JAMES H. NESMITH - Serving
three years and taking an active part in forty-five engagements of the
Civil War and yet never receiving so much as a scratch is the
remarkable record of James H. Nesmith, the subject of this sketch. If
Comrade Nesmith had been fighting against Indians, he would have been
credited by the superstitions red men with the possession of a
charmed life, and their medicine men would most probably have
sought his acquaintance to learn the marvelous secret of is
immunity. Alert and vigorous today at the age of seventy-six, Mr.
Nesmith is himself given to wonder at his experience, and counts it as
a part of the remarkable chances of war unexplainable except on the
score of sheer good luck or the guiding hand of a good providence which
led him always just the narrow distance away from the fatal point,
while comrades just as good as he fell wounded to the death on the
right hand and the left. He was witness of the fall, mortally wounded,
from their horses of several sergeants of his company, and personally
helped to catch two poor fellows in their descent of
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death.
Mr.
Nesmith enlisted August 20, 1862, in Company F, Fourteenth
Pennsylvania, Staunton Light Cavalry, and was honorably discharged at
Alexandria, Virginia, May 30, 1865, taking part in the final grand
review at Washington, D. C., in which he had the privilege of being
both a participant and a spectator, his personal friend, the provost
marshal, having secured him a permit to witness the review after his
own company had passed. Mr. Nesmith has kept a daily diary of the
events of his life, including the experiences of his company in the
Civil war. From this we have been permitted to make the following
schedule of the engagements in which he took part:
Lynchburg,
Virginia, Jan 18, 1863; Buckingham, Virginia, June 13, 1863; Beverly,
West Virginia, July 3, 1863; Huntsville, West Virginia, July 4, 1863p
Hedgeville, West Virginia, July 19, 1863; Union Springs, West Virginia,
Aug 24, 1863; Rocky Gap, West Virginia, Aug 26-27, 1863; Salem Raid,
Dec 8, 1863; Wytheville, May 10, 1864; Union, May 13, 1864; Lynchburg,
Jun 17-18, 1864; Libet, Jun 19, 1864; Bunker Hill, Jun 26, 1864;
Darksville, Jul 2, 1864; Snicker Gap, ul 18, 1864; Newtown, Virginia,
July 22, 1864; ernstown, Virginia, Jul 24, 1864; Martinsburg, Virginia,
Jul 25, 1864; Clear Springs, VA, Jul 29, 1864; McConnelsburg,
Pennsylvania, Jul 31, 1864; Shepardstown, Aug 3, 1864; Antietam Ford,
Aug 4, 1864; Morfield, West Virginia, Aug 7, 1864; Winchester, Aug 11,
1864; White Post, Aug 12, 1864; Martinsburg, Aug 31, 1864; Darksville,
Sep 3, 1864; Bunker Hill, Sep 5, 1864; Darksville, Sept 10, 1865; Stone
Bridge, Sep 18, 1864; Opaquan, Sep 19, 1864; Fishers Hill, Sep 21, 22,
1864; Forestville, Sep 24, 1864; Mt. Crawford, Sep 25, 1864; Wyers
Cave, Sep 26-27, 1864; Mt. Jackson, Oct 3, 1864; Cedar Creek, Oct 19,
1864; Milford, Duray Valley, Oct 26 – Nov 12, 1864; Ninevah, Nov 12,
1864; Mt. Jackson, Nov 22, 1864; Milwood, Dec 17, 1864; Madison Lt.
House, dec 21-22, 1864; Liberty Mills, Dec 27, 1864; Mt. Carmel Church
and Ashby Gap, Feb 17, 1865. In the latter engagement his brother, John
H. Nesmith, was severely wounded.
James H. Nesmith is a native
of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, his birthday being November 5, 1835.
He was well educated in the common schools of the day, and on reaching
his majority took up the trade of shoemaking. This business he has
followed the major portion of his life. In 1856, he and a companion
left Mansfield, Ohio, in a covered wagon drawn by two stout horses,
enroute to the new state of Iowa. They passed through Iowa City, and on
the night of November 4th, camped near Fort Dodge. Coincidentally, this
was the eve of our subject’s twenty first birthday anniversary and also
the eve of the presidential election. Mr. Nesmith was allowed to cast
his first presidential vote in the little town of Homer, Iowa, the law
not then specifying any fixed time of prior residence. This first vote
of the future soldier of the Union was cast for General John C.
Fremont, the leader of the anti-slavery forces, who, in spite of his
popular majority of 115, 868, was beaten in the electoral college by
James Buchanan. Mr. Nesmith remained one year in Iowa and in the winter
of 1857, returned to Pennsylvania, where he followed his trade until
the breaking out of the great Civil War. At the close of the rebellion,
he returned to Pennsylvania, where he continued working at his trade
until 1869.
The memory of that one year spent in the virgin
state of Iowa, however, still lingered seductively with him, and this,
coupled with the fact that his brother John H had removed thence and
become a prosperous farmer in York Township, Iowa County, decided him
once more to cast his fortunes with the Hawkeye state. He became a
farmer in York Township, where he resided until 1876, when he removed
to the town of Oxford, where he became interested in town property and
where he has acquired a comfortable competence for his declining years.
He still works at his trade, however, during the fall and winter. A
view of his cozy residence near the high school appears in connection
with this sketch. He recalls, with some pride, the fact that he has
seen this beautiful high school building develop from a two-room frame
and a four-room brick to its present capacity of six rooms and every
modern appliance. Mr. Nesmith has taken an active interest in
educational matters in Oxford, having served on the board of education
for thirteen years, a period of most pleasant memories. In connection
with his humble work of shoemaking, Mr. Nesmith performs the duties of
notary public and fire warden.
He has always taken an active
interest in the development of Oxford, the growth of which from the
date of its laying out to the current year he has witnessed. His first
office in the town was that of constable, and his next that of marshal.
At the time of his incumbency in the latter office, there were nine
saloons in the town, and much roughness prevailed owing to a floating
foreign population. At the end of June, 1911, the town became dry.
In
politics, Mr. Nesmith is a “stand-pat” Republican. He has served as a
delegate to county conventions and is a member of the county central
committee. His knowledge of military affairs has made him a valuable
man in the settlement of pensions for most of the old soldiers of his
section. He has a complete record of all vouchers, taken from the
official record. Mr. Nesmith holds the record for membership in the
Masonic lodge of Oxford, in which he is an able worker and greatly
respected. He was commander and secretary of George A. Remley Post,
G.A.R., which is now disbanded, owing to depletion in membership. His
church affiliation is with the Methodist Protestant denomination.
Mr.
Nesmith was married in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, to Miss Sarah J.
Wyatt daughter of Aaron Wyatt. Eight children were born to them, of
whom six are living. Thirteen grandchildren and one great grandchild
swell the number of his posterity. The names of the surviving children
are: Nancy, widow of John Nesmith, resides at Wilmar, Iowa; James, Jr.,
unmarried, resides at Oxford, employed in the steam shovel department
C. R. I. & P.R. R. ; Mary, wife of Ed Linkhardt, a prominent farmer
of Oxford township; Thomas, married to Flora Schmidt, of Kellogg, Iowa;
Libbie, wife of Robert Sherlock, son of the county supervisor of Iowa
County.
Text
& Photo Source: Leading Events in Johnson County by Aurner,
Clarence Ray, Western Historical Press, 1912, pgs. 392 - 396)
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