From The 16th Iowa Regiment

We received the following private letter last evening, and aware of the anxiety felt in regard to this regiment, take the liberty of publishing it:–

PITTSBURG, Tenn., April 7, 1862.

BROTHER ALFRED:

The “bloody 16th” has availed itself at an early day of an opportunity for its first battle – and the greatest battle has just been fought, or is now fighting, that ever occurred on this Continent. The forces engaged altogether amounted to perhaps 150,000 men, although the newspapers, will most likely gave each side that number. The rebels had the advantage in numbers the first day, but at the close of that day reinforcements commenced arriving from Buell’s army, conveyed across the river here by steamboats. But I can attempt no description of the great battle which some hours, raged fiercely at several far distant points at the same time. There are to-night thousands lying dead within a few miles of the place where I write, and some within a few yards.

The battle of Fort Donelson was a mere trifle in comparison with this, as I have been informed by two Generals where were at both places. In fact, there were more killed the first day here than all the time there – yet to-day, both sides largely reinforced, the battle raged still more fiercely than yesterday. The rebels gained a decided advantage yesterday, penetrating into our camp, destroying many tents, capturing a large number of prisoners, and seriously threatening the destruction or capture of our army. They fought bravely, and had a much larger number in the field than we had. The attack was sudden and able, Beauregard being their General, and for a time everything looked threatening. It was their last great desperate effort seemingly, and desperately fought out to the bitter end. This evening the rebel army is miles away, our army in pursuit, and our danger over – but the loss on both sides fearful. How far our Iowa regiments have suffered, and how many of their well known officers have been killed or captured, cannot now be told. There is every reason to believe the 12th and 14th regiments have been captured – others have lost severely in killed and wounded. I have just heard Lt. Col. Hall, of the 11th was slightly wounded. Capt. Bob Littler, of Co. B, 2d regiment, had one arm badly crushed by a ball, and it will likely have to be amputated. He did his duty nobly, and has effectually refuted the charges made against him on another occasion. Col. Reed [sic] of the 15th, was shot in the neck, but is not dangerously wounded. Col. Hare of the 11th, had his hand shattered. So it goes.

But I must tell you something of the 16th. We arrived here Friday night last, after a pleasant trip. It was, of course, very muddy. We had to make a road up a steep bluff to get out our wagons, mules, goods, &c. We were ordered to join Gen. Prentiss’ division, next to the advance line, nearly four miles out, and one of the first afterwards attacked by the enemy. We nearly succeeded in getting out there Saturday night. Had we done so, we would have lost all our property, and perhaps all our regiment. The move, however, was fortunately delayed till Sunday evening. – We then had everything ready to start when the booming of the cannon and volleys of musketry announced the battle. The 15th and 16th formed on the bluff, distributed ammunition, and by ten o’clock were on the march to battle – raw troops, only partially drilled, and utterly unpracticed in the use of arms. We ought never to have been put in the field under such circumstances – more especially in a battle between what proved between ourselves and experienced troops with a battery of sharpshooters. We marched out several miles – then a General, who, I don’t know, ordered us across an open field and partial return in the face of a battery. Our boys stood it very well for new soldiers, although bombshells burst over their heads, and several arms and legs were knocked off by cannon balls. He finally got them in what was designed as our “position” in an open space, near a battery, with their sharpshooters protected by large trees in open woods. It promised to be a clear case of butchery. The men laid down flat, half rising to fire. They did all they could, and held the position longer than more experienced troops probably would have held it. The regiments retired, but not in hurried confusion, when an attack was being made by a large body of troops in front and flank. Col. Chambers received a ball through is right arm, but only a flesh wound. Another ball shockingly tore his coat, struck the saddle, went into his coat pocket, tore several holes in his handkerchief, and then the ball was found in his pocket. I lost both my horses, Bally and Lettie, and my Wentz saddle and bridle – so am now on foot, but expecting hourly to confiscate a horse. Adj. McCosh rode Bally by special favor. The horse had his leg shattered, and was led off, but I suppose never got far. My Wentz mare received three balls before she fell, the last when I was trying to rally the 16th for a stand. – Before I arose the regiments were off the ground, and as I walked off, the bullets whistling around thick, I was the last man alive or unwounded on the ground. Dozens of regiments were broken [into] fragments during the day and men looking everywhere for their companies.

I rallied a portion of the regiment on our return, and led them out again. This time we were called with others to protect a battery, or series of them. Our men laid three hours under rushing cannon balls and bomb shells – nearly all fortunately aimed too high. These batteries of ours probably stemmed the rebel tide of victory for that day and kept them from planting a battery which would have been terribly destructive. From that position we were marched to the advance line, and there remained all night. From 7 a.m. till 11 p.m. I was in the saddle, excepting an hour when I had no horse to ride – had nothing to eat for twenty-four hours – sat up all night, the rain literally pouring down at intervals. I call that a pretty rough beginning, anyhow. To-day we were left to protect a battery, only needed in case of a reverse, and were not therefore in the fight.

Among our killed were Capt. Ruehl, of Dubuque, an excellent officer, and Lieut. Doyle, also of Dubuque. Capt. Zettler is dangerously wounded. Private Bowling, of Davenport is also badly wounded. Several non-commissioned officers, were killed; and a number of privates – among the latter Mr. Howell, Quartermaster’s Sergeant at Camp McClellan. I will try to send you the list that you may have it published.

But I must close. We have not had an opportunity yet of pitching our tents or getting to our baggage, and we will sleep in the rain and mud tonight uncovered except by our blankets, an single one each, and no overcoats, as they have been laid aside for fighting. We sleep just where we happen to be at night – and may be called on to march any day on the track of the flying but still hard fighting enemy. It is now late at night and I have had nothing to eat since breakfast, and that breakfast was a hard cracker, piece of fat bacon and coffee made out of coffee grains boiled whole. No chance for supper, although the boys have had theirs. But I rather like this life. It is novel anyhow, to me. I do not know when I can write to you again.

ADD. H. SANDERS

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, April 17, 1862, p. 1

We learn that no intelligence other than already published . . .

. . . has been received here from the Iowa boys in Tennessee.

Messages were received at Keokuk yesterday from Col. Reid and Major Belknap, of the 15th, and Lieut. Conn, of the 7th Iowa, reporting that the Keokuk boys were all safe. The messages were brief, and contained no other news regarding Iowa troops.

– Published in the Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, April 19, 1862

Many anxious people in Burlington . . .

. . . were relieved yesterday, though not all. A letter was received from Major Abercrombie, settling the question very satisfactorily in regard to his safety. He was wounded, by a spent ball, but not severely. A letter was also received from Gen. Lauman. He is safe. From these letters we gather a few items not before published. – The Iowa 6th suffered severely. Captains Eisminger and White were killed, and Capt. Brydolf and Lieut. Halliday severely wounded. Lieut. Dillon of the 7th was killed. The 15th and 16th regiments had just arrived and had not pitched their tents when the battle opened. Colonels Chambers and Reed [sic] were both wounded. Gen. Lauman commanded a brigade in Hurlburt’s [sic] Division, consisting of two Indiana and two Kentucky regiments. Rev. Mr. Clark acted as his Aid-de-Camp and did his duty with coolness and bravery. Both had horses shot under them but escaped without a wound.

– Published in the Burlington Daily Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Thursday, April 17, 1862 & also in the Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, April 19, 1862

15th Iowa Infantry: Recruiting Hand-bill

(Click on image for a larger view.)

SOURCE: History of the Fifteenth Regiment, Iowa Veteran Volunteer Infantry, from October, 1861, to August, 1865, When Disbanded At the End of the War, p. 9

BRIGADIER-GENERAL HUGH T. REID

FIRST COLONEL, FIFTEENTH INFANTBY.

Hugh Thompson Reid was born in Union county, Indiana, the 8th day of October, 1811. His father, who was a native of South Carolina, had left that State only a year before his son Hugh's birth. General Reid worked on his father's farm, in Indiana, till the year 1830, when he entered the Miami University, then under the tutorship of Professor Bishop. He graduated at the Indiana College, in 1837. Choosing the law for a profession, he studied for two years in the office of Judge Perry of Liberty, Indiana, and was then admitted to the bar. He came to Keokuk, Iowa, in 1843, and began the practice of his profession. Keokuk has since remained his home.

General Reid first became widely known in Southern Iowa, from his connection with the Keokuk and Des Moines River Railroad: indeed, to his energy and perseverance, more than to the efforts of any other man, this road is indebted for its existence. At one time its abandonment was talked of; but he would not consent, and the work was pushed forward. Its present flourishing condition evidences the soundness of his judgment.

Late in the summer of 1861, General Reid began recruiting a regiment for the service. Then, recruiting dragged heavily. On every hand he met with discouragements; but he finally succeeded, for he never turned his back on an enterprise once undertaken. The 15th Iowa Infantry was mustered into the United States service on the 22d day of February, 1862.

The 15th Iowa left its rendezvous in Keokuk on the 17th of March, 1862, and, after a stay of only ten days in St. Louis, proceeded to the front. At St. Louis the regiment received its arms and camp equipage. It arrived at Pittsburg Landing at six o'clock on Sunday morning, the first day of the battle. Its opening chapter was an eventful one. It fired its first gun at Shiloh.

General Grant's head-quarters were then at Savannah, eight miles below, on the river; and at that point Colonel Reid had, the night before, been assigned to the division of General Prentiss. On arriving at the Landing, on the morning of the sixth, his first business was to report to that general, and, mounting his horse, he rode out toward the front for that purpose; but for some reason, he did not reach the front till the battle had opened with great fierceness, and he was unable to effect his object. He therefore returned to the river, and, disembarking his regiment, drew it up in line on the high bluffs, and waited for orders. It was now hardly nine o'clock, and yet the frightful stampede had already begun. Long lines of fugitives, many of them hatless and coatless, and all of them frightened to desperation, came streaming to the river-bank, and nothing could stop them.

Colonel Reid first received orders to arrest these fugitives, and effect their re-organization; but it was utterly impossible, and he was therefore, after considerable delay, ordered to proceed hastily to the front.

I have already stated that the 15th Iowa received their arms at St. Louis, just before embarking for the front: it is therefore unnecessary to add that the regiment had never been instructed in the manual of arms. In the process of loading and firing, they were all novices; but it was fortunate that they were nearly all of them accustomed to a gun, and could handle it with efficiency.

Under the guidance of a staff officer of General McClernand, and followed by the 16th Iowa, Colonel Chambers, Colonel Reid started with his regiment for the front; and, after a long, circuitous march occasioned by the ignorance or confusion of the guide, — first to the right, in almost the opposite direction from where the firing was the heaviest, and then to the left in a south-westerly direction — finally entered a large, open field, the west side of which was bordered by timber and held by the enemy. On his right, too, the field was bordered with timber and held by the enemy; and here they had artillery in position, with which, as soon as he came into view, they opened on him with great vigor. They used shell, grape and canister, and fired with precision; but Colonel Reid, heedless of danger, advanced to engage the enemy in his front. He was so confident, or so forgetful, that he did not even take the precaution to deploy his regiment in line of battle; but marched it by the right flank, into the very face of the enemy. Some of his regiment said after the engagement that, if the enemy had opened their lines, he would have marched straight through and been captured; but it is needless to say that these were the colonel's enemies.

When he had reached a point where he was met both in front and on the right by a most galling fire, he drew his regiment out into line of battle; and the manner in which he did it, showed his great courage. He first filed it to the left, in a line parallel to that of the enemy, and then counter-marched it into a position to return the enemy's fire. All this time he was suffering loss. Such coolness must have been a strange spectacle to the enemy; and such troops they must have encountered with hesitancy.

As soon as the regiment was brought to a front, it engaged the enemy, first by a rapid fire, and then with the bayonet; and thus the struggle continued for nearly two hours, when, flanked on both the right and left, the order to fall back was given. The regiment fell back, as did nearly all the troops on that field, in confusion. But that is not strange: what is strange, is how, undisciplined as it was, the regiment maintained itself so long, and with such courage.

About this time, Colonel Reid was severely wounded. A shot struck him in the neck, and paralyzed him. Seeing him fall from his horse, Major Belknap ran to him, and raised him up, when he said: "Tell my wife that I died gloriously, fighting for my country." Brave man! He thought he was hit mortally—dulce pro patrla mori; but it fortunately proved otherwise. He revived in a half-hour, and resumed command of his shattered regiment.

There are various accounts of the particular part taken by the 15th Iowa at Shiloh: indeed, hardly two men of the regiment saw the thing alike. One says the regiment did not file left in coming into line, but that it formed "forward on first company." Another says that, a portion of the regiment filed left, and the other right, and thus got separated, (which is true); and still another that, it engaged the enemy across a large ravine, to the right and front, while standing by the right flank and before it was formed in line of battle. To show how great was the confusion, I may further add that, one of the regiment's field officers, the day after the battle had closed, was not able to find the field in which the fighting was done.

The following is Colonel Reid's statement of casualties, and his roll of honor:

"Fifteen of the thirty-two commissioned officers, who went on the field, had been killed, wounded, or taken prisoners: twenty-two officers and men had been killed, and one hundred and fifty-six wounded.

"Adjutant Pomutz distinguished himself during the action, for his coolness and courage. He, too, was wounded. Captains Kittle, of Company A; Smith, of Company B; Seevers, of Company C; Madison, of Company D; Hutchcraft, of Company E ; Cunningham, of Company G; Day, of Company I; and Hedrick, of Company K, who was captured in a charge upon the enemy, all distinguished themselves for their gallantry and courage, in leading forward and encouraging their men. Captain Blackmar, of Company F, was wounded in the action, and disabled; 1st Lieutenant Goode of the same company was also wounded. Captain Clark, of Company H, was not in the engagement, having been left sick in the hospital at St. Louis. Captains Hutchcraft and Day were both severely wounded. Second Lieutenant Penniman of Company A, and Hamilton of .Company I, were killed whilst bravely performing their duty. First Lieutenant King, and 2d Lieutenant Danielson of Company H, were both severely wounded, while acting well their part, thus leaving the company without a commissioned officer. First Lieutenants Studer, of Company B; Porter, of Company D ; Craig, of Company E ; Hanks, of Company G; J. Monroe Reid, of Company I, who, though wounded himself, continued in command of the company after the captain was disabled and the 2d Lieutenant killed; and Eldridge, of Company K; all deserve special praise for the manner in which they conducted themselves on the field. Second Lieutenants Lanstrum, of Company B; Brown, of Company E; Herbert, of Company C; and Sergeant-Major Brown, who was severely wounded, conducted themselves well on the field. The non-commissioned officers generally, were at their posts, and performed their duty. The color-Sergeant, Newton J. Rogers, who fought in the 1st Iowa at Springfield, gallantly bore our standard forward, and planted it. among the enemy, where it was bravely maintained and defended by portions of Companies C, E, I, and K. * * The Reverend W. W. Eastbrook, too, for a time laid aside his sacred office, and resumed the use of the surgeon's scalpel with great success."

In no respect is Colonel Reid too lavish of his praise. The 15th Iowa did nobly. During the war, no cruder troops have met the enemy; and but few have borne themselves with greater credit.

In the retreat from the front to the Landing, Captain Kittle, of the 15th Iowa, a handsome and brave young officer, was reported the hero of an incident which I would like to tell, but it is not well vouched for. The following is true. Soon after arriving at the Landing, a lieutenant-colonel — a staff officer — rode up to the frightened crowd on the river bank, and shouted: "Is there no officer here?" Captain Kittle stepping forward said: "Yes, Sir, I am an infantry officer: what shall I do?" "For God's sake, organize these men, and bring them out to the new line." Going at the work, he gathered in line, by threats and entreaties, a respectable battalion, and started with them to the front; but the greater part of them were so filled with terror, that they soon broke and fled back to the Landing. With the balance, he went on and took part in repelling the last assaults of the enemy, that were made that afternoon. There were many other instances of special gallantry among the line officers of the l5th Iowa; and the names of Captains Hedrick, Madison and Blackmar ; and Lieutenant J. S. Porter, may be mentioned specially, for their conduct was admirable.

Colonel Reid continued with his regiment till the 23d of April, 1863, when he received his commission as brigadier- general. A portion of this time he had been in command of a brigade. Subsequently to the battle of Shiloh, and up to the time he received his promotion, the history of his regiment is the same as that of the other regiments of the Iowa Brigade. General Reid was promoted to the rank of brigadier on the special recommendation of General Grant; and the general may well be proud of this compliment; for General Grant, knowingly, never compliments the undeserving.

During the spring of 1863, and till the 6th of the following August, General Reid commanded the District of Lake Providence, with the following named troops comprising his command: the 16th Wisconsin, the 122d Illinois, portions of the 17th and 95th Illinois, and the 1st Kansas Mounted Infantry. At the last named date, orders were given for the evacuation of the place. They were issued on account of the sickliness of the locality. After visiting his family on leave of absence, the general was placed in command at Cairo, Illinois. He was holding this command at the time of tendering his resignation, which was in the spring of 1864.

Colonel Reid does not look like the man he is. From what he has accomplished, I judge him to be a man .of more than ordinary ability. He is tall, and slightly stooping in person, & has coarse features, and a large, sandy, bushy head. He has large perceptive organs, and small, gray eyes, sunk deeply in his head. He is perhaps a little more comely than Colonel Shaw of the 14th, but not much.

In character, he is. brave and determined. A neighbor of his, of long acquaintance, speaks thus of him:

"In the early history of the Half-Breed Tract in Lee county, which included the city of Keokuk, there was much trouble about titles to real estate, and at times, a state of things bordering upon civil war. In these contests, General Reid was conspicuous, and had to undergo many dangers. On several occasions, his life was threatened by an infuriated mob; but he maintained his rights with so much courage, as to secure a local fame for prowess, which, more recently, has become national, by his military achievements."

In the essentials, General Reid was a fine soldier. He was brave, and had good judgment; but he could never master tactics. "He could not," say many of his regiment, "drill a company, to say nothing about a regiment;" and many instances are given, showing how he used to handle his regiment. In passing an obstacle, he once gave the following command: "File left, boys; and follow my horse round this stump!" But his regiment noticed this deficiency more, on account of the great contrast, in this respect, between himself and his successors, Generals Belknap and Hedrick. Both those officers are fine tacticians.

The following incident occurred while General Reid was colonel of the l5th Iowa: He was stationed with his regiment at Lake Providence, Louisiana, in February, 1863, when Adjutant-General Thomas visited Grant's army, to institute negro recruiting; for the Government had at last come to the conclusion that, for a black man to shoot a rebel, was no murder. McArthur's Division, of McPherson's Corps, was drawn up in hollow square, and addressed by Generals Thomas, McPherson and McArthur. Finally, Colonel Reid was called to the stand. Some officers of his regiment felt anxious for him; but he. soon relieved their minds, for he made the best speech of them all.

SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 281-8

Hugh T. Reid

Hugh T. Reid, of Keokuk, was the first Colonel of the 15th Iowa Volunteers. On October 14, 1861, he published a notice by hand-bill and otherwise, calling for volunteers and stating that the Regiment was then being raised by authority of general Fremont, and Governor Kirkwood, of Iowa, and that it would rendezvous and Keokuk.

He was a man of energy, determination, strong will and indomitable pluck, and a lawyer of great ability. The Regiment was raised and fought its first battle at Shiloh, under his command, where he was severely wounded on April 6, 1862.

Brave, determined, of strong will, and great physical and moral courage, he was in the midst of action without fear. Thoroughly devoted to the interest of his men, he was tireless in promoting their welfare, and his successful effort in procuring for them the best clothing, arms and rations was remarkable.

Stern and exacting at times, beneath all was an affection for his Regiment which showed itself whenever criticism came from others.

He was among the first to favor the enlistment of colored troops, and when some of his regiment objected, in vigorous words he spoke to them and reminded them in language which went to the mark: “ Remember that every colored soldier who stops a rebel bullet saves a white man’s life.”

Dangerously wounded at Shiloh in the presence of the writer of this, and stunned by the blow, he was apparently dead and was carried from the field, but recovering consciousness he remounted his horse, and with blood streaming from the wound rejoined the line. With great endurance he refused a sick leave and remained with the Regiment. But he never recovered from the effects of this wound, which finally was the cause of his death.

While Colonel he frequently commanded the Brigade of which the Regiment was a part, and was appointed Brigadier-General of Volunteers on March 13, 1863. He resigned his commission on April 4, 1864, and devoted himself to the interests of the Des Moines Valley Railroad Company, which owed its completion mainly to his efforts, the cars of that road being the first to enter Des Moines, the Capitol of Iowa.

But the wound received at Shiloh never ceased to trouble him and he died on August 21, 1874, at Keokuk, Iowa, leaving to his friends and comrades the memory of a gallant soldier and an able, upright man.

General Reid left a widow, formerly Miss Alexine LeRoy, of Vincennes, Iowa and three children – James Henry, who died in Nashville, Tennessee; Alan L., who is a banker in Newton, Kansas, and Hugh T., who is at Harvard University.

The Daily Gate City, of Keokuk, of Aug. 22nd, 1874, contained this obituary notice:

DEATH OF GEN. HUGH T. REID

Gen. Hugh T. Reid died at his residence in this city, at 7:15 A.M. Friday, August 21st, 1874, of Brights Disease of the Kidneys, in the 63rd year of his age.

General Reid was born in Union county, Indiana, on the 18th of October, 1811; was of Scotch-Irish descent, his parents being natives of South Carolina. He graduated with high honors at Bloomington, (Indiana) College. Soon after studied law in the office of Judge Perry, and was admitted to practice by Judge Bigger, afterwards Governor. In the spring of 1839 came to Lee county, Iowa, and settled at Fort Madison, and in the spring of 1840 formed a co-partnership with Judge Edward Johnstone, which lasted near ten years, when he removed to Keokuk, retiring from law business, except in cases in which he was personally interested.

He had been a citizen of Lee county over thirty-five years at his death. He was Prosecuting Attorney for the counties of Lee, Des Moines, Henry, Jefferson and Van Buren in 1840-2, then the most populous counties in the State, and was a terror to criminals, rarely failing to convict.

As a land lawyer he stood in the front rank of his profession as one of the ablest lawyers in the West from adjoining States then coming here to practice in our Courts in suits growing out of the disputed title to the Half Breed Tract.

He was engaged as one of the builders of the Des Moines Valley Railroad to Fort Dodge, 250 miles, of which he was President four years. He was also President of our magnificent Railroad and Passenger Bridge over the Mississippi river, giving his services gratuitously until it was completed.

He entered the service as Colonel of the 15th Iowa Infantry in the war of 1861; had command of the Regiment in the battle of Shiloh, his Regiment losing nearly two hundred men in that battle in two hours and twenty minutes. Here he was severely wounded – shot through the neck and fell from his horse paralyzed, but in a few minutes recovered and remounted; continued in command, riding up and down the lines, covered with blood, exhorting the men to stand firm; being the last mounted field officer who remained on horseback to the close of the battle. He was engaged in many other important actions, and was made Brigadier-General in the spring of 1863, and commanded at the then important posts of Lake Providence, and Cairo, Ill., until he resigned near the close of the war in 1864.

He was twice married, his first wife dying in 1842, leaving no children. By his second wife, Mary Alexine LeRoy, he has three children, all boys. Untiring and energetic, he was always in active business, and with an iron will and persistency of purpose, he prosecuted every enterprise in which he was engaged with sleepless vigilance, traveling much on railroad at night, till disease prostrated his physical energies and death closed his career forever.

He had little time for social intercourse and made few confidents, and amongst the few in whom he did confide the most was Judge Edward Johnstone, his old law partner, in whose integrity and devoted friendship he placed the most deserved and implicit confidence.

For nearly two years before his death he was a member of the St. John’s Episcopal Church of this city, in which he was confirmed by Bishop Lee.

When his name was sent for confirmation to the Senate by President Lincoln as Brigadier-General, such was his high character for integrity and patriotism that he was at once unanimously confirmed without the usual reference to a Committee.

He was ever kind and generous without pretension. Those who understood him and knew him best, loved him most for his many sterling qualities of head and heart.

Ever indulgent toward his family, to them he was ever kind and affectionate; his goodness of heart being proverbial, for his heart was as tender and sympathetic as that of a child. In him they have lost their dearest friend and protector, and he has left them a name unsullied by the breath of scandal, and untarnished by the words of reproach. He knew that his recovery was beyond medical skill and he must die, and died in the full faith and hope of the Christian’s immortality, of which he was a firm believer, and the Crown of Glory is laid up for him in Heaven.

SOURCE: History of the Fifteenth Regiment, Iowa Veteran Volunteer Infantry, from October, 1861, to August, 1865, When Disbanded At the End of the War, p. 15-18

Iowa Troops In The Battle of Pittsburgh

We have intimations in several quarters that some of the Iowa Regiments did not sustain the reputation of Iowa troops in the desperate battle of Pittsburgh Landing. But no specifications are made except as to the 16th. We have been waiting for some time for a true and impartial account, but thus far we can get nothing. – The accounts say that the 15th Regiment, Col. Reed, behaved remarkably well, loosing more than half its number – that the 16th, Col. Chambers, after two or three rounds, ran away. Several other regiments are mentioned, but without praise or censure, and up to the hour we have not the name of a single officer or private killed in the eleven regiments at Pittsburg.

The 15th and 16th were both green regiments which had only just received their arms. One of them is represented as having fought bravely, and the other, in common with half a dozen others, from other States, ran away after a short resistance. This may or may not be true. Further accounts may place the matter in a different light. The 16th was commanded by a brave man – there is no doubt about this. Whatever else may be said against Colonel Chambers there is the best evidence of his bravery, exhibited upon other battlefields. He is an old army officer, a graduate of West Point, who distinguished himself in the Mexican War. He may be indolent, overbearing and possess other faults unnecessary to mention, but he certainly is brave and intrepid. We think we can afford to wait for further reports even from the 16th.

As to the other regiments, time, we think, will prove that they did their duty as they always have done it wherever tried. We shall not abate one iota of our confidence in Iowa troops, and we are satisfied that later reports will prove that we have still greater reason than ever before to be proud of them.

– Published in the Burlington Daily Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Wednesday, April 16, 1862

News

The 12th Michigan, and 3d Minnisota [sic] have re-enlisted and, gone home on furlough.

The Steamer J. Patton was burned last night at Walker’s Bend, on the Mississippi river; loss $25000 to $30000.

Guerrillas are getting troublesome on the river.

Gen. H. H. Buckland is appointed to the command of the District of Menphis, and Gen. H. T. Ried [sic], assumes command of the District of Cairo.

A boy at Buffalo, being mistaken for a substitute trying to escape, was shot by one of the soldiers having the substitutes in charge.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, February 6, 1864