The Eighth Regiment of Iowa Infantry was organized in compliance with the proclamation of the President, dated July 23, 1861, and the proclamation of the Governor of Iowa, calling for the necessary number of volunteers to fill the quota of the State under that call. Davenport was designated as the place of rendezvous for the companies composing the regiment, and they were there mustered into the service of the United States, between the dates of August 31 and September 4, 1861, by Lieut. Alexander Chambers of the regular army. The names of its first Field and Staff and Company Officers will be found in the subjoined roster. The subsequent changes on account of death, wounds, resignation, or whatever cause, will also be found noted in the roster, in the paragraph opposite the name of each officer, together with his record of personal service. Under the provisions and limitations of the act of the General Assembly of the State of Iowa, by authority of which this compilation is made, the sources from which information has been obtained have been mostly from the records and reports forwarded by the officers of the various regiments, and other organizations, to the Adjutant General of the State and, by his clerical force, recorded in many huge volumes. Many of these reports, muster rolls and returns exhibit evidence of great care and minute attention to details, though a considerable number are very imperfect, and in many cases it has been found impossible to give the complete record of individual service. Only brief historical sketches have been provided for, and, laboring under the disadvantage of such limitation, the compiler of this sketch is painfully aware of his inability to do full justice to this regiment, or to any of the Iowa organizations which had a long record of service in the great War of the Rebellion.
The Eighth regiment had the usual experience of those which had preceded it, in the short time it remained in rendezvous at Davenport. Its officers realized the importance of fitting themselves for the responsible duties which they had been called upon to assume, and the necessity of incessant study, in order that they might become capable of imparting to the men under their command such instruction as would, at the earliest possible moment, enable them to perform the active duties of soldiers in time of war.
The time for such preparation was exceedingly limited, and being without arms or uniforms, and supplied with only the most crude camp equipage, they were in a raw and unprepared condition when, on the night of September 24, 1861, orders were received to be in readiness to embark early the next morning for St. Louis. The order was promptly obeyed, and the regiment was soon on board the steamer "Jenny Whipple" and on its way south.
At Keokuk, arms of poor quality, but the best the government was at that time able to procure for its fast increasing army, were issued, and the regiment proceeded on its way. Arriving at St. Louis, it disembarked and marched to Benton Barracks, where troops were being rapidly concentrated, and instructed and equipped as fast as possible for the arduous work which was before them. The time was utilized to the best advantage, and on October 15th the regiment left St. Louis, on board flat cars, and proceeded to Syracuse, Mo. The regiment was fortunate in having for its first commander a capable and thoroughly trained soldier of the regular army, Col. Frederick Steele*, who insisted upon good discipline, which the men could not at that time appreciate as they did later, when they came to understand more fully the necessity for it.
On the 21st of October, the regiment began the march to Springfield, Mo., with Lieutenant Colonel Geddes** in command, Colonel Steele having been assigned to the command of a brigade. On this march the men suffered greatly, not having become inured to the hardships of a soldier's life, and unable to care for themselves under such conditions, which, at a later period, those who had the physical vigor to enable them to survive these early privations had learned to do. The regiment remained at Springfield until November 4th, when it marched to Sedalia, Mo., again enduring great hardship from exposure. Two companies, E and K, were sent to Fort Leavenworth as guard to a drove of cattle and a wagon train conveying supplies. The other eight companies remained at Sedalia during the winter, to which place the two companies on detached service did not return until about the first of March. This winter campaign in Missouri cost the regiment many valuable lives, while many more were permanently disabled and subsequently discharged. It is a well known fact that, in the first year of the war, more deaths and disabilities resulted from sickness than from conflict with the enemy upon the battlefield. While there may 'have been some exceptions, this statement would apply to most of the early regiments from Iowa. The men who thus suffered and died, and those who were so enfeebled as to be no longer able to serve, are entitled to the same honor as those who were killed and wounded in battle.
March 11, 1862, the regiment was ordered to St. Louis, and from there it was conveyed by boat to Pittsburg Landing, Tenn. On its way up the Tennessee river the boat was fired into by rebels concealed in the woods, and two men were killed and three wounded. Upon its arrival at Pittsburg Landing, the regiment went into camp and was assigned to the Third Brigade of the Second Division, Army of the Tennessee. The brigade was under command of Col. T. W. Sweeny, and the division was commanded by Brig. Gen. W. H. L. Wallace. In this great battle, the Eighth Iowa Infantry rendered such conspicuous and important service, and suffered such great loss, that the compiler of this sketch feels impelled to quote here the complete official report of its commanding officer, notwithstanding the fact that it will necessitate making only brief quotations from later official reports.
VINTON, BENTON COUNTY, IOWA, Nov. 13, 1862.
SIR: In compliance with your request, I have the honor to submit for your information a report of the part taken by the Eighth Iowa Infantry at the battle of Shiloh, fought on April 6, 1862. About 8 o'clock on the morning of the 6th, I ordered the regiment under arms, and formed line of battle in front of my encampment, awaiting orders to proceed to the front. At this time, the firing on our advanced line had become general, and it appeared to me evident that we were being attacked in force by the rebel general. After remaining under arms about half an hour, during which time I had ordered the baggage belonging to the regiment to be loaded on the wagons, and an extra supply of ammunition to be issued to the men, I was ordered by Colonel Sweeny, brigade commander, to proceed to the front. On arriving at our advanced line, I was ordered by Colonel Sweeny to take position on the left of the brigade to which I was attached, for the purpose of protecting a battery immediately in front. Here the regiment remained about one hour, exposed to a severe fire from artillery of shell and grape, killing and wounding several of my men. About 11 A. M., I was ordered by Colonel Sweeny, through his aid, Lieutenant McCullough, of the Eighth Iowa, to leave my position, and take ground to my left and front. This change of position brought my regiment on the extreme right of General Prentiss' division, and left of General Smith's, the latter being the division to which my regiment belonged. I was thus entirely detached from my brigade, nor did I receive any order from my brigade or division commander during the remainder of that day. On arriving at the point I was ordered to defend I formed my regiment in line of battle, with my center resting on a road leading from Corinth to Pittsburg Landing, and at right angles with my line. Here I immediately engaged a battalion of the enemy, and after a severe conflict of nearly an hour's duration, in which I lost many of my men, the enemy were driven back with heavy loss. At this time Captain Hogin, Company F, was killed and Captain Palmer, Company H, severely wounded. About 1 P. M. General Prentiss placed a battery in position immediately in front of my regiment, with instructions to defend it to the last. The precision of its fire, which was directed by the General in person, made great havoc in the advancing columns of the enemy. It therefore became an object of great importance to gain possession of the battery. To this end they concentrated and hurled column after column on my position, charging most gallantly to the very muzzles of the guns. Here a struggle commenced for the retention and possession of the battery, of a terrific character, their concentrated and well directed fire decimating my ranks in a fearful manner. In this desperate struggle my regiment lost 100 men in killed and wounded.
The conspicuous gallantry and coolness of my company commanders, Captains Cleaveland, Stubbs and Benson on the left; Captains McCormick and Bell in the center, and Captains Kelsey and Geddes, and Lieutenant Muhs on the right, by reserving the fire of their respective companies until the proper time for its delivery with effect, and the determined courage of my men, saved the battery from capture, and I had the satisfaction of sending the guns in safety to the rear. In this attack, I was wounded in the leg, and Major Andrews severely in the head, and I do here take pleasure in acknowledging the courage and coolness displayed by my field officers, Lieut. Col. J. C. Ferguson and Major J. Andrews, and the able assistance rendered by them on that occasion. About 3 P. M. all direct communication with the; river ceased, and it became evident to me that the enemy were driving the right and left flanks of our army, and were rapidly closing behind us. At this time, I could have retreated, and most probably would have saved my command from being captured, had I, at this time, been ordered back,, but I received no such order, and I considered it my duty to hold the position I was assigned to defend, at all hazards.
General Prentiss' division having been thrown back from the original line, I changed front by my left flank, conforming to his movement, and at right angles with my former base, which was immediately occupied and retained for some time by the Fourteenth Iowa, Colonel Shaw. In this position, I ordered my regiment, to charge a battalion of the enemy (I think the Fourth Mississippi), which was "done in good order, completely routing them. We were now attacked on three sides by the rebel force, which was closing fast around us. The shells from our gunboats, in their transit, severing the limbs of trees, hurled them on my ranks. It now became absolutely necessary, to prevent annihilation, to leave a position which my regiment had held for nearly ten consecutive hours of severe fighting, successfully resisting and driving back the enemy in every attempt to take the position I was ordered to hold and defend — with a loss of near two hundred in killed and wounded — I ordered my regiment to retire. On retiring about three hundred yards, I found a division of the rebels, under General Polk, thrown completely across my line of retreat. I perceived that further resistance was useless, as we were now completely surrounded. Myself, and the major portion of my command, were captured at 6 P. M. of that day, and I claim the honor for my regiment of being the last to leave the advanced line of our army, on the battlefield of Shiloh, on Sunday, April 6, 1862.
I cannot conclude this report without bearing testimony to the gentlemanly conduct and dignified bearing of my officers and men during their captivity. Our captors had felt the effects, and well knew the courage of my regiment in the field, but had yet to learn they could conduct themselves as well under other and very trying circumstances. Not having received any reliable information as to the true amount of casualties at the battle, and during our imprisonment, I shall forward an official list, as soon as practicable, of killed and wounded, and of such as died in southern prisons, through privation and neglect. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. L. GEDDES,
Colonel Eighth Iowa Infantry.
His Excellency,
Samuel J. Kirkwood,
Governor of Iowa.
The morning reports, published officially, show that the Third Brigade of the Second Division had 2,131 present for duty on the morning of April 6th, and the official reports of casualties in the battle show that the brigade suffered a loss of 1,247, or about 60 per cent of the entire number engaged. Of this number, the Eighth Iowa lost 493.
There were six regiments in the brigade and its total loss was about 60 per cent of the entire number engaged, while the loss of the Eighth Iowa Infantry, which fought detached from its brigade, exceeded 80 per cent of its number engaged, in killed, wounded and captured. The highest duty of a soldier is implicit obedience to orders. Colonel Geddes, when confronted with the fact that the troops upon his right and left flanks were being driven back, but receiving no order to retreat, simply changed front at right angles with his former line, conforming to the movements of the remnant of General Prentiss' division, and stubbornly continued to hold his ground. To these troops, then acting under the orders of General Prentiss, is due the credit of delaying the advance of the rebel forces in their front long enough to enable the scattered and disintegrated Union forces in their rear to rally and form the line of last resistance, as night was fast coming on, on that hard fought first day's battle at Shiloh.
The truth of history demands that the credit of saving the day for the Union army at Shiloh be given to those gallant regiments (three of them from Iowa) who so gallantly stood their ground, without hope of reinforcement, and with the full knowledge that it was only a question of time when they would be completely surrounded by overwhelming numbers, and compelled to surrender. To concede this honor is no discredit to the gallant men who, profiting by the delay thus afforded, rallied behind the concentrated Union artillery, and hurled death and destruction upon the advancing columns of the enemy, and at last turned what had seemed certain defeat into victory.
Almost the entire number of the Eighth Iowa Infantry which had gone into action on that Sunday morning, and had escaped being killed, were captured, and entered upon a long and weary term of imprisonment, during which many of them died. Most of those who were wounded before the enemy got in the rear of the regiment had been sent to the field hospitals, but those who were wounded later, and were considered by the enemy able to be moved, were compelled to go along with the prisoners, and many of them died in prison. The few who succeeded in eluding the enemy in the confusion and darkness of that first night, together with those who had been sick in hospital, on detached duty and furlough, when the battle was fought, were afterwards placed in an organization called the "Union Brigade," in which they remained until the captured officers and men were exchanged, when the brigade was disbanded and they rejoined the regiment. A sketch of the operations of the Union Brigade will be found in its appropriate place in this work, in which the history of service of the officers and men of the Eighth Iowa Infantry who served with that organization will be found. The prisoners were paroled October 18th, and exchanged November 10, 1862.
During the winter of 1862-3, the regiment was re-organized at St. Louis, and was sent from there to Rolla, Mo., where it spent the remainder of the winter. In the spring it returned to St. Louis and was sent to Vicksburg, where it arrived about April 1st and was assigned to the Third Brigade of the Third Division, Fifteenth Army Corps, commanded by Gen. W. T. Sherman. Early in May it participated in that brilliant series of movements around Vicksburg ending in the assault upon Jackson, and then marched to Vicksburg and became part of the investing force up to the 22d of June. During this time it participated in the siege operations carried on by its brigade, and took part in the assault on the rebel works on the 22d of May. June 22d it became part of the force, under the command of Gen. W. T. Sherman, constituting a line of circumvallation to guard against the threatened attack of the rebel General Johnston's army and the re-inforcement of the rebel forces under General Pemberton, then defending the formidable forts and earthworks around Vicksburg. The regiment remained on this duty until the surrender of the rebel stronghold on July 4th. Immediately after the surrender, the regiment was ordered, with the other troops under Sherman, to go in pursuit of Johnston, who was retreating towards Jackson. They participated in the operations which led up to the short siege and subsequent evacuation of that place on July 17, 1863. It then became part of a force under General Steele which drove the enemy out of Brandon, Miss., and captured that place. At the conclusion of Colonel Geddes' official report of the operation of this regiment during the Vicksburg campaign, he says: "From the 2d of May to the 25th of July, we marched without tents or transportation, over three hundred miles, engaged the enemy at Vicksburg, twice at Jackson, and at Brandon, and, although during the operations of this ever memorable campaign, both officers and men of the regiment suffered much exposure and hardship of a very trying character, they endured all without a murmur, and with a fortitude which elicited on several occasions the unreserved commendations of the commanding general."
Sherman's army soon after started for Chattanooga, but the Third Division of the Fifteenth Corps was left.to guard the railroad. The Eighth Iowa was stationed at Pocahontas, Tenn., from the last of October, 1863, to the first of January, 1864, on which date three-fourths of the men re-enlisted as veterans.
The following month General Sherman organized the famous Meridian expedition, which penetrated far into the interior of Mississippi and inflicted great damage upon the enemy in the destruction of railroads and immense quantities of supplies which were found stored at Meridian. The Eighth Iowa Infantry participated in this remarkable expedition, marched over three hundred miles and bivouacked in the open air, living upon such provisions as could be gathered from the country through which they marched. Returning to Vicksburg, the re-enlisted veterans were sent to their homes in Iowa on furlough, while the non-veterans participated in the ill-fated Red River expedition, in which they performed good service and suffered great hardships. The veterans returned to Memphis, Tenn., at the close of their thirty days' furlough, and upon their arrival there were assigned to provost guard duty under the command of Lieut. Col. W. B. Bell, Colonel Geddes being at the same time appointed Provost Marshal of the District of West Tennessee. In the discharge of this important duty, the regiment won the commendation of General Marcy, Inspector General United States Army, who pronounced it equal in equipment and discipline to any regiment in the volunteer or regular army. It was while performing this duty that the regiment had a severe engagement with the rebel General Forrest's cavalry which made a daring raid into the city of Memphis on the 21st day of August, 1864, and at 4 o'clock in the morning had made its way into the very center of the city.
The following extracts from the official report of Lieut. Col. W. B. Bell will show how well the troops under his command acquitted themselves in defeating and driving the rebels from the city and pursuing them into the adjacent country:
When the first alarm was given, by the enemy firing on the streets, my command turned out promptly from their several barracks throughout the city, and skirmished with the enemy wherever they found him, killing and wounding several, and taking six prisoners. Lieut. D. W. Stearns, with the headquarters' guards, numbering twenty men, attacked a force of the enemy who were attempting to release the prisoners in Irving Block, and, in connection with the prison guard, drove them off. A few minutes afterwards, I arrived at regimental headquarters. Adjutant Campbell had already ordered Company C and Headquarters' guard to report at regimental headquarters.
In compliance with General Buckland's order, I pursued the enemy with the Headquarters' guard commanded by Lieutenant Stearns, and Company C commanded by Lieutenant Boyer, leaving Major Stubbs and Adjutant Campbell to assemble the balance of the regiment.
On crossing Beal street, I was joined by Company F, commanded by Lieutenant Irwin, which increased my command to seventy men. With this force, I moved briskly forward after the enemy, who were retiring on the Hernando road. On arriving at the mouth of a lane, I sent forward a line of skirmishers under Lieutenant Stearns and advanced in line of battle for some distance, when my skirmishers were driven in.
Sergeant Ostrander and privates A. M. Walling, I. E. Newman, Charles Smith and Peny Clark watched their opportunity, and fired a volley on the flank of the enemy, killing the rebel captain Lundy, and wounding several others. Then by making a circuit they safely joined their command. At this time General Dustan came up and assigned to my command fifty of the One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois, commanded by Lieutenant Chatfield. I then moved forward some distance, halted, formed line of battle, and moved through the orchard on the left side of the road, and into the woods a short distance beyond, when we met the enemy, and firing commenced on both sides about the same time. A brisk, spirited, and severe engagement ensued. * * *
During the engagement, the troops under my command, one and all, behaved gallantly. Captain Geddes, who was on detached service, joined my command at the first, and throughout the engagement did good service. By the death of Lieutenant Irwin, who fell bravely leading his company, the regiment lost a good soldier, a pleasant companion, and an excellent man. Annexed is a full list of casualties.
In this engagement the regiment's loss was 43, which, considering the fact that only a small portion of the regiment was engaged, was very heavy. Lieutenant Colonel Bell moved promptly with the few men he found to be immediately available, and rendered most important service in promptly moving to the attack without waiting to rally his entire regiment. The regiment remained in Memphis until in January, 1865, when it was ordered to New Orleans, where it was encamped for some time on the old battlefield eight miles below the city. It next took passage for Mobile and, shortly after its arrival there, joined General Canby's army. The regiment was now a part of the Third Brigade, Third Division of the Sixteenth Army Corps, and its brigade was under the command of its colonel, James L. Geddes, while the regiment was commanded by Lieut. Col. W. B. Bell. The maneuvers leading up to the beginning of the siege of Spanish Fort were participated in by the Eighth Iowa; and in the siege operations, lasting from March 27th until April 8, 1865, when the assault was made and the fort captured, the regiment bore a most conspicuous part and suffered heavy loss. Lieutenant Colonel Bell gives a graphic account of the terrific fighting during the assault, and the desperate resistance made by the enemy. After describing in detail the passage of his regiment through an almost impassable swamp, during which it was under a heavy fire from the enemy, he says:
As soon as the regiment gained the crest of the hill, where our skirmishers were, the fight commenced in full force, but of such a character that it is difficult to describe. The regiment moved by the right flank in rear of the enemy's rifle pits, and carried them for a distance of 500 yards, either killing, wounding, or capturing the entire force of the enemy occupying the same. One thing that was very much in our favor was, the enemy's works, from their extreme left for a considerable distance up, consisted of a series of small pits, without direct connection with each other. This enabled us to attack them in detail, and we had carried a considerable portion of their works before their main force was aware that we had turned their left. We here witnessed the spectacle of dying in the last ditch, as quite a number of the rebels refused to surrender, and were shot in their ditches, and on the other hand, quite a number of them who were taken prisoners ought, in justice to our men, to have been killed, as they would first fire at our men after being ordered to surrender, then throw up both hands and surrender. * * * Soon after this, Colonel Geddes came up and directed me to place my command outside the enemy's works, and — facing toward them, and using them for breastworks — to throw out a company as skirmishers to my right and front, which orders were promptly complied with. * * * Soon after this, Captain Kettenring, of my command, in charge of the skirmish line, reported the enemy advancing in heavy column. They advanced within thirty or forty yards of us, calling out, "We surrender," and then fired on us. When they got within twenty-five yards of us, I ordered my command to fire and fix bayonets, which was done with a will. The enemy broke and ran, but soon after rallied and returned, and when within fifty yards of us halted. I ordered two companies to give them a volley, which caused them to break, and we saw them no more. Soon after this Colonel Geddes returned, formed his brigade and marched it through the fort, and to the bay beyond, after which, by his directions, I moved my command to camp. I claim for my regiment the honor of making the attack, and of being the only regiment that engaged the enemy inside of his works, also of capturing three stands of colors, five pieces of artillery, and four hundred and fifty prisoners, seven of them commissioned officers. * * *
Where all do their duty it is a difficult and delicate matter to make any discrimination. The several companies of the regiment were commanded by the following officers: Company A, Captain Muhs; Company B, Captain Kettenring; Company E, Lieutenant Clark; Company F, Lieutenant Harper; Company G, Lieutenant Vineyard; Company H, Lieutenant Bell; Company I, Sergeant Taylor; Company K, Captain Weeks. I would respectfully present to the favorable notice of the Colonel commanding brigade, the following named officers: Capt. Henry Muhs, who was conspicuous for his coolness while in command of the skirmish line; Lieut. Henry Vineyard, commanding Company G, in skirmish line, who was wounded in the arm early in the engagement, but continued in command of his company, until he received a wound which broke his leg, and will probably prove fatal; Captain Weeks, who was conspicuous for his bravery throughout the engagement; Captain Kettenring, who was severely wounded while bravely leading his company; Lieutenant Gardiner, who took command of his company after Captain Kettenring was wounded, and led it through the engagement with ability, and Sergeant Betz, Company G, who took command of his company after Lieutenant Vineyard was wounded, and handled it well. I am under obligations to Adjutant Marsden for valuable assistance rendered me in communicating instructions to the command. In addition to the names above mentioned, many enlisted men deserve honorable mention, but they are so numerous that it would make this report too voluminous.
Then follows the long list of the killed and wounded, another addition to the total record of its losses, that had now grown to an aggregate of fearful proportions. But the fighting days of this gallant regiment were now practically ended. The non-veterans (those who had not re-enlisted) had been mustered out of the service at the expiration of their original three years' term, and the regiment was now designated as the "Eighth Iowa Veteran Infantry Volunteers." And they had fully earned the title of veterans. The remainder of its service was in doing garrison and guard duty at different points in the South. From Mobile it was sent to Montgomery, Alabama, the place in which some of its members had been confined in prison after the battle of Shiloh. Prom Montgomery it was sent to Tuscaloosa and, during the winter of 1866, it was stationed at Selma, another point which many of the survivors had good reason to remember, on account of their experience in prison there.
On the 20th of April, 1866, the regiment was mustered out of the service at Selma, Alabama, after serving a 'little over four years and eight months. It was the last regiment from Iowa to be mustered out of the service. Among all the splendid volunteer organizations which Iowa sent into the field during the great War of the Rebellion, none reflected greater honor upon the State than the Eighth Iowa Infantry. At the time this sketch is written only a small number of the men who once marched and fought with this gallant regiment are living, and, a few years hence, none will be left to tell the story of their long and faithful service to their country, but the compiler of this sketch will hope that he has been able to preserve for their posterity, as well as for all the coming generations of the patriotic sons and daughters of Iowa, the most important events in the history of the regiment, and that in the subjoined roster they will find a record of individual service of progenitors that will be held as a priceless legacy.
SUMMARY OF CASUALTIES.
Total enrollment 1589
Killed 50
Wounded 228
Died of Wounds 45
Died of Disease 141
Discharged for wounds, disease and other causes 340
Buried in National Cemeteries 91
Captured . 394
Transferred 50
* Col. Frederick Steele was promoted to Brigadier General Feb. 1, 1862.
** Lieut. Col. J. L. Geddes was promoted to Colonel Feb. 7, 1862, and succeeded Colonel Steele in command of regiment.
SOUCE: Roster & Record of Iowa Soldiers During the War of the Rebellion, Volume 1, p. 1061-9
