John E. Hinton

John E. Hinton was a private in the 2nd Wisconsin Infantry / Company F.

Antebellum

• Family moved to America when he was 6 years old
• Lived in New York and Racine, Wisconsin before moving to Waukesha, Wisconsin
• Graduated from Prairieville Academy (now Carroll University)
• Working as a clerk when the war started

War Career

• Enlisted on April 23, 1861 in the 2nd Wisconsin Infantry / Company F
• Severely dehydrated to the point of collapse at the Battle of (I) Bull Run
  • Claimed to have shot 3 rebels at this battle
  • Struck in side with a ball as the unit was retreating, another went through his canteen
  • Tried to rally troops as they retreated, 4 men shot
  • Struggled along with comrades, left behind around midnight
  • Collapsed under a tree 3 miles from Washington, D.C. and picked up the next day by officers who had stolen a buggy
  • Dropped off on D.C. street corner, taken in by Henderson Guards D.C. militia
  • Wrote letter home to Waukesha about incident
  • Details challenged by "T.J. Johnson" - scandal of sorts

Death and Burial

• Wounded at the Battle of Antietam - left leg amputated
• Died on October 14, 1862 of wounds received near Keedysville, Maryland
• Body sent back to Waukesha, buried at Prairie Home Cemtery

Sources

• Estabrook, Charles E. Wisconsin Losses in the Civil War. (Madison, Wis. Adjutant General's Dept., 1915). (Page 10)
• Wisconsin. Adjutant-General's Office. Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865. Volume 1. (Madison, 1886). (Page 363)