While researching my great grandfather, Charles S. Moore, I
went to the New Egypt, New Jersey city clerk’s office. I asked if they had any
wills or deeds for him or his father. They were busy but said they would get
back to me after tax season. A few weeks later they called saying someone else
was looking for the same person. They gave me that person’s name and phone
number. It turned out that the person, Fran Born was also a great granddaughter
of Charles. We got together and had a nice visit that started collaboration of
our research. They had Charles’ original discharge papers from his service in
the 4th NJ Infantry during the Civil War. They also had a transcript
of his court martial for disobeying an order. The order was “ stop shooting the
mules with dry corn kernels”, which he was doing for fun. As soon as the
sergeant turned his back he shot them again. Thus, his court martial. The
transcript was like being there and listening to him speak. Another fact that
came out was that he was late for a battle due to bad feet. That explains why
my dad and I had feet as flat as pancakes and bunions. The punishment he received
was being docked $10 of his $13 a month pay. Another revelation was that he had
left his company in Virginia without leave to return to NJ when his father
died. Several siblings had died too, and the house was being repossessed. On
his return to Virginia, he was arrested as a deserter. But since Abraham
Lincoln had made a proclamation that said any deserter who was returning of his
own volition would not be prosecuted. All of this told me so much about my great
grandfather who died almost eighty years before I was born.
