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1917 History
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1917 History
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It has been said that "War brings an element of
patriotism that cannot be awakened in the people by any other
agency." However that may be, much of the history of
human progress centers about the deeds of great generals and their
armies. Aggressive wars have been waged by strong
nations for the conquest of weaker ones, or to uphold the regal power
and "divine right" of kings; and defensive wars have been fought to
advance the rights and liberties of the people or to maintain
established governments. The independence of the United States was
gained only by a war which lasted for eignt years, and of all the great
nations of the civilized world the United States is perhaps the only
one which has never declared war except to defend her institutions or
to secure greater liberties for downtrodden humanity.
One of the greatest wars in history was the Civil war of 1861-65,
between the northern and southern states, commonly known as the "War of
the Rebellion," in which the South fought to dissolve and the North to
preserve the Union of States. Almost from the very beginning of the
American Republic, the slavery question became a "bone of contention"
between tlie free states on one side and the slave states on the other.
Slavery was introduced in America in 1619, when a Dutch trader sold a
few negroes to the planters of the Jamestown Colony. The custom of
owning negro slaves gradually spread to the other colonies, but by 1819
seven of the original thirteen states had made provisions for the
emancipation of the slaves within their borders.
The first clause of section 9, article 1, of th Federal
Constitution provides that "The migration or importation of such
persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit
shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year 1808."
The adoption of this clause was regarded as a victory for the slave
holding element, as under it Congress had no power to interfere with
the foreign slave trade until 1808. But in that year an act was
passed prohibiting any further traffic in or importation of negro
slaves. In 1819 slavery existed in six of the thirteen original states,
the other seven having abolished it as already stated. In the meantime
Kentucky, Ten nessee, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama had been
admitted with constitutions permitting slavery, and Vermont, Ohio,
Indiana and Illinois as free states, so that the country was evenly
divided - eleven free and eleven slave states. Maine was admitted as a
free state in 1820 and the advocates of slavery sought to have Missouri
admitted as a slave state to maintain the equilibrium in the United
States Senate. After a long and somewhat acrimonious debate, that state
was admitted under the act known as the "Missouri Compromise," which
provided for the admission of Missouri without any restrictions as to
slavery, but expressly stipulated that in all remaining portion of the
Louisiana Purchase north of the line of 36° 30' slavery should be
forever prohibited.
During the next twenty-five years the slavery question remained
comparatively quiet, owing to the admission of free and slave states in
equal number. Arkansas came into the Union in 1836 and Michigan in
1837; the slave state of Florida, admitted in 1845, was offset by the
admission of Iowa as a free state in 1846. At the conclusion of the
Mexican war in 1847, the United States came into possession of a large
expanse of territory in the Southwest, to which the advocates of
slavery laid claim, and again the question came up as a subject for
legislation, resulting in the compromise act of 1850, commonly called
the "Omnibus Bill." The opponents of slavery took the view that the act
was a violation of the provisions of the Missouri Compromise, because
it sought to carry slavery north of the line of 36° 30'. Four years
later the Kansas-Nebraska Bill was passed, which added fresh fuel to
the already raging flames. Its passage was one of the causes that led
to the organization of the republican party, which opposed the
extension of slavery to any new territory of the United States whatever.
In the political campaign of 1860 the issues were clearly defined and
some of the slave states declared their intention to withdraw from the
Union in the event of Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency. The
people of the North regarded these declarations as so many idle
threats, made merely for political effect. Through a division in the
democratic party, Mr. Lincoln was elected and on December 20, 1860,
South Carolina carried her threat into effect when a state convention
passed an ordinance of secession, declaring that the state's connection
with the Union was severed and that all allegiance to the Government of
the United States was at an end. Mississippi followed with a similar
ordinance on January 9, 1861; Florida seceded on January 10; Georgia,
January 19; Louisiana, January 26, and Texas, February 1. All these
states except Texas sent delegates to a convention at Montgomery,
Alabama, February 4, 1861, when a tentative constitution was adopted;
Jefferson Davis was elected provisional president and Alexander H.
Stephens, provisional vice-president of the Confederate States of
America. They were inaugurated on February 22, 1861, the anniversary of
the birth of George Washington. Consequently, when Mr. Lincoln was
inaugurated on March 4, 1861, he found seven states in open rebellion
and with an organized government in opposition to his administration.
However, the President, his advisers and the people of the North
generally clung to the hope that reconciliation could be effected and
that the citizens of the seceded states could be induced to return to
their allegiance. Vain hope!
Relations between the North and South were still further strained early
in the year 1861 when Maj. Robert Anderson, then in command of all the
defenses of the harbor at Charleston, South Carolina, secretly removed
his garrison and supplies from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter because the
latter could be more easily defended in case of an assault. The people
of the South claimed that this move was a direct violation of an
agreement with President Buchanan, and the feeling was intensified when
it was discovered that Major Anderson, prior to his removal, had spiked
all the guns in Fort Moultrie. On the other hand, the press of the
North was practically unanimous in justifying Anderson's course and in
demanding that additional supplies and reinforcements be sent to him at
Fort Sumter. The persistent hammering of the northern press caused the
war department to despatch the steamer Star of the West,
with 250 men and a stock of ammunition, provisions, etc., to Fort
Sumter, but on January 9, 1861, while passing Morris Island, the vessel
was fired upon by a masked battery and forced to turn back. In the
official records this incident is regarded as the beginning of the
Civil war, though the popular awakening of the North did not come until
some three months later.
Not long after President Lincoln was inaugurated, General Beauregard,
who was in command of the Confederate forces at Charleston, made a
demand upon Major Anderson for the evacuation of Fort Sumter. Anderson
refused, but on April 11, 1861, seeing his stock of pro visions in the
fort running low and having no hope of obtaining a new supply, he
informed General Beauregard that he would vacate the fort on the 15th,
"unless ordered to remain and the needed supplies are received." This
reply was not satisfactory to the Confederate com mander, who feared
the new administration might find some way of sending reinforcements
and supplies to Sumter that would enable Anderson to hold the fort
indefinitely. In that case Fort Sumter would be a constant menace to
one of the Southern strongholds. After a council with his officers,
Beauregard decided upon an assault. Accordingly, at twenty minutes
after three o'clock on the morning of April 12, 1861, he sent word to
Anderson that fire would be opened upon the fort. At 4:30 a. m.
Capt. George Janes fired the signal gun from Fort Johnson, the shell
bursting almost directly over the fort. A few seconds later a
solid shot from the battery on Cummings Point went crashing against the
walls of the fort. The war had begun.
Anderson's gallant little band responded promptly to the fire and the
bombardment continued all day. Late in the afternoon fire broke out in
one of the casements of the fort and the Confederates increased their
fire, hoping to force Anderson to surrender. That was on Friday.
Anderson held out against desperate odds until Sunday, the 14th, when
he was permitted to exacuate the fort with all the honors of war, even
to saluting his flag with fifty guns before hauling it down.
When the news of Sumter's fall spread through the loyal states of the
North, all hope of bringing about a peaceable settlement of the
differences was abandoned. Party lines were obliterated.
Political controversies of the past were forgotten in the insult to the
flag and there was but one sentiment - The Union must and shall be
preserved. On Monday, April 15, 1861, the·day following Anderson's
evacuation of the fort, President Lincoln issued the following
"Whereas, the laws of the United States have been for some time past
and now are opposed and the execution thereof obstructed in the states
of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana
and Texas by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary
course of judicial proceedings or by the powers vested in the marshals
by law:
"Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by
virtue of the power in me vested by the Constitution and the laws, have
thought fit to call forth, and hereby do call forth, the militia of the
several states of the Union to the aggregate number of 75,000, in order
to suppress said combinations and cause the laws to be duly executed.
"The details for this object will be immediately communicated to the state authorities through the war department.
"I appeal to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate and aid this
effort to maintain the honor, the integrity and the existence of our
National Union and the perpetuation of popular government, and to
redress wrongs already too long endured.
"I deem it proper to say that the first service assigned to the forces
hereby called forth will probably be to repossess the forts, places and
property which have been seized from the Union; and in every event the
utmost care will be observed, consistently with the objects aforesaid,
to avoid any devastation, any destruction of or interference with
property, or any disturbance of peaceful citizens in any part of the
country.
"And I hereby command the persons composing the combinations aforesaid
to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes within
twenty days from this date.
"Deeming that the present condition of public affairs presents an
extraordinary occasion, I do hereby, in virtue of the power in me
vested by the Constitution, convene th houses of Congress. Senators and
representatives are therefore summoned to assemble at their respective
chambers at 12 o'clock noon on Thursday, the 4th day of July next,
then and there to consider and determine such measures as, in their
wisdom, the public safety and interest may seem to demand.
"In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
"Done at the City of Washington, this 15th day of April, A. D. 1861,
and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-fifth.
"By the President:
"ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
"W. H. SEWARD, Secretary of State."
On the 16th, the day following the issuance of the President's
proclamation, Gov. Samuel J. Kirkwood, of Iowa, received the following
telegram from the secretary of war: "Calls made on you by tonight's
mail for one regiment of militia for immediate service." It is said
that when this message was delivered to the governor he expressed some
doubts as to Iowa's ability to furnish an entire regiment.
Notwithstanding his doubts on the subject, as soon as the call was
received he issued a proclamation asking for volunteers, to wit:
"Whereas, the President of the United States has made a requisi tion
upon the executive of the State of Iowa for one regiment of militia, to
aid the Federal Government in enforcing its laws and suppressing
rebellion:
"Now, therefore, I, Samuel J. Kirkwood, governor of the State of Iowa,
do issue this proclamation, and hereby call upon the militia of the
state immediately to form, in the different counties, volunteer
companies with a view of entering the active military service of the
United States for the purpose aforesaid. The regiment at present
required will consist of ten companies of at least seventy-eight men
each, including one captain and two lieutenants to be elected by each
company.
"Under the present requisition only one regiment can be accepted, and
the companies accepted must hold themselves in readiness for duty by
the 20th of May next at the farthest. If a sufficient number of
companies are tendered their services may be required. If more
companies are formed and reported than can be received under the
present call, their services will be required in the event of another
requisition upon the state.
"The nation is in peril. A fearful attempt is being made to overthrow
the Constitution and dissever the Union. The aid of every loyal citizen
is invoked to sustain the general Government. For the honor of our
state, let the requirement of the President be cheerfully and promptly
met.
"SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD.
"Iowa City, April 17, 1861."
As the first telegram from the war department called for "one regiment
of militia for immediate service," and Governor Kirkwood stated in his
proclamation that the companies "must hold themselves in readiness for
duty by the 20th of May," a word of explanation as to this apparent
discrepancy seems to be necessary. The explanation is found in
the fact that late on the afternoon of April 16, 1861, the governor
received a second telegram from the secretary of war saying: "It will
suffice if your quota of volunteers be at its rendezvous by the 20th of
May."
On the same day that Governor Kirkwood issued his call for volunteers
he also issued a call for the State Legislature to meet in special
session on May 16, 1861. At the opening of the special session he said
in his message: "In this emergency Iowa must not and does not occupy a
doubtful position. For the Union as our fathers formed it, and for
government founded so wisely and so well, the people of Iowa are ready
to pledge every fighting man in the state, and every dollar of her
money and credit, and I have called you together in extraordinary
session for the purpose of enabling them to make the pledge formal and
effective."
He then explained how, when the call for volunteers came from
Washington, he had no funds under his control for such emergencies as
organizing, equipping, subsisting and transporting troops, nor had the
state any efficient military law under which he could operate. He
also explained how the chartered banks and wealthy, loyal citizens of
the state had come to his rescue by placing at his disposal all the
funds he might need, and concluded this portion of his message by
saying: "I determined, although without authority of law, to accept
their offer, trusting that this body would legalize my acts."
And the governor did not trust in vain. The immediate and universal
response to his call for volunteers had removed any doubt he might have
entertained as to Iowa's ability "to furnish a whole regiment," and the
General Assembly crystallized the patriotic sentiment of the people by
legalizing everything the governor had done, by passing a law providing
for the organization of the militia of the state upon a war footing,
and appropriating a sum of money large enough to cover all probable
expenses in connection therewith.
According to the United States census of 1860, Emmet County then had a
population of 105 and Dickinson County 180. The former had been an
organized county but a little over one year and the latter less than
three years when this census was taken. At the beginning of the
war neither county had telegraph communication, fast mail train nor
local newspaper. The only means of communication was by the slow mail
route then in use, and several days elapsed after the fall of Fort
Sumter before the news reached Estherville and Spirit Lake. When the
news did arrive, there was no difference of opinion as to the course to
be pursued. Every vote in both counties was cast for Mr. Lincoln in
1860, and the few inhabi tants were unanimous in declaring that the
national administration must be upheld in its effort to suppress the
rebellion. Owing to the location of the two counties, Iowa's
quota under the first call was filled through the prompt response from
those parts of the state where better transportation facilities existed
and the people of Emmet and Dickinson had no opportunity under that
call to demonstrate their loyalty.
Under the call of July 3, 1861, an independent cavalry company was
organized at Fort Dodge, in which a number of meri from Emmet and
Dickinson counties were enrolled. The company was sent to the Army of
the Potomac and was subsequently attached to the Eleventh Pennsylvania
Cavalry instead of an Iowa cavalry regiment. Nathaniel B. Baker, then
adjutant-general of Iowa, called the attention of the war department to
this error, and after repeated efforts on his part the company was
formally credited to Iowa's quota of troops, though it continued to
serve with the Army of the Potomac until the close of the war.
Scattered through other Iowa regiments were Emmet and Dickinson county
men. To give a complete list would be almost impossible at this late
day and consequently no attempt is made to do so. It is stated on
apparently good authority that five-twelfths of the entire population
of Emmet County were enlisted in the service of the United States at
some period or another during the war, while in Dickinson there were at
one less than a dozen men liable to enrollment for military duty.
As a matter of fact the people of Northwestern Iowa were interested in
military affairs before the secession of a single southern state. This
was due to the attitude of the Sioux Indian tribes in that section of
the country. After the massacre of Dickinson County settlers in March,
1857, there was a general feeling of insecurity that checked
immigration to that portion of the state, and those who had already
settled there became more or less discouraged and disheartened. Early
in the year 1858, Hon. Cyrus C. Carpenter, of Fort Dodge, then
representing the district in the lower house of the Iowa Legislature,
succeeded in having a bill passed providing for the raising of a
company for the protection of the northwestern frontier.
The company was recruited chiefly in Hamilton and Webster counties and
was commanded by Capt. Henry Martin, of Webster City. It arrived on the
frontier about the first of March and was divided into three
detachments. Captain Martin, with the main squad, took up his quarters
in the old fort at Spirit Lake; First Lieutenant Church was sent to
Peterson, in the southwest comer of Clay County; and Second Lieutenant
Jewett was stationed with a few men in Emmet County. After remaining on
duty until about the first of July, without any indications of an
Indian outbreak, the men were ordered home, though the company was not
disbanded. At the earnest request of a majority of the settlers along
the frontier, the company was again called out in the fall of 1858 and
remained on duty until the spring of 1859, when the men were discharged.
The withdrawal of Captain Martrin's company left the northwestern
frontier without any armed protection except such as could be furnished
by the settlers themselves. Samuel J. Kirkwood was inaugurated
governor early in the year 1860. No man in the state knew better the
dangers to which the settlers along the northern border were exposed.
He had noted that when troops were on duty along the frontier the
Indians kept out of sight, but as soon as the soldiers were withdrawn,
new outbreaks were committed. He communicated these facts to the
Legislature with the result that in March, 1860, a bill providing for a
company of "Minute Men" was passed. As this bill is something of a
curiosity, it is given in full:
"Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Iowa,
that for the purpose of protecting the citizens of the northwestern
portion of the state and enabling them to defend themselves against the
threatened depredations of marauding bands of hostile Indians, the
governor be, and is hereby, authorized to furnish said settlers such
arms and ammunition as he may deem necessary for the purposes aforesaid.
"Sec. 2. That the governor be, and hereby is, authorized to cause to be
enrolled a company of minute men in number not exceeding twelve, at the
governor's discretion, who shall at all times hold themselves in
readiness to meet any threatened invasion of hostile Indians as
aforesaid. The said minute men to be paid only for the time actually
employed in the services herein contemplated.
"Sec. 3. That the said minute men, under the orders of the governor at
his discretion, and under such regulations as he may prescribe, a
number of not exceeding four may be employed as an active police for
such time and to perform such services as may be demanded of them, who
shall be paid only for the period during which they shall be actively
employed as aforesaid.
"Sec. 4. There is hereby appropriated from the state treasury the sum
of five hundred dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, for
carrying into effect the provisions of this act."
This act was approved on March 9, 1860. It seems
almost ridiculous to think of placing a state like Iowa on a war
footing with a force of twelve men, only one-third of whom were to be
in active service, the remainder held as a reserve, and an
appropriation of only $500. There were two hundred miles of frontier to
be guarded by this little army. While the provisions of the act were
not altogether satisfactory to Governor Kirkwood, he accepted the
situation. The minute men were enlisted and headquarters established at
Cherokee, which was then a frontier town. They remained in service
until the fall of 1861, carrying despatches, watching the movements of
the Indians, etc., but no official record giving the full list, the
time of enlistment or discharge can be found.
When the Civil war began in the spring of 1861, the Government had need
of all the regular troops stationed at the various posts in the
Northwest, leaving the frontier without adequate protection against the
Indians. Under a special order from the war department a company of
cavalry was recruited in the fall of 1861 to take the place of the
regular troops that bad been withdrawn. The greater portion of the
company came from about Sioux City and the settlements along the Floyd
and Little Sioux rivers. It was known as the "Sioux City Cavalry" and
was commanded by Capt. A. J. Millard. James A. Sawyer was first
lieutenant, and J. T. Copeland second lieutenant. The comapny was
assigned to scouting and frontier service. During the winter of 1861-62
it was divided into small squads, which were stationed at various
points along the frontier from Sioux City to Et!therville. In the
autumn of 1862, Lieutenant Sawyer resigned to take command of the
Northern Border Brigade, J. T. Copeland was promoted to first
lieutenant, and Orderly Sergeant S. H. Cassady was made second
lieutenant.
The Sioux outbreak in Minnesota began at Acton on August 17, 1862, when
several settlers there were murdered. News of the uprising reached
Spirit Lake on the morning of the 29th, when a Norwegian named Nelson
came in carrying two of his little children and reported that the other
members of his family had been killed by the Indians the night before,
in the Norwegian settlement on the Des Moines River some six miles
above Jackson, Minnesota. Even the two children he carried had been
taken by the heels and their heads knocked against the corner of the
cabin, and one of them afterward died.
A company of volunteers from Spirit Lake and Estherville went up the
Des Moines and rescued some of the settlers. On the day this party
returned Lieutenant Sawyer arrived at Spirit Lake with thirty men of
the Sioux City Cavalry. The little detachment was divided into three
parts. One under Corporal Robbins was sent to Okoboji; another, under
Sergeant Samuel Wade, was sent to Estherville, and the third, under
Lieutenant Sawyer, remained at Spirit Lake.
In the meantime the settlers about Spirit Lake had gathered at the
court-house for protection. The building was not yet completed, but
loose lumber was thrown over the joists to form a floor, the doors and
windows were barricaded as well as possible, and while some slept
others stood guard. This was the situation there when Sawyer's squad of
cavalry arrived. After a consultation it was decided that the
settlers should return to their homes, while the soldiers kept watch
for the coming of the savages. It was also decided to build a
stockade about the court-house, in which all could assemble upon a
signal of danger. Prescott's sawmill at Okoboji Grove was in good
condition and the mill-yard was full of logs. Both mill and logs were
requisitioned. Planks twelve feet long and from four to five inches
thick were cut and taken to the court-house. While some were operating
the sawmill, others dug a trench about three feet deep around the
court-house. As the planks arrived they were set on end in the
trench, the dirt firmly packed around the foot, and a piece of timber
pinned along the top for greater strength. Portholes were then
cut and in a short time the "fort" was ready for an assault. It was
occupied by United States troops until in July, 1865.
At Estherville the people gathered at the school house and organized for
defense. A writer in the Northern Vindicator some years later, after
the danger was passed and the subject could be treated with some
levity, says: "The school house was used for all the purposes of
barracks, hospital and soldiers' quarters, and a strange scene it
presented. At night the floor was literally covered with citizens of
all ages, classes, sex and nationalities."
Judge A. R. Fulton, in his "Red Men of Iowa," gives this interesting
account of the Sioux City Cavalry: "While acting as an independent
organization, they were generally stationed in squads in the
principal settlements, including those at Correctionville, Cherokee,
Peterson and Spirit Lake. Their valuable and arduous services
doubtless contributed largely to securing to the people of Northwestern
Iowa immunity from danger during the perilous summer of 1862, when more
than eight hundred persons were massacred by the Indians in
Minnesota. In the spring of 1863 the Sioux City Cavalry were ordered to
rendezvous in Sioux City preparatory to joining an expedition under
General Sully against the Indians, in which they were detailed as the
body-guard of the General.
"On the third of September, 1863, they participated in the battle
of
White Stone Hill and distinguished themselves by taking 136 prisoners.
After this battle they were consolidated with the Seventh Iowa Cavalry
as Company I. On returning to Sioux City, Captain Millard, commanding
the company, was assigned by General Sully to the command of a
subdistrict embracing Northwestern Iowa and Eastern Dakota, with
headquarters at Sioux City. On the twenty-second of November, 1864,
their
term of enlistment having expired, they were mustered out of service.
"Referring to this company, General Sully expresses the following high
compliment: 'A better drilled or disciplined company than the Sioux
City Cavalry cannot be found in the regular or volunteer service of the
United States.' "
As soon as news of the Indian outbreak in
Minnesota reached Gov ernor
Kirkwood, he immediately took steps to protect the Iowa frontier
against an invasion. To that end he addressed the following
communication to S. R. Ingham of Des Moines, appointing him a sort of
special
agent to investigate conditions on the border:
"August 29, 1862.
"S. R. INGHAM, Esq.,
"Sir: I am informed there is probable danger of an attack by hostile
Indians on the inhabitants of the northwestern portion of our state.
Arms and powder will be sent you at Fort Dodge. Lead and caps will be
sent with you. I hand you an order on the auditor of state for one
thousand dollars.
"You will proceed at once to Fort Dodge, and to such other points as
you may deem proper. Use the arms, ammunition and money placed at your
disposal in such manner as your judgment may dictate as best to promote
the object in view, to wit: The protection of the inhabitants of the
frontier. It would be well to communicate with Captain Millard
commanding the company of mounted men raised for the United States
service
at Sioux City. Use your discretion in all things and exercise any power
I could exercise if I were present according to your best discretion.
"Please report to me in writing.
"Very respectfully your obedient servant,
"SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD."
Immediately upon receipt of this commission, Mr. Ingham set out on
a
tour of the border counties. He visited Webster, Humboldt, Kossuth,
Palo Alto, Emmet and Dickinson counties and "found many of the
inhabitants in a high state of excitement and laboring under constant
fear
of an attack by the Indians." He also ascertained that quite a number
of families had left, or were preparing to leave, for the more thickly
settled portions of the state. In his report to the governor he says:
"In Emmet and Kossuth, both border counties, I had the settlers called
together in order that I might learn from them their views and wishes
as to what ought to be done for their safety, or rather what was
necessary to satisfy and quiet their fears and apprehensions. They said
all they wanted or deemed necessary for the protection of the northern
frontier was a small force of mounted men stationed on the east and
west forks of the Des Moines River to act in concert with the United
States troops then stationed at Spirit Lake, but that this force must
be made up of men such as could be chosen from amongst themselves, who
were familiar with the country and who had been engaged in hunting
and trapping for years, and were more or less familiar with the habits
and customs of the Indians, one of which men would be worth half a
dozen such as the state had sent there on one or two former
occasions. In a small force of this kind they would have
confidence, but would not feel safe with a much larger force of young
and inexperienced men, such as are usually raised in the more central
portions of the state.
"I at once authorized a company to be raised in Emmet, Kossuth,
Humboldt and Palo Alto counties. Within five days forty men were en
listed, held their election for officers, were mustered in, furnished
with arms and ammunition and placed on duty. I authorized them to
fill up the company to eighty men if necessity should demand such an
addition to the force."
The company thus organized afterward became Company A of the
Northern Border Brigade. After it was organized and equipped for duty,
Mr. Ingham went on to Spirit Lake, where he found Lieutenant Sawyer's
detachment of the Sioux City Cavalry. In his report Mr. Ingham says:
"From the best information I could obtain, I deemed this a sufficient
force and therefore took no action to increase the protection at this
point further than to furnish the settlers with thirty stands of arms
and a small amount of ammunition, for which I took a bond as
hereinafter stated," etc.
All this work was preliminary to the organization of the Northern
Border Brigade. While Mr. Ingham was absent on his mission a special
session of the Legislature was convened and the first bill passed
authorized the governor "to raise a volunteer force in the State of
Iowa, from the counties most convenient to the northwestern border of
said state, of not less than five hundred mounted men, and such other
force as may be deemed necessary, to be mustered into service by a
person to be appointed by the governor, at such place as he may
designate, to be stationed at various points in the northwestern
counties of said state in such numbers in a body as he may deem best,
for the protection of that portion of the state from hostile Indians at
the earliest practicable moment."
The Legislature also adopted a joint resolution calling upon the·
General Government for aid. Both the resolution and the above bill were
approved by Governor Kirkwood on September 9, 1862. The next day Mr.
Ingham made his report of conditions in the counties he had visited and
was appointed to superintend the organization of the force authorized
by the act of the Legislature. On September 13, 1862, the
governor issued:
"First. The number of companies that will be received for service under
the act to provide for the protection of the northwestern frontier of
Iowa from the hostile Indians, passed at the extra session o'f 1862,
and the acts amendatory thereto, is as follows, viz.: One to be raised
at Sioux City, one at Denison, Crawford County, one at Fort Dodge, one
at Webster City, and one now stationed at Chain Lakes and Estherville.
"Second. These companies shall contain not less than
forty nor more than eighty men each. They will elect the company
officers allowed and in the manner prescribed by law. As soon as
company elections are held, certificates of the result must be sent to
the adjutant-general for commissions. After being
mustered and sworn in they will proceed, on a day to be fixed by S.
R. Ingham, to vote at their several places of rendezvous by ballot for
a lieutenant-colonel to command the whole. The highest number of votes
cast for any one candidate shall elect."
The general orders also stated that each man would be required to
furnish his own horse, subsistence and forage to be provided by the
state, and that the pay allowed would be the same as that allowed for
like service by the United States. In his instructions to Mr. Ingham
the governor said: "It is impossible to foresee the contingencies
that may arise rendering necessary a change in these orders or the
prompt exercise of powers therein contained, and
delay for the purpose of consulting me might result disastrously. In
order to avoid these results as far as possible, I hereby confer upon
you all I have myself in this regard. You may change, alter, modify or
add to the orders named as in your sound discretion you may deem best.
You may make such other and further orders as the exigencies of the
case may, in your judgment, render necessary. In short, you may do
all things necessary for the protection of the frontier as fully as I
could do if I were personally present and did the same. The first
object is the security of the frontier; the second, that this object be
effected as economically as is consistent with its prompt and certain
attainment."
Mr. Ingham was also given power to fix the places where the troops
should be stationed, until after the election of a lieutenant-colonel,
when the power should be given to the commanding officer. The election
for lieutenant-colonel was held on November 7, 1862, and the choice
fell on Lieut. James A. Sawyer, of the Sioux City Cavalry, though his
commission was dated from September 1, 1862, for some reason.
The original Northern Border Brigade consisted of five companies
A, B,
C, D and E. As already stated, Company A was organized before the
passage of the bill by the special session. It was mustered in on
September 24, 1862, with William H. Ingham, of Kossuth, as captain;
Edward McKnight, of Dakotah, first lieutenant; Jesse Coverdale, of
Estherville, second lieutenant. The Emmet County men in this company
were: Howard Graves, first sergeant; Amos A. Pingrey, third sergeant;
Morgan Jenkins, second corporal; Thomas Mahar, fourth corporal; Ruel
Fisher, farrier; Robert A. Ridley, wagoner, and the following privates:
Peter S. Baker, Hiram Barrett, Ira Camfield, John H. Clark, Hogen
Gilbert, Willis C. Jarvis, George Palmer, Judah Phillips, Eugene G.
Ridley, Otto Schadt (promoted to third corpora]), Elbridge Whitcomb
(promoted to fourth sergeant).
Company B and the greater part of Company C came from Webster County;
Company D, from Crawford, Company E, from Woodbury. As fast as the
companies were raised they were mustered in for nine months, unless
sooner discharged, by S. R. Ingham, who ordered blockhouses and
stockades to be erected at Correctionville, Cherokee, Peterson,
Estherville and Chain Lakes. The stockade at Estherville was known as:
Capt. W. H. Ingham took up his headquarters at Estherville, the
detachment of Company A at Chain Lakes being under the command of
Lieutenant Coverdale. As soon as orders came to erect a stockade
Captain Ingham took possession of the sawmill at Estherville, sent men
out to cut logs without asking permission of the owner of the land, or
without even inquiring who the owner was. Teams were pressed into
service to haul the logs to the mill and the lumber to the site of the
fort, which was one block west and three blocks South of the southwest
corner of the public square. The captain's high-handed methods aroused
considerable indignation among the citizens, who dubbed him "The
Dictator," but it is quite possible that his prompt action in the
erection of the stockade had a salutary effect upon the Indians, and
had an attack been made before the stockade was completed he would no
doubt have been criticized for not doing his duty. Fort Defiance
was occupied by the troops until late in the fall of 1863. After that
it was used as a residence for some time. It was torn down or moved
away in 1876.
Lewis H. Smith, of Kossuth County, was made quartermaster of Company A,
his appointment dating from September 7, 1862. As soon as the company
was mustered in he went to Des Moines for arms, etc., while Captain
Ingham and William B. Carey went to Mankato, Minnesota, to learn the
extent of the Indian uprising. Provisions were scarce during the winter
of 1862-63 and some of the members of the company complained of the
rations with which they were served. Rumors soon got abroad that
Quartermaster Smith was appropriating the best of the food supply, and
Captain Ingham was charged with being remiss in his duties, if not a
party to the appropriation of company supplies. These rumors reached
Lieut.-Col. James A. Sawyer at Sioux City, who came over to
investigate. About noon one day he drove up to Fort Defiance in a
rather shabby looking two horse wagon, dressed in civilian garb, and
asked permission to cook his dinner. This was readily granted and he
took his cooking utensils - an old skillet and a coffee pot - from the
wagon and began, all the time watching to see what the men had to eat.
He noticed that the beef had the appearance of being slightly tainted
and unwholesome, and asked if that was the best the commissary could
afford. The men informed him that they had been living upon that kind
of meat for weeks. Lieutenant-Colonel Sawyer then made himself known
and called the captain and quartermaster "upon the carpet," after which
the members of the company were supplied with a better quality of
food.
Company A was mustered out on
September 26, 1863, and was re organized as Company F, with William H.
Ingham, captain; Jerome M. White, first lieutenant; Lewis W. Estes,
second lieutenant. In the reorganization, which was completed on
October 20, 1863, Emmet County furnished the following members of the
company: Edward Altwegg, Henry Archer, Peter S. Baker, William Carter,
Jerry Crowley, John D. Goff, Erwin Hall, John W. Hewitt, Patrick
Jackman, Gunther Knutzen, John A. Lucas, James Maher, Thomas Maher (or
Mahar), Joseph T. Mulroney, Keiran Mulroney, William J. Salisbury,
George F. Schaad.
Dickinson County furnished a large part of the company, viz.:
Hudson
D. Barton, Franklin Bascomb, Jacob Bossert, Alexander H. Burd, Charles
Carpenter, David N. Carver, William W. Collins (promoted bugler),
Joseph Courrier, John H. Evans, Samuel N. Guilliams, William A. Harden,
Roderick Harris, Charles W. Hathaway, Silas R. King, Joseph R. Line,
Jonathan N, Lyon, Eben Palmer, John W. Rose, Robert Seeber,
Joseph W. Sharp, Milan E. Sharp, Miles R. Sheldon, John Striker, John
D. Striker, Harrison L. Thomas, John L. Thomas, William H. Thrift,
Robert F. Turner, Crosby Warner. The c?mpany was mustered out in
December, 1863.
Soon after the Northern Border Brigade was mustered out of service
a
detachment of Company I, Sixth Iowa Cavalry, under command of Cap tain
Wolf, was stationed on the frontier. Captain Wolf made his headquarters
at Estherville and part of his command was sent to Spirit
Lake, under Lieut. Benjamin King. In the spring of 1864 Captain
Cooper's company of the Seventh Iowa Cavalry relieved Captain Wolf.
This company remained but a short time, when Capt. Daniel Eichor came
with Company E, Sixth Iowa Cavalry, and continued on duty until the
spring of 1865, when he was succeeded by a detachment of Minnesota
troops under Captain Read. This was the last military force stationed
along the Iowa border.
From the time Cuba was first discovered until 1898 - a period of a
little
more than four centuries - the island was a dependency of Spain. For
three hundred years of that time the people of the island were
intensely loyal in their allegiance to the mother country, even going
so
far as to declare war against Napoleon when in 1808 he overthrew the
Spanish Bourbon dynasty. About that time the island was placed under
the control of a captain-general, which form of government continued
until Spain relinquished the island in 1898. In 1825 the royal decree
of the Omnimodas gave the captain-general power to rule at all times
as if Cuba was under martial law, thus placing the lives and fortunes
of the inhabitants at the absolute disposal of the governor. The
"conquistadors" had been slow in coming, but they had at last arrived.
Under the humane policy of Captain-General Las Casas, the people of the
island prospered, but he was succeeded by a man of different type and
in 1829 was formed the first conspiracy for casting off the Spanish
yoke. The movement was discovered before the conspirators were ready to
begin active operations and was cruelly crushed. In 1844 there was an
uprising of the blacks, which resulted in nothing more than to increase
Spanish cruelty in dealing with the islanders. Then followed the futile
expeditions of Narcisso Lopez in 1849, 1851 and 1854, in his Quixotic
efforts to free the Cubans.
In 1868 there was a general uprising of the Cubans against Spanish
oppression and for ten years the island was the scene of war. During
that decade Spain sent 250,000 soldiers to Cuba and so great was the
sacrifice of human life that fewer than fifty thousand returned to
Spain. Property worth $300,000,000 was destroyed during the war, and
the enormous debt contracted by Spain was saddled upon the Cubans in the
way of taxes as a penalty for their rebellion. To offset the general
dissatisfaction that followed, the Spanish Cortes in 1880 abolished
slavery upon the island. But even this measure failed to allay the
discontent and the people began planning another insurrection. Past
experience had schooled them in caution, and for fifteen years they
continued their preparations with the greatest secrecy.
In 1895 the revolution broke out in several places simultaneously,
under the leadership of Generals Gomez, Garcia and Maceo. Martinez
Campos was then captain-general. To him Spain sent troops and
instructions to suppress the uprising at all hazards. Campos conducted
his warfare according to the usage of civilized nations, which policy
was not satisfactory to the Spanish authorities. He was therefore
removed and in his place was appointed General Weyler. The new
captain-general forced the people of the rural districts into the
cities, where they were kept under strict guard in order to prevent
them from furnishing supplies to the revolutionists. This was a
policy of starvation. The supply of food in the cities was soon
exhausted and many of the "reconcentrados," as the people confined in
the cities were called, actually were starved to death. Weyler's
inhumanity aroused the indignation of the civilized world. In the
United State political conventions, irrespective of party, commer cial
organizations in many cities and a few of the State Legislatures
adopted resolutions calling upon the Federal Government to intervene in
behalf of the suffering Cubans.
Early in the year 1898 the Atlantic squadron of the United States
navy was ordered to the Dry Tortugas, within six hours sail of Havana,
and on the evening of January 25, 1898, the battleship Maine dropped
anchor in the harbor of that city. The presence of a war vessel was not
pleasing to the Spanish officials, who sought to retaliate by ordering
the armored cruiser Vizcaya to anchor off New York City. Thus matters
stood until February 9, 1898, when the Spanish minister to the United
States resigned his position and asked for his passports. On the
evening of the 15th the Maine was blown up, with a loss of over two
hundred of her officers and men. A court of inquiry afterward reported
that the battle ship was blown up "by a submarine mine, which caused
the explosion of two or more of her forward magazines." This
wanton destruction of one of the best ships in the navy, with the
consequent loss of life, was followed by great excitement in the United
States and the demand for intervention became more insistent.
About this time General Blanco, who had succeeded Weyler as captain-general, issued a proclamation declaring a suspension of
hostilities and announcing his intention to permit the reconcentrados
to return to their homes. American consuls soon afterward reported that
Bianco's promise was not being kept and that the suffering among the
imprisoned reconcentrados had not been diminished in the least. On
March 8, 1898, Congress made an appropriation of $50,000,000 "for the
national defense," but nothing further was done for over a month, or
until it was positively learned that Bianco's promise to release the
reconcentrados had not been, fulfilled.
On April 19, 1898, Congress adopted a resolution declaring that the
"people of Cuba are and of right ought to be independent," and
demanding that Spain immediately withdraw her troops and relinquish all
authority over the island. The resolution closed as follows: "The
United States hereby disclaims any disposition or intention to exercise
sovereignty, jurisdiction or control over said island, except for the
pacificaton thereof, and asserts its determination when that is
accomplished to leave the government and control of the island to its
people."
Another resolution of the same date authorized the President to
employ the forces of the United States army and navy to aid the Cubans,
and an act was passed providing for an increase of the regular army to
61,000 men. The next move on the part of the Government was to order
Rear Admiral Sampson to blockade the Cuban ports, which was followed
by a formal declaration of war against Spain. On
April 23, 1898, President McKinley issued a proclamation calling for
125,000 volunteers, to be supplied as far as practicable from the
militia of the several states.
The Iowa Legislature, which adjourned only a few days before war
was
formally declared, in anticipation of such an event, appropriated
$500,000 "to aid the General Government in case of
war." Two days before the President issued his call for volunteers,
Adjutant-General Byers promulgated a general order to the company
officers of the Iowa National Guard to have all officers and men
undergo a physical examination to determine their fitness for active
military service. On the 25th Gov. Leslie M. Shaw received a telegram
from the secretary of war advising him of Iowa's quota of troops
under the call. The state fair grounds, near Des Moines, were
designated by the state authorities as a mobilization camp for the
National Guard and the commanding officers of the four infantry
regiments composing the guard were ordered to report "with the least
possible delay."
In arranging for the mustering in of the Iowa regiments, Governor Shaw
ordered them to be numbered to follow the last regiment of infantry
furnished by Iowa in the Civil war. The First Regiment of the National
Guard therefore became the Forty-ninth; the Second, the Fiftieth; the
Third, the Fifty-first, and the Fourth, the Fifty-second.
This regiment was composed of companies raised in the northwestern
part
of the state. Company K was made up of men from Palo Alto and Emmet
counties. Its commissioned officers at the time of muster in were:
Peter O. Refsell, captain; Claude M. Henry, first lieutenant; Charles
F. Grout, second lieutenant, all from Emmetsburg. The following Emmet
County men were enrolled as privates: Leonard Anderson, Hans
Gilbertson, Charles E. Hawk, William O. Mulroney, Thomas M. Pullen,
Oscar A.
Quinnell (promoted corporal), Charles E. Ridley and Charles R. Rose.
The regiment was mustered into the United States service on May 25,
1898, with William B. Humphrey, of Sioux City, as colonel. Three days
later, under orders from the war department, it broke camp at Des
Moines and entrained for Chickamauga Park, Georgia. Upon arriving there
it was assigned to the Third Brigade, Second Division, Third Army
Corps, commanded by General Wade. On August 8, 1898, orders were
received to move the regiment to Porto Rico, but before embarking a
telegram came revoking the order. Immediately following this there were
a number of cases of sickness among the men of the regiment, which the
surgeon said was largely due to their disappointment. The regiment
remained in camp at Chickamauga Park until August 29, 1898, when it was
ordered back to Des Moines. There the men were given a thirty-day
furlough and permitted to visit their homes. The furlough was
afterward extended to October 30, 1898, when the companies were
reassembled at Des Moines and the regiment was mustered out. In his
final report Colonel Humphrey says: "Had the opportunity presented,
the regiment would have acquitted itself with honor and credit to the
state.
