Drake University - Quax Yearbook (Des Moines, IA)

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I At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 he was engaged in merchandising at Unionville, Iowa. With his characteristic energy and promptness he organized a company of volunteers at the first call, and was elected and commissioned its captain. Joining Col. Edwards' command, he was commissioned major, and ren- dered conspicuous service in the border warfare in northern Missouri. In 1862 he was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the newly organized 56th Iowa Infantry. I-Iis sagacity, courage and resourcefulness caused him to be detailed for numerous independent commands. The history of the war perhaps records no more brilliant actions than his defense of Elkin's Ford. Arkansas. April 10, 18641, and his defense of a supply train at what was known as the battle of Mark's Mills on the 25th of the same month. While Colonel Drake, in com- mand of a brigade of 1,500 men, was convoying a train of several hundred wagons, he was attacked by a force of 6,000 cavalry. The battle raged for five or six hours. Seven desperate charges of the enemy were repulsed. While Drake was forming his men for a charge he was struck in the left thigh by a Bel- gian bullet. Most of his men were captured. Major Byers' Iowa in War Times gives a thrilling account of the battle. Drake's wound was pronounced mortal and he was not held a prisoner. I-le was sent home, and after six months' nursing returned on crutches to rejoin his command. The field and general officers united in recommending him for promo- tion, On account of special gallantry and hard and efficient service. I-Ie was brevetted brigadier general of U. S. Volunteers and assigned to duty commensu- rate with his rank. I-Ie commanded a brigade in Arkansas, and later held the post at Duvall's Bluff till he was mustered out in September, 1865, The next period of his life shows him with the same courage, sagacity. and prophetic insight. devoting his fine powers to the development of the material resources of the new country. I-Ie recognized the building of railroads as the best possible agency for this, and built no less than five lines of road, thus devel- oping vast sections of the choicest parts of the country, and bringing prosperity to thousands of his fellow countrymen. As a railroad president and director of men, it has been said that he never had a strike or labor difficulty. The people of southern Iowa, who had profited by his enterprises, and most appreciated his work, felt that his career ought to be crowned with the highest honor they could bestow, and so proposed his name for the office of governor of the state. The proposal was greeted with general enthusiasm, and in 18941 he was elected by an almost unprecedented majority to this high office. I-Iis administration has been characterized as a business administration, in which the same principles that had brought him such eminent success in the business world were applied to public affairs. A severe fall and the reopening of his army wound imperiled his life, com- pelling him to relinquish the honor of the customary second term and decline to be a candidate for re-election. During the remaining six years of his life he was very frail. I-Ie disposed of most of his railroad interests, but continued to give much of his attention to business. I0

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Jllremriz illllarinn Brakr. 1 RANCIS MARION DRAKE was born at Rushville, Illinois, December 50, 1850. Died at Centerville, Iowa. November 20, 1905. Some sixty years ago a travel-worn horseman, overtaken by night. rode up to a home at Fort Madison, Iowa, and asked the housewife whether she had a book that directed her to entertain strangers. She promptly replied, Yes sir. Our family Bible is always on the center table, The traveler was one of the first of the pioneer preachers of the Church of Christ to cross the Mississippi river into the Iowa Territory, and the home was that of John Adams Drake, father of the subject of this sketch. The elder Drake was a native of North Carolina, his family belonging to the southern aristocracy, and rich in lands and slaves. He was orphaned when but a lad, and, on coming into his estate, engaged in a mercantile business, in which his partner involved him in financial ruin. Without money or prospects he could not bear to stay in the old environments, and, coming north, he arrived at Rushville. Illinois. in 1850. Possessed of the energy which is so strongly characteristic of the family, he set about recouping his fortune in the new country. For two years he wrought with saw and hammer and plane. He then began the practice of law. He was chosen justice of the peace, and later. probate judge, being the Judge Drake mentioned in Winston Churchill's Crisis, In 1852 he removed to Fort Madison, where he practiced law till 184-6. He then went to Davis county and laid out the town of Drakeville. where he conducted a successful mercantile busi- ness until 1875, when he sold his interests and engaged in banking, In 1877 he removed to Centerville, where he followed the banking business till his death. May 15, 1880. He was raised a Baptist. His wife was a Methodist. While in Rushville, one of the pioneer preachers won their hearts to the new plea for the restoration of primitive Christianity, A daughter says of them: From that day their home was the preachers' home. Their time and money were devoted to the cause. Their good deeds have been many. This brief chapter of family history gives some index to the source of the matchless courage and indomitable will that carried General Drake through his remarkable career-qualities that served him well amid the stirring experiences of the pioneer days in which his early life was cast. When he had barely attained his majority, he led two expeditions across the plains with ox teams and droves of cattle to California, which was then in the midst of the gold excitement. The entire journey of 2,000 miles was imperiled by the Indians. who were incensed at the white man for encroaching upon their hunting grounds and killing or fright- ening away their game. The perils of hardship were scarcely less formidable. The next epoch in his life was his military career. in which he won marked distinction, as in every other sphere in which he was called to act. 9

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The most important part of General Drake's life is yet to be mentioned. lt was his philanthropy. His life was early given to his Divine Master, and he felt that true service to Him involved the consecration of his talents to God and humanity. He was largely blessed with the talent to make money, and it was a glad privilege for him to make it the agency of preaching and teaching, and of helping in every good cause that was brought to his knowledge. No deserving appeal from any source was turned away. His largest gifts, however, were directed toward the advancement of Christianity through the building of churches. the support of evangelists and missionaries, and the fostering of Christian educa- tion. General Drake's gifts were the largest of any man the Church of Christ has produced up to the present time. No church has been built in Iowa during the past twenty-five years that did not receive a substantial gift from him if the matter was called to his attention. He gave large sums to be expended under the direction of all the various missionary boards, and to the State Board for the evangelization of his own state. He made the initial gifts that secured schools for the education of native missionaries in Japan, China, and India. The beautiful library building at Centerville is one of many substantial expressions of his loyalty to the town which had been his home for forty-one years, and his interest in the highest welfare of its people for all time to come. But his crowning work of philanthropy was the founding and fostering of Drake University. The grand total of his gifts to it was 3B252,0Z6.4-6-almost a quarter of a million dollars. These gifts have been distributed through the years at critical times, where most needed, beginning with the 320,000 pledge that made the school possible at the start. It was part of his policy to stimulate others to give, for he felt that the larger the number thus committed to its inter- ests, the greater would be its assurance of success. He often said that he didn't want any one to feel that the university belonged to him, but to the church, and for this reason he thought his gifts should bear only a certain proportion to the whole. lt would have been his great pleasure to give more lavishly if others had met his frequent propositions to give dollar for dollar for all that they would raise. Indeed, in his last years, he was pained that these eager challenges were not more freely taken up, as he realized that his end was drawing near, and was so solicitous that he might see the beloved institution firmly established. ln the last three years his haste could not wait. The Auditorium in 1900 was his sole gift, as was also the building for the Musical Conservatory in 1905. The Medical building of 1905 was assured by his large initial gift, as is the case with the Law and Bible College buildings to be erected this year. When the Board of Trustees was first organized he was chosen President, and held the office continuously till his death. The prosperity which constantly attended the school from the beginning was fraught with perils, for its resources were painfully inadequate for the demands of the army of young people that flocked to its halls, and the pressure to exceed the income in an effort to meet the responsibility thus created was insistent, requiring the utmost sagacity and ll