p 5 - Lewis Fiers, son of Thomas and grandfather of Dale, was born in Xenia, Ohio, May 3, 1836, the ninth of twelve children. While still a small boy, he accompanied his family on its overland trek from Ohio to Indiana. Strength of will to face a test of courage was a recurring trait in the Fiers' lineage, and Lewis inherited it. Along with many of his Delaware County friends, Lewis responded to the formation of Company K of the 19th Regiment of Indiana volunteers on July 29, 1861, in Indianapolis. His younger brother, James, enlisted the same day. The 19th was part of the famous Iron Brigade, which, by war's end, led all other Union brigades in battlefield deaths. Assigned to the Army of the Potomac, Lewis saw actions in many engagements, including Second Bull Run where his regiment held against the attack of Stonewall Jackson. He also participated in the battle of Antietam, the bloodiest encounter of the entire war, where the 19th entered with two hundred soldiers and emerged with thirty-seven. His brother James died of disease while serving in Company K. Lewis was discharged November 1, 1862, with disability following the battle of Antietam. Shortly after the war, he married Mary Frazier, and by 1868 was living in Iroquois County, Illinois, in the little village of Concord, just over the Indiana line, practicing the family trade as cooper.
