Delta Kappa Epsilon - University of Alabama

FROM THE HISTORIAN 8 Delta Kappa Epsilon Another short reference to the Rogers story, from 1947, states: "Edwin S. Rogers, probably one of the first boys from Patten Academy to attend col- lege, was a student at Bowdoin at the time of his enlistment in the Union army. Because of his refusal to lay down his arms when ordered to do so by a Southerner, he was shot." [Emphasis added]. 10 This anecdote, while perhaps true, should be taken with a grain of salt. It was written 83 years after Rogers' death, and no source is cited. Thus, it is possible that this an- ecdote is simply local, unverifiable oral history. In either event, it doesn't alter the overall story. A "SMOKING GUN" A reference to an unpublished memoir written by a fellow member of Rog- ers' regiment proved a major breakthrough in our quest. 11 This memoir was written by Leander Otis Merriam, who was a Sergeant Major in the 31st Maine Infantry. Captioned "Personal Recollections- The War for the Union," Merriam's account remained in the hands of his family until his grandson made it publicly available in 1990. Thus, anyone research- ing the Rogers/DKE story prior to then would not have had access to it. Merriam writes: It was here also that we lost another officer in whom I felt a special interest. Lieut. Edwin S. Rogers of Company "E" was a college classmate with me. His home was in Patten, in Penobscot County, where his father was a prom- inent physician. On the morning of June 7th, he was sent out in command of the picket line and was shot through the lungs by a rebel sharpshooter. He was so near the enemy's lines that we could not get to him and he was taken by them. [Emphasis added]. The record in the [Adjutant] General 's office says that the rebels started him toward Richmond as a prisoner, but it was so evident that he could not live, they left him in a farmhouse on the way, where he died. 12 EUREKA! This finally seemed to be the "smoking gun" we'd been looking for, to corroborate at least the part of the Rogers story that had him being "found" by Rebels. Not only was he "found," he was in fact captured. This first-hand, eyewitness account seemed to put to rest any doubt about when Rogers was wounded, and that he fell into Confederate hands while still alive, which of course needed to take place for him to have been encoun- tered by a Southern DKE, and for the rest of Minot's story to be true. Mr. Krick of the National Park service concurred: "I agree that the Merriam ac- count is a solid validation of the June 7 version. It is nice to have something that confirms what you and I suspected independently of each other." The last sentence in the cited passage indicates that Merriam had no first-hand information about Rogers' fate after his capture, which makes sense, as he obviously disappeared behind Confederate lines. 13 It turns out that Leander Otis Merriam was not only a "college classmate" of Rogers, but was also a fellow Theta Deke, Class of 1866, which may explain Merriam's "special interest" in Rogers. This also enhances the reli- ability of Merriam's eyewitness account, since he was a personal friend of Rogers. Merriam survived the war, living until 1919. Could he have been Minot's source for the Rogers story? THE FACTS OF ROGERS' WOUNDING AND DEATH AS NOW CORROBORATED Here is a summary of the verified, pertinent facts about Edwin Rogers' mortal wounding and death, based on the best information we now have. Lieutenant Rogers fought with the 31st Maine Infantry during its involve- ment in the protracted military action in and around Cold Harbor, Virginia, from late May to June 12, 1864. He was probably involved in the 31st Maine's fighting during Grant's "grand assault" of June 3rd, but he was not wounded at that time, as stated in Minot's poem. In subsequent fight- ing on the morning of June 7th, while in command of a picket line located in advance of the main Union battle line, he was wounded by a rifle shot from a Confederate sharpshooter. He may have been shot after refusing to lay down his arms and surrender after having been ordered by Confederate forces to do so. He was taken prisoner upon being wounded, at least several hours prior to the two-hour truce that took place on the evening of June 7th. He apparently died while in Southern captivity, probably also on June 7th. One account says he died in a tent, another says he died in a farmhouse; in either event, either locale probably served as a Confederate field hospital. Sometime after his death, and prior to his burial, his body evidently fell back into Union hands, perhaps during the truce on the evening of June 7th, or perhaps at a later time. He was initially interred near a local house known as "Woody's." In 1866, he was disinterred from "Woody's" and re- interred at Cold Harbor National Cemetery. 14 At some point after that, his body may (or may not) have been disinterred from Cold Harbor National Cemetery and re-interred in his hometown of Patten, Maine. We still have no definitive proof that, after his capture, a fellow Deke en- countered Rogers, but the Merriam eyewitness account of his capture is certainly encouraging. While Minot got some of the details of Rogers' wounding and death wrong, the basic story of his being wounded in action and then falling into Confederate hands appears to be TRUE. Whether a fellow Deke then aided him is still subject to verification. WHAT NEXT? Now that we are certain that Rogers was wounded on June 7th, not June 3rd, we want to focus on the relative locations of the 31st Maine Infantry and Confederate units opposing it on the morning of June 7th, to see if we can pinpoint the location of The Unknown Psi. The National Park Service has various maps, created long after the war, which purport to show, as best as can be determined, the locations of various units at various points in the fighting. Mr. Krick provided copies of two of these maps for June 7th, showing that portion of the battlefield where the 31st Maine was lo- cated. While the product of considerable effort and expertise, these maps are approximations, reconstructions from many years later based on highly imperfect evidence. It is very difficult to further narrow our search for The Unknown Psi simply by studying them. To make any real any sense of them, it will be necessary, if possible, to walk the actual ground over which the subject June 7th fighting took place. We would also like to know where Edwin Rogers is really buried, even if this has no direct bearing on our quest. While there is no record of his being disinterred from Cold Harbor National Cemetery, Mr. Krick advises that it is possible that this happened and his remains sent home. On the other hand, officials in Patten, Maine, advise that they have no record of his burial there, although there are records of the burials of other Rogers family members whose graves are located near Edwin's. Thus, it is pos- sible that Edwin's purported grave in Maine is simply a memorial erected by his family, and that his remains are still in Virginia. An examination of his gravesite in Patten Cemetery might show a footstone or some other evidence of an actual burial. However, as of this writing, the cemetery is covered with four feet of snow, and we are told that it will be sometime in The Battle of Cold Harbor, 1864 And The Story Behind "Brothers in DKE" (Continued from page 7) FROM THE HISTORIAN

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