Phrases such as Buyer Beware” or “Buy the object not the story”, and similar refrains are well known to collectors. However, when #themonumentalproject team recently saw an Grand Army of the Republic medal for sale which was genuine, and a story attached to it too, we threw caution to the wind. Especially because it was connected with a United Kingdom based veteran of the Civil War!
We cannot prove provenance, nor confirm without doubt the medal once belonged to its claimed veteran owner. However the medal is genuine, marked, and the account provided in the attached newspaper story is unquestionably true as well. Arthur William Frazier Smith is well known to us due to ongoing research. He was the second honourable secretary of the London Branch of American Civil War veterans. As a young man he had served in the 80th New York Volunteers and was wounded in action in about April 1865 at Petersburg. In 1917 upon the death of John Davis founder of the London Branch of American Civil War Veterans, Arthur stepped into the role of the Honorable Secretary. He became the Branch’s driving force until his death in 1932.
We are still working on where and when the associated newspaper article was produced, but we posit it was around 1920 published in Lloyds Weekly. As our aim is to “Raise monuments, and awareness too” we thought we should share a story of Arthurs lived experiences recorded by the press. The articles title, “Soldier to Missionary American War Veterans reminiscences”;
"Please tell the veterans that the government at Washington holds them in affectionate esteem, and that every American of this generation remembers their services with the deepest gratitude. The sacrifices they made, and the splendid manner in which they conducted themselves during the trying years of the Civil War, are an inspiration and example to the young men of the present time, who are now called upon to shoulder their arms and participate in the terrible struggle upon which the world is engaged".
In these words, the American Consul General in London, conveyed greeting to the London branch of the American Civil War veterans on the occasion of a recent foregathering. His message will find its echo in the hearts of the American people who, in all their pride and delight in the troops of today, who are to uphold their prestige age on the battlefields of Europe do not forget the old men who have upheld the ideals of honor and freedom in the past.
When American troops marched through London, tasting for the first time, personally the gratitude of admiring British cousins, they were met by a brave company of civil war veterans, who carried the stars and stripes and joyed in the opportunity of greeting the young warriors from the scenes of their old exploits. Later, the veterans took part in the augural ceremony at the Eagle Hut which used to be a home from home for America's young troops, and sang lustily the Battle Hymn of the Republic.
The London veterans.
The London branch, which numbers 136 veterans was founded in 1910 by the late John Davies [Davis]. In his later years, a well-known city missionary. His successor is Mr. A. W. Frazier Smith, who, in conversation with a representative of Lloyd's told how he fought for the North in the Civil War, was wounded before Petersburg. Heard of the assassination of President Lincoln while in hospital, recovering from a gunshot wound in the leg. And how, after 22 years in the old country, he was awarded a pension as a token of gratitude, after being advised to make the application by Mr. Phillip Phillips, known as the singing pilgrim of America, who was on a lecturing tour in this country.
Mr. Frazier Smith is full of interesting stories of the day is when he first landed in America after some service in the English navy, out of which he was invalid. He was a boy of sixteen when Irish immigrants in Liverpool persuaded him to make the journey to America with them in quest of the fabled fortunes, which were supposed to be awaiting the lucky immigrant in those days. The voyage on the Thornton of the old blackball line took eight weeks, owing to a series of adventures, in which mutinies, adverse winds and icebergs figured. Landed in New York the adventurous boy quickly settled down to a trade.
Snares of New York.
But in those early days of the Civil War, New York was full of sharks, who sought to enlist likely recruits and then to pocket the heavy bounties which were offered. In some places placards were exhibited, offering certain terms for 'substitutes' to take the place of wealthier men who had drawn for early service, and the English boy was conveyed by his captors to the town offering the highest bounty.
But once in the army, all the unpleasant preliminaries were forgotten and the English recruits fought with his comrades of the 80th volunteer infantry until Fort Steadman fell, and Petersburg was taken, after which the capitulation of Richmond quickly followed. In his later years Mr. Frazier Smith has also become a city missionary, and he divides his time between this work and his dearly loved veterans’ society”.
It is because of the likes of Arthur and John Davis that we have been able to expand the wealth of information in the knowledge pool concerning the London Branch of American Civil War veterans. Did this medal belong to Arthur? We will never know, unless further evidence comes forward. However each in its own right are valuable artifacts and we’re pleased to share them with our followers. We can also add them to our ever-increasing material relating to an extraordinary group of men living in our nation’s capital – The London Branch of American Civil War Veterans, may they never be forgotten.
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