William Grose

William Grose was born December 16, 1812, in Montgomery County, Ohio near Dayton. Grose had two grandfathers who served in the Revolutionary War, one of whom died in the war. His family moved to Fayette County, Indiana in 1816, where his father was a farmer. When William was seventeen, his family settled in Henry County, Indiana. There he helped his father farm and studied law. Once Grose was admitted to the bar, he practiced law in New Castle. He ran as a Democrat for Congress in 1852, but did not win. In 1856, the voters of Henry County elected him to the Legislature. Grose was elected judge of the Common Pleas Court in 1860. When the Civil War broke out, Grose resigned his judgeship and accepted a commission as colonel of the 36th Indiana on October 23, 1861. The 36th was the only Indiana regiment of General Don Carlos Buell to take part in the bloody battle at Shiloh, where Grose received his orders from General Buell personally. At Shiloh, Grose was wounded in the shoulder and his horse was killed under him. He was then made commander of the 10th Brigade and advanced with Buell’s army, taking part in the siege of Corinth. Grose saw action at Stone River, where he had another horse shot out from under him, and “was always seen where the bullets flew thickest.” In the battle of Chickamauga, he was wounded in the neck. On July 30,1864, while under fire in front of Atlanta, Grose was promoted to Brigadier General of Volunteers. He commanded a brigade in Nathan Kimball’s division of Thomas J. Wood’s IV Corps at Franklin and Nashville in the defeat of John B. Hood’s Confederate troops. In June 1865, Grose requested that he be relieved of his command and subsequently submitted his resignation. It was not accepted, and he was appointed president of a court-martial in Nashville. He was appointed by brevet to Major General of Volunteers on August 13, 1865. On January 31, 1866, William Grose resigned his commission. As a civilian, Grose was a collector of internal revenue in his area until 1874. He then served on a state commission to build mental hospitals. He was elected to the Indiana Senate in 1887 and published a history of the 36th Indiana in 1891. Grose died at his home in New Castle on July 30, 1900, at the age of 87 and is buried in South Mound Cemetery.

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