SIMPSON, Joseph
Capt. JOSEPH SIMPSON
Source: Crawfordsville Star newspaper, June 10, 1886 -- thanks Jerry T.
Said an old soldier, as the veterans came back from Oak Hill on Monday evening, "I can never forget the 19th of September 1864, when the fight at Winchester was the hottest. Most of the 11th Regiment had either been shot down or were in forced retreat when Joe SImpson found his company encircled by the Rebels, his regiment cut-off from his support and Libby Prison staring him in sight. It was a sure thing, we were goners. Lt. A. Ristine and Capt. Simpson were hustled off by the Johnnie and I broke for home. I got into a cross fire and my clothes were shot full of holes, but I didn't get a scratch till an hour afterwards. I preferred to be shot to going to Libby. Al Hendricks, another of the boys escaped capture by falling down in the weeds and feigning death. There were lots of brave and kind-hearted boys, but none more so than Joe Simpson." The veteran in blue never followed a better soldier or more noble comrade to the grave than the one to whom they paid the last tribute of respect on Monday afternoon when they reversed arms over poor Joe Simpson and escorted his remains to the last resting place in Oak Hill, where the GAR Post repeated their burial services over his grave and fired a farewell musketry salute over his narrow home. Joe Simpson died in this city at 1 o'clock on last Sunday morning. He was born on Jan 15, 1840 and was unmarried. He enlisted in the 10th Indiana Regiment under Gen. Mason in April 1861 for 3 months. He re-enlisted and entered the 11th Regiment, veteranizing in March 1864. At the battle of WInchester he was captured on Sept 19, 1864, and was for 7 months a prisoner at Libby, Belle Isle and Danville. He was exchanged and again gallantly reenlisted, serving throughout the war and when mustered out with his decimate company at Indianapolis on August 9, 1865, he was a captain. He participated in a number of the fiercest engagements of the war and was one of the most courageous men in the field and the noble soldiery of Indiana never had a more heroic comrade than Joe Simpson. At the close of the war he took up his position in the dry goods store of Graham Brothers. When that firm failed he retired from active work, feeling worn out with the exposure of camp and prison life. His death was caused by liver disease. His funeral occured from the residence of his brother, Mart Simpson on West Side of Monday afternoon at 4 o'clock. He leaves 5 brothers to mourn his loss, beside a large number of dearly prized friends. The brother are: Mart, Philo, Stanley, William and McKee, a resident of Lake City, Minn. -- kbz