Van Eps Young (September 30, 1822December 12, 1895) was an American businessman, politician, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

pioneer. He was a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing

Sheboygan County Sheboygan County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is named after the Sheboygan River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 118,034. Its county seat is Sheboygan. The county was created in 1836 and organized in 1846. At th ...

during the 1867 session. He served throughout the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

with the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

, and helped organize two regiments of

United States Colored Troops The United States Colored Troops (USCT) were regiments in the United States Army composed primarily of African-American (colored) soldiers, although members of other minority groups also served within the units. They were first recruited during ...

. His middle name is sometimes spelled "Epps".

Early life

Van Eps Young was born in

Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the ...

, in September 1822. He was raised and educated in New York, then came west to the Wisconsin Territory in 1844, settling first in

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...

. After a few years in Racine, he went north to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, which remained his home for much of the next 20 years. In Sheboygan, he worked as a livery keeper and operated a produce shop.

Civil War service

At the outbreak of the

, Young joined up as a private with a company of volunteers which was enrolled as Company E of the

17th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment The 17th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was popularly known as the Irish Brigade, due to its composition of mostly Irish American immigrants. Establishment The ...

. But shortly after that regiment mustered into service, he was transferred to the

14th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment The 14th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Four of its members received the Medal of Honor for service in the Second Battle of Corinth, October 3 and 4, 1862 ...

and commissioned as

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

of Company H in that regiment. He joined the 14th Wisconsin Infantry as it was still being organized near

Savannah, Tennessee Savannah is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 7,213 at the 2020 census. Savannah is located along the east side of the Tennessee River. Savannah hosted the NAIA college football national ...

; from there, they were summoned to the nearby

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh (also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing) was fought on April 6–7, 1862, in the American Civil War. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater. The battlefield i ...

, which had begun unexpectedly. They arrived at the battlefield on the evening of the first day of the battle, and were then engaged in heavy fighting throughout the second day—charging and seizing an enemy battery, suffering 146 casualties (out of about 600 men active at the time). Due to a large number of wounded or killed officers, Young became acting

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of the regiment shortly after the battle, and was formally promoted to adjutant in September 1862 (retroactive to July 1862), and ultimately served in that role until May 1863. During this time, the regiment was engaged in operations for control of the Tennessee–Mississippi border, and then joined Grant's

Vicksburg Campaign The Vicksburg campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi Riv ...

. During the Vicksburg campaign, Young was detached from his regiment to assist in recruiting freed Africans to serve in

regiments. In May 1863, he was commissioned

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

of the 10th Louisiana Infantry Regiment—which later became the 48th United States Colored Infantry Regiment. He assisted in organizing this regiment until October 1863, when he was promoted to colonel and placed in command of the 11th Louisiana Infantry Regiment, which then became the

49th United States Colored Infantry Regiment The 49th United States Colored Infantry, first established as the 11th Louisiana Infantry (African descent) was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Vicksburg Campaign The unit was organized at Milliken's Bend, Lou ...

in March 1864. In this role, he became a brigade commander of forces posted around Vicksburg after the city fell to the Union and was formally appointed

provost marshal Provost marshal is a title given to a person in charge of a group of Military Police (MP). The title originated with an older term for MPs, '' provosts'', from the Old French ''prévost'' (Modern French ''prévôt''). While a provost marshal i ...

of the western district of Mississippi, serving in that role through most of 1864, all of 1865, and into 1866. He was honorably discharged in June 1866.

Postbellum career

Following the war, Young returned to Sheboygan, Wisconsin. That fall, he was elected to the Wisconsin Senate from Shebyogan's State Senate district—the 1st State Senate district—running on the National Union ticket. He served through the 1867 session but resigned in the Fall of 1867—with a year left in his term—and moved to

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

. In Grand Rapids, he worked as an accountant and served a term as superintendent of the city police in the 1880s.

Personal life and family

Van Eps Young was one of five children born to Abram Van Eps and Lydia Hutchinson (''née'' Whipple) Young. was a major in the New York militia and served in the cavalry during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. The Young family were descendants of Reverend John Youngs, who was the first English colonist to settle in Southold, New York. Van Eps Young married Arilsle Crane Seaman, of Lancaster, New York, on August 26, 1852, at Sheboygan. They had six children together and their marriage lasted 30 years, ending with her death in 1883. Their eldest son, Abram Van Eps Young, became a notable scholar and was chairman of the chemistry department at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

for 34 years. Van Eps Young died at his home in Grand Rapids on December 12, 1895, and was survived by all six of his children.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Van Eps 1822 births 1895 deaths American people of English descent Politicians from Auburn, New York Politicians from Racine, Wisconsin Politicians from Sheboygan, Wisconsin Politicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan Republican Party Wisconsin state senators 19th-century American legislators Union Army colonels People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Burials in Michigan 19th-century Wisconsin politicians