Spicely Camp - Sons of Union Veterans

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Spicely Camp - Sons of Union Veterans

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Named after Brev. Brig. Gen. William T.

Spicely, our camp serves Orange and surrounding Counties in our mission to preserve the history and memory of the Boys in Blue.

09/29/2026

Happy to say that after a week's delay Lieutenant Hawkins' stone arrived today!

09/28/2026

A New Primary Source on the Confederate Raid in Orange County Indiana

In June of 1863 Confederate Captain Hines and his roughly 60 made a raid through Perry, Crawford, Orange, Washington and Harrison Counties.

Sarah Wells Brown was at her home near the Lost River in Orange County, between Paoli and Orleans, when the rebels came too close for comfort. She recorded some details in a rare primary source account from Orange County on the raid, including many names of local citizens who were "taken prisoner" or had their horses stolen.

Maybe you'll recognize some of them!

June 19th, 1863 (Misdated as May 19th)

"Moste loved Companion, feeling very thanckful that we air all well and our live spaird and the rebels left our neighbor hood I will address you by leter. We have had the gratest excitement here [that] ever was in this parte.

There was a band of rebels made ther appearance on the other side of Lick Creek at Paoli on the 17. The citizens sent out the allarm and men was travling til midnight thincking the rebels wood attack Paoli. Their was plenty of men to whiped the Rebels but they crost at Frasiers saw mill and went to David Hudlesons and tuck super, tuck 2 of his Horses and Cyerus Quakenbush prisner.

They turnd and come to the bridg and at James Nugents turnd due east, taking all of the horses they could find. They come a cross a lot of 17 men at the Locus corner and tuck all of ther horses. They shot one of the Lisks, the Doctor thincks he will die.

They tuck Davids Jones horses and 4 ofe Sam Hakneys and 4 ofe Marshals, 2 of Will Trues and one of Pickens and left the Buternut hole clean of Horses, very well done. From Buit Gillford we can count forty Horses they tuck and left several in ther Places that was give out.

They went like a streeke, their is several after them but I dont thinck they can over take them. They croste the Pike in 1 mile of Chambersburg."

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The Hoosiers in pursuit did in fact over take them and helped capture 52 of Hines' men at Upper Blue River Island on the Ohio, just above Leavenworth on June 19th.

The man that was shot was James Lisk/Sisk. He was married in October later in 1863 but no record can be found of him after that.

The letter is MISDATED as May 19th. It was written on June 19th (while Hines' men were still on the run or at least before news of their capture was received in Orange County.

09/22/2026

Members of Spicely Camp and friend Kenton Allbright installed 6 new military markers for soldiers in the Green Hill Cemetery in Orleans.

One of the soldiers, John W Brothers, is buried in an unknown or mass grave around Vicksburg or Champion Hill Mississippi, we were able to place a cenotaph next to his brothers and father.

The other soldiers were James Welch, Samuel Webb, Thomas Martin, Henry Brothers and William Beswick. Of the six, two died of disease and two in battle.

Spicely Camp will be having their next meeting at the Paoli VFW on Monday, September 28th at 6:00pm. Swing by if you're interested in membership or our projects!

09/17/2026

Civil War Letter from Hiram Elwood Wells, future owner of the Wells Hotel in French Lick.

Hiram served in Company G 25th Indiana Infantry. This photo of him was after his discharge in Louisville Kentucky in July of 1865. His unit was on povost duty for the bulk of 1863.

He is writing to his Uncle in Law, Tolbert Brown of the 66th Indiana, husband of Sarah Wells. They lived near Orleans.

The first John mentioned in the letter is likely John Wells, also of the 66th Indiana.

This is part of a project from our group to transcribe and annotate the letters to and from Tolbert Brown.

09/12/2026

May 1863 - Union Victory at Chancellorsville?! Richmond Virginia Taken?!

Also an update on the transcription project.

On May 17th 1863, as Sarah Wells Brown was penning a letter to her husband Tolbert (Co. D 66th Indiana), word reached her neighborhood near Orleans that Ho**er had bested Lee and that Richmond was taken with only 400 Confederates defending it.

It had been 7 1/2 months since they had last seen each other, and high hopes that her loving husband may soon come home safely overwhelmed her to the point of tears. She wrote:

"He (General Ho**er) tuck some fifteen thousand prisners and loste some six thousand and it was in the daily papers that we had one thousand killed and the Rebels Eighteen thousand kild."

"There juste came word in our neighbor hood from Orleans that Richmond Va is ours. There was not but 400 Rebels their, they was garding our prisners. They armd the prisoners out of the rebel arsnil and tore up the Rail rode to Johnsons lines from Richmond and cut off all Johnsons supplies and all comunication. Tolbert, while your humble servant wrights the a bove, the tears of joy flows from my eys. God grant that it may be so. I hope you will soon come home."

She must have been crushed when the reality made its way to the papers. General Ho**er suffered 17,000 casualties in what would become known as Lee's greatest victory and the war would drag on for two more long years.

Full transcribed draft of the letter in the comments.

We are nearly finished transcribing the letters to and from Tolbert Brown during the Civil War. Once finished with the draft work will begin on double checking and then annotating to provide context.

The letters are also being scanned, though not of the best quality. Once finished the letters will be made publicly available for researchers and genealogist in PDF format, both scans and transcriptions. There are plans to have a number of physical copies made for Public Libraries and Museums.

09/05/2026

Honor Our Forgotten Soldiers & Veterans!

Spicely Camp will be installing five new headstones for Civil War veterans in Green Hill Cemetery, Orleans, on Monday September 21st at 6:00pm - weather permitting.

Anyone who wants to volunteer is more than welcome to come, with about 5 or so people it shouldn't take more than 1.5 hours.

Across Orange and surrounding counties there are perhaps hundreds of old stones like this one for Samuel Webb, a private in the 24th Indiana Infantry who died of disease out in Missouri in 1862. Many stones are even worse and some of these men have no stone at all.

It is part of our mission here at Spicely Camp to ensure that these men are honored with a proper marker so that future generations will not forget about them.

09/05/2026

Butternuts Stoned Near Orleans - August 1863.

On August 20th 1863, the Democrats of Orange County met in convention at the Paoli Courthouse in order to nominate people for the upcoming October county elections, according to the New Albany Daily Ledger (Aug 25 1863) the following nominations were made:

For Clerk - H C Wible
For Treasurer - James Worrall
For Sheriff - David Jones
For Recorder - M S Mavity
For Coroner - W H Tate
For Real Estate Appraiser - W F Mavity
For Surveyor - J L Megenity

However, simple county offices and politics apparently weren't the only things being discussed. The Civil War, now two bloody years in, was the all consuming topic of the day.

According to a letter by Sarah Brown to her husband, Tolbert, the "Butternuts" at the convention cheered for Clement Vallandigham, former Congressman and the leader of the Copperhead faction of anti-war Democrats, who a few months earlier was arrested and convicted by Army Court Martial under Lincoln's suspension of Habeas Corpus. His crime? Denouncing the Union war effort to such an extent that it was considered open sympathy for the Confederacy. His punishment? Banishment to the Confederacy.

The blatant support from fellow citizens for such a man angered the Union men and soldiers of Orange County so much that they stoned them for it.

Sarah wrote: "As the buternuts left, one wagon lode that went from Orleans was starting home cheering very big. Mc Elrod plased (placed) him self in a lot out this way with his pistel in his hand while James Welsh, Cornelious Brown and som others opend on them with stones.

If they resisted, Elrod was to begin on the flank. They went on with out resisting but with sore heads. Flitch Mavoty* got a rock on the side of his head that laid him on the ground. They made him pull a butternut pin off ov his boy, he puled it off to save him from rocks.

Thomas Bowles made five hall ther Brest pins and leave Orleans yesterday. Bowls said he wood shoote them if they did not leave so they left. We look for somebody to git hurte at our election. The Buternuts is very bold in ther meenness."

Full transcribed letter as an image in the comments.

Flitch Mavoty is almost certainly William Fletcher Mavity, the same man nominated for Real Estate Appraiser.

08/27/2026

"I have saw the elephent and he was hard to handle" - Tolbert Brown, Co. D 66th Indiana writes to his wife about the Battle of Richmond Kentucky.

Camp Near Louisville Sep the 5th 1862

Dear Companion. I now take my pencil and paper to let you know how I am getting along at this time. I am well at this and time and I hope when this comes to hand it will find you all in good health and doing well and well satisfied. I h[a]ve saw the elephent al and he was hard to handle but I got out safe. Wee was orderd out to fight on s[a]tturday. Wee started out with 80 men. Wee marced about 5 miles. Wee met soldiers runing in every direction. Wee formed in an open field, the bulets flew by occasonly but wee fell back [a] half mile and formed.

Our canon opend fire on the rebels. The 66th opend fire. Wee fought some time but the bulets flew like hale, none hit me. I was one of the last to leave the field, they out flanked us and come in on our right. Wee fell back to Richmon. There wee made a stand and had a hard fight. Wee again fell back th[r]ough Richmon and made another stand, lots of men fell there.

Capt Payn, Capt Rodman’s companies and one company of the 12th indany (Indiana) brought up the rear guard. Wee was the last out of town. The rebles cut off our retreat with canon and wee left the road. A shell struck a man about ten feet from mee and tore his leg off. Wee got about 19 of our men togather and and travled nearly all nig[h]t.

Wee reached Lexington monday, staid one hour and then started for Louisvilll without any thing to eat and marched nearly day and night with scarsley nothing to eat, our feet blisterd. Wee reached here friday. Wee have no blankets and have slept on the ground for two weeks and no tents, prett[y] hard time. The 66th has went through sights when marching. The fus (first?) corners corners was full of the men that had gave out. I stood it right through all [and] was in all hardships.

- - - - - - - - -
The letter continues but that wraps up the details of the Battle. See image for full letter.

Portrait of Tolbert included, as well as a PNG of the transcript and scans of the original letter. We are working our way through Tolbert's letters and figured I would share this one with the group as it is nearing the anniversary of the Battle of Richmond KY.

08/19/2026

Letter written from Belle Island Prison in Richmond VA, Feb 2nd 1864. Tolbert Brown was captured at the Battle of Collierville along with 11 other men from his Company (Co D 66th Indiana). Of the 12 that were captured, 9 would die in prison at either Belle Island or Andersonville.

08/17/2026

Sergeant Joseph B. West is finally honored with a headstone. Joseph served in the 59th Indiana during the Civil War, serving from December 1862 to July 1865.

He enrolled at Valeene, and his Company was mostly Orange & Crawford county men from that area.

He married Permilia "Millie" F. Bosley in 1866, who died in 1883 and is buried next to him.

Joseph died in 1911 and is buried at Danners Chapel Cemetery.

Thanks to Mcadams Mortuary for working with us on the paperwork and installing the stone.

Address

Paoli, IN
47454

Website

http://suvcwin.org/

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