After returning from an expedition from Benton to Mt. Ida in late 1863, Lt. Colonel Henry C. Caldwell of the 3rd Iowa Cavalry had this to say:

"Every conceivable means has been used to force these loyal men into the rebel service; they have been hung by the scores; they have been hunted down with bloodhounds . . . they have been robbed of their property, chained and imprisoned, yet amidst all this persecution and suffering these people stood out, and everywhere I went through their country they greeted my column with shouts of joy."