Description
Photograph of Samuel Jefferson Artz astride his horse, "Mike".
Samuel Artz was born at the family farm near Edinburg. The beginning of the Civil War found the 24 year old farmer, orphaned and unmarried, ready and willing to enlist with a local company of volunteers known as the "Southern Grays".
He served for about a year then went home, continued to farm, married, and had nine children.
After the war, Samuel made his living as a tenant farmer and as a trainer of draught horses. He and his family moved frequently in search of work in the war-ravaged region.
One of the family's homes was at the "Four Mile House" located on Route 11 near the Fishers Hill Battlefield.
Samuel died in Toms Brook and both he and his wife are bured in the Zion Church Cemetery near Maurertown.
Contributor
Identified by Ben Ritter, who recognized the image from an article that had been written about him by Jeff Pennington of the Civil War Education Association. The article appeared in "Crossroads to History" in January 1997. We have used portions of the article here.