The Post-Civil War Period (1865-1898)
The Iowa National Guard From 1865 to 1898
History of The Iowa National Guard
CW2 David L. Snook
In Iowa, the State Militia became, once
again, a collection of independent, volunteer organizations. The
degree of organization and effective training that was maintained
was due in large measure to the energies of Adjutant General
Nathaniel Baker. Baker was first appointed as adjutant general in
1861 and continued to serve in that position until his death in
1876.
In the 1873 Adjutant General’s Report,
a roster of organized militia companies then in existence within
the state was included for the first time. The list included the
following: Olmsted Zouaves, Des Moines; Vinton Zouaves, Vinton;
Lawler Battery, Lawler; McGregor Artillery, McGregor; Clinton
Artillery, Clinton; Cresco Artillery, Cresco; Baker Light Horse
Cavalry, Iowa City; Council Bluffs Light Artillery, Council
Bluffs; Iowa College Company, Grinnell; Iowa State Agriculture
College Company, Ames; Fort Dodge Battery, Fort Dodge; Keosauqua
Artillery, Keosauqua; Crocker Veteran Guards, Des Moines;
Pocahontas Rifles, Rolfe; Burlington Guards, Burlington; Humboldt
County Rifles, Rutland; Panora Zouaves, Panora; Anamosa
Artillery, Anamosa; and Keokuk Veteran Guards, Keokuk.
In 1876, the Iowa Militia was organized
along regimental lines. At that time, there were seven six-company
regiments, a battalion at the State University of Iowa, a twelve-battery
regiment of field artillery, and three unattached organizations.
Two batteries of artillery were attached to each infantry
regiment, except the Seventh. One battery was attached to that
regiment.
In 1877, the Iowa Militia was redesignated
as the Iowa National Guard. The Iowa National Guard continued
with the above organization until 1893, when the seven regiments
and miscellaneous organizations were consolidated into two
brigades of two regiments each. During this period, the overall
level of training improved markedly. Encampments were held by
either regiments or brigades at various locations throughout the
state, although there was no central field training facility.
This renewed
interest in military affairs received added impetus in the summer
of 1894. On August 10, 1894, about 5,000 Iowa veterans of the
Civil War assembled in Des Moines to march behind their
regimental battle flags for the last time.
The men came from all parts of
the state to carry 135 flags from the state arsenal on First
Street to the Capitol. There they were deposited in glass display
cases where they remain to this day.
The march was filled with emotion. A crowd
of thousands lined Locust Street for a solid mile. "None
cheered – their hearts stirred too deep," said one
account…."The occasion was too great for noise. There
were white-haired mothers whose sons lay dead on Southern
battlefields, and sisters whose brothers filled nameless graves
in the dark forests of the South.
My boy died defending that
flag,’ said an old man, as the banner of his son’s
regiment passed by.
The crowd about him gave way till the
color bearers could let the old man touch the sacred colors with
his hands."
No captured enemy flags were carried in
that procession, though Iowa men had captured more flags than
they had regiments. Hatred and revenge were forgotten on that day
of solemn gratitude and remembrance.
The same patriotic spirit displayed during
the Battle Flag ceremony of 1894 would be shown again, less than
four years later (April of 1898), when the entire Iowa National
Guard would volunteer for service in the Spanish-American War.
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