Mea culpa. I believed Wikipedia.

Wikipedia said that the 123rd Volunteer Illinois Regiment was at the Battle of Stones River, and I didn't think to double check.

The battle was December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863, and at that time the Regiment was chasing the raider John Morgan (not our ancestor) through Tennessee, and were in the general area but not at the battle. John Morgan (yes, our Morgan ancestor from Coles County, Illinois, later Salt Lake City) was a member of the 123rd, and several years ago I listed the battle among his service. I will correct that.

Here is a detailed description of the actions of the 123rd Regiment.

123rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry 

OVERVIEW: Organized at Mattoon, Ill., and mustered in September 6, 1862. Left State for Louisville, Ky., September 19, 1862. Attached to 33rd Brigade, 10th Division, Army of the Ohio, to October, 1862. 33rd Brigade, 10th Division, 1st Corps, Army of the Ohio, to November, 1862. 1st Brigade, 5th Division, Centre 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to January, 1863. 1st Brigade, 5th Division, 14th Army Corps, to June, 1863. 1st Brigade, 4th Division, 14th Army Corps, to October, 1863. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to November, 1864, and Military Division Mississippi, to June, 1865. 

SERVICE: Duty at Louisville, Ky., till October 1, 1862. Pursuit of Bragg into Kentucky October 1-12. Battle of Perryville, Ky., October 8. March to Munfordsville October 12-18, and duty there till November 30. Expedition to Cave City October 31-November 26. Moved to Bledsoe Creek November 30. Pursuit of Morgan to Bear Wallow December 26, 1862, to January 2, 1863. March to Nashville, thence to Murfreesboro, Tenn., January 3-10, 1863. Duty at Murfreesboro till June. Action at Woodbury January 24. Expedition to Auburn, Liberty and Alexandria February 3-5. Cainsville February 15. Expedition to Woodbury March 3-8. Breed's Hill March 4. Vaught's Hill, near Milton, March 20. Expedition to Lebanon, Carthage and Liberty April 1-8. Expedition to McMinnville April 20-30. Regiment mounted and armed with Spencer carbines May 6. Attached to Wilder's Mounted Brigade, Smithville, June 5. Middle Tennessee (or Tullahoma) Campaign June 24-July 7. Big Spring Branch June 24. Hoover's Gap June 24-26. Occupation of Manchester June 27. Estill Springs July 2. Occupation of Middle Tennessee till August 16. Expedition to Columbia and Centreville July. Expedition from Decherd, Tenn., August 5-9. Passage of the Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga (Ga.) Campaign August 16-September 22. Ringgold, Ga., September 11. Lee and Gordon's Mills September 11-13. Leet's Tan Yard (or Rock Springs) September 12-13. Alexander and Reed's Bridges September 18. Pea Vine Creek September 18. Crawfish Springs and Dyer's Ford September 18. Battle of Chickamauga September 19-21. Operations against Wheeler and Roddy September 30-October 17. Hill's Gap, Thompson's Cove, near Beersheeba, October 3. Murfreesboro Road October 4. Near McMinnville October 4-5. Farmington October 7. Sim's Farm, near Shelbyville, October 7. Camp at Maysville, Ala., October 19-December 21. Moved to Pulaski December 21, thence to Mooresville, Ala., January 12, 1864, and guard Tennessee River till April. Moved to Columbia, Tenn., thence to join army near Dalton, Ga., reporting May 11. Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign May 11-September 8. Battle of Resaca May 13-15. Near Dallas May 24. Operations on Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5. Near Big Shanty June 9. Operations about Marietta and against Kenesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Noonday Creek June 19. Powder Springs, Lattimer's Mills, Noonday Creek, June 20. Noonday Creek and assault on Kenesaw June 27. Nickajack Creek July 2-5. Rottenwood Creek July 4. Chattahoochie River June 5-17. Stone Mountain Station July 19. Garrard's Raid to Oxford and Covington July 22-24. Garrard's Raid to South River July 27-31. Snapfinger Creek July 27. Flat Rock Bridge July 28. Siege of Atlanta August 1-13. Operations about Chattahoochie River Bridge, Pace's and Turner's Ferries August 26-September 2. Occupation of Atlanta September 2. Operations against Hood in North Georgia and North Alabama September 29-November 3. Near Lost Mountain October 4-7. New Hope Church October 7. Dallas October 7. Rome October 10-11. Narrows October 11. Coosaville Road, near Rome, October 13. Near Summerville October 18. Little River October 20. Leesburg, Blue Pond, October 21. Ladiga, Terrapin Creek, October 28. Dismounted November 1, and ordered to Louisville, Ky. Refitting at Louisville till December 28. Moved to Gravelly Springs, Ala., December 28, 1864-January 20, 1865. Wilson's Raid on Selma, Ala., and Macon, Ga., March 22-April 24. Selma April 2. Montgomery April 12. Columbus, Ga., April 16. Macon, Ga., April 20. Moved to Chattanooga, Tenn., May 23; thence to Nashville and duty there till June 27. Mustered out June 27 and discharged at Springfield, Ill., July 11, 1865. 

Regiment lost during service 3 Officers and 82 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 1 Officer and 133 Enlisted men by disease. Total 219.

(The original source for this list seems to be Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion (Des Moines, Iowa: Dyer Publishing Company, 1908), 1098.)

Finding the Graves at Richardson's Point

As the pioneers traveled west in 1848, Edwin S. Little and James Monroe Tanner died at Richardson's Point. The two pioneer graves had been kept in memory by local residents for almost 140 years when a descendant of Edwin Little, Wallace C. Mauger, went to great lengths to find, and later to mark the two graves. The story is available online at the Church History Library. This picture is located in the document he wrote about his experiences.

The current location is Section 32, Chequest Township, Van Buren County, Iowa, on private property about four miles west of Lebanon, Iowa, (one mile west of Oak Point Cemetery) on route J 40.

Wallace C. Mauger, “Finding the Graves at Richardson's Point,” MS 13678, Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Elder Sidney Tanner of Beaver

This picture of Sidney Tanner is from the Bathsheba W. Bigler Smith photography collection at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City. Believe it or not, he is not the most rugged-looking individual in the photography collection, women included.

The back of the photo says "Member of the church in Kirtland. Worked with Hyrum Smith in getting out the timber for the Kirtland Temple    son of John Tanner"

Sidney Tanner Writes to the Family of His Deceased Wife

Sidney Tanner's wife Louisa Conlee Tanner died on September 29, 1846, at Winter Quarters. Sidney must have put off the grim task of notifying her family, because it took him seven months to write to his father-in-law, step-mother-in-law, and other family members with news of her death, and by the time he wrote this he had been remarried for more than four months to young Julia Ann Shepherd, a very brave girl to step in and care for his six motherless children.

Why was this letter in possession of the Tanner family? Is this a copy? Who owns the original? The handwriting is strikingly different from the Sidney Tanner letter featured the other day, but could be the same handwriting, perhaps written with a different pen?

A copy of this letter is in the collections of the Church History Library. The CHL copy includes a typescript, which has been corrected into standard English. I am trying to transcribe the actual letter as-is, but the computer keeps autocorrecting the transcription, so this should be approximately correct.

Winter Quarters April 13th 1847

Dear Father and Mother  Brothers & Sisters

I gladly embrace this opportunity of writing a few lines to you and tell you how we have been situated and how we are at present. we left the Iowa the 4 of March we traveled five days and stoped our youngest child by the name of James Monre was taken sick and died the 17 of March with the inflammation on the brain. we had got about 2 hundred miles from Montrose when we received your letter dated Feb 10 and you wanted to know what we wanted to moove for. it was to go to a land of freedom where we could enjoy the peace of sosiety and our liberty we did not want to live in country where their is no peace no liberty and citizens was not allowed their rights. we went on about one hundred miles farther to council point when we had another child aded to our family it was a boy ^its name was Mason Lyman^ & was born July 1 and Louisa got her health was well as ever we crost the Missouri river the last of July at council bluff where we stoped for the winter. [indecipherable] Louisa was taken sick with the fever she got ^some^ better and then took the canker and the chills fever and was sick a bout two months and then departed this life leaving her strongest testimony of the truth of the gospel of christ taught in the lasts days she requested me to write to you and tell you that she died in the full triumphs of the faith of Jesus Christ and her most desire for living was for the benefit of her family and Friends and do what she was afraid they would not do for themselves that they might arive to a glorious salvation in the kingdom of God where she

[e]xpects to meet them and enjoy their society she often spoke a bout you and wanted to see you and hoped ^that^ you would yet embrace the gospel and come to the west she died September 29 her babe was taken sick soon after she died and lived to be four months and 23 dys old it ^died^ Nov. 29 

This will be sad to you I have no toubt to hear of a death of a sister who has been near and unto you. the rest of my family is ^well^ at present

Lydia was sick last fall with the fever & ague I have six children living you gave me some very good advice to beware of false propets and evil doers that has been the cry in all ages of the world when the Lord has sent his servents and apostles forth to preach that was the sayings in the ^the days of our^ savior and apostles but the scripture says “beware of those who ware a form of Godliness and deny the power there of from such turn away   I was sorry to here of your misfortune of your getting ^your house^ burnt. I would be glad to see you all  I expect to remain here untill next spring   I want you to write to me soon as posible and I would be ^glad^ to have you come and see us

I do not want you to forsake me and the children because of our misfortune but write as ofen as you can give my respect and good wishes to all our relation and enquireing friends    the children sends their love to you all I rmain as your affectionate son and Brother

Sidney Tanner

James and Monroe Conlee

direct your letters austain post office 

Atcheson County Misouri

I concludes a record of the children ages

Allen Benedict Tanner was born March 2 1831

Lydia Tanner was born Nov 3 1832

Emma Tanner was born June 1 1835

Mary Louisa Tanner was born Sep 4 1837

Ely Elizabeth Tanner was born May 14 1840

Sidney Tanner was born March 6 1842

James Monroe Tanner was born July 30 1844

Mason Lyman Tanner was born July 1 1846

10

Mr

James or Monroe

Conlee

Union Villege

Wasington Co.

N.Y.

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