David Enoch Beem (June 24, 1837 – October 23, 1923) was a prominent lawyer, banker, and

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

veteran from Spencer,

Owen County, Indiana Owen County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 1920 the United States Census Bureau calculated the mean center of U.S. population to fall within this county. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 21,575. Its county ...

. Beem, who attained the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of Company H,

14th Indiana Infantry Regiment The 14th Indiana Infantry Regiment, later referred to as the Gallant Fourteenth, was an infantry regiment and part of the Union Army's celebrated "Gibraltar Brigade" of the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Organized in May 1861 a ...

, fought in numerous battles in the

eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...

before he mustered out of the

Union army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

in June 1864. After the war Beem resumed his law practice in Spencer and became involved in local banking ventures. He was also active the state's

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

and civic affairs. Beem, a graduate of

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

, class of 1860, served on

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

's board of trustees for eighteen years. He also participated in the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

at local and state levels. Beem's papers and letters are preserved in the collections of the

Indiana Historical Society The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is one of the United States' oldest and largest historical societies and describes itself as "Indiana's Storyteller". It is housed in the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center at 450 West Ohio Street ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. The

David Enoch Beem House David Enoch Beem House, also known as the "Beem Mansion" and "The Hill", is a historic home located in Spencer, Owen County, Indiana. Built in 1874, the large, two-story, Italianate-style residence is named after its original owner, David Enoch ...

, his former residence in Spencer, is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Early life and education

David Enoch Beem, the son of Levi and Sarah (Johnson) Beem, was born on June 24, 1837, in Spencer,

. Levi Beem (1803–1888), a farmer and a native of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, came to the

Indiana Territory The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by a United States Congress, congressional act that President of the United States, President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an Historic regions of the U ...

as a boy around 1810. David's grandparents, Daniel and Mary Beem, settled their family in Owen County on land that became the present-day site of Spencer, Indiana. Sarah Beem (1807–1889) was the daughter of David Johnson, another early settler who came to Spencer in 1818. Levi Beem and Sarah Johnson were married in Spencer in 1825. David, was the sixth of the family's twelve children, two of whom died in infancy. Beem completed his early education in Spencer. In 1856 he entered

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

where he became a member of

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...

Fraternity and graduated with a degree in law in 1860.

Marriage and family

Beem married Mahala Joslin (1841–1929) on April 10, 1862, while home on leave during the

. She was a daughter of Amasa Joslin, a physician who came to Owen County in 1820, and Mary Ann (Allison) Joslin. David and Mahala Beem had three children: a daughter, Minnie Montrose, and two sons, David Joslin and Levi Amasa. The

, an

Italianate-style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

residence on a hilltop property in Spencer, was also known as the "Beem Mansion" and "The Hill." Built in 1874, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. See: and accompanying photographs.

Career

In 1860 Beem established a law practice in his hometown of Spencer, Indiana, where he was also involved in banking ventures. Beem also served for three years as an officer in the 14th Indiana Volunteer Regiment during the

. In addition to his law practice and business interests, Beem was active in the

and

at the state and local levels and served on

's board of trustees.

Early career

Beem was admitted to the bar in 1860 and established a law partnership in Spencer, Indiana, with Samuel H. Buskirk of Bloomington. The following year he began three years of military service as an officer in the

Military service

In response to a call for troops to serve in the Union army, Beem was the first man to enlist from Owen County and helped raise the county’s first company of troops. He enlisted on April 19, 1861, as a first sergeant. Beem served in the 14th Indiana Volunteer Regiment, which initially organized for one year of service; however, it was reorganized for a three years of service in May 1861. Beem and his Spencer County company mustered into service as Company H, 14th Indiana Volunteer Regiment, on June 7, 1861, at Camp Vigo, near

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

, under the command of Colonel

Nathan Kimball Nathan Kimball (November 22, 1822 – January 21, 1898) was a physician, politician, postmaster, and military officer, serving as a general in the Union army during the American Civil War. He was the first statewide commander of the Grand Arm ...

. On July 10, 1861, the 14th Indiana arrived at Rich Mountain in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and served as a reserve force in the

Battle of Rich Mountain The Battle of Rich Mountain took place on July 11, 1861, in Randolph County, Virginia (now West Virginia) as part of the Operations in Western Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War. Background Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan assumed com ...

the following day. The 14th Indiana also pursued Confederate troops as far as

Cheat Mountain Cheat Mountain is an exceptionally high and rugged ridge situated in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It is about long (north to south) and more than five miles (8 km) wide at its widest. Its highest point is at its sou ...

. Beem was promoted to first

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

of his company in August 1861. During the winter of 1861–62, the regiment was transferred to the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

. On March 23, 1862, Beem was severely wounded in the chin during the

first Battle of Kernstown The First Battle of Kernstown was fought on March 23, 1862, in Frederick County and Winchester, Virginia, the opening battle of Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Ci ...

, near

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

. He returned to active duty with the 14th Indiana following a sixty-day leave of absence. Beem was promoted to

in May 1862. From July 1862 until June 1864, Beem and his regiment fought in battles at

Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union ...

, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, Spottsylvania, and

Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S ...

, as well as other campaigns as part of the Union's

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...

. In August 1863 the 14th Indiana was detached for duty in New York following the

New York City draft riots The New York City draft riots (July 13–16, 1863), sometimes referred to as the Manhattan draft riots and known at the time as Draft Week, were violent disturbances in Lower Manhattan, widely regarded as the culmination of white working-cla ...

and remained in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

until September 6, 1863. Beem and the other men of the 14th Indiana who had served three years of service mustered out of service on June 20, 1864 (backdated to June 6, 1864).Sources differ on the backdated discharge date. The more likely one is June 6, 1864, when the 14th Indiana left the front after the

Battle of Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S ...

(June 1–6, 1864), three years after mustering into service on June 6, 1861. See See also: Capt. David E. Beem, "Military History of Owen County," in Beem returned home to Spencer.

Post-war career

After the war, Been resumed his legal career in Spencer as a partner in the firm of Rose and Beem. The firm later dissolved, but Beem continued to practice law in Owen,

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

, and

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

counties. In addition, Beem organized the First National Bank of Spencer and became its cashier and acting manager. In 1870 he organized Beem, Peden and Company, a banking firm in Spencer, and managed the business for thirty-nine years. Not all of his business ventures were as successful. Beem and others established a pork-packing operation in Spencer in 1873 that failed. In 1878 Beem formed another law partnership in Spencer named Beem and Hickham. The firm continued for fifteen years before the partnership was dissolved. Afterwards, Beem continued to practice law and remained active in banking. Beem was also active in the

, but never held public office. Instead, he served as chairman of the Owen County Republican Central Committee during three political campaigns. In 1880 Beem was a delegate from the Fifth Congressional District to the Republican National Convention in Chicago, where

James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...

was eventually nominated as the party's presidential candidate. In 1886 Beem was a candidate for state treasurer at the Republican state convention, but he did not win his party's nomination. Beem served as a presidential elector for his Congressional District in 1888 and voted for

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

in the electoral college. In 1893 Beem formed a law partnership with Joseph W. Williams of Owen County and remained active in community affairs.Taylor, p. 665. Been served on the board of trustees of Spencer's public schools for several years and was a member of the

Masons Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cutt ...

. He joined the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

in 1860 and represented the Indiana Conference as a delegate to the Methodist Episcopal Church's conference in New York in 1888. Beem also served for eighteen years on

's board of trustees. In addition, he held leadership roles in the state and local chapters of the

. Beem was a charter member and the first commander of the GAR's Gettysburg Post at Spencer. In 1894 Beem served as a judge advocate for the GAR's Department of Indiana.

Death and legacy

Beem died after an extended illness in Spencer, Indiana, on October 23, 1923, at the age of eighty-six. Beem and his wife, Mahala, are buried at Riverside Cemetery in Spencer. A collection of letters that Beem exchanged with his wife, and other family members and friends are preserved at the

. Many of the letters provide details of Beem's military service in the 14th Indiana Volunteer Regiment.

Honors and tributes

"You Are There 1863: ''A Letter Home from Gettysburg''," an exhibit from September 23, 2017, through January 19, 2019, at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center in downtown Indianapolis, focuses on a letter that Beem wrote on July 5, 1863, a few days after he fought in the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

. See also: The letter describes Beem's eyewitness account of the battle and its aftermath.

Published works

* * "Military History of Owen County," in

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Beem Letter, 1863-07
dated July 5, 1863, in the

collections, Indianapolis {{DEFAULTSORT:Beem, David Enoch 1837 births 1923 deaths Indiana lawyers Indiana Republicans Indiana Historical Society Military personnel from Indiana People from Owen County, Indiana People from Spencer, Indiana People of Indiana in the American Civil War 19th-century American lawyers Grand Army of the Republic officials