The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Part 84

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 1082

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Being weary, their course lying through the " barrens," where the clay-eaters, or " white trash," barely eke out a miserable existence, the First Wisconsin boys followed on less rapidly.

L. a.Bishop ma,

FOND DU LAC

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

At dusk, various plans were talked over, Sergt. Maj. Hargrave being desirous of pushing on and making the capture that night, as the Davis party were tired too, having been longer on the march than themselves. But Col. Hearndon's horse was weakening for want of food, as were the other horses, and he called a halt at 9 o'clock, giving orders to start at 3 o'clock next morn- ing, and make the capture before daylight. On the morning of the 10th of May, therefore, camp was broken at 3 o'clock, and forty-five minutes later, a small party, led by a scout named Hussey, advanced toward Davis' camp. In a few minutes they were fired upon, and retreated. The balance of Col. Hearndon's command then pushed forward, thinking the rebels had fired, determined to make a desperate fight. They drove the party that fired the first volley some distance, and, finally taking a prisoner or two, discovered that they belonged to the Fourth Michigan. Firing then stopped, but two of the Fourth Michigan boys had been shot dead, and several wounded on both sides. Pritchard had put a large detachment of his best men across the trail between Davis and Col. Hearndon, knowing that Hearndon was advancing from that direction upon it to make the capture, giving them strict orders to " let no one come up on that trail." He then, with another detachment, made the capture while the fight-which had been " murderously precipitated," as the Wisconsin boys have always since declared-was going on between the two squads of Union soldiers, composed of his own men and those of the First Wis- consin. When the First Wisconsin soldiers learned that Pritchard had given such an order, knowing they were advancing on the very road he had blockaded, Col. Hearndon was astounded, and his boys were, some of them, " raving mad, and swore they would then and there take by force the Fourth Michigan and Jeff Davis too ;" but they were persuaded to do nothing rash.

The capture was made just in the gray of morning, May 10, 1865, at Irwinville, Irwin County, in the " white trash " country, on the Alapaha River, a branch of the Suwanee River. Jeff thought his time had come, expecting to be shot or hung ; but his wife, Mrs. Davis, was defiant and saucy, telling the boys they must not call her husband such opprobrious names as " Old Jeff," or they would get hurt. When taken, Jeff had on a hood and a waterproof, with a water bucket in hand, attempting to palm himself off as an old woman. With him were Postmaster 'n 'ral Reagan, now a member of Congress from Texas, President Davis' private Secretary, C. . . Johnson, Lubbick, Morris, and several others. Jeff at first drew a bowie-knife, but soon sheathed it, seeing resistance would prove useless.

When a report was made to the War Department of the fight and the capture, Col. La Grange indorsed on it the real facts, severely censuring the Colonel of the Fourth Michigan. No atten- tion was paid to this, as Secretary Stanton disliked La Grange for recommendations made by him in regard to the exchange of prisoners. But, although the Committee on Claims in Con- gress was about to give the $100,000 to the Fourth Michigan, Col. Hearndon sent in such evi- dence as knocked that plan in the head, and the First Wisconsin boys shared equally with the others. Walter O. Hargrave, of Ripon, who was a Sergeant Major, received about $400 as his share.

Col. Hearndon is in the United States Revenue Service at Madison ; Col. La Grange is in Europe, and Pritchard, whom the boys always declared should have been court-martialed, is "knocking over the country," spending his money.

Elihu Colman, of Fond du Lac, of the First Wisconsin Cavalry, never has blasphemed since he left the army. Once, at dusk, he was riding past some bushes, when he heard a call for help. "My leg is shot off," said a voice, " and I wish to see a surgeon." " All right, climb on behind," returned Elihu. Mr. Colman drove several miles, through a heavy fire, to a surgeon's door. On the road, a solid shot carried away, unbeknown to Elihu, his wounded com- panion's head. Arriving at the tent, he called out, "Surgeon Lily, this man has had his leg shot off and wants help." " Leg off ! " exclaimed Dr. Lily, "his head is shot off!" "The durned liar," exclaimed Elihu, driving the rowels into his horse's flank, " the durned liar said he only had his leg shot off!" And Colman wheeled away in disgust at being lied to so out- rageously.

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

The following letter very properly may have a place in " Scraps of War History :"

If the unwritten history of the civil war in America were to be spread npon the printed page, it would fill more volumes than were destroyed with the Alexandrian Library, and would amaze posterity as much as it would astonnd the present generation. That vast human mechanism of a million units that, under the influence of organi- zation and discipline, seemed to move as one man, would appear in its true light, as a seething caldron of human emotions and human passions, boiling and bubbling with a fearful energy, not easily suppressed nor readily controlled. A thousand motives lie beneath the gloss of patriotism, and the best is not always upper- most. To turn all these into the channel of success for a great canse and victory for the right was the hard task of a noble few, and among those, none in their sphere of duty had more to contend with and more to overcome than Maj. Bovay, of Wisconsin, as Provost Marshal of Norfolk. The estimate I formed of his character that led me, while Military Governor of Norfolk, to appoint him to the position of Provost Marshal, was confirmed by all my subsequent intercourse with him. Surrounded on all sides by greedy harpies, who would trade upon their country's woes, and on the other by open foes, he was called upon to deal with knaves and traitors as with brave and honest men, meting out exact justice with kindness, and counteracting the evils of dishonesty with keen judgment and a wise discretion. Hated by the bad, whom he thwarted in their schemes, and unthanked by the needy, whom he relieved in their dis- tress, he bore himself in the midst of the most trying circumstances in a way that could only have been maintained by a strict integrity, an unwavering conscientiousness and a clear and courageous sense of right and duty.

[Signed. ]

EGBERT L. VIELE.

In the fall of 1862, Col. Edward S. Bragg was run as a war candidate for Congress, against Charles A. Eldredge. He was nominated while in the field. On being notified of his nomination, he wrote to J. H. Brinkerhoff, Secretary of the Convention : " I can take no part in the coming campaign. My duties are elsewhere, and I shall endeavor to discharge them to my own credit and to the honor of the State whose commission I bear. * *

It has been a matter of solicitude among my friends, as I am advised by letters to-day, to know what my views are upon the great issues of the day. I recognize but one issue-For and Against the Government. This swallows up all others, and the motto that ' He who is not for me is against me' never had more truthful significance than it has to-day. I am for the Gov- ernment-the iron gauntlet and not the silk glove for the enemy."

Col. Bragg was defeated by about 4,000 majority.

In January, 1863, President Lincoln nominated Brig. Gen. Charles S. Hamilton, of Fond du Lac, for promotion to Major General. His name had become familiar to the whole country, a few months before, through his gallant conduct at Corinth and Iuka. The New York Trib- une's description of the latter battle contained this paragraph :

" Amid the incessant roar of musketry and the thunder of artillery and the clash of arms, Gen. Hamilton moved, with his staff, wherever the battle raged the hottest, and gave his orders with the same quiet firmness, promptness and clearness which are his greatest characteristics in all things. His presence everywhere just when needed excited the admiration of the soldiers. His horse was killed under him, and the hilt of his sword shattered as he was moving amid the showers of balls, which fell on all sides. Yet there was no excitement or fear exhibited by him. He was soon re-mounted, on a fresh horse, and, as calmly as ever, directed the movements of the battle to

the close as he had from the beginning. * Gen. Hamilton is a thorough sol- dier. He fought through the Mexican war, and, at the breaking-out of this rebellion, brought the Third Wisconsin Regiment into the field. He is a man of few words, but always to the point. He is undemonstrative, and seems to possess but little of the art of courting favor. His only care is to do his duty well. The incessant cheers by which he was greeted on the day after the battle by each regiment, as he rode past on the march in pursuit of Price, show that his modest bravery, unflinching courage and sure skill as a soldier are fully appreciated by them. and that they are ready to follow wherever he chooses to lead. He fully appreciates the intel- ligence, invincible courage and high character of the men under his command, and is ready to stand or fall with them in the noble contest in which we are all engaged. With such leaders and such men to fight our battles, success is certain. For the able, skillful and decisive manner in which Gen. Hamilton fought and won this battle (for he directed all the movements in the field), all, from the highest to the lowest, think and believe that he has won deserved promo- tion."

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

Fond du Lac County soldiers participated in the following battles: Falling Waters, July 2, 1861; Chickamauga, September 19, 1863; Dug Gap, September 12, 1863; Chaplin Hills, October 8, 1862; Dallas, May 28, 1864; Kenesaw Mountain, June 22, 1864; Jones- boro, September 21, 1864; Gainesville, August 28, 1862, which was considered the most stub- bornly contested battle of the war; Sonth Mountain, September 14, 1862; Laurel Hill, May 10, 1864 ; Wilderness, May 5 and 6, 1864; Gettysburg, July 1, 1863; Bull Run, July 21. 1861; Antietam, September 17, 1862; Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862; Hatcher's Run, October 27, 1864, at which Col. J. A. Watrous was captured; Blackburn's Ford, July 18, 1861; Spottsylvania Court House, May 10, 1864, at which Grant lost 65,000 men, but still continued the fight, and at night, when the fighting ceased, breastworks were thrown up by both sides, and when morning dawned the two lines were so close that they fought each other with the butts of their muskets; Chancellorsville, May 1, 1863, at which several Wisconsin regi- ments, with other Western troops, massed themselves, irrespective of commanders, and held the enemy after everything appcared to be lost before the rebel charge; Fairfax Station, December 24, 1863; Winchester, May 25, 1862; Bolivar Heights, October 16, 1861 ; Peach Tree Creek, July 20, 1864; Burnby Ford, June 9, 1863; Averysboro, March 16, 1865; Bentonville. March 16, 1865; Buckton Station, May 22, 1862; Argyle Island, December 16, 1864; Lost Mountain, June 11, 1864; Rappahannock, November 7, 1863 ; Petersburg, June 14, 1864, to April 2, 1865, at which Gen. Bragg commanded the Iron Brigade ; Moore's Heights, May 3, 1863 ; Sailor's Creek, April 6, 1865; Cold Harbor, June 1, 1864 ; Yellow House, August 19, 1864; Second Bull Run, August 30, 1862; Gravelly Run, March 31, 1865; Weldon Rail- road, August 19, 1864, at which Bragg commanded the Iron Brigade; Jericho Ford, May 23. 1864; Five Forks, April 1, 1865; Nashville, December 16, 1864; Vicksburg, May 22, 1863 : Corinth, October 3, 1862; Spanish Fort, March 27, 1865 ; Farmington, May 9, 1862; Hurri- cane Creek, August 13, 1864; Tupelo, July 13, 1864; Shiloh, April 7, 1862; Clifton, July 6, 1863; Lovejoy, September 3, 1864; battles of Atlanta, 1864 and 1865; Big Shanty, Ga .. June 11, 1864; Brownsville, September 23, 1862; Jackson, Miss., May 14, 1863; Champion Hills, May 16, 1863; Allatoona, October 5, 1864; Prairie Grove, December 7, 1862, at which many boys were taken prisoners ; Bentonville, March 19, 1865 ; Resaca, May 14, 1864; Chat- tahoochee, July 4, 1864; Stone River, December 30, 1862; Salkhatchie, February 3, 1865 : Court Lane, July 27, 1864 ; South Edisto, February 9, 1865; Hillsboro, February 24, 1864: Ream's Station, August 25, 1864; Deep Bottom, August 14, 1864; Tolopotomoy, June 1, 1864; North Anna, May 27, 1864; Fort Mahone, April 2, 1865, at which Lee's lines were broken ; Mine Explosion, July 30, 1864, at which Grant dug under the rebel fortress and blew it up, or rather, he gave permission to a regiment of miners to tunnel under the Union lines to a point beneath the rebel fortress, at which two tons of powder were exploded, carrying death and consternation into the whole rebel line.

Soldiers from Fond du Lac County participated in other battles, doubtless, but in no con- siderable bodies.

The only officer from Fond du Lac County on the retired list, is Michael Mangan, of Fond du Lac. He enlisted as a private in Company E, Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers, and left for the front in June, 1861. He served three years in that Company, and was mustered out as First Lieutenant in April, 1864. He then entered the Veteran Reserve Corps, serving in New York City until the close of the war, when he went to Florida in connection with the Frecdmen's Bureau. In September, 1866, he was mustered out and returned to Fond du Lac, where, in December of that year, he joined the regular army as Second Lieutenant of company A. Forty-fifth Regiment. In this company he served until April, 1871, when he was retired as a Second Lieutenant on three-fourths pay. During the session of Congress of 1866 and 1877, Lieut. Mangan was door-keeper of the United States Senate. There are no other officers of his rank retired in Wisconsin ; but there are four of other grades in the State on the retired list.

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

A RETROSPECT.

Fond du Lac County, to-day rejoicing in the pride of its strength, teeming with wealth and glittering in the sunlight of a prosperity that startles the visitor into a smile of gladness, was. in 1835, a wilderness almost as unbroken as when John Nicolet, in 1634, visited Green Bay.

The historian takes up the threads of life since then, as tangled by events, slowly. What prompted the pioneers to their advent into this land ? Was it that spirit of adventure which impelled the cavaliers of the olden time to pursue with eagerness the phantom of a hope into the East ? Was it a sense of duty which first found expression in the New World, in 1620, on Plymouth Rock ? Perhaps, after all, it was only that they might better their condition-might here find cheap lands and soon obtain comfortable homes.

But many of them are dead, and the inquirer, who has seen so many of his idols turned to clay, and his ideals perish, comes naturally, by-and-by, to the time when he analyzes-such and such things have happened-why ? Such and such men have passed away-how ? Sneh and such events have lighted up the sky of advancing civilization as a meteor might the phys- ical. Whence do they proceed ? The men who came to the front and laid the foundations for this continuous and lovely landscape of nature, glimmering like a gem in its emerald setting, belonged to a regime that is fast giving place to an enterprise, which though greater, is less earnest, because Providence and nature more materially aid man's ambitions. They were the grizzled grenadiers in the army of pioneers, who never, in any sudden storm or rally, desperate melee, or sorrowful encounter, forgot to doff their plumed hats to an adversary and cry out through their gray mustaches, as they shortened their sword arm. "En garde." It may be anything or nothing, but the one thing certain about it all is, they were the enterprising spirits who laid the foundation for this teeming wealth and sunny prosperity. Though dead, they live again. Not alone in the promised land beyond the swift Borysthems, but in the land they prepared for after generations.

Many of the prominent actors in the prelude are dead, but the drama goes on, and will last until the human race has run its course and the wide firmament is rolled up like a scroll.

Many of the singers are dead, but their song has gone on; out of the darkness has come a light, out of the sorrow an exceeding joy.

The present should profit by the past, and take examples from the views of these, which shall make heart and home happy, better men, citizens and Americans. The present should be admonished by the past, to labor with equal diligence for the personal blessings of health of body. vigor of mind, and success in life, as also for the blessings promised in the life to come.

But the hard hands which prepared the way for the fruitful fields which grew from the wilds of the county ; for filling its cities and towns with the habitations of men, seminaries of learning, public edifices, and other evidences of a pronounced prosperity, are quietly folded in their mother earth, and it must be of interest to those who enjoy their possessions, to know when, where and by whom civilization was commenced, and to learn some of the incidents connected with the first settlement, as also with the steps by which Fond du Lac County has attained the importance claimed by its inhabitants and conceded by its neighbors.

CHAPTER VIII.

CITY OF FOND DU LAC.

PAST AND PRESENT-ABORIGINES-EARLY SETTLEMENT-VILLAGE OF FOND DU LAC-CITY OF FOND DU LAC INCORPORATED-CITY OFFICERS, 1852-1879-CITY OF FOND DU LAC A QUARTER OF A CENTURY AGO-FOND DU LAC POST OFFICE-FIRE DEPARTMENT-CITY LOCK-UP- ARTESIAN WELLS-GAS WORKS-SCHOOLS-BONDED INDEBTEDNESS-PUBLIC HALLS-HOTELS -BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS AND SOCIETIES-LITERARY AND OTHER SOCIETIES-PUBLIC LIBRARY-SECRET SOCIETIES-CHURCHES-BANKS-MANUFACTURING INTERESTS -YACHT CLUBS-CONFLAGRATIONS- RIENZI CEMETERY-FLOODS AND FRESHETS-INCIDENTS AND FIRST THINGS-EARLY TIMES IN FOND DU LAC.

PAST AND PRESENT.

No city in Wisconsin without water-power, mines, or adjacent Inmber tracts, ever arrived at a greater degree of importance, in the same time, than Fond du Lac. This is owing to the richness of the surrounding country, cheap transportation, and the indefatiguable industry and perseverence of its citizens.

The city, which existed only on paper in January, 1836, contained 15,308 inhabitants in 1875; an elegant high school building, a free public library, Merrill Institute, a school for young ladies, Mann's Commercial College, a German and English academy, nineteen public schools and several parochial and private schools; eighteen church edifices, six banks, one monthly, five weekly and two daily newspapers, a dozen hotels, four distinct railroads leading in six directions, a blast furnace, four foundries and machine shops, four sash, door and blind fac- tories, one of them the largest in the world ; two flouring mills, an extensive thrashing-machine factory, the second largest wagon factory in the State, a seeder factory, ten saw-mills and vari- ous other institutions and manufacturing interests.

Who can grasp in a single thought the magnitude of this wondrous change ? Gray hairs ought not now to appear on the heads of those who were born when Fond du Lac was born ; yet, in the few years which have sped rapidly since that time, there have been wrought great changes. Large saw-mills, with their noisy, insatiable machinery and hurrying attendants, have been erected on the homes of the beaver and muskrat. Paved streets, heavy blocks of stores and bursting warehouses have crushed ont the myriads of wild flowers that made the face of the prairie a vast and variegated bouquet, and the black smoke from scores of factory chimneys has taken the place of their delicious fragrance ; hedges and lawns, fountains and miniature lakes, arbors and conservatories, have supplanted the long prairie grass, in which quail, grouse and wild birds nested and reared their young undisturbed ; the river, whose clear waters flowed unruffled into Winnebago Lake, is now turbid, and crowded with rafts of logs and lumber : the solitude of the wilderness has been violated by the rush and seream of the locomotive; the delic- ious and soothing hum of birds and insects at eventide has been drowned by the tumultuous din of ringing bells. rattling mills, screeching whistles, and the noisy tread of eager, hurrying throngs, who have never a thought of what incomparable changes have taken place under their feet, over their heads. and on every hand, or of the possible changes, no less complete and astonishing, in store for the future, in process of development through their every move and act. The panorama of history is an interesting one, but its pictures can be fully appreciated by only those who have seen them all. In fact, no one else can even comprehend them. No description of tongue or pen can fully impress upon the minds of the gay, richly dressed throngs at a party to-day, that under the very floors where the figures of the " German " or the " Newport " are being

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

followed, packs of hungry wolves fought with hideous snarl and howl over the carcass of one of their own number; or that it was the place where the scarred and stoical savages gathered around the embers of the camp-fire in solemn discussion of the fate of a captive-debating how many moons should elapse before the prisoner in their midst, from some hostile tribe, should be burned at the stake ; or that it was the burial place for unnumbered generations of tribes now unnamed and extinct, or that instead of the lively strains from a well-trained band, years before the brave captive, with unruffled brow and steady, cheerful voice, stoically chanted a battle-song amidst the yell of the warriors, and the hiss of the flames about him, appearing as though the boiling pitch poured upon his head, and the burning splinters thrust into his searing flesh, gave him the utmost pleas- ure. Yet all this may be true, for up to within less than a half-century the spot on which Fond du Lac now stands had been for many centuries, perhaps, the favorite meeting-place of both friendly and hostile tribes. Along where Forest, West Division, Doty, Cherry and Sophia streets are now located, once stood a fine grove of thrifty sugar-maples, some of which were " tapped " (incisions made for the sap) by the early settlers. This grove contained, in season, thousands of pigeons, grouse and squirrels, many of which found their way to the tables of the settlers in the form of delicious stews. Some of these maples are standing to-day, being most numerous in W. C. Hamilton's yard, on the corner of Sophia and Forest streets. Wild plants and flowers were also abundant beyond description, and every spring red and white " baths," "adder-tongue." leeks, " Indian peppers " and other wild plants are plucked by the youngsters in A. B. Taylor's ample yard, on the corner of Forest and Hickory streets, and some may be seen in J. V. Jewell's yard on Doty street. There is probably no other city of equal size, in the Northwest, where wild flowers grow in its most thickly settled parts.

Where Meyer's factory and dry-house now stand, was one of the most beautiful crab-apple groves, which was not removed until the village began to have young people to enjoy its rich fragrance in spring, its cool shade in summer, and hurl away bushels of its hard, bitter fruit in the fall, while engaged in lively but good-natured battles.

The city of Fond du Lac is situated on a level prairie, at the south end of Lake Winne- bago, and is particularly free from epidemic and malarial diseases, because of its pure atmos- phere and abundance of fresh spring water, from its scores of artesian wells, called fountains, whence the place derives the popular name of " Fountain City." What Fond du Lac now is may be seen of all; history requires that what she has been be more particularly dealt with.

THE SITE.

The location of Fond du Lac was, as previously explained, made by the Fond du Lac Com- pany, who purchased a large number of acres of land in this vicinity in 1835. The village plat was made in that year, and covered what is now " lower " and " middle " town. The site was chosen by James Duane Doty, who built a house in Empire, in 1838.

One reason which induced Doty to select this as a site for a city, was the well-established fact that nearly all the largest cities of the West are built upon the ruins of important Indian villages, and such were known to have existed here at no very distant day.

Some have pronounced the choice of location a wise one, and others have expressed them- selves to the contrary. The only drawbacks of any importance are the low marshy shores of the lake, rendering them undesirable for building-sites, and the shallowness of the river and harbor, rendering such commerce as was at one time anticipated, partially impracticable, although large amount of trafficking has been carried on by water since the earliest settlement of the place.

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The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Part 84

Author: Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company Number of Pages: 1082

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 1082