‘Gettysburg’ star Jeff Daniels unearths ancestral connection to battle
By Melissa A. Winn
Jeff Daniels poses with his Emmy during the 70th Emmy Awards in 2018. (Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images)
On the January 10 episode of PBS’ “Finding Your Roots” actor Jeff Daniels learned he had an ancestor who not only served during the Civil War, but actually fought at the Battle of Gettysburg. Daniels won acclaim for his role as Joshua Chamberlain in the 1993 movie Gettysburg.
“Your great-great grandfather volunteered to defend the Union,” stated host Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
“Yes!” Daniels responded. “Way to be.”
Jeff Daniels sitting in concentration in a scene from the 1993 film 'Gettysburg'. (New Line Cinema/Getty Images)
On the show, Daniels learned that one of his grandfathers, Melvin H. Storms, fought at the Battle of Gettysburg with the famed Iron Brigade.
Storms served in Company D of the 24th Michigan and was captured on July 1, 1863. He was 21 years of age. Both he and his brother, Abram, subsequently survived Andersonville prison.