Chapter IV
Picture included in this chapter is of Caleb Baldwin.
The invasion of Virginia by John Brown with twenty-one
armed followers, having for its avowed object the forcible
liberation of slaves, struck terror to hearts of slaveholders of the
entire South. The courage with which he and his followers met their
fate, demonstrated the fact that there were those at the North who
were so earnestly devoted to the emancipation of the slaves that
they were willing to give their lives for the freedom of the
oppressed, as in the war of the American Revolution. The martyrdom
of John Brown and his band had won the admiration of the friends of
liberty throughout the whole civilized world and had convinced the
most sagacious defenders of the slave system in the South, that the
war upon American slavery would never cease until the institution
was overthrown. They at last realized that the Antislavery movement
inaugurated by William Lloyd Garrison had grown to such formidable
proportions that the destruction of slavery in the United States was
only a question of time. The crusade begun by an obscure printer in
Boston, who had been dragged through that city with a rope around
his neck for publicly advocating the abolition of slavery, in less
than thirty years had spread over the entire North and now numbered
among its converts hundreds of thousands of earnest and
conscientious disciples. The Republican party, which had just
elected a President, was founded upon opposition to the extension of
slavery. The Constitution alone stood between slavery and its
gradual extermination. The realization of these facts led the
defenders of the institution to counsel together, to devise some
scheme by which it could be perpetuated. They finally determined
upon secession from the Union. This was decided upon at a conference
of prominent politicians held at the residence of Senator Hammond,
near Augusta, Georgia, on the 25th of October, 1860. It
was evident then that with the Democratic party divided, supporting
two candidates for President, the election was known, a convention
was called in South Carolina should at once secede from the Union
and that other Southern States should follow. Soon after the result
of the election was known, a convention was called in south Carolina
for the purpose of accomplishing the secession of that State. The
convention assembled on the 17th of December, and on the
20th the ordinance of secession was passed by a unanimous
vote. The action of South Carolina caused great apprehension
throughout the country that a long and bloody conflict might be
precipitated and earnest efforts were made by many prominent
statesmen and citizens to secure a peaceful settlement of the
controversy. Public meetings were held in many large cities of the
North, having extensive trade interests and close political
affiliations with the South, for the purpose of urging such
concessions to the slaveholding States as were demanded to keep them
in the Union. A great “Peace Meeting” was held in Independence
Square, Philadelphia, on the 13th of December, 1860,
which was addressed by prominent Democrats and old line Whigs in the
interest of concessions to the demands of the slave power. The
resolutions adopted may be briefly summarized as follows: “In the
hope of winning back the seceding states and retaining the trade,
custom and profits which we have hitherto derived from the South, we
hereby pledge ourselves nevermore to say or do, or permit our
neighbors to do, anything calculated to displease our Southern
brethren or offend the slave holders.”
On the 31st of January, 1861, a great “Peace
Convention” assembled at Albany, New York. It was composed of thirty
members and ex-members of Congress, several ex-Governors, State
officers, members of the Legislature, Judges and the most
distinguished leaders of the Democratic, Whig and “American”
parties. The speeches mad and resolutions passed were in favor of
making such concessions to slavery as were required by the seceding
States and were hailed with undisguised exultation by the
secessionists still lingering in the halls of Congress, one of whom
exclaimed upon reading them, “If your President should attempt
coercion he will have more opposition at the North than he can
overcome.” On the other hand, the Republicans, War Democrats and
Free Soil men, in public meetings, in the State Legislatures and
through the press took a firm stand in favor of the maintenance of
the Union, enforcement of the laws and suppression of rebellion, if
it should come.
The Legislature of Virginia issued a unanimous call for
a “Peace Conference,” to be held in Washington on the 4th
of February, at which all pf the States were requested to send
delegates. Twenty States were presented in this conference, thirteen
free and seven slave. At the request of Governor Kirkwood, our
senators and Representatives in Congress, Grimes, Harlan, Curtis and
Vandever, represented Iowa in this convention. Ex-President John
Tyler, OF Virginia, presided over its deliberations. Governor
Kirkwood sent a letter to our Congressmen expressing very clearly
the general sentiment of the loyal people of the North as to the
action of this conference. He wrote:
“If you find the convention in earnest in trying to
save the Union permit me to make a few suggestions: First—the true
policy of every good citizen is to set his face like flint against
secession. Second—to call it by its true name, treason: to use his
influence in all legitimate ways to put it down: steadily to obey
the laws, and stand by the Government in all lawful measures it may
adopt for its preservation, and to the people and constituted
authorities to correct under the constitution any errors that may
have been committed, or wrongs that my have been suffered. But if
compromises must be the order of the day, that compromise must not
be a concession by one side of all the other side demands, nor all
for which the conceding side had been contending. In other words,
the North must not be expected to yield all the South asks, all the
North has contended for and won, and then call that a compromise.
That is not compromise, and would not bring peace.”
In the proceedings of the “Peace conference” each
State had one vote, an dafter deliberating twenty-three days, a plan
for compromise was adopted by a voted of majority of the States, and
submitted to Congress with a request that it be submitted by that
body to the different States to be by them adopted as an amendment
to the constitution. The proposition was rejected by the Senate by
the decisive vote of seven years to twenty-eight nays. The House
took no action upon it. Various plans for compromise were proposed
in Congress and urged with great earnestness and eloquence; but no
agreement could be reached by that body acceptable to the leaders of
the secession movement.
Early in January, 1861, Governor Kirkwood made a visit
to Abraham Lincoln, President-elect, to confer with him in a quiet
way upon the perilous condition of the country. At this conference
Governor Kirkwood said to Mr. Lincoln:
“The people of Iowa are very much excited over the
condition of the country; that they are devotedly attached to the
Union of the States and will never consent to its dissolution on any
terms. They are not to be frightened into abandoning their
principles by bluster or bravado. You may depend upon them to
sustain you to the utmost in their power in preserving peace, if
that can be fairly done, and in preserving the Union in any event
and at whatever cost.”
Mr. Lincoln expressed great satisfaction at what the
Governor said of the intentions of the people of Iowa to give
earnest support to his administration. He said he had strong hopes
that a safe and peaceful solution of our troubles might yet be had.
That it seemed to him incredible that any large portion of our
people, even in the States threatening secession, could really
desire a dissolution of the Union that had done them nothing but
good—his own opinion that Congress had not the power to abolish
slavery in the Stats where it existed, was well known before his
nomination. The convention by which he was nominated with full
knowledge of that opinion nominated him, and with full knowledge of
both these fats he had been constitutionally elected. He would not
consent to or advise his friends to consent to, any bargain or
compromise that amounted to a purchase of the constitutional rights
growing out of the election. So doing would invite defeated parties
in future elections to pursue the course now being pursued with the
hope of achieving like success by similar means, thus reducing our
Government to a level with Mexico, which is in constant fear of
revolution. He would bear and forbear much to preserve the integrity
of the Union, but if the issue was clearly made between war and
dissolution of the Union, however much he might regret the
necessity, he would use all of the constitutional powers of the
Government for its preservation, relying upon justice and the
patriotism of the people for success.
Governor Kirkwood said of this interview thirty years
later:
“I left for home with a strong conviction, which
never left me, that he was the right man in the right place, and
that conviction grew stronger to the end of my life.”
Before the President-elect was inaugurated, seven
States had seceded from the Union, and had organized armies to seize
its forts and resist the execution of its laws. On the 12th
of April, 1861, the Rebel army in South Carolina, under General
Beauregard, opened fire on Fort Sumter and on the 14th
the fort surrendered. The news of the inauguration of war produced
the most intense excitement throughout the country. On the 15th
President Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for 75,000
volunteers to suppress the insurrection. No one at that time
realized the magnitude of the war so suddenly forced upon the
country. The people of the rebellious States believe that after a
brief conflict they would be able to establish a new government and
an independent nation. The people of the loyal States were confident
that the insurrection would be speedily suppressed by the army, navy
and the volunteer soldiers.
Since the close of the War with Mexico no necessity had
existed for a large army and the people of Iowa during the pioneer
years absorbed in peaceful pursuits, gave little thought to military
organizations. When the shock of war burst upon the Nation on that
April day, no State could have been more thoroughly unprepared to
send soldiers into the field than Iowa. Its militia was unorganized;
it was without arms of equipment and had less than half a regiment
of independent drilled companies. One regiment was required of our
State by the President’s Proclamation, and on the 17th of
April Governor Kirkwood issued a call for ten companies to be ready
for service by the 20th of May. Public meetings were held
and intense enthusiasm prevailed throughout the State; party lines
were forgotten and in a few weeks more companies were raised and
offered than could be accepted. General McKean, a graduate of West
Point Military Academy, was called upon by the by the Governor to
aid in organizing the first Regiment of Iowa Volunteers. J. F. Bates
was appointed colonel; W. H. Merritt, lieutenant-colonel; Asbury B.
Porter, major, and G. W. Waldron, adjutant. Young men from all
occupations hastened t enlist; lawyers, doctors, teachers,
merchants, farmers, mechanics and laborers volunteered as privates.
Public meetings assembled in every part of the State; patriotic
speeches were made; women made flags and uniforms; martial music
fanned enthusiasm and the ranks were filled to overflowing. The
companies marched away to camp cheered by friends and neighbors, who
gathered to bid them a sad “good-by.” Few realized the horrors of
the terrible war that confronted them, and it was well that the
tragedies of the future were mercifully hidden from them and the
friends they left at home. Bravely they went from luxurious homes,
from log cabins, from the quiet farm life, the village shop and the
city office to become soldiers. War’s miseries were unknown to them.
The long marches beneath the burning sun, the chilling blasts of
winter storms, camping at night without shelter amid rain and sleet
and sinking exhausted by the wayside, the wary months in camp amid
the deadly malaria of swamp, wasting away with disease in dreary
hospitals, the indescribable horrors of the battlefield where every
form of mutilation rends the human body, the hasty burial in
unmarked graves, the hideous tortures of prison life.
Could it have been known in the beginning of the Civil
War that Iowa would be called upon for more soldiers than Washington
had under his command in the War of the Revolution; for four times
as many as General Scott led in the War with Mexico, our people
would have been paralyzed with horror. But as the war progressed
with varying fortune through the long months and years, our people
learned to endure its sacrifices, and like soldiers in battle, nerve
themselves to do their duty at any cost.
The difficulties encountered by Governor Kirkwood and
his staff in creating an army out of all classes of civilians,
without adequate laws, funds or military experience during the first
months of the war, were almost insurmountable. But untiring efforts
gradually brought system into the new work so suddenly thrust upon
them and their fidelity, patient industry and rare ability in that
trying time have been universally recognized.
Before funds could be provided by law, the Governor
found it necessary to use a large amount of money to meet the
expenses of raising and equipping of the First and Second Regiments.
In this emergency Hiram Price, Ezekiel Clark, J. K. Graves and W. T.
Smith, officers of the branches of the State Bank, came promptly
forward and furnished the money required. The amounts paid by the
State for raising and equipping the First and Second Regiments,
including one month’s pay, but not arms, were $93,722. Every effort
possible was made by the Governor to procure arms for the First
Regiment, but so great was the demand upon the War Department that a
long time passed before suitable weapons could be furnished. The
same difficulty was experienced in the effort to supply the First
Regiment with suitable uniforms and it was sent into the field with
a poor quality of gray clothing most of which was soon in rags.
The Governor
found it necessary to call an extra session of the General Assembly
to provide funds and enact laws for military organization required
by the emergency. The Legislature met in extra session on the 15th
of May, 1861, and immediately organized for work. Partisan spirit
was ignored and in the selection of officers William Thompson, a
former Democratic member of Congress, was chosen Chief Clerk of the
House. On the first day of the session, ex-Governor N. B. Baker,
leader of the Democrats of the House, offered a resolution requiring
all volunteers who entered the military service from Iowa to be paid
from the date of enlistment to the time of entering the service of
the United States and also from the date of discharge until their
arrival home. R. D. Kellogg, a young Democratic member of the House
from Decatur County, immediately presented the following
resolutions:
“Whereas, The President of the United States has
appealed to all loyal citizens to aid the efforts to maintain the
honor, integrity and existence of the National Union, and suppress
treason and rebellion against the Federal Government; therefore be
it
“Resolved, By the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring) that the faith, credit and resources of the State of
Iowa, both in men and money, are hereby irrevocably pledged to any
amount and to any extent which the Federal Government may demand to
suppress treason and subdue rebellion, enforce the laws, protect the
lives and property of all loyal citizens, and maintain inviolate the
Constitution and sovereignty of the Nation.
“Resolved, That the Governor and Secretary of State be
and they are hereby authorized to forward a certified copy of these
resolutions to the President of the United States.”
The resolutions were adopted without opposition. In the
Governor’s message, which was sent to the General Assembly, he
informed that body that in the absence of laws providing for the
raising of troops to meet such an emergency as had suddenly come
upon the country, he had assumed the responsibility and promptly
organized a regiment of volunteers to comply with the first call of
the President. That, in anticipating further calls for troops in the
near future, he had accepted enough volunteers to make up another
regiment, which was ordered into quarters in the counties where the
companies enlisted. He also said that enough companies had been
tendered to make five additional regiments. In anticipation of
further calls for troops from time to time the Governor had
recommended that all companies thus raised should keep up their
organizations and devote as much time to drill as they could spare
without interfering with their ordinary business. This would give
the State a large reserve force of partially drilled troops to meet
future calls. The Governor urged the enactment of military laws that
would enable the State to promptly meet all requisitions of the
General Government for troops, and also enable the State authorities
to protect the citizens from invasion on the south and from Indian
hostilities from the west. He also urged the appropriation of funds
to meet all expenses which might be incurred by the exigencies of
war, and, further, to provide aid for the families of volunteers who
entered the military service.
The Legislature remained in session but two weeks,
promptly dispatching the business for which it had been convened. It
framed a general militia law providing for the raising of two
regiments of infantry, one regiment of mounted riflemen, one squad
cavalry and two battalions of artillery for the protection of the
southern and western borders of the State. An act was passed
authorizing the issue and sale of Sate bonds to the amount of
$800,000 to provide a war and defense fund. A commission was
appointed, consisting of S. R. Ingham, John N. Dewey and I. W.
Griffith, to audit all claims and bills paid out of the funds thus
raised. The Governor was authorized to purchase arms and other war
supplies; to pay volunteers until they were mustered into the
service of the United States; to authorize counties to aid families
of soldiers in the service; to provide staff officers for the
Governor as Commander-in-Chief of the State troops, to prohibit the
commencement of any civil suit against a soldier during his term of
service, and grant a continuance of any suit pending.
The extra session of the Legislature met the emergency
which confronted the State and Nation with dignity, with wisdom and
statesmanlike action. Every important measure recommended by the
Governor was carefully considered and provided for. Partisan
considerations were largely put aside and all of the principle war
measures were considered upon their merits, and enacted into law,
receiving the support of a majority of the Democratic members. There
was honest difference of opinion often as to details but no factious
opposition to important war measures. The patriotic sentiment of the
people was well represented by this war session of the Legislature.
Many of its members of both political parties entered the military
service an attained high rank during the progress of the war. Under
the wise legislation of this short session our State was enabled to
promptly respond to all calls of the General Government and place at
its disposal a class of volunteer soldiers that has never been
excelled by any country in any war.
Soon after the beginning of the war, our State was
threatened with invasion by Missouri Rebels on the south and by
Sioux Indians on the west and north. It was found much easier to
find men to protect the frontier than to secure arms for their use.
The calls upon the General Government for arms from every section of
the loyal States for the troops being mustered into the service,
could not be at once supplied. Many regiments were in camp a long
time before they could be armed. Colonel Cyrus Bussey, one of the
Governor’s aides at Keokuk, was entrusted with the distribution of
arms for the protection of the southern border. A regiment of State
militia, numbering nine hundred and thirty-three men, was organized
in the south-western part of the State under command of Colonel John
R. Morledge, of Page County. Hon. Caleb Baldwin, of Council Bluffs,
was given full authority by the Governor to organize military
companies in that part of the State and call them into the service
when needed for protection of that frontier. He issued a call to the
citizens of western Iowa urging the raising of one military company
in each county of that section of the State to be held in readiness
for immediate service. Colonel John Edwards, of Lucas county, was
authorized to organize the militia in that part of the State and
take command of any forces required to protect the lives and
property of citizens and repel invasion. Judge A. W. Hubbard, of
Sioux City, was placed in command of that section with full
authority to use the military force in any emergency which might
arise.
Union men in the northern counties of Missouri were often
driven from their homes and sought refuge in Iowa with their
families. In counties where the Union men were in the majority, they
retaliated by driving out Rebels, who sheltered them. This condition
of affairs was stirring up civil war in our own State. In order to
meet this emergency a military district was formed known as the
“Western Division of Iowa,” and troops were raised for service in
this territory and the adjoining counties of Missouri, if necessary.
While the Governor never ordered troops across the State line, he
permitted the commanding officers to use their discretion, to go
where in their judgment the troops were required to protect the
Union men. Colonel Morledge, in command of a regiment in this
district, was called upon to go to the rescue of Union men of
Nodaway County, Missouri. He marched with two hundred and fifty men
thirty-three miles, quelled the disturbance and took sixty
prisoners. Two other expeditions were made into Missouri by colonel
Morledge during the summer. On one of these he was joined by Colonel
Cranor, of the Missouri militia, and they gathered a force of 3,000
men, marching as far as Saint Joseph. Here they found a large body
of armed Rebels engaged in plundering the stores and dwellings of
Union men, having robbed them of more than $40,000. The Rebels were
driven out of the city and a portion of the property recovered.
In July, colonel Edwards reported that 1,500 citizens of
Iowa had left their harvest fields and families and gone into
Missouri to the relief of Union men. They were armed with such
weapons as they chanced to possess and their movements directed by
officers hastily chosen. They were warmly welcomed by the loyal
citizens, provided with food and shelter and remained until danger
passed. Owing to constant alarms in the border counties, a vast
amount of grain was left in the fields un-harvested. |