Jefferson County, Ind., had over 3,000 soldiers serve in the Civil War in some military capacity. Of those, very close to five hundred men were killed or died of disease (many in captivity). There are extraordinary stories here, none more touching than the determination of Purnell Townsend, who lost three sons. One died of a military contracted sickness at home, but two died away. He personally brought both of the latter back and buried all three side by side in the hillside, known as Section 2, of Springdale Cemetery. Time and stupidity have brought dishonor to the Townsend graves, their markers destroyed and replaced by newer ones (I found one of the original markers down the hillside and returned it flat over its grave) and the military information that belongs to John Robert Townsend, who was killed at Missionary Ridge, now adorns a marker to his uncle Robert Townsend at Fairmount Cemetery, who was in fact killed about six months later on the Dallas Line. And so it goes...honor and dishonor...hand in hand...all across the stories here.

Legends happened here. Jefferson County started the Battle of Gettysburg when its Company of the 3rd Indiana Cav, looking for shoes, encountered a unit of Rebs approaching the town . We were embarrassed at Stone's River as the Confederate left drove the Union right like sheep, the German 32nd loosing its commander, General Willich, to capture when away from his troops...the 22nd Indiana turned and ran, eventually over top of the 6th Indiana which held 400 men from here...our boys in the 22nd must have taken a terrible razzing at that point. But the 6th, too, was forced to retreat in turn, but orderly. Topography allowed the center to hold. So the right was cartwheeled a full 90 degrees. The remnants of the 32nd holding on a hill to the rear of center and a Union general sending an aide to his rear to find out where all of that firing was coming from. But we were glorious beyond words at Missionary Ridge. These are magnificent stories...tempered, least we forget, by the horrors of Cahaba & Andersonville prisons and the destruction of the SS Sultana (still the nation's largest maritime disaster), where we lost many fine young men near Memphis while returning from Southern POW camps. I went to those places and it was a mistake, as I cannot rid myself of the traces that still remain there. It was much, much worse for those who returned...the number of suicides and murders that plagued these veterans attest to that.

There are a total of four indexes, each with different background colors to allow you to move quickly between them.The first section (A) of the index is related to the Civil War time period and the casualty grouping known as the Honor Roll. It is listed in chronological order so that a feel for the time period of the battles, and the casualties each produced, becomes apparent. GCW