Moses Ladd of the 21st Wisconsin

     One Badger soldier always catches my interest is Pvt. Moses Ladd of the 21st Wisconsin.
     He was was born June 28, 1828 in what is now Wisconsin. His mother was a Menominee and his father of Ojibwa/Ottawa mix. He married Mary Grignon sometime before the Civil War. She was the daughter of Charles Grignon, a well-known fur trader for the Hudson Bay Company. The Grignon family included the Langlade and Brunette families, all active in settling northeast Wisconsin.
     Ladd, despite his mixed Menominee/Ojibwa/Ottawa heritage, enlisted in the 21st Wisconsin Infantry in 1861. He suffered a minor wound at the battle of Perryville, Kentucky, where he was cited with saving the life of Jeremiah Reardon, who later became Manitowoc County Sheriff. Near the end of the war, he served as a chief scout for General William Sherman on the March to the Sea. Ladd mustered out with his regiment in 1865 and returned to the Poygan area.
     He was singled out by Sherman in 1880 when the general visited in the Winneconne and Oshkosh area. Seeing Ladd in the audience, Sherman stopped a speech to go over and greet him. He also offered Ladd a home in Washington. Ladd refused, however, saying he could not leave his hunting and fishing grounds. Sherman again stopped Ladd during the 1889 Reunion in Milwaukee telling him, “Moses, you are one of the best men I had.” Ladd died May 30, 1920 at the Soldiers Home in King, Wisconsin. He is buried in the 21st Wisconsin plot.