USA > Iowa > Mills County > History of Mills County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc. > Part 56
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80
28
80
79
81
30
80
81
30
65
106
18
79
31
81
29
66
118
84
104
Crk. ? Emerson Prect.
154
50
22|
154
26
50
155
20
51
154
26
26
154
50
154
50
153
68
145
69
Deer Creek.
80
61
43
80
44
60
80
44
60
78
90
14
81
44
54
81
44
59
88
91
83
92
White Cloud.
136
43;
10
138
10
42
138
10
42
137
13
40|
138
10|
42
138
10
42
142
45
142
48
Rawles. .
133
57
15
133
15
57
133
15
55
133
17
56
135
15
57
135
15
50
136
70
136
69
Lyons. .
61
67
3
61
3
67
61
3
67
61
3
67
61
67
61
3
66
61
68
67
64
Total.
1689 1066
270 1694
281 1030 1695
275 1029 1669
485
795 1696
197 1054 1710
275 1002
1769
1230
1617
1370
Majority.
382
381
386
386
465
433
536
235
For Constitutional Convention there were 1316 votes and 277 against it. For amending the State Constitution 779 votes were cast, and 218 against it.
Democrats *
Greenbacks +
Gen. Phelps received 2 votes in the county, and Neil Dow 2, for President.
NOTE. - The return from Glenwood townsbip is incorrect in several particulars. The vote for Hancock electors at large is put down in the tally list as 177; in the return it is written 171. The tally list shows that Robt. Percival received 154 votes; there are only 104 returned. The tally list and return both shows a difference in the vote for electors and state officers of 35 votes. This is a patent blunder in the count of the tteket, because there were but a very few of the State tickets scratched. This is an apparent blunder, but it cannot be proven without a recount of the ballots. If such blundering occurred all over the county the returns are anything but accurate.
479
-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
PRESIDENT.
SEC. STATE.
ATT'Y GEN'L.
CONGRESS.
DIST. JUDGE.
CIR. JUDGE.
CO. CLERK.
RECORDER.
Silver Creek .
70
39
70
39
70
39
70
. .
. . ·
. .
...
. .
·
· . . .
· ...
. ·
. . .
. ...
. . .
Platteville
152
8
9
8
. .
79
22
. . .
48
8
480
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Mills county was not represented in the general assembly until that body convened for the fourth time. This session began at Iowa City, December 6, 1852. The member for Mills, who also represented Mont- gomery, Adams, Page, Union, Ringgold, Taylor and Fremont counties, was William C. Means. With him, as "floating member," was associated J. L. Sharp, who represented thirty counties, or nearly one-third of the state! The senator for the fourth general assembly was G. W. Lucas, of Fremont county.
In the fifth general assembly, convened at Iowa City, December 4, 1854, the same senator occupied his seat. In the house would have been Rich- ard Tutt, who was a resident of this county, but who died before taking his seat. At the extra session of the legislature, July 2, 1856, W. Rus- sell, a resident of Glenwood, filled the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Tutt. December 1, 1856, the sixth general assembly was convened at Iowa City, and in the senate, representing Mills, Fremont, Page, Tay- lor, Montgomery, Ringgold, Adams and Union counties, was Samuel Dalle, of Taylor county. In the house was Samuel H. Moore, of Mills.
In the seventh general assembly, which convened at Des Moines, Jan- uary 11, 1858, the senator was John W. Warner. In the house was John M. Daws, a lawyer, who subsequently became a resident of Kansas City. The eighth general assembly convened at Des Moines, January 8, 1860. Harvey W. English was the senator, and Washington Darling the mem- ber in the house. In 1862, the same senator, H. W. English, and A. R. Wright, a farmer, cared for the interests of the county. Mr. Wright was the first member who represented Mills county alone. In the tenth gen- eral assembly was Senator L. W. Ross, of Pottawattamie, and Repre- sentative William Hall. There was no change for the eleventh general assembly, and these gentlemen were again members of the house, Mr. Hale being speaker pro tem. In the senate of the twelfth general assem- bly was Jefferson P. Casady, of Pottawattamie, in the house, the Hon. John Y. Stone, of Glenwood. From this date on the records in the elec- tion book, hereinbefore given, the succeeding members and senators are given.
It will be possible for the interested reader to make from these statis- tics, various instructive comparisons relative to increase of population and ·changes in public opinion, especially the sense of the people in matters of public moment and marked importance.
481
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
MILLS COUNTY IN THE CAMP AND ON THE FIELD.
Active military operations, as comprehended in the single word "war," have, unfortunately been the essence of history from the earliest times. No nation has escaped participation in these great tragedies. Their names and those of their founders have come down to us on a sea of blood, and for centuries they embroidered the historic tapestry with bat- tle scenes and ruins, until they actually battled away existence and found annihilation.
The stately monuments in national cemeteries, and the thousands of solitary and unnoticed hillocks beneath which rest the remains of armies of heroes, proclaim the cost at which the great rebellion which threatened the national life was subdued. This war, with all its vast and incalcula- ble losses and sacrifices, formed a chapter in the nation's life, not be easily forgotten. Lest history report itself in errors and a stolid world refuse to learn wisdom from the voice of the past, the chapter must be handed down to posterity.
The memorable political canvass of 1860 being over the people of Iowa, with their usual patriotic spirit, accepted the result. In the southern states, however, leading men at once sought to make practical their favor- ite theories of secession; theories, the abstract correctness of which will always be admitted, but the excution of which was perhaps utterly impo- litic and prejudicial to the best interests of the nation. The senator from South Carolina made the initial move by the resignation of his seat in Con- gress, three days after the presidential election. Six weeks later his state passed an ordinance of seccesion, then came the memorable occu- pancy of Fort Moultrie, and the year 1860 and the first of a long series of historic events came to an end together. The following year, 1861, opened inauspiciously for peace. Public men north and south alike has- tened the course of events to the threshold of war.
On Friday, the twelfth day of April, war was inaugurated, and the first gun sent its ponderous missive over the walls of Sumter. At half past one o'clock of Saturday the thirteenth, Sumter fell, the gallant Anderson surrendered, and the first tragedy had ended. Nor the rush of events was thick and fast, for the war had actually begun; men in the north, who dreamed not but that the threat of the southerner died with its last echo stood appalled, but up from the south came the bustle and preparation of war, and the activities and energies of these idle dreamers were at once awakened to the terrible emergency.
The President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, issued the fol- lowing proclamation, April 15, 1861:
11
482
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
WHEREAS, The laws of the United States have been, and now are opposed in several states by combinations too powerful to be suppressed in an ordinary way, I therefore call upon the militia of the several states of the union to the aggregate number of 75,000 to suppress said combina- tion and execute the laws. I appeal to all loyal citizens for state aid in this effort to maintain the laws, integrity, national union, and perpetuity of popular government, and to redress wrongs already long enough 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 dis- turbance of peaceful citizens of 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 extraor- dinary occasion, I do hereby, in virtue of the power in me vested by the constitution, convene both houses of congress. The senators and repre- sentatives 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.
Done at the city of Washington this 15th day of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-fifth. By the President,
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WM. H. SEWARD, Sec'y of State.
When this proclamation was issued by the president the excitement, which had long been at fever heat, broke forth in unexampled patriotism. The whole north set to work with energy to prepare for the struggle before it, and the people of this county were not slow in coming to their country's aid. There had been "Douglas democrats" and "Brecken- ridge democrats," a few "Bell men," and "Republicans," but now were forgotten political strife and contention, and most, if not all, were for the Union, and prepared to give to the government a prompt and effectual support. Earnest, honest-hearted men sincerely desired to do their duty to the country. While of ardent nature, strong convictions, and indomi- table will, they added to the lustre of these endowments by subjecting them to the severest tests one may know-that of the camp and battle- field. In June, 1861, company A, fourth Iowa infantry was organized at Glenwood, and from that city alone there were eighty enlistments in the company. The sound of the drum and fife, and the tread of martial men
483
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
filled all the county with the bustle of war, and the long dormant spirit of 1776 found expression again as her sons prepared to go forth to war. There were many who placed their names on the enrollment list that there performed their last great act, for they died on the field of battle. The war was all the topic of discussion. Men left their plows and women their spinning-wheels, to learn the news, talk over the situation, and to counsel with their neighbors. The women became animated with the war spirit, and bade their husbands and sons go to the defense of the flag they loved. Many a Mills county soldier went forth to battle, animated by the patriotic words of lover or kinswomen. Many a husband and father went with the blessing and "God speed thee" of the wife. Moth- ers gave their first-born to do battle for home and country, and adjured him to be brave and die, if die he must, a soldier, a name more honored than which there is none.
But there was work to be done at home, and the women were not slow to perceive where and how they might be useful. There were sanitary stores to be provided, lint and bandages to be prepared, a thousand little conveniences to men in the field to be gathered and sent. All this they did and more, while husbands and sons and lovers were in the field they, at home, were praying for the success of those who bore arms in the loyal cause. Letters were to be written, taking words of comfort and cheer to the sick and wounded, or inspiring renewed zeal and courage in the hearts of such as were weary with fighting or the march, and last of all, but not least, there were homes to be kept in order for for the coming of peace. Who shall say the hearts and loves of the women of Mills county were not interested in this struggle, the greatest the world has ever known. Many buried their fondest hopes, their greatest joy, months before the dawn of peace, and when the glad news came that the flag they loved so well had been redeemed, though at the cost of some of the best blood of the nation, both north and south, if now there comes an occasional pang when the memory of loved ones steals in the mind, as come these recol- lections will, it should be remembered that these were all they had to give-a gift which even the dawn of peace cannot alone recompense. But so long as the nation endures, the heroes of Shiloh and the two Cor- inths, of Vicksburg and Helena, of Prairie De 'Orme and Mission Ridge, shall be remembered, when those who have founded nations shall have been forgotten. A land free in all its bounds to every class and condition of men is the best, the most enduring monument to their sacrifice and their valor. Of each one's resting place, may it justly be said:
" Within this lonely grave a conqueror lies ; And yet the monument proclaims it not, . Nor round the sleeper's name hath chisel wrought The emblems of a faith that never dies-
484
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Joy and amaranth in a graceful sheaf, Twined with the laurel's fair, imperial leaf; A simple name alone, To the great world unknown, Is graven here, and with wild flowers rising round, Meek meadow-sweet and violets of the ground, Lean lovingly against the humble stone."
But peace has come with its duties, its responsibilities, and its blessings The powder-begrimmed warrior of yesterday is the husbandman of to-day. Newer duties demand the attention and care of the veterans of fhe war-duties which they may not neglect. The war is over, and its issues are freely, fully accepted.
In the roster of each regiment given below the facts relative to what became of each person enlisting, and all promotions, and reductions to ranks are given so far as known, and as fully as the most authentic docu- ments will admit. No statements of this nature are made save on the authority of the official reports of the adjutant-general of the state of Iowa, and may hence be relied upon as eminently correct. Where no other statement is made it will be understood that the person was mustered out with his regiment.
THE FOURTH INFANTRY.
This regiment was organized with G. M. Dodge, of Council Bluffs, as colonel. Of the companies in this regiment company A was enrolled in Mills county, and ordered into quarters by the govenor of the state in August, 1861. It was mustered into the service of the United States by Captain Lewis Merrill, U. S. A., at Jefferson barracks, Missouri, August 15, 1861, under proclamation of the President of the United States, bear- ing date May 3, 1861. On August 24, the Fourth went to Rolla, Mis- souri, where it remained until January 22, 1862. From that date until the 14th of July, 1862, when it arrived at Helena, Arkansas, the regiment was almost continually on the march, forming a part of the army of the southwest. The first engagement was that of Pea Ridge,* March 6, 7 and 8, 1862, followed by that of Chickasaw Bayou on the 28th and 29th of December, 1862.
On the 10th and 11th of January, 1863, the regiment was in the battle of Arkansas Post. After this last battle the Fourth returned to the front at Vicksburg, reaching Young's Point on January 22, 1863. The regi- ment lay at this point until April 2, when it was ordered to Greenville, a
* The regiment acquitted itself bravely in this celebrated battle, standing a most terrific fire of grape, cannister, solid shot and shell, for more than three hours. So grand a stand did the gallant Fourth, make that the general commanding said of it in his official report, " This regiment won immortal honors." It lost, in this battle, fully one-half of all actually engaged.
485
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
point one hundred and and fifty miles up the Mississippi river, and thence it went to form a portion of the force engaged in the raid up the Deer creek valley. On May 2, the regiment started to participate in the active campaign against Vicksburg, arriving there on the 18th, having been delayed two days at Jackson to destroy the railroad.
On July 4th, the regiment was again detailed to Jackson, arriving in time to participate in that hard fought battle. From July 29 to Septem- ber 22, the Fourth lay in camp at Black river, fourteen miles in the rear of Vicksburg, when, on the date last named it embarked on a steamer for Memphis, Tennessee. From this point the regiment set out on the campaign to northern Georgia, marching by way of Corinth, Tuscumbia, Eastport and Iuka, to Chattanooga, which place it reached November 23d. Weary and travel worn as it was, it nevertheless was herocically brave in the battle of Lookout Mountain on the 24th, that of Missionary Ridge on the 25th, and again in the battle of Ringgold, on the 27th. On the third of the following month, December, the regiment went into camp at Bridgeport, Alabama, and thence to Woodville, remaining until Febru- ary 26, when it started home on veteran furlough. In April, of the same year, 1864, the Fourth again started for the field, outfitting at Nashville, to engage in the campaign against Atlanta, Georgia. From that date on the campaign was one of continued fighting and weary marches. After the fall of Atlanta the regiment went with Sherman to the sea, thence to Washington through the Carolinas, and finally to Louisville, Kentucky, where it was mustered out July 24, 1865, and was paid, and disbanded at Davenport, Iowa.
It is eminently proper that the address of General Williamson to this regiment, many surviving members of which still reside in this county, should here be given. The address of General Williamson was as fol- lows:
HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF ST. LOUIS, } ST. LOUIS, Mo., July 6, 1865. 5
Fellow Soldiers of the Fourth Iowa Infantry:
Having received the appointment of Brigadier-General, and been assigned to duty in another quarter, my official connection with you has ceased. In taking leave of you, I deem it but right to briefly allude to our past association as soldiers. Four years ago we left our homes and loved ones to fight for the Union cause. Then we numbered one thou- sand men. We were undisciplined and knew nothing of war, but we did know that our country needed our services, and that was enough. Since then we have had more than three hundred added to our ranks. To-day our whole number is less than four hundred. Where are the one thousand of our missing companions? Most of them have fallen on the battle fields from Pea Ridge to Columbia. Some have been discharged on account of wounds received in battle; but the saddest thing of all remains to be told; some were starved to death in southern prison-pens. * * * You, the survivors of our glorious old regiment, will, I hope, very soon be permitted to go home and enter again upon the duties and assume the responsibilities of citizens of the Republic, and of yours, the young State of Iowa, for which you have helped to make so glorious a name during the war.
486
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
It need not be said to men like you, who have fought on more than thirty different bat- tle fields ; who, under Curtis, "won immortal honors " at Pea Ridge, and made the memor- able march through Missouri and Arkansas in midsummer, who were ordered by General Grant to place "first at Chickasaw Bayou " on your banners; who were under Sherman at "Chickasaw Bayou and Arkansas Post;" who were under Grant through the entire cam paign of Vicksburg, including Jackson and Brandon; who marched from Vicksburg to Chattanooga under Sherman; who fought with Hooker above the clouds at Lookout Moun- tain* and were with him at Missionary Ridge and Ringgold; who were under Sherman through the entire Atlanta campaign, and participated in every battle; and who again, under their great leader, made the famous "march to the ocean," and thence to Washing- ton, to be good citizens. Whatever may be said to the contrary, none can appreciate peace and civil government better than those who have so freely offered their lives in war to secure these blessings.
In conclusion, I have only to add that I thank my lucky star that my fortunes as a sol- . dier were cast with you, and I thank you for my " stars." May that kind Providence who has preserved and directed you through so many hardships and dangers, guide you in the path of honor and glory in the future as in the past.
Your fellow soldier,
J. A. WILLIAMSON.
ROSTER.
William R. English, Major, commissioned July 20, 1861, from captain company A.
COMPANY A.
Thos. H. Head, captain, commissioned September 14, 1861; promoted from first lieutenant; resigned March 5, 1862; Samuel R. Pike, captain, commissioned March 5, 1862; promoted from second lieutenant; Samuel Shields, first lieutenant; commissioned September 14, 1861; promoted from second lieutenant; George A. Henry, second lieutenant, commis- sioned March 5, 1862; promoted from first sergeant; wounded at Pea Ridge, March, 1862; Henry R. Blackman, first sergeant, enlisted July 1, 1861; promoted from fourth sergeant; Walter Corfield, second sergeant, enlisted July 1, 1861; discharged for disability October 3, 1861; Seth Tarr, third sergeant, enlisted July 1, 1861; promoted from first corporal; Abner B. Kearney, fourth sergeant, enlisted July 1, 1861; promoted from fifth sergeant; William Burnett, first corporal, enlisted July 1, 1861; promoted from private; John M. Bannau, first corporal, enlisted July 1, 1861; pro- moted from second corporal; wounded at Pea Ridge; John Creech, sec- ond corporal, enlisted July 1, 1861 ; promoted from third corporal; John G. Eckles, third corporal, enlisted July 1, 1861; promoted from sixth cor- poral; George W. Congleton, fourth corporal, enlisted July 1, 1861; pro- moted from seventh corporal; Isaac O. Gibbons, fifth corporal, enlisted July 1, 186I; promoted from private; died February 28, 1862; George V.
*Probably no skirmish of the war has been so greatly misrepresented and exaggerated as that of Look- out Mountain. General Grant, a most competent judge, has said it was hardly worth mentioning; no southern history mentions it at all, as being too unimportant. In view of the facts in the case, one may well smile at the graphic. but wholly false account of Headley and Ridpath. R. E. C.
487
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Nichols, fifth corporal, enlisted July 1, 1861; promoted from eighth cor- poral; William Thayer, seventh corporal, enlisted July 1, 1861; promoted from private.
PRIVATES.
Henry W. Armstrong, enlisted July 1, 1861; Jonathan Anthony, enlisted July 1, 1861; died at Rolla, Missouri, December 6, 1861; Robert W. Burns, enlisted July 1, 1861; Christopher Brandt, enlisted July 1, 1861; Edmund Bedell, enlisted July 1, 1861; Wm. Creech, July 1, 1861; died at Rolla, Missouri, January 13, 1861; Levi Crouch, enlisted July 1, 1861, Manuel H. Campbell, enlisted July 1, 1861; discharged for disability October 20, 1861; William R. Davis, enlisted July 9, 1861; discharged for disability December 21, 1861; Geo. W. Dolton, enlisted July 1, 1861; Francis M. Dolton, enlisted July 1, 1861; David W. Douglas, enlisted July 1, 1861; William Davis, enlisted July 9, 1861; discharged December 21, 1861; Josiah Eccleston, enlisted July 1, 1861; discharged March 16, 1862; Murat C. Ewans, enlisted July 1, 1861; J. R. Folden, enlisted July 1, 1861; Jacob Hutchins, enlisted July 1, 1861; Robert L. Hogins enlisted July 1, 1861; Andrew P. Hogins, enlisted July 1, 1861; died at Rolla, Missouri, January 14, 1862; Ammon Harmon, enlisted July 1, 1861; discharged for disability September 28, 1862; Alfred Miller, enlisted July 1, 1861; died at Rolla, October 10, 1861; George A. McCay, enlisted July 1, 1861; killed in battle at Pea Ridge, March 7, 1862; Geo. M. Miller, enlisted July 1, 1861; wounded at Pea Ridge; T. P. McReynolds, enlisted July 1, 1861; Timothy McReynolds, enlisted July 1, 1861; George V. Nichols, enlisted July 1, 1861; Morton M. Noah, enlisted July 1, 1861; Reuben R. Noah, enlisted July 1, 1861; Harrison Raines, enlisted July 1, 1861; Benjamin R. Raines, enlisted July 1, 1861; Jefferson D. Russell, enlisted July 1, 1861; died at Rolla, January 7, 1862; John Woodworth, enlisted July 1, 1861; Isaac Withrow, enlisted July 1, 1861; discharged for disability May 16, 1862; James Wolf, enlisted July 1, 1861; died at Batesville, Arkansas, June 21, 1862; Eli S. Wing, Jr., enlisted July 1, 1861; Joseph White, en- listed July 1, 1861; Charles Wilkenson, enlisted July 1, 1861; died at Pea Ridge, of wounds, March 9, 1862.
ADDITIONAL ENLISTMENTS.
Oscar T. Cady, enlisted November 20, 1862; Webster Gilbert, enlisted December 23, 1862; Wm. T. McCammon, enlisted March 18, 1862; James H. McDonald, enlisted November 28, 1862; Orville Rogers, enlisted December 3, 1862; Steven J. Smith, enlisted November 23, 1862; James I. Gibson, enlisted November S, 1862.
VETERAN RE-ENLISTMENTS, NINTH INFANTRY.
COMPANY A.
George A. Henry, captain, commissioned April 18, 1863; Lemuel
488
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Shields, first lieutenant, commissioned September 14, 1861; Henry R. Hackmar, second lieutenant, commissioned April 18, 1863; John M. Ban- non, second sergeant, enlisted January 1, 1864; Christopher Brant, third corporal, enlisted January 1, 1864.
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