A Visit to a Grave
A long drive over flat farm fields on straight roads in western Indiana brought me to Armstrong Chapel Cemetery not far from Green Hill in Warren County. The wind blew gently across the quiet graveyard astride the local Methodist church. There, the names of hundreds of men, women, and children, are etched into marble, sandstone, and granite headstones. This is all that remains of them, a people almost entirely forgotten from a community that time seems to have forgotten.
Just paces from a tree line that borders the north edge of the cemetery, not far from the nearby Holder Ditch, stands an obelisk topped with an urn. The shaft of the monument is adorned with a Masonic emblem and an eagle perched atop a shield with sword and banners beneath its wings.
The epitaph reads simply:
Gen. George D Wagner.
Died Feb. 13, 1869.
Aged
40 yrs, 5 months
& 21 days
Beneath the soil, like that which he tilled his entire life, rests all that remains of George Wagner, a farmer, a skillful politician, and a decorated soldier.
In the thousands of published volumes on the American Civil War, men like Wagner seem to vanish in favor of more well-known personalities and glowing narratives of Union victory and emancipation. Battle histories often record the laurels of brigades and individual regiments and highlight individuals related to the action.
Often ignored in much of our understanding of the war is an appreciation for the world in which those who fought in it lived, and how that world molded them. Just as we are cognizant of our world, they too were acutely aware of the political, social, cultural, and moral conflicts of the day.
In 1861, men like Wagner marched off to war to save the Union, to uphold the republic, to ensure the survival of the United States of America. For four years, he and hundreds of thousands like him suffered from the blight of war. They endured illness and fatigue in camp and battled a determined foe on campaign.
He fought at places like Shiloh, Perryville, Stones River, and Chattanooga. He and his soldiers from Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Kentucky marched with Sherman to Atlanta and fought relentlessly during engagements at Resaca and Kennesaw Mountain. Later, they marched into Tennessee.
In a twenty-four-hour period, Wagner enjoyed the greatest day of his military career and by sundown the next evening, experienced the most devastating. “You never fail,” said Wagner to his men upon his resignation from command in December 1864. He returned home to Indiana, and then, by orders, made his way to St. Louis, Missouri. Within five months, his nation was saved, his president was dead, as was his wife.
When the war finally ended, the soldiers returned home and attempted to resume a normal life. Some succeeded; others, like Wagner, seemingly watched their lives fall to pieces. His law practice failed, and his family disintegrated. He threw his life into the only things he had left, farming and politics.
In 1868, he campaigned on behalf of Ulysses S. Grant for the presidency. An ardent Republican from the party’s infancy, Wagner crisscrossed the state speaking to groups of veterans, at town halls, and at small festivals. Through the campaign he never flagged. At Owensville, he was “received with an enthusiasm on the part of his old comrades and the people that is due to an heroic and gallant old veteran in a worthy cause.”
In speech after speech, Wagner exerted himself, and though “not a candidate for office” he “felt prompted from a sense of duty to speak to the people on the great issues” which then faced the country. The exhausting work came to an end in November 1868, when Grant secured the presidency. [1]
In the weeks that followed, Wagner returned to Indianapolis where his health diminished rapidly. Plagued with “nervous suffering,” Wagner survived “entirely on intoxicating liquors” for several days. Crippled in pain and in a broken state, the end fast approached.
On Saturday afternoon, February 13, 1869, he visited the office of Dr. Daniel Prunk. He prescribed Wagner a dangerous combination of quinine, yellow jessamine, and brandy, which made for a powerful “relaxant and anti-spasmodic” that succeeded in “quieting nervous irritability and excitement.” This concoction could do all these things “without the least injury to the patient” – but only if properly consumed. [2]
Evidently in so much pain, Wagner “repaired to his room, and in the space of time in which it was prescribed he should take a single dose drank about half the preparation in the bottle.” “The effect was a complete relaxation of the whole system” as Wagner’s organs began to fail, paralyzed by the powerful muscle relaxant. “At the last hour,” Dr. John M. Youart, “was called in . . . but nothing could be done to restore tone to his system.”[3]
When he died on February 13, 1869, he was remembered as one of Indiana’s “most prominent citizens and honored soldiers.” Another tribute declared, “He was a ready and forcible speaker and few men made a more decided impression on the Senate . . . during his service in it than he . . .” Basil F. Spalding, a veteran of the 97th Ohio, later remembered his old commander saying simply, “He was as good as the best.”[4]
We’ll never meet George Wagner, at least not in this life. A dear friend of mine though once told me that visiting someone’s grave is as close to meeting them as we can get. After a life of trials and tribulations in war and peace, Wagner earned that resting spot in that quiet piece of the world.
His story deserves to be remembered.
[1]“Seventh District Radical Congressional Convention,” Indianapolis Daily State Sentinel, Indianapolis, IN, Jun. 15, 1868: 2; “Another Good Meeting” Evansville Daily Journal, Evansville, IN, Jul. 31, 1868:4; “Gen. Wagner at Owensville,” Princeton Clarion-Leader (Princeton, Indiana) Jul. 30, 1868: 3.
[2]“Sudden Death of Gen. Wagner at Indianapolis,” New Albany Daily Ledger, New Albany, IN., Feb. 15, 1869; “Death of Gen. George D. Wagner,” Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, Fort Wayne, IN., Feb.16, 1869: 1.
[3] “Death of Gen. George D. Wagner,” Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, Fort Wayne, IN., Feb.16, 1869: 1.
[4] Basil F. Spalding, “A Tribute to Gen. Wagner” National Tribune, Apr. 14, 1887, Washington D.C.: 2.
It is vital to have men like this brought to prominence because there were so many in the war, on both sides, and they were vital to the war, and to America. Despite this, I’m surprised that with so many, there are relatively so few worthy diaries, memoirs and biographies of them out there. We have spent 160 years documenting the major battles and campaigns and great personages – all of these worthy pursuits – but I think now we must begin a new phase of Civil War history in which the relative unknowns are given prominence. My own book, coming out later this year, is about two “unknowns” who nevertheless were extraordinary men and the fascinating incident in which they were involved.
Exactly my thoughts. I have been researching and writing about Wagner for almost 10 years now and at some point it will turn into a book. Sometimes the classic biography falls short of what I am aiming for. I want to tell his story, certainly, but more importantly, I want to place him within his world. Thanks for reading!
I research Franklin a great deal have you ever found a reason that Wagner stayed at the Carter House instead of being out front with Conrad and Lane I’ve always believed had he been out there and saw the Confederates coming he would have ordered them back
Exactly my thoughts! In writing the story of one of the most fascinating documents ever to emerge from the Civil War, I found that the two men involved with it had stories so dramatic, tragic and fascinating that they begged to be told alongside the story of the document because this is a story that should reach the general reading audience, not just folks that read history. I thus opted to shape the book as a warm, engaging narrative, much like David Hackett Fischer’s histories, using small insertions of scenes that actually occurred though we don’t know exactly what happened, and period-accurate dialogue within them. Publishers of “straight history” have held their noses in the air…but Hollywood has come calling, so I don’t care. Write your best book possible!
Great post, Joe. I understand that Wagner was self-treating his nervous condition from a flask at Franklin, Tennessee. Is it true that he was intoxicated and keep his command in their exposed position as the Confederate storm descended upon him?
Great article. I always enjoy hearing more on western theater personalities and battles.
Excellent article. Wagner’s Brigade took some heavy hits at Missionary Ridge and Kennesaw Mt. I have always admired him level headed leader of men. I hope that all of your Wagner research leads to a book.
Another casualty of the Civil War and resulting PTSD (a current diagnosis). Honor to him and peace to his soul.
I’ve always wondered about post-Civil War PTSD. Are there any studies or accounts of it? I remember as a child being shocked when I read that after WWI 25,000 British veterans committed suicide in the 1920s alone. I grew up very close to my grandparents, who grew up with their Civil War veteran grandfathers and great-uncles living in their homes, and they told me endless stories about these men. They never mentioned anything that pertained to PTSD, except my grandpa telling me that his grandpa never talked about the war – unless you asked him. Though, of course, when his brothers and friends would come by on Saturday nights and the whiskey would come out, they talked a lot. Thank goodness the little kids would sit in the kitchen eavesdropping on them…
This is an excellent read on the PTSD suffered by the veterans of the war.
https://a.co/d/9eKrdlg
https://a.co/d/9eKrdlg
The above is a excellent study of the mental and physical struggles of the veterans of the war.
Thank you, Phil. Much obliged.