Processed
by
Charles Latham
12 April 1993
Updated 2 November 2004
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 2 bound volumes
COLLECTION DATES: 1861-1915
PROVENANCE: Mary Jane Neely, Cincinnati Historical Society, Eden Park, Cincinnati OH 45702, ca. 1985, via Doug Clanin
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS: Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing from the Indiana Historical Society
ACCESSION NUMBER: 1992.0168x
Notes: Cataloged as: United States. Army. Indiana Infantry Regiment, 7th (1861-1864) Records, 1861-1915.
The 7th Indiana Regiment was reorganized and mustered in at Indianapolis on 13 September 1861, with Ebenezer Dumont as colonel. It saw heavy service, in the Shenandoah Valley and Virginia, participating in Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and the siege of Petersburg. When its enlistment time ran out in 1864, it was consolidated first with the 19th Indiana, then with the 20th.
This collection consists of two bound volumes.
The first is a register of men mustered into Company E, 7th Indiana Regiment. Many entries simply give the facts: physical description, details of muster. In some cases a full account is given of the man's service. In one entry, that of Jacob Contant, a different story is told: "Motto: 'It is better to be a live coward than a dead hero.'...
How shall we rank thee on glory's
page?
Thou, less than a warrior, and still less than a sage,
All thou hast been, reflects on thee,
Far less, than what thou refused to be."
The second volume contains the medical record, dating 1893-1915, of soldiers from the Lawrenceburgh-Aurora area who applied for disability pensions. The men came from various regiments and allege various ailments. The record sometimes includes marriage information (when a widow is applying), and an occasional affidavit: "I remember this man serving as pilot on the Conestoga, but I never saw him in uniform."
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://opac.indianahistory.org/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, BF 2645).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.