8th Missouri Cavalry

Organized at Springfield, Mo., August 6 to September 15, 1862. Attached to 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, Army of the Frontier, Dept. of Missouri, to June, 1863. 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, District of Southeast Missouri, Dept. of Missouri, to August, 1863. 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Arkansas Expedition, to December, 1863. 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Army of Arkansas, to January, 1864, and 7th Army Corps, Dept. of Arkansas, to May, 1864. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 7th Army Corps, to September, 1864. 3rd Brigade, Cavalry Division, 7th Army Corps, to February, 1865. 2nd Brigade, Cavalry Division, 7th Army Corps, to March, 1865. 1st Separate Cavalry Brigade, 7th Army Corps, to July, 1865.

SERVICE.—Springfield, Mo., August 9, 1862. Blount's Campaign in Missouri and Arkansas October 17-December 27. Battle of Prairie Grove, Ark., December 7. Expedition from Fayetteville to Huntsville December 21-23. Expedition over Boston Mountains to Van Buren December 27-29. Bloomfield, Mo., May 12, 1863. Join Davidson's Division at Pilot Knob, Mo., June, 1863, and march to Clarendon on White River, Ark. Steele's Expedition against Little Rock, Ark., August I-September 10. Grand Prairie August 17. Brownsville August 25. Bayou Metoe or Reed's Bridge August 27. Reconnoissance from Brownsville August 29. Ferry's Landing September 7. Bayou Fourche and capture of Little Rock September 10. Pursuit of Price September 11-14. Near Little Rock September 11. Duty at Little Rock till March, 1864. Duvall's Bluff December 1 and December 12, 1863 (Detachments). Indian Bay February 16, 1864. Clarendon March 15. Fitzhugh's Woods, near Augusta, April 1 (Detachment). Cache River Cotton Plant April 21-22. Operations against Shelby north of the Arkansas River May 13-31. Stony Point May 20. Searcy June 3 (Detachment). Bealer's Ferry, Little Red River, June 6 (Detachment). Expedition from Little Rock to Little Red River August 6-16. Jones' Hay Station and Long Prairie August 24. Expedition in pursuit of Shelby August 27-September 6. Expedition from Lewisburg to Strahan Landing November 26-December 2. Expedition from Brownsville to Augusta January 4-27 (Detachment). Duty in the Dept. of Arkansas till July. Mustered out July 20, 1865.

Regiment lost during service 1 Officer and 26 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 3 Officers and 352 Enlisted men by disease. Total 382.

SOURCE: Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, Part 3, p. 1308

Colonel Daniel Anderson

THIRD COLONEL, FIRST CAVALRY.

Daniel Anderson was born in the year 1821, in the State of Indiana. His history, prior to coming to Iowa, I am unacquainted with. He settled in Albia, Monroe county, of this State, in about the year 1843, and established himself in the practice of the law, which he continued to follow till the time of entering the service. In July and August, 1861, he enlisted Company H, 1st Iowa Cavalry, was elected its captain, and held this rank till the 10th of July, 1862, when he was promoted to the majority of the 3d Battalion of his regiment. In the following August, he was made lieutenant-colonel, which rank he held till the 21st of August, 1863, when he was promoted to the colonelcy of the regiment. On the expiration of his three-years' term, of service he resigned his commission, and returned to his home in Albia.

During the colonelcy of Mr. Anderson the 1st Iowa Cavalry, as a regiment, met the enemy for the first time in a regular engagement. On the 11th day of June, 1863, nearly a month after the regiment had returned from its scout in South Eastern Missouri, the 1st Iowa Cavalry in company with the 8th Missouri Cavalry left Lake Springs for Pilot Knob, where it reported to Colonel J. M. Glover commanding the 2d Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division. Plans for the Arkansas Expedition and the capture of Little Rock which were matured after the fall of Vicksburg had been conceived in the month of June preceding; and in anticipation of this movement the 1st Cavalry Division was ordered south from Missouri. On the 1st of July the 1st Iowa Cavalry with its brigade and division left its camp at Arcadia, Missouri, and passing through Fredericktown and Bloomfield, crossed the St. Francis River in the vicinity of Chalk Bluff, Arkansas. From this point the command moved due south through Gainsville, and Jonesboro, Arkansas, and on the 28th instant arrived within some three miles of Wittsburg, where it went into camp. Here the division remained several days, and until dispatches could be forwarded to Helena, which was one hundred miles distant. The party which carried these dispatches, and which consisted of only fifty men, was under the command of Captain Jenks and Lieutenant Hursh of the 1st Iowa Cavalry; and the success which attended the movement did these officers great credit; for the rout which was unknown to them, and which lay all the way through the enemy's country, was passed without accident or the loss of a single man.

With the return of this party, the division broke camp and continued the march to White River, which it struck on the evening of the 8th of July, near Clarendon. The organization of General Steele's command being now completed, he marched out from Helena to form a junction with the cavalry of General Davidson, at Clarendon. White River was crossed successfully, and now the expedition to Little Rock was well under way. By order of General Steele, General Davidson, on the morning of the 22d of July, led the advance in the direction of Deadman's Lake and Brownsville; while the infantry, under General Steele, moved up the river to Duvall's Bluff, and proceeded from that direction. No opposition was made to General Davidson's advance until the 25th, when General Marmaduke made his appearance with his rebel cavalry. All that day skirmishing was carried on with the enemy, who, driven back to and through Brownsville, were on the following day forced into their works on Bayou Metoe; and at Bayou Metoe, the 1st Iowa Cavalry, as a regiment, first met the enemy in battle. Bayou Metoe, a miry, sluggish stream, is crossed by the Brownsville and Little Rock road, at a point about fourteen miles east of the last named place. At the time in question, it was spanned by a wooden bridge; and the object of the charge of the 1st Iowa Cavalry was to save this bridge from burning; for the enemy, after falling back to the west side of the stream, had fired it, to prevent pursuit. On the east side of Bayou Metoe, and nearly three-quarters of a mile distant from it, is a sharp, narrow ridge of land, which is covered with brush, and runs nearly parallel with the stream. Along this the enemy had constructed earth-works, which, after being driven from Brownsville, they had occupied.

On the afternoon of the 26th of August, General Davidson's van-guard, which consisted of a detachment of the 3d Missouri Cavalry, was moving along the road and had come within about a mile of the above named rebel works, when they were greeted with a six-pound solid shot. It struck the ground in their front, and ricochetting killed one man and two horses. Word was sent back to General Davidson, who was at Brownsville, and the next morning he came to the front. The expedient which he adopted to dislodge the enemy was a novel one. He directed a bass drum to be beaten that the enemy might infer the approach of infantry; and the ruse succeeded admirably, for they left without offering further resistance. Retiring to the west side of the bayou, they fired the bridge, seeing which, General Davidson called for the 1st Iowa Cavalry to charge and save it. Colonel Anderson led his regiment and had arrived within some three hundred yards of the bridge when the enemy, secreted in thick brush to the right, delivered a deadly volley of musketry. The colonel's horse was wounded and frightened, and took the colonel to the rear. The regiment dashed on with Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell at its head; but on reaching the bayou the enemy were found in strong works just beyond the opposite bank. It was impossible to save the bridge, and after exchanging shots with the enemy for upward of an hour the regiment retired.

Further pursuit of the enemy in this direction was therefore rendered impossible, since at this point the bayou was deep and miry; and, stationing pickets near the crossing, General Davidson returned to Brownsville. From this time till the 8th of August the 1st Iowa Cavalry remained in Camp at Brownsville, and during this time the character of the country and the position of the enemy were thoroughly reconnoitered. General Steele in the meantime having determined to move against Little Rock by way of the river-road the cavalry, on the morning of the last named date, led the advance in that direction; and in the evening of that same day General Davidson bivouacked only one mile north of the Arkansas River, and ten miles east of the doomed city.

The next day the 1st Iowa, having crossed the Arkansas, took a distinguished part in leading Steele's army into Little Rock.

On the 26th of November, Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell, with two hundred and fifty men of his regiment, left camp at Little Rock, and moved down the Arkansas River to Pine Bluff. The enemy were reported advancing on that place, and he was sent forward to reinforce the garrison. Lieutenant-Colonel H. C. Caldwell, of the 3d Iowa Cavalry, in command of a brigade, also joined in this movement; but before the arrival of any of these troops, Colonel Clayton, of the 5th Kansas Cavalry, with his gallant little garrison numbering not over four hundred men, had engaged and beaten off the rebel force. For the number of troops engaged, this is one of the most brilliant battles ever fought in Arkansas; and, for his success in defending Pine Bluff, Colonel Clayton received the highest commendations of General Steele. Immediately after arriving at Pine Bluff, the commands of both Lieutenant-Colonels H. C. and J. W. Caldwell started in pursuit of the enemy, and proceeded as far west as Arkadelphia; but in all that distance no enemy was encountered. The detachment from the 1st Iowa Cavalry returned to Little Rock on the 1st of December, and during the scout had traveled not less than two hundred and fifty miles. From the 1st to the 31st of December, 1863, the 1st Iowa Cavalry, in detachments, was constantly on the scout. In November, I have mentioned only that expedition in which LieutenantColonel J. W. Caldwell took part; for that was the most important; but other detachments of the regiment were also on the scout; and to show the amount of labor performed by the entire regiment, it need only be stated that the aggregate number of miles marched by the different companies and detachments in the month of November was three thousand and seventy-nine miles. In December, the aggregate of miles marched was two thousand eight hundred and eighty-two. It has been supposed the cavalry was a lazy arm of the service; but these figures should correct this idea.

The most important of the expeditions joined in by the 1st Iowa Cavalry in the month of December, was that which, leaving Little Rock on the 15th instant, marched south through Arkadelphia, and to within fifteen miles of Camden on the Washita River. The detachment from the 1st Iowa, which consisted of some two hundred and sixty men, under Captain Jenks, engaged the enemy, dismounted, a few miles south of Princeton, and drove them from the works, killing and wounding some, and capturing several prisoners. The history of this affair seems incredible. The enemy were eight hundred, and holding a strong position; but they were routed by less than three hundred men, losing many of their arms, their wagons and camp-equipage.

After the occupation of Little Rock, Colonel Glover was taken sick and was succeeded in the command of his brigade by Colonel Anderson of the 1st Iowa Cavalry, who retained the command for several weeks. And it was during this time that he was placed under arrest for writing a sharp letter to Lieutenant-Colonel Chandler, General Steele's Provost-Marshal General. He was, however, after the lapse of several weeks, released without trial, and returned to the command of his brigade. On account of sickness, which prostrated him just before the expedition started, Colonel Anderson did not accompany General Steele on his Camden march; but soon recovering, he assumed command of the Post of Little Rock, which he held till the expedition returned. During the absence of his regiment on veteran furlough, he was placed in command of the non-veterans; but before the regiment returned, he resigned his commission and returned to his home in Albia. In person, Colonel Anderson is tall and erect. He can not be less than six feet and three inches in hight. He has regular features, brown hair, and grey eyes. He is dignified in his manners; he has large self-esteem, and an arbitrary disposition. It was this, with his quick temper, which gave him trouble in the service. He is a man of good judgment; and though he never met with great success in the practice of his profession, he is regarded as a sound lawyer. He is a fair public speaker; but too prolix to be entertaining.

SOURCE: Addison A Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 553-8

MAJOR-GENERAL FRANCIS J. HERRON

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, NINTH INFANTRY.

Francis J. Herron is Iowa's youngest major-general, and the second one of that rank appointed from the State. His ancestry are ancient and honorable, and, on the paternal side, are familiarly known as "Herron's Branch," who, settling in Eastern Pennsylvania in the early history of that State, were ever classed among her most intelligent and well-to-do yeomanry. On the maternal side of the house, he is descended from one of the oldest families of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, who settled in that city when it was a mere village, and who have maintained an honorable position in the community to the present day. The general's uncle, the late James Anderson, ranked with the most benevolent and wealthy citizens of Pittsburg.

The subject of our sketch is a son of the late Colonel John Herron, and a native of Pittsburg, where he was born on the 17th day of February, 1837. He was educated at the Western University, in Pittsburg, which was then, and is still, under the superintendence of Professor J. M. Smith, a brother-in-law of the general. Leaving this University at sixteen, he was soon after appointed to a clerkship in a Pittsburg banking-house, and, in 1854, became a partner in the banking firm of "Herron & Brothers." In 1855, he removed to Iowa, and, in connection with one of his brothers, opened a banking-house in the city of Dubuque. Dubuque is his present home.

General Herron began his brilliant military career as captain of Company I, 1st Iowa Infantry. He served with his regiment in Missouri till the expiration of its term of service, and with it took part in the memorable battle of Wilson's Creek. Returning home in the latter part of August, he was, on the tenth of the following September, commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the 9th Iowa Infantry. For gallantry at the battle of Pea Ridge, (March 6th, 7th and 8th, 1862, where he was wounded and taken prisoner) he was made a brigadier-general, and, for his courage and superior military skill at the battle of Prairie Grove, December 7th, 1862, was promoted to his present rank. The battle of Prairie Grove is one of the most brilliant of the war—perhaps the most brilliant, when we consider the disparity in numbers of the forces engaged; and it was by no means barren in results; for a well-organized and confident army was overwhelmed in defeat, from the effects of which it never recovered.

In the organization of the Army of the Frontier, under General Schofield, of date the 15th of October, 1862, General Herron was put in command of the 3d Division. The 1st and 2d Divisions were commanded by Generals Blunt and Totten respectively. For three weeks previous to the 1st of December, 1862 and longer, the Army of the Frontier had been watching the enemy, who had below, and in the vicinity of the old Pea Ridge battle-field, a large and well-organized army, under command of the rebel Major-General Thomas C. Hindman.

On the first of December, General Blunt, who had been holding his division on Prairie Creek, near Bentonville, moved against a detachment of the enemy, and, driving it from Cane Hill, held the position. This was no sooner done, however, than the enemy threatened him in heavy force, and compelled him to send to General Schofield for reinforcements. General Blunt's messenger, arriving at head-quarters near Wilson's Creek on the evening of the 3d of December, found General Schofield absent, and General Herron in command. "General Blunt must have reinforcements or lose his entire command;" and there was no other alternative; but General Herron, under instructions, could afford no relief. The expedient which he adopted was worthy of him, and will redound to his infinite credit. Dispatching a messenger to General Schofield, but without awaiting or expecting a reply, he broke camp and marched to the rescue.

At day-light on Sunday morning, the seventh of December, his command passed through Fayetteville, Arkansas, and halted for breakfast one mile beyond; but before the meal was completed, members of the 1st Arkansas Cavalry, which composed a portion of the advance-guard, came hurrying back with word that Hindman's cavalry was upon them. The merest incident often controls momentous issues, and so it happened here. Major Hubbard, a gallant, positive fellow, and an officer of General Herron's staff, being in command of the advance-guard, was captured and taken before the rebel general. "How much of a force has General Herron?" demanded Hindman. "Enough," replied the major, "to annihilate you;" and this answer, with Herron's determined fighting and superior generalship, saved to our arms the battle of Prairie Grove; for Hindman, with his twenty thousand, dared not move out against the handful of men in his front, (not four thousand all told) for fear of being annihilated by an overwhelming reserve, marshaled, in his imagination, in the heavy timber to our rear. Nor did he learn his mistake till late in the afternoon, and just before the guns of General Blunt began thundering on his left and rear.

Having completed their hasty meal, Herron's troops resumed the march and pushed vigorously on, till arriving at Illinois Creek, about ten miles distant from Fayetteville. There the enemy were met in force. They were on the south-west side of the creek, and strongly posted on the high ground, which, on either side, looks down into the valley through which the road to Cane Hill passes. The situation was no sooner learned than Herron had formed his decision. He must bluff his adversary, or lose his command; and this was the plan on which the engagement was fought, which, to General Hindman, was a confirmation of Major Hubbard's report. General Herron first endeavored to push Battery E, 4th Missouri Light Artillery, and the 9th Illinois Infantry across the ford in his front; but that was so accurately covered with the guns of the enemy as to make it impossible. The detachment was driven back in some confusion. Next, he ordered Colonel Houston to cut a road through the timber to the right, and, having gained the opposite side with Captain Murphy's Battery, to open on the enemy and divert their attention, while he, with the balance of his command, pushed across the ford and gained a position in front of the enemy. The movement was successful. A further account of this battle will be found in the sketch of Colonel W. McE. Dye, of the 20th Iowa. I will only add here, that Hindman was defeated, and Herron made a major-general.

It will be interesting to know the names of the troops who earned General Herron this promotion. They were the 9th, 37th, and 94th Illinois, the 19th and 20th Iowa, the 26th Indiana, and the 20th Wisconsin Infantry regiments, together with four Missouri batteries, commanded by Captains Murphy, Faust and Hack of, and Lieutenant Borries. The 6th, 7th, and 8th Missouri Cavalry, the 1st Iowa and 10th Illinois, and the 1st Battalion of the 2d Wisconsin Cavalry, were all sent forward to General Blunt from Elkhorn, and remained with his command till the close of the engagement.

General Herron remained with his command, operating in Missouri and Arkansas, till late in the following May, when he was summoned to Vicksburg to take part in the reduction of that place. Immediately after the fall of the city, he made his expedition up the Yazoo River, after which, he embarked his command on transports, and sailed for Port Hudson and thence for Carrollton, Louisiana; where he arrived on the 13$h of August. Subsequently to that date, the general has served principally in the Gulf Department; but the operations in which he took part will appear in the sketches of other officers.

General Herron's Division was attached to Ord's Corps. By that general he was held in the highest esteem, as is shown by General Order Number 39, dated, "Head-quarters 13th Army Corps, Carrollton, Louisiana, September, 25th, 1863."

During the winter of 1863-4 and for some time after, General Herron, while serving in Texas, made his head-quarters at Brownsville. It will be remembered that it was during this time the forces of M. Ruiz, Governor of Tamaulipas, and those of Colonel Cortinas, came in collision in Matamoras. L. Pierce, U. S. Consul stationed in that city, became alarmed, and sent to General Herron for protection. Colonel Bertram of the 20th Wisconsin was at once sent across the river with a portion of his regiment, with which he conducted the Consul and his property and papers within the Federal lines. Had I the space, a further history of this affair would be interesting.

General Herron's ventilation of the Department of Arkansas has more recently made his name quite distinguished. This was a most thankless mission, and he was charged by some with being partial; but that is not strange. Indeed, we are not to suppose the exposer would be more popular with the guilty parties than the expose. The result of his investigations was published in nearly all the leading papers of the country, and convinced all honest men that, the Department of Arkansas had been the theatre of most outrageous abuses.

General Herron has a neat, well-formed person, and dresses with much taste. In appearance he is intelligent, and in manners agreeable. He has, I am told, some vanity. His marked traits of character are three. He is always calm and composed, no matter how great the danger, or how wild the excitement. At Prairie Grove he led the advance over the ford of Illinois Creek, and, under the rapid and accurate fire of the enemy, was in imminent peril; but he was perfectly calm, and apparently insensible of danger.

Another marked trait of his character is his taciturnity; and yet, if he talks but little, there is nothing about him sullen or morose. His voice, which is clear and kind, has a sort of charm about it that evidences a warm heart and generous nature. He was always popular with the soldiers of his command.

His third and most distinguishing trait — that which more than all others has contributed to make him what he is — is a self-reliant spirit. This, from his early youth, was always noticeable, and was the cause of his leaving the Western University before mastering the full course of study. It was a matter of no consequence to him that his lather and his friends were opposed to this course. He believed he knew enough to make his way in the world, and, because he thought so, all remonstrances were unavailing.

Frank J. Herron was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general from that of lieutenant-colonel. He is the only officer from the State who has been thus complimented by the War Department.

SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 201-6