greatly from yours wi s wisdom wise counsel thank you very much. in april of 1861 when abraham lincoln issued the first calls for volunteers for the union army, my great, great grandfather, samuel fletcher cheney joined the 21st infantry, he fought through all four years, from chickamauga to stone river. and he marched up pennsylvania avenue in may 1865, past the reviewing stand where general johnson and grant were seated. silas canfield, a legendary historian of the infantry described the men in the unit this way. he said they had a just appreciation of the value and advantage of free government. and the necessity of defending and maintaining it.