November 22, 1906
_____
11:25 A. M.
Music: Fifty-fifth
Iowa Regimental Band
“Iowa”
Introduction of speaker by Captain Charles W. Kepler. Mr. Kepler said:
“If it were permissible for any eulogy to be pronounced upon
any one particular regiment or its commander, I would say, as I did not belong
to that regiment, that Colonel Shaw, who commanded the Fourteenth Iowa, would
be entitled to it. Captain Matson, a warm personal and intimate friend of
Colonel Shaw, will read a communication from Colonel Shaw which he is unable to
deliver in person.”
Address:
Colonel W. T. Shaw, Fourteenth
Iowa Regiment
Captain Daniel Matson, after explaining the inability of
Colonel W. T. Shaw to be present at the exercises, read Colonel Shaw's address:
Men and Survivors of
the Fourteenth Iowa:
Under the weight of eighty-four years, together with the
partial loss of sight, and a broken limb, which renders it impossible for me to
get about without assistance, I am unable to be present on the occasion of the
dedication of the Iowa monuments on the battlefield of Shiloh.
It would give me great pleasure to meet you and once more
greet my companions in arms, on the spot made sacred by the blood of the
members of our regiment who fell on April 6, 1862. But I am subject to the
orders of the Great Commander, who forbids my being with you. I can only send
you a few words of greeting. I shall be with you in spirit, and I know that you
will enjoy your meeting together.
If the service rendered to our country by Tuttle’s brigade
and the Eighth Iowa, at this point, constituted the sum of their work, which it
did not, it were sufficient to cover them with imperishable renown. The fact
that this command held the center of the Federal lines for an hour and a half
after both wings of the Union army had been driven back, enabled General Grant
to form a new line of defense and hold the enemy at bay until night closed the
first day of the eventful contest.
This fact is clearly established by official data, which
shows that the Fourteenth Iowa surrendered to the brigade under Chalmers, which
constituted the right of the Confederate lines and of Bragg’s corps, while the
Twelfth Iowa surrendered to Pond’s brigade, which constituted the extreme left
of the Confederate forces; thus showing that the entire rebel army had surrounded
and enveloped our little command.
Having served with General Bragg in Mexico, I was personally
acquainted with him. At the time of our surrender he recognized me, and asked
me how many men we had. Not knowing the full extent of the Union forces
enclosed by the rebel lines, I replied, “About five hundred.” Bragg expressed his disgust in language more
forcible than elegant, and said: “We have lost an hour and a half in this
affair,” when he immediately gave orders for the Confederate troops to deploy
towards the river and press the Federal forces.
This proves clearly that the entire Union army had been
swept back from the field to the new line around the Landing, leaving our
command as the necessary sacrifice for our salvation. There can be no doubt but
that the obstinate courage of the troops composing “The Hornets’ Nest Brigade,”
in holding their position without wavering for hours after their supports on
the right and left had given away, stayed the rebel advance, and made victory
possible the next day for us.
Colonel Tuttle, having withdrawn the two right regiments of
the brigade, the Second and Seventh, sent orders to Colonel Wood, of the
Twelfth, to about-face his command and fight the enemy approaching from the
rear. Seeing the Twelfth executing this movement, I called on Colonel Wood and
asked him what he meant. He repeated the order he had received from the brigade
commander and added, “I expect further orders.” I received no orders from
anyone. I left Colonel Wood and returned to my regiment and for a time we held
the line; realizing that we were isolated and alone, I attempted to withdraw my
regiment and retire, following the rest of the brigade, but being pressed by
the enemy was compelled to about-face to check his advance. Again we attempted
to retire and again were so closely pressed that I was compelled to about-face
the command and for the third time we were hotly engaged, once more checking
the foe. From this point, we retired to the camp of the Thirty-second Illinois,
where being surrounded I surrendered to the Ninth Mississippi Infantry, Major
Whitfield commanding. The following letter will be of interest, showing his
estimate of and admiration for the brave men who composed the “Hornets’ Nest
Brigade”:
CORINTH, MISS., April
10, 1884.
Colonel W. T. Shaw,
Anamosa, Iowa.
My Dear Sir:
I cannot exaggerate the expression of my regret when I
learned that you had visited the Shiloh battlefield on the sixth and seventh
instant, and I had missed the opportunity of meeting you again and knowing as a
friend the man and officer who won my admiration as an enemy.
Our encounter at Shiloh is one of the most striking episodes
of my war experience. It was a curious vicissitude of war that repaid with
captivity the courage and gallantry that held its position last upon the field
when you held your regiment and part of another fighting gallantly in open
field with perfect line and well dressed ranks, long after both the regiments
on your flanks had fled and yielded only when assailed both in front and rear.
The fortunes of war owed you something better. But after all one can never
safely count on any reward save that which comes from the satisfaction of
knowing that we have performed our duty well. I was very much in hope that you
would extend your visit to Corinth and accept from me for a few days that
hospitality you once declined as a prisoner, because it could not be shared by
your “boys.” I even heard that you were coming over and I placed a man to
intercept you and bring you direct to my house, where my wife had prepared a
chamber for you and swung the camp kettle with some very excellent Glen Levat
and lemon, in waiting, on the mantel. But you did not come and I seek refuge
from my disappointment in writing this letter to you, which I trust will find
you reciprocating my desire for a more intimate acquaintance.
Very truly yours,
F. E. Whitfield.
When we arrived in Corinth as prisoners, Major Whitfield's
father, who resided there, hunted me up and asked me to take a seat in his
buggy and go with him to his house. He stated that his son had been wounded and
brought home. He said further, if agreeable to me, he had influence at army
headquarters to pass me through the lines to our army. I was forced to decline
both his hospitality and good offices in securing my liberty, believing that my
services were necessary to my men during their captivity; and believing that it
was my duty to remain with them to share their privations and imprisonment.
This I have never regretted.
When I surrendered my command, no private or officer had
offered to yield until I decided that further resistance was useless. During
the three years that I commanded the Fourteenth Iowa I never gave an order or
command that was not promptly obeyed. There is not a single act of the regiment
that I cannot look back to with pride whether it be on the many well fought
battlefields on which they were engaged, in camp or on the march. It was a
soldierly and brave organization, and to no incident in its career do I now
look back, over the long stretch of years that have intervened, with more pride
and satisfaction than that after their retreat and struggle for near half a
mile, fronting to the rear and repelling the enemy, over broken and heavily
timbered ground, surrounded and pressed on all sides by an overwhelming and
victorious enemy, I was able, when necessity compelled it, to surrender with
closed ranks and lines well dressed. The Fourteenth Iowa at the time of its
capture was reduced to about two hundred men.
In closing, let me join you in expressions of appreciation
for the liberality shown by our state in commemorating upon imperishable
granite and bronze the record of your services upon this battlefield. For many
years, until the infirmities of age compelled me to give place to younger men,
it was my pleasure to labor to secure the creation of “The Shiloh National
Military Park,” together with this recognition by our state. Now that it is
accomplished, it gratifies me beyond expression.
I am the only surviving colonel of the eleven who commanded
the Iowa troops at Shiloh. For this kind interposition of Divine Providence, I
trust I have due regard; and today, in the quiet of my home, far from Shiloh’s
field, I speak to you men of the Fourteenth. It is fit and proper that you and
I, in this manner, remember our fallen comrades. It is fit and proper that our
great commonwealth erect these monuments to commemorate the valor of the Iowa
regiments which upheld the flag of their country and the reputation of their
state, upon this battlefield.
As a final word I can only say I know that you will remain
steadfast in support of the cause for which you fought on this field; that in
your everyday life you will be faithful to every trust reposed in you, and that
you will teach the lessons of patriotism to those who follow you.
I will not say farewell, for I hope to meet you again in my
home, where a warm welcome awaits you.
Benediction:
Rev. S. H. Hedrix of
Allerton, Iowa
“May the God of all wisdom and consolation abide with the
dear Colonel who sends these words of cheer, and may it be with us all as we go
from this place. May every one of us resolve that while life shall last we
shall do everything in our power to consecrate and keep new the great bright
fruits of God, that shall keep us free and lead us in the great prosperity that
has attended us since the days of this historic struggle; and may the lord in
his mercy have compassion on us in our weakness. Keep and direct us forever in Jesus’ name,
and bear us at last to a home in Heaven, a home that shall be ours throughout
eternity. Amen.”
SOURCE: Alonzo Abernathy, Editor, Dedication
of Monuments Erected By The State Of Iowa, p. 228-33
See Also:
