Perry Ashton (abt. 1836 - abt. 1865)

Born about 1836 in Ohio, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah (Bingamin) Ashton — married 16 Jan 1859 in Gallatin County, Illinois, United States

Died about 31 Mar 1865 at about age 29 in at sea

Biography

Corp Perry Ashton

Death: Mar. 31, 1865

Civil War Veteran. PERRY ASHTON~ Co. C, 56th Illinois infantry; enlisted, 27 Feb. 1862, from Shawneetown, Illinois, died March 31, 1865, on board the steamer " General Lyon," which burned at sea en route from Wilmington, N.C., to New York city.

While the SS General Lyon's story is one of the lesser-known naval tales, the loss of life in that short voyage on March 29, 1865 has gone down as one of the highest with only 29 survivors. The returning troops of the 56th Illinois alone would lose 205 men that day, a greater loss than the regiment suffered in the whole war.

Burial: Body lost at sea

The Burning of the General Lyon - http://localhistory.morrisville.edu/sites/gen-lyon.html

U.S. Transport Steamer General Lyon Burned Off Cape Hatteras - http://www.nytimes.com/1865/04/03/news/dreadful-fire-sea-five-hundred-lives-lost-us-transport-steamer-general-lyon.html?pagewanted=1

Sources

FamilySearch

William Howard Hauser Genealogy

United States Census, 1850

United States Census 1860

Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1934

United States Civil War Soldiers Index, 1861-1865

Acknowledgments

Thanks to William Hauser for starting this profile.

Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by William and others.