Reverend Samuel Coulter, Born 1838, served as a Reverend of the United Brethren Church of Ottowa, Ohio. During a service in 1861 it is reported that it was announced by a long time friend of Rev. Coulter that Fort Sumpter had been fired upon and that the United States was now formally in a state of civil war between the Union and the South. Upon hearing the news the Reverend ended the service and requested that men join him in “answering the call of the President”. Armed with his Father’s rifle handmade by a gunsmith in Circleville, Ohio in 1806 the following Wednesday Reverend Coulter, along with the majority of the male congregation of his church, were sworn in and entrained to Camp Dennison, Ohio for training. Upon arrival in Camp Dennison Reverend Coulter was elected to serve as Captain for the newly formed 117 strong company of volunteers. During his time at Camp Dennison now Captain Coulter would be married to Rebecca May Andrews, the granddaughter of William Galbreath, a War of 1812 veteran who served as a Private of Captain Engles’ Camp of the Ohio Militia. Upon mustering out Captain Coulter would leave both his wife Rebecca, and their infant son Frank Coulter behind in Ohio not knowing that he, would not return from the war. Of the 117 men of Company E of the 96th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry only 17 would return healthy, the remaining 100, including Captain Coulter, would either be killed in action or return crippled or severely wounded from their service to the Union.

Captain Coulter would go on to serve at the Battle of Vicksburg and the Battle of Sabine Crossroads in Louisiana where he would be fatally wounded (often referred to as The Battle of Mansfield during which Union forces under the command of Nathaniel Banks would attempt to seize Shreveport the capital of Louisiana). During the fighting for the Sabine Crossroads Captain Coulter would receive a significant wound to his right knee that required amputation and would result in his capture by Confederate forces. Following his injury he would be interned as a PoW in Louisiana and record much of his time as a prisoner in a hospital in what appears to have been a converted church in Mansfield, Louisiana. During this time Captain Coulter would befriend a Confederate Reverend by the name of G. A Flower, who would gradually facilitate the return of Captain Coulter’s personal effects, diary, sash, cane, flute, rifle, and sword, back to his family after the war according to Captain Coulter’s Diary. Captain Coulter would go on to pass away from complications from his amputation on the 28th of April, 1864. Captain Coulter would continue to write in his diary up to April 24th when his final entry becomes ileligible and trails of, four days later he would succumb to his wounds.

Following the war it appears that Reverend G. A. Flower would return his deceased friend’s effects to his widow and young son. April 16th, 1883 on the 21st birthday of Frank Evans Coulter, nearly 19 years after his father’s passing, Rebecca Coulter passed this grouping on to her son who kept it and cherished it as a “shrine of spiritual force” until he passed it on to his youngest daughter on Christmas Day 1939. After remaining in the Coulter family’s descendants for many generations this item was passed to auction where today we hope to place it in a regional museum here in Ohio in order to ensure that the sacrifice of men like Captain Samuel Coulter and their personal stories are not forgotten. As part of our intention to help preserve history we have digitized the entirety of his diary entries and have chosen to make them publicly available for review. We encourage you to read his entries as these diaries provide the rare opportunity to see the personal and human side of Civil War history.

Included in this set is

• Family custom made trunk (age of trunk unknown, suspected early to mid 1900s)
  • Includes document that states the history of the grouping
•  Family Rifle made by a Circleville Ohio Gunsmith in 1806, converted to a percussion cap rifle
• Officers Sword, with etchings across both sides of blade in excellent condition
• Homemade walking cane created from a railing banister
• Flute that Captain Coulter carried with him throughout the war
• Red Officer’s Sash
• Commissioning paperwork for Captain Coulter denoting him as the Captain of the 96^th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry Company E
• Two Journals
• One Bible (Translated out of the Original Tongues) with inscription on cover page
  • “Sammies Bible Presented to him by his beloved Becca”
  • “Vicksburg Mils – Captured July 4, 1863 Written on the ground”

ASKING PRICE: $8,000
Given the historical value and rarity of these documents as well as their personal nature that require specialized preservation we are offering reduced prices for any public or private museums. Please contact us if you are the representative of a museum and are interested in this unique set.

Images of the full set

Image of the commissioning paper

Images of the bible

Images of the first Journal

Images of the second Journal