Polk County IA Archives History - Books .....1860 To 1865 1898
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Book Title: Annals Of Polk County, Iowa And City Of Des Moines

CHAPTER XI.
1860 TO 1865.

THIS may be termed the war period of the city and county as it was of the entire
country. As the chapter devoted to military history shows, the call for soldiers
and the hearty and liberal response thereto was a heavy draft upon Des Moines
and Polk county. It drew from the active pursuits of civil life hundreds of
young men and placed them in the field as soldiers—as destroyers rather than
creators of wealth and prosperity —and yet during these five years of almost
continuous destructive war the county and city steadily increased in both
population and wealth. In 1860 the population was: county, 11,625; city, 3,965;
1863, county, 12,925; city, 4,419; 1865, county, 15,244; city, 5,722. Thus it
wall be seen there was a steady and even rapid gain in population during the
entire years of the war, in spite of the heavy drafts made for soldiers in the
field.

   One cause of this was no doubt that the location of city and county were far
away from the scene of active hostilities. It was some 100 miles to the northern
boundary of Missouri, and save only in one or two instances were there any
alarms as to apprehended fighting or trouble within the limits of city and
county. Of one of these we may as well make a note here. One of the noted
leaders of a band of rebel guerrillas or bushwhackers in Missouri was one Bill
Anderson who frequently in the war period appeared in northern Missouri and
sometimes perhaps came near to but it is not certain that he ever crossed the
Iowa line. In 1864 in some way a wild rumor was started that the noted Bill,
with a formidable band had crossed the Iowa line, and was headed straight fur
the capital of Iowa, intent upon pillage and slaughter. This alarm started in
the southern tier of counties and soon spread to this county and city. And while
some may have laughed, others were much alarmed, and a few may have begun to
pray. The city was virtually defenseless so far as any organized force was
concerned, and as messengers and rumors kept coming in that the redoutable Bill
was approaching the alarm became general. B. F. Allen and some of the other
bankers took the precaution to place their current funds beyond the reach of
Bill and his gang. There were two pieces of artillery in town and they were
placed in charge of a volunteer company, six horses hastily procured and hitched
to each, and the two guns taken with some difficulty to the state capitol, there
to make a stand. Captain H. H. Griffith, Col. James A. Williamson and other
officers who happened to be home on furlough, assumed direction of the defense
and hasty preparations were made to give the Missouri Bill a hostile reception.
But much to the relief of all it was in a short time learned that the bold
invader was a hundred miles or more away, and was at that time more intent upon
saving himself and band from capture by the Union soldiers than he was on
capturing Des Moines or any other city or town in Iowa. This little war
excitement soon passed away and the ordinary pursuits of civil life were quickly
resumed in this city and county.

   When the great civil war commenced there was naturally stagnation and
dullness in all kinds of business, but as it progressed money became more
plenty, prices advanced, and labor was in demand. The result was that in many
ways the people here and elsewhere in the country during the later years of the
war period enjoyed what is called "good" or "flush times." Not only did new
people come in with the intention of becoming permanent citizens, but many new
business enterprises were initiated, new buildings projected and built, new
farms opened, and on every hand were seen the evidences of growth and
prosperity. Both town and county rapidly improved during the closing years of
this war. It may seem strange that this should be the case when the greatest
civil war of modern times was wasting thousands of lives and hundreds of
millions of property, and yet it is a fact known to all who were then residents
of this county. That war may have been a great injury to other states and people
but it certainly did greatly help Iowa and add largely to her wealth and
population.

   During this period of 1860-5 there were many material improvements made in
the city and county. The then new court house was completed and occupied by the
county offices. The Savery House was finished and duly opened as the leading
hotel of the city and state. A large number of business houses, many of them
large and substantial brick structures, were erected, as were scores of new
dwelling houses, not a few of which were large and handsome homes for the more
enterprising citizens. Many of the necessaries as well as the luxuries of life
had largely risen in price and the cost of living had been materially increased,
but wages had more than correspondingly increased in amount and demand, and
hence the mechanic or laboring man enjoyed the same prosperity as did the
merchant, the trader or the speculator. Real estate, the lots in town and the
farming lands in the country, also rapidly advanced in value during this war
period. The East Side as well as the West Side of the city felt this boom and
competed with each other in improvement and business. And during these times the
man who wanted work found little if any difficulty in procuring all he desired
at a liberal rate of remuneration. So the close of this war period found Des
Moines and Polk county growing and prosperous.

   During the later years of the war Des Moines was made the headquarters of the
Fifth Congressional district, for the enrollment of persons liable to military
service, and their drafting into the army and also for the enlistment of
volunteers. The district then embraced twenty-three counties, extending to the
Missouri River on the west and the state line on the south, including nearly all
of south western Iowa. S. C. Brownell, then a prominent citizen of Des Moines
and one of the first dentists located here, was appointed captain and U. S.
provost marshal, Dr. J. P. Finley, of Decatur county, surgeon, and Col. Cornish
and afterwards Col. Hedges, of Fremont county, enrolling commissioners. These
gentlemen constituted the U. S. enrolling board, and had their rooms in the
Turner building on Court avenue next to the alley east of the Register office.
During portions of 1864-5 this was a very busy place. In anticipation of the
draft the wards of the city and the townships of the county made heroic efforts
to fill their quotas and thus escape the draft. Money was freely subscribed and
expended and many other inducements held out to volunteers. The entire city,
with the exception of the First ward, finally managed to fill the required
number and thus escaped, as did a number of the country townships. But the First
ward and a number of the townships had to, as it was then termed, "stand draft,"
and this was the cause of considerable distress and expense to the drafted men
and their families. Those who had the means generally hired substitutes, the
prices for which starting at about $500 soon increased to $1,000 and more. Those
who were too poor to hire substitutes were forced to enter the service, and a
few of the drafted men "took to the brush"—that is, went into hiding or left the
country. As a general thing the families of the drafted men who went into the
service were taken care of and their wants supplied to some extent by their
neighbors and friends.

   For days and weeks after the draft in the fall of 1864 men from all over the
district were daily making their appearance at the headquarters on Court avenue.
Many after examination by Surgeon Finley were found to be unfit by reason of
physical disability, and not a few rejoiced because of this which at another
time they would have mourned over. Others hunted up or employed agents to hunt
up substitutes, and at times the demand for the latter was much beyond the
supply, and prices ran as high as $1,200 and $1,500 per head for good
substitutes. Not a few honorably discharged soldiers, tempted by the money paid,
re-enlisted as substitutes and again went to the front. During the excitement of
the time many charges were naturally made against the U. S. enrolling boards,
but it is only justice to say by one who was personally familiar with the inside
history of the Des Moines board, that in the discharge of their difficult and
delicate duties Messrs. Brownell, Finley and Hedges, and their deputies and
clerks, always endeavored to act justly, honestly and with liberality to all.
When the wheel of this serious lottery first turned a number of prominent
gentlemen of different politics were invited to be and were present to closely
inspect everything pertaining to the draft, and they all certified cheerfully to
the absolute fairness and impartiality of the officers in charge. A forced draft
of this kind is not, however, a pleasant necessity, and it is to be hoped no
occasion will ever again arise for its employment in this country or state or
county. As the total number finally drafted in Polk county was only about fifty
men, this county came more nearly voluntarily filling its quota than almost any
other county in the state.

   When it became known there was almost certainty of a military draft taking
place in Iowa, a number of able-bodied men concluded Iowa was a good state to
emigrate from, and as there were no drafts anticipated there and gold
discoveries and other inducements were held out, the drift of emigration set
strongly towards the more western territories. Many of these men would not have
gone further west than Iowa if there had been no draft in prospect, but it is
doubtless true that not a few were moved to emigration by fear of this military
call, and left here with the intention of returning to the county or state after
all danger was over in this regard. Governor Stone was aware of this, and in
February, 1864, issued a proclamation in which he placed these words: "I hereby
forbid all citizens of Iowa removing beyond the limits of the state before the
10th day of March next." Notwithstanding the legal doubts as to the Governor's
authority to issue such an order some efforts were made to enforce it, but these
efforts were in the main as futile as might have been expected. Some of the
emigrants were put to more or less trouble, and a few stopped on their journeys,
but the large majority of them passed on their way regardless of the Governor's
attempted embargo.

   While the soldiers were in the field the citizens of the city and county were
generally generous and liberal not only to the soldiers, but also to their
families. Several times the city and county, in their corporate capacities,
voted generous sums for the support of the families of the soldiers then in the
front, and public opinion heartily endorsed all appropriations made for these
purposes. But it was the people in their individual capacity who deserve the
most praise for their efforts to relieve the soldiers' families. They not only
made liberal donations in money, but many a load of wood or coal and various
family supplies were freely and cheerfully furnished in town and county. At one
time so great was the abundance of articles of food, clothing, etc., sent to the
soldiers at the front that officers and men wrote back thanking the donors, but
stating they were receiving more than they needed or could be made good use of.
All they asked was that their families and dependent relatives at home should be
properly cared for.

   In the city concerts and many entertainments were given for the benefit of
soldiers' families and these generally met with a liberal response from the
people. Among these was the "Old Folks' Concerts," which not only gave much
enjoyment, but also realized considerable money for this worthy purpose. Later
on a large and permanent organization was effected for the relief of the
families of soldiers. This association had among its officers and members many
of the prominent men and women of the city and county, and their generous and
systematic work in this field brought relief and comfort to hundreds of
families. They never made a call for contributions of money and goods that was
not cheerfully responded to by the men and women of town and country. A great
festival was given for the relief of soldiers' families in December, 1864, and
the net proceeds of this amounted to the goodly sum of $4,215.28.

   Nor was the country behind the town in this good work. Aid and other
societies were formed in nearly every township in the county, and few soldiers'
families were allowed to suffer from want. In every neighborhood there was more
or less generous rivalry in seeing which could take the better care of the
families of those who were then at the front fighting for the Union. Necessarily
there was more or less privation and some suffering among these families, but
the people of both city and county deserve the hi-hest praise for their
generosity and liberality in those days of war, when so many fathers, husbands
and sons marched to the front and never returned.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

ANNALS OF POLK COUNTY, IOWA,
AND
CITY OF DES MOINES
BY WILL PORTER.

"And this volume, dedicated to its people, sets forth in attractive style all
the facts and incidents that go to make up the history of which all citizens are
justly proud."
—Major Hoyt Sherman.

GEO. A. MILLLER PRINTING COMPANY,
PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS,
DES MOINES, IOWA,
1898.


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