20th Indiana Infantry Regiment


The 20th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The Regiment was officially raised on July 22, 1861, by William L. Brown, the first Colonel of the Regiment, in response to President Lincoln's call for volunteers. At the time of muster, the regiment had 9 fighting companies lettered A-K along with a staff company for a total of 10 companies, roughly 1000 men. The 20th Indiana saw engagements in most of the major battles of the American Civil War, including the action between the first ironclads at Hampton Roads, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the Siege of Petersburg. The Regiment was part of the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, III Corps for the duration of the war.

Service

The 20th Indiana Volunteer Infantry was organized at Lafayette, Indiana, on July 22, 1861. The regiment mustered out of service on July 12, 1865. It spent the entirety of its service in the eastern theater of the war.

Creation of the Regiment

William L. Brown, a veteran of the Mexican–American War, was given permission by the United States Secretary of War to raise a volunteer rifle regiment to be mustered into service with the United States Army. Brown went across Indiana talking to friends in order to raise enough companies for the regiment. This was accomplished by various people in various counties over the course of June, 1861. Brown set the date of July 4, 1861, as the date for all companies to rendezvous in Lafayette, Indiana, in order to be properly mustered into service.
The Regiment was assembled between July 20–22, with the latter date being when it was officially mustered into service. The mustering process was markedly simple, due to the dire need of fighting men. The process consisted of the various companies being assembled in a large, open field. A mustering officer would walk among the ranks of the companies, looking at the general physical appearance of each man along with his hands. There are at least two documented instances of the mustering officer stopping to question the ability or age of prospective volunteers. The first instance involved a man by the name of Smith who had lost is right index finger in a farm accident. The mustering officer questioned how accurate Smith could be with a weapon, if he could hold a weapon at all with his disability. When the mustering officer asked Smith if he could "hit a man at 400 yards", Smith retorted "I wish you would step out there and let me try". Smith was sworn into the Regiment.
The second occurrence involved a young boy by the name of Boulson who was standing on blocks in an attempt to make his stature look like someone who was of age to fight. The mustering officer quickly dismissed the boy, admonishing him to return to his mother. Boulson indignantly refused, and eventually ended up as a serving boy to one of the officers of I Company, 1st Lt. Erasmus Gilbreath. In this way, Boulson was able to stay with the regiment until he was of age to enlist, becoming a fifer in I Company and eventually Chief of Field Music for the Regiment.
At the time of muster, the Regiment's officers and companies were as follows:
  • Field and Staff Company:
  • *Col. William L. Brown
  • *Lt. Col. Charles D. Murray
  • *Maj. Benjamin H. Smith
  • *Adjt. Israel N. Stills
  • *Reg. Qtr. Isaac W. Hart
  • *Ch. William C. Porter
  • *Surg. Orpheus Everts
  • *Asst. Surg. Anson Hurd
  • A Company
  • *Cpt. John Van Valkenburg
  • *1st Lt. William B. Rayburn
  • *2nd Lt. John Hoover
  • B Company
  • *Cpt. John Wheeler
  • *1st Lt. Charles A. Bell
  • *2nd Lt. Michael Sheehan
  • C Company
  • *Cpt. Oliver H. P. Bailey
  • *1st Lt. William C. Castleman
  • *2nd Lt. Joseph Lynch
  • D Company
  • *Cpt. George F. Dick
  • *1st Lt. Charles Reese
  • *2nd Lt. James A. Wilson
  • E Company
  • *Cpt. James H. Shannon
  • *1st Lt. John W. Andrews
  • *2nd Lt. John E. Sweet
  • F Company
  • *Cpt. John Kistler
  • *1st Lt. John H. Logan
  • *2nd Lt. Edward C. Sutherland
  • G Company
  • *Cpt. Nathaniel C. Herron
  • *1st Lt. William C. L. Taylor
  • *2nd Lt. William H. Brittingham
  • H Company
  • *Cpt. George W. Geisendorff
  • *1st Lt. George W. Meikel
  • *2nd Lt. William O. Sherwood
  • I Company
  • *Cpt. James W. Lytle
  • *1st Lt. Erasmus Corwin Gilbreath
  • *2nd Lt. William I. Carr
  • K Company
  • *Cpt. Alfred Reed
  • *1st Lt. John I. Richardson
  • *2nd Lt. Daniel D. Dote
The Regiment, at that point totaling roughly 1200 men, left Lafayette on the 25th of July for Indianapolis, where they would be properly equipped with weapons, uniforms, and other standard-issue items. Upon arriving in Indianapolis, the Regiment made camp at Camp Morton. Meanwhile, William Brown, who had been made Colonel of the Regiment, gave the governor and the local quartermaster exact figures for equipping the Regiment.
The officers in the regiment were told to procure their uniforms and weapons on their own, the enlisted men of the regiment received their equipment from the government supply. Standard issue uniforms for enlisted men, according to the journal of Erasmus Gilbreath, consisted of "a jeans suit, gray in color, and the coat or jacket was of Zouave shape with rounded corners and a braided edge". According to Gilbreath, the troops expected to be equipped with the new model 1861 Springfield Rifle. At that point in the war, the government did not have enough rifles to equip both the regular army as well as the newly recruited regiments, leading the government to substitute the more modern rifles with the much older 1855 Springfield Musket, which had been modified to use percussion caps. The regiment was reportedly so disgusted with their equipment that they threw their weapons down in the street in indignation. The Governor attempted to cool the situation by promising the first few companies would have the new model rifles at an expedited time and the rest of the regiment would have them as soon as possible.
From Indianapolis, the Regiment was transferred by train to Baltimore. Along the way, the Regiment busied itself by guarding various bridges along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Upon arriving in Baltimore, Col. Brown ordered the Regiments' weapons to be loaded and on half-cock, essentially indicating a preparedness to fire. This was due to the recent Baltimore riot of 1861, which was led by a group of Confederate sympathizers against the Union troops stationed in the city. Col. Brown, feeling that the populace might still be hostile to Union troops, ordered the regiment to load their weapons. From Baltimore the regiment was sent by steam ship to Fort Monroe, where they were camped until September 26, 1861.

Deployment to Hatteras Inlet

On the 26th of September, the regiment moved from Fort Monroe to Fort Hatteras, recently taken from the Confederates during the Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries, on Hatteras Island in preparation for an assault against Confederate troops defending further up the inlet. 500 men in 7 companies were deployed to Chicamicomico Beach, Hatteras Island, on September 29, 1861. Their main objective was to dislodge an enemy force from Roanoke Island. The commanding officer of Fort Hatteras was in such a haste to have this objective accomplished that the men landed at Chicamicomico Beach without supplies or tents. Regimental Quartermaster Isaac W. Hart and a small detail arrived with proper supplies on October 1. However, the gunboat carrying Hart and the supplies was attacked by three Confederate gunboats shortly after Hart began unloading the supplies that afternoon. Hart and 47 men were taken prisoner, and the supplies and equipment were captured by the Confederate gunboats, who had kept the Regiment under suppressing fire to prevent any interference from land
On the morning of October 4, Gilbreath sighted a Confederate fleet of nine ships steaming towards the current position of the detachment. It was believed that the fleet was carrying a detachment of Confederate soldiers detailed to cut off the regiment from Fort Hatteras, leading Col. Brown to decide to retreat. The Regiment returned to Fort Hatteras on October 5. Due to some good luck, the 20th Indiana was able to make it back to Fort Hatteras without any serious incident, as the Confederate ships carrying the majority of their troops had run aground far from the Regiment's position. It was later found out, after the Regiment had returned to Fort Hatteras, that in comparison to their 500 troops, who were all equipped with smooth-bore muskets and no artillery, the Confederates had sent down over 2000 troops to potentially capture the Union force.
Little occurred following October 5. On November 3, a steamship arrived with the much anticipated shipment of rifles. On November 10, the regiment was ordered back to Fort Monroe.

Battle of the Ironclads

While stationed at Fort Monroe, the 20th Indiana was witness to the Battle of Hampton Roads, also known as the Battle of the Ironclads. During the CSS Virginia's initial successes, during which it sank the and burned the, the 20th Indiana aided wounded sailors who washed up on the beach and provided small arms support for the upon its arrival. General Joseph K. Mansfield, commanding officer of the Coastal Batteries overlooking the battle, is reported to have become so engrossed in the battle that he "...forgot all else. At one shot from the Monitor, he would exclaim 'Damned it you're firing too high!', or to the Merrimac 'You cussed Rebel, you didn't hurt us a bit!'".

Seven Days Battles

In early 1862, General George B. McClellan devised a plan to take Richmond by transporting his forces via steamship to Urbanna, Virginia and outflank the Confederate forces outside Washington. This became known as the Peninsular Campaign. Union forces maneuvered up the James River and disembarked at Harrison's Landing, then marching towards Richmond. The Union forces split at the Chickahominy River, with a smaller force on the southern side of the river. On May 31, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, firmly believing the city could not withstand a major siege, counterattacked. The following battle became known as the Battle of Seven Pines. Although the result was inconclusive, the Confederates unknowingly managed to halt McClellan's march towards Richmond.
Following the Battle of Seven Pines, the regiment was officially transferred to the Army of the Potomac, under General McClellan. The regiment was assigned to the 1st Brigade, of the 3rd Division, of the III Corps, commanded by General Samuel P. Heintzelman. Although the commanders of the Brigade, Division, and Corps changed throughout the war, the 20th was never reassigned.