William Harrison Speer
William Harrison Speer was born on January 12, 1842, in Indiana to William Speer and Mary Barnhill. His father was a farmer. Speer grew up and attended school in Wayne, Indiana.
 
Speer enlisted in the Union army on September 13, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company I of the 7th Indiana Infantry later that day. The regiment took part in the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign, and the siege of Petersburg. He was wounded at Gettysburg, but he eventually recovered and rejoined the regiment. He was promoted to corporal on November 12, 1862, and to sergeant on May 1, 1863.
 
He expressed his devotion to the Union, writing in October 1861 that he would “ever remain willing and ready to fight for the Union the constitution, and the enforcement of the laws, for freedom and Liberty.” He vowed to “do my duty as a soldier” and “not…to lay down my musket until this Rebellion is put down and peace and harmony shall cover this land, as the waters cover the great deep.”
 
War weariness crept into his correspondence by 1864, and he decided not to reenlist. As he explained to his brother, “I want to see the folks at home too bad to go in for three years more.” Nonetheless, he remained committed to the war effort, supporting a draft that fall and hoping it would compel Peace Democrats to join the fight.
 
Speer returned to Wayne after leaving the army, and he married Sarah J. Harding on October 10, 1865. The couple had no children. Speer worked as a farmer, and by 1870, he owned $10,000 of real estate and $700 of personal property. He applied for a federal pension in September 1869 and eventually secured one. His wife died on November 11, 1906, and his health deteriorated after she was gone. He died of “paralysis agitans” in Wayne on February 14, 1910.
3001
DATABASE CONTENT
(3001)Speer, William Harrison ~ Speer, Harry1842-01-121910-02-14
  • Conflict Side: Union
  • Role: Soldier
  • Rank in: Private
  • Rank out: Sergeant
  • Rank highest: Sergeant
  • Gender: Male
  • Race: White

Documents - Records: 50

  • (8183) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 17 December 1862
  • (8184) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to William Speer and Mary Speer, 19 April 1863
  • (8185) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 31 May 1863
  • (8186) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to William Speer and Mary Speer, 31 May 1863
  • (8187) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 4 June 1863
  • (8188) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 7 June 1863
  • (8189) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 14 July 1863
  • (8190) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to William Speer and Mary Speer, 26 July 1863
  • (8191) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 22 December 1863
  • (8729) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to William Speer and Mary Speer, 22 June 1862
  • (8730) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 15 June 1862
  • (8731) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 10 May 1862
  • (8732) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 22 March 1862
  • (8733) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 4 March 1862
  • (8734) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 17 February 1862
  • (8735) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 27 January 1862
  • (8736) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to William Speer and Mary Speer, 12 November 1863
  • (8737) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 17 October 1863
  • (8738) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 12 May 1863
  • (8739) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 4 April 1863
  • (8740) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to William Speer, 23 March 1863
  • (8741) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 5 March 1863
  • (8742) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Mary Speer, 15 January 1862
  • (8743) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 9 February 1863
  • (8748) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 10 January 1863
  • (8749) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 23 November 1862
  • (8750) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 23 October 1862
  • (8751) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 1 October 1862
  • (8752) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 13 August 1862
  • (8753) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 31 July 1862
  • (8754) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to William Speer and Mary Speer, 18 July 1862
  • (8782) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 15 July 1862
  • (8783) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 29 June 1862
  • (8784) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to William Speer et al., 3 November 1861
  • (8892) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 26 January 1864
  • (8893) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 27 February 1864
  • (8894) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 7 April 1864
  • (8895) [writer] ~ Henry P. Speer and William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 13 May 1864
  • (8896) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 6 June 1864
  • (8897) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 30 June 1864
  • (8898) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, undated
  • (8899) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to William Speer and Mary Speer, 21 September 1861
  • (8900) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to William Speer et al., 21 October 1861
  • (8901) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 14 December 1861
  • (8902) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 13 January 1862
  • (8903) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 13 February 1864
  • (8904) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 15 March 1864
  • (8905) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 22 April 1864
  • (8906) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, 8 August 1864
  • (8907) [writer] ~ William H. Speer to William Speer, undated

People - Records: 9

  • (3001) Speer, William Harrison is the [sibling-in-law of] (2912) Conaroe, Gabriella
  • (3001) Speer, William Harrison is the [husband of] (2916) Harding, Sarah Jane
  • (3001) Speer, William Harrison is the [sibling-in-law of] (2968) Harding, Israel Jr.
  • (3001) Speer, William Harrison is the [aunt/uncle of] (3000) Conaroe, Israel John
  • (2979) Harding, Nancy Ann is the [parent-in-law of] (3001) Speer, William Harrison
  • (3003) Speer, Sandford is the [sibling of] (3001) Speer, William Harrison
  • (3004) Speer, William is the [parent of] (3001) Speer, William Harrison
  • (3005) Speer, Mary is the [parent of] (3001) Speer, William Harrison
  • (3305) Speer, Henry P. is the [sibling of] (3001) Speer, William Harrison

Places - Records: 2

  • (123) [death] ~ Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana
  • (2335) [death] ~ Wayne, Marion County, Indiana

Show in Map

Regiments - Records: 1

  • (859) [enlisted] [I] ~ 7th Indiana Infantry

Groups - Records: 1

  • (6) [member/supporter] ~ Grand Army of the Republic
SOURCES

1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1900 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, available from Ancestry.com; Indiana Select Marriages Index, 1748-1993, available from Ancestry.com; Indiana Civil War Soldier Database Index, 1861-1865, available from Ancestry.com; General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, available from Ancestry.com; The Indianapolis (IN) Star, 15 February 1910; William H. Speer to Sandford Speer, undated, DL1366C.016, Nau Collection; William H. Speer to William Speer et al., 21 October 1861, DL1366D.002, Nau Collection; William H. Speer to Sanford Speer, 15 March 1864, DL1366D.006, Nau Collection; William H. Speer to Sanford Speer, 8 August 1864, DL1366D.008, Nau Collection