I'm honoring my great, great grandfather James Monroe. James fought in the Civil War from start to finish. He enlisted on 6 Jul. 1861 in the 4th Iowa Infantry Volunteers. He fought in the battles of Chickasaw Bayou; Arkansas Post; First and Second battles of Jackson, Mississippi; Champion Hill; Siege of Vicksburg; Brandon, Mississippi; Chattanooga; Mission Ridge; In the Atlanta Campaign, The March to the Sea, and in the battles of Jonesboro & Savannah. He was wounded in the head by a piece of shell at Chickasaw Bayou and was shot through the clothing at Vicksburg. Honorably Discharged at Davenport, Iowa 6 Aug. 1865.
He went into the war weighing 180 lbs, and left 4 years later weighing 85lbs. It took 2 years to regain his strength and he was disabled the rest of his life from disease. Sherman's March to the Sea was brutal, with inhuman conditions. Every soldier who served under Sherman in the march suffered terribly. They did it for the love of the man, General Sherman. They would follow him anywhere.
Goodwill bargain hunting paid off! I was thrilled to find 4 (four!!!) $35.00 12"x12" scrapbooks for $6 each. I'm making scrapbooks for my cousins. These are perfect! I'll include stories of the battles, photos of the battles in which he was wounded. (Edit March 2022: I finished the scrapbooks, and added photos of each page below.)
Click on each photo to see it enlarged!
2 comments:
I'm a Company H Iowa 4 Infantry descendent. Your Civil War project, by now surely completed, captivated my creative imagination. My great grandfather died before I was born so my acquaintance with him and his war record required research, delightful research. Thanks for the wonderful look at your gggrandfather's memories through your talented hands. Sincerely, Julie Pennock Moss...jepmoss@yahoo.com
I'm a descendent as well, Company G of 4th Iowa and was so glad to see a picture of the flag! Thanks so much for posting the great memorial scrapbook pages.
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