Private JAMES C. ARMSTRONG, Co. A, 86th Illinois

James C. Armstrong was born about 1838 in Dresden, Muskingum County, Ohio the son of John Armstrong and Mary E. (Coy) Armstrong. John Armstrong is believed to have been born about 1816 in Ohio, while Mary is believed to have been born about 1819 in New York. John Amstrong and Mary E. Coy were married on December 1, 1836 in Muskingum, Ohio.
All of their children through, at least, William C. (or G) Armstrong are believed to have been born in or near the village of Dresden, which is found in Jefferson and Cass townships in Muskingum County, Ohio. Sometime between 1843/44 and the 1850 census, the Armstrong family moved to Coshocton County, Ohio. This is the Armstrong family as it appears in the 1850 census of Franklin Township, Coshocton County, Ohio;
John Armstrong M 34 Ohio
Mary E Armstrong F 31 New York
James G Armstrong M 13 Ohio
George E Armstrong M 11 Ohio
Rachel Armstrong F 9 Ohio
William C Armstrong M 7 Ohio
Harriet Armstrong F 5 Ohio
Elisabeth Armstrong F 3 Ohio
John F Armstrong M 2 Ohio
Henry Armstrong M 1 Ohio

(Note: George E. Armstrong and Barbara J. Rodebush were married on on May 3, 1860 in Coshocton County. Barbara was very likely pregnant at the time they got married as they are believed to have had a daughter named Rachel Armstrong by the time the 1860 census was taken.)

At the time of the 1860 census, this is the way the family appears in Franklin Township;
John Armstrong 44 Ohio
Mary Armstrong 41 Ohio
James G Armstrong 22 Ohio
William C. Armstrong 18 Ohio
Henry Armstrong 11 Ohio
Mariah Armstrong 8 Ohio
Eliza Armstrong 6 Ohio
Jane Armstrong 5 Ohio
Reuben Armstrong 2 Ohio
George Armstrong 21 Ohio
Barbary Armstrong 20 Ohio
Rachel Armstrong 0 Ohio

It is believed that the Armstrong family moved to Illinois in 1860 or 1861, where they are believed to have settled in Woodford County. By 1862, George and at least two of his brothers are definately residents in Olio Township of Woodford County. In 1862, the three Armstrong brothers volunteered to serve in what was to become Co. A of the 86th Illinois. None of the brothers would survive the war.
If the Armstong family did come as a unit to Woodford County, they did not remain long as at the time of the 1870 census, the Armstrong family is found in Clay Township, Sullivan County, Missouri.
John Armstrong M 54y Ohio
Mary Armstrong F 52y Pennsylvania
Henry Armstrong M 20y Ohio
Mariah Armstrong F 17y Ohio
Eliza Armstrong F 16y Ohio
Jane Armstrong F 15y Ohio
Emily Armstrong F 13y Ohio
Reuben Armstrong M 12y

Carol Dorward, told me that "at some time, they apparently moved to Iowa as I think I found John and Mary in Iowa in 1880. I did find two family records and they have both John and Mary deceased about 1885 in Iowa."

Now to continue with the biography of James C. Armstrong;
On __________ __, 1862, __________ volunteered for service in a company which was being raised in Eureka and El Paso, Illinois in Woodford County by William S. Magarity, who had been the first man elected to serve as Woodford County Sheriff in the 1840's. He stated he was ___ years of age when he enlisted and his place of residence as __________ __________, Illinois.

ILLINOIS STATE ARCHIVES
Illinois Civil War Detail Report

Name ARMSTRONG, JAMES C Rank PVT
Company A Unit 86 IL US INF

Personal Characteristics
Residence OLIO, WOODFORD CO, IL
Age 24 Height 5' 10 1/2
Hair DARK Eyes GRAY
Complexion LIGHT Marital Status SINGLE
Occupation FARMER
Nativity DRESDEN, MUSKINGUM CO, OH

Service Record
Joined When AUG 8, 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 NASHVILLE TENN NOV 18, 1862

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 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 85th & 86th Regiments of Illinois Volunteer Infantry marched out of Camp Lyon through the streets of Peoria to the railroad station where they 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 Briagde marched on to Nashville, Tennessee, where they would spend the winter of 1862/63.
During the next 2 and a half years, _____________ would serve faithfully in Co. A. During this time, ____________
was witness to and a participant in some of the bloodiest fighting of the Western Theatre of the war, including the Battles of Chickamauga, Georgia; Resaca, Georgia; Rome, Georgia; Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, Jonesboro, Georgia; Averysboro, North Carolina and Bentonville, North Carolina and also Marched with Sherman to the Sea.
______________ was still with the surviving member of Co. A when the were mustered out of the service on June 6, 1865 in Washington, D.C. Shortly after that, they were on a train bound for Chicago. There they received their discharge and were headed home to Woodford County.

By Baxter B. Fite III, who can be contacted at [email protected], and Carol Dorward, of Washington, Illinois