Executive Office, Iowa,
Iowa City, July 11, 1863.
To the Soldiers of Iowa in the Army of the Tennessee:
You have passed through one of the most memorable campaigns
of history, and are now rewarded for all your toil, privation and suffering by
beholding the foul emblem of treason trailed in the dust to give place to the
glorious banner of Liberty over the city of Vicksburg.
The eyes of the world have been upon you and your brave and
worthy comrades from other States, and admiration of your fortitude, patience
and indomitable bravery, watching the progress of your work as one of those
great events which shapes the destiny of a nation.
You yourselves have probably been unaware of the momentous
results consequent upon your failure or success. Despots the world over have
earnestly desired the former, while the good, the generous and the nobly brave
have prayed Almighty God to give you the victory. But while the world has been
thus observant of you, all lovers of liberty in Iowa have beheld with an
intensity of gaze and admiration unknown to others the deeds of her valiant
sons. Many thousands of her citizens are bound to you by kindred ties, while
every one has felt that the name and standing of this State were in your hands,
and that he was honored in your honor, and that he shared in your glory.
The brightest hope of all is realized. You have not only
maintained the lofty reputation of your country and your State, but have added
greatly thereto, and shown the world that whoever insults the flag of our
beloved country must meet the bravest of the brave.
The State of Iowa is proud of your achievements and renders
you her homage and gratitude, and with exultant heart and exuberant joy claims
you as her sons. Her tears flow for the brave men fallen, and her sympathies
are warm for the sick, wounded and suffering.
You have made it a high privilege to be a citizen of Iowa to
share your renown, and it will be a proud remembrance to you while life shall
last and a rich legacy to your children that you were members of the Army of
the Tennessee.
Samuel J. Kirkwood.
SOURCE: Henry Warren Lathrop, The Life and Times of
Samuel J. Kirkwood, Iowa's War Governor, p. 243-4
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