John Love (general)


John Love was a United States Army officer during and after the Mexican-American War, a railroad contractor, an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War and a major general in the Indiana Legion, also referred to as the Indiana militia or home guard or state defense force, during the American Civil War. After resigning on January 1, 1863, he was called back into service in July 1863 and commanded an Indiana militia force which pursued Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan's raiders in Indiana. On July 11, 1863 about 100 militia men held off Morgan's raiders at Vernon, Indiana, forcing them to withdraw when Love arrived with reinforcements arrived. After his service he was a real estate broker and representative of the Gatling Gun Company in Europe. In 1880, Congress appointed Love to be a manager of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.

Early life

John Love was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, January 9, 1820. He was the son of Richard H. Love, and Eliza Matilda Love. John Love was a third cousin of Robert E. Lee.
Love was appointed a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York from Tennessee, September 1, 1837. Upon graduation from the U.S. Military Academy on July 1, 1841, Love was appointed brevet second lieutenant in the First Regiment of Dragoons, re-designated the 4th Cavalry Regiment in 1861, now the 1st Cavalry Regiment. He was appointed second lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of Dragoons on February 21, 1842.
Love had duty at the Cavalry School for Practice at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 1841–1842. Love was on frontier duty at Fort Gibson, in the Indian Territory, 1842, Fort Scott, Kansas,1842–1843, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 1843–1844, in Pawnee country during part of 1844–1845. He was with Stephen W. Kearny's expedition to South Pass Wyoming and back to Fort Leavenworth in 99 days in 1845.
Love was promoted to first lieutenant, 1st Regiment of Dragoons, on June 30, 1846. Love was on recruiting service, 1845–1847 and again on frontier duty at Fort Leavenworth in 1847.

Mexican-American War

Love's commanding officer, Stephen W. Kearny, was promoted to brigadier general in 1846 and placed in charge of the Army of the West during the Mexican–American War. After conquering New Mexico, Kearny took part of his force to California. He left three companies of the 1st Regiment of Dragoons, with volunteers, to garrison New Mexico under Colonel Sterling Price.
Near the end of the war, Price was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers by President James K. Polk. He led 300 men from his Army of the West at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Rosales on March 16, 1848, defeating a Mexican force three times his size. This was the last battle of the war, taking place days after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had been ratified by the United States Congress on March 10. Although reprimanded by Secretary of War William L. Marcy and ordered to return with his army to New Mexico, Price was not punished.
Company B of the 1st Regiment of Dragoons had been trained as an artillery regiment after the beginning of the war. First Lieutenant John Love was in command of the artillery battalion at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Rosales. Love was appointed brevet captain for gallantry at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Rosales, Mexico, March 16, 1848.

Marriage

On October 10, 1849, Love married Mary F. Smith, daughter of Oliver Hampton Smith, a lawyer who served as a United States Representative and United States Senator from Indiana. An introduction to a collection of some of John Love's papers at the University of Michigan states that John and Mary Love had a daughter within one year of their marriage, but no other details are given and none of the other references below, including Find-a-Grave, mention the daughter.

Assignments 1849–1853

Love served as quartermaster of the 1st Regiment of Dragoons from March 12, 1849 to December 1850. He was again on frontier duty at Fort Leavenworth in 1849. He was on garrison duty at Jefferson Barracks Military Post, St. Louis, Missouri, 1849–1851 and on recruiting service, 1851–1852. Love resigned from the Army on February 1, 1853. He and his wife moved to Indianapolis, Indiana.

Civilian life

Love and his wife joined Christ Church in Indianapolis. From 1853, he was a vestryman there. As well as being in the real estate business in Indianapolis, Love had a large farm there. Love also was a railroad contractor from 1854 to 1858. He was a captain in the Indiana Legion from 1858 to 1861.

American Civil War

At the start of the American Civil War, Love served as a major, brigade inspector and chief of staff for Brigadier General Thomas A. Morris with the Indiana volunteers in the Western Virginia campaign. He was with Morris during skirmishing starting July 7, 1861 at Laurel Hill, from which the Confederates withdrew on July 11 after the Union Army victory at the Battle of Rich Mountain. Then, he was engaged at the Battle of Corrick's Ford where Union forces killed Confederate Brigadier General Robert S. Garnett and routed the Confederate force. According to Eicher, Love was mustered out of the Union Army on August 1, 1861.
Thereafter, he was commander of a camp of instruction for Indiana volunteers at Indianapolis, Indiana from August 1, 1861 to September 10, 1861. Eicher states that Love was on recruiting service in 1861–1862 and was a major general in the Indiana milita from September 27, 1862. Cullum shows Love as a major general in the Indiana Legion, referred to as the Indiana's home guard or Indiana militia or Indiana state defense force of the period from September 10, 1861. Cullum shows Love as in command of a division in defense of Cincinnati, Ohio from September 1862 until his resignation on January 1, 1863. Republican Governor of Indiana Oliver P. Morton had asked Love, as a War Democrat, to help him with his administration.
During Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan's raid north of the Ohio River in Indiana and Ohio in July 1863, Governor Morton called Love back into service with the Indiana Legion and called out the militia to defend against Morgan's raiders. Union Army Major General Orlando B. Willcox was in command of the District of Indiana and Michigan. His commanding officer, Department of the Ohio commander, Major General Ambrose Burnside, ordered Willcox to defend Indianapolis and command all state troops raised in Indiana for defense against the raid.
In an article written after the war, Willcox stated that after the Indiana Legion levies were called up by the governor, he ordered them to secure three great junctions of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad in Indiana. He noted that

Seymour was the most central, and lay directly on the road to Cincinnati and Indianapolis from Louisville; and to Seymour a brigade was assembled from the center of the state, with John Love, a skillful old army officer, to command it, with instructions to have an eye to Vernon likewise.

On July 11, 1863, Morgan's men approached Vernon, Indiana after sending parties toward Mitchell, Salem and Seymour. A detachment of Indiana militia and a small number of new U.S. volunteer troops sent by Willcox from Michigan held Vernon and, Love having discerned Morgan's next target, sent Colonel C. V. DeLand, a couple of artillery pieces and two Indiana militia regiments to Vernon. Love quickly followed with the rest of his militia force, which resulted in more than 1,000 Union defenders at Vernon when Morgan's main force arrived about 4:00 p.m. Morgan sent two flags of truce demanding the Union force surrender to him. Love defied the demand and in turn demanded that Morgan surrender. Realizing he could not afford to stay and fight the large Union force at Vernon, he withdrew. Morgan had lost valuable time with this delay and his pickets and rear guard were captured by Love's infantry as his raiders moved on.

Later life

Starting in 1863, Love was a real estate broker at Indianapolis, Indiana. Love also began his connection with the Gatling Gun Company before the end of the American Civil War. After Richard J. Gatling set up his factory in Indianapolis in 1862, Love bought stock in the company, and also represented the company as it presented the gun for sale to the United States, China, Japan, Turkey, and throughout Europe in 1867. Love, though he began selling his stock in 1873, continued to represent the company a year later.
In 1880, Love was appointed by Congress to be a manager of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.
Love was a Mason and master of Ancient Landmarks lodge of Indianapolis for several years as well as a charter member of the Scottish Rite. The "Franklin Democrat" obituary for John Love, February 4, 1881, states that he was a member of the State House Commission at the time of his death.
John Love died of heart disease on January 29, 1881 at Indianapolis, Indiana. He is buried at Crown Hill National Cemetery.