In a very new little settlement on the prairie, named Wasioja for an Indian chief buried nearby, patriotic fever welled up, stirred by sermons in the Baptist seminary and church perched in the woods.
down the path,
to the law office of Colonel James George, where they enlisted.Others followed,in fact, a good portion of the able-bodied men of the community.
In 1862 when the men and boys marched away as Company C of the 2nd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Wasioja had 12 stores, a hotel, a school, limestone quarries, a flour mill, and a bright future as a town.
But, of the 80 (or was it 68?) soldiers from Wasioja, only one man returned when the war ended. Seventeen died of disease, seven were killed in battle, and 21 were wounded. The rest made their homes elsewhere.
With so many of the men gone, Wasioja began to disappear back into the prairie grass and farm fields. Now there is nothing left but the cemetery, seminary ruins, the school house, and Baptist church, and a few new homes scattered on the dirt roads of the township.
Wasioja today
Thank you for reading my blog. I love to read your comments and visit your blog in return.
I love the "The rest made their homes elsewhere"........ I have images of them settling down with a good woman and having a few kiddies.
ReplyDeleteI like your history tours, we seemed to do the Russian revolution for ever when I was at school so I'm pretty ignorant apart from what I see in films.
The Russian Revolution must have been a pet topic of your teacher. If I were a history teacher, I'd just tell the kiddos stories all day and skip the facts and figures because that's what I like.
DeleteHow sad that the entire town wasted away after those men went off to war. I love a history lesson.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine being a wife with a passel of kids, left behind in that wilderness, with Indians all around. I'd have taken the next wagon train back to the East and civilization! I wonder if the men thought about that when they went marching off to war.
DeleteThe story of Wasioja is so sad and a lot of young men lost their lives. What's more the town disappeared for ever. What a pity.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos and a very interesting town history. It makes you wonder how the town could have prospered if there had been no war for all the men to march off to.
ReplyDeleteKind of neat to know the history of the demise of this place - and certainly lovely pics!
ReplyDeleteVery historical and informative post and great shots (felt myself walking the path ~ great shot) for OWT ~ thanks, ^_^
ReplyDeleteartmusedog and carol (A Creative Harbor)
Lovely photos Cynthia and very interesting post.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting history lesson. I like visiting the old cemeteries. Pretty wildflowers.
ReplyDeleteA sad story about this town! Thanks for sharing the history of Wasioja, your photos are wonderful. Enjoy your week!
ReplyDeleteHow sad to see a community destroyed by the consequences of war.
ReplyDeleteOH, Wasioja has such sad history; seeing the last 2 beautiful pictures,filled with the wish for peace!!! My late father who died last year went world war Ⅱ, he never mentioned about his experience. But I LOVED to enjoy dramas and movies from your country with HIM.
ReplyDeleteSending you Lots of Love and Hugs from Japan, xoxo Miyako*
A very sad story. Lovely shots.
ReplyDeleteThanks for an interesting story. But I've never understood the madness which descends upon young men whenever there's a war to be fought. We see it now with young British Muslims who go off to fight in the Middle East. But I also remember the queues outside the recruiting office when the conflict over the Falkland Islands began. Why on earth would someone be willing to sacrifice their lives for things which have so little bearing on their own lives?
ReplyDeleteA sad story for sure. For a real feeling for the civil war, Andersonville in Georgia is a cemetery with headstones for soldiers from every state, buried very close together. It was a Southern prison site. Another Civil War depiction is in the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, IL...shows the number of soldiers dying in each battle as it progresses. It is really insanity!
ReplyDeleteSo just '1' returned. How sad is that, with broken hearted family and friends. It's always good to know these stories.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the visit back... and the lesson of the futility of war. So much damage done within communities and families. Love your shots of the beautiful landscape in Wasioja with the wildflowers.
ReplyDeleteI love your narration along with the photos. That's such a sad story but one that happened many times over.
ReplyDeleteI have heard of it but we have never visited that area. The Milkweed is wonderful! I hope it is filled with larvae! :)
ReplyDelete