
Rush County Indiana
Flag Presentation
On Sunday afternoon April 28, the ladies of
Rushville presented a silk flag to Capt. Wolfe's
company. The presentation speech was made by Miss India Hackleman, as
follows:
"Brave Countrymen and Volunteers, I have been
selected on behalf of the ladies of Rushville,
to present to the Rush County Guards, who have so gallantly volunteered
to defend their country against the assaults
of traitors, this flag, which is the gorgeous ensign of the Republic
under which we live and to which we are indebted
for our prosperity and civilization. In doing so, I presume to address
you a few feeble words of encouragement.
The ladies of Rushville are united in a strong feeling of love for
their country, and in a burning indignation
for the wrongs which have been inflicted on her honor and integrity.
The heroic blood of the mothers and daughters
of the Revolution courses through their veins, and should their
patriotism be put to the dreadful test, you will
find them ready to imitate their noble conduct during that long and
sanguinary struggle.
" The beautiful banner which they
are about to entrust to your keeping,
the meteor flag of our country is the banner of all others that we have
loved and reverenced since bur earliest
recollection. It has been our nation's .pride and glory ever since she
had a place among the family of nations.
Tyranny and oppression have fled from before it, unable to find
protection beneath its ample folds. Proudly streaming
from our noble ships, the glorious emblem of the free, it has floated
over every ocean and in every clime to protect
our commerce and to proclaim our power. Our
ancestors, led on by the immortal Washington, waded
through seas of blood to raise it, and it has been valiantly upheld and
defended ever since, by a brave people,
whose onward march in intelligence and refinement is without precedent
in the annals of history; and shall it now,
after it has waved in beauty and glory for so many years, be ruthlessly
torn and trampled under foot by traitors?
Almighty God forbid it! Are there not men to be found
now as valorous and true as those of former
time, who will arise in their majesty to defend their country and their
country's flag? We feel
assured that there are and that the Rush County Guards will ever be
found among the bravest of the brave.
Into your keeping, then, we resign, this flag, conjuring you by all you
hold sacred and dear, never to disgrace
it on the field of duty and honor! Proudly bear it aloft,
as the children of Israel bore the ark, as
the emblem of your hopes in your country's salvation.
Let the stars and stripes be trailed in
the dust and dishonored, and anarchy will prevail throughout our
borders. Should the demands
of duty and patriotism point to the battlefield, and death itself stare
you in the face, shrink not, fear not,
but remembering the mighty interests at stake, push forward to
victory. Think of the glorious
future that awaits pur country if rescued from the menaces of the great
rebellion which threaten to destroy it
and with it our civil and religious liberties, and prove faithful and
true in the hour of trial.
Should difficulties and. dangers encompass you about, dark clouds of
despair obscure the beaming star of
hope, lift your eyes to where your country's flag floats in proud
defiance, remember the dear ones at home, breathe
a fervent prayer to the God of. Hosts, and press on! Truth and
right will certainly triumph.
Law and order will surely prevail and our country will be saved,
forever to remain ' the land of the free and the
home of the brave.' You will return to us a gallant
band of plumed warriors, your proud banner
floating in the breeze, with not a star obliterated, or a stripe rent
in twain by any act of omission or neglect
on your part. Here then receive the emblem of your
nation's honor and prowess, and proudly carry
it wherever love of country, the preservation of constitutional
government and the punishment of rebellion may
require, and never return to Rushville without it, even should it be
tattered and torn, for we shall have the proud
consolation of knowing that no flag was ever defaced in a holier or
juster cause."
This was responded to in a brief and appropriate
speech by J. S. Hibben on behalf of the company.
On the following Saturday the company left for Indianapolis with eighty
four men. As 13 it had
been raised with the expectation of joining the three months volunteers
first called for, some of them were unwilling
to enlist for a longer period and returned home. By this means the
company as mustered into the service was not
the same as the first enrollment shows. Several men from Fayette County
completed the company. It was assigned
the position of F in the Sixteenth Regiment one year service. Its
commissioned officers were Paul J. Beachbeard,
Captain; John S. Grove and Silas D. Byram, Lieutenants. In this
regiment Joel Wolfe was commissioned Major at the
organization and Henry B. Hill, of Carthage, Quartermaster. Wolfe was
promoted Lieutenant Colonel. Pleasant A.
Hackle-man was the first Colonel of the regiment, and at the end of the
year was promoted Brigadier General.
The company started out with sixty three men, and
was afterward recruited with thirty four,
making a total of ninety seven. . Of these, two died in the service and
eight deserted. The regiment was mustered
into the service at Richmond, in May, 1861, and on the 23rd of July
started for the front. It was the first to
pass through Baltimore after the firing upon the Sixth Massachusetts
Regiment in April. In October, it served to
cover the retreat of the Union Army from the fatal field of Ball's
Bluff, and was the last regiment to cross the
Potomac. Early in December it took up winter quarters near Frederic
City. When the forward movement began in February
following, the Sixteenth took a leading part, and until the expiration
of its term of enlistment, did much active
duty, although but little fighting. April 30th, Col. Hackleman was
promoted Brigadier General, and was given an
elegant sword by the soldiers of the Sixteenth.
After the first company was off
for the war, Inhere was considerable activity
displayed in all parts of the county in reference to home defense.
Several militia companies were organized under
the laws of the State, and drilling was begun. By this means many good
soldiers were prepared for the more active
duties of military life. There is a certain intoxication about the
evaluations of military bodies that has a strong
influence over those who take part in them. This, no doubt, had much to
do with the success of volunteering during
the early months of the war. The first of these militia companies to be
organized in this county was at Milroy.
Its organization was completed early in June, and received the
necessary arms and commissions.
When the first lull came in the
excitement that followed the fall of Fort
Sumter, there was yet found to be much opposition in this locality to
the war policy of the Administration. Nearly
every township held Union meetings, and at some of them the contention
was strong and spirited. This was particularly
so at those held in Washington and Anderson townships. At the former,
two sets of resolutions were prepared and
submitted to the meeting, one by Dr. Bartlett, on behalf of the
Republicans, and one by William S. Hall, for the
Democrats. Quite a number of the citizens of the township had been
privately informed before this that they must
regulate their utterances on certain of the public questions a little
more in accord with the policy of the government.
In consequence of this there was considerable feeling manifested among
the different persons present. It finally
ended in a resolution not to organize for protection but that they
would rely upon each other as neighbors and
friends for the maintenance of order. This was at Raleigh. The people
in the whole county were agitated upon the
subject that was then absorbing the interests of the entire Nation.
The Jacksonian which was then
conducted by W. A. Cullen and Cy Crawford strongly
opposed the invasion of the Southern States by the Northern Army. It
advocated a policy of compromise and reconciliation
and only on failure of the Southern States to meet the North half way,
was it in favor of subjugating the South.
On the Republican side it was openly charged that there was treason in
the county, as will be seen from the following
extract from the Republican of June 26, 1861:
"We have reason to believe that
the secessionists of Rush County have
been secretly organizing in nearly all the townships. They hold regular
Dark Lantern meetings and in two instances
the places and times of meetings, as well as those who have
participated, have leaked out. The results of this
Dark Lantern organization of traitors has been seen on our streets.
Sympathy for the rebels and disloyalty to the
Government have been boldly avowed on the corners; members of the Rush
County Guards, while here visiting their
friends, have been made the subject of insolent and disparaging
remarks." It is probable that this article
foreshadows a state of things that then hardly existed. The time was
too soon after the outbreak of the Rebellion
for much of pre concerted movement to take place, by those who were
opposed to the war. Early in the excitement
the citizens of Rushville awoke one morning to find what was said to be
a Rebel flag flying from the court house.
It is more than likely, however, that it was only intended as a hoax
and it is not sure that the flag was the true
standard of the Confederate States.
Renewed Volunteering
As the summer advanced the magnitude of the war
began to be somewhat better comprehended. Efforts
were made to enlist men for three years instead of three
months. In Rush County the volunteering
had gone on rather slow. In August, renewed efforts were made for
bringing up the quota of the county; one of the
weekly papers under date of August 21st, said: " Old Rush is waking up
to her duty in the present crisis.
For the three year service, she has helped to complete three companies
for other counties, furnishing them men
enough to make a complete company. Messrs. John McKee, E. H. Lord, John
Patton and others, are now endeavoring
to raise a new and complete company in Rush County for the three years'
service. They commenced last Saturday,
and have now some thirty names enrolled. They will hold a meeting at
New Salem Thursday evening, and also a meeting
at Richland, on Saturday at 2 o'clock P. M., for the purpose of raising
recruits. Let the good work go on, until
Rush County has done her whole duty; Union speakers will be present at
these meetings." The same paper contains
this item: "The new volunteer company, raised by Captain Doughty, of
Laurel, is ordered to rendezvous at Rushville,
tomorrow, Thursday evening. Friday morning they will take the cars for
the regimental camp at Lawrenceburg. The
company is not yet quite full, and any wishing to volunteer, can have
an opportunity. Cannot Rush County fill up
the company before it leaves? We learn that our citizens are making
preparations to entertain the volunteers over
night."
The second company raised in, and
credited to, Rush County, was that of Capt.
McKee in the Thirty seventh Regiment, but for the sake of convenience,
the companies will be spoken of in the order
of their regimental numbers. In this way, some of the companies raised
in the latter part of the Rebellion, will
precede others that were organized earlier. As already stated, the
first full company was assigned to the Sixteenth
Regiment, one year service. At the expiration of that time, the
regiment was reorganized for the three years' service.
In the reorganization Rush County was well represented. Company C was
composed largely of the men who had served
one year in the first organization.
The officers were:
Captains Paul J. Bleachbeard, August 2, 1862; William A. Ingold, May
1,1865.
First Lieutenants William L. Davis, August 2, 1862; William E.
Chenowith, November 1, 1863; William A. Ingold,
July 1, 1864; David C. Barnard, June 1, 1865.
Second Lieutenants George W. Marsh, August 2, 1862; Isaac N.
Westerfield, June 1, 1865.
Companies G and H, were also credited in full to Rush County, although
some of the men belonged to adjoining counties.
The Commissioned Officers of Company G, were:
Captains Elwood Hill, August 16,1862; Aaron McFeely, February 14, 1863.
First Lieutenants Isaac Steel, August 16, 1862; James Steel,
February 14, 1863.
Second Lieutenants Aaron McFeely, August 16,1862; William L. Peckham,
February 14, 1863; Thomas M. Bundy, June
1, 1865.
In Company H, the officers were: Captains James M. Hildreth, August 16,
1862; Elijah J. Waddell, March 1, 1865.
First Lieutenants James C. Glove, August 16, 1862; Elijah J. Waddell,
March 4, 1864; John C. Ellis, March 1, 1865.
Second Lieutenants E. J. Waddell, August 16,1862; John C. Ellis, March
4, 1863; James M. Houston, June 1, 1865.
Among the regimental officers the following were
from Rush County: Joel Wolfe and Jas. M. Hildreth,
Lieutenant Colonels; J. M. Hildreth,
Major; Henry B. Hill,
Quartermaster; John C. Cullen and John H. Spurrier, Surgeons.
The Sixteenth Regiment that was
first organized for a year's service, did
not see much fighting, but under the reorganization it was destined to
see a great deal of active service. It was
mustered into the service on August 19, 1862, and soon after started
for Kentucky. In a fight near Richmond, on
August 30th, Lieut.-Col. Wolfe was killed. He had been one of the
leading citizens of Rushville, and at the outbreak
of the war was one of the first to offer his services to his country as
a soldier. In that fatal battle, in which
he laid down his life, his rallying call to his men was: "Rally around
me, men of Indiana, and let us make
our graves upon this spot. Let those desert the old flag and us who
choose, but we must cut our way through or
die, rather than be taken prisoners. Come on, follow me, my brave
soldiers." In this battle the regiment lost.
200 men killed and wounded, and 600 prisoners. After being paroled they
were sent to Indianapolis, where they were
exchanged November 1st. In December, the regiment started from Memphis
on the Vicksburg campaign. The operations
that attended the downfall of that important post were largely shared
in by the Sixteenth. It was the first to
enter fort at Arkansas Post, and lost seventy seven men killed and
wounded. After taking part in several of the
battles around Vicksburg, it entered the trenches on the 19th of May,
and participated in all the operations of
the siege until the surrender on the 4th of July. During the siege it
lost sixty men killed and wounded. After
being transported to New Orleans, the regiment was mounted and
distributed along the Mississippi, to guard transportation.
In October, 1863, it joined in the expedition up Bayou Teche, in which
locality it remained until January, when
it returned to New Orleans. It was then refitted and remounted, and
marched as part of the cavalry force in Bank's
Red River expedition. Returning from this it did outpost duty in
Louisiana, until mustered out. Concerning the
three companies from Rush County, in the
Sixteenth, the following figures will
be of interest. The original enrollment of Company C was 97, recruits
12, total 109; died in the service 28, deserters
2. Company G, enrollment 100, recruits 25, total 125; died 31. Company
H, enrollment 83, recruits 19, total 102;
died 17, deserted 3. Thus it will be seen that the county furnished for
this regiment 337 men, of whom 87 died
in the service and 5 deserted.
In Company K, of the Thirty
seventh Regiment, all the men were credited to
Rush County. The officers were: Captains, John McKee, September 10,
1861; John B. Reeve, October 22, 1862. First
Lieutenants, Henry E. Lord, September 10, 1861; Isaac Abernathy,
November 24, 1861; John B. Reeve, January 1, 1862;
William R. Hunt, October 29, 1863. Second Lieutenants, John B. Reeve,
September 10,1861; John Patton, January 1,
1863: William R. Hunt, February 22, 1863. Of these Lieut. Abernathy was
killed at the Battle of Stone River, December
31, 1862, and Lieut. John Patton died in February, of wounds received
in the same battle. Although Company I, is
not credited to any county, in the Adjutant General's report, yet it is
known that a considerable number of the
men were from Rush County. The first enrollment of Company K, was 69,
recruits 13, total 82, of which 15 died in
the service.
The Thirty seventh Regiment was
organized at Lawrenceburg, in September,
1861. It did guard duty most of the time, until December, 1862, when it
moved with Rosecrans' Army toward Murfreesboro,
and on the 31st of that month was engaged at Stone River. In that
engagement Company K lost three men killed, the
regiment losing twenty five killed and 106 wounded. After this it
encamped near Murfreesboro, until June, 1863,
when it started in the Chattanooga campaign. It was engaged at Dug Gap
and Chickamauga, and afterward remained
in the vicinity of Chatta­nooga until the spring of 1864.
During the winter, Company I re-enlisted as veterans.
In the Atlanta campaign it took part in the battles at Dallas, Kenesaw
Mountain, Chatahoochie River, Peach Tree
Creek. After the Atlanta campaign, the company, being among the non
veterans, was mustered out of the service.
Those in Company I went with Sherman's army to Savannah and then
through the Carolinas.
The Fifty second Regiment was the
next in number that contained a large representation
from Rush County. Nearly every company contained some men from this
county, but Company G was composed almost entirely
of men whose homes were in Rush County. The following were its
commissioned officers during its whole term of service,
with the dates of commissions: Captains, Joseph McCorkle, October
25, 1861; Ross Guffin, September 4, 1862.
First Lieutenants, Ross Guffin, October 25, 1861; Charles M. Ferree,
September 4, 1862; Theodore Wilkes, February
4, 1865. Second Lieutenants, Charles M. Ferree, October 25, 1861; James
H. Wright, September 4, 1862; Harrison
S. Carney, November 18, 1862. This company started out with eighty
eight men and received thirty three recruits;
of these twenty eight died in the service and twenty two deserted. In
Company F, Montgomery C. Howard, of Rushville,
became First Lieutenant and Captain. In Company H, James H. Frazee
became First Lieutenant and Winfield S. Conde,
Second Lieutenant. The former afterward became Captain in the Ninth
Cavalry. Of the regimental officers, the following
were from Rush County: Edward H. Wolfe, was commissioned Major, January
20, 1862, and was afterward promoted Lieutenant-Colonel
and Colonel; William H. Smith was made Quartermaster, and Marshall
Sexton and James W. Martin, were Surgeons. At
the expiration of its term of service, the Fifty second was
reorganized, although but few men from this county
remained in it after that. The regiment took part in, the siege of Fort
Donelson, battle of Pittsburg Landing,
siege of Corinth. After this for nearly a year it was actively engaged
in fighting guerrillas in Tennessee and
Arkansas, with headquarters at Fort Pillow. In February, 1864, it
joined Sherman's Army then advancing on Meridian.
It engaged the enemy at Jackson. In March, a large portion of the
regiment veteranized and came home on furlough..
Those who did not veteranize joined Banks' Red River expedition. In
May, the regiment was re-united and left Vicksburg
with Gen. A. J. Smith's command on the Arkansas expedition, and was
later engaged with the Rebel Gen. Forrest's
command at Tupello, Miss., and again at Hurricane Creek. In September,
it started for Missouri, where it defeated
Price's force at Franklin, and drove him from that State. After that it
proceeded to St. Louis and thence to Nashville.
At the latter place it took part in the battle of December 15 and 16,
and then joined in the pursuit of Hood. In
February, 1865, it was attached to Canby's Army at New Orleans and took
part in the movement against Spanish Fort.
In the Fifty fourth Regiment there was one company
from Rush County. This was H, and for its
officers had John H. Ferree as Captain, John W. Mauzy, First
Lieutenant, and William M. Brooks, Second Lieutenant.
The regiment was organized in October, 1862, and with but few
exceptions was composed of drafted men or their substitutes.
At Chickasaw Bluffs it made two charges on the Rebel works, losing 264
killed and wounded. It performed much arduous
duty in the Vicksburg campaign and was several times under fire. It
also took part in the engagements that were
followed by the fall of Jackson. In the fall of 1863 it went on the
expedition up the Teche country, and on the
return was mustered out on the 8th of December.
Company D of the Sixty eighth
Regiment was also from Rush County. It was
mustered into the service in August, 1862. Its officers were: Captains,
James W. Innis, August 12, 1862; James
H. Mauzy, 'June 2, 1863. First Lieutenants, James H. Mauzy, August 12,
1862; William Beale, June 2, 1863; Deliscus
Lingenfelter, July 1, 1864. Second Lieutenants, William Beale, August
12, 1862; Deliscus Lingenfelter, June 2,
1862; Daniel L. Thomas, June 1, 1865. Of these, Captain Innis was
promoted Major of the regiment. Company D had
an enrollment of eighty nine members at the beginning and received
'eleven recruits. Ten died in the service and
eight deserted. The regiment was organized at Greesburg in the summer
of 1862. It was engaged at Munfordsville,
Ky., and after two days' fighting was captured. In June, 1863, it
fought at Hoover's Gap. At Chickamauga the regiment
lost 135 killed, wounded and missing, out of a force engaged of 356. *
A few days later it fought the enemy near
Chattanooga. The regiment was also engaged as follows: At Dalton, Ga.,
Mission Ridge, Decatur, Ala., Nashville.
After the last named battle in December, 1864, the regiment remained in
the vicinity of Chat­tanooga until
mustered out in June, 1865.
Excepting the Morgan Raid troops, the next regiment
that was conspicuous for Rush County men
was the Ninth Cavalry (One Hundred and Twenty first) Regiment. Twenty
two of the men in Company E were from the
vicinity of Carthage, and of this number John W. Jack was First
Lieutenant, and afterward Captain. Company M was
entirely from Rush County. Its Captain, First and Second Lieutenants
were James H. Frazee, James B. Jones and Nathan
J. Leisure. Out of a total enrollment of ninety six the company lost
twenty two by death and ten by desertion.
The regiment was .organized in March, 1864, but did not leave the State
until in May. It was then transferred to
Pulaski, Tenn., where it did post duty until November, and engaged in
some skirmishing with Forrest. At Sulphur
Branch Trestle the regiment lost 125 in killed, wounded and missing. In
the fight at Franklin it lost twenty six,
in killed, wounded and prisoners. From that time on it was engaged in
post and garrison duty until mustered out.
By an explosion of the steamer Sultana, April 26, 1865, the regiment
lost fifty five men.
Company E, of the One Hundred and Twenty third was
almost wholly from Rush County.
Its officers were: Captains, Franklin F. Swain, January 13, 1864; John
Fleehart, August 24, 1864. First Lieutenants,
John Fleehart, January 13, 1864; Leroy P. Aldridge, August 24,1864;
William J. Allen, March 20, 1865. Second Lieutenants,
Leroy P. Aldridge, January 13, 1864; William J. Allen, August 24, 1864;
Oliver Richey, March 20, 1865. In this
same regiment Ephraim T. Allen served as First and Second Lieutenant in
Company B, and in Company I, John W. Tompkins
was Second Lieutenant. William A. Cullen was Lieutenant Colonel and
John H. Spurrier, Surgeon of the regiment.
Of its total enrollment of 103, Company E lost ten men by death and
four by desertion.
The One Hundred and Twenty third Regiment was
recruited during the winter of 1863 and 1864,
from the Fourth and Seventh Congressional Districts, rendezvoused at
Greensburg and mustered into service on the
9th day of March, 1864, with John C. McQuiston as Colonel. On the 18th
day of May, the Regiment left for Nash­ville,
Tennessee, and upon arriving there were assigned to the Second Brigade,
First Division Twenty third Army ,Corps.
On the 4th of April it was ordered to Charleston, Tennessee, and May
the 3rd marched with its corps on the campaign
against Atlanta, participating in an engagement at Rocky Face Ridge, on
the 9th of said month. On the 14th the
regiment marched with its division through Snake Creek Gap, and on the
following day moved to the extreme left
of Sherman's Army, arriving in time to take part in the battle of
Resacca, and received and repulsed a dashing
assault of the enemy. The regiment followed in pursuit of the enemy,
skirmishing almost constantly with the rear
guard for several days. On the 24th the regiment advanced to the
support of General Hooker, near Dallas. During
the last of May a detachment of Rebel cavalry captured a portion of the
division supply train and several men belonging
to the regiment. The month of June was rainy and from much exposure,
hard marching and scarcity of provision, there
was much sickness. The enemy had gained a position near Lost Mountain;
and on the 17th of June the second division
was ordered to dislodge him. Early in the morning the command advanced
in line of battle and when within range
of the enemy's artillery, received a most furious fire of grape and
canister, but, with a yell, the line charged
and drove the enemy from its position and captured many prisoners. The
regiment lost one killed and twelve wounded.
On the 23rd the regiment with Hascall's division participated in an
engagement with Hood's corps, sustaining a
loss of one killed. The regiment next participated in the battle of
Kenesaw Mountain, where after much hard fighting
it lost six in killed and forty wounded. On the 28th the regiment
followed in pursuit, skirmishing all day, and
at night lay down to rest having been under fire for four days and
nights and without rations for thirty hours.
The next encounter with the enemy was at Decatur, which was soon
followed by the siege of Atlanta, in which the
regiment with its division on the 6th of August, was ordered by General
Schofield, to dislodge the enemy who commanded
the extreme right; in this engagement the regiment did its hardest
fighting during the war, and lost in this charge
twenty seven killed and wounded, in this action Capt. Franklin F. Swain
fell mortally wounded. During the entire
campaign the One Hundred and Twenty third Regiment lost twenty eight
killed and 105 wounded. After two months the
regiment was ordered to report to Gen. Thomas, at Nashville. In
November while en route to Nashville it came up
with Gen. Forrest's Rebel Cavalry 15,000 strong, but by silent and
rapid marching for sixty hours, it reached Nashville
in safety. On the 15th and 16th of December, they participated in the
battle of Nashville. The regiment went into
camp, at Columbia, Tennessee, and January 3,1865, went to Washington
via Cincinnati and sailed on steamship Alexandria
to Ft. Anderson, N. C; marched thence to Raleigh encountering Bragg at
Wish's Forks, on the 7th of March, which
was the last engagement in which the regiment participated. It was
mustered out at Raleigh on the 25th of August,
1865.
In the one year regiments raised in the early part
of 1865, Rush County was represented. The
first of these was the One Hundred and Forty sixth, in several
companies of which there were men from this county,
the most being in Company F. In that, Lauriston B. Ingold was First
Lieutenant. Allen Hill was Adjutant of the
regiment. The Twenty second Battery, Light Artillery, was largely
composed of men from Rush County.-
Public Opinion in 1863 and 1864
At the State election in the fall of 1862, the
Democrats were successful in many of the northern
States. This fact, alone, gave renewed impulse to the campaigns of
1863. The Republicans construed the result adversely
to their conduct of the war, and on the testimony of no less authority
than General Grant, they were determined
to make a better showing on the field of battle. In Rush County there
was but little, li any, abatement in the
tension of public opinion. During the summers of 1863 and 1864 mass
meetings were held in all portions of the county
at which the leading speakers made addresses, and resolutions covering
the various phases of the public questions
were discussed and adopted. As the Administration adopted the
emancipation theory the Democrats became more hostile
toward its methods of conducting the war. They were in for preserving
"the Union as it was" and were
opposed to the abolition of slavery. They did not want to disturb the
"domestic relations" of any of
the States. But it was impossible to fight out the war on any other
grounds. Slavery had been the prime cause of
the conflict and it was an element that was doomed to overthrow if the
Union of the States was to be preserved
with stability. There was no mean ground to be occupied between the
Union without slavery and disunion. Fortunately
the sentiment of Union without slavery, prevailed.
Soldiers at home on furlough,
wearing their uniforms, were the universal
object of attention. It was not infrequent that they overstepped the
bounds of reason and duty in maintaining their
principles. They often became insolent and intolerant, and imagined
that their coats of blue were sufficient excuses
for whatever excesses they saw fit to indulge. Collisions between the
soldiers and citizens were of common occurrence
all over the north. In this count}?- they were not an exception. It is
probable that few portions of the north
were more deeply agitated than Rush County. By some it has been alleged
that there were several lodges of the Knights
of the Golden Circle in the county, and it is probable that the
allegations are true. The Republican charged it
openly at the time, and it called attention to the times and places of
meetings. Party strife ran high, and there
were frequent physical encounters between the contending sides.
Notwithstanding all this, the volunteering went
on with commendable zeal, and the number of men furnished by the county
for the war shows well for a community
in which there was so much active opposition to the methods of carrying
on the struggle.
The Indiana Legion was an
extensive organization throughout the State for
the purpose of home defense in case of need. It served another purpose,
however, that proved more useful than as
Home Guards. It was the medium through which many good soldiers were
brought into the service, that, perhaps, would
not otherwise so readily have entered the active service of the United
States. The drilling, too, was useful in
preparing men to a considerable extent for the evaluations that were
required in actual war. In other words it
was a training school where men learned the rudiments o£
knowledge in war that so soon enabled them to perform
in the face of the enemy like trained veterans. Rush County had several
of these companies in the Legion, and the
roster of the officers reveals the names of many who led companies to
the field of battle.