Johann Conrad Joachim was a medical doctor, married and the father of five children. He was my 2nd great grandfather. He and his family emigrated to the United States in the early 1850s from Dürkheim in what was then the Kingdom of Bavaria.
Dr. Joachim went into private practice in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. When the Joachims arrived, Wilkes-Barre was a thriving city because of the discovery of coal in the region.
In 1860, according to the federal census, the Joachims lived on what must have been a “prosperous” street–residents included merchants and a banker. A servant was living in the household and, no doubt, did most of the cooking and housework. The oldest child, Carl Philipp (Charles), attended the Wyoming Seminary, a local preparatory school.
Life seems to have been good. One could argue very good. Yet, within the next two years, the family packed up and moved to New York City. There, on May 13, 1862, Dr. Joachim enlisted in the Army and was commissioned as an Assistant Surgeon.
Dr. Joachim was a patriot. He had been in the United States for only a decade; and, yet, he chose to leave a comfortable life and join the Union Army when he was 46 years old. Today the maximum enlistment age in the United States Army is 35. Dr. Joachim’s passion for freedom and independence will be addressed in a future post.
The reason for the move to New York, in all likelihood, was so the Joachims could join a particular military group, the 3rd Battalion of German Heavy Artillery, which became the 15th New York Heavy Artillery. Dr. Joachim’s son, Charles, then 17 years old, had joined the same unit two months earlier.
There were many Union regiments made up entirely of German Americans, including the 74th Pennsylvania, but the Joachims chose the 3rd Battalion. Almost a quarter of the soldiers fighting for the Union were immigrants. And almost 40% of those immigrants were German Americans.
According to Dr. Joachim’s 1843 marriage record, he had “discharged” his military service in Bavaria, where military service was compulsory. So it is quite possible Dr. Joachim had military experience. But since Dr. Joachim had the money to earn his medical degree at the University of Würzberg, he may also have been able to hire someone to serve in the military for him. That was permitted then.
The 3rd Battalion was part of the military force defending Washington, D.C., the Union capital. When the Civil War broke out, Washington was completely vulnerable. The challenge of protecting Washington became even more pressing when Virginia voted Confederate. Forts were built all around the city and the forts eventually formed a ring. There were a total of 68 forts circling the city. There were also batteries for field guns, blockhouses, rifle pits and 30 miles of military roads. The Confederacy did not capture one fort.
Dr. Joachim’s unit, heavy artillery, would have manned canons such as these at Fort Ward in Alexandria, Virginia.
Only three months after being commissioned, on August 26, 1862, Dr. Joachim was riding his horse between different garrisons attending to invalid patients. On those rounds, his horse fell. In the accident, his arm was broken.
Reports of this accident can be found in Dr. Joachim’s Pension File. But the reports do not even begin to convey all that must have happened. Today, we do not consider a broken arm a life threatening incident. But this was war time and 1862.
The accident took place between Forts Ward and Worth, both in Alexandria, a city which had only recently been occupied by Union troops. Forts Ward and Worth were among the most distant forts from the city of Washington. Accessing and enlarging the photo below, which is cited in the footnote, the reader will be able to see the exact locations of those forts.
The records provide no information on the next nine days. Protocol called for moving Dr. Joachim to a dressing station for a brief examination. There he would typically have been given whiskey or opium pills and the wound lightly bandaged. If he had been found to have a serious wound, he would then have been taken to the field surgery station. It was believed that surgery should take place as quickly as possible.
We do not know if these steps were taken. What we do know is that nine days after the accident, September 4, Dr. Joachim was at the Epiphany General Hospital on G Street in Washington. We also know that there were much closer hospitals in Alexandria. As a doctor, perhaps he believed that the care at Epiphany was superior to that of the facilities closer to Forts Ward and Worth. Maybe he knew a doctor at Epiphany.
The trip into Washington must have been harrowing. He could not have ridden a horse when he had a broken arm. It is possible he was moved in one of the new “ambulance wagons”, but more likely he was simply moved by wagon. His destination was more than seven miles away over very rough roads. This photo of close by Bailey’s Crossroads provides some idea of the type of roads traveled to get to the hospital. Weather records for that year suggest that Washington was characteristically hot and, most likely, humid. The trip with a broken arm must have been horrible. And Dr. Joachim was a doctor so he knew his future was uncertain.
Epiphany General Hospital was just three blocks from the White House. It was actually the Church of the Epiphany. A shortage of medical facilities in the city had prompted the Church elders to offer Epiphany for temporary use as a hospital. Lumber was placed over the pews in order to create the hospital floors.
The surgical conditions of the day are hard for us to believe. Joseph Lister had not yet alerted the medical world to bacteria and germs. Doctors seldom washed their hands, instruments, aprons or even the sponges and clothes with which they cleaned wounds. Bandages were routinely reused and not just by the same patient.
Particularly hard for us to understand is that doctors then dealt with serious injuries, such as broken arms and legs, by surgically removing them–amputation. Civil War doctors earned an unfair reputation as butchers and the term “old sawbones” was coined during the war. But there was little else a surgeon could do when faced with splintered bones or destroyed arteries.
So it was that Dr. Joachim’s broken arm was amputated. The amputation went seriously wrong. Within about two hours of the surgery, Dr. Joachim bled to death.
A year after Dr. Joachim died, his son, Charles, died at Fort Lyons, Virginia. They are buried together in the same grave in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. Their beautiful marble headstones, buried under the grass for decades, were found in 2007 by volunteers who were installing new markers. Without a doubt, both father and son must have truly loved and believed in America and its ideals. They paid the ultimate price for their new country.
Sources:
Conrad Joachim household, 1860 U.S. census, Luzerne County, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, page 33, line 30; National Archives, micropublication M704, roll 1133.
Officers & Students of Wyoming Seminary, at Kingston, Penna, from January 10, 1856, to January 10, 1857; (Wilkes-Barre: Printed at the Office of the Record of the Times, 1857), 10.
Conrad Joachim (Assistant Surgeon, 15th NY Heavy Artillery, Civil War), pension application no. 61762, certificate no. 39111, Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Dependents Submitted 1861-1934; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Department of Veterans Affairs; Record Group 15; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Arnold, E. G, and G. Woolworth Colton. Topographical map of the original District of Columbia and environs showing the fortifications around the city of Washington. New York: G. Woolworth Colton, 1862. Map. https://loc.gov/resource/g3852s.cw0674000
Bailey’s Cross Roads, Va. Bailey’s Crossroads United States Virginia, None. [Photographed between 1861 and 1865, printed between 1880 and 1889] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2013651895/
Krick, Robert K., Civil War Weather in Virginia. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 2007.
Collins, Glenn. “Rows of New Markers, and Untold Sacrifice by Civil War Soldiers.” New York Times, May 28, 2007. Accessed June 25, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/28/nyregion/28civil.html?smid=pl-share.
Civil War Surgeon’s Kit, Fort Ward Museum, Alexandria, Virginia. (Photographed June 22, 2019)
Great blog. Enjoyed reading about Conrad and family.
Very interesting nice work on site!
Thank you, Michael. Even more interesting news on Conrad to come.
Congratulations, Lynn! Your hard work has paid off with a very interesting first post. Here’s to many more! And here’s to Dr. Joachim and what must have been his intense love of liberty since his relatively short time in this country and his age meant that he in no way “had” to volunteer.
I will never “unsee” the surgeons surgical kit. I will have nightmares! Only you can spin a story so wonderfully to hold all of our attention. Thank you for a wonderful new blog which we’ll all enjoy. More stories please.
Wow! Can’t wait for the next post. How long will you keep us waiting?
Will try not to keep you waiting long, but more about Conrad may take awhile.
Congratulations, Lynn! What a marvelous accomplishment! I can’t wait to read more. You are such an excellent writer, and your research is above and beyond. I will send this to Stephen. and Meanwhile, I will bel looking forward to so many more stories. Such a wonderful day to begin your posting, which by the way, looks great. Is there a way to be notified of posts?
Way to Go!
Thank you, Shannon. On the upper left of the blog is a Subscribe Here section!
So many congratulations Lynn, this is sensational. I am in awe! What an absolutely brilliant gift to your family (and friends) but especially to your heirs for whom these stories (and I know there will be many more)… will otherwise be lost. Your diligence in finding source materials, your clarity in telling the stories, and your reasons for wanting to do so are all beyond exemplary. One question: who are the people in the carriage – especially the formidable grande dame?
Really riveting story. Truly inspirational and uplifting. You did a wonderful job, and I look forward to the next episode!
Really good Nana! I know how long and hard you have been working on this. It turned out great👍
Thank you, Brendan. Your opinion really matters. You and your siblings and cousin are my “target” audience!
Great post Lynn. I learned a lot, which no doubt was your objective. Keep ’em coming!
Wow this is amazing! I cannot wait to show Ryan this… he will be fascinated!
Ryan is part of my target audience!
Lynn, you kept this interesting story secret until now. When will the movie be coming out? Well written and actually a surprise ending for real people who were your family in the 19th century. Sorry about the sad ending, but one can’t change fact.
What a moving post! My Union ancestor Arthur T. Bull served in the 6th New York Heavy Artillery and — like you — I found his pension record invaluable in chronicling his life story. His commanding officer J. Howard Kitching is also buried in Green-Wood Cemetery, where they have done a wonderful job of obtaining military headstones for Civil War veterans, such as those shown here, and entering their names in a publicly accessible computer system so descendants can find their final resting places.
Thank you, Molly. You probably read that Green-Wood had identified 200 Civil War veterans and then went on to find close to 3,000! Yes, they have done a remarkable job. Will you or have you written an article about Arthur T. Bull?
Wonderful post. How heartbreaking for the family. Sometimes we forget how very dangerous any injuries were in those days. Thank you for sharing.
So interesting! I’m amazed at the picture of Bailey’s Crossroad. Hardly seems like the world we know today. The surgeons kit has me shocked, we truly have come far in medicine. What an interesting piece of family history!
Not surprised by your enthusiasm. You, too, have the family history bug! Stay tuned…
Thank you Lynn for such a wonderfully detailed blog of your great-great and my great-great-great grandfather! Your research and writing are so amazing and enlightening. Even though I knew the story already this account is even more interesting than what I had heard before. Keep up the good work! I can’t wait for more.
Your positive comments mean a great deal, Lori, because no one knows the story better than you!
Thank you, Lynn, for making history come alive by your personal story and photos. How special it was that young Charles was followed
into the army by your great, great grand dad and his somewhat older 46 yr old dad ……..
AND both were willing to sacrifice their lives for a cause and a country they honored.
The headstones are such a moving way to end your piece!!!
Best wishes on your continued sleuthing and uncovering of rich stories to enchant family and friends.
Thank you, Annie, praise from you is praise indeed!