Benjamin Spooner papers
Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: S1229
Scope and Contents
This collection contains general and special orders to Benjamin Spooner and the 83rd regiment
from O.P. Morton and Laz Noble. Also included are letters of the 83rd regiment and a petition of
commissioned officers.
The materials within this collection are Photostat copies and have been arranged in chronological
order
Dates
- 1862-1864
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Biographical Note
Benjamin J. Spooner was born in Mansfield, Ohio to Charles and Mary Spooner on
October 27, 1823. He was schooled in public and private schools in Ohio and Indiana
before being apprenticed to a tanner at the age of thirteen. On August 21, 1845,
Spooner married Eliza J. Callahan of Lawrenceburg and they subsequently had eleven
children together. With the outbreak of the Mexican-American War, Spooner enlisted in
the Army and was elected Second Lieutenant of Company K, 3rd Indiana Volunteers.
After his service he returned home to Lawrenceburg, Indiana and began to study law
with his brother Philip. After being admitted to the bar he began practicing law in
Lawrenceburg and was prosecuting attorney for his circuit for two years.
At the beginning of the Civil War, Spooner enlisted and formed the first company for
Dearborn County. He was commissioned a Lieutenant-Colonel in the 7th Indiana
Regiment. After the 7th Regiment was disbanded, Spooner joined the 51st Indiana
Regiment as a Lieutenant-Colonel on December 4, 1861. Spooner resigned from the
51st Regiment in June 1862 and later received a commission as a Colonel in the 83rd
Indiana Regiment on October 3, 1862. Spooner lost his left arm from the battle at
Kenesaw, Georgia in 1864 and was reassigned to a military commission to try Indiana
and Chicago conspirators. Spooner was honorably discharged in April 1865.
After the War, Spooner was appointed United States Marshal of the Indiana District. He
resigned from this position in 1879. Spooner passed away on April 3, 1881 in
Lawrenceburg.
Sources:
Biographical History of Eminent and Self-made Men of the State of Indiana, vol. 1. Cincinnati: Western
Biographical Pub. Co., 1880.
Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Indiana, vol. 3. Indianapolis: Samuel M. Douglass, 1866.
Extent
0.02 Cubic Feet (2 folders)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection is arranged chronologically.
Custodial History
This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from Conway Barker on 1967/04.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection processing completed 2007/01 by Barbara Hilderbrand. Finding aid revised 2015/10/30 by Bethany Fiechter. EAD finding aid created 2018/05/30 by Lauren Patton.
Creator
- Title
- Benjamin Spooner papers
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671