FIRST COLONEL, SECOND CAVALRY.
Washington L. Elliott was the first regular army officer appointed to the colonelcy of an Iowa regiment. In the early history of the war, it was the opinion of Governor Kirkwood, and of a majority of the people, that none but men of military education could be safely entrusted with the command of a regiment of volunteers; but it was all a mistake.
The place of General Elliott's nativity, and the date of his birth, I have been unable to learn; but in May, 1846, he was appointed from Pennsylvania to a second lieutenancy of mounted rifles, and served in the Mexican War. At the close of that war he served in New Mexico, and, in 1854, was promoted to a captaincy. In the fall of 1858, he distinguished himself in conflicts with the Navajoes, and, in the following year, was placed in command of Fort Bliss, Texas.
Captain Elliott was commissioned colonel of the 2d Iowa Cavalry on the 14th day of September, 1861, and by his energy and military ability soon made for himself and his regiment a most enviable reputation. Indeed, it has often been claimed as regards the Iowa troops that the 2d Infantry, the 2d Cavalry, and the 2d Battery, are the star troops of their respective arms of service; but this claim is certainly not founded in justice; though it may be conceded that the 2d Iowa Cavalry has done as much hard fighting as any other Iowa cavalry regiment.
On the 19th of February, 1862, which is the date of the commencement of their field-service, the 2d Iowa Cavalry arrived at Bird's Point, Missouri. Having watched the movements of the enemy for several days in the direction of Belmont and Columbus, the regiment started on the 27th instant in pursuit of Jeff. Thompson towards New Madrid, and after a march of thirteen days through the almost impassable swamps that here border the Mississippi, reached that place in time join the forces of General Pope in its capture. After the capture of Island No. 10, in which a detachment of the 2d, under Lieutenant Schnitger, took a conspicuous part, the regiment sailed for Hamburg Landing on the Tennessee River.
The services of the 2d Iowa and the 2d Michigan Cavalry regiments before Corinth, in the spring of 1862, gave to the 2d Brigade of General Pope's Cavalry Division a national reputation. From the 29th of April, the date of the capture and burning of the enemy's camp at Monterey, Mississippi, till the 30th of the following May, the 2d Iowa Cavalry took part in five distinct expeditions, and not less than ten skirmishes and engagements; and, in nearly all these operations, were joined by the 2d Michigan Cavalry, under the gallant Colonel Philip H. Sheridan. The most noteworthy of these expeditions is that which under Colonel Elliott in command of the 2d Brigade, left its camp near Farmington for Boonville, Mississippi, at one o'clock on the morning of the 27th of May, 1862. Connected with Colonel Elliott's exit from camp, is a laughable incident which I can not forbear relating. A new regiment, which had just come to the front, had its camp near the road over which Colonel Elliott passed. Its camp-guard was commanded by a lieutenant – an able lawyer, but at that time a green soldier. Soon after mid-night, hearing the heavy tramp of twenty-three hundred cavalry on a hard-beaten road, he supposed the enemy were upon him and, rushing to the tent of his Colonel, he broke through its fastenings, and thus reported:
"For God's sake, colonel get up: the enemy with ten thousand cavalry are upon us; and we are within half a mile of h—1!"
It was this Boonville Expedition of Colonel Elliott, which afforded General Pope the chief material for his celebrated report, of date, I think, the 3d of June, 1862; and it was really a most important affair. Moving from Farmington in a southerly direction, and crossing the Memphis and Charleston Railroad about ten miles west of Iuka. Colonel Elliott, from this point, marched in a south-westerly direction and, passing through the country intersected by the Tombigbee swamps, arrived before Boonville on the morning of the 30th of May, before day-light. The surprise was complete. Some two thousand prisoners were captured, the majority of them, however, being sick or convalescent. But the amount of rebel property destroyed was of chief importance. Beside three hundred kegs and barrels of powder, and large quantities of commissary-stores, ten thousand stand of arms and equipments to correspond, were destroyed. For his successes here, Colonel Elliot, was most highly complimented by General Pope.
The most gallant achievement of the 2d Iowa Cavalry, while under Colonel Elliott, was its charge on the rebel battery at Farmington, Mississippi, on the morning of the 9th of May, 1862. On the afternoon of the 8th of May, the divisions of Stanley and Payne, by order of General Pope, made an important reconnoissance in the direction of Corinth and Rienzi, surprising the enemy and driving them through and beyond the little village of Farmington. Then, the Federal forces fell back to the east side of the village and bivouacked for the night, Colonel Loomis' Brigade in advance. Thus things stood on the morning of the 9th when the guns of our sentinels gave notice of the advance of the enemy. Chafed by the surprise of the day before, which lost them their advance-line, they were moving in force to restore it; but Pope was resolved on maintaining his advanced position, and hastily dispatched General Plummer's Brigade to take position to the right, and somewhat in advance of Colonel Loomis. But these dispositions were not completed when the enemy were seen advancing in column by division. Soon two regiments of Plummer's Brigade broke in confusion, and fled to the swamps in their rear, when his two remaining regiments had to be withdrawn from the field.
Having hastily formed their line of battle just in rear of the large white house in the north-east portion of the town, and, where General Pope the day before had made his headquarters, they threw forward their batteries, and commenced shelling the position of Colonel Loomis. And now comes the gallant charge of the 2d Iowa, which had already arrived at the front:
"Moving the column to the top of the hill, I ordered Major Coon, with Companies H. G, C, and part of A, of the 2d Battalion, and Major Love's 3d Battalion, to charge the battery on our left in echelons of squadrons. Deploying the columns to the right and left when we had passed our infantry lines, we attacked the skirmishers and supports of the enemy, driving them in and killing and wounding some. The fire from the battery on our left, near the Farmington road, was very severe, but on account of the ground being impracticable, and the battery and supports protected by a fence, this could not be reached; yet the enemy's gunners evidently alarmed at the charge, ceased working their guns. Major Coon's Battalion, led by him, gallantly attacked the battery near the building known as the cotton-mill (the centre battery). Lieutenant Reily, commanding Company F of 3d Battalion, attacked and carried two guns in battery on our extreme right. The centre battery was fairly carried, the gunners driven from their guns, the enemy limbering up his guns without taking them off the field. Finding our horses badly blown from a long charge over rough ground, and the infantry of the enemy in great force, I under a heavy fire ordered all companies on my right to retreat to the right and rear, forming on the swamp-road, and those on my left to join the regiment in this road. I ordered Major Hepburn to move to the rear, retaining Major Coon with two companies to pick up the wounded and scattered. My orders were carried out better than I could have expected. My chief bugler's bugle was rendered useless in the charge. Four of my orderlies had their horses killed, and two of the orderlies were shot out of their saddles while transmitting orders.
"The conduct of officers and men was in every way commendable. Captains Lundy and Egbert, and Lieutenant Owen, were wounded near the enemy's guns; and Lieutenants Horton, Moore and Schnitger, all had horses killed under them. Captain D. J. Crocker, and Lieutenant Moore, of Company H; Captain McConnell, and Lieutenant Foster, of Company M; Captain Kendrick, of Company E; Captain Eaton, and Lieutenant Bilden, of Company L, all of the 1st Battalion, led in the finest manner by Major Hepburn, rode through the hottest fire, and were rallied by Major Hepburn on the right when retiring in fine style, forming in good order in rear of the swamp, to await orders. Major Coon, Captain H. Egbert, Captain William Lundy, Lieutenants Owen and Horton, of the L Battalion, led the charge on the right in the finest manner, riding boldly in advance of their commands, and in advance of the entire regiment. The daring of Lieutenant Queal, commanding Company B, was conspicuous, cheering his men to the very muzzles of the enemy's guns. Captain Bishop, of Company I, and Captain Graves, of Company D, obeyed my orders promptly, under a heavy fire. Lieutenant Schnitger, acting regimental-adjutant, and Lieutenant Metcalf, battalion-adjutant, did their duty to my entire satisfaction. Before, and at the time of the charge, Captain Freeman and Lieutenant Eystra, with detachments of Companies A, G and H, dismounted as skirmishers, did excellent service in the swamps on our left, holding the enemy's skirmishers in check. There were about four hundred men in the charge. Our loss will scarcely exceed fifty killed and wounded, fifty horses killed, and fifty rendered unserviceable from wounds."
Immediately after the 2d Cavalry had retired, the enemy advanced his infantry when, after a sharp fight between them and the brigade of Colonel Loomis, General Pope ordered his troops to withdraw to the east side of the creek. The enemy pursued no further. In this engagement, not only the Iowa troops, but, with the exceptions already mentioned, those from Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri, distinguished themselves.
Dr. M. K. Taylor, afterward the able and courteous surgeon in charge of the United States General Hospital at Keokuk, was at the time surgeon of the 26th Illinois, Colonel Loomis, and was conspicuous in his efforts to rescue the wounded. He was among the last to leave the field, in charge of the dead and wounded.
The 17th Iowa arrived at the front that evening, and bivouacked near the camp of the 2d Iowa Cavalry. That night we first saw the bodies of dead men killed in battle, and for the first time heard the piteous groans of the wounded, and witnessed their unmitigable agonies.
For his promptness, and for his soldierly qualities discovered during the siege of Corinth and before, Colonel Elliott was promoted to brigadier-general, his commission dating the 11th of June, 1862. He was soon after made Chief of Cavalry to General Pope, and not long after, accompanied that general to Washington, and served with him in his unfortunate campaign on the Potomac. After General Pope was relieved of his command in the East, General Elliott accompanied him to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he remained till the winter of 1862-3. He was then transferred to the Army of the Cumberland, and made chief of Cavalry to General Thomas.
General Elliott is a smallish man, with stooping shoulders, sharp features and gray eyes. He is a man of great energy, and has the reputation of being a splendid cavalry officer.
SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 565-70
Friday, January 15, 2010
Brigadier-General W. L. Elliott
Colonel William Thompson
FOURTH COLONEL, FIRST CAVALRY.
William Thompson was born in the State of Pennsylvania, in about the year 1814. He came to Iowa while it was yet a Territory, and settled in Burlington, where he was at one time the editor of a democratic paper. He became, soon after coming to the country, quite a distinguished politician, and, in 1848, was elected to Congress. At the time of entering the service, he was a resident of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and a practicing lawyer; for that was his profession. Colonel Thompson entered the service as captain of Company E, 1st Iowa Cavalry, the company which he had recruited in Henry county, in the months of June and July, 1861. Holding this rank until the 5th of April, 1863, he was at that time promoted to a majority of the regiment, and in August, 1864, was made colonel.
In the sketch of Colonel Thompson, I shall include a portion of the history of the 1st Iowa Cavalry, which was made during the colonelcy of Mr. Anderson; for I can do so with propriety, since during this time the regiment was not commanded by Colonel Anderson.
Having passed the previous Fall and Winter in scouting in the vicinity of Little Rock, the 1st Iowa Cavalry in the opening of Spring joined the command of General Steele in the march to Camden. The regiment was brigaded with the 3d Missouri and the 10th Illinois Cavalry, these troops being the same that had been organized into a brigade command nearly a year before at Pilot Knob, Missouri. The brigade commander was not the same. Colonel Glover, a brave and good man, had been compelled to leave the service from disability, and Colonel Anderson, as the ranking officer, became his successor. But, as has already been stated, Colonel Anderson was, on the eve of General Steele's departure, seized with sudden illness, and Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell, of the 1st Iowa Cavalry, succeeded to the command of the brigade. There had also been a change in the division commander. After the possession of Little Rock, the radicalism of General Davidson had so conflicted with the conservatism of General Steele, as to produce repeated misunderstandings; and the report was that, by the mutual efforts of these officers, General Davidson was relieved and given a command elsewhere. General Davidson's successor was General E. A. Carr, of Pea Ridge notoriety. Major, now Colonel Thompson, commanded the 1st Iowa Cavalry, and thus commanded, and thus associated, the regiment marched on its most eventful campaign.
The leading events of the Camden Expedition are related elsewhere. It was one of great dangers and hardships, and the cavalry portion of the command, which led the advance, was hardly ever out of peril. From Prairie de Anne, (than which there is not a prettier little district of country in the Old or New World) to Camden, the enemy were never out of view. Wherever the character of the country was favorable, they were sure to be found in position, and during the whole of this distance, their skirmishers were constantly in the front, to harass the cavalry-advance. A detachment of the 1st Iowa Cavalry, and one of the 3d Missouri Cavalry were the first troops to enter Camden. Two and a half miles west of Camden, (and General Steele marching down the south-west side of the Washita River, entered the city from the west) the road forks. The left-hand road enters the city from the west, and the right-hand one from the south-west. Starting from these forks, two hundred and fifty men from the 1st Iowa Cavalry, and two hundred and fifty from the 3d Missouri Cavalry, dashed into Camden. The Iowa troops under Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell, taking the right-hand road, entered the city just before sun-down, and almost simultaneous with those of the 3d Missouri Cavalry. The enemy offered no resistance, for they had fled to avoid capture.
On entering Camden on the evening of the 15th of April, General Steele was unwilling to believe he had reached the terminus of his march southward. Nor when the Old Flag was raised on the Court-House did he think that it must soon be hauled down, and he be compelled to march back hurriedly to Little Rock.
But the 1st Iowa Cavalry was to go no further. Indeed, its leaving Little Rock was a matter of its own choosing; for the regiment had re-enlisted as veterans, and the first of March had been fixed as the time for its departure North. But General Steele had said "You had better go along, for we shall need you;" and where is the Iowa regiment that would not have done likewise? The horses of the 1st Iowa Cavalry were the individual property of the regiment, and by a general order these had to be sold and transferred to the Government, before the regiment could start back to Little Rock. It was a matter of irksome delay, but it saved the regiment from capture; for it was to accompany the brigade and train that were surrounded and captured at Mark's Mills, Arkansas on the 25th instant.
The 2d Brigade, 3d Division, 7th Army Corps, Lieutenant-Colonel F. M. Drake commanding, left Camden for Pine Bluff for supplies, at five o'clock on the morning of the 23d of April, 1864. Lieutenant-Colonel J. W. Caldwell, in command of his regiment, was not able to leave until twenty-four hours later. The regiment had disposed of their horses and, with the exception of the officers, were to travel on foot. The order directing the regiment to sell and transfer their horses, also required them to turn over their arms; but against this Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell protested, and they were allowed to retain them. This was most fortunate; for their trusty arms proved their salvation. Early in the morning of the 24th instant, the 1st Iowa Cavalry crossed the Washita, and started in rapid pursuit of the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Drake. The country was full of the enemy's scouts. The citizens were sullen, and to all questions gave ominous answers. At the same time rumors were repeated of the defeat of Banks; all of which justly made Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell apprehensive of pending danger. He therefore called on General Carr for a cavalry-escort, which was reluctantly granted; but it turned back on the morning of the second day's march, and proved of no service. Camp was pitched on the evening of the 24th instant, about twenty-five miles from Camden.
The next morning, the march was resumed at day-light, and by great exertion, the edge of Moro Bottom was reached at ten o'clock. Here had been the encampment of Lieutenant-Colonel Drake's command only the night before, and, by hard marching, Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell hoped to overtake that command that night. The men of his regiment now ceased to be apprehensive for their safety, and began to indulge in dreams of home-greetings, and to devise plans by which they could most surprise their friends. But they had not quite reached the stream from which Moro Bottom derives its name, before a cry of alarm was heard in the front; and in the next instant all was confusion.
That morning the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Drake had been attacked by a superior force of the enemy—not less I think than seven thousand, and after a brief but most spirited fight, the greater portion of it captured. The camp-followers and teamsters, cutting loose the mules from the train, mounted them, and at full speed rode back in the direction of Camden; and from one of these Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell learned of that morning's disaster. To conceive the terror with which these poor fellows were overwhelmed is impossible. Stripped of all but their boots, pants and shirts, hatless, coatless and covered with mud, their eyes protruding, and their hair standing on end, they came at full run and shouting from their already hoarse throats: "We are all lost! they are all lost! we are all lost! they are all lost:" To the repeated calls of Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell, "Stop, stop!" they paid no attention, and the only way he could learn what had happened was, by laying his strong hand on the shoulder of one as he was passing, and holding him fast till he had told the story. But he was not half done, when the report of musketry was heard at the front. Some four hundred of the enemy's cavalry were in pursuit of the fugitives, their object being the capture of the mules on which they were escaping. Reinforcements were at once sent forward to the advance-guard, which had arrived at the bridge over the Moro in time to prevent the enemy from crossing. Quite a sharp engagement followed, during which Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell burned his small train with its contents. This was the cause of much regret to his men; for in their saddle-bags were many cherished souvenirs which they had for a long time preserved as gifts for their friends; but it was impossible in the deep mud to turn the wagons and drive them to the rear. The enemy finally ceased their attack and riding down the creek, disappeared and gave no further trouble.
The 1st Iowa Cavalry now returned to near Camden, and accompanied General Steele to Little Rock. The departure North of this gallant regiment on veteran furlough, was made the occasion by General Carr, of a very complimentary order to not only that regiment, but to the Iowa troops generally. The same order alluded in flattering terms to the gallant conduct of Lieutenant-Colonel J. W. Caldwell on the Camden Expedition.
About the middle of July, 1864, its leave of absence having expired, the 1st Iowa Cavalry left Davenport for the front, via Cairo, Illinois; but, on arriving at that place, was ordered by General Halleck to Benton Barracks, Missouri, where it remained until the 12th of the following August. At the last named date it was ordered to Mexico, Missouri; and later was ordered on duty on the line of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad.
At the time of General Price's invasion of Missouri in the fall of 1864, the regiment was ordered to Jefferson City, and at that point joined the forces of General Rosecrans, and marched on the campaign that resulted in the expulsion of the rebel forces from the State. Returning to Warrensburg, Missouri, the regiment was there made the cavalry-escort of General Rosecrans, which conducted him back to St. Louis. After its arrival in that city, it was ordered into quarters at Benton Barracks, and in January, 1865, sent back to Little Rock, where Colonel Thompson joined it, and in the vicinity of which place it has since served.
Colonel Thompson is a large man, weighing about one hundred and ninety pounds, and having black hair and eyes, and a dark complexion. He is reputed an able, intelligent man.
SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 559-64
Iowa Ladies and the Wounded
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 1
Gone Home
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 1
Thursday, January 14, 2010
A Rebel Discharge
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 1
NOTE: Per Dyer’s Compendium, the organization of the 3rd Kansas Infantry Regiment was not completed, but it was consolidated with the 4th Kansas Infantry to form 10th Kansas Infantry April 3, 1862.
Colonel Daniel Anderson
THIRD COLONEL, FIRST CAVALRY.
Daniel Anderson was born in the year 1821, in the State of Indiana. His history, prior to coming to Iowa, I am unacquainted with. He settled in Albia, Monroe county, of this State, in about the year 1843, and established himself in the practice of the law, which he continued to follow till the time of entering the service. In July and August, 1861, he enlisted Company H, 1st Iowa Cavalry, was elected its captain, and held this rank till the 10th of July, 1862, when he was promoted to the majority of the 3d Battalion of his regiment. In the following August, he was made lieutenant-colonel, which rank he held till the 21st of August, 1863, when he was promoted to the colonelcy of the regiment. On the expiration of his three-years' term, of service he resigned his commission, and returned to his home in Albia.
During the colonelcy of Mr. Anderson the 1st Iowa Cavalry, as a regiment, met the enemy for the first time in a regular engagement. On the 11th day of June, 1863, nearly a month after the regiment had returned from its scout in South Eastern Missouri, the 1st Iowa Cavalry in company with the 8th Missouri Cavalry left Lake Springs for Pilot Knob, where it reported to Colonel J. M. Glover commanding the 2d Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division. Plans for the Arkansas Expedition and the capture of Little Rock which were matured after the fall of Vicksburg had been conceived in the month of June preceding; and in anticipation of this movement the 1st Cavalry Division was ordered south from Missouri. On the 1st of July the 1st Iowa Cavalry with its brigade and division left its camp at Arcadia, Missouri, and passing through Fredericktown and Bloomfield, crossed the St. Francis River in the vicinity of Chalk Bluff, Arkansas. From this point the command moved due south through Gainsville, and Jonesboro, Arkansas, and on the 28th instant arrived within some three miles of Wittsburg, where it went into camp. Here the division remained several days, and until dispatches could be forwarded to Helena, which was one hundred miles distant. The party which carried these dispatches, and which consisted of only fifty men, was under the command of Captain Jenks and Lieutenant Hursh of the 1st Iowa Cavalry; and the success which attended the movement did these officers great credit; for the rout which was unknown to them, and which lay all the way through the enemy's country, was passed without accident or the loss of a single man.
With the return of this party, the division broke camp and continued the march to White River, which it struck on the evening of the 8th of July, near Clarendon. The organization of General Steele's command being now completed, he marched out from Helena to form a junction with the cavalry of General Davidson, at Clarendon. White River was crossed successfully, and now the expedition to Little Rock was well under way. By order of General Steele, General Davidson, on the morning of the 22d of July, led the advance in the direction of Deadman's Lake and Brownsville; while the infantry, under General Steele, moved up the river to Duvall's Bluff, and proceeded from that direction. No opposition was made to General Davidson's advance until the 25th, when General Marmaduke made his appearance with his rebel cavalry. All that day skirmishing was carried on with the enemy, who, driven back to and through Brownsville, were on the following day forced into their works on Bayou Metoe; and at Bayou Metoe, the 1st Iowa Cavalry, as a regiment, first met the enemy in battle. Bayou Metoe, a miry, sluggish stream, is crossed by the Brownsville and Little Rock road, at a point about fourteen miles east of the last named place. At the time in question, it was spanned by a wooden bridge; and the object of the charge of the 1st Iowa Cavalry was to save this bridge from burning; for the enemy, after falling back to the west side of the stream, had fired it, to prevent pursuit. On the east side of Bayou Metoe, and nearly three-quarters of a mile distant from it, is a sharp, narrow ridge of land, which is covered with brush, and runs nearly parallel with the stream. Along this the enemy had constructed earth-works, which, after being driven from Brownsville, they had occupied.
On the afternoon of the 26th of August, General Davidson's van-guard, which consisted of a detachment of the 3d Missouri Cavalry, was moving along the road and had come within about a mile of the above named rebel works, when they were greeted with a six-pound solid shot. It struck the ground in their front, and ricochetting killed one man and two horses. Word was sent back to General Davidson, who was at Brownsville, and the next morning he came to the front. The expedient which he adopted to dislodge the enemy was a novel one. He directed a bass drum to be beaten that the enemy might infer the approach of infantry; and the ruse succeeded admirably, for they left without offering further resistance. Retiring to the west side of the bayou, they fired the bridge, seeing which, General Davidson called for the 1st Iowa Cavalry to charge and save it. Colonel Anderson led his regiment and had arrived within some three hundred yards of the bridge when the enemy, secreted in thick brush to the right, delivered a deadly volley of musketry. The colonel's horse was wounded and frightened, and took the colonel to the rear. The regiment dashed on with Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell at its head; but on reaching the bayou the enemy were found in strong works just beyond the opposite bank. It was impossible to save the bridge, and after exchanging shots with the enemy for upward of an hour the regiment retired.
Further pursuit of the enemy in this direction was therefore rendered impossible, since at this point the bayou was deep and miry; and, stationing pickets near the crossing, General Davidson returned to Brownsville. From this time till the 8th of August the 1st Iowa Cavalry remained in Camp at Brownsville, and during this time the character of the country and the position of the enemy were thoroughly reconnoitered. General Steele in the meantime having determined to move against Little Rock by way of the river-road the cavalry, on the morning of the last named date, led the advance in that direction; and in the evening of that same day General Davidson bivouacked only one mile north of the Arkansas River, and ten miles east of the doomed city.
The next day the 1st Iowa, having crossed the Arkansas, took a distinguished part in leading Steele's army into Little Rock.
On the 26th of November, Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell, with two hundred and fifty men of his regiment, left camp at Little Rock, and moved down the Arkansas River to Pine Bluff. The enemy were reported advancing on that place, and he was sent forward to reinforce the garrison. Lieutenant-Colonel H. C. Caldwell, of the 3d Iowa Cavalry, in command of a brigade, also joined in this movement; but before the arrival of any of these troops, Colonel Clayton, of the 5th Kansas Cavalry, with his gallant little garrison numbering not over four hundred men, had engaged and beaten off the rebel force. For the number of troops engaged, this is one of the most brilliant battles ever fought in Arkansas; and, for his success in defending Pine Bluff, Colonel Clayton received the highest commendations of General Steele. Immediately after arriving at Pine Bluff, the commands of both Lieutenant-Colonels H. C. and J. W. Caldwell started in pursuit of the enemy, and proceeded as far west as Arkadelphia; but in all that distance no enemy was encountered. The detachment from the 1st Iowa Cavalry returned to Little Rock on the 1st of December, and during the scout had traveled not less than two hundred and fifty miles. From the 1st to the 31st of December, 1863, the 1st Iowa Cavalry, in detachments, was constantly on the scout. In November, I have mentioned only that expedition in which LieutenantColonel J. W. Caldwell took part; for that was the most important; but other detachments of the regiment were also on the scout; and to show the amount of labor performed by the entire regiment, it need only be stated that the aggregate number of miles marched by the different companies and detachments in the month of November was three thousand and seventy-nine miles. In December, the aggregate of miles marched was two thousand eight hundred and eighty-two. It has been supposed the cavalry was a lazy arm of the service; but these figures should correct this idea.
The most important of the expeditions joined in by the 1st Iowa Cavalry in the month of December, was that which, leaving Little Rock on the 15th instant, marched south through Arkadelphia, and to within fifteen miles of Camden on the Washita River. The detachment from the 1st Iowa, which consisted of some two hundred and sixty men, under Captain Jenks, engaged the enemy, dismounted, a few miles south of Princeton, and drove them from the works, killing and wounding some, and capturing several prisoners. The history of this affair seems incredible. The enemy were eight hundred, and holding a strong position; but they were routed by less than three hundred men, losing many of their arms, their wagons and camp-equipage.
After the occupation of Little Rock, Colonel Glover was taken sick and was succeeded in the command of his brigade by Colonel Anderson of the 1st Iowa Cavalry, who retained the command for several weeks. And it was during this time that he was placed under arrest for writing a sharp letter to Lieutenant-Colonel Chandler, General Steele's Provost-Marshal General. He was, however, after the lapse of several weeks, released without trial, and returned to the command of his brigade. On account of sickness, which prostrated him just before the expedition started, Colonel Anderson did not accompany General Steele on his Camden march; but soon recovering, he assumed command of the Post of Little Rock, which he held till the expedition returned. During the absence of his regiment on veteran furlough, he was placed in command of the non-veterans; but before the regiment returned, he resigned his commission and returned to his home in Albia. In person, Colonel Anderson is tall and erect. He can not be less than six feet and three inches in hight. He has regular features, brown hair, and grey eyes. He is dignified in his manners; he has large self-esteem, and an arbitrary disposition. It was this, with his quick temper, which gave him trouble in the service. He is a man of good judgment; and though he never met with great success in the practice of his profession, he is regarded as a sound lawyer. He is a fair public speaker; but too prolix to be entertaining.
SOURCE: Addison A Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 553-8
Iowa Wounded
The wounded Iowa soldiers, some two hundred in number, were expected at Keokuk on Friday last, but they did not arrive. Ample preparations has been made for them – the Estes House having been converted into a hospital. On Saturday they were hourly expected.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 1
Lt. Col. Price
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 1
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Capt. Littler
CAPT. LITTLER. – Later advices, we take pleasure in announcing, render it very probable that Capt. Littler will recover from his recent terrible wound. He was brought down to St. Louis last week and arrived there on Friday. Capt. Cox, of Clinton Co., who was with him on the steamer Empress, on the way down the Tennessee river, reports Capt. Littler’s condition as very favorable, as does Mr. Price, of this city who was with him before he left Pittsburg.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 1
Colonel James Otis Gower
SECOND COLONEL, FIRST CAVALRY.
James Otis Gower, the successor of General Warren to the colonelcy of the 1st Iowa Cavalry, is a son of James H. Gower, Esq., of Iowa City, and a native of Abbot, Maine, where he was born on the 30th of May, 1834. In 1839, he accompanied his father's family West, and settled in Iowa City, where he has since made his home. He was educated at Knox College, Illinois, and at the Kentucky Military Institute. He graduated at the last named Institution in 1855, when, returning home, he, in partnership with his father, engaged in the banking business at Iowa City. He followed this business till the spring of 1861, the time of his entering the service.
In June and July, 1861, Colonel Gower enlisted Company F, 1st Iowa Cavalry, and was elected its captain. On the 1st of September following, he was promoted to the majority of the 2d Battalion of that regiment, which rank he held till the 26th of August, 1862, when he was made its colonel.
To convey a correct idea of the character of services performed by the 1st Iowa Cavalry from the time Colonel Gower assumed command of it until the date of his resignation, and, in fact, from the time of its entering the field until the time above mentioned, I can not do better than to quote briefly from the monthly reports of the regiment. I select the month of October, 1862, because it was the month in which Colonel Gower first commanded the regiment as its colonel.
"October 1st.—Marched twelve miles toward Mt. Vernon. 2d. — Passed through Mt. Vernon and camped on Centre Creek, Lawrence county, Missouri. 3d. — At 7 P. M., with brigade and division marched through Jollification to Newtonia, Newton county, arriving at 7 A.M. 4th instant, and finding and engaging the enemy in a slight skirmish, with no casualties however to the regiment. 9th. — Marched from Newtonia to Gadfly, Barry county, Missouri; and 12th from Gadfly to Cassville, Barry county. 16th. — Regiment transferred to 2d Brigade, 3d Division, Army of the Frontier. 17th. — Moved camp to McMurtry's Springs. 18th. — Marched all day and camped on Sugar Creek, near Bentonville, Arkansas. 20th. — Left camp on Sugar Creek at 5 P. M., marched all night and the next day, and 'stood to horse' on White River. Night of 21st and 22d, marched to Glade Creek, near Huntsville: took supper and marched all night to camp on White River. 23d. — Marched to Mudtown, thence toward Fayetteville, thence back to Cross Hollows, Benton county, Arkansas, into camp at Valley Springs. 27th. — Ten companies of the regiment marched at 9 P. M. to a point eight miles south-east of Fayetteville, and had a slight skirmish with the enemy on the morning of the 28th. 28th. — Quarter-Master Samuel C. Dickerson killed by guerrillas. 29th. — Scout of ten companies returned to camp at Valley Springs."
The marches and counter-marches made by this regiment during the month of October, 1862, are but a fair sample of its labors for the entire year following.
In the month of November, 1862, the regiment marched four hundred miles, visiting Elkhorn Tavern, McMurtry's Springs, Crane Creek, Ozark, White Oak Springs, Wilson's Creek, and Yellville, Arkansas. In the last five days of the month, more than half this distance was accomplished by the regiment. Leaving Wilson's Creek on the morning of the 25th, it reached Yellville on the 27th, and on the evening of the 30th instant arrived again at its camp on Wilson's Creek. These marches, made as they were in the wet season of the year, and many of them in the night-time, fill a civilian with amazement; but the marches of themselves give no idea of the fatigue, hardships and dangers endured. The regiment was often divided into small detachments, and when moving from one point to another, these brave fellows had little assurance of their safety; for the country was full of guerrillas and scouting-parties of the enemy, ready to decoy them into ambuscades, or, if his numbers would justify, attack them in more honorable warfare. Whether on the march or resting in camp, the most active vigilance had to be maintained — some resting and sleeping, while others watched.
One of the most noteworthy engagements in which the 1st Iowa Cavalry took quite a conspicuous part, was that of Prairie Grove, Washington county, Arkansas. On the evening of the 3rd of December, 1862, the 1st Iowa, with its brigade and division, was encamped near Wilson's Creek, Missouri, when orders were received to march hastily to the relief of Brigadier-General James G. Blunt, then stationed at Cane Hill, Arkansas. The regiment broke camp near mid-night and marched with the main column as far as Elkhorn. From that point the 1st and 2d Battalions, with the balance of the brigade, proceeded hurriedly at day-light on the morning of the 6th, and reached Cane Hill safely at mid-night, having for eighteen consecutive hours been constantly in the saddle. The 3d Battalion of the regiment was left behind to guard the train of the infantry troops, under the immediate command of General Herron. How the rebel General Hindman, leaving General Blunt at Cane Hill, had hurried out to Prairie Grove with the principal portion of his army, for the purpose of crushing General Herron before a junction could be formed by the Union forces, is well known. Even on the afternoon of the 6th instant, a considerable portion of the rebel force had arrived on the Prairie Grove battle-ground; for in the evening of that day, the 1st Iowa Cavalry in passing through the valley, had seen them on the hills on either side of the road.
At day-light on Sunday morning, the 7th, Colonel Gower had the 1st and 2d Battalions of his regiment in their saddles, ready to lead Blunt's advance in the direction of Fayetteville; for the plans of the enemy had already been divined. To this advance the enemy made but slight opposition since, as already stated, his main force was at Prairie Grove. It was near noon when Herron opened the engagement, and General Blunt, then seven miles distant, heard distinctly the reports of the artillery. His rout was necessarily circuitous; but he pushed rapidly on, and just before sun-down came on the rear and left flank of the enemy, who was just then rejoicing at the prospects of victory. The rest is well known. As was natural, the gratitude of Generals Herron and Blunt was mutual: Herron saved Blunt and Blunt saved Herron from ruinous defeat. In the advance from Cane Hill the 1st Iowa Cavalry was repeatedly engaged with the enemy's skirmishers, and yet its loss was only one man wounded and two captured. With the expedition to Van Buren on the Arkansas River, which the 1st Iowa Cavalry accompanied and in which were captured one hundred prisoners and five river steamers, closed the year 1862.
The character of service of the 1st Iowa Cavalry did not change with the opening of the new year of 1863. The regiment still continued its journeyings from one point to another, in pursuit of guerrillas and small detachments of the enemy, and principally under the command of Major, now Lieutenant-Colonel J. \V. Caldwell; for Colonel Gower was in command of a brigade. Of the many laborious marches performed by the 1st Iowa Cavalry, in the eight months following the first of January, 1863, the most noteworthy one is that executed in April and May of that year, where some five hundred men of the regiment, under command of Major J. W. Caldwell, scoured a principal portion of South Eastern Missouri, in pursuit of the rebel cavalry force under General Marmaduke. Since the first of January, 1863, and previous to the time of the above named expedition, the regiment had marched more than three hundred miles, and had visited Huntsville, Dry Fork, Crooked Creek, Kingston, where extensive saltpetre works were destroyed by Major Caldwell; Yellville, Arkansas; Forsyth, Missouri; Finley Fork, near which place six members of the regiment were captured; Mountain Grove, where the regiment received new Sharp's carbines; and Lake Springs.
To create a diversion in favor of Lieutenant-General John C. Pemberton at Vicksburg, the rebel General Marmaduke, with a cavalry force reported to be seven thousand strong, had marched from Arkansas into South Eastern Missouri, and, in the latter part of April, 1863, was threatening Pilot Knob and Cape Girardeau. The authorities were even alarmed at St. Louis, and all available troops stationed at that point were hastily forwarded to Pilot Knob, to check a further advance of the enemy. At the time in question, the 1st Iowa Cavalry was encamped at Lake Springs, Missouri, seventy-five miles distant from Pilot Knob. On the morning of the 21st of April, Major Caldwell, with a detachment of five hundred men from his regiment, started for the last named place, where, arriving in the afternoon of the 23d, he remained till the 25th instant, awaiting the approach of the enemy. Report now placed Marmaduke at Fredericktown, twenty miles east from Pilot Knob; and, on the 25th, General Vandever with the cavalry marched for that place; but the enemy retired on his approach, and he entered the town without opposition. On the 26th he proceeded in the direction of Cape Girardeau and arrived at Jackson that same evening. But in the meantime it had been learned that the enemy, who had attacked Cape Girardeau, had been repulsed, and were now encamped on the Dallas road, only a few miles distant from Jackson.
The celebrated night-attack was now planned, which, by its skillful execution, completely routed the rebel forces. The chief credit of this affair belongs to the detachment of the 1st Iowa Cavalry under Major Caldwell, the troops selected to make the charge. "At midnight [I quote from the records of the regiment] Lieutenant Hursh, Company F, with a platoon of eight men and two howitzers, approached within thirty yards of the unsuspecting rebels, discharged howitzers and carbines, and then joined the column, which, with sabers drawn, charged upon and routed the entire force, killing many and capturing horses, arms and camp-equipage. Not a man of the regiment was harmed." Major Caldwell returned with his command to Lake Springs on the 14th of May. The detachment had been absent twenty-four days, and had traveled nearly five hundred miles.
Colonel Gower is of medium size, rather slender in person, and weighs about one hundred and sixty pounds. He has light-brown hair, a light complexion, and gray eyes. In dress he is exceedingly neat and tasty. He never looks dirty nor slovenly, no matter what he is doing. When in the service he was celebrated for his cleanly appearance, whether in camp or on the march. The colonel is quiet and rather dignified in his manners with strangers, but not so with his friends. He is fond of fun, but likes to enjoy it in a quiet way.
As a soldier, he was brave and a good disciplinarian. Disability was the cause of his resignation.
SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 547-52
Nashville Papers
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 1
17th Iowa Regiment
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 1
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Gen. Grant
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Tuesday Morning, April 22, 1862, p. 1
Brigadier-General Fitz Henry Warren
FIRST COLONEL, FIRST CAVALRY.Fitz Henry Warren and Grenville Mellen Dodge, the only Iowa general officers whose native State is Massachusetts, are both fair representatives of that proud old Commonwealth. Although differing in their mental constitutions, they are each earnest and persevering — two traits for which the sons of the old Bay State are noted.
General Warren is the son of a tanner, and a native of the town of Brimfield, where he was born on the 11th day of January, 1816. His education was not liberal. He first attended the common schools of his native town, and later was a member of the Wilbraham Academy, Massachusetts. At that institution he completed his education. He subsequently entered a mercantile house as salesman, and still later, in company with his father, became an extensive manufacturer of boots and shoes in Chicopee, now embraced within the limits of the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1837, General Warren, who was the financial head of this firm, carried it safely through that terrible financial crisis which wrecked, hopelessly, thousands of merchants throughout the country. The firm continued its business successfully till the year 1843, when, for reasons unknown to the writer, it was brought to a termination.
General Warren, who was now only twenty-seven, started in pursuit of a location in the North Western States, and, after traveling through nearly all of them, finally selected Iowa in which to make a home. He arrived in Burlington in the month of August, 1844. In Burlington, he first engaged in mercantile pursuits but, being at that day somewhat of a politician he was, in the spring of 1849, appointed by President Taylor Assistant Post Master General. I need not speak of the great credit that accrued to our State from his connection with this office. The judgment he discovered in his appointments and the great business tact he displayed in all matters connected with the Postal Department challenged general attention; and I think it may be said that, in his fitness for this office, he had been before unequalled. Unfortunately, General Warren's connection with the Post Office Department was of only two year's duration; for, when Fillmore was cajoled into signing the new edition of the Fugitive Slave Law, the general refused to be connected longer with that Administration, and tendered his resignation.
His connection with Fillmore's Administration, and the spirit he showed in refusing to join hands with unprincipled men, in the furtherance of that policy which has so nearly precipitated the nation in ruin, made him a prominent public man; and the year following his resignation he was made Secretary of the National Executive Committee in the Scott Presidential Campaign.
Retiring now from public life, he established himself in the banking business in the city of Burlington; but in this enterprise he was unsuccessful; for, in the year 1857, he failed with large liabilities. Enterprising and public spirited, he was all the time alive to all political questions, but more especially to the great leading issue, which was being tried so slowly but surely; and there was never a Presidential, and rarely a State canvass, in which he did not take the stump. He took an active part in the Presidential Campaign of 1860, and, after the election of Mr. Lincoln, stood prominent among those whose names were being used for the position of Post Master General. His former position in the Post Office Department, I am advised, was tendered him; but this he declined. He entered the War of the Rebellion in the summer of 1861, as colonel of the First Iowa Cavalry — one of the first volunteer cavalry regiments mustered into the United States service.
But, in passing, I should not omit stating that General Warren was one of those who, in the early stages of the war, believed the fate of the Confederacy would be decided by the fall of the rebel Capital. His opinions he published to the world in his celebrated letters — "On to Richmond." It was said at the time that these letters were the cause of the Bull Run disaster; but, had the weak-hearted Patterson been as prompt to duty as McDowell, these very letters would have made General Warren one of the chief heroes of the rebellion. In that case, Greeley would never have denied their authorship.
At the suggestion of General Warren, the 1st Iowa Cavalry was, I think, tendered to the General Government and accepted, under a resolution of the Iowa General Assembly. It rendezvoused at Burlington, and in the early part of October reported at Benton Barracks, Missouri. In the latter part of that month, the 1st and 2d Battalions of the regiment were ordered to Central and Western Missouri, and stationed, by companies, at different points, to secure order and to protect the country from guerrilla incursions. The 3d Battalion, under Colonel Warren, remained at Benton Barracks through the following Winter, and until the 6th of March, 1862, when that was also ordered into the field.
Colonel Warren was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general on the 20th day of August, 1862. In the winter of 1862-3 he held a command under General Curtis, in Missouri. He was stationed at that point with head-quarters at Huston at the time of General Marmaduke's invasion of Missouri, early in January of that year, and on receiving a telegram from General Brown at Springfield, announcing the approach of the enemy, at once dispatched a part of his force, under Colonel Merrill, of the 21st Iowa, with orders to report at that place. The battle of Hartsville, in which the enemy in despite of his vastly superior numbers was severely handled, resulted from this movement.
In the summer of 1863, the name of General Warren was urged in the Union Gubernatorial Convention for the office of Governor of Iowa; and but for a heedless blunder he might have been the candidate for the position. From the first he was the choice of a plurality of the delegates and finally, as was thought, of a majority; but the history of the thing is well known and need not be related. It illustrates well how some men rise suddenly above others to places of honor and responsibility. It was the grace and high-toned honor which the general displayed in withdrawing his name from the convention that won the heart of every delegate present, and which, had another vote been taken, would doubtless have secured him the gubernatorial chair.
In the fall of 1863, General Warren was sent to New Orleans, whence he was ordered to Matagorda Island, and there assigned to a brigade command. He soon after succeeded General Washburne in the command of the 1st Division, 13th Army Corps, which was stationed in the vicinity of Indianola, Texas. During the following Winter, he made several expeditions from this point into the adjacent country, the most important of which was that to Port Lavacca, just before Christmas. He was once attacked by a large cavalry force at Indianola; but after considerable skirmishing, and the loss of several prisoners, the enemy retired. In June, 1864, he was given a District command in Louisiana, with head-quarters at Baton Rouge, and by his administrative ability, succeeded in correcting many abuses. He was popular with his command, but unpopular with interlopers, and with many of the citizens of his district. Among the many newspaper notices of his command while stationed here, I give the following:
"General Warren now in command of this district is establishing a very rigid system of surveillance over the speculators and citizens here in regard to passes and permits for trafficing through the lines: although it is one of the most difficult matters to regulate, he will approximate as nearly to a solution of the problem as any general in the Department."
During the summer of 1864, having lost his health, which was never vigorous, he was relieved from his command and permitted to come North on leave of absence; but many weeks of medical treatment being ineffectual in removing the disease he had contracted in a debilitating climate, he was finally, in consideration of this, placed on duty in New York city, where he is still serving.
In personal appearance, General Warren is excelled by no officer of the volunteer or regular service. Tall, slender and erect, neat and precise in dress, and active and graceful in his movements, he is, in public and among strangers, the first to attract notice. As a military man, he possesses many excellent traits. He is energetic, has good executive ability, and is a fine disciplinarian. When, in the spring of 1862, he left Benton Barracks with the 3d Battalion of his regiment, there was not an equal number of men in the regular or volunteer service more perfect in drill and general efficiency than these. But, in his military career, if we are to judge by his reputation, he has been only ordinarily successful. The reason why he has failed to attain that distinction which his talent and military taste insured, is known by those who hold high authority at the National Capital.
The general's native talent is great and versatile, and enables him to attain eminence in any public position: indeed, he has never failed, as a public man, to acquit himself with credit.
As a public speaker, he is polished, eloquent and forcible. Iowa has many more popular men than he, but few more able. His great independence of character and the bitterness with which he has been accustomed to treat his opponents has been an impediment to his popularity.
General Warren is graceful and dignified in his manners, is a rapid, though not a garrulous talker, and has a voice of wonderful capacity. To show its power it may be stated that, in drilling a brigade of troops, he was accustomed to give all commands viva voce, dispensing with all aids and orderlies.
SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, 541-6
A Disaster on the Shenandoah
WINCHESTER, Va., April 17.
Yesterday a large boat containing a number of men and officers of the 75th Penna. Regiment, swamped at Castleman’s Ferry, on the Shenandoah, drowning between forty and fifty men and several officers. Among the latter are Adjt. Tealman, Capt. Wilson, of 3d brigade, Commissary, and Captain Ward. The regiment was formerly commanded by Colonel Bohler, now acting Brigadier General of the 3d Brigade Gen. Blenker’s Division.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 2
Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 2
Monday, January 11, 2010
The Killed and Wounded in the 13th Iowa Regiment
OFFICIAL REPORT.
Killed.
Co A – Benj. McAferty; Geo M Doty; Allen O Brown; J A Runnel.
Co B – Lieut E D Duncan; Sergt N H Johnson; Wm Hart; W H Knapp; W H Brierly; Geo McKeever; A P Easterly.
Co C – Corp F D Holmes; A Malone; C L Dooley; Jesse Wells.
Co D – Geo Sickey.
Co E – Corpl John Melton; Silas D Allen.
Co G – Samuel Martin.
Co H – Corpl C Van Voores; Lieut N Willey.
Co I – Jos Parker; J P Ailworth.
Co K – David Knaus.
WOUNDED
Field Officers – Lieut Col M Murat Price; Maj John Shane; Surgeon Jos McKee.
Capt T H Miller; Lieuts E Schurtz; Jno Watson, S J Hampton, S D Cook, D B Sherman; Corpls J R McLarkey, John C Masson, Jas S Brooks, R W Vansant, Henry J Russell; Sergts J M Vincent, Wesley Huff, Ed Essex; Corpl T H Millner, Sergts R F Law, A J Pope; Corpl R I Martin; Sergts T J Graham, D J Randall, T H Mountz; Corpl A J French; Sergts Niece McAllister, T I Tyengenfered, Jacob Bomderhopper; Corporals A G Wood, Jonas Gauley, Newell N C Reys; Sergt W I Beatty; Corpl T Watkins; James Coates, Wm E Hawthorn, J M Emily, W H Bucham, J Bullington, J W Boyd, J O Hampton, J M Hopper, T O Harmon, J M Sargeant, C A Myers, W A Norris, J E Neale, A B Smith, J R Shaver, F A Vernor, M J Munslea, Wm H Hinkley, W Avenentral, Jos Bonkerd, Angus French, S Hughes, M Longsden, Silas Potting, Clay Rieners, C M Wolfe, Wm A Wadkins, W Young, B Batteler, J V Munger, John Hall, J P Martin, W M Alexander, J Sterley, J O Deval, R Caparcy, L Ford, D B Smith, A T Edwards, J M Wawloff, O W Bount, L Carter, N V Curtis, W Delton, F F Fleming, A Frityler, W Johnson, W E Johnson, J W Jacobs, C C McIntosh, N W Mintier, E Robinson, A Starben, J Galiger, G McRineter, D C Oliver, H Price, J A Thompson, J H Work, W Coveter, C Agens, W Jackson, E Coffey, C L Brackman, W Cline, E Nance, D Lumice, R Duncan, J Deerth, D Merchant, C Martin, O Schoonan, Geo W Black, S Hanna, P H Mahoney, A B McKeen, N N Adams, J M Little, R Blener, T Elder, T C Foy, John McCall, Jas Delong, S Havtyler, H Nickolds, S S Pollard, R R Case, C R Benton, T H Elrod, J W Farley, J Ogden, J J Thompson, F G Chesley, R F Ryler, J W Dresser, J W Pierson, J N Howell, M Kelly, O McCreath, M T Snyder, S Beek, W Brown, O C Moses, B F Lamb, John Law, S Gorgown, A J Lane.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 2
Another Battle Expected
ST. LOUIS, April 18.
Officers arriving here from Pittsburg Landing this evening report all quiet there, but active preparations are making for another battle, which was thought to be imminent. It was supposed that the enemy were preparing to make a second dashing attack upon the Federal forces, as a large portion of his army was between Corinth and Pittsburg, and only a few miles distant from our outpost. So close indeed were the two hostile posts that skirmishing and picket fighting were continually going on.
My informant thinks that a second great battle cannot be far off, and that it will take place on the field of the first engagement, or about midway between Pittsburg Landing and Corinth.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 2
Colonel John Alexander Garrett
FORTIETH INFANTRY.
John A. Garrett is a native of Carlisle, Sullivan county, Indiana, and was born on the 15th day of November, 1824. He was educated at Hanover College, and at the Indiana University, and was a member of the last named institution, not having yet graduated, when he enlisted as a private in the 4th Indiana Infantry, Colonel, now General Gorman. Landing at Vera Cruz under General Scott, he accompanied his regiment from that place to the city of Mexico; and, on that campaign, took an active part in two engagements—Huamartla (which was Santa Anna's last) and Atlixco.
At the close of the Mexican War, he returned to his native town; where, entering the mercantile business, he remained till 1857. In the fall of that year, he came to Iowa, and, after a brief residence in Des Moines and Leon, settled, in 1859, in Newton, Jasper county, where, re-establishing himself in mercantile pursuits, he continued to reside till the opening of the war.
John A. Garrett enlisted in the present war late in July, 1861. In the following August he recruited a company in Jasper county which was assigned to the 10th Iowa Infantry, and of which he was elected captain. Until after the evacuation of Corinth and till as late as September, 1862, Captain Garrett was constantly on duty with his regiment. He took part with it in the expedition against New Madrid, and with his company (I) led the advance of the detachment, which, under Major McCalla, first occupied the place after its evacuation by the enemy. He was also present at the taking of Island No. 10, and was with the force, which, crossing the river on the afternoon of the 7th, marched out to Tiptonville and received the comical surrender of five thousand of the enemy.
In the sharp skirmish of the 10th Iowa before Corinth on the afternoon of the 26th of May, 1862, Captain Garrett distinguished himself, and for his good conduct in this and in other encounters with the enemy was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 22d Iowa Infantry. His commission was issued on the 2d of August, 1862; but the delay occasioned by the "red tape" system prevented his leaving his company until the following September. On his way North to join his new command he learned from the Chicago "Journal" that the 22d Iowa had already left their rendezvous for the field. He also learned, and with greater surprise, that he had been commissioned colonel of the 40th Iowa Infantry.
The 40th Iowa Infantry entered active service in the latter part of December, 1862, and was first stationed at Columbus, Kentucky. On the first night of its arrival, that place was threatened by the enemy under Forest; but as is well known, no attack was made. The regiment served at Columbus and at Paducah, Kentucky, until the 31st of May, 1863, when, by order of General Grant, it moved down the Mississippi, and joined the grand army of that general in the operations around Vicksburg. It reached Sartatia on the Yazoo on the morning of the 4th of June, and, from that date till the surrender of the rebel strong-hold, served with that portion of the army which was stationed at and in the vicinity of Haine's Bluff, to anticipate any movement that might be made by General Johnson, to relieve the beleaguered city. During the protracted siege, the 40th never met the enemy, and lost no men in battle, but, stationed on the banks of the Yazoo, it had drunk of those deadly waters, and when, on the 23d of July, the regiment embarked for Helena, many a brave boy had been laid beneath the sod, and many more totally disabled for the service. The fifty days' service of this regiment in Mississippi forms the saddest page in its history.
Colonel Garrett arrived with his command at Helena on the 26th of July and after a few days' rest, marched with the forces of Major-General Steele against the Arkansas Capital. The fatigues and hardships of this march, made in the face of the enemy and in mid-summer in almost a tropical climate may be imagined when it is stated that, out of some six hundred men of the 40th Iowa who started on this campaign, only about two hundred and fifty reported for duty the morning after General Steele's entry into Little Rock. From Brownsville, on the line of the Duvall’s Bluff and Little Rock Railroad where Steele had halted a few days to reconnoitre the position of the enemy, the advance was made against the enemy's right to the Arkansas River via Shallow Ford and Ashley's Mills.
On the evening of the 7th, the cavalry of General Davidson reached the river near Ashley's Mills where they had a sharp skirmish with the enemy. At this point the plan of attack was determined on; and on the night of the 9th of September General Davidson threw across his pontoons preparatory to an advance on the morning of the 10th. General Davidson was to move up the south, and General Steele the north side of the Arkansas — a movement which, being least expected by the enemy, would contribute most to their surprise.
In crossing the Arkansas River the 40th Iowa under Colonel Garrett led the advance. The banks of this stream opposite to where the crossing was made were covered with dense timber, and it was supposed not only by Colonel Garrett but by Generals Steele and Davidson that the moment the opposite ride was reached by our troops a murderous fire of canister and grape from masked batteries, and a more fatal one of musketry from long lines of infantry would meet them. But doubting their ability to hold their position, the enemy had retired. The gallantry of Colonel Garrett and his regiment is, however, no less worthy of mention; for, to meet a supposed enemy in the manner above described is the chief test of a soldier's bravery.
The fall of 1863, and the following Winter, were passed by the 40th at Little Rock, and but little occurred during this time worthy of special notice; but the Spring of 1864, opening with the campaign of General Steele to Camden, afforded the regiment new and ample opportunities to establish their prowess in battle. In the great battle of the campaign — Jenkin's Ferry — Colonel Garrett distinguished himself; but full credit has never been awarded either to him or his regiment for the gallant part they acted. In the engagement, the regiment was divided, which may be the reason. Two companies were stationed on the extreme right of the line of battle, two on the extreme left, and two in the centre, (the last two in support of a battery) Colonel Garrett, with the four remaining companies, engaged the enemy for four long hours without being relieved, and in that part of the line where the fighting was the hottest. His list of casualties is evidence of the part he sustained in this sanguinary contest, it being larger in proportion to the number in line, than that of any other command engaged. His brave boys — they were but a handful — the colonel led; and in one of the many charges of the enemy he joined in repulsing, his horse was shot under him. The colonel not only distinguished himself, but nearly every officer and enlisted man of his command; and the name of Adjutant L. A. Duncan is deserving of special mention. Kirby Smith and the ubiquitous General Price, notwithstanding their vastly superior numbers, were bitterly punished at Jenkin's Ferry; and from this point back to Little Rock, the army of General Steele marched unmolested.
Subsequently to the unfortunate Camden Campaign, and up to the early spring of 1865, the 40th Iowa remained in camp at Little Rock. Much of this time Colonel Garrett served on a court-martial. But at the time above mentioned, General Thayer was relieved of his command at Fort Smith, Arkansas, and General Bussey made his successor. The latter officer, fearing that in overhauling the affairs of his new command he might not have the cordial support of the troops stationed there, requested General Reynolds to give him the 40th Iowa, as that regiment he could rely on. The request was complied with, and General Garrett, with his regiment, was at once [ordered] to report at that Post, where it has since served.
Colonel Garrett is six feet in hight, has a lair complexion, dark-blue eyes and chestnut hair. He has a thin, pale face, and a spare form; and his general appearance indicates any thing but a vigorous constitution. In his habits he is strictly temperate: he regards not only intoxicating liquors and tobacco, but tea and coffee as his deadly enemies; and thus, although possessed of naturally a weak constitution, he has preserved his general health, not having varied in the last fifteen years five pounds in weight.
He is brave and cool in action. This he so finely illustrated in the battle of Jenkin's Ferry that it has since been the subject of frequent comment with the officers and men of his command. He is a good, but not a strict disciplinarian. Few officers, however, have a better control over men than he; and there are few in the 40th Iowa, who would not prefer the guard-house, with its rations of bread and water, to a reprimand from their colonel. His character as an officer is illustrated by a little speech which he is reported to have made, on one occasion, just before leading his regiment into battle.
"Boys! we will probably have a little fight. Remember your own good name, and the fair fame of the glorious young State which sent you to the field. Don't tarnish them. Do you see that flag? Follow and defend it. Don't shoot at the sky; there are no rebels up there. That climate does not suit them. Aim low, and send them where they belong. That's all."
SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 533-8
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Colonel Henry J. B. Cummings
THIRTY-NINTH INFANTRY.
Henry Johnson Broadhead Cummings is the only representative that little New Jersey can claim among the Iowa Colonels. He was born in the town of Newton, Sussex county, on the 21st day of May, 1831, and continued to reside at that place until he was ten years of age. He then accompanied his parents to Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, where he lived till he reached his eighteenth year. His education was acquired at the common schools of that county. In his eighteenth Winter, he taught school, and after its close, entered the law-office of Judge Maynard of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and began the study of the law. From 1851 to 1854, he edited a paper in Schuylkill Haven, after which he resumed his legal studies in the office of Henry Johnson, Esq., of Muncey, Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the bar in 1855. But, being without means, he was again compelled to return to the editorial tripod. In 1856, he came West and located in Winterset, Iowa, where he opened an office, and for the first time entered upon the practice of his profession. That same Winter, he assisted in organizing the Republican Party in Madison county; and, in the following August, was elected Prosecuting Attorney for that county. Later, he became a law-partner of the Hon. M. S. McPherson, who, in 1860, was a member of the Iowa State Senate.
Colonel Cummings first entered the war as captain of Company F., 4th Iowa Infantry. While the regiment was at its rendezvous in Council Bluffs, he was elected by the line officers its major. He was not, however, commissioned by the Governor; for Captain English, of the same regiment, had been previously promoted to that rank. Captain Cummings served in the 4th Iowa Infantry until the 6th of September, 1862, when he was promoted to the colonelcy of the 39th Iowa Infantry.
The first engagement of the 39th Iowa, was at Parker's Cross Roads, Tennessee, on the 31st of December, 1862. The enemy were led by Forest, and numbered from five to seven thousand men. The Union forces engaged comprised only one brigade, commanded by Colonel Dunham of the 50th Indiana, and numbered not quite sixteen hundred men.
So soon as the enemy learned of General Grant's plans for the capture of Vicksburg, in the fall of 1862, they at once set on foot schemes for their frustration; and, only a few days after the Federal army had marched from Holly Springs, Van Dorn and Forest were dispatched against General Grant's rear, to overwhelm small garrisons, and destroy all supplies and lines of communication. Van Dorn marched for Holly Springs and vicinity, while Forest made his appearance along the Jackson and Columbus Railroad. On the morning of the 31st of December, 1862, Forest, with the greater portion of his command, was encamped in the timber, about half a mile west of Parker's Cross Roads. A small detachment was stationed at the Cross Roads; and these Colonel Dunham, while moving with his command down the road in the direction of Red Mound, encountered at about eight o'clock in the morning.
But, to give an intelligible history of this affair, I should refer briefly to the previous movements of the 39th Iowa. On the 18th of December, 1862, the regiment left Columbus, Kentucky, under orders to report to General G. M. Dodge at Corinth. Arriving at Jackson, it was ordered by General Sullivan to disembark; for an attack upon that place by Forest was hourly looked for. It remained at Jackson four days, when, it becoming evident that Forest did not intend attacking that place, it was sent back to Trenton. There it was organized with the 50th Indiana and 122d Illinois, and sent in pursuit of Forest, then reported at Huntingdon, thirty miles east. Parker's Cross Roads is between Huntingdon and Lexington, where, as above stated, a portion of Forest's command was encountered.
The 50th Indiana was at once deployed as skirmishers, and drove the small detachment back to the main body, stationed on the hill or in the timber. Colonel Dunham now began making his dispositions to attack them in this position; but he soon learned that the position was so strong, and that their numbers so superior to his own that an attempt to rout them must be unsuccessful. After a vigorous use of his artillery, he therefore withdrew his command south, and took up a position on the east side of the road on a gentle rise of ground near Red Mound. The enemy followed and took up a position on the brow of a hill about one thousand yards distant. The enemy had eleven pieces of artillery, and the Federal troops but three; and in all other respects they were equally superior. The engagement now opened with artillery; but only a few shots had been fired, when Colonel Dunham saw that he could not hold his present position. He therefore moved down the hill into low ground, and took position behind a rail fence. The 39th held the left, the 122 Illinois the centre, and the 50th Indiana the right. The enemy still held the brow of the hill In front.
Their position was most admirable. Retiring just behind the crest of the hill, and charging their artillery, they would then shove it forward, and, depressing the pieces, continue a most destructive fire on our lines. Their infantry, too, at long range and well covered, did much execution; while our troops, lying along the fence in the bottom, were able only by their presence to hold the enemy at bay. The right of the line, however, was able to do some execution. Thus matters stood till about four o'clock in the afternoon, when the enemy, despairing of routing the Federal troops from the position they then held, dismounted a force of about one thousand men, and sent them round to the rear of Colonel Dunham's right flank. Moving by a circuitous route through the timber, they were not discovered till their skirmishers opened fire on the right-rear of the Federal line. This was the signal for the enemy on the hill in front to concentrate their artillery-fire on the Federal left; for this was necessary to save their own men, approaching from the rear; and now the shower of grape and canister, which fell on the 39th Iowa, was terrific. With the enemy approaching in its rear, and this terrible fire in front, the right wing of the 39th broke, and sought shelter in a cornfield to the west of the road. Portions of the 50th Indiana and 122d Illinois also joined in this brief stampede. But relief was now near at hand: a brigade of reinforcements — the "Ohio Brigade" —soon fell upon the enemy's rear, and scattered their lines in confusion. This, however, was not done till after the 39th Iowa had rallied, and, with the balance of the brigade, driven back the enemy's flanking-party. The engagement now closed, and the Federal troops rested that night on the battle-ground. The following is the result of the engagement: Four hundred prisoners were captured. Five hundred horses and seven cannon were also among the spoils of war; but the three pieces of artillery belonging to the command of Colonel Dunham had been literally knocked to pieces. The losses of the 39th Iowa, in killed, wounded and missing, were forty-seven. Three only were killed; and among these was the color-guard, J. C. Stearns. The gallant Lieutenant-Colonel Redfield, while rallying his men, was severely wounded in the shoulder. Major Griffiths, Captain Browne and Lieutenant Rawls were also among the wounded. This was the first engagement of the 39th Iowa; and all things considered, it sustained itself well.
With the battle of Parker's Cross Roads closed the old year of 1862. On the morning following, the 39th Iowa, with the balance of its brigade, started on the return march to Jackson, where it arrived on the evening of the 2d. At Columbus, as already stated, Colonel Cummings had been ordered to report to General G. M. Dodge, commanding 2d Division, 16th Army Corps, and on the 6th instant he left Jackson with his regiment for Corinth. Arriving at Corinth, the 39th Iowa was assigned to the 2d Brigade, Colonel M. M. Banes, and, for more than a year thereafter, was attached to that command. From the date of its arrival at Corinth, till the time it joined the forces of General Sherman in the grand march on Atlanta, the history of the 39th Iowa may be soon told. It was stationed on garrison-duty, and passed the most of its time in camp.
The march to Tuscumbia, Alabama, the object of which was to cover the movements of Colonel Streight, in his raid into Georgia, I must not, however, omit to mention. All things being in readiness, General Dodge moved out of Corinth with his entire division on the 15th of April, and, proceeding by easy marches, arrived at Bear Creek without incident. At Bear Creek, his advance encountered the enemy under Roddy, and soon after that force was strengthened by the arrival of Forest. But General Dodge pushed steadily on, driving back the enemy with a line of skirmishers, until he arrived at Town Creek. Here the enemy, on the opposite bank, had their artillery in position, which was well supported. An artillery-duel followed of half a day in length, when, bridges having been constructed under the enemy's fire, the forces of General Dodge began crossing to the east side of the stream. The enemy now retired precipitately, and General Dodge, knowing Colonel Streight, who had passed by the enemy's left flank, was well on his way, returned to Corinth. The 39th Iowa arrived at Corinth on the 2d of May. Four days after, Company H of the regiment, while guarding a corral near Corinth, was surrounded by a large body of rebel cavalry and captured. Its Captain, James H. Loomis, was made a prisoner, and only a few of the men escaped.
Colonel Cummings remained with his regiment at Corinth, until November, 1863, and then marched with the command of General Dodge to the line of the Nashville and Decatur Railroad.
He arrived with his regiment at Pulaski the 11th of November, and the day following was sent north seven miles to Reynold's Station, where regimental head-quarters were established. Five companies remained at head-quarters. Three were stationed at grist-mills; and two on guard-duty, at railroad-bridges. Seven weeks later, regimental head-quarters were removed to Culleoka, twenty miles further north. The regiment remained here till the 12th of the following March, when, with its brigade, it marched south to Athens; but its day of garrison- and railroad guard-duty was now soon to close.
In the early part of May, 1864, the 39th Iowa marched with its brigade to Huntsville, where the whole command of General Dodge assembled, preparatory to joining General Sherman on the march against Atlanta: from that point it moved directly to the front at Dalton. But the movements of the left wing of the 16th Army Corps during the Atlanta Campaign have been given elsewhere, and up to the time of the occupation of Rome, the history of the 39th is the same as that of this command: the 39th Iowa, and, I think, all the regiments of its brigade — the 7th, 50th and 57th Illinois Infantry regiments, went no further than Rome, being left at that point to guard Sherman's flank, and his line of communications. Where the regiment most distinguished itself, and where it lost its best officer — Lieutenant-Colonel James Redfield — was at Allatoona, Georgia.
Its defense of this place was gallant in the extreme, and a full history of the affair would be read with the greatest interest; but want of space forbids me giving it. The following is from a statement of Major, afterward Lieutenant-Colonel Griffiths:
"The entire force on our side was one thousand eight hundred: that of the enemy, seven thousand. Our forces were commanded by Brigadier-General J. M. Corse. They arrived at 10 o'clock P. M., expecting that the enemy would not attack, knowing they (we) were reinforcements. In this we were deceived. They attacked in the morning at 7 A. M. General Corse had time only to hastily dispose of his little force, when they came up with massed columns.
"The 39th Iowa was placed at the forks of a road, three hundred yards from the fort, where the heaviest column of the enemy charged. It was important to hold this position, and check the enemy. This they did twice, although terribly cut to pieces. The third time the enemy was in such force as to be irresistible, and the remainder of our regiment fell back, contesting every foot of ground to the fort.
"General Corse and the veteran troops, who witnessed the heroism and determination of the 39th on that day, say they have never before seen such fighting. They pronounced it 'Chickasaw Bayou,' continued for five hours. It was during this time that the above named officers, except Lieutenant Blodgett, were killed. He was one of the four officers who succeeded in reaching the fort, and was shot while carrying a message from General Corse to Colonel Rowett. There were ten of our officers in the engagement: five were killed, and two wounded and captured, leaving but three with the command.
"It gives me great pleasure to testify to the heroism, valor and gallantry of these officers. I have seen them before when in discharge of their duties and under fire, and can say of them that in every emergency they displayed coolness and determined courage. As officers, they had the respect and confidence of the command. As men, they had won, by their geniality of disposition and uniform courtesy of manner, the kindest regards and affections of their officers and men, so that we can feelingly exclaim: Their places, who can fill them?"
The regiment lost, in killed, five officers and twenty-seven enlisted men, and, in wounded, one officer and sixty-one enlisted men. Two officers and sixty-eight enlisted men were captured. The commissioned officers killed, were Lieutenant-Colonel James Redfield and Lieutenants O. C. Ayers, A. T. Blodgett, N. P. Wright and J. P. Jones. Lieutenant-Colonel Redfield was a man of much excellence. It has often been said he should have been colonel of the 39th Iowa.
Colonel Cummings is a short, fleshy man, with blue eyes, and a large, red face. In his manners, he is dignified and consequential. He is reputed as being able to endure as much rest as any man in Iowa. He was a good tactician, but, beyond that, possessed little merit as a soldier.
SOURCE: Addison A. Stuart, Iowa Colonels and Regiments, p. 525-32
Recognition of Rebel Officers
HOW SIDNEY JOHNSTON WAS RECOGNIZED:–
Albert Sidney Johnston’s body was not found till Monday evening, was first recognized by Brigadier-General Nelson, who had known him when the one was an honored officer in the old army and the other a lieutenant of the navy. Prisoners had been telling of his death, and describing him as dressed in a velvet suit, and when such a corpse was found inquiries were naturally made as to who knew Johnson [sic]. Gen. Nelson was sent for. He at once declared indeed the dead Commander-in-Chief, and had the body removed to his own tent. Gen. Rousseau was subsequently sent for, and he two [sic] recognized the features. Capt. Chandler, of the regular army did the same; and strangely enough there was a wagon-master there who had been one of Johnston’s teamsters in the famous Utah expedition, who likewise remembered the appearance of the Chief he had followed on that disastrous march to the Rocky Mountains.
FINDING GEORGE W. JOHNSTON [sic].
As a party of our officers were riding over the field on Tuesday, they found a person of more than ordinary intelligence among the wounded. He was dressed in plain citizens’ clothes, but there seemed no reason to doubt that he had been actively engaged in the battle, and that in all probability he was an officer of some rank. The officers were called up to see if he could be identified. Singling out Gen. McD. McCook from the party, the wounded man asked that he might be permitted to see him alone. The rest retired, and a conversation, lasting for some little time, followed between the two. After the interview Gen. McCook explained that the wounded man was George W. Johnston [sic], “Provincial Governor of Kentucky,” who had set in motion at Russellville the bogus Confederacy, and serving as Aid, I believe, on the Generals Staff. He had made some personal requests, the “Governor” was severely wounded in two [places]. He received every surgical attention; but the next day died.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 2
Army Correspondence
STEAMER JOHN J. ROE, Tennessee River, on the way to Evansville, thence to St. Louis,
April 13, 1862.
FRIEND SANDERS: The terrible work of transporting the wounded form Pittsburg Landing to the hospitals is going on. Several large steamers before this have gone down the river, and on this we have 520, taking as yet only those severely wounded. At least one more load as large as this is still behind. And then a large multitude of those slightly wounded are with their respective regiments, or on the boats at the landing. No adequate provision was made for such great numbers of wounded men, there being at the time of the battle only two boats at the Landing, besides commissary and quartermaster boats; and one of those two was Gen. Grant’s headquarters, while the other was kept in reserve for the conveyance of troops. Upon the commissary boats – loaded down, cabins and all, with boxes, barrels, &c. – the wounded were placed in every conceivable corner, and when these failed tents were raised, awnings stretched upon poles, and every effort made to provide shelter. But, after all was done, hundreds lay out in the rain Sabbath night, and many even all the next day and through another dismal, rainy night. Some lay in the mud, with not even a blanket under or over them. Large numbers were brought in on Tuesday, who were wounded on the Sabbath; and on Wednesday, and even Thursday, men were still found alive but helpless on the battle field. This want of preparation for the wounded is evidence that no such battle was expected at the Landing. The broken condition of the country, and the dense timber and brush over nearly the whole of the great battlefield, not only rendered the onset of the rebels more effective and terrific, but also cause great suffering and loss of life among those who were wounded and could not be found. So great a battle in the woods was perhaps never fought before. In many instances the enemy planted their batteries within forty rods of our lines without being discovered until they opened fire. The fierceness of the onset was, perhaps, scarcely ever equaled. The 15th Ohio battery lost 56 horses out of 117, almost at the first fire; and in other cases the loss of men was almost as great.
You may be assured that no statements in the papers concerning the losses on both sides will exceed, perhaps none will reach, the truth. The brigade of which the 11th Iowa was a part had 91 killed and 565 wounded – 656 in all. The same proportion in the 52 brigades would five [sic] 34, 112 on one side! Many are slightly wounded, and will soon recover, but it is safe to say that 10,000 of our men are either killed or permanently disabled. It is believed that the enemy’s loss in killed and severely wounded is much greater than ours. They fired low and wounded large numbers of our men in the legs. In this they excelled, disabling large numbers in such manner as to require help to leave the field, whereas our men aimed to kill. How many were killed by our fire we do not know, but rebels who assisted in burying their dead and afterwards fell into our hands, say that we killed two to their one. Union men living in the neighborhood, who rode over the ground immediately after the battle corroborate this statement. It is also stated that our men have buried over 4,000 rebels since the battle.
The heart sickens at the remembrance of the horrible scenes of Sabbath and Monday, and on the boats since. Although we are comparatively comfortable on this large boat, still there is a vast amount of suffering. Six have died since leaving the landing, and many more will die soon. We have not half help enough either as surgeons or nurses, and very few comforts or hospital stores. If it had not been for the presence of an agent of the Sanitary commission from Chicago, with such thing as were at hand, we should have been destitute of some articles absolutely necessary.
April 14th – PADUCAH TO EVANSVILLE. – Additional supplies of some articles were procured at Paducah, but of 29 volunteer surgeons and multitudes of nurses found there, only one of each could be induced to come on board. All were bent on going to Pittsburg Landing, and this after they were assured by the surgeon in charge that no wounded would be found there on their arrival. Possible curiosity influenced them more than humanity.
I have not time to write more, as I must do what I can in dressing wounds. I have written mostly in the night, being frequently interrupted by calls for help from men of my own and other regiments.
Yours,
CHAPLAIN, 11th Iowa.
– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, April 21, 1862, p. 2