Civil War Myths Debunked

Wednesday Oct. 28—When we think about the Civil War, we assume that our Iowan ancestors were 100% on the side of the North, and that all the battles were fought in distant states.

Not true, according to Sherman Lundy of the Cedar Valley Civil War Roundtable who spoke to our group today. The southern counties in Iowa were largely settled by people migrating from Missouri and states further south via the Mississippi River. The term “copperhead” was coined to describe a resident of Iowa or other Union state who was loyal to the Confederacy and helped supply material and information.

A raid by Confederate guerrillas in Bloomfield, Iowa was the northernmost action during the Civil War. Other skirmishes took place near the Missouri border. 

While the Civil War occurred 150 years ago, it has not been forgotten and we learned many interesting facts from Mr. Lundy’s presentation.