In Bust of Richard Owen, how is the Historical information discussed?
In February 1862, after the fall of Fort Donelson, Indiana Governor Oliver P. Morton agreed to hold Confederate prisoners of war at Camp Morton in Indianapolis. Morton summoned Owen's regiment, the 60th Indiana Volunteers, and others to Indiana to guard the camp's 3,700 prisoners. Owen assumed command of the camp on 24 February 1862 and remained in charge until his regiment was transferred to General Halleck's command in Kentucky on 26 May 1862. Owen left Indianapolis with his regiment on 20 June 1862. As commandant of Camp Morton, Owen established new rules for prisoner conduct and was known for his generosity and fair treatment of the camp's prisoners.
Fifty years later, in 1911, S. A. Cunningham, a longtime editor of the Confederate Veteran magazine wanted to commission a memorial to Owen. Cunningham was imprisoned at Camp Morton while it was under Owen's supervision. To obtain state government approval for a memorial, William W. Spencer, a member of the Indiana House of Representatives, put forth a resolution to authorized its creation:Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring therein, that the Governor of this State be authorized to permit the surviving Confederate prisoners who were confined in Camp Morton during the War between the States to erect a tablet to the memory of Col. Richard Owen for the kindness shown said Confederate prisoners, and that the Governor be authorized to designate the spot where said tablet shall be placed, either in the Statehouse, on the grounds of the Statehouse, or on the soldiers' monument in the city of Indianapolis. The bill was approved unanimously by both houses. Initially, Cunningham planned to commission a memorial tablet and asked for donations in the Confederate Veteran from anyone who had been under Owen's command at the camp. Cunningham received more than $1,100 in contributions and had Belle Kinney Scholz, a sculptor and the daughter of a Confederate soldier, create a bronze bust instead of a tablet. The bust was dedicated at the Indiana Statehouse in June 1913, with Civil War veterans from both sides in attendance. The sculpture was called, "a bond between North and South."Two replicas of the Owen bust were cast in 1933. One is installed in the Indiana Memorial Union at Indiana University in Bloomington; the other replica is in the Purdue Memorial Union at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
Indianapolis Fort Donelson Indiana University West Lafayette, Indiana Purdue University Indiana Statehouse S. A. Cunningham Confederate Veteran Bloomington Indiana Belle Kinney Scholz Richard Owen Union Oliver P. Morton Confederate Camp Morton