USA > Indiana > Lawrence County > History of Lawrence and Monroe counties, Indiana : their people, industries, and institutions > Part 31
USA > Indiana > Monroe County > History of Lawrence and Monroe counties, Indiana : their people, industries, and institutions > Part 31
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In the year 1847 a call came from the government for three more full companies of militia from Indiana. and one Daniel Lunderman began to raise the required troops. He was successful in recruiting a full company, which was assigned the letter G, of the Fourth Regiment. Indiana Volunteer Infantry. As was the custom, the company was accorded a glorious farewell. the towns- people turning out en masse, and presenting the departing soldiers with an American banner. This company was in the division which accompanied Gen. Winfield T. Scott on his memorable march from Vera Cruz to Mexico
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City, and they engaged in all the battles fought along that historic route. A number of the Monroe county men were killed and scores were wounded, but the roster of their names is not available. Many of these brave fellows who lost their lives were buried in the land south of the Rio Grande, and today their graves are unmarked and forgotten, but their deeds are forever written in the pages of history. Company G returned when the war was ended, and received honorable discharge. Their record was a commendable one, individually and collectively, and Monroe county has seen fit many times since to accord honors to their memory.
Militarism in Monroe county now entered upon a period of quiescence, not to be interrupted until the firing upon Fort Sumter in April, 1861. The first omen of civil trouble in Monroe county occurred on February 2, 1860, when the citizens of the county seat and surrounding country were given notice to meet at the county court house to discuss the general state of the Union and the probabilities of war. The citizens were invited to come irrespective of party alignment. Judge G. A. Buskirk was nominated chairman of the meet- ing : C. P. Tuley and J. B. Mulky were made secretaries ; and M. C. Hunter, Benjamin Wolfe, Dr. W. C. Foster. F. T. Butler and Elias Abel were ap- pointed as a committee to draft proper resolutions signifying the tenor of the meeting. During the absence of the body preparing the formal copy of the resolutions, several interesting incidents occurred, notable among them being Governor Dunning's withdrawal from the meeting and declaration that he was an ally of no party until the differences between the North and South had been amicably settled. Prof. John Young indulged in a little oratory, speaking against the "Crittenden Compromise," and in favor of the Constitution as it stood, but was perfectly willing to abide by the "Border State Resolutions," which, all in all, was a very convenient stand for the estimable gentleman to take, for no matter which way he fell there would be a support waiting for him.
The committee finally came in and handed in their set of resolutions. They declared in favor of the so-called "Border State Resolutions." which recommended the repeal of the Personal Liberty bills ; the amendment of the Fugitive Slave law, so as to prevent kidnapping, and to provide for the equal- ization of the commissioner's fee, etc. ; that the Constitution be amended so as to prohibit any interference with slavery in any of the states where it then existed ; that Congress should not abolish slavery in the Southern dock-yards, arsenals, etc., nor in the District of Columbia, without the consent of Mary- land and the inhabitants of the district, nor without compensation; that Con- gress should not interfere with the inter-state slave trade ; that African slave-
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trade should be absolutely prohibited ; that the line of thirty-six degrees, thirty minutes, should be run through all the existing territory of the United States, that in all north of that line slavery should be prohibited, and that south of the line neither Congress nor the Territorial Legislature should thereafter pass any law abolishing, prohibiting, or in any manner interfering with African slavery ; and that when any territory containing a sufficient population for one member of Congress in any area of sixty thousand square miles should apply for admission as a state it should be admitted, with or without slavery, as its Constitution might determine. The committee also reported favorably on the fifth resolution of the "Crittenden Compromise," empowering Congress to pay an owner full value of a slave in cases where the marshal is prevented from discharging his duty by force or rescue made after arrest, also that the owner shall have power to sue the county in which such violence or rescue is made, and the county might in turn sue the individuals who committed the wrong. Other resolutions were passed advocating the maintenance of the Union by conciliation, and if unsuccessful, then by coercion. The Border State resolu- tions passed after a spirited debate, and the Crittenden Compromise received even harsher treatment from the Monroe county citizens, but finally got through successfully. Dr. Foster's resolution pertaining to conciliation or coercion was ignominiously rejected by a large majority. Tempestuous oratory and fierce argument accompanied the discussion of the Foster resolu- tion, and finally Dr. J. G. McPheeters offered a resolution tendering the Border States resolutions as a basis of conciliation, but on its rejection, to stand by the Union, the Constitution, and the enforcement of the laws. After much opposition, particularly on the part of Messrs. Wolfe, Marlin, B. F. Williams and David Sheeks, the resolution was adopted.
The meeting at which the above transpired was one of the most notable in the early history of the county, and was productive of a great deal of strong sentiment. The general trend of the people was against coercion in the mat- ter of keeping the Southern states in the Union, but there seemed to be the spirit that if conciliatory measures were not effective, the best thing to do would be to fight, and to fight hard. The war "jingoes" were, however. much in the minority. Among the prominent men who attended this meeting in early February, 1860, were Governor Dunning, Dr. W. C. Foster, Judge G. A. Buskirk, S. H. Buskirk, C. P. Tuley, J. B. Mulky, Isaac Adkins, Isaac Cox, Abraham Smith, M. C. Hunter, Benjamin Wolfe. F. T. Butler, Elias Abel. Prof. John Young, P. L. D. Mitchell, Hugh Marlin, Johnson McCulloch, Dr. J. G. McPheeters and David Sheeks.
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Affairs in the county were disturbed during the rest of the year 1860 by different acts of Congress, presidential elections, and political fights common to such a time of imminent strife. This continued until Monday, the 15th of April, 1861, when the startling news reached Monroe county that Fort Sumter had been surrendered by Major Anderson to the Confederates. The tidings spread rapidly through the county, and the citizens hurried together to counsel with each other as to the course of action and the results of the first shot of the war. Men were frightened and acted in a wildly excitable way, some even preparing to flee to the Pacific coast or seek the Canadian line for safety. A monster mass meeting was held at the court house on the night of the 15th, and every citizen in the county who was able to come traveled to the common rendezvous on horseback, in wagons or on foot. It is a distressing fact that no detailed account of that famous meeting was preserved to history, but when the spirit of the night and the general high pressure of excitement is considered. it is realized that formalities were out of place and details were forgotten. It was a night of frenzied oratory, and personal argument over the big question. Several of the more prominent men present took opposite sides on the method best to use in subjugating the South, and as the meeting progressed, and the atmosphere grew more tense, the exponents of armed measures won the upper hand. Some men spoke feelingly of the brotherhood between men, and urged conciliatory means; others urged the most stringent methods, and one man spoke strongly against the North. especially the Abolitionists, and declared that they were the source of fratricidal war, and announced his intention to fight on the side of the Confederate states. A list of resolutions expounding the business of the meeting was prepared. and passed over the opposition that was raised against it.
Some days later another meeting was held in the court house, and this assemblage was characterized by even more patriotism. Plans were formulated for the organization of a company of volunteers. By the 20th the enlistment was completed, and two days later, on the 22nd, the officers were commis- sioned. Drills began to be a daily feature. and the raw recruits were soon whipped into shape for campaigning, and only awaited orders from the govern- ment to be mustered into the three months, one year, or three years service. May 10, 1861, marked the departure of this company for Camp Vigo, Terre Haute, and the whole town gathered at the railroad station to bid farewell to the boys. A Miss Mitchell presented the troop with a beautiful flag, and her presentation speech was responded to, in original phrases, by Lieutenant Black. The scene was a sorrowful one. Sweethearts, wives, mothers, sisters
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and fathers watched their loved ones, pale-faced and silent, leave for the front, some of them never to return.
Circumstances prevented the company from being mustered in im- mediately upon their arrival at Terre Haute, and they accordingly entered a camp of instruction. Under the restraint of having to wait, there was oppor- tunity for dissatisfaction to spring up in the organization, and consequently there became two factions, which formed the nucleii for two separate com- panies. One division remained at Terre Haute under Captain Kelley, and the other portion was transferred to Indianapolis under the command of Capt. W. S. Charles. In the latter part of May and first of June the officers went back to Monroe county to enlist men in order to bring the complement of the two companies up to the required number, in which task Captain Kelley was more successful than his brother officer, Captain Charles. Kelley's soldiers became Company K, of the Fourteenth Regiment, and were mustered into the three years' service on June 7, 1861. On the 5th of July the company was trans- ported to Virginia soil, where the Army of the Potomac was beginning opera- tions. Captain Charles' company was not exactly a full Monroe county or- ganization, as a portion of the men were recruited from other localities. They became Company H, of the Eighteenth Regiment, three years' service, mus- tered in on August 16, 1861, and taken to St. Louis, Missouri. Milton L. Mccullough was first lieutenant of Company K, and Paul E. Slocum was sec- ond lieutenant. James S. Black, of Indianapolis, was first lieutenant of Com- pany H, and Hiram W. Rooker, second lieutenant.
June and July saw the raising of other companies. J. O. Mccullough, Daniel Lunderman, A. R. Ravenscroft and others succeeded in raising a full company. James B. Mulky and J. S. Nutt also raised other organizations, the latter a troop of cavalry. Peter Kop was instrumental in the enlistment of a company. In the town of Bloomington, all was at a fever heat. The boy in blue was the center of attraction ; the children of Bloomington played at the soldier's game and ladies cast admiring eyes at the volunteers, but observed a studied indifference toward the civilian. Sentiment and patriotism grew stronger and stronger and everyone thought that the "rebels" would be com- pletely trounced in a very few months. Had the long grim years of bloodshed and hardship that were to come been evident at that time, it is hardly probable that such a spirit of gaiety and hilarity would have graced the scene. It was. however, an act of Providence that so deftly covers our sorrows with the cloak of pleasure.
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The Bloomington Republican of July 13, 1861, prints the following paragraphs :
"Another company of volunteers for the United States service left here 01 Tuesday last for Madison, Indiana, where the regiment is to be formed. The company is under command of Capt. Daniel Lunderman, of this place, who has had considerable experience as an officer in the recent war with Mexico, and we have no doubt he will faithfully attend to the interests and welfare of the company while they are under his charge. Dr. J. O. McCul- lough was elected first lieutenant and Andrew R. Ravenscroft, second lieu- tenant, who we have no doubt will be equally faithful to their trust. As many of the volunteers were from the surrounding country, a large concourse of people from different parts of the county were present, to see them take their departure and to bid their friends farewell. The volunteers were escorted to the train by Captain Mulky's company of infantry, and took their departure amid a deafening salute of musketry. The Bloomington Cornet Band ac- companied them to Madison. We learn that Camp Noble, to which they are assigned, is beautifully situated at North Madison, which is on a high bluff overlooking the city of Madison and the Ohio river. * *
"RECRUITING .- Peter Kop and several other gentlemen of this place are raising a company of grenadiers for the United States service. They admit no recruits under five feet, ten inches, and equally stout and able-bodied. We pity the rebel upon whose neck the foot of 'Big Pete' shall come down with a vengeance. There will be no chance for him to even say his prayers before his life is crushed out of him. Some of the others engaged in raising the company are among our most athletic citizens. Their recruiting office, we believe, is at Williams & Sluss' livery stables."
Captain Lunderman's company became Company I, of the Twenty-second Regiment, and was mustered into service on August 15, 1861, at Camp Noble, Madison. Nearly thirty of this troop were from Owen county and White Hall, and they were under the command of Col. Jefferson C. Davis.
The Republican of September 14th, on the occasion of the departure of the company for Camp Morton, published the following :
"OFF FOR THE WAR .- Capt. I. S. Dains' company left here for Camp Morton, Indianapolis, on Thursday last. This company was raised mostly in this and Owen counties, a number of them being from the vicinity of White Hall. While they were waiting for the train at the depot, a beautiful flag was presented to the company from the ladies of White Hall. Governor Dunning, on behalf of the ladies, made a suitable address on the presentation of the flag,
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which was responded to by Captain Dains in a short address, and by three cheers from the soldiers for their beautiful flag. This makes the seventh company which has been raised principally in this county, and left here for the war. One or two other companies are now raising. Monroe county will be fully represented in the contest."
This newspaper editorial refers to the following companies: Company K, Fourteenth Regiment, Capt. James R. Kelley: Company H, Eighteenth Regiment, Capt. William Stanley Charles; Company I, Twenty-second Regi- ment, Capt. Daniel Lunderman; Company F, Twenty-seventh Regiment. Capt. Peter Kop; Company G, Thirty-first Regiment, Capt. Henry L. Mc- Calla ; Company G, Thirty-eighth Regiment, Capt. James Secrest : Company D. Fiftieth Regiment. Capt. Isaac S. Dains.
Captian Secrest's company was raised in the vicinity of Ellettsville in August and September, by Captain Secrest and Lieutenants G. K. Perry and James McCormick. The companies listed above were not the only ones in which Monroe county men were enlisted : for the county had representatives in every branch of the service and in most divisions of the Federal army. Accord- ing to record, the only men from the county who enlisted in the three months' service were from the northern part of the county, and were members of the Twelfth Regiment. Chaplain H. B. Hibben, of Monroe, was in the Eleventh Regiment, about ten men were enrolled in the Twenty-first Regi- ment, which afterwards became the First Heavy Artillery : some men were in the Twenty-third, and credited to Morgan county, and four members of the regimental band were credited to Bloomington. In summarizing the total number of enrollments for these early months it may be said that by the middle of September, 1861, Monroe county had furnished at least six whole companies ready for service.
Captian Nutt's cavalry company contained fifteen men from this county. the rest being recruited from Brazil and Delphi. This troop left for Indian- apolis in the middle of September, and organized as Company K. Second Cavalry (Forty-first Regiment), and was mustered in on December 24, 1861, and Jeptha M. Ellington, of Ellettsville, was chosen as captain.
The state authorities, in September, 1861, ordered that in each county a thorough organization should be made of the militia. The Governor ap- pointed James B. Mulky colonel of the Monroe county militia, and in this manner ten companies were organized during the war, namely: The Hoos- ier Grays, Capt. Morton C. Hunter, organized in the fall of 1861 : the Elletts- ville Clippers. Capt. Barton Acuff, organized in the autumn of 1861: the (22)
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Monroe Zouaves, Capt. Daniel Shrader, organized in 1861; the Richland Mountaineers, Capt. B. W. Rice, organized in the fall of 1861; the Hoosier Guards, Capt. H. T. Campbell, organized early in 1862; the Harrodsburg Guards, Capt. John M. Anderson, organized in the fall of 1861 ; the Richland Rangers, Capt. John Wylie, organized during the summer of 1863; the Hughes Guards, Capt. James Mathers, fall of 1863; the Monroe Guards, Capt. Isaac S. Buskirk, fall of 1863; Bean Blossom Rangers, Capt. Thomas M. Gaskin, fall of 1863.
Dr. J. G. McPheeters, surgeon of the Thirty-third Regiment, enlisted some men while home on a furlough, and near the first of November Wallace Hight, who had superintended the making of cannon at Seward's foundry at Bloom- ington, left for Indianapolis with his piece of ordnance drawn by six horses. The gun was a six-pounder, of brass, and an excellent instrument of war- fare. Hight, with his gun and some friends, were assigned to the Ninth Battery. In February, 1862, William McCullough began recruiting men for the Fifty-third Regiment, and Lieut. Francis Otwell opened an enlistment station at Fee's store for the Twenty-seventh Regiment, which included the company of Captain Kop. In November and December, 1861, and January and February, 1862, Capt. Thomas T. Graves, Lieut. Alexander Jones and John Phillips recruited two-thirds of a company for the Fifty-ninth Regiment, which assembled at Gosport, in October. 1861, and in February traveled south on the New Albany road to the scene of hostilities in Kentucky. The Monroe county company, from near Harrodsburg mostly, was given the letter I, of the Fifty-ninth, under Capt. Graves. The men were mustered into service on February 11, 1862, and Jesse I. Alexander, of Gosport, was colonel of the regiment. M. P. Burns recruited six or eight men for the Sixty- first, which rendezvoused at Terre Haute. In April. Lieut. Johnson's com- pany of the Twenty-second Regiment opened a recruiting office in Blooming- ton. In May the men who were in Capt. Kelley's company sent nearly two thousand dollars home to their friends and at this time also came the news of Capt. Kelley's untimely death. At the battle of Winchester Capt. Kelley suffered a wound from which he died, after lingering in a hospital at Cin- cinnati for weeks, where he had gone, accompanied by his faithful wife, for medical treatment.
Many letters came to the folks at home from the boys in the field, and these missives are overflowing with pathos and vivid description of the cam- paigns and army life. Each in itself was a treasure, and although many of them were not of the best literary style, they carried a message to the ones at home which could not be equaled by the words of a muse. Capt. Henry
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I .. McCalla wrote a letter to his brother, which has been preserved to history and served as an admirable example of the letters of those days. Captain McCalla says :
"Thirty-first Regiment Indiana Volunteers.
"Pittsburg, Tenn., April 8, 1862.
"Dear Brother-This is Tuesday, and I take this chance to tell you that an awful battle has been fought, commencing on Sunday morning at 7:30 o'clock, A. M., lasting until night, and continued again on Monday. Grimes and I are safe. The company behaved nobly. The Thirty-first will now get its due meed of praise, I think. We lost Orderly Sergeant James F. Full- bright and Rolley Franklin, both shot in the head, and seven wounded, three of them severely -- Joseph Lucas, in the hand slightly; Frank Johnson and Jerry Serrell, in chin, slightly : John Cambell, in the hand: Joseph Woolery, in the hip, severely; Wesley Polley, in the shoulder; Joseph Gaither, in the face, the ball entering the bridge of the nose and coming out under the ear, cutting the tip of the ear. Many more were grazed. I had a bullet through the top of my hat. John McPhetridge had his leg grazed, and Grimes was scratched in the knee. We will feel the loss of Fullbright. He was the bravest man in the regiment-so modest and so faithful. We buried our old companions with the honors of war, and marked their graves with neat head-boards.
"I met brother Sam on the field of battle for the first time since he was in the service. Thompson's battery, with which Hight and other Blooming- ton boys are connected, were in the fight all Monday. They fired 1,200 shots. Our regiment (belonging to Hurlburt's brigade ) fired forty rounds in one place, repulsed two attacks on the center. Grimes and I furnished our men with thirty rounds more as they were lying down, and these were all expended by night. The carnage is frightful. The field of battle covers over six miles. Daniel Iseminger ( formerly of Bloomington), captain in an Iowa regiment, was killed. Our major, Frederic Arn, was killed; the colonel was wounded in two places : Adjutant Rose wounded ; Captain Harvey killed : and other officers wounded, all of our regiment. Jo. Roddy bore the colors through all the two days fight, onward, never faltering, the fore- most in the advance, the hindmost in the retreat.
"The day of the battle was my first out-door service for three weeks. having been sick over since we came to this place."
"HENRY."
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July 1, 1862, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, issued a call for three hundred thousand volunteers, and the quota for Indiana was named as eleven regiments. The Republican of July 12th printed the fol- lowing :
"MORE TROOPS WANTED-It will be seen by reference to an- other part of our paper that eleven more regiments are to be raised in our state in addition to those already forming, one from each congressional district. This in our district will be, on an average, about 125 men from each county. We trust that old Monroe will promptly furnish her quota, as she has done on all former calls. She has now nine companies in the service. besides a number of persons scattered in companies made up elsewhere-infantry, cavalry and artillery. Now that harvest is past and our young men more at leisure, we think that there will be no difficulty in raising this additional quota of troops in Monroe county. The regiment for this district will rendezvous at Madison, and we notice that in some of the adjoining counties companies are already forming to fill up the regi- ment. Let not Monroe be behind."
At the beginning the people did not respond quite so heartily as they had done a year before. The papers appealed to the people, and the draft was threatened if the demands of Lincoln were not fulfilled. The prominent citizens of the county began to see the necessity for immediate action, and accordingly commenced to bestir themselves and urge their bretliren to sup- port the cause of Union : recruiting officers began to gather on the scene, and it was not long before mass meetings were held, with the same intensity of feeling and patriotism as in the early days of '61. In the latter part of July Lieur F. Otwell was commissioned to recruit a company for the Sixty- seventh Regiment and he opened an office in the town of Bloomington. Capt. Charles, of the Eighteenth, also came home to recruit, and Lieut. W. J. Allen, of the Twentieth Battery. James L. Wintrey, of Bloomington, was commissioned to raise a company for the Ninety-third Regiment. assembled at Madison. Lieutenant Otwell and other officers raised about twenty men, who became Company B, of the Sixty-seventh Regiment, Samuel Denny, of Madison, being captain. An entire company was raised for the Eighty-second Regiment by Morton C. Hunter, and he became the colonel, by Paul E. Slocum, Alfred G. Hunter, Samuel McWillie, John Mckinney, Samuel Guy and others. The company was designated as F, and McWillie became captain, Mckinney, first lieutenant, and Guy, second lieutenant. The men were mus- tered in on August 30th at Madison. Part of Company I, of the Eighty- second, was organized in Monroe county by William F. Neill, who became
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