The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1865-08-31

three soldies at Sherman Hall to one at the
rump convention.-.StdteR Register.
Coppsrheads Rebuked by Keokuk
! County Soldiers.
Proceedings Of tie RtchLand Soldiers Meet
! ing.
For the Courier.
i RICHLAND, Iowa August 19 '65.
/ EDITOR oE COMMUNICATIONS the 18th
notices weere posted throughout the town
informing all interested that Soldiers S
Meeting would be held at the Academy
building on the 10Th, at which soldiers and
citizens who were friends of soldiers, We're
invited to be present. The announcement
that the meeting would be addressed by
Mr.. Noah Ward at once revealed its char
acter. This man Ward cas soldier but is
now the tool of Negus & Co. ofFairtiel, be-
ing employed by them to do the dirty work
ofthe copperheads in trying to gull the SOL
diers into the support of the new tangled
party. He is also the ostensible editor of
the SOLDIERS FRIEND published at Fair
! field, and for which Dave Steward, the
Copperhead martyr, furnishes the etype and
material.
| While in theservice he was an applicant
for second Lieutenancv in negro Req
ment. The examining Board declared him
incompetent and refused to recommend
him for the position. This fact will salts
torily account for the deadly hatred he now
exhibits towasd the negro, and the keen
porceptive faculties that enable him to find
negro in every wood pile.
The sOldiersattended the meeting in large
numbers, the hall of the academy building
being completely filled. Mr.. Reese Hay
worth, a true and loyal soldier, was called
to the chair and Ward commenced rendi,aq
his peice. The piece consisted in part of
Ballinger's call (which was read almost
verhatim,) the remainder was from the
"S0tdie''S Friend peice of silly twaddle
composition.
Ward having finished his reading, on
motion ofSereno Dutton, committee of
five We're appointed to draft resolutions
xepressve ofthe sense of the meeting
The following named soldiers constituted
the committee.
Maj. \. j. Pope, Sigourney.
Robert Donnel, Steady Run.
Capt. N. Rhodes, Richland,
ID. a. Stockham.
Thomas a. Wade. -
While the committee were absent, Mr..
John A. Donnell of Sigourney was intro
duced To the audienc and in Ia few briefand
pertinent remaks, completely demolished
Mr.. Ward and his position. Mr.. Donnell
fwhO was in the service over three years.
denounced the action of coppcrheads, and
of returned soldiers who allowed them
selves to be used by these enortherutraitors
in their efforts to create new party and
destroy the Union party. in scathing and
withering terms. Upon the conclusion of
his remarks, Mai. Pope, chairman of the
committee reported the following pream-
BILE and Resolutions:
Whereas: 1t is fresh in our,,memories vet
that while we were fighting our country's
| battles in the South, while the steel of the
infuriated rebels was at our breasts, or
their blood hounds upon our tracks, there
wasa pa rty,a home who mildly styled,t
sour deluded deluded Southern brethren
who met on dark nights in old waste hous-
es TO form their clubs of knights of the
Golden Circle and "Sons Of Liberty" to
exult over our reverseses, or howl out their
vile curses at every new levy of men to
| fill our thinned ranks, or new loan to feed
and clothe us, and who kindiy told us our
sTour years of war was failure" We al
so remember there was anoter party who
shouted long and loud over onr victories
and would weep at our defeats, who pray
ed the Government to send us men and
maintain us with all its powers, therefore,
I ResslOed. lst That we will stand by
the men who stood by us when the storms
Of rebel lead and hate were bursting upon
us.
2nd. That we have no fears in submit
ting the question of tha amendment of
the Constitution of the State of Iowa, on
the elective franchise; to q vote of the peo-
pie, believing that if any ofus are opposed
to such amendment flour views are cor
rect, we can convince the great Union par
ty of the fact before the election oflS6S.
Sd. That we believe we can discern In
"the signs of the times" a deep laid schme
between the opposers of the war in the
North and the white-washsd traitor of the
South, to strike together their blood stained
hands, to obtain control of that Govern
ment which few moths since they We're
endeavoring to destroy, And we hold it
to be the first and most sacred duty of the
soldier and their Union friends TO defeat
those plans; and when the men who in
our absence We're engaged in assailing the
Government with loud mouthed sxple-
plctives and assisting the enemy with mild
honey tongued arguments, or in consort-
ing with the rebel ragamuffins of the
Army of the skunk" approach upon our
return with hypocritical smiles upon their
lips ''suGar words in their mouths, and
arms extended for Observation-Disclosures,
thereby to gain vote. they will only re-
ceive the contumely and contempt their
foul actions so richly deserve.
4th. That the Copperhead party in the
North by its uniform and persistent coures
in Observation-Disclosures desrying the draft
harbortng desersers, branding the "boys
+ in blue" ss "hireling.' ''thieves" and
"vandals" and endesvoring to deprive
them of vote. calling our wives and