If you would like to read about the family of Jerome Fountain and his brother Hiram, CLICK HERE. If you would like to read the letters written by and to Jerome and Hiram, CLICK HERE.
The military Asylum cemetery/the Soldiers' and airmen's home national cemetery
Jerome Fountain's burial location is listed in the Military Asylum Cemetery in Washington, DC., today known as the Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery. Jerome's headstone was found on Findagrave. Even though the state is misidentified, it most probably is our Jerome.
jerome's gravestone (with the wrong state listed)
The Camp of Instruction
This camp in which Jerome Fountain and the U.S. Sharpshooters were located was in Washington, D.C. Thanks to the Rosenthal brothers we have sketches of this area. The Rosenthal Camp illustrations were used on custom stationary letterheads and envelopes.
The Rosenthals received permission to visit various Camps, sketch them, return to their shop in Philadelphia, create lithographs of the sketches, and then return with the custom stationary to sell to interested soldiers. One scene was done for each Sharpshooter Regiment. They generated lithographs for about 65 different regimental camps. The USSS soldiers remarked that the sketches were fine likenesses of the actual camps.
The 1st Regiment scene shows the position on a hill with the Capitol in the distance. The Second Regiment scene shows the Company Streets with a view of the 1st USSS camp in the left background. Wyman White of Company F, 2nd USSS mentioned that the rear and right corners of the two camps came together, as the 2nd USSS scene shows.
JoAnne P. Miller and Art Ruitberg of Williamsburg, VA, a student of US Sharpshooter history for many years, who supplied the research
(The pictures below are full size so they can be more easily seen.)
The picture below is a piece of the 1st U.S. Sharpshooters stationary that was used on a letter home by Charles W. Seaton of Co. F, 1st USSS (the same unit as Jerome Fountain). Charles marked his tent location, and the 2nd USSS camp was used on the back of the envelope. Both the stationary and envelope had the Rosenthal scenes.
Jerome's commanding officers were in the tent marked 12, along with the Michigan Company C. The other two Michigan companies had not arrived yet in Oct./Nov. 1861 when the scene was sketched. As Seaton described, Jerome's company street would be in line with tent 12.
The picture below is a Rosenthal sketch of the camp where the 2nd regiment of the U.S. Sharpshooters was stationed.
The house visible just behind the 2nd's Camp was identified in his journal as belonging to William Emmert by George A. Marden of Co. G, 2nd USSS. Emmert is described as the owner of this house.
The house seen on the picture (Rosenthal Lithograph) was built of brick and was occupied by Mr. Emmert, "a German, with a small family and Col. Berdan and suite comprising his modest Privite Sec'y., alias 3rd Serg't., Co. G, and a splendid dog "Sport." "Mr. Emmert is a dirty looking Dutchman built, I imagine, like the renowned Wouter Van Twiller as described by Irving. He has a very husky voice and when he comes in to complain about the destruction of his property by the boys, grows pathetic and weeps. He is certainly a martyr for the Union."
Additionally, in William Emmert's property damage claim, he says, "the United States Sharpshooters were camped on his property."
During the GAR Reunion in Washington, DC in 1892, two Co.A, 2nd USSS Sharpshooters visited the Camp of Instruction area and were photographed at the Emmert house.
Below is the Emmert House in 1892
Below is a separate map that also shows where Jerome Fountain is buried.
This map gives good detail of the area occupied by the Sharpshooters, including elevation and landowner names. William Emmert's residence can clearly be seen with the house shown facing southward.
With this we have enough information to position the two Camps on the Boschke map since we know the relative position of the Camps to each other and the position of the 2nd USSS Camp relative to the Emmert house.
The size of the Second Regiment's camp can be estimated by the number of Company Streets and the tent size. It probably occupied about two acres. Since the 1st Regiment had two more companies, it would be slightly larger.
The elevation data on the Boschke map seems to match the slope on both of the Rosenthal sketches. The 2nd's Camp dropping in elevation in the foreground and in the left to right direction (towards downtown.)
