Wisdom Wednesday: The Springsteens and Abraham Lincoln, cont’d

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Abraham Lincoln portrait, signed, "I approve" on 8 August 1861. With kind permission of the Indiana Historical Society Digital Collection, http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/P0406/id/727/rec/69
Abraham Lincoln portrait, signed, “I approve” on 8 August 1861. With kind permission of the Indiana Historical Society Digital Image Collection, http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/P0406/id/727/rec/69

Helbling Family, Springsteen Family (Click for Family Tree)

So here is the whole story- well, as much as we can determine:

Once Lincoln was officially elected as our sixteenth President on 6 November 1860, the southern states decided that they must secede from the Union, as they had threatened. Tensions within the country had been high through the election, but the speeches and actions of some of the Southern states that winter increased the tension to a fever pitch.

Lincoln was in Springfield, Illinois, when he received the news of his election, and plans were made for him to make a 70 city whistle-stop tour on his way to Washington, D.C. for his inauguration. News of an alleged plot to assassinate him in Baltimore reached the President-Elect, however, and the Pinkerton Detective Agency vowed to protect him along his journey on the railroad and in the cities along the way.

The city of Indianapolis had prepared for his visit for two weeks, and the railroads had advertised half-price fares to those in the counties around Indianapolis; people also made their way to Indianapolis with horse and buggy, on horseback, or even walked- some up to 50 miles to attend the grand event. Indianapolis had a population of 18,611 in 1860, but was estimated that 50,000 persons of both parties would be there to receive the President; the carnival-like atmosphere produced at least that many citizens, if not more. Even though our ancestor Jefferson Springsteen was a long-time Democrat, being a politician he likely was interested in seeing the famous Republican, a humble nobody who had just been elected to the highest office in the land.

The President-Elect’s entourage started off on a rainy Monday morning from Springfield, Illinois, and made stops or slowed down through many towns along the way. At 5 p.m. the train arrived in Indianapolis, to gun salutes, waving flags, patriotic bunting flying, and crowds standing in the mud from the rains that had finally subsided. (Those poor women and their long dresses…) There were people hanging out windows, on rooftops, and even up on telegraph poles- wonder if our rambunctious Abram was one of those?? If so, he would likely have justified it to his parents as up on a pole was the only way he could have seen Lincoln, since he was too short at age ten to see over the crowd.

Lincoln gave a short speech from the back of the train. The speech sounds inspirational, but it was also an extemporaneous counter to the ‘welcoming’ speech by the Governor that challenged Lincoln as to what he would do as President to resolve the tense situation between the north and south.  Lincoln said:

“I appeal to you again to constantly bear in mind that with you, and not with politicians, not with presidents, not with office seekers, but with you is the question: Shall the Union and shall the liberties of this country be preserved to the latest generations?”

Technically not yet President, and wanting to avoid further rifts with the southern states, Lincoln wisely chose his words.

"Bates House Polka" sheet music cover, c1854. With kind permission of the Indiana Historical Society, Digital Image Collection, http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p16797coll1/id/1263/rec/4.
“Bates House Polka” sheet music cover, c1854. With kind permission of the Indiana Historical Society, Digital Image Collection, http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p16797coll1/id/1263/rec/4.

It is easy to imagine the huge crowds of people who gathered at the train station, and followed his entourage to the Bates House where they would spend the night. (There were not enough carriages, and the Lincoln crowd had to carry their baggage through the streets. There were not enough rooms, either…) Had Abram shinnied down a telegraph pole and run after the carriages, with his family trying to keep up?

The crowds must have driven the Pinkertons crazy- it was almost impossible to protect the President-Elect with all the hand-shaking. (Probably made parents crazy too, trying to keep their children in sight. The pickpockets had a field day.) It is estimated that 3,000 citizens of Indiana lined up to shake Lincoln’s hand that Monday evening alone. There were also receptions, speeches, and the general chaos that comes with crowds of that size. Even the normally-hostile Democratic newspaper in town had sympathy for the President:

“Mr. Lincoln, we hope, slept well after the labors of his reception. To be pushed and crowded around as he was, beset by red hot politicians steaming with patriotism and whisky, and to have his hand shaken at the rate it was and for so long a period must certainly have tried his powers of endurance.”

Lincoln, AKA “The Railsplitter,” reportedly said, of his time in Indianapolis,

“that the shaking hands and fatigue of his reception was harder work than mauling rails.”

Since our ancestor Jefferson Springsteen had been involved in city politics and had at least one young son apparently fired up about the possibility of war, and possibly more sons (though the others did not serve that we know of- they were too young, though Abram did not let that stop him), it is highly likely that the Springsteens were in at least one of the crowds on at least one of the days.

The crowds swarmed the hotel- would all of the Springsteens have been a part of that crowd? Lincoln gave a speech, as planned, from the hotel balcony. This speech was important- the first big speech since his election, and it would be covered in all the newspapers around the country. The wisdom of his speech was in again asking the people to determine what was ‘right.’ He asked how they defined “coercion” and “invasion,” of which the south accused the Union. He said of those who would readily ‘tear asunder’ the Union,

“In their view the Union as a family relation would seem to be no regular marriage but a sort of “free-love” arrangement, to be maintained only on “passional attraction.”

(That was a surprising analogy.)

Lincoln then asked the crowd,

“On what rightful principle may a state, being not more than one-fiftieth part of the nation and soil and population, break up the nation… ?”

(BTW, there were only 34 states in the Union at that time. He must have meant 1/50 by size?)

Abe wisely finished with:

“Fellow-citizens, I am not asserting anything; I am merely asking questions for you to consider. And now allow me to bid you farewell.”

Lincoln’s wisdom was to guide the citizenry to see for themselves what the next step was for the Union as a whole. He knew the country was too divided to pronounce edicts and threats of his own, but he had to help the country realize the big picture of what was happening between the north and south.

The opposition tore his speech apart, and even the New York Times, normally a moderate newspaper, stated,

“It is very evident from his speech at Indianapolis, that Mr. Lincoln has no sympathy with that theory of our Government which regards it as a voluntary league of sovereign States—from which any one of them may secede at pleasure.”

Wonder what the conversation was at the Springsteen dinner table that Monday night? Would die-hard Democrat Jeff have torn the speech apart too? How would he reconcile his northern leanings with his political party? Would ten year-old Abram have had wide eyes, getting to hear the talk of politics, knowing that he had seen the next President of the United States, and that war was a real possibility?

Abraham Lincoln commemorative plaque in Indianapolis, Indiana. via Wikipedia Saves Public Art - Flickr: Lincoln Plaque by Rudolf Schwarz (1907) [Control # IAS IN000016], CC BY 2.0.
Abraham Lincoln commemorative plaque in Indianapolis, Indiana. via Wikipedia Saves Public Art – Flickr: Lincoln Plaque by Rudolf Schwarz (1907) [Control # IAS IN000016], CC BY 2.0.
Lincoln was to depart Indianapolis at 11 a.m. the next day, 12 February 1861, but the crowds began to assemble at the Bates House by daybreak. It seems logical that Abram would have been a part of that crowd too, possibly sneaking out the window before his parents awakened if he was as ornery as it seems.

Abraham Lincoln strode out to the hotel balcony to be seen by the clamoring crowds again. They demanded that Mr. Lincoln give another speech, but he made his excuses. Then it was a struggle to get him into a carriage for the ride to the train station because of the crowds, more wanting to see him and shake his hand. There were so many people in the street that the horses could barely move toward the railroad depot. They did arrive at the train finally, where there was another crowd waiting to see the President-Elect. At long last he was able to get on the train, which was decorated with flags, a golden eagle, and thirty-four white stars on a blue field around the smokestack. As the train steamed off, people followed down the track. Can’t you just imagine Abram running free, waving an American flag and shouting, “Mr. President! Mr. Lincoln!” as the train chugged out of sight?

The Pinkertons might have breathed a bit of a sigh of relief once Lincoln and his family were on the train. They still had to be very cautious however, and watchmen stood along the railroad tracks one-half mile apart, waving an American flag to let the train engineer and detectives know that the tracks were safe to proceed. Lincoln actually got off the train as it neared Baltimore, Maryland, considered a southern state with slaveowners and a strong opposition to Lincoln. The President-Elect sneaked through the city in the dead of night in disguise, in order to avoid any possible assassins.

Lincoln was ridiculed for cowardice by avoiding the crowds of Baltimore who were waiting to see him. He did go on to redeem himself as a wise and brave President in our bloodiest war, as we all know.

The Springsteens may have shaken Lincoln’s hand during his visit to Indianapolis, although it seems that surely this event would have been a part of the family story if true. (The crowds were so enormous that it would have been quite a feat to get that close.) Nevertheless, this information does answer the question of probable truth or family lore- the Springsteens could have seen President Lincoln on 11 February 1861 in Indianapolis, Indiana, and most likely did if the story was passed down through four generations. Lincoln’s speeches would have inspired a young boy to be a part of protecting the Union, and it thus may not have been Lincoln’s call to arms in April that moved Abram to beat his drum at the recruiting office- he may have started right after Lincoln left town in February. And now, we understand the excitement of that day, and what it must have been like for our Springsteen family in February, 1861.

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The next time Lincoln came to Indianapolis was in his funeral train. The President would lie in state in the Indiana capital on 30 April 1865. Was our Springsteen family included in the crowd that was even larger than the crowds at Lincoln’s 1861 visit? We do not know. It was a rainy, miserable day but thousands stood in line to view the coffin in the rotunda of the capital, and the city was draped in the black of mourning. Our Abram could not be a part of this day, as he was not mustered out of the service until seven weeks later, on 21 June 1865. He does mention the death of his President and Commander-in-Chief in his diary:

“We received the news of the assassination of President Lincoln, just as we were entering Raleigh [North Carolina] and it was with great difficulty that the officers in charge of the troops prevented them from burning the town.”

It would take a long time to heal the country.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. History of Indianapolis, Indiana, Wikipedia- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Indianapolis
  2. Lincoln’s Inaugaration Journey – Indianapolis:  http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM11MR
  3. Lincoln- assassination attempts just after election (Baltimore Plot):
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Plot
  4. “Mr. Lincoln Goes to Washington” by Paul Fatout in the Indiana Magazine of History, Volume 47, Issue 4, pp 321-332. http://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/imh/article/view/8077/9867
  5.  “Lincoln In Indianapolis” by George S. Cottman. Indiana Magazine of History, Volume 24, Issue 1, pp 1-14, 1928.
    http://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/imh/article/view/6446/6613
  6. A maul is a large, heavy, hammer with a wedge-shaped head that is used to split rails, which Lincoln had done quite a lot of as a young man on the Illinois prairie. Rails are the horizontal supports on a fence.
  7. Lincoln Commemorative Plaque in Indianapolis, Indiana-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln_(relief_by_Schwarz)
  8. Diary of Abram F. Springsteen, written after the war, family manuscript. Thank you to the wonderful cousins who shared this treasure!

 

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Tuesday’s Tip: Exploring a Family Story- The Springsteens and Abraham Lincoln

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Baby Mary T. Helbling with her beloved grandmother, Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower in 1925. Family photo.
Baby Mary T. Helbling with her beloved grandmother, Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower in 1925. Family photo.

Helbling Family, Springsteen Family (Click for Family Tree)

Tuesday’s Tip:

Explore your family stories.

They may hold a bit of truth- or even more.

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While researching and writing the stories of Abram F. Springsteen for recent posts, a memory of Mary T. (Helbling) McMurray’s story that Abram and his family saw President Abraham Lincoln sparked an interest in checking out that old family story. Mary’s grandmother, Abram’s sister Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower, had moved in with her daughter and son-in-law, Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling and G.W. Helbling, during her later years. Mary and her grandmother were very close and spent quite a bit of time together. They did talk about family a lot, and Mary always knew more about that line of the family than of her father’s.

Many genealogists and historians will say that a good number of family stories are just that- stories. But I have found that our older generations were actually pretty accurate in their storytelling. So off to research and see if there was at least a grain of truth in the oft-told lore.

If memory serves (which it doesn’t always, lately), the reason Abram ran off to the Army was due to him seeing President Lincoln, per Mary, his great-niece. So finding out if Lincoln was anywhere near Indianapolis during 1861 was what was needed to verify this story, since that year was when Abram first enlisted.

It was harder than thought to find a detailed timeline of Lincoln’s activities. After a Google search that did not show me what I needed, I decided to look through Doris Kearns Goodwin’s most excellent book, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Cover image is Daniel Day-Lewis in the 2012 film, "Lincoln."
Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin, first published in 2006. Cover image is Daniel Day-Lewis in the 2012 film, “Lincoln.”

Some tidbits but not exactly what I was looking for, though of course it was hard to stop reading through the book. It did give great context for the times, including the tug between sides to prevent or ‘render asunder’ our precious Union that had existed for 85 years.

The Indiana state capital, Indianapolis, was a major railroad and transportation hub. It also was the home of Gov. Oliver Hazard Perry Morton, who was one of Lincoln’s major supporters. Indianapolis was therefore a major base of Union support, so it was highly likely that Lincoln would have paid the city a visit.

The best clue came from waymarking.com, of all places. (They provide ways to log your visit to a particular spot using a GPS.) The site showed an Indianapolis monument commemorating a visit by Lincoln- on 11 February 1861. Bingo. A quick trip to Wikipedia.org led to more and then much more, and the number of open windows on my laptop increased rapidly with all the information I had been seeking, and more.

 

Tomorrow: the real story

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. History of Indianapolis, Indiana, Wikipedia- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Indianapolis
  2. Lincoln’s Inaugaration Journey – Indianapolis:  http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM11MR
  3. Lincoln- assassination attempts just after election (Baltimore Plot):
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Plot
  4. “Mr. Lincoln Goes to Washington” by Paul Fatout in the Indiana Magazine of History, Volume 47, Issue 4, pp 321-332. http://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/imh/article/view/8077/9867
  5.  A maul is a large, heavy, hammer with a wedge-shaped head that is used to split rails, which Lincoln had done quite a lot of as a young man on the Illinois prairie. Rails are the horizontal supports on a fence.

 

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We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.
 
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Military Monday: Jefferson Springsteen and the GAR Encampment

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Grand Army of the Potomac, Indianapolis, Indiana, circa 1910. Used with kind permission of the Indiana Historical Society, Digital Image Collection. http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/dc013/id/937/rec/963
Grand Army of the Potomac, Indianapolis, Indiana, circa 1910. Used with kind permission of the Indiana Historical Society, Digital Image Collection. (Go to website to see a higher resolution picture that can be zoomed.) Abram was working in Washington, DC about this time so he may not be in the picture, though it would seem he likely would have returned to his home town for the reunion. Abram was 50 in 1910. http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/dc013/id/937/rec/963

Helbling Family, Springsteen Family (Click for Family Tree)

“Extra Police Force for Next Week” was a headline 29 June 1882 in the Indianapolis Sentinel. The paper reported that the Indianapolis, Indiana Board of Police had determined that reinforcements were required for the upcoming Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Encampment to be held in July.

Interestingly, Jefferson Springsteen, who had served as Chief of Police back in the ’50s- that’s 1850s, you know- and was a detective in later years, was one of the men temporarily added to the force. Jeff, and the 24 others appointed were to be sworn in and receive their orders at the Central Police Station that afternoon.

1902 GAR Encampment, Meade Post of Philadelphia, PA, with their tattered battle flags that they still cherished. Glass negative, via Library of Congress, no restrictions.
1902 GAR Encampment, Meade Post of Philadelphia, PA, in Washington, D.C. with their tattered battle flags that they still cherished. Glass negative, via Library of Congress, no restrictions.

Would the patriots who made up the GAR be rabble-rousers? Since the Civil War had ended 37 years earlier, and most of the men were 18-20 or older when they enlisted, the average age was likely 40-50 years old. (No statistics to back that up, but it’s logical and don’t know if that data would exist.) So why extra police?

"Swopping Yarns." October, 1902 GAR Encampment, Washington, D.C. Glass negative, via Library of Congress, no restrictions.
“Swopping Yarns.” October, 1902 GAR Encampment, Washington, D.C. Glass negative, via Library of Congress, no restrictions.

This was not a National Encampment- that occurred in Baltimore, Maryland, that year. Each state had encampments for all the posts in the state, so the Indianapolis event would still draw large crowds.  The GAR had a women’s group too- the “Women’s Relief Corps” or W.R.C. These were mostly the wives of GAR members (or those who were widowed), and family members were allowed to join the reunion as well. So even though it was a state event, a lot of people would attend, especially folks from the smaller towns around.

Additionally, the city of Indianapolis was being shown off- the GAR encampments brought many people and a quite a lot of money into a city. The GAR was around the peak of their membership in the 1890s, thus they were ramping up membership in 1882, so there could be thousands attending. The extra police would help to keep things orderly, and show that Indianapolis was a safe and lovely city to visit. Large crowds always drew pickpockets and a bit of a criminal element, so 25 extra sets of eyes to protect the veterans and their families would be useful.

"The Big Guns." October, 1902 GAR Encampment, Washington, D.C. Glass negative, via Library of Congress, no restrictions.
“The Big Guns.” October, 1902 GAR Encampment, Washington, D.C. Glass negative, via Library of Congress, no restrictions.

Even though the soldiers would be in their 40s or 50s and theoretically stable family men and businessmen, Indiana had mustered a whole unit of Irish volunteers (the 35th, of which Abram was a part during his first enlistment) to serve in the Civil War. The Irish could sometimes use a bit of policing once they got to the pubs or if they BYOB’d, no matter the age. (Just saying’- I have Irish blood too so can say so.) Of course, soldiers were often known for drinking and carousing, but hopefully these folks had changed their ways once they were back in a more civilized world with their loved ones.

There are two great ironies to this story. First, ex-Marshall Jefferson Springsteen had defied Federal law and dragged home his ten-year old son in 1861 when the 35th Indiana Volunteers marched off to war. (Jeff had signed to allow Abram to join, thinking it was to be a Home Guard.) Jeff was smart enough to know that technically Abram was deserting even though he was likely dragged off kicking and screaming. Despite Abram being underage when he enlisted and mustered into the unit, the military did not care- he was officially absent without leave once he left- and in wartime, being AWOL is considered desertion. (See previous ‘Abram Springsteen and His Drum’ posts for more information.) So it was ironic that for the 1882 soldiers’ reunion, Jefferson Springsteen was to uphold the law, and for the military/ex-military, rather than break it.

During the Civil War, Jefferson Springsteen had been required to register for the “Old Man’s Draft” since he was over 40, but he was not called up. His little boy Abram, however, served to help protect the country and liberties enjoyed by the whole Springsteen family, along with the rest of our citizens. Now, the irony was that Jeff would get his opportunity to protect and serve, and this time, care for the veterans who had protected him. Nice turnaround.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Grand Army of the Potomac, Indianapolis, Indiana, circa 1910, photograph is taken in front of the Indianapolis War Memorial. The base housed a museum, which included a picture of Abram that listed him as the “youngest drummer boy of the Civil War.”
  2. “Extra police force for encampment,” Indianapolis Sentinel [Indiana], IN, 29 June 1882, Volume XXXI, Number 180, Page 8, GenealogyBank.com. Unfortunately the image is copyrighted so I cannot post it here.

 

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Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.
 
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Abram F. Springsteen and His Civil War Drum- Part 4

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Drum of Abram F. Springsteen, youngest Civil War soldier. Posted with permission of family.
Drum of Abram F. Springsteen, youngest Civil War soldier. Posted with permission of family.

Helbling Family, Springsteen Family (Click for Family Tree)

Abram Furman Springsteen, the youngest drummer boy in the Civil War (so it was claimed) had his glory in war, but he also had his pain, like all soldiers.

Abram beat his drum on a 185 mile march over mostly impassable roads through the Cumberland Mountains in March; part of the journey was through snow. In April they marched to Jonesboro, Georgia, with Abram beating his drum for 4 days while they covered 100 miles, burned bridges and destroyed railroad tracks as they moved.

"The Work of the Firing at Resaca" in The Photographic History of the Civil War in Ten Volumes, edited by Francis T. Miller, 1911, Review of Reviews, NY, NY, via Archive.org. Public Domain.
“The Work of the Firing at Resaca”- a photo of how the land looked around the area after all calibers of shells and ball had torn up the land; in The Photographic History of the Civil War in Ten Volumes, edited by Francis T. Miller, 1911, Review of Reviews, NY, NY, via Archive.org. Public Domain. (Click to enlarge.)

The youngest drummer boy and his regiment had joined with General Sherman on his Atlanta Campaign, and after the Battle of Resaca, Abram was ordered to assist the wounded in the field hospitals. Abram’s own words describe what happened next:

“In company with another litter drummer boy, I proceeded at once to my reg and after getting our grub [food], we started back (as we supposed in the direction of the hospital) but in fact in an opposite direction altogether and were soon lost upon the field where we wandered around among the dead and dying until the break of day when we found our way back to the hospital where we remained on duty until the 16th when we moved from Resaca, wading the Ostanaula river and crossing the Cossawattee, overtaking the enemy at Cassville, on the 18th…[we] went into an entrenched position…on the 26th behind which we lay under fire of three batteries… until relieved on the 1st of June. Our loss at this place was 16 wounded.”

Wandering among the dead and wounded in the dark, crossing rivers while trying to keep his drum from getting soaked, laying in a trench for six days while under fire- how his parents would have worried for their little boy!

Abram likely thought his luck had really run out though, when he was captured at Spring Hill, Tennessee. It was after midnight, and they had marched almost continuously for a week. Abram carried his knapsack and drum, keeping a beat to keep the troops moving. Abram continued the story:

“… I became exhausted and was compelled to sit down by the road side this being the first time I had given out since my enlistment. In a short time the troops were out of sight and realizing that it would be useless for me to attempt to overtake them before reaching Franklin, I waited until the wagon train came up when I climbed upon our Regt Baggage Wagon unslung my drum and knapsack and resting my elbow upon the rim of my drum.”

Civil War Wagon Train by Matthew Brady, NARA via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
Civil War Wagon Train by Matthew Brady, NARA via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain. Probably a stereoscope photograph. (Click to enlarge.)

“I soon fell asleep but this sweet rest did not last long for after going about a mile or so or just as we reached a place called Spring Hill, Tenn. about 15 miles from Franklin, we were fired upon and surrounded by the enemy a detachment of rebels. When I awoke, and realized fully what had happened, I sprang from the wagon and in so doing by [sic] hat fell from my head and while searching for the same in the darkness, was along with several others captured and at once hurried away from the road into a patch of woods where two of us made our successful break for liberty. We soon found our way back to the road and striking out reached Franklin at day break where I soon rejoined my command… I lost my knapsack, drum and hat. One of the boys provided me with a cap which tho a little large, answered the purpose very well.”

Abram captured a Rebel drum at Ft. Anderson, and they marched into Wilmington, North Carolina on the 23rd of February, 1865. They found a number of Yankee prisoners that had been left behind when they routed the enemy.  Seeing them, Abram was probably even more thankful that he had escaped after his capture- he could have been in a similar situation in a Confederate prison. Of the POWs, Abram reported:

“They were all in a deplorable condition– a good many having been wounded and their wounds not having been properly attended to- were alive with vermin. Among them I met a young man by the name of Albert Lockwood of Indianapolis, Ind. whom I had known since childhood in Indianapolis. I took him in charge, gave him some of my clothing, a blanket and seven dollars in money and also gave him the Rebel drum I had captured at Ft. Anderson to take home for me, he having been furnished transportation to his home in Indianapolis.”

After many more long marches and days of beating his drum for his company, Abram and the Indiana Volunteers returned home. It was a joyous homecoming, as would be expected. His mother and oldest sister made him a nice dinner at the late hour of 9 o’clock in the evening. They talked about his experiences and what had gone on with the family while he was gone.

Abram finished his diary with:

“… we all retired but I could not sleep. No indeed, the sounds of the drums and fifes were in my ears and the dear old faces of the boys to whom I had become so attached were constantly before me and I almost regretted that the war was over.”

The drum that Abram carried through most of his service was lost to the Rebs when he was captured at Spring Hill, Tennessee. He probably had use of another drum during his remaining seven months in the service, though he does not mention that in his diary.  In February, 1865, he did send home the Rebel drum he captured, but he was not discharged until 21 June 1865. The men of his company gave him a gift of a drum at some point, and that is the drum he cherished and used for all those years with the G.A.R., for parades, recruitment, etc. It is also the drum seen in all the posts of this series, which has been passed down to the oldest male descendant in each generation.

Addendum: In 1877 Abram was the manager of a band of 16 men called the “Great Western Band.” He also played drum solos for theater performances, including one called, “Lightning Express” for the Mossler Brothers Concert on 29 December 1881 in Indianapolis. His sister-in-law, Jennie (Taylor) Springsteen, sang a song at that same concert.  So Abram continued his interest in drumming throughout his life.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. “Hoosier Youngest Civil War Soldier,” by Louis Ludlow, in The Evansville Courier and Press, Evansville, IN, page 4, columns 1-3, via GenealogyBank.com.
  2. “Diary of Abram F. Springsteen” transcription, done by family members. Thank you for sharing!
  3. “Mossler Brothers Concert,” in Indianapolis Sentinel, 29 Dec 1881, volume XXX, number 363, page5, via GenealogyBank.com.

 

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Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.
 
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Thriller Thursday: Abram F. Springsteen and His Civil War Drum, Part 3

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Drum of Abram F. Springsteen, youngest Civil War soldier. Posted with permission of family.
Drum of Abram F. Springsteen, youngest Civil War soldier. Posted with permission of family.

Helbling Family, Springsteen Family (Click for Family Tree)

We left our story with the Springsteen family chasing after their son Abram who was running off to war…

But Jefferson Springsteen (1820-1909) must have remembered his own headstrong, daredevil nature at the same age, and he and his wife Anna (Connor) Springsteen (1824-1887) finally relented. They allowed Abram to muster into Company I, 63rd Indiana Volunteers on 29 July 1862. He had turned 12 years old only 24 days earlier.

Anna- and Jeff and the whole family- must have been terribly distraught- they had just lost their youngest son, Joseph Springsteen, at only 22 months old. Now another son was leaving them, and the risk of him not coming back was high.

Abram had quite the adventure as a drummer boy in the Civil War, but he saw horrors as well.  Regiments tried to keep their drummer boys protected, as their drum rolls were one of the few ways to communicate in the chaos and noise of battle. In May of 1864, Abram was ordered off the field at the Battle of Resaca, Georgia by his commanding officer, General Mahlon Manson. Abram lingered, carrying his drum, wanting to be in the thick of it all. An enemy shell knocked Gen. Manson off his horse, and Abram ran to his side, being the first to reach him. Abram probably felt very smug at the service he was able to do after technically disobeying an order.

Battle of Resaca- Union cavalry moving through a gap to attack Confederate infantry. Kurz & Allison, c1889, Library of Congress via Wikipedia. Public domain.
Battle of Resaca- Union cavalry moving through a gap to attack Confederate infantry. Kurz & Allison, c1889, Library of Congress via Wikipedia. Public domain.

Other times, the small size of the drummer boys could be an advantage. Abram told the story that he was to carry dispatches to a forward skirmish line, which was in a very dangerous position. Abrams crawled through a field of cotton, on his hands and knees. The enemy noticed him, and began firing. He jumped up and ran as fast as he could- thankfully the enemy soldiers were not good shots. He was able to safely deliver the important missives and help the Union in their battle with the Rebs.

 

To be continued…

 

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. “Hoosier Youngest Civil War Soldier,” by Louis Ludlow, in The Evansville Courier and Press, Evansville, IN, page 4, columns 1-3, via GenealogyBank.com.
  2. “Diary of Abram F. Springsteen” transcription, done by family members. Thank you for sharing!

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.
 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
 
Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright of our blog material.