History of Dakota Territory, volume III, Part 54

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1146

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In 1911-12 the organized militia (National Guard) numbered 58 officers and 683 enlisted men; total, 741. It was estimated that the state had at this time 100,000 men subject to call in the event of war. In order to show the inadequacy of the South Dakota legislative annual appropriation for the Guard the adjutant- general recorded that North Dakota appropriated annually $35,000 for its Guard of 656 men; Minnesota, $75,000 for 2,605 men; Nebraska, $30,000 for 1,330 men; Iowa, $141,000 for 3,100 men; and South Dakota, $15,000 for 886 men. He likewise called special attention to the lack of armories or suitable halls and storage rooms or buildings.

It was found in 1912 that the funds appropriated by the Legislature during the previous two years for the duty of the Guard at the state fair, amounting to

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$1,500 annually, were not sufficient by several hundred dollars to meet the actual expenses. The adjutant-general said in this connection :

"The $1,500 allowed by the Legislature would have provided for sixty men and twelve officers, allowing the officers and men $1.50 per day each for their service. To have attempted to handle the immense crowds that attended the fair during the year 1912, doing duty as watchmen, policemen and gate-keepers, on continuous duty both day and night, would have exhausted the twelve officers and sixty men both physically and mentally. In the interest of the militia depart- ment it was deemed advisable to increase the force on duty by thirty men. Even with this number the soldiers were overworked and at the close of the fair were worn out. This is demoralizing to the organization of the Guard."

In 1913 instructions both in theory and practice was carried on as in 1912 through the medium of a correspondence school. Twenty-two lessons were taken in 1912 and 1913, and eighteen lessons in 1914. There was indoor and outdoor instructions, the former covering the school of the soldier-squad and company- for the purpose of developing discipline and exactness in executing the drill movements, and the latter embracing drill, practice marches, guard duty and firing on the range. The results of the school were satisfactory. There was a special school for commissioned officers. A general campaign under the supposi- tion that North Dakota and South Dakota were at war with each other was conducted on an elaborate scale in May and June.

In 1914 a gallery of competitive practice was established and was designed to be conducted every year thereafter. The course was five shots kneeling, five shots prone, and five shots prone with a sandbag placed under any part of the rifle as a rest, and each man fired fifteen shots at three targets, five from each of the above positions. It was provided that each man could fire as many shots as he wished, but when he fired his first recorded shot no more practice shots should be fired until after he had comlpeted his record. W. A. Morris was adjutant- general in 1913-1914.

THE SOLDIERS' HOME

The governor in his message to the Legislature in 1890 said that the Terri- torial Legislature at its session late in 1889 had passed an act, at the request of the Grand Army of the Republic, to establish a home for the soldiers at Hot Springs; that $47,000 had been appropriated for the building and that a donation of eighty acres of land had been received for the institution from an inhabitant of Hot Springs. He further said that the territorial government had appointed five men, all old soldiers, as a board empowered to oversee the erection of the building and provide for the management of the Soldiers' Home. On November 11, 1889, the cornerstone was laid under the Masonic ritual, with George V. Ayers presiding. M. M. Price delivered the formal oration. By January, 1890, this building was well advanced toward completion and the governor announced it would be ready probably by the fall of 1890. He recommended that the Legis- lature should make the necessary appropriations for the institution, and that in view of its proposed selection as a national home and sanitarium and in order to increase its usefulness in a cause which should recognize only national boundaries, the state should maintain the institution with due care and credit. It was sug-

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gested that it would be fit and appropriate to invite the United States Government to take up the work thus so grandly begun by the state. In October the building was formally accepted from the contractors, and immediately thereafter it was furnished and equipped out. Col. W. N. Lucas was appointed commandant.

The home was duly opened for the reception of members or inmates Novem- ber 25, 1890. By June 30, 1892, 155 old soldiers had been admitted to member- ship; 80 were still there in December, 1892. The falling off in the number of inmates was due, it was believed, to the hot and healing waters of the springs where the home was situated. In February, 1891, three months after it had opened, it was recognized as auxiliary to the great system of soldiers' homes throughout the nation. The home was thoroughly inspected first in August, 1891, by Gen. W. W. Averill. He reported the capacity to be 225 members without crowding. He reported that the sanitary condition of the home was excellent and that notwithstanding the members were old, enfeebled, and broken down in health, the mortality was low, the death rate being less than 21/2 per cent per annum. He reported that no sooner had the home been opened than the necessity of a hospital became apparent. This was particularly pro- nounced when the epidemic of lagrippe swept over the country; and when at one time seventeen old and feeble veterans were prostrated with the influenza, the necessity for the hospital became urgent because proper care for the sick could not be given in the home. Necessity forced the erection of the hospital in 1891, Doctor Craven, of Yankton, starting the movement with a donation of $500. At first the home was handicapped with lack of funds, but gradually as time has passed larger sums have been appropriated, owing mainly to the pronounced demands of the people for better care of the old soldiers. Under the act of Congress the state received from the Government $100 per capita for the inmates, providing that it costs $200 or more to keep a man a year; if less than $200, than one-half of the cost of such keeping.

The first building of the Soldiers' Home was a large stone structure, three stories and basement high, built on an elevation, with a broad veranda across the front and both ends. From the start it was heated by steam and lighted by electricity. There were many rooms and all were kept clean and tidy by the comrades themselves, but a Chinaman did the washing of clothing. The meals were cooked in the basement, and the commander ate with the inmates. The library was so small as to be scarcely noticeable, and the few books were well thumbed and worn. The mail was carried to and from the city twice a day. Samuel H. Coats was an early correspondent for the home. Silas A. Strickland Post, No. 127, held regular meetings in the building. When one of the inmates died he was buried in a cemetery three miles distant. At this time there was a general demand for a cemetery exclusively for the home- one nearby which they could visit often and help to ornament and beautify.

In 1892-93, Capt. J. P. Megrew was commandant of the Soldiers' Home ; Mrs. Josie B. Megrew, matron; J. P. Campbell, adjutant ; A. Howell, surgeon ; E. E. Clough, O. E. Dewey, W. P. Phillips, S. M. Laird and C. S Palmer, board of commissioners. There had been admitted to April 7, 1893, 214 old soldiers, of whom 106 had been discharged; there were 96 inmates at this time. Of this number 62 were pensioners. Any veteran with an honorable discharge, who had lived in the state one year, could gain admittance. The home received any vet-

ALL SAINTS SCHOOL, SIOUX FALLS

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SOUTH DAKOTA: ITS HISTORY AND ITS PEOPLE

eran who had a family dependent upon him, who was unable to work and who had not to exceed four hundred dollars income from all sources, including pen- sion, rent of houses, rent of farm, interest, etc. All who received a pension of as much as six dollars per month were required to clothe themselves and ail were required to dress in blue uniforms.

The hospital fund was accumulated from the following sources : All moneys received from pensions; all donations made for this purpose by the Woman's Relief Corps, Sons of Veterans, Grand Army of the Republic, posts and indi- viduals; the moneys received for board of transients if not needed for other purposes; entertainments given by the home, etc. Thorough discipline was necessarily maintained. Provision for the care of the wives of veterans was made on land adjoining the home, where cottages were built.

In 1894 there were 58 admissions to the Soldiers' Home and a total of 117 members. The average age of the inmates was 61 years and their average length of service, 29 months. It was about this time that the Sioux City Journal made a severe arraignment of the management of the home by Captain Megrew. The Grand Army of the Republic warmly lauded the institution and declared that the charges were unfounded. A system of sewerage was completed in 1894, and about the same time the inmates began to receive water by gravity from Mam- moth Springs. The inmates spent much of their time in grading the avenues and streets, planting shrubs and flowers and otherwise improving the grounds. This year a fine statue of General Logan was prepared largely through the efforts of the ladies. The unveiling took place July 23, in the presence of a large crowd, to whom eloquent and patriotic speeches were made by several leading military men of the state and other prominent citizens.

The growth and value of the home have become more noticeable as time has advanced and as the average age of the inmates has increased. Its usefulness is due in a large measure to the determination of the Grand Army of the Republic to make it what it really is designed to be-a home for helpless old soldiers. But this was not accomplished without constant investigation and great effort. At times the management of the institution has been under a cloud of suspicion. The old soldier inmates complained bitterly of the manage- ment and the treatment to which they were subjected from time to time. But in spite of all possible detractions the home has steadily grown in influence and stability until by 1915 it is one of the fixed and indispensable institutions of this great commonwealth. It must be admitted, however, that its successful develop- ment and popularity were largely the outgrowth of the determined and intelli- gent course taken in its behalf by the Grand Army. By 1906 the cost per capita of keeping the inmates was $190.53 per annum. The members received in early years were as follows : 1891, 115; 1892, 56; 1893, 72; 1894, 61 ; 1895, 43; 1896. 67. Comrade Nash of the Grand Army of the Republic committee made a sup- plemental report in 1896, in which he showed to what extent pension money, etc., was spent for whisky by the old soldier inmates. The saloons at Hot Springs, he declared, secured this money. This was almost the only home in the United States where such a condition of affairs could exist. He insisted that a part of such money at least should be devoted to better uses. He further called attention to the undisputed fact that the home was the creature of this department of the Grand Army of the Republic; that it was the home of this

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state, and that this department was responsible for its proper management. It was shown that the hospital had cared for more drunken old soldiers than for all diseases thus far. He said that when he visited the home there were nine inmates in the hospital and that eight were there through the influence of whisky. This whole subject was then thoroughly and kindly discussed by the Grand Army of the Republic Encampment in order to discover what was best to be done in the matter. Later the encampment, among other acts, passed a reso- lution criticising the management for discharging from the institution on the most trivial excuse some of the very men for whom it was built.

In November, 1899, the board of commissioners of the Soldiers' Home passed a resolution authorizing the commandant to receive disabled soldiers of the Spanish-American war, and within a few days thereafter two were ad- mitted. There was no provision of the law for such action, but the whole state sanctioned the course of the board. Col. Arthur Linn served as com- mandant from 1897 to 1901.

In 1905 Commander Packard of the Grand Army of the Republic visited the Soldier's Home, and made a critical examination of its management and reported that as a whole it was in excellent condition. There was no fault found except by a few old soldier inmates who liked more liberty than the proper discipline of the institution permitted. Excessive drinking by many of the inmates was a serious problem that had to be met and managed.

By 1910 the grounds still contained the original eighty acres of much stony land, hills and gulches with some small scrub pine trees, but no running water other than that obtained from the water company and paid for by the Soldiers' Home from the maintenance fund. The total number of old soldiers that were admitted from the opening in 1890 to August, 1910, was 1,341. The wives of the members were not provided for by the Legislature in the maintenance fund, but were supported on the appropriation made for the men with the consent of the commissioners, the commandant and the members of the home. The com- missioners asked the Legislature to provide for the support of these women who, if not thus taken into the home, would be forced to go to the poorhouse. At this time the veteran inmates numbered 259, a few being Spanish-American war soldiers.

Colonel Lucas was again commandant from 1901 to 1903. Colonel Goddard served from 1903 to 1907; Col. D. B. L. Dudley, from 1907 to 1909; Col. J. B. Geddes, from 1909 to 1911; Col. T. G. Orr, from 1911 to 1913. At this time the Soldiers' Home was in excellent condition. All members seemed happy and contented. At the Battle Mountain Sanitarium were over three hundred mem- bers being treated for all sorts of old men's ailments. Already the Government had expended over one million dollars for erecting and furnishing this sanitarium. At this time it was in charge of Governor Mattison.

As the years have passed a few general monuments to the old soldiers have been erected within the boundaries of the state. In recent years the home is even more useful and conspicuous than it formerly was, because the inmates are less able to take care of themselves and because, owing to their helplessness, they merit and receive greater attention, aid and kindness. Let their last days be made happy by a grateful people.

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In 1906 Comrade Picker said to the Grand Army of the Republic Encamp- ment: "I should like to call your attention to the Battle Mountain Sanitarium at Hot Springs. The Government of the United States investigated sites all over the country and finally decided to put the sanitarium at this point. This institu- tion is for the treatment of old soldiers without charge and I have great faith in the curative properties of these springs. Within sixty days we will have two lines of railroad across the state and it will cost but little to get there."

Vol. III-25

CHAPTER XI MILITARY SOCIETIES

Immediately after the close of the Civil war the Grand Army of the Republic was founded by Gen. John A. Logan and at once became popular as a means of perpetuating and cherishing the comradeship and friendship engendered during the struggle; of caring for the veterans and their families in case they should become destitute and helpless; of providing for their decent burial and the appro- priate marking of their last resting places, and of encouraging in subsequent gen- erations the noble and vital sentiment of patriotism which actuated the volunteers when they enlisted and fought four years to save the Union. Soon the veterans began to pass away, their deaths, in many cases, being due to the hardships and diseases they endured in the service of their country; but the resting places of all were noted by their comrades and in time were suitably marked in the various cemeteries of the state. The civil authorities paid little heed to their deaths, per- haps thinking that their obsequies would be best conducted by their comrades of the G. A. R .; and even when they became helpless they received little or no help at first from town or county except perhaps to be escorted over the hills to the poorhouse. It must be admitted with chagrin and shame that the grand old veterans were at first treated as paupers under the Government they suffered to save.

Not long after the establishment of the order the Woman's Relief Corps and the Sons of the Veterans were duly organized to assist in sustaining the G. A. R. as it slowly passed away and to carry into effect its noble program of patriotism. Thus associated, the three orders have walked hand in hand down the dying years to the present day, caring for the old men and their families, cheering them in their swiftly declining but happy days, decorating the sacred and silent mounds where they sleep in the arms of a never dying glory, and erecting in the midst of the new generations the shining structures of loyalty and liberty where all may receive the illumination which guided the heroes of the revolution and rebellion in the darkest hours of the nation's life. Is it not the duty of all to hold sacred and sublime the lives that were sacrificed to save the Union, to teach the nobler liberty resulting from the freedom of the slaves and the regeneration of the whites.

At the tenth annual encampment held at Mitchell in 1892 three prizes were offered to the posts that should secure the greatest increase in membership dur- ing the current calendar year: First prize, a handsome flag worth $20; second prize, a drum worth $10; third prize, a bugle worth $6. At this time posts were required to foster and encourage all in their power the organizations of the Woman's Relief Corps and the Sons of Veterans. The G. A. R. members ex- pected to become in the end the beneficiaries of these two organizations.

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The officers of the State G. A. R. in 1892 were-James B. Holt, commander ; E. E. Clough, senior vice commander ; Philip Lawrence, junior vice commander ; E. W. Foster, medical director ; T. M. Shanafelt, C. S. Deering, Charles H. Shel- don, William H. Loucks and N. C. Nash, council of administration; W. L. Palmer, J. A. Pickler, J. M. King and John E. Bennett, delegates to the National Encampment at Washington. It was provided in 1892 that the state should be separated into divisions, each having a colonel and a major subject to the orders of the department commander. These divisions were seventeen in number and there were from three to five posts in each division, all as near together as prac- ticable. The first colonels of the division in order were A. H. Ayer, Center- ville; A. S. Jones, Olivet; J. H. Shurtleff, Parker; Andrew Beveridge, Sioux Falls; C. J. Anderson, Plankinton; W. W. Havens, Parkston; E. S. Kellogg, Woonsocket; R. T. Sedam, St. Lawrence ; H. G. Wolfe, Huron; V. W. Norton, Brookings ; W. A. D. North, Watertown; C. N. Park, Clarke; H. W. Bailey, Faulkton; J. J. Aplin, Britton ; T. E. Camburn, Aberdeen; W. V. Lucas, Hot Springs ; A. A. McCoy, Deadwood.

It was ordered that all posts should attend divine service in a body either the Sunday before or on Memorial day and that the latter day should be conse- crated to the memory of all deceased loyal soldiers and sailors of the Civil war. This observance consisted in erecting a small cross on the grave of each soldier or sailor and in hanging thereon a wreath of flowers, ferns, etc. Great prepara- tions to make Derocation Day, 1892, a memorable occasion were made by the department, staff and division officers were urged to do their best. Post com- manders were all instructed to fittingly celebrate that great day. The Woman's Relief Corps and the Sons of Veterans were invited to assist in the observances. Full preparations to be represented at the national encampment in Washington were made. It was estimated that 70,000 old soldiers took part in the parade in Pennsylvania Avenue. Seventy comrades in line represented the South Dakota department.

The Woman's Relief Corps and the Sons of Veterans order were admitted to the encampment hall at Chamberlain. Chaplain Clark addressed them in part as follows: "In behalf of this department permit me to welcome you to seats and a partial cooperation with us in the work of this encampment. Ladies, if there was any song that we sang with wonderful 'eclat' during those terrible days of war, it was the song entitled, 'The Girl I Left Behind Me.' And if there were any letters which came to us from our homes, few were more highly appreciated than those daintily written notes which did not lose their perfume even on the long trip through the Southland, and which came from the girls we left in the North. Sons of Veterans since the war God gave you to us. You have grown by our side. You have had kindled in your minds the principles for which we fought. Your fathers have done all they can of fighting. It now remains for you to take the country we saved for you."

In her address, Mrs. Sara E. Holmes, president of the Woman's Relief Corps, reported that eleven new corps had been organized during the year, the membership increasing from 893 to 1,105. The number of corps now reached fifty-seven. One corps at Groton had disbanded owing to the loss of its books by fire. The expenses for the year were $448.68; other relief than money $782.58; turned over to posts $132.25.

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Memorial Day was observed by fifty-five posts in 1892, and by the same number in 1893. In 1892, 401 graves of comrades were decorated, and in 1893 491 were decorated. In 1892 the number of comrades in line on Decoration Day in the state was 1,696. In 1893 the number was 2,100. In 1892 it was estimated that 24,000 persons attended the decoration services, and in 1893, 30,000. Seven- teen old soldiers were buried near the Soldiers' Home. In all the services on Decoration Day, the Woman's Relief Corps and the Sons of Veterans partici- pated. At nearly all of the memorial services children were present, the schools dismissed for that observance. Business houses generally were closed and flags were flying from nearly all structures.

The tenth annual encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic, Depart- ment of South Dakota, was held at Chamberlain June 6-8, 1893. The following officers were chosen: Commander, N. C. Nash; senior vice commander, E. E. Clough; junior vice commander, C. S. Boldgett; chaplain, H. F. Knight; med- ical director, I. H. Hughey; council of administration, C. S. Deering, Philip Lawrence, William Osborne, C. H. Sheldon, and C. L. Summers. The depart- ment headquarters were at Canton. Full arrangements were made at this meet- ing to attend the national encampment at Indianapolis and immediately thereafter the World's Fair at Chicago. The South Dakota veterans were given the use of a separate room in the capitol building at Indianapolis for headquarters and when at the world's fair were allowed to use the South Dakota building for the same purpose. Railroads offered very low rates to the veterans. It was planned at this time to make a concerted movement to see if the commissioner of pensions had any right to suspend pensions before he had proved they were obtained by fraud. At the national encampment South Dakota was well repre- sented, and its delegations was accompanied by the splendid Knights of Pythias Band of Yankton. It was estimated that 300,000 people saw this national en- campment. The posts in good standing in 1893 were as follows:

Kilpatrick Post, No. 4, Huron.

George H. Thomas Post, No. 5, Redfield.

Ransom Post, No. 6, Mitchell.

Phil Kearney Post, No. 7, Yankton.

Minor Post, No. 8, Vermillion.

Stephen A. Hurlbut Post, No. 9, Elk Point.

Joe Hooker Post, No. 10, Sioux Falls.

George Lyon Post, No. II, Canton.

Canby Post, No. 12, Miller. Sully Post, No. 13, Pierre.

Brad Walla Post, No. 14, Athol.

C. C. Washburn Post, No. 15, Eagan.

J. H. Carlton Post, No. 17, Parker.

Robert Anderson Post, No. 19, Aberdeen.

Dahlgreen Post, No. 20, Dell Rapids.

Colonel Ellsworth Post, No. 21, Lenox.

James Shields Post, No. 22, Madison.

George A. Stevens Post, No. 23, Woonsocket.

McArthur Post, No. 25, Woonsocket.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume III, Part 54

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920 Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1146

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1146