April 12, 2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the U.S. Civil War. The Janesville Gazette's Anna Marie Lux tells the story of a Rock County Civil War soldier, Henry Allyn of Shopiere. Just twenty years old, he was one of more than 2,800 Rock County men who served between 1861 and 1865. He left Janesville by train in the spring of 1861. He wounded his foot and turned 21 in the First Battle of Bull Run. In August 1962 he survived the Second Battle of Bull Run, or Second Manassas, where more than 25,000 died. See The Janesville Gazette of April 12, 2011, page 1A.
Henry kept a journal, and in early September 1962 he mailed it to his family. On September 17, 1862, he was shot in the hip while fighting at Antietam. Before his death, he wrote a letter home dated September 28, 1862. He died of his wounds October 3, 1862.
Some of Allyn's journal is copied in this pamphlet at the library.
The Rock County Historical Society has more of this journal.
Another book, There Stands "Old Rock": Rock County, Wisconsin and the War to Preserve the Union, by Thomas W. Walterman, tells the story of Civil War soldiers of Rock County.
In proportion to its population, Rock County sent a larger number of men to the Union Army than any other county in Wisconsin.
Hedberg Public Library has other books and photos relating to the Civil War.
Contact the Reference Desk at 608-758-6581 or referencedesk@hedbergpubliclibrary.org for more information.
posted 5/11/2011 by sb
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