(1822-1910) Sources: Illinois in the 19th Century, 118th Illinois Infantry Regiment, Civil War High Commands, My Dear Aunt Martha Born along the Mohawk River in Sand Flats, Montgomery County, New York, John came to Hancock County, Illinois with his parents in 1835. The greater portion of his life was spent as a surveyor and civil engineer. Appointed by the County Court as one of three commissioners to lay off and divide Hancock County into townships in 1850, he was paid an additional $2.50 for making a plat of the county.
In 1847 he enlisted as a private in Capt. Stapp's company of Illinois Mounted Volunteers and went to Mexico. At the close of the war, the following year, he was discharged as a Lieutenant. In 1849, he was married to Mary McConnell, and the same year was elected County Surveyor and settled in Carthage; lived there until 1854, when he moved to Warsaw and was appointed an assistant engineer on the Warsaw & Rockford Railroad.
In July 1861, he entered the United States Volunteer Service as a Lieutenant in Capt. B. F. Marsh's Company of 2d Illinois Cavalry. In January, 1862, he was appointed Major of the 12th Illinois Cavalry, and soon after placed in command of Camp Butler, near Springfield. In October he was made Colonel of the 118th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and in December went with his regiment to Louisiana, where he served most of the time in command of a brigade until the close of the war. With his regiment he participated in all the battles about Vicksburg. After the fall of Vicksburg he had command of a cavalry brigade, and was brevetted Brigadier-General.
After the close of the war, in 1866, General Fonda settled on a farm near Fountain Green in Hancock County, Illinois. In July, 1877, he was appointed a Commissioner of the Southern Illinois Penitentiary. In September 1879, he was appointed Chief Engineer to construct levees between Warsaw and Quincy, to protect the low lands from overflow. The early pages of Fonda's diary tell briefly how he was reassigned to various positions, until he finally became a Colonel of the 118th Regiment. In the rest of the diary he tells of his entire military experience in that capacity.
Sources and references
- Illinois in the 19th Century: http://history.alliancelibrarysystem.com/IllinoisAlive/files/wi/htm3/wi000063.cfm
- 118th Illinois Infantry Regiment: http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilcivilw/history/118.htm
- Civil War High Commands: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0804736413/
- My Dear Aunt Martha: http://www.mydearauntmartha.com/