Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1907-07-22
DIES AFTER A
LONG ILLNESS
John w. Blanchard
Joins Silent Ma
jority
VETERAN OF CIVIL WAR
Deceased An Engineer on
Denver and Rio Crande
Railroad Many Years.

NdITOdQ NIdny ears.
After lingering illness of paraly-
sis which finally involved his heart,
John W. Blanchard, retired locomo-
tive engineer and a volunteer soldier
of the Civil War, died at 2 o'clock
yesterday morning at st. Vincent's
Hospital He had been patient at
this institution for several months.
having been removed there when his
condition became serious
| In March 1906 Mr.. Blanchard sus-
tanned a stroke of paralysis from
which after time he apparently re-
covered He had another attack
about six months ago which complete
! ly paralyzed one side Of his body, He
had failed slowly but surely since.
He sank into Inconsistencies two
days prior to his death and was in a
comatose condition when the end
came
veteran OF civil war.
| John w. Blanchard was a native OF
the state of New York. He was born
on October 7. 1916, and was therefore
almost 6l years old. At an early age
he removed with his parents to Michi
| gan. and the family located near the
| town of Oxford When the civil war
broke out he was not quite fifteen
years of age but before the end Of that
memorable struggle between the
| North and the South he had participa-
ted in some of its fiercest battles.
On February 4, 1864, when little over
seventeen years old he enlisted as a
private in Company B, First Cavalry
| MieLl gar voluatcare ahich wa mus
| tered into service at ot4l..l. l'h7 t4aop
was dispatched to the front with all
possible haste. He was under General
Sheridan most of the time and was with
that intrepid leader during some of
his daring raids against the Confeder.
ates.
Horse Shot Under Him.
Trooper Blanchard remained in the
army until June %, 1865 when he was
honorably discharged. In one Of the
battles in which he participated his
horse was shot from under him in a
charge and he was thrown to the
ground, the animal falling upon him
and fracturing his leg. He was unable
to extricate himself from under the
horse and was compelled to lie in
this perilous position several hours
before being rescued. The Union
| army was repulsed and forced to re-
treat and Confederate cavalryman
who came dashing past slashed him
in the right arm inflicting an ugly sa.
Der wound The Federals receiving
reinforcements recharged later and
drove the Confederates back and when
picked up by comrades after the battle
he was more dead than alive. He was
placed upon litter and carried off to
the emergency hospital where his in
juries received attention and it was
months thereafter before he was able
to rejoin his troop. The saber wound
left permanent scar.
Locomotive Engineer Many Years.
Mr.. Blanchard followed railroading
as means of livelihood. He became
locomotive fireman and was finally
promoted to the rank of engineer. He
was employed as engineer between
eight and nine years on the Denver
& Rio Grande Railroad, having a run
between this city and Antonito. This
was the position he held prior to his
retirement. He had been offered a
situation as locomotive engineer on the
Santa Fe Central Railway when 1t was
put in operation and had concluded to
accept 1t but just about this time he
sustained stroke of paralysis and
since then had been incapacitated.
Wife Died Three Years Ago.
Santa Fe had been the home of the
deceased for number of years. His
wife died here about three years ago.
The only survivor of the immediate
family is a daughter, Mrs. NJ G. Mil
Ter of this city with whom he had
made his home since the death of his
wife. Mrs. Miller was the only cnild
OF her parents. There are also two
sisters and two brothers surviving,
namely: Mrs. Loretta Findon, of OK
ford, Michigan; Mrs. Julia E. Stroup,
OF Ohio; James Blanchard of Oxford
Michigan, and Frank Blanchard, of
Los Angeles, California.
Buried With Military Honors.
The funeral was held at 2 O'Clock
this afternoon from the residence Of
Mr.. and Mrs. Miller at 215 Garfield
Avenue. Rev. J. W. Mexican, mis-.
sionary of the American Sunday
School Union. whose headquarters