Black and white print of US Secretary of War Edward M. Stanton July 1862

80th Indiana Volunteer Infantry
An American Civil War Regiment


U.S. Secretary of War Edward M. Stanton

"Your telegram to the President has been received...  Give us the fifteen regiments if you can do so, and at the earliest moment, raising them on any plan you deem most expedient."

--U.S. Secretary of War Edward M. Stanton
in a July 4, 1862 telegram to
Indiana Governor Oliver P. Morton

Below are brief descriptions of events at the national and state level that lead directly to the formation of the 80th Indiana. 

Also included below are quotes from primary and secondary sources that are intended to give insights into what the times, and the soldiers' lives, were like. These quotes have been entered on the date they were written or published (unless otherwise noted) and without changing the original grammar or spelling.  Abbreviations used on this page include: Assist.=Assistant; Brig.=Brigadier; Co.=Company; C.S.A.=Confederate States of America; Dept.=Department; Gen.= General; Gov.=Governor; Ind.=Indiana; Mus.=Muscian; Pvt.=Private; Sec.=Secretary; U.S.=United States; and '62=1862.

The 80th Indiana was formed in response to President Lincoln's call for 300,000 more volunteers for the Federal Army. The regiment left Indiana in September, 1862, and did not return until July, 1865. During that time it marched over 3,700 miles on foot and fought in the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina. Of the roughly 1,000 men who served in it, only 320 were still with the 80th when it came home.

Sources: 80th Indiana Regimental and Company Order Books; Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Indiana, Volumes III and IV, 1861-1865 (Indianapolis, Indiana, 1866); and other items as noted.

Dates Synopsis Quotes

July 1
Tuesday

Call For Volunteers.

Proclamation by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln asking for 300,000 More Volunteers to help put down the Confederate rebellion. 
"I have decided to call into the service an additional force of 300,000 men.  I suggest and recommend that the troops should be chiefly of infantry...I trust that they may be enrolled without delay, so as to bring this unnecessary and injurious civil war to a speedy and satisfactory conclusion."

 

July 2
Wednesday



July 3
Thursday

Private and Confidential.

Telegram from U.S. President Abraham Lincoln to Ind. Gov. Oliver P. Morton.
"MY DEAR SIR: I should not want the half of 300,000 new troops if I could have them now. If I had 50,000 additional troops here now I believe I could substantially close the war in two weeks. But time is everything, and if I get 50,000 new men in a month I shall have lost 90,000 old ones during the same mouth, having gained only 30,000, with the difference between old and new troops still against me. The quicker you send the fewer you will have to send. Time is everything. Please act in view of this."

 

July 4
Friday

Independence Day.

Telegram from U.S. Sec. of War Edward M. Stanton to Ind. Gov. Oliver P. Morton.
"Your telegram to the President has been received...Give us the fifteen regiments if you can do so, and at the earliest moment, raising them on any plan you deem most expedient."

Telegram from Ind. Gov. Oliver P. Morton to U.S. Sec. of War Edward M. Stanton.
"When I sent you my dispatch yesterday I had not seen your call for 300,000 men. Indiana will furnish her full quota."

 

July 5
Saturday



July 6
Sunday



July 7
Monday

Indiana's Quota.

Telegram from U.S. Brig. Gen. C. P. Buckingham, U.S. War Dept., to Ind. Gov. Oliver P. Morton.
"You are requested to raise as soon as practicable for the U. S. service, for three years or during the war, nine regiments of volunteer infantry, being a part of your quota under the call of the President."

 

July 8
Tuesday



July 9
Wednesday



July 10
Thursday

Secret Expenditures.

Telegram from U.S. Assist. Sec. of War C. P. Wolcott to Ind. Gov. Oliver P. Morton.
"SIR: You are hereby authorized to make a requisition on the Secretary of War for such sum as you may deem necessary (not to exceed $1,000), to be expended at your discretion in employing speakers, or in such other secret manner as you may deem advisable, for encouraging enlistments of volunteers. Your account of such fund will be rendered to the Secretary of War, accompanied by proper vouchers."

 

July 11
Friday



July 12
Saturday



July 13
Sunday

First 80th Men Enlisted.  

These volunteers are the first recorded enlistments into the 80th. 
William Barr, Mus.
John W. Kellams, Mus.


July 14
Monday

Enlisted in what became Co. D of the 80th.
Philip G. Allensworth, Pvt.


July 15
Tuesday



July 16
Wednesday



July 17
Thursday



July 18
Friday



July 19
Saturday

Enlisted into what became Co. D of the 80th.
Edwin B. Reeves, Pvt.


July 20
Sunday

Enlisted into what became Co. D of the 80th.
James M. Barr, Pvt.


July 21
Monday



July 22
Tuesday



July 23
Wednesday



July 24
Thursday



July 25
Friday



July 26
Saturday



July 27
Sunday



July 28
Monday



July 29
Tuesday

Enlisted in what became Co. E of the 80th.
William T. Skelton, Pvt.


July 30
Wednesday



July 31
Thursday




This page Copyright by Scott Cantwell Meeker of Deep Vee Productions.
All Rights Reserved. Created July 2, 2000. Last updated December 2, 2004.


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