This week’s challenge from Amy at WeTree is to play with Google Maps, a “a helpful tool for determining the locations of addresses in your family history.”  My genealogy software uses Google Maps to map all the locations for each individual within the database, so I’ve never gone straight to Google Maps and used it as a genealogy resource.  This was a fun exercise to see what the possibilities are.

I decided to look up Rock Island Arsenal, home of the Confederate Prison Camp where my great-great-grandfather was held prisoner during the Civil War.  I did not have an address, but I knew there was museum on the site, so I searched on “rock island arsenal museum, rock island, illinois.” (Click on any of the images below to see larger versions.)

Next, I changed to Satellite view and zoomed in on the Confederate Cemetery.

Next I clicked on the “More” Button and chose “Photos.”  Several photos appeared on the map, two of which were on Rock Island.  I switched back to “Map” view to make the photos stand out better, then clicked on one near the National Cemetery to make it larger.

Street view was not available, possibly because the Rock Island Arsenal is the largest government-owned weapons manufacturing arsenal in the United States.

Now I want to visit Rock Island in person and tour the museum.  Sounds like a road trip in the making!

This post was written as part of an occasional series called “52 Weeks to Better Genealogy.”  To see all posts in the series, click here.  It is also a qualifying post in the 2010 Geneablogger Winter Games.  Click here to see all posts related to the Games.

I had a conversation with my dad on Friday about his ancestors who fought in the Civil War.  I thought it would fun and interesting to put together a list, with a summary of each person’s military service.  I’ve also included each person’s relationship to my dad (as opposed to me, which is my usual practice.)

James B. Butler, my dad’s great-great grandfather – Prior to the Civil War, James served in the U. S. Army, fighting in the Second Seminole War in Florida.  He enlisted on October 5, 1837 for a period of six months.  He served as a Private under Captain Abram Chastain in the 1st Regiment of Georgia Mtd. Volunteers, commanded by Col. E. W. Chastain.

James enlisted in the Confederate Army on June 17, 1861 in Adairsville, GA. He was mustered in at Camp McDonald as a private in Colonel Wofford’s 18th Georgia Regiment, Company F. He spent at least 60 days in the hospital for nephritis and bronchitis. Due to these illnesses, he was declared unfit for duty and was discharged on November 6, 1861 at Camp Goldsboro, North Carolina.  James re-enlisted and served in the 18th GA Infantry, Company H. On September 2, 1864, he was at Jackson Hospital in Richmond, VA and given a 30-day furlough to go to Atkins, GA. He was captured in the hospital at Richmond, VA on April 3, 1865.  He was transferred to Libby Prison in Richmond, then to Newport News, VA, where he was released on June 15, 1865.

Benjamin Burgin Hemphill, Dad’s great-great grandfather – Ben enlisted in the Confederate Army on March 10, 1862 at Spring Place for a period of 3 years or until the end of the war.  He was a 5th Sergeant in Company A, 39th Georgia Infantry.  He was captured at the Siege of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863 and paroled “according to the terms of capitulation entered into by the commanding Generals of the United States and Confederate forces July 4, 1863.” He signed his oath of allegiance to the United States on July 8, 1863.  He appears on a list of men of the 39th Georgia regiment who were furloughed at Enterprise, Miss about July 22, 1863.  He appears on the muster roll of officers and men “paroled in accordance with the terms of a Military Convention entered into on the 26th day of April, 1865, between General Joseph E. Johnston, Commanding Confederate Army, and Major General W. T. Sherman, Commanding United States Army in North Carolina.”

Francis Marion Kendrick, Dad’s great-grandfather – Francis served as a Private, then a Sergeant, in Company B, 29th Tennessee Infantry in the Confederate Army.  He was captured in Murray County on January 21, 1864 and sent to the Union prison at Rock Island, in Illinois, on January 31, 1864.  Francis spent nine and a half months as a prisoner at Rock Island.

On October 13, 1864, in exchange for his release from Rock Island, Francis enlisted as a private in the 3rd U. S. Volunteers, Company A for a period of one year. The company arrived at Fort Kearny in Nebraska on April 9, 1865. Francis spent his time in the U. S. Army as a stock hand. He mustered out of the U. S. Army at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on November 29, 1865.

William West, Dad’s great-grandfather – William served as a private in Company D, Lillard’s 3rd Tennessee Mounted Infantry, Confederate Army.  He enlisted on March 1, 1862, in Benton, Tennessee, for a period of three years or until the end of  the war.  He spent several months as a patient in the hospital in Meridian, Mississippi in 1862 and 1863, returning to active duty on March 5, 1863.  He was captured at the seige of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863.

In addition to these ancestors, my dad (and I) have other, more distant, relatives who fought in the Civil War, mostly on the Confederate side, but at least one who fought in the Union Army.