Biographies | 1896 Bios
Captain Maconah Lemon
Captain Lemon's was a very active military life. During his term of nearly four years of service, he was absent but one week, and had his place and share in all the honors of the Eleventh Iowa Infantry as a part of Crocker's Iowa Brigade. The regiment was assigned to duty in the western army, and maintained the dignity and honor of the Hawkeye State on many a bloody battlefield. Their first baptism of fire was at the battle of Pittsburg Landing. Following this came the siege of Corinth and in the autumn of 1862 the regiment suffered severely at the battle of Corinth. About this time General Grant's forces were closing in around Vicksburg, and the Eleventh Iowa was sent with others by way of Holly Springs to intercept the enemy before he reached the stronghold behind the fortifications at Vicksburg. But this enterprise proved ineffectual and the regiment returned to Memphis. Going down the river by steamer it joined in the siege which culminated in the capture of the" Key of the Southern Confederacy" at the same hour that the rebel hordes were defeated at the great battle of Gettysburg by the eastern army. During the siege of Vicksburg occurred the hotly contested engagements at Champion Hills and Black River Bridge, in which Captain Lemon participated. He was also indentified with the final assault on Vicksburg, and after its fall accompanied the regiment on a raid to Meridian, Mississippi, the purpose of which has never been fully explained. This raid comprised forced marches into the enemy's country to a distance of about 150 miles, though it brought forth no general engagements or tangible results. Returning to Vicksburg, the regiment re-enlisted with the hope that three years more of service might restore peace and happiness to the survivors. Such heroism as was exhibited by the prompt and voluntary re-enlistment of the three-years men, of whom no further duty could be required until the resources of the country were exhausted, has never been equaled in the volunteer soldiery. With the allurements of home and the peaceful pursuits of life in their very grasp, after three years of constant struggle and hardships, they promptly allied themselves with the forces still in the field, resolved that ,'the Union must and shall be preserved." Now, after the lapse of over thirty years since the close of the Civil war, we still find in the places of honor and responsibility men who are prone to depreciate or disparage the achievements of the men who saved the nation. To the end that their endeavors may not prove fruitless, let every ex-soldier leave a truthful record of his soldier life for the perusal of his children and their children on down the ages to come. Let the minister and the teacher, the great educators of the world, teach patriotism and love of country to all who will hear.
At the expiration of their thirty-days furlough; the Eleventh Iowa Infantry, recruited and newly equipped, joined the army at Big Shanty and soon were engaged in the battle of Kenesaw mountain. Next followed the campaign against Atlanta under General Sherman. The siege of this stronghold culminated in the memorable battle on the 22d of July, 1864. Here the Eleventh Iowa did valiant service, holding their position against superior numbers, and, though they were driven from their earthworks seven times during the day, they recaptured and held them. Half of the regiment was killed or disabled, it probably being the most disastrous battle of the war, as far as regimental casualties were concerned. After the fall of Atlanta they accompanied General Sherman on his famous march to the sea and were in the siege and capture of Savannah. From this point they embarked on transports and landed at Beaufort, South Carolina, thence proceeded by forced marches to Columbia and finally reached Goldsboro, North Carolina, in time to take part in the last great battle of the war. They followed the retreating Johnston until he surrendered, and then marched to Richmond and Washington, taking part in the grand review of the victorious armies there assembled. From Washington the regiment was sent to Louisville, Kentucky, and there its men were mustered out of service, receiving their final discharges at Davenport, Iowa, July 15, 1865. Captain Lemon was wounded at Kenesaw mountain, July 4, 1864, the scar from which is a constant reminder that his face was always toward the foe. A minie ball struck his left cheek, cutting a deep, though not dangerous wound, which relieved him of active duty for a few days, though he never left the front.
Returning to his parental home in Washington county, Iowa, the Captain resumed the peaceful vocation of a farmer. In 1869 he removed to Guthrie county, locating on a farm in Bear Grove township, where he remained until called to fill the honorable position in which he is now serving. In the general election in 1892 he was elected to the office of County Auditor, and immediately moved his family to Guthrie Center, taking charge of the office in January, 1893. In November, 1894, he was re-elected and is now serving his third year. Though not in any sense an office-seeker, he was urged by his friends to accept this nomination, that they might show their appreciation of his valuable service and fitness for the position, while his triumphal re-election attests the degree of satisfaction with which his official services were received.
Captain Lemon was born in Westnloreland county, Pennsylvania, August 12, 1841, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His parents, Robert and Hester (Tarr) Lemon, were both natives of Westmoreland county, the former born in 1812, and the latter in 1822, and in that county were married. The year 1851 found them residents of Iowa, where they still reside. Their family consisted of twelve children, only four of whom are now living, our subject being the eldest. David M., a carpenter by trade, is a resident of Washington, Iowa. William lives with his parents and operates the home farm. Frank is married and lives in Wyman, Iowa. Three brothers-Walker, John and Bascomb -all died in 1852; Sarah Ann, who was the wife of Frank Mathews, died in 1883. Elizabeth, the wife of John L. Riley, of Crawfordsville, Iowa, was drowned in 1892, while attempting to cross a swollen stream. Samuel, a young man still in his teens, died in 188o; and two children died in infancy.
The education of the Captain was obtained wholly in the pioneer schools of Iowa and under rather unfavorable circumstances. As he was the eldest son much reliance was placed upon his ability to aid in the opening up of the new farm, and he usually had to go two or three miles to school, while he was only able to attend at such times as· he could best be spared from the farm. In this way he acquired a fair common-school education, to which he has added a good stock of general information by careful reading and systematic study.
In Washington county, Iowa, on the 22d of February, 1866, was celebrated the marriage of Captain Lemon and Miss Jennie McCutcheon, a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of John and Eliza Ann McCutcheon, who were the parents of seven children, all of whom are still living: William, a cabinet-maker of Washington Iowa; James, a carpenter and contractor of the same place; Arthur, who resides on the old homestead in Pennsylvania; Thomas, who makes his home in California; Jennie, the honored wife of our subject; John, a resident of Colorado; and Maggie, who lives in Indiana. The father, who was a farmer by occupation, died while quite young, and in 1857 Mrs. Lemon accompanied her widowed mother to Iowa, where the latter died in 1866. Five children grace the union of our subject and his wife: Etna, an efficient teacher in the public schools of Guthrie Center; Anna, who is the wife of B. F. McLuen, a farmer of Guthrie county; Clyde, who is Deputy County Auditor, and a young man of excellent business qualifications and an able assistant to his father in the discharge of his official duties; and Maude and Frank, who are still at home and are attending school. The children have had excellent educational advantages, well fitting them for any positions in life.
The Captain is a very prominent member in the Masonic fraternity as well as the Grand Army of the Republic, while Mrs. Lemon is a diligent worker in the Woman's Relief Corps, and a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They have the regard and esteem of all who know them and have won hosts of friends in Guthrie county. He is president of his regimental association of survivors, and as historian of his regiment is engaged in compiling a history of their achievements.
A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa, Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company 1896, pg. 305.