2nd great-grandfather of Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

3rd great-grandfather of Kara Boorsma

 

Private     Co. E      13th KS Infantry

Dates of Service:  08 Sep 1862 - 16 Jun 1865

 

Charles Ditton Burch comes from a long history of patriots. His father, Zebulon Burch fought in the War of 1812 and his grandfather, Admiral Burch, served as a lieutenant in the American Revolution. 

 

Charles Burch was born December 11, 1835 probably in Richmond Township, Indiana, where his father was a pioneer settler. According to history books, Zebulon admired his son-in-law Charles Ditton and named his last son after him. Charles' mother and father would die when he was a boy and he would be sent to live with relatives in Kansas. 

 

At the age of 26, Charles joined the 13th Kansas Infantry, Company E, which was the third Kansas regiment raised under the president's call of July 2, 1862 for 300,000 volunteers to serve for three years or the duration of the war. Charles mustered in September 8, 1862. At the time, he lived in Nemaha County, one of the counties where recruiting was taking place. Most of the men recruited were farmers and Charles was no different, being a farmer in the community of Seneca.

 

The group marched to Old Fort Wayne in the Indiana Territory and became part

of Gen. Blunt's command, hence part of the the Army of the Frontier. Charles' company saw fighting quickly as it was engaged in the battle of Cane Hill Arkansas (November 1862) and Prairie Grove, Arkansas and Van Buren, Arkansas (December 1862.)

 

In December 1862, the infantry left Cane Hill for Van Buren. The march was made in extremely cold weather and the group was forced to cross a a rapid mountain stream several times resulting in numerous deaths from exposure.

 

During most of 1863, the entire infantry stayed at Springfield, Missouri until August when they marched to Fort Blunt and became part of the Third Brigade with Colonel Thomas Meed Bowen commanding. They pursued the forces of Cooper, Cabell, Steel, and Stand Watie driving them back thirty miles to the  Red River and capturing Fort Smith. At the end of August, after marching more than 400 miles in pursuit of the enemy, the command was ordered to abandon its march and return to Webber's Fall on the Arkansas River. They remained there two weeks, moving to Scullyville, Indiana Territory to perform outpost and scout duty until October 6. The command then moved to Van Buren, Arkansas, where the men stayed for the winter.

 

In March of 1864, the infantry was split up with companies B, E, and F remaining as garrison in Van Buren and the rest of the infantry sent to Fort Smith, Arkansas. The infantry would serve as garrison for the rest of its tour, encountering some guerrilla bands during that period. Its last officials duty would be in Little Rock, Arkansas (March 1865), where it performed guard and provost duty until the men were mustered out on June 16, 1865. Total deaths were three officers and 20 men who were killed or died of wounds during service and one officer and 104 men who died from disease, accident, and other causes. 

 

While Charles survived the war, his first wife, Dinah Adamson did not, dying in 1863. On August 22, 1866, he married Mary Magdalena Eberly, who had immigrant to the United States with her family from Wurtenburg, Germany. The couple had six children: James R. , George Frank, Ivy M., Clarence, Charles H., and Amy.

 

Sometime before the 1880s, Charles and Mary Burch swapped their land in Kansas for land in Michigan, according to family legend. The family was living in Michigan by the 1880 census and had a son, Charles, who was almost a year old and was listed as having been born in Michigan. Amy Burch, the couple's last child, also would be born in Michigan. The family settled on a farm of about 25 acres near Capac, Michigan.

 

In 1887, the wounds from the Civil War began to have an impact on Charles Burch's abilities with him being admitted to the Michigan Soldiers' Home (now the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans). By the time he entered, he was almost blind. He would stay for five years, being discharged at his own request in 1891. From 1891 to 1898, Charles would be readmitted various times. He died April 17, 1899 at his Capac home.

 

Charles Burch is buried at Capac Cemetery with his wife Mary.

 

GRAVESITE: Capac Cemetery, Capac, Michigan

Written by Joanne Bailey-Boorsma, October 2003