William A. "Uncle Billy" Sprague, 53 KY Infantry

Headstone in Oakland Cemetery, Grant's Lick, KY

William A. Sprague was born April 15, 1843 and passed away May 1, 1932. He enlisted in the 53rd Ky Infantry on September 15, 1864 and was discharged, apparently with a disability according to the 1890 Veterans Census, on September 15, 1865. He resided in Grant's Lick.

Below is an obituary I found for him. The 53rd Kentucky Infantry regiment was formed in September 1864 in Covington. It served in the central part of the state before taking part in General George Stoneman's Raid on Saltville. This raid occurred  in December 1864 against one of the Confederate's primary sources of salt, which was especially valuable in those days when the use of salt was the primary way of preserving meat. 

Rest in peace, soldier

KY Post  5-3-1932

Funeral services be held for William Alfred “Uncle Billy” Sprague., 89, Civil War veteran, Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the First Baptist Church Grant’s Lick, KY. Burial also will be at Grant’s Lick.

“Uncle Billy” was a member of the 53^rd Mounted Infantry, Company C. He took part in the Stoneman raid and the Saltville expedition to Abbingdon and Bristol, VA.

Sprague is survived by five sons, Daniel Sprague, Dry Ridge, Ky.; Ross, William M. and Shirley Sprague, all of Persimmon Grove and Henry Sprague, Pond Creek, Ky, and two daughters, Mrs. Robert Smith, Dayton Ky., and Mrs. Thomas Darlington, Persimmon Grove; 31 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren; two sisters, Mrs. Nellie Grant and Martha Rebell, both of Newport, and a brother, Taylor Sprague, Mentor, Kentucky.