Peter Simpson, my great-grandfather's oldest brother, was born December 20, 1839, in Grant County Kentucky. In 1860 or 1861, Peter and his younger brother, Joseph, moved to Pike County, Illinois, where his aunt and uncle, the Dilworths, already resided. On July 25, 1861, Peter, Joseph, and their cousin, Warren Dilworth, enrolled in Company G of the 8th Illinois Infantry, at Griggsville, Illinois.

At enlistment, Peter was 21, 6' 2' in height, had light hair, and dark eyes.

The 8th Illinois was sent to Cairo, in southern Illinois, where the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers meet. The 8th was stationed at Bird's Point, across the river from Cairo, on the Missouri side

This photo was probably taken in Cairo, shortly after the company received their uniforms. It appears to have been taken at the same time as Joseph's photograph, and Joseph died in December 1861, dating this sometime in late 1861. A source book on the Civil war lists the state infantry uniform for the 8th Illinois in 1861 as a gray coat trimmed blue with short skirts, gray trousers, and a slouch hat. This was before blue became the standard color of the Federal Army.

The weapon appears to be an 1842 series musket. The Pike County Democrat (newspaper), on October 17, 1861, complained that Illinois troops were issued "old good for nothing muskets", instead of more modern rifles. The revolver probably belonged to the photographer, to be used as a prop in his photographs.

Conditions might not have been good at the Bird's Point camp: In cousin Warren's pension application, he stated that the camp was on low ground. A heavy rain came one night, water ran into the tents, and he woke up soaking wet. Warren became sick and received a discharge from the army because of chronic rheumatism. Peter's brother, Joseph, became sick, and died at a hospital in Cairo on December 8, 1861. Peter was on furlough during November and December of that Year. I'm guessing he accompanied his brother's body for the trip, 130 or so miles north, to Shinn Cemetery in Pike County, Illinois. By January 1862, with his brother gone and his cousin no longer there, Peter returned to his company in the 8th Illinois.

He was soon hospitalized with dysentery, a common and deadly ailment during that time. While in a hospital in Savannah, Tennessee, on March 23, 1862, he was discharged from the army because of severe disability. He remained a patient there, and on April 6-7, the Battle of Shioh took place about 12 miles south. With the influx of wounded soldiers, whatever care Peter had been receiving was probably greatly lessened.

He died on April 18, 1862. He was buried in a cemetery somewhere in Savannah. Later, he and the other soldiers buried there, were removed and buried among the unknown at the Shiloh National Cemetery.

My sister is the owner of the original photograph, and this is a scan from a copy she gave me.

Peter F Simpson