Notes for Joseph LAYTON

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Notes for Joseph LAYTON

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Notes for JOSEPH LAYTON:

Notes for Rev. Joseph Layton:

Notes from the Archives Division from the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis researched by Arline Coling - 11/2000.

Joseph Layton is described at his date of enlistment as having black eyes and hair with a dark complexion, height was 5ft. 8in. and his age was listed as 23. His date of enlistment was 9/16/1861 in Stockwell, IN by Captain Kirkpatrick and was for three years. He enlisted as a private in Company A of the 40th Indiana Infantry Regiment and was mustered in on 10/31/1861 in Lafayette, IN by Captain Carpenter. Company records indicate that Company A suffered a total loss from the war of 34 men killed in battle or died later from wounds. An additional 22 men were discharged as disabled. At the time of his enlistment Joseph Layton resided in Madison County Indiana. He was discharged on 6/2/1863.

The Fortieth Regiment was organized at Lafayette on the 30th of December, 1861 and at once proceeded to Kentucky going into a camp of instruction near Bardstown KY. In February, 1862, it moved with General Don Carlos Buell's army to Bowling Green and Nashville and from thence it marched into Northern Alabama. During the battle of Shiloh, TN on April 6th-7th, 1862, the Fortieth Indiana was about eight miles from the battlefield and was marching at the double quick as part of the reinforcements sent by General Buell to General Grant after the commencement of the battle. The southern army began a retreat on April 7th. The 40th Indiana regiment arrived at the battlefield on April 8th and thus was not directly involved in the battle. The regiment later participated in the advance on and siege of Corinth, Miss. which is about 50 miles south of Shiloh and the regiment was occupied mostly with picket duty during this time and not heavily engaged in battle.

When Confederate General Braxton Bragg's army crossed the Tennessee river and marched northward to invade Kentucky, the Fortieth Indiana was stationed in Southern Tennessee near the line of the Chattanooga railroad and when Buell's army marched north to meet him in Kentucky the regiment moved to Nashville and marched with the army to Louisville. From thence the regiment moved through Kentucky in pursuit of Bragg's army and was engaged with skirmishing the enemy at the battle of Munfordville, KY on 9/17/1862 and also the battle of Perryville, KY from 10/9/1862 thru 10/15/1862 before returning to Nashville in November, 1862 where it was reassigned to the 6th Division of the 14th Army Corps. In December it marched toward Murfreesboro, Tennessee and participated in the major engagement at Stones River, Tennessee on the 31st of December, 1862, and the 1st and 2nd of January, 1863, losing nine killed, sixty-three wounded and thirteen missing - making a total of eight-five casualties. Shortly after this battle, the regiment participated in the battle of Murfreesboro on January 11, 1863. After this battle the 40th Indiana remained in the vicinity of Murfreesboro for some time and when the army was reorganized, it was assigned to the Second Brigade of the First Division of the Twenty-First Army Corps commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. Crittenden. The regiment participated in the march to Chattanooga and later in the battle of Chickamauga in northern Georgia September 1863.

Sometime either just before or during the early phases of the march to Chattanooga, Joseph Layton was discharged on surgeons certificate on 6/2/1863 due to disability. While the exact cause of his disability is not known, it is highly probable that the effects of continuous marching in poor terrain with a heavy rifle and other equipment and exposure to the elements or sickness caused from poor rations played a role in his discharge. These were typical ailments of the Civil War soldier. It was a blessing that this was detected at an early stage by a competent surgeon as many more soldiers in the Civil War died of sickness and disease than from wounds caused in battle. Advances in medicine and sanitation in the 1870's and later would come too late to help the thousands of unfortunate soldiers who died from sickness and disease in the Civil War. His residence given at the time of his discharge was Romney, IN.

Joseph Layton has a marker at the foot of his grave in West Point, IN that reads 40th Indiana, Company A.

More About Rev. Joseph Layton:

Burial: West Point, IN

Military service: Bet. 1861 - 1863, Company A., 40th Indiana Infantry

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