History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa, Part 15

Author: Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company
Number of Pages: 1316

USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa > Part 15
USA > Iowa > Bremer County > History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa > Part 15

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Young, afterward the Colonel of the regi- ment, thundered out in the still night air, . "The Fifth Iowa is going straight through; let the brave follow !" Then came the single word of command, "Forward ! " and when they reached the rebel lines, "Charge ! " Fifteen hundred troopers dashed at full speed over the bodies of the surprised rebels, and escaped to the Union lines with the loss of but 15 men. The regiment was finally mu-tered out at Nashville, Tenn , August 11, 1865. Of its 1,245 officers and men, 47 were killed, 141 died, 224 were discharged, 56 were wounded, 217 were captured and 17 were transferred.

THE SIXTH CAVALRY was organized and mustered in at Davenport, January 31, 1863, with D. S. Wilson, of Dubuque, as Colonel; S. M. Pollock, of Dubuque, as Lieutenant-Colonel, and T. H. Shepherd, of Iowa City, E. P. TenBroeck, of Clin- ton, and A. E. House, of Delhi, as Majors.

This regiment was employed on the frontier against the Indians, and did excel- lent service. Their principal engagement was the battle of White Stone Hill, in which they severely punished a band of hostiles. The Sixth was mustered out at Sioux City, October 17, 1865. Of 1,125 officers and men, 19 were killed, 72 died, 89 were discharged, 19 were wounded and 7 were transferred.

THE SEVENTH CAVALRY was organized and mustered into the service at Daven- port, April 27, 1863, with S. W. Summers, of Ottumwa, as Colonel; John Pattee, of Iowa City, as Lieutenant-Colonel, and H. H. Heath and G. M. O'Brien, of Dubuque, and John S. Wood, of Ottumwa, as Majors.

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HISTORY OF IOWA.

This regiment also served against the · Indians in the West. It fought bravely in many battles and won the lasting grati- tude of the people of the West. It was mustered out at Leavenworth, Kan., May 17, 1866, except Companies K, L and M, which were mustered out at Sioux City, June 22, 1866. Of its 562 officers and men, 47 were killed, 101 died, 252 were discharged, 8 were wounded and 9 were transferred.

THE EIGHTH CAVALRY was recruited by Lieutenant Dorr, of the Twelfth Infantry. As the result of his energy, 2,000 were soon enlisted for the Eighth. Some 300 were rejected, 450 were turned over to the Ninth Cavalry and about 75 to the Fourth Battery. The Eighth was organized with Joseph B. Dorr, of Dubuque, as Colonel; H. G. Barner, of Sidney, as Lieutenant- Colonel; John J. Bowen, of Hopkinton; J. D. Thompson, of Eldora, and A J. Price, of Guttenberg, as Majors; and was mustered into the United States service, at Davenport, September 30, 1863.

This regiment served gallantly in guard ing Sherman's communications, and at the battles of Lost Mountain, Lovejoy's Sta- tion, Newman and Nashville. It partici- pated in Stoneman's cavalry raid round Atlanta, and Wilson's raid through Ala- bama. After the close of hostilities and before the muster-out, Col. Dorr died of disease. He was much beloved by his command, and highly respected at home, where he had been an able editor. The Eighth was mustered out at Macon, Ga., August 13, 1865. Of its 1,234 officers and men, 30 were killed, 106 died, 67 were dis-

charged, 87 were wounded, 2 were missing, 259 were captured and 22 were transferred.

THE NINTH CAVALRY was the last three. years' regiment recruited in Iowa. It was organized and mustered into the servire of the United States, at Davenport, Novem- ber 30, 1863, with M. M. Trumbull, of Cedar Falls, as Colonel; J. P. Knight, of Mitchell, as Lieutenant-Colonel; E. T. Ensign, of DesMoines, Willis Drummond, of McGregor, and William Haddock, of Waterloo, as Majors.

The regiment performed heavy scout- ing, guard and garrison duties in Ar- kansas, for the small part of the war after it was organized. It was mustered ont at Little Rock, Ark., February 28, 1866. Of its 1,178 officers and men, 6 were killed, 178 died, 64 were discharged, 15 were wounded, 1 was captured and 11 were transferred.

THE FIRST BATTERY OF LIGHT ARTIL- LERY was enrolled in the counties of Wa- pello, Des Moines, Dubuque, Jefferson, Black Hawk and others, and was mustered into the service at Burlington, August 17, 1861, with C. H. Fletcher, of Burlington, as Captain ; was engaged at Pea Ridge, Port. Gibson, in the Atlanta campaign, at Chickasaw Bayon, Lookout Mountain, etc .; was mustered out at Davenport, July 5, 1865. Of 149 members, 7 were killed, 55 died, 35 were discharged, 31 were wounded and 3 transferred.

THE SECOND BATTERY was enrolled in the counties of Dallas, Polk, Harrison, Fremont and Pottawatamie, and mustered in at Council Bluffs, and at St. Louis, Aug-

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ust 8 and 31, 1861, with Nelson I. Spoor, of Council Bluffs, as Captain. The bat- tery was engaged at Farmington, Corinth, and other places Was mustered out at Davenport, August 7, 1865. Of a total of 123 officers and men, 1 was killed, 30 died, 16 were discharged, 15 were wounded, 1 was captured, and 6 were transferred.

. THE THIRD BATTERY was enrolled in the counties of Dubuque, Black Hawk, Butler and Floyd, and was mustered into the service at Dubuque, in September, 1861, with M. M. Hayden, of Dubuque, as Captain. The battery was engaged at Pea Ridge and other important battles. Was mustered out at Davenport, October 23, 1865. Of 142 officers and men, 3 were killed, 34 died, 28 were discharged, and 18 were wounded.

THE FOURTH BATTERY was enrolled in Mahaska, Henry, Mills and Fremont coun- ties, and was mustered in at Davenport, November 23, 1863. This battery was on duty most of the time in Louisiana, but did not serve in any important battles. Was mustered out at Davenport, July 14, 1865. Of 152 officers and men, 6 died, 11 were discharged, and 1 was transferred.

THE IOWA REGIMENT OF COLORED TROOPS was organized and mustered into the ser- vice of the United States, October 23, 1863. John G. Hudson, Captain Company B, Thirty-third Missouri, was Colonel; M. F. Collins, of Keokuk, was Lieut .- Colonel; and J. L. Murphy, of Keokuk, was Major. This regiment was afterward the Sixtieth Regiment of United States Colored Troops. It was not called upon to fight, but it per-

formed valuable guard and garrison duties at St. Louis and elsewhere South.

THE NORTHERN BORDER BRIGADE Was organized by the State of Iowa to protect the Northwestern frontier. James A. Saw- yer, of Sioux City, was elected Colonel. It consisted of five companies, all enlisted from the northwestern counties.

THE SOUTHERN BORDER BRIGADE Was organized by the State for the purpose of protecting the southern border of the State, and was organized in the counties on the border of Missouri. It consisted of seven companies in three battalions.

PROMOTIONS.

The following promotions were made by the United States Government from Iowa regiments :

MAJOR-GENERALS.

Samuel R. Curtis, Brigadier-General, from March 21, 1862.

Frederick Steele, Brigadier-General, from No- vember 29, 1862,

Frank J. Herron, Brigadier-General, from No- vember 29, 1862.

Grenville M. Dodge, Brigadier-General, from June 7, 1864.

BRIGADIER-GENERALS.

Samuel R. Curtis, Colonel 2d Infantry, from May 17, 1861.

Frederick Steele, Colonel 8th Infantry, from February 6, 1862,

Jacob G. Lanman, Colonel 7th Infantry, from March 21, 1862.

Grenville M. Dodge, Coloncl 4th Infantry, from March 31, 1862.

James M. Tuttle, Colonel 2d Infantry. from June 9, 1862.

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HISTORY OF IOWA.

Washington L. Elliot, Colonel 2d Cavalry, from June 11, 1862.

Fitz Henry Warren, Colonel 1st Cavalry, from July 6, 1862.

Frank J. Herron, Lieut. - Colonel 9th Infantry, from July 30, 1962.

Charles L. Matthies, Colonel 5th Infantry, from November 29, 1862.

William Vandever, Colonel 9th Infantry, from November 29, 1862.

Marcellus M. Crocker, Colonel 13th Infantry, from November 29, 1862.

Hugh T. Reid, Colonel 15th Infantry, from March 13, 1863,

Samuel A. Rice, Coloncl 33d Infantry, from August 4, 1863.

John M. Corsc, Colonel 6th Infantry, from August 11, 1863.

Cyrus Bussey, Colonel 3d Cavalry, from Jan- uary 5, 1864.

Edward Hatch, Colonel 2d Cavalry, from April 27,1864.

Elliott W. Rice, Colonel 7th Infantry, from June 20, 1864.

Wm. W. Belknap, Colonel 5th Infantry, from July 30, 1864.

John Edwards, Colonel 18th Infantry, from September 26, 1864.

James A. Williamson, Colonel 4th Infantry, from January 13, 1864.

James I. Gilbert, Colonel 27th Infantry, from February 9, 1865.

Thomas J. Mckean, from November 21, 1861.

BREVET MAJOR-GENERALS.

John M. Corse, Brigadier-General, from Octo- ber 5, 1864.

Edward Hatch, Brigadier-General, from De- cember 15, 1864.

William W. Belknap, Brigadier-General, from March 13, 1865.

W. L. Elliott, Brigadier General, from March 13, 1865.

Wm. Vandever, Brigadier-General, from June 7,1865.

BREVET BRIGADIER-GENERALS. .

Wm. T. Clark, A.A.G., late of 13th Infantry, from July 22, 1864.

Edward F. Winslow, Colonel 4th Cavalry, from December 12, 1864.

S. G. Hill, Colonel 35th Infantry, from Decem- ber 15, 1864.

Thos. H. Benton, Colonel 29th Infantry, from December 15, 1864.

Samuel S. Glasgow, Colonel 23d Infantry, from December 19, 1864.

Clark R. Weaver, Colonel 17th Infantry, from February 9, 1865.

Geo. A. Stone, Colonel 25th Infantry, from March 13, 1865.

Francis M. Drake, Lieut. - Colonel 36th Infant- ry, from February 22, 1865.

Datus E. Coon, Colonel 2d Cavalry, from March 8, 1865.

George W. Clark, Colonel 34th Infantry, from March 13, 1865.

Herman H. Heath, Colonel 7th Cavalry, from March 13, 1865.

J. M. Hedrick, Colonel 15th Infantry, from March 13, 1865.

W. W. Lowe, Colonel 5th Cavalry, from March 3, 1865.

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HISTORY OF IOWA.

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CHAPTER IX.

EDUCATIONAL-STATE INSTITUTIONS.

The people of Iowa have ever taken a deep interest in education, and in this direction no State in the Union can show a better record. The system of free pub- lic schools was planted by the early set- tlers, and it has expanded and improved until now it is one of the most complete, comprehensive and liberal in the country. In the lead-mining regions of the State, the first to be settled by the whites, the hardy pioneers provided the means for the education of their children even before they had comfortable dwellings for them- selves. School teachers were among the first immigrants to Iowa. Wherever a little settlement was made, the school house was the first thing undertaken by the settlers in a body, and the rude, primi- tive structures of the early time only dis- appeared when the communities increased in population and wealth, and were able to replace them with more commodious and comfortable buildings. Perhaps in no single instance has the magnificent pro- gress of the State of Iowa been more marked and rapid than in her common school system and in her school houses. To day the school houses which every- where dot the broad and fertile prairies of Iowa are unsurpassed by those of any other State in this great Union. More especially is this true in all her cities and

villages, where liberal and lavish appro- priations have been voted by a generous people for the erection of large, commodi- ous and elegant buildings, furnished with all the modern improvements, and costing from $10,000 to $60,000 each. The people of the State have expended more than $10,000,000 for the erection of public school buildings.

The first school house within the limits of Iowa was a log cabin at Dubuque, built by J. L. Langworthy, and a few other miners, in the autumn of 1833. When it was completed, George Cabbage was em- ployed as teacher during the winter of 1833-4, and thirty five pupils attended his school. Barrett Whittemore taught the school term, with twenty-five pupils in at- tendance. Mrs. Caroline Dexter com- menced teaching in Dubuque in March, 1836. She was the first female teacher there, and probably the first in Iowa. In 1839, Thomas H. Benton, Jr., afterward for ten years Superintendent of Public Instruction, opened an English and classi- cal school in Dubuque. The first tax for the support of schools at Dubuque was `levied in 1840.

At Burlington, a commodious log school house, built in 1834, was among the first buildings erected. A Mr. Johnson taught the first school in the winter of 1834-5.

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HISTORY OF IOWA.

In Scott county, in the winter of 1835-6, Simon Crazin taught a four-months term of school in the house of J. B. Chamberlin.

In Muscatine county, the first school was taught by George Bumgardner, in the spring of 1837. In 1839 a log school house was erected in Muscatine, which served for a long time as school house, church and public hall.

The first school in Davenport was taught in 1838. In Fairfield, Miss Clarissa Saw- yer, James F: Chambers and Mrs. Reed taught school in 1839.

Johnson county was an entire wilder- ness when Iowa City was located as the capital of the Territory of Iowa, in May, 1839. The first sale of lots took place August 18, 1839, and before January 1, 1840, about twenty families had settled within the limits of the town. During the same year Mr. Jesse Berry opened a school in a small frame building he had erected on what is now College street.

In Monroe county, the first settlement was made in 1843, by Mr. John R. Gray, about two miles from the present site of Eddyville; and in the summer of 1844 a log school house was built by Gray, Wm. V. Beedle, C. Renfro, Joseph McMullen and Willoughby Randolph, and the first school was opened by Miss Urania Adams. The building was occupied for school purposes for nearly ten years.

About a year after the first cabin was built at Oskaloosa, a log school house was built, in which school was opened by Samuel W. Caldwell, in 1844.

At Fort DesMoines, now the capital of the State, the first school was taught by Lewis Whitten, Clerk of the District Court, in the winter of 1846-'7, in one of

the rooms on "Coon Row," built for barracks.

The first school in Pottawattamie county was opened by George Green, a Mormon, at Council Point, prior to 1849; and until about 1854 nearly all the teachers in that vicinity were Mormons.

The first school in Decorah was taught in 1855, by Cyrus C. Carpenter, since Gov- ernor of the State. In Crawford county the first school house was built in Mason's Grove, in 1856, and Morris McHenry first, occupied it as teacher.

During the first twenty years of the his- tory of Iowa, the log school house pre- vailed, and in 1861 there were 893 of these primitive structures in use for school pur- poses in the State. Since that time they have been gradually disappearing. In 1865 there were 796; in 1870, 336; and in 1875, 121.

January 1, 1839, the Territorial Legisla- ture passed an act providing that " there shall be established a common school, or schools, in each of the counties in this Territory; which shall be open and free for every class of white citizens between the ages of five and twenty-one years." The second section of the act provided that " the County Board shall, from time to time, form school districts in their respec- tive counties, whenever a petition may be presented for the purpose by a majority of the voters resident within such contem- plated district." These districts were governed by boards of trustees, usually of three persons; each district was required to maintain school at least three months in every year; and later, laws were enacted providing for county school taxes for the payment of teachers, and that whatever

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additional sum might be required should be assessed upon the parents sending, in proportion to the length of time sent.

In 1846, the year of Iowa's admission as a State, there were 20,000 scholars, out of 100,000 inhabitants. About 400 school districts had been organized. In 1850 there was 1,200, and in 1857 the number had increased to 3,265.

In March, 1858, upon the recommenda- tion of Hon. M. L. Fisher, then Superin- tendent of Public Instruction, the Seveuth General Assembly enacted that "each civil township is declared a school dis- trict," and provided that these should be divided into sub-districts. This law went into force March 20, 1858, and reduced the number of school districts from about 3,500 to less than 900. This change of school organization resulted in a very material reduction of the expenditures for the compensation of district secretaries and treasurers. An effort was made for several years, from 1867 to 1872, to abolish the sub-district system. Mr. Kissell, Superintendent, recommended this in his report of January 1, 1872, and Governor Merrill forcibly endorsed his views in his annual message. But the Legislature of that year provided for the formation of independent districts from the sub-districts of district townships.

The system of graded schools was inaugurated in 1849, and new schools, in which more than one teacher is employed, are universally graded.

Teachers' institutes were organized early in the history of the State. The first official mention of them occurs in the, annual report of Hon. Thomas H. Benton, Jr., made December 2, 1850, who said: "An

institution of this character was organized a few years ago, composed of the teachers of the mineral regions of Illinois, Wiscon- sin and Iowa. An association of teachers has also been formed in the county of Henry, and an effort was made in October last to organize a regular institute in the county of Jones." At that time, although the beneficial influence of these institutes was admitted, it was urged that the ex- penses of attending them was greater than ' teachers with limited compensation were able to bear. To obviate this objection, Mr. Benton recommended that " the sum of $150 should be appropriated annually for three years, to be drawn in installments of $50 by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and expended for these insti- tutions." He proposed that three institutes should be held annually at points to be designated by the superintendent.

The expense of this would be trifling, and all recognized the benefits to be derived; and yet no legislation was had until March, 1858, when an act was passed authorizing the holding of teachers' insti- tntes for periods not less than six working days, whenever not less than 30 teachers should desire. The superintendent was authorized to expend not exceeding $100 for any one institute, to be paid out by the county superintendent, as the institute might direct, for teachers and lecturers, and $1,000 was appropriated to defray the expenses of these institutes.

Mr. Fisher at once pushed the matter of holding institutes, and December 6, 1858, he reported to the Board of Education that institutes had been appointed in 20 counties within the preceding six months, and more would have been held but the

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appropriation had been exhausted. At the first session of the Board of Education, commencing December 6, 1858, a code of school laws was enacted, which retained the existing provisions for teachers' insti- tutes.

In March, 1860, the General Assembly amended the act of the Board by appro- priating "a sum not exceeding $50 annually for one such institute, held as provided by law in each county." In 1865, the super- intendent, Mr. Faville, reported that "the provision made by the State for the benefit of teachers' institutes had never been so fully appreciated, both by the people and the teachers, as during the last two years."

By an act approved March 19, 1874 normal institutes were established in each county, to be held annually by the county superintendents. This was regarded a very decided step in advance by Mr. Abernethy, and in 1876 the General Assembly estab- lished the first permanent State Normal School, at Cedar Falls, Black Hawk county, appropriating the building and property of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home at that place for that purpose. This school is now "in the full tide of successful experiment."

The present public school system is ad- mirably organized, and if the various offi- cers who are entrusted with educational interests of the commonwealth continue faithful and competent, should and will constantly improve.

Funds for the support of public schools are derived in several ways. The 16th section of every congressional township was set apart by the General Government for school purposes, being one-thirty-sixth part of all the lands in the State. The minimum price of these lands was fixed at

one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. Congress also made an additional donation to the State of 500,000 acres, and an ap- propriation of five per cent. on all the sales of public lands to the school fund. The State gives to this fund the proceeds of the sales of all lands which escheat to it; the proceeds of all fines for the viola- tion of the liquor and criminal laws. The money derived from these sources consti- tutes the permanent school fund of the State, which cannot be diverted to any other purpose. The penalties collected by the courts for fines and forfeitures go to the school fund in the counties where col- lected. The proceeds of the sale of these lands and the five per cent. fund go into the State treasury, and the State distributes these proceeds to the several counties accord. ing to their request, and the counties loan the money to individuals, for long terms, at eight per cent. interest, on security of land valued at three times the amount of the loan, exclusive of all buildings and im- provements thereon. The interest on these loans is paid into the State treasury, and becomes the available school fund of the State. The counties are responsible to the State for all money so loaned, and the State is likewise responsible to the school fund for all moneys transferred to the counties. The interest on these loans is apportioned by the State Auditor semi- annually to the several counties of the State, in proportion to the number of per- sons between the ages of five and twenty- one years. The counties also levy an annual tax for school purposes, which is apportioned to the several district townships in the same way. A district tax is also levied for the same purpose. The money

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arising from these several sources consti- tutes the support of the public schools, and is sufficient to enable every sub-district in the State to afford from six to nine months' school each year.

The burden of direct taxation is thus lightened, and the efficiency of the schools increased. The taxes levied for the sup- port of the schools are self-imposed. Un- der the admirable school laws of the State, no taxes can be legally assessed or col- lected for the erection of school. houses until they have been ordered by the elec- tion of a district at a school meeting legally called. The school houses of Iowa are the pride of the State and an. honor to the people. If they have been built some- times at a prodigal expense, the tax-payers have no one to blame but themselves. The teachers' and contingent funds are determined by the Board of Directors, under certain legal instructions. These Boards are elected annually, except in the independent districts, in which the Board may be entirely changed every three years. The only exception to this mode of levy- ing taxes for support of schools is the county school tax, which is determined by the County Board of Supervisors. The tax is from one to three mills on the dol- lar; usually, however, but one.

In 1881 there were in the State 4,339 school districts, containing 11,244 schools, and employing 21,776 teachers. The average monthly pay of male teachers was $32.50, and of female teachers $27 25. There were 594,730 persons of school age, of whom 431,513 were enrolled in the public schools. The average cost of tuition for each pupil per month was $1.62. The expenditures for all school purposes was

$5,129,819.49. The permanent school fund is now $3,517,123.82, on which the income for 1881 was $234,622.40. In each county a teachers' institute is held annu- ally, under the direction of the county superintendent, the State contributing annually $50 to each of these institutes.

THE STATE UNIVERSITY.

By act of Congress, approved July 20, . 1840, the Secretary of the Treasury was authorized to "set apart and reserve from sale out of any of the public lands within the Territory of Iowa not otherwise claimed or appropriated, a quantity of land not ex- cceding two entire townships, for the use and support of a University within said Territory when it becomes a State." The first General Assembly, therefore, by act approved February 25, 1847, established the "State University of Iowa," at Iowa City, then the Capital of the State. The public buildings and other property at Iowa City, were appropriated to the University, but the legislative sessions and State offices were to be held in them until a permanent location for a Capital was made.

The control and management of the University were committed to a board of fifteen trustees, to be appointed by the Legislature, and five were to be chosen every two years. The Superintendent of Public Instruction was made President of this Board. The organic act provided that the University should never be under the control of any religious denomination whatever; and that as soon as the revenue from the grant and donations should amount to $2,000 a year, the University should commence and continue the instruc- tion, free of charge, of fifty students annu-

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History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa, Part 15

Author: Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company Number of Pages: 1316

Author: Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company
Number of Pages: 1316