Donating a large cemetery plot, he decided, would help the town and bring him well-earned recognition. All he asked in return was to name the cemetery after him.
George Washington Swailes was shocked when the ghost of his Confederate service returned, swaying the cemetery board against him.
At ten years old, George had realized the value of a good job when his father died in 1845. The family moved to Illinois and then Henry County, Iowa in 1856. He grabbed the golden ring in 1856 with a job at the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad, making trips to Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
While local residents were embroiled in controversies over slavery and state’s rights, George grappled with timber and iron trestles, pilings, and tracks. He toiled as Confederates fired on Fort Sumter.
Five months later, sharp-eyed recruiters induced men to join the 16th Louisiana Infantry. Family legend says that someone told George to “join or hang.”
He enlisted on September 29, 1861. Somewhat improbably, officers made him drive a hospital ambulance and then work as a teamster. He rejoined his leather-soled comrades in time for Shiloh on April 6 and 7, 1862.
George next grabbed a shovel to dig fortifications at Corinth, Mississippi. But he had had enough. He deserted to the Union lines during the siege of Corinth on May 29, 1862.
Now George had a new problem: How could he convince the commanding Union officer to release him? Family legend says that George never fired on Union soldiers. This seems unlikely unless George was ill during battles; or “shirked” (avoided fighting); or deliberately fired above Union soldiers’ heads. However, this pacifist story may have quickly sprung George out of captivity.
He lit out for the Colorado Territory, but romance called him back to Henry County, Iowa. George married Nancy Dougherty on March 1, 1864, and returned to railroad work. He became quite successful and touted his image as a self-made man.
Late in life, George made the generous cemetery donation. The town fathers — loyal men, all — rejected his tale of Confederate service as a pacifist. And so they refused to name a cemetery after him. George Washington Swailes died in 1916.
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My sources for this post were: G.W. Swailes Compiled Confederate Service Record; “George Washington Swailes, ” Biographical Review of Henry County, Iowa, and transcript of the same historical sketch posted on http://genealogytrails.com/iowa/henry/bios02.htm with family lore written by descendant Amber; Henry County [Iowa] Engagements, Showers, Marriages, and Wedding Anniversaries of the Past; and 1915 Iowa State Census Collection, 1836-1925. Part of the family lore is disputed by other descendants.
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