05/15/2026
Long before the grand domes of West Baden Springs or the luxury hotels of French Lick became known across America, one towering and controversial man helped shape the valleyâs destiny â Dr. William Augustus Bowles.
Born in Frederick County, Maryland, around 1799, Bowles was larger than life in nearly every sense of the word. Standing six feet two inches tall and weighing nearly 200 pounds, he was described by contemporaries as magnetic, self-confident, charismatic, and deeply intelligent. In his younger years, he was admired across Indiana as a brilliant physician, a gifted speaker, a successful businessman, and a rising political figure. Yet by the end of his life, others would condemn him as a coward, conspirator, and traitor. Few Hoosiers of the 19th century lived a life filled with more triumph, controversy, and contradiction.
Bowles came west to Indiana as a young physician in the 1820s, practicing medicine in Fredericksburg before eventually settling in Orange County. Like many frontier doctors of his era, he studied anatomy through dissection and was even convicted of grave robbing â a shocking scandal at the time, though not entirely uncommon among physicians desperate for medical knowledge in an age before modern medical schools. Despite the controversy, Bowles earned a reputation as an exceptionally skilled doctor. He was known for treating patients considered beyond hope, and in 1843, he reportedly performed a successful lithotomy, or the manual removal of kidney stones â an advanced surgical procedure rarely attempted on the frontier. He married Louisiana Ferguson of Fredericksburg in 1824 and divorced her for infidelity in 1839. He received custody of his two daughters, aged 12 and 14. In 1843, he married Eliza Carlin of Paoli, and she sued him for divorce in 1868 for âabandonment, cruel and unmerciful treatment, failure to provide sustenance and medical aid, and adultery in drunkenness.â The Jury ruled in Eliza's favor and awarded her alimony of $25,000, with the court determining that Bowles âtreated his wife cruelly and inhumanely, living in open and notorious adultery with one Emeline Burt. Eliza would shortly after die in the explosion of the steamboat Emma No. 3 on the Mississippi without receiving any alimony. Bowles would marry Mrs. Julia Albee shortly before his death.
His ambitions stretched far beyond medicine. A devoted Democrat, Bowles served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1839 to 1845 and attended the Democratic National Convention in 1840. But it was in the hills around French Lick where he would leave his greatest mark.
In 1832, Bowles and his brother Thomas purchased nearly 1,500 acres surrounding the mineral springs at French Lick and West Baden from the State of Indiana. Recognizing the commercial potential of the mineral waters long before most others, Bowles built the first French Lick hotel around 1845 â a large three-story wooden structure that some critics described as âugly and unsightly,â but which nevertheless attracted visitors from across the Midwest. Bowles aggressively advertised the healing powers of the springs, claiming the waters could cure âdyspepsia, chronic dysentery, diarrhea, loss of appetite, jaundice, affections of the liver, spleen and kidneys, diseases of the skin and ulcers.â Guests arrived by stagecoach and horseback, traveling rough roads deep into the Orange County hills to experience the famed mineral waters.
In 1846, Bowles leased his French Lick hotel property to Dr. John A. Lane, who would later establish a rival resort roughly a mile away at Mile Lick â eventually renamed West Baden Springs. That partnership would unintentionally spark one of the most famous resort rivalries in American history, as the French Lick and West Baden hotels grew into competing luxury destinations known nationwide.
At the height of his popularity, Bowles answered the call to arms during the Mexican-American War. Despite having little military experience, he raised a volunteer company known as the âHoosier Boysâ and was eventually elected Colonel of the 2nd Indiana Regiment. In February 1847, at the bloody Battle of Buena Vista, Bowles became forever linked to one of Indianaâs greatest military controversies.
As thousands of Mexican troops surged against the American line, Bowles mistakenly interpreted the movement of nearby artillery as a retreat and ordered his regiment to âcease firing and retreat.â Panic spread rapidly. The withdrawal turned into chaos, nearly collapsing the American line and threatening disaster for General Zachary Taylorâs army. One soldier later recalled: âFear spread like wildfire⌠our rear was a confused mass of fugitives.â Yet amid the confusion, Bowles reportedly seized a rifle, joined the famed Mississippi Rifles under Colonel Jefferson Davis, and fought the remainder of the battle as a private soldier alongside Davisâs men. This created a lifelong friendship between the Indiana Doctor and the future Confederate President.
The incident destroyed Bowlesâs reputation in Indiana. Though military inquiries cleared him of cowardice and praised his personal bravery, they concluded he lacked âjudgment and capacity as a commander.â General Taylor refused to court-martial him, and Jefferson Davis personally defended him, beginning a lifelong friendship between the two men. But many Hoosiers never forgave Bowles, believing his mistake had disgraced Indiana troops at Buena Vista. The bitterness lingered for decades.
Today, the French Lick West Baden Museum possesses the remarkable Scottish dueling pistols believed to have belonged to Dr. Bowles himself. Handmade in London and engraved with the Union shield and eagle, the finely crafted weapons remain among the museumâs most fascinating artifacts connected to Bowles and the Mexican-American War. From period accounts and visible wear on the pistols themselves, it is believed the weapons were fired and may have been carried and used during the Battle of Buena Vista.
Returning home after the war, Bowles resumed operation of his French Lick resort and formally founded the town of French Lick Springs in 1857. Bowles was also known for his fiery temper and frequent confrontations. One of the most famous involved Dr. Sherrod of Paoli. Newspaper accounts reported that âOn Sunday afternoon, Col. Bowles and Dr. Sharrod met at the post office in this place. Prior to the August election, Col. Bowles had made some charges against Dr. Sharrod regarding his conduct in Mexico. On Sunday, they met when some words passed between them. Dr. S. drew a pistol, which was fired at the commencement of the rencontre, but did no damage.â Rumors quickly spread that Sherrod had been mortally wounded, though later reports confirmed this was false. The affair eventually went through the local courts, where Sherrod was acquitted. Incidents like these only added to Bowlesâs larger-than-life reputation across Southern Indiana.
Yet new controversies soon followed. Bowles openly supported pro-slavery politics and became associated with Southern sympathizers during the Civil War. During the conflict, authorities accused Bowles of helping organize and finance armed bands of Confederate sympathizers and army deserters hidden throughout the hills of Southern Indiana. Reports claimed Bowles used his wealth and influence to provide money, repeating rifles, revolvers, ammunition, and supplies to secret groups connected to the Knights of the Golden Circle. One of these bands of men, consisting entirely of Confederate Army Deserters, known as âBowleâs Armyâ, was stationed at the French Lick âHeadquartersâ of the Knights of the Golden Circle, in a shanty-shack, located just across from Bowleâs Home. These shadowy organizations hoped to resist Union authority, free Confederate prisoners, and possibly spark an uprising that could pull Indiana into the Confederacy. While some accusations were likely exaggerated by wartime fears and political hysteria, Bowles became one of the most notorious Copperhead figures in the Midwest.
In 1858, he had already gained national attention after being prosecuted for illegally bringing seven enslaved people into French Lick, noted to have housed them in the locked cellar of his home.
As the nation drifted toward civil war in 1861, Dr. William A. Bowles emerged as a vocal supporter of Indianaâs Peace Democrats, often called the âPeace Party,â who opposed Lincolnâs war policies and urged compromise with the South rather than armed conflict. Bowles was appointed as a delegate of this party, as well as Thomas Archer, John Dishon, and John Felkner.
In June 1863, notorious Confederate raider Captain Thomas Hines secretly met with Dr. William A. Bowles in the valley. Hines, one of John Hunt Morganâs most trusted officers, arrived with nearly twenty Confederate cavalrymen who camped quietly outside of town while sympathizers gathered in support of the Southern cause. Meeting at Bowleâs home in French Lick, the Dr. promised Hines a force of 10,000 men, and multiple artillery pieces from the Sons of Liberty to support John Hunt Morgan's famous raid into Indiana the next month. During the meeting, the conspirators were alerted to Federal soldiers traveling quickly to the home, so it was cut short. This support from Bowles never came, and Hines and his men continued to escape to the Ohio River.
By 1864, federal authorities moved against him. Bowles was dramatically arrested at French Lick by Union soldiers and taken under heavy guard to Indianapolis. Newspapers described the aging doctor â once one of Indianaâs most prominent men â being escorted away as shocked residents watched from the roadside. Army Authorities searched his home and property for weapons, documents, and evidence of conspiracy.
His wife, Mrs. Bowles, reportedly remained fiercely loyal throughout the ordeal. Contemporary accounts described her as deeply devoted and unwilling to abandon her husband even as public opinion turned against him. During his imprisonment and trial, she worked tirelessly to defend his reputation and maintain the family estate at French Lick while he faced possible ex*****on. She was noted to be an endless source of trouble for the Captain of the prison, where, on one occasion, she attempted to smuggle $ 1,250.00 to the Dr. in a bundle of newspapers.
The arrest and trial of Dr. William A. Bowles became one of the most important constitutional cases in American history through the landmark Supreme Court decision known as Ex parte Milligan. During the Civil War, Bowles, along with Lambdin P. Milligan, Stephen Horsey, and Andrew Humphreys, was tried before a military commission in Indianapolis rather than a civilian court and sentenced to death by hanging. President Andrew Johnson soon commuted Bowlesâ sentence to life imprisonment, but the case soon reached the United States Supreme Court after Milligan challenged the legality of the military tribunal. In 1866, the Court ruled that civilians could not be tried by military courts when civilian courts were still open and operating, declaring the military commission unconstitutional. The decision became one of the most significant rulings on civil liberties in American history, limiting the governmentâs wartime powers and affirming constitutional protections even during a national crisis. Though remembered today largely through the Milligan name, Dr. Bowles stood at the center of the controversy, his dramatic life once again placing French Lick unexpectedly into the national spotlight.
When Dr. William A. Bowles died on March 28, 1873, his funeral was held at his French Lick residence. Fellow physicians and prominent Orange County citizens served as pallbearers for the man who had once been among the most famous â and infamous â men in Indiana. He was initially buried in a large limestone vault on the grounds of his home overlooking the valley he helped create. After his home and vault fell into disrepair, his remains were moved to an unmarked plot at Ames Chapel Cemetery near French Lick. The large stones that once made up his vault, as well as the foundation of his home, now make up the outdoor mini-golf challenge at Shotz in French Lick. In the landscaping at the Beechwood Mansion, a large stone with âBowlesâ engraved into a Union Shield with 10 stars can be found, once atop the door to the doctor's crypt.
Today, the grand hotels, mineral springs, and the valley's history owe much to Bowlesâs early vision. Yet his story remains deeply complicated â physician and politician, resort founder and military scapegoat, visionary and conspirator. In many ways, Dr. William A. Bowles embodied the turbulent spirit of 19th-century Indiana itself.
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The French Lick West Baden Museum is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization.
Sponsored by Springs Valley Bank & Trust Company
