Wife of Henry W. Sawyer
"A faithful wife and affectionate mother."
The Press of Atlantic City- Tuesday, February 10, 2009:
"Henry Sawyer was taken prisoner on October 9, 1863, at the Battle of Brady Station in Virginia. He has his horse shot from under him and took musket balls in the thigh and one that entered his right cheek and passed out the back of his neck. Sawyer was wounded seven times in the war and carried a rebel musket ball in his body until the day he died.
It was a bad time to be in Libby Prison as two Conferate officers caught behind Union lines had just been executed. The South decided to execute two Union officers and had the men draw lots to see who would die. Sawyer's name was the first drawn, and according to the Richmond Dispatch, he took the news stoically. The execution of Sawyer and Capt. John Flinn, of Indiana was set for eight days later. Sawyer's last request was to write a letter to his wife.
"My dear wife, the fortune of war has put me in this position. If I must die, a sacrifice to my country, with God's will I must submit, only let me see you once more, and I will die becoming a man and an officer, but, for God's sake, do not disappoint me," Sawyer wrote.
Sawyer's wife, Harriet Ware Eldredge, did more than that. She got the letter and didn't go into mourning. She decided she was going to see Abe Lincoln. She went to Washington as fast as she could and met with (Secretary of War) Edwin Stanton and Abe Lincoln. The president acted immediately. Two Confederate prisoners, the sons of Gen. Robert E. Lee and Gen. J.H. Winder, were in Union hands. Lincoln sent a dispatch to Gen. Lee telling him if Sawyer and Flinn were executed, Lee and Winder would faced the same fate.
Richmond papers still clamored for the execution as Sawyer was thrown in a dungeon so damp that his clothes were mildewed. The scheduled execution was put off and a long stalemate ensued. Finally, after nine months in prison, a prisoner exchange was set up in March 1864. Sawyer reportedly shook Lee's hand as they walked by each other.
Sawyer who enlisted April 15, 1861, returned to battle and served until the war ended, at one point commanding 500 men. After the war, Sawyer, a carpenter by trade. became the proprietor of the Ocean House and then built the Chalfonte. Sawyer served nine years on City Council and was superintendent of the U.S. Lifesaving Service.
Sawyer was known for his honesty and compassion. He once stopped the New Jersey Cavalry from burning down a southern plantation and locals sought him out for advice and to settle disputes. The end came in 1893 when Sawyer had a massive heart attack while working on two projects in Cape May, building a house and restoring a baseball field."
"A faithful wife and affectionate mother."
The Press of Atlantic City- Tuesday, February 10, 2009:
"Henry Sawyer was taken prisoner on October 9, 1863, at the Battle of Brady Station in Virginia. He has his horse shot from under him and took musket balls in the thigh and one that entered his right cheek and passed out the back of his neck. Sawyer was wounded seven times in the war and carried a rebel musket ball in his body until the day he died.
It was a bad time to be in Libby Prison as two Conferate officers caught behind Union lines had just been executed. The South decided to execute two Union officers and had the men draw lots to see who would die. Sawyer's name was the first drawn, and according to the Richmond Dispatch, he took the news stoically. The execution of Sawyer and Capt. John Flinn, of Indiana was set for eight days later. Sawyer's last request was to write a letter to his wife.
"My dear wife, the fortune of war has put me in this position. If I must die, a sacrifice to my country, with God's will I must submit, only let me see you once more, and I will die becoming a man and an officer, but, for God's sake, do not disappoint me," Sawyer wrote.
Sawyer's wife, Harriet Ware Eldredge, did more than that. She got the letter and didn't go into mourning. She decided she was going to see Abe Lincoln. She went to Washington as fast as she could and met with (Secretary of War) Edwin Stanton and Abe Lincoln. The president acted immediately. Two Confederate prisoners, the sons of Gen. Robert E. Lee and Gen. J.H. Winder, were in Union hands. Lincoln sent a dispatch to Gen. Lee telling him if Sawyer and Flinn were executed, Lee and Winder would faced the same fate.
Richmond papers still clamored for the execution as Sawyer was thrown in a dungeon so damp that his clothes were mildewed. The scheduled execution was put off and a long stalemate ensued. Finally, after nine months in prison, a prisoner exchange was set up in March 1864. Sawyer reportedly shook Lee's hand as they walked by each other.
Sawyer who enlisted April 15, 1861, returned to battle and served until the war ended, at one point commanding 500 men. After the war, Sawyer, a carpenter by trade. became the proprietor of the Ocean House and then built the Chalfonte. Sawyer served nine years on City Council and was superintendent of the U.S. Lifesaving Service.
Sawyer was known for his honesty and compassion. He once stopped the New Jersey Cavalry from burning down a southern plantation and locals sought him out for advice and to settle disputes. The end came in 1893 when Sawyer had a massive heart attack while working on two projects in Cape May, building a house and restoring a baseball field."
Wife of Henry W. Sawyer
"A faithful wife and affectionate mother."
The Press of Atlantic City- Tuesday, February 10, 2009:
"Henry Sawyer was taken prisoner on October 9, 1863, at the Battle of Brady Station in Virginia. He has his horse shot from under him and took musket balls in the thigh and one that entered his right cheek and passed out the back of his neck. Sawyer was wounded seven times in the war and carried a rebel musket ball in his body until the day he died.
It was a bad time to be in Libby Prison as two Conferate officers caught behind Union lines had just been executed. The South decided to execute two Union officers and had the men draw lots to see who would die. Sawyer's name was the first drawn, and according to the Richmond Dispatch, he took the news stoically. The execution of Sawyer and Capt. John Flinn, of Indiana was set for eight days later. Sawyer's last request was to write a letter to his wife.
"My dear wife, the fortune of war has put me in this position. If I must die, a sacrifice to my country, with God's will I must submit, only let me see you once more, and I will die becoming a man and an officer, but, for God's sake, do not disappoint me," Sawyer wrote.
Sawyer's wife, Harriet Ware Eldredge, did more than that. She got the letter and didn't go into mourning. She decided she was going to see Abe Lincoln. She went to Washington as fast as she could and met with (Secretary of War) Edwin Stanton and Abe Lincoln. The president acted immediately. Two Confederate prisoners, the sons of Gen. Robert E. Lee and Gen. J.H. Winder, were in Union hands. Lincoln sent a dispatch to Gen. Lee telling him if Sawyer and Flinn were executed, Lee and Winder would faced the same fate.
Richmond papers still clamored for the execution as Sawyer was thrown in a dungeon so damp that his clothes were mildewed. The scheduled execution was put off and a long stalemate ensued. Finally, after nine months in prison, a prisoner exchange was set up in March 1864. Sawyer reportedly shook Lee's hand as they walked by each other.
Sawyer who enlisted April 15, 1861, returned to battle and served until the war ended, at one point commanding 500 men. After the war, Sawyer, a carpenter by trade. became the proprietor of the Ocean House and then built the Chalfonte. Sawyer served nine years on City Council and was superintendent of the U.S. Lifesaving Service.
Sawyer was known for his honesty and compassion. He once stopped the New Jersey Cavalry from burning down a southern plantation and locals sought him out for advice and to settle disputes. The end came in 1893 when Sawyer had a massive heart attack while working on two projects in Cape May, building a house and restoring a baseball field."
"A faithful wife and affectionate mother."
The Press of Atlantic City- Tuesday, February 10, 2009:
"Henry Sawyer was taken prisoner on October 9, 1863, at the Battle of Brady Station in Virginia. He has his horse shot from under him and took musket balls in the thigh and one that entered his right cheek and passed out the back of his neck. Sawyer was wounded seven times in the war and carried a rebel musket ball in his body until the day he died.
It was a bad time to be in Libby Prison as two Conferate officers caught behind Union lines had just been executed. The South decided to execute two Union officers and had the men draw lots to see who would die. Sawyer's name was the first drawn, and according to the Richmond Dispatch, he took the news stoically. The execution of Sawyer and Capt. John Flinn, of Indiana was set for eight days later. Sawyer's last request was to write a letter to his wife.
"My dear wife, the fortune of war has put me in this position. If I must die, a sacrifice to my country, with God's will I must submit, only let me see you once more, and I will die becoming a man and an officer, but, for God's sake, do not disappoint me," Sawyer wrote.
Sawyer's wife, Harriet Ware Eldredge, did more than that. She got the letter and didn't go into mourning. She decided she was going to see Abe Lincoln. She went to Washington as fast as she could and met with (Secretary of War) Edwin Stanton and Abe Lincoln. The president acted immediately. Two Confederate prisoners, the sons of Gen. Robert E. Lee and Gen. J.H. Winder, were in Union hands. Lincoln sent a dispatch to Gen. Lee telling him if Sawyer and Flinn were executed, Lee and Winder would faced the same fate.
Richmond papers still clamored for the execution as Sawyer was thrown in a dungeon so damp that his clothes were mildewed. The scheduled execution was put off and a long stalemate ensued. Finally, after nine months in prison, a prisoner exchange was set up in March 1864. Sawyer reportedly shook Lee's hand as they walked by each other.
Sawyer who enlisted April 15, 1861, returned to battle and served until the war ended, at one point commanding 500 men. After the war, Sawyer, a carpenter by trade. became the proprietor of the Ocean House and then built the Chalfonte. Sawyer served nine years on City Council and was superintendent of the U.S. Lifesaving Service.
Sawyer was known for his honesty and compassion. He once stopped the New Jersey Cavalry from burning down a southern plantation and locals sought him out for advice and to settle disputes. The end came in 1893 when Sawyer had a massive heart attack while working on two projects in Cape May, building a house and restoring a baseball field."
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