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Letters, vignettes:
The six numbered items below were part of the 1979 edition of the Keepers Family Genealogy. It is expected that other items may be added in future years. If you have a story related to the Keepers’ family, we would like to hear it. Please contact me if you would be willing to share a piece of the family history.
Foreword to the 1979 Edition by Merle C. Keepers
Letter to Keepers Family members from Merle C. Keepers and Henry L. Keepers
5.
Louis Keepers, Confederate States Army
6. Lewis Keepers, United States Army
To: Those interested in the Keepers family genealogy
From: Merle Cliff Keepers
Subject: The title page script
The
title page was
prepared by Mr. Henry Lloyd Keepers and is a striking example of his
remarkable script. Few people today have this gift. Most of us, and I am one
of the worst offenders, can scarcely read our own handwriting. Several people
when seeing an envelope addressed to me in this script have remarked
concerning its excellence.
Many of you who dealt exclusively with me on matters concerning this genealogy are unaware of the invaluable work of Henry Lloyd Keepers in the preparation thereof. He developed the data on our earliest ancestors and was the driving force throughout. If it had not been for his dedication, his leadership, magnificent work and urgings I would not have become involved at all!
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To: Those interested in the Keepers Family Genealogy
From: Merle Cliff Keepers
Subject: Days of great stress - we were there!
In the early 1800's the great herds of the western cattlemen were prey to marauding Indians and outlaws. Since there were no courts or law officers, the ranchers themselves became the law. As the west became more populated and small towns appeared, the town people appointed a man from among them to preserve the peace. The men selected were usually broad of shoulder, huge at girth, prone to violence and probably had an abysmal I.Q. Later on, a traveling judge held court in these small towns. These people, ranchers, marshals and judges alike, kept the peace and meted out justice with a heavy-handedness inconceivable in our present time.
A man could appear before those early 'hanging judges' in the afternoon and be hanged the following morning. The impatient ranchers didn’t even wait that long! Judge Roy Bean, 'the law west of the Pecos', was probably the epitome of this frontier justice. Some of his decisions (if the stories are true) were hilarious. To all, perhaps, but the poor wretch in the dock! One story tells of a cowboy killed in a gunfight in Langtry, Texas, where Judge Bean held court. He was a stranger, no one knew his name or recognized the brand on his horse. He had no identification, nothing in his pockets except a twenty dollar gold piece. The good judge reasoned that it was not in the best public interest to bury the gold with the victim. That would, of course, pass the cost of his burial to the taxpayers. But how to legally appropriate the money? The judge's decision must be impeccably lawful. He consulted his one law book without success. Then a stroke of pure genius! He simply had the corpse delivered to the courtroom, rapped his gavel, and fined the dead man twenty dollars for disturbing the peace!
We have been spoon-fed by movies for generations and later by TV about the great gunslingers and heroic cowboys of the 'old west'. This is, of course, a fanciful American fairy tale! The era of the gun fighter lasted barely ten years. The movie scene of two men facing off in some street, each fearlessly and chivalrously letting the other make the first move to draw is also a myth. If it ever happened it must have been seldom. Most gunfights with hand guns were at very close range with the antagonists scrambling for whatever cover was available. Can you really imagine a man casually disarming another who is trying to kill him by shooting the gun out of his hand? More than one man became a notch on a gun butt by being shot from cover by some grubby little badman who later became much bigger than life on twentieth century screens.
There was often a very thin line between the law and the lawless. The marshal that put an end to the murderous career of Billy-The-Kid later became so irascible and unstable that he was, in turn, shot down in self-defense by a very respected rancher. If you visit the graves of these people, Billy-The-Kid, the Clantons, Wild Bill Hickock, even Calamity Jane, the famous and infamous alike, you will find their resting places as desolate as their lives must have been.
Most Americans have read about the gunfight at the OK corral in Tombstone, Arizona. The three men killed there are buried in the famed Boothill cemetery. Were they killed by dedicated and courageous men in line of duty while upholding law and order? Someone held an opposing view and had their grave stone inscribed 'murdered on the streets of Tombstone'. Well now, murdered?
In the same cemetery is the grave of an innocent man hanged for horse stealing. He apparently was riding horseback from Douglas to Tombstone when the animal broke its leg and had to be destroyed. This was tantamount to a death sentence. He was far out on the desert with little chance of walking to a settlement before dehydration felled him. Providentially, he met some men driving a string of horses toward Douglas .He purchased one and proceeded to Tombstone where he was promptly unhorsed and charged with theft. The animal was one of several stolen from a ranch near Tombstone two or three days earlier. His protestations were of no avail. No doubt he pointed out that men on a desert trail did not usually carry writing materials and a bill of sale had been unavailable, further, only a complete fool would ride a horse right back through the ranch from which it was stolen. His story was not believed and he was tried, convicted and hanged. A few days later they found his story to be true. The real thieves had been arrested near Douglas and corroborated his statements. The good burghers of Tombstone squared everything by kindly placing on his marker 'hung by mistake'.
So during those turbulent years some innocent men were hanged, others forced by the exigency of circumstance, alone, hungry and penniless, into the losing gamble of live stock stealing drew long prison terms. At another time in a different place, some who were hanged or given long jail sentences would not have even stood before a judge!
What has all the foregoing to do with our genealogy? Only that I wished to add a little humor to our dry-bone text and to illuminate briefly a violent era through which our family lived. For we were there! And apparently we were there without adding our name to the list of western badmen.
We were also there in every soul-wrenching episode in America's history, the French-Indian war, the revolution, the war of 1812, the Mexican-American war, the settling of the west, the war between the states, the Spanish-American war, world war I, the great depression, world war II, Korea and Viet Nam. We were there! These were the times that created a climate for violence and illegal acts.
You can be sure that our antecedents were not saints and surely the Keepers name must have appeared on more than one police blotter. But in all the 300 years searched I found not one incidence of a Keepers family member convicted of a major crime!
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To: Those interested in the Keepers Family Genealogy
From: Merle Cliff Keepers
Subject: A vignette concerning our changing language as applied to the occupation of John M. Keepers of Chester County, Pennsylvania.
The changing language of America produces confusion and amusement as we in the last quarter of the 20th century look back at the 17th, 18th and 19th.
A case in point is an entry in an historical book entitled 'Stories of Guernsey County'. It was written by William G. Wolf about early settlers in Guernsey County, Ohio, and is available in the public library at Cambridge, Ohio.
John M Keepers (c.1790-1862) moved from Chester County to Beaver County, Pennsylvania, about 1815 where he engaged in farming. He moved from there to Guernsey County, Ohio, about 1832. The above Historical book picks him up there and refers to him twice; on page 187 "John Keepers kept a House of Entertainment' in Winchester" and on page 887 "John Keepers kept the first Tavern in Winchester." (Winchester is now Winterset, Ohio.)
What, precisely, did the words 'House of Entertainment' and 'Tavern' mean in that era?
Charles Dickens, in the opening chapter of 'Barnaby Rudge' sets the scene in the public room of the Maypole Inn. Dickens refers to the Inn as a 'Public House of Entertainment'. Tavern, Inn and House of Entertainment in both England and America seemed to have the same general meaning in those days.
In Colonial America, Inns were also called 'Public Houses' and 'Ordinaries'. They were licensed to serve two purposes; providing food, drink and lodging to the public and the fostering of religion. The meeting houses of the time used as churches were not heated and people traveling many miles in winter would thaw out in the Inn before sitting in the frigid meeting house for the interminable sermons. They fortified themselves with hot drinks laced with rum. Even children were served a warm honey sweetened elderberry wine drink or a weak cider called ciderkin. Before even meeting houses were built, many Houses of Entertainment served as churches.
Page 2. - Our changing language - June 2,1978
Most Colonials could not read in the 18th century. Large and colorful signs were placed in front of an Inn. The illiterate could recognize the place by the graphics and for those that could read the signs also had lettering such as 'The Blue Bird - Entertainment for man and horse'.
Our Pilgrim Fathers and early settlers had little objection to drinking alcoholic beverages in moderation. However, drunkenness in public places such as a House of Entertainment was considered a minor crime. In Massachusetts, one Robert Cole was 'fyned ten shillings and enjoynd to stand with a white sheet of paper on his back, whereon DRUNKARD shalbe written in great letters, and to stand therewith soe long as the court find meet, for abusing himself shamefully with drinke'.
In Pennsylvania, a law prescribed that a House of Entertainment must serve a good warm meal for six pence and for wayfarers, a nights lodging, two meals, beer as required, and a fire when needed, for three shillings..
Present day language describes our having guests in our home as 'entertaining guests'.
Well, so it was then in those early hotels.
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To: Those interested in the Keepers family genealogy
From: Merle Cliff Keepers
Subject: A landmark law case
A trial in Essex County, New Jersey, late in the nineteenth century, became a landmark law case when appealed to the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Lillie A. Keepers versus the Fidelity Title and Deposit Company concerns gift of personal property in contemplation of death.
Lillie A. Keepers was the wife of William M. Keepers (refer to Essex County, New Jersey, family group 10.) You will note that I have her listed as Lilie A. -- -- on older charts some of you may have. The trial transcript supplied the correct spelling of her given name and her maiden name, Munn, which her nephew, my informant on the Essex family, was unable to recall.
Lacking legal training it would be imprudent for me to attempt to interpret or summarize the case. Its importance, however, is evident since part of the transcript is quoted in Forrest Cool's law review on personal property. This review is intended as a refresher course for law students cramming for the bar examination. It may be of interest to our family members who wish to read the transcript simply because it bears the Keepers name.
Those who may have access to a law library will find the transcript in book 56, New Jersey Law, pages 302-309. It dwells at considerable length on what does and what does not constitute a valid 'donatio mortis causa'. In the Forrest Cool personal property law review, reference will be found on pages 32-33 under 'gift causa mortis'.
[A portion of the case has been copied below for those interested. – JKK, September, 2004]
(56 N.J.L. 302)
KEEPERS v. FIDELITY TITLE & DEPOSIT CO., (two cases.) (Court of Errors and Appeals of New Jersey. Feb. 26, 1894.) GIFT CAUSA MORTIS-CONSTRUCTION OF WILL.
1. The plaintiff's sister, on her deathbed, delivered to the plaintiff the key of a box, saying: "I give you the box and all it contains." The box was in another room of the house, locked in a closet, the key of which was in possession of the plaintiff's mother, with whom the sister lived. The plaintiff lived elsewhere, and, during her sister's life, made no attempt to take possession of the box. Held, that there was no such delivery of securities contained in the box as is essential to a valid donatio mortis causa.
2. A will directed that testator's property be divided equally between his daughters, each to come into possession of her share on arriving at the age of 23 years, and that, in case of the death of either before arriving at that age, her children should inherit the parent's share, but, if no issue, then the survivor of the daughters should take the other's share. Held, that the will gave the survivor no right to the share of her sister, dying after she had reached the age of 23 years.
Abbett, J., dissenting. (Syllabus by the Court.)
Error to circuit court, Essex county; before Justice Depue.
Two actions: one by Lillie A. Keepers against the Fidelity Title & Deposit Company to recover on a contract; the other by the same plaintiff against the same defendant in replevin. The issues were tried together, and, from the judgments rendered, plaintiff brings error. Affirmed.
The other facts fully appear in the following statement by DIXON, J.:
The plaintiff, Lillie A. Keepers, brought two suits in the supreme court against the Fidelity Title & Deposit Company, one, an action on contract, to recover $418.22, the balance of $970 which had been deposited in the Howard Savings Institution by and in the name of Minnie I. Munn; and the other, an action of replevin, to obtain possession of stock certificate No. 2,459, for 41 shares of the capital stock of the American Insurance Company, a bond made by the plaintiff to Minnie I. Munn for $1,000, and a bond made by John Bernreuther to James T. Van Ness for $400, which had been assigned to Minnie I. Munn. On the trial of these suits, in the Essex circuit, it appeared that all the things in controversy had belonged to the plaintiff's sister, Minnie I. Munn; and the plaintiff testified that her sister, while upon her deathbed, at home, a few hours before she lapsed into final unconsciousness, sent for the plaintiff, who lived elsewhere, and, on the plaintiff's coming into the room, the following incident took place: "My sister turned to my mother, and said 'to get those things for her;' My mother asked, "What things?' and she replied, 'My things in the bureau;' My mother then brought to her from the bureau drawer a handkerchief, containing some things, and then she asked my mother to leave the room, which she did. My sister then opened the handkerchief, and it contained some jewelry and a little bag. From the bag she took a tiny key, and said to me, 'You see that key.' I said, 'Yes;' and she handed it to me, and said: 'There, that key I have carried in my bosom until it is rusty. It is the key of the box, and that I give to you, and all it contains.' Then she took the handkerchief, with the jewelry in it, and held the four corners of it up, and passed it over to me, saying: 'There, I give you these. I have no more use for them.'" It further appears that, at that time, the box which this key fitted was in another room of the same house, locked in a closet of which Miss Munn's mother had the key, and that the box contained the savings bank book showing Miss Munn's deposit in the Howard Savings Institution, the stock certificate, and the two bonds, besides many other papers, some of which did not belong to Miss Munn. During Miss Munn's life the plaintiff did not ask her mother for the key of the closet, or make any attempt to assume control over or take possession of the box or its contents, nor did the box and contents ever come into her possession, but they were taken by the defendant company, as the administrator of Miss Munn. On these facts the trial justice ruled that there was not such a delivery of the things in controversy as, was necessary to make a valid donatio mortis causa.
The plaintiff also claimed that the stock of the American Insurance Company and the Bernreuther bond had been the property of her father, and, on the death of her sister, had become hers, by force of the following provision in her father's will:
"Item 5. Subject to the foregoing uses and exceptions, I give, devise, and bequeath all my estate * * * to my two daughters, Lillie Alma and Minnie Ida, to be divided between them. equally, share and share alike, each one to come into possession of her respective share upon arriving at the age of twenty-three years, and not before; and, in case of the decease of said Lillie or Minnie before they are twenty-three years of age, the children of said deceased shall inherit the parent's share; ,but if there
586
ATLANTIC REPORTER. VOL; 28. (N.J.)
be no issue; then the survivor of the two last mentioned sisters shall take the other's share, and upon each respectively arriving at the age of twenty-one years, the interest of her share shall be paid to her direct.
Both sisters had passed the age of twenty-three years, and, in the division of their father's estate, the stock and bond had been transferred to Minnie, as part of her share. She died unmarried. The trial justice overruled this claim of the plaintiff. Upon exception taken to these decisions, the present assignments of error are founded.
Robert H. McCarter, for plaintiff in error.
Mr. Joyce, for defendant in error.
Riker & Riker, for estate of Minnie I. Munn.
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To: Those interested in the Keepers family genealogy.
From: Merle Cliff Keepers
Subject: Colonel Louis Keepers, Confederate States of America.
The following historical footnote concerns Eliza Whitaker, wife of Louis Keepers, and is a verbatim copy of a clipping taken from the New York Herald dated 5-28-1919.
MRS. ELIZA COOPER, CIVIL WAR NURSE, ACTRESS AND AUTHORESS DIES AT 82
GAVE HER SERVICES TO SOLDIERS OF BOTH UNION AND CONFEDERATE ARMIES
SAVED HER HUSBAND FROM DEATH AS A SPY BY MAKING APPEAL TO PRESIDENT LINCOLN
Mrs. Eliza Cooper, a noted character during Civil War days, who served both the Union and Confederate sides as a hospital nurse, died yesterday at her home, 146 Devoe Street, Brooklyn, from infirmities of old age. She was eighty-two years old.
Born in London, England, she came to America in 1852. Her first husband was Louis Keepers, who served in the Confederate Army and died sometime after the war. She then married Harry Cooper, who was a veteran of the Union Army and died about ten years ago.
During the war Colonel Keepers was captured in the Federal Forces, court-martialed and sentenced to be shot as a spy. He managed to get a message to his wife who hurried to Washington and obtained an interview with President Lincoln. A suspension of the sentence was ordered and after the case had been reviewed Mr. Lincoln ordered the release of Colonel Keepers. Mrs. Keepers then served as a nurse in the Confederate Army, later giving her services to the men of the Union Army as well.
As a child Mrs. Cooper appeared on the stage, playing with Laura Keene in such plays as 'Dick Turpin', the 'Ragpickers of Paris', and others popular at the time. After the Civil War she wrote several novels and books of a semi-historical nature. The best known of her writings were her 'Memoires' and 'Tales of the Civil War'. Mrs. Cooper leaves two sons by her former marriage - William and Frank Keepers - and a daughter, Mrs. Maude Louise Sullivan.
It is of interest to note that Laura Keene was the feminine lead in the play 'Our American Cousin' which was playing at the Ford Theatre the night that John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln.
Attempts to verify the New York Herald story through the National archives, the Louisiana state archives, the Virginia state archives and the Navy and Old Army branch of the military archives have all failed.
I have located a partial record concerning J. S. L. Keepers who joined the Confederate Army early in 1861 at New Orleans. He enlisted as a 1st Lieutenant and was assigned to the Slocumb Rifles, Regiment 1, Louisiana Infantry, CSA.
I do not know what names are represented by the initials 'J' and 'S' but the letter 'L' is for Louis. That is the name on the muster rolls of the Slocumb Rifles but he signed both as J. S. L. Keepers and Louis Keepers at different times on various documents.
According to the record he was ordered to proceed to Richmond May 27,1861 per a dispatch from the Honorable, the Secretary of War, CSA, L. P. Walker.
He drew pay in Richmond for the period May 27 through June 30,1861 signing the voucher as Louis Keepers. Then he drew pay for July 1 through July 9,1861 but did not sign the voucher until July 15th. His signature appeared this time as J. S. L. Keepers. Curiously, he signed in the presence of a Justice of the Peace suggesting that he was not at a regular army post. On a separate space on one of the vouchers he wrote 'Accpt Apptmt' and signed again. Here I lose the trail and no more information is available from the archives.
Because of his accepting an 'appointment' coupled with an order to travel to Richmond issued by such a high military authority, I am of the opinion that Lieutenant J. S. L. Keepers and Colonel Keepers, espionage agent, are one and the same person. It certainly is possible for a man holding the rank of 1st Lieutenant at the beginning of the war to be upgraded to Colonel near the end.
We may never obtain full details of this incident since, in all likelihood, any records of espionage activities were destroyed by the Confederate Army.
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To: Those interested in the Keepers family genealogy.
From: Merle Cliff Keepers
Subject: Lewis Keepers - Union Army.
In a book published in 1884 entitled 'History of Richland County, Wisconsin' it is stated:
Page 1012 – L. M. Keepers is included among several names of settlers arriving in Dayton Township between 1852 and 1856.
Page 1013 – L. M. Keepers came from Ohio and entered the west half of the northeast quarter and the east half of the northwest quarter of section 32. He cleared a portion of the place and erected a small log house. When the war broke out he enlisted and died in the service. His widow afterwards married a man named Marsh. She is now dead and most of the children live in Nebraska.
Lewis Mifflin Keepers migrated from Ohio to Wisconsin in the year 1852. This is based upon the statement on page 1012 above and the death certificate of George Washington Keepers, a son, (Richland County Archives volume 9 page 390) which reveals that he was born in Wisconsin February 2,1853.
The historian's statement that most of the children lived in Nebraska is not completely correct. George Washington Keepers did reside for several years in Boone County, Nebraska. It is not now known how many of his brothers and sisters lived there for a time before returning to Wisconsin.
The historian also treats Lewis' war record very lightly saying only that he enlisted and died in the service. Following is his record obtained from the national archives:
He enlisted for three years at Richland Centre, Wisconsin. He was mustered in October 28,1861 at Camp Randall, Madison, Wisconsin. His name first appears on the muster roll of Company I, 12th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment on December 12,1861.
He was reported present on all Company I rolls from December 1861 through August 1863. He is shown on furlough September and October 1863. He is again reported present for November and December of that year. He reenlisted in Hebron, Mississippi, for an additional three years and was sworn in at Natchez on January 5,1864. The roll reports him as present until May and June 1864 when he was on special duty as provost guard at Headquarters 1st Brigade. He was again present in July 1864 until he was wounded in action on July 21,1864. Civil War books show that the 12th Wisconsin was engaged in an assault on 'Leggett's or Bald' hill on that date. He was moved from the Atlanta area to the field hospital at Marietta, Georgia, where he died of his wounds on August 9,1864. He is buried in the Union army cemetery at Marietta.
The war record of two of his sons, James McMillen Keepers and Hayes J. Keepers, may also be of interest to the descendants of Lewis.
It must be very unusual in the annals of war for citizen soldiers, never rising above the rank of private, a father and two sons, to have been so closely associated in battle for so long a period of time. Lewis and Hayes were together throughout the war until Lewis' death in 1864. Hayes was actually knocked down by the same shell burst that mortally wounded his father. They served in Company I, 12th Regiment, Wisconsin Veteran Infantry. James did not enter the service, until January 1864, enlisting in Company B, 25th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry. He transferred to Company I, 12th Wisconsin on June 2,1865. The 12th and 25th Wisconsin regiments were often in action in the same battles and skirmishes.
The late enlistment of James presumably resulted from an agreement between father and son in the autumn of 1861. James, the oldest and newly married, was to remain behind to run the farm and care for the family while Lewis and his sixteen year old son, Hayes, went into the army.
Lewis Keepers - Union Army
Movements and engagements of the 12th Regiment:
Left Wisconsin for Weston, Missouri, January 11,1862.
Kansas campaign - March 1 to May 24,1962.
Hatchie, Mississippi - October 5,1862.
Lamar, Mississippi - November 8,1862.
Hernado, Mississippi - April 18,1863.
Coldwater, _Mississippi - April 19,1863.
Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi - June 10 to July 4,1863.
Siege of Jackson, Mississippi - July 10 to July 16,1863.
Baker's Creek, Mississippi - February 4,1864.
Canton, Mississippi - February 27,1864.
*Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia - June 10 to July 2,1864.
Nickajack Creek and Chattahoochie, Georgia - July 20,1864.
'Leggett's or Bald Hill', Georgia - July 21,1864.
Battle of Atlanta, Georgia - July 22,1864.
Ezra Church, Georgia - July 28,1864.
*Jonesboro, Georgia - August 31,1864.
*Lovejoy's Station, Georgia _ September 2, to September 5,1864.
Pursuit of Hood's Army, Georgia -October 4 to October 30,1864.
Sherman's march to the sea, Georgia - November 16 to December 8,1864.
*Siege of Savannah, Georgia - December 8 to December 21,1864.
*Pocotaligo, South Carolina - January 14,1865.
*Orangeburg, South Carolina - February 12,1865.
Columbia, South Carolina - February 16,1865.
*Fayetteville, North Carolina - March 11,1865.
*Bentonville, North Carolina - March 19,1865.
Surrender of General Joseph E. Johnston at Raleigh, North Carolina - April 26,1865.
Grand Review in Washington D.C. - May 24,1865.
Movements and engagements of the 25th Regiment
after James joined the army:
Decatur, Alabama - April 17,1864. Resaca Station, Georgia - May 9,1864.
Resaca, Georgia - May 13 to May 16, 1864.
Dallas, Georgia - May 26 to June 1, 1864.
Pumpkin Vine Creek, Georgia - June 2 to June 5,1864.
Big Shanty, Georgia - June 15,1864.
*Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia - June 15 to July 2,1864.
NickajackCreek, Georgia - July 3 to July 5,1864.
Chattahoochie River, Georgia - July 5,1864.
Decatur, Georgia - July 21 and July 22,1864.
Siege of Atlanta, Georgia - July 23 to August 26,1864.
Jonesboro, Georgia August 31 and September 1,1864.
*Lovejoy's Station, Georgia - September 2 to September 6,1864.
Snake Creek Gap, Georgia - October 15,1864.
Long Swamp, Georgia - December 9,1864.
Ogeechee Canal, Georgia - December 10 and December 11,1864.
*Siege of Savannah, Georgia - December 12 to December 21,1864. *Pocotaligo, South Carolina - January 14 and January 16,1865., McPhersonville,- South Carolina - January 18,1865.
Salkehatchie, South Carolina - January 20,1865.
Whippy Swamp, South Carolina - February 1,1865.
Salkehatchie River, South Carolina - February 2 and 3,1865.
South branch Edisto River, South Carolina - February 9,1865. *Orangeburg, South Carolina - February 12,1865.
*Fayetteville, North Carolina - March 13,1865.
South River, North Carolina - March 15,1865.
*Bentonville, North Carolina - March 20 and 21,1865
The above listings are for engagements by Wisconsin Infantry Regiments 12th and 25th and do not indicate engagements of individual companies. Therefore, while it is doubtful that the three men were present in every engagement of their regiments, they probably were active in most of them. The asterisks indicate actions where both the 12th and 25th were involved. The national archives file for Lewis Mifflin Keepers show that he was on special duty as guard at Brigade Headquarters for at least part of the time during the battle for the Kennesaws. Hayes, with the 12th may have been in action there for twenty two days, and James with the 25th for seventeen.
The Kennesaw Mountain battle was one in which the Union Army suffered heavy casualties. General Sherman directed a two-prong attack aimed at saddles between higher elevations and lower hills. These hills were known locally as Pigeon and Cheetam Hills. The Union Army was forced to attack over open and steep upgrade terrain in the face of entrenched and determined Confederates commanded by the very able General Joseph E. Johnston. Sherman and Johnston knew each other before the war when both served in the U.S. Army.
It is probable that each could almost read the other's mind. The casualties were extremely disproportionate in favor of the Confederacy.
After Lewis was felled at Leggett's Hill, James and Hayes were often in the same area for the remainder of the Georgia campaign and the campaign for the Carolinas.
James transferred to the 12th Wisconsin on June 2,1865 and both he and Hayes were discharged at Louisville, Kentucky, on July 6,1865. The two no doubt returned to the Wisconsin farm together. Hayes was still only a nineteen year old boy after serving three and one half years without furlough, fighting side by side with his father, seeing his father fatally wounded, marching 3,800 miles and returning home with his older brother. Both James and Hayes became ministers after the war and although neither had formal training in theology, remained in the ministry until their deaths.
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