Civil War: Field & Staff (Chaplain), 26th Michigan Infantry
Jonathan Blanchard was born in New York and become an ordained minister in the Methodist Church. Prior to 1840 Reverend Blanchard was Pastor of the Methodist Church in Dearborn, Michigan. In 1843 he was involved in the church in Belleville, then part of the Dearborn Circuit. He was also preaching at Cherry Hill Methodist Church in Canton Twp, Wayne County, and at Denton (a small village south of Canton) until at least 1845. He married Matilda A. Ingraham at Pontiac on September 23, 1844. Rev. Blanchard was 45 years old and a resident at Ann Arbor when he was commissioned a Chaplain and mustered into Field & Staff, 26th Michigan Infantry, on November 28, 1862, just prior to the regiment leaving for the front. The following year this article appeared in the regiment's "Camp Journal" newspaper: "Our Chaplain [Jonathan Blanchard] is steadily winning his way to the hearts of all in the Regiment. His cheerful face and hopeful words have been life-giving medicine to many of our sick boys. His strong sense of duty leads him daily from tent to hospital, through storm and sunshine, where, sharing the fortunes and content with the lot of the soldier, he makes his paternal presence and kind offices the blessing of our regiment. We are glad to note a decided improvement in his health and trust Chaplain Blanchard may long remain with us."
Michigan Relief Agent Julia S. Wheelock penned the following in her journal: "Alexandria, Virginia, Sunday, April 12, 1863. Attended Quarterly meeting at the M.E. Church this morning. Mr. Lanahan, the presiding Elder preached an excellent discourse from Romans 7th Chapter & the last clause of the 18th verse. [Romans 7:18: For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.] Don't know as I ever heard a more solemn & impressive Sermon in my life; he has great descriptive powers. This P.M. Chaplain [Jonathan] Blanchard & Lieut. [Lucius H.] Ives called and went to the Colored love-feast with us. They had a lively time. Some got very happy & even had what people call the power. They danced, sung, shouted, & to all appearances were happy. I have no doubt they were - I enjoyed it very much. The Lieut. & Chaplain came home with us & took tea..."
Captain William P. Wilson, a staff officer with Headquarters, 1st Division, 2nd Army Corps, recorded the vacancy of Chaplain Jonathan Blanchard, 26th Michigan Infantry: "On December 15, 1863, forty-six year old Jonathan Blanchard of Ann Arbor was honorably discharged on account of disability by Special Order No. 281." Chaplain Blanchard had been in poor health since the summer of 1863. In the spring of 1864 he would be replaced by Captain Lafayette Church following a unanimous vote by the men in the ranks. Sadly, that same spring Chaplain Blanchard passed away at Ann Arbor from chronic diarrhea on March 22, 1864, and was buried in Ann Arbor. After completing his law degree in 1872, his son James moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1873, taking his mother along with him. Apparently, James also took along the remains of his father and an infant brother, who were then reburied in Angelus Rosedale Cemetery. When Matilda died at Los Angeles in 1889 she was buried beside them.
(Biography courtesy L. G. Overmyer)
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Children:
- James H. (1847, MI-1918, CA)
- (Infant son [1850?]; see mother's obit.)
- Harlow Lewis (1855, MI-1923, CA)
Jonathan Blanchard was born in New York and become an ordained minister in the Methodist Church. Prior to 1840 Reverend Blanchard was Pastor of the Methodist Church in Dearborn, Michigan. In 1843 he was involved in the church in Belleville, then part of the Dearborn Circuit. He was also preaching at Cherry Hill Methodist Church in Canton Twp, Wayne County, and at Denton (a small village south of Canton) until at least 1845. He married Matilda A. Ingraham at Pontiac on September 23, 1844. Rev. Blanchard was 45 years old and a resident at Ann Arbor when he was commissioned a Chaplain and mustered into Field & Staff, 26th Michigan Infantry, on November 28, 1862, just prior to the regiment leaving for the front. The following year this article appeared in the regiment's "Camp Journal" newspaper: "Our Chaplain [Jonathan Blanchard] is steadily winning his way to the hearts of all in the Regiment. His cheerful face and hopeful words have been life-giving medicine to many of our sick boys. His strong sense of duty leads him daily from tent to hospital, through storm and sunshine, where, sharing the fortunes and content with the lot of the soldier, he makes his paternal presence and kind offices the blessing of our regiment. We are glad to note a decided improvement in his health and trust Chaplain Blanchard may long remain with us."
Michigan Relief Agent Julia S. Wheelock penned the following in her journal: "Alexandria, Virginia, Sunday, April 12, 1863. Attended Quarterly meeting at the M.E. Church this morning. Mr. Lanahan, the presiding Elder preached an excellent discourse from Romans 7th Chapter & the last clause of the 18th verse. [Romans 7:18: For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.] Don't know as I ever heard a more solemn & impressive Sermon in my life; he has great descriptive powers. This P.M. Chaplain [Jonathan] Blanchard & Lieut. [Lucius H.] Ives called and went to the Colored love-feast with us. They had a lively time. Some got very happy & even had what people call the power. They danced, sung, shouted, & to all appearances were happy. I have no doubt they were - I enjoyed it very much. The Lieut. & Chaplain came home with us & took tea..."
Captain William P. Wilson, a staff officer with Headquarters, 1st Division, 2nd Army Corps, recorded the vacancy of Chaplain Jonathan Blanchard, 26th Michigan Infantry: "On December 15, 1863, forty-six year old Jonathan Blanchard of Ann Arbor was honorably discharged on account of disability by Special Order No. 281." Chaplain Blanchard had been in poor health since the summer of 1863. In the spring of 1864 he would be replaced by Captain Lafayette Church following a unanimous vote by the men in the ranks. Sadly, that same spring Chaplain Blanchard passed away at Ann Arbor from chronic diarrhea on March 22, 1864, and was buried in Ann Arbor. After completing his law degree in 1872, his son James moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1873, taking his mother along with him. Apparently, James also took along the remains of his father and an infant brother, who were then reburied in Angelus Rosedale Cemetery. When Matilda died at Los Angeles in 1889 she was buried beside them.
(Biography courtesy L. G. Overmyer)
---
Children:
- James H. (1847, MI-1918, CA)
- (Infant son [1850?]; see mother's obit.)
- Harlow Lewis (1855, MI-1923, CA)
Civil War: Field & Staff (Chaplain), 26th Michigan Infantry
Jonathan Blanchard was born in New York and become an ordained minister in the Methodist Church. Prior to 1840 Reverend Blanchard was Pastor of the Methodist Church in Dearborn, Michigan. In 1843 he was involved in the church in Belleville, then part of the Dearborn Circuit. He was also preaching at Cherry Hill Methodist Church in Canton Twp, Wayne County, and at Denton (a small village south of Canton) until at least 1845. He married Matilda A. Ingraham at Pontiac on September 23, 1844. Rev. Blanchard was 45 years old and a resident at Ann Arbor when he was commissioned a Chaplain and mustered into Field & Staff, 26th Michigan Infantry, on November 28, 1862, just prior to the regiment leaving for the front. The following year this article appeared in the regiment's "Camp Journal" newspaper: "Our Chaplain [Jonathan Blanchard] is steadily winning his way to the hearts of all in the Regiment. His cheerful face and hopeful words have been life-giving medicine to many of our sick boys. His strong sense of duty leads him daily from tent to hospital, through storm and sunshine, where, sharing the fortunes and content with the lot of the soldier, he makes his paternal presence and kind offices the blessing of our regiment. We are glad to note a decided improvement in his health and trust Chaplain Blanchard may long remain with us."
Michigan Relief Agent Julia S. Wheelock penned the following in her journal: "Alexandria, Virginia, Sunday, April 12, 1863. Attended Quarterly meeting at the M.E. Church this morning. Mr. Lanahan, the presiding Elder preached an excellent discourse from Romans 7th Chapter & the last clause of the 18th verse. [Romans 7:18: For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.] Don't know as I ever heard a more solemn & impressive Sermon in my life; he has great descriptive powers. This P.M. Chaplain [Jonathan] Blanchard & Lieut. [Lucius H.] Ives called and went to the Colored love-feast with us. They had a lively time. Some got very happy & even had what people call the power. They danced, sung, shouted, & to all appearances were happy. I have no doubt they were - I enjoyed it very much. The Lieut. & Chaplain came home with us & took tea..."
Captain William P. Wilson, a staff officer with Headquarters, 1st Division, 2nd Army Corps, recorded the vacancy of Chaplain Jonathan Blanchard, 26th Michigan Infantry: "On December 15, 1863, forty-six year old Jonathan Blanchard of Ann Arbor was honorably discharged on account of disability by Special Order No. 281." Chaplain Blanchard had been in poor health since the summer of 1863. In the spring of 1864 he would be replaced by Captain Lafayette Church following a unanimous vote by the men in the ranks. Sadly, that same spring Chaplain Blanchard passed away at Ann Arbor from chronic diarrhea on March 22, 1864, and was buried in Ann Arbor. After completing his law degree in 1872, his son James moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1873, taking his mother along with him. Apparently, James also took along the remains of his father and an infant brother, who were then reburied in Angelus Rosedale Cemetery. When Matilda died at Los Angeles in 1889 she was buried beside them.
(Biography courtesy L. G. Overmyer)
---
Children:
- James H. (1847, MI-1918, CA)
- (Infant son [1850?]; see mother's obit.)
- Harlow Lewis (1855, MI-1923, CA)
Jonathan Blanchard was born in New York and become an ordained minister in the Methodist Church. Prior to 1840 Reverend Blanchard was Pastor of the Methodist Church in Dearborn, Michigan. In 1843 he was involved in the church in Belleville, then part of the Dearborn Circuit. He was also preaching at Cherry Hill Methodist Church in Canton Twp, Wayne County, and at Denton (a small village south of Canton) until at least 1845. He married Matilda A. Ingraham at Pontiac on September 23, 1844. Rev. Blanchard was 45 years old and a resident at Ann Arbor when he was commissioned a Chaplain and mustered into Field & Staff, 26th Michigan Infantry, on November 28, 1862, just prior to the regiment leaving for the front. The following year this article appeared in the regiment's "Camp Journal" newspaper: "Our Chaplain [Jonathan Blanchard] is steadily winning his way to the hearts of all in the Regiment. His cheerful face and hopeful words have been life-giving medicine to many of our sick boys. His strong sense of duty leads him daily from tent to hospital, through storm and sunshine, where, sharing the fortunes and content with the lot of the soldier, he makes his paternal presence and kind offices the blessing of our regiment. We are glad to note a decided improvement in his health and trust Chaplain Blanchard may long remain with us."
Michigan Relief Agent Julia S. Wheelock penned the following in her journal: "Alexandria, Virginia, Sunday, April 12, 1863. Attended Quarterly meeting at the M.E. Church this morning. Mr. Lanahan, the presiding Elder preached an excellent discourse from Romans 7th Chapter & the last clause of the 18th verse. [Romans 7:18: For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.] Don't know as I ever heard a more solemn & impressive Sermon in my life; he has great descriptive powers. This P.M. Chaplain [Jonathan] Blanchard & Lieut. [Lucius H.] Ives called and went to the Colored love-feast with us. They had a lively time. Some got very happy & even had what people call the power. They danced, sung, shouted, & to all appearances were happy. I have no doubt they were - I enjoyed it very much. The Lieut. & Chaplain came home with us & took tea..."
Captain William P. Wilson, a staff officer with Headquarters, 1st Division, 2nd Army Corps, recorded the vacancy of Chaplain Jonathan Blanchard, 26th Michigan Infantry: "On December 15, 1863, forty-six year old Jonathan Blanchard of Ann Arbor was honorably discharged on account of disability by Special Order No. 281." Chaplain Blanchard had been in poor health since the summer of 1863. In the spring of 1864 he would be replaced by Captain Lafayette Church following a unanimous vote by the men in the ranks. Sadly, that same spring Chaplain Blanchard passed away at Ann Arbor from chronic diarrhea on March 22, 1864, and was buried in Ann Arbor. After completing his law degree in 1872, his son James moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1873, taking his mother along with him. Apparently, James also took along the remains of his father and an infant brother, who were then reburied in Angelus Rosedale Cemetery. When Matilda died at Los Angeles in 1889 she was buried beside them.
(Biography courtesy L. G. Overmyer)
---
Children:
- James H. (1847, MI-1918, CA)
- (Infant son [1850?]; see mother's obit.)
- Harlow Lewis (1855, MI-1923, CA)
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