A CIVIL WAR SOLDIER S LETTER

D-Y-T A Publication of the Kossuth County Genealogical Society c/o Algona Public Library 210 North Phillips Street, Algona, IA 50511 kossgensoc@hotmail.com Website: www.kossuthcountygenealogicalsociety.com Volume V, Summer Issue June, 2011 A CIVIL WAR SOLDIER S LETTER In September of 1861, four fine young men from the Algona area answered Mr. Lincoln s call. Lafayette Binkley, 19 years old from Irvington, joined a cavalry company that was raised at Ft. Dodge which was later reorganized and made a part of Company A, 11 th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Local residents George W. Millen, aged 21, and his brother, William Millen, 18, both enlisted to the credit of Marshall County, Iowa, into the Eleventh Cavalry. David Holcomb, an early settler of Algona, enlisted September 25, 1861, in Company D, Sixteenth Iowa Infantry. John Stockham of the Algona vicinity also enlisted in 1861 as a member of the Sixteenth. The last to enlist that year was Robert Henderson who was 21 years old when he enlisted on November 14 th into the independent Sioux City Cavalry Company which the war department later transferred to the Company I, Seventh Iowa Cavalry. This famous regiment was constantly engaged in scouting, in watching the actions of the Indians, in escorting trains and in protecting the settlers in every way. David Holcomb went on to fight at Pittsburg Landing (a part of the Battle of Shiloh) in April of 1862. On the 11 th day of that month he was in Savannah, Tennessee and he wrote home to a lady friend: We arrived at Pittsburg (the place where the battle was fought) last Friday night. We stopped on the boat till Saturday noon, then went ashore, but did not pitch our tents for we expected to go out four miles from the river to Camp. On Sunday morning, without a moment s warning, we were ordered out to the field of battle. We marched about three and a half miles and came to a small clearing where we saw some of our regiments in deadly conflict with the enemy. It looked rough but we had to go in. We marched across the land in front of the enemy s fire while the shells were bursting and the grape and bullets were rattling like hail all around us. Just as we were leaving the clearing and going into the timber, I was struck in the elbow by a piece of shell, which disabled me, and I had to leave the ranks. I am in hopes it is nothing serious, although it makes a pretty bad arm of it. The shell went into the joint, but with good care I think I shall keep the use of my arm. Sunday noon, I heard there were three killed and 12 or 14 wounded out of our company, but here it is Friday and God only knows how many there are left by this time. The wounded were taken right from the field to Savannah, (some 8 miles), and I have heard nothing definite

D-Y-T June, 2011 Page 2 from the boys since. But thank God, we are coming out victorious the enemy are driven back about fifteen miles and out boys will soon wipe them out. There are now in this town about 1500 wounded soldiers, and such suffering I never expected to witness. There are so few doctors, it is impossible to do the wounded justice. Whether they will send us home until we get well, I can t say, but I guess they will send us where we can get home on a furlough. My arm pains me badly and I must close. John Stockham was also wounded at Pittsburg Landing during the battle of Shiloh. Both he and David Holcomb were transferred to Cincinnati where they both succumbed to their injuries. David died on the 17 th day of May, 1862 and lies buried in the National Cemetery in Cincinnati. The report of his death was the first intelligence the people at home received of the loss of a Kossuth soldier in battle during the Civil War. * * * * * This old stereoscope photo was part of a collection owed by the Algona Public Library. On the back it states that these are Civil War veterans. KCGS is trying to date the photo. Perhaps it was a Decoration Day gathering. There is also a possibility that it might have been taken at the 1904 Semi-Centennial celebration. The October 5, 1904 edition of the Upper Des Moines Republican states that the veterans marched in the parade, stating, The G. A. R. men carried the flag and marched to the music... The line of march was up State street to the southeast corner of the Court House square, then north and around the square to the southeast corner, where the military formed in hollow square and the schools were massed facing the reviewing stand, occupied by old settlers... The only obstacle to complete success was the muddy condition of the streets, which compelled the procession to move up the sidewalk instead of through the middle of the street as had been planned. From the buildings pictured we can confirm the men are gathered on the southeast corner of the courthouse square. However, the streets do not appear to be muddy. Any information anyone can provide about when this photo was taken will be appreciated.

D-Y-T June, 2011 Page 3 From the Algona Upper Des Moines Wednesday, July 5, 1911 THOS. DAILEY PASSES AWAY Dies at His Home In Whittemore Sunday Morning After a Severe Illness. Was Civil War Veteran, Post Commander Of G. A. R. and Devout Catholic. The sad but not unexpected news reached this city Sunday that Sergeant Thomas Dailey, of Whittemore, had given up life's struggle just as the church bells had ceased tolling for the 10 o'clock mass. He had been a sufferer from Bright's disease and for the past few weeks had been in a critical condition, so that the end which comes to each of us was expected in this instance at almost any moment. Thomas Dailey was born in County Roscommon, Ireland, March 15, 1832, and his death occurring July 2nd, 1911, made him seventynine years, three and one half months old when he fell into the long sleep. In 1848 he came to Brooklyn, New Hampshire, where he remained six years. From thence he went to Onieda county, New York, where, in 1854, he was married to Miss Mary Smith, and shortly after, the couple moved to Illinois. Mr. Dailey has a long and honorable war record to his credit. He enlisted in an Illinois infantry regiment in November, 1861, and re-enlisted in February, 1863, at Blain's Cross Roads in East Tennessee. He was a participant in all the battles fought by the Army of the Cumberland, from that of Island No. 10, to those of Chicamaugua, Missionary Ridge, Chattanooga and Atlanta. He received his honorable discharge August 6th, 1864, by a special order of the war department, having risen to the rank of second sergeant of Company B, of the 51st Illinois Infantry. He was an enthusiastic member of the G. A. R. and post commander of Post No. 327, of Algona. In his private life he was known as a man of excellent qualities and had none but friends among the many who knew him. He was always a most devout member of the Catholic church. St. Michaels Catholic Cemetery Whittemore, Iowa

D-Y-T June, 2011 Page 4 After the war Mr. Dailey moved his family to Allamakee county, Iowa, and after a residence of about thirteen years there, came to Palo Alto county where he purchased a 320-acre farm. The family came to Kossuth in 1884, and have since lived in Algona, except a short residence in Carthage, Missouri, and up to three or four years ago when they moved to Whittemore, where they have since resided. The funeral was held from the Catholic church in Whittemore this morning at 10:00 o'clock, the Rev. Father Dullard having charge of the service. The G. A. R. Post from Algona went to Whittemore in autos and attended the services. Besides his family consisting of an aged wife and five children, he leaves two sisters living in Rockford, Illinois, who were here a short time ago to visit with the brother in failing health. His four sons are E. 0. Dailey, of Muscatine, H. S. of Whittemore, C. M. and Capt. A. F. Dailey of Algona. The only daughter is Mrs. James Canfield of Denver, who has been assisting in the care of her father for the past two or three weeks. The impressive burial ceremony at Whittemore where his remains are lying at rest. * * * * * This plaque is located on the Kossuth County Courthouse lawn in memory of the James C. Taylor G. A. R. Post, No. 165 which was organized on May 4, 1883 and disbanded 1910.

D-Y-T June, 2011 Page 5 NEWS FROM KCGS We are currently eating, sleeping and dreaming of the Civil War! As many of you may know, 2011 is the 150 th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. Approximately one month ago we found out that Algona was hosting two very special events for its Founders Day celebration July 8-10 th. First, there will be a Civil War reenactor here giving a presentation on what it was like to be a Civil War soldier. In addition the traveling museum sponsored by the Iowa Historical Museum telling the stories of Iowans contributions to the Civil War effort will be in town. Those two events prompted us to wonder about the soldiers/veterans from Kossuth County. We decided to attempt to tell the stories of both the soldiers who enlisted from Kossuth County as well as those veterans who settled in Kossuth County following the war. When we began our research we were anticipating 200 to 300 soldiers/veterans. We are now at 500 and the list grows daily! We are asking for help from all of our members. Do YOU have a Civil War soldier/veteran in your lineage with ties to Kossuth County? If so, please dust off the old photos and memorabilia and send them to us! Our presentation will be displayed in the Wells Fargo depot building on Dodge Street two doors north of the Kossuth County Historical Museum. Photos of our boys at any age would be welcome as would obituaries, funeral cards, postcards, letters, certificates, discharge papers or any item that can be scanned. We will also be doing a physical display of memorabilia so please consider loaning any items you may have that the public would enjoy viewing. Our thanks to Manita Murphy who is heading up this project. Any questions can be directed to her at 515-320-2091. We will still be sponsoring an Antique Photo Roadshow during the 2011 Founders Day celebration in Algona. We plan to have a scanner set up so that participants can bring in their photos which we can scan while they wait. Information about the photos will also be recorded to be indexed into our system. We will be located in the Algona Welcome Center at 113 East State Street on Friday, July 8 th from 1-6 p.m. and Saturday, July 9 th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Please take the time to dig out your treasured photos and postcards and bring them in. It is our goal to preserve this wonderful source of information for generations to come. Keep in mind that there is no need to wait until July if you have photos which you would like to share with us. If you have photos you can loan to us for scanning, please contact any board member. They will be promptly scanned and returned. Also photographs can be emailed to kossgensoc@hotmail.com. Be sure to enter Photo Roadshow in the subject line. Any details you can provide about the photos would be welcome. Names of some or all of the subjects pictured, name and location of business or town scene, etc., will help us to index the photo properly so it can be used by generations to come. BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Letty Henricksen, Pat Klemm, Jean Kramer & Nancy Yeoman

D-Y-T June, 2011 Page 6 From the Upper Des Moines Republican, October 5, 1904: KOSSUTH AND THE SECOND CAVALRY In all eighteen members of the Second Iowa Cavalry enlisted from Kossuth, their names being Henry M. Patterson, Wm. B. Carey, Jno. K. Fill, Horace Schenck, Simon Helpmen, J. C. Heckart, Elias Kellogg, Levi Carey, John Ehinger, Chas. Moll, Edward P. Crockett, Thos. J. Clarke, John Henderson, A. M. Johnson, Chas. Kellogg, James C. Taylor, John Reibhoff, David Holcombe. KOSSUTH AND THE THIRTY-SECOND INFANTRY Kossuth furnished to the Thirty-Second Infantry sixteen men as follows: John Reed, Abiather Hull, C. E. Orcutt, Charles Gray, M. J. Sample, John Stockham, William Thayer, Wm. T. Crockett, Geo. W. Barnes, John Talbot, Rufus Sanderson, George Benschoter, W. T. Hensley, Thos. Miller, and O. B. Wilson. KOSSUTH AND THE NORTHERN BORDER BRIDAGE The Border Brigade, organized in 1862 to protect the northwestern frontier against the Indians who were making trouble in Minnesota, was a formidable organization. Capt. Wm. H. Ingham recruited the Algona company, of which he had command, with Edward E. McKnight first lieutenant and Jesse Coverdale second lieutenant. The privates and noncommissioned officers were Haven F. Watson, Addison Fisher, Christian Hackman, J. R. Armstrong, August Zahlten, Wm. Crook, Thos. F. Clarke, John Heggarty, Jno. W. Summers, James Young, James G. Greene, Andrew J. Jones, Thos. Robinson, Michael Smith, Jacob Altwegg. Lewis H. Smith was the Quartermaster of the Northern Border Brigade.

D-Y-T June, 2011 Page 7 From Quick-Tip of the Month for Preservation--Disaster Preparedness by Curt B. Witcher *************************************** All the horrible weather that has plagued such a large part of the country reminds us again of how important disaster preparedness is for our genealogical materials and family heirlooms. Typically we don t think about what to do with these items until it s too late. When you re in a tornado shelter or being evacuated because a critical dam or levy just broke--that is not the time to begin your disaster planning. Many have heard the acronym LOCKSS, which stands for Lots Of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe. And that is the best way to prepare for a disaster when it comes to your genealogical documents. With the ease and low cost of scanning and digital technology, and the high quality of the scanned images, think very seriously about creating a digital archive of your family photograph albums and other important family documents. And then don t store that digital archive right next to your computer, or even in the same house! Send it to a relative in another town, or create a space for your family history on WeRelate.org and post your digital documents there. You can also consider what many thousands of people are doing--using cloud storage such as Mozy, Dropbox, and Carbonite. Most offer significant storage space at a reasonable cost. Prepare to preserve your family treasures before disaster strikes.

D-Y-T June, 2011 Page 8 WEBSITES OF INTEREST New England Historical Genealogy Society, established in 1845 -- interesting site regarding the New England states - - http://web1.americanancestors.org/home.html Do you have favorite genealogy websites? Please send them to us so we can share with our members. FOR SALE KOSSUTH COUNTY, IOWA Death Record #1-1880-1897 KOSSUTH COUNTY, IOWA Death Record #2 1897-1919 Transcribed from notes taken from original record Recent Additions to the Genealogy Room: High School Yearbooks: Algona High School Senior Magazine 1928, 1929 Algona High School The Algonquin 1930 Algona High School Yearbooks 1939, 1940-1944, 1946, 1949, 1965-1969, 1971-1976, 1979-1980, 1985, 1987, 1988 Other publications: Algona College Old Indian Days Bishop Garrigan Alumni Directory 1995 St. Joseph Catholic Church 2001 St. Joseph Catholic Church, Bode, Iowa 1876-1991 Parish Directory St. Joseph Catholic Church, Wesley, Iowa 1891-1991 How and Why Iowans Named Kossuth County in 1851 HAVE YOU RENEWED YOUR MEMBERSHIP? 1896 KOSSUTH COUNTY PLAT BOOK Printed in black & white With index 1901 KOSSUTH COUNTY PLAT BOOK With Index Each of the above are $25 + $1.75 tax and $5 P&H To order your copies, contact Jean Kramer at jkramer1976@hotmail.com or KCGS by mail Your membership dollars and contributions continue to help us expand our library and resources. THANK YOU!!

D-Y-T June, 2011 Page 9 KOSSUTH COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY The Kossuth County Genealogical Society was incorporated in June of 2007 and is a chapter of the Iowa Genealogical Society. The goal of our members is to archive the family records of Kossuth County, Iowa, and make them available to the general public. We collect and maintain genealogy material which is stored in the genealogy room at the Algona Public Library. We do research and answer queries regarding Kossuth County and its residents. We hold regular monthly meetings with a variety of programs and guest speakers and hold workshops. The society also publishes a newsletter several times throughout the year. To submit items for publication in newsletter, please e-mail to kossgensoc@hotmail.com including newsletter in the subject line or mail items to KCGS, c/o Algona Public Library, 210 North Phillips Street, Algona, IA 50511. MEMBERSHIP: Dues are $10 per year individual/$15 couple and run from March 1 to the last day of February. Membership includes subscription to the newsletter (one per membership). In addition to membership dues, KCGS welcomes donations, both of money and/or genealogical materials. MEETINGS: The Society meets in Room D of the Algona Public Library at 7:00 p.m. the second Monday of each month except December unless otherwise notified. The annual meeting is held each March. RESEARCH CHARGES: The Society charges a minimum of $5 for one-half hour of research and $10 per hour thereafter, plus copying costs and postage. Your research requests can be mailed to KCGS at the address listed on the front of the newsletter or can be submitted via email to Nancy Yeoman at ncyeoman3@hotmail.com. When the materials requested have been located, a bill will be sent to you and upon payment receipt, the materials will be mailed to you. As a member of KCGS, you are entitled to submit queries for publication in the newsletter free of charge. If you are not a member of KCGS, there is a $5 charge per query. (See the section How to Submit a Query in this newsletter). Application for Membership: Send this application and the annual dues to Kossuth County Genealogical Society, c/o Letty Henriksen, P.O. Box 16, Lone Rock, IA 50559. Donations are also welcome. Name: Address: City: State Zip Code Phone: Email: Surnames Researching: Amount $ Year: Check #: Date Received: ( ) New ( ) Renewal