Lee County Pioneer Cemetery Association
Five Civil War Generals of Note had Keokuk Ties

_{By: Terry Altheide
Friday, April 15, 2005 4:24 PM CDT}

Brief Biographies:

The most prominent of these men is Samuel Ryan Curtis, who defeated the Confederate forces at Pea Ridge, Ark., in 1862.

Curtis was born in Ohio in 1805, the son of a Revolutionary War soldier and a Connecticut-born mother. He entered the West Point Military Academy in 1827 and graduated at the top of his class in 1831.

Between graduation and the outbreak of the Civil War, Curtis served in the Army during the Mexican War. He also was a civil engineer in Ohio, Keokuk and St. Louis. He was elected Keokuk's mayor in 1856 and served as a United States congressman after that. He resigned his congressional seat at the outbreak of the Civil War and became a colonel in the Second Iowa Infantry.

With his victory at Pea Ridge, he was rewarded with the rank of major general, one of only four Iowans to obtain that rank. He served as a commander at various locations throughout the rest of the Civil War.

After the war, he was appointed as an inspector for construction of the Union Pacific Railroad. While serving in this capacity, he died on Dec. 26, 1866.

The home he built in the 1850s still stands today at 206 High St., Keokuk, looking much the same as it did when the general lived there. His statue in Victory Park has, through the years, been located in various locations in the city. The monument was dedicated in Keokuk on July 4, 1898.

Another prominent Keokuk citizen to become a Civil War general was Hugh Thompson Reid, who was born in Indiana in 1811. He came to Keokuk in 1849 where he was a prominent lawyer and served for a time as president of the Des Moines Valley Railroad.

He entered the Union Army in 1862 as a colonel in the 15th Iowa, a Keokuk regiment. At the Battle of Shiloh, he was shot through the neck, falling from his horse. Believed dead, he was carried from the field of battle only to regain consciousness shortly thereafter. He remounted his horse and led his troops through the rest of the battle. He never fully recovered from his wound and resigned from the Army in 1864 as a brigadier-general. He returned to Keokuk and devoted time to the running of the Des Moines Valley Railroad. He died on Aug. 21, 1874.

David Burke Hillis was born in Indiana in 1825 and graduated from the St. Louis Medical College in 1847. He practiced his profession for 11 years. In 1858, he moved to Bloomfield and became a businessman. In 1860, he came to Keokuk and made his living in the dry goods business.

He distinguished himself during the battles of Jackson and Champion's Hill, both in Mississippi. He resigned in 1863, returning to Keokuk, where soon after he received a brevet as brigadier-general. He died on Sept. 9, 1900.

James C. Parriott became a brevet brigadier-general in 1865 for his "gallant and meritorious services" through several Civil War campaigns.

Born in Maryland in 1811, Parrott came to Keokuk in 1852 and was a businessman when the war broke out. He raised a company for the Seventh Iowa Infantry and was wounded four times at the Battle of Belmont in Missouri. He later fought at Shiloh; at the Battle of Corinth he was severely wounded. He never fully recovered from it.

He later served 10 years as Keokuk's postmaster and died on May 17, 1898.

Our final general was named John Bruce. He was born in Scotland in 1832. He was a lawyer in civilian life and entered the Army in January 1863 as a captain. He was wounded near Mobile, Ala., in 1864 and was removed from the battlefield, only to return later to lead his troops into battle.

He became a brevet brigadier-general in 1865. He was a commander who highly cared for his troops and they, in return, highly respected him. After the war, he became a cotton planter in Alabama, served in the Alabama legislature and was appointed by President Grant as judge of the United States District Court of Alabama. He died on Oct. 1, 1901.

Space doesn't allow for a complete listing of the many things these five men did throughout their civilian and military lives. Keokuk is a better place because of them and their valiant service during the Civil War should make us all proud that men such as these chose Keokuk's Oakland Cemetery as their final resting place.

Terry Altheide is president of the Lee County Pioneer Cemetery Association.