Luther Increase Matthews, born on July 31, 1839, in Gallia County, Ohio, was a divinity student living in Fairfield County, Jefferson County, Iowa, by 1860.

When the Civil War began, Matthews enlisted in Company E, 2nd Iowa Infantry on May 6, 1861, and was mustered into service on May 28, 1861. He contracted typhoid and was discharged for disability on September 10, 1861.

Matthews relocated to Missouri, recovered from his illness, and enlisted on August 14, 1862, in Company K, 8th Missouri Cavalry, in Rolla, Missouri. Mustered into service on August 29, 1862, he was promoted to first lieutenant and served as regimental commissary until October 1863, when he was transferred to Company I. Matthews resigned and was discharged from the army as a captain in April 1864.

The 8th Missouri Cavalry fought in the Battle of Prairie Grove, the Little Rock campaign, and the 1864 operations against General Joseph Shelby north of the Arkansas River.

After the war, Matthews graduated from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) as a physician. He established his practice in Lebanon, Missouri, then moved to Carthage in 1871. He was living in Joplin in 1900 and in Kansas City in 1910, then returned to Carthage to retire. He died on November 5, 1918, in Carthage and is buried in Park Cemetery.

Carte-de-Visite by unknown photographer.

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 11989