Slippery Rock man's grandfather is Civil War vet
A Slippery Rock man's unique lineage permits him to make a claim that no other within at least a 100-mile radius can: his grandfather was a veteran of the Civil War.
Jim Dixon, 76, of Slippery Rock grew up in Ohio knowing that his grandfather was very old when his mother was born and had died not long after her birth.
He also knew his mother had grown up in Iowa, where his grandfather is buried.
Then, in the mid 1970s, his late mother said she wanted to travel to Iowa to see the grave of her father, Jonathan Ireland, who died when she was 2 years old.
“She said he was a Civil War veteran,” Dixon said. “She told me one day when we were talking about going back to Iowa.”
In 1976, he returned to Iowa with his mother and visited Ireland's grave, which indeed lists his status as a private in Company E, 67th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Civil War.
According to the grave marker, Ireland was born Oct. 15, 1844, and died June 9, 1922.
Dixon's mother, Frances, was born on April 1, 1920, when her father was the same age Dixon is now.“My wife looks at me and goes 'Don't even think about it,'” Dixon said. “Yeah, we kid around about it.”Dixon said his grandfather was married three or four times and had several children.An online grave-finding database lists two wives, neither of whom are Dixon's grandmother, Nellie Reisinger, who was 38 when Dixon's mother was born.The site lists Ireland's birthplace as Washington County, Indiana, which may explain why he mustered into the Union Army in that state and not Iowa.It also lists the names of five children, four of whom were born in the late 1800s, and one named “Bloomer” whose birthdate is unknown but who died in 1908.Dixon's mother and aunt are not listed on the site with Ireland's other children.Frances' birth certificate lists Ireland as a retired farmer, and that is the sum total of Dixon's knowledge about his grandfather.Over the years of Dixon's life, the topic of his grandfather having served in the Civil War came up here and there, but he didn't think too much about it.More recently, Dixon did a Google search and found a national organization of Civil War veteran descendents known as the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.Dixon ended up communicating with the vice president of the organization, who lives in Rhode Island.He encouraged Dixon to join the Pennsylvania chapter, which is based in Hermitage, Mercer County.Dixon, a recent member of the Isaac Eaton Camp No. 504, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Pennsylvania Department, now counts himself among the 2,500 living people whose grandfathers were Civil War veterans.“I'm very proud to say that,” he said.The Isaac Eaton Camp bestowed upon Dixon a certificate and a ribbon to wear declaring him the grandson of a Civil War soldier.Dixon has one living sister in Delaware, and he can't wait to share the statistic with her when he visits in July.“I told her 'You are somebody special in this country,' and she said 'What are you talking about?' and I said 'I'll tell you when I see you,'” Dixon said.
All Dixon has to remind him of Jonathan Ireland is a photo taken in 1920 and colorized, which shows the stately, blue-eyed Ireland in a suit wearing three medals that likely represent his service in the Grand Army of the Republic.Dixon is a U.S. Marine who served during the Vietnam Era. His father served in World War II.He plans to delve into Ireland's military and civilian history in the near future so he can forward the impressive legacy to his two sons.“I want to pass it on,” Dixon said of his grandfather's military service history.A brief online search reveals that Ireland's outfit mustered in on Aug. 20, 1862, in Madison, Ind., for a three-year enlistment.The 67th Regiment was captured on Sept. 17 at the Siege of Munfordville, Ky., paroled and sent to Indianapolis.After reorganizing there, the regiment was deployed to enemy territory in December and was involved in the Union capture of Vicksburg, Miss.The 67th also served in Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana before being ordered to Texas in Jan. 1864, according to civilwarindex.com.Of the original 1,040-man regiment, 161 died in service, 43 deserted and 216 went unaccounted for.The remaining men in the 67th Regiment were consolidated with the 24th Indiana Infantry Regiment on Dec. 21, 1864.All the original members of the 67th mustered out on July 19, 1865, according to the website.A book archived in the Library of Congress that can be found online titled “History of the 67th Ind. Regt. Vols.” lists Jonathan Ireland among the original members of that outfit who mustered out in July 1865, meaning he likely saw much action during the war that saved the Republic enjoyed by Americans today.According to the book, which was written with gusto by R. B. Scott, those who mustered into the 67th were “boys who, when the war-cloud burst forth in cyclones of fire and battle, dropped their school books, laid down their farming tools, came from workshops and stores, and rushed, at their country's call, to Madison, and on the 19th and 20th of August, 1862, by companies held up their hands toward heaven and in the presence of Almighty God swore allegiance to the United States...”Dixon looks forward to digging into his grandfather's brave service in the near future.“I'd like to see where he was deployed and find out what he did and what happened,” he said.Dixon, a retired construction manager and former minor league pitcher, said he will remain in awe of his generational proximity to the Civil War through Jonathan Ireland.“There's no way I could have possibly known him, but it makes for interesting conversation, for sure,” he said.
