procure a monument to the departed heroes of the Civil war gained impetus and finally resulted in the accumulation of a fund of $2,000, which was expended on a fitting memorial shaft, that was erected on the southwest front of the court house park, July 4, 1869,-but four years after the close of the great conflict between the states. A dramatic association formed by the men and women whose names have been here given, presented to the public amateur performances that had the merit of drawing large audiences. A called meeting of the citizens followed and through the persistent efforts of Elder Sevey, Judge Tannehill, C. H. Howell, D. M. Rice, Jacob Rummel, J. A. Breazeale, Isaac S. Adams, C. Hollingsworth, D. L. Strickler, S. M. Moore, William Bradley, B. Adamson, General Francis M. Drake, J. R. Wooden, D. C. Campbell, and J. Lankford, a county memorial association was organized. John Hughes was chosen president, Colonel J. F. Walden, vice president, Jacob Rummel, secretary, and C. H. Howell, treasurer. These associations secured the money for the monument, passed upon and adopted the plans and made all arrangements for the dedication, which was made one of the salient events in the county's history. General J. B. Weaver of Iowa, noted for his oratory and a presidential candidate, delivered the address of the day. The stone is about twenty-two feet in height and stands on four bases, the first three of limestone and the fourth marble. The die is about two and onehalf feet square at the bottom and four feet high. On the southwest face of the die is the inscription, "Union Soldiers' Monument, Erected July 4, 1869," while on the three other faces are carved the names of the dead heroes of Appanoose. The plinth is about two feet square, ornamented with lily work. The spire is six feet in height, and is perfectly plain, except that it bears the national coat-ofarms on the southwest face. The cap is about two and one-half feet square and of corresponding height. On this rests an urn of suitable proportions. In all, the monument, while not elaborate in design, is admirably proportioned and is an object of special interest and reverence of the people. Its cost was $2,000. COMPANY E IN THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR The student of history well knows that for many generations the inhabitants of Cuba had been struggling to rid themselves from the Spanish yoke and establish autonomy on the island. In 1897 many bloody skirmishes had taken place between the islanders and Spanish troops, most of which were in the nature of guerilla warfare on the part of the Cubans, with such success for the Cuban arms, however, as to arouse general sympathy throughout the United States. From various sources in this country the Cuban patriots received material assistance, which became known to the Spanish government and so enraged certain of the loyal Spaniards, residents of Cuba, that the lives of the American consul, General Fitzhugh Lee, and other citizens of the United States on the island became imperiled. To increase the bitterness of the liberty-loving citizens of the United States and the blood-thirsty Dons, a magnificent war vessel, the Maine, was blown into fragments while in the harbor of Havana, on a February night in 1898, destroying hundreds of lives of the sailors who were on board. This soaroused the war spirit throughout the length and breadth of the Union that the McKinley administration was practically forced into a declaration of war against Spain, it having been taken for granted throughout this nation that the destruc Vol. I-15 tion of the Maine was the inhuman handiwork of Spanish sympathizers. Hence, it was, that on the 23d day of April, 1898, President McKinley issued a call for 125,000 volunteers to assist the regular army and the Cuban soldiery to whip the Dons and drive them forever from American soil and when Company E was notified every member dropped whatever he had in hand and that evening gathered at the Armory to answer roll call and make ready for departure to camp and the field of battle, if need be. Company E was a constituent part of the Second Regiment, Iowa National Guard. The "boys" were members of well known families and some of them were married. Others had sweethearts and all the feminine contingent of patriotic Appanoose had their hearts pitched to a high key of anxiety for Company E in detail. On Monday evening, April 25, 1898, the ladies of the P. E. O. Society gave the company a reception and the military organization appeared in ful! uniform at the Armory, the scene of the function, headed by the Third Regiment band. The gathering-a very large one-was addressed by Colonel C. A. Saunders, commander of the regiment; Colonel E. C. Haynes, General H. H. Wright, H. E. Valentinę, mayor of the city and a member of Company E. Others who expressed their sentiments towards the Spaniards and cheered the boys in their coming ordeal, were Joseph Payton, commander of Bashor Post, G. A. R., and Hon. Claude R. Porter. On the afternoon of the 26th of April, Company E, with the Third Regiment band in front, marched to the K. & W. depot, where 5,000 patriotic and enthusiastic men, women and children saw the soldier boys entrain for the state capital, where, upon their arrival, they took up quarters in Camp McKinley. While in camp at Des Moines, the company was thoroughly drilled and equipped with all the paraphernalia and accoutrements of the modern soldier, and on the 17th of May, with the exception of a few rejected at the time of the physical examination, the boys were mustered into the service of the United States as Company E, Fiftieth Iowa Infantry, for three years, or until the end of the war. On this same day Company E was presented with a silk flag by the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. On the 21st of May the Fiftieth Regiment left Camp McKinley for Tampa, Florida, but was stopped at Jacksonville, went into quarters at Camp Cuba Libre and remained there until the articles of peace were signed. On the 13th of September the regiment broke camp and returned to Camp McKinley, at Des Moines, reaching there on the 17th. On the 20th Company E returned to Centerville on thirty days' furlough and was given a magnificent reception by the city, whose citizens were proud of the splendid record the boys had made, even though they had not been able to meet the enemy face to face. On November 1st the company again was in Camp McKinley, where each member was reexamined, paid and honorably discharged, having served six months and seven days from the time the organization answered the President's call for troops the preceding April. It still maintains its identity as Company E, Fiftieth Regiment, Iowa National Guards, having been mustered in as such February 9, 1899. The roster of Company E, Fiftieth Iowa Volunteers, follows: Fee, T. G.; Porter, G. M.; Valentine, H. E.; Gilcrest, G. G. Corporals Fowbel, S. B.; Ogle, G. B.; Cutler, W. A.; Elgin, C. H.; Stephenson, R. O.; Phillips, W. J.; Duckworth, A. S.; Benson, L. E.; Halden, W. L.; Fortney, G. W.; Kindig, C. W.; Pixley, E. A. Ammons, B. F.; Baker, C. A.; Beall, C. H.; Blakesley, W. P.; Boston, C. P.; Brown, G. W.; Brown, Z. E.; Burns, Thomas; Berry, G. W.; Bryan, E. E.; Caster, H. W.; Charlton, M. L.; Clark, G. F.; Clark, Claude; Close, W. J.; Connoly, J. G.; Daniels, W. S.; Davis, J. W.; Dodds, W. P.; Duck, George; Duckworth, A. B.; Efaw, Dexter; Elwood, Samuel; Everman, J. F.; Finerty, J. M.; Fleak, Dennis; Frisby, Charles; Fuller, C. E.; Frazee, W. L.; Gale, W. I.; Gilcrest, Paul; Greene, V. W.; Gedney, Harry; Halden, M. A.; Harris, A. H.; Higginbottom, B.; Haselton; Hobson, J. L.; Kelley, James; Kinion, G. C.; Kingsbury, C. W.; Khyler, H. J.; King, J. R.; Lantz, J. G.; Larson, O. O.; Lane, C. J.; Lane, G. H.; Lewis, E. H.; Loughridge, E.; McNelly, W. A.; McKeehan, C. E.; Maddeaux, H. W.; Mytinger, A. E.; Moore, R. H.; Moore, F. C.; Moorman, C. M.; Mundell, G. H.; Ogle, James T.; Palmer, J. P.; Reed, C. P.; Parker, J. H.; Reynolds, A. C.; Richardson, L. O.; Robey, S. . B.; Sapp, B. F.; Simpson, F. B.; Stevens, J. H.; Stephenson, R. G.; Shook, Jos.; Snyder, Ed.; Treon, Bert; Tyler, C. M.; Tuttle, J. B.; Ward, John; Wakeland, C. M.; Weaver, M. J.; Weaver, Claud; Wiemer, E. A.; Wilkerson, C. A.; Welton, Charles; Wright, D. R.; Wood, Noah D. Private W. P. Blakesley died of typhoid fever en route home from service. |