Charles "Charley" P. Wallick

Farmer, Traveler, Veteran — The Most Miles of Any Wallick Soldier

There were two Charles Wallicks who served in the American Civil War. These two soldiers fought in regiments that were engaged in some of the war's most famous campaigns and many times distinguished themselves on the battlefield. Charles F. Wallick, of Miami County, Indiana, served with the 87th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, one of the finest volunteer regiments from the Hoosier state. Charles Wallick, of Holmes County, Ohio, served in the 16th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, whose reputation was equal to the Indiana men. The two regiments were deployed in different theaters of the war — the 87th Indiana fought primarily in the southeast states and the 16th Ohio in the Mississippi Valley.

Charles Wallick, or Charley, as his comrades called him, was a young farmer when he joined the fight in September of 1861. This biographical sketch uses his nickname, Charley, instead of his given name, Charles, to help keep his identity separate from distant cousin Charles F. Wallick.

Charley was part of two very famous campaigns in the western theater of the war — one a tremendous success and the other a dismal failure. In the Vicksburg Campaign of 1863 he witnessed General Grant at his very best, demonstrating command creativity, improvisation, and determination. In contrast is the Red River Campaign led by General Nathaniel Banks — a bungled affair from its conception and, in the end, a Union retreat. Nothing was accomplished in this ill-conceived plan.

There are a few interesting facts about Charley Wallick and his service with the 16th Ohio Infantry. During the war he traversed this country's highways and byways more than any other soldier from the Wallick clan. He and his regiment traveled from the Appalachian Mountains of east Tennessee to the Gulf of Mexico. By the end of the regiment's enlistment it has been estimated that they traveled 1,620 miles by foot, 1,285 miles by train, 1,200 miles by steamship and another 3,620 miles by steamboat. The war provided a mid-nineteenth century farmer, like Charley, the opportunity of a lifetime. At 5 feet 4 inches tall, Charley is one of the shortest Wallicks who served in the Civil War. His small stature, however, should in no way be taken as a measure of his contribution to the war effort.

In late December 1862, Charley Wallick and his regiment were moved west to become part of General Grant's Vicksburg Campaign. The siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, is not the beginning but the capstone to Grant's movements against the Confederacy's bulwark on the Mississippi River. Grant has five months of failed ventures before he conceives of a plan that is not only ingenious, but also works. Vicksburg is situated on high bluffs that overlook the Mississippi and with well-placed Confederate artillery, it is nearly impossible to assault by boat. If he could take the town, the Union would have free navigation into the heart of the nation to move foodstuffs and materiel from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. This would also cut the Confederacy in two and deprive them of agriculture and livestock products from the western Confederacy, especially Texas. Charley fought in a campaign where many historians believe General Grant demonstrated his best generalship — an operation that rivaled any designed by Julius Caesar or Napoleon Bonaparte.

Epilogue — A New Life in Iowa

Charley comes home to Millersburg, Ohio, after his discharge from Federal service. Ready to return to normal civilian life, he marries his sweetheart, Mary Gray, on February 9, 1865. Two months later, in April 1865, with the Civil War quickly drawing to a close, the whole family moves west and settles in Iowa. By 1870 none of the Wallick war veterans or their immediate families are living in Holmes County. They all have relocated west, either to Iowa or Kansas.

How much Charley's travels and his younger brother's death during the war influenced his family's decision to start anew is mere speculation. What is certain is that he and his parents, "Guthrie" Michael and Hannah, along with his older brothers and young sister, all departed for Iowa just one month after Charley's wedding.

He has a rough start in his new life. His recent bride, Mary, dies while giving birth to their daughter, Ada, just months after arriving in Victor, Iowa. He does remarry two years later and has at least twelve more children by Mary Shaull. Charley dies on July 2, 1926, six days short of his eighty-third birthday.

Comrades-in-Arms