Peter Dickman - Bishop Post, G.A.R.

Not many of the veterans of the Bishop Post had the varied military career of Peter Dickman.  

Peter grew up in Tiffin Township with his parents, William and Rebecca Dickman.  By the age of 18, he was apprenticed to John Dow, learning the blacksmith trade in Brunersburg.  He was living with the Dow family, according to the 1860 census.

When the Civil War began, Peter enlisted right away in Company E, 111th Infantry along with many other local men.  On March 29, 1863, he transferred to the Mississippi Marine Brigade.  Despite its name, this was a special Union company, formed in the south and originally overseen by the Navy.

The job of the company was to use ironclad, ram boats to patrol the Mississippi for Confederates and engage them in battle. They skirmished on land and created chaos for the Rebs whenever they could.  Eventually, they only reported directly to Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton. The brigade's leaders, the Ellerts, seemed to lead the men into some controversial actions.  Read more about the Brigade here  and here. Peter served in this unit until he mustered out on January 18, 1865.

Both the Ohio and Mississippi units are mentioned on his pension card.

Just a few months after his discharge, he married Margaret Southworth (Sughsworth, Suchworth) on April 13, 1865.  He and Margaret settled in Defiance where the census enumerator found him working as a blacksmith in 1870.  

By 1880, Peter Dickman was a successful businessmen, a wagon manufacturer.

His family had grown to include three children: Adaline, Wallace, and Rosa Olive.  In February, 1883, Peter received a patent for a device to attach to a wagon, the Dickman Patent Rub Iron, which was then manufactured by the Defiance Machine Works.

Peter continued to use his blacksmithing skills into his older age and son, Wallace, followed in his footsteps.  By 1910, when Peter was 69, he reported to the census taker that he worked at a blacksmith in his son's shop.

Peter Dickman died July 25, 1910 and he was buried in Riverside Cemetery, Defiance.

(This is part of a series on Civil War veterans of Defiance County who were part of the G.A.R., Bishop Post, that headquartered in the city.  Formed in 1879, the post was named after a local man, Captain William Bishop, Company D, 100th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Army who died as a result of wounds received in battle.  The veterans' photos are part of a composite photo of members that has survived.  If you have other information or corrections to add to the soldiers' stories, please add to the comments!)