HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES.

CHAPTER XIII.

CIVIL WAR AND INDIAN TROUBLES.
FRONTIER. PROTECTION-THE HOME GUAIWS-THEIR NUMEROUS EXPEDITIOXS -TROUBLE ON THE LITTLE SIOUX RIVER-Two OLD CITIZENS KILLED NEAR SIOUX CITY-EXPEDITION OF THE SIOUX CITY CAVALRY AGAINST THE INDIANS-A FLAG PRESENTATION BY THE LADIES.

AT the breaking out of the Rebellion, Sioux City was an outpost of civilization, had no railroads, but a small population, and but little wealth. In place of going to the front to battle with the slave-holders, her people had their hands full and their energies engaged at home, repressing the savage Sioux Indians. For this purpose, mainly, was organized

The Frontier Guards.-The reader may consider himself indebted to Dr. William Remsen Smith, a member of the guards, for the facts connected with this portion of the chapter. The same was by request written up for the Sioux City "Journal" in 1870, from which we draw part of our information.

Fred T. Evans
(click image for larger size)

The Frontier Guards was a home company, organized in the spring of 1861, for protection against the Indian raids so common at that date. It also had other objects in view, as that date was just before Fort Sumter bad been fired upon, and the public mind was in a feverish condition, and none could tell the final outcome.

The lively apprehensions excited in the minds of citizens, and those living adjacent to the Floyd and Little Sioux rivers, from the depredations of the Indians, caused people in the vicinity to think of organizing for home protection. The withdrawal of regular troops from the garrison above Sioux City, along the Missouri river, and the absorbing character of events transpiring allover the country, showed the inhabitants that they must depend upon their own resources.

This resulted in the organization of the Frontier Guards. Every occupation and interest was fully represented, all rumors of outrage and depredation began to multiply, and the general excitement of neighbors along the Floyd and Little Sioux rivers increased in cones-

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quence of their losing, in a single night, the accumulation of years, by the thieving Indians. These facts coming to the ears of Gov. Kirkwood, who was ever vigilant in the defense of our borders, and whose name deserves to be held in high esteem, and will be inseparably associated with the proudest achievements of Iowa's noblest sons of every field, be suggested that the original name" Home Guards" be changed to one more warlike, that of "Frontier Guards," ready to engage in service, if necessary, for the protection of frontier points regardless of locality.

At first they were placed under control of Hon. Caleb Baldwin of Council Bluffs, acting as governor's aid. He was later on succeeded by Hon. A. W. Hubbard of Sioux City. The original commissioned officers were William Tripp, captain; William R. Smith, first lieutenant; A. J. Millard, second lieutenant. It was not long before the services of the guards were needed, and they were ordered out to act against the Indians with energy and efficiency. Capt. Tripp being absent, Lieut. Smith, with fifteen men, started in pursuit of those vagrants of the prairies known as Indians. The commissary outfit was quite remarkable. The charge of victualing the same was placed in the hands of one who had, at some remote period of his life, seen a few months' service in the Mexican war. Through some lack of military genius he provided more sugar than anything else. Even whisky, then looked upon as a legitimate article of diet, was entirely overlooked, and such trifling articles as meat, flour, etc., were not once thought of by him.

However, they made a strategetical detour to intercept the enemy. But unfortunately, the Indians, in utter disregard and defiance of all known military rules, failed to take the proper direction, or, in the language of the squad, the right chute to be intercepted. The command was absent three days. On returning to headquarters, Lieut. Smith made a stirring speech, complimenting his brave men, but he immediately made a ludicrous blunder by ordering his men to "present arms" from "order arms," which was evidence to the bystanders that his military genius and capacity had not yet comprehended the manual of arms.
Again came a cry for help from the Little Sioux river, the messengers being two of the oldest inhabitants. Capt. Tripp was on duty now, and at once started with his command for the purpose of gathering some of those untutored children of nature to their eternal rest, chil-

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dren who failed to make proper discrimination as regards the right of property, especially that of good horse flesh. The command marched out of Sioux City midst flying banners and music, going as far as the Little Sioux where they passed the night, the Indians meantime keeping step to the music, but as usual remaining unobserved by the Guards. However, about midnight, the red-skins who had conveniently observed the billeting of the troops before dark, and sagaciously calculated where the greatest amount of horse-flesh could be secured, made an audacious attempt to transfer the ownership of the same. Fortunately the Guards were vigilant, and the stealthy approach of the marauders was discovered. One of the Guards who had been advantageously posted, filled with the Christian desire of perforating one of the aforesaid red-skins, made sundry and divers attempts to fire his rifle, but did not discover the cause of his failure until after the battle, when he made the discovery that, through some trifling inadvertence, he had failed to place a cap on his gun. Another Guard did fire, and brought a return shot from the Indian, which wounded one of the men in the side and another in the head.

A desperate midnight charge then followed, which had the effect of driving the Indians out of range of the deadly missiles. Thus ended the campaign and history says no more Indians were ever seen along the Little Sioux river.

Fresh Trouble, Two Old Citizens Killed.-On the very day of their departure, July 9,1861, the Indians, who delight in doing unexpected things, managed to kill two of Sioux City's oldest and most highly esteemed citizens. They were about a mile and a half east of the town attending to their crops. The Indians stole their horses, to gain the possession of which, was no doubt the principal motive for the murder of these unsuspecting men. From appearances it seemed they were killed about the time they were preparing their dinner, as they were found dead not very far apart, one of them shot through the lungs and the other through the bowels. The names of the killed were Thomas Roberts and Henry Cordua; both left good-sized families to mourn their tragic fate. After the murder, Capt. Tripp and his company pursued the Indians fully fifty miles, but no trace could be had of them.

It may here be stated that the two wounded near Correctionville, before referred to, were William Roberts (a brother of the man murdered at Sioux City) and Isaac Pendleton, afterward judge of the

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Fourth judicial district and the most eloquent advocate in the great northwest.

Toward fall, in 1861, the Guards made a vigorous campaign in the direction of Sioux Falls, a hundred miles away, and returned by Spirit Lake. This was the place where about forty men, women and children were massacred in the spring of 1857, forming one of the bloodiest pages of Indian history in Iowa.

No casualties were reported by the Guards during this 1861 campaign, except the accidental wounding of John Currier, Esq., one of the rank and file, but who was later made a captain under Brig.Gen. John Cook.

During the summers of 1862 and 1863, the hostile bands of Sioux Indians caused serious trouble in northwestern Iowa and southern Minnesota. At Mankato, Blue Earth, Jackson and other points, nearly a thousand lives (whites) were sacrificed in battle and massacre. This state of affairs kept the settlement along the Little and Big Sioux, as well as the entire western Iowa border, in a constant state of anxiety and fear, and the people looked to the guards for immediate protection, should danger present itself.

While the Frontier Guards saw no heavy fighting, the mere fact of their being ready for action kept the Indians quiet, hence had the desired effect, and while not mentioned in the adjutant-general's reports, they certainly should have a place in history. The local historian gives them this place, which was, no doubt overlooked by state authority, in the dark days of the Civil war when all had their hands full.

It may be with some curiosity that the reader of to-day, acquainted with the business men, may read a copy of some war bills for goods secured at Sioux City for the Guards. The names, style of bill heads and prices goods were sold at now seem odd.
"Lieut. W. R. Smith (for Co. "E") bought of D. T. Hedges this, the 10th day of June, 1861, 8 lbs. of Ground Coffee $2.00."

L. D. Parmer's bill runs thus:

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Another bill presented by the "Pioneer Stove & Tin House" of Charles K. Smith, was made on old style blue letter paper, and was as follows:

Following are nearly all the names that appeared upon the payroll of the Guards, some serving longer and some shorter terms. They only put in claims for the actual days served. A member of the company would frequently plow corn or cut grass for a week, and then be called out to go off on an expedition. Samuel J. Kirkwood, then governor of Iowa, in looking over the pay-roll, remarked to Lieut. William R. Smith, that it was a strange method, and unlike the "regulars," who always had full time. Yet he complimented the Guards for their honesty in the way of claims. Those serving were:

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The Sioux City Cavalry—Expeditions: Against the Indians.-The following formed a part of the subject matter of a lecture, given by Dr. William R. Smith (a member of the company), at Sioux City, several years ago:

"This company was raised in pursuance of a special order from the secretary of war, and was designed for special service on the western frontier. From the fall of 1861 to the spring of 1863, they operated as an independent military organization, and were variously stationed in squads, with a view of affording protection to the then scattered settlements on the border. These points were principally Cherokee, Spirit Lake, Peterson, in Clay county, and Correctionville.

"The manner they performed this special service was, perhaps, best attested by the fact that not a single murder was committed and not an article of any kind stolen by Indians in Iowa, during this independent administration of military affairs. In the terrible excitement which pervaded the border during the summer of 1862, when more than a thousand persons were massacred in Minnesota, their valuable and arduous services secured to the people of Iowa perfect immunity from danger. Their services in that perilous and alarming period were indeed valuable to the people of northwestern Iowa. And certain it is, that no other class of men or military company could have been more interested in affording such protection.

"This company had been recruited from residents all the way from Sioux City to Spirit Lake. The major part of the company were heads of families. Protection to the frontier to them meant protection to their wives and children. Hence the untiring vigilance that characterized their career from first to last.

"In the spring of 1863 they were ordered to rendezvous at Sioux City, preparatory to starting on an Indian expedition, then organizing under the command of Gen. Sully. They were selected as the general's body guard, as a token of his regard for their good deportment, complete equipment, good discipline, and because they were so well mounted, each member owning the horse he rode. Lest this appear a little overdrawn, it will not be amiss to quote the following. as Gen. Sully's opinion of them: 'A better drilled or disciplined company than the Sioux City Cavalry can not be found in the regular or volunteer service of the United States.' Considering the high source of this compliment, it must be accepted as indeed creditable to the officers and men composing the company.

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"They participated in the famous battle of Whitestone Hill, on September 3, 1863, on which occasion they distinguished themselves by taking 136 prisoners.

"On their return from the battle to the Missouri river, they were met by an order consolidating- them with the Seventh Iowa cavalry as Company I.

"On returning to Sioux City, Capt. Millard, commanding the company, was assigned, by Gen. Sully, to the command of the military headquarters in Sioux City, with a sub-district embracing northwestern Iowa, and eastern Dakota, a very large area of country which they guarded in a manner entirely satisfactory to the citizens thereof, until mustered out on November 22, 1864, the expiration of their term of enlistment.

"It would afford us pleasure to give the names of this company but we can not do so for want of space. In addition to their soldierly qualities, they, to-day, constitute the oldest, and are among the most useful and influential citizens of northwestern Iowa. Their tried service will be long held in grateful remembrance by the early settlers and pioneers of this beautiful northwest."

Among the private letters in Dr. Smith's possession, the following may be quoted as showing that but little over It quartet. of a century ago, this county was in dispute between the Indians and white men, and border trouble prevailed everywhere:

HEADQUARTERS SIOUX CITY CAVALRY, August 30,1862,

WILLIAM R. SMITH,

Sir: The report from Spirit Lake is very bad. Six hundred troops went out from Mankato, Minn., to repulse the Indians, and met with a loss of about 300, killed and wounded. The remaining inhabitants of the upper country are all leaving and coming' toward Sioux City. Some are going toward Ft. Dodge. The Little Sioux valley is all deserted. I shall go to Spirit Lake as soon as I hear from there again, I would advise the people of Sioux City to retain all their ammunition. Keep at least two rounds for each gun. A guard should be kept out at least two miles from town.

Lieut. Sawyer came to camp yesterday and states that nine whites had been killed within fifteen miles of the lake. Sawyer left last night for the scene of massacre, and I shall hear from him in a couple of days.

P. S. Please tell McDougall to send me a portfolio and writing material; also, one overshirt.

Yours truly,
[Signed] A. J. MILLARD, Com. Sioux City Cav.

Flag Presentation.-A flag was presented, July 4, 1861, by the ladies of Sioux City, to the Sioux City Cavalry company, and Dr. William R. Smith, surgeon of the company, offered the following

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acceptance on behalf of the soldiers. The same is given to show the reader the spirit of the people here at that early stage of the Civil war.

"Ladies and gentlemen, citizens of Sioux City, Iowa:—In behalf of the officers and soldiers of the Sioux City Cavalry, allow me to thank you. Let me assure you, in their behalf, that they fully appreciate this precious testimonial of your regard, the offering of a grateful and patriotic people, in a manner worthy of the glorious deeds and glorious memories which it symbolizes.

"We will treasure it as the proud emblem of constitutional liberty. And with the stern resolve of stalwart men and stout hearts, we pledge ourselves to present its ample folds untarnished by a single stain of dishonor—though assailed by domestic traitors and carped at by a foreign and insolent foe, we will still bear it aloft on the sea and in the breeze, from headland to highland, from mountain to gulf, from ocean to ocean, as the jubilant and inspiring sign of our national life, remembering ever that if we permit its folds to droop it will be the precursor of national dishonor and death. We, with you, appreciate this priceless inheritance from our sires, this symbol of garnered hopes and heroic sacrifices. We accept it with the eloquent explanation of your speaker, as the warp and woof of our political fabric, with no tissue color or symbol to be disregarded and no star to be erased, and as symbolizing the avenger of wrong, the protector of right, and the highest aspiration of our public hopes.

"Your speaker has been pleased to allude to our soldierly bearing, to our services in the defense of your homes against a remorseless and savage foe. We can only speak of our own singleness of purpose Bud the fidelity of our intentions. We know the sentiments which animate us, and if we have failed to do what was expected of us, it is from no lack of purpose to respond to the behests of duty.

"Fellow-citizens, the need of praise is ever grateful to a soldier, and yours has been unstinted. We shall preserve the recollections of this day as a green spot in our memory. The hallowed associations which cluster around this flag of glorious memory will be treasured in our hearts. And allow me to add, in no spirit of levity, that the fair donors who have contributed their part of this precious gift, will also find ample place in that swelling and tumultuous repository of a soldier's best affections, I mean a soldier's heart. The supreme affection of the genuine soldier rests upon his God, his country, his flag,

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his wife, his little ones, and his sweetheart. For the fervor of his soul and in the pride of his manhood, these objects of his affections he can never forget. And they will never forget this memento of your confidence and esteem.

"No patriotic soldier can forget a flag, grown. old in less than a century, by the desecration of traitors, but will rather strike to death the traitor. And finally, ladies, do you think it would be in a soldier's heart to forget you? The clarion notes of a trumpet might fail to arrest his attention, but the sweet, soft voice of woman, urging him on to duty-Never! Again, ladies and gentlemen, in behalf of the officers and soldiers of the Sioux City Cavalry, permit me to thank you for this beautiful gift."