USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > History of Elkhart County, Indiana; together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history: portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 17
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SOUS-CHANDLER, ONL.
LAW-LE-WAS-I-KAW, THE SHAWNEE PROPHET.
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Northern destiny: she plants herself on the basis of the Consti- tution and takes her stand in the ranks of American destiny."
FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT.
At the session of the Legislature in January, 1869, the subject of ratifying the fifteenth amendment to the Federal Constitution, allowing negro suffrage, came up with such persistency that neither party dared to undertake any other business lest it be checkmated in some way, and being at a dead lock on this matter, they adjourn- ed in March without having done much important business. The Democrats, as well as a portion of the conservative Republicans, opposed its consideration strongly on the ground that it would be unfair to vote on the question until the people of the State had had an opportunity of expressing their views at the polls; but most of the Republicans resolved to push the measure through, while the Democrats resolved to resign in a body and leave the Legislature without a quorum. Accordingly, on March 4, 17 Senators and 36 Representatives resigned, leaving both houses without a quorum.
As the early adjournment of the Legislature left the benevolent institutions of the State unprovided for, the Governor convened that body in extra session as soon as possible, and after the neces- sary appropriations were made, on the 19th of May the fifteenth amendment came up; but in anticipation of this the Democratic members had all resigned and claimed that there was no quorum present. There was a quorum, however, of Senators in office, though some of them refused to vote, declaring that they were no longer Senators; but the president of that body decided that as he had not been informed of their resignation by the Governor, they were still members. A vote was taken and the ratifying resolution was adopted. When the resolution came up in the House, the chair decided that, although the Democratic members had resigned, there was a quorum of the de-facto members present, and the House proceeded to pass the resolution. This decision of the chair was afterward sustained by the Supreme Court.
At the next regular session of the Legislature, in 1871, the Democrats undertook to repeal the ratification, and the Republican members resigned to prevent it. The Democrats, as the Republi- cans did on the previous occasion, proceeded to pass their resolu- tion of repeal; but while the process was under way, before the House Committee had time to report on the matter, 34 Republican members resigned, thereby preventing its passage and putting a stop to further legislation.
THE WAR FOR THE UNION.
On the fourth day of March, 1861, after the most exciting and momentous political campaign known in the history of this country, Abraham Lincoln-America's martyred President-was inaugu- rated Chief Magistrate of the United States. This fierce contest was principally sectional, and as the announcement was flashed over the telegraph wires that the Republican Presidential candidate had been elected, it was hailed by the South as a justifiable pretext for dissolving the Union. Said Jefferson Davis in a speech at Jackson, Miss., prior to the election, "If an abolitionist be chosen Presi- dent of the United States you will have presented to yon the question whether you will permit the government to pass into the hands of your avowed and implacable enemies. Without pausing for an answer, I will state my own position to be that such a result would be a species of revolution by which the purpose of the Government would be destroyed, and the obser- vances of its mere forms entitled to no respect. In that event, in such manner as should be most expedient, I should deem it your duty to provide for your safety outside of the Union." Said another Southern politician, when speaking on the same sub- ject, " We shall fire the Southern heart, instruct the Southern mind, give courage to each, and at the proper moment, by one organized, concerted action, we can precipitate the Cotton States into a revolution." To disrupt the Umcn and form a government which recognized the absolute supremacy of the white population and the perpetual bondage of the black was what they deemed freedom from the galling yoke of a Republican administration.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN DID NOT SEEK THE PRESIDENCY.
Hon. Rufus W. Miles, of Illinois, sat on the floor by the side of Abraham Lincoln in the Library room of the Capitol, in Spring- field, at the secret caucus meeting, held in January, 1859, when Mr. Lincoln's name was first spoken of in caucus as candidate for President. When a gentleman, in making a short speech, said, " We are going to bring Abraham Lincoln out as a candidate for President," Mr. Lincoln at once arose to his feet, and exclaimed, "For God's sake, let me alone! I have suffered enough!" This was soon after he had been defeated in the Legislature for United States Senate by Stephen A. Douglas, and only those who are
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intimate with that important and unparalleled contest can appre- ciate the full force and meaning of these expressive words of the martyred President. They were spontaneous, and prove beyond a shadow of doubt that Abraham Lincoln did not seek the high posi- tion of President. Nor did he use any trickery or chicanery to obtain it. Bat his expressed wish was not to be complied with; our beloved country needed a savior and a martyr, and Fate had decreed that he should be the victim. After Mr. Lincoln was elected President, Mr. Miles sent him an eagle's quill, with which the chief magistrate wrote his first inaugural address. The letter written by Mr. Miles to the President, and sent with the quill, which was two feet in length, is such a jewel of eloquence and prophecy that it should be given a place in history :
PERSIFER, December 21, 1860.
HON. A. LINCOLN : Dear Sir :-- Please accept the eagle quill I promised you, by the hand of our . Representative, A. A. Smith. The bird from whose wing the quill was taken, was shot by John F Dillon, in Persifer township, Knox Co., Ills., iu Feb., 1857, Hav- ing heard that James Buchanan was furnished with an eagle quill to write his Inaugural with, and believing that in 1860, a Republican would be elected to take his place, I determined to savethis quill and present it to the fortunate man, who- ever he might be. Reports tell us that the bird which furnished Buchanan's quill was a captured bird,-fit emblem of the man that used it ; but the bird from which this quill was taken, yielded the quill only with his life,-fit emblem of the man who is expected to use it, for true Republicans believe that you would not think lile worth the keeping after the surrender of principle. Great difficulties surround you ; traitors to their country have threatened your life ; and should you be called upon to surrender it at the post of duty, your memory will live for- ever in the heart of every freeman ; and that is a grander monument than can be built of brick or marble.
"For tf hearts may not our memories keep, Oblivion haste each vestige sweep, And let our memories end."
Yours Truly,
R. W. MILES.
STATES SECEDING.
At the time of President Lincoln's accession to power, several members of the Union claimed they had withdrawn from it, and styling themselves the "Confederate States of America," organ- ized a separate government. The house was indeed divided against itself, but it should not fall, nor should it long continue divided, was the hearty, determined response of every loyal heart in the nation. The accursed institution of human slavery was the primary cause for this dissolution of the American Union. Doubtless other agencies served to intensify the hostile feel- ings which existed between the Northern and Southern portions
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of our country, but their remote origin could be traced to this great national evil. Had Lincoln's predecessor put forth a timely, ener- getic effort, he might have prevented the bloody war our nation was called to pass through. On the other hand every aid was given the rebels; every advantage and all the power of the Government was placed at their disposal, and when Illinois' honest son took the reins of the Republic he found Buchanan had been a traitor to his trust, and given over to the South all available means of war.
THE FALL OF SUMTER.
On the 12th day of April, 1861, the rebels, who for weeks had been erecting their batteries upon the shore, after demanding of Major Anderson a surrender, opened fire upon Fort Sumter. For thirty-four hours an incessant cannonading was continued; the fort was being seriously injured; provisions were almost gone, and Major Anderson was compelled to haul down the stars and stripes. That dear old flag which had seldom been lowered to a foreign foe by rebel hands was now trailed in the dust. The first blow of the terrible conflict which summoned vast armies into the field, and moistened the soil of a nation in fraternal blood and tears, had been struck. The gauntlet thus thrown down by the attack on Sumter by the traitors of the South was accepted-not, however, in the spirit with which insolence meets insolence-but with a firm, determined spirit of patriotism and love of country. The duty of the President was plain under the constitution and the laws, and above and beyond all, the people from whom all political power is derived, demanded the suppression of the Rebellion, and stood ready to sustain the authority of their representative and executive officers. Promptly did the new President issue a proclamation calling for his countrymen to join with him to defend their homes and their country, and vindicate her honor. This call was made April 14, two days after Sumter was first fired upon, and was for 75,000 men. On the 15th, the same day he was notified, Gov. Yates issued his proclamation convening the Legislature. He also ordered the organization of six regiments. Troops were in abund- ance, and the call was no sooner made than filled. Patriotism thrilled and vibrated and pulsated through every heart. The farm, the workshop, the office, the pulpit, the bar, the bench, the college, the school-house,-every calling offered its best men, their lives and their fortunes, in defense of the Government's honor and unity.
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Bitter words spoken in moments of political heat were forgotten and forgiven, and joining hands in a common cause, they repeated the oath of America's soldier-statesman: " By the Great Eternal, the Union must and shall be preserved." The honor, the very life and glory of the nation was committed to the stern arbitrament of the sword, and soon the tramp of armed men, the elash of musketry and the heavy boom of artillery reverberated throughout the continent; rivers of blood saddened by tears of mothers, wives, sisters, danghters and sweethearts flowed from the lakes to the gulf, but a nation was saved. The sacrifice was great, but the Union was preserved.
A VAST ARMY RAISED IN ELEVEN DAYS.
In July and August of 1862 the President ealled for 600,000 men-our quota of which was 52,296-and gave until August 18 as the limits in which the number might be raised by volunteering, after which a draft would be ordered. The State had already fur- nished 17,000 in excess of her quota, and it was first thought this number would be deducted from the present requisition, but that could not be done. But thirteen days were granted to enlist this vast army, which had to come from the farmers and mechanics. The former were in the midst of harvest, but, inspired by love of country, over 50,000 of them left their harvests ungathered, their tools and their benches, the plows in their furrows, turning their backs on their homes, and before eleven days had expired the demands of the Government were met and both quotas filled.
The war went on, and call followed call, until it began to look as if there would not be men enongh in all the Free States to crush out and subdue the monstrous war traitors had inaugurated. But to every call for either men or money there was a willing and ready response. And it is a boast of the people that, had the supply of men fallen short, there were women brave enough, daring enough, patriotic enough, to have offered themselves as sacrifices on their country's altar. On the 21st of December, 1864, the last call for troops was made. It was for 300,000. In consequence of an im- perfect enrollment of the men subject to military duty, it became evident, ere this eall was made, that Indiana, was furnishing thous- ands of men more than what her quota would have been, had it been correct. So glaring had this disproportion become, that under this call the quota of some districts exceeded the number of able-bodied men in them.
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The people were liberal as well as patriotie; and while the men were busy enlisting, organizing and equipping companies, the ladies were no less active, and the noble, generous work performed by their tender, loving hands deserves mention along with the bravery, devotion and patriotism of their brothers upon the battle-field.
The continued need of money to obtain the comforts and neces- saries for the sick and wounded of our army suggested to the loyal women of the North many and various deviees for the raising of funds. Every city, town and village had its fair, festival, pienic, excursion, concert, which netted more or less to the cause of hospital relief, according to the population of the place and the amount of energy and patriotism displayed on sneh occasions. Especially was this characteristic of our own fair State, and scarcely n hamlet within its borders which did not send something from its stores to hospital or battle-field, and in the larger towns and cities were well-organized soldiers' aid societies, working systematically and continuonsly from the beginning of the war till its close.
SHERMAN'S MARCH TO THE SEA.
On the 15th of November, 1864, after the destruction of Atlanta, and the railroads behind him, Sherman, with his army, began his march to the sea-eoast. The almost breathless anxiety with which his progress was watched by the loyal hearts of the nation, and the trembling apprehension with which it was regarded by all who hoped for rebel success, indicated this as one of the most remark- able events of the war; and so it proved. Of Sherman's army, 45 regiments of infantry, three companies of artillery, and one of cavalry were from this State. Lincoln answered all rumors of Sherman's defeat with, "It is impossible; there is a mighty sight of fight in 100,000 Western men."
CHARACTER OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
One other name from the West comes np in all minds, embalmed in all hearts, that must have the supreme place in this sketch of our glory and of our nation's honor: that name is Abraham Lincoln. The analysis of Mr. Lincoln's character is difficult on necount of its symmetry. In this age we look with admiration at his uncompromising honesty; and well we may, for this saved us. Thousands throughout the length and breadth of our country, who knew him only as " Honest Old Abe," voted for him on that account; and wisely did they choose, for no other man could have carried us through the fearful night of war. When his plans were too vast for our comprehension, and his faith in the cause too sub-
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lime for our participation; when it was all night about us, and all dread before us, and all sad and desolate behind us; when not one ray shone upon our canse; when traitors were haughty and exult- ant at the South, and fierce and blasphemous at the North; when the loyal men seemed almost in the minority; when the stoutest heart quailed, the bravest cheek paled; when. generals were defeat- ing each other for place, and contractors were leeching out the very heart's blood of the republic; when everything else had failed us, we looked at this calin, patient man standing like a rock in the storm, and said, " Mr. Lincoln is honest, and we can trust him still." Holding to this single point with the energy of faith and despair, we held together, and under God he brought us through to victory. His practical wisdom made him the wonder of all lands. With such certainty did Mr. Lincoln follow canses to their ultimate effects, that his foresight of contingencies scemed almost prophetic. He is radiant with all the great virtues, and his memory will shed a glory upon this age that will fill the eyes of men as they look into history. Other men have excelled him in some points; bnt, taken at a'l points, he stands head and shoulders above every other man of 6,000 years. An administrator, he saved the nation in the perils of unparalleled civil war; a statesman, he justified his measures by their success; a philanthropist, he gave liberty to one race and salvation to another; a moralist, he bowed from the sum- mit of human power to the foot of the cross; a mediator, he exer- cised mercy under the most absolute obedience to law; a leader, he was no partisan; a commander, he was untainted with blood; a ruler in desperate times, he was unsullied with crime; a man, he has left no word of passion, no thought of malice, no trick of craft, no act of jealousy, no purpose of selfish ambition. Thus perfected, without a model and without a peer, he was dropped into these troubled years to adorn and embellish all that is good and all that is great in our Inmanity, and to present to all coming time the representative of the divine idea of free government. It is not too much to say that away down in the future, when the republic has fallen from its niche in the wall of time; when the great war itself shall have faded out in the distance like a mist on the horizon; when the Anglo-Saxon shall be spoken only by the tongue of the stranger, then the generations looking this way shall see the great President as the supreme figure in this vortex of history.
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THE WAR ENDED-THE UNION RESTORED.
The rebellion was ended with the surrender of Lee and his army, and Johnson and his command in April, 1865. Our armies at the time were up to their maximum strength, never so formidable, never so invincible; and, until recruiting ceased by order of Sec- retary Stanton, were daily strengthening. The necessity, however,
LINCOLN
ME NALLY-CO
LINCOLN MONUMENT AT SPRINGFIELD.
for so vast and formidable numbers ceased with the disbanding of the rebel forces, which had for more than four years disputed the supremacy of the Government over its domain. And now the joyful and welcome news was to be borne to the victorious legions that their work was ended in triumph, and they were to be per- mitted "to see homes and friends once more."
INDIANA IN THE WAR.
The events of the earlier years of this State have been reviewed down to that period in the nation's history when the Republic de- inanded a first sacrifice from the newly erected States; to the time when the very safety of the glorious heritage, bequeathed by the fathers as a rich legacy, was threatened with a fate worse than death -a life under laws that harbored the slave-a civil defiance of the first principles of the Constitution.
Indiana was among the first to respond to the summons of patri- otism, and register itself on the national roll of honor, even as she was among the first to join in that song of joy which greeted a Re- public made doubly glorious within a century by the dnal victory which won liberty for itself, and next bestowed the precious boon upon the colored slave.
The fall of Fort Sumter was a signal for the uprising of the State. The news of the calamity was flashed to Indianapolis on the 14th of April, 1861, and early the next morning the electric wire brought the welcome message to Washington :--
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT OF INDIANA, INDIANAPOLIS, April 15, 1861.
TO ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States :- On behalf of the State of Indiana, I tender to you for the defense of the Nation, and to uphold the au- thority of the Government, ten thousand men.
OLIVER P. MORTON, Governor of Indiana.
This may be considered the first official act of Governor Morton, who had just entered on the duties of his exalted position. The State was in an almost helpless condition, and yet the faith of the " War Governor " was prophetic, when, after a short consultation with the members of the Executive Council, he relied on the fidelity of ten thousand men and promised their services to the Protectorate at Washington. This will be more apparent when the military condition of the State at the beginning of 1861 is considered. At that time the armories contained less than five hundred stand of serviceable small arms, eight pieces of cannon which might be use- ful in a museum of antiquities, with sundry weapons which would merely do credit to the aborigines of one hundred years ago. The financial condition of the State was even worse than the military.
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The sum of $10,36S.58 in trust funds was the amount of cash in the hands of the Treasurer, and this was, to all intents and purposes unavailable to meet the emergency, since it could not be devoted to the military requirements of the day. This state of affairs was dispiriting in the extreme, and would doubtless have militated against the ultimate success of any other man than Morton; yet he overleaped every difficulty, nor did the fearful realization of Floyd's treason, discovered during his visit to Washington, damp his indomitable courage and energy, but with rare persistence he urged the claims of his State, and for his exertions was requited with an order for five thousand muskets. The order was not exe- ented until hostilities were actually entered upon, and consequently for some days succeeding the publication of the President's procla- mation the people labored under a feeling of terrible anxiety min- gled with uncertainty, amid the confusion which followed the crim - inal negligence that permitted the disbandment of the magnificent corps d' armee (51,000 men) of 1832 two years later in 1834, Great numbers of the people maintained their equanamity with the result of beholding within a brief space of time every square mile of their State represented by soldiers prepared to fight to the bitter end in defense of cherished institutions, and for the extension of the prin- ciple of human liberty to all States and classes within the limits of the threatened Union. This, their zeal, was not animated by hos- tility to the slave holders of the Southern States, but rather by a fraternal spirit, akin to that which urges the eldest brother to cor- rect the persistent follies of his juniors, and thus lead them from crime to the maintenance of family honor; in this correction, to draw them away from all that was cruel, diabolical and inhuman in the Republic, to all that is gentle, holy and sublime therein. Many of the raw troops were not only unimated by a patriotic feeling, but also by that beautiful idealization of the poet, who in his un- conscious Republicanisın, said:
" I would not have a slave to till my ground, To carry me, to fan me while I sleep, And tremble when I wake, for all the wealth That sinews bought and sold have ever earned No: dear as freedom is-and, in my heart's Just estimation, prized above all price- I had much rather be myself the slave, And wear the bonds, than fasten them on him."
Thus animated, it is not a matter for surprise to find the first call to arms issued by the President, and calling for 75,000 men,
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answered nobly by the people of Indiana. The quota of troops to be furnished by the State on the first call was 4,683 men for three years' service from April 15, 1860. On the 16th of April, Gov- ernor Morton issued his proclamation calling on all citizens of the State, who had the welfare of the Republic at heart, to organize themselves into six regiments in defense of their rights, and in opposition to the varied acts of rebellion, charged by him against the Southern Confederates. To this end, the Hon. Lewis Wallace, a soldier of the Mexican campaign was appointed Adjutant-General, Col. Thomas A. Morris of the United States Military Academy, Quartermaster-General, and Isaiah Mansur, a merchant of Indian- apolis, Commissary-General. These general officers converted the grounds and buildings of the State Board of Agriculture into a military headquarters, and designated the position Camp Morton, as the beginning of the inany honors which were to follow the pop- ular Governor throughout his future career. Now the people, im- bned with confidence in their Government and leaders, rose to the grandeur of American freemen, and with an enthusiasm never equaled hitherto, flocked to the standard of the nation; so that within a few days (19th April) 2,400 men were ranked beneath their regimental banners, until as the official report testifies, the anxious question, passing from mouth to mouth, was, "Which of us will be allowed to go?" It seemed as if Indiana was abont to monopolize the honors of the period, and place the 75,000 men demanded of the Union by the President, at his disposition. Even now under the genial sway of guaranteed peace, the features of Indiana's veterans flush with righteous pride when these days-re- membrances of heroic sacrifice-are named, and freemen, still un- born, will read their history only to be blessed and glorified in the possession of such truly, noble progenitors. Nor were the ladies of the State unmindful of their duties. Everywhere they partook of the general enthusiasm, and made it practical so far as in their power, by embroidering and presenting standards and regimental colors, organizing aid and relief societies, and by many other acts of patriotism and humanity inherent in the high nature of woman.
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