2nd Indiana Battery Light Artillery was an

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

battery Battery or batterie most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source * Battery indicator, a device whic ...

that served in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Service

The battery was organized at

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

and mustered in for a three-year enlistment on August 9, 1861, under the command of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

John W. Rabb. The battery was attached to Fremont's Army of the West to November 1861. District of Fort Scott, Kansas,

Department of Kansas The Department of Kansas was a Union Army command department in the Trans-Mississippi Theater during the American Civil War. This department existed in three different forms during the war. 1861 The first "Department of Kansas" was created on N ...

, to June 1862. Solomon's 3rd Brigade, Department of Kansas, to October 1862. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division,

Army of the Frontier The Army of the Frontier was a Union army that served in the Trans-Mississippi Theater during the American Civil War. It fought in several minor engagements in Arkansas, Indian Territory, and Kansas. In June 1863 the Army was discontinued but ...

, to January 1863. Springfield, Missouri,

Department of the Missouri The Department of the Missouri was a command echelon of the United States Army in the 19th century and a sub division of the Military Division of the Missouri that functioned through the Indian Wars. History Background Following the successful ...

, to July 1863. District of the Frontier, Department of the Missouri, to December 1863. 2nd Brigade, District of the Frontier, to January 1864. 2nd Brigade, District of the Frontier,

VII Corps 7th Corps, Seventh Corps, or VII Corps may refer to: * VII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * VII ...

, Department of Arkansas, to September 1864. Indianapolis, Indiana, to October 1864. Post and District of Nashville, Tennessee,

Department of the Cumberland The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio. History The origin of the Army of the Cumberland dates back to the creation ...

, to February 1865. Garrison artillery, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Department of the Cumberland, to July 1865. The 2nd Indiana Battery Light Artillery mustered out of service on July 3, 1865, in Indianapolis.

Detailed service

Left Indiana for St. Louis, Missouri, September 5, 1861. Camp at St. Louis, September 6–25, 1861. Fremont's advance on Springfield, Missouri, October 4-November 2. Moved to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; then to Fort Scott, Kansas, and duty there until May 1862. Moved to Iola, Kansas, May 23. Expedition into Indian Territory May 25-July 8. Action at Round Grove, Indian Territory, June 5. Capture of Fort Gibson July 18. Blount's Campaign in Missouri and Arkansas September to December. Old Fort Wayne, or Beattie's Prairie, near Maysville, October 22. Between Fayetteville and Cane Hill November 9. Cane Hill, Boston Mountains, November 28. Capture of Fort Davis. Battle of Prairie Grove December 7. Moved to Springfield, Missouri, January 1863, and duty there until June 1863. Operations in Indian Territory and Arkansas July to September. Action at Perryville, Cherokee Nation, August 26. Cotton Gap, Devil's Backbone, Fort Smith September 1. Dardanelle September 9. Creek Agency, Indian Territory, October 15 and 25. Duty at Waldron and Fort Smith and operations in western Arkansas until March 1864. Scout from Waldron to Mt. Ida, Caddo Gap, and Dallas December 2–7, 1863. Niobrara December 4, 1863. Steele's Expedition to Camden March 23-May 3, 1864. Prairie D'Ann April 9–12. Moscow April 13. Camden April 16–18. Poison Springs April 18. Jenkins' Ferry, Saline River, April 30. Duty at Fort Smith until September. Mazzard's Prairie, near Fort Smith, July 27. Defense of Fort Smith July 29–31. Ordered to Indiana September, and non-veterans mustered out September 14, 1864. Battery reorganized at Indianapolis, Indiana, October 14, 1864. Moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and assigned to duty there as garrison artillery November 1864 to June 1865. Battle of Nashville December 15–16, 1864. Ordered to Indiana June 1865.

Casualties

The battery lost a total of 28 men during service; 1 officer and 13 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 14 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Captain John W. Rabb * Captain James S. Wicher

References

* Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. ;Attribution * {{CWR Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 Units and formations of the Union army from Indiana

1861 establishments in Indiana

Service

Detailed service

Casualties

Commanders

See also

References