Captain William Wallick

Biography

William Wallick was a carpenter in the spring of 1861 when Confederate artillery opened fire on Fort Sumter. That fall, William decided to put his trade aside for three years and enlist as a second lieutenant in Company G of the 51st Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He, like many others in the north at that time, answered President Lincoln's call for 300,000 more volunteers to put down the southern rebellion. In October the twenty-nine year old William left his wife, Mary (called Molly), and newborn child, Flora, to serve his country.

Early in the war his regiment was either directly involved or put in a supporting role in some of the greatest battles in the west — Shiloh, Perryville, and Stones River. But it was while he was posted in northern Alabama in the spring of 1863 that he became entangled in one of the most remarkable adventures of the entire Civil War.

Lieutenant Wallick was part of Colonel Abel Streight's ill-fated raid to Rome, Georgia. One of the problems with this expedition was its reliance on mules for transportation. Because of the hilly terrain in northern Alabama, it was thought that mules would serve the brigade better than horses on steep slopes. However, the braying of the 700 animals as they meandered through the hill-country made the Confederates fully aware of every movement the brigade made. On May 3, 1863, Colonel Streight, along with most of his 1,700-man brigade, fell victim to the wiles of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and were forced to surrender a few miles east of Cedar Bluffs, Alabama. The men were taken to Atlanta and from there sent to two Richmond, Virginia prison camps — Belle Island for the enlisted men and Libby Prison for William and his fellow officers.

William was the second member of the Wallick clan to be sent to Libby Prison during the war — distant cousin "Daviess County" Michael had been sent there a year earlier — and he kept a diary of his nine-month ordeal, which survives today. Conditions at Libby were harsh for all the incarcerated officers and they were constantly trying new means of escaping. William was a tunneler in a plan to burrow out of the prison basement and vanish into the streets of Richmond. On February 9, 1864, William, with one hundred and eight comrades, succeeded in tunneling out of Libby — the largest mass prison escape of the Civil War. He spent five days and nights in the swamps of Virginia evading Confederate patrols, and he and fifty other officers eventually made their way back to their own regiments. William was the first escapee to arrive at Fortress Monroe and at first was not believed that the men had escaped from Libby Prison. But soon the commanding officer accepted William's account and sent out armed patrols to help direct the other escapees to safety. William was asked to report to Washington DC where he met with his congressman, Schuyler Colfax, who was also Speaker of the House, and with great applause he addressed the entire House of Representatives about the escape.

After a long recuperation and furlough back in his hometown of Peru, Indiana, William returned to his regiment in Tennessee. He was promoted to captain during his incarceration at Libby and served out the rest of his enlistment with the 51st Regiment. William was discharged December 17, 1864, the day after the Battle of Nashville. After the war, William presented numerous lectures about his escape and survival from hunger, cold, and the dangerous tidewater swamps of northern Virginia.

William returned to Peru, Indiana for a short time after the war, then moved his family to St. Johns, Michigan. He spent three years in St. Johns before going back home to Peru, where he continued his carpentry trade. For the rest of his life William suffered with chronic health problems due to his wartime battlefield and prisoner experiences. He died on August 31, 1892 at age 62, and is buried next to his daughter, Flora, who died of consumption as a fifteen-year-old girl in 1876. They are both buried in Reyburn Cemetery, Peru, Indiana.

April 6, 1862 · Shiloh, Tennessee

Battle of Shiloh

51st Indiana Infantry monument at Shiloh

Back of the monument

The 51st Indiana Infantry's monument is located in a prestigious place within the Shiloh military park, even though their main responsibility was guarding the wagon trains. They were under the command of future President James A. Garfield. The back of the monument reads: "This regiment was detailed by Brigadier General James A. Garfield at Savannah, Tennessee, to guard and bring up the brigade train and also the division supply train and was not engaged at Shiloh." A most handsome monument for guard duty.

December 31, 1862 · Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Battle of Stones River

The field south of Asbury Road — all three Wallick soldiers retreated here

The 51st was at the far left of the Union line and ordered to cross Stones River when suddenly they were attacked by the enemy. The command to cross the river was rescinded and the regiment was then ordered to defend their new position. They fought continuously throughout the afternoon but eventually were forced to retreat to where distant cousins Isaiah and Levi Wallick's regiments had positioned themselves.

All three Wallick soldiers who fought at Stones River retreated to this position at the end of the first day of battle. The field is located south of present-day Asbury Road.

May 3, 1863 · Cedar Bluffs, Alabama

Streight's Surrender — William Becomes a POW

General Forrest paraded his men on this ridge to deceive Colonel Streight

General Forrest paraded his troops in a partially concealed circle over a nearby ridge, making his vastly outnumbered force appear much larger. Although the Federals actually outnumbered the Confederates, Colonel Streight was deceived and surrendered his entire command of 1,466 men.

William's diary: "We are fired into 20 miles from Rome, Georgia. We surrender and go to Rome. We are treated hard."

Surrender site of William Wallick and the 51st Indiana

Monument erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy

William was captured here, along with 1,466 other soldiers, on May 3, 1863.

Richmond, Virginia · 1863–1864

Libby Prison

Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia

The Confederate government converted the Libby & Son Ship Chandlers & Grocers Warehouse near downtown Richmond into a prison for captured Union officers. Conditions at Libby Prison were harsh even by Civil War standards. The 150 × 100 foot three-story prison held 1,200 men in eight crowded, vermin-infested, and drafty rooms.

Union Colonel Thomas E. Rose, of the 77th Pennsylvania, was placed in Libby Prison after being captured at the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863. Rather than endure the conditions in the prison, Rose planned to escape by tunneling from the cellar of the prison across a 50-foot wide vacant lot and up into a shed on the other side of a board fence. With makeshift tools — a chisel and old iron hinges picked up in the cellar — Rose and a few fellow prisoners, including William Wallick, toiled for weeks and carved a narrow tunnel under the empty lot.

On the evening of February 9, 1864, Colonel Rose, along with Colonel Streight and some of his men, crawled through the tunnel and disappeared into the streets of Richmond. At morning roll call it was discovered that 109 prisoners were missing, making it the largest mass prison escape of the war. Fifty-nine of them, including William, made it back to Union camps; two drowned while crossing streams; and the other 48, including Colonel Rose, were recaptured.

January 1–8, 1864

A Page from William Wallick's Prison Diary

Original diary page, January 1–8, 1864

By New Year's Day 1864 there is a dramatic change in William's daily journal. The daily, whiny mantra — "Still in Hell and no prospect of getting out soon…" — ceases. William, one of the tunnelers, didn't have time to write or whine while he was preoccupied with escaping. During this time, his diary reads more positively and he is much less despondent. His January 8th entry refers to General John Hunt Morgan, leader of the infamous Confederate raid into Indiana and Ohio.

February 14, 1864 · Hampton Roads, Virginia

Fortress Monroe — Freedom

Fortress Monroe — William's escape destination

Fortress Monroe is a massive seven-pointed fort with a moat surrounding it at the mouth of the James River. This is where William Wallick made his report to General Benjamin Butler after his escape. The fort was a crucial installation for the Union Army during the war, and the officer in charge of building this impressive work was none other than Robert E. Lee. Fortress Monroe was an active military post until the fall of 2011.

William's diary, Feb 14: "We get to Fort Monroe. We meet with much hospitality. We go to General Butler's quarters. We take the boat to Baltimore."

Portrait · 1865

Captain William Wallick, 1865

Capt. William Wallick, 1865

William was promoted to Captain while a prisoner of war on June 30, 1863. After his escape from Libby Prison and a long recuperation, he returned to his regiment in Tennessee in May 1864 and served out the remainder of his enlistment. Although it was not required due to his upcoming discharge, William volunteered to take part with the regiment in the Battle of Nashville.

He was discharged on December 17, 1864 — the day after the Battle of Nashville. For the rest of his life William suffered with chronic health problems due to his wartime experiences. He died on August 31, 1892 at age 62.

After the War

Post-War Life & the Congressional Record

55th Congress, 2d Session · House Report No. 234 · January 24, 1898

Page 1 — Committee on Invalid Pensions report, Jan. 24, 1898

Page 2 — Captain Ballou's testimony on William Wallick's service

Page 3 — Ballou's account of the Libby Prison escape and Nashville

Page 4 — Act of Congress increasing Mary Wallick's pension, approved April 11, 1898

Reyburn Cemetery · Peru, Indiana

Final Resting Place

William Wallick died on August 31, 1892 at age 62 and is buried next to his daughter, Flora, who died of consumption as a fifteen-year-old girl in 1876. They are both buried in Reyburn Cemetery, Peru, Indiana.

William is buried with his wife and daughter in Reyburn Cemetery, Peru, IN

Enhanced inscription

August 1892

Obituary

Obituary for Captain William Wallick