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Gc 973.74 In2La
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 02618 2664
Gc 973.74 In2La Lucas, Daniel R New history of the 99th Indiana Infantry
NEW HISTORY
OF THE
99TH INDIANA INFANTRY
Containing Official Reports, Anecdotes, Incidents, Biographies and Complete Rolls,
BY
CHAPLAIN D. R. LUCAS.
ROCKFORD, ILL. : HORNER PRINTING CO .. 1900.
COPYRIGHT. 1900.
·
1213141
COLONEL ALEXANDER FOWLER, In 1863, at Age of 41.
Allen County Public Library 900 Webster Street PO Box 2270 Fort Wayne, IN 46801-22NOTHING BUT AN OLD SOLDIER.
BY CHAPLAIN D. R. LUCAS.
[NOTE .- An old soldier went limping along the street. when a stalwart young man said to a companion who asked who and what he was. "Nothing but an old Soldier!" This is the old soldier's reply.]
"Nothing but an old soldier? what is that That you're a sayin' about me so pat ?- Well. I guess you're right, I am gettin' old. But after all a feller don't like bein' told That he's nothin' else, ez if he was to blame For bein' old, an' broken-down an' lame.
"If you'd just stop and think a minute, you'd Not wonder if I was a little skewed, An' out o'kilter, an' have some creaky ways About my walkin', -there was some other days When it was diff rent. when I stood up straight, An' walked a middlin' fair an' steady gait.
"I'm not sure, young feller. if you'd a been Where I have been an' seen what I have seen, If you'd a been with me an felt the pain O' marchin' day an' night in slush an' rain. If you'd a follered Grant an' Sherman. too. If your gait now would be so straight an' true.
"If you'd a laid all night on frosty ground, An' carried gun an knapsack an' forty round, If you'd a stood in line an' heard the zip O' Minnie bullets give your ear a tip. If you'd a listened to the screechin' shell I don't think now you'd feel so awful well.
"Just think o' Grant an' Sherman an' the men, Who led us in the days o' battle: then Just think that all o' them are dead an' gone, An' that my earthly race is nearly run. An' you'll not wonder if I'm lame: Time enough and you'll be so just the same.
"Nothin' but an old soldier: It may be I'm too sens'tive. as others cannot see The past as it appears to such as me, Who followed Billy Sherman to the sea. An' tramped so much in swamps of ice an' cold That bunions ever since have had a hold.
"Nothin' but an old soldier? A dog tent Ain't the best o'shelter in the event Of cold an' stormy weather anywhere. An' yet I was compelled to winter there For three long winters, an' you may know Rheumatic legs make walkin' rather slow.
"Nothin' but an old soldier? old an' gray. I guess your right young man in what you say; There aint no title that a man can wear For honored service than the soldiers bear, The men who wore the royal union blue, For if their steps are slou their hearts are true."
LIEUT .- COLONEL JOHN M. BERKEY. 1864.
INTRODUCTION.
Thirty-five years will have passed away by June 5, 1900, since the survivors of the 99th Indiana Volunteer Infantry were mustered out of the service of the United States, after three years of active military life. As the regiment marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in Wash- ington, at the grand review of the army on May 24, 1865, the 942 men that once composed its rank and file were not all there. One hundred and eighty-eight, or twenty per cent. of the number, were not in line, for the hands that once so proudly grasped the sword, or the musket, were cold and still,
"Under the sod and dew, waiting the judgment day."
One hundred and sixty-four, or seventeen per cent. had been discharged on account of wounds, or disability incurred in the service, many of them to go with halting steps for a few years and then to go in feebleness down to the grave.
Twenty-seven of them by their longings for home and the bad advice of friends there, gave up their manhood and deserted the ranks. Their names will not appear in this history, for it is enough that they are preserved in the archives of the nation. They were nearly all the first winter in West Tennessee and each company had one or more, five being the greatest number from any company.
Seventy-one of the number that were mustered out with the regiment bore the scars of the wounds they received in battle, and those that survive still have these mementoes of their valor and devotion.
To write the history of a body of such men and, do it in any measure commensurate with their patriotic valor and heroic service, is a task from which one might shrink, but the feeling that it should be done, and that the
7
Introduction.
COLONEL JOSIAH FARRAR. 1865.
8
New History of the Ninety-Ninth Indiana Infantry.
author has the material in hand to do it, as well perhaps, as any other can do it, is his apology for attempting it. Another thing from another point of view is the fact that he knew nearly every man in the regiment per- sonally, and knows the survivors, having been for ten years past the president of the Regimental Association, makes it a pleasure to write of their deeds in the old days. Having to depend upon personal letters for many of the facts and dates, it seems impossible to give a pic- ture of the army life without in some measure introdu- cing the personal element, and I know the members of the old regiment will understand and appreciate this and allow me to use this seemingly egotistical method, because it is about the only one possible for me.
The service of the regiment may properly be divided into four great campaigns; the first, the campaign in West Tennessee and Mississippi, culminating in the sur- render of Vicksburg and the opening of the Mississippi river, cutting the Confederacy in twain; the second, the campaign culminating in the battle of Mission Ridge, the relief of Knoxville and the saving of Chattanooga and the State of Tennessee from the hands of the enemy; the third, the Atlanta campaign, resulting in the cap- ture of that city and the driving of Hood to the north- west, where his expedition was to culminate in defeat at Nashville; the fourth, the campaign called "The March to the Sea," and through the Carolinas, resulting in the surrender of General Johnston to General Sherman and ending the war. Volumes have been written and vol- umes more will be written of these campaigns, but it is only my task to show what one regiment did in these conflicts. It is hard for the great historian in the dis- cussion of generals, their plans of campaign and feats of strategy, to get down to as small a force as a regiment, but the real force that made battles and gained victor- ies was the regiment, for they were the units of the great whole. Often the critical position was held by a single regiment and the fate of the whole army depended on the courage and devotion of this unit. Often a bri-
9
Introduction.
CHAPLAIN D. R. LUCAS. 1899.
.
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New History of the Ninety-Ninth Indiana Infantry:
gade, or a division, in the midst of a terrific fight have been relieved by the bold attack of a single regiment on the flank of the enemy. That brigade or division may lose heavily while the relieving regiment may come off almost unscathed, and the historian who counts service by losses fails to understand the value of the service of the regiment.
Again circumstances often had much to do with the duty and responsibility of a regiment. When our regi- ment was sent to Louisville in the autumn of 1862, there was no thought on the part of any of us but that we should join the Army of the Cumberland. But the lack of suitable guns delayed us for a time at Louisville, and when we were ready to move we were ordered down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to Memphis and joined the Army of the Tennessee, with which we were connected through all our service. We were afterwards associated in the Mission Ridge and Atlanta campaigns with the Army of the Cumberland, but it was always the Army of the Tennessee, at the head of which the gallant James B. McPherson was killed at Atlanta, on July 22, 1864. He was succeeded by General John A. Logan on the field, who being so unfortunate as not to be a graduate of West Point, was compelled to go back to his corps com- mand when General O. O. Howard was made commander of the Army of the Tennessee. They were both good soldiers, but one was a volunteer and the other a regular, and the regular won the place, as he usually did.
Another thing in the history of a regiment growing out of the unit is the fact that the men of the regiment become personally acquainted with each other and thus are more closely linked together. Brigades may change, and usually do with each campaign, but the companies of a regiment as a general rule remain together. Hence, when any member of the regiment does some creditable act it reflects credit upon all the members of the regi- ment and all take pride in it. Likewise any act of dis- honor casts reproach upon all, so men felt that the good name of the organization was to be maintained as well as.
11
Introduction.
LIEUT .- COLONEL W. V. POWELL. 1899.
the good name of the individual. When his regiment has a creditable and honorable record there is nothing but pride in the way a man will tell of his connection with it. Such is the record of this regiment, written as it is on the pages of a nation's history, that no man was ever connected with it who is not proud to say, "I was a member of the old 99th Indiana Infantry." To put in a permanent form the record of their deeds and make a roll of honor on which to inscribe their names to be read by the generations to come, is the purpose with which this history is written.
At the end of the thirty-five years more than three hundred members of the regiment survive and are filling
12
New History of the Ninety- Ninth Indiana Infantry.
their places in the "world's broad field of battle." When I began preparing this work I was in hopes to be enabled to give the fate of every man, but there are some still "unknown." When the war was over they scattered and went east, west, north and south and in new sur- roundings, formed new ties, married and settled down, and one day sickened and died, perhaps, and the link that bound them to the comrades of the old days was severed never to be reunited again on earth. For twenty years after the war the regiment had no organization or reunions, and all that time here and there one was passing away and no report was made, so that there are some now of whose fate we are unable to learn. When the survivors began to hold reunions and notices of it were published, there was a rousing of old memories and from all parts of the country came responses from old comrades, who found awakening in their hearts an ardent desire to meet them, or to hear once more from the men with whom they toiled and suffered in the days of old. There is a common tie that binds all the survivors of the old Grand Army together, but the strongest tie is that of regimental comradeship. It then becomes personal, for it is both the man and the soldier that we know. Be- cause of this fact the colonel of a regiment comes to em- body in some measure the spirit of his command and be- comes a center of unity. A brigade, division, or corps commander seems so far off that he does not come into the scope of vision of the soldiers, like their own colonel.
13
Introduction.
LIEUTENANT JOHN P. MERRILL, COMPANY A.
Born October 13, 1842, in Lake County, Indiana, where he has always resided except while in the service. He entered the service as sergeant in Company A, but was promoted to first lieutenant October 31, 1864, and as such was mustered out with the regiment. Since the war he has lived in Lake county and serving for some time as postmaster at Crown Point, where he died very suddenly in the year 1897. He leaves a wife and family behind him who, as a token of their regard for his memory, have sent the above picture. Lieu- tenant Merrill was one of the men who was never absent from the reunions of the regiment, and when we met at Crown Point, he and his daughter, Miss Alta, were on the committee and aided in all ways to make the comrades have a good time, and now that he is gone all join in a tribute to his memory. His family still reside at Crown Point.
CHAPTER I.
THE ORGANIZATION.
The 99th Indiana Volunteer Infantry was organized under the call of President Lincoln issued August 4, 1862, at Camp Rose, the old fair ground at South Bend, In- diana. It was at the time the residence of the Hon. Schuyler Colfax, the representative in congress from the 9th Indiana district, and Judge Thomas S. Stanfield had been appointed by Governor Morton to take charge of the camp. In that camp were organized seven com- panies, six with the minimum number, one with not men enough to muster into the service. At the same time recruiting was in progress in the 6th district for the 96th Indiana Volunteers, but only three companies were recruited so that the two were consolidated and the seven companies predominating the number 99 was re- tained, and so there was no regiment from Indiana with the number 96.
When these men came together to become soldiers they were ignorant of the duties of a soldier's life, but they were not ignorant of the dangers and hardships of the service. For more than a year the struggle had al- ready prevailed, great battles had been fought, tens of thousands had already lost their lives, and to enlist in the army meant years of hard service for all, and death to many, but still they did not hesitate. They were not hirelings, for many of them had homes and farms and were making money at home, and had they been hire- lings there they would remain, for it was the hireling that stayed at home. It was with them a question of patriotism pure and simple. The nation must perish or they must perish to save it. Ignorant they were of tac- tics, but not of the issue involved, but they were ready and willing to take the chances.
15
The Organization.
CAPTAIN GEORGE HOLMES GWIN, COMPANY F.
1900.
Born January 1st, 1819, in Lanesville, Harrison county, Indiana. At the age of eighteen years learned the trade of a blacksmith, which he followed for eighteen years in Lanesville, moving to White county, Indiana, in November, 1854, where he engaged in farming. He went to Mexico as a soldier in the 2nd Indiana Volunteers, com- manded by Colonel Bowles. He served twelve months and was ap- pointed corporal. In 1857 he was appointed first lieutenant in the Indiana Militia by Governor Joseph A. Wright. He assisted in organizing Company F in August, 1862, of which he was com- missioned Captain, in which 'position he served over two years. When the time came for the march to the sea he was deemed by the Colonel as unable to make the march, and so on November 8, 1864, he resigned and returned to his home in Brookston, White county, where he still resides.
Captain Gwin is the oldest survivor of the regiment, having passed the four score years, and recalls the old days with pleasure when he was Captain of "Gwin's Rangers." His portrait shows him as full of vigor yet. A portrait taken in the army will be found on another page.
16
New History of the Ninety-Ninth Indiana Infantry.
In the organization Company A came from Lake county under the command of Captain Daniel F. Sawyer. The captain was a tall, well-formed man, 45 years of age, too old for the hardships of the service for he only endured them six months, dying February 12, 1863, at Fort Fowler, near LaGrange, Tennessee. He was suc- ceeded by Captain Kellogg M. Burnham.
Company B came from Hancock county under com- mand of Captain James H. Carr. He was a man who was also unable to endure the hardships of the service and about the time of Captain Sawyer's death, it was a ne- cessity for him to leave the service or go across the river. He came home and still lives to rejoice in the glorious record made by the 99th Indiana. He was succeeded by Captain George Tague.
Company C came partly from Porter and partly from Benton county and was a consolidation of parts of two companies, and was under the command of Captain Jacob Brewer. He was a man of rugged frame but over 45 years of age and in less than a year was com- pelled to leave the service, and for many years before he died was a victim of rheumatism to such an extent that he was unable to walk but went about in a wheeled chair. He was succeeded by Captain Charles M. Scott.
Company D came from Miami county under command of Captain Josiah Farrar who retained the command until he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel and succeeded to the command of the regiment which he held at the muster out of the regiment, when he received a commis- sion as colonel.
Company E came from Newton, Jasper and Carroll counties and was under command of Captain Daniel Ash, a man about 44 years of age, but he was unable to endure the exposures of the service and in the spring of 1863 re- signed and returned to his home at Morocco, Indiana, where he still lives. He was succeeded by Captain Sam- uel Moore.
17
New History of the Ninety- Ninth Indiana Infantry.
LIEUTENANT THOMAS J. BARLOW, COMPANY H.
Born in Ireland, August 24, 1844; parents came to United States when he was a babe. Lived in New Orleans, Louisiana, and then came to Madison, Indiana; remained there until October, 1856, and then came to Indianapolis, learned the wood carving business with Thomas Ott, furniture manufacturer. When the war broke out he was engaged in the state arsenal under General Sturm until August, 1862, when he enlisted in Company H, 90th Indiana. He served as private, corporal, sergeant, first sergeant and first lieutenant, and on the march through Carolina he was assigned as first lieutenant and A. D. C. by Major General W. B. Hazen, division commander. He was always with the regiment except while on the staff of General Hazen. Was on the famous march to the sea; never had a furlough. Was in the grand review at Washington. After muster out he returned to Indianapolis and engaged for a short time in the liquor business; not being pleased with that, he retired and became connected with the post-office at Indianapolis. In 1868 he was married to Miss Harriet Carpenter, of Binghampton, New York, after which he embarked in the liquor business until 1876, when he sold out for the purpose of studying law. In 1879 he got the Colorado fever and went to Leadville, where he engaged in different business. His wife died in Denver in 1883, and he remained at Aspen and other mining camps until 1885, when he came to Chicago where, in 1893, he married Mary E. Anderson, of Indian- apolis. He is living in Chicago, very happy with his wife, and thinks it as good as any city in the Union. He is like all Chicago men. Lieutenant Barlow was one of the youngest commissioned officers of the regiment, a live and active man. His address is No. 6 Dearborn street, Chicago.
18
New History of the Ninety- Ninth Indiana Infantry.
Company F came from White county under the command of Captain George H. Gwin. He was over forty years of age, but a man of wonderful vitality and retained the command of his company for over two years, the last of the old men of the original captains to leave the service. He was succeeded by Captain Andrew Cochran.
Company G came from Hendricks County under the command of Captain Tilberry Reid. He was an old man, 56 years of age, and the service was soon too hard for him and he sickened and died at Holly Springs, Miss., Jan. 1, 1863. He was succeeded by Captain John Worrel.
Company H came from Marion and Hendricks counties under the command of Captain Joseph B. Homan. He was a young man who had seen service as first lieutenant in the 13th Iowa. Having been wounded at Shiloh he was granted leave of absence and came home and recruited Company H. He was afterward promoted major and was succeeded by Captain William M. Walker.
Company I came from Howard and Miami counties under command of Captain William V. Powell £ Captain Powell was promoted during the service to major and was succeeded by Captain Ira B. Myers.
Company K was recruited in Cass county, principally by Captain George W. Julian, and came to South Bend with 70 men, not enough to muster. Captain W: R. C. Jenks was appointed captain but did not go with the company to the field. It was not until December 26, 1862, that Company K had men enough to muster and the company spent the winter in Indianapolis, joining the regiment in the field, May 14, 1863.
The rolls will show the record of every man in these companies and, as far as possible to learn, the fate of them all.
While in camp at South Bend, Dr. William W. Butter- worth was appointed assistant surgeon and was promoted in the January following to surgeon and served
19
The Organization.
LIEUTENANT GEORGE S. WALKER, COMPANY F. 1900.
as such in all the campaigns the regiment made and was mustered out with the regiment at the close of the war. His assistants were Dr. Lawson D. Robinson from October, 1862, to August 11, 1863, when he resigned, Dr. I. S. Russell from February 25, 1863, to August 10, 1864, when he died from an acute attack of dysentery, and Drs. Isaiah Poffenberger and Abner D. Kimball, who were appointed assistants not long before the close of the war and were mustered out with the regiment. Dr. Butterworth died in 1888.
James L. Cathcart, son of Hon. Charles Cathcart, of La Porte county, was appointed lieutenant and regimen- tal quartermaster by the governor at the request of the Hon. Schuyler Colfax and was the only political appoint-
20
New History of the Ninety- Ninth Indiana Infantry.
ment in the regiment. His father had been a prominent Democratic politician and was an ardent supporter of the Union and being too old for service himself his son was given a commission. He served with the regiment until the close of the war. He died in 1888.
John M. Berkey, who had seen service as second lieutenant in the 46th Indiana, was appointed first lieu- tenant and adjutant of the regiment, but was afterward promoted to major where he served for two years and was, April 24, 1864, commissioned lieutenant-colonel.
These were all the appointments made at South Bend, and the seven companies there were transported to Indianapolis where the consolidation was effected with the three companies there and we had a regiment, but no field officers. Captain Sawyer, of Company A, was the ranking officer and while we remained in "Camp Joe Reynolds," a camp on the west bank of the canal, between the canal and the river, was in command of the regiment. We rode from South Bend to Indianapolis most of the way in "cattle cars." There was some complaint but two years afterward those cattle cars would have been palaces of luxury if we could only have enjoyed the privilege of riding in them, instead of the weary miles of march.
When we reached Camp Joe Reynolds the barracks were all full and we had to go to work and construct some for our own use. As we had plenty of mechanics in the regiment it was soon accomplished. It would be hard to find a trade for which you could not find a skilled mechanic in the regiment, they were builders and con- structors, and while they destroyed a great many fences, railroads and bridges in their time they helped in the great work of reconstructing a nation, removing the debris of slavery and secession, and building it anew upon the great principles of unity, liberty and equal rights.
In a letter I wrote to my wife I find the following:
"At midnight Sunday night, October 19th, we left camp and marched to the union depot at Indianapolis, where, after waiting, at 2:30 a. m., we took the cars for Louisville and arrived at Jefferson-
21
The Organization.
CAPTAIN IRA B. MYERS, COMPANY I. 1900.
Born August 10, 1840, at Muncie, Indiana; educated in the common schools and one year at Battle Ground Institute in Tippe- canoe county. Enlisted but failed to get into three months service, but re-enlisted August 10, 1862, and was appointed first lieutenant of Company I; promoted to captain in May, 1865, mustered out with the regiment. He participated in all the campaigns and battles of the regiment, and was detailed on General Hazen's staff during the march to the sea. His residence since 1852, with the exception of four years, from 1857 to 1861, has been Peru, Indiana. In January, 1862, he was married to Miss Maggie Robinson, of Peru. Since the war he has served as deputy auditor of Miami county for five years, deputy county clerk for two years, was elected county treasurer for two terms, was postmaster at Peru for four years, inspector of customs at Puget Sound one year and was appointed American consul at St. John, New Brunswick, July 28, 1897, which position he still holds, and says: "I am well and have had excellent health since I have been here." Captain Myers is a true comrade and takes great interest in the reunions of the old regiment and has the good will and wishes of all his comrades.
22
New History of the Ninety-Ninth Indiana Infantry.
ville at noon on Monday. We lay there until 3:30 p. m., when we marched through Jeffersonville and across a pontoon bridge to Louis- ville and then out to camp, about five miles in all, for our first march. On our arrival there were no tents and we lay down with no canopy above us save the stars, but slept soundly on account of the weari- ness from the lack of rest the night before. The camp is an awful dusty place as there has been no rain since the first of Au- gust and the dust is three or four inches deep, and a hard wind blow- ing makes it almost impossible to keep one's eyes open. The boys are all writing home to-day and seem to think we are having a rather good, though a little tough, introduction to real soldiering."
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