McCracken, Henry

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: MCCR.H004
• _FGRAVE: 76599914
• Military Service: American Civil War, Corporal, Company G, 42nd Indiana Infantry Regiment

Notes:

Military Service:
Henry enlisted as a private in Company "G" 42nd Regiment of Indiana Volunteers on 28 September 1861 at the age of 18. His brothers John James, Thomas,and William Nelson McCracken enlisted at the same time. They were mustered in on 10 October 1861 at Evansville.
During December of 1861 the 42nd was ordered to move its camp from Henderson to Calhoun, Knetucky, where there was a concentration of Union troops. The weather was cold and rainy making the roads ankle-deep in mud. Each man was required to carry about seventy-five pounds of equipment in his knapsack in addition to his rifle and haversack. At night the regiment usually had to make camp in the mud and get their water from any availables stream. It was not long until one-third of the regiment was sick with typhoid, measles, pneumonia and dysentery. The result for Henry McCracken was frostbitten feet which caused him to have painful, swollen feet throughout his three years of service.

In the spring of 1863 Henry became ill with fever and was in a regimental hospital near Murfeesboro, Tennessee. His brother "Nelson" went to visit him every day until the 42nd moved on, leaving Henry in the hospital. When Henry rejoined his unit several months later his relatives were shocked to see him because he had lost his hair as a result of his illness.

At the Battle of Resaca, 15 May 1864, the 42nd was being supported by a battery of six pound Napoleon guns. These were muzzle-loading cannons with a maximum effective range of 800 to 1,000 yards. They fired two to three rounds a minute. The cannons were on a hill above a branch of water. Company "G:, 42nd, as below the artillery and some of the men were ordered to lay down in the water to protect themselves. The water was cold and Henry went into the water reluctantly and only after he was ordered to do so by his officers. He laid in the water for several hours with cannons being fired over his head. When he came out of the water after dark he had a fever. As a result of fever, exposure and the concussion of the cannons, his hearing was damaged.

Henry McCracken was discharged as a Corporal, 17 October 1864 at Villanova, Georgia.

Family/Spouse: Hanks, Mary Jane. Mary was born on 1 Jan 1847; died on 13 Oct 1904; was buried in Bethany Cemetery, Washington, Daviess County, Indiana. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: MCCR.M016

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: MCCR.B007