Henry Jackson Parrott (1825 – 1900)

(George Perkins is seated at right; standing is former battery mate Cornelius Miller.)

Henry Jackson Parrott was born June 26, 1825, in Fayette County, Ohio, the son of George Parrott and Nancy (Fancher) Parrott. His family’s roots reached back to the early years of the American republic. His maternal grandfather, Isaac Fancher Sr., served during the American Revolution, and his paternal great-grandfather, John Preston Parrott, was also connected with the struggle for American independence.

During the westward expansion of the mid-nineteenth century, Henry moved to Mahaska County, Iowa, where he married Mary Ellen Cook on October 18, 1855. The couple settled near Eddyville, where Henry worked as a farmer and raised a family.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Henry enlisted on August 22, 1862, as a Private in Company E, 36th Iowa Volunteer Infantry. The regiment served in the Western Theater, participating in operations in Arkansas and along the Mississippi River. Henry was not the only member of his family to serve in the Union Army. His brother, David F. Parrott, served with the 118th Ohio Infantry and wrote during the war that he had learned “Brother Henry is in the army” and wished to know his regiment so he could write to him.

Military life proved difficult. Writing from St. Louis on January 9, 1863, Henry described sleeping “on the hard cabin floor with nothing under me but my blanket and oil-coat,” reflecting the hardships endured by soldiers far from home. During the Arkansas campaign his health deteriorated. By September 1863 he was recovering at a convalescent camp at DeValls Bluff, Arkansas, where hundreds of sick soldiers had been left behind as the army advanced. A physician later certified that he suffered from chronic dysentery, and he was honorably discharged for disability on June 21, 1864.

After the war Henry continued moving west with the frontier. He lived for a time in South Dakota before settling with his family in Olympia, Washington, in 1890.  He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was part of George H. Thomas Post No. 5 in Olympia (here).

Following a prolonged illness that confined him to his home for many months, Henry died on January 12, 1900, at the age of seventy-five. His funeral was conducted under the auspices of the Grand Army of the Republic, and he was laid to rest in Masonic Memorial Park in Tumwater, Washington, where his service as a Union soldier continues to be remembered today (here).

If you think this Union Civil War Veteran might also be in your family tree, please email ancestors@suvpnw.org and we will be happy to put you in contact with the author of this biography. 

Notice: The information in the biography above has been researched and provided by the author and has not been verified by the SUVCW or the ASUVCW.