Research Arsenal Spotlight 35: Aaron Wheeler 50th Illinois Infantry
Aaron Wheeler was born in 1830 and resided in Avon, Illinois when he enlisted in Company G of the 50th Illinois Infantry on September 24, 1861. He was married to Fannie (Butler) Wheeler and had two young daughters named Mary and Rosa Jane. He gave his occupation as a carpenter, but the 1860 federal census listed him as a “saloon keeper.”
In the seven letters making up our Research Arsenal collection, Aaron Wheeler wrote primarily to his wife, Fannie, but also to his parents.
Bushwhackers in Missouri
In November 1861, the 50th Illinois Infantry was stationed in Missouri and fighting against bushwhackers. On November 2, 1861, Aaron Wheeler wrote home to assure his wife that the rumors she’d heard about his regiment were false and that they were all well.
“I suppose you have heard some bad news about our regiment but it is all false. We have not had any battle yet. Last Sunday there was about 250 of us went out on a scout about 25 miles. There was 33 out of my company went. I was along with them to a town called Jamestown. It was once quite a little town but now there is but four families in it & they are Union. We see no chance for fight. The rebels are scattered. We don’t find more than 2 or 3 together. They are what they call here bushwhackers. We got back here last Tuesday. We brought 8 of the rebels with us and the rest that was taken took the oath that was sealed with blue pills. How many there was, I don’t know, but probably there was 30 or 40. We had a cavalry company that joined us. When we got there they sealed those oaths.”
The “blue pills” that Aaron Wheeler refers to in the passage above are bullets. As guerrilla fighters out of uniform, bushwhackers were not subject to the laws regarding prisoners of war.
The 50th Illinois Infantry in St. Joseph Missouri
For winter quarters, the 50th Illinois Infantry was fortunate enough to be staying in St. Joseph, Missouri. Aaron Wheeler wrote about his accommodations in a letter dated December 1, 1861.
“We have a good place here. We are in a hall. It is large enough to accommodate two companies. I have a small room to cook in at the end of the hall. The building that we are in is three stories high. The upper story is the Old Fellows Hall. My health is good. It never was better and I hope these few lines will find you all the same. I am well fixed now. I have a stove to cook by now. It keeps my room warm & nice this is much better than camping out in tents. I don’t think we shall have to camp out any more this winter.”
In a letter written to his parents a week later, Aaron offered more details of his quarters and the city of St. Joseph.
“We have got good comfortable quarters. We are in a very large, 3-story building. It is built with brick. The most of the buildings are brick. This is a very nice place. The streets are paved with stone and the sidewalks are laid with brick and it is quite a city—much larger than I expected to find so far west as this.”
The Execution of Alexander J. Johnson 1st Alabama (Union) Cavalry
July, 1863, saw Aaron Wheeler and the 50th Illinois Infantry in Corinth, Mississippi. While there he witnessed the execution of Alexander J. Johnson, a man that had first served in the Confederate army, then served in the Union 1st Alabama Cavalry before deserting and getting caught trying to burn a bridge. Johnson was sentenced to death at a court martial and Aaron Wheeler described the execution in detail to his wife in a letter written July 26, 1863.
“Thursday I witnessed that that I never did before. Our cavalry last Sunday captured a man that last spring came from the Rebel army and enlisted in our cavalry and stayed a while and [then] deserted while on picket with his horse and equipments. He was caught burning a bridge between here and Memphis. He was brought here and had his trial and was sentenced to be shot. I went to see it done and all the troops were marched out to see it. He was taken out of the guard house to a wagon that had his coffin in and he and a minister got into the wagon and sit on his coffin and there was a brass band and twelve men that were to shoot him went in front of the wagon and twelve armed men followed behind. They took him out about a mile from town where all the troops were in line.
They took him out of the wagon and marched him in front of the troops the whole length of the line with the same escorts that took him out there in addition of four men to carry his coffin in front of him—then to the place he was shot. He was set on the foot of his coffin facing the men that were to shoot him. They were ten steps from him. A bandage was put over his eyes. The first six were ordered to aim and fire at him. The other six were kept so if the first six did not kill him, the others would. But he did not know what hit him after the first six. They all fired at once. The other six did not fire. There were five ball holes through him—four through his head and one through his breast. It was a hard looking sight. He leaves a wife and children. His home was in Alabama.
There was an artist there to take a picture of him as he lay before he was touched. I intend to have a picture of that scene and send it to you as I was an eye witness. It seems heartless to shoot a man in cold blood but I think it right enough to shoot all such men. There is lots of them that deserve it as bad as he did I have no doubt—if they could be ketched.”
Aaron Wheeler Builds Pontoons
Perhaps partly owing to his experience as a carpenter, Aaron Wheeler, along with seven other men from his regiment were put on a detail to report to the Engineer Corps of their division. He described his new duties in the same letter written on July 26, 1863.
“The reason that I did not answer the other one before now [was that] I got [placed on] a detail a week ago yesterday to report the Division Engineer Corps. They have detailed eight men out of each regiment in the division to build bridges or warehouses or anything that is needed for the use of the army. Our quarters are by the side of the railroad but little ways from the depot.
I think I shall like this better. We don’t have to work hard and only about half of the time and we don’t have to go into a fight as long as there is anybody else to do it. We are now at work on our barracks. I came here last Monday and [on] Tuesday was put on duty. Twelve of us were sent out about three miles to guard teams and negroes while they hauled in rails to burn brick with. Well, we had a good time. We got all the apples we wanted and blackberries, &c. Wednesday I worked on our barracks.”
In December, 1863, Aaron Wheeler appeared to still be on detached service, now building pontoon bridges in Columbia, Tennessee.
“There is 10 of the Corps boys that has been with me all of the time. We are at work building a pontoon bridge across the river. We are a building 12 boats and we fasten them in the water and then put timbers across them and then put plank on. That makes the bridge. I think we shall get it done next Tuesday and where we shall go then, I don’t know. We may stay here and we may go to the Corps and we may go somewhere else to building bridges. We don’t know one week where we shall be the next.”
Aaron Wheeler mustered out of the 50th Illinois Infantry at the expiration of his term on September 27, 1864. He died in 1899.
We’d like to give a special thanks to William Griffing of Spared & Shared for his work in transcribing and sharing these letters.
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If you enjoyed this article, check out some of our other featured collections like Farner Shaw of the 4th Minnesota Infantry and William Clemmons of the 7th Tennessee Infantry.
