September 2024 Meeting Summary

The scheduled speaker in September, Dr. Megan Bever had to cancel her speaking engagement because she became ill with COVID two days before the dinner meeting. Dick Titterington graciously agreed to fill in as our speaker. Dick gave an excellent presentation about Union Brevet Brigadier General Edward F. Winslow of the 4th Iowa Cavalry. The title of Dick’s presentation was: “The Making of a Cavalryman.” Attendance at the September dinner meeting was 53.

Dick said Winslow was an amazing man. Winslow had no military training. He volunteered to join the Union Army, raised a regiment of cavalry, and ultimately became a general. Dick’s program covered the following main topics:

Introduction. Winslow was born in 1837.
Antebellum Life.
Early Civil War years.
Independent command.
Up against Nathan Bedford Forrest.
The 1864 Battle of Westport Campaign.
Wilson’s Cavalry Raid.
Post Civil War years.

Winslow was a devout man, who was against slavery and wanted to preserve the Union. As the secession crisis worsened, Winslow believed “the Confederacy was
engaged in the perpetuation of evil and the destruction of the Union.”

Colonel Oscar H. LaGrange of the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry said: “Winslow was gentle by nature but filled with the aggresiveness of the cause, and while he earned the love of his subordinates, he compelled the confidence of his superiors. His keen intelligence molded the purpose of his men. His will inspired them and made them think themselves invincible.”

Company F of the 4th Iowa Cavalry recruited men from Wapello and other nearby counties. They were mustered into service on November 23, 1861. Twentyfour-year-old Edward F. Winslow was commissioned captain.

Winslow served under General William T. Sherman during the Vicksburg Campaign and was promoted to colonel. Winslow fought unsuccessfully against Nathan B. Forrest at Brice’s Crossroads in June of 1864. He fought against Sterling Price at the Battles of Westport and Mine Creek in October of 1864.

Winslow was promoted to Brevet Brigadier General following Wilson’s cavalry raid through Alabama and Georgia in March and April of 1865. From May-July of 1865, Winslow was assigned command of Atlanta GA and was ordered to rebuild the railroads that were destroyed. He was also in charge of feeding 28,000
destitute, starving refugees in the Atlanta area.After the war, Winslow declined Sherman’s offer of a colonelcy in the Union Army and was mustered out of the
service on August 10, 1865.

In conclusion, Dick summarized the life of Edward F. Winslow:

Learned construction from his father in Maine.
Relocated to Iowa as a young man and started building railroads.
Volunteered and was elected captain of Company F of the 4th Iowa Cavalry.
Appointed colonel of the 4th Iowa Cavalry.
Became a Brigade and Division commander.
Brevet promotion to Brigadier General.
Became a successful railroad executive after the Civil War.
Winslow died in 1894 of heart failure. He and his wife did not have any children.