A New Jersey Medal Of Honor

William Joyce Sewell was promoted to Colonel of the 5^th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry 6 January 1863.

William J Sewell was born 6 December 1835 in Castlebar, Mayo, Ireland.  He immigrated in 1851, first working in Chicago, Illinois, before moving to Camden, New Jersey.

When the Civil War started, Sewell began service as a Captain in the 5^th New Jersey.  He moved quickly through the ranks and was made Captain in the regiment 6 January 1862.  He was in command of a brigade at the Battle of Chancellorsville, where he would be wounded.  He would receive another wound while in command of the 5^th on 2 July 1863 out along the Emmitsburg Road, near the Klingle Farm.  This wound would force from the field and out of the war until 1 October 1864.  When he returned to duty it was as the commander of the 38^th New Jersey Infantry, but with his wounds still giving him trouble, he was reassigned to command of Fort Powhatan in the Department of Virginia until the end of the war.

Following the war Sewell went to work in the railroad industry, before entering politics.  He would serve in the New Jersey State Senate from 1872 to 1881, and was elected to the United States Senate, serving from 1881 to 1887.  At the time of his death, Sewell was the President of the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad.  He died at his home in Camden, New Jersey 27 December 1901.  Sewell was buried with full military honors in the Harleigh Cemetery in Camden, New Jersey.

Sewell was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Chancellorsville on 25 March 1896.  The citation reads, “Assuming command of a brigade, he rallied around his colors a mass of men from other regiments and fought these troops with great brilliancy through several hours of desperate conflict, remaining in command though wounded and inspiring them by his presence and the gallantry of his personal example.”

Find A Grave: William Joyce Sewell

To Cross The River

Brigadier General Frederick Lander

A part of the Romney Campaign, the Battle of Hancock was fought 5 January 1862.

Confederate General Thomas J Jackson moved his troops from Winchester, Virginia to Bath in order to block the movement of supplies on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.  Upon reaching the Potomac River across from the town of Hancock, Maryland the Confederate soldiers skirmished with the Union soldiers garrisoned in the town on 5 January 1862.  Jackson ordered artillery set up on Orrick’s Hill, and had it fire on the town.  The artillery caused only minor damage.

Union commander Brigadier General Frederick W Lander would not surrender.  Jackson had the artillery continue to bombard the town for two day while he looked for a place to cross the river.

On 7 January 1862, Jackson had his troop withdraw, and they moved on to Romney, West Virginia.  There were an estimated 25 casualties reported.

Under Orders Of The Governor

Stables located at the MT Vernon Arsenal

The Mount Vernon Arsenal was seized by troops under the order of the Alabama Governor on 4 January 1861.

The Mount Vernon Arsenal was authorized by Congress in 1824 and formally finished and named on 1 January 1829.  It was built near the Mobile River about 3 miles from Fort Stoddert.  The Arsenal’s primary duty was the assembly of gun parts manufactured elsewhere and the manufacturing of ammunition.

On 4 January 1861 militia troops under the orders of Alabama Governor Andrew Barry Moore seized the Mount Vernon Arsenal.  The commander of the Arsenal at the time was United States Captain Jesse I Reno.  He surrendered the garrison without any shots fired.

Once Alabama seceded, the Arsenal was turned over and remained in Confederate hands until the end of the war.  Following the fall of New Orleans in 1862, most of the equipment was moved to locations farther away from Union lines.

After the Civil War ended the Arsenal was turned into army barracks, and was used as a prison camp for about 400 Apaches between 1887 and 1894, including Geronimo.  The United States government deeded the property to the state of Alabama in 1895.  On 11 December 1900 the Alabama State Legislature turned it into the Mount Vernon Hospital for the treatment of the insane.  

Another website to find more information is MT. VERNON ARSENAL & BARRACKS

Not To Secede

Two weeks after the first southern state; South Carolina seceded, Delaware’s legislature voted on 3 January 1861 not to secede from the Union.

Slavery was a troublesome issue in Delaware, where the influence of Quakerism led many slaveholders to free their slaves.  By 1860 over 90% of the state’s black population were freedmen.

Following South Carolina’s section, Delaware’s legislature voted on 3 January 1861, not to secede and to stay in the Union.  One of the five border, slave holding states to remain in the Union [Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and when it became a state; West Virginia].  Governor William Burton said that Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution, and join the Union, and it would be the last to leave it.

Although Delaware stayed in the Union, there were deep sympathies among the population for both sides.  Union troops had to occupy polling stations in the state in 1862 while state and federal elections were being held, due to fears of political intimidation.  Lincoln lost both of his presidential elections in Delaware.  It was the only slave holding state in which no Confederate regiments or militia was raised.  About 13,000 men fought for the Union, including 954 black troops.  There were an estimated few thousand men who left the state and enlisted in Confederate service in neighboring states.

A South Carolinian

Confederate Colonel John Hugh Means, the 64^th Governor of South Carolina was killed in action August 30^th 1862 at the Second Battle of Manassas.

John Hugh Means was born August 18^th 1812 in the Fairfield District of South Carolina. He attended the Mount Zion College in Winnsboro, before graduating from South Carolina College in 1832. He was a part of the planter class, and an outspoken supporter of State’s Rights. Means was elected the Governor of South Carolina in 1850, and he presided over the state convention of 1852, which passed the resolution stating that South Carolina had a right to secede. He used his time in office to increase the funding of the state militia.

In 1860 Means signed the Ordinance of Secession. He enrolled in the Confederate Army as the Colonel of the 17^th South Carolina Infantry.  They saw action during the Peninsula Campaign. The 17^th was part of Confederate General James Longstreet’s Corps, and was part of the right flank at the Second Battle of Manassas. Means was killed in action on August 30^th 1862 [I have found his death listed at August 29^th, 30^th, 31^st, and September 1^st]

The Final Escort

The 9^th Pennsylvania Cavalry was organized August 29^th 1861 at Camp Cameron, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The 9^th Pennsylvania Cavalry was made up of twelve companies recruited mostly from southeast and southcentral Pennsylvania. The regiment was organized near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at Camp Cameron on August 29^th 1861. After being trained the regiment was moved to Kentucky, where it became part of the Department of the Cumberland. In March they were ordered to Tennessee, where they tangled with Confederate John Hunt Morgan. They were reassigned to the Union Army of the Ohio, where they saw a small amount of action at the Battle of Perryville in October 1862. During the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863 they guarded the right flank of the Union army, and following the rout there, the 9^th stayed and fought with Union General George Thomas.

In April 1864 the 9^th’s enlistment was up. The men who re-enlisted took a furlough to go home and recruit. They would reform and see action that fall in Kentucky and Tennessee. When Union General William T Sherman began his march, the 9^th was included, seeing action in the Battle of Griswoldville. On April 17^th 1865 the 9^th was part of the escort for Union General Sherman when he went to meet Confederate General Joseph E Johnston at the Bennett Farm to discuss surrender. Following the ending of the war the 9^th was mustered out at Lexington, Kentucky.

End Of The Campaign

A part of Confederate General Robert E Lee’s retreat back into Virginia following the Battle of Gettysburg, the Battle of Manassas Gap, or the Battle of Wapping Heights was fought July 23^rd 1863 in Warren County, Virginia.

After the Battle of Gettysburg, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia retreated to and crossed the Potomac River at Williamsport, Maryland. With the Union Army of the Potomac in pursuit, Union Major General George G Meade made a flanking move into the Loudoun Valley and the Confederates rear.  Meade ordered the Union III Corps commanded by Major General William H French to cut off the Confederate columns retreat at Front Royal, Virginia by forcing a passage through the Manassas Gap.

At dawn on July 23^rd 1863 French ordered an attack against the troops of Confederate Brigadier General Ambrose R Wright’s Georgians, who were defending the Gap. With Union Brigadier General Francis B Spinola using his larger numbers the commander of the Excelsior Brigade pushed Wright’s men back through the Gap by the late afternoon. Wright was reinforced by Confederate Major General Robert E Rodes’ division.

As darkness fell the Union attack stalled out. During the night the Confederate troops withdrew into the Luray Valley.  The Union army occupied Front Royal, Virginia the next morning, but the Confederate army had moved beyond pursuit. This was the last action in the Gettysburg Campaign.

The First Of The Seven Days

The Battle of Oak Grove in Virginia was the first of the Seven Days’ Battles which began on June 25th 1862.

Oak Grove was an important location for the siege of Richmond during the Peninsula campaign. Union Major General George B McClellan advanced his line on June 25th 1862 along the Williamsburg Road, with the plan of getting his guns in range of Richmond, Virginia. McClellan’s troops attacked over swampy ground, with darkness ending the fighting. The battle wasn't strong enough to stop the Confederate offensive, and the next day Confederate General Robert E Lee attacked Union troops at Mechanicville.

The Union troops at Oak Grove advanced less than a mile at a cost of 626 dead, wounded and missing, with Joseph Hooker’s division baring the brunt of the attack. The Confederate losses were 441.

The Barbarism

United States Senator Charles Sumner delivered a speech on June 4^th 1860 entitled “The Barbarism of Slavery”.

United States Senator Charles Sumner had been missing from the Senate Chambers for four years, after having been beaten almost to death by South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks.  The speech titled “The Barbarism of Slavery” delivered on June 4^th 1860 was the last speech made in Congress before the Civil War, and until emancipation was discussed.  It was covered in its entirety in the leading newspapers, as well as being issued in several pamphlets.

If you wish to read the speech it can be found at The barbarism of slavery: speech of Hon. Charles Sumner

A Political Military Leader

Union Colonel Peter Augustus Porter was killed June 3^rd 1864 in the Battle of Cold Harbor.

Peter Augustus Porter was born July 14^th 1827 in Black Rock, New York the son of Peter Buell Porter.  He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1857, as well as studying abroad in Europe.  Porter was an elected to the New York State Assembly in 1862.

On July 7^th 1862 Porter was appointed the Colonel of the 129^th New York Infantry, which would be renamed the 8^th New York Heavy Artillery.  They were placed on duty guarding the forts that ringed Washington, DC.  On September 5^th 1863 Porter was nominated to the office of New York Secretary of State, but declined to stay with the military.  In May 1864 the 8^th along with Porter were ordered to join the Army of Potomac and General Ulysses S Grant’s Wilderness Campaign.

At the Battle of Cold Harbor on June 3^rd 1864, Porter was killed while leading his men.  He was found to have been shot six times.  Two nights later, during a rain storm, five men from the 8^th went out under fire and got their Colonel’s body; bring it back into Union lines.  Porter’s body was taken to Baltimore, Maryland where it was met by military escort.  A Chaplain accompanied the body back to his home, where he was buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in Niagara Falls, New York.

Reduced In Numbers

Gen Edmund K Smith

Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith surrendered what was left of his troops on June 2^nd 1865 at Galveston, Texas.

The Confederacy was reduced by the end of May to the Department of Trans Mississippi including the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.  Some this territory was even held by the Union at this point.  The commander of this Department was Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith.  Smith had a few thousand troops, most of them located in Texas.  On May 20^th 1865 Smith moved his headquarters to Houston, Texas from Shreveport, Louisiana in preparation of defending Texas.  However he lost hundreds of men to desertion every day, as people felt the war was over.

Smith could see the end was coming and May 26^th 1865 he agreed to terms proposed by Union General Edward R S Canby.  With terms similar to those offered to other Confederate military leaders, Smith agreed to surrender his Department on June 2^nd 1865 at Galveston, Texas.  Following the surrender Smith went into exile in Mexico and Cuba.

Their New Colonel

The 5^th United States Infantry was stationed in New Mexico when on June 1^st 1863 it officially got its new Colonel; Union Major General John F Reynolds, he would not take command.

The 5^th United States Infantry traces its origins back to 1808, however technically the regiment was created March 3^rd 1815 by an Act of Congress reducing the Regular Army from 46 infantry and 4 rifle regiments with the ending of the War of 1812, to peace time numbers of 8 infantry.  Six old regiments were consolidated into the 5^th, and placed under command of Colonel James Miller.

In the spring of 1861 when the Civil War got started, the 5^th was ordered to concentrate at Albuquerque, New Mexico for a move east.  But, with some Western Departmental pressure placed on Washington, DC, the 5^th was left on the frontier.  When Confederates from Texas invaded New Mexico in early 1862, four companies of the 5^th were the rear Union guard at Valverde on February 21^st 1862, in which the Confederates were victorious.  Two other companies captured a field piece on March 28^th 1862 at the Battle of Glorieta Pass, defeating the Confederates.

On June 1^st 1863 the 5^th received a new Colonel, Union Major General John F Reynolds.  He was of course on detached service commanding volunteers with the Army of the Potomac, and was killed one month later at the Battle of Gettysburg.  After Reynolds’ death the army appointed another Army of the Potomac general, Daniel Butterfield to be the Colonel of the 5^th, but he also was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg, and would not join the regiment while the war was going on.

The 5^th would remain throughout the Civil War on frontier duty watching for another Confederate attack. After the war ended the 5^th was transferred to the east moving to Fort Riley in Kansas.

He Changed His Position

Confederate Colonel Robert Hopkins Hatton was killed May 31^st 1862 at the Battle of Fair Oaks [also called the Battle of Seven Pines].

Robert Hopkins Hatton was born November 2^nd 1826 in Steubenville, Ohio.  While still a child his family moved to Tennessee.  He would receive a degree from the Cumberland University, pass the bar and begin a law practice in Lebanon, Tennessee in 1850.  He became a member of the Whig Party and won a seat in the Tennessee State Legislature in 1855 and to the United States Congress in 1858.  While in Congress Hatton was the chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy.

Hatton wished to see the Union preserved and opposed secession, but after President Abraham Lincoln made his call for troops Hatton changed his position.  He raised the Lebanon Blues, which became a part of the 7^th Tennessee Infantry, and was elected the Colonel of the Regiment.  In 1862 Hatton and the 7^th were part of the troops protecting Richmond, Virginia from Union Major General George B McClellan during the Peninsula Campaign.

On May 31^st 1862 while leading troops at the Battle of Fair Oaks, Hatton was shot in the head and killed.  His body was sent back to Tennessee, but as Middle Tennessee was held by the Union his body was temporarily placed in Knoxville.  He would be reentered in 1866 in the Cedar Grove Cemetery in Lebanon, Tennessee.

The First Seventh

Union BG Thomas A Morris

The 7^th Indiana Infantry was sent to Grafton, Virginia on May 30^th 1861, and just four days later was in battle.

The 7^th Indiana Infantry was organized in Indianapolis, Indiana in April 1861 as a three month regiment.  The men were shipped to Grafton, Virginia on May 30^th 1861.  On June 3^rd 1861 the men of the 7^th took part the Battle of Philippi, one of the first battles of the Civil War.

The men of the 7^th were placed in Union Major General George B McClellan’s Army of West Virginia, in Brigadier General Thomas A Morris’ Indiana Brigade.  They would see almost continuous action from July 6^th through 17^th 1861 at the Battles of Laurel Hill, Belington, Corrick’s Ford and in the pursuit of Confederate Brigadier General Robert S Garnett’s troops.

The 7^th mustered out of service on August 2^nd 1861.  The 7^th was reorganized on September 13^th 1861 in Indianapolis, Indiana into a three year regiment.  The original 7^th had one man killed in action and two who died from disease.

Just Damage The Bridge

The First Battle of Pocotaligo was fought in Yemassee, South Carolina on May 29^th 1862, with the Union objective of disrupting the Charleston and Savannah Railroad.

A Union detachment commanded by Colonel Benjamin C Christ and made up of the 1^st Massachusetts Cavalry, 8^th Michigan Infantry, 79^th New York Infantry, and 50^th Pennsylvania moved out from Beaufort, South Carolina on May 29^th 1862, toward the Charleston and Savannah Railroad.  As they moved toward Pocotaligo, the Union troops began pushing in Confederate pickets.  Reaching Pocotaligo the Union troops, where they found the bridge destroyed, there was some heavy fighting.  About 300 of the Union troops got across the river, and drove the Confederates into the woods.

As the Union mission, which was to destroy the bridge; had been obtained, the Union force withdrew.  Union casualties were 2 killed and 9 wounded, while the Confederates reported losses of 2 killed, 6 wounded and 1 man missing. 

Both Claimed A Victory

The Battle of Haw’s Shop [also called the Battle of Enon Church] was fought in Hanover County, Virginia May 28^th 1864.

Union General Ulysses S Grant abandoned his line at North Anna, after fighting Confederate General Robert E Lee’s force there, and swung once again, trying to flank the Confederates.  Lee moved his troops quickly, and sent out cavalry to gather intelligence about the Union movement.

Confederate Major General Wade Hampton, who was scouting the Union troops, ran into Union cavalry under the command of Brigadier General David M Gregg on May 28^th 1864 at Enon Church near Hanovertown, Virginia bring on the Battle of Haw’s Shop.  Although both sides were cavalry they fought predominately dismounted.  Both sides used earthworks in the area, and neither could gain an advantage.  Greg received reinforcements from Union Brigadier General Alfred T Torbert’s New Jersey division.  As the seven hour fight was wrapping up with Hampton withdrawing his men, Union Brigadier General George A Custer launched an attack, that brought everything to an end.

The Battle of Haw’s Shop was inconclusive, with both sides claiming victory.  Union Cavalry Corps commander Major General Philip H Sheridan felt his men had won as they drove Hampton from the field, but Hampton had held up the Union cavalry for seven hours and was able to provide Lee with intel about the Union Army.  The Union force reported 344 casualties, including Private John Huff of the 5^th Michigan Cavalry, who fatally shot Confederate major General JEB Stuart a few weeks earlier at the Battle of Yellow Tavern.  Confederate casualties were unofficially counted about 400.

At A Crossing

The Battle of Jericho Mills a part of Grants Overland Campaign was fought May 23^rd 1864 between the Union V Corps and a part of AP Hill’s Corps.

After the fighting at Spotsylvania Court House came to end Union General Ulysses S Grant moved to flank Confederate General Robert E Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.  He was brought up short by Lee’s “Hog Snout Line” along the North Anna River.  At that point Grant divided the Army of the Potomac into three parts.

Union General Gouverneur K Warren reached Mount Carmel Church on the morning of May 23^rd 1864.  He stopped his V Corps which caused Union General Winfield S Hancock’s II Corps to come up behind and get tangled on the road.  The two commanders decided that the II Corps would move down Telegraph Road while the V Corps would cross the North Anna at Jericho Mills.

As they moved down the Telegraph Road, Union Major David B Birney’s division of the II Corps began to take fire.  He deployed two brigades and attacked.  They also called up artillery which opened fire on Confederate Colonel Edward P Alexander’s artillery.  It was during this duel that Lee was just missed by a cannonball which lodged in the door frame near him, and Alexander was hit by bricks from the chimney which was hit by Union shells.  At 6pm the Union troops charged, overwhelming the Confederate at the bridge.  With Alexander’s artillery still lying down a heavy fire, the Union troops did not cross the bridge, but entrenched on the north side of the river.

Meanwhile at Jericho Mills, the V Corps found the North Anna ford unprotected.  Warren sent Union Brigadier General Charles Griffin’s Division across the river while the rest the Corps crossed by 4:30 pm on a pontoon bridge.  Finding out from a captured Confederate that there was a force nearby on the Virginia Central Railroad, Warren deployed for battle.  Lee felt that Warren’s movement was a feint and so had AP Hill send a single division under Major General Cadmus M Wilcox, with artillery commanded by Colonel William J Pegram.  The Confederates struck Warren’s Corps hard, breaking their line and causing them to flee to the rear where they came up against the bluffs along the river.  Warren’s Corps was saved in part by Union Colonel Charles S Wainwright’s artillery which laid down a deadly fire on the Confederates.  It was also at about this time that Union Brigadier General Joseph J Bartlett led his 83^rd Pennsylvania Infantry against the right flank of the Confederate line causing them to retreat and leaving that part of the line untenable.  Seeing that reinforcements from Confederate Major General Henry Heth would not reach the field in time, Wilcox had his men withdraw.

Wilcox was greatly outnumbered with about 6,000 men to the Union’s 15,000.  There were about 730 Confederate casualties, while the Union reported 377.

The First Killed

The first Union soldier killed by a Confederate soldier was Thornsbury Bailey Brown; he was killed May 22^nd 1861 in Taylor County, Virginia.

Thornsbury Bailey Brown was born May 15^th 1829.  He lived in the Taylor County, Virginia.

Union Lieutenant Daniel Wilson and Brown, both members of the Grafton Guards; which would become a part of the 2^nd West Virginia Infantry, on May 22^nd 1861 attended a recruiting rally in Pruntytown, Virginia.  The two men were returning to Grafton, Virginia in the evening when they encountered three members of the Confederate Letcher Guards; which would become of the 25^th Virginia Infantry, George E Glenn, Daniel Knight, and William Reese.  The three men where on picket duty at the Fetterman Bridge, a crossing located on the Northwestern Turnpike and the tracks of the Baltimore of Ohio Railroad.

The three pickets ordered Brown and Wilson to halt; instead Brown fired a pistol at the Confederates.   The shot apparently hit Knight in the ear.  The Confederates then opened fire on Brown and Wilson, killing Brown.  The Letcher Guards took Brown’s body to their camp and turned it over to their commander Colonel George A Porterfield.  The commander of the Grafton Guards Captain George R Latham led his men toward the Confederate camp planning to take the body back, by force if necessary.  They met the Confederates returning Brown body.

Brown was buried at first in a family plot.  His body was moved the Grafton National Cemetery in Grafton, West Virginia in 1903.

A Cavalry Man

Confederate Brigadier General Albert Gallatin Jenkins died May 21^st 1864, from wounds received at the Battle of Cloyd’s Mountain.

Albert Gallatin Jenkins was born November 10^th 1830 in Cabell County, Virginia, the son of Captain William and Jeanette Grigsby (McNutt) Jenkins.  He attended Marshall Academy, and graduated from both Jefferson College, and Harvard Law School.  Jenkins was admitted to the bar in 1850 and set up a practice in Charleston, Virginia.  In 1859 he inherited a part of his father plantation, and would be elected to serve as a Democratic United States Congressman.

When the Civil War started and Virginia seceded, Jenkins returned home from Congress, and raised a company of mounted rangers.  By June 1861 Jenkins’ company was part of the 8^th Virginia Cavalry and Jenkins was their Lieutenant Colonel.  He served as a delegate to the First Confederate Congress, but was back in the saddle with a promotion to Brigadier General on August 1^st 1862.  In September of that year Jenkins’ cavalry made a raid into Ohio near Buffington Island, as well as raiding throughout northern Kentucky and West Virginia.  In December 1862 Confederate General Robert E Lee had Jenkins with his men moved to the Shenandoah Valley.  During the Gettysburg Campaign Jenkins’ cavalry was the screen for Confederate General Richard S Ewell’s Corps, seizing the railroad in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and fighting in the Battle of Sporting Hill near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  He was wounded on July 2^nd 1863 during the Battle of Gettysburg, which kept him out of action for most of the rest of the year.

In 1864 Jenkins raised and organized a large cavalry force, and by May was the Commander of the Department of Western Virginia.  Learning of a Union force moving from the Kanawha Valley under the command of Brigadier General George Crook, Jenkins moved to intercept.  On May 9^th 1864 Jenkins was wounded and captured during the Battle of Cloyd’s Mountain, his arm was amputated but he didn’t recover.  He died May 21^st 1864 and was buried in the New Dublin Presbyterian Cemetery.  His body would be moved later to the Confederate plot in the Spring Hill Cemetery in Huntington, West Virginia.

Another couple of good web sites are The Civil War Record of Albert Gallatin Jenkins, C. S. A. and Confederate Cavalry Division, Jenkinks's Brigade

Completely Under Military Rule

The Battle of Pogue’s Run, more of an uprising then a battle took place May 20^th 1863 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Governor of Indiana, Oliver Morton, who was a Republican, reported hearing of a plot to overthrow the state government by the Knights of the Golden Circle.  As the Knights were a Democratic group, Morton had Union troops stationed at the Democratic State Convention.

As Thomas A Hendricks was speaking on May 20^th 1863 in front of about 10,000 conventioneers, several Union soldiers advanced on the podium with bayonets fixed and rifles cocked.  This action broke up the convention, sending the crowd scattering.  A fence was pushed down on the east of the state house as the crowd fled.  Adding to the rush of bodies was a squad of Union cavalry moving down Tennessee Street.  Under threat from the Union soldiers, Hendricks closed his speech, had the resolutions read and the meeting dismissed.  Soldiers seized several individuals, marching them up a few streets to frighten them.  A number of other men were taken in custody for carrying concealed weapons and arrested.

That night many of the Democratic Conventioneers left town on trains.  There were a number of shots fired from these departing trains with the attention to create a further disturbance.  A train on the Indiana Central Railroad was stopped and boarded by a number of soldiers and police, who demanded that all weapons be surrendered.  A train going to Cincinnati was also stopped, with the men on board throwing their guns off the train and into Pogue’s Run.  Thinking that the soldiers wouldn't search women, many men gave their guns to ladies.  One single woman was found hiding seven guns on her person.  Before the round up was finished about 500 loaded guns were confiscated from those who had attended the Democratic Convention.  A local Democratic newspaper the “Indianapolis Sentinel” reported on the incident this way, "It is with feelings of sorrow, humiliation and degradation that we witnessed the scenes of yesterday. . . . Indiana is as completely under military rule as France, Austria or Russia".