USA > Iowa > An illustrated history of the state of Iowa, being a complete civil, political, and military history of the state, from its first exploration down to 1875; > Part 76
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Iowa and the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad with a considerable force of insurgents. The expedition was suc- sessful, and Col. Dodge returned to Council Bluffs, perfected his organiza- tions, and reported, with his regiment and battery, in August, 1861, to Gen. Fremont, at St. Louis. He was soon ordered, with his regiment, to Rolla, Mo., and commanded that frontier post until the organization of the army of the southwest, under Gen. Curtis, when he was assigned to the command of the fourth brigade, and led the advance in the capture of Springfield, Missouri. He took a prominent part in the celebrated battle of Pea Ridge, where the rebel power was broken in Missouri and northern Arkansas, had three horses killed un- der him and was seriously wounded. He was made a brigadier general, at the request of Maj. Gen. Halleck, for his gallant conduct in this battle. Af- ter recovering from his wounds, he was designated to command the dis- trict of Columbus, Kentucky. While holding this command, he defeated Gen. Villipegue, on the Hatchie river, captured Gen. Faulkner and his com- mand, near Island No. 10, and took many prisoners. Immediately after the battle of Corinth, in the fall of 1862, he was assigned to the command of the 2d division of the army of the Tennessee in the district organized and commanded by Gen. Grant. Soon after, he was assigned to the command of the the district of Corinth, Miss., opening the campaign in the spring of 1863, by defeating the confederate forces under Forrest, Roddy, Fergu- son and others; also fell upon Van Doren's column at Tuscumbia, on its march north to Bragg's army.
Combining the education of a civil engineer with that of a soldier the rebuilding of several railroads was added to his other duties; he also raised and equipped large numbers of colored troops, and in April, 1863, made the notable campaign up the Tennessee valley to the neighborhood of Decatur, in the rear of Bragg's army, destroying its supplies and connec- tions, and aiding in the retreat and destruction of that army. July 5, 1863, he was assigned to the command of the left wing of the 16th army corps, with headquarters at Corinth, Missis- sippi. His forces made a raid on
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Granada Miss , in connection with a [ he was sent north; reporting again to movement from Vicksburgh, which Gen. Sherman when fit for duty. resulted in driving the enemy south of that place, and capturing fifty-five locomotives, and a thousand cars. While at the head of the 16th army corps he joined Gen. Sherman in his march to Chattanooga, and wintered with his eorps on the line of the Nash- ville and Decatur railroad. In the spring of 1864, he was entrusted with the advance of the army of the Ten- nessee, one of the three armies consoli- dated for the Atlanta campaign. His corps took part in the battles of Gen. Sherman's forces in the march from Chattanooga to Atlanta. In recogni- tion of his services in this eampaign he was made a major general by the gen- eral government, his commission bear- ing date June 7, 1864. He was in the rear of the extreme left of Gen. McPherson's army when the Confed- erate Gen. Hood, moving around At- lanta, attacked Gen. Sherman in the rear, on the 22d July, and his corps bore the brunt of that fierce attack in which Gen. MePherson was killed. The enemy, confident of success, had thoroughly calculated all the advan- tages of the situation ; Gen. Dodge, by promptly bringing his corps into line, while on the march and attacking Hood's army, saved the army of the Tennessee from a threatened defeat; the enemy was driven from the field leaving his dead and wounded behind. Eight battle flags were captured and a large number of prisoners, among them the private who had killed and had in his possession the effects of the unfortunate MePherson. At the same time he detached an entire brig- ade to assist the 15th corps to retake and hold the works from which the enemy had partly driven it. Another brigade defeated the enemy at Deea- tur and thereby saved the commissary and ammunition supplies of the army of the Tennessee. In this campaign - his corps lost more men, in killed and wounded, in proportion to its _ strength, than any other in Sherman's 1 - command. A few weeks after the battle of Atlanta, the army still be- sieging that eity, Gen. Dodge re- ceived a gunshot wound in the fore- head, while standing in the rifle pit on the skirmish line superintending an advance. This was on the 19th of August, 1864. When able to be moved,
His commanding officer thought it imprudent for one in his physical condition to make the fatiguing march to the sea, and he was ordered to the district of Vicksburgh, and he- fore he had reached his headquarters, was assigned to the department of the Missouri, by the President of the United States, relieving Gen. Rose- crans.
Missouri was overrun with guerillas L and marauders and the national troops were in bad diseipline, and condition, but Gen. Dodge soon brought order out of anarchy and was successful in driving out and breaking up the bands of guerillas.
Kansas and Utah were merged into his command, giving him increased trouble and responsibility. The In- dian forces had united in a warfare on the settlements, from the Red river of the north to the Red river of Texas. It was midwinter, but his troops were promptly put in motion, invaded the country of the hostile tribes, and made them sue for peace; and an equally vigorous fight was made on the gueril- las of Missouri, Arkansas and the In- dian territory. He received the sur- render of 4,000 of Kirby Smith's army in Missouri, and of the confederate Gen. Jeff Thompson, with 8,000 offl- cers and men in Arkansas. He made an ineffectual attempt to have the whole Indian policy of the govern- ment changed, which had been so long a failure, advoeating the handing them over to the war department to be treated as wards of the nation, and as no longer independent, treaty making powers. The war now being closed, Gen. Dodge's command was changed so as to include the Indian country of the west and northwest, embracing Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, western Dakota, Montana and Utah.
In June, 1866, at his urgent request, he was relieved, and his resignation accepted. On retiring from the army, he was appointed chief engineer of the Union Pacific Railroad, then building. Mr. Lincoln manifested great interest in this enterprise du- ring his visit to Council Bluffs in 1859; and subsequently, in 1863, when president, telegraphed General Dodge to leave his command at Corinth, Miss., aud repair to Washington. An
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interview resulted, wherein Mr. Lin- coln decided that the Pacific Railroad should begin on the western boundary of Iowa, and at the town of Council Bluffs.
In recognition of his military and- state services, the republicans of the fifth congressional district of Iowa nominated Gen. Dodge for congress, in July, 1866, and he was elected over a popular competitor by 4,908 major- ity, 2,000 more than the district had ever given before. He served on the committee of military affairs, and paid special attention to the reorgani- zation of the army and to the reim- bursement of Iowa for expenses in- curred in the war, as well as in de- fending the border against Indians. He declined a renomination, and re- turned to the plains to push forward the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad, to which work he bent all his energies, supervised its relations with the government, saw that the law was adhered to, and the work con- scientiously done, having no connec- tion with the road outside of his official duties as chief engineer, no interest in the construction company, its contracts or profits. The ablest of the engineers of the government and commissions of eminent citizens have examined the road under the direction of the executive department and con- gress, and have paid high compli- ments to its excellent location, econo- my of distance and little curvature. While engaged in the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad, Geu. Dodge made a successful effort to bring the Cedar Rapids and Missouri Rail- road, now under the North western Rail- road, to Council Bluffs as a terminus ; and it is due to his pertinacity and untiring efforts that Council Bluffs has been made the connecting point with the Union Pacific Railroad for all roads coming into the state from east to west and from north to south. As chief engineer of the Union Pa- cific Railroad, Gen. Dodge made the plans for the great iron bridge which spans the Missouri river between Council Bluffs and Omaha, having charge of its construction until the time of his leaving the road as chief engineer. The road was completed in 1868, and very soon afterward Gen. Dodge disconnected himself from the enterprise and became chief engineer !
of the Southern Pacific, now the Tex- as and Pacific Railroad, where he took control of the surveys and con- struction, and from July, 1872, to De- cember, 1873, he completed the sur- veys along the thirty-second parallel of latitude, from Sherman and Tex- arkana, Texas, to the Pacific Ocean, at San Diego, 1,900 miles in all. He also put under construction 500 miles of the road and had it nearly completed when the panic of 1873 caused a suspension of the work. Since then he has been connected with the management of the Union Pacific and other western railroads.
Gen. Dodge was married May 29, 1854, at Salem, Mass., to Miss Annie Brown, of Peru, Ill. They have three daughters, Lettie, born June 17, 1855, and married to Mr. R. E. Montgom- ery. Ella, born Dec. 12, 1858; Annie, born March 7, 1866; they occupy a beautiful residence on the western slope of the bluff, commanding a fine view of Council Bluffs and Omaha. He has liberal religious views, and is not a member of any church. Hc ia a member of the society of Odd Fel- lows, and takes an interest in whatever develops his state, American society and the country at large. His char- acteristics are great energy, industry and persistency in every work he un- dertakes; his honor and integrity are unimpeachable; of nervous tempera- ment and quiet disposition. One marked trait in Gen. Dodge's charac- ter is his generosity and unselfishness, always ready to help his friends, sparing neither time nor money to further their interests. Unobstrusive and undemonstrative, caring nothing for display, he chooses the most di- rect and effective means for the ac- complishment of ends, leaving the re- sults obtained as the monument of his deeds.
Hon. Smiley H. Bonham. He was born in Belmont county, Ohio, on the 29th of May, 1814. His father was a soldier in the war of 1812, and at the close of the war, removed to Knox county, Ohio, where two years later he died, leaving a family of seven chil- dren, of which the subject of our sketch was the youngest. His educa- tional advantages were limited; but the best the schools of that place af- forded were given him. In 1838, at
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the age of twenty four, he was mar- ried to Miss Susan Fry, and in the fall of 1839, removed with his father-in-law and family to Johnson county, Iowa. Mr. Bonham was foreman of the first grand jury that sat in Iowa City. He served for several years as justice of the peace, and also as town clerk, in what was then known as " Old Man's Creek precinct." He was a candidate for delegate to the first constitutional convention, and defeated by thirteen votes. Was also a candidate for the territorial legislature, and defeated by a small vote. Was elected to the ter- ritorial legislature in 1846. The ter- ritory having been admitted into the union as a state, Mr. Bonham was elected a member from the district composed of the counties of Johnson and Iowa, to the first general assem- bly; and also was elected from the same district to the second state gen- eral assembly. At the meeting of this body, he was chosen speaker of the house, and received credit for being an able and impartial presiding officer. After a residence of thirty years in Johnson county, Mr. Bonham, in the spring of 1869, removed to Clarke county, Iowa, where he at present re- sides, following the avocation of a farmer. In 1873, he was elected on the anti-monopoly ticket to represent Clarke county in the 15th general assembly. He was a member of the railroad committee during this session of the legislature, and took a very ac- tive part in its labors, which resulted in the passage of the present railroad law, in the state of Iowa. Mr. Bon- ham is a member of the church of Christ, known in some localities as Campbellites. He is a member of, and an earnest worker in, the order of Patrons of Husbandry, and is always ready to shiver a lance with any one who opposes the grangers. Since Mr. B.'s residence in Iowa, they have had born to them nine chilpren, and all raised without a doctor's bill. He is a firm believer in the climatic influ- ence of growing timber, and has given much attention to the growing of for- est and fruit trees.
Hon. Napoleon B. Moore. He was born at London, Madison county, Ohio, Sept. 7, 1832. His father was one of the pioneers in that county. Young Moore was brought up on a farm near
the place of his birthi, and was educated at the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware. His health failing him before completing a collegiate course, he entered actively into agricultural pursuits. In 1855, he removed to Iowa, and first settled at Eddyville Here he read law in the office of Homer L. Ives, Esq., and was admitted to the bar at Albia, Monroe county, in June, 1856; removed to Bedford, Taylor county, in Sept., 1857, and commenced the practice of his profession; and in Sept., 1860, removed to Clarinda, Page county, where he has since resided In July, 1866, he established the bank- ing house of Moore and McIntyre, and succeeded them as sole proprietor in May, 1871. In August, 1872, he or- ganized the First National Bank of Clarinda, and was president of the same until July 1, 1875, when he re- signed in order to devote his time to his profession. In politics Mr. Moore is a republican, and was elected by his party, county judge of Page county, in 1861, and to the state senate, in 1867. He is a member of the M. E. Church and an active worker in the church, and well known in the state as an active Sabbath school man. He is recognized throughout the state as a leading financier and able lawyer.
George L. Brooks. Mr. Brooks was born at Lawrence, Mass., September 27, 1848. When he was four years of age, his parents removed to Philadel- phia, and three years later to the state of Iowa, settling on a farm near Inde- pendence, in Buchanan county. At the age of 18 he commenced school teaching. When 20 his father gave him " his time," and with $15 in his pock- et he started out in the world. After spending several months in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky, he returned to Independence and engaged in book keeping. In 1871, having acquired a few hundred dollars in money, he re- moved to Corning, Adams county, Iowa, and there engaged in the gro- cery business, and the following spring started a small store at Lenox, Taylor county. Lenox, at this time, was decidedly in the embryo state,- a depot and two or three dwellings comprised the sum total of improve- ments, and the country for miles around was without inhabitants. But believing that so fine a country, when
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properly settled, would make a good | town of Lenox, Mr. Brooks resolved to make this his home, and use his energies to bring that event about. Accordingly he went to work to get control of the town and a large por- tion of the country adjacent, that spec- ulators might be kept out, and actual settelrs and business men be induced to come in. By this means, in the short space of three years, he suc- ceeded in establishing the town on a firm basis, and of selling to actual set- tlers nearly all the country tributary to Lenox. Mr. Brooks has gained the confidence and esteem of the inhabi- tants of the county, which he regards of greater value than all the property he has acquired. In the spring of 1875, he established a banking house, in which business, together with real estate, he is at present engaged. He is a republican in politics, in all business transactions honorable, of temperate habits, and liberal towards all charitable projects. He is not a member of any church, but believes in advancing its interests, and subscribes liberally towards its support. He be- longs, and is in good standing with the masonic fraternity. He was mar- ried in 1873, to Miss Charlotte E. Wil- son, an English lady, from Toronto, Canada, and they have had one child, a daughter, born to them, which has recently been taken from them by death. Their house is pleasant and attractive, and one of the finest fin- ished and furnished residences in the country.
George E. Clarke, of Algona, was born in Sangerville, Me., March 19, 1845. He was educated at Foxcroft Academy, Foxcroft, Me; commenced teaching at an early age in order to meet the expenses of his education. In 1865, he came west, on account of poor health, and after teaching a year, studied law and commenced practice. He was admitted to practice as an at- torney and counselor at law, in 1869, at which time he was located at Web- ster City, in Hamilton county. Early in 1870, he removed to Algona, where he still resides, engaged in the prac- tice of law. He has gained a fine reputation as a lawyer, and is well known throughout northwestern Iowa. He has a large practice, which is ycarly increasing. As an advocate
before the jury and in chancery cases, he has been eminently successful. Mr. Clarke is of social disposition, active, energetic character, having warm friends and bitter enemies. In religious faith, he is a Universalist. He is both a Mason and an Odd Fel- low. He was married July 6, 1869, at St. Charles, III., to an estimable lady, who died July 7, 1875, leaving to his care two motherless children, aged respectively four and a half years, and four months.
Hon. Charles Henry Lewis, judge of the district court of the 4th judi- cial district of Iowa, is a native of New York, born in Erie county, Oct. 17, 1839. In the spring of 1840, his parents, with their family, consisting of six children, removed to Boone county, Ill., where in June, 1843, his mother died. In the fall of 1851, his father removed to Independence, Bu- chanan county, Iowa, and three years later to Quasqueton, same county. Here the subject of our sketch worked on the farm with his father during the summer seasons, and taught school in winter, until the spring of 1859, when he was sent to Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa, to complete is educa- tion. In 1862, he returned home from college, and at once enlisted for the war as a private soldier. He was mus- tered into the United States service at Dubuqe, Iowa, with the 27th regiment, Iowa infantry volunteers, in Oct. 1862 - his being company H. He served as private about one year, when he was appointed sergeant major of his regiment, which position he filled un- til Aug. 2, 1864, when he was com- missioned as first lieutenant and adju- tant of the regiment by Gov. Stone, of Iowa. This position he continued to hold until the close of the war and the regiment was mustered out of ser- vice. Returning to his home in Quas- queton, he was married on the 31st day of March, 1866, to Miss Emma E. Kellogg. In 1868 and 1869, he at- tended law school at Iowa City, and studied under Prof. W. G. Hammond, Hon. C. C. Cole and Hon. Geo. G. Wright. In May, 1869, he settled in Cherokee, Cherokee county, Iowa, and commenced the practice of law; in the fall of 1870, was elected to the office of district attorney of the 4th judicial district of Iowa, then comprising
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twenty-two counties; held this posi- tion for the full term of four years. He was nominated by the republican convention, held June 30, 1874, for the office of district judge for his district, with but one dissenting vote, and was' elected at the following election by about 3,500 majority. He has been on the bench since Jan. 1, 1875, and has discharged the duties of that of- fice in an able and satisfactory man- ner. Judge Lewis has a comfortable home, a convenient farm house, sur- rounded with porches and piazzas, and yard filled with ornamental, shade and fruit trees.
Hon. Samuel Merrill. He was born in Turner, Oxford county, Me., Aug. 7, 1822. He is of English an- cestry, being a descerdant, on his mother's side, of l'eter Hill, who came from the west of England and settled in Saco, Me. (now known as Bidde- ford), in 1653. On his father's side, he is a descendant of Nathaniel Mer- rill who, with his brother John, came from Salisbury, England, and settled in Newburg, Mass., in 1636. He was married to Catherine Thomas, who died in 1847, but fourteen months after their marriage. In Jan., 1851, he was again married, his second wife being a Miss Hill, of Buxton, Me. To this union there have been four children, only one of whom is still living. At sixteen years, he moved with his parents to Buxton, where his time was mostly engaged in turns at teaching and in attending school until he attained his majority. Having determined to make teaching a profession, he set out, for that pur- pose, toward the sunny south ; but, as he says, he was " born too far north " for his political comfort. Suspicion having been raised as to his abolition. ist proclivities, and finding the ele- ments not altogether congenial, he soon abandoned the land of the palm and palmetto for the old Granite State, where he engaged for several years in farming. In 1847, he moved to Tam- worth, N. H., where he engaged in the mercantile business in company with a brother. In this, as in all his indus- trial enterprises, he was quite success- ful. Not being satisfied with the limited resources of northern New England, he determined to try his good fortune on the broad prairies of
the new and more fertile west. Ac- cordingly, in 1856, he turned his face toward the setting sun. He made a final settlement at McGregor, Iowa, where he established a branch house of the old firm. McGregor was then but a queer looking village, with but a few scattering houses, and surround- ed by a country with a sparse popula- tion. But immigration poured in rap- idly, new farms were opened, and the barren prairies made to blossom as the rose. With increased population, their trade augmented, until their house became one of the most exten- sive wholesale establishments on the upper Mississippi river. This result was owing to his correct and energetic business qualities. During all these years of business, Mr. Merrill took an active, but not a noisy part in politics. In 1854, he was elected, as an aboli- tionist, to the New Hampshire legis- lature, at the same time Gen. N. B. Baker was governor of the state. In 1855, he was returned a second term to the legislature, during which time he voted for James Bell, for United States senator, and for John P. Hale, to fill the unexpired term of Wm. Atherton, deceased. This was during the Kansas - Nebraska excitement, when political evolutions were sud- den and fiery, in the beginning of Pierce's administration ; but Mr. Mer- rill performed his duty quietly, doing faithful service in the place assigned him by the people. In Iowa, he was also as fortunate in securing the in- telligent approval of all who knew him. Those who dealt with him found him strictly honest in business, fair in all his dealings, social in his relations and benevolent in his dispo- sition. He took an active interest in the prosperity of the town, and ever held an open hand to all needed chari- ties. These traits of character had drawn around him, but not intended by himself, a host of personal admi- rers. This good will resulted in his being nominated for a seat in the state legislature, and the only one elected on his ticket. The session convened in Jan., 1860, and was composed of the very best minds the state could produce, which fact was permanently stamped upon the vast amount of la- bor thoroughly performed. An extra session was called, in 1861, to provide for the exigencies of the rebellion, in
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which Gov. Merrill rendered timely service in providing for the defense and perpetuity of our nation against the hand of treason. He continued in business at McGregor until the sum- mer of 1862, when he was commis- sioned as colonel of the twenty-first Iowa volunteer infantry, proceeding immediately to Missouri, where active service awaited him. Marmaduke was menacing the Union forces in central Missouri, which called for prompt action on the part of Union generals. Col. Merrill was placed in command of a detachment of the twenty-first Iowa, a detachment of the ninety-ninth Illinois, a portion of the third Iowa cavalry, and two pieces of artillery, with orders to make a forced march to Springfield, he being at Houston, eighty miles distant. On the morning of Jan. 11, 1863, they having come across a body of rebels, found them advancing in heavy force. The colonel immediately prepared for battle, and brisk firing was kept up for an hour, when the enemy fell back. He then moved in the direction of Hartsville, where he found the rebels in force, under Marmaduke, from six to eight thousand strong, with six pieces of artillery, while Col. Merrill had but eight hundred men and two pieces of artillery. This was the first time the twenty-first had been under fire, and, considering the numbers en- gaged, was one of the most remarka- ble engagements of the war. Says Lieut. Col. Dunlap in his report, "I make mention of none as having dis- tinguished himself above another. Every man was brave, cool, active and a hero. Too much praise cannot be accorded them." The regiment was engaged in the battles of Vicks- burg, Port Gibson, and in the charge of Black River Bridge. It was in the latter that Col. Merrill was severely wounded, which closed his military career. He then resigned his com- mission, and returned to McGregor, where, after some months of suffer- ing, he resumed his former business.
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