I have been looking for my Pennsylvania roots for some time. I found my great gramma Ida Garner was born in Philly in 1858, two years before they had to register births. She was born Eliza Ida Garner, which was why she was difficult to find, and was born soon after her father and grandparents escaped to the north just before the Civil War. They were freed slaves. They sold their property in Charlottesville to live free and safely in Philadelphia, the same time Harriet Tubman was taking slaves to Philly. William was living about 5 miles from Thomas Jeffersons plantation, and was sure to know that group. My family were freed by their owners, store keepers , a minister and tobacco plantations, in the early 1800s, but stayed on with their owners familys till they were married and bought a barber shop in Charlottesville. It opened me up to a lot of stories from the pre Civil War times in Virginia. A difficult time to be Black to say the least, and a trying time for the abolishionists trying to change things. Here is my story of William, my 4th great grandfather. The rest of the backstory is in my blog post, Ida Garner.
On August 8 2025, I came across John Banks blog about a Civil War historians finding a bullet on a battlefield. In the bullet was carved the initials WLG. William L. Garner. Here is excerpts from John Banks and Richard Clems story....
https://john-banks.blogspot.com/
"A murderous encounter the previous week at Gettysburg had thinned the ranks of the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteers. While glowing campfires slowly died, the boys from Philadelphia tried to erase from their minds and souls that bloody ordeal in the “Peach Orchard.” Today, not a sign remains to indicate these battle-weary warriors bivouacked on the ground in Maryland. However, one member of the 114th Pennsylvania left evidence underground that the camp did indeed exist.
On a beautiful Indian summer afternoon in 1986, the author and his brother, Don, searched for Civil War relics with metal detectors. The farm we searched was camped on by units of the Union III Corps of the Army of the Potomac during their pursuit of the Rebels after Gettysburg. In earlier years, the nearby intersection in this area of southern Washington County, Md., was called Jones’ Crossroads by locals.
Warm, sunny hours had proven favorable as our relic pouches bulged with bullets, buttons and various Civil War artifacts. With shadows lengthening, we decided to call it a day and take one final sweep across the old campsite. As we were about to finish, Don headed in my direction with an outstretched hand and a smile on his face. This could mean only one thing: He had dug a “keeper!”
"At first, I thought it was just another bullet," Don explained. "But after a closer look, I could see something carved on it." Darkness was setting in too fast to figure out the tiny letters, so we headed for the pickup truck. That evening we soaked the bullet in water, and after a light cleaning with a soft toothbrush, letters and numbers surfaced: "H / W. L. G. / 114 P.V."
Using imagination and common sense, we came to the conclusion what these small letters represented. First, the “H” at the top of the carving stood for “Company H.” Next, the letters “W.L.G.” were the initials of some soldier’s first, middle and last name. And finally, “114 P.V.” stood for the “114th Pennsylvania Volunteers.” Apparently, more than a century before a Civil War soldier had taken a pocket knife or some other sharp object and cut the nose and bottom ring off a standard .58-caliber bullet. He then continued to carve his company’s letter, his own initials and abbreviation of his regiment on the flattened remaining nose of the bullet. This was no easy task considering the surface being carved was the size of an aspirin. This veteran must have had better than 20-20 vision."
"So let’s return to Nov. 22, 1986, when my brother and I stood scratching our heads and wondering about the soldier who carved the bullet. With two great clues to start our research -- the letter of the soldier’s company and name of his regiment --a trip to Gettysburg was planned. The library at the Gettysburg National Military Park produced a copy of the History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-5. The large volume contains in order every regiment from the Keystone State that served in the Civil War. Each regiment is broken down into companies listed in alphabetical order. Pages became blurred as we nervously, anxiously fumbled through the heavy book until a finger landed on the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteers. In a matter of seconds, the only name listed in Company H that matched those carved on the bullet leaped from the page – “William L. Garner.” We had found our bullet carver from the past."
"Private Garner was on sick leave from January-April 1863, but recovered and was present at the Battle of Chancellorsville that May. Near the Chancellor house, the 114th and 105th Pennsylvania charged a fortified Rebel position but were driven back to the entrenchments with the loss of 173 killed and wounded. In the same engagement, Colonel Charles Collis was reported wounded, although some records claim he contracted typhoid fever. Whatever the case, Collis was recuperating and missed the Gettysburg Campaign. "
"The 114th Pennsylvania regiment passed through its worst trials in spring and summer 1863 at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. In 1864, with Collis back commanding the battle-tested brigade, the Zouaves continued reducing their numbers in action at Wapping Heights, Kelley’s Ford, Auburn, Mine Run, Guiney’s Station and Rappahannock Station. Private Garner survived those engagements, but luck ran out for the red-legged veteran from Philadelphia.
On a clear, warm Sunday in the final month of hostilities, Garner made his last charge during General Ulysses Grant’s assault against the enemy’s strong works at Petersburg, Va. A surgeon’s report listed his condition as, “ . . . disabled resulting from a gun shot wound in the right foot received in action at Petersburg, Virginia, April 2, 1865.” Just seven days after Garner fell in battle, Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House, officially ending the war. With the Confederates' surrender, the 114th Pennsylvania marched to Arlington Heights, opposite Washington, where it was mustered out of service May 29, 1865. The War Between the States was over, but for William Garner the battle for life was just beginning. "
"On April 10, 1865, the day after Lee’s surrender, Garner was admitted to U.S. General Hospital in Philadelphia. Later that month, he was transferred to McClellan U.S. Hospital in the same city. His health continued to deteriorate after being shuttled from one hospital to another. To make matters worse, in 1868, while still in the hospital, his wife died. Four years later, on Aug. 7, 1872, William L. Garner died in Belleme Hospital in New York. He was 39. The cause of death was “… disease of lungs and wounds contracted in the service.” Without mother or father, what would happen to Ida, the Garner’s 12-year-old daughter?
Exactly 24 years to the day -- April 2, 1889 -- that Garner was wounded at Petersburg, Ida Garner Klinck applied for a military pension as the daughter of William L. Garner. The 30-year-old woman who appeared before the deputy clerk of the Supreme Court of New York gave her address as Brooklyn, Kings County, N.Y. Seventeen years later, she applied again for a pension, writing the following:
Torrington, July 22, 1906
Mr. Warner
my father. My mother died when I was 9 years old. My father died
because of a Wound in the foot and I know that my father never
Married But one time. I feel that I Should have sum thing come to me.
i am a lone in This World. I was 12 years old When my father died. My
father was William L. Garner.
from
Mrs. Ida G. Klinck"
excerpts by Richard Clem
I know what happened to that 12 year old girl. She was my great gramma. She moved to Brooklyn and lived with her uncle James who was a baker like her mother and grandmother. She had a happy marriage and 8 children. Six of the children survived, married and had more children and eventually I came into being. And now I found some of her story so she is not forgotten.
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