Private George F. Haenall

George F. Haenall was a Prussian immigrant residing in Glenwood, Iowa when he enlisted on September 9, 1861 in Company B of the Fifth Iowa Cavalry. He was eighteen. The brief entries in the Official Roster list little additional information other than the fact that he reenlisted in 1864 to remain with his company for the duration of the war. Haenall mustered out along with his comrades, with whom he had kept faith, on August 11, 1865 at Nashville, Tennessee.

Following the war he was one of seven hundred and thirty-nine Union veterans who gathered for a reunion in Unionville, Missouri. The Unionville Republican reported on September 25, 1889 that three hundred and forty-six in attendance had served in Missouri regiments while one hundred and seven represented Iowa units. Festivities included numerous speeches, a parade, and the reenactment of a battle. Among the men attending the commemoration was another veteran of the Fifth Iowa Cavalry, James Coombs. It is likely that despite their having served in two different companies, these fellow veterans of the Fifth encountered one another at the reunion and recounted many of their most noteworthy memories of service in this distinguished regiment.