During the Civil War, English born CHARLES VIMPENY, husband of Louise Purdy, enlisted from Tama County Iowa into the 14th Iowa Infantry Company G. Enlisting with Charles was his close friend, and his wife's Louise's first cousin, GEORGE YARHAM, son of James Yarham and Maria Maple.
The Vimpeny, Purdy and Yarham families had all been close friends, neighbors and relatives, coming to Tama County Iowa from the area around Cleveland Ohio.
A few months after they enlisted Charles Vimpeny and George Yarham went with their regiment on the Red River campaign through Louisiana. They participated in the taking of Fort deRussy and in the fierce fight at Pleasant Hill in april 1864. Despite a victory at Pleasant Hill, Charles and several members of his company were wounded and then captured by the enemy. They were marched off to a POW camp in Tyler Texas, Camp Ford, where they were held for more than a year in squalid conditions. Many men, including several of Charles' companions, did not survive.
The fate of the prisoners was unknown until a few months later in July 1864 when official word was recieved that they were being held as POWs, at that date their names were "returned" to the company roster.
Yarham was not captured with his friend but went with his company on a campaign through Mississippi particpating in several battles there. In November 1864 the three year veterans of the 14th Iowa Infantry completed their three year enlistment and were sent home. The remaining recruits and a few veterans were reorganized and consolidated into a few companies of the 14th Iowa Residuary Battalion. Yarham ( and Vimpeny, at least on paper) was placed in Company A. The Residuary Battalion was then stationed for duty at Camp Butler near Springfield Illinois, where they were present when word came of the shocking assassination of President Lincoln. Yarham and his regiment therefore were in place to participate in one of American history's darkest days, Lincoln's funeral and burial at Springfield. The 14th Iowa acted as escorts and guards at the capitol building where Lincoln's body lay in state, they marched with the body to the cemetery, and later stood guard after Lincoln's entombment.
With War's end Charles Vimpeny was released from his captivity and he settled in Joliet Illinois where he raised his family. In October 1912 while crossing a street to attend a political speech in Quincy Illinois, Charles was accidentally struck and killed by car. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Joliet. He was a brave man who had seen and survived fierce combat and the harshness of a POW camp.
George Yarham returned to his parents in Tama County Iowa. He never married, still experiencing disabilites he had suffered during the War, disabilities that lasted the rest of his life. In his final years he lived in Gravette Arkansas with his brother Robert. George died in 1930 and is buried in Gravette. He had witnessed and participated in a truly historic and uniquely sad event.
Relatives of the Vimpeny and Yarham families might be interested in a new book published by the small town museum of Traer Iowa. The book is a double volume containing a full diary and a complete collection of letters written by companions of Vimpany and Yarham during the War. Both these men are mentioned in the book which, except for footnotes, is all first hand accounts giving details of the soldiers lives in camp, in battle and in captivity. The book is 288 pages, hardbound 11x8, with maps, rare photographs, an index and a keepsake quality dustcover.
I am not a member of these families, or connected to the museum, but if members of the families were ever curious about the wartime experience of their ancestor, I thought they'd want to know about it. Anyone interested in learning about their experiences in the war in their own words would enjoy the book.
The book can be found at
www.traermuseum.comHere are their entries in the regimental roster:
Vimpeny, Charles. Age 27. Residence Toledo, Tama County, nativity England. Enlisted December 21, 1863. Mustered January 19, 1864. Missing in action and taken prisoner April 9, 1864, Pleasant Hill Louisiana. Returned from missing July 1, 1864. -- Consolidated into Company A, Residuary Battalion Fourteenth Infantry. Mustered out June 21, 1865, Clinton, Iowa. Buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Joliet Illinois.
Yarham, George. Age 19. Residence Toledo, Tama County, nativity Ohio. Enlisted December 30, 1863. Mustered January 19, 1864. -- Consolidated into Company A, Residuary Battalion Fourteenth Infantry. 1864. Mustered out August 8, 1865, Davenport Iowa. Buried in Gravette Cemetery, Gravette Arkansas.