John Allen
Age Unknown
Ensign Livery Stable
Walnut between 2nd & 3rd
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
July 8, 1864
It was a senseless, tragic murder perpetrated against an innocent victim. And although the crime was witnessed in broad daylight, the killer was never brought to justice.
In mid-summer of 1864, Company K of the 10th Iowa Volunteer Infantry — after seeing heavy service in the deep South — was taking a veteran furlough in Des Moines, starting on June 20.
The saloons of downtown Des Moines offered plenty to drink, and some of the soldiers over-indulged.
On Friday, July 8, 26-year-old Private John McRoberts was drunk and quarrelsome as he staggered along Walnut Street between 2nd Avenue and 3rd Street.
Although an Indiana native, McRoberts lived in Des Moines before joining the Union Army in 1861 and was familiar with the city.
He first tried to pick a fight with local carpenter Samuel A. Robertson and then threatened to shoot him. Seeing that McRoberts was angry and out of control, Robertson walked away quickly.
As McRoberts stood in front of Ensign’s Livery Stable, a black man named John Allen — described by newspapers as “peaceable” — walked towards him on the sidewalk.
McRoberts hailed John Allen, who stopped to see what he wanted and then moved on.
While many witnesses watched horrified, McRoberts drew his pistol and shot Allen in the head. The victim fell dead instantly.
The authorities immediately arrested John McRoberts and placed him in jail. He was indicted for murder by a grand jury.
However, justice was never served. In recording sensational crimes in the city and county, the 1898 Annals Of Polk County, Iowa And City Of Des Moines wrote this about the murder:
“[McRoberts] was never placed on trial, found guilty and hung, as he should have been. He escaped or was quietly released and hurried off to the army, then in the field. After the close of the war and his discharge from the army, it is said, the reckless murderer visited Des Moines, and no effort was made to apprehend him. The man he wantonly murdered had been long buried and forgotten.”
Less than a month after the murder — on August 4, 1864 — the 10th Iowa Volunteer Infantry reported for duty at Kingston, Georgia, and was sent on an expedition against Rebel forces at Mill Place.
John McRoberts survived the war. He married, had a large family, and moved west, dying in Idaho in 1908.
All that is known of John Allen is that he worked at the Carroll House in Des Moines. His place of burial is unknown.
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