John W. Pearman papers

This is a photocopy of the original papers of John W. Pearman held by the State Historical Society of Iowa which consist mainly of his compilation, the "Iowa Roll of Honor". There are also miscellaneous documents and correspondence.

In the introduction, Pearman described the Iowa Roll of Honor as a record of deceased Civil War soldiers of Iowa, along with a list of their orphans provided for by the state. The introduction also gives some background information on when, why and how he compiled the roll. He included orders of the United States Quarter Master General with respect to the keeping of service records and the maintenance of soldiers' graves. He began collecting information in July 1865 while serving as Assistant Quarter Master at Davenport, Iowa,and finished his compilation sometime around 1867. Information was obtained from the official records of the United States War Department and the State of Iowa Adjutant General's office. Iowa records were made available to Pearman by Adjutant General N.B. Baker. However, Pearman found many official records incomplete so he consulted records of the Grand Army of the Republic, various hospitals, undertakers, and other private sources. Consequently it is likely there is information present that is not available in the Roster of Iowa Soldiers, or in the rolls of the adjutant general records in the Iowa State Archives. In addition, the information Pearman gathered on soldiers' orphans may not appear in any other source.

The Iowa Roll of Honor is for the most part a hand written document.

The miscellaneous documents relate to Pearman's service from Nebraska during the Civil War and correspondence regarding the manuscript.

Part I contains the introduction.

Part II contains an alphabetical listing of deceased Iowa soldiers, giving name, rank, company, regiment, armament, and when and where the soldier was killed or died.

*Part III was not included in this donation, however it can be accessed in part using SC977.769 PEA barcode 30050016798091 or in SC977.795 IOW "Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home" barcode 30050042190883 in our collection.*

Part III contains a list of orphans of Iowa soldiers as of 1867, remarks by Pearman on compilation of the list, and copies of correspondence with orphan home officials. Orphans are listed alphabetically for the Soldiers Orphans Homes at Davenport, Cedar Falls, and Glenwood, Iowa and lists of orphans who died are appended. For each orphan the following is listed: name, age, where from, name of parent who served, his company, regiment, armament, and when died.

Part IV consists of a list of Iowa soldiers who enlisted in other states and who were killed or died while in service. For each soldier information is included similar to Part II.

Part V includes lists of cemeteries where Iowa soldiers are buried. Many national cemeteries and other cemeteries from various states are listed. For each cemetery there is an alphabetic list of soldiers along with similar information as in Part II. There are also copies of Pearman's correspondence with cemetery officials.

Part VI includes a report to the Quarter Master General of the United States Army dated July-August 1865 concerning an expedition to Andersonville, Georgia to mark graves.