Ira M. Bowers was a resident of Millbridge, Maine on August 21, 1862 when he enlisted as a Sergeant in Co. H of the 18th Regiment Maine Volunteer Infantry. He transferred into Co. H of the 1^st Regiment Maine Heavy Artillery on December 19, 1862 and was promoted to Full 1^st Sergeant on January 23, 1864. On July 27, 1864, he was promoted to Full 2^nd Lieutenant and was discharged for disability on October 27, 1864.

He was born on April 10, 1823 in Hampton, Connecticut to Alpheus and Lucy (Flint) Bowers. One brother, James A.H. Bowers, enlisted in the 10^th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry from Mansfield. In the 1860 U.S. census in Brooklyn, Connecticut, Ira was a 27 year old farmer and head of household. Ira Bowers married Caroline Hyde on May 24, 1846 in Thompson, Connecticut. Children included: James Bowers, born about 1857 and Lucy Bowers, born about 1859. He married, second, Maria Ella Bushnell about 1864. Their children include: Minnie L. Bowers, born about 1865; Clara M. Bowers, born about 1867; William/Willis E. Bowers, born about 1870; Alice M. Bowers, born about 1872; Herbert H. Bowers, born about April 1874; Jessie M. Bowers, born about 1878 and Andrew J. Bowers, born about 1879. After his Civil War service, he returned to Maine and worked as a farmer.

On March 30, 1865, he applied for an invalid pension, No. 64,562 that was granted under certificate No. 41,618. His widow applied for a pension on June 30, 1894. According to the list of pensioners on the roll in 1883, he was receiving a pension in Machias Port, Maine of $11.25 per month for a wounded right shoulder.

Ira M. Bowers died on March 12, 1894, reportedly in Jonestown, Maine; he is buried at the New Storrs Cemetery in Mansfield.