The Lyon Campaign

by E.F. Ware

In the First Iowa Infantry the writer of this book was a private soldier. He desires to give a history of the Regiment, and feels that he cannot do so in a proper way without drawing a brief picture of the conditions that preceded the great conflict, so that the reader may understand what was done and why it was done. The story of the great war is not understandable unless one knows the conditions that preceded the great conflict, so that the reader may understand what was done and why it was done. The story of the great war is not understandable unless one knows the conditions of society at the time, the feelings of the people and the facts which preceded the first enlistments.

The story of the First Iowa Infantry is typical. It was the first body of troops which the State sent out. The Regiment came up to expectation; it brought glory to the State; it set the pace to all other regiments that came after it, and became a matter of State pride. It was a three-month regiment, which served and fought battles after the term of enlistment had expired. Almost all of the survivors afterwards enlisted in other regiments. Most became officers and fought through the war or were killed. When the great Civil War had closed, not many were left of the First Iowa Infantry, and at the regimental reunions which came afterwards but few were in attendance, and such as did attend were mostly those who had become officers of other Iowa regiments subsequently organized.

The writer of this book served entirely through the war in Iowa regiments, and he cannot write the story of The First Iowa Infantry without going somewhat into details, because he wishes to write a true history; and history without details is neither comprehensible nor philosophic.