Veteran of the US Civil War (1861-1865) – Kinsley, Hillside Cemetery, Edwards County, Kansas

Pvt. Addison Leonard enlisted in August of 1862 in Co. A 112th IL Infantry. He was discharged with a disability on April 18, 1864.

Addison Clark Leonard was born in 1820 to Addison and Elizabeth Leonard. He was the 6th of eleven children. He was born and raised in New York.

Sarah Ann Webster (b. 1824) became his bride in 1840. After the birth of their first child, out of nine, Addison took his family west. Their first stop was in Ohio and then Wisconsin where the remainder of their children were born.

Living in Illinois at the outbreak of the Civil War, Addison enlisted at the age of 42. His oldest three sons also enlisted. Pvt. Leonard was captured, along with several other men, and was a prisoner of war for four weeks before being paroled. According to the Kansas Enrollment of Civil War Soldiers, Leonard suffered from chronic rheumatism and total disability. His pension is listed as $8.00 per month.

In 1877, Addison and Sarah accompanied their six grown children and their families to Kansas. They first stopped in Russell County, and in 1883 Addison, Sarah, and youngest son, George were living in Kinsley. Addison died on August 7, 1890, at the age of 70. In his obituary from the Kinsley Mercury of 14 Aug 1890, it says: “Mr. Leonard has for years been a sufferer from disease cause by exposure in the army and at the time of his death was drawing the meager sum of $8 a month pension. He should have had at least $30. Being a poor man he was compelled to labor when he should have been under the care of a physician. Had he been given his just deserts (sic) in the way of a liberal pension years ago, there would be no doubt father Leonard would be with us today.”

Sarah died four months later on December 6th. They share the same headstone in Hillside Cemetery.

Note: Serving their county was important to the Leonard family. Leonard’s father served in the War of 1812. His grandfather served in the American Revolutionary War (1775-1781) as a soldier in Green Mountains boys. Addison and Sarah’s oldest son, Henry H., was a Corp. in Co. A 11th IL Infantry. Their second son, George F. was in Co. E 1st WI Infantry. Tragically, Alonzo C., their third son, enlisted in Co. K 64th IL Infantry in Feb of 1864 and died on March 9, 1864. He was 15 years old.