Early
Military History
For many years after the conquest of Mexico by the
Spaniards the territory now comprising the State of
Texas was left unpeopled, the object being to make it
act as a barrier between the United States and the
Spanish settlements in Mexico. When Mexico achieved
her independence in 182 1, the new government adopted
the policy of developing the district so long
neglected. To inaugurate this policy a large tract of
land was given to Moses Austin, of Connecticut, on
condition that he would establish a colony of 300
American families thereon. The grant was later
confirmed to his son, Stephen Austin, who was given
the privilege of increasing the colony to 500
families. Under this arrangement a nucleus of American
settlement was placed in Texas by 1823, and a few
years later the colonists from the United States were
strong enough to dominate the affairs of the province.
Under the leadership of Samuel Houston, of Tennessee,
these Americans instituted an armed revolt in 1835
against the Mexican authorities. General Santa Anna,
president of Mexico, marched against the Texans and on
March 6, 1836, occurred the historic massacre of the
Alamo. The following month this dastardly deed was
avenged by the Texans under General Houston in the
Battle of San Jacinto, in which the Mexicans were
defeated and General Santa Anna made prisoner. This
forced a peace and the Republic of Texas was
established with Houston as president. The
independence of the new state was acknowledged by the
United States, Great Britain and France.
It was not long until Houston, and other Americans,
sought the annexation of Texas to the United States,
as more than a hundred thousand emigrants from the
States had already settled in Texas. In the political
campaign of 1844, the democratic party, with James K.
Polk as the candidate for President, declared in favor
of annexation, while the whigs, led by Henry Clay as
their candidate, opposed it. Polk was elected and on
March 1, 1845, Congress passed the annexation bill,
which was signed by President Tyler, three days before
Polk was inaugurated.
At that time the military forces of the United States
in the Southwest were commanded by Gen. Zachary
Taylor, who was ordered to take possession of the
country and hold it until the boundary dispute could
be adjusted. Early in 1846 General Arista began
gathering a large force of Mexicans directly south of
the Rio Grande, to which stream Taylor was ordered to
advance. Establishing a depot of supplies at Point
Isabel, on the Gulf coast, he built Fort Brown
opposite the Mexican Town of Matamoras, which was
General Arista's headquarters. The Mexican commander
was defeated in the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de
la Palma and the news of these engagements aroused the
war spirit all over the United States. Whigs forgot
the old political differences of opinion regarding
annexation and offered their services to put a stop to
Mexican aggression. On May 11, 1846, two days after
the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, Congress declared
that "war already exists by act of the Mexican
government," placed $10,000,000 at the disposal of the
administration, and authorized the President to accept
the services of 50,000 volunteers.
President Polk approved the act on May 13, 1846, and
called upon the various states and territories for
eighty-six and one-half regiments (the half regiment
to be raised in the District of Columbia). On June 1,
1846, Governor James Clarke, of Iowa, issued his
proclamation calling for one regiment "to consist of
ten companies, each company to have one captain, one
first and one second lieu- tenant, four sergeants,
four corporals, two musicians and sixty-four privates.
. . . The enlistment is to be for twelve months after
they shall have arrived at the place of rendezvous, or
to the end of the war, unless sooner
discharged."
Iowa was at that time a territory, the bill admitting
it into the Union as a state being passed on December
28, 1846, while the troops were still in the service.
In closing his proclamation Governor Clarke said: "The
President, in thus offering us an opportunity of
participating in the danger and glory of inflicting
merited chastisement upon the invaders of our soil,
has, I am confident, but antici- pated the wishes of
the great body of our people. It remains for us to
prove by our acts that he has not formed too high an
estimate of our devotion to country, and that the
flame of patriotism burns not less brightly in Iowa
than elsewhere."
The Thirty-second General Assembly of Iowa passed an
act, which was approved on April 10, 1907, providing
for the compilation of a roster of Iowa soldiers in
all the wars in which the state has borne a part.
Volume VI of that work (p. 789) says: "On June 26,
1846, the ten companies, which were to compose the
regiment from Iowa, had been organized and were ready
for service. In fact, two more than the requisite
number had been organized, in the following order: Des
Moines County, two companies; Lee County, two
companies; Van Buren County, two companies; Muscatine
County, one company; Louisa County, one company;
Washington County, one company; Dubuque County, one
company; Johnson and Linn counties, one company, and
Jefferson County, one company."
Although the companies were ready for service in June,
no order for their muster in and organization into a
regiment came from Washington. The summer passed and
still the men waited for an opportunity to enter into
active service. Late in the fall Governor Clarke wrote
to the War Department and received the following
reply:
"War Department, Washington, November 25, 1846.
"His Excellency James Clarke,
Governor of Iowa,
Burlington, Iowa.
"Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of
your Excellency's letter of the 19th instant, stating
that the regiment of Iowa volunteers are anxious to be
called into active service, and to inform you that
their patriotic wishes cannot now be gratified
consistently with the claims of other states.
"Very respectfully your Obt. Servt.,
"W. L. Marcy,
"Secretary of War."
It would be interesting to give a roster of the Lee
County companies that were formed for service in the
war with Mexico, but as the regiment was never called
into service the muster rolls, it appears, were not
preserved. E. L. Sabin, writing in the "Annals of
Iowa" (Vol. IV, page 314) says: "The names of the
organizations of troops that took part in the
operations on Mexican soil, and published in one of
the histories of the war, in the library of the State
Historical Department, have no representation from
Iowa, save the Mormon battalion and Company K,
Fifteenth United States Infantry."
The Fifteenth Regiment was recruited in the central
part of the Mississippi Valley, Company K being raised
in Iowa and a large part of that company in Lee
County. Edwin Guthrie, of Fort Madison, was
commissioned captain by President Polk on March 8,
1847, and a month later was assigned to the command of
the company. He was one of the early wardens of the
penitentiary at Fort Madison. In the skirmish at
Lahoya Pass, on the road from V era Cruz to Perote,
June 20, 1847, Captain Guthrie was severely wounded
and died on the 20th of July. In 1850 the Iowa
Legislature named Guthrie County in his honor.
Henry E. Vrooman, of Fort Madison, was first sergeant
of the company. He enlisted on April 6, 1847, an d
died of disease on the 5th of the following September,
in the hospital at Puebla, Mexico.
Isaac W. Griffiths, first corporal, was also from Fort
Madison. In the Battle of Churubusco, August 20, 1847,
he lost his right arm and was discharged on account of
the disability. From this fact he was called "Old
Churubusco 1 ' by his comrades. Before entering the
United States service he had held the rank of captain
in the territorial militia. After the war he served as
a member of the Iowa Legislature; as bailiff of the
State Supreme Court; as doorkeeper of the United
States Senate, and as sheriff of Polk County.
John Moyes, the third corporal, enlisted at Fort
Madison on April 6, 1847, served throughout the entire
term of enlistment and was mustered out with the
company at Covington, Kentucky, August 4,1848.
Isaiah B. Taylor, generally called by the members of
the company "Zack" Taylor, was from Fort Madison and
was the fourth corporal of the company. He was
mustered out with the company at Covington.
Among the privates of the company, the following were
from Lee County: Jesse B. Barber, William Benton,
Warren W. Bixby, Thomas Courtney, Edmund Derrick,
Samuel Foulton, Thomas L. Gannon, George A. Gray,
George Grigsby, William B. Hampton, Philip J. Hanes,
Henry McC. Jewett, John Levitt, Thomas J. McKean,
Gushorn C. Norris, Grosvenor Norton, John W. Roberts,
Andrew R. Sausman, John Schuyler, John R. Snyder,
Theodore B. Sparks, Samuel D. Thompson, West Walker
and William H. Woodbridge.
Private Thomas J. McKean graduated at the United
States Military Academy at West Point in July, 1831,
and received the rank of brevet second lieutenant in
the Fourth United States Infantry. After the Florida
war, in which he took part, he settled in Iowa and was
a delegate to the first constitutional convention. On
May 10, 1847, he was made sergeant major of the
regiment and was mustered out with that rank at
Covington, Kentucky, August 4, 1848. He was wounded at
Churubusco. After the war he settled in Linn
County.
The company reported at Vera Cruz on July 10, 1847,
and was at once attached to the regiment. From that
time until the close of the conflict it was on active
duty, taking part in numerous battles and skirmishes
and losing about forty per cent of its aggregate
number. Nearly every one of its officers received
honorable mention for gallant and meritorious conduct
on the field of battle and several were promoted for
similar service.
Notwithstanding the failure of the War Department to
accept the regiment called for from Iowa, three
independent companies were mustered into the service
of the United States. The first of these was Capt.
James M. Morgan's infantry company, which was mustered
in at Fort Atkinson on July 15, 1846, for one year,
and was mustered out at the same place promptly at the
expiration of that period. It was employed in garrison
duty and was not ordered to Mexico.
Capt. John Parker's company of Iowa Dragoons was
mustered in at Fort Atkinson on September 9, 1846, and
was employed in watching the Winnebago Indians,
keeping them upon their reservation, and in performing
scout duty. It was mustered out by order of the War
Department at Fort Atkinson, November 5, 1846.
After Captain Morgan's infantry company was mustered
out he organized a company of mounted men, which was
mustered in at Fort Atkinson immediately after the
infantry company was disbanded, many of the members of
that company becoming members of the new organization.
It was engaged in watching the Indians of the
Northwest until mustered out at Fort Atkinson,
September 13, 1848.
In these three companies there were few Lee County
men, but the muster rolls give imperfect records of
the members and it is impossible to distinguish which
should be credited to the county. There were also a
few Lee County men in other military organizations. J.
J. Brown, of Fort Madison, enlisted as a private in
Company F, First United States Infantry, in 1846, and
served with the regiment in Mexico until the end of
the war. Benjamin S. Roberts, of Fort Madison, was
commissioned a first lieutenant in the United States
army by President Polk on May 27, 1846, and was
assigned to duty with the regiment of Mounted
Riflemen. He distinguished himself by his bravery and
skill and was promoted to captain. At the close of the
war he was given the brevet rank of
lieutenant-colonel.
Benjamin Stone Roberts was born at Manchester,
Vermont, November 1 8, 1810, and died at Washington,
D. C, January 29, 1870. He was a grandson of
Christopher Roberts, who was with Ethan Allen and his
"Green Mountain Boys" when that intrepid officer
demanded the surrender of Ticonderoga "in the name of
the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress. 11 In
1835 he was graduated at the United States Military
Academy and served as second lieutenant in the First
Dragoons until 1839, when he resigned. After a few
months spent in civil engineering, he was appointed
assistant state geologist of the State of New York. He
next studied law with General Skinner, of Plattsburg,
and in 1842 went to Russia to aid in the construction
of railroads. Not liking the conditions in that
country, he soon returned to his native land, and in
February, 1843, located at Fort Madison, Iowa.
He was the ranking first lieutenant of the Mounted
Riflemen in the Mexican war, which regiment served in
the army commanded by General Scott. In February,
1847, he was promoted to the rank of captain. He
commanded the advance guard at the battle of
Contreras; was actively engaged at Churubusco; led a
picked storming party at Chapultepec; marched with his
regiment at the head of the army when it entered the
City of Mexico, and with his own hands raised the
first United States flag over the ancient palace of
the Montezumas.
For his distinguished services during the war he was
given the rank of brevet lieutenant-colonel by
President Polk and continued in the regular army.
While in the war with Mexico he captured a sword from
General Torrejon, the notorious Mexican guerrilla.
This sword he afterward presented to the State of Iowa
and it is now among the stated historical collections.
In 1849 the Iowa Legislature gave him a vote of thanks
for the luster shed upon the state through his
military services.
At the beginning of the Civil war in 1861, he was with
his regiment in New Mexico, where he played a
conspicuous part in repelling the invasion of the
Confederate general, Sibley. He was then ordered to
Washington and was appointed a brigadier-general of
volunteers. Subsequently he was made chief of cavalry
of the Army of the Potomac, under Gen. John Pope, and
distinguished himself in a number of engagements in
Virginia. He was one of Iowa's most valiant soldiers
in two wars.
When it became known that the ten companies called for
by Governor Clarke, in his proclamation of June i,
1846, were not to be accepted for active service, a
few men from Lee County enlisted in other
organizations. Soon after the conclusion of the
conflict a number of Mexican war veterans settled
within the limits of the county. Among those known to
have served in the war with Mexico were Eli P. Ramsey,
Frank Seitz, James Graham, J. M. Love and Nicholas
McKenzie, of Keokuk; and William Winters, August
Ehinger, James J. Brown and William C. Brandes, of
Fort Madison. Washington Galland, who served through
the war with Mexico, entered the Union army in the
Civil war as captain of a company and in the summer of
19 14 was still living in Lee County one of the very
few survivors of the Mexican war.
THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD
.Almost from the very beginning of the American
Republic, the slavery question became a dominant issue
in political affairs. In 1808, the earliest date at
which such action could be constitutionally taken,
Congress enacted a law abolishing the foreign slave
trade. By 1819 seven of the original thirteen states
had abolished slavery within their borders. Kentucky,
Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama had been
admitted as slave states, and Vermont, Ohio, Indiana
and Illinois as free states, making eleven of each.
This was the situation when Missouri sought admission
in 1820. After a long and somewhat acrimonious debate,
that state was admitted under the provisions of the
act known as the "Missouri Compromise," which provided
that Missouri should be admitted without any
restrictions as to slavery, but in all the remaining
portion of the Louisiana Purchase north of the line
marking the latitude of 36 30' slavery should be
forever prohibited.
The Mexican war gave to the United States a large
expanse of territory to which the advocates of slavery
laid claim. The "Omnibus Bill," or Compromise of 1850,
was a violation of the Missouri Compromise, according
to the views of the opponents of slavery, because it
sought to extend slavery north of the line 36 30", and
the Kansas-Nebraska Bill of 1854 added fresh fuel to
the already raging flames. The passage of this bill
was one of the potent influences that led to the
organization of the republican party, which was
opposed to the further extension of slavery beyond the
territory in which it already existed.
In the political campaign of i860 some of the southern
states declared their intention of withdrawing from
the Union in the event of Abraham Lincoln's election
to the Presidency, but the people of the North
regarded such announcements as idle threats, made
solely for political effect. Through the split in the
democratic party, Lincoln was elected and on December
20, i860, South Carolina, by a convention of delegates
chosen to decide what course to pursue, passed an
ordinance of secession, declaring that all allegiance
to the United States was at an end. Mississippi
followed with a similar ordinance on January 9, 1861 ;
Florida, January 10th; Georgia, January 19th;
Louisiana, January 26th, and Texas, February 1,
1861.
On February 4, 1861, delegates from all of these seven
states, except Texas, met at Montgomery, Alabama,
adopted a tentative constitution, and elected
Jefferson -Davis provisional president and Alexander
H. Stephens, vice president of the Confederate States
of America. These officials were inaugurated on
February 22, 1861, the anniversary of the birth of
George Washington. Consequently, when Mr. Lincoln was
inaugurated on March 4, 1861, he found seven states,
with an organized government, in opposition to his
administration. However, the President, his advisers
and the people of the North generally entertained the
hope that the situation could be met without open
rupture between the North and South, and that the
people of the seceded states could be persuaded to
return to their allegiance.
About the beginning of the year 1861, Maj. Robert
Anderson, who was in command of all the defenses of
the harbor at Charleston, South Carolina, secretly
removed his garrison and supplies from Fort Moultrie
to Fort Sumter, because the latter place was better
calculated for defense, after which he spiked the
guns at Fort Moultrie. The secessionists claimed that
this was a violation of an agree- ment made with
President Buchanan, and the press of the North was
almost unanimous in demanding that reinforcements and
supplies be sent to Major Anderson. The steamer Star
of the West, with 250 men, a stock of provisions,
ammunition, etc., was dispatched to Fort Sumter, but
on January 9, 1861, the vessel was fired upon by a
masked battery on Morris Island and forced to turn
back. This incident is regarded in the official
records as the beginning of the Civil war, though the
popular awakening did not come until about three
months later.
General Beauregard, in command of the Confederate
forces at Charleston, then opened negotiations with
Major Anderson looking to the evacuation of Fort
Sumter. Anderson's provisions were run- ning low and
on April n, 1 86 1 , he informed General Beauregard
that he would vacate the fort on the 15th, "unless
ordered by the Government to remain and the needed
supplies are received." This was not satisfactory to
the Confederate commander, who feared that Anderson
might be reinforced. He therefore sent word to
Anderson at 3.20 A. M. on Friday, April 12, 1861, that
within an hour he would open fire on the fort. At 4.30
Capt. George Janes fired the signal gun from Fort
Johnson and the shell burst almost directly over the
fort. A few moments later a solid shot from a battery
on Cummings Point went crashing against the walls of
Fort Sumter. The war had begun.
The garrison responded promptly and the bombardment
continued throughout the day. Fire broke out in the
fort and the Confederates increased their fire, hoping
to force a surrender. Anderson held out against
desperate odds until Sunday, when he was permitted to
evacuate the fort with the honors of war, saluting his
flag with fifty guns before hauling it down.
When the telegraph flashed the news of Sumter's fall
through the North, all hope of conciliation was
abandoned. Political differences of the past were
forgotten in the insult to the flag. On Monday, April
15, 1861, President Lincoln issued a proclamation
calling for 75,000 militia and appealing to "all loyal
citizens for state aid in this effort to maintain the
laws, integrity, national union, perpetuity of popular
government, and redress wrongs long enough
endured."
On the next day Governor Kirkwood, of Iowa, received a
telegram from the secretary of war, to-wit: "Calls
made on you by tonight's mail for one regiment of
militia for immediate service." It is said that when
this message was received by the governor he expressed
some doubt as to Iowa's ability to furnish an entire
regiment. Nevertheless, he immediately issued the
following proclamation:
"Whereas, the President of the United States has made
a requisition upon the executive of the State of Iowa
for one regiment of militia, to aid the Federal
Government in enforcing its laws and suppressing
rebellion.
"Now, therefore, I, Samuel J. Kirkwood, governor of
the State of Iowa, do issue this proclamation, and
hereby call upon the militia of the state immediately
to form, in the different counties, volunteer
companies with a view of entering the active military
service of the United States for the purpose
aforesaid. The regiment at present required will
consist of ten companies of at least seventy-eight men
each, including one captain and two lieutenants to be
elected by each company. Under the present requisition
only one regiment can be accepted, and the companies
accepted must hold themselves in readiness for duty by
the 20th of May next at the farthest. If a sufficient
number of companies are tendered their services may be
required. If more companies are formed and reported
than can be received under the present call, their
services will be required in the event of another
requisition upon the state. The nation is in peril. A
fearful attempt is being made to overthrow the
Constitution and dissever the Union. The aid of every
loyal citizen is invoked to sustain the general
Government. For the honor of our state, let the
requirement of the President be cheerfully and
promptly met.
"Samuel J. Kirkwood.
"Iowa City, April 17, 1861."
The statement in the proclamation that the companies
must hold themselves in readiness for duty by the 20th
of May was in accordance with a telegram from the War
Department to the governor late on the afternoon of
April 16, 1861, which read: "It will suffice if your
quota of volunteers be at its rendezvous by the 20th
of May."
On the evening of the day this proclamation was
issued, a great mass meeting was held in Verandah
Hall, at Keokuk, with J. M. Hiatt presiding and T. J.
McKenna acting as secretary. Samuel F. Miller,
afterward one of the justices of the United States
Supreme Court, was the principal speaker. Hugh T.
Reid, S. T. Marshall, William Leighton and others also
made short speeches and the sentiment in favor of
sustaining the national administration was unanimous.
Near the close of the meeting J. Monroe Reid invited
all who wanted to enlist to meet him and Captain
McHenry at Military Hall the following evening.
On Thursday evening, April 18, 1861, a rousing meeting
was held at Fort Madison. Fred Hesser was chosen to
preside and M. Ashby and George H. Albright acted as
secretaries. In the resolutions adopted was the
following declaration: "Forgetting the past, and
resolving neither to criminate nor accuse those whose
political opinions and views of public policy differ
from ours, we will cooper- ate with all patriotic
citizens of all parties who love their country and are
prepared to stand by her in this hour of
necessity."
Speeches were made by Judge Philip Viele, J. M. Beck,
Dr. W. H. Davis, J. H. Knapp and others, and a
committee, consisting of John H. Knapp, W. H. Davis,
R. Lange, W. W. Stevens and M. Ashby, was appointed to
accept enlistments.
War meetings were also held at West Point, Montrose,
and, in fact, in nearly every schoolhouse in the
county. In Cedar Township, Saturday, April 27, 1861,
two companies were started one of infantry and one
of cavalry. Within an'hour fifty-four names were upon
the roll of the cavalry company and fifty men had
enlisted in the infantry organization. The sentiment
expressed at these meetings quickly removed any doubt
Governor Kirkwood might have entertained as to the
willingness and ability of Iowa to raise a whole
regiment of volunteers. Companies were rapidly formed
and during the first ten days of May they rendezvoused
at Keokuk, where the First Regiment was mustered in on
May 14, 1861, for three months, with John F. Bates, of
Dubuque, as colonel.
First Infantry
Although the work of recruiting was pushed forward
with all possible vigor, some of the Lee County boys
went to Burlington and enlisted in Captain Mathes'
company, which was mustered in as Company D, First
Iowa Infantry. George Schaefer and Henry Rose were
made sergeants, and the following privates were from
Lee County: Ernest Becker, William Bush, Ferdinand
Fahr, Philip Grunschlagg, Anton Henrichs, John Klay,
Charles Knapp, John Kohler, Jack Koppenhoefer, Henry
C. Kummer, Philip Lang, Frederick Leonhard, Conrad
Limburg, Charles F. Limle, Adolph Lotz, Robert Merz,
Andrew Nagel, Adolph Rinker, Fridolin Rommel, Ernest
Rotteck, John Ruokert, Henry Schaelling. George
Schlapp, Robert Scholtz, Charles Schulz, David Seguin,
Frederick C. Soechtig, William Starkman and Frank H.
Westerman.
In Company F, Conrad Balbach, Henry C. Bowen, John
Brothers, Goodcil Buckingham and Thomas J. Zollars
were credited to Lee County. Hugh Brady was mustered
in as second lieutenant of Company I ; Frye W.
Thompson was a private in Company H, and John R.
Teller served as first lieutenant of Company C and
later as captain of Company K, after the regiment was
reorganized for the three years' service.
On June 13th the regiment was ordered to Hannibal,
Missouri. On the 21st it joined Gen. Nathaniel Lyon at
Boonville and started on the campaign that culminated
in the Battle of Wilson's Creek on August 10, 1861,
where General Lyon was killed. It was engaged at Dug
Springs and McCulloch's Store, and at the Battle of
Wilson's Creek lost 13 killed, 141 wounded and 4
missing. The regiment was mustered out at St. Louis,
Missouri, August 21, 1861.
Second Infantry
It was soon discovered by the national administration
that 75,000 troops would not be sufficient to put an
end to the war, and on May 4, 1861, the President
issued a second call for volunteers. Under this call
the Second Regiment was organized. In the meantime the
old "Keokuk Guards" had been reorganized at a meeting
held in their armory on the evening of April 18, 1861,
when the name "Union Guards" was adopted. Thirty
members enrolled at that meeting, a recruiting office
was then opened in the Belknap Building and in a few
days the quota of the company was filled, but not in
time to be accepted as one of the companies of the
First Regiment. Richard H. Huston was elected captain;
Thomas J. McKenny, first lieutenant; and Sampson M.
Archer, second lieutenant. With these com- missioned
officers the company was assigned to the Second
Infantry as Company A.
The non-commissioned officers at the time of muster in
were as follows: Joseph L. Davis, first sergeant;
Daniel Tisdale, Jr., second; Webster Ballinger, third;
John Mackley, fourth; Jesse C. Wickersham, fifth;
Samuel P. Curtis, first corporal; Ralph R. Teller,
second; John Taugher, third; Eli Ramsey, fourth;
Thomas A. Stevenson, fifth; William A. Musser, sixth.
Privates Samuel Anderson, Andrew Applegate, Edgar L.
Beach, John W. Bird, John B. Bosworth, John Campbell,
George H. Cantrill, George B. Catlin, William W.
Clark, John Clough, Joseph A. M. Collins, Joseph
Conley, William Cripps, John Curtis, John Day, Charles
C. Derr, Harmon Dickenson, John R. Dimond, William
Douglas (promoted corporal), Samuel W. Evans, Seth
Farr, Thomas Feehan, John Finerty, George W. Friend,
William A. Geer, John J. Gilcrist, Samuel Gillaspie,
Jerry J. Goodwin, Isaac N. Griffith, Samuel W. Grover,
Lander J. P. Haggard, Robert Hall, William K. Harper,
Richard Higham, Franklin Hoffman, William Holt, John
A. Hough, James Hutchinson, Elmore Jennings, Albert
Johnson, Webber Jones, Henry Keevern, John Keppel,
James Kerr, William Koates, John C. Leighton, John W.
Long, George H. Loomas, Nicholas McKenzie, William
McKenzie, William H. Maybery, Wallace E. Marsh
(promoted corporal), Erastus Moore, James F. Nash,
Hamilton Nation, William H. Nation, Wil- liam Neel,
Thomas J. Parrott (promoted corporal) James M. Patten,
Granville C. Phillips (promoted corporal), Franklin
Prouty, James W. Quicksell, Joseph Reedy, John Reese,
James M. Reed, George Reisonier, John W. Renz, Charles
Richards, Joseph K. Rickey, William H. Robinson, Henry
Ryan, John C. Ryan, George D. Sayler, Samuel C. Seaton
(promoted corporal), Henry A. Seirberlich (promoted
corporal), Franklin R. Seitz, Lewis P. Sicer, Henry
Solner, Joseph S. Stark, Ira Stevens, Henry Strauss,
George Thomp- son, James H. Turton, William H.
Underwood, Joseph W. Vance, George Vansyoc, Richard T.
Vandeventer, Victor Voretories, Ephraim B. Wilsey,
James L. Wilson, William H. Wilson (promoted
corporal), James F. Woodruff and Andrew J.
Wright.
In Company B the following privates were from Lee
County: Julius Benneke, Jacob Bertschi, Oliver Inden,
T. G. Kelley, August Lang, James Nilson, John S.
Patten, A. D. Root, Nathan Smallenburg, Adolph
Steinmitz, George W. Thornton.
Lee County was represented in Company C by Edward
Corcoran, corporal, and Privates Charles F. Anderson,
James A. Cease, John Fitzgerald, William W. Gordon,
Joseph Hunter, Daniel Ryan and John W. Swaney.
William Bander, Lewis Eck, Thomas H. Hart and Louis
Stiles served as privates in Company E; William W.
Walker was a corporal and James McNulty a private in
Company F; Azariah P. Box served as corporal in
Company G, and in Company I William W. Stevens
enlisted as a private and was promoted to second
lieutenant; George W. Walker served as sergeant; A. S.
Cooley, as corporal, and the following Lee County men
as privates: W. W. Boughton, George W. Johnson, Henry
Laird, William W. Morrison, Isaac Newton, F. M. Smith,
Emile Schutte and Samuel Van Schock.
The Second Infantry was mustered in at Keokuk on May
28, 1 861, with Samuel R. Curtis, of Keokuk, as
colonel. Wells R. Marsh, of Keokuk, was regimental
surgeon; Elliott Pyle, of West Point, and William H.
Turner, of Keokuk, assistant surgeons. Soon after
being mustered in, the regiment was ordered to
Northern Missouri, where, with the First Iowa and part
of the Sixteenth Illinois, it was assigned to the duty
of guarding the railroads. It rendered important
services at St. Joseph, Missouri, and in guarding the
United States Arsenal at St. Louis, after which it was
on detached duty at Bird's Point, Jackson and other
Missouri points until ordered to join General Grant
for the campaign against Forts Henry and Donnelson. At
Shiloh the regiment distinguished itself on the second
day of the battle by a brilliant bayonet charge. After
that engagement it was in the siege of Corinth. It was
then assigned to the Army of the Mississippi and
remained on duty in Mississippi and Alabama until the
beginning of the Atlanta campaign in the spring of
1864, when it joined the army commanded by General
Sherman. It was with Sherman in the historic "March to
the Sea" and the campaign through the Carolinas, after
which it marched with the army to Washington. It was
mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, July 12, 1865.
Samuel R. Curtis, who went out as colonel of the
Second Iowa Infantry, was a soldier of two wars. He
was born in Ohio on February 3, 1807, graduated at
West Point on July 1, 1 83 1 , and for the next year
was on duty in Arkansas as brevet second lieutenant in
the Seventh United States Infantry. He then resigned
and engaged in civil engineering in his native state.
On May 20, 1846, he was ap- pointed adjutant-general
of Ohio, for mustering troops for service in the war
with Mexico, and on June 25, 1846, he was commissioned
colonel of the Third Ohio Infantry. While in the
service he acted as military governor of Matamoras,
Camargo, Monterey and Saltillo, and was for a time an
officer of the staff of General Wool. He was mustered
out in 1847 and soon afterward accepted a commission
to make a survey and report a plan for the improvement
of the Des Moines River.
That brought him to Iowa and he became a resident of
Keokuk, here he formed a partnership with Judge Rankin
for the practice of law. Later he was associated in
the same capacity with Judge Mason. From 1850 to 1853
he was in charge of the harbor improvements at St.
Louis, after which he engaged in railroad work in
Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. In 1856 he was elected
mayor of Keokuk and the next year was an active figure
in the organization of the republican party in Iowa.
In 1856 he was elected to Congress from the First Iowa
District, which then embraced nearly all the
southern\half of the state. He was reelected in 1858
and again in i860.
When the news of Fort Sumter's fall was received at
Keokuk he hastened to Washington, where he received
authority to aid in raising and organizing the Iowa
volunteers. Returning to Keokuk, he found the First
Regiment already organized and was elected colonel of
the Second. He remained in the field with his regiment
until June 30, 1 861, when he left the command to
Lieut.-Col. J. M. Tuttle and left for Washington to
attend the special session of Congress called to meet
on the 4th of July. When the Battle of Bull Run
resulted so disastrously to the Union arms, he hurried
to the field and tried to rally the troops, but they
were too badly panic-stricken. During the special
session he was appointed a brigadier-general of
volunteers, his commission dating from May 17, 1861.
He then resigned his seat in Congress, reported to
General Fremont at St. Louis, and was placed in charge
of the camp of instruction at Benton Barracks.
Statue of General Samuel Curtis
Sixth Infantry
This was the next regiment in which Lee County was
represented. It was mustered in at Burlington on July
17, 1861, with John A. McDowell, of Keokuk, as
colonel; Albert T. Shaw, of Fort Madison, regimental
surgeon; Jacob R. Paynter, hospital surgeon, and the
following Lee County men as members of the regimental
band: Sigismond I. Gates, Adelbert Hawkins, James
Rogers, William Madden, Richard Maddern, Morris Peck,
Edward Pipe, Augustus Santo, George W. Titus, Samuel
M. Titus and Julius C. Wright.
Byron K. Cowles, who enlisted in Company A, was made
commissary sergeant and later first lieutenant of
Company K; Lynas Brockway was a private in Company B;
C. A. Gummere, in Company C; Joseph Delapp and John
Martin, in Company D; Isaac McCloskey was a corporal
and John Moloney and John Tobin privates in Company F;
Jacob A. Bowman, John H. McKiernan and A. B. Stewart,
in Company F.
Company H was practically all from Lee County. At the
time of muster in the commissioned officers of this
company were: Washington Galland, captain; Rufus
Goodnough, first lieutenant;' George R. Nunn, second
lieutenant. The sergeants were John McCleary, Robert
Sleater, Abraham B. Stevens, Samuel M. Titus
(transferred to regimental band), and Leonard W. Wood.
The corporals were Sterling W. Camp, Dennis Miles,
Michael Bowen, John Fox, William T. Hafford, Jesse
Carter and William H. Watson.
Privates Edwin F. Alden (promoted first lieutenant),
Charles L. Allen, Joseph S. Anderson, Henry C. Barnes,
James C. Batley, Levi A. Best, Aaron Bixby (promoted
corporal), Benjamin Bixby, Timothy Burk, Hugh Cameron,
John Carroll, Jacob Chapman, William Church, William
Coleman (promoted corporal), Matthew L. Cooney,
Clarkson W. Cooper, Clayton Curry, James W. Davis,
Samuel H. Davis, William Emmitt, Daniel P. Fithian,
Henry K. Greer, Stephen H. Hand, Theodore S. Hand,
Charles Hass, Albert Hill, John W. Hufford, George W.
Huston, Joseph M. Johnson, William Jones, George
Knuck, Antone Lamott, John Lawler (promoted corporal),
Elias Line, Fuqua V. Lyon, John McClearnan, James
McCord, Thomas F. McEveny, George W. McNeely, Patrick
Mahan, John A. Martin, William Miller, William H.
Moore, Edward O'Donnell, Michael Randall, William
Rider, Hiram M. Roberts, John Rogers, David Shreck,
Thomas Smout, William Spain, John W. Stewart, Ray H.
Stewart, James Swan (promoted captain), Salathiel A.
Swiggart, William Tadlock, Hiram L. Walker, George W.
Wilson.
Captain Galland, of Company H, was a veteran of the
Mexican war. He resigned on June 20, 1863, when he was
succeeded by Lieut. George R. Munn. He is still living
(1914) in Lee County at an advanced age.
In Company K were five Lee County men, viz. : Byron K.
Cowles, who became captain of the company in April,
1862, Timothy Jayne, Joseph Poots, Melville Sisson and
Lorenzo H. Stewart.
Soon after being mustered in, the regiment was ordered
to St. Louis and went into quarters at Benton
Barracks. From September 19, 1861, to March 7, 1862,
it was on duty in Missouri. It was then ordered to
Tennessee and on the 1 6th reached Pittsburg Landing,
where it was assigned to General Sherman's division.
In the Battle of Shiloh Colonel McDowell commanded a
brigade. The regiment lost in that engagement 211 men
in killed, wounded and missing. In March, 1863,
Colonel McDowell resigned and John M. Corse succeeded
to the colonelcy. The regiment was then in the Vicks-
burg campaign, the Battle of Jackson, Mississippi, a
number of minor actions in Mississippi, Alabama and
Tennessee, and in the spring of 1864 joined the army
under General Sherman for the cam- paign against
Atlanta. When that city capitulated, the Sixth marched
with Sherman to the sea and up through the Carolinas,
after which it proceeded to Washington and took part
in the Grand Review in May, 1865. It was mustered out
at Louisville, Kentucky, July 21, 1865.
Seventh Infantry
Lee County was represented in nine of the ten
companies composing this regiment. John Strickland
enlisted in Company A, but was transferred to Company
B, in which Silas E. Mills also served as a private;
Thomas Gibson and Milton McNeill were privates in
Company C; Companies D and E were organized in Lee
County; in Company F were Patrick Devereaux, Edward R.
Doolittle, Thomas Dunn, Warren Kinney and Alexander
Norris; Allen D. Cameron was mustered in as captain of
Company H and afterward became adjutant of the
regiment; Livingston North served in Company I, and
Charles D. White and Moses York in Company K.
The commissioned officers of Company D at the time of
muster in were as follows: James P. Harper, captain;
James B. Sample, first lieutenant; Daniel F. Bowler,
second lieutenant. Captain Harper was afterward
appointed lieutenant-colonel of the First Tennessee
Heavy Artillery, and Lieutenant Bowler was made
adjutant of the regiment on August 31, 1861, in which
capacity he served until captured at the Battle of
Belmont the following November.
Of the non-commissioned officers, Benjamin B. Gale,
Charles Webster, Joseph B. Morrison, William G. Ray
and Benjamin Thomas were mustered in as sergeants, and
Jones B. Bonney, George M. Martin, George T.
Claypoole, Joseph Durfee, John Wolgamuth and James D.
Hamilton as corporals. Sergeants Gale and Morrison and
Corporal Hamilton each rose to the rank of captain at
some period of the company's service.
Privates Samuel J. Atlee, William R. Berry, William
F. Blanchard, Sylvanus Bonnell, Charles Brown, Calvin
B. Cowles (promoted corporal), Elijah F. Cowles, John
Cunningham, ThomasCunningham, Joseph Denny, Conrad
Eitzer, Isaac C. Fortney, John W. Fye, George Gebel,
William P. Griffith, Nicholas Gross (promoted
corporal), Jacob Gutteman, John Heiser, Philip Heiser,
John D. Huff, E. D. Ingersoll, Hiram Ingersoll, Oliver
Johnston, Christian Jotter, John Knight, I. J. Knight,
Alexander Krieger, Charles Lewis, Amos Logan, John
Logan, John Lutz, Alvin McNeill, Luther P. McNeill,
Valentine C. McVey, Weit T. McVey, Frank Malcom,
Joseph Miller, James Montgomery, Dennis A. Morrison,
William B. Phillips, Henry J. Pickard, William E.
Pickard, William H. Powell, William H. Quarterman,
James M. Racey, Francis M. Redding, Jacob Risser,
Henry Rogers, George Rollett, John Schiller, John J.
Schmelzle, Jefferson Scott, William Seguin, Hoog
Sheldon, George H. Smith, Andrew Somerville, Henry C.
Steele, Christian Strine, Mahlon Votaw, Des Moines L.
Wilson, Henry Wolbert, Charles L. Wood, Jacob
Young.
In Company E, James C. Parrott was mustered in as
captain; Curtis F. Conn, as first lieutenant, and
Andrew J. Mefford, as sec-ond lieutenant. The
sergeants were James L. Bess, John McCormick,
Nathaniel Reed, Charles O. Bleness and Clayton Hart.
The corporals were George E. Humphrey, Thomas J.
Pollard (promoted sergeant), George W. Diggs, Thomas
W. Taylor, William H. Van- sant and Morrison Zuber.
Sergeant Bess was promoted second lieutenant on
November 22, 1861, and on January 22, 1864, Sergeant
Reed was transferred to the First Tennessee Heavy
Artillery. Ser- geant McCormick became captain of the
company on August 4, 1864.
Privates Abner Allison, Henry W. Babcock, John C.
Baldwin, Harmon Birdsall, Isaac Bunch, Parker D.
Burnap, Jonathan Chandler, Joseph Chenoweth, Robert
Criswell, Franklin Danford, William H. Dedman, William
C. Dove, David W. Duncan, Montreville Fannin, John
Finney, Joseph Godeard, Alexander Halickson, Birdsell
Harmon, William Harmon, Alonzo P. Hart, Francis N.
Hayden, George B. Hayden, Peter A. Heiney, John W.
Hicks, John E. Johnston, John W. Jones, John Lesly,
John W. McCormick, Henry W. McDonegal, Charles McCoy,
James Magee, Peter M. Miles, John Morgan, Thaddeus S.
Perrigo, William H. Perrigo (promoted corporal), Henry
Pipkin, Stephen Polcer, Nathan W. Pollock, Thomas D.
Purcell, Henry C. Rickey, John Rollins, Homer Rose,
Israel Rose, Hiram W. Russell, William W. Sapp
(promoted sergeant and adjutant of the regiment),
Hiram H. Savage, Joseph Selvey, Theodore Shepherd,
William Shepherd, Charles S. Sherman, Albert Scholte,
James Spratt, George T. Stewart, Earl Stockwell, Frank
T. Taylor, Henry H. Taylor (promoted corporal), Walter
D. Taylor, Alonzo B. Van Ausdal, David Wareheim,
Randolph H. Waters, Edward White, William G. White,
Thomas Williford, Henry H. Wilson (promoted sergeant),
John W. Weyrick, Charles B. Wolfenbarger, James T.
Woodruff.
The Seventh Infantry was mustered in at Burlington on
August 2, 1861, with Jacob G. Lauman as colonel, and
soon afterward was ordered to Benton Barracks, St.
Louis. It was then engaged at Pilot Knob, Ironton and
other points in Missouri, and as part of Prentiss'
Brigade occupied Jackson and Cape Girardeau. It
participated in the Battle of Belmont, the campaign
against Forts Henry and Donel- son and the Battle of
Shiloh. Colonel Lauman having been promoted to
brigadier-general, Captain Parrott, of Company E, was
made lieutenant-colonel and commanded the regiment at
Shiloh. It next operated in Mississippi until ordered
to join General Sherman for the Atlanta campaign,
after which it took part in the march to the sea, the
Carolina campaign and the Grand Review at Washington.
It was mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, July 14,
1865.
Fourteenth Infantry
In Company D of the Fourteenth Infantry were
twenty-five men from Lee County. John S. Agey was
mustered as first sergeant and on January i, 1863, was
promoted to captain. Thomas H. Childs enlisted as a
sergeant and on August 18, 1862, was transferred for
promotion to the colored regiment. The following
served as privates: Felix Atkinson, John Campbell,
William O. Childs, Augus- tus Christian, William
Creel, James Deniver, Cyrus Deo, John Deo, Theophilus
Downs, Nelson P. Duffy, Peter Ebe, Henry C. Graham,
Nathan Heald, James Hixon, David L. Houser, John A.
Keeler, Andrew J. Loomis, John McCullough, Augustus
Morte, Thomas Spurrier, Peter B. Taylor, John H.
Thomas and George H. Winters.
The regiment was mustered in by companies in the
latter part of October and the first week in November,
1861. Some of the companies first mustered were on
duty at Fort Randall, North Dakota, until the
regimental organization was completed under Col.
William T. Shaw, a veteran of the Mexican war. It then
took part in the reduction of Forts Henry and
Donelson, was actively engaged at Shiloh, and after a
varied service in Alabama and Mississippi joined
General Banks for the Red River expedition in the
spring of 1864. Later in the year it was assigned to
Gen. A. J. Smith's command and returned to Tennessee.
The regiment was mustered out on November 16, 1864, at
Davenport, Iowa, when the veterans and recruits were
organized into a battalion. In the reorganized
Fourteenth Thomas B. Beach was first lieutenant of
Company B; Evan J. Dobbins served as corporal in the
same company, and Theophilus Downs, Jackson Miller and
Peter B. Taylor were enrolled as pri- vates. The
battalion was mustered out at Davenport, August 8,
1865.
Fifteenth Infantry
This regiment was raised under the call of July, 1861,
for 500,- 000 volunteers, and was mustered in at
Keokuk on February 22, 1862, with Hugh T. Reid,
solonel; William W. Belknap, major; William H.
Burnham, surgeon ; John C. Johnson, assistant surgeon,
and Henry T. Felgar, hospital steward. All these
regimental officers were from Lee County. A large part
of Companies A, E and I was raised in the county,
which was also represented in Companies B, C, D, F, H
and K.
In Company A none of the commissioned officers was
from Lee County at the time of muster in, but on
December 22, 1864, Roger B. Kellogg, who enlisted as a
private, was commissioned captain of the company;
William C. Hershberger, who enlisted as a private, was
promoted to second lieutenant on January 4, 1865, and
Sergt. George W. Walker was made a second lieutenant
in the regular army in February, 1862. Following is a
list of privates of Company A:
David W. Burke, John Diller, William Draper, William
E. Elsroad (promoted corporal), William B. Finley,
Patrick Foley, Charles Gift, James Hart, David
Helmick, Andrew J. Hughes,John D. Moon, Nathan Morgan,
Amos Newberry, Patrick Norton, Henry A. Palmer, Henry
Payne, Daniel Reid, Dirk Rhynsburger, John B. Sims,
James Smith, John Smith, Charles E. Stant, William H.
Thompson.
John C. Brush enlisted as a corporal in Company B and
on February 2, 1863, was promoted to second
lieutenant. In this company John Fett, John Klay, John
S. Oakley and John P. Polser served as privates.
In Company C Edgar T. Miller was commissioned captain
on July 4, 1862, having been transferred from Company
I, and George Keasling and John F. Woolkitt served as
privates.
Six Lee County men were enrolled in Company D, to-wit:
John Angell, Burnett Devolt, Jacob Goodman, William
McDowell, George Trump and John Weaver.
Company E was mustered in with Richard W. Hutchcraft
as captain; Don Carlos Hicks, who enlisted as a
corporal, was promoted to second lieutenant in
October, 1864; Perry A. Enslow was enrolled as
sergeant, and the corporals were William Clark, John
J. Wilson, Melvin Sweet, Jarrod W. Fouts and Solomon
Holcomb.
Privates Willis G. Addington, William M. Arnold,
Charles L. Barnum, John Bowen, William G. Buck,
William Burk, William D. Carver, Elkanah D. Chandler,
Sylvester Chapman, Robert Clark, David Coovert,
Benjamin Crawford, Charles Dufur, Howard Elmore, James
Gillham, Silas Grove, John H. Helmick, James J.
Henderson, Robert Herdman, Hiram H. Hicks, John
Inskeep, William M. McCray, William Miller, George
McTore, John L. Mothers- head, Christopher Orm,
Jonathan F. Orm, Oliver 'Orm, Robert Orm, William
Peterson, John W. Pierce, William H. Sellers, August
Smith, William P. Smith, William Stewart, Benjamin
Talbert, Daniel S. Taylor, George B. Thompson, Andrew
Wareheim, Robert Wilson, Jesse M. Wright. James
Arnold, Samuel Campbell, Charles Dillon, James Kelly,
Joseph Roynes and Edward Whalin served as privates in
Company F, and Loren Tyler was a musician in Company
H.
At the time Company I was mustered in Lloyd D. Simpson
was captain and James M. Reid, first lieutenant. Henry
Scheevers, who enlisted as a sergeant, became second
lieutenant on April 22, 1863, Captain Simpson having
resigned and Lieutenant Reid was placed in command of
the company as captain. The sergeants from Lee County
were Henry Scheevers, James R. Williams and William L.
Watson, and the corporals were Isaac N. Hewitt,
Hassell Rambo, Benjamin F. Keck and Daniel W.
Johnson.
Privates Patrick Bain, Henry Batterman, Thomas W.
Berry, Daniel Buckley, William Buss, Elkanah Chandler,
William Copeaker, Solsbery Davis, James Doyle,
Archibald D. Eads, Daniel T. Feagins, Patrick Flynn,
David Goldsmith, Thor Halverson, George Hutchinson,
Henry Kennedy, George H. Lee, John Luder, John Morgan,
James Murphy, Edward Odinburg, Solomon O'Haver, Asa B.
Parker, Richard T. Persinger, Joseph N. Rees, Joseph
Richard, Adam A. Rodgers, Robert Scheevers, Herman V.
Vanderwall, William Ward, John White, William H.
White.
In Company K were Corporal James G. Shipley and
Privates Archibald Christian, William A. Gibson, Enoch
Hastings, Daniel Urmstead and Alvin Westcott.
The regiment left Keokuk on March 19, 1862, moved by
way of St. Louis to Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, and
received its baptism of fire in the Battle of Shiloh,
where as part of Prentiss' division it was in the
thickest of the fight, losing 186 men in killed,
wounded and missing, and its flag was riddled with
bullets. It was next in the Siege of Corinth and was
engaged at Bolivar, Mississippi. In 1863 it t00 ^ P
art m tne Siege of Vicksburg and the next year was in
many of the engagements of the Atlanta campaign. Those
whose time had expired were mustered out at
Chattanooga, Tennessee, October 19, 1864, and the
veterans marched with Sherman to the sea. Then
followed the campaign of the Carolinas and the Grand
Review at Washington, after which the regiment was
ordered to Louisville, Kentucky, and there mustered
out on July 24, 1865. Colonel Reid was promoted
brigadier-general on March 13, 1863, and on March 13,
1 861;, Major Belknap was brevetted major-general,
both promotions being made "for gallant and
meritorious services."
Sixteenth Infantry
The organization of this regiment began late in the
year 1861 and the last companies were mustered in on
March 12, 1862, at Davenport. Henry D. Huy was
enrolled in Company B, James N. Marsh and Amos Sniff
in Company F, Theodore Fridricia and Patrick M.
McLaughlin in Company G, and there were twenty-eight
Lee County men in Company K.
In the last named company Michael Zettler was mustered
in as captain and died of wounds received at Shiloh;
George Frenun and Wilhelm Bucholz were enrolled as
sergeants; William Stackman, Christian Ulrich and
Christian Strein, as corporals. On June 2, 1865,
Corporal Stackman was commissioned captain. The
following served as privates in Company K: Henry
Brimelsick, Peter Distel, John Eitzer, John Gost, Karl
Haager, David Hanschild, Herman Hayn, George Herold,
Jacob Hindscher, Frederick Kudebeh, Mathias Lentner,
Peter Maushund, Nichlaus Pierris, Herman Schmidt,
Anton Schmiltker, Philip Schoene, David Seguin, Her-
man Smith, John Stopperer, John Stopperer, Jr., Fritz
Ulrich, John A. Wiederholt.
The regiment left Davenport on March 20, 1862, and
proceeded via St. Louis to Pittsburg Landing, where it
arrived soon after the Battle of Shiloh had commenced.
It was soon actively engaged and, although the men
were raw recruits, they conducted themselves in a way
to draw forth honorable mention from the commanders.
From that time the services of the regiment were
similar to those of the Fifteenth above mentioned. It
was mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, July 19,
1865.
Seventeenth Infantry
This regiment was mustered in at Keokuk on April 16,
1862, with John W. Rankin of that city as colonel;
David B. Hillis, of Keokuk, lieutenant-colonel;
Southwick Guthrie, of Fort Madison, adjutant; and
Edwin J. Aldrich, of Montrose, as quartermaster.
Guthrie resigned as adjutant in March, 1862, and was
succeeded by Fletcher Woolsey, who was also from Lee
County.
John L. Young was mustered in as captain of Company A;
Richard James was a sergeant in the same company, in
which Charles W. Boyles, William Davidson, Nathaniel
Tuttle and Thomas Wilson served as privates.
The greater part of Company B was recruited in Lee
County. Edwin J. Aldrich was mustered in as first
lieutenant and promoted to regimental quartermaster
two days later; Henry D. Nuse, second lieutenant, was
promoted to first lieutenant on the same date;
Alexander M. Charters and David Lakin also served as
first lieutenant; Daniel W. Tower, John Watts and
Littleton W. Huston, as second lieutenants, the last
named being promoted captain on December n, 1862. The
names of Adolphus Johnson, Francis H. Busby, George D.
Sprague and Alonzo Diggs appear on the muster roll as
ser- geants, and Charles G. Wild, Lewis C. Hampton,
Samuel S. Patten, George W. Dundy, Joseph W. Aitkins,
John D. Williams and John M. Burns were
corporals.
Privates Alanson D. Aldrich, Charles F. Blair,
Frederick J. Bond, Elihu G. Burns, Nicholas C.
Campbell, Alonzo F. M. Church, Leonard W. Cook, Ezra
Davis, Jedediah D. Doty, William H. Gardiner, William
M. Gibson, David J. M. Haughton, Mark Hevener, James
A. Horton, Israel Huffman, Francis M. Jones, John A.
Little, Jefferson M. Link, David Louderback, Elijah
Moore, Edward Murphy, Josiah Ray, Samuel T. Reese,
Esquire C. Showers, Thomas J. Simpson, George L.
Talbott, Reuben Tucker, Samuel Wolcott, Uriah Wooding,
William W. Wooding.
Company C, the greater part of which was from Le'e
County, was mustered in with Sampson M. Archer as
captain; Henry Newton, first lieutenant; Samuel
Pickard, second lieutenant; Luther F. McNeal, Philip
Inden, Lewis R. Parker and Martin Stapleton, ser-
geants; John Shellman, William H. McCumber, Albert
Weaver, Jesse Nokes, John H. Berryhill and Thomas D.
Hardin, corporals. Captain Archer was promoted to the
colonelcy of the regiment a few weeks before the final
muster out. Lieutenant Newton, Sergeant McNeal and
Private Thomas Mitchell each served as captain at some
period of the company's service, and Sergeant
Stapleton was promoted to second lieutenant.
Privates Alexander Bailey, Wansley Baker, Julius
Bates (promoted corporal), Lewis R. Bissell, Hardin
Bundy, David W. Burke, Hodney Coates, William L.
Distin, John Douglas, Stephen J. Gesford, David N.
Gorgas, James G. Green, Samuel F. Hayes, John Heites,
Noah Hockman, James A. Horton, Schuyler M. Horton
(promoted corporal), George Huffman, Joseph D. Hummer,
John F. Jackson, Andre Leffler, George Leffler,
Frederick Leonhard (promoted corporal), Thomas
Lorimer, Thomas McMahan, Willam H. McPherson (promoted
corporal), Christopher G. Mitchell, Thomas Mitchell
(promoted captain), Charles Phillips, Hezekiah Ramsey,
Silas Ramsey, Joseph N. Ruse, David G. Scroggs, John
Sears, George W. Slacks, Frederick Spencer, Daniel
Spencer, William H. T. Sumner, William M. Sweezy,
Ethan Thorns, William Vandyke, Richard Wadden, Cyrenus
H. Watson, James White, Philip Woodmansee, Squire
Worrell (promoted corporal), Franz Ziegenbein.
In Company D, Addison A. Stuart was mustered in as
first lieutenant and was afterward promoted to
captain; Moses S. Pettengill enlisted as first
sergeant; James Hammond and Lewis D. Haigh as
corporals; Alfred C. Craney and Jacob Botaw as
musicians, and the following privates were credited to
Lee County: James J. Atherton, Philip H. Bollinger,
Edward P. Bradley, Henry A. Brown, Edward T. Ing,
Gilbert D. Phelps, Sylvester Trout and William R. Van
Hyning.
John H. Tammen was mustered in as second lieutenant of
Company H and was promoted to first lieutenant in
April, 1863. William Vansteenwyck enlisted as a
sergeant and John J. Phillips as a musician in the
same company.
Forty-three Lee County men were enrolled in Company I.
William Edwards was mustered in as first lieutenant;
Phineas Inskeep, second lieutenant; John Inskeep,
James Code, Silas N. Sawyer, Houston Smith and Patrick
Martin, sergeants; James Gallagher, Thomas F. Enslow,
William C. Porter, John Kern and Playford Gregg,
corporals, and Charles H. Cannon, musician.
Privates Andrew J. Applegate, Conrad Balbach,
Charles K. Baldwin, Sylvanus Baldwin, Peter Brown,
Nicholas Bugh, Henry Crickburn, James Forsythe, James
Gilham, Samuel Glasford, John Grindle, Matthias
Harvey, James F. Lein, John Leslie, John Little,
George W. Lyon, John M. Lyon, Courtland W. Miller,
Nimrod Milleson, Nathan J. Morgan, Barnadus B. Ramsey,
William W. Roberts, Benjamin Stephenson, Lewis
Stephenson (promoted second lieutenant), John P.
Stephenson, John H. Thompson, James B. Vail, David
Waggoner, Joseph C. Whitaker (promoted captain).
Sylvanus E. Hicks was commissioned captain of Company
K the day the regiment was mustered in; Charles M.
Griffith was then made first lieutenant; Thomas
Beechler, Frank Orm and William T. Carpenter were
mustered as sergeants; George Simmons, David Orr,
David Brown, John C. Robinson and Jeptha Ackley, as
corporals; and the following were enrolled as
privates: Charles K. Baldwin, William G. Buck, John T.
Cannon, Charles L. Carpenter, George Dougherty, John
Fleming, James C. Halterman, Robert Johnson, George
Leffler, Bernard McQuillon, Bartholomew Noel, John
O'Neill, Hiram Sherwood, Charles E. Staub.
Three days after the regiment was mustered in, it left
Keokuk for St. Louis and soon afterward joined the
army in front of Corinth, Mississippi. After the
Battle of Iuka it was ordered to Vicksburg and was
actively engaged in the Battle of Champion's Hill.
Vicksburg surrendered on July 4, 1863, when the
regiment was ordered to Helena, Arkansas, and was on
duty there until early in the fall, when it was
assigned to Fifteenth Army Corps, commanded by Gen. W.
T. Sherman. It joined the corps at Memphis, Tennessee,
marched to Chattanooga, was engaged in the military
operations about that city, particularly the Battle of
Missionary Ridge, and was then engaged for a time in
guarding the Atlantic & Western Railroad. From the
spring of 1864 to the close of the war it was with
General Sherman and its history during that period is
materially that of the Fifteenth Iowa Infantry already
described. It was mustered out at Louisville,
Kentucky, July 25, 1865.
Nineteenth Infantry
Lewis M. Sloanaker, of Lee County, was mustered in as
assistant surgeon of this regiment on August 23, 1862,
and was afterward promoted surgeon. Companies A and E
were raised in Lee County. The commissioned officers
of Company A at the time of muster in were as follows:
John Bruce, captain; Thomas L. Spratt, first
lieutenant; Norvill Powell, second lieutenant. Captain
Bruce was promoted major in December, 1862, when
Lieutenant Spratt became captain, and a short time
before the regiment was mustered out Bruce became
colonel. Lieutenant Powell was transferred to Company
E, of which he became captain in August, 1864.
The sergeants of the company when it entered the
service were: William Ballinger (promoted second
lieutenant) ; Eugene L. Knight, John L. Schraeder and
Benjamin F. Mclntyre (promoted first lieutenant).
Hiram W. Snyder, Bruce W. Cotten, Timothy
F. Phillips, Edmond A. Dickey, Charles H. Judd, and
Oscar G. Burch were the corporals.
Privates Howell G. Adell, John T. Adell, David G.
Anderson (promoted corporal), Robert C.Anderson, Byron
E. Andrews, James M. Avis, Julien Ballard, Albert
Bane, John Best, Lewis N. Beucler, John M. Boyer,
Lewis M. Boyer, John T. Chambers (promoted corporal),
Isaac N. Clark, Samuel Cole, James M. Coleman, Joseph
Cooper, Jacob Frederick, Benjamin F. Gaines, John M.
Gaines, Isaac M. Glassford, William Glassford, Jacob
Haisch, William Harrison, Elmore Heaton, George
Hoffman, John Howard, Harri- son Jones, Isaac Jones,
Philip Jones, James H. Huffman, David A. Lakin, Peter
Lambert, Thomas Laughery, Daniel C. Lemming, George W.
Link, William S. McCulley, Patrick McManis, William H.
McVeigh, Thomas J. Marshall, Henry A. Montgomery,
Frederick Parks, Thomas F. Parhan, Frederick A. N.
Pearce, Alexander Quary, John W. Reeves, Thomas
Rellihan, Bendie Reumer, Daniel Rider, Henry Rider,
Andrew J. Riley, David A. Robertson, Jacob Root,
Charles W. Sackman, Christian Schmidt, Conrad Shaefer,
Andrew Sheets, Eli Sheets, John Simmons, Harmon
Sortwell, William Spain, James Sproat, Samuel M.
Stephenson, John P. Stephen- son, William Stuart,
Alexander M. Taylor, Charles W. Towner, Jasper
Trimble, James Utley, William T. Utley, Jesse W. Webb,
Joseph White, David A. Wilkins, David Wise, Charles
Wright.
Company E was mustered in with William Adams as
captain; William H. Gill, first lieutenant; Samuel B.
Guernsey, second lieu- tenant; William Walker
(promoted first lieutenant), Charles E. Gibbs, George
E. Hardwick, John S. Kirk and Thomas Wilde, sergeants;
James E. Henderson, James M. Layton, Cullen H. Angel,
Charles A. Vice, Elisha Ricketts and James W. McClure,
corporals; Marshall Whinnery and Sylvanus L. Scott,
musicians; William Green, wagoner.
Privates William H. Arnold, John C. Bonnell
(promoted first lieutenant), John Bressler, Samuel
Bressler, Stephen M. Bricker, Nathaniel Brockway,
Samuel W. Campbell, Thomas C. Chambers, Oliver G. B.
Cline, John Cochrane (promoted corporal), James R.
Crossley, James Deighton, Asaph C. Dewey, George H.
Dewey, Slyvester Dye, Adam Eckhart, Edwin Everett,
Francis E. Farley, Henry J. Ferguson, Joseph A.
Ferrell, Jacob Fitter,William T. Gray, Thomas F.
Green, Martin C. Hall, Alem H. Hampton, Eli W.
Hampton, Caleb C. Haskins, Joseph M. Hewitt, Elisha B.
Hitchcock (promoted sergeant), James E. Houghland,
William D. Houghland (promoted corporal), Elias James,
William Johnson, William C. Kent, Benjamin Kinion,
William R. Kinion, Jesse B. Knight, Charles E. Liddle,
George A. Liddle, Ebenezer Linn, William H. H. McCabe,
John McCannon, Jefferson R. McKaig, Thomas McOlgan,
Edward Mallett, John H. Mallett, Nelson Mallett, John
J. Marsell, George Martin, Thomas J. Matlock, Gideon
Miller, James Montgomery, Edward Mooney, Abraham
Morgan, Henry Morgan, Samuel Munsey, James S. Murray,
Charles Nave,
Mather Newby, Charles C. Paulk, John A. Peasley,
Howard Pennington, Decatur Pittman, John J. Potter,
Henry Rhodes (promoted corporal), Matthew L. Roberson,
Samuel H. Rogers, Henry Sarr, Francis H. Semple,
William H. Semple, Frank Sherwood, Abner S. Smally,
Charles M. Smally, William J. Smally, Edwin D. Smith,
Franklin D. Snell, Jasper N. Southard, John Starke,
Edward Stern, Joseph A. Street, Fielder Taylor, Albert
Thompson, Milton Thompson, William A. Thompson,
William Thrush, Daniel R. Tracy, Patrick Walch,
William H. Walker, John Wallace, William Wilkins, John
Yager.
Oscar J. Burch, who enlisted as corporal in Company A,
was transferred to Company G, of which he became first
lieutenant, and was mustered out as sergeant major. In
that company the following privates were credited to
Lee County: William T. Alley, William Allen, George
Gilmore and Edward Pennington. John Kelley served in
Company I, and Benjamin E. Lee in Company K.
The Nineteenth was mustered in at Keokuk on August 23,
1862, and ten days later was ordered to St. Louis.
After being engaged at Rolla and Cassville, it was
attached to Herron's Division, Army of the Border, and
was in the Battles of Prairie Grove and Van Buren,
Arkansas. It was then ordered to join General Grant's
army and took part in the siege and capture of
Vicksburg. For a time it was then on duty in Texas;
was then sent to Florida, and, after being stationed
at Pensacola for a few weeks, aided in the reduction
of Mobile. It was mustered out at Mobile on July 10,
1865, an( ^ was disbanded at Davenport on the 1st of
August.
Twenty-Fifth Infantry
This regiment was organized under the call of July 2,
1862, and was mustered in at Mount Pleasant on
September 27, 1862, with George A. Stone as colonel.
Part of Company C was raised in Lee County. Josephus
W. Brush was second lieutenant; Francis M. Dougherty
and Louis Wickersham, sergeants; Fred W. Millard,
George Benn, Nelson Heading and Edward V. Cox,
corporals; John B. Welpton, musician; and Andrew H.
Dyer, wagoner.
Privates Franklin Allen, George W. Anthony, Robert
Anthony, Dennis Baragery, John Bowman, Samuel T.
Bundy, Abner Clark, Jr., George W. Cooper, Le Roy
Dorman, George F. Hayward, John W. Heading, Isaac W.
Henkle, John L. Hinson, Isaac Little, William H.
Longcor, William Mattox, William Myer, Harrison S.
Poulson, John L. Ritchie, William H. Short, Hiram
Sweet, George W. Taylor, Elihu Weeks, James W. West,
Robert R. Westfall, Daniel Wood, Nathan Wood.
In Company D were Benjamin Babb, John Cranmer, Luther
Cranmer and Napoleon B. Eggleston.
Early in November, 1862, the regiment was ordered to
Helena, Arkansas, where it joined the White River
expedition. Then, as part of the Second Brigade,
Hovey's Division, Fifteenth Army Corps, it took part
in the engagements at Chickasaw Bayou and Arkansas
Post. It then formed part of General Steele's forces
in the expedition to Greenville, Mississippi, after
which it was on duty in Louisiana until the beginning
of the Vicksburg campaign. After the fall of
Vicksburg, it took part in the Battle of Jackson, then
moved to Tennessee and was engaged in the Battle of
Lookout Mountain. In the spring of 1864 it joined
General Sherman's army and was engaged in numerous
actions incident to the Atlanta campaign. Then came
the march to the sea, the Carolina campaign, the Grand
Review at Washington, and was there mustered out on
June 6, 1865.
Thirtieth Infantry
On September 23, 1862, the Thirtieth Infantry was
mustered in at Keokuk, with William M. G. Torrence, of
Lee County, as lieutenant-colonel. Col. Charles H.
Abbott was killed at Vicksburg on May 22, 1863, and
Lieutenant-Colonel Torrence was promoted to the
colonelcy. John W. Bond was regimental surgeon and
James H. Clendening served as adjutant and sergeant
major. Companies A and I were recruited in Lee County,
and there were a few men from the county in other
companies of the regiment.
Company A was mustered in with Rufus Goodnough,
captain; William M. Stimpson, first lieutenant; Henry
Montgomery, second lieutenant; Henderson C. Hall, Ezra
G. Clark, Lewis I. Adams and Thomas Powell, sergeants;
Thomas Berry, Charles F. Riffley, Albert Gillespie,
Charles W. Armor, Samuel L. Boyd, John G. Wood and
Wilson Horn, corporals; Samuel H. Moore and Joseph
Bowdwyn, musicians; Alexander Nichols, wagoner.
Privates Thomas Adams, James Aden, William C.
Andrews, Edwin Astle, Albert G. Baker, Isaac H. Ball,
Jasper N. Ballou, Asa Bishop, Solomon Bishop, William
S. Brown, Hiram M. Carter, John Church, James Collins,
Hiram Collins, Thomas Conn, Ephraim Cooper, Thomas
Cooper, Wilson Cooper, Charles Crague, James P.
Dodson, James R. Donahue, Samuel Ezell, Harvey
Ferrell, Icha- bod B. GifTord, John Gilbridge, James
Griffin, William W. Grimes, George D. Harmon, Lewis A.
Hawk, Andrew Henagle, Lewis Hewitt, Archibald Hook,
Benjamin Horton, Abraham Hoss, James Junkins, James
Kelldew, Israel C. Kirkpatrick, Philip Knauf, Harry
Lang (promoted corporal), Charles Lipper, Jimerson
Long, Peter Luxen, Patrick McDonnell (promoted
corporal), Sylvester May- hew, Harrison Miller,
Wilkerson Mulligan, Malachi Murphy, William Murphy,
John B. Myers, John Nelson, Reason Penrod, John Ray,
Oliver H. P. Reed, Rufus C. Reid, Jacob Rempe, William
M. Robinson, Thomas Ryan, Timothy M. Scranton, William
Sheldon, Wendell Shelley, Nephi Shumate, John
Slinglund, Charles Smith, James Snedaker, Daniel L.
Sodergreen, John J. Spain, Um- bleton Spain, Edgar D.
Stoddard, John A. Taylor, David Trotter, Richard
Vanosdol, John O. Weese, William West, Henry Wild,
Thomas Winn, Jacob Wisler, George Wolcott, Thomas
Wright.
Charles J. Maginnis was mustered in as captain of
Company D, but resigned on February 3, 1863, and was
succeeded by William Dixon, who enlisted as a
sergeant. Daniel J. Hossleton served as sergeant in
this company; Cyrus W. Hamilton, as corporal; Edward
Denmire, wagoner, and the following privates were from
Lee County : Charles Barry, George Bower, James Cane,
John Carnahan, William H. Chandler, Clark Colvin,
James H. Dimond, Nelson Knutzen, Andrew McMarlin, John
D. Nash, Simeon Stockwell, Edward Shields, Alfred
Shepard.
James P. Newell was mustered in as first lieutenant
and Robert E. Drake as a private in Company F, being
the only two men in the company credited to Lee
County.
The commissioned officers of Company I were: Uley
Burk, captain; William L. Alexander, first lieutenant;
Edwin M. Dean, second lieutenant all from West
Point. Captain Burk resigned in September, 1863;
Lieutenant Alexander became captain; Edwin M. Dean was
promoted to first lieutenant. The sergeants were
Prescott E. Ballard, John McKibben, Jonas A. Eaton,
Charles Wolf and Levi Steele. James Harvey, Jesse
McCarmon, Jacob Ash, James Stevens, John W. Jolly,
George C. Shedd and Samuel Barnes were enrolled as
corporals; Reuben Sperry, Francis M. Crawford and
Watson Trowbridge, as musicians, and Fenton Becraft,
as wagoner.
Privates James H. Allison, Edwin M. Andrews, George
Ault, Joseph Bonser, Andrew J. Bramer, William
Buchanan, George Byram, George Cooper, William A.
Cross, Michael Cunningham, Henry Diedrich (promoted
corporal), Timothy Dewire, James M. Edwards, Joseph
Farley, Thomas Foreman, Jacob Fye, Andrew M.
Gay,Samuel Gay, Benjamin Green, William C. Gregg,
Lemuel Harress, Philip Helmick, Henry Herbert, David
Hoffman, James Hoffman, Levi Hosier, Henry A. Hoss,
John Johnson, Daniel Jones (promoted corporal),
Sylvester Jones, Lewis B. Keeler (promoted first lieu-
tenant), John Klinefelter, Joseph Lawrence, George
McCaffey, William McCannon, William S. McCord, Lewis
J. McCoy, Alvin McNeil, Samuel M. Marsh, Thomas
Morgan, John Morrison, James Mullen, Samuel Murphy,
William D. Murray, William Peckham, George W. Pomeroy,
Charles T. Porterfield, Lozier Pruden, Joseph
Rickshear, Deighton Roberts, James Ruark, Andrew J.
Sellers, George Sellers, Abram Sharp, Frank Sharp,
Jacob Shears, Heinrich Sholtz, George W. Snook, Frank
Snyder, Samuel W. Southard, Hamlin Starkey, Frank
Starr, Daniel Storms, George Storms, David M.
Thompson, Martin V. Warson, Ira E. Whitcomb, Alfred
Wilder, Thomas J. Wright.
The regiment left Keokuk on October 25, 1862, for St.
Louis. After its arrival in that city it was ordered
to Helena, Arkansas, and its history throughout the
entire period of its service is almost identical with
that of the Twenty-fifth Regiment, previously given.
It was mustered out at Washington, D. C, June 5,
1865.
Thirty-Seventh
Infantry
The Thirty-seventh was called the "Graybeard
Regiment," having been composed of men over the age
limit for military duty, many of whom had grandsons in
the army. It was mustered in at Muscatine on December
15, 1862, with George W. Kincaid as colonel.
Company C was organized in Lee County and was mustered
in with Joel A. Hall, first lieutenant and Reid L.
Barnum, second lieutenant. On January 3, 1863,
Lieutenant Hall was promoted to the captaincy and
commanded the company during the remainder of its
service. Hiram M. Roberts, George Krampeter, John
Alexander and Benjamin Walden were the sergeants;
David Seamands, Lewis G. Kennedy, Daniel B. Johnson,
David Garrett, Thomas C. Ware, Edward Sleigh and
Jonathan Oliver, corporals; John Sivel and Matthew
Stein, musicians, and Daniel D. Bishop, wagoner.
Privates James T. Blair, John Briley, Gorrin H.
Carr, Jackson Chapman, Lemuel Cooper, Warrick M.
Cosgrove, Michael Costello, Michael Curtayne,
Williamson Dawson, Samuel Farrell, Jared N. Goddard,
William T. Gully, John Hargin, John Harmon, William
Harris, George Householder, William Howard, Silas Hub-
bard, Andrew J. Hughes, David Jennings, Reuben
Knowles, Charles Koons, William Lewis, John W. Lyon,
William L. McCready, Alexander McGreer, Horace V.
Mann, John H. Mackie, William Newsome, John Nottage,
Noah Paulk, John Peterson, John O. Petrie, William
Porter, Jacob Richards, William Sanders, John W.
ScherfT, Thomas H. Scott, Thomas J. Scott, William
Shepherd, John Sherman, John Sherrick (promoted
corporal), Davis Smith, John Starke, John Stephenson,
William H. Sutherland, Joseph W. Taylor, John Watts,
Nelson White, Absalom Wingett, Daniel B. Woodmansee,
David Wright.
Kinsman D. Cranmer was enrolled as sergeant and John
Deeds as a private in Company G; Henry Fahey, Samuel
Farrell and John Hargin as privates in Company H;
Thomas Moore was corporal in Company I, in which the
following were enrolled as privates: John Appel, James
H. Alexander, Adam Byram and David Rumbaugh.
Owing to the age of the members, the regiment was
employed chiefly in guard duty at the St.' Louis
Arsenal and by detachments elsewhere. During its
entire term of service it lost but three men killed in
action and four wounded. It was mustered out at
Davenport, Iowa, May 24, 1865.
Forty-Fifth Infantry
When the campaigns opened in the spring of 1864, a
call was issued for several regiments in different
states to serve for 100 days. One of these was the
Forty-fifth Iowa Infantry, which was mustered in at
Keokuk on May 25, 1864, and was composed chiefly of
young men, many of them being under twenty-one years
of age. Lee County was represented in five companies
of the regiment.
Company C was mustered in with Campbell K. Peck,
captain; David B. Hamill, first lieutenant; John L.
Day, second lieutenant; Edmund H. Jones, William H.
Barrell, John N. Irwin, James Vincent and Willis C.
Cooke, sergeants; George M. Hoffla^ George P. Durkee,
Andrew LeFevre, Ephraim M. Ingersoll, Antoine
Lefaivre, William Collier, Calvitte C. Thompson and
John C. Jeffries, cor- porals; John C. Fry and George
W. Peters, musicians, and Samuel B. Gafford,
wagoner.
Privates James R. Anderson, Constantine S. Bassett,
Napoleon B. Bong, David Bozarth, John Brady, William
Brady, Rezin Bridges, Eugene E. Bronson, Arthur G.
Buck, Asaph Buck, Joseph Buryan, Edward S. Carter,
Frederick Caisser, James T. Cooney, George H. Corwine,
Simeon C. Crane, Edward G. Creel, John S. Devon,
Edward A. Diggs, James B. Diver, George H. Fairchild,
Patrick H. Finerty, William Fletcher, Charles F.
Foster, James I. Fry, John P. Gleason, James Griffin,
John W. Griffith, John H. Hamel, George N. Hart, Lewis
Headley, Lewis Hedden, Charles S. Higham, William
Hoeter, Samuel L. Howell, Jerry Jacob, George C.
Johnston, Alphonzo Jones, Jacob Jones, Michael
Kelcher, August Kellmer, George Knaggs, Charles H.
Lane, Samuel N. Lane, Peter Lemaster, Charles H. Lee,
George B. Leonard, Swan Lind, Elijah Luke, Isaac F.
Lyman, Oscar Messick, William Millis. Lycurgus Rickey,
Frederick Rudd, Charles Sellers, David I. Smith, James
Smith, Norman L. Smith, Myron H. Stockwell, Daniel T.
Summers, Henry A. Taylor, John Tomlinson, Simon Vogel,
Paul Wallet, Lewis Weyand, Samuel White, Leopold W.
Zindel.
In Company E. Albert C. Smith was mustered in as first
lieutenant; Asa Culver, second lieutenant; James
Kennedy, Jacob G. Heaton, John F. Liddle and Edmund A.
Dickey, sergeants; Louis G. Kiel, William Thornburg,
Jeptha S. Miller, Jonathan Coffindaffer, Peter M.
Miller, William N. Devol and Martin S. Dickey,
corporals; Edwin Bonnell and Rinehart Lober,
musicians.
Privates William D. Alexander, Ira W. Anderson,
Isaac R. Atlee, Charles Barnum, John T. Barr, Welcome
Beach, Thomas A. Bell, Addison Caldwell, Albert B.
Case, Jackson Chapman, James F. Clark, George W.
Coleman, Samuel P. Cowles, George Dawson, Francis
Denny, Hiram A. Dufur, George S. Dyer, William En-
dersby, William Fagan, Jacob F. Garver, Luther Gill,
Amos D. Gray, Azariah Gregg, Leonidas C. Grubb,
Alexander B. Hampton, James Horton, John Holmes,
Townsend B. Huff, Rolandus Hyde, William H. Jones,
David H. Mason, Thomas H. Mason, John W. Miner, James
Moody, Samuel D. Morrison, Clarkson Newby, Charles
Overman, Jonathan Phelps, Francis O. Shamb, Hiram
Sherwood, William Tomson, George W. Tremaine, Watson
B. Turner, Elwood Votaw, Henry Weise, James S.
Welpton, Jacob Whitinger, Eli S. Wilcoxon.
Fourteen Lee County men were enrolled in Company F.
George T. Collins was a sergeant; Hibbard H. Shedd,
Pierson H. Bristow, Orson V. Montgomery, corporals;
George F. Case, Horatio Case, William G. Field, Robert
C. Henry, Amos FI. Hill, Amos W. How- ard, William H.
Howard, Samuel G. Kelley, Theodore J. Loomis and Jacob
Wissler, privates.
Henry A. Field and Thornton S. King were enrolled as
privates in Company G; William W. Dollings was a
sergeant in Company H, in which Moses Hammond, George
Miller and Leroy Miller served as privates. The
regiment was first ordered to St. Louis and from there
to Memphis, Tennessee. It was employed chiefly in
guarding the line of the Memphis & Charleston
Railroad, being engaged in a few slight skirmishes
with the enemy and losing two men killed and one
wounded. It was mustered out at Keokuk on September
16, 1864.
Forty-Eighth Infantry
Twenty-four Lee County men were enrolled in Company D,
Forty-eighth Infantry, which was also a 100 days'
regiment. Aaron Colliver was first lieutenant of the
company; Henry H. Freed, Charles Phillips and James R.
Fitch, sergeants; John C. Chapin, John W. Fletcher and
Henry Black, corporals; Nathan D. Daniels, musician,
and the following served as privates: Francis M.
Arnold, Ezra Bailey, Andrew J. Brown, David A. Brown,
Thomas A. Brown, Jotham P. Clark, Henry Coleman, Eli
Denney, William W. Dudley, Thomas J. Guyon, Isaac D.
Hale, Thomas E. Jefferson, John E. Johnson, William
Kimble, Isaac Lambert and Aaron F. Thompson.
The regiment's service was similar to that performed
by the Forty-fifth. It was mustered out at Rock
Island, Illinois, October 21, 1864.
First Cavalry
The First Cavalry was organized under the call of May
3, 1861, and was mustered in at Burlington and
Davenport during the months of July and August, with
Fitz Henry Warren as colonel and Charles E. Moss, of
Keokuk, lieutenant-colonel.
Company A was recruited in Lee County and at the time
of muster in was officered as follows: William M. G.
Torrence, captain; Alexander G. McQueen, first
lieutenant; Robert M. Reynolds, second lieutenant.
Captain Torrence was promoted to major on October 26,
1861, Lieutenant McQueen became captain and afterward
rose to be lieutenant-colonel, and Lieutenant Reynolds
was promoted to first lieutenant. David A. Kerr, who
enlisted as first sergeant of Company A, was made
adjutant of the regiment in October, 1862, and John M.
Coggeshall, of Montrose, was commissioned chaplain in
June, 1863.
The sergeants of Company A were: John A. Bishop, David
A. Kerr, Andrew S. Hamilton, Alexander P. Boyse, Hugh
Martin, John C. Van Hook and Walter S. Gray. John A.
Bishop, who was mustered in as quartermaster sergeant,
and Andrew S. Hamilton were both promoted to second
lieutenant, and Sergeant Boyse to first
lieutenant.
James P. Turner (promoted second lieutenant), Brainard
Bridges, Joseph C. McCandless, James Robertson, Joseph
S. Vansant, William Goodin, Clayborn F. Driskill and
John Wright served as corporals; Henry Wisner, bugler;
William K. Reeves, farrier; George Rearler, saddler;
and Isaac Ferrell, wagoner.
Privates Harvey Adair, William C. Andrews, Benjamin
Blair, William Blair, Bartlett Brown, William O.
Burns, William Carter, John P. Cochrane, George W.
Collins, David Conley, Oliver L. Conn, Milton Copp,
John W. Cross, Francis M. Davis, Thomas C. Fletcher,
Lewis H. Foster, Hiram Gabriel, Ambrose Gallagher,
Owen P. Gore, George W. Green, John Henkle, Frank
Herwick, John Herwick, James Hill, Henry Hoagland,
Edward Hollingsworth, William Horton, Herman J.
Huiskamp, Thomas S. James, James E. Johnston,
Alexander Kennedy, William Linn, James McCutcheon,
George McKee, Charles McKibben, James F. McKinley,
George R. Miller, Charles E. Moss, Andrew Neel, Peter
Nelson, Andrew O'Bleness, Laban O'Bleness, Thomas J.
O'Bleness (promoted captain), Eli R. Oiler, Thomas N.
Pond, Samuel Pone, William Pone, Josiah Ray, Elmore
Reed, Daniel Reibold, Prosper A. Rose, John L. Russell
(promoted first lieutenant), Anglos F. Sala, Orlando
P. Sala, William Scheyli, James Scott, Jacob M. Shook,
Lewis E. Short, Moses Short, John Skinner, James
Smith, John Smith, Zachariah E. Thomas, William F.
Thorndike, Pleasant
A. Timberlake, Davis C. Turner, Addison Walker, George
Welchyner, Andrew J. Wilson, Harrison F. Wilson,
Walker Wilson, Lewis B. Wisbey, Andrew J. Wisbey,
Andrew J. Wright, John Wright, William Wyatt.
Lee County was represented in Company C by Albert F.
Dean, second lieutenant; Elijah W. Majors and Otis S.
Whiting, ser- geants; Clinton M. Turner, Paul
Hendricks, Michael Seyb, corporals; George Hook,
bugler, and the following:
Privates Malcolm S. Andrews, Alexander C. Brice,
Joseph Brees, Hiram Brown, Jerome Carpenter, Charles
Chickering Doddridge W. Cook, Jesse Cooper, Curtis M.
Copp, Thaddeus J. Dean, George Delfeller, William
Harper, George C. Hawkins William H. Hendricks, John
L. Hill, Henry Jefferson, Alfred J Lyther, Michael
McCreary, Charles U. Martin, Horace Payne Joseph C.
Ritchey, William S. Steele, Granville L. Stockman,
Allen Stoddard, Abraham H. Stutesman, Rufus Underwood,
Alfred Walker, George E. Wilmarsh, Thomas
Zingre.
Thomas McClean served as private in Company D; Joseph
H. Arnold, Benjamin F. Best, John J. Buffington,
William L. Gantz, Andrew L. Jay, Lindley F. Joy,
Berryman Roberts and Thomas S. Shampnoi, in Company E.
Thomas H. Hart and Stephen M. Sexton were corporals in
Company F, in which the following Lee County men
served as privates: George Hart, Ray S. Hart, John C.
Hunter, Marx Klein, Bernard C. Reiley and Thomas J.
Reed. In Company H were Ezra Harrington, Adam R.
Hartzell, Henry E. Johnson, Zachariah P. Murry,
Frederick H. Purrington and Andrew J. Smith.
Russell G. Curtiss was enrolled as a private in
Company I; Edward Barron and Joseph Benedict, in
Company K; Charles L. Barnum, George Hoskinson, Daniel
H. Hughes, David Jack, James E. McCalligan, Joseph
Moody, Joshua Seward, Joseph Stenger, David B.
Sterrett and John D. Tedro, in Company L.
On the last day of September, 1861, six companies of
the regiment were ordered to St. Louis and later in
the fall were engaged at Milford and Silver Creek. All
through the summer of 1862 the regiment was in
Missouri, though hardly ever together, the companies
being on detached duty. It was then ordered to
Arkansas, where it took part in the battles of Cane
Hill and Prairie Grove. In the spring of 1863 ^ was P
art °f tne f° rce opposed to the Confederate under
General Marmaduke. About the close of the year it was
veteranized and the men received their furlough.
Returning to Arkansas, the regiment was reorganized
and continued in active service in that state until
February, 1865, wne n it was ordered to Memphis,
Tennessee. It was next with General Custer in
Louisiana and Texas until mustered out at Austin,
Texas, February 15, 1866.
Third Cavalry
The greater portion of the first battalion of this
regiment was raised in Lee County. When the regiment
was mustered in on September 14, 1 86 1, at Keokuk,
Carleton H. Perry was major of the battalion; Dudley
E. Jones, battalion quartermaster; David L. McGugin,
regimental surgeon; Christopher C. Biser, assistant
surgeon; and Pearl P. Ingalls, chaplain. John W.
Noble, who entered the service as first lieutenant of
Company C, was promoted to the colonelcy of the
regiment on May 23, 1864. Other Lee County men who
served as line and staff officers of the regiment
were: John R. Woods, commissary sergeant; Euclid E.
Fuller, hospital steward; Alfred R. Hitchkiss,
commissary sergeant; George A. Jackson, quartermaster
sergeant; Israel M. Wickersham, chief bugler; Howard
Perry and Thomas H. Brown, battalion commissary
sergeants.
Company A contained four men from Lee County, viz. :
Samuel Barr, who was promoted to first lieutenant;
William Carney, Andrew Goucher and Emery S. Goucher,
privates.
The muster roll of Company B shows John Q. A. DeHuff,
first lieutenant; Aaron H. Gage, Samuel Barr, Andrew
J. McRacken, John P. Talbott and George N. Anderson,
sergeants; John A. Jefferson, Clinton C. McChord,
James S. Alexander, Jesse W. Bayles, John H. Perry,
William F. Jones, James Pain and Edwin M. Burr,
corporals; Abram Edwards, farrier; August Remerman,
saddler; Gardiner A. A. Deane, bugler; and Artemus
Clumis, wagoner. Sergeant Gage was promoted to the
captaincy of the company in July. 1865, and Clinton C.
McChord was promoted to second lieutenant at the same
time. Samuel Barr was transferred to Company A and
promoted to first lieutenant.
Privates Amos Addington, Milton Anders, William H.
Anderson, James Barr, Horatio L. Birdsall, Samuel N.
Bishop, William H. H. Black, William Breitenstein,
Alexander Brownlee, Alfred Burge, David Carroll,
William H. Chidester, Gottlieb Christian, Alexander
Coleman, Asa E. Coleman, William Cowles, James Cox,
Hiram C. Diggs, David Finley, Samuel S. Finley, Samuel
Frow, George Galloup, James K. Galloup, Jerry Galloup,
William W. Gordon, Benjamin F. Grant, Salathiel
Hannan, Edward V. Holland, Austin Hollowell, Jasper
Hollowell, John H. Horn, James House, Henry Keime,
William Kerns, Peter Kerr, Isaac H. Kinley, Lemon Mc.
Logan, Thomas B. Logan, George W. Longley, John W.
Love, John W. Lyon, Asbury B. McChord, James D.
McCully, Robert T. McDonald, Orlow H. McPherson,
William McQueen, James S. Matthews, John C. Matthews,
Marshall P. Matthews, John W. Mendenhall, John
Merritt, Jasper O'Neil, Allen Overman, Thomas Parker,
George Parsons, Jonathan Parsons, Samuel Parsons,
Gaston Pease, John W. Pullman, Ralph Rigby, George
Richardson, Bernard Ringland, Thomas N. Rye, Albert G.
Saxe, Bennett S. Shaug, Benjamin A. Smith, Thomas
Stillwell, Kinsey T. Talbott, Elwood Townsend, Henry
D. Townsend, James Vancyoc, Henry L. Weeks, William
West, Hiram C. Wilcoxson, Robert Wilson, Calvin S.
Woodworth. Company C was mustered in with Israel
Anderson, captain; Erie J. Leech, first lieutenant;
William Wilson, second lieutenant; Henry A. Winther,
quartermaster sergeant; Thomas Cowley, Jr., commissary
sergeant; David A. Day, Ralph H. Millard, Ambrose L.
Jenks, Josiah A. Jackson and Thomas W. Brice,
sergeants; James Linch, Glenn Lowe, Obadiah M. Crane,
Hubbard Stone, Robert Lemaster, John Leddon, William
Gilcrist and James W. Cox, corporals; Louis Anslyn,
bugler; Fleming C. Wilson, farrier; John M. Read,
saddler; Henry Deppen, wagoner. Corporal Lowe was
promoted to captain and Corporal Linch to first
lieutenant.
Privates Thomas Ackley, Thomas P. Ackley, Charles
Anderson, Perry Armitage, John S. Beebe, Louis
Berryhill, Andrew A. Brown, Israel Brown, Isaac Bunch,
George W. Burgman, Robert Cassidy, Ephraim Cobb, Lewis
Conn, Charles Conway, Lisbon A. Cox, William Curtis,
Henry Delaplaine, Lawrence Dugan, William E. Durfee,
William H. Duvall, Jehu Elliott, Ephraim Fauquier,
John Field, Robert Forbes, Charles H. Forman, William
H. Forman, Dixon Gibson, John F. Gibson, William D.
Gibson, Thomas H. Goodwin, William Guthrie, Andrew J.
Hardin, John W. Hardwick, Oscar D. Harvey, John A.
Hendrickson, Milton Herron, Alexander Hinote, Henry P.
Hockman, Franklin Horn, Joseph Hyde, James G.
Jeffries, James Johnson, Perry Johnson, Charles Jones,
James Jones, William Keteon, William King, William G.
Kramer, Israel E. Leake, William Lowry, Elias Luke,
Morgan Lynch, Samuel McEveny, Edward Y. McLarning,
William McLaughlin, William O. Mackie, John Malia,
William Martin, William Matheney, John H. Miller,
William Miller, William J. Moneymaker, Clark Murch,
Henry Ostrander, Samuel F. Ostrander, Calvin Peterson,
Albert Phillips, Lindsey P. Price, John R. Quicksell,
Herman Rankin, Johnson Rankin, Joseph Rhodes, Daniel
Riggs, Alfred Roberts (promoted first lieutenant),
Silas M. Rockwell, Thomas B. Russell, Joseph Samuel,
John S. Critchfield, Leroy Seaton, William Seeberlich,
Williamson Sells, Perry Shay, Samuel Shultz, Thomas
Simpson, George C. Smith, Henry H. Smith, James Smith,
John Smith, William Smith, Isaac Snyder, Henry
Sprague, Josiah Spaulding, Isaac Stamper, Oliver C.
Stevens, Peter I. Stevens, John Stone, Francisco
Stump, Charles Tackaberry, Washington Talbott, Charles
W. Taylor (promoted second lieutenant), Morris
Tisdale, Barzillai Townsend, Jacob Tryon, Thomas L.
Vann, James A. Virts, Francis H. Waste, Charles
Watson, Edward Welchman, Samuel Wheeler, Harwood
Whitney, Albert Williams, Matthew D. Williams, William
M. Williams, John R. Woods, Wesley J. Worley,
Jefferson Worster, Daniel B. Wyatt, Anderson
Zugg.
John Campbell was a corporal and Adam Dunn and Justin
B. Harlan were privates in Company D; Harvey N. Upton
and Nelson Vansteensburg were enrolled in Company E ;
Matthew Roderson was a private in Company F; and
Abraham Berger, William H. Coleman and William H.
Matkin privates in Company G.
Twenty-three Lee County men enlisted in Company H.
Thomas R. Herndon held the rank of sergeant; Martin V.
B. Sigler, Michael W. Mitchell, John W. Smith and
Thomas N. Gosnell were corporals, and the following
served as privates : Andrew Balbach, John Balbach,
John H. Beucler, Peter F. Beucler, Emerson
Butterfield, William Clark, Cyrus G. Hawkins, James S.
Hewitt, James A. Light, Joseph Myers, Howard Perry,
Jackson Sigler, Jeremiah Sigler, George Smith, William
H. Spitler, Nathan Tuttle, John W. Vandevanter and
Selby Vandevanter.
In Company I were Joseph C. Fletcher, Jacob Graft and
John Smith. Dudley E. Jones served as first lieutenant
of Company L, in which Clinton D. Cooper, Alonzo
Britton and Edward White were enrolled as privates,
and in Company M Benjamin M. Belville, William H.
Bryant, Robert Hendricks, James H. Johnson and
Shadrach Rinkle were credited to Lee County.
The first service of the Third Cavalry was in
protecting the southern border of Iowa against
invasion. On November 4, 1861, it was ordered to St.
Louis, where it was divided into detachments and for
the next few weeks the men "lived in the saddle."
Parts of the regiment were engaged at Moore's Mill,
Florida, Kirksville and other skirmishes, after which
the Third was assigned to the duty of guarding the
frontier from the Iron Mountains of Missouri to the
Boston Mountains in Arkansas. It took part in the
Battle of Pea Ridge, fought at West Plains, and in
December, 1862, was assigned to the cavalry division
of the Army of the Tennessee, commanded by Gen. C. C.
Washburne. For a time it was on duty at Helena,
Arkansas, but early in June, 1863, it was ordered to
join General Grant in the siege of Vicksburg. It
formed part of Sherman's advance in the march to
Jackson and after the battle at that place was engaged
in destroying the Mississippi Central Railroad. It was
then ordered back to Arkansas, where many of the men
reenlisted and received their veteran furlough. After
a visit to home and friends in Iowa, the regiment was
ordered to join the expedition to Guntown,
Mississippi, and was then in pursuit of General Price
through Missouri. When Price was driven out of the
state, the Third joined Gen. J. H. Wilson's cavalry in
Tennessee and was on active duty in that state and
Georgia until mustered out at Atlanta on August 9,
1865.
Fourth Cavalry
The Fourth Cavalry was mustered into the United States
service at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, January 1, 1862, with
Asbury B. Porter as colonel. John B. Leclerc served as
a private in Company C; Samuel Peterson and Jabez
Sibley in Company F, and more than half of Company G
came from Lee County.
Company G was mustered in with Thomas C. Tullis as
captain and James J. Brown as first lieutenant, though
the first non-commissioned officers were from other
counties. The following privates were credited to Lee
County: Thompson Armor, Francis H. Ayres, Lycurgus E.
Ayres, George M. Barnes, William C. Barnes, James F.
Berry, Louis Burke, Arestes M. Cale, William Cale,
George W. Clark, Henry Cowles, James E. Cowles, George
B. Crossley, Lawrence Crossley, Alonzo Cunningham,
Francis M. Davis (promoted captain), Delarma Douglas,
Philip Ehart, Wykoff W. Endersby, William H. Entler,
Solomon Ezell, Charles H. Fagers, Thomas C. Fletcher
(promoted bugler), James Frazier, John Frazier,
Charles
A. Gillham, Robert P. Gilmer (promoted second
lieutenant), Franklin Groesbeck, William Hardy
(promoted corporal), Aaron Hoss, John Ingersoll
(promoted sergeant), W. Wilson Ingersoll, William J.
Ives, Cornelius W. Jackson, Theodore S. Jackson,
Theodore H. Jennings, William P. Jennings, Daniel
Johnson, Lewis Johnson, Thompson Jones (promoted
corporal), David Laird, Almon M. Levee, George L.
Levee (promoted quartermaster sergeant), Charles B.
McCarthy, Horace McDannell, James S. Mason, Samuel J.
Mason, William C. Mason (promoted corporal), William
Murray, Zephaniah Murray, William Osborn, William
Pitman, Alexander Riddle, Alexander Rodgers (promoted
captain), George 1 Scovil, Amiel Shotta, Edwin Sigmon,
Robert Skiles, Nicholas Snider, Edward Stubbs, James
Thornton, Polk E. Tibbetts (promoted sergeant), Hugh
Valiant (promoted sergeant), Sensel Watts, George W.
Welch, Henry S. Wheatley.
On March 10, 1862, the regiment was ordered to Rolla,
Missouri, thence to Springfield and from there to
Helena, Arkansas. During the early service of the
regiment the companies were chiefly on detached duty,
scouting and occasionally skirmishing with the enemy.
Company F captured a steamboat loaded with sugar and
molasses and a train of about one hundred wagons
loaded with provisions. On November 25, 1862, the
Fourth joined Gen. A. P. Hovey's expedition toward
Grenada, Mississippi and destroyed several miles of
railroad. On the last day of April, 1863, it joined
General Grant's forces at Milliken's Bend and started
on the campaign against Vicksburg. It was in the
engagements at Haynes' Bluff and Mechanicsburg, and
after the fall of Vicksburg took part in the battle of
Jackson. Toward the close of 1863 many of the men
reenlisted and received a veteran furlough. After that
it was with General Grierson on the raid through
Mississippi and was engaged in numerous battles and
skirmishes in that state and Alabama. The regiment was
mustered out at Atlanta, Georgia, August 10,
1865.
Fifth Cavalry
Although this regiment was designated as the Fifth
Iowa Cavalry, it contained one company from Omaha,
Nebraska, two companies from Minnesota and one from
Illinois. It was mustered in at St. Louis from
September, 1861, to February 11, 1862, and when fully
organized was placed under the command of William W.
Lowe as colonel. Joseph Bendler, Henry O. Dudley,
Charles H. Kummer and C. August Ulrich, of Lee County,
were members of the regimental band; George
Friedenrich served as battalion commissary sergeant;
Frederick Dietrich was regimental saddler.
Company F, composed chiefly of Germans, was raised in
Lee and the adjoining counties. It was mustered in
with John A. Smith as second lieutenant; Charles
Haenel, quartermaster sergeant; Gustave Krusch, George
H. Meier and Charles F. Limle, sergeants; Caspar
Buschmeier and Charles Rothe, corporals, and John
Seidel, bugler.
Privates George Anthes, Roman Boechle, Fritz Brechf,
Jacob Deutsch, John B. Dingman, Ferdinand Fahr, Henry
Fosterling, Fritz Geldmacher, Bernard H. Hinken,
August Johns, Stephen Kliewe, Philip Lang, Henry
Luecke, Leo Marder, John Martin, Henry Moellers, Henry
Nolte, Frank Rohde, Bernard Rottman, Joseph Saar,
Robert Santo, August Scherfe, C. F. August Schelland,
Philip Schneider, Henry Schowalter, John Schomacher,
F. August Schubert, John L. Shier, Robert Scholtz,
Louis Silverheisen, Bernard Slange, August Soechtig,
Christian Stauffer, John Tieken, Sebastian Viox, Frank
Wagner, William H. Wagner, Benjamin Ward, Charles
Werner, Franz Werth, William Westphal, Henry Wichard,
Frank Wiggenjost.
The regiment first saw service in Missouri, after
which it was in Kentucky and Tennessee as part of the
cavalry of Gen. L. H. Rousseau. In the summer of 1864
it joined General Stoneman for the raid to Macon,
Georgia, and destroyed many miles of the Atlanta &
Macon Railroad. It covered the retreat of the army
from Lovejoy's Station and when General Hood started
northward the Fifth returned to Nashville with Gen.
George H. Thomas. As part of the cavalry division of
General Thomas' army, it took part in the battle of
Nashville, December 15, 1864, and in the pursuit of
Hood's shattered command. It was mustered out at
Nashville on August 11, 1865. The original Fifth
Cavalry was consolidated with the Fifth Iowa Infantry
on August 8, 1864, after which the regiment was known
as the Fifth Veteran Cavalry.
Eighth Cavalry
Fourteen Lee County men were enrolled in this
regiment, which was mustered in at Davenport, Iowa,
September 30, 1863, under Colonel Joseph B. Dorr.
Eleazer B. Doane entered the service as first
lieutenant of Company E and was promoted captain on
April 5, 1864. In the same company Andrew J. Baker was
mustered in as. sergeant; Charles W. Smith, Lewis
Richards, Charles L. Dorson and Jonathan F. Doane, as
corporals, and the following were enrolled as
privates: James D. Childs, Isaiah J. Clark, John
Clark, John H. Davis, Samuel C. Laughery and Charles
Rye. The other two Lee County men were Henry Edmondson
and Herman Heiser, who were privates in Company
M.
On October 7, 1863, the regiment was ordered to
Louisville, Kentucky, and from there proceeded to
Nashville, where it was assigned to the duty of
guarding the line of the Nashville & Northwestern
Railroad. Next, as part of McCook's Cavalry Division,
it was engaged in scouting and skirmishing in the
vicinity of Chattanooga. In the spring of 1864 it
joined the army commanded by General Sherman for the
campaign against Atlanta, and after that city
capitulated it remained on duty in Georgia until
mustered out at Macon on August 13, 1865.
Ninth Cavalry
This was the last of the volunteer regiments raised by
the State of Iowa for service in the Civil war. It was
mustered in at Davenport, Iowa, November 30, 1863, and
was commanded by Col. Matthew M. Trumbull. William A.
Sullivan, of Lee County, was sergeant major of the
regiment, and the county was represented in Companies
G, H, I and M.
In Company G Samuel C. Koons was mustered in as
corporal; Hiram Maine, bugler-; Richard Sharp,
farrier; Ransom Ripple, wagoner, and the following
were enrolled as privates: Samuel Bowman, John W.
Goss, Herschel Hand, Charles Kerr, Andrew Kimbrough,
Daniel Maguire, George W. Morrison and David
Patterson.
Marshall Anders was a sergeant and George H. Moore
wagoner in Company H, in which the following privates
were credited to Lee County: Isaac W. Abbott, Joseph
C. Davis, Weslev A. Harbeson, James Luther, Joseph
Marsell, Samuel J. Sample and Reuben Sperry.
Robert H. Moloy was the only Lee County man in Company
I, but a large part of Company M was raised in the
county. John F. Parker, who was mustered in as first
sergeant, became captain of the company on October 15,
1865; Charles P. Buckner, who started in as sergeant
was promoted to first lieutenant in September, 1864;
James B. Moore was enrolled as sergeant; William F.
Crocker, Daniel S. Ochiltree and John Yeager,
corporals; Alden Baker, farrier, and the following
served as privates:
Isaac B. Binford, Levi P. Brown, Noah Childers, Andrew
J. Cronin, Andrew J. Davis, David Dust, David H.
Ettein, Samuel Falkenburg, Samuel K. Hand, Robert
Harper, Robert Kocks, Martin Legrand, Benedict Lucas,
George McCausland, Wesley H. Marsh, Rhaey H. Parnell,
James A. Pollard, Israel Rude, George T. Sawyers,
Albert Schotte, Andrew J. Seavers, John H. Seavers,
Henry C. Smith, Walter A. Soule, James R. Stephens,
John Van Fossen, Adolph Wirsig, John R. Wooster.
The horses used by the Ninth Cavalry were selected by
the officers of the regiment, and each squadron was
mounted on horses of the same color. The first service
of the regiment was in fighting the guerrillas in
Missouri, especially the notorious Quantrill band. It
was next ordered to DevalTs Bluff, Arkansas, to guard
the post there, and it operated in Arkansas until in
January, 1865, when it formed part of Geiger's
expedition into West Tennessee. It was mustered out at
Little Rock, Arkansas, March 23, 1866. being one of
the last regiments to leave the service.
Miscellaneous
Enlistments
In the fall of 1862 the "Southern Border Brigade" was
organized to protect the state from invasion from
Missouri. A large part of Company A of this brigade
was raised in Lee County and was com- manded by Capt.
William Soule, with Wells Brown as first lieutenant.
About the close of the year the brigade was disbanded
and many of the men subsequently enlisted in other
organizations.
Nearly two hundred Lee County men served in the
Seventh, Eighth, Tenth, Fifteenth and Twenty-first
Missouri Infantry, and the Seventh Missouri Cavalry.
Probably one-fourth of that number enlisted in
Illinois, Kansas and Wisconsin regiments, and nearly
one hundred were in the regular army.
In the summer and fall of 1863 was raised a regiment
of colored troops, to which Iowa contributed 106 men.
This regiment was known as the "First Infantry of
African Descent." It was officered by white men.
Milton F. Collins, of Lee County, was. commissioned
lieutenant-colonel on October 11, 1863; J onn L.
Murphy, major; Theodore W. Pratt, adjutant; William
McQueen, quartermaster, and Freeman Knowles,
surgeon.
The Work at Home
While the Boys in Blue were at the front, fighting the
battles; of their country, those who remained at home
were not unmindful of the interests of the soldiers
and their families. Scarcely had the first echoes of
the war tocsin died away when the work of relief was
inaugurated in a meeting held at the old Athenaeum in
Keokuk on Monday evening, April 22, 1861. Henry Strong
presided and George W. McCrary acted as secretary. A
committee of twenty was appointed to solicit
subscriptions to a fund to provide aid for the
families of those who might enlist, and through the
efforts of this committee a considerable sum of money
was assured. This encouraged many to enlist, knowing
that the needs of their wives and children would be
provided for while the head of the family was in the
army.
On Saturday evening, April 27, 1861, a similar meeting
was held in Fort Madison. A committee of five was
appointed to solicit contributions to a relief fund,
and another committee, consisting of one from each
ward, was selected to wait upon the mayor and city
council and urge an appropriation for the support of
families of soldiers actually mustered into service.
Through the work of the former committee a relief fund
of generous proportions was raised, and that the
latter was successful is seen by the following action
taken by the mayor and board of aldermen on May 15,
1861, in the unanimous adoption of these
resolutions:
"1. That the sum of $2,000 be and the same is hereby
appropriated for the purpose of furnishing, taking
care of and supplying the wants of volunteers who have
lately enlisted from this place, and tendered their
services to the Executive of this State for the
purpose of defending our Government, and that said sum
or any part thereof be used and disbursed by F.
Hesser, C. Brewster, H. Catter- mole, H. M. Salmon and
B. Hugel, on the part of the town, and the mayor,
Aldermen Kiel and McHenry, on the part of the board of
aldermen, of this city; and it is understood that the
favoring application is to apply to all and every
necessary expense, whether credited or .to be
credited, that has been, or may be, for the welfare of
the aforesaid volunteers or their families until
otherwise provided.
"2. That the mayor is hereby authorized and instructed
to issue in such amounts as said committee shall find
most convenient, the above $2,000 in corporation cash
notes, bearing 10 per cent interest, due in one year
from date, but redeemable at any time sooner, at the
will of the board, and receivable for all cash
corporation taxes.
"3. That the above notes shall be known as 'Fort
Madison War Notes.' "
While the organized relief work centered at Keokuk and
Fort Madison, the people of the county as a whole were
not backward in giving aid to the families of
volunteers. On August 14, 1862, at a war meeting in
Fort Madison, Samuel Boyles was appointed to present
the following resolutions to the board of county
supervisors of Lee County:
"1. That the County of Lee will pay to each married
man who volunteers under the two recent calls of the
Government $y$, and to each single man $50, after he
shall have been sworn in and accepted by the United
States mustering officer; and that for the purpose of
paying the above bounty, there be a tax of five and
one-half mills on the dollar levied upon all taxable
property of the county, to be called the 'County War
Tax.'
"2. That the president of the board be instructed to
issue war notes to the amount of $38,000, said notes
to be in amounts of from one to one hundred dollars,
to bear interest at the rate of 8 per cent per annum,
and to become due in nine months from date, and to be
receivable in payment of the above tax.
"3. That, for the purpose of raising the money in the
most expeditious manner possible, we appoint one or
more persons in each township, who shall call upon
every man therein and sell said notes for cash, dollar
for dollar; and that every man in each township will
be expected to buy at least the amount required to pay
his tax; and that the said persons so appointed shall
on next Saturday (August 23) pay over to the county
treasurer the amounts received from the sale of said
notes; and on Monday, the 1st day of September next,
they shall again pay over to the treasurer all money
so received; and the collector or collectors of each
township shall make a statement of the total amount
received in his or their township on the sale of said
notes, and shall also publish the names of all persons
who shall refuse to pay at least one dollar.
"4. That the president of the board shall issue to
each person who has or shall volunteer under the two
recent calls, when the person presents to the
president of the board the certificate of the captain
of his company, showing that he has been sworn in and
accepted by the mustering officer, an order on the
treasurer for the amount to which he shall be
entitled.
"5. That all persons who have paid any money to
soldiers who have volunteered under the two recent
calls of the Government, shall have the same refunded
to them in said notes."
The resolutions were adopted by the board of
supervisors on August 18, 1862, and through this novel
method of raising money Lee County was enabled to
raise her quota of volunteers without placing upon the
shoulders of her people a bonded debt, as was done in
some localities. The "war notes" were liberally taken
by the people of the county and the same were redeemed
in the payment of the "war tax," so that at no time
was the debt burdensome. This plan was pursued
throughout the war, all bounties paid by the county
being provided by issues of notes and the levying of a
tax for their redemption.
No approximate estimate can be made of the amounts
given in individual offerings by charitable inclined
persons. Whenever some soldier's family stood in need
of assistance it was forthcoming. The sum thus
contributed ran into thousands of dollars, of which no
account was kept. Many a basket of provisions found
its way to the home of some soldier; shoes, clothing
and school books were given to soldiers' children; the
son or daughter of a volunteer were given preference
in the matter of employment by many of the citizens,
and in many other ways relief was afforded those who
had sent loved ones to the front to preserve the
Union.
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR
AND MILITIA
.For four centuries after the discovery of America,
the Island of Cuba was a dependency of Spain. When
Spain was losing her other American possessions one by
one, the people of Cuba remained loyal in their
allegiance, and when the Spanish dynasty was
overthrown by Napoleon in 1808 the Cubans declared war
against Napoleon. Their loyalty received a poor
recompense, however, for in 1825 a royal decree placed
the lives and fortunes of the Cubans at the absolute
disposal of the captains-general, or governors of the
island. The "conquistadores" were slow in coming, but
they had at last arrived.
In 1829 a conspiracy was formed for the purpose of
throwing off the Spanish yoke, but it was discovered
and crushed before the conspirators were ready to
begin active operations. Then followed the uprising of
the blacks in 1844, the futile expeditions of Lopez in
1849-50, and the "Ten Years War" from 1868 to 1878
during which Spain threatened to make a desert of the
island. Two hundred and fifty-seven thousand soldiers
were sent to Cuba and so great was the sacrifice of
life that less than fifty thousand of them returned to
Spain. Three hundred million dollars' worth of
property was destroyed during the war and an enormous
debt contracted, which was saddled upon the Cubans as
a penalty for their rebellion.
One effect of the war was to make the Spanish
governors more tyrannical in their administration of
affairs. Added to this was the heavy burden of the war
debt, hence it was not long until the people of Cuba
began planning another insurrection. Experience had
taught them to move with caution and for more than
fifteen years they carried on their preparations with
the greatest secrecy.
In 1895 tne insurrection broke out at several places
simultaneously. The revolutionists were led by Gomez
and Maceo. Captain-General Campos conducted his
military movements along lines established by
civilized warfare, which was not satisfactory to the
Spanish authorities, who removed him and placed
General Weyler in command. Weyler adopted the policy
of removing the people from the rural districts to the
cities, where they were kept under guard, in order to
prevent them from furnishing supplies to the
insurgents. The inhumanity that accompanied this
policy soon aroused the indignation of the civilized
world. The supply of food was inadequate to the demand
of the "reconcentrados," as the people confined in the
cities were called, and many actually starved to
death.
In the United States political conventions, commercial
organizations in a number of cities, and some of the
State Legislatures adopted resolutions calling on the
Federal Government to intervene in behalf of the
suffering Cubans. The proposition to raise a fund in
the United States to feed the starving reconcentrados
started riots in Havana, some holding that
intervention on the part of the people of this country
meant in the end the annexation of Cuba. The Atlantic
Squadron of the United States Navy was ordered to the
Dry Tortugas, within six hours sail of Havana, and on
January 25, 1898, the Battleship Maine dropped anchor
in the Harbor of Havana. The presence of this war
vessel was not pleasing to the Spanish officials, who
sought a measure of retaliation in sending the armored
Cruiser Vizcaya to New York. Thus matters stood until
February 9, 1898, when the Spanish minister to the
United States resigned his position, and on the
evening of the 15th the Maine was blown up, causing a
loss of more than two hundred of her officers and men.
A court of inquiry later found that the vessel was
blown up "by a submarine mine, which caused the
partial explosion of two or more of her forward
magazines."
The destruction of the Maine, with its consequent loss
of life, increased the excitement in the United States
and the demands for intervention became more
insistent. Still the Government declined to take any
positive action, for the reason that General Blanco,
who had succeeded General Weyler, issued a
proclamation declaring a suspension of hostilities and
announced that the reconcentrados would be permitted
to return to their homes. American consuls soon
reported that this promise was not being kept and that
the suffering among the imprisoned people had not
diminished in the least.
On March 8, 1898, Congress appropriated $50,000,000
for the national defense, but no further action was
taken for more than a month, or until it was learned
that General Blanco's promise to release the
reconcentrados had not been fulfilled. On April 19,
1898, Congress adopted a resolution recognizing the
independence of Cuba and demanding that Spain
relinquish authority over and withdraw from the
island. The resolution closed with these words: "The
United States hereby disclaims any disposition or
intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or
control over said island, except for the pacification
thereof, and asserts its determination when that is
accomplished to leave the government and control of
the island to its people."
Under the resolution the President was authorized to
employ the forces of the United States Army and Navy
to aid Cuba, and an act was passed authorizing the
increase of the army to 61,000 men. Rear Admiral
Sampson was directed to blockade the Cuban ports. This
was quickly followed by a formal declaration of war
and a call for 125,000 volunteers, to be supplied from
the militia of the several states as far as
practicable.
The Iowa Legislature, which adjourned a short time
before the declaration of war, in anticipation of such
an event, had appropriated $500,000 "to aid the
general government in case of war," and prep- arations
were immediately commenced to fill any call for troops
that might be made. On April 21, 1898,
Adjutant-General Byers issued a general order to the
company commanders in Iowa to have all officers and
men undergo a physical examination. Two days later
President McKinley issued his proclamation calling for
125,000 men, and on the 25th the Governor of Iowa was
advised by telegram from the secretary of war of the
state's quota of troops under the call. The state fair
grounds, near Des Moines, were secured as a point for
mobilization of the Iowa National Guard, and the
commanding officers of the four infantry regiments
were ordered to report with their regiments, with the
least possible delay. It was decided by the governor
to continue the numbering of the volunteer regiments
as shown by those which had been engaged in the Civil
war. The First Regiment of the National Guard,
therefore, became the Forty-ninth Iowa Volunteer
Infantry; the Second, Third and Fourth becoming
respectively the Fiftieth, Fifty-first and
Fifty-second regiments of Iowa Volunteer
Infantry.
Fiftieth Infantry
In this regiment formerly the Second Regiment, Iowa
National Guard Lee County was well represented in
Companies A, F and L, with a few men in other
companies. Herman J. Huiskamp, of Fort Madison, was
regimental quartermaster; Thornton B. Boyer, of
Keokuk, chief musician in the regimental band, and
Harry M. Reynolds, also of Keokuk, was a member of the
band.
Company A belonged in Keokuk and at the time it was
mustered into the service of the United States, May
17, 1898, the commissioned officers were as follows:
Sumner T. Bisbee, captain; Thomas H. R. Rollins, first
lieutenant; Emile F. Renaud, second lieutenant.
Of the non-commissioned officers, Victor H. Kelly was
quartermaster sergeant, and the five line sergeants,
in numerical order, were: Thomas C. McCalla, John M.
Collins, Emil W. Ulrich, Albert D. Dunlap and George
H. Armitage. William Eisenhuth was first corporal;
Samuel V. Cox, second; Frank J. Davey, third; John H.
Kerr, fourth; William D. Barr, fifth, and Joseph S.
Collins, sixth. William L. Kirchner served as wagoner,
and George W. Hardin, as artificer.
Privates Ernest H. Anschutz, Harry W. Ballou, Warren
T. Bisbee (promoted corporal), William G. Blood, Hugh
Brennan, Hillhouse Buel, Harry C. Burt, Pearl C.
Campbell, William H. Carpenter, James L. Collins,
Joseph W. Collins, William H. Collins, -Charles F.
Collisson, Michael F. Connelly, James Conners, Stuart
W. Crafts, Edwin Crawford, Ralph Daugherty, Charles H.
Ferguson (promoted corporal), Joseph Filker, James M.
Ford, Joseph K.Foulkes, Joseph P. Garrity, Mark C.
Garver, William Gavin, William F. E. Glewe, Patrick
Griffin, Malachi Griffin, George M. Hamilton, Charles
C. Harr, Frank L. Head, Jacob W. Heintz, William H.
Henneman, Herman H. Hesse, Andrew J. Hickey, Joseph F.
Holden, Samuel W. Hovey, Sebus N. Jacobs, Christ
Jacobson, Benjamin S. Jones, George W. Jones, Alva A.
Kendrick, Charles W. Kerns, Henry M. Kesselring, John
B. Kiel, Charles W. Laehn, Joseph S. Leindecker, John
N. I. Limburg, David C. Lingo, Lloyd S. Lowrie, George
H. McCormick, William H. McDowell, Frank J. Martin,
Joseph N. Martin, William D. Miller, Joseph H.
Morningway, Harmon W. Moss, George W. Nair, Edward G.
O'Brian, Walter E. Phillips, Richard H. Pyles, Preen
Rees, John K. Rickey, Robert S. Robertson, Robert G.
Roche, Charles J. Simmonds, Clyde E. Smales, Simon P.
Smith, John Snider, Joseph A. Sterne, Edward F. Tigue,
Bertram B. Townsend, William M. VanSteenwyk, Pierce R.
Williams, Nick Worth, Jr., Leo C. Zindel.
The commissioned officers of Company F were all from
Fort Madison, viz. : Frederick C. Chambers, captain ;
Herbert W. Davis, first lieutenant; Joseph R. Frailey,
second lieutenant. Edward Prichett was quartermaster
sergeant; Clarence S. Pratt, first sergeant; John L.
Prichett, second; John J. Garner, third; Charles B.
Chambers, fourth; Roy Byers, fifth. The six corporals,
in numerical order, were: James S. Palin, Frank V.
Alden, Charles W. Jones, Harry E. Winters, Edward K.
Morrison and George W. Eddy. Martin J. Buckwar served
as wagoner and Samuel F. Hoftmeister, as
artificer.
Privates Clinton Arnold, Edgar W. Caldwell, Robert
F. Carter, Leroy H. Childs, Fred G. Colton, Hugh C.
Craig, Roscoe A. Ellis, Arthur D. Fletcher, Bert H.
Forney, Frederick H. Frailey (promoted corporal),
George L. Garner, John Gebelein, Charles Hahn, George
Halfman, Hiram E. Hamilton, Charles T. Hollowell,
Thomas P. Hollowell, Louis J. Hugel (promoted
corporal), Charles W. Hunt (promoted corporal),
Raymond R. Jackson, John O. Jones, George J. Koellner,
August E. Krabbe, Charles E. Lightfoot, Charles C.
Martin, John P. Mason, William O. Mitchell, George M.
Moore, George H. Nagel, Benjamin F. Newlon, Oliver J.
Randell, William T. Reeder, Wayne D. Reynolds, Frank
Sieman, Ira L. Smith, Walter G. Smith, Percy A.
Stewart, John S. Troja, William J. Troja, Edward L.
Vogel, Max E. Wagner, Ivey W. Watkins, Harry
Woodmansee, Mark Woodmansee.
On April 26, 1898, John A. Dunlap was commissioned
captain of Company L, and the following privates in
that company were credited to Lee County: Arthur D.
Allison, Guy E. Blakeslee, Philarmon Cook, William J.
Dwyer, Peter Egley, James J. Fallon, Bennett J. Hill,
Oscar Hopson, Frank R. Johnson, Ambrose Kennedy,
Thomas J. Palmer, Frank J. PefTers, George L. Perrigo,
George T. Ribyn, Bennett P. Rulon, William H. Smith,
Carl W. Trott, Ray Wheatley.
The following Lee County men served as privates in the
companies indicated: Joseph M. Finerty, Company E;
Martin G. Holt, Company G; Charles R. Hough, Company
H; James S. Burrows, Company I, and George V. Jenkins,
Company M.
The Fiftieth was mustered into the United States
service at Camp McKinley, Des Moines, May 17, 1898,
with Douglas V. Jackson as colonel. Orders were
received four days later to proceed by rail to Tampa,
Florida, but its destination was changed to
Jacksonville, where it went into camp on the 24th. The
location of the camp was such that a considerable
amount of sickness prevailed and a number died. On the
1st of August the command was moved to higher ground.
Here the Iowa troops were visited on August 9, 1898,
by Governor Shaw and Adjutant-General Byers, who made
an inspection of the camp with a view to bettering the
sanitary conditions. On August 20, 1898, Colonel
Jackson resigned and Lieut. Col. Elliott T. Lambert
was promoted to the command of the regiment. Orders
were received from the war department on September 12,
1898, directing the return of the Fiftieth to Iowa. It
arrived at Des Moines on the 17th, when the men were
given a furlough for thirty days. The furloughs were
subsequently extended ten days, when it became evident
that the war was over and on November 30, 1898, the
men were assembled and mustered out. At the close of
his official report, Colonel Lambert says:
"I desire to take this opportunity again to express my
gratitude to the officers and men of my command for
their many courtesies and the willingness with which
they cooperated with me in all the work for the
betterment of the entire regiment. I can assure you
that no regiment ever entered the service that was
more loyal, energetic, enthusiastic, or more anxious
to demonstrate to the world that they would fight to
the death for the honor of the flag and their
country."
Fifty-First Infantry
So far as shown by the muster rolls of the Iowa troops
in the Spanish-American war, only one Lee County man
was enabled to see service outside of the United
States. That was William J. Miller, who enlisted at
Keokuk, May 5, 1898, as a member of the regimental
band. He was mustered in with the regiment at Des
Moines, May 30, 1898, and about a month later was
transferred to Company E, where he remained as a
private until February 18, 1899, when he was
transferred back to the band and served as musician
until mustered out with the regiment at San Francisco,
California, November 2, 1899.
On June 2, 1898, the regiment, commanded by Col. John
C. Loper, received orders to proceed to San Francisco,
where it remained in camp until November 3, 1898, when
it embarked for Manila, Philippine Islands. While in
service in the Philippines it was engaged at a number
of places, including Culi Culi Church, Calumpit, San
Fernando, Quingua, Pulilan and a number of minor
actions. On September 4, 1899, it was ordered home and
arrived at San Francisco on the 22d of October. There
it was assigned to its old camp at the Presidio, where
it remained until November 2, 1899, when the men were
mustered out and returned to Iowa.
Iowa National Guard
Section i, article 6, of the state constitution of
1857, provides that "The militia of this state shall
be composed of all able-bodied male citizens, between
the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, except such
as are or may hereafter be exempt by the laws of the
United States, or of this state; and shall be armed,
equipped and trained as the general assembly may
provide by law."
Other sections of the same article stipulate that no
person having conscientious scruples against bearing
arms shall be compelled to perform any military duty
in time of peace, and that all commissioned officers
of the militia, except staff officers, shall be
commissioned by the governor of the state.
Under these constitutional provisions, the Legislature
has, from time to time, enacted laws for the
organization and regulation of the state troops. Under
the act of 1902 the Iowa National Guard was. made to
consist of "four regiments of infantry, one signal
company,, and at the discretion of the
commander-in-chief, two batteries of artillery." The
same act provides that all enlistments in the guard
shall be for three years.
In order to encourage the several military companies
of the state, the Legislature of 1907 made provision
for the following payments:. To the commander of each
company, for postage, keeping the records,, etc.,
$100; to the chief musician of each band, $50; to the
inspector of small arms practice, $50, and to each
company showing a full: attendance at weekly drills of
two hours each, $500; the amounts; above named to be
paid in two semi-annual payments.
The four regiments constituting the Iowa National
Guard are numbered to succeed the last regiment
serving in the Spanish-American war, and are
designated the Fifty-second, Fifty-third, Fifty-fourth
and Fifty-fifth. Two companies of the Fifty-fourth
belong in Lee County. This regiment was first
organized as a twelve- company regiment under General
Order No. 8, April 18, 1892. On May 17, 1898, it was
mustered into the United States service as the
Fiftieth Iowa Infantry. It was reorganized on March
20, 1899, and by General Order No. 19, it was changed
to the Fifty-fourth on November 26, 1902. Company A
was made up at Fort Madison and Company L at Keokuk.
Thomas P. Hollowell, of Fort Madison, was commissioned
major of the second battalion on May 10, 1909, and
First Lieut. George L. Hewett, of Company A, was made
battalion adjutant of the same battalion on February
16, 1912. Camps of instruction are held annually. At
the time of the encampment in August, 19 14, the
commissioned officers of Company A were: Roy R.
Kountz, captain; Edward E. Courtright, first
lieutenant; L. H. Danley, second lieutenant. This
company has a well equipped armory and drill room on
the east side of Market Street, between Second and
Third streets, where regular-meetings are held on
Monday evening of each week.
Company L, of Keokuk, has a commodious armory and club
rooms at the corner of Third and Main streets. It is
fitted up with shower baths, drill room, etc. The
officers of this company in August, 1914, were as
follows: Robert T. Richardson, captain; Louis A.
Rovane, first lieutenant; Clarence E. Powell, second
lieutenant. Both the Lee County companies of the
Fifty-fourth Regiment have a full quota of
non-commissioned officers and enlisted men, and are
recognized by the military authorities of the state as
well drilled, well disciplined organizations.
According to the last published report of the
adjutant-general, in 1912 Lee County had 5,052 men
subject to military duty under the provisions of the
constitution. The two regularly organized com- panies
include but a small portion of the entire number, but
if the nation should become involved in war and a call
should be made for volunteers, there is no question
that old Lee's response would be as prompt and
complete as it was at the beginning of the great Civil
war of 1861-65.
Source: History
of
Lee County, Iowa, by Dr. S. W. Moorhead and
Nelson C. Roberts, 1914
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