Iowa, Henry County, Mt Pleasant
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With the assistance of Senator James Harlan, the War Department authorized a military training camp at Mount Pleasant in October of 1861. The first recruits began arriving that September at Camp Harlan, which was designated as a cavalry training post for the Fourth Iowa Volunteer Cavalry. Twelve companies had been mustered by November 23, 1861 with 1086 men and officers. These first recruits found only an open meadow and piles of lumber to be used for barracks construction, with the people of the county providing food and blankets. The first companies left by train on February 25 when the Fourth Iowa received orders to move to Benton Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri.
Starting in August, 1862 a second regiment was organized, the 25th Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with the military post now called Camp McKean. Ten companies were mustered on September 27, 1862 with a strength of 972 men. After training under the command of Colonel George A. Stone, the first units left for St. Louis early in November.
Nine soldiers died while on duty at Camp Harlan and Camp McKean. They are buried in Forest Home Cemetery.
(War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
With the assistance of Senator James Harlan, the War Department authorized a military training camp at Mount Pleasant in October of 1861. The first recruits began arriving that September at Camp Harlan, which was designated as a cavalry training post for the Fourth Iowa Volunteer Cavalry. Twelve companies had been mustered by November 23, 1861 with 1086 men and officers. These first recruits found only an open meadow and piles of lumber to be used for barracks construction, with the people of the county providing food and blankets. The first companies left by train on February 25 when the Fourth Iowa received orders to move to Benton Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri.Starting in August, 1862 a second regiment was organized, the 25th Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with the military post now called Camp McKean. Ten companies were mustered on September 27, 1862 with a strength of 972 men. After training under the command of Colonel George A. Stone, the first units left for St. Louis early in November.
Nine soldiers died while on duty at Camp Harlan and Camp McKean. They are buried in Forest Home Cemetery.
(War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Here Willa Sibert Cather, the novelist, was born December 7, 1873. This community was her home until 1883, when her family moved to Nebraska. Nearby on Back Creek stands the old mill described in her novel Saphira and the Slave Girl.
Historic Events in Napa History 
On April 8th, 1944 while flying a routine combat training mission over Napa, Army Air Force Lt. Murphy's aircraft went out of control at 5,000 feet and plunged into the Napa River, not far from this site. 
Long considered nature's thoroughfare for pioneer settlement and development, the Napa River has played a major role in the growth and prosperity of Napa County. From its headwaters near Mt. St. Helena to its southern mouth merging with San Francisco Bay, the River has contributed significantly to the welfare of all along its banks. 
Requiring more space to expand his warehousing operations, Captain Hatt added this two story building in 1886, to accommodate the increasing demand for storage for wine and spirits. The brick facing was made from brick obtained from the San Quentin brickyard. 
In the first minutes of 6 June 1944, glider-borne troops of the 5th Airborne division captured the bridge which was on this site over the Caen Canal. It was one of the first objectives of the Allied landings in Normandy. It was renamed Pegasus Bridge after the emblem of British Airborne Forces. 
This park is dedicated to Barbara T. Meliski who served on Chimney Rock Village Council as Mayor Pro Temp from the date of incorporation in July 1991 until 2005, and as Mayor from 2005 until her retirement from office in November 2015. A passionate leader, Barbara is honored for her inspired vision for the future of this special place, her tireless energy, and her total dedicated to the welfare of the residents and improvement of the Village. Her skill in developing partnerships and her perseverance in getting things done enhanced the beauty, amenities and economy of our Village. During her twenty-four years in office, her every act was guided by her supreme love of the Village and her people. Although Mayor Meliski never sought recognition, the community knew that Chimney Rock Village was a better place to work, live and visit because of her many accomplishments.
In honor of her troops who served in the great war among whom were the liberators of Varennes 1918 and in grateful appreciation of their service.
In proud remembrance of the achievements of her sons and in humble tribute to their sacrifices this memorial has been erected by the United States of America.
On 6 June 1944, preceded by airborne units and covered by naval and air bombardment, United States and British Commonwealth forces landed on the coast of Normandy. Pushing southward they established a beachhead some 20 miles in depth. On 25 July, in the wake of paralyzing air bombardment, the U.S. First Army broke out of the beachhead and was soon joined by the U.S. Third Army. Together they repulsed a powerful counterattack towards Avranches. Crushed between the Americans on the south and west and the British on the north, attacked continuously by the U.S. Eighth and Ninth Air Forces and the Royal Air Force the enemy retreated across the Seine.
This Memorial and the Earth surrounding are dedicated to the enduring friendship of the peoples of Belgium and the United States who forged a bond from their common struggle to defeat the enemy of all free peoples. For the armies of the United States, in numbers of men engaged, in the courage shown by all forces, in the intrepid decision of their leaders, and in the final accomplishment, it was one of the great battles of their history. For the people of Belgium, it was final stand against an enemy who, for nearly five years, had violated their soil and vainly tried to crush their National spirit. It was the last act of the great liberation.
When an advance detachment of the US 9th Armored Division reached the Rhine at Remagen on March 7th, 1945, the Americans found the Bridge undestroyed. “Cross the Rhine with dry feet…” was what they proudly wrote on the Bridge in large letters.
On April 25, 1945, US Soldiers of the 273rd Regiment, 69th Infantry Division and Soviet troops of the 173rd Regiment, 58th Rifle Division clambered toward each other over the ruins of the Elbe Bridge, destroyed the same morning by the retreating Germans. The meeting on the Elbe at Torgau sealed the defeat of Germany’s Nazi dictatorship, which had covered Europe with a war of aggression and annihilation. The liberation that came from without, however, carried in it the seed of Europe’s division into East and West, which was to last more than forty years. The city of Torgau has erected plaques (marked on the map) to call attention to five historic sites which document the human suffering of different periods of persecution in twentieth-century Germany.
These two stone buildings, which replaced earlier log structures, housed slaves before the Civil War. After the abolition of slavery, they provided quarters for plantation and farm workers
Proclaimed a Public Oratory, December 8, 1965 by His Eminence, Lawrence Cardinal Shehan, Archbishop of Baltimore.
