Sullivan County, Indiana - Chapter 5: Military Annals, 1909

Chapter 5: Military Annals

The first organized military force that went from Sulhvan county for service in the field was a company organized for the war with [Mexico. Although the war with ^lexico was not one of principle nor for anv cause that was likely to stir the patriotism of the whole nation, it excited much interest in Sullivan county, and when the news came that "war is," a movement was at once begun to help fill out Indiana's quota. Joseph W. Briggs was foremost in this activity, and a few meetings at different points in the county brought out sufficient volunteers to make a company. About July, 1846. the volunteers left for New Albany, where they were assigned, as Company H, to the Second Indiana Regiment. The officers of the company were : Joseph W. Briggs, captain ; Justus Davis, first lieutenant ; Israel Benefiel, second lieutenant ; Solomon Loudermilk, third lieutenant ; Henry Dooley. R. ^IcGrew. James H. W'ier, James Hancock, sergeants ; Harvey \\'ilson, John B. Hughes, Hosea C. Buckley, Thomas E. Ashley, corporals. The privates of the regiment at the time of the muster out were : Henry Adams, W'ilie Adams, N. Brower, Phillip Brower, John Borders. Willis Benefiel. ^lichael Borders, James B. Booker, Nelson F. Bolton, Robert Calvert, Patrick Carley, Charles Child, Thomas Coulter, George Davidson, Alfred Davis. John

Edds, Joseph Engle, William Essex, Richard Goss, H. M. Gilliam, James Garrett, Nathan Gatson, King Hamilton, Jonathan Hart, A. A. Hamilton, James Holsten, John Hill, Joseph Hooten, E. D. Hart, William Ireland, Henry Jones, J. J. Loudermilk, Preston Mosier, Redmon Alalone, Gabriel Moots, Levin Nash, Benjamin Plew, John Ravenscroft, Charles Risinger, Charles G. Readay, Michael Ring, John L. Robinson, Joseph Strong, Volney E. Swaim. William Shepard. Alfred Smith, Elijah Voorhies, Mark Wilson, Andrew Winters, William D. Wier, William Wheeler. Meshack Draper, Thomas Price and Richard Jenkins lost their lives in battle ; John Shepard, John Marlow, F. J. Copeland, Enoch T. Reeves, John Vanosdoll and James W. Beauchamp were victims of disease. Those discharged before the muster out were Edmund Jones. W. R. Patton, Samuel A. Thompson, John Engle, Benjamin Johnson, John Mosier, Hugh McCammon, Henry Ransford, William -Readay, Joseph Wells, Lewis E. Duncan, H. J. A. Burgett, Thomas Evans, Bonaparte D. Walls, John O. Watson.

The Second Indiana was sent to New Orleans in July, 1846, and from there to the Rio Grande, where it joined the forces under General Zachary Taylor. In February, 1847, i^ participated in the decisive battle of Buena Vista, occupying the extreme left of the American army, which bore the brunt of the Mexican attack. The regiment saw little active service after this battle, being occupied at various points in jNIexico till the close of the war.

The Douglas Democracy stood for "squatter sovereignty" as a means of settling the question of slavery or no slavery in the territories ; and for the preservation of the Union of states. The abolition of slavery was not an issue expressly presented by any of the political parties.

Aside from its decisive expression of opinion in the election of i860, Sullivan county continued throughout the following years of war steadfast in its adherence to a well defined policy of that period, namely, that the Union ought to be preserved, that the regularly constituted government was superior to all others and should be maintained, that there was no constitutional authority for secession, but that every peaceable means should be tried to preserve the Union rather than a resort to arms, and that no interference with slavery should be attempted.

In December, i860, a meeting was held at Sullivan at which the "Crittenden Compromise" was favored as the best means for preserving the L'nion and averting war. The prevailing sentiment was that it was better that slavery should enter the territories rather than have war.

At this time and throughout the war, Murray Briggs, editor of the Democrat, was an editor who not only recorded public opinion but exercised a powerful influence in molding, it. At this late day, when most of the passions aroused by the conflict have been stilled, it is possible to give full expression to admiration of this editor's independence of judgment and clear opinions, as manifested in his editorial columns from week to week. Before the outbreak of the war he said that it was difficult to concede the right of a state to secede, and thus destroy the government, but that he preferred secession to bloody, internecine war. April 11, 1861, his opinion was that "if ]Mr. Lincoln supposes that the people of the countrv will sustain him in any effort to compel the cotton states to remain in the L^nion, or return to it, by force of arms, he is vastly mis- taken." He was still disposed to peace after Sumter had fallen. This caused a number of citizens in the southwestern part of the county to inform him that he was unpatriotic, and to this he replied: "We reiterate our remarks of last w^eek, that if the war must come, and nothing will satisfy the powers of either section but a resort to arms, our wishes are for the success of the regularly constituted authorities under which we live." His discriminative allegiance was again mistaken for disloyalty, and on May 9. 1861^ he restated his principles: "We have never believed in secession - the right is nowhere acknowledged in our constitution. . . . Had the hot-spurs of the cotton states waited for this means [the ballot box] to redress their wrongs, they would have done well. We have no sympathy for their movement. We have been given to understand that the leaders in this scheme are sustained by the people with great unanimity ; we trust that it is not so, but that when the conflict comes they will refuse to sustain their self-constituted authorities in this unnatural w^ar, and return to their old allegiance. Since we must have war, it is manifestly the duty of every man who professes attachment to the Union to sustain the president as the legally constituted head of the government. There must be authority of government, or anarchy will prevail."

Charges of disloyalty and treason were heard on every hand, and it is not strange that men of the highest and most sincere motives were sometimes involved in the net of suspicion and slander. The veteran printer and editor, John Wilson Osborn, who had been a reformer all his life, and a man of undeniable sincerity, though vehement in his radicalism, was an object of much criticism during the w^ar. His paper, The Stars and Stripes, which he conducted at Sullivan during the war, w^as pronounced in its Union sentiment and strong in its support of the Republican administration. In March, 1862, a card was addressed to the editor, as follows : "We charge you with giving aid and comfort to the rebels by constantly asserting that the Democratic party was disloyal and sympathizing with them. This you knew to be false, and added that offense to your treason. How could you more effectually give aid and comfort to the enemy than by representing that such large numbers of your fellow citizens were disloyal and desired the success of the rebellion ?"

The attitude of the two political parties toward the war is shown in the resolutions adopted at the county conventions in 1862. The Republicans met about the middle of June. Valentine Moore was chairman and James W. Hinkle secretary. They deplored the horrors of war. but expressed confidence in the existing administration, and then continued with the following somewhat ambiguous resolution : "While we repudiate the agitation of the slavery question in and out of Congress by the anti-slavery men, and the lovers of that 'peculiar institution" out of slave states, as a firebrand kept alive to divide us, and to consume our democratic form of government by the destruction of our constitution, we denounce all sympathy with the originators and leaders of the rebellion, with whom there should be no fraternal feeling by any other than those who prefer being subjugated and murdered by an American traitor rather than a less criminal foreign foe."

On July 4th occurred the Democratic county convention. Dr. Michael Branson was chairman. A. Van Fossen secretary. Willis G. Neff was indorsed for prosecuting attorney. They resolved that '"the Democracy of Sullivan county are, as they have ever been, opposed alike to secessionism and abolitionism." They pledged themselves to renewed efforts for the preservation of the constitution, and for the election to Congress of such patriots as Dan Voorhees and his co-laborers in Congress, "who have the nerve to apprise the abolitionists that this government was established for white men and not for negroes." They con- demned the violation of constitutional power by officials and protested against the use of the people's money either in the District of Columbia or in the southern states for the feeding or clothing of worthless contrabands inside our lines "while our own soldiers have in many cases suffered for the necessaries of life." Aside from the excitement and crowd incident to the convention, there were no exercises to commemorate the Fourth of July. The annual Methodist Sunday-school picnic was held at Merom.

A rather picturesque demonstration was the Democratic mass meeting in August, 1862. Crowds came in from Greene and Daviess counties and camped near the town the night before, and on the next day the throng was so dense that marshals had difficulty in handling them. About ten thousand people, it was estimated, were present. One of the features of the day was a procession made up of 1,700 men and women mounted on horseback, divided into companies, each company representing a state of the Union. The speaker's stand was in the grove north of the depot, where Willis G. Neft' presided. The attraction of the day was the brilliant orator, Dan Voorhees. In a speech of two hours he denounced disunionists, both north and south, laid the responsibility for the war upon the Republican party, not upon Lincoln, who, he said, had been overruled. The speaker also opposed all schemes for the purchase of slaves, and laws forbidding the extension of slavery into new territory. Following Voorhees, Joseph E. McDonald discoursed for two hours, and the long day closed with recruiting speeches at the court house. It was about this time that Captain Holdson's company was raised for the Ninety-seventh Regiment, and recruits were being accepted for other regiments.

urer, Fletcher Freeman for sheriff, Seth Cushman for commissioner, and Charles Harnish for assessor. Mr. Springer refused the nomination, and Jesse Burton's name was substituted, without his consent, he claimed. These nominations were made behind- closed doors, a fact that gave excuse for many criticisms, and it was even suggested that the session might be a meeting of a lodge of the Knights of the Golden Circle.

The political campaign of 1862 came to a close with the election in October. The Democrats elected the entire county ticket and an assessor in each township, and at the same time gave 1,200 majority for A'oorhees for Congress. Murray Briggs made significant the fact that if the soldiers had been at home, this majority would have increased to 1,500, since it was notorious, said the editor, that two-thirds of the soldiers in the field were Democrats and that nearly all of those who returned supported Voorhees.

An event that indicates the local opinion of the time, and may also be interpreted as of unusual significance in connection with later events, was a "citizens' meeting" in January, 1863, held at Antioch meeting house in Cass township. Thomas G. Neeley presided, and other officials named were John Bledsoe and Joshua Johnson, James B. Cochran and William R. Benton. David Usrey, Jesse Powell, William White and Jeplha Moss addressed the assemblage.

The sentiment of Cass township Democracy on the great questions of the day was expressed in resolutions that "We, the Democracy of Cass and adjoining townships, in mass convention assembled, accept the late elections as judgment of the ripe intellectual manhood of the country, in which this corrupt and tyrannical administration has been arraigned and by a just and righteous criticism condemned: for, among other things, precipitating this country in an unnecessary, unholy and ruinous civil war - for the many palpable and wicked violations of the constitu- tion and its most sacred guarantees, in total disregard of the rights of personal liberty and private property - in its tyranny over our own race and foolish regard for a servile one - an audacious trampling upon the rights of our own citizens, with a humiliating crouching to every foreign demand."

Then the convention demanded that the expressions of the people through the ballot-box should be regarded, that no money should be expended for war except to restore the Llnion ; demanded peace without reference to its effect upon the African ; an inquiry into the financial conduct of state offices ; that since war is the result of New England fanaticism, "when we have exhausted every reasonable effort for the restoration of the LTnion as it was, should New England still stand in the breach, we, as western men, will consult western interests and western pride, which alike forbid that the great Mississippi valley should be divided, and thereby rendered tributary to a ruinous system of Yankee intolerance, cupidity and class legislation. . . . No, the great Mississippi valley now and forever one and inseparable. Then we will cheerfully say to New England, with all her cupidity, with all her meanness, fanaticism, follies and moral turpitude, we bid you good-bye, remembering you only for the wrongs you have done us."

Further, the resolutions condemned the efforts to abridge the rights of free speech ; expressed unbounded confidence in the courage of the volunteers, no confidence in the president or his advisers ; in favor only of gold and silver currency ; believed that the adoption of the Crittenden Compromise (at the time it was offered) would have saved the country.

It was soon after this convention that two Republican citizens of Cass township received anonymous notices to leave. It was alleged that these notices were sent by Republicans for the purpose of attaching odium to Democratic neighbors.

But the bitterness of politics and war had begun to affect even the cahnest minds. In an editorial of ^larch 19, 1863. ]\Iurray Briggs said: "A most significant fact illustrative of the state of feeling throughout the country is that authorities have forbidden the sale of firearms and ammunition. The next step will be to take from the people those they already have. If this is attempted, lookout for bloodshed."

W'hile the weight of public opinion in the county was favorable to the Union and its preservation, the cause of abolition was never popular. In 1862 it appears that some abolitionists had dared to preach their doctrines in Fairbanks township. Their action brought out the following notice, published in the Democrat: '

We, the undersigned citizens of school district Xo. 5. Fairbanks township, would most respectfully give notice to the above-named gentry that we can and will get along without anv more of their abolition harangues - such as were delivered in our school room on Sunday night, Dec. 21st, by a certain Mr. Heath. It was not built for that .purpose, and it sJiall not be used for such a purpose again. We are willing and anxious for the gospel to be preached in it by any minister of the gospel, b\it ice don't icaiit OJiy more abolition lectures by any minister.

In the summer of 1863 there were picnics, political speeches, and some campaigning on the part of the Democrats of the county. A picnic at Fairbanks the first of August, 1863, was largely attended. Ed Price, of Sullivan, presided. The principal speech was by Bayless \\\ Hanna, of Terre Haute, considered in his time one of the orators of the state senate, and who was elected attorney general of Indiana in 1870. On this occasion he discussed the conduct of the war and the arbitrary acts and peculations of the government. Other speakers were Colonel Cookerly, editor of the Journal at Terre Haute, and S. G. Burton. A flag was presented to the Fairbanks Constitutional Guards on behalf of the ladies of the township, by Miss Amanda J. DeBaun, and received by Lieut. William Fordyce. Then there was dancing, and the air frequently resounded with cheers for Yoorhees, Vallandingham, the county ticket, etc.

A few days after this picnic at Fairbanks "a Democratic basket meeting'' at the county seat was an occasion for a large assemblage, despite the threatening weather. James M. Hanna as presiding ofificer declared the adoption of some resolutions that indicate the progress of sentiment and the war. zA.fter reaffirming a devotion to the constitution and the Union, the resolutions condemned Lincoln for attempting by force to sustain himself in power, although elected only by a third of the people, and for avowing that the great battles are fought to "place all men, without regard to race, upon an equality" ; condemning also the conscription act and approving the course of Yoorhees in voting against such odious and tyrannical laws. Yoorhees himself was present and spoke for an hour.

It was about this time that the alleged quotation from a Yoorhees speech in which he characterized the L^nion soldiers as ''Lincoln dogs" became current through the country. Editor Briggs, in his issue of September 17, 1863, declared that this report was "an infernal lie," but that Republican newspapers had passed it around all over the country. No report of the speech at Sullivan in which Mr. Yoorhees was alleged to have used the offensive language is given. Though the specific utter- ance can not be traced to j\Ir. \'oorhees as author, a speech that he made at Sulhvan about this time did arouse much bitter feehng among Union men, the memory of which exists to this day.

The election of October 13. 1863, involved only a few county officers, and the Democratic ticket was the only one in the field. In the spring election (April, 1864) for township officials, the ''abs," as they were called, tried to steal a march on the regular Democrats by waiting till afternoon to present their tickets. A light vote was polled, but the Democrats carried all the offices except in Gill township.

The campaign of 1864 opened early, at the Republican convention of February 25, 1864. Prominent members of the party and citizens of the county took part in the deliberations. A. \V. Springer presided, with Dr. J. J. Thompson and Prof. Hall as assistants, and John T. Gunn and John \V. Canary as secretaries. James W. Hinkle, William H. Crowder and T. P. Emison reported resolutions declaring it to be the duty of all loyal Americans to unconditionally support the government in a vigorous prosecution of the war, condenming all parties who either for political partisan purposes or in sympathy with the enemies of the countrv embarrass the government ; also recommending a thorough organization of townships for the approaching political campaign. The Stars and Stripes, that had been published during the first year or so of the war by John W. Osborn, had by this time discontinued, and one of the acts of this convention was the appointing of a committee to investigate the practicability of publishing an unconditional Union paper. The committee consisted of Lieut. Col. F. L. Neff, Dr. John AI. Hinkle, T. Kearns, Dr. Duval, Dr. Buskirk. R. A. Bland, T. Burton, S. Myers, R. McClung, D. Baldridge, Lieut. Edward Maxwell and J. W. Hinkle.

this convention was reported, though the course of Mr. \'oorhees in Congress was strongly approved. On the i8th of September a McClellan Club was organized, based on these general principles : Equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political; peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations and entangling alliances with none ; support of state governments in all their rights as the most competent administrators of our domestic concerns ; preservation of the general government in its whole constitutional vigor; jealous care of the right of election by the people ; absolute acquiescence in the will of the majority ; w'ell disciplined militia ; and supremacy of civil over military authority.

A camp meeting planned by the Democrats to take place in Jefferson township on August 19 was interfered with by heavy continuous rain, but on the following day part of the program was carried out, with Voorhees, Captain Puckett, of Clay county. Captain \'an Fossen, and others, as speakers. While detained in Sullivan by the rain, Voorhees addressed the voters and arraigned the abolition party for their corruption, extravagance and usurpations, and denounced their impudence in demanding to know of the Democrats what plan they would follow in restoring the Union, after the Republicans had made such a miserable failure of their attempt.

Naturally, the editor of the Democrat speaks slightingly of the Republican activities during the campaign. On September 29, 1864, he reports that "Governor Wright 'spoke his piece' last Thursday" (September 22(1), as also Dave Gooding, a renegade Democrat from Hancock county, and Colonel Washburn, their candidate for Congress. "The fact that the committee had advertised largely and arranged for meeting in the grove near town made apparent the smallness of the crowd. We have heard no one put the crowd on the grounds at more than 700.

The great presidential election of 1864 (in October) passed off quietly in Sullivan county. A light vote was cast, except in Hamilton township, where AlcClellan received 448 to Lincoln's 206. It was claimed that the Democratic soldiers were not allowed furloughs to come home and vote as were the Republicans in the ranks. But that mattered little so far as Sullivan county was concerned, since it continued to remain overwhelmingly Democratic. The vote for the principal state and county officers was as follows :

Commissioner - I. \\'. Allen. 2,149; J. W. Hinkle. 749. The economic aspects of the war were not less interesting and important than the political. Only those who lived through the conditions of the time can fully appreciate the stinting and deprivations that were imposed on the people. On the 3d of February, 1862, when the war had been in progress less than a year, at a sale of lands held for delinquent taxes, the real estate of probably two hundred citizens was put up for sale to satisfy the taxes. The editor of the Dcuiucnit estimated that more than half of these persons allowed themselves to he returned delinquent from sheer inability to raise the money. "There is no actual suffering- among our farmers, but it would astonish manv to learn of the retrenchment that characterizes the household economy of the farmers of this county ; how they use rye coffee, sassafras tea, dispense entirely with sugar, etc." On another page of this same issue is printed a notice of the intention of the county commissioners to enforce the old law allowing the treasurer to levy on and sell personal property for taxes.

At a meeting of the citizens of Cass township in Center schoolhouse (December 8, 1862) resolutions were adopted declaring that in view of the high prices put upon goods by eastern manufacturers and speculators and the low prices brought by farm produce, that they would refuse to sell except when adequate price was paid, and that the}' could in large measure do without the manufactured goods of the east. They called upon other citizens of other townships to co-operate with them in this movement to resist the artificial and speculative business movements of the east. A humorous comment on this attempt appeared in the Louisville Journal, being quoted by the Democrat. "We suppose the women of Cass township," concludes the Louisville editor, "are expected to substitute tacks for pins, thorns for needles, barrel hoops for steel ones, and that the men. dispensing with buttons, mean to fasten up their breeches with tow strings."

One result of the war was the interruption of traffic between the north and the south. The commodity of all others which was needed by the north, and which the blockade of the rivers and the seaports prevented the north from getting, was cotton. The lack of this staple caused the people of Sullivan county to resort to a branch of agriculture which stated, cotton was raised on a few farms by the pioneers, but its cultivation had been unknown for many years. In view of this fact, the following notice in the Democrat of April 24, 1862, is interesting:

]\Ir. Briggs - Sir: You may say that I have a sack of cotton seed on hand for distribution among the farmers of this county. All information necessary as to mode of culture will be furnished by calling at the railroad office. James Kellev.

The same man advertised that he had flax seed to loan to farmers. These seeds were also distributed among northern farmers by the government, the object being to ofifset the loss of southern production by grownng these crops in the soil of the northern states that were adapted to such crops.

In the first months of the war the patriotism natural to every people and to Americans in particular had swept large numbers into the enlisted ranks. The enthusiasm of military preparation, the display and pomp of marching soldiers, and the fascination that war always exercises over men, were strong influences at the beginning of the war, but when the reality of military life was brought home, when death and disease and hardships at the front advanced into prominence and the glories of war receded, there was a subsidence of enthusiasm, and instead there arose the sense of duty and grim determination, which were the principal factors that brought about the final triumph of the north.

As already noted, there was a strong feeling opposed to the war, not only in Sullivan county, but throughout the state. One of the immediate causes of the war was the election of a Republican president in the fall of i860. Admittedly, this had been accomplished by the division of the Democratic party, the factions of which, altogether, cast a larger popular vote than that received by Abraham Lincoln. For this

Then, also, there were two issues that arose at the beginning of the war - the right of states to secede from the Union, and the abolition of slavery through federal power. In Sullivan county secession was regarded as a deplorable evil, one that should be avoided by every possible means, though perhaps the majority were in favor of almost unlimited concessions to the south rather than a resort to the coercion of arms. It was believed by many that rather than plunge the country into civil war, it was better to allow the southern states to withdraw. But the abolition of slavery did not make a popular appeal to Sullivan county people. It was not popular in many parts of the west, and particularly in all the border states. This was illustrated during the early months of the war, when the untactful order of General Fremont, as commander of the Department of the West, freeing the slaves in Missouri, caused a quick reaction of sympathy for the southern cause, so that the order was quickly annulled by President Lincoln.

Before proceeding to note some of the incidents and manifestations of this condition of sentiment regarding the war in Sullivan county, a quotation from W. H. Smith's "History of Indiana" will give a general view of the subject in the state at large. He says:

"Perhaps there was not a northern state which held so many persons who sympathized with the south, as did Indiana. At least two causes existed for this. A large portion of the people of Indiana, at that time, were either directly from the south, or were descendants of those who immigrated from some one of the southern states. Also, much of the trade of the people had always been with the south, the Ohio river furnishing an outlet for the surplus product of the Indiana farms and factories. This sympathy broke out almost as soon as the war came, but for awhile it was smothered under the tide of patriotism which swept over the state, but as soon as that gave opportunity, the smoldering fires of opposition broke out. When the order of the Sons of Liberty [or Knights of the Golden Circle] was first instituted in Indiana, is not definitely known, but it is known to have been in existence as early as November, 1861. It was not strong in numbers then, but as the war was prolonged, and the burdens on the people became more oppressive, its membership grew, until early in 1864 it counted forty-five thousand or more members capable of bearing arms.

"It is just to say that not every one who became enrolled as a member endorsed the treasonable plans. They had joined it from one motive or another, but wdien they found what its real aims were, they ceased attending the meetings or taking any part with it, but they did not expose it. During the years 1862, 1863 and 1864 numerous outrages were perpetrated, in different parts of the state, on the persons or property of men known to be active adherents of the Union. Enrolling and draft officers w^ere assaulted, and in some cases killed. Early in 1864 Governor Morton became fully advised of the existence of the order, its strength and its objects. It had become so bold then as to be in correspondence with southern commanders, and arranging for invasions of the state. Hitherto it had confined itself to resisting the draft, encouraging desertions and concealing deserters, and committing outrages on Union men, but it had grown strong enough to enter into more active assistance of the south. An invasion of the state was arranged for, when the members of the order were to rise and overthrow the state government, release the prisoners confined in Camp Morton, and then march to Kentucky to take possession of that state.

"As has been said, Governor Morton became advised of the existence of the order and its purposes. He had also received information that 30,000 revolvers had been bought and paid for, in New York, to be shipped to this state. They were marked 'Sunday school books.' Thirty-two boxes so marked were found, and contained 400 revolvers, with 135,000 rounds of ammunition. Harrison H. Dodd, of Indianapolis, Horace Heft'ren. of Salem. Andrew Humphreys, of Greene county, Lamdin P. Milligan, of Huntington, William A. Bowles, of Orange county, Stephen Horsey, of Martin county, and one or two others were arrested and confined in the military prison at Indianapolis. Heffren and one or two others were released without trial ; Dock! escaped from prison and fled to Canada, while his trial was progressing.. The others were tried before a military commission appointed by the president. Bowles, Milligan and Horsey were condemned to death, and Humphreys was released on an order to confine himself during the continuance of the war to his own county. The three condemned men received from President Johnson a commutation of their sentence to life imprisonment in the Ohio penitentiary. After the close of the war they applied for a writ of habeas corpus, and after a lengthy hearing, by the supreme court of the United States, were released. Idic arrest of these men, and the rapid successes of the Union armies, effectually put a stop to all further direct opposition to the government, but there was still a strong undercurrent of opposition existing. After the close of the war a number of suits were brought against army officers, who had taken part in the arrest and trial of those charged with opposing the government, but they all came to naught."

In applying this description to Sullivan county it will be necessary to consider one or two factors in the situation, which are not mentioned by Mr. Smithy but which are in fact offsets to the charge of disloyalty, in this county at least.

In the first place, the acts of lawlessness cannot be charged to any political party, nor to the element opposed to the continuance of the war, nor even to the disloyal order above mentioned. There can be no doubt that the divided state of opinion with regard to the war produced conditions in which such acts were more easily committed and more easily escaped of sure punishment. But so far as the testimony shows, the lawdessness in Sullivan county may be traced to the viciousness which, in civil peace, is suppressed, but in war rises to the surface of society. There were outlaws in Sullivan county during the war. and for the accomplishment of their purposes and to cloak their crimes they professed afifiliation without regard for principles. The cause of law

I02 History Of Sullivan County

Without condoning the treasonable designs of the Knights of the Golden Circle, so far as they were directed to the invasion of Indiana by southern troops, it must be said as a matter of justice that the secret nature of the order, which was considered so offensive, was also characteristic of the Loyal League organizations which existed in the county and state. Both orders were conducted in a manner to do more harm than good to the causes they represented, and they served to increase the alarm and feeling of insecurity in the county.

The drafting of men for military service was the most unpleasant feature of the war, and it resulted in disturbances in every state of the Union. In Sullivan county the draft, the arrest of deserters, the outbreaks of lawlessness, resulted in a number of incidents which belong to the history of the period, and which are more important features of Sullivan county during the war than the operations of the armies on the battlefields of the south.

September i, 1862, was the first day for the draft commissioners to examine those claiming exemption from draft. The Democrat says that the day was characterized by the most disgraceful scenes that ever occurred in this town. Probably one thousand people were in town. Not being a "public day," the saloons were open, and riotous conditions prevailed. A man named Hammond beat an old man seventy years old, and this engendered a number of fights. Sheriff jNIcCammon was unable to quell the disturbance, and was himself very roughly handled.

The results of the enrollment of the county military showed that the county had, by September, 1862, furnished 1,098 volunteers to the war. At the same time the militia of the county (that is. men under

The men appointed in Sullivan county for the task of enrolling and drafting were: William Wilson, draft commissioner; W. D. j\Ioore, provost marshal; John AI. Hinkle, surgeon; and a deputy for each township - Fletcher J^"reeman for Cass, Lafayette Stewart for Hamilton, Mr. Watson for Jefferson, J. Davis for Haddon, J. W. Reed for Fairbanks, Robert Carrithers for Turman, G. H. 0'l'.0}le for Cill, James T. Spencer for Curry, and W. N. Patton for Jackson.

The first draft was made in the early days of October, and passed off without special incident. Blindfolded, F. Easier drew lots from the militia list for the required number to fill the quotas. But six men were drafted, four from Cass and two from Jefferson township, the other townships filling their quotas without recourse to this method.

It was not until 1863 that the unrest and opposition to the war began to result in serious disturbance. The principal events growing out of these causes, so far as recorded in the files of the Democrat, will be given.

The arrest of Daniel Case, in March, 1863, on charge of desertion from the Ninety-seventh Regiment, at his home in Cass township, caused criticism of certain men in that township on the charge that they were aiding deserters. This incident had a partisan political aspect. At a meeting of citizens, the resolutions passed declared that the Democratic party did not wish to encourage desertion ( as evidently had been charged ) and would not protect any deserter nor interfere with his arrest by the proper authority. It was reported that 500 people attended the meeting. Andrew Humphreys, of Greene county, made a speech characterized by calmness and moderation in discussing the attitude of citizens toward the government and the war.

of nine citizens residing about the nortlieast corner of the county. The arrest followed an indictment by the grand jury of the United States district court of Indiana on the charge of conspiracy. A deserter had testified that these men belonged to an organization, one of whose objects was to prevent arrest of deserters and aid them if arrested. The indicted men were taken to Indianapolis and released on bail. A few days before this occurrence James Herriford. ^like Evans and Fletcher Freeman had been arrested on charge of desertion. Some irregularity in their discharge papers was the cause of the arrest.

The general distrust that prevailed in the countv is shown in the arrest, in April, of Nelson Osborn. who. having returned to Sullivan after an absence of two or three years, was supposed to be a spv from the Confederacy. Fle was of a somewhat roving disposition, and his return at this time was regarded with suspicion of secret motives that would never have occurred to anyone in times of peace. After being held about a month. C)sborn was released, nothing having been found to confirm the charge.

Some deserters found refuge in Sullivan county. Also some criminals from civil justice kept their haunts about the county during the war. At various times parties of soldiers were dispatched to the county for the purpose of arresting deserters, to preserve order, and to guard against infractions of military discipline. ( )ccasionally the soldiers conducted themselves with the insolence and license that often characterized detached squads when not directly under the restraint of strict discipline. In nearly every case the enforcement of a military order in the county was accompanied by disturbance of the civil comnnmity and left wounds and bitterness that many years failed to entirely heal.

An aft'air occurred in Cass township that illustrates this point. About the first of June. 1863. reports reached .Sullivan that the brothers of a deserter named Bennett had shot two solcHers sent to arrest him, but later reports showed tliat tlie brothers had only threatened to shoot and that the soldiers had desisted from their object. A few davs later a party of sixty soldiers were sent down, presumably for the purpose of arresting- Bennett. Instead, they conducted a search throu.qh Cass township and parts of Greene count}' for United States arms. The intrusion produced a great commotion in the eastern part of the count}'. Xo doubt the actions of a searching party, however decorously conducted, would have aroused resentment, but the soldiers were charged with several acts that apparently went beyond the warrant of their duty. Some provisions taken, it was said, a horse was impressed for the use of a sick soldier. Houses along the route were searched for arms. Horses were picked up along the road and taken with the company. As Joseph Pigg passed by the spot where the troops were encamped for the night, he was stopped, but was allowed to proceed when he explained he was on an errand for a sick child. Galloping on, he was shot at by another sentry because he did not halt at once. This brought the people together in an excited assemblage to defend their rights. A deputation was sent to the camp, and at their demands the stolen horse was returned with apologies. The Democrat editor stated that the consensus of opinion in Cass was that wdien troops who conducted themselves properly were sent for deserters, the aid of the citizens would be afforded the troops, since the presence of prowlers from the army was not desired.

Another incident, illustrative of certain political bitternesses that sometimes became acute and cankered the relations of an entire community, was described in the Democrat of June 11, 1863, under the title of "Disgraceful Afifair." "At a largely attended funeral at the Little Flock meeting house last Sunday, as the body was being lowered into the grave a woman named Jewell seized the opportunity to snatch a bnttermit ornament fr(Mn a yonng man named Rurch. A big strapping fellow immediately commenced an attack on a boy who wore a similar badge oi his Democracy. We are mortified to say that a regular fist fight ensned. One of the champions of the ring handed the woman who had so unsexed herself a dollar as reward for her conduct." Other occurrences of this nature were not infrequent.

From the facts that have been observed concerning the state of feeling in Sullivan county, the causes that produced the most tragic event in the county during war times are readily understood. The death of Fletcher Freeman will always be associated with the political discord and the opposition to the war and draft that marked this period in Sullivan county.

Fletcher Freeman, as above noted, was deputy enrolling officer for Cass township. On the morning of June i8, 1863, he was shot from ambush and killed, though at that time he was not actively engaged in duties pertaining to his military office. He had started for a rendezvous of road hands, a summons having been issued for the working of the roads in that particular district. Meeting two men, Shaw and Rusher, who were bound on similar business, he sent them back to his house for tools. They had retraced their steps by a short distance when they heard the report of a gun. One of them, having been in the army, recognized the cries as those of a man who had been shot. Hurrying back, they found Mr. Freeman lying in the road, in the agonies of death. A brief examination of the surroundings showed that a blind of branches and brush had been built near the roadside about twenty or twenty-five feet to the side. Scraps of meat and bread and piles of whittlings indicated that the place had been occupied by perhaps three persons for one or two weeks. There was no clue to the murderers. ^Nlr. Freeman had seveial years before been proprietor of the American Hotel at Sullivan, and was a former Republican nominee for tiie office of sheriff. He had assisted in raising- the Thirteenth Rattery of hght artillery, and expected to be commissioned an officer. He was declared unfit for dutv and was honorably discharged. One of the men who had Ijeen induced to enlist by Mr. Freeman deserted, and because compelled to remain in the service, he threatened to shoot Freeman, who had escaped duty. This was a possible cause of the assassination, but whether it was a case of individual malice or was in part the result of the prejudice existing against the draft act and all agents connected with carrying it out, was never determined. Several threatening letters had been sent because of his work as enrolling officer.

On the Saturday following the tragedy a hastily called meeting was held in the court house. James W. Hinkle was chairman, A. A'an Fossen secretary. Those participating in the proceedings on this occasion indicated the general condemnation passed upon the (.\ii(;i\ by all the representative class of citizens. Addresses were made by James C. Allen, a member of Congress from Illinois, and Willis G. Neff. The committee on resolutions were H. K. Wilson, George Parks. William Stansil, Daniel Herbert, Joseph W. Wolfe, IMurray Briggs and John T. Gunn. The resolutions as adopted say Mr. Freeman was shot in consequence, "as we have every reason to believe, of the recent faithful discharge by him of the duties of em-olling officer under the conscript act." The committee urged the necessity of appealing only to the ballot box and the courts for relief from the burdens entailed by the acts of war ; that the duty of every law-abiding citizen was to endeavor to discover and aid officers of justice in arresting the perpetrators of this crime.

termed to offset the seeret organizations of the Sons of Liberty. Little can be said of the home guards beyond the fact of their existence and their formation (hn-ing the summer of 1863. The Graysville Guards was the first, the officers of which were R. H. Crowdcr, captain ; Addison ]\IcKee, 1st Heutenant ; Sherrod Burton, 2d heutenant. This company was mustered in as part of the Indiana Legion, and was suppHed with arms b\' the state. In September the Graysville company had the misfortune to lose several musket.s, stolen, perhaps, by their enemies. In endeavoring to arrest the guilty parties an encounter followed in which some shots were exchanged, but no one was injured, nor were the guns recovered.

In the issue of August 31, 1863, the Democrat says: "We have heard for several months that an organization of Loyal Leaguers was formed in Sullivan. Such has been kept very secret. General Wilcox having issued an order against such societies, it was changed to 'Union Riflemen,' a company of the Legion. The success of the Graysville company in securing arms last week raised the spirits of the men. and they met at the court house to elect officers. Jesse Burton of Graysville presided. Sewell Coulson explained the purpose of the meeting and the necessity of militia. Indiana had allowed the militia system to fall into disuse ; he dwelt at length on the fact that the Legion would not be required to leave the state."" The officers of the Sullivan company were Captain Walls, Stewart Barnes, ist lieutenant; Rev. Taggart, 2d lieutenant. A little later a similar company was formed at Merom. under Captain B. F. Stover and another at Carlisle under Captain David Edmiston.

To supply comforts for the wounded soldiers in the hospitals of the south, and to aid the families of enlisted men who, while in the army, were unable to properly support those dependent upon them at home, a practical charity was necessary which, in thoroughness, has not been duphcatcd since the war. Organized charity, in the modern sense of the term, was unknown forty }ears ago, and in consequence the first efforts were largely individual donations and private relief. I'ut as the war continued and the needs became more pressing, aid societies were formed, and the contributions were systematically directed to the points of greatest want. The Sanitary Commission was a national organization, with branches throughout the country, and the various local bodies, ladies' aid societies, etc., co-operated with this larger bodv.

The women, and citizens generally, of the county began this form of charity in the first year of the war. It became necessary to relieve distress during the first winter after the beginning, of the war. The first great battles of the war in which many of Sullivan county's soldiers took part were those of the western campaign including Corinth in the spring of 1862. By this time the sanguinary character of the war was realized, and in anticipation of the struggle at Corinth, in April, 1862, a meeting was held at Sullivan to collect materials for the relief of the soldiers. Rolls of bandages, lint, half-worn shirts, muslin and money for the purchase of same to the amount of 150 yards, were collected, and forwarded to the field of war.

Individual cases of want were relieved during the winter of 1862-63, but in the latter part of November, 1863, the first society was organized for this purpose. The organization took place in the court house, George Parks being made president and Daniel Lang.don secretary. x\ committee of twelve were appointed to canvass the town and vicinity, taking subscriptions, and ascertaining what families were in need and reporting to the committee of distribution. The members of the latter committee were Murray Briggs, George Parks and James W. Brodie. The canvassing committee were Tvlrs. F. D. Neff, Mrs. Dr. Thompson, Mrs. M.

About the middle of December, 1863, the Democrat reports that the wood hauling demonstration was not a success owing to the rain and bad roads. However, enough was brought to relieve present necessities, and a liberal supply of beef, molasses, meal, apples, etc., was received.

One of the incidents of the rebellion which occurred in Sullivan county was the accidental death of Professor Miles J. Fletcher, state superintendent of education. Early in May, 1862, Governor Morton and a party of friends were on their way to visit the battlefield of Corinth in anticipation of the great battle. Just above the Sullivan station their train ran into a box-car standing on a switch. At the noise of the collision, Professor Fletcher put his head out of the window, and was struck by the edge of the car and the top of his head lifted ofif. The dead man was cared for at Sullivan, and the governor's party then proceeded on another train. The state of feeling at the time is well illustrated in the charges that were freely made then and for a long time afterward, that the car had been placed on the track to wreck the governor's train. The testimony at the coroner's investigation proved that Milton Belser, a young soldier of the Thirty-first Regiment, returning with a friend from making an evening call, had loosed the brakes and started the car "to get a ride." The car ran off the switch and on to the main track, and was not discovered before the governor's special came along. Belser was arrested near Evansville while on his way to the army, but the jury failed to find an indictment against him.

The following is a list of the battles and campaigns participated in by the various regiments containing, soldiers from Sullivan county. Some of the enlisted men from this county were scattered through other

Sullivan county furnished a large quota, in proportion to population, for service in the Philippines following the Spanish-American war. On the return of some of these soldiers in 1901 a home-coming celebration was made the feature of the Independence day of that year, and it was notable for the presence of a great crowd in Sullivan and for the many evidences of niililary patriotism. The veterans of three wars were present, there being three Sullivan county survivors of the ^Mexican war - \\'illis Benefield, Joe Ingle and John Stanley. A list of the soldiers from this county who had enlisted for service in the Philippines, as prepared bv the committee on reception, contained the following names :