Names on the Wall

Joseph Ackley

Co. I, 23rd Missouri Infantry

Joseph Ackley is another Civil War veteran who came to Rooks County late in life. He was born in Ohio in August 1833, son of Joseph and Elizabeth Ackley. He spent most of his adult life in Putnam County, Missouri. He married a widow, Eliza Jane Darnell (13 July 1830-2 September 1901), on 25 March 1860. She was first married to Nathan Darnell and had three children (John, Lucinda, and Thomas).

During the Civil War, Joseph enlisted in Company I, 23rd Missouri Infantry Regiment, on 1 December 1861. The regiment was outfitted and trained at Chillicothe, Missouri, until March 1862. They moved to Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, during March, and fought at the Battle of Shiloh, 6 April. Most of the men in the regiment were captured there, including Private Ackley, and were later exchanged for Confederate prisoners held by the Union Army. They were reorganized at St. Louis and took the field again in August 1862, serving at various towns in eastern Missouri for several months. They fought in the Battle of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, 26 April 1863, and occupied Rolla, Missouri until December that year.

The regiment moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and guarded the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad until July 1864 when they joined the siege of Atlanta, Georgia. During that time, Private Ackley was again captured and spent four months in the infamous Andersonville Prison in Georgia. He suffered in prison and later declared, “I was injured by exposure and my mental faculties are impaired.” After his release from Andersonville, he was discharged at Savannah, Georgia on 29 December 1864. He returned to the farm in Missouri.

He was in poor health the remainder of his life and received a pension as an “invalid” until his death. He and Eliza had two children. Jacob (22 April 1867-6 April 1901) married Carrie Foulke (1 August 1881-23 October 1965) 29 October 1898; and Rachel (12 August 1872-1 March 1958) married John Rippey (1873- 1957) in 1893.

In 1890 Joseph and Eliza moved to Rooks County and lived with their son, Jacob, south of Zurich. Joseph died 22 March 1893 and is buried in the Zurich Cemetery. Eliza continued to live with Jacob until his death from measles on 6 April 1901. Eliza then lived with her daughter, Rachel, at Kanopolis, Kansas, until her death on 2 September 1901. She is buried beside Joseph at the Zurich Cemetery.