Colonel James M. Tuttle to his father, James Tuttle, February 18, 1862

FORT DONELSON, Feb. 18, 1862.

Dear Father: Long before you get this, the telegraph will inform you of the particulars of the capture of this very important post, and also the part the Second Iowa took in it. I do not know how the reports will reach you at home, but here we are covered with glory. I have been very busy since the battle, attending to the burying of the dead, and taking care of the wounded. I could find no time to write sooner.

I thought of nothing, while climbing the hill on “double quick” to storm the fort, but to keep my men in order and prevent confusion. When I saw my gallant boys scaling the earthworks and putting the Rebels to the bayonet, and shooting them down with still greater fatality than they had us just before, I felt like clasping each one of our brave boys in my arms. Our loss was very great, but theirs much greater. After the battle was over it was, and still is, terrible to think of. Joel and I were side by side most of the time. He fought bravely, even a little rashly sometimes. He was not touched. I was grazed by a ball which passed through my coat-sleeve and glove, hitting the hilt of my sword and knocking it over my head. The sudden wrenching of it out of my hand, paralyzed my arm during the rest of the engagement. I was afterward standing on a log, beckoning to another regiment behind us to come on, when a cannon ball struck the log, forcing it from under me. I fell backward on a limb, injuring my back very much; I cannot straighten it yet. Tell the Des Moines folks that their company did nobly. Capt. Mills and I were close together most of the time. He fought bravely. Lieuts. Ensign and Godfrey also did bravely. Sergt. Doty was among the bravest of the brave, and died like a hero. George Morse, of Farmington, also died bravely. He was one of the best sergeants of the regiment. We lost some noble young men, one out of every three, either killed or wounded. I was over the battle field to-day, and don't see how any of us escaped alive.  * * * * *

J. M. TUTTLE.

SOURCES: Samuel H. M. Byers, Iowa In War Times, p. 107

From The Second Iowa

The following letter was addressed to C. C. Cole, Esq., by Lieut. Godfrey:

Pittsburg Landing, Tenn.,
April 9, 1862.

C. C. Cole, Esq., –

Dear Sir:

Another important era in the history of this rebellion has just passed. The ball was opened last Sabbath morning by Beauregard at the head of one hundred and twenty thousand of his followers. The attack was commenced on our right soon after daylight, and about three miles from our (the 2d Iowa) camp. About eight o’clock our Brigade, Col. Tuttle commanding, was called out and marched about two miles, where we came in range of the enemy’s guns. We took a position under cover of the brow of a hill in the edge of the timber. Our position was soon discovered by the rebels, who were just across a field from us, and the shells and canister soon came rattling through our ranks, which compelled us to take a horizontal position on the ground, where we lay about two hours, not more than two feet out of range of their guns. The right wing of our regiment was then ordered to take a position about one hundred rods to the right, to the support of a part of Col. Sweeney’s regiment. Our new position exposed us both to the fire of their artillery and musketry, but our men stood up to it like veterans. I cannot here refrain from mentioning the coolness of Capt. Mills. We were compelled to lie close to the ground and whilst in this position a grape shot came whizzing passed and just clipped the Captain on the chin, who very coolly remarked that “that was rather close.” Soon after this we discovered that the enemy were marching to our right, apparently for the purpose of flanking us, (the companies we were sent to support had all left,) and as the Captain was surveying them with a glass a ball passed through his coat sleeve, but he paid little attention to it – thought it a good joak [sic] on the coat! Word was sent by order of Capt. Mills to Col. Baker commanding our regiment, they were flanking us. Our men opened fire on them but did not succeed in staying their movements, for we had no support. – We held the position a few moments longer, when we returned to our old position in the regiment. All this time our forces on the left of Tuttle’s Brigade were gradually falling back; the Brigade on our right were entirely gone, and the enemy advanced a considerable distance, which left us in advance of any of our forces near us. Orders soon came for us to fall back slowly, which was accomplished in good order, until we found that they had us completely trapped, they being in our rear and on either side of us. – Our Brigade was composted of the 2d, 7th, 12th and 14th Iowa regiments, ours in the advance, which with the 7th, succeeded in forcing our way through the rebels crossfire; but the 12th and 14th were mostly taken prisoners. When we got in we found our men had been forced in at every point, and that the enemy were rapidly closing in upon us. The Colonel succeeded in rallying a portion of his brigade, which together with other Brigades, formed another line, and prepared to make a stand at all hazards. About this time the advance guard of Buell came to our assistance, and the shouts which rang through our lines echoed through the rebel forces as they made their last desperate charge. It was now life or death for either side, and every one seemed to think that the final success or failure of rebellion depended upon the result of this charge. The contest lasted but a short time, when the rebel lines began to waver, and soon they were compelled to fall back. It was now about dark, and the firing for the first time during the day, ceased. There was no time after we were called into line in the morning until after dark, that you could not hear the roar of musketry and artillery on some portion of the field, and some of the time it even surpassed the most terrific thunder I ever heard. We held our position in line during the night, and early Monday morning with a reinforcement of thirty-five thousand fresh troops, we commenced the attack, and drove them inch by inch until three o’clock, when they were completely routed. We had quite an interesting time that day. Our company was deployed as skirmishers once, which seemed more like sport than fighting, for the boys. – The regiment made one charge on a band of Secesh, but they all fled before we could pick them up. We returned to camp that night pretty well drilled. The next morning we started out again, Col. Tuttle acting Major General, and commanding a Division; Col. Baker acting Brigadier General, and Capt. Houston commanding our regiment; was out all day, but saw nothing of the rebels. It was reported as we came in last night, that Mitchell’s Division had got in the rear of them and cut off their retreat, and was in possession of Corinth, and that we had captured seven thousand prisoners, and got back the 14th, 12th and 8th Iowa regiments. We have not been out to-day, and do not know whether the report is true or not; but one thing we do know, that they are pretty effectually whipped, and are not within fifteen miles of us, and that Gens. Johnson [sic] and Bragg are dead. Their men say they had one hundred and thirty-five thousand men. I don’t know how many men we had, but suppose the first day about fifty thousand. – Buell came just at the right time. He is one of the best Generals in the service and deserves the honors of this engagement.

Company D had ten wounded, none mortally. Capt. Mills, Looby, Riddle, Barnett, Fergerson, Bazle, L. B. and Wm. Houston, Price, Burbridge, and Sharp. We have three missing, A B. Bush, J. Crystal and Leighton. Our men did good fighting. Col. Tuttle is all right, and one of the bravest Generals in the field. Col Baker, acting Brigadier General is among the best and bravest Colonels we have. Adj. Joel Tuttle had his horse shot from under him but he escaped unhurt, Sergt. Major Marsh is alright. Our Regiment lost seven killed, seventy-four wounded and five missing. I have no idea of the total killed on both sides, but the woods for five miles around are full of dead bodies. Many of the wounded are still on the field. The river bank is covered with wounded, both Union and secesh, and boat load after boat load have gone down the river. You can imagine something of the result, where two hundred thousand men were fighting continually for two days. Col. Crocker was just here, he is all right, is acting Brig. Gen. now. John Watson is mortally wounded. Capt. Smith and both his Lieutenants are uninjured. I don’t thing any of the Des Moines boys were killed. We are all feeling first rate and begin to think secession nearly played out.

Your obedient servant,
G. G. Godfrey

– Published in the Daily State Register, Des Moines, Iowa, Tuesday, April 22, 1862