Major John Keith Leedy

Doctor and Major John Keith Leedy was the son of pioneers "Big John" Leedy and Elizabeth (Keith) Leedy and at the age of 29 he traveled to Kosciusko County, Indiana from his Ohio home in May of 1849. This was not long after the Indian territory was opened up to settlers by the U.S. government. He practiced medicine in Warsaw as a respected physician for many years. He was said to be a likeable person with a jovial disposition that did much toward the healing of his patients, perhaps as much as the medicines he dispensed. He was quite well to do in his later years and built a beautiful brick home in Warsaw on the southwest corner of Columbia and Fort Wayne streets. He also owned about 292 acres on the northern shore of Center Lake in Wayne Township. He died at the age of 56 in 1876 of "lung fever". He enlisted as an officer (surgeon) in the 74'th Indiana Infantry Volunteers, Company "S" on March 20, 1863 and was commissioned on April 7, 1863 at Indianapolis, Indiana. He served under Major General William Rosecrans of the "Army of the Cumberland". His duties were to proceed to various hospitals and battle areas thruout the south as directed by field orders issued by General Rosecrans and other superior officers and to perform such surgical assistance as needed. A grisly part of those duties was to amputate limbs deemed unsaveable in order to save soldier's lives. He also had involvement in performing body counts of both Union and Confederate troops before burial. In January, 1864 he was allowed to return to his home to recover from a bout of diarrhea. He returned to duty but once again was struck with the disease and hospitalized in Savannah, Georgia. He seems to have been frequently plagued with chronic diarrhea during his time of service in the war. He was honorably discharged with distinguished service on account of physical disability on March 9, 1865 by the Adjutant General's Office of the War Department, Special Order No.115 signed by E. D. Townsend, Assistant Adjutant General, Washington, D.C. (wab)