Wayne County Biographies



Part of the Indiana Biographies Project



Solomon Meredith

Solomon Meredith was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, May 29, 1810, and was the youngest of twelve children. When nineteen years of age he came to Indiana, making the entire journey on foot, and the determination and energy which he displayed in the accomplishment of that undertaking characterized his entire career. Arriving in Wayne county in May, 1829, he at once sought employment in the most important industry of that period,—the felling of trees,—and at what would now be considered a very meager compensation,—six dollars per month. His personal force of character and also the opportunities of the time are well marked by the fact that in 1834, when but twenty-four years of age, he was elected sheriff of Wayne county. Mr. Meredith possessed in a remarkable degree some of the qualifications that fit a man for public, or political life,—first, his ability to remember names and faces and upon sight begin a conversation by referring to incidents of the last occasion upon which he had met the person with whom he was speaking; and, second, a real sympathy with young men,—a feature of his character that became very pronounced in his later life. In 1836 he was re-elected to the office of sheriff, and during that term occurred his marriage to Miss Anna Hannah, a daughter of Samuel Hannah, a distinguished citizen of Wayne county and later treasurer of the state.

The marriage proved to be a very happy one, and to the strong character of his wife Mr. Meredith always attributed whatever of success he attained. She was a wise counselor and deserved the deep and lifelong devotion bestowed upon her by her husband. To this marriage were born four children: Samuel H. died in 1862, at which time he held the rank of first lieutenant in the Nineteenth Indiana Regiment. He was severely wounded at the battle of Gainesville, in 1862, and again at Gettysburg, but from the first injury he never recovered, and his death occurred while he was on a furlough at his father's home. The second son, David M., was a captain in the Fifteenth United States Infantry, served through the civil war and was severely wounded at the battle of Chickamauga, where he was brevetted major for gallantry on the field of battle. He died at Mobile, Alabama, in 1867. The third son, Henry Clay, who died in 1882, achieved prominence in agriculture and in public affairs. The fourth child, Mary, died in infancy.

Mr. Meredith was of an extremely hospitable nature and in his hospitality he was seconded and encouraged by his wife, no home of early times receiving more distinguished guests or welcoming more friends. On one occasion he entertained socially the legislature of the state at his Oakland Farm home. It was his custom in the first years of the agricultural fairs to provide a house or tent on the grounds where he would invite his friends by the score to dinner. In his later years, after the close of the war, his house was an asylum for the soldiers of his old Nineteenth Regiment; there they could find a welcome and a shelter when fate proved unkind. In 1840 Mr. Meredith was a delegate to the Whig national convention. In 1846-7-8 he was a member of the state legislature and again in 1854. During this service he was especially active in promoting the educational interests of Indiana. From 1849 until 1853 he held the office of United States marshal for the district of Indiana, by appointment from President Taylor.

During these years he was closely identified with the public improvements of eastern Indiana,—notably the Whitewater canal, one of the most ambitious schemes of that period, and later, with his brother-in-law, John S. Newman, he acted as financial agent for the completion of the Indiana Central Railroad, now an important part of the Pennsylvania railway system. Later he was president of the Cincinnati & Chicago Railroad Company.

Upon the formation of the Republican party Mr. Meredith became a strong adherent of its measures and a vehement advocate of its policy. The strong majority of the party in eastern Indiana soon led to divisions within its own lines, and the intense party spirit developed by the friends of Mr. Meredith in his contests with other candidates for party favors gave to this congressional district the name of the "Old Burnt District," and certainly the fires of party devotion never burned more fiercely anywhere than in Wayne and the adjoining counties in the '60s.

Upon the first call for soldiers after the firing on of Fort Sumter, in 1861, Mr. Meredith raised a regmient of volunteers in his own and adjacent counties, which became the Nineteenth Regiment of Indiana Volunteers. He was appointed its colonel, and while he had no military knowledge whatever, yet he had the essential qualities of a soldier, and his subsequent brilliant career justified Governor Morton's confidence in bestowing the appointment upon him. The regiment was in the army of the Potomac and first saw service in Virginia. It belonged to the famous "Iron Brigade," so named because of its splendid courage under fire. In August, 1862, at the severe battle of Gainesville, the Nineteenth Regiment lost fifty per cent, of its force, in killed and wounded. In September of the same year it did splendid service at Antietam. In October, Colonel Meredith was promoted to be a brigadier general, and commanded the Iron Brigade in all its battles and marches until severely wounded, at Gettysburg. Because the brigade could stand like iron before the fire of the enemy, it was selected to force the crossing of the Rappahannock, in April, 1863. This duty it performed so gallantly that General Meredith and the brigade were thanked in general orders. In July the Iron Brigade carried the honors of Gettysburg, being again selected to receive the fire of the enemy while important movements were being made on another part of the field. Here General Meredith was so severely wounded that he was never again fit for active duty. In 1864 he was ordered to the command of the military post at Cairo, Illinois, and later was assigned to the command of the post at Paducah, Kentucky. In February, 1865, he was relieved of the command and Major General Thomas was directed to fill the place by an officer from his department, whereupon General Thomas telegraphed to the war department, at Washington: "I have no general officer in my department who can take the place of General Meredith. He is the right man in the right place. I desire that he be retained." The wishes of General Thomas were respected, and General Meredith remained in command of the post until the armies of Lee and Johnston surrendered.

General Meredith's health had been greatly impaired during his years of military service, and he lived in quiet retirement on his farm near Cambridge City after the close of the war, with the exception of two years, from 1867 until 1869, when he was surveyor-general of Montana. During his last years he gave renewed attention to the breeding of improved live stock, his herd of shorthorn cattle and flock of Southdown sheep being improved and augmented by imported animals from England. Once more he became an exhibitor at the leading agricultural fairs. He had, in the '50s, promoted the establishment of agricultural fairs, and had shown an energy and enthusiasm in the improvement and exhibition of cattle and sheep and horses that had a most substantial effect upon the agricultural and live-stock interests of the state.

General Meredith died October 11, 1875, and lies buried upon his home farm, with all of his family about him, none of the name now surviving. He has now been dead twenty-five years, and yet those who knew him at all doubtless remember him distinctly, for his personality was so pronounced that he could not easily be forgotten. He was six feet, seven inches in height, and on account of his unusual size his presence in any assembly was always noticed and secured for him instant recognition ever after. His size and muscular strength were inherited. He often recounted the vivid impression made upon his youthful mind by the sight of his grandfather riding with peculiar erectness on horseback when past ninety years of age; while he repeated with pride the story of a stone set to commemorate the fact that in Guilford county, North Carolina, a Meredith had jumped a longer distance than any other man could jump! General Meredith's three sons inherited his stature, the older being six feet, four, and the two younger six feet and two inches, each, in height.

To those who knew General Meredith well he had many other characteristics as pronounced as his stature, —his love for his friends, and his disinterested efforts to serve them will be first recalled. Closely allied to his genius for friendship was his hospitality; he delighted to share his home with his friends. He seems to have possessed in a high degree the quality of calling out friendship in others and inspiring a regard that seems enduring, for even after this long lapse of years there are many visitors in the old homestead who come purely because they have loved General Meredith and want to visit his grave. His trait of eliciting true and deep friendship deserves to be emphasized in these days when selfishness is a bar sinister on many an escutcheon when rightly read.

Histories have been written reciting the stirring events of war,—the pomp and glory of war have been adequately celebrated,—but the soldiers' letters to the home folk give a truer picture of soldier life. It may be interesting to quote from some of General Meredith's letters to his wife. Under date of March 19, 1862, he writes from "Headquarters Nineteenth Indiana, near Fairfax Seminary:" "On Saturday last we were notified that we must be ready to march in twenty minutes for Alexandria, to embark for Richmond. The whole army started in a few minutes. It had just commenced raining hard when we started, and it continued all day. We marched sixteen miles, then camped for the night, all as wet as water could make us; had to lie down in our wet clothes. Next day (Sunday) we were informed that the boat was not ready and would not be for a few days, and that we could return to our old camp and get some things we had left in the hurry. We returned there on Sunday evening. On Monday we invoiced all our camp property that we could not take with us. Yesterday we were ordered here to take our place with the grand Army of the Potomac, when it moves, which we think will be to-morrow, as the transports are arriving rapidly. So if I live ten days longer, I expect to beat the taking of Richmond, the capital of the southern Confederacy!"

An appreciation of the dark side of war grew with the process of time, and almost two years later, in a letter dated from Fairfax Court-house, November 2, 1863, he writes: "This evening I rode out to where the Old Brigade (referring to the Iron Brigade, to which the Nineteenth belonged) was in camp, when we first moved on Centerville and Manassas, in March, 1862, under McClellan. We went in camp a mile and a half west from here and remained two days. There stand the same poles that poor Bachman and May assisted me to put up one night when it was raining as hard as it could pour down. The visit was a melancholy one; it brought to my mind old associations with the gallant dead who now sleep the sleep that knows no waking. The Nineteenth then numbered for duty about eight hundred and forty men; and to think of what has become of all that body of splendid men, and the rebels not whipped yet, makes me feel sad indeed. God only knows how many brave men are to be sacrificed!"

One must admire not only the courage in battle, but far more the steadfast courage that through weeks and months and years impelled men to remain in camp, renouncing home and comfort, family ties and business emoluments. General Meredith was devoted to his wife; his letters are filled with expressions denoting his confidence in her ability to conduct their home affairs, and his regret in being separated from her. In a letter written from "Camp, near Fitz Hugh Crossing," dated May 23, 1863, he writes: "Enclosed you will find a sweet-scented fiower from the garden of Mr. Fitz Hugh, near where I made the crossing on the morning of April 29. It is one of the most beautiful places I ever saw, overlooking the Rappahannock. I send it to you to put away until I return home." It was at Fitz Hugh Crossing that the Iron Brigade had been given the difficult and dangerous duty of forcing the crossing, and right gallantly it did its duty that historic April morning.

The eminence of General Meredith in agriculture; his marked career as a soldier, reaching by promotion the honorable rank of brigadier general of volunteers and major general by brevet; his success in public life, accentuated by repeated elections and appointments to office, illustrate very forcibly how a resolute will, joined to native ability, may serve the ambition and crown a useful life.

Source:
Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana, Volume 1, The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1899