Ozaukee County's
War History
by Daniel E. McGinley

as extracted from THE PORT WASHINGTON STAR
June 12, 1897



Co. H, 24th Wisconsin
Personal Sketches

Alanson C. Powers

One of the young heroes who responded to their country's call in 1862, was Alanson C. Powers, of Port Washington. Born in Genoa, Cayuga county, N.Y., June 29, 1835, of pure Puritan stock, the subject of this sketch was given such an education as the common schools of those days afforded, and when old enough, learned the house painter's trade. When twenty years of age, he came to Wisconsin and directly to Port Washington, where he worked at his trade until he responded to the President's call for volunteers in August, 1862.

Being by birth and breeding a true American patriot, Alanson, or "Lant" as he was known to his associates, was ready to march to the rescue of the old flag, when the crisis came, and on August 21, 1862, he enrolled his name among the list of recruits which Gustavus Goldsmith succeeded in securing in Port Washington for Company H, of the Twenty-fourth regiment of Wisconsin Volunteers. Marching to the front, "Lant" carried a musket until a few days previous to the battle of Chaplin Hill, when he was detailed as one of the regimental teamsters, and made such a good and faithful one that he was retained in that position until the close of the war. He accompanied the regiment in all of its campaigns, and was mustered out with it June 10, 1865. Returning with the survivors of the company to Port Washington, he was married in September, 1865, to Miss Esther J. Grinnell, of the town of Saukville. Living on a rented farm in that town until 1868, Comrade Powers moved his family to southern Michigan that year, but returned in 1869, and worked at his trade in this county until 1890, when he removed to Corydon, on the Allegany river, in Pennsylvania. Six years later, he again returned to Wisconsin, and purchasing a snug little home in Port Washington, he lives there still toiling at his trade, but not with the vigor of days gone by, he having nearly completed his sixty-second year.

His good wife still survives, and having reared an interesting family of three girls and two boys, the three eldest of whom are married, he and his helpmate are silvering with age and peacefully drifting on with the tide to the unknown shore, whence none return. Comrade Powers was quite a musician, and he still retains much of the genius and ability in that line which made him very entertaining and much sought for company, in the days when he furnished music for the dance and charmed by his singing.

Generous, gentlemanly, temperate, truthful, and of a kindly, peace-loving disposition, Alanson C. Powers has led a quiet, law-abiding, God-fearing life, and is approaching the evening of his day without an enemy and with hosts of friends. It can be truthfully said of him that:

"Age sits with decent grace upon his visage,
And worthily becomes his silvery locks;
He wears the marks of many years well spent,
Of virtue, truth well tried, and wise experience."

Sergt. Justus Lauterbach

There is a highly esteemed member of the gallant Twenty-fourth Wisconsin living in the city of Cedarburg, who although not a member of Company H, deserves a short notice in these columns. I refer to Justus Lauterbach, the successful merchant tailor of that place, who served with the Twenty-fourth from its muster-in to its muster-out.

Born in Hessen-Cassel, Germany, Feb. 3, 1836, our hero grew to manhood, was given a common school education, and learned the tailoring trade in his native land. In May, 1856, he came to America to seek his fortune; and landing in the city of New York, remained two months, and then came directly to Milwaukee, Wis., where he worked at his trade about two years. Then in the summer of 1858, he visited the cities of Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Lexington, Ky. and Buffalo, N.Y., but not finding suitable employment or wages at any of those places, he returned to Milwaukee and again engaged in his trade. In 1859, he was married to Miss Amale Pancer, of the town of Mequon, this county, and that fall he went down the Mississippi to New Orleans, and worked there at his trade until the following June, when fearing to reside there during the hot months, he returned to Milwaukee.

In the autumn of 1860, he again went to New Orleans, leaving his wife at the home of her parents in Mequon, and worked there during that eventful winter. In the early spring, he ascended the river to Napoleon, Ark., where he rented a shop and set up in business for himself. He was doing very well there when Fort Sumter was taken and the great crisis came in our national affairs. But although the sympathies of our young tailor were not with the slaveholders in their rebellion, and were strongly with the Federal government, he was not allowed to choose the side he wished to fight upon. Immediately after the fall of Ft. Sumter, recruiting began for the First Arkansas infantry regiment and Company C was organized in Napoleon. Into this company, all the able-bodied men of the little town were forced, our hero among the rest. The members of the company were allowed to pass the nights at their several places of abode, but were required to report at the sound of the drum for drill every day.

Uniforms of grey were soon obtained for the company, and it was not long before guns and accoutrements were sent to it, and the company considered itself ready for the field. A certain day in the first week of May was fixed for all companies of the regiment to report at Napoleon, there to take a boat up the river, the destination of the regiment being Ft. Henry, Tenn.

Our young tailor had been for weeks looking out for some means of escape to the north, but none had turned up. Scarcely a steamer was allowed to pass up the river unless it was under the control of the rebels and the outlook for Mr. Lauterbach was exceedingly gloomy. When he learned that the regiment would leave for Fort Henry on the day appointed, he hired another German of the place, who being a cripple, had escaped the conscription, to row him across the river to the Mississippi bank, determined when once there to work his way north by some means. The time fixed for crossing the river was the night preceding the day upon which the regiment was to embark, but fortunately the steamer "Hiawatha," which had been detained by the rebels at New Orleans for several weeks, arrived at Napoleon that day on its way to St. Louis.

Mr. Lauterbach's crippled friend brought him the good tidings that a steamer was at the levee bound for St. Louis, and he determined to make the attempt to get away on that boat that night. A storekeeper of the town had had the contract for furnishing the rebel troops with uniforms, and Mr. Lauterbach had made over 100 of them for him, upon which there was due a balance of $250 to Mr. Lauterbach. Although the storekeeper had not received a cent from the rebel government for the uniforms, Lauterbach managed to collect $200 from him that afternoon. As nearly all of it was in half and quarter dollar pieces, Mr. Lauterbach had to make canvas belts to secure it to his person, and that being done, he locked his shop and going out the back way, crawled under the building to hide until night.

Soon the drums sounded the usual call for the drill, and when Lauterbach did not report, a squad was sent to hunt him up. They gained an entrance to the shop but of course did not find him there, and went back to the company. After the drill, a lieutenant of the company came to make a second search of the premises, but luckily did not look under the shop. From his hiding place, Mr. Lauterbach could hear the lieutenant swearing and threatening to hang the "D--n Dutchman" to the first tree as soon as he was caught.

At length, night came and with it a heavy rain storm, which made the darkness dense. Under cover of the darkness, Lauterbach crawled out of his hiding place and taking through back yards and alleys, managed to reach the levee, over which he crawled and finally reached the wharf-boat to which the steamer was moored. Here he found a large lamp burning, and one of his own company pacing up and down under it as a guard. Lauterbach's heart began to creep up into his throat, but the case was getting desperate and by some wise maneuvers, he managed to pass the guard and get on board of the steamer without being recognized. Boldly walking up the stairs to the cabin he found a satchel containing some of his private valuables, which his trusty German friend had previously carried aboard for him, and picking it up, he went to the clerk's office where he paid his passage to St. Louis, and securing a stateroom, went to it and locked himself in.

But even then he could not breathe easy and sat there almost trembling with apprehension until an hour or two later the steamer cast off her lines and swinging into the stream, started on its long journey northward. The next morning while taking an airing upon deck, he was accosted by a clerical appearing old man, who eyed him sharply and asked where he had come from. Poor Lauterbach's heart again began to dance around and thump his ribs, for he felt sure that this man was on the lookout for deserters, and would hand him over to the rebels at the next town. He told the old gentleman where he had come from, but was careful not to tell of the circumstances attending his departure from Napoleon, and luckily found him to be a friend instead of a foe. The old man told him that he boat had been searched at Vicksburg and all able-bodied men found aboard had been conscripted for the rebel service; and he expected that the same thing would happen when the steamer reached Memphis. This was anything but assuring news for our hero, and he anxiously and closely scrutinized the levee and wharf-boats when they reached Memphis that evening. Fortunately the boat was not searched, but two rebel soldiers came aboard and informed Mr. Lauterbach that they belonged at Fort Henry, which was, they informed him, in a pitiable condition, they having a poorly constructed fort and no ammunition. They told him to tell the "Yanks," when he reached Cairo to go down and gobble up Fort Henry, which could be easily done at that time. As it happened, it was several months thereafter that the "Yanks" reached Fort Henry, and found it prepared to give them a warm reception.

Nothing of much importance happened until the steamer reached St. Louis, and there landed her few passengers on the morning of the day that the rebel Camp Jackson near the city was captured by the Union troops under Gen. Lyon. Mr. Lauterbach walked up town and saw where there had been up to that morning, recruiting offices for the Union and rebel armies on either sides of the same street, and witnessed much of the excitement in the streets during that eventful day.

After visiting some friends in Illinois, Mr. Lauterbach returned to Milwaukee, where he followed his trade until the defeat of McClellan's army and the calls of the President for volunteers convinced him that the time had come for him to hasten to the defense of his adopted country and its flag. On the 5th day of August, 1862, he inscribed his name on the rolls of Capt. Carl Von Baumbach's Company C, of the Twenty-fourth Wisconsin, and volunteered to fight for the starry banner "three years or during the war." He was made one of the sergeants of the company, and going with the regiment to the front was with it in all of its engagements and marches until it reached Nashville, Tenn., in November when he was taken sick with the typhoid fever, and had a very long and serious illness. He rejoined the regiment before it entered upon the Chickamauga campaign, but was so weak that he was again sent to the hospital and did not get back to the regiment until it was living on starvation rations at Chattanooga.

Taking his place in the ranks, Sergt. Lauterbach participated in the battle of Mission Ridge, the trying Knoxville campaign, and in the Atlanta campaign, including the battles of Resaca, Adairsville, Peach Tree Creek, Jonesboro and Lovejoy. He was with the regiment in its glorious charge at the battle of Franklin, was with it in the battle of Nashville and the pursuit of Hood's army, with it in all subsequent movements and was mustered out with the regiment June 10, 1865.

While Gen. Phil. Sheridan commanded the division, Sergt. Lauterbach was his tailor, and while working at the general's headquarters, became well acquainted with the dashing illustrious commander.

Returning to Wisconsin after his musterout, Comrade Lauterbach moved his family to Cedarburg, where he established a merchant tailor business in which he has been very successful, and in which he is still busily employed. Tall, straight and well proportioned, Comrade Lauterbach is still an active, soldierly looking man, but is in his sixty-second year, and the frosts of age are whitening his hair and mustache, and forming crow's feet on the once smooth cheek.

May he live long to enjoy the prosperity of the country he suffered so much to save.

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