Every family has stories – the kind that get passed around at the kitchen table or tucked away in old letters and faded photographs. Some are quiet reminders of hard times. Others feel like chapters in something bigger.
At Nadig Farms, those stories aren’t just part of our past – they’re part of who we are.
One of them belongs to Jacob Nadig, younger brother of Leonard Nadig.
Jacob was born in Prussia in 1840. He came to the United States with his mother and brother, eventually settling on a small farm in Guilford Township, Jo Daviess County, Illinois. In 1861, at just 21 years old, Jacob enlisted in the Union Army and served in Company K of the 96th Regiment, Illinois Infantry.
The men of the 96th were not professional soldiers
They were farmers, shopkeepers, sons, and brothers – ordinary citizens who suddenly found themselves in the Union army. Their officers were local men, too. Colonel Thomas E. Champion came from Warren in Jo Daviess County, and Lieutenant Colonel Isaac L. Clarke hailed from Waukegan.
To maintain fairness between the two counties, the companies were literally drawn from a hat – half Jo Daviess, half Lake County.
The 96th Illinois was officially mustered into federal service on September 6th, 1862
Not long after organizing in Rockford, Illinois, the regiment moved south. By October 1862, they were stationed near Cincinnati, Ohio, helping defend the city from a potential Confederate attack under General Kirby Smith.
For the next several months, the 96th Illinois moved through Kentucky (Lexington, Harrodsburg, Danville) pursuing Confederate cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan and defending key rail lines and towns.
The 96th’s First Serious Battle
Their first serious combat came in early 1863 with the repulse of Wheeler’s raid on Fort Donelson and the pursuit of General Van Dorn near Franklin, Tennessee.
Jacob and his fellow soldiers would see much more action in the months that followed. They joined the Army of the Cumberland and took part in the grueling Middle Tennessee campaign, which included skirmishes in Triune and the larger push that culminated in the bloody Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863. It was the first major battle of the war fought in Georgia and the most significant US defeat in the Western Theater, and it involved the second-highest number of casualties after the Battle of Gettysburg.
Afterward, the 96th regiment were positioned near Lookout Mountain and participated in the pivotal Chattanooga Campaign, where Union forces finally broke the Confederate siege of the city.
Jacob’s War Injury
Through the brutal winter of 1863-64 and into spring, Jacob and the 96th campaigned through Georgia. They climbed rocky ridges and marched along dusty roads during the Atlanta Campaign – fighting at Resaca.
In May 1864, Jacob was wounded during an engagement at Cassville, Georgia.
“A bullet grazed his right arm and entered his cap box, exploding the caps and burning him on the thighs, but not injuring him so severely but that he was able to remain with the command,” according to History of the Ninety-sixth Regiment: Illinois Volunteer Infantry.
Over the course of nearly three years, the regiment suffered heavy losses. 241 men gave their lives – 116 to combat, and 125 more to disease. But they had helped preserve the Union, and for that, their place in history is secure.
An Ordinary Man Living In Extraordinary Times
Jacob’s time in the 96th Illinois wasn’t just a chapter in a history book – it was a chapter in our family’s story. Like so many others, he left the quiet of farm life to serve in a war that he migrated to. He served at only 21 years old. His story is a reminder that history is made not just by generals and presidents, but by young men with muddy boots and steady hearts.
His obituary closed with these words:
“And imagine the time, not far distant, when the last broken rank in the files is filled, and the Grand Army of The Republic is able to report to its Commander in Chief, ‘Sir, all present and accounted for.’ What a mighty cheer will sweep across that vast plain in Valhalla.”
It’s a poetic farewell – not just for Jacob, but for all those who served. And for those of us who come after, it’s a call to remember.
