USA > Indiana > Hancock County > History of Hancock county, Indiana; its people, industries and institutions > Part 28
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112
".At night a large number of houses along the principal streets, business as well as private, were beautifully illuminated. Martial music paraded the streets followed by a mass of patriotism of either gender. . \ stand was exten- porized at Walker's corner, and a crowd gathered around to hear the speeches. Messrs. Hough, Judge Gooding. Ballenger, Riley, Hall, Colonel Gooding, Mason, White, and others spoke to the crowd."
But hardly had the morning of peace dawned with such glorious splen- dor filling the hearts of the people with gladness, when the day was overcast
304
HANCOCK COUNTY, INDLIN.A.
with the dark clouds of horror and sorrow at the news of the President's assassination. The great headlines with the picture of a booming cannon which joyfully announced the surrender of Lee in the local papers, gave way to heavy lines of mourning in the following issue.
The remains of President Lincoln passed through the county at 5 :47 a. m. on Sunday, April 30. 1865. A pilot engine, with one car attached. led the way about one mile in advance. The train carrying the state officers and some of Governor Morton's invited guests brought up the rear, being about one hour behind. Many citizens from all parts of the county were at the (lepot at Greenfield, hoping to get to see the coffin in which the martyred President lay, but the train did not stop. The cars were decorated and heavily draped in black and looked solemn and sombre.
During the summer of 1865 the soldiers who had enlisted were welcomed home in squads and companies. No one knows quite so well as those who lived through it all how good it seemed to meet with friends and loved ones and to resume the quiet, prosperous life that our good county offers.
ATTITUDE OF THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT.
As soon as Ft. Sumter had fallen, and the first call for volunteers had been made, our board of county commissioners took action. At the June session of the board, 1861, the west room of the west wing of the court house, which had been built in 1845. was set apart as an armory for the storing of arms and military equipage of the companies of the Legion of Indiana. The sheriff was ordered to remove everything from the west room to the east room of said wing, and the auditor was ordered to notify all persons who owned property in the west room to remove the same within thirty days. On the same day that this room was set apart as an armory the board als inade the following order for the proper
CARE OF THOSE LEFT AT HOME.
"Ordered, that the township trustee in each township in the county le. and he is hereby appointed, authorized, and empowered to ascertain the names, ages and conditions of the wives and families of all soldiers resident in his township. in the service of the state of Indiana and of the United States. and to procure the necessaries and reasonable comfort of ordinary life for such of them as are now or may hereafter be in actual need during the said service of said hush and or father as the case may be, and to distribute the same as circumstances and the necessity of the case require, economically, impar tially and honestly, and each of said trustees is requested to procure a record
305
MILITARY.
and keep a strict account of all his doings, together with the names, ages and conditions of the beneficiaries herein, and to supply only such families as have no other source of supply; and in all purchases, whether upon written orders or otherwise, the seller must accept county orders in payment, to be issued at the next succeeding term of this court upon the certificate of the proper trustee as to the justice of the claim. And it is further ordered that before proceeding to the performance of the duties hereinbefore enjoined and ordered, each of said trustees respectively shall take and subscribe an oath, honestly and impartially to discharge the duties hereinbefore required of him : and it is further required of each of them to report to this court at its next regular term a full and perfect account of all his doings under oath."
Other men were also appointed from time to time as "agents" to aid in giving proper care to the soldiers' wives and children. Their duties were the same as those designated in the order above. In the main these men were conscientious and made bona fide efforts to give proper care and comfort to those who were then without other support. Sometimes, however, dissatis- faction arose. Several "agents" were removed by the board. In one instance a petition was filed by the wives of twelve soldiers, asking for the removal of the certain "agent" on whom they were dependent for the necessaries of life. The causes for which they asked his removal were set out in the follow- ing petition :
"TO THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS :
"We. the undersigned, soldiers' wives, respectfully ask the board of com- missioners of Hancock county to remove the present agent pretending to furnish assistance to soldiers' wives and families ; we ask it for several reasons : his wife has abused and insulted some of us at different times and he himself has been niggardly and mean in his allowance to us, and has invariably required us to buy our goods at one certain house when we believe we could have done better at other places : this is only a part, but we think sufficient to ask his removal and the appointment of some good man in his stead," etc.
(Signed by twelve soldiers' wives. )
The evidence in the above matter seems to have sustained the allegations of the petition. The agent was promptly dismissed by the board and another appointment made.
At the January session, in 1863, of the board of commissioners, thie following order relative to furnishing houses for the families of enlisted men was made:
"Ordered by the board that the agents heretofore appointed to aid in (20)
300
HANCOCK COUNTY. INDIAN.1.
furnishing necessaries for soldiers' families are hereby instructed that m case when the furnishing of a house becomes necessary and proper, that the agent make a reasonable allowance in such cases, but avoid in every instance the making of a contract or proposition to rent any property whatever as such agent."
The large number of claims allowed during the war in the execution of the above orders made by the county commissioners shows that the county government made a bona fide effort to relieve those at home of as much suffering and hardship as possible. Each month from one to twenty claims were allowed, aggregating sometimes several hundred dollars per month. The manner in which the relief orders were drawn shows that the com- missioners were generous, yet careful to guard against imposition on the county. Theirs was not a work nor an attitude of charity; it was patriotism operating from a business viewpoint.
TO ENCOURAGE ENLISTMENTS.
By September 1, 1862. the county had furnished thirty-three and one- fifth per cent. of its fighting strength. The following table shows the num- ler of men enrolled in the service. also the number subject to draft :
No. Enrolled
NNo. Volunteers
1. No. Exempt Because
No, Exempt Because of
5 conscientious scruples
JI No. Volunteers
118
Brown
184
16
I
68
167
Brandywine
139
60
18
00
00
121
Buck Creek
86
17
00
St
134
Center
371
259
00
216
327
Green
152
56
21
00
55
131
Jackson
270
108
22
00
99
257
Sugar Creek
245
III
21
00
07
224
Vernon
213
113
00
186
Total
. 1.919
018
207
47
828
1,665
No. Subject
to Draft
Blue River
185
56
of physical disability
in Militla
Enrolled
In Service
51
307
MILITARY.
The county offered bounties to volunteers that the quota might be filled without having to submit to the draft. At the July session, 1862, the board of county commissioners ordered, "that the sum of twenty-five dollars be appropriated out of the county treasury to each and every citizen of Hancock county who may volunteer in the United States service for three years or during the war under the call of the President of the United States."
In the fall of 1863. when President Lincoln made a call for three hun- dred thousand volunteers, it became evident that larger bounties would have to be offered if the county was to escape the draft. The county commis- sinners did not want to take upon themselves the entire responsibility of so great a matter, which involved so heavy an indebtedness upon the county. without knowing pretty definitely how the people of the county felt about it.
A citizens' mass meeting was held at Greenfield on Saturday, November 8, 1863, to give an expression upon the propriety of giving a bounty through the county commissioners to volunteers under the late call of President Lincoln for three hundred thousand troops. Captain Riley was chosen president, and Robert P'. Brown, secretary. Dr. B. F. Duncan offered the following resolution :
"Whereas. the President of the United States has recently issued his proclamation for three hundred thousand volunteers to infuse new life and vigor into the prosecution of the war for its suppression ; and
"Whereas, it is desirable that the quota allotted to Hancock county should be raised by volunteers prior to the 5th day of January. 1864. therefore.
"Resolved, that as an inducement to our fellow citizens to volunteer in the common defense of our country, and in addition to the bounty offered by the general government, the board of county commissioners of Hancock county are hereby authorized and instructed by this meeting of citizens and taxpayers of the county to cause an order upon the county treasurer for the sum of one hundred dollars to be issued to each and every person who shall or may volunteer under the present call for three hundred thousand volun- teers, and be accepted as a recruit in the United States service. and he accredited upon the quota allotted to Hancock county. This bounty to be continued until the quota shall have been filled.
"Resolved, that the secretary present the action of this meeting to the board of commissioners at the meeting of said board on Monday. November 4. 1803."
After a general debate the resolutions were adopted by a unanimous vote. I resolution to appoint a central committee of five to aid and assist
308
IIANCOCK COUNTY, INDIAN.A.
in the volunteering, with authority to appoint additional committees for each township, was then adopted. The president appointed William Mitchell, Morgan Chandler, George H. Walker. John W. Ryon and John C. Rardin as such committee.
After an excellent and appropriate speech by Captain Riley the meeting adjourned.
The above resolutions were duly presented to the commissioners on Monday, November 9. 1863, and the board received them with due courtesy. . but having been called for a specific purpose could transact no business other than that for which they had been called. A special meeting of the board of commissioners was called for Saturday, November 21, 1863, to determine the matter.
In order to satisfy and assure the county commissioners of the feeling of the taxpayers upon the matter of the bounties, petitions were circulated in each of the townships for the signatures of taxpayers asking for the allowance of such bounty.
The following form of petition was used and signed by persons irrespec- tive of party affiliations :
"We. the undersigned, citizens and taxpayers of Hancock county. Indi- ana, hereby request the board of county commissioners to give a bounty of one hundred dollars to every person who volunteers, and shall be accepted as a soldier in the United States service from this county under the last call of the President for three hundred thousand volunteers to prosecute the present war, provided that no bounty be given after the quota of the county is filled."
The following gentlemen were appointed as township committees to circulate the petitions and report to the central committee : Blue River, James P. New. N. D. Coffin: Brown, Dr. William Trees, W. L. Garriott; Buck Creek, Thomas J. Hanna, James Collins; Brandywine, Alfred Potts, John Roberts: Center. William F. Pratt, William Mitchell : Green, Edward Volun- tine, Robison Jarrett: Jackson, John Barrett, George W. Sample: Sugar Creek, Robert P. Brown, Dr. William Dye ; Vernon, Nimrod Lightfoot, Rev. William Anderson.
Satisfied with the showing thus made the board of county commissioners at a special meeting on November 21, 1863. made another order allowing a bounty of one hundred dollars on county orders "to each volunteer who may be accepted from this county under the call of the President of the United States for three hundred thousand volunteers.
"Under said call in making this allowance the county commissioners would appeal to the citizens of the county to take up these orders when issued
309
MILITARY.
at par upon the following terms and conditions to-wit: If the quota of the county was proportionately divided among the townships the following would be the result : Blue River, 12: Brown. 13: Brandywine. IT; Buck Creek, 12; Center. 33: Green, 13: Jackson, 21 : Sugar Creek, 17; Vernon, 18.
"It is recommended that the citizens of each township take up these orders to an amount equal to the number of volunteers each would have to furnish, where the volunteer does not take the orders himself. AAnd further, that when the citizens of a township fail to take up the orders within fifteen days after the issuing of the same any citizens of the county may have the privilege of taking the same."
Though a very earnest effort was made during the latter part of the war when the heavy calls for volunteers were made to replace the men whose terms were expiring, to fill the county's quota by volunteers without having a man drafted, the endeavor did not wholly succeed. Loyal men gave of their time and energy, and the young men came forward and enlisted. so that when the drafts were made the numbers still required were small.
The amount of money expended by the people of Hancock county to aid the government in suppressing the rebellion and in giving relief to the families at home was enormous, as shown by the reports of the county auditor and the adjutant-general of the state of Indiana. The amount under the head of "Bounty" includes what was paid for substitutes. No report on relief was made Ly Brown. Brandywine and Buck Creek townships. The following is a statement of the amounts expended :
Townships.
Bounty.
For Relief. S 100.00
Blue River
$ 27.030.00
Brown
12,404.00
Brandywine
26,604.00 .
Buck Creek
30.000.00
Center
20,000.00
5.000.00
Green
26,806.00
1,270.00
Jackson
35.814.32
3.247.00
Sugar Creek
30.100.00
250.00
Vernon
27.950.00
210.00
Total Townships
$236.798.61
$10.077.80
County proper
$ 15,000.00
$57,804.22
$251.798.61
$67,882.0.2
Total
$319.680.63
310
IIAANCOCK COUNTY, INDLIN.L.
SOUTHERN SYMPATHY.
It is impossible to arrive at a proper appreciation of the fine loyalty of the people, or form a correct estimate of the strength of southern sympathy without viewing this phase of the county's history in its relation to the state as a whole.
It became a notorious fact soon after the outbreak of the Civil War, that not only Indiana. but that Ilinois, Missouri and other Northern states were honeycombed with a secret organization known as the "Knights of the Golden Circle." and later as the "Sons of Liberty." The purpose of this organization was to give aid to the South. At the trial at Indianapolis, in 1864, of Harri- son H: Dodd, grand commander of the "Sons of Liberty." on a charge of treason, the evidence showed that forty-five counties in the state had been fully organized by this secret order: that local lodges or "temples" had been organized in other counties, and that its membership consisted of more than eighteen thousand men. The evidence adduced in that trial further showed that members were sworn to secrecy and to the performance of acts designed to aid the South and embarrass the North. AAmong the obligations taken were those of supporting Jefferson Davis, North and South: of aiding in the release of Confederate prisoners in the North, and of aiding the Con- federates when they should invade the northern states. To weaken the Union arms it was the plan of the order to encourage desertions and to resist recruit- ing. To this end township organizations were effected for the protection of deserters from the Union army, and open resistance was made to the enforce- ment of the draft in some counties. The evidence further showed that well defined efforts were made in various ways to cripple the work of the state authorities in sending reinforcements to the field. These efforts were directed toward securing the passage of legislative acts and resolutions unfavorable to the Union cause : toward securing expressions of popular disapproval of the war, and toward disseminating a disloyal feeling among the people. The Union men in the Legislature had to be on their guard constantly to prevent harmful legislation. The following excerpts taken from resolution- adopted! Ly the citizens assembled in mass meetings in six different counties in the state. also illustrate the degree to which these efforts found a response. Many more could be added to the list :
"We declare the proposed draft for five hundred thousand men to be the most damnable of all outrages perpetrated by the administration upon the people.
"Our interest and inclination will demand of us a withdrawal from the political association in a common government with the New England states.
31I
MILITARY.
"We regard the lives of white men as of more value than the freedom of the negro, and we have given the last man and the last money we are willing to give for the present abolition war.
"We are opposed to the war under any and all circumstances, and we are opposed to the further continuance of this unholy and unnatural strife.
"The further prosecution of this war will result in the overthrow of the constitution, of civil liberty, of the federal government, in the elevation of the black man and the degradation of the white man in the social and political status of the country.
"That we are unqualifiedly opposed to the further prosecution of this abolition war; and believing that in its continued prosecution there await us only the murderous sacrifice of legions of brave men, ignominious and dis- graceful defeat. shame and dishonor at home and abroad, public ruin and the serious endangerment of our liberties, we unhesitatingly declare that we are for peace, the cessation of hostilities, an armistice, and the peaceful settlement of existing difficulties by compromise or negotiation, through a national convention.
"We are unqualifiedly opposed to the further prosecution of this aboli- tion war, and, believing that in its further prosecution there awaits us only the murderous sacrifice of our national honor * we solemnly declare that we will not furnish another man or another dollar to carry on this aboli- tion war."
As set over against the above resolutions, the following were adopted by the citizens of Hancock county, assembled at Greenfield in mass meeting. January 16, 1861 :
"Resolved, by the Hancock Guard and the citizens here assembled, that in view of the present imminent danger to the perpetuity of our country, the Constitution and laws are our only safety ; that we pledge ourstelves to stand by those in power who faithfully maintain the one and execute the other : and that in the language of General Jackson this Union must and shall be preserved."
February 3. 1864: "Resolved, that we will still continue to give to the government of the United States, through its legitimately constituted authority. our unhesitating and hearty support in its efforts to suppress the rebellion and conquer a peace."
Though we have these splendid expressions of loyalty the county also had its Southern sympathizers. They made known their attitude toward the solu- tion of the problems then before the government by wearing the "butternut" colors. Men and boys wore "butternut" suits, and women and girls wore
312
HANCOCK COUNTY. INDIANA.
butternut garments and decorations. Among the decorations worn, the "but- ternut pin," made of a cross section of a butternut,-and which, by the way, when polished makes a very pretty pin .- was one of the most popular methods of giving expression to Southern sympathy. Because of the use of the "butter- nut" colors and pins for such purposes the sympathizers with the South were known as "butternuts." By the abolitionists or radicals who felt that circum- stances demanded the application of a stronger term. they were called "copper- heads." The men and women who lived in the county during that period have very clear recollections of the extent to which the butternut colors were displayed.
It was never proven in any court that the Knights of the Golden Circle or Sons of Liberty ever organized a "temple" in Hancock county. There was a very deep-seated conviction, however. in the minds of a vast majority of the people, whether right or wrong. that such an organization did exist, and that among its sworn members were included some of the most prominent families of the county.
Open and combined resistance by overt aets was never offered in the county to the work of the national government. Meetings, however, were held in the county, attended by men who were lukewarm in the Union cause. if not in open sympathy with the Confederacy. Many of them supplied them- selves with firearms. Union men also had their meetings, sometimes behind locked doors and in rooms where arms were stored. These conditions gave great concern to the people of the county. Acts of open violence occurred in nearby parts of the state, which intensified this feeling of uneasiness. The "Battle of Pogue's Run." the discovery of arms packed in boxes marked "Sunday School Books," and the efforts, or at least the rumors of efforts, to release the Confederate prisoners at Indianapolis, are still fresh in the mem- ories of the people then residents in this community.
Though open resistance was never offered to the national government. feeling. as stated above, was very intense in the county and frequently found expression in fistic encounters and street brawls. Stones and other missiles sometimes came flying out of the darkness, and people, especially those most active. felt the insecurity of life and property during those years. . An instance is still recounted of a stanch Union man who stood in the light of a bonfire listening to a Union speech, and who was unceremoniously awakened from his reverie by being hit on the head with a brick. Another incident is also told of a radical Union man who came down the street and threatened to drive his wagon over the body of a "copperhead" who had been knocked down in a brawl. unless his friends should drag his body out of the way.
313
MILITARY.
Frequently attempts were made to spatch the butternut pins or other emblems from the persons of men and also of women and girls. These little encounters sometimes led to good-natured scrap- and sometimes to bitter fights. Such instances, and they could be multiplied, illustrate the mental and nervous strain to which the county was subjected during those years. To appreciate the terribleness of this strain more fully than it can be portrayed here, one needs but to converse with the men and women who lived through it.
Though there were "butternuts" m the county, and though there was a strong conviction current that many of them were also sworn members of the Knights of the Golden Circle, these matters do not seem to have affected the social relations of the people. Families attended the same church, ladies were members of the same clubs and societies, men engaged in business together, and all people maintained their neighborly relations, to all out- ward appearances at least, about the same as before the war. Yet, to the minds of the stanch, loyal. Union people the wearing of the "butternut" dur- ing that hour of the nation's peril savored of treason. This same attitude toward the Southern sympathizers also found expression in the mass meetings of the citizens of the county. The following resolutions adopted by the people assembled at Fortville on April 23. 1863, must be viewed in this light or their significance is lost :
"Resolved, that the miscreants in our midst, who attempt to create dissatisfaction in the ranks of our gallant sokliers, and induce them to desert the colors made glorious by their valor on repeated battlefields are meaner traitors than the armed rebels of the South : that they are entitled to and will receive the scorn of all honorable men.
"That we cordially endorse General Burnside's order, transporting Northern rebels beyond the Federal lines, where they legitimately belong."
The following preamble to the resolutions adopted by the citizens assem- bled in mass meeting at Greenfield. February 13, 1864, contains the same thought :
"Whereas, traitors in arms and their sympathizers not in arms persist in their purpose of overthrowing the government of the United States," etc.
The feeling, excitement and experiences of the people of the county may le viewed from several angles from expressions in letters written at the time. Following are a few illustrations :
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.