Veteran of US Civil War (1861-1865) – Hillside Cemetery, Kinsley, Edwards County, Kansas

Pvt. George W. Countryman, Sr. enlisted in Co. H, 15th NY Engineer Corps on September 3, 1864. He was discharged nine months later.

George Washington Countryman was born July 1, 1839, in Varick, Seneca County, New York. He was the youngest child of four. His parents were Isaac Hiram Countryman and Sarah Ellen Nellie Voorhees.

Amelia Alice Knisely (b. 1846) became his wife on July 1, 1864, in Seneca, New York. Two months later, George enlisted in the Civil War. After his discharge, he returned to New York to start a family. The couple was blessed with eight children who all reached adulthood.

The family moved to Pawnee County, Kansas in 1875 and filed upon a homestead near Garfield, Pawnee County. Numerous Federal Census’ list his occupation as a stone/brick mason.

Amelia died on June 14, 1911. George passed away six years later. He is buried next to his wife and four of his children in Hillside Cemetery.

Note: The role of the engineer was extremely vital for the Army to move across the land and fight on the battlefield. The engineers were instrumental in clearing paths through woods, laying down “corduroy roads” on muddy surfaces, building wooden trestle bridges and transporting / deploying pontoon bridges over rivers. Defensive works needed the guidance of the engineers to construct gabions (three foot tall, round wicker containers filled with dirt to place around artillery batteries), and direct the building of field fortifications especially towards the middle through the end of the war when trench warfare was more prevalent.1

Note: A grandson of George and Amelia, Cpl. Earnest H. Countryman, perished in World War II. He was a member of the 334 Engineer Regiment. At the time of his death on January 23, 1944, Cpl. Countryman was in Ahwaz, Iran.

1US Engineers during the Civil War | Waterloo, NY (waterloony.com)