Pvt Abraham Thompson
| Thompson, Abraham Born: c. 1827, Greenbush, New York Died: March 28, 1899, Windsor, Connecticut Burial: Riverside Cemetery, Windsor, Connecticut Occupation: Farmer Enlisted: November 25, 1863, Pittsfield, Massachusetts Unit: 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry Regiment Company: F Rank: Private --------------------------- Born in Greenbush, New York, around 1827, little is known about Abraham Thompson’s life prior to his enlistment. An individual with the same name appears in the 1850 census for Rensselaer County as a child of Rosanna Thompson, but that person was born around 1844 and therefore does not appear to be the same individual. Nevertheless, it is possible that this family may have been related to Abraham Thompson. On November 25, 1863, Abraham enlisted in the 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry Regiment in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, listing his occupation as farmer. He was assigned to Company F. In January 1864, Abraham was sent to Morris Island in Charleston, South Carolina, to rendezvous with the 54th Regiment. The regiment had already gained national attention several months earlier when, on July 18, 1863, it famously attacked Fort Wagner (also known as Battery Wagner), a Confederate fortification located on Morris Island. This battle is depicted in the 1989 film Glory, starring Denzel Washington. Although the assault failed, the 54th remained in the area as part of the Union Army’s ongoing siege operations against Charleston. On September 7, 1863, Confederate forces abandoned Fort Wagner, and Union troops took control of the position. On April 22, 1864, Abraham was removed from regular regimental duty and assigned to Detached Service (D.S.), working for the Post Quartermaster Department located on Morris Island. He remained there through the end of the war and was honorably discharged on August 20, 1865. After the war, Abraham appears in Westfield, Massachusetts. On April 15, 1878, Westfield birth records document the birth of Abraham Edward Thompson, the son of Abraham Thompson and a woman named Hannah Rockwell Tobias. His son Abraham Edward Thompson was an active member of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Zion Church in the Hayden Station neighborhood and is buried in the historic church cemetery along with Abraham Edward’s mother, Hannah and other members of the Tobias family. Hannah Rockwell Tobias was the widow of Ezra Tobias, who had also served in the 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry Regiment. Ezra enlisted in Springfield, Massachusetts, on November 30, 1863, and was initially sent to Morris Island in January 1864—the same location where Abraham Thompson was stationed—so it is possible the two men knew each other. Ezra died of typhoid fever in Beaufort, South Carolina, on June 15, 1865. Although Abraham Thompson and Hannah Rockwell Tobias had a child together in 1878, they did not marry until November 26, 1883. Hannah was the daughter of Julie Ann Percy and the granddaughter of Ozias Pettibone. According to the late Granby, Connecticut archivist Carol Laun, Pettibone was a white enslaver in Granby who fathered children with an enslaved woman named Rose. Hannah Rockwell Tobias was also the first cousin of William Giddy, who served in the 31st United States Colored Troops during the Civil War and was likely also descended from Ozias Pettibone and Rose. On January 16, 1892, Abraham Thompson applied for a military pension, listing his residence as Windsor, Connecticut. One of the individuals signing in attestation of his service was William Giddy, his wife’s first cousin. Around 1897, Abraham and Hannah separated. In later statements, Hannah claimed that Abraham had begun drinking heavily and had become abusive. On Wednesday, March 29, 1899, the Hartford Courant reported that Abraham Thompson had died the day before. His house stood on Cook Hill in Windsor, about a quarter mile north of Bloomfield Avenue. On the morning of Tuesday, March 28, neighbors discovered that the house was on fire. They forced open the door and found Abraham unconscious on the floor, but the intense heat prevented them from rescuing him. Abraham died of suffocation. It is believed that a fire he had started in his stove accidentally ignited the structure of the house. The fire was clearly visible from the center of town, however no one sounded the alarm and the fire department was not called out. Abraham Thompson was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Windsor, Connecticut. |