USA > Iowa > Buchanan County > History of Buchanan County, Iowa, with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 29
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IN MEMORIAM .*
Tears for the dead, though unaiding, will flow, and grief for departed friends will be felt, and its poignancy is only the greater because it cannot unclose the portals of the tomb. This grief now pervades the whole community ; these tears bedew every eye. Lieutenant George C. Jordan is no more. In the bloom of manhood, and in the full use- fulness and efficiency of the noblest efforts for his country, he has laid down his life as a sacrifice for liberty, and the preservation of this re- public.
After the bloody and memorable battles of Pea Ridge and Fort Don- elson, battles which for courage and heroism will compare with any of Grecian or Roman history, and which the people of Buchanan county watched with an interest and anxiety indescribable, because they had precious and noble sons among those gallant troops- after those battles, when we learned that one out of every three was either killed or wounded, we waited with breathless suspense to know who were the brave men that had shed their blood to preserve our liberties, our honor and our nationality. The news came -the load of dread was lifted from our spirits. While many were wounded, but three of our beloved soldiers were killed, and among our fearless officers, none were slain. We exchanged congratulations with ardor, and the gloom was dispelled from all our countenances. We exulted in the indomitable courage and the unconquerable bravery of those whom our own county had sent to the field.
Alas! this joy was of short duration. In the midst of our rejoicing, like a burst of thunder in a clear sky, the terrible news pervaded the community, that George (. Jordan was brought into the village a life- less corpse. It was even so. That noble heart had censed to beat. His family, his friends, his country have lost him forever ; save as his example and his deeds live after him. Never, in this community, has a death produced such general and such profound grief. The aspect of our village was as if a great calamity had befallen it, and no coun- tenance but bore the marks of sorrow. The mournfu! topic absorbed all others, and all felt as if they had lost a son or a brother.
Well did the departed deserve these tributes of respect, affection, and grief. Wherever he was known he was beloved. Kind, generous, intelligent, unassuming, free-minded, benevolent, and virtuous, he won all hearts and secured universal esteem. No wonder, then, that the pang was so great when he was lost to us. No wonder that we all felt that a good citizen, a brave soldier, a true patriot, had taken his de- parture. It is not too much to say that he has not left an enemy be- hind him. His life was a succession of worthy actions, and it may be emphatically said that he was incapable of an ignoble one. He was eminently just and honorable, of gentle deportinent and engaging manners. Yet he had firmness when it was required, unflinching cour-
- For the Guardian.
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HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.
age where it was demanded, and, when duty called, a tenacity of pur- pose that was fixed as fate.
We do well to weep for him. He deserves our tears, and our ex- pressions of heartfelt sorrow were simultaneous and spontaneous. The flags which were before waving so proudly for our recent victory, were weighted with the emblems of woe, and badges of mourning were dis- played throughout the village. Friends met and exchanged greetings in hushed voices, and it seemed almost a profanation that business should go on, when his great heart had ceased to throb -- when he had been brought baek dead.
Notwithstanding high streams and almost impassable roads, and the great difficulty of diffusing intelligence, people from remote parts of the county flocked to the funeral. The citizens of the place vied with each other in paying respect to one so honored for what he was in himself and for what he had become in dying in so noble a cause. The funeral services were conducted by the Rev. Messrs. Boggs, Fulton, Sampson, and Caldwell. The funeral sermon was preached by Mr. Boggs, at the Presbyterian church, which was densely packed. The speaker was at times mueh affected himself, and tears and sobs per- vaded the audience. The discourse abounded in eloquent bursts of patriotism, just tributes to the virtues and unblemished life of the de- ceased, indignant rebukes of the treason which has produced such dreadful evils in our land, pathetie sympathy with surviving kindred and friends, and exhortations to imitate the noble conduct, the courage and patriotism of him for whom we mourned.
Touching testimonials to the worth and excellence of Mr. Jordan, and respeet for his memory, and grief for his untimely death, are found in the resolutions passed by his comrades in arms, regimental officers as well as members of his own company uniting in the warmest expres- sions of regard. These resolutions, which have been placed in our hands, are appended to this tribute to our departed friend.
Farewell, noble and heroic patriot ! Your memory will live perpet- ually in our minds. And if his loss is so great to the community, what must it be to those who were nearest and dearest to him? On the lone- liness and desolation of the wife of his bosom, and the sad loss to his most intimate friend and associate in business, I cannot, dare not, touch. I feel utterly unable to describe or console their affliction. I can only commend them to the feeble and remote consolations of resigna- tion and time, and to the certain conviction that with such a noble and virtuous soul it must, beyond all peradventure, be well.
S. J. W. T.
IN CAMP, BEFORE NEW MADRID, MISSOURI, } March 21, 1862.
At a meeting of the commissioned officers of the Fifth Iowa volun- teers, at regimental headquarters, Lieutenant Colonel Mathies an- nounced the decease of Lieutenant George C. Jordan, of company E, Fifth lowa volunteers. Whereupon Major Robertson was called to the chair, and Captain Sampson appointed secretary. On motion the chairman appointed a committee of three, consisting of Lieutenant Moriarty, Captain Lee, and Lieutenant Caswell, to draft resolutions of condolence, expressive of the sense of the officers of the regiment on the loss of our late associate and brother officer, Lieutenant Jordan.
The commitee reported the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted :
WHEREAS, It becomes our painful duty to announce the decease of Lieutenant George C. Jordan, of company E, Fifth Iowa volunteers, who died March 20, 1862, in camp near New Madrid, Missouri, after a brief illness, with typhoid pneumonia, as a testimonial of the respect and esteem of the officers of the Fifth lowa volunteers it is unani- mously
Resolved, That in the death of the late Lieutenant Jordan we have lost a brother officer of unblemished character as a gentleman and offi- cer, whose kind disposition, unassuming deportment, and clear-sighted, intelligent discharge of every duty, rendered him heloved by his men, cherished and respected by all. While we deeply and sincerely deplore his loss, we bow with reverence and submission to the will of the Great Disposer of life and death, and say in our hearts: "Thou art the source and fountain of life-in thy hand are also the arrows of death, Thy will be done."
Resolved, That the Fifth lowa volunteers, in the death of Lieutenant Jordan, has lost one of its most accomplished officers, whose ability and patriotie zeal in the service of his country, high moral worth and unblemished integrity as a man, enshrines the memory of his virtues in our hearts, which we will ever cherish as worthy to be our example.
Resolved, That the officers of the Fifth Iowa volunteers wear the usual military badge of mourning for thirty days.
Resolved, That our unfeigned sympathies and condolence are ex- tended to the friends and relatives of our brother officer, and to his sorrow-stricken wife we send our heartfelt assurance of sympathy in this her great bereavement.
WV. S. ROBERTSON, Chairman.
E. S. SAMPSON, Secretary. NEW MADRID, MISSOURI, March 21, 1862.
At a meeting of the members of company E, Fifth Iowa infantry, held in camp at New Madrid, Missouri, March 21, 1862, for the pur- pose of expressing their sorrow for the loss of their esteemed offieer, Lieutenant George C. Jordan, and of extending their sympathies to his afflicted family and friends, Captain Lee was called to the chair, and Wilbur F. Kellogg appointed secretary.
On motion Lieutenant W. S. Marshall, acting adjutant, A. B. Lewis and Cyrus J. Reed, were appointed by the chair a committee to draft resolutions expressive of the sense of the meeting.
The following preamble and resolutions were reported and unani- mously adopted:
WHEREAS, Our much loved and worthy officer, Lieutenant George C. Jordan, has been suddenly taken from us by death whilst far from home and kindred, in the faithful performance of his duty as an officer and a patriot, enduring the hardships and braving the perils of the field; therefore
Resolved, That we deeply deplore the loss of our devoted officer and beloved companion, whose brave heart and generous disposition had endeared him to us all, and to whose energy and perseverance as an officer, we are chiefly indebted for our merit as a company and our dis- eipline as soldiers.
Resolved, That in his official career we have had a worthy example of every virtue that constitutes a true patriot, an officer and a gentle- man; that in his social character were combined a generous disposition, a sterling integrity, a purity of heart, and a nobleness of purpose sel- dom excelled; and that we will ever cherish the recollection of his many virtues as the most sacred tribute to his memory.
Resolved, That in this our irreparable loss we recognize the ordering of Him " Who doeth all things well," and that we bow with reverence and submission to His divine will.
Resolved, That we deeply sympathize with his afflicted wife and rela- tives in this their sad berevement, and assure them that their heartfelt sorrow is truly shared by us all.
Resolved, That a copy of the proceedings of this meeting be sent to each of the county papers of Buchanan county for publication, and also that a copy he sent to the wife of the deceased.
D. S. LEE, President.
WILBUR F. KELLOGG, Secretary.
A most eloquent, though unpremeditated tribute to the memory of the lamented Jordan, was the departure of a band of sixteen men to join company E of the Fifth regiment, which occurred within a week after the scenes so graphically described in the eloquent "In Memoriam" of S. J. W. T. They were recruited in Independence, and the following is a list of their names:
John W. Stewart, John C. McCray, William H. Wil- liams, Charles Brockway, H. J. Whait, S. E. Rowse, G. M. Watson, John H. Ginther, John Bain, F. M. Guard, Foster Harris, William E. Conway, John Minton, W. O. Morse, S. F. Turner, Daniel Beckley.
Of this number, thus ready to step into the breach made by one fallen from the ranks of our country's de- fenders, John H. Ginther, a young man twenty-one years of age, and of a remarkably sound, robust constitution, died of typhoid fever at Camp McClellan, Davenport, while waiting for their outfit, preparatory to joining the regiment at New Madrid.
In obedience to an impulse which must be shared by all who worthily appreciate the restored unity of our common country-the impulse to withhold no moiety of praise due to one of those whose lives were the price of our present peace and prosperity, we cannot think this
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HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.
chaplet for the hero's brow complete without the added fragrance of an offering which cannot fail to reach the heart, because it is the language of a generous affection, inspired by many noble qualities. Were an apology demanded, it would be for its omission.
NEW MADRID, MO., March 21, 1862.
DEAR SIR :- Before this reaches you, you will have learned the sad intelligence that Lieutenant Jordan is no more. He died precisely at 12 o'clock last night. Painful as the news must be to his "dear ones at home," and his many friends in Independence, they are not the only ones who mourn his loss. A general gloom this morning per- vades the camp of the Sixth lowa. We have just passed through one of the most affecting scenes which our regiment has ever been called to witness. A soldier's funeral is at any time a most solemn sight, as the escort, with arms reversed, and procession following in the rear, slowly wend their way with measured tread to the plaintive music of fife and muffled drum, with all the associate reflections of hardships, depriva- tions and perils, death in the field, far from home and friends, and the thought of loving parents, wife or family, ignorant of the scene which is passing, and still anxiously hoping and praying for the return of one who shall never again gladden their sight-all these come crowding upon the mind. But the scene of to-day was one of more than ordinary solemnity. The character of the man gave importance to the occasion. Frank, generous and humane, and a man of sterling integ- rity and honesty of purpose, he had won the love and esteem of every officer in the regiment, while his unassuming manner, and his readiness to share the toils and deprivations of the most humble, endeared him to the men of his command, and made him esteemed and admired by all. He had distinguished himself by a willing, energetic application to the discharge of his duties, which resulted from no vain desire for honor or distinction, but from a conscientious sense of obligation.
The same perseverance and industry that characterized his efforts in the organization of the company amid the difficulties and obstacles that were thrown around it, were displayed to the last, in his care for the wants of his men, and his diligent attention to their discipline and drill. The declaration made to the writer before leaving home that " he considered his life but nothing, if demanded in the service of his coun- try," and that "he would willingly offer it up if necessary in the dis- charge of any duty that might devolve upon him," was nobly verified in his subsequent career. His life has been offered up, a pure and will- ing sacrifice upon the altar of his country. He proved himself one of the rare exceptions, who under all circumstances and amidst trials and difficulties was still the same true, unselfish patriot, in whom perfect reliance and confidence were never found to be misplaced. With a small and delicate frame, but with a brave heart and iron will, he struggled resolutely against difficulties and dangers, until fatal disease had laid him low upon the bed of death, when he sank to rest, "not as the setting sun, behind the darkened west, but like the morning star, which gradually disappears in the bright sunlight of Heaven."
We have paid our last honors to his mortal remains, but it is difficult to realize that he is gone; and though his gentle presence shall no more be greeted amongst us, the memory of his many virtues will remain en- shrined in our hearts, and be cherished with love and admiration. "Peace to his gentle shade." May his memory live forever.
I remain,
Respectfully yours, W. S. MARSHALL. THE SIMULTANEOUS RAISING OF TWO COMPANIES.
The spring of 1862 was signalized by brilliant suc- cesses on the part of the Federal troops in the west and southwest. But these were not achieved without a price, and many existing military organizations required to be filled up by new enlistments, in order to be certain of re- taining the advantages already gained. In June of this year a call was made for three hundred thousand men to be "enrolled without delay, so as to bring this unneces- sary and injurious war to a speedy and satisfactory con- clusion."
It was soon announced that enlistments were going forward with much energy throughout the State, and Bu- chanan county, as heretofore, was not long in placing
herself in the front rank in this prompt response to the call of the Government. Mr. J. D. Noble, commission merchant, Independence, was the first to initiate steps for raising a company, which met at once with encourag- ing success. Already midsummer, another harvest would soon be passed, when, with the bounty offered by the board of supervisors, and the advanced pay from the Government, the families of enlisted men could be pro- vided for. This liberality produced a marked effect in the rapid increase of volunteering in all parts of the county, as indeed wherever the policy was adopted; and thus enlistments were confidently expected to render drafting a dead letter. The good work was soon pro- gressing, not only at the county seat, but also at Quas- queton under the supervision of Mr. Whitney; and in Byron township a company was being raised by Jacob M. Miller. The fire of patriotism had not lost its ardor, and at the first breath it was again ablaze. Some of the most prominent business men of the county had soon given their names; the legal profession being represented by such men as W. G. Donnan and Jed Lake.
We make the following extract from the Guardian of August 19th :
The enthusiasm apparent at the time we went to press last week has continued, and has culminated in the enlisting of two companies of ex- cellent men from this county. The rolls of these companies show the names of some of the best citizens of our county, and better material for soldiers cannot be found anywhere.
The members of both companies were at the county seat on Monday and Tuesday, eighteenth and nineteenth of August, with hundreds of their friends, thus giving the town another faint ripple from the utmost verge of that angry sea into which our unhappy country had been plunged. Again were the sad parting scenes re-enacted -- the same clinging, tearful farewells on the part of those left, and most to be pitied-the same heroic mastery of self on the part of those who had given themselves to their bleeding country. The companies were both filled to the maximum number, and the character of the men was such as to promise the highest honor to the county, their State and to themselves. Captain Miller was elected by acclamation, but further organization was de- ferred by both companies until they should be in camp at Dubuque. The roster of company C, Captain Miller's, taken from the adjutant general's report, is here ap- pended :
COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
Captain Jacob M. Miller. First Lieutenant Otis N. Whitney. Second Lieutenant William G. Donnan.
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
First Sergeant Aaron M. Wilcox. Second Sergeant Wesley G. Smyser. Third Sergeant Charles W. Woolley. Fourth Sergeant Charles W. Evans. Fifth Sergeant Mark Brownson. First Corporal Joseph H. Blank.
Second Corporal Daniel Anders. Third Corporal John G. Litts. Fourth Corporal Alonzo L. Shurtleff. Fifth Corporal Henry Silker.
Sixth Corporal Thomas S. Bunce. Seventh Corporal John S. Frink. Eighth Corporal George Kirkham.
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HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.
Musician Sidney C. Adams. Musician George W. Heath.
Wagoner Benjamin Miller.
PRIVATES.
William C. B. Adams, Sylvester Abbey, Samuel Beckley, John M. Blank, John Buck, Nelson J. Boone, Morgan Boone, Amos R. Blood, Sylvester W. Bowker, Mathias Buro, Hamilton B. Booth, James Camp- bell, Columbus Caldwell, William Casebeer, Warren Chase, Charles Conlon, Francis M. Congdon, Devolson Cormick, Erastus Campbell, Alford Cordell, Moses Chase, Albert Cordell, Benton F. Colborn, Charles H. Coleman, William Crum, Henry E. A. Diehl, Levi H. Eddy, Hamilton Evans, William B. Fleming, Henry French, Jacob Glass, George G. Gaylord, Isaac Gill, James C. Haskins, Newton Hammond, Hiram H. Hunt, Michael Harrigan, George Hathaway, Ezekiel Hays, jr., Adam Hoover, Charles Hoover, William J. Hen- dricks, Clinton H. Losure, Harrison H. Love, Charles II. Lewis, William N. Loy, James A. Laird, Edward P. Lewis, Walter B. Lan- fear, William MeKenney, Alvi McGonigil, Edward E. Mulick, John Mulick, Louis A. McWilliams, Bartimeus MeGonigil, Abraham S. Monshaw, John McBane, Charles W. McKenney, William Morgan, Stewart McKenney, Emanuel Miller, Warren Munson, Joseph Moore, Augustus P. Osgood, John Olar, Edward T. Potter, Austin W. Per- kins, George A. I'atterson, William T. Rich, John Slavin, Philip C. Smyser, Benjamin Sutton, Howard T. Stutson, Thomas Sproull, Henry H. Turner, Joseph Turis, John A. Tift, Myron H. Woodward, Eman- uel Wardell, William M. Winkley.
It was mentioned as a matter of interest, that forty- nine of these men were single and fifty married. This roll, first copied from the Guardian, was afterward cor- rected by comparison with the roster found in the offi- cial report of the adjutant general. Captain Noble's company took the letter name C, in the Twenty-seventh infantry, and Captain Miller's became company H in the same regiment.
The roll of Captain Noble's company (company C) though reviewed at the Guardian office, and acknowl- edged with the promise of an early insertion, through undesigned omission did not appear. The following roster is taken from the report of Adjutant General Baker, published January 1, 1863:
COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
Captain Joseph Noble. First Lieutenant Henry F. Snell. Second Lieutenant Herman C. Hemenway.
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
First Sergeant James A. Poor. Second Sergeant Joseph F. Jackson.
Third sergeant Enoch R. Fary. Fourth Sergeant Edward P. Baker. Fifth Sergeant William H. Vanderbilt.
First Corporal Albert M. Green. Second Corporal Charles H. Wright.
Third Corporal Jonathan F. Gates. Fourth Corporal Lewis A. Main. Fifth Corporal Frederick Spragg. Sixth Corporal George Frink. Seventh Corporal William P'. Warren. Eighth Corporal George N. Whaite. Musician Robert N. White. Musician Harry Green. Musician Oliver Bray. Wagoner Byron C. Hale.
PRIVATES.
Eli Anderson, Hiram Abbott, Emery S. Allen, Richard H. Andrews, Daniel L. Brisbin, Job Barns, Gilbert P. Brant, Eli C. Brown, William B. Burris, Warren Bouck, Henry M. Bailey, George W. Beaman, John Brady, Michael Butler, Lorin D. Carpenter, John S. Coats, Needham N. Crandall, Levi Durham, Electus D). Frizell, Erasmus B. Frizell, Zenas R. Fary, Frank B. Fredenburg, George H. Fuller. Joe! Fisher, James C. Glass, Harry Green, George W. Hilling, Abner B. Hoffman, Gilbert L. Hicks, Matthias'Hook, David N. Jewett, David F. Johnson,
Martin T. King, Willard H. King, William S. King, lohn R. Laton, Abraham Littlejohn, William H. Leuder, Walter S. Munger, William B. Minton, Reuben L. Merrill, David McGowan, William Milligan, Carr W. Mosher, Joel D. Nourse, James H. O'Brien. Bezin Orput, Samuel V. Pelley, Gilbert R. Parish, Joseph Postel, Joseph Russell, James E. Robinson., John G. Rice, Henry H. Romigs, Elliot G. Smith, Joel S. Smith, Cyrus E. Smith, Samuel H. Smith, Daniel S. Spragg, John W. Sanders, Edward H. Spalding, George H. Spalding, Ben- jamin S. Sager, Lucien Stevens, Albert Tennis, Sylvanus Taylor, N. D. VanEman, John D. VanCleve, Jesse Wroten, John M. Watson, Joseph A. Williams, Seth Wheaton, Thomas Watson, David E. Wheeler, Eri A. Wilson, George Wille, James G. Warren, Abisha W. Washburn. Thomas Linn.
CAVALRY.
As an entire company of this arm of the service was not raised in Buchanan county, it has been difficult to secure accurate lists of cavalry recruits. Frequent men- tion was made in the county press during the progress of the war of the presence of recruiting officers for dif- ferent cavalry organizations, as the the First, Fourth, and Sixth, and also of the departure of squads of enlisted men; the following, however, is the only one met with in which the names are given, and these left the county seat early in September, 1862, to join the First Iowa cavalry, viz :
W. H. Mcgill, Alanson Sager, William Foote, C. Pwecock, Dewit Kelley, E. Lotterdale, D. Brown, C. Edgecomb, C. McGill, F. W. Paine, S. H. Rose, T. Flemming; J, Wentworth, H. C. Skinner, P. B. Turney, J. West, A. Palmer, Otter C. Anton, W. H. Baker, R. Kel- ley, H. P. Jones, J. Wadley, W. George, I. C. Jones, Ludebeck Long, F. Weik, W. G. Cummings, Levi S. Drunkwalter, John H. Williams, Charles Porter, Oscar Daniels, E. H. McMillen, Lyman Ayrault, Ed- gar Mills, M. D. Carpenter, Edward Brown, J. S. Thompson, Loy Hutchins, Howard Hall, E. L. Chickenbrend, G. Ellworth, H. Bab- cock, John Furman, Stephen Burk, - Hibby, George Carr, John Boehline, George H. Davis.
But to return to the Buchanan men at Camp Franklin, to which rendezvous they were ordered by the governor of the State, Samuel J. Kirkwood, August 26, 1862, and mustered into the service of the United States by Cap- tain George S. Pierce, United States Army, at Dubuque, Iowa, October 3, 1862, under proclamation of the Presi- dent of the United States, bearing date July 2, 1862, taking their places as companies C and H, in the Twen- ty-seventh Iowa infantry.
As related in the correspondence from this regiment, almost immediately upon being mustered into the service of the Government, its active service commenced with a march into the northern woods, attended with hardships which might well tax to its utmost the endurance of vet- erans. To some, it may seem trivial, after the lapse of nineteen years, to make mention of the kindly offices which were maintained between the " friends at home" and those who had relinquished home; but who, for a short six weeks, were yet within reach of the love which soon, in vain, would yearn for the solace of relieving the privations so heroically borne, that at least they should never be forgotten. And when, too, it is remembered that the oldest survivor of those companies is not yet a very old man, while the youngest is still a young man, who will doubt that to them, next to the enjoyment of fighting their battles o'er again, the pleasantest reminis- cences connected with their soldier life are those which recall the many evidences in their past experience, that their self-devotion to the cause of our country made
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