The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1908-10-01
NINETEENTH REUNION OF THIRD IOWA CAVALRY
The Nineteenth Reunion of the Gallant Old Third Iowa Cavalry
Held in this City last Week was Decided Success, more
than Hundred of the 1OId Boys" Attending.

The nineteenth reunion of the gal
liant 3rd Iowa Cavalry held in this city
last week closed on Thursday afternoon,
and all the old boys who attended were
loud in their praise of the cordial
treatment accorded them while in Leon.
The old veterans are all getting we'll
along in years and each year the grim
reaper gathers some of them in his
arms, while the intirmities of age pre-
vents others from leaving their homes.
There were 40 members of the regi-
ment in attendance here, which consid-
ering the fact that they are scattered
all over the United States was SPLEEN
did representation, and some who were
here met with their army comrades for
the first time since they were mustered
out in 1865.
The program as published last week
was carried out with but minor changes,
all of the principal speakers being pres
ent. The sessions were held at the
opera house which had been prettily
decorated with flags and bunting in
honor Of the old veterans. Wednesday
morning was devoted to registering
and assigning the visitors to quarters
at the hospitable homes of our citizens,
and the first regular meeting was called
to order Wednesday afternoon at 1:30
by Capt. j. d. Brown, president of the
regimental association, prayer being
offered by Rev. j. L. Boyd, pastor of the
M. q. church. Some excellent music was
rendered by the boys and girls of the
Leon High School, under direction of
Prof. A. G. Voelker, and many school
children were in the audience, the
schools having been granted half
holiday by the school board.
Mayor s. A. Gates, on behalf Of the
citizens of Leon, welcomed the veter-
ans to our city, speaking as follows:
Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen
appreciate the honor of being per-
mitted to welcome you today, and will
briefly notice some of the past events
which have been factors in sounding the
bugle call for our meeting. Primarily,
this country was known as land of
freedom, but in 1870 cargo of African
negroes were brought to Jameston, Va,
and sold as slaves. Later others fol-
lowed, until at the time of organization
as nation, slaves were quite numerous.
The most OF these were owned in the
south and formed an important part of
the wealth of that portion of the nation.
The citizens Of the southern states
were in favor of extending slavery into
all newly admitted states. The citizens
of the north were opposed. This be-
came a national question in 1920, when
Missouri applied for admission as
state. 1t was temporarily settled by the
Missouri Compromise in 1921. This
compromise or this settlement was one
that failed to settle. Both north and
south were dissatisfied with it, and in
1854 the act was annulled by bill in
troduced in congress by Stephen A.
Douglas. There were also other national
questions on which the north and south
were not agreed. One of the most i'm
portant of these was the states right
question. The politicians of the south
claimed that the constitution bound
the states together as a federation Of
states only and that the right of the
state was paramount to that of the gen.
eral government. The north claimed
that the constitution bound the states
together as union, and that the pow
ers and authority of the federal govern
ment were paramount to the rights of a
state. This was the condition Of national
affairs in the spring Of 1860 when presi-
Dental candidates were to be nomi-
mated. There were three political
parties-the democrat, the republican
and the constitutional union party. The
democratic party held it's national con-
vention at Charleston, S. c., April %,
1860. The Douglas democrats refused
to yield to the dictates Of the slave
power and presented platform re-
stricting slavery. The southern dele
gates offered resolution affirming the
bred Scott decision. The Douglas plat
form was adopted, and the southern
delegates bolted the convention, or
ganized a new convention and adjourned
to meet at Richmond, Va, June 18th.
The Douglas or union branch of the
party, after balloting 81 times for a
candidate for president, without choice
adjourned to meet at Baltimore, Md, OF
June 18th. Both conventions met as
per adjournment. The southern demo
Gratis nominated John G. Breckenridge
and the northern democrats nominated
Stephen A. Douglas for president. Later
the republicans nominated Abraham
Lincoln for president, and the constitu.
tional union party nominated John G.
Bell. Thus we had three political per.
ties and four candidates for president
There we're 16 slaves states and IS anti.
slaves states. You remember the cam.
prevailed, the rallies, the pole raising
and the rail splitting. You remember
that on the night Of November 9th when
the telegraph flashed over the country
the news that Abraham Lincoln was
elected president of the United Slater
what intense excitement prevailed. The
south felt that the death knell Of slavery
was sounded unless something was
done. Mass meetings were held, and
speeches were made, the public press
added fuel to the already glowing flame
and on the Goth of December, 1850
South Carolina held convention and
dissolved it's connection with the union
by an ordinance OF secession passed by
a unanimous vote. This action was soon
followed by other southern states
James Buchanan, the president, claimed
he had no right to coerce state. Sec
rotary Floyd being in full sympathy
with the secession movement sent the
munitions Of war to the south land. Or
the 4th of March, 1851, when Abraham
Lincoln was inaugurated president, he
found our navy scattered in foreign