Longennecker, Michael B

Michael Longennecker

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Significance:

Company H, 152nd Illinois Infantry

Place of Birth:

Robinson, Illinois

Date of Birth:

1847

Place of Death:

Tullahoma, Tennessee

Date of Death:

March 15th, 1865

Place of Burial:

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Cemetery Name:

Stones River National Cemetery

Michael B. Longennecker grew up in the small farming community of Robinson, Illinois. In the final months of the Civil War, he joined the Union Army with little time left in the conflict. On February 11, 1865, at just eighteen years old, he enlisted as a private in Company H of the 152nd Illinois Infantry. Descriptive muster roles portray him as a young man of modest stature—standing 5 feet 3 inches tall, with brown hair and eyes, and a dark complexion. Before military service, he worked as a farmer.

The 152nd Illinois was organized for a one‑year term and quickly departed the state, traveling south to Nashville, Tennessee and then onward to Tullahoma, Tennessee. There, the regiment was assigned to the 2nd Brigade and charged with guarding the vital Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, a key supply line for Union forces in the region.

Longennecker’s service proved tragically brief. After just over a month in uniform, he died on March 15, 1865. Initially buried in Tullahoma, his remains were later transferred to Stones River National Cemetery, where he now rests in Plot A‑74.  

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