February 21, 1865 - 143rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry Mustered

A Year of Indiana History - 2016
A Year of Indiana History - 2016

February 21, 1865 - 143rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry Mustered
During the Civil War regiments often organized by county, thus most recruits in a regiment came from a certain geographical area. The 143rd was composed of men from the First Congressional District that includes the area around Gary, Indiana. On December 20, 1864, the state put out a call to organize eleven regiments. A civil war regiment consisted of ten companies of 100 men, bringing a regiment's strength to a total of 1000 soldiers. The state established recruiting stations in the Provost Marshal's headquarters in each region. The recruiting office sent new recruits to Indianapolis to organize the regiments. The enlistment terms of these recruits were to be for one year.
143rd Regiment Structure
Colonel John F. Grill, Lieutenant - Colonel John T. McQuiddy and Major John E. Phillips commanded the new Regiment, which mustered out on February 21, 1865. The Regiment went to Murfreesboro, Tennessee via Nashville. It served on guard duty until May 13, 1865 when it moved to Tullahoma, Tennessee. The rest of its time in existence, it continued to serve guard duty in various places in Tennessee. At one point, the regiment was broken into three units to serve as guards in three different places. When reunited on October 17 in Nashville, the unit was mustered out. The regiment suffered 90 dead, mostly from disease and one was killed in action. Another 78 deserted. The original regimental strength was 998.

Indiana possesses a rich history that is fun to read and learn. This Hoosier Dusty Files is in an easy to read “this day in history format” and includes articles from the author's A Year in Indiana History series. Visitors may read the articles as they appear or purchase the book:
A Year of Indiana History - 2016
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