Baade,
Johann 'John' George
John Baade was born in the Mecklenburg area of
northern Germany on January 3, 1842 but, by 185 7,
was working as a young farm hand in Garnavillo.
On August 5, 1862 he enlisted at National as a
Private in what would be Company B of the 21st
Regiment of the Iowa Volunteer Infantry, a unit then
being raised in Iowa's northeastern counties, its 3rd
Congressional District. John was described as being
5' 8" tall with blue eyes, flaxen hair and a
light complexion. The Company was mustered in on
August 18th and the regiment on September 9th, both
in Dubuque where training, minimal at best, was
received at Camp Franklin (formerly known as Camp
Union), On September 16, 1862, they left for war.
Except for a few brief bouts of illness, John
maintained his health better than most who served in
the western theater. After initial service in
Missouri (Rolla, Salem, Houston, Hartville, West
Plains, Ironton, Iron Mountain, Ste. Genevieve), the
regiment was transported down the Mississippi to
Milliken's Bend where General Grant was organizing a
massive army to capture the Confederate stronghold at
Vicksburg. Assigned to a corps led by General
McClernand, the regiment moved south through bayous
and swamps west of the river. When a planned crossing
at Grand Gulf proved unfeasible, the army continued
south and, on April 30, 1863 crossed to the
Bruinsburg landing on the east bank.
The first regiment to cross was assigned to high
ground above the landing so it could sound the alarm
if the enemy approached. The second regiment, the
21st Iowa, was ordered to move inland and to continue
moving until fired upon. The orders were ominous, but
they did as instructed and, about midnight, drew
first fire near the residence of Abram Shaifer. The
two sides exchanged gunfire only a short time before
resting for the night.
The next day, May 1, 1863, John Baade was with the
regiment as it fought the day-long Battle of Port
Gibson. On May 16th they were present, but held in
reserve, during the Battle of Champion's Hill.
Rotated to the front on the 17th, they were in a
four-regiment brigade that met entrenched
Confederates at the Big Black River. An assault was
ordered and, in three minutes, the Confederates were
routed, but the regiment had suffered heavy
casualties. While other reports differ, an analysis
of National Archive documents show that the correct
number was seven killed, eighteen fatally wounded,
and thirty-eight non-fatally wounded. By May 22,
1863, they had reached the Union line at the rear of
Vicksburg where they participated in that day's
assault on the city. Casualties in the regiment were
twenty-three killed, twelve fatally wounded, and
forty-eight non-fatally wounded. Again, John Baade
was uninjured and he remained with the regiment
throughout the ensuing siege and during an expedition
to, and siege of, Jackson, Mississippi.
On September 1, 1863 they were camped at Carrollton,
Louisiana, when John received a thirty-day furlough
to go north on a surgeon's certificate of disability.
Like most others, he was late returning but
eventually reached the regiment at Matagorda Island,
Texas, on March 30, 1864, just in time for a prayer
meeting held that night in the surgeon's tent. John
was returned to duty without punishment and served
with the regiment for the balance of its service in
Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and in Alabama during the
campaign to capture the city of Mobile. On July 15,
1865 they were mustered out at Baton Rouge and, on
July 24th, were discharged from the military at
Clinton, Iowa.
On March 10, 1870, twenty-eight year old John Baade
married Doris Krambeer (also known as Anna Maria
Dorothea Krambeer and Dorista Krambier). John said
they had four children - Johann Friedrich Heinrich
born May 26, 1871, Gustave Johann Carl born July 20,
1972, Ida Bertha Elizabeth born August 7, 1875, and
Johann Fredrich Heinrich born March 14, 1876.
Doris died in 1876 and, on December 30th of that
year, John married Maria Hoth in the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in the mostly-German community of
Clayton Centre. They would have eleven children
Mathilde "Tillie" Caroline Marie born
November 3, 1877, Heinrich "Henry" Joachim
Johan born March 8, 1879, Louisa Wilhelmina Elizabeth
born on October 8, 1880, Arthur August Friedrich born
January 28, 1883 (or 1884), Theodore Johann Wilhelm
born October 10, 1885, William "Willie"
Heinrich Carl born March 4 (or March 5), 1888, Atha
"Etta" Doris Friedricke born October 20,
1890, George John born September 3, 1892 (or 1891),
Jenne "Jennie" August Friedericke born
March 16, 1893(or1894), Laura born July 25 (or July
20), 1895, and Leona Wilhelmine born August 31, 1897.
All of the above names and dates, must be regarded as
somewhat approximate since, even though reported by
John, they sometimes varied from one document to
another.
Many soldiers were suffering from wounds or illnesses
when they returned to their families, but John Baade
did better than most as he and Maria worked a farm
about one mile southeast of Froelich. It was not
until July 22, 1890 that John asked the Department of
the Interior's Pension Office for an invalid pension.
By then he was forty-eight years old and said he was
partially unable to earn a living by manual labor due
to asthma, chronic diarrhoea (an illness that had
killed at least sixty-five men while still on the
regiment's muster rolls) and general debility. His
claim was supported by two ofhis neighbors, Conrad
Butts and C. E. Nichols, who said John was "a
man ofgood character and steady habits" and
appeared to be suffering as he claimed. He was
examined by a board of pension surgeons in McGregor
and, on July 29, 1891, one year after the application
was filed, he was approved for a monthly pension of
$8.00.
John continued to work, one by one his children were
married, and before long John was a grandfather. His
pension, now age-based, was gradually increased to
$12.00, then $24.00 and eventually to $72.00 monthly,
an amount he was still receiving when he died on
November 2, 1929 at eighty-six years of age. He was
buried in Monona Cemetery.
Later that month, Maria applied for payment of John's
pension that had accrued but not yet been paid when
he died and for her own widow's pension. With
affidavits from friends and neighbors who knew them,
Maria was able to prove she had married John, they
had not divorced, and she had not remarried after his
death. On April 12, 1930 a $69.60 check was mailed to
cover John's accrued pension and on April 14, 1930 a
check was mailed to Maria for $132.00 as her own
widow's pension. Maria died on March 23, 1943
(elsewhere 1944) and was buried with her husband in
Monona Cemetery.~*~*~
Barber,
William Clayton
The son of Josiah W. and Marjane E. Barber, William
Clayton Barber was born on August 31, 1843, in
Clayton County. The 1882 county history says he was
born in Farmersburg Township but William, in a sworn
affidavit and elsewhere, said he was born in
Garnavillo. A brother, Quincy, was born in 1847 and
another brother, Henry, in 1848.
During the Civil War, on August 20, 1862, at
Millville, he was enrolled by McGregor postmaster
Willard Benton as a private in the military. They
were mustered in as Company G on August 22nd at
Dubuque and, with nine other companies, were mustered
in on September 9th as the 21st regiment of
Iowas volunteer infantry. William was described
as being 5' 9¼ tall with blue eyes, brown hair
and a light complexion. Like most others in the
regiment, he had been working as a farmer prior to
enlistment.
The regiment, crowded on board the Henry Clay
and two barges tied alongside, left for war on
September 16th and saw early service in Missouri.
After one night in St. Louis, they traveled by rail
to Rolla and then walked to Salem, Houston and
Hartville but, when a wagon train carrying supplies
was attacked on November 24, 1862, they returned to
the safer confines of Houston. They were still there
when word was received that a Confederate force was
advancing on Springfield. A relief force was quickly
assembled but, on the way to Springfield, it met the
enemy in a one-day battle on January 11, 1863, at
Hartville. After returning to Houston, they moved
south to West Plains and then northeast to
Thomasville, Ironton and Iron Mountain. On March 11,
1863, they walked sixteen miles and camped on a ridge
north of Ste. Genevieve on the Mississippi River.
Except for a short case of the measles when they were
in Rolla, William maintained his health well and
continued with the regiment when they went downstream
to Millikens Bend where General Grant, intent
on capturing the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg,
was organizing a large three-corps army.
Serving under General McClernand, they walked and
waded along roads, through swamps and across bayous
west of the river until, on April 30, 1863, they
crossed to Bruinsburg, Mississippi. That night, they
were the point regiment as the army started inland
and, about midnight, they drew first fire near the
Shaifer residence. After a brief exchange of gunfire
in total darkness, men on both sides rested for
several hours and tried to sleep. The next day, May
1st, they participated in the one-day battle of Port
Gibson in which three of Williams comrades
suffered fatal wounds.
Grant moved farther inland after the battle, drove
the enemy to and through Jackson and then, having
protected the rear of his army, changed direction and
headed for Vicksburg. On May 16th, most of his army
was engaged in battle at Champions Hill. Both
sides suffered heavily, but the 21st Iowa, restrained
by General McClernand, was held out of the battle.
Late in the day, Companies A and B were permitted to
do some skirmishing, protect prisoners and help
gather arms, but many felt humiliated that they had
been ordered to stand idle while others died.
The next day they were rotated to the front and, with
the 23rd Iowa, led an assault on a Confederate line
at the Big Black River. The successful assault lasted
only three minutes, but the regiment had seven killed
in action, eighteen more with fatal wounds, and at
least forty with non-fatal wounds. While other
regiments moved to Vicksburg and began to encircle
the rear of the city, the 21st and 23rd Iowa were
allowed to rest and care for their casualties.
A May 19th assault at Vicksburg was unsuccessful and
General Grant ordered another for the 22nd. By then
the regiment was present. An initial artillery
barrage was followed by an assault along a three and
one-half mile front. Men in Company B were held back
as sharpshooters, but all other companies
participated in an attack on the railroad redoubt in
front of them. This, like the assault three days
earlier, was unsuccessful and regimental casualties
were worse than those incurred at the Big Black:
twenty-three killed, twelve fatally wounded and at
least forty-eight with non-fatal wounds. At the end
of the day, many were left on the field - some dead,
some dying, some with serious wounds - and there they
remained until the 25th when Confederate General
Pemberton proposed to Grant "in the name of
humanity ... a cessation of hostilities for two hours
and a half, that you may be enabled to remove your
dead and dying men."
Among the living, carried from the field by four
members of the company after more than two days
without food or water, was William Barber. Nelson
Reynolds, his Millville neighbor, accompanied William
as he was taken to the field hospital and watched as
William was laid on a table and Dr. Orr administered
chloroform while a second doctor worked on the wound.
Medicine was injected "that caused a large
quantity of maggots to come from the wound," but
the surgeon was unable to locate the musket ball and
it would have to stay where it was, somewhere in
William's hip. On June 4th, Jim Bethard, a friend
from Grand Meadow Township, wrote to his wife,
Caroline Bethard: "Wm Barber was severely
wounded and has gone up the river to what point I do
not know."
William had been taken to the Gayoso U. S. Army
General Hospital in Memphis and there he would remain
for many months. On February 12, 1864, he was
returned to duty but, by then, his regiment was in
Texas and it was March 16th before he reached his
comrades. On the 24th, Jim Bethard wrote: "Wm
Barber is quite sick at present with a fever caused
by the inflamation of his old wound received at
vicksburg last spring the ball is working out toward
the surface and the doctor thinks he can cut out
after a while."
Unfortunately, the embedded musket ball continued to
cause problems, an abscess developed over the hip
joint, and the surgeon had to lance it along the
lower edge. On May 1st, Jim Bethard wrote again:
"Wm Barber has had quite a serious time with his
old wound but was getting better yesterday I have not
seen him this morning the wound inflamed and swelled
up causing a fever and he has been quite sick for
about a week the doctor probed his thigh on the back
part and it has discharged a great deal of matter and
he is getting along finely now but it is my opinion
that he will never be of any account in the army. On
May 8th he wrote: "Wm Barber has had quite a
serious time with his old wound but he is getting
along verry well now he has got so that he walks
around without any cain.
Despite Jims comments, Dr. Orr finally decided
that William was incapable of performing the
duties of a soldier because of lameness.
William was discharged at Algiers, Louisiana, and, on
July 24th, Jim wrote: "Wm Barber has got his
discharge and started home last friday he was in good
health when he started As it is I am glad to see him
out of the service but if he was all right I should
like to have him with us Bill is a good boy and I
think I may safely say he has not an enemy in the
21st Iowa he intended to stop in Illinois and take
his Grandmother home with him I hope he will get
through all right."
That fall, gravity caused the ball to slowly work its
way closer to the surface. On October 15, 1864, it
was removed by a doctor and William was presented
with a souvenir, flattened considerably by
reason of the same striking the hip bone."
On April 4, 1867, he married Izora Hutchins, still a
month short of her seventeenth birthday, at her
fathers home in Monona Township. A daughter,
Nellie, was born April 12, 1868, in the community
then known as Gem in Marion Township. Nellie was
followed by Dow DeLoss Barber on December 25, 1869,
Peter Thaddeus Barber on June 23, 1872, and William
Ray Willie Barber on April 11, 1882.
Meanwhile, on November 26, 1870, William gave his
Post Office address as Gem when he applied for an
invalid pension. With former comrades Maple Moody and
Tim Hopkins as witnesses and Willard Benton signing a
supportive affidavit, William said he had tried to
resume farming, but was disabled by the old gunshot
wound. Surprisingly, an examining surgeon said the
disability was originally a simple flesh gun
shot wound and Williams leg was
perfect. A pension was denied, but
William persisted. Another surgeon felt William was
three-fourths disabled from earning a living by
manual labor, but the Adjutant Generals office
said returns do not show him wounded as
alleged. Finally, in 1875, he was awarded a
$3.00 monthly pension. Subsequent applications gave
his address as Luana, Iowa, in 1876, 1880 and 1883.
In 1884 he joined McGregors Hervey Dix Post of
the GAR, but in 1886 said he was living in Gem. In
1887 he moved to Nebraska where he lived initially in
Dawes County and then for many years in Sheridan
County.
From there, William and Izora moved to the far west
and in 1913 were living in Pasadena, California.
William was receiving a $21.50 monthly pension and
living at 531 Olive Avenue, Long Beach, when he died
on December 9, 1916. William was buried in the nearby
Sunnyside Cemetery, 1905 East Willow Street, Long
Beach.
![William C. Barber gravestone - contributed by Carl Ingwalson](WCBarber_gravestone.jpg)
Two weeks later, still living in Long Beach, Izora
applied for a widows pension with her son, Dow
D. Barber as a witness. To prove that she had been
married to William, she secured an affidavit from his
brother, Quincy Barber and Quincys wife,
Luretta, both of whom had attended the marriage more
than fifty years earlier. A pension was granted, but
Izora eventually moved back to Nebraska and lived
with her son, Peter Barber, who was a dentist in
Omaha. Izora died on August 8, 1835. Peter arranged
for her burial in Long Beach and paid the $25.38
charge for her interment in Sunnyside Cemetery. Dow
D. Barber died in Alliance, Nebraska, in 1955 and
Peter died in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1960. Nellie
died young but her burial and that of Willie have not
been located.
~*~*~
Benton,
Willard A.
Willard A. Benton was born in Afton, New York, on
December 3, 1829, learned the tanner and currier's
trade, worked in California gold fields, traveled in
Australia and Ecuador, was shipwrecked off the
California coast on October 1, 1854, spent a year in
San Francisco, returned to New York, moved to Iowa in
1856, and returned again to New York where, on August
26, 1857, he was married to Anna Marian (aka Maria)
Buck.
Moving to McGregor, he ran a market garden for two
years before being appointed Postmaster in 1860. The
federal census of that year included William, his
wife, and their two-year old daughter, Nellie, who
would die at age three. On April 12, 1861,
Confederate artillery fired on Fort Sumter and, less
than two months later, on June 2d, a son, Elmer, was
born to Willard and his wife.
On August 11, 1862 thirty-two year old Willard Benton
was appointed as a Captain and charged with raising a
Company in the northeastern counties. Physically, he
was described as being 5' 9½' tall with grey eyes,
black hair and a dark complexion, and he worked
quickly to secure enlistments. He enrolled thirteen
men on the 12th and three on the 13th, but time was
short if the draft were to be avoided.
On Thursday and Friday, August 14th and 15th,
McGregor was abuzz with excitement as enlistments
soared. Joining on the 14th were farmers John Ano,
William Wallace Farrand, John Kain (aka Kane),
Christopher Kellogg, Andrew "Judge"
Lawrence, Henry Lewis, Edward Murray, Edward
Patterson, Robert Pettis, Nelson Reynolds, Oliver
Shull (who also worked as a painter), James Withrow,
and Sam Withrow. With them were Dan Donahue who had
been working as a steward and porter, laborer Tyler
Featherly, and musician Tim Hopkins. On the 15th, the
ranks were further increased when farmers John Birch,
Pat Burns (who also worked as a shoemaker), John
Carpenter, Smith Chernois, John Conant, Thomas
Daniels, William Dunn. Orlen Gates, William Johns,
Peter Mcintyre, Linus Line McKinnie,
Maple Moody, George Moore, Knute Nelson, George
Penhollow and Charles Wilson enlisted. Joining them
were John Conant, a sailor and musician, and barber
William Reed.
On August 22, 1862, at Dubuque, they were mustered in
as Company G and, on September 9th, the regiment was
mustered into service. They started south on
September 16, 1862 going first to St. Louis by
steamer and from there to Rolla by rail. At Salem on
October 20th, Willard received his commission and
took the oath of office, swearing to ''faithfully
discharge the duties of Captain."
On January 11, 1863 he participated in a daylong
battle at Hartville, Missouri, and he was with the
regiment as it moved through the Ozarks of Missouri
and worked its way to the Mississippi River at Ste.
Genevieve.
On April 7, 1863, when the regiment was on its way
from from Memphis to Millikens Bend, a
correspondent of the North Iowa Times wrote
that he had visited with officers of the regiment and
met a worthy citizen of McGregor, Capt. Benton,
who quietly pursues the even tenor of his way, and
will doubtless make his mark if a secesh should cross
his path.
From there they moved south on the west side of the
river as part of General Grant's massive army intent
on capturing the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg.
They crossed to the east bank on April 30th and, on
May 1st, Willard led his company during the Battle of
Port Gibson. That night he "went into camp late
without blankets or blouse (his blankets having been
taken to be used in the hospital at Magnolia Church
& blouse lost during the battle)." By
morning he had "a severe cold and it settled on
his bowels." As his condition worsened, the
Surgeon certified that Willard was "suffering
from nervous derangement attended with general
debility which unfits him for active service."
Willard tendered his resignation ''for the good of
the service as well as my own life and health"
and, on May 26th, it was accepted by Colonel Merrill
who was, himself incapacitated by a severe wound
received nine days earlier while leading the regiment
in an assault at the Big Black River.
Returning to McGregor, Willard took a contract
furnishing ties for the narrow gauge railroad. On
November 4, 1863, the North Iowa Times
reported that Willard has committed a raid on
the orchards of Michigan and in company with Met
Lampson he has captured 1200 Barrels of Applies of
the choicest fruit.- Most of them are now in
Lampsons cellar. We are told the Captain will
be authorized to receive volunteers under the new
call. With President Lincoln calling for more
volunteers, the North Iowa Times reported on
November 18, 1863, that Wisconsin was drafting
soldiers with great activity and it might
be necessary in Iowa unless the people rouse to
the necessities of the occasion and bend every nerve
to the work of filling our quota. Capt. Willard A.
Benton is now ready to enrol volunteers and subsist
them. In 1873, Willard was elected County
Sheriff, a position he held for "six years, and
never failed to take his man; never let one get
away."
On June 17, 1886, suffering from service-related
chronic diarrhea and other ailments he applied for an
invalid pension. Five months later he signed an
affidavit supporting the pension application of Sam
Withrow who was, at the time, represented by Lime
Springs pension attorney George Van Leuven, Jr. Van
Leuven had an excellent reputation. He had references
from a U.S. Senator, members of Congress, attorney
Thomas Updegraff of McGregor, and many others. He was
generally credited with being "the most
successful pension agent in the state." Several
years later, with his own application languishing,
Willard Benton hired Van Leuven who soon learned that
Willard's application was based merely on an
affidavit from Colonel Merrill and another from
McGregor resident Lucius Edgerton. Merrill, however,
had relied on hearsay when he approved Willard's
discharge and Edgerton had not worked with Willard
until several years after the war. What was needed,
said the Commissioner, was evidence from a surgeon or
comrade who served with Willard and had
contemporaneous personal knowledge of the origin and
extent of his suffering.
That was no problem for Mr. Van Leuven. Two weeks
after learning what was needed, he had a sworn
affidavit from one of Willard's comrades who was then
living in Colorado. On July 6, 1892 the affidavit was
filed with the Pension Office, on March 3, 1892
Grover Cleveland started his second term as
President, on April 13, 1893 William Lochren became
the new Pension Commissioner, and on May 22, 1893 Van
Leuven was arrested. His extraordinary success had
not gone unnoticed to the President or Commissioner.
Van Leuven was indicted and charged with pension
fraud - securing perjured affidavits from comrades of
applicants and bribing or attempting to bribe
surgeons responsible for examining pension
applicants. Claims of his clients were immediately
suspect. Special examinations were ordered of
witnesses. New medical examinations were required and
Willard's Colorado comrade was contacted.
With Willard and his attorney both in Iowa, how had
Van Leuven so quickly located a comrade almost 900
miles away with the requisite knowledge of Willard's
wartime condition? The special examiner thought the
affidavit was "written in the usual Van Leuven
form, and appears to have been prepared in the office
of Geo. M Van Leuven and copied by someone."
When asked for the source of his knowledge, Willard's
comrade said merely that "he believes he is
aiding a deserving soldier to obtain pension."
On March 26, 1894, Willard's wife died. She was
buried in McGregor's Pleasant Grove Cemetery while
the investigation of Willard's claim continued. From
January through October, witnesses were examined,
medical exams were conducted, and new affidavits were
secured. During a deposition in October, Willard
testified that he "never knew until this
week that his Colorado comrade had signed an
affidavit more than two years earlier. It was the
creation of the now-disgraced George van Leuven who,
somehow, had known of Willard's comrade without ever
talking to Willard. Nevertheless, Willard's claim was
legitimate, it was approved, and, on November 22nd, a
Certificate was issued entitling him to an invalid
pension of $5.00 per month. On December 15th, Van
Leuven was convicted, fined, and sentenced.
Willard continued living in McGregor, engaged in
farming, dealt in wood, became a Mason, and joined
the Ancient Order of United Workman. His pension was
increased to $10.00 in 1898 and $12.00 in 1904.
On September 10, 1905 Willard Benton, "whose
life was one of great adventure," died in a
Prairie du Chien sanitarium at seventy-five years of
age. He was buried with Anna Maria in Pleasant Grove
Cemetery where an engraved stone reads:
BENTON
Capt. W. A. Benton
Dec. 3, 1829 - Sep. 9, 1905
Anna Maria
wife of
W.A. Benton
June 11, 1834 - Mar. 26, 1894
Nearby is a small stone for "Elmer,"
their son.
~*~*~
Bethard,
James
Dover Township is on the eastern boundary of Union
County, Ohio. Land is generally flat with dark,
productive soil good for farming, but many of its
early residents were attracted to less expensive land
in the west. At the request of his church, Fortner
Mather moved from Union County to Clayton County in
1853 to serve as pastor of the Clayton County
Episcopal Church. His brothers -Darius, Squire,
Sterling and John - would soon join him. Their Ohio
neighbors, Joel and Sarah Rice, also moved to Clayton
County. With them were their six children -George,
James, Caroline, Robert, Marshall and Tero. Following
the Rice family, or at least Caroline Rice, was
another Ohio neighbor, Jim Bethard.
Jim was born on October 11, 1837; Caroline on June 9,
1841. On January 27, 1859, Jim and Caroline (he
called her "Cal") were married. They made
their home along Roberts Creek in Grand Meadow
Township not far from Cal's five brothers and her
cousins, the Mather brothers.
Jim and Cal lost their first child when their
daughter, May Belle, died as an infant, but, on June
9, 1862, another daughter, Nellie Charity
"Ella" Bethard, was born. By then the Civil
War had been underway for more than year. Major
battles had been fought and many men had died. On
July 9, 1862 President Lincoln issued a call for
another 300,000.
Answering the call on August 11th, Jim Bethard, Jim
Rice and John Mather enlisted. Three of their friends
joined them -Robert Pool on the 11th, David Shuck on
the 12th, and Frank Farrand on the 13th. On August
16th they were ordered into quarters at
Dubuques Camp Franklin and, on August 18th,
these six men, the self-styled "Roberts Creek
Crowd," were mustered into Company B of a
regiment still being recruited.
On September 9, 1862, with all ten companies of
acceptable strength, they were mustered in as the
21st Regiment of Iowas Volunteer Infantry.
Knowing they would soon be leaving for war and unable
to get a furlough, Jim Bethard and Jim Rice wrote a
joint letter to Cal indicating they "would be
verry pleased to have you come and see us before we
leave." On the 12th, Cal and baby Ella
(Jims little jade) boarded a
steamer in McGregor and went downstream. Cal no doubt
had an enjoyable, but somewhat apprehensive, visit
with her husband, brother, cousin and many friends,
but before long it was time to leave. Cal took an
evening steamer back to McGregor and, on the 16th,
loaded down with Enfield muskets, knapsacks,
haversacks, and other accessories, they crowded onto
the steamer Henry Clay and two barges lashed to its
side and left for war.
They went first to Missouri - St. Louis, Rolla,
Salem, Houston, Hartville and back to Houston.
Thats where they were on January 3, 1863 when
Jim wrote to Cal, I dreamed last night that I
was at home and saw you leading our Ella around the
house by the hand. A few days later word was
received that Confederate infantry was heading for
Springfield. A relief force was quickly assembled.
Included were twenty-five volunteers from each of the
regiment's ten companies, ten company officers, and
their Lieutenant Colonel. They were accompanied by a
similar number from an Illinois regiment. The entire
force was led by Colonel Merrill of the 21st
Infantry. They spent the night of January 10, 1863
camped west of Hartville, met the Confederates early
the next morning, and fought a one-day battle in the
town of Hartville. They arrived back in Houston, by
way of Lebanon, on the 15th and, the next day, Jim
wrote to Cal. "You will no doubt hear of the
battle of Hartsville before this letter and will of
course be uneasy." He was, he said, "the
only one of the Roberts Creek crowd that was in the
scrape and I came out unscathed although the bullets
whistled and the cannon balls howeled rather
uncomfortably close to my head I felt almost used up
yesterday evening from the effects of marching but am
all right today."
After recuperating in Houston, they marched to West
Plains, Thomasville, Eminence, Ironton, Iron
Mountain, and St. Genevieve. From there they took
transports down the Mississippi River to Milliken's
Bend where General Grant was assembling a massive
army to capture the Confederate stronghold at
Vicksburg. Grant's army moved south through swamps
and bayous west of the river, but, by the time they
reached Judge Perkins' Somerset plantation, Jim was
unable to continue. He had been sick for weeks, too
sick to write to Cal, and was left behind with many
others while their regiment moved on.
The Federals crossed the river on April 30, 1863 with
the 21st Iowa taking the lead as they moved inland.
On May 1, 1863 they participated in a battle at Port
Gibson, Mississippi, on May 17th they and the 23rd
Iowa led an assault at the Big Black River, they
participated in a May 22d assault at Vicksburg, and
they took their position on the siege line around the
rear of the city.
Meanwhile, Jim, other convalescents and about 350 men
from Colonel Owen's 60th Indiana were preparing to
cross the river and rejoin their regiments, but they
were unaware that a Confederate force was only a few
miles away and moving in their direction. When
alerted by their scouts, and knowing they had neither
cavalry nor artillery and only a limited number of
infantry, the Federals moved closer to the levee,
strengthened defenses and kept watch. On the morning
of May 31, 1863, fire was exchanged with the Federals
receiving support from a gunboat. Artillery gave
cover as Jim and the others rushed on board a
transport and made their escape.
On June 3, 1863, Jim reached his regiment, received
five letters from Cal and, the next day, wrote to
assure her he was safe. Enclosed with one of
Cals letters was a photograph of Ella. On the
7th, Jim told Cal he liked it verry well but it
is rather a nubby looking picture it has three hands
and is spekled all over as though it had been dotted
over with a pen and ink I suppose the mischief was in
her so big that she would not sit still. Jim
remained with the regiment during the balance of the
siege, during a subsequent expedition to and siege of
Jackson, Mississippi, and during its service in
Louisiana, Texas, Alabama during the Mobile Campaign,
and Arkansas.
Three of Cal's brothers (Jim, John and Robert) served
in the war and all survived. Four of her cousins, the
Mather brothers, served, but only Sterling survived.
John and Darius died from disease at Vicksburg, while
Squire died at home while on a sick furlough. On June
26, 1865, her husband wrote the long awaited letter:
"Cheer up we are coming home." Jim was
mustered out with his regiment at Baton Rouge on July
15th. They boarded the Lady Gay on the 16th,
reached Cairo on the 20th, boarded cars of the
Illinois Central Railroad, and arrived in Clinton on
the 21st. On July 24th they were formally discharged.
While Jim was gone, Cal had accompanied her parents
when they moved to Sigourney and, still in uniform
and carrying his Springfield musket (that had
replaced the Enfield originally issued), Jim left
Clinton to find them. Ella knew her father was coming
and family lore says she sat for days on a fence in
front of their house waiting to see him. It had been
a long three years.
Jim and Cal had three more children, all girls: Sarah
Gertrude in 1871, Bessie Belle in 1878, and Edith
Maud in 1879. On September 9, 1889, at forty-eight
years of age, Cal died. She was buried in Sigourney's
Pleasant Grove Cemetery.
Jim moved to Delta and, on June 14, 1894, married
Elizabeth Kile. A son, James Dale Bethard, was born
October 5, 1895. By then the war had been over for
thirty years and men, both North and South, had
resumed their lives the best they could. Abel Hankins
had fought for the South. From a "truly
Confederate family" in Tazewell County,
Virginia, he joined the cavalry, survived the war,
and returned to Virginia. From there he moved west
and settled in Delta, Iowa. When Jim applied for a
pension in 1889, he signed an affidavit that was
notarized by Abel Hankins, now an Iowa Justice of the
Peace.
Jim had resumed farming, first in Sigourney and then
in Delta, but war-related health problems forced him
to quit in 1873. He then went to work with the
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, but his
health "compeled him to call for his time in a
few weeks." Eventually, he moved into town,
served as one of Delta's councilmen, and went to work
in Abel Hankins' harness shop.
On July 13, 1912, he wrote to his thirteen year old
grandson Roy Blakely, son of Sarah Gertrude. Jim was
glad that young Roy had enjoyed the recent 4th of
July celebrations and hoped he understood why we
celebrate "the day on which was signed the
greatest document in this world the document that
made the united states of America a free and
independent nation It was then our flag was
born," he said, "and has since been sealed
with the blood of hundreds of thousands of as good
men as the world ever produced." Less than four
weeks later, on August 8, 1912, Jim died. A few days
after his burial in Delta's Garrett Cemetery an
obituary reported his death:
"A few years ago A. Hankins, who was a
confederate soldier, asked James Bethard if he would
see that a flag was placed over his grave when he
died. Mr. Bethard said he would provided Mr. Hankins
would perform a like service for him should he
survive him, and so the pact was formed. After Mr.
Bethard's death last week, Mr. Hankins accompanied by
C. F. Kendall, went to the grave yard where the
wearer of the grey placed the flag on the northern
soldier's grave."
~*~*~
Bettys,
Mason D.
21st Regiment, Iowa Vol. Infantry
and his brother ....
Bettys, Phillip
8th Regiment, Illinois Vol. Infantry
Benjamin and Mary C. Bettys had at least three
children, all born in Wisconsin: Phillip about 1840,
Susan about 1842, and Mason about 1844.
The family moved to Grand Meadow Township in Clayton
County in 1854 and, on September 28th of that year,
Benjamin purchased twenty acres of farmland. Abraham
Lincoln was elected President in 1860 and the
following spring, on April 12th, Confederate
artillery opened fire on Fort Sumter in South
Carolina. By that fall the country was at war, a
civil war, and more enlistments were needed.
On September 2, 1861, Phillip Bettys enlisted in
Company L of Illinois' 8th Cavalry. Phillip was with
his regiment the next month when it moved east to the
city of Washington and during its subsequent service
in Virginia.
On August 11, 1862, his brother, Mason D. Bettys,
enlisted in Company B of what would be Iowa's 21st
infantry regiment. Only eighteen years old, Mason was
described as being 5 feet, 8¼ inches tall with brown
eyes, black hair and a dark complexion. He received
the standard $25 .00 advance on the $100.00
enlistment bounty and a $2.00 premium. His company
was mustered into service at Dubuque on August 18th
with ninety-nine men.
On September 9th, with all ten companies at
sufficient strength, the regiment was mustered in
with a total complement of 985 men, commissioned and
enlisted. On September 16, 1862, they boarded the Henry
Clay, a four-year old 181-foot long side-wheel
steamer, and two open barges lashed to its side and
started down the Mississippi River.
They went first to St. Louis where they spent one
night at Benton Barracks and then traveled by rail to
Rolla where they arrived on September 22d. They found
good spring water and enjoyed their stay, but many
were sick and several died. On October 18th they left
Rolla and on the 19th arrived in Salem. There they
camped until November 2nd when they were again on the
move, this time for Houston where they arrived two
days later.
Meanwhile, Mason's brother continued his service in
the east (Poolsville, Monocacy Church, Barnesville,
South Mountain, Boonesboro and Antietam). Then it was
Martinsburg with the Army of the Potomac, Barbee's
Crossroads, Falmouth, Fredericksburg, and up the
Rappahannock.
In Missouri, Mason's 21st Infantry camped in Houston
and Hartville and, on November 24, 1862, had a wagon
train attacked at Beaver Creek. They were back in
Houston when word was received that a Confederate
force was moving into southwestern Missouri. Rushing
in that direction, a 262-man contingent from the 21st
Iowa engaged in battle at Hartville on January 11,
1863. From there it was back to Houston, then West
Plains, Thomasville, Ironton and Iron Mountain.
Walking slowly, mile after mile, often in mud several
inches deep, drinking water from nearby streams,
living on a limited diet, and enduring the bitter
cold of winter in the Ozarks caused most to suffer
and some to die.
Among the sick was Mason Bettys. On March 19, 1863,
suffering from chronic diarrhoea, he died in Ste.
Genevieve, an old French town on the Mississippi
River. Jim Bethard lived near Mason in Grand Meadow
Township and was serving with him in Company B. On
March 21st, Jim wrote to wife, Caroline (Rice)
Bethard, that: "there has been two deaths in our
company this week you will probably see Mr Lyons our
orderly sergeant who went home with the dead body of
Mason Bettice before this letter reaches you."
Mason Bettys was buried in Grand Meadow Cemetery,
along U.S. Highway 52 west of Luana and not far from
his parents' farm.
Masons brother, Phillip, continued on duty with
the 8th Cavalry, "Farnsworth 's Abolitionist
Regiment',' according to President Lincoln. On June
9, 1863 it fought near Brandy Station in the largest
mainly-cavalry battle of the war and the following
month it saw action at Gettysburg. That fall, in a
corps led by Major General Alfred Pleasonton, they
were back in Virginia and planning an attack at
Culpeper Court House, the headquarters for
Confederate J.E. B. Stuart. On September 13th they
met the enemy. Fighting was heavy and the Federals
were victorious, but Phillip Bettys was killed. He is
buried in Culpeper National Cemetery in Virginia,
although there may also be a marker with his name in
Grand Meadow Cemetery.
With their two sons having died in the war, Benjamin
and Mary continued to work their farm. An 1866
township map shows three parcels in the Bettys' name
but, in about 1876, they moved across the county line
to Postville (where Joel Post had erected a log house
more than thirty years earlier). There, on January
14, 1878, at sixty-seven years of age, Benjamin died.
He was buried in Grand Meadow Cemetery.
Mary then lived many years with a niece in Chicago,
but usually visited Postville every summer. In August
1894, a party was given to celebrate her ninetieth
birthday. She had, said the Postville Review,
"withstood the storms of time" and survived
a broken limb and ill health, but seemed to be in
very good health. Mary died on February 1, 1902. She
is buried with Benjamin and two of their children
(Mason and Susan) in Grand Meadow Cemetery.
~*~*~
Birch,
John
John Birch was born in New York and married Eleanor
in June 1841. Their children included David Birch who
was born on November 8, 1852. David had one older
brother and several younger siblings. The family was
living in Iowa and John was working as a farmer when
he enlisted as a Private at McGregor on August 15,
1862, for a three year term in what would be Company
G of the 21st Iowa Volunteer Infantry.
He was described as being thirty-eight years old, 5'
8¼' tall, with gray eyes, brown hair and a light
complexion. He was present and mustered in with the
Company on August 22d and was present when the
Regiment was mustered into service of the United
States on September 9, 1862 by Captain Pierce of the
19th U.S. Infantry. Like other volunteers, he was
paid $25.00 of the $100.00 bounty plus a $2.00
premium.
John was marked present on the bimonthly
Company Muster Rolls, with only minor illness,
through the end ofAugust 1863 but, on the next roll,
was reported as being absent and sick in a
convalescent camp in Carrollton, Louisiana. On
November 7, 1863 he died in the post hospital, New
Orleans, of chronic diarrhoea, a common ailment in
all regiments.
Men tried to clean cooking utensils and wash away
dirt, but water was rarely hot. Drinking water was
often contaminated. Food fried in heavy grease caused
one surgeon to complain of death from the
frying pan. Intestinal infections were rampant.
Also known as camp diarrhea, "the
bloody flux," "the summer complaint,
"the screamers," "the Virginia
quickstep," "the Tennessee trots" and
other colorful names, diarrhea and dysentery became
chronic, led to malnutrition, anemia and increased
susceptibility to other disease resulting in extreme
dehydration, up to fifty percent weight loss, and an
estimated 50,000 deaths in the Union army, at least
sixty-five in the 21st Iowa.
John Craig, a Millville resident who had been
promoted to Captain a few months earlier, signed a
Final Statement certifying that John Birch had served
"honestly andfaithfully with his Company in the
Field to the present date, and is now entitled to a
discharge by reason of Death. He died at Post
Hospital, New Orleans, La. of chronic diarrhea on the
7th Nov. 1863." John had been paid by Paymaster
Major Rodgers through June 30, 1863, and was entitled
to pay accrued subsequent to that time. He had
received $44.93 dollars advanced by the U.S. on
account of clothing and had clothing due to him from
the date of his enlistment. John's personal effects
were inventoried and sold. The proceeds were
forwarded to his wife in McGregor.
Eleanor Birch applied for a widow's pension. On
February 16, 1864, the Adjutant General's Office in
the War Department reviewed records confirming John
had died on November 7, 1863 in New Orleans but,
before she could finalize her claim, Eleanor and two
of her children died in McGregor on April 4, 1864 of
small pox. John V. D. Benton was appointed guardian
of twelve-year old David. John was a McGregor
resident and secretary of a local board of trade. As
his fathers dependent and still under sixteen
years of age, David was awarded an $8.00 monthly
pension effective April 7, 1864. On September 1,
1865, David Birch, wrote that:
"he was taken and
removed by an uncle to the State of Illinois
where he has since resided and the most of the
time in said Stark County; that his uncle and
other friends while he was in his minority used
every endeavor, and at considerable expense, to
obtain his pension money from his said guardian
but without success and that since he has
attained his majority the state of his health has
been such that he has been unable to attend to it
himself; that he is without means of support and
unable to labor and now in the County Poor House
of said County of Stark; That he is informed his
guardian, the said John V. D. Benton, drew his
pension from the 7th day of April 1864 to the 4th
day of Sept 1864 at the Des Moines Agency, Iowa;
and from that date to the 4th day of March 1866
at the Dubuque Agency, Iowa; that he then removed
into or near the city of New York; that he has
been unable to procure a return of his pension
certificates or any of his money from him."
On November 15, 1875, William H.
Whitten and William Budine, residents of Bradford,
Illinois, appeared before a Justice of the Peace in
Stark County and signed an affidavit saying they had
known the Birch family for more than 20 years and:
"are acquainted with all
the facts of the widow & part of the children
dying in the spring of 1864 leaving but one
child, David Birch, under the age of 16 years and
who is now an inmate of the County Poor House of
said Stark County, Illinois; That he was brought
to this County in the year 1864 soon after one J.
V. D. Benton of McGregor, Iowa, was appointed his
guardian; That said Benton drew a portion of this
boys pension money and an effort was made to
obtain the money and get a settlement with him
but it was never accomplished; That said Benton
moved to New York City or thereabouts sometime in
1866 and has the pension Certificate as they are
informed; That the reason why this thing was not
looked after before was that while the boy was in
his minority it was thought to be in the hands of
& under the control of Benton and since his
majority he has been sick the most of the time
& unable to attend to it."
A pension certificate dated December
16, 1875 indicated that David was awarded $8.00
retroactive to March 4, 1866, to November 7, 1868
(the day before David's 16th birthday) and an
additional $2.00 to be paid from July 25, 1866, to
November 7, 1868, but former payments were to be
deducted.
~*~*~
Boardman,
Elisha
Elisha Boardmans grandfather, also named Elisha
Boardman, was born in Connecticut in 1781. After his
wife died at fifty years of age, he never remarried
but moved west and in 1836 settled in what became
Clayton County, Iowa, where he was credited with
being the founder of the city of Elkader. Remaining
in the east was his daughter, Amy Boardman, who
married Henry Boardman. Amy and Henry settled in
Vermont where Henry died in 1837 and Amy in 1843.
Theyre buried in the town of West Milton.
Their son, Elisha Boardman, was born on January 27,
1827, in South Hero, Vermont, a town on the banks of
Lake Champlain. On May 1, 1848, in Milton, he married
Julia Grannis. A son, Roland Boardman, was born on
June 10, 1849. A year or two later Elisha moved to
Iowa to help his grandfather, but soon thereafter
brought Julia and Roland to the county where three
more sons were born: Henry (or Harry) Clinton
Boardman on October 24, 1851, William on November 4,
1857 and Homer (or Harry) on September 12, 1860.
While Roland and Clinton grew to adulthood, the
younger boys died as infants.
Confederate guns fired on Fort Sumter on April 12,
1861, and war followed. Elisha did not enlist
immediately, possibly because he and his grandfather
were having money problems. Three judgments were
entered, two against both of them and one only
against Elishas grandfather. When the judgments
werent satisfied, the District Court issued
writs of execution on July 5, 1862, and two days
later a Notice of Sheriffs Sale was issued. By
then the war was well into its second year and
President Lincoln called for another 300,000
volunteers. Iowas quota was five infantry
regiments. If not raised by August 15th, a draft was
likely.
On August 8, 1862, Elisha was appointed Captain of
Company D, a company then being organized for the
states 21st infantry regiment. An active
recruiter in the county, he attended a large war
meeting in Volga City on August 12th and enrolled
sixteen volunteers for his company. On the 14th,
while he was recruiting in Elkader and Highland, the Clayton
County Journal published the Notice of
Sheriffs Sale. The sale was on the 15th while
Elisha was in Elkader and McGregor enrolling more
men. On the 20th another sale was scheduled, this one
to satisfy a debt Elisha and Julia owed to Obadiah
Brown. Two days later Company D was mustered into
service with a total of ninety-seven men.
When all ten companies were of sufficient strength,
they were mustered in at Dubuques Camp Franklin
with a total of 985 men, officers and enlisted. After
brief training, they boarded the sidewheel steamer Henry
Clay and two barges lashed alongside and started
downstream. On October 21, 1863, Elisha signed his
oath of office while they were camped five miles
southwest of Rolla, Missouri. From there they walked
to Salem, Houston and then Hartville where Elisha was
among many in the company who were sick, an
average of 20 men per day said Gilbert Cooley.
On January 11, 1863, Elisha and twenty-five
volunteers from Company D were among 262 from the
regiment who participated in the Battle of Hartville.
Bimonthly company muster rolls indicated Elisha was
present on February 28th at Iron Mountain
(although he was sick in quarters) and
April 30th when the regiment crossed the Mississippi
from Disharoons Plantation to Bruinsburg,
Mississippi. On May 1, 1863, he participated in the
Battle of Port Gibson. In his report of the battle,
Colonel Merrill recognized Elisha as a cool and
brave officer. On May 17th Elisha participated
in an assault at the Big Black River after which
Lieutenant Colonel Van Anda said Elisha and several
other captains behaved with great
coolness. On May 22, 1863, the regiment
participated in an unsuccessful assault at Vicksburg.
Most made it back to their lines, but many dead and
wounded remained on the field. Colonel Merrill later
reported:
Capt. Boardman of Company D
won imperishable fame by a single act before the
rebel works at Vicksburg. During the hot action
attending our assault and repulse before the
strong works of the enemy, the Twenty-first Iowa
Regiment suffered severely. The color bearer who
was a member of Capt. Boardmans company,
fell, wounded, right before the rebel works, and
with all the killed and wounded was left behind
when our forces fell back. Notwithstanding,
heretofore, the enemys sharpshooters had
unerringly picked off those who returned after
the wounded, Capt. Boardman said he would take
off his men himself, or fall beside them in the
effort. Divesting himself of his coat, sword and
belt, he went boldly upon the field and finding
the color-bearer lifted him up and bore him from
the field. Whether impressed by his audacity or
not, the rebels reserved their fire, and others,
inspired by the captains glorious example,
went forward, and the wounded were taken off and
cared for.
The siege of Vicksburg followed, but
Elisha was taken to the division hospital
violently ill caused by the severity of his
duties. Suffering from acute diarrhoea
attended with great prostration, Elisha was
granted leave for thirty days and started for
Iowa June 10th. On August 15th, Dr. J. W.
Stout, an Elkader physician, said Elisha needed more
time, nothing short of six weeks.
General Order #100 issued by the War Department a
year earlier said officers absent more than
sixty days on account of wounds or disease contracted
in the line of their duty, will be reported to the
Adjutant-General of the army for discharge.
Elisha, Colonel Merrill, Captain Harrison and Captain
Greaves had been gone for more than sixty days when
Lieutenant Colonel Van Anda, then in field command,
notified the War Department of their absence and they
were discharged. All four wanted to return to their
commands. Many at home and in the regiment thought
the discharges were hasty and Colonel
Merrill said Van Anda needed a few lessons in
military ettiquett for not having verified
their current health and whether they intended to
return. Elisha had actually started south weeks
earlier. He reached the regiment on September 29th,
learned of his discharge and returned to Iowa.
Although aware that Elisha was able for duty, Van
Anda sent a copy of the dismissal order to Governor
Kirkwood on October 13th and asked that William
Grannis be appointed Captain in accordance with
the wishes of the Company expressly to me. On
the same day, however, all twenty-seven members of
the company then present, including William Grannis,
wrote to the Governor asking that Elisha be
recommissioned so he could return to his
Company. William wrote separately to the
Governor and said, It is the wish of all of the
members of his Co that he should be returned if
possible He has been a faithful and good
officer and I do not wish to stand in the
way. Colonel Merrill also wrote a supportive
letter saying Elisha was the coolest &
bravest man in my regiment. On December 22,
1863, Special Orders #566 provided that Elisha:
is hereby restored to his
command, with pay from the date he rejoins his
regiment for duty, provided the vacancy has not
been filled, evidence of which must be obtained
from the Governor.
Ultimately all four were returned to
duty and, on January 30, 1864, Linus McKinney wrote
to the North Iowa Times that, it was
read to us on dress parade that Col Merrill and Capt.
Boardman had been reinstated, and would report at
once to their command. This was good news to us all.
Their return will be hailed with joy. Twelve
days later, Elisha reached the regiment then
stationed at Indianola, Texas. On bimonthly company
rolls he continued present during
subsequent service in Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee and
Arkansas. After the resignation of William Crooke on
January 23, 1865, Elisha served as Acting Major but
was never commissioned. According to one of
Julias nephews, through a personal
difficulty with Gov. Stone the necessary papers were
not offered him until on his return home. Through
pride he refused to accept them.
Elisha continued to serve as Acting Major during the
successful campaign to capture the city of Mobile
and, in June, 1865, was appointed to oversee paroles
for 6,000 to 7,000 Confederate soldiers. He was
mustered out with the regiment at Baton Rouge on July
15th, discharged at Clinton on July 24th, returned to
Elkader, was elected sheriff and on December 16,
1866, died from pulmonary consumption. Elisha is
buried in Elkader Cemetery.
Julia applied for a widows pension that was
granted at $20.00 monthly retroactive to the day
after Elishas death. In 1872 Elishas
grandfather was appointed to a committee planning an
Old Settlers Reunion, a reunion held on June
11th when twenty coons, an ox and deer were
roasted for the occasion. In 1873 Julia
attended a Company B reunion in Volga City. With her
she carried the company flag embossed with the names
of the companys battles. Her son, Roland, died
on February 27th of that year and Elishas
grandfather, the pioneer settler of Clayton County,
died on July 5, 1876. Both men are buried in Elkader
Cemetery.
On October 26, 1879, Julia married A. J. Pease and,
as a result, her widows pension was terminated.
In 1883 the marriage was annulled when Julia said her
husband was of unsound mind and insane and
could not at the time of marriage contract. Her
pension was then reinstated. It was also in 1883 that
the Elisha Boardman Post, Post #184 of the G.A.R.,
was chartered in Elkader with nineteen charter
members.
Clinton Boardman, died of yellow jaundice in Tampico,
Mexico, on July 31, 1893. Julia died on July 9, 1903,
and was buried in Pickwick Cemetery, Winona,
Minnesota.
After the annulment of his marriage to Julia, Mr.
Pease married Addie Gardner. He died in 1910 and was
buried in Strawberry Point Cemetery. An obituary said
he was well and favorably known.
The Elisha Boardman Post of the G.A.R. was disbanded
in 1916.
~*~*~
Boynton,
William C.
William C. ("Will") Boynton was born in
Rodman, Jefferson County, New York, on August 28,
1843. His mother died eight days later and his father
in 1850. Orphaned at a young age, William was cared
for by his uncle, Charles S. Boynton. In 1857 they
moved to Strawberry Point. William was an eighteen
year old farmer when, on August 7, 1862 he was
enrolled by Charles Heath in Company B of the 21st
Iowa Volunteer Infantry, a regiment being organized
in the northeastern counties, then the state's 3rd
Congressional District. He was described as being 5'
6½" tall with blue eyes, brown hair and a light
complexion.
The company was mustered in on August 18th and the
regiment on September 9th, both at Camp Franklin in
Dubuque. A week later they marched from their camp
and through town to the levee at the foot of Jones
Street. There they boarded the Henry Clay, a
four-year old 181-foot long, side-wheel steamer, and
two barges lashed to its side, and left for the
South.
After one night at Benton Barracks in St. Louis, they
boarded cars of the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad
and traveled through the night to Rolla where they
camped and waited for further orders. On October
17th, General Fitz Henry Warren arrived, took
command, and ordered the regiment to Houston, fifty
miles to the south. William was ill and received
medical treatment for a week, but recovered and was
present with the regiment during its subsequent
service in Houston, Hartville, West Plains, Ironton,
Iron Mountain and Ste. Genevieve.
On April 10, 1863 he was with his regiment at
Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, where General Grant was
amassing a large army to capture the Confederate
stronghold at Vicksburg. They were assigned to a
brigade led by Charles Harris of the 11th Wisconsin
that included his own regiment together with the
21st, 22d and 23d Iowa. Designated the 2d Brigade of
Eugene Carr's 14th Division of John McClernand' s
13th Corps, they moved slowly south through swamps
and bayous on the west side of the Mississippi River,
crossed to the east side on April 30, 1863, and, on
May 1, 1863, fought the one-day Battle of Port
Gibson.
William participated in the battle and was present on
May 16, 1863 during the Battle of Champion's Hill His
regiment was held in reserve during the battle, but
Companies A and B did some light skirmishing after
the battle. He continued present during the
subsequent siege of Vicksburg, but again became ill
and was treated for chronic diarrhoea, a problem that
plagued western regiments and led to many deaths.
Initial treatment was in a field hospital, but he was
later transported upstream and admitted to the
hospital at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis. His
Uncle Charles went to the barracks where the Surgeon
in Charge certified that William "had done no
duty since May last and is not a fit subject for the
Invalid Detachment." On July 30, 1863, by order
of Major General John Schofield, William was
discharged. His uncle took William home and helped
him recover his health.
By the end of January, 1865, regimental muster rolls
carried the names of 657 men, but many were too ill
for active duty. On February 1st, William Boynton,
Albert Knight (brother of Company B's Myron Knight)
and several other recruits signed one-year
enlistments and, before long, were on their way
south. Albert became ill and was detained briefly in
New Orleans, but William and the other recruits
reached the regiment on March 8th while it was camped
on Dauphin Island at the entrance to Mobile Bay.
On the 17th they crossed to the east side of the bay
and started a march north towards Confederates
manning Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely guarding the
approach to the city of Mobile. Along the way,
William was again ill, but he was well enough on
April 11th to join Jim Bethard, Myron Knight and
Albert Knight on a visit to Fort Blakely that had
fallen to Federal troops two days earlier. With the
enemy also withdrawing from Mobile, the Federals
occupied the city and the regiment was assigned to a
site at Spring Hill where they would camp for the
next month and a half.
Eventually, they returned to New Orleans and saw
service in Arkansas before being ordered to Baton
Rouge. While there, William was hospitalized and
treated for a fever. On July 12, 1865 he and the
other recruits were transferred as unassigned
recruits to the 34th Infantry to complete their
one-year enlistments while the balance of the
regiment was mustered out on July 15th. William and
others in the 34th Infantry were sent to Texas, but
mustered out a month later.
On October 23, 1867, William and Katharine
"Kate" Knight, a younger sister of Myron
and Albert, were married in Delhi by Judge J.B.
Boggs. That was the same year the Illinois Central
Railroad extended its service into Iowa. During the
1880s and 1890s, its reach gradually expanded from
Dubuque to Peosta, Epworth, Farley, Dyersville,
Earlville, Manchester, Winthrop, and towns farther
west. This may have been a factor that caused Will
and Kate to move to Manchester in 1883 and Winthrop
in 1886 where Will opened a furniture and undertaking
business. A religious man, he became active in the
Methodist Episcopal Church, led a Sunday morning
class, and became a member of the Buchanan County
Holiness Association.
In 1892, bothered by war-related health problems, he
requested a pension based on a law effective in 1890.
The pension was granted in 1893 but, later that year,
the Bureau of Pensions issued orders necessitating a
review of all pensions that had been based on the
1890 law. William's pension was suspended and he was
dropped from the rolls. Basically, he was too healthy
and not incapacitated enough to have
"ratable" disabilities. In 1897 he
reapplied, but it was not until 1905 that he was
readmitted to the rolls. He was granted $6.00 per
month. This was later raised to $12.00, an amount he
received until his death on January 5, 1908.
Out-of-town relatives who attended his funeral
included Kate's brother, Myron Knight, with whom
William had served more than forty years earlier.
Also attending was William's uncle, Charles Boynton,
who had cared for William after William's parents
died, who had gone to Benton Barracks to help William
return home, and who helped nurse him back to health.
Many friends gathered at the Winthrop depot to pay
their respects as William's body was carried on board
one of the cars of the Illinois Central Railroad for
transport to Strawberry Point.
Kate applied for and was granted a widow's pension of
$12.00 per month. She returned to Strawberry Point
and was living in the family's "old home"
when she died on August 27, 1920. She is buried with
William in Strawberry Point Cemetery.
~*~*~
Braman,
Elnathan Warren
aka E. Warren Braman
Elnathan Warren Braman was born in Erie County, New
York. Caroline Cobb was born in New York on December
25, 1829. On October 25, 1850, according to a
post-war marriage certificate, they were married in
DuPage County, Illinois.
They were residents of Clayton County, Iowa, when, on
August 13, 1862, Warren was enrolled by Charles P.
Heath in an infantry company then being raised in the
states northeastern counties. As Caroline said,
he seldom used the name Elnathan, usually
signing his name E. Warren Braman, and
thats how he was reflected in military records.
He enlisted at Strawberry Point and was described as
being a thirty-three year old farmer, 5' 9½
tall with blue eyes, brown hair and a light
complexion. They were mustered in as Company B on
August 18, 1862, at Camp Franklin in Dubuque.
Infantry regiments had ten companies of approximately
100 men each. When all ten companies in Warrens
regiment were of sufficient strength, they were
mustered in on September 9, 1862, with a complement
of 985 men, officers and enlisted. Another 145 men
would enlist as new recruits before its
service came to an end.
After brief training at Camp Franklin, the regiment
left Dubuque on September 16, 1862, crowded on board
the Henry Clay and two barges tied
alongside. Due to low water, they transferred to the Hawkeye
State below Montrose and traveled to St. Louis
where they spent one night at Benton Barracks. Warren
continued with the regiment as they then traveled by
rail to Rolla and, from there, marched to Salem,
Houston, Hartville and, after a wagon train was
attacked in November, back to Houston.
Thats where they were stationed when volunteers
were requested to go to the relief of a Union
garrison in Springfield that was under threat from a
Confederate force under John Marmaduke heading north
from Arkansas. Warren was one of twenty-five from
Company B who volunteered, but they never made it as
far as Springfield. Instead, they met the enemy in a
one-day battle at Hartville, Missouri. Carl Possehl,
Charles Carlton and Harrison Hefner were killed while
William Jones was wounded and died the next day.
Another thirteen men had wounds that were not
life-threatening.
Later that month they moved south to West Plains, but
Warren Braman was one of many who were sick and left
behind in Houston. He regained his health
sufficiently to rejoin the regiment but, on April
13th, was granted a thirty-day furlough. When he
didnt return, he was reported as a deserter. He
was arrested in Athens, Illinois, on August 13th,
taken to Camp Douglas in Chicago, and then sent back
to the South.
Also from Clayton County and serving in Company B
were Jim Bethard and his brother-in-law Jim Rice,
brother of Caroline (Rice) Bethard. Jim Rice had
received a furlough in July and, on September 13,
1863, Jim Bethard wrote to Caroline: "If Jim
is there yet tell him they have got Warren Braman at
New Orleans he got a furlough last spring and forgot
to come back again. I understood that he was caught
in Illinois"
A week later, Jim wrote directly to Jim Rice: "Old
Bramen is in jail in New Orleans he was caught in
Illinois near Chicago"
Warren was still under arrest when he was returned to
the regiment on September 25, 1863, at Brashear City,
Louisiana, and, on the 27th, Jim Bethard wrote:
"Warren Bramen is also here he came to us
night before last I dont know whether they are
going to do anything with him or not"
Charges were preferred, a court martial hearing was
convened, and Warren was honorably
acquitted. While military records
dont reflect the reason, its likely that
Warren, like so many others, had over-stayed his
furlough due to continuing health problems and had
failed to request extensions.
The rest of his service was relatively uneventful and
he was marked present on all bimonthly
muster rolls as the regiment performed service in
southwestern Louisiana, the Gulf Coast of Texas, and
along the White River in Arkansas. Its final campaign
was during the spring of 1865 when it moved up the
east side of Mobile Bay, occupied the city of Mobile,
and camped at Spring Hill before returning to
Louisiana. On July 15, 1865, they were mustered out
at Baton Rouge and, on July 24th, received their
discharge at Clinton.
Warren and Caroline moved to Chicago after the war,
but little is known of his post-war life. On November
26, 1885, he was admitted to the Cook County Hospital
and he was still there on December 22nd when he died
from heart disease and asthma.
In 1890, Caroline retained Ada C. Sweet, a well-known
humanitarian, reformer and very experienced pension
agent to pursue a claim for a widows pension.
At the age of sixteen, Ada had become an assistant to
her father who was the United States Pension Agent
for paying pensions in Chicago. He became First
Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue in Washington
and, after his death in 1874, President Grant
appointed Ada as the United States Pension Agent in
Chicago. Her office employed a large clerical force
and disbursed millions of dollars annually.
On October 14, 1890, with Ada Sweet as her attorney,
Caroline signed an application seeking a widows
pension under the general law of 1890. The Pension
Office verified Warrens service but, for
reasons not indicated, no pension was granted.
Caroline then retained Milo B. Stevens as her
attorney.
On November 2, 1905, saying a prior
application for pension has been filed, she believes,
about 1890, through Ada C. Sweet, Caroline
reapplied for a pension under the general law and a
new law enacted in 1900. This time she signed with an
X and, in a subsequent affidavit,
explained I am unable, and have been for
the past seven years, to write my name, my hands
being drawn out of shape and stiff from rheumatism.
Her application was approved and she was granted a
$12.00 monthly pension payable quarterly through the
Chicago agency. She was living at 1824 West Adams
Street, Chicago, when she died on December 27, 1910,
two days after her eighty-first birthday. Caroline
was buried nine miles to the west in the citys
Forest Home Cemetery.
A daughter, Mary (Braman) Pratt applied for
reimbursement of her mothers final expenses.
Census records indicate that Warren and Caroline may
also have had two sons, Eugene and Willis.
~*~*~
Brown,
William Slocomb
The son of George and Lucy (Tracy) Brown, William
Slocomb Brown was born in Dudley, Massachusetts, on
November 13, 1821. Sarah Ann McCracken was born
farther north, in Northampton, in 1823. On November
9, 1848, they were married in Webster, Massachusetts.
Sarah had a younger sister, Mary Ellen McCracken, who
was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on August 28,
1831. On Christmas Eve, 1851, she married Joseph
Marsh, in Dudley. Three years later they moved to
Volga City. A year after that Joseph built a small
house on land he bought from the government. At an
Old Settlers Reunion many years later, he described
how happy they were in Iowa. Their first winter was
delightful, game was plentiful and Joseph
enjoyed tramping over Volgas hills.
Their experience may have been what induced Sarah and
William to also move to Iowa where they lived with
Joseph and Mary Ellen.
Initially, life was good, but the Spirit Lake
Massacre of March 1857, caused William to
reconsider his move and decide to return to
Massachusetts. To pay a debt that Joseph owed to him,
they traveled together to Dubuque where Joseph hoped
to raise money by selling two oxen. Unfortunately,
the financial downturn suffered by Iowa and much of
the rest of the country in 1857 was well underway. A
sale could not be arranged and the men returned home
where William bought the oxen and rented a farm near
Strawberry Point.
Crop failures and the financial panic were endured
and life gradually improved, but that too came to an
end with the advent of the Civil War. William was
forty years old and working as a shoemaker when he
enlisted at Volga City on August 12, 1862, in what
would be Company D of the 21st Iowa Volunteer
Infantry. He was described as being 5' 6½ tall
with blue eyes, a light complexion and brown hair.
Those able to travel left their Dubuque training camp
on September 16th, crowded on board the side-wheel
steamer Henry Clay and two barges tied
alongside, reached St. Louis on the 20th and left for
Rolla by rail the next day. The regiments early
service continued in Missouri and William was marked
present on all bimonthly company muster
rolls as they walked from Rolla to Salem, Houston,
Hartville, back to Houston, south to West Plains, and
then northeast to Thomasville, Ironton, Iron Mountain
and, finally, into Ste. Genevieve where they arrived
on March 11, 1863.
On April 10th, they reached Millikens Bend
where General Grant was organizing a large,
three-corps army. Assigned to a corps led by General
John McClernand, they started south - walking, wading
and slowly making their way along roads and through
bayous west of the Mississippi. From Disharoons
Plantation on April 30th, they crossed to the
Bruinsburg landing on the east bank and, with the
21st Iowa as the point regiment, started a march
inland. They encountered enemy pickets about midnight
and shots were exchanged, but all soon rested in
anticipation of a more significant encounter the next
day.
On May 1, 1863, William participated in the daylong
Battle of Port Gibson, on May 17th he participated in
an assault on entrenched Confederates at the Big
Black River in which the 21st and 23rd Iowa routed
the enemy, and on May 22nd he participated with the
regiment and the rest of the army in an assault on
Confederate defenses at Vicksburg. In those three
engagements, the regiment suffered 31 killed in
action, 34 who incurred fatal wounds and at least 102
with less serious wounds, although many of the wounds
were severe enough that the men, some after suffering
amputations, were discharged.
Convinced that the city could not be taken by
assault, Grant settled on a siege, the Union lines
were strengthened and defenders in the city did their
best to survive on increasingly limited food and
other supplies. On July 1st, a Union outpost at
Hankinson's Ferry was attacked by an enemy force
estimated at 2,000 with artillery support. This was a
brief engagement but, coupled with an earlier report
of Confederates on their way to Rocky Springs, was
enough for Grant to order a brigade to rush to the
ferry. Michael Lawlers brigade, a brigade
including the 21st Iowa, was selected. They were
roused about midnight and left before daybreak on the
2d. Not having marched for almost two months, men
suffered intensely from heat, thirst and fatigue.
Many fainted by the roadside with blistered feet,
parched throats, swollen veins and blood-shot eyes.
By the time they reached the ferry that afternoon,
the regiment could muster fewer than one hundred men.
A relief detail searched for those who had fallen,
but it was past midnight before all were accounted
for, the rebels were never found, and the brigade
camped for the night near Red Bone Chapel.
William Brown was one of many who suffered. As 2d
Lieutenant Gilbert Cooley would later explain,
William became disabled from duty by sun stroke
or excessive heat and fatigue. He had been
promoted from Private to 8th, 6th and finally 4th
Corporal but, on August 9th, was sent up the
river sick. Sarah said he came home on
sick furlough and she thought his head
was affected as he continually complained of a
buzzing sensation in the head & manifested
symptoms of insanity that he attributed to
sunstroke. He eventually rejoined the regiment and
received a promotion to 3rd Corporal but, in Texas on
December 25, 1863, he was reduced to the ranks at his
own request.
At the end of May they returned to Louisiana and, on
June 16th, William and several others were admitted
to New Orleans Charity Hospital where the order
for their admission stated that they were
insane and to be sent by first conveyance to the
Insane Asylum at Washington City. On June 21st,
they left New Orleans on board the steamer Cahawba
and on June 30, 1865, William was admitted to the
Government Hospital for the Insane. Opened ten years
earlier, its mission, said its founder Dorothea Dix,
was to provide the most humane care and
enlightened curative treatment for the insane of the
Army, Navy, and District of Columbia. William
remained a patient until September 4, 1864, when,
according to hospital records, he died of
softening of the brain. He is buried in the
cemetery of the hospital which, in 1916, changed its
name to Saint Elizabeths.
With three children under sixteen, Sarah secured
affidavits from her sister and others who testified
to her marriage to William and who assisted with
births of their children or otherwise knew of their
legitimacy and ages - Mary Lucy thirteen, Frances J.
eight and Emma E. six. Finally, on January 19, 1867,
Alvah C. Rogers, a Clayton County Judge, signed
letters of guardianship giving Sarah full power
and authority to demand, sue for and take possession
of all money and estate belonging to her said
wards.
She then filed an application with the Department of
the Interiors pension office seeking pensions
for the children and secured affidavits to prove
William had died while in the service, he was the
father of her children, she was their mother, and
they were entitled to pensions provided for minors.
Her attorney, Herman Hemenway, contacted Hiram Hunt
who had been a surgeon in the regiment, but
Hirams chest containing his official
records was broken open and the papers stolen
while going up-river after the war and he could no
longer recall Williams case. Fortunately,
others did and the pensions were granted.
Another veteran of the war, John P. Nichols, had
served with the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery.
During a hard march from Hagerstown, Maryland, to
Washington, D.C., one of the veins of his right
leg became ruptured. Having enlisted in 1861,
he was discharged in 1864 and spent the next year
visiting friends and relatives in Rhode Island and
Massachusetts. During the winter of 65-66 came
to Volga City, he said, and on December 6,
1865, he and Sarah Brown were married.
On April 13, 1880, John signed an affidavit for an
invalid pension. Varicose veins in his leg had
worsened and, as a result, he said he was now partly
disabled. Former comrades, one a sergeant and one a
musician, recalled the difficult march in Maryland
and said John had been treated by the regimental
surgeon. The surgeon was Samuel Skinner, but he
couldnt remember the circumstances of
Johns injury. By then John and Sarah had moved
to Sioux City where a doctor said Johns
varicose veins extended from the knee half way to the
ankle. While he felt the disability was slight,
another doctor thought John was seriously
disabled. Joseph Marsh, Sarahs
brother-in-law, recalled that John had worked as a
farm hand and in a brick yard in Volga City, but was
now unable to perform manual labor so as to
support himself & family. John said he had
tried Gardening. Teaming. Farming.
Blacksmithing, but as soon as he exerted
himself his old complaint would prevent
him from continuing. Sarah said John had very
coase veins in His leg that Cripled Him. It
took a long time but finally, on January 30, 1888, a
pension was approved.
Sarah and John moved to Akron in Plymouth County
where, on November 16, 1894, John died. He was buried
in the towns Riverside Cemetery. A week later,
Sarah applied for a widows pension and once
again secured supportive affidavits. Her
sister-in-law Eliza (Nichols) Fenner, her
sisters husband Joseph Marsh, her son-in-law
Conrad Reuschling, Dr. R. D. Clark, Dr. Herbert
Cilley, Rev. J. W. Neyman and several others signed
affidavits. On December 21, 1897, a certificate was
issued that would entitle Sarah to $8.00 per month,
payable quarterly through the local pension agent. On
October 28, 1899, Sarah died. She is buried in Floyd
Cemetery, Sioux City.
Sarah had no children with John Nichols, but she and
William Brown reportedly had seven children, four of
whom died young. The three for whom she had secured
minors pensions lived to adulthood. Emma Edna
(Brown) Judd died on February 23, 1917. Mary Lucy
(Brown) Reuschling died on August 28, 1919. Frances
J. (Brown) Tuck died on February 3, 1930. Emma, like
her mother, is buried in Floyd Cemetery, Sioux City.
Mary and Frances are buried in Graceland Park
Cemetery also in Sioux City.
~*~*~
Brownell,
George Washington
George Washington Brownell was one of at least four
children born to Alonzo and Abigail Abbie
Brownell. He was born on February 9, 1836, in
Brockville, a town on the St. Lawrence River in what
was then known as Canada West. On September 24, 1857,
George and Sarah Jewett were married. A daughter,
Ella M. Brownell was born on August 19, 1858, and
another daughter, Emma J. Brownell, was born on July
28, 1860, the same month the Clayton County
Journal announced its support for Abraham
Lincoln in that falls election.
In October, South Carolinas governor said the
state would secede if Lincoln were elected but the Journal
discounted the threat as one routinely made every
four years. Bah! No one anticipates such a
result - This cry was invented only to frighten the
people into voting for the Democratic candidate
it said, but Lincoln was elected and South Carolina
did secede. Still, the Journal wasnt
worried. We hope however our readers will not
become too excited over this, because it is not worth
while. There are men enough in Pennsylvania alone to
subdue South Carolina without the aid of Iowa
volunteers. On April 12, 1861, General
Beauregards cannon fired on Fort Sumter.
By the fall of 1862, with thousands of men having
died, President Lincoln called for another 300,000
volunteers with Iowa given a quota of five new
regiments. If not met by August 15th, the difference
would be made up by a draft. Governor Kirkwood was
concerned. The war was much more serious than
anticipated, initial military enthusiasm had subsided
and disloyal sentiment was rampant in some parts of
the state but he assured the President "the
State of Iowa in the future as in the past, will be
prompt and ready to do her duty to the country in the
time of sore trial. Our harvest is just upon us, and
we have now scarcely men enough to save our crops,
but if need be our women can help."
George Brownell was a twenty-six-year-old farmer when
he was enrolled on August 14, 1862, at Strawberry
Point by William Grannis in what would be Company D
of the 21st regiment of Iowas volunteer
infantry. On the 22nd, at Camp Franklin on Eagle
Point in Dubuque, the company was mustered in with a
total of ninety-seven men and, when all ten companies
were of sufficient strength, 985 men were mustered in
as a regiment on September 9th. On the 16th, on board
the four-year-old sidewheel steamer Henry Clay
and two barges tied alongside they left for war.
After spending a night on Rock Island, they had to
debark at Montrose due to low water and take a train
to Keokuk where they boarded the Hawkeye State.
They reached St. Louis on the 20th, were inspected on
the 21st, that night boarded rail cars and the next
morning arrived in Rolla.
They would spend the next seven months in Missouri -
Rolla, Salem, Houston, Hartville and back to Houston
- and thats where they were on December 28th
when Sarah gave birth to another daughter, a daughter
named Edith. They were still in Houston on January
8th when word was received that a Confederate column
was advancing on Springfield. A hastily organized
relief force, with George as one of the volunteers
from Company D, left on a forced winter march on the
9th and the following night camped along Woods Fork
of the Gasconade River unaware the Confederates were
camped nearby. On the morning of the 11th bugles
alerted each to the other and both sides soon moved
into Hartville where a daylong battle was fought
before the Federal soldiers withdrew north to Lebanon
and the Confederates started south. The sixty-mile
return from Lebanon to Houston through ice and snow
and freezing streams was hard on men already weakened
by the forced march a few days earlier and by the
stress of battle and many, including George Brownell,
would suffer the effects the rest of their lives.
From Houston they moved south to West Plains. Most
thought they would continue into Arkansas but,
instead, they started a movement to the northeast on
February 8th, the same day four-year-old Ella died.
They were still on the move on 12th when two-year-old
Emma died. The girls are buried in Strawberry Point
Cemetery. Continuing to the northeast, the regiment
moved through Thomasville, Eminence and Ironton and
thats where they were on the 23rd when George
made an entry in his journal that he got 6
letters from home about the news of the death of Ella
Emma and on the 24th that he wrote a
letter to Sarah felt so bad that I had to get some
one to cook in my plase to day.
From Ironton they moved to Ste. Genevieve where they
arrived on March 11th and from there were transported
downriver to Millikens Bend where General Grant
was assembling a large three-corps army to capture
Vicksburg. Assigned to a corps led by John
McClernand, they left the Bend on the
12th and started a long tedious march south along
roads, across bayous and through swamps west of the
river. It was Grants intention to cross the
river at Grand Gulf but when it proved to be too
heavily fortified he took the advice of Old
Bob, a former slave, who led the way to
Disharoons Plantation and on April 30th crossed
to the Bruinsburg landing in Mississippi. With the
21st Iowa as the point regiment for the entire army
and Old Bob as their guide, they moved
inland until about midnight they were fired on by
Confederate pickets near the Abram Shaifer house. On
May 1st, George participated with his regiment in the
day-long Battle of Port Gibson. Casualties included
three fatally wounded and another three with less
serious wounds and the following day they were
allowed to rest, bury their dead and care for the
wounded while other regiments took the lead.
By May 15th they were near Mississippi Springs when
George received a letter from his sister Carrie
stating the death of my wife I am just about
wore out. Sarah had died on April 26th and was
buried near Ella and Emma while four-month-old Edith
was cared for by Carrie.
On the 16th they were present but did not participate
in the Battle of Champion Hill where they were held
out of action by General McClernand (although one man
accidentally wounded himself and lost two fingers).
As a result, they were rotated to the front on the
17th and were among the first to arrive at the Big
Black River where entrenched Confederates were hoping
to keep its long railroad bridge open until all of
their forces had crossed. Colonels Merrill of the
21st and Kinsman of the 23rd conferred and then
ordered an assault across an open field directly into
enemy fire. Again, George participated and this time
casualties were heavy with seven killed in action,
eighteen with fatal wounds and another forty with
wounds that were less serious but caused many to be
discharged.
From the Big Black they moved to the rear of
Vicksburg and participated in the siege that ended
with the citys surrender on July 4th. On the
27th George was granted a furlough to go north. Twice
while back in Strawberry Point, he received letters
from Dr. Clark Rawson (Carries husband) saying
George was suffering from pneumonia and chronic
diarrhea and unfit to return to the regiment but
eventually he was arrested as a straggler who had
overstayed his furlough. He rejoined the regiment in
Louisiana, was promoted to 5th Corporal and remained
present during its service in southwestern Louisiana,
more than six months along the Gulf Coast of Texas
and during it final campaign that ended with the
occupation of Mobile. While camped nearby at Spring
Hill he was treated for intermittent fever and
rheumatism but two months later was present in Baton
Rouge when they were mustered out. The next day they
started north and on July 24th were discharged from
the military at Clinton.
On April 15, 1866, thirty-one-year-old George
remarried giving his wifes name as Letha Jane
Richard (although her name is shown elsewhere as
Richards). Five of their children - Millie Astell
born in 1867, Harley L. in 1868, Addie M. in 1870,
Fred R. in 1872 and Flora B. in 1874 - were born in
Iowa while five more - Carrie Verdie in 1875, Emma
Louellen in 1877, Stella B. in 1881, Dora A. in 1885
and Jesse L. in 1889 - were born after the family
moved to Kansas.
On August 19, 1884, giving his address as Maud,
Kansas, George applied for an invalid pension saying
he had contracted rheumatism during a forced
march in mud and snow and slush in January 1863
while on the way to assist Springfield and were
in a state of perspiration and heat whenever
they stopped to rest. His application was supported
by Gilbert Cooley who had been Captain of Company D
and recalled the difficulty of the mid-winter march.
George and Almira Hempstead, who had known George for
decades when he often worked on their farm, recalled
that he had frequent attacks and was sometimes
confined to bed for months at a time and
Georges seventy-five-year-old mother said he
was healthy when he enlisted but not when he returned
from the war. On January 26, 1886, he was approved
for an $8.00 monthly pension, payable quarterly, but
his rheumatism was permanent and getting worse
according to surgeons who examined him.
Like most veterans, George applied periodically for
increases and in 1889 said he was also suffering from
an affliction of the mind. A doctor
confirmed that about two years earlier George
had a severe attack of rheumatism and rheumatic
carditis from the effects of which his mind became
very much affected and he was in constant pain.
Over a period of many years, his pension was
gradually increased to the $24.00 he was receiving at
the time of his death. Letha died on February 27,
1901, and George on November 27, 1906. Theyre
buried in Maud Cemetery southeast of Cunningham,
Kansas.
~*~*~
Burns,
Patrick H. 'Pat'
National Archive records indicate that Patrick H.
Burns was born in New York, but a death certificate
says Ireland. The Civil War had been ongoing for more
than a year when Patrick was enrolled in the Union
army by McGregor postmaster Willard Benton on August
15, 1862 in what would be Company G of the 21st Iowa
Infantry. Physically, he was described as being 5'
3½" tall with brown eyes, brown hair and a
light complexion. Only nineteen years old, he was
unmarried. The Muster-in Roll said Patrick had been
working as a farmer, but his Descriptive Book gave
his occupation as shoemaker.
The Company was mustered into service on August 22,
1862, and the regiment on September 9, 1862, both in
Dubuque where brief training of questionable value
was received at Camp Franklin (formerly known as Camp
Union). The regiment traveled from Dubuque to St.
Louis by river steamers, to Rolla by rail, and then
by foot to Houston and Hartville, Missouri. While
there they were dependent on supplies brought by
wagon train from the railhead in Rolla. On November
24, 1862 one such train, with teamsters and guards
from the 21st Iowa and other regiments, was nearing
Hartville when it camped for the night in Hogs Hollow
along Beaver Creek. That evening, as some were
finishing dinner, others were tending to the horses
and some were walking in the nearby woods, they were
attacked by a heavily armed band of the enemy. George
Chapman was killed immediately when "three balls
pierced his breast" and two others, Philip Wood
and Cyrus Henderson, were fatally wounded.
Some managed to escape, make their way to Hartville
and sound the alarm. "The 21st fell in on the
double quick. The noble boys plunged through the
swift mountain streams waist deep, without a
murmur," said Quartermaster Charles Morris,
while others on horseback raced ahead. On arrival
they found "our boys huddled around the burning
remains of our wagons." The survivors, including
Pat Burns, had been captured, stripped of their
clothing and other possessions, and paroled on the
spot before their attackers fled with what they could
carry.
The Beaver Creek rescue party arrived back in
Hartville about 6:00am the next morning. They had
made a round-trip mid-winter night march of thirty
miles through icy streams, not stopping to eat or
rest, rushing their return for fear the attackers
might circle around to attack their camp. For this
General Fitz Henry Warren called them his ''foot
cavalry," but men had suffered and many would
never recover.
Pat remained on duty and, during the Vicksburg
Campaign, was present for the Battle of Port Gibson
on May 1, 1863, an assault at the Big Black River on
the 17th, and an assault on May 22d at Vicksburg, but
never fully recovered his health. Vicksburg
surrendered on July 4th, Pat was furloughed on August
5th, and he returned to the regiment at Berwick Bay,
Louisiana, on September 27th. He then served with it
during its subsequent service in Louisiana and Texas.
On November 28, 1864 they arrived in Memphis and, on
December 17th, Pat was admitted to the Overton U.S.
Army Hospital. He rejoined the regiment at Spring
Hill, Alabama on May 10, 1865, and was present when
they were mustered out at Baton Rouge on July 15,
1865.
On October 25, 1868, he married Ellen Brophy in a
Jesuit Church in Chicago. On October 8, 1871 a great
fire, erroneously attributed to Mrs. O'Leary's cow,
started in Chicago and, the next day, Patrick and
Ellen saw their marriage certificate consumed in the
flames. Their four children were Mamie (born August
24, 1869), John (born April 19, 1871), and twins
Thomas and Elizabeth (born July 27, 1876).
Patrick continued his work as a shoemaker, but life
was difficult and his health was worse. On August 24,
1883 at only forty-one years of age, he applied for
an invalid pension attributing his poor health to
"exposure while in the service" when he
"caught a severe cold in wading through streams
of water" in the middle of winter twenty-one
years earlier. Suffering from severe rheumatism, he
said he was "entirely disabled." An invalid
pension was awarded and gradually increased to $30.00
monthly, payable quarterly.
On Christmas Day, December 25, 1899, while living at
678 West Erie Street in Chicago, Patrick became ill.
Suffering from chronic heart and kidney problems, he
died at home a week later, New Year's Day, January 1,
1900. He was buried in the old Catholic Calvary
Cemetery consecrated in 1859 in Evanston.
Five days after her husband's death, Ellen applied
for Patrick's accrued but unpaid pension and for her
own widow's pension. Her applications were granted
and she continued to live in their Erie Street
residence where Mamie and Elizabeth helped care for
her. Ellen was receiving $12.00 monthly when she died
on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1916. She is buried
next to Patrick in Calvary Cemetery.
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