Henry M. Wallick

The Most Tragic Story — Farmer, Officer, Killed in Action

There is perhaps no Wallick soldier whose Civil War story is more tragic than that of Henry M. Wallick from the little village of Killbuck, Ohio. Henry was a young man whose sense of duty and patriotism was so strong that he enlisted twice in the Union Army. His first enlistment was at the beginning of the war on April 22, 1861, for three months, with the 16th Ohio Militia. He saw some minor action with this unit in the mountains of West Virginia and after fulfilling his term, he took a two-month respite from service. Henry was a farmer, and after going home and harvesting his crops he re-enlisted for three years in a new company that was being created from Holmes County. His cousin, William D. Wallick, also joined this new unit. Henry and William became part of the 67th Ohio Volunteer Infantry which was organized in Columbus, Ohio, and then sent east to Virginia.

Henry soon learned that the battlefield was not the only place where a soldier could be attacked. Disease struck and killed cousin William on February 26, 1862, just two months after he enlisted. It was a precursor to what Henry would face in the next few years, for Henry would fight a war against diseases as well as Confederates.

It is no surprise that Henry was quick to enlist just days after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter. Military service was part of his heritage. His grandfather, "Bedford County" Michael, was a well-known Pennsylvania militiaman during the American Revolution and his father, Henry George Wallick, served in the War of 1812. In the mid-1820s, just after marrying his wife Sarah and overseeing the settlement of his deceased father's estate, Henry George sojourned west with others from the Wallick clan to Tuscarawas County, Ohio. He had a brief stay there but soon relocated to neighboring Holmes County, first settling in Millersburg and then purchasing a farm ten miles south near the hamlet of Killbuck. There he and his wife raised eight children — five girls and three boys. Two of the three boys, Henry and David H. Wallick, served in the Union Army. A total of five Wallick sons from Holmes County served during the war: the two aforementioned plus Charles P., William D., and Elijah.

Henry and the 67th Ohio Infantry were active in the eastern theater of the war. They fought and beat General Stonewall Jackson in the first battle of his infamous Shenandoah Valley Campaign. In this engagement — the Battle of 1st Kernstown — the 67th Ohio was active from the opening guns to the Confederate retreat. This engagement was General Jackson's only defeat of his entire Valley campaign. Henry then spent most of 1863 on islands off the South Carolina coast near the city of Charleston, where his regiment took part in the futile assault on Fort Wagner.

In the midst of attacking Rebel positions on Morris Island, Henry's strength was being depleted by debilitating attacks of diarrhea. The lack of sanitation, bad food, and a hot tropical climate ideal for breeding diseases made many soldiers unfit for duty. The continuous assaults on Henry's constitution led his regimental surgeon to request a 30-day medical leave. A 20-day leave was granted and Henry went home but still did not improve. He remained so ill that his return to the regiment had to be delayed over two months — during which time he was considered AWOL by brigade headquarters.

In January 1864, upon Henry's return to his regiment, he began the process of trying to clear himself of the AWOL charge. He and his regiment also reenlisted, giving each man a 30-day furlough as a reward. Henry went home healthy enough this time to marry his sweetheart, Ellen Wells, one week before his return to the war. He was killed in action at the Battle of Chester Station, Virginia, on May 10, 1864 — just two months after his wedding, having spent only one week living together with Ellen as husband and wife. His body was never recovered. His grave has never been found.

The Battle of Chester Station

Epilogue — A Grave Never Found

There is no gravestone or cemetery plot for Henry, for there is no record of what happened to his body after the engagement. Sometimes officers who died during the war were shipped home by the government for burial. However, there is no record of Henry being buried in Killbuck or any of its surrounding communities.

A search in the Official Roster of Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, Volume V — Roll of Honor reveals nothing; he is not included. This Roll of Honor identifies all the men from the 67th Ohio who died during the war and where they are buried. Henry and another soldier, for some unknown reason, were omitted. A comparison of this document with the official casualty report written by his commanding officer states that Henry, together with 20 other soldiers, were either killed outright or died of wounds at the Battle of Chester Station. Nineteen of them, including another officer, were then buried in Hampton National Cemetery, Virginia.

There appear to be only two possibilities of what became of Henry's body after his death: either he was buried in Hampton National Cemetery as an Unknown — his body being so disfigured from his wounds that he was unrecognizable — or his body was never recovered and remained on the battlefield at Chester Station. There were fires on the battlefield at the close of the Chester Station engagement, rendering recovery of the killed and wounded extremely difficult. It is most likely that his body was never recovered from the battlefield.

There are 638 unknowns buried in the Hampton National Cemetery. The records list only one Unknown Soldier who was interred shortly after the Battle of Chester Station — #4085, buried on May 12, 1864. Could he possibly be Henry? We may never know the true story behind the final disposition of Henry's body.

Comrades-in-Arms