Brian Craig Miller - A Punishment on the Nation: An Iowa Soldier Endures the Civil War

A PU NISHMENT ON THE NA TION

CIVIL WAR IN THE NORTH

Series Editor: Lesley J. Gordon, University of Akron

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They Have Left Us Here to Die: The Civil War Prison Diary of Sgt. Lyle G. Adair, 111th U.S. Colored Infantry

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The Election of 1860 Reconsidered

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A Punishment on the Nation: An Iowa Soldier Endures the Civil War

Edited by Brian Craig Miller

A Punishment on the Nation

An Iowa Soldier Endures the Civil War

Edited by Brian Craig Miller

THE KENT STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS

Kent, Ohio

2012 by The Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio 44242

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

ISBN 978-1-60635-144-4

Manufactured in the United States of America

Silas Havens letters are reproduced courtesy of Sharlene Madouras.

Cataloging information for this title is available at the Library of Congress.

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For Brent

Kathryn Walker (19832011)

It is with deep sadness I report that Kathryn Walker has passed away at the age of 28. She brought me the letters you are about to read. She had an inquisitive mind, a generous spirit, and a kind heart. I am so very grateful to have known her and hope that this book will serve as a lasting legacy to her generosity.

T HE READING , transcribing, and editing of the letters of Silas W. Haven has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my historical career. As a self-professed historian of the Confederacy during the Civil War, I have found my journey northward to be enlightening, engaging, and rather fun. Yet, I have not taken this walk alone and my thanks go out to several people who have made this book possible. The project began with Kathi Walker, a student from my History 111 course, who e-mailed me one day, asking me if I would like to see some family Civil War letters. A quick reading of five letters turned into a meeting that resulted in the publication of this book. I am grateful to all the family members, particularly Sharlene Madouras. It is my hope that you are happy with the final product, and that you take as much joy from reading these letters as I did.

I would like to thank the archivists and workers I encountered across Iowa, particularly Mary Anne at the Floyd County Historical Society; the local people of Rockford, Iowa, who allowed me to pick their brains about cemeteries and their histories (or missing histories); the staff at the Floyd County Courthouse in Charles City, Iowa, and the staff of the State Historical Society in Des Moines, Iowa. I thoroughly enjoyed my very first trip to Iowa and left the state with not only a better understanding of Silas Haven and his place in history but also that of Iowa. Thanks also to the staff at the National Archives in Washington who assisted me in getting Havens pension file.

My life has been enriched by extraordinary friendships, both within and outside the historical community. At Emporia State University, I am grateful for my supportive colleagues Ellen Hansen, Darla Mallein, Phil Kelly, and Greg Schneider. Greg, you have become a model scholar for me to emulate, and I am blessed by our friendship and your willingness to mentor me on walks for coffee three days a week. I am honored to have the support and friendship of the following people who help make each day a better one: Paul Beazley, James Ehlers, Ross Guthrie, Matt Johnson, Alice Lachassee, Matt Mosley, Courtney Roy (who housed me in Washington), Chris Stacey, Minoa Uffelman, Mike and Carol Upton, Brian Van Norman, and Chuck and Jen Westmoreland. Thanks to John Neff for always chatting and providing source hints, especially from a cemetery in Iowa. Special thanks to Terry Bax, who provided me with a home away from home in Kansas City, where I edited and transcribed most of this manuscript.

In addition, I am grateful to the tireless efforts of the staff at Kent State University Press, especially Mary Young and the incomparable Joyce Harrison. Dan Sutherland read the entire manuscript and offered superb suggestions and feedback, which assisted me in producing a stronger product. Lesley Gordon, the editor of this series, is a true shining gem, and I appreciate her faith in me, her feedback, and, more importantly, her friendship. Thank you all for pushing me to create a better book that does justice to the legacy that an ordinary man left behind.

I am grateful for Nick Messing, who makes each day better than the previous. Thank you for your own passion, your friendship, Starbucks, breakfast with Pooh, the endless laughs, and the conversations with Bear and Max. Finally, to my parents, Craig and Linda Miller, and my sister Brooke, who revolved each of our family vacations around a Civil War battlefield. In particular, on our trip to Shiloh, we discovered a database computer that revealed the location of the grave of Philip B. Spotts, a relative who died at Antietam. Later on that trip, we stopped in Sharpsburg to place a small American flag amid an endless sea of headstones at the Antietam National Cemetery. The memory of that evening, a pivotal one in my own personal development as a historian, flooded back to me one afternoon when I stood placing another small American flag on a grave, this time in Rockford, Iowa. I am thankful to have a family who loves and supports me and have even, dare I say, joined my historical entourage.

This book is dedicated to my brother, Brent Darwin Miller, who played the Union soldier in our Civil War battles in the backyard. My parents had plenty of woods (to do Shiloh), a pond (Shiloh, again), peach trees (Shiloh and Gettysburg), a makeshift log cabin (Chickamauga), a big field (Gettysburg), lots of big rocks (Gettysburg), an old barn (Gettysburg), and a cornfield in the summerwell, the corn section of our family garden (Antietam), where we fought out the bloodiest day in American history, much to the chagrin of our parents. You are an incredible human being, a model gentleman, a devoted public servant, and a brother who has always loved me unconditionally. It has been a true pleasure to watch my little bro grow over the years, and I hope this book dedication is a reminder of how important you are in my life.