#154--John W. Hannah--What Happened?

The theme for this week is a random fact.  I tried to think of a fact that really did not fit with what I knew about a person.  My great grandfather, John Wesley Hannah, fought in the Civil War.  He enlisted in the Illinois 62 as a private, and by the end of the war was the Captain of his company.  I ordered his war records from the National Archives.  Everything looked find and rather routine in the records, he was where he should have been in terms of muster, carried out orders, and was selected to be the provost marshal at one point.  So you can imagine my surprise, when I found the following:

Head Quarters of South Kansas
Fort Gibson, Sept. 8, 1865

Special Order
No 147
Capt. John W. Hannah
County 62 Ill. Vet Infantry is hereby placed under arrest for disobedience of order and will confine himself to his quarters. 
By order of Liet. Colonel James True   
Commander of the District

Head Quarters of South Kansas
Fort Gibson  Sept. 10, 1865
Special Order 148

The Board of Survey convened for Special Order 47 is hereby dissolved. 
Captain John W. Hannah is hereby released from arrest.
By order of Liet Colonel  James True

There is no indication in the file exactly what happened to place him under arrest.  So if I would talk to John Wesley Hannah, I certainly would ask him. 

#129--John Bayard Hannah--Civil War Soldier

Siege of Vicksburg

In a letter sent to my great aunt, Cora Hannah Parke, Phillip Hannah states that there were three John Hannahs from Edgar County that fought in the Civil War:  Old John (John M. Hannah), Little John (John Wesley Hannah) and Big John (John Bayard Hannah).  I have previously blogged about the Civil War experiences of my great grandfather, John Wesley Hannah, and of my great great grandfather, John M. Hannah.  So for this week, when the theme is military, I thought I would blog about the third one, John Bayard Hannah.  I knew nothing about him so this would be a good opportunity to learn more about my Hannah ancestors.

John Bayard Hannah was born on August 9, 1829, in Brown, Ohio, to Katherine Beard and Henry Hannah.  In 1834, his family moved to Edgar County.  After living for a short time in Indiana, John Bayard returned to Edgar County.  John Bayard Hannah married Elizabeth Frances Lawrence in Paris, Illinois, on October 27, 1857.  John and Elizabeth had four children:  Bayard Lee; Phillip Ensminger, Henry and John Gray.  The family lived in Paris, Illinois where John Bayard practiced law and also served as justice of the peace. By 1880, John and his family had moved to Ross Township in Edgar County, where he farmed.

In 1861 John Bayard enlisted in the 54th Illinois and became the Captain of Company F.  According to Parkinson in Edgar County Illinois in the Civil War, 1861-1864, the 54th was involved in two notable incidents.  First was the siege of Vicksburg.   The success of the siege cut the Confederacy in half and prevented the flow of Confederate supplies on the Mississippi.  After the siege ended, the Regiment was part of the expedition against Little Rock.  The second notable event was the Charleston Riot.  Charleston Illinois was town divided:  some individuals, knows as Copperheads, were sympathetic to the South and others supported the North.  On March 28, some Copperheads fired their rifles on the soldiers of the 54th, who were in town as part of their re-enlistment.  As lengthy fight followed, ending in nine men killed and 12 wounded.

After the war, John Bayard returned to Paris and continued to practice law.  According to his obituary, he was a mason and also active in the Methodist church.  He died on April 3, 1819 and was buried in the cemetery in Paris.

I wish I could talk to him.  I would like to know about his experiences with the Illinois 54th, his law practice, and why he left it to take up farming.

#59--John Bayard Hannah-Captain in the 54th Illinois Regiment

Memorial Day was Monday so it seems appropriate to write about an ancestor who served in the military.  I have written about my great grandfather, John Wesley Hannah and his service in the Civil War (Blogs # 38 -41) and John M. Hannah (Blog #4), my great, great grandfather who also fought in the Civil War.  In a letter to my Aunt Tim Hannah Parke, her cousin, Phillip Emsinger Hannah wrote that there were “three John Hannah’s that fought in the Civil War. “Old John”, my great great grandfather, Little John, or my great grandfather, and Big John, who was John Bayard Hannah.  So I thought I would blog about John Bayard Hannah and his service in the Civil War.  That would complete the trio.  My great grandfather and John Bayard’s father were brothers so that means that John Bayard Hannah is one of my cousins.

John Bayard Hannah was born in Brown County Ohio in August 9, 1829 to Henry Hannah and Catherine Beard.  Sometime before 1840, the family moved to Helt, Indiana, where his father farmed. In 1857 John Bayard married Elizabeth Frances Lawrence.

Regimental Flag of the 54th Illinois

According to the 1860 census, John and Elizabeth had two sons:  Bayard Lee, born 1829 and Phillip Emsinger, born in 1860.  John Bayard was now living in Paris, Edgar County, Illinois and was a lawyer.  The census lists his real estate as worth $4,000 and his personal property as $1400.  In 1861 his third son, Henry was born, while in 1877, John Gray Lawrence, the fourth son, was born.

Monument at Vicksburg for the 54th Illinois

When the Civil War started, John Bayard enlisted in the 54th Regiment Infantry on February 12, 1862 as Captain of Company F and mustered out on February 17, 1865.  The 54th served in western Tennessee until 1863.  The 54th then moved to Mississippi where they were involved in the siege of Vicksburg.  They next moved to Arkansas where they were involved in the capture of Little Rock on September 10, 1863.  The 54 Infantry
remained in various locations in Arkansas until the end of the war,

According to his obituary, John Bayard Hannah was a charter member of Paris Lodge 268, A. F. & A. M., served as a Justice of the Peace, and was active in his church.  John Bayard died on April 3, 1913 and was buried in the cemetery in Paris.

#41--John Wesley Hannah--Applying for a Pension

This is the last installment in my entries about John Wesley Hannah and his service in the Civil War.  After John‘s resignation in 1865 as Captain of Company D of the Illinois 62,  he returned home  to Edgar County, Illinois to take care of his business.  I am not sure when he moved, but by the following year, he was in Butler Missouri.  There, he married Jennie Willie( # 20 Romance in Real Life--Jennie Sophia Willey and John Wesley Hannah), and raised five children.  John built and was the proprietor of the Palace Hotel (# 5—Build Me a Palace—John Wesley Hannah)

Since he was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Butler, I assumed that he lived there until his death.  However, once I received his application for a pension, I discovered that that assumption was not true. His pension request was filed in November of 1897 in St. Sterling, Kentucky where he was living with his oldest daughter, Gertrude Hannah Turner.  On his application, he said that he suffered from rheumatism, heart trouble, paralysis, and general disability.  Those conditions were confirmed, under oath, by his son-in-law and the individual who was taking care of him.  Both individuals indicated that these difficulties were not due to "vicious living."

Initially, the Bureau of Pensions ordered John to appear for a physical exam in Butler, Missouri. That order was appealed because Butler was no longer his home.  Hence, he was examined by three physicians in St. Sterling who concluded that he was “permanently disabled in a degree requiring the regular aid and attention of another attention and is entitled to a pension of $72 a month.”  Further, they concluded that his illness during the Civil War was the cause of his present illnesses.  John lived several more months and died on March 10, 1898 in Mt Sterling.

#40--John Hannah--Civil War Soldier--Serving in the Trans-Mississippi Theater

When I think about the Civil War and the battles, I think about battles in Virginia, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.  However, as I followed John Wesley Hannah as a soldier, I found a different part of the war—one that was played out in the west and is known as the Trans-Mississippi Theater.  That theater consisted of the area west of the Mississippi River, including the states of

Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, and part of Louisiana as well as Indiana Territory (Oklahoma).  That is the place that John Wesley Hannah and the Illinois 62 spent two years. 

The 62^nd remained at LaGrange, Tennessee until August 19.  However, on July 18, John applied for a 20 day leave because of his health.  His application was approved by the camp surgeon, Dr. Cameron, who stated that John has had “bilious remitting fever” for the last four weeks, had to stay in his room, and would benefit from a different environment.  I had no idea what “bilious remitting fever” was, but from several online sources about diseases during the Civil War I learned that it was relapsing fever characterized by vomiting bile and diarrhea.

From August 19 to the 28^th, 1863 the 62^nd was involved in General Steele’s Campaign against Little Rock, moving first to Memphis, Tennessee, then to Helena, Arkansas, which was held by Union forces.   Believing that attacking Helena would take pressure off Vicksburg, Confederate General Holmes and his troops attacked that town on July 4, 1863.  While the Confederates had more troops and took some fortification, they were repelled by the Union forces, which remained in control of Helena.  This is an important battle in the War, one which I had never heard of, probably because it occurred on the same day as the battle at Gettysburg. 

The 62^nd was next involved in the battle of Little Rock.   According to the National Park Service Battlefield Protection Program:

 On September 10, 1863, Maj. Gen. Fred Steele, Army of Arkansas commander, sent Brig. Gen. John W. Davidson’s cavalry division across the Arkansas River to move on Little Rock, while he took other troops to attack Confederates entrenched on the north side. In his thrust toward Little Rock, Davidson ran into Confederate troops at Bayou Fourche. Aided by Union artillery fire from the north side of the river, Davidson forced them out of their position and sent them fleeing back to Little Rock, which fell to Union troops that evening. Bayou Fourche sealed Little Rock’s fate. The fall of Little Rock further helped to contain the Confederate Trans-Mississippi theater, isolating it from the rest of the South. (http://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/ar010a.htm)

The 62^nd remained at Little Rock.  From his muster roll, it appears that John was the commanding officer of Company K from October 22 to December 22 as he was he entitled extra pay for those duties.  On January 9, 1864 John along with the other soldiers re-enlisted as a veteran organization.  On April 25, 1964, the 62^nd moved to Pine Bluff Arkansas.  On August 31, 1864, John Wesley mustered out as a 1^st Lieutenant, was promoted to Captain and became commander of Company K.  On August 12, 1864, John along with the other veteran soldiers returned to Illinois for a veteran furlough.  The furlough lasted until November 25, 1864, when he returned to Pine Bluff.

On February 5, 1865, John was detached from duty to serve as the Provost Marshall in Pine Bluff.  I was not sure what exact a provost marshal did, but the following explanation from Family Search (https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Union_Provost_Marshals%27_File) was extremely helpful: 

The provost marshals who served in territorial commands, armies, and Army corps were the military police. They sought out and arrested deserters, Confederate spies, and civilians suspected of disloyalty. They also investigated the theft of Government property, controlled the passage of civilians in military zones and those using Government transportation, confined prisoners and maintained records of paroles and oaths allegiance,

John continued as Provost Marfshall through June of 1865.

In April, 1865, the men who were not veterans were ordered back to Illinois for mustering out.  Those that remained were consolidated into seven companies.  John Wesley became to Captain of the new Company D and also continued as Provost Marshall.  On July 8, 1865 the 62^nd became part of Brigadier General Bussey’s command at Fort Gibson, Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory.

On September 14, 1865 John Wesley resigned as Captain of Company D, 62^nd Illinois.  He gave two reasons:  one that he has served for four years in the regiment, and second that his business at home required his immediate attention.  He also indicated he had been paid through April 30, 1865, had returned all the property owned by the government, and that he did not owe the Government any money.  He also stated that at the time of his resignation the company consisted of the following:  3 Commissioned Officers and 88 enlisted men.

I am not sure exactly why John resigned.  Since he referred to personal business, I am assuming he is referring to his father’s death which occurred in 1865.  Therefore, he needed to return to his home in Edgar County, Illinois to deal with his father’s affairs and the farm.  

#39--John Hannah-Civil War Veteran, Serving in the the Western Theater

Flag carried by the 62nd Illinois

This is the second part of my blog on John Wesley Hannah and his service in the Civil War.  Since I have a good deal of information about him and not a lot of time right now, I decided that breaking this up into three entries would be appropriate.

While John returned to his home in Edgar County after his 3 month enlistment, he continued to be involved in the war efforts.  According to his biography in the History of Bates County, John was instrumental in organizing Company K of the 62 Infantry.  On December 9, 1861, John joined the Illinois 62 in Coles County, Illinois.  On April 10, 1962 John Wesley Hannah was mustered in as a2nd lieutenant for 3 years, receiving $105.50 for each month of service.  Twelve days later, on April 22, 1862, the company moved to Cairo, Illinois, then to Paducah, Ky., May 7 and to Columbus, Ky., June 7, 1862.  The 62nd then moved to Crockett Station, Tennessee, where its task was to guard the tracks of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad.  A little research about railroads during the Civil War, and I found that troops and supplies were moved by rail.  To keep the enemy from destroying the tracks, they were guarded by troops.  

The 62nd stayed in Tennessee through the Fall of 1862. On December 3, the 62nd moved to Jackson Tennessee, and then on to Grand Junction.  In December of 1862 the 62nd was involved in the raid by General Grant on Holly Springs.   After Holly Springs had been captured on December 13, 1862 General Grant left about 200 men there and returned to Jackson, Tennessee and then on to Grand Junction.  A week later on December Van Dorn for the Confederates retook Holly Springs, and paroled 170 men, including the Major and 3 Lieutenants, from the 62nd.  Van Dorn also destroyed all the regimental equipment, supplies, and papers.  I do not know whether or not John was one of the lieutenants that were captured and paroled.

Harper’s Weekly described the events at Holly Springs as follows:

WE publish …illustrations of HOLLY SPRINGS, Mississippi, lately occupied by our troops. This little town, one of the prettiest and most salubrious in the State of Mississippi, was for a long time occupied by the rebel army of the Southwest. They were driven out of it early last month by General Grant, who pushed through it and on to Oxford. Since then the rebels, or rather some guerrilla band claiming to act on behalf of the rebels, fell upon a couple of companies of infantry whom General Grant had left at Holly Springs, captured and paroled them; so that, to the best of our knowledge, at present Holly Springs is in the hands of the insurgents. It is situate on the line of the Mobile and Ohio railway, and is about twenty miles south of Grand Junction, and twenty-eight miles north of Oxford.

Railroad Depot

Rebel Armory

Holly Springs

After their defeat at Holly Springs, the 62nd remained at Grand Junction until April 18 when it moved to LaGrange, Tennessee.  From January 5 until February 28, 1863, John was on detached service as Field Officer of the Day at Jackson, Tennessee.  On June 7, 1863, John was promoted to a 1st Lieutenant.  He also was due extra pay as the Company’s Bounty Officer.  During the Civil War, money (bounty) was paid to men who enlisted and I assume John was the person who recruited for Company K, Illinois 62 and paid the bounty to them.



To be continued

#38--John Wesley Hannah --Civil War Veteran, Serving in Illinois

Since Veterans’ Day was last week, I thought I would blog about one of my veteran ancestors—John Wesley Hannah.  I knew that my great grandfather, John Wesley Hannah (1838-1899) had fought in the Civil War.  So when I wanted to know more about what he did and where he went, I did two things:  I got his records from the National Archive and also began to research the history of his units.  There is an incredible about of information on the Civil War on the internet, but I primarily used Ancestry.com and the sites that focused on units on Illinois that I found on the internet.   By putting the sources of information together, I have some idea of where he and his company were, and what he was doing.  So my blog focuses on John Wesley in the Civil War.  Because I have a great deal of information about John and his service, I plan on using two to three postings to cover it.

But first, a little background information.  John Wesley Hannah was born in Prairie Township, Edgar County, Illinois, near the current town of Chrisman on February 9, 1838.  He was the youngest son of John M. and Charity (Mears) Hannah.  In about 1830 his parents moved to Edgar County from Brown County, Ohio.  In 1850, he was living with his two older brothers (George Newell and Oliver) and three sisters (Albertine , Mary Sayres, and Catherine), his mother having died in 1842, when he was four years old.  His three sisters, Elizabeth, Sarah Ann, and Nancy, had married and were living in Edgar County.  In 1860, John was living with his father, his sister, Albertine and his niece, Charity Conrey, whose parents had died .    His sister, Mary Sayres,  had also died.   It is presumed that as a child John helped on his father’s farm, attended school in Prairie Township, and then school in Bloomington, Illinois.  According to the 1860 Census, John was a student of medicine. 

Abraham Lincolcn

On April 15, 1861, President Lincoln issued a proclamation asking each state to raise their militia to defeat the states that were trying to succeed from the United States.   Therefore, Governor Yates convened the Illinois legislature to organizing the militia.  Since it was believed that the war was not going to last too long, men were asked to enlist for a period of 3 months.

 John W. Hannah joined the 12^th Infantry Illinois at Paris, Illinois for a term of 3 months on April 18, 1861.  He was mustered in at Springfield, Illinois on May 2, 1861.  At the time of his enlistment, he was described as 5 feet 8 ½ inches tall with dark hair and grey eyes.  His occupation was a farmer.  

Ship at Warf at Cairo

The 12^th was moved to Cairo, Illinois where it performed garrison duties until the soldiers were mustered out on August 1, 1861. I thought Cairo was a strange place to spend three months as a soldier, but I found that the city sits where that the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers converge.  Controlling that spot mean that whoever held it would be able to control traffic, and hence move troops and supplies, on the river.  On August 1, 1861, John mustered out and returned to Edgar County.  For his service, John received $13.00 per month.

To be continued next week--

# 4 John M. Hannah--I Lied About my Age

# 4 John M. Hannah--I Lied About my Age

     This week’s ancestor is John M. Hannah.   John’s parents were James and Nancy (McKee) Hannah.  While the exact date his birth cannot be verified, he was born in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania about 1799.  The 1810 census finds his family living in Sugar Creek, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.  However, by 1820 James was living in Union Township in Brown County, Ohio. 

On April 22, 1822, John M. Hannah and Charity Mears were married by the Reverend Rankin, a noted abolitionist.  In about 1830 John M. and Charity along with their five children:  Sarah, Nancy, Elizabeth, George, and Oliver moved to Edgar County, Illinois.  By 1838, four more children had been born:  Mary Sayres,  Albertine, Catherine, and John Wesley.  In 1842 Charity Mears Hannah died and was buried in the McKee Cemetery in Edgar County. 

                Over the years, John bought land from private individuals and in the Public Domain Land Sales.  The land clustered in the northeastern section of Edgar County, mostly in Prairie and Ross Townships.  The Non-population Schedule for 1850 lists John as having 150 improved acres and 200 unimproved ones with a cash value of $2500.  That year the farm produced 3000 bushels of Indian corn, 30 bushels of wheat, and 150 bushels of other crops. 

                When the Civil War began, John enlisted in the Illinois 79^th Volunteers, Company A,   with the rank of Sergeant.  According to the Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Illinois,

The Seventy-ninth Illinois Infantry was organized at Camp Terry, Mattoon in Coles County, Illinois and mustered into service on August 28, 1862.   The men volunteered from Edgar, Randolph and Vermilion counties-Company A, Douglas County-Companies B, E, G and part of K, Edgar County-Companies C, D and H, Clark County-Company F and part of I and Coles County-part of Company K.  The Regiment was ordered to Louisville, Kentucky on September 13, 1862.  October 1 the Seventy-ninth began a march through Kentucky—Frankfort to Perryville to Crab Orchard to Lebanon, Bowling Green and finally arrived at Nashville, Tennessee on November 7.  They remained at Nashville until December 26 when they were ordered to Murfreesboro, Tennessee…”

     On December 12, 1862, John was discharged due to disability and old age.  What I find so interesting is that on his Civil War records his age at enlistment is 45, while his age on his discharge papers is 63.  63 is the correct age.  Further, the reasons for his discharge were disability and old age.  That leads to the interesting questions of what was going on.  According to “And Your Age is..” (http://emergingcivilwar.com/2011/12/01/and-your-age-is/), it was not unusual for men who were younger than 18 or older than 45 to lie about their age.  Thus, young men stated their ages as older and older men stated their age as younger.  Commons reasons were financial and philosophical.  John was a prosperous farmer so financial gains do not seem to be a viable explanation.  Philosophical reasons seem more likely, particularly when you remember that he was married by the John Rankin, a Presbyterian minister and an active conductor on the Underground Railroad.  Consequently, he may have decided to serve because he opposed slavery.  However, we will really never know.

     John died in 1865 and is buried in Paris Cemetery in Edgar County.  Probate documents from the Edgar County Court indicate that his children who were then living in Edgar County, e.g. Albertine Hannah, Mary Sayres Hannah, Catherine Hannah O’Hair, Sarah Hannah Mitchell, George Newell Hannah, and Charity Conrey (daughter of Nancy Hannah Conrey, deceased), sold 258 acres of land owned by John M. Hannah to Zachariah Riley for $3,200.  (Oliver Hannah was deceased and John Wesley had moved to Butler, Missouri.).  Whether or not John Wesley received any inheritance is unclear. 

      If I were able to speak to him, I would ask why he moved to Edgar County and why he lied about age when enlisting in the Civil War.