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Born near Big Springs (now Marengo) in Liberty Township, Crawford County, Indiana, in 1839. The son of Isaac Ross, a cabinet maker,
Absalom moved to Ray Township, Morgan County, Indiana, between 1850 and 1860. He married Hannah (Farr) Stierwalt in 1861.
On July 30, 1862, he enlisted for 3 years in the Army at age 23. Army muster records indicate Absalom to be 5 feet, 11 inches tall, with black hair, black eyes, and dark complexion. He was transported to Indianapolis, Indiana, from his home in Paragon, Ray Township, Morgan County, Indiana, to join his unit and from there was transported to Kentucky. His Regimental Commander was Colonel
Benjamin Harrison, later to become General and then President Harrison.
Shortly after arriving in Kentucky, he was detached (December 8, 1862) from the 70th Regiment and was assigned to the
"Pioneer Brigade," Company F, 1st Battalion, under the command of General
William S. Rosecrans. He was involved in the Battle of Stones River, near Murfreesboro, Tennessee,
and was wounded on December 31, 1862.
Records indicate Absalom was "making hospital cots" and was assigned to "Co. A and Co. B, Detachment of Convalescents, Barracks No. 1, Nashville, Tenn." This during the first part of 1863.
Then in September of 1863 he was detailed, by order of General Rosecrans, to the Army Gunboat Silver Lake #2. This boat sailed the Ohio River along the Indiana shore, and the Cumberland River in Tennessee. His muster records show him present at Cincinnati and Cumberland Stations through October 1864.
On November 26, 1864, he was ordered to return to his original unit, the 70th Indiana, but command discovered this unit was with General Sherman on the March to the Sea through Georgia. Absalom was sent to Fort Negley, in Nashville, TN, (commanded by General George Thomas, to await further orders. After the battle of Nashville, December 15-16, 1864, he rejoined the 70th in Raleigh, North Carolina on the 23rd of April, 1865. He, along with others in the unit, was mustered out June 8, 1865 near Washington, D.C., then returned to Indianapolis on June 13, 1865.
Upon his return to home, Absalom again took up the trade of cabinet maker/carpenter which he had learned from his father, Isaac. He began family life with Hannah. They raised at least (4) children: Florence (Absalom's step daughter), John F., Gertrude, and Harry. There may have been another daughter: Estella. A Joseph Wilson lived with Absalom and his family for a period of time. Also, in later years, Hannah's mother, Susannah Teague Farr Baker, lived with this family.
He suffered from deafness, acute arthritis, and a kidney problem which was acquired during his service in the Army. Later in life, he applied to the Federal Government for a disability pension, which he received after several years of delay.
Absalom, a Protestant Christian and charter member of the Paragon Post of Grand Army of the Republic, died October 7, 1900. He is buried with his wife and mother-in-law in Friendship Park Cemetery (formerly the Odd Fellows Cemetery), a quiet and scenic place located on a gentle slope just east of Paragon, Ray Township, Morgan County, Indiana. The grave site contains a memorial to his service in the "Great War to Save the Nation." |
