One might
expect that the years of the Civil War or, in Clark Lane's words,
“the War of Rebellion,” would have proved rewarding to an
ardent abolitionist who spoke of Lincoln as a Moses. It might also
seem that the War would take the company to new heights. The evidence
suggests that these years brought perhaps more along the lines of
frustration and loss than of business opportunity. The shots fired
in Charleston Harbor did not, at first, translate into business growth.
Indeed, during the first months and perhaps year or two of the War,
there was great uncertainty and business was at a standstill. One
thing was certain, the southern agricultural machinery market was
lost.
So it
was on Clark Lane's 38th birthday (5 April 1862) when James C. Lyon
of Cincinnati said “Lane, I shall start for California next Tuesday
evening (the 8th). Come and go with me.” He had never thought
of going to California and he and business partner Job E. Owens, who
was also invited, dismissed the matter until Monday the 7th. Then
with less than 10 minutes consideration, all partners agreed that
the steam engine and thresher trade on the Pacific Coast would benefit
from such a visit. Who should go? The long and short broom-straw was
ready in a moment. Clark Lane drew the long straw and was ordered
to prepare for the trip.
He would
be gone six months and nine days and would have traveled 7500 miles
by steamer and water, 1650 miles by rail road, 3500 miles by stagecoach,
300 miles on horse back, 300 miles or more on foot for a total of
13,250 miles. They traveled by train to New York City and steamer
to Cuba and Jamaica. During the course of a single day they crossed
the Isthmus of Panama and embarked on a Pacific Ocean steamer. Then
they sailed to Acapulco and Mazatlan before arriving at San Francisco
on 5 May. From then until 28 July they visited all the principal cities
in California along with many of the more important towns, mining
camps and best farming districts.
With
the completion of business on 22 September in San Francisco they were
homeward bound overland, stopping at places famous as well as now
forgotten: Placerville, Carson City, Ruby Valley and Salt Lake City.
There they spent an hour with Brigham Young and conversed with Heber
C. Kimball, an important man in Utah Territory. Their journey continued
to Fort Bridger, Sulphur Springs and Denver, then a town of 5,000.
They journeyed by stage down the South Platte Valley and ended at
Atchinson, Kansas, which was the westernmost rail terminus. The train
route home was via St. Joseph, Springfield, Indianapolis and Cincinnati.
By then
the war had grown to “wonderful proportions” and Clark Lane,
as the company buyer, had his hands full. Mechanics were off in the
army and labor was very difficult to control. Supplies were hard to
come by. Lane wrote, “No matter what the article wanted there
was derangement somewhere to check progress.” Then there was
the matter of the Federal Government and the company product. Lane
wrote, “to meet the wants of the individual customer and to supply
the arbitrary demands of Government and the Army made business life
very perplexing, and often of ruinous loss.” In spite of Clark
Lane's lamentations, it is reasonable to suppose that both the company
and Clark Lane prospered during the Civil War economic boom. In a
feature on the library on 15 June 1917 the Hamilton Republican-News
reported that, “During the
Civil War the firm Owens, Lane and Dyer prospered and became known
as the wealthiest firm in the city.”
Then
there was the personal loss that Clark Lane, along with many others
in Butler County, felt. In the last days of 1862 and early 1863 there
was a terrible battle, a slaughter really, in central Tennessee. It
was the Battle of Stone River and on 1 January Clark Lane received
word of the death of his youngest brother. Scores of others here received
similar news concerning sons, fathers, brothers and neighbors. On
the following morning, at 3:00, Clark and six others from the company
were on the streets of Louisville along with thousands
of other men en route to the battlefield. But an Army departmental
order was issued, “Pass no civilians to the front.” To procure
ways and means, Mr. Beckett of Hamilton and Lane were empowered and
assumed the duty. He said the story was too long to tell, but
they found their man, Abe Cox, the only man in all Louisville who
could and would have seen them
through to the front. He later remarked that it was amazing that they
were not filled with bullets before reaching the battlefield.
All but
one of the Hamilton party found their dead, dying or wounded relatives,
some of whom had not yet been found and carried into camp. One can
not ignore the fact that Clark Lane was very generous to the Union
cause and more than one veteran or veteran's widow and family would
find a new home when he returned from war or a widow's mortgage paid
in full.
How were
they so successful in their mission when all others failed? Clark
Lane wrote “...that it was true beyond doubt that no other seven
or number of the thousands aforesaid left behind them at Louisville
ever reached either Nashville or Stone River for many days after the
Hamilton party had been there and returned.”
Money
helped in the mission. Lane did write that the lucky seven were each
loaded with greenback needed for any unforeseen emergency and that
with the unfortunate soldier in distress they were neither stingy
nor slow to place money where it would do the most good. “It
is true,” he noted, “that a few found it necessary to borrow
for the return trip.”
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