Age eighteen; residence Des Moines; native of Indiana; private; enlisted Dec. 21,1861; discharged August 2, 1862, at Quincy, Ill., for disability, and died after he had been at home about two weeks. When he came home he was so thin that he could be carried in the arms of one of his sisters. While sick at Quincy, Ill., Mrs. J. B. Parish, a very kind lady, took him into her own house and nursed him with the most tender care. When Leroy had returned home, this Christian woman wrote to him : —
"Dear Leroy, take the Bible for your guide, love Jesus, and all will be well with you, both in this world and in the world to come; and, if not permitted to meet again in this changing and fleeting world, may we meet in heaven, there to enjoy the society of loved ones gone before. It is a happy thought to look forward to a coming world, where all pain shall cease, — every tear be wiped away, — and there meet father, mother, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters in one unbroken circle; and there praise God eternally, — and, Leroy, you had a good mother, a praying mother, one who died in full faith in her Saviour's grace, and many is the petition her heart put forth to God for her motherless children, and they cannot be lost. I believe no such prayers are lost. The seed is sown, and it will spring up in due time and ripen. Her prayers follow you, dear child, and will be blessed to your eternal good.''
Mrs. Parish writes to a friend: —
"I first became acquainted with Leroy shortly after the battle of Pittsburg Landing, Tenn. He, with other sick and wounded soldiers, was brought to Quincy and placed in the hospital. On the first day of arrival and before any comfortable accommodations could be made, a number of ladies with myself, volunteered to do all that we might to make the sick and wounded comfortable until better arrangements could be made. We carried in tea, toast, and other delicacies for the sick. My attention was attracted to Leroy. He seemed so young and delicate. I carried him his meals for some weeks, until I got permission to take him to our house, and nurse him there. He was with us eight weeks. During his stay with us he read much in the Bible, and conversed freely of his hope in Christ. I often noticed, during religious services at the hospital, that he seemed very respectful and devotional. He never complained, and scarcely spoke of his sufferings on the battlefield. He was sun-struck at Pittsburg Landing, and brought here on a stretcher."
Lieutenant Wilkins says: "He served his country as faithfully as he could; a good, lively boy, there was nothing bad about him." And Captain Studer says: "Conner was a very good boy, and whenever placed on duty, was good as could be wished. He was intelligent, high-spirited, honorable. He fought at Shiloh like a good and brave soldier, fearless of danger."
SOURCE: Leonard Brown, American Patriotism: Or, Memoirs Of Common Men, p. 220-1
