USA > Indiana > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 28
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Columbia township: Misses Mary Retherford, Maria Newland and Rachel Burk. of Jennings township; Misses Caroline Beckett, Eunice Moore and Emily Clifton, of Jack- son township, are hereby requested to call upon the citizens of Fayette county and solicht donations of woolen blankets, and give one to each volunteer from the county of Fayette, and the citizens of said county be and are hereby requested to send to said committee, at the room of Miss Fannie Newkirk, such blankets as they may be willing to con- tribute for the purpose aforesaid.
"Resolred, That the president of this meeting telegraph T. A. Morris, quartermaster general, that Fayette county will do her duty in furnishing volunteers, and blankets, knives, forks and spoons for their use.
Resolved, That the county commissioners be instructed to buy the cannon belonging to W. W. Frybarger, for the use of the county, it being understood that said Frybarger will sell the same at cost and carriage."
GENEROUS RELIEF FUNDS RAISED.
The commissioners were present and responded to the requests of the meeting, and in accordance with the order passed by them, the following agents were appointed for the purpose of soliciting provisions: Conners- ville, Josiah Mullikin; Connersville township, George Harlan and Stont Atherton ; Jackson township. . \. V. Larimore: and Achilles Backhouse : Jen- nings township. J. J. Burk and J. W. Ross; Columbia township, George Scott and Thomas J. Crisler; Orange township, Emanuel Wagoner and William Conner; Harrison township, Joseph Dale' and Anthony Watt; Posey township, Temple Beason and Jacob Newkirk; Fairview township, Joseph M. Sntliffe and Amos G. Smith.
May 10, 1861, marked a day long to be remembered in Connersville and Fayette county. At ten o'clock on the morning of that day the "Fayette County Union Guards" were drawn up in line in the court house yard, where Captain Marshall spoke a few words and Rev. William Pelan deliv- ered a pathetic farewell address to the departing soldiers, many of whom were destined never to return. At the close of the ceremonies each volun- teer was presented with a small Testament. Amid the waving of flags and the sound of patriotic music the soldiers departed for the camp. Party lines were wholly obliterated and there was but one aim and one cause and that was the preservation of the Union.
VOLUNTEERS FOR THE UNION ARMY.
The method of raising volunteer troops in the Civil War was very different from the plan followed in the Mexican War. Each county was asked to furnish a number of men on each call of the President, the nun1-
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ber asked from each county being proportioned to the number of men of military age. Officials were appointed in each county to have charge of the enrolling of volunteers and they were charged with the duty of seeing that the county furnished the quota proportioned to it.
The following pages list the regiments containing men from Fayette county, together with the commissioned officers and a brief account of the part the regiments took in the war. The muster rolls of the county have not been found and the data given has been compiled from Adjutant-General Terrell's reports.
SIXTEENTH REGIMENT.
Company E of the Sixteenth Regiment was one of the several com- panies raised in Fayette county. Two Connersville men, John M. Orr and William H. Greer, were captain and first lieutenant, respectively.
The regiment was organized at Richmond in May, 1861, with Pleasant A. Hackleman as colonel. The regiment was organized with the intention of remaining within the confines of the state for one year but need of men caused the company to offer their services to the government the same day that the news of the battle of Bull Run reached the North. The regiment. departed from Richmond on July 23, and was the first company to march through Baltimore after the firing upon the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment. After reaching Harper's Ferry, the regiment was assigned to the army of General Banks. The regiment was not engaged in any important engage- ment until October 21-the fatal day at Ball's Bluff. In the afternoon of the 22nd an attack was made upon the pickets, resulting in two men being killed. Immediately the regiment was rushed to the front, on the Bluffs, and in the evening of the 22nd participated in an engagement with the enemy. On the following day the regiment was detailed to picket duty, and was the last regiment to recross the Potomac, reaching the Maryland shore on the morning of the 24th. Two men were drowned during the expedition. On December 6th the regiment went into winter quarters near Frederick City.
Winter quarters were broken up in February, 1862, and the long expected movement of the armies began. In March, with a detachment of other troops, a bridge was built across the Shenandoah at Snicker's Ferry, the structure being completed in forty-eight hours. At this point six men of Stonewall Jackson's command were captured by Lieutenant Copeland. On May 12 the regiment started on a march to Washington, D. C., and on
MODEL SILO BUILDING ON WHITE WATER CREAMERY FARM.
M' CORMICK
CUTTING WHEAT ON E. JONES FARM.
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the 14th was mustered out of the service and returned to Indiana. On April 30 the commanding colonel was commissioned a brigadier-general, and on May 13, in the presence of the regiment, was presented with an ele- gant sword by his men.
The regiment was reorganized for the three-years service at Indian- apolis on May 27, 1862, with Thomas Lucas as colonel. On August 30 the regiment took part in the battle at Richmond, Kentucky, losing two hun- dred men killed and wounded, and six hundred prisoners. After the defeat the prisoners were paroled and sent to Indianapolis, where they remained in parole camp until November 1, when they were exchanged.
FURTHER ACTION OF THE REGIMENT.
On January 1, 1863, the regiment engaged the enemy at Chickasaw Bayou, near Vicksburg, and was driven back, the brigade to which it was attached losing five hundred men. On the 11th it participated in a general engagement near Arkansas Post, and was the first to plant its colors within the fort; its loss was seventy-seven men killed and wounded. On May 16 the regiment went into the trenches near Vicksburg, and participated in all of the operations of the siege until the capitulation on July 4. In the assault on the enemy's works on May 22, the regiment bore a conspicuous part, holding an important position for nearly ten hours of continuous fighting, and part of the time was within twenty-five feet of the rebel fort. During the siege the regiment lost sixty men killed and wounded. The regiment then marched to Jackson and thence was transported to New Orleans and distributed along the Mississippi to protect transportation. In October the cavalry corps was ordered on an expedition up the Bayou Teche, in which section skirmishes were held with the enemy until January 2, 1864. The regiment was finally reviewed in New Orleans and was mustered out by General Grierson and complimented for having the best horses that had ever been in the department. As a compliment to the men whose terms of ser- vice had not then expired, it was ordered that they be transferred to tlie Thirteenth Indiana cavalry, thus putting together infantry and cavalry for the first time during the war. The regiment was mustered out on June 30, 1865, at New Orleans. On July 10, 1865, it arrived at Indianapolis with three hundred and sixty-five men and officers.
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FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.
THIRTY-SIXTH REGIMENT.
Company H formed a part, of the Thirty-sixth Regiment, which was organized at Richmond, and was mustered into the service on September 16, 1861, and immediately left for the front. During the fall and winter of 1862 it marched and encamped with the army from Ohio, and reached Nashville in February, 1862. From there a march was made to the Tennes- see river and thence to the field of Shiloh in time to participate in that great battle, where it sustained a loss of nine killed, thirty-eight wounded and one missing. It took part in the siege of Corinth, pursued Bragg through Ken- tucky with Buell's army, participated with Rosecrans' army in the battle at Stone's river, and was at Chickamauga. Subsequently it joined Sherman's army in the march to the sea and participated in the marches, skirmishes and engagements of that campaign.
The successive commissioned officers of the company were as follow : Captains, Gilbert Trusler, William F. Limpus: first lieutenants, Addison M. Davis, John L. Hensley, William F. Limpus, George Mullikin; second lieu- tenants, William F. Limpus, George Mullikin, James Peterson and Joseph Hilligoss. Gilbert Trusler, of Connersville, was commissioned major of the regiment, Jime 3, 1863, and resigned in the following December. Daniel D. Hall, also of Connersville, served as a surgeon of the regiment from September, 1861, to March, 1862.
SIXTY-NINTH REGIMENT.
Company K formed a part of the Sixty-ninth Regiment, which was organized at Richmond on August 19,. 1862. Its successive commissioned officers included the following: Captains, William Kerr, Jesse Holton; first lieutenants, Jesse Holton, William G. Plummer, Joseph Senior, Harvey .A. Zimmerman ; second lieutenants, William G. Plummer, Joseph Senior. Jed Scott, of Connersville, was commissioned a lieutenant-colonel of the regi- ment, and William M. Smith and William Stewart, both of Connersville, served respectively as quartermaster.
The first. real engagement of the regiment was at Richmond, Kentucky, where two hundred and eighteen men were lost. The captured soldiers were sent to the parole camp, and upon being exchanged the regiment was reorganized at Indianapolis and left that place on November 27, 1862, for Memphis, Tennessee, in command of Colonel Thomas W. Bennett. The
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regiment was then detached down the Mississippi river with Sheldon's brigade of Morgan's division of Sherman's wing of Grant's army, on the expedition to Vicksburg. After engaging in several minor engagements, the regiment began to advance in the movement against Vicksburg, March 30. On reaching Roundaway Bayou, a rebel force was met and put to flight. On April 30 the regiment began a march to Port Gibson, where on May I, occurred the battle of Thompson's Hill. In this engagement the regiment lost seventy-one men killed and wounded. After numerous skir- mishes, on May 23, the regiment went with the Osterhans division to the Black river bridge, where it remained during the remainder of the siege of Vicksburg.
On February 13, 1864, the regiment began its return to Indianapolis, and after reorganization, departed on March 13 for Matagorda Island. Beginning with March 27, it made a march through Florida and southern Alabama, arriving in the rear of Blakely on April I.
On July 5, 1865, the battalion was mustered out of service ( the regi- ment was consolidated into a battalion) at Mobile, and on the 7th left for Indianapolis, having sixteen officers and two hundred and eighty-four men. This regiment left its dead in eleven states and participated in the battles of Richmond, Kentucky, Chickasaw Bluffs, Arkansaw Post, Thompson's Hill, Champion Hill, Black River Bridge, the sieges of Vicksburg and Jack- son, and the capture of Blakely, Alabama, which latter victory caused the surrender of Mobile.
SECOND CAVALRY, FORTY-FIRST REGIMENT.
Company L formed a part of the Second Cavalry of the Forty-first Regiment, that was organized at Indianapolis in September, 1861, with John A. Bridgeland as colonel. The successive officers of the company included the following: Captains, Isaiah D. Walker, Christian Beck, James G. Hackleman; first lieutenants, Christian Beck, James G. Hackleman, Pro- basco Thomas; second lieutenants, James A. Smith, James G. Hackleman, Probasco Thomas .. Rev. W. Pelan was a chaplain. Harvey Y. Burt served as an adjutant for a short period and Charles Mount as commissary for a year.
In February, 1862, the regiment marched toward Nashville and from that point to the Tennessee river, reaching the field of Shiloh after the battle. During the next month it was actively engaged at Pea Ridge, Tennessee, and at Tuscumbia, Alabama, losing several men in each case. In August the same year it was again in Tennessee and contested with the
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enemy at Gallatin and McMinnville. In September, a march was made into Kentucky, participating in the Buell and Bragg campaigns. On November 30, while the regiment was still at Nashville, a detachment under command of Major Samuel Hill was highly complimented by General Rosecrans, in special field orders, for having recaptured a government train, defeating a rebel army, killing and capturing two hundred.
While at Mossy Creek, Tennessee, the regiment re-enlisted, January 10, 1864, and during the winter and spring was engaged in numerous scouts and skirmishes, losing several men. In May, 1864, the regiment partici- pated in Sherman's campaign against Atlanta, engaging in many skirmishes and battles. The non-veterans were mustered out when Atlanta was taken, and in September, 1864, the remaining veterans were consolidated into a battalion of four companies and placed under the command of Major Ros- well S. Hill. After a raid through Alabama and Georgia, the regiment was mustered out at Nashville, July 22, 1865.
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOURTH REGIMENT.
Company A formed a part of the One Hundred and Forty-fourth Regi- ment that was mustered into the service on March 10, 1864, with James Burgess as colonel. The regiment was first sent to Nashville and there was assigned to the division of General Hovey. On April 5, the regiment left Nashville for the front. The Twenty-third corps, to which the regiment was assigned, arrived in front of Buzzard's Roost on May 8. On June I the regiment was engaged in sharp skirmishes in the vicinity of Allatoona and Pumpkin Vine Creek, and took a position opposite and near Lost Moun- tain. After the enemy had evacuated the position, the regiment took posi- tion on the right of Kenesaw Mountain. The regiment took part in many engagements prior to the siege of Atlanta, in which it played an important part.
On October 4, the regiment began its pursuit of General Hood, moving by the way of Marietta to Allatoona, and thence, through Cassville and Kingston, to Rome. The pursuit continued through Snake creek and White's Gap to Summerville, and down the Chattanooga valley to Gaylesville, Ala- bama, where the pursuit was discontinued. Subsequently the regiment was transported to Nashville, where it arrived on November 9. On November 21, the regiment constructed temporary breastworks at Columbia, and for two days was engaged with the enemy under General Hood .: At Spring Hill a severe skirmish occurred during which Company C was captured by
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the enemy. On December 15 the army, under General Thomas, advanced from its fortifications around Nashville upon the army of General Hood, and after two days of fighting, decisively defeated the rebels.
In February, 1865, the regiment proceeded to North Carolina. Upon reaching Wise's Fork the enemy was encountered and repulsed in confusion. On October 15 it crossed the Neuse river and marched to Kingston, thence to Goldsboro, where the junction was formed with the victorious army of Sherman, who had marched from Atlanta to the sea. The regiment was mustered out at Greensboro, August 31, 1865.
The successive commissioned officers for Company A follow: Captains, John M. Orr, John W. Hannah; first lieutenants, John W. Hannah, Martin S. Bush ; second lieutenants, Martin S. Bush, Lot H. C. Pumphrey ; George F. Stewart, of Connersville, was a first and second lieutenant in Company E: John B. Schissler, a first lieutenant in Company F. Quite a number of privates from Company G were from Fayette county.
THIRD BATTERY.
On August 5, 1861, the Third Battery, Light Artillery, was organized at Connersville, and was mustered into the service on August 24, 1861, with W. W. Frybarger as captain. The battery was dispatched to St. Louis and there became a part of General Fremont's army in the campaign through southwest Missouri. When the campaign came to a close Captain Frybarger was promoted to the office of major and was ordered to. Indianapolis to organ- ize batteries. Lieut. James M. Cockefair was promoted to captain. During the summer and fall of 1862 parts of the Third Battery were dispatched to different portions of Missouri, and engaged in numerous encounters and skirmishes with the enemy, but no decisive battles were fought. During the winter of 1862 and until late in 1863, the battery was located in and around the vicinity of Springfield. In November, 1863, a majority of the members re-enlisted as veterans. Under the command of Gen. A. J. Smith, it moved through western Tennessee and on to Memphis, and with its division proceeded to Vicksburg by boat, thence to Meridian, Mississippi. After having destroyed the enemy's communications, the battery returned with the army to Tennes- see. In the summer of 1864 the battery was engaged almost constantly in covering the retreat of Banks' army, until it reached Morganza Bend, on the Mississippi river. Thence it embarked to Vicksburg and on to Mississippi, where an extensive campaign was conducted. In the fall of 1864, the battery moved with the Sixteenth Army Corps to St. Louis and joined the forces of
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General Rosecrans in the pursuit of General Price. After making a march of eight hundred miles in twenty-four days without overtaking the enemy, the battery returned to St. Louis and thence to Nashville, Tennessee. Combined with the army of General Thomas, the battery took part in the decisive battle in front of Nashville, on December 15 and 16, 1864. As a result Hood's army was completely routed. Later the battery was placed under the com- mand of General Canby, and operated with his army in the vicinity of Mobile. It was actively engaged in the capture of Ft. Blakely, an event which com- pelled the surrender of Mobile. The Third Battery was mustered. out at Indianapolis on August 21, 1865.
Following the command of J. M. Cockefair, Thomas J. Ginn and then Richard Burns commanded the battery.
ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTH REGIMENT, MINUTE MEN.
Company K of the One Hundred and Fourth Regiment, Minute Men, was from Fayette county. The regiment was formally organized at Greens- burg on July 10, 1863, with James Gavin as colonel. Including privates and officers the company was composed of seven hundred and nineteen men. The regiment marched from Greensburg to Sunman's station, thence to Lawrence- burg, and on to Harrison, Ohio. After Morgan's eventful dash through Indiana and Ohio, the regiment returned to Greensburg and was mustered out on July 18, 1863.
ONE HUNDRED AND TIIIRTY-NINTH REGIMENT, ONE-HUNDRED-DAY VOLUNTEERS.
Company F of the One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Regiment, One-Hun- dred-Day Volunteers, originated in Fayette county. The regiment was mus- tered into the service at Indianapolis June 8, 1864, with George Humphrey as colonel. From Indianapolis the regiment moved direct to Nashville, Ten- nessee, where it was assigned to duty along the lines of the Nashville & Chattanooga, Tennessee & Alabama, and Memphis & Charleston railroads. These lines were being used by General Sherman for the transportation of supplies to his army then advancing on Atlanta and due vigilance was required to insure constant transportation and communication. The regiment served beyond the period of one hundred days, and returned to Indianapolis, where it was finally discharged from the service.
In addition to the above-named companies the county was represented in various other organizations, among which were the Eighty-fourth Regi-
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ment, Nelson Trusler being at one time a colonel; Twenty-third Battery Light Artillery; Third Cavalry (Forty-fifth) ; Sixth Cavalry Battalion (Seventy- first ) ; Thirty-fifth, Fourth Regiment ( Hancock's Corps), One Hundred and Forty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, and Seventh Cavalry, Indiana Volunteers. Dr. Joshua Chitwood served as assistant surgeon and surgeon of the Seventh Cavalry, Indiana Volunteers, in 1863-1864. Christian Beck was a major of the Thirty-fifth regiment in 1863, and in 1864 was commis- sioned lieutenant-colonel of the Ninth Cavalry.
MORGAN'S RAID.
The summer of 1863 furnished Fayette county with the most exciting time it experienced during the Civil War. Many persons are still living who recall the excitement aroused by the news that General Morgan had crossed the Ohio in Harrison county and was reported to be headed for Indianapolis with his cavalry command.
While Morgan's men never reached the limits of Fayette county, yet Colonel Claypool, with the Fayette Minute Men and the Ashland Home Guards played a very important part in the preparation for defense, as will be noted in the following account of Morgan's raid through Indiana.
On Wednesday morning, July 8, 1863, General Morgan crossed the line from Kentucky to Indiana. He had four thousand mounted men with him, and for the next five days created more consternation in Indiana than the state has ever known. It is not the purpose of this paragraph to give in detail the story of Morgan's raid in Indiana, only in so far as it is concerned with Fayette and incidentally Franklin counties. Morgan first appeared before Corydon, and at that place three volunteers were killed and one mortally wounded. On the afternoon of the 9th Morgan marched out of Corydon and soon appeared before Palmyra in the northern part of Harri- son county. Here Morgan separated his forces, part going to Greenville, part to Paoli and the rest going to Vienna. His forces came together at Salem at nine o'clock on the morning of the 10th. From Salem, Morgan started in an easterly direction, having found out that it was not prudent to advance toward Indianapolis, as he originally intended to do. Some of his men went through Brownstown and others through Canton and New Phila- delphia and spent the night at Lexington in Scott county. On Saturday after- noon, the IIth, Morgan came in sight of Vernon, but there was too strong a force posted there, so he passed the town without making an attempt to capture it. On Saturday night Morgan camped near Dupont, about eight
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miles southeast of Vernon. About four o'clock on the morning of Sunday, July 12, Morgan passed through Dupont on the way to Versailles in Ripley county. He reached that place at half-past one o'clock, captured Col. J. H. Cravens with three hundred militia, and robbed the county treasury of five thousand dollars of public funds.
CITIZEN SOLDIERY ON GUARD.
It was on this memorable Sunday that the citizens of Fayette and Franklin counties received their first-hand experience of the Civil War. The knowledge that Morgan with his band of marauders was in Ripley and Dearborn counties on that day created the wildest excitement. The gallantry and the alacrity with which the citizen soldiery rushed to arms in the defense of their homes was praiseworthy and commendable in the highest degree. From early Sunday morning until Morgan crossed the line into Ohio on Monday night, the wildest excitement prevailed in both counties and prepa- rations for defense were to be seen on every hand.
The Franklin Democrat, of Brookville, in the issue of July 17, 1863, gives the following graphic description of those exciting days in the town and sur- rounding country :
"In our town, with the most generous enthusiasm, the people have hastened to take up arms to drive out the impudent invaders of our soil, With a zeal and alacrity almost without parallel, they have dropped the sickle and plow, and, rifle in hand, have joined in pursuit of the freebooters. On Sunday, learning that the rebels were in the vicinity of Sunman's Station, every conceivable mode of conveyance was pro- cured to convey our armed citizens to the locality where it was supposed a collision would take place. In his march, Morgan is making a wholesale work in the way of stealing horses and his men are mounted on the finest stock in the country. Several of the citizens of this county were relieved of their horses by this freebooter and his men. Among the citizens of the county who contributed horses to Morgan's cause, against their own will, were John P. Case, of New Trenton, and Dr. John Cleaver, of Drewersburg. In addition to robbing the stables, the marauding band did not hesitate to appropriate any articles which met their fancy as they rode through the country.
According to the best information obtainable, there were only about ten of Mor- gan's men in this community. Two troopers appeared at Oldenburg in Franklin county on Saturday afternoon, and riding into the blacksmith shop of J. H. Kessing, they told him they wanted their horses shod at once. They insisted on having new shoes put on their horses, but Kessing told them he did not have any, although he did have some hanging from the ceiling of the shop. There were some farmers in the shop, but the troopers demanded that their horses be shod at once, and told Kessing that when he had them shod to bring them to the Kuntz saloon, and they would pay for the work. He shod them and took them to the saloon, but they immediately jumped upon them and rode away without paying. They rode off toward St. Marys, and
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