George Billhover

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George Billhover was just one of thousands of German immigrants who found their way to the Tonawandas in the mid 19th Century.  He and his wife Elizabeth were raising their five children in North Tonawanda when the Civil War broke out in 1861.  In August 1862, his son Louis , age 18, enlisted at Buffalo to serve three years.
In June of 1863, George wrote a letter to his brother back in Germany telling him of how well things were going for him since he came to America.  He also told of proud he was of his son fighting for the Union cause.  While George is writing the letter, he receives a letter from his son Louis stating that he felt that the war would be ending soon and then he would be coming home.
Unfortunately, on July 18, 1863, just a couple weeks after writing the letter, son Louis was engaged in the famous battle of Morris Island, South Carolina (at Fort Wagner), a battle featured in the 1990 film “Glory” starring Matthew Broderick .  Louis was wounded in the leg and was taken to the Confederate Hospital in Charleston, but he died a week later.
The letter that George wrote to his brother has its own interesting tale to tell.  The letter eventually found its way to the Historical Society of the Tonawandas by way of Texas.  It seems that George’s brother did indeed follow in George’s footsteps coming to America from Germany,  but settling in Texas rather than Tonawanda.  A descendent  in Texas tracked down the writer of the letter – i.e. George – to Tonawanda and passed it on to our local Historical Society.



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