Indiana in the American Civil War
Encyclopedia
Indiana
, a state in the Midwestern United States
, played an important role during the American Civil War
. Despite significant anti-war
activity in the state and southern Indiana
's ancestral ties to the Southern United States
, it did not secede
from the Union
. During the course of the war, Indiana contributed approximately 210,000 soldiers and millions of dollars of equipment and supplies to the Union. Residents of Indiana, also known as Hoosier
s, served in every major engagement of the war and almost every engagement—minor or otherwise—in the western theater
of the war. Indiana, an agriculturally rich state containing the fifth-highest population in the Union and sixth-highest of all states, was critical to Northern success.
The state experienced political strife when Governor
Oliver P. Morton suppressed the Democratic Party
-controlled General Assembly
, which largely sympathized with the Confederacy
, leaving the state without the authority to collect taxes. The state neared bankruptcy during 1861, but the Governor chose to use private funds rather than rely on the legislature. The state experienced two minor raids by Confederate forces and one major raid in 1863, which caused a brief panic in southern portions of the state and in the capital city, Indianapolis
.
The American Civil War altered Indiana's society, politics, and economy, beginning a population shift northward
and leading to a decline in the population of the southern part of the state. Wartime tariff
s led to an increase in the population's standard of living and encouraged the growth of industry in the state.
Indiana was the first state in what was then considered the American Northwest to mobilize
for the Civil War. News of the attack on Fort Sumter
, which began the war, reached Indiana on April 12, 1861. On the next day, two mass meetings were held in the state and the state's position was decided: Indiana would remain in the Union and would immediately contribute men to suppress the rebellion. On April 14, Governor Morton issued a call to arms in order to raise men to meet the quota set by President Abraham Lincoln
. Indiana had the fifth-largest population of any state that remained in the Union, and was important for its agricultural yield which became even more valuable to the Union after the loss of the rich farmland of the South. These factors made Indiana critical to the Union's success.
Lincoln initially requested that Indiana send 7500 men to join the Union Army. Five hundred men assembled the first day, and within three weeks, more than 22,000 men had volunteered—so many that thousands had to be turned away. Before the war ended, Indiana contributed a total of 208,367 men, 15% of the state's total population, to fight and serve in the Union Army
, and 2,130 to serve in the Union Navy
. Most of the soldiers from Indiana were volunteers, and 11,718 men reenlisted at least once. The state only turned to conscription
towards the end of the war, and a relatively small total of 3003 men were drafted. These volunteers and conscripts allowed the state to supply the Union with 126 infantry regiments, 26 batteries of artillery, and 13 regiments of cavalry. By the end of the war, 46 general officers in the Union army had resided in Indiana at some point in their lives.
More than 35% of the Hoosiers
who entered the Union Army became casualties: 24,416 (about 6.75% of total war casualties) lost their lives in the conflict, and more than 50,000 were wounded.
More than 60% of Indiana's regiments were mustered and trained in Indianapolis
, the state capital. The state government financed a large portion of the costs involved, including barracking, feeding, and equipping the soldiers prior to their being sent as reinforcements to the standing Union armies. Indiana also maintained a state-owned arsenal in Indianapolis that served the Indiana home guard and as a backup supply depot for the Union Army.
Abraham Lincoln
established one of the United States' first national cemeteries, New Albany National Cemetery
, for the war dead in New Albany, Indiana
. Port Fulton, Indiana
, in present-day Jeffersonville, was home to the third-largest Union military hospital, Jefferson General Hospital
. Indianapolis was the site of Camp Morton
, one of the Union's largest prisons for captured Confederate soldiers, with Lafayette
, Richmond
, and Terre Haute
occasionally holding prisoners of war as well.
, Indiana
, on July 18, 1862, during the Newburgh Raid
. Johnson convinced the Union troops garrison
ing the town that he had cannon
on the surrounding hills, when in fact they were merely camouflaged stovepipe
s. The raid convinced the federal government that it was necessary to supply Indiana with a permanent force of regular
Union Army soldiers to counter future raids.
The one major incursion into Indiana by the Confederate Army was Morgan's Raid
. The raid occurred in July 1863 and was a Confederate cavalry
offensive by troops under the command of Brigadier General
John Hunt Morgan
. In preparation for Morgan's planned raid, Hines' Raid
, a minor incursion, was carried out by troops under Thomas Hines
in June 1863.
On July 8, 1863, Morgan crossed the Ohio River
at Mauckport
, Indiana
, with 2,400 troopers. His landing was initially contested by a small party of the Indiana Legion, who withdrew when Morgan began firing artillery from the southern shore of the river. The militia quickly retreated towards Corydon
, where a larger body of militia was gathering to block Morgan's advance. Morgan advanced rapidly on Corydon and fought the Battle of Corydon
. After a short, fierce fight, Morgan took command of high ground south of the town. Corydon promptly surrendered after Morgan's artillery fired two warning shots into the town from the high ground. The town was sacked
, but little damage was done to buildings in the town. Morgan continued his raid by moving northward and burning most of the town of Salem
.
His movements appeared to be a charge at Indianapolis
, and panic spread through the capital. Governor Morton had called up the state militia as soon as Morgan's intention to cross into the state was known. More than 60,000 men of all ages came out to repel Morgan's raid. Morgan considered attacking Camp Morton
in Indianapolis to free more than 5,000 Confederate prisoners of war imprisoned there, but decided against it. After destroying Salem, Morgan turned abruptly eastward and began moving towards Ohio
. He continued to raid and pillage his way toward the Indiana-Ohio border until he left Indiana on July 13 as several Union armies began to converge on him. By the time he left, his raid on the North was turning into a desperate attempt to escape back to the South.
Many of Indiana's 165 regiments served with distinction in the war. The regiments each consisted of approximately 1,500 men when formed, but as their numbers declined due to casualties, smaller regiments were merged together. The first six regiments mustered at the start of the war were enlisted for six months and were put into action in the western theater. Their short terms of service and few numbers were inadequate for the task of fighting the war, and by the end of 1861, Indiana fielded an additional sixty-five regiments whose men enlisted for terms of three years. These three-year regiments were employed in large part in the western theater. As the war progressed, another forty-eight regiments were mustered in 1862, with about half being sent to the eastern theater, and the other half remaining in the west. During 1863, eighteen regiments were raised to replace the casualties of the first two years' fighting. During Morgan's Raid of that year, ten temporary regiments were created and enlisted for terms of three months apiece, but disbanded once the threat posed by Morgan was gone. The last twenty-five regiments created in the state were mustered in 1864, and served until the end of the war. Most of Indiana's regiments were mustered out and disbanded by the end of 1864 as fighting declined, but some continued in service. The 13th Regiment Indiana Cavalry was the last regiment from the state to be mustered out of the U.S. Army, leaving service on November 10, 1865.
The 19th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment
served as part of the Iron Brigade
. The 19th made critical contributions to some of the most important engagements of the war, including the Second Battle of Bull Run
, but was almost completely destroyed in the Battle of Gettysburg
.
The 14th Indiana Infantry Regiment
, also called the Gallant Fourteenth, was another notable Indiana regiment. In the Battle of Gettysburg, it was the regiment that secured Cemetery Hill
on the first day of the three-day fight and prevented the possible destruction of the Union Army. Another famous regiment was the 9th Indiana Infantry Regiment
, which fought in many major battles and was among the first Hoosier regiments to see action in the war.
The 28th Indiana Colored Infantry Regiment
was formed on March 31, 1864, at Camp Fremont in Indianapolis near what is now the Fountain Square district. It was the only black regiment formed in Indiana during the war and lost 212 men during the conflict. The regiment signed on for 36 months, but the war was effectively over in fewer than eleven months from their enlistment, cutting the regiment's length of service short.
The last casualty of the Civil War was a Hoosier of the 34th Regiment Indiana Infantry
. Private John J. Williams died at the Battle of Palmito Ranch
on May 13, 1865.
's 1.95%.
Due to their location across the Ohio River
from Louisville
, Kentucky
, the Indiana cities of Jeffersonville
, New Albany
, and Port Fulton
saw increased trade and military activity. Some of this increase was due to Kentucky
's desire to stay neutral in the war. In addition, Kentucky was home to many Confederate sympathizers, and bases were needed for Union operations against Confederates in Kentucky. Militarily, it was safer to store war supplies in towns on the north side of the Ohio River. Camp Joe Holt
was established between Jeffersonville and New Albany in what is the present-day visitor's center of the Falls of the Ohio State Park
in Clarksville
, Indiana
. Towards the end of the war, Port Fulton was home to the third-largest hospital in the United States, Jefferson General Hospital
, which was built on land confiscated from expelled U.S. Senator and Confederate sympathizer Jesse D. Bright
.
In 1861, when Kentucky governor Beriah Magoffin
refused an order to allow pro-Union forces to mobilize in his state—he issued a similar order regarding Confederate forces—Indiana governor Morton issued orders allowing loyal Kentuckians to join Indiana regiments. Many Kentucky troops, especially from the city of Louisville, joined Hoosier regiments at Camp Joe Holt
. Morton repeatedly came to the military rescue of Kentucky
's pro-Union government during the war and became known as the "Governor of Indiana and Kentucky." Morton also was called the "Soldier’s Friend" because he organized the General Military Agency of Indiana, the Soldiers' Home, Ladies' Home, and Orphans' Home to help meet the needs of Indiana's soldiers and their families. Morton also established an arsenal in Indianapolis to supply the Indiana Militia, Home Guard, and the federal government.
The Civil War era showed the extent of Southern influence on Indiana. Much of southern and central Indiana had strong ties to the South. Many of the region's early settlers had come from the Confederate state of Virginia
and from Kentucky. Indiana and Kentucky always had a special friendship, and the Hoosiers were influenced by the actions of the Kentucky government, which attempted to stay neutral in the beginning stages of the war. Governor Morton wrote to President Abraham Lincoln
that no other free state was so populated with southerners, and they kept Morton from being as forceful against secession as he wanted to be.
Indiana Senator Jesse D. Bright
had been a leader among the Indiana Democratic Party for several years prior to the outbreak of the war. In 1862, Bright was expelled from the United States Senate
on allegations of disloyalty. He had written a letter to "His Excellency, Jefferson Davis
, President of the Confederation", in which Bright offered the services of a friend to sell the South firearm
s. As of 2011, he was the last senator to be expelled from the Senate. Bright was replaced with a pro-Union Democrat, former governor Joseph A. Wright
.
of the Indiana General Assembly to allow him to raise additional regiments for service in the Union Army. Initially the legislature, which was controlled by the Democratic Party, was supportive of his measures and passed the legislation Morton requested. After the legislature adjourned in May, the Indiana Daily Sentinel newspaper and some prominent Democrats in the state changed their opinion of the war. The Sentinel ran anti-war articles, including one entitled "Let Them Go In Peace". The Democratic position was clarified at a state convention in the summer of 1862. The convention was chaired by Thomas Hendricks, and convention members stated that they supported the integrity of the Union and the war effort but opposed the abolition of slavery.
During 1862, Morton never called the Indiana General Assembly into session. Morton feared the legislature's Democratic majority would attempt to hinder the war effort and could vote to secede from the Union. He issued secret instructions to Republican legislators, asking them to stay away from the capitol to prevent the General Assembly from attaining the quorum
needed for the body to meet on its own. Because Morton did not allow the General Assembly to meet, no budget or tax provisions were passed. This rapidly led to a crisis as Indiana ran out of money to conduct business, and the state was on the edge of bankruptcy. Going beyond his constitutional power
s, Morton solicited millions of dollars in private loans. His move to subvert the legislature was successful, and Morton was able privately to fund the state government and the war effort in Indiana. In one notable incident, Morton had soldiers disrupt a Democratic state convention in an incident that would latter be referred to as the Battle of Pogue's Run
. Morton urged pro-war Democrats to abandon their party in the name of unity for the duration of the war.
Indiana's political problems worsened after the Emancipation Proclamation
in 1863. Many of the formerly pro-war Democrats moved to openly oppose the war. The same year, Morton began a crackdown on dissidents. While most of the state was decidedly pro-Union, a group of Southern sympathizers known as the Sons of the Golden Circle had a strong presence in northern Indiana. This group proved enough of a distraction that General Lew Wallace
, commander of Union forces in the region, had to spend considerable time fighting their activities. By June 1863, the group was successfully broken up by Wallace and Morton. Many Golden Circle members were arrested without formal charges, the pro-Confederate press was prevented from printing anti-war material, and the writ of habeas corpus
was denied to anyone suspected of disloyalty. Confederate special agent Thomas Hines
went to French Lick
in June 1863, seeking support for Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's eventual raid into Indiana. Hines met with Sons of Liberty
"major general" William A. Bowles
, inquiring if Bowles could offer any support for Morgan's upcoming raid. Bowles told Hines he could raise a force of 10,000, but before the deal was finalized, Hines was told a Union force was approaching, causing him to flee. As a result, there would be no support for Morgan's Raid by Bowles, which caused Morgan
to treat harshly anyone in Indiana who claimed to be sympathetic to the Confederacy.
In reaction to his actions cracking down on dissent, the Indiana Democratic Party called Morton a "Dictator" and an "Underhanded Mobster" while Republicans countered that the Democrats were using "treasonable and obstructionist tactics in the conduct of the war". Large-scale support for the Confederacy among Golden Circle members and Southern Hoosiers in general fell away after Morgan's Raid, when Confederate raiders ransacked many homes bearing the banners of the Golden Circle despite their proclaimed support for the Confederates. After that, said Confederate Colonel Basil W. Duke
, "The Copperheads and Vallandighammers fought harder than the others" against Morgan's Raiders. When Hoosiers failed to rise in large numbers in support of Morgan's Raid, Morton slowed his crackdown on Confederate sympathizers, theorizing that because they had failed to come to Morgan's aid in large numbers, they would similarly fail to come to the aid of a larger invasion.
Smuggling into Confederate territory was common in the early days of the war, when the Union Army had not yet pushed the front lines far to the south of the Ohio River. The towns of New Albany and Jeffersonville were pressured by the Cincinnati Daily Gazette to stop trading with the South, especially with Louisville, as Kentucky’s proclaimed neutrality was perceived as Southern-leaning. A fraudulent steamboat
company was set up to go between Madison
and Louisville, with its boat, the Masonic Gem, making regular trips to Confederate ports for trade. Throughout the war, New Albany and Jeffersonville were the origin of many Northern goods smuggled into the Confederacy.
and the rest of Sugar Creek Township in Shelby County
, twenty miles southeast of Indianapolis, voted to secede from the Union on February 16, 1861. However, the only value the South received from this secession was a brief piece of propaganda. A movement to rescind the secession resolution arose in 1961, but the measure repealing the secession never passed.
While not particularly numerous, some Hoosier
s chose to fight for the South. Most traveled to Kentucky to join Confederate regiments formed in that state. Sgt. Henry L. Stone of Greencastle
rode with John Hunt Morgan when he raided Indiana. The exact number of Hoosiers to serve in Confederate armies is unknown, but there are numerous references to such men. Former U.S. Army officer Francis A. Shoup
briefly led the Indianapolis Zouave
militia, but left for Florida
prior to the start of the war and ultimately become a Confederate Brigadier General.
, a wealthy banker from Madison
, Indiana. On two occasions, Lanier loaned the state more than $1 million (USD
) without security. When the Republican Party gained a legislative majority in 1864, he was paid back and the grateful state preserved his Madison residence
as a historic site. Without Lanier's support the government would certainly have bankrupted and hurt the Union war effort. There was little the legislature could do but watch as the Governor ran the state with private financing, as Morton had the Republican legislators leave Indianapolis for Madison, to prevent a quorum
.
The 1864 Republican legislative majority came at a critical turning point in the war, as the North was slowly tightening the blockade
of the South. The new legislature fully supported Morton's policies and worked to meet the state's commitments to the war effort. It validated the loans Morton had taken to run the state, assumed them as state debt, and commended Morton for his actions in the interim. Later in the year Lincoln again won the state of Indiana's electoral votes, winning 53.6% to George McClellan
's 46.4%.
's surrender reached Indianapolis at 11 p.m. on April 9, 1865. The Indianapolis Journal called the subsequent celebrations within the city "demented". The celebrations ceased after news of the assassination of Lincoln
arrived on April 15. Lincoln's funeral train passed through the capital city on April 30, and 100,000 people attended his bier
at the Indiana State House
.
. The city never regained its pre-war stature, the population leveling at 40,000 people, and only its antebellum, early-Victorian Mansion-Row
remains from its boom period.
The war caused Indiana's industry to grow exponentially. The shift in population to the central and northern portions of the state was accelerated as new industry and cities began to develop around the Great Lakes
and the railroad depots created during the war. In the north, Colonel Eli Lilly
, an officer from the war, founded Eli Lilly and Company
which grew into the state's largest corporation. Charles Conn, another war veteran, founded C.G. Conn Ltd
in Elkhart
which gave rise to a new industry there, building musical instruments. Indianapolis was also the wartime home of Doctor Richard Gatling, who invented the Gatling Gun
, one of the world's first machine guns, in the city. However, it was not officially approved by the United States government until after the war, in August 1866. In contrast to the growing industrial power of central and northern Indiana, Southern Indiana remained largely agricultural for another 40 years.
Indiana's Senators were strong supporters of the radical Reconstruction plans proposed by Congress. Both Oliver Morton (who was elected to the Senate after his term as governor) and Senator Schuyler Colfax
voted in favor of the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson
. Morton was especially disappointed in Congress' failure to remove him.
When the South came back under firm Democratic control at the end of the 1870s, Indiana, which was closely split between the parties, became a key swing state
that often decided the balance of power in Congress and the Presidency. Almost every presidential election between the Civil War and World War I
included one or more Hoosiers as national political parties tried to win the support of Indiana's electorate. In 1888, while at the height of the state's post-war political influence, Benjamin Harrison
was elected President, the first Hoosier to assume the office.
More than half the state's households contributed one or more members to fight in the war. This made the effects of the conflict widely felt throughout the state. After the war, veterans programs were initiated to help wounded soldiers with housing, food, and other basic needs. Orphanages and asylums were established to help the wives and children of the war dead. In terms of the war dead, more Hoosiers died in the Civil War than in any other conflict. Although twice as many men were mustered in World War II
, more than twice as many Hoosiers died in the Civil War.
The tariffs on imported goods put in place during the war increased the profits on most of Indiana's domestically produced goods. This led to a higher standard of living for many Hoosiers in rural Indiana.
The 1870s saw the beginning of the Women's Suffrage Movement in Indiana. Suffrage legislation was introduced in the Indiana General Assembly during the term of Governor Thomas Hendricks, but the bill was defeated. The decade also saw the start of the Prohibition Movement
and the founding of many temperance organizations. In the immediate aftermath of the war, many localities banned the sale or production of liquors.
The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument
in downtown Indianapolis was built to honor the Indiana veterans of the Civil War. The construction began in 1888 after two decades of discussion and was finally completed in 1901.
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, a state in the Midwestern United States
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
, played an important role during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Despite significant anti-war
Copperheads (politics)
The Copperheads were a vocal group of Democrats in the Northern United States who opposed the American Civil War, wanting an immediate peace settlement with the Confederates. Republicans started calling anti-war Democrats "Copperheads," likening them to the venomous snake...
activity in the state and southern Indiana
Southern Indiana
Southern Indiana, in the United States, consists of the 33 counties located in the southernmost part of the state. The region's history and geography has led to a blend of Northern and Southern culture distinct from the remainder of Indiana. It is often considered to be part of the Upland South...
's ancestral ties to the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, it did not secede
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
from the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
. During the course of the war, Indiana contributed approximately 210,000 soldiers and millions of dollars of equipment and supplies to the Union. Residents of Indiana, also known as Hoosier
Hoosier
Hoosier is the official demonym for a resident of the U.S. state of Indiana. Although residents of most U.S. states typically adopt a derivative of the state name, e.g., "Indianan" or "Indianian", natives of Indiana rarely use these. Indiana adopted the nickname "Hoosier State" more than 150...
s, served in every major engagement of the war and almost every engagement—minor or otherwise—in the western theater
Western Theater of the American Civil War
This article presents an overview of major military and naval operations in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.-Theater of operations:...
of the war. Indiana, an agriculturally rich state containing the fifth-highest population in the Union and sixth-highest of all states, was critical to Northern success.
The state experienced political strife when Governor
Governor of Indiana
The Governor of Indiana is the chief executive of the state of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term, and responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government. The governor also shares power with other statewide...
Oliver P. Morton suppressed the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-controlled General Assembly
Indiana General Assembly
The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate...
, which largely sympathized with the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
, leaving the state without the authority to collect taxes. The state neared bankruptcy during 1861, but the Governor chose to use private funds rather than rely on the legislature. The state experienced two minor raids by Confederate forces and one major raid in 1863, which caused a brief panic in southern portions of the state and in the capital city, Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
.
The American Civil War altered Indiana's society, politics, and economy, beginning a population shift northward
Northern Indiana
Northern Indiana is the region of Indiana including 26 counties bordering parts of Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. The area is generally sub-classified into other regions. The northwest is economically and culturally intertwined with Chicago, and is considered part of the Chicago metropolitan area...
and leading to a decline in the population of the southern part of the state. Wartime tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s led to an increase in the population's standard of living and encouraged the growth of industry in the state.
Indiana's contributions
| War | American Civil War American Civil War The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25... |
| Started | April 12, 1861 |
| Ended | April 9, 1865 |
| Soldiers | 208,367 Hoosiers |
| Sailors | 2,130 Hoosiers |
| Killed | 24,416 Hoosiers |
| Wounded | 50,000 Hoosiers |
| Result | Union victory |
Indiana was the first state in what was then considered the American Northwest to mobilize
Mobilization
Mobilization is the act of assembling and making both troops and supplies ready for war. The word mobilization was first used, in a military context, in order to describe the preparation of the Prussian army during the 1850s and 1860s. Mobilization theories and techniques have continuously changed...
for the Civil War. News of the attack on Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
, which began the war, reached Indiana on April 12, 1861. On the next day, two mass meetings were held in the state and the state's position was decided: Indiana would remain in the Union and would immediately contribute men to suppress the rebellion. On April 14, Governor Morton issued a call to arms in order to raise men to meet the quota set by President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. Indiana had the fifth-largest population of any state that remained in the Union, and was important for its agricultural yield which became even more valuable to the Union after the loss of the rich farmland of the South. These factors made Indiana critical to the Union's success.
Lincoln initially requested that Indiana send 7500 men to join the Union Army. Five hundred men assembled the first day, and within three weeks, more than 22,000 men had volunteered—so many that thousands had to be turned away. Before the war ended, Indiana contributed a total of 208,367 men, 15% of the state's total population, to fight and serve in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
, and 2,130 to serve in the Union Navy
Union Navy
The Union Navy is the label applied to the United States Navy during the American Civil War, to contrast it from its direct opponent, the Confederate States Navy...
. Most of the soldiers from Indiana were volunteers, and 11,718 men reenlisted at least once. The state only turned to conscription
Conscription in the United States
Conscription in the United States has been employed several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War...
towards the end of the war, and a relatively small total of 3003 men were drafted. These volunteers and conscripts allowed the state to supply the Union with 126 infantry regiments, 26 batteries of artillery, and 13 regiments of cavalry. By the end of the war, 46 general officers in the Union army had resided in Indiana at some point in their lives.
More than 35% of the Hoosiers
Hoosiers
Hoosiers is a 1986 sports film about a small-town Indiana high school basketball team that wins the state championship. It is loosely based on the Milan High School team that won the 1954 state championship....
who entered the Union Army became casualties: 24,416 (about 6.75% of total war casualties) lost their lives in the conflict, and more than 50,000 were wounded.
More than 60% of Indiana's regiments were mustered and trained in Indianapolis
Indianapolis in the American Civil War
During the American Civil War, Indianapolis, the state capital of Indiana, was a major base of support for the Union. The governor of Indiana, Oliver Hazard Perry Morton, was a major supporter of President Abraham Lincoln and he quickly made Indianapolis a rallying point for Union Army forces as...
, the state capital. The state government financed a large portion of the costs involved, including barracking, feeding, and equipping the soldiers prior to their being sent as reinforcements to the standing Union armies. Indiana also maintained a state-owned arsenal in Indianapolis that served the Indiana home guard and as a backup supply depot for the Union Army.
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
established one of the United States' first national cemeteries, New Albany National Cemetery
New Albany National Cemetery
New Albany National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of New Albany, in Floyd County, Indiana. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2005, had 6,881 interments. It is administered by Zachary Taylor National Cemetery.- History :...
, for the war dead in New Albany, Indiana
New Albany, Indiana
New Albany is a city in Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River opposite Louisville, Kentucky. In 1900, 20,628 people lived in New Albany; in 1910, 20,629; in 1920, 22,992; and in 1940, 25,414. The population was 36,372 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of...
. Port Fulton, Indiana
Port Fulton, Indiana
Port Fulton was a town located two miles up the river from Louisville, within present-day Jeffersonville, Indiana. At its height it stretched from the Ohio River to modern-day 10th Street, and from Crestview to Jefferson/Main Streets....
, in present-day Jeffersonville, was home to the third-largest Union military hospital, Jefferson General Hospital
Jefferson General Hospital
Jefferson General Hospital was the third-largest hospital during the American Civil War, located at Port Fulton, Indiana and was active between February 21, 1864 and December 1866. The land was owned by U.S Senator from Indiana Jesse D. Bright. Bright was sympathetic to the Confederates, and was...
. Indianapolis was the site of Camp Morton
Camp Morton
Camp Morton was a Union prisoner-of-war camp located in Indianapolis, Indiana during the American Civil War. It was named for Indiana governor Oliver Morton, who was the governor of Indiana during the War. It lasted from 1861-1865...
, one of the Union's largest prisons for captured Confederate soldiers, with Lafayette
Lafayette, Indiana
Lafayette is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 67,140. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, which has a large impact on...
, Richmond
Richmond, Indiana
Richmond is a city largely within Wayne Township, Wayne County, in east central Indiana, United States, which borders Ohio. The city also includes the Richmond Municipal Airport, which is in Boston Township and separated from the rest of the city...
, and Terre Haute
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
occasionally holding prisoners of war as well.
Conflicts
Indiana regiments were present on most battlefields of the Civil War and saw much fighting outside of the state. Only one significant conflict, which caused a brief panic in Indianapolis and southern Indiana, occurred on Indiana soil during the war.Raids
Confederate officer Adam Johnson briefly captured NewburghNewburgh, Indiana
Newburgh is a town in Ohio Township, Warrick County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,325 at the 2010 census, which also recorded a population of 342,815 for the entire Evansville metropolitan area.-Geography:...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, on July 18, 1862, during the Newburgh Raid
Newburgh Raid
The Newburgh Raid was an incident that occurred during the American Civil War. In it, Confederate colonel Adam Rankin Johnson captured the town of Newburgh, Indiana on July 18, 1862, using a force of only 35 men, mostly partisans he had recruited from nearby Henderson, Kentucky.Prior to the raid,...
. Johnson convinced the Union troops garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
ing the town that he had cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
on the surrounding hills, when in fact they were merely camouflaged stovepipe
Chimney
A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
s. The raid convinced the federal government that it was necessary to supply Indiana with a permanent force of regular
Regular Army
The Regular Army of the United States was and is the successor to the Continental Army as the country's permanent, professional military establishment. Even in modern times the professional core of the United States Army continues to be called the Regular Army...
Union Army soldiers to counter future raids.
The one major incursion into Indiana by the Confederate Army was Morgan's Raid
Morgan's Raid
Morgan's Raid was a highly publicized incursion by Confederate cavalry into the Northern states of Indiana and Ohio during the American Civil War. The raid took place from June 11–July 26, 1863, and is named for the commander of the Confederates, Brig. Gen...
. The raid occurred in July 1863 and was a Confederate cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
offensive by troops under the command of Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
John Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan was a Confederate general and cavalry officer in the American Civil War.Morgan is best known for Morgan's Raid when, in 1863, he and his men rode over 1,000 miles covering a region from Tennessee, up through Kentucky, into Indiana and on to southern Ohio...
. In preparation for Morgan's planned raid, Hines' Raid
Hines' Raid
The Hines' Raid was a Confederate exploratory mission led by Thomas Hines, on orders from John Hunt Morgan, into the state of Indiana in June 1863 during the American Civil War...
, a minor incursion, was carried out by troops under Thomas Hines
Thomas Hines
Thomas Henry Hines was a Confederate spy during the American Civil War. A native of Butler County, Kentucky, he initially worked as a grammar instructor, mainly at the Masonic University of La Grange, Kentucky. During the first year of the war, he served as a field officer, initiating several...
in June 1863.
On July 8, 1863, Morgan crossed the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
at Mauckport
Mauckport, Indiana
Mauckport is a town in Heth Township, Harrison County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 81 at the 2010 census.-History:In the earliest times Daniel Boone and his brothers, most notably Squire Boone, were regularly in the area of Mauckport. Squire Boone settled in the area in 1806...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, with 2,400 troopers. His landing was initially contested by a small party of the Indiana Legion, who withdrew when Morgan began firing artillery from the southern shore of the river. The militia quickly retreated towards Corydon
Corydon, Indiana
Corydon is a town in Harrison Township, Harrison County, Indiana, United States, founded in 1808, and is known as Indiana's First State Capital. After Vincennes, Corydon was the second capital of the Indiana Territory from May 1, 1813, until December 11, 1816. After statehood, the town was the...
, where a larger body of militia was gathering to block Morgan's advance. Morgan advanced rapidly on Corydon and fought the Battle of Corydon
Battle of Corydon
The Battle of Corydon was a minor engagement that took place July 9, 1863, just south of Corydon, which had been the original capital of Indiana until 1825, and was the county seat of Harrison County. The attack occurred during Morgan's Raid in the American Civil War as a force of 2,500 cavalry...
. After a short, fierce fight, Morgan took command of high ground south of the town. Corydon promptly surrendered after Morgan's artillery fired two warning shots into the town from the high ground. The town was sacked
Looting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
, but little damage was done to buildings in the town. Morgan continued his raid by moving northward and burning most of the town of Salem
Salem, Indiana
Salem is a city in Washington Township, Washington County, Indiana, United States. Salem serves as the county seat, and its downtown area is on the National Register of Historic Places...
.
His movements appeared to be a charge at Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, and panic spread through the capital. Governor Morton had called up the state militia as soon as Morgan's intention to cross into the state was known. More than 60,000 men of all ages came out to repel Morgan's raid. Morgan considered attacking Camp Morton
Camp Morton
Camp Morton was a Union prisoner-of-war camp located in Indianapolis, Indiana during the American Civil War. It was named for Indiana governor Oliver Morton, who was the governor of Indiana during the War. It lasted from 1861-1865...
in Indianapolis to free more than 5,000 Confederate prisoners of war imprisoned there, but decided against it. After destroying Salem, Morgan turned abruptly eastward and began moving towards Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. He continued to raid and pillage his way toward the Indiana-Ohio border until he left Indiana on July 13 as several Union armies began to converge on him. By the time he left, his raid on the North was turning into a desperate attempt to escape back to the South.
Indiana regiments
19th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 19th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was one of the original regiments in the Army of the Potomac's Iron Brigade.-Service:...
served as part of the Iron Brigade
Iron Brigade
The Iron Brigade, also known as the Iron Brigade of the West or the Black Hat Brigade, was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Although it fought entirely in the Eastern Theater, it was composed of regiments from Western states...
. The 19th made critical contributions to some of the most important engagements of the war, including the Second Battle of Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...
, but was almost completely destroyed in the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
.
The 14th Indiana Infantry Regiment
14th Indiana Infantry Regiment
The 14th Indiana Infantry Regiment, otherwise known as the Gallant Fourteenth, was an Civil War infantry regiment. A part of the celebrated Gibraltar Brigade of the Army of the Potomac, the 14th helped secure Cemetery Hill during the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.- Service :*The 14th Indiana was...
, also called the Gallant Fourteenth, was another notable Indiana regiment. In the Battle of Gettysburg, it was the regiment that secured Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill is a Gettysburg Battlefield landform which had 1863 military engagements each day of the July 1–3 Battle of Gettysburg. The northernmost part of the Army of the Potomac defensive "fish-hook" line, the hill is gently sloped and provided a site for American Civil War artillery...
on the first day of the three-day fight and prevented the possible destruction of the Union Army. Another famous regiment was the 9th Indiana Infantry Regiment
9th Indiana Infantry Regiment
The 9th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was organized on April 22, 1861, for three-months' service in Indianapolis...
, which fought in many major battles and was among the first Hoosier regiments to see action in the war.
The 28th Indiana Colored Infantry Regiment
28th Regiment United States Colored Troops
The 28th Regiment United States Colored Troops, also called the 28th Regiment Indiana Infantry 1, was an African American combat unit from the state of Indiana that fought in the American Civil War.-History:...
was formed on March 31, 1864, at Camp Fremont in Indianapolis near what is now the Fountain Square district. It was the only black regiment formed in Indiana during the war and lost 212 men during the conflict. The regiment signed on for 36 months, but the war was effectively over in fewer than eleven months from their enlistment, cutting the regiment's length of service short.
The last casualty of the Civil War was a Hoosier of the 34th Regiment Indiana Infantry
34th Regiment Indiana Infantry
The 34th Regiment Indiana Infantry, also known as The Morton Rifles, was organized at Anderson, Indiana, and mustered in September 16, 1861- Service :*Moved to Jeffersonville, Indiana, October 10, 1861....
. Private John J. Williams died at the Battle of Palmito Ranch
Battle of Palmito Ranch
The Battle of Palmito Ranch, also known as the Battle of Palmito Hill and the Battle of Palmetto Ranch, was fought on May 12–13, 1865, during the American Civil War. It was the last major clash of arms in the war...
on May 13, 1865.
Politics
Although winning only 40% of the vote nationwide in 1860, Abraham Lincoln won Indiana's 13 electoral votes with 51.09% of the vote statewide, compared to Stephen Douglas's 42.44%, John Breckenridge's 4.52%, and John BellJohn Bell (Tennessee politician)
John Bell was a U.S. politician, attorney, and plantation owner. A wealthy slaveholder from Tennessee, Bell served in the United States Congress in both the House of Representatives and Senate. He began his career as a Democrat, he eventually fell out with Andrew Jackson and became a Whig...
's 1.95%.
Due to their location across the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
from Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, the Indiana cities of Jeffersonville
Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville is a city in Clark County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It is directly across the Ohio River to the north of Louisville, Kentucky along I-65. The population was 44,953 at the 2010 census...
, New Albany
New Albany, Indiana
New Albany is a city in Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River opposite Louisville, Kentucky. In 1900, 20,628 people lived in New Albany; in 1910, 20,629; in 1920, 22,992; and in 1940, 25,414. The population was 36,372 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of...
, and Port Fulton
Port Fulton, Indiana
Port Fulton was a town located two miles up the river from Louisville, within present-day Jeffersonville, Indiana. At its height it stretched from the Ohio River to modern-day 10th Street, and from Crestview to Jefferson/Main Streets....
saw increased trade and military activity. Some of this increase was due to Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
's desire to stay neutral in the war. In addition, Kentucky was home to many Confederate sympathizers, and bases were needed for Union operations against Confederates in Kentucky. Militarily, it was safer to store war supplies in towns on the north side of the Ohio River. Camp Joe Holt
Camp Joe Holt
Camp Joe Holt was a Union base during the American Civil War in Jeffersonville, Indiana, across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky on land that is now part of Clarksville, Indiana, near the Big Eddy. It was a major staging area for troops in the Western Theatre of the War, in preparation for...
was established between Jeffersonville and New Albany in what is the present-day visitor's center of the Falls of the Ohio State Park
Falls of the Ohio State Park
Falls of the Ohio State Park is a state park in Indiana. It is located on the banks of the Ohio River at Clarksville, Indiana, across from Louisville, Kentucky.The park is part of the Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area...
in Clarksville
Clarksville, Indiana
Clarksville is a town in Clark County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River as a part of the Louisville Metropolitan area. The population was 21,724 at the 2010 census. The town, once a home site to George Rogers Clark, was founded in 1783 and is the oldest American town in the Northwest...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. Towards the end of the war, Port Fulton was home to the third-largest hospital in the United States, Jefferson General Hospital
Jefferson General Hospital
Jefferson General Hospital was the third-largest hospital during the American Civil War, located at Port Fulton, Indiana and was active between February 21, 1864 and December 1866. The land was owned by U.S Senator from Indiana Jesse D. Bright. Bright was sympathetic to the Confederates, and was...
, which was built on land confiscated from expelled U.S. Senator and Confederate sympathizer Jesse D. Bright
Jesse D. Bright
Jesse David Bright was the ninth Lieutenant Governor of Indiana and U.S. Senator from Indiana who served as President pro tempore of the Senate on three separate occasions...
.
Southern influence
Beriah Magoffin
Beriah Magoffin was the 21st Governor of Kentucky, serving during the early part of the Civil War. Personally, Magoffin adhered to a states' rights position, including the right of a state to secede from the Union, and he sympathized with the Confederate cause...
refused an order to allow pro-Union forces to mobilize in his state—he issued a similar order regarding Confederate forces—Indiana governor Morton issued orders allowing loyal Kentuckians to join Indiana regiments. Many Kentucky troops, especially from the city of Louisville, joined Hoosier regiments at Camp Joe Holt
Camp Joe Holt
Camp Joe Holt was a Union base during the American Civil War in Jeffersonville, Indiana, across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky on land that is now part of Clarksville, Indiana, near the Big Eddy. It was a major staging area for troops in the Western Theatre of the War, in preparation for...
. Morton repeatedly came to the military rescue of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
's pro-Union government during the war and became known as the "Governor of Indiana and Kentucky." Morton also was called the "Soldier’s Friend" because he organized the General Military Agency of Indiana, the Soldiers' Home, Ladies' Home, and Orphans' Home to help meet the needs of Indiana's soldiers and their families. Morton also established an arsenal in Indianapolis to supply the Indiana Militia, Home Guard, and the federal government.
The Civil War era showed the extent of Southern influence on Indiana. Much of southern and central Indiana had strong ties to the South. Many of the region's early settlers had come from the Confederate state of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and from Kentucky. Indiana and Kentucky always had a special friendship, and the Hoosiers were influenced by the actions of the Kentucky government, which attempted to stay neutral in the beginning stages of the war. Governor Morton wrote to President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
that no other free state was so populated with southerners, and they kept Morton from being as forceful against secession as he wanted to be.
Indiana Senator Jesse D. Bright
Jesse D. Bright
Jesse David Bright was the ninth Lieutenant Governor of Indiana and U.S. Senator from Indiana who served as President pro tempore of the Senate on three separate occasions...
had been a leader among the Indiana Democratic Party for several years prior to the outbreak of the war. In 1862, Bright was expelled from the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on allegations of disloyalty. He had written a letter to "His Excellency, Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
, President of the Confederation", in which Bright offered the services of a friend to sell the South firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s. As of 2011, he was the last senator to be expelled from the Senate. Bright was replaced with a pro-Union Democrat, former governor Joseph A. Wright
Joseph A. Wright
Joseph Albert Wright was the tenth Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from December 5, 1849 to January 12, 1857, most noted for his opposition to banking. His positions created a rift between him and the Indiana General Assembly who overrode all of his anti-banking vetoes...
.
Conflict with the Democrats
On April 21, 1861, Morton called a special sessionSpecial session
In a legislature, a special session is a period when the body convenes outside of the normal legislative session. This most frequently occurs in order to complete unfinished tasks for the year , such as outlining the government's budget for the next fiscal year, biennium, or other period...
of the Indiana General Assembly to allow him to raise additional regiments for service in the Union Army. Initially the legislature, which was controlled by the Democratic Party, was supportive of his measures and passed the legislation Morton requested. After the legislature adjourned in May, the Indiana Daily Sentinel newspaper and some prominent Democrats in the state changed their opinion of the war. The Sentinel ran anti-war articles, including one entitled "Let Them Go In Peace". The Democratic position was clarified at a state convention in the summer of 1862. The convention was chaired by Thomas Hendricks, and convention members stated that they supported the integrity of the Union and the war effort but opposed the abolition of slavery.
During 1862, Morton never called the Indiana General Assembly into session. Morton feared the legislature's Democratic majority would attempt to hinder the war effort and could vote to secede from the Union. He issued secret instructions to Republican legislators, asking them to stay away from the capitol to prevent the General Assembly from attaining the quorum
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
needed for the body to meet on its own. Because Morton did not allow the General Assembly to meet, no budget or tax provisions were passed. This rapidly led to a crisis as Indiana ran out of money to conduct business, and the state was on the edge of bankruptcy. Going beyond his constitutional power
Constitution of Indiana
There have been two Constitutions of the State of Indiana. The first constitution was created when the Territory of Indiana sent forty-three delegates to a constitutional convention on June 10, 1816 to establish a constitution for the proposed State of Indiana after the United States Congress had...
s, Morton solicited millions of dollars in private loans. His move to subvert the legislature was successful, and Morton was able privately to fund the state government and the war effort in Indiana. In one notable incident, Morton had soldiers disrupt a Democratic state convention in an incident that would latter be referred to as the Battle of Pogue's Run
Battle of Pogue's Run
The so-called Battle of Pogue's Run took place in Indianapolis, Indiana on May 20, 1863. It was believed that many of the delegates to the Democrat state convention had firearms, in the hope of inciting a rebellion. Union soldiers entered the hall that the convention took place, and found...
. Morton urged pro-war Democrats to abandon their party in the name of unity for the duration of the war.
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation is an executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War using his war powers. It proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves, and immediately freed 50,000 of them, with nearly...
in 1863. Many of the formerly pro-war Democrats moved to openly oppose the war. The same year, Morton began a crackdown on dissidents. While most of the state was decidedly pro-Union, a group of Southern sympathizers known as the Sons of the Golden Circle had a strong presence in northern Indiana. This group proved enough of a distraction that General Lew Wallace
Lew Wallace
Lewis "Lew" Wallace was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, territorial governor and statesman, politician and author...
, commander of Union forces in the region, had to spend considerable time fighting their activities. By June 1863, the group was successfully broken up by Wallace and Morton. Many Golden Circle members were arrested without formal charges, the pro-Confederate press was prevented from printing anti-war material, and the writ of habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
was denied to anyone suspected of disloyalty. Confederate special agent Thomas Hines
Thomas Hines
Thomas Henry Hines was a Confederate spy during the American Civil War. A native of Butler County, Kentucky, he initially worked as a grammar instructor, mainly at the Masonic University of La Grange, Kentucky. During the first year of the war, he served as a field officer, initiating several...
went to French Lick
French Lick, Indiana
French Lick is a town in French Lick Township, Orange County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,807 at the 2010 census. In early 2006 the French Lick Resort Casino, the state's tenth casino in the modern legalized era, opened drawing national attention to the small town.- History :French...
in June 1863, seeking support for Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's eventual raid into Indiana. Hines met with Sons of Liberty
Sons of Liberty
The Sons of Liberty were a political group made up of American patriots that originated in the pre-independence North American British colonies. The group was formed to protect the rights of the colonists from the usurpations by the British government after 1766...
"major general" William A. Bowles
William A. Bowles
William A. Bowles was a doctor who led the Knights of the Golden Circle in Indiana in the early 1860s. Earlier he founded the town of French Lick, Indiana and began a resort at an area, which lasts to this day.-Pre-war:...
, inquiring if Bowles could offer any support for Morgan's upcoming raid. Bowles told Hines he could raise a force of 10,000, but before the deal was finalized, Hines was told a Union force was approaching, causing him to flee. As a result, there would be no support for Morgan's Raid by Bowles, which caused Morgan
John Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan was a Confederate general and cavalry officer in the American Civil War.Morgan is best known for Morgan's Raid when, in 1863, he and his men rode over 1,000 miles covering a region from Tennessee, up through Kentucky, into Indiana and on to southern Ohio...
to treat harshly anyone in Indiana who claimed to be sympathetic to the Confederacy.
In reaction to his actions cracking down on dissent, the Indiana Democratic Party called Morton a "Dictator" and an "Underhanded Mobster" while Republicans countered that the Democrats were using "treasonable and obstructionist tactics in the conduct of the war". Large-scale support for the Confederacy among Golden Circle members and Southern Hoosiers in general fell away after Morgan's Raid, when Confederate raiders ransacked many homes bearing the banners of the Golden Circle despite their proclaimed support for the Confederates. After that, said Confederate Colonel Basil W. Duke
Basil W. Duke
Basil Wilson Duke was a Confederate general officer during the American Civil War. His most noted service in the war was as second-in-command for his brother-in-law John Hunt Morgan; Duke would later write a popular account of Morgan's most famous raid: 1863's Morgan's Raid...
, "The Copperheads and Vallandighammers fought harder than the others" against Morgan's Raiders. When Hoosiers failed to rise in large numbers in support of Morgan's Raid, Morton slowed his crackdown on Confederate sympathizers, theorizing that because they had failed to come to Morgan's aid in large numbers, they would similarly fail to come to the aid of a larger invasion.
Smuggling into Confederate territory was common in the early days of the war, when the Union Army had not yet pushed the front lines far to the south of the Ohio River. The towns of New Albany and Jeffersonville were pressured by the Cincinnati Daily Gazette to stop trading with the South, especially with Louisville, as Kentucky’s proclaimed neutrality was perceived as Southern-leaning. A fraudulent steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
company was set up to go between Madison
Madison, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,004 people, 5,092 households, and 3,085 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,402.9 people per square mile . There were 5,597 housing units at an average density of 654.1 per square mile...
and Louisville, with its boat, the Masonic Gem, making regular trips to Confederate ports for trade. Throughout the war, New Albany and Jeffersonville were the origin of many Northern goods smuggled into the Confederacy.
Southern sympathizers
Technically, not all of Indiana remained in the Union during the war. BoggstownBoggstown, Indiana
Boggstown is an unincorporated town in Sugar Creek Township, Shelby County, Indiana. The population has varied between 350 and 500 persons in recent years.During the American Civil War, the town and the surrounding township seceded from the Union....
and the rest of Sugar Creek Township in Shelby County
Shelby County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 43,445 people, 16,561 households, and 12,056 families residing in the county. The population density was 105 people per square mile . There were 17,633 housing units at an average density of 43 per square mile...
, twenty miles southeast of Indianapolis, voted to secede from the Union on February 16, 1861. However, the only value the South received from this secession was a brief piece of propaganda. A movement to rescind the secession resolution arose in 1961, but the measure repealing the secession never passed.
While not particularly numerous, some Hoosier
Hoosier
Hoosier is the official demonym for a resident of the U.S. state of Indiana. Although residents of most U.S. states typically adopt a derivative of the state name, e.g., "Indianan" or "Indianian", natives of Indiana rarely use these. Indiana adopted the nickname "Hoosier State" more than 150...
s chose to fight for the South. Most traveled to Kentucky to join Confederate regiments formed in that state. Sgt. Henry L. Stone of Greencastle
Greencastle, Indiana
Greencastle is a city in Greencastle Township, Putnam County, Indiana, United States, and the county seat of Putnam County. It was founded in 1821 by Scots-Irish American Ephraim Dukes on a land grant. He named the settlement for his hometown of Greencastle, Pennsylvania...
rode with John Hunt Morgan when he raided Indiana. The exact number of Hoosiers to serve in Confederate armies is unknown, but there are numerous references to such men. Former U.S. Army officer Francis A. Shoup
Francis A. Shoup
Francis Asbury Shoup was a lawyer from Indianapolis, Indiana, who decided to become a brigadier general for the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Pre-war:...
briefly led the Indianapolis Zouave
Zouave
Zouave was the title given to certain light infantry regiments in the French Army, normally serving in French North Africa between 1831 and 1962. The name was also adopted during the 19th century by units in other armies, especially volunteer regiments raised for service in the American Civil War...
militia, but left for Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
prior to the start of the war and ultimately become a Confederate Brigadier General.
Republican takeover
For the loans needed to run the state during the long period of no legislative support, Morton turned to James LanierJames Lanier
James Franklin Doughty Lanier was a entrepreneur who lived in Madison, Indiana prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War . Lanier became a wealthy banker with interests in pork packing, the railroads, and real-estate.-Biography:James Lanier was born in 1800 in Beaufort County, North Carolina...
, a wealthy banker from Madison
Madison, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,004 people, 5,092 households, and 3,085 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,402.9 people per square mile . There were 5,597 housing units at an average density of 654.1 per square mile...
, Indiana. On two occasions, Lanier loaned the state more than $1 million (USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
) without security. When the Republican Party gained a legislative majority in 1864, he was paid back and the grateful state preserved his Madison residence
Lanier Mansion
The Lanier Mansion is the 1844 Greek Revival home of James F. D. Lanier, located at 601 West First Street in the Madison Historic District of Madison, Indiana. The home was designed by architect Francis Costigan of Madison....
as a historic site. Without Lanier's support the government would certainly have bankrupted and hurt the Union war effort. There was little the legislature could do but watch as the Governor ran the state with private financing, as Morton had the Republican legislators leave Indianapolis for Madison, to prevent a quorum
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
.
The 1864 Republican legislative majority came at a critical turning point in the war, as the North was slowly tightening the blockade
Anaconda Plan
The Anaconda Plan or Scott's Great Snake is the name widely applied to an outline strategy for subduing the seceding states in the American Civil War. Proposed by General-in-Chief Winfield Scott, the plan emphasized the blockade of the Southern ports, and called for an advance down the Mississippi...
of the South. The new legislature fully supported Morton's policies and worked to meet the state's commitments to the war effort. It validated the loans Morton had taken to run the state, assumed them as state debt, and commended Morton for his actions in the interim. Later in the year Lincoln again won the state of Indiana's electoral votes, winning 53.6% to George McClellan
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
's 46.4%.
Aftermath
News of Confederate General Robert E. LeeRobert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
's surrender reached Indianapolis at 11 p.m. on April 9, 1865. The Indianapolis Journal called the subsequent celebrations within the city "demented". The celebrations ceased after news of the assassination of Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln assassination
The assassination of United States President Abraham Lincoln took place on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, as the American Civil War was drawing to a close. The assassination occurred five days after the commanding General of the Army of Northern Virginia, Robert E. Lee, and his battered Army of...
arrived on April 15. Lincoln's funeral train passed through the capital city on April 30, and 100,000 people attended his bier
Bier
A bier is a stand on which a corpse, coffin or casket containing a corpse, is placed to lie in state or to be carried to the grave.In Christian burial, the bier is often placed in the centre of the nave with candles surrounding it, and remains in place during the funeral.The bier is a flat frame,...
at the Indiana State House
Indiana State House
The Indiana Statehouse is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of Indiana. Housing the Indiana General Assembly, the office of the Governor of Indiana, the Supreme Court of Indiana, and other state officials, it is located in the state capital Indianapolis at 200 West Washington Street...
.
Economic
The Civil War forever altered Indiana’s economy. Before the war, New Albany was the largest city in the state, primarily due to its commerce with the South. More than 50% of the wealthiest Hoosiers had lived in New Albany at the start of the war. Trade with the South dwindled during the war, and after the war much of Indiana saw New Albany as too friendly to the South. New Albany’s formerly robust industry building steamboats for Southern trade ended in 1870. The last steamboat built in New Albany was named the Robert E. LeeRobert E. Lee (steamboat)
The Robert E. Lee, nicknamed the "Monarch of the Mississippi," was a steamboat built in New Albany, Indiana in 1866. The hull was designed by DeWitt Hill, and the riverboat cost more than $200,000 to build. It was named for Robert E...
. The city never regained its pre-war stature, the population leveling at 40,000 people, and only its antebellum, early-Victorian Mansion-Row
Mansion Row Historic District
The Mansion Row Historic District in New Albany, Indiana has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983. It features the various mansions of the city when New Albany was the largest city in Indiana around the time of the American Civil War. The main section is on Main Street from...
remains from its boom period.
The war caused Indiana's industry to grow exponentially. The shift in population to the central and northern portions of the state was accelerated as new industry and cities began to develop around the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
and the railroad depots created during the war. In the north, Colonel Eli Lilly
Colonel Eli Lilly
Eli Lilly was an American soldier, pharmaceutical chemist, industrialist, entrepreneur, and founder of the Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical corporation...
, an officer from the war, founded Eli Lilly and Company
Eli Lilly and Company
Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company. Eli Lilly's global headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States...
which grew into the state's largest corporation. Charles Conn, another war veteran, founded C.G. Conn Ltd
C. G. Conn
C.G. Conn Ltd., sometimes called Conn Instruments or commonly just Conn, was a United States manufacturer of musical instruments, especially brass instruments. In 1985 their Strobotuner division was bought by Peterson Electro-Musical Products, who continue to service their line of products.Assets...
in Elkhart
Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, northwest of Fort Wayne, east of Chicago, and north of Indianapolis...
which gave rise to a new industry there, building musical instruments. Indianapolis was also the wartime home of Doctor Richard Gatling, who invented the Gatling Gun
Gatling gun
The Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. It is well known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat...
, one of the world's first machine guns, in the city. However, it was not officially approved by the United States government until after the war, in August 1866. In contrast to the growing industrial power of central and northern Indiana, Southern Indiana remained largely agricultural for another 40 years.
Political
When the war ended, the state's Democrats were upset over their treatment during the war. The Democratic Party in Indiana staged a quick comeback, and Indiana became the first state after the Civil War to elect a Democratic governor. Thomas Hendricks' rise to office initiated a period of Democratic control that reversed many of the political gains made by the Republican Party during the war.Indiana's Senators were strong supporters of the radical Reconstruction plans proposed by Congress. Both Oliver Morton (who was elected to the Senate after his term as governor) and Senator Schuyler Colfax
Schuyler Colfax
Schuyler Colfax, Jr. was a United States Representative from Indiana , Speaker of the House of Representatives , and the 17th Vice President of the United States . To date, he is one of only two Americans to have served as both House speaker and vice president.President Ulysses S...
voted in favor of the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
. Morton was especially disappointed in Congress' failure to remove him.
When the South came back under firm Democratic control at the end of the 1870s, Indiana, which was closely split between the parties, became a key swing state
Swing state
In United States presidential politics, a swing state is a state in which no single candidate or party has overwhelming support in securing that state's electoral college votes...
that often decided the balance of power in Congress and the Presidency. Almost every presidential election between the Civil War and World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
included one or more Hoosiers as national political parties tried to win the support of Indiana's electorate. In 1888, while at the height of the state's post-war political influence, Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
was elected President, the first Hoosier to assume the office.
Social
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, more than twice as many Hoosiers died in the Civil War.
The tariffs on imported goods put in place during the war increased the profits on most of Indiana's domestically produced goods. This led to a higher standard of living for many Hoosiers in rural Indiana.
The 1870s saw the beginning of the Women's Suffrage Movement in Indiana. Suffrage legislation was introduced in the Indiana General Assembly during the term of Governor Thomas Hendricks, but the bill was defeated. The decade also saw the start of the Prohibition Movement
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
and the founding of many temperance organizations. In the immediate aftermath of the war, many localities banned the sale or production of liquors.
The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument
Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (Indianapolis)
The Indiana Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument is a tall neoclassical monument in the center of Indianapolis, Indiana that was designed by German architect Bruno Schmitz and completed in 1901....
in downtown Indianapolis was built to honor the Indiana veterans of the Civil War. The construction began in 1888 after two decades of discussion and was finally completed in 1901.
See also
- American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
- History of IndianaHistory of IndianaThe history of human activity in Indiana, a US state in the Midwest, began with migratory tribes of Native Americans who inhabited Indiana as early as 8000 BC. Tribes succeeded one another in dominance for several thousand years and reached their peak of development during the period of...
- History of slavery in IndianaHistory of slavery in IndianaSlavery in Indiana occurred between the time of French rule during late seventeenth century and 1826, with a few traces of slavery afterward. When the United States first took control of the region, slavery was tolerated as a necessity to keep peace with the Indians and the French...
- Indiana KlanIndiana KlanThe Indiana Klan was a branch of the Ku Klux Klan, a secret society in the United States that practiced racism and terrorism against minority ethnic and religious groups. The Indiana Klan rose to prominence beginning in the years after World War I when rising levels of eastern and southern European...
- Indianapolis in the American Civil WarIndianapolis in the American Civil WarDuring the American Civil War, Indianapolis, the state capital of Indiana, was a major base of support for the Union. The governor of Indiana, Oliver Hazard Perry Morton, was a major supporter of President Abraham Lincoln and he quickly made Indianapolis a rallying point for Union Army forces as...