Indiana in the Civil War – 46th Cass County Indiana Volunteers

The illustrious 46th Indiana Volunteers of Cass County made a place for themselves in Northern Indiana tradition for several reasons. It was the first regiment to occupy Camp Logan, which is marked with a monument later purchased by the regiment. The inscription reads: “Forty-sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, organized and camped here from October to December, 1861.” A second reason was, of course, his stellar war record.

On September 20, 1861, authority was granted to raise and fourth a regiment at Logansport, Indiana. Immediately, several recruiting offices were opened in the city as officers began to fill their companies. One of the companies was an Irish company. The recruiting site was at the store of Matthew Wilson, a true Irishman who bragged that the Irish company would wear his “shelalas” and “crush all the rebels in the country.”

The large regiment that was being formed needed a camp in which to train and house inexperienced soldiers. Camp Logan was created in a grove of trees in Barron’s Reserve. Many Logansport men worked to erect barracks, and the camp was ready on September 30, 1861. It quickly filled with children from Cass County, then from neighboring counties.

The 46th, the pride of Logansport, could not go to battle without a flag, and bought a beautiful flag. It was made in Cincinnati and, unfortunately, the flag did not arrive until the regiment was actually in the depot, ready to go to war. There the presentation was made, however, and the appropriate speeches were made. The flag was made of beautiful silk with the 46th Indiana volunteer marked with silver cloth in the center stripe. The regiment’s escort carried it with pride throughout the war.

Three months after the regiment was formed, the 46th marched to war. The farmers had been trained and instructed until they became a regiment of a thousand men. Lavish in their new uniforms, weapons, and new maturity, they stood their ground as the companies administered the oath in silence. Afterward, they marched through the large crowd to the Wabash Depot. Thousands of their families, neighbors and supporters had come from miles around to wish them well in the difficult years ahead. There must have been tears when the mothers and grooms watched them go; for many it would be the last time they saw their loved ones. It was a beautiful day, an appropriate day for heroes to go into battle.

They were on active duty for the remainder of the war. In March 1862, the 46 traveled up the Mississippi River and was soon caught up in battle. The attacks on New Madrid, Island No. 10 and Fort Pillow put the men’s military skills to the test.

On April 12, 1863, they were in the rear of Vicksburg with General Grant. The great siege of Vicksburg was about to begin. They fought at Port Gibson, and then Champion’s Hill, where the 46th suffered severely, losing a quarter of their men in fierce fighting. The regiment was then in the trenches around Vicksburg for forty-four days, waiting for the inhabitants to starve and surrender. The waiting game continued until July 4, when the southern general Pemberton called for the terms of the surrender. Vicksburg was now in Union hands and the Father of the Waters was no longer a southern supply highway.

The 46 was soon sent to Natchez and New Orleans, where on March 4, 1864 they rejoined as veterans. Their next battles took place at Sabine Cross Roads and Mansfield on April 8, 1864, where 70 men from the 46th were captured and tortured for eight months in prison at Camp Ford and Camp Grace, Texas.

At last, the terrible war ended and the 46th Indiana Volunteers were able to return home. They were removed in September 1865. 264 men never returned to their peaceful Indiana farms. Seventy died or died from their injuries and 194 died of disease. Many are buried in the Mt. Hope Cemetery, where a large and beautiful memorial stands honoring the men of Cass County who fought and died in the Civil War. None of these veterans ever forgot those war years.

Indiana Volunteers 46th made their county and state proud. They were the first regiment to occupy the renowned Camp Logan, now marked by a monument purchased by the regiment after the war. Many of his battles became legend: Champion’s Hill, Vicksburg and Sabine Cross Roads, and 70 of his men suffered for months in the Texas prison camps. 264 of Cass County’s best never made it home after the brutal Civil War.

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