Milton Stapp

Indiana owes much to Kentucky. She owes her for thousands of pioneers who helped cut down her forests and bring her lands into cultivation; she owes her for statesmen of transcedent ability, and particularly does she owe her for the gallant rangers she sent to beat back the savage foe.

Among the men from Kentucky who came to the help of Indiana in her trials was Milton Stapp, the subject of this sketch. He was born in Scott county, Kentucky, in the year 1793. His boyhood was spent in the ordinary way, there being nothing unusual in his history until after he was nineteen years old. The tidings of Indian cruelty that came to him from across the Ohio river fired his blood and stimulated his patriotism to such a degree that he resolved to go to the rescue of his imperiled countrymen. He enlisted as a private soldier in the regiment commanded by Colonel Richard M. Johnson. He participated in all the skirmishes and battles of his regiment, and at the battle of the Thames, fought October 5, 1813, he was wounded in the neck by a musket ball. He carried the scar of this wound while he lived--a badge "more honorable than the star of garter," for it testified of blood spilled in saving women and children from outrage and butchery and their homes from pillage. When peace was declared, and the inhabitants north of the Ohio river no longer needed his musket, he returned to his Kentucky home. In his march through the Territory of Indiana to meet the Indians and their British allies, he saw a country rich in soil and natural advantages, and believing that such a land presented more inducements to the young and ambitious than the country he lived, he determined to make it his home. Therefore, in 1816, the year Indiana was admitted into the Union, he left Kentucky and came to this State, making his home at Madison, a town on the southern border. At that time Madison was a leading town and the home of men who subsequently became famous.

The young settler was ambitious, and knowing that the road to political preferment usually ran through legal fields, he determined to study law. He entered the office of the late James F.D. Lanier, as a student, and, after acquiring sufficient knowledge, was admitted to the bar. He began the practice as a partner of his preceptor, but having chosen his profession more as a means than as an end, he did not give it his sole attention. His mind ran on other things, mainly on public employment, and he was exceedingly active in trying to secure it. He was fond of display, and the militia law of that time gave him scope for the gratification of this propensity. It was then the custom to have an annual muster at Madison, which all the able-bodied soldiers of the town and its vicinage were required to attend. The glories of these musters have departed, but the remembrance of them still gladdens the lovers of devastation and carnage. Governor Corwin once described "parade day" so graphically that the reader will pardon its insertion here:

"We all in fancy now see the gentleman from Michigan in that most dangerous and glorious event of the life of a militia general on the peace establishment--a parade day! That day for which all other days of his life seem to have been made. We can see the troops in motion; umbrellas, hoe and ax handles, and other deadly implements of war overshadowing all the fields, when lo! the leader of the host appears.

his plume, white, after the fashion of the great Bourbon, is of ample length, and reads its doleful history in the bereaved necks and bosoms of forty neighboring hen-roosts. Like the great Suwaroff, he seems somewhat careless in forms and points of dress; thence his epaulets may be on his shoulders, back or sides, but still gleaming, gloriously gleaming in the sun."

This picture, though drawn of a Michigan general, portrays the aspects of the Indiana brigadier equally well. Napoleon was no fonder of drilling the Old Guard than was General Stapp of drilling the Madison militia. He and Major Cochrane would array themselves in the attire of warriors and march at the head of their columns. They were the boiler and engine that ran the military machine. To see them on their prancing steeds, their white plumes waving in the air, their swords flashing in the sunlight, was enough to drive Jupitor to cover and Mars to his temple. The General's renown as a militiaman spread thoughout the land, and did much to bring him into public notice. But he did not devote all his time to the intoxicating militia drilling. He became a candidate for the State Legislature in 1822, and was elected from Jefferson county, and in 1823 he was chosen State Senator from Jefferson and Jennings counties, of which body he was made President pro tem., in December, 1825, and in 1828 he was elected Lieutenant-Governor of the State, on the ticket with James B. Ray. His term expired in 1831, but he still continued in politics. In that year he ran for Governor, receiving only 4,422 votes, while Governor Noble received 17,959, and James G. Reed 15,168. Noble was elected, but he went to the Legislature again, and was an active and successful advocate of the internal improvement system of that time. In 1836 the system culminated, and in 1839 broke down. A debt of $15,000,000 had been contracted, upon which no interest was paid for years. Bankruptcy overtook the people, and ruin ran riot. The unfinished public works were abandoned, and afterward sold. A commission of three was appointed to settle this debt, General Stapp being one of the commission. After this he was elected Agent of State and charged with the care of the bonded debt. But neither his career as Fund Commissioner nor as Agent of State proved him a Morrison or a Gallatin. As Agent of State he placed a large amount of bonds with the Morris Canal and Banking Company for negotiation. The institution broke, with the money received for the bonds in its coffers, and all the State ever got from it were a few Brooklyn water lots, upon which was an old soap factory.

It will thus be seen that as a public financier Gerneral Stapp was not a success. But, in justice to his memory, be it said that no charge of dishonesty was laid at his door. Many thought him weak, but none believed him dishonest.

In 1834, when the Madison branch of the State Bank of Indiana was organized, General Stapp was appointed its cashier. In a short time he resigned this position, to take the presidency of the Madison Savings Institution, a bank of discount and deposit. He remained at the head of this institution so long as it transacted business.

In 1850 General Stapp was elected mayor of Madison, the last office he held in Indiana. He made a most excellent mayor, certainly as good a one as the city ever had. He administered the law fearlessly and without favor. He had the intelligence to know his duty and the courage to perform it. He never filled an office with so much honor to himself and with so much acceptability to the people.

In the spring of 1853 General Stapp bought a half interest in the Madison Daily Banner, and took editorial charge of the paper. He continued to direct its columns until he died.

In 1860, when sixty-seven years old, General Stapp left Madison and removed to Texas. He was active and reasonably vigorous at the time, and bid fair to live many years in his new home, but the war soon coming on, he determined to leave. He had fought under the old flag when he was young, and he would not desert it now. Communication by public conveyance between the sections having having ceased, he procured a spring wagon and a mule, and, taking his family with him, traveled overland from Goliad, Texas, to Sedalia, Mo. From there he came by railroad and steamer to Madison. He remained at his old home until the war had ended, and in 1865 returned to Texas as Collector of Internal Revenue for the Galveston district. Galveston was his home, but he traveled extensively over the State in attending to his official duties. On one of his trips, while crossing a stream between Goliad and Galveston, he suddenly became surrounded by a flood of water, and was compelled to climb a tree to save his life. The water continued to rise, and all communication with land was cut off. By hallooing he made himself heard, but there was no boat in which to go to his relief. This was in the afternoon, and he had to stay in the tree top until the next morning. By that time a boat had been constructed, and the General was relieved from his perilous situation. It rained hard during the whole of his water captivity, and when succor came he was found to be suffering from a burning fever. He was taken to his home at Galveston, and soon after reaching there he died. The news of his death reached Madison on the 4th of August, 1869, but his remains were not removed from Galveston until the first day of the next November, when they were shipped to Madison.

His funeral took place on the 9th of November, at the residence of his nephew, William Stapp, in the house which was formerly his home. After the services the body was taken to the Madison cemetery and there interred.

In politics General Stapp was a Whig, while the party existed, and on its dissolution he did not attach himself to either of the great political parties. Hence, during the latter part of his life, his was a free lance in politics. But, when the war came, he took his position on the side of the Union, a place where all who knew him expected him to stand.

General Stapp was a man of great energy and courage. He had many ups and downs in life, but he bore his misfortunes well, and, at a time when most men would have given up work and sought ease in the chimney corner, he went to a new country to build up his fortunes anew. He was an active member of the Baptist church and prominent in the religious work of that denomination. In his credulity he was as simple as a child. His heart was tender, and he was never happier than when binding up the wounds of others. In person he was rather under the usual size. He had light hair with a somewhat golden tinge, a fair complexion and light-blue eyes. His self-esteem was great, but it hurt no one but himself. Sharp and designing men worked upon it to his disadvantage; but, take him altogether, he averaged well. He was a kind and good neighbor, a brave and patriotic citizen, and an active Christian worker--qualities which more than compensate for the defects of his character.