Part 3 of 4- The Perps- the 160th Indiana Volunteer Infantry
This is the rifle issued to 26 year old
Private Melvin W. Minear, the Wagoner for Company M of the 160th
Indiana.
Biographical info from various Ancestry.com sources
No one would suspect that the 160th Indiana
would be involved in a beer theft. After
all:
“It
may be a pleasure of the friends of the 160th Regiment to know that
it was one of the few regiments in which the sale of intoxicating liquors was
prohibited.
For this credit is due Col. Gunder, as he desired to shield his command from
the evils of intoxicants and so preserving the health and character of his
men.”
Source:
After initial mustering into federal service the regiment went to Camp Thomas at Chickamauga, TN, arriving on May 16th, 1898, with dozens of other Regiments and inadequate water, food or preparation.
On June 7, 1898- “Each soldier was issued a Springfield
rifle, cartridge belt, canteen, haversack, knapsack and shelter half. Previous to receiving the rifles, sentinels
stood guard around the camp with clubs.”
The brief unit history published April 28, 1899 by the Huntington, Indiana Weekly Herald was the first public mention of the beer incident I was able to find.
“While [in Lexington]the Pabst
and Schlitz companies lost several hundred cases of beer. The 160th Indiana have the credit
of drinking the beer whether they were the ones who took it or not. Co. K must have gotten a little of the beer
at least.”
Source:
Later, the published unit history more candidly revealed more details, such as would only be known by the perpetrators:
“Halloween came and we were
yet in Camp Hamilton. On that night the
boys were full of prank and one was committed that did not seem to be much of a
joke to Pabst and Schlitz, but it has since proven to be a cheap
advertisement. Three car loads of beer
intended for the Twelfth New York canteen were on the siding in the rear of the
camp of the Third Kentucky and 160th Indiana.
The beer so near proved too great a temptation and the boys
decided they must sample a little of it, and it being Halloween, it
would be no crime to use the beer.
During the night the 160th Indiana and Third Kentucky unloaded two
hundred and fifty cases of bottled beer and one and a half cars of keg
beer. With so much beer on hand it was
difficult to find enough hiding places.
Holes were dug beneath the tent floors kegs were weighted and put in the
bottom of the creek, bottles strung on wires and suspended in the water, indeed
there was beer anywhere and everywhere.
Pabst and Schlitz were infuriated, bringing action to recover damages at
once. An investigation was ordered and
it was decided that the Twelfth New York was liable. In the meantime the papers far and wide
contained accounts of the joke, as it proved to be. Thousands of buttons have been printed and
distributed as souvenirs, thus proving a cheap advertisement, .so satisfactory
that the beer manufacturers have come to regard the matter as a joke and have
withdrawn their claim for damages.”
But, life in the 160th was not all beer and skittles.
“While at Lexington, the provost
guards had little trouble to maintain order.
The two principal events of the 160th were the killing of a
Negro soldier by a priate of Co. G., and the other by Private Chilcot shooting
a private of the Second Mississippi, which resulted in the loss of a leg. Both casualties occurred in the line of
duty.”
About a week after the beer theft, they left for Columbus,
GA, where they set up Camp Conrad, awaiting occupation duty in Cuba. With the war officially over as of December
12th, the regiment was finally officially selected for occupation
duty in Cuba. On December 19, 1898- bolt
action .30 caliber Krag rifles were issued to replace the single shot .45-70
trapdoor rifles.
Leaving Columbus by train, the SS Saratoga took them to Cuba in three sections during January 1899.
Occupation duty in Cuba was interesting, and something of an adventure, albeit lacking what Sir Winston Churchill described from his own experience about this time. "There is nothing more exhilarating than being shot at and missed.” Duty was mainly show the flag, keep the not yet departed Spaniards from bullying local officials, and general police and public works tasks. Compared to a winter in Indiana, a ten week trip to a Caribbean island was not a bad deal, especially if not shot at, and not malaria season!
Determined to get all troops off the island before the tropical disease season
started, the 160th left aboard the U.S. Army Transport Thomas on
March 27, 1899 and arrived in Savannah, GA , March 29. Ironically, General George H. Thomas, “the
rock of Chickamauga” was the namesake of both their first and last contacts
with the state of Georgia.
U.S. Army Transport THOMAS with a load of
passengers circa 1901.
Source:
Men of the 160th
Indiana in the mess shack in Savannah, GA, 1899. The happiest guy is the one peeling the
potato. Do these guys look like they
might steal some beer? Yes, yes they do!
Source: Courtesy Indiana State
Library.
The 160th Indiana Volunteer Infantry mustered out April 25th 1899, after one year of service, and the men proceeded home. So, the 160th Indiana served their full terms of enlistment, including about two months on occupation duty in Cuba.
Losses by unit. All started with about 50 officers and 1,000 enlisted, with some
replacements arriving during their service period. Source:
|
12th |
160th Indiana |
3rd
Kentucky |
OFFICER
losses |
|
|
|
Resigned or discharged |
30 |
7 |
7 |
|
|
|
|
ENLISTED
losses |
|
|
|
Transferred |
13 |
69 |
27 |
Discharged-disability |
47 |
59 |
60 |
Discharged- courts martial |
- |
- |
8 |
Discharged by order |
210 |
117 |
129 |
Death from disease |
23 |
11 |
17 |
Death- accidental |
1 |
- |
2 |
Murder or homicide |
- |
1 |
1 |
Suicide |
1 |
- |
- |
Deserted |
91 |
15 |
56 |
TOTAL
ENLISTED LOSSES |
386 |
272 |
300 |
|
|
|
|
Another great piece that makes history come alive. Not great generals, or incompetent generals, or monarchs, oligarchs, etc. Just ordinary people. Unloading 3 boxcars by hand is no small job, even for a couple of companies worth of soldiers.
ReplyDeleteSort of like a piece of scrap iron I saw at the dump in Bodie CA. A piece of iron sheet, about 1/4 inch thick. Maybe about 8 inches long and 14 inches wide with the marks from two rounds cut out of it. Judging from the cuts, it looked 2 12" flanges, or rounds of some sort, had been cut out with a cold chisel. A narrow cold chisel, call it about 3/8" wide. That brought home to me the amount of physical labor our ancestors had to do. Look at the old photos of peoples root cellars, the ones with 200 or more jars of canned vegetables, fruits, and meat. Those represent a huge amount of labor, not just the growing, but the harvesting, sorting, cleaning, cutting, packing, and processing.
Different times.
ReplyDeleteExcellent series, JB.
Thirded on the series JB - this is great stuff!
ReplyDeleteTo Joe's comment above, I am struck by the same thing when walking through antique stores and malls - almost all of those things were either completely or partially made by hand, instead of the mass production models we have today. When those go away, a true little piece of history perishes.