History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century/4/John A. Garrett
JOHN A. GARRETT, a native of Carlisle, Sullivan County, Indiana, was born on the 15th of November, 1824. He was a graduate of Hanover College and of the Indiana University. During the War with Mexico he enlisted as a private in the Fourth Indiana Infantry and was in the army of General Scott which captured the City of Mexico. In the fall of 1857 Mr. Garrett came to Iowa stopping for a time in Des Moines and at Leon. In 1859 he became a resident of Newton in Jasper County where he was engaged in mercantile pursuits. When the Civil War began he enlisted in the military service; in August, 1861, he recruited a company which was incorporated with the Tenth Iowa Infantry of which he was appointed captain. He took part, in several engagements, where he distinguished himself and in August, 1862, was promoted to lieutenant-colonel of the Twenty-second Iowa Infantry. Soon after he was commissioned colonel of the Fortieth Infantry and commanded that regiment in the campaign against Little Rock and in the Battle of Jenkin's Ferry, remaining in command to the close of the war.