Spear Tipton Harman

Spear Tipton Harman

Spear Tipton Harman enlisted with Company A of the 13th Iowa Volunteer Infantry on September 28, 1861 and was mustered into service on October 18. Company A had 116 men when organized and only 27 remained by the end of the war. He was severely wounded during the company’s first engagement, the Battle of Shiloh, on April 6, 1862. He was wounded in the left arm, right leg, and lost the ring finger of his right hand. He was given an honorable discharge on August 1, 1862, on account of his wounds.

Spear was born on October 18, 1841. He was the first child of Peter Dix and Mary Eames Harman. His father was a stone mason from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and an Iowa pioneer. In fact, Spear was the first white male to be born in Iowa City, Iowa. Spear was married three times, had ten children, and was, among other things, a farmer, bricklayer, store keeper, and a fiddler. He also was an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He spent the majority of his life following the war in Linn County, Iowa, where the majority of his descendants remain. He died on April 20, 1923 in the Old Soldier’s Home in Marshalltown, Iowa, where he had been residing his last two years. He and his third wife are buried in the Lisbon Cemetery, Lisbon, Iowa. Six fellow veterans served as pallbearers and an escort of the American Legion fired the farewell salute.

Photograph and information submitted by John R. Harman, great-great-grandson of Spear T. Harman and National Member-at-Large, SUVCW.

Spear Tipton Harman