James Clifford Veatch

James Clifford Veatch was born December 19, 1819, in Elizabethtown, Indiana and the family later moved to Rockport, Indiana. In 1840, he was admitted to the bar and began to practice law. From 1841 to 1855, he served as auditor of Spencer County and was serving in the Indiana Legislature in 1861 when he volunteered for the Union Army. He was appointed colonel of the 25th Indiana Infantry and was mustered into service August 19, 1861. Veatch led his regiment at the capture of Fort Donelson and commanded a brigade of Hurlbut’s division at Shiloh. There, his four regiments sustained 630 casualties. Veatch’s behavior was noted in a letter written by Major John W. Foster, “Colonel Veatch acted with great courage. He was always with his brigade in the thickest of the fight. Two horses were shot under him, one was shot twice, and he was wounded, but he never left the field.” He was made brigadier general of volunteers April 28, 1862. He participated in the siege of Corinth and was assigned to command of the District of Memphis for several months. There, he engaged in numerous minor operations, the most notable being an engagement at the Hatchie River in October 1862 with the forces of Sterling Price and Earl Van Dorn. In the Atlanta campaign, he commanded the 4th Division of the XVI Corps, Army of the Tennessee until he went on sick leave July 17, 1864. While on sick leave, Veatch somehow fell out of favor with his commander, Oliver O. Howard, and after his return in September was ordered to remain in Memphis to await further orders. He served in minor posts in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas until being sent to the Department of the Gulf on February 18, 1865. He commanded a division of Granger’s XIII Corps in the campaign which led to the capture of Mobile, and following its evacuation, his division was the first to enter the city. He was brevetted major general of volunteers for his services in Mobile from March 26 to April 12, 1865. Before being honorably mustered out of service on August 24, 1865, he commanded a district in West Louisiana. He returned to Rockport serving as adjutant general of Indiana in 1869 and United States collector of internal revenue from 1870 to 1883. He died December 22, 1895, in Rockport and was buried at Sun Set Hill Cemetery.

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