SONS OF TELL CITY
HAVE ALWAYS RALLIED ‘ROUND CAUSE OF RIGHT AND JOINED IN UNITED STATES’ BATTLES TO PROTECT OUR FREEDOMS, FOLLOWED IN FOOTSTEPS OF THEIR SWISS ANCESTORS
Thoughts of Switzerland and the Swiss have always been synonymous with patriotism, willingness, to fight for freedom, and a determination to protect the dignity of the individual. It is no wonder then that here where the heritage is Swiss, sons of Tell City have always been ready to rally around the cause of right and to join in United States battles to protect our freedoms. Born in an era when our nation was on the eve of a great civil war, some early Tell Citians laid down the tools of construction to pick up those of warfare. When the North needed volunteers to hold our nation together, it was only natural that the then tiny hamlet would furnish its share. Later, as the city grew, its contribution to each fight for liberty became greater and greater.
Tell City voted 234 to 9 for Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860. Many of the men who cast those votes backed up their choice by action on several of the far flung battlefields of the Civil War. The Old Dutch Artillery Regiment, organized in Evansville and containing men from all over Southern Indiana, included some Tell City soldiers on its rolls. Others marched on the fields of Chicarnauga, and in other notable struggles of the fight between the Blue and Grey, Tell Citians carried on for the cause they thought was right.
Actually Tell City was less than three years old when Fort Sumter fell it was new. No permanent business was yet in operation, so coming as it did, the war retarded growth of the community very much. News of the fall of the fort at Charleston, South Carolina reached here on Sunday Morning, April 14, l861. Great excitement prevailed and loud talking was heard. Feeling ran strong among our fathers for preservation of the union. News spread like a prairie fire through out Perry county. Tell City authorities immediately ordered a quantity of powder and lead for a possible defense of the community. A special police force was organized.