USA > Indiana > Cass County > Pastime sketches : scenes and events at "The Mouth of Eel" on the historic Wabash with papers read before the Cass County Indiana, Historical Society at its spring meetings, 1907 > Part 7
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In the Mexican war Cass county furnished Capt. Stanislaus Laselle, First Lieut. Wm. L. Brown, Second Lieut. D. M. Dunn, Third Lieut. G. W. Blakemore. T. H. Bringhurst was a corporal. J. T. Bryer, J. B. Grover, W. W. McMillen, S. L. McFadin, W. Obenchain, S. B. Richardson and others well known were members of this company, the full list being given in Kingman's 1878 Atlas of Cass county. The company became part of the
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first regiment, organized at New Albany with James P. Drake colonel, C. C. Nave, lieutenant-colonel and Henry S. Lane, major. The company spent some time in northern Mexico about Monterey, with no engagement and returned on the 15th of June, 1847, by way of the river to Cincinnati and thence to Logansport by canal. The company contained .92 men when mustered in. Three died in Mexico and 31 were discharged on account of ill health.
In the Civil war Cass county furnished a com- pany of the original 9th Indiana Volunteers, the first that left the state, for service in West Virginia. On the 15th of April, 1861, the president called for troops. The following day the first commission was issued to Robert H. Milroy, as captain of Com- pany G. Dudley H. Chase was commissioned cap- tain of 'Company K. The regiment reported for duty and was mustered in ten days after the call. The regiment left Indianapolis on the 29th of May and on the 3rd of June participated in an engage- ment at Philippi. The period of enlistment was ninety days. Capt. Chase at once re-entered serv- ice in the Seventeenth U. S. Infantry and most of the others saw later service.
John Banta was first lieutenant of Co. K of this regiment. G. W. Marshall was captain of Co. K, as was also D. B. McConnell. May 3rd, 1861, a call was made for three years men and another com- pany was formed, becoming Company F, of the Twentieth Regiment. William L. Brown was elected colonel of this regiment and Benjamin H. Smith Major, both of Cass county. Thomas H. Logan was first lieutenant of this company and E. C. Sutherland second lieutenant. T. H. Logan be- came captain, Sutherland first lieutenant and Har-
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vey H. Miller, second lieutenant and first lieutenant later. Col. Brown was killed on Manassas Plains, August 29, 1862. Lieut. Sutherland died in the service May 26th, 1864.
Following this company the Forty-sixth regi- ment was organized with a greater part of the mem- bers of companies B, D and I, and a portion of F and H from Cass county. The officers were Gra- ham N. Fitch, colonel, Newton G. Scott, lieuten- ant-colonel, Thomas H. Bringhurst, major, Rich- ard P. DeHart, adjutant, D. D. Dykeman, quarter- master, Robert Irwin, chaplain, and Horace Cole- man, acting surgeon. Major Bringhurst became colonel, Capt. A. M. Flory, lieutenant-colonel, Wil- liam M. DeHart, major, Thomas H. Howes, quar- termaster, William S. Richardson, quartermaster, Dr. Asa Coleman, assistant surgeon, and Dr. I. B. Washburn, principal surgeon.
Aaron Flory was captain of Company B, suc- ceeded by Frank Swigart when Flory was promot- ed and later T. B. Forgy became captain. John T. Castle and Matthew Graham were first lieutenants, John Arnout, Loren C. Stevens and M. H. Nash second lieutenants.
John Guthrie was captain of Company D, and was succeeded by Wm. M. DeHart, C. A. Brownlee and A. B. Herman, first lieutenants, A. K. Ewing and A. J. Lavenger, second lieutenants. J. W. F. Liston was captain of Company I and was suc- ceeded by Frederick Fitch. N. B. Liston was sec- ond lieutenant. The regiment was mustered in De- cember 11th, 1861, and served till the close of the war. It was in camp before going to war at Camp Logan, where the Vandalia shops are in Logans- port. The county also furnished Companies G and
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H of the Seventy-third regiment mustered in Au- gust 16th, 1862. The officers of Company G were W. L. McConnell, captain, J. A. Westlake, captain, G. A. Vaness, first lieutenant, R. J. Connoly, second lieutenant, and S. B. Pratt, second lieutenant. The officers of Company H were Peter Doyle and D. H. Mull, captains, H. S. Murdock, first lieutenant and A. M. Callahan, second lieutenant. Company K of the Ninety-ninth Regiment, was mainly made up in Cass county. Richard P. DeHart was lieuten- ant-Colonel, G. W. Julian and George C. Walker were captains and Selden P. Stuart first lieuten- ant, John C. McGregor, second lieutenant.
In 1863 the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth was organized with Richard P. DeHart colonel and Cass county furnished most of Companies B, H and K. Alex K. Ewing and John C. Barnett were captains, W. C. Mills and Frank E. West, first lieu- tenants and Samuel Tilton second. Company H had for its captain John T. Powell and Wm. A. Harper was first lieutenant. Company K had Frank M. Hinton as captain, George W. Smith, first lieu- tenant and Wm. H. Crockett, second lieutenant.
The One Hundred and Fifty-ninth Regiment had for captain of Company C, John C. Scantling, who was promoted to major and after the war went into the regular army. J. E. Cornwell, Joseph P. McKee and John G. Penrose were lieutenants.
Outside of these organzations Logansport has had other officers, some as citizens since that time who were residents of other counties or states dur- ing the war. J. B. Winters was first lieutenant of Co. F, 151st Indiana, and Bruce Davidson was a captain of the same company. Robert Cromer was also a first lieutenant of the same company. J. C.
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Hadley was a captain of Co. K in the 70th Indiana Regiment, General Harrison's. Joseph Craig was captain of Co. G, 130th Ind., and George W. Julian, captain of Co. K, 99th Indiana. James Finegan was captain of Co. C, 53rd Indiana. A. W. Ste- vens was captain of Co. K, 142d Indiana. A. C. Hadlock was colonel of the First Kentucky Cav- alry, W. H. Snider was major of the 94th Ohio.
Quartermasters in the Civil war were: George Horn, 46th Indiana, W. S. Richardson, same, George F. West, 9th Ill. Cavalry, and M. M. Gor- don, 13th Ind. Volunteers. Some of the other offi- cers were :
Captains, Frank Hight, Co. E, 39th Ohio; John C. Nelson, Co. B, 70th Ohio, Hazen's staff ; Samuel Purviance, Co. E, 9th Ill. Cavalry ; Alex. Hardy, 24th Battery, Ind. Vol .; Jesse L. Cornwell, Co. C, 155th Ind .; James W. Dunn, Co. H, 55th Ind. ; Car- ter L. Vigus, 55th Ind .; W. C. Mills, Co. E, 128th Ind .; J. Y. Ballou, Co. K, 12th Ind. Cavalry ; Peter Doyle, Co. H, 73d Ind. (killed at Stone River) ; John G. Kessler, Co. A, 2nd Ind. Cavalry; J. C. Brophy, Co. H, 22nd Michigan; Joseph A. West- lake, Co. G, 73d Ind .; W. L. McConnell, Co. G, 73d Ind .; D. M. Bender, Co. I, 47th Ind .; J. T. Powell, Co. H, 128th Ind .; Abraham Shafer, Co. B, 36th Ind.
Lieutenants: S. A. Vaughn was first lieutenant 12th U. S. Heavy Artillery, appointed from the State of New York by the President and assigned to the second army corps under General Hancock; W. H. Crockett, first, Co. K, 128th Ind .; James Parker, first, Co. K, U. S. Heavy Artillery ; John Penrose, second, Co. C, 155th Ind .; Henry Murdock, Co. G, 73d Ind .; G. A. Vaness, first, Co. G, 73d Ind .;
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S. B. Pratt, second, Co. G, 73d Ind .; Frank Smith, first, Co. K, 128 Ind .; H. C. Cushman, first, Co. A, 94th Ohio; G. F. West, first, 9th Ill. Cavalry ; A. M. Callahan, second, Co. H, 73d Ind .; Samuel Til- ton, second, Co. D, 128th Ind .; B. H. Keith, first, Co. G, 128th Ind .; M. K. Graham, first, Co. B, 46th Ind .; Leroy J. Anderson, first, Co. D, 46th Ind .; Frank M. Rust, second, Co. B, 55th Ind .;. A. W. Mobley, first, Co. H, 55th Ind .; John G. Meck, second, Co. H, 55th Ind .; G. W. Smith, Co. K, 128th Ind .; Joseph P. McKee, first, Co. C, 155th Ind. ; James A. Wilkinson, second, Co. E, 9th Ill. Cav- alry ; James Justice, first 118th Ind. ; J. H. McMil- len, second, Co. K, 5th Ind. Cavalry ; Robert Nick- um, first, 69th Ind .; Austin B. Sargent, first, Co. E, 29th Ind .; W. H. Wilkinson, second, Co. F 12th Ind. Cavalry; M. M. Gordon, first, Co. E, 13th Ind.
The Spanish-American war was fought in the spring and summer of 1898. Logansport furnished Company M. of the 160th Indiana of which D. M. Bender was captain, a captain of the Civil war. The other officers were W. C. Dunn, first lieuten- ant; Leroy Fitch, 2d lieutenant. Several ' Cass county men enlisted in the 161st Ind.
Company 14, U. S. Signal Corps (staff corps) was recruited from Indiana at Indianapolis by W. S. Wright, first lieutenant. It numbered 54 men, two- thirds of whom, under the law, were skilled elec- tricians or telegraphers. Logansport men were Claude Beebe, James V. C. Nelson, Charles Mas- sena, Willard Keiser, S. E. Keiser, Adelbert Young, Walter C. Hall and Willard Thomas.
The corps spent three weeks in drill and pre- paration at Washington barracks and was then as- signed to the staff of the Seventh Army Corps in
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camp at Jacksonville, Fla., Fitzhugh Lee command- ing. Inasmuch as the Signal Corps is a new feature of military operation the following sketch is added.
The signal corps constructed and operated tele- graph lines between head quarters within 24 hours after an army went into camp. It also communi- cated messages by what is known as wigwagging and by the heliograph.
Wigwagging was the method of communicating without wires, flags were used in the day time and torches at night. On account of the exposed position of the men on eminences they were armed with carbines and re- volvers and were often protected by a squad. They carried also their signal apparatus. Messages were received by the aid of powerful field glasses. The limit of observation and signaling was about four miles. The telegraph code was used as in the Western Union offices and railroad offices. The flag or torch at night was held upright, a quick stroke to the right, or left, made the dots and a slow stroke the dashes, and thus the messages were spelled out as in ordinary telegraphing. When no hill-tops were available the tops of the tallest trees were used as stations. The helio- graph was an instrument made up of a tripod, a mirror and a shutter. By the quick, or slow use of the shutter dashes and dots were made. The mir- ror was adjustable and caught the sun's rays and reflected them to a certain point where the message was to be taken. By the aid of field-glasses mes- sages have been sent 50 miles but of course the heliograph is only available in the day time and on a clear day. These methods of signalling have been used very successfully in Europe in time of war but the objections are first the difficulty of attract-
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ing the attention of the squad to be communicated with, and secondly, the prominence of the signal- ling squad which make it an object of interest to the sharp-shooters. The signal corps also had charge of the balloon train, the balloon being held by a cable four or five hundred feet long, and be- ing used for a signal station and for observation of the enemy's position and numbers.
On account of the separation of the corps into small squads for field work there were many non- commissioned officers, Nelson, Beebe, Messena, Young and both Keisers were sergeants, Thomas was a corporal.
Logansport was and is well represented in the regular army and navy. Leroy Fitch rose to the rank of Commodore and was retired. He died about 1876 at his home on the Southside where the St. Joseph Hospital stands. Capt. Henry S. Fitch died in 1871 and Fred Fitch was captain in the 46th Indiana. Graham D. Fitch is a major in the en- gineering corps of the regular army and is now sta- tioned at Duluth, Minn., on River and Harbor Im- provements. Captain Wash Coulson, retired, was in the revenue service. E. L. McSheehy is an en- sign and is stationed at Manila. Lieutenant S. M. Landry is in the revenue service. Morris H. Brown was senior lieutenant in the navy and as- signed to League Island Navy Yard, Philadelphia, when he died. Captain Henry McCrea is in com- mand of the battleship Iowa.
Many of the officers of the Civil war here named went through the hardships of prison life at Libby, Andersonville, and other prisons. Many have at- tained rank in military organizations since the war. M. M. Gordon raised the Third Indiana State Mili-
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tia, Loyal Legion, and was appointed surgeon with the rank of major. He was afterwards internal revenue collector for Northern Indiana and gave up the practice of medicine.
Major William M. DeHart was the first enlisted man in the war of the rebellion though the honor is claimed by another man because the Logansport company was recruited before the President's pro- clamation declaring war. The company was mustered in and the honor rightfully belongs to Major DeHart. The Logansport company also claims the honor of being the first company formed in the Civil war.
The Logan Grays, the Cass Blues and perhaps other militia companies have been organized in Lo- gansport but space does not print further mention here.
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CHAPTER XXIV.
MEN OF NATIONAL, OR STATE FAME.
In the very nature of things greatness is not local. A man is more or less great as his influence, power or fame extends beyond the confines of his immediate environment. And this influence, power or fame must be in the directon of the public wel- fare. The bandit becomes notorious only, the in- ventor, artist, or author famous and to these we add the term great. There are "great" musicians, jur- ists physicians, ministers, explorers, scientists and so on. In our usual vocabulary of terms, however, the "great" man is the product of strife, political, civic or military. He must be a leader of men in contests among men. The element of leadership suffices without other qualification. It is the power to organize men and direct the forces in any given direction that we call greatness, and so every com- munity has its "great" men who may simply excel in organization and leadership. But in truth he is a more or less great man who acquires laudable fame beyond the scenes of hs daily avocation.
Logansport produced great men in the early days. The per cent. was much greater than at present. Undoubtedly the hardships of early life developed character. The little village on the Western frontier was the home of a United States Senator, generals in the Indian wars and other offi- cers. There were less men to command and more
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officers to command them, but that detracts naught from the honor. The titles were bravely won. It was an era when men were heroes and danger lurked everywhere. Nor were titles home made. They were official, in recognition of courage and ability. Furthermore history gives to men of Lo- gansport the leadership in public and military af- fairs in the entire north of the territory, and later the northern part of the State.
From the time of the organization and admis- sion of the State of Indiana up to the close of the Civil war, less than fifty years, the village, grown to a town of five or six thousand inhabitants in the early sixties, had known United States Senators, Generals, and other military officers as citizens. It had two United States Senators, two citizens elected to Congress, and its people were leaders in affairs of State and Nation. The Indian wars, Mexican war and Civil war produced great men, or rather brought out the greatness in men, as war always does. But Logansport had a remarkable share of them. It has now been thirty-two years since Logansport furnished a United States Senator, D. D. Pratt retiring in 1875. True the growth and development of the State has caused the greater distribution of these honors, there being nine-two populous counties in the State. And comparative peace has reigned over the country, so that there are no new heroes of war. Logansport has had its share of State and National honors since the Civil war but by comparison with the earlier days it does not seem so. And there is an average of strong character, if not the marked individual brilliancy of earlier days.
A review of the list down to the present from
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the early days shows that Logansport has fur- nished three United States Senators, John Tipton, Graham N. Fitch and Daniel D. Pratt. They have able biographers who have told of their lives and public acts, not possible in this brief sketch. David Turpie was for many years a resident of Logans- port before he became United States Senator. Schuyler Colfax represented this district before he became Vice President of the United States, as did also James N. Tyner, who became postmaster- general.
Among other prominet men now living Rufus Magee was minister to Sweden and Norway, and Judge D. P. Baldwin was Attorney-general of Indi- ana. Logansport was also the home of Simon P. Sheerin, clerk of the Supreme Court; Horace P. Biddle and William Z. Stuart, judges of the Su- preme Court of Indiana ; W. D. Owen, secretary of State, congressman and United States commis- sioner of immigration made Logansport his home; R. A. Brown, clerk of the Supreme Court lived in Logansport before his nomination. D. D. Pratt and Graham N. Fitch were elected to congress before they were made United States Senators and Logansport is the home of Frederick Landis. Charles B. Landis was a Logansport boy before he went to congress. George E. Ross served on the Appellate bench of the State and Dr. J. Z. Powell was a presidential elector, as were also Frank Swigart and Q. A. Myers. There is quite a list of senators, representatives, circuit judges and prose- cutors who served in distircts larger than Cass, who have been famed outside of their own local community, residents of Logansport, but their
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names appear fully in the histories of the State and county.
Logansport has stood high in the railroad world, as far as the fame of her sons is concerned. George W. Stevens became President of the Chesa- peake & Ohio R. R. and L. F. Loree, President of the Baltimore & Ohio R. R., two great lines of the East and West and active competitors. Frank Hecker became president of the Peninsular Car Works and C. L. Freer, treasurer and both became millionaires and Mr. Hecker a colonel in the Spanish-American war.
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CHAPTER XXV.
CASS COUNTY COMPANY FIRST IN CIVIL WAR.
Not only is Major Wm. M. DeHart of this city entitled to the honor of being the first enlisted man in the Civil war but company D, the one he re- cruited in Logansport, which became part of the Ninth Indiana, was the first company recruited in that war. The recruiting was begun Saturday night, April 13th, 1861, and was continued all day Sunday and Monday. The recruiting office was on the corner of Fourth and Market streets where the State Bank now stands. DeHart had no official authority. He signed first himself and urged others to do so and within a week one hundred and twenty- five names had been secured. The company went to Indianapolis at the end of the week and the official records show that it was mustered in April 19th, 1861, thus becoming the first company of the Civil war. The records of the adjutant-general of Indi- ana show that Lieutenant-Colonel Love was the mustering officer while the recollection of the sur- vivors is that Lieutenant-Colonel Wood was the mustering officer. Both were regular army officers, and the Logansport company was thus officially the first company of the Civil war.
Major DeHart's claim is only disputed by C. F. Rand who enlisted in New York two days later, but who claims to be the first enlisted man "after Lincoln's call for 75,000 men." DeHart volunteered
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within an hour after the news of the fall of Fort Sumter came, his company was mustered in and entitled to the distinction of being the first to enlist in the great army of 2,778,304 men. Honors have been showered on Rand as the first claimant. Eng- land, Russia, Germany, France, Persia, Mexico, Egypt, India, Norway and Japan have recognized his claim. The United States voted him a medal and a pension as the first enlisted man after the call but the honor belongs to Major DeHart, who was later in forty-three battles and some skirmishes and was wounded near Ft. Pillow, Miss., in 1862.
Company D has never asked for any recognition of its claim of being the first company organized in the Civil war. It was in action at the battle of Philippi as part of the Ninth regiment and served its three months of enlistment with honor. Most of its members re-enlisted in other companies. Rob- ert H. Milroy was colonel of the Ninth, J. W. Gor- don sergeant major and J. O. Cravens Q. M. ser- geant. Thomas M. Dunn was captain of Co. D. D. C. Weimer was first lieutenant and Like C. Vi- gus second lieutenant and quartermaster. O. W. Miles was a sergeant who became second lieutenant. Other sergeants were M. K. Graham, Ross L. Vigus and J. W. S. Liston. The corporals were W. M. DeHart, Samuel L. Purviance, Perry B. Bowser and T. H. Howes. The musicians were George W. Green, A. U. McAllister, and James M. Vigus, E. L. Ephraim was fife major.
One hundred and twenty-five men were taken to Indianapolis but the companies were formed with eighty-five men and part of those enlisting were not accepted and returned home. The complete list of those forming the first company of the Civil
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war in addition to those above named is as fol- lows :
Austin Adair, John W. Arnount, Hampton C. Booth, William H. Booth, Granville N. Black, Amos Barnett, Charles Bell, Samuel N. Black, Isaac Barnett, Allen Boyer, Ambrose Butler, John Castle, Isaac Castle, William H. Crockett, Ebenezer T. Cooke, John W. Chidester, James C. Chidester, James A. Craighead, Robert W. Clary, Allen B. Davidson, John Douglass, Charles A. Dunkle, David A. Ewing, Alex. K. Ewing, Theodore B. Forgy, William R. Greeley, Jacob Hudlow, John L. Hinkle, John Howard, Pollard Herring, David Jam- ison, Joseph Knight, James Linton, John S. Long, William Larimore, Joseph Linzy, Charles Longdorf, Abraham Lucus, Amos W. Mobley, George Myers, Samuel A. Mendenhall, John R. Moore, William Martin, Samuel Martin, William R. Marshall, John Means, Paul B. Miller, Edward Neff, Graham N. Patton, Frederick J. Patrick, John Rush, David Reprogle, Jacob Storer, Austin Sargent, James A. Troup, John W. Tippet, John A. Woodward, James A. Wilkinson, Joseph Vickory, Cyrus J. Vigus, John W. Vanmeter, George C. Vanmeter, George S. Vanmeter, Richard Patton, William Patton.
Captain Dunn, of this company, became a major and later went into the regular army as a captain of the 21st infantry. He died in California some years ago.
Mention has been made of Camp Logan on the Westside. A few months ago, in September, a stone was erected to mark this famous camp. The stone is in the yard of the Bates street school building and bears the inscription, "Forty-sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry organized and camped
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here from October to December, 1861." The stone was ordered at a meeting of the regiment held at Rochester, Indiana, in 1905. A committee was ap- pointed with Frank Swigart of Logansport as chairman to procure a stone and superintend its erection at the proper place. W. H. Duncan and George Clinger, of Cass county, were later added to the committee. George Clinger furnished the stone delivered at Peden's marbel works where it was engraved. The stone stands within twenty feet of the south line of Camp Logan, the guard line pa- trolled by the sentries. It is also near the east line of Camp Logan which extended westward about two thousand feet from this point. On the north the camp took in the ground now covered by the main track of the Vandalia railroad, extending a few feet north of the present main track.
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CHAPTER XXVI.
BOYHOOD SPORTS IN FORMER DAYS.
Logansport had not, one famous "Old Swimmin' Hole" but many of them. With two rivers, several races and a canal in its midst, so to speak, there was no lack of material. And as a result the boy of fifty years ago spent much of his time in the water. Scarcely had the ice disappeared in the spring when the old familiar sign was given in the school room, two fingers held up. The quick res- ponse all around meant that when the school day was over there would be a rush to the river, or race-moist hair, or a shirt put on wrong side out often told the tale at home, and a whipping follow- ed, notwithstanding the protestations of innocence. Swimming was a crime in those days, the reason of which was hard to understand, even when the word was passed around that some playmate had gone beyond his depth and would never come to school again.
Then there was the vigorous arm of the law in the person of David Middleton, the town marshal. Every boy felt himself a criminal in his presence, and passed him with downcast eyes, for it was against the law to go in swimming in the city limits before the shades of night had fallen. Never did the sun travel so slowly as in the evening hours when the assembled crowd sat upon the race bank and. waited for dusk. And after the swim was over
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