Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 59, Number 86, Decatur, Adams County, 12 April 1961 — Page 17

Centennial Section

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Nation’s Bloodiest War Started April 12,1861

One hundred years ago today, early in the morning of April 12th, 1861, Confederate artillery opened the barrage on Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor, that signalled the opening of the Civil War. In the four years that followed, insignificant places with odd names such as Chickamauga, Antietam and Gettysburg became household phrases—phrases touched with the sadness of a lost husband or son. The Civil War was vastly more complex than four years of military engagements. It is the single thread, woven continuous and unbroken, through the fibre of American history. Rumblings can be traced from pre-Revolutionary days. Weak at first, as patriotism bound the infant nation together, it grew stronger each year until

the volcano erupted. In 1961, 100 years later, the everyday voting records in Congress, the reaction around the nation to judiciary opinions handed down, bear evidence that the bluegray thread continues. Growing narrower as time eases the pain of twelve years of reconstruction, it is still a visible, and sometimes ugly, part of Americana. Longest and Bloodiest Surprisingly, the great rebellion still stands as America’s longest and deadliest experience in conflict. World War I, in the one year, seven months and five days the United States was involved, cost 126,000 lives. The Second World War took up three years, eight months and seven days of American history, and killed 407,828. The Civil War, lasting three years, eleven months and twentyeight days, took the appalling toll of 618,222 American lives. Also unique to the war were the military aspects. As Winston Churchill wrote, it was the last “gentlemen’s war.” Never again would great armies do battle and then withdraw, facing each other a few miles apart for as long as six months to gain rest strength, content to feint and maneuver for another battle. Never again would the world see the equal to Lee, as he made the brilliance of his ability and force of his personality as much a weapon as the guns and men he commanded. Never again would the wars of the world be confined to the borders of the battlefields. It was the last of the old, and the first of the new. New and sinister was the real zation of total war developed by the Union armies. Grant, as he moved on Vicksburg through Mississippi, experimented with "living off the land,” and Sherman developed it to a position of world-wide acceptance as he marched through Georgia and South Carolina. Until men learn to live in peace, war was destined to reach the hearths of the innocent: the age of total war had arrived. Development of Firepower The battles of the Civil Wat were many and varied in their nature. From masterful and complicated strategy to simple frontal attacks to battles that never should have been. For the student of the military, there is a wide choice: the last of the great cavalry engagements (excepting the Indian wars); the rise of artillery as a major factor in warfare; the first clash of ironclad ships; transportation, centering around the railroads, as a potent segment of strategy; and always the foot soldier, walking the miles, fighting the battles, counting most of the casualties. Firepower, the ability to kill the enemy, took huge strides forward, if it can be considered a forward step, during the Civil War. The advent of the manufactured musket cartridge, and the development of the Spencer repeating rifle, drastically changed the rate of fire. The Spencer had a devastating affect on Confederate morals when they first ran into the Union cavalry that used the guns. The southern soldiers referred to them as the guns 'the Yanks loaded on Sunday, and shot all week. And through the war, an inseperable part of the whole, moved some of the greatest men, and some of the greatest characters, in the history of this nation. In a period of great men rivaled in America only by the Revolution-

DECATUR D Aliy DEMOCRAT

ary era, the mighty ones arose to the occasion, and the characters went up with them—not to stay in the high place, but to add brief flashes of zest and color to the sombre shades of genius. —“War Is Hell” All of the battles were not fought with guns. There were the political battles, as Lincoln and Davis thrust and parried for the favors of Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri and eastern Tennessee. There were diplomatic battles, as suave consuls waged the battle of wits in the Court of Saint James, in Versailles, and in Moscow. And there was the battle for food. As is so often the case, the hardships of those at home, particularly in the south, were as bad, or worse, than those of the men in the armies. Some of the United States’ greatest papers were products of the Civil War. The familiar Gettysburg address, given by Lincoln at the dedication of the national cemetery, is known to almost; every school student in the coun-j try. The Emancipation Procla-' mation. an eloquent farce in its: own time, has lived to be one of America’s basic beliefs. And few are the hearts that have never been stirred by the beautiful “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” From countless diaries and letters. come the little human interest items that make the whole thing believable. The fact that taps, the final bugle call of the day that still floats through the night in 'American army camps, received its name through the custom of Civil War times. In those days, all of the drilling orders and calls to the troops were given by different rhythms and cadence combinations from the drummer-boy. Even the final order of the day was a soft, even tap. tap, tap of the drum. Armies! change, progress erases many things, but names sometimes linger. to call to memory other days. Sidelights and Oddities Gettysburg is one of the best known battles of the Civil War, and is surrounded with bits of human interest. It is a different slant to note that approaching the battle site, the Southern army moved in from the north, while the Northern army advanced from the south. A lad by the name of Culp left Gettysburg early in the war to fight with the Confederate army. He returned with the Army of Northern Virginia, to be killed in the second day of fighting at a site known as Culp’s Hill —on his father’s farm. The peach tree orchard was the scene of bitter fighting in the second day of the battle, and that night blue and gray mingled again; not to fight, but to pick peaches and eat them. Baseball fans can find some interesting items in the Civil War. Abner Doubleday, founder of the national sport, was a Union general. and performed admirably at Gettysburg. He was also a captain on duty in Sumter when the first shots were fired. Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the late great commissioner of baseball, was named for a Civil War battle site between Chattanooga and Atlanta. While future president Ulysses S. Grant's part in the war is well known, five of the six men that followed him into the highest office in the land also served in the Union army in some capacity. Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Ben-

jamin Harrison and William McKinley were all wearers of the blue. McKinley enlisted as a private in the Ohio volunteer company commanded by Captain Hayes. Grover Cleveland was drafted in 1862, but bowed to the custom of the times, and hired a substitute to serve his hitch. H. U. G, Another sidelight concerns Grant. Anyone that has served in the armed forces, or filed twelve copies of a government report, can appreciate the tale. Grant was christened Hiram Ulysses Grant. Upon his appointment to West Point, the senator doing the honors forgot Grant’s full name. He recollected the Ulysses, and knew Grant’s mother was a Simpson before marriage, so he entered the lad from Ohio as Ulysses Simpson Grant. Young Grant attempted to have the error corrected after his arrival at the Point. But after he saw the red tape involved, he decided it would be easier to let it go. Actually, he had never had much fondness for the name Hiram, or the initials H. U- G. Immediately after the war, a Union captain was giving the oath of loyalty to some former Confederate soldiers, and swearing them into the U. S. Army. One young boy spoke up to the captain, spying, “we sure gave you fellers hell at Chickamauga, didn’t we captain?” The captain gave the young man a thorough berating for bringing up the subject, since the war was over and they had more important things to do. He then went ahead and administered the oaths. After it was over, the same young man asked the captain if he was now a full-fledged member of the United States Army. When he was assured that he was, the new Union army man drawled, “those Rebels sure gave us hell at Chickamagua, didn’t they, captain?” April 9, 1865, and the war was over. And it all started 100 years ago. Gen. George B. McClellan, “Stonewall” Jackson and Gen. George Pickett were graduated in the same class at West Point. Pickett received his appointment to the Academy through John Todd; Stuart, Lincoln’s law partner. 4

sjgf BBUHHB aHraHgn i .... V! "3? I- W l B ~. i-',- - . ; * ••*-*■# ' # i \ THE COUNTRY'S FIRST PEACE MONUMENT-Dedicated in Decatur, Indiana, in 1913, this monument was the first in the country to the principles of peace. It was inspired by the Adams county chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is facing South to show the friendship for those against whom the Civil War veterans had fought.

Decatur, Indiana, Wednesday, April 12,1961.

STATISTICS ON THE CIVIL WAR NORTHERN FORCES Number Battle Other Total Serving Deaths Deaths Deaths Army 2,128,948 138.154 221,374 359,528 Navy - 84,415 2,112 2,411 4,523 Marines —l4B 312 460 2,213,363 140,414 224,097 364,511 SOUTHERN FORCES** Number Battle Other Total Serving Deaths Deaths Deaths Army * 94,000 164,000 258,000 Navy ..... * * * * Marines ' * ”' _ * * * 1,000,000 (Est.) 94,000 164,000 258,000 •♦Conflict of opinion exists among experts regarding Confederate Casualties. James G. Randall’s estimates are offered here. •Figures not available. „ COMPARISON WITH RECENT WARS Battle Deaths Other Deaths Total Deaths Civil War 234,414 388.097 622.511 World War I 53,402 63,114 116,516 World War II .... 291,557 113,842 405.399 Korean War 33,629 20,617 54,246 ESTIMATED COST OF THE WAR The Secretary of tiie Treasury in 1866 reported that the Civil War, to that time, had cost the Federal Government $6.19 billion dollars. The National Debt in 1865 stood at $2.85 billion dollars. It cost the Federal Government nearly $2 million per day from 1861 through 1865 to wage the war. By 1910 the cost of the war, including pensions and burial of veterans, had reached $11.5 billion dollars. The value of the Confederate dollar in gold dropped from 90 cents in 1861 to 6 cents in 1864. Most Confederate dollar bills are worth more today than they were in 1865. Estimated cost of the war to the Union ... $6,190,000,000 Estimated cost of the war to the Confederacy ... $3,000,000,000 *

You Can Help War Historians So you want to help in Adams county’s Civil War Centennial? And you want to know just what you can do? Well. Cal E. Peterson, chairman of the Adams county centennial commision, recommends the following things. First of all, please don’t bring in official documents, such as discharges or land warrants. These are already available to civil war scholars. Valuable Letters But you probably have something even more valuable. What, pray tell? Why, those letters or diaries of your great-grandfather-a soldier in the Civil War. Or. perhaps, you have letters from family members or others to j soldiers, telling of events at home, j Or even, old newspapers, especially local newspapers, which give j accounts of the war. And how about posters, broadsides, regimental histories, or reunion proceeding, or G. A. R. of Sons of Veteran records? And then there are those rare old pictures of local veterans,

battles or hospitals. L Historians Use Copies * -It is important that these documents be carefully copied, preferably by the photostat process, so that historians may use this valuable material. If you have a letter or photo that you think might be valuable, please contact Cal E. Peterson, 215 S. sth, telephone number 34880, and tell him what you have, and whether you would consider lending it briefly so that it can be photostated. Or perhaps you would like to have a relic placed in the Decatur Public Library, or in the State Library and Historical Building, 140 N. Senate, Indianapolis, 4. Ind. If so, just contact Peterson, and he will give you the information that you desire, or see that you get it. Confederate Generals Joseph E Johnston and Samuel Cooper held high positions in the United States Army in 1861. Johnston was the Quartermaster General and Cooper ; the Adjutant General. Johnston in later years was pallbearer at the funerals of General U. S. Grant, Admiral David D. Porter and William T. Sherman. He had faced all three in battle, and his death is said to have been brought on by pneumonia contracted at ’General Sherman’s funeral.

Decatur Weekly Eagle, Paper Before Democrat Placed Story On Inside

One hundred years ago no radio, TV, telephone, loudspeaker, or other mechanical devise announced to the some 9,000 residents of Adams county. No automobiles tooted their horns, no railroad trains heralded the news. While word-of-mouth, then as now, spread the rumor that the much-anticipated war had begun, then as now it was hard to separate the true stories from the rumors' and half-truths. The Decatur Eagle The Decatur Eagle, forerunner of the Decatur Daily Democrat, then publishing a weekly edition, started in 1857, four years before, was first with the news. * Copies of this fine old weekly, with its editorial views very plainly stated, are still maintained by the Decatur public library and the Decatur Daily Democrat. Fred V- Mills, retired- nonSr genarian and son-in-law of the last great editor of the Eagle, also has in his possession a number of volumes of the Eagle. And how was the war announced 100 years ago? In blazing, front page headlines? Pictures? One-Column Story Oh, no. The front page in those days was dedicated to serial stories and jokes. The Advent of the world’s bloodiest civil war was announced politely by a single column headline story on the second pageThe headline read: The War Begun! ATTACK ON FORT SUMPTER! —First gun fired Friday Morning, April 12th, at 4 O’clock, A.M. — THE HARRIET LINE FIRE INTO. —CHARLESTON FILLING WITH TROOPS WAR! WAR! WAR! Telegraphic CorresDondence between Gen. Beauregard and the Secretary of War, of the Confederate State. am Telegrams Published

Three interesting of very interesting telegraphic reports from Charleston on April 13th and 14th follow. They include many facts about the starting on the war now little known. At that time, anyone could listen in on The telegraphic lines of both north and south, so “espionage” at tte ginning of the war was quite simple!. *di The editors of Eagle, like most of the people of Decatur at that time, were much opposed to the election of President Abraham Lincoln. They believed that he would lead the country into a costly, needless war. The editors expressed their sentiment, and not for the last time during the war, on Lincoln’s administration. Red-hot Editorial A. J. Hill and T. Adelsperger were editors and proprietors of the newspaper at die time, and wrote as follows: “The storm that has so long threatened us, has at last burst upon us. “In consequence of the determination of the Administration to provision Fort Sumpter, the forces of the Confederate States commenced the bombardment at an early hour Friday morning last. “The particulars so far as we have received, also the correspondence between Gen. Beauregard and L. P. Walker, Secretary! of War of the Confederacy, may be found in another c^umn: “The news of the commencement of hostilities has everywhere caused intense excitement, in a measure swallowing up parties, and a manifest spirit of determination to stand by the Administration is apparent. The news having been anticipated here caused but little excitement.

“War was considered inevitable (after the election of Lincoln)— folly to protest against it. “The sympathies of the people, not withstanding the unpopularity of the war, are for the success of the stars and .stripes wherever unfurled. “Let those who have clamored for war rejoice that their object is accomplished—let them rally to the trey. “For ourselves, while we hope our government will be able to triumphantly maintain itself in its attempts to maintain its integrity, and in the attempted enforcement of Constitutional obligations, we can see nothing to gain, but everything to lose by such a course.” Southern Reasons The three columns of news reports contained mostly intercepted wires from Confederate officers, explaining why they made certain moves. It is interesting to note that the Confederate General who ordered the firing on Fort Sumpter did so because: “Intercepted dispatches disclose the fact that Mr. Fox, who had been allowed to visit Major Anderson (Commander of the Union fort near Charleston, S.C.) on the pledge that his purpose was pacific, employed his opportunity to devise a plan for supplying the fort by force, and that his plan had been adopted by the Washington government, and was in the process of execution.” Ten intercepted telegrams are given, plus many other interesting reports Os the period* Ornate Uniform Selected for Davis United Press International When Mississippi seceded and made Jefferson Davis a major general and commander-in-chief of the “republic’s” army, the military board drew up specifications for his uniform. The coat was to have two rows of buttons seven in each row, placed at equal distances. The collar was to be of black velvet and to “stand up.” The hat was to be broad brimmed of black felt and to be looped up on three sides on parade and tflL-bear a cord tassel and plume. The shoulder straps — following U. S. Army design — were to bear two stars, not the three stars of Confederate generals. Davis never wore the uniform in service, although he had his picture taken in it.

PROCLAMATION Decatat Civil W4r Centennial Observation WHEREAS, hundreds of Decatur and Adams county men and women, as well as countless antecedents of today’s local citizens, displayed extraordinary patriotism and heroism during the Civil War; and WHEREAS, knowledge and appreciation of their great effort in that war will stimulate local pride f and WHEREAS, it is fitting that the people of Decatur be reminded of the efforts of their orebears who ought and died in the .Civil War to make this great natioh one; and WHEREAS, it is desirable to begin considering the contribution of former local citizens in that war this week, the 100th anniversary of the start of that great war; 1 NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD F. GAGE. MAYOR OF THE CITY OF DECATUR, HEREBY DECLARE; . THAT the week of April 12-19 be set aside to commemorate the beginning of the Civil War; THAT every city office cooperate in every way wjth the patriotic observation of the great war of 1861-65; THAT every citizen attend die Centennial Commencement Ceremony, to be held at the Elks Lodge Sunday afternoon, April 16, to officially begin this community's four-year observance at the centennial of the Civil War; THAT every local citizen help, m so far as ne is able, to locate and preserve all letters, papers, and pictures pertaining to our ancestors’ part in the Civil War. , DONALD T. GAGE, Mayor of Decatur

Centennial Section

Local Man Mad; Writes Governor It was April 15, 1865, nearly 96 years ago, that the people of Adams county received word of the death of President Lincoln. How did they take this news* Hie following letter, part of the official correspondence of Gov. Oliver P. Morton of Indiana, was taken by his son to Chicago, where it was discovered in 1937 when an old public building was torn down, and returned to the Indiana State Library. It is here copied in full. Ossian, Wells Co., Indiana April 23, 1865 Your Excellency O. P. Morton Sir , My duty-prompts one to drop' you a few lines and the citizens of Adams County pray | they may be heard. A man named John Rupright, living in Preble Township, Adams County, Indiana, being a rank Cessionist, has be a Source of Annoyance to us for the last four years. He was the leader of the society called the Knights of the Golden Circle and came very near getting our township raised in arms against the draft and furthermore on Saturday the 15th the news reached us of the death of Mr. Lincoln. I was standing in my yard about 20 Steps from the public road when the Said John Rupright and another man named George Judd passed my house with the team. Mr. Rupright asked me if I had heard of the death of Lincoln. I told him I had and felt sorry for H, and be said at the top of his his voice he was God Darned glad he was dead. They passed on a few rods further and on meeting some Ladies the above named George Judd remarked to them that Lincoln died this morning at seven o’clock and went to hell. And after they got home they gathered up all the bells and old pistols I suppose they had and marched’ up and down the the road until (sic) near midnight (sic), rejoicing over his death. This we think is more than we can bear, and we beg of the authorities to bring them to justice. This statement I have made (sic) here I am ready to be qualified to at any time if necessary. My post office addhess is: Ossian, Wells Co. Indiana. From Yours, Lewis Griffith.