(NOTE; William B. Armstrong probably never sat for a portrait prior to the Civil War and Private William B. Armstrong, during his short time in Nashville, Tennessee with the 86th, probably never felt well enough to sit for a portrait. However, during those eight days, before he was sent to the hospital, if he was concerned about his health and thought about sitting for a portrait to send home to the friends and loved ones, that he had left behind then he would have had one of several types of photographs made. A "daguerreotype" or "tin type" were two styles of pictures, but the newest and most popular style of photograph being made for the Union soldiers in Nashville, Tennesssee was called the "CDV", which was a paper picture glued to a heavy card stock about the size of a modern day baseball card. If Private William Armstrong ever did sit for such a photograph, I would dearly like to see a copy of his picture added to his Find A Grave Memorial. Can anyone help me? Thanks, Sincerely, Baxter)

Private WILLIAM B. ARMSTRONG, Co. E, 86th Illinois

William B. Armstrong was born on __________ __, 18__ (c. 1814) at ___________, Ohio in Perry County, the son of __________ Armstrong and __________ (__________) Armstrong.
William is believed to have come west, where he settled in or near Peoria County, Illinois, sometime before 1840.
William was married to Elizabeth Welch on __________ __, 184__ probably in the early 1840's in Illinois. Elizabeth was born on July 6, 1820 at __________, Kentucky, the daughter of Daniel Welch ad Matilda (Hammett) Welch. Daniel Welch was born about 1793, while Matilda was born on April 29, 1798. Daniel died on July 8, 1840, while Matilda died on May 30, 1851. Their earthly remains were laid to rest in the Hammett Cemetery in Peoria County.
Eight children are known to have been born to William and Elizabeth. They are;
1. George Armstrong, born Nov. 20, 1843 in Illinois; George was married to Nettie ___________ c. 1878 in __________, Kansas; They are known to have had one child;
A. Ora G. Armstrong, born c. 1879/80. Ora was 1st married to Charles J. Hamilton in the 1890's. One daughter is known to have been born to Ora and Charles;
a. Edna Hamilton born c. 1899/1900 in Oregon.

At the time of the 1930 census, Ora and Charles are found in the city of Pendleton, Umatilla County, Oregon, where he is a railroad switchman;
Charles J. Hamilton Head 65 Oh Oh Oh
Ora G. Hamilton Wife 50 Ks Ill Ks

Charles J. Hamilton died on July 14, 1934 in Umatilla Oregon and his mortal remains were laid in the _________________ Cemetery in ____________, ___________ County, ___________. At the time of the 1940 census, Ora is found, widowed, and residing in Umatilla County, Oregon. Ora died on ___________ __, 19__ and her mortal remains were laid in the ______________ Cemetery in ___________ , ___________ County, ____________.

At the time of the 1910 census, seen below, Ora and her family are found residing with her mother in Ward 4 of the city of Pendleton, Umatilla County, Oregon.

George Armstrong died in Umatilla County, Oregon on February 18, 1905 and his mortal remains were laid in the Olney Cemetery.
At the time of the 1910 census. Nettie and her family are found residing in Ward 4 of the city of Pendleton, Oregon in Umatilla Co., Oregon, next door to her mother-in-law, Elizabeth, who is then 90, and her brother-in-law, Louis D. Armstrong.

2. Sarah Armstrong, born c. 1844 in Illinois; she may be the Sarah Jane Armstrong who was married to Eekanah Pugh in Peoria County, Illinois on September 4, 1860; Interestingly, there is a Sarah J. Pugh living in North Salem, Marion County, Oregon, that is married to a Siles G. Pugh. This Sarah was born in Illinois c. 1842; Sarah is known to have died before 1900.

3. Ellen Armstrong, born c. 1847 in Illinois; known to have died before the 1900 census.

4. John Harvey Armstrong, born c. 1849 in Illinois; John died in Umatilla County, Oregon on July 13, 1923; buried in the Olney Cemetery.

5. William Armstrong, born c. 1852/53 in Illinois; William is very likely the William R. Armstrong who was born in 1853 and who died in October of 1880 and who is buried in the Thompson Cemetery, Blue Rapids, Marshall County, Kansas.

6. Lyman L. or S. Armstrong, born c. 1853 in Illinois; known to have died before 1880.

7. Lewis Douglas Armstrong, born July 6, 1854 in Illinois. Lewis is believed never to have been married. Lewis D. Armstrong died in Umatilla County, Oregon on September 19, 1910 and his mortal remains were laid in the Olney Cemetery in Pendleton, Umatilla County, Oregon. See his Find A Grave Memorial #50142273.

8. Daniel "Dan" Armstrong, born c. 1859 in Illinois; Daniel is not listed with the family in 1870, so he most likely died sometime between 1860 and 1870.

At the time of the 1850 census, William Armstrong and his family are found residing in Marshall County, Illinois;
William Armstrong 35 Farmer Ohio
Betsey Armstrong 30 Kentucky
George Armstrong 7 Illinois
Sarah Armstrong 5 Illinois
Ellen Armstrong 4 Illinois
John Armstrong 2 Illinois

At the time of the 1860 census, the Armstrong family is found residing in Steuben Township, Marshall County, Illinois. William is listed as a Carpenter.
William Armstong

On August 15, 1862, William B. Armstrong volunteered to serve in a company which was being raised in Marshall, Stark and Bureau Counties by a local well known farmer by the name of Orlando Fountain for service in the Union Army during the Civil War. At the time he enlisted, William gave his place of residence as Steuben Township, Marshall County, Illinois. His age is not listed in the Adjutant General's Reports, so he either asked that his age not be recorded or whoever was recording this information, did not feel he should or for some reason chose not to ask.

ILLINOIS CIVIL WAR DETAIL REPORT
Name ARMSTRONG, WILLIAM B
Rank PVT Company E Unit 86 IL US INF

Personal Characteristics
Residence STEUBEN, MARSHALL CO, IL Age N/A Height 6' 1/2 Hair DARK
Eyes HAZEL Complexion FAIR Marital Status MARRIED Occupation FARMER
Nativity PERRY CO, OH

Service Record
Joined When N/A Joined Where N/A
Joined By Whom N/A Period N/A
Muster In N/A Muster In Where N/A
Muster In By Whom N/A Muster Out N/A
Muster Out Where N/A Muster Out By Whom N/A
Remarks DIED DEC 3, 1862 AT NASHVILLE TENN

William was at least 47 at this time and may very well have been 48. There were only five men in the entire company who were 40 or older and Malchi Grove, who was elected to serve as Co. E's 1st Lieutenant, was next oldest at 42 years of age.
When Orlando Fountain had about 100 volunteers, he led the company on a march into Peoria, Illinois, where they went into camp at Camp Lyon, near present day Glen Oak Park.
On August 27, 1862, Fountain and 88 of his volunteers, including now Private William B. Armstrong, were mustered in as Co. E of the 86th Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Fountain was elected by the men of Co. E to be their Captain.
On September 7, 1862, the men of the 86th Illinois marched out of the gates of Camp Lyon, with much fanfare, through the streets of Peoria down to the railroad depot. There they were joined by the men of the 85th Illinois, who had been mustered into service at Camp Peoria. At the depot, the men of the 85th & 86th boarded trains bound for Camp Joe Holt in Jeffersonville, Indiana, across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. Three weeks later the men of the 85th & 86th Illinois were in the field in Kentucky as part of Colonel Daniel McCook's Brigade as part of the Union army commanded by General Buehl, who was in pursuit of Confederate troops. The 85th & 86th would remain together for the entire war.
On Oct. 8, 1862, the men of McCook's Brigade were briefly engaged with those Confederate troops in the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, suffering their first casualties. There would be many more in the next few years. After the Battle of Perryville, the Confederate troops withdrew from Kentucky and the men of McCook's Brigade marched on to Nashville, Tennessee, where they would go into winter camp.
Even before the men of McCook's Brigade had left Camp Joe Holt back in Indiana, the green troops were already having health issues from the change in diet and living conditions. Many were left behind sick in Army Hospitals in Louisville when McCook's Brigade went on the Kentucky Campaign. After the Battle of Perryville, the men of McCook's Brigade passed through and spent several days in Gallatin, Tennessee on their way to Nashville. Many more were left behind sick in Army Hospitals in Gallatin, when the men of McCook's Brigade moved on toward Nashville.
The men of McCook's Brigade marched into Nashville on November 7, 1862 and they set up their first camp in Edgefield, Tennessee on the outskirts of Nashville. Private William B. Armstrong, one of the oldest men in Co. B, was having great difficulty with his health issues as they came into Nashville. After they reached Nashville, his condition really did begin to get bad and on November 15, 1862, eight days after arriving in Nashville, Private William B. Armstrong was sent to Army Hospital No. 6 in Nashville. Hospital # 6 had been set up in the Meredith Building, located on College Street, now 3rd Ave, near Broad.
After being admitted, he only left briefly to take care of some personal business within his company. During the latter days of November of 1862, his condition really began to deteriorate and Private William B. Armstrong is believed to have died on November 30, 1862, though the Official Records of the state of Illinois list his date of death as December 3, 1862. Private William B. Armstrong died in an Army Hospital No. 6 in Nashville.
The surgeons who attended to Private William B. Armstrong kept a record of their patient, and treatments and after his death did an autopsy. The record they put together was published in "The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion, 1861 - 1865, Vol. 1, Part 2, Page 244";
"Case 790–Private William B. Armstrong, company E, 86th Illinois volunteers; age 47; was admitted November 15, 1862, with bronchitis and chronic diarrhoea. He had been sick some time before admission. His pulse was frequent and feeble; respiration hurried; tongue tremulous, red and moist. He had frequent passages accompanied with pain and tenesmus, and was much debilitated. His face was pale, features sharp, abdomen distended. He admitted having been
a hard drinker. There was dulness on percussion on the right side of the chest, and the right hypochondriac region was much distended. Under treatment he rallied somewhat, was able to be about, and asked permission to visit his regiment distant about two miles, for the purpose of attending to some important business. He returned November 20th, complaining of a sense
of constriction across the chest, became delirious, and died November 30th. Treatment: Alteratives, local revulsives, expectorants and tonics. Autopsy eight hours after death: Body
moderately emaciated. The upper lobe of the right lung was emphysematous, the lower lobe hepatized gray; the left lung was much engorged with blood. The bronchial tubes were inflamed. The pericardium contained a pint of serum. The mitral valve of the heart was insufficient, the left ventricle was empty, the left auricle filled with black coagulated blood; the right ventricle contained much coagulated blood, the right auricle a well-washed fibrinous clot. The liver was large, pale, and presented the nutmeg appearance; it weighed six pounds and a half. The mucous membrane of the stomach was inflamed In the lower third of the ileum there was an intussusception twenty inches long. The spleen was soft and larger than normal. The kidneys
were large. The colon presented no abnormal appearance.—Hospital No. 6"
The earthly remains of Private William B. Armstrong were initially laid to rest in a Union Army burying ground near the hospital, but shortly after the war, his earthly remains were exhumed and re-interred in the Nashville National Cemetery. Today his earthly remains lie buried Section A, Grave # 5118 in the Nashville National Cemetery.
After her husband's death and sometime before 1870, Elizabeth (Welch) Armstrong, moved the family to Waterville, Township, Marshall County, Kansas along with Benjamin Hammett, Josiah Hammett and their families. They are found there at the time of the 1870 census;
Elizabeth Armstrong 50 Keeping House KY
George C. Armstrong 26 Farmer ILL
Ellen Armstrong 23 ILL
John A. Armstrong 21 Ill
William Armstrong 19 Ill
Lyman L. Armstrong 16 ILL
Louis G. Armstrong 14 Ill

At the time of the 1880 census, Elizabeth and at least four of her sons are still found in Elm Creek, Marshall County, Kansas. Elizabeth is listed as being 60 years of age and two of her sons, William, age 27, and Lewis, age 23, reside with her. George resides nearby with his wife, Nettie, age 19, their daughter, Ora, age 7 months, and George's brother, John, age 30. All of the boys, except for George, are still single. Sometime before 1900, Elizabeth (Welch) Armstrong has moved on west with her three living sons, where they have settled in Pendleton, Umatilla County, Oregon.
At the time of the 1910 census, the Armstrong family is found residing at 501 Tilleth Street and at 513 Tilleth Street as follows;
501 Louis D. Armstrong 53 ILL Ohio Ky
501 Elizabeth Armstrong 90 8 2 Ky Unknown Virginia
513 Nettie M. Armstrong Head Widowed 48 Kansas
513 Ora G. Hamilton Dau. 30 Ky Ill Ky
513 Charles J. Hamilton Son-in-law 46 Ohio Scotland Unknown
513 Edna Hamilton Grandchild 10 Oregon Ohio Ky

Elizabeth (Welch) Armstrong died on July 4, 1911 in Umatilla County, Oregon. Her earthly remains were laid to rest in the Olney Cemetery, where two of her sons were already buried. One more would be buried there later.

by Baxter B. Fite III, Angela Stewart, and Find A Grave Contributor; Charles Corbin (#49406699)

(Baxter would enjoy hearing from anyone, especially descendants of the Armstrong family, who might be able to add to the biographical material that we have on William B. Armstrong and the Armstrong family. Baxter would also love to see any pictures that may still exist of William B. Armstrong, especially any showing him in uniform from his days in the service, added to his Find A Grave and for the local Historical Societies.)