Crawford County, Illinois - Chapter 14: War History, 1909

Served In Each

GANIZED FOR THE MEXICAN WAB FAILS TO SECURE SERVICE - FIRST COMPANY ORGANIZED FOR THE CIVIL WAR SEES ITS FIRST SERVICE UNDER GENERAL GRANT AS COLONEL - OTHER COMPANIES THE STRUGGLE FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE UNION - LIST OF OFFICEBS AND PRIVATES WHO SERVED IN EACH.

A considerable number of thé pioneer settlers of Crawford County had taken part in the War of 1812, but no details have been preserved of their individual participation. In the Black Hawk War, the county did her full share, sending two full companies, besides furnishing reeruits for bodies of troops organized elsewhere. The company under Capt. William Highsmith, which was attached to the Second Regiment, Second Brigade, was mustered into service in June, 1832. Samuel V. Allen was First Lieutenant: John H. MeMickle, Second Lieutenant; B. B. Piper, Thomas Fuller, William McCoy and John A. Christy, Sergeants; Nathan Highsmith, Martin Fuller, Jackson James and John Lagow, Oorporals. The privates were: John Allen, Samuel H. Allison, David M. Allison, John Brimberry, John Barrick, Benjamin Carter, James Condrey, Thomas Easton, John Gregg, William R. Grise, Peter Garrison, Hiram Johnson, John Johnson, George W. Kinney, James Lewis, William Levitt, John L. Myers, A. W. Myers, Andrew Montgomery, Isaac Martin, John Parker, Sr., William Parker, Thomas N. Parker, John Parker, Jr., Amos Phelps, William Reese, Robert Simons, Thomas Stockwell, Jacob Vaunrinch and James Weger. This company was mustered out at Dixon's Ferry, Ill, August 2, 1832.

The other Crawford County company, which was mounted, formed part of the same regiment as Capt. Highsmith's, and was organized on the 19th of the-same month. Its muster roll was as follows: Alexander M. Houston, Captain; George W. Lagow, First Lieutenant; James Boatright. Second Lieutenant; O. F. D. Hampton, Levi Harper, David Porter, and James Christu, Sergeants; Cornelius Doherty, James B. Stark. Joseph Jones, and Rivers Heath, Corporals; Francis Waldrop, Bugler; and George W. Baugher, Blanton Blathares, John Bogard, Andrew Baker, Alexander Boatright, Samuel Cruse. Silas S. Danforth, George B. Doughton. Edwin Fitch, Henry Fowler, John Goodwin, Silas Goodwin, Robert Gunton, John Hutton, Joseph

Hackett, John A. Hackett, William Hawkins, John Horine, Wickliffe Kitchell, James Kuykendall, Alexander Logan, Matthew Lackey, John McCoy, Johnson Neeley, Robert Porter, William Porter, William Pearson, Joseph Pearson, Edwin Pearson, Zalmon Phelps, Samuel Shaw, John Stewart, John F. Vandeventer, Vastin Wilson, and Jacob Winters, privates. By order of Brigadier General Atkinson, Capt. Houston's company was mustered out of service August 15, 1832.

WAR FOR THE UNION. - Company I, Twentyfirst Regiment Illinois "Volunteer Infantry, (Grant's regiment), was the first body of soldiers recruited in Crawford County for the Civil War. Its Captain was George W. Peck; First Lieutenant, Clark B. Lagow; Second Lieutenant, Chester K. Knight. On the promotion of Capt. Peck as Lieutenant Colonel, September 2, 1861, Lieut. Knight became Captain, serving until November 16, 1864. Lieut. Lagow was attached to the staff of General Grant, and resigned after the Battle of Iuka in consequence of rheumatism incurred in the service and injuries resulting from his horse falling under him. He was promoted to be Colonel of Volunters and subsequently to be Colonel in the regular army. The Twenty-first Illinois Regiment was engaged in many of the most sanguinary battles of the war, among them those at Perryville, Murfreesboro, and Chickamauga, the regimental command devolving on Capt. Knight in the last named engagement, the Colonel having been killed and the Lieutenant Colonel, wounded. The regiment

Company D, Thirtieth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which was recruited in Crawford County, went to the front with Thomas G. Markley as Captain; Michael Langton, First Lieutenant; and George E. Meily, Second Lieutenant. Capt. Markley fell at the battle of Belmont, November 7, 1861. Lieut. Meily, having been promoted to the captaincy, April 12, 1863, was killed on May 16, 1863. Patterson Sharp, who was made Captain, June 13, 1863, was mustered out July 8, 1865. Lieut. W. D. Hand was promoted to be Captain July 10, 1865, and Martin L. James, who was made Second Lieutenant, was mustered out July 17, 1865. 'The Thirtieth Regiment was organized August 28, 1861, and was engaged at Belmont, Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Corinth, Champion Hills and Vicksburg. On January 1, 1864, it veteranized subsequently participating in the Atlanta campaign and marching with Sherman to the sea, was mustered out at Louisville, Ky., July 27, 1865, and discharged at Camp Butler, Ill.

Company D, Thirty-eighth Regiment Illinois Infantry was mainly recruited in Crawford County, with the following officers: Captain, Alexander G. Sutherland; First Lieutenant, James Moore; Second Lieutenant, Robert Plunkett. It was organized in September, 1861. Capt. Sutherland, resigned April 15, 1864, and was succeeded by Robert Duckwith, who resigned September 18, 1865. Lieut. Moore resigned May 29, 1863, and was succeeded by Nieholas Glaze, who was mustered out September 14, 1864. Robert Stewart, then promoted to First Lieutenant, was mustered out March 20, 1866, and Lieut. Plunkett mustered out in the fall of 1864. The regiment took part in the Siege of Corinth, the Battle of Perryville, and in the capture of an ammunition train, two caissons and nearly a hundred prisoners. In the Battle of Stone River, it lost 34 killed, 109 wounded and 34 missing. It fought at Liberty Gap, and, at Chickamauga, lost 180 in killed, wounded and missing out of its complement of 301 men. On February 29, 1864, the regiment re-enlisted and went through the Atlanta campaign. It was mustered out December 31, 1865.

Company F, of the Sixty-second Regiment, was recruited in Crawford County, which also furnished two of its field officers, namely: Guy S. Alexander, who rose from Second Lieutenant to be Major of Company F, and Stephen F. Meeker, who was promoted from the rank of Major to Lieutenant Colonel. Company D of the same regiment also had some Crawford County men. The officers of the former company were as follows: Captain, Joseph Crooks; First Lieutenant, James J. McGrew; Second Lieutenant, Guy S. Alexander. The last named was promoted to be Captain December 16, 1864, Capt. Crooks having died in October 7, preceding and Lieut. McGrew having resigned. George B. Everingham, who had successively been Second and First Lieutenant, was promoted to Captain. George F. Dollihan was promoted to the First Lieutenancy, and transferred, and John E. Miller,

James Moore and Washington T. Otey were in turn made Second Lieutenants. The regiment was organized in April, 1862, at Auna, Ill. and went to Cairo, thence to Paducah and Columbus, Ky., and later to Tennessee and Mississippi. At Holly Springs, December 20, 1862, 170 of its men, including the Major and three Lieutenants, were eaptured by Gen. Van. Dorn's forces, but soon paroled. After seeing service in Mississippi and Arkansas in January, 1864, it re-enlisted as veterans being consolidated at Pine Bluff, Ark., into seven companies, and in July, 1865, was sent to Fort Gibson, Cherokee Nation, remaining in that region until March 6, 1866, when it was mustered out at Little Rock.

Company G, of the Sixty-third Illinois (also organized at Anna), was recruited in Crawford County, Joseph R. Stanford being Captain; W. B. Russell, First Lieutenant and W. P. Richardson, Second Lieutenant. On June 14, 1865, Capt. Stanford, was commissioned as Major; George W. Ball was made First Lieutenant. Russell resigned and died May 24, 1864, Charles G. Cochran then becoming First Lieutenant and afterwards Captain. Harvey G. Wycoff was promoted to First Lieutenant, Lieut. W. B. Russell having resigned in the spring of 1863, and George B. Richardson was made Second Lieutenant, being sueceeded by Benjamin B. Fannam. The regiment was mustered into service in December, 1861, and went successively to Cairo, Ill, Jackson, Tenn., and Vicksburg. After the surrender of Vicksburg, it was sent to Helena, Ark., Memphis and in the direction of Chattanooga, taking part in the Battle of Mission Ridge. It re-enlisted January 1, 1864, took part in Sherman's march to the sea and was mustered out at Louisville, Ky., July 13, 1865. "The Sixty-third contained originally 888 men, of whom 272 re-enlisted. During its service, it traveled by rail 2208 miles; by water, 1,995 miles, and marched 2,250 miles.

A small number of men from Crawford County served in the Seventy-ninth Illinois but this county was more fully represented in the Ninetyeighth than in any other regiment. It was organized at Centralia, Ill., and mustered into service September 3, 1862, and went first to Kentucky, marching thence in the following November, into Tennessee. Late in December, it was ordered northward in pursuit of Gen. Morgan. Returning to Nashville, it was mounted March

8, 1863, and did scouting service until the Chattanooga campaign in which it took part. It was in the fights at Ringgold, Buzzard's Roost, Dallas and Marietta, afterwards doing its share in the capture of Selma, Ala. and finally being mustered out June 27, 1865. Two companies of the Ninety-eighth, D and E, were composed of Crawford County men. The commissioned officers were: William Wood, Captain; Jas. H. Watts, First Lieutenant and William G. Young, Second Lieutenant. On February 22, 1863, David L. Condrey became First Lieutenant, vice Watts, resigned, Second Lieutenant Young being promoted to the captaincy, December 5, 1864, on the resignation of Captain Wood. Archillas M. Brown was promoted to Second Lieutenan:.

The following were the first officers of Company E: John T. Cox, Captain; Ira A. Flood, First Lieutenant, and Charles Wilson, Second Lieutenant. Lieut. Flood sutceeded Capt. Cox April 18, 1863, and became Major of the regiment June 15, 1865. George B. Sweet became Second Lieutenant, then First Lieuténant and finally Captain. John Baes became Second Lieutenant, and then First Lieutenant. J. W. Jones was promoted to be Second Lieutenant, vice Lieut. Willard, who resigned March 20, 1863.

Company H of the One Hundred and Thirtyfifth Illinois, a 100-day regiment, was mainly made up in Crawford County. Its Captain was James B. Wicklin, and Philip Brown and A. D. Dey were its First and Second Lieutenants.

Company H of the One Hundred and Fiftysecond Illinois, a one-year regiment, was enlisted in Crawford County, with George W. Beam as Captain, Wm. Dyer, First Lieutenant, and Ferdinand Hughes, Second Lieutenant. This regiment was organized February 18, 1865, and mustered out September 11, 1865.

The One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Illinois enlisted for one-year, was organized February 18, 1865, and mustered out September 4, 1865. It contained a company mainly from Crawford County, the officers being: John W. Lowler, Captain; Ross Neeley, First Lieutenant, and Marshall C. Wood Second Lieutenant.

Company F, Fifth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, was mostly composed of Crawford County men with the following officers: Captain Horace P. Mumford ; First Lieutenant, Francis M. Dorothy ; Second Lieutenant, Wm. Wagensueller, On May 24, 1863, Capt. Mumford became Major.

Lieut. Wagenseller was promoted to First Lieutenant, January 10, 1863, vice Lieut. Dorothy, and became Captain May 24, 1863. Thomas J. Dean was promoted to First Lieutenant, May 24, 1863, and Captain, July 5, 1864. James H. Wood was made Second Lieutenant, May 24, 1863, First Lieutenant, July 5, 1864, and Captain, September 20, 1864. Edwin P. Martin became Second Lieutenant, and then Adjutant, and Jacob Stifal was made First Lieutenant. James G. Bennett was promoted to Second Lieutenant, October 26, 1865. Quartermaster Robert C. Wilson and Surgeon William Watts were residents of Crawford County. Maj. Mumford, a most meritorious ofücer, died October 26, 1864, and Capt. Dean, September 20th of the same year.

A considerable number of men from Crawford County enlisted in Indiana and Missouri regiments, those of the latter State especially having many residents of this county on their muster rolls.

But one war draft affected the county during the Civil War, and the following table of quotas, credits and deficits, by precincts, shows the status of each in this respect:

Before the date set for the draft, the deficits were reduced by additional enlistments, the number finally required to complete the quota being as follows: Franklin 16; Watts 8; Licking 8; Hutsonville 1; Oblong 3; Northwest 4; and Montgomery 10; with a corresponding number of "reserves."

It will be seen from the foregoing war statisties, that the enlistments of Crawford County eompare favorably with those of other counties of the State.