USA > Indiana > Record of Indiana volunteers in the Spanish-American war 1898-1899 : issued by authority of the sixty-first General assembly of Indiana > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012
http://archive.org/details/recordofindiana00indi
GEN
GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01787 3925
GENEALOGY 973.894 IN2I
Gc 973.894 Ini Indiana. Adjutant General's Office.
Record of Indiana volunteers in the Spanish-American war
எம்
ADJUTANT- GENERAL
QUARTERMASTER.GENERAL
MED
BRIG GEN JAMES K.GORE
BRIG.GEN. B.A.RICHARDSON
GOVERNOR JAMESA MOUNT
MILITARY SEC'Y COLTHASE WILSON
RECORD
OF
INDIANA VOLUNTEERS
IN THE
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR
1898-1899
ISSUED BY AUTHORITY OF THE Sixty-first General Assembly of Indiana.
GEN. JAMES K. GORE, Adjutant-General. MAJ. JOHN E. MILLER, Chief Clerk. CAPT. WILBUR F. HAVENS, Clerk. MISS ELIZABETH STEWART, Stenographer.
Gc 973. 894 Inzi
INDIANAPOLIS : .
WM. B. BURFORD, CONTRACTOR FOR STATE PRINTING AND BINDING, 1900.
GOVERNOR'S STAFF.
Brig .- Gen,
James K. Gore,
Adj't-Gen.,
Elkhart.
Brig .- Gen.,
B. A. Richardson,
Q .- M .- Gen., Mil. Sec'y,
Indianapolis.
Colonel,
Chas. E. Wilson,
Lafayette.
Colonel,
Harold C. Megrew,
Insp .- Gen., .
Indianapolis. Rushville.
Anderson.
.
Colonel,
Geo. E. Rockwell,
Indianapolis.
Colonel,
Wm. J. Robie,
Chief of Ord.,
Richmond.
Colonel, .
James R. Henry,
Chf. Sig. Off. Chf. I. R. P.
Elkhart.
Colonel,
Chas. Kahlo,
A. Adj't-Gen.,
Indianapolis.
Lieut .- Col.,
S. E. Murdock,
A. Mil. Sec'y,
Lafayette.
Lieut .- Col.,
Jas. E. Roberts, Z. T. Sweeney,
A. J. A .- Gen.,
Columbus.
Lieut .- Col.,
C. F. W. Neeley,
A. Q .- M .- Gen.,
Muncie.
Lieut .- Col.,
D. A. Coulter,
. A. Com .- Gen.,
Frankfort.
Lieut .- Col.,
Wm. T. Gott,
A. Surg .- Gen.,
Crawfordsville.
Lieut .- Col.,
W. W. Rider,
'A. P .- M .- Gen.,
Indianapolis.
Lieut .- Col.,
C. C. Schreeder,
A. Chf. Eng., A. Chf. of Ord.,
Crawfordsville.
Lieut. - Col.,
A. W. Lyon,
Ligonier.
Lieut .- Col., -
Chas. A. Carlisle,
A. Chf. of Art., A. C. Sig. Off., A. Chf. I. R. P., Aide-de-Camp,
South Bend.
Lieut .- Col.,
William G. Burk,
Thorntown.
Major,
R. L. Kennedy,
G. W. Krietenstein,
Aide-de-Camp, Aide-de-Camp, Aide-de-Camp,
Covington.
Major,
E. J. Robison, Hiram Howland,
Aide-de-Camp,
Howland Station.
Major,
L. R. Gignilliat,
Aide-de-Camp,
Culver.
Major,
Sherman Trout, .
Aide-de-Camp,
Crawfordsville.
Colonel,
Orange S. Runnels, R. B. Harrison,
Com'y-Gen., Surg .- Gen., P .- M .- Gen., Chief Eng.,
Indianapolis.
Colonel,
A. R. Beardsley,
A. Ins .- Gen.,
Indianapolis.
Lieut .- Col.,
William J. Henley,
Judge Ad .- Gen.,
Colonel,
W. T. Durbin,
Colonel,
Indianapolis.
Terre Haute.
Evansville.
Lieut .- Col.,
A. F. Ramsey,
Center Point. Terre Haute.
Major,
Major,
L. M. Dunlap,
Indianapolis.
Major,
(4)
Colonel,
AN ACT to provide for the printing, binding and distribution of the records of the Indiana Volunteers in the Spanish-American War, and declaring an emergency.
(H.550. APPROVED MARCH 4, 1899.)
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That the Adjutant-General of the State of Indiana is hereby empowered and directed to cause to be prepared, printed and bound, ten thousand (10,000) copies of the records of the Indiana Volunteers in the war with Spain, and the same shall be distributed as follows: One (1) copy to each volun- teer officer and soldier from Indiana in the war with Spain, three (3) copies to each member of the Sixty-first General As- sembly of Indiana, two (2) copies to each of the adjutants- general of the several States and Territories of the United States, one (1) copy to each public library in the State of In- diana, one (1) copy to each of the State libraries in the United States, fifty (50) copies for the departments of the general gov- ernment at Washington, three (3) copies to each member from Indiana in the Congress of the United States, two (2) copies to each State officer and deputy State officer of Indiana, and such other distribution as may best serve the interest of the State.
SEC. 2. There is hereby appropriated, out of any moneys in the State treasury not otherwise appropriated by law, the sum of four thousand dollars ($4,000), or so much thereof as may be necessary, to defray the expense of preparing, printing, binding and distributing the said records, which fund shall re- main in the State treasury and be drawn on the voucher of the Adjutant-General, approved by the Governor, for any expense under the provisions of this act: Provided, That the said ap- propriation shall remain in force until the said records are completed.
SEC. 3. An emergency exists for the immediate taking effect of this act, therefore the same shall be in force from and after its passage.
(5)
ـوجيا
RECORD OF INDIANA VOLUNTEERS IN THE SPANISH- AMERICAN WAR.
At the beginning of the fiscal year, 1898, the National Guard consisted of forty-one companies of infantry and three bat- teries of artillery, with an aggregate of 2,822 officers and men. On December 31, 1897, a company of infantry was mustered into the State service at Brownstown, and on April 21st, one at Huntington. On or about April 1st war between the United States and Spain being imminent, company com- manders were instructed to recruit their companies up to the maximum number of eighty-four.
Meanwhile the clouds of war were growing darker and darker, until April 19th, when congress passed resolutions of intervention, which were approved on the 22d, and on the 23d the President issued his proclamation, ealling for 125,000 vol- unteers to serve in the army of the United States for two years, unless sooner discharged ; as follows :
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
A PROCLAMATION.
WHEREAS, A joint resolution of Congress was approved on the twentieth day of April, 1898, entitled " Joint resolution for the recognition of the independence of the people of Cuba, demanding that the government of Spain relinquish its authority and government in the island of Cuba, and to withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters, and directing the President of the United States to use the land and naval forces of the United States to carry these resolutions into effect," and
WHEREAS, By an act of Congress entitled "An act to provide for temporarily increasing the military establishment of the United States in time of war and for other purposes," approved April 22, 1898 ; the President is authorized, in order to raise a volunteer army, to issue his proclamation calling for volunteers to serve in the army of the United States :
Now, therefore, I, WILLIAM MCKINLEY, President of the United States, by vir- tue of the power vested in me by the Constitution and the laws, and deeming
(7)
1
S
RECORD OF INDIANA VOLUNTEERS
sufficient occasion to exist, have thought fit to call forth, and hereby do call forth, volunteers to the aggregate number of 125,000, in order to carry into effect the purpose of the said resolution; the same to be apportioned, as far as practicable, among the several States and Territories and the District of Columbia, according to population, and to serve for two years, unless sooner discharged. The details for this object will be immediately communicated to the proper authorities through the War Department.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this twenty-third day of April, A. D., 1898, and of the independence of the United States the one hundred and twenty-second. (Seal) WILLIAM MCKINLEY.
By the President:
JOHN SHERMAN, Secretary of State.
DECLARATION OF WAR. -
AN ACT declaring that war exists between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled: First. That war be, and the same is hereby declared to exist, and that war has existed since the twenty-first day of April, Anno Domini eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, including said day, between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain.
Second. That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, directed and empowered to use the entire land and naval forces of the United States, and to call into the actual service of the United States, the militia of the several States, to such extent as may be necessary to carry this act into effect.
Approved, April 25, 1898.
At 6:15 p. M. on April 25, the following telegram was re- ceived from the Secretary of War :
WASHINGTON, D. C., April 25, 1898.
The Governor of Indiana, Indianapolis, Ind .:
The number of troops from, your State under the call of the President dated April 23, 1898, will be four (4) regiments of infantry and two (2) light batteries of artillery. It is the wish of the President that the regiments of the National Guard or State militia shall be used as far as their numbers will permit, for the
.
9
IN THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.
reason that they are armed, equipped and drilled. Please wire as early as pos- sible what equipments, ammunition, arms, blankets, tents, etc., you will require.
Please also state when troops will be ready for muster into United States serv- ice. Details to follow by mail.
R. A. ALGER, Secretary of War.
As soon as the above message was received there was issued by the Governor the following proclamation :
To the People of Indiana :
WHEREAS, In the progress of events, war has been inaugurated between the government of the United States and the government of Spain, and"
WHEREAS, The President of the United States, in pursuance of an act of Congress, has issued a proclamation calling for 125,000 volunteers, of which number four regiments, approximating 1,000 men each, and two batteries, have been apportioned to the State of Indiana.
Now, therefore, I, JAMES A. MOUNT, Governor of the State of Indiana, acting on the authority vested in me by the constitution, do hereby call for the enlist- ment and mustering into the United States service of the number of men above stated who are qualified for military duty.
In conformity with this call the Indiana National Guard is hereby directed and commanded to report without delay to Brigadier-General McKee at the Fair Grounds of the State Board of Agriculture, near Indianapolis, a designated camp, where they will be mobilized and mustered into the service of the United States government, in accordance with the provisions of the proclamation issued by the President.
All vacancies that exist or may occur in regiments, companies or batteries will be immediately filled by the acceptance of volunteers to the limit of the State's quota, as designated by the authorities of the federal government.
Inasmuch as the number of men who are at this time tendering their services is far in excess of requirements, I deem it timely to announce in this connection that there will be no compulsion upon any member of the Indiana National Guard to enter the federal service, except upon his own free will and accord. Any member of the National Guard whose business affairs would be jeopardized or whose domestic relations would subject his family to inconvenience and hard- ship, will be permitted to stand aside honorably and without prejudice.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the great seal of the State, at the city of Indianapolis, this twenty-fifth day of . April, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight, the eighty-second year of the State, and of the independence of the United States the one hundred and twenty-second.
JAMES A. MOUNT.
By the Governor, WILLIAM D. OWEN, Secretary of State.
.
10
RECORD OF INDIANA VOLUNTEERS
-
After which the following order was issued :
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., April 25, 1898. Special Orders, No. 46.
In accordance with the proclamation of the Governor, of this date, Brig .- Gen. Will J. McKee is hereby directed to mobilize the Indiana National Guard, fully armed and equipped, at the Fair Grounds of the State Board of Agriculture, near Indianapolis, Ind., at the earliest possible moment, for the purpose of being mus- tered into the service of the United States.
The necessary details for the transportation and subsistence of the troops will be arranged by the proper departments.
All property in the hands of the companies and bands will be brought to the rendezvous.
The travel enjoined is necessary for the public service.
By order of the Governor,
JAMES K. GORE, Adjutant-General.
Pursuant to the above orders, special orders were sent by telegraph to each company commander, and at 5: 00 A. M., April 26, the first company (Capt. Allen's, of Frankfort) arrived in camp, and before night the companies had all arrived and were encamped in the Fair Grounds of the State Board of Agricul- ture, either in tents or barns belonging to the Fair Grounds.
On April 27 the following telegraphic communication was received from the Adjutant-General of the United States at Washington, D. C. :
WASHINGTON, D. C., April 27, 1898.
The Governor of Indiana, Indianapolis, Ind. :
The following decision of the Secretary of War of this date is communicated for your information :
"All absolutely necessary expenses for the subsistence, transportation, shelter- ing, and generally the maintenance of volunteers during the interval between their enrollment (enlistment) and their muster (or being sworn) into the service of the United States; also all incidental expenses, messengers, etc., for mustering officers will be met by the government of the United States, from the proper ap- propriation at the disposal of the several Staff Departments of the Army. Certified vouchers for all expenditures herein authorized will be forwarded to the War Department for audit and payment. The vouchers should be certified by officers of the proper Staff Departments and approved by the mustering officers."
H. C. CORBIN, Adjutant-General.
The following companies were accepted to fill vacancies in the several regiments, some of which were organized before the breaking out of the war :
.
11
IN THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.
Company I, 4th Infantry, at Tipton, April 25, 1898.
Company C, 2d Infantry, at Frankfort, April 26, 1898.
Company L, 1st Infantry, at Vincennes, April 26, 1898.
Company K, 2d Infantry, at Martinsville, April 26, 1898.
Company M, 3d Infantry, at Plymouth, April 26, 1898.
Company L, 4th Infantry, at Anderson, April 26, 1898.
Company M, 4th Infantry, at Logansport, April 26, 1898.
In numbering the regiments after being mustered into the United States service, it was determined to begin the numbers where the war of the rebellion left off. The 3d Regiment being the first ready to be mustered was designated as the 157th. The 2d Regiment was next and was made the 158th, the 1st was next and was made the 159th, and the 4th was designated the 160th."
On the 10th of May the 157th and 158th and Battery A, designated as 27th Light Battery, and Battery E, 28th Light Battery, Indiana Volunteers, were mustered into the service of the United States. The 157th and the two batteries were paid by the State for their services while in camp, on the 15th, and left for Chickamauga Park on the same day. The 158th was paid off and moved South on the 16th. The 160th was paid off and left for Chickamauga on the 16th. The 159th, having been stripped of arms and equipments to finish equipping the other three regiments, was detained in Camp Mount until May 22, when it left for Dunn Loring, Va.
Colonel W. T. Durbin, of the Governor's staff, having been designated to act as Paymaster, to pay the troops the amounts due them from the State, he performed that duty for the four infantry regiments and three batteries. Battery C, of Dana, was ordered into camp with the other troops, but, as the War Department could not be prevailed upon to accept them, they were offered a place in one of the infantry regiments, which they declined, preferring to take their chances in another call for troops.
Lieutenant (now Captain) W. T. May, on detail by the War Department with the National Guard of Indiana, was detailed as chief mustering officer, and mustered the troops into the service of the United States. Much credit is due him for his efficient work in instructing the National Guard.
1
12
RECORD OF INDIANA VOLUNTEERS
On May 25 the following proclamation was issued by the President :
WHEREAS, An act of Congress was approved on the twenty-fifth day of April, 1898, entitled "An act declaring that war exists between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain ;" and
WHEREAS, By an act of Congress entitled "An act to provide for temporarily increasing the military establishment of the United States in time of war, and for other purposes," approved April 22, 1898, the President is authorized, in order to raise a volunteer army, to issue his proclamation calling for volunteers to serve in the army of the United States.
Now, therefore, I, WILLIAM MCKINLEY, President of the United States, by vir- tue of the power vested in me by the Constitution and the laws, and deeming suffi- cient occasion to exist, have thought fit to call forth, and do hereby call forth, vol- unteers to the aggregate number of 75,000 in addition to the volunteers called forth by my proclamation of the twenty-third of April, in the present year; the same to be apportioned, as far as practicable, among the several States and terri- tories and the District of Columbia, according to population, and to serve for two years unless sooner discharged. The proportion of each arm and the details of enlistment and organization will be made known through the War Depart- ment.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this twenty-fifth day of May, year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight, and of the independence of the United States the one hundred and twenty-second.
[Seal.] By the President :
WILLIAM MCKINLEY.
WILLIAM R. DAY,
Secretary of State.
On June 18 the following official communication, by tele- graph, was received from the Secretary of War:
WASHINGTON, D. C., June 18, 1898.
Governor of Indiana, Indianapolis, Ind .:
Under the President's second call, May 25, 1898, after filling to the maximum the organizations already in the United States service from your State, you are required to furnish two new separate companies of infantry, organized as indicated below, and in addition one new regiment of infantry, to consist of one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, two majors, one adjutant (extra lieutenant), one quarter- " master, one surgeon, two assistant surgeons (first lieutenants), one chaplain, one sergeant-major, one quartermaster sergeant, one chief musician, two principal musicians, three hospital stewards, twelve companies; all companies to consist of one captain, one first lieutenant, one second lieutenant, one first sergeant, one quartermaster-sergeant, four sergeants, twelve corporals, two musicians, one artif- icer, one wagoner, eighty-four privates maximum, seventy-four privates minimum.
The mustering officer, First Lieutenant J. C. Waterman, ordered from Mount Vernon, Iowa, has been directed to confer with your representative concerning details affecting comfort, shelter, subsistence of organizations and the order in which they should be mobilized for muster.
. . JE
.-
13
IN THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.
To save expense, and for other reasons that will occur to you, it is suggested that preliminary physical examinations be made of men before they are taken from their homes. Blanks mailed to Adjutant-General of State.
You are requested to constitute a board of three reputable physicians for the purpose only of examining the regimental medical officers nominated by you, these physicians to receive ten dollars per day and traveling expenses to place of meeting of the board and return. The regimental medical officers will then be mustered into the United States service to assist the mustering officer with phys- ical examinations of men. The recruitment for the old companies will be con- ducted by the officers now in the field and under orders from this office.
R. A. ALGER, Secretary of War.
On June 24, by direction of the War Department and under the President's second call for volunteers (issued May 25, 1898), to provide for Indiana's quota under said call, the following companies were ordered to report at Camp Mount :
Jeffersonville,
Hammond, Monticello,
Lawrenceburg, New Castle,
Columbus,
Richmond,
Mount Vernon,
Rushville,
Shelbyville,
Madison,
Michigan City.
In addition to the above twelve companies, comprising the 161st Indiana Regiment Volunteer Infantry, Jacob Porter and John J. Buckner, of Indianapolis, were commissioned as Cap- tains to raise two independent colored companies in accordance with the allotment made by the War Department, to wit: One regiment of white volunteers and two companies of colored volunteers.
Barton F. Dickson was commissioned as Captain by the President to organize a company of engineers, which was designated as Co. D, 2d U. S. Volunteer Engineers, and was mustered into service by Captain T. M. Rockefeller and or- dered to Fort Sheridan, Illinois. Captain Charles T. MacIntire was commissioned as Captain to organize a company for the signal service, which was designated as the 14th U. S. Volun- teer Signal Corps. They were mustered into the United States service and were ordered to Washington, D. C.
The destruction of the Spanish fleet at Santiago July 3, followed by the surrender of all the Spanish troops .in and about Santiago, and the occupation of Porto Rico, virtually ended the war, and on July 26 Spain made overtures of peace to the United States Government.
1
14
RECORD OF INDIANA VOLUNTEERS
-----
-
The 27th Battery was the only organization that was sent to the enemy's country during the war, though the 157th had their horses and camp equipage loaded on transports at Port Tampa City, Fla., and the 160th were ordered to Newport News, Va., and were ready to embark, but for some reason, the order to move was countermanded. The 27th Battery was sent to Porto Rico, and they were abont to engage the Span- iards, and were on the firing line ready for action, when a messenger arrived announcing that Spain had sned for peace and that hostilities must cease.
1
It was the aim to keep the records of this war so complete that there could be no question as to their accuracy. In pur- suance of this object, the following circular letter was issued and sent to each commanding officer, together with blanks for reports :
STATE OF INDIANA, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, · INDIANAPOLIS, June 27, 1898.
Circular Letter, No. 1.
The matter of keeping a correct record of the troops from Indiana, in the office of the Adjutant-General, is one of great importance, not only to the troops themselves, but to all future generations.
The records of the Civil War are very incomplete, and the lack of papers is now being felt very keenly by the soldiers, if living, or their families and friends, if dead.
Oftentimes the records do a great injustice to a man because, by the lack of one particular entry, the record is broken, and it is almost impossible to supply the link at this late day. .
The only way the records can be kept correctly is by the co-operation of every commanding officer, who, by notifying the Adjutant-General, without delay, of every officer or soldier wounded or killed, his sickness or death, promotion or resignation, appointment or reduction; in fact, every detail that will be of use to the soldier or his family or friends, not for the present only, but for use when time has effaced from the memory of those interested the details that go to make up the soldier's personal record.
Remember that you are making history that will live when the participants shall have passed away and be forgotten by all but their personal family, and the people of Indiana are looking to you to make that history so complete that no one will question what is written.
You are respectfully requested to forward such data as you think will be of service to the soldier, when, in after years, too much broken in health to earn a livelihood, he will be in a position to prove, by the records, that he served his country faithfully and well, or, if an impostor, the records will prove him such.
By the Governor,
JAMES A. MOUNT.
JAMES K. GORE, Adjutant-General.
15
IN THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.
As subsequent events proved, it was fortunate that it was decided in 1897 to place the Indiana National Guard in the best possible condition as to arms and equipment. The work was pushed with all available means, and when the United States government called for volunteers, Indiana was able to respond with her quota as well equipped as any State, and winning for the State compliments from the authorities at Washington, of which the following telegram and letter are samples :
[Telegram.]
WASHINGTON, D. C., July 9, 1898.
GEN. B. A. RICHARDSON, Quartermaster-General, Indiana :
Your telegram to Secretary of War, inquiring if you should invoice to Captain McIntyre certain signal corps equipment, has been referred to me. I regret very much that I could not reach you before Captain McIntyre left Indianapolis. He reported to me this morning, but we are very short of signal equipment, especially the articles you so generously offer to invoice to Captain McIntyre, and I urgently request that you ship all the signal corps equipment mentioned in your telegram to the Secretary of War by express.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.