Iowa Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Civil War, 1861โ1865=== {{Main article|Iowa in the American Civil War}} Iowa supported the Union during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], voting heavily for [[Abraham Lincoln]], though there was an antiwar "[[Copperheads (politics)|Copperhead]]" movement in the state, caused partially by a drop in crop prices caused by the war.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lendt |first=David L. |title=Iowa and the Copperhead Movement |journal=The Annals of Iowa |volume=40 |date=1970 |issue=6 |pages=412โ427 |doi=10.17077/0003-4827.7965 |url=https://pubs.lib.uiowa.edu/annals-of-iowa/article/id/8482/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510004833/https://pubs.lib.uiowa.edu/annals-of-iowa/article/id/8482/ |archive-date=May 10, 2022 |via=Iowa Research Online|doi-access=free }}</ref> There were no battles in the state, although the [[Battle of Athens (1861)|Battle of Athens]], Missouri, 1861, was fought just across the Des Moines River from [[Croton, Iowa]], and shots from the battle landed in Iowa. Iowa sent large supplies of food to the armies and the eastern cities.<ref name="Iowa Official Register page 315">Iowa Official Register, Volume No. 60, page 315</ref> Much of Iowa's support for the Union can be attributed to [[Samuel J. Kirkwood]], its first wartime governor. Of a total population of 675,000, about 116,000 men were subjected to military duty. Iowa contributed proportionately more soldiers to Civil War military service than did any other state, north or south, sending more than 75,000 volunteers to the armed forces, over one-sixth of whom were killed before the [[Confederate States of America|Confederates]] surrendered at [[Battle of Appomattox Courthouse|Appomattox]].<ref name="Iowa Official Register page 315" /> Most fought in the great campaigns in the [[Mississippi Valley]] and in the [[American South|South]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iowanationalguard.com/Museum/IA_History/CivilWar.htm |title=Civil War |publisher=Iowanationalguard.com |access-date=July 26, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529001226/http://www.iowanationalguard.com/Museum/IA_History/CivilWar.htm |archive-date=May 29, 2010 }}</ref> Iowa troops fought at Wilson's Creek in [[Missouri]], [[Battle of Pea Ridge|Pea Ridge]] in [[Arkansas]], Forts Henry and Donelson, Shiloh, Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and Rossville Gap as well as Vicksburg, Iuka, and Corinth. They served with the Army of the Potomac in [[Virginia]] and fought under Union General [[Philip Sheridan]] in the [[Shenandoah Valley]]. Many died and were buried at Andersonville. They marched on General [[Nathaniel Banks]]' ill-starred expedition to the Red River. Twenty-seven [[Iowans]] have been awarded the [[Medal of Honor]], the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government, which was first awarded in the Civil War.<ref>Iowa Official Register, Volume No. 60, pages 315โ316</ref> Iowa had several brigadier generals and four major generalsโ[[Grenville Mellen Dodge]], [[Samuel R. Curtis]], [[Francis J. Herron]], and [[Frederick Steele]]โand saw many of its generals go on to state and national prominence following the war.<ref name="Iowa Official Register page 315" /> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page