John Raff

1839 - 1864

Army
Civil War

Their Story

Private John Raff was 22 years old when he enlisted on Sept. 3, 1861. His exact date of birth is unknown, but it was probably 1839. He gave his residence as Bedford, Iowa County, Iowa. His occupation was miller. The 1861 City Directory lists his residence as Davenport, Iowa.[1] He enlisted in the 8th Iowa Infantry Regiment, and was assigned to Company G. [2] The picture with this legacy is Henry Loomis, a member of the 6th Iowa Infantry. He is pictured to show the uniform and hat that Private Raff would have worn. The hat was known as a “Hardee Hat”. The French Horn on the hat was the insignia of the Infantry. We do not have a photo of Private Raff.

The 8th Iowa Infantry Regiment was organized at Davenport, Iowa, and mustered into Federal service between August 31 and September 4, 1861. The unit left Iowa for St. Louis on September 25, 1861, and was attached to the Department of Missouri until March 1862.[3] They were engaged at Shiloh, Tennessee, on April 6, 1862, where Private Raff was wounded, and spent a long time recovering from his wounds.

After recovering from his wounds, Private Raff was transferred to Company F, 4th Regiment, Veteran Reserve Corps, on January 11, 1864, at Rock Island Prison Barracks. The Regiment was made up of men who were invalids and could not fight but could do other service.

Pvt Raff was assigned guard duty, guarding Confederate prisoners of war.  Conditions at Rock Island were harsh even for the Guards. The water supply and drainage were lacking, creating a sanitation problem. When the first Prisoners arrived, the new camp was not ready, 5,000 Confederate prisoners were delivered there in December 1863, when the temperature was 32 degrees below zero. The prisoners were immediately beset by a smallpox epidemic that sickened thousands and killed more than 600 within 3 months.

By late 1864, conditions at the prison became even worse. A small marsh formed at the southwest corner of the prison because of poor drainage. This was a breeding ground for disease. Some Northern newspapers compared Rock Island prison to the Andersonville prison of the South[4].

Private John Raff died of disease on November 13, 1864, in Davenport, Iowa, while serving at Rock Island Prison Barracks.[5] His cause of death was listed as chronic diarrhea.[6] He was originally buried in Davenport, Iowa, but was later interred at the Rock Island National Cemetery in 1868.[7] On August 5th, 1881, John’s mother applied for John’s pension. Small compensation for the loss of a son.

To learn about the 8th Iowa’s Regiment’s participation in the Battle of Shiloh, visit: Roster and Records of Iowa Soldiers, War of the Rebellion � Regiment History 8th Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry (iagenweb.org)

Memorial page for John Raff (unknown–13 Nov 1864)
Find a Grave, (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1101066/john-raff:

[1] U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 – Ancestry.com

[2] Soldier Details – The Civil War (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

[3] 8th Iowa Infantry Regiment – Wikipedia

[4] https://www.mycivilwar.com/pow/il-rock-island.html

[5] U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 – Ancestry.com

[6] U.S., Registers of Deaths of Volunteers, 1861-1865 – Ancestry.com

[7] U.S., National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962 – Ancestry.com

References

Bibliography

Wikipedia contributors, “8th Iowa Infantry Regiment,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 8th Iowa Infantry Regiment – Wikipedia (accessed March 7, 2022)

Schwanke, Mary Alice, Iowa Civil War Project Roster and Records of Iowa Soldiers, War of the Rebellion � Regiment History 8th Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry (iagenweb.org) (Accessed March 7, 2022)

“Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in the Veteran             Reserve Corps” database with images  Soldier Details – The Civil War (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) https://www.fold3.com//title/803/civil-war-service-index-cmsr-union-veteran-reserve-corps    : (accessed March 7, 2022)

FamilySearch Wiki contributors, “4th Regiment, Veteran Reserve Corps,” FamilySearch Wiki, ,  Veteran Reserve Corps in the Civil War • FamilySearch (accessed March 7, 2022).

Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 –  (Accessed 9/3/2022)

U.S., Registers of Deaths of Volunteers, 1861-1865 – Ancestry.com

U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 – Ancestry.com

U.S., National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962 – Ancestry.com