80th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, February 1863 History

*Dates*	*Synopsis of 80th Service*	*Quotes*
Feb. 1 Sunday	Windy, Rainy and Cold. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky. Transferred to US Marine Corps. Pvt. John F. Miller Co. C	"The fact is standing guard is not half so bad as marching, and not much worse than fighting; and by putting on an overcoat in cool weather, and a gum blanket in rainey weather, a man can easily perform guard duty one or two days in the week, two hours on and four hours off." --Pvt. Joseph P. Glezen Co. H, 80th Ind., diary entry, written near Elizabethtown, Ky.
Feb. 2 Monday	Officer Election Held. Election held for 1st Lieut. of Company G. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky. Discharged from the Army. Pvt. Lewis Wyant Co. I	"In pursuance of Special Order No. 7 from Regimental Head Quarters, we hereby certify that an election was this day held in Company G to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of First Lieutenant Samuel E. Smith and that at such election Sergeant J. C. Gladish received the number of twenty votes, being a majority of all the votes cast, thirty seven being all of the Company present with the Regiment." --Capt. Thomas J. Brooks Co. B --Capt. Charles G Brownlee Co. A --1st Lieut. Alexander Montgomery Co. E
Feb. 3 Tuesday	Soft Bread. Rations of soft bread issued to regiment. Guarding Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky.
Feb. 4 Wednesday	Snow. Four inches of snow fell overnight and more during the day. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky.
Feb. 5 Thursday	Near Elizabethtown. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky. Discharged from the Army due to wounds received in action at Perryville, Ky. Pvt. James Carithers Co. A Discharged from the Army. Pvt. John P. Black Co. H Pvt. John N. Cooper Co. B Pvt. Ervin Cox, Co. K Mus. Joseph Hemphill Co. K Pvt. John Khul Co. F	"...entered the hospital, found nearly 90 patients nearly all from the 80th Indiana and a majority of them convalescents." --Pvt. Joseph P. Glezen Co. H, 80th Ind., diary entry, written when first appointed as a Ward Master at Army Hospital No. 1, Elizabethtown, Ky.
Feb. 6 Friday	Hospital Fire. Smoldering fire discovered and extinguished at Hospital No. 1 at Elizabethtown, Ky. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky.	"Elizabethtown is situated in Hardon County, on the Louisville and Nashville rail road, and is the most pleasant town I have seen in Kentucky, except Danville, and I would suppose it contains a population of 2,000 or 2500 inhabitants." --Pvt. Joseph P. Glezen Co. H, 80th Ind., diary entry, written while a Ward Master at Army Hospital No. 1, Elizabethtown, Ky.
Feb. 7 Saturday	Elizabethtown. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky.	"During a part of the following winter, the 80th was stationed at Elizabethtown, Ky. to guard a bridge that had been repeatedly burned by the Confederate soldiers, in order to cut off the supplies of the Union forces. As it was so near home, my husband urged me to come and visit him, so in February I took baby Ernest and went to him." --Mrs. Alberta Bicknell, wife of then Cpl. Eli P. Bicknell Co. C, 80th Ind., from a Mar. 29, 1906, letter she wrote about her Civil War memories.
Feb. 8 Sunday	Elizabethtown. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky.
Feb. 9 Monday	Elizabethtown. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky. "I hereby tender my resignation to take effect immediately and unconditionally...my health is such that it renders me unfit for military duty." --1st Lieut. Jesse C. Kimball, letter resigning his officer's commission. "[Lieut. Kimball is] laboring under Chronic Bronchitis of long standing [and has] never been able for military duty, except at intervals since he entered the service...[and]...has not been on duty for the last ninety days in consequence of said disability." --Surg. George B. Jaquess 80th Ind., Certificate accompanying resignation letter of 1st Lieut. Kimball.
Feb. 10 Tuesday	Pay Day. Regiment paid off today up to Dec. 31st. Discharged from the Army due to disability. Pvt. John L. Cooper Co. I Discharged from the Army as a Deserter. Pvt. Richard L. Williams Co. G Reported as a deserter. Pvt. Emanuel Wickett Co. I	"Elizabethtown is only sixty miles south of Louisville, and we were met there by our dear soldier, who took us in a carriage to a boarding place he had secured for us, half a mile form camp. This was a large brick farmhouse owned by a union man named Strickler. Mr. Strickler was not safe at home, as he was a prominent man and his sentiments were well known, so himself and his best horses were hiding somewhere. His wife, son, and two daughters with the negro slaves, occupied the place...This was my first glimpse of slavery. All the servants were colored, and a cluster of whitewashed cabins in the rear were their homes. All [the slaves] that I saw were very dark [skinned] except one little fair brown-eyed girl who often passed through the hall. Her soft curling hair was light brown, yet she was a little slave." --Mrs. Alberta Bicknell, wife of then Cpl. Eli P. Bicknell, Co. C, 80th Ind., from a Mar. 29, 1906, letter she wrote about her Civil War memories.
Feb. 11 Wednesday	Elizabethtown. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky.	"Morgan [Col. John Hunt Morgan], the [C.S.A. Cavalry] raider had called upon the Stricklers a few weeks before, looking for good horses and their owner, a leading union man. But he was absent as well as his horses, so they found none except a pretty gray pony, belonging to Maggie, the eldest daughter. Anxiously watching, they saw the pony come from the stables ridden by one of Morgan's men. Taking a revolver Miss Maggie walked over among the men and going straight to her pony she raised the gun and said sternly "Dismount sir this is my pony!" The crowd laughed and cheered, the reb climbed off, and she led her pony safely away." --Mrs. Alberta Bicknell, wife of then Cpl. Eli P. Bicknell, Co. C, 80th Ind., from a Mar. 29, 1906, letter she wrote about her Civil War memories.
Feb. 12 Thursday	Sutler Departs. Mr. Lockhart, the 80th's Sutler, leaves for Indiana carrying letters and packages. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky.
Feb. 13 Friday	Elizabethtown. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky. Discharged from the Army. Pvt. John L. Catt Co. I	"Dr. Welbren [William P. Welborn], the Junior assistant Surgeon of the Regiment, returned today from Princeton [in Gibson County, Ind.]. He has been the victim of a very singular joke. He received notice from General Wright a few days ago that his "resignation was accepted", when in fact he had never offered his resignation. He went to Indianapolis and found that his successor, Dr. [J. C. L.] Campbell, was already commissioned. The department was notified of the mistake, and on arriving here today he found a notice of his re-appointment by the Governor, which places him where he was before the blunder. The mistake had come about in this way. Lieut. Walker [1st Lieut. Thomas J. Walker Co. I] Walker had tendered his resignation and Dr. Welbern had signed his certificate of disability, and the Agent General of Gen, Wright by mistake vacated the office of the certifying Surgeon instead of the sick Lieutenant." --Pvt. Joseph P. Glezen Co. H, 80th Ind., diary entry, written while a Ward Master at Army Hospital No. 1, Elizabethtown, Ky.
Feb. 14 Saturday	Dr. Culbertson Returns. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky. Died at Army Hospital No. 1, Elizabethtown, Ky. Pvt. John T. Powell Co. F "measles and a cold"	"Dr. Culbertson [Robert H. Culbertson], the [80th's] Senior Assistant Surgeon, came here today. He has been detailed as a surgeon at Bowling Green, [Ky.] since last October." --Pvt. Joseph P. Glezen Co. H, 80th Ind., diary entry, written while a Ward Master at Army Hospital No. 1, Elizabethtown, Ky. "We would be thankful to our friends in the First Congressional District [in Indiana], if they would furnish us some blankets, comforts, sheets, bunk ticks, pillow ticks, shirts, drawers, and such nourishments as potatoes, dried fruits, canned fruits, and butter and eggs. --Surg. George D. Jaquess F&S, 80th Ind., public appeal for hospital stores, published in the Princeton Clarion newspaper, Princeton, Ind., Feb. 14, '63.
Feb. 15 Sunday	Dr. Jaquess Departs. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky. Resigned from Army. 1st Lieut. Jesse C. Kimball Co. A "Chronic Bronchitias" Mustered into Army. Recruit William Mackey into Co. G	"...we did not need fine furnishings to help us enjoy each others presence. Here we passed two precious weeks together, with our baby boy as our guest. Co. C voted my husband leave of absence during our visit, though he went over to camp for awhile every day. He took us over [to the 80th's camp] one day, but all the men were strangers, and the weather was cold and snowy, so we were kept in by our fire. --Mrs. Alberta Bicknell, wife of then Cpl. Eli P. Bicknell Co. C, 80th Ind., from a Mar. 29, 1906, letter she wrote about her Civil War memories.
Feb. 16 Monday	Elizabethtown. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky. Commissioned by Ind. Gov. Morton as Co. A officer. Sergt. Henry C. Jerauld Co. A, as 1st Lieut. Died at home in Kecksville, Ind. Pvt. John L. Walls Co. K "measles"	"It is said that Mr. Hobbs [Marmaduke M. C. Hobbs], our former Chaplain, desires to come back to the Regiment; and an effort is now being made to have him reappointed. He resigned in January and went home during the sickness of his wife, who has since died. While we were at Danville one of his children was taken sick and he obtained leave of absence to go home, and his child died while he was there...He is a general favorite among officers and privates. All have confidence in him. The privates like him because he is interested in their welfare, and proves his sincerity by denying himself ease and comfort, and by constant, unceasing labor wherever he sees an opportunity to be useful. The surgeons like him for he is so attentive and useful amongst the sick in the hospitals, waiting on the sick, bathing them & writing their letters, and besides this he is an excellent preacher..." --Pvt. Joseph P. Glezen Co. H, 80th Ind., diary entry, written while a Ward Master at Army Hospital No. 1, Elizabethtown, Ky.
Feb. 17 Tuesday	Elizabethtown. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky. Reported as a deserter. Pvt. David Grismore Co. D
Feb. 18 Wednesday	Maj. Culbertson in Command. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky. Started leave of absence. Col. Lewis Brooks F&S, to visit his dying brother in Indiana, Capt. Thomas Brooks Co. C after sending following telegram to U.S. Gen. Boyle in Louisville. "Will you give me six (6) days leave on account of probable fatal illness in my family? Answer per telegraph." Notation in 80th Ind. regimental records about Pvt. David H. Powell Co. F "This man absented himself without leave from this command and was reported as a deserter, but reported at Hosp. Evansville [Indiana] and shortly afterward died." Mustered into the Army. William Mackey into Co. G
Feb. 19 Thursday	Bereaved Widow. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky. Died in Co. K Hospital, Elizabethtown, Ky. Pvt. Warner Fisher Co. K "pneumonia"	"My attention was arrested this morning while I was dressing, by the voice of a female in the adjoining hall, crying and exclaiming: "Oh, my husband! My Husband!" Where is Captain Showers? Where is Captain Showers?" I at once understood the meaning of it, and as I opened the door into the hall and saw a woman appearing to be in great trouble, with a little child in her arms, I asked her if she was not Mrs. Powell. She said she was and enquired about her husband [Pvt. John T. Powell of Co. F commanded by Capt. Russell J. Showers]...she had heard of his sickness and had started on a steamer last Sabbath morning, which was the morning that he died...It was truly affecting to witness the grief of the bereaved woman, and then to consider that this is only one of the hundreds of similar instances that are daily occuring in our land." --Pvt. Joseph P. Glezen Co. H, 80th Ind., diary entry, written while a Ward Master at Army Hospital No. 1, Elizabethtown, Ky.
Feb. 20 Friday	Typhoid and Pneumonia. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky. Discharged from the Army. Pvt. George W. Fullerton Co. A	"A pleasant day. Slack Connor [believed to be Cpl. William Conner Co. A] and I went on picket duty. C gone after biscuits. Making tea. A good supper." --Pvt. John K. King Co. A, diary. "There are several bad cases in Hospital of Typhoid fever and Pneumonia; and this morning, Myers, of Company I, was taken with Epolepsy; and during the day his nurse reports that he has had 10 or a dozen fits." --Pvt. Joseph P. Glezen Co. H, 80th Ind., diary entry, written while a Ward Master at Army Hospital No. 1, Elizabethtown, Ky.
Feb. 21 Saturday	Winter Storm. About 4 in. of snow fell today. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky. Elected 1st Sergt. of Co. A Sergt. Henry C. Jerauld Co. A Mistakenly reported as a deserter. Pvt. Samuel Perkins Co. A Resigned from the Army. 1st Lieut. Peter Hill Co. K Notation in 80th regimental records about Pvt. Samuel Perkins of Co. A. "returned from desertion satisfactory evidence of insanity received."	"Had an election for 1st sergeant. Jerauld [Henry C. Jerauld] elected. He treated to beer. Had a good time." --Pvt. John K. King Co. A, diary. "Hundreds of those in hospitals are only "playing off", and when you find one of that character (and they are not hard to find) he is never willing to render any service whatever, (except at the table), and when an immergency requires you to ask for his assistance, he looks like he had lost every friend in the world, and will commence telling his complaints. The fact is such men did not come here to work. They left their companies to avoid work, and they never intend to be of any service to the Country so long as they can hang about hospitals." --Pvt. Joseph P. Glezen Co. H, 80th Ind., diary entry, written while a Ward Master at Army Hospital No. 1, Elizabethtown, Ky.
Feb. 22 Sunday	Washington's Birthday. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky. Died at 6 p.m. in Army Hospital No. 1, Elizabethtown, Ky. Pvt. Samuel L. Thomas Co. H "diabetes" Commissioned by Ind. Gov. Morton as Co. K officer. 2nd Lieut. Bailey McConnell as 1st Lieut. Discharged from the Army. Pvt. Joseph H. Higgins Co. A Pvt. Jesse Spraggins Co. H	"...it is the day heretofore commemorated and revered by the American people as the day that gave birth to the "Father of his Country", the Great and Good Washington, who uttered the solemn and prohetic warning: "United we stand - divided we fall." Oh, that his councel has been followed and his warning heeded! Then we would have remained a prosperous nation and a happy people. But alas! like the warning given by Moses to the Ancient Jews, it has been disregarded. We are now divided, and I fear that the "destroying angel" is already commissioned to execute the predicted penalty, the fall of Civil Liberty, -- the over throw of American freedom, -- the destruction of everything dear to us as Americans!" --Pvt. Joseph P. Glezen Co. H, 80th Ind., diary entry, written while a Ward Master at Army Hospital No. 1, Elizabethtown, Ky. "We parted with sad and anxious hearts on Feb. 22 but we were fortunate, as to meet again the next December, when my soldier was sent home for recruiting..." --Mrs. Alberta Bicknell, wife of then Cpl. Eli P. Bicknell Co. C, 80th Ind., from a Mar. 29, 1906, letter she wrote about her Civil War memories.
Feb. 23 Monday	Come to Take Him Home. U.S. Brig. Gen. Boyle ordered 80th to consolidate its' companies at an encampment 1 mi. from Elizabethtown, Ky. Discharged from the Army. Cpl. Darius Horrall Co. I Reported as deserter "from hosp. at Elizabethtown, Ky.". Mus. Jesse Bryant Co. H	"The morning train brought in Mr. Wm. Smith from Pike County [Ind.], the father-in-law of Samuel L. Thomas [Co. H], who died last night. He had been informed of Thomas' sickness and had come to take him home." --Pvt. Joseph P. Glezen Co. H, 80th Ind., diary entry, written while a Ward Master at Army Hospital No. 1, Elizabethtown, Ky.
Feb. 24 Tuesday	Elizabethtown. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky. Died. Pvt. Elza B. Miles Co. B	"I am entirely discouraged at the poor prospect of ever putting down the rebellion. Even if we were united at home, to crush out so formidable a rebellion would be a Herculean task. But we are not united; every day brings with it new and alarming evidence of disaffection and division at home. The re-organization of Party, is having the very effect that was predicted...The object was to divide the people of the North on old party issues, and by that means play into the hand of traitors. With near a million voters in the field [in the Union Army, and thus unable to vote at home] who were in favor of the prossecution of the war and a restoration of the Union they were able, by gulling a few thousand more, to carry their point and effect a division. But the mischief does not end there. Letters by the thousands are written to the soldiers in the field, calculated to cause disaffection, excite their prejudices and swerve them from their illegiance. And such papers as the "Cincinnati Enquirer", a paper that is greedily sought after by every Rebel in Kentucky, is carefully and generally distributed among the troops, and its influence is seen in almost every regiment in the service. But even this is not all. The war has been so shamefully conducted by those who have been in the lead, that the soldiers in the field, and loyal citizens in the Northern states have become discouraged and dispirited. And in addition to this, the abolition policy of the President, as a war measure, and the proposition in Congress for the enrollment of 300,000 negro soldiers, has had the same effect; and these are working out their share of mischief, and not only by disgusting loyal men, but also by furnishing rebel sympathizers with material with which to operate." --Pvt. Joseph P. Glezen Co. H, 80th Ind., diary entry, written while a Ward Master at Army Hospital No. 1, Elizabethtown, Ky.
Feb. 25 Wednesday	Elizabethtown. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky. Died at Hospital No. 1, Elizabethtown, Ky. Pvt. William Lyons Co. A "pneumonia" Pvt. Daniel McDonald Co. E "measles"	"Biven [Pvt. George W. Biven Co. A], Polk [Pvt. Silas C. Polk Co. A], and I. Irvin [unknown] came. I got three letters." --Pvt. John K. King Co. A, diary.
Feb. 26 Thursday	Elizabethtown. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky.	"All who have died at this hospital, five in number, have been expressed home. Where the Government buries them it furnishes a four dollar coffin. When a corpse is expressed home the Government pays four dollars on [a] coffin that is worth $8 or $9, and the remainder is taken out of the money of deceased together with price of box and express charges in advance. There are only two ways for a man to go home from the 80th Indiana: to desert or to be expressed home in his coffin." --Pvt. Joseph P. Glezen Co. H, 80th Ind., diary entry, written while a Ward Master at Army Hospital No. 1, Elizabethtown, Ky.
Feb. 27 Friday	Elizabethtown. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky. Died in Hospital No. 1, Elizabethtown, Ky. Pvt. Hugh M. Clark Co. A "typhoid fever" Discharged from the Army. Pvt. George Green Co. A Pvt. John R. Jerauld Co. A "wounds" Pvt. Charles F. Keps Co. A Reported as deserters. Pvt. Jackson Chaney Co. I Pvt. Moses Huett Co. I Pvt. George A. Williams Co. I
Feb. 28 Saturday	Elizabethtown. Guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad near Elizabethtown, Ky. Discharged from the Army due to wounds received in action at Perryville, Ky. Cpl. Turner M. Johnson Co. K PRESENT FOR DUTY. Captain...............1 Sergeants...........2 Corporals..........2 Wagoners..........1 Privates...........15 --Morning Report of Co. G, signed by: Sergt. Henry Cook Capt. Willis H. Watson

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	February 1863 80th Indiana Volunteer Infantry An American Civil War Regiment
Private Daniel McDonald of Company E Died February 25, 1863, at Elizabeth, Kentucky, of Measles Photo courtesy of Daniel's Great Grandson Jack E. McDonald Picture shown above has been electronically enhanced by Deep Vee Productions To view a larger copy of this and the original image, click HERE