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April 01, 2023
Civil War generals from Indiana
Nearly 120 generals during the Civil War had connections to the Hoosier state. They include some who were courageous, others who were colorful, and some who were controversial.
One of the generals, Solomon Meredith, was a Quaker who commanded the legendary Iron Brigade during the bloody Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Another general, Jefferson Columbus Davis from Clark County in southern Indiana, murdered his commanding officer at a hotel.
Those generals and the others with connections to the Hoosier state are profiled in a new book, The Civil War Generals of Indiana. The author, Carl Kramer, a Civil War historian based in Jeffersonville, Ind., will be Nelson's guest. He is the retired director of the Institute for Local and Oral History, an adjunct assistant professor of history at Indiana University Southeast and the founder of Kramer Associates Inc., a public history consulting firm.
In addition to spotlighting several of the generals with connections to Indiana during our show, Dr. Kramer will describe patterns about them that are insightful regarding the Civil War. Even the ages of the general offer insights, he notes.
"The Civil War was a young man's war, and the same was true for its generals" Dr. Kramer writes. He stated that out of 44 full-ranked generals with connections to Indiana, five of them were under 30 when the war began. More than 20 others were only in their 30s.
During our show, Dr. Kramer also will discuss the occupational diversity of the generals from Indiana. "Since the war was fought by huge volunteer armies, both the Union and Confederate governments recruited officers from all walks of life, most without military training or experience", Dr. Kramer writes.
One of the generals, William Anderson Pile, who was born near Indianapolis, had an unusual distinction: he was the only general in the Union Army who also was an ordained minister. When the war began, he enlisted as a chaplain but transitioned to be a combat officer.
After the war, the Quaker general, Sol Meredith, became a farmer near Cambridge City in far-eastern Indiana. Another general, James Ekin, had established a steamboat construction business before the war. During the war, Ekin oversaw the construction of some of the barracks at Camp Morton in Indianapolis. The camp was a Union Army training ground and a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederates located in what is now the Herron-Morton neighborhood. After the war, Ekin served on the military tribunal that tried the conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
During our show, we will not be focusing on two generals who achieved spectacular success after the Civil War. That's because Benjamin Harrison, who was elected president of the U.S. in 1888, and Lew Wallace, who wrote the blockbuster bestseller Ben-Hur, have been the focus of several previous Hoosier History Live shows.
Instead, our show with Dr. Kramer will spotlight generals who aren't as well-remembered. They will include Jefferson Columbus Davis (no relation to Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy), who murdered his commanding officer during a feud at a hotel in Louisville, Ky. According to The Civil War Generals of Indiana, only the intervention of some well-connected figures, including Oliver P. Morton, Indiana's governor, spared Jefferson Columbus Davis from being court-martialed for the murder. He died in 1879 and is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.
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Why is Hoosier History Live an outstanding media product? Because we are independent, and we because we make our own business and editorial decisions. We control our quality as best we can. Basically, producer Molly Head makes the business decisions and manages the project. And, she created Hoosier History Live! Host Nelson Price selects and researches the main show topic and guest. And is, of course, the effervescent on-air talent. Where else are you going to learn about history and be entertained all at the same time?
