2nd great-grandfather of Jane Hall
2nd great-grandfather of Joyce Hulbert
2nd great-grandfather of Susan Norder
3rd great-grandfather of Beth Beach
3rd great-grandfather of Barbara Dumler

Private    1 Indpt. Co. Sharp Shooters    27th MI Infantry
Dates of Service:  29 Feb 1864 - 08 Jun 1865

Nehemiah L. Hurlbutt enlisted in the First Company Sharpshooters at Ovid, Clinton County, Michigan. He was a 43-year-old farmer at the time of his enlistment, living with his wife, Amanda, and their five children, Augusta Mary, aged 17; Ellen, aged 15; George, aged 11; Oscar, aged 10 and Willie who was only one year old. 

N.L. Hurlbutt mustered for active duty on March 1, 1864 to begin his 3-year commitment to the Union Army in the First Company Sharpshooters, which served as part of the Twenty-seventh Regiment until the close of the war in 1865. 

For Nehemiah, who had been in almost continuous combat for 3 months, the war ended on July 30 with the assault on "the Crater". Like many from the Twenty-seventh Regiment, he was wounded after being ordered into "the Crater" in a charge on Confederate lines.  The Confederates lobbed mortar and artillery shells into "the Crater" as well as a blistering "rain" of musket fire. Nehemiah was severely wounded in both of his calves.

How Nehemiah survived his wounds and did not suffer amputation remains a mystery. In fact, it was initially recorded that he had died of wounds received in action at Petersburg. Nevertheless, he was moved from this scene of battle to a hospital in Washington, D.C. to convalesce until mustering out of service June 8, 1865, almost 11 months after the "Crater". His injuries were described as gun shot wounds through both calves with considerable loss of tissue. At one point gangrene set in and "ate the flesh off to the bone, destroying the cord of the right leg rendering the leg most wholly useless."

At the time of his release from the hospital and discharge from the army, Nehemiah was considered disabled and was approved for a pension of $6.00 a month. 

Nehemiah Hurlbutt passed away on 19 March 1887 at Pine River, Gratiot, MI. He was 66 years old.

GRAVESITE:  Oak Grove Cemetery, St. Louis, Gratiot County, MI
Written by John and Susan Norder, August 1998