William Walker, the son of Alexander Walker [my third great-grandfather], shot and killed a man (George Shaw) in 1883 in Keystone, Indiana.  More on this in later posts.

Private Hobart Hampton Scott died on July 7, 1863.

Hobart Hampton SCOTT was born June 17, 1823, Hartford, Connecticut. He was a Private, enlisting on October 25, 1861 with Company A of the 47th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Private SCOTT died on July 7, 1863 at the age of 40 years, and was re-interred July 10, 1868, at Memphis National Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee, Section MA, Site 50. As the national cemeteries were founded, many Civil War Soldiers were re-interred there.

Sketch by Col Slack, 47th Indiana

Indiana at Vicksburg (1911) contains a history of the 47th.   The following paragraph is notable:

General McClernand’s Corps now consisted of Carr’s, Osterhaus’,
Hovey’s and Smith’s Divisions, and drove the enemy from
the field with heavy loss. But little opposition was encountered
until May 16th, on Champion’s Hill, when the army encountered
General Pemberton’s army, which came out from Vicksburg and
gave battle. Here, again, Hovey’s Division was brought on and had
the hardest of the battle. Company A of the 47th was on the skirmish
line, and a retrograde movement of tlie forces engaged brought
the lltli Regiment to the rear of that line, and the charge made by
that regiment swept the skirmishers with it. The guns of a rebel
battery were captured, but had to be abandoned, for just at that
time our force was outnumbered. We had to fall back for a space,
but were soon reinforced and the enemy was swept from the field.
The Champion’s Hill fight has been set down in history as one of
the three great battles that decided the fate of the Southern Confederacy.
It was certain that Pemberton would now have to fall back
to Vicksburg, and as certain that Vicksburg, with its army, must
fall, and that the Confederate States would be completely divided
by the Mississippi River, which would be held against them in its
entirety.

You can read the regimental history starting from page 289.

Daniel Hilton

Benjamin Jones

A great-grandfather, John Kennedy, served in Company A, 47th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. An excerpt from the roll of enlisted men serving in Company A:

Name                                         Residence         Muster 1861      Remarks

It doesn’t say how the deserter, Alfred M. Milliken, was killed – was he executed for desertion or did he die by other means?

The photo above is of Daniel Hilton who served in Company A.  You can read online a short account of his time in the army including the movements and actions of the 47th:

We made three attacks on Vicksburg from different sides by way of Chickasaw Bluff, Yazoo River and then from the rear under General Grant.After a siege of nearly two months time, Vicksburg was taken. After the capture of Vicksburg, we were transferred from the Thirteenth Corps under General McClernand to the Nineteenth Corps under General William H. Emory. Leaving Vicksburg by steamer we went down the river to New Orleans, camping at Carlton, six miles above the city. After some service there, we moved to New Iberia, Louisiana where we remained until December. We re-enlisted in the United States Service for three years more, having served two years.

The government gave us $402 for re-enlistment and a 39 day furlough. On arriving at home I found that my wife had gone to visit her Uncle William Fox in Pickwick County, Ohio. I followed her there and after visiting a few days with them we returned to her Father’s place. While at home, I purchased eighty acres of land in Wells County. This land became our home place.

Returning to New Orleans, I arrived just in time to be sent to the assistance of General Banks, who had been defeated by Dick Taylor at Mansfield, Louisiana. We were placed on board a transport and rushed up the river, meeting Bank’s forces at Alexandria, Louisiana, (early March 1864) on the Red River. After several engagements we retreated to Morganza Bend on the Mississippi River. From this place we were in two expeditions against the Rebs, on July 28^th 1864 on the Atchalafaya River. After staying some time at this place we took a steamer for New Orleans to organize for a movement against Sabine Pass going to Opelousas, Louisiana. Returning to New Orleans, we were reorganized for the capture of Mobile, Alabama, concentrating our forces on Dauphine Island and at the entrance of Mobile Bay. We were under the command of General Gordan Granger. After the capture of the city by a thirteen day siege of Spanish Fort, we took the earthen defenses of Fort Blakely in March and early April, our Division Commander became General Veach. On 9 April, General Hawkins’s Negro troops distinguished themselves by capturing much of Fort Blakely.

After these battles were won, we camped at Spring Hill, six miles West of Mobile. After remaining there for a short time, we were ordered to Shreveport, Louisiana to gather a lot of cotton and other supplies left at that place by General Kirby Smith and Joe Shelby.

We remained at this place as Provost Guards from the last of April until the middle of October, when we took a boat and went down the river to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where our discharge papers were made out; when we again took a steamer for our trip home. Arriving at Indianapolis, we were paid off November 2, 1865, having been in the service four years.

The second photo is of Benjamin Jones who was a sergeant in Company A. A very short biography can be found online here.

More photos of soldiers from the 47th Indiana Volunteer Infantry can be found here.

A history of the 47th Indiana is online.

Chester Township, Wells County, Indiana  1881 from “Historical Hand-Atlas, illustrated” Chicago, Hardesty 1881

John Kennedy’s property is located near the upper left quarter:

Online link to map

Click on the images to enlarge.

Link to online 1860 pdf file

Link to location for full page

The above is from the 1870 census for Chester Township, Wells County, Indiana.  There were two Jeremiah Kennedy’s in Wells County in the 19th century.  One of them I was related and one is not, the above Jeremiah Kennedy is not mine:

“After the war Mr. Quill opened a shoe shop at New Paris, Ohio. On Oct. 15, 1865, he was married, in Huntington, Ind., to Ellen Kennedy, who was born in Limerick, Ireland, about 1848-50, daughter of Jeremiah and Mary (Collins) Kennedy. Jeremiah Kennedy care from Ireland in 1854 and settled on land in Preble county, Ohio, for a few years. Later he moved to Wells county, Ind., and bought a farm of eighty acres, where he died when eighty years of age.”

Click to enlarge – a paternal gr-grandfather, from the same county (Wells), served with this man in the 47th Indiana Volunteer Infantry.

Click photo above to enlarge.

http://www.mosocco.com/pic/enyeart.jpg

A letter home from the same William Enyeart discussing battles and conditions can be read here.

An excerpt follows:

April the 7, 1863
missispia we ar About Four Miels From black river in rear of Vicksburg and we had A big
batele on the First Day of May at Chickswa bluf and it was a harder Fite then the Shilow or
the Pea rig batele and the forty Seventh was in the hotest place in the batel the tride to flank
us and we had to Fite our way out The bales and Grape Flue round us as thick as hail and
we Fough all Day mor or Les the Last round we had we Fought Two ours and A half Stude
fine Fast as they bold the rebes had about Fifteen thousand Men and born out with About
Five thousand we wr Lyin in A very nice place

More on the history of the 47th can be found on this great website.

A law respecting crimes and punishments. Pub-
lished on the 6th of September. By this statute the crimes
of treason, murder and houseburning in case where death en-
sues from such burning, were respectively punished by death.
The crimes of burglary and robbery were punishable by
whipping, not exceeding thirty-nine stripes; fine and im-
prisonment for any term not exceeding fort}- years. For the
crime of perjury the offender was punishable b}’ a fine not ex-
ceeding sixty dollars or whipping not exceeding thirty-nine
lashes, disfranchisement and standing in- the pillory for a
space of time not exceeding two hours. Larceny was pun-
ished by fine or whipping at the discretion of the court. If
the convict could not pay the fine of the court it was lawful
for the sheriff, b}’ the direction of the court to bind such con-
victs to labor for a term not exceeding seven years to any
suitable person who could pay such fines. Forgery was pun-
ishable by fine and disfranchisement and standing in the pil-
lory for a space of lime not exceeding three hours. For
drunkenness the law was as follows:

“11 If many person shall be convicted of drunken-
ness before one or more justices of the peace, the per-
son so convicted shall be fined for the first offense
the sum of five dimes and for ever succeeding offense
upon Conviction the sum of one dollar. In either case
if the offender neglects or refuses to pay the fine, he
shall be set in the stocks for the space of one hour,
provided, however, that complaints be made to the
justice or justices within two days after the offense
shall have been committed.

Pioneer history of Indiana