A Soldier's Story

I drove out the high road to Trenton to the little village of Allentown to visit 1SGT George Ashby early this morning. I hadn't been there in a number of years, but I found him in the little former churchyard right away, with the flag over ...his grave marker. I wanted to get a newer photo than the old one I had from the '90s, although it was not a perfect shot, since morning dew covered the stone. Born in Burlington, NJ in 1844, George Ashby joined the 45th US Colored Infantry in January, 1864 as a private, fought with his regiment at the siege of Petersburg and then served on occupation duty in Texas until the fall of 1865, rising to the rank of 1SGT. He came home to NJ and settled in Allentown, where he lived until 1946. At the time of his death, Ashby was the last surviving NJ Civil War veteran.See More