[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 69 (Thursday, May 16, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E681]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  A TRIBUTE TO IOWA'S CIVIL WAR HEROES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LATHAM

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 16, 2013

  Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and recognize the 
invaluable contribution of Iowa's servicemembers during the United 
States Civil War as the Kinsman Monument in Council Bluffs, Iowa is 
rededicated on May 18, 2013. This event will mark the 150th anniversary 
of the passing of Colonel William H. Kinsman of Council Bluffs, for 
whom the monument is named.
   Born in Canada in 1832, William Kinsman studied in New York and 
Cleveland before setting off for Iowa in 1858. After travelling across 
the entire state by foot, Colonel Kinsman settled in Council Bluffs, 
where he was admitted to the bar, taught school and wrote for the local 
press. He volunteered at the outbreak of the war and was elected a 
lieutenant under famed Iowa war hero General Grenville Dodge in Iowa's 
4th Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Kinsman was ultimately promoted to the 
colonelcy of the 23rd Iowa Infantry following a stretch of valiant 
service, and in 1863 he and his troops joined General Grant's campaign 
to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi. On May 17 of that year, Colonel 
Kinsman fought and was mortally wounded in a pivotal battle at Big 
Black River Bridge that helped isolate the Confederates, leading to 
their eventual surrender in Vicksburg weeks later. Although Colonel 
Kinsman passed the following morning, he gave his life for our state, 
our country, and the cause of freedom.
   Kinsman was interred on the battlefield, but nearly 40 years later 
in 1904, General Dodge, by then a former U.S. Congressman, secured the 
necessary financial resources to bring his remains home to Council 
Bluffs to be permanently laid to rest. Today, the Kinsman Monument 
reminds us of the sacrifice of Iowa's veterans during the Civil War and 
the strength of our nation's resolve.
   Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor to represent the people of Iowa, 
the city of Council Bluffs, and the legacies of Colonel Kinsman and 
General Dodge in the United States Congress. Their stories represent 
just a fragment of Iowa's extensive contributions to this great country 
made by our selfless veterans and their family members. I invite my 
colleagues in the House to join me in thanking the Iowa Sons of Union 
Veterans of the Civil War for this historic ceremony, and I humbly 
express my unending gratitude to all of our nation's veterans, 
servicemembers, and their families for their service and sacrifice.

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