Iowa
History Project
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MOELLER, HUBERT L. Our Iowa Its Beginning and Growth; New York, Newsom and
Company: 1938
When Iowa, in 1803, became a part of the United States, slavery had already aroused some opposition. As time went on and the slaves became more profitable in the South, the dispute over the question grew in importance. It was but natural, then, that Iowa should be drawn into the quarrel. Both sides of the question had supporters in Iowa. Some of the early settlers had come from Southern states and they favored slavery. The larger number of Iowa pioneers, however, came from "free" states and were opposed to slaveholding. So Iowa was a free territory and came into the Union as a free state, with a constitution that prohibited slavery.
THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT
In 1854 Congress passed a law whereby the people of the territories of Kansas and Nebraska would have the right to decide whether each wanted to come into the Union as a slave or as a free state. When this became known, people from both free and slave states rushed to Kansas in order that they might win that state for their side. There could be but one result, fighting and bloodshed. The territory became known as "Bleeding Kansas."
JOHN BROWN
John Brown was born in Connecticut in 1800. He became a tanner by trade and in 1840 moved to Ohio to become a wool buyer. Later he moved to New York. He was a very religious man and had studied to become a minister but had to give that up because of trouble with his eyes.
In 1855 John Brown started for Kansas. Six sons had gone there before him. "I went for the purpose of making Kansas a free state, but my sons went to settle," he said. One of his sons had been murdered in the bloody war, one had been driven insane, and two had been dragged about in chains. After Brown himself arrived in Kansas, his log cabin was attacked and burned by men who wanted to make Kansas a slave state. If we remember these experiences of Brown it may help us to understand his later acts.
The struggle over Kansas was not a pleasant affair on either side. Many cruel and outrageous things were done by both parties. Iowa and Missouri people were of course intensely interested in what was going on so near by, and many of them took part in it.
TABOR, IOWA
Tabor, in southwestern Iowa, played an important part in the Kansas struggle. It was the last stopping place on free soil for the parties who were about to plunge into "Bleeding Kansas." Eastern people who were opposed to slavery sent arms and ammunition to Tabor to help equip those who were willing to risk their lives in their effort to make Kansas a free state.
It is said that Tabor at times looked like an armed camp. As many as two hundred men, heavily armed, were seen drilling in the town's "square." Many wounded were brought to Tabor from Kansas and the place became both a storehouse for arms and a hospital for free-state stufferers of Kansas. John Brown visited Tabor several times as he traveled across Iowa and had many friends there.
ON TO CANADA
About Christmas time, 1858, a slave from Missouri slipped into Brown's camp in Kansas and told him that he and his family, as well as several others, were soon to be separated and sold in the South. He asked for help. That night a part of Brown's men made a raid into Missouri where they took eleven slaves and a number of horses. One slave owner was killed. Brown said he took the horses as pay for the work which the slaves had done.
Brown and his men hurriedly started for Canada with the Negroes. When they reached Tabor, the people there, after hearing what had been done, hurried the group on its way. At Grinnell Brown's party received a welcome and were given an opportunity to rest. When they reached West Liberty a freight car was secured. Brown's men and the slaves were loaded into the car, and it was attached to a passenger train that was bound for Chicago. All were soon in Canada.
SPRINGDALE, IOWA
The Quakers, or Friends, who lived at Springdale, a small place near West Branch in Cedar County, were very much opposed to slavery. A station of the Underground Railroad is supposed to have been located there. John Brown always received a hearty welcome at Springdale, and it was there that he and his companions went to spend the rest of the winter after they returned from Canada.
Brown now began to prepare for war. The Quakers at Springdale, though opposed to slavery, were not in favor of taking up arms. Brown made his headquarters at the farm home of William Maxson, at the edge of Springdale. Maxson was not a Quaker but offered unbounded hospitality and gave freely to his money. "God be blessed," he said; "I have a chance to serve my county, and aid in the Negro jubilee." Some of the group stayed at other homes.
During the winter the men trained regularly. John Brown himself took charge of a devotional service each day. The group of men became well acquainted with the residents of Springdale and vicinity. It was but natural that some of the young men of the community should become interested in Brown's plans, and join his party. Two of them, the Coppock brothers, Edwin and Barclay, followed him to the end of his venture.
There was more or less warfare of this kind in Kansas for five years. Finally the free-state party won.
HARPERS FERRY
The story of Brown and his party at Harper's Ferry is told in United States history. Our interest in that story is about the Iowa boys that were in it. Edwin Coppock was captured with Brown at Harper's Ferry and hanged alongside of his leader.
Barclay Coppock escaped and, after weeks of wandering and hiding, returned to Springdale, to his mother, who had been very much opposed to having the boys go. Virginia authorities were after Barclay but his friends succeeded in getting him on his way to Canada, where he would be safe. They took him by sleigh to Mechanicsville where he boarded a train for Chicago.
Iowans, between the years 1832 and 1860, had much to do to develop the new state. But, busy as they were, they could not keep out the slavery issue, a question which was soon to divide the entire nation into two great, bitter, fighting armies, each of which was sure it was right.
IN TERRITORIAL DAYS
Soon after the first white settlers came to Iowa the slavery question came up here as it did in all new territories. A few Negroes were actually held as slaves in southern Iowa in early territorial days. With Missouri, just south of Iowa, a slave state, there was often trouble over slaves and slavery along the southern boundary.
The Iowa Territorial Supreme Court made an important decision in a slave case as early as 1839. A Negro named Ralph came to Dubuque from Missouri. He had the written consent of his master to come but was supposed to send money to his owner to win his freedom. Ralph did not earn and send back as much money in a certain length of time as he had promised to do. His master then hired two kidnapers to bring him back. The two men captured Ralph while he was working in a field and rushed him off to Bellevue where they put him on a steamboat bound for Saint Louis.
A man named Butterworth had seen what happened to Ralph. He hurried to Dubuque, where he got the help of an officer to stop Ralph and his captors at Bellevue. The Negro was taken back to Dubuque and given a trial. The Supreme Court said that since Ralph had come into a free state with the consent of his master, he could not be seized for return to slavery so long as he lived here.
"UNDERGROUND RAILROAD"
People living in the North who wanted to do away with slavery, by settling the slaves free, were called "abolitionists." There were many such people in Iowa. Some of them believed that it was right for them to help slaves to become free, even if such actions were forbidden by law. If slaves could run away and get to Canada they became free, because their masters could not claim them there. Abolitionists, therefore, helped many slaves to run away from their owners and get to Canada.
In order to help runaway slaves get through Iowa on their way to Canada, the abolitionists organized what they called an "underground railroad." It was not a railroad at all but just a number of places, called stations, scattered across the state where the slaves could be given shelter and helped along as they made their way toward Canada. The slaves had to be hidden carefully. If "slave catchers," as men were called who came from the South, could find the Negroes, they took them back with them. The runaway slaves were usually taken from one station to another at night. They would hide in loads of straw or in wagons which looked as if loaded with sacks of grain.
There were several "underground railroad" routes in southern Iowa. They are hard to trace now because they were secret routes at the time of their use. One route started at Tabor and ran through Des Moines and iowa City to Clinton. Another ran across Lee County. Mr. J. B. Grinnell, of Grinnell, and other prominent men in Iowa took part in helping Negroes along the "underground railroad."
IOWA ON THE ANTI-SLAVERY SIDE
So great a question as that of slavery could not be kept out of politics. It was the important issue in the election of 1859. The Republicans nominated Samuel J. Kirkwood for governor. He had become famous in the state legislature as an abolitionist. He declared that Iowa would not permit slavery in any form or for any time within its borders. He was thinking of the Dred Scott decision which the United States Supreme Court made in regard to the Constitution. The Court said that a slave owner could take his slaves into free territory and then back South again to sell them because slaves were property just as horses and cattle were property.
People who opposed slavery said that the Dred Scott decision would throw all the territories of the United States open to slavery. Kirkwood declared that Iowa did not need to pay any attention to this decision.
The Democrats nominated Augustus C. Dodge for governor. Mr. Dodge had been a leader in state and national affairs. As Ambassador to Spain, he had just returned from Madrid.
The two candidates held a series of joint debates. Mr. Dodge said he would enforce any law of the land, but Mr. Kirkwood said he would violate any law that would help to enforce slavery. The campaign was exciting and produced many interesting incidents. Mr. Dodge, it is said, "probably looked and acted the part of a distinguished gentleman of the old school." Kirkwood, on the other hand, "was careless of personal appearance, somewhat uncouth in dress and manner."
The difference in the two men is well illustrated in the following account: "The last joint debate between the candidates was held at Washington September 2, and again the Republicans found a way to emphasize the contrast between their candidate as a a man of the people and Dodge as a man of aristocratic associations. The local Democratic committee brought Dodge into town riding in the best carriage that could be found and drawn by four white horses, but the crowd had already exhausted their enthusiasm in cheering the appearance of Kirkwood riding to the scene of th meeting on a hayrack drawn by a team of oxen."
Mr. Kirkwood was elected by a majority of 3,170 votes. Soon after the election Senator Grimes wrote to Kirkwood; "You have got a difficult task before you for two years to navigate the Ship of State without a cent of money. There is now due to the state from several counties between three and four hundred thousand dollars, and no taxes will be paid this year, for there is no money in the country to pay with. The government has got to be carried on principally upon credit."
The next year, 1860, Iowa voted for Lincoln for President.
When the Civil War started Iowa was a young and new state. What could such a state be expected to do to help win the war? Iowa, at that time, did not even have an organized militia and the state treasury was practically empty. The story of her soldiers tells us what she did. Before the war was over, Iowa alone had furnished more soldiers for the Northern cause than George Washington had under his command at any time during the Revolutionary War.
The attack on Fort Sumter, which began on April 12, 1861, was the opening of the Civil War. Two days later President Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 volunteers. Simon Cameron, Secretary of War, telegraphed Governor Kirkwood, "Call made on you by tonight's mail for one regiment of militia for immediate service."
IOWA'S ANSWER
There was no telegraph line in Iowa beyond Davenport at the time when Lincoln issued his call. Governor Kirkwood was at his home on his farm near Iowa City. The message was carried to the governor by Congressman Vandever of Davenport. It is said that the governor was "doing chores" on his farm when the message was handed to him. As he read the message the governor said to the congressman, "Why, the President wants a whole regiment of men. Do you suppose I can raise so many as that, Mr. Vandever?"
On April 17, the governor issued a proclamation calling for volunteers and asked that they be ready not later than May 20. A week later he issued a call for a special meeting of the legislature. Within a few days after his call for soldiers, ten regiments of young men had offered their services. The first regiment was formed and ready for the march two weeks before the time asked by the Government. It was ordered into camp at Keokuk. Ten companies of 78 men each made up this first regiment. Two companies came from each of the three cities, Burlington, Muscatine, and Dubuque. The counties of Linn, Johnson, Henry, and Scott, each furnished one company.
Although Iowa had no militia, many volunteer companies had been organized. They had gaudy uniforms and fancy names. Some of them were drilled by men trained in the armies of Europe. They were organized more for show than for work but they soon became real soldiers. So many companies insisted on service that the governor on his own accord organized the Second and Third Iowa regiments at Keokuk and the Fourth at Council Bluffs.
NO MONEY OR ARMS
Although the governor had plenty of men who were willing to serve, his problem was not so easily solved. What could the men do if they had no guns or ammunition? And how could the governor get arms for the soldiers if he had no money and the national Government could not help him? The first soldiers drilled with sticks for guns.
Governor Kirkwood and private citizens placed their own personal fortunes and credit to the benefit of the state. The special legislature voted that bonds or stocks of the state up to $800,000 should be sold. Because the credit of the state was not considered to be good, and also because "Copperheads," as Southern sympathizers were called, opposed the sale, the state obtained only about $300,000. In October, 1861, the national Government paid $80,000 into the sate treasury.
FIGHTING IN MISSOURI
It was August, 1861, before any Iowa troops took part in an actual battle. For weeks before this, Union troops, many of whom were from Iowa, had been in service in Missouri. They ran down small bands of rebels and tried to bring the main Southern army there to a real battle. Missouri was a battleground at the start because the people were divided into Northern and Southern parties.
Two large groups of Southern soldiers had united to make a force of 10,000. A Union army of 5,400 men, under General Lyon, met this large army at Wilson's Creek near Springfield, Missouri. A desperate battle was fought on August 10. The First Iowa Regiment was in the center of the fighting and had heavy losses. The Union army lost 1,235 men and the Southern army about 1,300. The battle lasted all day without a real victory for either side. The Southern commander said: "Probably no two forces ever fought with greater desperation." President Lincoln ordered a special proclamation of thanks for the heroism of the men at Wilson's Creek, to be read before every regiment in the service.
The men of the First Iowa Regiment had enlisted for but three months. Soon after the battle at Wilson's Creek their time was up and they marched home. Many of them enlisted again in new companies and became officers. The First Regiment, as such, was never reorganized.
The war in Missouri, in which Iowa soldiers played an important part, became largely a task of chasing down bands of Southerners. There were few battles. Many small groups of men from the Southern side would band themselves together, make an attack, break up their band and go back home. It was difficult for the Union soldiers to locate such bands. Fighting such as that is sometimes called "guerrilla warfare."
OTHER FIGHTING
Two minor battles were fought, both of which were lost by the Union force. At Blue Mills the Third Iowa Regiment marched into an ambush; that is, Southern soldiers who were in hiding. Four thousand Southern soldiers fired into the Union troops from both sides and made them retreat in disorder. At Belmont, on the Mississippi, General Grant led an attack which at first was successful. The inexperienced Union troops were overjoyed at their victory. But the defeated Southerners were joined by fresh troops and came back to battle. The Northern forces were now outnumbered and being taken by surprise, were defeated.
In January, 1862, General Grant captured Fort Henry and moved to attack Fort Donelson, both in Kentucky. Several Iowa regiments took an important part in General Grant's attack. Major General H. W. Halleck, who was in charge of all the Union forces in the West, on Feb. 18, 1862, sent the following telegram to Iowa's Adjutant-General Baker: "The Second Iowa infantry proved themselves the bravest of the brave. They had the honor of leading the column which entered Fort Donelson." The capture of Fort Donelson is sometimes called the turning point of the war.
The bloodiest battle west of the Mississippi River was fought at Pea Ridge, Arkansas. Iowa's own general, S. R. Curtis, was in charge of the Union forces. Nearly all of the Iowa troops that were not with Grant at Fort Donelson were with General Curtis at Pea Ridge. The Southern forces were under General Van Horn and outnumbered the Northern army by many thousands. The battle lasted three days, March 6, 7, and 8, 1862. The first two days of the battle were very much against the Union forces. They were driven back and nearly surrounded. On the third day, however, they were victorious and drove the Southern army into the Ozark Mountains.
Another Iowa general, F. J. Herron, was in command of the last important battle fought west of the Mississippi. Outnumbered in this battle, too, the Union forces fought and won a brilliant victory at Prairie Grove, Arkansas, Dec. 7, 1862. It is said that artillery was used to better advantage by General Herron, and played a more important part there, than in any other battle of the war.
Thirty regiments from Iowa took part in the siege of Vicksburg. By this time all had become seasoned soldiers. The siege lasted for forty-tow days and nights, during which time there was continuous fighting. Finally, on July 4, 1863, Vicksburg was captured. The power of the Southern Confederacy was broken.
Besides the battles that have been mentioned, Iowans were in teh Chattanooga campaign and in Banks' Red River expedition. Fifteen Iowa regiments took part in the siege of Atlanta; seventeen regiments were in Sherman's march to the sea; and three regiments fought under Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley campaign in 1864. Twelve regiments took part in the fighting at Mobile Bay in April, 1865. Thus Iowa was well represented throughout the war and her soldiers won fame for their bravery. Four Iowans, Samuel R. Curtis, Frederick Steele, Grenville M. Dodge, and Francis J. Herron, won the rank of major-general.
It takes more than soldiers and battles to win a war. Women's work and suffering are too often forgotten in the glory of the victory. In this story we learn of the wonderful work that was done "at home" while the soldiers were "at the front."
The four years of the Civil War were probably the most exciting ones that the people of Iowa have ever known. People in the southern parr of the state were afraid that a rebel army would invade the state. Settlers in northwest Iowa, remembering the Spirit Lake Massacre, were afraid of another Indian attack. So many men had gone to war that the women had to do much of the field work on the farms. Everybody was busy.
WOMEN'S SOCIETIES
The women of Iowa played an important part in the winning of the war. As rapidly as men were organized into regiments, so also the women organized themselves in every community into soldier aid societies. These societies did whatever there was for them to do. In the first days of the war they made hundreds of uniforms for the men because the state was too poor to furnish its soldiers with them.
Later the women did everything possible to make the life of the soldiers easier. They made bandages and other things to be used in hospitals, and sent vegetables and other foods that the army kitchens could not furnish. They also raised money for various purposes. Most of the relief work was handled through the United States Sanitary Commission and the United States Christian Commission, both of which were organized in Iowa.
The Northern Iowa Sanitary Fair was held at Dubuque in 1864 to raise money. Donations came from sixty-two counties in Iowa and from large cities in the East. New York and Chicago each sent over $3,000. A total of more than $50,000 was raised in cash besides large quantities of vegetables. A fair at Muscatine brought in about $20,000 and one at Burlington nearly $25,000.
MRS. ANNIE WITTENMEYER
The most noted Iowa woman of Civil War times was Mrs. Annie Wittenmeyer. General U. S. Grant said of her: "No soldier on the firing line gave more heroic service than she rendered." "President Lincoln asked her to come to the White House to talk over certain problems.
Mrs. Wittenmeyer came to Keokuk in 1850. She helped organize the Keokuk Soldiers' Aid Society, one of the first of its kind in the state. She was not satisfied with merely sending things to the soldiers but took the food and clothing that her society raised right to the camps and hospitals herself. She found that bacon, beans, hardtack, and coffee were the food that was offered to soldiers in the hospitals. Her sixteen-year-old brother was in a hospital and she found that he was refusing to eat the food that was offered to him; fat bacon, black coffee, and bread. Sick and wounded men, she said, needed good food as much as they needed medicine.
Late in 1863 Mrs. Wittenmeyer thought of a plan of having "diet kitchens" for all large hospitals. A few months later, in 1864, the United States Christian Commission took up her idea and by 1865 over one hundred diet kitchens were in operation. Mrs. Wittenmeyer was at the head of all this new work. She put two women in charge of a special kitchen at each large hospital. These women served such food as toast, chicken, soup, milk, tea, gruel, and vegetables to the sick men. Millions of rations were served from the kitchens in the last months of the war.
Mrs. Wittenmeyer was also one of the leaders in establishing Soldiers' Orphans' Homes in Iowa. The aid societies raised the money for the homes. The first one was started in Farmington in July, 1864. A year later it was moved to Davenport. Another one was started at Cedar Falls in September, 1864. Both of the homes were turned over to the state in 1866, but the one at Cedar Falls was discontinued in 1876 and the building used for the new State Normal School.
THE SOUTHERN BORDER
When the war broke out, people in southern Iowa feared that Confederate sympathizers in Missouri, which was a slave state, would organize an army to come to Iowa. Gov. Kirkwood ordered that companies of "home guards" should be organized in every county in southern Iowa. These companies were most active in 1861 when they stopped an attack on the Des Moines River near Farmington and made several counterraids into Missouri.
A guerrilla band of about 20 Southern men entered Davis County during October, 1864. They stole horses, killed a few citizens, fled back to Missouri, and broke up as a band before they could be caught. This act caused great excitement and much feeling.
NORTHWESTERN IOWA
The national Government, when the war started, withdrew most of the soldiers from the forts in northwest Iowa that looked after the Indians. The national Government, when the war started, withdrew most of the soldiers from the forts in northwest Iowa that looked after the Indians. The Indians soon began to make trouble. In 1861 they stole horses near Smithland and killed two farmers near Sioux City. In Minnesota and Dakota they caused much more trouble. Governor Kirkwood appealed to the Government at Washington for help, but it was too busy with the war to worry about Indians.
The next year, 1862, the Indians went on the warpath. They massacred over 650 white people in southern Minnesota. Settlers in northern Iowa fled from their homes in fear and the nation was shocked. Governor Kirkwood again asked for help. He said if the Government would furnish the guns he would furnish the men. The War Department then told the governor to organize a company of cavalry for the defense of northwest Iowa. The company was furnished guns from the government arsenal in New York and it became a part of the regular army. It was stationed at Sioux City and Spirit Lake.
The state also organized companies of soldiers of its own for defense against the Indians. They were called the Northern Iowa Border Brigade. Blockhouses, that is wooden forts, were built at Correctionville, Cherokee, Estherville, Peterson, Spirit Lake, and Iowa Lake. Soldiers were stationed at a few other points. After that the Indians caused no more trouble.
Twice since the Civil War Iowa has been called upon by "Uncle Sam" to come to the defense of the nation. As in the Civil War, both calls were promptly met and her sons and daughters did their full share in maintaining the honor of both the state and the nation.
On April 21, 1898, the United States Congress said that a "state of war" with Spain had begun. Two days later President McKinley issued a call for 125,000 volunteers and on April 26 Governor Shaw called for Iowa's share of the soldiers. On June 2 the governor issued a second call for volunteers.
IOWA'S PART AGAINST SPAIN
Concerning Iowa's part in the Spanish-American War, Governor Shaw has given us the following facts: "Four organizations, numbered consecutively the 49th, 50th, 51st, and 52nd regiments, were mustered into the service of the United States. The 49th was sent first to Jacksonville, Florida, and thereafter to Cuba, where it did service during the winter of 1898-99. It was discharged in May, 1899. The 50th was ordered to Jacksonville, Florida where it remained for several months. It was mustered out at Camp McKinley, Des Moines, in November, 1898. The 51st was ordered into camp at San Francisco where it remained for several months. It was then sent to the Philippine Islands where it rendered active service in stopping Aguinaldo's uprising. It was discharged at San Francisco in November, 1899. The 52nd was sent to Chickamauga but returned to Camp McKinley, where it was discharged in October, 1898. The losses by death in these regiments were 163."
Governor Shaw says: "Words of highest praise of the troops furnished by our state have been heard from many sources."
THE WORLD WAR
Iowa's help in the World War was entirely different from the part she played in both the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. In those wars nearly all of Iowa's soldiers were organized into local companies and served as Iowa companies in the war. In the World War, Iowa soldiers were scattered through many companies and it is not so easy to give them full credit for all that they did. Iowa played a large part, however, in the money, food, and other supplies which she furnished.
When the war broke out, our state was enjoying good times. Since many of Iowa's people had come from some of the European countries that were in the war, an unusual interest was taken in the conflict. The Red Cross made appeals to our people for help and raised large sums of money for relief work in Europe.
THE THIRD IOWA REGIMENT
After the European countries had fought for three years, the United States was drawn into the struggle. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and some smaller countries were fighting against France, Britain, Russia, Italy, and their allies. Congress declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. Great preparations then were necessary. Men had to be obtained for a large army, and money had to be raised. Three of Iowa's National Guard regiments had just returned from guard duty on the Mexican border. One of them, the Third Iowa, was chosen to go to Europe as a part of the Rainbow Division. men were taken from the First and Second Regiments and added to the Third to give it a war strength of 3,600 men, which was required for the regular army.
In August, 1917, the Third Iowa Regiment was made a part of the United States Army. It became the 168th United States infantry in the famous Rainbow Division, which was one of the first to go to France. The men landed on French soil, Dec. 9, 1917. They had been trained in America but were given more training in France. They went into the trenches in February, 1918, and were in much of the hardest fighting from then until the armistice was signed on Nov. 11, 1918. Of the men who belonged to the 168th in the spring of 1917, more than half were later killed in battle, died of disease, or were wounded and sent to the hospital.
Not all of Iowa's soldiers were in teh 168th infantry. More than 113,000 of her men served in the United States Army, the navy, and the marine corps. Over 2,000 of her soldiers and sailors were killed in battle or died from disease during the period of the war. Merle Hay of Glidden was the first Iowa soldier to be killed in battle.
The United States Government built a large camp near Des Moines in which to train soldiers. It was named Camp Dodge. More than 40,000 soldiers were in training at Camp Dodge during June, 1918.
LIBERTY LOANS
Millions of dollars had to be raised to carry on the war. Congress levied new taxes and increased old ones, but taxes alone would not bring in enough money. The Government had to borrow large sums. To do so, it offered to sell the people "Liberty Bonds." In these bonds the Government promised to pay a certain amount of money later to the persons who bought them. Five great "Liberty Loans" were made by the United States, and Iowa's response in them was as follows:
| LOANS | AMOUNT | NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBERS |
| First | $ 30,740,600 | 60,000 |
| Second | 83,047,400 | 288,080 |
| Third | 119,021,200 | 687,242 |
| Fourth | 162,093,900 | 643,889 |
| Victory | 114,031,900 | 364,303 |
| TOTAL | $508,935,000 |
GIFT CAMPAIGNS
Campaigns were also put on to raise money as gifts to such organizations as the Red Cross, Y.M.C.A., Knights of Columbus, and others. These organizations were working for the comfort of the soldiers and for the relief of the suffering people in Europe.
To sell the bonds and to get the gifts, great drives had to be organized and carried through. More than 2,500 Iowa men and women were regular speakers on war topics. They spoke at theaters, in churches, and wherever meetings were held.
HOOVER AND FOOD
Herbert Hoover, a native-born Iowan and later our President, was a leader in relief work. He was in London on business when the war broke out. While there he was asked to take charge of the relief work for thousands of families in Belgium and France who were without food. Mr. Hoover worked at this task for nearly three years without salary and paid his own expenses.
After the United States entered the World War, President Wilson asked Mr. Hoover to become Food Administrator. His task was to get farmers to raise more food and to have the people save wheat, flour, sugar, and meat, in order that it might be sent to Europe. Iowa farmers did their best to help and raised large crops. Thousands of city people who had never done any gardening and people in small towns had "war gardens" where they raised many vegetables. Food was needed for other armies and peoples as well as our own.
ARMISTICE AND AFTER
On November 11, 1918, the Germans agreed to an "armistice" and fighting was stopped on the western front. The news reached Iowa early in the morning and the largest celebration that our people had ever known was held over the victory.
Most of the organizations that had been doing relief work for the soldiers stopped their activities soon after the war ended. One new organization, however, was formed and has continued to do excellent work for the "buddies" who were in need of help, particularly because of wounds or disease. It is called the American Legion. Iowa has many active legions and legionnaires.
OUR STATE MILITIA
Iowa has its soldiers in peace as well as in war. The story of its militia is interesting. Governor Lucas in his first message to the territorial legislative assembly in November, 1838, advised the establishment of an Iowa militia for defense against the Indians. A bill to organize, discipline, and govern the militia of Iowa was passed by the assembly and signed by Governor Lucas on January 4, 1839. This bill created the first commander in chief of the militia." The militia was to consist of infantry, light infantry, riflemen, artillerymen, and dragoons or mounted riflemen.
There were difficulties, however, in organizing the militia. In 1840 Governor Lucas wrote to the Secretary of War: "I meet with much difficulty in effecting the organization of our Territorial Militia. It appears to be attended with extreme difficulty to prevail on men of competent military abilities to accept commissions as company officers, though I trust this will ultimately be accomplished." When the United States declared war against Mexico in 1846 there was no organized militia in Iowa that could be called.
When Iowa became a state in 1846 the constitution provided for a state militia. There were several volunteer companies in the state but the growth of the militia was slow. Most of the governors stressed the need for military legislation.
When Iowa's present constitution was adopted in 1857, provision was again made for a state militia. During the Civil War Iowa had a militia but it was difficult to distinguish between state and federal troops.
In the years following the Civil War the state militia became an efficient and effective fighting force. In 1877 the name of the active militia was changed from "State Guard" to "National Guard, State of Iowa." It consisted of 4,000 well-officered and well-armed men. Several encampments were held in 1878 and others followed annually.
The state militia has been called out three times recently:
1. On April 4, 1911, Governor Carroll ordered the militia to Muscatine for duty during a strike at the pearl button factories. There was no trouble after the troops arrived but they were kept on duty until May 3.
2. On November 15, 1921, Governor Kendall ordered the militia to Ottumwa for duty during a strike at the plant of the Morrel Packing Co. They were withdrawn the next day.
3. On September 21, 1931, Governor Turner ordered the militia to Tipton to help state veterinarians in giving tuberculin tests to cattle as required by law. Troops later went from Tipton to Mt. Pleasant, Burlington, and Fairfield.
THE "COW WAR"
Trouble over the testing of cattle for tuberculosis had existed for several months. On September 21, 1931, after a crowd of about four hundred objecting farmers had defied a posse of sixty-five deputies and driven them from the J. W. Lenker farm, Governor Turner declared martial law and called out two thousand troops. Soldiers from many cities in Iowa were sent to Tipton. The encampment was on the fair grounds.
Many other states have had laws providing for compulsory tuberculin testing but Iowa seems to have been the only one in which the militia had to enforce the law. The total cost for calling out the troops was over $100,000. The last soldiers were ordered home on November 25, 1931.
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