USA > Indiana > Newton County > A standard history of Jasper and Newton counties, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and country, Volume I > Part 14
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > A standard history of Jasper and Newton counties, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and country, Volume I > Part 14
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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 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
COMPANY A, FIFTEENTH INDIANA INFANTRY
In May, 1861, Governor Morton and the State Legislature offered six regiments for service in the Union army, and the question of entering the United States service for three years was at once sub- mitted to them. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth and Seven- teenth regiments promptly accepted the proposition, except a few
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hundred who declined to volunteer for three years and were at once discharged.
In the Fifteenth Regiment, Jasper County was represented by a full company, which was assigned the designating letter "A," its original officers being Samuel Miller, captain; Horace K. Warren, first lieutenant ; Alex S. Burnett, second lieutenant. The regiment was mustered into the United States service at Lafayette, on June 14, 1861, with George D. Wagner as colonel. Soon after, it moved to Indianapolis; from whence it proceeded by rail on the Ist of July for Western Virginia, stopping at Cincinnati until the 4th of July. Proceeding by rail to Clarksburg, it marched thence to Rich Moun- tain, where it arrived on the IIth, while the battle was in progress, and next day formed a part of the pursuing force, assisting in the capture of many prisoners. The regiment was afterward stationed in Elkwater Valley, where it remained until November 19th, taking an active part in the operations of General Reynolds that season, among which were the repulse of General Lee and battle of Green- brier. Soon afterward, as a part of Buell's army, it participated in the second day's battle at Shiloh and the close of Perryville. In November, 1862, the regiment marched to Nashville, where the army was reorganized under General Rosecrans, Colonel Wagner being appointed a brigadier general on the 29th of November, and Lieutenant Colonel Wood being commissioned his successor. In the march toward Murfreesboro, which followed, the regiment participated, and in the battle of Stone River, on December 31, 1862, and January I and 2, 1863, it bore a conspicuous part, losing 197 officers and men killed and wounded, out of 440 engaged. After this, the Fifteenth remained at Murfreesboro until June 24th, taking part in the various expeditions sent out from that place. It then marched to Tullahoma, where as part of Crittenden's corps, it aided in turning the rebel position on the left, compelling the evacuation of the place. The Fifteenth then remained in camp at Pelham, Tennessee, until August 17th, when the army advanced on Chatta- nooga, General Wagner's brigade, of which this regiment was a part, being the first to enter the city. Here the regiment performed post duty from September 9th until shortly before the battle of Mission Ridge, in which engagement it participated, suffering heavily. Its loss was 202 out of 334 engaged, being over 60 per cent. The day after the battle it marched, with other troops, to the relief of General Burnside, at Knoxville. There and at Chattanooga it performed severe garrison duty ; in February, 1864, a portion of the regiment
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re-enlisted and the balance was mustered out of the service at the expiration of the three years' term in June.
THE SEVENTEENTH INFANTRY
A detachment of veterans and recruits was left behind at Chattanooga by the Fifteenth, when it returned to Indiana to be mustered out, and these were transferred by order of General Thomas to the Seventeenth (Mounted) Infantry. Of these, thirty were from Jasper County. The Seventeenth had re-enlisted in January, 1864, and while in Indiana on veteran furlough, the regiment was allowed to purchase horses, and from that time forward acted as mounted infantry. When reached by the Jasper County veterans, the Seventeenth was with General Sherman at Kenesaw Mountain. From this time forward the regiment was conspicuously engaged at Chattahoochee River (being the first troops to cross this stream), Stone Mountain, Flat Rock, New Hope Church, Rome, Coosaville, Leesburg and Goshen. On the Ist of November, 1864, after turning over its horses to Kilpatrick's cavalry, the regi- ment left Rome, Georgia, for Louisville, Kentucky, where on the 24th, it was re-mounted. Moving from Louisville on the 28th of December it reached Nashville on the 8th of January, 1865, whence it marched to Gravelly Springs, Alabama, arriving there on the 25th. Here it remained until the 12th of March, when it marched with General Wilson's cavalry command into the interior of Alabama. On the Ist of April the commands of Roddy and Forrest were over- taken and attacked at Ebenezer Church, on Bogue's Creek, twenty- nine miles from Selma; the Seventeenth participated and charged the rebels gallantly, capturing 100 prisoners and one gun, and losing eight killed, eleven wounded and five missing. On the 2d, it par- ticipated in the engagement at Selma, and in taking the rebel works surrounding the town; the Seventeenth first drove the enemy into these forts and then out of them, and afterward drove them from the interior works and their position behind the railroad embank- ment into the town, taking all the forts from No. 18 to the river on the west side of town. Four pieces of artillery and about 300 pris- oners were captured. Out of 421 officers and men engaged, the regiment lost twelve killed and eighty wounded. After the battle, the regiment moved to Montgomery, and thence to Columbus, Georgia, from which point it marched to Macon, near which place it engaged the enemy on the 20th of April, and drove him into the city, saving two important bridges, which the rebels were in the
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act of firing. By a ruse, the enemy were led to believe that the force was but the advance of two divisions of cavalry, and the city was surrendered. With the city fell to Union hands four generals, 3,000 troops, including officers of all grades, five stands of colors, sixty pieces of artillery, and 3,000 small arms. The Seventeenth had in action during the day 451 officers and men, of whom one was killed and two wounded. Camping near the city for a month, it moved into Macon on May 22d, where it did post duty until the 8th of August, 1865, when it was mustered out of the service. Leaving Macon soon after the regiment reached Indianapolis August 16th, with 675 men and twenty-five officers, and on the following day was accorded a public reception. A few days later it was discharged.
THE FORTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT
In this regiment Jasper County was represented by Company K, which drew its full complement of officers and men from that county. Its original officers were David S. Snyder, captain ; Albert J. Guth- ridge, first lieutenant, and John Miller, second lieutenant. The Forty-eighth Regiment was organized at Goshen, on the 6th of December, 1861, with Norman Eddy as colonel, and left for Fort Donelson, via Cairo, on the Ist of February, 1862, where it arrived the day after the surrender. It then moved to Paducah, where it remained until May, when it moved up the Tennessee River and engaged in the siege of Corinth. After the evacuation, it was assigned to the First Brigade, Second Division of the Army of the Mississippi, and took part in the marches and countermarches in pursuit of General Price. On the 19th of September, it participated in the battle of Iuka, losing 116 men in killed and wounded out of 420 men engaged. On the 3d and 4th of October, it was engaged in the second battle of Corinth (under Rosecrans), and lost twenty- six killed and wounded. The regiment next moved down the Mis- sissippi Central Railroad as far as Oxford, Mississippi, and on its
return marched to Memphis, where, in January, 1863, it was assigned to the First Brigade, Seventh Division of the Seventeenth Army Corps. After remaining here two months, it was transported down the Mississippi, and, joining the army of General Grant, marched with it to the rear of Vicksburg. During this campaign, the regi- ment participated in the skirmish of Forty Hills on the 3d of May ; the battle of Raymond on the 13th, the battle of Jackson on the 14th, and the engagement at Champion Hills on the 16th of May, losing in the latter battle thirty-three killed and wounded. It was actively
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engaged in the trenches during the long siege of Vicksburg, and took part in the assault on the 22d of May, losing thirty-eight in killed and wounded.
After the expiration of its furlough, the Forty-eighth proceeded to Huntsville, Alabama, where it remained until June. It then moved to Cartersville, Georgia, and was kept on duty in that vicinity, look- ing after guerrillas, and protecting General Sherman's railroad com- munications during the campaign against Atlanta. It was continued on this duty until Hood's invasion, when it joined Sherman's army and marched with the First Brigade, Third Division of the Fifteenth Army Corps, in its campaign from Atlanta to Savannah. From Savannah it first moved to Beaufort, and then on the campaign through the Carolinas, going through Columbus, Fayetteville and Goldsboro to Raleigh. From this place it moved northward, after the surrender of Johnston's army, making the distance from Raleigh to Petersburg, 165 miles, in six days. From Petersburg, the Forty- eighth went to Washington, but soon after its arrival was transferred to Louisville, Kentucky, where it was mustered out of service on the 15th of July, 1865.
THE EIGHTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT
The Eighty-seventh Regiment was organized at South Bend in August, 1862, and was composed of three companies from Fulton County, three from LaPorte, one from Miami and one from Jasper (Company A). It was sent immediately to Louisville to form part of the army under Buell designed to repel an apprehended attack on that city by Bragg. As a part of Steadman's brigade it was engaged in the battle of Perryville, in October, and afterward fol- lowed the more decisive and brilliant campaigns of Rosecrans' army. It participated in the flanking movement that drove Bragg from Chattanooga, and bore a conspicuous part in the battle of Chicka- mauga on the 19th and 20th of September, 1863. On the second day of the battle the Confederate commander endeavored to turn the left wing of Rosecrans' army interposed between it and Chattanooga and retake the city which he (Bragg) had evacuated. He did gain pos- session of the road and struck heavily on the left wing of the Union army, the tip of which was held by the eighty-seventh. The main credit has generally been given that regiment for repelling the fiercest onslaughts at this critical point and thwarting the flanking move- ment upon which was centered the main efforts of the Confederate army. Its gallant and impetuous charge by which it regained the Vol. I-9
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Chattanooga road, and the determination with which it held it, marked the turn of Rosecrans' fortunes toward victory, and no regiment in his army suffered so severely as the Eighty-seventh Indiana. It went into the battle with twenty-two officers and 340 men. Of that number eight officers and thirty-two men were killed on the field and four officers and 138 privates were wounded, and eight missing-in all, 190, or more than half of the total engaged.
The regiment was at Chattanooga during the siege of that place. In the reorganization of the army, it formed a part of the Second Brigade, Third Division, Fourteenth Army Corps. It was at the storming of Mission Ridge, advancing in the first line of battle, and was among the first that entered the rebel works-losing, in killed and wounded, sixteen men. It followed in pursuit of the enemy to Ringgold, Georgia. On the 22d of February, 1864, it engaged in the expedition against Dalton, and skirmished with the enemy in front of Buzzard's Roost Mountain, near that place. It then went into camp at Ringgold, where it remained until the 7th of May, 1864.
In the great campaign against Atlanta, under General Sherman, it was constantly at the front, skirmishing every day, and participat- ing in the battles of Resaca, Cassville, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, and before Atlanta. It charged and carried the outer works at Uttoy's creek, in front of Atlanta, on the 4th of August, 1864, losing, in killed and wounded, seventeen men. It was engaged in the battle of Jonesboro, on the Ist of September, after which it moved into Atlanta, after 100 days of continuous fighting. Then followed the campaign against Hood, who was en- deavoring to get to the rear of Sherman's army, the march to the sea, and the sweep through the Carolinas, terminating with Rich- mond, Washington and the grand review of the army at the na- tional capital. The eighty-seventh was mustered out of the service June 10, 1865, and on the 22d was publicly welcomed home by Goy- ernor Morton, at a reception held in the capitol grounds. Its total casualties had been : Killed in action, 47 ; wounded, 198; died from wounds and disease, 214; total, 459. It was estimated that it had marched more than 3,500 miles. No regiment had a better record.
TWELFTH CAVALRY, COMPANY K
Company K, of the Twelfth Cavalry, was composed principally of volunteers from Jasper, Newton and Pulaski counties, and was organized with the following officers: Captain, Daniel M. Graves; first lieutenant, Henry H. Graves; second lieutenant, William Chit-
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tenden. The regiment was first known as the 127th. It was organ- ized at Kendallville in March, 1864, and Edward Anderson, who had recruited eight of its companies in the Ninth Congresisonal Dis- trict, was made colonel. But six companies were mounted and the entire regiment, when ordered to proceed to Nashville in May, 1864, was armed as infantry. When the command arrived at Louisville the six mounted companies were supplied with cavalry arms and, with mounted portions of the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry regiments, started for Nashville under command of Colonel Anderson, and the dismounted portion proceeded to that point by rail under Lieut .- Col. Alfred Reed.
For several months both the cavalry and the infantry were engaged in protecting a sixty-mile stretch of railroad, with head- quarters at Decatur and Huntsville, Alabama. Colonel Anderson was in general command. Later the cavalry of the regiment was in close and continuous contact with the famous bands of the Con- federate general, Forrest, especially along the Nashville & Chatta- nooga Railroad and in defense of Huntsville and Murfreesboro. In March, 1865, the regiment participated in the operations against the defenses of Mobile, and after the fall of that stronghold it was with Major General Grierson in the famous raid of 800 miles through Alabama and Georgia to Columbus, Mississippi, where it arrived in May, 1865. This concluded its active service. The regi- ment was afterward divided and was mustered out at Vicksburg, in November, 1865.
FOURTH BATTERY, LIGHT ARTILLERY
The Fourth Battery, Light Artillery, was mostly recruited in La- Porte, Porter and Lake counties, although Jasper had a considerable representation in its ranks. It was mustered into the service in September, 1861, under Capt. Asabel K. Bush, and was attached, at first, to Buell's army during his operations in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Northern Alabama. It participated in the siege of Corinth, the battle of Chaplin Hills, and in the series of movements against the Confederate army of Bragg. The Union army had then been reor- ganized by Rosecrans. Captain Bush's battery was assigned im- portant work at Stone River in December, 1862, and made a most creditable showing, completely silencing a Confederate battery at the sacrifice of four of its men killed and three wounded. On the following day several of its guns were captured by the enemy, but not before all but four of the horses had been killed, making it
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impossible to maneuver the pieces. At Hoover's Gap and Chick- amauga the battery was also engaged, and in September, 1864, the veterans and remaining recruits were transferred to the Seventh Battery. The non-veterans proceeded to Indianapolis, where they were mustered out of the service.
In October, 1864, the reorganization of the Fourth Battery was authorized by the War Department, and it was perfected with Benjamin F. Johnson (one of the first lieutenants of the old bat- tery) as captain. A few days afterward it joined the Army of the Cumberland, at Nashville, and after the battle there was assigned to garrison duty at Fort Rosecrans, Murfreesboro, where it remained to be mustered out. It was finally discharged at Indianapolis, in August, 1865.
Jasper County was represented in other organizations of the Union army, but its quotas were so small that no legitimate purpose of this history would be attained by noting them.
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CHAPTER XI
RENSSELAER AND ITS INSTITUTIONS
FIRST ACTUAL SETTLERS-THE YEOMANS-WILLIAM MALLATT- THE RAPIDS NAMED NEWTON-YEOMAN FLOATED OUT BY VAN RENSSELAER-NEWTON PLATTED IN 1839-NAME CHANGED TO RENSSELAER-DEATH OF VAN RENSSELAER-CORPORATION OF RENSSELAER, WITH ADDITIONS-INCORPORATED AS A CITY- MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS-CITY OF THE PRESENT-MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENTS-THE COMMERCIAL STATE AND FIRST NATIONAL BANKS-STATE BANK OF RENSSELAER-JASPER SAVINGS & TRUST COMPANY -- THE LOCAL PRESS-CHURCHES-ST. JOSEPH'S COL- LEGE-SOCIETIES.
The planting of a settlement at the Forks of the Iroquois, or the Bold Rapids of the Rockwise, a locality long famous among hunters, trappers and fishermen, was a matter of much uncertainty for several of the early years of the '30s. Several explorers who desired to locate claims in a promising region went thither and departed for other localities ; they were all attracted by the wildness of the place and by its prodigality of fish and game, but those who passed it by considered that there was too much marsh land in the neighbor- hood to make either the raising of crops or settlements a promising outlook.
FIRST ACTUAL SETTLERS
Finally, in the fall of 1835, Joseph D. Yeoman and John and George Nowels, father and son, with young Mrs. Yeoman, raised the first cabin on the site of Rensselaer. Mr. and Mrs. Yeoman (John Nowels' daughter) had two young children.
About four years before, Royal Hazelton, accompanied by Levin Willis and W. J. Wright, set out in search of the "bold rapids of the Rockwise." They struck the head of the stream, followed its
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V
GROUP OF THE EARLY SETTLERS OF RENSSELAER, FROM PHOTO TAKEN IN 1898, AT HOME OF W. W. WISHARD
Mrs.' Wishard stands on porch to the right. Names-Top row, Jared Benjamin, Rev. D. T. Halstead, David Nowels, Wesley Hinkle, John Makeever, Clinton Hopkins, Henry Bruce, Henry Babb, William Wishard, Henry Smith, Simon Phillips, Sylvester O'Meara, John Coen, Henry Fisher, James Leatherman, Reece Goddard. Bottom row, Samuel Parker, William Robinson, Isaac Sayler, Joseph Callow, Micah Sayler, Sidnial King, William Cotton. Since the photograph was taken all the subjects have died.
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course as closely as the state of its margin would allow, to a point which is now the site of the iron bridge east of the county seat, and there gave up the search and returned. Not satisfied with this boot- less errand, Hazelton, after failing to enlist the enthusiasm and com- pany of the others, started out alone in a second quest of the rapids. Providing himself with two large "corn-pones," a few cooking utensils and his lariat, and accompanied by his five dogs, he set out on horseback for the noted place. He struck the river about twenty- five miles south of the rapids, and then following up the stream came upon the rapids. The place did not meet his expectations. An impassable marsh bordered either side of the stream, and while it afforded all that the savage or hunter might desire, it presented a very discouraging site for the settling of a claim, and he returned after a seven days' absence without any desire to exchange Mootz Creek for the Iroquois.
THE YEOMANS
The solitude of the rapids seems to have remained undisturbed by the white man until 1834, when they were visited and rejected by Thomas Randle and George Culp, and later accepted by the Yeo- mans and the Nowels. In the following year the family came and pitched their tent about in the geographical position now known as Liberal Corner. On this spot the family remained while the per- manent home of logs was reared. Mrs. Yeoman chose the site for this structure which was placed on the site of the bridge which crosses the mill race on Washington Street. It was nearly winter when the last weightpole was placed on the top course of clapboards that formed the roof of the new cabin and the family found it neces- sary to take possession without waiting for the fireplace or door. A logheap in the middle of the room furnished the necessary warmth and light, while a few displaced clapboards allowed the smoke to escape. This served until further improvements could be added. The nearest resident in the county at that time was David Phegley, who then lived about five miles to the eastward of the county seat, on the Crockett farm. The family relied upon their own resources in raising the cabin, Mrs. Yeoman bravely doing her share in the heavy work.
In the spring following, Mr. Yeoman was under necessity of going to the Wabash for provisions with an ox team. During his absence Mrs. Yeoman, with the two children, were left alone, and
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while thus unprotected a party of fifty Indians came down to the rapids to fish. They camped about where the grist mill now stands, and caught wagonloads of fish. Their method was to throw the fish out with paddles, made for the purpose, with one hand, while hold- ing a torch in the other. None but dog-fish were preserved for their own use, however ; a bass or pickerel being brought to the cabin to exchange for bread. The savages were very docile, and offered her no discourtesy, though it may be imagined that the solitude was preferable to the presence of such visitors. Mr. Yeoman made a farm upon the site of Rensselaer, extending from the ravine which reaches the river at the mill on the south to the western grove on the north. Here he lived and improved his claim without near neighbors for three years. The family heard of the advent of the Forks settle- ment, but the impassable character of the stream between the two locations prevented any communication.
WILLIAM MALLATT
The first accession to the little settlement thus begun, if the father, W. J. Wright, be excepted, was William Mallatt. He lo- cated his claim across the river from Yeoman, and broke ten acres of ground covering the site of Mr. Thompson's residence and others westward toward the bend of the river. He was not allowed to rest long in the possession of this site, as it was taken by a "float" owned by W. M. Kenton. This was a peculiar way the General Govern- ment had of disposing of its lands, and very often worked grave injustice, as in two cases, at least, at the rapids. To discharge certain obligations, the Government granted a warrant for a certain amount of land to be located at the option of the holder on any land belong- ing to the United States. Until 1837, lands could not be bought here, and settlers made claims with the intention of perfecting their title at the first opportunity. This was sometimes neglected, and while their "claim" was proof against any similar demand, it was powerless before a "float." In this case Mr. Mallatt was obliged to forsake his improvements, and removed to the Blue Grass settle- ment.
THE RAPIDS NAMED NEWTON
In the meantime, the county seat had been changed to the Rapids of the Iroquois, and the place named Newton.
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YEOMAN FLOATED OUT BY VAN RENSSELAER
Mr. Yeoman had determined in his own mind to lay out a village here, and was flattering himself upon the outlook, when he found himself "floated" out of his prospects by James Van Rensse- laer. The latter had been a merchant in Utica, New York, where he had failed in the panic of 1837, and becoming the owner of a "float" issued to some of the Indians, he came West, with this capital, to repair his fortunes. The site at the rapids seemed to offer the opportunity he sought, and he soon became the possessor of a good farm, considerably cultivated, and a portion of it well fenced. More than this, the site of a village was foreshadowed at this point, and for all these advantages there is no evidence that he allowed his predecessor a dollar for his improvements. It is said that there was a decided opinion entertained as to the equity of the proceeding, and it was marked as an instance of poetic justice that a certain well-fenced cornfield semed to be the especial prey of all the stock that grazed on the prairies. Donahue's cattle were frequently found to have strayed to this distant point, and superior to fences, were found rioting in the standing corn.
NEWTON PLATTED IN 1839
On June 12, 1839, the original plat of the Town of Newton was filed, the specifications accompanying the plat explain that "the town of Newton is situated at the Rapids of the Iroquois River in Jasper County, Indiana, on Section 30, Town 29 north, Range 6 west. The Blocks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are each three hundred feet ; the remaining whole blocks are each three hundred feet square. Block 25 is 295 by 300 ; Block 26 is 295 by 300 feet. The lots are each 50 by 150 feet, except the middle lots in Blocks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6; they are each 45 by 150 feet. The lots in fractional blocks vary according to the shape of the blocks. There are twenty-six blocks besides the Public Square; the Public Square is 300 feet square. The streets around the Public Square are each 75 feet wide ; Susan street is 63 feet wide; Mill street is 50 feet wide; the street immediately south of Blocks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, is 50 feet wide till its junction with Mill street, where it expands to 56 feet wide; the rest of the streets are 66 feet wide. It is not intended that Front street should be laid out as a public street more than 50 feet wide, although it is believed it will always remain open to the river. From
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