GREENE C. ADKINS, son of the late Wyatt Adkins, was born in
Pulaski County, Kentucky, September 1, 1837. He was reared on the homestead
farm in his native county, and there attended the log-cabin subscription
schools, with puncheon floor, split-log seats, greased paper for windows, and
clapboard roof. In 1856 he came with his parents to Doyle Township, Clarke
County, which has since been his home.
In May, 1861, he enlisted in Company B, Sixth Iowa Infantry,
and was taken prisoner at the siege of Corinth. He was discharged on account of
disability in November, 1862. In August, 1863, he re-enlisted in Company H,
Iowa Cavalry, and was in the service till February, 1866. He commanded a
company of twenty-seven men at Gun Springs, Arkansas, fourteen of whom were
killed or wounded. The rest were taken prisoners with the exception of Mr.
Adkins, who managed to escape that time. He was taken prisoner in May, and
confined in a negro jail at Jackson, Mississippi. The prisoners were taken to
Pearl River to bathe, and while returning from the river our subject picked up
a railroad spike which he concealed under his clothes. With this spike they
managed to pry off a board, then tunneled through a brick wall twenty inches in
thickness, and after climbing twenty-seven feet down a tarred rope six of them
escaped, but three were afterward caught by bloodhounds. Mr. Adkins and two
other prisoners reached the river, and while an old rebel was praying our
subject stole his skiff, with which they managed to reach the mouth of Black
River, where they were picked up by a Union vessel.
Mr. Adkins was united in marriage August 27, 1863, to
Catharine Shields, a daughter of John Shields, who is now deceased. They have
five children – Elmer, William, Laura, Cora and Lizzie. Mr. Adkins is one of
the prosperous farmers of Doyle Township, and is also a successful
stock-raiser. He has a well-cultivated farm on section 4, Doyle Township, where
he resides, which contains 340 acres. Mr. Adkins is a member of the Grand Army
of the Republic. He has been a member of the Christian church for the past
twenty-nine years.
SOURCE: Biographical
and Historical Record of Clarke County, Iowa, Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago,
Illinois, 1886 p. 432
