Short Biography of Pvt. John Franklin Schneider

Co. E, 49^th Regiment of Infantry Missouri Volunteers

At age 29, John Franklin Schneider, a German immigrant and Great Grandfather of A. Carl Fallen, enlisted on August 8, 1864, at Troy, Missouri and lived at Wright City, Missouri.  He was mustered into service at Warrenton, Missouri, September 14, 1864.  T.S. Ruby was the examining surgeon.  Lt. John E. Ball was the recruiting officer, and afterwards, his commanding officer.  Pvt. Schneider’s regiment was part of the 2^nd Brigade commanded by Col. Lyman M. Ward consisting of the 40^th, 49^th, and 14^th Missouri.  The Brigade was part of the 3^rd Division under Brig. Gen. Eugene A. Carr.  The Regiment was transported south, and was engaged in some of the last fighting of the War at Spanish Fort and Blakely in Mobile Bay, Alabama about the time of General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox.  Pvt. Schneider was honorably discharged and mustered out of service at Benton Barracks, Missouri, on August, 1865, after 1 year of service. Private Schneider was a farmer prior to and after his military service.  He was born on February 2, 1834, in Westphalia, Germany, and came to America in 1853 at the age of 19.  After being in this country 11 years, he enlisted in the Army, receiving a $100 bounty.  He was 5’ 10” tall, had dark brown hair, and a fair complexion.  The year following his discharge from the Army, he married Matilda A. Carswell at Troy, Missouri, on January 10, 1866.  He lived in Troy from 1865 until 1884 when he moved to West Fork, Arkansas.  He was granted a 160-acre homestead on Snider Mountain northeast of West Fork in 1894, and this property has remained in the family for over 100 years. Around 1890, he suffered from an ankle injury when he was thrown from a wagon loaded with railroad ties, and one wheel ran over his leg.  This lasting injury affected him ever afterward. Matilda lived with him the rest of her life, and gave him eleven children.  She died on March 18, 1898, and is buried beside him.  John F. lived on Snider Mountain until 1905, when he sold his homestead to his oldest son and moved to Summers, Arkansas to spend the remaining years of his life under the care of his daughter. 

After attempts to verify his war service proved unsuccessful, he finally found his Company Commander, who vouched for him, and learned the government clerks had been searching for his name under the wrong Regiment number.  He last applied for a pension at the age of 78 (Certificate No. 1017418), which was granted with payments of $22.50. John F. died in Washington County, Arkansas, on December 3, 1915, and is buried in the cemetery at Mineral Springs, Arkansas.