Higgins, Harvey

Harvey Higgins

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Significance:

Company E, 154th Illinois Infantry

Place of Birth:

Crawford County, Illinois

Date of Birth:

1847

Place of Death:

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Date of Death:

April 14th, 1865

Place of Burial:

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Cemetery Name:

Stones River National Cemetery

Harvey Higgins was born in Crawford County, Illinois, in 1847. By the age of 18, he joined the Union Army during the final months of the Civil War. According to the Illinois Descriptive Roster, Higgins was described as standing 5 feet 7 inches tall, with light hair, gray eyes, and a light complexion. At the time of his enlistment, he worked as a farmer in Lawrenceville, Illinois, and was unmarried.

On February 14, 1865, Higgins mustered into Company E of the 154th Illinois Regiment at Olney, Illinois, committing to a year of service. The regiment organized at Camp Butler and departed for Louisville, Kentucky, on February 24. Their journey was interrupted by flooding, causing them to remain in Nashville, Tennessee, from February 27 until March 2. Afterward, the regiment spent time in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, before marching to Tullahoma on May 15. They remained stationed there until June 11, performing picket, guard, and garrison duties. As the war came to an end, the 154th Illinois Regiment was officially mustered out of service on September 18, 1865, in Nashville, Tennessee. 

Tragically, Higgins did not complete his service. He succumbed to illness and passed away on April 14, 1865, from an unspecified disease while stationed in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He is now buried at Stones River National Cemetery, plot D-1395. 

Tags: stones river national battlefield, stones river national cemetery, american civil war