USA > Iowa > Dickinson County > History of Emmet County and Dickinson County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 8
USA > Iowa > Emmet County > History of Emmet County and Dickinson County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45
It has been said that "War brings an element of patriotism that can- not be awakened in the people by any other agency." However that may be, much of the history of human progress centers about the deeds of great generals and their armies. Aggressive wars have been waged by strong nations for the conquest of weaker ones, or to uphold the regal power and "divine right" of kings; and defensive wars have been fought to advance the rights and liberties of the people or to maintain established governments. The independence of the United States was gained only by a war which lasted for eight years, and of all the great nations of the civilized world the United States is perhaps the only one which has never declared war except to defend her institutions or to secure greater liberties . for downtrodden humanity.
One of the greatest wars in history was the Civil war of 1861-65, between the northern and southern states, commonly known as the "War of the Rebellion," in which the South fought to dissolve and the North to preserve the Union of States. Almost from the very beginning of the American Republic, the slavery question became a "bone of conten- tion" between the free states on one side and the slave states on the other. Slavery was introduced in America in 1619, when a Dutch trader sold a few negroes to the planters of the Jamestown Colony. The custom of owning negro slaves gradually spread to the other colonies, but by 1819 seven of the original thirteen states had made provisions for the emancipation of the slaves within their borders.
The first clause of section 9, article 1, of the Federal Constitution pro-
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vides that "The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year 1808."
The adoption of this clause was regarded as a victory for the slave- holding element, as under it Congress had no power to interfere with the foreign slave trade until 1808. But in that year an act was passed pro- hibiting any further traffic in or importation of negro slaves. In 1819 slavery existed in six of the thirteen original states, the other seven having abolished it as already stated. In the meantime Kentucky, Ten- nessee, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama had been admitted with con- stitutions permitting slavery, and Vermont, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois as free states, so that the country was evenly divided-eleven free and eleven slave states. Maine was admitted as a free state in 1820 and the advocates of slavery sought to have Missouri admitted as a slave state to maintain the equilibrium in the United States Senate. After a long and somewhat acrimonious debate, that state was admitted under the act known as the "Missouri Compromise," which provided for the admis- sion of Missouri without any restrictions as to slavery, but expressly stip- ulated that in all remaining portion of the Louisiana Purchase north of the line of 36° 30' slavery should be forever prohibited.
During the next twenty-five years the slavery question remained comparatively quiet, owing to the admission of free and slave states in equal number. Arkansas came into the Union in 1836 and Michigan in 1837; the slave state of Florida, admitted in 1845, was offset by the admission of Iowa as a free state in 1846. At the conclusion of the Mexican war in 1847, the United States came into possession of a large expanse of territory in the Southwest, to which the advocates of slavery laid claim, and again the question came up as a subject for legislation, resulting in the compromise act of 1850, commonly called the "Omnibus Bill." The opponents of slavery took the view that the act was a viola- tion of the provisions of the Missouri Compromise, because it sought to carry slavery north of the line of 36° 30'. Four years later the Kansas- Nebraska Bill was passed, which added fresh fuel to the already raging flames. Its passage was one of the causes that led to the organization of the republican party, which opposed the extension of slavery to any new territory of the United States whatever.
In the political campaign of 1860 the issues were clearly defined and some of the slave states declared their intention to withdraw from the Union in the event of Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency. The people of the North regarded these declarations as so many idle threats, made merely for political effect. Through a division in the democratic party, Mr. Lincoln was elected and on December 20, 1860, South Caro- lina carried her threat into effect, when a state convention passed an
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ordinance of secession, declaring that the state's connection with the Union was severed and that all allegiance to the Government of the United States was at an end. Mississippi followed with a similar ordi- nance on January 9, 1861; Florida seceded on January 10; Georgia, Janu- ary 19; Louisiana, January 26, and Texas, February 1. All these states except Texas sent delegates to a convention at Montgomery, Alabama, February 4, 1861, when a tentative constitution was adopted; Jefferson Davis was elected provisional president and Alexander H. Stephens, pro- visional vice-president of the Confederate States of America. They were inaugurated on February 22, 1861, the anniversary of the birth of George Washington. Consequently, when Mr. Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4, 1861, he found seven states in open rebellion and with an organized government in opposition to his administration. However, the Presi- dent, his advisers and the people of the North generally, clung to the hope that reconciliation could be effected and that the citizens of the seceded, states could be induced to return to their allegiance. Vain hope!
Relations between the North and South were still further strained early in the year 1861, when Maj. Robert Anderson, then in command of all the defenses of the harbor at Charleston, South Carolina, secretly removed his garrison and supplies from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter, because the latter could be more easily defended in case of an assault. The people of the South claimed that this move was a direct violation of an agreement with President Buchanan, and the feeling was intensi- fied when it was discovered that Major Anderson, prior to his removal, had spiked all the guns in Fort Moultrie. On the other hand, the press of the North was practically unanimous in justifying Anderson's course and in demanding that additional supplies and reinforcements be sent to him at Fort Sumter. The persistent hammering of the northern press caused the war department to despatch the steamer Star of the West, with 250 men and a stock of ammunition, provisions, etc., to Fort Sumter, but on January 9, 1861, while passing Morris Island, the vessel was fired upon by a masked battery and forced to turn back. In the official records this incident is regarded as the beginning of the Civil war, though the popular awakening of the North did not come until some three months later.
FALL OF FORT SUMTER
Not long after President Lincoln was inaugurated General Beaure- gard, who was in command of the Confederate forces at Charleston, made a demand upon Major Anderson for the evacuation of Fort Sum- ter. Anderson refused, but on April 11, 1861, seeing his stock of pro- visions in the fort running low and having no hope of obtaining a new
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supply, he informed General Beauregard that he would vacate the fort on the 15th, "unless ordered to remain and the needed supplies are received." This reply was not satisfactory to the Confederate com- mander, who feared the new administration might find some way of sending reinforcements and supplies to Sumter that would enable Ander- son to hold the fort indefinitely. In that case Fort Sumter would be a constant menace to one of the Southern strongholds. After a council with his officers, Beauregard decided upon an assault. Accordingly, at twenty minutes after three o'clock on the morning of April 12, 1861, he sent word to Anderson that fire would be opened upon the fort. At 4:30 a. m. Capt. George Janes fired the signal gun from Fort Johnson, the shell bursting almost directly over the fort. A few seconds later a solid shot from the battery on Cummings Point went crashing against the walls of the fort. The war had begun.
Anderson's gallant little band responded promptly to the fire and the bombardment continued all day. Late in the afternoon fire broke out in one of the casements of the fort and the Confederates increased their fire, hoping to force Anderson to surrender. That was on Friday. Anderson held out against desperate odds until Sunday, the 14th, when he was permitted to exacuate the fort with all the honors of war, even to saluting his flag with fifty guns before hauling it down.
When the news of Sumter's fall spread through the loyal states of the North, all hope of bringing about a peaceable settlement of the dif- ferences was abandoned. Party lines were obliterated. Political con- troversies of the past were forgotten in the insult to the flag and there was but one sentiment-The Union must and shall be preserved. On Monday, April 15, 1861, the day following Anderson's evacuation of the fort, President Lincoln issued the following
PROCLAMATION
"Whereas, the laws of the United States have been for some time past and now are opposed and the execution thereof obstructed in the states of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louis- iana and Texas by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings or by the powers vested in the marshals by law:
"Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by 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 duly executed.
"The details for this object will be immediately communicated to the state authorities through the war department.
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"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 perpetuation 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 rep- resentatives are therefore summoned to assemble at their respective cham- bers at 12 o'clock noon on Thursday, 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.
"By the President :
"ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
"W. H. SEWARD, Secretary of State."
SENTIMENT IN IOWA
On the 16th, the day following the issuance of the President's proc- lamation, Gov. Samuel J. Kirkwood, of Iowa, received the following tele- gram from the secretary of war: "Calls made on you by tonight's mail for one regiment of militia for immediate service." It is said that when this message was delivered to the governor he expressed 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 a proc- lamation asking for volunteers, to wit:
"Whereas, the President of the United States has made a requisi- tion 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 :
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"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 active 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 cap- tain and two lieutenants to be elected by each company.
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"Under the present requisition only one regiment can be accepted, and the companies accepted must hold themselves in readiness for duty by the 20th of May next at the farthest. If a sufficient number of com- panies 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 requirement 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 readi- ness 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 of volunteers 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 16, 1861. At the opening of the special session he said in his mes- sage: "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 call for volunteers 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 efficient military law under which he could operate. He
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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, trust- ing that this body would legalize my acts."
And the governor did not trust in vain. The immediate and uni- versal response to his call for volunteers had removed any doubt he might have entertained as to Iowa's ability "to furnish a whole regi- ment," and 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, and appropriating a sum of money large enough to cover all probable expenses in connection therewith.
ANSWERING THE CALL.
According to the United States census of 1860, Emmet County then had a population of 105 and Dickinson County 180. The former had been an organized county but a little over one year and the latter less than three years when this census was taken. At the beginning of the war neither county had telegraph communication, fast mail train nor local newspaper. The only means of communication was by the slow mail route then in use, and several days elapsed after the fall of Fort Sumter before the news reached Estherville and Spirit Lake. When the news did arrive, there was no difference of opinion as to the course to be pursued. Every vote in both counties was cast for Mr. Lincoln in 1860, and the few inhabi- tants were unanimous in declaring that the national administration must be upheld in its effort to suppress the rebellion. Owing to the location of the two counties, Iowa's quota under the first call was filled through the prompt response from those parts of the state where better transpor- tation facilities existed and the people of Emmet and Dickinson had no opportunity under that call to demonstrate their loyalty.
Under the call of July 3, 1861, an independent cavalry company was organized at Fort Dodge, in which a number of men from Emmet and Dickinson counties were enrolled. The company was sent to the Army of the Potomac and was subsequently attached to the Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry instead of an Iowa cavalry regiment. Nathaniel B. Baker, then adjutant-general of Iowa, called the attention of the war department to this error, and after repeated efforts on his part the company was formally credited to Iowa's quota of troops, though it continued to serve with the Army of the Potomac until the close of the war.
Scattered through other Iowa regiments were Emmet and Dickinson county men. To give a complete list would be almost impossible at this
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late day and consequently no attempt is made to do so. It is stated on apparently good authority that five-twelfths of the entire population of Emmet County were enlisted in the service of the United States at some period or another during the war, while in Dickinson there were at one less than a dozen men liable to enrollment for military duty.
CAPTAIN MARTIN'S COMPANY.
As a matter of fact the people of Northwestern Iowa were interested in military affairs before the secession of a single southern state. This was due to the attitude of the Sioux Indian tribes in that section of the country. After the massacre of Dickinson County settlers in March, 1857, there was a general feeling of insecurity that checked immigration to that portion of the state, and those who had already settled there became more or less discouraged and disheartened. Early in the year 1858, Hon. Cyrus C. Carpenter, of Fort Dodge, then representing the district in the lower house of the Iowa Legislature, succeeded in having a bill passed provid- ing for the raising of a company for the protection of the northwestern frontier.
The company was recruited chiefly in Hamilton and Webster counties and was commanded by Capt. Henry Martin, of Webster City. It arrived on the frontier about the first of March and was divided into three detach- ments. Captain Martin, with the main squad, took up his quarters in the old fort at Spirit Lake; First Lieutenant Church was sent to Peter- son, in the southwest corner of Clay County ; and Second Lieutenant Jewett was stationed with a few men in Emmet County. After remaining on duty until about the first of July, without any indications of an Indian outbreak, the men were ordered home, though the company was not dis- banded. At the earnest request of a majority of the settlers along the frontier, the company was again called out in the fall of 1858 and remained on duty until the spring of 1859, when the men were discharged.
MINUTE MEN
The withdrawal of Captain Martrin's company left the northwestern frontier without any armed protection except such as could be furnished by the settlers themselves. Samuel J. Kirkwood was inaugurated govern- or early in the year 1860. No man in the state knew better the dangers to which the settlers along the northern border were exposed. He had noted that when troops were on duty along the frontier the Indians kept out of sight, but as soon as the soldiers were withdrawn, new outbreaks were committed. He communicated these facts to the Legislature with the result that in March, 1860, a bill providing for a company of "Minute
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Men" was passed. As this bill is something of a curiosity, it is given in full:
"Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Iowa, that for the purpose of protecting the citizens of the northwestern portion of the state and enabling them to defend themselves against the threatened depredations of marauding bands of hostile Indians, the gov- ernor be, and is hereby, authorized to furnish said settlers such arms and ammunition as he may deem necessary for the purposes aforesaid.
"Sec. 2. That the governor be, and hereby is, authorized to cause to be enrolled a company of minute men in number not exceeding twelve, at the governor's discretion, who shall at all times, hold themselves in read- iness to meet any threatened invasion of hostile Indians as aforesaid. The said minute men to be paid only for the time actually employed in the services herein contemplated.
"Sec. 3. That the said minute men, under the orders of the governor at his discretion, and under such regulations as he may prescribe, a num- ber of not exceeding four may be employed as an active police for such time and to perform such services as may be demanded of them, who shall be paid only for the period during which they shall be actively employed as aforesaid.
"Sec. 4. There is hereby appropriated from the state treasury the sum of five hundred dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, for carry- ing into effect the provisions of this act."
This act was approved on March 9, 1860. It seems almost ridiculous to think of placing a state like Iowa on a war footing with a force of twelve men, only one-third of whom were to be in active service, the re- mainder held as a reserve, and an appropriation of only $500. There were two hundred miles of frontier to be guarded by this little army. While the provisions of the act were not altogether satisfactory to Governor Kirkwood, he accepted the situation. The minute men were enlisted and headquarters established at Cherokee, which was then a frontier town. They remained in service until the fall of 1861, carrying despatches, watching the movements of the Indians, etc., but no official record giving the full list, the time of enlistment or discharge can be found.
SIOUX CITY CAVALRY
When the Civil war began in the spring of 1861, the Government had need of all the regular troops stationed at the various posts in the North- west, leaving the frontier without adequate protection against the Indians. Under a special order from the war department a company of cavalry was recruited in the fall of 1861 to take the place of the regular troops that had been withdrawn. The greater portion of the company came from
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about Sioux City and the settlements along the Floyd and Little Sioux rivers. It was known as the "Sioux City Cavalry," and was commanded by Capt. A. J. Millard. James A. Sawyer was first lieutenant, and J. T. Copeland second lieutenant. The comapny was assigned to scouting and frontier service. During the winter of 1861-62 it was divided into small squads, which were stationed at various points along the frontier from Sioux City to Estherville. In the autumn of 1862, Lieutenant Sawyer re- signed to take command of the Northern Border Brigade, J. T. Copeland was promoted to first lieutenant, and Orderly Sergeant S. H. Cassady was made second lieutenant.
The Sioux outbreak in Minnesota began at Acton on August 17, 1862, when several settlers there were murdered. News of the uprising reached Spirit Lake on the morning of the 29th, when a Norwegian named Nelson came in carrying two of his little children and reported that the other members of his family had been killed by the Indians the night before, in the Norwegian settlement on the Des Moines River some six miles above Jackson, Minnesota. Even the two children he carried had been taken by the heels and their heads knocked against the corner of the cabin, and one of them afterward died.
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