The
Nebraska
Territory
was
established
by
the
Kansas-Nebraska
Act
of
1854.
The
territorial
capital
was
in
Omaha.
Francis
Burt
was
the
first
Territorial
Governor.
Mr.
Burt
was
born
in
South
Carolina
in
1807.
He
was
elected
to
the
South
Carolina
legislature
and
served
as
a
state
treasurer.
He
later
moved
to
Nebraska
and
became
governor
on
October
16,
1854.
He
died
two
days
later
and
was
succeeded
by
Thomas
B.
Cuming.
On
April
12,
1861,
forces
of
South
Carolina
fired
on
Fort
Sumter
and
the
great
and
bloody
Civil
War
began.
The
nation
broke
into
two
sections.
Eleven
Southern
States
seceded
from
the
Union
and
formed
the
Confederate
States
of
America.
The
United
States
government
was
led
by
its
newly
elected
president,
Abraham
Lincoln,
who
refused
to
recognize
secession
as
legal.
When
the
war
began,
Nebraskans
were
in
agreement
that
the
Union
must
be
preserved.
There
were
demonstrations
of
patriotism
and
loyalty
toward
the
Union
in
Nebraska.
The
Omaha
Daily
Telegraph
described
the
reaction
of
Omaha,
“The
Stars
and
Stripes
fly
from
the
cupola
of
the
capital.
The
old
flag
waves
from
many
of
the
store
windows,
from
the
Hook
and
Ladder
Company
truck
house,
from
the
jack
staff
of
the
ferry
boat
and
one
large
and
thirty-four
small
ones
from
the
post
office
and
the
Nebraskan
and
Daily
Telegraph
building.”1
Samuel
Watson
Black
was
born
in
Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania,
in
1816.
Samuel
was
a
Colonel
in
the
Mexican-American
War.
He
moved
to
Nebraska
and
became
the
seventh
Governor
of
the
Nebraska
Territory
in
1859.
Governor
Black
received
an
appointment
of
Major
General
and
was
assigned
command
of
the
western
division
of
Pennsylvania
troops.
He
resigned
as
Governor
of
Nebraska
in
1861.
Alvin
Saunders
then
became
Territorial
Governor
and
served
during
the
Civil
War.
On
April
15,
1861,
President
Lincoln
issued
a
call
for
75,000
troops
to
serve
for
three
years
unless
sooner
discharged.
Under
this,
Nebraska
was
expected
to
furnish
one
regiment.
The
Territory
of
Nebraska
had
a
population
of
28,841
white
inhabitants,
6
male
slaves
and
9
female
slaves.
There
were
only
9,000
males
between
the
ages
of
20
and
50.
On
May
18,
1861,
the
newly
appointed
governor,
Alvin
Saunders,
issued
a
proclamation
calling
for
the
immediate
raising
and
equipping
of
a
regiment.
The
men
were
mustered
into
companies.
Company
A
and
(Continued
on
page
2)
(Continued
from
page
1)
Company
B
were
sworn
in
on
the
lawn
south
of
Herndon
House
(which
was
at
9th
and
Farnum
in
Omaha).
They
were
inspected
by
the
Governor
and
Lieutenant
Governor
of
the
U.
S.
Army,
and
accepted
immediately.
Company
A
was
from
Plattsmouth
and
contained
85
men.
They
were
under
Colonel
Robert
R.
Livingston,
First
Lt.,
A.F.
McKinney,
and
Second
Lieutenant
N.
F.
Sharp.
Company
B
were
German
Volunteers
from
Omaha
and
had
84
men.
Company
A
was
quartered
at
the
Herndon
House
and
Company
B
at
the
territorial
capital.
On
June
8
Company
C
was
organized.
J.
D.
N.
Thompson
of
Brownville
was
then
named
captain;
Thomas
J.
Majors
of
Peru,
first
lieutenant
and
William
A.
Pollock
of
Brownville,
first
sergeant.
The
steamship,
Omaha,
took
the
company
of
169
men
to
Omaha
to
join
the
rest
of
the
regiment.
In
addition,
orders
came
from
the
War
Department
ordering
many
of
the
regular
soldiers,
then
stationed
at
the
frontier
posts
of
Fort
Kearny
and
Fort
Randall,
to
proceed
east
to
help
put
down
the
rebellion.
It
was
felt
that
without
the
restraint
of
strongly
garrisoned
forts,
the
Indian
tribes
would
cut
the
communication
with
the
far
west
and
even
threatened
the
outlying
settlements
of
Nebraska.
There
were
ten
regiments
and
they
became
the
First
Nebraska
Regiment.
They
were
placed
under
the
command
of
Colonel
John
M.
Thayer
and
General
Lew
Wallace.
Omaha
was
the
mustering
point.
Its
organization
was
completed
by
July
22,
1861.
On
July
30,
1861,
half
of
the
regiment
was
on
board
the
steamer,
“West
Wind”,
bound
for
the
battlefields
in
the
South.
The
other
five
regiments
followed
two
weeks
later.
In
addition
to
these
regiments,
other
Nebraska
boys
served
in
Missouri,
Illinois,
Iowa
and
Kansas
regiments.
was
quartered
at
the
Herndon
House
and
Company
B
at
the
territorial
capital.
On
June
8
Company
C
was
organized.
J.
D.
N.
Thompson
of
Brownville
was
then
named
captain;
Thomas
J.
Majors
of
Peru,
first
lieutenant
and
William
A.
Pollock
of
Brownville,
first
sergeant.
The
steamship,
Omaha,
took
the
company
of
169
men
to
Omaha
to
join
the
rest
of
the
regiment.
In
addition,
orders
came
from
the
War
Department
ordering
many
of
the
regular
soldiers,
then
stationed
at
the
frontier
posts
of
Fort
Kearny
and
Fort
Randall,
to
proceed
east
to
help
put
down
the
rebellion.
It
was
felt
that
without
the
restraint
of
strongly
garrisoned
forts,
the
Indian
tribes
would
cut
the
communication
with
the
far
west
and
even
threatened
the
outlying
settlements
of
Nebraska.
There
were
ten
regiments
and
they
became
the
First
Nebraska
Regiment.
They
were
placed
under
the
command
of
Colonel
John
M.
Thayer
and
General
Lew
Wallace.
Omaha
was
the
mustering
point.
Its
organization
was
completed
by
July
22,
1861.
On
July
30,
1861,
half
of
the
regiment
was
on
board
the
steamer,
“West
Wind”,
bound
for
the
battlefields
in
the
South.
The
other
five
regiments
followed
two
weeks
later.
In
addition
to
these
regiments,
other
Nebraska
boys
served
in
Missouri,
Illinois,
Iowa
and
Kansas
regiments.
Upon
the
departure
of
one
of
the
regiments,
a
lady
whom
the
papers
insisted
was
the
lineal
descendant
of
one
of
the
fearless
women
of
Revolutionary
times,
donned
soldier’s
attire
through
out
and
took
passage
as
one
of
the
“boys”.
Her
sex
was
undiscovered
during
the
trip
to
St.
Joe,
but
when
the
boat
left
that
port,
she
was
discovered
by
her
husband
and
sent
back
to
Omaha,
where
it
is
said
she
still
lives.”
(In
1882)
Another
Nebraska
unit
which
fought
against
the
Confederacy
was
the
Curtis
Horse
Cavalry
Regiment.
Four
companies,
recruited
mostly
in
Omaha,
were
designated
as
the
Nebraska
Battalion
and
was
attached
to
the
Fifth
Iowa
Cavalry,
which
included
Iowa
and
Minnesota
troops.
The
four
companies
which
were
designated
as
the
Nebraska
Battalion,
Companies
A,
B,
C,
and
D,
were
commanded
by
Captains
William
Kelsay,
J.T..
Croft,
J.
Morris
Young,
and
Harlan
Beard,
respectively.
The
Curtis
Horse
served
with
distinction
throughout
the
war.
There
were
also
two
Indian
organizations,
the
Omaha
Scouts
and
the
Pawnee
Scouts.
The
latter
was
commanded
by
Major
Frank
North
of
Columbus,
and
did
valuable
work
in
combating
the
hostile
Sioux.
After
the
First
Nebraska
Regiment
traveled
to
Missouri
on
the
steamboat,
“West
Wind”,
they
camped
outside
Sedalia,
Missouri.
December
15,
1861,
they
marched
toward
Milford,
Missouri,
and
participated
in
skirmishes
which
resulted
in
the
capture
of
1,300
rebels.
