Private WILLIAM FRANKLIN MARTIN, Co. A, 86th Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry

William Franklin Martin was born July 19, 1844 in Morgan County, Indiana, the son of Lewis R Martin (1805 - 1873) and Phebe (Skelton) Martin (1809 - 1891). Lewis Martin was born sometime between August 25th and 28th of 1805 in Shelby County, Kentucky, the son of Joseph Martin and Rachel (Schauss) Martin, while Phebe was born on February 27, 1809 in Tennessee, the daughter of John Skelton and Elizabeth (McCarty) Skelton. Lewis Martin and Phebe Skelton were married on December 23, 1828 in Washington County, Indiana and ten children were born to them.
About 1848/49, the Martin's came west to Illinois. William is found with the family in Tazewell County, Illinois in the 1850 census and in Woodford County, Illinois in the 1860 census.
On August 7, 1862, William Franklin Martin went into Eureka, where he volunteered to serve in a company which was being raised in the Eureka and El Paso area of Woodford County for service in the Union army during the Civil War by William S. Magarity, who had been the first man elected to serve as Woodford County Sheriff in the 1840's. The previous day, August 6, 1862, William's older brother, Joel Thompson Martin, had volunteered to serve in the Eureka/El Paso company.

ILLINOIS STATE ARCHIVES
Illinois Civil War Detail Report

Name MARTIN, WILLIAM F Rank PVT
Company A Unit 86 IL US INF

Personal Characteristics
Residence OLIO, WOODFORD CO, IL
Age 18 Height 5' 9 Hair DARK
Eyes BLACK Complexion DARK
Marital Status SINGLE Occupation FARMER
Nativity MARTINSBURG, WASHINGTON CO, IN

Service Record
Joined When AUG 7, 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
Muster Out
Muster Out Where
Muster Out By Whom
Remarks DIED IN HOSPITAL AT JEFFERSONVILLE IND JUL 16, 1864

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 men of the Woodford County company, including now Privates Joel T. Martin and William F. Martin, were mustered into service as Co. A of the 86th Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Magarity was elected Captain of Co. A.
On September 7, 1862, the men of the 86th Illinois Volunteer Infantry marched out of the gates of Camp Lyon 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. Together at the depot, the men of the 85th & 86th Illinois boarded trains bound for Camp Joe Holt, in Jeffersonville, Indiana, which was located on the Ohio River across from Louisville, Kentucky.
About the 1st of October of 1862, the men of the 85th & 86th were assigned to the 36th Brigade, which was being commanded by General Daniel McCook, then Colonel of the 52nd Ohio, also part of the 36th Brigade, and they were sent into Kentucky in pursuit of Confederate troops in Kentucky.
On Oct. 8, 1862, McCook's Brigade caught up with those Confederate troops and were briefly engaged withe them in the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, the 86th suffering their first casualties. There would be many more in the coming years. After the Battle of Perryville, the Confederates withdrew from the State of Kentucky and the men of McCook's Brigade marched on to Nashville, Tennessee, where they would spend the winter of 1862/63.
During the next 2 years, Joel T. Martin and William Franklin Martin would serve faithfully in Co. A. During this time, Joel and William were witness to and participants in some of the bloodiest fighting of the Western Theatre of the war, including the Battles of Chickamauga, Georgia; Resaca, Georgia and Rome, Georgia. 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 being killed or wounded. 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 wounded was Private William F. Martin, who was severely wounded in the right side. The doctors in the field hospital did all they could for the wounded, but, Private William F. Martin was soon on his way north to a General Hospital. He eventually arrived at Jeffersonville, Indiana in Clark County, where he would die from his wounds on July 16, 1864, just three days before what would have been his 20th birthday.
The mortal remains of Private William F. Martin were probably initially buried there in Jeffersonville, Indiana, but, his mortal remains are believed to have been retrieved by the family and laid in the Martin Cemetery near Pattonsburg, Marshall County, Illinois. See his Find A Grave Memorial# 27442448.
For his brother, Private Joel T. Martin, the war went on. See his Find A Grave Memorial for more information about his service and his family.

William died at the age of 19 years, 11 months, & 27 days.

by Baxter B. Fite III

(Baxter would enjoy hearing from anyone, especially descendants of the Martin family, who might be able to add to the biographical material that we have on William F. Martin and the Martin family. Baxter also believes that there is a good possibility that William F. Martin and his brother, Joel T. Martin, may have sat for a portrait during their days in the Nashville area. Copies were most likely traded with messmates of theirs as well. If anyone reading this has a copy of a picture of either of the Martin brothers, Baxter would enjoy seeing a copy placed on their Find A Grave Memorials for all to see and enjoy as well as for the benefit of the Woodford County Historical Society.)