Major Schaeffer . . .

. . . of the glorious Iowa First, and latterly of the Curtis Horse, was buried with military honors at Dubuque on Thursday last.  In Tennessee, on the 5th inst., his men were fallen upon by the enemy ten times their number, Major S. was surrounded by six or eight rebel officers and ordered to surrender – having lost his saber and exhausted his revolver – which refusing to do, he was shot down.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 26, 1862, p. 1

The Jones Family

One would naturally suppose that Geo. W. Jones, after his arrest for treasonable correspondence with the arch traitor Jeff. Davis and incarceration at Fort Lafayette and release only on taking the oath of allegiance to support the Government and the capture of his son in arms against the Government at Fort Donelson, would not have the temerity to show his face to the people of Iowa, let alone traveling among them and trying to reorganize the Democratic Party.  But the brazen impudence of the man is only exceeded by the fact that loyal Iowa should contain enough disloyalists to give a show of success to his efforts.  Another item has leaked out to show the treason of the Jones family.  A Shiloh correspondent of the N. Y Times, who was in the battle at Wilson’s Creek, picked up a letter from another son of the notorious George W., introducing to a Captain in the rebel army a citizen of Dubuque, who wished to fight against his Government.  But the letter and extract will explain the matter, and show the traitor propensities of the family:

In roaming about the woods I found a well worn letter, whose contents may prove of interest.  It is dated:

DUBUQUE, Iowa, July 1, 1861.

DEAR HUNTER: By this I introduce to you my friend, Daniel O. C. Quigly, of this town, and bespeak your kindness and attention toward him.  I believe he will prove himself worthy of your friendship.  With every wish for your prosperity and happiness, your friend.

CHARLES D. JONES.

To Captain S. E. Hunter, Hunter’s Rifles,

Clinton, Louisiana.

The particularities of this document consist in the fact that the writer is a son of Gen. Geo. W. Jones, of Dubuque, (late Minister to Bogota, Fort Lafayette, &c.,) and a brother of the Lieut. Jones who was bagged at Fort Henry.  The Quigly spoken of, is a son of a prominent citizen of Dubuque, and one who, soon after the war commenced, bolted to the South and offered his services to the scoundrels who are trying to break up this government.  I offer the letter for publication from the fact that the writer now lives in Dubuque, and pretends, as he ever has pretended since the war began, to be loyal.  How far such loyalty will be tolerated by a Government whose burdens are already heavy enough, should be tested.  The letter was given, and for a treasonable purpose, at a time when the gallant Lyon was struggling against the traitorous uprisings in Missouri – at a time when hundreds of Jones’ townsmen in the First Iowa, were toiling and suffering beneath the burning sun of Missouri, inspired only by motives of patriotism, by a wish to preserve intact their beloved Constitution – it was at such a time that Jones chose to perpetrate his treason and assist in the work of breaking up the Government.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, May 21, 1862, p. 2

See Also:

• The Jones Family of Dubuque, Iowa

The Gallant Iowans

Iowa is a young State, but it is the home of heroes.  With the present war she has begun a war history that yields in splendor and honor to that of no State in the Union, and no country on the globe.  Her soil is the birthplace of a new chivalry, and he has become the mother of a new race of heroes.  Her soldiers are as modest as they are brave.  They are not fierce braggarts.  They are as gentle and tractable as children.

But when the storm of blood begins they are the guiding and governing heroes of the tempest.  Where the harvest of death is to be reaped, they are the foremost of the reapers.  Where a perilous assault is to be made, somehow or other there is always an Iowa regiment, or the wasted shadow of and Iowa regiment, to lead it.  It was so at Wilson’s creek; it was so at Belmont; it was show at Fort Donelson; it was so at Shiloh; it will ever be so throughout the war.

All our Western troops have been heroes, but the Iowa troops have been heroes among heroes.  The “Iowa First,” “Iowa Second,” “Iowa Fourth,” and “Iowa Seventh,” are bodies of men who would have given an additional luster even to Thermopylae, Marathon, Austerlitz, or Wagram, and all Americans may be proud of Iowa. – St. Louis News.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Friday Morning, May 2, 1862, p. 2

Jason D. Ferguson

Jason D. [Ferguson] gave up his life for his country in the battle of Shiloh, April 7, 1862, being then twenty-two years of age. He enlisted for three months in the First Iowa Volunteer Infantry, while attending school at Mount Vernon, and after the expiration of that period reenlisted in the Twelfth Iowa Infantry, at Cedar Rapids, and was made first lieutenant of Company D.  The Grand Army Post at Nevada is named in his honor. He was the first man from Story county to be killed in battle.

SOURCE: William Orson Payne, History of Story County, Iowa, Volume 2, p. 393, abstracted from the biographical sketch of his brother, Hiram F. Ferguson.

Col. Asbury B. Porter

PORTER, ASBURY B., COL., retired; born in Bourbon Co., Ky., June 20, 1808; when 21 years of age, his father died, leaving a wife and nine children; Asbury being the oldest, upon him devolved the care of the family; they removed to Illinois and located in Vermilion Co.; while living here, he became acquainted with Miss Martha A. Brazleton, a native of North Carolina; she came to Illinois at an early age, and they were married Jan. 18, 1835; the same year Col. Porter came to Iowa and bought land in Henry Co., raised a crop and went back to Illinois for his family, they arrived here in October, 1836, and were among the earliest settlers; there being only a few now living in the county who were here at that time. He was elected Clerk of the Courts in 1847; reelected to the same office in 1849; was elected and represented this county in the Territorial Legislature; was re-elected and served for three terms; was engaged in the mercantile business for twenty years; was Captain of a military company — “The Mt. Pleasant Grays” — and when the war broke out, at the first call for 75,000 men, this company enlisted in the three-months service, and Capt. Porter went with them to Keokuk; while there, was elected Major of 1st Regt., Iowa V. I., the only Iowa regiment that answered the first call for 75,000 men; when the term of service for which they enlisted had expired, there was a prospect of a battle, and Gen. Lyon requested the regiment to remain; a vote of the regiment was taken and they unanimously decided to stay, and did remain until after the battle of Wilson Creek was fought; about one week before the battle, Gen. Lyon wrote the Secretary of War, recommending Maj. Porter for promotion to the rank of Major in the regular army, and requesting that he be assigned to duty under him; but he preferred to remain in the volunteer service; upon the expiration of the three-months service, he received authority from the Secretary of War to raise the 4th Regt. Iowa Cav.; was commissioned Colonel; he was also authorized by the Secretary of War to select, inspect and buy the horses for the regiment without restrictions; the only instance known where this privilege was given the Colonel of any regiment during the war; Col. Porter selected and inspected every horse; the regiment was composed of battalions of horses of matched colors, and left for the field twelve hundred strong, and was with Gen. Curtis in Missouri and Arkansas; Col. Porter was obliged to resign his commission in 1863, on account of his eyesight. After the war, he held the office of Revenue Inspector in this Congressional District. They have seven children — Watson B., with the C, B. & Q. R. R.; Emily D., now Mrs. Dr. McClure; Louzenia W., now Mrs. Capt. Beckwith; Sadie E., at home; Frank P., contractor on the C, B. & Q. R. R.; Jennie C., now Mrs. Bean, of Albia; Asbury B., civil engineer on the C, B. & Q. R. R.; lost one son — Samuel A.

SOURCE: Western Historical Company, Chicago, Illinois, The History of Henry County, Iowa, 1879, p. 578

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Col. Porter’s grandson, Warren Wallace Beckwith, married Jessie Harlan Lincoln, granddaughter of President Abraham Lincoln.

Asbury B. Porter

ASBURY B. PORTER was born in the State of Kentucky, in the year 1808. He removed to Iowa, making his home at Mount Pleasant where he was engaged in the mercantile business when the Civil War began. He first entered the service as major of the First Iowa Infantry, serving with distinguished ability at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. In October, 1861, he was appointed colonel of the Fourth Iowa Cavalry and served until the 8th of March when he was dismissed from the service by order of the President. The cause of his dismissal is not given in the published reports of the Adjutant General’s Office.

SOURCE: Benjamin F. Gue, History of Iowa, Volume 4: Iowa Biography, p. 214

Bullet Extracted

Dr. Asa Horr performed an important surgical operation upon Mr. John Bell, Thursday evening, extracting a Minie ball which he received the 10th day of last August at the bloody battle of Wilson’s Creek.  The surgeon at that time did not succeed in finding the ball when he probed the wound, consequently imagined it was not in there.  The wounded, however, refused to heal, and at last a hard lump was discovered deep in his groin.  This proved to be the bullet, which the surgeon has just so successfully removed.

John was left in the hospital at Springfield after the battle, but he followed our retreating forces two miles, under the impression he would have to take an oath not to bear arms against the Confederates, if he fell into their hands.  He preferred to die rather than to take such an oath. – {Dubuque Times.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, February 8, 1862, p. 2

Military Items

We have learned at the Adjutant General’s Office, that 14 men of the 4th Iowa Regiment wounded at Pea Ridge, have died since the battle.  Names not yet returned to the Adjutant General’s Office.  A list will soon be forwarded which will appear in the monthly return. – The Adjutant General has received the monthly returns of the 4th up to March 1st, and a list of casualties at Pea Ridge in said regiment.

Capt. Granville Berkley of Company F, 2d Iowa Cavalry, was mustered out of the service on March 29th.

Fifty-eight men of the 4th Infantry on furlough have been ordered to join their regiment at once.

Samuel M. Wise, a Captain in the Iowa 1st Infantry, has been commissioned Major of the 17th Regiment, Col. Rankin. – {Des Moines Register.

– Published in the Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, April 12, 1862, p. 4

Official Reports of the Battle of Shiloh: No. 85. Col. Hugh T. Reid, 15th Iowa Infantry

No. 85.

Report of Col. Hugh T. Reid, Fifteenth Iowa Infantry.

I have the honor to report that the Fifteenth Regiment of Iowa Volunteer Infantry from Benton Barracks arrived at Pittsburg on Sunday morning, with orders from General Grant’s headquarters to report to General Prentiss. Finding that his headquarters were some 4 miles from the Landing, I proceeded at once to report to him in person, and found a heavy fire of artillery and musketry already commenced along the lines. Orders were received from his aide to bring up my command as soon as possible, and I returned to the river for that purpose. The regiment was rapidly disembarked, ammunition distributed, and the men for the first time loaded their guns. We then marched to the heights in rear of the Landing, and formed in line of battle preparatory to an advance, our right resting on the road leading from the Landing to the field. At this time an order was received from a member of General Grant’s staff directing me to hold the position upon which we had formed, and to post such other troops as could be found about the Landing on the right of the road, extending to the bluff of the creek, emptying into the river below the Landing, in order to prevent the enemy from flanking it through the valley of this creek, and also to prevent all stragglers from returning from the battle-field to the Landing, and to hold ourselves as a reserve. The regiment was then advanced across the road to the right, so as to stop the progress of the multitudes returning from the battle-field, which could only be done by threatening to shoot them down. Some of them were induced by threats and persuasions to fall into line, but most of them had the Bull Run story, that their regiments were all cut to pieces, and that they were the only survivors, and nothing could be done with them but to stop their progress. Captain Benton [Bouton] placed his battery on our right, commanding the road leading from the battlefield to the river and also commanding the ravines to our right and left. Colonel Chambers, of the Sixteenth Iowa, formed his regiment on the right of Benton's [Bouton's] battery, resting the right of his regiment on the bluff' of the creek above mentioned. In this position we remained for about an hour, when an order was received from the engineer of General McClernand’s staff, by order, as he said, of General Grant, for the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Iowa to advance some 2 miles to the support of General McClernand’s division, on the extreme right of our lines. The advance was made, the Fifteenth leading, supported by the Sixteenth. We were led by the staff' officer of General McClernand first to the right, across a deep ravine and through thick underbrush, in a direction directly from the firing; then one of General Grant’s staff came up and said a wrong order must have been given us, in which opinion the undersigned fully concurred, and after consultation of the two staff officers the head of our column was turned to the left, and we marched in search of General McClernand’s division, his staff officer showing us the way. The road as we marched was filled with retreating artillery, flying cavalry, straggling infantry, and the wounded returning from the field. We reached an open field in front of the enemy, who were concealed in a dense wood and among tents, from which other regiments had been driven earlier in the day. Through this field the two regiments marched under a heavy fire from the enemy's artillery, and took position, by direction of General McClernand, near the tents. A regiment, said to be from Ohio, was on the field when we arrived, or came on soon after, and took position on the extreme right of the Sixteenth. The Fifteenth, which occupied the left, advanced upon the enemy and drove a part of them from their concealments among the tents and planted our colors in their midst, while the whole left wing of the regiment advanced under a murderous fire of shot and shell from the enemy's artillery and an incessant fire from the musketry. Our flag-staff was shot through and our colors riddled with bullets. For two hours from 10 to 12 o’clock, we maintained our position, our men fighting like veterans. The undersigned was severely wounded by a musket-ball through the neck, which knocked him from his horse, paralyzed for the time, but, recovering in a short time, remounted and continued in command throughout the fight. Fifteen of the 32 commissioned officers who went on the field had been killed, wounded, or taken prisoners; 22 officers and men had been killed, and 156 wounded. The Ohio regiment had left the field. The enemy were attempting to outflank us on the right and left. We were unsupported by artillery or any other regiment except the gallant Sixteenth, which had also suffered severely. It became necessary for the two regiments to retreat or run the risk of being captured, and by order of General McClernand the retreat was made. Portions of the regiments rallied, and fought with other divisions later in the day and on Monday.

Where nearly all fought with bravery it might seem invidious to particularize, but I hope to do no one injustice by specially pointing out those whose personal valor during the action came under my notice. Lieutenant-Colonel Dewey had his horse shot under him. Major Belknap was always in the right place at the right time, directing and encouraging officers and men as coolly as a veteran. He was wounded but not disabled and had his horse shot under him, but remained on the field performing his duty on foot. Adjutant Pomutz distinguished himself during the action for his coolness and courage. He, too, was wounded. Captains Kittle, of Company A; Smith, of Company B; Seevers, of Company C; Madison, of Company D; Hutchcraft, of Company E; Cunningham, of Company G; Day, of Company I; Hedrick, of Company K, who was captured in a charge upon the enemy, all distinguished themselves for their gallantry and courage in leading forward and encouraging their men. Captain Blackmar, of Company F, was wounded in the action and disabled. First Lieutenant Goode, of same company, also wounded. Captain Clark, of Company H, was not in the engagement, having been left sick in the hospital at Saint Louis. Captains Hutchcraft and Day were both severely wounded. Second Lieutenant Penniman, of Company A, and Hamilton, of Company I, were killed whilst bravely performing their duty. First Lieutenant King and Second Lieutenant Danielson, of Company H, were both severely wounded while acting well their part, thus leaving the company without a commissioned officer. First Lieutenants Studer, of Company B; Porter, of Company D; Craig, of Company E; Hanks, of Company G; J. Monroe Reid, of Company I, who, though wounded himself, continued in command of the company after the captain was disabled and the second lieutenant killed, and Eldredge, of Company K, all deserve special praise for the manner in which they conducted themselves on the field. Second Lieutenants Lanstrum, of Company B; Brown, of Company E; Second Lieutenant Herbert, of Company C, and Sergeant-Major Brown, who was severely wounded, conducted themselves well on the field. The non-commissioned officers generally were at their posts and performed their duty. The color-sergeant, Newton J. Rogers, who fought in the First Iowa at Springfield, gallantly bore our standard forward and planted it among the enemy, where it was bravely maintained and defended by portions of Company C, Company E, Company I, and Company K.

It must be remembered that this regiment had just received its arms, and that the men had never had an opportunity of learning the use of them until they came on the battle-field; that they had just landed and were attached to no brigade, and fought the enemy without the support of artillery in a position from which more experienced troops had been compelled to retire. The enemy, too, against whom we fought, the Twenty-second Tennessee and two Louisiana regiments, are understood to be among their best troops.

We have no means of learning the loss of the enemy in this engagement except from what they told some of our wounded men who were taken prisoners by them and left behind the next day, when the enemy made their final retreat, but from this source we learned that they had 40 men killed in the immediate vicinity of our colors and a large number wounded.

While we mourn our comrades in arms the gallant dead whose lives were sacrificed on the altar of their country, we are solaced with the belief that a grateful people will in after times pay a proper tribute to their memory.

To Quartermaster Higley great credit is due for the masterly manner in which he performed the arduous duties of his office on the field and elsewhere during the fight, and after it was over in providing for the comforts of the wounded and protecting the property of the regiment. To our surgeon, Dr. Davis, we are under great obligations for his energy and skill in the performance of the numerous operations rendered necessary. Assistant Surgeon Gibbon also performed valuable service in the midst of great danger on the battle-field in attending the wounded there and having them carried to our temporary hospital on board of the steamer Minnehaha. The chaplain, the Rev. W. W. Estabrook, too, for the time laid aside his sacred office and resumed the use of the surgeon’s scalpel with great success, and the wounded of numerous regiments besides our own shared in the skill of our medical staff.

Attached hereto will be found a list of the killed, wounded, and missing, making a total loss of 186.­*

H. T. REID,

 Colonel,  Commanding Fifteenth Iowa.

 ASST. ADJT. GEN. FIRST DIV., ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE,

Commanded by General McClernand.

__________

*See revised statement, p. 105.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume X (Serial No. 10), Part I, pages 288-90

Theobald Klein

THEOBALD KLEIN, deceased, was a native of Bavaria, Germany, born February 22, 1840, a son of Theobald Klein, who is also deceased. Our subject was reared and educated in his native country, remaining there till reaching maturity. When a young man he immigrated to America, and first settled in Des Moines County, Iowa, where he made his home for a number of years. He was united in marriage May 14, 1868, to Miss Mary C. Stifel, she being a daughter of Jacob Stifel of Burlington, Iowa. Of the seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Klein five are living – Jacob, Annie, Minnie M., Emma C. and Kate C.  Mr. Klein was a cooper by trade which vocation he followed the greater part of his life. He became a resident of Clarke County, Iowa, in the Spring of 1876 when he located on section 4, Madison Township, living there till his death which occurred November 28, 1884. He was a kind and affectionate husband and father, and a good citizen and neighbor, and during his residence in the county won the respect of all who knew him by his honest and upright dealings with his fellow citizens. May 14, 1861, Mr. Klein enlisted in Company D, First Iowa Infantry, and served three months. December 14, 1863, he enlisted in Company K, Second Iowa Cavalry and served until the regiment was mustered out June 7, 1865. He was taken prisoner December 17, 1864, at the battle of Franklin, Tennesse, and was held captive until exchanged at the close of the war.

SOURCE: Biographical and Historical Record of Clarke County, Iowa, Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1886 p. 439-40

The public ear is again stunned with . . .

. . . the noise and clamor of the base northern politicians who went out of office one year ago with Mr. Buchanan, execrated in every loyal quarter as among the guilty authors of the civil war and rebellion.  They then were pleasant comforters who consoled us, as did Job’s friends.  They said States had no right to secede, but having seceded we had no right to COERCE them!  They exhorted our troops that the President had no right to call out the militia – that the militia could not be taken out of the State – that none but Back Republicans should enlist – that they had made the war and must fight it out.  And then they stood upon the street corners, when our brave boys marched towards Dixie – when the 1^st Iowa marched from Burlington – and openly proclaimed their ardent wish that every man who crossed the line might be killed!  They openly rejoiced over the murder of Ellsworth and the death of Lyon and felt exceedingly happy at Bull Run.

Time has taught these treacherous mercenary scoundrels caution, but has made then no better.  They are the same false, heartless brawling villains who have for years earned their bread by swearing black was white, virtue vice, truth falsehood.  Now they throw up their hats and utter a deal of stinking breath in huzzas over Federal victories and Rebel defeats.  They have quit sniveling over “our misguided Southern brethren.”  They tell us no more about the chivalry being unconquerable.  Their programme now is to blacken every man in the Cabinet, in Congress, in the field, whether Democrat or Republican, who is laboring effectively to put down the Rebellion.  They are howling “Abolitionist,” “Abolitionist” – the old cry – with the pertinacity of famished wolves.  They are looking for a restoration of the old pro-slavery rule of Davis, Mason, Hunter, Rhett and other worthies to their imperial sway at Washington.  They desire a reconstruction of the Union, the loyal States paying all the expenses of the war and restoring the broken scepter to King Cotton.  They are looking forward to a restoration of the “good time” when northern doughfaces shall again feed upon the bounty of Southern nigger drivers and the life of no man opposed to slaver and slavery extension be safe at the National Capital.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, March 8, 1862, p. 1

Theodore G. Weeks & Nathan W. Doty

Were the first of this company [Co. D, 2nd Iowa Infantry] to fall in battle. In the charge at Donelson the Second Iowa was led by as brave a man as ever led soldiers into battle, and braver soldiers never followed a leader. Mills says, in a letter written to his brother in Des Moines shortly after the battle : —

"Colonel Tuttle loomed up tall in front, waving his sword and stepping firmly and proudly. Men were seen dropping out of the ranks killed and wounded. Theodore G. Weeks, the ardent fellow, was killed by a ball in his head when he got to the inside of the earthworks. The line was there reformed, and we fired awhile at the retreating rebels. We then advanced to the main entrenchments. Here the fight was desperate and we lost many good men Sergeant Nathan W. Doty, who had won a great many friends in the regiment by his intelligence and amiability, was killed near by me."

When the remains of Weeks and Doty were brought home they were buried with most imposing ceremonies. The Mayor and City Council of Des Moines took charge of the solemn exercises. All the business houses of the city were closed, and business was suspended from 11 A. M. to 3 P. M., and both Houses of the General Assembly, then in session, adjourned in honor of the occasion; and the members, accompanied by the Governor of the State and his staff, and the United States and State officers, and the officers of both Houses, attended the funeral in a body, and with the lodges of Freemasons and Odd Fellows and Good Templars, and the military, and the largest concourse of citizens ever assembled in Des Moines, listened to the eloquent eulogy pronounced by Hon. D. O. Finch, in honor of the dead.

To show the interest that was then felt in the martyred soldiers, and the honor then thought not unworthily bestowed upon them, I will here present an account of the entire proceedings of that day, commencing with a complete programme of the exercises, premising that, if these two noble, generous, and patriotic youths who gave their lives a willing sacrifice — the first offered of the residents of this community — merited, as they certainly did, these solemn honors, should not the 280 martyrs from this city and county also receive from our hands some handsome mark of our appreciation of their services and sacrifices?

HONOR TO THE BRAVE.

The funeral of Nathan W. Doty, and Theodore G. Weeks, members of Company D, 2d Iowa Regiment, who were killed at the battle of Fort Donelson, will take place at Ingham's Hall, Tuesday, March 11,1862, 12 o'clock M.

ORDER OF EXERCISES.

Voluntary

By the Choir

"Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden,

And I will give you rest — I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn of me;

For I am meek and lowly of heart,

An ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

His yoke is easy and his burden is light.”

Prayer	By Rev. Thompson Bird
Reading	By Rev. Edward W. Peet
	XVth Chapter Of Corinthians
Voluntary	By the Choir

"As for man his days are as the grass; his days are as the grass;

As a flower of the field so he flourisheth; so he flourisheth;

For the wind passeth over it and it is gone; it is gone;

And the place thereof shall know it no more, shall know it no more."

Funeral Oration	By D. O. Finch
Prayer	By Rev. J. M. Chamberlain
Voluntary	By the Choir
	"Unveil thy bosom, faithful tomb; Take this new treasure to thy trust, And give these sacred relics room To slumber in the silent dust; And give these sacred relics room To slumber in the silent dust. "Nor pain, nor grief, nor anxious fear Invade thy bound — no mortal woes Can reach the peaceful sleeper here, While angels watch his soft repose. "Break from his throne illustrious morn! Attend, O earth! his sovereign word; Restore thy trust — a glorious form Shall then arise to meet the Lord; Restore thy trust — a glorious form Shall then arise and meet the Lord."

Chief Marshal J. N. Dewey will form the procession.

Assistant Marshal.	CHIEF MARSHAL.	Assistant Marshal.
	BRASS BAND.
	MILITARY ESCORT.
	PALL BEARERS – CITIZENS.
Body Guard,		Body Guard,
Soldiers	HEARSE.	Soldiers
of Second Iowa.		of Second Iowa.
	MOURNERS.
	ASSISTANT MARSHAL.
	CLERGY AND ORATOR.
	GOVERNOR AND STAFF.
	ASSISTANT MARSHAL.
	LIEUTENANT – GOVERNOR AND SPEAKER OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
	OFFICERS OF UNITED STATES AND STATE OFFICERS.
	MILITARY COMMITTEES OF SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
	MEMBERS OF LEGISLATURE.
	MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF DES MOINES.
	ASSISTANT MARSHAL
	STRANGERS.
	MASONS.
	ODD FELLOWS.
	GOOD TEMPLARS.
	CITIZENS ON FOOT.
	ASSISTANT MARSHAL.
	CITIZENS IN CARRIAGES.
	CITIZENS ON HORSEBACK.
	ASSISTANT MARSHAL.

ORATION.

"There is that in the holy solemnity of the occasion which has called us together, which renders any near approach by me to the expectations which the subject would naturally inspire, a moral impossibility.

"The mere contemplation of death, upon the basis of theory alone, is attended with such manifold evidences of a dreadful something, that it causes a tremor to creep over the frame of old and young, rich and poor, Christian and infidel. We read the heart-rending details of the distant battle-field, of pools of brains and streamlets of blood, and an increased horror fills our souls, the cold sweat stands from the brow, and untold agonies centre round the heart. But alas! when we enter the chamber of death itself, and behold in the cold forms of dear friends now dead, living evidences by which conceptions are converted into realities — what language can express, what tongue can speak the intensity of anguish which fills our souls! We would all, dictated by nature, fetter the tongue, drop the pen, and let the heart speak in its own deep and impressive language, the silent but potent tear, as it glitters at the outlet of its unsearchable caverns.

"A few months since, these two noble specimens of enlightened humanity were among us. Health was emblemized by their ruddy cheeks, mirth beamed in their eyes, jollity danced on their lips; and each exterior emblem was a talisman of the social virtues and honest purpose which drew around them, when living, the host of friends who now attest their due appreciation of their merit by performing these last sad duties to their tenantless clay. That they were good boys, we knew; that they were worthy the respect of the society in which they moved, none doubted then, and none doubt now. And yet how little did we know of them then!

''When, on the wings of the lightning, sad messages were borne to us that combinations and conspiracies were forming for the purpose of destroying this fair fabric of government, the mourning which only mantles the hero's brow, decked not less theirs than that of the veteran. And when at last the long-dreaded period arrived when our flag, hitherto respected by the world, was insulted in the home of its birth; when, within sound of the last resting-place of Marion and of Sumter, it was wantonly and maliciously assailed; when, as it were, the reverberations of the foulmouthed cannon whose missiles had rent the emblem of our nationality, struck the ears of Weeks and Doty, it affected them as it did all true patriots. The smile gave way to the frown, the merry song gave place to the justifiable oath, and they were among the first to place their lives subject to the order of the government.

"No nobler men have engaged in the holy cause of our country than the company of the Second Iowa Regiment of which those we now mourn were members; and I think I may say, without disparagement to any member of that company, that those we mourn would compare favorably with any of their companions.

"We know not ourselves, and very little indeed do we know of those around us, until by the application of immutable tests, we become enlightened as to both. We cull glittering sands with joy, but we turn with disgust from the dross left in the crucible. We tread daily upon jewels because they chance not to sparkle as we pass. We live near neighbor to the great and do not know it; we court and praise cowards in our daily intercourse with the world and know it not.

"How fortunate indeed are they who have bequeathed to friends a name, a character of which there can be no doubt, which has passed through the furnace of severest trial, and been left a spotless legacy to his race. Such are the characters our friends have bequeathed, not alone to those in whose veins circulate the same blood, but to us all. We all claim a share in the rich legacy to which, by their unwritten and unspoken will, we are justly entitled. Their will was their blood, and it was shed for the country, and as loyal citizens of it, no surrogate can by edict deprive us of our rightful inheritance.

"The memory of the departure from our city of that noble band, will not soon be effaced from the minds of our people. How the heart almost choked the 'God speed' in the throat of the fond father. How the tear-dimmed eye of the doting mother spoke the gentle 'good-by.' How endless seemed the sister's fond embrace when, breaking from the joys of home, the endearments of congenial companionship, and all the ties that cement the soul to familiar scenes, they left our midst to mingle in carnage and in blood. What noble emotions must have struggled in their bosoms for mastery over the selfish inclinations of human nature, and how grand indeed the bloodless victory, evidenced by the baring of their youthful breasts to the bayonets of the traitors, that the godlike principle of self-government might yet survive the most gigantic rebellion ever inaugurated by human ingenuity or urged to success by human power.

"Influenced not alone by the enthusiasm of the moment, these young men, possessed of intelligence and forethought, entered upon the arduous struggle before them with full conviction of the high duty which beckoned them from the unruffled bosom of civil life to the more hazardous field of war. It was after a calm deliberation upon the momentous issues involved in the fearful contest, and beholding as they did but one right and one wrong, fidelity upon the one side to the cardinal principles of free government, and upon the other the most accursed treason against not only the letter of constitutional law, but against the spirit, aye, the vital spirit of our institutions, they chose as only true men can choose, buckled on the armor of the soldier, and exposed themselves to the chances of war. While we all accord credit, but few, if any, who have not themselves experienced, can truly comprehend the magnitude of that great moral victory fought on the battle-field of the soul.

"Upon the one side are hung out as inducements to the young mind, all the allurements of comparative ease, the elegancies, the luxuries in many cases, and in all, the indescribable pleasures and comforts of home, the companionship of parents, brothers, and sisters, and not unfrequently, that of souls wedded by spiritual ties not weaker in their claims and more irresistible in their effects; and upon the other, a deadly conflict, to enter which, by all past experience, the mind as well as the body is wholly untutored. Fatigue, labor, and total absence of bodily comfort or mental recreation, encounter them at every step; and last, but not least, the grim monster, Death, stalks boldly into their midst. He comes not to the brow when moistened by the tears of love. He comes not to the well attended sick bed, where half his terrors are shorn by seraph voices, and ministering angels whisper the soul to kindlier regions, but he comes with stolid step, and with unassuaged pestilence; he treads the funeral bier with iron heel, and drives the unwilling soul into the immediate presence of God who gave it. When we fully contemplate the inducements on the one side, and the seeming terrors on the other, how can we find language to express our admiration of that patriotism which enables the youth to forego all the pleasures of the one, and willingly yoke himself to all the perils of the other.

"Your hearts speak the eulogy which lips cannot utter, and the tear only — the angel's pen, can translate the soul.

"We witnessed their departure, and now we welcome the return of the clay which then enveloped their noble souls. But who shall truly write of the intervening time? Who paint the joys, the woes? Who follow with the pen their weary limbs in the midnight march? Who tell the thoughts which occupied the mind of the lonely sentinel, as for long and tedious hours he paced his accustomed beat with no witness to his fidelity but God and the stars? Who conceive the dreams of home, of friends, of victory, of honor, which have sometimes tortured, sometimes consoled their frozen couch? And where the pen that can truly paint the glow of laudable pride, when they have gazed upon the bright stars of a vindicated flag? Such tasks, I have not the presumption to undertake; but the record which in their humble way they have impressed upon the historic page, warrants me in saying that they were incapable of any neglect of the responsibilities which attached to their position.

"Exposed to all the changes of season, to the miasmas of the low lands, and the cutting breezes of the mountain, to contagions, and diseases of the most dangerous and the most disgusting nature, without a murmur they performed their duties in the tedious campaign which resulted in redeeming our neighboring State from the pestilential breath of secession. The contagions which affected the body entered not the pure atmosphere of the soul. Warded off by a devotion as patriotic as it was deep, bodily ills were made to yield to spiritual determination, and they were called to a field of more arduous, more hazardous duty, and to a service of more intense importance to our cause and our country; and in this new sphere the already signaled valor of the Hawkeye soldier became a fully solved problem, and its result is recorded in the history of the most tempestuous days of our Republic. At Wilson's Creek, the Iowa First had demonstrated that the Iowa soldier was not a soldier for fun. They remained by the gallant Lyon, when by all law and by all obligation of contract, they could have returned to their homes and their friends. They were patriots. Love of country, and the highest sense of honor, prompted them to remain. To what purpose, you all know. They led one of the most gallant charges, and covered one of the most brilliant retreats of which the military history of the world can boast.

"The gallant Iowa Seventh at Belmont added another wreath to the brow of the Iowa soldier. For miles, over hill and dale, through woodland and swamp, they fought their way to the goal of their hope, and on their weary return cut their pathway of death through fresh foes. Their gallant dead have a choice niche in our memory, and the surviving brave are among the dearest objects of our individual and our State pride; but by mandates of fortune, it was reserved for the Iowa Second to crown the wreath.

"Fort Henry had yielded to the patriot band, — but Donelson frowned with her huge breastworks, her hundred eyes with leaden balls, her rifle-pits and loud-mouthed batteries, upon Freedom's advancing host. This was the barricade to the land of Jackson, where those who had inherited the true spirit of his noble words and more noble example, were waiting deliverance from a worse than Egyptian bondage. This must be overcome. Sage commanders so ordered. The six starred flag floating from the bulwark, and flaunting a falsehood to every breath of American air that bent its uncomely stripes, appealed not in vain to determined hearts. The siege was laid. For three long days was waged a bloody warfare against advantage. So thick were strewn the dead and dying that the very earth might have been deemed the mother of misery and the generator of death. On the afternoon of the third day, victory or a failure hung upon the result of one mighty effort. The breastworks must be stormed and the intrenchments gained. Where could attention with more propriety be turned? Where could confidence more implicitly rest at this critical and trying moment, than upon the well-drilled delegates of that State, whose representatives had never failed upon any battle-field to prove themselves fully equal to the great exigencies of the most important occasions.

"The Iowa Second were ordered to the front — the object of intensest desire pointed out. In the concentrated intensity of the hour, was centered the hopes of millions. The scale of destiny was balanced for the moment. To falter was to dishonor for the time, perhaps forever, the flag and the cause; one quivering nerve might unnerve the whole; one faltering voice, one tremulous accent might shatter hope; but fear not. With an alacrity unexcelled save by the undaunted courage which beamed in every eye and sat firmly on each determined feature, they sprang to the post of honor and of danger. With fixed bayonet, with rapid, yet regular tread, they bent themselves to the mighty work, on, up the rugged hill-side, over rock and fallen tree, over dead and dying, amid the buzzing cloud of death's leaden messengers, still on they go. Many pause, but only at the order of Deity; but those spared this invitation to himself, still press forward; the point is won; the breastworks are mounted; the intrenchments are gained; the enemy is forced to retire; peal upon peal of enthusiastic joy roll out upon the evening air; the exultations of victory are heard by Weeks and Doty, and the shouts of triumph inspire the last emotions of their souls, as, just inside the intrenchments of the enemy, they sink to the sleep of the brave dead. From the heat of this deadly charge their souls took flight to the bosom of a God who invites to his mansion the souls of the virtuous and the brave. What a death! Who would not release his claim to the last two thirds of the allotted period of life, thus to live, and thus to die? These young men, one not yet having arrived at the age of majority, and the other having just entered the period of manhood, are about to fill, and fill well, the veteran's grave.

"You relatives, and we friends, mourn that we no more this side of eternity can enjoy their companionship; but could they now witness the imposing ceremonies which attend the march of their ashes to their narrow house in the cemetery, to which they have oft with mourner's tread followed the loved dead — could they listen to the silent eulogy which each heart is paying to their fearless patriotism — could they witness the pride with which the citizens of our State lisp their names, as a portion of her representatives upon the battle-field of constitutional liberty — could they witness the conscious pride which keeps company to the mournful tear, as it courses the cheeks of the denizens of our own city when we reflect that they were part of us, they would never again hazard a reappearance upon earth, and take the risk of finding in the vicissitudes of the future another as glorious spot to die.

"Why then should we mourn? By the prayers of the loyal, let us wing away their souls, and with willing hands we will consign what remains to our own earth. As an emblem of the purity in which they lived, we will enshroud their bodies in virgin white, and as a symbol of the glory which crowned their death, we will wrap their coffin with the noble banner in the defense of which they died, deposit them in the quiet grave, and by example teach those who may come after us to moisten with patriot tears the sod which covers the mortal remains of these youthful martyrs to Freedom.

"They have erected their own monument, and it is located in our hearts. This manifestation of our respect is highly appropriate. Let it go forth that to the brave living and honorably discharged, Iowa extends her most cordial welcome, and as to these, so will she always do honor to the ashes of the brave dead. And by our acts at home, as by those of our soldiers in the field, it will become as proverbial as it is true, that this is not the home of cowards, or the asylum of traitors.

"These imposing ceremonies cannot fail to leave deeply impressed upon our minds lessons of the greatest magnitude. By them we are again reminded of the feebleness of that thread upon which hangs our hopes of continued earthly joys. By them we are reminded that the time is unimportant, when compared with the manner in which we live; that in fact it is quite immaterial at what time and in what manner the grim monster, Death, approaches us, so that he finds us bent to the performance of sacred duties, and engaged in godlike pursuits.

"May our hearts not reject the lessons so laden with holy consolations, and my fervent prayer is that when death shall come to our eyes, — whether with leaden messengers we may be borne down beneath the chastening shadow of our flag, or whether by slow and stealthy step he creeps to our languishing sick-bed, — it may find our minds filled with as holy desires as those which must have actuated the souls of Theodore G. Weeks and Nathan W. Doty, as they sacrificed themselves upon their country's altar on the bloody field of Donelson."

Thus may the brave ever receive honor in this capital! Des Moines and Polk County will, I trust, ever cherish and revere the memory of the fallen from this community; and I hope that the people of no section of the Union will ever neglect or forget the patriot dead.

Doty was born in Lockport, Niagara County, N. Y., July 1, 1839. His father moved to Michigan, where Nathan was sent to the University and received a good education, — could read and speak the German language with facility, having learned it at school. "He was always," says his mother, "thirsting for knowledge." He loved the study of history — was well informed on almost every subject — would converse with the most learned — had great argumentative powers — and he wrote beautifully. His letters, written when he was a boy at school, were greatly admired by persons of good taste and education. It could hardly be credited that they were written by one so young.

He loved the green fields, the prairies and hills, and beautiful rivers. He says, writing from Keokuk, June 1st, 1861 : "We are now in our new quarters, which are the best in the city . . . It is a most lovely day, and as I sit here on the top verandah, my eye roams over some of the finest scenery I ever beheld. We have a fine view of the old Mississippi for several miles, as it moves along, glittering in the bright sunlight; the prairies of Illinois rolling far away in the distance — the bluffs of Missouri covered with trees and verdure of every kind — so delightful! — I am almost willing to say that I could live here always and cheerfully put up -with the privations of a soldier's life."  His heart was all aglow with love of his country. "I am determined," said he to his mother, "to see this Rebellion crushed or die in the cause." He had just returned from a short furlough to his home in Michigan, when the battle of Donelson occurred. He says: —

"LOCKPORT, Jan'y 10, 1862.

"Dear C– : I am all right in our old home. I made up my mind that I would like some better to come and see the folks here than to go to Des Moines, inasmuch as I had not seen this place in five years. I left home in Colon yesterday noon and arrived here this morning at 4 o'clock — have not yet been out of town; but shall go soon and visit all the folks. I shall go back to Colon in two weeks and expect to start for the regiment in one week from that time. "

Little did he think that so soon after his visit to his "old home," he must pass to his home where the angels dwell. On the l5th of February, 1862, he fell fighting bravely for the "old home," with the "God bless you" of his many relatives and friends still warm in his heart.

It is sometimes said of those who die on beds of tranquillity at home, "They died happy." Doty died triumphant. Just at the moment he was struck, he was urging on his comrades, crying, "On, on boys, the day is ours!" The ball passed through his heart. He did not speak afterwards; but (says Captain Marsh, in whose arms he died), "A bright smile beamed on his countenance."

He said to his mother when he parted from her for the last time, "I will put my trust in God." He left home with gloomy forebodings; but he said he would rather the greatest evil should befall him than miss going with his regiment. If he had delayed at home a half a day longer he could not have been at the battle of Donelson. He reached St. Louis just as the regiment was embarking.

Colonel Turtle says in a letter published in the "Iowa State Register," shortly after the battle of Donelson, "I don't know how reports will reach you at home, but here we are all covered with glory. Sergeant Doty was amongst the bravest of the brave, and died like a hero."

The following tribute written by D. C. R. appeared shortly after the death of N. W. Doty : —

" 'Onward, hurrah, onward, my boys,

The Second Iowa leads the van.'

And marching, bravely, firmly on,

Young Doty fell. No coward heart,

No faltering there; the cannon's roar,

The whistling bullet, bursting bomb,

Had not a sound to pale his lip

Or blanch his cheek.  How sweet the smile

That o'er his features calmly spread,

As victory seemed within his grasp.

Why weep ye, friends?  His soul has fled

To realms of beauty, there to raise

New anthems to his Maker's praise."

Weeks was born in Hendricks County, Indiana, on the l5th day of August, 1842. The following well written account of this boy was prepared by his father, Dr. John G. Weeks, and recorded in copies of the Bible purchased with the back pay due Theodore at the time of his death. These were presented by Dr. Weeks to each of his surviving children to commemorate their fallen brother.

DR. WEEKS' ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE OF HIS SON.

. . . . "Upon the appearance of President Lincoln's first proclamation calling for volunteer soldiers to aid in putting down the Rebellion of 1861, he embraced the very first opportunity to enlist as a private soldier, very much to our surprise, as he had lost two fingers from his right hand, thus rendering him forever free from any military service under a draft. He insisted so strongly that it was his duty to go, that we gave our consent, though he was under our control, being still a minor. On the mustering of his company at Keokuk, Iowa, he was rejected by the U. S. mustering officer for disability. Still determined to serve his country he, with the assistance of an officer (General Crocker), appealed from the decision of the mustering officer to the War Department of the United States. While awaiting the decision of the Department a much better position, pecuniarily, came within his reach, but he declined, saying that he would only go into the army to fight for his country. The decision of the Department was favorable to his wishes, and he was mustered into the service of the United States. This is the only instance that has ever come to our knowledge of an appeal to the War Department for the privilege of serving in the capacity of a private soldier.

"Shortly after entering active service he wrote in his journal, 'The world owes fame and position to all who earn it; and I will have just so much of its emoluments as I can win by honorable means, and no more; for I would rather live and die in obscurity than sacrifice the noblest attribute of man, my honor, till now untarnished. This is my platform, and, by the help of One who controls the actions of all, I will never accept any other.' After several months' service, Sept. 13th, 1861, he wrote, 'I am determined to remain in the service of my country until her rights are established and her wrongs avenged, and if the chances of war require my life, it shall be a willing sacrifice on the altar of Liberty!'

"After months of trials and hardship and severe sickness, he is found doing his duty with his regiment at Fort Donelson. At the time of the order for the Second Iowa to make the ever memorable charge upon the enemy's works, he was at his place and ready for duty. Without a word spoken to any one he went forward with his regiment under the terrible fire of the enemy, up the hill and into the enemy's outer works. Here, after about a half hour's engagement, he was instantly killed by a rifle-ball in his temple. He fell at the age of nineteen years and six months. He was not permitted to know that he aided materially in gaining one of the greatest victories of the war. He died for his country!

"In his pocket Bible found after the battle, his captain, (who was afterwards himself mortally wounded in the battle of Corinth), wrote the following tribute to his memory: —

" 'Fort Donelson, Feb. 20,1862.

" 'I wish here to record my testimony that the owner of this Book, during his connection with my company, was a good soldier, always ready to do his duty, as he understood it. He was ever active, energetic, and intelligent, and died bravely in his place, while fighting with his company and regiment at the charge of the Second Iowa, which was followed by the surrender of this fort to the Union forces.

"'NOAH W. MILLS,

“'Capt. Co. D., 2d Iowa Infantry Volunteers.' "

The following reminiscences concerning Theodore Weeks may not be uninteresting in addition to what has been given.

During the night before the charge, the men were lying on the ground before little fires they had made to keep themselves from freezing. Some one said to Theodore: "Weeks, you are burning your coat." "O," he replied, "that is no matter; I shall not want it long."

He was very strong and active, and had saved two men from drowning by his expertness in swimming. There were few better marksmen. He could fire right and left, and was selected as a sharp-shooter. He was popular among his companions; every one was his friend. He enlisted at the first meeting in Des Moines to raise troops; was very temperate in his eating and drinking, and exemplary in his deportment. A chaplain who conversed with him a short time before the battle of Donelson, says: "Weeks thought earnestly of religious matters, and his conduct was that of an exemplary Christian."

SOURCE: Leonard Brown, American Patriotism: Or, Memoirs of Common Men, p. 31-48

MT. PLEASANT, Iowa, May 28, 1862.

Editor Hawk-Eye

The Philomathian Literary Society of the Iowa Wesleyan University respectfully ask the publication of the following resolutions, passed at a meeting held in honor of a late deceased member:

WHEREAS, in providence of an all wise God our Friend and Brother Lieut. R. W. HAMILTON formerly a fellow student and member of our literary association, a private in the First Iowa Regiment of Infantry wounded at the battle of Wilson’s Creek and since a Lieutenant in the 15^th Iowa Regiment has fallen in the bloody contest between the Union and Confederate forces at Pittsburgh Landing while bravely defending our country against the attack of a traitorous enemy therefore,

Resolved, That while we acknowledge a Divine Providence ruling all things and the justice of the noble cause in which he was ardently engaged we cannot suppress a deep but resigned sorrow, we lament the loss to society of one so highly esteemed – to ourselves of one whom we shall ever remember as a friend and bother.

Resolved, That we do earnestly sympathize with the friends and relatives of the deceased in this their irreparable loss.

Resolved, That our Hall be decked in mourning for thirty days.

Resolved, That these resolutions be published in the Burlington Hawk-Eye, The Osceola Republican, and that a copy of the same be furnished to the friends of the deceased.

I . N. ELLIOTT,

W. I. BARR,

J. S. CLARK,

Com. Philomathian Society.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, May 31, 1862, p. 3