News : Honoring Col. Shane: Local prosecutor hopes vandalism will lead to new tributes

Co. Attorney Dave Thompson hopes descendants of Civil War Col. John Shane will come forward.

The vandals who targeted several tombstones at Evergreen Cemetery last fall had no idea that the large monument with its four pillars was Vinton’s memorial to one of its most beloved soldiers and leaders.

Now, as the legal case against the four teenagers moves toward resolution, Benton County Attorney Dave Thompson hopes that local residents – and perhaps a descendant of Col. John Shane – will help keep his memory alive.

“He was the George Washington of Vinton, a citizen-soldier beloved by his people,” says Thompson.

The county attorney observes that while Col. Shane went on to become a state senator and judge, his tombstone does not list those accomplishments.

What was most important to Shane, said Thompson, was his love for the men with whom he served.

“One who loved his fellow men,” reads the monument that stands among the tombstones in the area devoted to Civil War veterans.

Shane studied law in Ohio, with future Secretary of War Edward Stanton. He moved to Vinton in 1855. When the Civil war began, he volunteered as a private in Company G. He was soon elected as Captain, and later as Major. Despite suffering serious injuries at Shiloh, he returned to the unit and became a Colonel. He was a public servant until suffering what we would now call a stroke.

See more information about Shane’s life in the links below:

Civil War notebook

Company G

Iowa Legislature history page

The Shane tombstone has been re-assembled, but much damage from the vandalism, as well as the effects of a century and a half of wind and rain, is still visible. Thompson hopes that someday in the near future, the community or a Shane descendant will commission a replacement tombstone.

Any descendants of Col. Shane, or anyone with more information about his life and family, is encouraged to call Thompson at 319-472-2436.