An Unsung Patriot

Grave of  Private Nathan Berry Farmer

I hear people talking about being a patriot. (And I put myself into this category) Yet, when it comes down to where the rubber hits the road; it’s all talk. The desire is there, but rarely do we have an opportunity to prove it. So we talk the talk, but few of us walk the walk. When we actually accomplish something worthy…are we humble? Sometimes…Sometimes not.

The presidential election is filled with rhetoric from the candidates declaring to be the greatest, bestest and All-Americanest man or woman since Sam Adams dressed up like an Indian and threw a tea party in Boston. Are the candidates humble?  Never.

The freedom that some of us are trying to hang onto, was purchased by our ancestors. Some paid more than others, but in the end, the outcome was our free republic. I want to honor a humble patriot, whom I never met, but am busting with pride to have a small measure of his blood flowing through my veins. His name was Nathan Berry Farmer.

Nathan Berry Farmer was my Great Great Great Grandfather. He was a blacksmith in Tamaroa, Illinois. He was in his late thirties, had a loving wife and a flock of children. And yet when Abraham Lincoln asked for volunteers to save The Union; he volunteered without hesitation despite being old enough to have been excused from serving. He enlisted because he felt it was the right thing to do. He marched away from his family and the safety of his farm to fight for the collective good of others. He fought so that all Americans could be free.

He was a simple average soldier. One of millions who answered the call. He committed no heroic feats that we know of and only served in the Illinois 49^th Infantry for a total of 97 days.

Exactly a hundred and fifty-four years ago from last Wednesday, Nathan Berry Farmer along with the rest of Company I, camped near a small chapel in Southern Tennessee, named Shiloh on a bluff above the Tennessee River. Little did he know that an army of 30,000 Confederate Troops were sleeping less than a mile away. General William Tecumseh Sherman was so confident the Rebels wouldn’t attack that he decided not to send out scouts. When the Confederate troops attacked in the morning, his Company was over run. They fought bravely, but in reality, they didn’t have a chance. Because they did stay and fight, they delayed the enemy’s advances long enough for relief troops to arrive and hold the ground. The Union Army won the Battle of Shiloh on the next day. It was the bloodiest day of the war to that point. However, Nathan Berry Farmer didn’t get to celebrate the victory. He was killed during the first day of the battle. The reason he was able to be identified was because he had carried his inscribed Bible in his uniform jacket.

Shiloh Church

No parades to When Johnny Comes Marching Home or The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Nathan Berry Farmer never returned home. His name is on a tombstone in Tamaroa, Illinois next to his beloved wife, but the grave is empty. For giving his life for the good of the country, Nathan Berry Farmer was given a small plot of land, that in all honesty, is the best piece of real estate in the Shiloh National Cemetery.  From his gravesite on a bluff, you have a wonderful view of Pittsburgh Landing and the Tennessee River. Still, it’s not much of a reward for making the ultimate sacrifice.

In our country’s history, there are millions of stories about the ancestors and the price they paid so we could have what we have. Maybe we can’t all be patriots…but we can at least be grateful.

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Rick Kelsheimer