Elijah Porter, Private, 39th Kentucky Mounted Infantry, Company C, Civil War. Enlisted 14 Sept 1862 at Peach Orchard, KY. Discharged 15 Sept. 1865 at Louisville, KY. Disablity incurred: Frosted feet. (Sources: Union Veterans and Widows Special Census, 1890, and Adjutant General's Report)

Elijah was reported absent without leave at the July-August 1864 Company Muster Call. He returned in time for the September-October Muster Call and was reported as "in arrest" at the end of 1864. In early 1865, he was fined one month's pay by a Field Court and sentenced to building fortifications. Apparently deserted after the "Battle" of Louisa incident in Aug. 1864.

Left Pike County after the war. May have gone to Todd Co, MN, with fellow veterans (still investigating this possibility). Reappeared in Scioto County, Ohio, around 1877. Died 29 Jan. 1916 after spending four years in Athens (Ohio) Mental Hospital. Cause of death listed as chronic gastritis and senility. Buried in Wheelersburg Cemetery, Wheelersburg, Scioto County, Ohio.

Submitted by Kevin Pinson, Zanesville, Ohio

Additional Information:

Attached is an updated biography for Private Elijah Porter, Co. C. I just received his pension file and was able to fill in a few blanks.

Elijah Porter, Private, 39th Kentucky Mounted Infantry, Company C, Civil War. Enlisted 14 Sept., 1862, at Peach Orchard, KY. Discharged 15 Sept., 1865, at Louisville, KY. Disabilities incurred: Frosted feet, rheumatism. (Sources: Union Veterans and Widows Special Census, 1890, Kentucky Adjutant General's Report - Union, Vol. 2, pension application)

Elijah was reported absent without leave at the July-August 1864 company muster roll. He returned in time for the September-October muster roll and was reported as "in arrest" at the end of 1864. In early 1865, he was fined one month's pay by a Field Court and sentenced to building fortifications. Apparently, he deserted after the "Battle of Louisa" incident in Aug. 1864.

Elijah suffered his disabilities in Dec. 1864 while on the second Saltville raid into Virginia. Like many other soldiers, he suffered frostbitten feet during the march. Rheumatism set in to both legs.

Elijah married Pricey Jane Anderson in 1864 in Catlettsburg, Ky. They lived in Ceredo, W.Va., until about 1877, when they moved to Scioto County, Ohio. His first wife died in 1899 of typhoid fever and he remarried in 1902 to Elizabeth Simmons. Around 1912, he was hospitalized for mental illness, first at the State Mental Hospital in Gallipolis, Ohio, and later in Athens (Ohio) Mental Hospital, where he died 29 Jan. 1916. Cause of death listed as chronic gastritis and senility. Buried in Wheelersburg Cemetery, Wheelersburg, Scioto County, Ohio.

Kevin Pinson, Zanesville, Ohio