Meet Four Iowa City Civil War Veterans.

James E. Pritchard – Born in Ohio in 1831.

William W. Kirkwood – Born in Maryland in 1835.

John N. Pritchard – Born in Ohio in 1837.

John C. Rutan – Born in Ohio in 1839.

Allow me to introduce you to two Pritchard brothers – James E. & John N., and two good friends of the Pritchard family – John C. Rutan and William W. Kirkwood. According to U.S. census records and family histories, all four of these young Iowa Citians had strong family ties back in Richland County, Ohio (see map above), and as you’ll see later, they are all inter-connected to each other via their marriages.

It’s our guess that our four Civil War veterans all arrived in Iowa City around 1855/1856 and focused on farming in and around Johnson County. Which brings us, now, to…

*(S-0080) In 1961-1965, the USPS issued a series of five postage stamps commemorating the Civil War Centennial.*

Soon after the Civil War broke out in April of 1861, all four men joined the Union army, with three serving until the war’s end in 1865. We are fortunate to have access to three intriguing postal covers and two personal letters from these war years – all involving all four men. Our three covers are all addressed to John N. Pritchard, and the two letters are written to him as well – one by his friend – John C. Rutan (1863), and the other by his brother, James E. Pritchard (1865). Both letters refer to our fourth soldier – William W. Kirkwood – nephew of Iowa’s Civil War Governor – Samuel J. Kirkwood. So, in order to put these covers, letters, and corresponding stories into a fuller context, we’ll do all this in chronological order.

*A political cartoon from 1860 shows the four candidates, from left, Lincoln, Douglas, Breckenridge, and Bell tearing apart the United States.*

**November 6, 1860 –** The American people elect Abraham Lincoln as 16th President of the United States. Lincoln is the first Republican president in the nation and represents a party that opposes the spread of slavery into the territories of the United States. Iowa is decidedly a pro-abolitionist, anti-slavery state, although there are many who are solidly aligned with the Democrat Party – which refused, in those days, to take a solid stand on this controversial issue. Click here for more information.

According to family records, all four of our Civil War veterans – **John N. Pritchard**, **James E. Pritchard**, **John C. Rutan**, and **William W. Kirkwood** – arrived in Iowa City around 1855/1856 from Richland County, Ohio, and by 1860, were actively involved with farming in and around Johnson County. William W.’s uncle – **Samuel J. Kirkwood** also came to Iowa City around this same time (1855), partnering with his brother-in-law, Ezekiel Clark, and his thriving business – Coral Mills. Below is Samuel & Jane Kirkwood – who, like our four Civil War vets – came to Iowa City from Richland County, Ohio.

*On April 12, 1861, Confederates in South Carolina fired on Fort Sumter, starting the American Civil War.*

**January 1861 –** South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas secede from the United States.

**April 12, 1861 –** Confederate forces fire upon Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The Civil War formally begins.

**April 15, 1861 –** President Lincoln issues a public declaration that an insurrection exists and calls for 75,000 militia to stop the rebellion. As a result of this call for volunteers, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee secede from the Union in the following weeks.

**September 16, 1861** – **John C. Rutan**, age 21, from Iowa City, enlists as a Second Lieutenant in the 14th Iowa Infantry – Company A.

**September 23, 1861 –** **John N. Pritchard**, age 24, from Iowa City, enlists as a Fourth Corporal in the 14th Iowa Infantry – Company A.

**October 23, 1861** – **John C. Rutan** and **John N. Pritchard** are mustered in. The 14th Iowa Infantry – Company A is detached by order of General Fremont to march from Davenport – via Des Moines, Council Bluffs and Sioux City – to **Fort Randall, Dakota Territory** (see map below left), arriving December 5, 1861, where they are stationed until the war’s end (1865). Strategically located on the west bank of the Missouri River near the South Dakota-Nebraska border, **Fort Randall** served as an important outpost on the upper Missouri River for operations against the Sioux from 1856 to 1876. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, the more experienced Union soldiers who had been stationed at Ft. Randall were re-assigned to positions in the south and younger, less experienced troops like Rutan’s & Pritchard’s Company A were assigned to replace them.

**November 6, 1861 – William W. Kirkwood**, age 26, enlists as a First Lieutenant in the 14th Iowa Infantry – Company K and is immediately ordered to leave Davenport for **St. Louis**, where they were stationed until December. During the first two months of 1862, Company K is assigned to nearby **Cairo, Missouri**, and by March 1862, are sent to **Tennessee** (see map below right).

September 8, 1862 – *In the summer of 1862, enslaved people crossed into Federal lines seeking freedom. Over the course of the Civil War, US policy and war aims evolved, ultimately to include the abolition of slavery.*

**February 22, 1862 –** Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as President of the Confederate States of America.

**March 7-8, 1862 –** Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas. The U.S. victory here loosened the Confederate hold on Missouri and disrupted southern control of a portion of the Mississippi River.

**June 6, 1862 –** Battle of Memphis, Tennessee. A U.S. flotilla under Commodore Charles Davis successfully defeats a Confederate river force on the Mississippi River near the city and Memphis surrenders. The Mississippi River is now in Federal control except for its course west of Mississippi where the city of Vicksburg stands as the last Confederate stronghold on the great river.

**August 16, 1862 –** **James E. Pritchard**, age 31, of Iowa City, is appointed as a Field & Staff Administrative Adjutant in Company E of the 28th Iowa Infantry, and is mustered in on October 10th. The 28th Infantry was trained at **Camp Pope** in Iowa City before being ordered to **Helena, Ark**., where they arrived on November 20, and stationed through December.

**September 1, 1862 –** **John C. Rutan** is promoted to First Lieutenant in the 14th Iowa Infantry – Company A.

**September 8, 1862 – William W. Kirkwood** is promoted to Major in the 14th Iowa Infantry – Company K.

**September 18, 1862** – **John C. Rutan** and **John N. Pritchard** – As part of Companies A, B, & C – are permanently detached from the 14th Iowa Infantry, and designated the 41st Iowa Battalion Infantry.

**September 22, 1862 –** President Lincoln introduces the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which announced Lincoln’s intention to declare all enslaved people free on January 1, 1863 if those places remained in rebellion at that time.

*As casualties mounted, battlefield photography displayed the awful spectacle of battle to an American public that had largely romanticized war at the beginning of the conflict.*

**January 1, 1863 –** The Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect. The Emancipation Proclamation was a war measure that declared enslaved people in rebelling states to be free, authorized the enlistment of black troops, and outraged white Southerners. The proclamation was an important turning point in the war for the United States and in the eventual shift from the goal of restoring the Union as it was, to building a better Union without slavery.

**February 6, 1863 –** **James E. Pritchard**, who was appointed (1862) as a Field & Staff Administrative Adjutant in the 28th Iowa Infantry, temporarily resigns his position. No explanation is given, but it might be due to sickness. The 28th is stationed in Tennessee at this time, and over the duration of the war, more men died from sickness (186) compared to those killed (82) in battle.

**March 3, 1863 –** Conscription, or the drafting of soldiers into military service, begins in the North. It had begun in the Confederacy the year before.

**March 4, 1863 –** As Company K of the 14th Iowa Cavalry returns to St. Louis and Davenport, and a new phase of recruitment in the North begins, **Captain William W. Kirkwood** ends his assigned duties and is mustered out of the service.

**April 1863** – As per John C. Rutan’s May 1st letter (below) – Companies A, B & C (41st Iowa Battalion Infantry) are designated Companies K, L, & M in the 7th Iowa Cavalry. **John C. Rutan** and John N. Pritchard are both assigned to the new Company K – 7th Cavalry.

**May 1, 1863** – **John C. Rutan** – now stationed in Sioux City – writes his friend, **John N. Pritchard** – stationed at Ft. Randall in Dakota Territory (see letter below).

**May 22, 1863 –** The US War Department issues General Order No. 143 establishes the United States Colored Troops.

**July 1-3 –** Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The bloodiest battle of the Civil War dashes Robert E. Lee’s hopes for a successful invasion of the North.

**July 4 –** Vicksburg, Mississippi, surrenders to the US Army under Grant. The capture of Vicksburg gives the Unites States complete control of the Mississippi River, a vital supply line for the Confederate states in the west. At Gettysburg, Lee begins his retreat to Virginia.

**August 18, 1863 –** **James E. Pritchard**, who, earlier in the year, resigned his position as a Field & Staff Administrative Adjutant with the 28th Iowa Infantry, re-enlists, is mustered in (September 30), and appointed as a Commissary with the 8th Iowa Calvary. The regiment is assigned to Chattanooga, Tennessee, then to Nashville, where the company was attached to the Defences of Nashville & Northwestern Railroad, Dept. of the Cumberland, where it stayed well into 1864.

**November 19, 1863 –** Dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery at Gettysburg. President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address.

(JP-012j) This rare postal cover and letter, written on **May 1, 1863**, is from **John C. Ruthan,** who is stationed in Sioux City, and is addressed to **Corporal John N. Pritchard** – who is stationed with the 41st Iowa Battalion Infantry – Company A – at nearby **Fort Randall, Dakota**. Ruthan and Pritchard have been a part of the 41st – originally the 14th Iowa Infantry – since enlisting in September of 1861.

Head Quarters, First Military District – Department of The Northwest

Sioux City, Iowa – May 1^st 1863

Corpl. John Pritchard,

Dear Friend,

On my return from St. Joseph a few days ago, I found your kind letter awaiting me. You will please accept my thanks for your kind remembrance of your old friend. On my way down the (Missouri) River, I came very near seeing Will Kirkwood, as I passed through two or three towns where he had been one or two days in advance, buying cattle, but my orders were imperative and I could not stop to hunt him up. He and John Henry are both out in some of the Western Counties buying cattle. They are in partnership. John Henry wrote me a few days ago that he had made about two thousand dollars, within the last year. He thinks of taking a drove of milk cows out to Pikes Peak this summer. I should suppose it would be a good investment.

As you will see in our second letter, Captain William W. (Will) Kirkwood – now out of the service and on his on – is definitely into cattle – looking to make money in this lucrative, but sometimes, risky business. According to family records, Will is the younger brother to James E. Pritchard‘s wife – Mary Jane Kirkwood, and down the road, our cattle guy – will end up marrying J.C. Rutan‘s own sister – Isabell A. Rutan!

My last letter stated that your brother James was well, but did not state what he was doing.

At this point in time, James E. was back home – possibly with a sickness that made him resign his position with the 28th Iowa Infantry. We know that he recovered, and re-enlisted in August.

It is some what more lively here since the arrival of the 6^th Iowa Cav. The 2^nd Nebraska is expected here today. Authority has been received to mount our three Cos. (Companies A,B & C) I suppose the boys are all pleased. My regards to your self and all the boys.

As best we know, John C. Rutan was a family friend to the Pritchards back in Richland County, Ohio before moving to Iowa City around 1855. It appears that after the war, J.C. returned to his life in Iowa City, settling in with his wife – Emma Hart, daughter of Iowa City pioneers Anson & Hester Hart – whom he married in 1861. Records indicate that J.C. served a short term as cashier at the newly-formed Johnson County Savings Bank before re-locating to Wichita in 1879. There, according to his obituary, Rutan made a great name for himself in banking after teaming with his brother-in-law – William W. (Will) Kirkwood! More on this Kirkwood connection later.

Your friend, J.C. Rutan

With the pressure of an election looming, in March of 1864, Lincoln appointed General Ulysses S. Grant to be commander of all the US armies. The war was far from decided and the fate of the Union was still uncertain.

**March 2, 1864 –** US General Ulysses S. Grant is appointed lieutenant general, a rank revived at the request of President Lincoln. Grant assumes command of all United States Armies in the field the following day.

**May 7, 1864 –** Beginning of the Atlanta Campaign. With three US Armies under his command, General William T. Sherman marched south from Tennessee into Georgia against the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Joseph Johnston, the objective being the city of Atlanta.

**July 30, 1864** – **James E. Pritchard** was taken prisoner by Confederate troops in Newnan, Georgia, but fortunately, was released three-and-a-half months later (November 16), and returned to his duties.

**September 1, 1864 –** Fall of Atlanta, Georgia. Confederate troops under General Hood evacuate the city of Atlanta. General Sherman’s army occupies the city and its defenses the following day.

**November 1, 1864 – John N. Pritchard** is promoted to Third Corporal, and the following January was promoted, once more, to Second Corporal.

**November 8, 1864 –** Abraham Lincoln is reelected president of the United States.

**November 16, 1864 –** General Sherman’s Army of Georgia begins the March to the Sea.

The Grand Review in May 1865 celebrated the United States victory on the Civil War and the reunification of the nation. The future of the new United States, especially in the wake of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, was anything but clear.

**January 21, 1865** – **James E. Pritchard** – stationed in Alabama – writes a lengthy letter to his brother – **John N. Pritchard**, who is stationed temporarily in Cherokee, Iowa. (see letter below).

**March 4, 1865 –** President Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated for his second term as president.

**April 4, 1865 –** After being promoted to Captain of Company L – 7th Cavalry on March 24, **John C. Rutan** is mustered out of the service.

**April 9, 1865 –** Battle of Appomattox Court House and Surrender, Appomattox Court House, Virginia. After an early morning attempt to break through Federal forces blocking the route west to Danville, Virginia, Lee seeks an audience with General Grant to discuss terms. That afternoon in the parlor of Wilmer McLean, Lee signs the document of surrender.

**April 14, 1865 –** President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by actor John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC. On the same day, Fort Sumter, South Carolina is re-occupied by US troops.

**April 15, 1865 –** Vice President Andrew Johnson is sworn in as 17th President of the United States.

**May 24, 1865 –** The Grand Review of General Sherman’s Army in Washington, DC.

**May 26, 1865 –** General Simon Bolivar Buckner agrees to terms of surrender of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi, which are agreed to on June 2, 1865. With this surrender of the last large Confederate army, the Civil War officially ends.

**June 22, 1865** – After being promoted to Sixth Sergeant on March 11, **John N. Pritchard** – stationed in Sioux City – is mustered out of the service.

**August 13, 1865** – **James E. Pritchard** – now a Lieutenant – was stationed in Macon, Georgia, and was mustered out of the service.

*(JP-012k)* This rare 1865 postal cover and letter comes from **James E. Pritchard** while he is completing his war assignment in the south. He is writing his brother – **John N. Pritchard** – who has been assigned during the war to Ft. Randall in Dakota Territory.

*James E. Pritchard had the most travel of our four Civil War vets. From Iowa City to Helena, Arkansas for round one, followed by a round trip to Tennessee to Georgia, to Alabama, and back to Georgia.*

James E. Pritchard wrote this letter to his brother – John N. Pritchard – on January 21, 1865. At the time, James was stationed in Waterloo, Alabama (see map above). If you recall our timeline, James was first sent with the 28th Iowa Infantry to Helena, Arkansas (1862). He returned to Iowa in 1863 when sickness caused him to resign his position. When he recovered, later that same year, he re-enlisted with the 8th Iowa Cavalry and was sent to Tennessee. In 1864, he was taken prisoner by the Confederate Army in Newnan, Georgia (see map above left), but was released, returned to duty, and when he wrote this letter (1865), he was stationed in northern Alabama (see map above right). John, on the other hand – while still with his original company assigned to Ft. Randall, Dakota – had been temporarily assigned to nearby Cherokee, Iowa prior to his being mustered out in June 1865 from Sioux City. Their good friends, William W. Kirkwood and John C. Rutan – were the first two of the four Iowa City veterans to be mustered out, while James was the last – being mustered out, from Macon, Georgia, in September 1865. So, now, enjoy this informative letter from James to John, as the end of the Civil War is near…

Waterloo Alabama – January 21^st 1865

Dear Brother,

Your letter written Christmas day is at hand & was read with pleasure. I think you have what the soldiers call a “soft thing” – very little real soldiering to do. We have at last put into winter quarters at this place, which by the way exists only in name. War has left but little town here.

By the fall of 1864, the fate of the Confederate Union was pretty much sealed, and by early 1865, it was evident to many that it was only a matter of time before the War would end. Those soldiers who were stationed in the South – such as James E. – looked at the assignment given his brother – John N. – and his friend, John C. Rutan – as a “soft” assignment. Reports from Ft. Randall in the Dakotas show that, during the war years – while there were occasional problems with Sioux Nation uprisings, most of the soldiers’ time was spent making peace between white settlers who were arguing with each other over the issues of the War.

Three Regt’s of our Brigade with one division of infantry have just returned from a recognizance to Iuka & Corinth, driving the Rebs out, killing one & capturing 11, losing one man in Co. H of our Regt.

The brave soldier lost was James P. Crow, who was from Centerville, Iowa. He enlisted on Sept. 7, 1863 at age 18, mustered in on Sept. 10, 1863, and was killed in action on Jan. 20, 1865 in Iuka, Mississippi.

Here’s the Tishomingo Hotel in Corinth, Mississippi (1862) and Confederate General John Bell Hood. Both are mentioned in James’ letter.

They (the Confederate Army) destroyed one Rail Road bridge & some others. The Rebs burned the Tishomingo house in Corinth (the only Hotel in the place) with several other buildings & some stores. Hood succeeded in getting across the River with less than half the army he came over with, losing nearly all his big guns & ammunition besides a number of wagons, ambulances, small arms & c (all).

I think the war nearly ended here. It is reported that Hood has been superseded, but it is no use now to lock the door, for the horse is gone. The 23^rd corps has been sent from here to Gen. Grant, & Gen. Sherman is reported on the move again. Richmond is said to be the stopping place. He is to take Augusta on his way. Mr. Jeff (Jefferson Davis) had better butt his brains out or hunt a hole soon and pull it in after him.

There is all kinds of rumors in camp today in relation to Peace. One is that Vice President (Alexander Hamilton) Stevens (pictured above) has asked permission to come into our lines to see on what terms they can come back (with). Another is that an armistice of 60 days has been granted. I have seen nothing official on the subject & can’t believe any part of it, yet I do believe that by the time Sherman gets to Grant they will want peace on any terms. I can’t see how it can last much longer. Our armies can go wherever they please, except into Richmond. As soon as Sherman gets there I think our army can go into Richmond, too.

I got a letter from Jane (James’ wife – Mary Jane Kirkwood) last night. Our little Nannie was quite sick again. I am afraid she will not live. She was sick when I was at home & has always been delicate. Father Kirkwood (John Alexander Kirkwood) was also very sick. Jane had just got a note by Mr. Myers saying that he wanted her & Will (William W. Kirkwood) & Uncle Kirkwood (Governor Samuel Kirkwood) to come up & see him. I fear he will not live long. He has been ailing a good while & he has no peace or happiness at home, nor never has had with his wife & can’t call her mother.

Here’s what we know about the Pritchard family. James E. (born 1831) and John N. (born in 1837), were sons of William & Jane Pritchard of Butler, Ohio (Richland County). Family records indicate that there were seven other children: Mary A., Arthur A., Selina, William, Samuel, Hughes, and Joseph B. – born in 1844 and died of sickness (1863) while serving with Company B – 120th Ohio Infantry in Young’s Point, Louisiana.

We don’t know how many Pritchard children came west, but we do know that James and John, and their good friends John C. Rutan and William W. Kirkwood, all moved to Iowa City sometime prior to the War – circa 1855/1856. As James says in his letter, his wife, Mary J. (Jane) Kirkwood was in Iowa City – tending their farm in Johnson County during the war years. Interestingly, Mary Jane and Will Kirkwood – who is mentioned in both J.C. Ruthan’s letter and here – are siblings, born to John & Nancy Kirkwood who settled in Iowa City in 1855. John Kirkwood, by the way, was a half-brother to Iowa’s Civil War Governor – Samuel Kirkwood, and after the war, Will (W.W.) Kirkwood married J.C. Rutlan‘s sister Isabell A. Rutlan and teamed up with J.C. in the lumber business in Wichita, Kansas! Small world, huh?

I believe I ought to be at home & think I will be as soon as I can get out. I think our Gov’t is safe now & can get along without my services. Jane said Olive Wilson that used to be was not expected to live. She had given birth to a son, but had not got along well afterwards. Calvin had gone to see her. Will is going into the cattle business again. I fear he will find himself all to smash some fine morning. That is a risky business at all times & much more so now.

As we said, both of our Civil War letters mention William W. (Will) Kirkwood going into the “cattle business” – with J.C. Ruthan’s letter saying how Will had teamed up with a John Henry – most likely, another friend from Iowa City as well. Now, it appears that Will’s doing it once more!

Jane has been offered $1600 for our farm, but the payments don’t suit me. They are too small & too much time is wanted. I sold the timber when at home for $250 cash, since paid. I would not buy land in Ohio at all. You can do as you think best. I have heard of Elder, but have not yet seen him.

Family records indicate that James E. and Mary Jane relocated to Indianola (Warren County), Iowa sometime after the war, and that his brother John N. did go ahead and buy land back “home” in Richland County, Ohio (see third letter below), settled there, and married another Mary Jane (Calhoun) in 1869!

I am still well. Write soon. Yours, J.E. Pritchard. Direct as before.

*(JP-012i)* This rare postal cover is mailed from Iowa City in November 1865. While we don’t know for certain who mailed it, the handwriting certainly looks like his brother’s (see letter #2) – and we do know that James E. and his wife, Mary Jane Kirkwood lived in Iowa City until moving to Wichita in 1879. Obviously, based on the address written on the cover, John N. Pritchard – after he was mustered out of the service (June 22, 1865) – went ahead and bought land back “home” in Ohio – in Newville of Richland County (see below).

In closing, allow me to tell you where these four Civil War veterans from Iowa City ended their days.

John Newton Pritchard – as we just mentioned above, John N. and his wife – Mary Jane (Calhoun) Pritchard (1843-1919) – married in 1869 – ended up very close to where he started – on their Richland County, Ohio farmland, located two miles east of Butler. John N. was born on September 9, 1837, died on April 27, 1900, at age 62, and both he and his wife are buried in Bunker Hill Cemetery in Butler, Ohio.

James E. Pritchard and his wife – Mary Jane (Kirkwood) Pritchard (1833-1920) – married in 1853 – ended up living in Indianola in Warren County, Iowa. James E. was born in 1831, died on March 10, 1873, at age 41, and both he and his wife are buried in the IOOF Cemetery in Indianola, Iowa. His short obituary states that he was a private secretary to Governor Kirkwood during the war. I’m guessing that might have happened during the spring/summer months of 1863, when J.E. was between assignments.

John Clark Rutan and his wife – Emma (Hart) Rutan (1843-1919) – married in 1861 – came back to Iowa City after the war and lived here until moving to Wichita. There, he became well-known throughout the city, first as he ran a lumber business with his brother-in-law – William W. Kirkwood, and then in banking. So well-loved, Rutan Avenue in Wichita is named for him. John C. was born on December 17, 1839, died on December 28, 1904, at age 65, and both he and his wife are buried in Tahoma Cemetery in Yakima, Washington. According to his obituary, shortly before his death, J.C. & Emma moved to Washington, hoping the climate might help with his health issues, but sadly, J.C. died shortly after the move.

William W. Kirkwood and his wife – Isabell A. (Rutan) Kirkwood (1833-1926) apparently ended up in Wichita, partnering with his brother-in-law – John C. Rutan – to run a successful lumber business. Sadly, we know very little about Will & Isabell after that. William W. was born in 1835 in Maryland, died on June 11, 1915, at age 79/80, and both he and his wife are buried in Greenwood Hills Cemetery in Portland, Oregon.