Sylvester Griffin, son of Ashael and Polly (Loyal) Griffin, was born in New Haven, VT in 1800. He was the third son of seven children born to this couple. In 1820, Sylvester married Matilda Austin, daughter of Peleg and Abiah (Knapp) Austin. Between 1820 and 1843, they farmed in upper New York state and Ohio before finally settling in Iowa.

Described as an "eccentric" in the family "vanity" history, Sylvester was a warrior on behalf of his nation. Lying about his age - with the goal of enlisting in the military - seems not to have troubled him.

In 1847, at the age of 47, he enlisted in Company C, the First United States Infantry under Captain C. M. Haile. When he was honorable discharged on July 28, 1848, his military record reported his age as 34 - not 48. Two of Sylvester's sons - Ira and Edwin - also served in the War with Mexico. Ira was discharged with a health problem 1847 and Edwin served through the end of the conflict.

Between 1848 and 1861, Sylvester tended his farm in Jackson County Iowa duirng these years with one exception - in 1851 he was "smitten with gold fever" and walked from Davenport, Iowa to Stockton, California. This adventure apparently did not work out well as he returned to his farm in 1852 - after taking a steamer down the Pacific coast, walking across the isthmus of Panama and catching another steamship up the Atlantic to New York City.

Duirng the next decade, Sylvester's first wife, Matilda, died and he remarried in 1858. Life on the Iowa farm could not hold his interest after the Confederate states seceded and the Civil War began. The fall of 1861 found Sylvester planning to join other Iowa volunteers in support of ending the "insult to the flag."

Sylvester, at age 61, went 25 miles north to Dubuque to enlist rather than presenting himself in his home community where he - and his age - were well known by local residents. The family history reports that when Sylvester presented himself in Dubuque the question of his age was raised.

Sylvester "indignantly proposed ro refer the matter to his father, Ashley Griffin, of La Motte." The recruitment officer did not know that Ashley was, in fact, Sylvester's son. His enrollment was accepted but the official records of Company K, Twelfth Iowa Infantry, show a blank in the place of the age of Sylvester Griffin.

The Iowa Twelfth Infantry trained in St. Louis and saw action in early 1862 at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. Sylvester then spent time in a Cincinnati hospital (according to his military records) while recovering from smallpox. He rejoined his unit at Shiloh on April 3, three days before that fateful Sunday. He and many other Iowans fought that day in the Hornet's Nest. Sylvester's youngest son, Asel, fought on that same line.

Late in the Sunday, April 6th, Sylvester was mortally wounded. He was eventually transported back to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri on a hospital ship where died on May 24, 1862. He was buried in Andrew Cemetery, Iowa.

Sylvester Griffin (Private)