Delta Kappa Epsilon - University of Alabama

FROM THE HISTORIAN 8 Delta Kappa Epsilon he had been wounded at Cold Harbor, captured and left in a Confederate hospital, being too seriously wounded to travel, and that he presumably died in Confederate custody. They had no confirmation of his death, and no knowledge of where he was buried. They simply knew that he had never been heard from again after being left seriously wounded in a Rebel field hospital. Like countless other families caught up in that conflict, they had no closure, no certainty about his death, and no grave over which to mourn their lost son and brother. "A letter soon was carried from that southern battle plain…." Sometime in 1873, it appears, Edwin's father first received a letter, not from the Southern Deke who "discovered" and aided Edwin, as told in Minot's poem, but from the father of the Southern Deke, who "said his son would write and send a pin which Edwin had given him." This adds another layer to our story and another element of mystery. Why did the father, and not the son, first contact Edwin's father, and how did he find him? Why nine years later, with the war becoming a distant memory? Did the possession of Edwin's DKE pin constitute a constant reminder to a Southern father of the ongoing pain and lack of closure surely being endured by a Northern family? Then Luther Rogers gives the only written account yet known of Edwin's encounter with "The Unknown Psi", apart from Minot's poem and his short account in his history of the Theta DKE chapter. "The son wrote the particulars of his death. He discovered this wounded soldier among the wounded and knew at once he had but a few hours to live. He also discovered by a pin he was wearing that they belonged to the same col- lege fraternity. He did everything he could to make him comfortable and finally buried him, placing at the head of his grave, a board inscribed with his name, rank and regiment. He said he published the account in such newspapers as he thought would be most likely to reach Edwin's friends." Luther's account here is generally consistent with that given by Minot in "Brother's in DKE", 8 except for the fact that Minot incorrectly placed the meeting of the two Dekes on the battlefield, rather than in a field hospital. However, contrary to the preliminary conclusion we reached in our prior article, Luther tells us that Edwin's body did not fall back into Union hands shortly after his death. Rather, the Southern surgeon who tended him until his death saw to it that Edwin was buried in a marked grave, with a "board inscribed with his name, rank and regiment." This seems to explain how Edwin ultimately ended up in a marked, identified grave at Cold Harbor National Cemetery. Soldiers, particularly enemy soldiers, who died in large numbers at large battles like Cold Harbor were typically buried in anonymous mass graves. In sparing Edwin this fate, the Southern surgeon may have done the Rogers family even more of a service than he did in returning Edwin's DKE pin. Edwin's DKE pin. The ultimate quarry in the ultimate Deke hunt. While Luther doesn't say so explicitly, he certainly implies in his account that Edwin had been wearing his DKE pin when he was wounded, and that it was returned to the Rogers family with the letter from his Southern benefactor: "He also discovered by a pin [Edwin] was wearing that they belonged to the same college fraternity… He said his son would write and send a pin which Edwin had given him." So we seem to have confirmation from Luther that this most priceless and elusive DKE artifact did indeed return to Maine after the war. But where has it been since, and where is it now? In addition to Edwin's DKE pin, Minot tells us in "Brothers in DKE" that the Southern Deke also sent with his letter to Dr. Rogers "a little lock of curly hair" from Edwin, and in his history of the Theta DKE chapter, Minot further tells us that "other mementoes" were sent with the letter as well. Note, however, that Luther Rogers mentions neither the "lock of hair" or "other mementoes" in his account, so Edwin's DKE pin seems to be the only such relic that we can assume with any degree of certainty was returned. In any event, Minot further indicates that, as of 1904, the pin and any other such "mementoes" were " to this day priceless relics treasured by [Edwin's] relatives." Thus, it appears that Edwin's pin was still in the possession of the Rogers family forty years after his death, so we would "only" need to track it down for the 110 years since. We also need to track down not just one letter, from the Southern surgeon to Dr. Rogers, but the prior one from the surgeon's father as well. Another tantalizing detail of Luther's summary account of the Southern Deke's letter to Dr. Rogers is his statement that "He said he published the account in such newspapers as he thought would be most likely to reach Edwin's friends." This suggests that the first Southern efforts to locate and contact Edwin's family took place via newspaper ads, presumably taken out in Northern papers sometime after the end of the war. Since the Southern Deke knew Edwin's "name, rank and regiment," having inscribed them on Edwin's grave marker, it is logical to assume that any such ads would have been placed in Maine newspapers, as those "would be most likely to reach Edwin's friends;" particularly, Edwin's "friends" and fellow soldiers of the 31 st Maine Infantry. Preliminary research into Maine newspapers of the period has not yet revealed any such ads, which, besides the two actual subject letters to Dr. Rogers, would probably yield the best evidence of the identity of Edwin's Southern benefactor. Luther's War Record also provides some evidence as to the actual location of Edwin's final resting place. "I visited his grave in 1925 and found it in a National Cemetery on the battle field of Cold Harbor about five miles from Richmond. It is well kept. The stone has inscribed on it his name, rank and regiment, also the date of his death." Note that Luther is unambiguous in referring to the Cold Harbor National Cemetery location as Edwin's "gave", and not a memorial, nor does Luther make any reference to the tombstone in Patten Cemetery in Maine which is also inscribed with Edwin's name and date of death. This seems to be pretty good evidence that, as least as of 1925, Edwin was interred in Virginia, not Maine, and any disinterment of Edwin's remains would have had to take place after 1925. Edwin S. Rogers, The Battle of Cold Harbor And The True Story Behind "Brothers in DKE" PART II (Continued from page 7) 8 See, in particular, the fourth, sixth and seventh stanzas of "Brothers in DKE," which is re-printed in the previous Sighs of Psi article, and can also be found online at: http://www.dke.org/brothers-in-dke/

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