the annotated civil war letters of john knight

THE ANNOTATED

CIVIL WAR LETTERS

OF

PRIVATE JOHN KNIGHT

(SEVENTH IOWA INFANTRY VOLUNTEER REGIMENT,

COMPANY D, FIRST BRIGADE, SECOND DIVISION,

SIXTEENTH ARMY CORPS)

Researched and annotated by Lea Rash, 2012

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Dedication

This short book is a tribute to our ancestors who struggled through countless hardships and sorrows in life and yet triumphed because of their enduring family ties and faith in the Almighty. This work is especially dedicated to John Knight’s sister, my twice-widowed great-great grandmother, Rachel Knight Padgitt Adams who raised nine children while eventually enduring a long migration from her native Iowa to Washington State. Her courage, like her brother John’s, is an inspiration to us all.

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Acknowledgements

This book could not have been written without the generosity of Phyllis Schaffer in providing the contents of John Knight’s letters.

The verification of names, places and dates would not have been possible without the helpfulness and tireless assistance of Quaker historian Thomas Hamm of Indiana, as well as Lee County Iowa Genealogical Society’s researcher Frances Sprunger and librarian Mary Hull. I am also very grateful for the help rendered by all the various librarians I contacted in Iowa and Tennessee who patiently assisted in determining distances between various locations, as well as providing anecdotal information concerning place names. A special “thank you” goes to Mississippian writer Beth Jacks for her interpretations of various Civil War and southern expressions that are found in these letters. The cooperative spirit and the information provided by each of the people mentioned above are deeply appreciated because they kept my motivation for this project consistently in high gear.

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THE ANNOTATED CIVIL WAR LETTERS

OF JOHN KNIGHT

The following eight letters were written in 1864 by John Knight. More specifically, they were written during the Union's Atlanta campaign, one of the most heavily troop-deployed campaigns of the Civil War, leading up to the fierce and bloody Battle of Resaca along Georgia’s Oostanaula River. Indeed, the name Resaca is symbolically evocative of death for one of its meanings is "dry river" in Spanish[1].

John's sister, Rachel[2] (my great-great grandmother) handed these letters down from mother to daughter until they reached her great granddaughter, Phyllis Schaffer who retrieved the boxed hand-me-down letters out of a waste bin – her elderly mother having thrown them away prior to entering a nursing home in the 1990s. Ironically, they had become "just some old letters".

Ultimately, the above account is sadly ironic since letters from home were extremely important to John. He knew all too well that the best way to get letters was to write them, and his yearning for them unmistakably increased with each passing day. Like nearly all soldiers in the military[3], John regularly wrote letters home not only to express any incidents of possible interest to his family, but also to reassure them that he was still alive and well. At the same time, because he possessed a limited rural education, John struggled somewhat to write well, to spell words properly and to punctuate. Then again, he wrote with feeling. You will notice a gradual heightening of emotion in his letters as John edges closer to eventually engaging in the battle of his life.

At the time these letters were being written, John frequently addressed and referred to particular family members living in Pilot Grove in his native Iowa. For the sake of reader familiarity with them, their ages and other details are as follows: Father: Samuel Knight, age 44 (raised in Indiana)[4] ; Mother: Lydia Esther Coffin Knight, age 40 (raised in Indiana); Grandfather (Lydia’s step-father): Daniel Votaw, age 81 (raised in Virginia)[5]. Interestingly, John comes from a long line of Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) on both sides of the family. In fact, his parents worked for a Friends School in Pilot Grove, Iowa[6]. Even though Quakers have generally maintained both antiwar and antislavery stances throughout American history, some Quakers, like John, did enlist in the Union Army[7].

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John and his siblings included: Jane/“Jennie” age 20 (born in Indiana); John himself age 18; Isaac J., age 16; Sarah M., age 14; Barnabas/“Barney”, age 12; Rachel, age 7; Mary/“Minnie”, age 5 and Elmer, a toddler who turned 2 at the time that John was engaged in combat at Resaca[8]. John’s quill-penned letters were first typed on a typewriter by Phyllis Schaffer in 1994. I have retyped them on a word processor for this book. In only a few places, the reader will see an underlined blank space as an indication that the first typing was made difficult due to John’s over-crowding of individual letters in words that made them illegible or because the original ink was faded in places and indecipherable.

Introduction to Letter OneJohn Knight was 15 years old when the American Civil War began on April 12, 1861. Later that summer word would have certainly spread in the community that the Seventh Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment had just begun serving the Union Army[9]. John would have gradually begun hearing a profusion of stories about the renowned regiment’s gallantry and heroism fighting with distinction in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, near Springfield, Missouri (1861), and of the regiment’s battles in such places as Belmont, Missouri (1861); Fort Donelson, Tennessee (1862); Shiloh, Tennessee (1862); and Corinth, Mississippi (1862) among scores of others[10]. Throughout the Civil War the political sentiment in John’s small home town of Pilot Grove remained intense[11]. On February 20, 1864 when Lieutenant Colonel J.C. Parrot arrived in Keokuk with his regiment[12], word must have spread quickly for two days later, and despite his beloved parents’ distress[13], John left his farm work to enlist[14], as a Private[15] in the Seventh Iowa Infantry Volunteer Regiment of Company D, First Brigade, Second Division, Sixteenth Army Corps. By February 25th, about 200 young Iowan men like John had been mustered for service[16].

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:

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[17]

Although eager to prove himself as a soldier, John patiently endured the Army’s hustle-then-hold-your-horses policy[18]. While the majority of the Seventh Iowa Regiment had left Keokuk on February 27th by steamboat with Lt. Col. Parrot[19], John’s letter written the same day indicates that his troop had not been included just yet…

[Letter 1]

Keokuk, Iowa[20]

Feb. the 27th 1864

Dear Father and Mother.

I take my pen in hand to write a few lines to inform you that I am a well and hope this may find you the same. I do not know when we will leave keokuk there is a steam boat up here this morning and the boys all thought that they would got to go down on it but they were all mistaken. I dont care how soon we start down south although I like staying here very well we have very good grub for breakfast we have coffee good light bread potatoes molasses fried mush which suits me very well. for dinner we have all the beans bread molasses good beef that we want. for supper we have good coffee with sugar in it potatoes beef bread and molasses[21]. oh I will get fat as a bear I have got aquainted with most of the boys in the company and we get along fine Jack[22] and I bunk together you must excuse my bad writing and spelling I am writing on my knapsack for the first time it goes kinder funny but I will get used to it by and by. I have not got my pay yet I think I will get it today[23] . I would liked if father could a stayed a little longer when he was down

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here I would a liked to have gone and stayed with him but I could not I have drawed my coat and cap and drawers socks knopsack and canteen and . but I did not get my pants nor shoes I will have to wear this pant for a while I will leave my coats here till they can get them[24] as soon as I get my pay I will get my likeness took about a dozzen times[25] and send up there tell Jane and sarrah Isac and barney and pap to all wright to me direct to this place till you hear of us leaving then direct to Caire[26] _____ mac[27] and Jack has gone to Ft. Madison[28]

and they will be back to day we had a good time a coming down here they boys are all in good spirits a person can not get lonesome if he wants to ever so bad the boys are all accomodating as they can be they will lend a fellow any thing that they have got. I sent a little pamphlet to Jane I sent it to pilot Grove[29] I aimed to send it to St. Paul[30] but did not. I will send my letters all to St. Paul. So no more at present I remain thy affectionate son John KnightTo Lydia Esther KnightPS. I forgot to say please write soon 1864

~~~~~Upon finding himself in Tennessee, John compares aspects of it to his familiar Iowa. Four of John’s letters from this point onward make varying references to John’s bunkmate Jack, the men in Company D and Nathan, who all kindle mild concern because of sickness. Illness and infirmity were typical of farm boys new to the army. Young men from rural areas commonly led a sheltered life and did not build up a great deal of natural resistance to infection. After bunking together under the same roof, frequently many would develop potentially serious attacks of flu, chills (ague), mumps, measles, etc.[31] Somewhat paradoxically, John’s regiment soon encounters a scarred battlefield, which quickly prompts touching self-reflection and sobering contemplation of the hereafter in John…

[Letter 2]

Camp Gale richmond Creek Middle Tennessee March the 10th 64

Dear mother and father

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I take the present opportunity of writing you a few lines to inform you that I am in good health and sincerely hope that these few lines may find you and all the rest of the family enjoying the same blessing I have wrote you five letters and have not received any answer as yet from them but I thought that I would write again. I like the looks of the Country down here very well as far as I have seen it only it is too hilly to suit me. the leaves have not Came out on the trees yet nor there is not any farming a going on here just yet the weather is Cloudy and looks like rain today I hope is will not rain for I don’t like it much. we are camped on a nice little Creek there is a mill on it [32] but there is not much custom that comes there[33] I was down to the mill to day and looked at the wheat that was brought in to grind it was very poor wheat it did not look much like the wheat that is brought to mill up there in Iowa. I got to ride as much as I cared about a comeing down I thought that we were never a going to stop we passed through the hard fought field of doneslow[34] and I had a fair view of the place that I heard so much talk about it looked like there had been pretty rough work there for all around the fort there was trees that was shot all to pieces I could scarcly believe that I was so far from home[35] but it was so and if it be my lot never to get back to my own dear home I will be contented with it. For I am going to live a better life than I have done before since I have been away from home I have seen that a person does not have to be wicked to be a soldier therefore I am going to try to be a good boy hereafter so that if I should get killed in battle or get sick and die that I will go to a better world instead of a world of torment I know that I have used you dear parents very wrong sometimes but I want you to forgive me for it and I will try to be better for time to come I want you all at home to try to do the best you can in this world so if we do not meet again in this world we will see each other in another better world now father and mother what I have wrote is the truth I thought that I would write to for I was sure that you would be glad of it tell Isaac to be a good boy and write to me and sarah and barney too. The boys are all well except Jack he had a shake of the ague yesterday and is pretty sick today I am in hopes he will get along all right in a few days. I guess our company will stay here all summer if they do we will get along fine there is plenty of timber handy to make camp fire and plenty of water handy and we have pretty good shantys to live in Jack and I and a man by

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the name of redding[36] stays in one shanty and we have made bunks to slleep in and got rye stray[37] to make beds of so we get along fine. I had no way of sending my Coats home from keokuk so I brought one of them along with me I left the black one at keokuk and if pap will go downe there I expect he can get it I left it where we stayed he knows where it is. I sent only 28 dollars home I bought a wach and one thing and another and it took a good deal of it I will get payed again in about 2 months and then I will send home somemore when you write please tell me if you have got it or not well I guess I will have to bring my letter to a close for the presentplease write soongive my love to Grandfather and all the rest of the familyyou must all write to meI remain your affectionate son John KnightTo Samuel and Lydia Esther KnightDirect letters to nashville, Tennessee[38]

~~~~~The following day, John writes an affectionate, paternal letter to his 12-year-old brother, Barnabas[39]. You will notice his misspelled use of the Quakerism "thee" throughout…

[Letter 3]

Camp GaleMiddle TennesseeMarch the 11th 1864

Barnabas C KnightSt Paul Lee CoIowa

Dear brother

Well barney, I thought I would write the a few lines to inform the that I am well and had not forgot him[40] yet nor do I expect to. I hope that these few lines may find the all well and husky which is a good thing. I want the to be a good boy and mind what Father and Mother tell the to. The must not think hard of me for not sending the that fife[41] for I had no way of sending it.

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But I will make it all right as soon as I get a chance to do so the must go to school and learn all the can and be a good scholar if the can’t write to me get Mother or Jane to write for the kiss little Elmer and mary for me and tell Reachel that I have not forgot her yet. The must not use any bad language for I have quit it and intend to stick to it the must do all the can to help pap get along I hope that there will be better crops raised up there than has been for the last five years[42] tell me if Albert[43]

has been at our house since I left or not I guess I will quit for this time So Goodby please write soonI remain the affectionate brother John KnightTo Barnabas C Knight

~~~~~In spite of a recent night attack on one of his unit’s wagon trains, John reassures his mother and tells her of his courage, good health and fitness. Protectively, John advises his 16-year-old brother Isaac against joining the army…

[Letter 4]

Camp Gale Middle TennesseeMarch the 18th 64

Dear and not forgotten Mother

I take the present opportunity of writing a few lines in answer to thy welcome letter which I received a day or two ago which the wrote about the time we left keokuk also to inform the that I never was in better health than at present. Sow belly and crackers agrees with me very well at every meal I feel like I could eat everything before me I am getting fat as a hog camp life just suits me. I forgot to say that I hope these few lines may find all of you in good health which is the greatest blessing mankind can ask for. Joe Denney[44] and Hoag Sheldon[45]

arrived here a day or two ago with two other boys. I have got acquainted with all the other boys in the company and I like them all first rate but one and none of the boys likes him [46] but he will soon be gone home for he did not reenlist the boys are all just as kind to me as brothers they will lend a fellow anything that they have got. I was on picket guard[47] last

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night and there was some gurrilas attacked one of our wagon trains and drove them in here and we expected to be attacked every moment but I did not feel afraid of them they did not for they well knowed what they would get if they did come[48] tell Isaac J that I say for him not to join the army for if he does he will wish that he had not when it comes to marching 20 miles a day and to carry a knapsack and canteen and haversack gun and accouterments[49]. We marched 20 miles the first day that we ever marched I got along first rate but I know very well that he would not stand it at all. and the best thing he can do is to stay at home awhile Tell Father and all the rest to write to me and not wait for me to write. for I have wrote them. The boys are all well except Jack he was sick and went to the regiment to get doctored he is about well now. I have wrote to about all the young folks up there and I am not going to them any more letters till I get answers from them now Mother I want the and all the rest to write to me don’t wait for me to write tell me all the news and everything that is going on up there. Give my love to Grandfather and Father and all the rest kiss little Elmer and Mary for me for I think of all of you everydayFarewell for this timeI remain thy affectionate sonJohn KnightTo Lydia Esther Knightdirect to pulaski Tenn[50]

write soon and oftenI forgot to say that I have directed my letters before this to St Paul but will hereafter direct all of them to Pilot Grove

~~~~~Although short on postage stamps[51], John immediately answers a welcome letter he has just received from his brother Isaac. Having now been issued a rifle with some drilling as to its use, John is even more enthusiastic about being a soldier. Filled with renewed optimism, his words to Isaac have become more encouraging …

[Letter 5]

Camp GaleBrowns Mills Tenn[52]

March the 31st 64

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Dear Brother

I take the present opportunity of writing you a few lines to inform you that I am in good health and hope that these few lines may find the and all the rest in good health and also answer thy welcome letter which I received this evening I was very glad to hear that you had not forgot to write to me I want all of you to write to me every chance you get don’t wait for me to write I will have to dry up writing pretty soon to anybody for I am about out of postage Stamps I only got a dollars worth of stamps at keokuk for I thought that I could get all I wanted down here but I can not get them here I expect I will have to get you to send me two or three dollars worth of Stamps you can take money out of that that I sent before to get them with. Well Isaac about the fiddle I guess you had better let it stay at John Harveys[53] for I promised him to let him have it till I come back he would think hard if the took it away the can go over there and learn to play if the wants to. Well Isaac there is no news of any account to tell that I know of Oh yes Jacob Votan [54]. was here the other day and we had a good old time Jake has growed like everything he is nearly as male and fat as a hog he says that nate morgan[55]. is well and is the same old four and six[56]. Well Isaac I like Soldiering first rate we have got our rifles now and the rebs[57] may come on if they feel like taking a brush with us. We are getting pretty well drilled and we get along fine Well I must quit for this time So Good by for this time please write soon and oftenI remain your affectionate BrotherJohn Knight

To Isaac J KnightP.S. Direct letters to pulaski TennesseeI forgot to say give my love to all the rest of the family and tell them all to write to me

~~~~~His tone considerably more somber now, John assures his mother that he has had no change of heart over his enlistment. Perhaps the surrender of a Confederate soldier has bolstered his unit’s spirits somewhat after a confrontation with rebel guerillas...

[Letter 6]

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Camp Gale Browns MillsEast Tennessee[58] April the 4th 1864

Dear parentsWith pleasure I take My pen in hand to write you a few lines to inform you that I am In good health and do cincerely and that these few lines may find you all alike blessed. I have only received three letters since I left home and I have wrote about twenty however I thought that I would write again I got a letter from Isaac the other day and I answered it it was wrote while Edd Rotan[59] was up there I want you all to write to me where you get my letters or not write any how for I am as glad to hear how things are a going on up there as well as you want to hear from me. There was a s___[60] came in here yesterday and gave himself up he had been in the rebel army nearly three years and had deserted he says that the rebels can not hold out longer than one year provided they can keep their army together for he says that the three years ___ that they have got that their time is out in July and that there is is three fourths of them that Swear that they are a going to serve no longer he thinks that they will give up then[61]. If they do all right and if not we will wipe them out and that pretty soon too. .Well Mother the told me I would be sorry for going in the army I have not regretted the least that I came for I am proud that I am a Soldier of Uncle Sams army down here a battleing for freedom and the right[62]. When this war is over and the rebellion crushed the Soldiers will have the honor of doeing it not them that stayed at home that could have went as well as not then some of the boys up there will wish that they had wore blue coats and brass buttons at least I think so. The boys are all well at present except three that went to the hospital the other day there has been but very little sickness in the company since we came here for we live on very high ground and have to sweep out and all around our quarters. We have the ground all around the quarter as clean as a floor and all the filth is halled off amile or so which makes it which makes it a great deal healthyer than it would otherwise be. We have very good grub.we have plenty of pork and beans beef rice coffee tee sugar hominy pees mush which you know suits me very well and we get milk once in a whille I ate so much mush and milk last night that I had to unbutten my pants which you all know is no uncommon thing at home Oh I am getting so

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fat that you would hardly know me I got weighed yesterday at the mill and you cant guess how much I weighed I weighed one hundred and sixty and when I left home I only weighed one hundred and forty five pounds. fifteen pounds gain is a doeing pretty well I think. You may think that I am a joking but I am not at all. I sent a book to Jane it was Pauline or General Mcllens spy[63] when any of you write tell me if it has got there or not. The team has gone to prospect[64] and I look for a letter from up ther I have wrote to nearly all the young folks up there but have received no answers from any of them yet.

I wrote Susan Dyer[65] a ltter and would have sent her my likeness but there is no chance to get any taken here now as soon as I get the chance I will get about forty taken and send them up there and show you how old tige[66] looks dressed in uncle sams suit. The have all got our arms now and the rebs may come on if they want lead rations[67]. dealt out to them in short order. There has been one band of gurillas through here and captured three men but they all got away from them and the band got captured by a regiment of our cavalry[68] and the leader hung. I guess I have wrote enough for this time without it was of more importance So I will bring my letter to a close I remain your affectionate sonJohn KnightTo Samuel and Lydia Esther nightP.S. Give my love to Grandfather and all the rest and tell them to write to me direct to pulaski TennesseeJohn Knight Co D 7th Regt Iowa Inftry vols[69]

~~~~~

Ten days later, a more frustrated John writes home to his parents having not received word from them since March 16. His letter ends with his demise uppermost in his mind…

[Letter 7]

Browns Mills TennesseeApril 14th 1864

Dear parents

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It is with the greatest of _______ that I take the present opportunity of writing you a few lines to inform you that I am enjoying good health and hope that these few lines may find all of you enjoying the same great blessing. I have despaired of getting any more letters from home I have not received any letters from up there for about three months weeks but I could not think that you had forgot me yet so I thought that I would write again. I have wrote to all the young folks up there but have received no answers from them except from Denneys boys[70] which I answered right away. but there is one thing certain and that is if the young folks don’t want to write to me they can the other thing I can do as well without hearing from them as they can me. I received a splendid letter from Almira[71]

which I answered with the greatest of pleasure the team has gone to town (prospect) today and I am looking every minute from them to return and hope they will bring some news in the shape of letters from the state of Iowa. The boys are all in the enjoyment of good health and spirits. Nathan has had a spell of the flu but he is about well again. Jack was very sick a couple of weeks ago but is getting fat as a pig you may think I have gained a little in weight I wayed one hundred and forty at keokuk and now I way one hundred and sixty two without my overcoat on. Now I want you to write to me and let me find out how things are going on in the state of Iowa. Well the team has come and I must go and see if I have the luck to get a letter I will write more after while. Bad luck no letters for me I will begin to think that you are a going to quit writing to me It does a fellow good to hear from home and what is a going on I heard that the home guards a were ordered up to davenport to guard prisoners[72]. I would rather be here than at davenport. Well something else The leaves are just comeing out on the trees here there is plenty of beech here right across the creek from here is very heavy timber nearly all beech some of the trees are three feet thick We burn beech all together here and it makes a very hot fire it is the prettiest timber that I ever saw smooth and white as can be there is very little hickory and oak or walnut here there is some elm and about two miles from here south there is tremendous heavy timber all poplar some of the trees are six and seven feet through and the majority from two to five through the niggers[73] haul them to the saw mill and you may guess that they make splendid lumber and are very easy

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sawed. I expect pap that the knows all about poplar and beech timber. There is a kind of tree that they call green top it stays green all winter and it looks splendid now the bluffs along the creek east of here is perfectly lined with cedar and pine which makes a spplendid sight at sunset. farming is a going on here fine and we have splendid weather here. Least I should weary your patience I will bring my few lines to a close I am not much afraid of the that however I will grit for this time[74] Please write soon all of you give my love to all the children and Grandfather and believe me to remain you affectionate son until Death

John KnightP.S.. Direct letters to nashville TennesseeTo Samuel and Lydia Esther KnightDown with the traitor[75]

~~~~~Around the 27th of April, the Seventh Iowa Infantry Regiment had started on the “ever-memorable Atlanta campaign” headed by Lieutenant Colonel J.C. Parrot[76]. Three weeks later, having already seen battle-disfigured sites in Tennessee, John crosses into Georgia and comes upon the eight-month-old deeply scarred battlefield of Chickamauga. Writing with a sense of foreboding, John reassures his family of his current good health and stamina as he mentally prepares for a major battle…

[Letter 8]

Camp on Chichamauga Creek near the old battle field of Chickamauga[77]

May the 6th 1864

Dear parents Brothers and Sisters

It is with the greatest of pleasure that I take my pen in hand for the purpose of writing you a few to inform you that we are in good health and hope that these few lines may find you the same. I received a letter from Jane and Sarah about the time we left Browns Mills[78] and did not have time to answer them and have not had any since till now. We have marched seven days since we left there and we stood it very well. I expected that Isaac would give out but he went through like a top[79] we

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marched 25 miles one day was the most that we marched the rebs are about three miles from here I don’t think that the rebs will stand a fight but they will have to do one or the other before long sure for when our force all gets here we will have about one hundred and seventy five thousand men[80] and men that is some account too. I have seen some sights since I left Brown’s Mills I have been on the battle fields of lookout Mountain Missionary ridge[81] and Chickamauga[82] there is trees on the chickamauga field two feet through that is tore all to pieces with shell and the trees are speckled with bullet holes I seen one grave where there was three hundred poor fellows was burried and there was old clothes and most everything a lying around yet it was an awful battle and no mistake. I and Isaac sent a vest apiece home[83] to Ft Madison I expect that they are there by this time Joe Denney sent an overcoat there too he said to tell you to get some money from ruth [84] and pay the express and get the coat. I want you all to write to us often for I expect that we will not have a very good chance to write for a while. I must bring my short letter to a close I will write more next time I remain in love to you allJohn KnightTo you all.Direct letters to Nashville Tennessee and be sure to write often

~~~~~General Sherman’s Atlanta campaign was now fully operational[85] and John’s regiment with Lieutenant Colonel J.C. Parrot’s Seventh Infantry, Brigadier General Elliott Rice's First Brigade, Brigadier General Thomas Sweeny's Second Division, Sixteenth Corps[86] made ready to travel 38 miles from Chickamauga to Resaca on the Oostanaula River[87]. It was an exhausting march, with Lay’s Ferry five miles downstream eventually being part of the plan for some designated soldiers [88].

On the eve of the Battle of Resaca, Union troops slept in their positions. Artillerymen slept by the guns that had worn them out from lugging the equipment across country. Infantrymen were consumed with pre-battle tensions that only brought anxiety-filled dreams. One soldier cried out in his sleep and instinctively pulled the trigger on his rifle breaking the still quiet of the night. Immediately reaching for their weapons, soldiers all down the line also groped for their gear. Apprehensively, they braced themselves for daybreak. At the start of dawn, gunfire became

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progressively greater and the wounded began staggering in from the front lines. Units advanced and readied for their attack [89].

John was likely part of the division of the Sixteenth Corps that was ordered to cross the Oostanaula River on Sunday, May 15 to threaten the Confederates’ line of retreat[90]. Marching into battle armed with less than 400 muzzle-loading shoulder firearms, the soldiers were attacked by an aggressive Confederate brigade. As Lieutenant John A. Joyce of the 24th Kentucky (Union) Regiment described it, "We charged across an open field interspersed with dead trees that flung out their ghostly arms to welcome us to the shadows of death"[91]. Within the first 10 minutes, 61 Union soldiers lay wounded, dying or dead[92].

Incredibly, the Battle of Resaca was considered a "useless" battle with no clear victory for either side; estimated casualties were high for both Union soldiers (2,747) and Confederate soldiers (2,800). More soldiers fought in this battle than at any other site in Georgia[93], with it ultimately proving to be one of the bloodiest battles of the Atlanta Campaign[94].

As for John, he sustained severe injuries. On May 16, 660 miles from home and having served just 84 days in the infantry, he succumbed to his wounds and died[95]. That same day, victorious Union troops claimed the town of Resaca[96].

*****

“No regiment in the United States service ever behaved with more gallantry, and it was with difficulty that the men could be drawn off from a force five times their number”. ~ Lieutenant Colonel Parrot[97] writing about the Seventh Iowa Regiment at the Battle of Resaca, 1864[98].

~~~~~

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Battle of Resaca Casualty RosterFor 60 members of the7th Iowa Infantry, 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 16th Army CorpsList of casualties in the 7th Iowa Inf-fantry, 1st Brigade, 2d Division, 16th Army Corps, in action on Ouslanaula [sic] river on the 14th and 15th days of May, 1864. Killed—S.A. Myers, C; Silas Parsons, C; Francis M. McMaines, C; H. C. McGill, G,B.F. McGill, A. Wounded—George Courney, K, severely, since dead.L. North, I, severely, since dead.John Knight, D; severely, since dead.Cyrus S. Buckner, F; severely, since dead.Capt. J. L. Montgomery, H; slightly.John W. Holt, C; severely.George McGrue, C; slightly.James M. Procter, C; severely.John S. Morgan, C; severely.Corp’l Wm. Darnell, C; slightly.Whitten C. Bonsall; C; severely.Sanford C. McMain, C; severely.Soren V. Kelsen, C; severely.Warren T. Whitten, C; slightly.1st Serg’t J[ames].D. Hamilton, D; severely.Wm. R. Berry, D; severely.Joseph Denny, D; slightly.Joseph Gutterman, D; slightly.John Henser, D; severely.Corp’l J.C. Percy; E; slightly.B.B. Friday, E, slightly.W.C. Dove, E; severely.James McGee E; severely.John W. Wyrick, E; severely.Peter Leffler, K, severely.Sam’l Robertson, K, slightly, with the Co.Serg’t C. Pheasant, K; slightly.Serg’t S.M. Logan, H; severely.Corporal John Moore, H; slightly.H.C. Gilleland, H; severely.A. Kensing, H; slightly.G.S. McKay, H; slightly.

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Sylvanus Hoy, B; severely.1st Serg’t John A. Wilson, G; severely.William B. Taylor, G; severely, perhaps mortally.Wm. Black, G, severely.Lazenby, 1st Sergeant, I, severely.Augustus C. Fields, I, slightly.John W. Woodruff, I, slightly.Jos. Cochran, A, severely.Judson McNall, A, severely.H.C. Reynolds, A, severely.A.T. Johnson, A, severely.T.L. Hull, A, severely, perhaps mortally.Alex, Irwin, 1st Sergeant, A, severely.Wm. B. Thompson, A, severely.Wm. Myers, A, unknown.Bartus Bosh, A, severely.W.H. Styres, A, severely, three wounds. E. A. Wood, A, slightly.D.W. Butler, A, slightly.G.M. Knder, A, slightly.Wm. Litsay, Corporal, severely, perhaps mortally.D.G. Hoover, Corporal, F, slightly.Thos. W. Long, F, severely.Headquarters 1st regiment, 2d division, 16th army corps, in the field, near Kings-ton, Georgia, May 20, 1864.

G.T. BOWLER, A. A. A. Gen.

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(Casualty roster; original 1864 newspaper clipping)

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10084JNO. KNIGHT

IOWAJohn Knight’s headstone at the Chattanooga, Tennessee National

Cemetery

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MR. ISAAC J. KNIGHT,

OSKALOOSA,

IOWA,

SIR:

IN REPLY TO YOUR COMMUNICATION OF THE 1ST. INST., REQUESTING INFORMATION OF THE PLACE OF BURIAL

OF JOHN KNIGHT, CO. D. 7TH. IOWA INF. I AM DIRECTED BY THE QUARTERMASTER GENERAL, TO INFORM YOU

THAT, IT APPEARS FROM THE RECORDS IN THIS OFFICE, THAT THE SOLDIER NAMED, DIED MAY 16 1864, AND WAS BURIED IN THE NATIONAL CEMETERY, AT CHATTANOOGA TENN., GRAVE NO. 10064.

VERY SINCERELY,

YOUR OBEDIENT SERVANT,

ASSISTANT QUARTERMASTER GENERAL

FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES

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[1] Since Rio Grande channels were called resacas, some possible derivations of the name of this battle could either be from the contraction of the Spanish rio seco, meaning dry river or from the Spanish root word resacar, meaning to retake. Resacas have no inlet or outlet and are physically disconnected from a watercourse -- their main purpose being to redirect and dissipate floodwaters from a river (Mansfield, 2009). Accordingly, this definition assists a metaphoric connotation that resacas effectively share John’s main purpose at the Battle of Resaca along the Oostanaula River: To dissipate the floodwater (symbolic of Confederate forces) from moving any further and, likewise, to retake the area.

Mansfield, P. (2009). Wiki: Resaca, Georgia. Retrieved from http://wapedia.mobi/en/Resaca,_Georgia

[2] Here is a very brief look at how some of us are related to John Knight and his sister Rachel:

John KnightRachel Knight Padgitt Adams (John's sister)

Floy Adams Rash (Rachel's daughter; John's niece)

Clara Adams Jackman (Rachel's daughter; John's niece)

Lowell Rash (Floy's son; John's great nephew)

Ruth Jackman Erickson Morrow (Clara's daughter; John's great niece)

Charles Rash (Lowell's son; John's great-great nephew)

Phyllis Erickson Schaffer (Ruth's daughter; John's great-great niece)

Lea Rash (Charles' daughter; John's great-great-great niece)

Gary Erickson(Ruth’s son; John’s great-great nephew)

Joe Rash (Charles' son; John's great-great-great nephew)

[3] For more on what the backgrounds of Civil War soldiers were like, see:

Gettysburg National Military Park (n.d.). Dear mother and father, I am still in the land of the living…. Retrieved from http://americancivilwar.com/kids_zone/soldiers_letters_civil_war.html

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[4] The date of Samuel Knight’s birth according to New Garden Monthly Meeting (MM) Religious Society of Friends records is October 7, 1820 in Wayne County, Indiana. His sister Ruth was born October 27, 1822 according to both New Garden MM and Mississinewa MM (Hamm, 1996; Young, 1872). I realize that these dates contradict our family records and that Samuel Knight’s birth is recorded in them as being October 27, 1822. Nevertheless, I have decided to use the dates that were meticulously recorded and substantiated by the Religious Society of Friends. An added point of relevance (before reading footnote 5) is that Samuel’s father died when Samuel was only 11.

Hamm, T. D. (Ed.) (1996). Abstracts of the records of the Society of Friends in Indiana. Requested information about “Samuel Knight” retrieved from the above book October 2009 from [email protected] [T.D. Hamm].

Young, A. W. (1872). History of Wayne County, Indiana, from its first settlement to the present time: With numerous biographical and family sketches. Retrieved from http://earlham.edu/library/documents/hammcv.pdf and requested information about “Samuel Knight” retrieved from the above book October 2009 from [email protected] [T.D. Hamm].

[5] Lydia Coffin’s father, Barnabas Coffin died before June 1827 according to Chester MM, Indiana records. In fact, it may have even been as early as November 1823 (Rootsweb, 2004). His death is not documented in Whitewater MM records, even though the town of Whitewater -- less than seven miles from Chester -- was where the family was known to be living. In 1828, his widow Sarah Wheeler Coffin married widower Daniel Votaw, Sr. (Generations Network, 2004; Young, 1872), who welcomed her four-year-old daughter Lydia and two other children to join his four children in the new family home in Chester (Rootsweb, 2012). Daniel Votaw thus became not just the only father that Lydia was ever to remember but also the only grandfather that John Knight was ever to know.

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Generations Network, Inc., The (2004). Coffin quest: Marriage records,

Wayne County, Indiana. Retrieved from http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~coffinquest/coffin-md.html

Rootsweb. (2004). Quaker Roots – L Archives. Retrieved from http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/QUAKER-ROOTS/2004-12/1102180999


[6] Samuel Knight and Lydia Coffin Knight worked for White's Institute, a Religious Society of Friends school for children established in 1856 on 1,440 acres of land in Pilot Grove. The school was later taken over by the state of Iowa (Iowa Geneaological Society, 2009) in 1868 and turned into a reform school (Jones 1914; Leeper, 2009), although by then John's parents had left Pilot Grove.

Iowa Genealogical Society (2009). Index of Iowa county chapters. Retrieved from http://www.iowagenealogy.org/county_chapters/index.htm and requested information about “White’s Institute and Samuel and Lydia Knight” retrieved September 8, 2009 from [email protected] [F. Sprunger & M. Hull].

Jones, L. T. (1914). The Quakers of Iowa, part IV, benevolent and educational enterprises, III, White’s Iowa Manual Labor Institute. Retrieved from http://iagenweb.org/history/qoi/QOIPt4Chp3.htm

Leeper, J. (2009). Josiah White and his White’s Iowa Manual Labor Institute.Retrieved from http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ialqm/White%27sInstitute.html

[7] For this and other information about Religious Society of Friends in the Civil War, see:

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Williams, D. R. (2009). Quakers as peacemakers. Retrieved from http://drwilliams.org/iDoc/index.htm

[8] Details of John’s individual family member’s names and birth dates that I have converted into ages are courtesy of:

Schaffer, P. (1994). Unpublished personal Knight family documents. Nine Mile Falls, Washington.


Apparently, during a family gathering in the 1960s these details were taken from Hinshaw’s book by Rachel Knight's offspring (e.g. her daughter Floy):

Hinshaw, W. W. (1960). Encyclopedia of American Quaker genealogy: 1750-1930. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company.

Introduction to Letter One [9] The Seventh Iowa Infantry Regiment’s entry into the Union is found in:

Wikipedia (2008). 7th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7th_Iowa_Volunteer_Infantry_Regiment

[10] Mention of these Union battles is from: Fox, W. F. (1889). Regimental losses in the American Civil

War – 1861-1865. Retrieved from http://www.civilwarreference.com/regiments/detail.php?regID=2131

[11] The political spirit of the tiny Religious Society of Friends district of Pilot Grove (in 1864 still called East Grove (Earlham College, 2009)) with only 300 inhabitants (Garretson, 1922; Harper, 2007) was perhaps unforeseen, although for the patriotic state of Iowa it was unsurprising. As A.J. Smith (1862) described them, “There are a number of Friends [Quakers] in Iowa…As a people forced into the ranks, they cannot fight. In

28

the army as men, voluntarily there, none would do the work better, for whatever they perform, as a general rule, is done strictly from a sense of duty” .

Earlham College (2009). “Pilot Grove/East Grove”. Retrieved from www.earlham.edu and requested information retrieved October 2009 from [email protected] [T.D. Hamm]

Garretson, O. A. (1922). History of Pilot Grove. Retrieved from http://www.pilotgrove.com/Pilot_Grove_History.jpg

Harper, G. (2007). (73) Pilot Grove, December 1922. Retrieved from http://www.past2present.org/own/palimpsest_text.htm

Smith, A.J. (1862, September 8). Part 1 -- Articles in the Davenport Daily Gazette: Military exemption for Friends or Quakers in Iowa. Retrieved from http://iagenweb.org/civilwar/other/gazette/gazette-1862-9b.htm

[12] The Seventh Iowa Regiment’s arrival date in Keokuk is found in:

Parrot, J.C. (1864). History of the regiment, Iowa. Retrieved from http://iagenweb.org/civilwar/regiment/infantry/07th/7th-inf-hist.htm

[13] John’s parents undoubtedly saw that John was overwhelmed with the powerful patriotic sentiment that had enveloped their entire community. As devout Quakers, it is very possible that they could only sorrowfully but prayerfully watch him leave without rebuke except to say that he was liable to regret having enlisted in the army (John’s letters also contain hints of his parents' somber advice regarding the unswerving moral conduct that their faith expected of him). The language of their last parting was conceivably deeper than words could have fully expressed, yet most likely overflowing with profound feeling and compassion inspired by the Knight family’s strong devotion to God (Smith, 1862; Stephen, 1908).

Smith, A.J. (1862, September 8). Part 1 -- articles in the Davenport Daily Gazette: Military exemption for Friends or Quakers in Iowa. Retrieved from http://iagenweb.org/civilwar/other/gazette/gazette-1862-9b.htm

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Stephen, C. (1908). “Quote concerning a Friend’s meeting”. Retrieved October 27, 2009 from http://www.religioustolerance.org/quaker.htm

[14] John Knight’s enlistment date is found in: The Generations Network, Inc. (2009). “Search tool”.

Retrieved from http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?rank=0&gsfn=John&gsln=Knight&sx=&f9=Union&f13=Iowa&f6=&f10Day=&f10Month=&f10Year=1864&gskw=&prox=1&f10=++1864&db=hdssoldiers&ti=0&ti.si=0gl=&gss=mp-cwrds&gst=&so=3

[15] John’s rank is listed in: Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, U.S. Department of

the Interior (2009). “Search tool”. Retrieved from http://www.civilwar.nps.gov/cwss/soldiers.cfm

[16] The number of Iowan men recruited for duty is found in: Alexander, W.E. (1883). History of Chickasaw and Howard

Counties Iowa, chapter XIII, pages 301 – 307. Retrieved from http://www.chickasawcoia-geniesoc.org/CW_History2.html

[17] From 1863-1865 the 35-Star Union Flag and the Confederate Second National Flag were both used. Although the Confederate Naval Jack flag flown on a ship is still thought of as the official Confederate flag (consisting of the square canton), the army’s battle flag was actually on a white banner.

Conservapedia (2011). Confederate States of America. Retrieved from http://www.conservapedia.com/Confederate_States_of_America

Illustrations of flags are from: State Historical Society of Iowa (2012). Iowa flag. Retrieved

from http://www.iowaflags.org/gallery/infantry.htm Wikipedia (2009). American Civil War. Retrieved from

http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War

[18] This observation about the army is from:

30

Schwier, R. W. (n.d.). Comments on Civil War letters. Retrieved from http://www.randrews4.com/commentsoncivilwarletters.html

[19] Parrot’s recorded date of departure for the unit (Parrot, 1864) differs from the information in John’s letter, which could indicate that the dispatch of Seventh Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry troops was staggered from February 27th (Logan, 1911).

Logan, G. E. Iowa (1911). Volume 1 - roster and record of Iowa soldiers in the War of the Rebellion: Historical sketches of volunteer organizations, 1861-1866. Retrieved from http://iagenweb.org/civilwar/books/logan/mil309.htm


Letter One[20] Keokuk is in Lee County, Iowa on the Mississippi River.

[21] John's satisfaction with army meals is testimony to the fact that a Union soldier’s diet was not only quite varied but also contained much bigger portions than a Confederate soldier could expect.

Friends of Fort Abercrombie (2005). What was life as a soldier like in the 1860's? Retrieved from http://www.ftabercrombie.org/1860militarylife.htm

Heiser, J. (1998). The Civil War soldier -- what was life as a soldier like in 1863? Retrieved August 24, 2009 from http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/soldierlife/cwarmy.htm

[22] John is evidently writing with a sense of his parent’s familiarity with Jack to the extent that Jack’s surname is not mentioned. While there are no first names listed as Jack in the Seventh Iowa Infantry roster, it may have been a nickname for the first name John or a first or middle name Jackson. To conjecture a bit, there was a John Heiser (listed as John Henser in the original 1864 newspaper clipping of casualties) who was from Keokuk, Lee County, 32 miles from Pilot Grove. He shared significant similarities with John Knight (Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, 2009; Logan, 1911): He (a) enlisted at the same time that John did, (b) appears to have been John Knight’s army-

31

designated battle buddy and bunkmate, and (c) later suffered extensive wounds at Lay’s Ferry during the Battle of Resaca.

To lend some credence to this supposition, another set of battle buddies mentioned in John’s letters also shared similar fates: For instance, Joe Denny and Hoag Sheldon both ended up in the Veteran Reserve Corps (i.e. the Invalid Corps (Weeks, 2002)).

Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, U.S. Department of the Interior (2009). “Search tool”. Retrieved from http://www.civilwar.nps.gov/cwss/soldiers.cfm

Logan, G. E. (1911). Volume 1 - roster and record of Iowa soldiers in the War of the Rebellion: Historical sketches of volunteer organizations, 1861-1866. Retrieved from http://iagenweb.org/civilwar/books/logan/mil309.htm

Weeks, R., a.k.a. Shotgun (2002). Invalid Corps. Retrieved from http://www.civilwarhome.com/invalidcorps.htm

[23] A Union private's monthly salary was $13 (Heiser, 1998), in addition to clothing or cash worth over three dollars (Sperry, 2008; Friends of Fort Abercrombie, 2005). A Confederate private's monthly salary was $11. Union soldiers in the field were theoretically to be salaried every two months, although they were lucky if they received their pay every four months. Often six and even eight months would pass before they were actually paid. Salaries in the Confederate Army were even slower to arrive and less regular (Boatner, 1991).

Boatner, M. M. (1991). The Civil War Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.civilwarhome.com/Pay.htm

Friends of Fort Abercrombie (2005). What was life as a soldier like in the 1860's? Retrieved from http://www.ftabercrombie.org/1860militarylife.htm

Heiser, J. (1998). The Civil War soldier -- What was life as a soldier like in 1863? Retrieved August 24, 2009 from http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/soldierlife/cwarmy.htm

Sperry, S. (2008). African Americans in the Civil War: Equality earned with blood. Retrieved from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0504/feature5/online_extra.html

[24] Union soldiers were largely well outfitted and equipped. This was in stark contrast with Confederate soldiers, particularly during the latter stages of the war.

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Gettysburg National Park Service (n.d.). The Civil War Union soldier. Retrieved from http://americancivilwar.com/kids_zone/union_soldier_civil_war.html

[25] At the start of the Civil War, photography in the United States had only been available for 21 years. Photographs or likenesses of soldiers were taken by traveling army camp photographers and small-town photographers, and were made on glass (ambrotypes) or metal (tintypes or ferrotypes). These were then placed in little fold-open wooden cases covered with glass.

Zeller, Bob (n.d.). Online Exhibits Overview. Retrieved from http://www.civilwarphotography.org/index.php/online-exhibits-overview

[26] Caire as it is written here most likely refers to Cairo, Louisa County, Iowa. There is some possibility that John may have mixed the spelling of Cairo with Le Claire in Scott County, Iowa. However, we know from Lt. Col. Parrot’s account that after leaving Keokuk, the Iowa Seventh Infantry arrived in Cairo on March 1st before then heading for Nashville, Tennessee (Parrot, 1864).

As for the spoken form of this word influencing its written counterpart, if we consider that the Iowan pronunciation of Cairo, has always been pronounced Care-oh (Iowa City Public Library, 2009) or Kay-ro, and that Kay-reh is considered to be a southern pronunciation (The Louisa County Historical Society, 2009), then this leads to a point I want to make: John grew up using rural Iowan speech patterns influenced by southern speech from the nearby state of Missouri. His hometown in the Pilot Grove area was 31 miles from one of the nearest Missouri towns, Wayland, Missouri, which was in the Keokuk-Fort Madison metropolitan area (ePodunk, Inc., 2010). Thus, it is plausible that John’s pronunciation of Cairo as Kare-eh or Kay-reh is influencing his spelling of the word as Caire.

ePodunk, Inc. (2010). Profile for Wayland, Missouri. Retrieved from http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=20757

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Iowa City Public Library (2009). “Cairo”. Retrieved from http://www.columbusjct.lib.ia.us/ and requested information retrieved May 15, 2009 from [email protected] [J.H.].


The Louisa County Historical Society (2009). “Cairo”. Retrieved from http://www.louisacountyhistory.com/Museum.htm and requested information retrieved May 17, 2009 from [email protected] [C. Street].

[27] John is writing with a sense of his parent’s familiarity with Mac, just as in the case of Jack Heiser. Likewise, this familiarity appears to negate the need to list Mac’s surname. While there are no first names recorded as Mac in the Seventh Iowa Infantry roster (Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, 2009; Logan, 1911), Mac could be the nickname for a soldier named Valentine McVey from Franklin, Lee County, just over 9.5 miles from John’s home in Pilot Grove. Valentine spent his youth near Pilot Grove (Iowa Genealogical Society, 2009), was 20 years old when he enlisted with John, and was assigned to Company D as well.


Iowa Genealogical Society (2009). Index of Iowa county chapters. Retrieved from http://www.iowagenealogy.org/county_chapters/index.htm and requested information retrieved September 8, 2009 from [email protected] [F. Sprunger & M. Hull].


[28] Perhaps given that Fort Madison is in Lee County, 19.5 miles from Pilot Grove, John considered this information about Mac and Jack's journey worth mentioning to his family.

Wikipedia (2009). Fort Madison, Iowa. Retrieved March 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Madison

34

[29] Pilot Grove is in southeastern Iowa in northern Lee County.Today it remains an unincorporated community. The original Pilot Grove was in Marion Township approximately two miles north of where it is today.

Dingman, T. (2004). Pilot Grove, Iowa – old and new. Retrieved from http://www.pilotgrove.com

Wikipedia (2010). Pilot Grove, Iowa. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot_Grove,_Iowa

[30] St. Paul, is in Lee County, Iowa less than two miles on foot from present day Pilot Grove.

Introduction to Letter Two[31] For observations on the effect of army life on the health of young Civil War recruits see:

Schwier, R. W. (n.d.). Comments on Civil War letters. Retrieved from http://www.randrews4.com/commentsoncivilwarletters.html

Letter Two [32] This is an indirect reference to Brown’s Mill.

[33] Custom as John is using it here most likely refers to business patronage.

Iowa City Public Library (2010). “Custom”. Retrieved from www.icpl.org and requested information retrieved July 22, 2009 from [email protected]

[34] Most likely, John is referring to the Battle of Fort Donelson (64 marching miles from Nashville) that was fought November 11-16, 1862 in Stewart County, Middle Tennessee. Later in this letter, John mentions the name of a bunkmate named [Francis M.] Redding who fought at the Battle of Fort Donelson and was wounded in the hand by shrapnel (Logan, 1911) when Confederate forces tried to recapture the fort (Smith, 1862; Wikipedia, 2009).


Smith, A.J. (1862, September 9). Part 2-- articles in the Davenport Daily Gazette: The attack on Fort Donelson.

35

Retrieved from http://iagenweb.org/civilwar/other/gazette/gazette-1862-9b.htm

Wikipedia (2009). Battle of Fort Donelson. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Donelson

[35] Richmond Creek, near the Cumberland River, is in Middle Tennessee, near Nashville. John is now 440 marching miles away from his family.

[36] Francis M. Redding, an ambitious 24-year-old veteran soldier from Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa unmistakably commanded a great deal of respect from John. Not only did Redding fight and become wounded in battle at Fort Donelson, but his regiment was also ambushed by Confederates in Shiloh while on parade for inspection. In the battle of Shiloh, Redding’s contingent moved to the front to fight back (Fox, 1889) and Redding was wounded in the side (Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, 2009; Logan, 1911). With his history of injuries in battle, Redding’s presence as a bunkmate turns out to be a foreshadowing of what is to come for John and Jack.


Fox, W. F. (1889). Regimental losses in the American Civil War – 1861-1865. Retrieved, from http://www.civilwarreference.com/regiments/detail.php?regID=2131


[37] This is a reference to rye straw that was used for bedding.

[38] Nashville is in Davidson County, Middle Tennessee.

Introduction to Letter Three [39] John had no way of knowing that Barnabas would die three years later. The cause is unknown.

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Hinshaw, W. W. (1960). Encyclopedia of American Quaker genealogy: 1750-1930. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company.

Schaffer, P. (1994). Unpublished Knight family documents. Nine Mile Falls, Washington.

[40] John appears to be indirectly addressing Barnabas here.

Letter Three[41] No doubt 12-year-old Barnabas’ interest in a fife stemmed from the skilled fifing ability of Jacob Votaw, a relative who served as principal musician in the 17th Iowa Infantry (Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, 2009; Logan, 1911), and who enlisted as a fifer at age 15. John later mentions Jacob’s name in his fifth letter.


Logan, G. E. (1911). Volume 3 -- roster and record of Iowa soldiers in the War of the Rebellion: Historical sketches of volunteer organizations, 1861-1866. Retrieved from http://iagenweb.org/civilwar/books/logan/mil501.htm

[42] In the 1860s, wheat was Iowa's principle cash crop. Because of the war, as well as Iowa's precariously fluctuating weather conditions during that time, prices remained erratic and unpredictable. In 1863, a massive hailstorm in eastern Iowa destroyed crops. By August of the same year damaging frosts also occurred. One year later the calamity repeated itself.

Welch, R. (2009). The state of agriculture in Iowa in 1861, with anecdotal information for 1862-1864. Retrieved from http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-21325.html

[43] Albert appears to be a farmer and neighbor of John's family. No surname for him is given in these letters.

Introduction to Letter FourNo references.

Letter Four

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[44] Joseph Denny, a native Ohioan, is listed variously as having resided in either Denmark, Iowa (Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, 2009 ; Logan, 1911) or 14 miles away in Pilot Grove (Fort Madison Newspaper, 1885), Lee County, Iowa before his enlistment at the age of 32 just three days before John's enlistment. Joseph was later wounded in battle and sent to the Veteran Reserve Corps (i.e. Invalid Corps).


Fort Madison Newspaper (1885, June 3). List of war veterans living in Lee County in 1885. Retrieved from http://iagenweb.org/lee/military/1885all.html


[45] Hoag Sheldon (listed erroneously in the army roster as "Hoog") was John’s age. His family's home was in West Point, about seven miles from John’s family. Hoag and John enlisted in the army the same week. Hoag was later wounded and sent to the Veteran Reserve Corps, also known as the Invalid Corps (Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, 2009; Logan, 1911).



[46] John refrains from specifically naming the soldier out of a sense of politeness.

[47] Picket guard was a Civil War expression for guard duty (Heiser, 2009), which was the most dangerous field work for infantrymen. Composed of 40 privates, four corporals, two sergeants, and a lieutenant from each regiment, a picket was a scattered line much ahead of an army's encampment, although it was within range of offering support. A picket guard was typically

38

the first one killed or wounded by snipers or else captured by guerillas in a raid or ambush (Weeks, 2009).

Heiser, J. (2009). Soldier talk and Civil War slang. Retrieved September 3, 2009 from http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/gettkids/soldslang.htm

Weeks, R., a.k.a. Shotgun (2007). Definitions of Civil War terms. Retrieved from http://www.civilwarhome.com/terms.htm

[48] For other relevant accounts of ambushes on Union picket line defenses, see:

Klinger, M. J. (2001). Battle of Resaca: Botched Union attack. Retrieved from http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/resaca/resaca-history-articles/battle-of-resaca-botched.html

[49] This word was a Civil War expression for fighting equipment (Heiser, 2009). You will notice that John correctly uses the word accouterments (also spelled accoutrements) after listing gear (knapsack, canteen, haversack) and a weapon (gun). The correct definition of the word is "a soldier's outfit usually not including clothes and weapons" (Mish, 2003).

Heiser, J. (2009). Soldier talk and Civil War slang. Retrieved September 3, 2009 from http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/gettkidz/soldslang.htm

Mish, F. C. (Ed.) (2003). Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary [CD-ROM]. Springfield: Merriam-Webster, Inc.

[50] Pulaski is in Giles County, Middle Tennessee, 78 marching miles from Nashville in Davidson County.

Introduction to Letter Five[51] The Union Army was known to have provided a mail service that followed behind army units (Gettysburg National Military Park, 2012). Quite simply, it was considered a godsend by troops (Marvel, 2011). While soldiers were encamped for extended periods, units usually received their highly coveted mail without difficulty. However, when on the move they often did not receive their mail for weeks at a time (Smithsonian Institution, 2009). At some point during 1864, a Union soldier could simply write Soldier's Letter on an envelope and the U.S. Mail Service would send the letter home without the need for a postage stamp.

39

Writing paper and envelopes were eventually supplied at no cost by Christian and health organizations (Gettysburg National Military Park, 2012).

Gettysburg National Military Park (2012). Dear mother and father, I am still in the land of the living…. Retrieved from http://americancivilwar.com/kids_zone/soldiers_letters_civil_war.html

Marvel, W. (2011). A poor man’s fight. Retrieved from http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/civil_war_series/3/sec2.htm

Smithsonian Institution (2009). Soldiers’ mail. Retrieved from http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibits/2a6a_soldiersmail.html

Letter Five[52] Most likely, John is referring to Brown’s Mill (also known as Brown Mill). The ruins of this mill can today be found on Pleasant Ridge Road (Franklin County Library, 2009) in southwestern Franklin County, Tennessee (Abate, 1991) 3.5 marching miles from Huntland (Franklin County Library, 2009). In fact, judging from his second to seventh letters, John's regiment appears to have camped extensively at Brown’s Mill. In his second letter, John writes that he is camped “… on a nice little Creek there is a mill on it” while in his fifth, sixth and seventh letters he clearly indicates that he is at Browns Mills. This historical mill is close to the Tennessee-Georgia state line, south of Nashville in Middle Tennessee and just west of Chattanooga in Eastern Tennessee (Miller, 2001), Chattanooga being 48 marching miles from Resaca, Georgia. Franklin County is east of Giles County and the city of Pulaski where John’s mail was being directed. Giles County was the site of a number of Civil War skirmishes that followed the Battle of Resaca (Miller, 2001; Wikipedia, 2009).

Other county towns called Browns Mill can be discounted here due to their locations and the year. For example, in Middle Tennessee there is Browns Mill, Rutherford County (near Walter Hill), 61-72 marching miles northwest of Browns Mill, Franklin County (Franklin County Library, 2009; Linebaugh Library System, 2009); Browns Mill, Putnam County (near Cookville) is 96-115 miles northeast of Browns Mill, Franklin County (Putnam

40

County Library, 2009; Franklin County Library, 2009). Meanwhile, in Eastern Tennessee the Browns Mill in Washington County (near Johnson City) is about 282-300 marching miles from Browns Mill, Franklin County (Johnson City Public Library, 2009; Franklin County Library, 2009). These three sites are all distant enough from the Georgia state line (Tennessee Department of State, 2009) and any local clashes taking place in 1864 to make them inapplicable in this case.

Abate, F. R. (Ed.) (1991). Omni Gazetteer of the United States of America, volume 4. Requested information about “Browns Mills, Tennessee” from above book retrieved March 2009 from [email protected]

Franklin County Library (2009). “Browns Mills, Tennessee”. Retrieved November 7, 2009 from http://www.franklincountylibrary.org/contact_us.html and requested information retrieved from [email protected] [J. Limbaugh].

Johnson City Public Library (2009). “Browns Mills, Tennessee”. Retrieved from www.jcpl.net and requested information retrieved November 17, 2009 from [email protected] [G.C. Campbell].

Linebaugh Library System (2009). “Browns Mills, Tennessee”. Retrieved from www.linebaugh.org and requested information retrieved November 7, 2009 from [email protected] [L.R. Ramsay].

Miller, L. L. (2001). Tennessee place names. Requested information about “Browns Mills, Tennessee” from above book retrieved May 2009 from [email protected]

Putnam County Library (2009). “Browns Mills, Tennessee”. Retrieved from www.pclibrary.org and requested information retrieved November 7, 2009 from [email protected] [J. Ivey]

Tennessee Department of State (2009). Tennessee place names and post offices, search tool "A-C". Retrieved from http://state.tn.us/tsla/history/places/postoff1.htm#b and requested information about “Browns Mills, Tennessee” retrieved November 2009 from [email protected]

Wikipedia (2009). Pulaski, Tennessee. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulaski_Tennessee

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The latitudes, longitudes, and spellings of Tennessee's Brown Mill in Franklin County, and the Brown's Mills in Rutherford, Putnam and Washington Counties are found in:

U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior (2009). “Search tool”. Retrieved from http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic

[53] John D. Harvey lived in West Point, Lee County, Iowa, about eight miles from where the present day Pilot Grove is located.

Schwartz, M. (2009). The History of Lee County, Iowa, 1879. Retrieved from http://www.beforetime.net/iowagenealogy/lee/HistoryOfLeeCounty1879/PH.html

[54] In this reply to Isaac’s letter (one that Isaac had written before enlisting), John refers to Jacob Votaw (spelled indistinctly in John’s letter as Votan), who is closely related to John through marriage ties (Earlham College, 2009). John is trying to reassure Jacob’s family of his good health in spite of Jacob’s young age: “Jacob Votan was here the other day and we had a good old time Jake has growed like everything…”. Jacob had enlisted at the age of 15 in the 17th Iowa Infantry (Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, 2009; Logan, 1911) in March 1862. He was talented as a fifer, an ability that he had most likely developed by playing folk songs from the county where he was mustered. The army needed good fifers since it gave soldiers the determination and zeal needed for confronting the enemy (Engelman, 2003).

Interestingly, for those Union soldiers like Jacob who admitted to being 15 years old at the time of their enlistment, there were 104,987 enlistees (The Marion Chronicle, n.d.). For safety’s sake, in key battles such young soldiers were regularly sent to the rear when regiments prepared to attack forts. There were other times too when these young boys had to be forcibly taken to the rear in tears (Wagner, 2007). Just a month after this letter was written, Jacob was promoted to principal musician from Company D. Six months later, he was captured and imprisoned by the Confederates (Logan, 1911).


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Earlham College (2009). “Jacob Votaw”. Retrieved from www.earlham.edu and requested information retrieved October 5, 2009 from [email protected] [T.D. Hamm].

Engelman, R. (2003). Brief history of music for fifes and field drums. Retrieved from http://robinengelman.com/2003/10/27/brief-history-of-music-for-fifes-and-field-drums/


The Marion Chronicle (n.d.[before 1968]). “Underage American Civil War soldiers”. Retrieved from http://wiki.answers.com/ and requested information retrieved October 2009 from [email protected] [C. Chilcott]

Wagner, C., et al. (2007). The American Civil War: The soldiers. Retrieved from http://histclo.com/essay/war/cwa/cwa-sold.html

[55] Nathan J. Morgan was dedicated to army life. He served in the 15th, 17th, and later the 40th Iowa Infantry Regiments (Logan, 1911a, 1911b, 1911c). Nathan was 20 years old, from Richland, Keokuk County, Iowa and served in Company I. Six months after John's letter was written, Nathan was taken prisoner by the Confederates.

Coincidentally, an ancestor on the Rash side of the family served in the same regiment and company with Nate Morgan. He was William Watson Rash, age 29, very recently widowed, and also from Richland, Keokuk County (some 49 miles from John's family in Pilot Grove). Both William and Nate lived less than a 10-minute walk from the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) Cemetery in Richland (Maps Google, 2009). They enlisted in the 40th Iowa Infantry (Logan, 1911c) within two days of each other as Privates and were mustered for duty the same day. William later left the army in 1865 as a Fifth Sergeant (Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, 2009; Logan, 1911c).


43

Logan, G. E. (1911a). Volume 2 -- roster and record of Iowa soldiers in the War of the Rebellion: Historical sketches of volunteer organizations, 1861-1866. Retrieved from http://iagenweb.org/civilwar/books/logan/mil407.htm

Logan, G. E. (1911b). Volume 3 -- roster and record of Iowa soldiers in the War of the Rebellion: Historical sketches of volunteer organizations, 1861-1866. Retrieved from http://iagenweb.org/civilwar/books/logan/mil501.htm

Logan, G. E. (1911c). Volume 5 -- roster and record of Iowa soldiers in the War of the Rebellion: Historical sketches of volunteer organizations, 1861-1866. Retrieved from http://iagenweb.org/civilwar/books/logan/mil709.htm

Maps Google.com (2009). “Search Tool”. Retrieved from http://maps.google.com/

[56] The expression four and six may mean that Nate had a habit of always rising at 4 a.m. and going to sleep at 6 p.m., at least when he was up to maintaining the schedule, given that he was in the army. This particular expression is akin to our contemporary phrase nine to five.

USA Deep South (2009). “Four and six”. Retrieved from http://usadeepsouth.ms11.net/snippets.html and requested information retrieved May 2009 from [email protected] [B. Jacks].

[57] Rebs is the shortened slang term for Johnny Rebel or a Confederate soldier. Billy Yank is the term used for a Union soldier.

Wikipedia (2009). Johnny Rebel. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Rebel

Introduction to Letter SixNo references.

Letter Six[58] East Tennessee is the region that John's regiment eventually passed through, a fact that becomes clearer by his eighth letter. Brown's Mill is about six miles from the Alabama border (near Huntland, Middle Tennessee), which is the known point from which John’s unit eventually marched about 87-99 miles to Chickamauga, Georgia and then on to Resaca 38 miles away.

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An important point to make here that applies to all the various regions of Tennessee is that the name is verbally and in written form variously called Brown(s) Mills and Brown’s Mills by the local people (Miller, 2001), while it is Brown Mill on the map. On the other hand, my hunch was confirmed that the name is actually indicative of a peculiar correlation between the still persisting local spoken versions of the name in the area and varied written spelling (East Tennessee State University, 2009). Meanwhile, even today in Johnson City the city often abbreviates street signs and omits punctuation due to lack of space or funds (Johnson City Public Library, 2009). Accordingly, during the Civil War the same rule could easily have been applied then to Tennesseans’ use of the confusingly numerous mills by this name in all their various counties. Moreover, it is not indicative of a Brown family having once owned more than one mill (East Tennessee State University, 2009).

Significantly, Iowa has a Browns Mills in Soap Creek Township, Davis County (U.S. Places, 2010) and a Brown’s Mill on Fox River (Swisher, 1940; Zehner, 2003), with the two mills being about two miles apart and thus between 62-64 miles from Pilot Grove where John grew up. Consequently, John’s rural Iowan pronunciation style, and his introduction to various written and spoken regional versions of the name would explain his choice of spelling.

East Tennessee State University (2009). “Browns versus Brown’s Mills”. Retrieved from www.etsu.ed and requested information retrieved April 2009 from [email protected] [R. Tolley-Stokes].

Johnson City Public Library (2009). “Browns Mills, Tennessee”. Retrieved from www.jcpl.net and requested information retrieved November 17, 2009 from [email protected] [G.C. Campbell].

Miller, L. L. (2001). Tennessee place names. Requested information about “Browns versus Brown’s Mills” from above book retrieved April 13, 2009 from [email protected]

Swisher, J. (1940). Iowa, land of many mills. Retrieved from http://files.usgwarchives.net/ia/state/misc/stmills.txt

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U.S. Places (2010). Map showing Browns Mills Post Office (historical) in Davis County, Iowa. Retrieved from http://www.us-places.com/map-places.php?placeid=1976025

Zehner, R.M. (2003). Mills of Iowa. Retrieved from http://files.usgwarchives.net/ia/state/misc/stmills.txt

[59] This very likely is a reference to Ellwood “Edd” Votaw (John’s handwriting of the surname is indistinctly written as Rotan) who was a younger brother to Jacob Votaw (Earlham College, 2009). He enlisted at the age of 15 and was mustered into the 45th Iowa (100 days) Infantry during the month of May, just one month after John's sixth letter was written. Ed does appear to have lied about his age since he is listed on the Company E roster as having been 18 (Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, 2009; Logan, 1911).

It should also be noted that John's reference to Isaac’s correspondence actually concerned a letter Isaac wrote from home before he enlisted in the army on February 29th.


Earlham College (2009). “Ellwood Votaw”. Retrieved from www.earlham.edu and requested information retrieved October 5, 2009 from [email protected] [T.D. Hamm]


[60] Secesh may be the disparaging term used here, which was used against Confederates, southerners, secessionists and secessionist or southern sympathizers (Atwater, 2005; Wojahn, 2007). Shirker and skunk were terms that applied to soldiers who had deserted (Heiser, 2009).

Atwater, G.M. (2005). Civil War era slang and terms, a writer’s guide for the American Civil War. Retrieved from http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~poindexterfamily/CivilWar.html

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Heiser, J. (2006). Soldier talk and Civil War slang. Requested information retrieved March 2009 from http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/gettkids/soldslang.htm

Wojahn, C. M. (2007). Just a few words that they used. Retrieved from http://www.angelfire.com/me/reenact/terms.html

[61] Initially, one out of nine Confederate soldiers deserted compared to one out of seven Union soldiers. Scarcities of food, clothing, and equipment; exhaustion and low morale; lack of loyalty, and anger over compulsion and duress; not to mention anxiety about family back home, were widespread reasons for desertions on both sides. By 1863, Confederate desertions had become rampant. A Union strategy that essentially promoted desertion allowed Confederate deserters to pledge loyalty to the Union and then go home to their families.

Harper, D. (2002). Desertion. Retrieved from http://www.etymonline.com/cw/desert.htm

Parker, M. (2005). American Civil War desertions: North and South. Retrieved from http://thomaslegioncherokee.tripod.com/desertion.html

Weitz, M.A. (2008). Desertion during the Civil War. Retrieved from http://www.civilwarhome.com/desertion2.htm

[62] “I am a Soldier of Uncle Sams army down here a battleing for freedom and the right” clearly defines John’s ethical sense of patriotism and loyalty to the Union cause. He was most likely influenced by the well known spiritual-politico words of Abraham Lincoln in 1862: “...I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right.”

Lincoln, A. (1862). The best campaign slogan in history. Retrieved August 31, 2009 from http://www.uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=3310.15

[63] The book Pauline of the Potomac; or, General McClellan’s spy was written in 1862 by Charles Wesley Alexander (1837-1927) and was published in Philadelphia by Barclay and Company. It was described then as an “authentic and thrilling narrative of the beautiful and accomplished Miss Pauline D'Estraye, who since the opening of the

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Southern rebellion has performed some of the most startling and noble deeds that have ever been recorded in history”.

Library of Congress (2009). Library of Congress Catalog Record: Pauline of the Potomac; or, General McClellan’s spy. Retrieved from http://lccn.loc.gov/ca09004796

[64] Prospect, Giles County, Middle Tennessee is 22 miles from Pulaski where John’s letters were being directed.

[65] Interestingly, Susan Dyer later married John’s brother, Isaac in Lee County on August 12, 1867 (Steveson, 2008). Isaac was nearly 20 years old by then. I presume Susan was approximately the same age, although the marriage record does not state her birth date or age. It does state that Isaac Knight was a minor and needed his father’s signed consent (Iowa Genealogical Society, 2009) in order to marry. It also appears that Susan was "likely not a Quaker" since her name does not appear in Quaker records (Earlham College, 2009).

Earlham College (2009). “Susan Dyer”. Retrieved from www.earlham.edu and requested information retrieved October, 2009 from [email protected] [T.D. Hamm]

Iowa Genealogical Society (2009). “Isaac Knight and Susan Dyer”. Retrieved from http://www.iowagenealogy.org/county_chapters/index.htm and requested information retrieved November 2, 2009 from [email protected] [F. Sprunger & M. Hull].

Steveson, S. (2008). Marriages: Early, “K.” Retrieved from http://iagenweb.org/lee/marriages/IowaMarriages/marriages_early_k.htm

[66] Old Tige, short for tiger, appears to have been John’s chosen nickname. There is a good chance that John decided on this name after hearing about the impressive exploits and "fighting spirit" of a well-known foe, Brigadier General William Lewis Cabell of the Confederate Army, who was nicknamed Old Tige in the spring of 1864. Cabell was also known for helping to originate the Confederate battle flag.

Wikipedia (2012). William Lewis Cabell. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lewis_Cabell#Biography

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[67] Lead rations seems likely to have been a slang term for bullets.

[68] Attacks like this showed how desperately engaged local Confederates were against Union forces in the area because by 1864 East Tennessee had fallen to the Federals.

Smith, J. D. (2000). Civil War book review: Mountain partisans: Guerrilla warfare in the southern Appalachians, 1861-1865. Retrieved from http://www.cwbr.com/index.php?q=1783&field=ID&browse=yes&record=full&searching=yes&Submit=Search

[69] vols is an abbreviation for volunteers.

Introduction to Letter SevenNo references.

Letter Seven[70] This could be a reference to Joe Denny’s brothers, some of whom were still listed as living with him in section 11 in Pilot Grove, Marion Township as late as 1879: Frank Denny, Gerhard Denny, and John Denny with a James Denny living nearby in section seven (Schwartz, 2009). I don’t believe John was referring to Joe Denny’s sons since they were very young at the time -- John was nine years old and Louis was only three (Iowa Genealogical Society, 2009).

Meanwhile, Francis “Frank” Denny (Joseph’s brother, listed above) served in Company E of the 45th Regiment, Iowa (100 days) Infantry at the age of 20. He enlisted on May 4, 1864 but was not mustered until May 25 after the Battle of Resaca. By September 16, he was discharged after having served his 100 days (Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, 2009; Logan, 1911).


Iowa Genealogical Society (2009). “Joe Denny”. Retrieved from http://www.iowagenealogy.org/county_chapters/index.htm and requested information retrieved November 14, 2009 from [email protected] [F. Sprunger & M. Hull].

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Schwartz, M. (2009). The history of Lee County, Iowa, 1879: "D", Denny. Retrieved from http://www.beforetime.net/iowagenealogy/lee/HistoryOfLeeCounty1879/P795.html

[71] No surname for Almira is given in any of John's letters, but he appears to be one of the "young folks" in Pilot Grove John is referring to here.

[72] Davenport, Scott County, Iowa (Wikipedia, 2009, March 18) was one of the largest cities in Iowa and in the nation in 1860 (United States Census Bureau, 1860). During the Civil War, Davenport’s Camp McClellan was the largest of five military camps and was Iowa's first military headquarters. Among other buildings, the camp contained a stockade or heavily guarded prison (Wikipedia, 2009, March 21).

US Census Bureau (1860). Table 9: Population of the 100 largest urban places: 1860. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab09.txt

Wikipedia (2009, March 18). Davenport, Iowa. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davenport,_Iowa

Wikipedia (2009, March 21). History of Davenport, Iowa. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Davenport,_Iowa

[73] This derogatory word may have been a reference to 60th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment soldiers of African descent (Suarez, 2002). The only non-white regiment from Iowa (Wikipedia, 2009), the 60th Iowa Regiment was organized in March 1864 from the 1st Iowa Regiment that had initially mustered so-called “colored” troops from Keokuk five months earlier (Wehner & Watson, 2009; Wikipedia, 2009).

Black soldiers were not widely employed in warfare due to the prejudice and discrimination against them (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 2009; Busta-Peck, 2006). Nevertheless, even with harsh resistance to their recruitment and

50

use in battle, soldiers of African descent eventually succeeded not only in being acknowledged by their commanders for their bravery on the battlefield but also in winning respect from their enemies (Mulligan, 2003). As for the United States Colored Troops assigned in 1864 to Memphis, Tennessee, they fought and died next to white troops. Strikingly, not a single black soldier in the 1st Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry was captured by the enemy (Suarez, 2002). Black soldiers were all too aware of the cruelty or execution they would face if Confederates managed to detain them (Moore, 1998; Weidman, 1999; Wikipedia, 2010) since the Confederacy refused to treat them as prisoners of war (Boritt, 1991, p. 631). Their courage confirmed for everyone around them that they were indispensable warriors (Moore, 1998). At the closing stages of the Civil War, about 10 percent of the Union Army was of African descent (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 2009).

It is worth noting here that Lieutenant Colonel James Harper, who was of African descent, was assigned to Company D of the Seventh Iowa Infantry. His name is listed in the roster as being part of the First Tennessee Colored Artillery (Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, 2009; Logan, 1911).

Boritt, G. (1991). Civil War. In The World Book Encyclopedia, volume four. Chicago: World Book, Inc.

Busta-Peck, C. (2006). The Fourth U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery. Retrieved from http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=37295



Moore, K. B. (2010). United States Colored Troops. Retrieved fromhttp://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1423

Mulligan, W. H., Jr. (2003). African Americans in West Kentucky and West Tennessee during the Civil War: The Fourth U.S. Heavy Artillery Colored. Retrieved September 17, 2009 from http://www.southernhistory.net

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Suarez, L. (2002). 1st Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry – African Descent in the War of the Rebellion, historical sketch. Retrieved from http://iagenweb.org/civilwar/regiment/infantry/01stA/history.htm

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (2009). Teaching With Documents --The Fight for Equal Rights: Black Soldiers in the Civil War: BackgroundRetrieved from

http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/ Wehner, C. & Watson, D. (2009). Union -- Troops furnished

and deaths. Retrieved from http://www.soldierstudies.org/index.php?action=read_article&aid=12

Weidman, B. (1997). Teaching with documents:The fight for equal rights -- Black soldiers in the Civil War: Preserving the legacy of the United States colored troops. Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/article.html

Wikipedia (2009). First Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment (African Descent). Retrieved March 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Iowa_Volunteer_Infantry_Regiment_(African_Descent)

Wikipedia (2010). Nathan Bedford Forrest. Retrieved July 25, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Bedford_Forrest

[74] John’s expression “I will grit for this time” brings to mind three possible meanings. This may have been a misspelling of "quit" (John used this word to close his third and fifth letters too), or a misspelling of "greet", whereby John is ending his greeting for the time being. On the other hand, because "grit" means courage, John could have been saying that he would "stand tough" and end his message.

USA Deep South (2009). “I will grit for this time”. Retrieved from http://usadeepsouth.ms11.net/snippets.html and requested information retrieved September 8, 2009 from [email protected] [B. Jacks].

[75] “Down with the traitor, up with the star…” is from the Battle Cry of Freedom, a patriotic song composed in 1862 by

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George F. Root that promoted the Union cause. Later, a Confederate version of the song became just as popular with the line “Down with the eagle, up with the cross”.

Wikipedia (2009). Battle Cry of Freedom. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Cry_of_Freedom

Introduction to Letter Eight[76] Parrot’s reference to the Atlanta Campaign is found in:


Letter Eight [77] Chickamauga is in Walker County, Georgia.

[78] In other words, after April 14.

[79] John has now realized first-hand that his 16-year-old brother Isaac finally did enlist only one week after he himself did, with Isaac having been mustered on February 29th as a Private in Company D (CWSSS, 2009; Logan, 1911). John’s outlook about Isaac in this letter contrasts sharply with his earlier comments found in letter four: … “tell Isaac J that I say for him not to join the army for if he does he will wish that he had not when it comes to marching 20 miles a day and to carry a knapsack and canteen and haversack gun and accouterments.” A few lines later in the same letter he advises his mother that Isaac should "stay at home awhile". In this, his eighth letter, John proudly praises his brother: “I expected that Isaac would give out but he went through like a top we marched 25 miles one day …”.


Isaac’s enlistment details (with age listed as "18") are found in: Logan, G. E. (1911). Volume 1 - roster and record of Iowa

soldiers in the War of the Rebellion: Historical sketches of volunteer organizations, 1861-1866. Retrieved from http://iagenweb.org/civilwar/books/logan/mil309.htm

53

[80] At this point, John plainly wants to believe in his regiment’s ultimate strength and valor in the same way as Lincoln’s polysemic aphorism "Let us have faith that right makes might…” (Lincoln, 1860, p. 60). John is referring to the Union Military Division of the Mississippi that eventually confronts the Confederate Army of Tennessee. His approximate, and somewhat overestimated conviction is that “…when our force all gets here we will have about one hundred and seventy five thousand men…”. While reports of exact numbers vary, General Sherman’s Union Army consisted of well over 98,000 men and 254 cannons. By June, more than 112,000 reinforcements had arrived. As for General Johnston’s Confederate forces, a little less than 65,000 men and 120 cannons had arrived by then (Parzych & Bradford, 2011, p. 270; Whitfield County History Commission, 1936, p. 66; Carter, 1902).

Carter, W.R. (1902). History of the first regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry 1862-1865 [Extract]. Retrieved from http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/statewide/military/civilwar/other/u1sttncav327nmt.txt

Lincoln, A. (1860/1915). Lincoln’s Cooper Institute Address. In D.H. Miles (Ed.), Macaulay’s speeches on copyright, Lincoln’s Cooper Institute Address. N.Y.: Longman, Green & Company. Retrieved from http://archive.org/stream/macaulaysspeeche00maca#page/n7/mode/2up

Parzych, C. & Bradford, J.C. (Eds.). (2011). The big book of Civil War sites: From Fort Sumter to Appomattox, a visitor's guide to the history, personalities, and places of America's battlefields. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot.

Whitfield County History Commission (1936). Official history of Whitfield county, Georgia. Retrieved from http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/whitfield/history/other/gms188chapteri.txt

[81] John is referring to the battles of Lookout Mountain on November 24, 1863 and Missionary Ridge on November 25 (5-10 marching miles apart) in Chattanooga, southeastern Tennessee that followed the September Battle of Chickamauga. The Battle of Lookout Mountain was a Union victory, with 408 dead to the Confederate Army’s 1,251 (Wikipedia, 2009, March 16).

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While the Battle of Missionary Ridge was another victory for the Union Army, it was bloodier than the preceding battle with 753 killed. Meanwhile, the Confederate Army’s losses were less than half that number. However, captured and missing soldiers numbered 4,146, indicating that the Union side had finally avenged the number of their own soldiers captured at Chickamauga (Wikipedia, April 29, 2009).

Wikipedia (2009, March 16). Battle of Lookout Mountain. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lookout_Mountain

Wikipedia (2009, April 29). Battle of Missionary Ridge. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Missionary_Ridge

[82] The bloody Battle of Chickamauga was the final key victory the Confederates were to experience. It took place September 19-20, 1863 in Georgia’s Catoosa and Walker Counties (Wikipedia, 2009). The second bloodiest battle in the Civil War (Paupeck, 2009), casualties were extremely high, particularly for the victorious Confederates (Civil War Trust, 2011). Stunningly, 4,757 Union soldiers were captured or went missing. Comparatively striking is that only 1,468 Confederate soldiers were captured or missing (Wikipedia, 2009), indicating perhaps that for rebel troops it was a fight to the death with no thoughts of facing humiliating capture or surrender.

Civil War Trust. (2011). Chickamauga. Retrieved from http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/chickamauga.html

Paupeck, S. (2009). Georgia’s Civil War heritage. Retrieved from http://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/pr_view.asp?id=12

Wikipedia (2009). Battle of Chickamauga. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chickamauga

[83] John’s final reference to items of clothing sent home comes after witnessing the Chickamauga battleground where “there was three hundred poor fellows was burried and there was old clothes and most everything a lying around”. In yet another foreshadowing, John and Isaac are sending home no-longer-needed winter coats that eventually end up becoming items of remembrance for their family.

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[84] Ruth Denny was Joseph’s wife and the mother of his four children. After the war, they had two more children.

Iowa Genealogical Society (2009). “Ruth Denny”. Retrieved from http://www.iowagenealogy.org/ and requested information retrieved from [email protected] [F. Sprunger & M. Hull].

Concluding details[85] While the earliest recognized date for the launching of the Atlanta Campaign is April 27, another acknowledged date is May 4. The third most accepted date of May 7 (Golden Ink, 2006) ties in more closely with not only the date of John’s last letter but also with how soon the Atlanta Campaign caught up with him on a personal level. The varying dates are from:

Golden Ink (2006). Chronology of the Atlanta Campaign. Retrieved from http://ngeorgia.com/history/atlcamp.html

A chronology of Civil War events that includes the Battle of Resaca is found in:

Freeman, J. (2000). Timeline of the Civil War. Retrieved from http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/tl1861.html

For a historical background and a map of the Atlanta Campaign see:

Wikipedia (2009). Atlanta Campaign. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Campaign

[86] These commanding officers are listed in: Fox, W. F. (1889). Regimental Losses in the American Civil

War – 1861-1865. Retrieved from http://www.civilwarreference.com/regiments/detail.php?regID=2131

Sanders, J. C. (2003). Personnel, Union Soldiers. Retrieved from http://civilwarlandscapes.org/cwla/per/soldier/union/unionf.htm

[87] A chronological list of Seventh Iowa Infantry troop movements is found in:

Dyer, F. H. (1908/2009). Part 3 -- A compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Retrieved from http://www.civilwararchive.com/Unreghst/uniainf1.htm

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[88] Conceivably the finest narrative of the Battle of Lay's Ferry comes from an official report written by the 29-year-old commander of the First Brigade, Brigadier General Elliot W. Rice, as found in:

Beason, K. (2002). May 15: The Battle of Lay’s Ferry. Retrieved from http://www.resacabattlefield.org/FoRLaysFerry.htm

[89] These details are from: Klinger, M. J. (2001). Battle of Resaca: Botched Union

attack. Retrieved from http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/resaca/resaca-history-articles/battle-of-resaca-botched.html

[90] For a detailed description of the deployment of the Sixteenth Corps at Lay’s Ferry, see:

Golden Ink (2006). The Road to Resaca. Retrieved from http://ngeorgia.com/history/resaca.html

A description of full-scale fighting starting May 15 and culminating at Lay’s Ferry on May 16 is found in:

Wikipedia (2009). Battle of Resaca. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Resaca

[91] This quote from Lieutenant J.A. Joyce (1883) is found in: Klinger, M. J. (2001). Battle of Resaca: Botched Union

attack. Retrieved from http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/resaca/resaca-history-articles/battle-of-resaca-botched.html

Resources on the Battle of Resaca and geographic movements are available from:

Civil War Trust. (2012). The battle of Resaca. Retrieved from http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/resaca.html

[92] The figure of "sixty-one" killed or wounded (Parrot, 1864) tallies very closely with the newspaper casualty list that is included with John’s letters: five men were killed outright, four died a little later of their injuries, three had suspected fatal injuries, 28 were severely wounded, 19 had slight injuries and 1

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soldier’s fate was unknown (possibly captured or deserted). Company D alone suffered one death, three severe injuries, and two slight injuries.

Battle of Resaca casualty figures: American Civil War (2012). Resaca, Civil War Georgia,

American Civil War, May 13-15, 1864. Retrieved from http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/ga/ga008.html

Lay’s Ferry casualty figures: Parrot, J.C., Lieutenant Colonel (1864). History of the

regiment, Iowa. Retrieved from http://iagenweb.org/civilwar/regiment/infantry/07th/7th-inf-hist.htm

[93] Battle of Resaca casualty figures are from: Wikipedia (2009). American Civil War. Retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_in_the_American_Civil_War

Resaca as the most heavily troop-deployed battle in the Atlanta Campaign is from:

Castel, A. (1999). A Letter to Governor Barnes from distinguished historian Albert Castel. Retrieved from http://www.angelfire.com/ga/wkb/resacacastel.html

Details of the annual reenactment of the Battle of the Resaca are found here:

This Week in the Civil War (2012). 2012 Civil War Reenactment Calendar, The 148th anniversary Battle of Resaca Civil War reenactment. Retrieved from http://thisweekinthecivilwar.com/?page_id=1082

[94] The Battle of Resaca as one of the more formidable battles of the Atlanta Campaign is from:

Lenz, R. J. (2002). The Civil War in Georgia, an illustrated traveler’s guide: Resaca. Retrieved from http://www.sherpaguides.com/georgia/civil_war/northwest/resaca_area.html

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[95] Clearly, this was the ultimate tragedy for 18-year-old John and for his grief-stricken family. For patriotic Iowans, however, it was yet more proof of the unmatched bravery of its young men (Brainerd, 1888). Their willingness to die for the Union cause can be seen in cemeteries all over the South. Out of a total population of 674,913 in 1860, 76,242 Iowa men fearlessly served in the military, many in combat units attached to the western armies (Wikipedia, 2009).

It is fortunate, if not miraculous, that John’s 16-year-old brother, Isaac escaped serious injury in this horrific battle, especially since he listed his age as being 18. Being rather paternal towards Isaac, it is highly likely that John may have taken action to protect his brother. Even unrelated soldiers tended to be protective of younger recruits (Weidner, 2007).

For those Union soldiers who admitted to being 16 years old, there were 321,051 enlistees (The Marion Chronicle, n.d.). Almost one-third (Mitchell, 2001) or more than one million (Miller, 1912) of all enlisted Union soldiers were 18 and under (National Park Service, 2011). As for those who were 18 years old, an account published in the Marion Chronicle lists 1,151,428 out of 2,778,304 as being 18 years of age (an average of 287,857 enlistees each year).

Because many younger soldiers lied about their ages when enlisting, their correct ages were not listed correctly or at all in unit rosters, a fact that has always made categorizing accurate numbers of soldiers by age extremely difficult (Library of Congress, 2009).

Brainerd, N.H. (1888). Iowa and the draft. Retrieved from http://iagenweb.org/history/IAHistRec/1888_Apr.htm

Library of Congress (2009). “Underage American Civil War soldiers by age”. Retrieved from www.loc.gov and requested information retrieved from [email protected] [W.E.]

Miller, F. T. (1912). History of the Civil War. Retrieved from http://www.civilwarhome.com/boysinwar.htm

Mitchell, M.T. (2001). A soldier’s life. Retrieved May 20, 2009 from http://home.mindspring.com/~mtmitchell/Soldiers%20Life.html

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National Park Service. (2011). The Civil War’s Common Soldier. Retrieved from http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/civil_war_series/3/sec1.htm

The Marion Chronicle (n.d. [published before 1968]). “Underage American Civil War soldiers”. Retrieved from http://wiki.answers.com/ and requested information retrieved October 2009 from [email protected] [C. Chilcott]

Weidner, D. (2007). The American Civil War: The soldiers. Retrieved from http://histclo.com/essay/war/cwa/cwa-sold.html

Wikipedia (2009). American Civil War. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_in_the_American_Civil_War

[96] For a detailed description of the taking of the town of Resaca by Union troops see:

Golden Ink (2006). The Road to Resaca. Retrieved from http://ngeorgia.com/history/resaca.html

[97] This quote by Lt. Col. Parrot can be found in: Parrot, J.C. (1864). History of the regiment, Iowa. Retrieved

from http://iagenweb.org/civilwar/regiment/infantry/07th/7th-inf-hist.htm

[98] The Seventh Iowa Infantry was listed in approximately 1889 as one of Lieutenant Colonel William F. Fox's "distinguished" 300 Union Fighting Regiments.

Mosocco, R. A. (n.d.). Iowa infantry regiments. Retrieved from http://www.mosocco.com/iowa.html

Documents and Illustrations

The copy of John Knight's unpublished photograph on this book's cover is courtesy of:


A circa 1889 L. Kurz and A. Allison color lithograph of The Battle of Resaca can be seen at:

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Library of Congress (2010). Prints and photographs online catalog: Battle of Resaca [Lithograph]. Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=Battle%20of%20Resaca

Wikipedia (2010). The battle of Resaca, 1864 [Lithograph]. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1864

The original newspaper clipping announcing John’s death was retyped for clarity.A photocopy of the original May 1864 newspaper clipping is courtesy of:


An 1887 A.R. Waud wood engraving of The Battle of Resaca can be viewed at:

First Art Gallery (2010). The Battle of Resaca, Georgia, May 14th, 1864 [Reproduction as an oil painting]. Retrieved from http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/Alfred-R.-Waud/The-Battle-Of-Resaca,-Georgia,-May-14th-1864,-Illustration-From-Battles-And-Leaders-Of-The-Civil-War,-Edited-By-Robert-Underwood-Johnson-And-Clarence-Clough-Buel.html

Library of Congress (2010). Prints and photographs online catalog: Battle of Resaca [wood engraving; book illustration]. Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=Battle%20of%20Resaca

A photograph of the Resaca battlefield is available at: Flickr (2009). Resaca battlefield, 1864 [photograph].

Retrieved from http://flickr.com/photos/cwpt/3252554863/in/set--72157613318491165/

An eerie photograph of branchless trees at an unofficial Resaca battlefield cemetery can be seen at:

Lenz, R.J. (2002). Confederate cemetery – County Road 297, Resaca [photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.sherpaguides.com/georgia/civil_war/northwest/resaca_area.html

For a map of the Battle of Lay's Ferry, go to:

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Scaife, B. (2010). The Battle of Lay's Ferry [map]. Retrieved from http://www.resacabattlefield.org/FoRLaysFerry.htm

The photograph of John Knight’s grave headstone is courtesy of: Martin, P. H. (2009). John Knight's grave headstone

[photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/chattanooga.asp and requested information retrieved March 17, 2009 from [email protected]

Mr. Martin’s note to me is found below:“Actually the grave number on the headstone is 10084 (not 10064 [as stated in the War Department's letter of 1887]). Your ancestor’s first name was inscribed as JNO which are the letters you see inscribed before the last name on the headstone. During this time it seems the name John was abbreviated and inscribed as JNO”.John’s final resting place is listed as “Buried Tennessee [Chattanooga], grave 319, Section K”.


The unpublished War Department letter in this book was written in 1887, some 23 years after John’s death, and was prepared at Isaac’s request. While I retyped the letter for clarity, copies of the original letterhead and signature have been preserved. Document is courtesy of:


A postscript regarding the Knight family. Three years after losing John to the Civil War, Samuel and Lydia Knight lost their 16-year-old son Barnabas (Schaffer, 1994), possibly due to illness or an accident. By this time, the Quaker school (White’s Institute) that the Knight's had been working for had run out of money (Iowa Genealogical Society, 2009); 1867 thus marked the year that the family moved to the Quaker town of Oskaloosa, Mahaska County (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2009) around 100 miles away from Pilot Grove, Lee County, Iowa. In 1868, John’s father died at the age of 48 (KeoMah Genealogical Society, 2009; Earlham College,

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2009). Still more sorrowfully, only four children of the family’s eight lived to see adulthood: Jane, Sarah, Rachel and Isaac.

Earlham College (2009). “Samuel Knight”. Retrieved from www.earlham.edu and requested information retrieved October 2009 from [email protected] [T.D. Hamm].

Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. (2009). Oskaloosa. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/433951/Oskaloosa

Iowa Genealogical Society (2009). “White’s Institute”. Retrieved from http://www.iowagenealogy.org and requested information retrieved September 8, 2009 from [email protected] [F. Sprunger & M. Hull].

KeoMah Genealogical Society (2009). “Samuel Knight in Oskaloosa”. Retrieved from http://www.keo-mah.com and requested information retrieved September 9, 2009 from [email protected] [M. Daniels].


END NOTES Travel and transportationSince car miles were obviously irrelevant for 1864, miles on foot between towns and cities were calculated (GeoBytes, 2000; Maps Google, 2010), keeping in mind that the average person takes one hour to walk two or three miles (Wikipedia, 2009, October 26). As for Civil War soldiers, they marched 15 to 20 miles per day on average. Infantry columns marched an average of 2.5 miles per hour. In enforced marching, soldiers could cover 20 to 25 miles, or even 30 miles if roads were good (US Army Military History Institute, 1979).

To estimate the pace that people moved on horseback over rough roadways in 1864, consider that the standard horse averages four m.p.h. walking, eight m.p.h. trotting, and 25-30 m.p.h. galloping (Wikipedia, 2009, October 26).

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Dirt roads were the norm in rural areas of Iowa and traveling 20 miles with a farm team and wagon was considered a lengthy journey. Thirteen years prior to this a single plank road was completed that extended 28 miles from Burlington to an area just 16 miles north of present day Pilot Grove called Mount Pleasant. The condition of roads all over Iowa in 1864 was such that while township trustees carried out the grading of road ditches, they did very little dragging of roadway beds. Distances were calculated by using “stepping off” or “wagon load” measurements (Iowa Department of Transportation, 2000).

Meanwhile, the various counties mentioned in Iowa, Tennessee and Georgia are found in online maps (Hay, 2009; Map XL, Inc., 2009).

GeoBytes, Inc. (2000). “Search Tool”. Retrieved from http://www.geobytes.com/CityDistanceTool.htm

Hay, B. (2009). County map. Retrieved from http://www.censusfinder.com/mapia.htm

Iowa Department of Transportation (2000). Approaching the turn of the century: Discovering historic Iowa, transportation milestones. Retrieved from http://freedownload.is/pdf/approaching-the-turn-of-the-century-discovering-historic-iowa-transportation-milestones

Maps Google.com (2009). “Search Tool”. Retrieved from http://maps.google.com/

Map XL, Inc. (2009). County map. Retrieved from http://www.mapsofworld.com/usa/states/tennessee/tennessee-county-map.html

US Army Military History Institute (1979). Marching. Retrieved from http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/history/marshall/military/mil_hist_inst/m/march2.asc

Wikipedia (2009). Horse gait. Retrieved October 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_gait

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My ancestors in relation toJohn Knight

Key:MM = Monthly Meeting place for QuakersP.O.W. = Prisoner of WarU.A. S. = Under-age soldierK.I.A. = Killed in Action

Solomon Knight

Elizabeth Knight

Thomas Knight

Christian Thomas

Barnabas Coffin

Sarah Wheeler Coffin

1781: Thomas born Nov. 16 in Guilford County, N.C.

1785: Christian born Feb. 12 in Guilford County, N.C.

1785: Barnabas born October 28 in Guilford County, N.C.

1785: Sarah born October 5

1804: Thomas, age 23, marries Christian Jan. 26 in Marlborough, S.C.; Piney Grove MM.

1804: Christian, age 19, marries Thomas on Jan. 26 in Marlborough, S.C.

1806: Barnabas, age 21, marries Sarah on June 5 in Guilford County, N.C.

1806: Sarah, age 21, marries Barnabas on June 5 in Guilford County, N.C.

1814: Thomas & Christian move to Wayne County, Indiana

1824: Barnabas and Sarah move to Whitewater from Driftwood, Indiana; Whitewater MM

1824: Sarah, age 39 gives birth to (fifth/last child), Lydia Coffin

1829: Thomas and Christian move to Grant County, Indiana

1823 or 1827: Barnabas dies age 38 or 42; Chester MM,

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Indiana.1831: Thomas dies on August 11 in Grant County, Indiana, age nearly 50; buried in Mississinewa Friends Cemetery

1836: Christian dies August 20 in Grant County, Indiana, age 50; buried in Mississinewa Friends Cemetery

Daniel Votaw, Sr.

Sarah Wheeler Coffin Votaw

1783: Daniel Sr. born August 7 in Loudon County, Virginia.

1785: Sarah born October 5.

1805 : Marriage #1: Mary Hampton from Fayette County, Indiana on Dec. 19; Daniel Sr. is 22, Mary is 18.

1806 : Marriage #1: Barnabas Coffin from N.C. (see previous page)

1827: Daniel Sr. is widowed at nearly 44 after Mary dies, age 40 on May 17 in Wayne County, Indiana.

1827: Sarah is widowed; Chester MM.

1828 : Marriage #2: Daniel Sr., age nearly 45,

1828 : Marriage #2: Sarah, age 43, marries Daniel

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marries Sarah Wheeler Coffin on June 25 in Indiana; Chester MM. Daniel Sr. has three or four biological children.

Votaw, Sr. on June 25, 1828 in Indiana. Sarah takes daughter Lydia Coffin age 4, and three or four other siblings to live with Daniel.

1857: Daniel Sr. is widowed at age 74.

1857: Sarah dies December 18 in Lee County, Iowa, age 72; East Grove MM.

1871: Daniel Sr. dies August 11 in Cowley, Kansas, age 88.

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Samuel Knight

Lydia Coffin Knight

Daniel Votaw, Jr.

Eunice Freestone

1820: Samuel born Oct. 7 in Wayne County, Indiana; New Garden MM & Mississinewa MM.

1824: Lydia born Feb. 10 in or near Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana; Whitewater MM

1818: Daniel Jr. born May 1 in Wayne County, Indiana

1822: Ruth Knight, Samuel’s sister, is born October 27; Mississinewa MM/New Garden MM, Indiana

1823 or 1827: Lydia’s father Barnabas dies

1827: Daniel Jr’s mother dies in Wayne County, Indiana when he is 9 years old

1829: Samuel’s father Thomas moves family to Grant County, Indiana

1828: Lydia moves with her mother to step-father, Daniel Votaw, Sr’s home

1838: Daniel Jr., age 20, marries Eunice Freestone in Indiana

1831: Samuel’s father Thomas Knight dies when Samuel is 11 years old.

1841: Daniel Jr. & Eunice move to Lee County, Iowa

1836: Samuel’s mother Christian dies when Samuel is 16. Samuel moves in with relatives; Dover MM.

1846: Daniel’s son Jacob born Oct. 23 in Lee County, Iowa; Salem MM.

1842: Samuel, 1842: Lydia, 1849: Ellwood

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age 22, marries Lydia Coffin August 26 in Wayne County; Indiana, Dover MM/ Mississinewa MM.

age 18, marries Samuel Knight on August 26 in Wayne County; Dover MM

“Ed” born Sept. in Lee County, Iowa

1843: Daughter Jane Knight is born August 16 in Indiana

1862: Jacob, age 15, enlists in 17th Iowa Infantry as fifer on March 5; U.A.S.

1844: Samuel and Lydia move to Salem MM, Iowa.

1864: May 1 Jacob promoted principle musician1864: May 7 Ed, age 15, enlists in 45th Iowa Infantry; U.A.S.

1845: Son John Knight is born Nov. 7 in Lee County, Iowa.

1864: Sept. 16 Ed mustered out 1864: Oct 13 Jacob becomes a P.O.W.

1847: Isaac J. Knight is born Dec. 14 in Lee County, Iowa

1865: June 6 Jacob mustered out of Army

1849: Sarah M. Knight born Oct. 1 in Lee County, Iowa

1894: Daniel Jr. dies March 30 in Texas, age 76.

1851: Barnabas

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Knight born Sept. 26 in Lee County, Iowa.1856: Rachel Knight born in Pilot Grove, Lee County, Iowa (see chronology of her life, below)1856: Samuel begins working for White’s Institute, a Quaker school1857: Daniel Knight born May 20 in Lee County, Iowa; dies sometime before 18641859: Minnie Knight born April 15 in Lee County, Iowa; dies young1861: Civil War declared April 121862: Elmer Knight born May 14 in Lee County, Iowa; dies sometime after 18641864: Feb. 22 son John enlists in 7th Iowa Infantry1864: Feb. 29 son Isaac J. enlists in 7th

William Watson Rash, Sr.

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Iowa Infantry1864: May 16 son John K.I.A. at Battle of Resaca, Georgia1865: July 12 son Isaac J. mustered out of Army

1836: William Sr. born Nov. 19 in Jefferson County, Tennessee

1867: August 12 son Isaac J. marries Susan Dyer in Pilot Grove, Iowa 1867: Son Barnabas dies, age 16

1858: Marriage #1: William Sr., age 22, marries Mary McConnell (or Ellen Spake), in Hardin County, Iowa

1867-1868: Samuel moves his family to Oskaloosa, Iowa

1862: William Jr. born on Feb. 1

1868: Samuel dies, age 48 in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

1868: Lydia is widowed at age 44

1862: William Sr. widowed at age 291862: William Sr. enlists in 40th Iowa Infantry on August 14

1904: Lydia dies on April 2, age 80.

1865: August 2 William mustered out of Army1866: Marriage #2: William, age 30, marries Ellen Negus,

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age 201915: William Sr. dies March 22, age 79 in Union Township, Franklin County, IowaWilliam Watson Rash, Jr.1862: William Jr. born Feb. 1 in Hardin County, Iowa1862: William Jr.’s mother dies shortly after his birth. He is sent to live with his grandparents, Robert Rash & Seletha Bryant Rash in Keokuk County, Richland, Iowa.1878: William Jr., age 19, marries Ann Eliza McConnell, age 18, on June 30 in Iowa

1855: Neziah Adams marries Sarah Lakey in Yadkinville, N.C.; Deep Creek MM.

1915 or 1917: June 24 William dies, age 58 in Richland, Iowa

1858: Son William Dallas

1949: Ann McConnell dies

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Adams born Feb. 25, age 89

Rachel Knight Padgitt Adams

Will Dallas Adams

Floy Adams Rash

Bruce Rash

1856: Rachel born Oct 17 in Pilot Grove, Iowa

1858: William born June 25 in Burr Oak, Kansas

1885: Floy born Feb. 3 in New Providence, Iowa

1883 or 1884: Bruce born in Bangor, Marshall County, Iowa

1867-1868: Rachel’s parents and siblings move to Oskaloosa, Iowa

1904: Floy marries Bruce Rash April 16; she is 19

1904: Bruce, age 20/21, marries Floy Adams on April 16

1868: Rachel’s father Samuel dies

1905: Lowell Rash born August 25, in Richland, Iowa

1872 : Marriage #1: Rachel, age 16, marries John Silas Padgitt, age 23, on May 4.

1907: Lucille Rash born April 14 in New Providence, Iowa

1874: Walter C. Padgitt born

1908: Floy & Bruce move 1,912 miles to Washington State1908: Mildred born Aug. 28 in Ephrata, WA

1876: Harry J.W. Padgitt is born

1910: Frances born July 5 in Withrow, WA

1878: Rachel 1912: William

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is widowed at age 22; her husband John is aged 29.

“Dale” born August 6 in Withrow, WA

1883 : Marriage #2: Rachel, age 27, marries Will Dallas Adams, age 25 in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

1883: William Dallas Adams, age 25, marries Rachel in Oskaloosa, Iowa

1914: Harold born June 14 in Mansfield, WA

1885: Floy Adams is born Feb. 3 in New Providence, IA

1915: Marie born Oct. 2 in Mansfield, WA

1886: Wilma Adams is born Dec. 17 in New Providence, IA

1917: Thelma born July 17 in Ephrata, WA

1888: Donald Adams is born July 18 in Marshalltown, IA

1919: Glenn born April 17 in Ephrata, WA

1890: Delos Adams is born May 11 in Melbourne, IA

1921: Evelyn Floy born August 23 in Wenatchee, WA

1893: William “Ethmyr” Adams is born in State Center, IA

1923: Wayne Bruce born April 23 in Monroe, WA

1896: Laura “Mildred” Adams is born July 3 in Hartland, IA

1976: Floy dies in May in Seattle, WA, age 91

1960: Bruce dies in Los Angeles, age 76/77

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1898: Clara Corrine Adams is born Oct. 3 in Hartland, Iowa

Lowell Rash

1903: Rachel is widowed at age 47 on January 5 in Bangor, Iowa.

1903: Will Adams dies on January 5 in Bangor, Iowa, age 45.

1905: Lowell Dwight Rash is born in Richland, Iowa

1904: Rachel’s mother Lydia dies, age 80

1929: Lowell, age 24, marries Reba Walker, age 15, in Snoqualmie, WA

1910: Rachel and children move 1,690 miles from Iowa to Spokane, WA

1930: Son Charles Dwight Rash born April 1 in Snoqualmie, WA

1946: Rachel dies in Spokane, age 90

1931: Daughter Clara Corrine born Dec. 16 in SnoqualmieCharles Rash1956: Charles marries Mary Zurfluh1957: Daughter Lea Rash born May 23 in Ellensburg, WA1959: Son Joe Rash born June 9, 1959 in Snoqualmie, WA

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1977: Reba Walker Rash dies Sept. 21, age 631983: Lowell Rash dies May 25 in Snoqualmie, age 77

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the annotated civil war letters of john knight

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