James Lawrence Botsford

He went to California in about 1858 to look for gold, and in 1860 was a 26 year old printer in Sacramento, CA. He returned east and enrolled on 1 June 1861 as 2nd Lieutenant of Company F, 23rd Ohio Infantry. He was promoted to First Lieutenant of Company C on 17 January 1862.

He was with the army in Maryland, detailed as an aide-de-camp on the staff of Colonel Scammon, who commanded the brigade, and at Antietam, the division.

He was promoted to Captain and Assistant Adjutant General, US Volunteers on 27 October 1862. He resigned on 25 February 1865 and was honored by brevet to Major dated 13 March 1865 for "bravery, gallantry, soldierly conduct, and distinguished service."

By 1870 he was a merchant at Louisville, KY and in 1880 was dealing in iron in Youngstown, OH. At the US Veteran's Census of 1890 he was still in Youngstown.

He was offered a volunteer commission as Brigadier General in 1898 for field service in the Spanish-American War, but declined due to his health. He was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel and Chief Quartermaster, US Volunteers on 8 July 1898, but died not long after, in October, at home in Poland, OH.

His service basics from the Roster,1 as Bottsford, and Heitman.2 His presence at Antietam from Colonel Scammon's after-action report. Personal details from family genealogists and the US Census of 1860-1880. His gravesite is on Findagrave, source also of his picture, from a photograph of unknown provenance.

He married/lived with in 1860, Emma (?, c. 1838-). He married Ellen Ewing Blaine (1841-1916) in Mason County, KY in January 1864 and they had 3 children.

04/16/1834; Poland, OH

10/06/1898; Poland, OH; burial in Poland Riverside Cemetery, Poland, OH