War Stories for my Grandchildren

I had received reliable information that a considerable band of armed and organized rebels were quartered at Madisonville, the county seat of Hopkins County, about forty miles from Henderson, actively recruiting for their army and levying upon the loyal citizens for horses and supplies. With several companies of infantry and such force of cavalry as I could get (a mere handful), I embarked at night on a steamer, going up the Ohio and Green Rivers to within three miles of Madisonville, where we disembarked early in the morning, and moved toward the town, hoping to surprise the enemy. But we found them posted in a forest, heavily wooded and thick with underbrush, in the suburbs of the town. I ordered forward our skirmishers, who engaged them with a brisk fire, but before our line of battle could reach them they fled precipitately, mounting their horses and scattering in every direction. The result of the skirmish was a few soldiers wounded and a number of the rebels as prisoners.

We went into camp at Madisonville, and scouting parties were sent out in various directions. A few prisoners were brought in, but no banded rebels could be met with, as, being mounted on good horses and aided by resident sympathizers, they were able to get out of the way. During our stay some of our soldiers on picket duty were shot down, murdered in the darkness of the night, by persons claiming to be Southern soldiers, skulking behind rocks and bushes. We were indignant at such warfare, and I issued a proclamation which was scattered throughout the county, denouncing this irregular and barbarous warfare as contrary to the rules of civilized nations, declaring that the firing upon pickets, when no enemy was near, was cold-blooded murder, and giving notice that for every picket thereafter murdered one of the captured guerrillas in our hands would be put to death as a felon. I never had occasion to put this threat into execution, and probably never would have done so, but the proclamation had its desired effect, and the killing of our pickets ceased.

The expedition to Madisonville was heralded by the papers of Indiana as a great victory and magnified into a battle, but to me who had so recently come from Fort Donelson and Shiloh it seemed a mere skirmish of slight proportions. I soon returned to the post at Henderson, leaving a small detachment at Madisonville to protect the loyal citizens from the depredations of the guerrillas.

On my return I found that a reign of terror existed in the adjoining county of Union; that the loyal officers recently elected were not permitted by the secessionists to act; that a returned Union soldier at home on furlough had been ambushed and murdered; and that unarmed steamers on the Ohio had been repeatedly fired on from Uniontown. Reporting these facts to General Boyle, I was authorized to levy on the secession sympathizers of the locality a fund for the support of the family of the murdered soldier. As to Uniontown he telegraphed me: "If the rebels take any town on the river and use it to fire on boats, you will burn or demolish it. It would be well to burn down Uniontown, if it is likely to fall into the hands of the rebels."

I made an expedition into Union County with a view to overawe the rebel sympathizers and place the loyal officers recently elected in the exercise of their duties. But it proved of no avail. The guerrillas easily got out of our way and the rebel residents denied all knowledge of them or of the parties guilty of the soldier's murder. The loyal officials were unwilling to attempt to assume their duties unless I would agree to keep a force of soldiers permanently at the county seat, and this I could not do with my inadequate command.

For the first month or six weeks of my Kentucky service I put forth as much activity as was possible with the forces I had, to destroy or drive out of my district the guerrillas and Confederate recruiting men, and I received the repeated thanks of Governor Morton and my commanding officer, General Boyle, for what I accomplished. But I encountered considerable embarrassment in the exercise of my command. I was still lieutenant-colonel of the Twenty-fifth Indiana, then in General Grant's army on the Lower Mississippi, and the troops sent into my district might be, and at times were, commanded by officers of higher rank than mine, and who according to the Army Regulations would displace me. It was the desire of both Morton and Boyle that I should continue in charge of the district, and they recognized that I deserved promotion.

In a letter, dated September 19, Governor Morton wrote me as follows: —

"I desire to say frankly that it would be very gratifying to me to have you remain in command of the forces at and in the vicinity of Henderson, if in justice to your own feelings and the interest of your own regiment, you could do so. The ability, energy, and sagacity you have thus far displayed is sufficient proof of your fitness for the command. But should you, on any account, feel embarrassed in your personal position, I cannot insist that you shall remain; and, as to this, I beg you will exercise your own discretion.

"It would afford me much pleasure to show my recognition of your gallant, efficient, and faithful services, by promoting you to a colonelcy, and I should have done so before this, giving you one of the new regiments, had not orders from the War Department, a copy of which is herewith enclosed, prevented me from promoting officers connected with 'old regiments' to new commands. I regard you as entirely competent to lead a regiment, and your experience and uniform good conduct in the field, in my judgment, fairly entitle you to promotion. The orders alluded to have embarrassed me very much, but the Secretary of War has announced them as inflexible."

When it became apparent that I would have to rejoin the Twenty-fifth Indiana unless I was promoted, a way was found (how I do not know) whereby I was appointed colonel of the Sixty-fifth Indiana Infantry, a new regiment which had just been organized at Evansville. The Lieutenant-Colonel of the Sixty-fifth was Thomas Johnson, my uncle, who six months before had been forced to resign on account of ill-health. My promotion enabled me to continue in command of the district of western Kentucky continuously until our forces were transferred to another field in the following year.

The action on my part, during my command of the district of western Kentucky, which attracted the most attention and comment, was the enforcement of a money levy made upon the disloyal residents of Hopkins County to reimburse the Union citizens for losses sustained at the hands of the guerrillas. This action on my part was reported in full at the time to General Boyle and to Major-General Wright, commanding the department, and was unreservedly approved by them. General Wright, in endorsing his approval, added: "A few such exhibitions of zeal and energy would go far toward breaking up the lawless bands, which have been so long a terror in that quarter, and restoring peace and quiet in that section of Kentucky." Efforts were made in vain to the military commanders to have this levy revoked. Finally Hon. L. W. Powell, one of the Senators from Kentucky and a citizen of Henderson, after having failed with the War Department, visited President Lincoln in person, presented to him a list of the names of individuals assessed by me and the amount, and asked that in the exercise of his power as Commander-in-Chief of the Army he disapprove of the levy and order the money returned.

The request of Senator Powell, with his list, was sent by President Lincoln through the military channels calling for a report from me. I quote the following from my letter to General Boyle, dated February 16, 1863, in reply: —

"I am in receipt of the letter of President Lincoln, with your endorsement thereon, instructing me to report on the names contained in the paper submitted by Senator Powell.

"You will remember that I made a full report of all my action in these matters at the time, giving in detail the condition of the country, the causes which led to my action, the amount levied, the manner in which it was distributed, and the effect which it has had upon the community. This report has been read by yourself and Major-General Wright, commanding this department, and in all respects fully approved. I desire that this report be sent to the President. It was made upon my honor as an officer, and by it I desire that I may be judged. The money levied had been appropriated and paid out, as stated in my report, to the citizens of Hopkins County, who were the sufferers by the action of these very men and their friends, who ask the President for redress. The money cannot now be refunded by them. I am the only person who should be held responsible, for if any wrong was committed it was through the action taken by me as set forth in my report.

"I know that my action in the matter has had a most salutary effect upon the people, and Hopkins County is now enjoying a degree of peace and security which has not heretofore existed since the commencement of the rebellion. I trust my action may be approved by the President, as it has so flatteringly been done by yourself and Major-General Wright."

As I relied entirely upon my previous report to General Boyle for my vindication, I make some extracts from that document: —

"For more than three months previous to this levy, I had been laboring as earnestly as the force under my command would permit, in efforts to rid this part of Kentucky of the lawless bands of guerrillas. They had succeeded in breaking up the civil organization in all the counties lying between Green and Cumberland Rivers; forcibly preventing the administration of the laws; stopping the mails; robbing peaceable citizens on the public highways, causing loyal men to flee from their families and homes; plundering them of horses, arms, goods, and anything of value that their comfort required, or fancy demanded; interrupting the navigation of the rivers by firing into unarmed steamers; and were engaged in carrying on a warfare, cowardly and cruel, and entirely unwarranted by the rules of civilized nations.

"These bands of guerrillas were mounted on the best horses in the country, stolen from the citizens; they were active and wily, and thoroughly acquainted with the byways and hiding-places; and were supported by vigilant friends on every side. I found it very difficult to drive them out. And one great obstacle to this was the fact that they were supported, encouraged, and harbored by the friends and sympathizers of the rebellion, who were enjoying the possession of their property and their homes under the protection of the Government, while very many loyal citizens were driven from their families, and their homes plundered by these armed robbers. The guerrillas possessed not a single tent, and made no arrangements for a commissariat, yet they never wanted for a friendly roof to shelter them and were bountifully supplied with cooked rations. Wherever they went they were encouraged by hearty welcomes and approving smiles. They never could be surprised in their hiding-places or overtaken in their flight, because some sympathizers, enjoying the immunities of the Government, would go before and warn them of our approach. I had exerted myself to drive out these bands and restore peace to these counties and had only partially succeeded. I had time and again warned the secession sympathizers that if they continued to harbor, feed, and encourage these plunderers and assassins, I would be compelled to hold them responsible; that Union men, on account of their patriotic faithfulness to the Government in this time of public distress, should not be driven from their homes, their property carried away, and their lives endangered, without some compensation for their losses. They were daily making their complaints known to me, some loyal farmers having lost their last horse, not one being left to gather the corn, or till the soil. Others had their stores or houses plundered. The secessionists were living in the peaceful enjoyment of their homes, and the undisturbed possession of their property.

"The county of Hopkins was one of the strongholds of the guerrillas and their friends; they were numerous, active, and bold. After consulting with the most prominent Union men of the county as to the proper course to pursue, I organized the expedition, a partial report of which I gave you, in which I succeeded in scattering, capturing, or driving away all the organized bands in that county. Then in order to give peace in future to the county, I determined to carry out the threat I had so often made to the aiders and harborers of the guerrillas by holding them responsible for the depredations committed by their lawless friends. I accordingly made a money levy upon every prominent harborer or sympathizer of the guerrillas that I could reach, making the assessment against each individual in proportion to his property and support or countenance of the traitors. The amount so levied and collected has reached the sum of thirteen thousand three hundred and thirty-five ($13,335) dollars. This fund I have caused to be paid over to an upright, loyal, and responsible citizen of Henderson, Kentucky. I have appointed a committee consisting of men of acknowledged probity, influence, and responsibility of Hopkins County, who are thoroughly acquainted with the people of the county. I have placed the matter entirely in the hands of citizens, removing it as far as possible from the control of the military. I have made it the duty of this committee to investigate the losses sustained by Union citizens of Hopkins County through the agency of the guerrilla bands, and to compensate them out of this fund in proportion to their necessities and losses."

My report was forwarded through the War Department to President Lincoln and approval of my action was made by the endorsement of the President in his own handwriting. Nothing further was heard through official channels of the levy.

The town of Smithland at the mouth of the Cumberland River was in my district, and as it was an important dépôt for supplies for the forces operating at and through Nashville, I was required to maintain a force there, and I was often called there in discharge of my duties. Under date of November 1, I received a letter from General Boyle enclosing two orders from Major-General Wright, one placing under arrest and ordering a court-martial for the major commanding a detachment of a Wisconsin regiment stationed at Smithland, and the other ordering the detachment to be sent away to another army. It appears that the major enforced very little discipline and that the troops were inflicting all kinds of outrages and terrorism on the residents. I was directed to take with me one or more companies of Indiana troops for a garrison. He added: "I think, if practicable, you had better go down in person to Smithland. The citizens are apprehensive of an outbreak and great wrongs to them, on finding that the Wisconsin troops are ordered off and the major placed under arrest. You will take prompt and decisive steps to prevent anything of the kind, even if you shall be under the necessity of using the musket or bayonet for the purpose. Exercise prudence but firmness."

I encountered no difficulty in executing my orders. The major quietly accepted his arrest, the disorderly troops were sent away, and the garrison of a portion of my Sixty-fifth Regiment gave the citizens assurance of order.

Some time after this visit I was again called down to Smithland, but for a very different reason. The emancipation of the slaves, brought about by President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, was greatly resented by many of the Union men of Kentucky. Upon the publication by President Lincoln of the notice of his intended action on September 22, 1862, quite a number of the officers of Kentucky regiments in the Federal army resigned their commissions and returned home. Others, while remaining loyal to the Government, deeply regretted the President's action, and General Boyle was among them. Large numbers of slaves escaping through the lines from Tennessee sought refuge within our encampments. In November, I received the following letter from General Boyle: "Do not allow negro slaves to come into your lines. All such must be turned out and kept out. Have nothing to do with negroes. Let them go. You will see that your command attend to this matter. I am anxious that Indiana troops especially have nothing to do with slaves."

I sought to have this order observed by my command, distasteful as it was to many, and General Boyle commended me for my action, but called attention to the non-observance of the order, especially at Smithland, and asked me to give it my personal attention. I wrote my wife under date of January 25, 1863: "I shall have to go down to Smithland again to-morrow. Considerable complaint is made about Major Butterfield on the negro question; Governor Robinson of Kentucky complaining to General Boyle and the general referring the matter to me. This eternal negro question is a perfect nightmare to our loyal Kentucky patriots. We have to humor them amazingly. I try to act prudently, but I sometimes get vexed and disgusted."

I have already noticed various occupations in which I have been engaged other than of a strictly military service. While in command of the district of western Kentucky I was ordered to go with a suitable force to the Cumberland River, midway between Smithland and Nashville, where the rebels had obstructed navigation by sinking barges loaded with stone in the channel. With vessels suited for the purpose, I spent two weeks in cleaning the channel for navigation. I sent my wife a Christmas greeting by telegraph from this point, reporting my success, and also that we had captured thirty guerrillas.

During the greater part of my service in Kentucky I had been much hampered by the lack of a sufficient force of cavalry to enable me to pursue and hunt down the guerrillas. After continued efforts in that direction, I received the following Special Order from General Boyle's headquarters. "Colonel John W. Foster is hereby authorized to mount the Sixty-fifth Regiment Indiana Volunteers to be used as mounted infantry. The Quartermaster's and Ordnance Departments will furnish the necessary horses and horse equipments upon Colonel Foster's requisition." After my regiment was mounted and fully equipped, I had little trouble in clearing the country of guerrillas and giving peace to the Union citizens.

I was greatly grieved in January, 1863, to receive a letter from my wife telling me of my father's failing health. He had always been a devoted parent to his children, but he had doubly attached me to him at the opening of the war in patriotically encouraging his boys to enter the army, with the assurance that he would look after and care for their families. He wrote me frequent letters, and no day passed without a visit from him to my house to inquire for the health and needs of my wife and child. I wrote my wife: "Your letter made me sad when I read of father's poor health. I wish I was at home to comfort him somewhat and to aid him in his business. You will do all you can to make his time pleasant. He thinks much of you. Visit him often, and let Alice go over to see him whenever he wants her or she wants to go, and teach her to be affectionate to him. These little acts of kindness will gratify him in his feeble health and declining years."

My father's ill-health continued after the date of this letter, but I was afforded the opportunity of visiting him several times and doing what I could to comfort him in his last days. On April 13, 1863, he passed away. An account of the manner in which he met death is recorded in the "Biography of Matthew Watson Foster," pp. 81-83.

Fortunately for the human race, our sorrows and our joys follow each other, often in quick succession. Two weeks after the death of my father, while on an expedition into the interior of my district in pursuit of guerrillas, I received intelligence of the birth of our second child, Edith. She was our "war baby," but she proved the harbinger of peace. Blessed with a sweet and even temper from her birth, she has spread peace and sunshine in her path through life.

Although my field of military service was so near to my home, I did not cease to long for the time when I might return to my family. Writing to my wife on a Sabbath day, January 11, I say: —

"Oh, when will this terrible war be over, so that we may spend our Sabbaths together as we have in the past, so peacefully, so pleasantly, so profitably? It has always been one of my greatest privations in the army that I was away from my family and Sabbath Church enjoyments. God in his own good time will give us peace, and return us to our Christian privileges and our home blessings. I can't help but wish I was at home, and wish it every day, and that circumstances were such that I might come with honor. I trust that time may come soon. But I do not want to dishonor all I have done by leaving at present. I want first to see the war looking toward its close."

I wrote the following brief epistle to my wife in a jocose spirit: "For the love I bear you, I herewith enclose to you the fruits of my toil, danger, privations, and glory for the past two months, $381.65, according to the estimate of my services by the paymaster."

I have referred to the embarrassment and trouble which came to me soon after I assumed command at Henderson by the condition of the State elections and the rebel civil officials. Another annual election occurred just before the close of my service in 1863, and I was required by General Boyle to see that his orders were enforced. In addition to the order that no one who was not in all things loyal to the State and Federal Governments should be allowed to be a candidate, a further order was issued which made it the duty of the judges of election to allow no one to vote unless he was known to them to be an undoubtedly loyal citizen or unless he took the "iron-clad" oath of loyalty prescribed by the State law. It was made the duty of the military authorities to see that these orders were enforced. I did not have a sufficient force to station a detachment at every voting-place, but I scattered the military election proclamation broadcast, and had a force at a number of the leading voting-places.

In one of the Congressional districts within my command I had a peculiar condition. The regular or State Union candidate was opposed by a prominent citizen, who had stood by the Federal Government at the beginning of the rebellion, had raised a Federal regiment, and had fought gallantly at Donelson and Shiloh. But after the President's announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, he resigned from the army and returned to Kentucky to array himself with the peaceful opponents of the Administration. He was permitted to make a canvass of his district without any interference by the military, and at the election none of my command found it necessary to interpose. But the fact was that many who would have supported him at the polls abstained from voting because they were unwilling to take the "iron-clad" oath. Although the State Union candidate received a decided majority of the votes, his seat was contested by his opponent on the ground, among others, of military interference with the election, and my name was freely used in the debates; but the Union candidate was seated by Congress. In the course of the debate, the Union candidate, referring to the attacks upon me, said: "Colonel Foster's services protected all that region of Kentucky, my home, the contestant's home, from rebel and guerrilla outrage and depredation. Without those services the courts could not have been held nor the laws administered in a large district of country. He afterwards led a brigade with brilliant success in East Tennessee. And the contestant will not forget that day on the banks of Green River, when he and I waged a bloodless battle of words about politics in stone's throw of where Foster and his gallant Hoosiers stood in battle order, expecting John Morgan and his avalanche of cavalry."

During my year's service in Kentucky my command was frequently disturbed and put in battle array by reports from time to time that the rebel General Forrest or John Morgan was about to enter my district with a large force of cavalry. These reports were so frequent and unfounded that we became incredulous, but Morgan finally did come into Kentucky with quite a formidable force. General Boyle early notified me of his presence in the State, and that he might seek his way out by crossing Green River and passing through my district into Tennessee; and I was ordered to move my entire command to Green River, remove or destroy all the boats, and give him battle if he came my way.