Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1917-06-21
Of
NICHOLAS
WEILAND

from Appleton, where they have been
to attend the funeral services of their
father. Nicholas Weiland has been
in poor health ever since the death Of
his wife which occurred several months
ago. Until recently he lived in his
own home with his daughter Cecs,e,
who looked after the house work for
him he became worse and was finally
taken to the sanitarium and died there
Sunday, June 10. The funeral ser
vice took place on Wednesday, the 18th
Nicholas Weiland, Appleton, Wis,
and a member of the G. A. r. Post.
No. 1873, was born Nov. 20, 1888, at
Orenhofen, Trier, Prussia. His father,
Leonard Weiland, died in 1912 in Prus-
sia and the mother Elizabeth (Plaus-
esq Weiland, came to America with her
children in 1856 They arrived at the
Port Of New York, May 5th, and came
at once to Milwaukee, where the son
was a farmer near the city limits I'M
til 1861, when he located at Appleton
and engaged in farming until he de-
termined to enter military life. He
enlisted Sept. 25th, 1862, in I Company
32nd Wisconsin Infantry at Appleton
for three years. The regiment left
the state about the last of October and
went direct to Memphis, Tenn, where
it was assigned to Sherman's command
and proceeded in the southwark move
ment to aid in the prosecution of the
plans Of Grant on Vicksburg. Mr.
Weiland was on the Oxford march
when the disaster at Holly Springs
occurred, and the regiment was the
first to take possession of the place
His health continued unbroken, not
withstanding the hardship and expos
ure and unaccustomed duties to which
he was assigned, and he was a parti-
cipant in the battles Of Moscow, in the
Meridian expedition, patroled at Jack
son, engaged in the destruction of the
Mobile & Ohio railroad, fought de-
tachment of cavalry there, and after
wards performed an incredible amount
of marching. Near Cortland he was
in another fight and, when the 32nd
started for the sea under the command
Of General Sherman, he participated
in all the fights and skirmishes, in
cluding Atlanta and Jonesboro, and
finally went into action at Bentonville,
to lose his right arm by a gunshot
wound, which necessitated amputa-
ton, which was performed on the field
He lay on the bodies of two dead SOL
diers thru the night after receiving
his wound and was discovered at three
in the morning. He was placed on a
mule and taken to Goldsborough, N
c., after the operation and thence to
Newbern, N. G. He was in a hospital
well supplied with wounded rebels and
was the single Union soldier in his
ward, his cot being placed between
those of a sergeant of a Virginia regi-
ment and a lieutenant-colonelo of the
5th South Carolina Infantry The lat
ter was visited by his sweetheart who
waited on him and brought him choice
food which he divided with Mr.. Wei
land. Another rebel in the same ward
belonging to a North Carolina COM
mand, was hit by volley Of seven
balls. His right arm and right leg
were taken off and his left hand, all
but the thumb. When Mr.. Weiland
left the hospital he was alive and with
every prospect of recovery. Mr.. Wei
land went thence to Morehead, n. O.,
where the Union wounded took the
steamer Northern Light" for New
York, and went to Wizards Point hos
pital in the North river near Schuy-
Ter Fort. On the steamer there were
1900 men who arrived in New York
harbor on the 18th of April following
the assassination of the President, and
they heard the news as they entered
the river from the pilot boat. The
commotion among the soldiers was
an awful sight, the eXasperated men
expressing their grief and rage by
every possible demonstration, some
threatening, others swearing and some
utterly prostrated. In June following
the wounded Wisconsin soldiers left
New York on cattle cars for Prairie
Du Chen. The cause of this atrocity
has never been cleared up and the
suffering men, who had left beds of
long painful illness, underwent
their most bitter experience at the
hands of their own friends after suf-
fering from wounds of the severest
character. At Harvard Junction a
comrade from an Illinois regiment
standing an the platform recognized
Mr.. Weiland as from his brigade and
obtained for him a square meal. Good
had been placed in their car, but it had
become spoiled.) This was the only
! food he received on the route fit for
a human being to eat. Mr.. Weiland
went to the Jesuit College hospital at
Old Fort Crawford, remaining until
November, 1865, when he proceeded to
Madison and acted as Commissary Ser