Elijah Hutchison

By: Andy Castillo

The Civil War was a major American war that decided a big part of our nation's history as it ended the dispute over slavery. The civil war contained thousands of soldiers and each one has their own history that should be shown. Elijah Hutchison was a soldier of the sixth Virginia cavalry during the civil war. He was a white male born in Virginia around 1826. According to the 1860 census he was living in the southern district, Loudoun County, Virginia. He was living in a house along with Susan, Mary T., Robert H., Eliza, Margaret, Virginia, and Franklin Hutchison as well as Mary Urton. On the Census of 1860 he had no listed occupation; he was also not married to anyone at the time. There was also no information given on his education status as there was no record of him attending school in the past year. It can also be noted that during this time period his name was misspelled in different ways such as Hutchinson and Hutchenson as well as his first name being spelled Elizah.

According to the Civil War service record, Elijah Hutchison enlisted into the cavalry on April 22, 1861 in Leesburg a little over a week after the official start of the war. He was present throughout most of his career there were instances when he was absent or the record for a certain time period was gone. His first recorded absence was in the Jan. - Feb. roll call but was present once again until October. This was due to him being captured on Oct. 16, 1862 in Mountville, Loudoun Co. VA. He was a Prisoner of war Until Feb. 24, 1863 and was kept at Old Capitol Prison, Washington, D.C. Once returned to the Cavalry he was present until the Nov. - Dec. roll call. This was due to him being injured on Dec. 2, 1863 and then his desertion of the army a few days later at Morton’s Ford. During his time with the sixth cavalry he was present at the battles of Fairfield, Brandy station, Burning Springs, and the 1st battle of Bull Run. During his time with the cavalry he entered as a Private and left with the same rank at the time of his desertion.

Morton’s Ford would later become a battle field about two months after his desertion. The battle was on Feb. 6- Feb. 7, 1864 and was known by two names the battle of Morton’s Ford and the battle of Rapidan. It took place in Orange and Culpeper County, Virginia. The battle was an attack made by the union as a distraction from a planned raid on the Richmond peninsula. The union Brig. general was J.C. Caldwell and the Confederate General that resisted his attack was Lt. general Richard S. Ewell. The union attacked at three different points on the Rapidan River. They were known as Raccoon Ford, Robertson’s Ford, and Morton’s Ford. Each battle was filled with sporadic fights throughout, but the most severe of the fighting was at Morton’s Ford. The fighting ended on Feb. 7 when the union left during the night leaving the battle with an undecided victor. Though there were a total of 723 casualties between both sides.

Hutchison would end up surviving the civil war due to his desertion from the sixth cavalry. Avoiding the battle at Morton’s ford, that would occur two months after he deserted. He would then go on to living with his family in Fairfax, Virginia after the end of the war.

SOURCE INFORMATION

Image url: https://www.fold3.com/image/16530516

Publication Number: M324

Publication Title: Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Virginia

Publisher: NARA

National Archives Catalog ID: 586957

National Archives Catalog Title: Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Confederate

Organizations , compiled 1903 - 1927, documenting the period 1861 - 1865

Record Group: 109

State: Virginia

Short Description: NARA M324. Compiled service records of Confederate soldiers from Virginia units,

labeled with each soldier's name, rank, and unit, with links to revealing documents

about each soldier.

Roll: 0067

Military Unit: Sixth Cavalry

Given Name: Elijah

Surname: Hutchinson

Age: [Blank]

Year: 1861

Surname Starts With: H

Original data from: The National Archives (http://www.archives.gov)

1860 census, Ancestry.com

Morton’s Ford Battle, https://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/va045.htm