The Spirit Lake Massacre Iowa Volunteer Rosters BACKGROUND HISTORY: The Spirit Lake Massacre was an uprising by renegade members of the Wahpekute Sioux, in protest of the 1851 Treaty of Traverse des Sioux. Led by local chieftain Inkpaduta (Scarlet Point), a group of 14 Sioux attacked Spirit Lake, a settlement in the northwestern territory of Iowa near the Minnesota border. The settlement was comprised of settlers from Milford, Massachusetts. The Sioux proceeded to kill between 35 or 40 settlers from March 8-9, 1857. Abbie Gardner was the only survivor of the massacre, being kidnapped by the Sioux. Years later she was rescued, and returned to Spirit Lake. Abbie Gardner's Cabin Although initially thought to have been committed by outlaws, the massacre would be the first of a series of incidents leading up to the Sioux uprising in eastern Minnesota five years later. The former site of the Spirit Lake settlement is now occupied by Camp Foster, a YMCA youth summer camp, where several legends and ghost stories stemming from the incident still exist. Abbie Gardner's original cabin still stands at the memorial site, and is maintained by the state of Iowa. [source: wikipedia.org] The following description is from the "Iowa Journal of History", pub. 1919, by the State Historical Society of Iowa: It was in the cold month of March, 1857, that Inkpaduta and his band of Wahpeton Sioux struck fear into the hearts of pioneers in northwest Iowa in what is known in Iowa history as the Spirit Lake Massacre. Houses were burned, herds driven off, supplies pilfered, and some thirty-two whites murdered in the region around Spirit Lake and the Okobojis in this "carnival of murder". The story of the relief expedition made up of Iowa settlers around Fort Dodge and Webster City may well be included in a history of Iowa militia, since in fact it was organized as militia under authority from the Governor and constituted the only real militia in the State at the time. When news of the massacre reached Fort Dodge on Saturday evening, March twenty-first, a meeting was called for the next afternoon to decide on measures to be taken. When the meeting convened practically every able-bodied man in Fort Dodge and vicinity was present. Major William Williams, who presided as chairman, read the commission granted him by the Governor in 1855 ''empowering him in any emergency that might arise to take such action as seemed best in the light of existing circumstances." The meeting resolved that at least two companies of volunteers should be called for and sent to the lakes "to rescue the living, bury the dead, and if possible overtake and punish the perpetrators of the massacre." At the Fort Dodge meeting nearly eighty men volunteered at once to join the proposed expedition. There was the same response at Webster City, whither news had been carried by messengers from Fort Dodge. Here, too, volunteers were called for, and by nine o'clock on the morning of the twenty-third, twenty-eight men had been selected to undertake the expedition. Provisions and supplies were gathered in from every available source, and the company set out for Fort Dodge where they arrived late in the evening of the twenty-third. Listed below are the Rosters of the Iowa Volunteers Roster of the Spirit Lake Relief Expedition Commissioned Officers —Provisional Battalion Source: Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers, Vol VI, pages 922-942 published 1911 Contributed by Dena Whitesell William Williams. Residence Fort Dodge, Webster County, Iowa. Appointed by Governor James W. Grimes in the fall of 1855, as Executive Agent at Fort Dodge, to take such measures as might be deemed necessary to protect settlers from the Indians and to preserve the peace. He already, at that time, bore the title of Major, from service in the Pennsylvania Militia. When trustworthy information came to him of the massacre of settlers at the Dickinson County Lakes, he at once, under authority of his appointment from the Governor, called for volunteers, organized them into three military companies, of which he appointed the officers, and led them on the expedition to rescue the imperiled settlers, and punish the savage marauders. The termination of his authority as Executive Agent, which indeed was, in a sense, extra-legal, does not appear of record, so far as has been ascertained. It would at least cease with the expiration of the term of office of Governor Grimes. Major Williams was born at Huntington, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Dec. 6, 1796. He engaged in business pursuits in that state until 1849, when he came to Muscatine, Iowa, where lived his brother, the old pioneer Judge Joseph Williams. He received at this time an appointment as sutler, or post trader, to the garrison about to establish the military post of Fort Dodge, on the upper Des Moines River. On the evacuation of the post, in 1853, he remained there, and purchased the site as government land and laid out the city of Fort Dodge. When it was organized as a city, he was elected its first Mayor. He died at Fort Dodge, Feb. 26, 1874. George B. Sherman. Residence Fort Dodge. Appointed Commissary of the Expedition. No biographical sketch obtained. George R. Bissell, M. D. Residence Fort Dodge. Appointed Surgeon of the Expedition. Rendered efficient service in treating the wounded of the Springfield refugees when they were met near Emmetsburg. No biographical sketch obtained. COMPANY "A" Charles B. Richards. Residence Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, and chosen as Captain of Company A. Born at Warrensburg, Warren County, New York, Aug. 13, 1833. Educated at the Kinderhook and Glen's Falls Academy and the Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York. Studied law at Utica, and was admitted to the bar there, after which he came to Iowa, and located at Fort Dodge, in 185 5. Held the position of Register of the United States Land Office there from 1861 to 1869. He was one of the founders of the First National Bank of Fort Dodge, and also became a large coal operator. He was subsequently very fortunate in mining operations in the Rocky Mountains and removed to San Diego, Cal. (Charles Aldrich, in Annals of Iowa, Third Series, Vol. Ill, p. 509.) Franklin Asa Stratton. Residence Fort Dodge. Chosen First Lieutenant of Company A, March 23, 1857. Born in Massachusetts about 1832 (twenty-nine years old in 1861). Raised a company of cavalry in Fort Dodge and vicinity in August, 1861, for Colonel Josiah Harlan's "Independent Cavalry," to serve in the Army of the Potomac. The policy of accepting independent cavalry commands having been abandoned by the Government, and the regiment being composed largely of volunteers from Pennsylvania, the regiment was given the name of Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry, in which Captain Stratton's Company was mustered as Company A, on Oct. 29, 1861. Stratton was thus recognized as ranking Captain, which led to his promotion as Major Sept. 1, 1862, Lieutenant Colonel Oct. 1, 1864, and Colonel of the regiment May 25, 1865. He received a brevet as Brigadier General of Volunteers March 13, 1865, and was mustered out on the 13th of August, 1865. The service of the regiment was principally in the vicinity of Suffolk, Virginia, and in North Carolina, under General John J. Peck, and later in Kautz's Division, Eighteenth and Twenty-fifth Army Corps. Colonel Harlan was succeeded by Colonel Samuel P. Spear, who was soon placed in command of a brigade, and Major Stratton exercised an independent command of a detachment of the regiment from soon after his promotion until the close of his service. He was frequently commended in reports and correspondence of his superiors. Governor Carpenter states that he received a commission in the regular service, after the war, but we do not find the statement confirmed in Heitman's Historical Register. He died July 17, 1879. (Report, Adjutant General of Iowa, 1863; Heitman's Historical Register, U. S. Army; Rebellion Records, Union and Confederate Armies.) L. K. Wright. Residence Fort Dodge. Appointed Sergeant of Company A, March 23, 1857. No biographical sketch obtained. Solon Mason. Residence Fort Dodge. Appointed Corporal of Company A, March 23, 1857. No biographical sketch obtained. George W. Brizee. Residence Fort Dodge. Occupation lawyer. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. No biographical sketch obtained. William E. Burkholder. Residence Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. Accompanied the command to Granger's Point, near the Minnesota State line, where he volunteered on April 2, 1857, as one of a detachment under Captain J. C. Johnson, to go to the Dickinson County lakes, to bury the dead. On the march of the detachment to rejoin the main body on the Des Moines River, Burkholder and Captain Johnson, endeavoring to escape the fury of the storm which had overtaken them, wandered away from their comrades and were frozen to death on the 5th or 6th of April, in Palo Alto County, on the west side of the West Fork of the Des Moines River. Their bones were not discovered until 1868, when they were identified by their guns and powder flasks. Mr. Burkholder's remains were interred at Fort Dodge, where the funeral ceremonies were conducted, in part, by Major Williams. The place and date of birth of Mr. Burkholder was not ascertained. He was, at the time of the Expedition, an intimate friend of C. C. Carpenter, afterwards Governor of Iowa, who, in 1864, married Susan Burkholder, his sister. He was nominated by the Republican party for the office of Recorder and Treasurer of Webster County, but his death occurred before election. (Narratives of Carpenter, Maxwell and others, and editorial remarks of Charles Aldrich, in Annals of Iowa, Third Series, Vol. III.) Cyrus Clay Carpenter. Residence Fort Dodge. Occupation teacher and land surveyor. Met the Relief Expedition in Palo Alto County, near present site of Emmetsburg, on the 26th of March, 1857, and joined it as a private in Company A. Born in Susctuehanna County, Pa., Nov. 24, 1829. Attended Academy at Hartford, and engaged in teaching at eighteen, following that vocation and farm work in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Came to Iowa in 1854, and settled in Fort Dodge in June of that year. Found employment as land surveyor, and was upon a trip in that capacity when he met the Relief Expedition. Was elected Representative in Iowa General Assembly in the fall of 1857. Received commission from President Lincoln, as Captain and Commissary of Subsistence, March 24, 1862, and was assigned to duty with General Rosecrans, but transferred, at a later date, to the Left Wing, Sixteenth Army Corps, under General G. M. Dodge. Promoted Lieutenant Colonel Sept. 26, 1864, and became Chief Commissary of the Fifteenth Army Corps, under Major General John A. Logan. Brevetted Colonel of Volunteers July 12, 1865, for efficient and meritorious service. Mustered out July 14, 1865. Register Iowa State Land Office, 1867 to 1871. Elected Governor of Iowa, and inaugurated Jan. 11, 1872. Re-elected for the term 1874-1876. Second Comptroller United States Treasury 1876-1877. State Railroad Commissioner March to August, 1876. Member of Congress two terms 1879-1883. Representative Iowa General Assembly 1884. Died on his farm near Fort Dodge May 29, 1898. (Gue's History of Iowa, Vol. IV; Heitman's Historical Register U. S. Army.) Henry Carse. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. Volunteered at Granger's Point, near Minnesota line, April 2nd, as one of burial detachment to go to the Lakes. Suffered severely in the storm on their return, he having his feet badly frozen, and was taken into camp in a delirious condition. Was recently from Princeton, Ill., but no other biographical data obtained. (Narratives of Maxwell and Laughlin, Annals of Iowa, Third Series, Vol. III.) ------ Chatterton. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. No biographical sketch obtained. None of the lists of the company give his name in full, which seems to imply that he was a stranger to most of the company, and that he removed from the vicinity of Fort Dodge soon after the event. Julius Conrad. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. No biographical sketch obtained. L. J. Crawford. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. No biographical sketch obtained. J. V. Dawson. Evidence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. Assigned to duty as teamster for the company. Was then about seventy years of age. No other biographical data obtained, (Narrative of Richards, Annals of Iowa, Third Series, p. 522.) William Defore, or William A. DeFoe. (The latter name given by R. A. Smith, in History of Dickinson County, p. 84.) Residence Boone County, Iowa. Enrolled as private in Company A, at Fort Dodge, March 23, 1857. One of advance guard when Springfield refugees were met. Volunteered at Granger's Point, April 2nd, as one of burial detachment to go to the Lakes. No biographical sketch obtained. [Smith's History of Dickinson County, Iowa, p. 84. Governor Carpenter's Narrative, Annals of Iowa, Third Series, p. 482. Captain Richards does not give his name as one of the burial party (Annals of Iowa, Third Series, p. 514), but Smith says his presence is well established as one of the twenty-three.] John Farney. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. No biographical sketch obtained. William N. Ford. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. Volunteered April 2nd, as one of burial detachment to go to the Lakes. No biographical sketch obtained. John Gales. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. No biographical sketch obtained. Andrew Hood. Residence Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, on meeting the Expedition at Shippey's claim, in Palo Alto County, near present site of Emmetsburg, March 28, 1857. Mr. Hood was a native of Scotland. No other biographical data obtained. Angus McBane. Residence Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 28, 1857, at Shippey's claim in Palo Alto County, near present site of Emmetsburg. Was returning from a trip to Algona with C. C. Carpenter, and joined the Expedition, when it was met, on learning its destination and object. Mr. McBane was a Scotchman, a man of means, who had become the owner of several tracts of land throughout that region, and was afterwards President of the Merchants' National Bank of Fort Dodge. (Narrative of C. C. Carpenter, Annals of Iowa, Third Series, Vol. Ill, pp. 481, 2). William McCauley. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. No biographical sketch obtained. E. Mahan. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. No biographical sketch obtained. Michael Maher. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. Lived in later years at or near Estherville, Iowa. No other biographical data obtained. (R. A. Smith, Okoboji, Iowa.) B. F. Parmenter. Residence Jasper County, Iowa. Enrolled as private in Company A, at Port Dodge, March 23, 1857. Mr. Parmenter was one of the party who visited the Okoboji Lakes on the 16th and 17th of March, and discovered the dead bodies and other evidences of a massacre. They reached Fort Dodge with the news on March 21st and immediately enrolled with the Relief Expedition. Parmenter was born in Vermont in 1827, soon afterwards became a resident of Erie County, New York, and removed to Jasper County, Iowa, in 1855. In the summer of 1857, he became one of the first proprietors of the town site of Spirit Lake. He died in the early seventies. (R. A. Smith, Okoboji, Iowa.) William P. Pollock. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, on meeting the Expedition at Shippey's claim, in Palo Alto County, near present site of Emmetsburg, March 2 8, 1857. No biographical sketch obtained. W. P. Porter. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. No biographical sketch obtained. L. B. Ridgeway. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. No biographical sketch obtained. George P. Smith. Residence Border Plains, Webster County, Iowa. Enrolled as private in Company A, at Fort Dodge, March 23, 1857. Volunteered at Granger's Point, April 2nd, as one of burial detachment to go to the Lakes. On their return, was one of five, including Captain J. C. Johnson and W. E. Burkholder, to separate from their companions, by a detour around a marsh, with the result that Johnson and Burkholder were frozen to death. No biographical sketch obtained. Roderick A. Smith. Residence Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. Was one of the advance guard of ten when Springfield refugees were met, on March 30th. Volunteered at Granger's Point, April 2nd, as one of burial detachment to go to the Lakes. Remained at the Gardner cabin with six others until April 6th, thus escaping the worst of the blizzard. This party retraced their steps by way of Granger's Point, where a team and wagon had been left for them; took on, at the Irish Colony, the women, children and wounded men of the Springfield refugees, and Henry Carse, disabled with frozen feet; crossed Cylinder Creek channel by improvising a raft, and drawing it back and forth with ropes, and finally reached Fort Dodge about April 15th, nearly famished from their supply of food being exhausted throughout the entire return trip. Mr. Smith was born in Wyoming County, New York, in 1829. He came to Webster County, Iowa, in 1856. Two weeks after the return of the Relief Expedition to Fort Dodge, he went back with a party of settlers to the Dickinson County Lakes, and has made his home there ever since. He was elected first Clerk of the District Court in Dickinson County, and also Justice of the Peace, in 1857. He again served as Clerk of the District Court, 1863 to 1865. He was County Surveyor, 1878 to 1894, except three terms; County Superintendent of Schools, 1880 to 1886; member House of Representatives, Twelfth General Assembly, 1868, and County Supervisor 1872 to 1874. He has been prominent in the organization and activities of the Iowa Pioneer Lawmakers' Association. In 1902, he wrote and published a History of Dickinson County, Iowa, which has been a valuable aid in this present compilation. He is living (1910) at Okoboji, Iowa. Winton Smith. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. A native of Vermont, who came to Iowa in 1855. No other biographical data obtained. (R. A. Smith, Okoboji, Iowa.) Owen S. Spencer. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. Volunteered at Granger's Point April 2nd, as one of burial detachment to go to the Lakes. On returning, he and Robert McCormick separated from the rest of the party at Mud Creek, crossed that stream nearer its source, and reached the Irish Colony with less difficulty than the others. No biographical sketch obtained. C. Stebbins. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. Volunteered at Granger's Point April 2nd, as one of burial detachment to go to the Lakes. No biographical sketch obtained. Silas VanCleave. Residence Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. Volunteered at Granger's Point, April 2nd, as one of burial detachment to go to the Lakes. Enlisted at Fort Dodge August 22, 1862, in Company I, Thirty-second Iowa Infantry, and was mustered out with the regiment at the expiration of its three years' service. Born in Indiana and was twenty-seven years old when enlisted. No other biographical data obtained. D. Westerfield. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled as private in Company A, March 23, 1857. No biographical sketch obtained. R. U. Wheelock. Residence Newton, Jasper County. Enrolled as private in Company A, at Fort Dodge, March 23, 1857. Had visited Lake Okoboji, with O. C. Howe and B. F. Parmenter, a few days before, and discovered the dead bodies. Volunteered at Granger's Point, April 2nd, as one of burial detachment to go to the Lakes. Remained at the Gardner cabin with R. A. Smith and others until April 6th. (See Smith biography.) Born in Erie County, New York, in 1822. Came to Jasper County, Iowa, in 1855. Settled at Spirit Lake, Dickinson County, May, 1857. Built the first frame house on the town site of Spirit Lake. Postmaster of Spirit Lake, 1858 to 1863. Removed to Boonesborough, Iowa, 1863. No other biographical data obtained. (R. A. Smith's History of Dickinson County, Iowa.) COMPANY "B" John F. Buncombe. Residence Fort Dodge. Lawyer and editor. Enrolled March 23, 1857, and chosen as Captain of Company B. Born in Erie County, Pa., Oct. 22, 1831, and educated at Alleghany College, Mead-ville, in that State. Settled in Fort Dodge, in 1855, and was the pioneer lawyer in that town. Established the Fort Dodge Sentinel, the first journal in the county, in company with A. S. White. Was elected to the State Senate in 1859, and served in the war sessions of 1860 and 1862. Was also member of the Lower House in 1872 and in 1880, and was for eighteen years one of the regents of the State University. Aside from his continuous work as a lawyer, he was a large operator in coal and gypsum. He died at Fort Dodge, Aug. 2, 1902. (Charles Aldrich, in Annals of Iowa, Third Series, Vol. Ill, p. 491.) James Linn. Residence Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, and chosen First Lieutenant of Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. Smith E. Stevens. (Name given as S. C. Stevens in roster on monument tablet.) Residence Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, and chosen Second Lieutenant of Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. William W. Koons. Residence Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, and appointed Sergeant of Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. Thomas Callagan. Residence Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, and appointed Corporal of Company B. "Thomas Calligan, a powerful, big-hearted Irishman, of my company, whenever we reached a stream, would throw me on his shoulders as easily as if I had been a child, and carry me over in spite of my protests against his doing so." (Captain J. F. Duncombe, Annals of Iowa, Third Series, Vol. Ill, p. 507.) No biographical sketch obtained. Jesse Addington. (James on monument tablet.) Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. Volunteered at Granger's Point, April 2nd, as one of burial detachment to go to the Lakes. On their return he was one of those who accompanied Captain J. C. Johnson and W. E. Burkholder in a detour away from the main body of the detachment. Addington, Smith and Murray found their way to the Irish Colony, but Johnson and Burkholder were frozen to death. No biographical sketch obtained. D. H. Baker. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. Hiram Benjamin. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. Orlando Bice. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. Asa E. Burtch. Residence Hampton, Franklin County, Iowa. Enrolled at Fort Dodge, March 23, 1857, or at Shippey's March 28th, as private in Company B. Volunteered at Granger's Point, April 2nd, ay one of burial detachment to go to the Lakes. Remained in Gardner's cabin with Parmenter, Wheelock and others, April 4th to 6th, and thus escaped worst dangers of the blizzard. Burtch was a native of Lawrenceburg, Ind., born June 20, 1833, a relative of Joel Howe, or J. M. Thatcher, or both, who had come to Iowa with them, from Kokomo, Howard County, in October, 1855. When Harvey Luce and Thatcher went to Waterloo for supplies, Burtch, with Enoch Ryan, Robert Clark and Jonathan Howe, returned to the Lakes with them. Thatcher and Burtch stopped at Shippey's with the exhausted oxen. Luce, Ryan and Clark kept on their journey and met their fate at the hands of the Indians. Burtch remained at Fort Dodge until May, 1857, then returned to Hampton, but removed to Cedar Falls in the fall of that year. Removed to Des Moines in the fall of 1861, and enlisted there in Company C, Twenty-second Iowa Infantry. Mustered out July 25, 1865, since which time has made his home at Indianola, Iowa. (Letter from A. E. Burtch to writer, January, 1910.) R. F. Carter. (F. R. Carter, in Harris Hoover's list.) Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. Richard Carter. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. Michael Cavanaugh. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B.. No biographical sketch obtained. A. E. Crouse. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. Jeremiah Evans. Settler at McKnight's Point, on West Fork, Des Moines River, in Humboldt County, Iowa, and joined the Expedition when it arrived there, being enrolled in Company B, March 27, 1857. No biographical sketch obtained. John Hefley. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. Orlando C. Howe. Residence Newton, Jasper County, Iowa. Enrolled at Fort Dodge March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. Had visited the Okoboji Lakes, a few days before, with Parmenter and Wheelock, discovered the fact of the massacre, returned to Fort Dodge with the news, which induced the assembling of the Relief Expedition. He volunteered at Granger's Point, April 2nd, as one of the burial detachment to go to the Lakes. Remained there at Gardner's cabin during the blizzard of April 4th to 6th, and thus escaped the worst of its fury. Born at Williamstown, Vt., Dec. 19, 1824, educated at Aurora (N. Y.) Academy; studied law in Buffalo, N. Y., and admitted to the bar there. Removed to Jasper County, Iowa, in 1855. Settled at Spirit Lake, Dickinson County, in the summer of 1857, and was elected first County Judge of the County. At the election, in the fall of 185 8 (the first under the new constitution), he was elected District Attorney of the Fourth Judicial District, comprising nearly one-fourth of the State. In 1862 he returned to Newton, and was soon afterward commissioned Captain of Company L, Ninth Iowa Cavalry, in which he served until the end of the war. From 187 8 to 1880 he was professor in the Law School of the State University of Iowa. He then removed to Barber County, Kansas, where he became District Judge. He was afflicted with insanity in the summer of 1899, and died, at Topeka, Kan., August 31, 1899. (R. A. Smith's History of Dickinson County, Iowa; B. F. Gue's History of Iowa, Vol. IV.) D. F. Howell. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 2 3, 18 57, as private in Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. Albert S. Johnson. (Name given by C. C. Carpenter, as Albert H. Johnson, —Annals of Iowa, Third Series, Vol. Ill, p. 483.) Residence Webster County, Iowa. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. Was one of advance guard, on March 31st, that first met the Springfield refugees. No biographical sketch obtained. Michael McCarty. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 185 7, as private in Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. G. F. McClure. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. Robert McCormick. Residence Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. Volunteered at Granger's Point, April 2nd, as one of burial party to go to the Lakes. Separated from the party with O. S. Spencer at Mud Creek, on their return, April 4th, and arrived at the Irish Colony with less suffering from the blizzard than the others. Born in Ireland. Came to Webster County, Iowa, in 1855. Was killed in a claim quarrel, in 185 8, by W. Shippey. (Letter from R. A. Smith, Okoboji, Iowa.) John N. McFarland. (John McFarlee, in Harris Hoover's list—Abbie Gardner's History Spirit Lake Massacre, p. 134.) Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. A. S. Malcome. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. Born, in---------, about 1832. (Was twenty-nine years old in 1861.) Enlisted Aug. 20, 1861, from Jamestown, Howard County, Iowa, in Captain Frank A. Stratton's Company, which became Company A, Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry. Was appointed Fourth Corporal of the Company and served out his term of enlistment. No other biographical data obtained. (Letter from R. A. Smith, Okoboji, Iowa; Iowa Adjutant General's Reports, war period.) Daniel Morrissey. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. Jonas Murray. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. Volunteered at Granger's Point, April 2nd, as one of burial detachment to go to the Lakes. Had made previous visits to the Lakes as a trapper, and undertook to guide the portion of the detachment who started on their return, April 4th. He thus led Captain Johnson, Burkholder, Addington and Smith on the detour around a marsh, away from their comrades, which resulted in the death of Johnson and Burkholder by freezing. No biographical sketch obtained. Daniel Okeson. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. Honorably discharged March 26th at McKnight's Point, Humboldt County, for inability to withstand the hardships of the march. No biographical sketch obtained. John O'Laughlin. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. Honorably discharged March 26th, at McKnight's Point, Humboldt County, for inability to withstand the hardships of the march. No biographical sketch obtained. W. Searles. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. Guernsey Smith. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. When the attempt was made to cross the overflowed Cylinder Creek, on the return of the Expedition, April 4th, "Captain Duncombe selected Guernsey Smith, a man of great strength and endurance," and Captain Richards selected his Corporal, Solon Mason, to make, with those officers, an effort to cross in their wagon box, as an improvised boat, but the box was swamped and all were thrown into the stream and suffered greatly from the extreme cold. Mr. Smith lived in Floyd County later in life. No other biographical data obtained. (R. A. Smith, Okoboji, Iowa.) Joseph Milton Thatcher. Residence Tusculum Grove, on east side of East Okoboji Lake, Dickinson County, Iowa. Enrolled at Fort Dodge, March 23, 1857, or at Shippey's, in Palo Alto County, March 28th, as private in Company B. Volunteered at Granger's Point April 2nd, as one of burial detachment to go to the Lakes. Remained in Gardner's cabin, with six others, until April 6th, and then returned by way of Granger's Point. (See R. A. Smith, Company A.) Mr. Thatcher was born in Howard County, Ind., about 1832. He was married at LaMotte, Jackson County, Iowa, in January, 1855, to Elizabeth, daughter of James Wetherspoon and Adeline (Hodges) Blake, who were also natives of Howard County, Ind., and had removed to Jackson County, Iowa, in 1854. Thatcher and his wife removed to Hampton, Franklin County, Iowa, during the spring after their marriage, and, in the fall of 1856, in company with Joel Howe and Alvin Noble (son-in-law of Howe), and their families, all former neighbors in Indiana, again removed to the Dickinson County Lakes. A few weeks before the massacre, Mr. Thatcher and Harvey Luce went to Waterloo for supplies. On their return, Thatcher and Asa Burtch were left at Shippey's with their exhausted cattle, and thus escaped the attack of the Indians, in which Mrs, Thatcher was taken captive and their little child murdered. Thatcher returned to Hampton, and afterwards removed to Vandalia, Jasper County, from which place he enlisted, July 25, 1862, in Company C, Twenty-second Iowa Infantry; was wounded slightly in the hand May 22, 1863, at Vicksburg. Discharged for disability June 23, 1864, at Baton Rouge, La. He married again, and removed to Galena, Kan., in the eighties; married a third wife, in 1907, and soon after removed to New Mexico, where he is living in 1910. Efforts to learn his postoffice address there have not been successful. (Mrs. Sarah J. (Blake) Rhea, Maquoketa, Iowa, sister of Mrs. Elizabeth Thatcher, Spirit Lake victim.) Reuben Whetstone. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. John White. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. Washington Williams. Residence probably Fort Dodge. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company B. No biographical sketch obtained. William R. Wilson. Residence not ascertained. Enrolled March 23, 1857, at Fort Dodge, as private in Company B. Volunteered at Granger's Point April 2nd, as one of the burial detachment to go to the Lakes. Remained at Gardner's cabin, with six others, until April 6th and then returned, by route they had come. (See R. A. Smith, .Company A.) Wilson had visited at Gardner's cabin during the winter, and thus became acquainted with the family. Immediately after the return of the Expedition to Fort Dodge, he and Eliza Gardner, who was one of the rescued Springfield refugees, were married, and took up their residence in Hampton, Franklin County, Iowa, where they were found by Abbie Gardner, after her return to civilization. He enlisted at Janesville, Iowa, August 15, 1862, in Company B, Thirty-eighth Iowa Infantry, and was discharged for disability at New Madrid, Mo., May 4, 1863. He was born in Indiana, and was forty-seven years old at the time of enlistment. He died at Mason City, Iowa, date not ascertained, but it was prior to the publication of Abbie Gardner Sharp's book, in 1885. (R. A. Smith's History of Dickinson County, Iowa, and his letter, December, 1909; Abbie Gardner Sharp's History of the Spirit Lake Massacre.) COMPANY "C" John C. Johnson. Residence Hamilton County, Iowa, near Webster City. Enrolled at Webster City, March 23, 1857, and chosen Captain of Company C. Volunteered at Granger's Point, April 2d, as one of burial detachment of twenty-three to go to the Lakes. Captain Richards, being unable to get his horse over the river, gave up command of the detachment, which then devolved on Captain Johnson. On the morning of April 4th, Johnson, with fifteen others of the detachment, resolved to return in a straight southeasterly direction towards the Irish Colony, on the Des Moines. In the afternoon of that day, the blizzard came on, during which Johnson, Burkholder, Murray, Addington and Smith detached themselves from the main party, to make a detour around a marsh, spent the night within sight of their comrades, but, in the morning, took a southeast direction, while the larger party kept due east. Johnson and Burkholder took off their wet boots in the night, which were so frozen that they could not be pulled on in the morning. Their three companions moved on, while the young men were cutting up blankets to cover their feet, and this separation was for the last time on earth. Johnson and Burkholder proceeded on a course parallel with the Des Moines River, probably traveled all that day and the greater part of the next night. Their bones were found eleven years afterwards, on an open prairie in Palo Alto County. They were given a funeral at Fort Dodge, conducted, in part, by Major Williams; those of Captain Johnson were taken in charge by Angus McBane, who sent them to Pennsylvania, to his mother, for burial at the old home. John C. Johnson was born in Westmoreland County, Pa., southeast of and near the city of Pittsburgh, which county was also the birthplace of Major Williams. The date of his birth has not been ascertained, but he is spoken of as a young man and unmarried. He removed first to Illinois, and subsequently to Hamilton County, Iowa, near Webster City, where he had not lived long enough to form many acquaintances, but where his gentlemanly manners and generous, frank disposition won such esteem and confidence that he was unanimously elected by his comrades as Captain of the Company. "He was a man of fine physique, was deliberate, quiet almost to reticence, with a handsome face and manly eye." (Carpenter.) (Gleaned from the printed addresses and papers collected by Charles Aldrich, before cited.) John N. Maxwell. Residence Webster City, Iowa. Enrolled March' 23, 1857, and chosen First Lieutenant of Company C. On March 31st was one of ten scouts, or advance guard, which first met the Springfield refugees. Volunteered at Grangers's Point April 2d, as one of the burial detachment to go to the Lakes. During the terrible night of April 4th, spent on the open prairie on their return, his endurance and watchful care doubtless saved his entire party from freezing to death. Lieutenant Maxwell was born near Paris, 111., April 20, 1835. He removed to Iowa in 1854, settling, three years later, on his farm a few miles southeast of Webster City, where he still resides (in 1910). He enlisted August 11, 1862, in Company A, Thirty-second Iowa Infantry, and served the full term of three years, attaining the rank of First Sergeant of the Company. Frank R. Mason. Residence Webster City, Iowa. Enrolled March 23, 1857, and was chosen Second Lieutenant of Company C. Was one of the ten scouts, or advance guards, who, on March 31st, met the Springfield refugees. Captain Johnson and Lieutenant Maxwell, having gone with the burial detachment, he took command of Company C, on the homeward trip, and has told a graphic story of its perils in his paper prepared for the "Tablet Day" exercises. Lieutenant Mason was born in Cammington, Hampshire County, Mass., March 27, 1836. He removed to Webster City (then Newcastle), Iowa, in November, 1855. Harrison Hoover. (Called also Harris and Harry.) Residence Webster City, Iowa. Enrolled March 23, 1857, and appointed Sergeant of Company C. During the terrible night of April 4th he, with a companion, crossed Cylinder Creek, by proceeding up stream about a mile, where a passable bridge of snow drifts was made use of, and they assisted Captains Richards and Duncombe the next day in efforts to help the main body. He wrote the first account of the Expedition, it being published in the Hamilton Freeman (Charles Aldrich's paper), Aug. 20, 1857. Mr. Hoover was a Pennsylvanian by birth, and returned to his native state in later years, being a resident of Pittsburg in 1887, at the time of the "Tablet Day" exercises. He served four years in the army during the Civil War, but the regiment has not been ascertained. No biographical data obtained. A. Newton Hathaway. Residence Webster City, Iowa. Enrolled March 23, 1857, and was appointed Corporal of Company C. Was one of the ten scouts, or advance guard, who met the Springfield refugees on March 31st. He became delirious from the suffering of the night of April 4th and the succeeding cold days, and had to be left with Mr. Collins, on the East Fork of the Des Moines, in Humboldt County, for several days to recuperate. Mr. Hathaway was born in Windsor, Mass., in 1834. He removed to Webster City in 1855 or 1856. He visited his native state in the winter of 1860-61 and, while there, enlisted in Company I, Fifteenth Massachusetts Infantry, to serve for three years. He was in many severe battles in the Army of the Potomac, and gave his life for his country,—being killed at the battle of Gettysburg. Thomas Anderson. Residence Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled at Webster City, March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. No biographical sketch obtained. Thomas B. Bonebright. Residence probably Webster City, Iowa. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. No biographical sketch obtained. James Brainard. Residence in Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled at Webster City March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. No biographical sketch obtained. Sherman Cassady. Residence in Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled at Webster City, March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. No biographical sketch obtained. William L. Church. Residence Springfield, Jackson County, Minn. Had visited Webster City for supplies, and, reaching McKnight's Point, Humboldt County, on his return, had heard of the presence of hostile Indians at the Lakes, and at his home, and of a Relief Expedition being formed. He awaited there the arrival of the Expedition and, on March 27, 1857, enrolled himself as private in Company C. On, March 31st, he was placed in charge of an advance guard of ten men, which met a party, at first supposed to be Indians, but which proved to be refugees from Springfield, among whom were the wife and two small children of Mr. Church. He accompanied the fugitives on their journey towards civilization, spent the days of the blizzard at the Irish Colony, and arrived in due time at Webster City, where he afterwards made his home. William L. Church was born in Ohio, in 1827. He enlisted in an Ohio regiment, in the Mexican War, and, among other service, took part in an attack upon one of the fortifications at Churubusco. He removed to Webster County, Iowa, in 1855, but, the following year, settled at Springfield, Minn. After the Indian raid he returned to the vicinity of Webster City. In the spring of 1858, he joined a company organized for the defense of the northwestern frontier, under Captain H. B. Martin, of Webster City, and was elected its First Lieutenant. The company was discharged in the spring of 1859. Aug. 1, 1861, he enlisted in Company F, Second Iowa Cavalry, and was commissioned First Lieutenant of the company Sept. 9, 1861. He resigned Nov. 23, 1861. In 1887 he removed to Port Angeles, Washington, where he died several years ago. (Charles Aldrich, Annals of Iowa, Third Series, Vol. Ill, p. 546; Col. G. W. Crosley, letter Dec. 29, 1909. John N. Maxwell, letter January, 1910.) Patrick Conlan. Residence in Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled at Webster City, March 2 3, 1857, as private in Company C. No biographical sketch obtained. Henry E. Dalley. Residence in Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled at Webster City, March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. Volunteered at Granger's Point April 2d, as one of burial detachment to go to the Lakes. Mentioned as leading into camp Henry Carse, who had his feet badly frozen and was delirious. Said to have been a young boy. No biographical sketch obtained. John Erie. Residence in Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled at Webster City March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. No biographical sketch obtained. Emery W. Gates. Residence in Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled in Webster City March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. Acted as Cook for the detachment. The story was told of him that he could throw a griddle cake out of a hole in the roof of the cabin, run out and catch it the other side up on the griddle. He gave out on the return trip and, with Corporal Hathaway, was left at Collins, in Humboldt County, to recuperate. No biographical sketch obtained. John Gates. Residence in Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled at Webster City March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. Mentioned by Frank R. Mason as a "tower of strength and manliness," who came to the aid to Hathaway when delirious and refusing to move. No biographical sketch obtained. Josiah Griffith. Residence in Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled at Webster City, March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. No biographical sketch obtained. James Hickey. Residence in Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled at Webster City, March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. No biographical sketch obtained. Humphrey C. Hillock. Residence Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled at Webster City, March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. No biographical sketch obtained. M. W. Howland. Residence in Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled at Webster City, March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. Mentioned as one of the first to cross Cylinder Creek with Frank R. Mason, on the morning of April 6th. No biographical sketch obtained. Elias D. Kellogg. Residence in Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled at Webster City March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. Volunteered at Granger's Point April 2d, as one of burial detachment to go to the Lakes. Was one of the worst sufferers on the prairie during the night of April 4th, and the next day, being badly frostbitten. He was a native of New York State, born in 1838. He enlisted Aug. 9, 1861, from Kossuth County, as First Corporal in Company F, Second Iowa Cavalry, and served until Jan. 27, 1862. Enlisted again at Fort Dodge Aug. 22, 1862, in Company I, Thirty-second Iowa Infantry; promoted through the several grades to Fourth Corporal; Mustered out May 10, 1865, from Hospital, Keokuk, Iowa, where he had been sent with gunshot wound, but records do not state where or when wound was received. (T. L. Stephens, Record Clerk, A. G. O., Des Moines.) No other biographical data obtained. William K. Laughlin. Residence Webster City, Iowa. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. Was one of the ten scouts, or advance guard, who met the Springfield refugees March 31st. Volunteered at Granger's Point, April 2d, as one of burial detachment to go to the Lakes. Mentioned as giving valuable assistance ta Lieutenant Maxwell in keeping their comrades alive on the prairie during the terrible night of April 4th. He wrote for "Tablet Day" an excellent paper describing the experiences of the Expedition. It gives dates carefully and has been largely quoted in our text. Mr. Laughlin was born near Paris, 111!, Dec. 25, 1831. He settled in Newcastle (afterwards Webster City), Iowa, in November, 1855. Enlisted Aug. 11, 1862, in Company A, Thirty-second Iowa Infantry, and was discharged Feb. 17, 1865. He was appointed Fourth Corporal on organization of the company and promoted to higher non-commissioned rank. On his return from the army he settled near Fort Dodge, but removed, in 1894, to Thayer, Mo. Date of death not ascertained. (Charles Aldrich in Annals of Iowa, Third Series, Vol. Ill, p. 541.) A. S. Leonard. Residence in Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled at Webster City, March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. No biographical sketch obtained. F. R. Moody. Residence in Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled at Webster City March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. No biographical sketch obtained. John Nowland. (John Nolan, in Harris Hoover's list.) Residence in Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled at Webster City, March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. No biographical sketch obtained. J. O. Pemberton. Residence in Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled at Webster City, March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. No biographical sketch obtained. Alonzo Richardson. Residence in Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled March 23, 1857, at Webster City, as private in Company C. No biographical sketch obtained. Patrick Stafford. Residence in Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled at Webster City, March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. No biographical sketch obtained. Michael Sweeney. Residence Webster City, Iowa. Enrolled March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. He wrote a short but excellent account of the experiences of the Expedition to be read on "Tablet Day." He was born near the town of Rathkeale, Ireland, in 1828. At the time of the Tablet Day celebration he was temporarily residing in Colorado, and had acquired a handsome fortune. He had filled the offices of treasurer and sheriff of Hamilton County, Iowa. He died suddenly, in Fremont township, two miles from Webster City, May 12, 1888. (Charles Aidrich, Annals of Iowa, Third Series, Vol. III. p. 537.) A. K. Tullis. Residence in Hamilton County, Iowa. Enrolled at Webster City March 23, 1857, as private in Company C. No biographical sketch obtained. Sergeant Hoover, in his list, published Aug. 2 0, 1857, four months after the event, includes, as members of Company C, the uninjured men of the Springfield refugees, John Bradshaw and Morris Markham. They are not thus recognized, however, on the roster inscribed on the Spirit Lake Monument. The roster, printed on p. 71, of Vol. II, Annals of Iowa, Third Series, contains, as a member of Company C, the name of a man afterwards conspicuous in Iowa military and official life, but the name does not appear on the monument, nor on Hoover's list, and R. A. Smith assures the writer that he was not a member of the Expedition. CAPTAIN H. B. MARTIN'S COMPANY FOR THE DEFENSE OF THE NORTHWESTERN FRONTIER The terrible events of March, 1857, naturally created feelings of great apprehension among the settlers who gathered around the vicinity of the Dickinson County Lakes during the ensuing summer. Some of the earliest comers laid out a town on the present site of the city of Spirit Lake, and, among the first buildings erected, was one they called the "Fort," and it became, for the two years during which it stood, one of the landmarks of the locality. It was a log building, about twenty-four by thirty feet, built before any sawed lumber could be procured, having a "shake" roof and puncheon floor and doors. Around the outside of the building, at a distance of from six to ten feet, a stockade was erected formed of logs ten feet long and eight inches in diameter set on end in a trench from two and a half to three feet deep. (Smith's History of Dickinson County, Iowa, pp. 160, 161.) Numerous alarms as to danger from hostile Indians came to the little bands of settlers at various times in the fall of 1857, and, later in the winter, a party near Peterson, in Clay County, had a brush with a small band of Indians, in which one or two were slightly wounded. Jareb Palmer, of Spirit Lake, who will be remembered as one of the defenders of Springfield, in March, and who was then mail-carrier to Sioux City, was one of the party. R. A. Smith, in the History of Dickinson County, says: "This affair created considerable alarm, and it was decided to apply to the State for protection. A meeting was called at the 'old fort' to consider the situation, and a committee appointed to draw up a petition and present the matter to the State authorities. The legislature was in session. A statement of the affair and a petition to the legislature, asking immediate assistance, was drawn up. Mr. Jareb Palmer was selected to take the petition to Des Moines and lay it before the authorities. "C. C. Carpenter represented the district. He took hold of the matter in earnest, and, in the shortest time possible, a bill was passed providing for the raising of a company of volunteers for the defense of the northwestern frontier. The company was raised principally in Hamilton and Webster Counties, though not entirely. Upon arriving at the Lakes the Captain was authorized to enlist ten additional men from the settlers here. The names of these additional enlistments were as follows: A. Kingman, J. Palmer, E. Palmer, W. Donnelson, J. D. Hawkins, George W. Rogers, Charles Clark, William Carsley, William Allen, and one other, whose name is unknown. It was organized by the election of Henry B. Martin, of Webster City, Captain; William L. Church, of Homer, First Lieutenant; and a Mr. Jewett, of Border Plains, Second Lieutenant. It was the wife of Lieutenant Church who acted so heroic a part in the defense of the cabin of Mr. Thomas, at Springfield, against the attack of the Indians the spring before. "This company arrived upon the frontier about the last of February or first of March, and was divided into three squads; Captain Martin, with the main squad, making his headquarters at the old fort at Spirit Lake; Lieutenant Church, with one squad, at Peterson, and Lieutenant Jewett, with the remaining one, at Emmett. This force was kept on duty until about the first of July, when they were ordered off but not disbanded. In the fall of 1858, upon the earnest representations of a large majority of the inhabitants, they were again ordered into service and kept on duty along the frontier until the following spring, when they were discharged. This was the last of any military operations until the breaking out of the war, in 1861." This company was regularly authorized by law, and that law required the Captain to file with the Governor a roster, and to report every two months. It was hoped, therefore, that the roster might be found in the official files at Des Moines, and be given a place in this volume. Thorough search has been made by Record Clerk Thomas L. Stephens, not only among the files in the Adjutant General's office, but also among the Executive documents in the Hall of Archives, and neither its existence, nor that of any reports, has been disclosed; hence an interesting item in Iowa's early military history must be relegated to oblivion, and the recognition due to a body of brave and patriotic citizens must be withheld, except so far as R. A. Smith has preserved their names for us. Since the above was in type, Mr. Cassius C. Stiles, Superintendent of the Department of Public Archives, has furnished the Adjutant General's Department with important documents, viz.: two original pay rolls of Captain H. B. Martin's Company for the defense of the Northwestern frontier, designated on the rolls as the "Iowa Frontier Guard." These papers came to the Archives Department with other documents turned over by the State Auditor's Office, but which had not been classified at the time search was made for rosters, reports, etc., as before stated. These rolls, while not giving all the information desired, are greatly appreciated, as furnishing an authentic roster of a company whose names Mr. Reid so unavailingly sought to obtain. The list, which is taken from the first bi-monthly pay roll (verified by signatures), dated Jan. 23, 1859, signed by Henry B. Martin, Captain, and certified to by Charles B. Richards, Commissary General, follows: Captain H. B. Martin's Company for the Defense of the Northwestern Frontier – ROSTER Henry B. Martin. Captain. Age 25. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. William "L. Church, First Lieutenant. Age 31. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. David S. Jewett. Second Lieutenant. Age 28. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Jonas Ball. Surgeon. Age 53. Mustered into service Dec. 10, 1858. William G. Grayson. First Sergeant. Age 24. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. William S. Before. Second Sergeant. Age 23. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Ezra M. Wilcox. Third Sergeant. Age 35. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Charles C. Stratton. Fourth Sergeant. Age 22. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Thomas Mulvany. First Corporal. Age 24. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Andrew McPheeters.. Second Corporal. Age 24. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Franklin R. Mason. Third Corporal. Age 21. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Lemuel McIntosh. Fourth Corporal. Age 21. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Bates, Wells H. Private. Age 25. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Bellville, Archibald. Private. Age 36. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Bonebright, Thomas. Private. Age 22. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Davis, John W. Private. Age 22. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Estes, Lewis L. Private. Age 2 5. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Funk, William W. Private. Age 27. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Grant, Leslie. Private. Age 31. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Harlan, William B. Private. Age 21. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Hillock, Humphrey C. Private. Age 21. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Jones, George C. Private. Age 22. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Knapp, Jefferson W. Private. Age 23. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Leonard, Andrew S. Private. Age 22. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Lyon, John H. Private. Age 2 5. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Olcott, George. Private. Age 21. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Pelton, William E. Private. Age 30. Mustered into service Nov. 2 2, 1858. Rapp, Jacob. Private. Age 22. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Reily, Peter P. Private. Age 21. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Skinner, George J. Private. Age 21. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Somers, William T. Private. Age 21. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Sweeney, Michael. Private. Age 30. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Turner, Robert P. Private. Age 21. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Upton, Richard. Private. Age 24. Mustered into service Nov. 22, 1858. Barkman, William. Private. Age 28. Mustered into service Dec. 3, 1858. Blake, F. A. Private. Age 23. Mustered into service Dec. 3, 1858. Carsley, William D. Private. Age 26. Mustered into service Dec. 3, 1858. Clark, Charles W. Private. Age 25. Mustered into service Dec. 3, 1858. Donaldson, William. Private. Age 28. Mustered into service Dec. 3, 1858. Kingman, Alvarado. Private. Age 27. Mustered into service Dec. 3, 1858. Palmer, Eber. Private. Age 22. Mustered into service Dec. 3, 1858. Rogers, George W. Private. Age 22. Mustered into service Dec. 3, 1858. Schuneman, John H. Private. Age 36. Mustered into service Dec. 3, 1858. Smith, Guernsey. Private. Age 2 5. Mustered into service Dec. 3, 1858. Wheelock, Robert U. Private. Age 28. Mustered into service Dec. 3, 1858. [The ten additional enlistments, named in the quotation from the History of Dickinson County, by R. A. Smith, do not agree with the above Roster, either in names or number. We make no attempt to reconcile the discrepancies, but publish the list as shown by the rolls.] RESCUE COMPANIES OFFERED As the news of the dire events in Dickinson County spread through the State, attempts were made at several places to organize military companies to go at once and lend aid towards punishing the recreant Indians and rescuing the captives. No records of these inchoate organizations have been preserved so far as known to the writer, but tradition supplies us with a few details of one that had a short existence at LaMotte, in the northern part of Jackson County. That was the former home of Elizabeth Blake, who there married J. Milton Thatcher, and she was one of those who endured the horrible fate of captivity among the inhuman savages. Her uncle, John Hodges, a farmer living near the little village of LaMotte, called for volunteers of mounted men as soon as the dread facts became known, and about twenty enrolled their names and met several times for drill before it was learned that the Governor had no power to raise and equip a military force. Hodges was duly recognized as Captain of the little company, and Brooks Weatherby, who had seen service in the Regular Army, conducted the drills. Weatherby rejoined the Regulars during the Civil War, and since, and is said to have been in the First Infantry only a few years ago. David Rhea, a native of Tennessee, who had recently married a sister of Mrs. Thatcher, bought a young black horse to use on the Expedition. He became a member of Company I, Twenty-fourth Iowa Infantry, in the Civil War, and still lives in Jackson County. Most of our knowledge of the company comes from him. Martin V. Smith, of Bellevue, afterwards a soldier in the Fifth Iowa Infantry, is another living witness, who confirms the story we are telling. Among the names given as having enrolled in this little band of volunteers, are: Henry and Frank Nobles, Alex and Henry McDole, Brad Canfield and George Bird of LaMotte; George and William Foster and Pat Nestor of Zwingle; William Cheeney and "Manny" Kimball of Perry Township, -and William H. Smith (afterwards in the Fifth Iowa Infantry) of Bellevue. Joseph B. Dorr, afterwards Quartermaster of the Twelfth Iowa Infantry, and Colonel of the Eighth Cavalry, who was the editor of the Dubuque Herald, but owned a farm near LaMotte, gave much encouragement and advice in the raising of the little company. [In explanation of the spelling of proper names—used in the Historical Sketches of "Iowa in the Mexican War" and "The Spirit Lake Massacre"— which, in some instances, differs from published works on these subjects, would state that we have followed the copy, as furnished by Mr. Reid, in almost every instance.] ©2008 Genealogy Trails