The only child of Gilbert and Nancy (Smith) Ingersoll, William K. Ingersoll was a strong and healthy boy when he enlisted as a Marine in August 1862, the same time as Bath boys Gregg and Towle. Will thought that Charley Brother was taking too long to decide but was happy to bump into him on the street Brooklyn when he arrived at the Navy yards to assess the situation. Will first enticed him to a pool hall to put the screws in on Charley, probably thinking he might get a bonus for recruiting a man of quality.
Before the war, Charley was working for a tailor and Will was working as a shoemaker. They lived in the same neighborhood and were schoolmates.
Will joined the Marines not only to serve his country and stick with his friends, but as a way to find income for his parents.
In June that year, his father’s light battery unit was struck by lightning. Somehow, Gilbert stuck with his men or had no other choice. Regardless, father and son corresponded throughout the war, sending money home.
By July 20, 1864, Will’s officers were thinking it was time for his dismissal. According to a Certificate of Ordinary Disability via Fold3.com, Will caught an infection and phthisis pulmonalis, probably tuberculosis or Consumption and he was determined unfit.
His general health is rapidly failing. There is no evidence that his disease originated in the line of duty and therefore, in the opinion of the undersigned, the interests of the service require that he should be discharged… He was born at Bath, NY (age 20; 5'3/4" with fresh complexion, blue eyes, fair hair).
Will’s mother greeted him upon his arrival in Bath but could not greet his fate. He died in February 1866 during a wave of contagion that also killed Charley Brother’s uncle and namesake (Charles S. Brother) and his wife Fannie, who were buried in the same grave. Years later the newspaper reported that the wave of sickness in the air in February 1866 was meningitis.
In her grief, Nancy fought …
… to get the money to take care of herself and her injured husband, asking her neighbors and friends to sign affidavits about Will’s perfect condition before the war and the wreck of a young man she tried to save after his cruise.
Eugene Allen - a Bath grocer submitted stated that Will was sick upon his arrival from duty and never recovered. Was “robust young man” before he joined the Marines.
H.R. Bushwell - Will’s employer said he was at the time of his enlistment a “sound and healthy young man” and was “the was the main supporter of his Mother.”
With a handful of other statements like this, Nancy submitted Will’s letters as proof that he sent money home. These documents are now scanned on Fold3.com.
March 17th, 1864
Brooklyn Marine Barracks
Dear Mother yours received and was very glad to hear from you and to learn that you received the money that I sent you I am sorry that you are not gaining your health faster but I suppose that you take good care of yourself so I need not say anything about that but do not do any work till you are well and do not be afraid to use the money that I sent & to you spoke about buying a house well if you can get it on time so that you [unintelligible] will not be bothered about paying for it. Then I should [unintelligible]do so and I will help you all I can I expect to get to sea again on the schooner ship that I was on before and it was to be for a longer time before I got back than it was before but of course I cannot tell how long it will be. The ship will be ready about the last of May next and it is supposed that she is destined for Europe … There it may be two years before we get back that is the reason why I say for you to buy a house on time for there is no certainty of our getting our prize money till we are discharged. Although we may get it when we get our pay in April but can’t tell about it for sure you may write how long a time you can have to pay for a house in and how much you have to pay down and then I can tell better what to say about it. Give my best regards to Mr. Heriot and the rest of the folks you may expect that large photograph in about twelve days. I have delayed having it taken till day before yesterday on account of having [unintelligible] sores on my face and I was afraid they would show they are quite well now it will take ten days to finish it and if anything happen that I should go to sea before that time they said they will express it to you so that you will be sure to get it. I received a letter from father last week and he thought that he would be able to get here last Saturday but he has not come and I have not heard from him since he may have had to [unintelligible] move farther south which would make it a delay but I think we will see him soon this is all that I can say at present from your ever affectionate son
Wm. K. Ingersoll,
Brooklyn Marine Barracks
Ps I have just received a letter from a letter from father he says that they are going back to Washington and will not get there (sic) furlough til they get there.
To make a stronger case, Nancy apparently even submitted her son’s diary. The pension office said: The journals of the Vanderbilt do not afford any information in his case.
This begs the question: Is there another diary out there from another Civil War Marine from Bath, New York?