My friend and author, Gina Denham, has contributed greatly in the last several years publishing her research to preserve the memory of the Civil War veterans who lived out their days in England
My friend and author, Gina Denham, has contributed greatly in the last several years publishing her research to preserve the memory of the Civil War veterans who lived out their days in England . She asked me to transcribe Munroe’s letter to include in the book she is currently working on in which she hopes to give voice to this London Branch of veterans. In his letter, 99 year-old Munroe, nearly blind from cataracts after years spent at sea, chronicles his service record in the U. S. Navy beginning with his initial enlistment under the name of William Randolph which he explains was done because he substituted for a man by that name who “was not much of a sailor.” Munroe’s pension file includes discharge certificates for both Randolph and Munroe. See footnotes. Munroe also shares a wild tale of an attempt by the US Army to shanghai him into the service by drugging him while he was on shore leave in New York City.