Jackson Hickenberger (Hickenburger) was born in Albemarle County, Virginia, around 1830. According to his pension filed after the war, he had lived in Jefferson City, Missouri, since 1850, indicating he probably left Albemarle County around that time. Hickenberger was a slave of E. L. Edwards, a resident of Cole County. Jackson's first wife was Sallie Smith. In 1851, his only son, William, was born. Hickenberger listed his occupation as a farmer when he enlisted.

Hickenberger enlisted as a private at the age of 34 on March 1, 1864, in Jefferson City, Missouri, and mustered in on March 10 at the Benton Barracks in St. Louis. His service record describes him as 5 feet, 7 1/2 inches tall, with black hair, black eyes, and a black complexion. Hickenberger served in Company D of the 68th USCT Infantry Regiment. In April 1864, he was briefly hospitalized for two days due to complications from smallpox he contracted in the service. Hickenberger rose to the rank of corporal on November 16, 1864, and sergeant on September 10, 1865. Hickenberger's regiment, the 68th USCT, was involved in numerous actions, including the defense of Memphis in early 1865, and the assault and capture of Fort Blakely on April 9, 1865, in Alabama (the same day as General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House in Virginia). Hickenberger mustered out as a sergeant on February 5, 1866, from Camp Parapet, Louisiana.

After the war, Jackson returned to Jefferson City, where he worked as a farm laborer with a personal estate worth $500. He married his second wife, Caroline Green, on November 27, 1890, in Kansas City. He suffered from a yearly sickness "every spring or Summer" due to the smallpox he contracted in the army. He suffered from a variety of ailments, including heart disease, "naso pharyngeal catarrh," and rheumatism.  He first filed a pension in 1890 and began receiving payments the following year valued at $8 per month. Eventually, this was raised to $20 per month in 1907 due in part to the onset of "senile debility." The following year, the local courts appointed a man named W.  J. Edwards of Jefferson City to act as his legal guardian. Hickenberger died on April 5, 1909, at the Masonic Home in Hannibal, Missouri.

Documents:

Pension Testimony of Jackson Hickenberger