World War II
United States Navy

More about Howard Boyle

 

More about Lucille

World War II
United States Navy

More about Edward

Vietnam War
United States Air Force

Carol is the fourth generation in a line of military tradition.  Her father, Howard Francis Boyle served in the Navy, her grandfather, John Francis Boyle, was a volunteer in the Spanish-American War and her great grandfather, John Boyle, served in the Civil War for the Union.

 

Civil War (Union)
Companies K, D 8th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry

Levi enlisted in the Kentucky 8th at Estill Springs near Irvine, Kentucky on October 28th, 1861 for a term of three years.

The 8th were attached to Thomas’ Command to January, 1862. 16th Brigade, Army of the Ohio, to February, 1862. 23rd Independent Brigade, Army of the Ohio, to September, 1862. 23rd Brigade, 5th Division, Army of the Ohio, September, 1862. 23rd Brigade, 5th Division, 2nd Army Corps, Army of the Ohio, to November, 1862. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, Left Wing 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to January, 1863. 3rd Brigade. 3rd Division, 21st Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to October, 1863. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 4th Army Corps, to April, 1864. 1st Separate Brigade. Post of Chattanooga, Tenn., Dept. of the Cumberland, to November, 1864. 2nd Brigade, District of the Etowah, Dept. of the Cumberland, to February, 1865.

SERVICE:Duty at Estill Springs, Ky., till November 28, 1861. March to Lebanon, Ky., November 28-December 3, and duty there till March, 1862. Moved to Nashville, Tenn., March 10-23; thence to Murfreesboro, Tenn., April 3-4, and to Wartrace May 3. Duty there till June 11. Dumont’s Expedition over Cumberland Mountains June 11-19. Moved to Elk River Bridge July 4; thence to Tullahoma July 9, and join Nelson. March to Louisville, Ky., in pursuit of Bragg August 21-September 26. Russellville and Glasgow September 30. Pursuit of Bragg into Kentucky October 1-22. Battle of Perryville October 8. Nelson’s Cross Roads October 18. Reconnoissance on Madison Road October 19. March to Nashville, Tenn., October 22-November 12, and duty there till December 26. Murfreesboro Pike November 9. Dobbins’ Ferry, near Lavergne, December 9. Advance on Murfreesboro December 26-30. Battle of Stone’s River December 30-31, 1862, and January 1-3, 1863. At Murfreesboro till June. Middle Tennessee (or Tullahoma) Campaign June 23-July 7. Liberty Gap June 25-26. At McMinnville till August 16. Passage of Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga (Ga.) Campaign August 16-September 22. Ringgold, Ga., September 11. Battle of Chickamauga September 19-20. Siege of Chattanooga September 24-November 23. Reopening Tennessee River October 26-29. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23-27. Lookout Mountain November 23-24. Mission Ridge November 25. Taylor’s Ridge, Ringgold Gap, November 27. At Shellmound, Tenn., till March, 1864. Demonstration on Dalton, Ga., February 22-27. Buzzard’s Roost Gap and Rocky Faced Ridge February 23-25. Moved to Chattanooga, Tenn. March 1, and garrison duty there till September 26, 1864. Moved to Elk River Bridge September 26 and duty there till October 20. At Chattanooga till November 28 and at Bridgeport, Ala., till January, 1865. Mustered out February, 1865. Veterans and Recruits transferred to 4th Kentucky Mounted Infantry.

Regiment lost during service 4 Officers and 56 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 1 Officer and 144 Enlisted men by disease. Total 205.

Military records show that Levi started as a Private in Company K but this was consolidated and afterwards he served in Company D.  Between October 18, 1862 and January 20, 1863 Levi was reported as Absent Without Leave, Released by order of Colonel Beaty and forfeit pay for the time absent. Given this absence, it is likely that Levi was not present for the Battle of Stone’s River.

In February 1863 Levi was promoted to Corporal but when Company K was consolidated into Company D, Levi’s rank was temporarily reduced to Private.  At the Battle of Chicamauga, Levi was opposite another ancestor who served in the Confederacy; that other ancestor was shot through the left clavicle and was partially paralyzed for the rest of his life.

Levi served until at least January 6, 1864 but it appears that he may have been present longer.  There are several references to being “Mustered Out” in his military records related to the consolidations that occurred.

More about Levi Winkle

Cold War Era
Petty Officer Second Class, United States Navy
USS Enterprise (CVN-65)
Operation El Dorado Canyon
Iran-Iraq War Era
Operation Earnest Will

In 1986 Enterprise sailed for the Indian Ocean then became the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to transit the Suez Canal on April 28, 1986.  Once there, she relieved the Coral Sea soon after the bombing of Libya.

 

Civil War (Union)
Private, Kentucky 47th Infantry Regiment

The Kentucky 47th Infantry Regiment was organized at Camp Nelson, Kentucky on October 5th, 1863.  HIram had enlisted on August 12th, 1863 and served with Company G.  The 47th was attached to District of North Central Kentucky, 1st Division, 23rd Army Corps, Department of Ohio, to January, 1864. District of Southwest Kentucky, 1st Division, 23rd Army Corps, to April, 1864. 4th Brigade, 1st Division, District of Kentucky, 5th Division, 23rd Army Corps, to July, 1864. Camp Nelson (Ky.) District and Dept. of Kentucky to April, 1865.

Hiram was mustered out of service on December 26th, 1864 and during that time it is expected that he would have seen service as a scout and patrol duty in Eastern Kentucky until June, 1864.  The 47th were involved in the operations against Morgan’s Raiders May 31st through June 20th, Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, June 9. Keller’s Bridge, near Cynthiana, June 11.  The Battle of Cynthiana June 12. Duty at Camp Nelson, Kentucky, and on line of Kentucky Central Railroad which continued until April, 1865, which was after Hiram was mustered out on December 26th, 1864.

Following his service, HIram settled in Estill County, Kentucky and lived to the age of 96 years.

More about Hiram Estes

Lord Dunmore’s War (Never heard of it???)
Augusta County, Virginia
Captain Alexander McClanahan’s Company

Francis was the father of Israel Meadows who also participated in Lord Dunmore’s War.  Like his son, Francis was among the men who joined  the militias raised to answer the threat from hostile Indians that had begun attacking settlers south of the Ohio River.  Francis served under Captain Alexander McClanahan in the forces commanded by Colonel Andrew Lewis.  Approximately 1,000 men traveled down the Kanawah River and were to join forces with Lord Dunmore’s troops.  While in camp at present day Point Pleasant, October 10, 1774, Cornstalk’s forces attacked Lewis’s.  The resulting battle raged on for an entire day and at times devolved into hand-to-hand combat amid thick forest.  Ultimately, Lewis’s men held their ground and the Indian’s crossed the river in the night and slipped away.

Lord Dunmore apparently intended to use the Indian attacks on the frontier as a rallying point for the colonists thereby bringing their allegiance back to the King of England and distracting them from the troubles so pronounced in the colonies in the years following the French and Indian War.

More about Francis Meadows

Civil War (Union)
Company C, 2nd Regiment, Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry

John Boyle’s place of birth in the United States is uncertain.  His parents and older siblings arrived in the country in the 1830s but the many records that indicate John’s place of birth vary between several states.  The family settled down in Providence, Rhode Island before long and in 1861 John joined the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry.  If you’ve ever watched the Civil War series by Ken Burns then you would have heard numerous quotes read by

Elisha Hunt Rhodes who, by the end of the Civil War, rose to command the regiment.  John served from the beginning of the Regiment’s founding in 1861 until being mustered out on June 17, 1864 having served his three year term. During those three years John’s regiment would be involved in many of the famous engagements of the war, including Gettysburg

where a monument exists to memorialize their participation in that engagement.
John eventually applied for a pension for his service but died tragically soon after suffering an ailment on the job.  His wife, Bridget, received assistance from friends and family to complete the process and she received a widow’s pension.

More about John Boyle

World War II
Staff Sergeant
United States Army
Purple Heart

James and Howard both served in World War II.  Their father, John Francis Boyle, was a volunteer in the Spanish-American War and their grandfather, John Boyle, served in the Civil War (Union) from Rhode Island.  The maternal side of the family includes numerous veterans of the American Revolution, various American colonial wars and public servants in the highest offices of the government of Colonial Virginia.

More about James Boyle