William Linnell Partridge, Civil War Veteran

My great grandmother was Anna Belle Partridge. Her grandfather was William Linnell Partridge. William L. Partridge´s grandfather was the attorney for the Methodist church and its founder John Wesley in England. When William was eleven years old, his family decided to immigrate to America. They sailed for America in1830, since the living conditions had gotten very crowded in Legrave, Bedfordshire, England and due to the restrictions that had been placed on the religious community. While they were traveling across the Atlantic, they heard that King George had died. In 1837 King George´s niece, Princess Victoria, became Queen because the king´s successor also died.,

William and his family arrived in New York and bought a farm in Cortland , New York. He was twelve years old. After a few years they moved to Pennsylvania near Union City. William was educated at Allegheny College through a free scholarship because the family had given the school the autographed letter that William´s grandmother had received from John Wesley. The letter was given to the school in exchange for educational scholarships for their family and their descendants.

William married Olivia Turner, who had been one of his students, in Harbor Creek, Pennsylvania, in 1846. In 1850 they moved their entire extended family, including parents and siblings to Rockport, Indiana. William and his family were some of the original pioneers to the Rockport area. His parents and sisters returned to Pennsylvania a few years later.

After they moved to Rockport, William met Joseph Hildebrand and they built a sash sawmill and went into business together. William also taught school in Kentucky and Arkansas and his family farmed along the Ohio River.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861 , William L. Partridge was among the first to volunteer in that section of the state. He enlisted in the 25Th Regiment Infantry Volunteers under Col. James Veatch. His commanding officer was promoted to Brigadier General after the battle of Shiloh and Major General after the battle of Mobile. William was appointed as First Sergeant of company K early in the war and remained in that rank until his disability discharge due to wounds received in the battles of Shiloh and Ft. Donaldson. He was shot in the head, two times and one time in the leg, below the knee. One of the bullets remained in his head his entire life.

As First Sergeant, his job included keeping company records of all the members in a small note book which he carried with him. This list was used for the morning roll call. When this family history was written, that book and other war memorabilia were housed in the County Courthouse in Spencer County, Indiana. In 1875, due to his discharge from active duty, he was reassigned to the government store in the district that he entered service from. He still served under Major General Veatch until his term was up.

William´s brother Robert L. Partridge had also volunteered in the army. He died of his wounds in the battle of Vicksburg. He is buried in the National Cemetery in the same location.

While the men were at war, other war related incidents were taking place on the home-front between the union families and the radically anti-war Copper Heads. On one of his furloughs home, The Emancipation Proclamation had been signed into law and proclaimed among the states. The emancipated black slaves and white refugees came out of Kentucky through the Ohio River into Indiana. Since they did not know what to do they simply sat on the river bank waiting for someone to tell them what to do. The town leaders went to William and asked if his family could house some the escapees since his house was near the river landing.

They took three families into their barn including an injured black soldier, named Talbot, who later died of his wounds. William´s leave ended and he had to go back for the war front, leaving the refugees with his wife to care for. After he left, the Copper Heads in the area decided to act upon their fury against the war and the Union army, by going to his wife and trying to intimidate her into sending her new borders away. They told her that they did not want to hurt her, but they intended to remove the others if she did not. She did not say anything to them. But after they left, she went to the families in the barn and armed them with what weapons she had on hand, including the farm tools. She also gave weapons to the children with instructions on how to use them.

When the rabble returned near dark, she came out of the house yelling at their attackers that they were ready for them. She also brought out her two largest butcher knives, swinging them around in the air and scraping the blades together. Their would-be attackers were so shocked that they ran back to their homes. She was given credit for having stopped a potentially dangerous riot and preventing any loss of life.

Sources:

http://genealogytrails.com/ind/spencer/bios-ohio-twp.html

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2012467

http://suvcw.org/past/jcveatch.htm

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/29886/supplements/39/page.pdf

http://www.civilwaracademy.com/copperheads.html

http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/1104032/person/-1372095886/story/1?pg=32817&pgpl=pid