Three Cheney Brothers and the End of the American Civil War

Justice (or Justus) Cheney
DOB: May 11, 1835 (or 1839), Hopkinton, NY
Deceased: June 3, 1864
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle

Judson Cheney
DOB: May 11, 1838, Hopkinton, NY
Deceased: September 29, 1864
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle

Jesse Cheney
DOB: May 7, 1849 (or 1848), Hopkinton, NY
Deceased: October 1, 1929
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grandfather

In the Spring of 1864 the American Civil War was in its last year and three Cheney men (you’ll see that I use the term men loosely – one was still a boy) played their part. Before I get to each man in subsequent posts, and their specific lives (and deaths) in the war, I want to set the stage for the last year of the war.

In the previous year (1863), Lee’s Army of Virginia invaded the north and was soundly defeated at Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863). He retreated to Virginia where there were smaller battles around the Rapidan River in the fall of 1863. In March of 1864, President Lincoln made Ulysses S. Grant General-in-Chief of the United States Army.

The fighting in 1864 – that the Cheneys would contribute to – continued around Virginia as Grant sought to capture Richmond and finally defeat Lee. In the spring and summer, Grant tried to get around Lee’s flank. In the fall, and through the winter and following spring of 1865, the two armies would settle into trench warfare around Petersburg, Virginia before Lee’s final surrender in April of 1865.

Grant earned the reputation of a butcher – of a general that cared little about the lives of his soldiers and would use the North’s troop advantage to win the war - in part due to the battles of 1864. Whether this is fair or not, it is true that there was much bloodshed in 1864 as the war finally moved to its conclusion.

As we will see in future posts, two Cheneys died in this last year (one in the flanking campaign and one in the trenches) and one entered the war late and was present for Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse.

President Lincoln, in his second inaugural address (March 4, 1865), reflected on the bloodshed during the war:

Fondly do we hope -- fervently do we pray -- that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."

He spoke these words one month before Lee surrendered and five weeks before his own assassination. The war was soon to pass away. But two Cheneys were already dead.

I wonder if you agree with Lincoln; I’m not sure I do. Were His judgments true and righteous? Maybe society as a whole – even those that opposed it – should pay for such a terrible scourge as slavery. Maybe. Or maybe people that did not own slaves (this includes Union as well as many Confederate soldiers) or did not condone slavery should not have had to give their blood by the sword to repay the blood drawn by the lash.

Whether it was fair, just, or righteous, that was in fact what happened. Two Cheneys died – and many hundreds of thousands more. They paid with their blood and thus ended a horrible institution.

In future posts, we’ll learn more about each of the Cheneys – how they lived and how they died. We’ll learn where they came from, and which battles they fought in.

Oh How They Lived

Welcome. I have started this blog to celebrate my (our) ancestors. I believe that all of us, and all of those before us, have lived miraculous lives and done things that are amazing and interesting. Though few of us are descended from prominent figures like John Adams, Frederick Douglass, or Eleanor Roosevelt, everyone has contributed to the events of their times and their stories are fascinating. My goal is to do some research (or perhaps more often, use the research of others) and tell the stories of my ancestors.

The idea for this blog came from hearing some of the oral history of my family and seeing bits and pieces of the genealogy that my father and my uncles (maternal and paternal) collected. With each story I heard and each record I saw, my thirst for more information grew. I was getting a glimpse, but I wanted a full picture.

For example, I have a grand uncle that was a monsignor in the Catholic Church. But I don’t know what exactly what that means – what authority did he have and what things did he do?

In another example, I know the battles in which my relatives died during the Civil War. But I don’t know what other battles they fought in and where those battles fit in the overall thrust of the war.

I also realize that there is so much that my relatives did that I don’t even know about yet. I only recently learned, as I started this project, that my grand aunt was in the Women’s Army Corps. But I don’t know what she did, nor do I know anything about the Women’s Army Corps.

And then beyond individuals and individual events, I don’t know a lot about the world people lived in. What was Ireland like when my ancestors came over to America? What were my great grandparents’ lives like?

So I have embarked on a research project to fill in the gaps between what I know, and what else I want to know to get a fuller picture. I will learn by reading what my father and uncles have already found and searching for new information. I will also read about the historical events around those records. Finally, I will ask you all to tell me what you know and remember.

As I go along and learn, I will publish short pieces about our ancestors on this blog. I recognize that wading through 1920s census records is not everyone’s idea of a good time. I hope that by telling an interesting story, I can make genealogy more accessible to everyone in the family.

So thank you for joining me on this project. I only hope that I can inform and entertain you – and do justice to the amazing lives our ancestors lived. They struggled, they celebrated, and oh how they lived.