USA > Indiana > Steuben County > History of Steuben County, Indiana, together withbiographies of representative citizens > Part 31
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In August, 1862, a full company (H) was furnished for the Seventy-fourth Regiment, with Sylvanus B. George as Captain, Lawrence Gates as First Lieutenant, and B. F. Dawson as Second Lieutenant. Immediately following a full company (B) was fur- nished for the One Hundredth Regiment; of this, J. W. Gillespie was Captain, Orlo J. Fast First, Lieutenant, and Edwin Goldsmith,
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Second Lieutenant. Germ Brown, of this company, was after- ward Quartermaster of the regiment.
In the fall of 1863 nearly a full company was raised for the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Regiment (Twelfth Cavalry), of which Major D. Williams was made Captain. About the same time, a full company (A) was raised for the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Regiment, of which William H. Cole was Captain, Birge Smith, First Lieutenant, and T. S. Bonney, Second Lieuten- ant. Captain Cole was afterward promoted Major. Emery G. Melendy was Adjutant of the regiment. In March, 1865, nearly a full company (K) was raised for the One Hundred and Fifty- second Regiment, with John M. Everhart as Captain, Madison Rodgers as First Lieutenant, and John T. Young as Second Lieu- tenant. George E. Young was Adjutant of the regiment.
A respectable percentage of the early volunteers from the county re-enlisted, either in their own or other regiments. It is not an over-estimate to say that Steuben County furnished over 1,000 men for the service-a full regiment of hardy, brave and loyal soldiers, who went forth to do and die for their country. They died on the battle-field, in the hospitals or prison-pens, or lingered a few months to enjoy the blessed privilege of dying at home.
Following is a historical sketch of the regiments in which this county was largely represented :
TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENT.
This was the first regiment in which any considerable number of men were credited to Steuben County. It contained one whole company (A) from this county, and parts of two others (I and K). The regiment was organized at La Porte, and was mustered into service for three years, on the 27th of August, 1861, with John F. Miller as Colonel. On the 9th of October it joined General Rousseau's command at Camp Nevin, Ky., and moved with the army to the vicinity of Munfordville, remaining there until the movement upon Bowling Green was commenced, in February, 1862. Reaching Nashville in March, it moved with McCook's division to the Tennessee River, and participated in the battle of Shiloh on the 7th of April. In this engagement the regiment was under fire for more than five hours, suffering severely in killed and wounded.
In the siege of Corinth it took an active part, and upon the evacuation moved with Buell's army through Northern Alabama
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and Tennessee into Kentucky, and followed in pursuit of Bragg through the latter State, returning to Nashville in December. Marching with Rosecrans' army toward Murfreesboro, it participa- ted in the battle of Stone River on the 31st of December, 1862, and the 1st and 2d of January, 1863, losing many men and offi- cers. After the occupation of Murfreesboro, the regiment re- mained at that place until May when it moved forward with Rose- crans' army to Tullahoma, and afterward to Chattanooga. In addition to the engagements before mentioned the Twenty-ninth, after joining Rosecrans' army, participated with the skirmishes had with the enemy at Lavergne, Triune and Liberty Gap.
In the great battle of Chickamanga the regiment was engaged both days, and sustained heavy losses. After this battle the regiment was stationed at Bridgeport, Ala., where it re-enlisted as a veteran organization, on the 1st of January, 1864, and the same month proceeded to Indianapolis on veteran furlough.
On returning to the field the regiment was stationed at Chatta- nooga, where it remained until December, when it moved to Decatur, Ala., and was engaged in a skirmish at that place on the 27th of December, 1864. Returning to Chattanooga it re- mained at that place until May, 1865, when it moved to Dalton, Ga., where it participated in a skirmish with the enemy. Subse quently the Twenty-ninth marched to Marietta, Ga., where it was stationed, performing post duty, for some time. It was muster- ed out of the service Dec. 2, 1865. On the 5th of January, 1864, Colonel Miller (who, since the month of Feburary, 1862, had been serving as post and brigade commander at Nashville and elsewhere) was promoted Brigadier-General, whereupon Lieutenant Colonel David M. Dunn was commissioned Colonel.
As Company A was the first company raised in Steuben County, and contained the scions of many of the best families, a more ex- tended sketch would be of interest. For this purpose we take the following, from the pen of Lieutenant Irenus McGowan, who was one of the best soldiers in the regiment, was for fifteen years after the war a prominent citizen of Mill Grove Township, and in 1880. went West:
" R. W. Melendy commenced the enrollment of soldiers in Au- gust, 1861. I went into the service as Second Lieutenant of Com- pany A, Twenty-ninth Indiana Volunteers, which was the first com. pany organized in Steuben County. Some soldiers had left previous. to that who had joined the Forty-fourth Illinois. They went from
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here expecting to go into an independent organization called the Northwestern Riflemen. Company A, of the Twenty-ninth In- diana, rendezvoused at Angola, Ang. 16,1861. The officers elected were: J. H. M. Jenkins, Captain; Ed Sergeant, First Lieutenant; and R. W. Melendy, Second Lieutenant. The first night we re- mained at the Russell House, and the following morning left town with all the enthusiasm imaginable for La Porte, that being the rendezvous of the Twenty-ninth.
" The Ninth also rendezvoused at La Porte, their regiment being nearly full. Colonel Milroy, afterward Brigadier-General, was Colonel of that regiment. There being a call for help on the part of our army in Virginia, Milroy obtained permission to fill his regiment from volunteer enlistment from ours. He made a speech one night, telling the boys how imminent the peril was and called for volunteers. Two of the boys from Angola left Company A and joined the Ninth, their names being John Nichols and George Leavitt. They had cause to regret such a step as that, for soldiers that left their original organization and went into a new stood no chance for promotion. The majority of those who went into La Porte continued enthusiastic for two weeks and were ready to go on but some were sad after the first novelty wore away. Some became quite despondent. Several cases of illness were reported, caused mainly by homesickness.
"The majority of the regiment went on into Kentucky and spent the first winter. The experience in Camp Nevin was when we first began to realize the actual hardships of soldiering. We then came down to Government rations and some of the boys experi. enced the effects of Government whisky, which was dealt out to prevent camp difficulty. I was satisfied then, and have been ever since, that whisky was a curse. After leaving Camp Nevin we moved down to Munfordville. In the afternoon we reached there we experienced our first speck of war. Colonel Willich with the Thirty-second Indiana was there. The regiment was a finely drilled one composed mostly of Germans. The afternoon we arrived there one battalion was across the river drilling. Before they had «completed the drill and were ready to return to the north bank, they were attacked by a regiment of rebel cavalry and thirteen were lkilled. The long roll was beaten in the camp on the 29th, but as the river was high we did not cross. Willich's regiment was more than a match for the Black Horse cavalry. We then realized we were in war.
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" We spent two or three months there in camp on the Green River and then pressed on toward Bowling Green, reaching there abont the time of the engagement at Fort Donelson. The rebels were withdrawn from our front so as to concentrate their forces at that place. Buell had command then of the Twentieth Army Corps. We next moved on to Nashville and were thrown forward to rein- force Grant's army which was being concentrated at Shiloh. When within twenty or twenty-five miles of Shiloh we heard the guns on the first day. All extra baggage was thrown one side and we went forward in light marching order. We spent the night of the 6th of April in the streets of Savannah, on the banks of the Tennessee. In the morning we were put on board the vessels and moved up toward Pittsburg Landing. We reached the field of battle on the 7th.
" Disembarking from the vessel we climbed a hill which was thoroughly lined with soldiers who had been whipped the day be- fore. They had fled, taking refuge on the bluff. The Twenty-ninth was pushed on the field in support of Rosseau until his troops had exhausted their ammunition. His brigade was then withdrawn and the Twenty-ninth was put in the front. We were kept there until sundown at which time the rebels retired. That was the first experience the company had in battle and it suffered severely, twenty-three men being killed or wounded. I was struck twice, once in the hand and once in the leg. I was quite glad to see the rebels disappear. The night following was a terrible one. We had no shelter nor provisions, and had marched the previous day and night with the exception of the time we were on the river, and had been on the battle-field, all day. We were completely ex- hausted and had nothing to eat. A terrible rain-storm set in and we were withont shelter tents of any kind. The rain, however, was an actual blessing to the soldiers as otherwise many would have perished with thirst. The soldiers were so completely exhausted that when they awoke they found themselves in several inches of water. It was then that they realized the full sense of all the terrors of warfare.
" Previous to that time Ed Sergeant had resigned. On the battle-field of Shiloh, I received my commission as Second Lieu- tenant. The recollection of those days following the battle is very vivid. I witnessed then for the first time all the horrors of the battle-field, mangled bodies of horses and men and broken caissons. We remained some days camped immediately upon the field and
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then began to press forward to Corinth, General Halleck being assigned command of all the forces in front of that place. We approached the town gradually by means of parallels constructed by the army. We remained there besieging Corinth until the lat- ter part of May. The army suffered much from camp complaints, many of the boys being disabled from sickness. They stood the trials well until that siège, but being in a malarious country they succumbed on account of constant watchfulness; digging in ditchies and heavy rains falling in the spring of the year, many were attacked with inflammatory rheumatism.
"After the evacuation of Corinth, Buell's army was separated and sent easterly through Northern Mississippi and Alabama and laid at Battle Creek, Tenn., for some time previous to what is known as the Bragg-Buell campaign. Bragg moved around the bend of the river and commenced his famous march toward Louisville. Buell concentrated his forces and followed. The Twenty ninth Indiana was in the rear of the rebel army most of the way toward Louisville until Bragg turned his troops north toward Shelbyville. Buell moved west far enough to pass Bragg's left wing, the latter keeping to the right toward Shelbyville. Buell's army entered Louisville in time to prevent any assault from Bragg's forces. After lying there a few days we moved out to attack Bragg's army which was then at Frankfort. The retrogade move- ment then began and continued until after the battle of Perryville.
"The Union army reached Nashville the second time and re- mained in that vicinity nearly all the winter following. The Twenty-ninth Indiana, with the other regiments in the division, laid in camp at the Asylum grounds, south of the city. We spent as pleasant a winter as possible for a body of men in camp. We had plenty of meat most of the time, but sometimes were short. Some contributions were received from the surrounding country, but, of course, they were enforced. At the commencement of the Stone River campaign, Dec. 26, 1862, we broke camp. General McCook commanded our corps, and the Twenty-ninth Indiana led the advance toward Murfreesboro. General Rosecrans superseded Buell in the command of the Army of the Cumberland. We had a severe skirmish at Triune, Company A being on the line all day. After that skirmish the army got into position in front of Murfrees- boro on the 30th of December, 1862, McCouk's corps holding the right wing. The Twenty-ninth Indiana was in the center and the Thirty-fourth on the right. Skirmishing had been going on for
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three or four days. We deployed in double line on the night of the 30th in the expectation of action on the following day. Were called up at two o'clock the next morning and stood in line until just at break of day, when the rebels massed their forces under Hardee and attacked the extreme right of the line. We deployed in single line of battle and they attacked in double line. The Twenty-ninth held its ground until the Thirty-fourth had been broken and one column of the rebel troops had passed, before the former regiment was ordered to retreat. The retreat was made in great haste from that position. The right swung back until it struck the railroad three-fourths of a mile distant. There, receiv- ing the support of fresh troops, the line held its own until the close of the battle. Fighting continued throughout the 31st of December. The 1st of January, 1863, was quiet. On the 2d the rebels made an assault on the right but were repulsed. There was consider- able fighting on the 3d but that night the rebels fell back.
" After the conclusion of the battle of Murfreesboro the Twenty- ninth remained at that place the remainder of the winter, and with the balance of the brigade were engaged in working on the forti- fications, being aided by the engineer corps. We continued at that for fully three months, a portion of the time the work being prosecuted night and day. The companies of the regiment were divided into reliefs, working four hours at a time. After the com- pletion of the works the regiment remained there until Rosecrans made his advance to Tullahoma, where we remained in camp some two months. The regiment was actively engaged until the Chicka- mauga campaign, at which time it lost very heavily. More than one-half of the Twenty-ninth in that battle were killed, wounded or taken prisoners. Those of the regiment not captured suffered all the horrors of the confinement in Chattanooga. Company A remained at Chattanooga after the battle of Missionary Ridge, as part of the garrison, until the close of the war.
" Of the 101 men of the company who left Angola in 1861, I do not know of but nineteen who are now living. Captain W. H. Cole, of Angola, was one of the original members of the company. At the battle of Shiloh, he was wounded in the foot and was dis- charged in consequence of the wound. He afterward enlisted in the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Indiana Volunteers, and was elected Captain of one of the companies. Philip Haynes, of Salem Township, was shot through the head at the battle of Shiloh. William Jenkins was discharged in consequence of wounds received
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there. James Woodworth was killed in the same battle. Caleb Talbot was killed at the battle of Stone River. Fred Clock was killed at the battle of Chickamauga, and N. P. Hanna was killed at the same place. David Allen, Edward Parker and Valentine Somerlott died at Andersonville."
FORTY-FOURTH REGIMENT.
The companies composing the Forty-fourth Regiment were raised in the Tenth Congressional District, and rendezvoused at Fort Wayne, where the organization of the regiment was completed on the 24th of October, 1861, with Hugh B. Reed as Colonel. Com- panies A and K, and parts of D, F and H were from Steuben County. In December the regiment was transported to Indian- apolis, and from thence to Henderson, Ky. Reporting to General Thomas L. Crittenden, it was assigned to General Cruft's brigade and went into camp at Calhoun, on Green River. Here it remained until February, 1862, when it was transferred to Fort Henry, and from thence to Fort Donelson, where it participated in the siege and battle at that place, suffering considerable loss in killed and wounded.
After the capitulation the regiment marched to Fort Henry, and from thence it was transported on steamers to Pittsburg Landing. It was engaged on both days at the battle of Shiloh, losing thirty- three killed and 177 wounded, making a total of 210. After this it marched on Corinth, taking part in several skirmishes before Corinth, and upon the evacuation of that place joined in the pur- suit of the enemy, going as far as Booneville. Returning from this expedition it moved with Buell's army into Northern Ala- bama and Southern Tennessee, and when Bragg marched his army northward, it moved across the Cumberland Mountains to Nash- ville and thence to Louisville, Ky., reaching there on the 26th of September. In the campaign through Kentucky it was actively engaged, participating in the battle of Perryville, and going as far as Wildcat in pursuit of Bragg.
Returning to the vicinity of Nashville, it participated in a skir- mish on Russell Hill, at Silver Springs. About the first of De- cember it went into camp near Nashville. From the 20th of August to the 1st of December the regiment had marched over 725 miles, being an average march of ten miles per day, and the whole performed without tents or shelter of any kind. The Forty- fourth moved with the army of the Cumberland toward Murfrees-
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boro, where it participated in the battle of Stone River on the 31st of December, 1862, and the 1st and 2d of. Jannary, 1863, sus- taining losses as follows : Eight killed; fifty-two wounded; twenty- five missing-a total loss of eighty-five.
After remaining in camp near Murfreesboro for some months, it moved with Van Cleve's division of Rosecrans's army across the Cumberland Mountains to Chattanooga, going by way of McMinn- ville, Dunlap, Jasper, Bridgeport, Shell Mound and Whiteside. It participated in the engagement at Chickamauga on the 19th and 20th of September, and on the 22d, in connection with the Thirty- ninth Indiana, fought the enemy again at Mission Ridge. In these engagements the regiment lost three killed, fifty-nine wounded and twenty missing, making a total of eighty-two. About the middle of October it was assigned to provost duty at Chattanooga, and while here the regiment re- enlisted in January, 1864, and returned to Indiana on veteran furlough, reaching In- dianapolis on the 26th of January. Returning to the field the regiment was again placed on provost duty at Chattanooga, on which duty it continued until the 14th of September, 1865, when it was mustered out of service.
It then returned home, reaching Indianapolis on the 17th of September, in command of Colonel Curtiss, with thirty officers and 670 men. Of these, 193 were original enlisted men, of whom thirty-three returned as commissioned officers, eighty-nine as non- commissioned officers, and seventy-one as privates. The regiment, during its term of service, lost 350 in killed and wounded, and by death from disease fifty-eight. In July, 1865, 360 remaining re- cruits of the Sixty-eighth and Seventy-second Indiana were trans- ferred to the Forty-fourth, and these continued in service with the latter regiment until its muster out.
Just before its final discharge the Forty-fourth was present at a reception given to returned troops in the capitol grounds at Indian- apolis, on which occasion it was addressed by Governor Morton, Generals Grose and Washburn, and others.
FORTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT.
The Forty-eighth was organized at Goshen on the 6th of Decem- ber, 1861, with Company H filled with Steuben County men. Under the command of Norman Eddy as Colonel it left for Fort Donelson by way of Cairo, Feb. 1, 1862, where it arrived the day of the surrender. It then moved to Paducah, where it remained
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until May, when it moved up the Tennessee River and engaged in the seige of Corinth. After the evacuation of that city it was assigned to the First Brigade, Second Division of the Army of the Mississippi, and took part in the marches and countermarches in pursuit of General Price.
On the 19th of September it participated in the battle of Iuka, losing 116 men in killed and wounded out of 420 engaged. On the 3d and 4th of October it was engaged in the second battle at Corinth (under Rosecrans), and lost twenty-six killed and wounded. The regiment moved down the Mississippi Central Railroad as far as Oxford, Miss., and on its return marched to Memphis, where, in January, 1863, it was assigned to the First Brigade, Seventh Division of the Seventeenth Army Corps.
After remaining here two months it was transported down the Mississippi, and then joining the army of General Grant marched with him to the rear of Vicksburg. During this campaign the regiment participated in the skirmish of Forty Hills, on the 3d of May; the battle of Raymond, on the 13th of May; the bat- tle of Jackson, on the 14th of May; and the engagement at Champion Hills, on the 16th of May, losing in the latter battle thirty-three killed and wounded. It was actively engaged in the trenches during the long siege of the rebel works at Vicks- burg, and took part in the assault on the 22d of May, losing thirty-eight in killed and wounded. .
After the surrender of Vicksburg it remained in that vicinity until August, and then moved up the river to Memphis, and from thence marched across the country to Chattanooga, and while in that vicinity engaged the enemy at Tunnel Hill. From the lat- ter place it inarched back to Huntsville, Ala., and while stationed there, in January, 1864, the regiment re-enlisted as a veteran organization and returned home on veteran furlough. The soldiers reached Indianapolis on the 6th of February, numbering 369 veterans, and on the 8th were publicly received in welcoming speeches by Governor Morton and others.
After the expiration of its furlough the Forty-eighth proceeded to Huntsville, Ala., where it remained until June. The regiment then moved to Cartersville, Ga., and was kept on duty in that vicinity looking after guerrillas and protecting General Sherman's railroad communications during the campaign against Atlanta. It was continued on this duty until Hood's invasion, when it joined Sherman's army and marched with the First Brigade, Third
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Division of the Fifteenth Army Corps in its campaign from At- lanta to Savannah. From Savannah it first moved to Beaufort, and then on the campaign through the Carolinas, going through Columbia, Cheraw, Fayetteville and Goldsboro to Raleigh.
From Raleigh it moved northward, after the surrender of John- son's army, making the distance from Raleigh to Petersburg, 165 iniles, in six days. From Petersburg it marched to Washington, and soon after its arrival there was transferred to Louisville, Ky., where it was mustered out of service on the 15th of July, 1865. Returning to Indianapolis it was present at a public recep- tion given to a large number of returned troops in the capitol grounds on the 18th of July, on which occasion addresses were made by Governor Morton, General Hovey and others.
While at Washington about 250 men were transferred to the Forty-eighth from the Twelfth, Eighty-third, Ninety-seventh and Ninety-ninth regiments, being retained recruits whose organiza- tions had been mustered out. These transferred men served with the Forty-eighth until its final muster-out, and were discharged with it. During its term of service the regiment lost in battle 213 men, in killed and wounded.
ONE HUNDREDTH REGIMENT.
The One Hundredth Regiment was organized in the Tenth Congressional District during the month of August, 1864, and rendezvoused at Fort Wayne. Steuben County furnished all of Company B and parts of Companies D and K. Two companies recruited for the Ninety-eighth Regiment in the Eighth Con- gressional District were assigned to the One Hundredth Regi- ment, completing its organization, and the regiment was mustered into the service on the 10th of September, 1862, with Sanford J. Stoughton as Colonel. On the 11th of November the regiment left for Memphis, Tenn., arriving there on the 16th. The regi- ment was assigned to the Second Brigade, First Division, Army of the Tennessee, and on the 26th moved with an expedition through Northern Mississippi, having Vicksburg for its objective point. This movement, however, was unsuccessful, owing to the surprise and capture of Holly Springs by the rebels. The column then returned to the vicinity of Memphis, and the regiment was assigned to garrison duty at Collierville, and as guards along the Memphis & Charleston Railroad.
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