USA > Indiana > Vermillion County > Biographical and historical record of Vermillion County, Indiana : containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States from Washington to Cleveland, with accompanying biographies of each; a condensed history of the state of Indiana; portraits and biographies of some of the prominent men of the state; engravings of prominent citizens in Vermillion county, with personal histories of many of the leading families, and a concise history of the county and its villages > Part 20
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Corinth; was stationed at various places in Tennessee; engaged in the battle of Stone River and Chattanooga, of the Atlanta eam- paign, Nashville, ete., and was on duty in the Southwest until late in the fall of 1865, many months after the termination of the war.
FORTY-THIRD INFANTRY.
Company I, of this regiment, was from Vermillion County. Samuel J. HIall was Captain from the date of muster, October 9, 1861, to Jannary 7, 1865, the elose of his term of enlistment; and then Robert B. Sears was Captain until the regiment was mustered out. He was promoted from the position of Corporal to that of First Lieuten- ant, and finally to that of Captain. David A. Ranger, of Toronto, was First Lieutenant. William L. Martin, of Newport, was first the Second and then the First Lieutenant. George W. Shewmaker was Second Lieutenant for the first seven and a half months. John Love- lace was first a private and then Second Lien- tenant.
George K. Steele, of Rockville, was Colo- nel of the regiment until January 16, 1862; William E. MeLean, of Terre Haute, until May 17, 1865, and John C. Major from that time till the regiment was mustered ont.
The first engagement this regiment had was the sieges of New Madrid and Island No. 10. Next it was attached to Commodore Foote's gunboat fleet in the reduction of Fort Pillow, serving sixty-nine days in that eam- paign. It was the first Union regiment to land in the city of Memphis, and, with the Forty-sixth Indiana, constituted the en- tire garrison, holding that place for two weeks, until reinforced. In July, 1862, the Forty-third was ordered up White River, Arkansas, and subsequently to IIelena. At the battle at this place a year afterward, the
219
HISTORY OF VERMILLION COUNTY.
regiment was especially distingnished, alone supporting a battery that was three times charged by the enemy, repulsing each at- tack, and finally capturing a full rebel regi- ment larger in point of numbers than its own strength.
It aided in the capture of Little Rock. At this place, Jannary 1, 1864, the regiment re- enlisted, numbering abont 400. Next it was in the battles of Elkins' Ford, Jenkins' Ferry, Camden and Marks' Mills, near Saline River. At the latter place, April 30, the brigade to which it was attached, while gnard- ing a train of 400 wagons returning from Camden to Pine Bluff's, was furiously attacked by abont 6,000 of Marmaduke's cavalry. The Forty-third lost nearly 200 in killed, wounded and missing in this engagement. Among the captured were 104 of the re-enlisted vet- erans.
The regiment next came home on veteran furlough, but while enjoying this vacation they volunteered to go to Frankfort, Ken- tneky, which was threatened by Morgan's eavalry, and where they remained until the rebel forces left Central Kentucky. For the ensning year it guarded the rebel prisoners at Camp Morton, near Indianapolis. After the war was over it was among the first regi- ments mustered out, being mustered ont at Indianapolis, June 14, 1865. Of the 164 men captured from this regiment in Arkansas and taken to the rebel prison at Tyler, Texas, ten or twelve died.
SEVENTY-FIRST INFANTRY, SUBSEQUENTLY THE SIXTII CAVALRY.
Company A of this regiment was exelu- sively from Vermillion County. Andrew J. Dowdy, of Clinton, was Captain; Robert Bales, of Clinton, First Lieutenant; William O. Norris, of the same place, Second Lienten- ant, killed at the battle of Richmond,
Kentucky; Joseph Hasty, from Newport, succeeded him as Second Lientenant; First Sergeant, William O. Washburn, of Clinton; Sergeants-Francis D. Weber, of Newport, Johnson Malone, Alexander M. Staats and George W. Scott, of Clinton; Corporals- Joseph Brannan, Richard M. Rucker, Lewis H. Beckman, Larkin Craig, Daniel Buntin, Renben H. Clearwaters, John L. Harris and Charles Blanford; Musicians, George W. Har- bison and James Simpson. Most of these were credited to Clinton, though some of them, as well as many of the privates, which were accredited to Clinton, and some to New- port, were from Helt Township.
The Colonel of this regiment was James Biddle, of Indianapolis.
The Seventy-first was first organized as in- fantry, at Terre Haute, in July and August, 1862. Its first duty was to repel the invasion of Kirby Smith in Kentucky. August 30 it was engaged in the battle of Richmond, Ken- tneky, with a loss of 215 killed and wounded, and 347 prisoners. After the latter were ex- changed, 400 men and officers of the regiment were sent to Muldraugh's Hill to gnard tres- tle work; and on the following day they were attacked by a force of 4,000 rebels under command of General John H. Morgan, and after an engagement of an hour and a half were surrounded and captured. The remain- der of the regiment then returned to Indian- apolis, where they remained until Angust 26, 1863.
During the ensuing autumn, with two ad- ditional companies, L and M, they were or- ganized as a cavalry regiment, and were sent into Eastern Tennessee, where they engaged in the siege of Knoxville and in the opera- tions against General Longstreet, on the Hol- ston and Clinch rivers, losing many men in killed and wounded. May 11, 1864, they joined General Sherman's army in front of
219
THE CIVIL WAR.
Dalton, Georgia, where it was assigned to the cavalry corps of the Army of the Ohio, com- manded by General Stoneman. They en- gaged in the battles of Resaca, Cassville, Kenesaw Mountain, ete., aided in the capture of Alatoona Pass, and was the first to take possession of and raise the flag upon Lost Mountain. In Stoneman's raid to Macon, Georgia, the Sixth Cavalry lost 166 men.
Returning to Nashville for another equip- ment, it aided General Rousseau in defeating Forrest at Pulaski, Tennessee, September 27, and pursued him into Alabama. In the en- gagement at Pulaski the regiment lost twenty- three men. December 15 and 16 it participated in the battle at Nashville, and, after the re- pulse of Hood's army, followed it some dis- tanec. In June, 1865, a portion of the men were mustered out of the service. The re- mainder were consolidated with the residual fraction of the Fifth Cavalry, constituting the Sixth Cavalry, and they were mustered out in September following.
EIGHTY-FIFTHI INFANTRY.
Company D, of this regiment, was made np from the southern portion of Vermillion County. William Reeder, of Rockville, was Captain until June 10, 1863, and thencefor- ward Caleb Bales, of Toronto, was Captain, being promoted from the rank of Second Lieutenant. The vacancy thus made was filled by Elisha Pierce, of Clinton, who was promoted from the position of First Sergeant. The Sergeants were James W. Taylor, of To- ronto, William A. Richardson, John A. C. Norris and David Mitchell, of Clinton; and the Corporals were Brazier E. Henderson, Ben White, Samuel Craig, James Andrews, Valentine Foos, Harrison Pierce, Joseph Foos and Wesley A. Brown. Musicians, Andrew J. Owen and John A. Curry.
The Colonels of the Eighty-fifth were John
P. Baird, of Terre Haute, to July 20, 1564, and Alexander B. Crane, of the same city, until the mustering out of the regiment.
This regiment was organized at Terre IIante, September 2, 1862. Its first engage- ment was with Forrest, with Colonel John Coburn's brigade, March 5, 1863, when the whole brigade was captured. The men were marched to Tullahoma, and then transported to Libby Prison at Richmond, amid much suffering, many dying along the route. Twenty-six days after their incarceration the men were exchanged, and stationed at Frank- lin, Tennessee, where they fought in skir- mislies until Bragg's army fell back. The following summer, fall and winter the Eighty- fifth remained in the vicinity of Murfrees- boro, guarding the railroad from Nashville to Chattanooga. It participated in every im- portant engagement in the Atlanta campaign, being in the terrible charge upon Resaca, and in the battles at Cassville, Dallas Woods, Gol- gotha Church, Culp's Farm and Peach Tree Creek. At the last mentioned place it did deadly work among the rebels.
This brave regiment then followed Sher- man in his grand march to the sea, and baek through the Carolinas, engaging in several battles. At Averysboro it was the directing regiment, charging the rebel works through an open field, but suffered greatly. It de- stroyed a half mile of railroad in forty min- utes, corduroyed many miles of wagon road, and after a twenty-mile march one day it worked hard all night making a road np a steep, muddy bluff, for which they were highly complimented by Generals Sherman and Slocum, who had given directions for the work and were eye witnesses to its execution. After several other important movements, it had the pleasure of looking as proud victors upon Libby Prison, where so many of them had suffered in captivity in 1862. Marching
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HISTORY OF VERMILLION COUNTY.
to Washington, it was mustered out of ser- vice, June 12, 1865. The remaining recruits were transferred to the Thirty-third Indiana, who were mustered ont July 21, at Lonisville, Kentucky.
THE ONE HUMDRED AND TWENTY-NINTH FANTRY,
IN-
containing Company K from Vermillion County, was recruited from the Tenth Con- gressional District during the winter of 1863-'64, rendezvonsed at Michigan City, and was mustered into service March 1, 1864, with Charles Case, of Fort Wayne, as Colo- nel, and Charles A. Zollinger, of the same city, as Lieutenant Colonel. Of Company K, John Q. Washburn, of Newport, was Captain; Joseph Simpson, of Highland, First Lienten- ant, and the Second Lieutenants in succession were Thomas C. Swan, of Clinton, Joseph Simpson, of Highland, William F. Eddy, of Warsaw, and James Roberts, of Clinton. Ilenry J. Howard, of Toronto, was Sergeant. Corporals-Jasper Hollingsworth, Granville Gideon and John W. Nixon, of this connty, besides others from other counties.
After marching a great deal, the first bat- tle in which the One Hundred and Twenty- ninth regiment engaged was the severe contest at Resaca, opening the celebrated campaign of Atlanta. This was a great victory for the Union troops. The next battle was that at New Hope Church. Before and after this, however, there was almost constant skirmish- ing, in very rainy weather. July 19, 1864, the regiment was engaged in a severe fight near Decatur, Georgia, where they lost leav- ily. Soon afterward they were in the fight at Strawberry Run, where they lost twenty- five men, but enabled General Hascall to turn a position which our forces, a brigade of Gen-
eral Schofield's corps, had failed to turn the day before.
Thence, until mid-winter, the regiment were kept busy guarding and engaging in skirmishes. November 29 occurred the bat- tle of Franklin, where the enemy were re- pulsed with great loss. During the latter portion of the winter they were marching and skirmishing around near the coast of Virginia and North Carolina, and engaged in the battle of Wise's Forks, where the enemy met with signal disaster. The regiment was engaged in provost duty about Raleigh dur- ing the summer of 1865, and August 29 was inustered ont of the service.
CONCLUSION.
The foregoing is of course but a meager ontline of what the brave patriots of Ver- million County did for their country during the last war; and those who did not go to the battle-field did their duty also, in giving moral support to the Government and labor- ing with heart and hand in raising material supplies and comforts for those in the field. Soldiers' aid societies, county and township levies, etc., were forthcoming in dne time, and the people of this division of the com- monwealth were not behind in those noble and terribly self-sacrificing offices which a gigantic insurrection devolves upon them.
It would be a pleasure were we able to print here a list of the soldier dead of Ver- million County in glowing colors; but a list only of those in Vermillion Township has been compiled, and we coneluded that unless we could get all we had better not print any. It is to be hoped that the Grand Army of the Republic in this county will be able in the course of time to complete the list.
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MISCELLANEOUS.
MISCELLANEOUS.
RAILROADS.
CHICAGO & EASTERN ILLINOIS.
ALTHOUGHI railroad lines running cast and west through Vermillion County were projected as long ago as 1847, the north and south line was first com- pleted, is the most important in the county, and will therefore be our first topic under this head.
The division from Evansville to Terre Haute was built as early as 1853-'54; but the link through this county, connecting Terre Haute with Danville was not completed until it was taken up by Josephus Collett, Jr., in 1868-'69. This wealthy and enterprising gen- tleman, with the assistance of O. P. Davis, Nathan Harvey, William E. Livengood, Jo- seph B. Cheadle and others, held rousing mass meetings throughout the county, when they explained the advantages of the road and the feasibility of building it with a very light tax. But little opposition or indifference was
manifested. All the townships in the county, in 1869, voted for a two per cent tax-the limit of the law-or, rather, one per cent. in addition to the one per cent. voted by the county, provided it should be needed.
While this enterprise was pending, a few men elsewhere organized themselves as the " Raccoon Valley Railroad Company," osten- sibly to build a road from Harmony, Clay County, to a point on the State line near the road-bed of the old " Indiana & Illinois Cen- tral Railroad Company," passing through Clay, Parke and Vermillion counties; but it was generally supposed by the citizens here that that was merely a ruse, just prior to the vote to be taken on the north and south line, to defeat the latter. Additional discourage- ment was also derived from other projected east and west lines, notably the narrow-gauge ronte through Eugene Township, in which the people along the line felt much interest.
The ensuing election, however, gave a de- cided majority for aiding the north and south line, then called the " Evansville, Terre Hante & Chicago Railroad." This, under the management of Mr. Collett was com- pleted, in 1870, to the great joy of the peo-
HISTORY OF VERMILLION COUNTY.
ple of Vermillion County, but not "to the joy " of most of the villages along the route; for, strange to say, it seemed to be the object of those in power to work in the interests of Terre Haute and Danville, and accordingly located the road a mile or so distant from all the villages on and near the west bank of the Wabash except Clinton. This location of the road has had the desired effeet, in building up Terre Hante and Danville. To prove the advantages of railroad communication, even Clinton has been set forward of all the other towns in the county.
Mr. Collett was made president of this see- tion of the road, which position he held until May 1, 1880, when the link was leased to the Chieago & Eastern Illinois Company, the present operators. The subsequent year ef- forts were made for leasing the whole line to the Louisville & Nashville, and were nearly snecessful. The present lessee pays the pro- prietors 875,000 a year rental, besides all taxes and expenses for repairs. The road has a funded debt of $1,100,000, the interest on which is six per eent.
On this line there are 343 miles of main track, which in 1880 was assessed at $17,000 per mile; seven miles of side-track, assessed at $2,500 per mile, and rolling stock at 81,300.
The stations are, in order commeneing at the south-Clinton, Summit Grove, Hills- dale, Opeedce, Newport, Walnut Grove, Cayuga (or Eugene), Perrysville, Gessie, Rileysburg and perhaps two or three points of less importance.
INDIANAPOLIS, BLOOMINGTON & WESTERN.
The first railroad proposed through Vermil- lion County was an east and west line, through the northern portion, projected as early as 1847, and known in short as the Wabash route, to run from Toledo, Ohio, to Springfield, Illinois.
Stock was subscribed in this county, and a ronte surveyed. The first effort was to build the road to Paris and then to St. Louis; and after considerable grading was done, the en- terprise was placed under a new management, who located the road through La Fayette, Attiea, Danville and Springfield to St. Louis, and completed it in 1851-'52, without touch- ing any part of this county. After the final location of the road in this manner the people of Vermillion, of course, lost all interest in it. This road has had various names: at present it is known as the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific. The most active men here to work for the location of this road through Vermillion County were James Blair, J. F. Smith, J. N. Jones, of Perrysville, and Joseph Moore and Robert A. Barnett, of Eugene.
After struggling and waiting for many tedious years, a company was finally formed which was accommodating enough togive Ver- million County two and one-fifth miles of traek and a flag station, completing it in 1871-'72. This has long been known as the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western Railway Company, but we understand they have recently been merged into another, comprising an extended system of railways. In 1880 their track in this county was assessed at $6,700 per mile.
TOLEDO, ST. LOUIS & KANSAS CITY RAILWAY (NAR- ROW-GAUGE).
In this road the citizens of Engene Town- ship were more interested than any other section of the county. They took subserip- tions and voted a tax, but the original com- pany failed to come to time and did not realize subscriptions, stock or tax. The link here was then known as the Frankfort & State Line Road. The Toledo, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad Company constructed the road, of a narrow gange, in 1882, but, like the other company, left the village of Engene
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MISCELLANEOUS.
a mile and a half to one side, erossing the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Road at Cayuga. About two years ago the company was re- organized under the name given in our head- ing, and proceeded iminediately to enlarge the traek to the standard width, put on first- class rolling stoek and made the road in all respects as good as the best.
The longest bridge on its route is across the Wabash opposite Engene, having five spans of 160 feet caeh. Of this line there are cight and a half miles of main traek in his county, assessed in 1880 at $12,000 per mile, and one mile of side traek, assessed at $600.
INDIANAPOLIS, DECATUR & SPRINGFIELD.
This railway was completed about 1874, without much ado in raising stoek, or sub- scriptions or tas in this county. Many years ago, abont 1852-'54,-during the great period of railroad projeets everywhere, -- the "Indiana & Illinois Central Railway Company" nearly completed the grading ou this ronte. The road is now leased from the old Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western Railway Company. It has nine and a half miles of main track in this county, assessed in 1880 at $5,000 per mile, and the rolling stock at $1,700. It has two stations in Vermillion County, namely- Hillsdale, where it crosses the Chicago & Eastern Illinois track, and Dana, an enter- prising town two and a half miles east of the State line.
AGRICULTURAL.
Every acre of Vermillion County is good farming land. About one-fourth the area was originally prairie, and most of this prairie is of the common black-soil variety. Nearly all the rest of the county is second bottom. All this area, being easily and well drained, is available for profitable enltivation. The
lower bottom lands are rich, much of it being subject to inundations, which leave a sediment equal to the best compost, and are therefore the best for corn, except that the floods and frosts are often untimely. As high as sixty- five bushels of wheat to the acre, and 110 bushels of corn, have been raised in Vermil- lion County.
In pioneer times hemp, flax and cotton were raised here to a considerable extent. The flax and cotton were " home-made" into clothing. Every cabin was a factory, on a small seale. The machinery for the manu- facture of flax consisted of a brake, a wooden knife to swingle out shives with, and a hackle to remove the tow and straighten out the lint. They also used the small spinning-wheel ("jenny") to twist it into thread. For cot- ton, a hand gin was used, and hand cards were employed to make it into rolls, which were spun into thread upon a large spinning- wheel. A day's work for a woman was to eard and spin from six to eight cuts. Ready- made elothing was not then known. Nearly every man was his own shoemaker. Some of the settlers employed an itinerant cobbler, who went from house to house in the fall and winter seasons with his kit of tools, which was quite limited, and boarded with the family where he worked until they were shod all around, or until the leather was all used np. If there was not enough to go round the youngest had to go barefoot all winter, which was frequently the case.
At first the settlers could not enter less than 160 acres of land, which at the Congress price, 82 an acre, amounted to more than most of the settlers could pay. This hardship, however, was soon recognized by Congress, who reduced the amount that might be en- tered to forty aeres, and the priee to $1.25, so that any one who could raise $50 could obtain a respectable home.
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HISTORY OF VERMILLION COUNTY.
Agricultural history strictly involves more statistics than the average reader has the pa- tience to study, or even refer to, and we must therefore omit at least the details, contenting ourselves with only a few general results.
Of wheat there was raised in Vermillion County, in 1880, 635,501 bushels; 1881, 367,938 bushels; 1882, 569,420 bushels ; 1883, 14,955 bushels; 1884, 411,624 bushels.
Of corn, in bushels, there was raised, in 1880, 662,701 ; 1881, 564,103; 1882, 970,051; 1883, 832,260; 1884, 1,126,065.
Of oats, during those years, from 54,000 to 104,000 bushels was raised; of barley, from none to 1,760 bushels; of rye, from 100 to 6,180 bushels; Irish potatoes, 18,000 to 37,000 bushels; sweet potatoes, 48 to 840 bushels; buckwheat, 160 bushels (only the crop for 1883 is reported); tobacco, from 200 to 3,000 pounds; timothy seed saved, 200 to 800 bushels.
The diminution of certain crops does not indicate actual decline of the agricultural interest generally, as more ground is devoted to pasturage certain periods than others,
A county agricultural society was organ- ized in 1866, the first year after the termina- tion of the war, and a successful fair held. That society continued to hold annual ex- hibitions on their grounds northeast of New- port until 1879, when, apparently on account of the railroad running through the grounds and becoming more and more a nuisance, public interest so declined that they practi- cally disbanded. In 1880 a joint stock com- pany was organized, but they failed to do anything. Last year, however, two agri- cultural associations were organized in this county, namely, the Vermillion County Fair Association, having its headquarters at En- gene, and the Vermillion County Joint Stock Society, with headquarters at Newport. Both held fairs last year, the latter with success,
but the former with a reduced aggregate of receipts on account of rainy weather. They . will try it again this year. At the Newport fair, which was held the first week of Octo- ber, the total receipts were over $2,200. Every premium was paid in full. Two hun- dred and fifty stalls were occupied by horses and cattle, steam water-works and reser- voirs. No drunkenness nor gambling on the ground, and everything passed off quietly.
POPULATION AND WEALTH.
Townships,
including
towns. Sq. miles.
Pop. in 1880.
Personal prop- erty in 1882.
Clinton,
42
3,000
$ 643,675
Helt,
72
3,027
1,411,745
Vermillion, 45
2,215
1,086,385
Eugene, 33
1,340
680,870
Highland, 60
2,433
1,300,950
257
12,015
$5,123,625
The data for the above figures are some- what characterized by discrepancy, but for practical purposes they are sufficiently exact. The real estate is estimated at about $6,000,- 000 for the county. The total wealth of the connty may now be given in round numbers at about $12,000,000.
The taxes in 1880 were, for State purposes, $17,219; county, $21,683; town, village and school district, $16,962. The bonded debt then was $27,600; floating, $100; no sink- ing fund.
There were, in 1880, forty-seven manufac- turing establishments, with an invested capital of $127,700, employing 105 hands, to whom were paid in wages that year (end- ing May 31, 1880), $22,025; value of materi- als, $166,732; of products, $222,946.
The population of most of the villages has grown a great deal since the last Federal cen- sus was taken. The estimates given by the
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MISCELLANEOUS.
residents of the respective villages are given in the township histories on sneeeeding pages. The school enumeration, being about one-third of the total population, gives cor- roboration of the estimates adopted.
It has often been a subject of remark that there is something about Vermillion County that is very favorable to longevity. In 1877 it was ascertained that there were ninety-six voters in the county between seventy and eighty years of age, nineteen between eighty and ninety, and two over ninety. At that time Jesse Richmond was the oldest man in the county, being ninety-five years of age, and his wife, who was then still living, was ninety-four years old.
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