[Manuscript Special Orders Book for the 7th Volunteer Iowa Cavalry Compiled During the Indian Wars]

Sioux City, Ia, 1866. About good.. [94]pp. Folio. Contemporary half calf and marbled paper-covered boards. Heavy wear to boards, spine mostly perished, front cover, first couple of leaves, and occasional inner leaves detached. Minor toning, light soiling, scattered markings, but highly legible. A handful of pages at front pasted over or partially pasted over with newspaper clippings. A well-traveled ledger, with expected wear from its use on the American frontier. An informative manuscript record of U.S. military involvement in the Old West, spanning May 1864 to February 1866 and containing manuscript Special Orders from the 7th Iowa Volunteer Cavalry (truncated) during the Indian Wars. Most orders were issued near or from the unit's Headquarters at Sioux City, Iowa, but after May 25, 1865 orders are issued from other locations including "Camp Floyd," "Camp in the Field," "Camp No. 23 near Fort Rice," and "Fort Randall D.T." The ledger contains fairly ordinary orders relating to officer appointments, troop detachments, duty assignments, discipline, desertions, provisions, and more, as well as orders particularly relevant to a frontier post, dealing with such matters as stolen horses and Native Americans. One unique order is Special Order No. 58, dated April 25, 1865, which directed Captain T.F. Dwight, A.Q.M. to purchase a "sufficient quantity of suitable material for draping the public buildings at this post" as part of funeral ceremonies honoring the late President Lincoln. Additional orders of particular note include: Special Order #4, May 29, 1864, in which a sergeant and twelve men are detailed to guard twenty-nine Indians, ensuring that "the Indians molest nobody and nobody molest them on their way to the Crow Creek Agency place of destination" and Special Order #63, May 8, 1865, in which Capt. Nathaniel Pope was ordered to issue 200 rations to 120 Winnebago Indians now at the post and on their way to Omaha.

The 7th Iowa Cavalry was organized under special authority of the War Department for the purpose of assisting in the defense of the western and northern frontier settlements against Indians who may be hostile. With large numbers of troops already called to the field for service during the Civil War, the regiment organized slowly between late 1862 and the summer of 1863. It was mustered into Federal service for a three-year enlistment, officially serving in the Union Army during the Indian Wars. The present ledger provides a wealth of information on the unit's activities, troops, supply and transportation issues, and much more, over a roughly two-year period near the end and just after the Civil War. (Inventory #: 4286)