USA > Indiana > Putnam County > Biographical and historical record of Putnam County, Indiana > Part 14
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This regiment, which was raised during the summer and autumn of 1862, contained
John R. Mahan, of Greencastle, was Lien- | a large number of Putnam County volun-
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THE CIVIL WAR.
teers. Among the general officers were:' and twenty-five of the regiment escaped cap- Courtland C. Matson, Adjutant from July 19, ture. The captured officers and men were 1862, to December 13. 1502. Lieutenant Colonel from the latter date to July 1, 1865, and then commissioned Colonel, though mus- tered ont as Lientenant-Colonel; William Conklin, Major from August 18, 1862, and killed at battle of Richmond, Kentucky, An- gust 30, 1562: William A. Brown, Adjutant from December 18, 1862, and mustered out Angust 14, 1865; and Edward R. Kercheval. Quartermaster from July 10, 1862, resigned January 16, 1863.
Company C, from this county, was organ- ized with James HI. Sands as Captain. Joseph A. Standeford as First Lieutenant, and John Hansel as Second Lieutenant. Standeford resigned October 21, 1864, and Hansel was promoted. The latter was made Captain of Company HI January 1, 1865, and John S. Applegate succeeded him as First Lieuten- ant, while Alfred Watson was made Second Lieutenant. Samuel W. Sherfey went out as First Lientenant of Company K. and Sep- tember 6, 1864, became Captain. Andrew J. Rockwell went out as First Lieutenant of Company F, and was promoted Captain De-
paroled, and the regiment returned to Terre Hanre, where it was reorganized and refitted for service. Captain JJames Biddle, of the Fifteenth Infantry, U. S. A., was commis- sioned Colonel of the regiment, and after the paroled prisoners were declared exchanged, the regiment again left for Kentucky. On the 27th of December, 400 men and officers of the regiment were sent to Muldraugh's Ilill to guard trestle-work, and on the follow- ing day they were attacked by a force of 4,000 rebels, under command of General John II. Morgan, and after an engagement of an hour and a half were surrounded and cap- tured. The regiment then returned to In- dianapolis, where it remained until the 26th of August, 1863.
On the 234 of February, 1563, an order was issued by the Secretary of War author- izing the Seventy-first to be mounted and changed into a cavalry organization. The two additional companies (L and M) were organized and mustered into service as fol- Lows: Company 1. September 1. 1:53, and Company M October 12, 1563. The regi- engaged in the siege of Knoxville, and in the active operations against General Longstreet, on the Holston and Clinch rivers, losing many
cember 5, 1862. He resigned January 18, ment was then sent into East Tennessee, and 1863.
The Seventy-first Regiment was organized at Terre Hante in July and August. 1862. and mustered into service as an infantry or- : men in killed and wounded. In the spring ganization at Indianapolis on the 18th of ; of 1564 it was ordered to Mount Sterling, Angust, 1862, with Melville D. Topping as Kentucky, to be remounted, and afterward was stationed at Nicholasville, Kentucky. Lieutenant-Colonel. It was sent immedi- ately to the field in Kentucky, to assist in re- On the 29th of April, 1864, it left Nich- olasville for Georgia, marched over the Cum- berland Mountains and joined General Sherman's army, then in front of Dalton, on the 11th of May. It was at once assigned to the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Ohio, pelling the invasion of Kirby Smith. On the 30th of August it was engaged in the : battle of Richmond, Kentucky, in which ac- tion Lientenant-Colonel Topping and Major Conklin were killed. The loss to the regi- ment was 215 officers and men killed and commanded by General Stoneman, serving in wounded, and 347 prisoners. Two hundred | the Second Brigade, under command of
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HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
Colonel Biddle. The Sixth Cavalry, during the Atlanta campaign, participated in all the cavalry operations, and was engaged in the battles of Resaca, Cassville, Kenesaw Mount- ain and other engagements. It aided in the capture of Allatoona Pass, and was the first to take possession of and raise the flag npon Lost Mountain. On the 27th of July the regiment started with General Stoneman on his raid to Macon, Georgia, and in that expe- dition it lost 166 men and officers in killed, wounded and captured.
On the 25th of August the regiment left Marietta, Georgia, and returned to Nashville to be remounted and equipped. Early in September a part of the regiment was sent in pursuit of General Wheeler. On the 24th of September it left Nashville with Crox -: ton's cavalry division to assist in repelling the invasion of Middle Tennessee by Forrest. The expedition was commanded by Genera! Rousseau, and was absent from Nashville twenty-one days, having fought and defeated Forrest at Pulaski. Tennessee, on the 27th of September, and pursued him to Florence and Waterloo, Alabama. In the engagement at Pulaski the Sixth Cavalry lost twenty-three men in killed and wounded.
On the 1st of November the regiment started by railroad to Dalton, Georgia, where it remained until the 26th of that month, when it returned to Nashville. On the 15th and 16th of December it participated in the bat- tle in front of Nashville, and after the repulse of Hood's army immediately followed in pursuit of the retreating enemy. Returning to Nashville, it remained there until the 1st of April, 1865, when it moved to Pulaski with the Second Brigade. Sixth Division of the Cavalry Corps of the Military Division of the Mississippi.
On the 17th of June, 1865, the portion of the regiment whose terms of service would
expire prior to October 1, 1865, were mus- tered out of service at Pulaski, Tennessee. On the 27th of June, 1865, the remaining reernits of the Sixth Cavalry were consoli- dated with the remaining recruits of the Fifth Cavalry, and the new organization thus formed (consisting of nine companies) was designated the Sixth Indiana Cavalry. The regiment left Pulaski for Indianapolis with 425 inen for discharge. On reaching the State capital it was publicly welcomed home. on the 21st of June, with other regiments, and addressed by Governor Morton, General Ilovey and others. from the reception stand in the State house grove.
The reorganized regiment remained in ser- vice in Middle Tennessee, under command of Colonel Courtland (. Matson, until the 15th of September, 1865, when it was mustered out of service at Murfreesboro, and returned home with 681 men and thirty-two officers. On reaching Indianapolis it was present at a reception given to returned troops in the capitol grounds. on which occasion Lieuten- ant-General Grant was present. After a re- ception speech by Governor Morton, General Grant was introduced and briefly addressed the soldiers and citizens.
SEVENTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT.
William L. Farrow commanded this regi- ment as Lieutenant-Colonel. Two companies were from Putuam County, officered as follows: Company B - Captain, Alfred J. Hawn; First Lientenant, William M. Byerly; Second Lientenant, Charles B. Winn; Com- pany A -- Captain. Robert E. Smith; First Lieutenant. Benjamin Pritchard; Second Lientenant, William H. Munson.
Guerrilla raids becoming frequent on our borders during the summer of 1862, and sixty days' volunteers being tendered to the Executive, an organization composed of six
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THIE CIVIL WAR.
companies was accepted, which rendezvoused at Indianapolis, with William L. Farrow as Lieutenant-Colonel, and was mustered into the service August 5, 1862. The organiza- tion was designated as the Seventy-eighth Regiment, armed, equipped, and stationed at Evansville, where it performed guard duty, and made several expeditions into Kentucky in pursuit of guerrillas. In one of these affairs a portion of the regiment was captured, and paroled at Uniontown, Kentucky, and Lieutenant Howard, of Company C, killed. The regiment also was employed in picket duty along the border during its term of service.
NINETY-SEVENTH REGIMENT.
Company D, of this regiment, was from Putnam County, and was organized late in the summer of 1862, with the following officers: James J. Smiley, Captain; Joseph W. Piercy, First Lieutenant, and William H. Sherfey, Second Lientenant. Piercy re- signed November 11, 1862, and his grade was filled by the promotion of Sherfey, whose place was taken by John W. Busby. Lieutenant Sherfey was transferred to the Signal Corps, and Joseph L. Friend became First Lieutenant. Lieutenant Busby resigned April 27, 1864, and James Siner was promoted to the vacancy thus created.
The Ninety-seventh Regiment was organ- ized in the Seventh Congressional District, during the month of August, rendezvoused at Terre Haute, and was mustered into the service on the 20th day of September, 1862, with Robert F. Catterson as Colonel. Soon after its muster the regiment proceeded to Memphis, Tennessee, and upon its arrival there was assigned to the Third Brigade, First Division, Seventeenth Army Corps. The regiment was assigned to duty near Memphis, and accompanied General Grant's
movement toward Vicksburg by the over- land route. But the disaster at Holly Springs delayed the movement and rendered it un- successful. The regiment then returned to Moscow, Tennessee, and were on duty at that place until it joined General Sherman's army, then in the rear of Vicksburg, near the Big Black River, watching the movements of the rebel General Jolinston, who with a large army threatened to break our investing lines and raise the siege of Vicksburg.
On the 4th of July, 1863, Vicksburg sur- rendered, and Sherman's column at once pushed for Jackson, marching fifty miles, through dust and heat, in a country almost destitute of water, to meet the foe. Our advance reached the works in front of Jack- son on the 9th, and soon invested the place. Constant skirmishing took place, the regi- ment taking an active part, until the 16th, when the enemy evacuated, and our army entered the city. The regiment then returned to the Big Black and rested for a short time.
On the 13th of September, orders were sent to Generals Grant and Sherman, at Vieksburg, to send all available forces to Corinth and Tuscumbia, to co-operate with General Rosecrans in case Bragg should attempt to turn Rosecrans' right flank, and invade Tennessee. In accordance with these orders the regiment moved with its division to Memphis, and on the 27th of October the advance of our corps entered Tuscumbia, Alabama. The column then pushed on toward Bridgeport, and after a march of over four hundred miles, with no rest for three successive nights, crossed the Tennes- see River and took part in the battle of Chattanooga on the 25th of November. The regiment took an active part in this battle. Immediately after the battle of Chattanooga the army of General Sherman moved to the relief of General Burnside, in East Tennessee,
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HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTT.
which result was accomplished. The Ninety- seventh marched with the column over one hundred miles. The regiment then returned with its corps to Scottsboro, Alabama, and remained there until the opening of the Atlanta campaign. in May, 1864.
On the 6th of May the Army of the Ten- nessee, commanded by General MePherson, was near Gordon's Mill, on Chickamauga Creek. The Ninety-seventh belonged to the Third Brigade, Fourth Division. Fifteenth Army Corps, under command of General John A. Logan, and was a portion of the Army of Tennessee. On the 8th MePherson reached Snake Creek Gap, and the next day approached within a short distance of Resaea. but finding that place strongly fortified, retired to the Gap. On the 12th the whole army moved on Resaca, and General MePher- son occupied a ridge of bald hills, with his his left abreast of the town. General Me- Pherson made a lodgment close to the enemy's works, driving the rebel General Poll's corps from the hill that commanded the railroad and bridges. Other portions of the army pressing on, resulted in the battle of Resara, on the 11th and 15th of May. the regiment being engaged. The enemy was defeated. and retreated during the night.
The corps to which the regiment was attached moved in pursuit by the way of Lay's Ferry, and crossed the river at that point. On the 27th the enemy was again encountered, at Dallas, and repulsed, the Ninety-seventh taking part in the fight. On the 1st of June an encounter took place with the enemy at New Hope Church, and on the 15th a sharp affair was had at Big Shanty, the regiment being engaged. On the 27th an assault was made upon the enemy's works on Kenesaw Mountain, which resulted dis- astronsly, the regiment being engaged in the
assault. On the 2d of July MePherson moved to Turners' Ferry, and threatened the enemy's rear. The rebels at once abandoned their position on Kenesaw, and fell back to Smyrna Church.
On the 9th the rebel army crossed the Chattahoochee River. Our army moved in pursuit, and on the 15th the advance of our corps reached the Augusta railway, seven miles east of Decatur, destroyed the works and then marched toward Decatur. On the 22d the enemy made a fierce assault along our whole front, and after a terrific and sanguinary battle, were repulsed. In the battle the brave and noble General MePher- son was killed. On the 27th General O. O. Howard assinned command of the Army of the Tennessee, in which the regiment had so long been serving.
right resting on the Oostananla River, and : Logan's Fifteenth Corps formed the extreme
On the morning of the 28th of July, right flank of the army before Atlanta, being in position along a wooded and commanding ridge. At noon the rebel army sallied forth from Atlanta and advanced in parallel lines against the Fifteenth Corps, with the hope of crushing it. The rebel attack was met with a severe and galling fire and driven back in confusion. Rallying, he essayed another assault, but was firmly met and cheeked, until at four o'clock in the afternoon, after a desperate struggle, he was utterly routed, and fell back to his entrenchments at Atlanta. General Logan's Fifteenth Corps, to which the regiment was attached, was conspicuous in this battle, being chiefly engaged in the fight.
On the 29th of August the Ninety-seventh moved with its corps on the flanking march around Atlanta, and was engaged in the battle of Jonesboro on the 21st. On the 1st of September it reached Lovejoy's Station, and, upon the evacnation of Atlanta, returned to East Point, where it eneamped.
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THE CIVIL WAR.
On the 3d of October the regiment joined in the pursuit of Hood, and had a sharp fight at Little River, Georgis, on the 26th. It then returned to its old camp.
On the 12th of November the regiment started with the right wing of Sherman's army on its march to the sea. On the 22d it participated in a fight at Griswoldville, Georgia, repulsing a large body of the enemy. On the 8th of December it was again engaged at Little Ogeechee River, and on the 21st entered the city of Savannah. The regiment rested a short time at Savan- nah, and then moved with Sherman's army through the Carolinas, being present at the capture of Columbia, South Carolina, on the 15th of February, 1865, and at the battle of Bentonville, North Carolina, on the 21st of March. It then moved to Goldsboro. and thence marched by the way of Richmond, Virginia. to Washington City, District of Colmbia, where, on the 9th day of June, 1865, the Ninety-seventh Regiment was mustered out of the service of the United States.
The regiment has lost in killed 46, wounded : 146, died of disease 149. It has lost three color bearers, killed in important assaults on the 15th and 27th of June, 1864. The regi- ment has marched over 3,000 miles.
Afters its muster out the regiment pro- i but found that the enemy had left, after ceeded to Indianapolis, and was welcomed by an ovation in the State House grounds, on the 13th of June, and addressed by Governor Morton and General Hovey. After which the regiment ceased to exist as an organiza- tion, and its members went home to enjoy in peace the honors they had so fairly won.
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH REGIMENT.
Company C, of this regiment of - minute men," was from Putnam County, and officered as follows: Edward R. Bladen, Captain;
William II. Munson, First Lieutenant; Abel Tyler, Second Lieutenant. Of the regimental officers, these were from Putnam County; Robert E. Smith, Major; William Spurgeon, Adjutant; and Marshall A. Moore, Quarter- master.
The One Hundred and Fifth Regiment was composed of seven companies of the Legion, and three of Minute Men. Ilenry County furnished two companies, Randolph two, and Union, Putnam, Hancock, Wayne, Clinton and Madison counties, each one company. The companies of the Legion were named as follows: A, Union Guards; B, Union Defenders; D, Liberty Tigers; E, Hancock Guards: F, Abington Home Guards; G. Union Guards; HI, Green Township Rangers. The regiment was organized on the 12th of July, 1563, and contained an aggregate of 713 rank and file, with Kline G. Shryock as Colonel. It at once left Indi- anapolis for Lawrenceburg. Upon reaching Morris Station the command disembarked from the cars, and, throwing ont pickets, bivonacked for the night. Next morning the march was made to Sunman's Station, where great alarm existed among the citizens, caused by the approach of the enemy. The regiment pushed on to Van Wedden's Sta- tion, where the rebels were reported to be, destroying the railroad. The regiment joined in the pursuit of Morgan, until near Harrison. Ohio. It then marched to Law- renceburg. There being a report that Mor- gan's forces were returning to capture Lawrenceburg, the regiment moved out to check him, and while getting into position an indiscriminate firing took place among the men, resulting in killing eight and wounding twenty. The regiment returned to Indianap- olis on the 18th of July, 1863, and was mustered out.
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HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTEENTH REGIMENT.
John R. Mahan, Alfred J. Hawn and George W. Whitworth, all of this county, wore respectively Colonel, Lieutenant-Colonel ind Quartermaster of this regiment. Com- panies C, HI and I were from Putnam County. Lighlman II. Nance was Captain, James T. Layman, First Lieutenant, and Estes H. Lay- man, Second Lientenant of Company C, from the southern part of the county. James B. Harrah was Captain and Charles A. Mathews First Lieutenant of Company HI, raised in the eastern part of the county. Tarwin C. Grooms was First Lieutenant of Company F from November 15, 1863. William H. Allison was Captain, William A. Fordyce, First Lieutenant, and Abram J. Biddle, Sec- ond Lieutenant, of Company I, from Green- castle and vicinity.
In June, 1863, the President made a requi- sition on the Governor of Indiana for a num- ber of regiments for six months' service, and a call was made for one regiment from each Congressional District. When the call was issued, a harvest was near at hand, and a great deficiency of labor was likely to be experienced in the agricultural districts, caus- ing delay and an abatement in enlistments, so that only four regiments were organized.
The One Hundred and Fifteenth Regiment was organized at Indianapolis on the 13th of Angust, 1863, and mustered into service on the 17th of the same month, with John R. Mahan as Colonel. On the 16th of Septem- ber it left the Capital and proceeded through Central Kentucky to Nicholasville, where it joined the command of General O. B. Wil- cox, then on its way to East Tennessee. By his order the four regiments of six months' men were placed in a brigade, and Colonel Mahan assigned to the command of the same, after which Lientenant-Colonel A. J. Hawn had the immediate command of the regiment.
On the 24th of September the regiment moved with its brigade from Nicholasville for Cumberland Gap, passing through Crab Orchard, Mount Vernon, London and Bar- boursville, Kentucky, and reaching Cumber- land Gap on the 3d of October. Remaining there till the 6th, it then marched southward, passing through Tazewell and crossing the Clinch River, Clinch Mountains and Holston River, and entering Morristown on the 8th. On the 10th the regiment reached Blue Springs, when the enemy was engaged and driven from his position on a commanding hill, and then pursued some fifteen miles. The regiment then moved to Greenville, where it remained until the 6th of Novem- ber, when it marched to Bull's Gap, where it was engaged for some time in fortifying the mountain passes. While here the com- mand suffered for want of food and clothing, the men subsisting on quarter rations, with- out sugar or coffee, and frequently living on parched corn. Many of the soldiers were thinly clad, and withont shoes, and their suf- ferings from exposure to the cold were ex- ceedingly severe.
From Bull's Gap the regiment moved to Clinch Gap and Clinch River, reaching Syca- more about the middle of December, from whence it marched to Walker's Ford. Dur- ing the winter the One Hundred and Fif- teenth was kept on duty in the mountains of East Tenneseee, marching, almost shoeless, over rough roads, and enduring many hard- ships. The result of this campaign was, that the hospitals at Cumberland Gap were filled with sick and exhausted soldiers, who were subsequently transferred to Camp Nelson, and from thence sent to Louisville and In- dianapolis.
Returning to Indianapolis for discharge on the 10th of February, the regiment was pub- licly welcomed by the citizens at a reception
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THE CIVIL WAR.
meeting held in the State IIonse grounds on the 12th of February, 1864, and addressed by Governor Morton, General Carrington and Mayor Caven, to which responses were made by Lieutenant-Colonel Hawn and Chaplain Summerbell. In a few days. afterward the regiment was finally discharged from service.
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THIRD REGIMENT.
Company F, of this regiment, was organ- ized February 1, 1864, with Elisha Cowgill as Captain, Abel Tyler as First Lieutenant and Joseph M. Donnohne as Second Lienten- ant, Captain Cowgill resigned July 10, 1864, Lientenant Donohue was made Captain, and Charles O. Wagoner raised to the Second Lieutenancy.
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THIRD REGIMENT.
The One Hundred and Twenty-third Regi- ment was recruited during the winter of 1863 and 1864, from the Fourth and Seventh Congressional Districts, rendezvoused at Greensburg, and was mustered into service on the 9th of March, 1864, with John C. McQuiston as Colonel. On the 18th the regiment left for Nashville, and upon arriv- ing there was assigned to the Second Brigade, First Division, Twenty-third Army Corps. On the 4th of April the regiment marched with it- division for Charleston, Tennessee, and, after twenty days steady marching, reached that place and camped.
On the 3d of May the regiment marched with its corps on the campaign against At- : lanta, passing through Cleveland, Tennessee, and Red Clay, Georgia, and on the 9th was engaged on Rocky Face Ridge. The Second Brigade was on the extreme left of Sherman's army, and facing a conical peak surmounted by heavy guns and surrounded by formidable works at its base. A detachment, supported by the One Hundred and Twenty-third and ; twelve wounded in this battle.
One Hundred and Thirtieth Indiana, charged and captured this position and drove the enemy into his works at Rocky Face Ridge. On the 14th the regiment moved with its di- vision through Snake Creek Gap, and on the day following moved to the extreme left of the army, arriving in time to take part in the battle of Resaca, and received and re- pulsed a dashing assault of the enemy on our exposed flank. The enemy retreated during the night, and the regiment joined in the pursuit, passing through Resaca, Calhoun and Cassville, skirmishing almost constantly with the cnemy's rear guard. On the 24th the regiment crossed Etowah River and ad- vanced to the support of General Hooker near Dallas. During the last week of May, a detachment of rebel cavalry captured a por- tion of the division supply train and several men belonging to the regiment.
The month of June opened with heavy rains, which flooded our camps, almost do- stroyed the country roads, and spread discase among the men. Rations were short for want of transportation, and the men worn out by marching, fighting and exposure. On the 9th of June the Second Brigade was trans- ferred to the Second Division ( Haseall's) of the same corps. On the 12th the regiment was detailed to guard the ordnance train. and on the 16th joined its brigade.
The enemy held position near Lost Mount- ain, and the second division was ordered to dislodge him. Early on the morning of the 17th the command advanced in line of battle, its front covered by a strong skirmish line, driving the enemy for some distance, until within range of his artillery. A furions fire of grape and canister tore through our ranks, but, with a yell. the line charged, drove the enemy from position, and captured many prisoners. The regiment lost one killed and
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HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
On the 23d Hood's rebel corps was demon- ! 7th the advance of our corps captured the strating on the Sandtown road, near Pine | bridge and effected a crossing of the Chatta- hoochee, The enemy. finding. his rear threat- ened, crossed the river on the 9th. On the 17th the forward movement was continued, Haseall's division taking the road to Decatur. On the 19th, our brigade being in the ad- rance, encountered the enemy near Decatur, assaulted his position, captured it, and drove his flying troops through that town. A por- tion of the railroad was then destroyed. Mountain, threatening the flank of the Twentieth corps. Haseall's division moved rapidly to the threatened point. The regi- ! ment had scarcely got into position, when heavy columns of the enemy swarmed in front of its division, and made a fierce as- sault. The rebel charge was met and de- cisively repulsed with great loss to the enemy. The regiment lost but one killed.
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