In light of Michigan @DaleZornSenate& #39;s recent donning of a Confederate flag mask, I decided to do some Resistance Genealogy inspired by @CleverTitleTK. (In case you hadn& #39;t heard, this gent from my own state of Michigan wore just such an item on the floor of the state senate.) 1/
Obviously, Michigan fought for the Union -- in fact, nearly 14,000 Michigan men died fighting the Confederacy. What surprised me, given his support for the Confederacy, was that Sen. Zorn has precisely NO Southern heritage. 2/
In fact, at the time of the Civil War, all of his direct ancestors were living in either Michigan and Ohio. And two of them were defending it. 3/
This is Sen. Zorn& #39;s own great-grandfather, Louis George Zorn. He was born in Germany in 1842 and immigrated to the US at about age 10. In February 1865, he enlisted in the 3rd Ohio Cavalry. 4/
Here& #39;s a record of his service from the book "History of the Third Ohio Veteran Volunteer Cavalry." 5/
And here& #39;s Louis again, on the 1890 Veterans Schedule, fourth from the bottom. He apparently suffered from "consumption of bowels". That& #39;s an old term for "inflammation and ulceration of the intestines from tubercular disease." 6/
Sen. Zorn also had another Civil War ancestor. His great-great-grandfather, Reinhardt Leidel, fought with the Michigan 12th infantry. Reinhard was also a German immigrant. He was born there in 1824 and immigrated around 1847, according to his recollection on the 1900 census. 8/
He was drafted in 1864. Here you can see his draft registration; he& #39;s No. 14. 9/
Fortunately, he wasn& #39;t drafted earlier; the Michigan 12th fought at both Shiloh and Vicksburg. This is their battle flag.
If you want to wear a flag mask, this might make a better choice. /10
If you want to wear a flag mask, this might make a better choice. /10
Reinhard appeared on the 1890 Veterans Schedule as well. He& #39;s no. 10. He has rheumatism, which seems like a better deal than the bowel issues Louis contracted. /11.
He died in 1901, the same year Louis did. Sadly, they& #39;re not here to tell you off. But respect their memories and their sacrifices, and those of the 360,000 Union men (14,000 from Michigan) who died to preserve the Union.