USA > Indiana > Porter County > Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 53
USA > Indiana > Lake County > Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 53
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All townships have done well toward volunteering except St. Johns and Hanover, which ought to have furnished about 150 men, but have furnished only a few.
It was also stated that Winfield Township, with a voting population of eighty-four, had furnished nearly half that number for the war. In the issue of August 28, was published the following table :
TOWNSHIPS.
Militia.
Volunteers.
North.
.
153
36
Hobart
113
48
St. Johns
169
24
Ross.
245
120
Centre.
158
99
Winfield.
76
39
Cedar Creek
145
92
West Creek
145
98
Eagle Creek
123
66
Hanover.
181
15
Total.
1,508
637
In the same issue the Register said :
With the exception of three townships, St. Johns, Hanover and North, Lake County has furnished more than one-third of her able-bodied men for the war. She has raised three full companies of volunteers, which were entitled to the rank of Company A, but the first company waived this title in favor of another, consequently it ranks as Company B in the regiment. We challenge another county in the State, with the same number of inhabitants, to show a more honorable record than this. Had the three recreant town- ships mentioned sent as many volunteers according to their number of inhabitants as their sister townships, we would now have another company in the field from Lake, which would have entitled us to the rank of " banner county."
.
JOHN WOOD, SR. DEEP RIVER.
461
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
By the 4th of September, 1862, the enrolling Commissioner, Elihu Griffin, had made out the following :
TOWNSHIPS.
Volunteers.
Militia.
Exempts.
North
36
153
22
Ross
121
246
48
St. Johns.
24
173
27
Hanover
15
184
31
West Creek
100
151
31
Cedar Creek
93
151
43
Eagle Creek
74
125
27
Winfield
40
78
23
Centre
100
163
24
Hobart
48
118
35
Tota
651
1,542
311
North Township was not really behind in volunteering. Her men had gone to Chicago, to Michigan City, and other places easily reached by rail. Ross Township suffered in the same way. In October, 1862, by actual count, it was found that nearly two hundred men had thus left the county to enlist.
In September, 1862, Lieut. William S. Babbitt recruited about fifty men for the Twentieth Regiment. At the same time, Lieut. J. M. D. Craft recruited about twenty for the Ninety-ninth. N. Sherer, of Dyer, had been authorized to raise a company, and by September had enrolled about fifteen. He did not finish the work. In October, Henry W. Shafer recruited, or rather enlisted, some twenty-five men for the Twenty- fourth Battery. During September, the Lake boys of Company B, of the Twentieth, sent home to their families about $2,000. Some eight or ten men of Lake County entered the Eighty-seventh Regiment. About this time the Register boasted that Lake County had fewer copper- heads than any other county in the State, and suggested that the names of such ought to be recorded for future reference. The enlistment of men was usually conducted under the stimulus of a big war meeting, where eloquent speeches were made to kindle the spark of patriotism, and beautiful ladies, with bewitching smiles, passed round the enlistment roll. Many a boy whose bones lie buried in an unknown grave in "Dixie " owed his fate to his inability to say " no " to the entreaty of handsome women. That is why we honor their memory.
A very large and patriotic war meeting was held at Crown Point on the 16th of July, 1862. Speeches were made by Young, Griffin, Clay- pool and Wells. Many volunteers were secured for the companies that were then enrolling. The Fourth of July, 1862, brought together a large assemblage. J. D. Turner was Marshal of the day; R. B. Young orator in English ; Mr. Kuntze orator in German, and J. M. D. Craft reader of the Declaration of Independence. A fine dinner was eaten ;
BB
462
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
toasts were read and responded to ; patriotic and popular airs were sung by select singers, and returned soldiers were called out for speeches and cheered to the echo. But little attempt was made to enlist men after November, 1862, and prior to the call of June 15, 1863, for 100,000 three months' men. A few went from this county in response to this call, but only a few. The call of October 17, 1863, for 300,000 men, stimu- lated anew the enlistment. Previous to this, but little organized effort had been made, but now a county central committee was appointed, as follows, to aid in securing volunteers : R. B. Young, J. S. Holton, J. D. Turner, D. K. Pettibone and E. M. Cramer. This committee metand appointed the following sub-committees : North Township-Chancey Wilson, Joseph Hess and Frank Benton. Ross-Bartlett Ward, George Nicholson and Augustus Wood. St. Johns-Peter Portz, Adam Schmal and Rev. B. Rachor. Eagle Creek-A. T. Mitchell, Thomas Fisher and William Brown. Hobart-A. Wheeler, D. B. Collings and J. B. Albee. Centre-W. B. Rockwell, C. L. Templeton and J. L. Lower. Hanover-Henry Sasse, Sr., H. Westerman and James Ball. West Creek-Peter Burhaus, Z. C. Burnham and S. M. Baughman. Cedar Creek-William Sigler, J. N. Sanger and J. M. Kenny. Winfield- William Young, J. S. Sanders and J. L. Hipsley. One hundred and three men were required from Lake under the call. The enlistment was opened on the 18th of November, 1863, by Col. Anderson, Command- ant of the Ninth District, who delivered a long and eloquent speech at the county seat. Among other things, he said that Gov. Morton had said that the Ninth was the banner district in Indiana. Col. Ander- son and Mr. McMullen traversed the county, holding war meetings at Hobart, Crown Point, Merrillville, Wason's Church, West Creek, Lowell and other places. By the 4th of February, 1864, over one hundred men had been raised, some of the townships being far in excess of their quota. The calls of February, March and April, 1864, aggre- gating nearly 500,000 men, gave the county no rest from the good work. At this time, heavy bounties began to be offered, and a commutation of $300 for exempts on account of "conscientious scruples " came into affect. The 10th of March was fixed for the draft unless the quota was filled, but the enlistment was so rapid in the Ninth District that the day was postponed, and by the 1st of April, the quota of the entire district was almost filled. Many of the men raised during these months were recruits for the old regiments. In addition to these, Lake County raised over a company for the Twelfth Cavalry, which rendezvoused at Kendall- ville. The company from Lake in the Twelfth was G, commanded by Almon Foster, Captain ; J. M. Foster, First Lientenant ; Maurice Shee- han, Second Lieutenant. Capt. Foster bought quite a number of
463
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
horses in the county for his company, paying an average price of $130 for select animals.
In May, 1863, the County Commissioners appropriated $1,000 out of the county funds, to be used for benevolent purposes growing out of the war. In June, a portion of Company A. Seventy-third Regiment, which had been with Col. Streight in his raid through Georgia, and had been captured and confined in Southern prisons, returned to the county, and the boys were welcomed by the citizens in a public reception, and toasted and feasted to their heart's content. The Register of July had the following :
THE FOURTH IN THIS COUNTY.
From what we can learn, the eighty-seventh anniversary of our independence as a nation was celebrated in this county at five different places, and each one, so far as we have learned, was well attended. The oration of Hon. W. C. Talcott was a good one-it could not have been bettered. The speech of Bartlett Ward, delivered in the afternoon, we believe pleased everybody who heard it. In the evening, there was a splendid dis- play of fireworks. Mr. Aaron Gurney, of Valparaiso, delivered the oration at Lowell, and we understand it was a masterly effort. Rev. R. B. Young, of this place, delivered the oration at Hobart. If Mr. Young did as well as usual on such occasions, the good people of Hobart surely had a rich treat. We have not been informed who were the speakers at the other celebrations, consequently can't tell the public.
In July, 1863, the following enrollment was made :
TOWNSHIPS.
Bachelors, 35 to 40, other Males 20 to 35.
All Persons between 35 and 45.
Total.
North
45
56
101
Hobart
58
39
97
Ross ..
115
95
210
Centre
95
66
161
Winfield
43
31
74
Eagle Creek.
82
34
116
Cedar Creek.
92
50
142
West Creek
91
51
142
Hanover.
75
60
135
St. Johns
69
68
137
Total.
765
546
1311
In June and July, 1863, Thomas Clark and R. D. Fowler recruited quite a number of men for the Seventh Cavalry. Calvin Monahan, at the same time, bought horses for the same cavalry. At the big war meet- ing of August 29, 1863, there was over a mile of teams, " the longest," said the Register, "ever seen in town." As stated above, the quota under the October (1863) call was 103, distributed as follows : North, 8; Ross, 16; St. Johns, 11; Centre, 13; West Creek, 11; Cedar Creek, 11; Eagle Creek, 9; Winfield, 6; Hanover, 10; Hobart, 8. Charles A. Bell recruited for the Twentieth in November, 1863. At a big war meeting held at the court house November 18, resolutions were adopted asking the County Commissioners to appropriate $75 bounty for each
464
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
volunteer, in order to clear the county of its quota of 103 men. This was not done, however. The Register of December 10, 1863, contained the following :
Recruiting has been quite brisk in this county for the past week. We learn that Hanover, St. Johns and Cedar Creek Townships have filled their quotas during the week. Besides, others have been recruited in other portions of the county. St. Johns and Cedar Creek Townships, each, pay their volunteers a bounty of $100. Altogether, we believe that Capt. Foster has over sixty men. Lake is all right, though her Commissioners do not offer large bounties, like most other counties have done. Some of the townships are considerably behind, but, we believe, will have their quotas full by the 20th.
The issue of the following week had this spirited and patriotic notice :
Lake County is doing her whole duty in filling her quota. She has now in camp at Michigan City seventy-five or eighty men. [These men were raised for the Twelfth Cavalry .- ED. ] Centre was the first Township to fill her quota, it being full about four weeks ago. Centre has furnished twenty-five or twenty-six men in all, four or five being credited to other townships. Our citizens should be proud of Centre, as this number has been enlisted without the offer of a single dollar of bounty. St. Johns sent off her complement last week, but we understand that four of her men were rejected on account of old age and physical disability. She will make up the deficiency in a day or two. Cedar Creek has filled her quota, we believe. Eagle Creek claims to have furnished her quota, but we believe she lacks four or five yet. West Creek at last accounts was behind only four or five. Winfield has furnished three men, and, as they offer $25 bounty, we presume they will have the six men before the 20th. Ross still lacks seven or eight men, but her citizens are doing nobly in the way of money, offering $1,600 for sixteen men. Her quota will be filled by the 20th. Hanover shows a clean record, her ten being already in camp. Hobart and North are the only two townships behind. We have not heard that either has furnished any men for this last call, but we think they will fill their quota in time to escape the draft. Thirty men left here last Wednesday, and about twenty more on Sunday. The company will organize and elect their officers as soon as the required number is mustered. Thus has Little Lake honored all of Uncle Sam's drafts. We feel proud of the county. Certain Democratic members of the last Legis- lature said that Lake County was a "d-d Abolition County, and always saved Colfax from defeat." Yes, and it has sent one thousand Abolitionists to the battle-field to help defeat the rebels in arms. Bully for Lake !
The company, raised at this time, and sent to Michigan City, and afterward to Kendallville, became G, of the Twelfth Cavalry, with officers as above stated. In February, 1864, J. H. Ball and D. H. Barney were commissioned to recruit a company for the regiment forming at Camp Anderson, Michigan City. Nicholas Scherer became general recruiting officer of the county. Many of the boys of Company B, Twentieth Regi- ment, returned to the county in March, 1864, and were given a public reception by the citizens. An issue of the Register in May contained this notice :
About thirty recruits have enlisted in this county under the call for one hundred days' men. A war meeting was held on Saturday last, and was addressed by Revs. R. B. Young, Lower and others.
The Fourth of July, 1864, was fully recognized in Lake County by
465
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
well-attended celebrations at Lowell, Crown Point, Hobart, and perhaps elsewhere. At Lowell, Judge Hervey Ball was President of the Day; Capt. Kellogg Burnham, Marshal; and Aaron Gurney, of Valparaiso, Orator. About 1,200 persons were present. Thirty-four young ladies dressed in white with blue sashes, and bedecked with garlands of bright flowers, passed through the streets. Great enthusiasm prevailed. The following toasts were responded to : "The President of the United States," T. H. Ball ; "Governor Morton," T. Cleveland; "Speaker Colfax," Mr. Tarr; "The Ladies present representing the States," Mr. Eadus; "The Union Army and Navy," Mr. Wells; "The Widows and Orphans of the Re- public," T. Cleveland. The day was greatly enjoyed, especially the fine oration of Mr. Gurney. At Crown Point, J. H. Luther was President of the Day ; C. L. Temple, Marshal; C. J. Thompson, of Valparaiso, Orator; A. E. Beattie, Reader of Declaration of Independence, and Rev. R. B. Young, Chaplain. A pleasant day was spent, but not on so grand a scale as at Lowell.
Under the call of July 18, 1864, for 500,000 men, the quota of Lake County was 225. This number was reduced by excess under former calls to 172, which number was required as follows: North, 11; Ross, 34; St. Johns, 20; Centre, 8; West Creek, 18; Cedar Creek, 13; Eagle Creek, 16; Winfield, 13; Hanover, 18; Hobart, 21. The fol- lowing townships were thus ahead of former calls : North, 8; Ross, 2; St. Johns, 5; Centre, 19; West Creek, 4; Cedar Creek, 11; Eagle Creek, 2; Hanover, 5. Winfield was behind on former calls, 1, and Hobart, 2. The Register of August 4, 1864, said :
Our citizens will now observe the disadvantage they will be obliged to labor under by men going out of the county to enlist. We have furnished men enough from this county, aside from our credits, to fill our quota under the new call. Winfield has a defi- ciency of one ; West Creek and Eagle Creek are nearly as bad off (!), yet these town- ships have all furnished as many or more men, compared to the population, than any other townships in the county. Winfield and Eagle Creek sent their men to Valparaiso, and West Creek to Illinois. So also with Hobart, which has a deficiency of two; Chicago has the credit of her men. Ross labors under the same difficulty, and now has thirty- four men to furnish. Lake County has furnished nearly as many men for the army, and all three years' men at that, as she used to cast votes before the war, which we think is, at least, as good a record as any other county in the district can show, yet her quota is now nearly as large as other counties with a population two or three times as great. This may be all right, but we do not see it. .
The issue of June 23, 1864, said :
We learn that, since the outbreak of the rebellion, Lake County has sent over 1,100 soldiers to the field. What other county in the State, with a voting population of about 1,600, has furnished as many men ?
In July, 1864, Lieut. W. S. Babbitt recruited men for the Twentieth Regiment, under the call of July 18, 1864, for 500,000 men. It was
466
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
during the summer of 1864 that militia organizations were effected throughout the county. The object of this was to get the full strength of each township out, to facilitate future enlistments. It was ascertained in September, 1864, that Ross Township had furnished for the war 120 men, thirty-four of whom had enlisted in Chicago. Both North and Ho- bart were in much the same condition. The fall elections were very spirited. Union meetings were held in every schoolhouse, and general hopeful feeling prevailed. Out of a total of 1,761 votes polled, Lake County gave Colfax, Candidate for Congress, a majority of 803, and, at the November election, West Creek, out of 191 votes cast, gave 190 for the Union ticket. The Register claimed Lake for the " banner Union county in the State." If that was true, West Creek was certainly the banner township. St. Johns was the only Democratic township in the county. It gave Turpie, Democratic Candidate for Congress, 150 votes out of 169 polled. During the winter of 1864-65, a literary society at Crown Point, after discussing with her ablest talent, for two nights, the question, " Ought the colored people in our country to enjoy the rights of citizenship among us ?" finally decided the question in the negative. The " nigger " was still offensive to some, it seems.
Under the call of December 19, 1864, for 300,000 men, the town- ships began active work to fill their quotas. The strength for the county had been considerably reduced by the heavy drains upon her, but she had many good men yet, and she began to stir them up and out. Alfred Vanslyke began to recruit men. The quotas of the townships under this call were North, 7; Ross, 20; St. Johns, 21; Centre, 18; West Creek, 12; Cedar Creek, 16; Eagle Creek, 5; Winfield, 8; Han- over, 20; Hobart, 11; total, 138. The Register of February 16, 1865, said :
Centre, Cedar Creek and West Creek, have filled their quotas. Ross commenced raising money for the purpose of procuring volunteers, and, when nearly enough was raised. the matter fell through. She is now making no effort, and her men are volun- teering and being credited to other townships. St. Johns has raised. enough to pay her volunteers. Hanover will probably fill her quota. Eagle Creek has filled her quota, having paid each volunteer $400. North and Hobart will do nothing toward procuring volunteers by pay, as their citizens are generally men of limited means.
This was about the condition of affairs when the draft came on, and soon after came the joyful news of the surrender of Gen. Lee, and the order to cease enlisting or drafting. The first issue of the Register, after the surrender of Gen. Lee, contained the following :
JUBILATION.
On Saturday morning last the rumor of the capture of Gen. Lee's army reached this place, and in the evening a rather abortive attempt was made to get up a jubilee. A bon- fire was kindled, the cannon brought out and fired repeatedly, and the sky was illumined
467
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
by a display of fireworks. Quite a number of our citizens assembled at the court house, expecting to hear some speeches, but it was a rather "Quakerish " affair-the spirit not moving any one to speak. On Monday morning however, when the authenticated intelli- gence of the surrender of Gen. Leeand his entire army reached here, the wildest enthusiasm prevailed. The cannon was fired, the bells were rung, and every one made melody in his heart. The rejoicing was kept up with but little intermission during the day, and in the evening the court house was packed with an enthusiastic assemblage, which was regaled with soul-stirring speeches by Rev. R. B. Young and M. E. Griffin. The meeting was continued until 10 o'clock, and closed by the singing of the Doxology, in which the en- tire audience joined.
Immediately after this came the painful news that President Lincoln had been assassinated. The revulsion in public feeling was sickening. Many a man and woman had learned to love the name of. Abraham Lin- coln. He had led them through four long years of darkness and death- had been the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night through all the starless gloom of war; and now, when the sunlight of victory had lighted the national heart with boundless joy, and every eye was dim, and every knee bent in grateful thanksgiving, to have the beloved Lin- coln cut down so untimely, was indeed bitter and hard to bear. Scores burst into tears, as if they had lost their dearest friend. The Register said :
DEATH OF LINCOLN.
Services were held in the Methodist Episcopal Church at 12 M., Monday, April 11. A large congregation was present. Dr. H. Pettibone was called to the chair, and Andrew Krimbill made Secretary. James D. Turner, Timothy Cleveland and William Krimbill, were appointed a committee to draft resolutions. Rev. R. B. Young opened with prayer Short speeches were delived by David Turner, R. B. Young, J. D. Turner and B. H. Brad bury. A long series of resolutions was adopted, one of them being,
Resolved, That we, in common with all loyal citizens of the Republic, receive with feel - ings of profoundest grief the overwhemingly painful announcement of the death, by the hand of a guilty and infamous assassin, of the great honored, and universally beloved Chief Magistrate of the nation, Abraham Lincoln, the honest, the tried, the true.
Soon after this came the news that Jeff Davis had been captured. This somewhat revived the public heart. The old cannon at Crown Point was again brought out and fired, and an effigy of "Jeff " in petticoats was carried through the streets, astride a rail, by a troop of boys, and finally hung up for a day or two, when it was taken down and " cremated " amid derisive shouts.
There remain to be noticed a few other topics. In the fall of 1862, owing to the fact that some localities of the State had furnished no vol- unteers scarcely for the war, a draft was ordered, to compel the recreant localities to come to time. The draft was not because the counties were behind with their quotas, but because some townships were doing about all the enlisting. The measure was to equalize the enlistment. The draft officers of Lake were Elihu Griffin, Commissioner; Daniel Turner, Pro- vost Marshall, and Harvey Pettibone Surgeon. The day of draft was
468
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
fixed for September 15, 1862, but was postponed until the 6th of October, when it took place with the following result: North, 18; St. Johns, 32; Hanover, 22; total 72. The most of these men entered the service. The draft was quiet, and but little opposition was manifested. Mr. Grif- fin's deputies were : North, Chancey Wilson ; Hobart, Jesse Albee ; Ross, J. M. Death and C. Death ; Centre, D. K. Pettibone; St. Johns, Adam Schmal and Nicholas Scherer ; Winfield, A. Humphrey ; Eagle Creek, John Fisher; Cedar Creek, Timothy Cleveland ; West Creek, David Doner ; Hanover, John G. Hoffman. In August preceding the draft, the Register said :
Last Tuesday we saw the most heart-rend ing scene we ever witnessed. It was gen- erally understood that on that day all persons exempt from military duty in this county were to have their claims to exemption duly recognized by the enrolling Commissioners. It was truly pitable to behold the lame, halt, weak-spined, etc., that were in town that day. Some individuals, whom we always supposed to be able-bodied, were suffering almost as much as humanity could suffer. Old diseases and ailments that were almost forgot- ton were suddenly brought to mind again, and a person whose heart was not composed of adamant could not have witnessed their suffering without being moved to tears.
Several of the drafted men "skedaddled," and J. D. Bonnell, a special Deputy, was sent to arrest them, and take them to Indianapolis. This he succeeded in doing. In May, 1863, the County Conscript Officers ceased to serve, the District Conscript Officers taking their place. James B. Belford became District Commissioner ; W. W. Wallace, Provost Marshal, but his appointment was revoked in November, and J. S. Kline G. Shryock took his place; Daniel Dayton, Surgeon. Holton became Assistant Enrolling Officer for Lake County, and the fol- lowing township assistants were appointed : North, L. Knothe ; Ross, John Krost; Centre, C. E. Allman; West Creek, M. L. Barber ; Eagle Creek, Ellis Sargent; Winfield, William Young; Cedar Creek, Amos Edgerton ; Hanover, Henry Sasse, Jr .; Hobart, J. B. Albee ; St. Johns, Joseph Vornhultz. No township gave the enrolling officer any trouble, except St. Johns. Some severe threats were made, but the officer escaped with six young apple trees girdled, and the tails of five horses shaved. The draft again came off in October, 1864, with the following result : Hanover, 18; Eagle Creek, 4; Ross, 27 ; Hobart, 19; North, 10 ; Winfield, 13; St. Johns, 20; Centre, 8; Cedar Creek, 12; West Creek, 13 ; total, 144. This draft was conducted at Michigan City, but, even while it was in progress, several of the townships cleared themselves by offering large bounties, and others considerably reduced the number to be drafted. The following was the final number obtained by this draft : North, 4; Ross, 15; West Creek, 3; Cedar Creek, 9; Eagle Creek, 1 ; Winfield, 7; Hobart, 9; total, 48. Centre paid $300 bounty to clear herself, the money being raised by private subscription. A number of
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