Frank Posegate

Francis Marion Posegate (1838–1917), American Civil War soldier, journalist, and mayor of St. Joseph, Missouri from 1882 to 1884.

Early life Francis, or Frank, Posegate was born in Lafayette, Indiana, in Tippecanoe County on October 11, 1837. The Posegate family moved to Fort Des Moines, Iowa for a time, where Frank worked for Lamson Sherman, the brother of General Sherman, as a carrier and printers "devil" for the Iowa Star. When Frank was 13, the family moved to St. Joseph, Missouri. Isaac found work there as a gunsmith.

The paper was published in a town on the border of Missouri and Kansas, where Posegate's extreme nationalist political views were not well received.

Military career Posegate settled at his in-laws' home in Ohio, after moving from Memphis, and enlisted in the 48th Ohio, Company A. He also helped recruit for the volunteer infantry. Among his written work is The Sunday Battle at Shiloh, a first hand eyewitness at the Battle of Shiloh.

Posegate fought in the Siege of Vicksburg, after which he resigned his post on June 25, 1863, claiming bad eyesight. His resignation letter in the National Archives is accompanied by a surgeon's certificate verifying the deterioration of Posegate's eyesight and his inability to fulfill his duties because of his vision. However, in September 1864, Posegate helped to organize the 175th Ohio and became a conditional second lieutenant in that outfit.

Personal life In 1858, Posegate married his first wife, Sarah (Sallie) Johnson from New Lexington, Highland County, Ohio. Sarah was the daughter of a well to do Ohio farmer and merchant.