It may seem strange that a river boat should play a part in the history of Clarke County, but it did-- a part in a romance tht eventually brought a pioneer family to Osceola. Details of the story were furnished by Mrs. Roy Armstrong and Mrs. O.M. Slaymaker from the mementoes of their father, the late J.B. Dague.
It was then, Capt. J.B. Dague of the U.S. Navy, and he was in command of the U.S. Gunboat Alice. It had been his duty to patrol the Ohio river to help stave off guerilla raids into the north and to thwart expected invasions by the Confederate army.
On the 9th of April, 1865, Galipolis, Ohio, where the vessel was stationed, was a scene of great excitement and jubilation. News of Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox had been received and the soldiers and sailors were wild with joy. A dance was scheduled for the 15th on the decks of the Alice as one of the events of the peace celebration.
Then on the morning of the 15th came word of the assassination of President Lincoln and all festivities were cancelled.
Capt. Dague paid a call to the army quarters to notify the officers and men that the dance had been called off. At one of the billets the door was opened by a young lady who at once caught the eye of the young captain. She proved to be Rosa Redfield of Vinton, Iowa, who was there with her father, an officer of the graybeard regiment, to help him with his housekeeping.
During the next two months their friendhsip grew before they returned to their civilian homes. A year later they were married.
It was soon after that in 1869 they came to Osceola where J.B. and R.A. Dague, brothers, became editors of The Sentinel, then established only 10 years.
Mr. and Mrs. Dague made Osceola their home as long as they lived. He was 92 yers old at the time of his death in January, 1929.
Source: Osceola Centennial Issue 1851-1951, section 3, page 7.