History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 40

Author: John F. Haines
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051

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At that time there was but one railroad in the state, running between Madison and Edinburg. There were but few improved highways and no telegraph. All communication was by mail, mostly carried by men on horse- back and over bad roads. There were no daily papers, the press service being rendered by small weekly sheets, one or two to the county. In spite of these handicaps the war news traveled fast. The governor issued his proclamation on the 22d day of May and the adjutant-general his general order No. I on the 4th of June, directing the companies to assemble at the rendezvous as soon as possible, by the shortest rou'e, and at their own expense for trans- portation and subsistence.

As if by magic the roads were filled with marching men, helped on by patriotic farmers who furnished teams for transportation and whose kind- hearted wives fed the hungry volunteers. Notwithstanding these drawbacks, the concentration was quickly made, and by the 10th of June, nineteen days after the call, thirty companies had reported at camp and been mustered into service, while an overflow of twenty-two companies reported from their home stations clamoring for acceptance. At the expiration of the term of service of the first, second and third regiments. the government accepted the services of the fourth and fifth regiments, which served until the close of the war.

No less remarkable than the uprising of the volunteers, was the patriotic action of the banks in volunteering to supply the governor with the needful funds and take a chance of reimbursement by the state or general govern- ment, and this at a time when the state was almost hopelessly in debt and had defaulted some of its bonds.

Everything that occurred during the prosecution of the Mexican War was creditable to the state of Indiana, her citizens and the volunteers, and should have been a matter of convenient record long ago. It has long been a tradi-

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tion in the state that Indiana did not conduct herself well in Mexico. The facts are that there was absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, and every reason why every Hoosier should be proud of the record of Indiana in the Mexican War.

Captain Stevenson enlisted as a private in the Mexican War from Hamil- ton county when only a mere youth and served with credit to himself and to his state. At the opening of the Civil War he enlisted in a Hamilton county regiment, and before the close of that struggle was elected captain of his company.

HAMILTON COUNTY IN THE CIVIL WAR.

Hamilton county was conspicuous during the War of the Rebellion for the fidelity of her citizens to the cause of the Union, for the number of her citizens that enlisted in the service of their country, in proportion to the number of inhabitants in the county, and for the courage and endurance dis- played by them. There was scarcely a battle fought, during the long and bloody struggle of over four years for national existence, in which Hamil- ton county was not represented to a greater or less extent, and her sons could always be found where the firing was heaviest and where the blows fell the thickest and hardest. No organization that went out from her borders ever disgraced itself, the great state it represented or the cause it served, and a number of them were distinguished for their indomitable courage and bravery.

It is invidious work to select any organization by name from among so many that were.conspicuous for gallantry, but it can give offense to none to say that, while the memory of brave deeds is cherished with feelings of love and pride, the steady courage and endurance of the Thirty-fourth and Sixty- third, the chivalrous dash and daring of the Thirty-ninth, and the splendid soldierly conduct of the Seventy-fifth, the One Hundred and First and the One Hundred and Thirtieth Regiments will be remembered. Napoleon's "Old Guard" contained no braver soldiers and performed no more heroic deeds, and the memory of those who comprised these regiments should forever be cher- ished by those for whom they imperiled their lives.

On the 16th day of April, 1861, Governor Oliver P. Morton issued a proclamation briefly reciting the acts of the rebellion which had brought on the war and calling upon the people of the state of Indiana "to the number of six regiments, to organize themselves into military companies, and forth- with report the same to the adjutant-general, in order that they might be mustered into the service of the United States," and the next day the first

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company from Hamilton county under command of Captain John D. Evans went into camp at Camp Morton, at Indianapolis. From that time until the close of the war the same spirit of promptness and patriotism was displayed on all occasions by the people of Hamilton county. The people and the authorities vied with each other in the work of encouraging enlistments and in taking care that the families of those who were in the service of their country should not suffer on account of the absence of their protectors.

At a meeting of the board of county commissioners held on June 10, 1861, the sum of $132.42 was allowed "for goods furnished soldiers' families," and on the next day the following order was made by the board :

"It is hereby ordered by the board, that the following named persons be appointed agents, to superintend the furnishing of provisions and clothing for the families of the soldiers now in the army, as volunteers from Hamil- ton county. That said agents inquire into the condition and situation of said families, and furnish them with such clothing and provisions as their neces- sities require, and that said agents make report of their doings to this board at each session, so long as they act as such agents: Noblesville, James O'Brien ; Jackson, W. H. Pickerel; Wayne, David Steward."

On August 26, 1861, the commissioners allowed $87.66 for goods fur- nished under the above order, and at the regular session of the September term, a few days after, allowed for the same purpose $558.47. At that time a number of additional agents were appointed, and Solomon Maker was ap- pointed in the place of James O'Brien, resigned. At the succeeding December term the commissioners allowed the sum of $1,822.05 for relief of soldiers' families.

At a special session of the county commissioners court, held in January, 1862, "E. K. Hall was appointed agent to visit Camp Woods, in Kentucky, to receive and bring home any money the soldiers there might wish to send to their families and distribute it to them." The Thirty-ninth regiment, that contained at that time three companies from Hamilton county, was stationed at Camp Woods. in Kentucky, in January, 1862.

At the regular March term of commissioners' court, "J. B. Loehr was appointed agent to go to Tennessee and receive any money the soldiers in the field wished to send home, and pay the same over to their families." The Thirty-ninth regiment at that time was in camp near Nashville, Tennessee. At the same session $1.430.97 was allowed for relief of soldiers' families. At this time it became apparent that the war was to be of much longer dura- tion that was at first supposed, and the number of soldiers from the county having largely increased, steps were taken to economize as much as possible

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in payment of relief for soldiers' families, it being felt that otherwise bank- ruptcy would terminate all assistance to them, and the following order was passed :

"It is ordered by the board that each military agent of each township in this county is hereby required to ascertain between this time and April 20, 1862, the number of really needy wives and children under twelve years of age, and dependent parents of soldiers in the field, in their respective town- ships, and certify the same to the county auditor, giving in each certificate the name of wife, names and ages of her children under twelve years of age, the name of husband or son, the date of his enlistment, and the name of the regiment he is in:

"Second. The following allowance is hereby made per week to aid the families of soldiers, to-wit:

To each wife, per week $ .75

To each wife and one child, per week 1.00

To each wife and two children, per week 1.20

To each wife and three children, per week 1.40

To each wife and four children, per week

1.60

To each wife and five children, per week

1.80

To each dependent parent, per week -75

"Third. No allowance shall be made except to those that are really needy.

"Fourth. When it shall be necessary, it shall be the duty of the agent to rent a house for each family, at the lowest rate per month, and on the best terms he can, the rent to be paid quarterly.

"Fifth. Each family living in the town of Noblesville shall be allowed $1.00 per month until May 1, 1862, for wood, and 50 cents per month there- after, and each family living in any town in the county shall be allowed the sum of 75 cents per month for wood, until May 1, 1862, and 40 cents per month thereafter.

"Sixth. No allowance shall be made to the family of any commissioned officer in the army, but to private soldiers alone.

"Seventh. Allowance to continue to the families of those killed or dis- abled in battle, but not to those discharged."

At the June term, 1862, of commissioners' court $1.346.35 was allowed for the relief of soldiers' families. At a special session of the court held in July, 1862. the allowance to each soldiers' wife was increased to $1.00 per week, and each child under twelve years of age 50 cents per week. At a special session of the court held in August, 1862, a tax levy was made of

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15 cents on each $100 of taxable property, for military purposes. From this time on, until the close of the war, money was poured out lavishly for the . support of those dependent on soldiers of Hamilton county, and they knew that the loved ones at home were being tenderly cared for. A statement of the allowance made at each term of court would simply increase the length of this article, and it is sufficient to say that Hamilton county paid for relief of soldiers' families during the war the magnificent sum of $III,- 625.75, and aid to volunteers and recruits as bounties $245,000. In addition to these large amounts a very large amount was paid in various ways to the sanitary commissioners. How much that was, there is no possible way of ascertaining, but it was very large. The payments for relief to soldiers' families were continued until December, 1866, at which time $562 was allowed. and that allowance appears to be the last.

THE SOLDIERS' MONUMENT.

Not content with what they had done during the actual existence of the war for the soldiers in the field and their families at home, the people of Hamilton county resolved, in 1866, to perpetuate the names of all who went into the service from the county by the erection of a monument that should bear the names of the living as well as the dead, and, with the energy and liberality that marked all their movements in connection with the soldiers, this monument was completed and dedicated with proper ceremonies on July 4, 1868. The monument stands on the highest and most conspicuous spot in the cemetery at Noblesville. It consists of an octagonal shaft of pure white marble twenty-two and one-half feet in height, each side measuring three and one-half feet in width, resting on a triple base, the sections of which are eight. six and four feet square, respectively.

A perched eagle surmounts the shaft, and on each of the four sides. corresponding to the cardinal points of the compass, and six feet below the top, is a spread eagle bearing a scroll.

On the eight sides of the shaft. and on the four sides of each of the two uppermost sections of the base, are the names and ranks of all the com- missioned officers and enlisted men, living and dead, arranged in their respec- tive organizations, commencing with the oldest. The national flag enfolds the top of the shaft, beautifully sculptured, above the spread eagle. The height of the monument is twenty-eight and one-half feet, and it weighs thirty-five thous- and pounds. Its cost was $5.000, which sum was appropriated by the county commissioners from the county funds. It is one of the most beautiful works of

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the kind in the county, and is a credit not only to the liberality and patriotism of the citizens of Hamilton county but to the taste and artistic skill of its designer and builders.

At the dedication, a large concourse of ex-soldiers and citizens was present, including delegations from all neighboring towns. The governor of the state, Conrad Baker, was the orator of the day, and he delivered an elo- quent address, taking for his subject "Our National Union." In the course of his remarks he said: "This monument is inscribed to the heroes of Hamil- ton county who participated in the suppression of the great rebellion of 1861. These heroes embraced twenty-two company organizations, representing fourteen Indiana regiments, as follows: The Sixth, Thirty-ninth, Fifty- seventh, Sixtieth, Sixty-third, Seventy-fifth, One Hundred and First, One Hundred and Seventeenth, One Hundred and Thirtieth, One Hundred and Thirty-sixth, One Hundred and Forty-seventh, One Hundred and Fifty-fifth and the Second and Fifth Cavalry, besides more than two hundred soldiers that were citizens of this county who joined organizations not formed within your county. This is a record of which you may well be proud, and which will be the admiration of your posterity long after those now living shall have passed away. By this structure you not only record your admiration of the virtue, the valor and the patriotism of your own citizens who rushed to the standard of the country in the hour of its greatest danger but you also record your devotion to the Union for which they fought and for which many of them died."

It is not possible in this chapter to give the complete roster of the men from Hamilton county in the Civil War, but an effort is made to give a brief summary of each regiment which contained men from the county.

SIXTH REGIMENT.

This regiment was organized and mustered into the service of the United States at Indianapolis, April 25, 1861. It was one of the six regiments or- ganized under the first call for troops by President Lincoln for seventy-five thousand men. The regiment left Indianapolis May 30th for the scene of conflict in Western Virginia, via Cincinnati and Parkersburg. It arrived at Webster, West Virginia, on June 3d, and that night marched through drench- ing rain and over almost impassable roads for fourteen miles, and on the next morning, June 4th, took an active part in the battle of Phillipi, the first action that took place during the War of the Rebellion.

The regiment then returned to Grafton, where it made part of the bri- (27)

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gade commanded by General Thomas A. Morris, and participated in the march to Laurel Hill and the engagements at Carrick's ford, where the rebel General Garnett was killed on July 12th. The term of enlistment having expired, the regiment returned to Indianapolis, August 2d, and was finally discharged.

TWELFTH FE IMENT.

This regiment was organzied from the surplus of companies that had reached Indianapolis in answer to the call for six regiments of three-months troops, and on May 11, 1861, was mustered into the service of the state of Indiana for one year. On June 11th it left Indianapolis and went to Evans- ville, and was placed on guard duty at that place, remaining there until July 18th, when it was transferred to the service of the United States for the un- expired portion of its term of enlistment. The Twelfth left Evansville July 23d and proceeded by rail to Sandy Hook, Maryland, just below and across the Potomac river from Harper's- Ferry, Virginia, arriving at this point on July 27th.

The regiment was assigned to Abercrombie's brigade of the Army of the Shenandoah, and remained in camp in Pleasant Valley, near Maryland Heights, until August 16th, when it moved with the army to Hyattstown, where it remained in camp for some time. General Joe Johnston, the rebel commander, was reported to be on the opposite side of the Potomac, near Leesburg, with a large force, and this movement was made to prevent him from crossing the river. The following month was occupied in making marches and reconnoissances to and in the direction of Darnestown, Nolan's Ferry. Seneca creek. Tuscarora creek. Point of Rocks. Urbana and Frederick.

October 11th the regiment marched from Frederick through Boonsboro and Middletown to Williamsport, Maryland. On the 13th the different com- panies of the Twelfth were stationed at Williamsport, dam No. 4, dam -No. 5, Sharpsburg, and other points on the Maryland side of the Potomac, where they engaged in picket and out-post duty until in March, 1862, during which time picket firing and skirmishes across the river were of almost daily oc- currence. On March. Ist the Twelfth crossed the Potomac at Williamsport and marched to Winchester, through Martinsburg and Bunker Hill. On the IIth it was engaged in an active skirmish with the enemy near Win- chester. and on the following morning was the first regiment to enter the town which had been evacuated by the enemy the night before. On the 21st the regiment moved to Berryville. thence across the Shenandoah and over the Blue Ridge through Snickers' Gap to Aldie. Hearing of the victory of

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Kimball over Stonewall Jackson at Winchester, in the battle fought on the 23d, it returned to the Shenandoah where it was met with orders to retrace its steps southward toward Warrenton Junction, which place was reached April 3d, via Aldie, Centreville, the battlefield of Bull Run and Catlett's station.

The regiment remained there until May 5th, when it marched to Wash- ington where it was mustered out of service on the 14th of that month and im- mediately returned to Indiana.

TWENTY-SIXTH REGIMENT.

This regiment was mustered into the service of the United States for three years, at Indianapolis, on August 31, 1861, with William M. Wheatley as colonel. It left Indianapolis September 7th for St. Louis, and from there was ordered to proceed to the interior of Missouri, from which point it par- ticipated in the Fremont campaign at Springfield. It then returned to Sedalia where it was placed on duty guarding the Pacific railroad, and was kept on that duty until July, 1862. From that time until May 1, 1863, it was actively engaged in the field, moving with the army into southern Missouri, and thence into Arkansas. During that time it took an active part in the battles at Newtonia, Missouri, and Prairie Grove and Van Buren, Arkansas. At the battle of Prairie Grove, December 7, 1862, the regiment distinguished itself by its gallantry, and suffered severely in killed and wounded. On June 1, 1863, the regiment was ordered to join the army of General Grant in the rear of Vicksburg, where it was actively engaged in the duties incident to the siege until the surrender of that place on July 4th. It then ascended the Yazoo river to Yazoo City and occupied that place until the surrender of Port Hudson. when the regiment was transferred to that post, and from there to Carrollton, Louisiana. On September 29th the regiment engaged the enemy at Camp Sterling, near Morganza, and was defeated, losing nearly one-half of its officers and men as prisoners of war. They were taken to Tyler, Texas, where they were held for many months.

During the month of October the regiment marched to Texas with the force under the command of General Herron, and on February 1, 1864, while stationed at Brownsville, re-enlisted as a veteran organization. The regiment returned to Indiana the latter part of April on a furlough of thirty days, and on June Ist, on returning to the front, was assigned to duty at Fort Butler, near New Orleans, where it remained until March 22, 1865, when it was transferred to the vicinity of Mobile where, as a part of General

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A. J. Smith's corps, the Sixteenth, it was actively engaged in the siege of that place and in the assault on Spanish Fort. Upon the occupation of Mobile by the Federal troops the Twenty-sixth was assigned to duty at that place, but was soon relieved and marched via Montgomery and Selma, Alabama, to Meridian, Mississippi, where it was assigned to post duty for some time, and was then ordered to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where it was mustered out of the service of the United States on January 15, 1866. A detachment of non- veterans and recruits whose term of service had expired was mustered out at Indianapolis in September, 1864, and on February 18, 1865, in pursuance of the orders of General Canby, the retained recruits of the Sixtieth regiment, whose term of service did not expire with that of the organization, were trans- ferred to the Twenty-sixth, the new organization retaining the designation of the Twenty-sixth regiment. The last mentioned recruits were mustered out at the same time the veterans were, the war being closed.

THIRTY-FOURTH REGIMENT.

This regiment was organized at Anderson on August 16, 1861, with Asbury Steele as colonel, and on October 10th went by rail to Jeffersonville, Indiana, where it remained in camp until November 15th, then it was ordered to New Haven, Kentucky, and on December 14th was ordered from that place to Camp Wickliffe, in the same state, remaining there until February 7, 1862, when it moved to Green river. On February 14th it was ordered to march to the mouth of Salt river, about twenty miles below Louisville, on the Ohio river. On arriving at that point the regiment embarked on trans- ports with General Nelson's division and moved down the Ohio. The next day the Thirty-fourth with a number of other regiments were ordered to keep on down the river to Cairo, and from there was ordered to New Madrid, Missouri, which place was reached March 3d. The Federal troops were en- gaged in besieging New Madrid at the time, and the Thirty-fourth took an active part in the movements incident to the siege until March 14th, when, the enemy having evacuated the place, the regiment was ordered to St. Merri- weather's landing, fourteen miles below, drawing with it by hand two thirty- two pound siege guns, which were placed in position the night of the 15th. On the next morning the position held by the regiment was attacked by the gunboats of the enemy. After an engagement lasting two hours, he was compelled to withdraw, with the loss of one of his gunboats. The securing of that position cut off the enemy's retreat from island No. 10, and was the cause of the capture of the entire force. at that place a few days later. The

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regiment returned to New Madrid April 7th and remained there until June 14, with the exception of a few days that were occupied in a movement that resulted in the capture of Fort Pillow. On June 15th the regiment entered the city of Memphis and remained there until the 26th, when it em- barked on a steamboat and passed up White river to Aberdeen, Arkansas, having joined Colonel Fitch's brigade at the mouth of the river. The com- mand disembarked on July 8th, and on the night of the 9th engaged the enemy ten miles below Aberdeen and drove them back to Duvall's Bluff. It then marched to Clarendon, and re-embarking steamed for Helena, where it ar- rived on the 14th. At that post it remained during the fall and winter of 1862, making frequent expeditions against the enemy. One of the most im- portant of these was the clearing of Yazoo Pass of the heavy timber which the enemy had felled into the stream for the purpose of obstructing navigation, at which the Thirty-fourth was engaged two weeks, losing a number of men in killed and wounded in skirmishes with the enemy during that time.

The regiment was assigned to Hovey's division on April 10, 1863, and started immediately on the Vicksburg campaign, being engaged for some time in constructing bridges to facilitate the marching of the army from Milliken's Bend to a point below Vicksburg. Crossing the Mississippi at Bruins- burg, April 30th, it marched all night and engaged the enemy at daylight on May Ist at Port Gibson. During the battle that ensued the Thirty-fourth made a charge upon the enemy and captured two pieces of artillery and forty-nine prisoners. The regiment lost fifty in killed and wounded in that action. On the 16th it participated in the battle of Champion Hills, and while advancing in line of battle captured the Forty-sixth Alabama regi- ment, its colors, field officers and one hundred and twenty-seven men. The Thirty-fourth lost seventy men in killed and wounded. Among the latter was Lieutenant-Colonel Swain, who died from his wounds on June 17, 1863.

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History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 40

Author: John F. Haines Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1051

Author: John F. Haines
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051