The Chariton Leader, Chariton, Iowa Thursday, February 4, 1909 STEPHEN S. ARNOLD was born at New Concord, Muskingum County, Ohio, April 25, 1830, and died in Chariton, Iowa, January 27, 1909, aged 78 years, 9 months and 2 days. He was one of nine children, four of whom survive, one sister, MRS. LUCY PARKER, a resident of Omaha, now being 93 years old. MR. ARNOLD was married to MISS ELIZABETH GILL in their native place on August 24, 1854. To this union four children were born: MRS. ALICE RUSSELL, Kalamazoo, Mich.; MRS. ROSE SHANNON, Chicago; MRS. MINNIE CROCKER and HARRY, of Pecos, Mexico. Soon they came west, after he had finished a college education. At Galesburg, Ill., he engaged in milling business. Later he moved to Marion County, Iowa, and was largely engaged in farming, moving to Chariton in 1881 In former years he visited the southwest country and was interested in business enterprises there. Capt. S.S. ARNOLD served throughout the Civil War, enlisting in Co. G, 40th Iowa, and bore well a soldier's part. As a citizen he was progressive and was possessed of a rugged though genial nature and his place in affairs will be missed. He was a true Free Mason and emulated the exalted principles. Funeral services were held at the home on Sunday afternoon, conducted by Dr. Lathrop of the M.E. Church and his G.A.R. comrades attended and paid due respects to his valor and loyalty, realizing that the great foe of men were thinning their ranks and swiftly winning the battle o'er mundane existence. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Copied by Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert May 10, 2005 iggy29@rnetinc.net

Since Memorial Day is coming, here's a bit of information about the Civil War monument in the southeast corner of the Lucas County Courthouse lawn. If you're interested in photos of it, tune in to http:\\lucascountyan.blogspot.com\ One of the principal glories of the Chariton square is the Civil War memorial, dedicated to "Our Honored Dead, 1861-1865" during May of 1916 by members of Daniel Iseminger Post No. 18, Grand Army of the Republic. It is so familiar, however, that I'm not sure we really see it any more. Flags fly nearby from a towering pole topped by "G.A.R." and the monument is guarded by a fence erected 5 November 1934 by Mary A. Douglas Tent No. 2, The Daughters of Union Veterans, an organization still active in Lucas County. Iowa had a special place in the Civil War, contributing approximately 76,000 soldiers to the Union cause, the highest number per capita of any state in the Union. Of this number, roughly 13,000 died --- a devastating number of them Lucas Countyans. The Grand Army of the Republic, organized during the winter of 1865-66 in Chicago, arose out of the aftermath to unite Union veterans of the war, relieved that the wrenching conflict was over but exhausted and in many cases wounded physically and spiritually. G.A.R. Posts were formed rapidly across the North after the first was organized on 6 April 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, and as the years passed these posts provided healing focus for hundreds of thousands of veterans whose lives were altered and colored permanently by war. The G.A.R. also served many vital purposes during its lifetime. Although Lincoln had promised to care for veterans and the widows and children of those who died, the nation really had no idea how to go about doing so. The G.A.R. became the principal force in ensuring that the nation lived up to its promises, lobbying for pension legislation, building soldiers' homes, conducting relief work. G.A.R. General Order No. 11, issued 5 May 1868 by G.A.R. Commander-in-chief John A. Logan established what we now call Memorial Day, calling for all departments and posts to set aside the 30th of May as a day for remembering the sacrifices of fallen comrades. Later enshrined by Congress and finally moved to the final Monday in May during 1971 to ensure three-day weekends for federal employees, this day we still observe remains the organization's most universal legacy. Civil War memorials that grace the town squares and public parks of countless cities, including Chariton, generally are the specific legacies of individual posts. The Lucas County G.A.R. post was named for a Lucas County hero, Capt. Daniel William Iseminger (born 30 May 1813), captain of Company B, 6th Iowa Infantry, who fell at Shiloh on 6 April 1865, the first day of that vast and bloody battle in Tennessee. G.A.R. membership peaked at 409,489 during 1890, then began to decline as death diminished the ranks of these old soldiers. By 1916, when the Iseminger Post organized construction of our city square monument as the exclamation point to its work in Lucas County, it would have been challenging to find a member under 70. The 83rd and final national encampment of the G.A.R. was held 28-31 August 1949 in Indianapolis with 16 members present. The death of Albert Woolson, age 109, on 2 August 1956 in Duluth, Minn., added the final punctuation mark. He was the nation's last surviving Union veteran and the final G.A.R. member.