A tale of two Civil War brothers

By VIRGINIA VASSALLO

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Virginia Vassallo and her husband, Russell, operate Krazy Duck Productions, a small publishing company in Liberty. She is the author of Unsung Patriot: Guy T. Viskniskki, How The Stars and Stripes began.)

He woke up to find the wounded soldier staring at him with questioning eyes.

“You look like a boy in my company,” the soldier said. “What’s your name?”

“Felix Viskniskki.”

“Sounds like his last name too.”

“What company are you in?”

“Company G, 18th Regiment Illinois Infantry. We’ve marched all over. Started in Illinois, then on to Bloomfield, Mo. Found ourselves marching south through Kentucky. That sure was pretty country. Ended up at Fort Donelson and then at Shiloh.”

“I was at Antietam. One bloody battle. I was on the picket line and, when I was relieved, I crawled back to my lines. At least I thought I did. I woke up the next morning looking right into the face of a dead Reb. Scared me something awful.”

“Shiloh was real bad for our company – lost lots of men wounded and killed. But that boy I told you about – he was magic. I stayed real near him. Bullets flying by didn’t unnerve him. He just kept firing. He sure was a steady one. And, come to think of it, he had a bit of an accent.  Kinda sounded like you.”

“Really?”

“That boy and you sure do look alike.” The soldier shuffled off.

Felix lay there wondering. Could this look alike be his brother, Thomas? Thomas was only two years older than him but it had been ten years since the day Thomas and their father left to work on the O & M Railroad.

To find the Illinois boy, Felix would have to be discharged from the hospital. Then he’d have to find his company wherever the Army of the Potomac had gone and request a transfer to Company G, 18th Regiment Illinois Infantry, Army of the Tennessee.

First things first, he thought. He’d have to get well enough to be discharged from the hospital in Chambersburg, Pa., and then he could start searching for Thomas. Maybe start in Kentucky and follow the trail of the Army. Someone else might have seen this boy who looked like him.

Did this really happen? Yes, it did.

On Dec. 31, 1862, Felix Viskniskki was discharged from the hospital and the Army. He made his way home to Fredonia, N.Y., where he completed his recovery before setting out on his search for Thomas.

Felix followed the trail of the Army of the Tennessee through Kentucky and Tennessee and finally caught up with the Army just after the Surrender of Vicksburg. The 18th Regiment Illinois Infantry had already crossed the Mississippi River and fought in the Battle of Helena (Arkansas).

When Felix was able to get transportation to Helena, he found that a Thomas Vishinshki was listed on the roster for Company G but had not returned from the battlefield. Felix searched for three days before finding Thomas, very ill with typhoid fever, lying in a shack near a creek.

They both survived the Civil War and raised their families just a few miles apart from each other.