Twenty
First Illinois Infantry
Company B, of this regiment, was principally made up
from Cumberland County volunteers, a few members only coming from Coles
County. The officers of the Company were: Captain, J. P. H. Stevenson,
till 1863; P. Wolsheimer, till March, 1865; Austin Blake, till mustered
out. First Lieutenant, P. Wolsheimer, till promoted; C. L. Smeidell,
till 1863; Austin Blake, from April to August, 1863; H. A. Ashmore,
till mustered out. Second Lieutenant, C. L. Smeidell, May, 1861, till
March, 1863; Austin Blake, from March 19 till April 27, 1863; A. Y.
Hart, April, 1863, to September, 1864; O. Goodin, till mustered out.
The regiment was organized in the Seventh Congressional District,
and rendezvoused at Mattoon. On the 15th of May it was mustered
into the State service, for thirty days, but on the 28th of June it was
mustered into the United States service for three years, with U. S.
Grant as Colonel. August 6, 1861, Col. Grant was commissioned
Brigadier General, and was succeeded in command of the regiment by
Lieut. Col. J. A.Y.. S. Alexander, who was killed at Chickamauga.
On the 4th of July, 1861, the
regiment marched for Missouri, an innovation in the usual plan of
moving troops out of the State. Arriving at Mexico, Mo., after various
experiences which savored of war, but without meeting an enemy, the
regiment rested for two weeks, when it proceeded by rail to Ironton,
Mo. Here the Twenty First remained until October 20, when it marched
out and participated in the fight at Fredericktown, returning
after the engagement to Ironton, where the regiment remained until the
latter part of January, 1862. At this time it formed a part of Gen.
Steele's force, which marched on Jacksonport, Ark., but here it was
ordered to Corinth, via Cape Girardeau, and reached Hamburg Landing May
24,1862. On the evacuation of Corinth, the Twenty First was placed in
pursuit of the retreating enemy, Whom. it followed as far as
Booneville, Miss., when it returned and formed a part of the
expedition to Holly Springs. On the 14th of August, 1862, the
regiment was ordered to join Gen. Buell's army in Tennessee, and,
marching via Eastport, Miss., Columbia, Tenn., Florence, Ala.,
Franklin, Murfreesboro and Nashville, Tenn., it arrived at Louisville,
Ky., September 27, 1862. In the ensuing campaign against Bragg, the
Twenty First bore an honorable part, engaging in the battles of
Perryville and Champlin Hill, Company F being the first to enter
Perryville . From thence the regiment marched to Crab Tree
Orchard, and Bowling Green, in Kentucky, and thence to Nashville, Tenn.
On the movement of
the army from
Nashville, in December, 11 1862, this regiment formed a part of the
Second Brigade, First Division, Twentieth Army Corps, and was in the
skirmish at Knob Gap. On the 30th of the month, the Twenty Sixth, in
company with the Fifteenth Wisconsin, Thirty Eighth Illinois, and One
Hundred and First Ohio, had a severe engagement with the enemy near
Murfreesboro, where it charged the famous rebel " Washington Light
Artillery," twelve Parrott guns, and succeeded in driving every man
from the battery, when it was compelled to fall back by the advance of
a division of infantry. During this battle this regiment had a fierce
struggle and did gallant duty, losing more men than any other regiment
engaged. From Murfreesboro to Chattanooga, the Twenty First was with
Rosecrans' army, and took part in the skirmish at Liberty Gap, and
subsequently in the great battle of Chickamauga, where it lost 238
officers and men. After the latter light, the regiment was attached to
the First Brigade, Fourth Division, Fourth Army Corps, and remained at
Bridgeport, Ala., till the latter part of 1863. The regiment was
subsequently ordered to Texas, where it was mustered out of the
service, and finally discharged at Camp Butler, January 18, 1866.
From, the
publication of the society
of the regiment, in 1881, the casualties of Company B are
given, as follows: Allison, Lewis F., died at Andersonville Prison,
June 24, 1864; Ashmore, Thos. J.. killed at Stone River, December
30,1832; Ashmore, John H., killed at Stone River, December 31,1862;
Ashmore, Hezekiah A., died at Oakland, Ill., date unknown; Akers,
Albertis, died at,???? Ill., date unknown; Buchanan, Wm. W., died at
Neoga, Ill., 1865; Benge, Lewis F., died, place and date unknown;
Brannon, Thos. H., died tit Neoga, Ill., 1878; Compton, Wm. H., died at
Andersonville Prison, November 16, 1864; Collins, John G-, died in
Wisconsin, date unknown; Dodds, Thos. H., died at Ironton, Mo., October
16,1861; Devers, Geo. W.., died -at Andersonville Prison, April
18,18:54;
Furguson, Wm. E., killed at Stone River, December 31, 1862; Gordon,
Allen, died at Charleston, Ill.; Gilliard, Leander, died in Coles
County, Ill.; Hedge, Wesley, died of wounds, at Stone River, January
11,1853; Howard, Samuel, died in Cumberland County, Ill., 1877;
Kensell, Wm., killed at Stone River,, December 31,1862; Kensell,
Ephraim, died at Ironton, Mo., November 5,1861; Kise, Edward, died at
Watseka, Ill., date unknown; Lake, John, died at Louisville, Ky., date
unknown; Lake, Andrew J., died since discharge; Lewis, John W.., died
of
wounds, at Stone River, February 8, 1810; Miller, Hiram C., died at
Columbus, Ky., 1852; Maynard, Jno., died of wounds, at Nashville,
Tenn., February 25, 1.863.; McCormack, Hugh, died in Rebel Prison,
Danville, Va.; Moffat, James M., killed at Chickamauga, September 20,
1863; Potter, Francis M., died at Ironton, Mo., date unknown; Russell,
Samuel D., died at Niles, Cal., date unknown; Redfern, John H., killed
at Stone River, December 31,1862; Robinson, Thomas, died of wounds at
Stone River, February 13,1863; Ruwsey, John C., died at Andersonville
Prison, May 10, 1864; Ross, Henry, died in Illinois, place and date
unknown; Rhodes, Jacob E., died at Corinth, Miss., September 27,1862;
Rhodes, Franklin, died in Coles County, Ill., date unknown; Sell,
James, died at Buffalo, Kansas., December 27, 1878; Tefft, Jerome,
died at Ironton, Mo., October 17, 1861; Williams, Daniel, died May 4,
1864; Wharton, Henry, died in Illinois, place and date unknown; West,
David, died at Chattanooga, Tennessee., December 23, 1863; Willson,
Thomas
J., died since discharge. The surviving members were reported at the
same time, as follows: Captain P. Wolsheimer, Neoga, Ill.,
Postmaster ; Captain Austin Blake, Thayer, Kansas., farmer; Second
Lieutenant A. Y. Hart, Paradise, Ill., carpenter; Alliback, Joseph R.,
New York City, commercial agent; Berry, W. N., Majority Point, Ill.,
farmer; Bemer, Chris., Brushy Fork, Ill.; Curtis, Thos. H.,' Lovington,
Ill., shoe-maker; Curtis, Edward, Tuscola, Ill., painter; Condit, Jacob
H, Neoga, Ill., farmer; Clark, William, Great Bend, Kansas., farmer;
Clark, Fred. L., Great Bend, Kansas., farmer; Cain, John G., Nashville,
Tenn., R. R. postal clerk; Eggers, George, Majority Point, Ill..,
farmer; Elliott, Aaron, Ironton, Mo.; Ewing, M. A., Neoga, Ill.,
mechanic; Forcum, John E., Neoga, Ill., farmer; Wilson, James, Mattoon,
Ill., laborer; Gordon, Robert S-, Mount Carmel, Ill., druggist ;
Goodwin, Orville S., Bell Air, Ill., farmer; Hendrix, Samuel, Paradise,
Ill., farmer; Hoover, Samuel N., Xenia, Ill.., farmer; Hacket,) Charles
R., Great Bend, Kansas., farmer; Hart, Chesterfield, White's Mill, Ky.,
farmer; Hilderbrandt, Francis, southeast corner Twenty Fifth Street
and Cass Avenue, Saint Louis, tailor; Jones, Wiley, Johnstown,
III., farmer; Kiery, Alfred W., Neoga, Ill., farmer; Kiger, George
W., Whitley's Point, Ill., farmer; Landsdown, Marion, Oakland, Ill.,
artist; Lands-down, James E., Oakland, Ill., farmer;
Martin, James, Carlton, Neb.., farmer; Mimdell, Robert, ????
, Kansas., farmer; Newbanks, Henry M., Effingham, Ill., laborer;
Poorman, Noah, Larned, Kansas., farmer; Pemberton, James B., Newman,
Ill.,
hotel keeper; Phipps, Thomas J., Newton, Ill., miller; Phipps, William,
Shell City, Mo.; Pitt, William, Blue Earth, Minn., farmer; Rice,
William; Rhodes, Edwin, Ottumwa, Iowa, farmer; Stone, John, Newman,
Ill., merchant; Sayre, Thomas P., Florence, Kansas., farmer; Wilson,
Samuel F., Neoga, Ill. druggist; Wooley, Horace F., Rattle Snake,
Kansas.,
farmer; Wright, Richard, Jonesville, Ind., farmer ; Waller, John T.,
Mattoon, Ill., locomotive engineer; Waller, Franklin, Keokuk, Iowa,
carpenter; Winkler, John, Oakland, HI.; Bigelow, William H.; Davis,
Eli, Jonesville, Ind.; Ferguson, James ; Holbrooks, Columbus,
Castle Rock, Colo.; Kinney, Oliver C. W.; McComas, Armond -; Ziegler,
William, Spring Ranch, Neb.., farmer.