Brother, where art thou? A dogged New Yorker traveled twice to Virginia to retrieve body of sibling killed at the Wilderness. A Fredericksburg park volunteer and a descendant put together the poignant story, which is showcased in an exhibit

2nd Lt. Horace Hill (NY State Military Museum via Wayne Historians Organization), national colors of the 111th New York (NY State Military Museum) and park volunteer Steve Morin 

In spring 1864, Francis Abner Hill set out to do something thousands of others in his situation would have wanted to do, but did not have the money, time or tenacity.

Abner wanted to bring back to Upstate New York the body of his younger brother, 2^nd Lt. Horace Gilbert Hill, killed just a week before, on May 5, 1864, while leading his company at the Wilderness in Virginia.

The military action was still too hot in the area and Abner wasn’t allowed to search for the grave. But signs of his persistence were evident in his many visits to military hospitals in Washington, D.C., to glean helpful information from wounded members of the 111^th New York Infantry.

Those interviews and letters sent to veterans and families after his return to Wayne County set the ground work for his second – and successful – trip to find Horace and bring the 23-year-old home (Findagrave.com photo, courtesy Bob Davis; click to enlarge).

“Francis Hill’s successful recovery efforts were not a common occurrence in the Civil War,” wrote Steve Morin, a retired FBI researcher and volunteer at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, in a report about Abner’s search for Horace. “Returning a Civil War soldier’s remains helped to establish a degree of closure, but it didn’t erase the lifelong anguish caused by the loss.”

For years, Morin has transcribed documents for the park’s historical database. His curiosity routinely takes him to the internet to learn more about his subjects, as was the case in the Hills.

This spring, he turned to Ancestry.com for photographs and learned of a Hill family tree put together by Nancy Rosin of Rochester. “She answered my Ancestry message and I was floored when she told me she was Francis’s great-great-granddaughter,” he told the Picket in an email.

Using records (including a Hill diary) already held by the park and the “new” information, Morin and Rosin completed a compelling portrait of a family that sought closure amid its grief. On Friday evening (Jan. 2), Morin will speak at a reception at the Fredericksburg Visitor Center about the project.

The reception kicks off an exhibit about volunteers and their roles in supporting the mission of the federal park. The portion on Morin’s efforts will feature his research and original letters, diary excerpts and photographs provided by Rosin.

“Finding Nancy was fortunate because she possessed so many letters, images, etc. that filled in gaps and provided personal insights into the family members,” Morin said.

Lt. Horace Hill's 1864 pocket diary (NPS photo)

The researcher told FXBG Neighbors he likens his work using primary documents to solving a puzzle. (Read this Picket article about how he helped identify a grave at Fredericksburg National Cemetery)

“I have always loved the way he views history,” Ashley Ranalli, volunteer coordinator at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, told FXBG Neighbors. “To me, Steve is looking to understand the people he is researching and make a connection.”

'Ready to defend the stars and stripes'

Horace Hill, who was unmarried, enlisted early in the Civil War and served in another New York regiment before joining the 111^th. He rose to sergeant and then second lieutenant in 1863. He fought in numerous battles, including Gettysburg, where the regiment suffered heavy casualties.

In March 1863, he wrote to Abner saying he wish he had expressed more appreciation for their relationship. "Your kindness is fully appreciated by a brother who tonight is a soldier sitting in his tent shedding bitter tears of regret as he remembers how little he manifested the love of a brother in days gone,"

Horace Hill had a premonition of his death, according to a fellow officer with the 111^th.

NPS map of Wilderness fighting around the time Lt. Horace Hill was killed.
The 111th New York is indicated near rectangle bearing Barlow's name. Click to enlarge

On the evening  of May 5, 1864, in the vicious fighting at the Wilderness, Company A tangled with Confederates. According to “Military History of Wayne County,” Hill was waving his sword, trying to rally his men, when he was instantly killed by a ball passing through his chin and neck. His body was found after Confederates retreated.

The young officer was buried at a farm with other soldiers. His family did not immediately know the location.

The Rochester Express carried this pithy article, according to a Facebook page about the 111^th New York.

“Lieutenant Hill was almost idolized by the men under his command. He had gained that respect, not only by being an ever true and faithful soldier, but also by kindly caring for his men. His heart swelled with proud emotions at the thought of his country's glory, and he was ever ready to defend the stars and stripes from the insults of traitors. Though comparatively unknown his name may well stand side by side with Ellsworth, Lyon, Wadsworth, Sedgwick, and a host of others; heroes whose names generations yet unborn shall love to read and revere. He fell as a hero falls. Amid the carnage of battle, he yielded up his life, a noble sacrifice, for ‘God and home, and native land,’ and that God in whom he trusted will surely reward him.”

Abner Hill, an Ontario, N.Y., businessmen who cared for his ailing parents rather than enlist, decided to quickly find his brother’s remains. He used Horace’s 1857 diary, according to Morin, to take notes of his trip, including expenditures and notations. (The Rosin family has Horace’s 1864 pocket diary, too.)

The diary highlighted the extensive planning, research, logistics and costs associated with returning Lt. Hill to his home near Lake Ontario, according to Morin. While he was not permitted to travel to the front in May 1864, Abner visited numerous hospitals in the Washington area.

Morin’s report -- which includes an extensive bibliography -- summarizes what Abner learned during and after his first visit to Virginia. Among the findings was his brother was buried near fellow New York 2nd Lt. James W. Snedaker (right, courtesy Wayne Historians Organization). The plots were on the farm of William A. Stephens of Spotsylvania County.

Interestingly, Horace’s sword and scabbard had been sent to a Washington hospital after his death. The family later acquired it.

Brother asked father of another fallen soldier for help

Abner Hill planned to return to Virginia in late November 1864 and he received a letter (left, click to enlarge) from the U.S. Army authorizing his travel to the grave site. Business and personal matters, however, delayed his trip to summer 1865, shortly after the war ended.

In the diary, Abner noted directions to the Stephens farm, which held the bodies of several 111^th New York soldiers.

At some point, Abner communicated with Adrastus Snedaker, father of Lt. James Snedaker. The father had been in touch with a private who saw Horace after the latter's death and helped bury him, carving out a marker with an ax. That private provided valuable information on the location of the graves.

Adrastus Snedaker retrieved his son’s body in June 1865, one month before Abner was able to go and find Horace’s remains. Horace Hill was laid to rest at Ontario Center Cemetery. (Findagrave.com photo courtesy Bob Davis)

One of his older military coats belongs to the Sterling Historical Society in New York.

According to a diary provided by Rosin, Abner wrote on April 24, 1874, about being at the beside of his dying mother.

“Her sufferings have been severe, but her death was peaceful and apparently easy and she retained consciousness almost to the last moment. A few minutes before she ceased to breathe and while laying partially on the left side she opened her eyes in apparent pleasure and exclaimed 'Horace G: Why Horace' as though she saw him & then spoke to him.”

Francis Abner Hill, a prominent farmer, miller and town official, died in Ontario in 1903 at age 68.

The Picket has been in contact with Nancy Rosin but has not yet received a reply with additional information about the Hill brothers.

Exhibit will look at work of park volunteers

Ranalli, the volunteer coordinator at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, said the exhibition will be in place through Feb. 2.

Morin was given the Hill documents to transcribe and found them to be intriguing, she said.

“Steve’s research into the story of the Hill brothers was inspired by several primary sources from the park’s bound-volume collection,” she said in an email. “This collection was started in the 1970s by then-chief of Interpretation Bob Crick, who sent college students to campuses across the country to photocopy primary documents related to the park. In the 1990s, the collection was opened to the public, and this particular item was likely donated by a visitor, possibly a relative of the Hill family.”

The exhibit portion about the Hills is entitled “In Search of Rest” and was created in partnership with the Fredericksburg tourism bureau.

“This marks the first time the Fredericksburg City Visitor Center has featured an exhibit highlighting the work of National Park Service volunteers,” added Ranalli.

The public is invited to the opening reception from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. Jan. 2 at the Fredericksburg Visitor Center. Beth Parnicza, NPS supervisory park ranger and chief of interpretation, will interview Morin about his insight into the research process and the collaboration that brought the exhibit together. The visitor is at 601 Caroline St., Fredericksburg, Va.