18th Independent Battery Indiana Light Artillery

18th Independent Battery Indiana Light Artillery
Colonel Eli Lilly in 1885
Active	August 14, 1862 – September 16, 1865
Country	United States
Allegiance	Union
Branch	Artillery
Engagements	Battle of Hoover's Gap Second Battle of Chattanooga Davis's Cross Roads Battle of Chickamauga Atlanta Campaign Battle of Resaca Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
Commanders
Notable commanders	Eli Lilly
Insignia
1st Division, XIV Corps
4th Division, XIV Corps

A recruitment poster for the 18th Battery

The 18th Independent Battery Indiana Light Artillery, also known as Lilly's Hoosier Battery and Lilly's Battery, was a civil war regiment formed in Indiana during the American Civil War. The regiment was formed at the end of 1860 by 22-year-old Eli Lilly, an Indianapolis pharmacist. He had recruitment posters placed around the city and recruited primarily among his friends and classmates. The unit were first issued 6 "Rodman Guns" (3-inch ordnance rifle) and was manned by 156 men. The Battery members stated preference to 3" Ordnance Rifles over the 10 pound Parrott Rifle due to its tendency to bursting. The unit mustered in Indianapolis where it was drilled during 1861, excelling at their skill with firing accuracy. Lilly was elected captain of the unit in August 1862 when the unit was deployed to join the Lightning Brigade (1st Brigade - Wilder, 4th Division - Reynolds, 14th Corp. - Thomas) commanded by Col. John T. Wilder.

A total of 52 recruits were from Montgomery County, Indiana 49 from Putnam County, Indiana 20 from Vigo County, Indiana 20 from Indianapolis, 8 from Fountain, Indiana, 6 from Madison, Indiana, and single digits from Hendrix and Shelby County, Indiana.

A total of 77 men were from Indiana, 26 from other free states, 14 from slave states, 7 foreigners (5 Irishmen, 1 Englishman, and 1 Prussian) 27 men unknown.

A total of 78 men gave their occupations as farmers, 27 as other occupations (blacksmith, bricklayer, brickmaker, luther, carpenter, carriage maker, clerk, cooper, druggist, engineer, harness maker, horticulturist, mechanic, miller, nurseryman, painter, physician, saddler, shoemaker, silversmith, student, tanner, teacher, wagonmaker, and woolen factory attendant). One man listed "none", and 16 unknown. Of the 156 men who enlisted in 1862, only 77 were present when the battery mustered out in 1865.

The unit first saw action in the Battle of Hoover's Gap, and was later in the Second Battle of Chattanooga and the Battle of Chickamauga. The unit was enlisted for three years, and most members left the unit in the end of 1863. Several members, including Lilly reenlisted when their term expired, but were assigned to new units.

References

Sources

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• Connolly, James A. (1959). Angle, Paul McClelland (ed.). Three Years in the Army of the Cumberland: The Letters and Diary of Major James A. Connolly (1st ed.). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 978-0-527-19000-2. OCLC 906602437.
• Connolly, James A. (2012). "Primary Sources: The Road to Chickamauga". www.battlefields.org. Washington, DC: American Battlefield Trust.
• Connelly, Thomas L (1971). Autumn of Glory: The Army of Tennessee 1862–1865 (PDF) (1st ed.). Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8071-0445-3. OCLC 1147753151.
• Cozzens, Peter (1992). This Terrible Sound: The Battle of Chickamauga (PDF) (1st ed.). Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-06594-1. OCLC 1147753151.
• Daniel, Larry J.; Lamers, William M. (1961). The Edge of Glory: A Biography of General William S. Rosecrans, U.S.A. (1st ed.). New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace & World. ISBN 978-0-8071-2396-6. OCLC 906813341.
• Duke, Basil Wilson (1906). Morgan's Cavalry (PDF) (1st ed.). New York, NY & Washington, DC: Neale Pub. Co. p. 441. OCLC 35812648.
• Dyer, Frederick Henry (1908). A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion (PDF) (1st ed.). Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co. p. 1088. ASIN B01BUFJ76Q.
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• Frisby, Derek W. (2000). Heidler, David S.; Heidler, Jeanne T. (eds.). Tullahoma Campaign. Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History. Vol. IV. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company. pp. –2733. ISBN 978-0-393-04758-5. OCLC 317783094.
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• Hallock, Judith Lee (1991). Braxton Bragg and Confederate Defeat, Volume 2 (1st ed.). Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 978-0-585-13897-8. OCLC 1013879782.
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• Kennedy, Frances H., ed. (1998). The Civil War Battlefield Guide (Kindle) (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN 0-395-74012-6. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
• Korn, Jerry (1985). The Fight for Chattanooga: Chickamauga to Missionary Ridge. The Civil War. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books. ISBN 978-0-8173-9185-0. OCLC 34581283.
• Madison, James H. (2016). Eli Lilly: A Life, 1885–1977. Indianapolis, IN: Indiana Historical Society. ISBN 9780871951977. OCLC 985121391.
• McWhiney, Grady (1991). Braxton Bragg and Confederate Defeat, Volume 1 (1st ed.). Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 978-0-8173-0545-1. LCCN 91003554. OCLC 799285151.
• Martin, Samuel J. (2011). General Braxton Bragg, C.S.A. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. ISBN 9780786459346. OCLC 617425048.
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• Thomas, Edison H. (1985). John Hunt Morgan and His Raiders. Lexington, Ky: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9781306184373. OCLC 865156740.
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• "Chickamauga". nps.gov. U.S. National Park Service. 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17.
• "Hoover's Gap". nps.gov. U.S. National Park Service. 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-05-18.
• U.S. War Department (1889). Operations in Kentucky, Middle and East Tennessee, North Alabama, and Southwest Virginia. January 21 – August 10, 1863. – Reports. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Vol. XXIII-XXXV-I. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 857196196.
• U.S. War Department (1889). Operations in Kentucky, Middle and East Tennessee, North Alabama, and Southwest Virginia. January 21 – August 10, 1863. – Reports. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Vol. XXIII-XXXV-I. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 857196196.
• U.S. War Department (1899). Operations in Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, North Alabama, and North Georgia. August 11-October 19, 1863. – Part I Reports. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Vol. XXX-XLII-I. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 857196196.
• U.S. War Department (1899). Operations in Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, North Alabama, and North Georgia. August 11-October 19, 1863. – Part II Reports. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Vol. XXX-XLII-II. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 857196196.
• U.S. War Department (1899). Operations in Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, North Alabama, and North Georgia. August 11-October 19, 1863. – Part III Union Correspondence, etc. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Vol. XXX-XLII-III. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 857196196.

See also

• Eli Lilly
• List of Indiana Civil War regiments
• Indiana in the Civil War