USA > Indiana > A popular history of Indiana : with an introduction > Part 10
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With the change of party control in Indiana, wrought by the election of IS60, and the bursting of the war-cloud upon the country, new men came to the front. The days of Bright and Wright as great political factors were passed. The era of Hendricks and of Morton had arrived. The former was the acknowledged leader of his party in 1860, and continued so until his death, a quarter of a century later .. The latter, from IS6I until his death in 1877, held undisputed sway in the Republican party.
Oliver P. Morton was a native of Wayne county, in this state, where he was born in 1823. His father was of English descent. His mother died while he was a little child, and he grew up under the care of relations in Indiana and Ohio. His opportunities for gaining an education were limited, and as a youth he displayed few of those qualities which made him famous in after years. Four years of his boyhood were devoted to learning the hatter's trade, but in IS43 he became a student at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, where he remained two years. He then began the study of law. In 1847 he was admitted to the bar. For a brief period he served as a circuit judge. Until 1854 he was identified with the Democratic party, having cast his first vote for James K. Polk. But in that year he helped to organize the Republican party, being one of three delegates sent
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O.P. Morton
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to the convention at Pittsburg in 1856. The same year he received the Republican nomination for governor, but was defeated by Ashbel P. Willard. Four years later he was elected lieutenant governor by the Republicans on the ticket headed by Henry S. Lane. He acted as governor during the term for which Mr. Lane had been elected, and in 1864 was elected to that office over Joseph E. McDonald, the Democratic candidate. Mr. Morton's administration, of which the principal events will be recorded in the chapter devoted to the civil war, was a memorable one. It covered an historic period in our history as a state and as a nation. Governor Morton very soon won a national reputation as a man of rare executive ability, indomitable will, and great fertility of resources. He became the acknowledged autocrat of his party in Indiana, and his supremacy therein was not challenged while he lived. In 1867 Governor Morton was elected to the United States Senate. He took a leading position in that body from the first, and retained it to the end. In 1873 he was re-elected, and in 1876 was a prominent candidate for the republican nomination for president. He died at Richmond, Indiana, in 1877, and was buried in Crown Hill cemetery, Indianapolis. Governor Morton was a man of intellectual power, and of strong individuality. IIe rendered his state and his party important services, and as a political leader has had few equals in our history.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE GREAT CIVIL WAR.
INDIANA PLAYS A CONSPICUOUS AND NOBLE PART -A GRAND UPRISING OF THE PEOPLE WITHOUT REGARD TO PARTY-THE STAIN OF BUENA VISTA FOREVER EFFACED-INDIANA TROOPS AT THE FRONT EVERYWHERE -- THEIR SPLENDID VALOR SHOWN ON MANY BATTLE FIELDS-JOHN MOR- GAN'S MEMORABLE RAID.
Probably the worst calamity that ever befalls a nation is civil war.
Upon the subject of slavery the sentiment of the country had always been divided; and many exciting discussions and angry debates had taken place in the halls of Congress in regard to this institution. For many years the dark clouds of fraternal strife had been gathering from different sections, which finally, in the spring of 1861, burst upon the country.
Then it was that the North and the South arrayed them- selves against each other in a fierce conflict, which, it was at first thought, would only be of a few months' duration, but which lasted for four years. These years seemed very long- the longest, perhaps, the nation had ever known-bringing with them, as they did, so much of suffering, and sorrow, and woe throughout the length and breadth of the land. Party preju- dice became very strong all over the North, and many harsh
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things were said and done that would not have been in peace- ful times.
In March, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated president and Hannibal Hamlin vice-president of the United States. Previous to that time, and soon after their election, seven southern states had withdrawn from the Union and established a government which was called the Southern Con- federacy. The national government, considering this an act of rebellion, called for troops with which to quell it. President Lincoln issued a proclamation on April 15 for 75,000 men for a service of three months. But before the order had reached Indianapolis Governor Morton had telegraphed to Washington, offering 10,000 men to the government for its use in the war which he saw was imminent.
So Indiana was the first state to tender troops for the con- flict; and Indianapolis, which was made the rendezvous for the soldiery, soon assumed much the appearance of a camping- ground, and the old state-house that of headquarters of a military department.
The first quota which Indiana filled was six regiments for three months. No fewer than 30,000 men tendered their services in response to a call for 6,000 volunteers. Lewis Wallace of Crawfordsville, who had served in the Mexican war, was appointed adjutant-general of the state. Thomas A. Morris, of Indianapolis, a graduate of the United States Mili- tary Academy, was appointed quartermaster general, and Isaiah Mansur, of the same city, a prominent merchant, was made commissary-general.
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The state had sent five regiments to the Mexican war, so the new regiments were numbered beginning with the sixth, and were commanded as follows: Sixth regiment, by Colonel Thomas T. Crittenden; Seventh regiment, by Colonel Ebe- nezer Dumont; Eighth regiment, by Colonel William P. Ben- ton; Ninth regiment, by Colonel Robert H. Milroy; Tenth regiment, by Colonel Joseph J. Reynolds; Eleventh regiment, by Colonel Lewis Wallace.
These regiments constituted the First brigade, Indiana volunteers, under the following brigade officers: Thomas A. Morris, brigadier-general; John Love, major and brigadier inspector; Milo S. Hascall, captain and aide-de-camp. This brigade was at once ordered to western Virginia, where it assisted in winning the first victories of the war.
The second call for men was made by the president, May 16, 1861, and was for 42,000 men for three years' service. Indiana's share was four regiments, which she promptly furnished.
In 1862 both political parties held conventions at Indian- apolis, Thomas A. Hendricks presiding at the Democratic con- vention and Governor Morton at the Republican. The senti- ment expressed in both these meetings showed a willingness and determination to make every sacrifice "to the end that the rebellion should be suppressed, the supremacy of the constitu- tion maintained, and the Union under it preserved." It was but natural that the parties differed as regards the methods and measures to be adopted.
Calls for men followed at varying intervals; to all of
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which Indiana responded, until she had sent 208,367 of her sons to the battle-fields of the great civil war-some there to die, others to perish in prison, and still others to return to their homes and loved ones when the war should be over.
In one of Governor Morton's messages he said: "Without distinction of party, condition, or occupation, men have rallied around the national standard, and in every part of the state may be heard the sound of martial music, and witnessed the mustering of companies into the field."
Camp grounds were scattered throughout the state, where regiments of soldiers were drilled and held in readiness to answer orders to the front. In almost every corps of the army Indiana troops were to be found. They were more widely scattered, it is said, than those of any other state. In 1862 they took part in the battles of Fort Donelson and Pittsburg Landing, in Tennessee; they were with General Mcclellan and his successors in western Virginia, engaging in most of the battles on the Potomac; they fought at Bull Run, and shared in the victories won by General Lyon in the southwest; they were to be found with Sigel in his "masterly retreat;" under Mulligan they assisted in the defense of Lexington, and were in considerable numbers in Fremont's army when he went in pursuit of Price, taking part in most of the engagements in Missouri.
The affair at Buena Vista had always rested as a stain upon the courage of Indiana. So, when the civil war broke out, it was the especial ambition of many of the soldiers to retrieve the state's reputation, which they determined to do by
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deeds of valor and bravery. One regiment, the Eleventh, when mustered into service "took a solemn oath to remember Buena Vista." It is needless to add that the stain was truly and forever effaced.
The horrors of the most terrible war of modern times were upon us, but Indiana not only sent her soldiers promptly and in large numbers to the front, but did what she could to alleviate their sufferings and hardships on battle-field and camping-ground. The women of the state organized relief societies, and made and collected many articles for the comfort and relief of the soldiers which the United States government did not provide-such as extra woolen blankets, woolen shirts, socks, and mittens, dainties for the sick, and linen bandages and lint for the wounded.
A soldiers' home was established at Indianapolis, and a "ladies' home" where the wives and families of soldiers in need of temporary aid were cared for. At Knightstown an orphans' home was maintained for the support and education of soldiers' orphaned children.
Kentucky being somewhat infested with bands of guerillas, which were liable at any time to cross the Ohio river and ravage the southern portion of the state, the Indiana Legion was formed for the purpose of protecting it from such invasion. In 1863 two such incursions occurred. The first was of slight importance. A small force of the Second Kentucky cavalry, crossing the Ohio river at Leavenworth, plundered the stores and citizens of the place, and of Corydon and Paoli, before they were driven back.
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During the same summer General John Morgan succeeded in crossing the river at Brandenburg. He ferried his force, which has been variously estimated at from 2,200 to 4,000 cavalrymen, with ten guns, across the river on steamboats which he captured, and which he burned immediately after using.
The news that the famous "rebel raider " was in our state naturally produced a terrible excitement. In less than forty- eight hours after Governor Morton's official notice and call for troops had been made nearly 65,000 men were gathering from all parts of the state to offer their services. All was bustle, confusion and excitement. Brigadier-General Carrington was ordered to organize and muster in the forces. Major-General Lewis Wallace was detailed by the War Department to assist in the defense of the state. Brigadier-General Milo S. Hascall, then on his way to the front, was ordered by General Burnside to return, and was given the command of the defenses of Indiana. Major-General John L. Mansfield was ordered with the militia to New Albany. Neighboring states were prompt in offering assistance, which was accepted. Within three days there were organized, armed and ready for action 30,000 men.
Since the famous battle of Tippecanoe no military conflict had occurred within the limits of our state, and the fear of such a calamity filled the citizens with alarm. Morgan, after cross- ing the Ohio river, dashed through the southern portion of the state, hotly pursued by our troops. He did not stop to fight, but passing through Corydon, Greenville and Palmyra, reached
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Salem, where he captured 350 home guards, tore up the rail- road and burned the town; then on to Lexington, and north and east toward Madison and Vernon, engaging in a few light skirmishes, and destroying the railroads in every direction. Reaching Versailles, Morgan gathered together his detached forces as well as possible, and, closely pursued by the Indiana Legion, made his escape into Ohio. He moved north and east of Cincinnati, but did not attack the city. For about 160 miles General Morgan continued his flight, eluding his pursuers in many critical moments, but was finally captured near New Lisbon, Ohio.
During this famous raid General Morgan destroyed con- siderable property, but much of the plundering was done in a reckless fashion, which was ludicrous. Families fled terror- stricken into the woods at the approach of his band. One of Morgan's men afterwards said that they found "larders un- locked, fires on the hearths, bread half made up, and the chickens parading about the doors with a confidence that was touching, but misplaced."
The spring of 1865 witnessed the closing events of the war. On April 5 Lee surrendered to Grant, and, soon after, Johnston to Sherman. The soldiers returned to their homes, and peace again settled over the land which had been so terri- bly stricken by the ravages and devastation of a civil war.
"The drum beat and the call to arms Were heard no more; Nor groans of wounded, dying men, Nor cannon's roar.
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" Brave hearts had even weary grown Of so much woe- Of shedding blood, where brothers were Each other's foe.
" The camp-fire and the battle-field Were of the past; The prayed-for, hoped-for dawn of peace Had come at last." (A. L. d'l.)
CHAPTER XXIII.
INDIANA IN THE UNION ARMY.
GEN. A. E. BURNSIDE-MANŒUVERS OF GENERAL WALLACE-CAREER OF JEFFERSON C. DAVIS-ROBERT HUSTON MILROY-ADVENTURES OF A. D. STREIGHT-GRESHAM AS A GENERAL-OTHER HISTORICAL INDIVIDUALS.
No state had greater cause to feel proud of her soldiers than Indiana, for none fought more bravely, but their services were but meagerly acknowledged in the way of promotions, as the laurel wreath of fame was placed on few brows.
Perhaps the most distinguished of Indiana's soldier-sons was General Burnside, whom she claims by right of birth. His native place was Liberty, where, on May 23, 1824, he was born in a rude log cabin. He attend- ed the village schools until about seventeen years of age. After learning the tailor's trade, he became a partner in the firm of "Myers & Burnside, Merchant Tailors." General Burnside early Alburnside manifested an interest in military affairs, and read all the books pertaining to the subject he could obtain. The story is told
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that one day Caleb B. Smith, then congressman from the district, called at the tailor shop to have his coat repaired. He found the young tailor, Ambrose Burnside, "with a copy of 'Cooper's Tactics' propped up against the goose and kept open with a pair of shears, so that he could study and work at the same time. Some conversation followed, and the congress- man was so impressed by the intelligence and fine appearance of the young man that he sought his appointment as a cadet at the military academy." This effort failed, but young Burnside succeeded in entering the class of 1847, at which time McClel- lan, Hancock, and "Stonewall" Jackson were cadets at the academy. After graduating from West Point, Burnside was sent to Mexico as second lieutenant of the Third artillery.
But the war with that country was nearly over, and he was soon ordered to the Indian frontier. Having invented a breech-loading rifle, he resigned his commission, that he might superintend its manufacture. At the breaking out of the civil war, Burnside responded to the first call for men, and was given command of the First regiment of detached militia from Rhode Island. He commanded a division in the battle of Bull Run, and after his first term of service expired, was commis- sioned a brigadier-general of volunteers. In the fall of 1861. he organized the famous Burnside expedition, of which the war records say: "Defeat never befell it. Its experience was a
succession of honorable victories." He was afterward assigned to the army of the Potomac, took part in the battle of Antietam, and was soon after placed in chief command of that great army. But, the Federal troops suffering a terrible loss in
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the engagement before Richmond, he was relieved of the command, and transferred to the department of the Ohio. In 1864 Burnside was again attached to the army of the Potomac, under General Grant, and led his corps through the battles of the Wilderness and Cold Harbor, and in the encounters before Petersburg. General Meade preferred charges against General Burnside for disobedience during these last engagements, and ordered a court martial for his trial, but the order was disapproved by General Grant. In 1865 he resigned from the army, and in 1866 was elected governor of Rhode Island, serving three successive terms. In 1875 he was elected to the United States Senate from that state, in which body he served until his death in 1881.
At the beginning of the war Lew Wallace was appointed adjutant-general of Indiana, but soon withdrew from this position and became colonel of the Eleventh Indiana volunteers. He was a strict disciplinarian; so much so, indeed, that his soldiers and officers at first bitterly complained. They after- ward became reconciled to the rigid discipline, however, and the regiment highly distinguished itself.
Upon Wallace's arrival in Virginia, he immediately planned an expedition for his regiment, and assisted in the surprise and capture of Romney. Here fell the first Indiana soldier, William T. Girard. This surprise was so skillfully managed that General Wallace was commended in special orders by General Scott.
His three months' term of service having expired, Gen. Wallace immediately offered himself for further service, and 114
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was sent to Paducah, Kentucky. In September of 1861 he became a brigadier general. In the capture of Fort Donelson, where General Wallace was in command of a division of Grant's army, he displayed such heroic courage as he led his brave men up a cannon-crowned hill, reaching the summit midst the loud cheering of comrades in the rear, that he soon received an acknowledgement in the form of a commission as major-general. After the surrender of the fort General Wallace was the first Federal officer of high rank to enter; and he break. fasted with General Buckner, who had been in command of the Confederate forces, and was an old acquaintance of Wallace's. In the battle of Shiloh, a misunderstanding of orders occurring, Wallace did not arrive in time to take part during the first day, but with his troops rendered valiant aid on the second day of the fight.
After the surrender of Memphis, General Wallace was placed in command of the city for a short time. When Cin- cinnati was threatened by General Edmond Kirby Smith, its defense was intrusted to Wallace, and successfully conducted. Cincinnati was not captured. In July, 1864, he was defeated at the battle of Monocacy, and subsequently relieved of his com- mand by order of General Halleck, but afterward reinstated by General Grant, who commended him for the service rendered in detaining the enemy. In 1865 (at the close of the war) General Wallace was mustered out of volunteer service, and returned to his home at Crawfordsville, to enter upon a brilliant public and literary career.
Another Indiana soldier who became prominent was
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Jefferson C. Davis, who was born in Clark county, March 2, 1828. He left school at the age of eighteen, to enlist in Colonel Lane's regiment for service in the war with Mexico. For bravery at the battle of Buena Vista, he was commissioned second lieutenant of the First artillery. He served several years on the frontier, and in 1858 was placed in command of the garrison in Fort Sumter, S. C., where he was stationed at the time of the bombardment in IS61, and "was on the ramparts when the first shell of the rebellion exploded over the fort." He was promoted to a captaincy in the regular army, and became colonel of the Twenty-second Indiana volunteers. He served with General Fremont in Missouri, and commanded a brigade under Pope when Price's army was pursued through that state. At Milford he assisted in capturing a superior force of the enemy, for which act he was made a brigadier-general. In the battle of Pea Ridge, he held a point most exposed, and rendered other valiant services in that hard-fought and and hard-won battle. Davis took part in the siege of Corinth, was assigned to the army of the Tennessee, and while stationed at Louisville met and killed General William Nelson in the hall of a Louisville hotel, in retaliation, as was claimed, for personal insult and harsh treatment. General Davis was arrested, but never brought to trial. At Stone river he fought with his usual valor, at the head of his division, and was afterward made major-general. In Sherman's march through Georgia, his division became the advance, and displayed the heroism which had before characterized it. At the close of the war he was appointed colonel of the Twenty-third United States infantry,
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and made a brevet major-general. He died at Chicago in 1879.
Robert Huston Milroy was made colonel of the Ninth Indiana volunteers at the beginning of the civil war, having served as captain in the First Indiana volunteers in the Mexican war. Milroy was born in Washington county, June 11, 1816, and was a lawyer by profession. He was a member of the convention which framed the state constitution in 1851. After serving under Generals McClellan and Rosecrans in western Virginia, he was made brigadier-general in 1862, and in 1863 received his commission as major-general. For three days General Milroy resisted Lee's entire army near Winchester, W. Va. But his ammunition becoming exhausted, he cut his way out, suffering the loss of large forces. This action was made the subject of investigation.
The name of A. D. Streight, colonel of the Fifty-first regi- ment, became quite famous, not only on account of the bravery displayed in the expedition he led into western Georgia, but for the way in which he made his escape from Libby Prison. With his force he had been taken prisoner by General Forrest and sent to Libby Prison in Richmond. Captain Anderson of the same regiment was also imprisoned here for eight months, but escaped. Colonel Streight failed in a first attempt, and, being recaptured, was confined in the cellar. He and other prisoners began cutting a tunnel from this cellar, which they finished after three weeks' of hard night work. One hundred and nine prisoners succeeded in squeezing through this tunnel, which was sixty feet long. Colonel Streight, who was among
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them, organized the movement. After being concealed eight days in Richmond he made his way to Washington, reaching there March 1, 1864.
Thomas A. Morris, a West Point graduate, was the first brigadier general appointed from Indiana. General Morris commanded the Federal troops at Phillippi, June 2, 1861, where he surprised and put to flight the enemy. The success of the campaign in western Virginia, during the first months of the war, was very largely due to his skill and prudence. Gen- eral Morris, at the expiration of his term of service, retired to civil life, making no effort to obtain the recognition from the government his services deserved. His friends were indignant that the honors of the victories were not even divided with him, and after considerable effort, succeeded in procuring for him a commission as major-general, but General Morris declined it.
In response to the first call for men, Mahlon D. Manson enlisted as a private, although he had served as a captain in the Fifth Indiana vol- unteers during the war with
Mexico. He was very soon made colonel of the Tenth Indi- ana volunteers, and took part in the early campaign in Vir- ginia. In the engagement at Mill Springs, Ky., which occurred in January, 1862, Manson showed such skill and bravery that in the following March he received a
M. D. MANSON.
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commission as brigadier-general. The following August he was in command of the Federal troops at Richmond, Ky., where he was wounded, and taken prisoner, but he was ex- changed the next December. He took a prominent part in the defense of the state during the Morgan raid. He assisted in the siege of Knoxville, Tenn., was appointed to the head of the Twenty-third army corps, and participated in a number of engagements in that state, being so severely wounded in the battle of Resaca that he was obliged to resign. Since the war, General Manson has served in Congress, and held im- portant state and federal offices.
Walter Q. Gresham is a native of Indiana, having been born in IIarrison county. At the beginning of the war he was in the legislature, but resigned in August, 1861, to become lieutenant-colonel of the Thirty- eighth Indiana volunteers, being pro- moted to the colonelcy of the Fifty- third regiment the following Dec- ember. General Gresham was with General Sherman at the siege of Vicksburg, and at the battle of Kene- saw Mountain was in command of a division. After the fall of Vicks- burg he was appointed brigadier- general, and subsequently brevet- 1 ted major-general. During the Atlanta campaign he was severely wounded, and was unable to participate in further active
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