Civil War Veterans Buried In Washington State - George Sprinkle

53^rd INDIANA VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
Organized: January/February, 1862 New Albany, IN
Mustered In: 2/26/62
Mustered Out: 7/21/65 Louisville, KY

REGIMENTAL HISTORY:
 

The 53^rd was a three year western theater infantry regiment. Its organization was completed by consolidating recruits for the 53^rd with those of the then-forming 62^nd Indiana Infantry. After Federal muster it moved to Indianapolis to guard prisoners.
 

Leaving the state on 3/15/62 the unit moved to Louisville, KY and thence to Savannah, TN. From there it travelled into Mississippi where it participated in the siege of Corinth. Going next to LaGrange, TN, while at that location the regiment participated in various expeditions. On 10/5/62 it was engaged with the enemy at Hatchie's Bridge.
 

In 1863 the 53^rd moved into northern Mississippi. From there it joined the siege of Vicksburg. With the surrender of that city on July 4^th the regiment marched to Jackson then on to Natchez. An expedition into Louisiana involving several engagements concluded the year.
 

February, 1864 found the regiment participating in the Meridian Campaign. Then came Union movements upon Atlanta, GA. During these operations the 53^rd saw action at Kennesaw Mountain (6/27), Nickajack Creek (7/6/1864), Peachtree Creek (7/20) and before Atlanta itself (7/27). During that period the regiment suffered greatly. It then marched to the sea with Union Gen. Sherman's forces.
 

1865 found the regiment marching northward through the Carolinas. Halting at Goldsboro, NC after the surrender of Confederate forces under Gen. Joseph Johnston it continued on to Washington, D.C. After that it travelled to Louisville, KY for final muster.
 

REGIMENTAL LOSSES:

Officers Killed Or Mortally Wounded:  9; Officers Died Of Disease, Accidents, Etc.:   4; Enlisted Men Killed Or Mortally Wounded:  98; Enlisted Men Die9d Of Disease, Accidents, Etc.: 248.

SOLDIER:
Residence: Inf .Not Avail.   Age: 30.10 yrs.
Enlisted/Enrolled: 2/24/62 *   Rank: Pvt.
Mustered In: 2/24/62
Mustered Out: 7/21/65 Louisville, KY
Highest Rank: Pvt.
Rank At Discharge: Pvt.

PERSONAL/FAMILY HISTORY:
 

NOTE: The birth - to - death biographical profile of George Sprinkle was created in November, 2020 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 will be obtained and the data contained therein added to the narrative which follows.
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George Washington Sprinkle was born in April 10, 1831. His place of birth was in the state of Kentucky.
 

Parenting George were John (b. 9/9/04 Surry County, NC - d. 1889 Perry County, IN) and Mary Polly (nee Willett b. 1808 - d. 1879 Branchville Perry County, IN) Sprinkle.  The Sprinkle family was a farming family.
 

John and Mary were married 10/18/27 in Meade, KY. As best as can be determined their union produced seven children of which George was the second eldest. Older than he was America (b. 12/28/28 KY). His younger siblings were: Sarah Ann (b. 1833 loc. unk.), Nancy Jane (3/3/36 Perry County, IN), Elizabeth A. (b. 11/30/39 Perry County, IN), William Maxfield (b. 6/16/42 Perry County, IN) and Mary Eleanore (b. 10/45 Branchville Perry County, IN).
 

The U.S. Census of 1850 found George with his parents and younger siblings farming in or near the community of Oil located in Perry County, IN.  A decade later, in 1860, he was still farming in Oil, but by that time had married, fathered a child and had a farm of his own.
 

George's bride's name was Sarah Dyer. She was born during October, 1845 in Indiana.  Also in Indiana, the couple had wed on 9/15/57.
 

Despite their 9/57 wedding George and Sarah's only child, a son they named Theodore L., had been birthed in 1855. Interestingly, Theodore was born, not in Indiana, but in Kentucky. Hopefully, the acquisition of pension files will shed some light on this family matter. In the 1900 U.S. Census Sarah noted Theodore was then living.
 

According to the American Civil War Research Database George left his wife and son in February, 1862 and enlisted in the U.S. Army. His unit of choice was the 53^rd Indiana Infantry Co. "G". Based on available information, he served his three year enlistment and re-enrolled as a veteran volunteer in 1864. Strangely, the same database refers to his 1864 re-enlist as being a drafting with discharge 5/31/65 Jeffersonville, IN. Military service records will need to be obtained to clarify this matter.
 

With military life behind him George returned to his wife and son on the family farm in Oil, Perry Co, IN. It appears they remained there until sometime after 1880 and before 1890 when they removed from Indiana to Iowa. In 1900 their Iowa censused address was Tingley District 0112, Ringold Co.
 

On 5/7/89 in Iowa George initiated the paperwork process to obtain a U.S. Government disability pension based on ailments or other conditions which may have traced back to his days of Civil War soldiering. A stipend was subsequently granted and may have grown to $20 per month at the time of his passing. More on this later.
 

George Washington Sprinkle died 5/14/08 in South Park King County, WA. Then a separate community, South Park is now a neighborhood of south Seattle. When and why George and Sarah had come to the Puget Sound region of the Pacific Northwest are unknowns.
 

The cause of the old soldier's death was old age and Erysipelas (skin infection) of ten days duration. Burial was/is in Riverton Crest Cemetery located in Tukwila King County, WA.
 

On 5/25/08 Sarah petitioned the U.S. Government to continue receiving at least a portion of her late husband's pension. From all appearances, the pension request was granted, but the papers of certification were never filed.
 

In 1910 the widow Sprinkle was still residing in Seattle. Her address was Ward 12 in King County.
 

Sarah Dyer Sprinkle died on 12/13/15 at her residence located at 1048 Donovan Seattle King County, WA. The cause of death was senility and rheumatism. Notifying authorities of her passing was one F.E. Dyer who was also a resident of 1048 Donovan. The identity of this individual has not been determined.
 

Sarah was/is buried in the Riverton Crest Cemetery beside George. 
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 * On 2/24/62 two other Sprinkles - Benjamin and Thomas - enlisted in the same regiment and company as George. Although not George's brothers, the two had to have been related to him. Perhaps, they were cousins. As with George, both survived The War and were mustered out 7/21/65 in Louisville, KY.

Buried at Riverton Crest Cemetery