Adair County Iowa

ADAIR COUNTY BOYS IN THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR

When President McKinley issued his first call for volunteers in April, 1898, a score or so Adair County boys were upon their feet and eager to enlist in the forces of Uncle Sam. They were accordingly taken to Des Moines and were mustered into Company G, Fifty-first Iowa Volunteer Infantry. This company was mostly raised in Creston. The men who composed this first enrollment from Adair County were: J. F. Grounds, first sergeant; Daniel W. Gaines, corporal; Ezra J. Brayton, Harry Carver, Leroy Darby, Martin G. Dunlap, Charles E. Geesman, Herbert M. Griffith, G. B. Hetherington, Fred M. Ickis, Ernest C. James, W. B. Martin, Jr., Fred Neeley, Ernest O. Patterson, Roy Reno, Vern W. Shrader, William Wallace, Wesley Witter.

By the first of June many more men were ready to enlist and Lieut. R. J. Gaines came up from Creston to recruit them. Those who went at this time were: Fred Lovely, Harry Wilson, Howe McCollum, Milo Witter, Will Stryker, all from Greenfield; C. L. T. Herbert, George Sines, Richard Henry, William Arthur, Robert Eby, R. Y. Stevens, William McLaren, Vess Fisher, Ed F. Ross, E. Spangler, W. Merrill, Ed Kempter, Ed Sutphin, C. J. Cissne, Walter Hostetler, Frank Humphrey, James Gillespie, James Needles, William Witter, L. Stoner, William McKelvey, Robert Britten and Fred Carver. Carver died of typhoid fever at the Presidio and his body was returned to Fontanelle and buried in Fontanelle Cemetery.

Hayes Hendry, son of J. G. Hendry of the Union Bank of Bridgewater, was a soldier in the Philippines and died there. His body was returned by the Government and buried at Bridgewater. CC note, buried at Witt cemetery, http://iowagravestones.org/gs_view.php?id=406030

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Photo caption

Top row, left to right: Martin Dunlap, Charles E. Geeseman, ? Tarr, Frank Humphrey, Fred Neeley, William Witter, Walter Hostetler. Third row: Del Wiggins, Ezra J. Brayton, Ernest C. James, Lieut. R. J. Gaines, E. O. Patterson, Dan Gaines, W. B. Martin, Jr., Leroy Darby. Second row: Fred Lovely, Will Stryker, Harry Wilson, Wesley Witter, George Fraser. Lower row: Al McCollum, George Hetherington, William Wallace, ? Wiggins.