Fourth Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry

The Fourth Iowa Infantry was organized under the proclamation of the President, dated May 3, 1861. The companies composing the regiment were mustered into the service of the United States at Camp Kirkwood, near Council Bluffs, Iowa, and at Jefferson Barracks, near St. Louis, Mo., on different dates, ranging from August 8, 1861, to August 31, 1861. The discrepancy in the dates and places of muster in of the companies is accounted for by the official records in the office of the Adjutant General of Iowa, which show that Colonel Dodge was ordered to employ the companies which first reached the designated rendezvous at Council Bluffs, in an expedition to the southern border of Iowa, to repel a threatened rebel invasion of the State. In his official report, the Colonel states that the rebel force, that was being organized, disbanded and scattered upon the approach of the Iowa troops, and the object of the expedition was accomplished without a conflict. In the meantime the other companies, as they arrived at rendezvous, were ordered to proceed to St. Louis, in pursuance of orders from General Fremont, the exigencies of the service requiring the rapid concentration of troops at that place. By the 15th of August, all the companies, except I and K, had reached Benton Barracks. Colonel Dodge further reports that the eight companies which had reached the barracks left there on the 24th of August, for Rolla, Mo., where they joined the troops being concentrated there, and became a part of the Army of the Southwest under General Curtis. The remaining companies — I and K — were not mustered into the service until August 31st and did not leave Benton Barracks until September 13th, when they were sent forward to Rolla, where the full ten companies composing the Fourth Iowa Infantry were for the first time in camp together.

It will thus be seen that — as a full regiment — it had lacked even the brief opportunity for drill and instruction which the three regiments which were first organized in Iowa had been given while in their camps at Keokuk, and that it had to acquire such instruction after taking the field, and in the presence of the enemy. Detachments, consisting of one or more companies of the regiment, were sent out upon reconnoitering expeditions, from time to time, while encamped at Rolla, but no important movement against the enemy was undertaken until January 22, 1862, when the regiment started upon a winter campaign which was to put to the severest test its fortitude, courage and endurance of hardships.

General Curtis was in command of the Union troops, and by vigorous marching endeavored to overtake the rebel army under General Price. It was confidently expected that a battle would occur at Springfield, Mo., but the enemy continued to retreat towards the Ozark mountains, with the Union army following closely in his rear. At Sugar Creek, the advance of General Curtis came up with the rear guard of the enemy, and a brisk engagement ensued, in which the Fourth Iowa — with the brigade to which it belonged — supported the cavalry and artillery which led the advance, and drove the enemy from the field. After repeated maneuvers to gain advantage of position, the two armies at last confronted each other, and it became evident that a great battle was impending. The rebel army, having reached its chosen ground — a strong position at Cross Hollows, near the town of Fayetteville, Ark. — and being reinforced by fresh troops, and bands of savages from the Indian Territory, halted, and awaited the attack of the Union Army. But, instead of making a direct attack, General Curtis, by a skillful movement, succeeded in completely flanking the enemy's position, and making it untenable, and the rebel army was again compelled to retreat.

Subsequently General Curtis' troops were stationed, by divisions, at considerable distances apart, in order to obtain supplies from the surrounding country, and the enemy, taking advantage of this situation, was preparing to attack these separated forces and prevent them from being concentrated. They succeeded in passing the extreme right flank of the Union army during the night of March 6th, but General Curtis was apprised of the movement in time to change front and partially concentrate his forces, and, on the morning of March 7, 1862, the two armies again confronted each other, on the high ground of Pea Ridge, and, after some preliminary maneuvering on both sides, the battle began, and continued during that day and part of the next, ending in a complete victory for the Union army. The following extract from the official report of the part taken by the Fourth Iowa Infantry in the battle of Pea Ridge shows how well the regiment acquitted itself, and how nobly it maintained the honor of the State of Iowa on that field:

On the morning of the 7th of March, it was known that the enemy was advancing and attacking our army in the rear, when the regiment, in pursuance of orders from Colonel Dodge, marched about two miles from camp, and took position near the Elkhorn Tavern, on the right of the brigade, and to the right of the Springfield road going north, near the southern outlet of the Ozark Pass. Two companies were deployed as skirmishers to the front, and soon became desperately engaged with the enemy, who poured shot, shell and minie balls into their ranks incessantly, for two hours, but owing to the dense timber, our loss at this point was not very great. The left wing of the division, and also the left of Colonel Dodge's brigade, was now desperately engaged. Colonel Dodge ordered his lines to be closed, and awaited the attack, in the meantime keeping his skirmishers, and one section of the First Iowa Battery at work until about 2 o'clock, when the enemy ceased firing and drew back. Colonel Dodge changed front to the right, which left the regiment on the extreme right of the brigade, as well as of the whole army. The line being formed and our skirmishers drawn in and in their places in line of battle, the regiment in common with others awaited the concentrated attack of the enemy, whom we saw preparing for it. We did not wait long. The attack was made with apparently ten times our number, accompanied with the most terrific cannonading with grape, canister, solid shot and shell. For full three hours the regiment stood under this terrible fire, which dealt death to its ranks. The regiment being flanked on the right by a greatly superior force of the enemy, and their artillery being in a position to completely enfilade its lines, and the left wing of the division having fallen back to the open fields, leaving the left exposed, which was also flanked, it was compelled to fall back obliquely to the right, which it did in good order, fighting its way out, hard pressed by the overwhelming numbers of the enemy, to the open fields, where it was met by General Curtis who ordered it to fix bayonets, and charge back upon the enemy, which it did gallantly, eliciting from the General in his official report this highest meed of praise. "This regiment won immortal honors." It being now dark, and the enemy having ceased firing, the regiment, after having lost in killed and wounded almost one-half of those actually engaged, marched back to camp, partook of a scanty repast, and. immediately commenced preparations for the deadly conflict impending for the succeeding day, filling their cartridge boxes, and cleaning their guns, which had become very foul. This being done, the regiment was marched back, and bivouacked on the field until daylight, soon after which the fight was resumed by artillery. The regiment took its place again to the extreme right, marching forward in line of battle, pursuing the enemy, who commenced retreating early. It pursued the enemy until it had orders to halt. Soon after this orders were given to march back to the battle ground of the previous day and go into camp. The mention of individual acts of bravery could not be made without being invidious.


The report from which the above extract is made was written by Col. J. A. Williamson who succeeded Lieutenant Colonel Galligan, who commanded the regiment, and was wounded in the battle. Colonel Dodge, in his official report as commander of the First Brigade, says:

The list of killed and wounded in the brigade shows that it fought against fearful odds, and disputed the field with great stubbornness. Every field officer in the brigade was disabled, and had to leave the field, and only two Lieutenants were left in the battery.*

Lieutenant Colonel Galligan rendered efficient service in holding the Fourth Iowa firm, no part of which gave an inch, until the whole was compelled to fall back. I wish to mention especially the bravery and valor of Capt. H. H. Griffith (acting Major) and of Lieut. J. A. Williamson, Brigade Adjutant; also of private, J. W. Bell, Adjutant's clerk, Fourth Iowa, who fell mortally wounded while nobly doing his duty. The conduct of the above named officers came under my personal observation. All did well and fought nobly, in winning a great battle. Capt. W. H. Kinsman with Company B, Fourth Iowa, and two companies of the Twenty-Fourth Missouri, were detached from the brigade and deployed as skirmishers on the extreme left of the division, holding the high ridge on our left flank, which he did efficiently, and with great good judgment, against a greatly superior force of the enemy.


After the battle of Pea Ridge, the regiment remained in camp for several weeks. Col. G. M. Dodge was promoted to Brigadier General shortly after the battle, and Adjutant J. A. Williamson succeeded him as Colonel of the regiment, and Captain Burton succeeded Lieutenant Colonel Galligan, who had resigned. The regiment marched with the army to Helena, and participated in all the hardship and suffering of the succeeding campaign. It remained at Helena during the greater part of the summer and autumn of 1862. It subsequently joined General Sherman's army in the movement down the Mississippi River, against Vicksburg, in which it bore a most conspicuous part. On December 28 and 29, 1862, it participated in the desperate fighting at Chickasaw Bayou, suffering severe loss, and duplicating its record of gallantry at Pea Ridge. On the 10th and 11th of January, 1863, it again engaged in battle at Arkansas Post, after which it returned to Young's Point, landing there January 22, 1863, remaining there and below there at Gregg's Plantation until April 2, 1863, when it went 150 miles up the Mississippi River to Greenville, and from there engaged in the Deer Creek Valley Expedition. Returning to Milliken's Bend, it started on the active campaign against Vicksburg by way of Richmond, La., and Grand Gulf, Miss., to Jackson, Miss., and thence moved to Vicksburg, and became part of the investing force on May 18, 1863.

It engaged actively in the siege operations until the surrender July 4th, when it marched to Jackson and participated in the siege operations there, until the evacuation by the enemy July 16, 1863. After the fall of Jackson, the regiment went into camp on Black River, fourteen miles in rear of Vicksburg, where it remained from July 29, 1863, until September 22, 1863, when it embarked on steamer and proceeded to Memphis, Tenn., from which place it began the march ending at Chattanooga, Tenn., where it arrived November 23, 1863. The regiment participated in the battle of Lookout Mountain, November 24, 1863, in the battle of Missionary Ridge, November 25th, and in the battle of Ringgold on the 27th. On the 3d day of December, 1863, it went into camp at Bridgeport, Ala., and later moved from there to Woodville, where it remained in camp until the 26th of February, 1864, when it was ordered to proceed to Des Moines, Iowa, and report through the Governor of the State to the superintendent of recruiting service, for furlough and reorganization, and at the expiration of the thirty days' furlough — to begin after the regiment reached Des Moines — the regimental commander was ordered to report to Brigadier General Osterhaus, commanding First Division, Fifteenth Army Corps, in the field. In compliance with this order, the veteran soldiers of the Fourth Iowa returned to their State, and enjoyed to the fullest extent the brief respite from the toils and dangers of war, at their own homes, and with their families, and the loyal friends of the cause for which they had suffered and endured so much, and for which they would continue to suffer and endure, until the enemies of the Union should be completely conquered, and a lasting peace secured. At the expiration of its furlough, the regiment returned to the field, and rejoined its brigade and division at Nashville, Tenn., from which place It moved forward and participated actively in the great campaign which led up to the siege and culminated in the fall of Atlanta.

From Atlanta began the remarkable campaigns in Georgia and the Carolinas, and the march with Sherman to the sea, in which the Fourth Iowa Infantry had its full share. The regiment participated in the battles of Columbia, S. C, and Bentonville, N. C, and continued on the march to Richmond and thence to Washington, where it marched, with many other Iowa regiments, in the grand review of the battle scarred and war worn soldiers of the armies of the West.

After remaining for some time in camp near Washington, the regiment proceeded to Louisville, Ky., where it was mustered out of the service July 24, 1865, having served nearly four years. The compiler of this brief historical sketch of the service of this splendid Iowa regiment has made diligent search among the official records, and has found a mass of reports, and correspondence connected directly with the history of its service, which — but for the limitations under which he is working — would enable him to increase this sketch to the proportions of a good sized volume. In response to the request of the Adjutant General of Iowa, near the close of the war, Col. J. A. Williamson wrote a condensed report of the operations of the regiment, which extended over a very wide field, in many southern states, but could not give a list of "posts" occupied. He says, "I can hardly realize the meaning of the term as connected with this regiment. We have stopped from time to time to rest, after an active campaign, but never had charge of any post, or fixed camp, from the time the regiment was really equipped for the field at Rolla, Mo., in the fall of 1861." Only those who have had the same experience can realize the feeling, which old soldiers had in common, that it was useless to make definite calculation upon remaining even a single day in one locality. While troops did remain in the same camp, sometimes for weeks, or months, they never knew how quickly a change would be made, and therefore, in time of war, the soldier's life is very much the same as that of the Nomads, ready to break camp and to move upon the shortest notice. Such was, in a most pronounced degree, the experience of the Fourth Iowa Infantry during its long period of service from 1861 to 1865.

The subjoined roster, summary of casualties, list of those buried in National Cemeteries, and of those who were captured by the enemy and confined in rebel prisons, have been carefully compiled from the official records.

The paragraph after each name in the roster gives briefly the history of the service he rendered, and the descendants of the soldiers of this gallant regiment may here learn how well and faithfully they served their country in her hour of greatest need, and know that a great and grateful commonwealth has herein discharged a high duty to the memory of her brave sons.

Inseparably connected with the history of this regiment is that of the man who first commanded it, and under whom it won its first glorious victory. Subsequently he won high honor as a General and enjoyed the personal friendship and confidence of President Lincoln and General Grant. Since the close of the war, he has achieved fame and distinction in civil life. Through all his career he has cherished the memory of the men of his old regiment, and has — from time to time — given evidence of his abiding friendship for them. This is therefore an appropriate place to record the official military history of Iowa's most distinguished soldier. The record is compiled from the files of the War Department in Washington and of the Adjutant General's office of the State of Iowa, and is therefore officially correct.


MILITARY RECORD OF MAJOR GENERAL GRENVILLE M. DODGE.

Captain Council Bluffs Guards July 15, 1856.

Appointed Colonel Fourth Iowa Infantry June 17, 1861, and ordered into camp at Council Bluffs.

Commissioned Colonel Fourth Iowa Infantry July 6, 1861.

During July marched with part of his regiment to Missouri State line against Poindexter, who, with 1,200 Confederates, was threatening Southwestern Iowa. Poindexter retreated when Dodge approached.

Reported at St. Louis with Fourth Iowa Infantry August 13, 1861.

Proceeded to Rolla, Mo., August 24, 1861.

Assigned to command of post at Rolla, October 9, 1861.

Commanded expeditions to Houston and Salem, November 1, 1861. Enemy defeated in both engagements.

Wounded in left leg, December 15, 1861.

Assigned to command of First Brigade, Fourth Division, Army of Southwest, January 21, 1862. Advanced to Springfield. That place occupied February 13, 1862.

In engagements at Sugar Creek, February 17, 1862, and Cane Creek, February 20, 1862.

Defeated Gates' command at Blackburn's Mills, February 27, 1862.

Battle of Pea Ridge, March 6, 7 and 8, 1862. Wounded in right side.

Commissioned Brigadier General of Volunteers, March 31, 1862.

Reported to Major General Halleck at Corinth, June 6, 1862, and ordered by him to report to Brig. Gen. W. F. Quimby, commanding District of Columbus, to rebuild Mobile & Ohio Railroad.

June 28, 1862, assigned to command of Central Division, Army of Tennessee, with headquarters at Trenton, Tenn.

Finished rebuilding Mobile & Ohio Railroad in August and built stockades and earthworks at all its important bridges and stations.

During the time in command at Trenton the captures of Dyersburg, Huntington and O'Brien were made, and Villipigue was defeated on the Hatchie River.

September 29, 1862, by order of Maj. Gen. U. S. Grant, was assigned to the command of the District of Columbus, Ky.

Captured Colonel Faulkner and his command at Island No. 10. Also captured the State troops and conscripts, some 1,400 in number, twenty-three miles west of New Madrid.

October 30, 1862, assigned by order of Maj. Gen. U. S. Grant to command Second Division Army of Tennessee, at Corinth, Miss.

November 15, 1862, assigned to command of the District of Corinth, by order of Maj. Gen. U. S. Grant.

Extensive fortifications and important works in and around Corinth finished while holding that command.

December 1, 1862, a combined movement was made from Holly Springs and Corinth in which his troops captured Tupelo and Okolona, Miss., defeating the enemy and capturing the stores at those places.

December, 1862, by order of Maj. Gen. U. S. Grant, moved to Lexington and Spring Creek, Tenn., driving Forrest across the Tennessee River.

February, 1863, attacked Van Dorn's column at Tuscumbia, Ala. Place was captured with its stores, artillery, etc.

April, 1863, in command of Second Division, part of Fifth Division and portion of Cavalry Division of the Sixteenth Army Corps. Made expedition in Northern Alabama, defeating the forces of the enemy in the Tuscumbia Valley. During the movement the fights at Bear Creek, Cherokee, Burton Station, Leighton and Town Creek occurred. Immense quantities of stores for Bragg's army were captured and destroyed.

April, 1863, Chalmers and Ruggles were attacked and defeated at Tupelo.

June, 1863, crossed the Tennessee River at Savannah. Moved into Van Dorn's rear. Captured the town of Florence, defeating its garrison.

June 19, 1863, attacked Furgeson's command on Big Muddy, and stopped raid on Memphis & Charleston Railroad. Fighting was severe and loss considerable.

July 8, 1863, assigned to command of left wing Sixteenth Army Corps with headquarters at Corinth.

July 14, 1863, defeated a portion of Roddy's command at Jackson, Tenn., and captured a large number of prisoners.

August 15, 1863, made raid on Granada, Miss., capturing a large number of locomotives, cars, railroad stocks, stores, etc., and defeated the enemy at Water Valley and Granada.

While in command at Corinth organized and mustered into the service First West Tennessee Cavalry, First Alabama Cavalry, First Alabama Colored Infantry, and several companies of colored troops for siege artillery.

October 30, 1863, command was attached to command of Major General Sherman then moving into Middle Tennessee.

During months of November and December, 1863, rebuilt Nashville & Decatur Railroad, also pontoon bridges across Tennessee River at Decatur, Ala., and the Duck and Elk rivers, and constructed good and substantial earthworks and stockades at all the important bridges and points. During this time the command had several engagements with the enemy, and captured and fortified Decatur, Ala.

January, 1864, organized and mustered into service Second and Third Regiments Alabama Colored Infantry.

May 5, 1864, in command Sixteenth Army Corps in the field at Atlanta campaign. Took part in the battles and engagements at Ships Gap May 6th, Snake Creek Gap May 9th, Resaca May 11th, Estounula River May 12th, Kenesaw Mountain, Roswell, Decatur July 21st, Atlanta July 22d, Ezra Church July 28th.

Commissioned Major General June 7, 1864.

Wounded in head August 19, 1864.

October 14, 1864, ordered to City Point, Va., to visit General Grant.

November 3, 1864, assigned to command of District of Vicksburg and to command of left wing Sixteenth Army Corps.

December 2,1864, assigned to the command of Department and Army of Missouri.

December 9, 1864, commissioned Major General Missouri State Militia.

January 30, 1865, Department of Kansas added to Department of Missouri.

Gen. Jeff C. Thompson surrendered Confederate forces in Arkansas.

During January, February and March, 1865, made Indian campaigns on the plains, opening up the stage lines and rebuilding telegraph lines which had been destroyed by the Indians.

1865-66, made Indian campaigns extending from Arkansas River on south to Yellowstone on north. In these campaigns several severe battles were fought by forces under Generals Sanborn, Ford, Conner, and Colonels Cole, Walker and others. Treaties of peace were made with the Comanches, Apaches, Southern Cheyennes, and other Southern Tribes, and a council was held with the Northern Cheyennes, Arapahoes and Sioux at Fort Laramie, and basis for treaty agreed upon. For services in this campaign received the thanks of the Legislature of Iowa.

Resigned March 1, 1866.

Accepted May 30, 1866.


SUMMARY OF CASUALTIES.

Total Enrollment 1557
Killed 61
Wounded 338
Died of wounds 54
Died of disease 239
Discharged for wounds, disease and other causes 333
Captured 49
Buried in National Cemeteries 136
Transferred 37


*Colonel Dodge was himself wounded in the right side.


SOURCE: Roster & Record of Iowa Soldiers During the War of the Rebellion, Vol. 1, p. 527-33

Colonel William M. G. Torrence

SECOND COLONEL, THIRTIETH INFANTRY.

William M. G. Torrence, the successor of Colonel Abbott to the colonelcy of the 30th Iowa Infantry, was the eighth of the Iowa colonels who lost their lives in the service — Worthington, Baker, Mills, Dewey, Kinsman, Abbott, Hughes, and Torrence. Of those who lost their lives in battle, he was the fifth — Baker, Mills, Kinsman, Abbott, and Torrence.

Colonel Torrence was a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, where he was born the 1st day of September, 1823. His parents were Presbyterians, of which church he was also a member. His mother died in his early infancy, and left him to the kind care of an esteemed and most worthy sister, who reared him with almost maternal tenderness.

In early manhood, he left his native State for Kentucky, where he became a school-teacher; and in this capacity he passed several years. He was engaged in school-teaching in Kentucky, at the time war was declared against Mexico; but, like Colonel Scott of the 32d Iowa, left the school-room and volunteered. He was a first lieutenant in that war, and a member of the 1st Kentucky Mounted Volunteers, commanded by the portly, perfidious Humphrey Marshall. His cool judgment and commendable courage in action won him distinction. He was highly complimented for the part he acted at the battle of Buena Vista, being tendered a commission in the regular army of the same rank as that which he held in the volunteer service; but he declined the honor, and, at the close of the war, returned home with his regiment.

In the latter part of 1847, Lieutenant Torrence came to Iowa, and settled in Keokuk, where he resumed his former occupation, and where he made his home till the outbreak of the rebellion. During his residence in Keokuk, he was for several years City Superintendent of Public Instruction. In the spring of 1861, he enlisted a company (A) for the 1st Iowa Cavalry, and was in June commissioned major of the first battalion of that regiment. In the winter of 1861-2, he served with his battalion in Central Missouri, and had command of posts in Howard, Pettis and Cooper counties. At Silver Creek, in January 1862, he engaged and defeated the rebel Colonel Poindexter, capturing and destroying his camp and his train. While a member of the 1st Iowa Cavalry, he served with credit to himself, and was equally successful as a post-commandant, and as a leader of expeditions to hunt out and punish guerrillas. He was a terror to the Missouri bushwhackers.

On the 3d of May, 1862, for reasons unknown to me, Major Torrence resigned his commission, and returned to his home in Keokuk.

After the call of the President for additional troops in the summer of 1862, Major Torrence again volunteered, and was made lieutenant-colonel of the 30th Iowa Infantry. In October, 1862, he accompanied his regiment to the field, and was with it in all its subsequent campaigns and engagements. At Arkansas Post, where he commanded his regiment, he particularly distinguished himself; and at the memorable charge against the enemy's works at Vicksburg, where Colonel Abbott was killed, he bore himself with equal gallantry. On the 29th day of May, 1863, he was commissioned colonel of the 30th Iowa; and, from that day till the 21st of October, 1863, he remained in command of his regiment.

The history of the 30th Iowa during the colonelcy of Colonel Torrence covers the siege of Vicksburg; the march to Jackson under General Sherman after the surrender of Vicksburg, and a portion of the march from Memphis to Chattanooga. It was on the last named march that the colonel was killed.

An account of all the above operations has already been given in the sketches of other officers and regiments, and can not be repeated with interest. This however should be said in justice to the 30th Iowa: no regiment from the State surpasses it in gallant and meritorious services; and, of the Iowa troops called out in the summer of 1862, no regiment has done more fighting, and few have done as much. In the face of the enemy, it has always conducted itself with conspicuous gallantry, challenging the admiration of both its brigade and division commanders. From the time of its entering the field to the present, the 30th has served in the same division with the 4th, 9th, 25th, 26th and 31st Iowa regiments.

The services of the 30th Iowa, and of the Iowa troops before Vicksburg, were arduous and exhausting. After operations had settled down into a regular siege, the troops suffered chiefly from the intense heat in the trenches, and from the want of good water. The labor in digging the approaches, and of constructing new forts and planting artillery, was the hardest and most dreaded. The Federal camps were so securely established back behind the hills, as to render them comparatively safe from the enemy's scattering musketry, and from the ponderous missiles of their artillery. The skirmish-line was the place of chief danger; and yet, the skirmish-line was the scene of much amusement. Regiments took their regular turn on the skirmish-line, every two or three days, usually going out in the morning, and holding their posts for twenty-four hours. They were protected by old logs, fallen trees, and slight earth-works. Every man had his chosen place — in the crotch of a fallen tree, at the end of a log, behind a stump, or somewhere; and the regular day for his regiment at the front, was sure to find him there, unless he had been struck by a "Johnnie," or left sick in camp. Thousands to-day can go to the very spot where, during the siege of forty-five days, they slammed away.

A favorite amusement with many of the men, was to stick their hats on the end of their guns, and then, thrusting them just above the works, invite the "Johnnies" to "hit that." It was nothing uncommon, too, for the men to "take a game of seven-up." It is wonderful what indifference to danger men acquire from being constantly exposed to it.

The greater portion of the months of August and September, 1863, were passed by the 30th Iowa in camp on Big Black River. In the latter part of September, the regiment marched with its brigade to Vicksburg, and proceeded thence by boat to Memphis. Going by rail from Memphis to Corinth, It marched thence for Chattanooga. The 30th was attached to General Osterhaus' Division, which marched out to Tuscumbia, Alabama, to call the attention of the enemy from Sherman's real line of march. It was on that march that Colonel Torrence was killed.

He was shot by the enemy, in ambush, just beyond Cherokee Station and among the wild hills of northern Alabama. I remember the day well. It was in the afternoon of the 21st of October, and stormy and dismal. The troops of John E. Smith's Division, being only about seven miles in rear of Osterhaus', could hear the firing distinctly. That night no baggage was unloaded, and we slept in a cold, drizzling rain. We expected to be thrown to the front the next morning, and all were gloomy. But the next morning we remained in camp, and watched the ambulances that were bearing to the rear the dead and wounded of Osterhaus' Division: when the dead body of Colonel Torrence went past, there were not a few sad hearts among the Iowa troops. The Colonel was shot through the breast while at the head of his regiment, and died almost instantly.

The following, as nearly as I can learn, are the circumstances under which Colonel Torrence was killed; and General Osterhaus was severely censured by some, for the part he acted. The enemy were met just beyond Cherokee. Between the Federal and Confederate forces was an open field, bordered by dense timber; and Osterhaus' line of march was eastward in the direction of Tuscumbia. Forming his line, he advanced across the field, when the enemy fell back into the woods, in their rear. Colonel J. A. Williamson, in command of the brigade to which the 30th Iowa was attached, on arriving at the edge of the timber, left his command in line, and rode forward to reconnoitre. On returning, he met Colonel Torrence advancing with his regiment by the flank, and said to him: "How is this, Colonel? you are not obeying orders." Colonel Torrence, lifting his hat, and in his bland, gentlemanly way, replied: "I am acting under the orders of General Osterhaus." Colonel Williamson then rode back to the balance of his command, but had hardly re-joined it, when a volley of musketry was heard down the road.

Colonel Torrence had discovered the enemy only an instant before they fired, and was just deploying his regiment in line. He was shot through the breast, and, as I have before said, fell from his horse, and died almost instantly.

In the skirmish near Cherokee, (for so it was called) the loss of the 30th Iowa was twenty-seven in killed, wounded and missing. Captain William H. Randall was among the killed. He was a native of Indiana, and a resident of Birmingham, Van Buren county. Brave, modest and unassuming, he was deservedly one of the most popular officers of his regiment.

If I ever saw Colonel Torrence, I did not know him; but I am told he was a tall, slender man, with agreeable manners and affable address. At the time of his death, his head was heavily sprinkled with gray. He was a good scholar, and, judging from his official papers, a man of good taste and judgment. He was a Christian gentleman, and, as a citizen, held in the highest esteem.

The following is an extract from his last communication sent to the adjutant-general of Iowa:


"Head-quarters 30th Regiment Iowa Volunteers,
Iuka, Mississippi, October 13th, 1863.

"N. B. BAKER, Adjutant-General of Iowa:

"Accompanying this, you will receive two flags, worn out in the service. They were carried by the 30th Iowa during their marches a distance of five thousand seven hundred miles, between October 26th, 1862, and October 10th, 1863."


Quite in contrast is the following extract from the report of an Iowa officer, whose name I will not give.

"Exposed to every danger, they were ever conspicuous for their cool, daring courage, and the ardor of their souls, blended with pure love for their country, beamed from their countenances, and hung about them, ' Like the bright Iris, o'er the boiling surge.'"

SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 461-6

Colonel Charles Henry Abbott

FIRST COLONEL, THIRTIETH INFANTRY.

The late Charles H. Abbott of the 30th Iowa Infantry was born in Concord, New Hampshire, on the 25th day of January, 1819. His ancestors were Puritans. His grand-father of the sixth generation was George Abbott, who, coming from Yorkshire, England, settled in Andover, Massachusetts, in the year 1643. Of that patriarch's grand-children, numbering seventy-three, thirty settled in Andover. The others wandered through New England and the Middle Colonies, where they made themselves homes. The family is one of the oldest in the country, and also one of the most numerous and widespread. Nathaniel Abbott, the colonel's great-grand-father, was a captain in the Provincial Army, and served through the French and Indian wars. His grand-father, Joshua Abbott, was a captain under Warren, and commanded a company at Bunker Hill; and his father, also christened Joshua, a Congregational minister. The latter died at Norfolk, Virginia, in about the year 1828. The Rev. John S. C. Abbott, the celebrated author and historian, is a cousin of the late colonel, as is also Jacob Abbott, an author of some note.

The subject of this memoir, who was the youngest of eight children, left New England at the age of sixteen for New York, whence, after a few months' residence, he removed to Michigan. In 1850 he left Detroit, and, coming to Iowa, settled in Louisa county. Later he removed to Muscatine. His business in Iowa was that of a farmer, land-agent and banker. In 1853 he married Miss Julia Beach, an accomplished lady and a daughter of the Rev. John Beach of Michigan. Two little boys remain to her as her only hope.

Colonel Abbott entered the service in the summer of 1862, as colonel of the 30th Iowa, and commanded his regiment in the battle of Chickasaw Bayou, and in the charge against the enemy's works at Vicksburg, on the 22d of May, 1863. In the last named engagement he was killed, while leading his regiment. Of the Iowa colonels, he was the third to fall dead or mortally wounded in battle.

The operations of the 30th Iowa, while under the command of Colonel Abbott, will be found substantially recorded in the sketches of Brigadier-General, then Colonel Williamson, of the 4th, and Colonel Milo Smith, of the 26th Iowa regiments. The 30th Iowa was not engaged at Chickasaw Bayou, though it had four men wounded, while lying under the enemy's guns, on the third day of the battle — one corporal and three enlisted men.

At Arkansas Post, the regiment was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Torrence, Colonel Abbott being sick. In this action, it was under fire for about three hours. It engaged the enemy from behind their works on the left, and, lying down, kept up an incessant fire, till the white flag was hoisted. The regiment suffered quite severely in killed and wounded: five were killed, and thirty-nine wounded. Among the wounded were Captains R. D. Cramer and Uley Burk; Lieutenants H. L. Creighton and W. L. Alexander; Sergeant-Major Clendening, and Sergeants York, Detwiler and Gregg. The following is from Lieutenant-Colonel Torrence's report:

"There is nothing further which I deem it my duty to mention, save that both officers and men generally acted well for new troops. I might mention to you with great propriety a few instances of cool and commendable courage, displayed by some of the men, they having fallen under my immediate notice during the action; but I forbear mentioning any save one, and that is the case of James M. Smith, a private of Company C, a single young man, not yet arrived at his majority. * * * His conduct on the battle-field, in the late engagement, was such as to secure implicit confidence in his courage and ability." The night following the engagement was one of great fatigue to the 30th Iowa; for it was detailed to guard prisoners, and to escort them inside the fort, and was not relieved till after midnight. The "Deer Creek raid" follows next in the history of the regiment, an account of which is elsewhere given; and next, the march to the rear of Vicksburg and the environment of that city. In this march, the regiment was attached to the 15th Army Corps — Sherman's — and marched by way of Grand Gulf to Jackson, and thence to the rear of Vicksburg. General Sherman's account of the advance from Jackson will be read with interest. The 30th Iowa, it should be remembered, was attached to Steele's Division.

"On the morning of the 16th, [May] I received a note from General Grant, written at Clinton, reporting the enemy advancing from Edward's Depot, and ordering me to put in motion one of my divisions toward Bolton, and to follow with the others as soon as I had completed the work of destruction ordered.

"Steele's Division marched at ten A. M., and Tuttle's followed at noon. As the march would necessarily be rapid, I ordered General Mower to parole the prisoners of war, and to evacuate Jackson as the rear of Tuttle's division passed out. I paroled these prisoners because the wounded men of McPherson's Corps had been left in a hospital in charge of Surgeon Hewitt, to the mercy of the enemy, who I knew would re-enter Jackson as soon as we left. The whole corps marched from Jackson to Bolton, nearly twenty miles, that day; and the next morning resumed the march by a road lying to the north of Baker's Creek, reaching Bridgeport, on the Big Black, at noon. There I found Blair's Division (which, with one of McClernand's Divisions, and a wagon-train had been left near New Auburn) and the pontoon-train. The enemy had a small picket on the west bank in a rifle-pit, commanding the crossing; but, on exploding a few shells over the pit, they came out and surrendered — a lieutenant and ten men. The pontoon bridge was laid across under the direction of Captain Freeman, and Blair's and Steele's Divisions passed over that night. Tuttle's followed the next morning. Starting with the break of day, we pushed on rapidly and by nine and one-half A. M. of May 18th the head of the column reached the Benton road; and we commanded the Yazoo, interposing a superior force between the enemy at Vicksburg and his forts on the Yazoo. Resting a sufficient time to enable the column to close up, we pushed forward to the point where the road forks, and sending forward on each road — the 13th Regulars to the right, and the 8th Missouri to the left, with a battery at the forks, I awaited General Grant's arrival."

From this point, Sherman, by Grant's order, gained a position in front of the enemy's works north of Vicksburg. Steele's Division led the advance, and, by a blind road on the right, winding through rugged, precipitous hills, came up squarely to the Mississippi above the city. This happened on the morning of the 19th instant; and that morning a cheering sight greeted the eyes of the soldiers, who, for two weeks, or more, had been shut completely out from God's country. In plain view were the old camping-grounds at Young's Point; and, only five or six miles away, the Union fleet loaded down to the guards with government rations. Looking southward, the sight was less cheering. "Vicksburg was in plain view, and nothing separated us from the enemy but a space of about four hundred yards of very difficult ground, cut up by almost impassable ravines, and his line of intrenchments."

Without that line of intrenchments, bristling with hostile bayonets, and defended by artillery, with black, gaping mouths staring madly at you through embrasures, the sight would have been magnificent; for the dome of the court-house and the tall spires of wealthy churches looked up through the waving branches of luxuriant shade-trees, which dotted the hills and hill-slopes in all parts of the city. Splendid private residences, too, adorned with all the taste of modern art, reflected their beauty in the morning and evening sun.

The first charge against the enemy's works was made on the 19th of May, the day concerning which I have just now spoken. General Grant's reasons for making this charge, and the results which followed, he gives as follows:

"I was not without hope of carrying the enemy's works, relying upon their demoralization, in consequence of repeated defeats outside of Vicksburg; and I ordered a general assault at 2 P. M. on this day. The 15th Army Corps, from having arrived in front of the enemy's works in time on the 18th to get a good position, were enabled to make a vigorous assault. The 13th and 17th Corps succeeded no further than to gain advanced positions, covered from the fire of the enemy."

Neither this charge, nor the one made three days later, was successful; and is it strange? It is rather wonderful that every man who joined in these assaults was not left, either dead or wounded, under the guns of the enemy.

The character of the country for miles around Vicksburg is hilly and broken; and the nearer you approach the city the wilder and more impracticable it becomes. The hills lie, as a general thing, I believe, in great parallel, semi-circular ridges, with Vicksburg as the centre; but they lap each other, and shoot out spurs in every direction, thus forming deep, winding ravines, which were filled, as a general thing, with underbrush, and standing and fallen timber. The works around Vicksburg were constructed by the best engineers the Confederacy could boast; and not a ravine was there which approached these works that was not swept by artillery and enfiladed by musketry. The hill-sides were precipitous, and in many places obstructed: these were also swept by a front and enfilading fire. None who know the ground will say that I have drawn too strong a picture.

Grant failed to carry the enemy's works on the 19th instant. The following are his reasons for attempting it on the 22d.:

"I believed an assault from the position at this time gained could be made successfully. It was known that Johnson was at Clinton with the force taken by him from Jackson, reinforced by other troops from the east, and that more were daily reaching him. With the force I had, a short time must have enabled him to attack me in the rear, and possibly succeed in raising the siege. Possession of Vicksburg at that time would have enabled me to turn upon Johnson, and drive him from the State, and possess myself of the railroads and practicable military highways, thus effectually securing to ourselves all territory west of the Tombigbee; and this, before the season was too far advanced for campaigning in this latitude. I would have saved the government sending large reinforcements, much needed elsewhere; and finally, the troops themselves were impatient to possess Vicksburg, and would not have worked in the trenches with the same zeal, believing it unnecessary, that they did after their failure to carry the enemy's works."

There was one other reason, I believe, which influenced General Grant in making the assault, of which from some cause he does not speak. Valorous Falstaffs at the North, some of them wearing civic honors and others at the head of influential public presses, had long croaked of indecision and inactivity. Such (and they were legion) could not be appeased, except by blood; but even now he had not closed their twaddling lips; for they prated of the "useless sacrifice." Now that he wears triumphal honors, they fawn about him like so many worthless curs; but I know he spurns them with contempt.

Twice it has been my fortune, myself removed from danger, to witness the fierce conflict of two contending armies. Once, standing on a high hill on the north bank of the Tennessee, I saw the veterans of Howard assail the enemy and drive them from their works on Orchard Knoll, back of Chattanooga. I also had previously witnessed the bloody and unsuccessful charge of the 22d of May, at Vicksburg: that was the grandest and most terrible sight I ever looked on. The high ground east of Fort Hill and near the White House was the standpoint; and I can now recall the whole scene, as though it had passed but yesterday. Here was Grant's look-out, and, near him, were McPherson and Logan. Sherman was already advancing on the right; and soon McClernand was boasting that he had captured three forts, and was master of his position. I heard a lieutenant-colonel announce this to Logan, when that general yelled with an oath to the new brigadier, Leggett, "to move at once on the enemy's works in his front, or he would arrest him."

All this time, and for more than an hour previous, above an hundred pieces of artillery had been booming, and throwing their ponderous projectiles into and above the enemy's works. Porter, during the same time, was tossing his big mortar shells into the doomed city. Huge volumes of smoke in front, and on the right and left, were rising lazily in the air, revealing the most interesting and anxious part of the scene — the infantry. There they were — some winding their long lengths through the deep ravines, to gain their designated positions, and others, further on, deployed on the hill-sides, and, with their bodies thrown forward, working their way up toward the enemy's works. So intent was I in watching those in front that I did not observe others. These, soon arriving near the summit of the hill across which stretched the enemy's works, raised the battle-cry, and dashed forward. I began to hope there was no enemy to oppose them, or that they would not fire; but at that very instant, the smoke from at least two thousand muskets leaped down in their very faces. Horrors! It seemed as though three-fourths of them fell. The line did not waver: the men were butchered; for I saw only a few run hurriedly back down the hill. By reports afterward made, however, the casualties could not have been as large as I suppose: many of the men, while enveloped in the smoke, must have sought and found cover.

The 30th Iowa was under Steele, away on the extreme right, and beyond my observation; but it joined in the same general charge, a portion of which I have given. Among the many gallant men who fell that day, on the slopes and ridges that encircle Vicksburg, was the lamented Colonel Charles H. Abbott. He was struck in the chin by a musket-ball, which, passing through his throat, came out at the back of his neck. He fell instantly and was carried from the field. His last words were words of cheer to his men. He never spoke after he was shot, and lived only about three hours. He died and was buried near the spot where he fell; and the valley beneath whose turf he was temporarily laid was designated by General Sherman as "Abbott's Valley." His body was afterward removed to Muscatine and buried on the banks of the majestic Mississippi. Iowa, "the land of flowers," and the State he loved so well is the shrine of his mortal remains. Brave, good man! he lived worthily and died nobly; and his name stands among the first on the State's Roll of Honor.

SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 453-60

COLONEL MILO SMITH

TWENTY-SIXTH INFANTRY.

Milo Smith was born in the State of Vermont, about the year 1819. At the time of entering the service he was a resident of Clinton, Iowa. He was commissioned colonel of the 26th Iowa, the 10th day of August, 1862; was mustered into the United States service on the 30th of the following September; and served with his regiment in the field until after the fall and occupation of Savannah, when he resigned his commission and returned to his home in Clinton.

I know more of the 26th Iowa than of its colonel. The regiment, like all the regiments of its old brigade, has a splendid record. It was raised in Clinton and adjoining counties, in the summer and early fall of 1862, and proceeding to the front arrived at Helena, Arkansas, in the latter part of the following October. The first military movements in which it joined were the White River and Tallahatchie marches. It also joined General Sherman in his operations against Vicksburg, late in December, 1862, by way of Chickasaw Bayou and the Walnut Hills; but in the severe and disastrous fighting which took place at that point, it took no part, being detached from its brigade, and engaged on pioneer-duty.

The regiment's first engagement was Arkansas Post. This battle was not only its first, but, judging from its list of casualties, the severest one in which it ever took part. Its position on the field was exposed, and it was not only subjected to a severe fire from the enemy's artillery, but to a direct and partially enfilading musketry-fire. The regiment went into the engagement with an aggregate, in officers and enlisted men, of four hundred and forty-seven, and lost, in killed and wounded, one hundred and nineteen. Two officers were killed, and six wounded. The killed were Lieutenants P. L. Hyde and J. S. Patterson; Lieutenant James McDill died of his wounds a few days after the engagement. Colonel Milo Smith was slightly wounded in the leg. Among the enlisted men killed were Corporal Shaffer, Pankow, Delong and J. E. Stearns. Lieutenants William R. Ward and Edward Svendsen were wounded.

The engagement at Arkansas Post took place on the 11th of January, 1863; and on the 13th instant the regiment left that place on transports for Young's Point, Louisiana.

General Steele's Division, of General Sherman's Corps, to which the 26th Iowa was attached, was the one selected by General Sherman to open up a passage through Deer Creek to the Yazoo River, and thereby gain the high lands to the rear of Haines' Bluff and Vicksburg.

The following is from General Grant's official report of his operations against Vicksburg:

"On the 14th day of March, Admiral D. D. Porter, commanding the Mississippi squadron, informed me that he had made a reconnoissance up Steele's Bayou, and partially through Black Bayou, towards Deer Creek; and so far as explored, these water-courses were reported navigable for the smaller iron-clads. Information, given mostly, I believe, by the negroes of the country, was to the effect that Deer Creek could be navigated to Rolling Fork, and that from there, through the Sun-Flower to the Yazoo River, there was no question about the navigation. On the following morning, I accompanied Admiral Porter in the ram Price, several iron-clads preceding us, up through Steele's Bayou to near Black Bayou.

The expedition was promptly dispatched, and as a co-operating infantry force, Sherman, with Steel's Division, was sent up to Eagle's Bend and marched across the country from that point. I need not add the expedition was a failure.

"All this may have been providential, in driving us ultimately to a line of operations, which has proven eminently successful." And so thought all who accompanied the expedition.

In this connection, mention should not be omitted of the other expedition, to which the one in question was only supplemental. The Yazoo Pass Expedition had already been organized and sent out, and was now blocked by the rebel Fort Pemberton at Greenwood. The junction of the Sun-Flower Bayou with the Yazoo River was between Fort Pemberton and Haines' Bluff; and General Grant hoped to introduce a force between that fort and the high grounds above Haines' Bluff. Had he succeeded, the rebel works at Greenwood would not only have been rendered untenable and the garrison compelled to fly east to escape capture, but the two Federal forces, united, would have been sufficiently strong to possess and defend the desired point.

The enterprise was burdened with most annoying and stubborn obstacles, to overcome which no man who possessed less hope and persistency than Grant would have attempted. But Vicksburg would never have been captured from this direction, and I doubt whether Grant ever honestly expected it. The former of these expeditions was christened by the soldiers " the back-water," and the latter, the " Deer Creek raid."

In the meantime, General Grant, having settled on the plan which promised and resulted in success, recalled the detached portions of his army, and concentrated it on the west bank of the Mississippi, above Vicksburg. The 26th Iowa returned with its division to Milliken's Bend on the 25th of April, and on the 2d of May following marched with Sherman for Grand Gulf and Jackson, and thence to the rear of Vicksburg. In this march the regiment failed to meet the enemy in a single general engagement. It arrived at the Walnut Hills the 18th of May, and all that afternoon skirmished with the enemy, they gradually falling back to their strong works encircling the city. The heavy skirmishing of the following day the regiment engaged in, as it also did in the assault which was made the same afternoon. Its position before Vicksburg was north of the city. It was in Steele's Division, which held the right of the besieging line.

What followed in the long and arduous siege is given elsewhere. But one general assault was made after the 19th instant — that of the memorable 22d of May; and in that the 26th Iowa participated. Up to and including this disastrous day, the 26th Iowa lost in its skirmishes and assaults some forty in killed and wounded. Colonel Smith and Lieutenants Rider, Noble, and Maden were among the wounded.

After the fall of Vicksburg, the 26th Iowa joined the army of General Sherman in the pursuit of Johnson to Jackson, where it arrived on the 10th of July. It remained there during the eight days' siege, without meeting the enemy. It next marched to Brandon; then back to Jackson, and thence to Big Black River, where it remained in camp till the 23d of the following September, when it left with three divisions of its corps to reinforce the Army of the Cumberland, at Chattanooga. This march was accomplished without any fighting, if we except the affairs which General Osterhaus had with the enemy at Cherokee Station and beyond that place, in the direction of Tuscumbia, Alabama. The 26th Iowa was attached to this division, and participated in some of these affairs, but suffered no loss. In the meantime, General Sherman was preparing to cross the Tennessee at Chickasaw Landing; and the object of Osterhaus' advance to Tuscumbia, I do not understand, unless it was to draw the attention of the enemy from Sherman's real purpose, which was to reach Chattanooga by way of Florence, Alabama, Fayetteville and Winchester, Tennessee, and Bridgeport.

Returning to Chickasaw, General Osterhaus crossed the river with his division, and moved on after the main column; for Sherman was already well under way. He did not arrive in Lookout Valley until the evening of the 23d of November, and was too late to operate with Sherman's forces against the northern point of Mission Ridge. He was therefore ordered to report to General Hooker; and thus it happened that the 4th, 9th, 25th, 26th, 30th and 31st Iowa regiments, all of General Osterhaus' Division, engaged the enemy on Lookout Mountain. The 26th Iowa fought in the battle of Lookout Mountain in the afternoon and night of the 24th of November, after which it moved across the valley to engage the enemy on Mission Ridge; for the enemy had been routed and Lookout gained by our forces early on the morning of the 25th.

At Mission Ridge the 26th Iowa, and also the 25th, were separated from their division, and made a sort of Corps of Observation to watch the enemy's cavalry from near Rossville Gap. Neither of these regiments were therefore engaged at this point. But on the flight of General Bragg the night of the 25th instant, the 26th Iowa was near the van in its division, which led the advance in the pursuit. Osterhaus came up with the enemy at Ringgold as previously stated, and at Ringgold the 26th engaged them from behind their works, and suffered greater loss than it had done in the whole campaign before. In the engagement at Lookout Mountain, the loss of the regiment was only five wounded, among whom was Lieutenant-Colonel Ferreby. At Mission Ridge it was not engaged. Its loss at Ringgold on the 27th was three men killed — McDonnell, Beddon and Phillips — and nine wounded. Among the latter were Captain Steele, and Lieutenants Hubbard and Nickel. Captain Steele, a brave and efficient officer, died of his wounds soon after the engagement.

On the close of the Chattanooga Campaign, the 26th Iowa returned with its division to Bridgeport, and in the latter part of December was ordered to Woodville, Alabama, on the line of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, where it went into Winter quarters. On the opening of the Spring Campaign against Atlanta, it marched to the front: since that time its services have been nearly the same as those of the other Iowa regiments of its division. Moving via Gordon Mills and Snake Creek Gap, the regiment came on the enemy at Resaca, where it first engaged him. It subsequently engaged the enemy at New Hope Church, Big Shanty, Kenesaw Mountain, before Atlanta, and at Jonesboro; but in none of these engagements was its loss severe. At Big Shanty, it lost one enlisted man killed, and one officer and six men wounded. In the terrible fight before Atlanta on the 22d of July, the regiment lost only five men wounded; and, at Jonesboro, its loss was one officer and four men wounded.

After joining in the pursuit of Hood in his celebrated flank movement northward, the 26th Iowa returned to near Vining Station, on the Chattahoochie, where it rested and fitted for the march to Savannah. The history of this march, and of that from Savannah to Raleigh, will be found in the sketches of those officers whose regiments belonged to the 15th Corps' Iowa Brigade. I have already said that the 26th Iowa was attached to this brigade.

On the arrival of his regiment at Savannah, Colonel Smith resigned his commission.

SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 415-20

COLONEL GEORGE AUGUSTUS STONE

TWENTY-FIFTH INFANTRY.

George Augustus Stone is a native of New York State, and was born in the town of Schoharie, on the 13th of October, 1833. In 1839 his father removed with his family to the then Territory of Iowa, and settled in Washington county. Here young Stone resided, attending common school a principal portion of the time, till 1849, when he removed to Mt. Pleasant. After completing his studies at the Mt. Pleasant schools, he was received into the banking house at that place, and, in 1851, was appointed cashier of the bank, which position he held till the spring of 1861. Early in the spring of 1861 he assisted in recruiting Company F, 1st Iowa Infantry, Captain Samuel M. Wise, and on its organization was elected its first lieutenant. He served with his regiment in Missouri during its three month's term of service, and took part in the battle of Wilson's Creek.

Lieutenant Stone's term of service in the 1st Iowa expired in August, and, in the following October, he was commissioned a major in the 4th Iowa Cavalry, with which regiment he served till the 10th of August, 1862, when he was promoted to the colonelcy of the 25th Iowa Infantry.

In November, 1862, Colonel Stone's regiment arrived at Helena, Arkansas, whence it sailed, in the latter part of December following, on the expedition against Vicksburg by way of Chickasaw Bayou. Chickasaw Bayou was its first engagement. Its second was Arkansas Post, and there, like the 26th Iowa, it suffered severely, losing in killed and wounded more than sixty. The regiment was attached to Hovey's Brigade, of Steele's Division — the division which did the fighting and captured the strong-hold. It served as a support to the 76th Ohio, and just in rear of that regiment charged through an open field in the face of a withering fire from the enemy's artillery and musketry. Passing the enemy's obstructions, it advanced to within one hundred yards of their works; and in that position engaged them for nearly three hours, and until the garrison surrendered. So cool and gallant was its conduct, that a Texan colonel, captured with the garrison, remarked: " I was almost sure those were Iowa troops."

Five commissioned officers were wounded in this engagement — Captains Palmer and Bell, and Lieutenants Stark, Orr, and Clark. Nine enlisted men were killed, among whom were Sergeant Zickafoose, and Corporals Wilson and James W. Thompson. Adjutant S. P. Clark, who was wounded severely in the leg, was conspicuous for his cool and gallant conduct "He earned and received the praise of the entire regiment." Privates Hiram Payne and B. F. Weaver, who bore the colors of the regiment, earned and received equal praise.

After the Deer-Creek-Sun-Flower-&c. expedition, the 25th Iowa marched with Sherman, via Jackson, to the rear of Vicksburg; but, like the 26th Iowa, failed to meet the enemy till it arrived before the doomed city. Being in the same division with the 26th Iowa, its services before Vicksburg were nearly the same as those of that regiment. In the charge of the 22d of May, it was one of the front regiments in the charging line, and, with its colonel in the advance, moved against a strong fort on the north side of the city. It passed unfalteringly through the galling fire that met it as it moved upon and along the hights in plain view and within shot range of the enemy, but was unable to carry the rebel works, and after holding its position till night was, with the balance of the division, ordered to retire to the position it occupied in the morning. On that day, Private Isaac Mickey, of the enlisted men of the regiment, most distinguished himself.

An account of the march on Jackson, Mississippi, and the evacuation of that city by Johnson, after the fall of Vicksburg, having been given in other parts of this volume, I need simply state that the 25th Iowa took part in those operations. After the termination of that expedition, the regiment returned with its division to the Big Black River, where it remained till the 23d of September following, when it moved with General Sherman on the march to Chattanooga. The 1st Division of the 15th Corps, to which the 25th Iowa was attached and which was commanded by Brigadier-General P. J. Osterhaus, was the only one that engaged the enemy on this march. The fighting, which was not severe, took place at and between Cherokee Station, Alabama, and Tuscumbia, and, to give an idea of its character, I quote from the official statement of Colonel George A. Stone:

"On Sunday evening, October 25th, at Cherokee, our division received marching orders for 4 A. M. next day; and accordingly the division moved at the hour indicated, in the direction of Tuscumbia, in light marching order, and in fine fighting condition. The 1st Brigade, Brigadier-General C. R. Woods commanding, had the advance, and ours, the 2d Brigade, Colonel A. J. Williamson commanding, the rear. General Osterhaus' orders were very imperative and strict concerning the tactical arrangement of battalions, as the enemy, but some three miles in front of us, was composed entirely of cavalry, and our equal fully in numerical strength. About two miles from camp we met the enemy's skirmishers, and here formed line of battle, the 1st Brigade on the right, and the 2d on the left, with one of the other divisions of our corps as a reserve. My position was on the extreme left, and, n accordance with orders, I formed a square to repel cavalry, first, however, having covered my front properly with skirmishers. Our skirmishers pushed the enemy so vigorously and our lines followed so promptly, that, after a short resistance, he fell back to another position some four miles to his rear, and made another stand. The same disposition was made again by our division, the same sharp, short fighting, and the same result — the retreat of the enemy. We continued this skirmishing during the entire day, and renewed it on the 27th, literally fighting them from Cherokee to Tuscumbia. We entered the town at 3 P. M. on the 27th."

The 25th Iowa in these operations lost only one man — Sergeant Nehemiah M. Redding — who was killed on the skirmish line. Other regiments suffered more severely. In this connection I should state that there had been fighting on the 21st of the same month, on the entrance of Osterhaus' Division into Cherokee Station. It was in the affair of that day that the lamented Colonel Torrence, of the 30th Iowa, was killed.

Returning to Cherokee on the 28th instant, Colonel Stone marched thence with his regiment back to Chickasaw Landing, and crossed the Tennessee with his division, on the 4th of November. The march from that point to Chattanooga was continued without incident. The division of Osterhaus not arriving till the evening of the 23d of November, and being too late to operate with Sherman above Chattanooga, was ordered to report to General Hooker, who, on the following day, was to assault the enemy on Lookout Mountain. For the part taken by the 25th Iowa in the engagement on and around Lookout Mountain, on the 24th of November, I again quote from a statement of Colonel Stone:

"At 9:30, A. M., I had orders to go to the front, just under a point of rocks on Lookout Mountain, to support the guns of Battery I, 1st New York Artillery, now in position, and two of which guns were protected by being hastily casemated. This position I retained during the day, and on account of the admirable place for defense, and the inability of the enemy to sufficiently depress his guns, I found at dark I had not lost a man.

"Nothing could exceed the grandeur of this battle from the point at which we viewed it. [The position of the 25th Iowa was at a point on the north end of Lookout Mountain]. Every gun from Raccoon Mountain to Moccasin Point was in plain view, and our lines of infantry so close that acquaintances were easily recognized. At 12 M., the grand attack began, and soon the smoke of the battle hung over and enveloped the mountain, like a funeral pall; and the whole battle, like a panorama, passed around and before us."

This was the first battle whose progress the 25th Iowa had witnessed without being engaged; and the recollections of that afternoon will never be effaced from the memories of the regiment. But the scenery of the following night was even more terribly magnificent; for the fighting continued around and up the mountain until long after mid-night.

In the engagement on Lookout Mountain, the regiment suffered no loss: nor did it, in that of the following day on Mission Ridge. In the latter it was not engaged, being detached, with the 26th Iowa, for the purpose of anticipating an attack, which it was supposed two regiments of rebel cavalry designed making on the left. But it followed in pursuit of General Bragg's flying forces to Ringgold, and engaged the enemy there in their strong works, on the morning of the 27th of November.

Ringgold, which is planted among the broken, irregular hills of Northern Georgia, is about twenty-five miles south of Chattanooga. On a line of these hills the enemy had taken up an intrenched position in considerable force, which, contrary to the expectation of General Osterhaus, they held stubbornly. To dislodge them it became necessary to deploy the division so as to carry the works by assault. The position of the 25th Iowa, in the assaulting line, was at the front and on the extreme left in an open field. On the hill in its front were the enemy, protected by abattis and breast-works. A point of this hill, which was rocky and in places precipitous, extended down to the field where the 25th stood in position. Up this the regiment was to charge. On rugged points, both to the right and left, the enemy's infantry were posted, so as to rake by a right and left flanking fire the assaulting party. In front of the regiment were two rebel colors, defended doubtless by two rebel regiments. This then was the position of the 25th Iowa, when the advance was sounded.

The contest now began along the whole line, and lasted for about an hour; when the enemy, no longer able to withstand the cool, steady valor of their assailants, fled from their works and hastened on to Dalton.

The loss of the 25th Iowa at Ringgold was twenty-nine wounded. None were killed. Of the twenty-one officers who entered the fight, seven were struck.

After the battle at Ringgold, the 25th Iowa marched back to Chattanooga, and thence, via Bridgeport, to Woodville, Alabama, where, with its brigade, it went into Winter quarters. It remained in Winter quarters, however, only about a month; for, on the organization of General Matthies' temporary Division to march to the relief of Knoxville, it was assigned to that command, and on the 11th of February, 1864, broke camp and again took the field. It was rumored when the division left Bridgeport, that it was to march only to Chattanooga, where, being relieved by other troops, it would be permitted to remain on guard-duty. But there was in store no such good fortune; for, on the morning of the 16th instant, it resumed the march eastward in the direction of Cleveland.

It was now the season of the year when the Southern Winter was breaking, and the alternating rain and sunshine, and cold and heat did not contribute to the good nature of the troops; and, as they trudged on through the mud, their minds soured at what they called the injustice of the commanding general. "He don't care a d—n, as long as he can ride a horse," and "If I could catch him a-foot, if I didn't give him an appetite for his hard-tack," and other like expressions were not unfrequently heard on this march. No veteran infantry trooper will wonder at these spiteful ebullitions; for it should be remembered that these troops were all of the 15th Corps, who, during the three past months, had marched nearly four hundred miles, and fought in three hard battles.

After the march to Cleveland, which resulted in nothing of special interest, the 25th Iowa returned to Woodville, where it remained till its division left for the front to join General Sherman in his grand campaign against Atlanta. The events of that campaign, in which the 25th Iowa took an honorable part, will be found elsewhere, as will also the history of Sherman's march from Atlanta to Savannah, and from Savannah to Raleigh, North Carolina.

In the operations of General Sherman in his march from Savannah to Raleigh, the capture of Columbia, South Carolina, is conspicuous. The credit of this affair belongs to the Iowa Brigade of the 15th Corps, to which the 25th Iowa Infantry was attached.

The question as to who was entitled to the honor of having first planted the American Flag on the Capitol buildings at Columbia, has been in some doubt. It is claimed by Justin C. Kennedy of the 13th Iowa, and by Colonel George A. Stone. The following I believe to be correct history: The 15th Corps' Iowa Brigade, commanded by Colonel G. A. Stone, forced the enemy back and captured the city; but in the meantime, Lieutenant-Colonel Kennedy, with a few men, crossed the Congaree in a rickety boat, and, hurrying on to the city, succeeded in first gaining both the old and new Capitol buildings. The banner of the 13th Iowa, in the hands of Colonel Kennedy, was the first to wave from the buildings; but the first American Flag was that belonging to the 31st Iowa, which was planted by the hands of Colonel Stone. But Iowa's brave sons should not allow jealousies to sully their fair lame. It is enough for the State to know that her soldiery received the surrender of Columbia.

For several weeks after the battles around Chattanooga, Colonel Stone commanded the Iowa Brigade. He also commanded this brigade on the march from Savannah to Goldsboro and Raleigh. He is an excellent young officer — prompt, precise and sprightly. He is a middle-sized man, with black hair, and merry, brown eyes. In appearance, he is quite youthful I never saw him but once, and that was while I was in the service, and just after he had succeeded to a brigade command. A stalwart captain was riding by his side, and both were enveloped in ponchos; for it rained in those days about Bridgeport. The captain I took for the commander, and the colonel for an aid, or orderly.

The colonel is proud and ambitious, and is happily free from that self-importance — a sort of pseudo-dignity — which seems to afflict army officers conversely in proportion to their merit.

SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 407-14

George Burton . . .

. . . who became lieutenant-colonel of the Fifteenth Iowa, was born in the City of Dublin. His father was an Englishman and a wealthy manufacturer of Dublin. The son served as a sailor for several years and then came to the United States and finally settled at Bloomington, Illinois. He enlisted in the regular army and participated in the Mexican war. At the close of hostilities he came to Decatur County and entered what was later known as the Soper Farm in Eden Township. At the beginning of the Civil war Burton entered the service as captain of Company D, Fourth Iowa Infantry. About a month after the Battle of Pea Ridge, Burton was made lieutenant-colonel and at the Battle of Arkansas Post on January 10 and 11, 1863, he led his regiment. At the close of the war Burton located in Leon, where he resided for a number of years, and then took up his residence in Kansas. He died several years ago in Wellington, Kan.

SOURCE: Prof. J. M. Howell & Heman C. Smith, Editors, A History of Decatur County, Iowa and Its People, Vol. 1, p. 58-9