Camp Vanderburgh to Kentucky

When Lincoln is elected to the presidency on November 6, 1860, it sets off a strong reaction by the southern powerbrokers who view him as a threat to the institution of slavery. Slavery is the lifeblood of the southern economy. Secession documents are quickly passed in a number of the southern states before Lincoln is sworn into office on March 4, 1861. Throughout the South, federal armories have been seized in some cases even before a state has seceded. Things are brought to a head on April 13 at 4:30 a.m. when Confederate President Jefferson Davis orders the firing on Ft. Sumter in Charleston Harbor to commence. Running low on supplies fort commander Major Anderson surrenders. T his sets off America's bloodiest war.

The North and South are not prepared for war in 1861. The US Army of 1861 consists of 16,000 men of 198 regimental companies scattered across the nation in 79 different posts. There are 183 companies out on the frontier leaving the remainder to guard the Canadian border and the sea coasts. When war breaks out, 270 out of the 1,108 officer corps resign and join the Confederacy. Some of America's finest officers are in that group of 270. Robert E. Lee and James Longstreet, despite long careers in the US Army are in that group of 270. Only a scant few hundred of the more than 15,000 enlisted ranks goes over to the Confederacy. In impressive fashion, the US Army will see over 2 million men serve in its ranks over the next four years. Almost half of these will be serving in the field at the same time during April of 1865.

Reaction in Evansville to Ft. Sumter:

When the news of Ft. Sumter arrives in Evansville, Indiana, it causes war fever. Businesses temporarily close throughout the city. A young prosecutor James M. Shanklin (25 years old) is in court for a Grand Jury proceeding when he is notified of the news. He stands up and addresses the court:

Gentlemen, there is no more business for the Grand Jury today, and with the consent of the court, Judge Parrott, I feel it my duty to request that the Grand Jury and court adjourn. At this moment matters of grave importance await every patriot. Fort Sumter has been fired upon, the flag dishonored, and all loyal eyes and hearts are turned in that direction. I, for one, shall enter the conflict in defense of my country's flag.

Shanklin is a native of Evansville, Indiana coming from a prominent family. He was born on January 24, 1836. In his pre-war days he attended Wabash College and the University of Michigan ultimately leaving his studies. He tried a hand at the timber business in Michigan but then moved west into the Kansas and Nebraska Territories. He moved back to Evansville shortly before the war and was elected prosecutor. With Lincoln's call out for troops, Shanklin enlists and will be rewarded for his recruiting efforts with the commission of Major for the Forty-second Indiana.

With the shelling of Ft. Sumter, President Lincoln asks the states to provide 75,000 militia to put down the rebellion. On April 17 Virginia refuses to supply troops against its fellow southern state and secedes from the Union. That same day in Evansville, a big rally is held at the Court House where Attorney Conrad Baker gives a very rousing speech for the Union. With three cheers for the Union and the flag, the rally breaks up. James Shanklin, a very entertaining and enthusiastic speaker begins to recruit from the surrounding counties.

By the time of the firing on Ft. Sumter, South Carolina had been joined in rapid secession by Mississippi on January 9, Florida on the 10th, Alabama on the 11th, Georgia on the 19th, and Louisiana on the 26th. Texas announced its secession on February 1. The new call for troops not only prompts Virginia but many of the previously undecided Upper South states also to secede as well. In North Carolina the committed Unionist congressman Zebulon Vance is giving a pro-Union speech when given news of Lincoln's call for troops. He immediately stops in mid-speech and asks for those assembled to volunteer to defend South Carolina. A secessionist convention is convened, and on May 20th North Carolina officially joins the Confederacy. Arkansas had already seceded on May 6. The last state to secede, Tennessee, does so on June 8.

Then on July 21, the North and South meet at Manassas, Virginia, just outside of Washington. In the first battle of the war, it is a Federal disaster as the South routs the Union forces, which had appeared to be on the verge of winning when Confederates dressed in blue uniforms flank attack setting off chaos in the Union lines. The Union retreat is pure panic, and the soldiers don't stop until they reach Washington itself. They are nothing more than an undisciplined armed mob.... those that kept their rifles during the retreat anyways. Lincoln and the congress realize now that this is going to be a long war.

Lincoln issues a call for troops and Congress quickly passes legislation calling for 500,000 volunteers to preserve the Union. The call to preserve the Union, not yet 75 years old, is a powerful message. All across the north, recruiting offices are set up and become swamped to the point that volunteers have to be turned away in some cases.

Shanklin wastes no time and immediately starts his recruitment tour making it as far north as Daviess County. Washington, Indiana, newspaperman Spillard F. Horrall describes Shanklin's appearance there in early September in the regimental history of 1892. He wrote:

[Shanklin] was a tall, angular figure, having a pleasant voice, of great volume, however, when fully aroused." He is known as a "War Democrat." With only a few hours notice, the city turns out in large numbers to hear him speak. "It was soon after sunset that Mr. Shanklin mounted a dry-goods box, southwest corner Main and Third streets, and began to get in readiness for the speech. Meantime, men and women, to the number of from 1,200 to 1,500, had collected [a large assembly people for the town then] and the speaker began.

Speaking to the citizens of Washington, Shanklin speaks to the firing on Ft. Sumter and its insult to the American flag and national honor. He speaks of the dangers of disunion and its bad consequences. Horrall who is in the crowd stated that "he had not spoken five minutes before the people, men and women, began to press together to where people couldn't pass through." Shanklin quotes Andrew Jackson's response to South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun during the 1832 secession crisis, "The Union, it must and shall be preserved. Tell Calhoun to stop, or, by the Eternal, I'll hang them all higher than Hamen." The crowd cheered throughout Shanklin's speech. Within 20 days,...