Nation's wars form the most interesting of all its chapters in history, and its combats on the field of battle are often struggles for existence and independence. This very contest for life itself, is sufficient to create the absorbing interest with which a'people watch the country's warlike movements. But when feats of daring heroism, inspired by the most exalted patriotism, are added there is an additional halo thrown around the scenes of these conflicts and they become consecrated to the cause that was victorious. The deeds of the heroes live in song and poetry; and the Nation bows in reverence at the shrine of its illustrious warriors.
    The Mexican War was the only one of importance in which the United States was engaged after Rush County was organized and before the Civil War. The majority of the voters of the county were opposed to the Administration that carried on that war and the enthusiasm in that behalf was not very pronounced. There were some men who joined companies from other counties but it is probable that no distinct organization of men from Rush County was perfected. The records at the Adjutant General's office are somewhat deficient in this particular and it was impossible to learn who the Rush County men were who engaged in that war.
    The Civil War in the United States was of such gigantic proportions, and was brought about by so long a train of circumstances that have an exclusively national bearing, that a review in this place would be impossible and impertinent to this work.

The political campaign in 1860, exceeded any of its predecessors for excitement and interest, and few, if any, have since equaled it. In Rush County, the contest was most vigorous, and the energy displayed  by the politicians and   partisans of the different sides was but a reflex of the larger national contest. Speeches were made here by a number of the leading men in each party. Rallies were held in all parts of the county. Nearly every township had its organization of " Wide Awakes " for the Republicans, and a " Hickory Club " for the Democrats. Night after night was disturbed by the fitful glare of torch light processions, and the hoarse shouts of partisans. In the State election in October, Hen-dricks received a majority in the county of about eighty over Lane, the opposing candidate. The general result showed the election of Lane by nearly 10,000 majority. From that time the fight was more bitter than ever. In November, the result in the State was still more disastrous for the Democrats. In this county, Douglas received 1,119 votes-; Lincoln, i,757; Breckenridge, 476, and Bell, 35. Lincoln was elected, having received 180 electoral votes out of a total of 303. Then came the news of the secession of the States, and many stout hearts began to fail and doubt the final outcome.
    From this time on the situation became constantly more critical. As, one after another the Cotton States passed ordinances, the hope of preserving the Union unbroken became more and more doubtful. The people all over the North held Union meetings, at which the various phases of all the leading public questions were fully discussed by the leading local speakers. In Rush County both Democrats and Republicans held such meetings during the first part of February, 1861. The Republican meeting was presided over by Jefferson Helm, Sr., as Chairman, and had for Secretaries Isaac C. Stewart and Andrew Hall. Addresses were made by Leonidas Sexton and Joel Wolfe. A committee on resolutions was composed of the following men: L. Sexton, B. R. Ward, William Thomas, Peter Looney, A. M. Sargeant, Henry C. Junken, George R. Kelley, Lewis M. Kitchen, George Gray, James Jones, Thomas Stuart and Henry Myers.

 "Resolved, That we as Republicans, are not in any degree responsible for the present disturbances, and we will not in the future do anything which will tend to disrupt the Union, violate the Constitution of the United States or oppose or interfere with the execution of any of the laws passed in accordance with the provisions thereof.
"Resolved, That we believe a complete and satisfactory remedy for all the present political troubles, is to be found in a strict obedience to the Constitution of the United States as it is and the laws now in force.
 "Resolved, That justice requires the repeal of all laws upon the Statute Books of all the States in the Union which may be in conflict with the Constitution of the United States.
"Resolved, That we believe the mere act of obedience to the Constitution and Laws of the United States by every citizen thereof, would at once restore peace and prosperity throughout the land; yet, if unloyal and dissatisfied citizens and disappointed political aspirants, require new guaranties of good conduct from us before they will return to their allegiance to the Constitution, many of them have sworn to support, for the sake of the masses of those States, we will cheerfully support any arrangement of compromise that may be acceptable to the country, which may be compatible with our honor, our principles and integrity.
Resolved, That while the Republican party is not yet invested with power in the government, and in no position to make their propositions respected or acceptable, it is unreasonable and unfair to require or expect of them to settle our present political troubles, as is claimed by so many, indeed by all, opponents of that party; and it is the opinion of this convention, that until the inauguration of Lincoln, nothing more or further than a disposition to settle our political discussions, should be shown by Republicans, but that afterward, when in power, and in a position to propose terms that will command respect, the Republicans should show such undoubted fairness, such unquestionable magnanimity and such overpowering generosity as will reconcile all who are not traitors from principles. With the latter, there will be time and opportunity to deal afterward."
The Democratic meeting was addressed by R. D. Logan, who was at that time Judge of the Circuit Court in this district. The resolutions adopted were as follows:
Resolved, That we are firmly and unalterably attached to the Federal Union, formed as it was by the wisdom of our fathers and baptized in their blood, and are in favor of its preservation at any sacrifice.
" Resolved, That we deprecate a government maintained by the sword, or union held together by the bayonet; as our fathers laid the basis of our national existence in the fraternal sentiment of the whole people, so we must restore harmony by restoring these sentiments until in our political vocabulary there shall be ' no North, no South,' but one undivided family, emulous only in acts of kindness and charity toward each other.
" Resolved, That the olive branch, tendered by our sister of Kentucky, and embraced in the proposition submitted by Senator Crittenden as an amendment to the Constitution, or any similar basis of settlement, will, in our judgment, be endorsed by the people of Indiana by an overwhelming majority, when the Republican Legislature shall so far trust the people as to submit the question to them.
" Resolved, That under the present alarming condition of our. country, we regard all persons, whether in Congress or out, who are opposed to compromise or in favor of coercion, as dangerous persons to be entrusted with power, as unfriendly to the Union and disloyal to her best interests.
" Resolved, That the people of the South, and especially of " Old Kentuck," in other days when our people were exposed to the ruthless savages, the tomahawk and the scalping knife, were our friends, neighbors and our brethren, and with matchless generosity and brave and daring heroism, rushed to our rescue, and while the bones of a single member of their gallant bands, rest upon our soil we will remember the deed in acts of unmistakable gratitude."
    At the close of the reading of these resolutions a " youth of tender years " proposed the following, which was adopted with the resolutions:

    Such were the expressions of the two leading political parties in Rush County two months before the commencement of active war. At that time several of the States had already passed ordinances of secession and had done all in their power to put themselves outside the Union as it had been founded by the Fathers of the Republic.    The country was distracted from one end of the land to the other.    For many years the Southern States had been dominant in the affairs of the Nation, and when they saw the balance of power gradually drifting away from them, they were resolved not to give it up.    The slavery question was, of course, at the bottom of the whole trouble.    The south had grown rich and prosperous through its system of slave labor.    In the north there had come into existence a party that was openly and avowedly opposed to slave labor, and many of its leading men were in favor of its total abolition- in all parts of  the Union.    The election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency, as a leader of this party, was accepted by the Southern States as a menace to what they deemed their rights.    No time could have been more auspicious in which to begin the secession movement than that which elapsed between the election of  Lincoln  and his inauguration.    President Buchanan remained almost a passive spectator of this attack on the unity of the Nation.    By some it was thought that he secretly sympathized with the "southern movement, but there is now hardly a doubt that he was a genuine patriot at heart. His indecision and hesitation were fatal to the welfare of the country, and in the end cost the people of the whole country much distress in a long and bloody war.
    Early in February, 1861, there was a Peace Congress called at Washington for the purpose of fixing up the differences between the two sections of the country. This congress was composed of delegates appointed by the Legislatures of the several States, and was presided over by ex-President John Tyler, a delegate from Virginia. Indiana was represented by five delegates, among whom was Pleasant A. Hackleman, a citizen of Rushville. After a somewhat stormy session of several days, this Peace Congress adjourned without having accomplished its object. Every effort to avert the impending calamity of civil war proved futile.
    Those in the north who had supported Lincoln believed that when he took the helm of government that the secessionists would be stopped in their attempts to break up the Union. But after the new administration began and week after week went by without any apparent change, and the Southern States continued to go out of the Union, by conventions, without molestation, many began to doubt the ability of the government to maintain the Union. Some went so far as to denounce the "Peace Policy," which it was supposed had been adopted. There were some of this class in Rush County. From the Rushville Re-publican of March 20, 1861, the following paragraph of editorial is taken. The paper was then edited by Andrew Hall, and this extract will serve to show the drift of public sentiment in this locality:
    "The result of the 'Peace Policy,' then, in our view, is to abandon the property and sovereignty of the government in the seceded States, and to establish them as an independent nation. This may be better than civil war. To our mind it is infinitely better than the insulting dictation which proposes to change the constitution so as to make it secure the blessings of slavery to an aristocracy, instead of the 'blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.'  If the government takes no steps to assert its rights in the seceding. States, the friends of the Union among the masses will have no banner to rally around, and that reaction which has been so confidently predicted, cannot take place."
    On the 4th of April the 'Jacksonian in a long editorial headed, "Should -the President Recognize the Southern Confederacy?" said: "That it is a government possessing administrative, judicial and legislative powers, no one can doubt, and that it will be recognized by the various powers of the earth is now a settled fact.   By evacuating the forts our government has at least indirectly acknowledged its independence. Why not do so formally? There are but two paths to travel; one leading to a peaceful recognition, the other to a forcible obedience, if, indeed, we have the physical power to compel submission, which is very much doubted by some, and certainly indicated by the action of the President in withdrawing the federal troops from their soil. To undertake the latter would be to drench the land in fraternal blood, bring upon us the contempt of other nations and bankrupt both north and south, and after the battles were over and the bones of our countrymen lay bleaching beneath a southern sun, an army must still be kept up, and the Government held together by the bayonet. This cannot be done, and that is an exceedingly short-sighted policy which would so change, or attempt to change, the fundamental under strata of our political and governmental fabric from principles of love and friendship in which it was conceived, to that of might and power concentrated in a standing army." The editor, Mr. William A. Cullen, then proceeded to advocate the recognition, by the President, of the Confederacy with the hope that the erring secedes would in time see the folly of their ways and return to the Union, in which alone could be found the palladium of good government.
    Such were some of the sentiments held by the different parties in Rush County on the eve of the Rebellion.

     Nothing in Rush County has ever exceeded the excitement that followed the news of the bombardment of Fort Sumter. For nearly a week people in every walk of life abandoned their callings and congregated in groups about the towns and villages, anxious to learn the latest reports from the scene of the conflict. They discussed, in their way, the various phases and probable results of the deed which had so fired their hearts. The first news reached Rushville on Sunday morning, April the 15th. Those who were wending their way to their respective places of worship, either turned aside to inquire further of the details, or pursued their course with little thought of their religion. Perhaps a short prayer was breathed for the preservation of the common country and the maintenance of the right.
    It was not long before the President's call for 75,000 volunteers sent a cheering thrill through the Nation and the people gladly responded to the call to arms. Argument had now ceased and the questions that had so long agitated the whole land were to be committed to the stern arbitration of war.
    On Wednesday evening, April 17, a meeting was held at the court house in Rushville, at which Col. Joseph Nichols, presided. Stirring speeches were made by Joel Wolfe, P. A. Hackleman and other leading citizens of the place. A number of men volunteered, and after passing some resolutions adjourned until Saturday following. On that day a large crowd gathered at the court house and listened to speeches from Joseph J. Amos, William A. Cullen, William Cassady, P. A. Hackleman, Joel Wolfe and Rev. James  Havens. The sentiment- in favor of sustaining the government was almost universal among the people. One company of volunteers was made up and the enthusiasm indicated that more could have been done if necessary. Representative citizens of the county representing a million dollars worth of property pledged themselves to the support of families of volunteers, to which end full arrangements were made. After a long string of whereases reciting the unhappy condition of the country, the following resolutions were adopted:
" Resolved, That we pledge ourselves to aid and support the constituted authorities of this State and of the United States, in all lawful efforts toward putting down rebellion, to enforce the laws, and to maintain the Union of the States under the Federal Constitution at all hazards and at any expense.
" Resolved, That we are ready to furnish men and money for these purposes; and we pledge the resources of Rush County, to the State in any lawful and reasonable effort on her part, to sustain the government in the exercise of its legitimate and constitutional authority, against all opposers.
"Resolved, That the question whether the flag of the country shall be sustained or not, rises above all party considerations, and that every good citizen will be formed on the side of his government, giving his influence to uphold the emblem of its authority, and to maintain intact the old constitution under which the country has had prosperity at home and respectability abroad for more than seventy years."

N. Shaddinger, P. J. Beachbeard, J. P. Orr, J. M. Carr, W. J. Harris, O. A. Morgan, Joel Wolfe, J. R. Bell, Thomas Mason, Robert Mason, John Fox, John R. Carr, George W. Bates, John C. Ellis, Henry Dixon, Reu Pugh, Jr., Robert J. Price, Henry West, C. C. Flinn, Samuel Burns, R. D. Oliver, A. B. Harris, Oliver Carr, William Sheaff, Edward S. Gue, William R. Johnson, Lewis Michael, An­derson Levi, Thomas Lakin, James McCarty, William Burnes, D. C. Scull, John McGuire, Thomas Wallace, Patrick Biglan, Charles G. Shaw, Daniel Striker, J. A. Simmonds, C. R. Bolander, William B. Holden, J. M. Semple, William Carney, H. H. Guffin, James Jordan, Thomas Crupper, B. J. Wilhelm, Henry Risinger, G. H. Cohen, J. C. Hawkins, Freeman Williams, Madison Kirkman, F. C. Bell, J. P. Fairley, Oliver Glore, Linsey Walker, James Stephens, William W. Mendal, Simon Cassady, Lemuel Day, Ben­jamin Harney, Harrison Crawford, John A. Blair, James D. Blair, Martin Conway, W. O. Sexton, Barnard Kelly, J. W. Innis, G. W. Marsh, George Richey, Daniel Thomas, H. P. Thomas, Henry Davis, Charles Gibson, William H. Young, Oliver Denning, Ezra C. Lee, William D. Hall, Nelson Hendricks, Jacob Wilhelm, Wes. Nelson, Samuel Miller, Marcus Thorp, James Brown, Samuel Lynn, Samuel C. Pegg, James Koonts, W. D. Woods, Charles Hummler, Robert Opterback, Charles Callahan, Franklin McCoy, R. A. McClure and David R. Crawford. The first election for officers resulted in the choice of Joel Wolfe for Captain; P. J. Beachbeard, 1st Lieutenant; R. J. Price, 2nd Lieutenant and John Fairley, 3rd Lieutenant. This company was tendered to the Gov­ernor, but was too late to get into the first six regiments that were organized in the State for that war. It-went into camp at the Fair Grounds at Rushville to await marching orders from the Governor. Besides these another company of Home Guards was organized.