A little-known Civil War story from Greene County is being brought back to life this Memorial Day through a major community project led by students, their teacher and local historians.
The “Schoolboy Soldiers of Rippey” were 32 students and former students, along with two teachers, from one of Greene County’s earliest schools who enlisted together during the Civil War. Eleven died in service.
History teacher Dena Boyd and Greene County high school students have spent the past year researching the soldiers’ stories and organizing public events, memorials and educational projects to honor them.
The public launch of the project will be Monday, May 25, during Memorial Day services at the Old Rippey Cemetery, 2025 300th St, in southeastern Greene County, about three miles west of the current town of Rippey.
The Memorial Day ceremony at Old Rippey Cemetery will begin promptly at 10 am and will feature the student soldiers marching into the cemetery in formation, musical performances by Greene County seniors, prayers, readings and a rifle salute by the American Legion Kinkead-Martin Post 583.
Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating. There will be signage and parking attendants to assist visitors. Parking will be at the Ulrich farm southeast of the cemetery. There will be a shuttle service from the parking area to the cemetery and back.
The Schoolboy Soldiers of Rippey project began after Boyd invited local historian and columnist Chuck Offenburger to speak to her Iowa history class about impactful local stories. Offenburger shared the story of the Schoolboy Soldiers, which had faded from public memory over the years.
Students quickly became deeply involved in researching the soldiers and developing ways to share their history with the community.
The effort has since grown into a countywide project with plans for two large granite monuments, Civil War reenactments by students, an original stage play, museum research programs and public ceremonies stretching from Memorial Day through Veterans Day.
Two identical 9-foot-tall granite obelisks designed by student Aden Bardole with a life-size drawing by classmate Lila Osterson One monument – one on the courthouse lawn in Jefferson and the other in the Old Rippey Cemetery – will be erected.
The project has raised or secured pledges totaling about $94,000 toward an estimated $115,000 cost. The largest contribution so far has been a $45,000 grant from Grow Greene County Gaming Corporation, which distributes a portion of the gaming revenues from the Wild Rose Casino & Resort.
Students will portray the Schoolboy Soldiers during public events throughout the summer and fall while wearing newly purchased Civil War replica uniforms. Boyd herself will portray Lt. Isaac Brown, one of the original teachers who enlisted with the students.
“This has turned into so much more than I ever expected,” said Oliver Harris, the former Greene County High School student who first proposed creating a monument after hearing the story in a history class presentation last spring. “I’m really grateful to Ms. Boyd, her students and everyone on the committee for keeping it moving.”
Boyd said the project has given students an experience far beyond what they could learn from textbooks.
It’s “hands-on learning,” she said, involving everything from making wooden replicas of rifles, learning how to march as a unit, baking “hardtack” crusts the soldiers ate, learning the family stories of all the soldiers — in a couple of cases from direct descendants.
Organizers say the project has already helped restore community pride in the Rippey area and sparked new interest in local history across Greene County.
“As a native of Rippey, it is very heartwarming to see our little town come together to recognize and celebrate this 165-year-old story,” said committee member Mary Weaver.
Additional events are planned throughout the year, including an original play, “The Schoolboy Soldiers of Rippey,” commissioned from playwright John Busbee and scheduled to be performed by Greene County High School students in November.
~Contributed to Chuck Offenburger
