Civil War sites in Iowa?

major bill

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Forum Host
Joined
Aug 25, 2012
This has been a hard year to visit Civil War sites, visit Civil War shows,museums, and reenactments. So I sure hope next year is better. Next string my Company of Military Historians annual convention will be held in Iowa.I have drove through Iowa a couple times, but never really visited anything there. I have yet to see an agenda for what military sites or museums we will visit during the Company of Military Historians annual convention. Still my wife and I often add a couple of days to our visit. I like visiting Civil War or military related sites, my wife not so much so. So are their Civil War, forts, military sites ,and museums that we could spend two days or so seeing?
 
Keokuk has memorial to Curtis and his grave, nearby little historic Bentonsport has monument to Iowa's Confederate general.
 
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In the Village of East Davenport, IA, there is Camp McClellan, which was a training camp for new Federal recruits. Unfortunately, there is nothing to see there except for a plaque that identifies the site......However, if you go there, Lagomarcino's (a rally cool Chocolatier and candy store) is there, as well as places to eat and a Wine store called Camp McClellan Cellars....Hope you enjoy your trip! What part of Iowa are you going to?
 
I think it will be the Davenport area for the convention. We usually have a couple bus trips to historic sites, but i have not seen the agenda yet. We usually have a presentation at the yearly convention, but this year the convention was moved to October and might be canceled. If so it is possible that this year's convention will be rescheduled to next spring. If so then the Iowa convention would be in 2022. I hope the New Jersey convention can occur in October. Iowla in April would be a nice trip for my wife and I.
 
The Company of Military Historians annual convention. It will be two days of hour long presentations and usually a bus tour to historical sites. We also have members being displays and such. Also there is usually a pre convention and post convention bus tour as well. I have a good time and my wife gets to do a few things.
 
I wonder if they'd be interested in a presentation by my reenacting unit? We fire an original 3 inch Ordnance gun. I have written 2 books, our major has written a book about our unit (and others) and our Sgt. Major has written a book about the 108th USCT infantry.....
 
We usually get some kind of special access at historical sites. for example last year we were allow to go down to the special weapons storage sub basement at the Infantry Museum in Georgia and they they brought out some very rare weapons for us to see. One of a kind items and less than 10 weapons of this type in the world. Often we get to tour museums storage facilities or museums put very rare items in a special room for us to see. Have you ever been in the rare weapons vault at West Point?
 
I wonder if they'd be interested in a presentation by my reenacting unit? We fire an original 3 inch Ordnance gun. I have written 2 books, our major has written a book about our unit (and others) and our Sgt. Major has written a book about the 108th USCT infantry.....

They might. I am not part of the planning committee. Each local chapter does their own planning for the convention they are holding.
 
You might be surprised at some of the things places will let you do if you have an "in". Have visitor centers let you have a open bar after the visitor enter closes for the night and they bring out carts of items out of storage. Get to have an evening outing on a War of 1812 ship. That kind of thing. You might be surprised what strings the director of a major military museum can pull when they are a society member.
 
You might be surprised at some of the things places will let you do if you have an "in". Have visitor centers let you have a open bar after the visitor enter closes for the night and they bring out carts of items out of storage. Get to have an evening outing on a War of 1812 ship. That kind of thing. You might be surprised what strings the director of a major military museum can pull when they are a society member.
Holy Smokes!.....That sounds like a fun, once in a life time experience!
 
If you drive, might consider a detour coming or going north to Dubuque, Mississippi River museum there pretty good, then 20 mi into Illinois from Dubuque is Galena with Grant and historic sites. A few miles east of Galena is Elizabeth, it has Apple River fort state historic site from Black Hawk war

Non CW, about 1/2 hr Drive west of Dubuque is the Field of Dreams house and ballfield
 
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I live in Northwest Missouri. On the occasions I've driven northward into Southwest Iowa I was struck by differences I observed. The wide and well maintained County gravel roads and numerous paved farm to market blacktops are one contrast. You don't drive very far north before you detect that odd Iowa accent, in which they fully pronounce their vowels. I haven't visited all of the small towns below the 'Goldenrod', but I've noticed many monuments commemorating Union soldiers. Some of the monuments are spectacular, given the size of these small towns and hard not to notice. Here is a link to the Union monument in Shenandoah, Iowa:

In contrast, I've visited every Courthouse in Northwest Missouri and many a small town ballfield and park and can only recall seeing one small GAR marker, no larger than a gravestone on the lawn outside the Grundy County Courthouse in Trenton. The GAR placed a large Union soldier memorial in a cemetery in St. Joe. There must be many more CW/WBTS markers, perhaps monuments honoring both sides, but I've not seen them.
 
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Lusty Murfax thank you for the link. Iowa does have a large number of monuments. I looked at some of them and many are impressive. Also iowa has some nice cannons on display. I was not sure my wife and I would want to go to the convention in Iowa next year. April is only 7 months away. I have this year's convention in New Jersey to go to in October, if it is not canceled, and while there will see what the hosting committee for the Iowa convention have planned.
 
Although not in Iowa, Missouri's Battle of Athens State Historic Site is just across the Des Moines River from Croton Iowa (three miles southeast of Farmington). On August 5, 1861, some 500 Union home guards defeated 2,000+ pro-Confederate Missouri State Guardsmen equipped with two old cannon and a make-shift piece made from a hollowed log (it exploded on the first shot). The Federals fought with their backs to the river but ended the battle with a bayonet charge that routed the poorly armed Missouri Guardsmen. The Thome-Benning house in the park features exhibits and entry and exit holes from a round shot that landed in the river.

https://mostateparks.com/park/battle-athens-state-historic-site
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_(1861)
 
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