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Among the many Barren Countians who enlisted in the Confederate Army
under Joseph Horace Lewis was a 21 year-old from Glasgow, William McGary
STEENBERGEN. Steenbergen was descended from hardy pioneer stock. His great grandfather
was Hugh McGARY who helped bult Ft. Harrod and who was fames as an "Indian
fighter." Other ancestors had served in the Revolution and, appaprently from
them, young William inherited his patriotism and love of
homeland.
When his regiment (6th Kentucky Infantry, Co. E) went into battle for the first time
at Shiloh, Tennessee, William was among those wounded and left on the field for dead.
Shot through the the body, he was removed to a field hospital where he lay for ten
days before being sent as a prisoner to Evansville, Indiana. The doctors offered no
hope for his recovery and his wound was pronounced "mortal", but to their
surprise, after three months he was well enough to be moved to Camp Morton
Prison.
In September of 1862, William Steenbergen was paroled and returned to his regiment
although his wounds had left him unfit for field duty. Due to his poor physical
condition, he was detailed as a surgeon's orderly for the next months. He was
appointed Corporal in the spring of 1863.
After returning to active duty, William was again wounded, this time at the battle of
Dallas, Georgia. His arm was badly hurt, making it impossible for him to load a
weapon, but in spite of this injury, Cpl. Steenbergen returned to his company in time
to take part in the battle of Jonesboro. He was said to have fired his rifle as fast
as Lts. Terry and Holman were able to load it for him. At one point, when a loaded
shell landed in the rifle pit beside him, Steenbergen tossed it out of the pit before
it could explode, saving his own life and the lives of the men around him.
William Steenbergen returned to Glasgow at the war's end after surrendering with his
company at Washington, Georgia. He married Elizabeth GILLOCK and raised a family of 12
children, eight of whom survived him at his death in 1926.
Mr. Steenbergen was acknowledged to be "an outspoken man, an honest man and
God-fearing." According to his obituary, it had been his habit to meet with
friends almost daily in the local newspaper office to discuss the past and their role
in Kentucky history. It is a shame that no one thought to make notes of these
conversations.
William McGary Steenbergen - indeed all of the old veterans - might have taught us a
great deal.
Author unknown, Glasgow Daily Times, Wednesday, 16 Aug 1999, p. 14.
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