Enlisted as and went by the name Perry.

George W.C. Smith ended the war as 2nd Lieutenant and Adjutant.

William was my wife's paternal great grandfather.

For the past few years I've been tracking down info on my wife's great grandfather who served with Company B of the 14th Michigan during the American Civil War.

According to what I have gathered, my wife Maria's great grandfather William Feeley (sometimes spelled "Pheeley") was born in Bradford, England in 1833. Both of William's parents Thomas Feeley and Annie Kennedy were of Irish birth and originally from Tipperary, Ireland. In later life, William often claimed to be of Irish birth from the County Cork region. According to his granddaughter Margaret, William's wife Mary (who herself was of Irish birth) would counter old William's claim to Irish heritage with: "You are a darn liar William, the only cork you have come out of a bottle!"

On September 30,1861 William enlisted with the 14th Michigan also known as "Sinclair's Irish Regiment." A member of Company B, William served throughout the war and was mustered out of the service as a "veteran" on July 18th,1865.

Several years ago I managed to obtain William's complete NARA pension files. Pouring over the files I found that soldier Feeley had been wounded twice in the battle of Lavergne, Tennessee on October 9, 1862. Both wounds were severe enough to have William spending several months recuperating at Hospital #13 in Nashville. Recovering from his wounds, William eventually returned to active duty with his regiment.

The wounds he received in battle were well documented in his early pension application. Both the separate wound to the ankle and the separate wound to the arm eventually led to a severe disability and inability to do hard physical labor. In 1866, almost immediately after his discharge from the service, William applied for a disability pension.

What really intrigued me was a third severe wound that came up in later applications for a pension increase. This third wound had been to the chest and would have proven fatal had it not been for the incredible work of the regiment's surgeon Doctor Edward Batwell. Batwell was evidently a man well ahead of his time. Doctor Batwell was a proponent of an early form of "sterile technique," a definite plus in the case of a Civil War chest wound.

Further delving into the pension files turned up the situation in which this wound occured. It seems that William was shot during an altercation with a James Andrews who at the time was helping out at the regimental sutler store. Andrews was temporarily standing in for the owner of the business. Andrews, even at that early date, was considered an outstanding citizen of Columbia and eventually became mayor of the city and a major community benefactor.

William's pension application turned up several handwritten notes and affidavits on this third wounding. One of these affidavits is by Doctor Batwell himself. There is also another handwritten affidavit in which William gives his side of the story.

It was a process of discovery that I found extremely fascinating. Bill Morrison was the bloke who graciously gave me the historic background and "key" to the incident. William's own version of the incident is somewhat at odds with the accepted historic version. William's version sounds logical and truthful. I could easily imagine the fatal and traumatic results of one man trying to police two angry Irish drunks harassing an innocent, but armed, store keeper.

I was told they called themselves the michigan bigfoots.

Private, Companies C & E, 14th Michigan Infantry
Served from December 1, 1861 to November 1, 1866

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Correctly spelled last name is Knoch.

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Died during the siege at Corinth, Mississippi, in 1862 (not sure if it was wounds or disease). Brother of Jerome Daniel Helms in 15th Michigan Infantry.

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Son of Henry, both died of disease.

I am the great great grandson of Captain Joseph W. Myers. He lived until the age of 83 and is buried in Lakewood Park cemetery in Rocky River, Ohio.

Heman Curliss was born July, 21st, 1837 and died september 15th, 1915. He Joined and enrolled on Dec. 18th, 1861 at Chesaning, Michigan. Muster roll dated February 13th, 1862, at camp Mizner, near Ypsilanti, Michigan. Heman was hospitalized June 6th 1864 at Chattanooga Tennessee. From January 1865-March 1865 he was in hopital at Nashville. He was mustered out on March 14th 1865, at the expiration of his 3 year term of enlistment. He is buried in Damascus Pioneer Cememtery, Clackamas county Oregon. He was my great times 3 or 4? Grandfather. If anyone has any information on his civil war service, or photos, etc.. I would love to get in touch with you!

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Pascal Odette, Pvt, Co. H, 14th Michigan Infantry, was my great grandfather's oldest brother. He was born in Canada, on the Huron reserve near Anderdon/Amherstberg, 'Canada West'(now known as Ontario). He belonged to Ste. Anne's Church in Detroit, until the family moved out to a 20 acre farm on the south side of the Middle Branch of the Ecorse River, in what is now Allen Park, on Champaign Road, where they moved to the new St. Francis Xavier Church in Ecorse. It was in Ecorse that he was enlisted into the 14th Michigan, and then he reported to the HQ in Ypsilanti. He was the oldest, eventually his mother had 20 children, and was already fighting in Tennessee when my great grandfather was born in 1862(the 15th child). He was Huron Meti/French Canadian, and our family legend has always said he was an expert climber and woodsman and an expert rifle marksman. He was killed on August 7, 1864, during the fighting on the outskirts of Atlanta, and is buried in the Marietta National Cemetery with one other who also fell that day from Co. H, 14th Michigan. He is one of two 'Unknown Soldiers' placed next to his fellow soldiers of the 14th Michigan and I am making efforts to get the remains ID'd via DNA so it can be properly marked and full honors given to him for his service to us all.

An account written by his brother, my Great (4x) Grand Father: 'John Schwark being the oldest, enlisted with the 1st Michigan Lancers in 1861, this regiment being disbanded giving the boys a chance to join any of the other organizations, so he re-enlisted with Co. I 14 Mich. Vols. on Dec. 25th, 1861, encountering many hardships in the battles and skirmishes in the Civil War, he was captured at Dry Creek, Tennessee, on the night of the 22nd (Morning of 23rd) of Sept. 1863, while on picket duty he was taken to Richmond Prison, exchanged from there to Danville, Va., and then to Andersonville in the early part of 1864, from where he never returned to the Regiment or to his home, and is entered in the rolls as missing.'

Brother Joseph Schwark (Swarck) 22nd MI -died of wounds at Chickamauga, buried unknown

Nicholas, Newman (Veteran), Locke. Enlisted in company K, Fourteenth Infantry, Jan. 10, 1862, at Locke, for 3 years, age 20. Mustered Feb. 13, 1862. Re-enlisted Jan. 4, 1864, at Columbia, Tenn. Mustered Feb.4 1864. Taken prisoner Sept. 1, 1864. Paroled. Discharged at Camp Chase, Ohio, June 15 1865