Drake, Francis Marion

Drake, Francis Marion, 1830–1903, Union army officer in the Civil War, railroad president, and governor of Iowa (1896–98), b. Rushville, Ill. He helped defend St. Joseph, Mo., against Confederate forces under the command of Gen. Sterling Price. As lieutenant colonel of an Iowa regiment he fought with distinction in the Western campaigns, being brevetted brigadier general of volunteers in Feb., 1865. Admitted to the bar in 1866, Drake was president of the Iowa Southern RR for several years and later headed (1882–98) the Indiana, Illinois & Iowa, which became part of the Chicago & Alton. As governor he called a special session of the general assembly to revise the legal code of Iowa and substantially reformed the state's charitable and penal institutions. Drake Univ. was named for him.