The 43rd Regiment of Indiana Infantry was a volunteer infantry unit from the U.S. state of Indiana that served in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War in the Western Theater. Though deployed at different times in support of Federal operations in Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi, the majority of its combat service took place in Arkansas. During the ill-fated Camden Expedition (part of Nathaniel Banks' Red River Campaign), it was one of three infantry regiments that, along with the Thirty-sixth Iowa and Seventy-seventh Ohio infantry, comprised the 2nd Brigade of the Third Division commanded by General Frederick Salomon. This division and brigade formed part of the Union VII Corps under Major-General Frederick Steele. A sizable portion of the regiment was killed or captured at the Battle of Marks' Mills on 25 April 1864; the prisoners were sent south to Camp Ford in Tyler, Texas, where eleven of them perished.McLean, pg.33. The remaining elements were transferred northward, and ended their wartime service guarding Confederate prisoners-of-war at Camp Morton in their own home state.National Park Service—Civil War Regiments database

Due to the relative lack of large-scale engagements in the areas where it was deployed, the 43rd did not fight in many battles, nor did it suffer large combat losses during the war. A total of two officers and 41 enlisted men are recorded as having been killed or mortally wounded during the conflict, while five officers and 200 men perished due to disease.National Park Service – 43rd Indiana Infantry In addition, 121 were recorded as deserting, while 285 were unaccounted for.Wesley Wilshire Norris.

Initial organization

The 43rd Indiana was created on 11 September 1861 at Camp Vigo in Terre Haute, Indiana by order of Governor Oliver P. Morton, who commissioned William E. McLean as lieutenant colonel of the regiment, with orders to organize it and prepare it for duty.McLean, pg. 6. Fourteen companies were raised, and George K. Steele of Rockville was appointed colonel. However, Steele's advanced age and physical infirmities led him to resign in January 1862, upon which McLean was promoted to colonel and given overall command of the regiment, which he would retain until the end of the war.McLean, pg. 8. McLean was given a brigade command that included the 43rd and two other regiments during the Camden Expedition, but he reports that he retained formal command of the regiment until the end of the war—though day-to-day command passed to Major Wesley W. Norris. The regiment was formally mustered in for Federal service on 27 September 1861.Civil War Archive – 43rd Indiana Its original strength was 985 officers and men; these would be augmented over the next four years by 1154 recruits, with 165 veterans reenlisting.

Four of the fourteen initial companies were allotted to the newly formed 31st Indiana; the remaining units of the 43rd, together with the counties from which they were recruited, were:43rd Indiana Infantry RosterMcLean, pp.37–41. +CompanyPrimary Place of RecruitmentEarliest CaptainAClay CountyJohn Crittenden MajorBPutnam CountyFrancis Marion DarnallCGreene CountyElijah EddingtonDVigo CountyWesley W. NorrisESullivan CountySamuel T. RoachFLawrence CountyAlexander H. GaineyGClay, Vigo and other nearby countiesCharles W. MossHPutnam CountyWilliam Lane IVermillion CountySamuel J. HallKParke CountyJohn R. Callender

According to Colonel McLean, the men who joined the 43rd were "probably not Sabbath School or YMCA models," but nor were they the "coarse combination of the fighting devil and the jolly, boisterous rowdy" that he said were created by "Miss Nancy novelists" after the war to sell the stories they wrote about it.McLean, pg. 7. He went on to describe the men of his regiment in these terms:

Private James Gilmore of Co. H, who would go on to a distinguished local legal career after the war, offers this portrait of "the reckless disregard" displayed by some of his regimental comrades—like soldiers of all ages—"for the moral precepts taught [them] in [their] youth:"

Early actions On 12 October 1861, the 43rd Indiana left Camp Vigo for Spottsville, Kentucky, where it briefly joined Brigadier General Thomas Crittenden's 5th Division (14th Brigade) in the Army of the Ohio.McLean, pp. 8–9. While there, it guarded the locks on the Green River from local Confederate sympathizers, but saw no combat.McLean, pg. 76.

The 43rd was next transferred to then-Brigadier General John Pope's new Army of the Mississippi, where it was brigaded with the 46th Indiana in the second brigade of Brigadier General John Palmer's third divisionORA I, vol. 8, pg. 2. after briefly being assigned to the second division. It was present for the attack on New Madrid and the taking of Island No. 10. The regiment was part of a night march from New Madrid to Point Pleasant in New Madrid County, Missouri, with most of its soldiers detailed to drag a 32-pound Parrott gun—weighing about 4,200 pounds—as part of the siege operations to be conducted there.McLean, pg. 10. Veterans of the regiment would later credit this event with causing the 'premature physical decay of many of the very best men of the regiment.'

Following the capture of Island No. 10, the Second Brigade (the 43rd and 46th Indiana Regiments) was ordered to cooperate with the Mississippi River Squadron of the Federal Navy, operating on the Mississippi River under the command of Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote in operations against Fort Pillow.McLean, pp. 10–11. They took up positions around the fort for five weeks, during which time not one weapon was fired in anger by either regiment,McLean, pg. 11. until the Confederates were compelled to evacuate on 3–5 June 1862.Civil War Online

Occupation of Memphis The fall of Ft. Pillow left the Mississippi River open as far south as Memphis, Tennessee, which was occupied by Federal forces after a naval battle on the river adjacent to the city. The 43rd and 46th Indiana were the first two Union regiments to enter Memphis,McLean, pg. 12. where they reported a 'pleasant, if not cordial' reception, despite 'a few sullen looks from some of the more radical of its population.' After two weeks of occupation duty, the two regiments were replaced by other Federal troops, and the 43rd was ordered to Helena, Arkansas.

Action in Arkansas

Early movements Up to this point, the 43rd Indiana Regiment had not seen any real action, but this was about to change. Upon their arrival in Arkansas, the regiment was ordered to move up the White River, where a few insignificant skirmishes were fought with local Confederate militia. While camped at Clarendon, some unarmed, swimming soldiers of the 43rd were sniped at from the woods across the river. After their comrades returned fire with no discernible effect, the Hoosiers retaliated for the incident by taking every piece of furniture from each house in the village, which they then chopped up and used for firewood.McLean, pg. 106.

After joining Leonard F. Ross's abortive Yazoo Pass Expedition in Mississippi in early 1863 (where marshy ground prevented the regiment—or any Federal Army units—from playing any significant role), the regiment returned to duty in Arkansas, where it would meet its first great test.McLean, pp. 12–13.

Battle of Helena

Helena, Arkansas was a town on the Mississippi River that served as headquarters for the Federal military District of Eastern Arkansas. Initially occupied by 20,000 Union troops and heavily fortified, the town's defenses were badly denuded when four-fifths of the garrison was reassigned to operations around Vicksburg, Mississippi. With only 4000 Federal troops left to defend the city, Helena proved a tempting target for Confederate forces under Lieutenant General Theophilus H. Holmes.Battle of Helena, Arkansas Holmes resolved to attack it, in part to relieve pressure on the vital Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, and also to prevent the city from being used as a staging ground for any further incursions into Arkansas.

With Colonel McLean having been promoted to command of the First Brigade in Brigadier General Frederick Salomon's Thirteenth Division, command of the regiment during the battle passed to Lieutenant Colonel J.C. Major.Order of Battle, Battle of Helena

Holmes launched his attack at daybreak on 4 July 1863, apparently unaware that Vicksburg was surrendering to Union General Ulysses Grant that same day. During the battle, the 43rd was stationed to the southwest of town, amidst the substantial fortifications of Hindman Hill, where it faced attacking troops of Brigadier General James F. Fagan's Second Brigade of Sterling Price's Division. A misunderstanding of Holmes' orders caused Fagan to attack at first light, a full hour before the rest of his division became engaged. Felled trees prevented his artillery from coming up to support his attack, with the result that the Confederates were forced to advance into the face of murderous Federal rifle and cannon fire, including that of the 43rd. Despite this, Fagan's men managed to take the outer trenches, but were then stopped cold and forced to withdraw by 10:30 AM together with the remainder of the attacking force, leaving the Union in control of Helena.Battle of Helena Casualties for the regiment totalled three killed and six wounded.Statement of Casualties in 1st Brigade: 43rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry.

Following the battle, the 43rd Indiana was mentioned in dispatches by the Commanding General of all Federal forces at Helena, General Prentiss, for its "very efficient service on the left wing of the center."McLean, pg. 122. In a speech given four days later, Col. McLean told his regiment: "the Rebels came to get Helena, but succeeded in only getting hell."McLean, pg. 14.

Capture of the 37th Arkansas Regiment

One of the Confederate regiments involved in Fagan's attack on Hindman Hill during the Battle of Helena was the 37th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, which had previously been the 29th Arkansas. During the Confederate withdrawal, elements of the 43rd Indiana, together with elements of the 33rd Iowa and the 33rd Missouri, managed to capture nearly the entire 37th Arkansas.McLean, pp. 14–15. McLean gives the entire credit to his own regiment (naturally!), but other reports indicate that the 33rd Iowa and 33rd Missouri were equally involved.

Lieutenant-Colonel William H. Heath, commanding the 33rd Missouri, reported:Howerton, Brian

This testimony was given by Lieutenant-Colonel Cyrus H. Mackey, commanding the 33rd Iowa:

Brigade commander Col. Samuel A. Rice (of the 33rd Iowa) never credited any specific unit with the taking of the 37th Arkansas, but the captured colors were credited to his own regiment.

Capture of Little Rock Not long after the Battle of Helena, Major General Benjamin Prentiss, commanding the Union forces in Arkansas, was replaced by Major General Frederick Steele; his force was renamed the Army of Arkansas. Steele, a seasoned and competent officer who had acquitted himself well under General William T. Sherman's command on the Vicksburg Campaign, immediately set out to capture the Arkansas state capital at Little Rock. Moving west, the Federal army brushed aside Confederate resistance at the Battle of Bayou Fourche (sometimes called the Battle of Little Rock), and occupied Little Rock on 10 September 1863.McLean, pp. 15–16.

The Camden Expedition

Initial movements