After the Civil War ended in 1865, a few Confederate veterans of the Civil War moved to Fairbury. One of these men was William H. Patterson. He operated a cannon at Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg and took part in General Pickett's wedding a few months later.
The story of William Henry Patterson started when he was born in 1838 in Virginia. He was the son of Joseph M. Patterson and Elizabeth Carper. In the 1850 U.S. Census, Joseph Patterson reported owning one enslaved person.
The Civil War started in April 1861 when the Confederacy fired upon Fort Sumter. Twenty-three-year-old W. H. Patterson enlisted as a Confederate soldier and was assigned to Major General George Edward Pickett's command.
During the beginning of the Civil War, General Pickett was a widower. In early 1863, he began to court 20-year-old LaSalle "Sallie" Corbell (1843-1931). The General would slip away from the Confederate Army and visit Sallie at her home in Virginia. LaSalle "Sallie" Corbell was born in Chuckatuck, Virginia, on May 16, 1843, the daughter of David John Corbell and Elizabeth Phillips, slaveholders and plantation owners near Suffolk. Sallie attended the Lynchburg Female Seminary in Lynchburg, Virginia.
The pivotal battle of the Civil War was Gettysburg in early July of 1863. Major General Pickett's soldiers were the last to arrive at Gettysburg. Pickett was assigned to lead a charge against the Union forces. Pickett's Confederate soldiers were slaughtered, and the skirmish became known as Pickett's Charge. Private William H. Patterson fought in the battle and was in charge of an artillery piece. General Grant defeated General Lee at Gettysburg. It was all downhill for the Confederate army after the Battle of Gettysburg.
In November of 1863, General Pickett married Sallie Corbell. When she married General Pickett, she became known as the "child bride of the Confederacy" and was famed as one of the most beautiful girls in Virginia. Private William H. Patterson was a member of the squad of Confederate soldiers who fired a salute at the wedding.
After the Civil War ended in 1865, W.H. Patterson married Mary Ann Kessler in 1866. He was 27 years old, and she was 21. William and Mary Patterson had eight children in Virginia. They had a small tobacco farm in Bedford County, Virginia. The eight children helped in the tobacco fields, including pulling "suckers" off the tobacco plants. When Mr. Patterson took a load of tobacco to market, he often brought home "store" cookies, a rare treat for his children.
In March 1882, Mr. Patterson moved his family from Virginia to Fairbury. Mr. Patterson was 44 years old and worked as a laborer. William H. Patterson had $5 cash when he and his family arrived by train in Fairbury. Mrs. Patterson quickly became active in the Fairbury BaptistChurch. The eight children found various jobs in Fairbury.
In the late 1800s, the Chautauqua Movement spread from New York to the Midwestern states. This movement started as a program to educate Sunday school teachers. The Chautauqua Movement morphed into an adult education program. The Chautauqua meetings would often last for one week. Every summer, the Chautauqua was held at Chautauqua Park in Pontiac. Hundreds of Fairbury people attended the Pontiac event.
Major General Pickett died in 1875 at the age of 50. He was buried in the Confederate section of Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. His widow, Sallie, spent the rest of her life as an author and speaker about her husband and the Battle of Gettysburg.
In the 1880s, Sallie became a famous writer and speaker. Her first book, Pickett and His Men, was published in 1899. Between 1899 and 1931, she toured America and wrote for Cosmopolitan, McClure's, and other popular magazines. Sallie published a dozen books about her husband and the Civil War.
In 1906, Sallie Pickett lectured at the Pontiac Chautauqua. William H. Patterson traveled from Fairbury to the Chautauqua to hear her speak. After Sallie's lecture, William spent one hour with her, reminiscing about the Battle of Gettysburg.
Sallie died in 1931 at the age of 88. She was buried in Arlington National Cemetery because no women were allowed to be buried in the Confederate section of the Richmond cemetery. In 1998, Sallie's descendants threatened to move General Pickett's remains from Richmond to Arlington unless his wife could be buried with him. Cemetery officials relented, and Sallie was buried next to her husband.
In 1910, Mr. Patterson was a City of Fairbury employee and was the Graceland Cemetery caretaker. In 1913, at the age of 75, Mr. Patterson traveled from Fairbury to Gettysburg to celebrate the battle's 50th anniversary.
Mrs. Patterson died in 1916 at the age of 71. She was buried in Graceland Cemetery. William H. Patterson died in 1927 at the age of 88. He was buried with his wife at Graceland.
Of the eight children of William and Mary Patterson, the most well-known in Fairbury was James A. Patterson. As a young man, he grew up in Fairbury and tried his hand at many different jobs. These jobs included driving a delivery wagon for Bethard's Basement Grocery, shaving necks in Jay Tyler's barbershop, picking chickens, and husking corn.
In 1903, J. A. Patterson took a job as a "Printer's Devil" at the Blade for $1 per week. That job included cleaning, sweeping, and being a printer's apprentice. James Patterson worked his way up to Editor and Publisher of the Blade. Mr. Patterson was the Blade editor for more than 50 years. Mr. Patterson was also the Chairman of the Board of the Fairbury Savings and Loan Association. James A. Patterson died in 1973 at the age of 91.
William H. Patterson had an exciting life. He fought at Gettysburg, the pivotal battle of the Civil War. W. H. Patterson fired a salute at General Pickett's wedding and met one of the Confederacy's most well-known ladies, Sallie Corbell. William Patterson also lived to see his son James A. Patterson become one of the business leaders of Fairbury.
(Dale Maley's weekly history story is sponsored by Dr. Charlene Aaron)
Kommentare