USA > Indiana > Reunion of the 9th regiment Indiana vet. vol. infantry association, 1892-1904 > Part 5
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Reluctant to again separate for another year, lest death might lay his heavy hand on the whitening head of one or more of them, the gradually lessening group of old veterans clustered in front of the stage and kept up the "meetin' " till forced to adjourn and hasten to the train for home, sweet home.
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CORRECTIONS TO ROSTER OF SURVIVORS.
THREE MONTHS' SERVICE.
Field and Staff. Quartermaster, C. L. Vigus, Soldiers' Home, Marion, Ind.
COMPANY A.
ED. M. BARNES, Minneapolis, Minn.
H. M. LANDREY, Montez, Ind.
W. N. VORIS. Albion, Ind. COMPANY D.
H. C. BOOTH, California.
ALLEN BOWYER, Onward, Ind. ABRAHAM LUCAS, La Fayette, Ind.
COMPANY F.
W. H. SHAW, Grand Crossing, Ill. COMPANY G.
LEWIS L. DOUGHERTY, Hammond, Ind.
A. H. GREEN, Winfield, Kas.
A. S. HAMMOND, New Mexico.
LARKIN POTTs, Rensselaer. Ind. COMPANY H.
THOs. J. ROBINSON, Hebron, Ind. COMPANY I.
FIRST SERGT. E. P. CHAPIN, South Bend, Ind. COMPANY K.
J. C. SCANTLING, Fort Warren, Boston, Mass. B. F. DWYER, Minneapolis, Minn.
CORRECTIONS TO ROSTER OF SURVIVORS.
THREE YEARS' SERVICE. COMPANY .1. GEORGE E. JAMES, Delphi. Ind. R. W. McDONALD, Flora, Ind. JERRY SHAW, La Fayette, Ind. COMPANY B. G. A. ThoMpsox, Brookline Park, Cook Co., Ill
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COMPANY C. J. A. SALISBURY, 273 Wabash av., Chicago, Ill.
COMPANY D. SERGT. T. H. ROBINSON, Medaryville, Ind.
EVERETT CAWOOD, Brookston, Ind.
JACOB HURLEY, Fair Oaks, Ind.
JOHN R. MOORE, Auburn, Ind.
WM. STUMBAUGH, Montmorenci, Ind.
JOHN W. COVENDER, Wheatfield, Ind. COMPANY E.
SERGT. O. V. SERVIS, Orchard Grove, Ind.
CORP'L. J. P. Baldwin, Leroy, Ind.
CORP'L B. F. HENTZELL, Cromwell, Ind.
CORP'E JAMES PRICE, Wolf Lake, Ind.
ROBERT HALL, Teft, Jasper Co., Ind.
GEO. BABBITT, 206 N. Desplaines st., Chicago Ill.
COMPANY F.
LIEUT. SAM DUSTAN, 493 Georgia st., Memphis, Tenn. COMPANY G.
HENRY COPPESS, Stanwood, Iowa.
THOMAS H. DAVISSON, Fair Oaks, Ind.
JOSEPH T. ILIFE, Rensselaer, Ind.
JOSEPHUS MASON, Ft. Wayne, Ind. JOHN MASON, Greencastle, Ind.
T. PRITCHARD, Greenburg, Kas. RICHARD R. FRESHOUR, Winslow, Ind. COMPANY H. CORP'L J. W. ZEA, Valparaiso, Ind. ASA P. BROWN, Canyon City, Col. ISAAC PETERSON, Canton, Mo.
HENRY PETERSON, La Belle, Mo. COMPANY I.
D. PROCTOR, 112 S. 7th st., Atchison, Kas.
COMPANY K. JOHN CALLOWAY, Lake Ceicott, Ind. SAMUEL HIMMAN, Montez, Ind.
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Additions to List of Comrades who have died since the war.
NINTH BAND.
WM. FARR, died at Delphi, Ind., June, 1, 1892. COMPANY G.
J. M. HOPKINS, died at Rensselaer, Ind., Aug. 29, 1890. LIEUT. JOHN W. BROWN, died at Ness City, Kas., March 13, 1893.
JOHN CARD, died at Britton, Oklohoma, Nov., 1889.
JEROME CARTER, died at Valparaiso, Ind., Dec. 24, 1891.
COMPANY K.
ELIAS MINNICK, died at Walton, Ind., April 14, 1892.
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IN MEMORIAM. ELIAS MINNICK.
Born July 30, 1843; died April 14, 1892.
Comrade Minnick's parents, Conrad and Anna C. Minnick, emigrated from Hesse Cassel, Germany, and settled first in Somerset County, Pa., where the subject of our sketch was born. Removing to Indiana the same year he was born, his parents settled down on a 160 acre farm near Walton, in Cass County, and lived there until the death of each.
At the age of 17 young Minnick's mother died, and he was apprenticed to learn the blacksmith trade, and in a few months the civil war began and young Minnick enlisted as a private in company K of the 9th Indiana, Aug. 27, 1561, and served until January, 1865. Hon. D. B. McConnell, of Logansport, speaks strongly in praise of Minnick as being a , thoroughly patriotic, brave and faithful soldier. Capt. McConnell commanded company K, and has observed Com- rade Minnick's life as a citizen, and says no higher compli- ment could be paid to the sterling qualities of our deceased comrade than the unusual number of people who attended his funeral. Minnick was in all the battles and skirmishes in which the 9th Indiana participated, up to the siege of Corinth, and was there taken so sick he was ordered to the hospital, but he begged so hard to be left with the company and was so popular with his comrades that they proposed to nurse and care for him, and for several months the sick young soldier was carried in an army wagon along with the regiment in all the marches and campaign in the summer of 1862, including the Buell and Bragg campaign, thus covering several hundreds of miles. At night his devoted comrades of company K would make him a bunk up off of the ground, and when in camp they had his cot protected by mosquito netting, and so faithfully looked after his wants and comfort that to his dying day
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he cherished a deep regard for his big hearted compan- ions in arms for their tenderness and noble devotion. His lower limbs were afflicted, rendering it impossible for him to walk, but as a reward for his pluck and devotion and nursing of his comrades, after months of patient sufferings he began to get the use of his limbs and was able to go into the bloody battle of Stone River, and after that was with his regiment in every engagement, up to and including the terrible fight at Chickamauga, at which place, with a number of the 9th, he was captured and sent to Andersonville, and as an inmate of that "hell of human horrors," and later at Richmond and Florence, for about fourteen months Com- rade Minnick starved and suffered in common with a few surviving comrades until finally released from prison and returned to his regiment, and continued with it till his mus ter out.
After his discharge he returned to Walton, Ind., to the old homestead, and April 18, 1866, married Elizabeth Lin- densmith, who survives him, and their union was blessed with six children, four boys and two girls, all of whom are living. He was a loving husband and kind father, and a man whose word was as good as his bond, and he enjoyed the full confidence and esteem of his neighbors. He was a member of the Ninth Indiana Veteran Association, and sel- dom failed to attend our reunions and mingle with his com- rades in his quiet, hearty way that will be remembered by his old friends,
Comrade Minnick was a charter member of B. A. James Post, No. 494, Department of Indiana, G. A. R., and was its Quartermaster from the date of its organization up to the time of his death, and he was buried at Walton under the auspices of his Post, many of his old comrades of Company K being present to see the remains of their cherished com- rade committed to a final resting place in the broad bosom of Mother Earthı.
The life history of this honest, brave, loyal man, who so won the hearts of his fellow soldiers that they, tired, toil- worn, battle-scarred, so many weary months tended him so
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devotedly and tenderly, in camp and on the march, that his life was spared for heroic work on the bloody fields of Stone River and Chickamauga, and then to pass the ordeal of hor- rible prisons, and return with them to the paths of peace and pass a quarter of a century of honorable, useful life as a universally esteemed neighbor among the friends of his boy- hood and manhood, is a subject that may well challenge the admiration of every lover of rugged honesty, plain, unpre- tending loyalty and genuine chivalry. The man who could evoke such a tender and chivalric devotion from his com- panions in arms must, perforce, have been possessed of a noble and manly character, such as makes a lasting impress for good on the human heart. Comrades of Company K, your brothers of the other companies honor you for the sol- dierly regard you manifested for as pure a patriot as Private Elias Minnick.
LIEUT. JOHN W. BROWN.
While not a member of our Veteran Association of the Ninth Regiment, Lieut. John W. Brown, as evidenced by frequent letters to us, was deeply interested in our success, and anticipated, up to his death, the pleasure of attending one of our reunions. Comrade Brown, for a great many years, has resided in Ness City, Kas, and died there March 13, 1892, of neuralgia of the heart. He left a widow and two children.
ELIAS MINNICK,
Born July 30th, 1843, Died April 14th, 1892.
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OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION.
PRESIDENT, MAJOR JJOHN B. MILRØY,
Delphi, Indiana.
VICE-PRESIDENTS,
H ... CORPL. J. W. ZEA.
C ... J. L. WOOLF.
E ... GEORGE WILLIAMS.
K ... ALPHEUS PORTER.
G ... LIEUT. B. R. FARRIS.
B ... John Vesper.
I ... WM. MARKEL.
D ... JOHN S. DEARDRUFF.
F ... CAPT. W. H. MERRITT.
A ... CAPT. JAS. M. WHARTON.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
MAJOR J. B. MILROY.
HON. D B. MCCONNELL, Logansport. Ind. P. M. BENJAMIN, Monticello, Ind. CAPT. AMASA JOHNSON, Plymouth, Ind. A. S. MCCORMICK, LaFayette, Ind.
CORRESPONDING SEC'Y., ALEX. L. WHITEHALL, 308 Inter Ocean Building, CHICAGO.
RECORDING SECY'., EZRA L. CLARK, RENSSELAER, IND. TREASURER, JOHN BANTA, LOGANSPORT, IND,
TENTH ANNUAL REUNION
OF THE
Ninth Indiana Veteran Infantry
ASSOCIATION
HELD AT
DELPHI, INDIANA,
October 9-10, 1895.
EYE PRINTING COMPANY, ENGLEWOOD-CHICAGO.
INFORMAL REUNION
OF THE
Ninth Indiana Veteran Infantry Regiment
HELD AT
Indianapolis, August, 1893, During the National Encampment, G. A. R.
Pursuant to arrangement by the Executive Committee of the Ninth Indiana Veteran Association, Captain Thomas Mad- den secured "Parlor E" at the Denison hotel as general head- quarters for the Ninth Indiana Regiment of Infantry during the Encampment, and a tent was also set apart at Military Park, the Field Camp, as also a point of rendezvous and headquarters for the members of the regiment. Invitations were sent out by Secretary Whitehall requesting all ex-soldiers of the Ninth attending the Encampment to call at one or the other of these headquarters and register their names so that an arrangement might be made for a general meeting of all those present in a reunion on the last day of the Encampment.
About seventy-five comrades reported to the headquarters of the regiment in the Denison hotel and registered, and for two days a large portion of the Ninth present made that their rallying point and resting place to which they would repair and enjoy themselves in visiting with old comrades, renewing old friend- ships and talking over the days of the war and incidents of their service.
Capt. Madden of Company A had secured a plentiful supply of chairs and a long table and the room being a spacious one, on the ground floor with a north front, was comparatively cool during the intense heat which prevailed. About thirty mem- bers of the regiment registered at the tent in the Military Park Camp. Unfortunately the Corresponding Secretary and Treas-
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urer were kept quite busy at the headquarters in the Denison attending to the comrades who called there for information and to pay their annual dues etc., and it was expected that the Recording Secretary, Ezra L. Clark, and an assistant would have charge of the headquarters in the Camp, but comrade Clark failed to attend the Encampment, hence with the ex- ception of an occasional visit by Whitehall to copy the roll which was left there for comrades to sign, the "headquarters in the field" were left without any one in charge, except a few comrades who were tenting in the park who volunteered their as- sistance part of the time. Many comrades failed to meet each other on account of their being two places of rendezvous. "Parlor E" of the Denison was in a new Annex just finished and many of the clerks and porters of the Hotel misled dozens of our inquiring friends and comrades by declaring that there was "no such room in the Denison as Parlor E," and yet often they were at the time of making such an assertion standing within a few feet of said Parlor E, and over the street entrance to the room hung a large banner bearing the legend, "Parlor E, Headquarters Ninth Ind. Vet. Infantry" in letters large enough to be read nearly a block away.
Despite the fact that many comrades failed to find the mys- terious Parlor E, the great mass of our comrades did find it and enjoyed the comforts thereof, and blessed Captain Madden who is a prominent business man in Indianapolis and provided these headquarters at his own expense, and was tireless in his efforts to make everything pleasant for his old comrades of the regiment. The supply of cigars seemed inexhaustible.
Among those attending the Encampment who failed to find Parlor E were Capt. James Nutt and Lieut. Dick Tyner. Not- withstanding Maj. Braden organized a seouting party to search the city and bring in these missing comrades, who by the way were both favorites with their brother officers as well as the men, the expedition failed to bring these two ex-officers into the "mess" at Parlor E.
Secretary Whitehall on the third day of the Encampment, the day set apart for the regimental reunion at a certain room in the. Court House, met Lieut. Tyner, and as there was but
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few 9th men at the place of meeting the proposed reunion had to be abandoned, very nearly all the comrades having left that day or the night preceding for their homes. Quite a number of the Ninth officers and men called at the headquarters of the 36th Ind. to pay their respects to Gen. William Grose and were most warmly welcomed by the old Veteran Commander of the Third Brigade. The comrades of the 36th good-naturedly complained that Gen. Grose in his speech at their regimental reunion had so many good things to say of the conduct of the Ninth Indiana while it formed part of his brigade, that they had about concluded the "36th was not in it at all." The gen- eral carries his great age well, and is deservedly popular with the men who served under lim.
In conclusion we may say that the attempt to rally the Ninth comrades during the Encampment, though not fully successful, bore good fruit after all in the bringing together of several old comrades who had not met since they were mustered out of the service, notably among such was Lieut. Sam Dustan who for many years has been living at Memphis, Tenn. Lieut. Dustan and his amiable wife and bright little boy were most heartily welcomed by Sam's brother officers and admiring comrades of the rank and file. Many were the expressions of regret that Capt. Nutt and Lieut. Tyner had lost themselves somewhere in the "wilds of the Hoosier Capital" and failed to get into Camp. Usually all attempts to hold a regimental reunion at National Encampments of the G. A. R. result unsatisfactory, because of the thronged condition of things, and the other attractions that are presented to the comrades, and difficulty of getting the members of one regiment to themselves, and procuring in seas- on a suitable place for meeting in, all militate against a regi- mental meeting while the parade and big camp-fires, etc, are in progress, and by the time a regimental reunion is arranged for, the comrades have grown tired and gone home as was our ex- perience in 1893.
Proceedings of the Tenth Annual Reunion
OF THE
Ninth Indiana Veteran Infantry Association
HELD AT
DELPHI, IND., OCT. 9 AND 10, 1895.
In accordance with the usual custom members of the regi- ment on their arrival in Delphi reported at the Hall of Booth- royd Post G. A. R. and spent the forenoon of the first day in paying dues and visiting among themselves, and in getting acquainted with the citizens who were to entertain them during their stay in the city. Comrades John Lathrope, Lewis Gros, Jolin W. Jackson, Tim Comer, Chas. Merica and other resi- dent members of the 9th, as well as veterans of other commands, and citizens of Delphi had perfected arrangements for the re- union. Comrade Lathrope donated the use of his Opera House for the sessions of the Veteran Association and the campfire in the evening. Capt. Gros and other resident comrades busied . themselves in assigning and escorting visiting comrades to the homes of the citizens who had offered entertainment. Quite a goodly number from choice went to the hotels where a reason- able rate had been provided in order to be together with old friends and messmates. The morning proved to be bitterly cold for the time of the year and doubtless deterred some of the more feeble comrades from starting, and it was evident before the time for meeting that our attendance would fall away below the usual average.
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At the appointed hour of 2 o'clock p. m., about forty of the old comrades quietly gathered at the Opera House ready for the reunion.
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AFTERNOON SESSION.
The President, Maj. J. B. Milroy, called the meeting to or- der and in a few words apologized for the part failure of the program on account of the illness of one of the members the cornet band were unable to be present, and the local committee had met with many discouragements and he hoped the com- rades would be patient and charitable and the best program possible would be presented, and he felt assured that the campfire in the evening would be made enjoyable, and while very glad to again see his old comrades of the Ninth in Delphi, and begging them to excuse the absence of music till the camp- fire, he would now proceed to the exercises of the day by call- ing upon a comrade of the 72nd Ind. Mounted Infantry to pronounce the invocation.
Comrade JAMES BARNES, in a fervent petition to the Su- preme Commander, besought God's choicest blessing on the ag- ing veterans of the war for the Union, and that our grand Union of the States preserved whole and made stronger by the blood and sacrifices of the soldiers of the Union might not per- ish from the face of the earth, but grow still stronger and grander with advancing years till the whole world might be made freer and better.
President Milroy then introduced the Mayor of Delphi, Hon. FRANK ROBINSON, who said:
Gentleman of the 9th Indiana, it affords me very great pleasure I assure you to be able to tender this small remnant of your historic regiment the freedom of our city. From my boyhood I have known of the fame of the Ninth Indiana. And myself and fellow citizens are proud that Delphi and Carroll County were represented in your ranks by company A. You were the first soldiers to enter the field from this part of the State and history tells us that by your splendid fighting and good soldierly conduct in other respects you made for the 9th regiment a name and a fame Indianians will ever be proud of. Your achievements upon many bloody fields won for your regi- ment a lustre that time shall never dim. At Shiloh your cour- age and manhood established the fact that you were one of the fighting regiments of the Union, and in some 27 other engage-
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ments in which the regiment bore an honorable and conspicuous part you behaved with your usual gallantry. Your great loss at Shiloh, Stone River and Chicamauga as well as in other great battles, naturally thinned your ranks and tested your courage and endurance in the extreme and now we can only say to you survivors of that grand old regiment of Indiana soldiers who are permitted to join in this reunion, you are, gentlemen, more than welcome to our homes and our hearts. I can only hope that the remainder of your days may be bright, joyous and peaceful ones. And that this second reunion of yours within the precints of our little city and this cordial welcome of our people will prove a pleasant meeting and that its recol- lection may always be one of the green spots in your memory. I say to you again in my representative capacity as the execu- tive of Delphi, and as a citizen, I sincerely and cordially bid you welcome, and I now have the pleasure to call upon one of our representative citizens to bid you further welcome in behalf of our people, I now present to you, Hon. L. B. SIMS.
The Secretary is obliged with profound regret to announce that noticing that Mr. Sims spoke from notes or manuscript, and having himself had an intimation that he would respond to Mr. Sims' address, the Secretary took no notes of the address, but gave himself over to the task of listening and framing in his mind a reply. We requested Mr. Sims to hand us his manuscript for publication and he said he would do so, but wished to make a few corrections and took the paper to his law office for that purpose intending to mail it to us within a few days, but being engaged in some court work the manuscript in some unaccountable manner got lost or mislaid and he has never been able to find it, hence we are unable to give it to our readers. Our comrades who heard the address will remember that it was an excellent one, carefully prepared, instructive and patriotic, and we know that those of the Ninth who were unable to be present and hear it would have enjoyed reading it. The speaker's concluding remarks were peculiarly fitting and eloquent and won the hearty applause of the veterans. His words had the earnest ring of true loyalty and those who heard
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his speech will join me in regretting our inability to reproduce it in print.
RESPONSE TO WELCOME ADDRESSES.
Hon. D. B. McConnell having been assigned by our Execu- tive Committee the task of responding on behalf of the regi- ment, on call of the President rose in his place in the audience and said while he had no disposition to shirk any duty laid out for him by his comrades, he felt constrained on this occasion to ask our overtased and perhaps he might say much abused Secretary of the regimental association to make a reply in his stead in behalf of the regiment to the very cordial addresses of welcome.
Your humble scribe is unable to wholly recall his response, and in substance said: While appearing as usual in the role of a substitute, it gave him great pleasure to assure his Honor, Mayor Robinson, and Mr. Sims that by the little band of sur- viving members of the Ninth Indiana who were fortunate in being present to enjoy the cordial welcome tendered the regi- ment at this second reunion of the old Ninth at Delphi, the greeting extended them in such eloquent words by both the speakers who have just preceeded me has not been accepted as a mere formality, but as an honest expression coming from the patriotic and warm hearted citizen of Delphi. Men and women who were not ashamed to publicly proclaim by word of mouth and by acts which speak louder than words their genuine love for the old soldier. For ourselves, as the recipients of this your most cordial welcome, we who are present this afternoon thank you. And for the kindly words of admiration you have uttered of our dear old fighting Ninth I feel impelled to say on behalf of our heroic dead, whose blood gave our regiment an undying fame, thank you. And for our comrades who by reason of wounds, disease or other cause are compelled to re- main at home and deny themselves the pleasure of this wel- come and the satisfaction of listening to your warm words of praise for our regiment, I want also to thank you in their place and stead, knowing full well that my absent comrades will in their hearts breathe a fervent amen to such words as I may
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employ in their behalf in thanking you for this marked com- pliment and favor toward our regiment.
Comrades of the Ninth, eight years ago we met in this hall more than an hundred strong, and you as an expression of your good will and respect, gave me this .Golden Token"-(exhib- iting watch then presented) of your love and esteem. Com- rades, I believe I could not then find a tongue to express my feelings, and I can hardly hope to do so now, but I may be pardoned I trust for saying now, and here, that I have good reason to always remember with great pleasure my first visit to Delphi, not alone for the cordial manner in which myself and comrades were welcomed and hospitably entertained, but also of the further fact my old comrades then in reunion assembled, "marked me for life" as it were, by placing this memento of your favor so near to my heart. For eight long years, like your- selves in the dark days of the great rebellion, it has proved true to its trust, and like each of the hundred or more hearts of which it is the representative, this good watch has faithfully and ceaselessly throbbed in rythm with a heart that pulsates with an earnest love for every worthy comrade of the old Ninth, living or dead.
And so, my comrades, after years of fair trial I have made up my mind that this mark of your appreciation of a once boyish comrade in arms, will regularly and faithfully continue to "tick off" the fleeting seconds of my life till the icy hand of death shall still the answering beats of a heart that till then shall be its constant companion.
Comrades, death, since last we gathered in pleasant reunion in this hall, has been making sad havoc in the ranks of our de- voted band, and we miss the hearty hand clasp, and kindly familiar face of those who have passed over to the other side to wait for us all to fall into line "beyond the river.". Let us keep up this organization to the end. As in the days when our regimental line melted beneath the fiery breath of battle, let us as we did then hold aloft the blood-stained and battle-torn flag of the dear old Ninth, the bonniest flag the sunshine of heaven ever kissed, and as our comrades on the right and left of us drop by our sides, close up our thinning ranks, and dress to
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