Madison County, Illinois - Chapter 36: Various War Times, 1912 (part 2 of 2)

Several camps of the Sons of Veterans exist, or have existed in the county, per¬ petuating the principles transmitted to them by their sires.

Brink s History of Madison County gives the following names of pensioners among the pioneers of the county: Asa Brooks, private New York volunteers, pension dated Novem¬ ber 10, 1815; William Preuitt, U. S. Ranger, pension dated November 2, 1814; William Richards, private Third U. S. Rifles, pension dated April 24, 1815. This history also gives the following names of soldiers of the Revolu¬ tion who later became residents of Madison county: Elihu Mather, sergeant Connecticut full. The fourth company, the Buckmaster Guards, went to St. Louis and enlisted as a company in a Missouri regiment. Many other members of the unaccepted companies did likewise, enlisting as in¬ dividuals in Missouri regiments. The Madison Guards was a crack Edwardsville company before the war. When the war broke out its captain, Joseph H. Sloss, a Southern man, went into the Confederate army. Joseph G. Robinson then became captain and entered the Union army. He was wounded at Fort Donelson, Shiloh and Corinth.

Continentals, died September, 1831 ; Daniel Brown, sergeant; Jesse Conway, Michael Deck, Henry Thornhill, Nathaniel West, pri¬ vates, Virginia Continentals; Martin Preuitt, Richard Randle, same; John Gillham, Isaac Gillham, privates South Carolina Continent¬ als; William Hall, sergeant, same; A. A. Harrison, Pennsylvania Continentals; John Long, Joseph McAdams, William McAdams, John Robinson, Henry Reavis, Francis Roach, Harris Reavis, Isham Randle, Laban Smart, George Bridges, privates. North Caro¬ lina Continentals. To this list the writer adds, Gaius Paddock, of Fort Russell; also Cap¬ tain Jabez Turner, who was a resident of Godfrey in early days, died there and he is buried in the cemetery of that village.

''In 1872 the following residents of this county, soldiers of the war of 1812, were in receipt of pensions: Samuel Seybold, Jesse Renfro, William Shaw and Jubilee Posey, of Troy; Andrew Keown, of Alhambra; Solo¬ mon Preuitt, Fort Russell; John Anderson, Collinsville ; Abraham Howard and Philip Gatch, Highland; Archibald Lamb, Lamb's Point; Andrew Rule and Thomas Sutton, St. Jacob. Mrs. Mary Barnsback, widow of George Barnsback, and Mrs. Cynthia Keown, widow of James Keown, were also pensioners of soldiers of that war.

Thirty-three years after the close of the great Civil war the call to arms again sounded through the land, but this time the nation was not called upon to rally to the defense of the government against internal foes, but to help the people of a neighboring isle free them¬ selves from the tyranny of an old-world des¬ potism. There was instantaneous response to the call from the young manhood of Illinois and it was noticeable that the sons of the sol¬ diers of the Civil war were as enthusiastic as their fathers were, a generation previous, in responding to the call of the government. For this foreign war the state of Illinois was called upon to furnish nine regiments of infantry, one of cavalry and its force of Naval Re¬ serves. Many more troops were offered than could be accepted. One of the divisions of Naval Reserves accepted by the government was that from Madison county. It was the only organization mustered into the service, as a whole, from the county. Many other young men, besides the members of the Alton division, enlisted in various Illinois regiments and in the regular afmy as individuals. They included quite a large contingent of colored men who enlisted in the Eighth Illinois, a col¬ ored regiment of infantry.

A brief sketch of the Alton Naval Reserves is appended, for the data of which the editor is indebted to Lieutenant J. B. Maxfield, the present commander of the division and the only one of its present membership who par¬ ticipated in the Spanish-American war.

The Alton Naval Reserves, now known as the Ninth Division Illinois Naval Reserves, was organized and mustered into the state service February i, 1896, with the following officers : George E. Wilkinson, lieutenant commanding; E. V. Crossman, lieutenant (J. G.) ; Baker H. Ash and H. H. Hewitt, ensigns. There were fifty-eight men on the rolls at the end of the first year. At that time it was known as the Third division of the Second battalion, Naval Militia of Illinois. On the 1 2th day of June, 1898, sixty-four men and two officers, Lieutenant William L. Sparks and Ensign H. H. Hewitt, were enlisted in the regular service of the United States for the Spanish-American war. The division left Al¬ ton immediately and joined other divisions at Chicago and thence was sent to Norfolk, Vir¬ ginia, where they went on board the receiving ship ''Franklin," where they remained about ten days and were then detailed to various United States ships, including the "Harvard," "Yale," "Newark," "Leyden," "Lancaster" and "Cincinnati." The "Newark" and "Yale" had the distinction of capturing several prizes, and the "Harvard" was at the naval battle of San¬ tiago. While she did not take part in the bat¬ tle she gathered about 1,300 prisoners, includ¬ ing 34 officers from the destroyed Spanish ships, and afterwards landed the men at Montauk, New York and Portsmouth, New Hamp¬ shire and the officers at Annapolis, Maryland.

When peace was declared the men were col¬ lected from the different ships at the Brook¬ lyn navy yard and returned home. They were mustered out of the United States service at Alton, September 12, 1898. Many of them reenlisted in the state service and new recruits were taken in to keep up the division.

In 1901 the navy department assigned the U. S. S. "Dorothea" for the use of the Illi¬ nois Naval Reserves on the great lakes. In 1909 the U. S. S. "Nashville" replaced the "Dor¬ othea," and in 1911 the "Dubuque" succeeded the "Nashville." The same year the Illinois Reserves were reorganized and the Alton or¬ ganization was designated the Ninth division of the Illinois Naval Reserves.

The Ninth division is at present in good con¬ dition. It has fifty men and four officers and is better equipped than it has ever been. It is now endeavoring to get the government to assign a torpedo boat for use of the division on the Mississippi, with good prospects of having the request granted.