THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 18, 1996 TAG: 9602160627
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: GEORGE TUCKER
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Even though the Southern cause went down in defeat at Appomattox, the Rebels had at least one edge over the victorious Yankees.
The tallest Civil War combatant, Confederate Henry C. Thruston (1830-1909), towered 7 feet, 7 1/2 inches over his comrades in his stocking feet. That was a walloping edge over the Federals, who could only come close to matching Thruston with David Van Buskirk (1826-1886), the ``biggest'' man in the Union Army, whose height is given in the official records as 6 foot, 10 1/2 inches.
A native of South Carolina, Thruston enlisted in the Morgan County Missouri Rangers early in the war with four of his brothers, all 6 1/2 feet or taller. All his soldiering was confined to the western campaigns. Despite his height, which made him a convenient target for sharpshooters, he was unwounded until 1864. Even so, he recovered and continued to battle on until June 1865, when he was paroled. He later moved to Mount Vernon, Texas, where he lived until the first decade of the present century.
Except for his towering stature, Thruston added little color to the four-year national blood bath. Van Buskirk, on the other hand, was a marvelously flamboyant character with intimate Virginia wartime experience.
An Indiana farmer, he was a delegate to the Republican national convention in 1860 that nominated Abraham Lincoln for president. In June 1861, he joined forces with Peter Kopp, a Bloomington, Ind., cobbler who had seen service in the French army, to organize a volunteer company, the principal requirement being that each man be 5 foot, 10 inches or taller.
In September 1861, this unit of giants was mustered into the Federal service as Co. F, 27th Indiana, with Van Buskirk as its second lieutenant. At that time he tipped the scales at 380 pounds.
Transferred to Virginia, Van Buskirk's regiment saw active duty in various places until May 25, 1862, when it met defeat at the Battle of Winchester during ``Stonewall'' Jackson's Valley Campaign.
Van Buskirk was then sent to Libby Prison in Richmond, but he didn't languish there long. His amazing size kicked up so much attention he was soon receiving regular visits from the curious. One of these was none other than Confederate President Jefferson Davis, whose leg Van Buskirk obviously enjoyed pulling.
When Davis inquired concerning other members of Van Buskirk's family, he answered: ``Back in Bloomington, Indiana, I have six sisters. When they told me good-bye, as I was standing with my company, they all walked up, leaned down and kissed me on the top of my head.''
Meanwhile, so many people were trying to get passes to see Van Buskirk, an enterprising Rebel offered to put him on public exhibition for a profit. From then on, Van Buskirk became the nightly one-man attraction of a downtown freak show in which Richmonders paid to take a gander at the ``Giant Yankee.''
By then, Van Buskirk had gained weight, topping the scales at over 400 pounds, his being fed being part of the deal he had made with the barker. As a result, while his fellow officers stagnated and starved in Libby, Van Buskirk made ``all he could eat'' a stipulation for being gawked at.
But Van Buskirk's attraction as a freak only lasted four months. In September 1862 he was exchanged and returned to his old regiment as its captain. He subsequently fought at the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Following the latter, he was assigned with his regiment to New York City to prevent further draft riots.
Van Buskirk continued his military career until April 1864, when he resigned his commission because of rheumatism and returned to his farm in Indiana. Even so, his fame had not quite faded, for P.T. Barnum - the great showman whose motto was ``There's a sucker born every minute'' - offered to take him on as an attraction. Although Van Buskirk was sorely tempted, he declined the offer and lived until 1886, when he died of blood poisoning.
At that time a special coffin had to be made to contain his giant body, but when it was delivered it couldn't be gotten into the house. The problem was eventually solved by cutting an oversized opening in the outside wall through which the casket could be passed.
As an interesting footnote, Van Buskirk married three times and sired six children. All of them, including two daughters, grew up to be over 6 feet tall. by CNB