1863 July 11: Polk County Has Raised Its Quota of Volunteers

There was so much big news published on July 11, 1863, in The Polk County News and The Prescott Journal that it is surprising how many smaller items there still were. These are from The Polk County Press.

THE FOURTH WISCONSIN.—It is reported that this gallant regiment has been mostly taken prisoners in an assault upon Port Hudson.  They constituted a part of a thousand volunteers to storm the works.  They would doubtless be at once paroled by the rebels, except the officers.

We have doubts however of the correctness of the report.—Madison Journal.

— The following is a tabular statement showing the quotas assigned, and the number of volunteers furnished by Polk county as furnished us by Adjutant Gen. GAYLORD :

	TOWN	QUOTA	VOLUNTEERS
	Alden	5	6
	Farmington	18	18
	Lincoln	2	3
	Osceola	25	33
	Sterling	3	6
	St. Croix Falls	23	30
	Burnett County	2	0
		78	96

The following extract from Gen. GAYLORD’s letter shows the “situation :”

“It appears that each town in Polk county has raised its quota or an excess of volunteers over its quota ;  in the aggregate, eighteen.  Burnett county sent its volunteers to the Minnesota Battery and consequently lost credit for them in this state.”

So we are ahead eighteen.  Pretty well done for Polk.  But this is not all.  We have upwards of twenty men in different Minnesota regiments, which we loose credit for, which added to eighteen will bring the number up to about thirty-eight men over and above all calls.  Where is the county in the state, containing 1100 inhabitants that can beat this number.

— The Polk Co. Press thinks, in case of a draft, Polk county should be left out.  Of course, we can’t see it in that light.—Hudson Star.

Not so.  If when the draft is made, our excess does not ballance [sic] our quota, we expect to stand our hand and furnish two militia companies to help enforce the same in other counties, besides.

ATTENTION.—The members of the Polk County Rifles, are hereby notified that there will be a meeting of the company on Saturday afternoon, July 18th, at one o’clock, on the Fair Ground in Osceola, for the purpose of drill.

PER ORDER

—  Dr. L. B. SMITH,¹ formerly of Taylor’s Falls, has been appointed Surgeon of the Seventh Minnesota regiment vice J. E. FINCH resigned.

— CAPT. M. M. SAMUEL, Sergeant MOSES T. CATLIN, and private JOHN McDONALD have our thanks for late Nashville papers.

— Gen. HOOKER [Joseph Hooker] has been relieved from the command of the Army of the Potomac at his own request, and Gen. Geo. G. MEADE appointed his successor.

— A RECORD OF ALL DECEASED SOLDIERS.—The Surgeon General has just commenced the work of making out a complete official list of the soldiers who have died during the present war.

The list is intended to embrace every man in the regular and volunteer forces, and to give the name, rank, regiment, company, cause of death, date of death, and place of death.

This work will be of great value to the Pension and Land offices in future adjudications in regard to deceased soldiers, and will save the Government much expense and time in complicated cases which would otherwise arise.

— Florida is now the greatest resource of the rebel army for beef, and since the communications with Texas were partly stopped by our operations on the Mississippi, thousands of head have been weekly gathered and transported to the West and North.  If we had held St. John’s river and Jacksonville, we could have prevented this in a great measure.

1.  Lucius B. Smith (1824-1864) was the first doctor to practice in Taylors Falls, Minnesota, after he moved there from Ohio. He was killed July 13, 1864, the day preceding the Battle of Tupelo. His division was ambushed. He was buried in Tupelo, but his remains were later removed to Kahbakong Cemetery in Taylors Falls.
For those who don’t know northwestern Wisconsin, Taylors Falls is directly across the Saint Croix River from St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, and St. Croix Falls is 8 miles north of Osceola Mills (just Osceola these days), where The Polk County Press is being published.