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Fur tt« Mwa DMKNtOBGAKlIAtlOK OF TltSCOtlftTV MKtiflMi. Etimift.'will endeavttr to give a; history of the orgA*-ization of the milit m,iti thefirai settling o£jl#mK whick I «b«UiW#^]Elkhart -county; j in dMng whichto rely, entirely on mfBtnry, as tbe ffpiwnl*’ »1 books were taken off or deposited 1whereI could never fiud them, by~ James- Blue, (Abner* brother) who.wa* the adjatudlef tbe regiment. .I think it was in the*year 1831 that dera were issued by Brig’. Gen. Jacob Walker, who lived at Laporte, for all persona liable to perforin military duty in meet at the house o» Chester Sage at a time specified and elect a colonel,, lieutenant coUqwd And major to command a regiment to be formed in this county Iment an Ohio, and by Some nit ana tbe title of Colonel hfd followed he be he,' frbicfc made the people (Link that I was “ some M3Tas a military man,- and numbers insisted ltdibat I ahootd be a candidate for colonel* ‘ I stated that I had got tired of militia service and did not wish lo go into %: •jfrirt, but told them to do aa they pleased about it. I was confined to my bed with typhus fever at the liiue. Nark B. Tboftipson was a. candidate for colonel. The election wag held, and 1 was elected colonel, Stephen Downing lieutenani'colouel, and John W, Violett major.Mr. Thompson discovered some illegality in the election, I don’t recollect what it was, and he determined to contest it. As it torned'Out to be a good joke on him, I hope it will give him no offense i I I relate it here. He gbt h young man by -the name of Ben jamin Cashlnnd to go to Lhifeyette to lay in ihe contest with tbe General according to law, furnished him with horse, saddle and bridle. Cashliind started off, and where he-staid the first night, somewhere on the Tip pecanue river among the Indians, the horse got away from him, and after hunting for him till he got tired, gave up the trip and returned.home without horse, saddle or bri die. The horse wits found some months afterwards among (lie Indians. This circumstance prevented the contest being tried, and in doe time our commissions came on.Tbe law made it the duty of the field officers to lay off the county into company districts and order elections for company offi-ce»t. Accordingly there were four companies laid off*. For want of tbe records I cannot give tbe boundaries - one cnmpauy was at Elkhart, one at Goshen and one at Benton and one at Middlebury. Thomas J. Babcock was elected 'captain at Elkhart; .George Myers at Goshen; Henry Beane at Benton, and Warren Pratt at*Middlebury. The subaltern officers 1 cannot now recollect. Some two years afterwards the connty was laid off into eight company districts.including one company at Turkey CreekJohnPrairie, commanded by Captain John Po ell. William Lalta was the first Adjutant, and William Humes Sergt. Major,About the same time, the counties of La* porte and St. Joseph ware organized into regiments, L. M. Taylor was elected colonel in St. Joseph, and Mr. McClure in La-porte county. The three regiments were formed into a brigade and the commissioned officers were notified to meet at-their respective county seata and vote for a brigadier general lo command said brigade. Colonel McClure received the entire vole of Laporte couniv; Col. Taylor received the vote of St. Joseph county, and I had the honor to receive tbe vote of this county. Col. McClure was elected. We continued to muster for some four or five years, but tbe military spirit soon dLd out, and I resigned my commission, and there was no mastering afterwards.At tbe request of ?ome of onr citizens I will, in another communication, give a his lory of the civil organization of the county, together with some other incidents that transpired at the first settlement.JOHN JACKSCN._ _ The following ba» just been issuedi In ilnna |4 m.^1 ratmmanilaiia law iku li.nl..
Newspaper Details
Goshen Democrat
Goshen, Indiana, US
Wed, Feb 28, 1866
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Elkhart P.
IN, USA 28 Dec 2017
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