Charles Shoemaker Drake was born about 1840. He came to Minnesota around 1856 with his brother Benjamin. They were both printers. Charles stayed in St Paul and worked for The Pioneer Company, which became the Pioneer Globe, and then the Pioneer Press. His brother moved to St Anthony and helped with the first edition of the Minneapolis Tribune before becoming a lawyer. At the age of 21, Charles Drake enlisted and was placed in Company A, which was made up of mostly men from St Paul. Being a printer by trade, he put this to use during an interesting incident occurred on March 11, 1862. The regiment was on the move in Virginia. They approached the town of Berryville and after meeting limited resistance occupied it and made camp on the its outer edge. 1st Sgt James Wright, of Company F, wrote about it after the war. "There was a paper published at this place called the 'Berryville Conservator', and a portion of the paper had been set up before arrival, but the editor and his help had 'skedaddled' along with the soldiers. The printers in the regiment-among them Company F's contingent was prominent-managed to get into the office of the 'secesh sheet,' changed the name of the paper to that of 'The First Minnesota' and its policy to one of radical support of the Union cause. A paper was set up, struck off, and ready for distribution before morning, when it found ready sale around the camps." Seven men, who had been printers back in Minnesota, proudly placed their names on the paper. They were Ed A Stevens (Co B), Ole Nelson (Co A), Frank Mead (Co H), Thomas H Presnell (Co C), Charles S Drake (Co A), Julien Kendall (Co H) and Henry W Lindergreen (Co H). Interestingly enough none of these seven were from Company F, as mentioned by Wright. Charles was taken prisoner at Antietam, and later released in December 1862, along with the other men who were captured at the same time. On July 3, 1863, at the battle of Gettysburg, he was wounded in the arm during the repulse of Pickett's charge. He was sent for treatment to the South Street Hospital, in Philadelphia. He never returned to duty. Charles' father, the Rev George C Drake, kept a journal. His entry for Tuesday, June 14, 1864, states:"Mailed to C. S. Drake in presence of J. M. M. Gererd, a $20.00 Greenback, Charley being in Phila., and intending to go west." The date of his discharge is not known, but his obituary later in life states that he was discharged at Philadelphia. His enlistment would have been up on April 29, 1864, so a discharge at that time would have been appropriate. The First Minnesota regiment was discharged at Ft Snelling on May 5, 1864. After his discharge, Charles returned to St Paul and the printing trade. On April 6, 1866, he married Irish born Anna O'Rilley, whom he called, Annie. She had lived in Shieldsville, near Faribault. They had six children: George, Hattie, Charles Jr, Benjamin, Anna Evelyn and Gertrude. The family lived at 27 Pleasant Ave. on the corner of Pleasant and Walnut in St Paul. He worked for several newspapers; The Pioneer Co (1873), Pioneer Press (1874-78), The Daily Globe (1879), Pioneer Press (1880-1890). Charles died at his home in St Paul of apoplexy (a stroke) on June 12, 1892. He was buried at the Old Soldiers Rest in Calvary Cemetery in St Paul. The funeral was held under the auspices of the St Paul Typographical Union, of which Charles was a member. He had worked on nearly all the papers in the city and was for a long time a proof reader on the Pioneer Press. Charles was originally buried in the family plot at Calvary Cemetery in St Paul; Lot 6, Block 13, Section 14. However, he was later moved to the Civil War veterans' section R1, Lot 22, Block 1, Section 4, when his son, Charles Jr, died on Nov 14, 1905, and was buried in his father's original grave. The cemetery is located at 753 Front Ave in St Paul. The St Paul Daily Globe described him caringly by writing: "He was well known and well liked among the printers of the city, and bore the reputation of possessing a most genial disposition, and a large, kind heart, being ever ready to help a friend in need; and the hosts of friends he had showed their appreciation of his excellent qualities by tendering en masse their last heartfelt sympathy." Sources: St Paul Daily Union, St Paul, MN, Jan 7, 1863, p 1. No More Gallant a Deed, James A Wright, 2001, Minnesota Historical Society, p 103-104. History of Minnesota, Edward Neill, 1878, p 666. 1880, US Census, St Paul, Ramsey Co, Minnesota. Minutes of the St Paul Association of the First Minnesota Infantry, MHS, p59. Obituary, LAID TO REST--Funeral of Charles S. Drake, One of the Oldest Printers in the City, St Paul Daily Globe, June 13, 1892. Obituary, DRAKE, St Paul Pioneer Press, June 13, 1892. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
