JAY
COUNTY AND THE WAR
The attack of the rebels upon
Fort Sumter — inaugurating the
most gigantic contest the world has ever seen — and President Lincoln's
proclamation of April 14th,
1861, calling for seventy- five
thousand volunteers to put down the rebellion, was received by the people of Jay County with one mind. Traitors had appealed from
the peaceful court of the
ballot-box, to the bloody arbitrament of the sword and bullet, and were
ruthlessly waging war upon
the nation. The people saw no
way to preserve the honor ''and institutions of the country but to crush
the
rebellion by force of arms.
The contest soon assumed proportions
so vast as to astonish the world. Yet they did not swerve from their
loyalty, and gave to the
authorities a hearty support. This unanimity of sentiment was illustrated at the fall
election in 1861. Political
parties hushed their bickerings on former disputed questions, and
patriotically divided candidates
and all voted one ticket. Since the first year of the war this bright
example has not been
followed. Parties, and their accompanying strifes, mar the unity of the people in
support of the holy struggle
which has called forth to the
battle-field nearly one thousand of her patriotic sons.
Being distant from railroads and daily papers, the people of the county did not so early
awaken to the realities of
the war as those centers which more
quickly felt the heart-throbbing of the wounded and bleeding country. For this
reason no full company was
raised for the three months' service;
but many went and entered companies forming in other counties.
The first citizen of Jay County to volunteer was CHARLES E. BENNETT. He was a young man, and student at Liber College. When he
read the call for troops he
told President Tucker that he
was going. He went to Winchester, joined a company there, but was rejected.
But, determined to serve his
country, he went to Indianapolis, joined company C, 8th Indiana regiment, and by hiding his glasses for his
near-sightedness, was accepted. He served his time out, and was discharged. In 1862, when the rallying cry
was, ' ' We are corning,
Father Abraham, Six hundred
thousand more, he again
enlisted in company F, 75th regiment Indiana volunteers, and this time gave his
life for his country. He died
of disease while the company was
at Castillian Springs, Tennessee, about the 1st of December, 1862. He was a
kind-hearted, honest young
man, and had been raised a Quaker. The first effort made to raise a whole
company in Jay County, for
the war was in July, 1861. Quite
a number from different parts of the county had already gone — hastening, at the first
clash of arms, to the scene
of conflict. Meetings were held
at several places in the county, at which Judge J. M. Haynes, J. N. Templer and
others addressed the people.
But at first volunteers were
slowly obtained, because the people had not yet become warriors, and, beside, it was
then considered by many as
preposterous to think of raising a whole company in the county. But after the first thirty men were obtained no more
difficulty was
experienced.
Those most actively engaged, in
enlisting the company were
Messrs. C. H. Clark, S.
L. Wilson and Nimrod
Headington. On the 6th of
August they were ordered to
report at
Indianapolis at once. Messengers were dispatched to all parts of the county to notify the members of
the company. It was a very
busy season ; but the
members of this company held
their country's
call paramount to every other
interest.
The unmeasured calico was
left upon the counter ;
the plow remained in the
furrow, and the
scythe was left to rust in
the unmown meadow. The
blessed implements of
peaceful industry were
thrown aside for the musket
and sword. All
hearts were more than ever
turned toward 'the
war, and especially the brave
boys who were hurrying into
the conflict. On the morning
of
August 9th a great crowd of
citizens assembled in
Portland to bid farewell to
the first company Jay
County sent to the war for
the Union. It was a
trying hour to the unwarlike
people of Jay. They
had been reared to love the
arts of Peace ;
but they loved their country
more, and now began to
lay their sons by hundreds
upon her altar. The parting
scenes were thus sketched
at the time by The Jay
Torch-Light, more
vividly than they can be at
this distant date : "
Early on Friday morning the '
reveille ' summoned the soldiers
together at Camp Ross, and a
march around town was the
order. This the boys
performed with the greatest enthusiasm.
They marched in front of
each house where any of them
had been boarding, and
gave them hearty cheers. By
this time the people from all
parts of the county began to assemble,
to witness the departure of
the volunteers and bid them
farewell.
The town was soon crowded. Everything
and everybody was in motion;
and as the afternoon
approached, many countenances were
serious and sorrowful. But the
volunteers seemed in the
highest spirits and
full of enthusiasm at the prospect
of an early chance to fight
for their country and slay rebels.
The farmers of the county had
tendered their services with
their teams, to take the boys to
Winchester, so freely that
more teams were on the ground
than could be used. About one
o'clock, P. M., the
soldiers were drawn up in line, the wagons and carriages brought out,
and preparations were being
made to start. This was the
last opportunity to say ' Farewell
' to the brave fellows who
were now going to the war,
perhaps never to return ; and it
was well improved. It is
useless for us to attempt a
description of the scenes and incidents
of that parting. The
streets were filled with men and
women crowding around the
volunteers, shaking hands, speaking
words of encouragement,
giving the parting charge, and
bidding farewell. "
It was an affecting scene. Few indeed
were the eyes not wet with
tears at that hour. The
volunteers met the occasion like
soldiers : they wept, as good
soldiers always can, but they
swerved not a moment in their
purpose to go forth an I fight
for the maintenance of our
glorious Government." Amid
loud cheers and the waving of
hats and handkerchiefs, the
long train of
wagons and carriages started,
carrying two hundred
persons, over one hundred of
whom were a citizens'
escort. At Winchester the
citizens gladly
entertained the soldiers, and
the next day they
reached Indianapolis were
sent to Camp Morton, and on
the 11th were sworn into the
United
States service for three
years. Here they remained
nearly one month, when they
were assigned to the
39th regiment Indiana volunteers, company C, and were then transferred to Camp Harrison,
named in honor of their
gallant Colonel, Thos.
J. Harrison, who has been
with them in all their
meanderings upon the theater
of war. Here and at
Camp Morton they were visited
by many of
the citizens of Jay. They
were constantly drilled
until September 21st, when
they marched
Dixieward, arriving at
Louisville the next morning. Here
they were cordially welcomed
by a
sumptuous dinner, and
addressed by a member of the
Kentucky Legislature, who
complimented them as
being the first regiment from
Indiana to cross
the Ohio River in response to
Kentucky's call
for help against traitors,
many of whom were
those of her own bosom. On
platform cars they were
at once taken to Muldraugh's
Hill, nearly
fifty miles south of
Louisville, which was then
considered "the front," At
Rolling Fork, on Salt
River, they pitched tents,
put out guards
and pickets, passed their
first night in the
south. The next morning,
gleeful at having marching
orders, they were early
equipped and on the march.
They soon reached a stream,
which they
were ordered to wade, after
taking off their "
pants." This was fine sport,
several things occurring
which created great
merriment.
That was the first hard march
experienced by company C.
Only those who have
performed similar marches can fully appreciate the hardships of the soldiers during the remainder
of the march that day. The
sun beamed down
its most scorching rays, the
dust was several
inches deep, and the least
stir in the air whirled
it in suffocating clouds
around them. They were heavily
burdened with knapsacks,
haversacks
and accouterments ; but by
constant rallying they reached
their destination about
sunset. They
were tiled off into an open
Held, where they
were complacently enjoying
their rest, when a strange
sound started them to their
feet with an
inquiry of alarm upon their
countenances. It was the
" long roll," beat upon a
false alarm. Their
ears have long since become
familiar with that
sound, yet it never fails to
start their blood
and bodies in quicker motion.
Upon outspread
blankets they passed the
night in such a sleep
as only wearied soldiers know
how to
appreciate. On the 10th of
October they " struck
tents " and marched to Camp
Slevin, twelve
miles farther South. The
force collected at this
camp was the nucleus of what
afterward became
the grand "Army of the
Cumberland." It was near
this camp that the first
blood of the
Rebellion which fell upon
Kentucky soil, was shed.
Forty picked scouts
(Jefferson Sewell and W. H.
Blowers, from company C,)
were sent out under
Lieutenant Colonel Jones
against a marauding
body of two hundred rebels, near Bacon Creek. Taking a position in a log house — the residence of the
widow of the notorious
villain, John A.
Murrell — this squad, without
receiving any injury,
repulsed the rebels, wounding
several. Sewell, by
a timely stepping out of the
cabin door, was
saved from a rebel bullet.
It was here, also, that company C was
first called upon to lay some
of its
members in a soldier's grave.
In a quiet, country
grave-yard, on the banks of
Nolin River, this
sorrowing company consigned
to the tomb the remains of
Sergeant ROBERT G. JACKSON,
who died, December
6th, 1861, of typhoid fever.
He was sick
for a long time in a church
near the camp, used
for a hospital, where the
best care possible under
the circumstances was
bestowed upon him. He was a brave
soldier, a true and generous
friend, and well beloved by
his fellow soldiers and
friends at home. On the tenth
of the same month
another brave young man from
that company — John
McCroskey — was consigned to
a resting place
beside his comrade Jackson.
On the tenth of December the army
marched to Munfordsville or
Green River, Camp
Wood. Here the army remained
until February
15th, 1862, when, a
sufficient force having
collected, it moved against
Bowling Green, occupied
by General Buckner. A flank
movement by General
Mitchell compelled the enemy to fall back to Nashville, and our forces moved forward to that
point. The capture of Fort
Donelson by our
forces, led to the evacuation
of Nashville by the
rebels, and. our army took
quiet possession. While
encamped south of that city,
the 39th regiment
picketed that part of the
country lying
between Nolensville and the
Franklin pike, and, on
the 15th. of March, company C
had the honor of
welcoming
within the Federal lines that bold
and sterling Tennessee
patriot, W. G. BROWNLOW.
Upon alighting from his
vehicle, he waved
his hat, raised his eyes
towards heaven and
shouted " Glory to God ! once
more inside the
Union pickets "
On arriving at Nashville, some were
entirely bare-footed, having
traveled in that
condition many weary miles
over the rough stone
pike, their feet blistered
and bleeding. But
their hardships were borne
with heroic fortitude, and
that wise philosophy which
quietly submits to
ills that cannot be remedied.
They consoled themselves
with allusions to the
privations of the Revolutionary fathers, and
seemed proud to be
called upon to emulate their
courage and fortitude.
But supplies soon arrived. On the 16th of March, 1862 The army
at Nashville, (General
Buell's,) set out on
the march for the south-west.
On Saturday, April
5th, Major General McCook's Division, in which was the 39th regiment, encamped twenty-seven
miles from Savannah,
Tennessee, to prepare
rations. Beeves were
slaughtered, and the soldiers
were congratulating themselves
on the prospect of fresh
beef and a day's rest, but
the morning's
sun brought to their ears the
booming of cannon,
and the word that General
Grant's army had been
attacked and a terrible
battle was in progress. A
forced march was now ordered
to reinforce Grant.
Taking three day's rations,
the soldiers
threw away blankets and
knapsacks, and moved
forward rapidly. As they drew
nearer, the cannonading grew
more distinct and furious. At
midnight, worn out and
exhausted, they reached
Savannah, seven miles from
Pittsburg Landing —
the scene of the terrific
contest. No boats
being ready, the soldiers
threw themselves down in the
streets. A pelting hail-storm
made sleep
impossible. In the morning
the roaring of cannon
told them that the contest on
the battle-field
was renewed, even more
fiercely than on the day
previous. A boat transferred
their brigade,
consisting of the 32d and
39th Indiana, and 15th and
49th Ohio to the scene of
conflict, arriving about
11 o'clock a. m. The fighting
was then nearly two
miles from the landing.
Standing upon the boat's deck they
listened to the noise of the
battle, which was
one continual roar of cannon and rattle of musketry. They saw behind the hill a large force of
cowardly stragglers, who had
fled, unharmed, from the
front, and hundreds of the
wounded and dying
borne back from the field.
They marched
immediately to the battle-ground,
where they were
ordered to lie down as
reserves, which they did for
half an hour, while the shock
of the raging battle
seemed to shake the very
earth upon which they
lay. They then marched to the
front and opened
their part of the tight amid
one incessant peal
of musketry. Company C fought
bravely for two
hours and a half, when the
sight of the
retreating enemy brought
enthusiastic cheers from our
army. The Jay Torch-Light of
April 24th,
speaking of this company said
:
" By letter from Lieutenant
Clark, we
learn the part borne by the
Jay County boys in the great
battle of Shiloh. They were in the
thickest of the fight for two and
one-half hours, and, during that
time, the rebels commenced their
retreat. They fought bravely
and well, though it was the
first battle they had ever engaged
in. It was a trying time to
their nerve and courage. For
nearly two days the battle had
raged most furiously, and, more
than half that time the rebels
had driven our men. The boys
heard the cannonading from the
opening roar and had seen
hundreds of the wounded and
dying borne from the field. In
these circumstances they were
called into the field and placed in the centre. It was like marching
into the jaws of death. But
they went forward boldly and
fought well. All honor to them.
Jay County is proud of her
soldiers."
Captain Wilson being at home on the
recruiting service, the
company was commanded by
Lieutenants J. Gr. Cowell and
C. H.
Clark. The casualties in
company C were as
follows : Stephen J. Bailey,
mortally wounded in the
thigh, James Q. Odle,
mortally wounded in the arm,
Edwin. Hoover, wounded in
left arm, Penbroke
S. Bodle, slightly in the
neck, J. N. Stratton,
slightly in the neck.
When Bailey was being carried from
the Held, he said to
Lieutenant Clark, " Tell
my mother I died like a man,
fighting for my
country." At that moment the
cheers of our troops
were heard, and he inquired
what it meant. Upon
being told that the rebels
were running, he
said, " Then I die in peace."
He was carried from the
field, placed upon a boat,
and taken to Mound City
Hospital, Illinois, where he
died, April 17th,
1863. He was a very
intelligent young man,
interesting in conversation, quiet
and industrious. He was the son
of Mrs. Mary Bailey, of
Camden, and was
raised a Quaker. He was the
first soldier from
Jay County to yield up his
life to rebel
bullets, and was worthy of
this honorable niche in the
history of the War.
James Q. Odle died at the residence
of his brother, at Windsor,
Randolph County,
Indiana, June 18th, 1862. His
remains were
interred at Deerfield,
Indiana.
Many soldiers contracted diseases
from exposure by encamping on
the field after the
heat and excitement of that
battle. Among them
was Mr. James Hathaway, who
died May 16th,
1862, at Jefferson Barracks,
Missouri. He was
forty-eight years of age when
he volunteered in
his country's service,
leaving a large family. He
was a Christian, in every
sense of the term.' While he
served God faithfully, he was
true to his
country. He was the patriarch
and moral monitor
of the company. Vice, in many
of its members, he
would reprove in a manner
that always
elicited from the reproved
warm love and respect, and
they all sincerely mourned
his death. From his
position as musician, he was
not required to
go into battle, but, laying
aside the fife at
Pittsburg Landing, he went
with the company into the battle,
unarmed, but seizing the
first deserted
musket, bravely fought until
the battle was over. His
memory will be cherished as
one of Jay
County's noblest soldiers.
The army encamped on the battle-field
for several days, then
marched against Corinth.
At Bridge Creek, company C
participated
in a severe fight, but
received no injury. They
remained near Corinth until
about the middle of June,
when they marched
southward to Huntsville,
Alabama, arriving
there July 4th.
Here the 39th were ordered to
Bridgeport, Alabama, to guard the crossing of the Tennessee River, which they did until August
20th, when they joined the
forces collecting at
Battle Creek for an advance
upon Chattanooga. But,
when within a few miles of
the place, an
order, surprising every
soldier, was given for them to
return. Then commenced the
famous " Buell's
retreat," or race with
General Bragg, across
Tennessee and Kentucky, which
though honorable to
the soldiers, was very
disgraceful to their
commander. In this fatiguing
march the soldiers
were most of the time
destitute of rations, and
had to exist upon fruit,
green corn and meat
supplied by foraging parties.
As the corn became hard they
parted their canteens and,
punching
them full of holes, made
graters, from which, with
commendable perseverance,
they manufactured
sufficient corn meal to keep
off actual want,
yet many nights they had to
lie down, not only tired,
but very hungry.
The appearance of the army on
reaching Louisville clearly
indicated the hard marching
and privations to which it
had been subjected.
Tarrying long enough to
replenish their
exhausted wardrobe, on the
1st day of October, 1862, they
again started on the long,
forward
march to redeem the territory
which incompetency, or halt-hearted
loyalty had given to the
rebellion.The matching was as
severe in this
advance as it had been in the
retreat. The
weather was very hot, the
earth parched, and water
scarce. The men often marched
until; midnight,
and would then have to walk
one or two miles
for water. Swine were driven
from the wallow and
the water used to make coffee
and quench
thirst, and, on one occasion,
even drinking water
from a hole in which lay dead
horses, mules and dogs
! and, at other times,
pushing back a green
scum, an inch in thickness,
to fill their canteens.
Amid these trying
circumstances, an indomitable
spirit of patriotism prevailed
and few complaints were
uttered. At Nashville,
General Rosecrans
succeeded to the command, in
the place of Buell,
removed, who was hailed with
enthusiastic
delight by the Army of the
Cumberland.
General Bragg had halted in his
precipitate retreat, and
fortified Murfreesboro,
and the 39th being encamped
some distance in front
of Nashville, were much of
the time skirmishing
with scouting parties of the
enemy. On the 25th of
December General
Rosecrans ordered an attack
upon the rebels,
which was the preliminary of
the great battle of
Stone River.
On the night of the 29th, the army
encamped upon the open field
before the enemy. On
the 30th an engagement with
part of the line took
place, and General McCook's
Division, in which
was the 39th, was moved up as a reserve, and, in the evening, was placed upon the right, on picket.
Just at daylight, next
morning, the
enemy, several lines deep,
attacked the 39th,
driving them hack in
confusion,, killing and
capturing many. The loss of
company C was as follows
: John Hilton, mortally
wounded, Eugene
Plumb, mortally wounded,
Cyrus Stanley, severely
wounded, G. H. Bassett,
severely wounded in groin,
John McClelland, wounded in
neck, and
forty prisoners, as indicated
in the list of members. On
New Year's, 1864, these prisoners
were put on board the cars at
Murfreesboro and
started toward Richmond,
where they arrived
in two weeks, having suffered
severely on
the route, for want of food.
They were first
confined in a tobacco
warehouse, and afterward in
Libby Prison. Their stomachs
rebelled against the
meager, unsavory prison
rations. A small loaf of
bread, some soup and bad
beef, was, at first, an
allowance for each man,
daily, but, before they
left, this supply was divided
between six men.
On the 28th of January, 1863, the
unwounded privates of company
C, with many
others, marched through the
city to the canal. "While
crossing this the bridge gave
way and
precipitated them twenty
feet, into water fifteen
feet deep. The canal was
walled with stone, and
the men could not get out
without assistance,
but the guard and citizens viewed the spectacle with folded arms. By the aid of comrades in the
rear they escaped. In this
half drowned
condition they were placed
upon filthy stock cars and
sent to City Point, Virginia,
and thence to
Annapolis. Their joy at being
once more under the "
Stars and Stripes" found vent
in hearty cheers.
Their warm welcome home made
them forget for a
season their recent
hardships.
During the battle, Cyrus Stanley was
struck near the back-bone, by
a musket ball,
which entered his right
kidney. While Daniel
"Walter was helping him off
the field,
Stanley's hat was shot off,
and two balls passed
through "Walter's clothes.
But they were both captured.
With his wound undressed and
bleeding, on
platform cars, without
covering, Stanley was taken
to Chattanooga, having been
three days and nights
without one morsel of food !
Six rebel
surgeons examined his wound
and pronounced it fatal.
But his quiet spirit and
courageous determination
saved him from a southern
grave.
On the 5th of March, 1863, he and
thirteen others were taken to
Knoxville, and
thence (March 8th) to Libby
Prison — that dungeon
whose mention brings to mind
all that is horrible
and revolting in human
suffering. All this time
Stanley had not recovered
sufficiently to
walk, even upon crutches. He
was confined in a room
with nearly three hundred others. Their scanty daily allowance was of the most repulsive kind, and
some died in the room of
actual
starvation. On the 18th of
March he was taken to
"Washington City, where he
wrote to his friends in Jay.
The letter was like a voice
from the dead, for
they had supposed his wound
had long since proved
fatal. He was taken to Davis'
Island, New York,
on the 5th of May, and in one
month was able
to start home. He is now
County Recorder.
Capt. J. G. Crowell and
Lieut. G. T. Winters were
not exchanged for some time
after this. A mere
fragment of the company could
be rallied on
the battlefield on that New
Tear's day. Early
in May, the paroled members
of company C
having been exchanged,
rejoined the regiment at
Nashville, where they found
their comrades had
been mounted and armed with
the Spencer
rifle. They have since been
designated as the 8th
Indiana Mounted Infantry. At
Tullahoma the
regiment had the post of
danger, and
distinguished itself whenever
engaged. At Dechard Ford,
two miles south of
Winchester, company C made a
gallant charge and was highly
complimented.
Lieut. Winters was wounded in
the foot,
Luther J. Baker in the leg,
L. W. Lemasters severely
in the breast, and eleven
horses killed. In
the sanguinary struggle at
Chickamauga, the 39th
took an honorable part and
came out
unscathed. Soon after this, many of these veterans re-enlisted,
receiving three hundred and
four dollars
additional bounty. On the
20th of February,
1864, the regiment
distinguished itself by a
noted reconnaissance at
Tunnell Hill, Buzzard
Roost and Dalton, and
remained in the immediate
front until March 25th, when
the whole regiment
was furloughed and came home.
The
war-worn veterans were warmly
welcomed by the citizens
of Indianapolis, and hastened
home to
enjoy the company of friends
and relatives,
from whom they had so long
been absent. In a few
days company B, 34th Indiana
regiment, came home,
also on veteran furlough, and
the two
companies were publicly
welcomed by large parties
and fine suppers at Portland,
Camden and College
Corner. At the expiration of
their furlough,
the regiment re-assembled at
Indianapolis, and,
May 11th, left for Nashville
to renew their
conflicts with traitors. Early
in July they were ordered to
Marietta, where they have
lately distinguished
themselves in a daring and
effectual raid. This
regiment has participated in
the following battles
: In
all of these company C have borne
an honorable part, reflecting
credit upon
themselves and the county
they represent, and with
heroic deeds inscribing an
imperishable record
upon the annals of their
country.