Note: Henry Edson Bedell, son of James and Amanda Smith Bedell, and Emeline Burba, daughter of Aaron and Lucinda Burba, were married March 3, 1856, by Aaron Ball, Minister of the Gospel, in Westfield. Andrew Nelson Bedell, was born to them, March 2, 1862, in Westfield. There are other children, I'll send the information later.
Bedell, Henry Edson, of Newport, son of James G. and Amanda (Smith) Bedell, was born in Troy, July 26, 1836.
He was educated in the district schools of Westfield and before the war was a farmer, while his present occupation is that of an auctioneer. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Co. D, 11th Regt. http://www.vermontcivilwar.org/1bgd/11/toc.shtml> In this organization he was successively promoted from private through the grades of corporal and sergeant to that of 2d lieutenant. The regiment was first stationed in the defenses of Washington, but was afterwards engaged in the battles of Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, and on the Welden R. R.; returned to Washington, and driving back the rebels at Berryville, then up the Shenandoah Valley, again returned to Washington and was afterwards detached to Harper's Ferry and after many forced marches and skirmishes around that place finally met the enemy at Opequan, where Lieutenant Bedell, acting as captain of the second company was struck by a shell which carried off his left leg and injured him severely in the right hand. He was conveyed to the temporary hospital on the field and suffered the amputation of his leg. A few days later the sick and wounded were ordered to be transferred to Harper's Ferry. As Lieutenant Bedell was so much exhausted it was impossible to move him and he was left in the hands of the rebels, and would have perished had it not been for the kindness of a rebel lady in the neighborhood of the battlefield, who removed him to her own house and though her means could but barely furnish the necessities of life she nursed him with such care and attention that he was finally able to be transported within the Union lines.
Lieutenant Bedell married, March 3, 1856; Emeline, daughter of Aaron and Lucinda (Hitchcock) Burba of Westfield. Six children have been born to them: De Etta J. (died March 9, 1879), Lucena A. (Mrs. Nolton McClaflin of Montgomery), Alden N. (died Nov. 3, 1892), Herman A., Betty Nanny, and James A.
Mr. Bedell is a Republican and while in Westfield acted as the constable of the town. After the close of the war he was for twenty years an employee of the United States as custom house officer. For five years of this period he was stationed at Richford and Berkshire and for fifteen years discharged the duties of inspector and deputy collector at Newport.
He is a Methodist in his religious creed; was one of the charter members and founders of Baxter Post, No. 51, G. A. R., and has been its junior commander.
Source: Jacob G. Ullery, compiler, Men of Vermont: An Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters and Sons of Vermont, (Transcript Publishing Company, Brattleboro, VT, 1894), Part II, p. 25.
Author: Chittenden, L. E. (Lucius Eugene), 1824-1900. Title:An unknown heroine; an historical episode of the war between the states, by L. E. Chittenden; Published: New York, G. H. Richmond & co., 1894; Description: 314 p. illus. 19 cm. LC Call No.: E533.7 1stC Notes: The "unknown heroine" is Mrs. Van Metre of Clarke co., Va., who befriended Lieutenant Henry E. Bedell, 1st Vermont heavy artillery, wounded at the battle of oþ Opequan, Sept. 13, 1864, and deserted by his comrades. On Bedell's return North, Mrs. Van Metre accompanied him, and through the assistance of Secretary Stanton and others found her husband, a Conferederate soldier confined in a northern prison under an assumed name, and secured his release. Subjects: Bedell, Henry E., Van Metre, Elizabeth (Keyser), Vermont artillery. 1st regt., 1862-1865, Shenandoah Valley Campaign, 1864, (August-November)
My grand father saw Bettie Van Metre when she visited the family in VT. when he was very young. There was communication with the woman who wrote the article in the readers digest as well.
Note about medical procedures at the time: An operation would require 2 to 4 assistants to the surgeon. One assistant would administer the anesthesia, when it was available. One or two others would hold or tie the patient down and also be there to pass tools needed by the surgeon to him. Yet another assistant would hold the limb that was being removed. The surgeon would quickly cut through the soft tissue that surrounds the bones and create a complete access to the bone. This was done by use of an amputation knife. In doing so he would prepare the skin into a flap that could quickly be sewn back over the end of the limb where the bond had been removed. Next came the bone saw. There were many different sizes and types depending on which bone was to be cut. Even a chain saw was used. These chain saws were effective and popular with the surgeons because they were more versatile and could be used in almost any amputation. It was fast and gruesome. An amputation, because of the lack of anesthesia and the number of wounded men to be seen, would often take just seconds. Once the amputation was performed an assistant surgeon would close the wound over while the surgeon moved to the next patient.
↑ Source: #S30http://www.northlandjournal.com/index.php/good-reads-from-the-northeast-kingdom/rebel-officers-wife-aided-vermont-officer/http://www.northlandjournal.com/index.php/good-reads-from-the-northeast-kingdom/rebel-officers-wife-aided-vermont-officer/ Rebel Officer’s Wife Aided Vermont Officer. The following article appears in the December 12, 1968 issue of the Newport Daily Express. It was provided to the Journal by Dr. Ray Griffin of Glover, a distant relative of the subject of this article, Civil War veteran Henry Bedell. Mrs. Dora Hall, a resident of Newport for many years, and whose memory is very long and keen, recalls that in her youth she often saw the tall, one-legged Bedell in Newport where he spent his later years, first at Pender’s Point, present site of the Prouty Memorial Beach, and then on Coventry Street. In fact, Colonel Bedell, as he was later known, died in the Coventry Street home, and is buried in the East Main Street cemetery. Mrs. Hall remembers that as Mr. Miller related the dramatic story his listeners were deeply moved by the tale of Lieutenant Bedell, born in the year 1834 in Westfield, the son of Farmer Bedell, a lineal descendant of ancestors who came to this country on the Mayflower.
↑ Source: #S10 Year: 1880; Census Place: Newport, Orleans, Vermont; Roll: 1346; Family History Film: 1255346; Page: 475B; Enumeration District: 163; Name: Page VALUE Year: 1880; Census Place: Newport, Orleans, Vermont; Roll: 1346; Family History Film: 1255346; Page: 475B; Enumeration District: 163; 1880 United States Federal Census about Edward Bedell Name:Edward Bedell Age: 44 Birth Year:abt 1836 Birthplace: Vermont Home in 1880:Newport, Orleans, Vermont Race:White Gender:Male Relation to Head of House:Self (Head) Marital Status:Married Spouse's Name:Emerline Bedell Father's Birthplace:New Hampshire Mother's Birthplace:New Hampshire Occupation:Inspector Custums Household Members: NameAge Edward Bedell 44 Emerline Bedell42 Lucena A. Bedell 20 Alden N. Bedell18 Herman F. Bedell 13 Bettie N. Bedell 9 James A. Bedell 4 John Preston 33 Source Citation: Year: 1880; Census Place: Newport, Orleans, Vermont; Roll: 1346; Family History Film: 1255346; Page: 475B; Enumeration District: 163
↑ Source: #S58 Henry Edson Bedell; 25 November 1902; https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XF84-BJV Name: Henry Edson Bedell 25 November 1902 https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XF84-BJV Data: Text: Mary E Clough Orcutt, "Vermont, Vital Records, 1760-1954" Name: Henry Edson Bedell Event Type: Marriage Event Date: 25 Nov 1902 Event Place: , , Vermont, United States Gender: Male Age: 66 Birth Year (Estimated): 1836 Father's Name:James G Mother's Name:Amanda Smith Spouse's Name: Mary E Clough Orcutt Spouse's Father's Name: Spouse's Mother's Name: GS Film number: 540058 Digital Folder Number: 004357162 Image Number: 04405 Citing this Record "Vermont, Vital Records, 1760-1954," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XF84-BJV : accessed 10 Mar 2013), Henry Edson Bedell and Mary E Clough Orcutt, 1902.
↑ Source: #S49 Vermont Death Records, 1909-2008 about Henry E. Bedell Vermont Death Records, 1909-2008 Name: Henry E. Bedell Gender:Male Birth Location: Vermont Death Date:15 Mar 1911 Death Location:Newport, Orleans Cause of Death:Falls Degeneration of Heart Residence:Newport, VT Mother's Maiden Name:Smith Mother's Name: Amanda Father's Name:James Bedel Vital Event Type:Certificate of Death Ancestry.com. Vermont Death Records, 1909-2008. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
↑ Source: #S30http://www.northlandjournal.com/index.php/good-reads-from-the-northeast-kingdom/rebel-officers-wife-aided-vermont-officer Rebel Officer’s Wife Aided Vermont Officer The following article appears in the December 12, 1968 issue of the Newport Daily Express. It was provided to the Journal by Dr. Ray Griffin of Glover, a distant relative of the subject of this article, Civil War veteran Henry Bedell. Mrs. Dora Hall, a resident of Newport for many years, and whose memory is very long and keen, recalls that in her youth she often saw the tall, one-legged Bedell in Newport where he spent his later years, first at Pender’s Point, present site of the Prouty Memorial Beach, and then on Coventry Street. In fact, Colonel Bedell, as he was later known, died in the Coventry Street home, and is buried in the East Main Street cemetery. Mrs. Hall remembers that as Mr. Miller related the dramatic story his listeners were deeply moved by the tale of Lieutenant Bedell, born in the year 1834 in Westfield, the son of Farmer Bedell, a lineal descendant of ancestors who came to this country on the Mayflower.