5th Minnesota Battle Flag Jacob Pauly

Name: Jacob Pauly
Company: I
Veteran; promoted Corporal; wounded at Nashville; sick in hospital on discharge of regiment.
Birth
  • Date:  March 15 or 18, 1833
  • Place:  Trier, Rheinland, Prussia (Germany)
Mustered In
  • Date: April 28, 1862
  • Rank: Private
  • Age: 29
  • Residence prior to military service: Trier, Rheinland, Prussia (Germany); Sand Creek Township, Scott County, Minnesota
  • Vocation prior to military service: Farm Laborer
Death
  • Date: July 11, 1904
  • Place: Scott County, Minnesota
  • Burial: St. Joseph Cemetery, Scott County, Minnesota
 Mustered Out
  • Date: (September 6, 1865)
  • Rank: Corporal
  • Age: about 32
  • Residence following military service: Sand Creek Township, Scott County, Minnesota
  • Vocation following military service: Farmer

Jacob Pauly Biography and Civil War Narrative

Johann Jacob Pauly was born in Lieser, a small town near Trier, Rheinland, Prussia (Germany) on March 15, 1833, the son of Henri and Catherine (Mayer) Pauly. He left Germany for America in 1852, and after spending a couple years in eastern states, he settled in Section 24 of Sand Creek Township, Scott County, Minnesota. In 1860, the U.S. census showed 27-year-old Jacob Pauly living and working as a Farm Laborer in Sand Creek.

On April 18, 1862, 29-year-old Jacob Pauly enlisted in Company I of the 5th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Company I left Fort Snelling on May 13, 1862, arriving near Corinth, Mississippi, on May 24th, where they reported  to General John Pope. During 1862 the 5th Minnesota Regiment participated in the Siege of Corinth (May 26-30), an expedition to Rienzi, Mississippi (July 3-August 18), guarding the Memphis & Charleston Railroad at Tuscumbia, Alabama (August 22-September 13), the Battle of Iuka, Mississippi (September 19), and the Battle of Corinth (October 4).

After spending the winter near Germantown, Tennessee, Pauly and the 5th Minnesota participated in Grant's Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, as part of Sherman's 15th Army Corps, 3rd Division (Tuttle), 2nd Brigade (Mower). Pauly was sick for a time around May 28, 1863. After the fall of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, the regiment served guard duty at Black River Bridge in July and then camped at Bear Creek. In October 1863 they participated in an expedition to Canton, Mississippi.

In early 1864 the 5th Minnesota participated in the Meridian Campaign (February 3 to March 2), the Red River Campaign (March 10 - May 22), and action at Lake Chicot, Arkansas (June 6). Jacob Pauly re-enlisted as a veteran in February and was given a veterans' furlough between June 17 and August 17. Returning south, the full regiment participated in Mower's Expedition to Brownsville, Arkansas (September 2-10) and a grueling pursuit of Confederate General Price through Arkansas and Missouri (September 17-November 15). On November 24 the regiment left St. Louis Missouri to join General Thomas at Nashville, Tennessee. After delays caused by preparations and weather, the Union Army at Nashville attacked General Hood's entrenched confederates south of the city on December 15. The 5th Minnesota engaged the left flank of the confederate line, and assisted in taking the confederate works, pushing them back. After spending the night in the area previously occupied by the enemy, the 5th Minnesota reformed on the 16th and played a key role in taking Shy's Hill and routing Hood's army.

According to the casualty list provided by Major John C. Becht following the Battle of Nashville, Corporal Jacob "Pauli" was wounded in the "arm, slightly." He had been shot in the lower third of his left arm, and gangrene set in. Pauly was in General Hospital at Nashville, Tennessee, from December 1864 to March 1865, and from April to June 1865 he was hospitalized at Jeffersonville, Indiana. Corporal Pauly was discharged on June 30, 1865, at Swift USA General Hospital, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. The roster of Company I listed in Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars (Vol. I) states that when the 5th Minnesota was discharged on September 6, 1865, Corporal Pauly was sick in the hospital.

According to family records, on August 14, 1865, Jacob married Christina Hentges. Christina was the daughter of Johann H. and Anna Elisabeth (Fullenz) Hentges, born on January 26, 1846, in Wollmerath, Koblenz, Rheinland (Germany). Five years later, Jacob and Christina lived in Sand Creek, Scott County, Minnesota, where 36-year-old Jacob farmed and 22-year-old Christina kept house, including their 4-year-old son, Jacob, 3-year-old daughter Catherine, and 1-year-old son, John. At the time of the 1880 census, Jacob and Christina Pauly lived and farmed in Sand Creek, Scott County, Minnesota. With them were 8 children, all born in Minnesota:
 In 1900, five children continued to live with Jacob and Christina in Sand Creek Township. Joseph (born September 1875) was age 24; Nicolaus (born January or March? 1880) was age 20; Henry (born October 1884) was age 15; George (born July 1887) was age 12; and Christina (born September 1889) was age 10.

Jacob Pauly died July 11, 1904, in Scott County, Minnesota, and was buried in St. Joseph Cemetery, Scott County, Minnesota. The 1910 census shows Christina at age 65, living with three of her children: Henry (age 35), George (age 22), and Christina (age 20). Next door lived son Nic and his family. Christina Pauly died 18 years after her husband on November 9, 1922, in Sand Creek Township, Scott County, Minnesota. She was also buried in St. Joseph Cemetery.



[5th Minnesota Home] [Company I] [Tim Bode] [Tim Bode's Music Page] 
This page is maintained by Tim Bode (timbode@juno.com ). Page created on 7/27/09. Last modified on 8/8/09.
© 2009 Tim Bode