"The Hairy Nation Goes to War: Davis County, Iowa in the" Topic

…Civil War

"ON APRIL 20, 1861, LESS THAN A WEEK AFTER the fall of Fort Sumter, an anxious crowd gathered at the Methodist church in Bloomfield, Iowa. The surrender in Charleston Harbor and President Lincoln's subsequent appeal for 75,000 volunteers to defend the Union had jolted the little county seat near the Missouri border like nothing before. Within a day of receiving the news, horsemen crisscrossed Davis County, nicknamed "The Hairy Nation," to distribute notices calling for a meeting on the crisis. The time for temporizing, organizers proclaimed in their handbills, had passed. "The STARS AND STRIPES must be protected and the laws ENFORCED."

At noon, the proceedings began. An overflow crowd spilled out of the church as speaker after speaker rallied the throng in defense of the flag. "Every face present was white with the profound emotions of the hour," noted one witness. "Sentiments of patriotism met with ringing cheers." The meeting concluded with the formation of a volunteer infantry company that worked off its martial zeal by marching in formation on the northwest corner of the courthouse square. Almost one month later, Company G of the 2nd Iowa Infantry left Bloomfield for Keokuk, a staging post for troops headed into Missouri and points farther south. The Hairy Nation was at war…"
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From HistoryNet.