By Sue Hughes | For The Times-Post
PENDLETON — Lance Stevens has always loved history.
“It was my favorite subject in school, ” he said of his years at Pendleton Heights High School.
Stevens, 65, who lives in Huntsville, said he specifically loves the Civil War era in the United States.
Dressed in his Civil War garb, he spoke at the Pendleton Historical Museum about his passion on Sunday, March 20, the second of a three-part history series called Gathering at the Museum.
Story continues below photos.
Stevens said when he was a young boy, his father took him to Civil War battlegrounds every summer. He said he feels fortunate to have been at Gettysburg the summer of 1963 on the 100th anniversary of the battle there.
Stevens said because of the trips he took with his parents — and when he got older, his wife — he has visited 98% of the Civil War battlegrounds.
Speaking to a full room, he talked about the impact the war had on Pendleton.
When asked which side of the war he was on, Stevens said he had family in the North and the South.
He is a member of both the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
Because there was so much moving in the country at that time, it was not uncommon to have family members on both sides of the war. Stevens added, “It was often brother against brother.”
There were about 1,500 men from Madison County who enlisted to fight in the Union Army, he said.
Most signed on for three months, believing the war (1861-65) wouldn’t last any longer than that. After the three months, some re-enlisted while others left.
Stevens discovered in his research that ancestors of his and another Pendleton resident, John Boyer, were in the same regiment at the same time.
Another Pendleton enlistee was Maj. Samuel Henry, he said.
Henry was studying to be a lawyer when the war broke out. Because of his education, he was made a 1st lieutenant immediately. He fought with the 89th Indiana Infantry and was killed in Missouri on Nov. 1, 1864.
His friends made sure he was returned to Indiana for burial. He is buried at Grove Lawn Cemetery in Pendleton.
In another anecdote, Stevens said the cannon by the pond in Falls Park was once owned by Civil War veteran Stephenson “Daddy” Hair.
Hair was artillerist with the 18th Indiana Battery.
“Being a staunch Republican, he loved to fire the cannon across Fall Creek any time the Republicans won an election,” Stevens said.
Stevens spoke about Col. George Parker, who use to own a house located on the north side of Fall Creek Parkway west of Pendleton Avenue.
Parker was in the 79th Indiana Infantry Division.
At one point, Parker was in command of all the troops in Nashville, Tennessee.
“I would love to see a monument placed in front of his house,” Stevens said.
Rumor has it that Parker’s horse is buried in the backyard.
Women were also involved in helping to win the war, Stevens said. Although most did not go into battle, they made socks, blankets and uniforms for the soldiers.
And, Stevens said, there were a few women who did dress like men so they could go to war.
The war had an impact on the population of men in Pendleton and elsewhere, he said. One man in a family would join, and the rest of the men would follow him.
In the Pendleton Historical Museum, there’s a picture of long-time resident Charlie Oldham’s grandfather, Abner W. Oldham, who served in the 94th Ohio Infantry. The picture of A.W. bears a striking resemblance to Charlie.
Stevens said he and his wife, Judy, love to visit Gettysburg.
“You can sit on a rock and just look,” he said. “You know Gettysburg is one of those places that something happened.”
Stevens said he was there in 1998 participating in a large reenactment of Pickett’s Charge, a famous infantry attack named for Confederate Gen. George E. Pickett.
At the moment Stevens was running up a hill toward Cemetery Hill, with about 15,000 Confederate reenactors, he said he was thinking about his ancestors who fought there for the Union side during the actual battle. They would have been up behind the stone wall on Cemetery Hill waiting to repel Pickett’s advance.
“I had tears running down my face thinking that I was running up the same hill my ancestors ran up,” he said.
“I am proud to live in Pendleton, and I am proud of my heritage.”
