USA > Iowa > Floyd County > History of Floyd County, Iowa : together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 16
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During the years 1858-'60, the Sioux Indians became troublesome in the northwestern part of the State. They made frequent raids for the purpose of plunder, and on several occasions murdered whole families of settlers. In 1861 several companies of militia were ordered to that portion of the State, to hunt down and expel the thieves. No battles were fought. The Indians fled as soon as they ascertained that systematic measures had been adopted for their punishment.
The presidential campaign of 1860 was the most remarkable and exciting of any in the history of Iowa. The fact that civil war might be inaugurated and was threatened, in case Mr. Lincoln was elected, was well understood and duly considered. The people of Iowa indulged in no feeling of hatred or ill-will toward the people of any State or section of the Union. There was, however, on the part of the majority, a cool determination to consider and decide
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
upon our national relations to this institution of slavery, unin- fluenced by any threat of violence or civil war. The popular vote of Iowa gave Mr. Lincoln 70,409; Stephen A. Douglas, 55,011; Breckenridge, 1,048.
The General Assembly of the State of Iowa, as early as 1851, had by joint resolution declared that the State of Iowa was " bound to maintain the union of these States by all the means in her power." The same year the State furnished a block of marble for the Wash- ington Monument at the national capital, and by order of the Gen- eral Assembly there was inscribed upon its enduring surface the following: " Iowa-Her affections, like the rivers of her borders, flow to an inseparable Union." The time was now approaching in her history when these declarations of attachment and fidelity to the nation were to be put to a practical test.
Certainly the people of no State in the nation could be more vi- tally interested in the question of our national unity than the peo- ple of Iowa. The older States of the Union, both North and South, were represented in its population. Iowans were nearly all immi- grants, bound to those older communities by the most sacred ties of blood, and most endearing recollections of early days. In addi- tion to these considerations of a personal character, there were others of the gravest political importance. Iowa's geographical position as a State made the dismemberment of the Union a matter of serious concern. The Mississippi had been for years its highway to the markets of the world. The people could not entertain the thought that its navigation should pass under the control of a for- eign government. But more than this was to be feared the conse- quences of introducing and recognizing in our national system the principle of secession or disintegration.
If this should be recognized as a right, what security had the States of the interior against their entire isolation from the com- merce of the world, by the future secession of the Atlantic and Pacific States. And the fact also remained, that secession or separation removed none of the causes of war. Whatever there was in the peculiar institution that created differences of sentiment or feeling, or caused irritation, still existed after the separation, with no court or constitution as the arbiter of rights, and with the one resort, only, of the sword to settle differences. In secession and its logical and necessary results, we saw nothing but dire confusion and anarchy, and the utter destruction of that nationality through which alone we felt that our civil liberties as a people could be preserved, and the hopes of our civilization perpetuated.
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
The declaration of Mr. Buchanan's last annual message, that the h. tion possessed no constitutional power to coerce a seceding State, Was received by the great majority of our citizens with humiliation and distrust. Anxiously they awaited the expiring hours of his administration, and looked to the incoming President as to an expected deliverer that should rescue the nation from the hands of traitors, and the control of those whose non-resistance invited her destruction. The firing upon the national flag at Sumter aroused a burning indignation throughout the loyal States of the Republic, and nowhere was it more intense than in Iowa. And when the proclamation of the President was published, April 15, 1861, calling for 75,000 citizen soldiers to "maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our national Union, and the perpetuity of popular government," we were more than willing to respond to the call. Party lines gave way, and for a while, at least, party spirit was hushed, aud the cause of our common country was supreme in the affections of the people. Peculiarly fortunate were the people of Iowa at this crisis, in having a truly representative man as executive of the State. Thoroughly honest and thoroughly earnest, wholly imbued with the enthusiasm of the hour, fully aroused to the importance of the crisis, and the magnitude of the struggle upon which we were entering, with an indomitable will under the control of a strong common sense, our war governor, Samuel J. Kirkwood, was indeed a worthy chief to organize and direct the energies of the people. Within thirty days after the date of the President's call for troops, the First Iowa Regiment was mustered into the service of the United States, a second regiment was in camp ready for the service, and the General Assembly of the State was convened in special session, and had by joint resolution solemnly pledged every resource of men and money to the national cause.
The constitution of Iowa limited the State debt to $250,000, except debts contracted to "repel invasion, suppress insurrection, or defend the State in war." The General Assembly authorized a loan of $800,000 for a war and defense fund, to be expended in organizing, arming, equipping and subsisting the militia of the State to meet the present and future requisitions of the President. Those in power looked to the spirit, rather than to the letter of the constitution, and acted upon the theory that to preserve the nation was to preserve the State, and that to prevent invasion was the most effectual means of "repelling" it. A few, however, in both branches of the General Assembly were more careful of the letter of the con-
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stitution. Three votes in the Senate and 17 in the House were cast against the loan bill. These bonds were at seven per cent. interest. Only $300,000 were ever issued, and they were purchased and held chiefly by our own citizens. We had at this crisis James W. Grimes and James Harlan in the United States Senate, and General Samuel R. Curtis and General Vandever to represent us in the House of Representatives. During the first year of the war, Iowa furnished 16 regiments of infantry, six of cavalry and three batteries,-in all, 22,000 soldiers. Iowa had no refuse popula- tion to enlist as " food for powder." Her cities contained none of that element found about the purlieus of vice in the great centers of population. Her contribution to the armies of the republic was a genuine offering of manhood and patriotism. From her fields, her workshops, her counting-houses, her offices, and the halls of her schools and colleges, she contributed the best muscle, sinew and brain of an industrious, enterprising and educated people. The first regiment of Iowa soldiers fought the battle of Wilson's Creek after their term of enlistment had expired, and after they were entitled to a discharge. They were citizen soldiers, each of whom had a personal interest in the struggle. It was to them no question of enlistment, of bounty or of pay. When the gallant General Lyon placed himself at their head, and told them that the honor of Iowa and of the nation was in their hands, he addressed men who knew what the appeal meant, and to whom such an appeal was never made in vain.
At the fall election of 1861, party spirit had revived; and the contest for the control of the State administration was warm and earnest. Dissensions arose in both parties, but the election re- sulted in a majority of 16,600 votes for Kirkwood, who was thus retained as Governor of Iowa. Both branches of the Assembly were also strongly Republican.
In 1863 the Republicans elected their candidate for Governor, Wm. M. Stone, by a majority of 29,000.
Meanwhile, the General Assembly had passed a law authorizing the "soldiers' vote," that if, citizens of the State in the volunteer military service of the United States, whether within or without the limits of the State, were authorized to open a poll on the day of the election, and to make return of their votes to the proper civil authorities. In the presidential contest of 1864, the popular vote at home was as follows: Lincoln, 72,122; Mcclellan, 47, 703. The soldier vote returned was: Lincoln, 16,844; Mcclellan, 1,883.
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
During these years of our history, the thoughts and energies of the people were intent upon the war. The State was simply a re- cruiting rendezvous for the army. Our railroads and express lines were carrying away the strong and vigorous, and returning to us the bodies of the cherished dead. The social life of the people was made up to a great extent of meetings, to raise means for sanitary and hospital supplies. Sociables were held, concerts given, festi- vals made; all with one object -- to raise money for the sanitary commissions. The hearts of the women of Iowa followed their loved ones to the field; and their every thought was, how they could alleviate the sufferings they were not permitted to share. Sani- tary commissions, official and unofficial, were organized, that pro- voked one another to good works, and were sometimes provoked at one another for their good work!
The General Assembly did all in its power to encourage enlist- ments and to protect the soldiers in the field and their families at home. Statutes were enacted suspending all suits against sol- diers in the service, and all writs of execution or attachment against their property; and county boards of supervisors were au- thorized to vote bounties for enlistments, and pecuniary aid to the families of those in the service. The spirits of our people rose and fell, according to the success of the Union armies. One day the bells rung out with joy for the surrender of Vicksburg, and again the air seemed full of heaviness because of our defeats on the Pen- insula; but through all these dark and trying days, the faith of the great majority never wavered.
The emancipation proclamation of the President was to them the inspiration of a new hope. The contest had been conducted upon theories that made slavery the very strength of the Rebellion. Every slave in the field cultivating grain for the subsistence of the rebel army, was the equivalent of a citizen of the loyal States de- tained from the army to perform the same labor. To offer freedom to the slave was to destroy the rebel base of supplies. But stronger than all these theories of political economy, was the humanitarian spirit of the people, that hears the cry of the oppressed, and commands men and nations to do justice and to love mercy.
In the adjutant's department at Des Moines are preserved the shot-riddled colors and standards of Iowa's regiments. Upon them, by special authority, were inscribed from time to time during the war the names of the battle-fields upon which these regiments
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
gained distinction. These names constitute the geographical no- inenclature of two-thirds of the territory lately in rebellion. From the Des Moines River to the Gulf, from the Mississippi to the At- lantic, in the mountains of West Virginia and in the valley of the Shenandoah, the Iowa soldier made his presence known and felt, and maintained the honor of the State, and the cause of the nation. They were with Lyon at Wilson's Creek; with Tuttle at Donelson. They fought with Siegel and with Curtis at Pea Ridge; with Crocker at Champion Hills; with Reid at Shiloh. They were with Grant at the surrender of Vicksburg. They fought above the clouds with Hooker at Lookout Mountain. They were with Sher- man in his march to the sea, and were ready for battle when John- son surrendered. They were with Sheridan in the valley of the Shenandoah, and were in the veteran ranks of the nation's deliver- ers that stacked their arms in the national capitol at the close of the war.
The State furnished to the armies of the Republic, during the war, over 70,000 men, and 20,000 of these perished in battle or from diseases contracted in the service.
Iowa's senators and representatives in Congress never failed to sustain the national administration in its most vigorous and radi- cal war policy.
Elsewhere in this volume is given a detailed account of Iowa's part in the war, and a notice of each regiment furnished by the State.
At the close of the war the citizen soldiers returned to their fields, their work-shops and offices, and soon began to repair the losses their absence had occasioned to the productive industry of the State. From that time till to-day, Iowa's history is that of steady prosperity, with few of those mishaps which so largely make up written history.
In 1870 the General Assembly made an appropriation and pro- vided for the appointment of a board of commissioners to com- mence the work of building a new capitol. The act provided that the building should be constructed of the best material, and should be fire-proof ; be heated and ventilated in the most approved man- ner; contain suitable legislative halls, rooms for State officers, the judiciary, library, committees, archives, and collections of the State Agricultural Society, and all other purposes of State government. The corner-stone was laid with appropriate ceremonies, Nov. 23, 1871. The building is nearly finished, and is a beautiful specimen of modern architecture.
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
IOWA OF TO-DAY.
When Wisconsin Territory was organized in 1836, the entire population of that portion of the Territory now embraced in the State of Iowa was 10,531. The Territory then embraced two counties, Dubuque and Des Moines, erected by the Territory of Michigan in 1834. Since then, the counties have increased to 99, and the population in 1880 was 1,624,463. The following table will show the population at different periods since the erection of Iowa Territory:
Year.
Population. Year.
Population.
Year.
Population.
1838
22,589 1851
.204,774 1865
750,699
1940
43,115 1852
.230,713 1867.
902,040
1844
75,152 1854
.326,013 1869
1,040,819
1846.
97,588 1856
.519,055
1870
.1,191,727
1847
116,651 1859
638,775
1873
1,251,333
1849
152,988 1860
.674,913 1875.
1,366,000
1850
191,982 1863.
.701,732 1880
1,624,463
The most populous county is Dubuque-42,997. Polk County has 41,395, and Scott, 41,270. Not only in population, but in everything contributing to the growth and greatness of a State has Iowa made rapid progress. In a little more than 35 years, its wild but beautiful prairies have advanced from the home of the savage to a highly civilized commonwealth, embracing all the ele- ments of progress which characterize the older States.
The first railroad across the State was completed to Council Bluffs in January, 1871. The completion of three others soon fol- lowed. In 1854 there was not a mile of railroad in Iowa. Within the succeeding 20 years, 3,765 miles were built and put in success- ful operation.
Elsewhere in this work is given full information as to the pop- ulation, finances, mines, climate, geography, geology, agriculture, public lands, education, colleges and penal and charitable institu- tions of Iowa; and these will therefore not be treated here.
The present value of buildings for our State institutions, includ- ing the estimated cost of the capitol, is as follows:
State Capitol $2,500,000
Institutions for the Insane.
1,149,000
State University.
400,000
Orphans' Home.
62,000
Agricultural Col. and Farm
300,000
Penitentiaries. 408,000
Institution for the Blind ...
150,000
Normal School
50,000
Inst. for the Deaf and Dumb 225,000
Reform School. 90,000
The State has never levied more that two and one-half mills on the dollar for State tax, and this is at present the constitutional limit. The State has no debt.
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
No other influence has contributed so much to the progress and development of Iowa as the newspapers of the State. No class of men have labored more assiduously and disinterestedly for the de- velopment of the State and the advancement of her material interests than her editors. There are now published in Iowa 25 daily papers, 364 weekly papers and 13 monthly publications. These are as a rule well supported by the people. Such is briefly a summary of the history and resources of Iowa. There is perhaps no other country on earth where so few people are either rich or poor as in Iowa; where there is such an equality of condition, and where so many enjoy a competence. The law exempts from exe- cution a homestead to every head of a family. Every sober, indus- trious man can in a short time acquire a home. Iowa is the home for the immigrant. The children of the laboring man have no prejudice of caste to overcome in the effort they may choose to make for the improvement of their condition in life. Here all men enjoy the inalienable blessings of " life, liberty and the pur- suit of happiness," not only unfettered by legal disabilities, but also untrammeled by those fixed conditions of social and business life that elsewhere result from accumulated wealth in the posses- sion of the few. As education is free, so also the avenues of suc- cess are open in every pursuit and calling. The highest incentives exist to exertion. Labor and effort, whether manual or mental, are held alike honorable; and idleness and crime are alone consid- ered disreputable.
Thriving cities and towns dot the land; an iron net-work of thousands of miles of railroads is woven over its broad acres; 10,- 000 school-houses, in which more than 500,000 children are being taught the rudiments of education, testify to the culture and liber- ality of the people; high schools, colleges and universities, are gen- erously endowed by the State; manufactories are busy on all her water courses, and in most of her cities and towns.
We cannot close this sketch without again quoting from Judge Nourse: "The great ultimate fact that America would demon- strate is, the existence of a people capable of attaining and pre- serving a superior civilization, with a government self-imposed, self-administered and self-perpetuated. In this age of wonderful progress, America can exhibit nothing to the world of mankind more wonderful or more glorious, than her new States-young empires, born of her own enterprise, and tutored at her own politi- cal hearth-stone. Well may she say to the monarchies of the old
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
world, who look for evidences of her regal grandeur and state: " Behold, these are my jewels." And may she never blush to add: " This one in the center of the diadem is called Iowa."
IOWA AND THE REBELLION.
The State of Iowa may well be proud of her record during the war, to suppress the wicked rebellion against the Union, which rebellion grew to such gigantic proportions as to require immense expenditure and large armies from most of them. It is true, that in comparison with the part borne by the national troops in the war, the part borne by any single State may be unimportant. The fact is, however, that the war was of such magnitude, that the part taken by each State in it can be compared with a whole nation's part in an ordinary war. Iowa, for instance, sent into the field during the Rebellion four times as many men as Gen. Scott had under his command during the Mexican war, fully 10 times as many as Gen. Jackson had when he won the victory of New Orleans, and quite as many as Gen. Washington ever had under command at one time. These Union troops from Iowa occupied conspicuous positions, carried many flags, dropped from their muster rolls in death and wounds many comrades, in all the important campaigns and battles of the West; in those of Sherman in the Southeast; of Canby in the South, and in those of Gen. Sheridan in the Shenan- doah Valley. Whether in the promptitude of her responses to the calls made on her by the general Government, in the courage and constancy of her soldiery in the field, or in the wisdom and efficiency with which her civil administration was conducted during the trying period covered by the Rebellion, Iowa proved herself the peer of any loyal State.
The bombardment of Fort Sumter, April 12, 1861, and its capitu- lation the next day to the rebels, under the command of Beauregard, aroused the country to the highest pitch of indignation. The cry of "To arms!" was heard everywhere, from men of all political parties. The enthusiasm was great all over the land, and, perhaps, greater in the Northwest than elsewhere. In this section, there are but few of entirely sedentary pursuits. Very many more spend their days in out-door employments than in in-door vocations, and those that are employed in-doors, as a rule, indulge freely in out- door sports and exercise. The most successful editor of Iowa is
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
scarcely more distinguished for his independent spirit and able paragraphs than he is for his skill in catching fish; whilst most of our lawyers and doctors are famous with fowling-pieces. A country where there is little dyspepsia must needs be deeply, deeply enthusiastic on proper occasions. Certain it is, that the intelligence of the fall of Fort Sumter aroused martial patriotism throughout Iowa.
April 15 President Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for 75,000 volunteers, and one regiment was assigned as the quota of Iowa. On the 17th Gov. Samuel J. Kirkwood issued a proclama- tion enjoining the militia of the State immediately to form volun. teer companies in the different counties, with a view of entering into active service under the President's call, and announcing that the regiment required would consist of ten companies of at least 78 men each. This proclamation had scarcely been printed before the executive was besieged by applicants for admission into the regiment, which could not contain one-fourth the men who were ready and anxious to enter it. The people were not a little indig- nant that the secretary of war required only one regiment from the State, that he would receive but a thousand men of the thousands they wanted to give. So urgent were the offers of com. panies, that the governor conditionally accepted enough additional companies to compose two additional regiments. These were soon accepted by the secretary of war. Near the close of May, the Adjutant General of the State reported that 170 companies had been tendered the governor, to serve against the enemies of the Union. The question was eagerly asked, "Which of us will be allowed to go?" It seemed as if Iowa was monopolizing the honors of the period, and would send the larger part of the 75,000 wanted from the whole North.
There were much difficulty and considerable delay experienced in fitting the first three regiments for the field. For the First Infantry a complete outfit (not uniform) of clothing was extemporized, principally by the volunteered labor of loyal women in the different towns-from material of various colors and qualities, obtained within the limits of the State. The same was done in part for the Second Infantry. Meantime, an extra session of the General Assembly had been called by the governor, to convene on the 15th of May. With but little delay, that body authorized a loan of $800,000, to meet the extraordinary expenses incurred, and to be incurred, by the Executive Department, in consequence of the
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HISTORY : OF IOWA.
new emergency. A wealthy merchant of the State ( ex-Governor Merrill, then a resident of McGregor ) immediately took from the governor a contract to supply a complete outfit of clothing for the three regiments organized, agreeing to receive, should the governor Bo elect, his pay therefor in the State bonds at par. This contract he executed to the letter, and a portion of the clothing ( which was . manufactured in Boston, at his order ) was delivered at Keokuk, the place at which the troops had rendezvoused, in exactly one month from the day in which the contract had been entered into. The remainder arrived only a few days later. This clothing was delivered to the soldiers, but was subsequently condemned by the Government for the reason that its color was gray, and blue had been adopted as the color to be worn by the national troops. Other States had also clothed their troops, sent forward under the first call of Presi- dent Lincoln, with gray uniforms, but it was soon found that the confederate forces were also clothed in gray, and that color was at once abandoned by the Union troops. If both armies were clothed alike, annoying if not fatal mistakes were liable to be made.
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