It is with sorrow we learn that our friend Dripps, of the
Maquoketa Excelsior, is among the killed at the battle of Pea Ridge. The Dubuque Times thus speaks of him:
We are pained to announce the death of Captain Dripps of
Company A, 9th Regiment of Iowa volunteers.
He was killed at the battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, while gallantly
leading his brave men in that terrible fight.
Capt. Dripps was from Maquoketa, Jackson county, where he leaves a
family to mourn his loss. He has been
connected with the press of Iowa for several years in Clayton and Jackson
counties, and has a wide circle of friends in the State. He served in the Mexican war, where he showed
himself to be a brave soldier; and early sought an opportunity to enlist in the
present struggle to protect the oneness of the Union, but failed to get a place
until the formation of the 9th regiment commenced. We well remember how is face beamed with joy
when he came into the city and found a letter from Col. Vandever, pledging him
a place with his company, in that regiment.
He went into the strife from a sense of duty; maintained from the start,
the dignified bearing of the true soldier, and fell in the first great battle
in which the regiment was engaged.
Capt. Dripps was a Christian professor, and was, no doubt,
prepared for his sudden summons to another world. To his companion, whom we met at her happy
home a few days ago, and to all his friends in Jackson county, we tender our
heartfelt sympathies. He fell in a
glorious cause and sleeps in a hero’s grave.
– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye,
Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, March 22, 1862, p. 3
