Ozaukee County's
War History
by Daniel E. McGinley

as extracted from THE PORT WASHINGTON STAR
July 18, 1896



The Ozaukee Rifles
Chapter 4

All of the officers and men of the Ozaukee Rifles, with but two or three exceptions, displayed great gallantry in the battle of Shiloh, and a number of individual feats of remarkable heroism and endurance have been placed to their credit, while doubtless a number were overlooked and forgotten in the exciting movements of those eventful days. The commissioned officers did their duty and faced the hot fire with great coolness; and the wounding of Lieut. David F. Vail was deeply regretted by the whole company. The sergeants kept their places and manfully encouraged the men, who with the exceptions spoken of did their whole duty nobly.

Among the many incidents of that battle that displayed the heroic devotion and wonderful endurance of our Ozaukee boys, was the youthful hero John Murphy, who mortally wounded, unable to walk and literally covered with his own blood, came crawling back on hands and knees as the regiment was forced to give way, dragging his gun with him, and pausing at every opportunity to reload it and have another shot at the advancing enemy! Such heroism under Napoleon would have immortalized his name, but there in the dark recesses of the forest which hid a greater part of the conflict on Shiloh's field, there were perhaps hundreds of such cases that passed unnoticed in that great carnival of death. But it is doubtful if the pure devotion, undaunted courage and marvelous endurance displayed by this hero was surpassed upon that field, or upon any field of that war so replete with deeds of valor, and John Murphy's name and memory, as well as the name and memory of every member of the Rifles who fell at Shiloh should live in history and be revered by the lovers of freedom in Ozaukee county as long as the memory of that great battle will endure. The determination with which those men marched to the field, and the unselfish readiness with which they bared their breasts to the foe and of died for Old Glory - for the preservation of their country, was a grand object lesson in patriotism, and should have a good influence on posterity for ages to come.

Of the five mortally wounded members of the Rifles, Corporal Orlando J. Valentine of Fredonia, was the first to die. One of his arms had been terribly shattered and he had lost a great deal of blood before receiving medical assistance. Being sent down to a hospital at Savannah, Tenn., the wounded limb was amputated, but he had not the strength to rally and gradually sank until death relieved his sufferings on the 22nd of April. His case was a very pathetic one, and I hope to be able to give more particulars in regard to his career in a future chapter. John Murphy lingered on, battling manfully with death until the 13th of May, when he died in a hospital at Keoknk, Iowa. Without doubt his determination to continue in the fight after being wounded, and the large quantity of blood lost by him on the field hastened his death. He was relation to the other two Murphys in the company, and the writer does not know whether any relative of his resides in this county at the present time or not. Elijah D. King managed to reach his home in Port Ulao, but could not overcome the effects of his wound, and peacefully breathed his last in the arms of his young wife on the 2nd of August. Corporal Samuel Gunther was the next to surrender to death, passing away in a hospital at St. Louis, Mo., August 21st. The last of the squad, the fair, sunny-faced Edward M. O'Neil, struggled heroically against the inevitable, was discharged on account of his wound August 1, 1862, managed to reach his home near Waubeka and died there in the spring of 1863. Each of these five heroes was about 22 years of age at the time of his death, just in the spring time of life, when all the world appears beautiful and the future is rosy and bright.

Of the wounded a number had received severe injuries, and six of them were discharged on account of their wounds, July 30, 1862. They were: Orderly Sergt. John L. Derrickson, of Port Ulao, Benj. F. Walker, of Fredonia, James Reeves and Gregory Janish, of Saukville, and John Clark and Anthony Collins, of Grafton. Ben Walker was probably the most seriously wounded of this squad, being shot through the lungs, but recovered in time, as did the others. Derrickson and Walker subsequently re-enlisted in the 35th Wisconsin regiment and served till the close of the war, Derrickson coming home with a lieutenant's commission in his pocket. He died in Chicago some years ago. Walker left this county after the war and his whereabouts is unknown to the writer. Reeves died some years after the war from the effects of the exposure to that rain storm while lying wounded on the field the first night of the battle. Janish married the nurse that cared for him in the hospital at St. Louis, brought her to the town of Saukville where they resided for some years, and then moved away to parts unknown. John Clark was wounded in the head. He is now supposed to be living somewhere in Michigan. Collins was shot through the shoulder. He went to Manistee, Mich., after the war, and it is not known whether he is now living or dead.

Selby Trumball, of Port Washington, was discharged on account of wounds, August 1, 1862, and is now thought to be living in Illinois. Robt. H. Ingersoll, of Saukville, was discharged for the same reason August 12, 1862. He too re-enlisted in the 35th Wisconsin, and died in the service of disease. His body lies in the Sizer cemetery in the town of Saukville. Lars Nelson was wounded in the head, and was discharged on the 16th of August, 1862. He also re-enlisted in another regiment, was subsequently severely wounded in the arm, survived the war, and a few years ago was farming in Minnesota. The remainder of the wounded recovered and rejoined the company, among the first to return being Sergt. Ed. Bradford, who carried in his pocket a memento in the shape of a flattened bullet, which had been taken from his shoulder by the surgeons.

When the Sixteenth took possession of the camp after the battle they found it in a demoralized, wrecked condition. The tents had been riddled by bullets, and the rebels had carried off or destroyed the extra clothing, blankets, baggage, etc., with the exception of the blankets used by the Union sick who had been unable to leave the camp when our line was driven through it. Fred. C. Kerner, of the Rifles, was one of these unfortunates. He had been prostrated by a severe attack of rheumatism some days before the battle, and had become so bad that he was unable to walk. Several of his comrades loaned him blankets and Sergt. John Gough loaned him his overcoat. The overcoat and blankets were spread under the invalid to protect him from the damp ground floor of the tent, and when the rebs gained possession of the camp they did not disturb him, but brought him food and water. When his comrades returned to him they found Kerner just where they had left him, and in possession of his extra blankets and clothing, Gough's overcoat, which was thus saved, was the only one saved by the regiment, and it is still in his possession, a reminder of cold Camp Randall and of the terrible struggle at Shiloh.

When, in the preceding November, the Ozaukee Rifles reached Camp Randall, Madison, Wis., the company soon learned that it would not be allowed to carry a company flag, that there would be but one stand of colors in each regiment, and the beautiful silk flag that had been presented to the Rifles by the loyal ladies of Port Washington was . . . (quite a few sentences in this paragraph were missing or unreadable) . . . stripes of the flag hidden in the wall of a house, and later discovered the beautiful blue field, with it glittering stars, in the possession of a buxom colored belle who was using it as an apron! The name of the company being on the flag its remains were returned to the Rifles and subsequently sent home. After the war they were entrusted to the are of R.C. Kann, of Port Washington, one of the survivors of the company, in whose possession they still remain. During the great soldiersí reunion in Milwaukee in 1880, a new field was placed in the old flag, and it was proudly borne in the parade of veterans from Ozaukee county.