Published: November 06, 2009 05:10 pm      

Last surviving Civil War veteran

The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War will dedicate a bronze plaque to honor William A. Ziegler, Cass County’s last surviving Union soldier, and all other Union soldiers who lived in Cass County.

The dedication will take place Saturday, Nov. 14, at Mount Hope Cemetery. The public is encouraged to witness the dedication.

William grew up in Putnam, Ohio. At age 16, he enlisted in the Ohio Volunteer Infantry No. 9, Company E. He added two years to his age to be able to enlist. His first enlistment lasted until Dec. 21, 1863. He reenlisted and was finally mustered out on Oct. 24, 1865, as a corporal in San Antonio, Texas.

William returned to Putnam after his mustering out and then went to Zanesville, Ohio, and where he went to work as a machinist at the H. and F. Blander Machine Co. After working as a machinist for eight years and getting married, he brought his wife to Logansport and began working for the Pennsylvania Railroad in the shops.

In Logansport, the Ziegler family purchased land on East Market Street that was in a cornfield that had been owned by Mrs. Tipton. William worked in the Pennsylvania Railroad shops for 23 years. He decided that he would try farming and moved to a farm near Metea. The farming experiment just didn’t work out and after four years William moved his family back to the home on East Market Street.

William was able to get a job working for the city of Logansport. Most of the time working for the city was as superintendent of the Logansport Water Works. After a few years, he went to work at the Western Motor Company.

We next find William working in Caney, Kan., for the Wichita Gas Line. He retired from there in 1914 and returned to his home at 2003 E. Market St. in Logansport.

After retirement, William spent the rest of his life working in the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic). He spearheaded the organizing of the GAR and then acted as commander for many years. He attended many of the state meetings and the national meeting as a representative from Cass County. William also belonged to the Masons and the International Organization of Odd Fellows.

William Ziegler died March 12, 1942, and is buried at Mount Hope Cemetery.

• Richard B. Copeland is a Cass County historian and may be reached at ptnews@pharostribune.com. The material for this article came from the scrapbooks of Chalmer Condon, who kept a yearly record of the GAR, and the Cass County Historical Society archives.