Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1910-10-19

since the days when this roster was
made it will no doubt be interesting
to readers OF The Herald to recall q
! little of the company s history.
No county in Wisconsin surpassed
Grant county in its ardor of respond.
ing to the call for volunteers and its
best and bravest men were sent to the
front by hundreds and thousands to
defend the Nation 8 honor. It is q
notable fact that as early as July 1862
nearly 1900 men had already been
sent out from this county, and in
August of that year a monster mass
meeting was held in Lancaster which
was participated in by number of
surrounding towns. Among the resolu
tlons adopted at that meeting was one
requesting the supervisors of the
county to raise by tax the sum Of $4,000
to be used in rendering assistance to
the families Of enlisted men, which
action was subsequently taken.
Soon afterward eight more Grant
county companies were reported COM
plete, or nearly SO, they being Nc
Dermott's Farquharson Scott's,
Swan s, Nash s, Harlocker's, Earn
hardt's and Franks, followed shortly
by three more. under command Of
Captains P. J. Schloesser. Likens, and
Q. H. Baxter. 1t was proposed to
organize Grant county regiment. but
owing to the shortness of time the
project was not carried out.
A single evidence of the unhesitat-
ing outpouring by the loyal people Of
this county is shown by paragraph
from an article in The Herald of Sept.
Is. 1864, which. speaking of the town
|of Paris. says: This town polled
101 votes in 1860 and spared 81
volunteers previous to the 500, 900
call. Under the last call, upon
which the draft is sending II more
have volunteered for other towns,
making 104 in ALL There are left in
the town three single men and twenty
nine married men, all between the
ages of twenty and forty-five. Of
those left, at least seven are unfit for
duty, leaving but twenty-five able
bodied men in the town. AS it was
with Paris go it was in every section
of the county.
On Monday morning. April %,
1861. one week after President
Lincoln's proclamation. the first com
pany of Grant county volunteers
(Co &. was organized, with David
Mckee as captain This company left
for Madison on May ), and was as
signed to the second Wisconsin regi-
ment. On the goth Of June the regi
ment left for Washington and was the
first body of three years men to ar.
rive there
The ''Union Guards" which was
organized at Lancaster Immediately
following the departure of Capt Nc
KEGS company, prepared for active
service.
This company, with ]. B. Calls as
captain. left Lancaster on the 28th of
August 1861 and two days later was
sworn into the state service at Madi-
son. On the Both of August it was
mustered into the q. S. service and
left camp at Madison for actual
service on Sept. 81, 1861, becoming a
part of the Seventh Wisconsin Volun-
teer regiment, which had the proud
yet sad honor of having lost more men
killed and wounded than any other
regiment from this state. The
Seventh Regiment became part OF
the brigade Their just organized at
Washington by Gen. Rufus King, of
Wisconsin, body afterward the pride
of the nation and known as the Iron
Brigade of the West = Time and
space will not permit Of following its
history farther at present.
Surviving members of Gen. Calls
family were present at the meeting
Of the Circle by invitation, upon the
occasion of the presentation. They
were: Mr. and Mrs Frank B. Calls
and daughter Margaret; Mr.. and Mrs.
r.. Meyer and daughter Kathryn;
Mrs. E, E. Mccoy and daughter
Elizabeth and Mrs. Joseph, Mccoy
The presentation speech was made
by r. B. Showalter. on behalf of the
family. and the speech of acceptance
in behalf part of the Circle was made
by the president, Mrs Amelia Usher
ness.
Refreshments followed.