Showing posts with label Battle of Blue Mills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Battle of Blue Mills. Show all posts

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood to Governor Israel Washburne Jr, April 3, 1862

Executive Office, Iowa, April 3, 1862.

Hon. Israel Washburne, Jr., Governor of Maine, Augusta, Maine:

Sir: — I have just received a certified copy of the resolution of the general assembly of your state in reference to “our victories in the west.”

Please accept my thanks for the compliment paid to our western troops.

Permit me, however, to state that in my judgment strict justice has not been done to the troops from Iowa. The troops of Illinois are specially selected in the resolution for commendation for their gallant conduct at Fort Donelson. Too much honor cannot be given to the Illinois men for their gallantry there, unless, as in this case, it is done by preferring them to the troops of other states. The men of Illinois did bravely and well, and I shall never seek to pluck one leaf from the wreath of honor they there so nobly won; but it is not true, as is implied in the resolution, that they did more bravely or better than the men of Iowa. There was not any better fighting done by any of our troops at Fort Donelson than at the right of their entrenchments. There the crest of a long and steep hill was covered by well built rifle pits, defended by three of the best regiments in the rebel service. To their left, some 1,500 yards, was a rebel battery that swept the face of the hill with a cross fire. The face of the hill had been heavily timbered, but every standing tree had been cut down and thrown, with the tops down hill, in such manner as most effectually to retard the approach of an attacking force. At that point, through the fallen timber, exposed to that cross fire, and in the face of the three rebel regiments behind the rifle pits, a regiment of western men, with fixed bayonets, with guns at the trail, and without firing a shot, steadily and unswervingly charged up the hill and over the entrenchments, and planted the first union flag on that stronghold of treason. The men who did this were men of Iowa. The flag borne by them and the first planted on Fort Donelson now hangs over the chair of the speaker of the house of representatives, and will soon be deposited in our State Historical Society as one of the most sacred treasures of the state.

I cannot, therefore, by my silence, acquiesce in the implied assertion of the resolution of your general assembly that any other troops did better service at the capture of Fort Donelson than the troops of Iowa.

Three other Iowa regiments were engaged in the same fight, and although our gallant second, from the fact that they led the charge, deserved and received the greater honor, all did their duty nobly. Elsewhere than at Donelson — at Wilson's Creek, at Blue Mills, at Belmont, and at Pea Ridge — our Iowa men have been tried in the fiery ordeal of battle, and never found wanting. Their well earned fame is very dear to our people, and I trust you will recognize the propriety of my permitting no suitable occasion to pass of insisting upon justice being done them.

I have sent a copy of this letter to his excellency the governor of Illinois.

Very respectfully, your Obdt. Sevt.,
Samuel J. Kirkwood

SOURCES: State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa Historical Record, Volumes 1-3, Volume 2, No. 3, July 1886, p. 327-8;  Henry Warren Lathrop, The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, Iowa's War Governor, p. 180-1, which I believe incorrectly dates this letter as April 8, 1862, since this letter does not mention the Battle of Shiloh, which took place on April 6th & 7th, it is likely that April 3rd is the correct date for this letter.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood’s Second Inaugural Address, January 15, 1862

Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives:

As this is the first time in the history of our State that the same person has been twice elected to the office, the duties of which I have for the second time just assumed, and as the transmission to you of a message in writing, communicating the condition of the State and recommending such matters as seemed to me expedient, was among the last of the official acts of my first term of service, it was for some time a question with me whether it was proper for me, in commencing my second term, to conform to the custom heretofore acted on by incoming Governors of delivering an inaugural address. Upon reflection, I did not feel at liberty to disregard what is a well established, and what is considered a useful, custom.

When, two years ago, I first assumed the duties of my present office, I saw, and in my inaugural address alluded to, the bitter and exasperated feelings existing in certain portions of our country, which have since resulted in the present Rebellion, and pointed out what seemed to me to be some of the exciting causes of that feeling. The people of our country were then about entering upon one of those political contests by which the policy of our General Government is, for a time, determined; and I expressed the belief that this angry and excited feeling would not result in an appeal to arms, but that a people taught as ours have been to yield almost instinctively to the fairly expressed will of the majority would, when the feeling engendered by its contest had passed away, again permit the calm dictates of reason to resume their sway, and that we would again become a contented and happy nation Time has shown that my belief was erroneous, and yet it seems to me it was a reasonable and just belief.

All men know well that the government against which rebellion would be made, if raised at all, was the government which made the least exactions and conferred the most benefits upon its people of any government in the world. All men knew well, and none better than those now in rebellion, that the Administration, whose accession to power their opponents declared they would consider cause for revolt, could not during their term of office, even if so disposed, inflict upon the defeated party any wrong. And it seemed then, and seems yet, to me to be a reasonable and just belief that no portion of a people, so intelligent as ours has claimed to be, could revolt against a government which had conferred upon them only benefits, and against an Administration powerless to injure them. All men know, too, that rebellion must bring upon those engaged in it terrible calamities, if not sure destruction, and it did seem reasonable and just to believe that sane men would not bring upon themselves such results without cause.

Yet there were other things bearing upon this question which we did not know. We did not know, even although we were so told by some far-sighted men — it seemed too monstrous for our honest and loyal-hearted people to believe — that men whom they had delighted to honor, men upon whom they had conferred the high places, even the highest place of honor and profit and trust under our government, could, whilst yet holding these places and pledged in the sight of God and before men faithfully to discharge their trust, and with professions of love and attachment to our government yet warm upon their lips, deliberately conspire to overthrow and destroy that government which they were so strongly bound to protect and defend. I repeat it, our honest and loyal-hearted people could not believe these things to be true: they were to them too monstrously infamous for their belief. They had not yet learned the bitter lesson that honesty, truth, good faith and loyalty were but mere words used by these men as a cover under which to deal, as they hoped, a fatal stab to that government from which they had derived all they ever had of honor or importance. Had this not been so (and although its truth has produced such terrible results, I thank God our people could not then believe it possible), I am well convinced we would to-day have no Rebellion. Had the occupant of the Presidential chair, for the year preceding the 4th day of March, 1861, and his advisers, been true men, and had they done their duty as such and stricken rebellion one honest, downright blow when first it reared its hateful head, we would have to-day a peaceful and united nation. But this, unfortunately, was not so. Treason and imbecility sat in our high places, and surrendered one after another the outposts of the citadel of our strength into the hands of Rebels, until, emboldened by success, they believed the citadel itself to be within their grasp. In this way the Rebellion was encouraged and strengthened, and thousands of men were induced to array themselves upon its side from the conviction that the government was powerless to protect its friends or punish its enemies.

At last, but too late, came a change of administration. Our Government asserted its rights, and gave evidence of its will and power to maintain them, and then came the Civil War that is now upon us.

I need not undertake to point out to you the primary cause which has led to this disastrous issue. Although there may have been many minor causes, all tending to the same end, such as the disappointed ambition of bad men and the lust for power, the clear common sense of our people has seen and accepted the fact that the one great controlling cause of this wicked Rebellion, and of all the fearful consequences which have followed and must follow from it, is the system of Human Slavery. Sophistry cannot disguise this fact, nor argument illustrate it. It is patent, tangible, and sooner or later it must be accepted by our rulers, as well as by our people, and acted on by all. This baneful system, which has wrought such terrible results, was accepted with great reluctance by our fathers as an existing but most unfortunate fact, and its existence recognized and protected by them as such, but surrounded at the same time by influences such as they confidently hoped would soon eventuate in its total and peaceful extinction. That hope has been sadly disappointed. This system, so reluctantly admitted into our form of government, and so antagonistic to its vital principles, has, like a foreign substance in the human body, been to the body politic a source of constant irritation, and has been the real cause of all the heart-burnings and ill-will among our people. Circumstances, not foreseen at the beginning, have fostered and encouraged it. It has been defended, protected and nourished by its votaries with a devotion almost unparalleled, until it has acquired a strength and power which enabled it, at first by stealthy approaches and then by bold attack, to seize the reins of government and control the policy of our people. And when peacefully and constitutionally it was driven from its usurped seat of empire, and the determination expressed that for the future it should be kept in the subordination for which it was originally intended, it revolted and by civil war has sought to destroy the Republic it could no longer control, and from the remains to build a new one in which its empire should be absolute and undisputed.

I have said that our people have seen and accepted these facts, and that the time must come, sooner or later, when our rulers, too, must see them, and when all, rulers and ruled, must act upon them. It is not for us to determine what that action shall be. That is the right and duty of others. But it is for us — it is our right and duty — to advise with those others, and to point out to them the course which, in our best judgments, should be pursued Understand me rightly. I freely accept, and have cordially acted upon, the theory that it is for our rulers to determine the policy to be pursued, and for us to sustain them, even if that policy should not meet our approbation. But it does not follow that we must not advise a change of policy, if our judgment teaches or experience has shown such change to be necessary.

What then, if anything, have we to advise? Let us see where we stand, and what are our surroundings. More than twelve months ago this war upon our government was begun, and it has been prosecuted up to this moment on the one side with fierce vindictiveness, and terrible earnestness. Nothing, literally nothing, has been allowed to stand in the way of the advancement of the cause for which this war has been waged, by those who advocate that cause. Officers of the army and navy, to advance that cause have deserted their flag. Statesmen, to advance it have betrayed their trusts. Among all ranks, acts of fraud, words of falsehood and deeds of violence have been held good and honorable service, if thereby the cause might be advanced, and the entire energies of its advocates have been directed to that single end. The sole question they have asked has been: “What thing can we do which will most effectually and speedily break the strength of our adversaries?” And when that question has been answered, they have as one man done that thing. How have they been met? Until the 4th day of March last past, not only were no steps taken to arrest their progress, but many of those who now are not of and with them, insisted that coercion should not be used to arrest it. After that date although the new admi[ni]stration took prompt and vigorous steps to meet the crises, many people in the loyal States still protested against coercive measures to suppress rebellion, and many others sought, as if expecting to find, some neutral ground on which to stand, some middle ground between loyalty and treason, as if a citizen could be loyal to his government who did not lend his hand to defend it when rebels sought to destroy it But time passed on till Sumter fell and our nation awoke from what appeared to be the slumber of death. With fiery zeal and generous emulation, the young men of all classes and all parties in the loyal States rallied around the government, until today we have under our banner the best army the world has ever seen; ready and eager to meet in battle all enemies who seek the destruction of the Union. And yet it seems to me that we do not bring to this conflict the same directness, the same unity of purpose and action our adversaries do. It seems to me we do not ask ourselves what one thing can we do that will most effectually and speedily break the strength of our enemies? and when that question is answered, do that thing. It seems to me the idea still pervades and controls the minds of many of us that our duty requires of us not only the preservation and protection of the Union, but the preservation and protection of slavery; that we have sometimes feared to strike an earnest blow against rebellion, lest that blow should fall on the head of slavery; that we regard slavery as an essential part of the Union itself, and that the Union would not be worth preserving, unless slavery could be preserved with and remain part of it.

If these things be so, we are yet far from the path that will lead to success. Slavery, the leading cause of this rebellion, is an element of strength or of weakness to the rebels, just as we will it shall be. If we say to the slaves of rebels, we are your enemies, they will remain with their masters and be to them a strength and support. If we say to them, we are your friends, come to us and you shall be free, they will seek to come by thousands, and the armies now standing in battle array against our soldiers, will be needed at home to restrain them. Take the case of South Carolina. Our soldiers are to-day upon her soil. She has a population of about 700,000 souls, more than one-half of whom are slaves. Experience, the best of teachers, has shown that these slaves want freedom, that they look upon our soldiers as friends, and would, if encouraged so to do, flock to our camps by thousands. As the slaves of rebel masters, their labor in the field and in the camp, furnishes the rebel troops with food, and does for them much of that severe camp labor which exhausts the energies of the soldiers and brings sickness upon them. Thus rebellion is strengthened by slavery. Shall we continue to leave it this strength? shall we do more than this? Shall we continue to drive back to their rebel masters these unfortunates, and compel them to be our enemies although they wish to be our friends? Shall we continue to require of our brave soldiers who have gone forth to fight our battles, those exhausting labors that have brought sickness and death to so many of them, when these people stand ready and willing to relieve them if allowed?

It may be said that if we proclaim freedom to slaves of rebel masters, slavery must suffer and may be extinguished. I reply: So be it. The friends of slavery have in its supposed interest thrust this war with all its evils upon the country, and upon them and upon it be the consequences. It may be said the slaves of loyal masters will escape and thus loyal men will suffer loss. This may be, probably will be so. But if we shall be successful in preserving our government, and putting down this rebellion, we can and will make good all losses caused to them by the acts of the government for its preservation. Besides, it is their misfortune and not our fault that they live in sections of our country in which the war is carried on and in which either a majority of the people are rebels, or the loyal men in the majority have suffered themselves to be prostrated and trampled on by the rebel minority. We regret their condition, we pity their misfortunes, we will make good their losses caused by our acts for the preservation of the Union, but we cannot allow the Union to be stricken down because efforts for its preservation may work them present injury. War necessarily brings suffering and loss to the people among whom it is waged. This war brings suffering and loss to the loyal people of all our States, and we all must bear as well and as patiently as we may, until the end, when it will be our duty to repair so far as we may, the losses sustained by loyal men because of their devotion to their country.

I will not be misunderstood. This war is waged by our government for the preservation of the Union, and not for the extinction of slavery, unless the preservation of the one shall require the extinction of the other. If the war were so prosecuted that on to-morrow the preservation of the Union were effected and secured, I would not now wage the war another day. I would not now spend further treasure or further life to effect the extinction of slavery, although I might regret that the war of its own producing had left in it enough of life to leave it to be our bane and pest in the future as it has been in the past. But while this is true, it is also true that if I had the power on to-morrow to end this terrible strife and preserve our Union by the extinction of slavery, while to preserve both would require a month's or a week's or a day's or an hour's further war; the spending of a single additional dollar to the loss of a single additional life; so surely as the Lord lives, this war would close to-morrow. No wife should mourn her husband, no mother her son, no maiden her lover, slain in a war protracted by me a single hour to preserve to rebels that which caused them to commence and which enables them to maintain rebellion. I would not believe that I had, nor do I believe that others have the right, although they may have the power to protract this war in order to preserve that which has caused the war. My deliberate convictions are that to prosecute this war successfully, we must strike directly at slavery, and that the time must soon come when every man must determine for himself which he loves most, the Union or slavery, and must act accordingly.

In the mean time, and at all times, it is our duty to rally around and support the government. We are not of those whose loyalty is doubtful or conditional. We do not say we will support the government if it adopts our views or carries out our plans, and if not, we will become neutral or join the enemy. We support it with hearts and hands and means, although we may doubt its policy, trusting time will demonstrate the correctness of our views, and bring about their adoption if found correct. The giving of honest counsel and the rendering of faithful service make up the duty of all true men.

The war has brought on us severe trials, and others are yet to come. Many of our best and bravest have died upon the battle-field or in the hospital, and many more must die. Our business operations have been interrupted, our markets have been closed, the prices of the products of our industry have been lessened, we have been compelled to wholly forego or materially to curtail the use of some luxuries which, by use, had become to us comforts of life, and these things must continue to be. They are the inevitable attendants of war, and must be borne as they have been borne, bravely, unflinchingly and cheerfully. Life is valuable, but it is intended to be useful; and how can anyone make his life more useful than by giving it for his country? Could our own brave men who died at Wilson's Creek, Blue Mills and Belmont have used their lives in any other way to better purpose than by losing them on those bloody but glorious battle-fields? Their names will live after them, embalmed in the hearts of our children and our children's children, as the names of men who died for their country, and their example will fire the hearts of generations yet to come to deeds of equal and as noble daring.

We are eminently a peaceful and peace loving people, and the interruption of our peaceful avocations of war and its incidents bears hardly upon us; but we must remember, that the only way to bring back and make permanently secure to us that peace we love so well, is to convince those who have thrust this war upon us and to convince all others that although we love peace much, we love our country's honor and the perpetuity of our Union more. But do we exaggerate the evils of our condition? I am well convinced that there is not in the world a people of equal numbers, all of whom enjoy to-day so many of the necessaries and of the comforts of life as are enjoyed by our people. In our own State our cause of complaint is not that we have not enough of the necessaries of life, but that we cannot get high enough prices for what we can spare of our superabundance; not, that we have not food but that we cannot sell to advantage food, we do not need!

But we will have to pay heavy taxes. True, we will and it is equally true we can. We have to do but one thing, and that thing we must do. We must give up the idea of money making to a great extent until this war is over. We must be content to devote to the preservation of the country a portion of all of the surplus we have been accustomed to lay up in years gone by. We may be required to return to customs and expedients for many years abandoned. We may be compelled to do as our fathers and mothers did, clothe ourselves as they did with the products of their farms and their own hands. What then? Our men will be none the less brave, loyal and loving; our women none the less true hearted, lovely and beloved. We may be required to do and may do all these things and yet suffering and want still be far from us. We may be required to do and may do all these things, and yet will not have done nearly so much as our fathers did to hand down to us the rich inheritance we are now striving to transmit unimpaired to our children. And if required, will we not do it promptly and cheerfully?

There may be amongst us a few men who know no impulse of patriotism, have no love of country, and can see nothing but sordid gain! There may be amongst us a few others who, blinded by prejudice, engendered by former political strife, cannot forget that the Government is guided in this struggle for its life by the hands of political opponents, and who would rather see it perish than have it saved by their hands, who will cry peace when there is no peace, and who will endeavor to turn us from the prosecution of this war by continually dwelling upon and exaggerating the misfortunes it has brought and will bring upon us. But these men are few in number and weak in influence. The great mass of our people see clearly and know well that no peace can be permanent which is made by compromising with armed rebels, and which will leave our present territory divided between jealous and hostile nations by such boundaries as it must be if not preserved in its integrity.

I cannot close this address without paying a well deserved tribute to the brave men who represent our State in the great army collected to do battle for our country. We may well be proud of them. We here as officers, and all our people as citizens, should feel that there is much for us to do to maintain that high reputation they have won for our State.

Trace the Iowa First on their weary way to Springfield; see them ragged and hungry but cheerful and ready; listen to their marching song as it rolls along the column, lending new vigor to themselves and their tired comrades; hear their fierce shouts and witness their daring deeds on the field where Lyon fought and fell; witness the heroic spirit of devotion and self-sacrifice with which the Iowa Third at Blue Mills attacked, and the bravery with which they fought the enemy in overpowering numbers to delay that enemy's retreat until expected reinforcements could arrive. See the Iowa Seventh on the bloody field of Belmont, heading the attack and covering the retreat; witness the cheerful endurance, the untiring energy, the indomitable valor of all our troops whenever and wherever tried, and who does not feel proud that he too is an Iowan? We owe these gallant men much. The rank and file of our regiments have never been surpassed. I doubt very much if they have ever been equaled. There is not a company in any of our regiments which does not contain in its ranks men who, in intelligence and moral worth, are the peers of any man who hears me. They have left behind them the comforts and endearments of home, their business, their friends, their all, and have taken their places as privates in the ranks with nominal pay and almost without a hope for honor and distinction. This is patriotism, and I repeat it “to these men we owe much.” It is due to them at least, that all shall be done that our circumstances will allow to promote their health and comfort and I doubt not you will see to it that the debt is paid.

When the war commenced many of us hoped that by this time it would have been completed, or that at least we would be able to see the beginning of that desirable end. But we have been disappointed. The rebellion had greater strength than we supposed. Obstacles have arisen that we had not anticipated, and the end is not yet. But these things should not discourage, and I am glad to say they have not discouraged us. As the greater strength of the rebellion has been developed, we have promptly furnished the greater needed strength to put it down, and if need be Iowa can yet send forth many regiments as brave, as loyal, and as true as those that have already gone. As obstacles have arisen they have been met as brave men meet them. They have been trampled upon and we have passed on. And now when as it seems to us here that all things are ready, we are waiting patiently, but with beating hearts, for the day when the great battle shall be fought — listening intently, and oh! how anxiously, for the battle shout, “God for the right,” which will on that day roll over that battlefield from the brave men who will be privileged there to rally around our dear old flag and strike in its defense, and trusting humbly and confidently that because they will strike for the right, the God of battles will give us the victory!

SOURCES: Henry Warren Lathrop, The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, Iowa's War Governor, p. 193-201; Iowa House of Representatives, Journal of the House of the Ninth General Assembly of the State of Iowa, p. 37-45; Benjamin F. Shambaugh, The Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of Iowa, Volume 2, p. 296-310

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Iowa Legislature


(Special to the Hawk-Eye.)

DES MOINES, March 13, 1862.

The presentation of the Regimental colors of the Iowa 2d, took place in the House this afternoon.  The Senate adjourned and came into the House, and a large assemblage filled the gallery.

When the Governor and Staff entered the House and slowly unfurled the colors, it was greeted with great cheering.

The Governor presented the banner to the Speaker of the House in eloquent language, referring to the imperishable valor of the regiment that bore it so nobly on the bloody and glorious field of Donelson.

The colors could well be entrusted to such troops to add immortal lustre to the emblem of our country.  Who could die a bloodier death than those who fell at Donelson amid the storm of battle?  It should be sacredly preserved in the archives of the State as a memento of the astounding valor and bravery of the Iowa Second.

Col. John Scott of Iowa the hero of Blue Mills battle being called upon paid a fine tribute to the colors.  The entire audience untied in singing the Star Spangled Banner.

Gen. Halleck telegraphed to hurry forward every enlisted man from Iowa immediately.

T. H. S.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, March 15, 1862, p. 3

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

An Irish Patriot

The North Iowa Times publishes an obituary notice of John Lyon, a private in Co. C, 3d regiment Infantry who died at the St. Louis Military Hospital, and says:


He was at the battle of Blue Mills Landing, and behaved himself like a true soldier.  He leaves a wife and three children at McGregor.  It will be remembered that he did not enlist till the morning of the departure of the company, and while the steamer Canada was lying at our wharf ready to carry “the boys” to Keokuk, the writer of this tribute to his memory met him on that morning in soldier’s clothes and inquired  where he was going.  The reply was, “I am going to fight for my adopted country.” “But,” said I, “John, why didn’t you enlist a month ago, like most of your comrades, and not surprise your friends in this way?”  “Because, sir,” said the noble-hearted soldier, “I am too proud to let Relief Committees take care of my wife and children, while I have stout arms to labor for them.  I intended from the first to enlist, but I chose to provide for my little home, rather than to tramp up and down the streets and idle away that time, while they and myself would be dependent upon the liberality of the who public.”

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, February 20, 1862, p. 2

Monday, February 1, 2010

Third Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry

The companies composing the Second and Third regiments of Iowa Infantry Volunteers were organized and ready to respond to the first call of President Lincoln for troops, but as only one regiment from Iowa could be accepted under that call these companies were compelled to wait during the brief time that intervened before the second call was issued. The Second and Third were then ordered into quarters by Governor Kirkwood, and his order was so promptly obeyed that there was but little difference in the dates upon which these three regiments assembled at the designated rendezvous, Keokuk, Iowa. There, on the 8th and 10th days of June, 1861, the ten companies composing the Third regiment were mustered into the service of the United States by Lieutenant Alexander Chambers of the regular army, for the term of three years. On June 27, 1861 — only seventeen days after its last company was mustered — the regiment embarked on the steamers, Gate City and Hamilton Belle, and was conveyed to Hannibal, Mo., there to await further orders. The First and Second regiments had reached Hannibal only a few days before, and were then engaged in taking possession of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, and in preventing the concentration of the bands of rebel troops then being raised in that part of Missouri. The Third Regiment was at once assigned to the same duty. From Hannibal it was transported by rail to Utica, Mo., on the line of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, where it went into camp. Up to this time the Governor had not appointed the field officers of the regiment, and it had been commanded by its senior Captain, Richard G. Herron of Company A, a very capable and efficient officer, and highly esteemed by the officers and men of the regiment. Shortly after arriving at Utica, the field officers were appointed.

Nelson G. Williams, who had received militsary training at West Point, was commissioned Colonel, Capt. John Scott of Company E, a veteran soldier of the Mexican War, was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and Captain William M. Stone of Company B was promoted to Major. The Lieutenant Colonel and Major had been mustered in as Captains at Keokuk, but the Colonel was a stranger to the regiment. Upon assuming command, he proceeded to enforce strict discipline, which, at that time, a majority of the officers and men could not appreciate the necessity for, as they could, and did, later on. The result was a strong feeling of dislike for Colonel Williams. Retaining that feeling of self-respect and manly independence which had characterized them as citizens, and having all their lives been amenable only to the mild restraints of the civil laws, it was not strange that the sudden transition from the comparatively mild discipline to which they had thus far been accustomed, to the most rigid enforcement of the rules and regulations governing the professional soldiers of the regular army, should seem harsh and even cruel. While it soon became evident that the efficiency of the regiment had improved, the stern and autocratic manner of the Colonel created a feeling of prejudice against him which his enforcement of discipline would not alone have created, had his bearing towards his officers and men been less arrogant.

The citizens of Missouri were divided into bitterly contending factions, many adhering to the cause of the Union, and many assuming an attitude of open rebellion. These hostile factions were constantly being organized into armed bodies. It was a most deplorable condition, and the duty of protecting the loyal people of the State devolved upon the Union troops. In the State, thus rent and torn by contending factions, the Third Iowa spent its first summer, autumn and winter. Its operations extended over a wide territory. During the summer, the regiment maintained headquarters, first at Utica, and later at Chillicothe, Brookfield and Macon City, but companies were stationed at different points to guard the railroad and keep it in operation for the transportation of troops and supplies. In the performance of this duty many skirmishes and minor engagements took place. Several expeditions were planned and executed by portions of the regiment, but during its entire campaign in Missouri there were no operations in which the entire regiment was engaged at one time. The regiment suffered much from sickness, and, up to the time when it first encountered the enemy in battle, its greatest loss had been by deaths from disease, and the discharge of men who proved to be physically incapacitated to stand the hardships and exposure incident to a soldier's life. The most important of the expeditions undertaken during the summer were those against considerable bodies of the enemy, commanded by the rebel Generals Thomas Harris and Martin Green, and encamped near the towns of Paris and Kirksville. The first movement was against Kirksville with 500 of the Third Iowa under command of Lieutenant Colonel Scott, and the second against Paris with the balance of the regiment under Colonel Williams. Only partial success was accomplished by these expeditions. The enemy, being mounted and familiar with the country, retired as the Union troops advanced, and could not be drawn into a general engagement.

Some skirmish fighting took place, in which several were killed and wounded on both sides. Prior to these two expeditions portions of the regiment had come into contact with the enemy at Hager's Woods and Monroe, and later at Shelbina and Florida, Mo., in all of which only slight losses were sustained. The compiler of this sketch, then a crude young soldier in one of the companies of the Third Iowa Infantry, was imbued with the same ardent desire which animated his comrades, to meet the enemy in a general engagement. This desire was soon to be gratified. About the middle of September Lieut. Col. John Scott in command of 500 of the Third Iowa left camp and proceeded west to Cameron, Mo. Upon his arrival there, he was ordered to act in conjunction with Colonel Smith, who, with his regiment — the Sixteenth Illinois Infantry — was to meet Colonel Scott at or near Liberty, Mo., and intercept a force of the enemy reported to be marching towards Blue Mills Landing, on the Missouri river, with the purpose of crossing the river at that point and joining the rebel army under General Price. In his official report Lieutenant Colonel Scott details at length the movements of his command from the time he received his orders to the end of the battle of Blue Mills. Colonel Smith was moving from St. Joseph towards Blue Mills, and, at the time Scott left Cameron, had reached a point on his line of march which placed the two commands at about equal distances from Liberty, where they were ordered to intercept the enemy. Smith had sent a courier with a message to Scott, urging him to move as rapidly as possible, and to keep in communication with him. The following extract from Scott's report will explain his movements prior to the battle:

I left Cameron at 3 P. M. on the 15th inst., and through a heavy rain and bad roads made but seven miles during that afternoon. By a very active march on the 16th, I reached Centerville, ten miles north of Liberty, by sunset, when the firing of cannon was distinctly heard in the direction of Platte City, which was surmised to be from Colonel Smith's Sixteenth Illinois command. I had sent a messenger to Colonel Smith from Hainsville, and another from Centerville, apprising him of my movements, but got no response. On the 17th at 2 A. M. I started from Centerville for Liberty, and at daylight the advanced guards fell in with the enemy's pickets. * * *


Lieutenant Colonel Scott continued to advance, the pickets of the enemy retiring before him. They were closely followed and driven to the town of Liberty, which was reached at 7 a. m. The troops were halted on the hill north of and overlooking the town. Scouts were now sent forward to examine the position of the enemy. The only information obtained was that the enemy had passed through the town on the afternoon of the 16th, to the number of about 4,000, taking the road to Blue Mills Landing, and were reported as having four pieces of artillery. Lieutenant Colonel Scott at once sent a courier to Colonel Smith advising him of the situation, and urging him to hasten his command. In the meantime firing was heard in the direction of the landing. This was presumed to be a conflict between the Union troops under General Sturgis and the enemy, disputing the passage over the river; but the firing was being done by the enemy, solely for the purpose of misleading the advancing Union troops, and leading them into making the attack before re-inforcements reached them. This ruse on the part of the enemy had the desired result. Lieutenant Colonel Scott felt that it was his duty to at once advance, but before starting he dispatched another courier to Colonel Smith, advising that officer of his intention to attack the enemy, and urging him to hasten his troops forward in order that he might arrive in time to participate in the impending battle. The following extract from Lieutenant Colonel Scott's report describes the fighting which ensued:

At 12 M. I moved the command, consisting of 500 of the Third Iowa, a squad of German artillerists, and about seventy Home Guards, in the direction of Blue Mills Landing. On the route, learned that a body of our scouts had fallen in with the enemy's pickets, and lost four killed and one wounded. About two miles from Liberty, the advance guard drove in the enemy's pickets. Skirmishers closely examined the dense growth through which our route lay, and at 3 P. M. discovered the enemy in force, concealed on both sides of the road, and occupying the dry bed of a slough, his left resting on the river, and the right extending beyond our observation. He opened a heavy fire which drove back our skirmishers, and made simultaneous attacks upon our front and right. These were well sustained, and he retired with heavy loss to his position. In the attack upon our front the artillery suffered so severely that the only piece — a brass 6-pounder — was left without sufficient force to man it, and I was only able to have it discharged twice during the action. Some of the gunners abandoned the piece, carrying off the matches and primer, and could not be rallied. The enemy kept up a heavy fire from his position. Our artillery useless, and many of the officers and men already disabled, it was deemed advisable to fall back, which was done slowly, returning the enemy's fire, and completely checking pursuit. The 6-pounder was brought off by hand, through the gallantry of Captain Trumbull, Lieutenants Crosley and Knight, and various officers and men of the Third Iowa, after it had been entirely abandoned by the artillerists. The ammunition wagon, becoming fastened between a tree and a log at the road side in such a manner that it could not be released without serious loss, was abandoned. The engagement lasted one hour, and was sustained by my command with an intrepidity that merits my warmest approbation. I have to regret the loss of a number of brave officers and men, who fell gallantly fighting at their posts. I refer to the enclosed list of killed and wounded as a part of this report. The heaviest loss was sustained by Company I, Third Iowa Volunteers, which lost four killed and twenty wounded, being one-fourth of our total loss. Major Stone, Captains Warren, Willett and O'Neil, and Lieutenants Hobbs, Anderson, Tullis and Knight were severely wounded. Lieutenant Knight was wounded three times, but refused to retire from the field, and remained with his men until the close of the engagement. Among the great number who deserve my thanks for their gallantry, I might mention Sergeant James F. Lakin of Company F, who bore the colors, and carried them into the thickest of the fight, with all the coolness of a veteran.


The Third Iowa lost in this battle 96 killed and wounded, out of less than 600 engaged, while the loss of the enemy was reported at 160 out of 4,400 engaged. The enemy fought on the defensive, and had all the advantage in position. Colonel Smith with the Sixteenth Illinois met Lieutenant Colonel Scott's command about three miles from Blue Mills Landing, but his troops were in such an exhausted condition that it was deemed best not to renew the attack. The enemy only followed in pursuit a short distance, and during the night retreated across the river. The compiler of this sketch has a vivid personal recollection of this first battle of the Third Iowa. That it ended in defeat does not detract from the bravery of the officers and men of the regiment. Considering the great disparity in numbers, it was greatly to the credit of its commander, and the best possible evidence of the coolness and courage of his men, that it was able to extricate itself from its perilous position, and to retire from the field in good order. To have longer continued the fight, in the face of such a greatly superior force, would have resulted in such greater loss that the surrender of the small command might have become a necessity. The surviving officers and men came out of this fight with unimpaired confidence in their gallant commander and in their own ability to successfully contend with the enemy under anything like equal conditions. They had here fought against at least seven times their own number, and had inflicted such heavy damage to the enemy as to discourage them from continuing the pursuit and taking the chances of another engagement, when the Third Iowa would have met the re-inforcements coming to its assistance. The next day the dead were buried with military honors, the wounded who were able to bear the journey were conveyed under escort to Cameron, while the most severely wounded were left at Liberty to be later conveyed by steamboat to the government hospital at Fort Leavenworth.

A few days after the battle this detachment of the Third Iowa joined the command of General Sturgis at Kansas City, where Union troops were being rapidly concentrated to resist a threatened attack upon that place by the rebel forces under General Price. Union troops continued to arrive until it became evident to the rebel General that he would soon be acting on the defensive, and, after securing all the recruits that could be induced to join him, he withdrew his army to Springfield, there to await re-inforcements from the South. The Third Iowa was again reunited, and, on account of the large number of men upon the sick list, it was deemed best to give it a change of location and an opportunity to rest and recruit. It was therefore ordered to Quincy, Ill., where it went into camp in a beautiful location just north of the city, and enjoyed a season of much needed rest. The citizens of Quincy extended a cordial welcome to the regiment, the best of discipline was maintained, the health of the men rapidly improved, and at the end of three weeks they were again in such good condition for active service as to fully justify the wisdom of the order granting this short respite from active duty in the field. November 9, 1861, the regiment was transported to St. Louis, and went into quarters at Benton Barracks, a huge camp of instruction, where troops of all arms were being concentrated and prepared for the great campaign which was soon to begin. The barracks were soon overcrowded by the constant influx of troops, and much sickness resulted. The order to again take the field was joyfully received by the regiment, although the duty to which it was assigned involved a winter campaign in northern Missouri. The regiment was selected for this service on account of its past experience in dealing with Missouri rebels. It was important that the line of the North Missouri Railroad should be protected against the frequent raids of rebel bands, who tore up portions of the track, cut down telegraph poles and otherwise seriously interfered with the operation of the road. The companies of the regiment were distributed at stations along the line of the road, and were constantly engaged in protecting the working parties whose regular labor of keeping the track in condition for the passage of trains was greatly augmented by the repairs necessitated by the depredations of the enemy. The rebels infested the country in well-mounted bands, and the road could not have been operated at all, except for the presence of Union troops.

Fort Donelson fell. Iowa troops had won renown in the reduction of that rebel stronghold, while the Third Iowa was still engaged in guarding the North Missouri Railroad. It was not the hardships to which they were exposed in this wintry weather of which the men and officers of the regiment complained, but the lack of opportunity to win honor for themselves and their State on southern battlefields. During this campaign Lieutenant Colonel Scott was serving as a member of a military commission in St. Louis, and Maj. W. M. Stone was in command of the regiment until Colonel Williams — who had been under arrest for several months — returned and took command. He had been tried by Court Martial, upon the charge, preferred against him by certain officers of his regiment, of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman. The court had acquitted him of this charge. While the feeling of prejudice was still strong against the Colonel, his officers and men had come to appreciate the necessity for strict discipline, and were disposed to treat their commanding officer with greater respect. The Colonel had, in the meantime, come to a better understanding of his men, and held them in higher regard on account of the important service they had rendered while he was separated from them. Had such consideration been shown earlier, it would have saved the Colonel much humiliation, and the officers and men of his regiment much annoyance and ill feeling.

On the 3d of March, 1862, the welcome order was received for the regiment to proceed to St. Louis. The scattered companies were concentrated at the regimental headquarters in Mexico, Mo., transportation was provided, and the regiment was in St. Louis the next day, where it immediately embarked on the "steamer Iatan, and was soon on its way to the South. From Cairo, Ill., it proceeded up the Ohio and Tennessee, and soon overtook the large fleet of transports conveying General Grant's army. The boats were greatly crowded, and the impure water of the river had a bad effect upon the health of the men. The result was a large increase of the sick list, and when the regiment went ashore, at Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., on March 17, 1862, it had less than 600 men able for duty.

The regiment was assigned to the First Brigade of the Fourth Division Army of the Tennessee. The other regiments composing the brigade were the Twenty-eighth, Thirty-second and Forty-first Illinois Infantry. Brig. Gen. S. A. Hurlbut was in command of the division, Col. N. G. Williams of the Third Iowa commanded the brigade, while Maj. W. M. Stone was in command of the regiment, in the absence of Lieut. Col. John Scott, who had the misfortune — with many other officers and men of the regiment — to be confined by severe sickness on board the hospital boat "City of Memphis," which lay at Pittsburg Landing. It was very hard for these brave men, many of whom had not sufficiently recovered, at the time the battle was fought, to rejoin the regiment, to listen to the thunder of battle reverberating along the river, and to endure, in addition to the pain that racked their bodies, the mental agony which came with the knowledge that their comrades were bravely fighting, while they could not be permitted to join them.

On the morning of April 6, 1862, the great battle of Shiloh began. The Third Iowa, with the other troops of its brigade and division, was promptly in line of battle, and moved rapidly to the front, where the advanced line of the Union army was already engaged in fierce conflict with the enemy. The division was soon engaged. After a short struggle on its first line of battle, it retired some distance, to prevent being outflanked, and took up its second position, where it fought stubbornly for over five hours and suffered heavy loss. This position at last becoming untenable, it again retired, fighting from one position to another, and keeping well together. Early in the engagement Colonel Williams had his horse shot under him, while gallantly performing his duty as brigade commander. He was entirely disabled for further duty, and was borne from the field, Col. I. C. Pugh of the Forty-first Illinois succeeding him as commander of the brigade. Late in the afternoon Major Stone had his horse shot under him, and he was stunned by the fall, just when the enemy were charging and the regiment was compelled to fall back. The gallant Major was thus cut off from his command and captured. Capt. M. M. Trumbull then took command of the regiment which had become separated from its brigade. Upon reaching its own camp ground, the regiment again faced the enemy, but found itself in the desperate situation of being nearly surrounded. It again retired, fighting its way through its own camp, in which many of its men were killed and wounded, among the wounded being the gallant Captain Trumbull. The casualties among the officers had been so great that only seven Lieutenants now remained upon duty, and First Lieut. George W. Crosley of Company E was the ranking officer in command of the regiment, which continued to fight its way to the rear and, at about 5:30 in the evening, formed on the right of Colonel Crocker's Thirteenth Iowa at the line of last resistance. After dark the regiment rejoined its brigade, and, on the morning of April 7th, again went into action and fought to the close of the battle that day. The next day the dead were collected from the field where they had fallen, and were buried near the regimental camp, with the honors of war. This sad duty performed, details from the regiment assisted in the burial of the enemy's dead, who were found in great numbers, and nowhere did they lie thicker than at the points where the First Brigade of the Fourth Division had fought. Capt. M. M. Trumbull, though still suffering from his wound, resumed command of the regiment shortly after the battle, and wrote the official report, including a list of the killed, wounded and missing. The summarized list shows the loss of the regiment as follows:

"Killed, 23. Wounded, 134. Missing (captured by the enemy), 30. Total, 187 out of 560 engaged. Of the captured, nearly all were wounded. Sixteen of the wounded, who were not captured, died of their wounds in hospital, increasing the death list of the battle to 39. The total loss was one-third of the number engaged."

Captain Trumbull describes the conduct of the regiment during the battle, in detail, and at the close of his report says:

The regiment went into battle on the second day under the command of First Lieutenant G. W. Crosley of Company E, and, as I am well assured, nobly maintained the honor of the flag. Should I designate meritorious officers, I should have to name nearly every officer in the regiment. I think, however, none will feel envious if I specially mention Lieutenant Crosley. I desire to call the attention of the general commanding the divison to the gallantry and good conduct of Sergeant James F. Lakin of Company F, who carried the colors on the first day, and of Corporal Anderson Edwards of Company I, who carried the colors on the second day of the battle.


In his order, thanking the survivors of his division for their good conduct during the battle, Gen. Stephen A. Hurlbut says in part:

Let this division remember that for five hours on Sunday it held, under the most terrific fire, the key point of the left of the army, and only fell back when flanked by overwhelming masses of the enemy, pressing through points abandoned by our supports. Let them remember, that when they fell back, it was in good order, and that the last line of resistance, in rear of the heavy guns, was formed by this division. Let them remember, that on the morning of Monday, without food and without sleep, they were ordered forward to reinforce the right, and that wherever either brigade of this division appeared on the field, they were in time to support broken flanks, and hold the line. Keep these facts before your memories, to hand down to your children when we conquer a peace, and let it be the chief pride of every man of this command, as it is of your General, that he was at Shiloh with the fighting Fourth Division.


The compiler of this sketch has given more space in this brief account of the part taken by the regiment in the battle of Shiloh than he will be able to devote to the subsequent battles in which it was engaged, with equal honor, but, in his judgment, this great historical battle gave to the regiment an experience upon which was based its subsequent splendid battle record.

If the history of its service had ended at Shiloh, the regiment would still have a record of service reflecting great honor and credit upon the military history of the State of Iowa. The regiment welcomed the order which removed its encampment from a gloomy environment, for its old camp ground on the battlefield was in the midst of the graves of both friend and foe, which were constant reminders of the horrors of the tremendous conflict. The enemy had withdrawn to his stronghold at Corinth, only a day's march from the scene of his defeat at Shiloh.

The Third Iowa, with its brigade and division, performed its full share of the arduous service involved in the advance upon and siege of Corinth, resulting in the evacuation of that place on May 30, 1862, and the pursuit of the enemy which followed, and in the campaign the following summer, in which the Fourth and Fifth Divisions of the Army of the Tennessee were constantly associated, ending on the 21st of July, 1862, when these two divisions entered the city of Memphis, Tenn., after a long and toilsome march, which put to the severest test the endurance of the troops. Lieutenant Colonel Scott had resigned June 20, 1862, to accept promotion as Colonel of the Thirty-second Iowa. Colonel Williams had returned and assumed command of the regiment after the evacuation of Corinth, but he had only partially recovered from his injuries at Shiloh, and was really unfitted for the active duties of the campaign. Major Stone had been exchanged, and had resigned to accept promotion as Colonel of the Twenty-second Iowa, and Quartermaster Geo. W. Clark had resigned July 17, 1862, to accept promotion as Colonel of the Thirty-fourth Iowa.

The regiment remained in Memphis until September 6, 1862. The Fourth and Fifth Divisions were now about to separate. Gen. W. T. Sherman expressed his regret in a letter to General Hurlbut, from which the following brief extract is taken:

Permit me through you to convey to the officers and men of your division my deep regret that the necessities of the service should at this time separate our commands. Our divisions were the first to disembark at Pittsburg Landing, and through storm and sunshine we have been side by side. The habit of acting together has made us one command, and I feel in parting from you as though my own division was divided. Your division is composed of good and sturdy men who by their behavior in camp, on guard, on the march and in battle reflect honor and credit on themselves, and their country. Be pleased to assure them that I will hail the change in events that will bring us together again.


Every man and officer of the Fourth Division fully appreciated this compliment. They all loved and honored General Sherman, and were glad to receive his expression of friendship and confidence in them, and in their trusted leader, General Hurlbut.

On the 6th of September the Fourth Division entered upon another long and arduous campaign. It marched to Bolivar, Tenn., where it remained until October 3, 1862. On the morning of that day the enemy was closing in about Corinth, and at 3 a. m. General Hurlbut received orders to march for that place. The order was promptly obeyed and the march was conducted with the greatest energy. On the afternoon of the next day the advanced guard intercepted the enemy, on their retreat from Corinth, and the fighting began just before dark, and the opposing forces lay upon their arms during the night. In the morning, the battle was renewed, and continued until the enemy — who made a most gallant and desperate defense — were completely vanquished, and in full retreat. The Third Iowa Infantry bore a most conspicuous part in this conflict, known in history as the battle of the Hatchie. It was under the command of the brave and intrepid Captain Trumbull, and at a most critical stage of the battle crossed the bridge over the Hatchie River, under a heavy fire, and after crossing again formed line of battle under the fire of the enemy, charged up the steep hill, and drove the enemy from their strong position on its crest. The brave Capt. W. P. Dodd was killed. Capt. E. I. Weiser and Lieut. D. W. Foote, both of whom had been wounded in battle before, were here again severely wounded and permanently disabled. Captain Kostman, Lieutenants Hamil and Anderson were severely wounded. Lieutenant Gary remained in command of his company, after the death of Captain Dodd, though suffering from a painful wound, until the close of the battle. Adjutant Cushman, Lieutenants Scobey, McMurtrie, Burdic, Lakin and Abernethy were all warmly commended by Captain Trumbull for their bravery and efficiency, and Corporal Edwards, who again bravely bore the colors, and seemed gifted with a charmed life, received special mention.

Company A being on detached duty, guarding the supply train, did not participate in this battle. The total casualties in the regiment were 62 killed and wounded. Brigadier General Hurlbut was, soon after the battle, promoted to Major General, and assigned to the command of the Sixteenth Army Corps. The following brief extract from his farewell address will show how he appreciated the officers and men of his old "fighting Fourth Division":

And now a promotion won by your courage and discipline, removes me to a larger command. Remember, every man and officer, that whatever I may have of military reputation, has been won by your valor, and that I wear it as coming from you.


Brig. Gen. J. G. Lauman succeeded General Hurlbut as commander of the division, and Col. I. C. Pugh again assumed command of the First Brigade. The division now returned to Bolivar where it remained until November 1, 1862. Colonel Williams had been with the regiment most of the summer, but his health was very poor, and he was in actual command only a part of the time.

Capt. Aaron Brown of Company F, was promoted to Major October 15, 1862, and Capt. M. M. Trumbull was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel at the same time, but resigned November 20th to accept promotion as Colonel of the Ninth Iowa Cavalry. Colonel Williams resigned on account of disability November 27, 1862, and Major Brown became the regimental commander. The regiment now participated in the famous Mississippi Central Expedition, during which it suffered greatly, particularly on the return march, when it was for several days almost entirely without food.

During the winter of 1863, the regiment was stationed at Moscow, Tenn., and in the spring returned to Memphis. In the meantime Major Brown had been promoted to Colonel, Capt. James Tullis to Lieutenant Colonel, and First Lieut. George W. Crosley to Major. These promotions had all been earned on the battlefield, and the men had full confidence in these officers. The company officers had also stood the test of battle, and their men were ready to follow wherever they might lead, which they fully demonstrated in the great campaign that soon began. On the afternoon of May 18, 1863, the steamer "Crescent City" which conveyed the regiment down the river was fired into by the enemy on shore, and, in the few minutes it was under fire, the regiment had 14 men severely wounded, one of whom died soon afterward. The boat landed at Young's Point May 19, 1863, and, from that time until the close of the Vicksburg campaign, the regiment was constantly engaged in the most active and arduous service it had ever experienced. During the siege of Vicksburg, its division constituted that portion of the investing force on the left of General Grant's army, for forty days. The official reports of Colonel Brown and Major Crosley are among those published by the Adjutant General of Iowa. They describe in detail the operations of the regiment during the siege. Immediately following the surrender of Vicksburg, General Lauman's division was ordered to Jackson, Miss., and took the most important part of any of the troops engaged in the siege which followed. The Third Infantry here suffered a most disastrous loss. It is the saddest chapter in the history of the regiment, and may well be compared with the charge of the "Light Brigade," which Tennyson has immortalized in verse. The division commander, Gen. Jacob G. Lauman, gave the order, as he received it, from Maj. Gen. E. O. C. Ord, who was in command of the Corps. No official investigation was ever made, but the surviving officers and men of the brigade had implicit faith in the honor of General Lauman, and believed he gave the order as it was given to him.

The veteran commander of the First Brigade, Col. I. C. Pugh, promptly gave the order as it was given to him by General Lauman, and the officers and men of the old brigade obeyed the order without a moment's hesitation, as it was their duty to do. "Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do or die." The official report of this bloody engagement was written by Maj. G. W. Crosley, who commanded the regiment after Colonel Brown fell severely wounded. A copy of this report can be found on page 427 of the Adjutant General's report for the State of Iowa.*

The regiment went into action with 223 enlisted men, 15 line and 3 field and staff officers, making an aggregate of 241 rank and file. Out of this number it lost 114, nearly fifty per cent of the number engaged. The regiment was so greatly reduced in numbers that, on the evening of that fatal day, only a little more than a full company of effective men answered to roll call.

Among the killed were the Ruckman brothers, Captain and Second Lieutenant of Company B, and First Lieutenant Hall and First Sergeant Woodruff of the same company, Lieutenant McMurtrie of Company D, Sergeants Gilmore, Dent, Follett, and many others. Among the wounded were Col. Aaron Brown, severely; Major Crosley, slightly; Captain Gary, and Lieutenants Abernethy, Anderson and Irwin, severely. Lieutenant Colonel Tullis was at this time in hospital, suffering from both wounds and sickness. The other regiments participating in this terrible charge were the Twenty-eighth, Forty-first and Fifty-third Illinois Infantry, and the total strength of the brigade was 880, while the total loss was 465.†

The regiment now returned to Vicksburg, and with its division was ordered to Natchez, Miss., where it remained until early in December, and then returned to Vicksburg. Three-fourths of the able-bodied men now re-enlisted, and the regiment became the Third Iowa Veteran Infantry.

Its next important service was upon the famous Meridian expedition during which it was under the command of Major Crosley. The regiment left camp on the 3d of February, and returned on the 4th of March, having In that time marched 328 miles. It left camp with ten days rations, and after that supply was exhausted lived upon such food as could be obtained in the country through which it passed. It had no tents while on this march, and suffered greatly from exposure to frequent storms.

During this expedition, the regiment lost one man killed, one mortally wounded and ten captured, while foraging. Several of the men who were captured subsequently died in Andersonville prison. Soon after the return from this expedition, the non-veteran portion of the regiment (those who had not re-enlisted) were sent upon the Red River Campaign under command of Lieutenant Colonel Tullis, and endured great hardship while participating in the operations of the forces under General Banks in that ill-fated expedition. The regiment was never reunited. The detachment under Lieutenant Colonel Tullis was subsequently sent to Davenport, Iowa, and there mustered out of the service, on the 18th day of June, 1864, three years and ten days from the date of muster in at Keokuk. These officers and men had served faithfully and well, beyond the term for which they had enlisted. Many of them were married men, and it was no disparagement to them that they did not re-enlist. Their record was altogether as honorable as that of their comrades who chose to remain until the end of the war. Their long term of service justly entitled them to the name of veteran, which had been officially bestowed upon those who had re-enlisted. The re-enlisted men, under command of Major Crosley, had previously been sent to Davenport, at which point they had each received a thirty-day furlough. At the expiration of their furloughs they promptly assembled at Davenport, bringing with them a number of recruits, and again proceeded to the front, rejoining their old division at Cairo, Ill., and from there moving by boat to Clifton, Tenn.

From Clifton, the regiment marched with its brigade and division across the states of Tennessee and Georgia, and joined Sherman's army, then moving against Atlanta. At Kingston, Ga., the regiment was reorganized into an Infantry battalion of three companies, designated as companies A, B, and C of the Third Iowa Veteran Infantry, and here (the original term of the regiment having expired) the commissioned officers held a meeting, and, in view of the fact that the reduced number of companies necessitated a proportionate reduction in the number of officers, they all decided to be mustered out and give opportunity for the promotion of the officers of the new organization from the ranks. The subjoined roster will show the names of the men who thus received well-deserved promotion, and the names of those officers who thus honorably retired at the expiration of their original term of service. The battalion was entitled to but one field officer, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and that well-deserved promotion came to Second Lieut. Jacob Abernethy, one of the bravest and best officers of the old regiment. From Kingston, Ga., on to the end of the Atlanta campaign, the Third Iowa Veterans performed splendid service. On the 21st day of July Lieutenant Colonel Abernethy was killed while gallantly leading his little battalion.

On July the 22d, the remnant of these veterans again met the enemy in fierce conflict, and again met with heavy loss. On July 28th, the official reports show that it was again in action with the Thirteenth Iowa Infantry commanded by Col. John Shane. The few survivors were subsequently consolidated with the Second Iowa Infantry, and the gallant Third ceased to exist as a distinct military organization. With the Second Iowa they marched with Sherman to the sea, thence to Washington where they participated in the grand review, and were then ordered to Louisville, Ky. There, on the 12th of July, 1865 — over four years from the date of their muster in at Keokuk — they were mustered out, and the record of their heroic service was ended.

Few of these gallant men remain to peruse this record, but the children of those who made it, and their posterity, so long as heroism and patriotic deeds are cherished and revered among men, will read the story of their bravery, fortitude and great achievements, and thank God that they can trace their lineage to the men who, from 1861 to 1865, confronted the storm of the rebellion, and saved the United States of America from disruption and destruction.


SUMMARY OF CASUALTIES.

Total Enrollment 1109
Killed 76
Wounded 370
Died of wounds 30
Died of disease 109
Discharged for disease, wounds and other causes 270
Buried in National Cemeteries 81
Captured 116
Transferred 24


*Page 604 of Vol. XXIV, Series 1, Official Records of War of the Rebellion.
†Official. See page 575, Vol. XXIV, Series 1, War of the Rebellion.


SOURCE: Roster & Record of Iowa Soldiers During the War of the Rebellion, Vol. 1, p. 283-93

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Colonel John Scott

THIRTY-SECOND INFANTRY.

John Scott, the commander of the Union forces at Blue Mills, Missouri, and one of the chief heroes at the battle of Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, is a native of Jefferson county, Ohio, where he was born on the 14th day of April, 1824. He is a lawyer by profession, and was admitted to the bar in 1845, in Steubenville, Ohio, where he had pursued his legal studies. But, being without means, and seeing less certain subsistence in the practice of his profession, than in the business of teaching, he removed to Kentucky, where, for two or more years, he was engaged in conducting county academies and select female schools. He was a resident of Kentucky, at the time war was declared with Mexico, and volunteered in the 1st Kentucky Mounted Volunteers, Colonel Humphrey Marshall's regiment. The late Colonel W. M. G. Torrence, of the 30th Iowa, who, like Colonel Scott, was then engaged in teaching in Kentucky, was a member of the same regiment. But in his connection with the Mexican service, Colonel Scott was unfortunate. He was one of the party of seventy that, on the 23d of January, 1847, was captured at Encarnacion, and taken to the city of Mexico. He was retained a prisoner of war, until the following October, and then released at Tampico.

At the close of the Mexican war, Colonel Scott returned to Kentucky, and, locating in Mount Sterling, became the editor of the "Kentucky Whig." Soon after his return he published an account of his prison-life. He continued his residence in Kentucky until the year 1856, when he removed to Nevada, Iowa; though two years before he had visited the State in search of a home on free soil. In Kentucky, he was a man of influence — in his congressional district at least; though his principles were such as to attach him to the unpopular party. In the canvass made by General Scott for the Presidency, he took an active part, advocating the claims and merits of that officer; and at that early day he did not fail to warn the people of his adopted State of the suicidal policy of agitating the Slavery question.

In the fall of 1859, Colonel Scott was elected to the Iowa State Senate, to represent the counties of Hardin, Hamilton, Boone and Story, and was a member and holding a seat in that body at the time of accepting a commission in the volunteer service. He entered the war as captain of Company E, 3d Iowa Infantry, but, on the final organization of that regiment, was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy. The early history of the 3d Iowa Infantry, and the part taken in the battle of Blue Mills, Missouri, by Lieutenant-Colonel Scott, in command of that regiment and the other Union forces, appears in the sketch of Colonel Wilson G. Williams.

Lieutenant-Colonel Scott was promoted to the colonelcy of the 32d Iowa Infantry, on the 10th day of August, 1862, and at once joined that regiment at its rendezvous near Dubuque. The 32d regiment, which was enlisted from the Sixth Congressional District, numbered at the time it was mustered into the service about nine hundred and thirty men. It was, as was the case with the majority of the Iowa regiments organized under the call of that Summer, made up from our best yeomanry. The first year and a half of its service was not eventful, and gave the regiment little reputation; for, from October, 1862, the date of its arrival at St. Louis, Missouri, until the month of March, 1864, it was stationed in detachments at Cape Girardeau, New Madrid, Fort Pillow, Columbus, and at other points along the Mississippi, on camp- and post-duty; and it rarely happens that incidents occur on such duty that attract general attention. In the case of this regiment, however, there was one such incident: it was widely talked of at the time; but its history with many was not understood.

It will be remembered that, in the latter part of December, 1862, Colonel, afterward General Forest, with a force estimated at from five to seven thousand men, made his appearance in Western Tennessee and Kentucky. It was on this same raid that Forest threatened Jackson, Tennessee, destroyed some thirty miles of railroad north of that place, and fought with the brigade of Colonel Dunham the battle of Parker's Cross Roads. On the 28th of December, 1862, Colonel Scott, under instructions from General Curtis, left Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to join six companies of his regiment, stationed at New Madrid, and occupying that place. By his instructions, he was to have oversight of the country from New Madrid to Cape Girardeau. On the afternoon of the 28th, he arrived at Columbus, Kentucky, and called on General Davies, then commanding at that place, for the purpose of consulting with him, and obtaining Information. On arriving at head-quarters, he found General Davies in conference with Generals Tuttle and Fisk, (both of the Department of Missouri) and in a state of great apprehension. The general believed the object of the enemy was the capture of Fort Pillow; and, assuming authority from General Curtis, ordered Colonel Scott to abandon New Madrid, and reinforce that place. The colonel remonstrated, and inquired for his authority; but, though the general failed to find the dispatch, he substantiated its substance by General Fisk. The colonel had no choice in the matter, for his duty as a subordinate officer was clear; but, though he entered upon it with apparent alacrity, I venture the assertion, he did not with a fully subordinate spirit. Hence it was that the government property at New Madrid and Island No. 10, was destroyed, in consequence of which, General Carr, unjustly, and without inquiry, placed Colonel Scott under arrest. But the finding of the commission, which was ordered to investigate the matter, was for the colonel a full vindication; for it found that "he did his duty, and was honorably acquitted of all blame." Naturally sensitive, and extremely jealous of his military record, the simple fact of his being put under arrest was a source of great mortification; but, to those who were acquainted with the circumstances, the affair was not only not detracting to him as a military man, but was a recommendation of great value.

I have stated that the 32d Iowa was stationed on camp- and picket-duty a principal portion of the time from October, 1862, until March, 1864. I should not however omit to state that, early in February, 1864, Colonel Scott, with a part of his regiment, accompanied General Sherman on his march to Meridian. In this expedition, and in that one under General Banks up the Red River, the regiment was brigaded with the 14th, and 27th Iowa, and the 24th Missouri. On the Meridian march, there was no general engagement, and, if I mistake not, the 32d Iowa, as a regiment, met the enemy for the first time in the assault and capture of Fort De Russey, an account of which affair is given in the sketch of General James I. Gilbert, formerly of the 27th Iowa.

Colonel Scott, in command of his regiment, sailed from Vicksburg for the mouth of Red River, on the 10th of March, 1864, his regiment forming a part of the 3d Division, 16th Army Corps, commanded by General A. J. Smith. On the evening of the 12th instant, the fleet bearing this command arrived at Simmsport, Lousiana, situated at the junction of Bayou Atachafalya with the Red River, and one of the places through which General Banks passed, while marching to invest Port Hudson.

From Simmsport to Alexandria, General Smith had no other aid or reinforcements than the gun-boat fleet of Admiral Porter; and between these two points was the strong work of the enemy, known as Fort De Russey. But Fort De Russey was captured, and Alexandria reached in safety, on the evening of the 15th instant. Some days after the arrival of General Banks with his command from Franklin, [Louisiana], the combined forces, numbering about fifteen thousand men, moved up the river — those of General Banks by land and the division of General Smith on the gun-boat fleet and transports. General Smith's command arrived at Grand Ecore on the 3d of April without incident; nor had General Banks on arriving at that point met the enemy in sufficient force to offer much resistance. At Grand Ecore, the troops rested for several days, as they had also done at Alexandria. The reason for these delays I have been unable to learn; and it may be true, as was at the time asserted, that General Banks, by his lazy activity, contributed to his own defeat. Report, too, burdens General Steele with a share of the odium; for he should have moved much sooner than he did, and rendered it impossible for the enemy to concentrate at long marches from Shreveport. But Providence, whose galled back has borne the blunders of centuries, was doubtless made the pack-horse of all these disasters, for one of these generals was retained in his command, and the other acquitted without censure. But we can not make history: we can only record it.

General Banks, with the command he had brought with him from the Gulf, marched out from Grand Ecore, on the Mansfield and Shreveport road, in the forenoon of the 5th of April, and two days later was followed by the division of General Smith. On the evening of the 8th instant, General Smith went into camp near Pleasant Hill; and that night every thing was put in readiness for an early and rapid march on the morrow; for, during nearly all that afternoon, he and his troops had heard, indistinctly, the reports of artillery at the front Notwithstanding the battle of Sabine Cross Roads was fought nearly twenty miles in advance of Pleasant Hill, and closed only after dark, yet, before eleven o'clock that night, the affrighted stragglers from the front came swarming past General Smith's encampment. As the night wore on, the confusion increased; and before two o'clock the stampede of footmen, horsemen and teams was appalling. Long before day-light, more than two thousand weak-hearted, terror-stricken men had fled to the rear, rehearsing as they rode or ran their stories of fearful disasters that had befallen General Banks.

In the meantime, those troops who had retained their organizations had hurried back, and a little after day-light had formed a line of battle about one and a half miles west of Pleasant Hill. At about ten o'clock of the following morning, the 32d Iowa, with its brigade, (which, by the way, had been put under arms a little after mid-night,) was ordered to the front, to report to General Banks. That officer turned it over to General Emery, who, sending it out on the Mansfield road, stationed it in the extreme front. Its position was on a small rise of ground, and at right angles with the road. In its rear was heavy timber, and in its front, open fields, which descended to a ravine. Beyond the ravine was timber, in which the enemy was already deployed in line of battle. As I have elsewhere stated, the 32d held the extreme left, and on that regiment's right was the 27th Iowa. The 24th Missouri held the right, and between that and the 27th, was the 14th Iowa, drawn up across the road. Between the 32d and 27th Iowa, was a small ravine, putting down into the one in front, which rendered the position of the 32d in a manner isolated. What made it still worse for the 32d Iowa was the timber, extending nearly up to its left, affording a fine cover for the approach of the enemy's flankers. A few yards in front of the 14th Iowa was the 25th New York Battery, double-shotted, and ready to receive the enemy. I would like to omit its mention; for, on the first dash of the enemy's cavalry, it fled to the rear, breaking through the ranks of the 14th Iowa, and knocking down and injuring several men.

After the line of battle was formed, skirmishers were sent to the front, who promptly engaged those of the enemy; and thus the day passed till about four o'clock in the afternoon, when the enemy's cavalry, galloping from their cover down into the ravine, made for the New York Battery. But when the head of the charging column came up the slope in front, it was received by a volley from almost the entire brigade. It seems hardly possible; but so accurate was the aim that, as was afterward learned by wounded men left in the enemy's lines, only four men of the front company escaped being either killed or wounded. Following this cavalry charge, came the enemy's infantry, in double line, when the desperate struggle begun.

To convey to the mind of the reader a true idea of what followed is impossible; but facts can be stated, which is more than the penny-a-liners, who first recorded the events of the battle, were able to do. Their accounts were disgusting; for so far were they from being correct that they even omitted to mention the names of the troops that did the chief fighting, while they recorded the names of many that fled at the first onset of the enemy. Iowa saved General Banks' army from rout and capture, and yet her brave sons, in any account that I have seen, were no where mentioned. The brigade of the irascible Colonel Shaw held the centre of the Union line of battle — it may be said, constituted that line; for the brigades on both its right and left were not only refused, but thrown many yards to the rear; and as soon as the enemy advanced they retired still further. In this position Colonel Shaw's Brigade received the enemy's infantry, which came up the slope leading to the ravine, in a long, unbroken line. Cheered with the recollections of their successes of yesterday, and seeing but a handful of men in their front, they came with a shout and at double-quick, confident of speedy victory, but their charge was repulsed. They charged once, twice, thrice, and were each time repulsed with slaughter. Disappointed but still determined, they then sought the flanks; when followed the most stubborn and gallant fighting of the day — especially on the part of the 32d Iowa. Making a detour through the woods to their right, (and they met no opposition, for the troops stationed in that quarter had long since retired) the enemy's skirmishers suddenly appeared in the rear of the 32d Iowa. The situation was most critical. Pressed in front, and the enemy closing on its rear, the regiment might have surrendered with honor; but Colonel Scott had been ordered to hold that position at all hazards, and it was not to be yielded. Swinging the left wing of his regiment round hastily to the rear, so that it formed an acute angle with the main line of battle, he presented a front on all sides to the enemy, and was still able to hold his position.

In the meantime, the 24th Missouri, on the right, was flanked, when Colonel Shaw, sending to General Smith for reinforcements, received orders to fall back, as the enemy was already in his rear; but Colonel Scott, from the isolated position of his command and from the fact that the balance of the brigade had yielded considerable ground, failed to be reached by the orderly sent to notify him of the order to retire, and he was left on the ground he had defended so gallantly. He was now surrounded on all sides by the enemy's lines; and why he with his command was not overwhelmed and captured I can not understand. Finally the Union forces rallying drove the enemy back to his original line, when Colonel Scott and his regiment were found on the ground they had been ordered "to hold at all hazards." For more than two hours it had been supposed by all that the regiment was captured; and the surprise and joy of its friends at finding it again in the Federal lines was unbounded. If in the history of the whole war there be an instance equal in all respects to the above, I have failed to learn it.

That I have in no way exaggerated the heroic conduct of the 32d Iowa in this engagement, its list of casualties is evidence. The regiment lost in killed and wounded more than one hundred and sixty, which, excluding the losses of its own brigade, exceeded the losses of General Banks' entire army. More than two-thirds of the 32d Iowa were put out of battle.

Lieutenant-Colonel Edward H. Mix was killed; and a majority of the line officers were either killed or wounded. Among those killed were Captain Amos B. Miller, Captain H. F. Peebles; Lieutenant Thomas O. Howard and Adjutant Charles H. Huntley. Captain Ackerman, and Lieutenants Devine and Wright were severely wounded.

Among the enlisted men, distinguished for their merit, who fell in this engagement, were Sergeants Hull, Goodell and Kane; Corporals Ballou, Modlin and Pettibone; Privates Anderson, Hoyt, Hewett, Hutchinson, Wood, and many others.

The night after the engagement, General Banks in council with his chief officers declared it impossible for the expedition to proceed further, and the next morning begun the memorable retreat. It is not so strange that the rebel chiefs, during that same night, came to the conclusion that the result of the day's fighting was against them, and that further resistance to the advance of the Federal army at that point was useless; for they had been defeated, notwithstanding the lack of energy (I can not say spirits) and co-operation on the part of the Federal general officers. Before day-light on the morning of the 10th of April, both armies began to retreat; and, to facilitate their flight, the Confederates spiked several of their cannon. But they soon learned their mistake, and returned, their advance reaching the hospitals, in which the Union wounded had been left, at about nine o'clock in the morning. From that time until General Banks reached Simmsport, they remained his master; and had it not been for an insignificant lieutenant-colonel who rescued the gun-boat fleet and transports they might have been his captors; for these he was not allowed to abandon.

On the return of the Red River Expedition, Colonel Scott tendered his resignation, which was reluctantly accepted, on the 31st of May, 1864. He was impelled to this course, I am informed, from the loss of his health in the recent campaign, and from the urgent claims of his family, which was broken up and in need of a home. He is at present living on his farm in Story county, and engaged in sheep-raising and horticulture. The following is from the history of the regiment published in the Adjutant-General's report for the year 1865:

"On the 14th of July was attacked by the enemy at Tupelo, Mississippi. Repulsed him with a loss to the regiment of four men wounded. July 15th, the regiment started back to La Grange, and camped at Old Town Creek, where it was attacked by the enemy, again repulsing him. Arrived at La Grange July 22d and at Memphis on the 24th. Left by railroad for Holly Springs, Mississippi, August 4th, and after marching to Waterford, Abbeville, Oxford, and back to Holly Springs, arrived at Memphis on the 30th.

"From September 5th to October 4th, the regiment was on the move to Jefferson Barracks, De Soto, and other points, and from October 2d to the 18th it was constantly marching to different points in Missouri. October 25th it left Saint Louis, Missouri, on transports for Nashville, Tennessee, and on arriving at that point immediately began intrenching. * *

"The regiment has traveled five thousand five hundred and ninety-four miles, two thousand three hundred and thirty-two miles of the distance on foot with the army. Its aggregate present for duty is three hundred and fifty-nine. Aggregate when mustered into service was nine hundred and eleven. Has received since muster-in two hundred and seventy-seven recruits: lost ninety-three men in battle, one hundred and seventy-seven by disease, one hundred and twenty-two discharged, twenty-nine transferred, and one missing. It is armed throughout with good, serviceable Springfield rifled muskets and complete accoutrements. Health and condition of clothing and camp equipage of the regiment is good."

Later, the regiment fought at the battles around Nashville, and then accompanied Smith to New Orleans, and took part in the capture of Mobile. During these operations it was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel G. M. Eberhart a son of the Rev. S. R. Eberhart formerly chaplain of the 12th Iowa Infantry. He is reported a most excellent officer.

I have seen many of the "Iowa colonels," and among others, Colonel John Scott. This is how it happened. The old Gladiator, which was returning me to my regiment at Memphis, stuck on a sand-bar above Devil's Island; and I put into Cape Girardeau for better quarters. On walking up into the St. Charles, I saw, perched in a chair in the north-east corner of the bar-room, a man that attracted my notice. His chair was tipped against the wall, one foot stuck on the front stretcher, and the other thrown across the leg thus supported. His elbows were resting upon the arms of the chair, his head thrown forward, and his hat drawn over his eyes. In the small space between his lap and his face was a newspaper, which he was reading. I thought I never saw a man doubled up so before, and walked round to take a better look at him; when, my impudence attracting his attention, he looked up to me as much as to say: "Who are you?" A prominent trait in his character I read in that glance.

Colonel Scott is a man of middle size, and compactly built. His hair and whiskers are more red than sandy, and his eyes gray and sharp. His round, florid features are set off by a pair of gold-mounted spectacles.

I believe him to be among the ablest and best informed men of Iowa; and yet he has that sort of something about him which has kept him back. It may be the trait to which I have alluded; for he is incorrigibly suspicious, and never gives his confidence to a stranger. When I wrote to him for information relative to his biography, he replied: "If I can be convinced that the book is not to be a catch-penny affair, I will furnish data;" but I could never convince him of that, and for what I have I am indebted to one of his friends. One thing is certain, Colonel Scott was never intended for a politician; and why, I believe, we heard no more of him in the army is, he always stayed at his quarters, and minded his own business. I venture the assertion that he never asked to be made a brigadier-general. Had he less of the negative about him, it would be well; for, with the same honesty, he would be a much more popular and useful man in society.

Colonel Scott's military record is without blemish. He was brave, a fair tactician, and a good disciplinarian.

SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 475-86