BY BRENDA EDWARDS

History columnist

A roster of men in the 4th Kentucky Infantry during the Civil War contains names of several prominent Danville citizens.

E. Flaig was going through some of relics in his home and found the roster printed in 1861. It was published in the Kentucky Advocate in November 1903 with the names of those still living at the time.

“This may be the only roster of 4th Company Infantry in existence in 1909 and Mr. Flaig prizes it highly and could no doubt get a fabulous price were he to offer it for sale,” according to the Advocate article.

“It was the first company organized in Kentucky to take up arms against the rebel forces during the Civil War.

The company was in all the principal battles of the war and was always in the thickest of the fight.”

Names on Roll

Col. John T. Croxton was in the group. He was well-known in Boyle County although he had moved to Bourbon County. He was the father of Mrs. John Bean, who lived here.

Some of the regimental staff were:

• Rev. John R. Eads, chaplain and a Methodist minister. He succeeded John W. Jacobson, brother of J. Westley Jacobs and Col. R.P. Jacobs, soon after enlistment.

• Mike Hope of London, Regimental Quartermaster, who was an uncle of George Batterton of Danville. Mike was the only survivor of the staff of the 4th Kentucky.

Company officers

• Captain W.W. Sanders, who succeeded Wellington Harlan shortly after being mustered in. He married a daughter of Morton Crow who was a sister of Mrs. H.B Stanwood, both of Danville.

• J. Westley Jacobs was First Lieutenant, and later promoted to captain of the company.

• Second Lieutenant James H. Linney, was a brother of Danville’s postmaster, and currently lived in Sedalia, Missouri.

Enlisted men

Among the enlisted men who were residents in the area at the time and afterwards were:

• First Sergeant W.W. Thompkins of Danville.

• Thomas P. Young, brother of Mrs. E. Flaig, was commissioned in the regular army.

• Boyle O. Rodes, who enlisted as a sergeant and promoted to lieutenancy after the Battle of Shiloh in the 9th Ky. Infantry, and later to captain.

• B.F. Bruner, father of Charles Bruner.

• L.P. Barbee, son of Mary Jane Barbee.

• W.H. Drum, brother of John Drum, a Danville policeman who was murdered earlier.

• J.F. Clark of Anderson County, whose widow and other family members lived in Danville.

• R.B. Figg of Shelby City.

• C.L. Linney, brother of James, Theo and Ed Linney.

• John D. Reynolds, a shoemaker in Danville after the war.

• T.J. Shindelbower, son of Thomas Shindelbower, who had the first bakery erected in Danville in 1840.

• S.S. Shears, brother of W.H. Shears, who was killed by a train in Lexington.

• H.B. Stanwood, father of Charles Stanwood.

• G.F. Shaw, uncle of Thomas and Tharp Shaw.

• B.C. Young, brother of Mrs. E. Flaig, who died in Kansas City.

• B.T. Zimmerman, uncle of Pat Zimmerman, Boyle County coroner.