2018.018.015 [Clipping, Newspaper]

This clipping contains a soldier's tribute to John Elwell, an officer in Company E of the 12th Iowa Infantry. Elwell and most of his company were captured by the Confederate army at the Battle of Shiloh April 6-7, 1862. According to 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. One of the men who was captured was Martin Van Buren Sunderlin, a farmer from Black Hawk County. Martin, who was friends with Elwell, was sure that Elwell would not survive in prison because he was ill, so he 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 content: SS-U.S. 9-12.23 Iowans Influence 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.