My Gravely Wounded Ancestor Woke to Find Abe Lincoln Praying and Begging Him to Live
I had been researching the Houghtons, looking through some family history books, when I found a page about my great-great-grandmother, Helen Houghton Robinson, her parents, and her siblings.
MyHeritage user Peter Langenfeld
She had a husband and two brothers who all fought for the North in the Civil War. Her brother George Houghton, born 1840 in Macomb, New York, was with General Sherman all through his Georgia campaign. Her brother, Charles Henry Houghton, was born in 1842, also in Macomb, New York.
Record of the Haughton brothers’ service. Their brother-in-law Robert is listed on the same page
Unfortunately, I didn’t read everything closely enough, and I didn’t even notice the information about Charles and George. I saw the original information about Charles well before a major family milestone, but I didn’t understand what I read until a couple of years after it. It wasn’t until years later, while researching something else, that I realized what I had been missing.
What I had missed was that in the battle for Fort Stedman, Charles Henry Houghton was severely wounded. He lost most of his right leg and was battle promoted for his service. As he lay on his cot, bleeding to death, it was believed that he would not survive the night. At some point he had a visitor. He woke to find President Abraham Lincoln praying for him. In Lincoln: The War Years, written by Carl Sandburg, page 86, he describes how Lincoln sobbed and implored the 22-year-old Houghton that he “must live!”
AI illustration of Abe Lincoln begging Charles to live
Many years later, Houghton was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for what he did that day, and he is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Charles in later years
The moment I made that discovery was a mix of pride and frustration. Part of my frustration comes from missing it the first time because I didn’t read the full text. The other part is closer to home. My family has visited Arlington National Cemetery, but unfortunately, we didn’t have this information at the time. My daughter and her class visited Arlington, and part of the trip was the wreath ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. If you had a family connection to someone buried there, you could be actual hands-on at the ceremony, and she really wanted to take part.
I should note, another interesting part of the life of Charles Houghton is that in 1892 he was the collector for the port at Perth Amboy. That is when he was brought up on federal charges of “transmitting false vouchers” to the U.S. government. He was found guilty and fined 500 dollars. I’d also note that he received the Medal of Honor in 1899. Apparently, the U.S. government didn’t hold any grudges.
Still, I’ve always been proud of our country. Sometimes, I’m more proud of what our country can be, the ideals it strives for, than for some of the things from its past.
Many thanks to Peter Langenfeld for sharing this amazing story with us. Explore more American Family Stories and discover how ordinary families experienced extraordinary moments in U.S. history on MyHeritage’s America 250 hub.
