USA > Wisconsin > Dodge County > The history of Dodge county, Wisconsin, containing its early settlement, growth an extensive and minute sketch of its cities war record, biographical sketches > Part 57
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Clyman .- Edward Pugh, Robert Humphreys, Martin Mesner, George W. Chandler, David MeCarthy, Zubanis Drake, John Neis, David Waterhaus, Jeremiah Scully, John Oldridge, Jacob Meis, John Schumacher, Julius Waugerhawskie, Edward O. Keef. Joel Merril, Theo- dore Smith, Martin Manning, Zacheus Euper.
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Beaver Dam .- Ebenezer C. Hammer, James Farr, Julius Lindsley, David Moulton, Jr., Lucas Landfried, John H. Peacock, Lafayette N. Blanchard, George A. Brown, John McDer- mott, William Clason, George Dunham, John Swiger, Fred Starks, Thomas Grimm, Adam Glass, George Johnson.
Westford .- Joseph Dixon, Patrick Elaspie, William Halman, David Davis, Jacob Amman, W. W. Jones, William Higgitt, George Wells, John McGan.
Other drafts were held under the various calls; many others drew lucky prizes, some of whom responded, while others furnished substitutes, and Dodge County was well represented in the great army of the rebellion, and many of her best citizens laid down their lives in sacrifice, that their country might be saved. During this time, enlistments were still going on, the vari- ous towns throughout the county offering, from time to time, additional bounty to procure the required number.
By reference to the report of the Adjutant General of the State, we learn the entire quota of Dodge County, under the various calls, was 2,606, with a total credit of 2,497 in the service.
SCRAPS OF WAR HISTORY.
May, 1861-It appears that many who, under excitement, enlisted in their country's ser- vice, when the hour of departure arrived, like the Irishman's flea, were not there. The Beaver Dam Argus, of May 24, says : "We notice a considerable number of deserters from the various camps, and even from the private companies not yet called into service. We can account for it in no other way than that some expected to go to the war for three months, do no fighting and return ; but when called for three years, backed out. It is a poor way for a man to show his patriotism and love of country, to go to war for fun. The Northern army will soon be rid of these cow- ardly fellows ; they can get along better without them."
June-A beautiful silk flag, procured at a cost of $40, was presented to the Beaver Dam Rifles. The presentation was made by Miss Thompson, in a neat and appropriate speech, and responded to by Capt. Catlin, who received the flag in the name of the company. Maj. Charles HI. Larrabee, of Horicon, was presented with a fine horse by his friends and neighbors. Flag- raisings at South Beaver and McCollum's Corners, amid the ringing of bells, music and speech- making. The Beaver Dam Rifles left the city amid the tears and hearty " God bless you's" of the assembled multitude.
August-A large mass-meeting was held at Beaver Dam to take action with respect to the visit of one Beriah Brown, in the neighborhood, and who was charged with being a secessionist. Resolutions of devotion to their country were passed by the patriots assembled.
October-Dodge County Volunteers, Capt. Ely, and a Hartford company, Capt. Kohls- dorf, united under the name of the "Sturdy Oaks," John H. Ely, Captain ; Robert Kohlsdorf, First Lieutenant ; George M. West, Second Lieutenant.
May, 1862-A large box of articles for the soldiers was sent to the Wisconsin soldiers in the Army of the Potomac, by the citizens of Beaver Dam, represented by Mrs. T. B. Catlin, Mrs. J. A. Bogert, Mrs. A. P. Lawrence and Mrs. Moses Stevens. Henry Douglas, of Beaver Dam, a lad fifteen years of age, a member of Catlin's Company, Fifth Regiment, was in the battle of Williamsburg, and got his gun wet so it would not fire. During the hottest of the fight and whilst the regiment was falling back, he deliberately sat down, took out his screw driver, unscrewed the tube from his gun, dried it out, put it back, capped it, got up and put into the field as if nothing unusual was going on.
July-Ernest Seifert, Company C, Sixteenth Wisconsin Volunteers, promoted to Second Lieutenant.
August-Under the President's call for 600,000 more, orders were issued for a draft in case the required number of men were not raised in ten days. Says the Beaver Dam Argus, August 8 : " It is a certainty, then, that conscription is to be resorted to, and before two weeks shall have passed many a cheek will blanch and crimson at a sight of the much-dreaded draft- ing-box, and the thought of being compelled to march to the field of death. All able-bodied
Ele Lewis
JUNEAU
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men may as well prepare themselves for the emergency ; all will not have to go, but it is impos- sible to tell who the lucky ones will be; consequently it behooves every man who has a family, to provide for their support in case he should be taken. The modus operandi of drafting men we are totally ignorant of, but we shall probably all learn as soon as we wish to." A Soldier's Aid Society was formed in Beaver Dam, by the ladies, for the purpose of extending relief to any soldiers of Wisconsin who may be sick or wounded. At a special election in Beaver Dam, it was decided to pay a bounty of $125 for each volunteer-only one vote cast against the project. September-Gen. Pope passed through Beaver Dam en route for Minnesota, to take command of the forces operating against the Indians. Capt. Hunt's cavalry recruits left Beaver Dam amidst a drenching rain, but in high spirits.
October-Jeremiah H. Douglas was promoted Second Lieutenant, Company D, Fifth Wis- consin Volunteers. The Adjutant General reports the whole number to be drafted from the county at 264, of which five were to be from the first ward in Beaver Dam. There was great indignation among the citizens of the place, as the city had an excess of forty-seven over all calls. They were afterward made happy by the correction being made by the Adjutant General. The city of Beaver Dam, by contributions of her citizens, raised $5,960 for the the Volunteer's Fund.
November-The Soldiers' Aid Society of Fox Lake shipped 2,580 pounds of hospital stores to the boys in front. The young men of Theresa volunteered, in place of those men drafted who had families depending on them-a noble and generous act.
December-Charles A. Pettibone promoted to a lieutenancy in the First Wisconsin Cav- alry. Robert Baily, of the First Cavalry, died at St. Louis, Mo., his body being brought to Beaver Dam and interred in the city cemetery. Capt. A. J. Hunt, of Calamus, resigned his position in the First Cavalry. Dr. Theodore Kopf, of Beaver Dam, appointed Assistant Sur- geon of the Thirty-fourth Regiment. Samuel Barrett, late of Fox Lake, a member of the Twenty-ninth Regiment, died on the 14th.
January, 1863-Capt. Catlin, of Beaver Dam, promoted Lieutenant Colonel of the Fifth Regiment. Jerry Douglas, son of the late Quartermaster Douglas, was commissioned Lieuten- ant that he might resign and return home, which he did.
February-The Dodge County Citizen, in a vigorous article, "goes for " those who profess to be in favor of the war, yet keep up a "fire in the rear " of the brave men in the field. Con- siderable excitement over a supposed disloyal secret society known as the Knights of the Golden Circle.
March-Lieutenant R. C. Scovill, late of Company D, Fifth Regiment, died at Beaver Dam. He was greatly respected and esteemed by all. Union Clubs being organized over the county. Considerable excitement in the neighborhood of the village of Neosho, with respect to threats of violence said to be inade against unconditional Union men. A military company organized and the State applied to for arms. Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society sent a large quan- tity of hospital supplies to the soldiers.
May-Great excitement in Beaver Dam over the reported capture of Jeff Davis. A man named MeHugh boldy cheered for Davis, which brought about a free fight, resulting in a num- ber of black eyes, bruised shins, pummeled faces and bloody noses.
June-A Ladies' Union League organized at Beaver Dam. While Mr. S. F. Smith, of Beaver Dam, was engaged in his duties as enrolling officer, some half a dozen women in the Second Ward got together in a house that he must needs visit, having first sent their children away to a place of safety, and arming themselves with rolling-pins, brooms, mop-sticks, churn- dashers, etc., they awaited his appearance. When he came to the house, they made a charge, which convinced him that discretion was the better part of valor, and he made a hasty retreat, falling through a treacherous cellar-way and losing his hat in the flight ; the hat was, however, subsequently recovered, though with sundry holes punched through it. The next morning, Mr. Smith returned and completed the enrollment without further molestation. Henry Linnell, who enlisted as a private in Company D. Fifth Regiment, promoted Quartermaster of his regiment.
E
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August-A monument was erected over the grave of young Henry Douglas (an account of whose heroic conduct at the battle of Williamsburg is given on another page and who died shortly after), in the cemetery of Beaver Dam. It bears the inscription, " The Young Hero of Williamsburg, May 5, 1862. Henry A., son of John A. Douglas, died in the service of his country, September 28, 1862, aged sixteen years. Erected by his comrades in arms of Com- pany D, Fifth Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers."
" The patriot boy from his soldier grave Speaks proud, great thoughts to the true and brave, And waves a light from the spirit shore Of glad, pure joy forevermore."
Lieut. J. G. Douglas, of Company K, Twenty-ninth Regiment, died at his late residence in Juneau.
September-Lieut. Charles A. Searles, of Beaver Dam, was killed in battle near Chatta- nooga. Capt. A. C. Burchard killed in Leavenworth, Kan. An attempt was made to indict, by the grand jury, members of the Union League, on the ground that the society was a treasonable one and inimical to the public peace and safety. The attempt failed.
October-At a Soldier's Aid Donation held in Beaver Dam, $141.53 was cleared, together with a large amount of provisions and fuel donated.
November-Draft Associations being organized, in which a bounty of $300 is paid to every member drafted. On election day, on account of the challenging and threatening of some Union soldiers, the citizens got into a regular fight, and some thirty or forty were wounded. All this took place in the town of Lowell. Capt. James Ordway, Company D. Fifth Wisconsin, killed in action at Fredericksburg.
January, 1864-The town of Lowell voted $200 in addition to the Government bounty. A donation and festival in aid of soldiers' families at Beaver Dam realized $217.85. Call was made for volunteers to saw the wood donated, after which drafting was resorted to by the young ladies and a number of young gentlemen got caught.
February-The town of Rubicon voted $200 in addition to the Government bounty for volunteers. The town of Calamus did likewise. Ditto Trenton.
March-The Ninth School District of the town of Beaver Dam, claims to be the banner town district in this county, having furnished twenty-two men for Uncle Sam's army. The veterans of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Wisconsin Regiments home on a furlough.
April-Joint School District No. 3, of Hartford and Rubicon, beats No. 9, Beaver Dam, sending thirty men to the front. Lieut. Edwin Marsh promoted Captain Company K, Twenty- ninth Regiment.
July-Capt. Horace E. Ronnitt, of Horicon, appointed Major of the Twenty-ninth Regiment.
August-Beaver Dam voted $4,000 bounty to secure volunteers for its quota of the 500,000 call. The term of enlistment having expired, the Fifth Regiment was mustered out of service, many of the boys returning home. The Citizen says that the trade in marriage certificates was getting brisk. An enterprising recruiting officer at Mayville, heads his poster, "Flee from the draft to come." The town of Trenton pays $200 and those liable to draft have added $50 more, in addition to Government bounty. The town of Calamus also votes $200. At a town- meeting in the town of Chester, the following resolution was passed unanimously : " Resolved, That we, as citizens of the town of Chester, pledge ourselves without reserve that we will cheer- fully comply with this necessary sacrifice (the test of the draft) to uphold the Constitution and laws of the land, and sustain the blessings of free government."
February, 1865-Stanley Brown, of Juneau, received a Commission as First Lieutenant in Gen. Hancock's veteran corps. He served three years as a private in the Fifth Wisconsin. Great rejoicing over the recapture of Fort Sumter. The Citizen fires off its big cannon.
March-Beaver Dam rejoices that it is out of the draft ! A couple of boys who had just enlisted in this county and got their bounty money, hired a livery team at Waupun to take their
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girls a-sleighriding ; were gone three days and returned home a pair of brides and bridegrooms, apparently as much to their own surprise as that of their friends. John Hardy, of Burnett, a private in Capt. Catlin's company, and who was below the regulation size, and who was received on the suggestion of Maj. Larrabee that he would make a good teamster, commissioned a Cap- tain in one of the Michigan regiments.
April-Great rejoicing over the fall of Richmond. Public meetings held in every town, village and city in the county, and the people wild with excitement. By the fall of Richmond it is thought that the rebellion would collapse, the " brave boys in blue" be allowed soon to return to their homes, and peace, joy and happiness be as of old. But too soon was the joy of the people turned into mourning. Abraham Lincoln, the brave, noble and generous man, the savior of his country, by the cowardly hands of an assassin, was struck down, and the whole nation bowed its head in grief.
May-The last public act performed by the citizens of Dodge County in the great drama of the rebellion, was an entertainment given by the Good Templars of Beaver Dam, in aid of the Sanitary Commission. We have said this was the last act, but must correct ourselves in that another soon followed better than all-the welcome home of the men who, with their lives in their hand, went forth to battle for their country, and now at the end of four years' struggle, return and again take their places in civil life and receive the welcome plaudit, " Well donc, good and faithful servants."
CHAPTER V.
JOURNALISM IN DODGE COUNTY-RAILROADS: THE FOND DU LAC, AMBOY & PEORIA-DODGE COUNTY BIBLE SOCIETY-THE SCHOOLS-TOWNS: PORTLAND, ELBA, CALAMUS, WESTFORD, FOX LAKE, SHIELDS, LOWELL, BEAVER DAM, TRENTON, EMMET, CLYMAN, OAK GROVE, BURNETT CHESTER, LEBANON, HUSTISFORD, HUBBARD, WILLIAMSTOWN, LE ROY, ASHIPPUN, RUBICON, HERMAN, THERESA, LOMIRA.
THE PRESS.
Journalism had its inception in antiquity. The institution now known as a newspaper was preceded nearly a thousand years by official manuscript publications (the Aeta Diurna), giving accounts of public occurrences in Rome. If the occasion required, these quaint journals made their appearance daily ; but, in case of a scarcity of news, the different issues were indefinitely suspended. and the editors, if possessing sportive dispositions and desiring to pass the time pleasantly, either entered the lists of a tourney or went fishing.
There was but little progress made in this direction until 1622, the date of the first publi- cation deserving the name of newspaper. Prior to that time, the mental appetite of modern Europe had subsisted upon periodical manuscript literature. In England, the written news- letter (furnished to the aristocracy only, at a fabulous price) was, for a long time, in vogue. Then came the " Ballad of News," sung or recited in the streets or other public places. The " News Pamphlet " was the nearest approach to a newspaper that had obtained up to 1622. It was a prose publication, replete with court gossip and jests, so coarse as to be decidedly vulgar. But a very few copies of these pamphlets are now in existence. Antiquarians find them unprof- itable, and their transportation through the mails dangerous on account of the postal laws in relation to obscene literature.
As before stated, the first quarter of the seventeenth century saw the first regular series of newspapers. It was about that time that the Weekly Newes from Italie and Germanie made its appearance in London. The Newes impressions were taken upon a mechanical contrivance invented by Nathaniel Butler, who is regarded as the father of the newspaper press. The first attempt at the publication of parliamentary reports was made in 1641, and it was about this time, after the abolition of the star-chamber system, that politics began to receive the attention of journalists. Then it was that the press censorship was successfully established, many previous attempts having been made to "hobble " the editorial pen. The caustic writings of Needham. Birkenhead, Digby and Heylin made the rest of crowned heads quite nneasy. The proverb that a king could do no wrong became "a saying without substance," and the thunders of the press were followed by persecutions and, frequently, assassinations. The first advertisement was inserted by a London firm about 1648. It was in verse form, and extolled the advantages of its author's goods with such effect that it became necessary to. replenish the stock long before the usual time.
The first daily morning newspaper was the London Courant, published in 17 09, and con- sisted of one page of two columns, containing five paragraphs, translated from foreign journals. Fifty years later, there were 7,000,000 copies of newspapers sold in England annually. Then came, in 1788, John Walter's Daily Universal Register, now the London Times, which had a circulation in 1800 of 1,000 copies.
The present century has witnessed revolutions in journalism so very wonderful as to be
· almost beyond comprehension, were we not brought face to face with the facts every day. In enterprise, the American publisher has outstripped his European cotemporary. The invention of the electric telegraph opened a new field in journalism, the resources of which are yet
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unascertained. One first-class American newspaper expends as much in one year for " special tele- grams " as would have been required to carry on every journal in existence for a similar period a century ago. The New York Herald and London Telegraph alone own over twelve thousand miles of special cable wire, over which are sent, every day in the year, minute details of all important occurrences in any and every continent.
Nor has the press failed to increase in power and usefulness. It is the instrument calcu- lated to elevate and enlighten the people, as well as to aid in the enforcement of the laws and the perpetuation of good government. It is not every one, however, who regards the newspa- per with that singular respect it deserves ; the more popular the journal, the greater the num- ber of its enemies. It has achieved popularity and success by fulfilling its duty ; somebody's corns have been crushed, and an enemy, from the ranks of the unrighteous, is the result. It is the mission of the editor to make wrong-doing odious, by airing the misdeeds of those guilty of crimes against law and society. In this regard, the newspaper is far more efficacious than prison- bars. One is the mirror in which the evil deeds of the wicked are reflected to the gaze of soci- ety ; the other, a screen, behind which the criminal is too often thrust for concealment of his shame.
As an illustration of the growth of journalism, we will state that in 1874 there were 678 daily and 5,554 weckly newspapers in the United States. Doubtless, in the past six years, these figures have been increased about one-eighth. The phenomenal development of the great North- west could never have been accomplished without the aid of the local newspaper. It is as neces- sary to the " eternal fitness of things " as is the railroad, the school, the church, or the factory.
BEAVER DAM.
The first newspaper established in Wisconsin was the Green Bay Intelligencer. The initial number was issued on the 11th of December, 1833, when the white population of the Territory was less than 3,500. Journalism found an abiding-place in Dodge County in 1848. On the 14th of September of that year, the Weekly Badger, published by A. G. Hoag, made its appearance in Beaver Dam. The Badger was issued from a small wooden building standing near the Beaver street bridge. The presswork was done in Watertown on an old Ramage press and a portion of the type-setting was performed in the office of the Chronicle, of that city. Mr. Hoag may be appropriately styled the Nestor of the press in Dodge County, and a perusal of the first number of his paper, a copy of which is now in possession of Judge Hosmer, of Beaver Dam, proves him to have been a man of marked ability. We quote from Mr. Hoag's salutatory, for the double purpose of showing the political creed of the Badger, and enlightening poli- ticians of the present day upon the subject of Democracy thirty-two years ago, and the princi- ples upon which it was then claimed " the people's party " was founded :
* It [ The Badger ] is designed to be a representative of Dodge, Marquette and Columbia Counties, so far as lies within the province of a public journal to advance the interests of those with whom it may be associ- ated by locality, and to furnish the same with such general information as may be important and instructive. The political complexion of The Badger will be invariably Democratic, of the Jeffersonian school, always regarding the interest of the I'nion as paramount to that of a State ; the interest of a State to that of a community, and the interest of a community paramount, in the ratio of its numbers, to that of a single individual. " Liberty, equal rights to all men, and the fraternity of the whole human family." are the fundamental articles of the Democratic creed ; and so long as the Democratic party continue to recognize these principles as the basis of their organization, we shall be found in their ranks a fearless advocate of their measures and a zealous supporter of their candidates to offices of honor and responsibility. % * The distinctions which have marked for the last fifty years, the two great * political parties of our Union, no longer exist. The placing in nomination for the Presidency, by the Whig party, of a man [Zachary Taylor ] who avows no political sentiments, and who has repeatedly refused to be the candidate of a party, paves the way to a union of the whole North upon such principles as gave birth to and constitute the soul and center of our Republic. This union, rapidly forming, will be a Democratic union. United thus upon great and gen- eral principles-principles that bear upon them legible traces of a Divine hand-and waging one common war against governmental corruption and iron oppression, who can, for one moment, doubt the final unity of the whole North in the defense of human rights ? [Prophetic words !]
The Badyer was a six-column quarto, issued on Thursdays, at the rate of $1.50 per year. Under the motto of " Free soil-free speech-free labor-free men," and circumstances over
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which the editor had no control, it survived three issues and then died. At the head of the first editorial column, on the second page of the first number of the Badger, we find the following :
FOR PRESIDENT, MARTIN VAN BUREN, of New York.
TOR VICE PRESIDENT, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS, of Massachusetts.
Free-Soil County Convention .- The Free-Soil Electors of the county of Dodge, who are in favor of the principles as laid down in the resolutions adopted at the late Free-Soil Buffalo Convention, are requested to meet en masse at Oak Grove, in said county, on the 20th day of September next, at 2 o'clock P. M , for the purpose of choosing eight Delegates to represent said county in the Free-Soil State Convention. to be held at Madison on the 27th of September nest, for the purpose of nominating an Electoral ticket in favor of VAN BUREN and ADAMS, the nominees of said Buf- falo Convention for President and Vice President.
Then follow editorial articles on " Presidential Candidates " and " Political Reform," and a " Democratic Address," signed by the " Democratic members of the first Legislature of the State of Wisconsin " (among whom we find the names of William M. Dennis and Charles Bil- linghurst), indorsing " Lewis Cass, of Michigan, for President, and William O. Butler, of Ken- tucky, for Vice President, as the standard-bearers of our political creed."
The first column of the Badger's third page is devoted to a report of the proceedings of the Dodge County Irish Relief Society, a meeting of which was held at Oak Grove August 31. 1848, William M. Dennis presiding, and George W. Green acting as Secretary. Resolutions were passed by the Society teeming with words of sympathy for the people of Ireland in their struggle for liberty, and, "as Americans and freemen, extending to them all the assistance wc possibly can, consistent with our means and the institutions under which we live." [The glow- ing words of similar resolutions, adopted at similar Democratic meetings throughout the country, were the cause of the future endearment of the Hibernian heart to the Democratic party.] Before the meeting adjourned, the following contributions were made for the relief of the victims of British rule :
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