Irene Triplett was 90 when she passed, having been born in 1930 when her father as 83. Mose Triplett served with the Confederate Army, then defected and enlisted in the Union army where he fought through the end of the war. Apparently, it was a "thing" in the early 1900s for veterans on both sides of the War to marry women who were much younger than they were. Mose was 78 when he married his 28 year old wife! This accounts for the stories of so many Civil War children living well into the end of the 20th century. The last Union veteran died in 1956 and the last Confederate soldier died in 1958. The last surviving spouse of a Union veteran died in 2003 and on the Confederate side, the last spouse died in 2008. As a daughter of a Civil War veteran, Irene began receiving a pension in the 1950s in the amount of $73.13 and she continued to receive that until her death...155 years after the end of the Civil War.
In recent years, many Civil War historians began spending a lot of time with Irene hoping to learn more about the Civil War. Sadly, her father never talked much about the war with her. A treasure trove of memories about those times lost. As veterans, it really is up to us to pass on our histories to our families. Of course, there are things we don't want to remember, but I'm talking about the things that kept us going. The bonds of friendship we made; the shared burdens; the good and bad times. It's personal anecdotes that keep us alive in the memories of others.
Let the historians tell the 'facts' of our wars. Only we can tell what things were really like, from our perspectives. Those stories won't be recorded in the history books. In my opinion, those are the most important stories that need to be told. When your kids are in their 90s, make sure they have good stories to tell about you and your time in the service!
