schemes of the disloyal conspirators to secure arms were defeated, but they were able in some of the border counties to seriously embarrass the organization of the militia.
On the 8th of October, 1864, the Governor announced that the number of men required from Iowa, under all calls up to that time, was less than 4,000, and these were soon after furnished by the draft then in progress. On the 16th of November, the Adjutant-General issued an order requiring all militia companies that had received arms from the State, to meet and drill once a month, or surrender their arms.
On the 30th of November, Governor Stone issued an address to the people of Iowa, in which he called a special attention to the acts of the last General Assembly requiring the levy of a special tax for the aid of the families of soldiers in the service. He says:
On the 9th of December, Adjutant-General Baker, upon learning that deserters from Price’s Confederate army were crossing into southern counties of Iowa for the purpose of robbery and murder, issued an order to the State militia in that region to be on the alert, “and if these desperadoes enter the State to rob, steal and murder, and are caught in the act, they are to be treated as outlaws, and shot on the spot, or hung to the nearest tree.” These