Decatur County, Indiana native Joseph Linville enlisted as a private in Company E, 21st Missouri Infantry on July 15, 1861; he fought at the battles of Shiloh and Corinth. In early 1862 he contracted measles and lost the hearing in his right ear; he had lost the sight in his left eye several years before entering the army, and in October 1862 he contracted diarrhea. Linville received a disability discharge on February 8, 1863.

Carte-de-Visite by Unknown Photographer

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 31719