Private WILLIAM MORGAN BANE (BAIN), Co. A, 86th Illinois

William Morgan Bane (Bain) was born c. October 9, 1840/41 in or near Moundsville, Marshall County, Virginia (now West Virginia), the son of Joseph Bane and Mary (Foster) Bane. Joseph Bane was born on 9 August 1818 in or near Ryerson Station, Greene County, Pennsylvania. Joseph's father moved the family from Pennsylvania to Marshall County, Virginia (now West Virginia) when he was 9 years of age, c. 1827/28. There, Joseph was married to Mary Foster in the late 1830's and where William Morgan Bane was born c. 1840.
The children born to Joseph Bane and Mary (Foster) Bane include;
1. Elizabeth Ann Bane, born c. January 21, 1839/40 in Virginia. Elizabeth is found with the family in the 1850 and 1860 census records. In the 1860's Elizabeth Ann Bane was married to Enoch P. Jones (1832–1913). Elizabeth died on 17 Sep 1910 in Woodford County, Illinois and her mortal remains were laid in the Minonk Township Cemetery in Minonk, Woodford County, Illinois. See her Find A Grave Memorial #18796405.

2. William Morgan Bane, born c. 1840 in Virginia. See his biography below.

3. John A. Bane, born c. 1841/42 in Virginia. John is found with the family in the 1850 and 1860 census records. John A. Bane was married to Narcissa Caldwell on December 24, 1868 in LaSalle County, Illinois.
At the time of the 1870 census, John and Narcissa are found in Groveland Township,LaSalle County, Illinois;
John Bane M 27 Virginia
Narcissa Bane F 24 Virginia
Saml Mcgow M 30 Ohio

At the time of the 1880 census, John and his family are found in Groveland, La Salle County, Illinois;
John A Bane Self M 36 West Virginia, United States
Narcissa J Bane Wife F 34 West Virginia, United States
Albert H Bane Son M 5 Illinois, United States

At the time of the 1910 census, Narcissa J. Bane is found widowed in Groveland Township of LaSalle County, Illinois.

The following record is found on familysearch;
Name Narcissa J. Bane
Event Date 21 Nov 1924
Event Place Streator, LaSalle, Illinois
Gender Female
Race white
Age 78
Birth Year (Estimated) 1846
Birth Date 02 Nov 1846
Birthplace Wheeling, W. Virginia
Father's Name Brownhill Caldwell
Father's Birthplace W. Virginia
Mother's Name Hattie Harvey
Mother's Birthplace W. Virginia
Occupation retired
Spouse's Name John Bane
Burial Date 23 Nov 1924
Burial Place Dana, Ill.

4. Eleanor Bane, born c. 1843/44 in Virginia

5. Hannah Bane, born c. 1846/47 in Virginia.

6. Joseph F. Bane, born c. 1850/51 in Ohio.

7. Mary M Bane, born c. 1851/52 in Ohio.

8. Mordecai Milton Bane, born c. February __, 1855 in Ohio. Mordecai, who apparently went by his middle name, Milton, was married to Florence Mae Clegg (1856–1931). They were the parents of;
A. Geneva May
B. Juliet Lita
C. Frank Milton
D. Samuel Leslie

Milton Mordecai Bane died on 19 Jul 1925 in Pontiac, Livingston County, Illinois and his mortal remains were laid in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Pontiac, Livingston County, Illinois. See his Find A Grave Memorial #40482852.

Now to continue with the biography of Joseph Bane and his family;
At the time of the 1840 census, Joseph Bane and his family are found in Marshall County, Virginia (now West Virginia, living next door to his father, Mordecai Bane. Joseph's family is made up as follows;
1 male 20 to 29 (Joseph)
1 male under 5 (William)
1 female 20 to 29 (Mary)
1 female 10 to 14 ( ? )
1 female under 5 (Elizabeth)

Sometime before 1850, Joseph eventually moved his growing family to Wetzel County, Virginia, where he was Merchant. At the time of the 1850 census, Joseph Bane and his family are found in Wetzel county, Virginia, where he a Merchant;
Joseph Bane M 32 Virginia
Mary Bane F 33 Virginia
Elizabeth Bane F 10 Virginia
William Bane M 9 Virginia
John Bane M 8 Virginia
Elenor Bane F 6 Virginia
Hannah Bane F 3 Virginia

About 1850, many members of the Bane family began a migration westward to Illinois. In the spring of 1855, Joseph and Mary finally headed west as well, moving their family west to Monroe County, Ohio where they lived for 3 years, before coming on west to Illinois in 1858. They spent their first summer at Washington, Tazewell County, Illinois before moving on to Woodford County, near Cruger, where he remained until the spring of 1865. At the time of the 1860 census, the Banes are found in Olio Township, Woodford County, Illinois;
Joseph Bane M 45 Penn
Mary Bane F 46 Va
Elizabeth Bane F 20 Va
Morgan Bane M 18 Va
John A Bane M 15 Va
Eleanor Bane F 13 Va
Hannah Bane F 11 Va
Joseph F Bane M 9 Ohio
Mary M Bane F 8 Ohio
Mordecai M Bane M 5 Ohio

About 1865, Joseph Bane purchased and moved on to the farm in Long Point Township in Livingston County, Illinois, East of Dana, Illinois, which is actually located across the county line in LaSalle County, Illinois. At the time of the 1870 census, Joseph and his family are found in Long Point Township, Livingston County, Illinois;
Joseph Baine M 52 Pennsylvania
Mary Baine F 53 Pennsylvania
Elizabeth Baine F 30 Virginia
Joseph Baine M 20 Virginia
Martha Baine F 17 Virginia
Wilson Baine M 15 Virginia
Ellen Knox F 10 Ohio
Arthur Baine M 4 Virginia

At the time of the 1880 census, Joseph Bane and his family are found in Long Point, Livingston County, Illinois, where they are farming;
Joseph Bane Self M 61 Pennsylvania
Mary Bane Wife F 62 Pennsylvania
Milton Bane Son M 24 Virginia
Arthur Bane Other M 14 Ohio
Matilda Smith Other F 21 Maryland

Joseph Bane died on 20 May 1885 in Livingston County, Illinois. Sometime after Joseph's death, Mary is believed to have gone to live with one of her children. Mary (Foster) Bane died on 1 Dec 1898 in or near Minonk, Woodford County, Illinois. The mortal remains of both Joseph and Mary were lain in the Dana Cemetery in Dana, LaSalle County, Illinois.

Now to continue with the biography of William M. Bane;
As seen above, the Bane family moved from Marshall County, Illinois to LaSalle County,Illinois sometime in the late 1850's. William was probably just about 14 years of age when this move was made. Then we see that sometime in the 1860's, again, possibly early in the 1860's, the family returned to Marshall County,Illinois, where they are found in the 1870 census.
William M. Bane at some point between 1860 and 1862 appears to have moved out on his own to Woodford County, Illinois. It is guessed that William was working as a farm hand on a local farm in Olio Township, perhaps even for Jo Major himself, a future officer and future Captain of what would become Co. A. If he wasn't working for Jo Major, William M. Bane almost certainly knew Jo Major, who was a wealthly farmer in Olio Township.
Shortly after recruiting began for what would become Co. A of the 86th Illinois, on August 3, 1862 William M. Bane was one of the first to volunteer for service in a company which was being raised in the Eureka/El Paso area of Woodford County by William S. Magarity, who was the first man elected Sheriff of Woodford County in the early 1840's. Jo Major offered his services to this company about the same time as well. At the time he volunteered, William M. Bane gave his age as 20, when in fact, he was probably just short of celebrating his 16th birthday in October of 1862. Many young volunteers lied about their age to get into the service and defend the Union as well as to fight for their home state, both north and south.

ILLINOIS CIVIL WAR DETAIL REPORT
Name BAIN, WILLIAM M
Rank CPL Company A Unit 86 IL US INF

Personal Characteristics
Residence OLIO, WOODFORD CO, IL Age 20 Height 5' 11 Hair SANDY
Eyes GRAY Complexion LIGHT Marital Status SINGLE Occupation FARMER
Nativity MOUNDSVILLE, MARSHALL CO, VA

Service Record
Joined When AUG 3, 1862 Joined Where OLIO, IL
Joined By Whom CPT MAGARITY Period 3 YRS
Muster In AUG 27, 1862 Muster In Where PEORIA, IL
Muster In By Whom N/A Muster Out N/A
Muster Out Where N/A Muster Out By Whom N/A
Remarks PRIVATE KILLED IN ACTION JUN 27, 1864 AT KENESAW MOUNTAIN GA

When Magarity had about 100 volunteers, he took his company across the Illinois River to Peoria, Illinois where they went into camp at Camp Lyon, near present day Glen Oak Park. On August 27, 1862, 96 members of Magarity's company were mustered into service as Co. A of the 86th Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Magarity was elected Captain. Jo Major was elected by the men of Co. A to serve as their 1st Lieutenant. William M. Bane was elected to serve in one of the Corporal positions.
For the next two years, Corporal William M. Bane served faithfully in Co. A of the 86th, celebrating what would probably have been his 16th birthday in Kentucky and his 17th birthday in Tennessee with the men and boys of Co. A. However, something occurred which necessitated Banes being demoted to Private. During this time, Bane was a witness to and a participant in some of the bloodiest fighting of the Western Theatre. He had most likely participated in the Battles of Perryville, Kentucky; Chickmauga, Georgia; Resaca, Georgia and Rome, Georgia, to name a few, and numerous skirmishes. Near the end of June of 1864, the Union Army under the command of William Tecumseh Sherman was nearing the important railroad hub of Atlanta, Georgia.
As the men of Co. A lay in the trenches on the morning of June 27, 1864 across from Cheatham Hill on Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, little did they that when the sun set on that day, Co. A would look drastically different. As the men made preparations for the assault on the Confederate fortifications on Cheatham Hill that morning, Co. A fielded 39 officers and men fit for duty. Thirty minutes after the assault began the men of McCook's Brigade fell back unable to breach the Confederate fortifications. During those 30 minutes, McCook's Brigade suffered over 30% casualties, over 500 men. The 86th Illinois suffered just over 100 casualties, but it was Co. A, the Eureka/El Paso, Illinois company which suffered the most. Co. A lost 11 men killed, 9 men wounded and 6 men were captured, some of whom were also severely wounded. Co. A had suffered 66% casualties. Three of those wounded or captured would die before the war was over. Among the killed was Pvt. William M. Bane.
When the Union forces fell back, they were forced to leave almost all of their dead between the lines. For two days the bodies of the dead lay in the sun and the heat. The stench from the bodies became so bad that a truce was finally called so that the Federal dead could be buried. Pvt. William M. Bane's body was among those buried initially right there on the battlefield. Several years later, Pvt. Bane's body and the rest of the Kennesaw dead were exhumed and reburied at Marietta National Cemetery in Marietta, Georgia. Today his earthly remains lie buried in Grave #9219 in Section I of the cemetery.

by Baxter B. Fite III

(Baxter would enjoy hearing from anyone, especially descendants of the Bane/Bain family, who might be able to add to the biographical material that we have on William M. Bane and the Bane family. Baxter believes that there is a good possibility that William sat for a portrait during his days in Nashville, Tennessee in 1861/62. Baxter would love to see copies of that picture, if a copy still exists today and can be located, added to his Find A Grave Memorial for all to see and enjoy.)