USA > Iowa > Jackson County > Annals of Jackson county, Iowa, Vol 1-6 > Part 45
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This gentleman was no exception to the general rule, but like others that improved the water power along this stream, was a man of energy and grit, and well calculated for a pioneer leader. A doctor who stood at the head of his profession, and as a preacher his ability was second to none of the pioneer ministers, in those early years, and withal a No. 1 mechanic, and was also in every way affable and easy of approach. On one occasion the writer took the liberty to question him as to his adaptability to the different professions he had acquired. To this he replied, a man must be a natural mechanic to be a successful doctor or a successful preacher. and if he lacks mechanism he should seek some other profession.
Almost simultaneous with the building of this tirst sawmill the adja- cent country began to be settled. It was about 1848 when a large portion of the land was settled by emigrants from Licking county, Ohio. Among these may be named Shepherd Caven, Ezariah Clark, Geo. Houston, Thomas Houston, Andy Houston, I. W. Mccullough, Tom Oliver, Tom Saunders, Nathan Said and sons, James and Rev. J. W. Said, both of whom are yet living. But by far the most numerous among these first settlers were the Edwards and Streets families. With these the writer had not sufficient ac- quaintance to correctly call them by their given names, but their offspring are quite numerous and still cutnumber in name all others in this commun- ity.
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And now after a lapse of eight years after the first sawmill was built by Mr. Blackburn, it became apparent that a flouring mill was needed at this point, which the proprietor was not slow to build. The new mill was a fine building with a capacity of about 25 barrels per day. But this mill did not do the business that was expected by the proprietor, for the reason that the territory was somewhat circumscribed by other mills above on the same stream, and for this reason the custom work of the neighborhood was all the patronage that centered at this place.
It was about 14 years after the first sawmill was built that Dr. Black- burn began to be infirm and old. He sold or traded the mill property to Isaiah and Washington Crabb. They were brothers and practical millers as well as practical mechanics, and were men of energy and push in all their undertakings, and withall were men of unblemished character, strict- ly honest in business and thoroughly christian in sentiment. These two brother conducted the business for a number of years to which they added a fairly good country store. Finally the senior partner died and the proper- ty became an estate, and is now operated by the grandsons of Isaiah Crabb, deceased. These boys seem to have inherited all the characteristics of their forefathers and bid fair to perpetuate the good name of their progeniators.
In the 15 years that elapsed from the first settlement of Rev. Dr. Black- burn, the country was fairly settled by 1860. The war of the rebellion soon followed and patriotism among the boys around Crabbtown ran extremely high as also it did all over the western part of Jackson county. Nearly all the boys who were of proper age and muscle around Crabbtown enlisted at the first call of the government. Although Brandon township had at that time a population of less than 900 all told, out of this population 77 men, the cream of the township, went into the service of Uncle Sam during the four years of that war, or nearly 9 per cent. of the entire population. Of these in the immedaite vicinity of Crabbtown were 'T. J. Houston, Amby Harden, Richard Clark, Alfred Baty, Eli Heath, Daniel Heath, Chas. Said, J. W. Said, James Said, Christopher Barger and brother, Zackarian Said, Tom Edwards, Tom Post, Abe Post, Chas. Mccullough, Jacob Lusere, Geo. Johnson, James Johnson, (19 all told of the Crabbtown school district. ) Of the other 57 of Brandon's soldiers no less credit is due. If patriotism can be measured by the large proportion of the brave men who responded to the government's call, then this part of Jackson county stands in the front row with any other district of like population in the state. By far the largest number of the Brandon boys were in the 26th Iowa Regiment, and among all these there were killed or wounded from which they d'ed, John Sinkey Jr., Leonades Miller, Harvey Swift, Chas. Said. Of those who died of disease while In the service were the following : John Cooley, Ambrose Robins, James Johnson, Charles Johnson, Tom Mulford, Ad- mant Cooley, Sam Alberry, and a Mr. Boyd, eight men in all.
It will readily be seen how the industrial interests of the country would be affected by so heavy a drain on the bread winners of the over- patriotic districts. The young men who compesed the bone and muscle of what makes business win, were now in the sunny south, and the farmers were hard put too to secure the necessary help to run their business even
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at reduced proportions. But this difficulty was soon, at least partially over- come. The ladies now began to enlist, not as gunners but as plowmen, as drivers on mowers and reapers. as corn huskers, in short they took to them- selves all the rights that men had or could have, except the right to vote at the elections. This same condition was common in all sections of the country and especially so in districts like the western part of the county. where an overdue proportion of the men had obeyed the government call. It is but due to the ladies to here say that to them belongs a full share of credit and honor for the part they took in sharing the burdens, not in the fields of blood but, in the harvest fields and other industries that furnished supplies for the vast armies that were battling for the supremacy of the flag of our beloved country.
In my next letter I will speak of the draft that was ordered in the last year of the war, and how it occurred that Jackson county was drafted at all.
LEVI WAGONER, ( "Old Observer.")
resides.
0. Bedde
Seniy Biss. a 1.a
L. K. Mula
D Gage, of Salty
hollow north of
R. Colis now on and .- Dalle boues
The one on the Wita min . Damed ILD Was a great od newspapers were seal To hide the
uw log walls Mrs. Wills ha
hold of, and mat
With his face to the walls
moving his Deir along, or getting up
n the place The Jobin MoCaba hoas
pince, now owned by of the bestest and
quest log houses I evar mw.
mer was a wonder Lo ma
Wand to cally
world
St. modi the caly til
Exiting th
The old loir Hous
and li
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home near the b
scon'an o which he
the Bint, ing: p
Some Old Log Houses.
(From the Sabula Gazette.)
Recent reminiscences in the Gazete call to my mind several of the old land marks that have disappeared some years ago. If I remember correctly there were twelve log houses standing along the Maquoketa road in what is now Union and Iowa townships, in 1852. One was in the ravine south of where Sam Clark now lives, one on the Carman place, now owned by John Kunau, one on the David Wyant farm, and another on the Geo. Milliner place. The next was on the John Graham farm, now owned by Mr. Harm- sen, and one on the H. F. Graham farm, now owned by Jerry Bruce. Then came the one on the Samuel Darling farm, just west of where Sidney Brake now resides, and the next that of John McCabe, on the farm now owned by Theo. Redden. The next on the R. C. Kellogg place, now occupied by Henry Biss, and another on the John Cotter farm, near Sterling, then owned by I. K. Millard, and later passing into the hands of J. P. Gage, an uncle of J. D. Gage, of Sabula, and the last was the home of John S. Dille, in the big hollow north of Sterling.
C. R. Colis now owns the land where the Darling and Dille houses stood. The one on the Wm. Davis place was occupied by a man named Wills. He was a great reader and his wife was a neat housekeeper Books and newspapers were scarce in those days, as well as money. To hide the bare log walls Mrs. Wills had papered them with all the newspapers she could get hold of, and many times I have been there and seen Mr. Wills with his face to the walls, reading the papers posted thereon, moving his chair along, or getting up, or sitting down as necessary to catch the piece he was reading.
The John McCabe house was a quarter mile northeast of the S. L. Watts place, now owned by Mr. Redden, and it was one of the neatest and cleanest log houses I ever saw. How it was kept so white in all kinds of weather was a wonder to me. John McCabe. as his name would indicate, was an Irishman, a very mild mannered, inoffensive little old man. Johnny, as we used to call him, always worked out his road tax, and the only tool I ever remember his bringing was a hoe, and it was not such a bad tool either, in the hands of Johnnie, in leveling off the seraper's work. The Samuel Darling house was farther up the hollow, and I do not remember ever visiting there while they lived in the log house.
The old log house on the Graham place was about halfway between the present brick house and Sterling. Alex James owned the place at that time, and he was quite a hunter. One winter while he was confined to his
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home by sickness, a flock of prairie chickens settled in a clump of trees near the house. James' old flintlock gun was out of order, but he could not resist the opportunity for a shot. It will be remembered by those who have seen an old flintlock gun, that there was a concave place in the breech which held a small amount of powder, which, being ignited by a spark from the flint, communicated with the powder in the barrel. It was the spark- ing part in James' gun that would not work, so after loading the gun, he put the powder in the pan, shoved the muzzle out of an open window, and getting aim at the chickens, had his daughter touch off the powder with a hot poker. The recoil sent James and the gun to the opposite side of the room, and I never knew just how many chickens he got.
One of the log cabins that I remember well was that of Geo. Milliner and his mother, and it was a charm and a pleasure to sit by their fireplace on a winter's night and hear the crickets singing under the hearth stone. No other cabin house or place was ever kept cleaner than Mother Milliner kept hers. The floors and walls were so clean, and the tinware seemed to shine just a little brighter than anywhere else. There were many interest- ing incidents connected with each of these old log houses, and each had its history-some pleasing, some pathetic, but all interesting, especially the older pioneers.
I do not think there is a trace remaining of anyone of the twelve cab- ins referred to, unless it be the Milliner cabin. Two years ago I was at the spring near the site of this old cabin, and curiosity led me to follow up the path that used to lead to its door, many years ago. Parting the tangle of woods and vines I found a few stones burned red, and think perhaps if I had dug down in the mould I might have found the old hearthstone. But it is now only a memory we can have of those old log cabins.
AN OLD SETTLER.
Lite different atntos
played in some of the co Sốin the adj To every man wi 000 nen
But this wa
COU vas given full
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Excitement Over Draft Order in War Times.
In my last letter I mentioned that I would next speak of the draft that was made in 1864 for the purpose of replenishing the depleted ranks of the union armies of the war of the rebellion. It became apparent at the end of three years of fierce warfare that the confederate states were neither con- quered cor convinced that their's was an unrighteous cause, and it now be- came necessary, in order to bring the war to a successful close, to place an army in the field large enough and strong enough to overpower the confed- erates into submission by force of numbers. Although the government had already been taxed to the straining point to maintain and equip the vast armies that were already in the tield, it was with great reluctance that the government was forced to the unpopular method of ordering a draft to use arbitrary power to produce national strength. But such was the case in the autumn of 1864. At the now advanced state of the war it was impossi- ble to keep the army to standard fulness by enlistments as had been the case in the earlier stages of the war. The great tug of war was now on, and neither novelty nor patrioism was suffifficient to bring out the required force to make a finish of coercing a union of all our states. It was Americans against Americans that made the contest perhaps the most stubborn and fiercest that the world ever witnessed.
Although there were at this time nearly 1,00,000 of enlisted men already in the field, the government again made a call for 500,000 men, and all the rercruiting stations in the land were again called into requisition. But now the recruiting process was slow. Although many of the counties in the different states offered large bounties which were raised by voting a tax sufficient to raise the required amount. In fact, this method was em- ployed in some of the counties in the early stages of the war. Such was the case in the adjoining county of Clinton. A bounty of $100 was offered to every man who would enlist in that county under the government call for 300,000 men. This bounty proved a tempting bait and many of the young men of adjoining counties went to Clinton to enlist, and among those who went there to enlist from the western part of Jackson county were eighteen of the Brandon township boys. These, together with the others that did not go outside the county to enlist, made the whole number that Brandon township furnished during the war seventy-one men all told, out of a popu- ation of less than 900, or about 8 per cent. of the whole.
But this was not the end of what was required of our Brandon popula- tion. A general draft was now ordered out of the remaining able-bodied men. A certain quoto was required of each county according to population. Each county, however, was given full credit for all the men who had enlist-
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ed therein during the war. The coming draft was apportioned among the several counties of the state according to the number of men that had been previously furnished. It will now be seen how Jackson county lost the cred- it of the eighteen men who went from Brandon township to Clinton county to enlist in order to secure the bounty that that county promised to pay. But there were other instances of this kind in our county, but nowhere did it fall so heavily as in the township of Brandon, which had already furnish- ed more than its full quota before the draft was ordered. Preliminary to the draft there was a census taken in the latter part of 1863 for the purpose of ascertaining the number of able bodied men who were of proper age for military purposes throughout the state, and the names from the census books were returned to a commission whose duty it was to make a physi- cal examination of all such as claimed exemption on account of physical defects, or other reasons. All these were summoned to appear on set davs for the purpose at the several county seats of the state, and all who pass- ed this examination satisfactory were reported to the Adjutant State Gen- eral as fit subjects for the approaching draft.
At this examination matters began to assume a serious aspect. These men were for the most part of a very different cast from those who had vol- untarily enlisted and entered the service of the government. Instead of trying to conceal their physical defects as did the volunteers, the prospec- tive draft men sought to exhibit some real and some imaginary ailments prominently to the examining surgeons. It was frequently laughable to see to what extent men would humble themselves to escape the verdict of the examining commission. But it was only those who claimed exemption from military duty on account of some real or imaginary physical defects that were subject to this preliminary examination. But the crowds who attend- ed were very large, and took on somewhat the resemblance of a political rally. Not only were the men out in force but ladies and boys helped to make up the crowd that thronged the street in front of the examining rooms. In the afternoon a man who lived three miles out presented himself before the commission on the plea that he was an alien and claimed pro- tection under the British flag. The commissioner now asked him how old he was. "Forty-three years" answered the would-be Britisher. And how long have you lived in Iowa? Twenty-three years said the man. And why are you not a citizen? Because I am not in sympathy with the government. Is it possible that you have lived all these years under the protection of our laws and have voted at the elections, I am told, and still not in sym- pathy with the government, asked the official? The commissioner now said, My dear man I advise you to never say again that you are not in sym- pathy with this government, at least not loud enough that this crowd of boys in front of the door can hear it, for I have my doubts if they should hear such talk. Yes. I doubt whether we will. be able to prevent these young bloods from running you out of this town in a hurry. This the com- missioner said quite loud enough to be heard through the open door clear across the street, which the boys construed as a license, and scarcely had he uttered the last sentence till more than a score of boys made a bee-line for the door and quickly brushed aside the guard who made no attempt to
9
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prevent their entrance. But the would-be Britisher quickly interpreted the spirit of the young braves, and in another instant made his escape through a back door, and made Flora temple time across lots to a street that pointed to a dense thicket a half mile distant. But the boys were prevented from following by the prompt closing of the door through which the man escap- ed, but the boys were not to be thwarted in their design, but quickly went out where they come in and soon turned the corner that lead to the street by which their game was escaping, by this time the man had at leas; 20 rods start, and now the race for the cops was fairly on. The boys were doing their best and yelling at the top of their voices like demons and were soon out of sight except the cloud of dust that they raised in their hot pursuit. All business in the office was for a time suspended, and the officers together with the crowd on the street were all out looking down the road in the di- rection where the dust cloud was the thickest. It was nearly an hour be- fore the boys returned and reported that they were unable to catch the traitor.
It was simply wonderful in those days to note how readily the young boys and girls caught on the idea of loyalty to government, and the mani- fest interest was apparently quite as great as those of mature years. It was not until the following year, Sept. 24, 1864, when the final draft was made and the writer was among those who drew a winning card. Although the war had already been on for three and a half years and through all this time anxiety among all classes had been at fever heat, it is not too much to say that this compulsory service climaxed all that had preceded. It was the inconvenience that cut the greatest figure. By far the most of the drafted men were men of families, and were compelled to leave their little ones and better halves behind with a prospect to never return to administer to their wants again. While on the other hand the enlisted men were most- ly young and unmarried and therefore for the most part carried their cares with them. While the drafted man of family left by far the greatest share of his cares behind it is not true that men who went into the service as drafted were cowards. No, not by 99 per cent. Loyal to the core, loyal to their little ones, loyal to their better halves and loyal to their govern- ment. But it is true that a few, -a very few-dodged, went into voluntary exile, and did not again show up till the end of the war. But for these who voluntarily deserted, leaving their families and their government in the same boat we must exercise charity according to the size and intelli- gence of the man, for with them self-preservation certainly outweighed fidelity to family and government alike. And if cowardice is a sin, then are they guilty. But when we take a glance back to those four years of worry, of anxiety, of mental and physical suffering, we sometimes wonder whether the great victory gained will ever be sufficient to pay for the an- guish, the physical suffering and the treasure that was expended. The great question now beore the world is the value of universal peace. It does seem but reasonable to believe that the world after so many thousand years should now be far enough advanced in civilization and intelligence to solve international differences without appealing to the barbarous sword.
LEVI WAGONER.
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& foll w the examoluing surgery the men of the distrle
overmmett .
Camp Mcclellan and the Redskins.
It was not until Sept. 2, 1864, that the impending draft was hnally made in the district of which Davenport was headquarters for rendezvous. It was at this point where Adjutant General Baker had his principal office and it was after the draft had already been made that a party meeting was called in the western part of Jackson county to determine on some plan by which this part of the county would get a full credit for men who had en- listed during the progress of the war and especially of the 18 who were all Brandon township men, who went into Clinton county to enlist on account of the bounty that was promised and voted in that county for a stimulous to induce men to be patriotic. The plan adopted at the meeting was to appoint a committee of three, whose business it was to immediately set out for Davenport, Iowa, and report the grievance to Adjutant General Baker and if possible obtain credit for the 18 men before referred to. This com-
mittee was composed of James Ryan, J W. Dilrance and the writer.
On
the 11th of October the committee obtained a hearing before the general, who immediately examined the records and found all the names of the 18 men of whom our committee furnished him a list. Yes. said the General, the names are all here, but these men according to the enlistment belong to Clinton county and not to Jackson county as you men claim. The fact of that is that this same complaint comes to me from all over the State. If it was bounty that induced your men to go to an adjoining county to en- list, you should have taken the precaution to provide a bounty of equal amount in your own county, and by that means your men would have en- listed at home. No, I am not now able to make a change in the situation. It was on the 11th of October 1864, that the drafted men of Jackson county were required to report and they did report in such numbers that Daven- port resembles the site of a State fair. The hotels were crowded to their utmost capacity for an entire week, in fact, all the shelter, public and pri- vate was brought into use, and still many of the people were forced to camp out in vacant lots. It was not on account of the many men who were drafted that the crowds were so large, but it appeared that each man drafted had at least two or three friends to accompany him and see him mustered into the service of Uncle Sam.
Camp Mcclellan, two miles above Davenport on the Iowa side of the river, was the place where our boys exchanged their wares for the army blue, and to this camp the boys were marched in squads of 24 to 30 in a gang. These squads were formed at the Provost Marshall's office as fast as
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the examining surgeons could do their work. It was a full week before all the men of the district were disposed of and installed in the service of the government.
But there was another encampment on the outskirts of Davenport, and quite different from that of Camp Mcclellan. This was the camp or rather the prison of that band of Indians who committed the Minnesota massacre. In a stockade which enclosed about three acres was the prison of the sav- ages who engaged in the indiscriminates slaughter of several hundred of the fronvier settlers of Minnesota. In this stockade the redskins had their wigwams in true Indian style. Here was represented the whole tribe from the gray-haired warrier down to papoose of tender age. The squaws in their filthy garbs were engaged in their accustomed labors of dressing skins and cooking, in their way, for their litte ones. The men were lounging around in their sullen mood smoking their pipes and looking daggers at the pale faces whose curiosity prompted them to obtain passes to inspect the prison of the savage tribe. There were about 700 of all ages within the stockade, who were supplied with the necessary provisions as were any oth- er prisoner of war. Among them were stalwart warriors and many of these were models of muscular build and strength. But the government did not propose to punish them with imprisonment alone, but compelled them, under a strong gaurd, to perform all the drudgery that could be invented in and about Camp Mcclellan, where our drafted men had their barracks. It was the duty of the redskins to sweep the camp of the boys in blue with brooms made out of hazlebrush or twigs, or whatever would make a clumsy broom, and the order of sweeping must be done in military style. The redskins were placed with their rude brooms in a straight line, and then in regular order, compelled to sweep till the whole camp was gone over, and the sweepings carried to a dump outside the camp. This was not all that was required of them The camp must be supplied with wood for cooking purposes. Back of the camp on the river bank was a woodyard about 80 rods distant. A steep hill was between camp and wood yard, and up this hill the Indians were compelled to carry the wood to supply the entire camp which at this time was occupied by several thousand of the boys in blue. This pack train reminded the writer of the pack trains that we read of in ancient Asia, the only difference is in the latter being carried by mules and camels while the former named carried the wood under the supposed name of men.
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