Barney Hutchins alias George Wilmer, Company H

The soldier and his brother John Hutchins alias Levin Wilmer served in the same company. Born free men in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, they worked as watermen on the Chesapeake Bay. The brothers were with a friend Alexander Hazleton alias William Fortney when a group of men attempted to kidnap and enslave them. The three men escaped and enlisted under assumed names. They returned to Maryland’s Eastern Shore at war’s end.

Invalid — 1,137,020 / 1,138,640
Widow — 1,034, 690 / 782,665, Susan Hutchins

General Affidavit, Solomon Price and Elias Bryson, 5 August 1895
[Price] 67 years old;
[Bryson] 69 years old;
“citizens of the town of Centreville, County of Queen Anne, State of Maryland … We have known him for a long while and we know that before he went into the Services of the U.S. he was a strong healthy man and we often met during the war and after the war our intimacy has been kept up for we all have lived together or rather very near each other … this affidavit has been written for us … by Alfred Tucker, at Centreville, Queen Anne County, Maryland “

General Affidavit, Boswell Griffin, 27 December 1895
57 years old; citizen, Wye Mills, Queen Anne’s County, Maryland;
“I am personally acquainted with George Wilmer … We were both in the army but in the same Regt. … We frequently met while we were at Brazos and Brownsville, Texas …”

Questionnaire, Barney Hutchinson, 25 March 1901
[birthplace] near Queenstown, Md
[place of enlistment] Onancock, Va.
[previous residence] in Queen Anne Co., Md
[occupation] laborer
[enslaved] “I was born free.”
[place of discharge] Brazos Santiago, Texas
[residence since discharge] Queen Anne Co., Md.
[occupation] “I work on farms when able.”
[physical description] 5’6″, brown skin, smallpox marks
[a different name in service] no
[different name in pension application] no
[current name] Barney Hutchins

Form 3-442, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Pensions, K.C. Kniffen, Chief, Record Division, 27 January 1909
Please furnish the names and post-office addresses of officers and comrades of Co. H, 1st Reg’t U.S.C. Vol. Cav.

Theophilus H. Butler		Surry C.H., Surry Co., Va.
George Goodson		Waterway, Princess Anne Co., Va.
Jeremiah Locker		Great Bridge, Norfolk Co., Va.
Ferdinand Ohlenberger	2d Lieut	c/o Aug. Limberger, San Antonio, Tex.
Albert Page		Oak Tree, York Co., Va.
Richard Pierce	Sergt	c/o J.W. Hosier, Suffolk, Va.
Alfred Simpson		#28 1/2 Lincoln St., Nofolk, Va.
Joseph Scott		Portsmouth, Norfolk Co., Va.
Jerry White		#243 Lincoln St., Hampton, Va.
John H. Williams		Mapleton, Princess Anne Co., Va.

Deposition, Barney Hutchinson alias George Wilmer, 8 September 1909
“65 years, July 8 last” post-office address, Wye Mills, Queen Anne Co., Md.
“I was born in this immediate locality in Queen Anne Co., Md. was about 20 years old when I enlisted, farm laborer … I had no measles scars or marks before I enlisted except scars from smallpox, which I had in Feby 1864.
“I have but one brother John H. Hutchins who served in the same co and regt with me. I have five sisters and half-sisters living. They are:
Sarah Emory wid[ow] of John Emory who lives not far from Centreville.
Tamsey Hurd – widow of Oliver Hurd – lives in the road from Centreville to Wye Neck.
Ann Maria Curtis – 1135 W. Saratoga St., Baltimore, Md.
Rachel Griffin [illegible] Bazwell Griffin lives near here.
Lizzie Saulsbury – wife John Saulsbury – no his widow – she lives in Baltimore, Md. but I cannot give her street address. I lived here until just before I enlisted. Then I went to Baltimore accompanied by my brother John. After we got to Baltimore a man fooled us and got us in a boat to dredge for oysters and took us down the Chesapeake Bay.
“When we got down the Bay – we left the boat – ran away and landed on the Va. shore near a place called Pungoteague – went from there to Onancock, Va. where we met a recruiting office who offered us three hundred ($300) bounty so we enlisted and we were taken to Cherrystone, Va. then by boat to Norfolk County then to Newport News, Va. where we got our money for enlisting and our uniform.
“We did not send the money home we kept it and spent it.
“Q. Anything out of the ordinary happen in the Regt?
A. One man whose name and co. I cannot recall was hung at Ft. Lincoln for killing a man before we got to the Regt. while his co. was in Norfolk.
“Butler and Parker of my co. – given names forgotten – deserted – were caught – tried by court martialed [sic] – put on duty but never received any pay …
“Q. Name the officers of the co.
A. Lt. xx Waterman commanded the co. until we went to Texas. Then he was made Provost Marshall and after that Lt. Whitsell commanded the co. We also had a Lt. xx Smith with us for a time.
No Captains was with the Co. while I was in the Regt.
The Sgts. were Odly. xx Boyd, Sgt. xx Williams, Sgt. xx Scott, Sgt. xx Wright. Copl. xx Butt, Copl. xx Hardess, Copl. xx Wright.
I cannot give first names of any of these men or address.
“I remember the following members of the Co. Levin Smith, John Williams, “Bob” Furby, Arthur Webb, Isaac Gardner, xx Wingfield, Bob Hughes, xx Albert. I think he was made Copl. while we were in Texas. Noah [illegible], Abraham Henry. I do not know where any of these men are — never saw them before I enlisted, have not seen one of them since. They were mostly from Va. Copls. Butt — and Sgt. Boyd did live in Norfolk — so they said — before they enlisted.
“I saw no one from Queen Anne Co., Md while I was in the service …”
“Q. Why did you change your name when you enlisted. Because I had run away from the oyster boat and was afraid I might be caught. I do not know why I selected the name George Wilmer rather than some other alias. I knew plenty of people named Wilmer in this section of Md. I was freeborn.”

Letter from Special Examiner, 17 September 1909
“In connection with this claim I have also investigated the claim of John H. Hutchins alias Levin Wilmer … a brother of the pensioner George Wilmer; the report in both cases being mailed at the same time.
“The evidence in these two claims should be considered together.
“I intended to have taken both [statements] the same day so that they might not have an opportunity to coach or communicate with each other but Barney was away from home and it was almost night before he could be located — too late for me to return to the locality and secure his brother’s testimony on the same day.
“Barney is the brightest of the two brothers and seemed to be able to give a finely detailed history of his service, considering he was called upon without warning. He cannot read or write and there is no roster and there is no roster or other history of his Regiment on the peninsula so far as I can [illegible].
“I am therefore inclined to believe the statement he has made is based upon his memory alone.
“While he states he met no one of his former acquaintances and friends in the army except his brother John H. and Alex Hazleton alias Mr. Fortney.”
“He is an encyclopedia of information about soldiers who enlisted from Queen Anne Co., Md. but he was never given information adverse to a claiamant and sometimes his information is not correct so I do not know how much reliance to place in his testimony in this case.
“The Eastern Shore of Va. locality described by Hazleton I know well and the George Powell he refers to was a local merchant … Powell died some ten years ago. I did not have pensioner and his brother go with me to Hazleton as they are poor, John very poor and disabled … Hazleton is not a pensioner, nor an applicant and seemed unbiased in his manner.”

Declaration of Pension, Barney Hutchins, 27 May 1912
67 years old; residence, Carmichaels, Queen Anne, Maryland; post-office address, Carmichaels, Queen Anne, Maryland
“that he is the same person who enrolled at Nan Cock [sic], Va. under the name of George Wilmer … that he was born July 8th, 1844 … his several places of residence have been Queen Anne County, Maryland … ”

Declaration for Widow’s Pension, Susan Hutchins, 26 September 1914
65 years old; “she is the widow of Barney Hutchins … who died on the 10th day of September A.D. 1914 … that she was married under the name Susan Little … in January 1889 by Rev. _____ Lee … at or near Carmichael, Q.A. Co., Md.
“Also personally appeared Frederick Nichols, residing at Centreville, Md, and Daniel Hutchins, residing at Carmichael, Md. … an acquaintance with her of 40 years and all his life, 40 years, respectively … “

General Affidavit, John H. Hutchins and Rachel E. Griffin, 6 [8?] October 1914
[Hutchins] 72 years old; of Queenstown
[Griffin] 65 years old; of Centreville
“citizens of the County of Queen Anne, State of Maryland …
That they were intimately acquainted with Barney Hutchins and Susan Little from the time said parties became of marriageable age up to the time of their marriage … that said parties were married about the year 1869 in Queen Anne County, Maryland by a minister named Lee …”