Feb 14
The Leonidas Hamlin Kennard Story Part 3
Leonidas Joined the war but before he did, he says he “enjoyed all the sports of boys at that time.” and lists among them fishing, swimming, wrestling and tussling in which he says he could “hold his own.” he made whistles with his father’s apprentice Enoch Martin.
He was a boy. Perfectly imperfect in every way, his brother John once shot a squirl when they were hunting, and Lon decided he needed to retrieve the kill from out of the tree and in doing so he fell and struck his head getting five stitches. On another occasion he was attempting to split some wood and his axe slipped, he says that he cut his left-hand thumb and forefinger. Making those fingers remain stiff for the rest of his life. Regarding this chapter of his life, he said “I had many cuts and bruises incident to youth.”
He tried to go to school, and he tried to like it, he wasn’t always successful at either endeavor. He joined his school’s lyceum, or performance hall. If his descendants represent him at all, it is likely he had a sweet singing voice and wasn’t afraid to use it
A trait of many boys is that they want to make their mark. The philosopher Earnest Becker says, “Man cannot endure his own littleness unless he can translate it into meaningfulness on the largest possible level.” many times in my life I have felt a burning desire to stamp “Robert was here” right into the history books. In a way that no one could ignore. Seeing Barrack Obama take office when I was 18 inspired me and millions of others that we could make a lasting impact, If we really wanted too.
Four generations earlier, in the summer of 1861, Lon sat with his friends overlooking the sprawling camp of the 18th regiment of the Ohio infantry, a volunteer regiment and the same feeling likely possessed him. But in true Kennard fashion he does not express his feeling in his autobiography. Rather, he says that he suggested to his friends they return the next day and enlist. They Would be foregoing the safety and security of college, in order to go on an adventure.
Although he would have been 19, he was a boy before enlisting. He provided evidence of this in his Autobiography.
“The first night in camp I was a little tired and sleepy and asked some of the boys to awaken me at 9’ o’clock roll call. They promised to do it, so I lay down and went to sleep and missed roll call. In the morning captain Finton asked me where I was last night, I said in the bunk asleep. He said, “you take that brush and sweep quarters for two hours.” I did the extra duty, but it was a good lesson and the last time I asked anyone to wake me up. I learned to depend on myself I have never regretted that two hours of extra duty.”
Don Carlos Buell
Leonidas and his friends were pawns in General Don Carlos Buell’s game during that spring. Buell was a less-than experienced union general with something to prove. Buell was ordered to aid Grant who was under siege in Tennessee. Leonidas stood as a member of the newly formed army of the Ohio, which was described as “barely discipline rabble.” A fact clearly illustrated by the store above.
Leonidas, along with the rest of the Army of the Ohio was ordered to reinforce Grant's Army of the Tennessee, which was encamped next to the Tennessee River that April. On April 6, the Confederates began a surprise attack on Grant and his army, That attack began one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil war. Leonidas does not recount much before this, he says “from Louisville we marched to Nashville Tennessee, the confederates retreating before us. Very little fighting. In the advance were some skirmishing.” after some sickness and a lot of marching, Leonidas and the 18th volunteer infantry of the Ohio arrived at the battle of Shiloh.
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