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In light of Michigan @DaleZornSenate's recent donning of a Confederate flag mask, I decided to do some Resistance Genealogy inspired by @CleverTitleTK. (In case you hadn'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'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's a record of his service from the book "History of the Third Ohio Veteran Volunteer Cavalry." 5/
And here's Louis again, on the 1890 Veterans Schedule, fourth from the bottom. He apparently suffered from "consumption of bowels". That's an old term for "inflammation and ulceration of the intestines from tubercular disease." 6/
Louis died of tuberculosis in 1901. /7
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's No. 14. 9/
Fortunately, he wasn'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'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'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.
Addendum: In an interview, Sen. Zorn said his wife, Cindy, made him the mask, so I wondered if Cindy's family was from the South. In fact, her family was living entirely in Indiana or Illinois at the time of the Civil War -- both Union states. (cont'd)
A great-great-grandfather, Uriah K. Bula, was born in Tennessee in 1809 but was living in Indiana by the 1830s and had at least one son, Frances Marion Bula, who fought with the 85th Indiana Infantry.
