Camp cripple creek
tennessee
18 january - 24 june 1863
31st IN Infantry
Companies A - I and K
BATTLE FLAG
National Flag #99



BATTLE FLAG
Regimental Flag #98
Indianapolis, IN
Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument Dedication Ceremony - 15 May 1902
10 Members of the 31st IN carried their regimental flag in the parade: John W. Brown, Robert Campbell, James F. Fee, Silas D. Foulke, Lorenzo D. Gard, Jeremiah Hatfield, Jr., Robert K. Houpt, Thomas J. Ratcliffe, William H. Samuels, and George W. Walker
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The 31st IN lost 378 brave men during the War:
120 were killed in action or
mortally wounded (including
5 officers)
258 died of disease (5 of these
were officers)

The 31st Indiana Volunteer Infantry was organized and mustered in by Col. Charles Cruft, 15 September 1861, in Terre Haute, IN.
Col. Charles Cruft (1826 - 1883) was promoted to Brigadier General 16 July 1862. Cruft's Brigade came to include the 1st and 2nd KY and the 90th OH, in addition to the 31st IN.
The 31st IN consisted of 10 individual companies: A - I and K . (Like many regiments, there was no Company J.) Each company was made up mostly of men from one or two counties from the southwestern part of the state. Likewise, each company adopted its own nickname, some reflecting where the majority of its men were from.
A Wabash Rifles Parke Co
B Santa Fe Guards Owen Co.
C Noble Guards Vigo Co.
D Sullivan Co. Lyons Sullivan Co.
E Vigo Tigers Vigo Co.
F Greene Co. Union
Guards Greene Co.
G Dunning Guards Monroe Co.
H Jackson Guards Greene Co.
I Parke Invincibles Parke Co.
(also known as The
Jamesborough Guards)
K Vigo Rangers Vigo Co.
The 31st IN was mustered out on 8 Dec. 1865, in San Antonio, TX.

CRUFT

The 31st IN Fought in the Following
BATTLES:
FT. DONELSON, KY. . . . .13 - 15 FEB 62
SHILOH, TN. . . . . . . . . . . . 6 - 8 APR 62
PERRYVILLE, KY. . . . . . . . . . .8 OCT 62
STONES RIVER. . . . 31 DEC 62 - 2 JAN 63
CHICKAMAUGA, GA . . . . .19 - 20 SEP 63
SIEGE OF CHATTANOOGA. . .24 SEP -
23 NOV 63
ATLANTA CAMPAIGN. . .7 MAY - 2 SEP 64
FRANKLIN, TN (SECOND). . . .30 NOV 64
NASHVILLE, TN. . . . . . . .15 - 16 DEC 64
As well as Garrison Duty in
Bridgeport, AL
Ooltewah, TN
Nashville, TN
Green Lake, TX
and San Antonio, TX
FIELD and STAFF OFFICERS
DATE COL. LT. COL. MAJ. ADJ. CHAPLAIN QM SURGEON ASST. SURGEONS
1 Jan. 1863 Osborne C. M. Smith J. T. Smith Rose Gilmore Beeler Armstrong Hendricks, Morgan
24 Jan. 1863 " " " Noble " " " " "
11 Feb. 1863 " J. T. Smith Neff " " " " " "
15 Mar. 1863 " " " " " " Hendricks Morgan, McKinney
Armstrong, James B. ( - <1894>) Commissioned as Regimental Surgeon on 22 Oct 61 and Mustered in on 1 Nov 61;
Discharged 13 Mar 63 (from Cripple Creek?) ; Pension file shows his widow (Mary S.) filed in 1894 from IL; There are records for a William B. Armstrong, born PA 20 Feb 1833, died 13 Jan 1893 in Knoxville, Knox Co, IL, whose wife was named
Maria S. Campbell--the only problem I have with saying this is our William B. Campbell is that Maria's husband always lists
his occupation as Farmer, there is no mention whatsoever of his being a Physician; Is this our Dr. William B. Campbell?
Beeler, James C. 24 (1838 - 1897) Mustered in on 4 Jan 62 from Terre Haute to Co F as a 2 Lt; Promoted to Quarter
Master Sgt for the regiment on 26 Apr 62; Resigned 17 Jun 65
Gilmore, Hiram 51 (1809 - 1877) Born in NY on Christmas Day; Licensed to preach in 1831; Married Eliza Ruter in 1834 and had 4 children; Preached in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia before moving to Indiana in 1850; living in Greencastle, Putnam Co, IN for 1860 Census; Commissioned and mustered in from Greencastle in Sep 61 as Chaplain for the regiment; Mustered out 29 Sep 64; Was a Minister in the Methodist-Episcopal Church and retured in 1874; Died in IL
Hendricks, William C. 39 (1822 - 1888) Mustered in 1 Nov 61 as Asst Surgeon (there were two assigned to the 31st IN);
When Dr. James Armstrong was discharged on 14 Mar 63, Hendricks became the Regimental Surgeon the next day; He
would resign from the 31st IN on 10 May 64 in order to re-enlist as the Regimental Surgeon for the 149th IN; Born in IN,
Dr. Hendricks and his family called Ladoga home, in later years they lived in Franklin (Johnson Co), IN
McKinney, Asa W 30 (1831 - 1893) He was mustered in as a 1 Sgt of Co H, in spite of having recently graduated from
medical school; He became a Hospital Steward in May 62; Was a 2 Lt from Jan 63 until May 63 (roughly his whole time at
Camp Cripple Creek); At last, he was promoted to Asst Surgeon in May 63 and finally served as Surgeon from Sept 64
until his discharge in Dec 65; Before the War, he lived in Owensburg; He moved to Kansas in 1872, where he was a doctor,
pharmacist, and the county coroner
Morgan, James H. ( - ) He was commissioned as one of the Asst Surgeons in the regiment on 22 Sep 62 (However,
he was not mustered); He resigned on 9 Dec 63
Neff, Francis L. 31 (1830 - 1864) Born in KY, he made Sullivan Co, IN his home; He was mustered in as the 1st Lt of Co. D
on 5 Sep 61; He and his brother, Willis, were partners in a thriving law practice when Ft. Sumter was surrendered; Francis
and Willis were instrumental in recruiting their neighbors, friends, and fellow-lawyers for the cause of the Union He was
promoted to Adjutant for the regiment on 19 May 62, followed by a promotion to Capt of Co D on 31 Jul 62; On 11 Feb 63,
he was commissioned as a Maj, the rank he would hold until July 63, when he was promoted to Lt Col; Sadly, he was killed
24 Jun 64 by a sharpshooter at Kennesaw Mtn, near Atlanta, GA (according to the bio on his Find-A-Grave page, he was
sitting at the base of a tree, reading a newspaper when he was killed!); He was buried at home in Sullivan Co
Noble, George Milton 20 (1842 - 1915) His bio in Who's Who in Topeka, 1905, asserts he began as a Private in Co D and
moved up through the ranks to a Brevet Major, however this is not reflected in the military records available to me; No
matter, he was mustered and commissioned as Adj for the regiment on 24 Jan 63 after Allen Rose resigned; He would
remain in this post until Sept 64 when he was promoted to Capt of Co C; He resigned on 12 Jun 65; He was from Ohio
originally, but was living in Greencastle when he enlisted; He and his wife moved to Kansas after the War; He was a
lawyer and businessman He filed his pension request as an Invalid in 1904 and his widow (Eva R.) filed for her pension in
1915--both from Kansas; He died and was buried in Topeka, KS
Osborne, John 53 (1809 - 1887) From Bowling Green, he became Lt Col when the regiment was formed in Sept 61;
When Col. Cruft was promoted to Brig Gen in Jul 62, Osborne assumed command of the 31st; He continued as Col until he
resigned in Jul 63
Rose, Allen T. 50 (1812 - 1892) From Bowling Green, Clay Co., IN (although some records say he was from Spencer);
Served in the Mexican War; He was commissioned and mustered into the 31st IN as Adj on 2 Oct 62; After he resigned
on 23 Jan 63, he returned home to IN; He lived in Missouri 1880, and died in Arkansas
Smith, John T. 30 (1831 - 1908) Hailing from Bloomfield, he was commissioned and mustered on 5 Sep 61 as the 1 Lt
of Co F; He was promoted to Capt of Co F on 4 Jan 62; Promoted to Maj in Dec 62, Promoted to Lt Col in Feb 63; He
would eventually become Col in Jul 63 when Col Osborne resigned; He would remain with the 31st until a few weeks
before the War's end, turning in his resignation on 12 Mar 65; In 1900, he was the author of the book commemorating
the history of the 31st (A History of the Thirty-First Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion)
Smith, Charles M. 33 (1828 - 1909) Born in OH, he called Terre Haute home for most of his life; (Note: His military
records show him serving in Co. F of 14th IN from 7 Jun 61 until 5 Jul 62, but I believe this second date should be 5 Jul 61,
as this unit eventually became the 31st IN in Sep 61); His newspaper obituary states he had a long military career,
serving in the Mexican War and the "Lopez exedition to Cuba" in the 1850s; He was commissioned and mustered in as the
first Capt of Co K of the 31st IN on 5 Sept 61; He was promoted to Maj on 7 May 62 and finally to Lt Col on 17 Jul 62; He
was serving in this capacity at Cripple Creek when he resigned on 10 Feb 63; His final military service was as Lt Col of
the 156th IN from April until Aug 65; In 1900, as a widower living in Terre Haute, he listed his occuation as Postal Clerk;
His birthday was in May 1828, but I don't know the actual date








REGIMENTAL PERSONNEL NOT LISTED ON OTHER PAGES
Spear, James B. Hospital Steward (No residence given) Mustered in 25 Oct 61; Died at Savannah, TN on 1 Mar 62
Meacham, John F. Adj (No residence given) Mustered in 11 Nov 64
Wood, Levi QM From Indianapolis Mustered in 20 Sep 61; Resigned 7 Apr 62
Carter, Charles M. QM From Bowling Green Mustered in 18 Jun 65: No "out" date
Fisher, Samuel Asst Surg (Pro tem) Greencastle Commissioned on 23 Apr 62; No "out" date
Wright, S. M. Asst Surg (Pro tem) Terre Haute Commissioned on 24 Apr 62; No "out" date
Merritt, N. P. Asst Surg (No residence given) Mustered in 31 Oct 64; No "out" date
Hamilton, James B. 41 (1820 - 1899) No residence given; He served as Chaplain from 24 Oct 64 until the regiment was mustered out
Cox, James T. Leader of Band (No residence given) Mustered out [8?] Sep 62
Barnard, George Band " Mustered out 8 Sep 62
Brown, George A " " "
Bachtold, Jacob " " "
Brown, Charles A. " " "
Gordon, George " " "
Hoelzel, Benjamin " " "
Harris, Daniel W. " " "
Majors, William " " "
Robinson, Charles M. " " "
Shane, James A. " " "
Weber, Lewis " " "
White, James W. " " "
White, Charles T. " " "
Wheeler, William H. " " "
UNASSIGNED RECRUITS (ALL MUSTERED IN 1864)
Corban, James
Clark, Henry
Delaney, Squire
Harris, David W.
Hulley, Benjamin
Haskins, Isaac N.
Kinser, Wesley
Lane, Frederick
Markn, William
Mark, Milton H.
Payton, Raymond O.
Peter, Simon
Reynolds, Ames
Raybourne, William T.
Stunkle, John H.
Weist, John