From the 2d Iowa Cavalry

ABOARD STEAMER CITY OF ALTON,
Mississippi River, April 13th.

EDITOR GAZETTE:– Yesterday at noon the 2d cavalry received orders to be ready to march to the river to take transports for Memphis. The Infantry and artillery had been striking tents, moving post and going aboard all day during a drenching rain. The 1st battalion moved to the river at 7 o’clock, but owing to the rush it was 2 o’clock this morning before all were aboard. This is a large, fine boat. Had Jeff. Thompson captured her last February, he would have had quite a prize. Besides the 1st Battalion, with 300 horses, the 10th Iowa and the 26 Missouri regiments, infantry, are aboard. – We are very much crowded.

At 7 o’clock we cast loose, and with banners streaming and the band playing, we headed for “Dixie.” The Emilie and Choteau are close in our wake; the day is clear, bright and beautiful. We soon passed Tiptonville, the appearance of which was familiar to some of us. Old “Mississipp” is on a “big high,” and like some individuals when in a similar condition, has a general spreading tendency, and without any regard to natural limits or moral propriety, exhibits a great overflowing tendency, and encroaches largely on surrounding territory.

As we pass swiftly along, feeling perfectly secure, the gun boats and a fleet ahead, about 4 P. M. we see our steamers rounded to and lining for a mile the Tennessee shore. As there is no “sight” for sandbars, it must be something ashore that gives us a hint to lay to. Twenty-seven large steamers line the shore, all boats of the largest class – J. D. Perry, Memphis, G. W. Graham, Hannibal City, Emma, &c. Seven gun and several mortar boats and two of the frisky little tugs are also in sight. The boats are crowded to their utmost. It is truly a magnificent fleet, with a respectable army afloat – a scene never before witnessed on the Father of Waters. The tug and gun boats are reconnoitering, and we will know more to-morrow.

MONDAY EVE, 14TH. – All was quiet during the night. As the shore was overflowed where the boats landed, they cast off this afternoon and crossed over and down two miles, landing at a large plantation on the Arkansas side. The owner ran off, leaving only an old negro man and woman, but some 300 head of stock. Though it would, under such circumstances, not be secure in time of peace, it will be protected and remain safe from harm. Strange it is that Secesh are so ignorant and slow to learn.

We are fifty miles above Memphis, and less than five miles below Fort Wright. From where we lay the river runs east then west. The fort is in Tennessee. Our mortar boats have taken position two miles below us on this shore. About noon they opened fire, throwing their shell over the point of land (about a mile) and across the river into their works. The point is heavily timbered, and we can see nothing of the river below nor the fort from this shore. Our gunboat a the end of the bend can see the effect or range of the shot. The mortars lay into shore and as the ponderous shells mount the air we can see the treetops that interpose shattered into fragments, and scattered to the winds. The rebels responded but once, – faintly – as they can do nothing at the range.

A reconnoitering party this afternoon brought in a secesh officer captured in the woods. He was the best dressed officer I have yet seen, and looked like a gentleman. He had an extensive pink musquito bar around his hat and covering his shoulders, giving him a gay appearance. Weather is very warm, and musquitoes, as I write, are buzzing about in a manner not agreeable. All is quiet, and I await the morrow. I received here to-night the GAZETTE of the 12th. Tuesday morning – I have the opportunity and mail.

DIFF.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 2

How the Negroes of the District of Columbia Receive their Promised Emancipation

(Washington Cor. N. Y. Tribune.)

In anticipation of the liberty-day that seems so near to them, the slaves all over the city, and the free negroes, who are connected with them by the ties of kindred and sympathy, are dressed in their best to-day (many of them in their seedy best, to be sure,) and are assembled to celebrate this Sabbath as a day of praise and thanksgiving. I have talked with several “candidates” this evening, from whom I gather that this “Thanksgiving Day” has been kept joyously in nearly all their seventeen churches. There seems to have been preconcert among them, and the afternoon was devoted to love feasts.

I attended the Bethel Church, near the Capitol, this morning. The black clergyman preached a very good sermon from the text, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” to an audience of 200 or 300 of his own people.

He spoke of the deliverance of Moses and the children of Israel from bondage; and by a natural transition, referred to the condition of the slaves in America, and especially in this District. He thanked the Lord most fervently that he had been permitted to live to see this day. Forty-three years ago he was tarred and feathered in Washington because he would preach the Lord Jesus as he understood it; “but now,” shouted the sable preacher, “let Ethiopia lift up her hands to God, for a great good is coming out of this war! – A good for me, for us, and for our people, whom every nation has set its heel upon!” His audience was boisterously joyous from the beginning to the end of the discourse. Of course, the expressions and demonstrations were extravagant – true to the quick fancy and fervent hearts of the race. Some rubbed their hands in glee, some laughed outright, some leaped in the air or twisted themselves into grotesque attitudes, as if their joy was too intense to be entertained at a staid perpendicular; many shouted “Glory to God!” “Hallelujah!” “Amen!” “The blessed day has come!” &c.; while nearly all were in tears. When the speaker thanked the Lord that the slaves were to be free, the jubilee became utterly indescribable. What a Babel of triumphant voices! An old “aunt,” off in the right hand upper corner, shouted and wept persistently. Probably she had a reason for it, I thought – perhaps two or three of them, helpless, and in the hands of the kidnappers. “Glory to God!” said the preacher, solemnly and slowly. “Glory to Lovejoy!” yelled a voice at the right that belonged to a strongly built mulatto. “No,” commanded the speaker instantly, “I tell you glory to God!” for he seemed determined from the first word that God should have the undivided praise refusing to give a moiety to the President or Congress. A pair of hands clenched spasmodically the top of the seat in which I was sitting. I looked back and the man was hopping up and down, as if he had just caught a glimpse of Heaven, and presently interrupted the speaker by trying to sing, “I am bound for the land of Canaan.” His face bore a deep scar across the nose, and tears were streaming from the long furrows of his cheeks. He had seen thirty years perhaps, and light gray rage that he gathered about him told me that he had “come out of the house of bondage.” Most of the hearers were partly white; many were mulattoes, quadroons, octoroons – and one or two women, I imagined would attract attention, for their good looks, on Broadway. But what a day of sunshine it was to the stricken souls! They seemed to think little of the kidnapper; they were full of hope, and looked ahead. Such a chorus of exultation I never heard before; such joyful gestures I never beheld – it was a spectacle for men and angels.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 2

From Jamaica --- Destructive Fire in Kingston --- Loss $2,500,000

By the arrival of the Plantagenet at New York yesterday, we learn of a destructive fire in Kingston, Jamaica, which broke out on the 4th inst. The Fire caught so suddenly, and communicated from street to street with such rapidity, as to cause the belief that it was the work of an incendiary. The flames raged during the whole of Sunday, 6th inst., and until a late hour in the night. Thirty-seven of the largest mercantile houses in the city have been destroyed, and such was the intensity of the fire that the wharves have been burnt to the water’s edge. The loss of property is estimated at £500,000, a very small portion of which was covered by insurance. The disaster has deprived the island of provisions of all kinds, and it is feared that the inhabitants may suffer from want. – Phila. Press, 17th.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 2

Colonel Asbury B. Porter

FIRST COLONEL, FOURTH CAVALRY.

Asbury B. Porter was born in the State of Kentucky, in the year 1808. At the time of entering the service, he was a resident of Mt. Pleasant, Henry county, Iowa, where, for several years, he had followed the business of a merchant and trader. He first entered the service in May, 1861, as major of the 1st Iowa Infantry; and in that regiment he made a good record. His conduct at the battle of Wilson's Creek was mentioned by Lieutenant-Colonel Merritt in terms of much praise. Why he was so unfortunate as colonel of the 4th Iowa Cavalry, I am unable to say. He was the first Iowa colonel dismissed the service of the United States, by order of the President. Before receiving his dismissal, however, he had resigned his commission, and returned to his home in Mt. Pleasant. He left the service in the spring of 1863.

The 4th Iowa Cavalry, at the time of entering the service, was made up of a fine body of men. The Mt. Pleasant schools were largely represented in the regiment; and, in addition to this, there was a larger per cent. of men with families and homes than in any other Iowa regiment previously organized. Its outfit, too, was superior, especially as regarded its horses. Colonel Porter served as his own inspector, and, being one of the best judges in the State of a good horse, he mounted his men in magnificent style. The regiment promised much, and yet it accomplished little worthy of special note, under its original colonel.

The 4th Iowa Cavalry served first in Central and Southern Missouri, and then in Arkansas; and the character of its labors were the same as were those of the 1st Iowa Cavalry, while that regiment was stationed in Missouri. They can not be detailed with interest.

Colonel Porter is a short, stocky man, with a broad, oval face, beaming with much good nature. I speak of him as he looked to me in the stage-coach, in the summer of 1863, on our return from the gubernatorial convention. I did not know who he was till after we had parted, and consequently formed my judgment of his character without prejudice. He is familiar and pleasing in his manners, and makes friends readily. I judged him to be intelligent, and of an extremely social disposition, and thought he would be happy and at home with his friends at a beer-table.

SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 607-8

Senator Grimes’ Speech

The Pittsburg Gazette says that Senator Grimes’ excellent speech on Monday, against slave catching, directly or indirectly, by army officers and in favor of garrisoning the southern forts with blacks in order to save Northern lives during the sickly season, was listened to with marked attention. Its general views are understood to meet with the approval of most, if not all the Republican Senators.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 2

An Incident at Yorktown

An Incident at Yorktown

Our contemporary of the Peoria Transcript says the appearance of our forces at Yorktown recalls some of the more striking incidents in connection with the siege of that historic town by Washington. That siege as is well known – participated in by the combined American and French forces – lasted one month. General Cornwallis, finding himself hemmed in on every side, unconditionally surrendered his army to our victorious army. He wished to give up his sword to the American Commander-in-Chief; but Washington, who saw an opportunity to vindicate “poetic justice,” and compliment a brave but unfortunate associate, conferred the honor of receiving the last token of humiliation from the proud Britton upon General Lincoln. This latter chieftain – one of the bravest men that ever drew a sword – had been compelled, a few months previous, to give up his sword to an English victor at Charleston.

The name is suggestive. Who knows but the incident, with the facts inverted, may be repeated; and that a second enemy of American liberty, finally overcome on that memorable spot, may surrender his sword to a second Lincoln? History is full of strange parallels; of parallels even my strange than this.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 2

Emulation at the North

While each State and almost every family at the East and the West are represented in the army fighting in defence of the Union, a generous rivalry exists between the two sections, as to which shall acquit itself the more honorably. This feeling is not confined to the two sections, but States and even counties feel ambition that the troops hailing from their respective localities shall sustain themselves in a manner to elicit admiration. If not carried too far this emulation is praiseworthy, as it will encourage the soldiers to greater exertion. We observe the effect in our own State. At the battle of Springfield, in the beginning of the war, the first regiment enrolled in Iowa acquitted itself so admirably as to elicit praise East and West and established an enviable name for our State. The Iowa regiments that took the field afterward had a reputation to sustain, and nobly they did it at Belmont, Donelson, and Pittsburg. Iowa at this time stands as high, if not higher, than any State in the Union for the alacrity with which she responded to the call upon her to defend the old flag of the Union, for the number of her sons that hastened to enroll themselves in the army and for the noble daring that has distinguished her troops on the battle-field.

Some of our contemporaries, to their shame, are seeking to build up the reputation of the troops of their own States, by undermining those of other States. Particularly are they jealous of the brave sons of Iowa, whose reputation is no factitious nature, but based upon solid merit. With the news of the battle at Pittsburg came intimations that certain regiments had acted in a cowardly manner. The Chicago Times was the first journal to fasten the obloquy upon the State of Iowa. But when the truth came out, it was ascertained that the Iowa regiments had all fought well, and those of another State had been the ones to cluster under then bank and refuse to participate in the engagement.

The Iowa troops ask not for reputation based upon the shortcomings of others, but they wish to stand upon their own merits, and in doing so are willing to concede to the regiments who fled from the battle-field on the 6th of April, that under the circumstances it was no evidence of cowardice. The affair of the first day, without preparation or Generalship, could scarcely be called a battle, and the wonder is, that the whole army was not thrown into utter panic.

An effort is now being made by some of the Illinois papers to throw the onus of the surrender of certain troops on that day on an Iowa regiment. It will not succeed; that certain regiments from this state and Illinois did surrender is true, but not until completely surrounded by the enemy and when any attempt to fight their way through would have been simply suicidal. When the official reports furnish the evidence, it will be time enough to attempt to disgrace regiments; in the meantime let us all united in ascribing honor to the noble troops who so gallantly sustained the reputation of the West, although taken at every disadvantage by a more numerous and better drilled enemy.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday, April 22, 1862, p. 2

Colonel John Wesley Noble

THIRD COLONEL, THIRD CAVALRY.

John W. Noble was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in the year 1831, and is a son of Colonel John Noble, a distinguished citizen of that State. His education is liberal and thorough, and was acquired at Yale College, New Haven. His profession is the law, which he first studied in the office of Hon. Henry Stansbury of Ohio, and afterward at the Cincinnati Law School. In 1857, he came to Iowa and settled in the city of Keokuk, where he formed a law partnership with Henry Strong, Esq. From that time until the breaking out of the war, he practiced his profession with great success, and in the opinion of most competent judges was, without regard to his age, one of the best read lawyers in his district. In the spring of 1861, the firm of "Strong & Noble" ranked only second in ability and business, to the many law firms in the city of Keokuk. In August, 1861, John W. Noble entered the service as adjutant of the 3d Iowa Cavalry. He held that rank till the 18th of November, 1862, when he was mustered to the majority of the 2d Battalion of his regiment. Early in May, 1864, he was made lieutenant-colonel, and in the following June was mustered colonel, vice Colonel H. C. Caldwell.

For several months before he was commissioned colonel, and while he held the rank of major, Colonel Noble commanded his regiment — or rather the 1st and 3d Battalions of it. These battalions were under his command in rear of Vicksburg, during Sherman's advance on Jackson, on the march to Canton, and the raid made by Colonel Winslow of the 4th Iowa Cavalry from near the Big Black River through the country to Memphis. The last named expedition was made in August, 1863, and we resume the history of the regiment from that date.

On the 26th of August, the 1st and 3d Battalions of the 3d Iowa were embarked on boats for Vicksburg, but they had proceeded no farther than Helena, when they were ordered by General Grant in person, to debark and report to General Steele, then marching on Little Rock. It will be remembered the 2d Battalion of the regiment, with the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell, had marched with the cavalry division of General Davidson from Arcadia, and that it now formed a part of General Steele's forces. On the arrival of Major Noble the regiment was therefore re-united after a separation of nearly two years. From September, 1863, until the following February, the histories of the 1st and 3d Iowa Cavalry regiments are nearly the same. They served in the same department, and took part in the same operations; but on the last named date, the 3d Iowa having re-enlisted, came North on veteran furlough. Since that time the histories of these regiments have been widely different.

While en route for the front, after the expiration of its furlough, the 3d Iowa Cavalry was stopped at Memphis, and, in the latter part of April, 1864, was brigaded with the 4th Iowa and 10th Missouri Cavalry. These troops constituted "Colonel Winslow's Brigade;" and by their gallantry in six important expeditions they have made their name distinguished.

An account of the operations against General Forest in the spring and summer of 1864, I have given elsewhere, and I need not detail them here. The 3d Iowa took part in all these operations, and sustained its reputation for gallantry. In the disastrous affair of General Sturgis near Guntown, Mississippi, the regiment lost five killed, eighteen wounded, and forty-nine captured. In speaking of the conduct of his regiment in this engagement, Colonel Noble says:

"My officers and men behaved universally so well that I can not make much distinction among them. But, for their aid in getting a new line to force the enemy at one particular emergency, I deem Captain Curkendall, of Company D, and Lieutenant McKee, of Company B, worthy of particular notice. Major Jones was constantly at his post, and did all a good and brave officer could. If occasion offers, I hope to bring the merits of others of the brave men more prominently forward than I can do now."

Lieutenants Thomas J. Miller and Reuben Delay were both wounded in this engagement and captured.

The loss of the 3d Iowa Cavalry in the expedition made by General Smith against Forest to Tupelo, Mississippi, was one killed, seventeen wounded, and one captured. Major Duffield and Captains Crail, Brown, McCrary and Johnson, are mentioned for special gallantry.

The history of the operations against General Sterling Price in Missouri, in the fall of 1864, is one of great interest, and the brilliant part which the 3d Iowa Cavalry and its brigade sustained in it I give in full.

Colonel Winslow's Brigade had only returned from its second expedition under General Smith against Forest, when it was ordered in pursuit of Price: indeed, it was re-called from Oxford, Mississippi, if I mistake not, for this express purpose. The brigade left its camp near Memphis, at two o'clock on the morning of the second of September, and, crossing the Mississippi, marched to Brownsville, Arkansas, when it arrived on the 9th instant. Here the command rested till the morning of the 18th, awaiting the arrival and organization of the infantry command of Major-General Mower. On the 18th, the march was resumed northward, and, passing through Austin, and Searcy, and crossing the White River fifteen miles below Batesville, and Black River at Elgin, entered Missouri at Poplar Bluffs. Price was now well into Missouri, living liberally, and inviting his rebel adherents to join him. From Poplar Bluffs, Winslow's Brigade marched east to Cape Girardeau, and proceeded thence by boat to St. Louis, where it arrived on the 10th of October.

At this date, there was great alarm, both in Southern Iowa and Eastern Kansas; and the militia in both States were being organized and disciplined to meet the invader. Dollar-men along the border in Iowa, (I do not speak for Kansas) who, during the whole war, had hugged closely to their business and about their firesides, and who had thought of nothing but their per centage, now looked anxiously over into Missouri, and talked loudly of patriotism. I could not pass without paying the patriots this compliment.

Winslow's Brigade rested only one day in St. Louis to refit; then pushed up the Valley of the Missouri River, on the direct road to Independence. The command struck the enemy's trail at Franklin, only thirty miles west from the Mississippi; and at that time Price was at Lexington. On the 22d instant, they reached Independence, where they formed a junction with the cavalry command of General Pleasanton. That same evening the brigade was thrown to the front, and encountered the enemy's rear-guard; for Price was now only a few miles distant from Independence. Of the operations of the 3d Iowa Cavalry that night, Colonel Noble says:

"My regiment, though not having the advance, was dismounted, sent to the front, and immediately engaged the enemy on the Kansas City Road, fighting and driving Clark's rebel brigade a distance of five miles, from five o'clock until nine and one-half P. M., when my command was relieved. The command rested on the field for the night in the face of the enemy, having marched from twelve o'clock on the night of the twenty-first, without water or forage for our animals."

The next morning, the 23d, the 3d Iowa Cavalry was in the saddle by four o'clock, and pressing the enemy. The 10th Missouri and 4th Iowa Cavalry had the advance. It will be remembered that, as early as the 20th instant, General Blunt, under orders from General Curtis, had moved out from Kansas to Lexington and engaged Price's advance. Pleasanton, with his cavalry, soon after struck him in rear, and from that time till the 23d, the date of the battle on the Big Blue, the rebel general was between two fires. It will also be remembered that it was on the Big Blue that the invading army was defeated and disorganized. In this splendid victory, the brigade of Colonel Winslow contributed not a little. Early in the day, Company A, of the 3d Iowa, charged the enemy in a strong position, and captured a stand of colors and several prisoners; and later in the same day, the entire regiment, in company with its brigade, "joined in the gallant mounted charge against the enemy in column of regiments, which was continued through farms and over the prairie for five or six miles." The loss of Price here was extremely severe, and, as I have said, his army was demoralized.

The history of the pursuit, during the two subsequent days, Major B. S. Jones gives as follows:

"Having, at day-light, [the 14th] joined the Army of the Border under General Curtis, we marched early, constantly and rapidly in a southern direction after the retreating enemy, down the line dividing Missouri and Kansas, over extensive prairies, dotted with devastated farms and lonely chimneys, which marked the ravages of war. We marched without halting, until three o'clock A. M. of the 25th, when we reached Trader's Post on the Osage River: there we found the enemy, and eagerly waited for morning. The enemy, having been routed from his position on the river, was followed up at a gallop for several miles by Winslow's Brigade, in the following order: 10th Missouri, 4th Iowa, 3d Iowa, 4th Missouri, and 7th Indiana Cavalry. When he attempted to make a stand, we formed on the open prairie in two lines of battle, supported by eight pieces of artillery.

"My command was formed in line of battle with the brigade, in column of regiments, in their order of march, and constituting the left centre of our whole line. We charged the enemy, breaking his right and centre, killing, wounding and capturing many of his men. Among the captured were Generals Marmaduke and Cabell, the former by Private James Dunlavy, of Company D, and the latter by Sergeant C. M. Young, of Company L — both of the 3d Iowa Cavalry. Companies C, D and E captured three pieces of the enemy's artillery. The whole of my command did nobly on that field, as also on all others, and the highest commendations are due to every man and officer. The remainder of the day was one continual charge upon the enemy, resulting in his complete rout. We rested on the open prairie over night, near Fort Scott, Arkansas."

The charge made by Winslow's and Philip's Brigades, on the 25th instant, against the command of General Marmaduke and near Mound City, was brilliant in the extreme. It was in this charge, and after the rout of the enemy that Marmaduke and Cabell were captured. General Marmaduke was holding Price's rear at the place above designated, and had formed his division in line to check our advance. But he had chosen his position badly. It was at the foot of a gentle slope, and in front of a small creek, skirted with brush. The charge was made down the slope at full run, with the 10th Missouri in the lead, that regiment being followed by the 4th Iowa, and the 4th by the 3d. The sight was a magnificent one. When the 10th came under the withering fire of the enemy, it recoiled slightly; but the 4th dashed on through its line, wheeling partially to the right, and followed closely by the 3d. The 4th Iowa was the first to strike and break the enemy's line. In an instant, the whole rebel line was shattered and fleeing in confusion. The charge was so sudden and impetuous that Marmaduke was left without a command, and a straggler; and thus he was captured. Cabell was captured in like manner. Private Dunlavy, the captor of Marmaduke, was a new recruit, and I am told is a bit of a boy. His home is in Davis county. Sergeant Young is twenty-four years of age, and a native of Ohio.

Immediately after this brilliant charge General Pleasanton issued the following complimentary order:


"General Orders No. 6.

"Head-quarters Cavalry Division,
Fort Scott, Kansas, Oct. 26th, 1864.

"The major-general commanding this division, composed of troops from the Department of Missouri and Winslow's Brigade of cavalry, congratulates the officers and men upon the brilliant success which has crowned their untiring efforts, in this decisive campaign. The battles of Independence, Big Blue and Osage river, have resulted in the capture of Major-General Marmaduke, Brigadier-General Cabell, four colonels and nearly one thousand prisoners, (including a large number of field officers) ten pieces of artillery, seven thousand stand of arms, the destruction of a large portion of the enemy's train, and the routing of their army. The gallant action of Phillip's Brigade of Missouri Cavalry, and Winslow's Brigade, in capturing eight of the enemy's guns on the Osage, was so distinguished as to draw praise from the enemy. ***** The regiments of the 4th Brigade [Winslow's ] are authorized to place upon their colors 'Big Blue and Osage.'

"By command of Major-General Pleasanton, etc."


Resting one day at Fort Scott, Winslow's Brigade continued the pursuit, following Price through Arkansas and the Indian Territory, to a point on the Arkansas River about forty miles above Fort Smith. They failed to overtake the enemy, and soon after turned about, and marched to St. Louis, via Fayetteville and Springfield.

During the Missouri Campaign, the 3d Iowa Cavalry suffered the following loss: six men were killed, and two officers and forty-one men wounded. Lieutenant and Adjutant James H. Watts was shot near Independence, on the 22d of October, and died soon after of his wounds. First Sergeant Lewis G. Baldwin was mortally wounded in the same skirmish. In the battle on Big Blue, Captain J. D. Brown, of Company L, and twelve enlisted men of the regiment were wounded; and, in that known as the Osage, four enlisted men were killed and twenty-four wounded.

In December, Winslow's Brigade left St. Louis and returned to Memphis, where it remained till the 21st instant, and then joined General Grierson in his raid through Mississippi. The route which Grierson followed was as follows: Marching east till he struck the Mobile and Ohio Railroad at Shannon Station, he then turned south and moved down the road until reaching Okalona. From Okalona, he marched south-west, passing through Bellefontaine and Lexington, and arriving at Vicksburg on the 5th of January, 1865. Hood, it should be borne in mind, had already been frozen out at Nashville, (for he is reported to have said that the cold contributed more to his defeat than General Thomas) and was hunting head-quarters in Northern Mississippi and Alabama. The object of Grierson's raid was to destroy Hood's supplies, and his lines of communication, and this was most effectually done. Immense stores and railroad property were destroyed.

Only a portion of the 3d Iowa Cavalry accompanied General Grierson on this expedition. Colonel Noble commanded the detachment, which consisted of eleven commissioned officers and three hundred and nine enlisted men. From Vicksburg, the 3d Iowa returned by boat with its brigade to Memphis, and soon after sailed for Louisville, Kentucky, where the regiment was again united. The regiment's next and last campaign was that made under Brevet Major-General Wilson from Chickasaw on the Tennessee River, to Macon, Georgia, A history of this brilliant march will be found in the sketch of Colonel Winslow, of the 4th Iowa Cavalry.

The enemy were first met on this march at Six-Mile Creek, twenty miles from Montevallo. Here the 3d Iowa charged and broke the enemy's line, and captured one hundred prisoners. The subsequent engagements were those at Ebenezer Church, Selma and Columbus; and in all of them the regiment was conspicuous. Its loss, from the time it left Chickasaw till its arrival at Macon, was about forty, or nearly twenty per cent larger than the loss of either of the other regiments of the brigade. Captain Thomas J. Miller of Company D, who fell at Columbus, was the only commissioned officer of the regiment killed. He was a young man of steady habits, and of much promise. Entering the service as a private of Company D, from Davis county, he was first orderly to Colonel Bussey, then sergeant, and then lieutenant and captain. It will be remembered that he was severely wounded on Sturgis' disastrous expedition against Forest. I am told that he said, when his regiment returned to the front from its veteran furlough, that he should never return alive. He was killed by the concussion of a shell, which grazed his breast as it passed him, and while he was standing in front of his company, just before the charge was ordered. Captain B. F. Crail was severely wounded in the first engagement at Six-Mile Creek, and Lieutenant J. J. Veatch slightly, at Ebenezer Church. These were all the casualties among the commissioned officers. Sergeant John W. Delay of Company I, was killed at Columbus.

And thus the 3d Iowa Cavalry closes its brilliant history in the War of the Rebellion; for Lee has surrendered, and Johnson; and Davis, the head of the Confederacy, is captured.

Colonel Noble is a small, black-haired, black-eyed man, with good education, good ability, and of remarkable energy and .courage. All declare him to be a perfect gentleman, and a model soldier.

I am told that, as soon as news came of the firing on Fort Sumpter, Colonel Noble began studying military law and tactics. From that time forward, he devoted his entire energies to military matters; and, to-day, he is the best versed in military law of any officer from Iowa. He has, in addition to his many other excellent traits, a kind heart, and is watchful of the interests of his men. He has no superior among the Iowa colonels.

SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 597-606

Gen. McDowell advances from Warrenton to Fredericksburg

WASHINGTON, April 19.

General McDowell’s division yesterday marched from near Warrenton Junction upon Fredericksburg. The road was disputed by a regiment of rebel infantry, one of cavalry, and a battery of artillery. These made two distinct stands but were driven across the Rappahannock. We lost 5 killed and 16 wounded, all cavalry. The rebels burned the bridge over the river at Fredericksburg.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p.1

From Yorktown

FORT MONROE, April 19.

Thirty-nine wounded from Yorktown arrived to-day, making 90 wounded in the fight on the left flank on Wednesday. The whole number was 32 killed and 90 wounded.

In Norfolk papers, Magruder’s account gives 25 rebels killed, including Col. McKinney, and 75 wounded.

Cannonading is heard towards Yorktown, but it is an attempt of the enemy to disturb our working parties. With the exception of the affair at the rifle pits Thursday, they get the worst of the skirmishing. – Work progresses rapidly, and when the siege begins, it will be terrific.

The steamer Hoge has arrived from Newbern on the 18th. Ft. Macon is thoroughly cut off. It has been ascertained that the supply of provisions is short; that no attempt will be made on the fort, but starve them out.

Slight expectations still prevailed that the rebels might attack Newbern, and fortifications were being built for its protection.

Smoke and flames from the Norfolk fire are still visible.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p.1

Special to the Chicago Tribune

CAIRO, April 19.

When Gen. Mitchell reached Decatur, in his late bridge-burning expedition, he took possession of the telegraph office and cut the wires, leaving Decatur and Corinth only in telegraphic communication. Beauregard sent a message to President Davis, urgently demanding reinforcements for Corinth, and saying that otherwise he could not hold the position. Of course General Mitchell promised to send the reinforcements.

The river is still on the rampage, having risen five inches during the night. It is now within a foot of the levee. Intelligence from the Tennessee and Wabash rivers says that a greater volume of water may be expected. Mound City is entirely submerged, the water running into the lower stories of the hospital and private dwellings. The Illinois Central Railroad has discontinued its trips to Cairo, the track being washed away. Passengers for Chicago were compelled to take steamer for Mound City, whence they were carried in scows to the high ground in the rear.

There is nothing of great importance from Pittsburg. The two armies were nearing each other slowly, and each waiting breathlessly for the period when the long roll should announce the renewal of battle. Late arrivals from below bring intelligence of the continued bombardment of Ft. Pillow, participated in by both the gunboats and mortar fleet. The enemy reply vigorously, but doing as yet no damage. Their guns are evidently well manned and excellently well served. There is no expectation of the reduction of Fort Pillow at present. The high stage of water will prevent any cooperation on the part of the land forces for some days.

Every house in Columbus is surrounded by water. The telegraph line between Cairo and Pittsburg is down, carried away by high water.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p.1

From Fort Pillow

Special to the Chicago Tribune.

OFF FORT PILLOW,
CAIRO, April 19, 1862.

The Enemy’s gunboats have laid behind Criaghead Point for two or three nights past, fearing an attempt on our part to run the blockade.

The firing upon both sides on Thursday, was very heavy. The mortars opens at noon, four being in operation. The enemy replied immediately and briskly from the land batteries, throwing shell clear over us, and nearly across the river to the Tennessee shore.

Their firing was very accurate and from very heavy guns.

The St. Louis, Carondelet and Cairo, stationed as picket stops near the extremity of the point, where obliged to move up the river several times to get out of range.

A skiff attached to a mortar raft was hit by a shell and dashed to pieces. The shells flew thick and all about our gunboats, but none were hit.

On Thursday night the mortars commenced firing at 8 o’clock, the enemy replying immediately, and the fire was kept up until midnight.

A rebel shell exploded directly above the stern awnings of the St. Louis, slightly injuring one man in the wrist, another shell struck the broadside casemate of the Cairo, but did no damage. The firing ceased at midnight.

Yesterday but little was done except a few shots fired by the mortars. In the morning the mortars were shifted form the Arkansas to the Tennessee shore for the greater protection. In their past locality they have been in great danger from bands of rebel scouts prowling through the woods. These scouts have already cut the levee in two or three places, to embarrass the operations of the mortars.

Deserters are being rapidly taken both from the rebel gunboats and from their batteries. They say that nearly all of the crews of the gunboats have been impressed, and so great is the fear of the officers lest they desert that they frequently muster them every hour in the day.

The batteries now mount about forty very heavy guns. They have sixty more guns which they are rapidly putting in position. Within the past few days Bragg has arrived and succeeds Gen. Villipage, hitherto in command. There are about 6,000 troops there. Both troops and guns are from Pensacola.

There are but four gunboats in the river – the Mariposa [sic], Macray [sic], Ponchartrain and Livingston, mounting a total of twenty-four guns. The Ivy has gone to New Orleans with Hollins on board. The Gen. Polk is at Memphis repairing. Capt. Engee is acting Commodore in Hollin’s absence.

An independent company at Memphis has five boats below Fort Pillow, intended to grapple on our fleet and take it down to Dixie.

There are four rams at New Orleans, among them the Manassas. Active preparations are not expected at present.

Commodore Foot suffers severely from his wound received at Donelson.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 1

Colonel Henry Clay Caldwell

SECOND COLONEL, THIRD CAVALRY.

H. C. Caldwell, now judge of the District Courts for the District of Arkansas, is a son of the late Van Caldwell, who, in the early history of the State, was extensively known through South Eastern Iowa for his uncompromising whigism and his generous hospitality. Van Caldwell was one of the first settlers of that county, and deserves a passing notice. He was, at one time, a wealthy Virginia planter, but, meeting reverses in fortune, and losing the greater part of his estate, sold his ancient homestead and came to Iowa, which was then a Territory. His first claim was laid in what is now the town of Bentonsport, Van Buren county. After a four-years' residence here, he removed to Davis county, where he died. He was an old-style, Virginia gentleman.

Colonel Caldwell, the subject of this sketch, is a native of Virginia, and was born in Marshall county of that State, on the 4th day of September, 1832. Accompanying his father in his western migration, he remained with him till the fall of 1847, when he was received into the law office of Wright & Knapp, at Keosauqua, as chore-boy.

Colonel Caldwell is essentially an Iowa man — more so than any other officer whose sketch is here given; and for this reason the details of his early history may not be uninteresting. Before starting in life for himself, he did not have even the advantages of a common school education. He had attended school a few weeks at the old Indian Agency Station, now Agency City, where he might have learned to read, but nothing more. He was, however, a student at home; and it was here, by the fire-side of his father's rustic log cabin, where Judge Knapp first found him and learned his habits. The result was as has been stated.

In the fall of 1847, he left his home for a permanent residence in Keosauqua, having his entire worldly effects tied in a red cotton handkerchief. One year's schooling in Keosauqua completed his education; and this was only afforded by hard labor and the most rigid economy. In 1851, he was admitted to the Keosauqua bar, since which time his history is better known.

He first entered the practice as a partner of Judge Wright, (Judge Knapp being then on the bench) and later was a member of the firm of Wright, Knapp & Caldwell. Still later, on the election of Judge Wright to the Supreme Bench of Iowa, the firm was known as that of Knapp & Caldwell. He was the junior member of this firm at the time of entering the service, in the summer of 1861. The connection of Colonel Caldwell with this able firm was, for him, no ordinary good fortune. He would have succeeded by himself, poor as he was. Agreeable in manners, able, energetic and ambitious, he possessed every requisite of success; but his advancement was much more rapid from being associated with two such masterly minds.

In March, 1853, Colonel Caldwell married Miss Hattie Benton, an estimable lady and a niece of Judge Wright, and a sister of Mrs. Judge Knapp.

"Colonel Caldwell was always the pet of Van Buren county;" so many of her citizens have told me. With his appearance at the bar began his popularity. In the fall of 1856 he was elected prosecuting attorney for Van Buren county, by a majority of 180. He ran upon the Republican ticket, and was the only candidate in the county, of that shade of politics, who was elected. In 1860, he was elected to the State Legislature, and here again was the only successful candidate on his ticket in the county, the democrats electing the senator and the other members of the House. While a member of the legislature, he served as chairman of the Judiciary Committee; and by his counsels in the committee-room, and his nervous, off-hand speeches in the House, established the reputation of being an able lawyer and practical legislator. His geniality, moreover, secured the love and respect of every member of the House.

Mr. Caldwell entered the service in the summer of 1861, being in August of that year commissioned major of the 3d Iowa Cavalry. Subsequently to that time and till the 20th of June, 1864, when he was appointed judge of the district courts for the District of Arkansas, he followed the profession of arms. As a soldier, he met with his usual success. His military record is not as brilliant as are those of some others, and for the reason that the department in which he served did not chance to be the theatre of many hard-fought battles. The service which he saw comprised all the hardships and nearly all the dangers, but lacked the glory incident to the sanguinary campaigns in other departments. During his first year's service, Major Caldwell had a separate command, consisting of companies E, F, G and H—the 2d Battalion of the 3d Iowa Cavalry. On the 12th of December, 1861, he was ordered from Benton Barracks to Jefferson City, Missouri, and thence to Fulton, where he made his head-quarters, and from whence he led various scouting expeditions, during the Winter.

In the following Summer, in connection with a detachment of the Missouri State Militia and Merrill's cavalry command, he took part in the engagement at Moore's Mills, in Galloway county. This battle, though short, was fiercely contested, and, of all that were fought during that Spring and Summer, ranks highest in importance.

On the 5th of September, 1862, Major Caldwell was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the 3d Iowa Cavalry, vice lieutenant-Colonel Trimble, resigned. In the winter of 1862-3, he served in the Army of the Frontier, and then joined General Davidson, at that time in command of the Army of South East Missouri. For several months, although only a lieutenant-colonel, he commanded a brigade. Subsequently, he was made chief of cavalry on General Davidson's staff, and served in that capacity till after the capture of Little Rock.

Colonel Caldwell most distinguished himself, I believe, in the Little Rock Campaign. At the head of his command, he was the first to enter the Arkansas Capital.

How Steele, having completed his reconnoissance, marched via Shallow Ford and Ashley's Mills to the Arkansas, and crossed the river some eight miles below the city, has been given elsewhere. The passage of Davidson's cavalry command across the Arkansas, and the march on Little Rock is thus given by General Steele:

"Two regiments of infantry passed over the river to drive the enemy's skirmishers out of the woods, and the cavalry division passed on without serious interruption until they reached Bayou Fourche, where the enemy were drawn up in line to receive them. The rebels held their position obstinately until our artillery on the opposite side of the river was opened upon their rear and flank, when they gave way and were steadily pushed back by Davidson, the artillery constantly playing upon them from the other side of the river. Our two columns marched nearly abreast on either side of the Arkansas."

Long before reaching the city, General Steele knew that the enemy were evacuating; for dense clouds of dust and smoke were seen rising in the distance, in the direction of the town, and soon small bodies of troops were seen hurrying hither and thither, like so many frightened sheep.

On approaching the city, Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell, who had been given the advance, disposed his troops and charged through the streets; but the enemy, with the exception of some few stragglers, had fled. Soon after the cavalry took possession of the place, the infantry came up and marched through its deserted streets, after the music of the "Star Spangled Banner " and " Yankee Doodle." It was an inspiring scene, and will be recalled as a day of proud recollections by Steele's old command.

Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell was commissioned colonel of his regiment, on the 4th of May, 1864, and, on the 20th of the following June, was promoted to his present office. In the spring of 1864, and before he was promoted to the colonelcy of his regiment, he had been recommended by both Steele and Davidson for promotion to a general officer; and, had he not been tendered his present position, he would have been made a brigadier-general, and in that case would have been the second officer from the State to receive like honor. I am told that, by the advice of his friends and through the solicitations of Governor Murphy, Senator Baxter, Doctor Kirkwood, and other prominent Union men of Arkansas, Colonel Caldwell waived a brigadier's commission, and accepted his present office. The position he now holds is both honorable and lucrative, and he deserves his good fortune.

Colonel Caldwell is tall and slender in person, and gentlemanly and pleasing in his address. His constitution is not very vigorous; that, at least, would be the judgment of a stranger ; for he has a thin, pale face, and is nervous and restless in his movements. The hardships of the service and his constant mental labors have conspired to make him an older looking man than he is. He is himself careless in dress, and never measures other men by their broad-cloth. In conversation, he is earnest and emphatic, and has a habit of constantly winking.

Though the colonel has first-rate ability, it is not of that voluntary kind that accomplishes wonders spontaneously. Through his whole life, he has been an untiring student. As a public speaker, he is off-hand, impressive and laborious, and. at the close of a long argument, seems nearly exhausted. While in the practice of his profession, he rarely took the time to make a short speech, in consequence of which his arguments were desultory. But he always had this excellent trait: he never talked because he wished to say something, but because he had something to say.

Colonel Caldwell's character as a soldier may be inferred from the following extract from General Davidson's official report of the capture of Little Rock.

"Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell, whose untiring devotion and energy never flags during the night nor day, deserves, for his gallantry and varied accomplishments as a cavalry officer, promotion to the rank of a general officer."

Is it to be wondered that Iowa is proud of this distinguished young citizen and soldier?

SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 591-6

WASHINGTON, April 21 [1862]

A state prisoner Jesse D. Horton, From near Hagerstown, Md., was shot by a sentry yesterday at the Old Capitol prison and died in a few hours after.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 1

Bank Statement

NEW YORK, April 21.

Decrease in loans, $342,208; increase in specie, $76,860; do circulation, $59,820; increase in deposits, $1,420,277.

The office of the Brooklyn White Lead Company of Fulton street was robbed on Saturday night of bonds to the amount of from $40 to $50,000 of the Chicago & N. H. Western RR.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 1

Brigadier-General Cyrus Bussey

FIRST COLONEL, THIRD CAVALRY.

Cyrus Bussey was born on the 5th day of October, 1833, in Trumbull county, Ohio, where he lived till the year 1837, when he removed with his father, the Rev. A. Bussey, to Southern Indiana. When fourteen years of age, he entered a dry-goods store as clerk; and at sixteen embarked in the mercantile business on his own account. In 1855 he came to Iowa, and settled in Bloomfield, Davis county. Previously to coming to Iowa he had spent two years in the study of medicine; but the practice of that profession not according with his tastes he resumed, after coming to Iowa, his former business.

Mr. Bussey was formerly a Democrat in politics, and in 1858 was elected by that party to the State Senate from Davis county. During the canvass that terminated in his election, the oratorical skill and ability that he displayed in his speeches surprised the people of Davis county, who had heretofore known him as a successful merchant. He served in the State Senate during the session of 1860-61, and. also in the extra war session; and unlike the representatives from Davis county, gave hearty support to the Administration and voted for every war measure. By his fealty to the Government he lost caste with his party and forfeited all prospects of political preferment in his county, for it was intensely democratic.

On the 11th of June, 1861, General Bussey was appointed an aid de camp to Governor Kirkwood, and served in that capacity during the southern border excitement in the summer of 1861, distributing arms and organizing the militia.

On the 10th of August, 1861, he was commissioned colonel of the 3d Iowa Cavalry, and in ten days from that date, had his regiment in rendezvous. Early in February, 1862, he was ordered with his regiment from Benton Barracks near St. Louis, to Rolla, Missouri, which place, after a few days' rest, he left and marched for Springfield, to join General Curtis. He reached Springfield on the 15th instant, but General Curtis had already left in pursuit of General Price toward the Arkansas border. On learning this fact, and hearing rumors of an impending battle, Colonel Bussey decided to push on at once, and join General Curtis' command at all hazards. The roads were heavy and the weather inclement; but on the evening of the 16th instant, he reached Sugar Creek, having accomplished in four days' time, some two hundred miles. It is not the greatest cavalry march on record; but at that day there was not a greater, where it was made in the direction of the enemy.

After joining the Army of the South West, Colonel Bussey was assigned to the command of a cavalry brigade. With this command he fought in the battle of Pea Ridge, and engaged the enemy near Leetown. The circumstances attending the opening of the engagement on the part of the 3d Iowa Cavalry, and the part the regiment sustained in the action are as follows: Van Dorn, declining to attack General Curtis in front, stole in the night-time quietly by the right flank of the original line of battle, hoping to gain position in the rear, and by a sudden attack, and with confusion as his ally, push the Federal army to ruinous defeat. But General Curtis divined his plans, and made disposition of his forces to meet the enemy in the new position.

The new line was formed early in the morning, and the rebel advance encountered near Elkhorn Tavern — Curtis' right. At about the same time, Colonel Osterhaus with an infantry command, and Colonel Bussey with his cavalry brigade, were sent out from the left to strike the enemy in flank, while they were moving into position. This force proceeded through the timber and some open fields to beyond Leetown, when they saw the enemy's train and some cavalry passing by their front. This cavalry the 3d Iowa, under Lieutenant-Colonel Trimble, was ordered to charge; but while moving to the attack, the regiment suddenly came on the infantry of McCulloch, McIntosh and Albert Pike, concealed in the timber. Lieutenant-Colonel Trimble was instantly shot in the head and disabled; and a majority of the men of the 3d Iowa, who were killed and wounded in the engagement, fell here. Nine of Company D were killed and wounded by this fire. The regiment was of course repulsed, and, wheeling about, retired.

But in the meantime a force of rebel cavalry having advanced from the right, charged the command of Colonel Bussey, and, after a short struggle, drove it back in confusion. This rebel cavalry, the 3d Iowa while falling back encountered, and immediately charged and routed it. A running fight then ensued, during which the rebel General Ben McCulloch was shot from his splendid black charger. Company D, Captain Norman W. Cook, had the honor of killing this celebrated rascal. In these charges and counter-charges, both the Benton and Fremont Hussars failed to do themselves credit: some declare that they broke without firing a gun. All of Bussey's command now fell back to the infantry of Colonel Osterhaus, which was found in line of battle. The enemy soon followed, and in this position, which was near Leetown, was done the principal fighting on the left.

The enemy were routed on the 8th of March, and, on the morning of the 9th, Colonel Bussey in command of his brigade and with a battery of artillery started in pursuit. He came up with their rear-guard at Bentonville, which he found in line of battle; but a few shots from his artillery put it to flight. Pursuing still, Colonel Bussey continued to harass the enemy's rear till he had gained his strong-hold in the Boston Mountains. Pea Ridge was Colonel Bussey's first battle, and, in evidence of their admiration of his conduct throughout the engagement and in the pursuit, his regiment presented him with a magnificent sabre, costing over seven hundred dollars. Pea Ridge was also the first battle of the 3d Iowa Cavalry, and it was one of the hardest in which the regiment ever fought It was at Pea Ridge only, that the killed and wounded were subjected to the shocking atrocities of barbarous warfare. Many of the wounded were killed after their capture, by the inhuman wretches, led to the conflict by Albert Pike. Eight of the 3d Iowa alone were scalped, and many bore evidences of having been murdered after their capture. The killed, wounded and missing of the regiment numbered fifty; and among the former were Sergeants W. O. Crawford, G. N. Anderson, R. H. Millard, and J. W. Montgomery. Not to convey a wrong idea, I should state that only five companies of the regiment were in the engagement— A, B, C, D and M. The 2d Battalion, under command of Major H. C. Caldwell, was at the time serving in Central Missouri.

During the spring and summer of 1862, Colonel Bussey continued with the Army of the South West, and accompanied it on its long and tedious campaign through Arkansas to Batesville. On this march, he had command of his brigade, and, with it, was sent on various expeditions; but in all of these he failed to meet the enemy in any considerable force. On the 10th of July, 1862, he was assigned to the command of the 3d Brigade of General Steele's Division, Army of the South West, which he retained till the 2d of the coming September. From the 2d of September till the 11th of January following, he was in command of either a brigade or a division, but on the last named date was appointed to the command of the District of Eastern Arkansas; and the manner in which he discharged the duties of this command, affording, as it did, so great a contrast with the administration of his predecessor, challenged the attention of the General Government.

On the 6th of April, 1863, Colonel Bussey succeeded Major-General Washburne, in command of the 2d Cavalry Division, Army of the Tennessee; but his command here was Brief; for, desiring a more active field of labor, he was at his own request relieved and ordered to report at Vicksburg, where, on his arrival, he was made chief of cavalry. From the last of May till the surrender of Vicksburg, he had command of all the cavalry in the rear of the beleaguered city, and, in \\atching the movements of General Johnson, rendered important services to General Grant.

The advance of General Sherman against Jackson, Mississippi, after the fall of Vicksburg, was led by Colonel Bussey, who, on the 8th instant, engaged the rebel General Jackson, and after a spirited little fight forced him to retire. He was more or less engaged with the enemy till the 16th instant, during which time he visited Calhoun, Beattie's Bluff, and Vernon. On the 17th of July, he started in command of an expedition to Canton, Mississippi, and on this march again encountered General Jackson with a force numbering four thousand strong. The engagement lasted from eight o'clock in the morning till five in the evening, when the enemy, repulsed at all points, fell back and crossed to the east side of Pearl River. On this expedition, Colonel Bussey destroyed thirteen manufacturing establishments, forty miles of railroad, and a large amount of rolling stock. It is proper to state in this connection that, in all these operations, Colonel Bussey's regiment formed a part of his command.

Coloney Bussey was promoted to a general officer on the 5th of January, 1864; and the above statement of his services suffices to show that his title to a star was long anterior to the date of his receiving it. He was nominated and confirmed for "special gallantry," on the reports of commanding generals.

Since promoted to his present rank, General Bussey has served in the Department of Arkansas: until the middle of February, 1865, he was stationed at Little Rock, and much of this time was the president of a court-martial. Immediately after General Reynolds succeeded General Steele at Little Rock, General Bussey was assigned to the command of the 3d Division, 7th Army Corps, and ordered to relieve General Thayer at Fort Smith, Arkansas. The history of these changes in commanders has been discussed elsewhere, and well illustrates the esteem and confidence in which General Bussey was held by his superiors. Soon after he assumed command at Fort Smith, the following appeared in an editorial of the "New Era:"

"The firm administration of the new commander, General Bussey, together with his untiring efforts to deal justice with an even hand to all, have contributed greatly to restore confidence among the loyal people, and infuse new hope for a bright future among them."

And Governor Murphy, in a letter to the same paper writes:

"I have great confidence in your present commander, General Bussey. His judgment energy, and firmness I feel confident will be equal to the task imposed, though it be great. General Reynolds, commander of the Department, will fully sustain him in every measure for the protection of loyal citizens, and the suppression of villainy."

Before closing this sketch of General Bussey and his old regiment, I cannot forbear alluding to some of the many brave officers, who have contributed to make the history of the 3d Iowa cavalry what it is. Majors Perry, Duffield, Drake and Scott; Captains Van Benthuser, Anderson, Cook, Duffield, Robison, Mayne, Hughs, Taylor, Miller, Mudgett and Warner, and Lieutenants Dale, Fitch, Cherrie, Horton, Walker, McCrary, Crail, Spencer, Curkendall, De Huff, Baker, and H. D. B. Cutler were among the officers who accompanied the regiment to the field. Lieutenant Cutler, a brave and genial companion, was for a long time on the staff of General Bussey — I think his adjutant-general.

Among others, too, who are deserving of mention, is the late Lieutenant A. H. Griswold. He was killed in Arkansas, on the 27th of June, 1862, by a party of guerrillas. The circumstances of his murder are as follows:

"With twenty men of Company K, Lieutenant Griswold went out yesterday morning as escort to Captain Fuller's forage-train. The party proceeded down White River about ten miles, where they loaded the train with corn, and were returning to camp without having discovered the enemy. After traveling three miles, the cavalry escort in the rear of the train were fired upon by a party of rebels concealed in a canebrake about twenty yards distant, killing the lieutenant, Corporal Thomas Watson, and Privates Richard Luke and James L. Beacom, all of Company K; and wounding Privates Edwin Beckwith, in elbow, severely; Wesley Pringle, in side, not dangerously; James Marsh, in head, not dangerously; and Marcus Packard, in leg, slightly. The escort returned the fire, and succeeded in bringing off the train, with the killed and wounded. Lieutenant Griswold was a most faithful and efficient officer, and a gentleman, whose loss will be deeply felt by a large circle of friends in the regiment and in Iowa, where he leaves a wife and two children."

General Bussey is five feet, eleven inches in hight, and has a slender, athletic form. He has an exceedingly fair complexion, dark hair, and dark, lustrous eyes. He is not only comely in person, but winning in manners, and, with his pleasing conversational powers, could not be otherwise than popular in any community. He has ready wit, great power of expression, and is able to say whatever he wishes in whatever way he pleases; and in this lies the secret of his success as a public extempore speaker. General Bussey has confidence in himself and his abilities, and is happily free from those airs and indiscretions common to men overburdened with self-esteem. As a business man, he was characterized for promptness and order, and these traits he carried with him into the army. He is ambitious and fond of public eclat, and — who is not?

Mr. J. Thompson of the 1st Iowa Cavalry, in an article on the Iowa general officers, speaks thus of General Bussey:

"His demeanor indicates at once the scholar and gentleman. He possesses fine sensibilities, and a character irreproachable for honesty and morality. His moral qualities have suffered little by three year's contact with the evil associations of the army. Position or promotion does not change him. It gives me pleasure to dwell on the virtues of his private life, because he stands alone in this respect. His conduct during the war proves him not unworthy the position he occupies."

SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 583-90

XXXVIIth Congress – First Session

WASHINGTON, April 21.

SENATE. – Messrs. Howe and Howard presented memorials from citizens of Wisconsin and Michigan, praying for a ship canal from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi river.

Mr. Doolittle spoke in favor of the resolutions in regard to Brig. Gen. Stone.

Mr. Wade replied to him.

Mr. Cowell offered a resolution calling on the Secretary of State for the names of all persons, resident of the State of Kentucky, who have been arrested by his order, and confined in forts, camps, and prisons, since the 1st of Sept. last. Also number and age of those who had been released; and the number, names and ages of those retained.

Mr. Sumner objected, and the resolution was laid over under the rule.


HOUSE. – Mr. Cox, of Ohio, submitted the following: Resolved, That the secretary of War inform the House of the following facts: 1. What has delayed reply to the resolution of this House, calling for information as to the age, sex, condition, &c., of Africans employed in Gen. Wool’s department. 2. What number of slaves has been brought into this District by the army officers, or other agents of the Government, from Virginia, since the enemy abandoned Manassas, and their lines on the Potomac. 3. What number of fugitives from Maryland and Virginia are now in the city of Washington, their sex, and probable ages. 4. What number is now in, and has been sent to Frederick, Md. 5. How many are now fed and supported by the money of the U. S., appropriated by congress to prosecute the war. 6. By what authority where both old and young, male and female, sent by rail to Philadelphia, at whose expense, the amount of expense, and the purpose for which they were sent. 7. If he has not the means to answer these inquiries, to take the necessary steps to obtain the information.

On motion of Mr. Lovejoy, the resolution was tabled, 65 against 31, the republicans generally voting in the affirmative.

On motion of Mr. Porter, a resolution was adopted, instructing the committee on invalid pensions for disabled soldiers of the present war. The House reconsidered the vote by which the resolution was adopted to-day, calling for the expenditures of the Western department and then rejected it.

Mr. Divens resolution requesting the Attorney General to bring a suit against Gen. Fremont and Mr. Beard, to recover money obtained on the order of Fremont, was taken up. Mr. Divens [spoke] of the extravagance of the expenditures on the St. Louis fortifications; the money having been drawn without any just equivalent and without any form of law.

Mr. Colfax disapproved of the St. Louis contracts, but the circumstances under which they undertaken, offered an extenuation for them. Why did government then wait until Gen. Fremont was in the face of the enemy before they malignantly pursued him. Why not wait until the end of the war, instead of so acting as to cause him to loose the confidence of his army in front of the foe.

Mr. Blair replied to Mr. Colfax, that St. Louis never was in danger, excepting from Gen. Fremont, who brought with him a gang of Californians to the prejudice of the people of Missouri. He admitted that the was partly influenced in placing Gen. Fremont in command in the west, but he had suffered for it, and he hoped he would be pardoned.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 1

Successful Canvassing

Mr. John Connor, deputy collector for Allen’s Grove, obtained on Monday afternoon and Tuesday of last week, the sum of $38.50 for the Relief Association of the county, in about one-fourth part of the township. Mr. Connor obtained besides large quantities of pillows, sheets, shirts, bandages and lint. Everybody, he says, seemed willing to give, and only regretted their inability to give more.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p 1

Home Papers

The following, from the Boston Journal, is commended to the consideration of those who take Chicago and New York papers for late news to the exclusion of home journals, and have to barrow from their neighbors to find out what we are doing at home, and how our brothers and friends in the army are getting along: “Not one-tenth part of all the local news which transpires in any country town finds its way into the city newspapers, and he who takes the latter to the exclusion of his own town or county paper, does not fulfill his duty as a citizen. Such a person as unworthy to fill a town office, for he most certainly lacks local pride.”

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p 1

Protecting Bridges

The recent legislature passed an act requiring all the Boards of Supervisors to prohibit persons from riding or driving faster than a walk over bridges more than twenty-five feet long, under a penalty for violation of from one dollar upwards, according to the length of the bridge. Notices designating the penalty are to be conspicuously posted at each end of the bridge. Bridges owned by individuals or companies may be included on petition of the owner to the Board of Supervisors.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p 1

Colonel Datus E. Coon

THIRD COLONEL, SECOND CAVALRY.

Datus E. Coon is a native of New York State, and is thirty-four years of age. He was, in the summer of 1861, a resident of Mason City, Cerro Gordo county, Iowa. He entered the service as captain of Company I, 2d Iowa Cavalry, and, on the 14th of September of the same year, was promoted to a majority in that regiment. If he ever held the lieutenant-colonelcy of his regiment, I have failed to learn it. He was commissioned colonel of the 2d Iowa Cavalry on the 1st day of May, 1864. Much of the time since promoted to his present rank, he has been in command of the 2d Brigade, 5th Cavalry Division, the command of General Edward Hatch. He is reputed a gallant and efficient officer.

The point of chief interest in the history of the 2d Iowa Cavalry, during the colonelcy of Colonel Coon, is that which relates to the Fall and Winter Campaign against General Hood, in Tennessee. The time covered by these operations embraces fully three months; for the advance of Forest into Tennessee near Waterloo, Alabama, late in September, 1864, may be regarded as a part of Hood's grand flanking campaign. From the 30th of September to the 5th of December, the skirmishes and engagements of the 2d Cavalry are enumerated as follows: Shoal Creek, Alabama, November 9th, 1864; Aberdeen, Alabama, November 17th; Butler Creek, Alabama, November 19th; Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, November 22d; Campbellville, Tennessee, November 24th; Linnville, Tennessee, November 24th; Mount Cannel, Tennessee, November 29th and New Franklin, Tennessee, November 30th.

At the time Forest crossed into Tennessee, as above stated, the 2d Cavalry was stationed at White's Station, and at once marched with its brigade for Clifton, on the Tennessee River. Arriving there, it found General Washburne, who had come by boat from Memphis, and was directed by him to start in pursuit of the raider. From this time till the 18th of October, the regiment was on the scout, but failed to find the enemy. Returning then to Clifton, it remained a few days in camp and then started again on the scout; and thus its time was passed until the advance of Hood made its appearance opposite Florence, Alabama.

The brigade command of Colonel Coon, to which was attached the 2d Iowa, took a distinguished part in the operations to resist Hood's advance into Tennessee, and also in driving the rebel army from the State. The skirmishes and engagements, which I have given above, were fought while Hood was marching on Nashville. For the part taken by the 2d Iowa in the battles of the 15th, 16th, and 17th of December I refer to the official report of Major C. C. Horton, who was in command of the regiment. After first stating that his regiment with its brigade moved out from camp and took up its position on the right of General A. J. Smith's Corps, the Major says:

"Their main line was found some four miles from town, occupying formidable works on a commanding hill. By continually swinging to the left, our brigade struck their left flank.

"The division battery (I, of the 2d Illinois) now galloped into position in an open field and opened on the works, evidently much to their annoyance, as the guns of both forts were immediately turned upon the battery and my regiment, which had been formed to the left and rear as support. Remained lying in this position, exposed to a galling fire from both forts for nearly an hour, losing two men killed and one wounded, when I received orders to move forward and join in an assault upon the first fort. The regiment moved steadily forward under a severe fire until within three hundred yards of the works, when the order to 'charge and take that fort' from General Hatch, rang along the line. With a shout the men sprang forward, and with a shout the fort was carried. Company G, Lieutenant Budd commanding, having been thrown out as skirmishers, were nearest the works, and consequently the first to enter. One man was knocked down by a blow from a musket just as he was scaling the works. One of General Smith's batteries shelled the fort after it was captured, six shells bursting in and over it after we had entered. Captured here four brass Napoleons and sixty prisoners. Thirty killed and wounded rebels were found lying in the fort. Leaving a guard with the guns, I pressed forward after the retreating enemy, capturing many prisoners.

"Orders were now received from Colonel Coon to move by the right flank and charge the second fort, situated some seven hundred yards to our right on a high, conical hill. The men were so eager in the pursuit of the fugitives from the first fort, that I was able to rally only two hundred of them: with these I joined the brigade in the assault. The fort was defended with a stubbornness and gallantry seldom surpassed — the enemy only ceasing to use their artillery after the works were scaled. A short but desperate hand-to-hand struggle ensued after the works were entered. My colors, borne by the gallant Sergeant Hartman, Company P, were the first to float from the fort. The Sergeant fell mortally wounded while in the act of planting the colors on one of the guns. Seizing my hand as I bent over him, he exclaimed, 'Major, tell my friends I died doing my duty.' .

"In this fort were captured two guns, with caissons; one battery-wagon, and nearly one hundred prisoners. Notwithstanding my colors were the first to enter the works, it would be unjust to claim the guns or prisoners as my particular prize, as the different regiments of the brigade entered so nearly at the same time. Lieutenants Watson and Griffith, Companies I and D, who, not having heard the order to rally in time to join in the assault on the fort, moved by the right and charged on our left flank, attacking and repulsing a force of rebels who were endeavoring to reinforce the fort, now reported with some sixty prisoners each. Quartermaster-Sergeant Beason, with my bugler, Anderson, and two mounted orderlies (Truesdale and Winn) charged with the sabre, killing and wounding several, and taking some seventy prisoners. Number of prisoners captured during the day, two hundred and fifty. Regiment lost, while supporting the battery and charging the two forts, six men killed, and two commissioned officers and eighteen men wounded.

"December 16th. — Moved with the brigade, early in the morning, again taking a position on the right of General Smith's Infantry: slight skirmishing during the morning. About 2 o'clock P. M., in compliance with orders from General Hatch, I sent Captain Bandy with the 3d Battalion to draw one gun of Battery I up a steep hill, utterly impassable for horses. The gun was dragged to the top of the hill and planted in such a position that it commanded a battery which had greatly annoyed our infantry lines during the day. In a few moments the rebel battery was silenced, and their infantry wavering and falling back. Colonel Coon then ordered the brigade forward, and poured volley after volley into their retiring columns. I now received orders to remain with the battery, assist in taking the gun down the hill, and then join the brigade. Lost during the day, one commissioned officer slightly wounded.

"December 17th. — Moved again at day-light on the Franklin pike, General Hammond having the advance: found the enemy in strong force, occupying a line of hills on ' Little Harpeth,' four miles south of Franklin. General Hatch moved his division to the front; formed on the right of General Hammond, 2d Iowa on the extreme right. The line moved at a walk for some three hundred yards: then the trot, and finally the charge was sounded. At the signal, all sprang forward; but the centre found it impossible to carry the position on account of the steep and rocky hill-side. They halted here, dismounted, and engaged the enemy on foot. Not receiving the order to halt, and having better ground in front, I pressed forward, charged up the hill and through a thick wood, until we reached the enemy's left and rear, who now opened on me with grape and canister from the batteries. Wheeling the regiment to the left, I ordered the charge upon the battery to our left; but the horses were poor and so much blown that they could only raise a slow trot, perceiving which the enemy charged us in turn, but were handsomely repulsed with the carbine. A strong column of rebels were now reported passing through the gap between my regiment and the balance of the brigade. The fact that the day was dark and rainy, and that they wore rubber ponchos, and were many of them dressed in blue, had led my men to believe them to be our own troops, so that they were nearly in the rear of the 3d Battalion before the mistake was discovered. Company K, Sergeant John Coulter commanding, were nearly surrounded, and were compelled to cut their way out with the sabre. Sergeant Coulter, with Corporal Heck and Privates Black and Anderson, charged the rebel color-guard, and after a desperate hand-to-hand struggle, in which Heck and Black were killed and Coulter and Anderson badly wounded, the colors of Rosse's Brigade were captured, and borne triumphantly off by the sergeant. Eight dead rebels, lying within the space of a few yards, attest the desperate nature of the conflict. After a few moment's close fighting, in which the sabre and butts of guns were freely used, the rebels fell back. * * * My loss during the engagement was seven killed, eight wounded, and thirteen captured. Several others were captured, but made their escape, in some instances returning with their guards as prisoners. The regiment captured in all some fifty prisoners.

On the 19th instant, the 2d Iowa met and engaged the enemy at Rutherford Creek, and, on the 25th, near Pulaski. But they continued their flight rapidly southward, and succeeded in crossing the Tennessee in detatchments. Many officers of the 2d Cavalry are mentioned in the highest terms for their conduct during this campaign, and among others are Major Schnitger, Captains Foster and Bandy, and Adjutant Sydenham.

After the above operations had closed, Generals Smith, Schofleld, and Wilson were ordered to concentrate their respective commands at Eastport, on the Tennessee River, preparatory to a renewal of the campaign against the enemy in Mississippi and Alabama; little more was done in this quarter, for Schofleld was soon after summoned to North Carolina to co-operate with Sherman, and Thomas ordered to Tennessee to "assume general control of the defenses of our line of communication in the rear of the Army of the Mississippi." The results of the campaign are thus summed up by General Thomas:

"There were captured from the enemy during the various actions of which the foregoing report treats, thirteen thousand, one hundred and eighty-nine prisoners of war, including seven general officers and nearly one thousand other officers of all grades, seventy-two pieces of artillery, and – battle-flags. During the same period over two thousand deserters from the enemy were received, and to whom the oath was administered. Our own losses will not exceed ten thousand in killed, wounded and missing."

With the above campaign, closes the interesting portion of the 2d Cavalry's history. It did not march with Wilson on his celebrated march through Alabama to Macon, Georgia.

SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 577-82

A Fight

Four deserters from the First Cavalry, who were captured at Dubuque last Wednesday Passed down on the steamer [Pembina] last Sunday. While the boat was lying at our levee one of them jumped ashore, and before he was taken back had a fight with an Irishman, whom he pummeled pretty severely. He was eventually secured and marched back to the boat.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p 1

Returned

Hiram Price, Esq., returned home yesterday morning from Pittsburg Landing, where he spent a number of days among the wounded. Mrs. Col. Hall also arrived yesterday morning from the Tennessee river. Mrs. Hall has seen more of the battlefield than often falls to the lot of her sex, having been in the tent with her husband when the 11th regiment was attacked, a portion of the volley even entering the tent. Acting under instructions Mrs. H. immediately started for the landing, three miles distant, where she arrived in safety. Col. Hall was wounded, and lost his horse, saddle, pistols, &c., and had a second horse killed under him early in the fight, but remained on the field all day and night of Sunday. The wound was so much swollen that it was necessary to cut his boot to get it off, but he suffered only a temporary inconvenience.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p 1

The Telegraph

There is no use of being choice about terms any longer, the telegraph between Iowa and Chicago is a nuisance – so far as the press is concerned. The most trivial matter is assumed as sufficient cause to prevent us receiving our regular dispatches. With every rain they fail, and then comes the excuse that the battery at the junction works badly and they cannot be reshipped at that point. It would pay the press of Iowa to contribute and purchase a new battery for Bureau junction. It’s a little remarkable, however that the line becomes convalescent of an evening just long enough to transmit a few paragraphs, so as to make the customary charge! We don’t know who is to blame for this irregularity and would not now make a complaint, only that some of our citizens seem to imagine the press and the telegraphers in collusion to keep them from receiving the latest news.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p 1

From Capt. Williams' Company

We have been kindly permitted to make use of a letter received by a gentleman of this city from Mr. A. S. Collins, of Benton Co., a Member of Co. D, 16th regiment (Capt. Williams). As there are a number of Scott County men in the company, we published the following extract, which may be of interest to some of their friends. The letter is dated April 8th. The writer says:

“Our company went into the fight with 42 men. One was killed, and I believe ten wounded. Our friend Willard was suffering from rheumatism, and was not in the battle. Corporal Cutting is killed and David Holcomb wounded – not seriously. Sergt. Crooks, color-bearer, is either killed or seriously wounded. The wounded in our company form Davenport are: Harry H. Bowling, seriously; Danl. Madden, in the leg; Ninian Lindsay was stunned by a cannon ball or shell and knocked down. He is considerably sore, but not seriously hurt. I was twice wounded – in the right arm and left thigh – no bones broken; both balls are in my body; rather uncomfortable flesh wounds, but not serious ones. * * * I presume I shall see some of your people here shortly to look after the wounded. I assure you there is a great need of their being attended to and taken home.”

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 1

Brigadier-General Edward Hatch

SECOND COLONEL, SECOND CAVALRY.

The gallant young Edward Hatch is one of the very best of the Iowa general officers. He was born in Maine, in the year 1832. The town of his nativity, the character of his education, and the date of his removal to Iowa, I have failed to learn. He was a resident of Muscatine, Iowa, as early as 1858, and engaged in the lumber business with a Mr. Fullerton of that city. I regret that I can not give more of his history. In August, 1861, Mr. Hatch was made Major of the 2d Iowa Cavalry. A few weeks later, he was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel of his regiment, and, on the promotion of Colonel Elliott to brigadier-general, in June 1862, he was made colonel. For gallant and meritorious services he was, in the spring of 1864, appointed and confirmed a brigadier-general. He richly earned his promotion; for, from the first, he has been a working, fighting officer.

General Elliott left the 2d Iowa Cavalry soon after the fall of Corinth; and from that date I resume the history of the regiment, first premising that it was under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Hatch from the time of its arrival before Corinth, Colonel Elliott being in command of the brigade to which it was attached.

Since May, 1862, the regiment's field of service has been principally in Tennessee and in Northern Alabama and Mississippi. A full history of its operations can not be given in the limited space to which I am confined, and I shall therefore allude to only the most important items of its service.

During the summer and fall of 1862, the regiment was attached to the cavalry brigade of the gallant Philip H. Sheridan, and made its head-quarters, a chief portion of the time, near Rienzi, Mississippi. After General Grant's unsuccessful march through Central Mississippi, in November, 1862, the 2d Iowa changed its head-quarters to La Grange, Tennessee. It was from that point the regiment moved out to co-operate with Colonel Grierson, at the time that officer started on his wonderful raid through Mississippi. Much interest attaches to this movement, and I therefore give briefly its antecedents and its results.

"In accordance with previous instructions, [I quote from General Grant's official report] Major-General S. A. Hurlbut started Colonel B. H. Grierson with a cavalry force from La Grange, Tennessee, to make a raid through the central portion of the State of Mississippi, to destroy railroad and other public property, for the purpose of creating a diversion in favor of the army moving to the attack of Vicksburg. On the 17th of April, this expedition started, and arrived at Baton Rouge on the 2d of May, having successfully traversed the whole State of Mississippi. The expedition was skillfully conducted, and reflects great credit on Colonel Grierson and all of his command. The notice given this raid by the Southern press confirms our estimate of its importance."

Colonel Hatch and the 2d Iowa did not accompany Colonel Grierson on this raid, but operated in other quarters, and in conjunction with him, so as to draw the attention of the enemy from the real movement, and thus secure the expedition a sure and unmolested start. For a full account of the part taken by the 2d Iowa in this movement, I can not do better than to give in full the official report of Colonel Hatch:


"Head-Quarters 2d Iowa Cavalry,
La Grange, Tennessee, April 27th, 1863."

“CAPTAIN :

"I have the honor to report: Complying with orders from Colonel Grierson, commanding 1st Cavalry Brigade, left camp with my regiment at La Grange, Tennessee, April 17tb, and marched with the brigade to the neighborhood of Ripley, Mississippi, and camped.

"On the morning of the 18th of April, by order of Colonel Grierson, marched my regiment east of Ripley three miles, thence south-east through Molino, and camped five miles south of that place, skirmishing during the day with Smith's regiment of Partisan Rangers, organized near there at a place known as Chesterville. On the 19th, marched south-west, forming a junction with Colonel Grierson, five miles south of Pontotoc, Mississippi. There Major Love, of my regiment, was detached with a portion of the regiment to return to La Grange, reducing me to about five hundred men.

"On the morning of the 20th, marched with Colonel Grierson thirteen mile south-east of Houston, and camped. On the morning of the 21st of April, complying with Colonel Grierson's order, I moved in rear of his column. At 3 o'clock A. M., left Colonel Grierson at the junction of the roads leading to Louisville, West Point and Columbus, thence to proceed to the railroad at West Point, destroying the railroad-bridge over the Okatibbayhah River, thence to move rapidly southward to Macon, destroying the railroad and government stores, and thence to find my way back north to La Grange, by the most practicable route. For some reason unknown to me, the column did not move till 7 o'clock A. M. This delay, as the following report will show, was fatal to carrying out Colonel Grierson's order.

"At the point Colonel Grierson turned south from the direction I was to travel, a detachment of my regiment moved with him four miles, then marched back to that point to obliterate the tracks of Colonel Grierson going south with the 6th and 7th Illinois Cavalry, which had been concentrating for some days in anticipation of a movement on Columbus. About 12 o'clock, on reaching the town of Palo Alto, I was attacked in rear and on each flank by a force under General Dolsen, consisting of Smith's Partisan Regiment, Bartoe's Regiment and Inge's Battalion. In my front, between me and West Point, was an Alabama Regiment, recently from Pensacola, with artillery — my front being well protected by the Hooka River. In the attack made by the enemy, a company in the rear was cut off and nearly all taken. The enemy then closed in on my flank, and advanced in two lines upon my rear, with two flags of truce flying, enabling him to approach very close, my command being at that time in a lane, with high fences and hedges upon either side, my men dismounted and well covered. Changing my front to the rear, I waited until the enemy were close upon me, and opened with my rifles and one two-pounder from the front, and with carbines on the flanks, breaking his lines, driving him back, pushing him about three miles, capturing arms and horses, and re-taking the company that was lost in the first attack. From that time until it was dark, it was a constant skirmish, the enemy having taken mine for the main column. Believing it was important to divert the enemy's cavalry from Colonel Grierson, I moved slowly northward, fighting by the rear, crossing the Hooka River, and drawing their force immediately in my rear.

"On the 22d, marched north near the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, the enemy continuing to follow, their forces augmented by all the citizens in the country, armed with shotguns and hunting-rifles, firing constantly on our flank. At 4 o'clock, P. M., attacked Okalona, driving out the enemy's cavalry and State forces, burning the barracks for five thousand men, and destroying stores and ammunition. I then marched north-west five miles, and camped.

"On the 23d, marched north, and hearing that Chalmer's forces intended cutting me off, I destroyed the bridge over the Chivoppa Creek, to check the forces following me in the rear. Camped that night near Tupelo. On the 24th, marched north through Birmingham, where I was attacked in the rear by what I believe to be Chalmer's forces. At 10 o'clock, A. M., my ammunition giving out, I retreated slowly towards Molino, stopping occasionally to repel their charges, concealing my men at all favorable points with the two-pounder, which did excellent service. I waited till the enemy were nearly on me, when I opened a fire at short range, the enemy suffering terribly, with small loss to me. In this way the attack was kept up for six miles, when the enemy was evidently tired, and with the exception of annoyance from guerrilla parties, we were not troubled by the enemy from that point to La Grange, where I arrived on the 26th.

"We captured about three hundred shot-guns and rifles, mostly Enfield, which for want of transportation were destroyed, and had but ten men killed, wounded and missing. I left camp with seventy rounds of ammunition, and had two on reaching it. I had decided, on reaching Okalona, to go south, but, upon examining my ammunition, I had but twenty-one rounds left, which did not warrant the movement. The fight at Palo Alto gave the enemy time to guard the railroad at West Point, and to prepare for an attack on Columbus, with some two thousand State troops, under General Ruggles.

"I left camp with two hundred and fifty horses: worn out for want of proper and sufficient forage, they broke down at the end of the second day, and I mounted my men upon the mules from my train and borrowed mules. I have nearly mounted my regiment, returned the mules borrowed, and filled up my train, captured fifty prisoners and killed and wounded not less than one hundred of the enemy.

“The fight at Palo Alto, diverting the enemy from Colonel Grierson, has, undoubtedly, given him thirty-six hours' start."


The raid of Colonel Grierson, to which the operations above detailed were collateral, ranks among the first of the war, for daring and success; but the "Patriotism of Illinois" is not impartial in declaring that the entire credit of the affair belongs to Illinois officers. Had not Colonel Hatch, by his maneuvering and hard fighting, diverted the attention of the enemy's cavalry, the result would doubtless have been different. But it is true that the movement filled the enemy with consternation. At the time this handful of Federal troops was sweeping down through Mississippi, Porter was running the Vicksburg Batteries, and McClernand was gathering his corps on the west bank of the river below the city. The combination of movements filled the enemy with amazement, and for several days it was said they stood and looked on with wonder, not knowing what points were most threatened, and most in need of defense. Those who joined Grant's forces on the final Vicksburg Campaign, and who were afforded the opportunity of reading the rebel papers picked up at Raymond, Clinton, and at other points along the route, will remember how great the alarm had been: they will also remember how poor Pemberton was belabored for having allowed "this handful of thieving Yanks to pass unmolested under his very nose."

The 2d Iowa's next move of importance was that made to Jackson, in pursuit of Forest, about the middle of July, 1863. It was on this march, and while charging through the city of Jackson, that Lieutenant John Humphreys was severely wounded. This, considering the numbers engaged, was a gallant affair. One incident of the fight is thus given by Major, afterward Colonel Coon : " In one place, the contest was so close between Company M and a superior force of Forest's men, that one man, named H. H. Bromer, had a hand-to-hand fight, after exhausting all the weapons in his hands.

The 2d Iowa Cavalry re-enlisted as a veteran regiment in the winter of 1863-4, and came North. Afterward, it returned to Memphis, from which point it marched on the expeditions of Sturgis and Smith against Forest; but an account of these operations will be found elsewhere.

Much of the time since promoted to a general officer, General Hatch has commanded a cavalry division. He distinguished himself in resisting Hood's advance into Tennessee, and, especially, in the part he took in routing the rebel forces at Nashville.

The general has a handsome person and an agreeable address. He is about five feet eleven inches in hight, has dark hair and eyes, and, if I am rightly informed, possesses great energy and determination. He is dignified if the occasion requires it, and yet, he can crack a joke and tip a beer-mug with the best of them.

SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p.571-6