CIVIL WAR

CIVIL WAR. Struggle fought within the United States from 1861 until 1865 with such complex political, economic, psychological and social causes that reasons for the conflict remain a source of disagreement among historians. By 1861 six military companies had been organized in Dubuque: the Dubuque City Guards, the Turner Rifle Company, the GOVERNOR'S GREYS, the Jackson Guards, the Dubuque Light Horse Guards and the Washington Guards.

The Dubuque City Guards were formed about 1852. Commanded by Captain Mortimer M. Hayden, the Guards were known for outstanding maneuvers and discipline. Making annual appearances on February 22 and July 4, the Guards' gala military balls were annual social highlights. By 1861, however, the attention of Dubuque crowds were drawn to the Rifle Corps commanded by Captain August Weglow, and the Guards were all but forgotten.

On April 7, 1859, a group of Dubuque citizens took the first steps to organize a new military company. Known as the Governor's Greys, this company moved into an armory in the Sanford Block and began semi-weekly drills. The first public appearance of the Greys, then composed of thirty-three men, was made on July 4, 1859. Of the 183 muskets apportioned to the State of Iowa for 1860, one-half were pledged to the Greys who did not see their firearms until February 1860.

The first Governor's Greys ball, an elaborate social occasion, was held on April 10 at the DUBUQUE CITY HALL. The striking uniform of the Greys, patterned after the National Guards of New York City, featured grey single-breasted cloth coats with three rows of buttons. Officers' coats had additional gold embroidery and lace. Trousers were grey with a black stripe. The uniform was completed with black felt caps fitted with heavy patent leather visors and the initials "G. G." The rank of the wearer determined the type of tassels, straps and scabbards.

On May 9,1859, the Washington Guards were organized. Weekly drills, held at their armory on the comer of Main and Fourth STREETS, led to their first dress parade on September 22, 1859, with an escort furnished by the Governor's Greys. The Guards' first military ball was held on November 25, 1859. The uniforms of the Guards included a regulation blue cloth coat with three rows of buttons and braiding. The trousers, of the same material, had a scarlet stripe. Red caps with gold ornaments and white pompoms completed the uniform.

In May 1859, a company of German riflemen, the Jackson Guards, was organized. The primary activities of this company were dances, drills, picnics, and target practice. Dubuque youth organized as the America Guards. Drills were held, and the group paraded on February 22 and July 4.

The Dubuque Light Horse Guards were formed in September 1860. Neither equipped nor uniformed, the group drilled with several sabers and Colt pistols once used by the Iowa City Dragoons.

With the firing upon Fort Sumter, President Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers. The First Iowa Infantry regiment was funned in Dubuque under the leadership of Colonel John F. Bates. This was the first Iowa unit established under Lincoln's call for volunteers on ninety-day service. Later regiments were formed of men volunteering typically for three years.

In proportion to her population, Iowa furnished more men to the war effort than any other state. One of the two Dubuque companies was the Governor's Greys led by Captain Francis J. HERRON and the Jackson Guard under Captain Frederick Gottschalk. Only four of the Jackson Guards were native-born Americans. The other members of the company were immigrants from Prussia, Bavaria, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, Luxembourg, and nine German states. The Governor's Greys were primarily native-born Americans with nearly half of the company originally from New York and only five natives of Iowa. There were fifteen foreign-born members of the group.

On April 22, 1861, the companies departed Dubuque for Missouri aboard the ship the Alhambra in a scene immortalized by Alexander SIMPLOT. Pro-war sermons were preached by ministers of the Baptist and Congregational Churches. Classes at Catholic schools were dismissed, and Bishop [SMYTH, Clement|Clement SMYTH]] flew the Stars and Stripes. Led by the GERMANIA BAND, the companies marched to the boat at the base of Jones Street. Uniforms for the soldiers, despite valiant efforts of the Ladies Volunteer Labour Society, were not complete and were sent two weeks later.

On August 10, 1861, Dubuque troops fought at the Battle of Wilson's Creek in southwestern Missouri near Springfield. They were defeated in their mission to control the area for the Union. The bloody battle, which lasted only one morning, led to the death of 30 percent of the Jackson Guards and 23 percent of the Governors' Greys whose uniforms unfortunately led many to be mistaken for Confederates.

Eleven days after the battle, one-fourth of the Jackson Guards and half of the Governors' Greys re-enlisted. In 1862 Captain Herron became the youngest major general of the Union Army. Hennan H. Heath, not present at Wilson's Creek, became a one star general.

Immediately after the firing on Fort Sumter there was a bi-partisan effort among Republicans and Democrats to preserve the Union. Dennis MAHONY, editor of the Dubuque Herald, wrote to Governor Kirkwood and offered to recruit and lead an Irish regiment. His offer was not accepted. Other efforts by Democrats to join in the war effort were also rejected, an action that has led some historians to suspect the Republican Party of attempts to gain a partisan victory from the war with political and economic benefits. The editor of the Dubuque Times, a staunchly Republican publication, even suggested that if Democrats really wanted to cooperate in the war effort they would join the Republican Party.

Most Northern Democrats did support the war effort, earning the title "War Democrats." Other Democrats came to oppose the war and earned for themselves the term "Peace Democrats." Dubuque also had its southern sympathizers. Senator George W. JONES and former Governor Stephen HEMPSTEAD had sons in the Confederate army. Jones, a life-long friend of Confederate President Jefferson DAVIS and United States ambassador to Columbia, was arrested upon his return to the United States in part because of indiscreet letters he had written Davis prior to the Civil War. Jones, his political fortunes ended, raised an uproar by going south to visit Davis after the war and returned in 1899 to attend the funeral of his friend.

Anti-Catholic and anti-foreign attitudes expressed by those who were also anti-slavery angered many Dubuque residents. Misunderstanding this reaction, Republican leaders including President Abraham Lincoln believed that many influential Dubuque citizens were pro-slavery. Dubuque was rumored to be a headquarters of the KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. There was widespread suppression of the press, along with arrests, censorship, and suspension of habeas corpus. It has been said Jones was jailed as much as a warning to powerful Dubuque residents as for his letters to Davis.

Dubuque's principal newspapers bitterly attacked each other's point of view. Accusations made by the Dubuque Times against the Dubuque Herald led Dennis Mahony to charge the paper with libel. The Herald further incited the Times by printing editorials that urged peace and condemned the Lincoln Administration. A riot caused by rumors of a plot to destroy the Herald office was averted by law enforcement officials and the efforts of MAYOR Henry L. STOUT.

Mahony, a bitter opponent to the war, was arrested on August 13, 1862, at his home and jailed in the Washington, D.C. prison without habeas corpus until after the elections in November 1862. Mahony ran for Congress in 1862 from his jail cell against William Boyd ALLISON and carried Dubuque County by nearly a 2 to 1 margin.

Northern Democrats who opposed the Union war policy became known as COPPERHEADS, a name first used in the July 20, 1861, issue of the New York Tribune. Some Dubuque citizens cut the heads from Indian Head cents, which had the word "Liberty" on the headdress, and wore them as badges of honor. Charges of treason were leveled against them.

Dubuque was selected in July 1862, as a rendezvous for regiments raised by a new call from the War Department. Recruiting offices flew flags from nearly every block in the city. Camp Franklin was established on the location of the former Camp Union. By August 27 Dubuque was the headquarters for 1,700 soldiers. One thousand were quartered at Camp Franklin. Boarding houses and hotels furnished shelter for seven hundred more.

The search for more soldiers led to the movement to form an Irish regiment in Dubuque. Service for one year would grant citizenship to foreigners. Those who joined were attached to General Corcoran's Irish Brigade. A special Christmas dinner for the volunteers and others stationed by Camp Franklin came from local ladies who sent pies, cakes and supplies of turkeys to the soldiers.

Dubuque became recognized as one of the Union's best recruiting centers. Recruiting officers offered the usual bounty of one hundred dollars and the first month's pay in advance. Lieutenant Dewey, one of the most successful recruiters, enlisted five hundred men in one year. Dubuque soldiers enlisted within Iowa as well as in other states. In 1862 a draft was not needed to fill the quotas of soldiers needed. As late as 1863, bounties as high as $302 for new recruits plus clothing allowance and regular pay and $402 for veteran soldiers were useful in filling the recruitment requirements.

Soldiers from Dubuque were active in the final campaigns of the war. They saw action along the Rio Grande, in Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee. At the same time, recruitment became more difficult. Obtaining substitutes to avoid conscription became more common with offers ranging from $200 to $400. A brokers' association formed in Dubuque furnished substitutes. Members each paid $250 to have a substitute for one year. If the member was not drafted his fee remained in the association. In 1864 a special tax was levied by the Board of Supervisors to relieve Dubuque County of the draft. A total of $125,000 was appropriated to secure volunteers who would enlist giving credit to Dubuque County. Scores of men flooded to Dubuque although each was to be paid no more than $400. The total amount paid out reached $115,800.

During the war, many military companies were organized in Dubuque. In 1864 soldiers joined the Key City Guards, Key City Battery and the Union Guards. Interest in military life had by now, however, weakened substantially. Adjutant General N. E. Baker had to issue an order that military companies had to drill a minimum of once per month or their equipment would be taken away.

News of the occupation of Charleston by Union troops and the surrender of General Robert E. Lee were causes of joyous celebration. Flags were displayed on February 22, 1865, to celebrate the Charleston victory, and Captain Oliver P. SHlRAS ordered a salute fired with one hundred guns in WASHINGTON PARK.

News of Lee's surrender reached Dubuque on April 8, 1865. Church bells pealed the glorious news. The bell on the FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH rang so long it cracked. Flags were displayed everywhere. Those excessively patriotic dressed themselves in national colors and paraded through the streets.

Sacrifice on the battlefield was matched by determined assistance from those left at home. Under the leadership of Mrs. James Langworthy, Mrs. Henry L. Stout, and Mrs. J. W. Taylor, the Ladies' Volunteer Labour Society in Dubuque made uniforms for the Jackson Guards and the Governor's Greys in 1861. Boxes of clothing and food were sent to soldiers in the field throughout the war. The Society met in the basement of the Baptist Church. Annual membership dues were twenty-five cents. Donations of knitting, sewing, money, and food were accepted. Christmas dinner was provided every soldier's family in Dubuque in 1863.

Fund-raising was an important activity of the Society. By 1864 an estimated sixty-two families were entirely dependent on the Society for support. In addition to the dues, the Society served breakfast and refreshments at the Iowa State Agricultural Fair in 1864. This activity, in addition to providing an evening benefit entertainment, earned the Society $1000. Collections were also taken in church. Local festivals and balls earned hundreds of dollars.

Other community efforts to help in the war effort included the Christian Commission Society. Organized on November 21, 1864, the agency met the needs of the church in distributing food and spiritual needs to military personnel. Representatives were sent to every army with supplies and Bibles. In 1863 efforts were started to establish a Soldiers' Home in Dubuque. Since it helped soldiers from counties outside of Dubuque, financial assistance was sent from boards of supervisors in Blackhawk, Bremer, Butler, Chickasaw, Delaware, Floyd, Jones and Mitchell counties. Over one thousand soldiers were aided within one year.

The Civil War led to the deaths of 3,540 in combat; 8,498of disease; 515 in prisoner-of-war camps; 227 in accidents; and 221 from nonmilitary causes. There were 8,500 reported wounded. In 1893 Dubuque's monument to her Civil War dead was erected in LINWOOD CEMETERY after twelve years of collecting funds.