·
Born Herbert Burrell on August 18, 1835 in Nottingham, England
· Later took adopted the name
Albert because he was fond of the Prince Consort (husband of Queen Victoria)
as attested to in a post-war affidavits
· Parents were Benjamin and Catharine
Burrell of Mill Street, Nottingham England
· Baptized September 6, 1835
in a Medieval Church
· Enlisted from Allegheny City
(now Pittsburgh’s Northside) on January 25, 1864 into Company C of the 14th
Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry (159th Volunteer Regiment)
· Listed as 26 years old at the
time of enlistment
· Took part in the Valley Campaign
of 1864
· During this campaign his regiment
earned the nickname “The Barn Burners” and it is they who put the buildings
of VMI in Lexington, Virginia to torch on June 12, 1864
· He was wounded in action on
22 December 1864 (GSW lower left leg) while taking part in the mounted attack
at Liberty Mills, Virginia
· He convalesced
from this wound at the Military Hospital in Philadelphia
· Additional wounds included
loss of hearing in the left ear due to a cannon ball explosion at New Market
and a saber cut over his eyebrow
· Upon the war’s end he went
west with the Regiment and was discharged with them at Fort Leavenworth as
a Corporal on August 24, 1865
· Returned to Allegheny City
where he worked as a laborer
· Married Isabella Hodgson on
May 19, 1866 in her mother’s parlor
· Received Pension number 212,628
for wounds received during service
· Briefly a member of GAR Post
# 230 (Col. James H. Childs Post)
· Died February 11, 1910
· Buried in Civil War section
of Chartiers Cemetery in Carnegie, PA
· His widow died December 24,
1912
· His son’s house is still standing
in the Crafton (west end) section of Pittsburgh
· He is listed on the bronze
Regimental plague at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall (though he is mistakenly
listed as a Sergeant)
· Listed in the unit history
“The Fourteenth Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry in the Civil War” by William
D. Slease (also a member of Company C). This history is still in print
