The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-11-13
FOUGHT AND DIED rooErnER

FOUGHT AND DIED TOGETHER
1.-THE death of Judge Miller and Gen
eral Belknap brings to mind an inciden
of the early days of the war;" said Gen
eral Bussey, the Assistant Secretary o
the Interior, the other day. was Al
aide de camp to Governor Kirkwood, il
charge of the military forces of til
Southeastern part of Iowa. At Bloom
field. where / resided, obtained infor
nation from special messenger sen
into Missouri by me that 500 rebel
under General Martin Green, were abou
to make raid into Iowa for the purpos
of stealing horses and other supple
preparatory to going South to Join tn
rebel army. Believing that Keokuk wa
their objective point FASTENED there a
rapidly as possible to notify the citizen
of their danger, and to adopt such mean
as we could for the defence of the people
| had not been in Keokuk more thai
two hours when General Givne, tn,
present Superintendent of the Western
Division of the Rock Island Railway
came to me with the information tina
iiS iittu guob lCNClNCu Dlli Vi lTOIl
Burlington for a thousand stand of arms
shipped from the arsenal at Washington
to Council Bluffs, Iowa, to arm Genera
Dodge's Fourth Iowa Infantry. l deter
mined to seize these guns and plac,
them in the hands of the citizens, well
knowing that if the enemy did not CONF
it would be difficult for me to satisf,
the government that l had actec
properly.
81 called on Judge Miller, then lead
ing leading lawyer at Keokuk, to whom
| stated the danger He immediately
convened meeting of citizens, styling
themselves committee of safety and
recommended to me the course had
intended to pursue. l gave orders to
the railroad company to hold the train
subject to my order. / took off 200 guns
and placed 100 of them in the hands of
General Belknap, who, in one hours
time, had 100 men who promised to
use them. Another hundred l gave to
Hugh j. Sample. With the remainder |
boarded the train, and at Pennington,
twenty miles out, left 200 guns with
Capt. Scott; 200 more were left with
Henry G. Caldwell, Judge of the United
States Circuit Court, who was then a
lawyer at Keosauqua, Iowa; the remain
der ltook to Ottumwa, engaged wagons
travelled all night, reached Bloomdale at
daylight and distributed the guns to
companies organized there for the de-
fence of the place. l then started back
to Keokuk, which believed the enemy
would ultimately attempt to reach,
rallying the people in every direction as
| went, directing them to assemble on
the border where they could be in quick
communication with each other.
''Col. David Moore, gallant Union
citizen of Missouri, had organized about
three hundred home guards in Northeast
Missouri, and was with them in camp at
Athens, twenty miles West of Keokuk.
The enemy determined to destroy these
forces, and when reached that point
about noon fight was then going on
between GREEN'S force of 1900 men and
Col. Moore's Home Guards holding the
town. He had fortified the streets with
temporary barricades, and was able to
hold his position until REINFORCED. At
the time l reached that point Captain
Belknap and other troops had arrived
from Keokuk. Captain SCOTS men
from Pennington, only four miles dis
tant, also assembled with the arms / had
placed in their hands, and with these
forces the enemy was tlanked and driven
from the town. Col. Moore, with por-
ton of my forces, followed the enemy
about forty miles, driving them across
the Missouri River. They never after
ward made their appearance in that part
Of the State. On this occasion they did
not succeed in reaching Iowa soil. The
river was fOrdable at that time. Captain
command waded the river,
firing on the enemy as they crossed.
About eighty men were killed and
in this engagement. The
enemy had artillery which thew used
effectively, throwing shells across the
river into Iowa, creating great conster-
ration among the non-comba tants who
lad gathered in considerable forces from
,he surrounding country.
Secretary Noble, then a young law
yer at Keokuk, who volunteered on this
lccasien, seized a musket with which to
light on his own account When the
keokuk troops reached Athens General
Belknap and others raised the question
Is to whether they had right to cross
INTO Missouri. General Noble mounted a
stump and addressed the men in an
,h"h ,ioioobiO opCCCli1 ulBlilB bllelu 10 Cross
he river, which they did, he and Captain
Anderson leading. On the enemys right
tank they encountered force of the
'nemy with whom they became engaged,
md secretary Noble was wounded in the
Urn, but not disabled. General Martin
Green was brother of the United
states Senator of that name serving from
Missouri. He was afterward killed
Turing the seige of Viclsburg,
where he commanded division on the
Confederate side. Col David Moore.
who was the real hero of the Battle of
Athens, was made colonel of Missouri
'egiment and lost leg in the Battle of
shiloh. -..,s-~1cs -rst-gFstra
After the battle went to St Louis
% notify General Fremont that had ia
zen the guns intended for the Fourth
.owa Infantry, that he might notify the
Var Department to duplicate them. 1
vas highly complimented for taking the
in the manner / had and
vas offered authority to raise regiment
If cavalry, which did in short order.
Within ten days from the time the
authority was granted had nearly one
thousand two hundred men in camp,
who were mustered in as the Third Iowa
Cavalry"