John Schimek
Civil War
John Schimek was born on June 6, 1841, in Schrems, Austria. His father’s name is believed to be Franz. There is very detailed information about John in the Templeton Centennial Book. Some information found varies slightly from that account.
John seems to have come to the United States as a small boy with his father and sister. They settled in Chicago. The death of both his father and sister when John was about 14 years old resulted in a move to Guttenberg, IA to live with his aunt. In 1860, he married Rosina Seidel who was from Louisiana.
The couple was living in Guttenberg when John enlisted in the Union Army on August 20, 1862 at Dubuque, IA. He was mustered in as a Private to Company D of the 27th Iowa Infantry on September 13, 1862. The first action the 27th Iowa Infantry saw during the Civil War was to move to Minnesota to help quell an uprising by the Sioux Indians. Company D remained at Fort Snelling, MN until November 1, 1862, when they moved to Cairo, IL. On November 20, they moved on to Memphis, TN and were attached to the 16th Army Corps.
The 27th Iowa spent the remainder of 1862 and the first part of 1863 guarding railroads in Tennessee and Mississippi. In August, 1863, they moved into Arkansas and were a part of the capture of Little Rock on September 10. By November, 1863, John and his unit had moved back to Memphis. The battle for Vicksburg, MS was a major engagement that created a stalemate for the Union forces. The commanding artillery positions in the city made the attack very difficult. Grant’s forces eventually were able to land on the east side of the Mississippi River south of Vicksburg. This led to a series of battles to surround the city as well as split the Confederacy in two.
One of the battles related to Vicksburg was at Pleasant Hill, LA. It was during this battle on April 9, 1864, that John suffered a severe foot wound and, according to reports, was left on the field. He was captured by Confederate forces and hospitalized. The Templeton Centennial Book indicates he was sent to Libby Prison in Richmond, VA. However, subsequent records (which John himself apparently signed) indicate he was held in Tyler, TX.
He was released on October 23, 1864, at Red River Landing, LA as part of a prisoner exchange. He was granted a 30-day furlough on December 11 and returned to Iowa. On February 6, 1865, he entered a hospital in Davenport, IA due to continuing effects of his wound. He received a disability discharge from the US Army at Davenport on May 17, 1865. The wound affected him for the rest of his life.
He returned to Guttenberg after the war. In 1882, the family moved to Templeton where John built one of the first buildings (later occupied by Schwaller TV) and opened a mercantile store. John died on February 26, 1914, at age 72. He was buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Templeton and is the only Civil War veteran there.