The Union First: Community and Commitment in the First Iowa Infantry

The diaries of George Burmeister and Eugene Ware, together with the newspaper reports of Franc Wilkie, tell the experiences of the first Civil War enlistees in the First Iowa Infantry. Author Randee Fieselmann explores their stories of hardship under brutal conditions and asks: what motivated these men to remain committed to the Union cause? How did soldiers in the Iowa regiment weave the bonds of community needed to endure adversity and follow Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon into the Battle of Wilson’s Creek?

Fieselmann offers a fresh look at the struggle for control of the St. Louis Arsenal in 1861 and how it became civil war. Her analysis in The Union First challenges traditional narratives of how Civil War in Missouri began. Randee Fieselmann holds a PhD in Sociology, with a focus on the sociology of knowledge, and has a long-standing interest in biographical studies. Her book will interest historians as well as first time readers of Civil War history.