7/20/14, 1:56 AM The Mystery of the Andersonville Dove - Andersonville National Historic Site (U.S.

National Park Service)

Page 1 of 2 http://www.nps.gov/ande/historyculture/tuttle-dove.htm
The Mystery of the Andersonville
Dove
The setting sun lights up the stone dove placed on top of grave 12,196.
NPS/Andersonville National Historic Site
Rows and rows of identical marble headstones mark the graves of 12,920 Union
soldiers who died at the Andersonville Prison, but one stands out. The headstone is
like the others, except it has a stone dove on top.
Headstone number 12,196 in Section H of the national cemetery marks the grave of
L.S. Tuttle, a Sergeant in company F of the 32nd Maine Infantry Regiment. His
death in the Andersonville stockade on November 30, 1864, resulted from diarrhea,
a common cause of death in the crowded Confederate prison. He was only 29.
Only the barest facts of Tuttle's life are known. Lewis Tuttle was born in Saco,
Maine. Records show that before he was employed as a cooper, making and
repairing wooden barrels. Two brothers also served in the same company and
regiment. Sergeant Tuttle was captured along with his brother David in the
contested crossing of the North Ana River in Virginia on May 19, 1864. David would
also perish at Andersonville and is buried beneath a plain headstone at grave
12,322.
His other brother, Loren, was probably the luckiest of the three. A Confederate
rifleman shot him in the shoulder, which allowed him to be discharged and avoid
the possibility of capture and incarceration at Andersonville. Records do not show
what happened to him after the Civil War.
Lewis Tuttle's military records indicate he was six feet tall, fair-skinned, and had
light hair and gray eyes. He had a wife named Lydia Ann and two daughters, Clara
7/20/14, 1:56 AM The Mystery of the Andersonville Dove - Andersonville National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)
Page 2 of 2 http://www.nps.gov/ande/historyculture/tuttle-dove.htm
Ella and Addie Cora.
For years, visitors have been curious about the origin of the dove. The dove has
been on the marker for many years, but again, no one knows exactly when it first
appeared. There have been many theories as to who put it there and why, but the
dove is still a mystery....
What do you think?
(http://www.doi.gov/)
Last Updated: 07/18/2014