USA > Indiana > Vanderburgh County > Evansville > History of the city of Evansville and Vanderburg County, Indiana, Volume I > Part 33
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which was done in Blackford's Grove. Sometimes there were as many as 250 men, women and children encamped at one time but the citizens took care to see that they were furnished with provisions and clothes and they certainly had plenty to eat. This latter can be said of conditions during the entire war. There was always some depot or two or three of them in the city, completely filled with all sorts of delicacies which were con- tributed by Evansville women or Vanderburg County. These were sent from time to time, to hospitals all over the south. I remember that Messrs. Baer and Small had moved out of the brick store just in the rear of the American Tobacco Company at First and Sycamore and this store was completely filled. It happened that one day all who were in charge were prevented from going to dinner and we decided to make the meal from some of the canned goods and more delicate chicken and preserves and things of that kind I never tasted in my life. The old hospital, the Hubbard seed house, of which I have spoken before was always well- stocked with these delicacies. To show how liberal the people were, at one time there were 200 loads of wood for the wives and mothers of the soldiers who were at the front, that were brought in by farmers and stored at Seventh street park. That night the ladies banqueted them in great style at the old Mozart hall on First street. After the war when the remains of the regiments passed through this city to Indianapolis to be discharged from service, a beautiful arch was erected at Main and 3rd streets, with the word "Welcome" upon it and under this these old heroes proudly walked.
Evansville had more than her share of knowing what war meant. Prisoners were brought through here and I have seen them brought down on the Green river boats, poor, half-starved fellows, and then again, great steamboats full of prisoners for the northern prisons, stopped here and were sent North. There were war boats in front of the city and many steamed up and down. After the awful battle of Shiloh, the wounded of both sides were brought here and cared for. Mr. Elliot very justly says, "The people of this city learned well their lesson of charity from the mighty clash of arms and they have always held out a friendly hand to a magnanimous but conquered enemy."
Many will remember the reunion of the blue and the gray, held in this city in 1883, and the friendly greetings that were exchanged by those who had been deadly enemies .. Just to divert one moment.
At this very reunion was one of those cases of which I spoke on a pre- ceding page. My guest was George W. Peck, editor of Peck's Sun, and author of Peck's Bad Boy, a humorist of national reputation and one of the best fellows that ever lived, and a man who went into the army and served faithfully all through the war as a private. His speech was a hu- morous one, of course, and was listened to with much attention and re- sponded to by peals of laughter. It happened that we had that day a speaker who was just my ideal of a worthless soldier. He was a man of
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very little standing in the place from whence he came, and too lazy to keep up his work, as the old books of many a wholesale firm in Evansville will testify. But when it came to doing no working but a whole lot of speaking, he was in his element and he got up on the stage and was so radical in his remarks, so carried away by his self-importance that he strung out his speech, repeating the same thing over and over until the veterans were simply disgusted and Peck, who was waiting for his turn, gently pulled my sleeve and said, "Doesn't that old tub know the war is over yet, and how long is he going to keep up that rot?" Peck simply echoed the feelings of the men there. In fact, this man used the war as a stepping-stone to his own personal advancement. Through the power of his mouth he rose from one position to another, until he became a chronic leech on the Na- tional treasury and not only that, but he took care of every relative he had and every relative his wife had. I think he is dead now, but if he died there was very little fuss over it. But if I were a betting man, I would bet that, thought he held a high position in the army, he was never near enough to an active fight to hear the whiz of a bullet. He was entirely too shrewd and too careful of his portly frame to ever go near to a post of danger. If I did not know exactly what I was writing about I certainly would not make the above statement, which I will admit is pretty severe, but none the less called for. For this was one of the kinds of men who made it almost impossible for northern capital to get into the South for so many long years, and in this manner, instead of helping his country, he retarded its progress. All men who have mercantile interests know that after this class of men stopped their eternal howling, it was only a year or two until the whole South was flooded with northern capital, to the mutual advantage of both.
Speaking of this first Mexican company, Captain William Walker, who organized it, was the ancestor of the present Walker family of Evansville. He settled here in 1835. His family consisted of his wife, Cathrine Walker, and his children, James T. Walker, Dr. Geo. B. Walker, William H., Oscar and Dr. John T. Walker; his daughters, Mary and Hanna, who after- wards became Mrs. Welburn. He is spoken of as having been a very active business man and was probably the first one who had charge of street im- provements in the little town. He was an ardent democrat and fully approved of the war against Mexico. The fact that he had served in the war of 1812 made him just the one to raise a company for the Mexican war, although he must have been at that time quite an old man. Among those who were in this company I will mention only a few whose descend- ants still live here. Martin Stinson, George W. Peck, William Gable, Rob- ert McCurkin, David Allen, Isaac Anderson, Samuel Adkin, Harrison Cox, Adam Haag. Leroy Jenkins, Geo. W. Knight, C. Stansberry, L. Linxweil- ler, James Nolan, John W. Stephens, James Sanders, Richard Smith. This company, as stated, was a part of the second regiment Indiana volunteers. Dr. John T. Walker was assistant surgeon of this regiment and served all
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through the war and in 1860 joined the 25th Indiana regiment. His son, William Walker, also joined it but through exposure was compelled to go home, where he died. Another son, Jesse B. Walker, became a major in the same regiment. Dr. Walker lived for a long time in a two-story frame house where Thieles' Stove house now stands. His son, Captain George B. Walker, inherited the love for the military life, for he joined the United States service.
Before going further with the history of the war, some account ought to be given of the peculiar position in which the city of Evansville was placed. Those of the far North or East, who only knew of battles through the daily papers, of the camp sickness, of the floods and the weather through which our Civil war heroes went, of course know nothing of the war as we know of it. While there was no active conflict in sight of this city, there were times when the booms of cannon could be heard and we were just across the river from Kentucky, which suffered terribly from bands of guerillas. These guerillas, while as a rule they pretended to belong to the southern army and to be imbued with southern instincts, were nothing in the world but the scum of both southern and northern cities, banded together for the purpose of robbery. They never belonged to any army. They were willing at all times to offer their services to the confederates, only to desert at the first opportunity and meet again somewhere in Ken- tucky. They were equally willing, when on meeting parties of the Union army, to swear that they had deserted the confederate army because they had not been treated right in either pay or clothing and would agree to act as spies and lead the Union troops against their former comrades. Of course they never did this, because they would have been exposed by the confederates the moment they saw them, but they would manage to lead the Union troops close to the confederates and then skurry out of the way until after a battle, at which time they were the first to be on hand to rob the dead of either side, or steal any loose horses. In fact, a great deal of their money was made through the stealing of stock, because, as is the case now, Kentucky was at that time full of grand horses and let a little band of these guerrillas hear of a good horse or two and they would ride boldly up to the farmer's house in the name of the Confederate army or the Union army just as they saw fit, and make away with them, only to sell them by running them across the river into Indiana or Ohio. These men had no regular uniform and could easily pass for soldiers of either army. They were equally quick in picking up firearms of any kind. The fact that game was so plentiful all along the Green river country after the war was due to the fact hat every one who owned a gun of any kind, buried it to keep these thieves from getting it. By the time the war was over the rust had nat- urally ruined all these guns, and as the inhabitants of that country were afraid to fire off a gun for fear of bringing a little band of these guerrillas upon them, the game for four long years was absolutely untouched. A great many of these guerrillas were caught redhanded by Union soldiers and were
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strung up or shot with as little ceremony as would be given a horse thief. Some of them, after the close of the war, drifted down into Arkansas and I saw the house in Clay County where the noted Quantrell brothers made their rendezvous for a time, as well as the farm where one of them, who was alleged to have reformed, lived until he died. There was a splendid deer crossing near the house and many a deer fell beneath his aim. Several of these guerrillas were brought through this city, and unlike other prison- ers, they were handcuffed, thus showing that the Union officers took them for what they were-simply thieves. They were a set of cowardly curs who could not even be true to their own friends and should have been shot or hanged on sight.
THE GREAT CIVIL WAR.
It is not to be assumed that this book could well be made large enough to contain a full account of the Civil war or the part that the people of Evansville and Vanderburg County took in the same. Whole volumes have been written on this subject and even then they failed to cover all the details, so what this book may have to say will be simply a compilation of the most important facts occurring during the war that bore upon our people. For some years prior to 1861 there had been disruptions of various kinds all over the country. It had become understood by all thinking peo- ple that the North and the South were utterly at variance on many vital points and that sooner or later there must be a clash of some kind. Per- haps if those in Congress and the Senate had been more mild, more willing to concede to each other that they might be right in certain ideas that were seemingly born in them, this war never would have occurred. Yet it seems to have been a matter of fate that it came, and no matter how much we of the present day may regret it and mourn over the thousands who are of- fered up on the altar of liberty, the war came and all that remains to us is to tell of it and forget it. In the year 1832 there had been quite a con- test between politicians of the North and South and a contest at that time was narrowly averted, but the people had had enough of the war of 1812 and the Mexican war and the hearts of these men were for peace, but by 1860 many had arrived at the age of maturity, and thought of these strug- gles only as a memory and did not heed the lesson that had been taught at that time. The United States was progressing in giant strides, yet there seemed to be one stone in her arch that needed to be removed and that was the stone of slavery. Though the people of the South looked on it as one of their cherished institutions and believed it to be perfectly right, the great North could not understand the situation and was almost united in the belief that no human being should be held in bondage. Yet these same men forgot that their ancestors were the first slave-holders and at the time slaves were introduced into New England, the South was absolutely un- settled and therefore could have no slaves. But be that as it may, this was the great point of difference and to the existence of slavery and an effort
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to wipe it out of existence, the great Civil war can be attributed. The republican party was then in its infancy, but its leaders were all anti-slavery men and they were outspoken in their denunciation of it. In the cam- paign of 1860 party feeling ran very high and speeches were made and great processions were gathered together from all the surounding country and the streets of Evansville were filled with brass bands and fife and drum corps, and even mounted women and children. During the Fremont cam- paign, four years before this time, the great emblem had been a ship of state, but this gave way to a mammoth log wagon, drawn by oxen, on which were immense logs and along these logs were scattered sturdy woods- men who swung mauls onto wedges which were driven into the wood. This was to indicate railsplitting and was a tribute to Abraham Lincoln, who was then a candidate for the presidential chair and who was called "The Rail- spliter." Mr. Lincoln publicly declared that it was his conviction, after much thought, that no government could exist which was half free and half slave and his election to the presidential chair was accepted by the South as a menace to their great institution. They had been taught by John C. Calhoun that state sovereignty was the proper thing, and when it became known that Abraham Lincoln was elected, they seceded. South Carolina took the first step and passed an ordinance of secession and she was followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina. This was a trying position for this great president. Seven states had declared themselves out of the Union and not subject to his authority, and in less than two months four others followed. In February, 1861, a peace conference was held at Baltimore, which was attended by some of the most influential men in the country. Their object was to arrive at some compromise and by it avert what they knew would be a most disastrous war. This conference occupied many days, but failed to accomplish anything. The excitement grew more intense all over the country. The very extreme partisans who had supported Mr. Lincoln were disappointed when they saw that these last states were allowed to leave the Union and join the confederacy. There was much discussion. Some believed that if the South wished to withdraw it had a perfect right to do so. Affairs became so strained that meetings were held all over the country. It was while the public mind was so excited that the hot-blooded southerners took the wrong step. They were so firm in their belief that they were right and that the North was wrong that they had actually organized into a separate government before Mr. Lincoln was inaugurated. It created an army and navy and six weeks after Abraham Lincoln was elected it attacked the troops at Fort Sumter. This deed was what brought the North to a state of desperation in which it resolved to conquer or lose everything in the strife. Of course, Van- derburg County, which even then was full of public-spirited men, was not idle while all this discussion was going on and when it was found that war was a necessity, men of all different parties deserted their creeds and
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joined together in forming companies to support the old flag of their country. It was on the 17th of April, 1861, that a call was issued by lead- ing citizens for a public meeting at the court house in the evening. At nightfall, the Jackson artillery, under Captain Elles, of whom I have spoken, turned out in uniform and fired a national salute. Warren's Crescent City band went through the streets playing national airs. The court house was quickly filled and Mayor Baker, that grand old man, was called on to preside over the meeting. It was soon found that the streets on the outside were blocked with people who were unable to get in, so the speaker left the court house and went across the street to what was then the Washington house, kept by Felkerf and Hedderich, and which is now the clothing store of N. Gross. In those days there was a balcony on which the band was stationed. The crowd kept increasing and it was found that the contracted corner of the four streets would not hold it, and therefore the throng moved to the old market house, where a stand was hastily put up. The first speaker was Col. James E. Blythe, a well-known orator of that day. He was followed by Conrad Baker, who was then a prominent lawyer here, and who afterwards became governor of the state. In his speech he used this expression: "The preservation of the government is above all personal and party considerations and we pledge to its support now and hereafter, our all, without reference to the men or party by which it may be administered."
There was a great outburst at the end of this speech, and Judge Baker took occasion to administer an oath to support the constitution and the Union. Captain Elles pledged his company. Mr. Blythe Hynes and Wil- liam H. Chandler both made speeches and the meeting adjourned with three cheers for the Union, the Constitution, the enforcement of the laws and the stars and stripes. As was natural, there were some who disbelieved in this. They perhaps had been brought up in different schools, and it is but natural for one to stand by the principles that are inculcated into him during his childhood, but these were in a great minority.
There was an appeal at once to raise a company, although at that time possibly not one in this whole city had the faintest idea that a desperate conflict would wage for four long years, in which the fair South would be changed to a scene of ruin and desolation, with only the old stone chimneys marking the path of victories of northern armies as they swept through it and that in thousands of northern homes there would be, as the result of this war, vacant chairs which never again would be filled. It has often struck me that if any of the men on either side, and I give each side credit for following the dictates of their own consciences, could have looked ahead and have seen what all this meant, I firmly believe there never would have been any war. But the people were excited, and Evansville came rapidly to the front, though no one here would have believed in those early days that, beside keeping up her own homeguards, Vanderburg County would contribute 3,500 men. There were companies rapidly formed, and by June
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Ist, the townships had nine companies of infantry and three of artillery. The great trouble was to get enough arms to supply them. As fast as the companies were formed they went into camp, and the first part of the war was little more than a pleasant camping picnic, for the ladies of the city visited the camps at all times and instead of being fed on United States rations the young soldiers were provided with a regular feast of the choicest edibles to be had. The first great shock came with the news of the battle of Bull Run, when to the surprise of everyone, the Union troops were routed and driven pell mell from the field of battle. It seemed im- possible for the people to recognize that it was really true, and it was at this hour that they probably began to foresee that war in its reality, was a terrible thing. All through the war our people followed the movements of the armies with the greatest interest. It seemed as if there was hardly a family but had some representative in the army and when the first news came of any great battle, the agony of heart that our people suffered was terrible. When the bloody battle of Shiloh was fought, the steamer Charley Bowen was loaded with supplies and our citizens went to the bat- tlefield as fast as steam could take them, to administer to the wants of the afflicted. At Pittsburg Landing and Gettysburg, with their awful slaughter, our people could hardly wait to get the details which brought gloom to many a household. We all followed the march of Sherman to the sea in 1864 and when the news came of the final fall of Atlanta, an immense crowd assembled in front of the old bank to hear patriotic speeches and music and see the fireworks. Great demonstrations of joy followed the capture of Richmond and Petersburg, but when at last the news came of the surrender of Gen. Lee there was a day of rejoicing such as was never known before. The news came in the evening, but it took all night for it to become fairly known, but early in the morning the guns belched forth their thunder. The bells all over the city rang wildly out, the whistles blew, bands were out and flags blew from every available point. Main street for the first time in its history was one continuous panorama of flags. The city schools were dismissed and the children marched through the streets. At noon a grand salute of 200 guns was fired under the direction of Cap- tain Tombler. Business was entirely suspended. Such an era of general joy was never before seen in Evansville and it was not so much that our army had been victorious and had swept everything before them, but the feeling that this cruel war was over, and that peace and prosperity would again reign over a united country. But it was in the midst of this that the deepest gloom came, by the announcement that President Lincoln had been struck down by the cowardly hand of an assassin. It could hardly be believed. The flags in the city and on the boats at the wharf hung at half- mast. The churches were thronged with people, business was suspended and houses were draped, while the city bells all tolled. Guns were fired every half-hour from sunrise to sunset. The grief was absolute, even in the hearts of those whose sympathies perhaps had been with the South.
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It is pitiful that there were so many who did not know at that time that the great heart of this greatest of men was full of a tender love for the South and that though he was the ruling power of the country which had subdued them, he had at all times, even in moments of victory, mourned over their loss as he would over the loss of his dearest friends. There are so many little incidents in the life of Lincoln that have brought out this feeling which we now know existed all the time, that there hardly lives a man who feels any doubt on this matter, and it is unjust to believe that the people of the South, taken as a mass, ever felt joy over the dastardly deed of the miserable Booth.
It was on the 19th of April that Captain Noah S. Thompson issued his call for troops. Captain Thompson had served in the Mexican war and was just the man for the position. As stated, Captain Meyerhoff had applied to him to enlist but had been refused. The company's rolls were opened on Saturday, the 20th, and within four hours the company was more than full. It met that same evening at its armory on Main, and the oath was administered by John V. Foster, notary public, who afterwards became a colonel and then one of the most distinguished diplomats this country ever had. The company took the name of the Crescent City Guards. They were expected to go to Indianapolis on the following Tuesday, but Cap- tain Thompson, who had preceded them, wired back, "We cannot get in. Disband the company." By this time the company was 132 strong, and at least 100 more had offered themselves and were refused. They had already commenced their military drills and their disappointment can readily be imagined. After some delay, however, they were received into service and went into camp at the old fair grounds, on Pigeon Creek, until such a time as they should be called into active service. They were mustered in on June 7th, and their official title was "Company E, 14th regiment infantry". Captain Thompson resigned and Lieutenant Willard took his place in 1861, serving until his term expired. A much-loved member of this company was Edward Ballenger, who was always known as Ed. He had been a clerk in Evansville and was highly esteemed by everybody on account of his genial good nature. He was badly wounded during action and died as the result of these wounds in 1862. Captain Meyerhoff, who had served all through the war, was in the hospital at the time the company was mustered out, on account of wounds received during action. Just. before Captain Thompson's company departed, it was presented with a flag by the ladies of the city of Evansville. It was of silk and had been made by their own fair hands. It was presented at the corner of Main and Third streets. Every window and balcony in the neighborhood was completely blocked with friends who desired to see this event. The Turner corps, composed of German young men, was out in full uniform. The speech of presentation was made by Mr. James Shanklin, and it was one of the most brilliant and, at the same time, pathetic, pieces of oratory ever heard in this city. One beautiful thought was as follows: "Soldiers, to you this
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