2018.018.014 [Clipping, Newspaper]

This newspaper clipping tells the story of Martin Van Buren Sunderlin's Civil War service. Sunderlin, a farmer who lived in Mt. Vernon Township in Black Hawk County, joined Company E of the 12th Iowa Infantry on 21 October 1861. Martin and many of the rest of his company were captured by the Confederate army at the Battle of Shiloh April 6-7, 1862. According to the published accounts, after the Battle of Shiloh, the men were moved to Montgomery, Alabama, where the privates were told they would be released, but the officers were to be sent to prison. Sunderlin was friends with one of the company's officers, John Elwell. Elwell was ill and Martin was sure he would not survive in prison, so Martin suggested that they trade identities so that Elwell would be released. This plan was implemented and both men survived the war. Later accounts claimed that Sunderlin and Elwell traded places so that Elwell would avoid being sent to Andersonville Prison in Georgia; however, the prison did not open until February 1864. Elwell escaped and resigned his commission in 1862, while Sunderlin was discharged in February 1863, meaning that the trade most likely did not occur at Andersonville. Content can be used with the following standards: SS-U.S. 9-12.23 Iowans Influence on U.S. History in a lesson on Iowans' experience and impact in the Civil War. For any use other than instructional resources, please check with the organization that owns this item regarding copyright restrictions.