Iowans Who Fought Against the Union

The Albert City Public Library has received funding from Humanities Iowa, a private, non-profit sate affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, to host a presentation called “Iowans Who Fought Against the Union” by David Connon at 7pm on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at the Albert City Public Library.   A cultural resource for Iowans since 1971, Humanities Iowa offers many cultural and historical programs and grants to Iowa’s communities.   This program is also funded, in part, by a grant from the Iowa community Cultural Grant program administered by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.   
David Connon is employed by Living History Farms as an historical interpreter.  He also works as a substitute teacher.  He has a Master’s Degree in Education from Northern Illinois University.  His wife is an Iowa native whose great-great-great-grandfather died on Sherman’s March to the Sea. 
Connon moved to Poweshiek County in 2000.  Knowing of Grinnell’s abolitionist history, he was intrigued that their first riot occurred over fugitive slaves in the public school – about a year before Fort Sumter.  He next studied Copperheads in strongly Republican and pro-Union Poweshiek County.  Some 50 desperate residents vowed in mid-1864 to not submit to a draft.  When three of them were actually drafted, homegrown bushwhackers murdered two deputy federal marshals.  This event prompted the question:  Did any Iowa residents make the ultimate protest and “go South” to serve the Confederacy?

Most Iowans think that the state was solidly pro-Union during the Civil War.  After all, some 75,000 residents fought for the North.  In reality, many Iowa Democrats formed a spectrum of dissent.  The majority of Democrats opposed abolishing slavery (and yet favored the Union war effort); the minority sympathized with the Confederacy.  Of this group, at least 25 Iowa residents served the Confederacy.  This talk will focus on five of them.  Connon will explore their motivations and describe their pre-war, war-time, and post-war experiences.  He will also explore why their stories have been largely unknown for the past 150 years.
This program is free to the public.  Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.   If you are a person with a disability who requires special assistance, please call 712-843-2012 in advance.   The Albert City Public Library meets the Iowa State Building Code for accessibility for disabled persons.  
Please mark your calendar and plan to attend this educational event unveiling surprising truths about the Civil War.   Refreshments will be served after the program.