City of Springdale History On-Line

In 1861 the bitter debate over slavery finally led to civil war. On December 20, 1860 on the heels of Abraham Lincoln's election, South Carolina seceded from the Union. On February 4, 1861 the convention of seceded states convened in Montgomery, Alabama and on February 8, it adopted the Provisional Constitution of the Confederacy. With the Union broken, war was imminent. What did that portend for little Springdale? Initially the war brought enthusiasm and excitement as farm boys exchanged their plows for muskets and bright uniforms. Later on it brought unmown hayfields from want of farm labor, another son's name on the dreaded draft list, and memorial services for the fallen at the little white church. Finally, it concluded a long chapter in Springdale's history. After the war the veterans returned only temporarily before wandering away, taking with them much of the village's vitality and hopes for the future.

But in April 1861, while no one could escape the talk of war, life's routines continued. John R. Hunt, the son of Dr. John Hunt, took his spring break from Miami University. Mary Hageman came up from Glendale College to visit the village. In the next few days John socialized with his numerous friends, shopped for new boots in Cincinnati with his younger sister and, in general, celebrated the rites of spring in a manner customary to young college students. While normal activities continued in Springdale, on April 6 President Abraham Lincoln notified South Carolina that the federal garrison of Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor would be provisioned, by force if necessary. On April 12, when the commander of the fort refused to surrender, Confederate forces opened fire and the fort fell two days later. The chain of events thus set in motion would change irrevocably the life of John Hunt and millions of other young men.

Hunt greeted the war enthusiastically. He viewed enlistment as an opportunity for adventure and rapid advancement. In an obvious effort to solicit support from a person with some influence on his parents, he wrote seeking the advice of Judge J. Wilson Cochran, John Morrow Cochran's son and family friend. Judge Cochran gently informed John that his desire for heroics was unlikely to be fulfilled if he enlisted. Older men would be assigned positions of leadership. Instead he suggested that Hunt concentrate on his studies at Miami. On the day after Fort Sumter fell, President Lincoln called seventy-five thousand state militiamen into federal service for three months. Hunt, back at Miami, enlisted three days later.

But what young man could resist? The attack on Fort Sumter produced a surge of patriotism. The impatience to enlist was evident on both sides. In the first flush of enthusiasm, twenty-three youngsters from Springdale "joined up," fearing that the war would end before they saw action. None of them realized that in the war of attrition that followed, dreams of glory would give way to a struggle for survival.

R. D. Hilts, the brother of Anthony Hilts, Jr., fought desperately to prevent the enlistment of his son Johnny. The wealthy Hilts, who owned a number of large farm properties, encouraged Johnny to remain at home, attend the Farmer's College at Mount Healthy for a couple of years, and then assume the responsibilities of the farm. But father stormed and pleaded in vain. Barely seventeen years old and still quite small, John Hilts made up for his lack of stature with a king-sized stubbornness. When his friend John Hunt refused to help him get a position as a clerk in his own regiment, stating "...although I admire your patriotism and am glad to see you so willing to go forth in defense of your country and the stars and stripes," John Hilts ran away to become a bugler with the Merrill's Horse Cavalry, Co. C. Soon the glamour of war eroded quickly. Only a few months later Johnny bitterly regretted his rashness, for, as he wrote, if he had taken the advice of family and friends he would "now be in Farmer's College instead of this dirty hole, Sedalia [Missouri]."

The young ladies, however, very much admired the new enlistees. Mary Hageman thought John Hunt's decision to "oppose their brethren of the south" a "most noble resolution." Indeed, the entire Glendale Female College abandoned the classroom to visit the brave young men drilling at Camp Harrison.

The admiration of young girls for dashing young men in uniform helped in recruiting and, after the opening wave, when the Union needed help badly. The first men usually enlisted for a three-month period. Not finding the glory and glamour they expected, many of them returned home as soon as their term expired. Recruiters began offering sizable bounties in an effort to keep their regiments full.

Some young men, eager and exhilarated by the first news of war, had sober second thoughts while on the very brink of enlistment:

In fact, young James Kennedy who expressed this opinion about his fellow "Springdalers," did not himself enlist. Instead he spent the war running Sunnyside, the family estate, for his widowed mother. Some men who did enlist regretted their decision and deserted. "William Books has run off and they are after him," wrote another of the Hunt brothers, Jim, "$30 for anyone who will tell where he is." But for the most part Springdale's stellar record of participation in the war belies any casual comment about cowardly behavior.

Persuasive and ambitious young men often recruited their own companies. Elias Montfort of Glendale recruited the Springdale area heavily for Colonel Nathaniel McLean's 75th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The 75th would suffer heavy casualties in the days to come.

In the early days of the war when most of the units were still militia the equipment allocated to soldiers varied enormously. Some favored brightly colored uniforms, red or vivid blue. When those proved impractical for obvious reasons, the dull Union blue became standard. John Hunt's colonel told him that his unit would be supplied with blouses rather than coats which was viewed as good fortune since both sides insisted on issuing heavy woolen uniforms to their soldiers. A long march on a hot day left discarded coats throughout the countryside. Standard practice dictated a double-breasted coat which was quite inconvenient and later replace by the single-breasted style. Then, as now, soldiers probably complained more about their footwear than anything else. Hunt purchased a pair of boots immediately, finding the brogans issued to him too coarse and heavy to wear. Other articles allotted included a knapsack, haversack, canteen, cartridges, cap boxes, shoulder straps, bayonet scabbards, a military cap, an undershirt and a pair of drawers of good material.

Muskets provided the firepower for Hunt's regiment but Colonel N. C. McLean's 75th marched off to war with the latest in "riffled" muskets. In early January 1862 the 75th drilled almost constantly as it prepared for a campaign. The women in Springdale worked diligently as well, sewing clothing for their men to take with them. On January 25 the 75th moved out for its first position in western Virginia [now West Virginia] and "many were the tears that were shed" in Springdale. Under the less than inspired leadership of Col. McLean, the 75th engaged in some of the bloodiest campaigns of the war. Springdale residents James McCormick, James Jackson, John Naylor, James Riddle, Michael Butler, George Cain and Stephen and James Skillman served in the 75th.

Many Springdale men joined the 39th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, as well as the 81st and the 83rd. Hunt rose to the position of lieutenant in the 81st, his cousin, Alf Carle, was a corporal in the 39th, Co. A, a company which also included privates James Baker, David Carle, John W. Miller, Jacob Spinning, Robert Watson and Dave Brown from Springdale. Hunt's bugler friend, Johnny Hilts, served in Merrill's Horse Cavalry, Co. C.

Forty-five year old Warren Wilmuth received his appointment as a sergeant in the 4th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, Co. D, on December 2, 1861. William Sprong also served in that regiment. When Hunt returned home on leave August 3, 1861 Springdale greeted him with a charming serenade. His appearance in uniform at the Presbyterian Church on Sunday morning elicited "oohs" and aahs from the younger members of the congregation. Even though he had yet to face actual combat, Hunt already knew something about the realities of war. Part of his regiment had pursued the enemy for four days, marching over one hundred miles of West Virginia mountains, sleeping on the ground and eating nothing but crackers and some beef they commandeered from a farmer's pasture, only to be ordered back to base before engaging the enemy.

For the first two years the war did not make a serious impact on the home front. Enough young men remained for adequate supply of dance partners at Springdale's incessant round of parties. Some continued attending Miami until the university finally closed its doors.

Then in January 1863 rumors reached Springdale that Lt. Col. Berry and Minor Milliken were among the dead and wounded at Murfreesboro, Tennessee. James Kennedy, a friend of the two, headed south to the scene of the battle but federal forces stopped him in Covington. Berry's wife had better luck. She and her brother made their way to Louisville, bought an old wagon traveled to Nashville. There she found the Colonel hale and hearty except for a slight wound to the wrist, lingering several days at the field tending to the wounded.

Few neighborhoods had been spared fatalities as long as Springdale but the inevitable finally happened. Word arrived that Sgt. George McCormick died in battle January 11, 1863. McCormick was one of eight men of the 83d Ohio who fell at Arkansas Post and was killed just at the moment of victory. Six months later the 75th OVI which formed part of the reserve forces at Gettysburg was thrown into battle at the front. The men demonstrated great bravery in the face of heavy losses in a successful assault on a ledge of rock held by the enemy. But the unexpected fall back of General Oliver Howard's troops cut the 75th off from the rest of the brigade. With no way of receiving orders it was forced to fall back and many more men were wounded or killed, including James McCormick. In less than six months, The McCormick family lost two sons. James McCormick was buried on the plains of Gettysburg along with his Springdale neighbor, Jim Jackson.

The McCormick tragedy finally brought the reality of the war home to Springdale. Images of shining swords and parade marches disappeared. The sense of shock that pervaded the village led to a strengthening of purpose. Unfortunately the losses made it very difficult for the citizens of Springdale to tolerate dissent.

II

Not everyone in the village shared the same commitment to the war. In Springdale as in most other Ohio communities, many endorsed the leader of the Ohio Peace Democrats, Clement L. Vallandigham. This Dayton, Ohio Democrat opposed the war on constitutional grounds and on more than one occasion had expressed his outrage at the immorality of slavery. Nevertheless, he felt that constitutional states' rights guaranteed the South protection for its "peculiar" institution. Once the war began, he spoke out against the increased powers exercised by the executive branch of government. He also condemned the Emancipation Proclamation, which was issued by President Abraham Lincoln and freed the slaves effective January 1, 1863. The economic impact on the South was dramatic, closing off an important southern market. Vallandigham's southern sympathies led to attacks from Republicans who called him, and other Peace Democrat followers, "Copperheads," and charges of treason.

Finally, in 1863, General Ambrose Burnside, commander of the Department of the Ohio, issued "General Orders No. 38." That edict declared that persons expressing sympathy for the enemy would be arrested and subject to court martial. On May 5, 1863 Vallandigham was placed under arrest and taken to Cincinnati for trial. There he was found guilty and imprisoned. President Lincoln chose not to make a martyr of Vallandigham and turned him over to the Confederacy which then exiled him to Canada.

Popular reaction to Vallandigham's arrest and trial propelled him to victory in absentia in the Ohio gubernatorial primary of 1863. The Vallandigham candidacy split many families, including the Hunt family of Springdale. Young Sam Hunt wrote that the "political situation between the Abolitionists and the Democrats is as bitter as the South is against the North." Evidently, Dr. Hunt could not support John Brough, Vallandigham's Republican opponent. Sam castigated his brother John, a Brough man, for going against the instruction of their father and for preferring the "abolition of slavery to the Constitution of the United States."

Vallandigham, running his campaign from his Canadian exile, suffered defeat at the hands of Brough, much to John's delight. Sam Hunt was a college boy with a college boy's enthusiasms but he articulated quite clearly Vallandigham's appeal to a great many Ohioans. Still, those who thought about straying from the Union quickly rushed back into the fold when John Hunt Morgan made his daring raid into Ohio and Indiana, July 8 through 26, 1863.

III

In early 1863, the fiery Confederate General John Hunt Morgan obtained permission to carry out a raid in Kentucky. However, without authority, Morgan carried the war across that border state and into northern territory. On July 1, 1863 he began to move north. As the people of Springdale celebrated Independence Day at Laurel Grove with the usual picnics and speeches, Morgan and his men marched through Kentucky towards the Ohio River. On July 13 he passed from Indiana to Ohio at Harrison. No one knew with any accuracy his direction or his intentions. Cincinnati panicked. As one citizen of Springdale stationed at the McLean Barracks reported of the urban folk, "many [were] shaking in their boots for fear they would have to shoulder the musket or that Morgan might come and sake [sic] the city." At 1 a.m. on July 14 a fast-riding courier reported to Burnside that Morgan was approaching with twenty-five hundred men and six artillery and that he seemed headed toward New Burlington or Springdale. As Morgan crossed the Miami River he literally burned his bridge behind him:

The men carried lighted flares made of paper which they had stolen on the way.

Morgan's raiders were interested in stealing more than paper. They had their eye on good horseflesh. Morgan had pushed his men so hard that their horses literally gave way beneath them. By the time they reached the Springdale area many were searching frantically for new mounts. In Springdale, the raiders conventiently found a place noted for its quality horses. Was it just a coincidence? Conspiracy theories spread like wildfire. Vallandigham supporters, members of the Knights of the Golden Circle and other groups deemed subversive, supposedly informed Morgan of the location of valuable property that he could confiscate and directed him towards those who would support his cause. In fact, though, Morgan and his men rebuffed the efforts of the Peace Democrats. No evidence exists to show that Morgan selected his route to rally southern sympathizers.

The bells in the cupola of the Springdale church rang the alarm of imminent danger. General Morgan and his fatigued but hard-riding raiders dashed down Sharon Hill into neighboring Glendale. Union forces under General Hobson were in pursuit but still twelve hours behind. Both forces needed fresh horses. Springdale farmers tried, more or less successfully, to hide their horses. C.A.B. Kemper herded his fine stock into a ravine on his property. Friends feared Morgan might have found the horses, "they being good travelers [that] would suit him well." But they underestimated the practical, quick-thinking farmer. Another farmer, Charles Leggett, lost four animals from his stable, located just outside the billage. According to Sam Hunt, narrowly escaped from "thieving marauders" belonging to Hobson's band while riding his brother's mare. All in all, Morgan brought more excitement to Springdale than it had enjoyed in many years. Nevertheless the fact that the village escaped the pillaging so many expected did nothing to diminish the complaints of its citizens. Many who had lost their horses resented having to travel to Gallipolis to reclaim them after Morgan's capture.

Ultimately Morgan's raid, together with the losses on the battlefield, led to a consolidation of Union sympathy in Springdale. With that unity and resolve, however, came bitterness. A scrap of a letter found in the Kemper papers denounced those sympathetic to the Confederacy vividly reflecting the new sentiments. The writer expressed the feeling that freedom of speech might be a worthy ideal "but at a time when the country is bleeding and the young are sacrificing their lives...[they] have no right to exhibit feelings of sympathy to the enemy."

IV

The seemingly endless demands for more soldiers forced Congress to pass a draft law in 1863. Numerous reasons for exemption still remained. The fact that married men were only drafted if there were no eligible single men in the district gave hope to Springdale maidens on the brink of spinsterhood. Helen Kemper, who thought she was approaching that state, wrote her female friends, "the conscription bill is inviting all the old bachelors to marry or go into the army." The Union draft also permitted buying an exemption for three hundred dollars or the hiring of a substitute, leading to cries that this was "a rich man's war and a poor man's fight."

The draft established a quota for each congressional district based on its population. When a district met that quota it was free from the draft until the next allotment of men had to be raised. In the spring of 1864 Springdale met its quota. But in the next hundred-day call the draft took several men from the community.

The absence of so many young men created a labor shortage that reached crisis proportions at harvest time. James Kennedy worked the fields at Sunnyside like a common laborer, praying all the time that "Father Lincoln" would not order up so many troops that he would have to go. Still, scarce labor meant higher prices for products, and increased war contracts replaced the lost southern market. Farm prices escalated. Corn sold for a dollar a bushel and hay for thirty dollars a ton.

Though by 1864 it would be just a matter of time before the final defeat of the Confederacy, the war dragged on. As Grant led his Army against Lee, and Sherman began his inexorable march to the sea, war-weariness hung like a pall over the community. When John Hunt's enlistment expired and he arrived home in October, Springdale seemed to him to be like a deserted village.

Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, exactly four years after the attack on Fort Sumter. On August 26, 1865 many Springdale residents attended a soldiers' welcome-home at Sharonville. By September all of the soldiers had returned to the village except those who had died. Though another familiar round of parties began, somehow Springdale seemed a different place.

IV

The war brought a metamorphosis to Springdale. At first, he Civil War portended decline. The war uprooted a disproportionate number of Springdale's young men and broadened their horizons. When they returned they saw the village with new eyes, not as their charming ancestral home but, as in John Hunt's words, as a "deserted village." With the restless spirit so characteristic of veterans in any era, they looked for greater opportunities elsewhere.

Some veterans, of course, stayed behind. Ralph McCormick returned to his wife Caroline, five-year-old John, and two-year-old Anna. He and his brother Garret opened a grocery business in Springdale. Once four McCormick brothers, so close in age, shared every experience. Springdale must have seemed a very different place to the two still living.

After the war those who walked down the Pike and looked on a side-porch, so characteristic of Springdale houses, might see a solitary figure sitting, his empty pants legs neatly folded and pinned above the knees. Mack Morgan lost his legs while serving as a private in the 3rd U.S. Artillery. Although no information exists as to the precise nature of his injury, his artillery service is highly suggestive. Artillery men were frequently poorly-trained and the big guns were unpredictable. In any event, Morgan survived his double amputation. More men died from post-operative complications than from the wounds that made an operation necessary.

Many men in this small village suffered injuries that impaired them for the remainder of their days. Elias Ellis, a captain in the 93d OVI, received a gunshot wound in the thigh that left him permanently crippled. Frostbite, rather than enemy fire, maimed John Collins in the 6th Ohio Voluntary Infantry. He walked with a permanent limp from the loss of the toes on his left foot. Other men, not so visibly impaired, suffered a loss of productivity because of chronic rheumatism, ruptures or lingering coughs. The records are silent on the shell-shock victims but they undoubtedly existed.

"What are Brouz Wilmuth, Henry Van Dyke and other young men about Springdale doing?" wrote John Hunt. "Anyone with energy who is willing to leave home can find good situations that will pay." Unfortunately for Springdale, many young men accepted John's version of opportunities out West. Henry Van Dyke, despite a limp from a leg wound received at Vicksburg, took his neighbor's advice. Many others returned only to drift away within a few years. The lure of the West led former Springdale residents to settle from Missouri to California.

No village, however small, escaped the Civil War which changed the future for individuals such as John Hunt and shaped communities like Springdale. In many ways, the war sapped the community of its vitality and left it in the hands of an older generation which could not adapt easily to the forces of industrialization and modernization that characterized the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The once prosperous village faced a critical stage in its history in the late 1860s and 1870s. To avoid decline it needed an infusion of spirit and fresh ideas.