INDIANA MILITARY HISTORY JOURNAL INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY Volume 8 Number 2 May, 1983 F521 146 VOLS N02 - - - Indiana Military HistoryJournal is published by the Military History Section of the Indiana Historical Society, 315 West Ohio Street, Indianapolis 46202. Editorial offices for the Journal are at the Department of History, Purdue University, West Lafayette,Indiana 47907. Gunther E. Rothenberg is editor; Raymond·J. Frontain assistant editor. All contributions should be sent to this address. Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with The University of Chicago A Manual of Style (13th edition). The Indiana Historical Society, the Military History Section, and the editor disclaim responsibility for statements of fact or opinions made by contributors. The Indiana MilitaryHistory Journal serves as the organ of the Military History Section and carries news of the Section as well as articles, documents, pictures, and book reviews relating to Indiana's military past, the military history of the Old Northwest, and the activities of Hoosiers in the armed forces of the United States in war and peace. In addition, the Journalwill carry ar· tides on military history topics in general which impacted on the state or region. It is hoped that the Journalwill increase the reader's appreciation of the military heritage of the state and the nation. Military History Section Board of Directors Mr. Wayne Sanford, Chairman Mr. Thomas B. Williams III 8718 Old Town Lane Drive 3203 Dogwood Lane Indianapolis 46260 Carmel 46032 Col. Jerry L. Sargent (Ret.), Vice-Chairman Col. William Scott (Ret.) 334 Grovewood Place 6433 Hoover Rd., Apt. A Beech Grove, IN 46107 Indianapolis 46260 Dr. Gunther E. ROthenburg, editor Lt. Col. James R. H. Spears Department of History 4327 Kenmore Road Purdue University Indianapolis 46226 West Lafayette, IN 47906 Cpt. William J. Watt Dr. George W. Geib 2240 Rome Drive Apt. B 4737 Cornelius Avenue Indianapolis 46208 Indianapolis 46208 Mr. Ralph Dimmett 1306 Cruft St. Indianapolis 46203 The Journalis sent to members of the Indiana Historical Society who participate in the Military History Section. All the material in this Journal is copyrighted. Copyright, 1983, Indiana His· torical Society. Cover: General Jefferson C. Davis, who spent the first part of the Civil War trying to live down his name and the last part of the Civil War trying to avoid the charge of murder for his slaying of General William Nelson in September 1862, played a critical role in the Union victory of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, in March 1862 (see article, "Battle in the Brush," this issuej. He ended the Civil War as a corps commander in Sherman's Army of the Tennessee. NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN The up-coming Spring Work Shop to be held at Spring Mill State Park, on April 30, 1983, will feature two speakers. The first will be Bob Holden, historian for the George Rogers Clark Memorial. His topic will be "Indian Warfare on the Old Frontier." The second speaker will be Dr. Gunther Rothenberg of Purdue University who will present a paper about an Indiana militia unit during the Black Hawk War. Both programs promise to be entertaining as well as informative. An index of the oral histories gathered by the Military History Section is now available in the reading library of the Indiana Historical Society. It includes a brief narrative of the thirty-six interviews gathered over the last two years. Supplements will be added as future interviews are completed. It is our intention to add other pages as future manuscripts are included in the collection. We also anticipate publishing this same index in a future edition of the Military History Journal. Our membership continues to grow, thanks to the help of each and every one of you. Don't forget your friends in the weeks and months to come. If they aren't already members of the Society, now is a good time to make them a part. Remember, too, that your suggestions for improvement are always welcome. If you have such a suggestion, address it to me. Have a happy spring and summer! Wayne L. Sanford Chairman George Rogers Clark National Historical Park and Vincennes University announce the first annual George Rogers Clark Trans-Appalachian Frontier History Conference Saturday, October 22, 1983, at Vincinnes University. The National Park Service and Vincennes University are seeking proposals for papers to be delivered on any aspect of frontier history from the Appalachians to the Mississippi, including: exploration, Indians, fur trade, military leaders, battles, weapons, early settlements, travel, transportation, religion, education, politics, medicine, architec­ ture, etc. Papers should be approximately 12 to 15 double-spaced pages in length and not exceed 20 minutes. This conference is intended to be informal; there will be no com­ mentaries on papers, but there will be a short period for general questions from the audience following each presentation. Interested individuals should submit a three hundred to four hundred word summary of their intended subject, along with a short resume to: Conference Committee George Rogers Clark National Historical Park 401 South Second Street Vincennes, Indiana 47591 Proposals must be received by May 31, 1983. Individuals will be notified by June 20, 1983. 3 MILITIA IN THE BLACK HAWK WAR, 1831-1832 By John K. Mahon* Cecil D. Eby, the author who most recently wrote at book-length about the Black Hawk War, included in his title the phrase "That Disgraceful Affair." Perhaps not at the local, but certainly at the national level, history seems willing to forget this grim episode. In his biography of Andrew Jackson, Commander-in-Chief at the time, Marquis James devoted one paragraph to the war; Robert Remini, writing forty-four years after James, expanded this treatment to two paragraphs. Nevertheless, the Black Hawk War remains a good case study of how the American military system operated in the 1830's.1 The Sauk and Fox Indians earlier had been pressed out of Illinois and across the Mississippi River into what later became Iowa; but in 1831, drawn magnet-like to their ancestral land and in search of food, they recrossed the Great River and reentered their old hunting grounds along the Rock River in northwestern Illinois. Both John Reynolds, Governor of Illinois, and Edmund Pendleton Gaines, Brevet Major General commanding the United States Army in the western district, referred to the Indian movement as an invasion. First to mobilize to expel the Indians was Reynolds who, on 26 May 1831, without any requisition from the federal government, called on the militia for 700 mounted men. "This expedition thus far was on my own responsibility," he wrote, "and perhaps the General Government would not approve it."2 The cost of mili­ tary operations was, even then, too heavy for a state to bear, and states commonly looked to the federal government to assume most of the expense. Three days after Reynolds' call, General Gaines, at Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis - about 200 miles distant from the invaded area - wrote Reynolds that he was coming with six companies of regulars and would need no militia. Reynolds and the state of Illinois seemed to be facing financial jeopardy until, on 5 June, Gaines reasses­ sed his needs and asked Reynolds for a battalion of mounted men, which he authorized to draw from the arsenal at Rock Island rations, powder, lead, and com for the horses. Reynolds wrote that he was rejoiced by this letter, as it put his whole proceeding on a legal and constitutional footing and removed the responsibility of the war from him to the United States.' Enthusiasm for squelching Indians brought not 700, but 1,600 men to the rendez-vous on 10 June. For political reasons Reynolds did not dare send the surplus 900 home without pay or glory; instead, he swore in all 1,600. Later Major John Bliss gave federal sanction to the enlarged force by mustering all of them into United States service at Rockport. Forming one brigade, two regiments, and two specialized battalions, this was far and away the largest force that Illinois had assembled since statehood in 1818. The sole problem with the first Illinois army was to keep its mem­ bers from killing any Indians they met, friendly or hostile. • The federal show of force was impressive enough to bring Chief Black Hawk in to negotiate. On 30 June, he, Reynolds, and Gaines signed a treaty in which the Indians agreed never to return to Illinois, whereupon Reynolds supplied them with food, an action protested by the volunteers. 6 As a young man, Black Hawk had fought beside Tecumseh and had since re­ tained a strong resistance to white encroachment. Thus, early in 1832, when his people became truly hungry, he led his band of about 1,000, half of them warriors, back to the Rock River region. He induced a far larger reaction than he did the year before. On 16 April, Governor Reynolds sought by proclamation to inspire the citizen-soldiers of Illinois: "Your country requires your services. The Indians have assumed a hostile atti­ tude .... No citizen ought to remain inactive when his country is invaded, and the help­ less part of the community in danger."6 With that, the militia system in Illinois went into operation. The governor assigned quotas to colonels commanding in counties, whereupon the colonels called 4 BLACK HAWK WAR 5 upon companies to volunteer intact. Some did - for example, the First Volunteer Rifles of Pike County, whose men received from their captain orders to arrive at the rendez­ vous "all with a good horse, and rifle, powder horn, one half pound of powder and three days provisions." The captain continued: "The Commanding Officer flatters himself that every man will be prompt [in] his duty." He took this notice to the local blacksmith, a member of the company, who without a moment's delay took off his leather apron, left the fire to die in the forge, and went on horseback to spread the word.