The Spur Question

[Steve]

(02-11-2018 07:17 PM)JMadonna Wrote:  

(02-10-2018 06:09 PM)L Verge Wrote:  My apologies for the mix-up in birth date. The first link that you gave said 1814.5, and I guess I skipped through the date supplied by Steve. 1845 is definitely easier to understand. Another clarification to the first article: It states that Ream enlisted at age 19, which would be in 1864 -- short service.

Yes it was short and uneventful according to Steve's post-gazette article on Jacob Stoles. However, he seems to have beefed up his 1890 biography for Steve's "Portrait and Biographical Album".

According to this biography he enlisted at age 15 and participated in the battles of Fredricksburg, Chancellorsville, Antietam, Gettysburg and the Wilderness just to name a few.

He also mentions his attendance at Ford's theatre on the night of the assassination but fails to mention the spur. I wonder why?

I've been looking into Ream's military history. He first enlisted on 24 July 1863 at age 18 and was discharged 30 June 1865, which makes his participation in all of the battles listed above (except the Wilderness) impossible. His highest rank acheived was corporal, not sergeant as claimed in the 1890 biography. So Ream definitely exaggerated his military record as a politician.