THE CAMP LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF WILLIAM H. HUNTZINGER AND BROTHERS I. INTRODUCTION In August A.D. 1862 I was learning the waggon & buggy maken traid with T.D. Vandorn in Edinburgh Johnson County Indiana & I become convinced that I ought to help put down the rebellion which was rageing in our once happy America. & the more I thought of enlisting the more I thought it was my duty & I could see plenty of men enrolling their names who had familys & persons looking to them for help & suport & I had no one to look to me for help or suport & I at once saw that I was one that ought to go in defence of my Country while it was calling dayly for help & knowing that our caus was just & right I determined to do what I could & on the evening of the 1lth of August, I settled up my buisness with Mr. T. D. Vandorn telling him I would have liked to finish learning my traid with him but I thought I had better go & help defend our country. My Brother Levi Parker Huntzinger (next younger to my self) started to Indianapolis to enlist as we desired to get in a company that Samuel P Oyler was getting up & had went in camp with at Indianapolis. Levi & I went to Camp in the morning of the 12th day of August A.D. 1862 & enlisted in S. P. Oylers Company & got a pass to go home & return till 12 M on the 14th as I had not bin home for some time. I wanted to see the friends before we left. We got home in the night of the 12th & left home in the evening of the 13th & arived at Camp Martens Indianapolis on the 14th & was examined to see if we was fit for the service or not & not a word was said against Levi or my self as we was in splendid health & never had a bone broken. Levi was in his 18th year from the first of March last. & ove course we would pass examinations. We went in camp & guarded the prisoners in the fair ground, & we Elected officers for the Company when the company was full. Samuel P Oyler was our captain & Daniel Wait Howe 1st Lieut & James Bell 2nd Lieut & Henry S Brannam Orderly Sergeant & George C. Whitlock 1st duty Sergeant & Joseph I Calvin 2nd duty sert & Thos McIlvain Cen 3rd duty & Wm F McIlvain 4th duty sergeant and 1st Corporal 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th and after our officers was Elected by the vote & majority of the Company we soon drew clothing & all necessarys for our camping & Capt Oyler treeted the boys to a Kegg of beer & we had gay times. We throwed in a nough money & bought a sword & belt & sash & haversack for the Capt & they was presented to him by the Co on dressparade. Capt S. P. Oyler was promoted to Lt Colonel & William B. Ellis was commissioned captain in his plase. We drilled. We received $12.00 to the man from the County & $2.00 to the man from the capt who was entitled to it himself for each man that enlisted in his company but he gave it to us. & on the 20th day of August A.D. 1862 we was mustered into the U. S. Service, & we was payed $25.00 of the $100.00 that we are entitled to as bounty & we drew one months Pay. & in the evening we was ordered to strike tents & be ready to move, we did so. I saw in the papers that there had bin a battle fought at Batton Rough & the 21st Ind was engaged in the battle & I looked in the list of killed & wounded to see if I could see my brothers name. He was next older brother (James Washington Huntzinger) & I saw his name in the list. He was severely wounded in the right leg & his Cousin William Skelton his captain slightly wounded. The news was shocking to me. James had enlisted in Company E 21st Ind on the ___day of July A.D. 1861 at Franklin Johnson Co Ind. He was learning the Blacksmith traid in Mr. Barney Clarks shop & him & I had agreed before he set in to learn the traid that we would learn the traids that I have mentioned & put us a shop up together & work to each others hand. But now it seemed that all prospects of that was blasted as he was severly wounded. & afterward lost his leg as you will see in this book & perhaps I will give a small sketch of his memorandum & camp life in this book. At dark 6 companys of us started under command of Lieut Colonel S. P. Oyler & marched to the depot & got on the cars [railroad train], & after noon on the 27th we landed in Louisville Ky.
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