Major Verling K. Hart

[Walt Cross]

Major Hart served in the 7th Cavalry as commander of Co C until December of 1875 when he was promoted to major and reassigned to the 5th Cavalry. He served with the 7th during the Black Hills expediton and on the earlier 1873 Yellowstone Campaign where he gave a good account of himself and was mentioned in dispatches by GAC. He died on active duty while in command of Fort Wingate in 1883. I have been unable to find any official records regarding his death. Anyone have any information on Major Hart? thanks.

Walt

[markland]

Walt, now that I have found where the indices to the Army-Navy Journal are hidden on the microfilm rolls (August), I can take a look today-if I ever get going, it was a long night

Best of wishes,

Billy

[Lawtonka]

Hope you can find something Billy. I have some interest in him also. I know that he was in charge of C Company while on Construction Duty also in North Carolina according to the microfilms of the returns from that period. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

[Walt Cross]

Tim;
You're right, Hart was in command of Co C on reconstruction duty. NC is where Lt. Harrington (subject of my book) reported to right after graduation from West Point. He wrote letters home about hunting down KKK members. Hart's son, with same name, is also a WP graduate.

Walt

[markland]

Found this yesterday in the Army & Navy Journal. As I get over there, I will look for more.

Billy

Army & Navy Journal
Vol. XX, p. 722
03/10/1883

"G. O. 10, Hdqrs 5th U. S. Cavalry, Fort Sidney, Nebraska
Feb. 23, 1883

It becomes the painful duty of the Regimental Commander to announce to the regiment the death of Major Verling K. Hart, 5th U. S. Cavalry, Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel U. S. Army, who died suddenly of paralysis of the heart, at Fort McKinney, Wyo., Saturday the 17th of the current month. Major Hart was born in Indiana, and commissioned as Captain in the 19th U. S. Infantry October 30th, 1861, in which grade he served in the 19th, 37th, and 3rd U. S. Infantry until the 1st of January, 1871, when he was transferred to the 7th U. S. Cavalry. He was promoted to be Major 5th U. S. Cavalry, December 2d, 1875; was a member of the board on International Exhibition from date of promotion to December 31st, 1876. He served with distinction during the great civil war; was breveted Major for gallant and meritorious services at the battle of Chickamauga on the 20th of September, 1863, and Lieutenant-Colonel for similar conduct during the war. Joining the regiment in January, 1877, he was intrusted with various important commands in garrison and in the field, always discharging the duties devolving upon him with signal ability. His conduct during a long and meritorious career won for him the confidence and respect of his superiors. By his manly and courteous conduct he was endeared to all with whom he was associated. As a tribute of respect to his memory, the usual badge of mourning will be worn by the officers of the regiment for thirty days, and the regimental standard will be draped in mourning for the same period.

By order of Lieut.-Col. Compton, Commanding the Regiment

C. H. Rockwell, 1st Lieut. and Act. Adjt. 5th Cavalry"

[elisabeth]

Billy, that last sentence is really beautiful.

[Walt Cross]

Billy, good work indeed! Even the folks at Fort Laramie didn't know what Hart died from. You suppose paralysis of the heart is actually a term for heart attack?

Walt

[Walt Cross]

Anyone know what "draping" the regimental standard consisted of?

Walt

[Steve Wilk]

Walt, I believe this means some type of black ribbon draped over the standard. Did a google search on it and came up with a few articles on the US and state flags "draped in crepe" for periods of mourning.

BTW, Walt, could you check out my post on Ezra B. Fuller? There is a photo of him; see if you think he may be our "man in the middle" whom you believed was Harrington....

[markland]

Walt said:

Billy, good work indeed! Even the folks at Fort Laramie didn't know what Hart died from. You suppose paralysis of the heart is actually a term for heart attack?

Walt

Darn it Walt, I simply don't know! I am finding that doing the "Project From Hell" that I may have to get a degree in some type of medicine or really suck up to a physican as I do not recognize one-third of the terms or, more importantly, the relationships. I am currently trying to figure out how a private, described in both the regimental returns and hospital returns as having been snake-bit ends up dying from "obstruction of the bowels".

Lord, I need some Excedrin (and a typist who can read my writing!)

Best of wishes,

Billy

[Walt Cross]

Steve;
I think you are right, that does indeed look like Fuller. I think you've done it again old friend!

Walt

[herosrest]

^Ducemus

Verling Hart - Fort Larned By the time Capt. Hart assumed command in the fall of 1871 Fort Larned was in a transitional period. The Indian threat had been greatly reduced in this area of Kansas and the Indian Agency previously set up at the fort had been moved south to Indian Territory in 1868. Even traffic on the Santa Fe Trail had begun to slow down since the Kansas Pacific railroad 50 miles to the north had taken much of the commercial traffic that used to travel that route to Santa Fe. There weren’t even many settlers yet in the Arkansas River valley so the post activities at Fort Larned during the fall and winter of 1870 to 1871 were limited to the daily mundane tasks of garrison duty, punctuated by a few exciting events.

The normally dry oxbow filled with water when the Pawnee River overflowed its banks, threatening to carry the post latrine downriver, while actually submerging the old post cemetery. Once the waters receded the post quartermaster officer, Lt. Charles E. Campbell, requested permission to move the bodies from the first post cemetery on the oxbow to the new one about an eighth of a mile northwest of the fort. He also requested permission to enclose it since the lack of a fence meant that the graves were trampled by cattle, buffalo and other wild animals.

In January (1871) Capt. Hart was transferred to the Seventh Cavalry and went to Fort Harker in February to join his new unit. Capt. James A. Snyder, who had previously commanded the fort, took over as the post commander. Capt. Hart would eventually be promoted to a major of cavalry in December of 1875. He died on February 17, 1883. His cause of death was initially listed as “intemperance”, or consuming too much alcohol, but was later determined to be inflammation of the stomach.

So, was Hart with Sheridan?

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