Henry Hall was born about 1833 in Hardy County, Virginia. His parents were James Hall, born in 1775 in Virginia, and Juda Taylor born in 1795 in Virginia. He had four siblings and the 1860 Census shows him, age 27, living at home with James, his widowed father, working as a laborer. At that time, in the “neighborhood” resided Simon Ritchie born in 1795 in Virginia, a farmer, and his wife Elizabeth born in 1811 in Virginia. Their daughter, Mary Elizabeth, was born in 1841 in Virginia and was age 19 at the time of the Census.
Henry and Mary Elizabeth were married in 1862 and together had one child, David Henry Hall, born May 7, 1863, at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, from which child descends this line to the member of Laura Belle Stoddard Tent 22, Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War 1861 – 1865.
All the pre-Civil War activities were going on in Henry’s “backyard.” Abolitionist John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry arsenal was October 16 – 18, 1859. Henry Hall enlisted on June 21, 1863, at New Creek, Virginia for a “3-year” stint, a mere 45 days after his infant son, David Henry was born. He was assigned to the 10th West Virginia Infantry. Records show his age at 25, 5’9” tall, with blue eyes, black hair, and a light complexion. Five foot, nine inches was tall for the time and the gene for tall height has descended to the current generation.
This regiment was recruited by T.M. Harris, a practicing physician at the beginning of the war. Dr. Harris visited Governor Pierpont in 1861 and obtained consent to recruit a regiment for Union service. He traveled the state gathering suitable men for recruits. The 10th Regiment was organized from May 1862 through June 1864 and served mostly in West Virginia. It was so
particularly well-adapted for the area that the governor did not want to release them to other areas of service. The local area was important due to the number of mines as well as crisscrossing railroad lines.
On January 3, 1864, 25 men from the 10th West Virginia Regiment were guarding a wagon train bound for New Creek. At a location known as Moore Field Junction, Virginia, Confederate troops attacked the wagon train. This battle was known as the Battle at Moore Field Junction. Private Henry Hall, age 30, was taken prisoner and was “in the hands of the enemy” per Union records on January 3, 1864, at Moore Field Junction.
Approximately 20 men were transferred to the notorious Camp Sumter in Andersonville, Georgia, thereafter, was known as “Andersonville Prison.” This Confederate prison was considered one of the worst prisons during the Civil War. It was overcrowded and there was not enough food or shelter for the inmates. They had to build their own shelters out of sticks or whatever material was available or slept in the open or under tents made of rags. Sickness and malnutrition ran rampant among the men. Many died of typhus due to poor sanitary conditions. There was scant fresh water and unfortunately, Henry died there on August 14, 1864, the same month as the “miraculous” emergence of Providence Spring due to the lightning strike but was not in time to save Henry. His son, David Henry, was 15 months old at the time of his death. He is buried in Andersonville Prison, Georgia Plot F-5469.
nds the member of Laura Belle Stoddard Tent 22, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1861-1865.
