STEAMER JOHN J. ROE, Tennessee River, on the way to Evansville, thence to St. Louis,
April 13, 1862.
FRIEND SANDERS: The terrible work of transporting the wounded form Pittsburg Landing to the hospitals is going on. Several large steamers before this have gone down the river, and on this we have 520, taking as yet only those severely wounded. At least one more load as large as this is still behind. And then a large multitude of those slightly wounded are with their respective regiments, or on the boats at the landing. No adequate provision was made for such great numbers of wounded men, there being at the time of the battle only two boats at the Landing, besides commissary and quartermaster boats; and one of those two was Gen. Grant’s headquarters, while the other was kept in reserve for the conveyance of troops. Upon the commissary boats – loaded down, cabins and all, with boxes, barrels, &c. – the wounded were placed in every conceivable corner, and when these failed tents were raised, awnings stretched upon poles, and every effort made to provide shelter. But, after all was done, hundreds lay out in the rain Sabbath night, and many even all the next day and through another dismal, rainy night. Some lay in the mud, with not even a blanket under or over them. Large numbers were brought in on Tuesday, who were wounded on the Sabbath; and on Wednesday, and even Thursday, men were still found alive but helpless on the battle field. This want of preparation for the wounded is evidence that no such battle was expected at the Landing. The broken condition of the country, and the dense timber and brush over nearly the whole of the great battlefield, not only rendered the onset of the rebels more effective and terrific, but also cause great suffering and loss of life among those who were wounded and could not be found. So great a battle in the woods was perhaps never fought before. In many instances the enemy planted their batteries within forty rods of our lines without being discovered until they opened fire. The fierceness of the onset was, perhaps, scarcely ever equaled. The 15th Ohio battery lost 56 horses out of 117, almost at the first fire; and in other cases the loss of men was almost as great.
You may be assured that no statements in the papers concerning the losses on both sides will exceed, perhaps none will reach, the truth. The brigade of which the 11th Iowa was a part had 91 killed and 565 wounded – 656 in all. The same proportion in the 52 brigades would five [sic] 34, 112 on one side! Many are slightly wounded, and will soon recover, but it is safe to say that 10,000 of our men are either killed or permanently disabled. It is believed that the enemy’s loss in killed and severely wounded is much greater than ours. They fired low and wounded large numbers of our men in the legs. In this they excelled, disabling large numbers in such manner as to require help to leave the field, whereas our men aimed to kill. How many were killed by our fire we do not know, but rebels who assisted in burying their dead and afterwards fell into our hands, say that we killed two to their one. Union men living in the neighborhood, who rode over the ground immediately after the battle corroborate this statement. It is also stated that our men have buried over 4,000 rebels since the battle.
The heart sickens at the remembrance of the horrible scenes of Sabbath and Monday, and on the boats since. Although we are comparatively comfortable on this large boat, still there is a vast amount of suffering. Six have died since leaving the landing, and many more will die soon. We have not half help enough either as surgeons or nurses, and very few comforts or hospital stores. If it had not been for the presence of an agent of the Sanitary commission from Chicago, with such thing as were at hand, we should have been destitute of some articles absolutely necessary.
April 14th – PADUCAH TO EVANSVILLE. – Additional supplies of some articles were procured at Paducah, but of 29 volunteer surgeons and multitudes of nurses found there, only one of each could be induced to come on board. All were bent on going to Pittsburg Landing, and this after they were assured by the surgeon in charge that no wounded would be found there on their arrival. Possible curiosity influenced them more than humanity.
I have not time to write more, as I must do what I can in dressing wounds. I have written mostly in the night, being frequently interrupted by calls for help from men of my own and other regiments.
Yours,
CHAPLAIN, 11th Iowa.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 2
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Army Correspondence
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Progress of the Age
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 2
The New Democratic Party
Some of our Yankees, who are good at guessing, have guessed the following three planks, which they suppose will be put into the platform: Mob-law, death to Abolitionists, and the canonizing of Jeff. Davis. – There may be a new party calling itself Democratic, but it is idle to talk of raising the old Democratic party. It died more than a year ago; I saw its funeral and read its obituary. When you count out the Democrats of the South and their allies of the North, who will be driven from the country or hung before the next Presidential election, you will find but a remnant left, and that remnant composed of pro-slavery swellheads.
PLEASANT VALLEY.
April 18, 1862.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 2
Colonel D. Henry Hughes
THIRTY-EIGHTH INFANTRY.
The late D. Henry Hughes was born in Jefferson county, New York, on the 11th of September, 1830. He was the son of a farmer. At sixteen, he entered the New York State Normal School, where he passed a year and a half, and then returned home and labored with his father on the farm till he attained his majority. In 1852, he came West and settled temporarily in Chicago, where he obtained employment as book-keeper in the Agricultural Warehouse of Emery & Co. During his two years' stay with this enterprising house, he was a frequent contributor to the "Prairie Farmer," a valuable agricultural paper, published by his employers. In 1855, he left Illinois for Iowa, and settled in Decorah, which was his family's place of residence at the time of his death.
Colonel Hughes was held in high esteem in Winnesheik county. He learned the law with one Mr. Webber of Decorah, and, in the spring of 1862, became a partner of the Hon. M. V. Burdick, now State Senator from Winnesheik county. Indeed, in 1861, he was Mr. Burdick's opponent for the State Senate, being the nominee of the Democratic Party of Winnesheik county.
In October, 1862, Mr. Hughes was made lieutenant-colonel of the 38th Iowa Infantry, and late in the same month was promoted to the colonelcy of the regiment. He served with his regiment till its arrival at Port Hudson, Lousiana, when he was prostrated by the sickness incident to that climate. He died on board the steamer Lebanon, on the 7th of August, 1863.
The history of the 38th Iowa has less of general interest in it than that of any other Iowa regiment. Up to the 27th of November, 1864, it had lost in battle only one man killed, and two wounded, one of the latter mortally. The following are the points at which the regiment served prior to the above named date: Columbus and Union City, Kentucky; New Madrid, Missouri; Vicksburg; Port Hudson and Carrollton, Louisiana; on the Texan coast and at Brownsville; Mobile Point, and at Donaldsonville, Louisiana. The regiment was consolidated with the 34th Iowa Infantry, on the 1st day of January, 1865; since which time its history will be found in that of the latter regiment.
The following statement, taken from the records of the regiment, is a remarkable illustration of the disparity of losses sustained by troops in battle and by disease:
"Original strength of regiment: officers, thirty-nine; enlisted men, eight hundred and seventy-six. Added in field by recruits: enlisted men, one hundred and twelve. Added by promotion: officers, nine. Added by transfer: officers, one.
"Killed in battle: enlisted men, one. Died of wounds; enlisted men, one. Discharged: officers, twenty; enlisted men, one hundred and ten. Deserted: thirteen. Died of disease: officers, four; enlisted men, three hundred and seven. Transferred: enlisted men, twenty-eight. Total: officers, twenty-four; enlisted men, four hundred and sixty-five."
The following is from an eulogy delivered by Hon. M. V. Burdick to Colonel Hughes' memory:
"He is gone; but though dead he yet lives — lives in the example that he set, in the precepts that he gave — lives in the hearts of his friends. They will not endeavor to repress the generous pride which prompts a recital of his noble deeds, and manly virtues. He commenced his career among us without fortune, without influential friends, and surrounded by many difficulties. He has filled many positions of honor and trust, and has written his name in the history of this great struggle of the nation to maintain the national existence. He leaves to his friends none but the most pleasing recollections."
SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 523-4
The Rebellion
That no idea was entertained the rebellion would reach the size it did, even by the Federal Executive, is apparent by his first official military act in calling out the paltry number of seventy-five thousand troops to suppress it. Had he known that for years the plan had been concocted, and during all the previous Administration its infamous leaders, high in office and sworn to protect our Government, were plotting its overthrow, he would have formed more enlarged conceptions of its extent. But that was known only to the initiated. Their idea was a separate Government based upon the inalienable right of man to hold his fellow man in bondage; or, in other words, the establishment of an oligarchy, the corner-stone of which, according to Stephens, was to be slavery. Growing out of, based upon and sustained by an institution of Southern growth, fancied to be interwoven with its prosperity and even vitality, the sympathies of the South were at once enlisted and it required no very specious arguments to cause unprincipled men who governed these states by virtue of their offices, to precipitate them into the vortex of dissolution.
So soon as the size of the rebellion was ascertained, and it was seen to be of no mushroom growth, but that its roots extended back through the previous Administration, the President began to enlarge his operations and to prepare for actual, vigorous war. His worst enemies he found to be his own household; not the open ones with arms in their hands contending against the Government that had ever fostered and protected them; but secret ones who came with proffered assistance in one hand and a dagger in the other. Men who while they swore fealty to the Government, were covertly seeking its destruction. Against these insidious foes there was no guarding, and at every step they seemed to thwart his plans for the suppression of the rebellion, until the most vigorous measures were adopted.
The splendid diplomacy of the Secretary of State settled the question that we had no foreign power to fear, and that our avowed enemies were confined to the slave States. The plans of the Executive were taken accordingly, and the Federal arms have since rapidly asserted their supremacy. God has seemed to smile upon our efforts; though attacked by superior force and under every disadvantage, yet victory has ever accompanied our standard. The government is bound to be sustained; defeated at every point, the rebels must soon see the hopelessness of their cause and yield to the superior skill and numbers of those contending for rights, from which their leaders so vainly sought to disfranchise us.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 2
Friday, January 8, 2010
Colonel George W. Kincaid
THIRTY-SEVENTH INFANTRY.
George W. Kincaid is a native of the State of Ohio, and an old resident of Muscatine county, Iowa. He is about fifty-three years of age. His occupation in civil life I have failed to learn. He entered the army in the fall of 1862, as colonel of the 37th Iowa Infantry, and served with that rank till the spring of 1865, when, with his regiment, he was mustered out of the service. In the judgment of his regiment, he served with little honor to himself, or the State.
The 37th Iowa is the celebrated Gray-Beard Regiment. It was organized under a special order of the War Department, in the fall of 1862, and was to be composed of men over the age of forty-five years. If I am correctly informed, it was a condition precedent that, the regiment was to be employed only on post- and garrison-duty. Certain it is that, with one exception, it was never assigned to any other. Its history, therefore, throwing age out of the question, is not a brilliant one. Its thirty-months' service was passed at the following points: St. Louis, Missouri; Alton, Illinois; Memphis, Tennessee; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Rock Island, Illinois.
The following from the pen of L. M. Miller, the regiment's sergeant-major, is the chief item of interest in the regiment's history;
"On the 15th instant, [July 7th, 1864] a detail of fifty men was sent from the 37th regiment, to go as guard on a supply-train, on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. When about thirty-six miles out, the train was fired into by fifty or sixty bushwhackers, concealed in the brush and behind the fence. Our guards were stationed on top of the cars, exposed to their fire, the train running thirty miles an hour. Our men returned the fire very promptly, and it is believed from the best information we can gather we did the enemy equal damage, at least in numbers. Our loss was Samuel Coburn of Company A, and Corporal Charles Young of Company B, both mortally wounded. The corporal lived till next day, and Colburn till the evening of the same day. Two others were slightly wounded, but are doing well."
But if these patriarchal patriots did little service in the field, it is not to be supposed that theirs was holiday duty. Garrison-duty, if not attended with great risk, is fatiguing and monotonous; and few soldiers, if consulted, would prefer it to field-service. We should, therefore, accord to these ancient heroes a full share of the State's military renown.
I am told that Colonel Kincaid is a tall, raw-boned, gray-haired man, uninviting in personal appearance and in address. He was strict in his discipline, to which may be attributed his great unpopularity with his regiment. I am unwilling to record the many stories of his misrule.
SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 521-2
From Yorktown
NEW YORK, April 19.
A letter from Col. Barnes, of the Mass. 18th, received in Boston, states that the force of the enemy is not so large as has been represented, and does not exceed 40,000 or 5,000 men. Neither are their guns of so formidable a character as has been represented. Col. Barnes further says: “Our siege guns have come, and before long, they will be at work upon the rebel breastworks. Gen. McClellan, I hear is about ready to attack the place, and when he commences the rebels will not hold out very long.” Col. Barnes is considered one of the ablest officers in the service, many of the Generals under whom he is serving having graduated at West Point under his instruction.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 1
XXXVIIth Congress – First Session
HOUSE. – Mr. Aldrich reported a bill providing for the examination of claims for Indian depredations in New Mexico.
The house went into committee of the whole on the Pacific R. R. Bill.
Mr. Schofield opposed the bill. The committee rose and further consideration of the bill was postponed till Monday week.
Several private bills were passed.
Adjourned till Monday.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 1
ST. LOUIS, April 19 [1862]
Col. John S. Phelps, who performed a distinguished part in the battle of Pea Ridge, has arrived from Springfield. He is in bad health, suffering from disease contracted in the field. He will remain a few days, and the proceed to Washington and take his seat in Congress.
The steamer Imperial arrived last night, bringing 440 sick and wounded, 107 being prisoners, this being the last of the wounded there. The steamer Evansville also arrived with 360 rebel prisoners from Island No. 10. The Evansville, we are informed takes her departure this morning with the captives for Prairie du Chien.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 1
New Market, Va., Occupied
Mt. Jackson was occupied by our troops this forenoon. The rebels burned the bridges at they retreated. The Vermont cavalry darted through the place to prevent the enemy from burning the bridge over the creek beyond town and captured several rebels in the act of burning it. One lieutenant among the number. Col. Ashby himself was nearly caught: he said he owed his escape to the fact that he wore Federal uniform. Our pursuing forces are in Newmarket to-night without opposition. Ashby and his men are outside the town. Jackson retreated towards Staunton.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 1
Brownlow in Philadelphia
Parson Brownlow was received at Independence Hall, by the city authorities this morning, with speeches of the heartiest welcome. He replied in a characteristic address of some length. He recited the tribulations that East Tennessee Unionists had undergone. At one time he had been within one vote of hanging, by the sentence of a drumhead court martial at Knoxville. The vote that saved him was of a corrupt drunken secessionist, and he was tempted to exclaim “Great God, on what a slender thread hangs everlasting things.” He did not want office; he wanted to go back to East Tennessee with a cocked hat, sword and coil of rope. In closing he alluded to his wife and children now held as hostages in rebeldom, and spoke of the joy and exultation with which the Union army will be greeted in East Tennessee. Parson Brownlow has received an invitation from the President to visit the White House.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 1
BOSTON, April 19 [1862]
Messrs. Tinesall and Myers, whose arrival here under arrest was announced last night, were not taken to Fort Warren, but remained in the city on parole until their cases shall be decided at Washington.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 1
Great Freshet at the East
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., April 18.
At 9 o’clock this evening the Connecticut river was 19 feet above low water mark, and rapidly rising. This is within 4 feet, 4 inches of the great flood of May 1st, 1854. Such a rise of the river without rain is unparalled [sic].
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 1
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Colonel Charles Woodman Kittredge
THIRTY-SIXTH INFANTRY.
Charles W. Kittredge is a New Englander, being born in Portland, Maine, on the 16th of January, 1826. His father, Joseph W. Kittredge, who was a merchant, closed up his business in Portland in 1828, and removed with his family to Sutton, Vermont. Sutton remained the residence of his family, till the year 1836. At nine years of age, young Kittredge entered the High School of Bradford, Massachusetts. A few years later, he became a member of the Lyndon Academy, Vermont, where he remained till 1839. That year he completed his schooling, and soon after joined his father's family in Adams county, Illinois, where it had removed in the fall of 1836. The father died in 1844, soon after which Charles returned with his mother to New England, where he remained till 1855, doing business in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and in Dexter and Portland, Maine. In 1855, he again came West, and, after a residence of three years in Chicago and Mt. Pleasant, settled in Ottumwa, Iowa, where he entered the grocery business.
Early in the summer of 1861, he enlisted a company (F) for the 7th Iowa Infantry, and was elected its captain. He accompanied his regiment in all its tiresome marches through Missouri, and was with it in the brilliant, though unfortunate affair at Belmont, where he distinguished himself. Just after the flank movement of the enemy had been learned, and when his regiment was falling back, Captain Kittredge was severely wounded, and, being necessarily left upon the field, fell into the hands of the enemy. He was soon paroled, however, and sent to Cairo, where he lay for many weeks in a very critical condition, in the St. Charles Hotel. He was shot twice; through the arm, and through the thigh, the ball in the latter case passing between the bone and the femoral artery. Having finally recovered he re-joined his regiment on the 30th of the following March; but his wounds had disabled him for duty as a line officer, and he was compelled to tender his resignation, which was accepted on the 11th of June, 1862.
Returning to Ottumwa, he resumed his former business, and was thus engaged when, in the following August, Governor Kirkwood tendered him the colonelcy of the 36th Iowa Infantry. He accepted the commission, and at once reported at Keokuk, where his regiment was in rendezvous.
The 36th Iowa, like all her sister regiments, has a good record. It has an unfortunate chapter in its history: it is one of the seven Iowa regiments that, during the war, has been captured.
The regiment, by order of General Curtis, commanding at St. Louis, reported at Helena, Arkansas, on the first of January, 1863, and remained at that post on garrison-duty till the 24th of February following, when it left on the celebrated Yazoo Pass Expedition. It sailed with the advance, under Brigadier-General Ross of Illinois, and arrived at Shell Mound on the Tallahatchie, about two miles above Fort Pemberton, on the 11th of March. It was at once disembarked, and sent out to support a portion of General Solomon's Brigade, then skirmishing with the enemy; but, though under fire, it did not engage the enemy, and suffered no loss. It left on the return to Helena the 4th of April, having in the meantime only met the enemy in skirmishes.
The dangers and hardships of the Yazoo Pass Expedition have been given elsewhere, and I need only add here that, in the perilous return up the Tallahatchie and Cold Water Rivers, the 36th Iowa lost only four men wounded. But many of both officers and men contracted diseases on this expedition, which rendered them unfit for service. Among others was Major T. C. Woodward, a most excellent officer, and deservedly popular with the regiment.
The 4th of July vindication, at Helena, Arkansas, in the summer of 1863, was the first severe engagement of the 36th Iowa. Here, three thousand five hundred men successfully resisted the repeated and determined assaults of six times their number. It was a terrible disaster to the rebels, and made the hearts of those on the west side of the Mississippi disconsolate. From the 8th of April to the 10th of August, 1863, the 36th Iowa was stationed at Helena; but on the last named date started out with Major-General Steele on the Arkansas Expedition, which ended with the capture of Little Rock, September 10th 1863. During this march, Colonel Kittredge commanded the 1st Brigade of the 2d Division.
Having passed the fall of 1863, and the following Winter at Little Rock, the 36th Iowa, on the 23d of March, 1864, joined the expedition under Major-General Steele, which, being organized in conjunction with one under Major-General Banks, had for its object the capture of Shreveport, and the defeat and dispersion of the enemy in the Red River country. The battles of Elkin's Ford and Mark's Mills, Arkansas, will ever have a place in the military annals of Iowa, Missouri, Indiana and Ohio, the States whose troops were there represented.
The 43d Indiana, 36th Iowa, 77th Ohio, and two sections of Battery E, 2d Missouri Light Artillery constituted the 2d Brigade, 3d Division, 7th Army Corps, and, with the exception of two companies of the 1st Iowa Cavalry, were the only troops on our side engaged at Elkin's Ford. Indeed, if I am correctly informed, the 77th Ohio was not engaged, having been previously detached to support the cavalry in another quarter.
The battle of Elkin's Ford was opened early on the morning of the 4th of April, 1864, by the enemy driving in our cavalry-pickets, and by advancing rapidly against the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Drake, composed of portions of the 43d Indiana and the 36th Iowa, and one section of Battery E, 2d Missouri Light Artillery, which was being held as the picket-reserve. The fighting was very severe, and the gallantry of the troops unrivaled; but the force of the enemy was so great as to render all opposition of no avail. Lieutenant-Colonel Drake was being gradually forced back, when Colonel Kittredge, coming up on his left with the balance of his regiment, charged the enemy and drove him back in confusion. The repulse was so complete that the enemy declined to renew the fight, and beat a hasty retreat.
The battle of Elkin's Ford was fought near the Little Missouri River, and during General Steele's march southward. That of Mark's Mills was fought, while the 2d Brigade was en route to Pine Bluff for supplies for Steele's army at Camden.
How General Steele, learning at Prairie de Anne of the defeat of Banks, turned eastward to Camden; how he lost much of his train sent out on a foraging expedition to Poisoned Springs; how, after that, Colonel Mackey of the 33d Iowa came through with supplies from Pine Bluff; and how Steele, resolving to maintain himself at Camden, sent back to Pine Bluff for other supplies, has already been stated in the sketches of other officers and regiments. The 2d Brigade, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Drake, constituted the command above alluded to; and, in addition to those troops, were two hundred and forty men of the First Indiana and 7th Missouri Cavalry, under Major McCaully. The wagon-train consisted of two hundred and forty wagons.
Lieutenant-Colonel Drake left Camden on the morning of the 23d of April, and proceeding on the Pine Bluff road, reached Moro Bottom in the evening of the 24th instant. Up to that time, Major McCaully, in command of the cavalry, had discovered no enemy; and Lieutenant-Colonel Drake, thinking that he was not threatened, went into camp. Had he marched all that night, as did the enemy, he would have escaped capture, and saved his train. On the 25th instant, the march was resumed at day-light, and proceeded unmolested till near the junction of the Warren and Pine Bluff roads, when Major Morris, in advance, came on the enemy's skirmishers. The engagement opened at once. At this time the 36th Iowa, under Major Hamilton, a brave and worthy officer, was marching by the side of the train, to guard against a flank-surprise; but, on receiving notice of the attack, hurried to the front. Orders were also sent to the 77th Ohio, in the extreme rear, to double-quick to the front; but before the movement was executed, the regiment was surrounded and captured. The 36th Iowa, 43d Indiana, Lieutenant Peetz's Battery, and the cavalry, had, therefore, to continue the engagement without reinforcements. As was afterward learned, the rebel troops on the ground numbered little less than eight thousand. Fagan was in command, and he had seven brigades — Shelby's, Dockery's, Cabell's, Cooper's, Crawford's, Wright's, and Greene's. But, notwithstanding these overwhelming numbers, the remnant of the 2d Brigade maintained its position, repelling the enemy's charges, for nearly five hours. Finally, being completely surrounded, its ammunition expended, and having no hope of relief, the command surrendered. It was at this time that the rebel General Fagan boasted that the capture of Steele's whole army was certain.
Lieutenant-Colonel Drake was severely wounded in this engagement, and was soon after paroled with others, and sent within our lines; but the 36th Iowa was marched to Tyler, Texas, where it passed a long and wretched prison-life. To show the hardships endured on this cruel march, I quote, briefly, from a statement made by Chaplain M. H. Hare, of the 36th Iowa:
"We were marched off rapidly after the close of the battle. We were all driven on foot fifty-two miles, without rations, rest, or respite, to Moro, or, as we termed it, 'Raw Corn.' There we crossed the Ouchita. We had eaten our breakfast on the morning of the 25th before day; and now it was after dark in the evening of the 26th. The rebels had robbed us of our haversacks, beside other valuables; and, when we reached the river, we seized upon some mule-corn, which we found, and ate it with avidity, raw. It was a sad sight to go among the boys, as I did that night, and see them — some gnawing away, and others, wearied and exhausted, lying asleep, still holding their half-eaten ear."
Captain T. B. Hale, unable to endure these hardships, died. This noble young officer was buried in a handsome grove, on the banks of the Ouchita, about sixty miles below Camden.
The killed and wounded of the 2d Brigade, in the battle of Mark's Mills, numbered about two hundred and fifty. The loss of the enemy is not known. Surgeon J. M. B. Cochrane, of the 1st Iowa Cavalry, Major Hamilton, of the 36th Iowa, and many others were highly complimented for their gallantry during the action.
The 36th Iowa was exchanged in the spring of 1865. Since that time, it has been stationed on garrison-duty at St. Charles, on White River.
Colonel Kittredge was not present in the engagement at Mark's Mills. At the time it was ordered out, he was sick and was left behind with some forty men of his regiment. On the return of General Steele to Little Rock, he accompanied the command of Brigadier-General Samuel A. Rice; and, under that officer, took part in the engagement at Jenkin's Ferry. During General Steele's absence from Little Rock, Colonel Anderson of the First Iowa Cavalry, who was left behind, assumed command of the post; but, soon after the return of the army, that officer resigned his commission, when Colonel Kittredge was made Post Commandant. Colonel Kittredge continued at Little Rock till the spring of 1865, when on the suggestion of General Reynolds he was dismissed the service. I will state briefly what I know of this unfortunate affair.
In the winter of 1864-5, Lieutenant-Colonel Drake of the 36th Iowa preferred charges against Colonel Kittredge, which I have never seen, and which, if I had, and could state them, would afford to the reader little interest. Early in March, 1865, Colonel Kittredge went before a general court-martial convened at Little Rock, for trial. Brigadier-General Cyrus Bussey was President of the Court, and Colonels Benton, Mackey and Thompson were among its members. The case was tried, and resulted, I am told, in a finding of "not guilty," as regarded every charge and specification. The record was then made up, and sent by the Judge Advocate to General Reynolds, for approval; but that general, instead, forwarded the papers to the President, with the recommendation that Colonel Kittredge be dismissed the service. General Reynolds' recommendation was of course complied with; for he had been recently sent to Little Rock to relieve General Steele, for the express purpose of renovating the Department of Arkansas, and all his recommendations were promptly endorsed. I should state further that, one of General Steele's staff-officers, who remained behind after the departure of that general for New Orleans, and who was a bitter friend of Colonel Kittredge, was acting on the staff of General Reynolds at the time the colonel's papers were sent up.
After receiving his dismissal the colonel returned to his home and proceeded thence to Washington to make inquiry into the proceedings in his case. He was gone only a few days when news came that the order for his dismissal was revoked and he reinstated. He left Washington immediately for St. Charles, Arkansas, where his regiment is now stationed in garrison.
From the portrait of Colonel Kittredge here published which is a good one, can be read the character of the man. He is independent and outspoken and has no policy. The following is illustrative of his character. While stationed at Helena he was requested to sign a paper recommending a brigadier-general for promotion. He refused to give his name, saying he did not believe the officer entitled to promotion. The officer was at the time his division commander. He is abrupt in his manners, quick in his movements, and treats his friends with generosity and his enemies with vindictiveness.
From what I can learn he was popular with his regiment. I talked with several of his men who were just out of prison and home on leave of absence, and they all said he was considered a good officer. In the first year of the regiment's service I understand he made enemies by recommending a lieutenant over several captains for a field officer, though all but the parties interested admitted that the lieutenant was the best man for the place.
It is proper to state in this connection that, soon after resigning his commission as captain in the 7th Infantry, Colonel Kittredge was married to Miss Charlotte Mahon of Ottumwa, a sister of Major Mahon, and an intelligent and accomplished lady.
SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 513-20
Colonel Sylvester G. Hill
THIRTY-FIFTH INFANTRY.
The late Colonel S. G. Hill was a native of Washington county, Rhode Island, where he was born on the 10th day of June, 1820. His education, which was academic, was received at the old and popular institution at Greenwich, Rhode Island. Leaving Rhode Island in 1840, he removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he remained till 1849. A chief portion of this time he was engaged in the lumber business. In 1849 he removed to California; but being disappointed in the country and in its business prospects, he returned to the States in the following year, and soon after settled in Muscatine, Iowa. In Muscatine he resumed his former business. He was engaged in the lumber trade in the summer of 1862, just before entering the service.
In July, 1862, Colonel Hill recruited a company of infantry, of which he was elected captain, and which, in the following August, was assigned to the 35th Iowa Infantry. On the 10th of August he was promoted to the colonelcy of that regiment.
I can not with interest give a detailed history of the 35th Iowa; for the majority of movements in which it took part have been already given. During the winter of 1862-3, it served at Cairo and Columbus, and at other points on the Mississippi, and in the following Spring joined General Sherman at Milliken's Bend. The march to the rear of Vicksburg, and the investment and capture of the place; Sherman's return march to Jackson; and McPherson's Expedition through Clinton to Brownsville, late in October of the same year, have all been given, and in all these the 35th Iowa joined. On the close of the last named expedition, Colonel Hill marched with his regiment to Vicksburg, whence he proceeded by boat to Memphis. From Memphis his regiment left for La Grange, Tennessee, where it went into Winter-quarters. Its history will be better understood if I state that during all these operations, and up to the time General Sherman made his celebrated raid through Mississippi to Meridian, the regiment was attached to the division of General J. M. Tuttle.
After Sherman's return from Meridian, the 35th Iowa was attached to the command of A. J. Smith, and left under that general for the mouth of Red River. Its subsequent history will be found in the brilliant operations of the 16th Army Corps. The part taken by General A. J. Smith's troops in Bank's disastrous Red River Campaign; their operations against Forest in Tennessee, and Price in Missouri, have been detailed elsewhere. I therefore enter upon an account of the brilliant operations which in December 1864 overwhelmed the army of General Hood in defeat and rout at Nashville.
Before however giving a history of these brilliant movements, I should state that in the retreat from Alexandria, [Louisiana], the 35th Iowa suffered severely. It was in this part of the luckless campaign that the regiment lost its noble major. Major Abraham John, if I mistake not, is the only officer of that rank from Iowa, who has been killed in battle. In the Red River Campaign Captain Henry Blanck, of the 36th Iowa was killed, and Captain William Dill wounded.
In giving General Hood's march on Nashville, I quote from the official report of Major-General George H. Thomas.
"Pending these operations in Tennessee, [the raid of Forest into the State, and his expulsion by the Federal troops] the whole aspect of affairs about Atlanta, had undergone a change. Hood had crossed the Chattahoochie River, and had sent one corps of his army to destroy the railroad between Allatoona and Marietta, which he had effectually accomplished for a distance of over twenty miles, interrupting all communication between the forces in Tennessee, and the main army with General Sherman in Georgia. He then moved round south of Rome, to the west side of the Coosa River, and, taking a north-westerly course, marched toward Summerville and La Fayette, threatening Chattanooga and Bridgeport. * * On the 12th instant, [October] the enemy's cavalry attacked Resaca. * * On the 13th, one corps of Hood's army appeared in front of Dalton, and a summons to surrender, signed by Hood in person, was sent in to Colonel Johnson. * * After remaining at Dalton one day, during which he destroyed about five miles of railroad, the enemy moved off to the westward, through Nick-a-jack Gap, to re-join the remainder of Hood's army near Summerville, to which point he had been followed by Sherman, with the 4th, 14th, 15th and 17th Corps, the 20th having been left behind at Atlanta, to hold the place.
* * On the 21st instant, the enemy was at Gadsden, Alabama, while Sherman's forces were at Gaylesville, both armies remaining inactive and watchful of the other's movements."
At the last named point, Sherman quit pursuit, and suffered Hood to go on and beat his brains out at Nashville, while he turned about, and walked through to the Atlantic Slope.
"On the 16th instant, the enemy's infantry made its appearance in strong force in front of Decatur, Alabama, and during the afternoon attacked the garrison, but not vigorously, and without effect. * * * On the 29th, General Granger reported the enemy in his front, to be withdrawing from Decatur toward Courtland. The same day, General Croxton, commanding a brigade of cavalry picketing the north bank of the river, reported the enemy crossing at the mouth of Cypress Creek, two miles below Florence. * * Hood's plans had now become evident, and from information gained through prisoners, deserters, and from other sources, his intention was to cross into Middle Tennessee."
Hood's march from the Tennessee to Nashville, will be found elsewhere. During the march, he fought the terrible battle of Franklin, where he lost more than six thousand men in killed, wounded and captured, among whom were thirteen general officers. Thomas fell back to Nashville, where, on the 1st of December, he formed line of battle on the hights surrounding the city, and awaited Hood's approach. General A. J. Smith's command, (to which, as I have already said the 35th Iowa was attached) had already arrived from Missouri, and now Thomas' line of battle before Nashville was as follows: Smith held the right, Wood, commanding the 4th Corps, the centre, and Schofleld the left. In this position the Federal army rested, ice-bound, until the morning of the 15th instant; and during those two weeks, the dispirited rebels suffered most intensely from cold and hunger. They had been promised much plunder and little fighting; and there they stood shivering over their lazy, smoking camp-fires, staring destruction in the face. They could see the promised city, with its inviting shelter and comforts, but, like one of old, they could not enter.
By special order No. 342 the battle was to be opened at the earliest day the condition of the weather would admit and that day proved to be the 15th of December. In the morning of that day the weather was moderate, a circumstance which contributed not a little to the Federal successes; for a dense fog arose which only lifted toward noon. Under cover of this fog, Thomas advanced to the attack. Smith, who still held the right, marched out on the right of the Harding pike and struck and doubled back the enemy's left flank. On Smith's right were the cavalry who, dismounted, joined in the general advance; and these were the opening successes.
For the part taken by the 12th and 35th Iowa in the first day's battle (these troops were of the same brigade) I refer to the official report of Lieutenant-Colonel J. H. Stibbs of the former regiment.
"At about ten o'clock, the order to advance being given, our skirmishers pushed rapidly forward, and found a considerable force of the enemy, who were easily driven back. Our main line advanced steadily, and without opposition, constantly changing our point of direction toward the left, until we had advanced two miles, when, coming on to the crest of a hill, we were opened on by one of the enemy's batteries posted directly in front, and distant about a thousand yards. Our men were then ordered to lie down, when our brigade battery was brought forward, and opened on the enemy. We were held in this position for about an hour and a half, the enemy keeping up a constant fire on our line, doing us but little damage.
"The first and second brigades of our division to our right, having advanced their lines, swung round to the left, charged and captured the enemy's redoubts in our front. We were then moved forward, swinging our line to the left, and conforming to the line on our right. After advancing about half a mile, we came upon a strong redoubt of the enemy, situated to the right of the Hillsboro pike, and just five miles from Nashville; our line was pushed well forward, and shortly before four o'clock, P. M., every thing being ready, we were ordered to charge.
"Our men moved rapidly up the hill, but, before gaining the crest, the enemy moved their guns and most of their support to a fort about three hundred yards in the rear, and to the right, from which they gave us a heavy raking fire as we moved on to and over the first work. On gaining the first work, our brigade commander, Colonel S. G. Hill, 35th Iowa Infantry, was shot through the head, and instantly killed."
And thus closed the first day's fighting in this part of the field; for it was now near night and soon the whole line was compelled to halt.
The engagement at Nashville stands among the most brilliant of the war. It is Thomas' celebrated left-wheel battle, where with Schofield's and a part of Wood's command, he guarded Nashville and held the enemy's right, and with Smith and Wilson's Cavalry bore back and shattered his left.
When the first day's fighting had closed, the issue of the battle was decided; and now Hood only thought of how he should conduct his retreat. There was, however, much hard fighting on the 16th instant; but before four o'clock of that day Hood fled in utter despair southward. Thomas followed the disorganized rebel army as far as Clifton, and there went into camp. In the following Spring, the 35th Iowa followed General Smith to Mobile, where it closed the interesting portion of its history.
Colonel Hill was a man of middle size, weighing about one hundred and sixty pounds, and having a bilious-sanguine temperament. He was a brave soldier, and an honest, unpretending man. If he was distinguished for any thing, it was for his courage and caution. He had good judgment, and enjoyed the love of his regiment, and the confidence of his superior officers.
SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 507-12
Southern News
The Norfolk Day Book, of yesterday, speaking of the arrival of the French Minister at Washington, says: At Richmond, speculations in relations to the object of his visit are rife, and says, “It is fraught with grave significance. The most probable solution is, that a French monopoly of tobacco underlies the whole popular determination when we affirm that the Confederate States will not tolerate any diplomacy which places them beyond the pale of public law. Let us be true to our honor, and we shall at least win the acknowledgement of posterity that we deserved to be free.
The Norfolk Day Book, of today, mentions that in the skirmish last night, Col. McKinney, of a North Carolina regiment and 25 men were killed and 75 wounded.
There was a very extensive fire in Norfolk last night, and it has continued to burn all day to-day. Several buildings were destroyed.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 1
From Banks Division
WASHINGTON, April 18.
The following has been received at the war department:
HEADQUARTERS OF THE DEP’T OF THE SHENANDOAH,
April 17th, 9 P. M.
To Hon. E. M. Stanton, Sec’y of War:
Our troops occupy New Market to-night. There has been some artillery skirmishing but no loss on our side. We have many prisoners.
Signed,
N. P. BANKS,
Major Gen. Commanding.
HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,
April 18.
In the engagement on Wednesday between the 3d Vermont and the enemy, 32 of our men were killed and 90 wounded – 10 probably fatal. The regiment behaved with great gallantry, driving a superior number of the enemy from their fortified position, but the rebels being reinforced they were obliged to retire.
Our artillery mowed the rebels down by acres.
Lieut. B. B. Wagner, topographical engineer lost an arm yesterday by a shell striking a table in front of him on which were his papers. His arm was amputated, but he will probably recover.
About 1 o’clock this morning the enemy in force attempted to cross down in front of our lines, with a view of capturing a battery of our reserve force. Our infantry opened fire on them, forcing them to retreat, leaving their dead and wounded on the field, which they succeeded in recovering by daylight. Both parties opened with artillery, which is continued to the present time. Nine of our men were killed.
SPARTA, Rockingham Co., Va.,
April 18.
Gen. Banks’ advance column arrived here this noon, driving the enemy from the hill with artillery and cavalry charges. 6,000 of Jackson’s troops passed through town a short distance beyond, last night.
It was currently reported that Jackson was to be largely reinforced between here and Stanton.
A body of our cavalry came upon two squadrons of Ashby’s cavalry drawn up in line of battle. The latter suddenly broke ranks and his artillery opened upon our advance. Our Cavalry in line of battle waited for artillery, which arrived and scattered the rebels. Last night Ashby encamped near New Market. During the night Gen. Banks occupied the town in force. At 8 this morning, Ashby being threatened by our artillery, set fire to his camp and retreated in great hasted leaving 30 butchered beeves on the ground, doing what he never did before, burning every large and small turnpike bridge south of New Market.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette. Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 1
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Brevet Brigadier-General G. W. Clark
COLONEL, THIRTY-FOURTH INFANTRY.
George Washington Clark, the original colonel of the 34th Iowa Infantry, is a native of Johnson county, Indiana, and was born on the 26th day of December, 1833. He was educated at Wabash College, Indiana, and resided with his father's family at the place of his nativity till the year 1856, which is all that I know of his early history. In the spring of 1856 he removed to Iowa, and became a resident of Indianola, Warren county, where he has since made his home. He is a lawyer by profession. Subsequently to his removal to Iowa, and prior to the spring of 1861, when he entered the service, he practiced his profession in Warren county. He was, I am told, a successful lawyer, and had, at the time of entering the service, a paying practice.
At the outbreak of the war, General Clark was the first man in Warren county to enroll himself a volunteer. In May, 1861, he assisted in raising Company G, of the 3d Iowa Infantry, which was the first company that went out from Warren county. He was commissioned a first lieutenant, and, on the organization of his regiment, was appointed regimental quarter-master, which position he held till the first of September, 1862, when he was commissioned colonel of the 34th Iowa Infantry. For meritorious services, he was, in the spring of 1865, made a brevet brigadier-general.
Up to the time of the capture of Arkansas Post, the history of the 34th Iowa is not very dissimilar from those of the 25th, 26th, 30th and 31st Iowa Infantry regiments. Late in the fall of 1862, these regiments had all, under orders, arrived at Helena, Arkansas, at which point General Grant was concentrating troops preparatory to making a descent on Vicksburg by way of Chickasaw Bayou. The expedition, which started late in December, under command of General Sherman, was a failure; but through no fault of the troops; for, during the three days' struggle in the brush and swamps that border Chickasaw Bayou, soldiers never fought better. The fact is, General Sherman did not succeed, simply because the obstacles to be overcome at that point were insurmountable. Had General Grant maintained his line of communication, and threatened Vicksburg from the east, the result would doubtless have been different; for he would have drawn a large portion of the rebel army out from the Walnut Hills.
Immediately after the unfortunate operations at Chickasaw Bayou, the Arkansas River Expedition was organized, which terminated in the capture of Arkansas Post. This brilliant affair was accomplished on the 11th of January, 1863, and partially atoned for previous disasters. The capture of these formidable works, in which the 34th Iowa took a prominent part, was a great disaster to the enemy in Southern Arkansas, and disconcerted him in his previously arranged plans of harassing the flank and rear of General Grant in his operations against Vicksburg. The following is from Colonel Clark's official report of the part his regiment took in the capture of this strong-hold:
"We had just returned from the bloody battle-field of Chickasaw Bayou, where we had been repulsed with terrible slaughter. Sherman's entire fleet came out of the Yazoo River on the 3d of January, and on the 9th steamed up the Arkansas River, to operate against Arkansas Post, arriving near there the same day. The following day was occupied in reconnoitering and skirmishing. Our (Steele's) Division marched all that night through the woods and swamps, through which it was impossible to take baggage-wagons or ambulances. At day light the next morning we found ourselves within range of the enemy's guns, from which he immediately opened on us. Our batteries were soon put in position, and commenced a vigorous reply. The artillery continued until about 12 o'clock M. At this time I received an order from General Steele to move my regiment rapidly to the front, which was promptly obeyed. I moved the regiment forward in line of battle, to a point within one hundred and fifty yards of the enemy's intrenchments."
This position was held till the place surrendered, and during this part of the action the gallant Captain Dan H. Lyons fell.
During the three weeks that followed the capture of Arkansas Post, the 34th Iowa saw their hardest service. After the capitulation, Colonel Clark was detailed with his regiment to escort the captured prisoners from that point to Camp Douglas; and, on the way, both the prisoners and their escort suffered untold hardships. Only three miserable transports were allowed the colonel, in which to convey his own command and the prisoners (numbering between five and six thousand) from the point of capture to St. Louis. It was mid-Winter, and on the trip the small-pox broke out. The boats were so densely crowded that they could not be policed, and became shockingly filthy; and in this accumulation of filth this loathsome disease was raging, adding each half-hour one to the list of mortality. The scene was most wretched and revolting. In writing to a friend Colonel Clark said: "During those two weeks, I witnessed more human suffering, than I had seen in all my life before."
On returning from Chicago to St. Louis, Colonel Clark was ordered with his regiment, in the early part of April, to Pilot Knob, to anticipate the reported movement of General Marmaduke on that place. For two months after, he commanded the Post and District of Pilot Knob and then joined the command of General Herron, which was en route for Vicksburg. General Herron arrived at Vicksburg on the 11th of June; and was assigned a position on the extreme left of General Grant's army. The 1st Brigade of his Division, to which the 34th Iowa belonged, was stationed near the Mississippi, which position it held till the surrender of the city.
On the morning of the 11th of July, General Herron's Division was embarked on transports, with orders to report to General Banks, at Port Hudson; but news now arriving of the surrender of that place, these troops sailed up the Yazoo River, constituting the force which captured Yazoo City, and subsequently marched out across the Big Black River, to Canton, to make a diversion in favor of General Sherman before Jackson. These operations closed, Colonel Clark sailed with his regiment down the Mississippi River; since which time he has served in the Gulf Department and the trans-Mississippi.
During the latter part of the fall of 1863, and through the following Winter, the history of the 34th Iowa savors somewhat of romance. Stationed at Fort Esperanga on Matagorda Island, which lies at the head of the Gulf of Mexico, and at the mouth of the Guadeloupe River, the men, when off duty, passed their time in wandering on the beach, and gathering curious shells. They even talked of associating Ceres and Flora, as consorts with their patron war-god, Mars. But these scenes closed on the opening of the Spring Campaign under Major-General Banks.
The troops, who joined in the Red River Campaign, have never had full credit for their heroic endurance of the perils and hardships they encountered, which may be attributable to the fact that, the campaign was only fruitful of disaster.
In the battles that were fought near Alexandria, the 34th Iowa took an active part, and sustained itself with credit; but the sufferings of the regiment in these battles and in the early part of the campaign, were not to be compared with those experienced on the memorable nine days' retreat to Simmsport and Morganzia. During these nine days and nights, there were no halts for rest and sleep, or only such as were required for repairing the roads, and constructing pontoons.
On the 28th of May, 1864, the 34th Iowa left Morganzia for Baton Rouge, where it remained till the latter part of July, when it sailed with the command of General Granger against the rebel forts at the mouth of Mobile Bay. The operations of Rear-Admiral Farragut and General Granger against Forts Powell, Gaines and Morgan were brief and brilliant; and the troops who joined in these operations may well feel proud of their achievements. On the 2d of August, 1864, General Granger effected a landing on Dauphin Island, and within twenty-one days from that time, each one of these forts was in the possession of our forces. The 34th Iowa was the first regiment to disembark on the west point of Dauphin Island. It was soon joined by the 96th Ohio, and a colored regiment; when the entire force, under command of Colonel Clark, with skirmishers well advanced and extending from shore to shore, marched forward in the direction of Fort Gaines. The night was dark and stormy, and an east wind beat a drenching rain directly in the faces of the troops. To any but soldiers, the occasion would have been dismal; but these brave fellows, trudging on through the mud and rain, were jocose and merry. Colonel Clark advanced about six miles, and to within two miles of the fort, when he halted and rested his command in line of battle. At day-light he was joined by the 67th Indiana, the 77th Illinois and the 3d Maryland; when, after slight demonstrations, the fort surrendered.
In the reduction of Fort Morgan Colonel Clark with his command also took a conspicuous part; and on its capitulation, on the morning of the 23d of August, led the escort, composed of his own regiment and the 20th Wisconsin, which was marched out to receive the garrison as prisoners of war. Subsequently to February, 1864, he has commanded a brigade. With this command, he distinguished himself at the battle of Middle Bayou, and was highly complimented for his coolness and bravery.
The Fall and Winter following the operations at the mouth of Mobile Bay were passed by the 34th Iowa on the Gulf coast and along the Mississippi. In January, 1865, the regiment was consolidated with the 38th Iowa Infantry, and under the new organization retained its old name and colonel.
For many months, the 34th Iowa was stationed at Barrancas, Florida: from that point, it marched with General Steele against Mobile, and took part in the assault and capture of Fort Blakely.
General Clark is a little above six feet in hight, and has a fine, well-developed form. He is a fine looking man, though, when I saw him, he was a little too fleshy; but at that time he was just from his home, and on the way to re-join his regiment.
General Clark is a man of gentlemanly deportment, and, I am told, has good ability, and much shrewdness. He has a good military record. One who has visited all the Iowa troops in the Gulf Department, speaks thus of him: "Colonel Clark stands high, and, with the officers in general, seeks not only the highest military efficiency, but also a good moral character for his regiment." The general took great pride in the drill and discipline of his old regiment. His regiment were proud of their name, and designated themselves the "star regiment."
In politics, General Clark is a Republican; though, I am told, he was never a political aspirant.
SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 501-6
ROME, N.Y., April 18 [1862].
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 1
MONTREAL, April 19 [1862].
The Richella river broke up yesterday suddenly, inflicting great damage on the steamers and vessels at winter quarters. – Loss estimated at $200,000.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 1
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Ft. Pulaski Surrendered
BALTIMORE, April 15.
The Savannah Republican of the 12th announces the unconditional surrender of Ft. Pulaski on the previous day. Seven large breeches were made in the walls by our batteries of Parrott guns at Kings Landing, and all the barbette guns on that side and three casemate guns were dismounted. Three balls entered the magazine. Col. Olmsted, the rebel commander, signaled the day previous to the surrender, that our fire was so terrible that no human being could stand upon the parapet for even a minute.
– Published in The Gate City, Keokuk, Iowa, Wednesday, April, 16, 1862
Colonel Cyrus H. Mackey
SECOND COLONEL, THIRTY-THIRD INFANTRY.
Cyrus H. Mackey is twenty-eight years of age, and a native of Illinois. He is a lawyer by profession, and, at the time of entering the service, was a resident of Sigourney, Keokuk county, Iowa. He was made lieutenant-colonel of the 33d Iowa Infantry the 10th of August, 1862, and served with that rank till the 18th of August, 1863, when he was commissioned colonel of his regiment. He was not however mustered to that rank till the 22d of April, 1864. The 33d Iowa has been under his command a chief portion of the time since entering the field; for Colonel, afterward General Rice was in command of the brigade to which the regiment was attached.
To give in detail the operations in which the 33d Iowa has taken part can not be done with interest; for they are recorded elsewhere in these pages. From the time of entering the field to the present, the 29th and 33d Iowa regiments have served together, and the history of one regiment is nearly the same as that of the other. It accompanied the White River and Yazoo Pass Expeditions, and marched with General Steele on the Little Rock and Camden Campaign. The regiment most distinguished itself at the battles of Helena and Saline River, or Jenkins' Ferry, the former fought on the 4th of July, 1863, and the latter on the morning of the 30th of April, 1864.
The following is from Lieutenant-Colonel Mackey's official report concerning the battle at Helena:
"The men, after having been constantly engaged for six hours, were very much exhausted. From eighty to one hundred rounds of ammunition had been expended to the man. The loss of my own regiment was: killed on the field, seventeen; wounded, fifty-two; taken prisoners, seventeen. Three men were taken at Battery C. Eight of the wounded have since died from their wounds. I went into the engagement with five hundred men. The officers and men of the entire command behaved themselves splendidly. The force we had to contend with was at least five to one, and I feel perfectly safe in saying that the regiment took as many prisoners as we had men in action. They all did so well that it is a difficult matter for me to attempt to particularize who did best.
"I take particular pleasure in mentioning the names of Major H. D. Gibson, Captain John P. Yerger, Captain John Lofland, Lieutenant Cheney Prouty, and Captain L. W. Whipple. The manner in which these officers conducted themselves is deserving of the highest praise.
"I would also call your attention to the good conduct of 2d Lieutenant Sharman, of Company G, who had command of the picket-guard. He succeeded in holding the enemy in check until we were fully prepared to receive them, brought his guard all off except a number that were killed and wounded in good order, and joined the regiment. He was wounded in the head very severely, but I think not dangerously."
For the part taken by the 33d Iowa on the Camden march and in the different skirmishes and actions in which it was engaged, I refer to the reports of its commanding officers. From the time Steele left Little Rock till after his arrival at Camden, the regiment was commanded by Major H. D. Gibson, and the following is from his official report:
"Prior to the arrival of our forces at Prairie de Anne, the part taken in any engagement by my regiment was entirely unimportant. On arriving at Prairie de Anne, I was ordered to form line of battle and move to the left of the 50th Indiana, which was done. I was then ordered to form column by division, and in that order I moved forward on to the prairie. While crossing a slough in the timber joining the prairie, a shell from the enemy's gun exploded near the regiment, killing one man and breaking several guns. On reaching the open ground, I again deployed, sending forward two companies as skirmishers, with instructions to move steadily forward, which they did, driving the enemy before them, the regiment moving to their support. In this order I moved forward till the regiment rested where the enemy's artillery first opened fire. It then being dark, the skirmishers were ordered to rest in place, and the regiment retired two hundred yards to unexposed grounds and bivouacked. At 11 o'clock P. M. the enemy dashed upon the skirmish line, but was repulsed without injury to us. The transactions of the following day are unimportant. On the morning of the 13th of April, we moved, in connection with the entire forces, through and to the west of Prairie de Anne, our skirmishers steadily driving the enemy before them. On approaching their works on the Camden and Washington road, the enemy hastily withdrew. From that time till the morning of the 15th, nothing worthy of note transpired.
"On the 15th day of April, my regiment led the advance of the infantry. Two companies were deployed as skirmishers on either side of the road, and, having moved forward two miles, were fired upon by the enemy. The skirmishers moved forward, driving them, assisted by a howitzer, until they came within range of the enemy's artillery, which was opened upon us, wounding four men. My regiment supported the 2d Missouri Battery on the right. Having taken this position, I sent forward three sharp-shooters from each company to assist the skirmishers, and annoy the enemy's gunners. After an engagement of two hours the enemy withdrew from his position, after which the march was resumed. At about two miles distant, we were again fired on; and while awaiting orders a shell from the enemy's guns burst near my regiment, dangerously wounding one man. A sharp skirmish was kept up for two and a half miles, when the enemy withdrew from our front. Our entire loss in killed and wounded, when we reached Camden, amounted to one killed, and four wounded."
Colonel Mackey reached Camden on the 19th of April, and assumed command of his regiment. The following is from his official report concerning the part taken by his regiment in the return to Little Rock.
"Nothing of particular interest took place from the time of the evacuation of Camden until my arrival at Saline River. On the evening of the 29th, at 6 ½ o'clock P. M., I was ordered to the rear on the Camden road to support Colonel Ingleman's Brigade, an attack being anticipated during the night. I stood at arms during the entire night, the enemy making no particular demonstration, although in speaking-distance. Night very dark and raining most of the time.
"About 4 o'clock A. M. on the 30th, I received orders that, as soon as the 43d Illinois Infantry on my left was withdrawn, I should retire about three-fourths of a mile toward the river, and take position covering the passage of the troops while crossing. This movement I executed without being discovered by the enemy. This position I occupied half an hour when the enemy made his appearance. The skirmishers immediately engaged them, holding them in check for half an hour. When I was relieved by the 27th Wisconsin Infantry, I marched my command to a new position, one mile in the direction of the crossing. In twenty minutes the engagement became general, and I was ordered to the support of the 50th Indiana Infantry on the left. From this time until the close of the battle, the regiment was almost continually engaged.
"As to the conduct of both officers and men of my command, I cannot speak in terms too high. To attempt distinction would be injustice to my command, as all did their duty nobly. A short time before the close of the action I received a wound in my right arm, which compelled me to quit the field, the command of the regiment devolving upon Captain Boydston, Company A, who, at the close of the engagement, marched the regiment off in good order."
In the desperate engagement at Jenkins' Ferry, the loss of the 33d was severe. Eight enlisted men were killed, and six officers and ninety-seven enlisted men wounded. There were also twelve missing; making the total loss of the regiment one hundred and twenty-three. The commissioned officers wounded were Colonel Mackey, Captains Comstock and Totten, and Lieutenants Conner, De Garmo and Kindig. Captain P. T. Totten and Lieutenant T. R. Conner were both mortally wounded. The former was shot through the thigh, and the latter through the neck. The subsequent history of the 33d is nearly the same as that of the 29th Iowa.
SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 497-500
Latest from Pittsburgh
St. Louis, April 15.
Several Gentlemen connected with the army at Pittsburg arrived here yesterday. Among them is Capt. Lagow, of Grant’s staff, who is bearer of Grant’s official report of the battle at Pittsburgh. They left the army on Friday night. – Gen. Halleck arrived at Pittsburgh on Friday, and immediately assumed command of the army.
Grant in his official report estimates our loss at 1500 killed and 3500 wounded. The loss of the enemy in killed and left on the field is greater than ours; in wounded an estimate cannot be made as many must have been sent to Corinth and other places. The loss of artillery was great and many pieces being disabled by the enemy’s shot some losing all their horses and many men. Not less than 200 horses were killed. The rebel army has its outposts at the foot of Pea Ridge, extending 8 miles from Corinth. The advance of Federal troops are 8 miles from Pittsburg leaving a space only two miles between the opposing armies. A battle may be brought on at any moment. We have the strongest assurance that our army is ready for the encounter.
– Published in The Gate City, Keokuk, Iowa, Wednesday, April 16, 1862
From Washington
WASHINGTON, April 18.
Tribune’s Special.
It is said on the authority of intercepted letters from Richmond, that several editors of rebel newspapers have been hung for publishing intelligence which was contraband of war.
A general order from the Adj. General’s office directs paymasters to recognize agents which may be appointed by States under certain circumstances to receive soldier’s pay.
A rumor, which the War Department has not had an opportunity to disprove or rectify, asserts that Gen. Blenker has been seriously injured by a fall from his horse. It is not true that his command has been assigned to Gen. Rosencrans [sic].
The condition of the Treasury now enables the Secretary to direct the payment in cash of all claims, of dates prior to Nov. 1st 1861, including claims settled by the St. Louis commission, and it is expected that those of November will also be paid in full within a few days. All other claims, without regard to date, will be paid on presentation, if desired as heretofore, 80 percent in cash.
The prospect of the passage of the Pacific RR. Bill during the present session is not promising.
The Herald’s Fort Monroe correspondent under the date of the 17th state: From our army before Yorktown, I hear the most cheering news. By information just received from soldiers, I learn that last evening a Colonel and Lieut. Colonel from the rebel army came over to our lines, and surrendered themselves as prisoners of war. These two officers also report that an entire Irish brigade mutinied, and by order of Jeff. Davis, were deprived of their arms and sent to the rear.
The act authorizing the Postmaster General to establish branch postoffices in the cities prescribes the charge of one cent in addition to the regular postage, for ever letter deposited in any branch postoffice to be forwarded by mail from the principal office, and which shall be prepaid by stamp; and once cent for every letter delivered as such branch office, to be paid on delivery.
The naval appropriation bill contains an item of nearly $800,000 to pay for and finish Steven’s battery, the money Not to be expended unless the Secretary of the Navy is of the opinion that the same will secure an efficient steam battery. The section appropriated $13,000,000 merely says to enable the secretary to contract for iron-clad steam vessels of war.
The select committee of the Senate through Mr. Hale, made their report under the resolution adopted in July last, instructing them to inquire into the circumstances attending the surrender of the navy yard at Pensacola, and the destruction of the property of the United States at the Norfolk navy yard and the armory at Harper’s Ferry, and the abandonment of the same by the Federal forces; and also whether there was default on the part of our officers. The committee relate at length the facts of the case. The amount of property at the Norfolk navy hard was valued at $9,760,000. The vessels were worth nearly $2,000,000. There were in the yard at least 2,000 heavy guns, of which 300 were of the Dahlgren pattern. The committee making this report was composed of senators Hale, Johnson, of Tenn., and Grimes.
WASHINGTON, April 19.
Col. Morrow, late of the 2d Ohio regiment, now attached to Gen. Hunter’s staff, has arrived, bringing dispatches to the War Department, but which up to 10 o’clock had not been delivered. He states that among the prisoners taken is Capt. Simms, editor of the Savannah Republican. The sword belonging to the latter he has presented to Representative Gurney, of Ohio.
Ex-Mayor Britt has declined the appointment tendered him by the President as one of the commissioners under the bill for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia.
The post-office appropriation bill provides $1,000,000 for the service of the California Central route, and repeals the acts requiring the Postmaster General in causing the transportation of the mails by steamship between our own and foreign ports, and between any of our own ports touching at foreign ports, to give preference to American over foreign steamships when departing from the same port for the same port within three days of each other. The Postmaster General is authorized to establish a coast mail, not less than semi-monthly, between San Francisco and Crescent City, Cal., including service at intermediate points; provided the sum to be paid for such service does not exceed $20,000 per annum. The President has approved and signed the above named bills.
The act reorganizing and increasing the efficiency of the medical department of the army, adds to the present corps ten surgeons and ten assistant surgeons, twenty military cadets and as many hospital stewards as the Surgeon General may consider necessary. The Surgeon General to be appointed under this act is to have the rank and pay and emoluments of a Brigadier General. There is to be one Assistant Surgeon General, one Inspector General, and ten of hospitals. The latter is to have the supervision of all that relates to the sanitary condition of the army. There are to be beside eight medical inspectors, charged with the duty of inspecting the sanitary condition of the transports, quarters and camps of the field hospitals. The appointments are to be made by the President, either from the regular or volunteer surgeons, with sole regard to qualifications.
WASHINGTON, April 19.
The following was received at the Navy Department to-day:
FLAG SHIP WABASH, PORT ROYAL HARBOR, S. C.,
April 13, 1862.
SIR: The dispatches from the commanding General of this department to the Hon. Secretary of War will convey the gratifying intelligence of the fall of Ft. Pulaski. It was a purely military operation – the result of laborious and scientific preparations and of consummate skill and bravery in execution. It would not have pertained to me to address you in reference to this brilliant and successful achievement, had not Maj. Gen. Hunter, with a generous spirit long to be remembered, permitted the navy to be represented on this interesting occasion, by allowing a detachment of seamen and officers from this ship to serve one of the breaching batteries. I have thanked General personally, and desire to express my acknowledgments to Brig. Gen. Benham, and acting Brig. Gen. Gilmore, for acts of consideration shown to my officers and men. Respectfully,
S. F. DUPONT,
Flagg Officer Commanding.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 1
Monday, January 4, 2010
Brigadier-General Samuel Allen Rice
FIRST COLONEL, THIRTY-THIRD INFANTRY.Samuel A. Rice, who received his death-wound at the battle of Jenkin's Ferry, is the most distinguished officer our gallant State has lost in the War of the Rebellion. Sprung from the great middle class, without name or wealth, he had, at the age of thirty-five, attained such distinction as to make his death a national calamity.
General Rice was a native of New York, and was born in Cattaraugus county of that State, the 27th of January, 1828. His boyhood was passed in Belmont county, Ohio, where his parents removed when he was young. There he gained a common school education. The father died soon after removing to Ohio, leaving his family in limited circumstances, and his son, Samuel, as their chief support. He, accordingly, engaged in the boating business on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, that promising the amplest remuneration. As a flat-boatman, he made one or more trips to New Orleans.
General Rice was liberally educated; but the expenses of his education he had to defray himself. He pursued his preparatory course at the Athens Academy, Ohio, and in 1844 or 1845, entered Union College, New York. After graduating there, he entered the law department of that University, where he studied for one year, and then left for the wild West — for so Iowa was regarded, at that day, in the Eastern and Middle States.
The history of General Rice is widely known in our commonwealth; for he was one of our most prominent public men. He first settled in Fairfield, Jefferson county, where he practiced his profession, and occasionally assisted in the editorial department of the whig newspaper of that place. But in the fall of 1851, he removed to Oskaloosa, at which place his family still reside. His first public office was that of prosecuting attorney of his county. Naturally excelling as a criminal lawyer, he attracted general attention by the able manner in which he discharged the duties of his office; and it was this which secured him the nomination in 1856, to the office of attorney-general of the State. In 1856, and again in 1858, he was elected to the last named office; and at the close of his last term, he had established a reputation that placed his name among the foremost lawyers of the State, and, I might add, among the foremost of our public men. I do not speak of him in extravagant terms. The attention and deference that were paid to his arguments before the Supreme Court, would have flattered an attorney of the greatest experience, and the most extensive practice; and the influence which he wielded, as a leading member of the Republican Party, was recognized by all of our most prominent men.
General Rice entered the United States service in the summer of 1862. He would have entered the army sooner; but he could not leave his large business without pecuniary sacrifice; and, besides, he did not believe at first that the war would be of long duration. He was commissioned colonel of the 33d Iowa Infantry, on the 10th day of August, 1862; and late in November left with his regiment for St. Louis. Early in February, 1863, he arrived with his command at Helena, Arkansas, the point where was organized the Yazoo Pass Expedition; and the first important services of the 33d Iowa were in clearing this Pass of obstructions, and opening it for the passage of our transports. For nearly three weeks prior to the starting of the expedition, the regiment was engaged in this fatiguing and dangerous work. The history of this expedition is given elsewhere.
In the long list of battles that were fought in the South West from the 27th of December, 1862, to the 4th of July following, that of Helena, Arkansas, ranks high in point of importance, not simply because Helena with all its government property was saved from capture; but because the spirit of our troops caused the rebels, on the west side of the Mississippi, to despair of ever re-possessing their lost country. Colonel Rice had met the enemy before in skirmishes, but the engagement at Helena was his first battle. Here his brigade saved the place from capture, and his gallantry and soldierly skill made him a brigadier-general. The names of his troops deserve special mention: the 33d Iowa and 33d Missouri, who most distinguished themselves and suffered most severely, engaged the enemy at batteries C and D, near the Little Rock Road: the 29th and 36th Iowa regiments would have done as well and suffered as severely, but they were stationed on the hills to the right, near batteries A and B, and were not so severely engaged. The main attack of the enemy was made on the Little Rock road, where they staked every thing on forcing an entrance. They captured battery C, and so far succeeded; but the raking fire they received from the other batteries, and from the infantry and Fort Curtis, soon forced them to abandon their dearly-won prize. Our pickets were driven in at half past three in the morning, and the fight lasted till nearly 11 A. M., when the enemy retired precipitately. I have said his command saved Helena from capture; and I may add that his casualties amounted to more than half the entire Union loss. It should be stated that two regiments of his command — the 33d Iowa and 33d Missouri — were, during the engagement, under the more immediate command of General Solomon.
In August, 1863, Colonel Rice was appointed a brigadier-general. He had saved General Prentiss and his command from defeat as a colonel; as a brigadier-general, he saved General Steele's army and train from capture at Jenkin's Ferry, on the Saline River; and, had he survived the injury he received in that engagement, he would, doubtless, have been made a major-general.
In General Steele's march against Little Rock, which left Helena on the 10th of August, 1863, General Rice commanded a division, and it was on this march that he received his appointment as brigadier-general. No great battles were fought on this expedition, and no opportunities [sic] offered for special distinction. With others he is entitled to equal credit for the success of our arms.
General Rice's coolness and bravery, and his ability as an officer were best illustrated in General Steele's Campaign into South Western Arkansas, which resulted disastrously to our arms, and gave new hope to the rebels. Here he held only a brigade command. Had he commanded the expedition, some have thought the result would have been different; but this is unjust to General Steele. The loss of a brigade and wagon-train at Mark's Mills might have been avoided; but, considering the difficulties under which General Steele labored, no one could have hoped for entire success. That the chief credit which attaches to this movement or rather to the battle at Jenkins' Ferry, belonged to General Rice, no one will dispute.
The expedition in question left Little Rock on the 23d of March, 1864. Between that point and Camden, the enemy were met at Terra Noir Creek, Elkin's Ford, Prairie de Anne, and six miles north-west of Camden. The sharpest of these engagements was that at Elkin's Ford, on the Little Missouri River. Colonel Rice, though not in command of the forces engaged, received a scalp-wound, while riding to the front. But the great battle of the campaign was fought at Jenkins' Ferry, on the morning of the 30th of April, 1864.
On the evening of the 29th of April, the expedition had reached the Saline River, on its return to Little Rock. That same evening, General Steele's rear-guard had been attacked by the enemy, under Price and Kirby Smith; and it was probable that on the following morning he would have to give them battle; for a pontoon-bridge must be constructed on which to "cross, and the difficulties to be overcome were well-nigh insurmountable: these, however, have been spoken of elsewhere.
That night was stormy and dismal, and will be long remembered by Steele's old command. The floods of falling rain had swollen the Saline to the top of its banks, and covered the low bottom-lands bordering the river with water. But few slept that night: in front was a swollen river; in the rear a confident enemy, and under foot mud and water half-leg deep. Some collected piles of brush to rest on, and others passed the night on stumps and old logs. Day-light was longed for; and yet it promised little, for all believed it would be ushered in by an attack of the enemy. Some were cheerful, and cracked their jokes; but the great majority pulled their ponchos or blankets tightly about them, and remained quiet: they were thinking of their homes and friends, and of the comforts they had exchanged for these hardships.
But morning came at last, and with it the opening battle. Already General Rice's command was in line to engage the enemy, should he advance, and to defend the crossing: they were engaged promptly. The troops of his command, who met the first shock of battle, were the 29th Iowa on the right, the 50th Indiana in the centre, and the 33d Iowa on the left. Of the position of the other two infantry regiments of his command (the 9th and the 28th Wisconsin) at the opening of the fight, I am unadvised. His battery (Captain Voglies') had been sent over the river. The enemy — four to one in the first onset — advanced fairly and squarely, confident of easy victory; but they were repulsed. And not only in this, but in each renewed assault were they repulsed; till finally, near noon, they withdrew and left our forces in possession of the field. At about two o'clock, the last of our infantry forces crossed the river; and after destroying the pontoon-bridge, resumed, unmolested, their march to Little Rock. We lost in this engagement about eight hundred men. The enemy lost, according to his own estimate, nine hundred and fifty; but it is known that his loss was greater.
That was a most gloomy hour for the Federal cause in Arkansas, and the enemy were every where jubilant over the "prospects of peace and independence." They boasted that Steele's army was defeated and disheartened, and that, if it escaped at all, it would do so as a disorganized rabble. They never seemed to doubt that Steele would be compelled to abandon Little Rock, and that the entire State of Arkansas would pass again under Confederate rule. They moved north and blockaded the Arkansas River, and threatened seriously the Little Rock Railroad. The Government became alarmed, and sent nearly two divisions from New Orleans to Steele's assistance. Indeed, for many months the post of Little Rock was little better than in a state of siege; and it was only after Price's reverses in Missouri that the hopes of the Federal cause in Arkansas again rose in the ascendant. But to return.
In the enemy's last charge, and as General Rice was riding down his left wing, he received the wound which resulted in his death. He was shot by a musket-ball "through the right foot, the ball passing under the instep, just in front of the ankle, and driving the buckle of the spur before it."
He left Little Rock for his home in Iowa, on the 18th day of May. For a considerable time after reaching his home, it was supposed he was convalescing; but, (I quote from the Oskaloosa "Herald") " the virus of his wound had permeated his whole system, poisoning the vital fluids, and putting his case beyond the reach of human aid." He died on the 6th day of August, 1864.
The night before the general's death, Judge Loughridge, of Oskaloosa, his warm and tried friend, watched by his bed-side to assist in answering his wants, and to offer consolation to the grief-stricken family. His pain seemed to be intense, making the night drag heavily, and, as he turned restlessly in his bed, the judge inquired: "General, how do you feel now? Are you willing to die?" Looking up, and his eyes brightening, he replied: "I am ready. 'Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He is with me. His rod and His staff, they comfort me.'"
Four years before, he had said, while pronouncing an eulogy upon our lamented Judge Stockton:
"We can but feel and realize that, like the deceased, we too must undergo that great change, allotted to all living. When that change shall come; when the shadows of the last night shall gather around us, may we meet it like one that draws the drapery of his couch about him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."
His prayer was realized. He died in the full possession of his mental faculties, and with the hopes of a Christian.
My admiration of the character of this noble man, I am unable to express. Few as able and deserving as he have been sacrificed to the Moloch of Slavery. One who served long with him in the army writes thus of him:
"But above all, and overall stands the name of one, whom Iowa will be proud to own — General Samuel A. Rice. I have never yet seen his equal, either on the field, or in the camp. * * All admit that his brigade saved the army from defeat and consequent destruction, at the battle of Jenkins' Ferry."
Testimonials of his worth meet me on every hand, to which, I regret, I am unable to give place. His old division has contributed funds for the erection of a monument to his memory; but his "good name will live, when monuments of brass and stone shall have crumbled to dust."
The proceedings of the Supreme Court at Des Moines, on learning of his death, I must briefly allude to. Hon. C. C. Nourse, the general's successor, as Attorney-General of Iowa, Hon. Thomas F. Withrow, and Hon. Chief Justice Wright offered touching eulogies to his memory. In the course of his remarks, our honored Chief Justice said:
"I parted with him in May, as he was nearing his home, with his family and friends around him: he was reclining on what proved to be his death-bed. I shall ever remember his face, and the sparkling expression of his flashing eyes, as, taking me by the hand, he said: 'I shall not die: I know that I shall live — I shall live to return to the field, and assist in crushing this most accursed rebellion.' These hopes — these high resolves were doomed to disappointment."
After the addresses were closed, the following preamble and resolutions were entered of record:
"WHEREAS, General Samuel A. Rice, formerly a member of the bar of this Court, and for four years Attorney-General of the State, died at his home in Oskaloosa on the 6th day of July, 1864, from a wound received in battle at Saline River on the 30th day of April, 1864, and whereas, the high standing of the deceased as a member of the profession, as well as his exalted patriotism and many personal virtues, demand a special notice of his memory upon our part; Therefore, be it
"Resolved, By the members of the bar now in attendance upon the Supreme Court:
1. "That we deeply deplore this dispensation of Divine Providence, in thus removing from our midst one who adorned his profession, and endeared himself to us by his uniform courtesy and upright conduct.
2. "That by his death a brave and true soldier and officer has fallen in defense of his Government, a kind father and true husband has been lost to his family, a valued citizen has been lost to the State, and an honored and able advocate has been lost to the profession.
3. "That we will cherish in affectionate remembrance his many virtues, and request the members of the bar to wear the usual badge of mourning during the term.
4. "That we tender to the bereaved family our sincere testimony of the worth of the deceased, and assure them of our sympathy and condolence in their affliction.
5. "That the court be requested to have these proceedings and resolutions spread upon the records of the court, and to furnish a certified copy of the same to the family of the deceased.
" Committee. — Jefferson F. Polk, H. S. Winslow, William H. Seevers, C. C. Nourse."
I first met General Rice in the spring of 1857, at the Oskaloosa bar. Then, he had just been elected Attorney-General of the State; and I scanned him closely. He was, at the time, arguing a case with Judge Seevers; and Governor Stone was sitting upon the bench. He was dressed poorly; was unshaven, and looked to me to be below the medium in size. I thought we never elected such men to like positions in New England. Three years later, I saw him again; when he looked more like himself — an able and polished gentleman. The portrait here published is not a perfect likeness, though the mild, intelligent expression of the eye is correct.
General Rice was not a man of brilliant parts. He had a large brain and a sound judgment; and hard study did the rest. He was an able reasoner. His cast of mind was more practical than theoretical; for instance: on one occasion, two applicants for admission to the bar presented themselves in the Oskaloosa Court. It was Governor Stone's first term upon the bench. Judges Loughridge and Seevers and General Rice, having been appointed by the court the examining committee, the latter approached the young men, and, taking one of them by the hand, said: "Gentlemen, you look as though you could practice law; if you can not, you will get no business, and if you can, all right. I will vouch for you."
The general was kind-hearted and unassuming. I never saw him without a smile upon his face, and no one could be embarrassed in his presence. Few promised him the success he met in the service. He was as successful with the sword, as he had been in his civil profession. He was a noble exemplar of our Free State Chivalry.
SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 487-96