Twenty-Second Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry

The Twenty-second Regiment of Iowa Infantry Volunteers was composed of ten companies, seven of which were organized in Johnson County, and one each in the counties of Jasper, Monroe and Wapello. The records in the office of the Adjutant General of Iowa show that the companies were ordered into quarters by the Governor, on dates ranging from June 16 to August 30, 1862. The rendezvous designated in the order was Camp Pope, near Iowa City, and there, on the 7th, 9th and 10th days of September, 1862, they were mustered into the service of the United States, by Captain H. B. Hendershott, of the Regular Army [see note 1]. Major William M. Stone, of the Third Regiment Iowa Infantry, who had served with that regiment from the commencement of the war, and was wounded in the first general engagement in which it participated, and who had commanded the regiment at the battle of Shiloh, an officer in every way well qualified to assume the duties of regimental commander, was commissioned Colonel of the Twenty-second Regiment, on the 21st of May, 1862, by Governor Kirkwood, and, with his characteristic energy, proceeded to organize the regiment, when the companies which had been assigned to it had reported at the rendezvous. The regiment was fortunate in securing the services of this able and experienced soldier as its first commander [see note 2]. Upon the completion of the muster rolls, the regiment showed an aggregate strength of 952 enlisted men and officers, but early additional enlistments brought the number up to 1,008, about the maximum strength of an infantry regiment, including Field and Staff officers. There was but a short interval between the date of the muster in of the last company and the completion of the organization of his regiment until Colonel Stone received orders to take the field.

On the evening of September 14, 1862, the regiment left its camp at Iowa City and was conveyed by rail to Davenport, where it embarked on steamer and proceeded to St. Louis, where it arrived on the 18th, marched to Benton Barracks, was assigned to quarters, and was there thoroughly equipped for active service. On the 22d of September the regiment was ordered to Rolla, Mo., to which place it was conveyed by rail, and, arriving there on the 23d, went into camp about two miles from the town. It was subsequently assigned to duty at the post of Rolla, and was engaged in guarding commissary stores and the railroad and in escorting supply trains to the Army of Southeast Missouri, until the 27th of January, 1863, on which date it received orders to join the army under General Davidson, at West Plains, Mo. After a march of five days it reached its destination, and was assigned to the Second Brigade, Second Division, Army of Southeast Missouri. The brigade consisted of the Twenty-first, Twenty-second and Twenty-third Regiments of Iowa Infantry, and was under command of Colonel Stone of the Twenty-second.

On the 9th of February, 1863, the regiment with its brigade took up the line of march towards Iron Mountain, arriving there on February 26th. This long march through a mountainous region, at an inclement season of the year, with insufficient rations, was a severe test of the fortitude of the men, but they endured the hardships and privations to which they were subjected without complaint, and demonstrated their capacity to withstand such exposure and suffering to the fullest extent. The army remained encamped at Iron Mountain until March 9th, upon which date orders were received to join the army under command of General Grant, in the great Vicksburg campaign. In compliance with orders, the troops took up the line of march for St. Genevieve, Mo., on the Mississippi River, which place was reached on the 12th of March. Transportation was not secured until March 22d, upon which date the regiment embarked on the transport "Black Hawk," and was conveyed down the river to Milliken's Bend, where it arrived and disembarked on the 27th, and went into camp. The other troops of the Army of Southeast Missouri reached Milliken's Bend by the 1st of April. In the reorganization of the troops, which then took place, the Twenty-second Iowa was assigned to the Second Brigade, of the Fourteenth Division, Thirteenth Army Corps. The other regiments assigned to the brigade were the Twenty-first and Twenty-third Iowa, and the Eleventh Wisconsin Infantry. Colonel C. L. Harris of the latter regiment, being the senior officer, was assigned to the command of the brigade; Brigadier General Eugene A. Carr was in command of the division and Major General John A. McClernand was the corps commander. The Army of Southeast Missouri had thus been merged into the Army of the Tennessee.

On the morning of April 12th, the Twenty-second Iowa, with its brigade, received orders to march to Richmond, La., and, having driven a small body of the enemy's cavalry from that place, marched to Carthage, thence to Perkins’ Landing, and there went into camp to await the arrival of the rest of the division and corps. On the evening of April 27th, the Thirteenth Army Corps embarked on transports, and, on the morning of the 28th, proceeded down the river to Hard Times Landing, opposite the mouth of Black River and near Grand Gulf, where the enemy had erected fortifications and powerful water batteries on a bluff commanding the entrance to the river. On the morning of the 29th, the fleet, headed by the gunboat "Benton," moved down and engaged the rebel batteries. After a terrible bombardment, lasting several hours, during which several of the rebel guns were dismounted, the plan was abandoned. Having failed in the movement which seemed to have been intended for a combined attack by the land and naval forces upon this impregnable position of the enemy, the Thirteenth Army Corps was ordered to move from Hard Times Landing to a point on the river three miles below Grand Gulf, and there go into bivouac until morning. During the night the fleet of transports and gunboats, which had successfully run the blockade at Vicksburg, passed the rebel batteries.

On the morning of April 30th, the Thirteenth Army Corps embarked on transports and gunboats and proceeded down the river, landing, about 3 P. M., sixteen miles below Grand Gulf, at the village of Bruinsburg. At 4 P. M. the army marched in the direction of Port Gibson. The Twenty-second Iowa, with its brigade, formed the extreme advance of the army. Colonel Harris not being able to proceed with the troops on account of illness, the command of the brigade devolved upon Colonel Stone of the Twenty-second Iowa. At 1 o'clock A. M„ May 1st, the advanced guard, composed of one company of the Twenty-first Iowa, was suddenly fired upon by the enemy's pickets, about three miles from Port Gibson. The official report of Major Atherton, who was in command of the Twenty-second Iowa, describes the movements and conduct of the regiment in the preliminary engagement on the night of April 30th, and in the battle of Port Gibson on May 1, 1863, and is here quoted, as follows [see note 3]:


CAMP NEAR ROCKY SPRINGS, MISS., May 7, 1863.

COLONEL WILLIAM M. STONE,

SIR: I herewith report to you the action of the Twenty-second Iowa in the battle before Port Gibson, Miss., on the 1st inst. You having been called upon to command the Second Brigade, to which we were attached, the command of the regiment devolved upon me. On the evening of the 30th ultimo, on our march toward Port Gibson, Miss., after our advanced guard became engaged with the enemy, I received an order from you to hurry my regiment forward and form it in line on the left of our artillery, then hotly engaged with the rebel batteries. This order was promptly obeyed, and the men came up quickly and in good order, forming at the point designated. We were then under the enemy's fire, yet my men manifested great coolness and self-possession. We remained in line for two hours in support of the batteries, until the battle ceased for the night, and we lay down upon our arms, but not to sleep, as we were in momentary expectation of a renewal of the combat. Soon after sunrise we were again in line and under the enemy's fire, in support of our batteries, until near 10 o'clock, when we were led forward to charge on the rebel lines. This movement was executed with alacrity by my regiment. Not a man faltered or fell back. Our fire was delivered upon the enemy with great deliberation and accuracy, and when their lines were broken and they driven in rout from the field, we were among the first to occupy their field. In the long and hotly contested fight of the afternoon, my regiment was all the time in the face of the enemy and under his severest fire. Three times we were ordered against the rebel infantry and under the range of his batteries. Each time we drove them from the field. Late in the afternoon, by your order, we charged up the hill in conjunction with the Twenty-first Iowa, and on the left of General Burbridge's brigade, against the enemy's lines, there strongly posted in almost impenetrable timber and underbrush. Though unable, from the character of the ground and the raking fire of the enemy's batteries, to reach the extreme summit of the hill, we reached the point to which I was ordered, and remained there, receiving and returning the enemy's fire, until about sundown, when, by your order, we returned to our former position, and remained on the field until the firing had entirely ceased and quiet reigned along our whole line.

Throughout this series of engagements the officers and men of my regiment behaved with great coolness and gallantry. I found them always ready and eager to obey the order to move on the enemy. So well did the entire command acquit themselves. I cannot, without seeming invidiousness, enter into particulars. It is sufficient to say that they acted nobly, and well sustained the honors already earned by Iowa soldiers. Great care was taken to shelter our men from the enemy's fire, which the unevenness of the ground enabled us to do with comparative success, yet the loss in this regiment being greater, with but one exception, than any other regiment in the brigade, shows clearly where we were during this long and hotly contested engagement, and that my men did not shrink from their duty. Too much praise cannot be awarded to our surgeons, White and Peabody. Their department was conducted with skill and ability. Their attention to the wounded was truly commendable and will doubtless long be remembered by these unfortunates. The following is a list of the killed and wounded [see note 4]. Several not enumerated were very slightly wounded, but continued on the field until the close of the fight.

Very respectfully,

J. B. ATHERTON,
Major Commanding Regiment.


The official report of the commander of the brigade, Colonel W. M. Stone of the Twenty-second Iowa, describes with minute particularity the movements and conduct of his command. He especially commends the conduct of Colonel Merrill of the Twenty-first Iowa, Major Atherton of the Twenty-second Iowa, Lieutenant Colonel Glasgow of the Twenty-third Iowa, Lieutenant Colonel Wood of the Eleventh Wisconsin, and Captain Griffiths of the First Iowa Battery, and adds this further commendation: "Their associate officers, too, are entitled to great credit, as all of them, so far as I have been able to learn, performed their duties nobly. To the dauntless and heroic men of the ranks, and the line officers, all honor is due. Never did brave men endure more with less murmuring than they, during these thirty consecutive hours of hard marching and severe fighting, and, when the history of the war is fully written, they will be remembered among the bravest defenders of the Republic." [See note 5.]

The official report of General Carr, the division commander, speaks in the highest terms of the conduct of Colonel Stone and the officers and men of his brigade, and gives the following summary of losses: "The loss of the First Brigade was: Killed, 28; wounded, 134; that of the Second Brigade was: Killed, 13; wounded, 88. Total in the division, 263." [See note 6.]

Early on the morning of the second day of May, the army marched in pursuit of the enemy. At Bayou Pierre, the Second Brigade was ordered to halt for the purpose of rebuilding a bridge, which had been destroyed by the enemy the night previous. The bridge was completed and the march resumed on the evening of May 4th. Colonel Stone had been relieved of the command of the brigade by General M. K. Lawler, and had resumed command of his regiment. On May 13th, the Second Brigade arrived at Mississippi Springs, where it was ordered to remain as guard for the transportation train of the division until the 16th, on which date it returned to Raymond and rejoined the division and corps, which then marched towards Edwards' Station, and arrived in the vicinity of Champion's Hill while the battle which was fought there was in progress. General Carr's Division was held in reserve until just at the close of the battle, when it was ordered forward to pursue the retreating enemy and endeavor to cut off the retreat. The pursuit was continued to Edwards' Station, which was reached at 10 P. M., and a train of commissary and ordnance stores and other supplies of the rebel army was captured, together with over 200 prisoners. It was no fault of the Twenty-second Iowa and the other troops of their brigade and division that they did not have a larger share of the fighting at Champion's Hill. They stood waiting for the order to go into action during the progress of the battle, but the order was not given until the enemy was in full retreat and it was too late to successfully execute the flanking movement by which it was hoped to intercept the retreat and prevent the escape of the enemy. Had the order been given sooner, that result might have been accomplished, and the Twenty-second Iowa and the troops with which it was associated would have had a more conspicuous record in the battle of Champion's Hill, and a greater loss would have been inflicted upon the rebel army.

At daylight, on the morning of May 17th, the regiment with its brigade resumed the pursuit of the enemy. General Carr's Division now led the advance. The march was conducted with great vigor and, at 10 A. M., the enemy's pickets were encountered about two miles from their fortifications on Black River. Space will not permit a detailed description of the battle which ensued or the conditions which confronted the troops making the attack. Suffice it to say that, when the pickets of the enemy had been driven in and their position developed, it became evident that their defeat could only be accomplished after a desperate struggle. Having reconnoitered the position and determined upon the most accessible point of attack, the Thirteenth Corps moved forward, with General Carr's Division in advance. Skirmishing was renewed and continued for several hours. General Lawler, whose brigade occupied the extreme right, discovered that by moving his brigade under cover of the river bank a charge on the enemy's works from that point might be successfully made. He therefore ordered his brigade to charge and, if possible, carry the works. The Twenty-third Iowa, led by the gallant Colonel Kinsman, was in the van, followed by the Twenty-first Iowa and the Eleventh Wisconsin; while the Twenty-second Iowa, on the extreme right of the brigade, was ordered to move down the river bank against the enemy's left, which rested on the river. The order was most gallantly executed. In less than twenty minutes after the order to charge was given, the main line of the enemy's works had been captured. In his official report General Lawler gives a carefully detailed account of the movements and conduct of the different regiments composing his brigade. In its position upon the extreme right, the Twenty-second Iowa, while rendering most important service, did not come under the direct fire of the enemy and, therefore, escaped with the least loss of any of the regiments of the brigade. It implicitly obeyed the orders it received, however, and acquitted itself with perfect honor in the battle of Big Black River Bridge. The following brief extracts from General Lawler's report will serve to show his appreciation of the conduct of the regiment during the battle [see note 7]:

. . . The Twenty-second Iowa — which had in the meantime crossed the field and taken position on the river bank, on the right of the Eleventh Wisconsin — were ordered to move out into the field and act as a reserve force. . . . The rebels broke and fled before the Twenty-second Iowa, and fell an easy prey into the hands of the Eleventh Wisconsin. Those of the rebels who were not captured hastened to make good their retreat over the bridge. As the result of this successful charge, we may with justice claim that it gave our army entire possession of the enemy's extended lines of works, and with them their field artillery (18 pieces in all), a large quantity of ammunition, thousands of small arms, and 3,000 prisoners. . . Colonel William M. Stone, Twenty-second Iowa Volunteers, though suffering severely from disease, was present on the field, sharing its dangers, and has my thanks for the promptness with which he moved his command against the left of the enemy's works.


General Lawler gives the number of killed and wounded in his brigade as follows: Killed, 27; wounded, 194; total, 221; while the total loss of the division was 246 and that of the Thirteenth Army Corps 279, thus showing that Lawler's Brigade sustained the heaviest loss and did most of the fighting in that battle [see note 8]. The Twenty-first and Twenty-third Iowa lost 184 of the 221 killed and wounded in the Second Brigade, those two regiments leading the charge, while the Twenty-second Iowa and Eleventh Wisconsin, being held in reserve, did not participate in the severest part of the battle.

The Thirteenth Corps went into camp on the battlefield until a floating bridge could be constructed to replace the bridge destroyed by the enemy. On the evening of the 18th, the bridge having been completed, the corps crossed the river and took up the line of march towards Vicksburg, the enemy having retreated to that place, where, behind heavy fortifications, they awaited the attack of General Grant's army. The march was continued all night and the following day until noon, when the advanced line of the enemy's works was reached and the troops came under the fire of their heavy guns. Firing was kept up by the contending batteries and, at 2 P. M., the infantry was ordered to move forward. After several hours’ skirmishing, the Thirteenth Corps succeeded in gaining an advanced position within 500 yards of the enemy's works, covered from their fire by a range of hills. The Twenty-second Iowa had one man severely wounded during this advance. The position taken by General Carr's Division was on the range of hills in the vicinity of the Jackson Railroad. Lawler’s Brigade occupied the left, with the right of the Twenty-second Iowa resting on the railroad. During the whole of the night of May 20th, the regiment was engaged in throwing up fortifications and, on the morning of the 21st, two twenty-pound Napoleon guns of the Sixteenth Ohio Battery were placed in position on the brow of the hill and opened a vigorous fire on the enemy's works. Their fire dismounted one of the enemy's heavy guns, but the rebel artillery remained silent, probably for the purpose of saving its ammunition for the anticipated assault. Throughout the day the regiment occupied the works, constructed during the previous night, and kept up a brisk fire in response to that of the enemy's sharpshooters, but, owing to the inaccuracy of the enemy's aim and the great distance, the total casualties in the regiment, resulting from this first day's practice in the rifle pits, were two men severely wounded.

On the evening of May 21st, Colonel Stone received General Grant's order for a general assault on the enemy's lines at 10 A. M. on the 22d, and the officers were notified to have their men in readiness for the movement, which it became necessary to make under cover of the night in order to reach the position midway between the two lines, from which the assault was to be made. In the stillness of midnight the Twenty-second Iowa led the advance of the brigade, moved over the brow of the hill and passed quietly down the deep ravine, into which the enemy had felled trees which formed an obstruction difficult to overcome. With great caution the regiment made its way over this obstruction and, after several hours, succeeded in reaching the desired position, without having attracted the attention of the enemy's pickets, posted but twenty yards distant. The day was dawning when the position was gained, and the men were ordered to lie down and rest upon the hillside until the appointed hour should arrive. At 9:30 A. M. the brigade was formed in lines of battalions, the Twenty-second Iowa in advance, followed by the Twenty-first Iowa and Eleventh Wisconsin. At 10 A. M. Captain Bluford Wilson, of General Lawler's Staff, arrived and directed Colonel Stone to advance. In a moment more, with the battle-cry "Remember Kinsman!" (Colonel of the Twenty-third Iowa, killed at Black River), and the command "Forward!" given by Colonel Stone, the regiment leaped over the hill to the charge. The enemy were on the alert and, as our colors rose above the crest of the hill, a thousand bayonets glistened in the sunlight above the parapet at Fort Beauregard.

The strong work against which the main attack was directed covered about half an acre of ground, the walls being about fifteen feet high, surrounded by a ditch ten feet wide. A line of rifle pits connected it with others of the same kind, each of which was so arranged as to enfilade the approach to the other. The regiment succeeded in reaching — under a concentrated fire of grape and musketry — an almost impenetrable abatis, forty yards from the works, where it became necessary to reform the line, the men having become separated in crossing the obstructions. They promptly rallied to the flag and were again led to the charge. Colonel Stone was here wounded, while gallantly directing the charge, and was compelled to leave the field. Lieutenant Colonel Graham then assumed command and, with a few officers and about fifty men, succeeded in reaching the ditch surrounding the fort, but, having no scaling ladders, they were unable to enter the works. Sergeant Joseph E. Griffith, with some fifteen or twenty men, succeeded — by raising one another up the wall — in gaining an entrance and capturing a number of prisoners, but the fire from the enemy's rifle pits in rear of the fort, and the lack of reinforcements coming to their aid, rendered the place untenable. Sergeant Griffith and David Trine, of Company I, were the only survivors of this daring exploit [see note 9]. The assault had proved a failure. The troops did not leave the field, however. Believing that reinforcements would be sent to their aid, the gallant officers and men of the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Iowa and the Eleventh Wisconsin remained on the field, receiving and returning the fire of the enemy until, their ammunition becoming exhausted, they were compelled to withdraw. The regiment had suffered very heavy loss. Captain James Robertson of Company I, and Lieutenant Matthew A. Robb of Company D, were killed at the head of their companies. Lieutenant Colonel Harvey Graham and several others were taken prisoners in the ditch at the fort, while gallantly endeavoring to aid the brave men who had gained an entrance. Captain John H. Gearkee and Lieutenant John Remic, of Company B, and Lieutenant L. F. Mullins of Company C, fell severely wounded at the post of honor at the head of their companies. Every officer and man of the regiment might justly have had special mention for the brave manner in which he performed his duty in that desperate and hopeless struggle. They obeyed orders — the highest duty of soldiers — without questioning the wisdom or unwisdom of the officers high in command, who had sent them against this strong position of the enemy and failed to reinforce them at the critical moment when they had gained a lodgment upon the works of the enemy and, with a sufficient force sent to their assistance, might have carried and held them. It was the last attempt to capture Vicksburg by direct assault, and, from that day to the time of surrender, the safer and wiser plan of a regular siege was adopted. The loss of the Twenty-second Iowa in this charge was 27 killed, 118 wounded and 19 captured. Total loss 164 [see note 10]. This was the heaviest loss sustained by any regiment of the Thirteenth Army Corps in the disastrous assault, as shown by the official returns. The total loss of the corps was 1,275, while that of Carr's Division was 710, and of Lawler's Brigade 368 [see note 11].

Colonel Stone having been wounded and Lieutenant Colonel Graham captured during the assault, the command of the regiment devolved upon Major Atherton, who wrote the official report of the engagement [see note 12]. His report differs in some respects from those of other officers, notably that of Captain C. N. Lee [see note 13], also that of General Lawler [see note 14], the Brigade Commander, and that of Adjutant Pryce, in his history of the regiment [see note 15]. ♦ The compiler has heretofore referred to these conflicting reports and cannot attempt to reconcile them. In the main they are in accord as to the essential fact, that the conduct of the officers and men of the regiment in that desperate charge was worthy of as high praise as was ever accorded to soldiers upon any battlefield of the war, in either of the contending armies. Had the history of the Twenty-second Iowa ended upon that day, that regiment would still stand high upon the roll of fame, as among the bravest and best that the State of Iowa sent into the field.

The regiment had now become fearfully reduced in numbers, but the brave officers and men who survived, and were able for duty, performed their full share of service in the trenches until the surrender of the rebel stronghold on the 4th of July, 1863. They suffered all the hardships and exposure incident to that protracted siege, but, during the remainder of its progress, the casualties of the regiment were light, as compared with its heavy loss on the 22d of May. The losses of the regiment in battle, on the skirmish line and in the siege had, up to July 4, 1863, aggregated 189, while less than ten months had expired since it took the field.

On the morning of July 5th, the regiment took up the line of march with the troops under General Sherman, moving against the rebel army under General Johnston. The regiment started on this march with less than 150 officers and men fit for duty, but, during all the operations of its brigade and division, while the rebel army was being driven towards Jackson and during the siege of that place — which ended with the evacuation of the enemy on July 16th — it performed its full share of duty, always acquitting itself with credit. Colonel Stone, having partially recovered from his wounds, rejoined his regiment while the siege of Jackson was in progress, and was placed in command of the Second Brigade. After the army had taken possession of the city, the Second Brigade was ordered to destroy a portion of the Mississippi Central Railroad. Having accomplished that duty, it returned to Vicksburg, arriving there on the 24th of July, and going into camp in the city. Here Colonel Stone (having been nominated for Governor of Iowa) tendered his resignation and took final leave of the army, carrying with him the love and respect of his comrades in arms. The officers and men of the regiment regretted the loss of their noble commander, under whom they had won renown, but they rejoiced to know that he was to become the Governor of their State, in recognition of his splendid service as a soldier and of his ability to render equally good service as the Chief Executive of the Commonwealth of Iowa.

On the 31st of July, General Carr, who had successfully commanded the division, relinquished the command, on account of impaired health, and General Benton was appointed his successor, while Colonel Harris, of the Eleventh Wisconsin, again assumed command of the brigade as the successor of Colonel Stone. The brigade became a part of the First Division of the Thirteenth Army Corps, commanded by Major General Ord, as the successor of Major General McClernand. On the 13th of August the regiment embarked on the transport "Baltic," and moved down the river to Carrollton, eight miles above New Orleans, and went into camp there. Preparations were being made for another campaign. The troops were soon ordered to New Orleans, where all surplus baggage was stored in order that the troops might be relieved of everything that would prevent celerity in marching, and, after being reviewed by Generals Grant and Banks, the whole command embarked on transports and proceeded to Algiers. Landing there, the troops were conveyed by rail to Bayou Beoff, where they arrived on September 5th, and remained until the 11th, when they marched to Brashear City, on Berwick Bay. On September 25th the troops crossed the bay and went into camp near the ruins of the town of Berwick. On the 2d of October the army took up its line of march, passing through Iberia, Franklin and St. Martinsville, and arriving at Vermillionville on October 10th. The enemy, consisting of a heavy force under General Dick Taylor, was first encountered near Iberia. They rapidly retreated and were pursued to Opelousas, at which point it was expected they would make a determined stand and that a general engagement would take place; but, the enemy continuing to retreat, the expedition was abandoned, with no more important result than temporarily driving the enemy out of that part of the country south of Bayou Teche and extending from Berwick to Opelousas. During this campaign the Twenty-second Iowa participated in several skirmishes, but sustained only slight losses. On the 10th of November the regiment, with the other troops, had returned to Berwick.

The First Division, now under command of General Washburn, was ordered to proceed to Texas, and, on November 17th, the Twenty-second Iowa crossed Berwick Bay, reaching Algiers the next day. Five companies, under command of Colonel Graham, embarked on the steamer "T. A. Scott," while the balance of the regiment, under command of Major White, remained at Algiers, awaiting transportation. On the 20th, the steamer, conveying the five companies, proceeded down the river and crossed the bar into the Gulf of Mexico and, after a stormy and perilous voyage, arrived at the mouth of the Rio Grande, off Brazos Santiago, Texas. Here an attempt was made to land a portion of the troops at Point Isabel. The ship drawing too much water to cross the bar, five companies of the Eleventh Wisconsin were landed in small boats, but, during the undertaking — a somewhat hazardous one — a storm arose and the ship was compelled to put to sea again, leaving that portion of the troops landed at Point Isabel. On the evening of November 27th the ship arrived off Mustang Island, seventy miles from Matagorda Bay, and, the storm having somewhat abated, succeeded in landing the troops safely. On the 29th the regiment proceeded with the expedition against Fort Esperanza, commanding the entrance to Matagorda Bay, crossed St. Joseph's and Matagorda Islands, and arrived at the fort December 1st. The enemy had blown up their magazines and abandoned the fort the night previous. The troops went into camp near the Port of Saluria, and on the next day crossed Pass Cavallo, at the entrance of the bay, and went into camp on the peninsula, at De Crou's Point. The regiment was there joined by Major White, with the left wing. The regiment remained at that place until January 3, 1864, when, with the other troops of the brigade and division, they embarked on transports and proceeded to Indianola. The town was occupied by a force of the enemy, which fled upon the approach of the Union troops. The troops were quartered in houses at Indianola about three weeks, when the Second Brigade was ordered to Old Indianola, where it went into winter quarters. While at the latter place the First and Second Brigades were consolidated and formed the First Brigade of the First Division, the former commanded by General Fitz Henry Warren, and the latter successively by Generals Washburn, Dana and Benton.

During the winter the officers and men were comfortably situated, enjoyed excellent health, and the regiment rapidly improved in discipline and military efficiency. The enemy appeared several times near the town, but only in small reconnoitering parties, which were generally easily driven off by a detachment of mounted infantry of twenty-five men organized for that purpose from the different regiments of the brigade. On one occasion they encountered a full company of rebel cavalry, supposed to belong to "Wall's Legion," and formerly known as "Texan Rangers." A desperate fight took place about fifteen miles in the interior. The enemy numbered about one hundred men, but the little band of Union soldiers fought bravely. They were finally compelled to surrender. The following members of the Twenty-second Iowa belonging to the detachment were captured: John Fleming and Wm. Bechtel, Company A; Philip Huzer, Company D; Gabriel Hoffman, Company H; Karl Bedner, Company K; and William Franklin, Company F. On the 13th of March the troops evacuated the town and returned to Matagorda Island. All other troops of the Thirteenth Army Corps having left the island, the First Division, under General Dana, was assigned to the defenses of the coast at this point. Colonel Graham was ordered to proceed to Iowa on recruiting service at this time and, Major White having been granted leave of absence, Major Houston of the Twenty-third Iowa was temporarily assigned to the command of the Twenty-second Iowa.

On the 21st of April the regiment embarked on steamers "Planter" and "Matamoras" and proceeded on an expedition, under command of General Warren in person, to Port Lavacca, a distance of seventy miles from the mouth of the bay and thirty miles above Indianola; the object of the expedition being to obtain lumber for the completion of the forts and other works on the island. Upon the approach of the steamers, the rebel troops stationed at Port Lavacca — consisting of one company of cavalry — fled to the interior. The regiment disembarked and Lieutenant Jones, with Company A, as advance guard, took possession of the place. The steamers were loaded with lumber and the main object of the expedition was accomplished. General Warren, having been advised that the rebel cavalry company had returned to the vicinity of the town, ordered Major Houston to proceed with a detachment of the Twenty-second Iowa and, if possible, surround and capture the rebel force. The Major succeeded in getting into the rear of the enemy, and in the skirmish which ensued one rebel was killed and several were wounded, but, being mounted, the rest of the company escaped. The regiment then embarked and returned to the island.

On the 27th of April the Thirteenth Army Corps was ordered to report to General Banks, as reinforcements to the army under that officer, then engaged in the famous and ill-fated Red River Expedition. The left wing of the Twenty-second Iowa, commanded by Captain Gearkee, embarked on the 27th, and the right wing, commanded by Major White, followed on the 29th, arriving at New Orleans on May 1st. On the evening of May 4th, the left wing of the regiment, Captain Cree commanding, embarked with the Twenty-third Iowa, and, accompanied by General Fitz Henry Warren and his staff, proceeded up Red River, arriving at Fort De Russy on May 6th, but the enemy having obstructed the navigation of the river below Alexandria, the boats could proceed no further. They then returned to the mouth of Red River, where the troops landed and went into camp. On the 15th of May, a fleet of transports arrived and the troops again embarked and proceeded to Simsport on the Atchafalaya River, to join the troops of General Banks' expedition, who were marching from Alexandria to that point. On May 16th, the Thirteenth, Seventeenth and Nineteenth Corps arrived at Simsport and crossed the river on transports. All the troops then took up the line of march for Morganza, where they arrived on the 22d of May, and where the detachment of the Twenty-second Iowa, under command of Captain Cree, remained in camp until the 9th of June, when the captain received orders to report, with his detachment, to Colonel Graham at Baton Rouge, La., where the regiment was reunited on June 10, 1864.

The Thirteenth Army Corps having been temporarily discontinued by the War Department, the Twenty-second Iowa was ordered to report to General Reynolds at New Orleans, was conveyed to that place on July 6th and went into camp at Algiers. The regiment was there assigned to the Second Brigade of the Second Division, Nineteenth Army Corps, composed of the One-hundred-thirty-first and One-hundred-fifty-ninth New York, Thirteenth Connecticut, Third Massachusetts Cavalry, Twenty-second Iowa and Eleventh Indiana. The brigade was commanded by Colonel E. L, Molineaux, of the One-hundred-fifty-ninth New York. The Nineteenth Corps, as reorganized, comprised three divisions. The first, General Dwight's, was composed of eastern troops exclusively; the second, General Grover's, had five western regiments and the remainder were eastern troops; the third, General Lawler's, was composed entirely of western troops. The first and second divisions having been ordered to report to Washington, D. C, the Twenty-second Iowa, with the One-hundred-thirty-first and One-hundred-fifty-ninth New York, embarked, on the 17th of July, on the steamer "Cahawba," and arrived at Fortress Monroe on the 24th, after a voyage void of incident. On the 25th the ship proceeded up the James River to Bermuda Hundreds Landing, where the troops disembarked and, after marching seven miles, joined the forces under General Butler. These three regiments were separated from the division to which they had been assigned, the other portion of it having gone direct to Washington. They were temporarily attached to General Terry's division of General Birny's corps and placed on duty in the trenches, extending across the peninsula from the James River to Appomattox, occupying a portion of the line in General Butler's front until July 31st, when orders were received to report at Washington. The troops marched to Bermuda Hundreds Landing, where they embarked on transports, proceeded down the river to Fortress Monroe and from there up the Potomac to Washington, where they arrived on August 1st and disembarked.

On August 2d the three regiments marched to Tennallytown, D. C, at the outer defenses of the city, and went into camp on the heights of Georgetown, overlooking the city. There they were joined by a portion of their division, and on August 14th again took up the line of march to join the troops under command of General Sheridan, then operating in the vicinity of Cedar Creek and Strasburg in the Shenandoah Valley. The march was continued through Dranesville, Leesburg and Hamilton, over the Kitoctan Mountains, through Snickers Gap in the Blue Ridge, and, wading the Shenandoah River at the foot of the mountain at midnight, the troops arrived at Berryville, ten miles from Winchester, Va., at daylight on the morning of August 18th. Here they met the forces of General Sheridan on their retreat down the valley, pursued by the rebel General Early's army. The Twenty-second Iowa and the other troops of its brigade and division were ordered to join the retreat on the Berryville and Harper's Ferry road. Summit Point, four miles from Charlestown, was reached at midnight. Here the troops remained for two days. The enemy threatening a flank movement, the army again fell back to Halltown, the Twenty-second Iowa forming the rear guard. On the morning of August 21st, the army took a position on a range of hills, its left resting on the Potomac and its right extending to near the foot of the Blue Ridge. The Twenty-second Iowa occupied a position near the center of the line, about one mile south of Halltown. From the date last mentioned, both armies continued to maneuver for position, the Twenty-second Iowa and the troops with which it was associated performing their full share in the different movements, in which there was more or less skirmishing, until the 18th of September, when the army received orders to be ready to march at a moment's notice. All surplus baggage was loaded and sent to the rear and the troops were left with nothing that would in the least encumber them, either upon the march or in battle.

At 2 A. M., September 19, 1864, the army took up its line of march on the road leading to Winchester. Arriving at the Opequon soon after daylight, and the road passing through a narrow defile, the Nineteenth Corps was obliged to halt until the Sixth Corps passed. In the meantime the advance, composed entirely of cavalry, had become engaged with the enemy and had succeeded in driving in their pickets. At 9 A. M. the Tenth Corps arrived upon the ground and formed in line of battle about one mile from the Opequon, on a range of hills facing the enemy. During the time that the formation of the line was in progress, the enemy opened vigorously with artillery, but were soon silenced and quiet was restored along the lines, as if to prepare for the terrible contest which was soon to follow. The enemy was found to be strongly posted in a belt of heavy timber, with their line extending across the Winchester road. During a short reconnaissance to ascertain the enemy's position, the troops were allowed to rest. In a few moments the command "Forward!" rang along the line, and the army moved forward to the attack. The Twenty-second Iowa occupied the left of the brigade, which formed the extreme left of the Nineteenth Corps. The ground over which the regiment had to pass was an open field, extending to the enemy's works, a distance of about one mile. The enemy, being in open view, observed our movements and opened a concentrated fire from their artillery on our advancing column until it had reached to within six hundred yards, when they opened with grape and canister. The regiment then moved forward on the double quick, meeting a heavy fire of musketry, and reached a point within one hundred yards of their line, posted behind a stone fence in the woods. Under the destructive fire the line began to waver, but the men were rallied and fought for nearly an hour in the open field against the enemy protected by their works. The troops of the Sixth Corps — which joined immediately on the left of the Twenty-second Iowa — gave way, and General Grover, finding that his troops would be flanked on the left, gave orders to fall back, which was done in good order. The enemy, inspired by their partial success, raised a yell and charged in pursuit. The line was again rallied and, in turn, charged the enemy, driving them back over the field and through the timber. The enemy retreated in confusion until they reached the range of hills near Winchester, when they rallied and attempted to make a stand; but the rebel troops had become demoralized and could not be held in line. They again broke and fell back in confusion, leaving the Union Army in undisputed possession of the field at sundown. In this desperate battle the Twenty-Second Iowa had fought in the open in the most exposed and dangerous position, while the greater part of the Union troops advanced under cover of the woods. When the line fell back, the regiment promptly obeyed the order to halt and, in turn, charged the advancing and exultant rebels and turned apparent defeat into victory. The official report states that the regiment never fought better [see note 16]. Not a man faltered or fell back, although it required the highest degree of courage to charge over that open space, for a long distance, and all the time under a heavy fire; and, again, when ordered to fall back, to promptly obey the order to turn and charge the enemy, and thus achieve a splendid victory.

The Twenty-second Iowa had nobly maintained the honor of its State and had won the, high regard of the Eastern troops, by whose side they fought at the battle of Winchester. Colonel Graham commanded the regiment, and directed its movements with the same bravery and ability he had exhibited upon the battlefields where his regiment had fought with the western armies. He was ably assisted by the gallant Lieutenant Colonel White and Major Gearkee. Those especially mentioned in the official reports were: “Captain D. J. Davis of Company A, and Captain B. D. Parks of Company E; who were instantly killed at the head of their companies. Their conduct was heroic, and they died at the post of honor. Sergeant Major George A. Remley, as noble as he was brave, was pierced with three balls and fell dead. Lieutenant Colonel E. G. White was slightly wounded in the face by the explosion of a shell. Lieutenant James A. Boarts was severely wounded in the head by a minie ball, and has since died. Lieutenants Jones of Company A, and Hull of Company K, were both captured. Lieutenant Colonel White, Major Gearkee, Captains Mullins, Humphrey, Cree, Clark, Shockey, Hartly and Morsman, and Lieutenants Turnbull, Davis, Needham, Messenger and Chandler, are all entitled to great praise for their gallantry throughout the battle in encouraging and rallying the men to the colors. Surgeon Shrader was on the field during the engagement and was indefatigable in his exertions to care for the wounded. Hospital Steward Ealy, Quartermaster Sterling and Commissary Sergeant Brown rendered efficient service in carrying off the wounded and conducting the ambulances to different parts of the field, and can not be too highly commended. The total loss of the regiment in this battle was 109 killed, wounded and missing. A list of the casualties is annexed to the report." [See note 17.]

On the night of the 19th of September, the regiment, with the rest of the army, bivouacked on the battlefield near Winchester. On the morning of the 20th, the army again took up its line of march in pursuit of the enemy. On the 22d, the rebel army made a stand at the strong position of Fisher's Hill, and General. Sheridan at once made preparations for an attack. At 12 o'clock the Twenty-second and Twenty-eighth Iowa were ordered to advance and carry a line of rifle pits on the heights, occupied by the skirmishers of the enemy. The charge was executed in fine style, and the skirmishers were compelled to abandon the rifle pits and retire into their main works. At 4 o'clock P.M. orders were received to assault the fortified position of the enemy. The Twenty-second and Twenty-eighth Iowa and the One-hundred-twenty-eighth New York, occupying the advance line as skirmishers on the extreme left of the army, charged up the rocky and precipitous ground and drove the enemy in their front from the works. Owing to the irregularity of the ground, the loss of the regiment in this charge was but four men wounded. In the pursuit, which was kept up until the following morning at 4 o'clock, the Twenty-second Iowa, with the Eleventh Indiana, occupied the extreme advance of the army and marched, deployed as skirmishers, for a distance of fifteen miles from Fisher's Hill, capturing hundreds of prisoners. During this night march, while engaged in a skirmish with the rear guard of the enemy, Paul Miller, of the non-commissioned staff of the regiment, was severely wounded. The pursuit was continued through Harrisonburg to Mount Crawford, when it was abandoned and the army returned to Harrisonburg and went into camp, remaining there until the 6th of October, on which date it returned to Cedar Creek and began the construction of a line of fortifications in a semi-circle on a range of hills north of the creek.

The movements of the enemy, from the 13th to the 18th of October, indicated that the rebel generals were again contemplating an attack upon General Sheridan's fortified position. Skirmishing with reconnoitering parties of the rebel army frequently occurred and, on the night of October 18th, General Mollineaux, in command of the brigade to which the Twenty-second Iowa was attached, received orders to make a reconnaissance in force to ascertain the strength and develop the lines of the enemy; but, at 5 o'clock on the morning of the 19th, when the brigade was just starting upon its march, the enemy suddenly attacked the extreme left flank, taking the Eighth Army Corps completely by surprise, driving it from its works and, in a short time, succeeding in getting into the rear of the Sixth and Nineteenth Corps. This bold and brilliant movement of the rebel commander threatened the complete defeat of General Sheridan's army. At the commencement of the attack, the Twenty-second Iowa was detached from its brigade and proceeded on the double-quick to the support of a battery which was threatened with capture. Before the regiment could reach the guns, they were captured by the enemy, and it was compelled to fall back before the advancing force, but, in doing so, retained its organization and rallied four times alone, each time checking the advance of the enemy.

The army retreated gradually for three miles in the direction of Winchester, when, General Sheridan arriving upon the field in person, the troops were reformed, and hurried preparations were made to retrieve the disaster of the morning. The presence of General Sheridan proved an inspiration to the officers and men of his army; "And the wave of retreat checked its course there, because the sight of the Master compelled it to pause." General Sheridan rode along the lines and ordered the troops to halt, reform and attack the enemy, still advancing and flushed with victory. The western troops were formed together in one line, and the intrepid courage with which they fought was an important factor in retrieving the fortune of the day and converting what had seemed certain defeat into an overwhelming victory. The enemy made a gallant and stubborn resistance, but were gradually forced back to the line of breast-works which they had thrown up in the morning to provide against a reverse, but they were soon driven from that line and continued their retreat, followed closely by the forces of General Sheridan. Thousands of prisoners and a great portion of the trains and artillery of the rebel army were captured. The rebel army had met with a crushing defeat.

The loss of the Twenty-second Iowa in the battle of Cedar Creek was heavier than that which it sustained at Winchester, in proportion to the number engaged. Its loss was 77 in killed, wounded and missing [see note 18]. From the commencement to the close of the battle the regiment was constantly engaged. In this, its last battle, as in the first and all those in which it was engaged during its long period of service, the regiment maintained its high record. It remained on duty with its brigade and division until early in January, 1865. The carefully kept record of Captain Samuel D. Pryce shows that, from the time the regiment was organized to the close of the Shenandoah campaign, it had traveled by land and water over 8,000 miles, participated in eight general engagements, two sieges and numerous skirmishes, and five great campaigns, in the states of Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Virginia.

Early in January, 1865, the Nineteenth Army Corps — of which the Twenty-second Iowa was still a part — was ordered to proceed to Baltimore, Md. Here the troops were quartered in barracks until January 11th, upon which date they embarked on transports and were conveyed to Savannah, Ga., where they arrived on January 20th and went into camp near that city, where they remained until March 13, 1865, on which date the Twenty-second Iowa — with other troop s— was sent to Morehead City, N. C. There the regiment was assigned to a brigade consisting of the Twenty-second, Twenty-fourth and Twenty-eighth Iowa, the One-hundred-thirty-first, and One-hundred-fifty-ninth New York and Thirteenth Connecticut. This was the First Brigade, First Division of the Nineteenth Army Corps. There had been a number of different assignments of these troops from the time they were first brought together at New Orleans and sailed for Fortress Monroe, but, in the main, they had served together in the concluding campaigns of the war, and Colonel Mollineaux, the first commander of the brigade, was still in command but was now a Brigadier General.

On the 10th of May, 1865, the brigade began the march to Augusta, Ga., where it arrived on the 19th, and the three eastern regiments went into camp there, while the three western regiments crossed the Savannah River and encamped near the town of Hamburg, S. C, where they remained until the 6th of June, when they were ordered to return to Savannah. They began the return march (the last long march they would be required to make) on June 20th, and reached Savannah on the 25th, where they again went into camp. The records in the office of the Adjutant General of Iowa show that the Twenty-second Regiment was mustered out of the service at Savannah, Georgia, July 25, 1865, and that the regiment was subsequently disbanded at Davenport, Iowa [see note 19].

At the conclusion of his supplement to the history of the regiment, Adjutant Pryce states that the muster rolls and final discharge papers were completed on July 20th, and that the troops were mustered out of the service by Captain George E. Moulton of the Thirtieth Maine Volunteer Infantry, and gives the date as July 20th. He also states that, on the morning of July 22d, the Iowa troops marched through the city and embarked, and that they reached Baltimore, via Fortress Monroe, on the 25th, where they were quartered at the "Soldiers' Home," and the next morning departed for Davenport, Iowa, where they arrived on the 27th, remaining there until August 3, 1865, on which date they received their final pay and discharge from the service.

In conclusion, the compiler submits this condensed history of the regiment, together with the roster and personal record of its officers and enlisted men, all of which have been gleaned from official sources, in the hope and belief that, in the years to come, those who can trace their lineage to the soldiers who marched and fought under the colors of the Twenty-second Regiment of Iowa Infantry Volunteers will proudly point to the glorious record of their ancestors, who went forth to battle in the days which tried men's souls, and left to their posterity the precious legacy of their patriotic service to their country.


SUMMARY OF CASUALTIES.

Total Enrollment 1084
Killed 60
Wounded 267
Died of wounds 55
Died of disease 128
Discharged for wounds, disease and other causes 187
Buried in National Cemeteries 78
Captured 79
Transferred 42


[Note 1.] Report of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1863, Vol. 1, pages 782 to 816 inclusive; Original Roster of the Regiment.

[Note 2.] Colonel Stone was commissioned Brevet Brigadier General of Volunteers September 17, 1862. He subsequently served two terms (four years) as Governor of Iowa, 1864-1868.

[Note 3.] Report of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1864, pages 470, 1.

[Note 4.] See subjoined Roster, in which the names of all killed and wounded appear, together with all casualties, opposite the names recorded there.

[Note 5.] Report of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1864, page 543.

[Note 6.] Report of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1864, page 545.

[Note 7.] War of the Rebellion Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 24, pages 137, 8.

[Note 8.] War of the Rebellion Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 24, page 130.

[Note 9.] Report of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1865, Vol. 2, page 1130. Also, Supplemental Statement of Adjutant Pryce.

[Note 10.] Tabulated Returns of Casualties, War of the Rebellion Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 24, Part 2, page 161.

[Note 11.] The report of the Adjutant General of Iowa, 1865, Vol. 2, pages 1124 to 1141, inclusive, contains the history of the Twenty-second Iowa Infantry, written by the Adjutant of the regiment, Samuel D. Pryce. The compiler has quoted and will continue to quote freely from that history, in this condensed historical sketch, and here wishes to acknowledge his obligations to the author. There are some discrepancies between the statements made by the Adjutant and the official reports of the commanders of the regiment, with reference to losses, and, in a few instances, to other matters; but, as the keeper of the regimental records, the statements of the Adjutant may justly be regarded as officially correct. A supplementary statement, including a reference to the heroic act of Sergeant Griffith and those other brave men who entered the fort with him, has been made by Adjutant Pryce, and is now on file as a part of the official record of the Twenty-second Iowa, in the office of the Adjutant General. The compiler has, therefore, felt authorized to quote from this supplementary statement that portion which gives the names of the men who were engaged in the heroic exploit referred to, in order that they may have the credit to which they are entitled: ". . . . Among those who entered the fort were, Sergeants Joseph E. Griffith and N. C. Messenger, David Trine, W. H. Needham, Munson L. Clemmons, Alvin Drummond, Ezra S. Anderson, Hugh Sinclair, Lieutenant Mathew A. Robb, John A. Robb, Samuel Lloyd, William Griffin, William P. Marvin, Hezekiah Drummond, John Hale, David Jordon, Allen Cloud, Abner Bernard, and Richard Arthur. One officer and eleven enlisted men were killed inside the Confederate works or on the parapet, to-wit: Lieutenant M. A. Robb, William Griffin, John Hale, David Jordon, Ezra S. Anderson, Abner Bernard, Richard Arthur, Alvin Drummond, Hezekiah Drummond, John A. Robb, William P. Marvin and Samuel Lloyd. Lieutenant Robb was killed on the parapet, and fell back into the ditch. David Jordon was shot on the top of the parapet in the act of planting the colors. He fell with one hand upon the flagstaff. Two officers and ten enlisted men were wounded upon the parapet and fell back into the ditch. . . .”

Adjutant Pryce, in the supplemental statement referred to, gives the average loss in killed and wounded of the regiment at 85 per cent of the number engaged. The official reports put the average loss at a little over 80 per cent. The Adjutant further states that at the time the official report was made, the losses had not been accurately obtained, which would account for the discrepancy.

[Note 12.] Report of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1864, page 472.

[Note 13.] War of the Rebellion Official Records, Series 1, Part 2, Vol. 24, page 243.

[Note 14.] War of the Rebellion Official Records, Series 1- Part 2, Vol. 24, pages 140 to 142 inclusive.

[Note 15.] Report of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1865, Vol. 2, page 1180.

[Note 16.] Report of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1865, Vol. 2, page 1137.

[Note 17.] See subjoined Roster, in which all casualties are noted.

[Note 18.] See subjoined Roster.

[Note 19.] Report of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1867, Vol. 1, page 151. Report of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1866, page XVI.


SOURCE: Roster & Record of Iowa Soldiers During the War of the Rebellion, Volume 3, p. 559-73

There are two men in Congress . . .

. . . who deserve the halter as richly as any two malefactors that ever disgraced a gallows. We mean, Senator Powell, of Ky., and Representative Vallandigham of Ohio. They are both traitors at heart, and so far as they dare, they manifest their treason to the disgrace of the Congress and country. – Buffalo Express.

Those are the putative fathers of the new Democratic party. They resurrected it last month and the Democrat of this city has already given in its allegiance.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 2

A Woman Appointed Major

Governor Yates has paid a rather unusual but well merited compliment to Mrs. Reynolds, wife of Lieut. Reynolds, of Co. A 17th Illinois, and a resident of this city. Mrs. Reynolds has accompanied her husband through the greater part of the campaign through which the 17th has passed, sharing with him the dangers and privations of a soldier’s life. She was present at the battle of Pittsburg Landing, and like a ministering angel, attended to the wants of as many of the wounded and dying soldiers as she could, thus winning the gratitude and esteem of the brave fellows by whom she was surrounded.

Gov. Yates, hearing of her heroic and praiseworthy conduct, presented her with a commission as Major in the army, the document conferring the well-merited honor being made out with due formality, and having attached the great seal of the Sate. Probably no lady in America will ever again have such a distinguished military honor conferred upon her. Mrs. Reynolds is now in this city, and [leaves] to join her regiment in a day or two. – Peoria Trans.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 2

A Sudden And Violent Death

This forenoon about 10 o’clock, Hiram Hammond, a workman at C. Lamb’s saw mill, met a most sudden and horrid death. While walking backward drawing away boards from the gang saws, he stumbled and fell upon a large circular saw, which nearly severed the left leg diagonally in a line from the hip to the knee, turned the body so as to strike him again on the right side of the neck, and instantly cut of his head throwing it nearly eight feet from the lifeless trunk, which fell upon the shaft revolving the saw. The whole was done in an instant. Mr. Hammond recently came to this place from Big Flats, Chemung County, N. Y. He was in the prime of life, about 35 years old. He leaves a wife, but no children. – Clinton Herald.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 2

An Incident of the War

We of the North can scarcely realize the hard struggles and bitter trials of feelings that the Union men of the Border States, fighting in the Federal ranks have to undergo in this unnatural strife. Brother is arrayed against brother, father against son, and numerous cases have come to light where members of one family have come face to face in the heat of battle. A letter from a member of the 2d Kentucky to his relatives, in this city describes an incident of this kind, in the battle of Pittsburg Landing. He says:

During this battle a Sergeant in the 2nd Kentucky, Co. B, found his brother, a mere boy, (a private in the 4th Kentucky Rebel Regiment) lying wounded on the field, unconscious. He carried him off, and he is now better and seems to regret what he had done. It is touching to see two brothers one defending his country the other a traitor, wounded and a prisoner. All Sergt. B___ said was, “Eddy, what will mother say when she hears of this?” – Cleveland Herald.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 2

Recruiting the Rebels’ Ranks

The Cairo Dispatch man of the Chicago Tribune gives the following incident in lieu of news:

The Provost Marshal of this post has lately done a big thing in the way of ridding the town of hosts of disreputable females who daily and nightly throng our streets. There was a floating craft somewhere in the upper portion of town, near Stone Depot, tied to a tree some dozen rods or more from the levee, occupied as a brothel, into which were congregated a crowd of abandoned females with their no less abandoned male associates. Despairing of ridding the town of their presence by a legitimate method, a Provost Marshal guard last night cut the rope, and towing them out into the current cast loose and started them down to Dixie to delight the first families of Chivalrydom. When last heard from they were gaily floating down the broad Mississippi, nine miles below Columbus. They had hoisted the flag (a white petticoat), and if they escape the dangers of the flotilla, and succeed in eluding the vigilance of the artillery men at Fort Pillow and the rebel gunboats, they will speedily grace the sweet-scented city of Memphis with their odorous presence.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 2

Bragg's 2nd Headquarters: Stones River National Battlefield

HEADQUARTERS
ARMY OF TENNESSEE
GENERAL BRAXTON BRAGG
JAN. 1, 2 AND 3 1863

It was here that Bragg ordered General Breckenridge’s doomed attack on January 2, 1863.

What shall we do with them?

As applied to the emancipated blacks of the South, this question is beginning to assume some force. But, say some, are you not rather premature, had you not better wait until the question of emancipation or confiscation be determined? We admit the priority of that question, but at the same time they are so identified that the one carries the other with it, and the latter is pressing its claims with even more urgency than the former question. While Congress is debating and hesitating and squandering its time in determining whether it be policy to emancipate the slaves of the rebels, those slaves are emancipating themselves. By hundreds and thousands they are taking advantage of the absence or laxness of their masters, who are so engaged in their attempts to overthrow the Government that they have no time to attend to their chattels, and are forsaking their old homes for the North, where they can breathe a freer air and call their bodies, as well as their souls, their own.

The question of emancipation, to a considerable extent has already been determined – the slaves themselves are practically deciding it, while the public mind is rapidly maturing upon the subject. Congress never has and never can pass a law counter to the wishes and convictions of the people, that will be binding upon them. It attempted this but measurably, however, when it enacted the Fugitive Slave Law, and a volume could not be printed large enough to contain the infractions of that enactment, until it fell into disrepute and then became so dead that men openly boasted of its infringement, and public sentiment sustained them in it. The slaves are not alone in practically deciding the question of emancipation, but those of our brave Generals who possess both heart and backbone – two very necessary articles to the upright man – are assisting them. While Congress is hesitating they are acting. Read the latest order of that noble man, Major General Hunter:–


HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH,
Ft. Pulaski, Cockspur Island, Ga., April 13, ’62.

All persons of color lately held to involuntary service by enemies of the United States, in Fort Pulaski and on Cockspur Island, Ga., are hereby confiscated and declared free, in conformity with law, and shall hereafter receive the fruits of their own labor. Such of said persons of color as are able bodies, and may be required shall be employed in the Quartermaster’s Department, at the rates heretofore established by Brig. Gen. T. W. Sherman.

By Command of
Maj. Gen. DAVID HUNTER,

CHAS. G. HALPINE, Asst. Adj’t Gen.


Has not that the ring of the true metal? Oh, that we had a Patrick Henry to stand up in Congress and shout in thunder tones, “Gentlemen my cry peace, peace, but the war is already begun!”

What shall we do with them? That’s the question. While Congress is dallying they are flooding the North. Our State, our own town, is being filled with them, and soon our secesh cotemporaries will ring in our ears, with their accustomed brazen effrontery, the words, “see what your emancipation is doing!” No, it is not emancipation nor confiscation that is doing this. It is the delay of Congress to act, to act promptly, to confiscate the slaves of rebels and to provide for them, that is doing this. Ah, and would you have Government provide for negroes? Will sensible men never rid themselves of the prejudice of color? No, not support them, not become in turn the master of slaves, not make them a public burthen; but put them in condition to support themselves and to become, like you and us, supporters of the Government that protects them.

The subsistence of the immense army of the Union now congregated in Virginia is the source of vexation, delay and enormous expense; at the same time thee are hundreds of thousands of acres of rich, arable land in Eastern Virginia lying fallow, its owners having fled and left it. It is adapted to the growth of wheat, corn, oats, potatoes, and every kind of garden produce. The negroes who have formerly lived in that region, understand the cultivation of these things. Why not place the manumitted slaves there and let them raise food for our army and turn an honest penny for themselves?

The same reasoning will apply to the South, where cotton is the staple and tropical fruits the production of a clime to which the enfranchised negroes are inured. Gen. Hunter is already doing this. The exclusive planting of cotton by our Government is a mistake. Our army is to be maintained there, and food is necessary to their support. Let the negroes be employed in raising food for the support of the army and for their own sustenance. The Government will make more by this operation than if it go into the commercial uncertainties of the cotton business. There are a thousand modes in which the manumitted negroes can be employed if the aegis of the Government is spread over them, but if left to work out their own physical salvation unaided by the strong arm of legislative and executive power, they will overrun the North, and caste will abuse and trample upon them. Manumit them at once, and they will remain upon the soil where they were born and prove a blessing to themselves, to their Government, to the nation and to the world.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 2

The War News

The capture of New Orleans Confirmed.

The City Occupied by Federal Troops

The blockade at that Port to be Raised.

Gen. Prentiss makes a Speech in Memphis.

STATE OF THE MARKETS IN THAT CITY.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 1

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., April 28 [1862].

The Governor to-day issued his proclamation, convening the State Convention on the first Monday in June, at this place. The principal use given is that the State ought to be re-districted so as to give Missouri the two additional representatives in Congress to which she is entitled, under the lat ration of representation. It is thought that a full attendance of members will be had.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 1

The Overland Mail Troubles

ST. LOUIS, April 29.

A gentleman of this city, just returned from Omaha, informs us that the recent troubles which the overland mail company have experienced were not occasioned by the Indians, but by the company’s own employees. It appears the drivers of the mail coaches and other persons in the employ of the company, have not been paid their wages for several months past. Being disgusted with the state of affairs; they determined to seize upon the company’s property, and thus obtain what belonged to them. Nearly all the available stock of the company has thus been taken away. Our informant says the Indians along the route are peaceably disposed, and thus far have done no injury to the mails or overland telegraph.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 1

From New Mexico

The through mail, with Santa Fe dates to the 11th, and Ft. Union 15th, arrived today. After the battle of Pyon’s Ranch, Col. Slough fell back to Ft. Union, when a dispatch was received from Gen. Canby, ordering a junction to be formed with him at Galveston. Maj. Paul was placed in command. The troops for the junction ordered by Gen. Canby arrived at Galesburg on the 9th, in advance of Gen. Canby, and learned that the Texans had abandoned Santa Fe, and were retreating from the territory.

Maj. Duncan of Gen. Canby’s command, who was in command of the advance guard had fallen in with a large party of Texans, when a fight occurred, the latter being routed. Maj. Duncan was slightly wounded. Gen. Canby reached Galveston on the 11th, and an immediate pursuit of the Texans was ordered, who were 30 miles south. No doubt was entertained of the speedy capture of Sibley’s command, as they were entirely destitute of everything having lost at the battle of Pyon’s Ranche [sic] all their baggage and supply trains, prisoners, &c. – The health of the rebel army was not good, and many had died. 100 sick and wounded had been left in hospitals at Santa Fe.

A large number of merchant trains were passed en route to this city.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 1

XXXVIIth CONGRESS – First Session

WASHINGTON, April 29.

Mr. Grimes introduced a bill to provide that the school tax collected from the colored people of the District be appropriated to the education of colored children.

On motion of Mr. Hall, a resolution authorizing the Secretary of the Navy to discharge a contractor after fulfilling his contract, was, after some discussion on it, laid over.

Mr. Hale explained that, under the present law, the department can call for a large amount of work to be done at the same price.

Mr. Wilson of Mass., introduced a bill to amend the bill of last session confiscating slaves, so as to include the wives and children of slaves.

On motion of Mr. Powell, the resolution calling on the Secretary of State for the number and names of persons who have been arrested in the State of Kentucky and imprisoned in forts, etc., was taken up. Mr. Sumner moved as a substitute that the President, if not incompatible, will give any information in his possession, touching the arrest of persons in Kentucky since the 1st of September, 1861.

The President sent the Senate a communication avowing his responsibility for the arrest of Gen. Stone, and stating that the General cannot be tried at present, because the witnesses whose presence would be necessary are on the field.

The confiscation bill was taken up and Mr. Browning made a lengthy speech in opposition to it. Without taking a vote on the question the senate adjourned.


HOUSE. – Mr. Blair, of Mo., inquired of Mr. Potter on what authority he yesterday predicated his charge of disloyalty against Judge Pitts, of Northampton county, Va.

Mr. Potter replied – On the address of Judge Pitts to the Virginia Legislature at Richmond. The address was now read, in which Judge Pitts refers to the action of the Legislature to depose him without giving him an opportunity for defence. The consummation of this would be manifestly unjust. He could only plead not guilty of disloyalty to the South, and doubted not he could triumphantly vindicate himself from every charge his enemies and persecutors might bring against him. He protested against being removed from office by extra constitutional means.

The House then resumed the consideration of the report of the select committee on government contracts.

Mr. Roscoe Conkling thought this committee had done grave and irreparable injustice, both to individuals and classes. Mr. Davis had said there was indubitable evidence of fraud, well nigh in a single year as much as the current expenditures of the Government during the administration which the people had hurled from power on account of its corruption. He (Conkling) thought if this statement were true, the people would be justified in resorting to anything short of revolution to redress the wrong; but he was satisfied that Davis, on more mature deliberation, would recall it. The committee had proceeded on ex parte testimony; parties never were informed that they were to be tried, and convicted, and stigmatized, and hung up to festering infamy. As a case in point, he said the committee had clandestinely gathered evidence against Gen. Fremont, to blast his character as a citizen and a soldier, at the time he was in command of the army. – They never informed him that he was aspersed, or gave him the names of the witnesses against him, and they afforded him no opportunity of defense. What good had the committee done to offset the harm? He was not aware that one single fraud had been developed by the committee, which remained unearthed at the time they pretended to dig it up.

Mr. Conkling asked the Speaker what time remained to him.

The Speaker replied eighteen minutes.

Mr. Dawes – The time will be extended to the gentleman.

Mr. [Washburne] – I object to that.

Mr. Conkling – I know that, and do you know how I know it; because the member from Illinois is the only man in the House surly enough to interpose objections in such a case.

Mr. Washburne rose to reply, when Mr. Conkling called the member to order.

Mr. Washburne (excitedly) – I call the creature to order.

The Speaker demanded the preservation of order.

Mr. Conkling – The member from Illinois understands the rules of this House, and must understand that this is not the place for personal altercations. He knows the proper place for that is outside these walls.

Mr. Wasburne (excitedly) – Yes, I am ready for it.

Mr. Conkling – No individual in this House better knows than the member from Illinois that I stand by what I say until convinced that I am in error, and therefore there is no necessity for any interruption here.

Mr. Conkling in the course of his remarks said he regarded the committee as one of the ornaments to expensive under the circumstances to be indulged in. Mr. Conkling was severe on the committee, which he thought ought immediately to be disbanded.

Mr. Washburne spiritedly replied. He said Mr. Conkling was the instrument of the robbers, plunderers and thieves who had been holding high carnival in anticipation of the overthrowing of the committee.

Mr. Hickman vindicated the report of the committee, and referred to the subjects heretofore frequently repeated.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 1

From McClellan’s Army

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF POTOMAC,
April 28 – 11 A. M.

Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War:

Nothing of interest has transpired during the night. No firing on our right, where the works proceed undisturbed. On the left the enemy fired a good deal, but hut no one, nor was the work interrupted. I have just sent a heavy field battery to silence a gun or two of the enemy that have been impertinent this morning, but have hurt no one. The weather has improved and we are making good progress.

(Signed,)

GEO. B. McCLELLAN,
Major General Commanding.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 1

Statement of a Scout

WHEELING, April 29.

A trusty scout, sent out by Gen. Milroy, went within nine miles of Stanton, and found there a rebel cavalry company, and learned that Johnston, shortly after leaving the Shenandoah, was ordered back, but replied that its occupation by 10,000 Yankees made it impossible. He was then ordered to join Jackson east of the Blue Ridge, which was being rapidly done.

The same scout reports the loss of a foraging party twelve miles from McDowell. While water bound, it was attacked by a guerilla band, the wagons and horses destroyed, some men badly wounded and some killed. This is a bad loss in view of the present transportation facilities.

Harper and Bennett, two notorious guerillas, have been sent to Wheeling.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 1

Boston, April 28 [1862].

The war steamer Savannah was launched at the Portsmouth navy yard yesterday. She is the first and largest war vessel ever built at Portsmouth.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 1

New York, April 28 [1862].

Further advices by the Connecticut state that the sloops of war Richmond, Hartford, Brooklyn and Iriquois [sic] were protected with a heavy chain cable from their ports to a point below their waterline previous to their attack on the Mississippi forts.

The rebel steamer Florida was captured by the U. S. bark Pursuit.

The captain of the French war steamer Milan visited Fort Jackson under a flag of truce, with a view of assisting the French residents of New Orleans who might desire to get out of the way of the impending battle. He was seized and imprisoned over night, but released the next day, and returned to his vessel greatly enraged.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 1

From Washington

WASHINGTON, April 28. The following has been received: FORT MONROE, April 28. TO HON. E. M. STANTON:– The news of the occupation of New Orleans by our forces is confirmed to-day. No other news. (Signed,) JOHN E. WOOL, Major General Commanding Mr. Arnold, from the committee on roads and canals, reported in favor of the enlargement of the Illinois and Michigan canal. The report states that the work has been more than half completed by the State of Illinois, having expended thereon over $6,000,000. The canal has been in operation since 1858, and now yields an annual revenue of about $2,000,000. This will be greatly increased by the enlargement of the Illinois rover. The state of Illinois offers this canal and its revenue to the United States on condition that Congress will provide the means for enlarging it, so as to pass gunboats from the lakes to the Mississippi. This will place us on an equality with Great Britain, that power being able by her canal to pass war vessels from the ocean to the lakes. The Senate in executive session to-day confirmed a large number of military nominations, including the following named, to be Brigadier Generals of volunteers: Col. Max Weber, of N. Y.; Col. Thos. J. Crittenden [sic], of Ill.; Col. Wm. P. Benton, Jeremiah Sullivan and John C. Newton. By the steamer Connecticut, the Navy Department received dispatches from Com. Farragut and Capt. Porter to April 12th. The steamers Pamlico and Mississippi were over the bar, and the flotilla is moving to take their position. Two Confederate schooners loaded with cotton were captured trying to run the blockade, bound for Havana. Prisoners report there were several gunboats building at New Orleans and five already on the keel. Several lately went up the river with the steam battering ram and 10,000 men. The schooner Columbia, of Galveston, with cotton, bound for Jamaica, had been captured by a party of men from the Montgomery. Not being able to bring her out, the schooner was destroyed. On April 4 an expedition, en route for Pass Christian, consisting of the steamers New London, Jackson and Lewis, with troops, were attacked by the rebel steamers Oregon, Pamlico and Carondelet. The Lewis was withdrawn, owing to the crowded state of her decks. The others continued the fight one hour and forty minutes, when the enemy withdrew, apparently much injured. The expedition then landed at Pass Christian. WASHINGTON, April 29. The commission on ordnance supplies have, it is said, rejected all the foreign contracts and considerably curtailed those for the manufacture of arms in the United States. The ordnance office has issued proposals for manufacturing, within, on year, Springfield rifles and muskets and Harper’s Ferry muskets, together, with carbines, revolvers, sabres, swords and scabbards. The department reserves to itself the right to reject any bid and to consider none made through any broker or party other than the regular manufacturers. Several days ago the House passed a resolution desiring the Secretary of War to communicate all the facts and circumstances within his knowledge relative to the late evacuation, by our troops, of Jacksonville. The Secretary replies, that he conceives it to be the province of the President to furnish information concerning military operations; but the President has directed him to say that the evacuation was for reasons not deemed compatible with the public interest to disclose. Specials state there is a rumor that the Government is in possession of information which may possible lead to a cessation of hostilities. A mediation and compromise form the basis of the rumor. It is rumored that Gen. Cadwallader is to take the place of Gen. Smith at the west. Sedgewick, of N. Y., is appointed on the House committee on confiscation vice Olin, declined. It is stated that a majority of the committee favor a strong bill for the confiscation of rebel property. The following was received to-day at the War Department: NEAR MONTERY, Tenn., April 25. Five companies of our cavalry had a skirmish with the enemy’s cavalry two miles in advance of here. The enemy retreated. Five of them were killed, on of them a Major, and eighteen prisoners, with their arms and horses, were captured and are in camp. One of the prisoners named Haughan was formerly foreman in the Louisville Demicrat office. We had none killed or wounded. – Our forces are in capital spirits. Prisoners say the enemy have upwards of 80,000 men at Corinth and will fight, and that they are entrenching and mounting large guns. – Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 1

From Tennessee

CAIRO, April 28.

Six refugees from Memphis arrived here this morning. They left on Sunday afternoon the 20th in a [skiff] and reached our fleet opposite Fort Pillow on Friday. Five of them are natives of Tennessee, and the other from Freeport, Ill. They crossed the Mississippi six miles below Rondo, making the rest of the way to Osceola through the backwater on the Arkansas shore. They represent the strongest union feeling existing in Memphis. Several union clubs meet nightly and are constantly increasing in numbers.

Gen. Prentiss and the federal prisoners taken at the Pittsburg landing were in Memphis 24 hours and taken to Tuscaloosa, Ala. They received marked attentions from Union citizens while in the city, who are becoming bolder daily.

Gen. Prentiss made a speech from the platform of a car, assuring the people they would all cheer for the stars and stripes in two or three weeks. Our prisoners united in singing the “Star Spangled Banner” and were loudly applauded by the people!

The refugees left Memphis to avoid being impressed, as the conscript act, recently passed by the rebel congress, was being enforced. Large numbers were daily leaving the city and making their way towards our fleet.

Van Dorn, Price and Jeff. Thompson are at Memphis with about 6,000 troops, partly equipped and most of their clothing in rags.

Gov. Harris is at Corinth.

Some 6,000 hhds. of sugar and between 10,000 & 15,000 bbls. of molasses were piled up below the city ready to be thrown into the river on the approach of the federal fleet, which was daily expected. It was generally conceded by rebels that our fleet would compel them to evacuate Fort Pillow, where Gen. Villippegue was still in command.

It was reported that Gen. Curtis’ scouts had reached the mouth of white river and that his advance was within a day’s march.

The gunboat Mallory has been in course of construction for some time, and was rapidly approaching completion. She is plated with railroad iron.

Rebel gunboats were continually plying between Memphis and Fort Pillow.

The fortifications near Memphis have been abandoned, there being no mounted guns on them.

Negroes had recently advanced considerably in value. At an auction sale two weeks ago, several were sold at prices ranging from $500 to $1,000.

Coffee 80c; rice 7 ½; butter 50c; bacon 25c; chickens $1 each; eggs 40c per dozen.

Boats from below report nothing new.

The mortars fire occasionally, but with what effect is not known.

Gen. Halleck is moving forward slowly.

A reconnoisance in force, commanded by Gen. Garfield, went out Friday and discovered the enemy’s advance some miles beyond our outposts, encamped on Pea Ridge.

The pickets are continually firing on each other.

Our heavy siege guns are being moved to the front as fast as the condition of the roads will permit.

Our army at Pittsburg is still gradually advancing, but everything is quite. A reconnaissance on Friday discovered the enemy in camp at Pea Ridge, some 12 miles beyond our lines of pickets, but we did not advance to attack them.

There is no news from Fort Pillow. The mortars fire occasionally.


CHICAGO, April 29.

The Tribune’s special from Cairo says that rebel cavalry have recently appeared in considerable force on the Tennessee river 20 below Savannah, and one of the gunboats had been sent down to watch their movements.

All boats leaving this point for above carry two brass pieces on the bow, one on each side, besides a guard on the hurricane deck.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 1

13th Illinois Infantry

Organized at Dixon, Ill., and mustered into State service April 21, 1861. Mustered into U, S. service by Capt. John Pope May 24, 1861, being the first three years Regiment from Illinois mustered into U.S. service. Moved to Caseyville, Ill., June 16, thence to Rolla, Mo., July 5-6, being first Regiment to cross Mississippi River into hostile Missouri. Attached to Fremont's Army of the West July to October, 1861. District of Rolla, Dept. of Missouri, to January, 1862. Unattached, Army of Southwest Missouri, to March, 1862. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, Army of Southwest Missouri, to July, 1862. Helena, Ark., District of Eastern Arkansas, Dept. of Missouri, to November, 1862. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, District of Eastern Arkansas, Dept. of the Tennessee, to December, 1862. 2nd Brigade, 11th Division, lath Army Corps (Old), Dept. of the Tennessee, December, 1862. 1st Brigade, 4th Division, Sherman's Yazoo Expedition, to January, 1863. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 15th Army Corps, Army of the Tennessee, to April, 1864. Unassigned, 3rd Division, 15th Army Corps, to June, 1864.

SERVICE.--Duty at Rolla, Mo., till October 10, 1861. Fremont's advance on Springfield, Mo., October 10-November 7. Action at Wet Glaize October 13. Linn Creek October 15. Return to Rolla November 10, and duty there till March, 1862. Action at Salem, Mo., December 3. 1861. Ordered to join Curtis at Pea Ridge, Ark., March 6, 1862. March to Helena, Ark., April 8-July 14. Duty at Helena, Ark., till December. Sherman's Yazoo Expedition December 22, 1862-January 3, 1863. Chickasaw Bayou December 26-28. Chickasaw Bluffs December 29. Expedition to Arkansas Post, Ark., January 3-10, 1863. Assault and capture of Fort Hindman, Arkansas Post, January 10-11. Moved to Young's Point January 17, and duty there till March. Expedition to Greenville, Miss., February 14-26. Expedition from Mlliken's Bend to Greenville, Black Bayou and Deer Creek, Miss., April 2-14. Demonstration against Haines' and Drumgould's Bluffs April 29-May 1. Moved to join army in rear of Jackson, Miss., via Richmond and Grand Gulf, May 2-14. Jackson May 14. Siege of Vicksburg, Miss., May 18-July 4. Assaults on Vicksburg May 19 and 22. Surrender of Vicksburg July 4. Advance on Jackson, Miss., July 5-10. Siege of Jackson July 10-17. Brandon July 19. Camp at Big Black till September 27. Movement to Memphis, thence to Chattanooga, Tenn., September 27-November 21. Operations on Memphis & Charleston R. R. in Alabama October 20-29. Cherokee Station October 21. Tuscumbia and Barton Station October 24-25. Bear Creek, Tuscumbia, October 27. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23-27. Battles of Lookout Mountain November 23-24. Mission Ridge November 25. Captured flag of the 18th Alabama Infantry. Ringgold Gap, Taylor's Ridge, November 27. Stationed at Madison Station, Ala., till May, 1864. Action at Madison Station April 17. Resaca, Ga., May 13-15 (Detachment). Mustered out June 18, 1864.

Regiment lost during service 6 Officers and 61 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 2 Officers and 123 Enlisted men by disease. Total 192.

SOURCE: Dyer , Frederick H., A Compendium Of The War Of The Rebellion, Part 3, p. 1050

Fall of New Orleans Confirmed, &c.

Times’ Correspondence.

WASHINGTON, April 28.

The President has received a special dispatch to-night form a source altogether different form that through which the information came yesterday, of the fall of New Orleans, confirming the same.

The news from the Rappahannock is important. Our forces have not yet occupied Fredericksburg, but stay in Falmouth, on the opposite side of the river.

Information recently received renders it pretty certain that there is a large rebel force in the neighborhood ready to dispute Gen. McDowell’s progress toward Richmond. Report places this force under command of Gen. G. W. Smith.


World’s Special.

The confirmatory news of the occupation of new Orleans by the Union forces has just been received. It removes very materially the doubts which existed in the minds of some as to the entire reliability of the rebel telegram.

There is reason to believe there has been a discussion at the Treasury Department respecting the policy of raising the blockade of Southern ports as they come into the possession of the Union forces. We are assured by a gentleman who is in constant communication with the Government, that there is little doubt the blockade of New Orleans will be raised immediately on the Union authority being re-established there.


Herald’s dispatch.

Rumors are in circulations that the rebels are preparing to evacuate Yorktown.


FORT MONROE, April 27.

A flag of truce to-day took dispatches and letters for the Union prisoners.

No newspapers came into the hands of the reporters for the press.

The city of New Orleans has been taken by the Union forces. The telegraph operator having left there as previously reported, no particulars have been received. It is however, stated that the operator subsequently attempted to return, but found the city in possession of the Union troops. It is probable the city surrendered without resistance after the fleet made its appearance.

There is a report that the enemy’s much-boasted war gunboat built there as a second Merrimac was destroyed while on its way by the U. S. steamer Pensacola.

The weather and tide to-day have been very favorable for the reappearance of the Merrimac here, but she has not been seen.

It is reported that some rebel gunboats in the James river attempted this morning to shell our forces this side of Warwick.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 1

Scott County Medical Society

The regular quarterly meeting of the Scott County Medical Society was held at the City Hall, Davenport, on Tuesday, April 29, 1862.

In the absence of the President, Dr. Thos. Galt, of Princeton, was called to the chair.

The minutes of the last quarterly meeting were read and approved; also, those of the monthly meeting held on the 24th of February and 25th of March.

Dr. Tomson introduced for consideration the details of a case occurring in his practice; and an interesting series of remarks were made, in which Drs. Tomson, Baker, Galt and Witherwax participated.

Drs. Jas. McCortney, J. J. Tomson, J. W. H. Baker, J. M. Witherwax, Th. J. Saunders, Jno. M. Adler, Thos. Galt and W. H. Hosford were appointed delegates to the State Medical Society, to be held at Iowa City on the 28th of May, with the power to fill vacancies.

The above delegates were instructed to invite the State Medical Society to hold their meeting for 1863 in Davenport City.

Dr. Baker was excused as essayist and continued to next meeting.

The committee on prevailing diseases was appointed, consisting of Drs. Maxwell, Gamble and Adler.

The Monthly meetings were suspended for the next three months.

The Society then adjourned.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 1

The Sequel

Our readers will remember that some few weeks ago a detective from the northern part of Iowa arrested a citizen of this place named Peter W. Nowels, on the charge of being engaged in robbing the safe of the Treasury of Bremer county of $6,650. We published full particulars at the time, and were afterwards called upon by Mr. B. F. Spaulding, the detective, who regretted very much that we had done so, as he thought it might prevent him arresting another party who was an accomplice in the transaction. – We are happy to state, notwithstanding the article had general circulation over the State, that Mr. Spaulding has been successful in bagging his game. The accomplice’s name is Bemis, but, under various aliases, Mr. S. followed him from point to point, until he finally overtook and arrested him on the 10th inst., at McHenry, McHenry Co., Ill., where he had represented himself to be a poor man, a fact not supported by his recent purchase of two tracts of land – one in Missouri and one in Illinois, both of which were deeded to his wife. Nowels has been examined and held to bail in the sum of $4,000 to await trial. Bemis is also held in the sum of $8,000 to await examination, May 11th. Stevenson, the Supervisor, has taken flight, and suspicion naturally attaches to him as accessory to the robbery. In the conception and execution of his labors, Mr. Spaulding has shown many of the rarest qualities of a detective, and justly earned the reward offered.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 1

William Vandever

Brevet Major General

Local Matters

If you want wall papers of the newest patterns, go to Plummer’s, No. 50 Brady st.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS can be realized by calling at Plummer’s and buying some of those new styles of wall papers.

DECORATE your dwellings with some of those recherché patterns of wall paper, which can be seen only at Plummer’s, No. 50 Brady street.

ANY PERSON wishing a good sewing machine for family or manufacturing purposes, should call on R. Krause, No. 35 West Second street, and examine Singer’s celebrated machines.

LANDLORDS, paper your houses with some of the beautiful paper hangings which can be found only at Plummer’s. Then on rent day, instead of being met at the door with a broomstick, you will be greeted with pleasant smiles.

WIDOW’S DOWER. – The omission of the words ‘on-third of,” after ‘a title in fee simple to,’ in the paragraph on widow’s dower, among the Iowa Items yesterday, made quite a change in the legality and sense of the same.

THE LARGEST, best and cheapest stock of dry goods in the city can undoubtedly be found at Wadsworth’s. Farmers especially should not make their purchases without first examining his stock. They will be sure to find goods they want, and of the best qualities.

A RUNAWAY in Rock Island last week will cost the owner of the team, so the Argus estimates, somewhere about $100 in fines and damages to be paid for property damaged by the runaway. The victims of the law were drunk at the time, and were consequently properly served.

WIRES DOWN. – The steamer Hawkeye State yesterday morning struck the telegraph wire across the bridge with her smoke-stacks, severing the wire. The operator, Mr. Stearns took prompt measures to have the damage repaired and to prevent a repetition of the occurrence.

A LIBERAL ACT. – Mr. P. L. Cable, of Rock Island, sometime since bought under foreclosure the Andrews estate in that city for $5,000 in gold. Subsequently he presented the widow with the deed of his own house and lot, with $500 in gold, beside $100 to her daughter; an act of liberality which finds too few parallels.

DAY LABORERS. – Nearly wore out our best pair of boots yesterday hunting up a laboring man to do a little job of digging. Found any number of idle men, but none who were willing to work. Upon a close calculation we have given, the present month, just $1.50 to poor, able-bodied men who protested they could find nothing to do and their families were suffering!

REPAIR YOUR SIDEWALKS. – That’s what the City Marshal says, and he talks as if he meant it. And there surely is abundant need for such a warning. On most every square of the city there are broken planks and places where planks have been; eyesores in the daytime, and man-traps at night. The Marshal only allows this week for the work to be done by owners of lots; thereafter the city will take it in hand, and the costs will accumulate. We notice some persons are attending to their premises, and have done the required work already. They are wise.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 1

Liberty At Work

Liberty township, which recently contributed $76 to the Scott Co. Soldier’s Relief Association, collected through the efficient efforts of A. M. Frost, Esq., the member of the Association’s finance committee for said township and his assistants, is preparing for still more liberal subscriptions in aid of our wounded. It is proposed to organize a Township Association auxiliary to that of the county, and by means of a small weekly contribution from each member to secure a permanent fund to be drawn upon by the parent Association as necessity may require. The plan is a good one, and is deserving of imitation all over the county. We are sure that the patriotic citizens of Liberty will demonstrate its feasibility and its practical value to the cause.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, April 30, 1862, p. 1