Jacob Henion mustered into Company E with the 6th New York State Cavalry as a private. Afterward, Jacob and his long-time friend and fellow soldier William Padgett were captured by Confederate forces in the summer of 1864. They endured being incarcerated in a series of Confederate prisons, including the notorious Andersonville.

The men suffered unspeakable horrors there, which Jacob kept in a detailed diary. Sixty-four men from Jacob’s unit went into Andersonville, and only four survived. Jacob and William Padgett were two of the four. In February 1891, Jacob was able to testify about their Andersonville experience during William Padgett’s pension hearing. He told the story of how he carried a critically ill William down to the creek that ran through the prison’s yard to bathe him when he could no longer care for himself.

Jacob W Henion