Col. Gilbert Hathaway (findagrave.com)
By Fern Eddy Schultz, La Porte County Historian
La Porte County provided more than its share of men to the ranks of the military during the Civil War. Many among them became known for their special heroic deeds. Among these was Gilbert Hathaway.
LaPorte County Historian Fern Eddy Schultz
Hathaway was born in New York State in 1813, but by 1837, he was practicing law in La Porte. He apparently briefly returned to Rochester, NY, in 1841, where he married Sarah Elizabeth Kneeland. She became well known in La Porte in literary and religious circles and was the first president of the Women’s Literary Society. Her influence in the Episcopal Church “was felt and her best talents were lent to the furtherance of the faith she professed,” it was reported. The Hathaways had five children.
Gilbert Hathaway was appointed judge of the Probate Court on Jan. 16, 1849. In 1857, he resumed his law practice and in 1859 was in partnership with William H. Scott. He was also involved in early La Porte school history, serving on the Board of Education when the schools were graded and buildings were erected in each ward. At a meeting of the La Porte Cemetery Association in 1856, the number of trustees required was fixed at seven. He was among those elected to serve as a trustee as well as to hold the position of president. This was the beginning of today’s Pine Lake Cemetery Association.
The Civil War started April 12, 1861, and Hathaway became a part of the U.S. Army, 73rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, on Aug. 22, 1862. On May 2, 1863, Col. Gilbert Hathaway was killed in the Battle of Rome, Georgia. Detailed information about that battle may be found in the book “That Devil Forrest” by John Allan Wyeth (Harper & Brothers, Publishers, New York) and in an article entitled “All Is Fair in Love and War” by Edward G. Longacre.
It was not until mid-December 1866 that the remains of Col. Hathaway arrived in LaPorte. The interment took place Dec. 27, with the procession starting at the I.O.O.F. Hall, then the military commencing on foot with reversed arms under the command of Gen. Jasper Packard. They proceeded to Pine Lake Cemetery, where the “usual ceremonies were observed in the burial.”
Upon visiting Hathaway’s grave, one might have expected to find it already marked with a military stone befitting a man of such exemplary status, not only in civilian life but also in the military. However, that was not the case; it was marked with a very simple stone, more like an oversized brick with only “Col. Hathaway” engraved on it. In 2008, the Sons of the Union Veterans decided to place an appropriate Civil War marker on his grave.
Col. Hathaway was remembered in the county by having a Grand Army of the Republic post named for him; the Rolling Prairie post became known as the Gilbert Hathaway Post No. 110. It came into being about 1882 and was discontinued about 1918. In LaPorte, there is a block-long street named Hathaway Street, located between Indiana and Michigan avenues and Winn and Dysard streets.
On display at the LaPorte County Historical Society Museum are a few items that belonged to Hathaway: his picture, a belt worn by the colonel, his military sashes and epaulets, an officer’s cap worn by him, and other memorabilia.
FERN EDDY SCHULTZ is LaPorte County’s official Historian. To learn more about LaPorte County’s fascinating history, visit the LaPorte County Historical Society Museum and www.laportecountyhistory.org.
