Jacob Cheesman Morgan's Military History

It's Saturday afternoon and I finally have some time to sit down to my family history research.  I read a blog post on Researching Your Civil War Ancestors on Lisa Louise Cooke's GENEALOGY GEMS website and it helped me decide to take a closer look into MY Civil War ancestors, starting with my 2nd great grandfather, Jacob Cheesman Morgan. His headstone was the first clue that he served in the Civil War.  I descend from him through my mother's line:  Kay Robertson (my mother), Eleanor Pierce (her mother), Itha Dean Morgan (her mother) and Jacob C. Morgan, Itha's father.

JACOB CHEESMAN MORGAN

Born 15 September 1841 in Island Grove, Sangamon, Illinois, USA
Died 12 September 1917 in Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri, USA
Served during the Civil War in Company K, 44th Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Iowa

Jacob was born in Illinois, but somewhere between September 1841 and the 1850 Census, his family moved to Poweshiek County, Iowa.  I found him listed as the 8 year old son of Peter and Hannah Morgan on the 1850 US Census for Poweshiek, Iowa:

Source Citation: Year: 1850; Census Place: District 16, Poweshiek, Iowa; Roll: M432_188; Page: 159B; Image: 325.

In 1860, when he was about 19 years old, he appeared on the US Census for Montezuma, Poweshiek, Iowa. This was just a year before the Civil War began.

Jacob Morgan didn't enlist right away.  He enlisted in 1864 when he was 22 and I think he enlisted because of the draft.  From what I have read, this wasn't that unusual at the time.  I'm not sure what the circumstances were at home, but he did eventually join the war. 

U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-186Jaco C Morgan

Name: Jacob C Morgan Residence: Iowa Age at enlistment: 22 Enlistment Date: 25 May 1864 Rank at enlistment: 3rd Sergeant State Served: Iowa Survived the War?: Yes Service Record: Enlisted in Company K, Iowa 44th Infantry Regiment on 01 Jun 1864.Mustered out on 15 Sep 1864 at Davenport, IA. Birth Date: abt 1842 Sources: Roster & Record of Iowa Soldiers in the War of Rebellion

I find it interesting that his rank at enlistment was 3rd Sergeant.  Why not Private?  It would be interesting to find out, if I can.

Pension Record showing date and place of his death.

U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865

 I did a little research on Company K, 44th Infantry Regiment which Jacob Morgan joined.  I found a digitized copy of Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers in the War of the Rebellion, Volume 5 on Google Books and it had a chapter on the 44th Regiment.  

Here's what I learned:
The 44th Regiment gathered at Camp Kinsman, near Davenport, Iowa and were mustered into the service of the United States on June 1, 1864.  A few days after they mustered in, they received orders to proceed to Memphis, Tennessee to relieve a portion of the troops who were on duty there, and who were under orders to proceed to the front as part of the reinforcements for General Sherman's Army, then engaged in the great Atlanta Campaign.  The regiment remained at Memphis, in the performance of garrison duty, until early in July, 1864, when it was ordered to proceed by rail to LaGrange, Tennessee, where it performed similar duty, and also assisted in guarding the line of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, between the stations from LaGrange to Moscow, Tennessee.  They guarded against rebel forces, as well as local citizens who remained loyal to the rebel cause, who wanted to burn bridges, tear up track, and damage the road in any manner that would cause delay in the forwarding of troops and supplies to General Sherman's army.  Constant vigilance was required to keep this important line of communication with the army at the front from being interrupted or broken.  Such vigilance was exercised by the 44th Iowa, acting in conjunction with the other troops with which it was associated, and the trains continued to pass over the road with but little interruption.  The regiment continued in the discharged of the duties which have been described until September 1, 1864, on which date it was ordered to return to Memphis, where it remained on duty until September 9th, which it was ordered to embark on steamer and was conveyed to Cairo, Illinois and from thence by rail to Davenport, Iowa.  Its term of service having expired (100 days), it was mustered out of the United States on September 15, 1864.

I found this newspaper article online at www.newspapers.com from The Kearney Daily Hub, Kearney Nebraska, 1 June 1894, Page 3.   In it, Jacob Morgan is referred to as Col. J. C. Morgan.

 
When did he become a Colonel?  That's the next thing I need to find out. Was he a member of a GAR post?  Did they have ranks in it?  I know that James P. Pierce was a member of GAR.  He was chaplain at one time.  Were they in the same post in Kearney?  Try to find out.