Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood to the Legislature of Iowa, May 24, 1861

Executive Chamber.

Des Moines, May 24, 1861.

Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: — Since the commencement of your session, I have been engaged, as fully as my other duties would permit, in collecting and comparing information from the different parts of our exposed frontier, as to what is necessary for the protection of that portion of our State, and in making estimates of the sums necessary, in my opinion, for that and other purposes connected with the present and possibly future emergency.

The pressing need upon our border is for arms and ammunition. The people are willing and confident of their ability to defend themselves from what they most fear, the depredations of Indians and plunderers, provided they are promptly furnished with good arms and ammunition, and until this shall be done they will be in a state of uneasiness and alarm to a greater or less degree, as the various localities are more or less exposed. I consider it a matter of primary importance that your action on this matter be as speedy as may in your judgment be consistent with proper deliberation. I would have sent an agent to find and contract for arms for this purpose in anticipation of your action, but for the fact that the provisions of the bill for that purpose pending before you, require that said agent shall be nominated to and confirmed by the Senate. The appointment by me of an agent for that purpose, and the sending him on his mission in advance of the passage of the law, under the circumstances, would have been improper and highly censurable.

I fear that the present great demand for arms by the United States and the different States, will cause considerable delay in procuring arms after I have authority to act, and I therefore again respectfully recommend that your action on this subject be as speedy as possible. I am distinctly of the opinion that in view of our present condition, and the uncertainty of the future, it is highly desirable with reference both to our duty to our State and to the General Government, that you make provision for the organization, encampment and drilling for a limited time, of not less than three skeleton regiments at the expense of the State. With a liberal provision for the purchase of arms and ammunition for the use of mounted men, for the defense of the border, and a provision for three regiments for a limited time at the expense of the State, I think Iowa will be placed in a position consistent alike with her honor and safety.

But to do this, and at the same time make prudent provision for the uncertain future will in my judgment require that you make provision for the loan of at least a million of dollars. The best estimates I can make are that the expenses already incurred, and that must be incurred in case that the measures above recommended be adopted, will amount to half a million, and it seems to me very clear that to leave me with all this machinery on hand for the purposes above indicated, and without leaving under my control the means necessary for the purposes for which it was provided, will not be either safe or prudent.

SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD

SOURCE: Henry Warren Lathrop, The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, Iowa's War Governor, p. 132-3

Special Message of Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood to the Legislature of Iowa, May 15, 1861

SPECIAL MESSAGE.

Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives:

The Constitution requires that I shall state to you the purpose for which you have been convened in Extraordinary Session.

When, a little more than a year ago, your regular session closed, the whole country was in the enjoyment of peace and prosperity. At home, life, liberty and property were secure, and abroad the title of an American citizen was claimed with pride, and a full assurance that it was a sure guaranty of respect and protection to all who could make good the claim. To-day civil war is upon us, and a wide-spread conspiracy against the General Government, which we now know has been maturing for years, has been developed, and the whole country is filled with the din of arms. On the one hand, and from one section of the country, men who should be loyal citizens, if benefits conferred by a government should make men loyal to it, are mustering in armed bands with the intent to dissolve the Union and destroy our government, and on the other hand, partially from the same section, and as one man, from the other, our loyal people are rallying around our Union and our government, and pledging for their maintenance what our fathers so freely periled to secure for them — life, fortune and honor.

In this emergency Iowa must not and does not occupy a doubtful position. For the Union as our fathers formed it, and for the government they founded so wisely and so well, the people of Iowa are ready to pledge every fighting man in the State and every dollar of her money and credit; and I have called you together in extraordinary session for the purpose of enabling them to make that pledge formal and effective.

Those who, to gratify their mad ambition, have brought upon the country this great evil, seek to disguise their true intent, to cover their true purpose. They say they do not desire to destroy our Government, but that it has become hostile to them, and they only wish to peacefully withdraw themselves from it, which they claim the right to do whenever, in their judgment, their interest or safety may require such action. Many loyal men, deceived by their professions and not perceiving that “peaceful secession” was destructive alike of the Constitution and Union, were unwilling that any coercive measures should be used to bring them back to a sense of their duty. How are the facts? Our government is based on these great central, controlling ideas. The people are the only true source of power. In the exercise of their power, they have created our present form of government, retaining in their own hands its management and control. They have honesty enough to desire, and intelligence enough to discern, the right, and if at any time they should, by reason of excitement or passion, misdirect the action of government and do wrong to any portion of themselves, their honesty and their intelligence can be surely relied upon to correct such wrongs. These are the fundamental ideas of our form of government, and when any section of our country or any portion of our people, alleging that wrongs have been done them, declare they cannot and will not rely upon the honesty and intelligence of our people to right such wrongs, but will right their wrongs in their own way and by their own hands, they strike a blew which, if not arrested, will crumble the fabric of our government into ruins.

Has the Government been hostile to them? At the time this unnatural rebellion commenced there was not on the statute books of the United States a single law that had not been dictated or assented to by their Representatives. The recent election, of the result of which they so loudly complain, had placed in the Presidential chair a person opposed to their policy upon one important question, but had left them in possession of two other independent and co-ordinate branches of the Government, so that it was utterly impossible any injury could result to them from the election of a President who was not their choice. Under these circumstances, without waiting to see what would be the disposition of the newly elected President, without trusting to Congress and the Judiciary yet under their control, without waiting for an appeal to the honesty and intelligence of the people to right any wrongs that might be attempted against them, they rebelled against the Government, and sought to destroy it by arms. They have seized by force the forts, arsenals, ships and treasure, and have set at defiance the laws and officers of the United States, and they have sought to set up within the Union another and independent government. They have for months past been levying troops, building forts and gathering munitions of war, with intent to make war upon our Government, if it should attempt to perform its lawful functions, and after months of preparation, have attacked with overwhelming numbers and captured the troops of the United States, holding a fort of the United States and have, so far as in them lies, dishonored that proud flag, which throughout the world is the emblem of the power, the honor and the glory of our nation.

What in the meantime has been the action of our Government towards these misguided men? The history of the world cannot show equal moderation and forbearance by any government towards a portion of its people in rebellion against its laws. For months some of these men were allowed to hold high positions in the Cabinet, and used their official power only to betray the government of which they were the sworn and trusted servants. For months many of them were allowed to retain their seats in both branches of Congress, and used their positions to defeat the enactment of wholesome laws necessary for the protection of the government. For months many of them were permitted to hold high command in the army and navy, and used their position to betray and dishonor the flag they had sworn to protect and defend. For months the government yielded, step by step, and had used only words of kindness and good-will. But forbearance, moderation and kindness were regarded only as evidences of weakness, imbecility and cowardice, until at last the crowning outrage at Fort Sumter convinced all men that further forbearance had indeed ceased to be a virtue, and would make those charged with the safety of the government as criminal as those who were seeking to destroy it. At last the Government has spoken, and has called the loyal men of the country to rally to its support, and the answer has been such as to show the world the strength of a government founded on the love of a free people.

On the 15th day of April last the President issued his Proclamation, calling upon the loyal States for aid to enforce the laws. On the 25th day of the same month, I received from the Secretary of War a requisition on this State dated on the 15th, calling for one regiment of troops. Having been before advised by telegraph that such requisition had been issued, I felt well assured that I would be carrying out your will and the will of the people of the State, in responding to the call as promptly as possible. I therefore did not wait the receipt of the formal requisition, but proceeded at once to take such steps as seemed to me best adapted to speedily effect that object. I was met at the outset by two difficulties. There were not any funds under my control to meet the necessary expenses, nor was there any efficient military law under which to operate. Your action only could furnish these aids in a legal way, and yet to await your action would involve great, perhaps dangerous, delay.

The first difficulty was obviated by the patriotic action of the chartered Banks and citizens of the State, who promptly placed at my disposal all the money I might need, and I determined, although without authority of law, to accept their offer, trusting that you would legalize my acts. One difficulty thus avoided, I trusted, as the result shows, safely, to the patriotism of the people for the removal of the other, and on the 17th day of April issued my Proclamation calling for the requisite number of troops.

The telegraphic dispatch of the Secretary of War informed me that it would be sufficient if the troops required of this State were in rendezvous at Keokuk, by the 20th inst. The prompt and patriotic action of the people enabled me to place them there in uniform on the 8th, twelve days in advance of the time fixed, and they would have been there a week sooner had not the action of the mob at Baltimore cut off all communication with the seat of Government, and left me without any instructions for two weeks. I recommend that you make suitable appropriations, covering expenses thus incurred.

Tenders of troops were made altogether beyond the amount required, and learning from the newspapers and other sources, that an other requisition would probably be made on this State, I took the responsibility of ordering into quarters, in the respective counties where raised, enough companies to form a second regiment in anticipation of such requisition, that they might acquire the necessary discipline and drill. The second requisition has not yet reached me, but I am expecting it daily, and am prepared to respond to it promptly when made.

The officers and men composing the first regiment were in quarters for some time before being mustered into the service of the United States, and those called out in anticipation of a second requisition, will have been in quarters a considerable time before they will be called into service, if at all. It is but just that provision be made for payment-of the men who have thus promptly and patriotically stepped forth in defense of the country, for the time lost by them before being actually received by the United States, and I recommend that you make the necessary appropriations for that purpose.

In addition to the two regiments thus accepted by me, I have already received tenders of companies enough to make up five regiments more, and I have been strongly urged by them, and by many other good citizens, to accept the whole, and place them in quarters at the expense of the State. In view of the facts that all I had done was without authority of law, and the further fact that you, the lawmaking power of the State, was so soon to assemble, I did not feel justified in so doing, but have recommended in all cases that all such companies should if possible keep up their organization, and should devote as much of their time as possible to the drill without interfering materially with their ordinary business, thus keeping in reserve a large organized and partially drilled force, to meet emergencies.

In several localities patriotic citizens have at their own expense furnished subsistence for companies thus organized, and not accepted, and they have been in quarters drilling daily. Whether any of the expenses thus incurred shall be paid by the State, or whether any compensation shall be made to the men for the time thus spent in quarters, is peculiarly within your province to determine.

In addition to the passage of laws legalizing what has thus far been done, and providing for expenses thus far incurred, it will be your duty carefully to examine what further the State should do to meet present necessities, and future contingencies.

In my judgment there are two objects which in your deliberation your should keep steadily in view, and which I recommend to your serious consideration, viz: the protection of our State against invasion and the prompt supply to the General Government of any further aid it may require.

Our State is supposed by many to be exposed to attack, on two sides — our Southern and Western borders — on the South by reckless men from Missouri; on the West by Indians. Missouri is unfortunately strongly infected with the heresy of secession, which is hurrying so many of the Southern States to ruin. What may be the ultimate result in that State, we do not know. Should she unfortunately attempt to dissolve her connection with the Union, serious trouble may, and probably will, spring up along our Southern border. Even in that event I can hardly anticipate an armed invasion by regular military forces from that State. Surrounded as she is by Kansas, Illinois and Iowa such invasion by her would be sheer madness, and it seems to me we are guarded against such danger if not by her calm judgment and her neighborly good will, at least by her instinct of self-preservation. But lawless, reckless men within her limits may take advantage of the unsettled condition of public affairs to organize a system of border warfare, for the purpose of plunder, and it is your duty to properly guard against this danger.

The known facts that the troops have wholly or in a great part been withdrawn from the forts in the territories west of us, and the restraint of their presence thus removed from the Indian tribes on our border, that the Indians have received, probably highly-colored statements in regard to the war now upon us, and that since the massacre at Spirit Lake in our State, some years since, which went wholly unpunished, they have shown an aggressive disposition, coupled with the probability that they may be tampered with by bad men, render it, in my judgment, matter of imperative necessity that proper measures be taken to guard against danger from that quarter.

I have already done what I could, with the limited means at my command, to furnish arms on both borders.

Two modes for the protection of the State and furnishing further aid, if needed, to the General Government, suggest themselves to me. One is the mustering into the service of the State, arming, equipping and placing in camp to acquire discipline and drill, a number of regiments of volunteers. The advantages of this are, that we would have at hand a disciplined force, ready to meet any emergency, State or National. The disadvantages are its expense, and its insufficiency, by reason of the great extent of our border, to protect our frontier against the lawless bands to which we are exposed. The other plan is to organize along our Southern and Western frontier, arm and equip but not muster into active service, a sufficient force of minute men, who may be called upon at any moment to meet any emergency that may arise at any point. This will be the more effective plan for home protection, but will not place the State in position to render such effective aid to the General Government. Which, if either, of these plans, or whether a combination of both, or whether something wholly distinct from either shall be adopted, I leave for your wisdom to decide.

It will be necessary that you enact a military law, authorizing, among other things, the formation of a military staff under which I can have the assistance and advice of such officers as compose it, in raising, arming, equipping and supporting such further troops as you may direct to be raised for the use of the State or as may be required by the United States.

It will also be necessary to use the credit of the State to raise means to meet the extraordinary expenses incurred, and to be incurred. You have the power to do this under that provision of the Constitution which authorizes without a vote of the people the contracting of a debt “to repel invasion” or to “defend the State in war.”

In most or all of the counties in which companies have thus far been accepted, the Board of Supervisors or public spirited citizens have raised means for the support of the families of volunteers who have left families dependent on them for support. This action is eminently praiseworthy and yet its operation is partial and unequal. It is scarcely to be presumed that companies will be received from all the counties of the State, or equally from those counties from which they may be received, and it seems to me much more equitable and just that the expense be borne by the State, and the burden thus equally distributed among our people.

The procuring of a liberal supply of arms for the use of the State, is a matter that I earnestly recommend to your early and serious consideration. The last four weeks have taught us a lesson which I trust we may never forget, that during peace is the proper time to prepare for war.

I feel assured the State can readily raise the means necessary to place her in a position consistent alike with her honor and her safety. Her territory of great extent and unsurpassed fertility, inviting and constantly receiving a desirable immigration, her population of near three quarters of a million of intelligent, industrious, energetic and liberty-loving people, her rapid past, and prospective growth, her present financial condition, having a debt of only about one quarter of a million of dollars, unite to make her bonds among the most desirable investments that our country affords.

The people of Iowa, your constituents and mine, remembering that money is the sinews of war, will consider alike criminal a mistaken parsimony which stops short of doing whatever is necessary for the honor and safety of the State and a wild extravagance which would unnecessarily squander the public treasure.

Our revenue law is, in my judgment, defective in some particulars, requiring, perhaps, some unnecessary expense and not being sufficiently stringent to compel the prompt payment of taxes. At all times, and more especially at a time like this, every good citizen should cheerfully contribute his share of the public burdens, and those who are not disposed to do so should feel the force of stringent laws insuring the performance of that duty. A failure to pay taxes promptly compels the State to use her warrants instead of cash, to carry on the operations of the government, and adds to the expense of the State, not only the increased prices she is compelled to pay for articles purchased for her use over and above the prices at which she could buy for cash, but also the interest upon the warrants issued until the same are paid.

I earnestly recommend a careful examination and a full use of your Constitutional powers to punish the men, if any there be, in our State who may feel disposed to furnish aid in any way to those who are or may be in rebellion against the United States or engaged in acts of hostility to this State.

The great haste in which, amidst the pressure of other duties, I have been compelled to prepare this message, renders it very probable that I may have overlooked some subjects that you may deem of importance in the present emergency. When convened in extra session, your powers of legislation have the same scope and limit as at your regular sessions, and I feel confident your wisdom and foresight will supply all such omissions.

Permit me in conclusion to express the hope that what you do, may be done promptly, calmly and thoroughly. Let us take no counsel from passion, nor give way to excitement. Let us look our situation boldly and squarely in the face, and address ourselves to and do our duty like men who believe that while we hold to our father's faith and tread in our father's steps, the God of our fathers will stand by us in the time of our trial as He stood by them in the time of theirs.

SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD.

SOURCE: Henry Warren Lathrop, The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, Iowa's War Governor, p. 120-7

Senator James W. Grimes to Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood, January 28, 1861

Washington, January 28, 1861.

Your esteemed favor of the 17th inst. has reached me.

There appears to be a very great misunderstanding in the public mind, as to the present condition of affairs at the capital of the nation, and especially in relation to the demands of the disunionists upon the Union men of the North. I find that the impression prevails quite extensively that the “Crittenden proposition,” as it is called, is simply a reestablishment of the Missouri Compromise line. This is very far from the truth.

Mr. Crittenden proposes to extend the line of 36° 30' through to the Pacific Ocean, and to agree, by constitutional provision, to protect and defend slavery in all the territory of the United States south of that line. Nor is this all. He now proposes that this protection to slavery shall be extended to all territory that may hereafter be acquired south of that line. The sum and substance of the whole matter is, that we are asked, for the sake of peace, to surrender all our cherished ideas on the subject of slavery, and agree, in effect, to provide a slave code for the Territories south of 36° 30' and for the Mexican provinces, as soon as they shall be brought within our jurisdiction. It is demanded of us that we shall consent to change the Constitution into a genuine pro-slavery instrument, and to convert the Government into a great slave-breeding, slavery-extending empire.

Every man blessed with ordinary foresight must see what would be the inevitable and almost immediate consequence of the adoption of this provision as a part of the Constitution. It would disclose itself to be the very reverse of a measure of peace. Raids would at once begin upon the provinces of Mexico; war would ensue; the annexation of Sonora, Chihuahua, Cohahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, and other provinces, would follow; they would be converted, at the instant of their acquisition, from free into slave Territories, and ultimately be admitted into the Union as slave States. Much as I love peace and seek to pursue it, I am not prepared to pay this price for it. Let no man in Iowa imagine for a moment that the Crittenden proposition is for a mere restoration of the Compromise line of 1820. It is simply and truly the application of the Breckinridge platform to all territory now acquired, or hereafter to be acquired south of 36° 30', and would result, if adopted, in the acquisition and admission of new slave States for the ostensible purpose of restoring what is called the equilibrium of the sections. The restoration of the Missouri Compromise line has been offered to the disunionists and contemptuously rejected. Their maxim is “rule or ruin.”

I confess that I look with amazement upon the course of the Northern sympathizers with the disunionists. Six years ago they assisted to break down a compromise of thirty-four years' standing, and defended their action by what they claimed to be the right of the people to determine for themselves what should be the character of their own domestic institutions. There was much plausibility in their argument. They made a party creed of it. Now, after the lapse of six short years, they have become so pro-slavery in their opinions that they are willing to ignore the past, and recognize and protect slavery in the very country which they boasted that their own act had made free.

There are other provisions in the Crittenden resolutions which to my mind are wholly inadmissible, but let them pass. My objection is to any compromise. I will never consent to compromises, or the imposition of terms upon me or the people I represent, under threats of breaking up the Government. I will not “give reasons under compulsion.” No surer or more effectual way could be devised for converting this into a revolutionary Government than the adoption of a compromise expedient at this time.

Eight months ago the four political parties of this country, in their several conventions, announced certain abstract propositions in their platforms which each believed to be true, and which, if acted upon, would in their opinion most conduce to the prosperity of the whole country. The issue upon these propositions was submitted to the people through the ballot-boxes. One party was successful, as either might have been, but for the lack of votes; and now one of the vanquished parties seeks to overthrow the Government, because they were not themselves the victors, and will only consent to stay their work of demolition upon the condition that we will agree to make their platform, which is abhorrent to us, a part of the Constitution of the country. After taking their chances for success, and being defeated in a fair and manly contest, they now seek to overthrow the Government under which they live, and to which they owe their allegiance. How rapidly are we following in the footsteps of the governments of Mexico and South America!

I do not believe that the public mind is now in a condition to calmly consider the great questions involved in the amendments proposed. But suppose the people were willing and anxious that such amendments to the Constitution should be submitted to them; suppose they were in a proper frame of mind to weigh them and decide upon their adoption; suppose their adoption was not attempted to be enforced by threats, can we have any assurance that this is the last demand to be made upon us? Can we be certain that success in this instance will not whet the appetite for new concessions and new demands, and that similar threats of secession and revolution will not succeed every future presidential election? Will the demand for new guarantees stop here? Shall we not be as liable to have our trade paralyzed, our finances deranged, our national flag insulted, the public property wrested from us and destroyed, and the Government itself overthrown, four years hence, if we amend the Constitution, as we should be if we now stand firmly by our principles and uphold the authority of the Government?

The question before the country, it seems to me, has assumed gigantic proportions. It has become something more than an issue on the slavery question growing out of the construction of the Constitution. The issue now before us is, whether we have a country, whether or not this is a nation. Is this a Government which Florida, with eighty thousand people, can destroy, by resolving herself out of the Union and seizing the forts and arsenals within her borders? That is the question presented us for our decision. Can a great and prosperous nation of thirty-three millions of people be destroyed by an act of secession of some of its members? Florida and her sister revolutionary States answer in the affirmative. We deny it. They undertake to act upon their professed belief, and secede, or, as I term it, rebel against the Government. While they are in this attitude of rebellion a compromise is presented to us for adoption, by which it is proposed, not to punish the rebellious States, but to entice them back into the Union. Who does not see that by adopting these compromise propositions we tacitly recognize the right of these States to secede? Their adoption at this time would completely demoralize the Government, and leave it in the power of any State to destroy. If Florida and South Carolina can secede because of the slavery question, what shall prevent Pennsylvania from seceding because the Government declines to adequately protect her iron and coal interests, or New England because her manufactures, or New York because her commerce is not sufficiently protected? I could agree to no compromise until the right to secede was fully renounced, because it would be a recognition of the right of one or more States to break up the Government at their will.

Iowa has a peculiar interest in this question. If this right of State revolution be conceded, her geographical position is such as to place her completely in the power of revolutionary States. Will she agree that one State can secede and take from her the mouth of the Mississippi River, that another can take from her the mouth of the Missouri, and that others shall be permitted to deprive her of the right of passage to the Atlantic Ocean? If she will not agree to this, it becomes her people to insist that the Constitution of the country shall be upheld, that the laws of the land shall be enforced, and that this pretended right of a State to destroy our national existence shall be sternly and emphatically rebuked. I know the people of Iowa well enough to believe that appeals to their magnanimity, if not successful, will be kindly received and considered, while appeals to their fears will pass by them as the idle wind, and that they will risk all things and endure all things in maintaining the honor of the national flag and in preserving the national Union.

One word more and I close this letter, already too long. At the commencement of the session, before revolution had assumed its present gigantic proportions, before any State had pretended to secede except South Carolina, before the forts and arsenals of the United States had been captured, the flag of the country fired upon, and the capital of the nation threatened, I assented, as a member of the Senatorial Committee of Thirteen, to three propositions, which were to the following effect, viz.:

1. That Congress should never be permitted to interfere with the domestic institutions of any State, or to abolish slavery therein.

2. That the several States should be advised to review their legislation in regard to persons of color, and repeal or modify all such laws as might conflict with the Constitution of the United States or with any of the laws of Congress made in pursuance thereof.

3. To admit Kansas into the Union under the Wyandotte constitution, and then to admit the remaining territory belonging to the United States as two States, one north and one south of the parallel of 36° 30' with the provision that these States might be subdivided and new ones erected therefrom whenever there should be sufficient population for one Representative in Congress upon sixty thousand square miles.

Those propositions, if adopted, would have quieted the apprehensions of the Southern people as to the intention of the people of the free States to interfere with slavery in the States, and would have finally disposed of all the territory belonging to the Government. They would have made two very inconvenient States, but they would have settled a very inconvenient question. They could have been adopted without any surrender of principle by anybody or any section, and therefore without any party and personal humiliation. But they were spurned by the disunionists. They preferred to plunge the country into revolution, and they have done it. It only remains for us now to obey and enforce the laws, and show to the world that this Government is strong enough to protect itself from rebellion within as well as from assault without.

The issue now made up for the decision of the people of this country is between law, order, the Union, and the Constitution, on the one hand, and revolution, anarchy, dissolution, and bloodshed, on the other. I do not doubt as to the side you and the people of Iowa will occupy in this contest.

SOURCE: William Salter, The Life of James W. Grimes, p. 133-8

Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood to James Harlan, James W. Grimes, Samuel R. Curtis and William Vandever, January 28, 1861

Executive Office,

Jan. 28, 1861.

To Hon. Jas. Harlan, Jas. W. Grimes, Samuel R. Curtis and Wm. Vandever:

Gentlemen:—You will find herewith a paper requesting you, if you consider it advisable, to attend a meeting of the commissioners of the different States at Washington City on the 4th of February next. I wish you to be guided wholly by your own discretion as to your attendance.

I confess the whole thing strikes me unfavorably. The very early day named renders it impossible for the distant States to select and send commissioners, and also it is liable to the construction I that it was the intention to force action both upon the meeting and upon Congress before the 4th of March next and without proper time for deliberation. Again the fact that the basis of adjustment proposed in the resolutions is one that all the free States rejected by an overwhelming majority at the presidential election (the votes for Lincoln and Douglass being all against it) indicate that either in expectation that the free Stases shall stultify and degrade themselves or a purpose by the failure of the commissioners to agree upon terms of adjustment to afford excuse and justification to those who are already determined to leave the Union. You upon the ground can judge of these things more correctly than I can here.

Should you find the meeting disposed to act in earnest for the preservation of the Union without seeking the degradation of any of the States for that end permit me to make a few suggestions.

The true policy for every good citizen to pursue is to set his face like a flint against secession, to call it by its true name — treason — to use his influence in all legitimate ways to put it down; strictly and cordially to obey the laws and to stand by the government in all lawful measures it may adopt for the preservation of the Union, and to trust to the people and the constituted authorities to correct under the present constitution, and errors that may have been committed or any evils or wrongs that have been suffered.

But if compromise must be the order of the day then that compromise should not be a concession by one side of all the other side demands and of all for which the conceding side has been contending. In other words the North must not be expected to yield all the South asks, all the North has contended for and won. and then call that compromise. That is not compromise and would not bring peace. Such “compromise” would not become dry on the parchment on which it would be written before “agitation” for its repeal would have commenced. A compromise that would restore good feeling must not degrade either side. Let me suggest how in my opinion this can be done. Restore the Missouri compromise line to the territory we got from France. We all agreed to that once and can, without degradation do so again.

The repeal of that line brought on our present troubles; its restoration ought to go far to remove them. As to New Mexico and Utah leave them under the laws passed for their government in 1850 — the so-called compromise of that year. We all stood there once and can do so again without degradation. This settles the question of slavery in all our present territories. As to future acquisitions say we can't make any. We thus avoid the slavery question in future. We have enough territory for our expansion for a century and let the men of that day make another to suit themselves. It says merely we prefer our Union as it is to conquest that may endanger it. The fugitive slave law was made by the South. The reason of its non-existence is its severity. It is in direct antagonism to the public sentiment of the people among whom it is to be executed. If something were done to modify it so as to require the alleged fugitive to be taken before the officer of the court of the county from which he has alleged to have tied and there have a trial if he demand it, in my opinion the law would be much more effective than it is.

The personal liberty laws arc the acts of the States that have them and I doubt not would be repealed when the present excitement dies away. Iowa never has had nor does she want one.

Very respectfully,

SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD.

SOURCE: Henry Warren Lathrop, The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, Iowa's War Governor, p. 109-11

Important Decision

It seems, from the following letter, that the Secretary of the Interior has reversed his decision in regard to Swamp Lands.  The Government, if we understand the correspondence, will now issue land scrip in lieu of swamp lands donated to the State, but sold by the Government, previous to the selection.  As the number of acres of swamp or overflowed land thus sold by the general Government is large, this decision of the Secretary is a very important matter in our State:

WASHINGTON CITY, May 10th, 1862.

C. DUNHAM, ESQ., EDITOR HAWK EYE,

Burlington, Iowa.

SIR: Enclosed I send you a letter from Hon. J. M. Edmunds, Commissioner of General Land Office in reference to swamp lands in the State of Iowa.

This reversal of the original decision of the Secretary of the Interior, made after hearing arguments of Senator Harlan and Representative Wilson, will give to the state of Iowa, many thousands of dollars, and a large amount of land scrip in lieu of lands selected in Iowa as swampy, previously sold.

Yours very respectfully,

JAS. A. BEARD.

GENERAL LAND OFFICE, May 7, 1862.

Hon. JAMES HARLAND, U. S. Senate:

SIR – Referring to the case of report No. 13, 392 for $9,006 92-100 of Iowa indemnity on account of swamp lands, I have the honor to advise you that since the rendition of the recent decision of the Secretary of the Interior, I have been instructed to regard it as fixing form of affidavit and terms as facts in future cases, and not as affecting the past; and in this view I have certified said report and submitted it, this date, for final approval of the Secretary, so that It may be sent to the Treasury to the end that it may be followed by a draft.

With great respect your obd’t serv’t,

J. M. EDMUNDS, Commissioner.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, May 22, 1862, p. 2

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

Iowa Items

Crawford county has finally by a vote of the people, ratified the contract for the sale of the swamp lands to the American Emigrant Company, for $200.  The company are to get the title to the lands confirmed by Government, to settle them as speedily as possible, and to introduce a large number of sheep – about 5000 in two or three years.

The Cedar Valley Times announced in its last number a complete change of regime in that paper.  Mr. C. M. Hollis is the new editor.  At the close of a lengthy review of the present position of the parties, he says that the Times belongs “to the great party that struggles to maintain the Union inviolate, which should include all the loyal men of the nation, north and south.”

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 19, 1862, p. 2

Politics in Indiana

At the election to be held in Indiana next October, Congressmen are to be chosen with minor State officers (Secretary, Treasurer, &c.,) and a Legislature upon which it will devolve to fill Mr. Wright’s seat in the Senate.  Some months since the Jesse D. Bright Democracy held a convention and nominated candidates, opening a canvass that was avowedly to give the expelled Senator a new lease of power. – Their disgusting fondness for a branded traitor, and their leniency toward the seceded States, has driven off many Democrats, and there are several old Democratic organs that refuse to support the ticket, while the ticket itself has begun to break up.  Hon. Milton B. Hopkins, nominated for Superintendent of Schools, withdraws his name with a very pointed letter of rebuke for the disloyal combination which is trying to steal the name of Democracy to serve treason in.  Mr. Hopkins but reflects the intentions of thousands of honest democrats who intend to vote against the concern. – Exchange paper.

The Indiana convention and platform got up last winter, was hailed by the Vallandigham press throughout the country and by the Mahony press of Iowa, as a glorious revival of the Democratic party.  It was followed up by the Vallandigham Congressional caucus, and the leading Mahony presses of Iowa, including Mahony’s Herald, the Davenport Democrat, defaulter Babbitt’s Council Bluffs Bugle, and Claggett’s Constitution, have enlisted in the scheme.  Dodge of Burlington, has also bestirred himself, and another of the same stripe of papers is about to be established in Burlington.

Bright, it will be remembered, was expelled from the Senate on the charge of treason, and our Bright, – Geo. W. Jones, – who seems now to be on a mission to reorganized the Mahonyites, was imprisoned on a similar charge in Fort Lafayette.  Will the Iowa traitor have any better success than he of Indiana? – Gate City

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Saturday Morning, May 17, 1862, p. 2

The Vallandigham Democracy

The edict has gone forth; the leaders of the Vallandigham Democratic party in Iowa, have called upon the debris of the secesh element in this State, to assemble in Convention at Des Moines on the 17th of July, for the purpose of nominating candidates of their own kidney for State officers.  The Democrat, of this city says, “the call purports to be authoritative, and that being the case there is no other course for Democrats to pursue, but to commence the work of the campaign.”  Democrats will take notice and act accordingly, there is no alternative left to them.  The question arises, who are Democrats?  Our neighbor seems to be slightly exercised in mind in respect to this question, and wishes to “know at the outset whether the Democracy of the State feel inclined to work together or not.”

That the old Democratic party is dead, we have the authority of some of its leaders for asserting, and the political history of the nation for declaring.  The attempt of Vallandingham [sic] and others of that stripe to resurrect it, has virtually proven a failure.  How it will succeed in Iowa remains to be seen.  In the language of a cotemporary, it is impossible to restore the Democratic party to power upon a platform disconnected from slavery.  The party relies upon its devotion to slavery for all its success in the future, for it very well knows that success depends on its ability to rally the extremists in the south to its aid, with the help of Vallandigham, on a pro-slavery platform.  It has already been declared to them, through Vallandigham, who is an extreme pro-slavery man, that if they will join forces with the conspirators, all projects for emancipation shall be opposed, and not even the plan suggested by the President shall be entertained. – The Union men in the South who may think well of the project for the emancipation of slaves, by the States in which slavery exists, are to be put down by this Great National, Conservative, Union, Democratic party, and slavery established forever.  It is not this what the Washington conference declared through Vallandigham when it made opposition to the President’s plan a doctrine of the proposed creed?

Can this dead body live again, clothed in its old garb?  Let those who fought at Pea Ridge, at Donelson and at Pittsburg answer.  Shall we again place slavery in power?  Not until the memory of the great rebellion fades from the memories of men.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, May 15, 1862, p. 2

XXXVIIth Congress -- First Session

WASHINGTON, May 8.

SENATE. – The resolution impeaching Judge Humphreys was read from the House, and referred to a select committee, consisting of Messrs. Foster, Doolittle and Davis.

The bill establishing a port of entry at Hilton S. C., was received from the House and passed.

Mr. Wright presented a petition from citizens of Florida, asking for a confiscation bill.

The bill making appropriations for the deficiencies in the payment of volunteers was taken up.  After debate relative to the number of men now in the army, the bill was passed.

The bill limiting the number of Brigadier and Major Generals was passed, Mr. Hale’s amendment being rejected.  It limits the number of Major Generals to 80, and Brigadiers tow 200.

Mr. Sumner offered a resolution saying that it was inexpedient that victories obtained over our own citizens be placed on the regimental colors of the U. S.

The bill establishing the department of agriculture was taken up and passed.

After debate, the question was taken on Foster’s substitute, making a bureau of agriculture in the Department of the Secretary of the Interior.  Lost 18 against 18.  The bill as reported to the Senate passed – 25 to 12.

The bill for the appointment of medical storekeepers was amended so as to authorize the President to appoint Chaplains for hospitals, and passed.

Mr. Doolittle called up his bill to collect taxes on lands and insurrectionary districts. – He explained its provisions, when the bill was postponed until to-morrow.

The bill for the education of colored children in the District of Columbia, providing a tax of 10 per cent. upon the colored residents therefore, was taken up.

Mr. Wilson, of Mass., moved a new section, making all persons of color in the District amenable to the same laws as whites.  Adopted.  The amendment repeals the black code of the District.  On the passage of the bill, no quorum voted.

Mr. Hale introduced a bill to abolish the office of Marshal of the District of Columbia, and establishing that of Sheriff.

Mr. Grimes presented the petition of Gen. Sigel and other officers, asking for a German professorship at West Point, and recommending Reinhaldt Solger for the office.

HOUSE. – The Iowa contested election case was taken up.  It involves the question whether a member of Congress can hold a seat and commission in the volunteers at the same time, and refers especially to Vandever, who commands a regiment.

On motion of Mr. Washburne, it was postponed till the first Wednesday in December.

The bill organizing the territorial government of Arizona was taken up and passed.  The bill repeals all laws in the organizing of territories recognizing the relation of master and slave, and prohibits slavery therein.

The bill extending the eastern limits of Nevada sixty miles was passed.

Mr. Lovejoy called up the bill abolishing slavery within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal Government.  The house refused by 50 to 60 to table the bill.

Mr. Mallory raised a point that the bill was not regularly before the House, which the Speaker overruled.

Mr. Lovejoy called for the previous question.

Without coming to a vote the house adjourned.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Saturday Morning, May 10, 1862, p. 2

Iowa Beeves

Of the 4,790 beeves sold at New York last week, 310 were from Iowa – a larger number than from any other Western State except Illinois and Ohio.  Iowa beef rates high in the Eastern markets.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, May 6, 1862, p. 2

Proclamation

To the People of Iowa!

__________

The Rebellion, against which you have been so long and so gallantly contending, is not yet quelled, but requires yet another sacrifice to complete its work.  The enemy is now putting forth every effort desperation can suggest to accomplish his purpose.  He is levying en masse all men within his reach capable of bearing arms, and is now holding our armies in check, has driven one division out of Virginia, and threatens to invade Maryland, and capture Washington itself.

Our government calls for more troops, and must have them.  Having done so much to crush this foul conspiracy against our government, and having been lately so signally blessed in our labors, we must meet these new efforts of the enemy with corresponding force.  The valor and patriotism of Iowa have never been appealed to in vain.  They now have one more test and will not fail.  We have sent more than twenty thousand men to the field, and every one a willing volunteer in his country’s cause.  Our soldiers have proved themselves the “Bravest of the Brave.”  We have thousands more as heroic hearts who are wanted with their brothers in the field.

It is probable that more than one regiment will be required, and that they will be sent to Washington.  I call on the young men of Iowa to answer the demand with that alacrity with which similar demands have been responded to heretofore.

Let those who cannot enlist, encourage and assist those who can, and those who can defend their country’s cause, come forward to the rescue of the best government ever given to man, from the attacks of those who would destroy all our institutions of liberty in one common ruin.

SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, June 7, 1862, p. 2.  See also Benjamin F. Shambaugh, editor, The Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of Iowa, Volume 2, p. 495-6.

A Good Chance For Speculators

The Sheriff of Mills County advertises over a thousand lots for sale in the town of Mt. Olive, late Loudon, in that County, including the Seminary Square.  Here is a good opening for speculators, as we apprehend this desirable property, which would have brought two hundred thousand dollars a few years ago will now go for a song.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, June 7, 1862, p. 2

The Difference

Judge Birch has been arrested for preaching treason on the stump in Missouri.  He is a candidate for Governor. – Geo. W. Jones, Dennis Mahony and their co-laborers in this State are allowed to utter and print disloyal sentiments with impunity so they do not commit the overt act.  The reason why Jones and Mahony are not, like Birch, arrested and dealt with, is not because they are less guilty, but because they are less liable to do harm.  The people of Iowa are too patriotic – have furnished too many brave troops and made too many sacrifices for the preservation of the life of the nation to be seduced from their allegiance by any act of politicians however crafty, much less by the Jones faction.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, June 7, 1862, p. 2

Republican State Convention

Notice is hereby given that a delegate Republican State Convention will be held at Des Moines, on Wednesday the 23d day of July A. D. 1862, for the purpose of putting in nomination a Secretary and Auditor of State, Attorney General and Register of the the State Land Office, and for the transaction of such other business as may be decreed expedient when met.

The ration of representation will be as follows, viz: One Delagate from each organized county; or One Delegate for every one hundred votes cast for Abraham Lincoln for President of the United States in 1860, and one additional Delegate for any fractional vote exceeding fifty.

Loyal citizens, regardless of former political associations, who are in favor of giving the National Administration their honest support, in a thorough and vigorous prosecution of the war for the suppression of the rebellion are invited to co-operate throughout the State.

JOHN N. DEWEY, Chairman, 5th District

SAML. F. MILLER, 1st District

W. S. DUNCAN, 2d District

JNO. D. LOCKWOOD, 3d District

W. R. SMITH, 4th District

J. H. SANDERS, 6th District

J. BUTLER, 7th District

J. SHANE, 8th District

G. W. MILLER, 9th District

L. FULLER, 10th District

R. H. TAYLOR, 11th District

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, June 7, 1862, p. 2

Iowa's Civil War Newspapers

The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye

• Anamosa Eureka
• Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye­
• Burlington Daily Argus
• Cass County Gazette
• Cedar Falls Gazette
• Cedar Valley Times
• Charles City Intelligencer
• Clinton Herald
• Council Bluffs Bugle
• Davenport Daily Gazette
• Davenport Daily Leader
• Davenport Democrat & News
• Daily Des Moines Times
• Dubuque Daily Evening Union
• Dubuque Democratic Herald
• Dubuque Herald
• Dubuque Religious News Letter
• Dubuque Times
• Dubuque Weekly Times
• The Fort Dodge Republican
• Fort Madison Plaindealer
• The Glenwood Opinion
• Hardin Sentinel
• Independence Guardian
• Indianola Visitor
• Iowa City Republican
• Iowa Homestead
• Iowa State Register
• Iowa State Weekly Register
• Iowa Valley News
• Keokuk Constitution
• Keokuk Gate City
• Keosaqua Republican
• Linn County Patriot
• Linn County Register
• Maquoketa Excelsior
• Marion Herald
• Marshall County Times
• Marshall Times and News
• McGregor Times
• Monticello Express
• Muscatine Journal
• The Opinion
• Osceola Republican
• Osceola Union Sentinel
• Oskaloosa Herald
• Oskaloosa Times
• Ottumwa Courier
• Ottumwa Mercury
• Page County Herald
• Panora Ledger
• Sigourney News
• Sioux City Register
• Tipton Advertiser
• Vinton Eagle
• Wapello Democratic Mercury
• Washington Press
• Waterloo Courier
• West Union, Pioneer

Republican State Convention

By the call to be found in our columns this morning it will be seen that a State Convention has been called to meet at the Capital Wednesday July 23d, to nominate candidates for Secretary and Auditor of State, Attorney General and Register of the Land Office.  It is desirable that this Convention should be well attended and every part of the State represented to the end that the best men may be nominated, and that at the coming important election Iowa may speak with no uncertain voice, her approval of the Administration of Abraham Lincoln and her condemnation of the treasonable party organization now attempted to be mustered for the canvass by men of known secession proclivities.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, June 7, 1862, p. 1

Deaf and Dumb Asylum

The fourth Biennial Report of this Institution contains many interesting matters and we therefore extract largely from it.  The three Asylums, for the Insane, for the blind, and for the deaf and dumb are a credit and an honor to our State, and all will be glad to hear that they were in a prosperous and healthy condition.

We extract from the Report of the Board of Trustees:

During the last two years, the condition of this Institution has been one of unbroken prosperity – a prosperity limited only by the measure of our circumstances.  Quietly but surely has this out-growth of public charity and the rights of the needy pursued its course of humble usefulness dispensing to scores of impoverished minds the wealth of knowledge.

Teachers and scholars have cheerfully united to promote the great end of the Institution – the elevation of an unfortunate class.  And here let it be remembered, that this Institution is strictly and only educational in its character and therefore is not designed to be a mere Asylum for paupers or a Hospital for medical experiments upon the diseased or dead organ of hearing. – The end proposed is the education of the deaf and the means employed contemplate no other object.  We here use the term education in its widest sense, as embracing the harmonious cultivation of all the physical, mental and moral powers.

Few are aware how great is the difficulty of fully educating an uneducated mute, the difficulty being enhanced by the absence of that mental discipline and knowledge enjoyed on youth by those who possess all their senses.  And in this respect the Blind are less unfortunate than the Deaf, for the former can make large acquisitions of knowledge at home before attending school, whilst the Deaf are usually if not necessarily wholly dependent upon their Institutions for all they know.  The fact is stated to show how important such Institutions are, and how wise as well as generous has been public charity, out of which have grown so many efforts for the relief of the afflicted class.

Our school opens at 9 o’clock, a. m.  Our first exercise is a lecture in the natural and expressive language of signs.  This lecture is generally upon some moral or religious subject, and the occasion is taken to convey a knowledge of the common properties and duties of life.  No difficulty is found in imparting to even our youngest scholars abstract and spiritual ideas, although such ideas have no place in their minds whilst in an uneducated state.  The Bible, with its sublime utterances and solemn truths, is, indeed, a revelation to them, bringing as it does “life and immortality to light,” and opening to their vision a boundless world of thought.

The school is divided into three classes.  The advanced class is taught by the principal.  The second class is taught by his brother, and the primary class by the older pupils, under the direction of the principal.  This is our present arrangement, and although the classification is imperfect and another teacher needed, still we must yield to the requirements of economy, and adapt ourselves to circumstances.

We aim to give a knowledge of the English language together with the essentials of those branches of Science deemed most practical, and waste little time in efforts designed to surprise the public rather than benefit the pupil.

An effort has been made to keep our expenses within the specified sum, and the effort has been successful, but to do this we have been obliged to contract the usefulness of the Institution, by refusing admission to quite a number, and by dispensing with advantages which we otherwise might have enjoyed.

The census places the total number of mutes in the State at about three hundred.  But it is probable the census is incorrect, for already the Institution has given instruction to almost one hundred mutes, and the number in the State is doubtless near four hundred, for we have reliable data for the statement, that at least twenty five per cent. of this class might at any time be under instruction, the remainder being unfitted by age, disease, or other causes.

At present the principal has only one assistant teacher, the primary class being taught by the monitress and older pupils under the direction of the principal.

During the last two years, other teachers have been employed, but they have been discharged for the sake of economy.

The principal has never yet been able to secure the assistance of experienced teachers, as such command higher salaries than our means have allowed us to afford, and thus we have been unable, in this respect, to compete with other Institutions.

The law provides that the principal, shall, when deemed proper, make tours throughout the State in company with a number of his pupils, in order to excite an interest and call in a greater number of scholars, but necessity has required the opposite course, for from an apprehension that the Institution might be over crowded or embarrassed with applications for admission, no special effort has been deemed advisable, and indeed the general rule has been that an effort has been needed rather to limit than to enlarge our school, so as at all times to live within our means and do justice to those already admitted.

We feel that the prospect for a permanent building is not encouraging and, indeed, we do not expect the State at this time to consider that question.  We fear the day is now distant when the mutes of this State might look with pride and joy upon their own Asylum, complete in all its appointments, capacious enough to receive every worthy applicant, and standing in architectural grandeur as another perpetual monument of Iowa’s intelligent charity.

We now point with feelings of honorable pride to our magnificent Home for the Insane, and know, that when our national sky is once more clear, and these great States once more and forever united, as united they must be, then will the triumphs of peace appear in Iowa, and all our educational and charitable institutions pulsate with new life.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, February 1, 1862, p. 4

Railroad Lands

The following figures show the number of acres of land devoted to railroad enterprises in this State:

Burlington & Missouri R R	280 933 24
Cedar Rapids & Missouri R R	665 687 31
Dubuque & Pacific R R	1 147 481 17
Missouri & Mississippi R R	387 400 70
Total	2 431 502 34

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, February 1, 1862, p. 3

Despotism in Iowa

We print in another place in this paper, the ukase of Clark Dunham of Burlington.  According to the edict of this petty tool of Abolition despotism, no freight can pass outside the City of Burlington by stage or rail, going westward, without a permit, nor can any traveler proceed in the same direction without his baggage undergoing the surveillance of a custom house officer.

Whither are we drifting?  Iowa is a loyal State, she never claimed to have seceded from the Union, she has furnished nearly twenty thousand troops to sustain the Government, her citizens at home are peaceful Union men, and now under the pretence of necessity, the tyrant’s plea, we of Southern Iowa are subjected to an indignity which only finds its equal in the despotic countries of Europe and Asia.  Is this the inheritance left us by our Revolutionary sires?  The question is pertinent, it should be pressed to an answer. Whither are we drifting? – Ottumwa Mercury.

It is not exceeding strange that a staid, courteous, gentlemanly and dignified Ex-judge, who has always been severe, not to say sanctimonious, in observing the amenities of social life, should tear his undergarments in that way.  Most assuredly his Honor has not recently seen quotations of unbleached muslins.

Observe with what immeasurable contempt and indignation he speaks of the National Administration as an “abolition despotism.”  That is precisely the term used by Jefferson Davis.  Most of the Generals in the Rebel Armies, whenever they have said anything have thus spoken.  The newspapers in the Rebel States have all with one accord characterized the Administration in the same way – the epithet has become stereotyped with them.  And there is a wonderful coincidence in the spirit exhibited.  The severe austerity of the high toned, white neck clothed Judge gives way at once, and the ranting, envenomed, malignant secession sympathizer shows his teeth, as full of poison as a rattlesnake in August.  What is the matter? – Why such an exhibition of anger?  The Government has made an order designed, not to annoy or trouble loyal people but to prevent Missouri rebels from receiving arms, munitions of war, or other aid through Iowa.  Is not the purpose of the order – its intent and object, such as loyal people approve?  As to the manner of its execution?  Does any one complain of inconvenience, detention, insult or oppression?  Who?  When?

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, February 1, 1862, p. 2