Pvt William Chase
| Chase, William Born: c. 1842, Virginia Died: Unknown Burial: Unknown Occupation: Farmer Enlisted: December 23, 1863, Hartford, Connecticut Unit: 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment Company: G Rank: Private Note: Based on initial research, Hartford, CT was inscribed as resting place on the Windsor, CT monument. The burial site correction listed above is based on subsequent research. William Chase, born around 1842 in Virginia, enlisted in the Union army in Hartford, Connecticut on December 23, 1863. He was assigned to Company G of the 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment. His enlistment papers describe him as an unmarried farmer residing in Windsor, Connecticut. On September 29, 1864, Union forces operating north of the James River attacked Confederate defenses protecting Richmond in what became known as the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm. One of the key engagements occurred at New Market Heights, where regiments of United States Colored Troops, including the 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment, were ordered to assault heavily fortified Confederate positions. Advancing across difficult terrain under intense artillery and rifle fire, the attacking soldiers faced strong resistance as they attempted to break through the Confederate lines. Union forces ultimately succeeded in capturing nearby Fort Harrison on September 29, but the fighting did not end there. Confederate troops launched repeated counterattacks the following day in an effort to retake the position, forcing Union soldiers—including the 29th Connecticut—to hold the newly captured works under continued fire. William Chase was one of the soldiers injured during this intense defensive fighting near Fort Harrison on September 30, 1864. He was initially treated at a Flying Hospital, a temporary battlefield hospital located just behind the front lines intended for rapid treatment and triage before soldiers were transferred to larger medical facilities. An August 1865 muster roll notes that William Chase was “present sick in Base Hospital, 25th Army Corps, since December 17, 1864,” indicating that his injuries from the fighting around Richmond required extended hospitalization within the Union army’s medical system. By that point he had been hospitalized for nearly eleven months. Sometime prior to October 1865, William was transferred to a major Union hospital at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, one of the largest Union medical centers in the eastern theater. William was still hospitalized when the 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment was mustered out of service in November 1865, so he was unable to return north with the rest of his regiment. Instead, military orders issued on November 14, 1865, directed that transportation be furnished for him separately so that he could travel to Connecticut and report to state authorities to receive his final pay. William Chase was hospitalized for more than a year following the wounds he received during the fighting near Fort Harrison. The length of his hospitalization suggests that his injuries were serious. Many soldiers returned to duty within weeks or months after being wounded, but Chase remained under treatment for an extended period, indicating that his injury required prolonged medical care. What became of William Chase after the war is unclear. A man named William Chase appears in the 1870 census living in Windsor, Connecticut with his wife Lucy, but that individual is listed as being born in North Carolina. Also, there is a William Chase in the Windsor birth records indicating the birthplace of Pennsylvania. Since William Chase stated in his enlistment papers that he was born in Virginia, it is unclear whether this is the same person. |