Vigo County Historical Society

Cruft organizes 31st Indiana Regiment in 1861

Although family records are not readily available, the life of Charles Cruft can be pieced together from accounts of the Civil War, county records, city directories and census records.

Born in Terre Haute in 1826, Cruft was the son of John F. Cruft, a New England merchant and an early pioneer of the Wabash Valley. Education must have been an important element in Cruft’s life, for he graduated from Wabash College in 1843 and returned to Terre Haute to teach. He then went on to study law under local attorney W.D. Griswold.

By 1848, Cruft was admitted to the bar and eventually practiced law with John B. Baird in Terre Haute. According to accounts, the firm had an excellent reputation.

Although a leading member of the community while owning the Terre Haute Express and a member of Rose Polytechnic Institute’s founding association, perhaps Crufts’s most noteworthy achievement was his service record during the Civil War.

In September 1861, he organized the 31st Indiana Regiment at Camp Vigo, "which was located on the site of the old fair grounds, on North Seventh, immediately across from what is now known as Collett Park."

Cruft served as the first colonel of this regiment, which participated in several significant battles during the war. After the battle of Shiloh, Cruft was appointed a brigadier general and was assigned to command the 20th Brigade of the Army of Ohio.

Although the report of the adjutant general chronicles Cruft’s service record, some of the local accounts depict a romanticized, legendary version of the Civil War veteran: "Colonel Cruft headed the first regiment which had formed the right wing of General Buell’s army at Calhoun and then on to Fort Donaldson. He was wounded three times.

A bullet cut through his shoulder once, and a second time one lodged in his thigh, while a piece of shell stuck fast in his skull. He picked them out without dismounting from his horse, as coolly as a man would draw a splinter from his finger. . ."

A photograph of Gen. Charles Cruft is on display in the museum’s Military Room. Those who visit the museum and its grounds to participate in Civil War Days on July 17 and 18 will see the picture of this man who, in his way, shaped state and local history.