Martin V. Wert, 10th Indiana Infantry

“HISTORY OF THE TENTH INDIANA VOLUNTEER INFANTRY”

Martin V. Wert, Company B.

Martin V. Wert was born in Fountain County, Indiana,
July 17, 1841, his parents being Henry and Isabelle Wert.
The principal part of his life prior to his entry into the army
was spent on the farm. He attended the county schools, and
graduated in the Fountain County High School in i860.

October I, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company B,
Tenth Indiana Infantry, and served with that organization
until September 5, 1864, at which time he was transferred to
Company B, Fifty-Eighth Indiana Infantry, serving in that
organization until November 1, 1864, at which time he was
honorably mustered out of the service, having served three
years and one month. His company received the brunt of
battle at Perryville, being on the left of the regiment and
suffered the heaviest loss of any company in the regiment, of
four killed and seven wounded. After- the regiment left Tus-
cumbia, Ala., in July, 1862, and stopped for a few days near
Huntsville, Ala., Lieutenant Snyder, M. V. Wert and Fleet
Martin, Company B, with two men from each of the other
companies of the regiment, and ten men from the Fourth
Kentucky, ten from the Tenth Kentucky and ten from the
Fourteenth Ohio, were detailed to take a special train of ten
cars and get 500 bales of cotton at Decatur, Ala., some forty
miles down the Tennessee River. The men were told to take
sixty rounds of ammunition and one day’s rations. They
were given to understand that they must not be captured.
They were to be ready to start at 3 o’clock a. m., which was
before daylight at that time. They were also told that 500
of our cavalry had gone to the same place, starting at noon
the day before, and that a heavy wagon train had gone with
the cavalry. The men started, got the cotton on the train,
running very slow and making no noise on the way there, but
on the way back the engine and soldiers made plenty of noise.
The detail arrived safely with the cotton. They saw large
numbers of the “Johnnies” at a distance and used plenty of
ammunition on them. A large force of our cavalry was scat-
tered at points along the line which saved the detail from
being killed or captured. They pressed in a large number of
“darkies” to handle arid load the cotton, throwing out pickets
in all directions on all roads to prevent a surprise, but the
pickets were not attacked until on the way back, when squads
of Confederate cavalry would be seen at some distance away.
They fired on the train, but a few shots from the Enfield rifles
would soon drive them out of sight. This raid was widely
reported in the papers at the time and strongly condemned by
the rebel press. The brigade wagon master, W. K. Harris,
Company B, Tenth Indiana, had been sent with the cavalry
to gather in the cotton and he stated he was glad we came for
it because he did not believe he could have returned to the
army without being captured.

M. V. Wert, had charge of the squad from the Tenth Indiana and was posted on one of the roads on the outskirts of the town while the cotton was being loaded. He also had charge of one car of cotton on the return and made a barricade of cotton bales at the car doors for protection. It required a great deal of tact and courage to carry out the orders given. On another occasion he was selected for a very perilous and hazardous job, which was to
take a large drove of cattle from Marietta to Atlanta in the
early part of September, 1864. The distance was some 25
or 30 miles. The detail consisted of some 300 men. They
were two days getting through, being compelled to skirmish
with the rebels the whole distance. At times it looked as
though the enemy would capture the bunch, but our cavalry
came out and cleared the road the remainder of the way to
Atlanta. When the regiment returned home Wert was trans-
ferred to the Fifty-Eighth Indiana, with which command he
served the remainder of his three years, being discharged
November 1, 1864.

After the close of the war he learned the carpenter trade
and moved to Crawfordsville in 1870. and has been in the
contracting business ever since; was elected to the Common
Council of the city of Crawfordsville for the term of two
years in 1901 ; was elected Mayor of Crawfordsville for four
years, taking his office January 1, 1910, and is at the present
time occupying that position. He was elected First Lieuten-
ant, Company D, First Regiment, Indiana National Guard, in
August, 1887, serving in this organization three years. This
company was transferred to the Second Regiment. I. N. G..
and assigned as Company I. ; was elected Captain of this com-
pany for three years ; was again appointed Captain, Company
M, Second Regiment, I. N. G., May 24, 1897, by Governor
Mount. At the outbreak of the war with Spain his regiment
was sent to the front April 26, 1898, serving until the war
ended. He was a number one soldier and a first-class citizen,
honored and respected by all, a hero of two wars.

Wert was wounded at Mill Springs and Chickamauga.