USA > Indiana > Reunion of the 9th regiment Indiana vet. vol. infantry association, 1892-1904 > Part 13
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A recent letter from Capt. MeConnell states that he and Gen. Boynton met in December on the battlefield and went over the ground together and established the stake at which the marker and monument are to be placed very soon under the direction of the Park engineer.
Gen. Boynton, in spite of the sharp skirmishing by the Ninth for position of its monument on Snodgrass Hill, showed the magnanimity of a good soldier in yielding to Comrade McConnell's request that the regimental marker on Snodgrass Hill be a large one. and so we understand it is 3x3 feet and 4 feet high, making it almost as conspienous as a monument.
INSCRIPTION FOR MARKER.
(Snodgrass Hill)
INDIANA-NINTH REGIMENT INFANTRY.
Was sent to this position at dusk of September 20th, from
Snodgrass field; lost some men by capture with the three regi- ments which were captured on the right; fired into the captur- ing force, and held this position until 8 p. m. when it with- drew.
INSCRIPTION FOR MONUMENT.
INDIANA'S TRIBUTE
TO HER
NINTH REGIMENT INFANTRY.
COLONEL ISSAC C. B. SUMAN, Commanding.
Second Brigade ( Hazen) Second Division (Palmer) Twenty-first Corps (Crittenden)
September 19th, this Regiment went into action near the Brock field, about 2 p. m., and lost heavily; near 3:30 p. m. retired and refilled boxes in the vicinity of the Poe house; moved to this point, there confronted an advancing column of the enemy in overwhelming numbers and compelled it to pause; engaged it for 30 minutes and lost heavily (three officers killed. )
September 20th, at daylight in line at Southeast corner of Kelly field and held its line until 3:30 p. m. At Snodgrass field asssisted in repulsing Longstreet's last assault. Near dusk was sent to the right of Brannan's Division, and after the capture of the three regiments on the right, and some of its own men, fired upon the capturing force and held its posi- tion until 8 p. m., when it withdrew.
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MEMOIRS.
CAPT. JOSEPH W. HARDING.
Born March 20, 1836. Died November 16, 1896.
Joseph W. Harding, son of Benjamin and Anna Harding was born in Richland county, O., March 20, 1836, and could truthfully say he was born of poor bnt respectable parents. His father died when Joseph was but two years of age, leaving a helpless family and in destitute circumstances. The widow,
however, was a brave hearted hard working woman, who by spinning and weaving for her neighbors succeeded in keeping her fatherless flock together and supplying as best she could their wants. When Joseph was about ten years of age his mother moved to Indiana, first settling near Union Mills, La Porte county, and subsequently removed to a farm near Mich. igan City, where Joseph lived with his good Spartan like mo- ther at the breaking out of the civil war. Of his boyhood and early manhood the writer of this sketch has not been able to learn much, save like most of the young men in his locallty he had that hardy struggle for a living which so well de- velops a rugged self-reliant character that it is armored against the ups and downs of a farmer's fight for a competence for himself and dependent ones. He was a young man of fine physique and known to be courageous and yet gentle to the weak, fair minded, energetic and laudably ambitious to improve his mind and his surroundings, and with a brave heart and willing arms was struggling to carve out a good farm in that
then comparatively new country, when the storm cloud of se- cession burst upon our fair country.
Young Harding was so constituted that he could not be any- thing but patriotic, hence at Lincoln's first call he volunteered and served as a private soldier in Company B, in the 9th Indi- ana Infantry during the three months service of the Regiment in West Virginia.
Upon the reorganization of the 9th for the three years ser- vice Joseph W. Harding was made Ist Lieutenant and served in that capacity enjoying the confidence of his superiors and the esteem of the rank and file. At Shiloh he was severely wounded on April 7th, or in the second day's fight near the historic Peach Orchard and subsequently sent home from the hospital on a furlough, and Capt. Wm. Copp who was also wounded at Shiloh having resigned, Lieut. Harding was in the summer of 1862 promoted to the Captaincy of his Company, but on account of his ;wound felt impelled to resign in the spring of 1863. In the closing year of the war he again en- tered the service as a Lieutenant in the 155th Regiment Indi- ana Infantry.
August 27th, 1864, Capt. Harding while living with his mother on the farm married Mary A. Hoon, of Knoxville, who survives him. Capt. Copp his old commander, and who by the way was a Methodist minister, performed the marriage eer- emony. In 1869 Capt. Harding removed from LaPorte coun- ty, Indiana, to Effiingham county, Illinois, where he resided up to May, 1880, when he and his family landed on his Sol- dier's homestead in Dawson county, Nebraska, not far from Plum Creek, (now Lexington) upon which he continued to re- side until his death. Comrade Harding sought in the new State of Nebraska to support himself and family by farming and stock raising, and in spite of the many drawbacks attend- ing farming in that remote section, succeeded fairly well, though of late years badly handicapped by heart disease con- tracted in his army service. The gallant soldier literally . died in the liarness, " so to speak being a man accustomed to hard work, though he bad seriously complained of pain in the region of the heart for several days previous to his final collapse but as his wife and children had known him to be a sufferer from this affliction for many years, they did not dream that the life of their loved one hung by so brittle a thread. While out in his cornfield but a short distance from his home Capt. Harding in making an effort to drive his cattle from the field, was sudden- ly stricken with death from heart failure and his body was
soon after found in such a position as to warrant the belief that death was almost instantaneous.
Capt. Harding left surviving him a wife who still lives on their homestead near Lexington, Nebraska, three sons and three daughters also survive him. He was a member of the Veteran Association of the Ninth Indiana and attended one or two reunions a few years prior to his death. His hearty hand- shake and hearty greeting on those occasions will be remem- bered by many of his brother officers and comrades.
He was a member of Reno Post 112 department of Nebraska G. A. R. and buried under the auspices of his Post in Ever- green Cemetery about two miles from his, the Harding Home- stead, Dawson Co., Nebraska. Peace to the ashes of a chival- rous comrade.
MAJOR JOHN B. MILROY.
Born Jan. 8, 1820, Died Nov. 29, 1896.
Major Milroy, son of General Samuel Milroy and brother of Major Gen. Robert H. Milroy, first Colonel of the 9th Indiana Infantry Regiment, was born in Salem, Washington county Ind, and when a child of about 5 years removed with his father and family to Carroll Co., Ind. The old Milroy Homestead is near Delphi.
During his boyhood the subject of our sketch attended the common schools, but like his older brother, the late Maj. Gen- eral Milroy he had in his young manhood a decided liking for Miltary affairs and both Robert HI. and John B. attended the Military University of Norwich, Vermont, and were associated with many students who afterwards became prominent as of- ficers in the war for the Union on both the Federal and Con- federate side. John B. Milroy entered the service as Captain of Co. A of the 9th Indiana upon its reorganization as a three year regiment and in Nov. 1861 was promoted Major and served in that Capacity until July 1862 when he resigned.
Major Milroy was of large stature and commanding presence and in his younger days quite athletic and possessed plenty of pluck and unquestioned courage and never asked a soldier in his command to perform a duty he would not himself perform.
Most of his active campaigning was in West Virginia and at the battle of Buffalo Mt. Major Milroy displayed conspicuous gallantry and through his coolness and bravery (very largely) the column under command of Col. Moody was successfully withdrawn from a perilous position after it had been demon- strated that the Union troops were not sufficiently strong to carry by assault the well-fortified and well-defended position of the rebel forces under command of Col. Edward Johnson.
The Ninth Indiana losing in this unsuccessful assault eight killed and thirteen wounded.
Previous to his enlistment Major Milroy had taken an active interest in the polities of his county and had filled the position of County Auditor. Subsequent to the war he took an active interest in politics and public affairs acting always with the democratic party until the organization of the Green-back party with which party he connected himself and later identified himself as a very active and earnest supporter of the Union Labor party and in 1890 was nominated and made the race for Lieutenant Governor of Indiana on the ticket of that party .. While many of his army comrades and old pioneer friends could not accept his political beliefs they respected him as an earnest public spirite ! citizen and he was always a conspicu -. ous figure among the pioneers of Carroll Co.
Major Milroy took an active interest in the Veteran Associa- tion of the Ninth Indiana Regiment and was chosen President of the 8th Reunion of the association held at Logansport in August 1891 and was re-elected at the reunion held at Rensse- lear in the fall of 1892 and continued its president until the close of the Delphi Reunion in Oct. 1895. Comrades of the regiment who were present at that reunion, will recall his re- luctance to part with the old veterans and despite his being then indisposed how he followed the departing groups to their several trains shaking the hand of each old comrade with an almost fatherly solicitude in bidding them adieu. And comrades who learned of his sudden demise a year later, felt they had done a gracions and proper thing when just before passing out of the Opera House they faced about and noting the sad yearning face of the old Major as he stood on the platform watching them depart, as a token of respect gave their old president of the Veteran Association three hearty cheers.
Major Milroy was a member in good standing of Delphi Lodge No. 516, F. A. M. and of Boothroyd Post G. A. R. and the remains of the sturdy old soldier and pioneer was reverently laid to rest by these fraternities.
JOHN L. KNAPP.
John L. Knapp was born in Orange County, N. Y., June 18, 1837. He died at midnight July 15, 1895 at Davenport, Iowa, of heart disease.
After he left his boyhood home in Orange County he went to the city of New York and there remained three years. From there he went west to Elkhart, Indiana. He had been there only a few months when he enlisted in the Ninth Indiana In- fantry which was then being enrolled. The date of his enlist-
ment was August 15, 1861, and he was honorably discharged from the military service of the United States on September 15, 1864. He was with the regiment in all but a very few of its many engagements. He was wounded at the battle of Stone River. On being discharged from the army he returned to Elkhart, Indiana and on March 3, 1865, was married to Miss Telitha S. Morton of that city who as his widow still survives him, residing at Spring Valley, Ill.
Two children were born to them, both of whom are living; Charles W. Knapp who resides at Spring Valley, Ill. and Sarah M. Walters who resides at Fulton, III.
He contracted the heart disease from which he died from exposure while in the army and during the last fifteen years of his life he was unable to follow his occupation of a farmer by reason of it. Shortly after his marriage he purchased a farm near Elkhart and lived there several years, then moved to Kansas from there went to Hamilton County, lowa where he lived three years. He then in 1873 moved to Whiteside coun- ty, Ill., in which county he resided at the time of his death.
He was a member of Robert Hale Post G. A. R. of Fulton; Fulton City Lodge No. 189 A. F. & A. M. and Fulton Chapter R. A. M. . He was deeply interested in the G. A. R. and was a member of the Ninth Ind. Veteran Infantry Association.
The ceremonies at the grave were under the auspices of Ful- ton City Lodge, A. F. & A. M., No. 189, of which deceased was a member and which attended in a body.
The universal respect and esteem in which deceased was held was evidenced by the large attendance at the last rites preced- ing the interment in Fulton cemetery.
Comrade Knapp was a good faithful soldier and as a corporal in his company enjoyed the fullest confidence of his officers and the hearty esteem of Ins comrades; he was an earnest quiet gentleman possessing the faculty of making friends readily and his conduct and bearing was such as to impress all whom came in contact with him that he was a companionable, intelligent and trustworthy man.
WILLIAM KING
Was born in Crawford county, Ohio August 13, 1882, and died at his home near Bristol, Ind., on the 10th day of Sept. A. D. 1892. Comrade King left no children. His widow, Frances A. is living. William King was a good faithful sol- dier serving in the ranks of Co. C of the old Ninth Indiana Regiment. He was a successful farmer and an esteemed and useful citizen of the community in which he lived.
GEORGE DE ARMINT
Died last September at his home near Paola, Kansas, at the advanced age of 83 years. Comrade DeArmint served in Co. E of the 9th Indiana in the war for the Union and in his younger days served under Gen. Scott in the Mexican war. He was a good soldier and an excellent citizen.
ADDITIONS TO DEATH LIST.
Major John B. Milroy died at Delphi, Ind., Nov. 29, 1896. Captain Joseph W. Harding (Co. B) died near Lexington, Neb., Nov. 10. 1896.
Corporal John L. Knapp (Co. C) died at Davenport, Iowa, July 15, 1895.
Corporal Fred J. Merritt (Co. A, 3 months) died at Chicago April 16, 1897.
William King (Co. C) died at Bristol, Indiana, September 10, 1892.
James N. Wright (Co. H) died at Whitewater, Ind., June 15, 1897.
William H. Ijams (Co. K) died at Walton, Ind., 1895.
ADDITIONS TO ROSTER OF SURVIVORS.
Co. D-John HI. Standford, Columbus, Ind. W. C. George, Muncie, Ind. John W. Bash, Greenfield, Ind. Rufus J. Scott, Greenfield, Ind. William Muzzy, Mt. Summit, Ind.
Co. A-John F. Larmon, Indianapolis, Ind.
Co. C-Jonathan Bundy, Grayville, Ind.
Co. G-T. J. Cashow, Jewett, Ills.
Co. F-Jackson Barnes, Spring Grove, Mich.
Co. K-William Willis, Indianapolis. Ind. Co. I-Charles Leonard, Hartford City, Ills.
Co. E- - Henry Haryman, Martinsville, Ind.
Co. H1 3 months-William C. Kirk, Remington, Ind.
CORRECTION OF ROSTER.
James F. Hull, Delphi, Ind. Hiram Peterson, La Belle, Mo. John B. Colon, DePond, Ind.
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AT THE HEBRON REUNION.
The following comrades registered their names:
Col. I. C. B. Suman, Valparaiso; Maj. James D. Braden, Elkhart; Dr. J. K. Blackstone. Hebron.
Captains -- Thomas Madden, Indianapolis; George K. Mar- shall, Logansport; James M. Wharton, Bringhurst; all of Co. A; Wm. H. Merritt Co. F of Elkhart, Stephen P. Hodsden Co H, of Sedley and Dyer B. McConnell Co. K, of Logansport.
Lieutenants-J. M. Helmick Co. E and Samuel Dustan Co. F, of Elkhart, Benj. Faris Co. G, of Medaryville; R. F. Drul- linger Co. H and John Banta Co. K of Logansport.
Sergeants-Geo. S. Curtis Co. D, of South Chicago; Orlando V. Servis and Henry Burgess of Hebron, Co. E; John Morrow of Hebron; Harvey Gibbs of Leroy; Robert Stephenson of Parr; Samuel Landis of Carroll, Co. K.
Comrades present who served in the ranks in the several companies are as follows:
Co. A-A. S. McCormick of Lafayette.
Co. C-P. Able and J. H. Stanley of Elkhart and B. Dunn of Waukegan, Ill.
Co. D-John W. Covender, of Wheatfield, and John D. God- dard, of Morfolo.
Co. E-J. Baldwin and James McKnight of Leroy; T. J. Robinson, Allen S. Thatcher, Gideon Aylie, all of Hebron; Robert Hall of San Pierre; Samuel Horner of Valparaiso; A. R. Castle of Hobart, Geo. Williams and John Stewart of Palmer.
Co. F-George Van Auken of Columbus Junction, lowa, Louis Laddauer and E. R. Niles of Valparaiso, Alex. L. Whitehall of Chicago.
Co. G-H. E. James, of Hammond, Calvin Coppess of Me- daryville, James W. Porter of Rensselaer, D. F. S. Barelay of Boscobel, Wis.
Co. H-John Ritz, Joseph Zea and G. A. Vannata of Val- paraiso, Jonathan Edwards of Winchester, Jesse Leggett of Hebron, W. II. Clement, John Griffith and S. J. Thatcher of Valparaiso, George Post of Hammond, Isaac Bryant, Daniel Lynch and Chas. E. Ketcham of Lowell.
Co. K-Alpheus Porter, George Friend, Jacob M. Barron, L. H. Burns, Augustus Cook, James Chambers. William Ban- ta, O. H. Tibbetts of Hamburg, Iowa, Jacob Miller of Braid- wood, Ill.
Among the ladies present were the following: Mesdames Robert Stephenson, E. R. Niles and daughter. J. Covender, John Banta and granddaughter, Win. Banta, H. E. James, J. Chambers, Jacob Miller, J. H. Stanley, James MeKnight, and daughter, George Post and daughter, A. R. Castle, O. V. Servis, Miss Goddard, John Morrow, Alice Whitehall, Harvey Gibbs, A. Cook, Robinson, J. M. Barron, and Miss Madge Whitehall.
NINTH NOTES.
The Corresponding Secretary is indebted to Comrade Arm- strong a member of his Post and a former resident of Mishawaka for the following clipping from a Mishawaka newspaper:
"IN MEMORY'S HALLS -RE UNION OF CO. 1, NINTH INDIANA VOLUNTEERS.
On Sunday afternoon last, at the residence of Eben Parks, this city, occurred a re-union of such old members as could be reached in time for the impromptu character of the re-union. John Lundy, now and for many years in the U. S. mail service of the city of New York, had been a guest for a few days of Mr. Parks. Lundy was one of the original members of this company-a gallant soldier, who attested his patriotism and courage in every battle the historie old regiment was in, from Cheat Mountain, Va., to Shiloh. Stone River, Chickamaugua, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, the Atlanta campaign, to Nashville, Tenn., at which battle he lost his good right arm at the shoulder joint. He came here on invitation to visit the Parks family, who had two representatives in the company, and to visit with other comrades. A telegram brought Horace Parks from Olathe, Kansas. This comrade was shot out of the company at Mission Ridge by a bullet through the right groin. No word or summons from friendly lips could bring to this reunion the other member of the Parks family who once marched under the colors of the Ninth. He met a soldier's fate on the bloody field of Chickamaugua, and pilgrims of these calmer days will find in the National cemetery at Chattanooga the stone which marks his last resting place-sacred to the memory of Lieuten- ant Seth B. Parks. Co. I, Ninth Indiana. There were present. at this re-union besides Comrades Lundy and Horace Parks, Comrades Frank Avery, Benjamin Anderson, James Marsh, Wm. Bonney, Henry Kremer, John N. Holliday, Edwin Ham and N. V. Brower. All but two were of the original enlist- ment and all who were not shot out, veteranized and remained to the end of the war.
The guests assembled with soldierly promptness at two o'clock, and proceeded in a body to the residence of Mother Parks, next door, to pay their respects to the grand old lady who is the mother of two of their comrades, and the mother, also, of another soldier who died for his country on the battle- field, a member of another regiment. Think you there was not heart in the compliments expressed as these old veterans clasped the hand of the venerable lady? The proudest queen of earth never received homage from truer hearts.
Leaning on the arm of one of the comrades, Madam Parks was escorted to the residence of her son, wher after a short time devoted to social features, the guests were seated at din- ner. Grace was said over the bountiful feast by the aged mother-Grace that was a prayer and thanksgiving to the All- Father for bounties received, for the re-union of . these boys who stood in the storm and tempest of battle and had been permitted to return, " and a plea for the Father's watchful care over all to the end. The dinner was a dream, a realization of the taunting dream that more than once came in the troubled sleep of camp when rations came not at the close of the long day's march, and, supperless to bed, the soldier boy dreamed of home and banquet boards. After dinner, re-union-living over old camp times, recalling old camps, marches, battles, and tender references to dead and absent comrades. And then there was the singing of the old songs, by the favorite tenor of the company, who in the days around the camp fire, and before "taps," with other comrades now dead, made music for his mates and whiled the hours away-brought home nearer. Who of the old "boys" will ever forget his "Annie Laurie" and "Home, Sweet Home?" In the words of Bayard Taylor's beautiful poem they "each recalled a different name but all sang ' Annie Laurie'."
The afternoon was all too short for the veterans of '61. Good byes were said and another pleasant page in Memory's book was closed."
Comrade Geo. W. Blackman of Co. B hands us the follow- ing clipping from a LaPorte, Ind. paper which will be of inter- est to a number of our comrades. The Editor is in error as to the wounding of Capt. Copp. He was wounded at Shiloh in- stead of Stone River:
"Capt. Copp, the well known fighting parson of northern Indiana during the late unpleasantness more than surprised us in a visit he made this office last Monday. It had been nearly thirty years since he left this city and went to Minnesota. We had not met him during all that time till he swooped down on
us as above noted. Coming to our office as stated wearing a heavy fur overcoat he refused to give his name for some time, aggravating us considerably because of this. He finally said that his name was Copp, "spelled without a K," which reminded us that the first time we met was at a reaper trial July 5, 1859, near O. P. Ludlow's residence south of town and was intro- duced by Rev. Mr. Cooper, pastor of the M. E. church of La- Porte as Rev. Mr. Copp, "spelled without a K." He then had charge of the Methodist church at Michigan City. We knew that Capt. Copp was in this locality and expected to soon meet him. We had supposed we would see an old gray -. headed man but instead he looked younger than he was when he left here. He is looking fresh and vigorous and although nearly 75 years old bids fair to last many years yet. All the time he was up north he was in active ministerial work until last fall when he asked the conference to "drop him from the rolls" this year and let him have some rest. He thought he had earned it. He was a captain in the old Ninth Indiana regi- ment and was badly wounded in one of his hips at Stone River which made him a serious eripple all his subsequent life in La- Porte. In 1863 he was elected county recorder and served four years. Soon after he left that office he went up to the northwest and made that his home till his return here a couple of weeks ago. He drove through with a team, twelve hundred miles. It took three weeks to make the journey. He will probably remain here and hereabouts throughout the winter visiting his children and friends. . The captain was considered by all a conscientious, patriotic gentleman. He was earnest, enthusiastic and many thought him rash, but no one doubted his moral integrity and conscientious conviction of right and justice. His courage never was doubted. He always had hosts of warm hearty admirers in this county and many ardent ene- mies. Capt. Copp is now quite free from lameness-only slightly limping as he walks."
CONCLUSION.
By way of apology for the late appearance of this report we will say that as an employee of Cook county. quite all the day- light hours are required for the performance of our duty, and it has seemed almost impossible for us to find any time to do our work for the old Ninth .. But comrades, we have done the best we could hampered with over-work (and sickness part of the time) to give you a readable report, and if it does not fully meet your expectation, please consider the embarrassments we have labored under in its preparation.
Minth Indiana
Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual Re-union Held at Lowell, Indiana, October 6 and 7, 1898.
Veteran Association
1915
PROCEEDINGS OF TWELFTH ANNUAL RE-UNION
OF THE
Ninth Indiana Yeteran Association
HELD AT LOWELL, IND., OCT. 6-7, 1898.
The Veterans of the Ninth and Twentieth Indiana Regi- ments on arriving at Lowell the forenoon of October 6, were pained to note the extent of the ruin wrought by the dis- astrous fire which on the night of October 4th wiped out near- ly all of the business portion on the north side of the street.
A number of comrades intending to attend the reunion remained at home after learning of the crushing blow that had fallen upon the bright, active little town, feeling the good people could not entertain their guests as prearranged. But all such misjudged the grit and generosity of the citizens of Lowell.
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