John Warner Sturtevant
John Warner Sturtevant was born on June 15, 1840, in Keene, New Hampshire, to Luther Sturtevant and Isabella Litchfield. His father was a farmer who owned $1,500 of real estate and $500 of personal property. He grew up and attended school in Keene, and by 1860, he was working as a clerk.
 
He enlisted in the Union army on August 31, 1862, and he mustered in as a private in Company G of the 14th New Hampshire Infantry on September 23. According to his service records, he was 6 feet tall, with brown hair and blue eyes. The regiment spent the next year and a half stationed near Washington, D.C. The army transferred the regiment to Louisiana in March 1864 and then back to Virginia that June. It took part in General Philip Sheridan’s Shenandoah Valley campaign.
 
He received a series of promotions: to sergeant on May 1, 1863, 2nd lieutenant on October 17, 1863, 1st lieutenant on January 1, 1864, and to captain on January 4, 1865. In January 1864, he observed, "The more I see of Old Abe the better I like him. I hope he will be the next nominee for the President." He was wounded at Opequan, Virginia, on September 19, 1864, and he was discharged for disability on January 18, 1865. Two weeks later, however, army officials revoked his discharged and restored him to command. He mustered out on July 8, 1865.
 
After the war, Sturtevant reportedly “engaged in business at Beaufort, S[outh] C[arolina].” He returned to his parents’ household in Keene in 1867. By 1870, he was working in a bookstore, and he owned $3,500 of personal property. He married Clara Chase on June 15, 1871, and they had at least two children: Charles, born around 1874; and Clifford, born around 1877.
 
He served as treasurer of the Cheshire County Musical Convention from 1867 until at least 1873, and he became town clerk in 1873. He applied for a federal pension in February 1879 and eventually secured one. They lived in Keene, and Sturtevant worked as a “book merchant.” In 1883, he helped organize a “grand excursion…to the historic battlefields in the Shenandoah valley.” He died in Keene of an “imperfect brain” on December 12, 1892.
1616
DATABASE CONTENT
(1616)Sturtevant, John Warner1840-06-151892-12-12
  • Conflict Side: Union
  • Role: Soldier
  • Rank in: Private
  • Rank out: Captain
  • Rank highest: Captain
  • Gender: Male
  • Race: White

Documents - Records: 5

  • (5581) [writer] ~ John W. Sturtevant to Friends, 14 January 1864
  • (5589) [writer] ~ John W. Sturtevant to Luther Sturtevant and Isabella Sturtevant, 8 April 1864
  • (5590) [writer] ~ John W. Sturtevant to Luther Sturtevant and Isabella Sturtevant, 11 April 1864
  • (5591) [writer] ~ John W. Sturtevant to Luther Sturtevant and Isabella Sturtevant, 13 April 1864
  • (5592) [writer] ~ John W. Sturtevant to Luther Sturtevant and Isabella Sturtevant, 12 February 1864

People - Records: 2

  • (1622) Sturtevant, Luther is the [parent of] (1616) Sturtevant, John Warner
  • (1623) Sturtevant, Isabella is the [parent of] (1616) Sturtevant, John Warner

Places - Records: 1

  • (601) [birth, death] ~ Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire

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Regiments - Records: 1

  • (520) [enlisted] [G] ~ 14th New Hampshire Infantry
SOURCES

1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; New Hampshire Birth Index, 1659-1900, available from Ancestry.com; Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, available from Ancestry.com; General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, available from Ancestry.com; New Hampshire Death Records, 1650-1969; Bellows Falls Times, 13 September 1867; Vermont Journal, 23 June 1883; Vermont Phoenix, 16 December 1892; New Hampshire Civil War Service and Pension Records, 1861-1866, available from Ancestry.com; John W. Sturtevant to Friends, 14 January 1864, DL0948.001, Nau Collection