Shrake, Edward M

Edward M Shrake

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Significance:

Company A, 73rd Illinois Infantry

Place of Birth:

Green County, Indiana

Date of Birth:

1841

Place of Death:

Murfreesboro, TN

Date of Death:

January 1st, 1863

Place of Burial:

Murfreesboro, TN

Cemetery Name:

Stones River National Cemetery

Edward M Shrake was born in 1841 in Greene County, Indiana. He later moved to Christian County, Illinois where he worked as a farmer. At the age of 20, Shrake enlisted with the Union army on August 4th, 1862 in Mechanicsburg, Illinois as a private. Eventually, he mustered in on August 21st, 1862 with Company A of the 73rd Illinois Infantry regiment at Camp Butler in Illinois. His enlistment records describe him as being 5'9" with a fair complexion, blue eyes, and fair hair.

The 73rd Illinois participated in Mill Creek, where they had been placed under the command of General Schafer. In December of 1862, they made camp in Nashville, Tennessee where they waited for orders to move to Murfreesboro. Those orders were received on December 26th, and they began to pack up camp and move south in pursuit of Bragg.

On the 30th, they took a position just east of Gresham Lane and functioned as reserves. They held this position until they were called to the front at 9am to aid General Sill's brigade after Sill had been mortally wounded. They were then swept northward towards Wilkinson Pike where they formed the right flank of a now V-shaped position situated along the Wilkinson Pike and McFadden Road. Confederate forces brought on heavy fire and around noon of the 31st, the 73rd Illinois was sent into a retreat through the woods.

Schafer's brigade then formed a new position just north of the Nashville Chattanooga railroad line and tried to regroup. They remined in this area until the end of the day. Many wounded men from the day spent the night laying in the field among the dying and the dead, wondering if they would be rescued from the cold. Private Shrake was among those that was injured on the 31st, and spent the night waiting.

The 1st of January was spent gathering the dead and tending to the wounded. Private Shrake was among those gathered and sent to a Union regimental field hospital in the area. It was during the day on January 1st, 1863, that Private Shrake died of his wounds received in battle. 

Edward M Shrake is laid to rest in the Stones River National Cemetery in plot F-2472.