Volume 10 , Issue 47

Charles Wesley Paris Legacy

"I found this Paris mention thru Google Alerts about my great, great grandfather Peter Talkington of the 8th Iowa Cav. Sue Trout may have more information.

Loyal Citizen, Aug. 17, 1864, 3rd Iowa Cav., Paris Family

The Loyal Citizen, Centerville, Appanoose Co., Iowa, Wed., Aug. 17, 1864

The Brave are Generous
"Charles Wesley Paris, a citizen of Davis County, formerly a member of Company I, 3rd Iowa Cavalry, was severely wounded at Arkansas Swamp. He received a shot in one eye which blinded it entirely at the time, and so injured the other that he has become totally blind. The world has become to him a sealed book.

The hand of a little daughter, whose sweet smile he is never more to see, guides his feet along his darkened pathway. He feels the warm sunshine on his cheek, but sees not its beauty. He can inhale the fragrance of the flowers and hear the song of birds; but the foliage of the flower, and the plumage of the songster have been shut out from his darkened vision forever. How sad the thought. He is a brave man, in the prime of life; his heart beats warm for his country, and he sighs to strike again for her "alters and her fires."

"Mr. Paris visited the veterans of the 3rd Iowa Cavalry while they were at Keokuk [Iowa]. Their hearts welled with the tenderest emotions, as they grasped the hand of their blind comrade who had borne the shock of battle beside them. A contribution of One Hundred and Sixty-five dollars was raised in a short time for his benefit by the Regiment. He received it thankfully, and will ever cherish the name of the brave men who remembered him in his affliction.

"The father of this blind soldier fought through the war of 1812. Jackson Paris, a brother of Charles W. Paris, bears the scars of eight wounds received in the war with Mexico; Green Paris participated in the Indian war of California; Stephen Paris, another brother, died a member of the 3rd Iowa Cavalry at Helena [Arkansas]; Morgan Paris now belongs to the same Regiment, and William H. Paris, a nephew, is a member of the 2d Ill. Cavalry. They are truly a fighting family. Mr. Paris can never look upon the flag of his Country again; but may he live long after the last armed foe of his country has paid the penalty of his treason.

"[Charles W. Paris, Co. I, 3rd Iowa Cavalry, was born in Missouri and was living in Unionville, Iowa, when he enlisted at 23 on August 20, 1861 and mustered Sept. 6, 1861. No date is given for his wounding, and the resultant loss of his left eye. He was discharged May 7, 1863, at Keokuk.

"The 3rd Iowa Cavalry was active during this period, and Charles Paris might have been wounded in one of the encounters with the enemy. On April 4, 1863, the 3rd Iowa Cavalry fought rebel forces near Madison, Arkansas [no casualties listed]. On April 21 [no casualties listed] and April 27 [no Co. I casualties listed], detachments of the 3rd Iowa skirmished with Confederate scouts. On May 1st the regiment was more heavily engaged near La Grange. Company I suffered casualties in this engagement, as did Companies A, D and K, and it's possible that on this date Charles Paris was wounded.

"Morgan W. Paris, Co. I, 3rd Iowa Cavalry, was born in Missouri and living in Drakesville, Davis Co., Iowa, when he enlisted at 37 on Feb. 21, 1864, mustering March 16th. He mustered out Aug. 9, 1865, at Atlanta, GA.

"Stephen J. Paris, Co. I, 3rd Iowa Cavalry, was born in Missouri and living in Unionville, Appanoose Co., Iowa, when he enlisted as Second Sergeant on August 20, 1861, with his brother Charles, mustering Sept. 6, 1861. Stephen was 21. He died of disease Sept. 18, 1862, at Helena, Arkansas.

Davis and Appanoose Counties are next to each other on the extreme southern border of Iowa.]

"Source of Roster information: "Roster and Records of Iowa Troops in the Rebellion, Vols. 1-6." Civil War and Iowa: Greyhounds and Hawkeyes. CD-ROM. Creston, IA: O. J. Fargo, 2000." -- Sue Trout Reisdorph & submitted by Dale T.
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