It was before planes and automobiles, and most Johnson County residents had not been beyond the confines of Indiana, but for five men, the 1860s altered their lives.
The American Civil War’s Johnson County soldiers included four men from Franklin and one from Greenwood. Capt. Thomas Jeffery of Greenwood fought alongside Lt. Billy Davis, Sgt. Sam List, Cpl. John Calvin Henderson and Capt. Sam Van Nuys, all of Franklin, for the Union Army as part of the 7th Indiana Infantry. The infantry fought in the Battle of Port Republic, the second Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Gettysburg and throughout the Overland Campaign, during which Union soldiers pushed forward through Virginia to Petersburg, a crucial location of supply movement between the city and the confederate capital of Richmond.
David Pfeiffer, director of the Johnson County Museum of History, spoke to an audience at the Johnson County Public Library Franklin branch Tuesday evening about Johnson County’s history in the Civil War.
While it isn’t common practice now, the U.S. military used to enlist people from the same area in order to build camaraderie among soldiers, Pfeiffer said
“Indiana had the second-highest rate of enlistment after Ohio,” Pfeiffer said. “There were pros and cons of units from the same areas. It was seen as camaraderie, but there was a feeling of shame, too. You don’t want to not enlist when everyone else from Franklin is, but when someone was wounded that was a friend, cousin or someone you knew well.”
Throughout the battles, the 7th Indiana Infantry fought in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia, where the Confederacy was eventually cornered and the Union won the war.
In most battles, the 7th Infantry wasn’t on the front lines. During Antietam — named the bloodiest day in American history — 22,717 people were either killed, wounded or missing, but the Johnson County five survived, as they were guarding the artillery. During the Battle of Port Republic, Davis and Henderson were among eight soldiers who rescued a cannon that was stuck in the mud, keeping it from Confederate hands, Pfeiffer said.
The 7th infantry was not without its casualties, however. During the Battle of Laurel Hill in May 1864 in what is now West Virginia, Davis was wounded and captured. The prolonged conflict in Petersburg in June also that year resulted in List getting wounded in the leg and Jeffrey being wounded in the chest.
Beyond fighting, food shortages and disease also took a toll on the soldiers. The soldiers often drew rations and ate salt pork and hardtack, a cracker-like food.
The Johnson County Museum of History has recovered some of the soldiers’ letters and diaries, which include recollections about their meals and health hardships.
“At this place we took supper: two crackers and a small piece of meat,” Davis wrote in one of his written recollections.
“Took a dose of pills last night; made me very sick most all day,” Henderson wrote.
List remarked he didn’t feel he was doing his duty as a soldier while in the hospital. Van Nuys was granted a 30-day leave to go home because he was so sick, resulting in him missing the battles of Port Republic, Second Bull Run and Antietam, according to a presentation from the museum of history.
During their downtime, the Union soldiers would play baseball, have snowball fights, debate and trade with Confederate soldiers. But they would also often have to march 20 to 30 miles in one day.
Following the Siege of Petersburg, the 7th Infantry dissolved, with 229 of about 1,000 soldiers dead. Surviving soldiers were absorbed into the 20th Indiana Infantry.
Of the Johnson County men, Jeffery survived to be discharged, eventually moving to Iowa. List, after rising in the ranks, died from an infection after he was shot in the thigh at Petersburg. Although he survived the initial wound, doctors couldn’t get the musket ball out of his leg, leading to the infection. Davis, who also rose in the ranks, escaped his capture at Laurel Hill and was discharged.
Henderson was discharged after making it to corporal. After his time in the 7th Infantry, Van Nuys was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Colored Troops 4th Regiment, rising to the rank of captain, but was killed in the Battle of New Market in Sept. 1864, according to the Johnson County Museum of History.
Local residents can learn more about Johnson County’s role in the Civil War at the museum, which houses artifacts from the war, including the Hopewell Flag the infantry kept, photos of the soldiers and a replica of a cannon used by the infantry.
