Iowa History Project
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History of Iowa
Volume 2
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Chapter V
Pictures included in this chapter
are General N. B. Baker,
General Samuel R. Curtis,
Stockade
at Estherville, and Captain W. H. Ingham.
Governor
Kirkwood had, at the beginning of the war, no experience in military affairs
and most of his aides were necessarily civilians. His first aides-de-Camp, John
Edwards, Rush Clark, Wm. B. Allison, A. H. Sanders, D. B. Hillis, and Cyrus
Bussey were men of excellent judgment, but were without military training. He
was most fortunate in the selection of an Adjutant-General. Jesse Bowen, who
held the position when the war began, resigned in June, and the Governor
appointed as his successor, ex-Governor Nathaniel B. Baker, then a Democrat
member of the Legislature from Clinton County. At the extra session in May,
called to put Iowa on a war footing, Governor Baker led the war wing of his
party in support of all of the important message. He had served as Speaker of
the House of Representatives and Governor of New Hampshire, and possessed rare
executive ability. He was eloquent and outspoken in urging vigorous prosecution
of the war for the suppression of rebellion. Ignoring partisan considerations
and grateful for the patriotic support of the “War Democrats” in the
Legislature and in recognition of the hundreds who were offering their services
a soldiers, Governor Kirkwood tendered the position of Adjutant-general to
Governor Baker. He promptly accepted and at once entered upon the arduous
duties of that office. He speedily developed a remarkable talent for
organization and throughout the year was a tower of strength to Governor Kirkwood’s
administration. His energy was unbounded and his office soon became a model of
system and efficiency. Hiram Price was appointed Paymaster-General.
The
act of the extra session of the Legislature providing for the issue of State
bonds to the amount of $800,000, drawing seven per cent. interest, also
provided for a Board of commissioners, consisting of the Governor, Charles
Mason, William Smyth, James Baker and C. W. Slagle, to determine from time to
time how many bonds should be issued. Various newspapers of the State, which
were unfriendly to the administration and to the prosecution of the war,
published articles claiming that the law authorizing the issue of bonds was
unconstitutional. This attack upon the legality of the bonds discredited them in
the eastern cities where they were offered for sale and capitalists declined to
buy them except at great discount. Finally sales were made in Iowa at
ninety-four cents on the dollar. $300,000 worth were sold at that price, which
amount provided all of the money required for war purposes, and the remaining
$500,000 worth were eventually destroyed.
Additional
calls for troops came in rapid succession as the eastern armies met with
disastrous defeats and the war assumed an unexpected magnitude. The vast amount
of labor devolving upon the State administration called for additional help.
Governor Kirkwood appointed N. H. Brainerd Military Secretary, and J. C.
Culbertson was commissioned Assistant Adjutant-General.
On
the 31st of July, 1861, the Republican State Convention assembled at
Des Moines and nominated Governor Kirkwood for reelection by the following
vote: Samuel J. Kirkwood, three hundred and ten votes; Samuel F. Miller, three
and Fitz Henry Warren, twenty-nine. John R. Needham was nominated for lieutenant-Governor
and Ralph P. Lowe was nominated for reelection as Supreme Judge. The
resolutions indorsed the National and State Administrations, and a vigorous
prosecution of the war, and invited the cooperation of the loyal men of all
parties in support of the Government.
On
the 24th of July, the Democratic State Convention met at Des Moines,
and nominated Charles Mason for Governor, Maturin L. Fisher for
Lieutenant-Governor, and James M. Elwood for Supreme Judge. One of the
resolutions declared “that our Union was formed in peace and can never be
perpetuated by force of arms, and that a republican government held together by
the sword becomes a military despotism.” Another resolution declared that a
convention of all the States should be called for the purpose of securing to
the States by legislation equal rights, an the removal of the agitation of the
question of slavery from Congress, and the States of the Union. The convention
also declared opposition to all paper money banking and to a protective tariff.
Judge Mason accepted the nomination in a long letter, but later in the campaign
he withdrew from the head of the ticket and Colonel Wm. H. Merritt was
nominated to fill the vacancy.
On
the 28th of August, another convention convened at Des Moines, and
organized a “Union Party,” nominating the following ticket: Governor, General
N. B. Baker; Lieutenant-Governor, Lauren Dewey; Supreme Judge, Ruben Noble.
Baker and Noble promptly declined the nominations and warmly supported Governor
Kirkwood for reelection. Absorbed in the arduous duties of his position in this
darkest year of the Rebellion, the Governor had little time or disposition to
engage in a political campaign. The disastrous defeats of the Army of the
Potomac, from which so much had been expected, compelled the President to make
call after call upon the loyal States for volunteers to fill the depleted
ranks. Every energy of the Governor and Adjutant-General was required to raise
and organize the new regiments which our State was called upon to furnish.
Every neighborhood in Iowa was contributing young men to reinforce the Union
armies, and their friends and relatives were not in a frame of mind to attend
political rallies.
At
the urgent solicitation of his friends, the governor consented to make one
speech at Des Moines on the 4th of September, at which Judge Mason,
the Democratic candidate, was invited to be present and divide the time with
the Governor in a joint discussion of the issues involved in the approaching
election. Mason declined, however, and Governor Kirkwood in an elaborate speech
ably presented his views on the situation. He also reviewed the acts of his
administration and in a spirit of candor replied to the criticism of his
political opponents. He made but one other speech before the election and that
was delivered at Davenport in October. General N. B. Baker, who had recently
declined a nomination for Governor, tendered him by the so-called “Union
Party,” was at this meeting and spoke ably defending the administration of
Governor Kirkwood and strongly urging his reelection.
On
the 10th of September, the Governor issued a proclamation in which
he stated that eight Iowa regiments were already in the field, that four more were
in camp nearly ready to leave for the seat of war. The State was now called
upon for four more regiments, which were speedily raised. The election in
October resulted in the success of the Republican candidates by a plurality of
more than 20,000. In the First Congressional District, Samuel R. Curtis had
resigned his seat in the House of Representatives and entered the military
service. In the election to fill the vacancy James F. Wilson, Republican, was
chosen.
Before
the close of the year 1861, Iowa had raised and sent into the service sixteen
regiments of infantry, four regiments of infantry, four regiments of cavalry
and three batteries of light artillery, making an aggregate of 19,105 men.
During
the first fractional year of the war, Iowa regiments had participated in the
battles of Wilson’s Creek, Blue Mills and Belmont, where their courage and
gallant conduct won the warm commendation of the commanding officers and
reflected honor upon the State they represented.
The
Ninth General Assembly convened at Des Moines on the 13th of
January, 1862. Lieutenant-Governor John R. Needham presided over the Senate.
Rush Clark was chosesn Speaker of the House. Governor Kirkwood, in his message
called special attention to the financial condition of the State. He stated
that the unpaid taxes due up to November 4th amounted to $400,000, a
sum more than sufficient, if collected to pay the entire expenses of the State
Government for one year. He urge such a revision of the revenue laws as would
secure a prompt collection of the annual taxes, as well as the large amount now
delinquent. In view of the suspension of specie payment by the General
Government and the banks of the country, the Governor recommended such changes
in our laws as would permit the payment of taxes in United States currency and
bills of the State Banks of Iowa. He mad a report of the general work of the
executive and Adjutant-General in providing for the defense of border counties,
and stated that all calls by the War Department upon Iowa for troops had been
promptly filled.
The
most important acts of the General Assembly were the following: assumption of
the collection of the direct annual Federal taxes for war purposes; an act for
the relief of sick and wounded soldiers of the Iowa volunteers; an act to
provide for the payment of taxes and the principal and interest of the school
fund in United States Treasury notes and bills on the State Banks of Iowa; an
act to authorize the reception of Auditor’s warrants on the War and Defense
Fund in payment of taxes; an act to exempt the property of Iowa soldiers from
levy and sale while in the military service, and an act to apportion the State
in six Congressional Districts.
It
was during this session of the Legislature that an episode occurred which will
never be forgotten by those who witnessed it. For more than nine months the
Civil War had been desolating the country. After the first crushing defeat of
the Union Army at Bull Run the people suddenly realized that a war of long
duration and of great magnitude was upon the country. Call after call had been
made for volunteers until hundreds of thousands of soldiers were in the field.
No great victories had been won and many humiliating defeats had been
encountered. The Army of the Potomac, 200,000 strong, from which so much was
expected, was resting quietly in the immediate vicinity of Washington, under
General McClellan, with no prospect of making a speedy movement against the
enemy so audaciously blockading the Potomac River a few miles from the National
Capital.
In
the meantime an obscure Illinois General, U.S. Grant, had gathered an army of
western troops in Kentucky and , with the cooperation of Commodore Foote, with
a fleet of seven gun boats, proceeded against Forts Henry and Donelson, which
commanded the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. Fort Henry was soon captured,
the Tennessee River opened and the fleet proceeded up the Cumberland River to
aid in the reduction of Fort Donelson. This was a strong fort, mounting heavy
guns, standing on a steep bluff rising at a height of one hundred feet above
the river and defended at the base by formidable water batteries. It was
garrisoned by an army of 18,000 well drilled Confederate soldiers under the
command of Generals Pillow, Floyd and Buckner. Investing the fort and its army,
Grant made his plans to capture, not only the strong position, but to cut off
the retreat and compel the surrender of the entire Confederate Army. Desperate
fighting ensued; Generals Pillow and Floyd, with a few regiments escaped in the
night, but on the 16th of February, General Buckner surrendered the
fort, his army of 15,000 men, sixty cannon, with the small arms and supplies to
General Grant. The glorious news was flashed through the country. It reached
Des Moines at 11 a.m., the following day, in a dispatch to the State
Register. F. W. Palmer, the editor, hastened to the Capitol, where the
Legislature was in session and handed the dispatch to the Speaker of the House.
Rush Clark sprang to his feet in the midst of a roll-call and shouted “General
Grant has captured Fort Donelson.” Then followed a scene which defies
description. Members sprang to their feet with the wildest cheers. The Senators
hearing the great shout, came rushing into the House and catching the
contagion, all joined in the most extravagant expressions of delight. For ten
minutes pandemonium reigned and no one thought of legislative dignity. When
order was finally restored the two houses adjourned. In the afternoon, by a
common impulse, State officers, members of the Legislature and citizens
gathered at the old Des Moines House and joined in celebration of the great
victory. Those of the present generation can scarcely realize the intense
anxiety that pervaded the entire North at this period of the war. The
depression of repeated defeats and doubts as to the final result, which had
long oppressed the hearts of the loyal were suddenly lifted; hope and
confidence were again inspired. Governor Kirkwood and others were called out
for speeches and the rejoicings were kept up to a late hour of the night.
A
general had at last been found who, without display, could not only fight
brilliant battles, but could strike powerful blows at the Rebellion by
capturing a large army with all of its equipments. Grant had proved more than a
match in this campaign for the confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston, who
was regarded by the South as the equal of General Lee. Johnston was in command
of this department with headquarters at Nashville, while Halleck, from St.
Louis, directed the Union armies of the West. Grant, with a subordinate
command, early realized that Forts Henry and Donelson blocked the river route
to the heart of the Confederacy. In January, he asked permission of Halleck to
capture these forts and open the river to Nashville. His request was at first
refused, but seeing so clearly the great results to be obtained, a month later
he again urged the importance of the project and obtained Halleck’s consent.
His
brilliant success electrified the country and Halleck, in a dispatch to the War
Department at Washington, declared it to be “the turning point in the war.” It
caused the whole Confederate line in the west, from Nashville to Columbus, to
fall back more than a hundred miles. So great was the consternation of General
A. S. Johnston, that he telegraphed to Jefferson Davis, “the situation left me
no alternative but to evacuate Nashville.” More important than all else, it
gave hope to the administration and the country, that there was a western
general who could not only plan a brilliant campaign, but who had the skill and
courage to promptly execute his plans. The jealousy of Halleck and the slanders
of envious rivals for a time threatened to deprive the country of Grant’s
superb military, but fortunately the President and Secretary of War recognized
the merits of this new commander, who quietly took positions assigned him and
without continually importuning for reinforcements, proceeded to strike the
enemy stunning blows with such forces as he had.
Four
Iowa regiments participated in this great battle, and were among the bravest of
the brave. Our State felt a just pride in their brilliant achievements and
mourned the loss of the heroic dead. The Legislature passed joint resolutions
expressing for the people of the entire States, thanks to the Iowa troops for
their bravery and devotion to the country, for their heroic deeds on the
battle-fields of Wilson’s Creek, Blue Mills, Belmont and Fort Donelson, and
sympathy for the bereaved friends of those who perished from disease and on the
battle-fields.
Soon
after the beginning of the Civil War the Sioux Indians, on the Minnesota
reservations, began to make hostile demonstrations in the northwestern counties
of Iowa. Horses and cattle were stolen, and, on the 9th of July, two
members of the Frontier Guards, Hobert Thomas and Henry Cordna, were killed
within three miles of Sioux City. Several parties of Sioux Indians were seen in
the Little Sioux Valley. The settlers became alarmed and companies of “Home
Guards” were organized in several of the northwestern counties. Under the
authority of Judge A. W. Hubbard a military company of the Sioux City Cavalry,
under command of Captain A. J. Millard, was ordered into State service for
protection of the frontier.
There
were at this time about 8,000 Sioux Indians on the reservations along the
Minnesota River, at a distance of from sixty to one hundred miles from the
north line of the State. These Indians, aware that thousands of the natural
defenders of the frontier were absent in the armies, entered into a conspiracy
to march upon the settlers and exterminate them before aid could reach them. So
well had the plans of the savages been concealed, that no intimation of the
impending doom had reached frontier settlements. On the 17th of
August, 1862, the massacre began near the upper agency. On the 21st,
while the men were gathered at a public meeting, on the upper Des Moines River,
near Jackson, to devise means for common defense, the Indians suddenly fell
upon the settlement, murdering the defenseless families, plundering their homes
and killing the live stock. When the news of the massacre reached the
settlements at Spirit Lade and Estherville, parties of armed men were hastily
organized who marched to the aid of their neighbors. At Jackson they received
reinforcements and all marched up the river to the scene of the massacre;
finding that the Indians had disappeared, they buried the bodies of fifteen of
the victims and returned to their homes. The settlers in northwestern Iowa
escaped the fate of their Minnesota neighbors. When the news of the massacres
reached them, all the frontier settlements were abandoned except those at
Spirit Lake and Estherville. At these places the sturdy pioneers erected strong
stockades into which their families were gathered, preparations being made for
a vigorous defense. Scouts were sent out and every precaution taken to guard
against surprise. Efforts were at once made to secure State protection. A
detachment of Sioux City cavalry was immediately sent to the lakes and the
Dickinson County courthouse was fortified. Here the families were gathered
under the protection of the soldiers, while men worked on the defenses. A saw
mill was kept running, cutting logs into plank four inches in thickness. A
trench, three feet deep, was dug around the court-house, about thirty feet from
its walls and into this the palisades were firmly planted, making a defense
against any weapons in possession of the Indians. Here the settlers remained in
security while the terrible massacre was desolating western Minnesota.
Thousands of the Sioux were on the war path and troops were hurried to the
frontier. The chiefs had planned to sweep swiftly down the Des Moines valley
and the Little Sioux by way of the lakes of Dickinson County, thus exterminating
all of the settlements in northwestern Iowa above Fort Dodge and Sioux City.
They soon met with vigorous resistance, however; in Kossuth and Palo Alto
counties preparations were at once made by the settlers to defend their homes.
The
Minnesota authorities were soon thoroughly aroused, as they came to realize
that they were assailed by the greatest Indian uprising of the century. The
settlers seized such arms as they could find and hurried to the aid of their
frontier neighbors. Such troops as were within reach were hastily called to
their assistance but before the savages could be checked, more than 1,000 men,
women and children had been slaughtered and 5,000 driven from their homes.
Houses
were pillaged and burned, stock killed or driven off, fields devastated and
more than two hundred and fifty women and children taken into captivity. In
magnitude it exceeded any massacre ever perpetrated in North America, and in
atrocities it has never been surpassed in any country. Desperate battles were
fought at New Ulm, Fort Riley and Birch Coulie, with heavy losses on both
sides; and it was nearly a month before the Indians were thoroughly beaten by
General Sibley’s command at the Battle of Wood Lake. Here he captured a large
number of prisoners and liberated two hundred and fifty captive women and
children. Of the Indian warriors captured, four hundred and twenty-five were
tried by a military commission, of which three hundred and twenty-one were
proved to have been engaged in the massacres of the settlers; three hundred and
three were sentenced to death, thirty-nine only were executed. A great outcry
was raised in some parts of the East against the execution of the death penalty
on the perpetrators of the brutal massacres; influence was brought to bear upon
President Lincoln to withhold his approval of the sentence of the military
commission and all but thirty-nine were, after a short imprisonment at
Davenport, Iowa, sent up the Missouri River and set at liberty. The Government
afterward paid a fearful price for this leniency in the long wars waged by the
Sioux Indians instigated by these liberated murderers. The campaigns against
them by General Sully’s army cost millions of dollars, and the Custer massacre
of 1876 was planned by some of these surviving Sioux, who assisted in that
bloody drama.
On
the 29th of August, Governor Kirkwood sent Colonel S. R. Ingham, of
Des Moines, to northwestern Iowa to take such measures for the defense of that
section against the against the Indians as the situation demanded. Colonel
Ingham visited the most exposed settlements, and conferred with the citizens,
after which he authorized a military company to be raised in the counties of
Palo Alto, Kossuth and Emmet. Before Colonel Ingham’s report was made, Governor
Kirkwood and called an extra session of the Legislature.
The
summer and autumn of 1862 were the darkest days of the war. The Army of the
Potomac, which had been organized and drilled for nine months under General
McClellan in vicinity of Washington, numbering more than 150,00 men, had, at
last, when the patience of the Administration and the country was exhausted,
started by the longest possible route for Richmond. Moving, about the first of
April, by way of the Potomac and Fortress Monroe, McClellan laid siege to
Yorktown, and by the 24th of may Reached the Chickahominy, within
striking distance of the Confederate Army, 50,000 strong, under General J. E.
Johnson, guarding the roads to Richmond. McClellan’s army now numbered about
110,000 effective men. Two corps were sent across the river, taking positions
at Seven Pines and Fair Oaks, from “Seven Days’ Battles,” in which McClellan
lost nearly 20,000 men in killed, wounded and prisoners, and retreated to the
protection of our gun boats on the James River. This ended the most disastrous
campaign of the war. Another large army was hastily gathered in Virginia to
interpose between General Lee, now commanding the Confederate forces, and
Washington. General Pope was called from the West and placed in command of the
Union Army. After fighting several battles, he was defeated with heavy loss and
his army driven into the intrenchments on the south bank of the Potomac, which
defended Washington. His losses during the campaign were more than 15,000 men.
Three great armies, equipped with all of the bet modern appliances of war, had
within little more than a year, under the distinguished commanders, attempted
to crush the Rebel armies of Virginia, and capture Richmond. All had been
disastrously defeated and General Lee was preparing to cross he Potomac and
invade the North. More than half a million men had left their northern homes
and entered the Union armies to crush the Rebellion; nearly 100,000 of them had
perished in battle and of disease,
or were disabled by wounds or sickness, or languished in loathsome prisons. NO
progress had been made against the great central armies of the Confederacy in
Virginia, or the defiant Government at Richmond. Serious doubts now arose in
the minds of loyal people of the North, whether the Rebellion could be subdued
by any military power that our Government could command. A general feeling of
gloom and despondency pervaded the country. The only rays of hope at this time
came from the brilliant victories which had been won in the West. If Rebel
armies in the West could be beaten and captured, surely some general could be
found who would overthrow the Confederate armies in other sections of the
country. Could the Union armies be again reinforced by volunteers in numbers
sufficient to conquer the Rebellion? If not, would the country peaceably submit
to drafts to fill the depleted ranks and to raise new armies? These were some
of the problems which now confronted the northern people, the President and his
Cabinet. There was no time for hesitation. On the 4th of August the
War Department ordered a draft for 300,000 additional men. On the 16th
Governor Kirkwood issued general orders appointing commissioners in the various
counties of the State to make the enrollment for a draft.
On
the 17th he issued a proclamation appealing to the people to fill
the quota required of Iowa volunteers. He stated that he would immediately call
a special session of the Legislature and urge it to provide for the payment of
a liberal bounty to all who should enlist in the old regiments before the 1st
of September. He stated that the quota, for Iowa, of volunteers called for by
the President on the 2d of July was 10,570 men and that there were more than
15,000 volunteers now organized into companies waiting to be assigned to new
regiments. The War Department had, however, refused to give our State credit
for the surplus over 10,570, due under the call of July 2d, until 8,000 should
have been furnished to fill the old regiments. If these men were not supplied
by volunteering by the 1st of September, the deficiency would be
made up by a special draft, in addition to the draft to supply 10,570 required
to fill the quota under the order for a draft of 300,000 issued on the 4th
of August. Such was the situation at this critical period of the war. To meet
the exigencies confronting the State and the Nation with promptness, the
Governor issued a call for a special session of the General Assembly. It
convened at the Capitol on the 3d of September, 1862, and, in the message, the
Governor gave his reasons for calling the General Assembly together. He said:
“When
you closed your regular session the belief prevailed very generally that the
strength of the Rebellion against the General Government had been broken, and
your legislation upon some questions of great public interest was controlled by
that belief. The lapse of time has shown that belief to be erroneous and a
change of legislation on those questions has therefore become necessary.”
He
continued:
“Owing
to the largely increased number of soldiers that will soon be in the field and
the great length of time they will be exposed to the danger of disease and the
casualties of battle, it is rendered absolutely necessary that a large increase
of the fund be provided for their care and comfort. The magnitude of the war
has greatly increased the work of the Executive and the Adjutant-General, and
additional funds and assistance are required.”
He
recommended camps of instruction for the drilling of men who volunteered to
fill the ranks of the old regiments. He strongly urged the enactment of a law
providing for elections outside of the State, at which all Iowa soldiers absent
from home in military service at the time of any general election, might have
their votes received and canvassed. He urged the immediate action in the
acceptance of the Agricultural College land grant recently made by Congress,
amounting to 240,000 acres for Iowa, so that these lands might be secured
within the limits of our own State. He called attention to the alarming reports
of Indian massacres in Minnesota, and the danger threatening our people on the
northwestern frontier.
The
Legislature was in session but eight days and passed thirty-nine bills. The
most important were the following: an act providing for the protection of the northwestern
frontier; amendments to the militia law of 1861; appropriations for the
extraordinary expense of the Executive Department of the State; a provision for
the relief of the sick and wounded Iowa soldiers in the service of the United
States; an act for better protection of the southern border; a change in the
name of Buncombe County to Lyon, in honor of General Nathaniel Lyon, who was
killed at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek; acceptance of the Agricultural College
land grant, and provision for the selection of the lands; an act enabling
soldiers in service outside of the State to vote at the general elections;
authority was given to boards of supervisors to levy taxes for the support of
families of persons in the military service, and for the payment of bounties
for enlistments; an act for the organization and discipline of the General
Assembly, approved by the Governor within five days. On the 12th of
September, he issued orders for the raising of five companies under the
supervision of Colonel Ingham, in the frontier counties. They were promptly
organized as follows: Company A, Algona, raised in the counties of Emmet, Palo
Alto, Humboldt and Kossuth, Captain W. H. Ingham of Algona, Company B, in
Webster county, Captain Wm. Williams of Fort Dodge; Company C, in Hamilton
County, Captain H. W. Crupper of Webster City; company D, in Crawford County,
Captain J. M. Butler of Denison; and Company E, in Woodbury County, Captain J.
N. White of Sioux City. Lieutenant-Colonels James A. Sawyer was given command and
Lewis H. Smith was made quartermaster. These troops were stationed in companies
and parts at Chain Lake, Estherville, Ocheyedan, Peterson, Cherokee, Ida, Sac
City, Correctionville, Little Sioux and Melbourne, while Captain Millard’s
Company was at Spirit Lake, thus forming a line of communication from Chain
Lake to Sioux City. This prompt action of the authorities effectually protected
the settlements of northwestern Iowa from attacks by the Sioux warriors, who
were desolating western Minnesota.
All
preparations for a draft were made by the State authorities, as few were
sanguine in the belief that 20,000 more volunteers could be furnished by Iowa
in time to avert it. But the liberal provisions made by the Legislature to
authorize the counties by taxation to provide for the support of the families
of persons in the military service, and also to pay liberal bounties for
enlistments, enabled the State to furnish its quota under the calls recently
made without resort to a draft.
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