It took me six years to dig deeply into the Grinnell Station of the Iowa Underground Railroad. By the end of that time, I expanded my research to greater Poweshiek County, through the end of the Civil War. I learned about Iowa’s first draft late in the Civil War, on October 1, 1864. Three of the Poweshiek County draftees didn’t report for duty, so the Provost Marshal in Grinnell sent two deputy marshals to round up the “draft deserters.” Bushwhackers murdered the deputy marshals.
This shocking event made me ask, did any Iowa residents leave the state and serve the Confederacy? Ten years later, I had an unexpected answer: At least 76 Iowa residents served the Confederacy. I tell their stories in Iowa Confederates in the Civil War.
The heart of the book consists of historical sketches of all 76 men, featuring their pre-war, war-time, and post-war experiences.
Readers will gain insights into the heightened emotions and political pressures of war-time Iowa. For example, one of four Iowa Confederates had a divided family, that is, at least one brother or a father who served in the Union Army. Some fathers of Iowa Confederates were prominent Democrats, and three of the fathers were friends of Jefferson Davis. Fonthill Media published Iowa Confederates in the Civil War on September 30, 2019.