In April, 1861…
5 years had passed since the final brick was laid, and the drums of the American Civil War began to echo across America.
At the age of nineteen, Augustus Perry answered that call and joined in the Union Army…
Possibly.
For transparency’s sake, the most challenging aspect of this whole project was trying to determine the Perry’s position on military service during the Civil War years.
In fact, I spent weeks researching this only to run into dead ends repeatedly…
What I can tell you is this:
The Perry Family is still rumored to this day to have been very passionate about matters of equality, which leads me to believe they would have felt passionate about the Civil War as well.
While we were working through the process of purchasing The Brick House anyone who had a story to tell about the homestead stopped by and filled us in on the home’s previous lore.
One of the stories that surfaced repeatedly were the rumors that the home had served a role on the Underground Railroad. Yet, in Indiana, it is not uncommon to hear such rumors about all old farmhouses.
Admittedly, the thing that gave me pause was the fact that these rumors began to have substance in the fact that it was explained how each residence operated in coordinating fashions together along with the river and mill that is within walking distance.
But, per their reported religious beliefs, they would have been called to shun violent conflict and warfare.
What do you do when your beliefs and your convictions run contrary to one another?
Within the Civil War muster rolls, I have found 2 men named Augustus Perry, however
neither of them are our Augustus.
This became apparent when their records continued on in their respective States during the years following the conflict.
At this time, it remains unclear if Augustus served in an official capacity in the Civil War. I was able to find a Carroll County Military log from 1863 which cataloged all of the men of fighting age in Carroll County as of that date. I thought perhaps this was my missing link and showed that he had been here and present in 1863, alas, this is not correct. After doing additional research I learned these logs are not an accurate account of those present, but rather simply a list of the county’s residents of fighting age.
I would be tempted say he did not, however there is evidence
that he may have served under an alternative name.
This evidence is limited and found in a very damaged Union muster.
This entry is peculiar in the fact that it was entered into a Massachusetts muster roll with a litany of other Perry family members who were all enlisting at the same time from the region which Edwin’s family of origin had come in the early 1800’s.
Did Augustus leave Indiana and go fight under a different name due to conflict of religious and personal beliefs? Or did he stay in Carroll County and labor on the farm and help keep the home front safe?
I personally cannot say with any authority either way…
However, to add to the mystery…every year an American flag stands straight and true on his grave, placed there by a White County volunteer who is instructed to do so by the County’s Veteran Service Officer. These flags dot the graves of all of our Hoosier veterans in observation of Memorial Day.
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