Six Brothers Give Their Lives For Their Country
It could be said that this story began when James Littleton was born in Maryland in 1803. He married Martha in 1827. Six sons and three daughters came into the family. The Littletons were raising a large family at a time when the United States was growing and opportunity for a better life seemed to beckon from "out west".
They came west with the hope that the future would be brighter for them and their children.
James and Martha joined a wave of people who were moving west. They came to what became Louisa County in the Iowa Territory in 1840. Iowa became a state in 1846. In 1850 they were living in Grandview Township. In circa 1853 they were living in Jefferson Township east of Wapello. Records show James Littleton bought and later sold 200 acres of land to a gentleman named Enoch Potter.
Martha Littleton died on April 17, 1853. Husband James died on November 19, 1860. Records maintained by the Louisa County Historical Society show they were buried in Potters Cemetery, about six miles east of Wapello. Gravestones were found at that location after several people in the Wapello community remembered seeing them. Llewann Bryant, a Wapello resident who lived near Potters Cemetery when she was a girl, says she always noticed the gravestones when she went mushroom hunting and she says she remembers seeing the name "Littleton" on those stones.
The years between 1850 and 1860 were filled with political turmoil Throughout that decade disagreements between the northern and southern states were building in strength. It was a time when news traveled slowly across the country, and analysis of that news was sketchy at best. A storm was building in the nation; a storm that would take the lives of the six Littleton brothers. Throughout most of that decade it is doubtful that the Littletons gave much thought to the politics of the day. It is not possible that they could have known how their lives would be affected by arguments between the northern and southern states.
Abraham Lincoln was sworn into the Presidency in March 1861. One month later, on April 12, 1861, Confederate forces of the southern states attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Lincoln responded by calling for an army to be made up of volunteers from each state. What is known as "The War Between the States" or "The Civil War" was underway.
The Civil War was the bloodiest war in American history. About 620,000 Americans died in the war. Over 200,000 soldiers were killed in combat. It has been estimated that ten percent of all northern males died, and 30 percent of all southern white males aged 18-40 died. The Confederate forces had 750,000 to 1,250,000 men. Missing records have made it difficult to determine the strength of Confederate forces. The northern, or Union military forces, included about 2,500,000 men, including the six sons of James and Martha Littleton.
Volunteers were quick to enlist in the Union Army. The Littleton brothers were not drafted to serve their country. They volunteered and put their lives at risk. The Civil War broke out in April, 1861. Three months later, Thomas Littleton enlisted to serve in Company C, of the 5th Iowa Volunteer Regiment.
The Brothers Enlist to Serve the Union
Thomas Littleton, a resident ofToolesboro, Iowa, was the first Littleton brother to enlist.in the Union Army. On July 16, 1861, at age 25, he signed up to serve in Company C of the 5th Iowa Infantry Regiment. He recovered from a head wound that he received in an attack against troops led by Confederate General Sterling Price at Iuka, Mississippi on September 19, 1862. He participated in the battle of Corinth, Mississippi on October 2 and 3, 1862 and came away unscathed. In 1863 he fought in a bloody battle at Champions Hill, Mississippi. In that same year he also fought in the Battle of the Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi. In early November, 1863 his regiment crossed the Tennessee River. During the battle of Mission Ridge on November 25, 1863, he was captured by the Confederates and sent by rail to the infamous Andersonville Prison in Georgia. He died while a prisoner there and is buried in Andersonville National Cemetery in grave number 2045.
"The Andersonville prison for Union prisoners was truly a hellhole. Of the approximately 45,000 Union prisoners who were held there 12,913 died of starvation, malnutrition diarrhea, or disease. Here's how a Union soldier described the place. "As we entered the place a spectacle met our eyes that almost froze our blood with horror and made our hearts fail within us. Before us were forms that had once been active men - stalwart men - now nothing more but mere walking skeletons, covered with filth and vermin. Many of our men, in the heat and intensity of their feeling, exclaimed "Can this be hell? - "God Protect us", and all thought that He alone could bring them out alive from such a terrible place."
Andersonville Prison Hellhole | Robert H. Kellog, "Life and Death in Rebel Prisons"
William Littleton, age 24, a resident of Toolseboro, Iowa, was mustered in on September 21, 1861. He served with Company K, 8th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment. At the Battle of Shiloh on April 6, 1862, he was assigned to serve under General Prentiss. The entire army led by Prentiss was surrounded in what later became known as the "Hornets Nest". Nearly every man was killed or captured and sent to Confederate prisons. William was wounded during the battle and evacuated to a field hospital before his regiment was surrounded and thus escaped capture. The following year, in 1863, he participated in the Battle of Jackson, Mississippi and also in the Siege and surrender of Vicksburg. In November 1863, he contracted chronic diarrhea and was sent by hospital ship to Benton Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri. He died of his disease on December 8, 1863 and is buried in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in section 31, grave number 101 in St. Louis.
John, Kendall, and Noah Littleton were living in Toolesboro, Iowa, when they enlisted together on August 21, 1862. They all served in Company F, 19th Voluntary Infantry Regiment. The three brothers fought in the Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, on the Illinois River.
Kendall was killed in the Battle of Prairie Grove and buried on the battlefield.
John was severely wounded at Prairie Grove. He was sent to a field hospital in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he died from those wounds eleven days later on December 18, 1863.
Noah, age 18, escaped unharmed from the Battle of Prairie Grove. He was one of seven men of the 19th Regiment who drowned when the ferry boat they were on sank in the White River at Forsyth, Missouri, on March I, 1863. He was buried in the Springfield, MO. National Cemetery in Grave #893, Site #16.
A haunting description of that tragic ferry boat sinking was written by J. Irvine Dungan
"The first day of March a large forage train with about 100 men, cavalry and infantry, returned.from a trip down near Yellville. Lt. E. A. Dunham of the !st Cavalry Company B was in command, and upon their arrival on the opposite side of the river they found the ferry boat was in operation. Two heavily laden six-mule teams were put on board and crossed safely; and the next trip besides the two teams, Dunham, against the wishes of the men, insisted both cavalry and infantry going over on the same load
"The river was high. The White River has at all times the swiftest current I ever saw in a stream-of that size and the water was very cold When the boat was near the middle of the stream, the guy ropes became disordered in some manner and one of them broke, letting the boat swing round and giving it such a jerk that it broke in the middle,·the ends sinking several feet in the water. Men began jumping off; the teams struggled and got ent ngled in the harness rope, and they were at the mercy of the stream with no boat or skiff to aid them.
We, their friends, were forced to stand upon the shore and see men, one after another in the death struggle, throw up their arms and go down. Long will we hear the bubbling cry of some strong swimmer in his agony, and (see) the swollen river covered with the forms of marry brave soldiers."
Ferry Boat Sinking on the White River By J. Irvine Dungan | The Burlington Weekly Hawkeye | March 28, 1863
George Littleton enlisted on March 26, 1862 at age 33, the oldest of the six Littleton brothers. George was living in New Boston, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from Toolesboro, Iowa, when he enlisted. He was assigned to Company B, Illinois 65th Infantry Regiment. The 65th Infantry was known as the "Scotch" Regiment". The 65th Regiment was ordered to Martinsburg, Virginia and brigaded there with a regiment from New York. The 65th fought in the Battle of Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, where the entire regiment was captured and sent to a Confederate prison. They were later paroled and sent to Chicago, where he was discharged. The Columbus Gazette reported in an old history column that George died soon after he was discharged from a military service related disease. Illinois Civil War records say he was discharged October 31, 1862, from a disease contracted before enlistment.
Littleton Brothers Civil War Service Summary
| Name | Birth | Enlisted | Unit | Died | Cause | Buried | Battles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas | 1836 | 7/16/1861 | Company C, 5th IA Infantry | 6/16/1864 | Disease in Iuka, MS | Andersonville, GA #2045 | Luka, MS (head wound), Cornish & Champion Hill, MS, Vicksburg; Captured at Mission Ridge |
| William | 1837 | 9/11/1861 | Company K 8th IA Infantry | 12/8/1863 | Died of disease at Jefferson Barracks | Jefferson Barracks National Cemetary, St Louis, MO Section 31, Grave 101 |
Shilow (Hornets Nest), Jackson MS; Siege/Surrender of Vicksburg |
| George | 1828 | 3/26/1862 | Company B 65th IL Infantry | Date Unknown | Desease after Discharge | Unknown | Harpers Ferry, VA; Captured and sent to Confederate prison; paroled and sent to chicago; discharged and died soon after |
| Noah | 1846 | 8/21/1862 | Company F 19th IA Infantry | 3/1/1863 | Drowned in White River, Forsyth MO | Springfield, MO National Cemetary, Grave 893 section 16 | Battle of Prairie Grove |
| Kendall | 1843 | 8/21/1862 | Company F 19th IA Infantry | 12/7/1862 | Killed in Action | Prairie Grove, IAR | Battle of Prairie Grove on the Illinois River |
| John | 1831 | 8/21/1862 | Company F 19th IA Infantry | 12/18/1862 | Wounded 12/7/1862 and died 11 days later | Fayetteville, AR | Prairie Grove |
Our Closing Thoughts
To write this story we worked our way through old newspapers and records maintained by the Louisa County Historical Society. We received valuable assistance from Leslie A. Schwalm, Professor of History at the University of Iowa, and Lee Miller, Muscatine author and Civil War Historian. Frank Best and Jan Hoehle worked hard to dig up details about the lives and military service of the Littleton Brothers and their family. John Carpenter and Verl Lekwa provided valuabl e counsel in helping us develop the story. Without their help this story could not have been told.
We still have questions about the Littleton family that we cannot answer. For example, there were four sisters in the family; Mary, Rebecca, Sarah and Permilia. We have yet to learn much about them.
As we worked on this story we wondered how it has happened that it has been lost in the back room of history for 150 years. Old Timers who have lived a lifetime in the community where the Littletons lived have never heard of them. A few people knew there was a Potters Timber Cemetery where two people named Littleton were buried, but they had no idea that they were parents of six brothers who gave their life for their country. Libraries and schools across the country have hundreds - thousands - of books written by people who have devoted their academic work to study of the Civil War. And yet•·· the Littleton brothers story has never been told.
We think this amazing story went unknown for some 150 years for several reasons. One news report, of the two reports found, had the family name misspelled. Both parents died before the Civil War started.
In the Federal Census of Louisa County in 1860, the Townsends, who.were friends of the Littletons, and several others, including father James Littleton, and sons Kendall, William, and Noah were listed as mullato, while James wife was not. We discussed the results of that census with Leslie Schwalm, Professor of History at the University of Iowa. She informed us that members of several families, including the Littletons who were listed as white in an 1856 census, were listed as mullato in the 1860 census.
We know that the people who took that federal census in 1860 were given the following instructions. "In all cases where the person is black without admixture, insert the letter "B". If a mullato, or of mixed blood, write the letter "M" . If an Indian, write "Ind". It is very desirable to have these instructions carefully followed."Were those instructions always carefully followed? Sources · knowledgeable about census taking in 1860 have mentioned the ambiguity of the results. There are examples given of people whose classification was influenced by their wealth, status, or who they were affiliated with.
Regardless of the results of that 1860 census, it is clear that the Littleton brothers were men who put their lives on the line to fight alongside their friends and neighbors, in a war that was fought by the northern states to hold the union together and end the practice of slavery.
Six brothers from Louisa County, Iowa who gave their lives for their country. This is a story that reminds us of the sacrifice made by the Sullivan family of Waterloo, Iowa who lost five sons when the light cruiser Juneau was sunk in World War II. What a story!! It is fitting that it be told nationwide this year --- the year we are observing the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.