Captain Charles Wright Wills: May 27, 1864

Near Dallas, Ga., May 27, 1864, 8 a. m.

There has been some very heavy fighting on our left this morning, and everywhere along the line. We have been moving in line since 6 o'clock, supporting skirmishers and the 3d Brigade. Have driven the Rebels about three-quarters of a mile. The 14th Corps must have had a severe fight about 6:30. The bullets have whistled pretty thick this a. m.

Skirmish line, 11 a. m. — Osterhaus and Smith (I think), have just had a big fight on our left. At 8:30 I was ordered to take Companies E, K, B and G, deploy them and relieve the 3d Brigade skirmishers. Deployed and moved forward over one-half mile through the very densest brush—couldn't see six feet, expecting every minute to find the 3d Brigade skirmishers, but they had been drawn in, and we were right into the Rebels before we saw them. Three of my company were wounded in an instant and three of K's taken prisoner, but our boys made the Rebels skedaddle, and all of them got away. Twenty-one Rebels came up in rear of Captain Smith and two of his men. Private Benson shot one of them, and Smith roared out for the rest to surrender, which they did. They (Rebels) said they would not have been taken if the Georgia brigade had not fallen back. I think that is doing pretty well for four companies of our regiment, running a whole brigade. Firing is very heavy all around us.

Twelve thirty m. — A chunk of Rebel shell lit 15 feet from me. Lively artillery firing right over head.

Four p. m.—At 2:15, after firing a few shells, the Rebels set up a yell along our whole front. I knew a charge was coming. At 2:30 another yell was much nearer. My men then commenced firing on them, but they came on yelling pretty well, but not as heartily as I have heard. They came jumping along through the brush more then, making the bullets rain among us. I think they could not fly much thicker. My men did nobly,but they were too many for us, and we had to fall back. I heard their officers halloo to them, “to yell and stand steady,” and they were right amongst us before we left. Our line of battle checked them and made them run. I lost A. Huffard — killed; Seth Williams — died in two hours; Wm. Gustine — severely wounded; E. Suydam — ditto; S. Hudson — ditto; H. Stearns — slight wound; J. H. Craig — ditto; F. Cary — ditto; W. Roberts — ditto; W. G. Dunblazier — captured.

Seven p. m. — I tell you this was exciting. My men all stood like heroes (save one), and some of them did not fall back when I wanted them to. The bush was so thick that we could hardly get through in any kind of line. Gustine and Suydam were about 20 feet on my left when they were shot, but I couldn't see them. The Rebels were not 15 feet from them. I had 31 men on the line, and nine killed and wounded, and one prisoner, is considerable of a loss. They took six more of Company K prisoners, but three of them got off. I don't think anyone can imagine how exciting such a fracas as that is in thick brush. As quick as our line started the Rebels running, I went back on the ground, and found a lot of dead and wounded Rebels. Every prisoner of the 20th Georgia had whiskey in his canteen, and all said they had all issued to them that they wanted. I never say such a dirty, greasy, set of mortals. They have had no rest since they left Dalton. On account of my skirmishers losing so heavily, we have been relieved from the line, and are now in rifle pits, and are supporting those who relieved us.

SOURCE: Charles Wright Wills, Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, p. 248-50

Abraham Lincoln’s Speech from the Steps of the Capitol at Columbus, Ohio, February 13, 1861

Ladies And Gentlemen: I appear before you only to address you very briefly. I shall do little else than to thank you for this very kind reception; to greet you and bid you farewell. I should not find strength, if I were otherwise inclined, to repeat speeches of very great length, upon every occasion similar to this — although few so large — which will occur on my way to the Federal Capital. The General Assembly of the great State of Ohio has just done me the honor to receive me, and to hear a few broken remarks from myself. Judging from what I see, I infer that the reception was one without party distinction, and one of entire kindness — one that had nothing in it beyond a feeling of the citizenship of the United States of America. Knowing, as I do, that any crowd, drawn together as this has been, is made up of the citizens near about, and that in this county of Franklin there is great difference of political sentiment, and those agreeing with me having a little the shortest row; from this and the circumstances I have mentioned, I infer that you do me the honor to meet me here without distinction of party. I think this is as it should be. Many of you who were not favorable to the election of myself to the Presidency, were favorable to the election of the distinguished Senator from the State in which I reside. If Senator Douglas had been elected to the Presidency in the late contest, I think my friends would have joined heartily in meeting and greeting him on his passage through your Capital, as you have me to-day. If any of the other candidates had been elected, I think it would have been altogether becoming and proper for all to have joined in showing honor quite as well to the office and the country as to the man. The people are themselves honored by such a concentration. I am doubly thankful that you have appeared here to give me this greeting. It is not much to me, for I shall very soon pass away from you; but we have a large country and a large future before us, and the manifestations of good will towards the Government, and affection for the Union, which you may exhibit, are of immense value to you and your posterity forever. In this point of view it is that I thank you most heartily for the exhibition you have given me; and with this, allow me to bid you an affectionate farewell.

SOURCE:  Roy P. Basler, Editor, Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 4, p. 205-6

Abraham Lincoln’s Address to the Ohio Legislature, Columbus, Ohio, February 13, 1861

Mr. President, Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen of the General Assembly:—

It is true, as has been said by the president of the Senate, that a very great responsibility rests upon me in the position to which the votes of the American people have called me. I am deeply sensible of that weighty responsibility. I cannot but know, what you all know, that without a name, perhaps without a reason why I should have a name, there has fallen upon me a task such as did not rest even upon the Father of his Country; and so feeling, I cannot but turn and look for that support without which it will be impossible for me to perform that great task. I turn then, and look to the great American people, and to that God who has never forsaken them.

Allusion has been made to the interest felt in relation to the policy of the new Administration. In this I have received from some a degree of credit for having kept silence, and from others, some deprecation. I still think I was right.

In the varying and repeatedly shifting scenes of the present, and without a precedent which could enable me to judge by the past, it has seemed fitting that before speaking upon the difficulties of the country, I should have gained a view of the whole field, being at liberty to modify and change the course of policy as future events may make a change necessary.

I have not maintained silence from any want of real anxiety. It is a good thing that there is no more than anxiety, for there is nothing going wrong. It is a consoling circumstance that when we look out, there is nothing that really hurts anybody. We entertain different views upon political questions, but nobody is suffering anything. This is a most consoling circumstance, and from it we may conclude that all we want is time, patience, and a reliance on that God who has never forsaken this people.  Fellow citizens, what I have said, I have said altogether extemporaneously, and I will now come to a close.

SOURCES: Roy P. Basler, Editor, Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 4, p. 204-5; “The President Elect at Columbus,” Cincinnati Daily Press, Cincinnati, Ohio, Thursday Morning, February 14, 1861, p. 2

Diary of Captain Luman Harris Tenney: Sunday, January 1, 1865

After roll call earned a breakfast by chopping wood. Made a good fire. Drew a load of bricks from the country. Many of the boys are suffering from poor boots and short rations. Have worked some today, but conscience clear.

SOURCE: Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 141

Diary of Captain Luman Harris Tenney: Monday, January 2, 1865

Commenced building fireplace. Morrison worked for me. Very busy day. Tired out at night.

SOURCE: Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 141

Diary of Captain Luman Harris Tenney: January 3, 1865

Finished the chimney and moved into the new house — little more than 8 ft. square.

SOURCE: Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 141

Diary of Captain Luman Harris Tenney: Wednesday, January 4, 1865

Charge of picket. This morning failed to get out at roll call. Did not hear the bugle. My first failure since I have been an officer in the 2nd Ohio. A very cold windy day. Reserve at a large stone barn.

SOURCE: Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 141

Diary of Captain Luman Harris Tenney: Thursday, January 5, 1865

Relieved late in the day.

SOURCE: Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 141

Diary of Captain Luman Harris Tenney: Friday, January 6, 1865

Worked on house some. Uncomfortable day.

SOURCE: Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 141

Diary of Captain Luman Harris Tenney: Saturday, January 7, 1865

Letter from home. Sarah Felton.

SOURCE: Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 141

Official Reports of the Campaign in North Alabama and Middle Tennessee, November 14, 1864 — January 23, 1865: No. 112. Report of Col. Oliver L. Spaulding, Twenty-third Michigan Infantry, of operations November 24-December 5, 1864.

No. 112.

Report of Col. Oliver L. Spaulding, Twenty-third Michigan Infantry,

of operations November 24-December 5, 1864.

HDQRS. TWENTY-THIRD MICHIGAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY,  

Nashville, Tenn., December 5, 1864.

CAPTAIN: In compliance with orders of the colonel commanding brigade, I have the honor to submit the following report of the operations of the regiment under my command from the 24th of November last to date:

On the 24th of November the regiment was at Johnsonville, Tenn., under orders to rejoin the brigade at Columbia. At 4 p.m. of that day it left Johnsonville by rail, and arrived at Columbia at noon on the 25th, and immediately built works on that part of the line to which it was assigned, sending five companies on picket. At 2 o'clock the next morning the regiment retired with the brigade some two miles, near to Duck River, and was occupied all day and night in building works on the left of the brigade line. On the morning of the 27th we were ordered to move to the right, where we took up a new position, our right resting upon the railroad a short distance from the railroad bridge, and threw up works. In the afternoon the regiment was ordered on a reconnaissance to the right of our line to ascertain what force, if any, the enemy had thrown across the river at a ford some six miles on our right. Having accomplished the object of the reconnaissance we returned to camp shortly after dark and crossed the river, with the brigade, (luring the night, taking position on the north bank of the river a short distance to the right of the railroad bridge. We remained here till morn of the 29th, when we retired with the division toward Franklin, reaching there on the morning of the 30th. On the evening of the 29th, when near Spring Hill, a body of the enemy was found to be in our front. In the advance upon them this regiment was thrown on the right flank of the line to move by the flank in the rear of the line and guard against any movement the enemy might make upon that flank. I threw out flankers, who, in the darkness, ran upon the pickets of the enemy. In the confusion we captured a rebel adjutant-general. On arriving at Franklin we threw up works in the position assigned us, throwing up traverses upon the flanks of each company, which proved of the greatest service to us in the engagement of the evening, as the enemy had a heavy flank fire upon us during most of the time. At a little past 4 p.m. the enemy assaulted our works with three lines, apparently confident of carrying them with ease, but after a most stubborn attempt he evidently became convinced that he had undertaken a very heavy contract, and one which one of the high contracting parties had no idea of ratifying. He renewed the attack several times, only to be repulsed each time, with terrible loss. During the engagement the left of the regiment was more hardly pressed than the right, and most of my fire was left oblique. At one time two companies of the One hundred and eighty-third Ohio, on our immediate left, broke and left their part of the Works unprotected. A body of the enemy occupied the outside of these works for some time. Here we shot down two color-bearers, and prevented their entering the works, till they were again occupied by two companies of the Eightieth Indiana. As the Eightieth was moving to the left to occupy this position I threw one company on the right center — where the enemy's fire at that time was very light — over the works, and fired one volley into rebels as they lay upon the outside of our works. During the engagement we took among other prisoners Lieutenant Lee, aide-de-camp, of General S. D. Lee's staff.

My loss during the engagement was 2 killed, 13 wounded, and 3 missing. Among the killed was Lieut. D. M. Averill, a brave and thorough officer.

Shortly after midnight we crossed the river with the division, and reached Nashville shortly after noon of December 1.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

O. L. SPAULDING, 

Colonel, Commanding.

Capt. H. A. HALE,

Assistant Adjutant-General Second Brigade.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 45, Part 1 (Serial No. 93), p. 385-6

1st Indiana Cavalry

Organized at Evansville, Ind., and mustered in August 20, 1861. Left State for St. Louis, Mo., August 21; thence moved to Ironton, Mo. Duty at and near Ironton till February, 1862. Skirmish at Black River, Ironton, September 12, 1861. Operations about Ironton and Fredericktown October 12-21. Skirmish at Fredericktown October 18. Action at Fredericktown October 21. Attached to Dept. of Missouri to February, 1862. District of Southeast Missouri to May, 1862. 1st Division, Army of Southwest Missouri, to July, 1862. District of Eastern Arkansas, Dept. of Missouri, to December, 1862. 1st Brigade, 3rd (Cavalry) Division, District of Eastern Arkansas, Dept. of the Tennessee, to April, 1863. 1st Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division, 13th Army Corps, Dept. of the Tennessee, to April, 1863. 1st Brigade, Cavalry Division, District of Eastern Arkansas, to June, 1863. Clayton's Independent Cavalry Brigade, District of Eastern Arkansas, to July, 1863. Clayton's Cavalry Brigade, 13th Division, 16th Army Corps, to August, 1863. Clayton's Cavalry Brigade, Arkansas Expedition, to January, 1864. Clayton's Cavalry Brigade, 7th Army Corps, Dept. of Arkansas, to September, 1864. 1st Brigade, Cavalry Division, 7th Army Corps, to February, 1865. Mouth of White River, Ark., and St. Charles, Ark. 7th Army Corps to June, 1865. Company "C" detached and with 12th Division, 13th Army Corps, Army of the Tennessee, to August, 1863. Cavalry Brigade, 13th Army Corps, Dept. of the Gulf, to September, 1863. 2nd Brigade, Cavalry Division, Dept. of the Gulf, to November, 1863. 3rd Brigade, Cavalry Division, Dept. of the Gulf, to December, 1863. Defences of New Orleans, La., Dept. of the Gulf, to July. 1864. Rejoined Regiment at Pine Bluff, Ark.

(For Companies "I" and "K" see Stewart's and Bracken's Cavalry Companies.)

SERVICE.--Scouting and skirmishing in Missouri and Arkansas February to June, 1862. Reconnoissance from Greenville to St. Francisville February 23-25 (Detachment). Mingo Creek, near St. Francisville, February 24 (Detachment). Moved to Doniphan March 27-April 1, and to Pocahontas April 17. Litchfield, Ark., May 2. Eleven Points June 1. Operations in Fulton County, Mo., June 1-5. March to Helena, Ark., June 26-July 14. Hill's Plantation, Cache River, July 7. Duty at Helena till July, 1863. Expedition from Helena to Clarendon August 4-17, 1862. Expedition from Clarendon to Lawrenceville and St. Charles September 11-13. Expedition from Helena to Moro November 5-8 (Detachment). Expedition from Helena to Arkansas Post November 16-21. Expedition from Helena to Grenada, Miss., November 27-December 5. Junction Coldwater and Tallahatchie Rivers November 29. Tallahatchie River November 30 (Detachment). Near Mitchell's Cross Roads December 1. Oakland December 3.  Near Coldwater River February 19, 1863. Near Yazoo Pass February 19 (Detachment). Coldwater March 14. Languelle Creek May 11. Taylor's Creek and Crowley's Ridge May 11. Expedition from Helena to Napoleonville May 23-26 (Detachment). Near Island No. 65, Mississippi River, May 25 (Detachment). Repulse of Holmes' Attack on Helena July 4. Steele's Expedition to Little Rock August 1-September 14. Action at Bayou Fourche and capture of Little Rock September 10. Pursuit of Price September 11-14. Near Little Rock September 11. Moved to Pine Bluff September 14, and duty there till March, 1864. Tulip October 12, 1863. Pine Bluff October 25. Branchville, Ivey's Ford, Pine Bluff, January 19, 1864. Steele's Expedition to Camden February 23-May 3. Branchville March 27. Expedition from Pine Bluff to Mt. Elba and Longview March 27-31. Longview March 29. Mt. Elba and pursuit to Big Creek March 30. Marks' Mills April 25 (Detachment). At Pine Bluff and Little Rock till October, 1864. Walter's Plantation June 7. Expedition from Pine Bluff September 9-11 (Detachment). Near Monticello September 10. Brewer's Lane September 11. Near Pine Bluff September 13 (2 Companies). Reconnoissance from Little Rock to Monticello and Mt. Elba October 4-11. Veterans and Recruits consolidated to a Battalion of 2 Companies, and duty at Pine Bluff till January, 1865. Moved to mouth of White River and duty there till March 20, 1865. At St. Charles till June, 1865. Mustered out May 31 and discharged June 22, 1865.

Company "C" detached as escort to Gen. Hovey, February to July, 1863. Expedition to Yazoo Pass February 24-April 8, 1863. Moved to Milliken's Bend, La., April 12. Advance on Bruinsburg and turning Grand Gulf April 25-30. Battle of Port Gibson May 1. Fourteen-Mile Creek May 12-13. Battle of Champion's Hill May 16. Siege of Vicksburg May 18-July 4. Advance on Jackson, Miss., July 4-10. Siege of Jackson July 10-17. Ordered to New Orleans, La., August, thence to Brashear City and Berwick; Western Louisiana "Teche" Campaign October 3-November 30. Reconnoissance toward Opelousas October 20. Opelousas and Barre Landing October 21. Bayou Portage October 23. Moved to New Orleans, La., and duty there till July 7, 1864. Cypress Creek March 8, 1864. Rejoined Regiment at Pine Bluff, Ark.

Regiment lost during service 4 Officers and 32 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 3 Officers and 148 Enlisted men by disease. Total 187.

SOURCE: Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, Part 3, p. 1103-4

Speech of Mayor Richard M. Bishop Welcoming Abraham Lincoln to Cincinnati, Ohio, February 12, 1861

Honored Sir: In the name of the people of all classes of my fellow-citizens I extend to you a cordial welcome, and in their behalf I have the honor of offering you the hospitalities of Cincinnati.

Our city needs no eulogy from me.  Her well-known character for enterprise, liberality and hospitality is not more distinguished that is her fidelity and undying devotion to the Union of these States, and a warm, filial and affectionate regard for that glorious ensign which has “braved the battle and the breeze,” upon land and see so many years.  The people, under the solemn and dignified forms of the Constitution, have chosen you as President of the United States, and as such I greet you.  And you will believe me when I say that it is the earnest and united desire of our citizens that your administration of the General Government may be marked by wisdom, patriotism and justice to all sections of the country, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, from the northern boundary of main to the Gulf of Mexico.  So that when you retire from office your fellow-citizens may greet you every-where with the cheering words,

“Well done though good and faithful servant.”

But, sir, I see in this great and anxious concourse not only the citizens of Ohio but also many from our sister State, Kentucky — the land of Clay, the former home of your parents and mine, and the place of your birth.  These, too, greet you, for they, like us, are, and ever will be, loyal to the Constitution and the Union.  I again welcome you to our noble city, and trust your short stay with us may be an agreeable one, and that your journey to our Federal Capital may be pleasant and safe.

SOURCE: “Reception of President Lincoln,” Cincinnati Daily Press, Cincinnati, Ohio, Wednesday Morning, February 13, 1861, p. 3

Abraham Lincoln’s Address to the Mayor Bishop and the Citizens of Cincinnati, Ohio, February 12, 1861

Mr. Mayor, Ladies, and Gentlemen: Twenty-four hours ago, at the capital of Indiana. I said to myself I have never seen so many people assembled together in winter weather. I am no longer able to say that. But it is what might reasonably have been expected — that this great city of Cincinnati would thus acquit herself on such an occasion. My friends, I am entirely overwhelmed by the magnificence of the reception which has been given, I will not say to me, but to the President-elect of the United States of America. Most heartily do I thank you, one and all, for it.

I am reminded by the address of your worthy mayor that this reception is given not by any one political party, and even if I had not been so reminded by his Honor I could not have failed to know the fact by the extent of the multitude I see before me now. I could not look upon this vast assemblage without being made aware that all parties were united in this reception. This is as it should be. It is as it should have been if Senator Douglas had been elected. It is as it should have been if Mr. Bell had been elected; as it should have been if Mr. Breckinridge had been elected; as it should ever be when any citizen of the United States is constitutionally elected President of the United States. Allow me to say that I think what has occurred here today could not have occurred in any other country on the face of the globe, without the influence of the free institutions which we have unceasingly enjoyed for three quarters of a century.

There is no country where the people can turn out and enjoy this day precisely as they please, save under the benign influence of the free institutions of our land.

I hope that, although we have some threatening national difficulties now — I hope that while these free institutions shall continue to be in the enjoyment of millions of free people of the United States, we will see repeated every four years what we now witness.

In a few short years, I, and every other individual man who is now living, will pass away; I hope that our national difficulties will also pass away, and I hope we shall see in the streets of Cincinnati — food old Cincinnati — for centuries to come, once every four years, her people give such a reception as this to the constitutionally elected President of the whole United States. I hope you shall all join in that reception, and that you shall also welcome your brethren from across the river to participate in it. We will welcome them in every State of the Union, no matter where they are from. From away South we shall extend them a cordial good-will, when our present difficulties shall have been forgotten and blown to the winds forever.

I have spoken but once before this in Cincinnati. That was a year previous to the late presidential election. On that occasion, in a playful manner, but with sincere words, I addressed much of what I said to the Kentuckians. I gave my opinion that we as Republicans would ultimately beat them as Democrats, but that they could postpone that result longer by nominating Senator Douglas for the presidency than they could in any other way. They did not, in any true sense of the word, nominate Mr. Douglas, and the result has come certainly as soon as ever I expected. I also told them how I expected they would be treated after they should have been beaten; and I now wish to recall their attention to what I then said upon that subject. I then said, “When we do as we say, — beat you, — you perhaps want to know what we will do with you. I will tell you, so far as lam authorized to speak for the opposition, what we mean to do with you. We mean to treat you, as near as we possibly can, as Washington, Jefferson, and Madison treated you. We mean to leave you alone, and in no way to interfere with your institutions; to abide by all and every compromise of the Constitution; and, in a word, coming back to the original proposition, to treat you, so far as degenerate men — if we have degenerated — may, according to the examples of those noble fathers, Washington, Jefferson, and Madison. We mean to remember that you are as good as we; that there is no difference between us other than the difference of circumstances. We mean to recognize and bear in mind always that you have as good hearts in your bosoms as other people, or as we claim to have, and treat you accordingly.”

Fellow-citizens of Kentucky! — friends!—brethren! may I call you in my new position? I see no occasion, and feel no inclination, to retract a word of this. If it shall not be made good, be assured the fault shall not be mine.

And now, fellow-citizens of Ohio, have you, who agree with him who now addresses you in political sentiment— have you ever entertained other sentiments toward our brethren of Kentucky than those I have expressed to you? If not, then why shall we not, as heretofore, be recognized and acknowledged as brethren again, living in peace and harmony again one with another? I take your response as the most reliable evidence that it may be so, trusting, through the good sense of the American people, on all sides of all rivers in America, under the providence of God, who has never deserted us. that we shall again be brethren, forgetting all parties, ignoring all parties. My friends, I now bid you farewell.

SOURCES: John G. Nicolay and John Hay, Editors, Abraham Lincoln: Complete Works, Volume 1, p. 674-6

Governor Oliver P. Morton's Speech Welcoming Abraham Lincoln to Indianapolis, Indiana, February 11, 1861

Sir, on behalf of the people of Indiana, I bid you welcome.  They avail themselves of this occasion to offer their tribute of high respect to your character as a man and as a statesman, and in your person to honor the high office to which you have been elected.  In every free government there will be differences of opinion, and those differences result in the formation of parties; but when the voice of the people has been expressed through the forms of the Constitution, all parties yield to it obedience.  Submission to the popular will is the essential principle of Republican government, and so vital is this principle that it admits of but one exception, which is revolution.  To weaken it, is anarchy; to destroy it, is despotism.  It recognizes no appeal beyond the ballot box, and while it is preserved, liberty may be wounded but never slain.  To this principle the people of Indiana – men of all parties – are bound, and they here welcome you as the Chief Magistrate elect of the people.  When our fathers framed the Constitution, they declared it was to form a more perfect union, establish justice and to preserve the blessings of liberty to themselves and their posterity; and for this consideration we proclaim the determination of our people to maintain that Constitution inviolate as it came from their hands.  This Union has been the idol of our hopes, the parent of our prosperity, our title to the respect and consideration of the world.  May it be preserved, it is the prayer of every patriotic heart in Indiana, and that it shall be, is their determination.

You are about to enter upon your official duties under circumstances at once novel and full of difficulty, and it will be the duty of all good citizens without distinction of party, to yield a cordial and earnest support to every measure of your administration calculated to maintain the Union, promote the national prosperity, and restore peace to our distracted and unhappy country.  Our Government, which but yesterday was the theme of every eulogy, and stood the Admiration of the world is today threatening to crumble into ruins, and it remains to be seen whether it possesses living principles, or whether in the fullness of time the hour of its dissolution is at hand.  But we are full of confidence that the end is not yet, that the precious rich inheritance whom our fathers will not elude our grasp or be wrested from us without a struggle; that we are but passing through one of those civil commotions that make the history of very nation, and that we shall emerge from the present gloom into the bright sunlight of peace and fraternity, and march forward with accelerated speed in the paths of prosperity and power.

SOURCE: “Gov. Morton’s Speech,” Chicago Daily Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, Tuesday February 12, 1861, p. 1

Abraham Lincoln's Speech in Reply to Governor Oliver P. Morton, February 11, 1861

Gov. Morton and Fellow Citizens of the State of Indiana:

Most heartily do I thank you for this magnificent reception, and while I cannot take to myself any share of the compliment thus paid, more than that which pertains to a mere instrument, an accidental instrument, perhaps I should say, of a great cause, I yet must look upon it as a most magnificent reception, and as such, most heartily do I thank you for it.

You have been pleased to address yourselves to me chiefly in behalf of this glorious Union in which we live, in all of which you have my hearty sympathy, and, as far as may be within my power, will have, one and inseparably, my hearty consideration. While I do not expect, upon this occasion, or on any occasion, till after I get to Washington, to attempt any lengthy speech, I will only say that to the salvation of this Union there needs but one single thing — the hearts of a people like yours. [Applause.] When the people rise in masses in behalf of the Union and the liberties of their country, truly may it be said, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against them.” [Renewed applause.]

In all the trying positions in which I shall be placed, and doubtless I shall be placed in many trying ones, my reliance will be placed upon you and the people of the United States — and I wish you to remember now and forever, that it is your business, and not mine; that if the union of these States, and the liberties of this people, shall be lost, it is but little to any one man of fifty-two years of age, but a great deal to the thirty millions of people who inhabit these United States, and to their posterity in all coming time. It is your business to rise up and preserve the Union and liberty, for yourselves, and not for me. I desire they shall be constitutionally preserved.

I, as already intimated, am but an accidental instrument, temporary, and to serve but for a limited time, but I appeal to you again to constantly bear in mind that with you, and not with politicians, not with Presidents, not with office-seekers, but with you, is the question, “Shall the Union and shall the liberties of this country be preserved to the latest generation”' [Loud and prolonged applause.]

SOURCES: Roy P. Basler, Editor, Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 4, p. 193-4 “Mr. Lincoln’s Reply,” Chicago Daily Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, Tuesday February 12, 1861, p. 1; “Mr. Lincoln’s Reply,” Illinois State Journal, Springfield, Illinois, Wednesday, February 13, 1861, p. 2.

Speech of Abraham Lincoln at the Bates Hotel, Indianapolis, Indiana, February 11, 1861

Fellow citizens of the State of Indiana,” he proclaimed, “I am here to thank you much for this magnificent welcome, and still more for the very generous support given by your State to that political cause, which I think is the true and just cause of the whole country and the whole world. Solomon says ‘there is a time to keep silence;’ and when men wrangle by the mouth, with no certainty that they mean the same thing while using the same words, it perhaps were as well if they would keep silence. The words ‘coercion’ and ‘invasion’ are much used in these days, and often with some temper and hot blood. Let us make sure, if we can, that we do not misunderstand the meaning of those who use them. Let us get the exact definitions of these words, not from dictionaries, but from the men themselves, who certainly deprecate the things they would represent by the use of the words. What, then, is ‘coercion’? What is ‘invasion’? Would the marching of an army into South Carolina, without the consent of her people, and with hostile intent towards them, be invasion? I certainly think it would, and it would be ‘coercion’ also if the South Carolinians were forced to submit. But if the United States should merely hold and retake its own forts and other property, and collect the duties on foreign importations, or even withhold the mails from places where they were habitually violated, would any or all of these things be ‘invasion’ or ‘coercion’? Do our professed lovers of the Union, but who spitefully resolve that they will resist coercion and invasion, understand that such things as these, on the part of the United States, would be coercion or invasion of a State? If so, their idea of means to preserve the object of their great affection would seem to be exceedingly thin and airy. If sick, the little pills of the homœopathist would be much too large for it to swallow. In their view, the Union, as a family relation, would seem to be no regular marriage, but rather a sort of ‘free-love’ arrangement, to be maintained on passional attraction. By the way, in what consists the special sacredness of a State? I speak not of the position assigned to a State in the Union by the Constitution, for that is the bond we all recognize. That position, however, a State cannot carry out of the Union with it. I speak of that assumed primary right of a State to rule all which is less than itself, and to ruin all which is larger than itself. If a State and a County, in a given case, should be equal in extent of territory and equal in number of inhabitants, in what, as a matter of principle, is the State better than the County? Would an exchange of name be an exchange of rights? Upon what principle, upon what rightful principle, may a State, being no more than one-fiftieth part of the nation in soil and population, break up the nation, and then coerce a proportionably larger subdivision of itself in the most arbitrary way? What mysterious right to play tyrant is conferred on a district of country with its people, by merely calling it a State? Fellow-citizens, I am not asserting any thing. I am merely asking questions for you to consider. And now allow me to bid you farewell.

SOURCE: D. Appleton & Co., Publisher, The American Annual Cycopӕdia and Register for Important Events of the Year1861, Volume 1, p. 411

Official Reports of the Campaign in North Alabama and Middle Tennessee, November 14, 1864 — January 23, 1865: No. 111. Report of Col. Charles A. Zollinger, One hundred and twenty-ninth Indiana Infantry, of operations November 23-December 5, 1864.

No. 111.

Report of Col. Charles A. Zollinger, One hundred and twenty-ninth

Indiana Infantry, of operations November 23-December 5, 1864.

HDQRS. 129TH REGT. INDIANA VOLUNTEER INFANTRY,

Nashville, Tenn., December 5, 1864.

COLONEL: I have the honor to transmit the following as a part taken by the One hundred and twenty-ninth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry in the late campaign in Tennessee:

On the morning of November 23, 1864, my regiment was put aboard the cars at Johnsonville, Tenn., from which place we proceeded to Columbia, Tenn., arriving there on the morning of the 24th, and took position on the right of One hundred and eighteenth Ohio, in support of brigade. At 10 a.m. same day was ordered out to protect the railroad bridge across Duck River, where we remained until after dark, at which time we were ordered to move and join the brigade. We there took position on right of brigade and fortified during the night. At this place we remained until 2 a.m. November 26, when we moved back (with brigade) to Duck River bridge, where we again fortified, and kept the position until 2 a.m. November 28, at which time we were ordered to cross the river (crossing on railroad bridge), where we again took position in support of the brigade, and remained in that position until 8 p.m., when we were ordered to take position in front line on the right of the One hundred and eighteenth Ohio, where we fortified during the night, and remained at our works until 12 m. November 29, when we were ordered to move in rear of the One hundred and eighteenth Ohio in the direction of Franklin, Tenn., and on arriving within two miles of Spring Hill was ordered back one mile and a half to guard a point until Third Division, Twenty-third Army Corps, and one division of Fourth Army Corps should pass, which we did, and at 12 o'clock (midnight) we started and rejoined the brigade near Spring Hill, and without halting marched with it to Franklin, arriving at daylight November 30. Breakfast over, we took position near town, near Franklin pike, where we fortified and sent out pickets. At 4 p.m. the enemy advanced in three lines of battle, drove in our pickets, and charged our works repeatedly, with heavy slaughter to themselves and comparatively small to us. At about 3 a.m. December 1 we moved out in direction of Nashville, Tenn., where we arrived same evening and where we still remain.

In closing this report I have the honor to state that the officers and men of my command discharged every duty assigned them cheerfully and promptly, and deserve the title of true soldiers and devoted friends of our country.

List of casualties of my regiment are as follows.*

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

 C. A. ZOLLINGER,

Colonel, Commanding 129th Regiment Indiana Volunteers.

Col. O. H. MOORE,

Comdg. Second Brig., Second Div., Twenty-third Army Corps.

_______________

* Nominal list (omitted) shows 4 men killed, 1 officer and 15 men wounded and 2 men missing.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 45, Part 1 (Serial No. 93), p. 384-5

151st Indiana Infantry

Organized at Indianapolis, Ind., and mustered in March 3, 1865. Left State for Nashville, Tenn., March 6; thence moved to Tullahoma, Tenn., March 14, and duty there till June 14. Moved to Nashville, Tenn., June 14, and garrison duty there till September. Mustered out September 19, 1865. Lost during service 66 by disease.

SOURCE: Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the 3, p. Rebellion, Part 3, p. 1158

152nd Indiana Infantry

Organized at Indianapolis, Ind., and mustered in March 16, 1865. Left State for Harper's Ferry, W. Va., March 18. Duty at Charleston, Stevenson's Station, Summit Point and Clarksburg, W. Va., till August. Mustered out August 30, 1865. Lost during service 49 by disease.

SOURCE: Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the 3, p. Rebellion, Part 3, p. 1158