USA > Iowa > Kossuth County > History of Kossuth County, Iowa > Part 25
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HISTORY OF KOSSUTH COUNTY
company in the thickest of the fight. He was mustered out at Eastport, Miss. June 25, 1865. He is numbered among the old settlers who have passed on before.
Thomas J. Clark entered the army at the age of twenty-one, enlisting from Irvington, September 1, 1864. He took part in the engagements with his com- pany till May 22, 1865, when he was discharged at Jeffersonville, Indiana, on account of disability. Coming with his parents to this county in 1854, he was of course a very early settler, his mother, Mrs. Malachi Clark, being one of the first white women to tread upon the soil of this county. Prior to joining the Second Iowa Cavalry he had been a member of Company A, Northern Border Brigade, organized in 1862 to protect the settlers in case of the Sioux invasion. His home is now at New Carlisle, Indiana.
Edwin P. Crockett of Irvington joined the company September 1, 1864, at the age of seventeen. He was with his regiment doing duty as a soldier at the Battle of Nashville and was mustered out of service June 25, 1865, at Eastport, Miss. His father was an old settler who had joined the Thirty-second Iowa Infantry and who had been killed at the battle of Pleasant Hill, La. A few years after Edwin's return from the army he moved with his mother to Ver- mont where he died several years ago.
John Long enlisted from Irvington, September 1, 1864, and after taking part in the various engagements with his company he was mustered out June 25, 1865, at Eastport, Miss. He was a young man who had been in the Irvington vicinity for some time before joining the Second Iowa Cavalry, and who had previously been in an infantry regiment.
John K. Fill was another of the Irvington boys who joined the company at the age of seventeen. After participating in several dangerous campaigns and skirmishes in which his famous regiment was engaged, as well as being in the battle of Nashville, he was mustered out at Eastport, Miss., June 25, 1865. A few years after his return he became interested in railroading. He began as brakeman on a freight train, worked for first one company then another and rose by degrees in promotion till he became yard master for one of the roads at Marshalltown, where he is now living a retired life, carrying many scars and evidencing the loss of fingers as the result of his railway experience. While a resident of this county he married Miss Hattie Bumpus, a sister of Mrs. J. M. Pinkerton.
COMPANY A 32nd IOWA INFANTRY
Abiather Hull was county supervisor representing Cresco township when he enlisted August 16, 1862. He was married and his age at that time was twenty-eight years. He was promoted in turn from 5th sergeant to 4th, and then to 3rd sergeant, and finally to 2nd lieutenant. This last named honor came to him October 11, 1863. While along with Bank's Red River expedition he was killed at the battle of Pleasant Hill, La., April 9, 1864.
William T. Crockett, aged forty-one, enlisted at Irvington, August 16, 1862. He came to that vicinity in 1856, settling on the farm now owned by R. J. Skilling. He was with Colonel Shaw's brigade at the battle of Pleasant Hill, La., April 9, 1864, when he was killed. He left a widow and son to mourn his loss.
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No settler had a higher rating for reliability than he had when he left for the front, never to return.
William T. Hensley, who was making his home with his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob C. Wright, at Irvington, died of disease while his regiment was at Benton, Arkansas, after having participated in the battle of Cape Girar- deau, Mo. He was barely twenty years old when he enlisted August 16, 1862. His death occurred November 21, 1863.
William Moore was another of the Irvington settlers who answered Lincoln's call by enlisting August 16, 1862. He died at Cape Girardeau, Mo., December 30, 1862, at the age of twenty-nine years He was a carpenter and cabinet maker, and had his workshop on one of the "four corners" of the village of old Irvington when it first started to boom in 1856. His body was returned from the army and buried in the little cemetery near where he lived at the time of enlistment.
Charles E. Orcutt, of Irvington, was thirty-one years old when he joined Lincoln's great army August 16, 1862. He was one of the few from this county who were in the battle of Pleasant Hill that escaped unharmed. On July 4, 1864, however, he received a mortal wound at the close of the battle of Tupelo, Miss., as he was folding his blanket in the tent. A rifle ball fired from a distance passed through both thighs, disabling him so that he was captured. He died August 4, 1864 and was buried in the National Cemetery at Moblie, Alabama. his grave being 635 in section 6.
John Reed, on the evening of August 16, 1862, was one of the number who enlisted at the Irvington town hall. He was nineteen years old at the time and had been teaching school. He survived the battles of Cape Girardeau, Fort De Russey, Pleasant Hill, Nashville and Mobile and was mustered out of serv- ice at Clinton, August 24, 1865. After serving one term as county superintend- ent and four as recorder he moved from Algona to Des Moines where he died as the result of creeping paraylsis May 10, 1903. His body reposes in the cemetery near the spot where his enlistment was made.
Matthew J. Sample was an 1856 Irvington settler who at the age of twenty- seven joined in the great uprising to defend the flag in the fall of 1862. August 16, he placed his name on the enlistment roll. He was fortunate in going through the battles of Fort De Russey, Pleasant Hill, Nashville and Mobile unharmed. He returned and was mustered out August 24, 1865, at Clinton. After marry- ing Kitty Fulsom he moved to Humboldt county where he still resides near the town of Humboldt.
Rufus Sanderson claimed his home on the Cresco side of the river, where he owned some land, at the date of his enlistment, August 16, 1862. After serving his full term of three years in the service, participating in numerous battles, he was mustered out at Clinton, August 24, 1865. Since the war he has made his home at Livermore.
George W. Barnes, an Irvington resident, married, and thirty-two years old, enlisted with several of his comrades under the influence of the stirring appeals of Jacob Skinner of Webster City and Dr. I .. H. Cutler of Belmond, August 16, 1862, at the Irvington town hall. Along with the other survivors of his company he was mustered out of service at Clinton, August 24, 1865, after having been engaged in several battles and in military campaigns famous for the blunders
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of their commanding officers. For a few years after his return he lived at Web- ster City, then he moved to the Pacific coast where his friends in this county lost .all trace of him.
George Benschoter, brother of the late Grant Benschoter and of Mrs. Alice Seeley of Portland township, lived in Algona with his parents from 1856 till he enlisted August 18, 1862. When he left his home to join the army he was hardly old enough to pass muster. While his company was at Little Rock, Arkansas, October 7, 1863 he died. He was buried at the National Cemetery at that place in section one, grave 58.
John Talbot was another Algona boy who enlisted at the age of eighteen. He placed his name on the recruiting roll August 17, 1862. After being wounded at the battle of Pleasant Hill, April 9, 1864, he fought a duel with a wounded confederate while both were lying on the ground. Several shots were exchanged and only ceased when young Talbot was shot through the mouth, the ball sever- ing his tongue and coming out through the back of his neck. He fell into the hands of the enemy and continued to live until the last day of the month when he died practically from starvation. His loss was mourned far and wide through- out the settlements of the county. He was born in England and came to Algona with Thomas Whitehead and wife, who had adopted him as their own child. His death, like hundreds of others, was the consequence of the stupendous blunder in the management of the Red River expedition in the spring of 1864.
Charles Gray's name is perpetuated and his memory honored by the local camp of the Sons of Veterans which is named after him. He too gave up his life on the ill-fated battlefield of Pleasant Hill, April 9, 1864, on the sandy hills of Louisiana, hundreds of miles away from his wife and daughters, Libby and Nellie (Mrs. E. G. Bowyer). He was one of the 1856 settlers in Algona. His modest cottage stood where the hipped roof dwelling of James Patterson's stands on Call street. It was moved and is now used by Charles Rosewall as a paint shop, and is one of the old landmarks of the town. He enlisted with some of his young neighbor friends August 17, 1862, at the age of twenty- eight years.
John Hutchison, after his enlistment at Algona. August 17, 1862, went with the recruits of Company A to Dubuque but was rejected for disability and not allowed to muster. He returned home where he died many years ago.
John Calvin Heckart after his transfer from the Second Iowa Cavalry, became a member of Company A in the fall of 1862, enlisting August 17th at the time of the great uprising of recruits in this part of the state. After participating in all the battles in which his company was engaged after he became a member, he was mustered out at Clinton, August 24, 1865. He is now a resident of Zypherhill, Fla.
"Old by Jinks" Thomas Miller was among the very last to enlist from the county, the date being January 25, 1865. He hobbled along in the army until he got his discharge on the 25th of the following July, at Montgomery, Ala. A letter from the brother of the writer written the next day at that place to the latter says: "'By Jinks' old Miller, the thousand dollar man, is gone. He will have some big stories to tell when he gets home about how he limped and complained for his country at the age of forty."
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COMPANY 1, 32nd IOWA INFANTRY
Amos S. Collins, one of the very early-day postmasters at Algona, enlisted August 22, 1862, and joined the Thirty-second Iowa with all those named above, but chose to cast his lot with this company instead of with Company A. He was first lieutenant as the result. As he went down to Fort Dodge to enlist, this county received no credit for his service to the government. He was thirty-three years old when he put on his uniform.
George H. Crosby was also among the last to offer his services to Uncle Sam from the county, January 25, 1865. He furthermore chose Company I instead of the one where the larger number of the Kossuth county boys were in the regiment. Later he was transferred to Company A, Eighth Iowa Infantry and was mustered out January 24, 1866, at Montgomery, Ala.
Elias D. Kellogg on being transferred from the Second Iowa Cavalry was another of the Kossuth county young men who chose Company I of the Thirty- second Iowa Infantry instead of Company A where many of his old-time friends were in the service. After being wounded he was mustered out May 10, 1865.
William J. Salisbery was a resident of the Irvington vicinity during the early part of the war. At the age of nineteen he enlisted January 4, 1863 in this same Company I which at that date seemed to have an attraction for the volunteers in this part of the state. He was transferred to Company B, Eighth Iowa In- fantry after having been taken prisoner at the battle of Pleasant Hill and released. Originally enlisting from Emmet county, Kossuth received no credit for his entering the army.
VOLUNTEERS TO OTHER REGIMENTS
David Holcombe, an early settler of Algona, enlisted September 25, 1861, in Company D, Sixteenth Iowa Infantry. He was badly wounded on Sunday, April 6, 1862, at the battle of Shiloh, dying on the 17th of the following May. He lies buried on lot A, grave 292, in the National cemetery, Cincinnati. At the time of enlistment he was twenty-nine years old. The report of his death was the first intelligence the people here received of the loss of a Kossuth soldier in the Civil war.
Lafayette Binkley joined a cavalry company that was raised at Fort Dodge, which on going to Washington, was reorganized and made a part of Company A, Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry. He was a young man, nineteen years old, who had been in the Irvington vicinity for some time prior to his enlistment on September 15, 1861. Since he was mustered out at Philadelphia, September 20, 1864, his place of abode has been unknown to his friends in this county.
Robert Henderson, November 14, 1861, at the age of twenty-one enlisted in the independent Sioux City Cavalry company which the war department, in April, 1863, transferred to Company I, Seventh Iowa Cavalry. This famous regiment was constantly engaged in scouting, in watching the actions of the Indians, in escorting trains and in protecting the settlers in every way. He was the son of James and Electa Henderson, 1857 settlers of Algona. . After he had been mustered out of service for a few years he married Nancy Norton. They finally located at Delta, Colorado, where he died December 24, 1907.
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HISTORY OF KOSSUTH COUNTY
Jacob C. Cummins, an 1855 settler in the little log- village of Algona, left for the army with several others who joined the Thirty-second Iowa Infantry. Just what regiment he became a part of, is not for a certainty known to anyone in this county. Some have the impression that he was mustered into a Kansas regiment, as he had relatives living in that state. His name does not appear on the roster of Iowa soldiers unless it is the "Jacob Cummins," in Company H, Twentieth Infantry. That man enlisted in the southern part of the state at the age of thirty-one, a few days after the Thirty-second boys left here. He was taken prisoner, September 29, 1863, at Atchafalaya, Louisiana, and was dis- charged for disability, May 29, 1865, at Davenport, Iowa. That soldier may or may not have been the "Pap" Cummins who went from this county.
Simon Helpman became a member of Company B, Twenty-seventh Iowa In- fantry, enlisting September 3, 1864, at the age of twenty-three. He was mus- tered out June 5, 1865, at Montgomery, Alabama. After his return to Algona he followed contracting and building for a few years. He was the boss-carpenter on the work when the old courthouse was erected.
Martin V. Jones enlisted November 18, 1864, and joined Company E, Twelfth Iowa Infantry, at the age of twenty-three. His regiment was mustered out at Memphis, January 20, 1866, but as he was not there at the time he did not receive his discharge. From the army records, it appears that he joined the company, February 28, 1865, and remained with it until the last day of the following month, while it was stationed near Spanishport, Louisiana. Being sick, he was left behind and was at some unknown place when the regiment was mustered out. He disappeared and has never been heard from since that time. The quota of Kossuth not being quite filled, in the late fall of 1864, the draft named him as one who must go to the front from old Cresco (Riverdale) township. He was a brother to A. J. Jones, now of Algona.
John Maher of the same township was also drafted but escaped muster on account of his flat feet. He was a brother to Mrs. John Devine.
REGIMENTS UNKNOWN
John Stockham of the Algona vicinity enlisted early in the war. His friends never have been able to learn to what regiment he belonged. Ambrose A. Call's Pioneer Press, in its issue of May 3, 1862, says that he joined the Sixteenth Iowa Infantry and that the Press had learned that he had been wounded at Shiloh, and later that he had died at Cincinnati. Stockham's name does not appear in the roster of the Sixteenth regiment, neither has it been discovered in the roster of any other Iowa regiment after the most painstaking research with that object in view. It is not probable that this county ever received credit for his enlistment.
William Thayer, also of the Algona vicinity, entered the army soon after the first call was made, but to what regiment he belonged has not been deter- mined by those in this county seeking that information. The May 31, 1862, issue of the Pioneer Press gave the news that he had been killed at the great battle of Shiloh. No further intelligence about him has been received by any one in this community. His name does not seem to appear in the roster of any of the Iowa regiments.
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O. B. Wilson went to the front soon after the battle of Bull Run, but where he joined or what regiment he entered is not known to anyone in this com- munity. The same issue of the Pioneer Press that reported the loss of William Thayer also stated that news had come of the death of Wilson on the battle- field of Shiloh. It is possible that he, Thayer and Stockham, joined the regi- ment of some other state.
Richard Parrot, Dr. Corydon Craw, D. N. Crosby and John S. Sixby are among those who were believed by their neighbors to be somewhere in the army. Research, however, has failed to discover their names in the roster of Iowa regi- ments. It is very apparent that many volunteers in going out of their home counties to enlist, gave the names of their residence elsewhere. For this reason it is difficult to determine whether or not the particular names found in the roster are the ones desired when seeking them on research.
ENLISTMENTS AFTER GOING AWAY
Among the number of well known early settlers who moved from the county a short time before the war began and who enlisted from other places are the following :
Leicester Fox was one of the occupants of the Irvington bach hall in the lat- ter 50's and early 60's. He went to Michigan and there joined the Sixth Heavy Artillery of that state. He served through the war and was residing somewhere in Missouri a few years ago.
Charles D. Parsons was also another of the bachelor group of young men who lived at Irvington. He was a brother of G. M. Parsons, of Algona, and Mrs. Hattie M. Reed of Des Moines. On going back to his former residence he joined the Twenty-fifth Michigan Infantry. He died at Chattanooga in the fall of 1864.
Leonard Hinkle was one of the first carpenters in the village of old Irvington, and one of the first violin players. He went down to Webster City and while there entered Company A, Thirty-second Iowa Infantry as fifer. He was dis- charged for disability, June 29, 1865, at Mound City, Illinois.
John Allison who lived on the Jesse Bedell farm, one mile east of Irvington, joined the Twenty-first Indiana Infantry. He was one of the early settlers of the Irvington community.
Carper Hewitt was the son of old Joe Hewitt, the pioneer Indian scout, buf- falo hunter, trapper and mail carrier from Forest City to Irvington and Algona and return in the early days. His father having moved from Irvington to Clear Lake, Carper enlisted from Cerro Gordo county in Company I, Second Iowa Cavalry, at the age of eighteen. He enlisted January 29, 1865, but died on the 22nd of the following March on the steamer, "D. A. January," on the Missis- sippi river. He is buried in the National cemetery, at New Albany, Indiana, in section B, grave 510.
Almon Needham lived on and owned the old James G. Green farm near Irvington, just before the war. He moved away but soon found himself a mem- ber of Company L, Second Iowa Cavalry, credit being given to Jackson county for his enlistment. He was twenty-seven years old at that time. He was mus- tered out June 17, 1865, at Eastport, Mississippi.
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Louis Loupee was a resident also of the Irvington community but reached Tama county just in time to enlist and give his credit there. He joined Com- pany F, Twenty-eighth Iowa Infantry, August 18, 1862, was wounded at Fish- er's Hill, Virginia, and mustered out July 31, 1865, at Savannah, Georgia.
Sanford Henderson, a brother of Mrs. Ambrose A. Call, found his way into the ranks of Company D, Eleventh Indiana Infantry, under Col. Lew Wallace. While with that regiment he saw much hard service but managed to return home at the close of his term of enlistment. He passed over into the silent land a few years ago.
Milton W. Henderson, brother of Sanford, was also in an Indiana regiment but not with his brother. He belonged to Company E, of the Fifteenth Infan- try, under Col. John P. Baird.
Isaac N. Henderson, another brother of Mrs. Ambrose A. Call, became a member of Company H, Third Iowa Infantry, soon after the war broke out, en- listing at Oskaloosa, June 1, 1861, at the age of twenty-one. He reenlisted De- cember 17, 1863, becoming a member of Company I, Second and Third Veteran Infantry, consolidated. He was killed near Goldsboro, North Carolina, near the close of the war.
George W. Millen after going from here to Marshall county, Iowa, enlisted at the age of twenty-one, in Company B, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, September 15, 1861. He reenlisted January 1, 1864, and was discharged for disability in June, 1865, at Louisville, Kentucky.
William Millen, brother of the last above named, went into the army from Marshall county, at the age of eighteen, September 15, 1861, becoming a fifer in Company D, Eleventh Iowa Infantry. He was mustered out, October 17, 1864, at Gainesville, Alabama.
NEEDLESS SACRIFICE OF LIVES
The favorite regiments for soldiers enlisting from this county were the Second Iowa Cavalry and the Thirty-second Iowa Infantry. The favorite companies of these regiments seem to have been Company F of the former and Company A of the latter. Neither of these regiments were engaged at Shiloh where some of our soldier boys were killed in battle. Historians tell us that Shiloh has been the most lied-about battle of the whole war. There are a few facts, however, which cannot be denied which were some of the causes that cost the lives of many need- lessly and shamefully. There was a three-covered jealousy existing at the time of the battle implicating Hallock, Grant and Buell which produced fatal results, Department Commander Hallock was jealous of Grant's success at Forts Henry and Donelson, because it had been achieved without his orders, and he was also jealous because Grant had rushed his army too far east on the territory beyond his jurisdiction. Buell had the same feeling against Grant, because Nelson's division of Buell's army which had been sent to help Grant at Donelson, coming too late, was ordered by the latter to occupy Nashville ahead of Buell's own army, which was on its way there from the North. Buell had a worse grievance against Hallock, because the latter had so influenced the administration that Buell's army of the Ohio had been consolidated with Hallock's army of the Tennessee, with Hallock as commander of both, thus making Buell get his orders
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from him just as Grant was obliged to do. The feeling was intensified when Hallock ordered him to bring his army to Pittsburg Landing where Grant's forces were congregating, and to be subject to Grant's orders in case Grant's army was attacked. Grant was feeling sore because his command had been taken from him only a few weeks before, and because Hallock had ordered him not to engage in battle till Buell arrived, although the rebel army was appearing in the distance. Grant was more sore because Buell was near the battle when it began and managed not to get any of his forces on the field till the battle (the first day) was practically over. There was also something wrong with Gen. Lew Wallace who was only eight miles away when the battle began and did not get into the Sunday's fight at all with his 5,000 troops. There is no doubt that hundreds of soldiers, including perhaps some from this county, lost their lives on account of the jealousy of the three leading generals and Wallace's blunder.
The loss of all the Kossuth county soldiers at the battle of Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, April 9, 1864, resulted from the greatest campaign blunder of the whole war. A large Confederate force having occupied Shreveport in north- western Louisiana on the Red river, Banks undertook to capture the fort and rake in thousands of the enemy. He collected a great army and proceeded to get it up the river as far as Grand Ecore, one hundred miles away from the point of destination. Admiral Porter, with his fleet of fifteen iron-clad and four lighter vessels, who was steaming up the river to be on hand at the federal at- tack, found the water so low at this point that all of A. J. Smith's 10,000 troops, which Banks had borrowed of General Sherman for the expedition, had to leave the transports, following Porter's fleet, and march with Banks' army. Among these borrowed troops was the Thirty-second Iowa, containing numer- ous soldiers from this county. The cavalry, infantry, artillery, and wagon trains strung out a distance of nearly thirty miles, right in the very heart of the enemy's country where confederate forces as large as Banks' whole army could easily be assembled on short notice. The head of the column had only gone fifty miles when the bloody battle of Mansfield was fought, while the center and rear knew nothing about what was going on at the front. The federal troops, after their defeat fell back in a rout to Pleasant Hill, just as the rear reached that place. Here another battle occurred twenty miles away from the fleet, which cost this county the lives of several of its soldiers. About 4,000 of the rank and file of Banks' army paid the penalty with their lives for this stupendous blunder of the com- manding general.
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