle of Gettysburg and was shot in the side and severely wounded on July 3rd 1863. He was captured by rebel forces, and would then make his last journey to Belle Isle. He still remains in the area of Richmond, among the many union dead who were buried in mass graves in the Confederate Prison Cemetery.
Were it not for this one single photo, and a few records of the Civil War, John giving the last full measure of devotion may have been forgotten.
The Greene County Historical Society will reopen for Visitors and General Admissions on the 25th of April 2020. Please keep an eye on our Facebook page to stay up to date on our projects over the winter!