Samuel Montgomery Burchfield

A McGill Branch for Memorial Day - The Story of Samuel Montgomery Burchfield, written by Christine Applegate
A few weeks ago, Kerri reached out to her connection at the National Archives to request some Civil War records—and wow, did we get a story. Samuel Montgomery Burchfield’s pension file came back 87 pages long. Most of it was written in that old-timey cursive—the kind that looks like a chicken ran across the page—mixed in with hand-drawn doctor’s notes, injury reports, and one very interesting marriage certificate.

Samuel was born on August 12, 1834, in Woodcock Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of John H. Burchfield, originally of Maryland, and Nancy McGill, whose father Patrick McGill was among the early Irish settlers of that rugged corner of the state. Samuel was one of ten children in a family defined by its pioneer grit. Older siblings Sarah Ann, James, Charles, William, Robert Reid, and Augustus came before him, and younger siblings Esther, Caroline, and John Jr. followed. A cousin once remarked that Nancy's children were "fine-looking people," and no one who saw the Burchfields file into church on Sunday would disagree.

As the 1860s dawned, war cracked across the country like thunder. And one by one, the Burchfield boys took up arms. William served in the 98th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers. Robert enlisted in the 63rd Pennsylvania in 1863. Caroline’s husband, Henry Minnely, joined the 56th under Colonel Samuel B. Dick. Cousin Augustus McGill served in Company F of the 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry. Even cousin William Johnston McGill, who married Charlotte Ross, served with the 9th Pennsylvania Reserves.

Samuel, age 30, enlisted in the 145th Pennsylvania Volunteers on August 26, 1862. He was no green youth when he joined—he went in as a grown man with responsibilities—but he carried the same fire as the younger boys. At Cold Harbor in June 1864, one of the bloodiest and most hopeless battles of the war, Samuel refused to surrender. “D—d if I surrender on such easy terms,” he is said to have hollered, rallying a group of men and leading them out under fire. He was struck in the head by enemy fire—the bullet tore into the upper right side of his scalp, caving in part of his skull. He survived the wound, but years later, doctors could still feel the indentations in his head from the injury.

And that wasn’t the only hardship. On the march toward Gettysburg in the summer of 1863, he suffered sunstroke. In August 1864, just months after Cold Harbor, he was captured during the Battle of Reams Station. He was first sent to Richmond, then to the prison camp in Salisbury, North Carolina. It was there that his health began to fail. Official records listed his condition as “rheumatism,” but his symptoms tell a deeper story. Based on what came after—shortness of breath, an irregular heartbeat, swollen joints, chronic pain, and eventual heart failure—it’s likely he had developed rheumatic fever, a common and often devastating illness in Civil War prison camps. Misunderstood in its day, rheumatic fever could cause lifelong damage to the heart and joints, which explained much of the suffering Samuel endured in the years that followed.

Samuel was listed as missing in action for several months before being recovered in February 1865 and sent straight to the hospital in Annapolis. His brother Robert was not so fortunate. Robert died in a Confederate prison in Florence, South Carolina, just weeks before the war's end. He left behind a wife, Emeline, and three children—and a void in the Burchfield family that was never quite filled.

Samuel was discharged from the army on May 31, 1865. Less than a year later, on March 10, 1866, he married Matilda Hart in a ceremony officiated by Reverend F. F. Bradford. Together, they started a new life in Waterford, Pennsylvania. They raised a large family: Samuel C. was born in 1866, followed by Nella in 1867, Hal in 1869, Ferrin in 1873 (named after Matilda’s father), Lizzie in the late 1870s (who died young in 1880), Georgia, and finally Frances Letia in 1881.

In 1889, like many veterans, Samuel applied for a pension. That process brought its own challenges. The Army had enlisted him under the name “Samuel Burchfield,” but he had always signed his name S. M. Burchfield. Sorting out the identity mix-up required affidavits, testimonies, and no small amount of frustration. One letter in his own hand survives, offering a rare glimpse of the man in his own words.

In January 1895, at age 60, Samuel was struck with a violent stomach illness. Though it seemed to pass, his body was weakened. Just two days later, while trying to sit upright in bed, his heart failed. He died on January 27, 1895, and was laid to rest in Edinboro Cemetery. Those who knew him remembered a man who was brave, proud, stubborn, and deeply loyal—both to his country and his family.

Matilda, now a widow with limited means, turned to the pension bureau for support. But even then, the bureaucracy wasn’t finished with her. Officials questioned her marriage, called in handwriting analysts, and even asked—just weeks after Samuel’s death—whether she had remarried. Still in mourning clothes, she stood firm. She produced witness statements, letters, and the only existing copy of their marriage certificate. The government kept it. She never saw it again.

In one particularly strange turn, the board asked whether Matilda had any family members serving in the World War. Surely she answered with pride and quiet patriotism: her grandson, James Montgomery Austin, had served in the 16th Regiment of the Pennsylvania National Guard and later in Company G of the 112th Infantry. James died of wounds sustained in France and was buried there, far from home. But instead of honoring this sacrifice, the Pension Bureau pressed further—repeatedly asking if she was receiving insurance payments or veterans’ compensation from James’s death. It seemed they were searching for any excuse to deny her the pension her husband had earned with blood and years.

Matilda lived another 40 years, passing away at age 93 on October 11, 1935. She spent her days with needle and thread, raising children and grandchildren, and holding tight to the stories of a man she loved and a war that changed them both. Though she never recovered that marriage certificate, she didn’t need a slip of paper to prove what she’d lived: a faithful union, a house full of life, and a legacy that still echoes today.

And now, thanks to a digitized folder of fragile papers and the persistence of one curious descendant, Kerri, we remember.

Samuel Montgomery Burchfield’s story reminds us that behind every name in the census or grave marker in the cemetery is a human being—someone who marched, bled, loved, and endured. Thanks to the fragments he and Matilda left behind, we can still hear their voices and feel the weight of their story.

Sources

• Civil War Pension File for Samuel Montgomery Burchfield, Certificate #747.119. Digital file in possession of Kerri Corby Fawcett.
  National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). 87-page file obtained by Kerri Fawcett in April 2024. Available to family members upon request.

• Marriage of Samuel Burchfield and Matilda Hart, March 10, 1866
  Performed by Rev. F. F. Bradford. Original certificate submitted to the Pension Bureau and never returned; image included in the pension file.

• U.S. Federal Census Records
  Includes entries from the 1850, 1870, and 1880 census years.

• 1890 Veterans Schedule and Civil War Pension Index
  Documented Samuel’s service and pension details post-war.

• Pennsylvania Vital Records
  Death certificates and veterans burial cards from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

• Find A Grave Memorial
  Burial information and headstone photo for Samuel Montgomery Burchfield in Edinboro Cemetery, Erie County, PA.
  https://www.findagrave.com/.../samuel-montgomery-burchfield

• Military Service of James Montgomery Austin, grandson
  Served in the 16th Pennsylvania National Guard and later Company G of the 112th Infantry in World War I. Died of wounds in France and was buried there.

Veterans Pension PDF File download available thanks to Kerri Fawcett.

These Civil War pension records were obtained from the U.S. National Archives and are public domain government documents. They are shared here freely for historical and genealogical research.

Civil War Pension File – Samuel Montgomery Burchfield, Civil War Pension File – 98th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers (Download)