A Civil War veteran, Lewis was in an unmarked grave for 121 years until a community effort was made to mark his grave with a tombstone. His stone was dedicated in a ceremony in Oak Ridge Cemetery on November 2, 2013.
Civil War veteran. Company E, 29th U.S. Colored Infantry. He was wounded in the Battle before Petersburg, Virginia. He was sent to the General Hospital at Alexandria, Virginia and later transferred to Harewood Hospital in Washington, DC.
________________
A negro named Lewis Martin, who is well known in this city as the one-legged and one-armed old soldier, was found dead yesterday morning in his bed. He resided in a house, corner of Lincoln avenue and Jefferson street, and up to a short time ago he had been having a white woman at his home as a housekeeper, but she left him recently and he had since lived alone. About 7 o'clock yesterday morning, Mrs. Carrie Boone, colored, who came to the house frequently to look after him, found him dead. Mrs. Boone immediately notified some of the neighbors.
He was a private in the Twenty-ninth Illinois volunteers during the war, and received a pension of $72 per month for the loss of his limbs and one eye in the army. He received some time ago back pension money amounting to $6,500, a portion of which he invested in property on West Jefferson street, including the place where he lived. He also had some money saved up. He was about 45 years of age, and has two brothers residing in Alton, who have been notified of his death.
IL State Register, Springfield, IL 1-27-1892
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was a member of John A. Bross Post (the local African American unit) of the Grand Army of the Republic, and the Illinois State Journal took note when Martin collapsed during funeral services for Capt. John G. Mack, the GAR's state mustering officer, in October 1887:
Louis Martin, the brave fragment of a veteran of Bross post, fainted yesterday afternoon at the cemetery while in attendance upon the funeral of Capt. Mack. The walk was too much for him. He is minus a leg and an arm and has several marks of affection received from the boys who pointed their muskets north.
His tombstone lists the cause of Martin's death as stroke. Newspaper articles when he died, however, said Martin probably died of exposure and the effects of alcoholism. "(H)e drank very hard," the Illinois State Register reported. An inquest reached the same conclusion.
Sangamon County History p. 7241, 5-11-2015
Contributor: ET (47514618)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls Detail Report
Illinois State Archives
Name MARTIN, LEWIS
Rank PVT Company E Unit 29 USC INF
Residence ALTON, MADISON CO, IL
Age 24
Joined FEB 9, 1864 ALTON, IL
Period 3 YRS
Muster In APR 24, 1864 QUINCY, IL
Muster Out NOV 6, 1865 BROWNSVILLE, TX
Remarks ABSENT SICK SINCE JUL 30, 1864 AT ALEXANDRIA VA NO DISCHARGE GIVEN
Civil War veteran. Company E, 29th U.S. Colored Infantry. He was wounded in the Battle before Petersburg, Virginia. He was sent to the General Hospital at Alexandria, Virginia and later transferred to Harewood Hospital in Washington, DC.
________________
A negro named Lewis Martin, who is well known in this city as the one-legged and one-armed old soldier, was found dead yesterday morning in his bed. He resided in a house, corner of Lincoln avenue and Jefferson street, and up to a short time ago he had been having a white woman at his home as a housekeeper, but she left him recently and he had since lived alone. About 7 o'clock yesterday morning, Mrs. Carrie Boone, colored, who came to the house frequently to look after him, found him dead. Mrs. Boone immediately notified some of the neighbors.
He was a private in the Twenty-ninth Illinois volunteers during the war, and received a pension of $72 per month for the loss of his limbs and one eye in the army. He received some time ago back pension money amounting to $6,500, a portion of which he invested in property on West Jefferson street, including the place where he lived. He also had some money saved up. He was about 45 years of age, and has two brothers residing in Alton, who have been notified of his death.
IL State Register, Springfield, IL 1-27-1892
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was a member of John A. Bross Post (the local African American unit) of the Grand Army of the Republic, and the Illinois State Journal took note when Martin collapsed during funeral services for Capt. John G. Mack, the GAR's state mustering officer, in October 1887:
Louis Martin, the brave fragment of a veteran of Bross post, fainted yesterday afternoon at the cemetery while in attendance upon the funeral of Capt. Mack. The walk was too much for him. He is minus a leg and an arm and has several marks of affection received from the boys who pointed their muskets north.
His tombstone lists the cause of Martin's death as stroke. Newspaper articles when he died, however, said Martin probably died of exposure and the effects of alcoholism. "(H)e drank very hard," the Illinois State Register reported. An inquest reached the same conclusion.
Sangamon County History p. 7241, 5-11-2015
Contributor: ET (47514618)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls Detail Report
Illinois State Archives
Name MARTIN, LEWIS
Rank PVT Company E Unit 29 USC INF
Residence ALTON, MADISON CO, IL
Age 24
Joined FEB 9, 1864 ALTON, IL
Period 3 YRS
Muster In APR 24, 1864 QUINCY, IL
Muster Out NOV 6, 1865 BROWNSVILLE, TX
Remarks ABSENT SICK SINCE JUL 30, 1864 AT ALEXANDRIA VA NO DISCHARGE GIVEN
A Civil War veteran, Lewis was in an unmarked grave for 121 years until a community effort was made to mark his grave with a tombstone. His stone was dedicated in a ceremony in Oak Ridge Cemetery on November 2, 2013.
Civil War veteran. Company E, 29th U.S. Colored Infantry. He was wounded in the Battle before Petersburg, Virginia. He was sent to the General Hospital at Alexandria, Virginia and later transferred to Harewood Hospital in Washington, DC.
________________
A negro named Lewis Martin, who is well known in this city as the one-legged and one-armed old soldier, was found dead yesterday morning in his bed. He resided in a house, corner of Lincoln avenue and Jefferson street, and up to a short time ago he had been having a white woman at his home as a housekeeper, but she left him recently and he had since lived alone. About 7 o'clock yesterday morning, Mrs. Carrie Boone, colored, who came to the house frequently to look after him, found him dead. Mrs. Boone immediately notified some of the neighbors.
He was a private in the Twenty-ninth Illinois volunteers during the war, and received a pension of $72 per month for the loss of his limbs and one eye in the army. He received some time ago back pension money amounting to $6,500, a portion of which he invested in property on West Jefferson street, including the place where he lived. He also had some money saved up. He was about 45 years of age, and has two brothers residing in Alton, who have been notified of his death.
IL State Register, Springfield, IL 1-27-1892
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was a member of John A. Bross Post (the local African American unit) of the Grand Army of the Republic, and the Illinois State Journal took note when Martin collapsed during funeral services for Capt. John G. Mack, the GAR's state mustering officer, in October 1887:
Louis Martin, the brave fragment of a veteran of Bross post, fainted yesterday afternoon at the cemetery while in attendance upon the funeral of Capt. Mack. The walk was too much for him. He is minus a leg and an arm and has several marks of affection received from the boys who pointed their muskets north.
His tombstone lists the cause of Martin's death as stroke. Newspaper articles when he died, however, said Martin probably died of exposure and the effects of alcoholism. "(H)e drank very hard," the Illinois State Register reported. An inquest reached the same conclusion.
Sangamon County History p. 7241, 5-11-2015
Contributor: ET (47514618)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls Detail Report
Illinois State Archives
Name MARTIN, LEWIS
Rank PVT Company E Unit 29 USC INF
Residence ALTON, MADISON CO, IL
Age 24
Joined FEB 9, 1864 ALTON, IL
Period 3 YRS
Muster In APR 24, 1864 QUINCY, IL
Muster Out NOV 6, 1865 BROWNSVILLE, TX
Remarks ABSENT SICK SINCE JUL 30, 1864 AT ALEXANDRIA VA NO DISCHARGE GIVEN
Civil War veteran. Company E, 29th U.S. Colored Infantry. He was wounded in the Battle before Petersburg, Virginia. He was sent to the General Hospital at Alexandria, Virginia and later transferred to Harewood Hospital in Washington, DC.
________________
A negro named Lewis Martin, who is well known in this city as the one-legged and one-armed old soldier, was found dead yesterday morning in his bed. He resided in a house, corner of Lincoln avenue and Jefferson street, and up to a short time ago he had been having a white woman at his home as a housekeeper, but she left him recently and he had since lived alone. About 7 o'clock yesterday morning, Mrs. Carrie Boone, colored, who came to the house frequently to look after him, found him dead. Mrs. Boone immediately notified some of the neighbors.
He was a private in the Twenty-ninth Illinois volunteers during the war, and received a pension of $72 per month for the loss of his limbs and one eye in the army. He received some time ago back pension money amounting to $6,500, a portion of which he invested in property on West Jefferson street, including the place where he lived. He also had some money saved up. He was about 45 years of age, and has two brothers residing in Alton, who have been notified of his death.
IL State Register, Springfield, IL 1-27-1892
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was a member of John A. Bross Post (the local African American unit) of the Grand Army of the Republic, and the Illinois State Journal took note when Martin collapsed during funeral services for Capt. John G. Mack, the GAR's state mustering officer, in October 1887:
Louis Martin, the brave fragment of a veteran of Bross post, fainted yesterday afternoon at the cemetery while in attendance upon the funeral of Capt. Mack. The walk was too much for him. He is minus a leg and an arm and has several marks of affection received from the boys who pointed their muskets north.
His tombstone lists the cause of Martin's death as stroke. Newspaper articles when he died, however, said Martin probably died of exposure and the effects of alcoholism. "(H)e drank very hard," the Illinois State Register reported. An inquest reached the same conclusion.
Sangamon County History p. 7241, 5-11-2015
Contributor: ET (47514618)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls Detail Report
Illinois State Archives
Name MARTIN, LEWIS
Rank PVT Company E Unit 29 USC INF
Residence ALTON, MADISON CO, IL
Age 24
Joined FEB 9, 1864 ALTON, IL
Period 3 YRS
Muster In APR 24, 1864 QUINCY, IL
Muster Out NOV 6, 1865 BROWNSVILLE, TX
Remarks ABSENT SICK SINCE JUL 30, 1864 AT ALEXANDRIA VA NO DISCHARGE GIVEN
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