The Iron 44th: The story of company H of the 44th Indiana Volunteer Infantry as told by the men of this company in letters sent home and to the local newspaper

by Robert Willey

Overview

The Iron 44th: The story of company H of the 44th Indiana Volunteer Infantry as told by the men of this company in letters sent home and to the local newspaper

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452080833
Publisher:	AuthorHouse
Publication date:	02/15/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	817 KB

Read an Excerpt

The Iron 44TH

The story of company H of the 44th Indiana volunteer infantry as told by the men of this company in letters sent home and to the local newspaper

---

By Robert Willey

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2011 Robert Willey
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4520-8080-2

---

Chapter One

Joining up with Uncle Sam

With the firing on Fort Sumter and the ensuing splitting of the Union, of individual states and of families came a wave of young men to join one of the many companies being formed by well known men in their local communities. This was also the case in LaGrange, Indiana where three of LaGrange's leading citizens, William B. Bingham, Joseph Danser and Jacob Newman were recruiting volunteers in the fourth company to be organized in LaGrange.

With the company partially formed an election of Commissioned Officers was held and William Bingham was elected as Captain with Joseph Danser as First Lieutenant and Jacob Newman as Second Lieutenant.

With his company not completely filled, Captain Bingham and some of his volunteers made a trip to Springfield Township in LaGrange County for the purpose of recruiting young men and raising money for the company.

Of this trip, Captain Bingham wrote to the editor of the LaGrange Standard Newspaper;

Dear Sir,

I desire through the medium of your newspaper to say that on Friday, the 11th of October, 1861 I visited, by invitation, Springfield Township, in our county, accompanied by the volunteers now forming my company to rendezvous at Fort Wayne, as part of the Forty-Fourth Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, and I cannot speak to highly of the citizens of that township, who received us with open arms and extended to us all the best hospitality possible to be exercised on such an occasion. Nothing was left undone that could be done for our comfort or happiness, and after fairing most sumptuously at a basket dinner that could not be surpassed, we repaired to the Free Church where we were addressed by J.B. Wade Esq., and the honorable Judge Wilson, upon the necessity of prompt action in the defense of our common liberties both in men and money. A call was then made for volunteers, when notwithstanding the fact that Springfield had led any other township in furnishing men, yet a number more of her noble sons stepped forward and enrolled their names and are ready to do battle for our common country. And when a call was made for money to equip the soldiers, it was handed out without stint, by as noble men as the light of heaven ever shone upon. For this mark of respect shown to us, my company joins me in returning to the citizens of Springfield Township our sincere thanks, hoping that we may be able to repay them by contributing in the defense of those principles of liberty which alone will enable them to continue the noble and free people they now are.

W. B. Bingham, Captain LaGrange, Oct. 16th, 1861

With Captain Bingham returning to LaGrange to prepare for the march to Fort Wayne to join the other companies of the Forty-Fourth, the following article appeared in the LaGrange Standard Newspaper;

The company now organizing in this county is progressing finely and will probably leave for the rendezvous at Fort Wayne, the first of next week. A few more men are wanted to fill up the company. Persons wishing to enter the service cannot do better than to improve the present opportunity; as the company, so far, is composed of a splendid set of fellows, and Captain Bingham will be found to be not only one of the best of men, but also an excellent officer. He has done more towards recruiting in this county than any other man, and deserves much credit for his untiring energy and perseverance. Rally once more and let this be the banner company for LaGrange.

Captain Bingham was exceedingly proud of his volunteers and felt confident that their medical needs would all be taken care of knowing that his friend, Dr. J.H. Rerick had also enlisted.

In preparing to leave for Fort Wayne with the company, Dr. Rerick placed a notice in the Standard Newspaper which read as follows;

"OFF FOR THE WARS"

Dr. J. H. Rerick, having enlisted for the war, the firm of H. M. Betts & Co., is by mutual consent, this day dissolved. H.M. Betts is authorized to settle all claims and accounts due the firm. It is hoped that every person knowing themselves indebted to us will call and settle immediately.

H.M. Betts is also authorized to settle and collect all accounts and notes due Dr. Rerick previous to the above co-partnership. Don't fail friends to call immediately.

JNO. H. RERICK

To show the wave of patriotism that was sweeping this part of the country, the following articles appeared in the Standard Newspaper on November 1, 1861:

The following is a correct list of enrolled men from each township in this county and their respective quotas.

No. Enrolled Quota

Greenfield 155 12 Lima 191 11 Van Buren 149 4 Newbury 161 14 Clay 184 9 Bloomfield 244 10 Springfield 133 13 Milford 156 11 Johnson 156 13 Clearspring 163 13 Eden 121 13

James Preston, Esq., has now three sons in the service; the third went in Captain Bingham's Company.

Captain Bingham's company, now known as "Bingham's Guards," had 92 men from LaGrange and the remainder from Wolcottville, Kendallville, Hawpatch (now Topeka), Lima (now Howe), Middlebury and Van Buren (now Scott). Bingham still found his company a few men short, but felt that he could pick up some on the march to Fort Wayne or even after he arrived at Camp Allen in Fort Wayne. Captain Bingham announced that he and his company would leave for Fort Wayne on Sunday the 17th and on Friday evening he was honored by the citizens of LaGrange as noted in the following newspaper article;

On Friday evening the 15th inst. with only twenty-four hours notice, a large number of the citizens of LaGrange assembled at the Court House, for the purpose of presenting to Wm. B. Bingham, Captain of the "Bingham's Guards," Company H, in the Forty-Fourth Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, with a sword, which had been purchased by the citizens of this place for that purpose. Captain Bingham responded in a very impressive and touching manner thanking the donors for the elegant and significant present and pledging his honor that he would do the best of his ability to discharge the duties devolving upon him and that the weapon should never be dishonored whilst in his possession.

Although Saturday was the last day before leaving their homes and loved ones to march south to the war and all knowing that there would be some who might not march home again, most of the men were so eager to get started that they lingered around the town all day long enjoying the admiring looks from young ladies and little boys.

On Sunday morning the men of "Bingham's Guards" presented themselves to Captain Bingham in their new red woolen shirts and blue Zouave jackets trimmed with velvet. The jacket, which the men called a "Hoosier Wamus" and the shirts had been presented to them by the ladies of LaGrange and the "Standard" newspaper noted that -

Captain Bingham's Company presented a splendid appearance and attracted universal admiration in their new uniforms which gave them quite a martial appearance.

The newspaper also described, that day, their departure from LaGrange in the following manner;

On the morning of the 17th Captain Bingham started with his company for Fort Wayne. A large number of our citizens, and many from the country, assembled to see them start and bid them God speed on their mission of mercy.

Captain Bingham formed his company on Main Street and marched them to the Methodist Church where in behalf of the company, he thanked the ladies who had so kindly furnished them with many of the necessaries of camp life, and the company joined in three hearty cheers, for the fair donors. In return, the ladies gave three cheers for the soldiers! We have seldom witnessed a more enthusiastic or spirited occasion.

The company was then marched to the south part of town where wagons were waiting to convey them on their journey. There was no lack of teams and many more were offered than was necessary. Quite a number of our citizens accompanied them as far as Wright's Corners, where they took dinner, and report having been furnished by the citizens of that village and vicinity with a most bountiful repast, free to all. Five or six volunteers were enlisted at that place, and Captain Bingham went into camp with a full company.

The Methodist Church in LaGrange as it looked in 1861. It stood on the corner of Lafayette and High Streets. It was replaced in 1908 by a new church building that stands on the same location and is presently occupied by the United Missionary Church.

Alongside the article describing the company's departure was another article pertaining to the additional enlistments which took place at Wright's Corner on the route to Fort Wayne.

The ladies have the reputation of being more patriotic than the men, whether justly or not, we will not attempt to decide; but an incident occurred while Captain Bingham's Company was en route for Fort Wayne, which rather favors the idea. A young man by the name of Baird enlisted at Wright's Corners and when his father learned the fact, he endeavored to prevent his going, and kicked quite a muss among the boys. The mother of the young man has since called upon Mr. Kromer, stating that she had one more son at home, and wished him also to join the company.

Prior to leaving LaGrange, a number of the men approached Mr. C.O. Meyers, Editor of the LaGrange "Standard" Newspaper. They requested that he send copies of the newspaper to them wherever they were during the war so that they could keep up with what was happening back home. Myers, desiring to have news from the hometown boys, suggested that he would send newspapers to them if they would, in return, send letters to him to be printed in the newspaper so that all at home could read about the boys from LaGrange and so it was agreed. A number of the soldiers wrote to Myers, some using "pen names" as we will read.

All along the route to Fort Wayne the people turned out in great numbers to cheer and feed the soldier boys of Captain Bingham's Company.

At South Milford, barrels of good cider and bushels of apples were rolled out by the citizens.

At Kendallville, the citizens provided quarters for the soldiers in private homes and only two men at a place. The citizens of Kendallville were indeed impressed with the men of the Forty-Fourth as shown by the newspaper article that appeared in the "Kendallville Journal."

Another company of LaGrange Volunteers passed the night here last night.

The company is one of the best we have ever seen and is composed mainly of substantial citizens of that county.

They were treated here and all along the route with marked respect. From a casual acquaintance with Captain Bingham for some years, we are lead to believe that he is one of the best men in northern Indiana. When such men and such companies go to war it may be well inferred that something is at stake. This war is bringing out many interesting incidents and among these we note one connected with this company. Among the volunteers is Mr. John Dawson of Milford Township, a man who is probably a great grandfather by this time and 66 years of age, whose silvered locks mark strongly the progress of time. The aged man's eyes brightened and glowed with the fires of youth as he stood among his fellow younger volunteers. He said that he thought that he could endure the fatigues and hardships about as well as most of the others, and that he did not go for any of Uncle Sam's money nor did his family need or expect any assistance while he was absent. Thoughts involuntarily crowded through our mind as we heard from the old gentleman's lips utterances of hope and courage, and saw him in the place of the soldier marching to the gory battlefield. May the God of battles protect the old man and the noble company with which he has gone.

On November 20, 1861 Captain Bingham's Guards marched into Fort Wayne where they were received by the other companies of the Forty-Fourth Regiment and escorted through the city and into Camp Allen, now Swinney Park.

W.D. Groves' letter to his family in LaGrange describes the arrival at Fort Wayne;

We arrived at Camp Allen about 3 o'clock p.m. It had been raining for some time, and it appears that there is no soil on the upper part of the ground in this place, but a plenty of the article called clay. I thought that I had seen mud, but this beats anything that I ever saw before. It is almost as slipery as ice. We are at present having pleasant weather, and our camping quarters are comfortable and nice. We have good shanties, made of boards, and bunks to sleep in. Uncle Sam furnishes us with plenty of good seasoned wood, and we are keeping house in fine style.

There are between eight and nine hundred volunteers in camp, and but one sick person in the hospital. Dr. Rerick says there is not, nor has there been, near as much sickness in camp since its location here, (in proportion to the number of inhabitants) as there is in LaGrange.

Captain Bingham had the men measured, and appointed the officers according to their height, in the company; so as not to have tall men placed among the short men, or a small one among the large ones while on drill, which must have been the case had they been chosen in any other way. Some of the knowing ones in camp seem to think that we will receive marching orders pretty soon. We expect to receive our uniforms next Saturday. Since we came here, Wm. Roads and Jacob Noon have deserted. They will be brought back, however, if Sheriff Selby can find them. When our company was formed into ranks to be sworn into service, George Keightly, finding out what was going on, stepped out of the ranks and refused to take the oath. He said that he had been sworn into the service of the United States at LaGrange, and that was enough - We think that was a rather poor excuse.

The Forty-Fourth Regiment was sworn in by Lieutenant H. E. Stansbury, U. S. Army, on November 22, 1861 after a medical examination by Dr. B. S. Woodworth of Fort Wayne. W.D. Groves wrote of this medical examination to his family in LaGrange as follows;

Before taking the oath we were subjected to an examination by a local doctor to determine if we were fit for the rigors of the service. This could hardly be called an examination as anyone but a dead man would be passed. Each man approached the Doctor's table and stated his name and he was passed. I believe that walking up to the table qualified you as fit as no one was touched by the doctor and no one failed to pass.

The organization was completed with the appointment of Dr. William W. Martin, of Rome City, as Regimental Surgeon and Reverend G. W. Beeks, of Fort Wayne, as Chaplin. Hugh B. Reed who had been in charge of the camp at Fort Wayne was placed in command of the Forty Fourth Regiment as Colonel and Baldwin J. Crosthwait was appointed Lieutenant Colonel. The remainder of the staff was as follows; Sanford Stoughton, Major; Charles Case, Adjutant; and George W. McConnell, Quartermaster.

The counties from which the companies of the Forty Fourth Volunteer Infantry were raised were as follows:

Company A....................Steuben County Company B....................Kosciusko County Company C....................DeKalb County Company D....................Allen County Company E....................Whitley County Company F....................DeKalb County Company G....................Noble Country (with a few men from DeKalb County) Company H....................LaGrange County Company I....................Elkhart County

(Continues...)

---

Excerpted from The Iron 44TH by Robert Willey Copyright © 2011 by Robert Willey. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---

Table of Contents

Contents

Chapter One Joining up with Uncle Sam....................1
Chapter Two Into the South....................27
Chapter Three The First Battle - Fort Donelson....................39
Chapter Four Shiloh....................55
Chapter Five To Corinth....................85
Chapter Six In Pursuit of Bragg....................105
Chapter Seven Hell at Stones River....................127
Chapter Eight Objective: Chattanooga....................151
Chapter Nine Indiana's Battle - Chickamauga....................157
Chapter Ten Back to Chattanooga....................175
Chapter Eleven Under Siege....................185
Chapter Twelve Provost Duty....................197
Chapter Thirteen Lee Surrenders!....................203