August 4: Gov. Oliver P. Morton

On this date in History .... August 4, 1823:  

Gov. Oliver Morton
Photo courtesy of
www.nps.gov

Oliver Perry Throck Morton is born in Salisbury (Wayne County) Indiana. (Salisbury no longer exists but was located between Richmond and Centerville on the east side of the state.)  The family name of “Throckmorton” was shortened to “Morton” but the males in the family carried the “Throck” name as a middle name.  

Morton was the first Indiana-born governor and served as the “war-time governor” of Indiana for six years (Jan. 16, 1861–Jan. 23, 1867) and strongly supported the Union during the Civil War. He began his political career as a Democrat but was thrown out of the party because of his anti-slavery stance.  As governor, he raised men and money for the Union army, and successfully suppressed Indiana's Confederate sympathizers.

“Morton immediately dissolved the General Assembly and announced his intent to administer the state without its representatives. As the state approached bankruptcy, Morton successfully solicited the donation and loan of millions of dollars in private money that were then used to fund the government. He continued to harass and suppress the activities of his political opponents whom he occasionally accused of treason. 

It is thought that because of his scrupulous honesty during this period of one-man rule he was able to escape post-war retribution for his actions. He was reelected governor in 1864 and served until his appointment to the U.S. Senate in 1867. “  

 quote source: http://www.nps.gov/resources/person.htm?id=103

During his early tenure as governor, Morton believed that war was inevitable and began to prepare the state for it. He appointed men to cabinet positions who were well known to be against any compromise with the southern states. He established a state arsenal and employed seven hundred men to produce ammunition and weapons without legislative permission and made many other preparations for the war to come.

When open war finally broke out on April 12, 1861, he telegraphed President Abraham Lincoln three days later to announce that he already had 10,000 soldiers underarms ready to suppress the rebellion.

“In 1865, when Morton had a paralytic stroke and went to Europe for treatment, the President entrusted him with a confidential mission to Napoleon III concerning the withdrawal of the French troops from Mexico.”  (quote source: http://www.nndb.com/people/209/000050059/

In 1867, he was elected to the U.S. Senate where he served until his death in 1877.

Oliver P. Morton Home, Centerville Indiana.
For more photos, explore this link:
http://www.hmdb.org/Marker.asp?Marker=264 

May 24: Elmer Ellsworth - 1st Civil War Casualty

On this date in History .... May 24, 1861:  

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Elmer Ellsworth, 24 years old and a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, became the first conspicuous casualty of the American Civil War.  

The day after Virginia ratified the decision to secede from the Union, Ellsworth and his troops entered Alexandria, Virginia.  There was an 8x14 foot Confederate flag being flown over an inn. The flag was big enough to be seen through a spyglass from the White House. Ellsworth felt getting that flag down would help avoid any problems. 

When he approached the inn with four soldiers with him, the innkeeper, a strong proponent of slavery, shot Ellsworth at point blank range, killing him instantly. Since Ellsworth was a personal friend of Lincoln, his body lay in state in the White House.  

Corporal Francis Brownell, who had killed the innkeeper for shooting Ellsworth, was eventually awarded the Medal of Honor.

March 19: Confederate Defeated at Bentonville

On this date in History .... 1865:

The Confederate Army tries and fails to stop Sherman’s March in Bentonville, North Carolina. 

As Sherman swung north out of Savannah, he assume the rebels troops in the Carolinas were too dispersed to be of any real problem, but Confederate General Joseph Johnston rounded up 17,000 troops and surprised the Union Army, driving them back a bit before additional Union troops arrived, giving Sherman a 3-1 edge.  

Both sides had significant losses:  Respectively, the Union/Confederate numbers for those killed were 194/240; for those wounded were 1112/1700.  But the largest difference was in the number of men “missing”.  The Union reported only 221 missing (deserters?) to the Confederates 1500 missing.