IOWA IN THE WAR

Iowa’s Civil War Service

When the Civil War erupted in 1861, Iowa was a relatively new state, having been admitted to the Union just fifteen years before in 1846. In 1861, Iowa’s population was growing rapidly and had reached about 600,000. The river valleys had been largely settled. Only the northwestern area of Iowa was still sparsely populated.

When President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers immediately after Fort Sumter, Iowa was requested to raise one infantry regiment. The 1st Iowa Infantry was the state’s only 90-day regiment because it was widely believed that the outcome of the war would be decided quickly. The 1st Iowa Infantry fought one engagement at Wilson’s Creek in southern Missouri.

Other infantry and cavalry regiments as well as several batteries of artillery were formed later in 1861, and even more after Lincoln’s second call for volunteers in 1862. In addition to these, many Iowans served in volunteer units from other Union states and in the regular U.S. Army and Navy. Still others served in local militias that formed home guards for their local communities right here in Iowa. Altogether, about 70% of all adult white males served in some military capacity during the Civil War. African-Americans from Iowa also served the Union cause by forming the 1st Iowa African Infantry which was later reorganized by the U.S. Army as the 60th Regiment U.S. Colored Troops. Considering that Iowa’s total black population in 1861 was no more than 1,000, this was a significant contribution to the Union war effort.

By wars end, Iowa had raised 52 units. Some of the regiments that were raised late in the war were used for labor and manning supply lines in order to release the older seasoned regiments for the most intensive fighting. One of these regiments was the 37th Iowa Infantry, which became known as the “Greybeards” because it was composed mostly of older men, one of whom was 81 years old. Many enlistments expired late in 1863 and early in 1864. Most of these men re-enlisted and many of these regiments were reorganized as veteran regiments.

In the early phases of the war, Iowa’s volunteer regiments fought in many battles and sieges in the Mississippi River valley area. Many fought at Shiloh and Vicksburg. They also participated in many lesser-known engagements in Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Mississippi.

After the capture of Vicksburg, most Iowa regiments were shifted east. Many fought under General Sherman at Atlanta in the summer of 1864 and joined his famous March to the Sea across Georgia that fall. They moved with Sherman into the Carolinas during the winter of 1864-5 and were instrumental in the capture of Columbia, South Carolina. Many Iowa regiments marched in the Grand Review in Washington, D.C. on May 24-25, 1865 after the victorious end of the war.

For all of their military experience and expertise, most Iowans quickly returned home and took up the work on their farms and in their stores and renewed life with their family and friends where they had left off years before. Many of these men joined the Civil War veteran’s organization, the Grand Army of the Republic. They also participated in the political, economic, social, and cultural life of the nation over the next half century. Many of these men eventually contributed diaries, photos, correspondence, reminiscences, and histories to the State Archives which is located in the State Historical Building.