The Norman Brothers
"My son, Kris, and I have the Indiana in the Civil War site. My family hails from not-so-far from Newark, Ohio. I have a wonderful picture of two brothers (my "cousins") Amos and Artelius Norman, taken on April 15, 1864, while they were on Veteran's Furlough. Their demeanor and clothes are so interesting. Lieutenant Amos Norman was a member of Co. B, 78th Ohio Infantry and his older brother, Artelius, was a 1st Sergeant in Co. G, 32nd Ohio Infantry. Both were from Hopewell Township, Muskingum County (near Mt. Sterling).
The picture of the two brothers was taken while they were on
Veteran's furlough, April 15, 1864. Amos (on the left) was 21 years
old and his brother Artelius (right) was 24. The first time Amos
ever voted he voted for Abraham Lincoln. He was very proud of this
and often spoke of it. At the time of this photograph Amos was a
Corporal (date of promotion: March 1864). Later, he became a 2nd
Lieut. in Co. B, 78th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (date of promotion:
March 24, 1865). At the Battle of Raymond Amos's knapsack was
shot off his back, and his elbow was hit by a spent mini ball. No
serious damage was done, but his arm was numb for quite some time.
He was at Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, Champion's Hill, Kenesaw
Mountain, Atlanta, and Savannah--to name a few places. Amos married
Mary Ann Sherrard and they had 6 children. He was an active member of
Hamilton Post, No. 311, Grand Army of the Republic, Brownsville, Ohio.
Amos died in 1930 and was buried in the Mt. Sterling Cemetery, Muskingum
County, Ohio.
Artelius (called "Doc" by his friends) was in Co. G, 32nd Ohio Volunteer
Infantry. As you know, the 32nd was captured September 15, 1862,
at Harper's Ferry (thanks to good old AP Hill). This was a great
embarassment to the 32nd, and they became eager to vindicate themselves.
I have read they did so at Champion's Hill. Artelius was at Cheat
Mountain Summit (under Nathan Kimball, a fine Hoosier commander), Harper's
Ferry, Jackson (MS), Vicksburg, Atlanta, and more. During Uncle Billy's
march to the sea, Artelius's foot was injured and he claimed he marched the
entire distance from Atlanta to Savannah with one boot on and one boot
off. Both brothers--Amos and Artelius--were at Bennett's Place. After the
war Artelius moved to Illinois to live with his Uncle Lemuel Ligget in
Cumberland County. Soon, he moved to Tremont, Illinois (Tazwell County)
and married Charlotte Brewester in 1870. They spent some time in the Dakota
Territory but returned to Tremont, Illinois, where he continued working as
a shoemaker (maybe he learned something while he was Marching Across Georgia
shoeless). Artelius died in 1893 and was buried in Tazwell.
I also have a neat picture of Amos taken April, 4, 1861 (of course, eight
days before the firing upon of Fort Sumter). He is in a great-coat, wearing
a kepi and armed with some sort of a pumpkin hurler. He was, obviously,
ready to go. He was 18 years old. I am told he won this photograph as a prize.
He was attending a local fair, won the 2nd place prize, and got his picture
taken in uniform. This exemplifies the mood of the country on the eve of Fort
Sumter. It is obvious that Ohio men (boys) were ready for a fight. On the
inside of the picture case it is written that "Mr. Grieze" took the picture.
Amos's and Artelius's mother was Charlotte Ligget, my great-great-great
Aunt. The Liggets moved from Pennsylvania to Muskingum County, Ohio, in
1813. My line left Muskingum County for Clark County, Illinois, in 1852.
It was a trip of a little more than 300 miles and it took them 30 days by
wagon. I have one piece of furniture that came on the wagon
(a nice night stand, professionally dated to have been made before
1800--feather painted). At one time Amos Norman had purchased a wagon and
had everything loaded and ready to leave the hills of Muskingum County
behind to be with my family in the prairie of Illinois. He was going to
take his aged mother with them. At the last moment Charlotte decided she
couldn't make the trip, that she was too old. Amos's brothers signed over
quit claim deeds to him for the farm, and Amos stayed in Ohio with his mom
and family."
Larry Ligget / Terre Haute, IN
Mail To: Larry Ligget
Special thanks to Larry Ligget for sharing these fine images
and great information.
Web Publishing Copyright © 1996 Larry Stevens and Larry Ligget
Back to: Ohio Civil War Stories.
Last updated December 1 2001