Hiram A. Sheldon, Burlington Wis., member of G. A. R. Post No., 201, was born in
Utica, Malcomb Co., Mich. May 13, 1835. His parents, Orson and Rose Ann (Lippitt)
Sheldon, were both American by birth and of English origin. Mr. Sheldon is one of
seven children - four boys and three girls - and four still survive, Julia E. (Mrs.
L. W. Conkey), William C., H. Eugene and Mr. Sheldon of this sketch. Orson Sheldon
was born in Rupert, Vt., Aug. 12, 1807, and was the son of Chauncey and Lucy
(Whitney) Sheldon, the former being a soldier through the whole extent of the war
of 1812. Orson Sheldon is the oldest of 10 children and has two sisters living. He
resides with his son in Burlington, and, although he is in his 83d year (1889) he
still retains undiminished his mental and physical faculties.
The family moved from Michigan to Burlington, Wis., in 1842 in the month of December,
where the son obtained a good common school education, which he supplemented with a
year of study at Beloit College. In 1859 he established his relations to the
hardware business at Burlington, which he has since conducted there. Aug. 28, 1861,
he joined the Utley Guards, and on the reorganization of the 1st Wisconsin Infantry,
was assigned to Company C, with the commission of Second Lieutenant and accompanied
the regiment from Camp Scott, Milwaukee, to Jeffersonville, Ind., crossing to
Kentucky with the expectation of soon encountering Kirby Smith who was threatening
that locality. He went in command of his company to service at West Point,
Elizabethtown and Nolansville, performing varied military duty and constructing
bridges, meanwhile watching rebel movements, the indications showing threatened
trouble on the boarder. Lieutenant Sheldon received promotion to First Lieutenant
Feb. 22, 1862, and on the 6th of the following
August he was made Captain of Company C. March 8th he fought at "Granny White's
Pike," where his company lost their blankets, and through the ensuing summer he
assisted in the varied military duty in which his regiments was involved; and was
next in action Oct. 8, at Perryville, where he has the satisfaction of assisting in
a triumph over the rebels whose strength exceeded that of the Union troops. His
regiment was in McCook's Corps and Ransom's Division. His company lost seven men
killed and 13 wounded. He was next in heavy action at Stone River, where he was in
the several days' action, helped to win another victory and mourned the loss of
another considerable number of his men. The regiment was assigned after this action
to the 14th Corps which moved southward under Thoams and, en route, was in frequent
skirmishing and other military duty. September 19-20 he fought at Chickamauga, going
into action with 31 men, of whom 10 answered to their names after the fight was
over. But his sorrow was mitigated by the splendid courage they had manifested. The
command went to Chattanooga to prepare for a continuation of hostilities, where
they performed hard labor and suffered many hardships, resulting from their being
almost wholly cut off from supplies. Mr. Sheldon recalls the severities of the
preliminary conflicts before Chickamauga in view of the sharpness of those contests
and also that at Mission Ridge. When the Atlanta campaign commenced, with his
recruited company, he started to connect with the troops of Sherman, fought at
Resaca, at Dallas and in several positions in Georgia known as Kenesaw Mountain
where its situation was one of the most dangerous. July 20th, through the action at
Peach Tree Creek, the regiment was in a similar situation. They remained in the
trenches before Atlanta until they went to fight at Jonesboro, where the company
again lost heavily; and afterwards returned to Atlanta, and remaining about two
weeks, were ordered to Nashville preparatory to proceeding to Milwaukee to be
mustered out Oct. 13, 1864, their term having expired.
With his military laurels, in which he takes just pride, Captain Sheldon returned to
Burlington and resumed the duties of his business and his citizenship. He was
married Feb. 28, 1865, to Paulina A. Bristol and they have had two children named
Robert H. and Mabel. The son is deceased, his death having occurred Jan. 21, 1877.
The daughter is completing a liberal education at the Northwestern University at
Evanston, Ill. She is a promising young lady and the light of her father's home. The
mother died Sep. 12, 1888. Captain Sheldon was the first man to suggest the
feasibility of raising an entire volunteer company for the war, when the Government
fixed a recruiting office at Burlington.
|