Three Graves

 John Wesley McDaniel (1813-1863) was my 3rd great grandfather. He was born in Nelson County, Kentucky, just south of Louisville, but by the time of the Civil War he had moved his family to southern Indiana (Spencer County). 

John Wesley's son, Joseph McDaniel (1846-1930), was my 2nd great grandfather. He lived much of his life in Hammond, Indiana, and is buried in Mount Zion Cemetery in Santa Claus, Indiana. He also took part in the Civil War, serving in the 10th Indiana Infantry, enlisting at the age of 15, according to my records, but officially at the age of 21 according to the Army records.

But this blogpost is mostly about his father, John Wesley, and one of his brothers, Samuel McDaniel (1842-1861). Both of these men, father and son, died in the Civil War and are buried in National Cemeteries. 

Samuel enlisted first. He served in the 25th Indiana Infantry, which was organized at Evansville in August of  '61. He was 19 at the time. According to Wikipedia, the 25th saw its first major action at the Battle of Fort Donelson in Feb of  '62, but by then Samuel was already a casualty. He died in November of  '61 at the Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis. Perhaps the Jefferson Barracks was where the 25th Indiana had their training. I do know that it was also the site of a hospital facility for both Northern and Southern casualties, so it's possible Samuel died under the medical care there, more likely of disease than of battle wounds. Samuel is buried at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery (along with 237,000 interred veterans).


Back in Spencer County, we can only imagine the heartsick response that Samuel's parents, John Wesley and Susan, must have suffered. What we do know is that John Wesley enlisted in the 53rd Indiana Infantry in February of '62 at Grandview, Indiana, just a few months after his son's death. 

John Wesley died on 22 September 1863, in Natchez, Mississippi. The 53rd had taken part in the Siege of Vicksburg in July of that year. Afterward the 53rd occupied Natchez, which was soon crowded with refugees and emancipated slaves. The Army had trouble dealing with the crush of people, and many would die of disease during this period. John Wesley McDaniel was one of them. He is buried at the Natchez National Cemetery.



Let's close this post with a little more about Joseph. He enlisted in the 10th Indiana at Indianapolis on Sept 18, 1861 (while his brother was in Natchez with the 25th), and served for three long years. The 10th saw action in many battles, among them the siege of Corinth, the battle of Chickamauga, the battles of Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge, and the siege of Atlanta. After his 3-year hitch he came home to Spencer County, married Margaret Price, and fathered nine children.






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