Published September 16, 2012
By Bridget Quinlivan
Moses M. Bane was born
No. 30, 1825, in Athens County, Ohio. When he was 12, his family moved to the
Miami Valley, just north of Dayton, Ohio.
Like so many of his peers, Bane was a
self-educated man. Eventually he would study medicine under Dr. R.L. Howard, a
professor of surgery at Starling Medical College in Columbus, Ohio. Bane
graduated with medical degree in hand in 1844.
Not long after graduation, Bane married Marina Howard in Ohio, and the
newlyweds moved to Illinois, settling in Payson. He started his own practice
and became the town doctor. In 1856, Bane was elected as a representative of
Adams County to the state legislature, thus introducing him to the world of
politics. He served four years before the Civil War broke out and changed his
life once again.
In 1861, Illinois Gov. Richard Yates commissioned Bane to take charge of a
Union military regiment. Bane organized the 50th Illinois Infantry and
commanded as its colonel. Bane led his regiment in the capturing of Forts Henry
and Donelson in the first few weeks of February 1862. From there, the 50th was
part of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s Union force, known as the Army of the
Tennessee, moved down the Tennessee River and disembarked at Pittsburg Landing,
Tenn. Union Major Gen. Henry Halleck wanted Grant to wait for reinforcements
from Gen. Don Carlos Buell’s divisions. Halleck’s plan was to use both armies
to take the Memphis and Charleston Railroad at Corinth, Miss., an important
supply line between the Mississippi Valley, Memphis, and Richmond. The
Confederates had other plans.
In the early morning hours of April 6, 1862, the Confederate Army,
led by Gens. Albert Sidney Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard, surprised the Union
forces with an attack. In a rare moment of carelessness, Grant’s army had not
built any entrenchments and had posted few patrols. Grant had not expected a
battle to begin while his troops drilled around a church called Shiloh. While
some Adams County men followed Gen. Prentiss into the Hornets’ Nest, from which
they held off the overwhelming Confederate force long enough to give Grant time
to organize, the bulk of the 50th Illinois remained on the extreme left flank
of the Union line.
Leading his regiment into the battle, Col. Bane became its first casualty. He
was shot in his right arm and off his saddle. The shot shattered his bone,
entered his side, fractured two of his ribs, and lodged in his body. Several
hours passed between his getting shot and when a doctor decided to
amputate his arm. The doctor who performed the amputation just happened to be
Bane’s brother, Dr. Garner Bane of Liberty. After the surgery, Bane had to lie
on his back for three months. It was not until October when he returned to
active duty and resumed command of his regiment.
The saddle from which Bane was shot got handed down to Col. William Hanna of
Camp Point, who also was shot out of the saddle. Henry Johnson, member of the
50th, took the saddle with him when he moved to Idaho. The saddle, breast
collar, saddle drape, and pistol holster eventually found their way to the
Northwest Museum of Art and Culture in Spokane, Wash. The museum gifted the
items to the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County, where they are now
part of their exhibit covering the Battle of Shiloh.
Later in 1862, Bane was reassigned at Corinth. He took part in the siege of
Vicksburg in 1863 before being ordered back to Tennessee to command the 50th
Illinois again. At the time, the men of the 50th were taking part in rebuilding
a section of the railroad. After a brief furlough in 1864 as a veteran, Bane
got called to join Sherman’s March to the Sea. When the march ended Bane
assumed command at Rome, Ga., as an assistant special agent of the treasury. He
oversaw the reallocation of abandoned property in Georgia.
When the war ended in 1865, so too did Bane’s military career. He resigned from
service and entered Harvard’s law school. After graduation, he and T.W. Macfall
formed a law partnership. The next year he was appointed the United States
internal revenue assessor for the 4th District of Illinois. Ten years later the
U.S. Senate appointed him to receive public moneys in Salt Lake City, Utah. While in Utah he also served as a revenue detective
before becoming the Register of the Land Office.
Bane died March 29, 1897. He is buried in an officer’s plot at Arlington
National Cemetery. The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) was in charge of his
funeral services. His second wife Harriet and his third wife Lucy are also
buried at Arlington. Bane’s life shows how a boy from a small Midwestern town
can make his mark on the national stage.
Bridget Quinlivan is a graduate of Quincy University and Western Illinois
University. She is a member and volunteer at the Historical Society and an
English/writing specialist for Student Support Services at John Wood
Community College.
Sources
Daily Herald. March 31,
1897.
“Funeral of a
Soldier.” The Washington Post. April 1, 1897.
Gazeteer of Utah and
Salt Lake City Directory. Utah: Salt Lake Herald Publishing Co., 1874.
Historical Society of
Quincy and Adams County. Acquisition Records, C2204 a-c.
Quincy Journal. March
31, 1897.
Washington Post. May 14,
1881.
Wilson, James G.
Biographical Sketches of Illinois Officers Engaged in the War Against the
Rebellion of 1861. Chicago: James Barnet
