“The Union First” by Randee Fieselmann

The diaries of George Burmeister and Eugene Ware, together with the newspaper reports of Franc Wilkie, tell the experiences of the first Civil War enlistees in the First Iowa Infantry.

Author Randee Fieselmann explores their stories of hardship under brutal conditions and asks: what motivated these men to remain committed to the Union cause? How did soldiers in the Iowa regiment weave the bonds of community needed to endure adversity and follow Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon into the Battle of Wilson’s Creek?

Randee Fieselmann holds a PhD in Sociology, with a focus on the sociology of knowledge, and has a longstanding interest in biographical studies. She taught at the University of Iowa and at Coe College as a visiting assistant professor. Her book will interest historians as well as first-time readers of Civil War history.

Randee studied the history of how the confrontation over the St. Louis Arsenal became Civil War in Missouri and how young Iowa soldiers marched through Missouri and fought in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. The Union First: Community and Commitment in the First Iowa Infantry tells the story of the first young men from Iowa to enlist in the Civil War and of their commitments to reunite the Union.

She will be speaking at the EV History Center on Sunday, March 29th at 2:00 p.m. All are invited to attend this event at no charge. Donations are accepted.