Harvey Annis was born 1825 in Madison County, New York, the son of Lewis and Hannah Annis. Harvey was a carpenter by trade, and was residing at Oshkosh, Wisconsin when he enlisted as a Private with Company "F", 18th Wisconsin Infantry. He participated in the Battle of Shiloh on April 9, 1862, his regiment having just arrived at Pittsburg landing the previous afternoon. According to Larry J. Daniel's book, "Shiloh - The Battle that Changed the Civil War", the 18th Wisconsin was one of the regiments that surrendered at the "Hornet's Nest, but evidently Harvey escaped the disaster. He later rose to the rank of Sergeant of Company "K", 18th Wisconsin, and was than selected and promoted to 2nd Lieutenant of Company "G", 51st United States Colored Troops Regiment in 1864. Having served six months with this unit in the Vicksburg area, on February 11, 1865 he resigned his commission due to poor health. Ann Vessey Annis, his wife, and Isabelle (Belle) their youngest child, had traveled to Vicksburg in order to nurse Harvey, and together they prepared to travel home to Oshkosh on the vastly overloaded steamer, "Sultana". The "Sultana was packed full of former prisoners of war from the infamous Confederate camps at Andersonville, Georgia and Cahaba, Alabama. A poorly repaired patch on one of the boilers gave way with a resultant explosion and fire that destroyed the ship and many of its passengers. Harvey, Anne, and Belle escaped the explosion and fire, and found themselves in the roiling, freezing Mississippi River. Harvey and Belle were drowned, although Ann survived to return home to the remains of her family. The "Sultana" disaster stills ranks as one of the worst maritime accidents in American history.