Diary of 5th Sergeant Alexander G. Downing: Monday, July 17, 1865

We had our last reveille early this morning. We took down our rubber ponchos, packed our knapsacks, and at 5 o'clock started for the boat landing, where we took the ferry for New Albany, Indiana, crossing the river below Louisville. On our way up the river we passed the headquarters of Generals Logan and Belknap, and each delivered a short speech to us. At New Albany we took the train for Michigan City, leaving at 10 o'clock. We had fairly good passenger cars, but the train was a slow one, as it often had to switch onto sidings to let other trains pass.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 288

Diary of 5th Sergeant Alexander G. Downing: Monday, June 26, 1865

Quite sultry today. They finished paying the Sixteenth Iowa. Money is quite plentiful, as the veterans received more than $200.00 each. General W. W. Belknap went home on leave of absence and Brig. Gen. B. F. Pitts is in command of our division.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 284

Official Reports of the Battle of Shiloh: No. 85. Col. Hugh T. Reid, 15th Iowa Infantry

No. 85.

Report of Col. Hugh T. Reid, Fifteenth Iowa Infantry.

I have the honor to report that the Fifteenth Regiment of Iowa Volunteer Infantry from Benton Barracks arrived at Pittsburg on Sunday morning, with orders from General Grant’s headquarters to report to General Prentiss. Finding that his headquarters were some 4 miles from the Landing, I proceeded at once to report to him in person, and found a heavy fire of artillery and musketry already commenced along the lines. Orders were received from his aide to bring up my command as soon as possible, and I returned to the river for that purpose. The regiment was rapidly disembarked, ammunition distributed, and the men for the first time loaded their guns. We then marched to the heights in rear of the Landing, and formed in line of battle preparatory to an advance, our right resting on the road leading from the Landing to the field. At this time an order was received from a member of General Grant’s staff directing me to hold the position upon which we had formed, and to post such other troops as could be found about the Landing on the right of the road, extending to the bluff of the creek, emptying into the river below the Landing, in order to prevent the enemy from flanking it through the valley of this creek, and also to prevent all stragglers from returning from the battle-field to the Landing, and to hold ourselves as a reserve. The regiment was then advanced across the road to the right, so as to stop the progress of the multitudes returning from the battle-field, which could only be done by threatening to shoot them down. Some of them were induced by threats and persuasions to fall into line, but most of them had the Bull Run story, that their regiments were all cut to pieces, and that they were the only survivors, and nothing could be done with them but to stop their progress. Captain Benton [Bouton] placed his battery on our right, commanding the road leading from the battlefield to the river and also commanding the ravines to our right and left. Colonel Chambers, of the Sixteenth Iowa, formed his regiment on the right of Benton's [Bouton's] battery, resting the right of his regiment on the bluff' of the creek above mentioned. In this position we remained for about an hour, when an order was received from the engineer of General McClernand’s staff, by order, as he said, of General Grant, for the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Iowa to advance some 2 miles to the support of General McClernand’s division, on the extreme right of our lines. The advance was made, the Fifteenth leading, supported by the Sixteenth. We were led by the staff' officer of General McClernand first to the right, across a deep ravine and through thick underbrush, in a direction directly from the firing; then one of General Grant’s staff came up and said a wrong order must have been given us, in which opinion the undersigned fully concurred, and after consultation of the two staff officers the head of our column was turned to the left, and we marched in search of General McClernand’s division, his staff officer showing us the way. The road as we marched was filled with retreating artillery, flying cavalry, straggling infantry, and the wounded returning from the field. We reached an open field in front of the enemy, who were concealed in a dense wood and among tents, from which other regiments had been driven earlier in the day. Through this field the two regiments marched under a heavy fire from the enemy's artillery, and took position, by direction of General McClernand, near the tents. A regiment, said to be from Ohio, was on the field when we arrived, or came on soon after, and took position on the extreme right of the Sixteenth. The Fifteenth, which occupied the left, advanced upon the enemy and drove a part of them from their concealments among the tents and planted our colors in their midst, while the whole left wing of the regiment advanced under a murderous fire of shot and shell from the enemy's artillery and an incessant fire from the musketry. Our flag-staff was shot through and our colors riddled with bullets. For two hours from 10 to 12 o’clock, we maintained our position, our men fighting like veterans. The undersigned was severely wounded by a musket-ball through the neck, which knocked him from his horse, paralyzed for the time, but, recovering in a short time, remounted and continued in command throughout the fight. Fifteen of the 32 commissioned officers who went on the field had been killed, wounded, or taken prisoners; 22 officers and men had been killed, and 156 wounded. The Ohio regiment had left the field. The enemy were attempting to outflank us on the right and left. We were unsupported by artillery or any other regiment except the gallant Sixteenth, which had also suffered severely. It became necessary for the two regiments to retreat or run the risk of being captured, and by order of General McClernand the retreat was made. Portions of the regiments rallied, and fought with other divisions later in the day and on Monday.

Where nearly all fought with bravery it might seem invidious to particularize, but I hope to do no one injustice by specially pointing out those whose personal valor during the action came under my notice. Lieutenant-Colonel Dewey had his horse shot under him. Major Belknap was always in the right place at the right time, directing and encouraging officers and men as coolly as a veteran. He was wounded but not disabled and had his horse shot under him, but remained on the field performing his duty on foot. 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; 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. First Lieutenant Goode, of same company, also wounded. Captain Clark, of Company H, was not in the engagement, having been left sick in the hospital at Saint 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 Second 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 second lieutenant killed, and Eldredge, 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; Second Lieutenant 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 First Iowa at Springfield, gallantly bore our standard forward and planted it among the enemy, where it was bravely maintained and defended by portions of Company C, Company E, Company I, and Company K.

It must be remembered that this regiment had just received its arms, and that the men had never had an opportunity of learning the use of them until they came on the battle-field; that they had just landed and were attached to no brigade, and fought the enemy without the support of artillery in a position from which more experienced troops had been compelled to retire. The enemy, too, against whom we fought, the Twenty-second Tennessee and two Louisiana regiments, are understood to be among their best troops.

We have no means of learning the loss of the enemy in this engagement except from what they told some of our wounded men who were taken prisoners by them and left behind the next day, when the enemy made their final retreat, but from this source we learned that they had 40 men killed in the immediate vicinity of our colors and a large number wounded.

While we mourn our comrades in arms the gallant dead whose lives were sacrificed on the altar of their country, we are solaced with the belief that a grateful people will in after times pay a proper tribute to their memory.

To Quartermaster Higley great credit is due for the masterly manner in which he performed the arduous duties of his office on the field and elsewhere during the fight, and after it was over in providing for the comforts of the wounded and protecting the property of the regiment. To our surgeon, Dr. Davis, we are under great obligations for his energy and skill in the performance of the numerous operations rendered necessary. Assistant Surgeon Gibbon also performed valuable service in the midst of great danger on the battle-field in attending the wounded there and having them carried to our temporary hospital on board of the steamer Minnehaha. The chaplain, the Rev. W. W. Estabrook, too, for the time laid aside his sacred office and resumed the use of the surgeon’s scalpel with great success, and the wounded of numerous regiments besides our own shared in the skill of our medical staff.

Attached hereto will be found a list of the killed, wounded, and missing, making a total loss of 186.­*

H. T. REID,

 Colonel,  Commanding Fifteenth Iowa.

 ASST. ADJT. GEN. FIRST DIV., ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE,

Commanded by General McClernand.

__________

*See revised statement, p. 105.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume X (Serial No. 10), Part I, pages 288-90

Justin C. Kennedy, Lt. Col. Commanding, 13th Iowa Infantry to Nathaniel B. Baker, Adjutant General of Iowa, April 27, 1865

Head Quarters 13^th Iowa Inf. Vet. Vol.

Near Raleigh, N.C. April 27, 1865

N. B. Baker

Adjt. Genl. of Iowa

Sir,

I have been shown the report of Col. Geo. A. Stone, 25^th Iowa Vol. Comdg. 3^rd Brig. 1^st Div. 15^th A. C. published in the Mt. Pleasant “Home Journal” of April 14, 1865. Of the part taken by them in the capture of Columbia, S. C. in which appears the following sentence: “Preceding to the State House with Captain Pratt I planted the first United States flag on that building.” Begging Col. Stones pardon, I am obliged to say he did no such a thing. I planted the first United States flag on the capital building of South Carolina myself. A detachment of my regiment the 13^th Iowa Vet. Vol. Inf. with Lieutenants Goodsell and McArthur of Genl. Belknap’s Staff were the first to into Columbia, S.C on the morning of February 17, 1865 and the colors of the 13^th Iowa were hoisted over the capital building from half to three-fourths of an hour before Col. Stones Brigade reached the building and I defy contradiction to that fact.

For further proof, I respectfully refer you to the report of Brigadier General Wm. W. Belknap, commanding Iowa Brigade of the 17^th Army Corps. for the part they acted in the memorable campaign of the Carolina’s. Also, the congratulatory letter of Brvt. Maj. Genl. Giles A. Smith to General Belknap for the capture of Columbia, which was published in the Army and Navy Journal of April 8, 1865 – and his official note to Maj. Genl. Blair of Feb. 17, 1865 which said:

“The colors of the 13^th Iowa were suspended over the capital at eleven o’clock this forenoon. National salute is now being fired by Captain Clayton 1^st Minnesota Battery to commemorate this event.”

I have these statements and particularly refer you to these official documents out of justice to the brave men of my regiment. They crossed Congaree River, a swift and turbulent stream opposite the city, in flat boats not to get ahead of anyone for the detachment that first crossed and entered Columbia, were entirely ignorant of the approach of the 15^th Corps. The hazardous undertaking was accomplished merely as an act of duty for we thought Columbia could be captured in that way.

I am, General,

very respectfully

your Obt. Servt.,

J. C. Kennedy

Lt. Col. Comdg. 13^th Iowa Infy.

13^th

Raleigh N. C.

Apr 27/65

Lt. Col. J. C. Kennedy

States that Col Stone of the 25^th Iowa is mistaken in saying that he was the first to plant the stars and stripes on the capitol at Columbia S. C.

Filed May 26 1865

SOUCE:  This letter is listed for sale HERE by Museum Quality Americana.

Roster Of Field And Staff Officers - 15th Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry

Hugh T. Reid, Colonel.

William Dewey, Lieutenant Colonel.

William W. Belknap, Major.

George Pomutz, Adjutant.

John M. Hedrick, Quartermaster.

William H. Burnham, Surgeon.

William H. Gibbon, Assistant Surgeon.

William W. Estabrook, Chaplain.

SOURCE:  Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Iowa to the Governor, for the Year Ending December 31, 1861, p. 21

William W. Belknap

WILLIAM W. BELKNAP was born in Newburg, New York, in 1829. He graduated at Princeton College in 1848, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1851. He came to Iowa in 1853, locating at Keokuk where he entered upon the practice of law in partnership with Ralph P. Lowe, afterwards Governor of the State. He was elected to the House of the Seventh General Assembly in 1857 on the Democratic ticket. When the War of the Rebellion began he was commissioned major of the Fifteenth Iowa Infantry. He was in command of the regiment at the Battle of Corinth and was soon after placed on the staff of General McPherson. After the Battle of Atlanta he was promoted to Brigadier-General and at the close of the war was brevetted Major-General. He was offered a commission in the regular army but preferred to return to civil life. General Belknap had become a Republican, supporting Lincoln for President in 1864 and in 1866 was appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for the First District. When General Grant became President, General Belknap was invited into his Cabinet as Secretary of War, where he served seven years, resigning in March, 1876. Charges of official misconduct had been preferred against him by the House of Representatives in a time of great political bitterness, but in the trial by the Senate he was acquitted. Judge George G. Wright, who was a member of the Senate from Iowa, pronounced his acquittal just and his opinion was heartily indorsed by the people of Iowa who never lost confidence in the gallant officer. General Belknap died at Washington, October 13, 1890, and was buried in the National Cemetery at Arlington. Hugh J., a son of General Belknap, became a member of Congress from Chicago.

SOURCE: Benjamin F. Gue, History of Iowa, Volume IV: Iowa Biography, p. 17-8

William W. Belknap

William W. Belknap, for many years a prominent figure in Keokuk, was born at Newburg, New York, in 1829, graduated at Princeton University in 1848, studied law and in 1851 was admitted to the bar. Two years later he located in Keokuk, where he formed a partnership with Ralph P. Lowe. In 1857 Mr. Belknap was elected to the Legislature as a democrat. Upon the breaking out of the Civil war he assisted in recruiting troops and was commissioned major of the Fifteenth Iowa Infantry. He was in command of the regiment at the siege of Corinth and afterwards served on the staff of General McPherson. In 1864 he was made brigadier-general, and at the close of the war was offered a commission in the regular army, which he declined. In the meantime he had become a republican, and in 1866 was appointed collector of internal revenue for the First Iowa District. He served for seven years as secretary of war under President Grant, and died at Washington, D. C., October 13, 1890.

SOURCE: Nelson C. Roberts & S. W. Moorhead, editors, Story of Lee County, Iowa, Vol. 1, p. 302

Gen. William W. Belknap

BELKNAP, WILLIAM W., GEN., is the son of Gen. William G. Belknap, of the United States Army, who distinguished himself in the war of 1812, in the Florida war, and at Resaca and Buena Vista in the war with Mexico, and died in the service in 1851, in Texas. He was born at Newburg, New York, in 1829, and, after attending the high school and academy there, and pursuing his studies in Florida, where his father was stationed, he entered Princeton College in 1846, and graduated in 1848. Alter studying law in Georgetown, D. C, and being admitted to the bar in Washington City, he went, in July, 1851, to Keokuk and commenced the practice of the law, shortly afterward forming a partnership with Hon. R. P. Lowe (who was soon after elected District Judge, and later Governor and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State), and brought his mother and two sisters there in 1852. He was a member of the Legislature from Lee County, in 1857, as a representative of the Democratic party; but, being a strong Douglas Democrat, and not uniting with the members of that party who favored what was known as the Lecompton Constitution of Kansas, which was an important and exciting question in the politics of the party, he joined the Republican party. He was appointed Major of the 15th Iowa Vols., by Gov. Kirkwood, in 1861, of which regiment Gen. Hugh T. Reid was Colonel, and participated in that capacity in the battle of Shiloh, where he was wounded and had his horse shot under him. He remained in the army until the close of the war, rising gradually through the grades of Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel; was appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers, by President Lincoln, in 1864, on the recommendation of his Commanders, Gens. Blair and Sherman, and was brevetted Major General in 1865 for gallant and meritorious services during the war. Having, as Brigadier General of Volunteers commanded the 3d Brigade, 4th Division, 17th Army Corps ( Blair's) of the army of the Tennessee ( McPherson'.s); he was in numerous battles; among them, Shiloh, Corinth, the several battles near Atlanta, and the battle of Bentonville, N. C. He was engaged in the siege of Corinth, Vicksburg and of Atlanta, and commanded his Brigade (composed of the 11th, 13th, 15th and 16th Iowa Regiments), under Sherman in his march from Atlanta to the sea; thence to Goldsboro', Raleigh and Washington. He was repeatedly mentioned for coolness and courage, and in the battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864, he took prisoner Col. Lampley, 45th Alabama, by pulling him over the works by his coat collar. At the close of the war, he was appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for the 1st District of Iowa. On the accession of Gen. Grant to the Presidency, he was offered the choice of either one of three important public positions in another State, and one at Washington, which he declined, and remained Collector of the 1st District (comprising the counties of Lee, Des Moines, Louisa, Washington, Jefferson, Van Buren, Henry, and Davis), until October, 1869, when he was appointed Secretary of War by President Grant, and his many friends point to the records of that office for the proof of his faithful labors for a term of over six years. Prior to this appointment, he was selected as the orator for the Army of the Tennessee at the re-union of all the Western armies, at Crosby's Opera House, Chicago, December, 1868, and delivered the address at the great Re-union of Iowa soldiers, at Des Moines, in September, 1870. After his resignation of the office of Secretary of War, articles of impeachment were presented against him, and, after a protracted and thorough trial, he was acquitted by the Senate. Gen. Belknap married, in 1854, Miss LeRoy, of Keokuk, the sister of Mrs. Hugh T. Reid, and their son, Hugh Reid Belknap, is now a student at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. His present wife, whom he married in 1873, formerly Miss Tomlinson, of Harrodsburg, Ky., is the daughter of the late Dr. John Tomlinson, an able and famous physician of that locality. They have one child, a daughter, Alice Belknap. Since leaving the War Department Gen. Belknap has been engaged in legal practice; his residence is Keokuk, but his business before the Departments at Washington, a large part of which results from his employment as attorney by several Railroad Corporations, requires him to be absent from home during a portion of each year.

SOURCE:  The History of Lee County, Iowa, Western Historical Company, Chicago, Illiniois, 1879, p. 683-4

William T. Cunningham

William T. Cunningham was the second Major. He was Captain of Company G, and was appointed Major on the promotion of Major Belknap to the lieutenant-colonelcy on August 1, 1862. He was wounded in the left arm in the battle of Corinth on October 3, 1862, where he behaved with gallantry. He resigned on January 10, 1863, and died on May 28, 1884, at Pittsburgh, Kansas.

SOURCE: William W. Belknap, History of the Fifteenth Regiment, Iowa Veteran Volunteer Infantry, p. 39

George Pomutz

George Pomutz was the Fourth Lieutenant Colonel, and was appointed November 23, 1864. He was an exiled Hungarian who came to America in 1848 and settled in New Buda, Decatur county, Iowa.

He had a military education in the old country and was appointed Adjutant of the Regiment on its formation. As an Office Adjutant he had no superior. Methodical beyond example in his Regimental papers, he kept a descriptive book of the Regiment, giving the service of every officer and man, which is historically accurate and which is surpassed by no Regimental record in the War Department. While Adjutant he was wounded in the thigh at Shiloh where he behaved with gallantry. He afterwards became the Major of the Regiment on the promotion of Colonel Hedrick and the Lieutenant-Colonel on the promotion of the same officer. While Major, he was Provost Marshal on the staff of Major General Blair, commanding the 17th Army Corps. He was mustered out with his Regiment in 1865, and was appointed Consul General at St. Petersburg and Cronstadt, which position he filled with honor and efficiency. Governor Curtin,of Pennsylvania, formerly United States Minister to Russia, bears cheerful witness to his great usefulness in that position. But political changes removed him from this place, and financial troubles coming upon him he died in great poverty at St. Petersburgh, on October 12, 1882. A stone was erected to his memory through the exertions and contributions of Governor Curtin, the officers of the 15th Iowa, and other friends, and the Regiment now makes a yearly contribution towards the care of his grave. His records of this Regiment form his best memorial. And as long as any man of the 15th Iowa lives, the Adjutant will be remembered, and the words will be recalled which he spoke, when expecting death when thrown from his mare, whom the surrounding soldiers denounced, he defended his favorite animal and said: "If I dies, I forgives Mary."

William W. Belknap was first Major, John M. Hedrick the third, and George Pomutz the fourth. Their history is given above.

SOURCE: William W. Belknap, History of the Fifteenth Regiment, Iowa Veteran Volunteer Infantry, p. 38

William Dewey

William Dewey, of Fremont county, Iowa, was the first Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment. He was with the Regiment at the battle of Shiloh, and having been appointed Colonel of the 23d Iowa, resigned to accept the new commission. He died in Missouri during the war.

William W. Belknap was the second and John M. Hedrick the third Lieutenant Colonels. Their history is given above.

SOURCE: William W. Belknap, History of the Fifteenth Regiment, Iowa Veteran Volunteer Infantry, p. 37

Letter From Col. H. T. Reid

A letter from Col. Reid, received last night, says that he was ordered, immediately on landing, to march to Prentiss’ Division. In marching there they met many disorganized troops, and found much confusion on the field. Soon. Col. Reid received an order from Gen. Grant to join Sherman’s Division. He marched there, and found only one regiment (an Ohio regiment) fighting bravely. The Fifteenth stood by them and fought until they were overwhelmed by superior numbers and compelled to fall back. Col. Reid’s horse was shot, and he was struck in the neck and paralyzed. He fell and was taken up and was being carried off the ground, but in a few minutes he revived, and again mounting a horse held command as long as there were any men left to fight. Lieut. Col. Dewey and Major Belknap both had their horses shot and Belknap was slightly wounded in the shoulder.

The regiment stood their ground along side the Ohio Regiment, exposed to a galling fire for an hour and a quarter, and 17 of the officers were either killed or wounded. Col. Reid speaks highly of his men, who stood up without flinching, though many of them had never before loaded a musket. This is very a different story from the one which the Secesh have been gloating over with diabolical malice. On Monday morning only 430 answered to their names.

Col. Reid’s wound was painful, but he expected to be in the saddle again in a week. Of course the report that he and Lt. Col. Dewey, and Major Belknap were on the way home was a mistake. It does not appear that Lt. Col. Dewey was injured.

Letters received last night state that Major Belknap covered himself with glory, by his gallantry and determined perseverance in rallying his own men and men of another regiment, in moments of confusion, and bringing them into line of battle and fighting like veterans. Three cheers for the Major.

– Published in The Gate City, Keokuk, Iowa, Thursday, April 17, 1862

Major Belknap . . .

. . . of the 15th Iowa regiment, has been appointed Colonel of a Wisconsin regiment by Gen. Halleck, for gallant conduct at the battle of Pittsburg.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 28, 1862, p. 1

From Cairo

CAIRO, April 22.

Special to the Chicago Times

The steamer Charley Bowen reached here to-day, from Paducah. From Capt. White, one of her passengers, I gather Pittsburg news of Sunday night. The weather in that quarter has been exceedingly unfavorable for movements of our army. For the last three days rain has fallen incessantly, and it is now an utter impossibility for the army to move on account of the great depth of the mud. Preparations, however, are going on steadily, so when the roads improve, the army will be in readiness for battle.

Beauregard is being constantly reinforced and the citizens of Memphis and New Orleans are throwing up their business occupation and flocking to his standard, believing on the ensuing battle depends the fate of the Valley of the Mississippi. It is thought by those who ought to know best that the majority of the Southern people are ready to throw down their arms and return to the Union, if they are defeated at Corinth; while the leaders are still as desperate as ever.

Major Belknap, of the 15th Iowa regiment, has been promoted to the Colonelcy of a Wisconsin regiment, for his gallant conduct at the battle of Pittsburg.

I have it from excellent authority, that every charge against Gen. Grant, will be shown to be groundless, and that facts not generally known, tend to exculpate him from any blame whatever. The charge among others, that he landed troops on the Pittsburg side of the river, contrary to the order of Gen. Halleck, is easily cleared up, by the fact that the whole opposite side of the river was flooded with at least three feet of water, making the debarkation of the troops on that side impossible. The impression is gaining ground that Gen. Grant not only acted prudently under the circumstances, but conducted himself with marked bravery throughout the battle.

Five of the rebel miscreants who fired on the steamer Minnehaha during her recent trip up the Tennessee, have been captured, together with a quantity of ammunition and a number of horses, bearing the U. S. marks. The rebels were to be shot.

Gen. Smith is lying dangerously ill at Savannah. His division was commanded at the battle of Pittsburg by Gen. W H. Wallace.

Capt. G. R. Gardner, Co. F, and Capt. R. R. Henderson, Co. H, 13th Ohio, reported killed in the battle of Pittsburg, are both alive, and though wounded, are doing well.

The gunboat Eastport, captured at Nashville, is now being rebuilt at Mound City. She is to be somewhat longer and narrower than the gunboats now in service, and is to be provided with a huge iron prow; otherwise she will be continued after the pattern of the Benton and other gunboats. She is to be completed in about four weeks. Capt. Pennock, the naval officer in command at this post, is superintending the construction of the Eastport.

The captain of the Minnehaha arrived here to-day, and brings particulars concerning the drowning of Gov. Harvey. The Governor was returning in company with a number of gentlemen of Wisconsin from Pittsburg, whither they had gone to relieve the wounded Wisconsin troops. At Savannah they stopped some time visiting the wounded in hospital, and at length started to return. The party were passing from the steamer Dunleith on board the Minnehaha, when Gov. Harvey lost footing and fell into the river. He endeavored to swim against the current, and while in this act Dr. Clarke, on of the Governor’s party plunged into the stream to his rescue. Before he could reach him, however, Gov. Harvey was carried under a coal boat, since when nothing has been heard of his body, though endeavors have been made to recover it. A reward of $1,000 been offered by the State for the recovery of the body.

The Postmaster at Cairo requests all postmasters in mailing letters for the army, which should properly be sent to his office for distribution, to put them in separate packages and endorse the letters “soldier’s letters, Cairo D. P. O.” The enormous increase of letters received makes this an absolute necessity.

The steamer Stringer arrived from Fort Pillow this morning, but brought nothing of importance from the fleet. She left our fleet on Sunday evening, and reports that there was no firing on either side during that day. A few shots were exchanged on Saturday, Mortar boats occasionally toss shell into the rebel fortifications. Nothing lively may be expected from the flotilla until after the battle of Corinth.

First Lieut. John Sec, Co G, 41st Ills., wounded in the battle of Pittsburg, died when coming down the river yesterday.

The river here is at least at a stand, and if any change is occurring is slowly receding.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, April 24, 1862, p. 2

From Pittsburgh Landing

We give the following extracts from a private letter received last night:

PITTSBURGH LANDING, April 10.

ED. GATE:– This is the bloodiest battle ever fought on this continent – the fiercest and most desperate conflict of the campaign. Our loss is greater than at Ft. Donelson. The wounded are being cared for as fast as possible, and all that human hands and human sympathy can do is being done for our brave soldiers. – Our Iowa men have suffered severely; our loss not yet ascertained.

The 15th Iowa arrived on Sunday and entered at once into the engagement. Their loss as I have been able to gather was:

Co. Reid, wounded in the neck severely.
Major Belknap, in the back, slightly.
Capt. Hutchcraft, in the arm, severly.
Capt. Blackmar, in the back slightly.
Capt. Day, in hip.
Lieut. Perryman, killed.
Lieut. Hamilton, killed.
Lieut. Fisk, killed.
Lieut. J. M. Reid wounded in the neck, slightly.
Twenty-five privates killed.

Co. A, 2d Iowa, 2 killed, John A Hough one of them.

As soon as I can procure reliable lists will send them to you.

– Published in The Gate City, Keokuk, Iowa, Wednesday, April 16, 1862,

The Wounded Coming

We learn that Col. Rankin received a dispatch yesterday from St. Louis, notifying him that a large number of wounded solders were on the way here, and to have the Hospital in readiness. It was also reported that Col. Reid, Major Belknap and others were expected here tonight.

– Published in The Gate City, Keokuk, Iowa, Wednesday, April 16, 1862

By Telegraph

Afternoon Report.

LATER FROM THE GREAT BATTLE.

Col. Reid Wounded!

LT. COL DEWEY WOUNDED!

Maj. Belknap Wounded!

CAP. HEDDRICK KILLED

Only 407 of the 15th Regiment answer to Roll-Call!

GEN WALLACE DEAD!

Prentiss did not Escape.

THE 12th, 14th AND 8th IOWA REGIMENTS CAPTURED.

(Special to Chicago Tribune)

Cairo, April 13 – 10 P. M.

The body of General Wallace, of Ottawa, accompanied by his staff arrived on the steamer A. Woodford this evening. She brought down some 600 prisoners, on their way to St. Louis. A special train with the body of Gen. Wallace will leave this evening for Ottawa.

Col. H. T. Reid, 15th, Iowa, from Keokuk, was paralyzed by a ball in the back of his head. Lieut. Col. Dewey was badly wounded in the shoulder. Major Belknap was slightly wounded. Capt. Hedrick killed. His noble regiment had just arrived Saturday with 1,045 men. Only 407 answered their names after the battle. They had received their guns at St. Louis and left Keokuk only two weeks ago and were in Prentiss’s division.

An officer just arrived says that Prentiss is still a prisoner.

Nearly all of the 58th Illinois and the 12th, 14th and 8th Iowa regimentss were surrounded and taken prisoners while maintaining their ground and fighting like heroes. Col. Wood of the Iowa 12th escaped.

The 14th, 16th and 18th Wisconsin regiments were all in the fight. The 16th was in Prentiss’s division, and with others was mostly dispersed or captured. What remained fought bravely and suffered most terribly. The 18th reached Pittsburg Saturday evening, and marched to the front of Sherman’s divison, and were exposed Sunday to the heaviest fire, returning it with an energy worthy of veterans. This regiment was entirely raw, had been paraded only a few times; had been hurried down from Milwaukee right into the heat of the battle, and many had never loaded a gun until they did it before the enemy. All these regiments did splendidly. It is impossible as yet to procure a list of casualties.

Gov. Harvey and party, with a boatload of hospital stores, left this evening to relieve the wounded.

Col. Hicks of the 10th Illinois was shot through the shoulder; Lieut Holmes of Co. I, 48th Ills., killed; 13th Ohio, Co. F, wounded Capt. J. J. Gardner, slightly; Capt. Willey, shot in thigh; Adjt. Tancort, slightly wounded. 55th Illinois, Co C. 2nd Lieut. Theodore Parker Hodges; Capt. Boyd, Rockford, wounded slightly. 30th Indiana, Col. Boss, seriously wounded; half the regiment reported killed or wounded; fought bravely. 28th Illinois, Col. H. A. Johnson slightly wounded; Killed, Lieutenant Col. Kilpatick. Illinois 15th, Col. D. Stuart, shot through breast; wounded slightly, Capt. S. A. Wright, shot three times. 4th Illinois, wounded severely, Col. Hicks, Capt. Hooper, Lieut. Heamphry. Taylor’s battery: wounded 10; -- lost no guns. Col. Dickey’s cavalry had two privates mortally wounded. The whole regiment was on the field. Fifteen persons were killed.

The following is a list of Ill. Soldiers wounded at the battle of Pittsburgh in the Mound City Hospital: Lafayette Wilcox 53rd Ills., co. H, finger off; D. W. McCaughey, 55th Ills., co. F, right thigh, bad; Philip Faxerson 8th Ills. Company H, through left hand; Francis A. Hall, 28th Ky, co. H, wounded in left thigh; Samuel Claywell, 14th, wound in right arm; E. Mills, 7th Ills, co. H, left wrist; Mathew Doyle, 15th Ills., co. H, through the spine; Amnas Hilley, 30th Ills., co H, left hand; J. W. Shaw, 15th Ills., left leg below the knee; Cornelius Dethrow, 12th Ills., co. H, right knee; A. B. Parker, 15th, co. B, left leg broken; Vanwinkle, Sargeant Major, 3d, right thigh, deep flesh wound; Malton T. Harns, 32d co. A, through the left lung; Cyrus Bonham 57th, shot in left knee; Samuel Miller, fore finger from right hand; Simon Shillinger, 9th, co. B, shot in right shoulder; James Hobbs, 9th, co. F, through leg and right arm; Geo. Lagbetter, 3d, shot between the shoulders; Thos. H. Boyd, 48th, co. D, left thigh and hip; James Kenny, 15th, co. E, wounded in left knee; Fred. Hammen, co I, 11th, right side and bruised in back; Wm H. Tell, 11th, co. G, left leg and shoulder; Richard Ruke, 57th, co. I, through the jaw; Martin Arnold, 9th, co. B, foot; Adam Reitz, 9th, co. D, shoulder; Andrew Robertson, 14th, co. A, shot thro’ right foot; Moses Parker, 15th, co. H, in right ankle; Moses Montgomery, 15th, co. I, in left shoulder; W. A. Long, 15th, co. H, right thigh and foot; S. Wickliff, 50th, co. K, arm broke thro’ left shoulder; Andrew Sebastian Seigt, 9th, co. A, left knee; Owen Tenant, 15th, co. G, left arm; Edwin C. Wheelock, 15th, Co. I, shot in right side; E. Hog, 41st, Co. H, left arm; Abel H. Bonneth, 15th Co, C, left hip; James H. Brown, 40th, Co. B, left leg off below the knee; Bailey Fred. Tenser, 15th, Co. H, through the knee; Hampden N. Cotten, O. S. 15th, co. C, left hand and hip; Ephraim Lake, 15th, Co. C, above and below left leg in front; Wm. H. Law, Serg’t, 15th, Co. C, left leg at ankle; Ambrose E. Partit, O. S. 55th, Co. C, left arm near shoulder; F. Benjamin, 55th Co. C, left arm above elbow, flesh; Michael Amaborny, 55th, co. C, right leg at knee; Chas. B. Danforth, 4th cavalry, left side of [head]; J. Richardson, 14th, Co. B, in the eye; Wm. Eaje, 18th, Co. F, left ear; Dan Calmer, 4th cavalry, Co. H, left legg off; J. L. Staffeen, 29th, Co. C, left side arm and thigh; Leig, 17th, Co. M, right shoulder broken; Andrew G. Johnson, 18th, Co. B, left knee; Martin Shive, 2d cavalry, Co. M; Ditiner, 45th, Co. B, left leg at knee; Henry D Wood, 34th, Co. D, left arm below elbow, James Martin, 57th, Co. C, right shoulder, and side; Chester Plummer, 57th, Co. K,, left hip; John P. Beck, 57th, Co. K, thigh; Elijah Blackman, 46th, Co. H.; in head; Monroe Cook, 46th, Co. H, right arm; Thomas J. Elvord, 55, Co. A, through the thigh; Wm. Windle, 46th, Co. D, left shoulder out at breast; Wm. A. Smith, 41st, Co. A, leg off at knee; James W. Dickerson, 41th, Co. I, right cheek; John Lohr, 45th, Co. B, left shoulder; Noble Sanford, 45th, Co. B, though right hand; James Williams, 15th, Co. F, through left foot; Hugh Donnelly, 32d, Co. A, left shoulder; Wm. Wheeler, 29th, co. H, groin, Edward Hawkins, 52d, Co. F, arm and other small wounds; L. Fuller, 43d, Co. G, left arm, Mike Cronin, 57th, Co. K, in the knee; Andrew Hammond, 15th, rheumatism; David Tibbs, 43th, Co. I, shot in left eye; Alvey Stewart, 34th, Co. D, in left leg; McComb, 28th, Co. A, right leg; Co. A, right leg; James Kinny, 28th, Co. A, breast and arm; Jacob Rickelson, 27th, Co. F, right thigh and hand; John Kinman, 28th, Co. I, in the ankle; Ferdinand Bower, 58th, through right knee; W. J. Smith, 49th, Co. D, right thigh, hip and left arm; Jno. Fitzsimmons, 28th, Co. B, thigh; Wm. Illsley, 9th, Co. H, right leg, above knee; S. Waughtzon, 45th, Co. C, right shoulder and arm, badly; Jas. Murphy, [6]th, Co. G., both thighs, slightly; Major L. Holt, 43d, Co. C, right arm and hand; Henry Kobbening, 28th, Co. A, left knee; Richard Lynch, 28th, Co. A, left thigh; John Nash, 28th, Co. A, Henry Keith, 28th, Co. A, right elbow; Geo. Lanham, 28th, Co. A, below right ear; Wm. Dollar, 28th, Co. H, in abdomen; James Hendricks, 28th, in abdomen; Orlando Bridgman, 11th, Co. D, left sholder; Byron Parkhurst, 11th, Co. C, in both legs; F. Childers, 8th, Co. G, in ankle; James Bogby, 28th, Co. B, right thigh; Joseph Ray, 41st, Co. A, left hand; Andrew Olenhausen, O. S., 46th, Co. C, in arm; Quincy Pollock, 46th, Co. A, O. S., thigh; Franklin Smith, 46th, Co. A, right ankle; George Crabtree, 11, Co. C, Harris Hackeny, 41st, Co. H, in thigh; John Smith, 15th, Co. E, in both thighs; H. Walker, 28th, Co. I, shot in the neck; W. T. Williams, 1st Corporal, 58th, Co. C, right arm shot off at elbow; Fred Sheve, 9th, Co. C, right and left hip; J. S. Denavee, 32d, Co., I, left thigh; James Gardner, 28th, Co. K, thigh and leg; Thomas B. Hogg, 52d, Co. F, through left foot; Captain Wm. Tenny, 46th, Co. G, left Cheek; David Lucas, 2Jd [sic], Co. F, left cheek; C. Cennicke, 57th, Co. F, in ribs, back and right side; Thomas P. Paxton, 45th, Co., F, left knee, Augustus Whalen, 3d Cav., through neck; T. F. Lewis, 8th Iowa, Co. D, in the neck; S. F. Sellers, 48th, Ills, Co. H, 1st Lieut, in knee and groin; G. W. Wooster, 52d, Co. K, Corporal, right thigh; Peter Woolf, Dresser’s Artillery, 1st Ills., shot in breast; Fred Strop, 9th, Co., A, across back. Edwin Naie, 9th, Co. H, right thigh; Fred Bartlesson, Major 2d Cav., left arm cut off; Alonzo Ramsey, 1st artillery, co. D, ankle; Walker Richmond, 72d O., Co. G, left arm at elbow; Thomas O’Flinn, 52nd Ills., Co. G, right leg above knee; Joseph Mowruy, 12th, H, right legg [sic] at knee; Silas Riggs, 40th, E, Left thigh; Earnest Kimble, 43d, B, right leg at knee; Adam Shutz, 43d, A, left knee; Joseph Brothers, 32d, E, hip; Mat. Hughes, 32d, E, leg, thigh and through the back; Henry Hartline, 19th, I, head; A Keler, 11th, C, right arm; Elias Challoff, 11th, C, right shoulder; David B. Smith, 25th, H, in shoulder; Jas. Eaton, 29th, I right arm at elbow; Hiram V Sanders, 12th, E, right foot; Geo. Steinburger, 12th, B, left leg below knee; C. F. Mount, 40th, I, right leg bleow knee; Nathaniel Perry, 8th, H, right leg below knee; Martin Baker, 40th, E, chest; H. Fuller, 20th, H, both legs, Geo. K. Logan, 8th, F, right side; Jas. E. Dast, 12th, E, left hip; Robt. Ramsey, 9th, K, left ankle and right leg; Joseph Norton, Sr., 15th, I, left thigh; Richard Brown, 15th, B, left leg and knee and left shoulder; Stephen Boher, 8th, H, in left hand; Samuel G. Comert, 1st artillery, shot in right thigh; Dr. Frank Reiily, Asst. Surgeon, 45th, through leg; Allen C. Waterhouse, 1st artillery, E, in thigh; james Weddon, 55th, 1st Lieut., in thigh; Geo. H. Haler, 15th, K, left shoulder; Reuben Bruckern, 40th, G, right arm broken.

– Published in The Gate City, Keokuk, Iowa, Tuesday, April 15, 1862

Cairo Budget, A useless attempt to Whitewash Grant – Affairs at Pittsburgh – at Fort Pillow, etc.

CAIRO, April 22 – The steamer Charley Brown reached here to-day from Paducah. From Captain White, one of her passengers, I gather Pittsburgh news of Sunday Night.

The weather has been exceedingly unfavorable in that quarter for the movements of our army, for the last three days. The rain has fallen incessantly, and it is now an utter impossibility for the army to move on account of the great depth of mud. Preparations, however, are going on steadily, and when the roads improve the army will be in readiness for the battle.

Beauregard is being constantly reinforced and citizens of Memphis and New Orleans are throwing up their business occupations and flocking to his standard, believing that in the coming battle depends the fate of the Valley of the Mississippi.

It is thought by those who ought to know, that the majority of the Southern People are ready to throw down their arms and return to the Union if they are defeated at Corinth, while the leaders are still as desperate as ever.

Major Belknap, of the 15th Iowa, has been promoted to the Colonelcy of a Wisconsin regiment, for gallant conduct at the battle of Pittsburgh.

I hear it from excellent authority, that every charge brought against Gen. Grant, will be shown to be groundless, and facts not generally known tend to exculpate him from any blame whatever. The charge, among others, that he landed troops on the Pittsburgh side of the river contrary to the orders of General Halleck, is easily cleared up, by the fact that the whole opposite side of the river was flooded with at least three feet of water, making the debarkation of troops on that side impossible.

The impression is gaining ground that Gen. Grant not only acted prudently under the circumstances, but conducted himself with marked bravery throughout the battle.

Five of the rebel miscreants who fired upon the steamer Minnehaha, during her recent trip up the Tennessee river, have been captured, together with a quantity of ammunition and quite a number of horses bearing the U. S. mark. – They are to be shot.

Gen. Smith is lying dangerously ill at Savannah. His division was commanded at the battle of Pittsburgh by Gen. W. H. Wallace.

Capt. J. R. Gardiner, Co. F, and Capt. R. R. Henderson, Co. H, 13th Ohio, reported killed in the battle of Pittsburgh, in the Chicago Tribune of the 19th, are both alive, and though wounded are doing well.

The gunboat Eastport, captured at Nashville, is now being rebuilt at Mound City. She is to be somewhat larger and narrower than the gunboats now in service, and is to be provided with a large iron ram at the prow. Otherwise she will be erected after the pattern of the Benton and other gunboats. She is to be completed in about four weeks. Capt. Pennock, the naval officer in command at this post, is superintending the construction of the Eastport.

The Captain of the Minnehaha arrived here to-day, and brings the particulars concerning the drowning of Gov. Harvey. The Governor was returning in company with a number of gentleman of Wisconsin, from Pittsburgh, whither they had gone [to] relieve the wounded Wisconsin troops. At Savannah they stopped some time visiting the wounded in the hospital and started to return. The party were passing from the steamer Dunleith on board the Minnehaha, when Gov. Harvey lost his footing and fell into the river. He endeavored to swim against the current and while in this act, Dr. Clarke, one of the Governor’s particular friends, plunged into the stream to his rescue. But before he could reach him however, Gov. Harvey was carried under a coal boat. Since then nothing has been seen of his body, though every exertion has been made to recover it. A reward of $1,000 has been offered by the State of Wisconsin, for the recover of the body.

The post-master at Cairo requests all postmasters in mailing letters for the army, which should properly be sent to his office for distribution, to put them in separate packages, and endorse the letters “Soldier’s Letters,” Cairo D. P. O. The enormous increase of letters received makes this an absolute necessity.

The steamer Shingers arrived from Fort Pillow this morning, but brought nothing of importance from the flotilla. She left our fleet on Sunday evening and reports that there was no firing on either side during that day. A few shots were exchanged on Saturday. Our mortar boats occasionally throw a shell into the rebel fortifications. Nothing lively may be expected from the flotilla until after the battle of Corinth.

First Lieut. John Seek, Co G, 41st Illinois, wounded at the battle of Pittsburg, died while coming down the river yesterday.

The river here is at last at a stand, and if any change is occurring is slowly receding.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, April 26, 1862, p. 3

Ensign H. King

Ensign H. King was the second Adjutant. He enlisted as a private at Osceola, Clarke county, Iowa in 1861, and was First Sergeant of Company I, was in the battle of Shiloh, and his Company officers being all killed or wounded, he commanded the Company on Monday, April 7, 1862. He, with Sergeant McArthur of Company K, joined about ninety men under the command of Major Belknap, and fought on the left of Gross’s Brigade of Nelson’s Division on the evening of Sunday, April 6. They were placed there by order of General Grant to Major Belknap personally, Major Belknap having reported to General Grant, and seeing him then for the first time. He Became a Second Lieutenant on July 4, 1862, vice Hamilton Killed at Shiloh, and became First Lieutenant on December 10, 1862, and on April 22, 1863, he was made First Lieutenant and Adjutant. He was in all the campaigns in which the Regiment took part. He especially distinguished himself during the battles near Atlanta in 1864. In the charge of July 21, on the right of the Third Division, which enabled that division of the 17th Corps to capture and hold “Bald Hill,” which could not have been captured had not the Iowa Brigade made this charge, the 15th Iowa, after its work was done, fell back into the earth works. It was soon discovered that Lieutenant-Colonel Hedrick, with three Companies of the Regiment, had not fallen back and were still under a heavy fire, and within close proximity to the enemy’s works. Colonel Belknap ordered Adjutant King to return and notify them. It was a hazardous and dangerous duty, but he did not flinch. Up he went through severe firing. He says himself: “It was about the severest trial I had during the war.” But he did it well. On the next day when Lampley, the Colonel of the 45th Alabama, was captured, King brought in the youngster, Lee, who had so bravely stood by his Commander. Lampley died soon after.

Lee now lives in Clayton, Alabama, thoroughly reconstructed.

On October 27, 1864, Adjutant King was appointed Chaplain and he was as faithful and devoted in that branch of the service as in the other. As Adjutant he was prompt, accurate and reliable; he continued in the work, most intelligently of the Adjutant Pomutz on the Regimental Record, and the service he did will live to do him honor always. He was, as all truly religious men are, thoroughly brave and unostentatious, but still aware of his own rights and prompt to maintain them. Both as a soldier of the country and soldier of the cross, he came up to the mark, and the men of the 15th Iowa will always have a pleasant word for King. He now is a Minister of the Gospel, connected with the Methodist Church and resides at Napa City California.

SOURCE: William W. Belknap, History of the Fifteenth Regiment Iowa Veteran Volunteer Infantry, p. 39-41

WILLIAM W. BELKNAP.

William W. Belknap, of Keokuk, was the second Colonel. Heredity asserts itself in the transmission of the chivalric spirit of the father to the son as well as in the perpetuity of those other traits, mental and moral, which the psychologist and the social philosopher love to trace with such minute care. The soldier is the sire of soldiers! Some men take up the sword as naturally as others do the pen or plow. It only requires the opportunity to develop the penchant. In every lonely, wind-swept country grave-yard there are the ashes of unknown Miltons. The epics that remained unsung upon their lips would have fired men to nobler accomplishments and purer purposes, — but the circumstances that shaped their destinies cast in different moulds those who would have sung them; the philosophers and scientists who have never been developed are unnumbered; the teachers worthy to lead men and the statesmen who might have guided the ship of state in any storm and who yet died unknown, is beyond count. But that spirit, which animates the soldier — that martial valor — rises to the surface under different circumstances, more untoward conditions. When the shock of war breaks upon a nation, when a crisis in civil affairs arises which must needs be arbitrated by arms, then there comes the stern sense of duty, coupled with the grim pagentry and high glory of war which fans into flame the latent embers of chivalry that have slumbered in the breasts of men. Here heredity and intellect assert themselves. The men born to command, command; those born to obey fall into the ranks and fill a noble part not less glorious for being less conspicuous.

Admitting the truth of the premises we have established it is not surprising that William W. Belknap was one of the earliest to enter the service in the war for the Union. It is not surprising that he achieved distinction and left the service with a brilliant record as a soldier and a leader. He came of a line of soldiers. His father, William G. Belknap, was for years a distinguished officer of the regular army, entering the service in 1813, when but a boy. He was appointed a third Lieutenant by President Madison and served with marked gallantry in that last struggle with Great Britain. Later he served in the Florida and Mexican wars, participating in all the battles fought by General Taylor — serving for a time on the staff of that officer and being brevetted Brigadier-General for gallantry in the battle of Buena Vista. While still in the service in Texas in 1851 he died.

In the town of Newburgh, New York, in 1829, the subject of this sketch was born, and there he spent his boyhood. When nineteen years of age (1848) he graduated from Princeton College; and at once entering upon the study of the law with Hugh Caperton, of Georgetown, D. C., he was admitted to the bar of the District by Judge Cranch in 1851. The young attorney, with a shrewdness of intuition which stood him in good stead later in life, saw the possibilities which yet lay before the Great West. Already the avenues to success at the East were blocked by the number of worthy applicants. The West, with its untried possibilities and its wider scope for the development of talent he preferred to the East, and in July of the same year in which he was admitted to the bar we find our young attorney hanging out his shingle in Keokuk. The professional ability of young Belknap commanded the respect of the older practitioners at the bar, and shortly after his location he formed a partnership with Hon. R. P. Lowe, who became afterwards Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State and later Governor. It was not long before the talent of the young lawyer began to assert itself in the new community. While there was a vigorous energy about the frontier communities which the later generations may have missed, still there was not the competition of talent which comes with older civilization and broader means of general culture. A strong, talented man must of necessity forge to the front and take precedence; so after his marriage in 1854 to Miss Cora Le Roy, of Vincennes, Indiana, (a sister-in-law of General Hugh T. Reid, who died in 1862), General Belknap began taking the local political leadership. As a result he was elected to the Legislature from Lee County at the first session held in Des Moines, in 1857-8. Then Belknap was an enthusiastic Douglas Democrat. It was the argument of war which changed his politics and made him a Republican.

The first real evidence of military spirit which the young lawyer showed was when he entered the “City Rifles," a crack military company which he afterwards commanded, and which furnished many officers of ability and high rank to the Volunteer forces. In its ranks, or as its Captain, he attained a proficiency in aims which profited him in the most trying times. There was little to indicate that the service seen in the streets and parks of Keokuk was ever to be useful in more earnest frays; but in fact it was the basis of that broader military education finished in the field and which eventually made of the Captain of militia one of the most brilliant commanders of his day. The "City Rifles" were famous for their proficiency in drill and their perfect discipline, so that when Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood commissioned Wm. W. Belknap as Major of the 15th Iowa Infantry in November, 1861, he placed over the raw recruits a man, who, though coming from the ranks of professional civilian life, was in point of ability and courage competent to lead his men forth to battle. He became Lieutenant Colonel on the resignation of Lieutenant-Colonel Dewey, August 1, 1802. On the promotion of Col. Reid to a brigadier generalcy he became Colonel on April 22, 1863, vacating the latter position when promoted by President Lincoln July 80, 1864.

The first battle in which the 15th engaged was Shiloh. It was a bloody baptism for the new Iowa Regiment and yet it was a glorious one. It was at that fight, too, that Major Belknap was wounded and had his horse shot under him. He also on that field came under the personal observation of the great leader — General Grant, and from that time dates the intimacy which was afterwards to so closely associate these two men. At Shiloh the discipline and drill of the men came into full play and that of none in the whole vast army were better. Major Belknap had himself drilled the officers in a hall in Keokuk previous to taking the field and as a result there was a degree of perfection which would have been highly creditable to regular soldiers. The intrepidity of the commander also inspired his men.

In the report made by Colonel Hugh T. Reid of the part taken by the Regiment in the battle of Shiloh, he writes as follows:

"Major Belknap was always in the right place at the right time directing and encouraging officers and men as coolly as a veteran; he was wounded, but not disabled, and had his horse shot under him, but remained on the field performing his duty on foot."

Colonel M. M. Crocker, commanding the 3d Brigade, Sixth Division, in the battle of Corinth on October 3, 1862, says:

"This engagement lasted three-quarters of an hour; the firing was incessant, and the Regiments, especially the 15th, suffered severely. I deem it my especial duty to particularly mention Lieutenant-Colonel Belknap who commanded the 15th Iowa. This Regiment was under the hottest fire, and Colonel Belknap was everywhere along the line, mounted, with sword in hand, encouraging, by voice and gesture, his men to stand their ground.”

Colonel William Hall, commanding the 3d brigade, Fourth Division Seventeenth Corps, in the battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864, in which engagement General McPherson, the able and beloved commander of the Army of the Tennessee, was killed, speaks as follows:
"Where all officers and men did their duty I can make special mention of hut few. * * * * Colonel Belknap, commanding the I5th Iowa, displayed at all times the highest qualities of the soldier, cheering his men by his voice, and encouraging them by his personal disregard of danger."

General Giles A. Smith, commanding the Fourth Division, Seventeenth Corps in the same action, says:

"Many individual acts of heroism have occurred. * * * Colonel Belknap, of the 15th Iowa Volunteers, took prisoner Colonel Lampley, of the 45th Alabama, by pulling him over the works by his coat-collar, being several times fired at by men at his side. Colonel W. W. Belknap, 15th Iowa, displayed all the qualities of an accomplished soldier."

On July 29, 1864, General Morgan L. Smith, commanding the Second Division of the Fifteenth Army Corps, addressed General Giles A. Smith, commander of the Fourth Division, Seventeenth Corps, as follows:

"The General commanding thanks you for the assistance rendered him yesterday by sending to his support the 15th Iowa and 32d Ohio Regiments under the command of Colonel William W. Belknap. The General also thanks Colonel Belknap and his brave men for the efficient manner in which they performed their duty." This was the battle of Ezra Church, near Atlanta.

He not only had a minute and personal knowledge of all the details of company organization, but he knew every man by name and was more familiar with their needs than many of the company officers. As a result his men were devoted to him. A fact which strengthened the regard in which he was held, and which gave his men the utmost confidence in him, was the utter absence of personal fear on his part, and his willingness to share whatever dangers or hardships befel those he commanded. This characteristic was illustrated by a little incident which occurred while the Regiment was lying at Benton Barracks in St. Louis. A gentleman came in one day who was selling steel vests—delicately wrought shirts of mail which were bullet-proof. Major Belknap examined them approvingly, but firmly said, "I think they are good things but I could not buy one because I would not ask my men to go into a fight under any less advantageous conditions than I would. If the Government will furnish them to the soldiers I will gladly buy one."

General Belknap served in the Army of the Tennessee to the end. At the battle of Corinth he commanded his Regiment and was commended for his skill and gallantry by General Crocker in his report as Brigadier-Commander. Then-for a time he was on the staff of General McPherson, Corps Commander. He was conspicuous in the siege of Vicksburg and Atlanta, and in the latter campaign won his principal renown, being always at the front and enjoying full opportunities for all his tactical knowledge and natural bravery.

At the battle of Pittsburg Landing, Major Belknap was shot in the shoulder. In company with an officer of the Regiment he went to the landing and he found it crowded with disorganized men. Turning to his companion he said, "Don't let us go down there," and reversing his steps he rallied over a hundred men and went into the fight again. After the battle, General Grant placed him in command of the 18th Wisconsin Regiment which had lost all its field and many of its line officers.

He commanded his own Regiment in the battles of Atlanta on July 21,22 and 28, 1864, and in the bitterly contested battle of July 22 distinguished himself anew by the intrepidity of a single act. The fight had become a hand-to-hand one on the breastworks, the loss on both sides was terrible and every man fought as though the result depended upon his individual efforts. It was then that Colonel Belknap, catching the Confederate Colonel Lampley, of the 45th Alabama, dragged him over the breast-works and made him prisoner. Eight days after, Colonel Belknap was made Brigadier-General of Volunteers and placed in command of "Crocker's Iowa Brigade," composed of the 11th, 13th, l5th and 16th Iowa Regiments. General John M. Hedrick, of Ottumwa, lately deceased, succeeded to the colonelcy of the Regiment.

The march "to the sea" of that famous brigade under the command of General Belknap was a part of one of the most glorious epochs in the military history of this country. Then came the siege of Savannah and the final battle of Bentonville, North Carolina, which preceded the surrender of General Johnston's army. That Grand Review in which General Belknap participated in Washington, was a fitting climax to his brilliant military career, and there is but little to recall after that. He was assigned to the command of the Fourth Division, Seventeenth Corps,was the last commander of that famous Corps at the time of its muster out, and was brevetted Major-General early in 1865.

We said the war made General Belknap a Republican. It was at the election held in the field in 1864 that he cast his first vote with that party. That vote was for Abraham Lincoln.

At the close of the war General Belknap was offered a field officer's position in the regular army, but he declined it, preferring to remain in civil life, and in 1866 he was appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for the First District of Iowa. The collections for that District aggregated millions, its work was exacting and complicated, but when, three years later, he relinquished that office and the immense accounts were settled, it was found that there was a deficiency of just four cents, and not even an enemy had the hardihood to say he had embezzled that amount. It was regarded as remarkable that the difference should be so insignificant after years of duty and when the accounts were at once so large and so complicated.

The first really important public event — or at least the one which again brought him into conspicuous public notice — in the life of General Belknap after the close of the war, occurred in 1867 at the great reunion in Chicago. General Belknap delivered the address for the Army of the Tennessee in the evening and it was such a marvelous piece of fervid oratory, so beautiful in its rhetoric and lofty in its tone of patriotism and love, that the great audience, which embraced the most distinguished men of the Nation, was fairly carried away by it.

General Belknap was offered several high positions in the Revenue Service, by President Grant, which he declined, and was appointed Secretary of War by him in 1869, and served in that capacity until March, 1876, when he resigned. The records of his administration and the verdict of subsequent events show how well the duties of his office were performed. It was during the early years of his tenure of office that the measures for the reconstruction of the South were in process of formation and operation, and the number of delicate and vital questions arising were dealt with so skillfully that few of them ever needed readjustment. On the charge that he had used his office for personal profit he was impeached by the House of Representatives during a time of great excitement and the bitterest political enmities. The Senate tried the case and acquitted General Belknap. His friends of to-day are the ones who have known him best in his private and public life and neither the clamor of envious politicians nor the inuendoes of secret enemies have ever shaken their faith in his truth, his honesty or his patriotism.

General Belknap succeeded Governor Buren R. Sherman, of Iowa, as the President of Crocker's Brigade, a society of the old members being formed almost six years ago. It is a flourishing body composed of the men — now no longer lusty with the strength of young manhood, but veterans beginning to feel the weight of years—whom the General commanded.

The General resides the greater part of the time in Washington City where he has a large law practice in addition to being Iowa's Representative in the settlement of war claims. However, he still retains a beautiful home on the bluff at Keokuk, overlooking the great river.

He married in 1869 Miss Tomlinson, daughter of Dr. John Tomlinson, of Kentucky, who died in 1870, while he was Secretary of War. His present wife was her sister, and is a lady of much culture and grace. He has two children, a son by his first wife, Hugh Reid, who occupies a position of trust in the service of the Baltimore and Ohio road, and a daughter, Alice, by his present wife.

It is a grateful task to those who knew and honored him, to sketch the life of a man who, in spite of his soldierly bravery, is too modest to do it himself. General Belknap seems to have been one of those men less moulded by circumstances than he was adapted to the condition which created those circumstances. He was never in any position which he did not fill well. In civil and military life he was true to himself and his principles — the peer of any man — the sycophant at no door. His command was not so often "go" as it was "come." And in the future he will stand out as one of the boldest and grandest figures, that strong manliness, great intelligence, and a Nation's peril combined to produce.

MORTIMER A. HIGLEY,
1st Lieut. and Quarter-Master 15th Iowa Vols.
Brevet Major and Ass't Commissary of Subsistence.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, May, l887.

The story of the Great Rebellion will be the fruitful theme of poet and philosopher down to the latest beat of recorded time. From the pen of the historian will fall great volumes of political philosophy, showing the play and clash of ideas, the friction of political opinions which resulted in the most stupendous civil war of the century. The military critic will write of tactics, of grand and minor strategy, and show how battles were fought and won. But there is a human side to this great military upheaval, and this is the side that lies nearest the hearts of the people. The flesh that was pierced and the blood that was spilled bring their harvest of sorrow. In some manner or form each family has its skeleton, whose grim and ghastly visage will not down at their bidding.

The sudden transition from peace to war will never be understood by this generation. To-day the people are prosperous and happy in civil pursuits, the country basks in the smiles of the profoundest peace. To-morrow the land is filled with armed soldiers who seem to have sprung from the ground in a night. Swords and bayonets flash back the light of the noonday sun; the air resounds with martial music and the voice of command. The very earth shakes with the tread of armed men. Companies and Regiments are organized and sent rapidly to the front. How these men bore themselves in the field is a story that should be told by every Company and Regiment.

But the interest and history of a Regiment centers largely round its Commander. Upon his intelligence depend their comfort, their lives, their good name. In William W. Belknap the 15th Iowa had a Commander endowed by nature with the rarest gifts for high command. By education, Belknap was a trained scholar; by instinct, he was a soldier. At Wagram he could easily have led the charge of Macdonald, a charge that routed a magnificent army and shattered an empire. At Waterloo he could have led the Old Guard with the same desperate valor of Cambronne. In his blood were mixed strange currents which seldom flow together.

He had in him the gentleness of a woman and the sturdy courage of the warrior. The hand that could indite the tenderest lines to the loved ones at home, could wield the sword like an Ajax. He had the voice of Stentor and the arm of Hercules. No word of bravado ever escaped him. Men who knew this polished gentleman in peace were slow to believe him what he was in war. In camp he is seen in the hospital, or in the tents with the soldiers, writing letters for those who are stricken with disease, or disabled by wounds. In discipline he was exacting to severity; delinquent officers were shown no quarter. Under his magic touch his Regiment stood like a wall of adamant at Corinth, Vicksburg and Atlanta. He knew every soldier by name, and every soldier knew him for a personal friend, and held for him an affection surpassing the love of woman. And yet this man, when the fight was on, seemed to have been created expressly by the Almighty to ride the whirlwind, and direct the storm of battle.

See him on the 22d of July at Atlanta. His camp is in the thick woods. He and three comrades are quietly eating their dinner. The pickets are driven in with a rush. The forest is in a moment filled with the smoke and blaze and roar of musketry. A great battle has begun, one that may decide the fate of Sherman's army. But there is no demoralization. That wonderful voice of magic power cleaves the air like the blast of a bugle and men are lifted by it to the highest plane of daring and duty. This brigade is on the extreme left, "in the air," unsupported, and this Regiment on the left of the Brigade. They are attacked in front, on the flank and rear. But they hesitate not a moment; they knew they were in the hand of a Master. They knew that a retreat meant the wholesale slaughter of their comrades and the possible rout of Sherman's army, and they determined to hold their position to the last man.

Here Belknap was in his glory. His alert military intelligence took in the situation at a glance. He seemed to be everywhere at the same moment, directing and encouraging the men, pausing only an instant to lift a Confederate Colonel over the breast-works With the ease with which he would land a trout from a rivulet of the Adirondacks.

For hours the battle raged, but the victory was ours. Here in this valley of death this Iowa Regiment, under the leadership of this magnificent soldier, added to the fame of the Iowa Brigade a name for dauntless heroism which the people of Iowa will never let die. The man who could produce such veterans, and inspire them with his own sublime and majestic courage, was a man of no ordinary mold. Since Thermopylae the world has seen no braver day.

This was Belknap in war. In civil life he has given the world a spectacle of moral grandeur no less deserving the admiration of mankind.

His impeachment was born in base conspiracy. Throughout the severe ordeal of a Senatorial trial, he bore himself with silent bravery. His conduct there and his manly demeanor since, captured his enemies, and fastened his friends more firmly.

A great orator has said, "the time will come when the world will pronounce Belknap a moral hero." With those who know the man and the facts, that time has already come. By his comrades, officers and men, he was loved and adored as no man was ever loved before, and they girt him about with his own bright baldric of honorable renown, crown him with the garland of laurel he has so fairly won, and commend him to those historic and immortal pages where stands the shining record of his country's glory.

The fame of Iowa in the war was surpassed by no State in the Union. Her valorous sons have filled her borders with a great wealth of widowhood and orphanage, but they have given her shield a resplendent lustre, a lustre upon which the coming generations of Iowa youth will gaze in admiration forever.

WM. H. GIBBON,
SURGEON 15TH IOWA VOLUNTEERS.
BREVET LT. COLONEL.

Chariton, Iowa, May, 1887.


SOURCE: History of the Fifteenth Regiment Iowa Veteran Volunteer Infantry, p. 18-30