Hiram Ellingwood

Emma Ellingwood Morgan & Donald Weaver - 1918

     Ray Morgan, Sr., never met his maternal grandfather, Hiram Ellingwood, but on the other hand, his mother Emma hardly met her father. In August 1862, when Emma was 15 months old, he joined the Union Army, becoming a member of Company K of the 79th Indiana Regiment.

     Hiram served in the 79th Indiana until his death in Chattanooga in September 1864, leaving behind a 38-year old widow, three daughters and a son. Three of the children were less than 3 years old. The following is from the Find-a-Grave website, but there is no citation so I don't know the accuracy of the information came from.

Wounded on September 2, 1864 in the leg, he underwent surgical amputation of his leg on the 4th of September and died 24th September 1864, most probably of infection. This outcome was very common due to the poor state of medical care at the time, the germ theory and antibiotics being far in the future. The 2 day wait to be seen by a surgeon may also have allowed the development of infection prior to his surgery. Hiram Ellingwood's Grave Marker

    The history of the regiment, compiled decades after the war, is substantially based on the diary of a private in Company I. I haven't read the entire book, but they were involved in numerous battles and were with Sherman on the march toAtlanta. The skirmish Ellingwood died in occurred not long after the taking of Atlanta.   History of the 79th Regiment

Page from the History of the 79th Regiment

         And that brings me to our family vacation in 1960. Our first camping trip was in 1959 and to prove that we could actually do it a second time, we went on another one. This time Ray's parents, Ray and Vala Morgan accompanied us. The trip took us from our home in Kansas City all the way east to the Shenandoah National Park and back through Indiana and Missouri. I guess I was struck by the closeness in time of our trip to the Civil War and my Great-Great Grandfather's death in this same section of the country. Although at the time, his existence, at least for me, was unremarked. I've included here a short clip from that vacation. For some reason this ferry crossing stayed with me and then the last part of the clip is us reenacting the Union chasing the Rebels back into the Virginia countryside. I think this is life, though, the next generations try to comprehend what the previous ones lived through, but it's nearly impossible to do. Our parade, in a way, is a  commemoration that Hiram Ellingwood served and died so that life could go on. That his grandson could bring his own grandchildren to see the history of the country.