page_title: Indiana in the American Civil War
section_title: Southern influence
hierarchical_section_title: Indiana in the American Civil War / Politics / Southern influence
caption_attribution_description: English: Jesse D. Bright, former member of the United States Senate from Indiana.
context_page_description: Indiana, a state in the Midwest, played an important role in supporting the Union during the American Civil War. Despite anti-war activity within the state, and southern Indiana's ancestral ties to the South, Indiana was a strong supporter of the Union. Indiana contributed approximately 210,000 Union soldiers, sailors, and marines. Indiana's soldiers served in 308 military engagements during the war; the majority of them in the western theater, between the Mississippi River and the Appalachian Mountains. Indiana's war-related deaths reached 25,028. Its state government provided funds to purchase equipment, food, and supplies for troops in the field. Indiana, an agriculturally rich state containing the fifth-highest population in the Union, was critical to the North's success due to its geographical location, large population, and agricultural production. Indiana residents, also known as Hoosiers, supplied the Union with manpower for the war effort, a railroad network and access to the Ohio River and the Great Lakes, and agricultural products such as grain and livestock.
context_section_description: The Civil War era showed the extent of the South's influence on Indiana. Much of southern and central Indiana had strong ties to the South. Many of Indiana's early settlers had come from the Confederate state of Virginia and from Kentucky. Governor Morton once complained to President Lincoln that "no other free state is so populated with southerners", which Morton believed kept him from being as forceful as he wanted to be.
  Due to their location across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky, the Indiana cities of Jeffersonville, New Albany, and Port Fulton saw increased trade and military activity. Some of this increase was due to Kentucky's desire to stay neutral in the war. In addition, Kentucky was home to many Confederate sympathizers. Military bases in southern Indiana were needed to support Union operations against Confederates in Kentucky, and it was safer to store war supplies in towns on the north side of the river. Jeffersonville served as an important military depot for Union troops heading south. Towards the end of the war, Port Fulton was home to the third-largest hospital in the United States, Jefferson General Hospital.
  In 1861, Kentucky's governor Beriah Magoffin refused to allow pro-Union forces to mobilize in his state and issued a similar order regarding Confederate forces. Governor Morton, who repeatedly came to the military rescue of Kentucky's pro-Union government during the war and became known as the "Governor of Indiana and Kentucky" allowed Kentuckians to form Union regiments on Indiana soil. Kentucky troops, especially from Louisville, which included the 5th Kentucky Infantry and others, at Indiana's Camp Joe Holt. Camp Joe Holt was established in Clarksville, Indiana, between Jeffersonville and New Albany.
  Jesse D. Bright, who represented Indiana in the United States Senate had been a leader among the state's Democratics for several years prior to the outbreak of the war. In January 1862, Bright was expelled from the Senate on allegations of disloyalty to the Union. He had written a letter of introduction for an arms merchant addressed to "His Excellency, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederation." In the letter, Bright offered the merchant's services as a firearms supplier. Bright's Senate replacement was Joseph A. Wright, a pro-Union Democrat and former Indiana governor. As of 2015, Bright was the last senator to be expelled by the Senate.
caption: Indiana Senator Jesse Bright, a Copperhead, was expelled from the U.S. Senate for disloyalty.
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