Diary of 5th Sergeant Osborn H. Oldroyd: May 20, 1863

Map of Vicksburg showing the river front and the
positions of the Union and Confederate lines in the rear.

When I awoke this morning I offered thanks to God that my life had been spared thus far. We slept on our arms—something unusual. This day has been busily spent in making cautious advances toward the works of the enemy, and, although our progress seems to have been very little, we are content to approach step by step, for the task is difficult and dangerous. Bullets are flying over our heads, and it is quite common to see the boys trying to dodge them. A few have succeeded in stopping these bullets, but they had to leave at once for the hospital. A blanket displayed by its owner was called a map of the confederacy, on account of the holes in it made by bullets at Raymond and Champion Hills. It is good enough yet for warmth, but will not do to hold water. We are ragged and dirty, for we have had no change of clothes for over a month. But we have the promise of new suits soon. If we were to enter Vicksburg to-morrow, some of our nice young fellows would feel ashamed to march before the young ladies there. We can see the court house in the city with a confederate flag floating over it. What fun it will be to take that down, and hoist in its stead the old stars and stripes. Then yonder is the Mississippi river again; we want to jump into that once more and have a good bath. The hills back of Vicksburg, and in fact all round the city seem quite steep and barren, and to run in parallels, affording our troops good shelter from batteries and secret approaches. It is upon these hills opposite the town that our tents are pitched. We must cut back into the hills to escape the shower of bullets, for we like to feel secure, when asleep or off duty. A great many of the balls that come over are what are called "spent," that is, have not force enough left to do any harm. We do not feel quite as safe awake or asleep as we did before we got so near the city. However, we manage to sleep pretty much unconcerned as to danger. Our regiment is detailed to watch at the rifle pits in front to-night.

SOURCE: Osborn Hamiline Oldroyd, A Soldier's Story of the Siege of Vicksburg, p. 29-30

Diary of 5th Sergeant Osborn H. Oldroyd: May 16, 1863

Crocker, Hovey and Logan's Divisions driving the enemy

at the point of the bayonet throught Champion Hills.

We rolled out of bed this morning early, and had our breakfast of slapjacks made of flour, salt and water, which lie on a man's stomach like cakes of lead—for we are out of all rations but flour and salt, though we hope soon for some variety. We heard heavy firing about eleven o'clock. Our division reached Champion Hill about two P. M., and filed into a field on the right of the road. We were drawn up in a line facing the woods through which ran the road we had just left. It was by this road the rebels came out of Vicksburg to whip us. We had orders to lie down. The command was obeyed with alacrity, for bullets were already whizzing over our heads. I never hugged Dixie's soil as close as I have to-day. We crowded together as tight as we could, fairly plowing our faces into the ground. Occasionally a ball would pick its man in spite of precaution, and he would have to slip to the rear. Soon we got orders to rise up, and in an instant every man was on his feet. If the former order was well obeyed, the latter was equally so. The enemy charged out of the woods in front of us in a solid line, and as they were climbing the fence between us, which separated the open field from the timber, DeGolier's battery, stationed in our front, opened on them with grape and canister, and completely annihilated men and fence, and forced the enemy to fall back. Such terrible execution by a battery I never saw. It seemed as if every shell burst just as it reached the fence, and rails and rebs flew into the air together. They, finding our center too strong, renewed their charge on our left, and succeeded in driving it a short distance, but their success was only for a moment, for our boys rallied, and with reinforcements drove them in turn. We now charged into the woods and drove them a little ways, and as we charged over the spot so lately occupied by the foe, we saw the destruction caused by our battery, the ground being covered thickly with rebel grey. When we reached the woods we were exposed to a galling fire, and were at one time nearly surrounded, but we fought there hard until our ammunition was exhausted, when we fixed bayonets and prepared to hold our ground.. A fresh supply of ammunition soon came up, when we felt all was well with us again. Meanwhile the right of our line succeeded in getting around to their left, when the enemy retreated towards Vicksburg, lest they should be cut off.

The battle to-day was commenced early in the morning by McClernand's great fighting corps, and was a hot and severe contest, until Logan's division approached the road on the Confederates' left, between them and Vicksburg, when the foe wavered and began to break. This was a hard day's fight, for the rebels, finding that they had been beaten in three battles about Vicksburg, had no doubt resolved to make a desperate stand against our conquering march; but alas! for them, this day's course of events was like the rest. When the fight was over, Generals Grant, McClernand, Sherman, McPherson and Logan rode over the victorious field, greeted with the wildest cheers. I wonder if they love their men as we love them. We received our mail an hour or two after the fight, and the fierce struggle through which we had just passed was forgotten as we read the news from home. Our fingers fresh from the field left powder marks on the white messengers that had come to cheer us.

Our forces captured eleven pieces of artillery and over one thousand prisoners. The retreating army will make another stand, but we shall move right on, undaunted. Several amusing incidents have occurred during the battle to-day. Company A, of the 20th, was sent out to skirmish, and moved forward till they could see the enemy. By this time General Logan made his appearance, when one of the boys who wished to go into the fight without impediments, approached Logan and said, "General, shall we not unsling knapsacks?" "No," was the stern reply, "damn them, you can whip them with your knapsacks on." This same company, in full view of a rebel battery, had taken refuge in a deep ditch, and when afterward the rebel captain cried out, "ready, take aim," Mit. Bryant, feeling secure in his position, interrupted the order with a shout, "shoot away and be damned to you."

We moved up through the woods to the road again after the fight, where we halted an hour. Near the road was a farm house which was immediately taken possession of for a hospital.

SOURCE: Osborn Hamiline Oldroyd, A Soldier's Story of the Siege of Vicksburg, p. 22-5

Major-General Ulysses S. Grant to Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, May 31, 1863

IN REAR OF VICKSBURG, MISS., May 31, 1863.

(Received June 3 – 4 p.m.)

 Maj. Gen. N. P. BANKS, Comdg. Dept. of the Gulf:

GENERAL: Your letters of the 28th and 29th instant, by Colonel Riggin, have just been received: While I regret the situation in which they left you, and clearly see the necessity of your being re-enforced in order to be immediately successful, the circumstances by which I am surrounded will prevent my making any detachments at this time. Concentration is essential to the success of the general campaign in the West, but Vicksburg is the vital point. Our situation is for the first time during the entire Western campaign what it should be. We have, after great labor and extraordinary risk, secured a position which should not be jeopardized by any detachments whatever. On the contrary, I am now and shall continue to exert myself to the utmost to concentrate. The enemy clearly perceive the importance of dislodging me at all hazards. General Joe Johnston is now at Canton, organizing his forces and making his dispositions to attack me. His present strength is estimated at 40,000, and is known to be at least 20,000. The force he took from Jackson was 8,000; [W. W.] Loring's division, which has joined him since the battle of Champion's Hill, 3,000; General [S. R.] Gist, from South Carolina, 6,000; stragglers from Pemberton, 2,000; troops from Mobile, number not known. Besides this, Major-General Hurlbut writes me he is reliably informed that Bragg has detached three divisions from his army to report to Johnston. Pemberton has himself 18,000 effective men.

I have ample means to defend my present position, and effect the reduction of Vicksburg within twenty days, if the relation of affairs which now obtains remains unchanged. But detach 10,000 men from my command and I cannot answer for the result. With activity on the part of the enemy and any increase of his present force, it will become necessary for me to press my operations with all possible dispatch. I need not describe the severity of the labor to which my command must necessarily be subjected in an operation of such magnitude as that in which it is now engaged. Weakened by the detachment of 10,000 men, or even half that number, with the circumstances entirely changed, I should be crippled beyond redemption. My arrangements for supplies are ample, and can be expanded to meet any exigency. All I want now are men.

I am, Sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

 U.S. GRANT.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 24, Part 3 (Serial No. 38), p. 367

Charles A. Dana to Edwin M. Stanton, May 28, 1863

BEHIND VICKSBURG, May 28, 1863,

VIA MEMPHIS, May 30 – 9 p.m.

(Received June 1 – 3.15 a.m.)

The siege works progress satisfactorily. Sherman has his parallels completed to within 80 yards of the rebel fortifications. He is able to carry artillery and wagons with horses under cover to that point. McPherson's rifle-pits are at about the same distance from the forts in his front. On both these lines our sharpshooters keep the rebels under cover and never allow them to load a cannon. It is a mistake to say that the place is entirely invested. I made the complete circuit of the lines yesterday. The left is open in direction of Warrenton, so that the enemy have no difficulty in sending messengers in and out. Our force is not large enough to occupy the whole line and keep the necessary reserves and outposts at dangerous and important points; still, the enemy cannot either escape by that route or receive supplies. An officer who returned yesterday from a visit to Jackson with a flag of truce to take supplies to our wounded, found Loring there with his force, apparently reorganizing and ready for movement. The number he could not ascertain, but thought it was 5,000 at least. Loring, you may remember, escaped to the southeast with his division after the battle of Baker's Creek. The gunboat Cincinnati was disabled yesterday in a sharp engagement with the enemy's upper water battery, on Steele's front. She was compelled by discharges of grape to close her bow portholes, and in endeavoring to get away, swung her stern around toward the battery, when she was so badly hit that her commander ran her ashore, and she sank in shoal water. Some twenty-odd lives were lost. She may be raised and saved.

The weather is hot, but not at all oppressive.

C. A. DANA.

Hon. E. M. STANTON,

Secretary of War.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 24, Part 1 (Serial No. 36), p. 90

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Sunday, May 17, 1863

There was some very heavy cannonading out at the front today, and word came that a battle was fought at a place called Champion Hills, with heavy loss on both sides. The rebels are falling back towards Vicksburg. The river is falling and troops are still arriving. General Lauman's Division arrived last night.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 116

Major General John A. McClernand's General Orders No. 72

GENERAL ORDERS, No. 72.

HDQRS. THIRTEENTH ARMY CORPS,

Battle-field, in rear of Vicksburg, May 30, 1863.

COMRADES: As your commander, I am proud to congratulate you upon your constancy, valor, and successes. History affords no more brilliant example of soldierly qualities. Your victories have followed in such rapid succession that their echoes have not yet reached the country. They will challenge its grateful and enthusiastic applause. Yourselves striking out a new path, your comrades of the Army of the Tennessee followed, and a way was thus opened for them to redeem previous disappointments. Your march through Louisiana, from Milliken's Bend to New Carthage and Perkins' plantation, on the Mississippi River, is one of the most remarkable on record. Bayous and miry roads, threatened with momentary inundation, obstructed your progress. All these were overcome by unceasing labor and unflagging energy. The 2,000 feet of bridging which was hastily improvised out of materials created on the spot, and over which you passed, must long be remembered as a marvel. Descending the Mississippi still lower, you were the first to cross the river at Bruin's Landing and to plant our colors in the State of Mississippi below Warrenton. Resuming the advance the same day, you pushed on until you came up to the enemy near Port Gibson. Only restrained by the darkness of night, you hastened to attack him on the morning of May 1, and by vigorously pressing him at all points drove him from his position, taking a large number of prisoners and small-arms and five pieces of cannon. General Logan's division came up in time to gallantly share in consummating the most valuable victory won since the capture of Fort Donelson.

Taking the lead on the morning of the 2d, you were the first to enter Port Gibson and to hasten the retreat of the enemy from the vicinity of that place. During the ensuing night, as a consequence of the victory at Port Gibson, the enemy spiked his guns at Grand Gulf and evacuated that place, retiring upon Vicksburg and Edwards Station. The fall of Grand Gulf was solely the result of the victory achieved by the land forces at Port Gibson. The armament and public stores captured there are but the just trophies of that victory. Hastening to bridge the South Branch of the Bayou Pierre, at Port Gibson, you crossed on the morning of the 3d, and pushed on to Willow Springs, Big Sandy, and the main crossing of Fourteen-Mile Creek, 4 miles from Edwards Station. A detachment of the enemy was immediately driven away from the crossing, and you advanced, passed over, and rested during the night of the 12th within 3 miles of the enemy, in large force at the station.

On the morning of the 13th, the objective point of the army's movements having been changed from Edwards Station to Jackson, in pursuance of an order from the commander of the department, you moved on the north side of Fourteen-Mile Creek toward Raymond. This delicate and hazardous movement was executed by a portion of your number under cover of Hovey's division, which made a feint of attack in line of battle upon Edwards Station. Too late to harm you, the enemy attacked the rear of that division, but was promptly and decisively repulsed.

Resting near Raymond that night, on the morning of the 14th you entered that place, one division moving on to Mississippi Springs, near Jackson, in support of General Sherman; another to Clinton, in support of General McPherson; a third remaining at Raymond, and a fourth at Old Auburn, to bring up the army trains.

On the 15th, you again led the advance toward Edwards Station, which once more became the objective point. Expelling the enemy's pickets from Bolton the same day, you secured and held that important position.

On the 16th, you led the advance, in three columns upon three roads, against Edwards Station. Meeting the enemy on the way in strong force, you heavily engaged him near Champion's Hill, and after a sanguinary and obstinate battle, with the assistance of General McPherson's corps, beat and routed him, taking many prisoners and small-arms and several pieces of cannon. Continuing to lead the advance, you rapidly pursued the enemy to Edwards Station, capturing that place, a large quantity of public stores, and many prisoners. Night only stopped you.

At day-dawn on the 17th, you resumed the advance, and early coming upon the enemy strongly intrenched in elaborate works, both before and behind Big Black River, immediately opened with artillery upon him, followed by a daring and heroic charge at the point of the bayonet, which put him to rout, leaving eighteen pieces of cannon and more than 1,000 prisoners in your hands.

By an early hour on the 18th, you had constructed a bridge across the Big Black, and had commenced the advance upon Vicksburg.

On the 19th, 20th, and 21st you continued to reconnoiter and skirmish until you had gained a near approach to the enemy's works.

On the 22d, in pursuance of the order from the commander of the department, you assaulted the enemy's defenses in front at 10 a.m., and within thirty minutes had made a lodgment and planted your colors upon two of his bastions. This partial success called into exercise the highest heroism, and was only gained by a bloody and protracted struggle; yet it was gained, and was the first and largest success achieved anywhere along the whole line of our army. For nearly eight hours, under a scorching sun and destructive fire, you firmly held your footing, and only withdrew when the enemy had largely massed their forces and concentrated their attack upon you. How and why the general assault failed, it would be useless now to explain. The Thirteenth Army Corps, acknowledging the good intentions of all, would scorn indulgence in weak regrets and idle criminations. According justice to all, it would only defend itself. If, while the enemy was massing to crush it, assistance was asked for by a diversion at other points, or by re-enforcement, it only asked what in one case Major-General Grant had specifically and peremptorily ordered, namely, simultaneous and persistent attack all along our lines until the enemy's outer works should be carried, and what, in the other, by massing a strong force in time upon a weakened point, would have probably insured success.

Comrades, you have done much, yet something more remains to be done. The enemy's odious defenses still block your access to Vicksburg. Treason still rules that rebellious city, and closes the Mississippi River against rightful use by the millions who inhabit its sources and the great Northwest. Shall not our flag float over Vicksburg? Shall not the great Father of Waters be opened to lawful commerce? Methinks the emphatic response of one and all of you is, "It shall be so." Then let us rise to the level of a crowning trial. Let our common sufferings and glories, while uniting as a band of brothers, rouse us to new and surpassing efforts. Let us resolve upon success, God helping us.

I join with you, comrades, in your sympathy for the wounded and sorrow for the dead. May we not trust, nay, is it not so, that history will associate the martyrs of this sacred struggle for law and order, liberty and justice, with the honored martyrs of Monmouth and Bunker Hill?

JOHN A. McCLERNAND,

Major-General, Commanding.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 24, Part 1 (Serial No. 36), p. 159-61

Major General William T. Sherman to Ellen Ewing Sherman, May 25, 1863

HEADQUARTERS 15TH ARMY CORPS,

WALNUT HILLS, May 25, 1863.

Whilst the men are making roads and ditches to enable me to get close up to the enemy's parapet without crossing within full view and fatal effect [from] their well prepared forts and trenches, I have availed myself of the favorable opportunity to pitch a tent and get out writing materials to write up. . . . Devastation and ruin lay behind us, and a garrison of some fifteen or twenty thousand men are before us, cooped up in Vicksburg with about five or six thousand people, women and children. The forts are well built and command the roads, and the hills and valleys are so abrupt and covered with fallen trees, standing trunks and canebrake that we are in a measure confined to the roads. We have made two distinct assaults all along the line, but the heads of columns are swept away as chaff thrown from the hand in a windy day. We are now hard at work with roads and trenches, taking all possible advantage of the shape of the ground. We must work smart, as Joe Johnston is collecting the shattered forces, those we beat at Jackson and Champion Hill, and may get reinforcements from Bragg and Charleston and come pouncing down on our rear. The enemy in Vicksburg must expect aid from that quarter, else they would not fight with such desperation. Vicksburg is not only of importance to them, but now is a subject of pride and its loss will be fatal to their power out west. Grant's move was the most hazardous, but thus far the most successful of the war. He is entitled to all the credit, for I would not have advised it. We have now perfect communication with our supplies, plenty of provisions, tools and ammunition, and if vast reinforcements do not come from the outside Vicksburg is ours as sure as fate.

I suppose you have all been in intense anxiety. Charley was very conspicuous in the first assault and brought off the colors of the battalion which are now in front of my tent, the staff ¼ cut away by a ball that took with it a part of his finger. . . . We brought off nearly all our dead and all the wounded, and the enemy called from their pits warning the burial parties not to come down as they could take care of those left. Our pickets are up so close that they can hardly show their heads without drawing hundreds of shots. In like manner we can hardly show a hand without the whir of a minnie ball. Our artillery is all well placed and must do havoc in the town. We have over a hundred cannon which pour a constant fire over the parapets, the balls going right towards their Court House and depot.

In about three days our approach will be so close that another assault will be made, but the enemy like beavers are digging as hard as we. . . .

SOURCES: M. A. DeWolfe Howe, Editor, Home Letters of General Sherman, p. 262-3.  A full copy of this letter can be found in the William T Sherman Family papers (SHR), University of Notre Dame Archives (UNDA), Notre Dame, IN 46556, Folder CSHR 2/04.

Andrew J. Myers

MYERS, A. J. — Farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 10. P. O. West Pilot. Was born June 26, 1843, in Knox county, Ohio. When six years of age he moved with his parents to this State and settled in Mahaska county where he lived three years. He then moved to Poweshiek county, Iowa, where he lived until the breaking out of the war, and then enlisted in the Thirteenth Iowa infantry, company I, in 1861, and served until March. 1862, and was discharged on account of ill health. He again enlisted in August, 1862, in company C, Twenty-Eighth Iowa infantry, and served until the end of the war. He was in the battles of Port Gibson, Raymond, and Champion's Hill, where he was wounded and laid up for one year. He was mustered out in August, 1865, and he returned to Poweshiek county. He came to this county in 1866. He was married in 1866 to Mrs. Catharine Coover and by this union have five children: Perry C., Emery E., Drusilla C. George W. and Jessie L. Mr. Myers has been township clerk for four years, and is elected for the two ensuing years. He is a man who takes a warm interest in the welfare of the county. He now owns a fine farm of 80 acres.

SOURCE: Union Historical Company, The History Of Iowa County, Iowa (1881), p. 689

Seventeenth Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry

The ten companies composing the Seventeenth Iowa Infantry were ordered into, quarters at Keokuk, Iowa, between the dates January 25 and March 14, 1862, and were there mustered into the service of the United States by Lieutenant Charles J. Ball, United States Army, between the dates March 21 and April 16, 1862. The original roster of the regiment shows that it had an aggregate strength of 897 when the last company was mustered, and that additional enlistments of 61 men gave it an aggregate of 958, rank and file, before it left the state.

On the 19th of April, 1862, the regiment left its rendezvous at Keokuk and was conveyed by steamer to St. Louis, Mo., arriving there on the 20th and going into quarters at Benton Barracks, where it was provided with arms and the necessary equipage for active service in the field. With but little opportunity for drill and instruction it was hurried to the front, leaving St. Louis May 5th and proceeding by steamer to Hamburg Landing, Tenn., where it disembarked and marched to join the army then engaged in the siege of Corinth, Miss. The regiment participated in the siege operations until May 30th, on which date Corinth was evacuated, and then joined in the pursuit of the enemy. When the pursuit was abandoned, it returned to Corinth and, during the remainder of the summer, was engaged in perfecting itself in drill and discipline, and in watching the movements of the enemy, evidently making preparations to recover possession of Corinth and to drive the Union army out of the State.

On the 18th of September, 1862, the regiment marched in the direction of Iuka, Miss., and on the 19th became engaged in the desperate battle which was fought there. In this, its first battle, the regiment was subjected to an experience never repeated in its subsequent splendid service. The official report of the conduct of the regiment in the battle of Iuka was written by Captain John L. Young [see note 1]. He describes the position occupied at the commencement of the engagement; states that an order was given which one-half the regiment failed to hear and which resulted in separating the right from the left wing, just as the regiment came under the fire of the enemy. This was a critical situation for both men and officers who had never been under fire, and one which demanded the most prompt, capable and energetic leadership. But one of the field officers (Colonel Rankin) was present for duty, and he was disabled by having his horse shot under him early in the engagement, plunging him against a tree and rendering him incapable of remaining in command of the regiment. Captain S. M. Archer then assumed command, but he soon fell, severely wounded. The command then devolved upon Captain Young, who was with the right wing and who urged the men to maintain their position under the heavy fire of the enemy, which they did for a time, even advancing toward the rebel line. The following brief extracts from his official report will show that the Captain and the subordinate officers who were with him made a gallant effort to stem the tide of battle:

. . . About the time I mention as having lost sight of Colonel Rankin our men retreated without any command, which caused great confusion. They had not proceeded far to the rear, however, until I succeeded in rallying them, and got them back to about where our line was first formed. ... I then went to near the right of the right wing and urged the men forward. "We had proceeded but a short distance when a tremendous volley from the enemy caused a panic in the battalion, and with all my efforts and assisted by Captain D. A Craig (who was the only Captain I saw after Colonel Rankin left the field) could not rally them until they had retreated almost to the road near the old log church. I here succeeded in stopping them, got a line partly formed and marched them forward. By the time I had got them to our former line, I had, I should think, about 300 men, consisting of the right wing of our regiment and stragglers from the Fifth Iowa, Eleventh Missouri, Fourth Minnesota, Thirty-ninth Ohio and some others. I now held them near where our first line was formed for about three-quarters of an hour . . . .


Captain Young then proceeds to describe in detail the movements which followed, to the close of the battle. He shows that, owing to the blunder of some one higher in command, the men under his command were subjected to the fire of both Union and rebel troops, which caused another panic and retreat. He succeeded, however, in again rallying the men and keeping them in line until the retreat was sounded. In closing his report Captain Young says:

It may be that the foregoing would not add much to the reputation of a regiment, but this I cannot avoid. I give you a simple statement of the facts that came under my own observation, hoping to be able to give a better account of the Seventeenth Iowa in the next engagement. It is due to Captain Craig, company H; Lieutenants Garrett and Johnson of company A; Lieutenants Rice and Snodgrass of company I; Lieutenant Hull, company E; Lieutenant Morris, company F; Lieutenant Stapleton, company C, and one or two others, probably, who were with me through the entire engagement, to say that they acted in a very brave and unflinching manner and deserve great credit. I do not wish either to be understood as casting any insinuations upon any officer in the regiment, but I only mention those whom I saw in the engagement.


Brigadier General J. C. Sullivan, who commanded the brigade to which the Seventeenth Iowa was attached, says in his official report: "The Seventeenth Iowa Regiment was without a field officer, and Captain Archer, the senior Captain, soon fell, severely wounded, when Captain Young assumed command and did his duty nobly [see note 2]." There is nowhere a word of censure of the Seventeenth Iowa in the Brigade Commander's report. The unfortunate situation in which the regiment was placed, — without a field officer, its senior Captain disabled by a severe wound at the very beginning of the engagement, the regiment separated just as it came under the fire of the enemy, its officers unskilled in war and sorely in need of a full complement of field officers to lead and direct them, — these facts were well known to the Brigade Commander and led him to overlook the failure of the regiment to measure up to the high standard of excellence of which he well knew they would prove themselves capable under more fortunate conditions. Major General Rosecrans, however, considered it his duty to administer a severe reprimand to the regiment [see note 3] He was soon to have an opportunity to do an act of justice in commending the bravery of the officers and men of the Seventeenth Iowa, and in that order it will be observed that, in again referring to the conduct of the regiment at Iuka, he uses the fitting word "misfortune" instead of the harsh and unjust terms contained in his previous order. At the conclusion of Brigadier General Sullivan's report of the conduct of his brigade in the battle of Iuka, he makes the following statement: "I enclose reports received from commanding officers of regiments, together with a list of the killed, wounded and missing of my brigade. The regiments of my brigade engaged were: Tenth Iowa, Colonel Perczel; Seventeenth Iowa, Captain Archer; Eightieth Ohio, Colonel Bartilson, and one section of the Twelfth Wisconsin Battery, commanded by Lieutenant Immell.” [See note 4.]

The tabulated returns of casualties, by regiments, and the aggregate loss of the brigade, show that the Seventeenth Iowa sustained a loss greater than that of all the other regiments of the brigade combined [see note 5]. In his history of the regiment, Colonel Clark R. Wever, referring to its conduct in the battle of Iuka, makes the following statement: "In this our first real battle, considering the stupidity, mismanagement and confusion which characterized the greater part of the engagement, the regiment conducted itself in a manner of which all engaged feel as truly proud as of any subsequent engagement, notwithstanding the opprobrium cast upon it in orders announcing the results of the battle." [See note 6.]

The loss of the regiment at Iuka was one officer and three enlisted men killed, three officers and thirty-five enlisted men wounded, and four enlisted men missing in action, a total loss of 46, while the entire loss of the brigade was but 86. That the officers and men of the Seventeenth Iowa acquitted themselves well in this battle — when the facts, as shown, are taken into consideration — must be conceded.

Darkness put an end to the conflict at Iuka and, during the night, the enemy retired from the field, thus admitting defeat. The rebel general had not abandoned his intention to make another desperate attempt to regain possession of Corinth, notwithstanding his failure at Iuka. The concentration and movements of his army indicated his purpose to renew the struggle, and the Union troops were concentrated in the vicinity of Corinth, where they awaited the impending conflict. The Seventeenth Iowa, with the Second Brigade, Third Division, Army of the Mississippi, (the same command with which it had fought at Iuka,) lay in camp at Corinth on the morning of October 3, 1862. Early that morning Captain John L. Young, who was in command of the regiment, received an order from Brigadier General Sullivan, the brigade commander, to move his regiment towards the north to meet the enemy, reported to be advancing from that direction. While this order was being executed, Major Jabez Banbury, of the Fifth Iowa Infantry, was ordered by General Hamilton (commanding the Division) to take command of the regiment. Limitation of space will not permit the reproduction of Major Banbury's official report in full, but the following extracts will serve to show the splendid conduct of the regiment in the two days' battle of Corinth [see note 7]:

HEADQUARTERS SEVENTEENTH IOWA INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS,
CAMP AT HATCHIE CHURCH, MISS., Oct. 9, 1862.

GENERAL: As directed by order of General Hamilton, I took command of the Seventeenth Iowa on the morning of the 3d instant, after the regiment had been marched about one-half mile north of Corinth by Captain Young. About 7 A. M. we were moved with the rest of the brigade to the breastworks two, miles north of town, and after changing position, company A, at about 2 o'clock, under command of First Lieutenant Garrett, was thrown out about three-fourths of a mile as skirmishers, and was engaged in a brisk skirmish of about an hour, during which time it did good service, leaving quite a number of dead rebels on the ground. Company B was also deployed as skirmishers in front of our regiment, and while out the regiment changed position, and it did not get to the regiment until the next day, after the battle on Saturday was over. This company under command of Second Lieutenant Hull, of company E, deserves great credit for the brave and unflinching manner in which it held its perilous situation until relieved. About 4:30 o'clock this regiment was placed on the extreme right of the brigade and ordered forward in line of, battle, and after marching about half a mile we were met with heavy fire from the enemy's batteries, which we found were not more than 100 yards in our advance. We also found the enemy in large force, supporting their batteries, which were three in number, and finding we were now some distance from the brigade and entirely unsupported, the enemy also having commenced a flank movement to our right, we fell back to the road and there joined the balance of the brigade. . . .


The Major describes in detail the further movements of the regiment on the firing line and in support of a battery, until the brigade was ordered inside the-fortifications, where the regiment was assigned to the duty of supporting batteries during most of the night. At an early hour on the morning of the 4th it again advanced in line of battle with the brigade, but, after proceeding some distance, was ordered to return and was given a new position on the defensive line. After taking this position, Major Banbury describes the part taken by the regiment during the remainder of the battle, as follows:

I remained in this position but a short time when I was ordered forward, just as the troops on our right were falling back quite fast, and with the balance of our brigade I marched the regiment forward to the brow of the hill, firing and driving the enemy before us. After firing and driving the enemy for probably twenty minutes, we were ordered to charge, which we did, taking quite a number of prisoners and capturing a rebel flag from the Fortieth Mississippi regiment. Corporal King, of Company G, was the first to, lay hands on the rebel colors and took the bearer prisoner and brought him to the rear of our lines.

I cannot speak in too high terms of praise of both officers and men throughout the regiment. Not a man in the entire regiment evinced the slightest inclination to shirk or fall back, and all, without a single exception, stood up to the work nobly and with an apparent determination to drive the rebels back at all hazards.

As the regiment was under your immediate observation during the entire engagement, I do not deem it necessary to mention any as deserving more mention, but will leave it for you to say whether any are entitled to more praise than that already received by this report.

I am, General, your obedient servant,

J. BANBURY., Major,
Fifth, Commanding Seventeenth Iowa Infantry.

BRIGADIER GENERAL SULLIVAN,
Commanding Second Brigade, Third Division, Army of the Mississippi.


The following order was issued by General Rosecrans, commending the conduct of the regiment in the battle of Corinth and, to some extent, mitigating his harsh and unjust reprimand upon its conduct at Iuka [see note 8]:


General Orders No. 145.

Headquarters Army of the Mississippi,
Third Div., Dist. of West Tennessee.
Corinth, Miss., Oct. 23, 1862.

The General commanding cannot forbear to give pleasure to many, besides the brave men immediately concerned, by announcing, in advance of the regular orders, that the Seventeenth Iowa Infantry, by its gallantry in the battle of Corinth, on the 4th of October, charging the enemy and capturing the flag of the Fortieth Mississippi, has amply atoned for its misfortune at Iuka, and stands among the honored regiments of his command. Long may they wear with unceasing brightness the honors they have won.

By order of MAJOR GENERAL W. S. ROSECRANS,

C. GODDARD, First Lieut. Twelfth Infty.
Ohio Vols., Actg. Asst. Adjt. Gen.


The loss of the regiment at Corinth was 25 killed [see note 9] and wounded, but, until the last of the engagement, it was protected by breastworks and was able to inflict heavy loss upon the enemy with comparatively light loss to itself. Thus far it had lost 71 men in battle.

The regiment participated in the pursuit of the retreating rebel army for several days, when it was ordered to return to Corinth, remaining there until November 2d, when it started with its brigade and division on the great Mississippi Central Expedition, which General Grant had organized with Vicksburg as his objective point, and which penetrated far towards the southern border of the State, but was finally compelled to turn back on acount of the raid of a large force of rebel cavalry which destroyed the immense stores of supplies which had been accumulated at Holly Springs, Miss. The return march of the Union troops was marked by great suffering on account of insufficient rations and forced marches. The Seventeenth Iowa bore its full share of the hardships of this expedition.

On the 26th of December, the regiment with its brigade and division started from Holly Springs as a guard to 625 wagons, with which they proceeded to Memphis, loaded the wagons with provisions and returned as far as Collierville, Tenn., where they were relieved by other troops who took charge of the wagon train and guarded it back to the famishing army in the rear. Until February 8th, the regiment was engaged in guarding the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. It then marched to Memphis and, on March 2d, embarked on steamer and proceeded to Grand Lake, La. On March 8th it again embarked and was conveyed to Helena, Ark.

Its next expedition — a most difficult and arduous one, conducted on steamboats—was through the tortuous windings of Yazoo Pass and on through the Coldwater and Tallahatchie rivers to the vicinity of Fort Pemberton. General Grant then changed the plan of his campaign and the regiment was ordered to return to Helena, where it remained until April 17th, when it again embarked and was conveyed down the river to Milliken's Bend, where it landed on the 26th and took up the line of march for Grand Gulf, where it crossed the river on gun boats and moved rapidly to the front. It arrived at Port Gibson just at the close of the engagement there and pursued the retreating rebels to Black River.

The Vicksburg campaign was now fairly under way and battles were frequent. The Seventeenth Iowa had been engaged in several skirmishes but did not meet the enemy in force until May 12th, when it participated in the last of the fighting at Raymond and joined in the pursuit of the enemy. May 14th the regiment engaged the enemy at Jackson and, during the battle, executed a brilliant charge with fixed bayonets. Colonel D. B. Hillis commanded the regiment during this battle and wrote the official report. After describing the different positions his command occupied and its steadiness and good conduct as it advanced under the heavy fire of the enemy, Colonel Hillis thus describes the manner in which the enemy was dislodged from the ravine in his front and the capture of the fort [see note 10]:

You then ordered me to take the ravine, which I did by a bayonet charge at a double quick, breaking the enemy's lines, and pressing him up and over the crest of the next hill. Having reached this crest I ordered the regiment to cease firing, and commanded a halt. After having rested here some twenty minutes or more, I was ordered by you to throw forward one company in front of my line as skirmishers at a double quick to investigate the brush and woods in advance. This duty I intrusted to Company H, (Captain Craig) which they did skillfully, discovering no enemy, as he had fled in great confusion, abandoning his position, camp and fort, (containing four pieces of artillery,) which the captain entered, took possession of, and held until ordered into Jackson by General McPherson. The Captain, therefore, claims the honor of having first entered the works and taken possession of the guns. . . .


Colonel Hillis concludes his report as follows:

I went into the action with three hundred and fifty (350) men, and lost during the engagement 16 killed, 60 wounded, 3 missing and one disabled by a shell, making an aggregate of 80 men, or 23 per cent of my command. ... I cannot speak in too high terms of praise of the gallantry and zeal displayed by the entire command. So well did all do their part that none are deserving of special mention, unless it be Captain L. W. Houston, who, while suffering from a very painful and severe wound through his left fore-arm, and away from all assistance, seized a gun from one of three rebels, and brought the three into the hospital; and to, Lieutenant Colonel Wever, Captain Walden [see note 11] (who commanded the left wing, and had his horse shot under him,) and Adjutant F. Woolsey, to all of whom I am indebted for their coolness and assistance, and take pleasure in commending them.


The regiment had again demonstrated the fact that it had no superior among the volunteer organizations from Iowa or any other State, and had established a battle record which would have entitled it to lasting fame had its service terminated with the battle of Jackson. It had now been in the service but little over a year, had been engaged in four battles, many skirmishes, and arduous marches, and was in the midst of one of the greatest campaigns of the war, in which the valor, fortitude and endurance of its officers and men was to be tested to the utmost.

On the day following the capture of Jackson the regiment marched in the direction of Vicksburg and the enemy. The rebel army was stubbornly contesting against the advance of the Union army, and it was evident that another great battle was impending. The wounded were left at Jackson, in charge of Assistant Surgeon C. C. Biser, who was afterwards captured and, with the wounded who were able to be moved, sent to Richmond, Va. In his history of the regiment, Colonel Clark R. Wever describes the events which transpired immediately preceding the next battle in which it participated [see note 12]:

At Clinton we were detached from the corps, and ordered to remain to do picket and personal guard duty for General Grant, who had established his headquarters there. Tired, sore-footed and war-worn, we lay down at night congratulating ourselves upon our good fortune in being allowed a short respite, while the rest of the army were still "marching on"; but scarcely had our reveille been sounded on the day following, (May 16th) when the angry booming of a hundred [sic] cannon told but too plainly that there was more work to be done. General Grant ordered us to move with the least possible delay. We were immediately in the road, and marching in quick time for the theater of operations. The dust and heat were almost insufferable, and the road in places literally blockaded with teams. Within three miles of Champion Hills, very discouraging reports were sent to the rear. Everybody concurred in the opinion that the rebels had a very decided advantage, and bid fair to gain the day. An aide to General Grant rode back to us and ordered the brigade (two regiments only being present, the Tenth Missouri, and Seventeenth Iowa,) forward on the double quick. The order was immediately given by Colonel Hillis, and the boys threw away knapsacks, haversacks, blankets and everything (except guns and ammunition,) that could impede their march; pushed forward on a brisk run, and soon reached the scene of conflict.


The regiment so greatly distinguished itself at Champion's Hill, that the compiler, at the risk of having to give more meager description of future battles in which it was engaged, gives here the entire official report of its conduct in that hotly contested engagement:

Headquarters Seventeenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry,
Before Vicksburg, Miss., May 24, 1862.

CAPTAIN: — In compliance with Special Orders No. 27, from your headquarters, I herewith submit the following report of the part taken by my regiment (Seventeenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry) in the battle of Champion's Hill on the 16th inst. I arrived in the vicinity of the hills on which the battle was being fought about 2 p. m., and without having time to rest my men (who had that day marched 12 miles through dust, and under a burning sun, with knapsacks on their backs,) was ordered forward at a double quick. I established my line at a point midway up and on the north side of the hill, my right resting on the left of the Vicksburg road, in the rear of the Ninety-third Illinois (Colonel Putnam) which was severely pressed by the enemy's massed forces. In doing this my men suffered from the fire intended for the Ninety-third. As soon as my line was formed, Colonel Putnam moved his regiment out by the right flank, and left me fronting the enemy direct, some 40 or 50 yards only intervening. This position I held under a well directed fire, which my gallant fellows returned with interest, for about fifteen minutes, when I ordered an advance, which was executed with a heroism that I am proud of. This caused the enemy to give way, but he soon rallied, and again gave way, and in this way I advanced, driving him slowly, inch by inch, from the ravines and ditches in which he had effected a lodgement, up one declivity and down another, and finally onto the summit of the ridge along which the road runs, and charged him down the slope on the other (south) side, retaking four pieces of artillery, J. F. Waddell's Alabama battery. This battery had been taken earlier in the engagement by the Eleventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, but this splendid regiment had again to yield it, the enemy having massed his forces against it. After this charge, I commanded a halt and rectified my line, which had been somewhat deranged. All being quiet at this moment on my front, I ran back a short distance to get a horse (mine having been shot early in the engagement) but, being overcome by excessive labor and heat, I fell by the way, and by the time I returned to my regiment, which was in a few minutes, it had made another gallant charge, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Wever, routing the Thirty-first Alabama Regiment. In this charge a great many prisoners were taken, including the colors, color bearer and guard of that regiment, which colors are now in my possession. The enemy again rallied, but by this time the gallant Tenth Missouri was in position on my right, and we gave him two more charges, which put him in perfect rout. This then ended the fight, so far as we were concerned, and, I think, entirely. My regiment then, wearied and worn, with thinned ranks, rested on their arms until ordered into camp. It is worthy of note that in this engagement the regiment charged the enemy successfully five times, under the most galling fire from musketry and shell, and over ravines, and ditches that are very difficult of passage, and which afforded him excellent protection.

In conclusion, I feel that my command did their whole duty, and are worthy of all commendation. To my Lieutenant Colonel (Wever) and Adjutant (Woolsey) I am greatly indebted for their daring and assistance during the engagement. Both of these officers had their horses shot under them early in the fight. I cannot forbear mentioning in this connection specially for great bravery First Lieutenant C. W. Woodrow, Company K.; Second Lieutenant George W. Deal, Company G.; Second Lieutenant Tower, Company B., (whose gallantry resulted in the loss of his leg); First Sergeant Evan E. Swearngin, Company F., and Private Albert G. Trussel, Company G, who captured the colors and color bearer of the Thirty-first Alabama. In the engagement I had nine companies, one company (E) having been left back at Jackson on duty. My loss in killed, wounded and missing is 57 (25 per cent of the number engaged), as per list of casualties which I send with this report [see note 13]. We captured 175 prisoners, mostly Alabama and Missouri troops.

D. B. HILLIS,
Colonel Commanding Seventeenth Iowa Volunteers.

CAPT. WILLIAM W. McCAMMON,
A. A. A. G., 2d Brig., 7th Div. [See note 14.]


On May 20th the regiment reached Vicksburg and became part of the besieging force. On May 22d it participated in the assault on the enemy's works, but, being on the reserve line, lost but seven men. The assault was repulsed and the regiment was thereafter engaged in the regular siege operations, furnishing details for the trenches and, while performing this duty, suffered slight losses from the enemy's sharpshooters. Later in the siege, however, the regiment was ordered to perform a most hazardous and dangerous service, which is thus described by Colonel Wever [see note 15]:

On the 26th of June, General Logan sent to our division for two regiments to assist in holding and defending Fort Hill, which was then mined and in readiness for blowing up; the Seventeenth was one of the two designated. Early in the afternoon the fort was blown up, and the breach held by troops from General Logan's division, until 11 o'clock at night, when we were placed in the broken parapet, which we held until 2 o'clock A. M. of the 27th, with musketry alone, while the rebels were continually hurling hand grenades (6 and 10 pound shells,) into our midst. Here we lost 37 men killed and wounded; the killed were so charred and mutilated that their friends could scarcely identify them, and the wounds were terrible, very many afterwards proving fatal.


The regiment had now lost in battle, on the skirmish line, and in siege operations, an aggregate of 268 [see note 16]. Its losses by death from disease and by discharge for disability had also been heavy, but, undismayed, it was ready to go forward in the discharge of its duty, no matter how great the suffering and sacrifice it might still be called upon to endure. On the 4th of July, 1863, the long siege came to an end, Vicksburg had been surrendered and the Seventeenth Iowa entered the city and went into camp. Here it remained, doing garrison duty, until the 9th of September.

Upon the date last mentioned the regiment with its brigade and division proceeded to Helena, Ark., and on September 29th was ordered to Memphis, Tenn. There it joined the Fifteenth Army Corps, under command of General W. T. Sherman. On October 10th, the regiment, now a part of Sherman's army, moved to Glendale, Miss., and on October 17th started on the long march to Chattanooga, Tenn. Thirty-two days later — November 19th — the army reached its destination. At 2 A. M., November 24th, Sherman's army crossed the Tennessee river on pontoon boats and took position in readiness for the impending conflict. The Seventeenth Iowa, under command of Colonel Clark R. Wever, participated in the preliminary operations on the 24th, and on the 25th of November, 1863, was in that magnificent line of battle which swept Mission Ridge from base to crest, steadily driving the enemy and performing one of the greatest achievements of the war. In this battle the regiment fully maintained its splendid record for bravery and efficiency. Its loss was 12 killed, 32 wounded and 14 missing, total 58, thus increasing its aggregate loss in battle to 326. At the conclusion of his official report [see note 17], Colonel Wever makes special mention of the gallant conduct of Adjutant Woolsey, and First Lieutenant Geo. W. Deal. November 26th, the regiment joined in the pursuit of the enemy to Greyville, Ga., from which point it returned to Chattanooga, arriving there on the evening of the 29th.

On December 2d the regiment marched to Bridgeport, Ala., where it remained in camp until the 22d, and then marched to Huntsville, Ala., where it remained during the winter and spring of 1864, part of the time engaged in guarding large supply trains, collecting grain and provisions, and watching the movements of the enemy. On the 1st of April, 1864 a large majority of the regiment had re-enlisted as Veteran Volunteers, and it now became a veteran organization in name as well as in fact. It had at that time an aggregate strength of 352 present for duty, with 127 absent, including the sick in hospitals, and those on detached service, on leave of absence and furlough, making a total of 479 still borne upon the rolls of the regiment — just one-half the number with which it had left Iowa on the 19th of April, 1862 — less than two years before.

While at Huntsville, Colonel Wever was in command of the Post. He was subsequently detailed to take command of another brigade, and greatly distinguished himself by the manner in which he defended the Post at Resaca, Ga., holding out against superior numbers until reinforcements reached him, and the enemy was compelled to abandon the siege. In the meantime Lieutenant Colonel Archer was in command of the Seventeenth Iowa, which had been moved to Scottsville, thence to Stevenson, where its division was again concentrated and was moving to join the main army at the front, when the Seventeenth Iowa was again separated from its brigade and ordered to return to Tilton, where it arrived July 2d. Here it was assigned to the duty of guarding the railroad between Dalton and Resaca, a distance of fifteen miles, except at a point near Reseca where two companies of another regiment belonging to its brigade (the Tenth Missouri) were stationed. The regiment here had a most difficult and dangerous service to perform during the remainder of the summer. This duty was faithfully executed, and trains bearing supplies for the main army continued to pass over the road until the 13th of October, 1864, on which date the little garrison at Tilton found itself surrounded by a largely superior force of the enemy and, after a most gallant and heroic defense, was compelled to surrender. Captain William Horner of Company G (subsequently commissioned Major and Lieutenant Colonel) was on picket duty at the time the enemy appeared, and, being cut off from his beleaguered comrades, escaped with the thirty-one men under his command to the forest-covered mountains. These men, with those who subsequently escaped from their captors, constitute the number enrolled upon the worn and faded but distinctly legible old war paper which lies before the compiler of this historical sketch. It is entitled: "Return of the Seventeenth Regiment of Iowa Veteran Volunteer Infantry, Army of the United States, for the month of October, 1864." This old return is regularly made out, in compliance with military regulations. It is dated at Reseca, Georgia, October 31, 1864, and signed "William Horner, Capt, commanding the Regiment" and "E. E. Swearngin, First Lieutenant and Acting Adjutant." It shows three commissioned officers and forty-one enlisted men present for duty. In the proper places upon the return the following notations are made:

"During the first part of the month of October, 1864, the regiment was encamped at Tilton, Ga., on the A. and W. R. Railroad. At that point nothing of interest occurred until the 13th inst, when a corps of Rebel infantry, commanded by Lieutenant General Stewart, made their appearance around the command. The defense consisted of a Block House capable of holding 70 men; the remainder of the men, numbering 210, were placed outside in the trenches. An insolent demand for surrender, accompanied by a threat to massacre the entire garrison, if not acceded to, was made by the Rebel General, to which Colonel. Archer made the brief and pointed reply: 'If you want me and my men come and take us.' Eleven guns were placed in position by the enemy (12 and 32 pounders) and opened on the Block House. After holding the place seven hours, and with the Block House ready to fall and crush the whole force, it was surrendered to the enemy, and everything destroyed by them. Lieutenant Colonel Archer and Adjutant Woolsey were paroled. Several officers and men have since escaped. The regiment became veteran seven months (ago and have just received the order to go home. Forty-four men are left to accept of the furlough."

"The regimental and company records having been captured and destroyed by the enemy at Tilton, Ga., on the 13th of October, 1864, it is therefore impossible to give the names of absentees. Three hundred and one enlisted men missing in action."

The names of the officers missing in action (13 in number) are given on the return. Opposite the names of two of the officers notations are made, as follows:

“E. E. Swearngin {Captured at Tilton, Ga., Oct. 13, 1864, escaped below Rome, Ga., and got through safe to our lines.”

“Capt. S. E. Hicks {Captured Oct. 13, 1864, by the enemy, escaped Oct. 19, 1864. Drowned Oct. 21, 1864, near Rome, Ga., in attempting to get to our lines in company with Lieutenant Swearngin.”

Pathos and tragedy are combined in these brief notations. The closing scene in that unequal conflict shows that the Block House had been reduced to such a state of ruin that it was about to fall upon and crush its gallant defenders. With ammunition exhausted, and with the sword and bayonet the only means of defense against the overwhelming numbers of the enemy, there was no alternative but death or surrender. The brave and intrepid Colonel Archer was therefore fully justified in surrendering himself and his command, with the stipulation that they were to be treated as prisoners of war.

At the time of re-enlistment, the men had been assured that they would be sent to their homes and given a furlough of thirty days, to date from the time of their reaching the State of Iowa. They had eagerly and hopefully expected the fulfillment of that promise, but the exigencies of the campaign which ensued became so great that every soldier in General Sherman's army, who was able for duty, was needed at the front. The great majority of these faithful men of the Seventeenth Iowa were thus compelled to relinquish the hope of again seeing their homes and loved ones until the end of the war. It was only to the little band who had escaped capture or death that the promise was fulfilled. Of those who were carried into captivity, many died from wounds received before their capture, and from disease. The remnant of this gallant regiment, under Colonel Wever, subsequently joined Sherman's army at Savannah, marched thence to Washington and took part in the Grand Review. Finally, with the exchanged or released prisoners, these veteran survivors of the Seventeenth Iowa were conveyed to Louisville, Kentucky, where, on the 25th day of July, 1865, they were mustered out of the service of the United States. They then proceeded to Davenport, Iowa, where the regiment was disbanded and the men returned to their homes.

Among all the splendid regiments which the State of Iowa sent into the field, not one has a more honorable record of service than the Seventeenth. To those of its members who still survive, to their families and to all who shall come after them, this brief history is dedicated, with the hope and belief that; in connection with the revised roster of the regiment which follows, it will serve the purpose intended by the General Assembly of the State, in enacting the law providing for the preservation of the history of its military organizations, and the personal record of its soldiers.


SUMMARY OF CASUALTIES.

Total Enrollment 1,085
Killed 45
Wounded 246
Died of wounds 24
Died of disease 97
Discharged for disease, wounds or other causes 263
Buried in National Cemeteries 76
Captured 315
Transferred 28


[Note 1.] War of the Rebellion Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 17, p. 109.

[Note 2.] War of the Rebellion Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 17, page 106.

[Note 3.] War of the Rebellion Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 17, page 76.

[Note 4.] War of the Rebellion Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 17, page 107.

[Note 5.] War of the Rebellion Official Records, Series I, Vol. 17, page 78.

[Note 6.] Adjutant General's Report, State of Iowa, 1864, page 454.

[Note 7.] War of the Rebellion Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 17, page 236.

[Note 8.] War of the Rebellion Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 17, page 171.

[Note 9.] Adjutant General's Report, State of Iowa,1864, page 454.

[Note 10.] Adjutant General's Report, State of Iowa, 1864, pages 444-5.

[Note 11.] Major Archer was absent on detached duty. Foot note page 445. Adjutant General's Report, 1864.

[Note 12.] Adjutant General of Iowa's Report, 1864, page 457.

[Note 13.] War of the Rebellion Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 24, page 10. Killed 5, wounded 51, missing in action 1. Total 57.

[Note 14.] War of the Rebellion Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 24, pages 63-4.

[Note 15.] Colonel Hillis had resigned May 30, 1863, and Lieutenant Colonel Wever had been promoted to Colonel of the regiment.

[Note 16.] Adjutant General of Iowa, 1864 Report, page 458. Adjutant General of Iowa, 1864 Report, page 449. Report of Major J. F. Walden, Comd'g Regt. at Fort Hill, June 25, 1863.

[Note 17.] Adjutant General of Iowa, 1864 Report, page 451.


SOURCE: Roster & Record of Iowa Soldiers During the War of the Rebellion, Volume 3, p. 3-13

Tenth Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry

The Tenth regiment was ordered into quarters by the Governor in the latter part ol August, 1861. Nine full companies had assembled at the designated rendezvous by the 6th of September, and were mustered into the service of the United States by Capt. Alexander Chambers, United States Army, at Camp Fremont, near Iowa City, on the 6th and 7th days of September, 1861. The date of the completed muster of the tenth company (K) appears in the official record as October 11th, which would indicate that the company was not filled to the maximum until after the regiment had taken the field.

The names of its field and staff and company officers at organization will be found in the subjoined roster, and the subsequent changes, on account of death, promotion, resignation, or from whatever cause, will be found in the alphabetically arranged roster which follows, with the personal record of service opposite the name of each officer and enlisted man. These records have been compiled from the official reports of the Adjutant General of Iowa, supplemented by those on file in the War Department at Washington, in so far as access could be obtained to those records. It is more than possible that, with all the care that has been taken to make these records accurate, some errors have been made. When the magnitude of the work and the length of time which has transpired since the close of the war are taken into consideration, it will not be a matter for surprise —however much it is to be regretted — that all the mistakes as well as omissions revealed by these old records could not be discovered and corrected. It is believed that, in the main, these paragraphs will be found to properly represent the facts, briefly stated, connected with the personal service of each soldier of the regiment.

September 24, 1861, the regiment embarked on board transports at Davenport, for St. Louis, arriving there on the 27th. Here it received its arms, uniforms and camp equipments, and on October 1st was ordered to Cape Girardeau to aid in fortifying that place against a threatened attack of the enemy. From Cape Girardeau, the regiment engaged in an expedition which resulted in the dispersion of a rebel force under the command of Gen. Jeff Thompson. November 12th it was ordered to Bird's Point, and from that place engaged in several expeditions, in one of which — near Charleston — it had a sharp encounter with the enemy, resulting in a loss to the Tenth Iowa of 8 killed and 16 wounded [see note 1]. The regiment suffered greatly while at Bird's Point from sickness, the prevailing and most fatal malady being measles, the aggregate loss from November 12, 1861, to March 4, 1862, being 96 by death and by discharge on account of disease. It will thus be seen that in less than six months the regiment had suffered a loss of 120 men in killed and wounded and by death and discharge because of sickness. It was repeating the experience of the Iowa regiments which had preceded it, in the loss of a large number who could not withstand the hard conditions to which they were subjected by the change from the comforts of their home life to the hardships and exposure of the camp and the march during a winter campaign.

Early in March, 1862, the regiment was ordered to New Madrid, Mo., where it participated in the operations that led up to the evacuation of that place by the enemy; and a detachment from the Tenth Iowa, under Major McCalla, was first to enter the rebel works. It also assisted in the capture of Island No. 10, and in the pursuit of the enemy to Tiptonville, where 5,000 of the enemy and a large quantity of military supplies were captured. Following this brilliant achievement, the Tenth Iowa, now a part of the Union Army of the Mississippi, embarked on board transports and, in conjunction with the federal gunboats, made a demonstration against the rebel Fort Wright; but the army was abruptly recalled, just as these operations were fairly under way, to re-inforce the Army of the Tennessee, in its operations against the rebel stronghold at Corinth, Miss., and, proceeding up the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee rivers, the transports landed the troops at Hamburg, Tenn., from which point they marched to Corinth, and became part of the investing force in the siege which followed.

In the operations around Corinth, the regiment acquitted itself with great credit and received the warm commendation of its experienced commander, Colonel Perczel, for its gallant conduct in the skirmish with the enemy, May 26, 1862. Corinth was evacuated May 30, 1862, and the Tenth Iowa participated In the pursuit of the enemy until ordered to return, when it went into camp on Clear Creek, near Corinth, on June 15th, where it remained until June 29th, when it was sent on an expedition to Ripley, forty miles distant, and returned to its camp on Clear Creek, July 6th, where it remained until July 29th, when it marched to Jacinto and went into camp near that place, where it remained until September 18th. On that date, the rebel army under Generals Price and Van Dorn was in possession of Iuka, within striking distance of our camp, and General Rosecrans moved his troops (of which the Tenth Iowa formed a part) on the 19th of September, towards Iuka, and on the evening of that day the enemy met him, and the battle of Iuka began.

The Tenth Iowa occupied a most fortunate position in this battle, which enabled it to inflict heavy loss upon the enemy with but slight loss to itself. The manner in which the regiment was handled reflected great credit upon its commander. The following extract from the report of Colonel Perczel will show the great skill with which he executed the orders of his brigade commander, General Sullivan:

Agreeably to your orders, I advanced on September 19th about 5 P. M. with my regiment and a section of the Twelfth Wisconsin Battery, under Lieutenant Immell. After a short survey of our line of battle, I took position with seven companies, a cheval [see note 2] on the Iuka road, about a quarter of a mile ahead of our left wing. I sent three companies to the right into a dense wood; then I put my two pieces into position, and threw a few shells in an oblique direction, where I discovered the rebel lines. My three companies in the woods reported a full brigade of rebels advancing on our left wing, on which I withdrew them, and, leaving only one company for the observation of the enemy, I changed front perpendicular to our line of battle on the Iuka road. I planted my two pieces anew, and thus obtained a dominating flanking position. Being on a ridge, I could watch the enemy's movements, who had to cross a broken open field In order to attack our forces. They soon emerged from the woods, opened a heavy Are, and advanced on our lines. Their fire was returned, and I too opened with musketry and canister. The rebels wavered, fell back a little, but were soon rallied and advanced again, nothing daunted by our fire, which made great havoc in their ranks. They followed our left wing Into the woods, and for a short time there was no enemy In our sight; but suddenly a full regiment marched out from the woods on their side, offering their right flank to my fire, with the evident Intention to advance to the support of their forces already engaged. I opened instantly with canister and musketry, on which they fell back to the woods. • • • They attempted twice to advance but were driven back each time. We had the advantage of the ground. Our fire told fearfully upon them, while we suffered next to nothing. Their fire, up a steep hill, had been altogether too high. • • • Night coming on, I drew a little closer to our main body; but on the report of Company I, which I left to observe the enemy's movements, that a new body of rebels was advancing, I advanced again with three companies. As we approached, the enemy opened upon us, but owing to the darkness, and again to their up-hill firing, not a man was hurt. We returned the fire with great execution, as we found on the morning of the 20th the ground strewn with the bodies of their dead. • • •


At the close of his report, the Colonel thanks his officers and men for the promptness with which they executed his orders, and says, "The Tenth Iowa have proved themselves good soldiers." He further says, "I have to mention efficient services and assistance of our brave Major N. McCalla, and of my Adjutant, Wm. Manning, and also the able and brave manner in which Lieutenant Immell handled his two pieces of artillery."

The entire loss of the regiment in this battle was but 7 men wounded. It is but seldom that such effective service is performed in battle with such slight loss. In all the battles in which it was subsequently engaged, the Tenth Iowa was never so fortunate as to escape with so small a loss in proportion to the magnitude of the engagement and the number of the regiment engaged. Major General Rosecrans, who was the chief in command, says In his official report: “The Tenth Iowa, under Colonel Perczel, deserves honorable mention for covering our left flank from the assault of the Texas Legion."

Brig. Gen. C. S. Hamilton says, "An attempt to turn the left flank of my division by a heavy force of the enemy, moving up the open field and ravine on my left, was most signally repulsed by Colonel Perczel with the Tenth Iowa and a section of Immell's battery. So bravely was this attempt repulsed that the enemy made no more attempts in that direction."

Brig. Gen. J. C. Sullivan, who commanded the brigade to which the Tenth Iowa was attached, says, "The Tenth Iowa, with a section of the Twelfth Wisconsin Battery, was ordered to hold a road leading to our left and rear. The regiment held the position assigned them, and drove back a brigade of rebels which was advancing to take possession of the road. Colonel Perczel gallantly held his position, and by his determined stand led the enemy to believe we were in strong force at that point, and to desist from their attack." The commendations of these generals show that the service of the Tenth Iowa was most important, and that it was fully appreciated.

The next experience of the regiment under fire was in the battle of Corinth, on the 3d and 4th days of October, 1862. The position to which the Tenth Iowa was assigned on the first day of the battle was again a fortunate one, as will be seen by the following extract from the official report of its commanding officer, Major Nathaniel McCalla. After describing the position occupied — a shallow cut on the line of the Memphis & Charleston Railroad — he says:

While In this position the fire from their batteries was kept up, raking the ground, and would have done immense damage but for the fact that at this point where the line was formed on the track, there was a cut which formed a good shelter, their balls passing over our heads, many of them lodging In the opposite bank, so closely had they raked the ground. Seeing an attempt on the part of the enemy to move forward one of their batteries to a point on the railroad to our right, from which they could open upon us an enfilading fire, I ordered the regiment to file Into the dense woods in our rear by the left flank, having cleared the track In time to avoid a raking fire. I again formed a line of battle, and marched to the rear, under the incessant fire of their battery, whose firing had now become too high to do much damage.


The Major conducted his regiment through the woods to the left until he reached the main road leading directly to the front. On this road the enemy's pickets were discovered, and the regiment was immediately deployed as skirmishers, but the enemy did not advance, and the Tenth Iowa remained in line until morning. On the morning of the 4th, in obedience to orders, Major McCalla moved his regiment to a new position to the left and rear of the line he had occupied during the night, and went into line of battle in support of the Sixth Wisconsin Battery. Of the conduct of the regiment in the second day's battle Major McCalla reports as follows:

At about 10 A. M., the firing of the skirmishers In front of us became rapid, and the advancing columns of the enemy soon drove them back; but they rallied to a point directly in front of our line, and until they had retired to our rear, I could not order my regiment to fire; but as soon as the space In front was cleared I gave the order to commence firing, which was kept up with spirit, but without very materially checking the advance of the enemy, who approached us in overwhelming numbers. My men had fired from 15 to 20 rounds, when I perceived that numbers of the enemy were passing around the right and getting in the rear of my line, and also that the battery on my left had been silenced and taken, and the enemy pressing forward to the left of us. I ordered the regiment to fall back, which it did in good order, to a distance of about seventy-five yards, when I made a halt, facing about and again opening fire; but being unable to retain this position. I again ordered the regiment back under cover of the Twelfth Wisconsin, and Powell's batteries. Passing to the rear in line of battle, I halted at a position immediately between these batteries. I then marched forward and occupied the same ground from which we had retired, during the remainder of the battle. The casualties in the regiment were 6 men wounded on the first day, and one commissioned officer [see note 3] and 30 men wounded and 3 killed on the second day.


Major McCalla makes special mention of Capt. N. A. Holson, Acting Lieutenant Colonel, and Capt. Jackson Orr, Acting Major, also Wm. Manning, Adjutant, commending these officers for their assistance to him and for their coolness and courage. He also states that the line officers, without an exception, deported themselves with the greatest gallantry.

The brigade commander, General Sullivan, in his official report, says: "The Tenth Iowa sustained the brunt of the first attack of the enemy, until the regiment on their left gave way, and their flank was exposed, when they slowly fell back fighting."

After the battle of Corinth, the regiment had a short period of rest in camp, but, on November 1st, it was again on the move, participating in expeditions to Grand Junction, Davis Mills, Holly Springs and Moscow. It did not encounter the enemy in any of these movements.

From Moscow, the regiment marched with the army under General Grant down the line of the Mississippi Central Railroad. The objective point of the expedition was Vicksburg, but the capture of Holly Springs by the skillfully executed cavalry raid of the rebel General Van Dorn, and the destruction of the vast stores of supplies which General Grant had accumulated at that point, compelled the abandonment of the expedition and the prompt retreat of the Union army. It became necessary to at once dispatch a train of several hundred wagons to Memphis for supplies, and the Tenth Iowa was one of the regiments selected to guard this immense train over the long road to Memphis and back to meet the retreating army which had become reduced almost to the starving point, before the train met them upon its return with the needed supplies. After performing this important service, the regiment remained for one month in camp at White's Station, and then moved to Memphis, where, on the 4th of March, 1863, it embarked and proceeded down the river, to enter actively upon the greatest campaign thus far attempted during the war. The compiler of this sketch realizes with regret that the limitation of space to which he is restricted will not permit him to go into particularity of detail in describing the operations of the Tenth Iowa Infantry in this great campaign, or in those which followed, down to the close of the war. To do so would require a volume, instead of the few pages which follow.

The regiment accompanied the hazardous expedition through the tortuous windings of the Yazoo Pass, over two hundred miles from the Mississippi, and returned to Helena on the 9th of April, 1863. It now belonged to the Third Brigade of the Seventh Division of General McPherson's Seventeenth Army Corps, with which it participated in the brilliant series of battles at Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hills and in that sanguinary charge upon the enemy's works at Vicksburg on the 22d of May. In all of these engagements the regiment displayed the same valor and prompt obedience to orders which it had shown in all its preceding encounters with the enemy, but its splendid achievement and heavy loss at Champion Hills on the 16th of May, 1863, is considered by many of the survivors as not only by far the most notable record the regiment made during the Vicksburg campaign but of the entire war. In that hard fought battle the division to which the Tenth Iowa belonged was commanded by the gallant General M. M. Crocker of Iowa [see note 4]. The regiment here stood its ground in an open stand up fight, taking and returning the fire of the enemy at close range until its last round of ammunition was exhausted. On no part of the battlefield was the fighting so severe, persistent or protracted. Iowa was conspicuous in this battle, five of her regiments — the Fifth, Tenth, Seventeenth, Twenty-fourth and Twenty-eighth — being engaged, and all acquitting themselves with great credit. The Tenth lost nearly one-half of its number engaged. Of its officers, Capt. Stephen W. Poage, Lieut. James H. Terry and Lieut, Isaac H. Brown, were killed on the field, and Capt. Robert Lusby, Capt. Nathan A. Holson, Capt. Albert Head, Lieut. John W. Wright, Lieut. A. L. Swallow, Lieut. Elbert J. Kuhn, Lieut. George Gregory and Lieut. William P. Meekins, were wounded. The total loss of the regiment in this battle was 158, 34 killed and 124 wounded.

On the 19th of May the regiment had reached the position to which it was assigned in the rear of Vicksburg, and became part of the investing force in the siege. The regiment participated in the charge on the 22d of May and lost 3 killed and 24 wounded. Here the gallant Captain Head was again severely wounded. The regiment remained on duty, in the trenches as sharpshooters, supporting batteries, and performing its full part in the siege operations until June 22nd, when It was transferred, with its brigade, to the defensive line on Black River to guard against the possible attempt of the rebel General Johnston to raise the siege by attacking the besieging force in the rear.

The regiment remained upon this important duty until after the surrender of Vicksburg, July 4, 1863, when it was immediately sent in pursuit of Johnston's army, which had been withdrawn to the defensive works around Jackson, against which the army under General Sherman promptly began siege operations, which ended on July 16th, upon the evacuation of Jackson by the forces under Johnston, and their retreat into the interior of Mississippi. Thus ended the Vicksburg campaign, with such satisfactory results for the Union army, and such disastrous results for the enemy. The victory had been won, however, at a tremendous cost. On both sides many thousands had been killed and wounded, and thousands more were to share their fate before the final triumph of the Union arms. On the 19th of July the Tenth Iowa returned to Vicksburg, and from there proceeded to Helena, Ark., with its division, where it remained until the last of September, when it was ordered to proceed to Memphis, there to unite with the Fifteenth Army Corps under Maj. Gen. Wm. T. Sherman, and to march across the country to Chattanooga, there to re-inforce the Army of the Cumberland and to deal another crushing blow to the enemies of the Union.

On the 17th of October the long and toilsome march was begun. For thirty-two days the army under Sherman pressed forward and, on the 19th of November, arrived at Chattanooga. There the great struggle was renewed around Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. The Tenth Iowa participated in the storming of Missionary Ridge, November 25th, and performed its full share in that memorable contest, in which it seemed impossible that human valor could accomplish the task of scaling those formidable heights. The loss of the regiment in this engagement was 11 killed, 35 wounded and 6 captured, out of 250 engaged.

After this battle the Tenth Iowa was moved to Bridgeport, thence to Larkinsville, Ala., and thence to Huntsville, where it went into camp January 9, 1864. Here, in the beginning of February, the requisite number to retain the regimental organization re-enlisted as veterans and were mustered into the service on March 30, 1864.

No better test of patriotism could have been shown by these brave and devoted men. They knew what war meant, had experienced its hardships, privations and horrors on the march and on the battlefield. They longed most earnestly to return to home and loved ones and yet, so long as the supreme object, for which they had first enlisted remained to be accomplished, they were willing to still forego the comforts of home and all its dear associations. To thousands of these brave and true men, who subsequently died in battle or from sickness, the high resolve to serve their country to the end was typical of that most sublime feeling that ever dominated the action of a human being — the feeling of total self-abnegation.

On April 30th the regiment was ordered to Decatur, Ala. During its stay there it was engaged in fortifying the place and, by way of diversion from such hard labor, had occasional skirmishes with the enemy's cavalry. On the 15th of June, the re-enlisted men of the regiment received the long-looked-for and very welcome order to proceed to Iowa on veteran furlough. After a most enjoyable visit of thirty days at their homes, they returned to the field and rejoined their comrades at Kingston, Ga., on the 1st of August. The reunited regiment now took part in various expeditions directed mainly against the rebel General Wheeler's large cavalry force which, by skillful maneuvering, managed to avoid coming in contact with the Union troops, while Inflicting considerable damage by tearing up railroad track and capturing supplies. The regiment returned from the last of these expeditions on the 15th of September, and again went into camp at Kingston. In the meantime, the Union cavalry force had been increased sufficiently to drive the rebel General Wheeler across the Tennessee river, and to relieve the infantry from the duty of guarding the railroad.

On the 28th of September, 1864, the non-veterans (those who had not reenlisted) were mustered out of the service and departed for their homes in Iowa. It must be said here that these men who had honorably and faithfully fulfilled the terms of their full period of service, and who did not feel that it was their duty to make the further sacrifice of remaining to the close of the war, were entitled to the gratitude of every loyal citizen. They were honorably discharged and returned to their homes to receive the commendations of their neighbors and friends for their long period of service and sacrifice. Many of them were broken in health, many bore upon their persons the scars of wounds received in battle, and all had earned the high regard and cordial welcome which was everywhere extended to them upon their return.

Early in October the Tenth Iowa Veteran Infantry received about 150 recruits, a number a little more than equal to that of the non-veterans mustered out. On the 3d of October the regiment moved from Kingston to Cartersville, and thence to Atlanta, where General Sherman had concentrated his army, preparatory to beginning his march to Savannah.

The story of that great march through the State of Georgia, "from Atlanta to the Sea," has been immortalized in song, and has its place in history as one of the most remarkable military expeditions ever undertaken, or accomplished. The Tenth Iowa, as a part of the Third Division of the Fifteenth Army Corps, participated actively in this great march, and in the reduction of the enemy's works around Savannah, the capture of Fort McAllister, the opening of communication with the federal fleet in the harbor, and the occupation of the city, on the 21st day of December, 1864, after which the regiment went into camp a short distance from the city and remained there until January 9, 1865. On the last named date, the concluding campaign of the war began. The regiment with its brigade and division crossed the river and entered the State of South Carolina, and began the long and toilsome march towards the North.

For nearly three months the march was continued, under the most difficult conditions; sometimes over almost impassable roads, wading through swamps, crossing swollen streams, through almost Incessant rains, and frequent skirmishes with the enemy, now rendered desperate by the certainty that their last line of resistance must soon be overcome. At last, after marching nearly five hundred miles, the Fifteenth Corps entered Goldsboro, N. C, on the 22d day of March, 1865, and went into camp for a season of rest and recuperation. Up to this time the troops had been compelled to subsist mainly upon such supplies as could be obtained from the country through which they passed, and which had often been found deficient, both in quantity and quality. Here, however, supplies were obtained in abundance from the seaboard, and the soldiers improved rapidly in health and strength.

The regiment left Goldsboro on the 7th of April. Their next halting place was at Raleigh, N. C, where they witnessed the capitulation of the rebel army under General Johnston and the removal of the last organized resistance to the Union army in its victorious march to Petersburg and Richmond, and on to Washington. Arrived at Washington, the regiment participated in the grand review, and afterwards returned to its camp near the city, where it remained until early In June, when it was ordered to Louisville, Ky., where it remained until the latter part of June, when it was ordered to proceed to Little Rock, Ark., where it arrived early In July. Here it remained until August 15, 1865, on which date it was mustered out of the service, and proceeded to Davenport, Iowa, where it was disbanded, and the men were sent to their homes.

The record of the Tenth Iowa Infantry is absolutely without blemish. In Its long and arduous service in ten of the states that were in rebellion against the Government, its many battles, its weary marches, its patient endurance of hardships, its implicit obedience to orders — in all that goes to make up a history of service well and faithfully performed, the regiment stands in the front rank of Iowa's splendid military organizations. No man who served in its ranks and contributed to its good record could leave a more glorious heritage to his posterity. The State of Iowa has honored itself in making provision for the permanent preservation in its archives of the military history of the men who fought for the maintenance of the Union in the great War of the Rebellion. So long as patriotism is honored among men will these records be perused by the loyal sons and daughters of the heroic men who gave their services to their country in her time of greatest need.


SUMMARY OF CASUALTIES.

Total enrollment 1319
Killed 63
Wounded 277
Died of wounds 35
Died of disease 135
Discharged for disease, wounds or other causes 288
Buried in National Cemeteries 60
Captured 17
Transferred 49


[Note 1.] Report of Lieut. Col. Wm. E. Small, Page 844, Vol. 2, Adjutant General of Iowa, 1863. Also Page 185 — 1866 Report.

[Note 2.] "A cheval." Placed so as to command two roads, or the space between two sides.

[Note 3.] Capt. Albert Head of Company F, wounded severely in the forehead.

[Note 4.] General Crocker entered the service as Captain of Company D, Second Infantry: was promoted to Major of that regiment, was the first Colonel of the Thirteenth Iowa Infantry, and was later promoted to Brigadier General of Volunteers.


SOURCE: Roster & Record of Iowa Soldiers During the War of the Rebellion, Volume 2, p. 145-52