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Manitowoc County Civil War Roundtable

Read about the national organization of the G.A.R and its heirs here!

of Manitowoc County

Manitowoc was among the earliest countys to have a chartered G.A.R. Post established..  In about 1867 Post No. 38 was chartered at Manitowoc, but it was only to last 4 short years.  After disbanding in 1871 it would be 10 years before another Post would be established, this time, as Post 18.  A second Post was chartered in 1884 and a third in 1886.

Horace M. Walker      Post No. 18 Manitowoc, Wisconsin active 1881-1934

This article first appeared in a local publication in 1907? Horace M. Walker Post. No. 18, Department of Wisconsin. Grand Army of the Republic, was Organized on April 21st A.D. 1881.  Sometime previous to that date a petition for a charter had been circulated, and signed by more than the requisite number necessary to effect an organization.  Capt. Griff J. Thomas, U.S.N. was at that time Department Commander and the detailed Comrade John D. Galloway to act as mustering officer and on the evening of the date mentioned the following named persons were mustered as the Charter member of the post:   J.S. Anderson, Co. A, 5th Wis. Inf; W.J. Beasant, Com. Segt. 29th Wis. Inf; F.C. Buerstatte, Co. F. 26th Wis. Inf; H.C. Buhse, Co. B. 9th Wis. Inf; J.H. Buhse, Co. B. 9th Wis. Inf; C.W. Buttler, Co. K, 21st Wis. Inf; Ela Cone, Co. C. 22nd Wis. Inf; John Cone, Co. C. 22nd Wis. Inf; Jeremiah Cox, Co. K. 27th Wis. Inf; James Cumberlidge, Oneida,     N.Y. Cav; Charles Gastaveson, Co. F. 15th Wis. Inf; Fred Heinemann, Co. B. 9th Wis. Inf; Paul Leubner, Co. F. 26th Wis. Inf; H.F. Liebenow, Co. B. 24th Wis. Inf; John Mill, Co. A. 5th Wis. Inf; Henry Noble, Co. K. 21st Wis. Inf; James Noble, Co. K. 21st Wis. Inf; Ferd. Ostenfeldt, Co. E. 21st Wis. Inf; J.F. Reardon, Co. K. 21st Wis. Inf; Henry Sanford, Co. F. 2nd Wis. Inf; G.G. Sedgwick, Co. D. 105 Ill. Inf; Frank Stirn, Co. A. 5th Wis. Inf. Of the original 22 Charter members, seven have died, eight have removed to a distance and seven still reside within the limits of our county.  The post was named the Horace M. Walker Post in memory of Horace M. Walker, who was Captain of Co. A. 5th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers and who was killed while gallantly leading is company at the storming of Rappahonnock Station, Va.  His Company was the first to volunteer fro the war from Manitowoc County.  The Post has from its organization been one of the most active in the work of the order, through the efforts and influence of its members, several other Posts were instituted soon after it received its Charter, and a fraternity of feeling created among the Veterans of the lake shore region which has been productive of great good.  Among other posts organized through its assistance are, those at Sheboygan, Kewaunee, Forestville, Two Rivers and Brillion.  A great deal of Charitable work is done by the post.  This is always accomplished in a very quiet, judicious and unassuming manner.  Needy comrades are assisted when stranded in the city, admissions secured to the state or National Homes for other.  Help from the Post and other funds is freely given to the deserving.  It has done a great work in creating a strong sentiment in favor of a suitable observance of Memorial Day.  Headstones have been procured for the grave of every known soldier in the cemeteries throughout the county within its jurisdiction and on Memorial Day there is placed a flag at the resting place of every comrade.  It has always cultivated a spirit of Comradeship with the other Military organizations of the City and County and patronizes freely with them.  Hence when any occasion of a Military character arises, it is always sure of the cordial support of such bodies as the Camps of the Spanish-American War Veterans, the Militia companies and the lately organized Association of German-American War Veterans.  Like every other Post of the Grand Army, its numbers are decreasing.  At one time its membership nearly reached the 200 mark, but death and removals have reduced it so that its present membership is only 72, but as rule they are hale and hearty and bid fair to remain with us for many years yet.   Footnote:   The GAR Post 18 remained an active post in Manitowoc for many years but lost members every year until finally in 1931 there was only 1 member left, Jacob A. Williams.  He remained the last member until 1934 when the Walker Post was disbanded.

Horace M. Walker

G.A.R. Post 18 memorial at Evergreen Cemetery

Gen. Wm. H. Lytle      Post No. 190 Kiel, Wisconsin active 1884-1826

A general who was known and respected North and South as a poet was honored by the veterans of Kiel when they chartered their G.A.R. Post 190 in the last week of 1884. Post 190 was named the General Lytle Post, remembering Brigadier General William H. Lytle who fell while urging his brigade to stave off the Confederate onslaught at Chickamauga.  One of the regiments of his brigade was the Twenty-Fourth Wisconsin. A Lawyer by profession, he amused himself and friends by writing poetry.  One, entitled "Antony and Cleopatra," was published in 1858 and was a huge success.  He was nationally acclaimed for his poetic talent. Lytle was commissioned from Ohio and rose in the western armies.  He earned a reputation as both a fighter and a man of chivalry.  When he was killed September 20, 1863, Confederate officers on the field mourned Lytle's death and saw to it that his body and personal effects were sent north. The membership of Post 190 steadily declined from its roster of 27 members in 1887 to only 2 in 1925 and was finally disbaned in 1926.

Gen. William H. Lytle

Joseph Rankin      Post No. 219 Two Rivers, Wisconsin active 1886-1918

The Joseph Rankin Post 219, of Two Rivers, bagan in the summer of 1886 and was active until about the end of World War I.  It was named for a Manitowoc captain who took Company D of the Twenty-seventh Wisconsin from the Manitowoc area in 1862, led it through three years of war including the siege of Vicksburg and later combat in Arkansas, and brought it home again in 1865. Company D suffered only one combat death, but a fair number died from disease in those three years.  After the war he entered politics - Democratic Party - and was inthe Wisconsin legislature from 1872 until he was elected to Congress in 1883.  He died in Washington at the beginning of his second term, on January 24, 1886, half a year before Post 219 was chartered. The Rankin Post 219 was quite successful in its first several decades, and still had ten on its roster when it yielded its charter. The Charter members of Post 219 were: Henry Wieman, Francis St. Peter, Wm. Hurst, John Miller, Philip Newman, W.T. Nash, Louis Hartung, Frank Laford, Henry Beck, Frederick Sonntag, Otto Kahlenberg, John Neuman, Otto Gauthier, Henry Thiele, Auguest Ahrend, Henry Allen, Chris Miller, Anton Dietz, Charles Reimers, Peter Lefleuer, Jacob Mohr, Wm. Rediger, and Michael Laford.

Joseph Rankin

 

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