William Wells (b. circa 1845 - d. 1890)
MSA SC 3520-7350
USCT Soldier, Queen Anne's County, Maryland
Biography:
William Wells was born around 1845 in Queen Anne's County, Maryland.1 Wells was owned by Charles J.B. Mitchell2, a property owner around Queenstown.3 Approximately "6 or 7 years before the war" William Wells was joined in marriage to Rosetta Johnson by Reverend James B. Merritt at Queenstown.4 They were joined in marriage at a Methodist Episcopal Church around 1855.5 According to an affidavit given by Mrs. Sallie Stevens, Rosetta was owned by Miss Sallie E. Bryan of Queenstown.6 Mrs. Stevens also confirms that William Wells was owned by Charles Mitchell.7 The bounty rolls show that William Wells was paid $100 for his service in the war.8 Mitchell was also paid $100 as compensation for the loss of his slave.9
Wells enlisted as a private in Company C of the 19th U.S. Colored Troops regiment on December 8, 1863.10 He was officially mustered in on December 25, 1863.11 The 19th U.S. Colored Troops regiment consisted mainly of men from Southern Maryland and Maryland's Eastern Shore.12 The regiment remained at Camp Benedict until ordered to Baltimore City on March 1, 1864.13 They received drilling and discipline while in Baltimore, until March 22, when they were sent to Harper's Ferry, Virginia.14 From there the regiment marched to Winchester, Va., but en route they were attacked by the enemy's cavalry near Berryville.15 The regiment was able to deny the enemy and continued to Winchester.16
By May 1, 1864, the regiment reached Manassas, Va., and five days later they faced their first action in the battle of Wilderness.17 The regiment participated in a number of battles including the Siege of Petersburg, the capture of Richmond, Cemetery Hill, Bermuda Hundred, Weldon Railroad, Hatcher's Run, Spottsylvania, and Cold Harbor.18 The battle of Cemetery Hill took its toll on the regiment as one half of the participants were killed and wounded within 30 minutes.19 The regiment was officially discharged on January 15, 1867 after serving the remainder of their term acting as a garrison in Brownsville, Texas beginning in June 1865.20
During the war, Wells suffered a "gun shot wound of right wrist and resulting partial paralysis."21 The wound occurred on July 30, 1864 at Petersburg, Va.22 Wells was eligible to receive a pension before 1890 because he suffered a disability that was a result of the war.23 In 1867, Wells began earning a pension amount of $4.00 per month for the disability he received during the war.24 By 1881, his pension amount increased to $12.00 per month25 and it stayed at that amount until 1889.26 After the 1890 pension law was passed, all former soldiers could receive a pension even if there disabilities were not a result of the war.
After the war, William and Rosetta lived with Mrs. Sallie Stevens and her family in Centreville, Queen Anne's County, Maryland for "two or three years."27 By 1870, William and Rosetta moved to Baltimore, Maryland where they resided at several locations including No. 6 Walters Court28, 136 Orchard Street29, 609 Pierce Street (Rosetta's residence, after separation)30, 514 St. Mary Street31, and 920 Cedar Row32. Mrs. Stevens stated that some years before William died Rosetta became sick and could not work and William left her.33 John W. Wells, their son, confirmed Mrs. Stevens' statement about his father leaving his mother after she became sick and also after he received his pension.34 William began receiving a pension in 1867 and according to the 1870 census, Rosetta was not listed in the household with William, John, and James (William and Rosetta's other son).35 This information matches the statement given by John W. Wells. However, the two were never officially divorced and Stevens felt that William was a changed man after his return from the service.36 According to Rosetta, she and William had six children, but only two were living, John and James.37
Wells resided in Baltimore for 25 years before passing away from "abscess of head" on June 27, 1890.38 The duration of his sickness lasted approximately one month before he succumbed to it.39 The residence at the time of his death was 1805 Fulton Terrace in Ward 19.40 Wells was buried two days later on June 29, 1890 at the Sharp Street Cemetery.41 William Wells's life consisted of enduring slavery on Maryland's Eastern Shore, serving honorably in the U.S. Colored Troops, and ending up in Baltimore after the war.
Endnotes:
3. Queen Anne's County. District No. 5. Simon J. Martenet, Martenet's Atlas of Maryland, 1865, Huntingfield Collection, MSA SC 1339-1-75.
5. Ibid., 39.
6. Ibid., 9.
7. Ibid.
8. COMPTROLLER OF THE TREASURY (Bounty Rolls) MSA S629, William Wells.
9. Ibid.
11. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS (U.S. Colored Troops Pension File Collection) William Wells, Page 73.
12. L. Allison Wilmer, J. H. Jarrett, and Geo. W. F. Vernon. History and Roster of Maryland Volunteers, War of 1861-65. Vol. 2 (Baltimore, MD: Guggenheimer, Weil & Co., 1899), 206.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid., 206-207.
19. Ibid.
20. Ibid., 207.
21. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS (U.S. Colored Troops Pension File Collection) William Wells, Page 48.
22. Ibid., 55.
23. Ibid., 48.
24. Ibid., 73.
25. Ibid., 74.
26. Ibid., 48.
27. Ibid., 9.
28. Ibid., 73.
29. Ibid., 74.
30. Ibid., 45.
31. Ibid., 48.
32. Ibid., 54.
33. Ibid., 10.
34. Ibid., 13.
36. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS (U.S. Colored Troops Pension File Collection) William Wells, Page 10.
37. Ibid., 17.
39. Ibid.
40. Ibid.
41. Ibid.
Researched and Written by Tanner Sparks, 2013.
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