E.C. students get up close and personal with region's Civil War history

HAMMOND | About 50 East Chicago school children received a lesson Friday in the stories of Northwest Indiana men who fought — and in some cases died — in our nation's bloodiest war in history.

Civil War re-enactors invite governor, lawmakers to April region exhibit

INDIANAPOLIS | One of the last times the 20th Indiana Infantry visited Indianapolis, near-riots ensued when then-Gov. Oliver Morton failed to deliver on promises of new rifled muskets and blue Union Army uniforms.

Region Civil War flags to fly again at Indiana Welcome Center

In the confusion, chaos and carnage often resulting from close-quarters Civil War combat, hundreds of region men relied on their regimental flags to show them where to rally.

Region Civil War vets remembered with graveside Christmas wreaths

CROWN POINT | The holiday season of 1862 was anything but merry for Sgt. William Foster as he suffered through a bout of typhoid fever.

Local author donates to Civil War tourism trail

HIGHLAND | An award-winning local author and businessman is donating his talents and money to the South Shore Civil War Memorial Trail historic preservation and tourism initiative.

C.P. Civil War soldier honored on 150th anniversary of his wartime death

CROWN POINT | A century and a half ago, Civil War Sgt. Edwin Sprague died of a sickness that posed perhaps a greater threat to Union soldiers than Confederate bullets.

Crown Point ceremony memorializes region Civil War vets in new preservation initiative

CROWN POINT | About 100 people gathered in the cool shade of a maple tree Monday at Historic Maplewood Cemetery to rekindle memories and preserve the stories of region men who sacrificed themselves during the Civil War.

Civil War re-enactment group portrayal Friday in Crown Point

CROWN POINT | A Civil War re-enactment group that portrays a Lake County Union Army unit is scheduled to occupy the Old Lake County Courthouse lawn this weekend in a living history demonstration.

Civil War re-enactment group to invade Crown Point square

CROWN POINT | A Civil War re-enactment group that portrays a Lake County Union Army unit is scheduled to occupy the Old Lake County Courthouse lawn this weekend in a living history demonstration.

Wheeler students welcome new Civil War vet memorial

CROWN POINT | More than 100 Col. John Wheeler Middle School social studies students filed past the school's newest memorial Wednesday, paying homage to a Crown Point Civil War veteran who served under their school's namesake.

14 gravestones dedicated

Though long dead, 12 Civil War veterans -- and two of their wives -- were remembered for their sacrifices by more than 100 people who attended Saturday gravestone dedication ceremonies in Merrillville and Crown Point.

Civil War gravestone effort expands to the wives of two soldiers

CROWN POINT | Ten-year-old Belle Holton handed small flags and letters to Lake County soldiers as they marched off to the Civil War in 1861.

Heroism of region Civil War unit the focus of effort

CROWN POINT | A local cemetery administrator, an educator and some county police who double as Civil War soldiers hope to breathe life back into the more than century-old heroism of region veterans.

Northwest Indiana rededicates Civil War hero's grave site

CROWN POINT | A maple tree standing guard over the headstone of Col. John Wheeler provided covering shade for more than 50 people who gathered at Maplewood Cemetery on a sultry morning 148 years to the day after he fell on the Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg.

Reconstructing history

As a child, Alice Smedstad clipped weeds and tall grass away from the headstones of Merrillville Cemetery, wondering about the people buried in the shadow of her father's garden.

Col. John Wheeler

Col. John Wheeler, of Crown Point, died in the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 when a bullet struck him in the head near a location of the battlefield known as Rose Woods. A monument dedicated to Wheeler's regiment, the 20th Indiana, still stands near Rose Woods and bears Wheeler's name.