Wilber White (1847 - 1864)

Born 22 Aug 1847 in Williamstown, Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States

Ancestors

Died 5 May 1864 at age 16 in Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Virginia, United States

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Biography

Wilber was a soldier in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War. He died in the Battle of the Wilderness near Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Wilber was born 22 August 1847 at Williamstown, Massachusetts. He was the son of Timothy White and Arvilla Skinner.^[1]

He spent his formative years in Williamstown with his parents and siblings.

On 4 January 1864, Wilber enlisted in Company I, Massachusetts 22nd Infantry Regiment.^[2] Wilber must have lied about his age, as he was 16 at the time of enlistment, but reported to the army that he was 18. The following May, his company participated in the Battle of the Wilderness.

"The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, around 5,000 men killed in total, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by Grant against Lee's army and, eventually, the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia."^[3]

Wilber was killed in action during the first day of the battle.^[4] He was only 16 at the time of his death..^[5][6]

Sources

1. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQDC-44L : 10 February 2018), Wilber White, 22 Aug 1847; citing WILLIAMSTOWN,BERKSHIRE,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 234,605.
2. ↑ U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles. Transcript Birth date: abt 1846 Birth place: Residence date: Residence place: Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA .
3. ↑ Battle of the Wilderness on Wikipedia.
4. ↑ U.S., Registers of Deaths of Volunteers, 1861-1865; Wilbur White; died 5 May 1864; Wilderness, Virginia; rank: private; Company I; Regiment 22 Inf.; box number 24.
5. ↑ Wilbur's death is recorded in the Williamstown vital records, indicating that he died in battle in Virginia; however, the Family Search indexer missed this and indexed the record as a Williamstown death in error. "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q29G-3S2Y : 5 November 2017), Wilbur White, 06 May 1864; citing Death, Williamstown, Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States, , town clerk offices, Massachusetts; FHL microfilm 250,293.
6. ↑ Find a Grave Memorial for Wilber White.