Pvt Seth L. Strong
| Strong, Seth L. Born: c. 1828, New Haven, Connecticut Died: March 1, 1885, Jamestown, Rhode Island Burial: Palisado Cemetery, Windsor, Connecticut Occupation: Laborer Enlisted: September 24, 1863, Providence, Rhode Island Unit: 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery Regiment (Colored) Company: E Rank: Private --------------------------- Seth L. Strong was born around 1828 in New Haven, Connecticut. His parents appear to have been John Mason Strong and Judith M. Mason, both of Lyme, Connecticut. In 1820, John Mason appears in Lyme, but by 1830 he is recorded in New Haven County, remaining there into the 1840s. This aligns with Seth’s reported birthplace, making it likely that these are his parents. John Mason Strong and Judith M. Mason appear to have migrated sometime after 1840, appearing in the 1860 census in Windsor, Connecticut, which may explain Seth’s presence there as well. In their household are Betsy, age twenty-one; Solomon, twelve; and Sarah, four. Also present is Jubah Smith, Betsy’s seven-year-old son. Everyone in the household is listed as “Mulatto,” indicating mixed racial ancestry. On August 14, 1848, Seth Strong married Phoebe Ann Pierce in Windsor, Connecticut. In the 1947 death certificate of their daughter, Ada, we learn that Phoebe’s maiden name was Percy. Based on her age, Phoebe may have been the sister of Julie Ann Percy and the granddaughter of Ozias Pettibone. According to Granby, Connecticut archivist Carol Laun, Ozias Pettibone was a white enslaver in Granby who fathered children with an enslaved woman named Rose. In the 1850 census, Seth and Phoebe are living in the Poquonock neighborhood of Windsor with their daughter Elizabeth, age seven. They are enumerated next door to Isaac Smith and Aurelia Percy—Aurelia likely being Phoebe’s sister. By June 1860, Seth is living in the Windsor Poquonock neighborhood now in the household of his nephew, Lemuel Smith, while his wife, Phoebe Ann Percy, is listed separately in her own household. Living with Phoebe are their four children bearing the surname Strong—Barney W., age nine; Rosella, seven; Judah, five; and Adelaide, eleven months. Also in the household is Elizabeth Nepian, age seventeen, who is likely their daughter Elizabeth, now married. As an adult, their son, Barney W., lived in the town’s Hayden Station neighborhood and worshiped at the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Zion Church, serving as president of the board of trustees in the early 1900s. On September 24, 1863, Seth enlisted in Providence, Rhode Island, joining the 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery Regiment. He reported his age as twenty-two, though he was closer to thirty-six. He is described as “Light,” consistent with his family’s classification as “Mulatto” in earlier census records. He listed his occupation as laborer and his birthplace as New Haven, Connecticut. Enlisting just days later were his nephews, Henry T. Smith and Lemuel H. Smith, making it likely the three men traveled to Providence together. Lemuel, age thirty, and Henry, age nineteen, both listed their occupations as brick makers and their birthplace as Windsor, Connecticut. All three men were assigned to Company E, allowing them to serve in close proximity. In the months that followed, they trained together, preparing for military service while maintaining the support of family. Unlike Lemuel, who died early in service, Seth survived long enough to be sent south with the regiment. There, his health began to fail. In September 1864, he suffered a severe fever—likely malarial in origin—that left lasting and debilitating effects. The illness impaired his hearing, leaving him partially deaf, and affected his speech to the extent that he could be understood only with difficulty. His condition worsened further, with signs of partial paralysis and recurring swelling in his face and other parts of his body. By October 1864, he had entered the regimental hospital in Louisiana, where his condition showed little improvement. The examining surgeon determined that Seth was wholly unfit for duty, noting that his disability had been incurred in the line of service and caused by disease. In March 1865, he was discharged as totally disabled. Following his return to Connecticut, Seth disappears from the available record until his death on March 1, 1885. It is likely that he required ongoing care after his discharge. Though he returned home, Seth carried with him the lasting physical consequences of his service. The fever that struck him in the South did not end with his discharge—it reshaped the remainder of his life. His hearing, speech, and strength were permanently altered, leaving him to navigate the years that followed in a diminished state. Like many soldiers of the United States Colored Troops, Seth did not fall in battle, but bore the enduring cost of war in his body. His story stands as a reminder that survival was not the same as recovery, and that the toll of service extended far beyond the battlefield. Seth Strong was buried at Palisado Cemetery in Windsor, Connecticut. |