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| Battle of Mill Springs by Currier & Ives |
My sons have
great-uncles who all fought in the Civil War. These particular great-uncles
have the same parents: Ebenezer Crumb (1810-1896) and Juliette “Julia” Bush
Crumb (1817-1882). Ebenezer and Julia, 3rd great-grandparents of my sons, had a
total of fourteen children: five sons and nine daughters. When the Civil War
broke out, four of their sons, Oscar B., Milo, Leander A., and Samuel, volunteered
to serve in the Union Army: Only one
survived.
The “boys” were born
in Warren County, Pennsylvania, and moved with their parents to Olmsted County,
Minnesota, sometime after 1850 but before 1857. Per the 1860 U.S census, both Oscar and Milo
had attended school during the past census year at the ages of 17 and 20,
respectively. It does not state the grade level; however, it was not uncommon
for young men to attend school only part-time, particularly if their father was
a farmer so that they could help out on the farm. Their father, Ebenezer, was,
indeed a farmer. The other two sons, Leander and Samuel were farming and living
with their parents per the 1860 U.S. census.
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| Photo by jtf |
Milo Crumb (1840-1862), the
first brother to be killed in action, enlisted as a Private in Company B, 2nd
Minnesota Infantry Regiment, on June 26, 1861, in Olmsted County, Minnesota. At
the time of enlistment, Milo was 20 years old and working as a farmer with his
father. Beginning on Milo’s enlistment date, this regiment was organized at
Fort Snelling, Minnesota, and mustered in for three years’ service. The
regiment was attached to the Army of the Ohio. The regiment left Minnesota for
Kentucky in October 1861. Initially, they were stationed at Lebanon, Kentucky
(southeast of Louisville). On January 1, 1862, they were sent to Somerset,
Kentucky (southeast of Lebanon). On January 19-20, 1862, Company B, saw their
first actual battle: The Battle of Mill
Springs.
Mill Springs is
located in Pulaski County, Kentucky. During the end of 1861 and the beginning
of 1862, 5,900 Confederate troops had concentrated themselves in the area of
Mill Springs. Learning this, Brig. Gen.
George H. Thomas ordered 4,400 Union troops to give battle. It was the first
significant Union victory of the Civil War. Milo Crumb was one of the 55 Union
soldiers killed in action at Mill Springs: He died of his battle wounds on January
19, 1862. He is buried at the Mill Springs National Cemetery in Nancy, Pulaski
County, Kentucky.
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| Confederate Graves at Mill Springs Battlefield |
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| Photo by NancyT |
Oscar B. Crumb (1843-1862)
enlisted on June 13, 1861, as a Private in Company K, 1st Iowa Cavalry
Regiment, in McGregor, Iowa. McGregor is located on the Mississippi River
across from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. The members of this cavalry regiment
owned its own horses and equipment; thus, the quality and value of the horses
and equipment was better than that provided by the government. This cavalry regiment
was the first to have enlistments of three years to be accepted into the U.S.
Volunteer Army. The regiment saw extensive action throughout the Civil War,
finally being mustered out on February 15, 1866, in Texas, and discharged in
Iowa in March 1866.
Oscar primarily
saw action in the state of Missouri on the border with Kansas. Missouri was a
state with Union and Confederate factions. His cavalry regiment was involved in
a lot of skirmishes with Confederate troops and sympathizers. On April 14,
1862, at Montevallo, Vernon County, Missouri (west of St. Louis and south of
Kansas City), Oscar was killed in action. Originally buried in Montevallo, his
body was transferred to the Deepwood Cemetery in Nevada, Vernon County,
Missouri, on December 3, 1888, and buried in the G.A.R. lot of the cemetery.
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| Photo by Kevin Mansfield |
Samuel Crumb (1832-1864)
was also at the Battle of Mill Springs with his brother Milo, but he
survived. Samuel, at the age of 28,
enlisted as a Private in Company B, 2nd Minnesota Infantry Regiment, on
September 30, 1861, in Olmsted County, Minnesota (three months after his
brother Milo). Perhaps it was reassuring to both brothers to be with each other
as the regiment traveled across country, ending up in Kentucky. We can only
imagine what Samuel must have felt to discover his brother had been killed.
Even though the enlistment was for a three-year time period, Samuel must have
been discharged – perhaps because of his brother’s death – as he is back in
Minnesota in 1863, married and farming. He did register for the Civil War draft
on July 1, 1863, in Mower County, Minnesota. The records state he had
previously served in the Union Army for ten months.
On February 6,
1864, Samuel enlisted for a second time as a Private in Company I, 3rd Minnesota
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| Minnesota Monument |
Infantry Regiment, in Olmsted County, Minnesota. At the time of his enlistment,
he was married to Nellie Humason, and had an 8-month old son, Lawrence S.
Crumb. In 1864, this regiment was in Arkansas. Their primary role was to stop
Confederate attacks, soldier recruitment efforts, and re-enlistment efforts. On
April 1, 1864, Union troops, under the command of Col. Christopher C. Andrews,
engaged the Confederate cavalry in what became known as the Battle of
Fitzhugh’s Woods. Fitzhugh’s Woods is located near Pine Bluff, Arkansas (south
of Little Rock, Arkansas). Samuel Crumb was one of the eight Union men killed
in action. Samuel is buried in the Little Rock National Cemetery, Little Rock
Arkansas. Per Find A Grave contributor Kevin Mansfield, on April 9, 1868,
“Little Rock was designated a national cemetery with the stated purpose to
concentrate remains of Union dead who had been buried throughout Arkansas. In
1868, 1,482 remains [were] removed from area battlefield graves were
re-interred” there. Samuel Crumb would have been one of these men whose body was
moved to Little Rock. However, no marker can be found for him. It is presumed
that he is one of many of the “unknown” soldiers with markers near the Minnesota monument.
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| FitzHugh's Woods |
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| Photo by Betty Saltenberger |
Leander A. Crumb (1834-1913) is
the only brother to survive the Civil War. Even though he was living and
farming in Minnesota, he enlisted on August 16, 1862, as a Private in Company
F, 73rd Indiana Volunteer Regiment, in Plymouth, Indiana (south of South Bend).
Leander’s regiment saw extensive service throughout Kentucky, Tennessee,
Georgia, and Alabama. His regiment was mustered out on July 1, 1865. Following
his service during the Civil War, Leander settled in Kansas, married, had at
least three children, and worked as a civil engineer. In 1894, 1912, and 1913,
Leander took advantage of the U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer
Soldiers for treatment of “neuralgia of head and neck; injury to right
shoulder; and cardiac hypertrophy.” Whether any of these ailments were service-related
is not known. Leander is buried in Galena, Cherokee County, Kansas, in the Galena Cemetery.
It has to be
devastating to lose three sons within a two-year period. What I have not
figured out is why two of the sons, Oscar and Leander, did not enlist in
Minnesota. Maybe they did not want their parents to find out they enlisted. At
Mill Springs Battlefield is posted the below plaque which sums up the soldiers’
loss.
Further Reading:
