Why the war broke out

     Brown's raid at Harper Ferry and the election of Lincoln hastened the outbreak of the Civil War, or, as some prefer to call it, the War between the States. When Lincoln refused to give up the Union forts located in the Southern states, Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, ordered the attack on fort Sumter, a Union fort located in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.

    The firing on Fort Sumter, April 12, 1861, was the beginning of the Civil War, which thus immediately grew out of a dispute as to whether the Union forts in the seceded states should remain property of the Union or be turned over to the Confederacy. More remotely the cause of the Civil War was the controversy over whether slavery should be permitted in the territories of the United States. Seven Southern states had already secede when the bombardment of Fort Sumter was ordered. The fort was captured by the Confederate troops, and Lincoln called upon the governors of the loyal states to furnish 75,000 militia men (volunteers) to put down the rebellion.

Soldiers more plentiful than money

     The militia (now guard) of Iowa is made up of all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 45, but usually there are only a few of them actually organized into squads and companies. Iowa had no organized militia in April, 1861, though the governor, fearing war, had recommended the organization of a few companies. There were, however, some private companies of militia men in Dubuque, Davenport and Burlington, which were know by such....

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....names as, the Wide-Awakes, the Little Giants, the Zouaves, the Blues, and the Grays. They had bright, gaudy uniforms, and their drill were witnessed by throngs of spectators. These play soldiers now had a chance to become real soldiers, and they grasped the opportunity eagerly. Within four days after the firing on Fort Sumter, Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood of Iowa, received the following telegram: "Call made on you tonight's mail for one regiment (about 1,000 men) of militia for immediate service" The governor was then living on a farm near Iowa City. There was a railroad at that time between Davenport and Iowa City, but no telegraph. So the telegram had to be carried by messenger from Davenport to Iowa City. At first Kirkwood doubted that so many troops could be raised, but he soon found out that ten times as many young men were ready to enlist for the defense of the Union. The difficulty then was not to get men, but to get money to buy uniforms and to provide camps for the recruits, until they were accepted by the Union, after which time the expense of keeping the in the field would be borne by the United States.

s Two Iowa Civil War soldiers

    The General Assembly of Iowa voted to borrow $800,000 for war purposes. But it turned out to be a difficult matter for Iowa to obtain this loan, partly because of the opposition of some Democrats, who during the war were called "Copperheads." Only a part of the $8000,000 was actually obtained, and so the States had to depend on patriotic individuals and societies, as well as upon its own treasury, for the means of temporarily equipping the troops.

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Iowa fights

     The president of the United States had asked for one regiment for three months' service. The First Iowa Infantry assembled at Keokuk, and was sent to the battlefront in Missouri, where they fought and won the battle of Wilson's creek. The regiment was mustered out after three months of service, but most of the soldiers enlisted again in other regiments, a large number becoming officers.

    In all, Iowa furnished 48 regiments of infantry, nine regiments of cavalry and four batteries of artillery to the Union armies. The total number of Iowa troops in the Civil War was about 80, 000. One regiment was composed mainly of colored troops. Another was made up of temperance men. None of the soldiers in the Greybeard Regiments were less than 45 years of age. The foreigners in the State formed some special regiments. There were both Irish and German regiments, but they did not include all the German and Irish who enlisted in Iowa; some joined other Iowa regiments. Between 60 and 70 percent of the Iowa troops were young men, not more than 25 years of age. Some were boys, only 14 to 16 years old, and a few were as young as ten. The youngest boys usually served as drummers, orderlies, and cooks. They could not legally enlist without the consent of their parents.

    All of the Iowa troops, except about 4,000 who were drafted and the three months' men of the First Iowa Infantry, enlisted as volunteers for three years' service. Exemption from military duty was granted to conscientious objectors-those whose religion forbade them to bear arms - but they might be required to do work about the camps and hospitals, or pay $300 to be used for sick and wounded soldiers. Drafted men were permitted to hire substitutes.

    Iowa troops fought in many of the battles of the war. They took part in the battles of Shiloh, Jackson, and Chattanooga, helped to take Vicksburg, and marched with Sherman to the Sea. Of all the Iowa soldiers in the war, 2153 were killed, 10,216 died in hospitals from wounds and illness, and about 10,000 were discharged because of illness and bodily injuries received in the service.

The work of the women

     The Iowa women rendered noble service during the war. Not only did they at times take men's places in the field and workshop, but no sooner had the war started than they began to organize to relieve the suffering of the soldiers in the field and the hardships of their....

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....families at home. Soon every town had a Solders' Aid Society. These societies were formed under the direction of Mrs. Annie Wittenmyer. A State Sanitary Commission was formed in 1862. There was some jealousy between the Aid Societies and the State Commission, and finally the latter took charge of most of the relief work. These State groups soon joined forces with similar Federal organizations.

    The Sanitary Commissions collected food, clothing, and hospital supplies for the soldiers. Primarily they looked after the physical needs of the soldiers. State and Federal Christian Commissions provided for their spiritual needs. This was done by visiting the hospitals and camps, distributing Bibles, books, newspapers, delicacies and in general brings good cheer to "the Boys in the Blue."

    Money was obtained for these commissions through gifts, by holding sanitary fairs, and by various other means.

    The people of Iowa felt it their duty to care for the children whose fathers lost their lives in the defense of the Union. The project of a Soldiers' Orphans Home was brought forward at the convention of the Soldiers Aid Societies in 1863. The State was favorable disposed, and a temporary home was opened at Farmington and later permanent homes in Cedar Falls and Davenport. The home in Cedar Falls was closed in 1876, but the one in Davenport is still in operation.

Fear of Indians and border ruffians

     While the state of Iowa was not on the battle front it was, nevertheless, considered necessary to make some special provisions for the protection of the northwestern and southern borders. Bands of Sioux had murdered settlers during the years preceding the Civil War. In the horrible Spirit Lake Massacre, occurring in 1857, 34 or more Iowa settlers had lost their lives. During the Sioux Outbreak in 1862, across the Iowa - Minnesota border, nearly a thousand settlers were brutally killed. Consequently there was a general feeling of insecurity among the people in that part of the State, and a Northern Brigade of about 250 men was formed to protect them against Indian uprisings. Stockades or forts were built at Correctionville, Cherokee, Estherville and Chain Lakes. This proved an effective protection against Indian raids, none of which actually occurred.

    On the southern border there was a fear of "border ruffians." A mounted Southern brigade was therefore organized to police this....

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....border. In a clash between Southern and Northern sympathizers at South English a man named Tally was killed. Other disturbances occurred from time to time in southern Iowa, murders were committed and buildings burned, nothing in comparison with what took place in the states where the battles raged between the Union and Confederate forces.

War debts

     War is the most destructive, most cruel, and the most inhuman of all undertakings of man. It is also the most costly. It would have been much cheaper to have bought all the slaves from the slaveholders than to have gone to war. At the close of the war, the Union had huge war debt of nearly three billion dollars. The State of Iowa spent over $1,000,000 for war purposes between 1861 and 1865, and had a State debt of over $6000,000 at the close of the war. This was not paid until 1883.

Questions and Exercises: How did the Civil War begin? Was it harder for Iowa to get soldiers or money? How many troops did Iowa furnish? How did the women help? What was done to protect the northern and southern borders of Iowa? How big a Federal debt accumulated during the war? How much did Iowa spend for war purposes? Located places named in the chapter.