Henry Henze was born in 1826 and lived in Germany for the first 28 years of his life.

Like so many others, Henry sought better opportunities and decided to emigrate to the United States of America in 1854. Henry took a job with the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad and worked his way west with the growth of the rail system.

By 1859, Henry found himself living in a log cabin next to a small creek in a community known as Hickory Grove. The cabin itself has an important place in local history. It was in 1837 that John Randall had built the cabin, the first log cabin erected in Hickory Grove.

The log cabin was erected just north of the Kyte Creek and to the east of today’s Main Street in Rochelle. Henry lived peacefully in his cabin by the creek for two years before his world changed. The Civil War broke out in 1861 and Henry, at the age of 35, felt the need to enlist in the Union Army.

Henry Henze became a waggoneer in the Illinois 16th Cavalry. The Illinois 16th was under the command of Captain Christian Thieleman and destined to be at the center of many battles.

The Illinois 16th was formed in Chicago and quickly headed south. While in Kentucky, the Illinois 16th grew. Permission was granted to recruit. Thus, the original group was designated Company A, and the new group became Company B.

The move south moved at a snail’s pace but was not without excitement. At Purdy, Mississippi, the Illinois 16th clashed with four companies of confederates. Even though outnumbered, the Union troops won the day.

During the siege of Vicksburg, the Illinois 16th was assigned escort duty for General William Sherman. Escort duty involved providing protection for General Sherman as well as the everyday duties of members of the cavalry. These duties included scouting, picket and vidette duties. The primary duty though, was to ensure the safety of one of the Union Army’s leading figures. The Union could not risk General Sherman, and the Illinois 16th made sure he was as safe as possible.

The importance of the capture of Vicksburg can be summed up best by quotes from two presidents. Abraham Lincoln stated, “Vicksburg is the key! The war can never be brought-to-a-close until the key is in our pocket.”

Jefferson Davis said simply, “Vicksburg is the nail head that holds the South’s two halves together.”

The siege of Vicksburg lasted 47 days before General John Pemberton surrendered the city to General Ulysses Grant. The Union now had control of the Mississippi River. It is also crucial to remember that the Battle at Gettysburg ended only the day before Vicksburg fell. The Confederacy was facing the beginning of the end of the war.

The Illinois 16th Cavalry saw many victories, from small skirmishes to major battles, Henry Henze and the rest of the group counted on skill and fortune to survive battle after bloody battle.

On Jan. 3, 1864, it was luck alone that spared Rochelle’s Henry Henze. The Illinois 16th was needed for two assignments: now Colonel Thieleman, led Company A to the Cumberland Gap and Major Beers with Company B was sent to Powell’s Valley.

The Cumberland Gap was fairly quiet but not so at Powell’s Valley. Major Beers was attacked by three Brigades of Longstreet’s command. Outnumbered five to one, Major Beers and Company B fought for 10 hours, losing 356 men and 56 officers.

In the end, it was lack of ammunition, not lack of courage that caused Major Beers to surrender. For the dead, the war was over; for the living the horror was going to hit a new high. Prisoners were sent to Andersonville prison. Fewer than one-third of the prisoners survived Andersonville; the rest are buried in the National Cemetery at that site.

Henry Henze reached the end of his enlistment but chose to reenlist. In 1865 he became a member of Hancock’s Veteran Corp.

The war was over but there was much to be done and one of the most memorable events related to the war was still on the horizon.

President Abraham Lincoln was with his wife at the Ford’s Theater on April 14, 1865 when an assassin ended his life. Hancock’s Veteran Corp was given two assignments: bring the conspirators to justice and bring the body of the president back to his home in Illinois.

Henry Henze, of Rochelle, stood guard over Abraham Lincoln’s casket from Chicago to Springfield on his last ride home.

Henry Henze mustered out of the Army in 1866. Of the original 1,200 men and 100 later recruits of the Illinois 16th Cavalry, almost 1,000 were lost in battle, 258 survived. They had fought in 31 general battles and numerous skirmishes.

Henry Henze had fought beside Generals Sherman and Grant in some of the deadliest battles of the war. Henry had also helped to bring Abraham Lincoln to his final resting place.

Henry Henze, at 39 years of age, was ready to return home to Rochelle.

Henry returned to his log cabin next to the Kyte River. It wasn’t long before Magdalena Yetter caught his eye and they were married in 1866. Magdalena joined Henry in the log cabin and they lived in these austere conditions for eight more years. In the 1870s Henry and Magdalena built a modern two-story home north of the log cabin and lived there for the rest of their lives.

Through the years they had children Minnie, George, Henry, Fred, Anna and Millie, each with a story of their own. Henry passed in 1909 and Magdalena in 1929.

From a German boy, to a young man from Rochelle, Henry Henze lived through many of the definitive events of our country’s early history. It has been an honor to keep his story alive.

Tom McDermott is a Flagg Township Museum historian and Rochelle city councilman.