COLONEL JABEZ BANBURY

THIRD COLONEL, FIFTH INFANTRY.

Jabez Banbury is a native of England, and was born in the year 1831; but, removing to this country when quite young, he became, long since, thoroughly Americanized. He is a man of limited education, and by trade a mechanic.

At the time of entering the service, he had some experience in military matters; for he had been a member of an independent military company in Marshalltown. At that time I am informed, he gave proof of military taste and talent. He enlisted in the United States volunteer service in June, 1861, and assisted in raising a company for the war, which was afterwards assigned to the 5th Iowa Infantry, and designated Company D. Of this company, he was elected 1st lieutenant, and, with this rank, entered the field. He was promoted to the captaincy of his company in February, 1862; was made major of his regiment, on the 14th of the following July, and, on the promotion of Colonel Matthies to brigadier-general, was commissioned colonel. At the time his regiment was transferred to the 5th Iowa Cavalry in August, 1864, he was mustered out of the service, and returned to his home in Marshalltown.

General Matthies left his regiment at Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, just before it started on its march to the rear of Vicksburg. From that time till the fall of that city, the 5th Iowa was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel E. S. Sampson. From the fall of Vicksburg, up to the time Colonel Banbury was mustered out of the service, the regiment was under his command, if we except a few months when he was in command of a brigade. The 5th Iowa is proud of its record, and it may also be proud of its commanding officers; for they were all most excellent men.

The march to the Yockona, and thence back to Memphis; the trip down the Mississippi to Grand Lake, and thence back to Helena; and the wild expedition down the Yazoo Pass, all belong to the history of the 5th Iowa Infantry. An account of these I have given in the sketches of other officers and regiments, as I also have of the march from Milliken's Bend round to the rear of Vicksburg. Of the battles fought during the last named march, the 5th Iowa was engaged in two — Jackson and Champion's Hill. The regiment also engaged the enemy in two skirmishes—the first on the hills north of Bayou Pierre, and the second in the rugged country north of Big Black River. In the last, the regiment constituted a portion of the force under Colonel Boomer of the 26th Missouri, who was sent out on a reconnoissance some five miles in the direction of Vicksburg. The 5th Iowa led the advance of its corps from Raymond to Clinton, and marched with its division, which led the advance, from Clinton to Jackson. In the battle of Jackson, the regiment did not suffer severely. Its position was to the left of the 17th Iowa, and so far to the north that it overlapped the right of the enemy's line. Its loss was four men wounded.

The part which the 5th Iowa took in the battle of Champion's Hill, or Baker's Creek, was most brilliant and sanguinary. This battle, which came off on the 16th of May, 1863, "was fought mainly by Horey's Division of McClernand's Corps, and Logan's and Quimby's Divisions (the latter commanded by Brigadier-General M. M. Crocker) of McPherson's Corps; and in it the Iowa troops were consequently largely represented. On the evening of the 15th instant, General Grant made his head-quarters at Clinton. Early on the following morning, two employees on the Jackson and Vicksburg Railroad were brought to him, who represented that, on the previous night, they had passed through General Pemberton's army. They also represented that Pemberton had marched out from Vicksburg with a force consisting of about eighty regiments, with ten batteries of artillery, the entire command numbering about twenty-five thousand men. The object of Pemberton was, to come up with and attack General Grant in rear, before he should be able to overcome General Johnson at Jackson; and it had been before reported by prisoners that, on General Johnson's arrival at Jackson in the evening of the 13th instant, he had sent peremptory orders to Pemberton to make this movement. The evidence was conclusive to General Grant that a great battle was near at hand; and he therefore ordered a rapid concentration of his troops, even sending back to Jackson for General Sherman's Corps, which had been left behind to destroy the railroads and rebel government property. This done, he mounted his horse and rode rapidly to the front. In the march from Jackson back in the direction of Vicksburg, the divisions of Logan and Crocker (excepting the 2d brigade) reached a point some five miles west of Clinton; and were, therefore, only about seven miles east of Champion's Hill, and not far distant from General Hovey, who, with his division, was in the extreme advance. The next morning, the 16th of May, the troops of Hovey's Division left their camp at Bolton's Station, and moved in the direction of Champion's Hill, three and a half miles distant. These troops were the first to meet the enemy. The engagement was just opening as the 5th Iowa, with its brigade, came up.

"The enemy had taken up a very strong position on a narrow ridge, his left resting on the hight where the road makes a sharp turn to the left approaching Vicksburg. The top of the ridge, and the precipitous hill-side to the left of the road, are covered by a dense forest and under-growth. To the right of the road, the timber extends a short distance down the hill, and then opens into cultivated fields on a gentle slope, and into a valley, extending for a considerable distance. On the road and into the wooded ravine and hill-side, Hovey's Division was disposed for the attack."

But Logan and Crocker fought on the right of the road, having come into line in the above named open fields. Logan's Division held the extreme right, and next to his was Crocker's; and now the fighting opened in earnest. The rebel, as compared with the Federal force, was more than two to one; for Pemberton had not less than twenty-eight thousand men; whereas the divisions of Hovey, Crocker and Logan would not number thirteen thousand. Confident of success with his superior numbers, the enemy massed heavily on the right of Hovey's Division, which was near the road, and forced it back. His left they also flanked, and soon after forced back his whole line. The 3rd Brigade, to which the 5th Iowa was attached, held the left of Crocker's Division, and, seeing Hovey's right driven in, and their own left flank threatened, they faced to the left, and double-quicked down to the road to meet the enemy and check their further advance. The 93d Illinois was the extreme left regiment of the brigade, and, next to that, was the 5th Iowa: a portion of the 93d crossed the road, so that the 5th was but a few paces distant from it. And right here the fighting was most obstinate and sanguinary. The trees, living, though insensible witnesses to this terrible contest, stand there still, bearing on their shattered branches and lacerated trunks, thrilling evidence of these hours of bloody strife. From one tree near the road-side, more than five hundred bullets were afterward extracted; and it was not three feet through.

In that immediate vicinity, the 5th Iowa with its brigade, maintained its position in the unequal conflict for more than an hour and a. half, and, during the last half hour, it had no ammunition, or only such as could be taken from the cartridge-boxes of the dead and wounded. In the meantime, the enemy at this point had been reinforced, and were being led on with the promise of certain victory. To withstand longer such odds and desperation was impossible, and the gallant 3d Brigade began to break, retiring over the hill in its rear, and back into the open fields. McClernand, with the balance of his corps, was momentarily expected, and was now looked for with the greatest anxiety; but relief came from another and unexpected quarter. Just then two regiments of the 2d Brigade, which had been left the night before at Clinton, as a sort of body-guard to General Grant, came in view, down the road, at double-quick. The 17th Iowa was in the advance, and was closely followed by the 10th Missouri; and both regiments did not number more than five hundred and fifty men. In the instant that these troops were seen by Colonel Putnam of the 93d Illinois, he came riding back at full run, without his hat, and his brown, wavy hair streaming in the wind, shouting to Colonel Hillis, of the 17th: "For God's sake, Colonel, hurry up—we can not stand another minute;" and the fields to the right, which were filled with the affrighted and fleeing stragglers, were proof of what he said. With the handful of reinforcements thus brought up, the scale of battle was turned; and, before McClernand had arrived, the enemy were hastening in total rout back in the direction of Vicksburg.

To show the determination and valor with which the 5th Iowa and its brigade fought, I will give one instance, which came under my own observation. On arriving at the top of the hill from which our lines had been driven, I noticed a noble young boy lying near the road. He was shot through both legs, and was unable to stand; but he had his musket in his hands, and was loading and firing on the advancing enemy. We were now under a galling fire, and I saw no more of the brave boy till the enemy were driven from the field. On returning afterward to look for the dead and wounded of my company, I saw him lying in the same spot, but he was dead. I do not know his name or his regiment; but he must have belonged to the 5th Iowa, or the 93d Illinois.

The 5th Iowa, in this engagement, lost nineteen killed and seventy-five wounded, out of an aggregate of three hundred and fifty officers and men. There were many individual instances of gallantry; but I am able to mention only the names of Captains Tait, Lee and Pickerell.

The same night of the battle, the 5th Iowa marched two miles in the direction of Vicksburg; and the next night camped on the Big Black. On the 19th instant, the regiment with its brigade arrived in rear of Vicksburg; and, from that time until the fall of the city, its history is the same as that of the 10th Iowa, and the other regiments of its brigade. I might add that, from the fall of Vicksburg up to the winter of 1864, its history is the same as that of its brigade. Early in September, 1863, the 5th Iowa left with its division for the purpose of joining the army of General Steele in Arkansas; but, on arriving at Helena, learned that no reinforcements were needed in that quarter. From Helena it moved up the river to Memphis, and from that point marched across the country with General Sherman to Chattanooga, where with its brigade it took a distinguished part in the engagement of the 25th of November. On the night of the 24th instant, the regiment stood picket near the Chattanooga and Knoxville Railroad, just where it passes the north point of Mission Ridge; and the next day, at noon, joined its brigade and moved out through the open fields as elsewhere described, to engage the enemy. After arriving at the White House, which was near the base of the hill for which General Sherman was fighting, the chief portion of the regiment was deployed as skirmishers to the right and front of its brigade, and remained thus deployed till a retreat was ordered. The total loss of the 5th Iowa in this engagement was one hundred and six; but the greater portion of these were captured in the sudden left flank movement of the enemy. Two commissioned officers were wounded, and eight captured; among the latter were Major Marshall and Adjutant Byers.

Subsequently to Grant's victory at Chattanooga, there is little in the history of the 5th Iowa Infantry of striking interest. It joined its division in the pursuit of Bragg, as far as Graysville, Georgia, and then returned to Chattanooga. After going into several temporary camps along the road, it finally reached Huntsville, Alabama, where it passed the following Winter. In April, it came North on veteran furlough; returned to the field early in May; served for a short time on the Huntsville and Decatur Railroad, and was then ordered to Kingston, Georgia. On the 8th of August, 1864, the veterans of the regiment, by special order of the -War Department, No. 262, were transferred to the 5th Iowa Cavalry, and assigned as Companies G and I, under the following officers: Captain Albert G. Ellis, 1st Lieutenant Jeremiah M. Lembocker, and Second Lieutenant William S. Peck, of Company G; Captain William G. M'Elrae, 1st Lieutenant Robert A. McKee, and 2d Lieutenant John Q. A. Campbell, of Company I.

At Mission Ridge Colonel Banbury showed great courage, riding constantly under the heavy artillery - and musketry - fire of the enemy. The same night of the engagement, he was assigned to the command of his brigade; for General Matthies, the brigade commander, had been wounded as I have already stated. There is one other item in the colonel's military history, which I should not omit to mention. At the battle of Corinth, October 3d and 4th, 1862, he commanded the 17th

Iowa Infantry; and led it in the charge in which the regiment captured the colors of the 40th Mississippi, and between one and two hundred prisoners.

Although I served in the same division with Colonel Banbury for many months, I never saw him to know him; but I am told by good authority that "he is reticent in manners, intelligent though not educated, honest, upright, and thoroughly reliable." As a soldier, he ranked among the best officers of his division; and, had he possessed sufficient impudence, would doubtless have been promoted to a brigadier-general.

SOURCE: Stuart, A. A., Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 139-46

BRIGADIER-GENERAL C. L. MATTHIES

SECOND COLONEL, FIFTH INFANTRY.

Charles Leopold Matthies was the first man in the State of Iowa, and in the United States, to tender a military company to the Government, to aid in crushing the rebellion. The tender was made by letter through Governor Kirkwood, on the 9th day of January, 1861. The general can not be prouder of the distinction which this act has secured him, than is the State of Iowa.

General Matthies is a Prussian by birth, and was born in Bromberg, on the 31st day of May, 1824. When sixteen years of age, his father, an affluent fanner, sent him to the University at Halle, where he received a thorough military education. On leaving that University, he returned home; and, from that time till he reached his twentieth year, he labored on his father's farm. At the age of twenty, he entered the Prussian army; and, in 1847, served in the campaign against the Insurrectionists, (the Poles) under General Miroslawski. In 1848, he resigned the commission which he had won by his good conduct, and a few months later emigrated to America, arriving in New York in the spring of 1849. In the latter part of the same year, he came to Iowa, and settled in Burlington, where, engaging in mercantile pursuits, he has made his home ever since.

General Matthies entered the volunteer service, as captain of Company D, 1st Iowa Infantry — that noble regiment which, by its heroism at Wilson's Creek, established the military prowess of the State. He was not present in that engagement; for, in the latter part of July, he received notice of his promotion to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the 5th Iowa, and at once left to report to that regiment. After the death of Colonel Worthington, he was promoted to the colonelcy. He shared with his regiment the fatigues and hardships of the Missouri campaigns; was with it at Island No. 10, and during the siege of Corinth; and yet, prior to the battle of Iuka, his name was hardly known outside of his own brigade. It was his courage and gallantry in that sanguinary battle that made him distinguished in his army corps, and earned for him the commission of a brigadier-general.

After the evacuation of Corinth, the 5th Iowa, under Colonel Matthies, joined in the pursuit of Beauregard to Boonville, and returned thence to Clear Springs, near Corinth. Late in June, it marched to Ripley with its division; returned immediately to Rienzi, and, on the 10th of July, marched back to Clear Springs. From Clear Springs it changed camp to Jacinto, and, from that point, marched against Price at Iuka, in the evening of the 18th of September, 1862. With the exception of the last, the regiment met the enemy in none of these movements.

General Rosecrans, by incautiously pushing his advance too far, precipitated the battle of Iuka on the afternoon of the 19th of September, when, in accordance with pre-arranged plans, it should have been fought on the morning of the 20th. General Grant first arranged to fight the battle as early as the morning of the 19th instant; and, with that understanding, the forces of Ord moved out from Corinth in the afternoon of the 17th, and the evening of the next day came up with, and drove in the enemy's pickets. But at that hour the chief part of Rosecrans' command was still at Jacinto, and the time for making the attack was changed. General Price, divining Grant's plan of concentration, hurried out from Iuka in the afternoon of the 19th, and threw his entire army against Rosecrans, hoping to overwhelm him before Ord could come up; and thus it happened that Rosecrans fought alone the heedless battle of Iuka. There is another version of this affair, which, judging by the authority from which I receive it, is doubtless the correct one: that Rosecrans, ambitious, and desirous of superseding General Grant, moved up against Price for the express purpose of bringing on a battle and winning glory, well knowing at the time that he was disobeying orders. Any other general, except the magnanimous Grant, would have at once relieved him and put him in arrest.

The 5th Iowa under Matthies, together with the 10th, 16th and 17th Iowa, the 10th Missouri and 80th Ohio, were among the troops in the van of Rosecrans' forces, and were the first to encounter the enemy. The struggle which ensued was protracted and desperate in the extreme; indeed, for courage and endurance it has few parallels. No pen can do more than credit to the 5th Iowa Infantry for its heroism in this terrible engagement. During the fore part of the day, while en route from Jacinto to Iuka, this regiment led the advance of the 3d Division, and, for more than six miles, continued to drive back the enemy, who, in small force, made repeated stands. When the enemy were finally met in force some three miles southwest of Iuka, the 5th Iowa was one of the first regiments in line of battle; and, from that time until it fired its last cartridge, it maintained its position. Its list of casualties is proof of its gallantry. It lost in killed, wounded and missing, from an aggregate of four hundred and eighty-two that went into the fight, two hundred and seventeen men. Fifteen commissioned officers were killed and wounded; and, of the enlisted men, thirty-four were killed, and one hundred and sixty-eight wounded. Lieutenants Lafayette Shawl and E. M. Holcomb were killed, and Captains John Albaugh and Joel Brown, and Lieutenants R. F. Patterson, J. W. Casad, A. L. Mateer, A. Ellis, J. E. Page, Benjamin Jarvis, A. B. Lewis, S. S. Sample, J. E. Pangborn, W. C. Huber and W. H. Colton were wounded. Lieutenant Mateer died of his wounds soon after the battle. Among those mentioned for special gallantry were Lieutenant-Colonel Sampson, and Lieutenant and Acting-Major Patterson, and Lieutenant Marshall. Nearly all were equally deserving of mention.

The 5th was General S. Hamilton's pet regiment; and, after the battle, Colonel Matthies enclosed to him his official report, to which he received the following reply:

"NEW York, October 27th, 1862. " Colonel, C. L. Matthies, 5th Iowa Infantry:

"My Dear Colonel: In sending to me the report of the brilliant conduct of the 5th Iowa at Iuka, September 19th, 1862, you have given me a very great pleasure, as well as paid me a great compliment. When I read the newspaper accounts of battles in the vicinity of Corinth, though still sick, my heart thrilled with pride and satisfaction at the splendid conduct of the regiments composing my old division, especially that of the 5th Iowa and 26th Missouri.

"To show you how well understood it is, the 5th Iowa has become a household word with us, and my youngest boy, a prattler of four years of age, when asked what company he belongs to, says, (and he breakfasts in his knapsack) 'Company A, Fifth Iowa—papa's pet regiment.'

"I am under orders from Washington, and though I may not again have the honor to number the 5th Iowa among those under my command, I shall always point to its conduct, as an evidence of the character of the troops from that State, and how kindly they respond to, and confer honor upon those who have diligently endeavored to look after their welfare, discipline, and instruction, which I honestly think I may claim a share in having done. Feeling, Colonel, that their honor is my honor, I shall watch their future career with the same interest I watched over them when a part of my command. Write my compliments and kind remembrances to all. Believe me, very truly your friend,

"SCHUYLER HAMILTON, "Major-General Volunteers, U. S. A"

The 5th Iowa Infantry next engaged the enemy at Corinth- October 3d and 4th, 1862; and, from that date until the 24th of April, 1863, the time of Colonel Matthies' promotion to brigadier-general, its history is the same as that of the 10th and, I might add, that of the 17th Iowa; for these three regiments served in the same division.

After receiving, in April, 1863, a brigadier's commission, General Matthies was ordered to report to General McPherson, who assigned him to the command of the 7th Division, 17th Army Corps; but this order being soon after recalled, he was given command of the 3d Brigade, 3d Division, 15th Army Corps, which he commanded, under General Sherman, from Grand Gulf to Jackson and thence to the rear of Vicksburg. He continued in command of this brigade until the death of Colonel Boomer, of the 26th Missouri, when he was sent back to his old army corps, and given command of the 3d Brigade, of the 7th Division. On leaving the command of General Sherman, that officer honored him with an autograph letter, in which he complimented him highly for his efficient services. His new command was composed of the following troops: the 5th and 10th Iowa, the 26th Missouri and 93d Illinois—four as gallant regiments as ever met the enemy in battle. In the latter part of January, 1864, he was given command of a temporary division, made up of different regiments of the 15th Army Corps, with which he marched to East Tennessee, to aid in driving back Longstreet, who was then threatening Knoxville. Returning from this expedition, he was assigned to an important command, with head-quarters at Decatur, Alabama. He had charge of the Nashville and Decatur Railroad as far north as Linnville, and of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad as far east as Huntsville. He removed his head-quarters to Decatur, on the 1st of May, 1864, and at once began fortifying that place. The works which he erected were of the most imposing character;—so formidable that General Hood, in his flanking tour north, did not essay their capture. In the latter part of May, 1864, the general tendered his resignation, which was reluctantly accepted.

I should not close this sketch without stating briefly the distinguished part General Matthies sustained in the operations around Chattanooga, in November, 1863. General Bragg was defeated in the evening of the 24th, and his only hope, on the morning of the 25th, was to save his baggage, stores and artillery. The point on Mission Ridge that commanded the road over which these must pass was on Grant's extreme left, and, during the entire day of the 25th, the divisions of Ewing, John E. Smith, Morgan L. Smith and Jefferson C. Davis had sharp and sanguinary fighting for its possession; but it had been so strongly fortified, and Bragg had massed his troops there to such an extent that, all efforts on the part of General Sherman were fruitless. There was no harder fighting done on any portion of Mission Ridge or Lookout Mountain, than was done on this point; and acts of individual gallantry, on the part of the Union troops, were numerous. Colonel Holden Putnam of the 93d Illinois, although not an Iowa man, deserves special mention; and nothing can give the Iowa troops, who fought with him on Mission Ridge and at Champion's Hill, more pleasure than to meet his name on these pages. His was the first regiment of General Matthies' Brigade to scale the hill from the White House and assault the enemy in their strong works. His command was instantly repulsed; but, undaunted, he rallied his men, and, seizing the colors, dashed on to the top of the hill in spite of all remonstrances. He was shot dead instantly, through the head. The 26th Missouri soon followed the 93d Illinois, and then the 5th and 10th Iowa, with General Matthies in person; and still the enemy, rejoicing in the strength of their numbers and position, maintained their ground. The 2d Brigade of the same division now came up; but in a few moments after the enemy, emerging in strong force from the railroad tunnel near by, and with their movements concealed by dense brush, suddenly made their appearance in rear of the right flank, when a retreat was ordered. The command was, "For God's sake, get out of this!" It was on that hill-top that General Matthies was wounded; and it was that wound, together with the exposures and hardships of the previous campaign, that broke down his health, in consequence of which he tendered his resignation. He was an excellent officer, and had a reputation for promptness and trustworthiness that but few enjoyed in his division.

General Matthies is a little above the medium in size, with a full breast and heavy shoulders. He has mild, gray eyes, and a round, full, good-natured face. To look at him, you would not take him for a foreigner; but he no sooner speaks than he betrays his nativity. He has never been able to master the accent of our language. He is one of those men whom to know is to like. His sanguine temperament, and earnest, open-hearted disposition enables him, in his happy moods, to talk and laugh with extreme good nature, and, in his less happy ones, to hate and berate his enemies most intensely. He was always on kind and familiar terms with every soldier of his command, and his familiarity in no way interfered with his discipline. The soldiers loved "old Dutchie," he was so good and brave.

I can not take leave of General Matthies without relating the following: When the division of John E. Smith was in camp back of Memphis, late in February, 1863, the general chanced one day to be general officer of the day. At about seven o'clock in the morning of the day in question, a captain, whose 2d lieutenant had deserted to the enemy the night before, and whose 1st lieutenant was enjoying himself in the city, arrived on the picket-line to relieve the old picket-guard. The captain left his reserve in charge of a sergeant, while he went to distribute the first relief at the different posts, and give proper instructions. In his absence, the officer of the day made his appearance. Having at some point stole his way through the lines, he came riding down the road at full speed, and was on the reserve before the sergeant could get his men in line to receive him. The general, who was dressed in a common soldier's overcoat, and without any scarf or other insignia of his office, began administering a rebuke for negligence; but was quickly cut short by the sergeant, who replied, "How did I know who you was? you haven't got any scarf on; I thought it was a soldier just coming in from foraging." "Well, well," said the general, "I know; but — you must be on the watch for guerrillas."

SOURCE: Stuart, A. A., Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 131-8