George Henry Bangs

Antietam, MD. Seated: R. William Moore and Allan Pinkerton. Standing: George Henry Bangs, John C. Babcock, and Augustus K. Littlefield

There is nothing more exciting than coming across family members across time.

Recently I came across the photograph above. I had seen it before in books about the American Civil War but never realized there was a Bangs family member pictured. George Henry Bangs, the gaunt looking figure standing in the left of the photograph, was Allan Pinkerton’s “right-hand man”. Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish-American detective and American spy. Some say he invented “shadowing” and undercover work. Whether he did or not, he did serve as the head of the Union Intelligence Service during the first two years of the Civil War. During that period he foiled an assassination plot while guarding Abraham Lincoln on his way to Washington, D.C. George, clearly overshadowed by his mentor Mr. Pinkerton, was no less important to the fledgling detective industry. In 1866, when Pinkerton opened his Philadelphia office, he made George the general superintendent of all his offices.

George Henry Bangs was born 06 Jun 1831 in Augusta, Maine to Josiah Dennis Bangs and Pauline Augusta Brooks. He died 12 Sep 1883 in Roselle, New Jersey.

What makes this connection important to me is that my wife and I lived 15 miles from the Antietam Battlefield. For three years I was stationed at the Coast Guard Operations Systems Center in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Not only did we visit Antietam on many occasions, I ran my first 26.2 mile marathon right through the battlefield and most likely jogged right past the spot on which this photo was taken.

George Henry Bangs is my 6th cousin, 4 times removed.

Life is full of little coincidences, huh?