Abel Streight Abel Delos Streight ( June 17 , 1828 – May 27 , 1892 ) was a peace time lumber merchant and publisher , and was a Union Army general in the American Civil War . His command precipitated a notable cavalry raid in 1863 , known as Streight ' s Raid . He later was a politician , and served as a State Senator in Indiana , for two terms . Early life and Civil War . Abel Streight was born in Wheeler , New York . He moved to Cincinnati , as a young man , and by 1859 was living in Indianapolis , where he was a publisher of books and maps . Streight was appointed colonel of the 51st Indiana Infantry regiment on December 12 , 1861 . His regiment was soon attached to the Union Army of the Cumberland . Streight and his regiment saw very limited action during the first two years of their service , which is said to have disappointed him greatly . In 1863 , he proposed a plan to Brig . Gen . James A . Garfield ( chief of staff of the Army of the Cumberland ) that he be allowed to raise a force to make to raid deeply into the South . His proposal was to disrupt of the Western & Atlantic Railroad from Chattanooga to Atlanta , which carried supplies to the Confederate Army of Tennessee . The Union Army ' s commander , William S . Rosecrans , gave him permission . Union forces from Streight ' s own 51st Indiana , 73rd Indiana Infantry , 80th Illinois Infantry , and 3rd Ohio Infantry regiments were placed under Streight ' s command . This force encompassed approximately 1 , 700 troops . The original intent was to have this force mounted suitably for fast travel and attacks ; however , due largely to wartime shortages , Streight ' s brigade were equipped with mules . This obvious disadvantage , combined with Streight ' s own inexperience , was to prove disastrous . Steight led this force to Nashville , departed Tuscumbia , Alabama , on April 26 , 1863 , and then to Eastport , Mississippi . From there he decided to push to the southeast , initially screened by another Union force commanded by Brig . Gen . Grenville Dodge . On April 30 , Streight ' s brigade arrived at Sand Mountain , where he was intercepted by a Confederate cavalry force under Brig . Gen . Nathan Bedford Forrest and harassed for several days . Streight ' s force won the Battle of Day ' s Gap but the battle set off a series of skirmeshes that eventually led the Union forces being surrounded and captured . Streight himself was captured and taken to Libby Prison as a prisoner of war . After ten months of incarceration , Streight and 107 other soldiers escaped from prison by tunnelling from their barracks to freedom . Eventually , Streight was able to cross through enemy territory and , on his return , gave a debriefing report to his Union commanders . Eventually Streight was restored to active duty being placed in command of the 1st Brigade , 3rd Division , IV Corps . He participated in the battles of Franklin and Nashville . Streight was given a brevet promotion to brigadier general in the volunteer army dated March 13 , 1865 . He resigned from the army on March 16 , 1865 . Postbellum career . Streight resigned his command and left the army in March 1865 , having achieved the rank of brevet brigadier general . In 1866 , he and his wife built a house on Washington Street in Indianapolis . In 1876 , Streight ran successfully for a seat in the Indiana Senate , serving a two year term . In 1880 , he ran unsuccessfully as the Republican candidate for governor of Indiana . In 1888 , he was once again elected as State Senator . He died in Indianapolis four years later , in 1892 . He is buried there in Crown Hill Cemetery . Streight was the author of " The Crisis of Eighteen Hundred and Sixty - one in the Government of the United States " , published in 1861 . Streight ' s wife , Lovina ( " née " McCarthy ) , joined her husband on his southern campaign , often ministering help to wounded men during the battle . She was captured three times and exchanged for prisoners . Lovina Streight was known as the " Mother of the 51st " , and upon her death in 1910 , her funeral was afforded full military honors . External links .