USA > Iowa > Chickasaw County > History of Chickasaw and Howard counties, Iowa, Volume I > Part 38
USA > Iowa > Howard County > History of Chickasaw and Howard counties, Iowa, Volume I > Part 38
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When the news of Sumter's fall spread through the loyal states of the North all hope of bringing about a peaceful settlement of the differences was abandoned. Party lines were obliterated. Political controversies of the past were forgotten in the insult to the flag. There was but one sentiment-the Union must and shall be preserved. On Monday, April 15, 1861, the day following Anderson's evacua- tion of the fort, President Lincoln issued the following
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PROCLAMATION
"Whereas, the laws of the United States have been for some time past and are now opposed and the execution thereof obstructed in the states of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, by com- binations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial pro- ceedings, or by the powers vested in the marshals by law ;
"Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, in virtue of the power in me vested by the Constitution and the laws, have thought fit to call forth and hereby do call forth the militia of the several states of the Union to the aggregate number of 75,000, in order to suppress said combinations and cause the laws to be fully executed.
"The details for this object will be immediately communicated to the state authorities through the war department.
"I appeal to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate and aid this effort to maintain the honor, the integrity and the existence of our national Union and the perpetuity of popular government, and to redress wrongs already too long endured.
"I deem it proper to say that the first service assigned to the forces hereby called forth will probably be to repossess the forts, places and property which have been seized from the Union; and in every event the utmost care will be observed, consistently with the objects aforesaid, to avoid any devastation, any destruction of, or interference with, property, or any disturbance of peaceful citizens in any part of the country.
"And I hereby command the persons composing the combinations aforesaid to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes within twenty days from this date.
"Deeming that the present condition of public affairs presents an extraordinary occasion, I do hereby, in virtue of the power in me vested by the Constitution, convene both houses of Congress. Senators and representatives are therefore summoned to assemble at their respective chambers at 12 o'clock, noon, on Thurs- day, the 4th day of July next, then and there to consider and determine such measures as, in their wisdom, the public safety and interest may seem to demand.
"In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
"Done at the City of Washington this 15th day of April, A. D. 1861, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-fifth.
"ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
"By the President.
"W. H. SEWARD, Secretary of State."
SENTIMENT IN IOWA
On the 16th, the day following the issuance of the President's proclamation, Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood of Iowa received the following telegram from the secretary of war:
"Calls made upon you by tonight's mail for one regiment of militia for imme- diate service."
It is said that when this message was delivered to the governor he expressed
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some doubts as to Iowa's ability to furnish an entire regiment. Notwithstanding his doubts on the subject, as soon as the call was received he issued his procla- mation asking for volunteers, to-wit :
"Whereas, the President of the United States has made a requisition upon the executive of the State of Iowa for one regiment of militia, to aid the Federal Government in enforcing its laws and suppressing rebellion;
"Now, therefore, I, Samuel J. Kirkwood, governor of the State of Iowa, do issue this proclamation and hereby call upon the militia of the state immediately to form in the different counties volunteer companies with a view of entering the military service of the United States for the purpose aforesaid. The regiment at present required will consist of ten companies of at least seventy-eight men each, including one captain and two lieutenants, to be elected by each company.
"Under the present requisition only one regiment can be accepted and the com- panies accepted must hold themselves in readiness for duty by the 20th of May next at the farthest. If a sufficient number of companies are tendered, their services may be required. If more companies are formed and reported than can be received under the present call, their services will be required in the event of another requisition upon the state.
"The nation is in peril. A fearful attempt is being made to overthrow the Constitution and dissever the Union. The aid of every loyal citizen is invoked to sustain the general Government. For the honor of our state, let the require- ments of the President be cheerfully and promptly met.
"SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD. "Iowa City, April 17, 1861."
As the first telegram from the war department called for one regiment of militia for immediate service and Governor Kirkwood stated in his proclamation that the companies "must hold themselves in readiness for duty by the 20th of May," a word of explanation as to this apparent discrepancy seems to be necessary. The explanation is found in the fact that late on the afternoon of April 16, 1861, the governor received a second telegram from the secretary of war, saying: "It will suffice if your quota be at its rendezvous by the 20th of May."
On the same day that Governor Kirkwood issued his call for volunteers he also issued a call for the State Legislature to meet in special session on May 16th. At the opening of the special session he said in his message: "In this emergency Iowa must not and does not occupy a doubtful position. For the Union as our fathers formed it and for government founded so wisely and so well the people of Iowa are ready to pledge every fighting man in the state and every dollar of her money and credit, and I have called you together in extraordinary session for the purpose of enabling them to make the pledge formal and effective."
He then explained how, when the volunteer call came from Washington, he had no funds under his control for such emergencies as organizing, equipping, subsisting and transporting troops, nor had the state any effective military law under which he could operate. He also explained how the chartered banks and wealthy loyal citizens of the state had come to his rescue by placing at his disposal all the funds he might need, and concluded this portion of his message by saying : "I determined, although without authority of law, to accept their offer, trusting that this body would legalize my acts."
And the governor did not trust in vain. The immediate and universal response
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10 his call for volunteers had removed any doubt he might have entertained as to Iowa's ability to furnish a whole regiment. The general assembly crystallized the patriotic sentiment of the people by legalizing everything the governor had done, by passing a law providing for the organization of the militia of the state upon a war footing, appropriating a sum of money large enough to cover all prob- able expenses in connection therewith.
RESPONSE IN HOWARD COUNTY
The preparations for war which stirred the country also awakened patriotic enthusiasm in Howard County and the citizens formed a unit in furthering war plans. On Tuesday, June 4, 1861, the board of supervisors appointed a committee consisting of Cary Munson and St. John to draft resolutions "in the present crisis of national affairs, and recommend some offers of assistance to the general Gov- ernment." The committee at once presented the following resolutions, which were adopted :
"Whereas, The President of the United States has issued several proclamations for troops, to sustain our Federal Government, and suppress the rebellion, therefore
"Resolved, That we, as the legal representatatives of the County of Howard, State of Iowa, do hereby, as loyal citizens and representatives, pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honors in support of the Union, the Constitution and the laws.
"Resolved, That the resources and credit of the County of Howard, both in men and money, be pledged to the last man and dollar to support the Government in suppressing the present rebellion.
"Resolved, That in case of reverses to our arms, making necessary an increase of our army, we will levy a tax on the taxable property of our county, sufficient to support a company of 100 men, at least, in the field, by paying them $5 extra over Government price.
"Resolved, That we fully endorse the course of the administration and the action of our State Legislature in regard to the present emergency."
At the September session of the board another resolution was passed, in favor of paying $10 to each volunteer from the county for an outfit, also to allow the wives and widowed mothers of the volunteers from Howard County, in the service of the United States, $4 per month, and $1 for each child under twelve years of age. The first to gain benefit from this ruling was Mrs. Amelia Johnson of New Oregon, who had two sons in the Union army.
At the August session of the board, 1862, the following resolution was adopted :
"Resolved, That this board authorize the clerk to issue a county warrant for $50 to each accepted volunteer, not the head of a family ; and $4 per month for each wife and widowed mother, and $1 for each child of the same, under twelve years of age, of every accepted volunteer, on presentation of proper bills, provided that all of said volunteers be applied on the quota of Howard County for the late call for 300,000 men for three years, or during the war."
On December 7. 1863, another stronger resolution was adopted by the board, reading as follows :
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"Resolved, that this board hereby appropriate the sum of $300 to each accepted volunteer who shall enlist from this county between this and the 5th day of January next, provided, this resolution shall not extend to enlistments beyond filling our quota. Also the sum of $4 per month to the wife, and $1 per month to each child under twelve years of age, as an additional bounty to the family of any accepted volunteer who enlists from the county within the term above specified, and that the clerk of this board be and is hereby authorized to issue warrants to parties entitled thereto, on presentation of the proper certificates. And that we hereby levy an additional tax of fifteen mills on the dollar, for the purposes of the above bounty, and hereby instruct the clerk to immediately extend the same on the tax list of this year."
As late as June, 1866, the following appears upon the board records :
"Board passed a resolution to pay every enlisted man the sum of $100, as bounty, who was either a regular or volunteer, and who had received no bounty from this or any other county or state, including all drafted men who were cred- ited to Howard County. Also to men who enlisted, and through no fault of their own, were credited to other places ; and also to make up the sum to $100 to all who enlisted from the county when the bounty was a less sum than that amount."
ROSTER
The following roster of enlisted men from Howard County during the Civil war is compiled from the adjutant-general's report for the State of Iowa after the close of the Rebellion, and was first published in W. E. Alexander's "History of Chickasaw and Howard Counties," 1883 :
THIRD IOWA INFANTRY
Company D-Charles P. Brown, George H. Culver, R. E. Carpenter, Joseph S. Neff, Henry H. Sheldon, Daniel Wise.
Company I-George Merchant, John O'Donnell, Isiah Wood.
SEVENTH IOWA INFANTRY
Company B-W. E. Thayer, David Seeley, Joseph M. Gallahan.
NINTH IOWA INFANTRY
Company H-Jasper N. Moulton, Stephen Teeples, A. J. Cook. Alfred Knowlton.
Company I-Samuel Fellows, first lieutenant ; Charles Kemery, second lieu- tenant ; C. B. Ashley. John Logue. David Garver, Myrtello Barber, Levi Yantz, W. C. Bryan, Isaac Bryan, Joseph Capler, S. A. Converse, James M. Johnson, D. C. Horning. John Oren, Martin Kile, J. F. Powell, Finley D. Pierce, Charles W. Polley. William 1. Ransom, Lauriston Averill, T. J. Papin, Sherman Barnes, Amos S. Halstead, George S. Briggs, Clark Johnson, Joseph H. Fenton, Benjamin F. Knight, Daniel C. Harding. John F. Knight, Charles D. Lockwood, Thomas
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J. Bridges, Daniel A. McMartin, Edwin Chappell, Harvey S. Ayres, Ezra M. Cole, Hiram Birch, Francis A. Daniels, John P. Freeborn, John Goodenough, Simon Hughes, Lewellyn Hurley, Robert Hurley, Martin B. Jones, Osborn Lutes, John Long, William McCrea, A. Strogher, Charles L. Wilder, Lorenzo Went- worth, J. B. O'Donnell, Adam Vance, Horace B. Rome, Salisbury Sherman, D. M. Townsend, Hiram M. Townsend, Joseph Yantz, M. M. Wells, Andrew Miller, George A. Owen, W. M. Colby, N. R. Johnston, Daniel B. Burke, Walter Scofield, D. P. Griffin, Thomas J. Powell, Walter Mintay.
TWELFTH IOWA INFANTRY
Company G-V. R. Dunn, Edward Rachan, Fred Rachan.
THIRTEENTH IOWA INFANTRY
John R. Curry. Isaac Cottrell, Terence McGrary, Francis Craig.
TWENTY-FIRST IOWA INFANTRY
Company A-John Becker.
THIRTY-EIGHTH IOWA INFANTRY
Company I-W. H. Powell, first lieutenant; W. H. Patterson, second lieu- tenant ; B. D. Everingham, Lewis L. Light, Jonas F. Adams, Robert Logue, Alva J. Stearns, Walter Mintay, Madison Taft, S. Nichols, Samuel L. Thomson, S. G. Oldham, O. A. Bunker, F. H. Ransom, O. D. Curtis, Philip Serfors, Otis A. Adams, Benjamin Strawn, William H. Buckland, James Shaw, Ard Bryan, Andrew Witt, Jr., Charles E. Booth, Peter Phillips, Charles Craghill, Jay H. Phillips, G. W. Dawes, F. Richards, George Duffy, Ole Talif, John Feather, George W. Weller, Isaac W. Poe, L. D. Huckins, Charles W. Sawyer, J. B. Kings- ley, William Winters, C. M. Pepin, C. F. Mitchell, A. S. Pepin, E. B. Sloan, Alexander J. Powell, S. Hazeldine, Sylvanus Pekin, M. C. Abrams, W. P. Rinia, D. C. Ashley, J. W. Maynard, Joseph W. Brown, E. B. Millington, Jason Ben- nett, William Niles, John P. Bossard, H. C. Obert, L. D. Bayes, James M. Phillips, F. L. Dauberschmit, Edwin Phillips, James Forester, John B. Parring- ton, Adam Fussell, J. F. Sheldon, A. J. Garnsey, Ezra Witt, R. B. Henderson, Enos Wood, John Holverson, James Heldridge.
FORTY-SIXTH IOWA INFANTRY
Company F-Ed M. Ashley, George Daggett, Henry Pierce, S. E. Trask.
SIXTH IOWA CAVALRY
Company F-Elijah Murry, W. F. Lyman, Joseph Richards, Peter Smith. William C. Storr, E. Miner, B. W. Sawyer.
Company K-John M. Sawyer.
Company M-H. M. Harlow, C. J. Nichols.
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THIRD IOWA BATTERY
George L. Brown, Edmund D. Howe, George W. Combs, James Q. Jones, Michael Kelley, William Radford, George H. Niles, Truman H. Smith, Theodore B. Sheldon.
The principal regiments in which Howard County men were enlisted were the Ninth Iowa Infantry and the Thirty-eighth Iowa Infantry. The Ninth was started in August, 1861, when Col. William Vandever of Dubuque received a commission to raise a regiment of infantry. Howard County contributed sixty- eight men for Company I of this regiment and four for Company H. The regi- ment was mustered into the service of the United States September 24, 1861. except Companies H, I and D, whose times of muster came before, respectively : H, August 21st; I, September 18th; and D. September 2d. On September 26th the regiment left Dubuque for St. Louis on the steamer Canada, and arrived there on the 30th. Here they remained for a long period. On January 25, 1862, the regiment was pronounced fit for duty and was removed by rail to Rolla, Mo., and assigned to the army then preparing to enter the field under Maj .- Gen. Samuel R. Curtis. The regiment was brigaded with the Twenty-fifth Missouri Infantry, Third Illinois Cavalry and Third Iowa Battery, all under command of Col. William Vandever. Throughout the war the Ninth played a conspicuous and prominent part, gaining especial honor at the battle of Pea Ridge. Their losses here were enormous. In addition to this engagement, the regiment took part in the fighting at Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, siege of Vicksburg, Ringgold. Dallas, Lookout Mountain, in the Atlanta campaign and subsequent march to the sea. The Ninth was mustered out of the service at Louisville, Ky .. July 18. 1865. During the war the regiment lost ninety-three men on the field of battle or of wounds and 137 by disease.
The Thirty-eighth Iowa Infantry was organized at Dubuque and mustered into the service November 4, 1862. The first campaign of importance in which this regiment participated was the siege of Vicksburg. After engaging in several minor campaigns, the regiment fought in the last battle of the war-the taking of Fort Blakely. The men were mustered out of the service at Houston, Texas, but did not disband until arriving at Davenport, Iowa. Practically all of Company I of this regiment was recruited from Howard County.
THE SPIRIT OF 1917
At the time these words are written Howard County is again engaged in the stern but inspiring business of making war. Her citizens have responded with money, labor and effort : her women have responded with the gentle tasks for which they are fitted ; and her sons have offered their services and lives to the cause of world democracy. When the complete history of Iowa's participation in the struggle against the Hun across the sea is penned, what stirring paragraphs shall be devoted to the deeds, sacrifices and heroism of her people. Even now, when the first casualty list has been cabled from France. the name of an Iowa boy is among the killed and one among those captured.
The declaration of war with Germany on April 6. 1917, was answered in Cresco and the remainder of the county with expressions of loyalty and prepara-
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tions for aiding in the success of the gigantic task ahead. On May 18th President Wilson issued his proclamation which made the selective draft act a law. By this law, all men between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-one were obliged to register upon June 5th following, thereby making themselves eligible for selection and service in the National Army of the United States. There were 1, 166 men in Howard County who came within the specified ages and who registered upon the date mentioned. Physical examinations were made of those who were called in the first increment and actual selection, hearing of exemption appeals and other routine matters occupied the attention of the board until finally men were chosen which more than filled the first quota assigned to the county. The quota was 138. A greater portion of these are, at this writing, in training at Camp Dodge. Des Moines, Iowa. Just how many men will join the colors from Howard County before the war is over and who will see actual service on the firing line cannot be told now, but the future historian of Howard County will have an abundance of material from which to compile the story of the county's share in the World war.
CHAPTER V
HOWARD COUNTY TOWNS
EARLY WESTERN TOWNS AND THEIR CHARACTER-CRESCO-FIRST MERCHANTS- INCORPORATION - MAYORS -- PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS - PUBLIC LIBRARY - ST. JOSEPH'S MERCY HOSPITAL-LODGES-LIME SPRING-CHESTER-PROTIVIN- ELMA-RICEVILLE.
In the early settlement of the Great West every state had its quota of land speculators, whose principal object seems to have been the laying out of towns. without the slightest regard to the geographical importance of the site or its pos- sible future commercial advantages. The great aim of these speculators was to sell lots to new immigrants. An early Iowa writer (Haskins Taylor, in the "Annals of Iowa") says: "Everybody we met had a town plat, and every man that had a town had a map of the county marked to suit his town as the county seat." Many of these towns were advertised throughout the East in a manner that did not reflect much credit upon the veracity of the advertisers. The proprietors of some of these towns along the Des Moines River sent out circulars showing a picture of the town, with a row of three-story or four-story buildings along the river front, large sidewheel steamers lying at the landing, etc., when the truth of the matter was that only occasionally a steamer of very light draft was able to navigate the Des Moines and the town consisted, perhaps, of half a dozen small cabins. A few of these towns, by some fortunate circumstance, such as the location of the county seat. the development of a water power or the building of a railroad, have grown into considerable commercial centers. Others have continued to exist, but have never grown beyond the importance of a neighbor- hood trading point, a small railroad station, or a postoffice for a moderate sized district. And some have disappeared from the map altogether.
Fortunately for Howard County, the mania for founding towns had about spent its force before the first settlements were made within its borders. The pioneers who settled and organized the county were more interested in the devel- opment of the natural resources than they were in speculation. Of the towns laid out before the coming of the first railroad. notable examples are New Oregon and Vernon Springs, villages which were rivals for the possession of the courthouse. These trading points have passed from existence, simply because Cresco came into
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being and occupied a compromise position, thus securing the county seat location and with it the stimulus for growth and prosperity which insured the defeat and ultimate disappearance of the two southern villages.
CRESCO
The Village of Cresco, so named from the Latin word meaning "I Grow," came into actual existence as a village in April, 1866, when Augustus Beadle bought the land comprised in the city from M. L. Shook. Nine years prior to this date, Shook had purchased the land from Horace Barber. The latter had entered the area at the general land office in September, 1856, and held it until October, 1857, when he made the sale mentioned. Consequently, Augustus Beadle may be con- sidered the founder of Cresco proper. He was born in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., October 7, 1820, and died in Cresco March 1, 1898. His early education was received in Rutgers College, where he received the Master of Arts degree, and for a time he was president of Kingston Academy, at Kingston, N. Y. In June, 1847, he married Eliza M. Parker, of Hyde Park, N. Y. In 1855 he came to Iowa and located on a farm in Afton Township, Howard County. Here he remained until 1866, when he moved to the castern part of the county, to Vernon Springs Township, and founded Cresco. He later sold a part interest in the land to W. B. Strong and B. H. Edgerton. The three immediately had the site surveyed, platted and laid out into blocks and lots and streets. The plat was officially filed for record June 12, 1866. The railroad, the Chicago, Mil- waukee & St. Paul, on the I. & M. division of which Cresco is situated, provided a strong incentive for speedy growth and Cresco was not slow in taking advantage of the same. Her population from 1885 until 1915 was as follows :
1885
1,888 1905 2,93 I
1890
2,018 1910 2,658
1895
. 2,529 1915
3,190
1900
2,800
The years ending in the figure 5 are quoted from the state census report. while the years ending in the figure o are taken from the United States report. The state report has invariably been more liberal with Cresco.
FIRST MERCHANTS
Among the first merchants of the Village of Cresco may be mentioned :
Strother & Kirkpatrick, general merchants.
Bones & White, dry goods.
J. J. Clemmer, drugs, paints and oils.
B. Chapin, stoves and hardware.
G. A. Purdy, stoves.
Burdick & Clouse, general merchants.
Price & Lowry, drugs and medicines.
W. H. Alleman, boots and shoes.
Perry & Conklin, agricultural machinery.
CRESCO MILK C.
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CRESCO MILK COMPANY, CRESCO -
ELM STREET, CRESCO
Vol. 1-27
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Mrs. J. T. Donahugh, millinery.
B. Isaacs, manufacturer of buggies and wagons.
Parnell & Myers, blacksmiths.
D. Beam and F. Miller, harness makers.
Mrs. F. H. Jewett, photographer.
Mrs. Knowles & Company, millinery.
E. B. Sloan, tailor.
Empire House, J. De Noyelles, proprietor.
Durham House.
The first hotel in Cresco was known as the Mansfield House also as the De Noyelles House. This was burned and the Strother House erected on the site. This latter hotel was erected in 1876 by W. Strother and opened for business New Year's night, 1877, under the management of Priest & Shaw. The Strother Hotel is still the active hostelry in Cresco, after forty-one years of service. It is still owned by W. Strother and has been under innumerable managements.
The Webster House was established early by J. F. Webster and occupied the public library site. The Dilworth House was started in 1876 by John Dilworth. The Van Slyke House was another early hostelry. The Empire House and the Durham House have been mentioned before.
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