Department Commanders 1874-1883

James C. Parrott  February 1874 to January 1876

A veteran among veterans, a patriot and a true soldier, James C. Parrott lived to attain the age of eighty,seven his span of life extending from May 21, 1811, to October 17, 1898. Parrott was born at Easton, Maryland. As a youth he enlisted in the First United States Dragoons. In this capacity he served at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, at Fort Gibbon, Indian Territory, and at Fort Des Moines, in Lee County, Iowa. Following this service he engaged in the mercantile business at Keokuk until the outbreak of the Civil War, when he became active in recruiting troops, enlisted in Company E, Seventh Iowa Infantry, and became captain of the company. He was wounded at the Battle of Belmont, served at Fort Donelson and Shiloh, was wounded again at Corinth, went with Sherman on his march to the sea, and marched with troops at Washington in the Grand Review at the close of the war. He was mustered from service on March 13, 1865, and for "gallant and meritorious service" was given the rank of lieutenant colonel, and at the close of the war he was brevetted brigadier general. In April, 1867, Colonel Parrott was appointed Post, master at Keokuk - a position which he filled until March, 1879. He was one of the chief supporters of the Grand Army of the Republic during the early years of its development in Iowa, and in 1874-1875 served as Department Commander.

Albert A. Perkins  September 1876 to January 1879

Albert Aylette Perkins, a native of Rushville, Illinois, was born on January 22, 1839. He lived to attain the age of seventy,seven years, and died at Los Angeles, California, on May 20, 1916. Perkins came to Burlington, Iowa, in the early forties, and resided there until the outbreak of the Civil War. In August, 1862, he entered service as lieutenant of Company D, Twenty-fifth Iowa Infantry. Later he was made captain, and in June, 1865, for meritorious service in the field he was brevetted major of United States Volunteers. As an executive officer he was signally successful. In the campaigns and on the battlefields he displayed untiring energy and was distinguished for his bravery. At the close of the war Major Perkins returned to Burlington and engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1891, when he moved to Denver, Colorado. Later he rendered service in government land offices in Denver, Lewiston, Idaho, Bozeman, Montana, and Los Angeles, California. He was a charter member of Post No. 5, Grand Army of the Republic, at Burlington, and in 1876 he was elected Commander of the Iowa Department. Loyal, fai thful, and brave, he was a true veteran in war and peace.

Hurlbut E. Griswold  January 1879 to February 1880

Among the early members of Sam Rice Post No. 6, at Atlantic, Iowa, few men were more active or more faithful than Hurlbut E. Griswold, He was the first Post Commander, and was twice reelected to that office. In 1878, he was appointed Senior Vice Commander of the Iowa Department. The following year, when the reorganization of the Iowa Department was completed, he was elected Department Commander. Griswold was born in Hancock County, Illinois, on April 12th, 1842. At the age of twenty he enlisted as a private in Company C, One Hundred and Eighteenth Illinois Infantry, where he served for thirty,four months and until the close of the war. As a strong advocate of the Grand Army of the Republic and the principles for which it stood, Commander Griswold did much to build up membership in the organization. The Grand Army, he said, was designed "to preserve and strengthen the kind and fraternal feelings which bind together soldiers and marines who united to suppress the rebellion; to assist our needy and destitute comrades in arms, and the widows and orphans of those whose ties with us were welded in the fire of battle". It was Commander Griswold, too, who received and welcomed ex-President Grant, at Council Bluffs in 1879. Mr. Griswold died at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Keokuk, on September 19, 1908, and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery at Hamilton, Illinois.

William F. Conrad  February 1880 to January 1881

William Fitch Conrad was born at Ithaca, New York, on November 7, 1826, and died at Des Moines on December 20, 190 1. As a young man he studied law in New York and Mississippi. He was admitted to the bar in 1855 and moved to Burlington, Iowa, where he engaged in the practice of his profession until the outbreak of the Civil War, when he enlisted as a private in Company G, Twenty-fifth Iowa Infantry. He was soon promoted to sergeant major, then to first lieutenant of Company K. Before his commission as lieutenant had been received, he was elected captain of his own company. On May 24, 1863, near Vicksburg, he was captured by the Confederates and taken to Libby Prison where he was held for almost a year. Transferred to other prisons he was held until November 28, 1864, when he eluded the guards and started for the Union lines. For forty days he was "in the wilderness", but finally, on January 7, 1865, he reached the Union lines near Knoxville, Tennessee. At the close of the war, Captain Conrad again took up the practice of law, going with his family to Canton, Missouri. There he remained until 1876, when he became a resident of Des Moines. In 1886 he was elected Judge of the Ninth Judicial District of Iowa - a position which he held until the end of his career. He served as Department Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1880.

Peter V. Carey  January 1881 to February 1882

Peter V. Carey, a native of New York, was born on May 17, 1844. He received a common school education and as a youth learned the trade of a millwright. At the age of eighteen he enlisted in Company K, Fourteenth New York Heavy Artillery. During the winter of 1862 and 1863, he was detailed on recruiting service, and in March, 1.864, was promoted to the captaincy of his original company. He was wounded six times, but remained in service until the fall of 1864. Upon his return from the war he engaged in business in New York, and later in Pennsylvania, and Illinois. In 1875 he came to Iowa, locating at Des Moines where he engaged in the implement business. In 1882 and again in 1884 he was elected Mayor of Des Moines, serving in that capacity for four years. In 1889 he entered the insurance business - a vocation which he followed until the end of his career. In January, 1881, Comrade Carey was elected Commander of the Iowa Department of the G.A.R. While serving in that capacity he assisted in organizing the Department of Dakota. He was one of the first members of Kinsman Post of East Des Moines, was four times Post Commander of Joe Hooker Post, and after the consolidation of that Post with Crocker Post No. 12, he continued an active member of the organization. A veteran and son of a veteran he was always and everywhere a true soldier.

George B. Hogin  February 1882 to April 1883

George B. Hogin, Commander of the Iowa Department of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1882, was born at Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 8, 1837, and moved to Keokuk County, Iowa, in 1850. He enlisted as a private in Company D, Thirteenth Iowa Infantry in October, 1861, and the same month was promoted to commissary sergeant. He was later promoted through the grades of second and first lieutenants, and in November, 1862, was made captain of the company in which he enlisted. In May, 1864, he was discharged because of disabilities, and upon his reenlistment he was made paymaster with the rank of major. Major Hogin was the first Commander of Garrett Post No. 16, at Newton. At the Department Encampment in 1880 he was elected Senior Vice Commander and the following year was unanimously elected Department Commander. His administration was a very aggressive and successful one, in which there was a gain of eighty-seven Posts and thirty-five hundred members. He was also active in other fraternal and civic affairs and served always for the best interests of the larger groups. Major Hogin died in Chicago, Illinois, on February 6, 1895, at the age of fifty-eight.

 Iowa Civil War Heritage Foundation