Sergeant Turner

Iowa Civil War Soldier

Stroud's Civil War News Emporium invites you to help solve a mystery. We have obtained a civil war CDV with a partially identified Union veteran. The noncommissioned officer portrayed here, is "Sgt Turner."

A clue as to the identity of the soldier is found in the location where the image was taken; the photographer was R.H. Blair of Keokuk, Iowa. While it is certainly possible that the man in the picture was from a non-Iowa regiment, the odds are in favor of Turner being from the state.

His branch was more likely the infantry, since he is not wearing the typical cavalry shell jacket with the high collar.

The following Iowa soldiers are the most likely candidates to be the veteran pictured above. They all served at some point during the war in the grade of sergeant.

As unlikely as it may be, it is hoped that perhaps a postwar image of Sergeant Turner survived and that his descendants will be able to recognize him here due to the resemblance. If you have any additional information, please contact us at Stroud's Emporium.

Hercules (Harvey) Turner
Third Iowa Infantry, Company G
Age 26, Residence Indianola, Iowa, Nativity Ohio
Enlisted May 21, 1861 - Mustered June 8, 1861
Promoted to Sixth Corporal December 3, 1861
Promoted to Fourth Sergeant July 24, 1862
Promoted to Second Sergeant May 4, 1863
Mustered out June 18, 1864, Davenport, Iowa

James Turner
Sixth Iowa Infantry, Company I
Age 22, Residence Wapello, Iowa, Nativity England
Enlisted July 12, 1861 - Mustered July 18, 1861
Promoted to Fourth Corporal June 1, 1862
Promoted to Second Corporal July 1, 1862
Promoted to Fourth Sergeant June 1, 1863
Wounded June 6, 1863, Jones' Ford, Mississippi
Promoted to Third Sergeant December 20, 1863
Reenlisted and remustered January 26, 1864
Wounded June 27, 1864, Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia
Promoted to Captain January 1, 1865
Mustered out July 21, 1865, Louisville, Kentucky

Asa Turner
Eighth Iowa Infantry, Companies H & I Age 18, Residence Denmark, Iowa, Nativity Iowa
Enlisted September 18, 1861 - Mustered September 28, 1861
Missing in action and taken prisoner April 6, 1862, Shiloh, Tennessee
Reenlisted and remustered January 11, 1864
Transferred to company I, September 1, 1863
Promoted to Fourth Sergeant February 11, 1864
Discharged April 27, 1864, Memphis, Tennessee to accept promotion
in the Fifty-Second Regiment, United States Colored Troops

Robert L. Turner
Eighth Iowa Infantry, Companies H & I
Age 19, Residence Denmark, Iowa, Nativity Illinois
Enlisted September 28, 1861 as Musician - Mustered September 28, 1861
Promoted Fifer
Reenlisted and remustered January 11, 1864
Transferred to company I, June 1, 1864
Taken prisoner August 21, 1864, Memphis, Tennessee
Promoted to Fifth Sergeant November 1, 1865 Promoted to Fourth Sergeant April 1, 1866
Mustered out April 20, 1866 at Selma, Alabama

Robert Turner
Twenty-Fifth Iowa Infantry, Company E
Age 26, Residence Burlington, Iowa, Nativity Virginia
Enlisted & Mustered August 11, 1862, as Eighth Corporal
Promoted to Fifth Sergeant April 10, 1863
Mustered out June 6, 1865, Washington, DC

George H. Turner
Thirty-First Iowa Infantry, Company C
Age 18, Residence Waterloo, Iowa, Nativity New York
Enlisted August 6, 1862 - Mustered September 24, 1862
Promoted to Sixth Corporal May 30, 1863
Promoted to Third Corporal
Promoted to First Corporal December 31, 1863
Promoted to Fourth Sergeant October 1, 1864
Promoted to Third Sergeant January 9, 1865
Mustered out June 27, 1865, Louisville, Kentucky

Hamilton E. Turner
Thirty-First Iowa Infantry, Company D
Age 22. Residence La Porte City, Iowa, Nativity Pennsylvania
Enlisted August 15, 1862 - Mustered September 26, 1862
Promoted to Eighth Corporal November 20, 1862
Promoted to Sixth Corporal February 1, 1863
Promoted to Fifth Sergeant June 17, 1863
Mustered out June 27, 1865, Louisville, Kentucky

Charles C. Turner
Fortieth Iowa Infantry, Company D
Age 36, Residence Greencastle, Iowa, Nativity Maine
Enlisted August 22, 1862, as First Sergeant
Mustered September 13, 1862
Reduced to ranks at his own request October 13, 1864
Mustered out August 2, 1865, Fort Gibson, Cherokee Nation

James P. Turner
First Iowa Cavalry, Company A
Age 26, Residence Keokuk, Iowa, Nativity Ohio
Enlisted June 13, 1861 & Mustered July 30, 1861as Fifth Corporal
Promoted to Fourth Corporal January 1, 1862
Promoted to Third Corporal March 25, 1862
Promoted to Second Corporal September 1, 1862
Promoted to First Corporal Sept. 28, 1862
Promoted to Sixth Sergeant November 1, 1862
Promoted to Fifth Sergeant February 8, 1863
Promoted to Fourth Sergeant October 15, 1863
Reenlisted and remustered February 22, 1864
Promoted to Company Quartermaster Sergeant November 1, 1864
Promoted to First Sergeant March 25, 1865
Promoted but not mustered as Second Lieutenant July 18, 1865
Mustered out February 15, 1866, Austin, Texas

Clinton M. Turner
First Iowa Cavalry, Company C
Age 26, Residence West Point, Iowa, Nativity Indiana
Enlisted June 18, 1861 & Mustered July 31, 1861 as First Corporal
Promoted to Company Quartermaster Sergeant May 27, 1862
Promoted to Commissary Sergeant September 1, 1862
Reenlisted and remustered Feb. 22, 1864
Promoted to Second Lieutenant July 6, 1864
Promoted to First Lieutenant April 15, 1865
Mustered out February 15, 1866, Austin, Texas