Zehpahiah H. Crain was born in 1818 at Warren County, Ohio. He was the son of Elihu Crain/Crane (b. 1777), the family moved to Montgomery County, Indiana sometime before 1830. Elihu was one of the founding members of the Sugar Creek Baptist Church in 1823, according to church records. The family farmed in Walnut Township around the area of Fredericksburg; modern day Mace. Zephaniah married Sarah J. Busenbark; daughter of Redden Busenbark on February 25, 1848. Zephaniah’s farm was about 1/2 mile northeast of Fredericksburg, modern day Interstate 74 cuts through Zeph’s home place.
With the Civil War already in progress, many of the three month regiments had returned home, their term of enlistment had expired. Most of these regiments would re-organize for three year service. In Montgomery county the 10th Indiana Infantry was recruiting men for three year service. At the age of 42; Zephaniah made the 4 mile trip to Crawfordsville and on September 18, 1861 enlisted in the “Crawfordsville Guard”. After the company was organized, the recruits traveled to Lafayette, IN. and went into quarters at Camp Tippecanoe for training. They were designated as Company B, 10th Indiana Infantry. The regiment would soon be off to Kentucky; where they were still learning to be soldiers.
Zephaniah soon found himself in eastern Kentucky, around the area of Somerset. On the morning of January 19, 1862 Zeph and the rest of the regiment were sleeping in their camp near Logan’s Cross Roads. They were awakened by the sounds of musket fire, the Confederate Army was attacking the Union camps in this area. The 10th Indiana was quickly formed in line of battle and marched toward the skirmish line, they would be one of the first infantry regiments engaged at the battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky. The 10th Indiana was in for a long day; Zephaniah’s company would be in the thick of the fight throughout day. Company B had the highest causality’s in the 10th Regiment; 3 killed and 21 wounded, one of whom was Zephaniah. He had been hit by a ball on the left wrist at some point in the battle, but would soon recover. General G.H. Thomas had led his Union troops to victory, and the men had proven themselves soldiers to their commander; they had stood their ground and fought well.
The 10th Indiana would march into Tennessee, across the Shiloh battlefield and south to Corinth, MS. where the Union army was laying siege to the Confederate Army that had retreated from Shiloh. By May 30, 1862 the Confederates had evacuated the works and would move to Chattanooga, then north into Kentucky. Confederate General Bragg had hopes of pushing the Union Army out of Kentucky, and hoped to draw thousands of new recruits into his army. The Union Army started to move north also, the race to Louisville would be on between the two armies. The Federals would reach the city first, Zephaniah , with the rest of the army had made a forced march through Kentucky under severe drought conditions. The troops were re-equipped and marched out of Louisville in search of the Confederate Army.
By the evening of October 7, 1862 the 10th Indiana was near the town of Perryville, Kentucky. Part of the Confederate Army was found drawn up in line of battle close to town. The 10th Indiana was posted near one of few water supplies in the area; Doctor’s Creek. As the drought continued, water was a precious commodity to both armies. Early on the morning of 8th Confederate troops were placed on Peter’s Hill, which overlooked Doctor’s Creek. Zephaniah’s regiment was ordered around 5 A. M. to engage the enemy posted on Peters Hill. The regiment of Confederate Infantry that Zephaniah and the 10th Indiana would face was the 5th Arkansas Infantry.
Following is the after action report of Colonel William Kise; 10th Indiana Infantry. …….. “Nothing further occurred until 5 A. M. when the regiment was formed in line of battle and moved across an open field about a half-mile, when the skirmishers under Captain Johnson were again fired upon by the enemy. I arrived on the field at 7 A. M. and took command. Soon after I relieved Captain Johnson’s company of skirmishers by sending forward Company B, Captain Goben, to take their place, which position Captain Goben maintained, skirmishing with the enemy occasionally until about 12 o’clock noon, when by your order, moved the regiment out of the woods, across an open field under fire of shot and shell from a battery of the enemy. Crossing a rail and stone fence, and ascending a steep hill, followed to our left, and somewhat in our rear by the Eighty-sixth Illinois under command of Colonel Irons.
We came upon a force of the enemy outnumbering us, who at once opened a galling fire upon us which was returned by my regiment.
Company B, Captain Goben being the left flanking company and near where the enemy was in heavy force under cover of a rail fence and under the slope of a hill sustained the brunt of the battle, suffering the loss of four killed and three wounded; but the captain leading his men stood up resolutely, and after my regiment had obstinately contested the ground for twenty minutes, the enemy gave way and fled in confusion, leaving their dead and wounded on the field.”
At some point during the charge up Peter’s Hill, Zephaniah received a severe wound. It was not by enemy artillery or muskets; but by someone from his own company. In Zephaniah’s pension paperwork, the regimental surgeon; under oath, explains what happened that day. ” That at the battle of Perryville in the state of Kentucky on the 8th day of October 1862, while making a charge on the enemy, Zephaniah H. Crain, a private in Co. B, of said 10th Reg’t. Ind. Vols., while in the service of the United States and in the line of his duty was injured in the left eye, by being struck in the eye by a bush which was violently jerked down by one of the men of said company, who had seized hold of the brush to aid himself in climbing the hill.
I treated him for said injury for only a few days and then submitted him to the General Hospital. On account, and by reason of the injury above described, said eye inflamed and the sight of said eye was thereby entirely destroyed.”
Zephaniah would be in the hospital for several months, Perryville would be his last battle. He was not finished with the military though, he was transferred to Company A; 8th Regiment, Veteran Reserve Corps, October 1, 1863. The Veteran Reserve Corps (V.R.C.) were soldiers who could not perform normal field duties, they were used as guards of prisoners or placed at other low key duty stations to free up fit troops for the field. When his term of 3 years came up, he re-enlisted in the V.R.C., he would muster out in 1865, it seems that serving his country was important to Zephaniah. As stated before he applied for a soldiers pension and it was granted to him. In his later years his eye wound was still giving him trouble, a doctor stated that it had “sunken back in the socket and still drained fluid.” Zephaniah Crain lived the rest of his life with scars from a random battlefield accident, he would carry a small part of Perryville with him until his death. He was proud of his service; belonging to the Grand Army of the Republic, Abe Lincoln Post #24 in Mace, Indiana. Zephaniah died a widower on August 23, 1898, he is buried in the Mace K of P Cemetery. His daughter Malinda married Samuel Landis Busenbark in Montgomery County, Indiana.
Scott Busenbark
Recent Comments