Adj. Gen. Baker’s Report

A correspondent of the Cincinnati Daily Gazette, writing from Columbus, Ohio, speaks thus of the late report of Adjutant General Baker:

“The Adjutant General of Iowa Makes a valuable Report by publishing the names of all the privates in the Iowa Regiments.  He has printed the muster-rolls, showing the letter of the Company, number of the Regiment, name and age of the solider, place of birth, place of residence and when enlisted.  Is not that just, as well as patriotic?  These are retrenchment times, to be sure, but have not the heroes of the ranks as good a right to immortality in print as the commissioned officers? – In the Ohio Adjutant General’s Report only the names of commissioned officers are recorded.  Should not Ohio do as great honor to its sacrificing soldiers as the young state of Iowa?”

The value of this Report may be also estimated by the eagerness with which it is sought by the people in all parts of the State.  The military affairs of Iowa were in a worse condition than those of any other Free State at the commencement of this war.  The Governor and Adjutant General had to build from the “boots up,” but with the co-operation of the General Assembly and the people they have brought a force into the field which will compare in all honorable respects with the troops of any section of the Union.  A complete history of these military movements may be found in Gen. Baker’s Report and it is a matter of pride to us that the book, is properly appreciated outside, as well inside of the State. – Des Moines Register.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, March 1, 1862, p. 1