William H.H. Hitch

Pvt. WILLIAM H.H. HITCH (1840-1864) - he was the son of Benjamin Pitts Hitch (c1802-c1845) and Molly Lankford (1810-185x) and they lived near the Somerset and Worcester Co., MD line on the Somerset side near where the old Zion Church Cemetery is on Meadow Bridge Road. William was one of five children and it is likely his full name was William Henry Harrison Hitch as he was born the same year that William Henry Harrison was elected President of the United States. (as one might know, Harrison died 30 days after taking office of pneumonia supposed contracted when he gave his inauguration speech).

Back to William H.H. Hitch...the US Adjutant General provided enrollment lists for men eligible for the draft not long after the Civil War began. The lists were made by election district, by county and state. On Sep 30 1862, William H.H. Hitch was listed as eligible for Somerset County Election District 7, age 22, Trappe P.O. with a note stating that he had already volunteered for the U.S. Cavalry.

From there, we can find William H.H. Hitch listed in the Military Service Records at the National Archives where it shows he joined for service less than 2 weeks before the above record, on Sep 18 1862 in Baltimore as a Private in Co. C, Purnell Legion, Maryland Cavalry. His age was listed as 22 and he is described as 6'-0" tall, dark complexion, blue eyes, dark hair, a farmer from Somerset Co., MD. From there, the records show the history of his service as follows:

- Enlistment to Dec 1862: Present
- Jan to Apr 1863: Present
- May/Jun 1863: Absent on detachment at Smyrna, DE
- Jul to Dec 1863: Present
- Jan to Jun 1864: Present
- Jul to Oct 1864: Absent, missing in action since Aug 21 1864 at Weedon RR (near Petersburg, VA), also states he was wounded in action.

Next, William Hitch shows up on POW records as:
- Aug 21 1864: Captured near Petersburg
- Aug 22 1864: Confined at Richmond, VA
- Nov 30 1864: Sent to Salisbury, NC and admitted to hospital there.
- Dec 21 1864: Died of "Catarrh" at hospital in Salisbury, NC. (catarrh is defined as a build-up of mucus in an airway or cavity of the body - might also be an infection)

From here we see that Private Hitch had served honorably in the Civil War with the Union Cavalry and saw action during the Siege of Petersburg beginning in Jun 1864. On Aug 21 1864, we was captured there after being wounded near the railway supplying the CSA who were hunkered down in the city. He remained wounded and confined in a CSA hospital in Richmond till Nov 30 1864 when he was transported south to a hospital in Salisbury, NC. Three weeks later, on Dec 21, he died from the complications of his wound - he was 24 years old.