Robert E. Lee’s benediction for two Confederates from Iowa
Four years after Appomattox, Robert E. Lee wrote to former U.S. Senator George Wallace Jones. They had a friend in common, General Charles Gratiot. Besides that, two of Jones’s sons…
Think like Dr. Phil: The River of Love, part 2
In the last post, I invited readers to advise the engaged couple, Annie and Charles. Talmadge Wilson wrote, “Too many cultural differences. End the affair and move on!” Heather wrote: …
How the Underground Railroad helped me find Confederates from Iowa
“Men maddened with hate and rage ran through the streets with insulting words ever on their lips. When I bade my husband good morning, I did not know but he…
Son of Former Iowa Governor goes bad, Part 2: The Family tries to Intervene
Junius L. Hempstead and 600 other Confederate officers crowded into the dark hold of a Federal steamer. Sea-sickness and lack of sanitation bedeviled them for two weeks. They arrived at Morris…
Son of Former Iowa Governor goes bad: “Rebel Son” becomes Campaign Issue
Iowa residents who served the Confederacy were never completely forgotten, especially during campaign season. One such man was 18-year-old Junius L. Hempstead, a Dubuque resident whose father had been Iowa’s…