From Cairo

Special to the Chicago Times.

CAIRO, April 15.

No news of importance has reached us today from any quarter.

I am informed by a gentleman just from Pittsburg, that Gen. Halleck is actively engaged in organizing and equipping his army for such movements as may be deemed necessary to break up and scatter the opposing army. Now that Gen. Halleck has command in person, we feel easy, knowing that a master mind will direct the movements of our troops.

The steamer Blackhawk, with Gov. Yates and suite, and about 200 wounded, has just arrived from Pittsburg. She will proceed at once to Quincy with the wounded.

A large number of the wounded remained at Savannah. When my informant left, every house was full.

My informant, who accompanied Gov. Yates to Pittsburg , says that we only recaptured a portion of the guns taken by the enemy on Sunday, and that we only captured one of the enemy’s guns. Our loss in tents, baggage, mules, wagons, etc., is very great. Many of our officers and soldiers lost their clothing, except what they had on their backs. I have received nothing from our correspondents above or below.

Gen. Strong has just received the following dispatch, dated at Pittsburg:


Sick and wounded all off. Stop all sanitary commissions, nurses and citizens. We don’t want any more.

(Signed) H. W. HALLECK, Major General


Gen. Strong has telegraphed to Paducah that the hospitals at Mound City and St. Louis are full, and to have the hospital boats turned up to Louisville and Cincinnati.

An attempt has been made to poison some of our troops at Columbus. Four of these have died. Gen. Strong has ordered a portion of the meal which contains the poison to be sent to Chicago to be analyzed, and the party of the guilty of the outrage be arrested.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, April 17, 1862, p. 1

The Tone of the [Rebels] a Year Ago

The Columbia, (S. C.) Guardian just bout a year ago, had an article which was generally copied and approved by the secesh press, showing how easy it would be for the Confederates to whip and destroy the soldiers of the Union. We quite the following:

Months ago the minds of our people had settled resolvedly to meet any issue. Now the people of the North are in all the wild panic and confusion of war’s first alarms. We confront them, a cool. Collected foe, that will never give them time to recover from their surprise. We are ready for action – they are getting ready to prepare to act. They may raise plenty of men – men who prefer enlisting to starvation, scurvy fellows from the back slums of cities, whom Falstaff would not have marched through Coventry with – but these recruits are not soldiers, least of all the soldiers to meet the hot-blooded, thoroughbred, impetuous men of the South. Trencher soldiers, who enlisted to war on their rations, not on men, they are – such as marched through Baltimore – squalid, wretched, ragged and half-naked, as the newspapers of that city report them. Fellows who do not know the breech of a musket from the muzzle, and had rather filch a handkerchief than fight an enemy in manly open combat. White slaves, peddling wretches, small change knaves and vagrants, the off-scourings of the populace – these are the levied “forces” whom Lincoln suddenly arrays as candidates for the honor of being slaughtered by gentlemen – such as Mobile sent to battle yesterday. Let them come South, and we will put our negroes to the dirty work of killing them. But they will not come south. Not a wretch of them will [illegible] on this side of the border longer than it will take us to reach the ground and drive them over.

Mobile is sending forth to wage this war of independence the noblest and bravest of her sons. It is expensive, extravagant to put such material against the riff raff mercenaries whom the Abolition power has called out. We could almost hope that a better class of men would fall into the Northern ranks that our gentlemen might find foemen worthy of their steel, whom it would be more difficult to conquer, and whom conquering would be more honorable. For the present, however, we must not expect to find any foe worth fighting, with the exception of a few regiments, for the North is just getting ready, and will likely be whipped before it is ready.

This was public opinion among the rebels a year ago. They are probably undeceived as to the stuff of which Union soldiers are composed by this time.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, April 26, 1862, p. 2

Extract Of A Letter From The 75th Regiment

On the 12th inst. a messenger from Gen. Millroy, at Montery [sic], came to the 75th, encamped at Crab bottom, 6 miles out, ordering them up immediately. We received the order a little after 5 o’clock A. M., arrived at Monterey a little before 9 A. M., and about 10 our pickets began to fire rapidly. Two companies of the 75th, viz: D, Capt. Metcalf, and G, Capt. Swope, were ordered forward. They went up the mountain on [Staunton] pike in double quick time, met the enemy coming deployed as skirmishers and opened upon them. They had driven in our pickets some distance. Capt. Metcalf and his men behaved nobly, and actually drove back the rebels before other companies which were also sent forward could get there. One of our pickets who was so closely chased as to be compelled to hide behind some logs says the rebels had a regiment of infantry, two squadrons of cavalry, and two cannon, and that it took them ½ an hour to pan him. Two of Capt. Metcalf’s men were wounded, viz: Amos Dowler, in the shoulder, (no bone broken) doing well; Samuel McDonald, in the leg, amputated above the knee; doubt his recovery. No one else hurt in our regiment. On of the Virginia Cavalry was wounded in the leg, but not badly. A negro just in from McDowell (where the rebels were encamped) says they came back through that place in a hurry, and have gone to the top of the mountain beyond that place, that they had 5 cannon with them, and when they came down they said they intended to drive the d----d Yankees back to Ohio. We hope they may always drive them just that way. We have force sufficient to hold this place and will soon have enough to go on to [Staunton].

– Published in The Athens Messenger, Athens, Ohio, Thursday, April 24, 1862, p. 2

The Battle at Apache Pass

Kansas City, April 14.

The mail from Ft. Union has arrived, and brings us confirmation of the battle at Apache Pass, the main features of which were given in a dispatch from Denver City. Our forces numbered 1,350; the Texans, 1,800. Our loss in killed, wounded and missing was 150; the enemy acknowledged their loss to be for 300 to 400.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, April 17, 1862, p 1

State Hahnemann Association

We have received the circular call for a convention to meet at Davenport on Wednesday, the 21st of May proximo, to form and Iowa Hahnemann Association. The call is quite numerously signed and is dated at Dubuque. From the enthusiasm manifested, and the character of those whose names are appended to the call, no doubt a large meeting will obtain. The inaugural address will be delivered by Dr. E. A. Guilbert of that city.

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

Review: Did Lincoln Own Slaves?

Did Lincoln Own Slaves?:
And Other Frequently Asked Questions About Abraham Lincoln
by Gerald J. Prokopowicz

Did you ever have a question about Abraham Lincoln but didn’t want to pull several books of a library shelf to find the answer? Have you toured the White House, the Lincoln Home, or any of the other various Lincoln sites and had a question that you thought others might think you stupid or uneducated for asking? Then Gerald J. Prokopowicz’s book “Did Lincoln Own Slaves?: And Other Frequently Asked Questions About Abraham Lincoln” is just the book for you.

This, as acknowledged by Mr. Prokopowicz in his introduction, is not a book directed towards Lincoln Scholars or history professors. This is a book intended to be read by the general American public. If you have read several books on Abraham Lincoln there is little, if anything, new to be discovered between its covers that you probably haven’t read elsewhere.

This slim tome is an encyclopedia of questions posed about Abraham Lincoln’s life and times, the man, the myths and the legends. Though there are probably several, I cannot think of a single question about Abraham Lincoln that is not answered in this book.

Written in a question and answer format, the book is broken into chapters covering specific segments of his Lincoln’s life: The Boy Lincoln, Rail-Splitter, Springfield, Politician, Speaker, President, Commander In Chief, Gettysburg, Emancipation, Lincoln The Man, Martyr and lastly, Legacy.

Mr. Prokopowicz does not speak down to his readers. He writes in an easily read, conversational style with a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor thrown in. His answers are often short and concise, but more complicated questions, such as Lincoln’s view of race, or emancipation, both deserve and receive longer answers. His book is aimed toward those who are curious about Abraham Lincoln, and though the author answers each question he also includes a section titled “For Further Reading” at the end of each chapter for those who would like to know more.

As Lincoln scholar, Mr. Prokopowicz has devoted much of his life to the study of the life and times of our 16th president. For nine years he served as the Lincoln Scholar at the Lincoln Museum at Fort Wayne, Indiana, and was the editor of its quarterly journal, “Lincoln Lore.” He is a member of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission Advisory Committee, and the host of Civil War Talk Radio. He is currently the chair of the history department at East Carolina University.

ISBN 978-0-375-42541-7, Pantheon, © 2008, Hardcover, 352 pages, Illustrations, Photographs, Footnotes & Endnotes, Bibliography & Index. $24.95

Private M. Allen Sprague

Company F, 7th Iowa Cavalry

May 9, 1865

Gov. Harvey, of Wisconsin . . .

. . . was drowned at Savannah, Tenn., on last Sunday Evening while passing from one boat to another. This is a sad affair. Gov. Harvey cheered the hearts of Wisconsin boys by his presence among them after the great battle of Shiloh, and was deeply loved by them. His loss at this time is a great calamity to his State.

– Published in The Athens Messenger, Athens Ohio, Thursday, April 24, 1862, p. 2

Geo. D. Allen . . .

. . . a deserter from Captain Leffingwell’s Company, 1st Cavalry, was caught here yesterday by Capt. Newman and sent up to the gridiron for safe keeping.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, April 26, 1862, p. 2

DAMAGE BY THE RAIN

The violent storm of rain which passed over her night before last and yesterday morning, did considerable damage to culverts and streets in different parts of the city. The culvert on the Second street, near the burying ground, was not large enough for the immense body of water which came pouring into it; it consequently overflowed, washing away a good part of the street, and rendering it impassible so that it was fenced up. A portion of the street was also washed away near the culvert on Third street near Warren, from the same cause. – Fillmore street, between Third and Fifth, is badly cut up and rendered impassable. Some streets in East Davenport are also very much washed away. The culvert on Perry street near Eleventh is choked up or broken in. – there was probably other damage done by the storm. Mr. Baker, our efficient street commissioner, we presume, will have the damage repaired as early as possible, so that citizens will suffer no unavoidable inconvenience.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, April 17, 1862, p. 1

LIEUT. COL. M. M. PRICE

We have seen a private letter from Col. M. M. Crocker, of the 13th Iowa regiment, addressed to Hon. Judge Dillon, in which, after mentioning that Lieut. Col. Price, though stunned, was found to be more slightly wounded that at first apprehended, says that “during the battle Lieut. Col. Price distinguished himself by his coolness and bravery, and since his connection with the regiment he has always deported himself as a good and faithful officer.” We gladly give publication to this honorable mention of our fellow citizen. He is a fair type of the Iowa boys.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, April 17, 1862, p. 1

Brigadier General Samuel A. Rice

Have the Rebel States Committed Suicide?

Pending the bill for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, Mr. Thomas of Massachusetts, made an able speech upon the very difficult question of what shall be done with the seceded States when the rebellion is crushed. This is a grave question which should be decided in the light of justice and law and according to the usages of civilized society, light from all quarters should be sought. Mr. Thomas’ is the concervative [sic] view. We cannot agree with him in all respects, but are entirely willing he should be heard:

Mr. Thomas, of Massachusetts, made a speech in the course of which he said: – The solution of the difficult problems of right and duty involved in the present state of affairs must be found in the careful study of the principles of the constitution and the just and logical application of them to this new condition of things. It is by no narrow and rigid construction of the words of the constitution that the powers and duties of Congress on these subjects are to be ascertained. Every provision must be fairly construed in view of the great objects the constitution was ordained to effect, and with the full recognition of the powers resulting from clear implication as well as express grant. In my humble judgment there has been and is now but one issue before the country, and this is whether the constitution of the United States shall be the supreme law of the land. That constitution was formed by the people of the United States. It acts not upon the States, nor though the States upon us as citizens of the several States, but directly upon us as citizens of the United States, claiming on the one hand our allegiance, and giving to us on the other its protection. – The doctrines as to the supremacy of the national government within its sphere, and of the reserved rights of the States, are elementary. – Between them there is no necessary conflict. Each is the complement of the other; both vital parts of that political system under whose admirable distribution and adjustment of powers the people of the United States have had for seventy years incomparably the best and most beneficent government the world has ever known; a government now imperiled, not by reason of any inherent defect or any want of wisdom or foresight in its founders; not because we have outgrown its provisions; not because it is behind the age, but because it has fallen upon an age not worthy of it, which has failed to appreciate the spirit of wisdom, prudence and moderation in which it was founded. Such being the relation of the government of the United States to its citizens and to the States, the first question that arises is, how far this relation is affected by the fact that several of the States have assumed, by ordinances of secession (so-called), to separate themselves from the Union. There is not a clause or word in the constitution which looks to separation. It has careful provisions for its amendment, none for its destruction; capacity for expansion, none for contraction; a door for new States to come in, none for old or new ones to go out. An ordinance of secession has no legal meaning or force, is wholly inoperative and void. The constitution and the laws and treaties made under it, the people have declared “shall be the supreme law of the land, and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.” The act of secession, therefore, cannot change in the least degree the legal relation of the State to the Union. No provision of the constitution of the United States, no law or treaty of the United States can be abrogated or impaired thereby. No citizen of the United States residing in the Seceded States is, by such ordinance of secession, deprived of the just protection of or exempted from any of his duties to the United States. In contemplation of law the reciprocal duties of protection and allegiance remain unaffected. After the act of secession, the province and duty of the government of the United States are the same, according to the full measures of its ability, as before to enforce in every part of the Union, and over every inch of its territory, the constitution and laws of the United States.

It is the necessary result of these principles that no State can abdicate or forfeit the rights of its citizens to the protection of the constitution of the United States or the privileges and blessings of the Union which that constitution secures and makes perpetual. The primary, paramount allegiance of every citizen of the United States is to the nation, and the State authorities can no more impair that allegiance than a county court or a village constable. It is also the plain and necessary conclusion, from the principles before stated, that a State cannot commit treason. Under the constitution of the United States persons only can commit treason. The persons who for the time being hold the offices under a State government may individually commit treason, by the acts of the State officers, transcending their authority and in conflict with the constitution of the United States, involve in their guilt no man who has not himself levied war against the United States or adhered to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. As a State cannot commit the crime of treason, it cannot concur a forfeiture of its powers and functions as the penalty of treason. The punishment provided for traitors is the result of judicial trial, conviction and judgment. How to indict a State, the constitution of the court, the mode of trial, the form of judgment, and process of execution yet exists in gremio legis. The majority of the voters of a State cannot deprive the minority of the right secured to them by the constitution of the United States. Some of these rights may be kept in abeyance. Their exercise may be overborne by a [superior] physical force. – They may sleep, but it is not the sleep of death. They are integral parts of the constitution, and can only perish when the constitution perishes. There is nothing in the doctrines of nullification or cession more disloyal to the constitution, more fatal to the Union, than this doctrine of State suicide. It is the gospel of anarchy, the philosophy of dissolution. Nor by carrying out this doctrine of the destruction of forfeiture of the State organization would anything be gained for the cause of freedom. Slavery exists by the local municipal law, and would not be abolished unless you go one step further and hold that with the loss of the State organization the institutions laws and civil relations of the States perish. Now, in case of conquest, even though the people of the conquered territory change their allegiance, their relations to each other and their rights of property remain undisturbed. The modern usage of nations, which has become law, would be violated if private property should be generally confiscated and private rights nulled. (U. S. vs. Porcheman, 7 Peters, 51; 3 Phillemore, p. 743) When States were reduced to Territories the national government could not abolish slavery therein, except under the right of eminent domain, and by giving just compensation. The rebel States are still members of the Union, foregoing for a time its privileges, but subject to its duties, bound to it by a cord which the sword of successful revolution can alone sever.

What then, it may be asked, is the legal character of the great insurrection? The answer is it is a rebellion of citizens of the United States against the government of the United States; an organized effort to subvert and overthrow its authority, and to establish another government in its stead. He only is the enemy of the United States who is committing treason by levying war against the United States or [giving aid and] comfort to those who do. The loyal faithful subject of the United States, wherever on the soil of his country he may have his home, is not the enemy of his country. No subtlety or logic, no ingenuity of legal construction, no misapplication of the laws of international war to this contest can change the nature of things, can convert loyalty into treason, or devotion into hostility. If there be to-day in Tennessee, or Georgia, or South Carolina, even a loyal subject of the United States “faithful among the faithless found,” the Government is not at war with him. While using the powers and appliances of war for the purpose of subduing the rebellion we are by no means acting without the pale of the Constitution. We are seeking domestic tranquility by the sword the Constitution has placed in our hands. In the path of war, as of peace, the Constitution is our guide and our light – the cloud by day, the pillar of fire by night. The recognition of the “belligerent rights” of the rebels by foreign Powers can, as between the sovereign and his subjects have no other or further effect. Such recognition (if known to the law of nations) proceeds upon the ground that the revolution is not accomplished, and that the connection is not dissolved. Had this been done, the recognition would have been their separate national existence. In my humble judgment the “seceded States” so called, and the people of those states are today integral parts of the Union, over whom, when the conflict of arms ceases, the Constitution of the United States, and the laws made under it, will resume their peaceful sway. Traitors may perish, some institutions may perish, the nation will remain and the States will remain essential parts of the body politic. “The body is one, and hath many members, and all the member of that body being many, are one body.” With this brief and imperfect development of the principles involved in the great controversy, I proceed to a more direct consideration of the subjects of confiscation and emancipation.

No purpose, however humane, beneficial or attractive can divert our steps from the plain, straight path of sworn duty. What is writ is writ. In seeking to change it by force of arms we become the rebels we are striving to subdue. The people do not desire a bitter and remorseless struggle over the dead body of the constitution. We may raise armies and navies and pour out like water the treasure and life blood of people, but we can neither think nor act wisely, live well or do well for the republic, unless we keep clearly and always in view the end of all our labors and sacrifices, the Union of our fathers and the constitution, which is its bond. No thoughtful man can believe there is a possibility of reconstructing the Union on any other basis, or that it is within the province of the Congress in any other by the peaceful way of amendment to made [sic] the effort. The propositions for confiscation include the entire property of the rebels, real and personal, for life and in fee. The mind instinctively shrinks from a proposition like this. It relucts [sic] to include in one “fell swoop” a whole people. It asks anxiously if no consideration is to be had for different degrees of guilt; if the same measure is to be meted to those who organized the rebellion and those who have been forced into it; if no consideration is to be given to the fact that allegiance and protection are reciprocal duties and that for the past ten months the national government has found itself incapable of giving protection to its loyal subjects in the “seceding States,” neither defending them nor giving them arms to defend themselves, and that, deprived of our protection and incapable of resistance, they have yielded only to superior force; if a wise government is to forget the nature of man and the influences of birth, of soil, of home, of society, and of State, by which his opinions are insensibly moulded, and that this pestilent heresy of the right of secession, fatal as it is now seen to be, not only to the existence of good government but of social order itself has been a cardinal article in the faith of a large portion of the people in the Southern States, and that they have been induced by the arts and sophistries, and falsehoods of unprincipled leaders to believe that their future safety and well being required the exercise of the right? Those leaders should atone for the crime by the just penalty of the law. “But you cannot,” says Burk, “indict a whole people; you cannot apply to them the ordinary rules of criminal jurisprudence.” To state the proposition to confiscate the property of eleven States is to confute it; is to shock our common sense and sense of justice; is to forget not only the ties of history and of kindred, but those of a common humanity; is to excite the indignation of the civilized world, and invoke the interposition of all Christian governments. The acts of general confiscation proposed would defeat the great end the government has in view; the restoration of order, union and obedience to law. Apart from the injustice and impolicy of these acts of sweeping confiscation, I have not been able to find in the constitution the requisite authority to pass them.

After some further remarks, at length, on confiscation, he proceeded to inquire how far, if at all, the powers of Congress are enlarged by the existence of this rebellion, and the use of the appliances of war to subdue it. The exceptions growing out of the military exigencies and measured and governed by them, cannot be foreseen and provided for by legislation, but must be left, where the law of nations leaves them, with the military commander. It is in the exercise of irresponsible power that the nicest sense of justice and the greatest caution and forbearance are demanded. In suppressing a rebellion so atrocious, marked by such fury and hate, against a government felt only in its blessings, forbearance sometimes seems to us weakness, and vengeance the noblest of virtues. But, in our calmer moments, we hear the Divine voice, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” I conclude what I have to say on this branch of the subject with the remark that in substance and effect, the bills before the House seek the permanent forfeiture and confiscation of property, real and personal, without the trial of the offender. I am unable to see how under the constitution, that result can be reached. I proceed to the question of the deepest interest involved in this discussion – the emancipation of slaves in the seceding States. This plainly is not a question of present military necessity, but one affecting the permanent structure of the government, and involving material changes in the constitution. This can be done in one of two ways – in the method the constitution points out, or by successful revolution on the part of the free States and the entire subjugation of the slave States. No man can foresee to-day what policy a severe and protracted struggle may render necessary. It is sufficient to say that into such a war of conquest and extermination the people of the United States have no present disposition to enter. They have too thorough a conviction of the capacity of the Government to subdue the rebellion by the means the constitution sanctions to be desirous of looking beyond its pale. But the question arises, how far the existence of the rebellion confers upon the Congress any new power over the relation of master and slave. Strictly speaking no new power is conferred upon any department of the Government by war or rebellion; but it may have powers to be used in those exigencies which are dormant in time of peace. Though the power may exist, there is with prudent and humane men, no desire to use it. Nothing but the direst extremity would excuse the use of a power fraught with so great perils to both races; and the glorious triumphs of our arms, envincing our capacity to subdue the rebellion without departure from the usages of civilized warfare. Nor would an act of the national government liberating the slaves within a State, having the consent of the State, and providing the compensation for the masters, militate with the rule. Conventio vincit legem. The consent of the State would relieve the difficulty. In my judgment, it would be impracticable for the legislature, even if it had the power, to anticipate by any general statute or the exigencies or prescribe the rules for the exercise of this power. The Legislature and the people will be content to leave the matter to the sound discretion and sound patriotism of the magistrate selected to execute the laws. – To avoid misconstruction, I desire to say that the power of Congress over slavery in this District is absolute, and that no limitation exists in the letter or spirit of the constitution or the acts of cession. All that is requisite for abolishing slavery here, is just compensation to the master. Whoever else may falter, I must stand by the constitution I have sworn to support. I am not wise enough to build a better. I am not rash enough to experiment upon a nation’s life. There is to [us], no hope of “one country” but in this system of many States and one nation, working in their respective spheres as if the Divine hand had moulded and set them in motion. To this system the integrity of the States is as essential as that of the central power. Their life is one life. A consolidated government for this vast country would be essentially a despotic government, democratic in name, but kept buoyant by corruption and efficient by the sword.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, April 26, 1862, p. 1

TROUBLE ON THE RAILROAD

The rains have washed away the embankment in some places on the M. & M. RR. And the branch. The train going west yesterday morning made slow progress, being compelled to repair the road as it went along, so that by the time it got to Wilton the train coming east had arrived there. There was no train from Muscatine to the junction at all yesterday.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, April 17, 1862, p. 1

Review: The Rebel and the Rose

The Rebel and the Rose:
James A. Semple, Julia Gardiner Tyler

and the Lost Confederate Gold
By Wesley Millett & Gerald White

Did you know that John Tyler, the 10th President of the United States, was a member of the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America, and was later elected to the Confederate House of Representatives but died before he could take office? Did you know his widow, Julia Gardiner Tyler, former First Lady of the United States and New York socialite, was a Confederate sympathizer? Or also a number of John Tyler’s sons held prominent positions in the Confederate government and fought in the Confederate Army? I must confess my historical ignorance on these topics, and ask myself why didn’t I learn these things in my high school American History class or even in my American History survey classes in college? The answer is of course obvious, they weren’t taught, or for that matter even mentioned. Little nuggets of knowledge like these are often what make history so much fun. Which leads me to my next question: “Why isn’t this stuff taught in high school and college American History survey courses? Can you imagine how much more excited students of history would be if they knew a former President and his family took up arms against the United States?

So, how then, you may be asking yourself, did I come to learn about these gems of historical minutia? I’m glad you asked! I read “The Rebel and the Rose: James A. Semple and Julia Gardiner Tyler and the Lost Confederate Gold,” written by Wesley Millett and Gerald White. “Lost Confederate gold???” you ask. Ah, yes I see I’ve gotten your attention. And yet the story of what happened to the Confederate Treasury after the fall of Richmond is another subject not touched on in history classes, but also barely mentioned in many books written about the Civil War. But an Indiana Jones movie it is not. Tracking down a lost treasure isn’t as glamorous or dangerous as Hollywood would have you believe.

Wesley Millett and Gerald White, the authors of “The Rebel and the Rose,” spent twelve years researching their book in attics, archives, and libraries, and searching the internet to piece together the story of the end of the Confederacy, and the collapse of its government, all the while keeping meticulous track of what happened to the Confederate treasury. Their book reads much more like an adventure novel than a history text, and it is filled with tales of treasure and defeat, an illicit and forbidden love affair, and the desperation of the Confederate Government on the run, which as it travels south and west slowly begins to disintegrate until finally Jefferson Davis himself is captured by the Union Army.

“Okay you’ve got my interest,” you say, “But who is James A. Semple, what does he have to do with the lost Confederate gold and what is his relationship with Julia Gardiner Tyler?” I’m glad you asked. James A. Semple was a very efficient & competent Bureau Chief in the Confederate Navy. Semple’s estranged wife, Letitia, was the daughter of John Tyler and his first wife, Letitia Christian. James & Letitia Semple spent most of their married lives apart, and permanently separated during the Civil War, though they never divorced. Letitia hated her step-mother, Julia Gardiner Tyler, and while the two of them shared an antagonistic relationship, Julia never held it against James. James Semple and Julia Tyler grew very close and the evidence indicates they may have had a brief love affair.

As I read the book, I began taking notes on who was related to whom. Eventually I ended up creating a genealogical chart to keep track as the Tyler, Gardiner & Semple families are all inter-related to each other in a number of ways, and the more I delved into the genealogy the more fascinating and complex this story gets.

During the Confederate government’s flight from Richmond, Semple was eventually put in charge of the Confederate treasury. He successfully avoided capture by the Union Army, and for the next two years would travel between various points in the South to New York and Canada.

Millett & White have done an exemplary job tracking the movements of the Confederate government after it left Richmond and of the treasury and the various disbursements from it, accounting for nearly all of it. “So what happened to the Confederate Treasury and where exactly is it now?” you may ask. Is there a little bit of Indiana Jones lurking inside you? Take off that fedora, put down that whip, brush the sand off your clothes, then read the book and find out for yourself.

ISBN 978-1581825831, Cumberland House Publishing, © 2007, Hardcover, 336 pages, Photographs, Map, Endnotes, Appendix, Bibliography & Index. $24.95

Reading Aid: The Tyler, Gardiner & Semple Families

BREVET MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN M. CORSE

SECOND COLONEL, SIXTH INFANTRY.

John M. Corse is the only military prodigy the State has furnished in the War of the Rebellion. For his family and intimate friends I am unable to speak, but I have knowledge positive that, with all others, his brilliant military career has created the greatest surprise. In civil life, though possessing large self-esteem, he was looked on as having only ordinary ability; and, therefore, his promotion in the army to nearly the highest rank in the volunteer service, was wholly unlooked for.

General Corse is a native of Pennsylvania, where he was born in about the year 1833. When young, he accompanied his parents West and settled with them in Burlington, Iowa; where he has since resided. He was at one time a cadet in the West Point Military Academy, New York; but had spent, I think, hardly two years at the institution, when he was politely informed that, should he tender his resignation, it would be accepted. At all events, he left West Point, and returned to Burlington, where he entered the book-store of his father. Not long after he became a partner in the business, and was thus engaged at the outbreak of the war.

He entered the service as major of the 6th Iowa Infantry, and, up to the time of its arrival at Pittsburg Landing, has a military history similar to that of his regiment. During the siege of Corinth, he was a staff-officer of General Sherman — I think, his inspector-general. From the time of their first meeting, he was held in high esteem by that general. He "was mustered a lieutenant-colonel the 21st of May, 1862; and, on the resignation of Colonel McDowell, was made colonel of his regiment, and returned to its command. From that time forward, he grew rapidly popular.

During his colonelcy and after, the history of the 6th Iowa is one of great interest. It is the same as that of Sherman's old Division. It was the only Iowa regiment in that division. On the assignment of General Sherman to the command of the 15th Army Corps, its division was commanded by General William L. Smith, who, during the siege of Vicksburg, joined the army of General Grant in rear of the city. "Smith's and Kimball's Divisions, and Parke's Corps were sent to Haine's Bluff. * * This place I [Grant] had fortified to the land-side, and every preparation was made to resist a heavy force." After the fall of Vicksburg, the 6th Iowa marched with Sherman to Jackson, where it made itself conspicuous — with the exception of the 3d Iowa, more conspicuous than any other Iowa regiment. On the morning of the 16th of July, Colonel Corse was put in command of the skirmishers of the 1st Division, 15th Army Corps, and ordered to report to Major-General Parke, commanding the 9th Corps. The 6th Iowa was included in the colonel's command; and, to show the part taken by the regiment in the advance of that morning, I quote from his official report:

"I assumed command of the line formed by the skirmishers of the 6th Iowa; and, at the designated signal, the men dashed forward with a shout, met the line of the enemy's skirmishers and pickets, drove them back, capturing eighteen or twenty, and killing as many more. Clearing the timber, they rushed out into the open field, across the railroad, over the fence, up a gentle slope, across the crest, down into the enemy's line, when two field-batteries of four guns each, pointing west, opened a terrific cannonade. The enemy were driven from two pieces at the point of the bayonet, our men literally running them through. In rear of the batteries, two regiments were lying supporting the gunners, and, at our approach, they opened along their whole line, causing most of the casualties in this gallant regiment. With such impetuosity did the line go through the field that the enemy, so completely stunned were they, would have precipitately fled, had they not been re-assured by a large gun-battery, nearly six hundred yards to our right, which enfiladed the railroad line of skirmishers. Startled at this unexpected obstacle, which was now in full play, throwing its whirlwind of grape and canister about us until the corn fell as if by an invisible reaper, I ordered the bugle to sound the 'lie down.' The entire line fell in the corn-rows, and I had the opportunity to look round. * * * * Feeling that I had obtained all the information I could, I ordered the 'rise up' and ' retreat,' which was done in the most admirable manner, under the fire of at least three regiments and seven guns— three of these enfilading my line. But few of those who had so gallantly charged the battery got back. I cannot speak in too extravagant terms of the officers and men of the 6th Iowa on this occasion. * They awakened my admiration at the coolness with which they retired, returning the incessant fire of the enemy as they slowly fell back."

The loss of the 6th Iowa in this encounter was one killed, eighteen wounded, and nine missing. The conduct of the regiment filled the general commanding the division with admiration:

“Head-Quarters, First Division, Sixteenth Army Corps,
"In Front or Jackson, Mississippi, July 16th, 1863.

"Colonel Corse, commanding 6th Iowa Infantry:

"The valor of your noble regiment has been conspicuous, even amidst the universal good conduct that has marked the operations of all the troops of the 1st Division, during our advance upon Jackson, and since our arrival here. I can not too highly commend the gallantry you have displayed in two successful charges you have made. The true heart swells with emotions of pride in contemplating the heroism of those who, in their country's cause, charge forward under the iron-hail of half a dozen rebel batteries, and, exposed to a murderous fire of musketry from behind strong intrenchments, capture prisoners under their very guns. Such has been the glorious conduct of the 6th Iowa this morning; and those who shared your dangers, and emulated your valor, will join me in tendering to you and the brave men under your command my warmest thanks and most hearty congratulations.

" Most truly yours,

" William Lov'y Smith,
"Brigadier-General commanding 1st Div., 16th A. C."

In October, 1863, the 6th Iowa, with its division, (which in the meantime had been transferred to the l5th Corps) marched to the relief of Chattanooga. Under General Hugh Ewing it fought on Mission Ridge. Its position was just to the left of the two brigades of General John E. Smith; and, with those troops, it fought for the possession of that point which covered General Bragg's line of retreat. It was so far to the left that it escaped the flank movement of the enemy from the railroad tunnel, and lost few, if any prisoners. The regiment, however, suffered severely in killed and wounded. Eight fell dead upon the field, one of whom was the gallant Captain Robert Allison. Major Ennis, and Captains Calvin Minton, L. C. Allison and G. R. Nunn were wounded. The total number of killed and wounded was sixty-eight.

If foraging in the enemy's country is always a labor of danger, it is also sometimes attended with sport. Apropos, the 6th Iowa Infantry was one of the most expert and successful foraging regiments in the service. At all events, it was, in this respect, the banner regiment from Iowa; and I am aware how high is the compliment I am paying it. If that sergeant is still living, (I did not learn his name) he will recognize the following: Hugh Ewing's Division led John E. Smith's in the march from Chickasaw on the Tennessee to Bridgeport. That of which I speak occurred between Prospect Station and Fayetteville. We were marching along leisurely through a beautiful, highly-improved country, when, of a sudden, there was great confusion in the front. It would remind you of a crowd running to witness a show-day fight. A sergeant of the 6th Iowa, with a squad of one man, two mules and a revolver, had left his regiment on a foraging excursion, and returned with a whole train, ladened with the fruits of the land. He had fresh apples and dried apples, sweet potatoes and pumpkins, bed-clothes, and butter-milk in canteens: all were loaded on old rickety wagons, drawn by half-starved mules, and driven by American citizens of African descent. To share these spoils was the cause of the confusion. "He had got them for his boys," he said; but precious few of them did his boys ever get.

At Fayetteville, the 6th Iowa was infantry, and, only two days later, when they passed us in the woods near Winchester, nearly half the regiment was cavalry. "What in the d—1 do you go a-foot for?" they said to us; but they lost their horses before reaching Chattanooga, and, like us, fought at Mission Ridge on foot. The regiment was as reckless in battle as it was on the march.

General Corse was severely wounded at Mission Ridge, and disabled for several months. His intrepidity there, and his previous good conduct, secured his promotion to the rank of brigadier-general. When partially recovered, he was, I think, ordered on duty in Indiana. In a short time he was placed on General Sherman's staff, and in August, 1864, was assigned to the command of a division. That passage in his military history which will make his name distinguished hereafter, is that which records his defense of Allatoona, Georgia. At the time in question he was in command of the 4th Division, 15th Army Corps, one of the divisions comprised in General Dodge's command during the march on Atlanta. An account of the defense of Allatoona will be found elsewhere. I give below simply the correspondence of Generals French and Corse, and the congratulatory orders of Generals Howard and Sherman:

"Around Allatoona, October 5th, 8:16 A. M.
"Commanding Officer U. S. Force, Allatoona:

"Sir: — I have placed the forces under my command in such positions that you are surrounded, and, to avoid a useless effusion of blood, I call on you to surrender your forces at once, and unconditionally. Five minutes will be allowed you to decide. Should you accede to this, you will be treated in the most honorable manner, as prisoners of war.

"I have the honor to be, very respectfully, yours,

"S. G. French,
"Major-General commanding forces C. S."

[the Reply.]

"Head-quarters Fourth Division, Fifteenth Army Corps,
Allatoona, Georgia, October 5th, 8:30 A. M

"Major-general S. G. French, C. S. A.:

"Your communication demanding surrender of my command, I acknowledge receipt of, and respectfully reply that we are prepared for the useless effusion of blood whenever it is agreeable to you.

"I am very respectfully your obedient servant,

"John M. Corse,
"Brigadier-General commanding 4th Division, 15th A. C."

How needless was the effusion of blood the following orders of Generals Howard and Sherman will show:

General Field Orders No. 18.

"Head-quarters Department And Army or The Tennessee,
Near Kenesaw Mountain, October 16th.

"Whilst uniting in the high commendation awarded by the General-in-chief, the Army of the Tennessee would tender through me its most hearty appreciation and thanks to Brigadier-General J. M. Corse for his promptitude, energy and eminent success in the defense of Allatoona Pass, against a force so largely superior to his own; and our warmest congratulations are extended to him, to Colonel Tourtellotte, and the rest of our comrades in arms who fought at Allatoona, for the glorious manner in which they vetoed 'the useless effusion of blood.'

"O. O. Howard,
"Major-General.

Official"


Special Field Orders, No. 86.

"HEAD-QUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI,
In The Field, Kenesaw Mountain, October 6th.

"The General commanding avails himself of the opportunity in the handsome defense made of ' Allatoona,' to illustrate the most important principle in war, that fortified posts should be defended to the last, regardless of the relative numbers of the party attacking and attacked.

"Allatoona was garrisoned by three regiments commanded by Colonel Tourtelotte, and reinforced by a detachment from a division at Rome, under command of Brigadier-General J. M. Corse on the morning of the 5th, and a few hours after was attacked by French's Division of Stewart's Corps, two other divisions being near at hand, and in support. General French demanded a surrender, in a letter to 'avoid an useless effusion of blood,' and gave but five minutes for an answer. General Corse's answer was emphatic and strong, that he and his command were ready for the 'useless effusion of blood,' as soon as it was agreeable to General French.

"This answer was followed by an attack which was prolonged for five hours, resulting in the complete repulse of the enemy, who left his dead on the ground amounting to more than two hundred, and four hundred prisoners, well and wounded. The 'effusion of blood' was not 'useless,' as the position at Allatoona was and is very important to our present and future operations.

"The thanks of this army are due, and hereby accorded to General Corse, Colonel Tourtelotte, officers and men for their determined and gallant defense of Allatoona, and it is made an example to illustrate the importance of preparing in time, and meeting the danger when present, boldly, manfully and well.

"This Army, though unseen to the garrison, was co-operating by moving toward the road by which the enemy could alone escape, but unfortunately were delayed by the rain and mud, but this fact hastened the retreat of the enemy.

"Commanders and garrisons of posts along our railroads are hereby instructed that they must hold their posts to the last minute, sure that the time gained is valuable and necessary to their comrades at the front. " By order of

" Major-General W. T. Sherman,
" L. M. Dayton,
"A. D. C.
OFFICIAL."

At Allatoona General Corse was again wounded. A musket- shot struck him in the cheek, and, for a time, rendered him insensible. Colonel R. Rowett of the 7th Illinois, as ranking officer, succeeded him in command; and the fighting continued as before with great fury. At twelve o'clock M., Sherman had reached the summit of Kenesaw, and from that point signaled to the garrison: — "Hold on to Allatoona to the last; I will help you." Not long after the enemy retired, having failed to draw their one million and a half of rations.

For his brilliant defense of Allatoona, General Corse was made, by brevet, a major-general. Since that time, he has remained in command of his division. He joined Sherman in the march from Atlanta to Savannah, and from that city to Raleigh. They say Sherman calls him, "my pet.”

Subsequently to the engagement at Mission Ridge, the 6th. Iowa Infantry has been commanded a chief portion of the time by Lieutenant-Colonel J. A. Miller. During the winter of 1863-4 the regiment was stationed with its division along the line of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, between Bridgeport and Huntsville; but in the Spring was ordered to the front and served through the Atlanta campaign. It fought at Resaca, Dallas, Big Shanty, Kenesaw Mountain, before Atlanta and at Jonesboro; and lost in killed and wounded, in the months of May and June, an aggregate of one hundred and six. Lieutenant Rodney F. Barker, of Company A, was wounded in the first day's engagement at Dallas. On the 28th of May, the day following, Lieutenant F. F. Baldwin was killed, and Lieutenant and Adjutant Newby Chase mortally wounded. The former was killed while saving two guns of the 1st Iowa Battery from capture, and the latter, shot in the throat and mortally wounded, while on the skirmish line. A correspondent of the regiment says: " Better men never drew swords." Lieutenant-Colonel A. J. Miller was severely wounded in this same engagement at Dallas. Indeed, three of the four regimental commanders of the 2d Brigade, 4th Division, were struck, two of them being killed—Colonel Dickerman of the 103d Illinois and Major Gisey of the 46th Ohio. The total loss of the 6th Iowa at Dallas, was seven men killed, and fifteen wounded.

On the 15th of June the regiment joined its division in the brilliant charge near Big Shanty, and, two days later, took part in the unsuccessful charge at Kenesaw Mountain. In that of the 15th instant, Lieutenant J. F. Grimes, acting adjutant, was killed. At the opening of the campaign, the 6th Iowa arrived before Dalton, nearly four hundred strong; and by the middle of July had suffered a loss of fifty per cent. The last services of the 6th Iowa Infantry were performed in the marches from Atlanta to Savannah, and thence to Raleigh.

General Corse is a small man. He is not above five feet eight inches in bight, and weighs less than one hundred and twenty-five pounds. He is small in stature, and, to look at him, a stranger would not think his mind and body much out of proportion. He has more ability than he seems to have. He has sharp features, a dark complexion, large, dark eyes, and black hair, which he usually wears long. In his movements, he is dignified and somewhat consequential, carrying a high head, and wearing a stern countenance.) (I speak of him as I saw him in the service.) Before he entered the service, his neighbors in Burlington told on him the following story. I do not suppose it is true, but possibly it illustrates his character. When he became a partner with his father in the book business, the story goes, there had to be a new sign made. The father suggested that it read, " J. L. Corse & Son;" while the future general insisted that it should read, "John M. Corse and Father."

I omitted to mention in the proper place that, in I860, the general was a candidate for the office of Secretary of State.

Perhaps I ought to omit it now, for I venture to say, he is not proud of that passage in his history; he was the candidate on the old Hickory ticket, with a certain prospect of being defeated.

In battle I believe General Corse to be as cool a man as ever met an enemy. His defense of Allatoona shows that. He has always seemed to act on the principle suggested by General Jerry Sullivan: "Boys, when you have fought just as long as you think you possibly can, then fight ten minutes longer, and you will always whip." General Corse has richly earned his distinguished reputation, and the State will always be proud of him.

SOURCE: Stuart, A. A., Iowa Colonels and Regiments, pp. 153-162

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING

During the heavy thunder shower yesterday, the lightning struck the house of Capt. Frazer, on Locust street, near Farnum, tearing up son of the shingles, and doing some other unimportant damage. The House of Mr. B. Kennedy, on Third street, below Warren, was also struck and a portion of the cornice torn away. No person was injured in either of the houses.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, April 17, 1862, p. 1

Another Great Battle

We are on the eve of another great battle upon which hangs the fate of the Mississippi Valley. Gen. Halleck is in command of an army of immense proportions, having under him Generals Buell, Pope, Lew. Wallace, and a hose of others. On the other side Beauregard, Bragg, Hardee, the ablest rebel Generals, make their last desperate stand, the fate of the C. S. A. clearly depending upon the result. We shall await the result with confidence, though there is much at stake, and much anxiety must be felt.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, April 26, 1862, p. 2

FROM THE 16TH REGIMENT

Mrs. W. P. Campbell received a letter yesterday from her brother, W. G. Fearing, of the 16th regiment, in which he says, “Our regiment got badly cut up the first day, there being about one hundred and thirty killed and wounded.” This don’t look much as if the 16th regiment ran! He says, “The same boys that went through the siege at Fort Donelson, say that it was but a skirmish compared with this battle.”

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Thursday Morning, April 17, 1862, p. 1

Twelfth Iowa

PITTSBURG LANDING, April 12.

Col. J. H. TUTTLE [sic], Com’g 1st Brig., 2d Division Dep’t of the West:

SIR: I have the honor to transmit to you the following report of the killed, wounded, and missing of the Twelfth Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry, in the engagement at this point on the 6th and 7th insts, viz:

Wounded, Col. J. J. Wood, severely in leg and hand, not dangerously. Missing, Adjutant N E Duncan, Jr, QM JB Dorr, and Sergt Maj Geo H Morisey.

COMPANY A – Killed, 2d Lieut G W Moir; privates C H Johnson, R G King, W Fairbanks, Wounded, E S Swain, severely in shoulder; W H Stoltser, head, mortal. Missing, Capt. S. R. Edgington, Orderly Sergt T B Edgington, Sergts F C Fountain, G W Reed, G W Rulow, Corporals B F Ibuch, J H Edgington; privates J Bronhard, S B Brown, F C Comwell, E C Coombs, G H Cobb, N Collins, R P Clarkson, T Dorman, J D Hall, S Hall, M Kidwiler, R E Kellogg, Wm Lefler, Seth Macy, W G McPherson, J Morgan, G W Moore, R F Quivey, W H Richards, R S Sprague, J Whitson, A J Wickham, A M Wickham.

COMPANY C – Killed, Corp Thomas Henderson, private Charles Pendleton. Wounded, Corp P R Ketchum, wounded and missing; privates G W Grannis, do; F W [Mame], do; Henry George, ball in the knee; Chas Larson, mortally (since dead; A P Monger, severely in the thigh; D W Reed, do. Missing, Captain W W Warner, Ord Sergt G W Cook; Sergts Gilbert Hazlet, Emery Clark, James Stewart, Henry G Grannis; Corp’ls S F Brush, J F Hutchings, D D Warner, P R Woods; privates E J Aboott, James Ayers, E H Adams,S C Beck, J W Ballinger, John Bysang, G Burroughs, A C Bushned, Henry Beadle, E Comstock, Henry Clark, H O Curtis, James Carmichael, Simeon Gifford, Wm Hamlin, Wm Jordan, Isadore Jordan, A K Ketchum, Wm Kent, Wilson King, W Scott, John Quivey, Wm E Sirner, T N Smith, Chas Sigman, Samuel Stone, Albert Utter, R D Williams, Chas Wallace, V B Wait.

COMPANY D – Killed, 1st Lieut J D Ferguson; privates Daniel Luther, James P Ayers. Wounded, Sergt J. M. Clark, slightly in the hip; Corp Jos Stibbs, slightly in arm, missing; Corp H C Moorhead, slightly in head, missing; Corporal H Panborn, slightly in arm, missing; privates J G Clark, severely in thigh; R C Carvele, slightly in arm; Ed H Bailey, slightly [in him]; Frank Reuchin, severely in leg, missing. Missing Capt. J H. Stibbs, 2nd Lieut H H Hale, Orderly Sergt R Hilton, Corp H W Ross, Corp J L Boughton; Privates L M Ayers, Edward Butolph, Samuel Bumgardner, Thomas Barr, J W Burch, S Burch, P Brennan, D L Conley, D Conley, F Dubois, S H Flint, W A Flint, A J Frees, C Ferrerbend, H Grass, P Gisshart, A Hill, R L Johnson, Eli King, Wm Lie, Jno Luther, T J. Lewis, Wm B Luntz, J Lanagan, E B Martin, A J Miller, D W Minor, R McClain, J Nicholas, J O Startwell, D Livets, J Scott, L Snell, R K Soper, A A Stewart, H M Sarpenning, W H Trowbridge, W Whiteneck, J J Whitman, J Wegner, J Craft, F Curren, B P Zuver, A McIntyre.

COMPANY E – Killed, Privates Wm L Pawley and J W Fuller. Wounded, Anthony Biller, bruise in ankle; Charles Johnson, in back; Jacob Howery, in hip; Benj Eberhart, right eye; Thomas Porter, in leg; Sam’l J Leity, neck and leg; J P Thompson, leg broken. Missing, Capt Wm Haddock, first lieut John Elwell, second lieut Robt Williams, sergeants Jas Stewart, C P Collins, corporals C V Surfus, J F Smith. – Privates, M V B Sunderlin, D Craighton, Harvey Smith, Nelson Strong, Stephen Story, Hiram Hoisington, John Abraves, Allen E Talbot, Milton Rood, Oliver Sharp, John Koch, A B Perry, Joshua Bird, D C Morris, Isaac Watkins, Wm H Sherman, J Margurety, Seth P. Crohurst, W Richamond, Joseph Johnson, Thos Porter, Elias Moon, G L Leber, Wm O Bird, John L Cook, Geo Holden.

COMPANY F – Killed, corporal Abner D Campbell. Wounded, orderly sergeant H J F Small, both thighs, severe flesh wound; corporal Thomas C Nelson, right hand; privates A Crippen, right breast, dangerous; Geo King, right arm, severe, Perry G Kinney, arm and side; Jos Pate, leg broke, dangerous; Sam’l Plattenburg, foot, severe. Missing, 1st lieut J Wilson Gift, 2d lieut Wm A Morse, sergeants Reuben E Eldridge, R W Ferrill, P F Haskell, E S Winshell, corp’ls John Bremuer, Henry M Preston, Wm A W Nelson, Isaac Johnson, Abner Dunham; privates Wm H Barney, Henry Bender, Seamons Clapp, David Clark, F W Coolidge, Ed Douglass, Jos E Eldridge, John P Eaton, Jos S Girton, Geo E Hunter, Luther Kaltenback, Wm Kaltenback, Michael Kircham, David N Lillibridge, L D Lyon, J F Lee, Wm W Mann, A L Manning, Wm. K Mason, John A McCullough, Thos McGowan, E M Overocke, Thos Otis, Geo Pate, R C Palmer, J W Potter, Geo Parkes, Ira Roberts, Cornelius Steers, Justus Schneider, Thos H Sparks, Chas B Toney, Allen Ware, R L Weeden, Orry Wood, Joshua Wigger, G Woolbridge, Hardy Clayton, Christopher C A E F Stribling.

COMPANY G – Wounded, A S Fuller. Missing, Capt L D Teusley; 1st Lieut J F Nickerson; Sergeants A A Burdick, A E Anderson, R A Gibson, J H Warmeldorf; corporals A Anderson, T Steene, O P Rocksvald, W S Windsor, A W Errett, G O Hanson, J O Johnson, N B Burdick; Privates O H Gorhamer, S McClared, S Miller, C Christopherson, E V Anders, G M Smith, W Wait, H Johnson, H E Johnson, S A Lorenson, A Halverson, John Stiev, C B Kittleson, J Cutlip, O Hamon, L O Ramberg, C Conley, P McCalley, G A Henge, Haldore Hanson, John Olson, Anders Jenson, Henry Stien, F Skinner, O D Miller, Peter Larson, E Aleson, John Larson, Ole Gritto, O H Fundo, Ole Olson, J R Smith, L F Wold, J. M Clark, N Pederson, Ole Gilbertson, N J Davis, G Anderson, G Kittleson.

COMPANY H - Wounded, Corporal Joseph Evans, badly in the head; privates Alex. Presho, in left; E. A Ward, both legs; Corporal D. Moreland, in face and missing; privates J. M. Ward, leg and missing; R. F. Nutting, leg and missing. Missing, First Lieutenant L W Jackson, Orderly Sergeant Samuel G Knee, Sergeants John Van Anda, Squire C Fishael, Corporals B A Clark, Jas Evens, privates John Byrns, A J Price, V V Price, John Mason, J W Ward, James [Crosby], James Shorter, C W Smith, Thos Clendenin, R W Culver, C E Richardson, Lester Patrick, James Nichols, W J Slack, R W Light, A G Gostings, Geo McKinnis, John Newman, Geo W Harnes, W H Collins, Wm Chrismar, Julius Ward, Wm H Cook, R M Grimes, John Sadler, Edward Winch, J G Currie, J W Benedict, F H Kesseler, H L Richardson.

COMPANY I – Wounded, Privates Thos H Wilson, severely in the leg, Joseph H Cobb, slightly in back. Missing, Capt E M Duzee, First Lieut John J Marks, Ord Sergt Chas L Sumbardo, Sergents [sic] Wilber F McCarron, Benton Wade, E B Campbell, Corpls Patrick [McManus], James Stewart, privates Wm Bittner, Albert Belknapp, Robert P Brown, James Brown, John F Campbell, Warren Coats, Wm Cohler, Jesse Dean, Kerrus Petter, Wm H Markham, Michael McLaughlin, Michl Noyle, Weed Nims, David Paup, Jas Robb, David Ryan, Chas Sackett, Wm. Starback, Van Meter Snyder, James Thompson, Stephen McKee, Thomas Murphy, Samuel Gordon, Samuel Van Hook, Augustus W Hatfield, George Tesky, Alonzo Wells, Jas F Zediker, James Bugler.

COMPANY K – Wounded, Sergt B F Hayburst, slight; Corporal L W. Larrabee, shot in the base of the lungs; privates John Moulton, leg, broken and otherwise severely injured; F Kisor, shot through the left shoulder; S. Griffon, shot through the hand. Missing, 2d Lieut J Jay Brown; Sergts S P Collins, R Freeman, Corporals O T Fuller, W H H Blanchard, H C Merriam J Fulton, B E Nash, M E Lathrop, W R Mathis; privates H N Baldwin, A K Blanchard, P Church, C Dolly, D Downer, M Dillon, D Fagan, P Gallagher, C Hichethin, W T Johnston, W Kemp, W B Keith, G F Lunde, J Maine, P J Morehouse, C E Merriam, J J Myers, R R McLair, G W Olmstead, C E Phillips, W S Perry, A Robinson, T Shover, C W Smith, P Wilson, H Waldroff, A Grimes.

RECAPITULATION.*

Company A
Killed 4
Wounded 2
Missing 30

Company B**
Wounded 7
Missing 51

Company C
Killed 2
Wounded 7
Missing 40

Company D
Killed 3
Wounded 8
Missing 49

Company E
Killed 2
Wounded 7
Missing 33

Company F
Killed 1
Wounded 7
Missing 50

Company G
Wounded 1
Missing 53

Company H
Wounded 6
Missing 28

Company I
Wounded 2
Missing 39

Company K
Wounded 5
Missing 37

Total Killed 12
Total Wounded 52
Total Missing 420

Respectfully yours, J. P COULTER,
Lieut. Col Commanding 12th Reg’t Iowa Vols.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, April 26, 1862, p. 1

* Reformatted. In the original article the “Recapitulation” is in a table format which cannot be accurately reproduced on blogspot.

** Though listed in the “Recapitulation” Company B was not included in the casualty list.