Vigo County Historical Society

Historical Treasure Article

Historic Treasure of the Week - June 22, 1986
By Deborah Curtis
Vigo County Historical Society

Equipment teaches us about war

"The Thirty-first Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry was recruited from...Parke County and the adjoining territory of Fountain...Owen County...Terre Haute...Vigo...Clay...Sullivan County...Jasonville...Coffee...Hymera...Monroe County...and the eastern part of Greene County... The several companies went into camp north of the city of Terre Haute, during the month of August 1861. The camp was known as Camp Vigo."--from "A History of the Thirty-First Regiment of Indiana Volunteers in the War of Rebellion."

In his historical acount of the movements and activities of Indiana's 31st Regiment, Col. John T. Smith lists a complete roster of the 1,886 men who entered the regiment during the Civil War, and recounts each man's name and rank, place of residence (most were from the Wabash Valley) and date of muster.

He also includes remarks about each man, detailing promotions, discharges, wounds, deaths, transfers and even desertions. The book's narrative gives a step-by-step account of the regiment's encampments and engagements, highlighting individual examples of meritorious conduct.

While Col. Smith's volume gives an accurate and vivid account of his regiment's actions, few details allow the reader to visualize the soldiers' dress and gear. In kitchen ware, clothing, "household" funishings and weaponry, each infantryman carried an average of 45 pounds, which he had to carry on long, hot marches.

He also was often hard-pressed to keep all this equipment high and dry when wading across rivers and streams. It is not surprising to read accounts of men discarding "non-essentials" like blankets and coats, only to regret the streamlining at the chill of evening.

The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley offers its visitors a chance to see the everyday trappings of the Indiana Infantryman of the Civil War. Included in the collection are authentic uniforms, sabers, bayonets, cannon balls, photographs and even some Confederate artifacts.

This week's historical treasure, a Union canteen a bit more ornate than standard issue, belonged to local hero Capt. John J. P. Blinn, who was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863, and buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Terre Haute.

The canteen is made of three pieces of metal soldered together, has a leather strap and a wooden stopper. The oval-shaped canteen bears in relief a Union shield and star. The canteen and other effects of Capt. Blinn are on loan to the museum from Memorial Hall, courtesy of GAR Morton Relief Corps No. 11.

Also included in the museum's military display is a standard issue Union canteen. It is made of two dish-shaped halves soldered together and is cloth-covered with canvas straps. Southern soldiers, who were generally ill-equipped by comparison to the Northern ranks, often carried canteens of the same pattern, but because of material shortages, they were constructed of wood. The main disadvantage to the wooden canteen was its tendency to crack from extremes of wetness and dryness.

It is interesting to note that canteens were one of the first items regarded by Civil War soldiers as superfluous and were thrown by the wayside. In the words of one soldier "Canteens were. . .as a general thing discarded. . .A good strong tin cup was found better than a canteen, as it was easier to fill at a well or spring, and was serviceable as a boiler for making coffee."

The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday through Friday.