52 Ancestors: Conflict

This week’s blog prompt is Conflict.  This caused me to pause and think about some of the conflicts (that I know about) in my family.  I’ve written about some:

I wrote about the conflict my paternal grandfather, Sig Levy, had with his brothers HERE. 

And then there was my black sheep ancestor, William Warren McAboy, who was called A Brutal Father in the newspaper – you can read about that HERE. 

And while I don’t know any of the specifics, there must have been conflict between my maternal grandparents, Clara Fitzgerald and Earle Martin, because they had divorced by 1940 which was pretty uncommon for that time.

But I was mulling over some other conflicts, most importantly events that affected more than just my family.  The Civil War fits into that category and since I had a few ancestors who served, I decided to pull out a pension record and learn a little more.

One of my ‘favorite’ ancestors continues to be Emery Waller, my 3x great grandfather.  I’ve written a lot about finding Emery in an unmarked grave HERE but never really focused on the conflict that affected him for his entire life.

Emery enlisted in 39th Illinois Infantry in August, 1861.  The organization of Company I commenced as soon as news of Fort Sumpter reached Chicago and on 13 October 1861, the Regiment left Camp Mather, Chicago with Emery as First Lieutenant.   The Regiment reported to Brigadier General Curtis, at Camp Benton, St. Louis, Missouri.

From there the Regiment went to Williamsport, Maryland and then on to Hancock, Maryland.  On January 3, 1862, the advance of a rebel force 15,000 strong, under command of "Stonewall" Jackson, attacked Companies D, I and K, in the command of Major Mann, near Bath, Virginia.  After the skirmish, the Company retreated up the railroad to Cumberland, Maryland. 

Since Cumberland was at this period threatened, the 39th was ordered to make a forced march of 40 miles, over terrible roads, which was accomplished in the short space of 18 hours.  The Regiment suffered seriously from sickness, due to constant exposure and excessive duty. The weather was intensely cold, and cattle cars were the only quarters to be had for the command. But the men endured these hardships for over two months with scarcely a murmur, even though their comrades were dying around them.  The Regiment took part in the fight at Winchester, 23 March 1862, that resulted in the utter defeat of "Stonewall" Jackson's forces.

Emery resigned from this Regiment on 14 June 1862 and by 4 September 1862 was reinstated as Captain in Company I, 107th Illinois, which was mustered into the United States service at Camp Butler, Illinois that day.  This Regiment consisted of six companies from DeWitt County and four companies from Piatt County.

This Regiment traveled to Jeffersonville, Indiana and several weeks later, crossed Ohio River to Louisville.  Then on to Elizabethtown, Kentucky to meet General John Morgan, who was advancing in that direction.  A slight skirmish ensued which resulted in the capture of some of the enemy yet no casualties to the Regiment.

From there the Regiment moved to Mumfordsville, Kentucky in early December where it remained until March, 1863 when it left for Glasgow to stay until June.  On 18 June, 1863 they marched to Tompkinsville, Kentucky on the Cumberland River in order to meet the movement of John Morgan who was preparing to invade Kentucky.  After moving on to Lebanon, Kentucky in late August, they proceeded with General Burnside to East Tennessee. 

There are various references to the unit being in Loudon and Knoxville during the later months of 1863.  Most important was the mention of the advancement of General Longstreet near Loudon and the ensuring skirmishes.  On 15 December, 1863, Emery Waller resigned.

It’s interesting to read in more detail the movement of this Regiment as I read through Emery’s pension records to learn about his disabilities.  Here’s an example of one of the pages.  While I would like nothing more than to see a photo of Emery (to visualize him, as my dad would have said), it’s pretty amazing to have the notes from his pension records in his own handwriting. 

I have no witness in this case as I was cut off from my command at Campbell Station near Knoxville, Tennessee by Longstreets force and I made for the Rail Road about 100 yards distance and Caveraly [sic] followed me and shot me twice above the left knee as above stated I jumped down a pressings(?) about ten foot and sculked a long the bank until I reached our lines and Lieut. Cal Landry dressed the wounds and he was killed at Franklin, Tennessee about 1/2 of Co. G of the 111 Ohio was cut off with me and Lieut. Weedman of Co. G of our Reg but he died about three months since Co. G have no one to prove my wounds by so if you cant make a case from my affidavit then you will have to drop it and take the spinal and kidney diseases which has risen from the chronic diahrea[sic] and piles this is a full statement of my case.  I can’t furnish any other testimony.  This was in the fall of 1863.

Emery lived the next 25+ years with his disabilities.  He stated on several occasions that his diarrhea and piles were caused by being “compelled to use green corn”.  And on 26 January, 1885, Emery stated during an interview that “I have suffered more this winter than I have ever done”.

Emery’s interviews also mentioned that in the spring of 1862 at Winchester, Virginia he “contracted rheumatism and was greatly disabled for manual labor.”  He also stated he was treated at field hospitals in Knoxville and Loudon.

It’s incomprehensible to think just how many people were affected by this conflict.  Emery was just one person and each story is heartbreaking.

Again, thanks for your service, Emery L. Waller.