A Civil War musket carried through the south by a future Brookings County homesteader is now in the Brookings County Museum in Volga.
Adding provenance to the 10-pound rifle is the late Preston Township farmer Alpheus E. Kinneys hand written diary of his 1,000-mile march through nine southern states, including being part of Gen. William Tecumseh Shermans famous march to the sea.
A typed manuscript of Kinneys diary accompanies the guns museum display.
Kinneys long rifle is complete with ramrod and bayonet, but is missing the leather sling that held it to Alpheus strong shoulder as he and his comrades of Company E, Twelfth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, fought and slogged through the war.
Kinney was born in 1840 at Crown Point, N.Y. and grew up in Rosendale, Wisconsin. He joined Wisconsin Company E in 1861 as a private and was soon in the southern fray, being promoted to captain as the war continued. He survived the war and he and his rifle were mustered out of service in 1865.
That next summer he was a watchman on a Mississippi River steamboat but soon was married and farming in Sauk County, Wis. In the summer of 1879 Kinney headed west and homesteaded in Section 17, Preston Township, northwest of Bruce.
His war service for the Union shortened the five-year occupancy rule homesteaders were required before receiving ownership of their 160 acres, so after two years of homesteading alone, he brought his wife, daughter and two sons in Wisconsin with him to the homestead.
Kinney was active in his farming community, serving on the township board, the local school board, and from 1887 to 1889, as an elected Brookings County commissioner, serving as chairman in 1888.
He farmed until his death in 1908 and is buried in Estelline.
As was often a newspaper custom then, his Estelline Tribune obituary listed his farm assets in 1897 as 220 acres of farmland, six horses, six head of cattle, 14 hogs, 174 sheep, 47 wheat stacks and 30 tons of hay.
His well-traveled musket was donated to the museum by the late Mrs. Letha (Goodfellow) Kinney and her family. Letha was married to Medford Kinney, one of Alpheus grandsons, who inherited his grandfathers rifle and diary now at the museum.
Snippets from Alpheus war diary:
June 15, 1864
The Rebs came down in line and fired a volley at us which was answered by our men as well as could be done. Then they began to fire us lead in larger quantities that we were willing to take but we were not the lads to say just how much we were to take. Soon the order came to fall back.
July 3, 1864
The Rebs left Kennesaw Mountain during the night of July 2 and in the morning of July 3 our men were sent in pursuit.
July 25, 1864
The morning was spent in getting our dead and wounded off the field. At ten a.m. Gen. Sherman and Gen. (John A.) Logan rode past…The Rebel general came over with a flag of truce asking an armistice of an hour to get their dead off the field, which was granted.
Dec. 21, 1864
During the night of the 20th the Rebs evacuated the city of Savannah, Ga., and Gen. Sherman marched his troops in and took possession of the place. We were camped outside of town.
March 2, 1865
Laid in camp all day. By an order from Gen. Sherman, a Rebel soldier held by our men as a prisoner of war was shot in retaliation for some of our men that were found laying by the roadside murdered by Rebels after being taken prisoners. A few words passed between the Rebel and the chaplain of the 3lst Illinois Regiment, then the chaplain tied a handkerchief over his face. He stood firm until the word take aim was given when he quivered a little. At the command of fire he fell dead. Five balls passed through his chest, one though his neck and one through his hip. He was an old man with a large family of children living in the northern part of South Carolina.
March 5, 1865
The foragers did well, found plenty of forage and socks and underwear.
Cecil is an author, former Register columnist and member of the board of the Brookings County Museum.
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