John H. Kraft (1842-1931) was the paternal second great-grandfather of Brother Steven D. Harris. John Kraft's Civil War story began in the spring of 1861, when patriotic fervor swept through the North following President Lincoln's call for ninety-day volunteers. Nineteen years old and living in Defiance County, Ohio, he enlisted on April 24, 1861 in the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry. John and his fellow recruits trained briefly at Camp Taylor in Cleveland before moving south to western Virginia, where they experienced the realities of soldiering—long marches, harsh conditions, and sudden combat. John's unit saw action in July 1861 at Scary Creek, (West) Virginia, where the regiment fought under confusing circumstances and suffered casualties before withdrawing. John escaped injury and completed his term of service when the regiment was mustered out August 12, 1861.

With the war intensifying, John enlisted again on October 8, 1861—this time for three years—in the 68th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Promoted quickly within the ranks, he became a corporal in December 1861. Following training at Camp Latty (Napoleon, Ohio) and later at Camp Chase (Columbus, Ohio), the 68th moved into the Western Theater as part of General Ulysses S. Grant's growing army.

The regiment's first major battle came at Shiloh on April 6–7, 1862. Having only recently arrived in Tennessee, John and his fellow soldiers were thrust into one of the war's bloodiest engagements. The 68th Ohio was drawn into heavy fighting that tested the discipline of every man. Kraft survived the battle unharmed.

After Shiloh, the 68th Ohio performed garrison and patrol duties, particularly around Bolivar, Tennessee. It was during this period that John's company commander, Captain Sidney Sprague, was court‑martialed for intoxication and for threatening a private, an event that seriously disrupted the company's leadership. Even under these unsettling circumstances, John continued to gain the confidence of his superiors, earning promotion to sergeant on March 31, 1863.

John's greatest trials came during the Vicksburg Campaign. The 68th Ohio endured exhausting labor building roads, guarding supply transports, and cutting canals through swamps and bayous. As Grant maneuvered his army to isolate Vicksburg, the regiment fought in key engagements at Port Gibson, Raymond, and Jackson. These operations culminated in the pivotal Battle of Champion Hill on May 16, 1863, where John suffered an injury that would follow him the rest of his life. Years later, his invalid pension application states that he was injured "while constructing breast works in front of the enemy while chopping off a log some distance from the ground. The log fell from under him, which caused him to fall in a manner to injure his back or spine by striking on the log with great force, which rendered him insensible for a time." Lieutenant William H. Palmer, his immediate superior, confirmed in an affidavit that the injury left John crippled and permanently weakened.

While still recovering, John was dealt a second blow: during the siege of Vicksburg in June 1863, he contracted chronic diarrhea, a deadly illness that plagued Union armies. Hospitalized on June 22, he remained under care until August 21. His weakened condition led to a thirty‑day furlough beginning September 15, during which he recuperated at home in Defiance County.

Despite his injuries and illness, John eventually rejoined the 68th Ohio in time for Sherman's Atlanta Campaign of 1864. This operation involved nearly continuous marching, skirmishing, entrenching, and exposure to enemy fire at Resaca, Dallas, Kennesaw Mountain, and Atlanta. The 68th contributed to Sherman's eventual capture of the city, a turning point for the Union war effort.

From the time of its organization in 1861 until its termination nearly four years later, the 68th lost 300 officers and men – 50 in battle and 250 to disease, a 30% mortality rate. Even though he would suffer through the rest of his life from injury and disease acquired during the war, John Kraft was one of the fortunate members of the regiment.

Sergeant John Kraft's journey from his first enlistment in 1861 through the trials of Champion Hill and Vicksburg to the final push toward Atlanta reflects both the endurance of an individual soldier and the broader struggle that preserved the Union.

John Kraft completed his service honorably and was mustered out on July 10, 1865.

Steven D. Harris is a member of Brady Camp 63, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. He is also a member of the Winthrop Society, Sons of the American Revolution, Society of the War of 1812, and the First Families of Ohio.