USA > Indiana > Daviess County > History of Daviess County, Indiana : Its people, industries and institutions > Part 12
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ROUTE OF THE "UNDERGROUND RAILROAD."
There were many places where runaway negroes might cross the Ohio- river from Kentucky into Indiana, and there were several routes of the "underground railroad," each connected with a definite place of crossing the river. One of the crossing-places was near the city of Evansville. This was a very popular place of crossing, for the reason that there were many free negroes in that vicinity. It was necessary to have assistance in getting across the Ohio, and it was necessary to have a safe place for hiding after getting across. Both of these advantages were afforded at the crossing in the vicinity of Evansville. The assistance in crossing the river was afforded by friendly white people, and a safe hiding place was found among the free negroes on the Indiana side.
There were several routes of the "underground railroad" from this. favorite crossing-place, and several well known "stations" on each route. One route that was familiar and much traveled was through the counties of Vanderburg, Warrick, Gibson, Pike and Daviess, and on to the north. Among, the well known places of rendezvous, or stations, along this route, where the runaway could always find shelter and protection, were the following: In Gibson county, the home of Reuben Walters, living near Fort Branch : David Stormont, living northwest, and John Carithers, living east of Princeton; Mace Kirk, at Wheeling; Dr. John W. Posey, Petersburg, and Peter Stephen- son, living in the southwestern part of Daviess county. There were many other places where the fugitive negro found friendly shelter. All these sta-
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tions were known to those operating the "system," and to the fleeing fugitive, as well. They were also known to the slaveholders, through information furnished by the local spies, and the harboring-places were honored with fre- quent visits by slaveowners and accompanying constables, in the hunt for missing human property. But it was an exception when they found what they were looking for. This was before the days of wireless telegraphy, but these "underground railroad" stations had a system that enabled them to operate their lines by a code of signals equal to any of the modern methods of communication. By some secret sign, or code, which was well under- stood by the runaway slave and those aiding him, he was passed along from one station to another until he reached Canada, the land of freedom.
OPERATIONS IN DAVIESS COUNTY.
During the days of slavery, Daviess county contained a number of men who were actively engaged in what they called "human freedom," which was another name for the "underground railroad" enterprise. Among the num- ber who were most zealous in the cause were the following: Peter Stephen- son, Friend Spears, Elijah Johnson, John Thompson and Frederic Myers. Peter Stephenson was the most active of them all. His home was known, from the Ohio river to the state of Pennsylvania, as one of the most important and the most reliable "stations" of the entire route. He was a good man, and as true as steel to any cause that he espoused. He was trusted as a neighbor and respected by everyone, including his political opponents. Alfred E. Johnson, a veteran of the Civil War, now a resident of Washington, re- lates some interesting incidents pertaining to the life of Peter Stephenson, and his activities in behalf of "human freedom." Mr. Johnson says :
"For forty years I lived within a mile and a half of the home of 'Uncle Peter,' as he was familiarly called. I well remember his calls at my father's house, in the 'wee sma' hours of the night,' and we knew something about the business to be transacted before daylight. Uncle Peter was always provided with a carriage, fitted with curtains that would securely conceal what was on the inside. No move was made, save only on dark nights, and then the fugitive was only taken on short trips.
"There was a 'station' in Washington, but I never knew by whom it was kept. I have always believed it was on the John Thompson farm, just south of the city. There was another important stopping place in Martin county, said to be near old Hindostan, a town now extinct.
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OUTWITTED THE OFFICERS.
"Stephenson was often bold to the extreme. On one occasion he had secreted at his home two blacks, while the officers searched likely places for them without success. Uncle Peter was more than a match for them all, as the fugitives wanted were, at the time of the officers' visit, and for two days afterward. snugly secreted under the floor of Stephenson's cooper shop. After the hunt was over and the officers had gone, he and his assistants brought the fugitives out from their hiding place and ran them safely through to the next 'station,' which was in Martin county. On another oc- casion he kept three men and one woman for three weeks, before an oppor- tunity offered to send them to the next 'station.' During those three weeks the runaway slaves were secreted in a ravine, south of where the Scudder school house now stands. At that time the country wa's heavily timbered, an almost impenetrable forest covering the section of county in which this ravine was located. While these fugitives were in hiding, Mr. Stephenson supplied them food and blankets for their sustenance and comfort.
"After the close of the Civil War, when there was no longer need for secrecy, 'Uncle Peter,' in a public address, related what he had done for the downtrodden race, whose members were valued as we value horses and cattle on the farm.
"Peter Stephenson was a very conscientious man, a loved neighbor and a Christian. He was one of the early pioneers, having come to Daviess county from Ohio. He was born, I think, in 1800; his death occurred in the seventies. But few persons are now living who knew him personally. To me, the memory of Peter Stephenson is one that I shall always cherish. He outlived all his co-workers of the 'underground railroad.' He lived to see his cherished desire accomplished-the freedom of the slave. He was of the John Brown type in character, but more considerate in conduct that was John Brown."
"UNCLE PETER'S" RESOURCEFULNESS.
Professor Hamlet Allen relates a little incident that occurred at the home of Peter Stephenson, during that exciting period, which aptly illustrates the resourcefulness of Stephenson, and the skillfulness of his methods in the protection of his charges. Mr. Allen says :
"At one time there came to the home of Peter Stephenson a colored woman and her small babe. The woman had struggled thus far in her efforts.
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to get to the land of freedom ; not so much on her own account, as on account of her child. It was a case something like that of Eliza Harris, in 'Uncle Tom's Cabin.' Her child was about to be taken from her and sold and the mother had hurriedly decided to save her child by flight. Almost exhausted, the fleeing mother reached the home of Stephenson, with her master and a few other human hounds not far behind in pursuit. It was a time for quick- ness of thought, on the part of Stephenson, but he was equal to the occasion. There was a dry cistern on his premises and he hurriedly placed the woman. and child therein. Then he placed a cover over the cistern and went about his ordinary business, in which he was complacently engaged when the human hounds arrived. The premises were diligently searched, every possible place where a fugitive might be concealed was inspected, but the cistern was over- looked, on the reasonable presumption that it was full of water. Finally they went away and Stephenson availed himself of the opportunity to pro- vide more comfortable quarters for his guests. That they were well fed and properly clothed, and in due time sent along on the way to freedom, is the rest of the story. In relating this incident, Mr. Stephenson said, 'If I ever uttered a fervent and sincere prayer in my life, it was that the baby in the cistern would not cry while these men were searching the premises; and my prayer was answered.'"
A WASHINGTON KIDNAPPING CASE.
Not infrequently kidnappers were frustrated in their efforts to get away with their victims, especially if the victim was captured some distance from the Ohio river. There were determined men in all the counties in southern Indiana who were vigilant and watchful; and it required the utmost caution in their movements and skillful handling of their captive, for the kidnappers to get by these watchful waiters. It also required courage to meet the oppo- sition likely to arise on the way. Courage was one moral quality in which the kidnapper was wholly deficient, as a rule, these kidnappers being as cow- ardly as they were contemptible. The men who opposed their nefarious busi- ness were men of courage and conviction and ready at all times to defend the rights of man to life and liberty, regardless of race or color.
In Colonel W. M. Cockrum's "Pioneer History of Indiana" is the story of a kidnapping case that occurred in Washington, along in the fifties, which had an unpleasant ending for the kidnappers. This story will serve as a sample illustration of many other experiences of like character.
Along in the early fifties two negro men, who lived in Kentucky, but:
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had been for some time in Indiana, working on the Wabash and Erie canal, between Washington and Terre Haute, had determined to go to their homes. They had got as far as Washington on their way when they fell in with a man who seemed very friendly. He asked them where they were going and when he learned their destination, he told them that he and a friend of his were going in the same direction, nearly to the Ohio river; that they were going in a wagon, and if the colored men wanted to they could go along in the wagon and it would not cost them anything for the ride; that the ac- commodating strangers would have provisions with them for the trip, and all that would be required of the colored men was to assist in the preparation of the food. They said they would not be ready to start before three or four o'clock in the afternoon of that day. This offer seemed very favorable to the two colored men and they very gladly accepted it. They promised to be at an agreed point on the south side of Washington at the agreed time. Here the two men with the wagon found them and they all started on their way.
CIRCUMSTANCE AROUSED SUSPICION.
They took the Petersburg road and it was late in the evening when they crossed White river at the ferry. John Stucky, who crossed the river at the same time, knew one of the white men and at once suspected what he was up to; but he could not draw him into a conversation, and could get no chance to talk to the colored men. Stucky heard the white men tell the ferryman that they would stay all night in a wagon-yard at Petersburg. Stucky took notice that, after the party was over the river, they traveled at a pretty swift gait, and he could not keep up with them. He reached Petersburg some time after the wagon had put up at the wagon-yard. He took notice of the situa- tion and then called on Dr. John W. Posey, to whom he related the circum- stances, and his suspicions regarding the party stopping at the wagon-yard. Doctor Posey at once understood the situation and sent a spy to the wagon- yard to get all the information possible as to designs of the white men. The spy soon returned and reported that he found the party eating supper, except one of the white men who was some distance away engaged in earnest con- versation with a noted hotel-keeper, a slavery sympathizer. The spy said he had talked with the negroes, who said that their homes were in Kentucky; that they were on their way home, and that the white men were letting them ride in their wagon most of the way.
While circumstances looked suspicious, there was no positive evidence of anything wrong. But Doctor Posey decided to have a watch kept on their
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movements and to wait for further developments. About two hours before daylight, the following morning, the man who had been on watch came hur- riedly to Posey's home and reported that the party were getting ready to start ; that they had their team hitched to a three-seated express wagon; that the noted hotel man was with them, and two other men whom the watchman did not know. The doctor at once got busy. He had three horses saddled and sent for a neighbor to ride one; one of his hired hands was called to ride another, and the doctor rode the third, all three being well armed. In the meantime it was learned that the express wagon had gone. Posey and his party hurried on after the wagon, which had taken the road to Winslow, ex- pecting to overtake the wagon party at that place. It was evident that the party was traveling at a rapid pace, as it was learned the travelers had passed through Winslow about dawn, a half hour before the arrival of the pursuing party. Following on after them, the Posey party met a man a few miles out of Winslow, who reported that he had met the express wagon about a mile ahead ; that there were two runaway negroes, tied together in the wagon, and that the party was driving very fast. Later the pursuing party met Rev. Eldridge Hopkins, who had also met the express wagon with its occupants. Hopkins consented to join the Posey party in pursuit. As Hopkins was well acquainted with the country roads he proposed a plan to get in ahead of the express wagon and intercept the kidnappers at a designated point. In this he was successful. In the meantime the pursuing party found a justice of the peace; a warrant was obtained, and a constable was secured to execute the same. When the kidnappers arrived at a point beyond the line in Warrick county they were met by a constable with a warrant for their arrest. The kidnappers put up a bold front, and made a good many threats; but they were taken to a justice's court, at which quite a crowd of people had gathered who were very much in sympathy with the captive negroes.
JUSTICE RENDERS UNPOPULAR DECISION.
The man who claimed to own the negroes showed a handbill, giving a perfect description of the two men in custody, and an offer of a reward of two hundred dollars for their return to his plantation in Tennessee. This handbill was, no doubt, printed in Washington the day before, while the negroes were waiting for their new-found friends. Hopkins, who was a ready talker, volunteered to defend the negroes and made a strong speech in their behalf. But the sympathy of the justice was against them; he be-
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lieved that all negroes were slaves, or ought to be, and that those who claimed their homes in a slave state were certainly slaves. As the man who claimed to own these negroes had shown a notice giving an exact description of them, the justice decided to let him go with his property.
The decision of the justice infuriated Hopkins and he declared that he would see that this man did not get on the other side of the Ohio river with his alleged property. As a means of hindering the progress of the kidnappers, Hopkins found an opportunity of removing one of the linchpins that held in place a wheel of their express wagon, putting the pin in his pocket. He told Doctor Posey and his two men that they might return home, as he could secure enough men out of the crowd assembled to assist him in the proposed undertaking. In the meantime the kidnappers had started off on the road leading to Boonville. They had not proceeded far on the way until the wheel from which the linchpin had been removed came off. While they were hunt- ing for the missing pin the rescuing party came up, having in the meantime disguised themselves by blacking their faces. Leveling their guns at the kidnappers they demanded an explanation as to why they had the two negroes tied. The explanation not being satisfactory, Hopkins demanded that the negroes be released, and then directed the negroes to bind the white men who had them in charge. Then Hopkins organized a stump court-martial to try. the kidnappers. The pretended owner produced the hand bills that had been used effectively in the justice court. Hopkins told him that these bills had been printed in Washington, an assertion which the pretended owner did not deny. After hearing all the evidence, the court decided the kidnapping party were all guilty and that all of them should be hanged. However, the court decided that leniency would be shown to any of the gang who would tell the whole truth. At this one of the party began to weaken, and Hopkins took the fellow aside and obtained from him the whole story. He said that the pretended owner of the negroes lived in Washington, and that it was the in- tention to take the negroes to Mississippi and sell them; that it was the agree- ment to pay the man making the confession, and another man whom they had engaged in Petersburg, one hundred dollars, each, to go with them and watch the two negroes, until they were sold. He further stated that the team which the kidnappers used belonged to the leader, the pretended owner of the negroes.
NEGROES EXECUTE "COURT'S" ORDER.
After hearing this confession Hopkins held another consultation with his "court" and it was decided to modify the first decree. He informed the
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conspirators of the decision, which was that they were not to be hung, but a sound thrashing would be administered, instead, and that the two negroes were to execute the sentence. Accordingly, two stout hickory gads were pro- cured, the "convicts" were securely tied to a tree and the two negroes did the rest. After the sentence of the "court" had been fully carried out to the satis- faction of all parties, with the possible exception of the kidnappers, the latter were told to move off in different directions, and not to look back, under penalty of being shot. And they went.
A few weeks after the events above recorded, Mr. Hopkins had occasion to visit Doctor . Posey, at Petersburg. While there he sent a man to Wash- ington to learn what he could about the two men who were engaged in the kidnapping. He learned that they had returned to Washington, the next day after they were so soundly thrashed, and reported that they had fallen in with a band of horse thieves, who had beaten them fearfully, and had taken their team and everything else that they had. Whether this story found ready credence among the citizens of Washington is not a matter of record. But it is certain that this kidnapping experience was sufficient to last the men engaged in it for the rest of their lives.
These kidnapping stories might be multiplied by the score, not only in Daviess county, but in almost every other county in the state. It is probable that there were fewer outrages of this kind committed in this than there were in some of the counties nearer the border, because of the greater dis- tance, and the greater difficulty in getting the captives safely landed in Ken- tucky. But Daviess county was the scene of many such outrages, a record which no citizen of the present day will point to with pride. Under the de- cision of the highest court a negro had no rights that a white man was bound to respect, not even the right of personal possession of himself after he had paid the price. The crimes that were committed under the operation of the fugitive-slave law-crimes against justice and humanity, and sanctioned by courts, high and low-are a stain upon the pages of the nation's history, a stain that required the blood of multiplied thousands of her best citizens to erase, in the resulting Civil War. As before stated, some of these crimes were committed in Daviess county, and, in some measure, her citizens were ready to give consent and encouragement to them. In a much larger measure was demanded the blood of some of the best of her sons, as a requital for the sins of the fathers.
CHAPTER X.
DAVIESS COUNTY IN WAR.
There were white men in this part of the country long before the estab- lishment of the great Northwest Territory and many of them had sanguinary conflicts with the aborigines who were the original possessors of the land. In the wars with France the Indians became the hirelings of England, and were also made the catspaws of the "mother country" during the strenuous years of the struggle for liberty by the colonists, and later on in the War of 1812. But no record of the names and service of these early frontiersmen is extant. After the War of 1812, militia organizations were kept intact until the general fear of danger from the red men was past. and then were allowed to fall into gradual desuetude.
THIE WAR WITH MEXICO.
A small contingent of Daviess county men served in the Mexican War, and in 1846 were enlisted for the struggle with that turbulent people. Among those enlisting were Charles Childs. Thomas Coulter. Gabriel Moats, Nelson Bolton, Patrick Carley and Jacob Leap. all of whom served in Company H, Second Indiana Regiment, Capt. Joseph W. Briggs commanding. These patriots served one year and fought in the battle of Buena Vista. In 1847 Captain Ford, Third United States Dragoons, recruited in this county Alex- ander H. Dougharty. Thomas Coneter, William Samples, John Samples, Jacob Leap, William Sanders, William Smith, William Hubbard and Nelson Jackson. He got his men as far as the barracks in St. Louis, but no farther, peace having been declared between the belligerents before he could proceed to the front.
WAR BETWEEN THE STATES.
The causes leading up to the Civil War need no explanation in these pages, as thousands of volumes have been written and published on that sub- ject. The bitterness of the people of the Southern states engendered by the stand of the North against the extension of the system of slavery into the territories and new states was intensified when the great champion of equal rights, Abraham Lincoln, became President of the United States on the 4th
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day of March, 1861. To emphasize the determination of the Southern ex- tremists to carry their ends and disrupt the Union, a bold attenipt to prevent the inauguration of Lincoln by assassination had been frustrated. The next disloyal move was the firing on Fort Sumter, in the outer harbor of Charles- ton, on the 12th of April, 1861.
The insult offered the flag at Fort Sumter and the secession of several of the Southern states from the Union could only be interpreted in one way. War had been declared by one section of the country against the other, and Abraham Lincoln, true to his determination to preserve republican institu- tions at all hazards, issued a call for seventy-five thousand volunteers to put down the rebellion.
How the people of Washington and the county at large stood in this dark hour of the country's travail may be best illustrated by an editorial of the time, written and published by S. F. Horrall, in his issue of the Telegraph, of date February 1, 1861. A short time before active hostilities commenced he wrote :
"That the action of South Carolina and other seceding states is treason against the general government is true; and yet, strange as it may seem, we find men in the free states who try to justify this treason, as if there could be any justification of a crime so heinous and damnable. However, we never find one who is not willing to admit that secessionists have acted hastily, that they have been guilty of treason; but for all this they are disposed to say : 'Let the seceders alone! If you disturb them, if you execute the laws, they will fight, and down goes the fabric of the government.' Are they not bent on doing violence to the laws of the government, setting the powers that be at defiance, regardless of any consequences? Has one word been uttered by any one of the seceding states that in case of a satisfactory compromise, giv- ing them all they have ever asked, that goes to prove that they would accept the compromise and come back into the Union? We can hardly believe that they will ever willingly come back until, by experience, they have learned the sad lesson of secession. As to war, God knows we hope we may never see the day that the first blow is struck; for then we may not guess at the end. We hope that the virtue of forbearance will be clung to till the last ray of hope shall have vanished, then, if it comes to the worst, let us prepare to meet the issue."
DIRE PROPHECIES REALIZED.
The editor of the Telegraph was, like many of his compatriots, far-see- ing, and his dire prophecies were fully realized. Others thought the rebel-
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lion could be terminated within a few weeks and this feeling seemed to have prevailed at Washington, as indicated by the call of the President for less than one hundred thousand men. But events proved that the pessimist had the better of the argument and in a very short time calls for troops by the hun- dreds of regiments became the order of the day, and every loyal state in the Union vied with the others in an effort to recruit its quota and get to the front before its neighboring commonwealth. In this regard, Indiana was supremely loyal and active. The excitement caused by the fall of Fort Sum- ter created the utmost excitement throughout the land and in Washington, this county, men, women and children could think and talk of nothing but the outrage offered the flag and the call to arms. All felt instinctively that the crisis had come; that an awful calamity had overtaken the country.
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