The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-05-11
D. P. BALDWIN'S ADDRESS
HE SPEAKS ON THE TOPIC aLIFE In
THE REAR DURING THE WAR;
Interesting Letter Written by Secre-
tary Seward During the War Read
Trend of His Remarks.

last night on Life In the Rear during the
War" He said:
The census of 1860 gave Indiana a popu-
lation of 1,350,000. OF course, two-thirds of
these were women and children. Less than
one-tifth were capable of bearing arms.
IL Is an amazing fact that two-thirds OF
these went to the front, leaving the re-
mainder of US in the rear to raise the crops,
carry on the industries and take care OF
the women and children. The South had
3,OOO,OO0 slaves to do this work While there
was no honor and positive discredit in be-
ing Home Guard during the war, there
was a great deal of hard work in ii. l
never gave the public so much service In
my life; there were the armies to be filled
with constant relays of men, tens OF thou
sands of soldiers families to be maintained,
and then gradually our towns and homes
were hlled with the wounded and the dead.
Harder than all the rest was the neces-
sity and labor of keeping UP public enthu-
siasm and loyalty after the disheartening
defeats of the first two years growing out
OF incompetent generals, as we'll as the
semi-rebellion In the rear.
Shall l ever forget; can any one ever
forget those soul-staring days when Fort
Sumpter was first fired upon, April IL, 1861?
The season was very remarkable. That day
green grass covered everything, the hoW-
ers were In bloom and the sky was as blue
as In June. The first gun was fired at
4:30 a. m. by Governor Pickens, OF South
Carolina. Twenty-four hours after the rail-
OF Fort Sumpter Lincoln called for 1900
volunteers. Indiana's quota was 5000. but in
less than five days 10000 able-bodied men
reported at Indianapolis. To show the ex-
allied patriotism of the country, In our little
city of Logansport 200 volunteers enrolled
In less than forty-eight hours 1t became
necessary to uniform them. The clothes
were purchased and cut by our tailors
after nightfall. All day Sunday our women
piled their needles and by night each man
had brand new suit. Sunday afternoon
they all met in one of our parks and were
prayed for, and early Monday morning set
| off for Indianapolis. Think of that, 200
/ men enlisted, clothed, blessed and off for
| the war in forty-eight hours.
UNIVERSAL OPINION.
1.-The universal opinion was that the war
was TO end in ninety days, and was sum-
mer picnic. But just as the ninety days
enlistment expired came the awful defeat
at Bulls Run. 1t was then that we walked
up to the magnitude of the conflict. The
| Atlantic Monthly that month exchanged
| its picture motto from the head of Lord
| Bacon to the Stars and Stripes.
For eighteen months the principal duty
| of any home guard having the gift of pub
| lie speech was recruiting. Three popular
men would club together and obtain
| commission from Governor Morton to raise
company of a hundred men. They would
| open headquarters in county seat, where
| from morning till night drums kept beat
| ing and flies shrilling. Every evening
| public meeting was in order, with music and
| speaking. There was not schoolhouse In
| Indiana which in those days was not the
| scene of a recruiting rally. Often it would
| be twenty miles away from headquarters.
| Starting in the afternoon, we were for
| tunate to get our audience by p. m, and
| still more so If we got away by midnight.
| At first recruits were plentiful, but after
our defeats all volunteering ceased. When
| the drafting set in, as II did in early 6S,
| argument ended and money took its place.
| The Legislature authorized counties to vote
subsidies for enlistment, and enormous
| sums were raised for this purpose and to
| support soldiers families. At one time
| was on a committee of five who converted
| $4,000 of county orders into cash at par
| and filled up our quota with substitutes,
| paying $500 to $3.50 or more per man. This
| involved an enormous amount of work.
| Three of tho committee stayed at home
| and raised the cash, while the other two
| went to the front and secured the men
| whose term had or was about to expire and
| who, upon payment of the bounty, re-en-
| listed. A far more difficult task than rails
| ing men and taking care OF sick soldiers
| and their families was keeping up the en-
| thusiasm and loyalty at home. No words
/ can tell the bitterness of the opposition
| party towards Lincoln and the government
| in 1925. Indiana after the first date was
| in semi-rebellion and but for the lion
like Morton would have gone over TO the
| enemy. Indiana is the only Northern State
that during the war condemned to death
| citizens for treason. If any one wants to
| investigate for themselves the extent of the
| disloyal element in our State in those dark
| days, let him read the testimony taken on
| those treason trials at Indianapolis Miss
! Kraut, of Charlottesville, in her story en-
| titled knights In tuStlan, mas given us a
vivid yet truthful picture of the machina-
tions of the Sons Of Liberty from 1S61-5 in
the county of Montgomery and almost I'M
der the shadow of Wabash College.
SPLENDID WORK OF WOMEN
What splendid work the women Of In
diana did from 1Ss1-5 No town or cross
roads was too small for Ladies' Aid So
ciety. How busy were a million Hoosier
needles for those four years. No girl was
too young, or grandmother too old to ply
them. What vast quantities of hospital
supplies went forward to the front from
our State during these four heroic years.
We, the American people, never knew what
charity was until 1875. Often at single
like SIS 200 was voluntarily subscribed for
relief for our soldiers, and more than ten
to the front as nurses. All this caused a
mighty spiritual and patriotic uplift. New
er was our Nation. at home or on the
fighting line, grand from 1861 to 1865.
Never did eloquence and poetry reach such
a highwater mark as In those days. There
was never better music written or sung
than Marching Through Georgia or The
Battle Hymn of the Republic or old John
Brown It took us two years to educate
our captains. Never were there such blund-
erheads as Halleck, Mcclellan, Pope and a
score of others nj the head Of orr armies
and who cost 100000 lives. But
at last the real men came-Sherman, Sher-
| ldan, lnOIldS anu d great tUTOnS
of others-men who were never excelled for
bravery or skill, and never since God made
man were there better soldiers than those
in our ranks.
"a recent visit to the battlefield of Shi-
Ion has satisfied me that that great victory
was won by the rank and file and not by
those in authority-neither Grant at that
time nor Sherman had learned their trades
One of the phenomena of the great war was
the universal prosperity of the entire North
| Notwithstanding its tremendous expendi-
lures and distinctions, from start to fin
ish. Owing to the excessive issue of paper
money shoddyism was never more in evil
dence Prices rose to an abnormal extent
Butter was 90 cents pound, flour SIS a
barrel. Gold went up to 240 per cent. Sill
yer disappeared and we used shin plasters
for change. Fifty and 10-cent pieces were
printed on green and 25 and scent pieces
on yellow paper. No one felt any pecuniary
inconvenience until the great crash of 1873
Stewards RESPONSE.
Before me is newspaper clipping now
yellow with over forty years use. In 1866
the general assembly of the great Pres
byterian Church met at Washington In
the darkest days of our civil war and ad-
dressed loyal and hopeful letter to Lin
coin The following Is the splendid re-
Spouse of his greatest secretary. William
III. Seward. / have loked through all his
biographies and find nc mention of it, and
am glad TO bring il before the public:
TO the General Assembly of the Pres
byterian Church of the United States.
Reverend gentlemen-I have had the
honor of receiving your address to the Pres
| of ha cd nd he oo1.