Daniel Lewis Clewell – Civil War and Beyond
Daniel Lewis Clewell served in the Civil War not once, but twice. Both times he was a private in the Pennsylvania Infantry. He served as a hired substitute for one of his enlistments. (Pa, Gary’s grandfather Charles Huber, shared this information on the back of the photograph of Daniel.)
This practice was actually quite common. In order to avoid the draft which was deemed necessary in order to ensure enough soldiers, a provision was provided that “a draftee could pay a ‘substitute’ enrollee the sum of $300 (about $5,000 in today’s terms) in order to enlist in his place. Such famous Americans as Grover Cleveland and John D. Rockefeller took advantage of this provision, in effect buying their way out of service (Onion).” Abraham Lincoln also chose to hire a substitute even though he was too old for the draft and as President wouldn’t have been drafted anyway. He selected J. Summerfield Staples who was only 19 to serve for him. While Lincoln made this decision in order to be an example, hiring substitutes quickly became very unpopular because people were unhappy that only the wealthy had this opportunity.
Daniel first served in the 129th Infantry Regiment of Pennsylvania from August 15, 1862 until May 18, 1863. He then served in the 202nd Infantry Regiment of Pennsylvania from August 26, 1864 until August 3, 1865.
When Daniel died, he received a tombstone indicating that he was a veteran. The application also identifies that Daniel had been captured on October 25, 1864.
The Clewells originally settled in Schoeneck, Pennsylvania in the 1700s . They were descendants of French Huguenot refugees. Schoeneck means “pretty corner.”
Daniel (Gary’s 2nd great grandfather) was born on September 7, 1841 in Pennsylvania and died on February 11, 1928 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He married Anna Mary Bender in 1873. Anna was born on January 30, 1849 in Wuttemberg, Germany; she died on November 13, 1926 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Daniel and Anna had seven children, including Gary’s great grandmother, Amelia Clewell.
After the war, Daniel was a laborer who worked on the rolling mill in the steel industry.
According to Daniel’s obituary, when he died he was “one of Bethlehem’s oldest residents and a veteran of the Civil War.” Even though he was 87, “the news of his death came as a shock to his many friends.”
Sources
Norris, David A. “Substitutes (Civil War).” NCpedia, Encyclopedia of North Carolina, 1 Jan. 2006, www.ncpedia.org/substitutes-civil-war.
Onion, Rebecca. “Abraham Lincoln’s Substitute Soldier.” Slate Magazine, Slate, 10 Jan. 2013, slate.com/human-interest/2013/01/abraham-lincoln-the-president-paid-a-substitute-to-enlist-in-the-union-army.html.