The Short Story of Captain Charles Wesley Chapman

I often research people in my own genealogy with much interest.  I also often research their family members that aren't in my direct line, since they also lead sometimes to wonderful pieces of information about my own lines.

But I also research people who aren't in my line at all.  Sometimes, I do that kind of research for others as a pay it forward or on a freelance basis.  Sometimes, I do it because the person may have had an impression on those in my lines.

This is the story of one such person.  This is the story of Captain Charles Wesley Chapman.

I have no relationship to the man.  I never had.  But his story fascinates me because, well, he is the namesake of one of my ancestors.  He rubbed shoulders with another.  And he died leaving no heirs and no one to tell his story.  So I have taken it upon myself to try to learn, at the very least, a little about the man.  

Photo of Charles W. Chapman, taken from the book Under the Red Patch (between pages 152-153)
Source: Internet Archive

Charles Wesley Chapman was born around the year 1838 in Pennsylvania to William Chapman, a immigrant from Ireland, and Maria Dunlop of Chester County, Pennsylvania.  He had at least three older brothers, James, William, and Joseph, and possibly one sister named Ann.  

Not much is known about his early life, at least not that I could uncover doing my typical research.  But what is known is that he lived in the Third Ward of Pittsburgh when the 1850 census was enumerated.  Also in the household were his parents William and Maria, and . William worked at a glass house.  Also enumerated were 23-year-old James, 22-year-old William, and 18-year-old Joseph (which were likely Charles' elder brothers, and a 25-year-old woman named Nancy Armstrong.  It's the only census I found where Charles was listed with his parents, as he was not in residence in 1860 with them.  There are a few candidates for Charles in the 1860 Federal Census Enumeration, but I did not have as much time to devote to research as I would have liked, so I did not take the time to chase them all down to figure out which one was the correct Charles.  

In 1861, Charles was living in Lawrenceville, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, boarding at a residence on Chestnut Street near North.  He was listed in the local directory as working in the oil business, but that career was short lived due to the outbreak of the Civil War.

Chapman started his military service actually with the Pittsburgh City Guards, which became the 12th regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteers.  He was the third sergeant of the City Guards under Alexander Hays.  When the City Guards were then re-organized into companies on the Twelfth Pennsylvania Volunteers, Charles became the 2nd Sergeant of Company K.  This regiment mustered in 25 April 1861.

Because at the time, the Union had thought the war would be over soon, the men were only enlisted to three month terms.  The Pennsylvania Twelfth Regiment was tasked with the protection of the rebuilt Northern Central railroad running from Harrisburg to Baltimore, with Charles' company stationed at the headquarters in Cockeysville.  While most of the regiment were not able to drill, being scattered along the line, company K was able to be drilled regularly and soon became veteran soldiers.  They were mustered out of service after three months at Harrisburg on 5 August 1861.  Most of the men then re-enlisted for three years, including Charles.  

On 23 September 1861, he was appointed the captain of Company K of the newly formed Sixty-Third Regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, known as the "Hays' Guards." *I wrote a history on the company years ago available in my HubPages articles.*

On 5 March 1862, a reconnoitering party of one hundred men, led by Lt-Col Morgan, was being guided by a man by the name of Williams towards the direction of the Occoquan River near Pohick Church in Virginia.  A detachment of Texan Rangers passed by in the night, which the party thought was another scouting party.  When the party realized their mistake, they gave chase, but the Texans had already hid themselves in the bushes and ambushed the party as they came.  Captain Chapman, Quartermaster James M. Lysle and Private Moore were in the front of the party and were killed instantly.  Another private was shot in the arm (which later had to be amputated).  The rest of the party was able to rout the Texans and gave chase, but the Texans evaded capture.

According to the eyewitness account of John Rudolph Marti, a sergeant in Company A, Chapman was struck by a ball under his left eye.  The bullet went through his head and came out by the collar of his coat, killing him instantly.  Lysle was shot through the arm in such as way that the bullet went through his chest and he lived about ten minutes.  Moore was shot in the chest and survived almost half an hour.  

Sgt. Marti also wrote that Chapman was one of the best officers in the entire regiment and that his company in particular really loved him.  Joe Hoopes, a private in Company C, also echoed that sentiment when he wrote to his family that some of the best men in their regiment were lost that night.

Alexander Hays, the commander of the Sixty-Third Regiment, wrote a letter to his wife dated 10 March 1862.  He had this to say:

 "You have heard of a tiger robbed of its whelps, and you can imagine what species of tiger I represent. I have not scolded anyone -- the fault is to egregious to be within my jurisdiction, and I am patiently awaiting the action of higher authority....... The bodies were forwarded on the 7th to Pittsburgh. Before leaving, all were borne to the church tent, and I never knew the Doctor (Marks) more eloquent." ~  Transcription in Gilbert Adams Hays' book Under the Red Patch: Story of the Sixty Third Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1864, pages 417-418

After the memorial service from the regiment, Charles' body was sent via train to Pittsburgh and arrived the next day, which was a Sunday. After an afternoon service at the Chapman residence in Lawrenceville,  Charles was buried in Allegheny Cemetery in section 25, lot 74, grave 1.

He had never married nor had any issue.  He died at 24 years of age.

His elderly parents, who had been subsisting on what Charles could send them from his Army pay, were bereaved.  William Chapman, Charles' father, was an invalid and had been for ten years, unable to make a living.  

Maria Dunlop Chapman, at the age of 65, applied for a mother's pension on 8 June 1865 from the couple's home in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania.  Some of my readers may wonder why it took her over three years to file for the pension.  First off, the act allowing her to even apply for the pension in the first place was not passed by Congress until 14 July 1862.  One provision in that act allowed for dependent mothers to be entitled to receive the full pension of a son killed in the line of duty or died from the result of wound received or disease contracted while in service as a result of the line of duty provided that the soldier did not have a wife or children.

However, fees had to be paid while applying for pensions, most often by pension attorneys who often charged $10 for each application.  It also cost $5 to file the application with the government, $1.50 per affidavit, and $1.50 for surgeon's exams (which William had to be subjected to because he had to prove he was totally disabled).  If Maria and William Chapman were dependent on Charles while he was in the Army, they likely had to wait until either they could scrape the money together to pay the fees or have someone pay it for them. 

On 12 July 1865, she was approved to receive $20 per month.  I imagine the pension the couple received helped their situation immensely.   William Chapman died 12 December 1867 and was buried in Allegheny Cemetery.  Maria survived both her youngest son and her husband, passing away from chronic bronchitis on Forty-Second Street in the 17th Ward of Pittsburgh on 11 December 1870.  She was buried with her husband in Allegheny Cemetery.

But the legacy of the young captain of company K of the 63rd Pennsylvania Volunteers lived on.  I'm not sure how many young men were named after the beloved captain, but I am quite sure that one of Chapman's fellow soldiers DID name his son for his fallen comrade.

One of the sergeants in company K was a man by the name of John Devender Wood.  On 24 May 1875, John's youngest son was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania.  John decided to name the newborn Charles Wesley Chapman Wood, after his fallen friend.  That young newborn was my father's grandfather, named for a soldier who paid the ultimate price in the American Civil War.

Sources used:

Additional Evidence in the Mother's Army Pension for Maria Chapman, filed 8 June 1865 ; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Charles W. Chapman, pension application number 81254, certificate number 51280; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); Records Relating to Pension and Bounty-Land Claims 1773-1942, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15; 2,807 rolls, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Ancestry.com, "1850 United States Federal Census," database online, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 May 2022), Entry for Charles W. Chapman in household of William Chapman, Year: 1850, Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 3 Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: 745, and Page: 141a; citing Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Bates, Samuel P. History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865: prepared in compliance with acts of the legislature, 5 Volumes (Harrisburg: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1869), volumes 1 and 2 referenced.

Civil War Pittsburgh, "Night of March 5, 1862,"Facebook, 6 March 2022 (https://www.facebook.com/civilwarpittsburgh/ : accessed 27 May 2022).

"Died - Maria Chapman," death notice, The Pittsburgh Daily Commercial (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 13 December 1870, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 29 May 2022).

Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1861-1862 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: G. H. Thurston, 1861), 51, "Chapman Charles W., oil business, bds Chestnut, n North, L(awrenceville)"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (http://historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 27 May 2022).

Find A Grave, database with images (www.findagrave.com : accessed 27 May 2022), memorial page for Charles Wesley Chapman, Find A Grave Memorial # 122224413, citing Allegheny Cemetery (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), memorial created by KBStewart, photograph by DGG.

Gorman, Kathleen L."Civil War Pensions: History of the Union Federal and Confederate State pension systems," Virginia Center for Civil War Studies at Virginia Tech, Essential Civil War Curriculum, 2021 (https://www.essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com/civil-war-pensions.html : accessed 4 March 2021).

Hays, Gilbert Adams. Under the Red Patch: Story of the Sixty Third Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1864 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Sixty-Third Pennsylvania Volunteers Regimental Association, 1908).

Historical Data Systems, comp., "U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865," database online, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 May 2022), Entry for Charles Wesley Chapman, co K, 63rd Pennsylvania; Historical Data Systems, Inc.; Duxbury, MA 02331; American Civil War Research Database; citing data compiled by Historical Data Systems of Kingston, MA.

"How Capt. Chapman and Lieut. Lysle Were Killed," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 10 March 1862, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 29 June 2017).

"The Klled at Pohick," The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 8 March 1862, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 May 2022).

"Letter from John Rudolph Marti, Sergeant, Co. A, Camp Johnson, Near Alexandria, March 10, 1862," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 17 March 1862, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 March 2022).

Mother's Army Pension Application for Maria Chapman, mother of Capt. Charles W. Chapman, filed 8 June 1865; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Charles W. Chapman, pension application number 81254, certificate number 51280; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); Records Relating to Pension and Bounty-Land Claims 1773-1942, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15; 2,807 rolls, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1963," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 May 2022), Entry for William A Chapman, died 28 Dec 1907, cn 122336; citing Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1963. Series 11.90 (1,905 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Parents names and places of birth referenced.

"Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Allegheny Cemetery Records, 1845 - 1960," database online, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 27 May 2022), Entry for Charles W Chapman, buried 10 Mar 1862; citing Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh.

"Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Allegheny Cemetery Records, 1845 - 1960," database online, FamilySearch, Entry for Wm Chapman, buried 19 Dec 1867.

"Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh City Deaths, 1870-1905," database with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 27 May 2022), Entry for Maria Chapman, 11 Dec 1870, FHL microfilm 505,816.; citing Allegheny County Courthouse, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

"Pennsylvania, Veterans Burial Cards, 1777-2012," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 May 2022), Entry for Chas. W. Chapman, died 1862, Pennsylvania State Archives; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Civil War Veterans` Card File, 1861-1866; Series Number: 19.12; citing Pennsylvania Veterans Burial Cards, 1777–2012. Digital Images, 3–5. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau of Archives and History. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

"Remains Arrived," The Pittsburgh Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 10 March 1862, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 29 May 2022).

"Remains Coming," The Pittsburgh Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 8 March 1862, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 May 2022).

Rothbard, Murray N. "Beginning the Welfare State: Civil War Veteran's Pensions," The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, 22:1 (Spring 2019): 68-81

U. S. Congress, The Statutes at Large, Treaties and Proclamations of the United States of America, vols. 1-18 (Little, Brown and Company: Boston, 1789–1875), 12: 566-569, 14 July 1862, "An Act to grant Pensions," 165

The Hangman's Ropemaker: Jacob Bupp, the Alderman (Part One: 1889)

"A hearing was held yesterday before Alderman Jacob Bupp, of the Eleventh Ward, Allegheny...."

~ "For Dynamiting Fish," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 3 August 1889, page 12

*This blog post is one in a series of blogs on my famous ancestor, Jacob Bupp, the Hangman's Ropemaker- click the page tab above labeled "The Hangman's Ropemaker" for more information and the blog series*

Note: This particular chapter in Jacob's life will be divided into three parts.  This is Part One.  Part Two focuses on his very chaotic year of 1890 of both alderman duties and hangings, and Part Three discusses the duties of 1891 and the scandal that forced him from office.

Whether he was capitalizing on his fame as a ropemaker, especially with the recent fame of the national papers running his name and address during the Chicago Anarchists heyday, or whether he decided that since he already was both a judge and a constable, alderman should be next remains to be seen.

Whatever the situation, Jacob Bupp ran for alderman of the Eleventh Ward of Allegheny City in February of 1889.  He won that election,  receiving 204 votes.  He ran against a man named Robert Wilson, who only received 187 votes.

Aldermen were elected by popular vote and were given the power in minor infractions, such as assault and battery cases, local ordinance violations, forgeries, perjuries, riots and unlawful assemblies.  As city officials, they also held the power to notarize documents.  Basically, they operated as a small scale judicial system run by the city.

Jacob received his commission as alderman on 16 April 1889 from the registrar's office.  There were several accounts in the newspapers as to trials and suits brought up before Jacob during his tenure as alderman, as well as other documents.  The following list are just the events that took place within the first year, which was also the first year that the city directories listed his occupation as an alderman instead of either laborer or ropemaker.

On 2 August 1889, he fined Larry O'Toole and James Gallagher $50 and costs for violating of fish laws by dynamiting the waters of the Ohio River near McKee's Rocks to kill fish.  Fish Warden Hague entered the charges in the suit.  The very next day, O'Toole also posted bail for stealing 20 sticks of dynamite and tools from W.E. Howley, a contractor in Wood's Run.  It can be assumed the dynamite stolen was the dynamite used in the fishing incident.

On 7 August 1889, it was reported that Jacob Bupp had given George Mason a warrant for a Miss Maud Weizer,  who had apparently struck Mason on head with an iron for asking her to walk with him.  Miss Weizer was charged with aggravated assault and battery.

On 13 August 1889, Edward Leek posted bail for charges of assault and battery and selling liquor without a license.  The man who filed the charges against him was Gustav Wueski.  Jacob Bupp was the Alderman on record, although Leek filed a cross suit before Alderman Foley.

On 22 August 1889 he was the alderman on record when O. A. Meggs filed charges of aggravated assault and battery against John Kerins.  According to the information given, Kerins struck Meggs across the head with a stove lid.

On 30 August 1889, Bridget Kelley filed charges of malicious mischief when part of her fence was knocked down, allowing a number of fowl to escape her property.  Warrents were issued for Mary Reese and Mary O'Toole. whom Kelley alleged did the deed.

On 2 September 1889, Doctor William J. Langfitt appeared before him to file a Physician's Affidavit for the pension case of John D. Wood of Company K of the 63rd Pennsylvania Volunteers, who had rheumatism so bad from being in the trenches at the Siege of Petersburg (Virginia) at the end of the Civil War that it was hard for him to continue to work.  *This little bit of information was particularly interesting to me because a couple of generations later, John D. Wood's grandson married Jacob Bupp's great-granddaughter and became my paternal grandparents.*

Jacob Bupp's affirmation and signature on the Medical Evidence Affidavit of Physician William J. Langfitt in the claim of John. D. Wood, claim number 718416, for original pension, filed by W. H. Lockhart, attorney, September 13, 1889; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for John D. Woods and held by the author

On 25 September 1889, John McKelvy was to have a hearing before Jacob Bupp on a charge of aggravated assault and battery.  A Mrs. Wilson brought up the charges, alleging that McKelvy had beaten her seven year old son for no apparent reason.

On 9 Dec 1889, Jacob Bupp presided over a hearing between Norman King, the son and administrator of the late Lewis King of Etna, and Robert Humphreys and Joseph Ackerman of Etna.  King had sued Humphreys and Ackerman for conspiracy in depreciating the sale value of his father's home.  Humphreys had been Lewis King's son-in-law and was hoping to sell the house to Ackerman by pushing out all other bidders.  Ackerman and Humphreys were ordered held for $500 bail each by Bupp.  This case was declared a very interesting case by the newspapers that reported on it.

On 19 December 1889, Charles Call and Edward Miller were brought before Jacob Bupp on charges of assault and battery after beating a young boy by the name of John Carson. John's father Ezra had brought the charges against Call and Miller, and no cause was given for the beating.

Click here for Jacob Bupp, The Alderman (Part Two: 1890)!

Sources Used and Referenced
"Allegheny's Chosen Ones," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 24 February 1889, Page 7; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

"Allegheny Etiquette," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 7 August 1889, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accesssed 3 October 2017).

"A Suit for Conspiracy," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 10 December 1889, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 8 October 2017).

"A Terrible Beating," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 19 December 1889, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 7 October 2017).

"Fishing with Dynamite," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 3 August 1899, page 11; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

"For Dynamiting Fish," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 3 August 1889, page 12; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

"For Stealing Tools and Dynamite," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 3 August 1889, page 9; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 7 October 2017).

J.F. Diffenbacher's directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1889/1890 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Diffenbacher and Thurston, 1889), 196; digital image, University of Pennsylvania, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 17 August 2016).

"Local Items, Limited," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 14 August 1889, page 5; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 August 2017).

"Local Items, Limited," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 22 September 1889, page 7; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 3 October 2017).

"Looking After Her Fences," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 1 September 1889, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 6 July 2019).

"Making Nine Ropes," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 31 March 1890, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

Medical Evidence Affidavit of Physician William J. Langfitt in the claim of John. D. Wood, claim number 718416, for original pension, filed by W. H. Lockhart, attorney, September 13, 1889; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for John D. Woods; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); Records Relating to Pension and Bounty-Land Claims 1773-1942, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15; 2,807 rolls, National Archives, Washington, D.C. 

"More Election Returns," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 21 February 1889, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 5 July 2019).

Potter, Chris. "Have Pittsburgh city councilors ever been called 'aldermen'?"  Pittsburgh City Paper, You Had To Ask, 4 January 2007 (https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/have-pittsburgh-city-councilors-ever-been-called-aldermen-i-used-to-see-alderman-signs-on-an-old-building/Content?oid=1334642 : accessed 6 July 2019).

"Received Their Commissions," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 17 April 1889, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 October 2017).

"Struck with a Stove Lid," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 23 August 1889, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 3 October 2017).