Madison County, Indiana - Chapter 17, 1897

Chapter 17

The history of the heroes of jVIauison county, as well as of the State and Nation, who participated in the Mexican war and in the greater war of the rebellion, has been written time and again and will endure as long as time shall last. Nothing that the authors of this work could say would add to the lustre of their names or achievements. Both have been preserved in the archives of the Republic and will be perpetuated forever by the American people, in song and story, in stone and bronze. It is not the purpose, therefore, of the authors to give a detailed history of the services of Madison county's soldiery, but a general account, together with sucli local matters relating to the subject as are considered of sufticient importance to remember in a work of this character.

Previous to 1847, the county had no military history, but upon the breaking out of the Mexican war a number of patriotic citizens who had heard the thrilling story of Crockett and the Alamo, availed themselves of the first opportunity to ofl'er their services to the government. This opportunity occurred early in Mav, 1847, after the second call for volunteers had been made by President James K. Polk. Captain John M. \Vallace, of Marion, Grant county, organized a company at that place, which was composed of residents of both (irant and Madison counties. There may have been, and probably were, volunteers from this county under the first call of the President, but there is no means at this time of ascertaining either their names or number.

The companj' organized by Captain Wallace marched from Marion to Anderson and tlience to Indianapolis. From there the company went by rail (at that time the only railroad in the State) to Madison, where it embarked on a steamer for Jeffersonville, at which place it went into camp, and on the 31st of May, was mustered into the service of the United

The regiment left JefTersonville for New Orleans tiy steamer the following month and \vent from there to Brazo.'i Santiago, near the mouth of the Rio Grande. After marching to a point 160 miles up that river and remaining se\eral weeks, it returned to Brazos, and on tlie 19th of September, sailed with the brigade to which it was attached, for Vera Cruz. The Fourth belonged to General Lanes brigade and participated in some of the severest skirmishes of the war. In December, 1847, it joined the inain army under General Scott, in the citv of Mexico, where it remained until peace was declared, leaving there for Vera Cruz on the 1st of June, 1848, and arriving at Madison, Indiana, on the :?()th of Julv, where it was mustered out of the service. Of the men who volunteered from Madison county in this war, the following list i.s given :

Xineveh Berry, commissary ; Joseph Hunt, corporal ; Reuben Stephenson, Levi Brewer, Jacob Booser, William Collis, John Hicks, Solomon Harpold, Alexander firecniee, James Moore, Samuel Moore, Isaac Rheubart, David \'anasdell, Benjamin Moore, Jacob Spucher, Thomas Dillon and John Dedman, the last two dying in Mexico of disease. Le\ i Brewer, who is still living, is mentioned elsewhere in these pages.

Fort Sumter was fired on bv the Cf)nfederates on the 12th day of ^Vpril, 1861, and on the KUh of the same month (jovernor O. P. Morton issued a call to the people of Indiana for volunteers to till the cjuota of the State under the call of the President for 75,000 troops. The call of the governor was received with patriotic outbursts of enthusiasm throughout the state anil the day following a public meeting was held in the court house at Anderson for the purpose of enlisting volunteers for the war. Patriotic speeches were made by Dr. Townsend Rvan, who was afterwards appointed to a colonelcj- in the army, T. N. .Stilwell, who also received a commission as colonel of a regiment afterwards. Ralph N. Clark and others. The war spirit was rampant and a company of 100 stalwart men was soon organized. The meri were all young and a large inajoritv of them above the average size. The idea prevailed at the time that only men of large mus- cular development could enilure the pri\;itions and hardships incident to war. Thi.s idea was soon dispelled, however, as it was discovered that small men or men of medium size made equally as good, if not bettir soldiers, than the men of larger mould. It is recalled by the writer that a company from Logansport passed through Anderson in April, 18(il, not one of whom was less than six feet in height, and large in proportion.

The e\euing after the public meeting the volunteers assembled at the ]SIethodist churL'h and organized by electing Hiram T. Vandevender, captain, and a full complement of ofKcers. The company left immediately for Indianapolis, an(.l went into camp at a place east of the city, called Camp Mc- Clellan. On the 22d of ^Vpril it was mustered into the threemonths service, and assigned to the Eighth Indiana \'olunteer infantry, as Company "G." The regiment remained in camp until June, when it was ordered to Clarksburg, Va. From there, the regiment went to Buckhannon, Va., and on the 11th of Jul)' participated in the battle of Rich Mountain. Compaii)- G lost but one man - Joseph Beck, of Chesterfield. This was the onl}' engagement the Company participated in during its tliree-months service. After remaining in camp at Beverly until the 24th of July, the regiment was ordered back to Indianapolis, where it was mustered out of the service August Gth, 1801, and the men returned to their homes.

The regiment was reorganized, and many of the men who composed it during the three-months service, re-enlisted for ''three years, or during the war." This much of the history of Company G is given for the reason that it was the first company to leave Madison county. The muster rolls in the war department at Washington show that 139 ofKcers and men from Madison county belonged to the Eighth Indiana.

Captain ^'andevender was mortall)' wounded in front of Vicksbuig, and died .May l'8, 1863. He was a chivalrous soldier, and was greatl}- respected by his men. His remains now repose beneath a marble tablet in the Anderson cemetery.

From the dav the first company left Anderson to take part in the defense of the government there was almost a continuous stream of volunteers flowing out of Madison county into the army. Every vocation in life represented within her borders contributed men to the ranks of the grand army that was fighting for the preservation of the l^nion. They marched away to the inspiring music of the fife and drum from field and forge, hamlet and town, many of them to die upon the field, in the hospital and in prison without hope or desire of a greater reward than the high renown of the patriot who gives up his life in defense of his country. Many of them had not reached their majoritj-, more were of middle age, while not a few had passed the meridian of life. But all ^vere patriots ; their county and State were proud of them, and generations yet unborn will commemorate their deeds and honor their memory.

As nearly as can be ascertained Madison county furnished l,50f> volunteers during the war, for which she received credit. A few citizens of the county enlisted in companies organized in other counties and states, and they are credited to the localities where they enlisted. The county was represented in the following regimental organizations : The Eighth (one company). Ninth, Eleventh, Twelfth (one company). Sixteenth (one company). Seventeenth (this regiment bore on its muster rolls the names of 140 citizens of Madison county), Nineteenth (one company). Twentieth, Thirty-fourth (two companies). Thirty-ninth, or Eighth Cavalrj-, Forty-seventh (one company), Fifty-second, Fifty-eighth, Fifty-ninth, Sixty-ninth, Seventy-fifth (one company). Eighty-fourth, Eightyninth (one company). Ninetieth, or Fifth Calvai'y, Ninetyninth, and One Hundred and First (one company). One Hundred and Thirtieth (one company) Indiana regiments. These organizations all belonged to the three-years service. The county was also represented in the following organizations : One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Indiana ( 100-days service). One Hundred and Thirty-sixth (100-days service). One Hundred and Fortieth (one-year service), One Hundred and Fortysecond (one-vear service), One Hundred and Fortj'-seventh (one-year service) , One Hundred and Forty-ninth (one-year service), One Hundred and Fity-third (one-year service), One Hundred and Fifty-tourth (one-year service). One Hundred and Fifty-fifth (one-year service). Twenty-eighth regiment (United States colored troops). The muster rolls of the Second Indiana Battery - Light Artillerj- - and Eighteenth Battery - Light Artillery - show that Madison county was largely represented in those organizations.

Minute Men

occasion of a call for troops by Gov. Morton, and within fortyeight hours after the call was made, 65,000 men tendered their services to the governor. Madison county promptly responded along with her sister counties in the State, and four companies were raised to assist in repelling the invaders. One of these companies was assigned to the One Hundred and Fourth regiment and the other three to the One Hundred and Tenth regiment. As Morgan did not remain in the State any longer than his force could ride from the point where they entered to the Ohio line, the services of the minute men from this county were not needed and the\' were accordingly mustered out - the three companies belonging to the One Hundred and Tenth regiment, at Indianapolis, on th*e 15th of July, or three davs after thej' had been mustered into service, and the company belonging to the One Hundred and Fourth regiment, at Greensburg, on the 18th of July.

At the time of this raid great excitement prevailed throughout Indiana, and especially in the central portion of of the State, as it was feared that the State capital was the objective point of the incursion. The excitement at Indianapolis for several days was intense and all kinds of war-like rumors could be heard on every hand. The streets were thronged with excited and fear-stricken people for two days and nights, and it was freely asserted by a few old soldiers, who happened to be in the city at the time, on furlough, that Morgan could have easily captured the city with fifty of his men, so great was the demoralization of the raw troops and people generally.

To write a history of the campaigns of the various organizations with which the volunteers of Madison county were identified, would not only be a labor of supererogation, but would exceed the limits designed by the authors for this work. The story has been told better than we are able to tell it. It is our province to state, howe\er, that tiie soldiers of Madison county participated in nearly every great battle of the war. They ^vere at the Wilderness, Antietum, Cold Harbor, Chickamauga. Look Out Mountain, Ressacca, Vicksburg, Gettysburg and with Sherman on his " inarch to the sea." Many of them never returned and are sleeping in unknown graves. Of this number is Major Isaac M. May, of the Nineteenth Indiana, who was killed at Gainesville, Va., on the 2Sth of August, 18(3:2. Every effort was made by his widow and friends to recover his remains, but in vain. He fell early in the engagement, and w-as buried by Seth Peden of his home company, and a soldier belonging to a Wisconsin regiment. Both these men were killed soon after, and with them died all knowledge a.s to the spot where the Major's remains were buried.

This gallant officer had all the instincts of a great soldier, lie was a strict disciplinarian and gave much time to the study of military tactics, a thorough knowledge of which he regarded as absolutely essential to tiie proper discharge of his duties as an officer. He had great respect for his men and and the)' in return loved and honored him, not only as a brave and faithful officer, but as a friend. His untimely death was sincerely mourned wherever he was known, and particularly at Anderson, where he had alwaj's been held in the highest respect as a citizen. \Vhen tlie Grand Army Post was organized at Anderson there was but one expression with reference to a name for the organization and that was Major May. This Post is one of the largest and most important in the State, and is appropriately mentioned elsewhere in this history.

Major Samuel Henry was another gallant soldier of Mailson county, whose untimely death was the cause of much sincere regret and sorrow. Me had risen to the rank of Major from that of First Lieutenant of Company B, Eighty ninth Indiana \'olunteer Infantry, and the possibilities of the futme appeared bright to him and his friends, when he, along with two other officers of the regiment, was shot to death by guerrillas on the 1st of November, 18154, near a small village called Grunton in the State of Missouri. The men had become separated from their command, wliich was marching to Lexington, Mo., and had just left a house where they bad been supplied with dinner, when they were confronted by three men dressed in the Federal uniform, and ordered to hold up their hands. The officers were unarmed excepting ]Major Ilenrv, who perhaps had on his sword and one pistol. After searching the men for fire arms, they were ordered to mount their horses. They were then taken back a short distance into a woods where they were murdered and robbed. Their remains were found by people living in the vicinity and taken to Lexington where they were identified b)' officers of the army. Colonel Wolf, commanding the Third brigade, ordered the bodies decently interred in metallic caskets, knowing that friends would want them removed. The remains of Major Henry were soon after taken up and brought back to his native village, Pendleton, and laid to rest in the cemetery at that place. Major Henry was a brother ol Hon. Cliarles L. IlL-nrj-. of Anderson, who at tliis time represents the capital district of the State in Congress. The G. A. R. Post at Pendleton was named in honor of Major Henry.

While a inreat majority of the volunteers of Indiana were organized into regiments at Indianapolis, a number of regiments were organized at other points in the State. It was considered advisable, for various reasons, to establish a camp at Anderson, and in the summer of \>^Cj\ certain companies, raised in the northern part of tiie State, were ordered hither. A camp was established (HI the hill northeast of the bridge which now spans \Vhite river where north Madison avenue terminates, and the Thirty-fourth Indiana regiment was organized there on the I(5th of September. The camp was called "Camp Stihvell '' in honor of Thomas N. Stilwell. who was Qiiartermaster of the regiment until March, 18(3:2, wlu n he resigned.

A majoritv of the companies of this regiment had a full quota of men and when it left camp on the ]()th of October, 1861, for the front it was as large a regiment as ever left the State,

Madison county fm-nisheil two companies for this regiment and 280 men in all during its time of service. The late Colonel Ryan, of Anderson, commanded the regiment at one time. The Thirty-fourth participated in the last battle of the war, \\ liicli was fought at Palmetto Ranche, Te.\as, on the ]i?th of May, ]S6o. and was one of the last regiments mustered out of the service.

While the soldiers of Madison county were at the tront fighting for the preservation of the government the people at home did not forget them. Sanitary and other supplies were sent to the camp and hospital without stint. Whenever the people at home were appealed to for assistance lor the soldiers they always responded promptly.

18G1, of the Board of Commissioners it was " Ordered that $200 be appropriated for the purchase of Uimber to fit up a camp for the accommodation of a regiment being organized at Anderson." And at the same term $800 was appropriated for the assistance of soldiers" wives and children, the Trustee of each township being instructed to render assistance wherever needed. At the August term, 1802, it was ordered that an allowance of $1 each week be made to each soldier's wife or widowed mother and 50 cents to each child under ten years of age, the Trustees being directed to make the disbursements.

At the following September term a tax levy of 10 cents on eLich $10(1 valuation of the taxable propertv in the county was made in order to pro\ide a fund for the relief of soldiers' families. These orders continued in force until the close of the war.

The Board held a special session in November, 1^68, at which it was ordered " that each volunteer credited to Madison county be paid $50 bounty when he produces the certificate of the mustering officer to the county Auditor, and $50 at the expiration of his term of service." A tax levy of 25 cents on each $100 valuation of property was made to raise the money necessary to carry out the order.

The record of the Commissioners' court for the June term, 18(54, shows that the county treasurer had received $10,812.97 taxes for military purposes and had paid out for the same, $10,700.

The call of the President for 800,000 men in 18(j4 rendered it necessary, in order to fill the quota of Madison county, to issue bonds to the amount of $200,000. The Commissioners ordered a bounty of $400 to be paid to each volunteer or drafted man and the county's quota untler the call was soon filled.

The amount of money paid by the county for liounties to soldiers was $344,8V)8 and for aid to the families of soldiers, $10,042, making a total of $354,940. The amount of money contributed by individual citizens of the county for sanitary supplies and other necessaries cannot, of course, be ascertained, but would doubtless bring the grand total up to an amount as large again as that paid out of the county treasury.