A One-Name Study for the BARNUM/BARNHAM Surname
Homer Barnum and his wife Eliza were admitted as communicants at the New Fairfield Congregational Church on 13 Nov 1831. Homer was with Company "A", 11th Regiment, Connecticut Infantry, and was killed in heavy fighting near Petersburg, Virginia, during the Petersburg Campaign of the Civil War. Petersburg itself has a long and interesting history, intimately related to that of the early United States. Following is a brief review of events in and around the city, up to the end of the Civil War. In 1645 Fort Henry was built at the falls of the Appomattox, the site of the present city. The name (earlier, Peter's Point and Peter's Town) reputedly honors Major Peter Jones, who became commander of the fort in 1675. In 1733 Colonel William Byrd II surveyed the site, but it was not until 1748 that an act of the colonial legislature established the town. During the American Revolution it was captured by British troops under William Phillips and Benedict Arnold (April 25, 1781). On May 20 of that year, Lord Cornwallis arrived with his army to prepare for the campaign which was to end with his surrender at Yorktown. In 1784 the towns of Petersburg, Blandford, Pocahontas, and Ravenscroft were combined and incorporated as Petersburg. The Petersburg Campaign (1864-65) was a series of military operations in southern Virginia during the final months of the Civil War, culminating in the defeat of the South. As an important rail center, 23 miles south of Richmond, Petersburg was a strategic point for the defense of the Confederate capital. In June 1864 the Union army began a siege of the two cities, with both sides rapidly constructing fortifications 35 miles long. In a series of battles that summer, Union losses were heavy, but, by the end of August General Ulysses S. Grant had crossed the Petersburg- Weldon Railroad. He captured Fort Harrison on September 29. In March 1865 the Confederates were driven back at the Battle of Fort Stedman, and on April 1 Grant crushed the forces of General George E. Pickett and General Fitzhugh Lee at the Battle of Five Forks. The evacuation of Richmond was carried out the following night, and on April 9, 1865 Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. Homer's brother Eliakim Barnum was also in the Army, as were five of Homer's sons.
In the 1850 US Census for New Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut the family of Homer B. Barnum was enumerated as follows:
Dwelling #51; Family #59
Homer Barnum, 41, M, Cabinetmaker, b. Connecticut
Eliza Barnum, 38, F, b. Connecticut
William A. Barnum, 16, M, b. Connecticut
George W. Barnum, 8, M, b. Connecticut
Fredk. C. Barnum, 6, M, b. Connecticut
Edwin H. Barnum, 2, M, b. Connecticut
Gravestone inscription: Co. A, 11th Reg., C. V. Killed at Petersburg, VA, July 12, 1864, age 55 years.
A Research Guide to the Genealogy of the Barnum/Barnam/Barnham Family Worldwide
AncientFaces - Family History Photos
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