Who was Dennis Peebles? And why is his story to be found on my blog?
Today James and I traveled to the McDill Cemetary in Whiting, which is near to Stevens Point. Our purpose was to clean some family headstones with a cleaning agent so to curb the organic growth that mars the look of grave markers. We had been asked by Aunt Lorene to use the cleaning agent, the same we used at other cemeteries, for her husband’s and extended family stones. We were putting the project off for a day when the weather would cooperate.
Waking today with the sun so bright and the air so fresh, after what has seemed like never-ending gloomy skies, we knew at once it was the perfect time for a road trip.
In addition to the family stones, my aunt also wanted another headstone to be freshened up. Her request for Dennis Peebles’ grave to be tended has provided a nice story about decades of kindness as well as a slice of history, too.
Peebles lived with the grandparents of my Uncle Dale for 13 years. The grandmother, Mrs. Charles Parkhill, respected Peebles and for many years tended his grave. As the decades passed the torch of respect was passed down so my uncle and aunt made sure grass was cut, flowers placed, and the family tradition continued.
When wondering more about Peebles prior to our trip James did his online research and found an excerpt from the May 22, 1975 edition of the Stevens Point Daily Journal with some background on this man.
He was an old Civil War soldier and a resident of the Town of Plover who died in 1912 at the age of 84. Peebles is buried in the McDill Cemetery, west of Whiting on County Trunk HH. Nothing out of the ordinary there. Many Civil War veterans lie in the cemeteries of Portage County, with flags fluttering over their graves as Memorial Day approaches.
But Dennis Peebles was black, and black Civil War veterans are a rarity in the cemeteries of Wisconsin.
“Death of Colored Veteran,” said the headline in the Stevens Point Journal of Tuesday, June 11, 1912, calling him “perhaps the only colored resident of this city,” the story said he had died the day before.
“Those who knew him have nothing but words of praise as to his character,” said the
newspaper article. A later article, describing his funeral, said, “The number in attendance was very large and the floral offerings beautiful.” The funeral was held at the Charles Parkhill residence, where Peebles had lived for 13 years. “Everyone respected him highly,”
His enlistment form, which Peebles apparently filled out himself, says he was born in
Bristol, Vt. was a farmer, and was 36 years old when he joined the Army at Ft. Ann, N.Y., in September 1864. When Dennis Peebles died, his survivors include his two daughters, who lived in St. Paul.
It should be noted that it was possible Peebles was an escaped slave who gave Vermont as his birthplace to prove he was freeborn. That certainly was not uncommon for such information to be altered so to secure safety from the threat of slavery.
His Civil War record is extensive. His Battle unit name was 1st Regiment, United States Colored Cavalry
Duty at Fort Monroe and Williamsburg, Va., till May 1864. Reconnoissance in Kings and Queens county February, 1864. Butler’s operations on south side of James River and against Petersburg and Richmond May 4-28. Capture of Bermuda Hundred and City Point May 5. Swift Creek May 8-10. Operations against Fort Darling May 12-16. Actions at Drury’s Bluff May 10-14-15 and 16. In trenches at Bermuda Hundred till June 18. Baylor’s Farm June 15. Assaults on Petersburg June 16-19. Siege of Petersburg till August. Action at Deep Bottom July 27-28. Ordered to Fort Monroe August 3. Duty at Newport News and at Portsmouth and in District of Eastern Virginia till May, 1865. Cos. “E” and “I” Detached at Fort Powhatan and Harrison’s Landing August, 1864, to May, 1865. Moved to City Point, Va., thence sailed for Texas June 10. Duty on the Rio Grande and at various points in Texas till February, 1866. Mustered out February 4, 1866.
There is more to this story as the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern from January 6, 1891 reports. This news account deals with the death of his wife, Betsy.
Death of a Former Slave.
Mrs. Dennis Peebles, an esteemed colored lady, died here last evening at 5:30 o’clock, from lung trouble. Mrs. Peebles has quite a history. Before the war, she was owned in the family of Governor Wise, of Virginia, where she served as a faithful slave. After the emancipation proclamation she came north, and was later united in marriage to Mr. Peebles, a native of Vermont, and a plucky soldier of the union army. The couple has resided in Menasha many years. The exact age of Mrs. Peebles is not known, but she was about sixty. By her death her daughter Jennie and the husband are left alone. The funeral will be held from the house tomorrow at one o’clock. The Rev. W. W. Warner will officiate.
Sadly, Betsy is not buried alongside her husband. She is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Neenah, Wisconsin.
Today James turned Peebles’ headstone from dark gray to colored marble as the photos show. The grand aspect to the agent we use for cleaning is that it continues to brighten and remove grime and growth as the rains and snows come along and continue to wash against the stone. Some of the Civil War markers we have worked on in the Hancock, Wisconsin cemetery are a testament to D2, recommended for use by the National Park Service.
When the work on the stone was done we added a new American flag from our home, as we did for Uncle Dale, who also has a fresh look on his marker.
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 