Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Musgrove, Robert 1932
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Sandy Heintzelman sheintz@iserv.net February 3, 2011, 12:54 pm

Lake Odessa Wave, 24 Feb 1932

Robert Musgrove Mustered Out Feb. 19

One of the Few Survivors of Civil War.  Dies at age of 87 years.

Robert Musgrove, who passed away early Friday morning, was one of the last five 
remaining veterans of the Civil war who are in this community.  Mr. Musgrove 
has been a resident of the village for more than thirty years.  He built the 
home now owned by Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Lowe.

A short time before his death he prepared the following story of his early life 
and experience in the war.

I was born in Canada, January 19, 1845.  In 1855 I went to live with my oldest 
brother James Musgrove who had taken up 200 acres of land as a homestead 70 
miles north of London, Canada.  We lived in a shanty 8x12 feet, and were 40 
miles in the woods.  Our nearest neighbor was three miles away, and the grocery 
store 20 miles.  Our bed was made of poles and marsh hay, the table was of 
boards split out of logs, our heat was from a fire place.  The shanty was made 
of slabs of logs put together with wooden pins.  At night a pole extending from 
the other side of the room held the door shut against bears and wolves.  We 
stayed there 16 months.  After several months at home we moved to Michigan by 
way of Detroit.  The family took the train for Ionia, I rode horseback.  I was 
12 years old then.  I came by the plank road to Lansing, then to Portland, I 
inquired for John Bliss.  It was a long lonesome ride.

That winter the family lived five miles south of Ionia, then we bought 40 acres 
known as the James Musgrove property, built a log house and then went to 
cutting timber.  Scarlet fever took two of the children and mother passed away.

I then went to work for Jud Carver in Berlin for $5.00 per month.  (This is now 
the Tew farm.)  The next summer I was at home, my father a stone mason was away 
most of the time and I alone with my dog as a companion.  The next summer I 
worked in a sawmill and in the fall stayed with my brother James.

February 8, 1864, at the age of 19, I enlisted at Grand Rapids in Co. E Old 3rd 
Michigan, in the state militia service.  We left February 12, going by way of 
Detroit, Pittsburgh, Pa., to Washington, where we formed in line at the capitol 
and Lincoln gave us a talk.  We crossed the Potomac and marched in Alexandria, 
took freight cars to Culpepper to join the army of the Potomac.  We took James 
City, then to Brandy Station, and Picot at foot of Blue Ridge mountains.  We 
were ordered to march four abreast.  We marched four days and nights and camped 
on the battlefield of Bull Run.  The ground was covered with human skulls.  As 
the sun shone on them in the morning it was pitiful sight, one would never 
forget.  Our rations were hardtack and coffee.  We started the next day early 
and marched until 5 p.m., no dinner, a little hardtack as we marched, as we 
neared the wilderness we heard the cannons roaring.  We were ordered to fire 
and in our skirmish we drove back the rebels.  That night was quiet.  The next 
day, we behind our breastwork and the rebels behind…  

[Transcriber’s Note:  This is the end of the copy of the obituary that I have.]


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