Henry County, Indiana - Chapter 13: Infantry, 1906

Chapter 13: Infantry

Infantry Regiments in Mexican and Civil Wars - x\rrangement of Infantry Regiments in Chapters - Field and Staff - Non-commissioned Staff - Company - Roster of 6th Indiana Infantry (3 months) - 8th Indiana Infantry (3 months) - 8th Indiana Infantry (3 years) - Their Histories - Biographical Sketches of Private Henry Lycurgus Powell and Family - Private Philander Wisehart - Wisehart Family.

Indiana had five regiments of infantry in the Mexican War. For this reason, the numbered regiments in the Civil War began with the Sixth and ended with the One Hundred and Fifty Sixth. All of the regiments were numbered between these two, inclusive.

The infantry regiments, in which Henry County furnished one or more full companies or in which the number in one or more of the companies of the regiment is sufficient to justify the same, are placed first and more extended histories of them are given. Other regiments, having a lesser number of Henry County soldiers in them, follow in their numerical order but in a condensed form and with but a brief reference to their history.

In some of the regiments, there is an apparent discrepancy between the dates of muster for the men and for the organization of the regiments. This arises from the fact that the men were mustered in as fast as recruited, while the regiment was not fully organized and the field officers commissioned, until the number of men enlisted for it approximated the maximum number required. In other instances, the muster in of the men is after the organization of the regiment. This arises from the fact that men were recruited after the field officers were commissioned.

Where there are one or more distinctively Henry County companies of soldiers in an infantry regiment, the field and stafif of the regiment is published in full.

In the Civil War all infantry regiments consisted of ten companies, each company consisting of one hundred officers and men as noted below. A regiment was officered as follows : Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major, Adjutant with rank of Lieutenant, Quartermaster with rank of Lieutenant, Chaplain with rank of Captain, Chief Surgeon with rank of Major, Assistant Surgeon with rank of Captain and Assistant Surgeon with rank of Lieutenant.

The non-commissioned stafif consisted of Sergeant Major, Quartermaster Sergeant, Commissary Sergeant, Hospital Steward, and two Principal Musicians (Drum Major and Fife Major). Early in the war there was a regimental band with a maximum of twenty pieces, but in 1862 this was discontinued.

A company, when recruited to its maximum strength, was officered and divided as follows : Captain, First Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant, First Sergeant, four duty Sergeants, eight Corporals, two Musicians, Wagoner and eighty one privates, total one hundred.

All regiments, companies and parts of companies, following, in which Henry County was represented, are from organizations as above described.

In the following roster, the name of each officer and man is followed by his postoffice ad'dress at the time of enlistment. The date of muster for the officers is the date they were actually mustered into the service of the Lmited States and not the date of commission. Where the postoffice address is unknown, the name of the county from which the soldier enlisted follows his name.

Mustered For Three Months

The Sixth Regiment was organized and mustered into service, for three months, at Indianapohs, April 25th, 1861, with Thomas T. Crittenden, of Madison, as Colonel. It was one of the six regiments of three months' men organized under the call of President Lincoln for 75,000 men. On the 30th of May the Regiment left Indianapolis, via Cincinnati and Parkersburg, for the scene of conflict in West Virginia being first fully armed, equipped and clothed. Arriving at Webster on the 2d of June, it was marched, with other troops, the same night, through a drenching rain, a distance of fourteen miles, and on the morning of the 3d of June took part in the first battle of the war, at Philippi. Returning to Grafton, it was made part of General Thomas A. Morris' Brigade, and participated in the march to Laurel Hill and the engagement with Garnett's Confederate command at Carrick's Ford on the 14th of July. The latter part of the same month the Regiment returned to Indianapolis, where it was finally discharged August 2, 1861.

The Sixth Infantry was the first regiment organized in Indiana for the Civil War and was so numbered, for the reason that Indiana had five regiments in the Mexican War. and Governor Morton determined to perpetuate the history of each of them as a separate and distinct organization.

Company F was the first organized company from the southern and southeastern part of the County to go to the Civil War. Its captain, William C. Moreau, afterwards entered the Arm}-, with the same rank, in Company I, Third Cavalry. His career, after leaving the Army, perhaps before, was erratic and varied. He was an unforttmate man who, a dozen years or more after the Civil War, met a violent death in the State of Georgia. It must be recorded to his credit, however, that he was one of the first to lead an enrolled company into Indianapolis after President Lincoln had issued his first call for troops. First Lieutenant Allison afterwards became Captain of Company A, Fifty Seventh Regiment. A comparison of the names in the roster of this company with the same names in the Alphabetical list of Soldiers and Sailors from Henry County in the Civil War, will show that many of Henry County's true and tried soldiers had their first experience of war with Company F, and the knowledge here gained was of inestimable value to the State and X^ation, materially aiding in the making

This regiment was re-organized and mustered for three years' service, at Madison, on the 20th of September, 1861, with Thomas T. Crittenden as Colonel, who later in the war became a Brigadier General U. S. V. It served during its entire enlistment with the Army of the Cumberland and greatly distinguished itself on many sanguinary fields.

The State of Indiana has erected monuments to this regiment at Shiloh and at Chickamauga. Henry County was not represented in the re-organization.

In the following roster, the name of each officer and man is followed by his postoffice address at the time of enlistment. In some instances the soldier was not a resident of Henry County at the time of enlistment but moved to that county after the Civil War. In such cases the name of his home county is substituted, for the postoffice address, and that is followed by the place of settlement in Henry County. The date of muster for the officers is the date they were .actually mustered into the service of the United States and not the date of commission.

First Sergeant

George W. Shane, Middletown. Mustered in April 25, 1861. Wounded at Rich Mountain, West Virginia, July 11, 1861. Mustered out August 6, 1861.

William Gossett, Honey Creek. Mustered in April 25, 1861. Wounded at Rich Mountain, West Virginia, July 11, 1861. Mustered out August 6, 1861.

Hazzard S History Of Henry Countv

Henry L. Powell, New Castle. Mustered in April 25, 1861. Wounded at Rich Mountain, West Virginia, July 11, 1861. Mustered out August 6, 1861.

Company

Collier M. Reed, Delaware County. Middletown after the Civil War. Mustered in April 21, 1861. Wounded at Rich Mountain, West Virginia, July 11, 1861. Mustered out August 6, 1861.

On the President's call for 75,000 men to serve for three months, this Regiment was recruited and went into camp at the State fair grounds at Indianapolis, known as Camp Morton, and was mustered into the service of the United States on the 25th of April, 1861. The regiment remained in camp at Indianapolis until the 19th of June, when it left for the then seat of war, Western Virginia.

The regiment was stationed at various points in that State until the loth of July, when it marched to near Rich Mountain, at which place a force of Confederates was advantageously posted behind works on the mountain side. Finding the enemy too strong to attack in front, the 8th was sent with the loth and 13th Indiana and the 19th Ohio regiments through a dangerous pass in the mountain to reach and attack in the rear, while the troops remaining should keep up demonstrations in front.

The brigade succeeded in reaching the rear of the Confederate position about two o'clock on the afternoon of the nth, and immediately attacked it, and after an engagement lasting about one hour, succeeded in routing the enemy, who fled from the field, leaving their killed and wounded, as well as many prisoners and two pieces of artillery, in the hands of the Federals.

The Federal troops around Rich Mountain were commanded by Major General George B. McClellan, but the fighting was all done by the regiments before named under the immediate command of Brigadier General William S. Rosecrans.

After the battle, the 8th went into camp at Beverly and remained there until the 24th of July, when it left for Indiana and was mustered out and discharged at Indianapolis on the 6th of August.

Company B of this regiment was the first organized company to go to the Civil War, from the central and northwestern part of the county, and like Company F, Sixth Infantr}', was one of the first to reach Indianapolis, after the call for troops had been issued. It arrived there before any kind of adequate arrangements had been made for the reception of troops, as is evidenced, by the fact, that during the first day and a half of its stay at the Capitol City, it was quartered at the Bates House, then the leading hotel of the city, occupying the present site of the Hotel Claypool.

In the battle in which it participated, private. Philander Wisehart, of Mechanicsburg, was killed, being the first soldier from Henry County to lose his life in the Civil War. He was a member of the well known Wisehart family, then as now so numerous in Fall Creek Township. Sergeant George W. Shane, of Middletown, and privates, William Gossett, of Honey Creek, and Henry L. Powell, of New Castle, were wounded, the last named severely.

Captain Frederick Tykle had been a soldier in the Mexican War and, on the second call for troops, re-entered the service as Captain of Company E, Eighth Regiment, organized for three years.

Second Lieutenant, Joseph W. Connell, re-entered the service as First Lieutenant, Company C, 36th Infantry. He died of pneumonia, in the arms of the author, under the fly of a tent, in front of Corinth, Mississippi, May 24, 1862. His remains were interred in a very shallow grave, with the idea that they would soon be removed for burial to his native home in Ohio. The author doubts very much that this was ever done. By correspondence, it has been learned that his remains are not in the known hst of the National Alihtary Cemetery, at Corinth, nor at Shiloh, Tennessee, twenty miles distant. His remains have probably been re-interred, among those of the unknown dead, in the National Cemeter>- at Corinth.

Many of the soldiers in this regiment from New Castle, Sulphur Springs, Middletown and vicinity will be seen by comparison with the Alphabetical List of soldiers and sailors from Henry County in the Civil War, to have served later in other organizations. The knowledge of war gained by them in this, their first service, was of inestimable value to the State and Nation, in enabling them to educate their comrades in the art of war.

Biographical Sketch Of Henry Lycurccs Powell

It is always pleasant and profitable to contemplate the career of a man who has made a success of life and won the honor and respect of his fellow men. Such is the record of Henry Lycurgns Powell, than whom it would be difficult to find a more whole-souled or popular man within the limits of Henry County. He is the son of Simon T. Powell, who, in his lifetime, was as well known as any citizen residing in the county.

Henry L. Powell was born in New Castle, Indiana, December 2^), 1842. He attended the public schools and the old academy, finishing his education in the State University at Bloomington, where he spent two years. When the Civil War broke out and disruption of the Union was threatened, Mr. Powell cast aside all personal interests and enlisted in the country's service in what became Company B, 8th Indiana Infantry (three months). He was mustered into the service of the United States, as a private, April 25, 1861, and with his regiment was sent to the field in West Virginia. In the battle of Rich Mountain, July 11, 1861, he received a severe wound in the right ankle, breaking the bone and in a measure disabling him for life. He was the first citizen of New Castle or vicinity to suffer injury in battle in the Civil War. At the time of the injury, the surgeons wished to amputate the foot and it was saved to him only by the active interference and protests of General Grose who was present at the time as a private citizen. This wound prevented Mr. Powell from taking further part personally in the war, but he along with his father, who had been physically disabled from infancy, took an active interest at home in encouraging enlistments, soliciting and forwarding sanitary supplies and caring for the women and children of the soldiers at the front.

In order that the family might be represented on the firing line, the younger brother, Orlistes W. Powell, was also given to the cause. He enlisted as a private soldier in what became Company C, 36th Indiana Infantry, and was mustered into the service of the United States, as Corporal, September 16, 1861. Later he was made Commissary Sergeant and then Sergeant Major of the regiment and up to the day of his death, he was with the regiment without the absence of a single day, taking part in all of its marches, campaigns, hardships and battles, until at Chickamauga, Georgia, September 20, 1863, he was killed. His remains fell into the hands of the enemy and he was buried on the battlefield. Nearly four months afterwards his remains, identified under as curious a circumstance as ever came to the attention of the author, were recovered, brought home and re-interred February 3, 1864, in South Mound Cemetery, Nevv' Castle. It seems that sometime before the battle, Orlistes had had his name, "O. \\^ Powell," worked on his arm in India ink. He was buried in a trench containing more than a dozen other bodies, thrown in promiscuously, as was the custom in both armies, when burying the enemy's dead on the battlefield. When young Powell was thrown in, his arm, on which his name was worked, became extended horizontally, at full length. The upper part of the next body, thrown in carelessly, fell immediately over the name. After the battle of Missionary Ridge, when the Federal army again occupied the old battlefield at Chickamauga, Simon T. Powell appeared on the scene to recover the body of his son, Orlistes, and in the first trench opened, in taking out the bodies, mangled and decomposed beyond recognition, it was found that the body resting on the arm of Orlistes had preserved, as clear and distinct as in life, the name "O. W. Powell," thus the identification was complete and his mortal remains restored to the care of the family whose sacrifice he had been to the cause. Orlistes W. Powell was born in New Castle, February 17, 1845.

After the close of the war Henry L. Powell read law in the office of Judge Joshua H. Mellett, but never engaged in active practice of the profession. He turned his attention to farming and stock raising and has continued in those pursuits to the present time. He makes a specialty of fine stock of all kinds and finds the business a profitable one. His methods are in keeping with the progressive spirit of the twentieth century and his present prosperity is a monument to his thrift and well-directed efforts. He is a man of broad humanitarian principles, of earnest purpose and upright life, and does all that lies in his power to uplift his fellow men and promote the moral well being of his communit}^ His is a well rounded life.

In politics he is an earnest Republican. He has. from time to time, taken an active part in the campaign work of his party and has served a number of times as a delegate to conventions.

On November 6, 1867, Mr. Powell was united in marriage with Amelia Clift, daughter of Elisha Clift, an old and highly respected citizen of New Castle. On August 18, 1871, there was born to them their only child, Howard Orlistes. During the Spanish-American War he became a soldier and was mustered into the service of the United States, as Corporal, Company K, i6oth Indiana Infantry, May 12, 1898. He was first sent with his regiment to Camp Hamilton near Lexington, Kentucky. From that point it was transferred to Camp Chickamauga near Chattanooga, Tennessee. The regiment was finally ordered to Cuba and stationed at Matanzas. Howard O. Powell remained with the regiment until mustered out February 24, 1899. On April 18, 1900, he married Grace Farquhar of Chattanooga, Tennessee, daughter of Mrs. Louise Farquhar, and located at Savannah, Georgia, where he is acting as an inspector of lumber for E. B. Hunting and Compan}-. Two sons have been born to this union, the one, Henry Titus, so named after his grandfather, Henry L. Powell, and his great-grandfather, Simon Titus Powell ; the other, Howard Orlistes Powell, junior, so named after his father.

Mrs. Amelia (Clift) Powell was born September 8, 1842. She was educated in New Castle and at the Western Female Seminary, Oxford, Ohio. She graduated from the latter institution in 1867 with honors and was soon afterwards married to Mr. Powell. She was an amiable and charitable lady, much devoted to her husband and son, and welcome at all social gatherings because of her wit and genial humor. She died December 12, 1892.

Three generations of Powells have thus been identified with Henry County and have supported the honor and interests of home and country, in camp and field and civic life. They have well earned the respect of their, fellow citizens.

Henry L. Powell is a member of the George W. Lennard Post, No. 148. Grand Army of the Republic, New Castle, and is an honorary member of the 36th

Indiana Regimental Association. The association conferred this honor upon him for his own early service and suffering in the Civil War and in commemoration of the heroic death of his brother, Orlistes W. Powell.

On January lo, 1894, Mr. Powell married Mrs. Emma L. Ogle nee Martin. She was born March 3, 1857, in Wayne County, Indiana, and received her early training there and in Hancock County, this State. She is a noble woman of fine tastes and happy disposition, possessing in full measure the qualities essential to the making of an ideal home.

Biographical Sketch Of Philander Wisehart

I'UIXAT!-:. COMl'AXV I!. StH IXFA.XTRY regiment, INDIANA VOLUNTEERS (THREE months). FIRST SOLDIER FROM HENRY COUNTY KILLED IN THE CIVIL WAR.

Philander W'isehart was born December 29, 1837. He was the son of James and Sarah Wisehart, the former bom March 25, 1807, and the latter born ]\larch 7, 1 81 2. On February 10. 1831, they were united in marriage and settled in Fall Creek Township, on government land, near the present site of Mechanicsburg, where they continued to reside all of their active lives. They cleared away the forests and brought the land under cultivation, leading the simple, rugged lives of all early settlers. They were highly respected by their neighbors and were jxissessed of strong religious convictions. They were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Wisehart home was the center of the religious life of the neighborhood and the stopping place for all itinerant ministers, who for lack of church accommodations, often held services at their residence. James Wisehart seems to have been a man of strong character and public spirit, who took a great interest in educational and religious matters and the cause of both was much benefitted by his efforts in the early days of Henry County.

James and Sarah Wisehart were the progenitors of a large family, thirteen children being born to them, namely : Jackson, Mary Ann, Louisa, Willis, Philander (the subject of this sketch). Nelson, George, Melvina, Richmond, Elizabeth, Charity Ann, Volintine and Lorinda. There are still living of this family : Louisa, now ]\Irs. Hiram B. Brattain ; Willis ; Nelson ; Richmond ; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Joseph W. Franklin ; (Tharity Ann, now Mrs. John Davis, and Lorinda, now Mrs. Frank JMcWilliams. All of the children, both living and dead, except Jackson, who had his residence in Iowa and Georgia for a short time, have resided in Henry County all of their lives, and all of the survivors now live in Fall Creek Township, except Richmond, who is a resident of New Castle. ( Since this was written he has moved to Pasadena, California.)

James Wisehart, the father, died. October 2, 1868, but his widow survived him many years, her death taking place June 29, 1890. He was for many years a Justice of the Peace, who was then an ofificer of dignity and importance. In all new countries that are being opened for settlement, the "squire" is the most important man in the new community. The early settlers of Fall Creek Township, year after year, attested their appreciation of ]\Ir. Wisehart by electing him to this position, which made him the censor of the community. When no minister was within reach he was the official who solemnized marriages ; he also attested legal papers, drew wills and settled disputes among his neighbors and in important matters was the adviser of all. In every town, village and neighborhood, there is now a notary public, an officer with a seal, but at that time the nearest official with a seal, in fact the only one in the county, was the clerk of the court at New Castle. With the growth of the community has come a more numerous ministry and new courts and new officials, which have usurped the duties of the justices of the peace, until the office has dwindled to comparative unimportance.

Philander Wisehart

Summer and going to school in Winter, until the beginning of the Civil War, when he immediately offered his services to his country, enlisting in what became Company B, 8th Indiana Infantry (three months), and was mustered into the service of the United States, as a private, April 25, 1861. In the battle of Rich Mountain, West Virginia, July 11, 1861, he was killed, being the first soldier from Henry County to lose his life in the Civil War. His remains were buried on the battlefield and the grave marked by his comrades, in such a permanent way, that it could be identified when the time came for the Government to undertake the gathering of the remains of its soldier dead from the scattered battlefields of the war and the placing of them in National Cemeteries. To this is owing the fact that the remains of Philander Wisehart have been re-interred with reverent care in Grave No. 655, in the National Cemetery at Grafton, West Virginia. He was an exemplary young man, highly respected and gave promise of a long and useful life. Alas ! cut down in the flush of early manhood, in the titanic struggle of the Civil War. It has always been attested by his surviving comrades in ariiis that he was an ideal soldier, patient in camp, enduring on the march and brave in battle.

Richmond Wisehart

Richmond Wisehart, brother of Philander, long a resident of New Castle, is a veteran of the Civil War. In the Fall of 1861, after the death of his brother, he enlisted from Mechanicsburg in Company F, 57th Indiana Infantry, and was mustered into the service of the United States, as a private, November 18, 1861. He participated in the marches, skirmishes and battles of that regiment, from Shiloh to Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge, and afterwards marched and fought with his regiment in General Sherman's Atlanta Campaign. He was wounded during that campaign, at Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia, June 2^, 1864. At the expiration of his first enlistment, he again enlisted in the same company and regiment, with which he continued until the regiment was mustered out. His soldierly qualities brought him recognition and advancement. He was successively appointed Sergeant and First Sergeant of his company and on June i, 1865, he was commissioned Second Lieutenant. The end of the war, however, was assured, and he was never mustered as Lieutenant but continued to serve as First Sergeant, until December 14, 1865, when he was mustered out of the service, and returned to Henry County. He has been honored by the people of his native county with two successive terms as County Auditor, serving from November i, 1891, to November i, 1899. He has recently moved to Pasadena, California, where he now resides.

Hiram B. Brattain

Hiram B. Brattain, husband of Philander Wisehart's elder sister, Louisa, was also a soldier of the Civil War. He was a private in the same company and regiment as Philander Wisehart, and when the latter received his death wound at Rich Mountain, he was present and received from him his dying words, ''Tell mother I am willing to die and feel that all is well." The regiment was mustered out of the service on August 6, 1861, and Mr. Brattain returned home where he remained until August 8, 1862, when he was commissioned Second Lieutenant of Company H, 69th Indiana Infantry. He was mustered into the service o^^ the

United States, August 12. 1862, and on the 19th of the same month departed for the front with his regiment. On August 30, 1862, at the battle of Richmond, Kentucky, the regiment was terribly cut up and a large part of it captured. After exchange, the regiment was re-organized, but Lieutenant Brattain was compelled by increasing disability to resign March 27, 1863. He returned to Middletown, where he has since lived, enjoying the confidence and respect of his fellow citizens.

John Davis

John Davis, who married Charity Ann Wisehart, was also a soldier. He enlisted from Middletown in Company G, 84th Indiana Infantry, and was mustered into the service of the United States, as a private, August 20, 1862, and participated in all the marches, skirmishes and battles of that regiment. He was wounded at Chickamauga, Georgia, September 20, 1863. At the end of the war he was mustered out with his regiment, June 14, 1865. He returned to Middletown, the home of his youth, where he has since resided, being principally engaged in farming. In every requirement of life, Mr. Davis has been found on the side of morality and honor.

Joseph W. Franklin

loseph W. Franklin, who married Elizabeth Wisehart, enlisted from ]\Iiddletown in Company H, 140th Indiana Infantry, and was mustered into the service of the United States, as a private, September 9, 1864, and participated in the marches, skirmishes and battles of that regiment, until mustered out July 11, 1865, when he returned to Middletown, where he has since resided, following the life of a farmer.

In the following roster, the name of each officer and man is followed by his postoffice address at the time of enlistment. In some instances the soldier was not a resident of Henry County at the time of enlistment but moved to that county after the Civil War. In such cases the name of the county from which he enlisted is substituted for the postoffice address and that is followed by the place of settlement in Henry County. The date of muster for the officers is the date they were actually mustered into the service of the United States and not the date of commission.

Company E was considered a distinctively Henry County organization and, for that reason, the names of all its members are published to complete the roster, whether they lived in Henry County or not. The name of the county from which he enlisted is substituted for the postoffice address after the name of each non-resident soldier.

Field Officers And Regimental Staff Colonel

David Shunk, Marion. Mustered in May 25, 1862. Promoted Brevet Brigadier General U. S. V., February 9, 1865. Died at Marion, Indiana, February 21, 1865.

Ima.Jor And Surgeon

James Ford, Wabash. Mustered in September 5, 1861. Resigned June 5, 1863. James K. Bigelow, Wabash. Mustered in July 1. 1863. Mustered out August 28, 1865.

Wagoner

Leander Starr, Wayne County. Straughn after the Civil War. Mustered in September 5, 1861. Appointed Corporal. Mustered out September 4, 1864.

(Under act of Congress passed at the session of 1883-84, he was mustered as Captain to date January 1, 1865, and received the pay and emoluments of a captain of infantry from that date until his discharge in August, 1865, less the pay and bounty received between the dates.)

Fiest Lieutenant

Cyrus Van Matre, Middletown. Mustered in May 22, 1864. Resigned December 4, 1864, account of wounds at Cedar Creek, Virginia, October 19, 1864.

Second Lieutenant

Cyrus Van Matre, Middletown. Mustered in September 5, 1861. Veteran. Wounded at Vicksburg, Mississippi, May 22, 1863. Promoted First Lieutenant.

George W. Rader, Middletown. Mustered in September 5, 1861. Died at Vicksburg, Mississippi, May 27, 1863, account of wounds received there, May 22, 1863.

James W. Alexander, Mechanicsburg. Mustered in September 5, 1861. Veteran. Appointed Sergeant. Killed at Cedar Creek, Virginia, October 19, 1864.

George W. Barrett, Middletown. Mustered in September 5, 1861. Veteran. Wounded at Vicksburg. Mississippi, May 22, 1863. Mustered out August 28, 1865.

John J. Carter, Sulphur Springs. Mustered in March 18, 1862. Recruit. Died at St. Louis, Missouri, August 12, 1863, account of wounds at Vicksburg, Mississippi, May 22, 1863.

William Gossett, Honey Creek. Mustered in August 13, 1862. Recruit. Wounded at Winchester, Virginia, September 19, 1864. Mustered out August 28, 1865.

Thompson W. McCune, Middletown. Mustered in September 5, 1861. Promoted First Lieutenant, Company G, First Regiment, Mississippi (River) Marine Brigade, January 16, 1863. Accidentally drowned in Mississippi River, April 8, 1863.

James L. Moore,. Middletown. Mustered in September 5, 1861. Veteran. Appointed Corporal. Wounded at Vicksburg, Mississippi, May 22, 1863. Mustered out August 28, 1865.

Daniel Rent, Mechanicsburg. Mustei'ed in September 5, 1861. Veteran. Appointed Corporal. Wounded at Jackson, Mississippi, July 12, 1863. Mustered out August 28, 1865.

William Webb, Middletown. Mustered in October 29, 1862. Recruit. Wounded at Cedar Creek, Virginia, October 19, 1864. Discharged, disability, July 28, 1865.

John W. Whitworth, Sulphur Springs. Mustered in September 5, 1861. Veteran. Appointed Corporal. Wounded at Vicksburg, Mississippi, May 22, 1863. Mustered out August 28, 1865.

James M. Windsor, Middletown. Mustered in September 5, 1861. Veteran. Captured at Cedar Creek, Virginia, October 19, 1864. Died in Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia. February 17, 1865.

Mustered For Three Years

The Eighth Regiment was re-organized, for the three years' service, at Indianapohs on the 20th of Atigtist, 1861, and mustered in on the 5th of September, 1 861, with WilHam P. Benton, as Colonel. It marched from Indianapolis, by rail, on the loth of September, and arrived at St. Louis, Missouri, on the day following, joining the Army then being formed by General Fremont. In a few days after, the regiment marched toward the State Capital reaching Jefferson City on the 14th of September, where it remained in camp a week, during which time it was placed in the brigade commanded by Colonel Jeff C. Davis of the 22d Indiana Volunteers. On the 22d the march was resumed for Springfield. The Eighth made the march to that place in fourteen days, and returned to Otterville in seven days. On the 17th of December, the regiment marched to Warrensburg, and assisted in the capture of thirteen hundred rebels. Returning to Otterville, it remained in camp until the 24th of January, 1862, when it marched for Springfield, joining the command of General Curtis on the route. From this point the march was continued to Cross Timbers, Arkansas, and immediately after, the great battle of Pea Ridge was fought on the 6th, 7th and 8th of March, in which the Eighth participated. It remained in camp at Cross Timbers for nearly a month, and then moved in the direction of Forsythe, Missouri, over the Ozark Mountains, and then proceeded down the valley of White River and across the country to Batesville, Arkansas, halting at Sulphur Rock for nearly two months. Leaving the latter place June 22d, it reached Helena, on the Mississippi River on the 13th of July. The command suffered severely on this arduous march by reason of the scarcity of provisions, there being but a scanty supply with the command and but little in the country ; very often the daily rations consisted of four ears of corn with a small allowance of meat. During this march some skirmishing was had with the enemy in the canebrakes of White River and an engagement fought at Cotton Plant. In August, while on an expedition from Helena a skirmish was had at Austin, Mississippi. On the 6th of October, the Eighth was placed in the command of General Steele and proceeded, by steamer, to Sulphur Hill, near St. Louis, Missouri, from which place it marched to Ironton on the nth of October, and from thence marched and counter-marched through the southeastern portion of the State, until March 5th, 1863, when the regiment embarked on a steamer at St. Genevieve to join General Grant's Army then organizing at Milliken's Bend, Louisiana. Here it was assigned to Benton's Brigade, Carr's Division of the 13th Corps, McClernand commanding. On the 29th of April, the regiment crossed the Mississippi River and participated in the engagements at Port Gibson, on the ist of May, losing in killed and wounded thirty two; at Jackson on thes 14th ; at Champion Hills on the i6th ; at Big Black River on the 17th ; and from the 1 8th of May till the 4th of July, was engaged in the siege of Vicksburg. In the assault on the enemy's works on the 22d of May the Eighth lost one hundred and seventeen in killed and wounded. On the 5th of July, it marched to Jackson, which, being evacuated by the rebels, the Eighth returned to Vicksburg on the 24th of July, where it remained till the 20th of August, when it embarked on a steamer for Carrollton, Louisiana. From this point a campaign was made through the Teche Country, under General Banks. On the 12th of November the regiment embarked from Berwick City for Texas, and on the 17th, took part in the attack and capture of a fort on Mustang Island, near Aransas Pass. On the 27th, it was engaged in the attack and capture of Fort Esperanza, after which it marched to Indianola. Here, on the ist of January, 1864, the regiment re-enlisted. 417 out of 515 being re-mustered as veterans. Prior to re-enlistment the Eighth su-stained

On the 22d of April the regiment arrived at Indianapolis on veteran furlough and remained in the State a month. Returning to New Orleans it embarked on the 27th of July for Morganza Bend, and the next day marched to Atchafalaya, where it engag"ed the Confederates and returned to Morganza Bend, from which place it embarked on steamer for Washington City, arriving there on the 12th of August. From thence it marched to Berryville, Virginia, where it was assigned to the 19th Corps, participating in the campaign of the Shenandoah Valley, under (General Sheridan. The regiment was in the engagement at Opequan on the 19th of September and in the battles of Fisher's Hill, on the 22d of September, and of Cedar Creek on the 19th of October. It left the valley on the 6th of January, 1865, and arrived at Savannah, Georgia, by steamer from Baltimore, on the i6th of the same month. It remained on duty in Georgia until the 28th of August, 1865, when it was mustered out of service. On the 17th of September, the Eighth arrived at Indianapolis, in command of Lieutenant Colonel John R. Polk, with 14 officers and 245 men. where it was finally discharged from service, after being publicly received in the Capitol grounds by Governor Morton, on behalf of the State.

The above is the history of the regiment as given in the "Report of W. H. H. Terrell, Adjutant General of Indiana." It may be added that this was one of the famous Indiana regiments in the Civil War. Its services were as arduous as any and it served in more States and marched more miles, by foot, rail and water, than any other regiment containing a full Henry County company. The distance traveled is computed to have been nearly 15,000 miles, almost two thirds of the circumference of the earth.

Its first Colonel, William P. Benton, became, early in the war, a Brigadier General and later a Brevet ^lajor General, "for faithful and meritorious service." \Mien the war began he was Judge of the Common Pleas Court of Wayne County and recruited the first full company going into the army from that county, which became Company A of this regiment (three months' service). He never served as Captain, being at once commissioned Colonel.

This regiment was closely associated with the Eighteenth Indiana Infantry during its entire service, and with the First Indiana Battery, until the Spring of 1864. Its first Brigade Commander, Colonel Jeff C. Davis, became famous in the war, reaching the full rank of Major General and commanding one wing of General Sherman's Army on its "j\Iarch to the Sea."