Civil War Veterans Buried In Washington State - Daniel Owen

Daniel Cain Owen

Representing: Union


G.A.R Post

  • John Buford Post #89 Everett, Snohomish Co. WA

Unit History

  • 4th Kansas Infantry I & H
  • 10th Kansas Infantry F

See full unit history

Daniel  Owen
Full Unit History

4th KANSAS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
Organized: 1861
Consolidated/Disbanded: March, 1862

 

10th KANSAS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
Organized:
4/3/62 Paola, KS
Mustered Out: 8/30/65 Montgomery, AL
Discharged: 9/20/65 Ft. Leavenworth, KS

Regimental History

REGIMENTAL HISTORY: (4th)

  No specific date of inception is given for the 4th. Also, no history has been found for the unit.  Even so, available information indicates that because of lack of recruitment numbers it was never fielded. Ultimately, in March, 1862, its recruits were consolidated with other Kansas regimental fragments to form the 10th Volunteer Infantry.


REGIMENTAL HISTORY: (10th)

  The 10th, a three-year, western theater regiment, was formed in early April, 1862 by the consolidation of the 3rd and 4th Kansas infantry regiments, together with a few members of the 5th. As formulated it numbered about 800 officers and men of exceptionally fine physique, as most of the physically unfit had been culled out during the previous service of the several organizations from which it was made up.

  As soon as it was organized the unit was marched to Ft. Scott, KS where it received orders for four companies to embark on an expedition into Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) against the notorious Col. Stand Watie of the 1st Confederate Cherokee regiment. It was in Indian Territory it saw its first action in June, 1862.

  Returning to Kansas, the 10th was marched into Missouri to assist in checking the advance of confederate forces under Cols. Coffee and Cockrell.
It was lightly engaged in the battle of Newtonia, MO in September. In October it returned to Indian Territory, but arrived too late to share in the fighting at Old Ft. Wayne. Final actions for 1862 included Prairie Hill, Cane Grove and Van Buren in AR.

  1863 found the regiment forming part of the force sent to the relief of Springfield, MO, then besieged by Confed. Gen. Marmaduke. It then moved into the White River country to check Rebel cavalry under Gen. Shelby.

  The regiment next marched to Rolla, MO where it performed provost (military police) duties until June 4 when it was ordered to St. Louis, MO and from there into Indiana at the time of Morgan's raid.

  Stationing at St. Louis and Kansas City preceded pursuit of the forces under Confederate guerilla, William Quantrill after their raid on Lawrence, KS. The regiment remained at Kansas City for the remainder of the year.

  In early 1864 the 10th returned to St. Louis and from there moved to Alton, IL where it took charge of the military prison located there. Provost duty in St. Louis followed in May. It was then ordered to Ft. Leavenworth where those not having re-enlisted mustered out August 19-20, 1864. Remaining veterans and new recruits were formed into a four company battalion which continued to see service until the close of the war. 

Soldier History

SOLDIER: (4th)                                                             
Residence:
Inf. Not Avail.   Age: 16.5 yrs.
Enlisted/Enrolled: 8/8 or 8/18/61 Quincy, IL   Rank: Pvt.
Mustered In: 8/18/61
Transferred Out: 3/62
Highest Rank: Pvt.


SOLDIER: (10th)
Residence:
Inf. Not Avail.   Age: 17.2 or 17.3 yrs.
Transferred In: March, 1862   Rank: Pvt.  
Mustered Out: 8/19/64
Highest Rank: Pvt.

Family History

PERSONAL/FAMILY HISTORY:

  Daniel Cain Owen (Cain was his paternal grandmother's maiden name) was born 1/27/45 in Orange County, NY. Likely the community his father, Archibald (b. 1816 NY) and mother Harriet( nee Wilcox b. 1815 NY), lived in or near, was Goshen.

  Archibald and Harriet's children, as far as we know, were as follows: John W. (b. 1843 NY), Daniel (b. 1845 NY), Archibald (b. 1847 d. 1848 NY), Charles (b. 1848 NY), Margaret (b. 1850 NY) and Lewis (b. 1852 NY).

  Following birth, nothing is known about Daniel, including his whereabouts during his childhood, formative and early teenaged years. Likely, however, he was performing chores on the family farm.

  Daniel's next documented appearance is in August, 1861 when he enlisted in the U.S. volunteer army in Illinois. Interestingly, although he enlisted in Illinois, the unit he signed onto was from Kansas Initial muster rolls for the 5'5", light complected, grey eyed, auburn haired farm youth listed him as being eighteen years of age. However simple math from his date of birth would indicate he was only 16.5 years of age at enlistment. With patriotic fervor running high in Illinois and enlistment rosters being easily filled, perhaps less populous states such as Kansas were more willing to stand on the sidelines and turn a blind eye to a potential recruit's age.......Whatever the case, young Daniel was accepted as a soldier.

  Firstly, within the official military records pertaining to Private Owen's period of service, his surname appears as both Owen and Owens. Secondly, it appears the unit he joined was initially known as "Captain Boyd's Company." That organization was subsequently assigned to the then-forming 4th Kansas volunteer Infantry as Company "I".  Private Owen apparently remained with Captain Boyd throughout his tenure with the 4th, which also included service in Company "H".

  It appears the 4th never reached full strength (1000 officers and men), and, therefore, likely never took to the field. In March, 1862, it was consolidated with other under-strength Kansas units to form the 10th Kansas Volunteer Infantry regiment. At that time it appears Captain Boyd's Company "H" became Company "F" within the new regiment.  Daniel would remain with Company "F" of the 10th throughout the remainder of his period of Civil War service.

  While in the military young private Owen was apparently a dutiful soldier even in the face of physical adversity, because almost immediately becoming part of the 10th he suffered an injury which would haunt him the remainder of his life. The incident referred to occurred in February, 1862 in Wyandott, KS. While returning from guard duty Private Owen had to cross some kind of wooden walkway spanning a "cavity" in front of an old building. During that crossing his left foot slipped between the boards, causing to fall an through his entire weight on the (left) leg thereby bruising it so severely he was hospitalized at Ft. Scott for 2 months. Although Private Owen returned to duty, he was able to perform the duties of a soldier only two-thirds of the time and, due to lameness caused by numbness and soreness in the injured leg which resulted in his being unable to walk a great deal. 

  Private Owen's other hospitalizations are not specified. Likely, however, they were related to the above-noted injury. One was in June and July, 1862 when he was "left sick in the hospital" at Ft. Scott when his regiment took to the field. Returning to duty on 8/5/62 he was later that same month reported hospitalized anew.  The final hospitalization was October, 1863 at Ft. Leavenworth. Despite his physical limitations, Private Owen completed his three year period of enlistment and was honorably discharged in the summer of 1864.

  On May 13, 1864, while still a soldier, and obviously on leave, Daniel married one Catherine Shouts (b. ca. 1848 PA) in St. Louis, Missouri. With army life behind him, Daniel returned to Illinois and he and his "bride" settled in Adams County. The union would subsequently produced eleven children of which nine are documented by name: Mimimie/Mimi/Minnie G. (b. 1866 IL), Charles L. (b. October, 1867 or '68 IL), Harriet F. (b. 1869 IL), Albert H. (b. 1872), Daniel C. (b. 1875 IL), Robert H. (b. 1877 IL), William S. (b. 1879 IL), Eva M. (b. May, 1881 IL) and Lucy C. (b. January, 1884 NB. Note: One source indicates birth year to be 1888).

  As a look at the birthplace states of their children reflect, for the vast majority of the Owen's child producing/bearing years the family resided in Illinois where Daniel was occupied as a farmer. The 1870 and 1880 U.S. Censuses placed them in or near the community of Houston in Adams County. In 1882, however, the family removed to Platte County, NB. They apparently remained in Platte County until sometime in 1900 when they resettled in or near Clarksville (Clarks), in Merrick County, NB.  

  In 1903 the Owen family departed Nebraska for Washington State. The why for the move is not known, but arriving in the Puget Sound area of Western Washington, documentation is unclear if the family first set up household in the City of Everett or immediately took up farming in the nearby farming community of Lowell where they were living when, on 1/31/07, Catherine died of heart disease. She was buried in Everett's Evergreen Cemetery. 

  Following his wife's death the 1910 census placed Daniel, then 65 years of age, living in Everett as a boarder without an income.  Documents from June, 1912, however, indicate his place of residence to be Lowell, so once again, whether Daniel actually did move between Everett and Lowell or the two were simply lumped together for simplicity's sake is not known. 

  As early as 1866 Daniel had petitioned the U.S. Government for a disability pension based on the leg injury suffered while in the service of the U.S. Army. In June of that year a Doctor Robbins reported an abrasion on the tibia surface of the left leg with the flesh being turn...down to the bone. The wound was still an open ulcer which extended to the bone. The wound was described as "carcious". Edges of the ulcer were characterized as ….. tender."The doctor went on to say that the limb was painful when used, making for a total disability of uncertain duration.

  That a pension was, at some, relatively early, date granted is evidenced by the fact that in 1878 the amount of the stipend was increased to $12 per month and, in 1884 the amount was upped to $24 due to his total disability to perform manual labor.

  By 1912 Daniel's medical problems stemming from his leg injury had escalated to a point where, on October 12th he was admitted to the Battle Mountain Sanitarium, a national home for disabled soldiers located in Hot Springs, South Dakota.  A medical exam conducted in March the following year noted as follows: (He) suffers from an injury or wound of the left leg which extends from a point halfway between (the) Knee and ankle to within two inches of the ankle joint. (The) wound is sunken and (the) bone of (the) tibia has necrosis and (has) sluffed off leaving only a small part of the tibia which has little strength. In summary, the wound was characterized as being equal to having lost one's foot. Additional medical exams referred to extensive hospitalization while a Civil War soldier, a continuing discharge from the ulcerated area, including piece of bone, scarring, pain, weakness (chronic estemlyelitis), considerable missing bone, a two inch by one half inch ulcer and extensive swelling of the leg and ankle. Based on all these examination reports Daniel's monthly pension was increased to $30 per month. He, however, never, lived to receive the increased payment as on 10/1 or 10/2/13 he died. After death his remains were returned to Everett, WA and were interred at Evergreen Cemetery next to Catherine.

Cemetery

Buried at Evergreen Cemetery Everett
Row: 15
Site: 347


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