Henry County,
Indiana
Biographies
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN ROWDY
McCORMACK.
PRIVATE, COMPANY I, 69TH
INFANTRY REGIMENT, INDIANA VOLUNTEERS.
John Rowdy McCormack was
the eldest son of Melon and Mary McCormack,
and was born in Henry County, Indiana, on his father's farm, about two
miles west of Cadiz. The parents came from Virginia and settled in
Henry County at a very early date.
That the family was full
of patriotic blood is shown in the fact that
the subject of this sketch was one of four brothers, all of whom served
in the Federal Army during the Civil War. The second son. Thomas
McCormack, of Company K, 8th Indiana Infantry (three years), was killed
at Vicksbtirg, Mississippi, on the 21st day of May, 1863. The third
son, Noah McCormack, of Company C, 36th Indiana Infantry, went through
all the campaigns of that well known regiment and upon the muster out
of the regiment, September 21, 1864, returned home where he still
lives, an honored citizen of the county. The fourth son, Andrew J.
McCormack, of Company E, 9th Indiana Cavalry, is a survivor of the
ill-fated steamboat. Sultana, which was blown up. set on fire and
destroyed on the Mississippi River, April 27, 1865. His recollections
of that tragic event are published elsewhere in this work.
John R. McCormack, the
subject of this sketch, enlisted in the service
of his country in Company I. 69th Indiana Infantry, and was mustered
into the service of the United States, August 19, 1862. At the battle
of Richmond, Kentucky, August 30, 1862. he was severely wounded and was
taken prisoner with the greater part of his regiment. After the
regiment had been exchanged and reorganized, it was sent down the
Mississippi River to serve under General Grant. After the siege and
surrender of Vicksburg, he was taken sick and died at that place.
August 11, 1863. His body was buried at Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, but
has since been
re-interred among the unknown dead in the National
Cemetery at Vicksburg.
In 1850 John R. McCormack
was married to Nancy Raughan and to them was
born one child, now Mrs. Richard Callahan. who lives two and one-half
miles southwest of Cadiz. His wife died in 1855. He was a carpenter by
trade, honorable and upright, a good citizen, a brave soldier, highly
esteemed bv all of his friends and neighbors, and his memory preserved
and honored by his comrades-in-arms.
Source: Hazzard's History
of Henry County, Indiana, 1822-1906 by
George Hazzard 1906
Transcribed and Contributed by Larry Wells
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