Full Unit History
1st MARYLAND VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
Organized: May, 1861 Baltimore, MD
Mustered In: 5/27/61 Baltimore, MD
Mustered Out: 7/2/65 Arlington Heights, VA
Discharged: July, 1865 Baltimore, MD
Regimental History
REGIMENTAL HISTORY:
The 1st was a three year infantry regiment. It's entire period of existence was served in the eastern theater of the American Civil War.
Recruitment of men for the 1st commenced in Baltimore, MD on 5/6/61. Ten days later companies "A", "B", "C" and "D" were mustered into Federal Service. The entire organization was completed and Federally mustered on 5/27/61.
The regiment remained in Baltimore until 6/7/61 when it was ordered to Frederick, MD. From that time until the middle of October it remained on the upper Potomac guarding fords and ferries.
On 10/21/61 the 1st participated in the campaign that ended in the disastrous battle of Balls Bluff, VA. The regiment then returned to Frederick and winter quarters, but was soon afterwards ordered to Williamsport to repel a Rebel invasion into Maryland.
During the spring of 1862 the unit was engaged with the enemy in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. On 5/23 at FRONT ROYAL it suffered a loss of 14 killed, 43 wounded and 535 captured. After this it was ordered back to Baltimore for reorganization.
The 1st remained in Baltimore until 9/18/62 when it joined the Army Of The Potomac. From that point in time until the spring of 1864 it participated in all the actions of that great army.
In May, 1864 the 1st moved southward into Virginia on Union Gen. U.S. Grant's Overland Campaign. It was active from the Wilderness to Petersburg including a number of the hottest campaigns around that besieged city.
April 9, 1865 found the 1st present when, at Appomattox, VA, the Rebel Army Of Northern Virginia surrendered to the forces of U.S. Grant. It then marched to Washington City where it took part in the May Grand Review.
Mustered out at Arlington Heights, VA, the regiment returned to Baltimore. There, the men received their final pay and were discharged.
REGIMENTAL LOSSES:
Officers Killed Or Mortally Wounded: 8; Officers Died Of Disease, Accidents, Etc.: 1; Enlisted Men Killed Or Mortally Wounded: 110; Enlisted Men Died Of Disease, Accidents, Etc.: 148.
Soldier History
SOLDIER:
Residence: Inf. Not Avail. Age: 19.6 yrs.
Enlisted/Enrolled: 5/16/61 Baltimore, MD Rank: Sgt.
Mustered In: 5/16/61
Mustered Out: 5/23/64
Highest Rank: Sgt.
Rank At Discharge: Pvt.
Family History
PERSONAL/FAMILY HISTORY:
NOTE: The birth - to - death biographical profile of John Lyon was created in March, 2021 during the Covid-19 medical pandemic. It contains less depth of detail than many other biographies within this website because military service, pension and other veteran-related files housed in Washington, D.C.'s National Archives were not available. At a later time those documents may be obtained and the data contained therein added to the narrative which follows.
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\John Lyon was born on 10/25/42. The place of his birth was an unidentified location in Canada.
Parents of John were Robert Lyon (b.d. unk. Scotland) and Mary (nee McClure b.d. unk. Scotland) Lyon. When the Lyons moved from Scotland to Canada is unknown.
Based on sketchy documentation available, John had at least one sibling, a sister. Her name and birthdate are not known.
When John may have emigrated from Canada to America and where he settled in The States are other unknowns. However, when on 5/16/61 he enlisted in the U.S. Army infantry he did so in Baltimore, MD.
At the time of his enlistment we gain a glimpse of Sergeant John Lyon the physical man. He was 5' 10" tall, had a dark complexion, gray eyes and dark hair. His occupation was not given.
Without having access to John's military service records we know very little about his three year enlistment. His military career however had its ups and downs. A sergeant when he enlisted on 7/24/61 he was - for some reason - reduced to the rank of private. Having been returned to the rank of 1st sergeant by 8/15/61, on 11/3/62 he was again reduced to the ranks.
Earlier in that same 1862 year on, 5/23/62, John had been captured by the enemy at Front Royal, VA. He escaped that capture the same day.
Having survived the trials and tribulations of being a soldier, John returned to civilian life. Again, where that may have been is not known and no U.S. Census data for 1870 has been located on him.
On 6/2/75, in the District of Columbia, John married. His bride was Ida T. Fouse. Ida had been born in Maryland during 1853.
John and Ida produced three children: John H. Lyon (b. 2/14/76 Washington, D.C.), Robert Lyon (b. 1878 Washington, D.C.) and Ida Fouse Lyon (b. 11/7/80) Washington, D.C.
As noted above, after marrying John and Ida set up house and started their family in Washington, D.C. In the 1880 U.S, census for that area john listed his occupation as “engineer."
How long the Lyon family remained on the east coast is not currently known. By 1896, however, they had departed D.C. and removed to San Francisco, CA. Again, what had drawn them there and when they had arrived are unknowns.
A big unknown is who in the Lyon family made the westerly trek - John and Ida, or just John himself? In 1894 Ida was gone and John had remarried to a woman identified only as Etta. Etta had been born in New York in April, 1862. In 1896 the Lyon family home appears to have been San Francisco, CA.
1900. John and Etta were living in Vallejo Solano Count, CA. At that time John was employed as a pipefitter.
John and Etta produced one child. That child, however, was not living as of 1900. Further, after 1900 Etta, too, had disappeared.
In 1910 John, a widower was still in Vallejo, CA. By that year, however, he was residing not on his own, but with his married daughter, Ida, and her husband. A decade later, in 1920 he remained in Vallejo, but was apparently on his own, again.
As best as can be determined, sometime after 1920 John moved from California northward to Seattle King County, WA. What had drawn him to the Puget Sound region of the Pacific Northwest is not documented, but it may have been that daughter Ida and her husband had come north, and John came with them.
Former Civil War infantry soldier John Lyon died in Seattle on 7/10/29. At death the (retired) contractor was 86 years, 8 months and 15 days of age. His passing appears to have come at his daughter Ida's home located at 24 Blaine St. because Ida notified authorities of his passing. Cause of death was stomach cancer.
John was buried on 7/12/29 in the free masonry-affiliated Acacia Memorial Park located north of Seattle in unincorporated King County. The burial ground is now a part of the city of Lake Forest Park. The funeral service that preceded interment, as well as the burial itself, were conducted by a local funeral parlor under the auspices of a Seattle area masonic organization.
Dropping back a bit, on 3/17/98 John had been granted a U.S. Government disability pension based on his days of Civil War soldiering. As of August of 1926 the monthly stipend had grown to $65 per month. Following her father's death Ida petitioned the pension office to receive reimbursement on funds expended in conjunction with the old soldier's death and burial. Although dollar amounts are not currently available, that request, to some degree, was granted.
Cemetery
Buried at Acacia Memorial Park Cemetery