DAR group hears special presentation

Submitted information

Isaac Van Wart D.A.R. was privileged to have Mr. Harrison Frech, a local historian, speak to the group in February. He shared the story of rediscovering the identity of Hugh Thompson.

Frech became interested in Thompson after reading a short entry about him leaving Van Wert County for the Civil War in a book on Van Wert County history.

Thompson fought and was injured in the Battle of Chickamauga during the Civil War, and developed amnesia after a blow to his head in 1863. Throughout later years, Thompson gradually regained a few memories which helped him recall some of his past. A veterans association assisted him in filling in some of the details of his life and finding his family after 20 years.

Many of the pension investigators doubted his presumed identity and considered him a fraud. This led to extensive files contained in three boxes and nine folders at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Frech was able to sort through all the information to confirm Hugh Thompson as a Van Wert Native and a Civil War Veteran.

Anyone interested in learning more about joining the Isaac Van Wart Daughters of the American Revolution is invited to email Mickey McConahay at: mcconahay@watchtv.net.