County Civil War Task Force receives state recognition

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Members of the Henry County Civil War 150th Anniversary Commemoration Task Force are now a state award-winning group.

Last week, several members of the group traveled to Des Moines to receive the 2016 Loren Horton Community History Award Certificate of Recognition.

The task force was recognized for 52 monthly articles, which were printed in The Mt. Pleasant News in addition to four other Henry County newspapers as part of the county?s commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. The articles were published over a span of four and a half years.

The Loren Horton Award is named in honor of Horton, who represented the State Historical Society of Iowa in many capacities from 1973 until his retirement in 1996. As field services coordinator of the state agency, and later as senior historian, Horton?s work brought him in close contact with many local historical organizations. In keeping with that legacy, this award recognizes the best project that increases awareness and participation in Iowa history on a local level.

Henry County?s task force was honored for its contribution to community history through outstanding use of volunteers.

Utilizing primary source documents, including the collection of Civil War newspapers housed in special collections at Iowa Wesleyan University?s Chadwick Library, the writers brought to life what life was like for Henry County during the Civil War.

Writers for the series included Dr. Todd Brereton, Lynn Ellsworth, Donald E. Young, Waunita Gibbons, Jean Leeper, Mikayla Brown, Pat White and Joy Lynn Conwell.

Research assistance was provided by students of Iowa Wesleyan University; Family Search, a website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; National Park Service staff at the Gettysburg, Shiloh and Wilson?s Creek battlefields and Andersonville Prison; the State Historical Society; and many individuals who are descendants of Henry County Civil War soldiers and nurses.

Representing the county Civil War commemoration task force at the award presentation were Conwell, White and Gibbons. State Sen. Rich Taylor, D-Mt. Pleasant, also attended the ceremony.

Future plans of the task force include combining articles and photographs from the series into a book.