The process of making Saltpetre from the earth of the lime-stone caves in the Southern Confederacy is so simple that any one residing in the neighborhood of a cave in a lime-stone rock – and nearly all the caves are in such rock – can, without any expense, make at least a few pounds of the salt every day, and with assistance could make it a very profitable business at the price which the government is now paying. To furnish the practical information required, in plain language, to such persons, so as to enable each one to add to the production of an article so indispensable to the military operations of our country, now struggling for its free existence, induces the writer to publish these notes; he would earnestly appeal to his countrymen who may live near any cave, to put themselves, if need be, to some inconvenience, in order to aid in the invaluable production. We cannot be too thankful that this gigantic war was entered upon with large supplies of ammunition and the materials for its fabrication, but little of which has yet been expended; but in a contest of such magnitude, where we have to apply the fiery food for some two thousand mouths of large dimensions – some of which consume not less than three-fourths of a keg of powder at each charge, it will readily be seen that the most abundant stores must fail sooner or later, unless care be taken in time to replenish the demands of consumption.
But the nitre is still in the earth, and it behooves us to extract it in time, before we commence to feel a pressure in this direction. It is true, we are receiving daily from a few caves what would be considered a very large amount in ordinary times, but the times are extraordinary, and hence requires extraordinary supplies; thus the individual who makes a pound of saltpeter each day, contributes in fact more to the ultimate success of his country, than if he shouldered his musket and marched with all his sons to the tented field.
Gunpowder is made of over three fourth parts of nitre (purified saltpeter,) fourteen parts of charcoal and ten parts of sulphur, all by weight; hence, the nitre is much the largest portion of gunpowder material, requiring consequently the largest daily supply.
The crude saltpeter from the caves called grough saltpetre in commerce, requires to be purified before it can be used for gunpowder, and for this purpose government has established a refinery at Nashville, capable of refining daily 5,000 pounds of grough saltpetre into pure nitre, as white as snow, and ready for the powder mills. In the extensive Government Powder Works, now in course of rapid erection in Georgia under the direction of the writer, over five tons of saltpetre will be refined each day, if required, and converted into gunpowder.
ARTICLES WANTED TO MAKE SALTPETRE ON A SMALL SCALE.
One ordinary iron pot, for boiling; three or four tubs, pails, or barrels cut off; two or three small troughs; some course bags or a wheel barrow to bring the earth from the cave, and four strong barrels, with one head each – empty vinegar, whiskey or pork barrels are very good – are about all the articles required for a small saltpetre manufactory. – To these, however, must be added some ash barrels to make potash lye, as it is better that this should be made at the same time and place, the ashes from the fire under the pot for boiling assisting the production.
HOW TO PROCEED.
First bore a hole about the size of the finger through the head or end of each barrel near one side, and fit a wooden plug to each hole – then set the barrels on some pieces of timber near each other, the heads down and the whole of each projecting over the timber. Put some twigs into the bottom of each barrel, and on these place straw or hay about half a foot thick when pressed down; then having brought some of the earth from the cave and broken up all the lumps, fill each barrel full without pressing it down. Put the plugs into the wholes tightly and fill up the barrel with as much water (hot water is best in winter) as it will hold; allow the whole to remain until next day, then pull out the plugs, having placed a tub or pail under each, and pour all the water from the first barrel into the second barrel, and the water or liquor which drains from this barrel must be poured on top of the earth of the third barrel, and finally, the liquor which drains from this last barrel must be poured into a tub or other vessel. Now having previously made some strong lye from wood ashes, pour a small stream of it into the tub and stir it well; immediately the clear liquor will become muddy, and as long as the lye continues to curdle or cloud the liquor, it must be poured in; of course you will have to wait, now and then for the liquor to settle to se if it requires more lye. No more must be used than is necessary, for it not only wastes the lye, but is an impurity which the refinery must afterwards get rid of. We will now suppose that the proper quantity of lye has been used, and the liquor allowed to settle or drain through cloth until it becomes clear; it is then poured into the pot and boiled away until a drop taken up on the end of a stick becomes hard or solid when let fall upon cold metal or upon a plate.
The liquor is now to be dipped out of the pot and poured into a cloth placed over a tub or barrel, and allowed to strain through into the tub below and become cold. As soon as the liquor begins to cool, crystals of saltpetre will commence forming, and when cold the liquor left – called mother liquor – must be poured off from the slat peter back into the pot with the fresh liquor for boiling, as it still has a considerable saltpeter in it. There will be found at the bottom of the pot after the liquor is dipped out, when the boiling is completed, some earthy salts which after draining, can be thrown away as impurities; if however, some long needle-shaped crystals should be seen in it when cold, it contains some saltpetre, and about a quart of hot water should be added, and then poured off after a time when it will have dissolved all the saltpetre left among the earthy salts; this wash water can then be put back into the pot after the impurities shall have been cleaned out.
The saltpetre, formed by the foregoing process, must be first allowed to drain well, and then placed on cloths stretched before the fire or out in the sun to dry; when the drying is completed, it is to be put into sacks or barrels, and is ready to be transported to the nearest ordinance officer, who will pay for the same on receiving the bills of its shipment on the railroad.
If the crystals of saltpetre are wet and brown, and will not keep dry, it is because too much lye from the wood ashes has been used; this can be removed by nearly filling a tub or barrel with the saltpetre and pouring cold water on it, as much as the tub will hold and after remaining about one hour the water can be drained off from the bottom, when it will carry with it most of the lye; this wash water must be poured into the lye of the wood ashes so as not to loose the saltpetre which it contains.
The foregoing process evidently contains all that is required in principle for the making of saltpetre on a large scale, since nothing more is to be done than increase the number of barrels and boilers. Casks would be better, perhaps, than barrels in such case, and vats made by placing the lower ends of pieces of plank about four feet long into a trough and opening or spreading out the upper ends about three feet, then making ends to the vat, is an economical and convenient arrangement which may be used on a small as well as a large scale, instead of casks or barrels. In making use of these vats, strips of wood should be placed over the edges of the planks on the inside, and a thick layer of twigs and straw should be placed at the bottom between the planks on the inside, as well as along the sides and ends, to about one foot of the top of the vat and kept there by pieces of wood leaning against the sides, whilst it is filled with earth from the cave; if this is not done the liquor will in many cases drain through very slowly, and time lost to no purpose. A hollow or channel about a foot deep should be made along the centre of the earth in the vat to collect the water poured in.
Whether vats, casks or barrels be used, the same principle must be carried out of the passing the leached (or drained) liquor from the first vessel into the second, and from the second to the third before boiling, otherwise there will me much time and fuel lost in useless boiling of a weak liquor; this is a common error at the caves, and causes the saltpeter to cost more than necessary in time, labor and fuel.
We will now follow the process of leaching more particularly. Suppose it takes eight gallons of water to fill up the barrel after the earth has been put in even with its top, or nearly so, then about one half or four gallons only will drain off generally; we must now refill the barrel with four gallons more of water and this time four gallons will drain or leach out, because the earth has already been charged with water. Again we refill the barrel the third time, putting in four gallons of water more, and after four gallons of liquor (or as much as will drain away) has again leached off the earth must be thrown out, and the barrel refilled with fresh earth from the cave.
It will now be explained how to proceed so as to have a regular rotation of the barrels, as they shall be empted one after the other of the old earth and refilled with fresh earth from the cave. It will be supposed at first that the work is on a small scale, then there will be required four barrels, if it be desired to proceed economically; to make it clear, we will suppose that these four barrels are placed round in a circle near each other, and three of them are filled with fresh earth, the fourth remaining empty. Now when the earth of the first barrel has been exhausted of saltpetre by the three washings, it will be thrown out, but instead of filling up this barrel with fresh earth we fill up the fourth or empty barrel, and this can be going on during the leaching. Thus we have three barrels working as at first, the fresh barrel being the third in the new series, and receiving the leached liquor form the one next to it. The first barrel of the new arrangement, however has already been washed twice before the new barrel was filled with earth; hence after washing it once more with the four gallons of water, which it has just received from the barrel just emptied – which quantity drains off and is poured into the one next to it – the earth is removed and this barrel left empty. Barrel number one, which we first emptied of the old earth, having now been refilled with earth from the cave, becomes the third in the new arrangement, and so on.
The liquor of the first of the three working barrels being always poured into the second barrel and the liquor which leaches form this to be always poured into the third barrel, and finally the liquor which drains form this barrel is to be put into the vessel, where the lye from the ash barrel is mixed with it, and the whole allowed to settle. When the liquor has become clear by settling or being strained through a cloth, it is ready to be placed into the kettle for boiling down. Thus there is a continual rotation of the work of the barrels with out disturbing anything, and constantly providing strong liquor for the kettle to be boiled without losing any saltpetre in the earth thrown away. It will generally take two days for the liquor to drain off from each barrel, but the time will very with the nature of the earth, as a sandy one may take but a few hours, whilst a clayed one may take three or more days. In this case it would be better to mix sand with the earth, leached ashes or gravel or even hay or straw, than to lose so much time. If vats be made deeper than a barrel, more time will be required to leach them off, which of course is to be avoided as nothing is gained by taking two or three weeks to leach off a large vat, whilst the same earth in smaller vats or casks may be leached off in two days.
With regard to mixing the lye of wood ashes with the liquor of the third vat or barrel, the proper way is to take a certain quantity, say one pint of the liquor, and put it in a clear glass, then gradually add the lye, and stir well. So long as the lye curdles or clouds the liquor more must be added. – When sufficient lye has been used, allow the liquor to settle and become clear, then add a few drops more of lye; if it no longer clouds the liquor, sufficient has been used, and if adding the lye has been done carefully, no more has been employed than was just necessary to precipitate the impurities. – We will suppose one gill of lye has been used to the pint of liquor, then it would take eight gills or one quart of lye to eight pints or one gallon of liquor – hence knowing the number of gallons of liquor, it is easy to see at once how many gallons of lye must be added without further trial.
The above experiment may be employed to ascertain if any earth contains saltpetre; for if the lye of wood ashes causes a curdling, or muddies the water in which a considerable quantity of the earth has been mixed, and then drained off, we may presume there is saltpetre present, and the quantity will, in general, be in proportion to the amount of curdling. A slight clouding the liquor may be produced by other salts being present instead of saltpetre; but if there is much curdling, it is a pretty sure sign of saltpetre. If there be any doubt, however, allow the muddy liquor to settle, the draw it off and boil it down until it thickens, then dip a slip of paper into it and dry it well, touch a coal of fire to the paper and it burns rapidly and sparkles, you may be sure saltpetre is present.
In making the lye from wood ashes it is well to remark, that the leaves, bark, branches and limbs of the tree contain more potash than the trunk, and that the oak and ash are generally the best woods to get ashes from. In leaching the ashes a similar arrangement may be used, as for the saltpetre liquor, that is, four barrels may be used together in the same way, keeping three filled with ashes and the fourth empty, and passing the lye from one to the other, as before explained. By this means a strong lye is always on hand to be used, and the saltpetre liquor is not watered too much by a weak lye which has to be evaporated away at an expense of fuel and labor.
I will now speak to the economy of labor in the operations; thus, if the cave is sufficiently large and light enough, or can be lighted cheaply by fire – the ashes of which may be used – it is evidently cheaper to carry the vats and boilers into the cave just where the earth is, or near by, than to carry the earth out in bags to the outside of the cave to be leached. Again, it is more economical to bring water to the earth than to take the earth to the water, when both are outside of the cave, as is sometimes done, because there is much less weight of water used. By pursuing the method pointed out no time or material is lost – each day has its regular recurring operations to be performed – no surplus water has to be boiled away, and the lye is wasted, rendering the saltpetre impure.
To give some idea as to the quantity of saltpetre that can be made, I will state that twelve barrels of the earth of the caves will, in general make not less than one hundred pounds of saltpetre, and this will take from twelve to fifteen bushels of ashes.
If the twelve barrels are arranged in four circles or rows, with an extra or fourth barrel to each row, then a barrel of the leached earth can be emptied from every other row each day, (or two barrels a day) and the same number filled with fresh earth, thus in six days the twelve barrels will have been worked through, and this can be done by one man, whilst a second man boils away the liquor and attends to the vats or barrels; a third man can more than supply the ashes used, and can assist in filling the barrels. Thus in six days we have the labor of three men, which as abundantly ample to make over one hundred pounds of saltpetre, unless the earth is difficult to be procured. If the earth is richer than that supposed, or if the leaching of each barrel takes but one day, instead of two, as will frequently be the case then two hundred pounds of saltpetre may be procured in the same time, but in the latter case will require additional labor. This is at present worth seventy dollars, being the price which government now pays for a limited time, at thirty-five cents per pound, to encourage is production and remunerate individuals for first cost of apparatus.
Those who manufacture saltpetre on a considerable scale will find it convenient to have two or more casks or cisterns sunk in the earth to receive the mother liquor from the evaporating kettle, where it is left twenty-four hours to crystalyze its saltpetre.
In boiling the liquor form the vats or barrels, after it has settled or been strained from the sediment formed by adding the lye, a think skum will rise to the surface, which must be skimmed off as it forms, and thrown on the top of one of the vats, so as not to loose the saltpetre that my be dissolved from it.
The bottom of the pot or boiler, after a time will become foul from the lime and earthy salts deposited on it, which can be prevented, if thought necessary, to a considerable degree, by sinking in the kettle a small pot with a wide mouth. The sediment will collect in this pot, and can be removed from time to time, because the liquor remains comparatively still within it, and allows the salts to settle whilst the agitation of the boiling prevents the sediment falling to the bottom of the kettle.
Saltpetre made after the foregoing directions will not have above five per cent of impurities; but, if carelessly made, it will have much more, and as these have to be separated at the refinery, before it can be used for gunpowder, such saltpetre is not worth so much to government.
Tasting the earth to see if it will yield saltpetre is not a very accurate way of determining the fact, because the lime saltpetre has less taste than the potash saltpetre, and the former is the one mainly in the earth, which lye converts into ordinary, or potash saltpetre. Thus, an individual might be deceived into rejecting earth which may yield a sufficient quantity, if worked.
REMARKS.
In order to call attention to the very considerable loss sustained by imperfect working of the earth of the caves, I will state that a certain cave in Georgia, which was examined by Prof. Pratt, of the Oglethorpe University, who kindly furnished me with the result of his analysis – it appeared that in earth which actually contained not less, on the average, than 90 pounds to the barrel – much of it containing 120 pounds – only about 67 pounds were obtained. Thus, one fourth at least of the entire amount of saltpetre was lost, or about eight dollars to each barrel; also the amount of labor employed was abundantly ample to have obtained and leached daily twice the quantity of earth that was done, of which there was sufficient within 200 yards of the mouth of the cave to furnish forty-five thousand lbs. of saltpetre. Hence, the loss at this cave was as follows for each 12 barrels of earth actually leached at this time:
Twelve barrels of earth or 90 pounds of saltpetre lost to one barrel leached which, at 30 cts., amounts to $31.50
On-quarter of the saltpetre lost to each leached barrel, or 22½ pounds, at 35 cts. Amounts to $7.87½
Total loss, $39.37½
Here was an actual loss to the proprietor of nearly forty dollars; thus he received for each 12 barrels worked, obtaining 67 pounds only, $23.45
Should have received with proper working, with the same amount of labor and capital, in the same time 24 barrels, or 180 pounds, $63.00
The above case is a sufficient demonstration of the necessity of pursuing the method laid down in these notes for the making of saltpetre.
– Published in The North Carolina Weekly Standard, Raleigh, North Carolina, Wednesday, April 16, 1862, p. 2
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
How To Make Saltpetre
The Iowa City Press says that . . .
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Friday Morning, April 18, 1862, p. 1
Hospital Life In Winchester, Va.
Still there are some Union ladies even in Winchester. God bless those dear ladies! They have done everything for us they were able. Although the country around here has been fairly skinned, yet with a noble generosity, twice a day have they come around bringing baskets of provisions, coffee, tea, and other delicacies which they thought we might relish. Quite a number of them are Quakers. I have fallen in love with one elderly lady with the most beautiful silver hair, whose presence here is perfectly refreshing. She is a gay body and loves fun. Already she calls me “Cousin David” from fancied resemblance to a relation – I hope he is good looking, she says he is “clever” – and I call her “Anne Brown” I “thee” it and “thou” it much to her amusement. Yes, and we do have young lady callers too. What is still better, or just as well – some of them are by no means destitute of personal attractions. You know I have intended for some time to marry in Ohio. I am not sure but it’s a good thing for me that as soon as I get well enough to travel I am going to have a furlough for a couple of months, and am going back to the Buckeye State.
I must not forget to record the generosity of the colored people of this city, who have contributed liberally of their store for the relief of the wounded. What they have brought have usually been well timed and acceptable. This war is fast converting soldiers into Abolitionists. Everywhere we have been we have found friends in the negroes. Two colored girls have just come on and are in the room while I am writing, having brought with them custards and other nice edibles. If they wanted a passage on the Underground Railroad I am sure no Fugitive Slave Law would prevent me from aiding them. I have for years been a sort of quasi Abolitionist. Since I came to Virginia I have become a full fledged one. – This tramping around, lying in the mud, sleeping in the open air, crossing ice cold streams in the early morning and above all having a half ounce ball in my leg, is by no means favorable to conservatism. I have become a thorough radical. –{Cor. Cleveland Herald.
– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, April 26, 1862, p. 2
Monday, October 12, 2009
The Latest News
The accounts of the battle near Corinth are still contradictory. Some statements indicate a severe battle on Tuesday, but the most reliable accounts refer to the battles on Sunday and Monday. That of Sunday was a complete triumph. The battle on Monday, though severe, was less decisive. Both armies seem to have been worsted, and a truce for three days to bury their dead was agreed upon. The following statement from Hon. Mr. Tibbs of the House of Representatives, who reached Richmond on Saturday last, appears to be the latest, which we take from the Richmond Dispatch. The Dispatch says:
“His reports of the glorious victory at Shiloh are the most gratifying that we have read or heard – He States confidently that the number of prisoners taken is not less than 7,600, and the enemy’s loss in the battles of Sunday and Monday, in killed and wounded, by their own admission, reaches 15,000. Mr. T. also states that nearly the whole of the ammunition and stores captured by our army on Sunday, and which Gen. Beauregard had to leave behind him when he retired to Corinth, had been saved by the gallant and indefatigable Morgan, whose very name is a terror to the enemy in the Southwest.
Other rumors state that the whole loss of the enemy in the two days fight was near 23,000. The confederate loss about 4 or 5,000. Perhaps it is safest to wait official reports.
The reported evacuation or surrender of Island No. 10, is not confirmed by the last accounts. One of the enemy’s gun boats which passed the Island is said to be at New Madrid. It was not taken as last as the night of the 7th.
The surrender of Fort Pulaski is certain. Five Confederate companies were in the Fort, commanded by Col. Olmstead. He sent a verbal message to Savannah, saying that the garrison had done all that men could do. About 1,000 large shells were thrown into the Fort by the enemy. The enemy must take Fort Jackson and other strong batteries before reaching Savannah. It is supposed that our forces will destroy Savannah before giving it up to the enemy.
A large force of Federal cavalry is said to have taken possession of Huntsville, Ala., on the 11th.
At Atlanta, Ga., it is said that an engine and three cars had been stolen from the Western and Atlantic Road, and they were afterwards found in the possession of eight bridge burners, where were sent by the federals from Shelbyville to burn the bridges and cut the telegraph wires. They were captured.
The Merrimac went out on Saturday again and challenged the enemy, but the Monitor did not move from her safe position. Some suppose that she lies close, hoping that the Merrimac will attempt to pass Fortress Monroe, when she will run in and burn Norfolk and the Navy Yard.
The Petersburg Express learns from passengers that Gen. Magruder attacked the Federals on Saturday morning last, at the point where they were throwing up entrenchments near our lines, and the engagement lasted several hours. He succeeded in driving the enemy from his position. It is said that three of our regiments sustained considerable loss in killed and wounded, and the Yankees are thought to have suffered severely. The statement is not entitled to full credit, as no such intelligence is confirmed by the Richmond papers.
It is said that two of the brigs captured by our fleet on Friday in Hampton Roads was loaded with hay and the third with sugar and molasses.
– Published in The North Carolina Weekly Standard, Raleigh, North Carolina, Wednesday, April 16, 1862, p. 3
An Unprecedented Military Appointment
Gov. Yates hearing of her heroic and praiseworthy conduct, presented her with a commission as Major in the army, the document conferring the well-merited honor being made out with all due formality, and having attached the great seal of the State. Probably no lady in America will ever again have such a distinguished military honor conferred upon her. Mrs. Reynolds is now in this city, and leaves to join her regiment in a day or two. – {Peoria Transcript.
– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, April 26, 1862, p. 2
New Hat Store
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Friday Morning, April 18, 1862, p. 1
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Unknown Civil War Soldier Memorialized in Franklin, TN
THE TENNESSEAN
FRANKLIN — Six months ago, workmen's shovels first pried loose the skeleton of a Civil War soldier buried 145 years ago in an unmarked grave on a field now under commercial development along Columbia Avenue.Today, a new grave and coffin will cradle the man's bones. He will be buried under a monument of limestone in Rest Haven Cemetery with soil fetched from 18 Civil War states, North and South.
Yet men and women who have filed through St. Paul's Episcopal Church to see the man's coffin during the past two days say they don't want today's event — which has been planned down to the minute — to overshadow the humanity of someone whose name they probably will never know and whose beliefs they can only guess at.
Instead they say their thoughts turn to soldiers fighting everywhere today, and to their own mortality and legacies. What would you want to happen if someone dug up your bones?
"This was someone's son," said Kraig McNutt, who publishes a Battle of Franklin blog. "He probably wrote home to his wife and talked about his conditions at the time and how hungry he was. … He was an American soldier who was fighting for what he believed in, regardless of what side he was on."
Clues to identity scarce
Since the bones were unearthed, speculation about the man's life and death has varied. There's no proof about who he was.There was no marker on the grave. No identification was found with his skeleton except a handful of brass buttons carrying a federal eagle symbol, a fired Minié ball, tacks from the soles of his boots and a glass bead. All of these will be buried today with the bones.
Fighting tore through Franklin on Nov. 30, 1864, leaving thousands of dead Union and Confederate soldiers — mostly farther north on Columbia Avenue of where the skeleton was discovered.
That has led to speculation from historians that the man died sometime in December 1864, after the Battle of Nashville, when Union troops pursued Confederate forces back through Franklin.
Some have said the man might have been a Confederate soldier who was wearing Union buttons.
"Folks can discuss it as much as they like but we'll never know," said retired teacher Bill Heard, 60, of Cookeville, Tenn., who wore a navy blue Union uniform as he stood guard over the coffin. "Some folks just like to take ownership."
The unknown soldier is being buried in Rest Haven Cemetery in Franklin — a city that was part of the Confederacy — rather than another military cemetery simply because Franklin is where he was originally buried.
"If, obviously, we knew which state he was from or which army he fought for, we would look into those locations," said Robin Hood, funeral organizer. Rest Haven is "an historic cemetery and not just anyplace."
Hundreds See CoffinFor two days, hundreds of people have creaked along the wooden floors of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, which was used as a barracks for Union troops during the Civil War occupation of Franklin. More than 400 had come through by midmorning Friday.
Part of the outpouring can be traced to national and local media coverage. A film crew is recording the events for a documentary, and two living sons of Civil War veterans will attend.
But McNutt, who is a re-enactor, thinks some people are flocking to the event because it's "a little like a trophy to them" rather than to remember the man.
"I think there are some who — to be quite bold, if you will — they want to continue to live in the past," McNutt said. "They still want to fight these wars and have these arguments."
Yet people coming to the coffin — some in uniform, some with cameras, some bearing gifts — said they kept this man's sacrifice and others' foremost on their minds. Restaurateur Danny Eldridge, 58, a Franklin resident who wore a Confederate butternut wool uniform, also helped stand guard over the coffin. The larger lessons of the Civil War are still alive today, he said.
"The Civil War actually made us a stronger nation than I think what we would have been without it," Eldridge said.
Candice Lawen, 38, brought her six children, who placed roses next to the coffin. The trip was a history lesson for her kids, whom she home-schools. The unknown soldier's death affected her."At the end of his life, nobody knew where he was or anything," Lawen said. "His parents didn't know where he was. It's really sad. It's great that he can be honored."
The burial of a man he never knew also affected Greg Wade, founder of the Franklin Civil War Round Table. He thought of his own family — including a son serving in the Army, his daughter in the Navy, and another son who's a police officer — and their work.
"I've got kids in the service myself and if anything ever happened, I'd want someone to take care of them," Wade said.
- Published in The Tennessean, Nashville Tennessee, Saturday, October 10, 2009
Damage By The Storm
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Friday Morning, April 18, 1862, p. 1
Iowa Unveils Citadel's Coveted Civil War Flag
(MARY CHIND/THE REGISTER)
Look at the blood-red cloth spread across a table at the Iowa State Historical Museum and imagine the scene nearly a century and a half ago along the coast of South Carolina.
The first shots of what would become the American Civil War were fired by cadets of the Citadel military college that January day in 1861. Their artillery barrage successfully turned back a ship, the Star of the West, that was attempting to bring supplies to the Union-held Fort Sumter.
The 50 young men fired their cannons while standing proudly under a 7-foot-by-10-foot flag that came to be known as "Big Red." The banner - adorned with a white palmetto tree and crescent moon - became a sacred part of the Citadel's history.
The war officially began in April 1861. It ended in 1865. "Big Red" was believed lost forever.
Now, look again at the flag on the table in the basement of the Iowa museum.
It is, in fact, "Big Red."
Then realize it was kept in storage in Des Moines the past 90 years by Iowa historical museum workers who were unaware they had possession of the nearly pristine - and only surviving - artifact from the first day of this nation's most deadly war.
"There really was no way to know what it was," said Sheila Hanke, director of the battle flag project at the museum. "It was donated to the state in 1919 by a Civil War veteran who provided very little information. It's amazing and wonderful to learn its history. It's why we have the battle flag project."
The Historical Museum has about 300 flags, and conservation work on the collection began eight years ago. The Citadel flag was one of the first 30 to be analyzed.
"We knew it had a significance to South Carolina, because of the palmetto tree, but really nothing beyond that," Hanke said. "We knew that it was in exceptionally good condition - as good a condition as any flag from that period - and that's largely because it is made of merino wool with very long fibers and cotton instead of silk."
The flag was donated to what then was known as the State Historical Department by Willard Baker, a Linn County native who had served with Company C of the 20th Iowa Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. He lived at the Old Soldiers Home in Marshalltown and, shortly before his death, sent the flag to Des Moines along with two other Confederate flags.
"In one letter, Mr. Baker said he 'got' the flag," said Michael Smith, director of the Historical Museum. "In the other, he said he 'procured' it. We have no reason to believe it was captured in battle, but we really don't know how he came to own it."
The flag was photographed during the conservation process by a young woman from South Carolina who posted it on the Internet. Citadel historians saw the picture and immediately began work trying to authenticate the flag.
A significant clue was the inward direction of the points of a crescent moon in the upper-left portion of the flag. That places the flag's origin at the time of South Carolina's secession from the Union. The inward crescent was part of the state's flag design a very short time, and witnesses to the attack on Star of the West report the flag had such a design.
Citadel historians contacted researchers at the Historical Museum, who had microscopically examined the flag. They studied the fibers and analyzed dirt and mud and searched for sea salt.
"The people in Iowa have been, and still are, being great about this," said Ted Curtis, a 1964 Citadel graduate and head of the college's historical council. "They have taken great care of the flag. They have been meticulous in their research. They understand our interest, and they gave us all the information they had, and that moved things along."
The Iowa historians know the flag came into Baker's possession after the Union Army captured Fort Blakeley at Mobile, Ala., in February 1865. South Carolina troops also were involved in the battle, and several of the Confederate soldiers had strong ties to the Citadel. Union troops burned all the college's records in 1865, so confirming the flag's authenticity took time.
"Three of us worked every day for two and a half years doing research on this," said Curtis, who produced a meticulous 22-page report on the flag and its journey to Iowa. "We are convinced the flag in the Iowa museum is 'Big Red.' "
Iowa State Historical Society flag experts say they are "90 percent certain" it is the Citadel flag.
Each battle flag "is like an unwrapped Christmas present," Hanke said. "We study them and learn amazing things. We work to discover their history. It's exciting when we get answers. We don't always find out the history of a flag. This particular flag has a history. We say we're 90 percent certain about this flag, because for so long, including the war years, its whereabouts were unknown. We won't say 100 percent, but yes, we strongly believe it is the flag."
And yes, the Citadel wants it back. A mural depicting the Star of the West attack - and the flag - was painted at the institution's library in 1960. "Big Red" was named the Citadel's "Spirit Flag" in 1992. "We would like for it to be returned outright," Curtis said.
"We're not ready to do that," said Moore, the Iowa museum's director. "It is a lengthy process. A lot of people are involved. It doesn't just happen. But we understand that to Iowa, it is one flag among many. To the Citadel, it is a flag unlike any other."
So there are no hard feelings. A two-year loan is being arranged, and the flag could be in Charleston as early as March. It almost certainly will be there by Jan. 9, 2011, the 150th anniversary of the cadets' attack on the supply ship.
Its showing at the college almost certainly will be the first public display of the flag since it flew during the Civil War.
"We're in the process of raising $50,000 to have the flag returned to South Carolina and to provide for proper environmental conditions and security when it is displayed in the alumni building," said Curtis. "The flag isn't important to just the Citadel. It is a national treasure."
An extension of Iowa's loan of the flag to the Citadel is already under discussion.
Talks continue to be friendly. A resumption of hostilities seems unlikely.
– Published HERE in The Des Moines Register, Des Moines, Iowa, Sunday, October 11, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
The Iowa Army Sanitary Commission
Mr. Editor:– Since the battle of Pittsburg Landing, the Iowa Army Sanitary Commission have forwarded to Cairo about thirty boxes of hospital supplies and a few to other points. A dispatch received this morning gives information that two hundred of our wounded soldiers are on their way to Keokuk; and by request we sent immediately twelve boxes of sanitary goods to aid in the supplying the hospital at that place. This makes about fifty boxes which we have been able to forward since that battle, by the liberality and activity of the local Aid Societies that co-operate with the State Commission.
A. J. KYNETT,
Cor. Sec. and General Agent,
Iowa Army San. Com.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Friday Morning, April 18, 1862, p. 1
A Revolutionary Hero
Yesterday, while at Gen. Curtis’ headquarters, I was introduced to a most remarkable man – a surviving hero of the revolution, in his one hundred and second year, who served with Washington and Marion towards the close of the war. His name is William Dotson, and his residence on the James Fork of White River, near Galena. The following is the history he gives of himself. He was born near the Dan river, Virginia, February 22d, 1760, of Irish and German parentage; entered the army of Gen. Washington when a young man; was at the siege of Yorktown; was also with Marion and his men on the Pedec, and fought the Tories of South Carolina; was in the war of 1812, and fought under Gen Pinckney; took part in the battle of James Island, on the coast of Carolina, in which three British ships were sunk by cannon shots from a fortification made of Cotton bales, the Wasp and Hornet co-operating with the land forces in which battle he was wounded in the right hand. These are his own recollections, as given by himself, and may not be in all respects correct, depending, as they do, on the memory of an uneducated man of great age.
Mr. Dotson says he has fourteen sons in the Federal army, fighting for the Government established by Washington. Two of them are in the army of the Southwest, under Colonels Phelps and Boyd; the others were living in Indiana and Illinois, and have joined the army in their respective states. He has been married to four wives, the last a young woman of Missouri, by whom he has several young children. – He is the father of twenty-two children, all living, the oldest being seventy-six years of age, residing in east Tennessee, and the youngest three years old by his young wife, born to him in his ninety-ninth year. After the Revolutionary war, he removed to South Carolina, and resided there till 1820, when he emigrated to East Tennessee. Here he remained until 1854, when he emigrated to Southwest Missouri. He is a farmer by occupation, and he and his sons have always performed their own labor. They have never owned slaves, nor used slave labor. Once bought a slave by an exchange of property, and his wife was so opposed to it that he took him back and induced the owner to trade back again. He as always labored with his own hands, and what he possesses is the fruit of his own honest toil. He is still in the enjoyment of vigorous health and a sound memory, rides on horseback and walks perfectly erect, converses intelligently, and performs a considerable amount of labor. Two years ago, during the sitting of the Court at Galena, he ran a foot race, with a younger man, in the presence of the Court and a multitude of spectators, amid the shouts and laughter of the crowd at his defeated antagonist.
He is about five feet four inches in statue, and compactly built, and, like Moses of old, “his eye is not dimmed, nor his natural force abated.” There is no reason why he should not live another fifteen or twenty years. He is a strong Union man, and was tempted at the outbreak of the rebellion to offer himself for enlistment in the Union army, but the rebels came and took his horse and gun, and he gave up his purpose, feeling that his fourteen sons would do their own and his share of service in putting down the rebellion.
The rebels visited him and warned him that he was in danger, and had better flee. But he answered them, saying, “I have bought and paid for my farm, and mean to live and die upon it. If you choose to kill me you will only wrong me out of a few years, and the deed will do you no credit. According to the common course of nature I ought to have died years ago.” They did not further molest him, except to take an excellent horse, his gun and tobacco. The latter he said was a great privation. He could not get along without it, and thought they might have left him his tobacco.
The old man appeared delighted to see and converse with our troops. Riding about upon his horse he mingles with the crowd, cracks his jokes and laughs with great hilarity. Gen. Curtis has had his statement taken down, and to which the old hero has subscribed and made his affidavit, and it is to be sent on to Washington with a recommendation for a pension the remainder of his days.
– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, April 26, 1862, p. 2
Home Papers
“Inclosed [sic] find $ – for Daily Gazette. I have been taking the Chicago Tribune, but wish to learn something of our own troops.” That’s the way to talk it. If citizens of our State wish to learn of the fate of Iowa regiments and their participation in the various battles fought, they must take Iowa papers. The idea of a man living in a State and not sufficiently identifying himself with that state as to interest himself in home matters to the extent of a newspaper subscription, is absurd, anyhow.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Friday Morning, April 18, 1862, p. 1
Friday, October 9, 2009
MAJOR-GENERAL FRANCIS J. HERRON
Francis J. Herron is Iowa's youngest major-general, and the second one of that rank appointed from the State. His ancestry are ancient and honorable, and, on the paternal side, are familiarly known as "Herron's Branch," who, settling in Eastern Pennsylvania in the early history of that State, were ever classed among her most intelligent and well-to-do yeomanry. On the maternal side of the house, he is descended from one of the oldest families of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, who settled in that city when it was a mere village, and who have maintained an honorable position in the community to the present day. The general's uncle, the late James Anderson, ranked with the most benevolent and wealthy citizens of Pittsburg.
The subject of our sketch is a son of the late Colonel John Herron, and a native of Pittsburg, where he was born on the 17th day of February, 1837. He was educated at the Western University, in Pittsburg, which was then, and is still, under the superintendence of Professor J. M. Smith, a brother-in-law of the general. Leaving this University at sixteen, he was soon after appointed to a clerkship in a Pittsburg banking-house, and, in 1854, became a partner in the banking firm of "Herron & Brothers." In 1855, he removed to Iowa, and, in connection with one of his brothers, opened a banking-house in the city of Dubuque. Dubuque is his present home.
General Herron began his brilliant military career as captain of Company I, 1st Iowa Infantry. He served with his regiment in Missouri till the expiration of its term of service, and with it took part in the memorable battle of Wilson's Creek. Returning home in the latter part of August, he was, on the tenth of the following September, commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the 9th Iowa Infantry. For gallantry at the battle of Pea Ridge, (March 6th, 7th and 8th, 1862, where he was wounded and taken prisoner) he was made a brigadier-general, and, for his courage and superior military skill at the battle of Prairie Grove, December 7th, 1862, was promoted to his present rank. The battle of Prairie Grove is one of the most brilliant of the war—perhaps the most brilliant, when we consider the disparity in numbers of the forces engaged; and it was by no means barren in results; for a well-organized and confident army was overwhelmed in defeat, from the effects of which it never recovered.
In the organization of the Army of the Frontier, under General Schofield, of date the 15th of October, 1862, General Herron was put in command of the 3d Division. The 1st and 2d Divisions were commanded by Generals Blunt and Totten respectively. For three weeks previous to the 1st of December, 1862 and longer, the Army of the Frontier had been watching the enemy, who had below, and in the vicinity of the old Pea Ridge battle-field, a large and well-organized army, under command of the rebel Major-General Thomas C. Hindman.
On the first of December, General Blunt, who had been holding his division on Prairie Creek, near Bentonville, moved against a detachment of the enemy, and, driving it from Cane Hill, held the position. This was no sooner done, however, than the enemy threatened him in heavy force, and compelled him to send to General Schofield for reinforcements. General Blunt's messenger, arriving at head-quarters near Wilson's Creek on the evening of the 3d of December, found General Schofield absent, and General Herron in command. "General Blunt must have reinforcements or lose his entire command;" and there was no other alternative; but General Herron, under instructions, could afford no relief. The expedient which he adopted was worthy of him, and will redound to his infinite credit. Dispatching a messenger to General Schofield, but without awaiting or expecting a reply, he broke camp and marched to the rescue.
At day-light on Sunday morning, the seventh of December, his command passed through Fayetteville, Arkansas, and halted for breakfast one mile beyond; but before the meal was completed, members of the 1st Arkansas Cavalry, which composed a portion of the advance-guard, came hurrying back with word that Hindman's cavalry was upon them. The merest incident often controls momentous issues, and so it happened here. Major Hubbard, a gallant, positive fellow, and an officer of General Herron's staff, being in command of the advance-guard, was captured and taken before the rebel general. "How much of a force has General Herron?" demanded Hindman. "Enough," replied the major, "to annihilate you;" and this answer, with Herron's determined fighting and superior generalship, saved to our arms the battle of Prairie Grove; for Hindman, with his twenty thousand, dared not move out against the handful of men in his front, (not four thousand all told) for fear of being annihilated by an overwhelming reserve, marshaled, in his imagination, in the heavy timber to our rear. Nor did he learn his mistake till late in the afternoon, and just before the guns of General Blunt began thundering on his left and rear.
Having completed their hasty meal, Herron's troops resumed the march and pushed vigorously on, till arriving at Illinois Creek, about ten miles distant from Fayetteville. There the enemy were met in force. They were on the south-west side of the creek, and strongly posted on the high ground, which, on either side, looks down into the valley through which the road to Cane Hill passes. The situation was no sooner learned than Herron had formed his decision. He must bluff his adversary, or lose his command; and this was the plan on which the engagement was fought, which, to General Hindman, was a confirmation of Major Hubbard's report. General Herron first endeavored to push Battery E, 4th Missouri Light Artillery, and the 9th Illinois Infantry across the ford in his front; but that was so accurately covered with the guns of the enemy as to make it impossible. The detachment was driven back in some confusion. Next, he ordered Colonel Houston to cut a road through the timber to the right, and, having gained the opposite side with Captain Murphy's Battery, to open on the enemy and divert their attention, while he, with the balance of his command, pushed across the ford and gained a position in front of the enemy. The movement was successful. A further account of this battle will be found in the sketch of Colonel W. McE. Dye, of the 20th Iowa. I will only add here, that Hindman was defeated, and Herron made a major-general.
It will be interesting to know the names of the troops who earned General Herron this promotion. They were the 9th, 37th, and 94th Illinois, the 19th and 20th Iowa, the 26th Indiana, and the 20th Wisconsin Infantry regiments, together with four Missouri batteries, commanded by Captains Murphy, Faust and Hack of, and Lieutenant Borries. The 6th, 7th, and 8th Missouri Cavalry, the 1st Iowa and 10th Illinois, and the 1st Battalion of the 2d Wisconsin Cavalry, were all sent forward to General Blunt from Elkhorn, and remained with his command till the close of the engagement.
General Herron remained with his command, operating in Missouri and Arkansas, till late in the following May, when he was summoned to Vicksburg to take part in the reduction of that place. Immediately after the fall of the city, he made his expedition up the Yazoo River, after which, he embarked his command on transports, and sailed for Port Hudson and thence for Carrollton, Louisiana; where he arrived on the 13$h of August. Subsequently to that date, the general has served principally in the Gulf Department; but the operations in which he took part will appear in the sketches of other officers.
General Herron's Division was attached to Ord's Corps. By that general he was held in the highest esteem, as is shown by General Order Number 39, dated, "Head-quarters 13th Army Corps, Carrollton, Louisiana, September, 25th, 1863."
During the winter of 1863-4 and for some time after, General Herron, while serving in Texas, made his head-quarters at Brownsville. It will be remembered that it was during this time the forces of M. Ruiz, Governor of Tamaulipas, and those of Colonel Cortinas, came in collision in Matamoras. L. Pierce, U. S. Consul stationed in that city, became alarmed, and sent to General Herron for protection. Colonel Bertram of the 20th Wisconsin was at once sent across the river with a portion of his regiment, with which he conducted the Consul and his property and papers within the Federal lines. Had I the space, a further history of this affair would be interesting.
General Herron's ventilation of the Department of Arkansas has more recently made his name quite distinguished. This was a most thankless mission, and he was charged by some with being partial; but that is not strange. Indeed, we are not to suppose the exposer would be more popular with the guilty parties than the expose. The result of his investigations was published in nearly all the leading papers of the country, and convinced all honest men that, the Department of Arkansas had been the theatre of most outrageous abuses.
General Herron has a neat, well-formed person, and dresses with much taste. In appearance he is intelligent, and in manners agreeable. He has, I am told, some vanity. His marked traits of character are three. He is always calm and composed, no matter how great the danger, or how wild the excitement. At Prairie Grove he led the advance over the ford of Illinois Creek, and, under the rapid and accurate fire of the enemy, was in imminent peril; but he was perfectly calm, and apparently insensible of danger.
Another marked trait of his character is his taciturnity; and yet, if he talks but little, there is nothing about him sullen or morose. His voice, which is clear and kind, has a sort of charm about it that evidences a warm heart and generous nature. He was always popular with the soldiers of his command.
His third and most distinguishing trait — that which more than all others has contributed to make him what he is — is a self-reliant spirit. This, from his early youth, was always noticeable, and was the cause of his leaving the Western University before mastering the full course of study. It was a matter of no consequence to him that his lather and his friends were opposed to this course. He believed he knew enough to make his way in the world, and, because he thought so, all remonstrances were unavailing.
Frank J. Herron was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general from that of lieutenant-colonel. He is the only officer from the State who has been thus complimented by the War Department.
SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 201-6
From Gen. Curtis’s Army
– Published in the Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Friday Morning, April 18, 1862, p. 2
Wire Cutters Caught
– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, April 26, 1862, p. 2
GOOD FRIDAY
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Friday Morning, April 18, 1862, p. 1
Thursday, October 8, 2009
8th Iowa Regiment
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Friday Morning, April 18, 1862, p. 1
139th Pennsylvania Infantry
Organized at Pittsburg September 1, 1862. Moved to Washington, D.C., September 1-3. Attached to 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 4th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to September, 1862. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 6th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to October, 1862. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, 6th Army Corps, to January, 1864. Wheaton's Brigade, Dept. of West Virginia, to March, 1864. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 6th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, and Army of the Shenandoah to June, 1865.
SERVICE.--Bury dead at Bull Run, Va., September 4-7, 1862. Maryland Campaign September 7-24. Battle of Antietam September 16-17 (Reserve). At Downsville September 23-October 20. Movement to Stafford Court House October 20-November 18, and to Belle Plains December 5. Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., December 12-15. Burnside's 2nd Campaign, "Mud March," January 20-24, 1863. At Falmouth till April. Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6. Operations at Franklin's Crossing April 29-May 2. Maryes Heights, Fredericksburg, May 3. Salem Heights May 3-4. Banks' Ford May 4. Gettysburg (Pa.) Campaign June 13-July 24. Battle of Gettysburg July 2-4. Pursuit of Lee July 5-24. Duty on line of the Rappahannock and Rapidan till October. Bristoe Campaign October 9-22. Advance to line of the Rappahannock November 7-8. Rappahannock Station November 7. Mine Run Campaign November 26-December 2. At Harper's Ferry till March, 1864. Rapidan Campaign May 4-June 12. Battles of the Wilderness May 5-7; Spottsylvania May 8-21. Assault on the Salient May 12. North Anna River May 23-26. On line of the Pamunkey May 26-28. Totopotomoy May 28-31. Cold Harbor June 1-12. Before Petersburg June 17-18. Jerusalem Plank Road, Weldon Railroad, June 22-23. Siege of Petersburg to July 9. Moved to Washington, D.C., July 9-11. Repulse of Early's attack on Washington July 11-12. Pursuit to Snicker's Gap July 14-24. Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign August to December. Near Strasburg August 13. Near Charlestown August 21-22. Demonstration on Gilbert's Ford, Opequan, September 13. Battle of Opequan, Winchester, September 19. Strasburg September 21. Fisher's Hill September 22. Battle of Cedar Creek October 19. Duty in the Shenandoah Valley till December. Moved to Petersburg, Va., December 9-12. Siege of Petersburg December, 1864, to April, 1865. Dabney's Mills, Hatcher's Run, February 5-7, 1865. Fort Fisher, Petersburg, March 25. Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9. Assault on and fall of Petersburg April 2. Pursuit of Lee April 3-9. Sailor's Creek April 6. Appomattox Court House April 9. Surrender of Lee and his army. March to Danville April 23-27, and duty there till May 23. March to Richmond, Va., thence to Washington, D.C., May 23-June 3. Corps Review June 8. Mustered out June 21, 1865.
Regiment lost during service 10 Officers and 135 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 5 Officers and 86 Enlisted men by disease. Total 236.
SOURCE: Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, Part 3, p. 1616
An Historic Battlefield – The Siege of Yorktown in 1781
History repeats itself; and in the siege now in progress before Yorktown, we have on a much large scale, the repetition of the siege of 1781, to result, we cannot doubt, in like manner – in the triumph of Liberty over its enemies.
On the 28th of September, 1781, Gen. Washington marched from Williamsburg, on the peninsula between the James and York rivers, for the even then old Yorktown. He was accompanied by Rochambeau, Chatelleux Du Porteall of the French army. Lafayette was already in advance, and the Count de Grasse lay off with the French fleet in Lynhaven Bay. The allied army, including militia, amounted to about 16,000 men. The English army did not number more than 7,500.
The main body of the English, under Lord Cornwallis, was encamped in the open ground around the town, within the range of outer redoubts and field works calculated to command the peninsula, while a detachment of 600 or 700 men held Gloucester Point, projecting from the opposite shore far into the river, and narrowing it to the space of one mile. Communication between was protected by the batteries and English ships-of-war lying under the batteries.
The allied army advanced upon the town – the Americans having the right and the French having the left – and pressed on so eagerly that in the night of the 30th, Lord Cornwallis withdrew from his outer lines, and the works he had evacuated were the next day occupied by the besieging army which invested the position in a semicircle; 2,000 men were stationed on the Gloucester side for the purpose of keeping up a rigorous blockade, which after a sharp skirmish, terminating unfavorably for the British, they made no further attempt to interrupt.
On the night of Oct. 6, the first parallel was opened within 600 yards of the British lines, and by the evening of the 9th several batteries and redoubts were completed, and the fire of the allies became very effective, compelling the enemy in many cases to withdraw his cannon from over the town, set fire to the Chaser frigate, of 44 guns, and several transports, which were entirely consumed.
The second parallel was opened on the night of the 11th, within 300 yards of the British lines, when finding that it was flanked by two advance redoubts in front of the British works, it was determined on the 14th to carry them by storm, and accordingly two attacking parties, one American, led by Lafayette, with whom served Alexander Hamilton, as Lieut. Colonel, the other French, led by the Baron de Viomenil, toward the close of the day rushed upon their works, and, though receiving a hot and rapid fire, returned not a single shot, but carried them at the point of the bayonet – Hamilton leading the American column with his battalion of light infantry. These captured works being now included in the second parallel, the fire upon the fort became so fierce that surrender seemed unavoidable. A vigorous sortie, led by Lieut. Col. Abercrombie, was made on the 16th of October, but was triumphantly repulsed, and Lord Cornwallis then conceived the desperate plan of passing his force over to Gloucester Point, and thence, mounting them as best he might by impressed horses – to force his way through Maryland to Philadelphia. A part of the army were actually thus transferred, when a storm arose, which put an end to the transportation of the rest of the army, and as soon as possible those sent over were brought back. On the morning of the 17th the fire of the allies became so hot that the place was no longer tenable, and Lord Cornwallis asked a cessation of hostilities for twenty-four hours, and the appointment of Commissioners to treat of surrender.
Gen. Washington replied that only for two hours could he consent to suspend hostilities and transmitted at the time such articles of capitulation as he would be willing to grant. Commissioners were appointed in conformity, on the 18th on both sides – Viscount de [Noailles] and Col. Laurens on the side of the Allies, Colonel Dundas and Major Ross, on behalf of the English. They agreed upon certain articles, of which a rough copy only a rough copy was made, but this General Washington transmitted to Lord Cornwallis early on the 19th, expression his expectations that the terms would be agreed to and signed by 11 o’clock, and that the garrison would march out by 2 p.m. Accordingly at that hour the posts of Yorktown and Gloucester Point, with their garrisons, and the ships in their harbor with their seamen, were surrendered to the land naval forces of America and France. The army, artillery, arms, military chest, and public stores of every kind, were surrendered to Gen. Washington – the ships and seamen to Count de Grasse; the total number of prisoners, excluding seamen, rather exceeded 7,000 men, among whom were two generals, thirty-one field officers, three hundred and twenty-six captains and subalterns, &c.
The negotiation of surrender was opened on the eleventh day after breaking ground, and the capitulation was signed on the thirteenth day.
The military and naval forces surrender as “prisoners of war – the artillery, arms, accoutrements, and military chests and public stores of every denomination, to be delivered up unimpaired – the garrison to march out at 2 o’clock, to a place appointed in front of the post, with shouldered arms, colors cased, and drums beating – they are then to ground their arms and return to their encampment – officers to retain their side-arms, and officers and soldiers to keep their property, and no part of their baggage or papers to be subject to search or inspection.” The spot on which this memorable surrender was made is well known. It is designated in a plan of the siege, and is soon, we may trust to be rendered more memorable by a like surrender of a much larger army – and thus combine in one glorious memory two great victories on the same ground. – {N. Y. Tribune, 17th.
– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, April 26, 1862, p. 2
That very large and splendid stock of goods . . .
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Friday Morning, April 18, 1862, p. 1
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
BRIGADIER-GENERAL WM. VANDEVER
Of General Vandever's early history I have been able to learn but little. I do not even know his native State. I first find him at Rock Island, Illinois, where he was employed in a news-paper office. Iowa was then a Territory. From Rock Island, he removed to Dubuque, and entered the Surveyor General's office at that place. Still later, he studied and practiced law in Dubuque. In 1858, he was nominated for Congress from the Dubuque District, there being, I am told, no stronger man of his party, who would accept the nomination, on account of the almost certain prospect of defeat. But the general made a good canvass; and, to the surprise of all, was elected. He was distinguished in Congress, for his dignity and taciturnity; two traits, which would embellish the records of many, who have worn Congressional honors.
Mr. Vandever was commissioned colonel of the 9th Iowa Infantry, on the 30th of August, 1861; and in the winter of 1862-3 was made a brigadier-general. As a military man, he has gained less distinction than any other public man who has entered the service from Iowa.
The 9th Iowa Infantry was enlisted principally from the counties of Jackson, Dubuque, Buchanan, Jones, Clayton, Fayette, Bremer, Blackhawk, Winneshiek, Howard and Linn. Its first field of service was Missouri, and its first hard-fought battle, Pea Ridge, Arkansas. At Pea Ridge, the regiment was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel, now Major-General Herron; for Colonel Vandever was in command of the brigade to which it was attached. In the march from Rolla to Cross Hollows, it had several skirmishes with the enemy, but suffered, I think, no loss. From Cross Hollows it marched with its brigade on an expedition to Huntsville, Arkansas, an account of which is thus given by Colonel Vandever:
"On the morning of the 4th instant [March 1862] I left Camp Halleck, at Cross Hollows, in command of an expedition in the direction of Huntsville. The forces consisted of three hundred and fifty of the 9th Iowa Infantry, one hundred and fifty from Colonel Phelps' Missouri Regiment, one battalion from the 30th Illinois Cavalry, one section of the Dubuque Battery, (light artillery) and one section of Brown's Mountain Howitzers. We prosecuted the march and arrived at Huntsville at noon of the 5th instant, without incident. A portion of the enemy's stores was captured at their camp, three miles beyond Huntsville, and several prisoners taken. From the prisoners I obtained information that the enemy was marching in force toward our lines, for the purpose of attack, which information I immediately transmitted to head-quarters, and then prepared to retrace my steps. I moved out of Huntsville, and camped three miles distant. At two o'clock in the morning, I received your [General Curtis] orders to return and Join the main body at Sugar Creek. At three o'clock A. M., I resumed my line of march, and, at dusk the same evening, arrived in camp, having accomplished a forced march of forty miles in a single day."
The next day, the seventh, the severe fighting at Pea Ridge opened; and early in the morning Colonel Vandever marched his brigade out in the direction of Elkhorn Tavern. His command fought that entire day, on the left of the brigade of Colonel Dodge, which, it will be remembered, held the extreme right of General Curtis' army. It is stated elsewhere that the division of Colonel Carr, to which both Dodge and Vandever were attached, did the severest fighting at Pea Ridge. In speaking of the conduct of his own regiment in this engagement, Colonel Vandever says:
"Major Coyl of the 9th Iowa acted with distinguished valor, until disabled by a severe wound, and compelled, reluctantly, to leave the field. Adjutant William Scott also deserves great praise. Lieutenant Asher Riley, of Company A, my acting assistant adjutant-general, deserves particular mention. Upon the fall of Captain Drips and Lieutenant Kelsey, both distinguished for their bravery, Lieutenant Riley gallantly took command, and remained with the company throughout the action. Captain Carpenter and Lieutenant Jones, of Company B, also acted with great bravery, leading their company in the face of the enemy, and bringing off one of our disabled pieces and a caisson.
"Captain Towner and Lieutenant Neff, of Company F, were conspicuous for their bravery. Both of these officers were severely wounded, when the command devolved upon Lieutenant Tisdale, who gallantly led the company through the remainder of the action. Captain Bull and Lieutenant Rice of Company C also deserve particular mention, the latter of whom was killed near the close of the day, while the former was severely wounded. Captain Bevins of Company E, was killed upon the field, and the command devolved upon Lieutenant Baker. He acquitted himself with great credit. Captain Washburn and Lieutenants Beebe and Leverich of Company G, Lieutenants Crane and McGee of Company D, Captain Moore and Lieutenant McKenzie of Company H, Captain Carsakaddon and Lieutenant Claflin of Company K, and Lieutenant Fellows, commanding Company I, also Lieutenant Inman, were all conspicuous for bravery, under the hottest fire of the enemy. Many instances of special gallantry occurred among non-commissioned officers and privates. All did their duty well. I should also mention Sergeant-Major Foster of the 9th Iowa, and other members of the noncommissioned staff, who did their duty nobly."
After nearly a month's rest in the vicinity of the battleground, Colonel Vandever joined in the march of General Curtis across the Ozark Mountains to Batesville. While at Batesville, General Steele joined Curtis with a division from Pilot Knob; but here, also, the general lost the commands of Davis and Asboth, which were summoned by Halleck to Corinth. Early in June, the Army of the South West was re-organized into three divisions, commanded by Steele, Carr and Osterhaus. Colonel Vandever remained in Carr's Division, and retained the command of his brigade. The hardships of Curtis' march from Batesville to Helena, which was made in mid-summer, have already been enumerated; but not the different points at which the enemy were met: they were Searcy Landing, Sillamore, Waddell's Farm, Jeffries' Mills, Cashe River Bridge, Stuart's Plantation, Pickett's Farm, Grand Glaize and Round Hill. The last was of the most importance: less than six hundred defeated two thousand Texan Rangers, inflicting on them a loss of more than two hundred.
Colonel Vandever remained at Helena for several months, when, being appointed a brigadier-general, he was ordered to report to General Curtis at St. Louis, and given a command in Central Missouri. In the early part of April, 1863, he commanded the cavalry force, which, leaving Lake Springs, Missouri, marched against Marmaduke, and drove him from the State. It was this command that, at mid-night of the 26th of April, charged the enemy's camp on the Dallas road, near Jackson, routing the enemy, and afterwards pursuing them to St. Francis River.
General Vandever accompanied General Herron to Vicksburg, in command of one of his brigades; and, after the fall of the city, sailed with him up the Yazoo River to Yazoo City. For his services on this expedition, he was thus complimented by General Herron:
"I desire to return my thanks to Brigadier-Generals Vandever and Orme, my brigade commanders, for their unceasing efforts to carry out all my plans, and aid in the success of the expedition."
Since that time, and up to the spring of 1864, General Vandever served in the Department of the Gulf, but during the march on Atlanta he was ordered to report to General Sherman by whom he was assigned a district command with head-quarters at Rome, Georgia. He retained this command till after the fall of Atlanta, when he was ordered to Louisville, and assigned to duty on a court-martial. After the fall of Savannah he reported to General Sherman at that city, and was assigned to the command of a brigade in the 14th Corps which he commanded till the arrival of the Army of the Tennessee at Washington, when he was assigned to the command of the 2d Division of said corps. This command he accompanied to Louisville.
During the march from Fayetteville, North Carolina, to Goldsboro, General Vandever distinguished himself. The history of the march is as follows:
Crossing Cape Fear River, opposite Fayetteville, on the 15th of March, General Sherman "ordered Kilpatrick to move up the plank road to and beyond Averysboro. He was to be followed by four divisions of the left wing, [the 14th and 20th Corps] with as few wagons as possible; the rest of the train, under escort of the two remaining divisions of that wing, to take a shorter and more direct road to Goldsboro. In like manner, General Howard [commanding 15th and 17th Corps] was ordered to send his trains, under good escort, well to the right toward Faison's Depot and Goldsboro, and to hold four divisions light, ready to go to the aid of the left wing, if attacked while in motion. The weather continued very bad, and the roads had become a mere quag-mire. Almost every foot of it had to be corduroyed to admit the passage of wheels."
Prosecuting this line of march, the left wing fought the battle of Averysboro, and then turned east in the direction of Goldsboro; for Hardee had fled, "in a miserable, stormy night, over the worst of roads," in the direction of Smithfleld. The feint on Raleigh did not deceive Johnson, and Sherman, contrary to his expectations, had to fight the old rebel before reaching Goldsboro. While the left wing was on the march through the marshy, timbered bottoms that lie near Bentonville, Johnson, hurrying down from Smithfleld, threw himself on the front and left flank of Jefferson C. Davis' Corps, which was in the advance. Disaster threatened to overwhelm the leading division, and indeed the whole left wing, and Sherman became anxious; but the great courage and endurance of the troops held the enemy at bay till the right wing was brought up. Then, with their left flank and rear threatened, the enemy retired, and Sherman entered Goldsboro. In this engagement General Vandever distinguished himself.
Mr. J. Thompson, a member of the 1st Iowa Cavalry, who served for several months under General Vandever, writes thus of him:
"General Vandever is a man of medium hight, dark hair and wiry constitution. There is nothing remarkable in his features or organization, to impress one with the belief that there is any true greatness about him, either as a man or a general. He lacks both the will and the energy, but more, the ability of a successful leader. The history of his military life is a history of the man — tame and unromantic, exhibiting nothing striking or remarkable—never sinking below, nor yet rising above his chosen level. Such he is as a general, and such would be your opinion of him were you to see him."
From what I have been able to learn of General Vandever, I am persuaded Mr. Thompson does him hardly justice. Though in no respect brilliant, yet he is a man of good judgment and of great perseverance. He is not of a social, communicative nature. He minds his own business, and this, I believe, has been to his disadvantage in the army; for rapid promotion has depended not less upon hard begging, than upon hard working, especially if the officer in question holds a subordinate position. Can one in any other way account for so many worthless field and general officers?
SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 195-200
Emancipation in the District of Columbia
The President has signed the bill. Those who importuned him not to do so should read over the record here unveiled, and cover their faces to hid the confusion produced by their own consciences. The abolition of slavery here will not cause it to be removed elsewhere – This was not the design nor the desire of the majority of those who voted for it. But it will be productive of good consequences. It will call into use and culture our now deserted lots and suburbs. It will employ our unsurpassed water powers. It will build factories and machine shops along our wharves. It will prevent men from speculating in slaves; women from rejoicing over the birth of slaves as so much more money in their own pockets, and will cleanse the community of those sympathizers with treason who have infested this ten miles square for so many years. I wish my Northern readers, especially those who have allowed these objections to the removal of slavery from the capital of their country to effect their minds, could see for themselves what slavery has done in this single spot.
There has been no prosperous middle class in Washington. Society here has been divided, or rather separated, by the partition between the very rich and the very poor. Property is not held here by mechanics who have earned their money and worked their way to wealth in their own avocations, but by successful operators, slaveholders, place-men and lobby-agents. The slave traffic, though prohibited by law, has been successfully carried on in various ways. The business of slave-breeding has enriched more than one pious and praying Secessionist, and the youth of both sexes have in many cases been reared to rely on the profits of slavery, directly and indirectly, and not upon their own talents or labor. The product has been an haughty, overbearing and dictatorial spirit, a contempt for all industry and economy, and a readiness to accept secession as an escape from contact with the undaunted and go-ahead masses of the free States. If those who read these letters could see these things for themselves, the scales would fall from their eyes, and in spite of party feelings, they would thank God that Washington at last, was purged from a blot which has long been a cancer at the heart of the Republic, and a stain upon our country among the nations of the earth. – {Wash. Cor. Philadelphia Press
– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, April 26, 1862, p. 2
Relief Association
At a meeting of the executive committee of the Scott County Soldiers’ Relief Association, April 17, 1862, the report of the surgical committee, stating that Messrs. L C. Burwell and J. J. Brown were employed as nurses to our wounded at Pittsburg Landing at $2 per day, and Dr. Maxwell, as surgeon, for a compensation at the rate of $100 per month and expenses paid, was received, and on motion
Resolved, That said report be referred back to the committee, with instructions to employ those surgeons and nurses only, who are willing to go gratuitously upon payment of their expenses, if they can be procured.
Resolved, That the present committee sent to Pittsburg Landing be notified of this action of the Relief Association, and requested to make immediate report of their action, and that they be allowed compensation for their time of service up to the receipt of said notice, in accordance with the terms agreed upon by the surgical committee.
The Recording Secretary reported as received by him and paid over to the treasurer, $73.30,
In absence of the Treasurer the Corresponding Secretary reported as received from various ward and township finance committees, $324.10.
The Treasurer acknowledged the receipt of $100 from Rev. M. Kynett, on behalf of the Iowa State Sanitary Commission, to be used in defraying expenses of committee sent to Pittsburg Landing.
Messrs. G. L. Davenport and J. S. Connor were appointed a committee to administer relief to wounded and sick soldiers reaching this point on their journey home. On motion it was
Resolved, That the Scott County Soldiers’ Relief Association hold a public meeting at Le Claire Hall on Saturday, the 26th day of April, at 1 o’clock p.m., to consider matters of interest in advancing the objects of the Society, and also that of establishing a hospital for sick and wounded soldiers in Davenport. The people of the respective townships are requested to be present by delegate or otherwise.
The burial committee were instructed to defer all action till a report of the surgical committee about the assistance needed by our wounded and the number of killed from Scott county, is received.
ERNST CLAUSSEN, Rec. Sec’y
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Friday Morning, April 18, 1862, p. 1
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Recruits
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Friday Morning, April 18, 1862, p. 1
Vandalism
A dispatch from Norfolk, dated the 7th inst., to the Petersburg Express, says:
“Three private dwellings on the shore opposite Old Point were fired at yesterday by the Federals from the Rip Raps. A shell exploded in an out house of a private citizen, killing a bullock and doing other damage."
– Published in The North Carolina Weekly Standard, Raleigh, North Carolina, Wednesday, April 16, 1862, p. 2
At Island No. 10 . . .
– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, April 26, 1862, p. 2
Mr. Theodore F. Woolsey of Ct. . . .
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, April 17, 1862, p. 2
Monday, October 5, 2009
Review: Shenandoah 1862
Shenandoah 1862By Peter Cozzens
Aside from Robert E. Lee the most venerated figure to emerge from the gunpowder haze shroud of the American Civil War is Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson. His military successes are the stuff from which legends are made. And yet until now, there as been no single volume written about one his most famous campaigns: the 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Many books have, however been written about the various battles, individually, which made up the campaign, and many of those cover their topics mainly from the Confederate viewpoint. With his book, “Shenandoah 1862” not only has Peter Cozzens given us a single volume to cover the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862 in its entirety, but he has also given us an evenly weighted volume of the campaign which equally views the events from the Union and Confederate viewpoints.
In most books where “Stonewall” Jackson appears he, as a character, tends to dominate. Cozzens’ has done his best to keep General Jackson from overwhelming his narrative. The author has, in fact, strayed from the cult of Jackson and has given us a reevaluation of Jackson as a commander, unflattering as it may occasionally be. Cozzens’ points to two particular flaws in Jackson’s character: his secretiveness, and when defeated his tendency to place blame on his subordinates.
Jackson kept his plans so secret that even his second in command did not know them. Cozzens points out the error of this secrecy and uses the Battle of Kearnstown to illustrative example. Cozzens goes on to point out that Jackson was a very religious man who never failed to credit the blessing of God with a victory on the battlefield, but when defeated Jackson found no fault with God, or himself for that matter, but instead often found a scapegoat in one of his subordinates.
Cozzens’ also highlights Jackson’s inefficiency in his tendency to send troops into a battle in a piece-meal fashion, choosing several small attacks instead of one massive and concentrated movement against the enemy. By choosing to fight a battle in such away, Jackson unnecessarily increased the number of Confederate casualties.
Conversely to Jackson, Union commander, Nathaniel Banks, benefits from Mr. Cozzens revisionism. Previously Banks had been painted as a lack-luster and inept political general, but in “Shenandoah 1862” the author points out that in Banks fought a delaying action from Winchester in order to provide enough time for his supply train time to escape. So successful was this delaying action that Banks lost only about 100 of his five hundred wagons.
In conclusion, Jackson emerges triumphant, though his star has been dimmed a bit. He succeeded in his goal of diverting Federal troops from the Army of the Potomac, on the Peninsula in front of Richmond, and fighting them in the valley of the Shenandoah River instead.
“Shenandoah 1862” is Cozzens’ sixteenth book in eighteen years. The subjects of books have covered the American Civil War and the Indian Wars of the American West. Mr. Cozzens is an officer in the U.S. State Department, and does a great deal of his research from abroad, as well as on trips home. Considering the depth and breadth of his research in his books, this feat is nothing less than extraordinary. Cozzens’ hefty tome is a well researched, well written and evenly balanced account of Jackson’s 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign. No student of Stonewall Jackson or his Valley Campaign should be without a copy.
ISBN 978-0807832004, The University of North Carolina Press, © 2008, Hardcover, 640 pages, Photographs, illustrations, Maps, Appendix, Endnotes, Bibliography & Index. $35.00
Sunday, October 4, 2009
COLONEL JAMES LORAINE GEDDES
SECOND COLONEL, EIGHTH INFANTRY.
James L. Geddes, of the 8th Iowa Infantry, is a Scotchman, and was born in the city of Edinburgh, on the 19th day of March, 1827. "When ten years of age, he emigrated with his family to Canada; but, at the age of eighteen, returned to Scotland, and, in the following Winter, embarked for the East Indies, where he entered the British Military Academy at Calcutta. After studying at that Institution for about two years, he enlisted in the British service, and was a member of the Royal Horse Artillery. He was connected with the British service seven years, and, during that time, served under Sir Hugh Gough, Sir Charles Napier, and Sir Colin Campbell. Under Gough, he took part in the celebrated Punjaub Campaign, and with Napier fought in the battle of Kyber Pass. He was also engaged under Sir Colin Campbell in the campaign against the Hill Tribes of the Himalaya. For his services in India, he was awarded a medal and clasp.
After leaving the British service, he returned to Canada where, being commissioned by Queen Victoria a colonel of cavalry, he organized a cavalry regiment; but, as he himself expressed it, he soon became disgusted, and resigned his commission. He came to Iowa in the fall of 1857, and purchased a farm in Benton county, on which he has since lived.
In August, 1861, Colonel Geddes enlisted a company in Benton county, for the 8th Iowa Infantry, and was commissioned its captain; but, on the organization of his regiment, he was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy, and, with that rank, he entered the field. He was promoted to the colonelcy of the 8th Iowa, on the 7th of February, 1862, vice Colonel Steele, who had been appointed a brigadier-general.
The first campaign on which the 8th Iowa Infantry marched was that of General Fremont, from Jefferson City to Springfield. The regiment's first battle was Shiloh. The part it took in this engagement is the first point of interest in its history. It was attached to the division of General C. F. Smith, which, in the absence of that general, was commanded by Wallace. The camp of the regiment was, therefore, in rear of the line first assailed by the enemy.
Early in the morning of the 6th of April, and soon after the enemy opened fire on the divisions of Prentiss and Sherman, Colonel Geddes ordered his regiment under arms and formed it in line of battle in front of its camp. In the meantime, the firing at the front was increasing rapidly, and the colonel, convinced that the enemy were advancing in force, ordered the baggage to be loaded on the wagons and driven back in the direction of the Landing. This done, his regiment was ordered to the front. The other regiments of the brigade, which was commanded by Colonel Sweeney, of the 52d Illinois, were, on the arrival of the 8th Iowa, already in position. Forming his regiment on the left of his brigade, Colonel Geddes remained in this position for about an hour, in support of a battery in his front, and during this time suffered from a galling fire of the enemy's artillery.
He was now separated from his brigade and ordered to the left, and still further to the front: and the position which his regiment now took up was in that line, portions of which were held so obstinately until about four o'clock in the afternoon. The 8th Iowa in this position was the connecting link between the division of General Wallace and that portion of General Prentiss' which had not stampeded at the first onset of the enemy. On the left of General Prentiss was the division of Hurlbut, which had just come into position. It was now nearly eleven o'clock, and every thing promised well for the Federal cause; for the enemy in their first successes had been effectually arrested.
Hardly had the 8th Iowa been aligned and drawn a long breath, when it was assaulted by a battalion of the enemy, advancing to turn Prentiss' right flank. A most determined struggle followed of nearly an hour in length. The enemy, flushed with their first successes, which surprise as well as their valor had contributed to win, would not yield the contest until they had left nearly half their number upon the field. The 8th Iowa held its ground steadily, and, like the 14th Iowa on its right, charged and bore down the enemy whenever they approached too closely. Finally they retired, after which there was a respite of nearly an hour.
In the meantime General Prentiss had placed a battery in position immediately in front of the 8th Iowa, and ordered the regiment to hold and defend it at all hazards. It was now about one o'clock in the afternoon, the hour when the fiercest fighting of the whole day began; for the enemy had completed their reconnoissances, and were advancing at nearly every point along the line. The battery placed by General Prentiss in front of the 8th Iowa opened upon the advancing columns of the enemy, under the direction of the general in person, and so accurately and rapidly was it served that it soon became to them an object of special attack. "To this end {I quote from the statement of Colonel Geddes to Governor Kirkwood} they concentrated and hurled column after column on my position, charging most gallantly to the very muzzles of the guns. Here a struggle commenced for the retention and possession of the battery, of a terrific character, their concentrated and well-directed fire decimating my ranks in a fearful manner. In this desperate struggle, my regiment lost one hundred men in killed and wounded. The conspicuous gallantry and coolness of my company commanders, Captains Cleaveland, Stubbs and Benson on the left; Captains McCormick and Bell in the centre; Captains Kelsey, Geddes and Lieutenant Muhs, on the right, by reserving the fire of their respective companies until the proper time for its delivery with effect, and the determined courage of my men, saved the battery from capture; and I had the satisfaction of sending the guns in safety to the rear."
And thus the conflict raged along the line, but at few points with as great fury as in front of the 8th and 14th Iowa. Finally, after the struggle had lasted nearly two hours, the enemy retired, leaving the troops at this point masters of the field. But they had not been equally unsuccessful at other points. They had broken the line on the right, and had forced back the left and centre of Prentiss' Division and the right of Hurlbut's. Heavy volleys of musketry were now heard to the left and rear of the 8th Iowa, where Prentiss, having rallied his troops, had formed a new line. This line was at nearly right angles with his former one, and the enemy were promptly engaging him in this new position. At this time, about half-past three o'clock, there was no enemy in front of the 8th Iowa, or on its immediate left; but, to conform with Prentiss' new line, Colonel Geddes threw back the left of his regiment, and dressed it on the right of the 58th Illinois, the right regiment of Prentiss' Division.
The rest is soon told. Prentiss' new line gave way and fled in terror to the Landing, and the enemy, meeting with no further opposition, swung round to the rear of the 8th Iowa; and thus it was that the regiment was captured. The 58th Illinois stood nobly to the last, and was captured in like manner. General Prentiss was near these troops, and was also made prisoner. It has been asserted by many, that, had all the troops at Shiloh fought with the same determination as did the 58th Illinois, the 8th Iowa, and the four other Iowa regiments on its right, the first day's battle would not have been disastrous to our arms. Some have blamed General Prentiss for holding his position so long; but, had he abandoned it sooner, who can tell the calamities that might have followed; for, with all the delay he and the Iowa troops on his right occasioned the enemy, the Federal forces barely escaped capture, and the day closed with little hope.
Of the conduct of Colonel Geddes and his regiment at Shiloh, General Prentiss, in his official report, says:
"He acted with distinguished courage, coolness and ability. His regiment stood unflinchingly up to the work the entire portion of the day, during which it acted under my orders."
The loss of the regiment in this engagement was nearly two hundred. Captain Hogin was shot dead early in the day, and soon after the regiment took up its position on the right of General Prentiss' Division. Captain Palmer was at nearly the same time severely wounded. Later in the day, and at the time the conflict was going on for the retention of the battery in his regiment's front, Colonel Geddes was wounded in the leg. Major Anderson was at the same time severely wounded in the head. Among those mentioned for special gallantry was Lieutenant-Colonel Ferguson, who, throughout the day, was reckless in the exposure of his person to the enemy.
The history of that portion of the 8th Iowa Infantry which escaped capture is to be found in the record of the Union Brigade. This brigade, which was organized immediately after the battle of Shiloh, and which retained its organization until the 17th of the following December, acted an honorable part in the battle of Corinth, in the fall of 1862, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel J. P. Coulter of the 12th Iowa Infantry. On the morning of the 18th of December, 1862, the detachments of the 8th, 12th and 14th Iowa regiments, which had served in the Union Brigade for upward of eight months, left Corinth, by order of General Dodge, to report at Davenport, Iowa, for re-organization in their respective commands. This, it will be remembered, was at the time of Forest's raid through Tennessee into Kentucky; and, on the arrival of these troops at Jackson, Tennessee, they were ordered by Colonel Lawler, Commandant of the Post, to assist in defending the place against the threatened attack of the enemy, who were reported to be in strong force, and supported by artillery. But Jackson was not attacked. The enemy's demonstrations before that city were only intended to divert the Federal forces, while they in the meantime destroyed the railroad north in the direction of Columbus; and this work they effectually accomplished. Forest now fled the State, and Lieutenant-Colonel Coulter proceeded with his command to Davenport.
Subsequently to the re-organization of the 8th Iowa Infantry and up to the spring of 1864, the history of the regiment is similar to that of the 12th Iowa. It joined General Grant's army at Milliken's Bend in the spring of 1863, and was assigned to the 3d Brigade, 3d Division, l5th Army Corps, which it accompanied in all its long and tedious marches through Mississippi. But when that corps left Vicksburg for Chattanooga, in the fall of 1863, the 8th Iowa with its division was left behind. The regiment remained at Vicksburg until the following Winter, when, having re-enlisted, it was sent North on veteran furlough. On its return, it was ordered to Memphis, since which time it has served under Major-General A. J. Smith.
When Forest made his dash into Memphis, late in August, 1864, the 8th Iowa was stationed in the city on garrison-duty, and took an important part in driving out, and dispersing the forces of the guerrilla chief. "Sergeants Ostrander, and privates A. M. Walling, Charles Smith, I. F. Newman and Perry Clark, watched their opportunity, and fired a volley on the flank of the enemy, killing the rebel Captain Lundy and wounding several others." Lieutenant-Colonel W. B. Bell commanded the 8th Iowa in this affair; and, before the enemy were dispersed, the regiment suffered severely. Lieutenant A. S. Irwin was mortally wounded and died soon after. Lieutenants J. A. Boyer and J. S. Tinkham were also wounded. Among those mentioned for good conduct, are Captain Geddes, and Lieutenants Stearns and Campbell.
The 8th Iowa has recently and most signally distinguished itself, in the operations of General Canby around Mobile.
The arrival of A. J. Smith's Corps at Barley's Mill on Fish River, and the march to Spanish Fort and its investment will appear elsewhere. The 8th Iowa Infantry was attached to this Corps, and its position in front of the fort was to the extreme right of the Federal line. The brigade to which the regiment was attached, was commanded by Colonel Geddes, and the division by General E. A. Carr.
Of Spanish Fort, which is situated on Blakely River, and nearly east from Mobile, one who was on the ground writes thus:
"At Spanish Fort, there were several lines of inferior rifle-pits for skirmishers, outside the principal works. A formidable ditch added to the strength of the position; the most elaborately constructed abattis presented its sharp points to an enemy; a line of chevaux de frize intervened between the ditch and the abattis; the trees were felled and laced together for an area of many acres around, and the ground everywhere was pretty thickly sown with torpedoes. Artillery, of all kinds and calibres, bristled along the walls, and three thousand men with muskets held the interior of the fort."
Spanish Fort was crescent-shaped in form, its right and left defenses swinging back to near the river. Just at the northern extremity of these defenses, a deep ravine puts down to the river, dividing the high bluff along its eastern bank. On the north-eastern side of this ravine was the brigade of Colonel Geddes in position, and, on the opposite one, the northern extremity of Spanish Fort. At the mouth of the ravine was low bottom-land, not long since covered with dense and heavy timber; but this had all been felled, to enable the rebel gun-boats to sweep it from the river. This was the point selected from which to carry Spanish Fort.
In speaking of the charge of the 8th Iowa, which led the advance, the same correspondent goes on to say :
"For nearly an hour and a half the bombardment continued, before Colonel Geddes judged it expedient to move; and the sun was just sinking below the western horizon when the signal to advance was given. Instantly the men of the 8th Iowa sprang to their feet, and the company of skirmishers, followed by the entire regiment, threw themselves among the Mien and matted timbers in the swamp, and urged their way, as rapidly as possible, across the mouth of the ravine. A loud shout from the rest of the division, as if the whole were about to charge, distracted the attention of the enemy, while the bold advance of the 8th Iowa seemed to strike him with dismay. Such of his men as were posted behind the log breast-work, (that which extended from the bluff down across the low ground to the river) fired a scattering, hesitating volley, and ran for their lives. But from the extreme left of the rebel rifle-pits, a heavy fire was poured upon our boys, until the foremost of them, mounting the bluff, came full upon the rear of the enemy.
"It was just here that Lieutenant Vineyard, the gallant leader of Company G, fell dangerously wounded. Some of his men halted a moment where he lay. 'Pay no attention to me,' he said; 'move on;' and they did move on. The frightened rebels seeing the boys still clambering over the bluff, and not knowing what force there might be behind, threw down their arms. Three hundred were made prisoners on the spot. Others retreated rapidly toward the centre of the fort, and a line of battle was now formed by the enemy to check the further advance of our troops into the fortress. For more than three hundred yards, the brave 8th fought its way toward the enemy's centre; but it was now dark, and, in obedience to orders which they had received, the victorious Hawkeyes halted, and hastily constructed a line of rifle-pits."
At about eleven o'clock at night, it was learned that the enemy were evacuating, when, nearly an hour later, the whole Federal line moved against the fort. There was little resistance made; for nearly all the enemy had left. Of all the prisoners captured, there were less than six hundred; but, besides large quantities of ammunition, nearly fifty pieces of artillery fell into our hands. The 8th Iowa Infantry should be permitted to inscribe on their banner, First at Spanish Fort. The troops with which the 8th was brigaded were the 81st, the 108th and the 124th Illinois.
Of the scenes inside the fort after its evacuation, the author from whom I have quoted goes on to say:
"For several hours on Monday morning, I wandered about over the interior and battlements of the deserted fortress. Objects and localities of interest abounded. Here was the point where the 8th Iowa effected its entrance; the swamp covered with fallen timbers through which it had clambered; the huge ravine whose mouth it had passed; the bluff up which it had climbed; the line of rifle-pits which it had thrown up after gaining a lodgment. Here lay a huge columbiad, dismounted during the bombardment on the 4th. One of the heavy iron trunnions was knocked off, and lay beside the gun. Down there was the formidable water battery, from which you could, with ease, see Mobile and the entire upper part of the bay, with all of its rivers and shores and indentations. That cabin there, was occupied as the quarters of the general commanding this fort, Randall E. Gibson. Surely, it could have been no enviable residence; for the trees all around it were torn to pieces with shot and shell, and the timbers of several similar cabins in the immediate vicinity had been shivered and splintered by the fiery missiles.
"Other effects of the terrible bombardment to which the fort had been subjected were plainly and painfully visible. Haversacks and clothing crimsoned with blood were scattered over the ground. In several places gory streams had run for a considerable distance along the trenches, and the little pools of it, which even the thirsty sands had not yet drank up, were standing here and there. At other points the life-blood from the bosoms of the rebel soldiery along the lines had spurted upon the walls, dying them even a deeper red from the head-log to the foot of the rampart. Oh, it was a sickening sight! Gun-carriages shivered to pieces; hundreds of iron fragments of missiles which had burst; solid shot and unexploded shells that had been flung from grim-mouthed cannon; great holes in the earth, dug out in an instant by some ponderous projectile ; immense rents in the earthworks, through which the fiery bolts had ploughed their way — all these were every where visible. The bombardment of the evening before must have indeed possessed every feature calculated to terrify the souls of those who lay within the fort."
Colonel Geddes is a small, slender man, weighing about one hundred and thirty-five pounds. He has thin, sharp features, fine, brown hair, and large, hazel eyes. He is active and Intelligent, and has much general information. As an officer, I am told, he was always held in high esteem by his men. He has most certainly enjoyed the full confidence of his superiors.
SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 185-94