Eastes, L.F.
~Co. B 36 Ind. Infantry~

Residence Delaware County IN;
Enlisted on 10/23/1861 as a Private.
On 10/23/1861 he mustered into "B" Co. IN 36th Infantry
He deserted on 8/18/1862

The following information was submitted to me by Joy Pero:

Lemuel Eastes was the oldest of the eleven children born to Holman Eastes and Ruth Webb. He was born on 3 June 1838 in Hancock County, Indiana on the farm where the Eastes-Harvey Cemetery is now located. His occupation was
primarily as a farmer but in later life he worked as a blacksmith. About 1859, Lemuel married Rebecca Cunningham. No place, date or marriage certificate has been found. Her son, Joseph Frank Eastes said she was part Indian.

When the Civil War began, Lemuel was enlisted by Capt. Alfred Kilgore at Muncie, Indiana on 21 August 1861. He enlisted as a Private for 3 years in the Army of the United States . On the same day he joined his new unit and was assigned to Capt Hugh A. Stephens, Company B, 36th Regiment of the Indiana Infantry Volunteers. At the time of enlistment he was 25 years old, light complexion and had blue eyes. He was married and had one son, Jasper Newton, born on 3 March 1860.
His military records tell of a very complex period. The Muster Rolls dated May and June 1862, states he was left sick at New Haven, Kentucky on 5 December 1861. Then the July and August 1862 Muster Rolls lists him as a deserter. On 18 August 1862, his unit apparently moved again and a list of deserters shows he had deserted at McMinnville, Tennessee. Further records show he was admitted to the Post Hospital at New Haven, Kentucky on 27 December 1861 and then sent to Nelson Barracks, Kentucky to be treated for measles. Lemuel was then sent to the Louisville Barracks on 5 March 1862 and given a Discharge Furlough signed by General Buel and directed to return home to await
his discharge. On 27 April 1862 he was returned to his unit as a deserter. However, since he had his Discharge Furlough he was returned to active duty and given an Honorable Disability Discharge on 7 May 1863 at Murfreesboro, Tennessee. On his Discharge Certificate his home address was given as Chesterfield, Indiana. Another document from the Adjutant General's Office in Washington, D.C. dated 23 August 1887 removes the Desertion Charges erroneously placed against him. Since Lemuel was an Honorably Discharged Disabled Veteran, he was given a pension.

The date of his death is confirmed as being on 11 May 1903 and was last paid $17.00 on 4 May 1903. A Disability Certificate dated 29 February 1888 shows his home in New Corner, Indiana, (later know as Gaston) in Delaware County. The certificate further states that due to illness contracted in Military Service he was now certified as being totally unable to work at his occupation as a farmer and blacksmith.

Lemuel was married 5 times. 1. Rebecca Cunningham. 2. C.M. Hester. 3. Sarah Smithson, 4. Margaret A. Innis. 5. Margaret Sweeney. Later, Margaret Sweeny changed her name to Mariah Jane Potts. Potts had been her maiden name. Mariah married after Lemuel's death to William McKee. That name appears on the Pension that she claimed for his surviving Minor children.