HISTORY 
 
 -OF THE 
 
 SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 Veteran Volunteer Infantry. 
 
 DURING THE 
 
 CIVIL WAR 
 
 BY- 
 
 H. I. SMITH. 
 
 FOUR YEARS A MEMBER. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 MASON CITY, IOWA. 
 
 E. HITCHCOCK, <5^|ppE> PRINTER, BINDER. 
 
 1903. 
 
Captain Company " B," Seventh Iowa. 
 HISTORIAN. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Of the fifty regiments of brave and loyal troops that went out from 
 Iowa to battle for the right in the Civil War, none had a more brilliant 
 career or shed a brighter light upon the State or Nation, than the Seventh 
 Iowa Veteran Volunteer Infantry. 
 
 From the time of its first engagement, General Grant s first battle of 
 the War of the Rebellion, Belmont, Mo., November the 7th, 1861, to the 
 Grand Review at Washington at the close of the war, its name and fanae 
 was ever prominently before the country. No regiment was more a pride 
 among the lovers and defenders of the Union none more emphatically a 
 terror to its foes. 
 
 Yet, of the brave deeds of the gallant men of this regiment, of their 
 varied experiences joyful or painful, of their hardships and trials, of their 
 toilsome inarches and campaigns, of their martyred dead and their honor 
 ed living, no connected published record has been made. Without which 
 it must have soon passed into oblivion, or have lived in the uncertain 
 recollections of the participants of those stirring scenes. To rescue its 
 memory from obscurity has been my ambition. To me it has been a labor 
 of love, without hope of reward pecuniarily. At the request of a large 
 number of the regiment, in reunion assembled, I was persuaded to make 
 this, my first literary attempt. I have endeavored in the general write- 
 up to give a truthful review of the service of the regiment. It was my for 
 tune to have been a member during its entire service and with it on the 
 fighting line. The mortality on the battlefield was not exceeded by any 
 regiment from the State and only equalled by one. It was one of the few 
 veteran regiments from Iowa, in the sense of two enlistments. I have 
 been assisted by many officers and men who have furnished me their per 
 sonal diaries, memorandums and sketches, for which I am under many ob 
 ligations. I make no claim to literary ability, but I trust I have compiled 
 a book of record acceptable to the vaterans whose deeds I have attempted 
 to record. I have followed it from its first gathering at Burlington, Iowa, 
 to and through its battles of Belmont, Fort Henry. Fort Donelson, Shiloh, 
 Siege and capture of Corinth, luka, battle of Corinth, Resaca, Lays Ferry, 
 Nick-a-Jack, Burnt Hickory, Dallas, Big Shanty, Kenesaw, Lost Mountain, 
 Chatahoochie River, Atlanta, Ezra Church, Siege of Atlanta, Love joy 
 Station, Jonesboro, Allatoona, Rome Cross Roads, March to the Sea, Oc- 
 mulgee River, Savannah, Sisters Ferry, Campaign through the Carolinas, 
 Black River, Columbia. Bentonville, Goldsboro, Raleigh, March through 
 Richmond to Washington, Grand Review at Washington, to discharge at 
 Louisville, Ky. 
 
 Though well aware of the imperfections that must necessarily exist in 
 a work of this kind. I trust they will be overlooked. 
 
 I acknowledge m \self under many obligations to Major Samuel Ma- 
 hon, E. W. Herman, J. W. and W. H. Akers, Capt. C. H. Trott, W. C. 
 Davis, J. W. Bair, Lieut. Spalding, 52nd 111., and others for kind assist 
 ance. If the members of the regiment find that many incidents are omit 
 ted, that should have been recorded, the author s excuse is he was not 
 furnished with proper information. If, in writing this book, he has 
 met the wishes and approval and expectations of his comrades, his labors 
 have been amply rewarded. THE AUTHOR. 
 
 M223656 
 
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY DURING 
 
 THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ORGANIZATION AT BURLINGTON, IOWA, 1861. 
 
 The Seventh Iowa Infantry was organized at Burlington, Iowa, in 
 the month of June and July, 1861, and mustered into the United States 
 service on the 24th day of July. The companies which composed the 
 regiment came from different localities in the state, from the extreme 
 northern, the extreme southeastern, and the central portions thereof. 
 Co. "A", Capt. Reed, from Muscatine. Co. "B", Capt. Gardner, from 
 Nashua. Co. "C", Capt. McMullin, from Oskaloosa. Co. "D", Capt. 
 Harper, from Ft. Madison. Co. "E", Capt. Parrott, from Keokuk. Co. 
 "F", Capt. Kitteridge, from Ottumwa. Co. "G", Capt. Hedges, from Ma- 
 rengo. Co. "H", Capt. Crabb, Washington. Co. "I", Capt. Irvin, 
 from Eddyville. Co. "K", Capt. Black, from Knoxville. 
 
 The whole regiment were formed in line and sworn in; in a body. 
 Several men dropped out, ran away and refused to be mustered into 
 the United States service. After the parade was dismissed they were 
 pursued, some captured and roughly handled, and they sneaked home. 
 
 Most of the members of the regiment were stalwart yeomanry, 
 from the farms of the prairies of Iowa, robust and healthy, inured to 
 the hardships of a frontier life, familiar with fire arms, and only needed 
 discipline and drill to make the best of soldiers, which in their subse 
 quent service they proved to be. The rendevous of the regiment, to 
 gether with the 5th and 6th regiments was at Burlington on the county 
 fair grounds a mile or two west of the city, and was designated ap Camp 
 Warren. The barracks were temporary wooden sheds with bunks and 
 loose straw for sleeping apartments. Co. B s quarters were dubbed 
 "Hotel Gardner" in honor of its captain. The tables of these "hotels" 
 were put up in the open, and consisted of a plank about a foot wide, 
 and sixteen feet long, with stakes driven in the ground for legs, the 
 dining room was light, airy and large enough, but the sun shown down 
 with such intense heat at meal time, it was almost unbearable, and if 
 butter had been one of our rations it would not have stood up under 
 Old Sols heated rays. There was one beauty about it, the victuals never 
 got cold, if the bread did get dry. Our rations consisted of bread, meat, 
 
6 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 coffee, brown sugar, beans and rice, which to those who had been used 
 to better fare at home, seemed a hardship to eat, however those who 
 went through the war experienced many a time, when they would have 
 been thankful for such quarters and fare. I very well recollect rny first 
 meal at the Gardner. I was an entire stranger to the boarders of the 
 hotel, except the five boys who went with me from Cerro Gordo Co. 
 The Chef of the hotel used to set the table by putting the t tin plates 
 and cups in a row on the table, with a mess pan of fat pork, in which 
 floated fried salt pork (larded), he would put a teaspoonful of brown 
 sugar on each plate, and a camp kettle ot coffee on each end of the table, 
 where we could go and help ourselves; while the comrade on my right 
 was gone to the end of the table for his coffee another opposite me (an 
 entire stranger) reached over and sniped his sugar, and when he return 
 ed he accused me of it, which I denied and pointed out the culprit that 
 did do it, who called me a liar. There was some things said there and 
 then over the table that I don t think was grace, which resulted in 
 blows, and I threw the mess pan of pork at his head There was about 
 a quart of grease in the pan, and it ran all over him, and in the melee 
 we knocked down the frail table, and clinched to settle it, when the offi 
 cers came out and parted us, and saved me a good whipping, as the man 
 proved afterwards to be the bully of the regiment. Tin cups of coffee, 
 tin plates of beans, mess pans of sow bosom and bread in fact all the 
 luxuries with which the tables of the Gardner was loaded went to the 
 ground, and we went supperless to bed. 
 
 In the haste to get the troops to ths front the regiment left the 
 state August 6th, with only one field officer, Col. J. G. Lauman, D. T. 
 Bowler as Adjutant and S. E. Forsha as Quartermaster. We embark 
 ed on the steamer Jennie Whipple with a barge lasned to each side,, and 
 proceeded direct to St. Louis. The 5th and 6th regiments went down 
 on other boats at the same time, but were disembarked at Keokuk to 
 reinforce Colonel Moore in the border war with the rebel Genl. Green. 
 It was on this trip that we had the first casuality in the regiment. One 
 of company "A" rolled off the boat in his sleep, into the river, in the 
 dark, and was drowned. It- was on account of the pressing military 
 necessity that the regiment went to the iront before its complete organ 
 ization, and before it was clothed, armed or equipped. We arrived at St. 
 Louis on the morning of August the 8th, and went into bivouac in the 
 grounds of the U. S. Arsenal there. Arms were distributed to us at St. 
 Louis, the flank companies "A" and "B" getting the Springfield rifle 
 with tape self primers, and the other eight companies received the im 
 proved "buck and ball" Springfield musket. Before the arms were dis 
 tributed, we were hurriedly ordered to take train for Springfield to re 
 inforce General Lyon who was fighting a battle at Wilson s Creek, but 
 before we embarked the result of his death and defeat was received 
 
COL. JACOB G. LAUMAN, 
 
 First Colonel of the Hesriment. 
 
 Promoted to Brig. Gen. and Breveted a Major General. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY . i 
 
 and we were ordered to Jefferson Barracks. 
 
 On the evening of August 16th we were loaded on flat cars and 
 given an all nights ride to Ironton, Mo. On account of not being proper 
 ly clothed we suffered with the cold, there we were placed under the 
 command of General A. B. Prentiss, where we put in our time drilling. 
 
 Companies "B" and "H" under command of Captain Gideon 
 Gardner were sent to Potosi to guard the outposts and do Provost duty. 
 We marched across the country, drove out the guerillas and arrived at 
 Potosi in the night; as we had no tents we were ordered to the court 
 house for lodging, where we laid our tired limbs to rest on the floor 
 of the court room, which was covered with what we supposed was saw 
 dust; it had just been evacuated by the rebels when we got there. We 
 had not laid there long before we were all stricken with a violent itch 
 ing sensation, and there was no sleep or rest. With the earliest dawn we 
 examined to find the cause of our scratch or midnight attack, and dis 
 covered that the saw dust on the floor was not a pure article, but was 
 adulterated with fleas and gray backs in nearly equal parts; we made 
 a big kick to our officers in the morning on our quarters, and they con-" 
 eluded we had better "flea from the wrath to come," and we were billet 
 ed in some empty houses around lown while we stayed there. 
 
 It was there I stood guard for the first time; at night it was dark, 
 dismal ana rainy with occasional flashes of lightning, follov/ed by 
 rumbling thunder; the guard line ran through a grave yard with guard 
 headquarters near the corner of the cemetery; as we had not drawn 
 any overcoats, and rubber blankets and ponchos, were not yet known to 
 the army, we utilized our grey woollen blankets for overcoats, and drap 
 ed them over our shoulders to protect us from the rain. My post came on 
 the opposite side of the cemetery, a dark, lonesome and foreboding 
 place; I could see when the lightning flashed, in my already over 
 wrought imagination, what I supposed to be ghosts moving about in the 
 cemetery which nearly terrorized me, raised my hair, and the goose 
 pimples stood out on my back like hay cocks; and even when I ascer 
 tained that they were guards on duty with their blankets over their 
 heads standing up straight to keep the rain off, I four, d it anything but a 
 pleasant duty to stand guard and I a thousand times wished myseif 
 home with my mother before the second relief came around and let me 
 off. In that country it is the custom, instead of putting up the grave 
 stones perpendicular at the head of the graves, to build a brick wall 
 around each grave about two feet high, ana cover the vault over with 
 a large marble slab, on which they put the inscription. A devil may 
 care member of company "H" who never feared for anything, and there 
 was no shelter from the storm, when he came off duty, got some of the 
 boys to help him, and they lifted up the slab from one of the graves, 
 and let him crawl under out of the wet; when the next relief came in, 
 
8 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 one of them, a somewhat timid youth,as the ground was watersoaked, 
 wrapped his blanket around him and laid himself down on top, little 
 thinking there was anything alive beneath; the fellow below always full 
 of his tricks, in a sepulchural voice and stage whisper exclaimed, "get 
 off my grave you yankee son of a gun." It scared the fellow on top so 
 bad that he screamed and ran, knocking down three stacks of guns, and 
 never stopped until he got to camp, and the company "H" man had to 
 stand his guard the rest of the night. Here occurred the first death in 
 company "B". Sergeant Sheldon Arnold succombed to disease and died 
 and corporal H. I. Smith was promoted to his place. 
 
 While we were stationed at Potosi a young citizen of that county 
 named J. S. Wilkinson enlisted in Co. "B", who gave us much informa 
 tion in reference to the residents there, pointing out rebel sympathizers 
 and traitors. Capt. Gardner, Commander of the post, had his headquar 
 ters in the principal hotel on the corner near the court house, which 
 was vacant. Just up the side street was another hotel open and occu 
 pied, where the rebel sympathizers from town and country congregated 
 opposite which was a livery barn, with flag staff on the roof, where 
 Wilkinson said the rebel flag was displayed before we captured the 
 town. It was proposed by Sergeant Folsom of Co. "B" that we take 
 our company flag that hung from the window of the court house and 
 put it up on the rebel pole; Sergt. Folsom offered to take an armed 
 squad and guard anyone while putting up our flag, which corporal H. I. 
 Smith of Co. "B" volunteered to do, which was done; Captain Gardner 
 saw the flag displayed there and ordered it taken down. Sergeant Fol 
 som again formed his squad and went and took it down as ordered; 
 while passing the porch of the hotel where about a dozen secession sym 
 pathizers were sitting, one of them volunteered the remark that, "it 
 was well we did, or they would have done it for us." Sergeant Folsom 
 immediately about faced his squad and corporal Smith again shinned up 
 the lightning rod and bent the flag to the halyards, sent it to the mast 
 head and the rebels were told that the first man that attempted to pull 
 it down would be shot; he then marched his squad back to the court 
 house, put a man on guard in the dome and instructed him to guard it 
 within easy range and ordered him to shoot anyone who touched it ; 
 then reported to Captain Gardner what was said and done. The Captain 
 still demanded that it should be taken down, saying that "we would pro 
 voke them to fight." Sergt. Folsom replied that he supposed "that was 
 what we were there to do." The Captain still insisted that it should 
 be taken down. After a hurried consultation, a majority of the company 
 refused to comply with his order; when he ordered corporal Smith un 
 der arrest unless he would take the flag down, which he refused to do, 
 and referred him to Major General John A. Dix s order which had just 
 been issued: "Whoever attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 9 
 
 him on the spot." This did not satisfy the Captain, so he tried to get 
 Co. "B" to do it, which they refused to do; then he ordered Captain 
 Crabb of Co. "H" with his company to do it. They grounded arms and 
 refused to do it; Then Captain Gardner made himself ridiculous and or 
 dered corporal Smith shot for disobedience of orders, which of course 
 he could get no one to do. Sergt. A. J. Felt, who was acting Post Ad 
 jutant, was ordered to make out charges and specifications for court 
 martial proceedings against corporal Smith and sent to Ironton to Gen 
 eral Prentiss. Felt returned with an order to release Smith from ar 
 rest, and the result was that Captain Gardner succeeded in making him 
 self very unpopular with the company and resigned before a year of his 
 service had expired, and Lieutenant Reiniger was appointed Captain 
 in his stead, and things were harmonious in the command after that. 
 
 August 28th eight companies of the regiment, with other com 
 mands, broke camp and marched to Cape Girardeau by the way of 
 Fredricktown and Jackson, arriving Sept. 8th. From Cape Girardeau by 
 the steamer Louisiana we proceeded down the Mississippi river to Cairo, 
 thence to Fort Holt. The regiment had just got camp established, the 
 brush cut away and quarters nicely policed, when we were sent to Camp 
 Crittenden. Here was our first skirmish, we had one man wounded. 
 Thence to Norfolk, Mo., and finally settled at Birds Point. Genl. Pren 
 tiss was superceeded by Genl. Grant on the march. 
 
 Companies "B" and "H" remained at Potosi until October doing 
 provost, scout and guard duty. While there company B" took posses 
 sion of a rebel printing office, changed the name of the paper to "Lau- 
 man s Left Bower," The regiment was running a paper at Ivonton 
 called "Lauman s Own." Its politics was changed from a secession sheet 
 to a hot Union paper. Sergeant A. J. Felt, who has since been Lieut. 
 Governor of Kansas, was installed as editor. Z. A. Rutherford was fore 
 man and Billy Palmer was typo; the rest of the company were devils. 
 
 About the middle of October these companies joined the regiment. 
 While at Birds Point the regiment was uniformed for the first time. 
 For some reason wnich I never understood our regiments first uniform 
 was different from any other, and was not a regulation suit, it con 
 sisted of a dark blue jacket with light blue trimmings, light blue pants 
 and fatigue cap, a sort of a zouave outfit, at Corinth we wore the 
 Scotch Glengary same as tne 12th Ills., wnich distinguished us from 
 other commands; after this was worn out we drew the regulation uni 
 form, which we continued to wear all through the rest of our service. 
 Birds Point, Mo., opposite Cairo, was about the limit of river trans 
 portation, until Island No. 10 was taken by our forces, as the rebels held 
 Columbus, Ky., with its strong fortifications and heavy ordinance, com 
 manding the river. It is a flat tableau of sandy land, on the banks of 
 the Mississippi, where we were camped with other regiments of Gen- 
 
10 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 eral Grant s command. It was a very unhealthy place, many died of 
 dysentery and malarial fever, so that there were several funerals each 
 day. Our regiment did not suffer as much in that respect as others, 
 as sanitary discipline was more rigidly enforced by the officers and we 
 were not there so long as some of the Illinois regiments. General 
 Grant s headquarters were at Cairo, 111. He used to come over with his 
 staff on the ferry, visit and review us frequently. In the early days 
 of the war as Brigadier General he wore quite a gay uniform, with gor 
 geous black plumes in his hat; as he acquired higher rank and fame, he 
 was more simple in his dress. 
 
 At i^irds Point we were for the first time organized with a full 
 complemnt of officers. Captain Wentz, a gallant officer of company "G" 
 First Iowa Infantry, who had seen service in the German army, and was 
 fresh from the battle of Wilsons Creek, and the campaigns of that fam 
 ous regiment, was commissioned Lieut. Colonel. E. W. Rice, a Sergeant 
 of company "C" was made the Major, and the regimental staff was made 
 up as follows: 
 
 Chaplain, I. Harvey Clarke. 
 
 Adjutant, D. T. Bowler. 
 
 Surgeon, Amos Whitter. 
 
 Hospital Steward, J. B. Rich. 
 
 Commisary Sergeant, Stephen Merrill. 
 
 Quartermaster Sergeant, George Bennett. 
 
 Drum Major, W. E. Thayer. 
 
 Fife Major, William Johnson. 
 
 Wagon Master, George House. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 11 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 THE BATTLE OF BELMONT. 
 
 It will be remembered by those who were selected for that expe 
 dition that we were camped at Cairo, Birds Point and Ft. Holt, and that 
 on the 6th day of Nov., 1861, an order was given by General Grant for 
 all in the regiment selected who were able for duty to be ready to move 
 at a moments notice, with two days rations and forty rounds of amuni- 
 tion, the sick to oe left in camp with a detail from each company as 
 camp guard; that in afternoon the steamers Montgomery, Belle, Mem 
 phis, and Scott came over from Cairo and the troops, consisting of the 
 7th Iowa, Col. Lauman; 22nd Illinois, Col. Dougherty; 27th Illinois, Col. 
 Buford; 30th Illinois, Col. Fouke; 31st Illinois, Col. John A. Logan; 
 a section of Taylors Chicago Battery of two twelve pound howitzers; 
 Capt. Delano s Co. of Ills. Cavalry 56 strong; and one company of inde 
 pendent cavalry, commanded by Capt. Dollins, 70 men. These troops 
 were quietly embarked on these transports, nobody but the officers 
 highest in command knowing what we were going to do. After all were 
 loaded we dropped down the Mi.sFn;sippi river, the wooden gun boats,the 
 "Lexington," Capt. Stembel, and "Tyler," Capt. Walke commanding, 
 acting as convoys. After going about ten miles we swung into the 
 Kentucky shore, threw out a strong guard and tied up for the night, 
 the troops all but the guards sleeping on the transports. Early in the 
 morning of the 7th we dropped down to a point on the Missouri side 
 about two miles above the village of Belmont, debarked, as we suppos 
 ed out of range of the batteries at Columbus, but while we were landing 
 we were shelled from the rebel forts at Columbus, Ky. Some of the 
 heavy rifled projectiles going just over the transports, burying them 
 selves in the bank near the gang plank, over which the troops were 
 passing, and after detailing two companies of the 7th Iowa and three 
 companies of the 22nd Illinois to guard boats under command of Capt. 
 Detrick, the rest of the command proceeded to advance on the enemy. 
 From here the troops were marched with skirmishers in advance for 
 about a miie down the river, and there formed" in line of battle, the first 
 brigade consisting of the 27th, 30th and 31st Illinois regiments, Capt. 
 Dollins Co. of cavalry and Capt. Taylors battery under command of 
 Brig. Gen. John A. McClernand taking tne right of the line, and eight 
 companies of the 7th la. and seven companies of the 22nd 111. compris 
 ing the 2nd brigade under command of Col. H. Dougherty, taking the 
 left. The command moved forward and the skirmishers became en 
 gaged at once. The firing was brisk but the enemy s pickets were 
 steadily driven back to their main line and our skirmishers only halted 
 
12 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 for our support to come up. Then the battle opened in real earnest 
 and continued for seven hours, the enemy giving ground all the time. 
 The very audacity of the attack seemed to impress our men with a sense 
 of the necessity of the occasion that they seemed almost inspired to 
 deeds of daring and valor, and they pressed forward with the most ob 
 stinate courage, irresistibly driving the enemy back in confusion, into 
 their camps which were n an open field, and around which they had 
 felled trees outwardly, making an abatis almost impossible to get 
 through. Here we halted to breath and reform our lines. As soon as 
 the enemy was driven into open grounds and it could be seen that from 
 the forts at Columbus they could shell the woods without danger to 
 their troops, a terrific fire of solid shot and shell was opened upon us 
 from all the batteries on the opposite side of the river, literally mowing 
 the tree tops where we were forming for another advance. As soon as 
 all was ready, the order was given and our men dashed forward firing 
 and hurrahing as they advanced, and when the obstructions were 
 scaled a final charge was ordered anc 1 away we went over the open 
 field, and after one volley from us they were completely routed. They 
 abandoned their battery and disappeared under the river bank, and the 
 victory was ours. We took possession and burned their camp, captured 
 their artillery, garrison, flag and all eqiupage, turned their battery and 
 our own on their transports which were ferrying over reinforcements. 
 Lest it might be supposed that their force was inferior to ours I 
 will here state that according to tkeii own official reports,before any re 
 inforcements arrived tney had five regiments of infantry (6 guns) and a 
 squadron of cavalry, as v ill be more fully seen hereafter. Thus we see 
 that they had five more companies than we did in the outset. It was at 
 this point that the writer was severely wounded, and taken a short dis 
 tance to the rear and laid under a tree beside a wounded rebel where I 
 witnessed the destruction of their camp. There I lay until the rebels 
 being reinforced temporarily occupied the ground. While they were 
 parleying as to what to do with us who were wounded, Col. Logan s 
 regiment, with himself in command, came charging through and drove 
 them back. We were then picked up and put into an army wagon drawn 
 by four mules and filled with wounded men. The mules were then put on 
 a run through corn fields and woods to the boats, avoiding the roads 
 because tne rebels had been heavily reinforced and had formed a line 
 between our troops and the river, covering the road to the boats. The 
 wounded had only just been put on the transports when a te,rrific volley 
 cf musketry was poured upon us from the rebels on the bank of the 
 river. The balls literally riddled the upper works of the boats where the 
 wounded lay in winrows on the cabin floor. There being scarcely any 
 one on board but the wounded, there was no resistance offered save by 
 a few who were slightly disabled. The fire was so fierce that it was 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 13 
 
 impossible to even cut the lines and get under way. There we lay un 
 til the gun boats came to our rescue, and gave them a broadside which 
 put them to flight. The lines were then loosened and we swung into 
 the stream and proceeded on cur way back to camp. Those who 
 were not injured were left a"t Cairo and Birds Point, the wounded being 
 taken to Mound City Hospital, where we arrived on the afternoon of 
 the 8th. I was informed and hnd by official reports that our heaviest 
 loss occurred on our way back to the transports where our exhausted 
 troops had to cut their way back to the boats, through fresh troops 
 which had been thrown across the river from Columbus between our 
 forces and the transports, under cover of their forts. The rebels claimed 
 the victory and most assuredly we did; why should we not? We accom 
 plished all and more than we started to do, we captured and burned 
 their camp, took their battery and brought three pieces back to camp 
 with a large number of prisoners. We must, of course, admit a great 
 sacrifice in killed and wounded; but we have the satisfaction of blowing 
 that we punished them as severely, if we did have to do it at such dis 
 advantage. According to their own reports we fought them over two to 
 one on tneir own ground, in the woods with which they were familiar, 
 and behind defensive works which they had been preparing for months, 
 in the face of a battery at Belmont and withm easy range of the guns 
 at Columbus. We were beyond the reach of reinforcements, supplies, 
 and amunition, with no telegraphic communication, and our base at 
 Cairo over twenty miles away. Neither did we have any knowledge of 
 the numbers or position of the enemy. Our whole force after deducting 
 the five companies left at the boats, consisted of four and a Hall regi 
 ments of infantry, one battery, and two companies of cavalry. With 
 this force we attacked and successfully ^defeated the five regiments of 
 infantry, one battery and one batallion of cavalry as officially shown 
 by Maj. Gen. Polks report after the battle. From this we learn that the 
 enemy consisted of the 13th Arkansas, 12th, 13th, 21st, and 22nd Tennes 
 see, Beltzhoover s battery commanded by Capt. Watson, and a batallion 
 of cavalry under Lieut. Col. Miller; all of these, under command of Gen. 
 Pillow. In addition to these forces there was a large force across the 
 river and an adequate number of steamers at The landing to briug over 
 reinforcements. The same report says: "Capt. Stewart s battery of the 
 Louisiana artillery was advanced to a position on the Kentucky side 
 of the river with which he could reach us and our gun boats with ease." 
 And he goes on to say that from this point this battery and Capt. Ham 
 ilton s battery (a heavy seige battery) and several guns from the fort at 
 Columbus opened on us. He says that the firing on the pickets was 
 "heard at 10:20 a. m. and forty minutes afterward the engagement be 
 came general in all arms." Receiving a request from Gen. Pillow for 
 additional ammunition and reinforcements the 2nd Tenn., Col. Walker, 
 
14 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 and two batteries. Capt. Jackson s and Capt. Folk s were sent over. 
 By this time it was obvious that further reinforcements became nec 
 essary, and I sent over the 15th Tenn., Col. Carrol, and the llth Lou 
 isiana, Col. Marks." Again says Gen. Polk: "It was obvious from the 
 yielding of our column to the heavy pressure of the masses of the 
 enemy s infantry, and the firm assault of their heavy battery that still 
 further reinforcements were needed. I ordered the first brigade of Gen. 
 Cheatham s division under Col. Preston Smith. The General having ar 
 rived in advance of his brigade I directed him to take the nearest 
 steamer, move promptly across the river, rally and take command of 
 the portions of regiments in sight, and support the movement ordered 
 tnrough Col. Marks." He says: "At this juncture the enemy fired our 
 tents and advancing his battery near the river opened a heavy fire on 
 our steamers which were transporting our troops across the river, in 
 some instances driving shot through two at a time, I then crrected 
 Capt. Smith s battery to move to the rive.- bank opposite the feld of 
 battle and open on the enemy s position, and also directed Maj. Stewart 
 in command of the heavy guns in the fort to open on the same position, 
 it now being seen ihat these guns could be used without danger to our 
 troops. This joint fire was so terrific as to dislodge the enemy, silence 
 his guns and cause him to take up his line of march tor his boats. On 
 arrival of Gen. Cheatham s brigade i took charge of it togethet with 
 Capt. White s Co. of cavalry and proceeued with them across the river, 
 having first ordered two regiments of Gen. McCowan s division, the 4th 
 Tenn., and 12th Louisiana to follow. On landing I met Gens. Pillow 
 and Cheatham whom I directed to press the enemy to his boats. This 
 order was executed with alacrity; the route over which we passed was 
 strewn with the dead and wounded. On arriving at the point where 
 his transports lay, I ordered headed the 15th senior Tenn. regiment, 
 under a field thickly set with corn, to be deployed along the river bank 
 within easy reach of the boats. This was accomplished and a heavy 
 fire opened upon them simultaneously, riddling them with balls., Still 
 further he goes on to say: "That in a conflict continued through so 
 many hours and so hotly contested, die list of causalities must be ex 
 pected to be large. Our loss killed was 105; wounded 419; missing 117; 
 total 641." According to the official reports the Union loss was as fol 
 lows: 22nd 111., killed 23, wounded 74, missing 37. 7th Iowa, killed 
 51, wounded 127, missing 39. 27th 111., killed 11, wounded 42, missing 
 42. 30th 111., killed 9, wounded 27, missing 8. 31st 111., killed 10, wound 
 ed 61, missing 4. Taylor s battery, wounded 5. Cavalry, wounded 5. 
 Total killed 105; wounded 338; missing 130; total 573. Gen. Pillow in 
 a letter to the Secretary of \\ ar complained that Gen. Polk did not send 
 him reinforcements enough, his language being: "After four hours 
 of hard fighting against a force three times my own, and after a loss of 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 15 
 
 quite one fourth of force engaged to save my command from destruc 
 tion, I at last ordered my command to fall back upon the river bank." 
 And again he says: "This bloody battle was within three-fourths of 
 a mile of the main army, only the river interposing, and there \vas not 
 less than 10,000 men well armed and disciplined looking on the conflict 
 from the other side of the river, within a constructed line and com 
 manding defensive works." 
 
 To have so fully accomplished the object of the expedition under 
 such disadvantages and against a force so much superior in numbers, 
 both officers and men did more than their duty. They must have in 
 fact have all been heroes. Col. Dougherty, commanding the 2nd bri 
 gade was three times wounded in the leg, and was taken prisoner by 
 the enemy. All the Illinois regiments lost heavily in officers and men. 
 That every officer in. the 7th la. did his duty no better evidence can be 
 adduced than the fact that Col. Lauman was severely wounded Lieut. 
 Col. Wentz was killed, Maj. Rice was wounded, and the Adjutant taken 
 prisoner. Out of the seven Captains with their companies Capts. Par- 
 rott, Harper, Kittredge, and Gardner were wounded; Lieut. Dodge, Co. 
 "B," and Lieut. Gardner, Co. "I," were killed Lieut. Ream, 
 Co. "C," was wounded. That the men did their duty you 
 may readily learn from the mortality list, Col. Lauman s 
 report says: "Out of an aggregate somewhat over 400, 51 
 were killed, three died of wounds, 10 missing, 39 prisoners, 124 wound 
 ed; total 227." Among those i remember as conspicuous for bravery 
 was Lieut. Col. Wentz. There were several of the officers wives of 
 the Illinois regiments who did noble and efficient service in ministering 
 to the wounded on ihe boat I was on air night. 
 
 The Confederate Congress passed a resolution of thanks to Maj. 
 Gen. Polk, Brig. Gen. Pillow, Brig. Genl. Cneatham and officers and 
 soldiers under their command for "gallant and distinguished services, 
 and desperate courage they exhibited in sustaining for several hours 
 and under most disadvantageous circumstances an attack by a force of 
 the enemy superior to their own both in number and equipments, &c., 
 at the Battle of Belmont." 
 
 General Polk says in his official report: "The battle was fought 
 against great odds botn in numbers and in position, and our triumph 
 was due to the favoring Providence of Almighty God." And further 
 he says: "In such a conflict of arms illustrating the superior inettie cf 
 the Southern soldier," &c., &c. 
 
 In the face of the foregoing self congratulations and silly bom 
 bast, it ig amusing to compare the record and show the absurdity of 
 such extravagent stuff. Here is the record: Four and a half regiments 
 of infantry .one-half battery and two companies of cavalry, attacked and 
 successfully routed, on their own ground, under the guns of their own 
 
16 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 forts, burned their own camp, took their battery and a large number 
 of prisoners, taking them off the field not less than, as previously 
 shown at least ten regiments of confederate infantry, five companies 
 of cavalry and three batteries. More than this, just across the river 
 there were 10,000 of their troops in reserve, and plenty of boats to ferry 
 them over. 
 
 The following is an extract from a letter from Lieut. J. F. Warner 
 of Co. "K", who was one of the boat guards during the battle which was 
 published in the Charles City Intelligencer Nov. 21st, 1861. 
 
 "Lieut. Col. August Wentz was killed by a bullet hitting him in 
 the side he fell mortally wounded. At that time the enemy had re 
 ceived the reinforcements which compelled our forces to retire, and they 
 had just fallen back from the camp. Col. "Wentz, but a short time prev 
 ious, was urging his men to deeds of valor by referring to the battle of 
 Wilson s Creek, saying: "The Iowa first did well at Springfield, but 
 the Seventh are equaling them." When he fell mortally wounded, the 
 men sprung to bear him away, when he forbade them, saying: "Let me 
 alone, boys, I want to die on the battle held." These were his last 
 words. 
 
 The next day the wife of Col. Wentz obtained a pass from one of 
 the staff officers, and went to Columbus on the steamer Memphis for 
 the body of her husband. Every courtesy the occasion demanded w~s 
 paid her by the rebel officers. A Lieut. Col. of one of the regiments 
 accompanied her to the battle field, where she found the body, robbed 
 of its clothing, and ordered it taken to the boat, on which it returned 
 to Cairo." 
 
 For over an hour in the hottest of the engagement, the artillery 
 of both forces became useless, because of the close mingling of friend 
 and foe. After our forces had retreated to tne boats, the gun boats took 
 position and with the artillery on the transports poured a concentrated 
 fire among the enemy, who had gathered in a dense mass along the 
 shore. How many of them were killed by the terrific fire poured in 
 among them we could not ascertain, but from attending circumstances 
 it must have been immense; and this view of the case is strengthened 
 from their course afterwaras, in refusing our messengers the piivilege 
 of visiting the spot. 
 
 Our total loss was reported at 450. The enemy crossed the river 
 under the proteceion of .the batteries at Columbus, in such position 
 that the fire from the gun-boat was not able to prevent it. 
 
 The result of this battle is regarded as a victory for our side, 
 although the federal forces were eventually compelled to "take water." 
 Our troops completely whipped a force more than double their own, 
 and well entrenched, captured guns and prisoners and much of the 
 enemies camp equiqage, but were compelled to retreat before rebel 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 17 
 
 reinforcements from Columbus. "No troops whether "ir-regular," 
 or "regulars" of this or any other country, ever showed more hand-to- 
 hand and bayonet-to bayonet valor. We challenge an exhibition of 
 better fighting of more skill and daring on the part of officers, and 
 stricter military obedience and persevering, tenacious, bull-dog fight 
 on the part of the soldiers, than were exhibited in this battle by the 
 Union troops. It was not their fault that a battle thus fought was not 
 a total and unquestionable victory for them." 
 
 The killed and wounded in the Seventh Iowa were about as many 
 as the balance of the whole command put together, and when you take 
 into consideration that there were only eight companies engaged, it 
 will readily be seen that the percentage of loss was fearful to contem 
 plate. 
 
 Thus it will be seen that this battle which began about nine 
 o clock in the morning, our little army of 2,500 men in action was in a 
 severe conflict for nearly four hours in the forenoon; then, after a re 
 spite following the capture 01 the enemies encampment, in another 
 hot conflict with General Cheatham s reinforcements and routed them; 
 then again, after embarking, for another hour repelling another attack 
 at the landing, altogether making six hours of fighting. In addition, 
 we marched fully ten miles, advancing and retiring through entangled 
 thickets; killed, wounded and captured 641 of the enemy; captured 
 his entire battery and carried off two of his guns and spiked the others; 
 burned and destroyed his camp; defeated and utterly routed, first Gen 
 eral Pillow s 3,500; second General Cheatham reinforced to about 6,000; 
 and in the third conflict at the landing when General Polk had about 
 8,000 men on the Belmont side of the river, forced them again to fall 
 back. 
 
 This was General Grant s first battle of the war, and for the num 
 ber engaged, was one of the most desperate, brilliant and gallant. 
 
 Our regiment had a brass band up to the battle of Belmont, but 
 they laid down their instruments and went into the fight, some were 
 killed and others wounded, so the band was broken up and never re 
 organized after that. 
 
 It has always been a question to the troops engaged never satis 
 factorily explained, why our gun-boats lying near by in the river al 
 lowed the rebels to ferry over reinforcements under the very noses of 
 the guns in their portholes. 
 
 The subordinate officers and men, at the time regarded the battle 
 of Belmont as a blunder and po?r generalship; in that the troops were 
 not withdrawn to the transports before fresh rebel troops were brought 
 over from Columbus and placed between us and our boats, as there was 
 plenty of time to do it. We had before this defeated then taken their 
 battery, over a thousand prisoners, which we had to abandon when we 
 
18 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 were obliged to cut our way through new reinforcements back to our 
 boats. General Grant was generally condemned for not doing so. A 
 saying of Napoliaon was, "any one can lead an army in to battle but 
 it takes a good General to get them out." 
 
 A NEWSPAPER WAR CORRESPONDENT S ACCOUNT. 
 
 Iowa poured out her first terrible dole of loyal blood to garnish 
 the sword of Grant. A skirmisher of Company H, of the Seventh Iowa, 
 named John C. Temple, was the first man killed at Belmont, Grant s 
 first battle for the Union. A band of 400 young and enthusiastic coun 
 try boys from the extreme northern and tne extreme southern and the 
 central tier of counties, newly wedded into a regiment, marched be 
 hind the man of destiny to that field. A soldier s burial to 74 of them, 
 wounds and pain to 127 and captivity or an unknown fate to 49 were 
 the awards for heroism that opened a new page in martial history. 
 
 Belmont was a remarkable affair, not officially dignified as a bat 
 tle only an engagement. The Union troops engaged had not before 
 been under fire. They lost in killed fully one-half as many, as in wound 
 ed an unusually large proportion. The general average during the 
 war was one killed to three wounded. Five infantry regiments partici 
 pated, and four of them became noted throughout the war as fighting 
 regiments, and are included in the 300 whose losses in battle wore ex 
 cessive. The Seventh Iowa to use a common and much abusod army 
 expression was "literlly cut to pieces." The proportion of killed to 
 wounded was over 1^ to 2. 
 
 The Confederate post at Belmont was a point of observation for 
 the more important position at Columbus, Ky., on the opposite side 
 of the Mississippi. It consisted of a camp on the bluff sunounded by 
 abatis of fallen trees, and when General Grant attacked it on Nov. 7, 
 1861, was manned by about 3,000 men, with six cannon. Grant had 3,000 
 men. The Seventh, Iowa and the Twenty-S3cond Illinois forme:! a pro 
 visional semi-brigade led by Colonel H. Dougherty of the Twenty-sec 
 ond. The Colonel of the Seventh J. G. Lauman was a novice in war. 
 The iieuttenant colonel had served in a 3-months regiment, and the 
 major Elliot W. Rice had just been promoted from the ranks of Com 
 pany C. 
 
 The little army sailed from Cairo on transports to a landing 
 about three miles above Belmont and got ashore withont alarm to the 
 enemy. After marching a mile through a wooded swamp the column 
 reached a cornfield, and the companies of the Seventh deployed os skir 
 mishers and dodged among the tall cornstafRs to the farther end of 
 the field. A company of Confederates were secreted in a wood beyond 
 the field and fired a few shots at the lowans, killing one man. 
 
 A line of battle was formed in the field, and the whole command 
 moved on through the woods. The fighting was steady and continuous 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 19 
 
 from that point forward. The way was obstructed by heavy underbrush 
 and fallen trees, and the men had to climb over and crawl under the ob 
 stacles as best they could, the while keeping a lookout for the enemy. 
 In places the ground was swampy, and between fighting, finding a road 
 and waiting for the cannon to be dragged along with column, the 
 march was far from easy. 
 
 The delay gave the enemy time to select positions and get in good 
 shots. At the end of a mile the whole line was held up by a new obsta 
 cle a sort of a secondary river bank that formed a good natural breast 
 work for the Confederates. Grant s column had also got within range 
 of the fieldpieces at Belmont and of the heavy guns at Columtus, and 
 shot and shell tore through the forest, giving the farm boys a taste of 
 real war. The Confederate riflemen were favored with picked shots, 
 and officers and men began to fall rapidly. The mounted men were 
 the chosen targets of the enemy, and several staff officers were un 
 horsed. Grant s horse was shot under him. 
 
 The plan of attack was to keep the left flank near the river to pre 
 vent reinforcements crossing over from Columbus to Belmont, and by 
 spreading out the line partially surround the camp. A united effort 
 in the nature of a charge, but prevented from being one by the rough 
 ness of trie ground, drove the enemy from his embankment through the 
 woods to an open space around the camp. When the excited poldiers 
 saw the defiant flag waving over the guns and the Confederates running 
 back across the fields, their enthusiasm knew no bounds. 
 
 The spreading of the line created a gap in the ranks opposite the 
 enemy s battery. The Seventh Iowa rushed into the space, and in a 
 few minutes drove the gunners from their pieces by a hot fire of bullets. 
 A dashing charge by the whole line precipitated a stampede in the 
 enemy s ranks, and Grant s men swarmed around the flagpole, cannon 
 and tents like bees around an overturned hive. It was their first vic 
 tory and their first seizure of spoils of war. Officers and soldiers alike 
 jumped upon the gun carriages and platforms and delivered flowery 
 speeches to their comrades who cheered themselves hoarse and the 
 battle was soon turned into a Fourth of July orgy of bubbling elo 
 quence. 
 
 The Confederates had not abandoned the Missouri bank, but had 
 simply dropped down under the bluff out ot range. No one demanded 
 their surrender, tor the victors seemed to think that the position, the 
 armament of the camp were the sole objective of the campaign. 
 
 The guns at Columbus attempted to fire upon the mob of invaders 
 at Belmont, but their shells passed over. The boys laughed at that, 
 but changed their tune when their enimies under the bluff climbed the 
 trees and commenced good target practice upon the camp. 
 
 Colonel Lauman was shot through the thigh, and about that 
 
20 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 time Colonel Dougherty discovered some steamers loaded with troops 
 making for the shore above Belmont. They were Confederates, maneu 
 vering to get between Grant s column and the landing. The lowans 
 placed their wounded leader upon a gun carriage and started to retreat. 
 The moment they entered the woods ihey were struck by an enflading 
 fire from the river bank. Lieutenant Colonel Wentz was killed, Major 
 Rice severely wounded, and several company officers fell. From that 
 time on until the transports were reached the march was one contin 
 uous brush fight. 
 
 The Confederates were at home on the ground and lined the edges 
 of the field and openings pouring their fire into the column at every 
 step. Grant s soldiers were nearly exhausted T>y the unusual excitement 
 they had passed through and the labors 01 the march and attack, but 
 they coolly and deliberately fought their way to the landing. The 
 lowans lost 227, over half their number. Some of the prisoners lost 
 were wounded, and many of the missing lay dead in the swamp.. Every 
 field officer was down, and three lieutenants were killed and four cap 
 tains wounded 
 
 The other troops at Belmont were Illinoisans the Twenty-sec 
 ond, Twenty-seventh, Thirtieth and Thirty-first infantry, Taylcr s Chi 
 cago battery and Dollin s and Delano s Illinois cavalry. Grant, General 
 McClernand, commanding the First brigade, and Colonel Dougherty, 
 Second brigade, were from Illinois. Colonel Logan commanded one 
 regiment. 
 
 The first case on record, I think, in the war of a soldier killed 
 in battle retaining a lifelike position in death was at Shiloh. It was 
 reported by Dr. Brinton, Grant s medical director, who saw and ex 
 amined the body. It was that of a Union soldier shot through the fore 
 head while kneeling to fire from behind a tree. His head fell forward 
 against a tree, but his upright body rested on one foot and knee, and he 
 held his musket in firm grasp and remained in position until removed. 
 
 The next fight of the Seventh was at Donaldson, where it charged 
 the entrenchments, but got o.ut with, slight loss. On the field of Shiloh 
 the regiment was in Colonel Tuttle s Iowa brigade, W. H. L. Wallace s 
 reserve division. When the attack began at the outposts, the mo?i were 
 in line for Sunday morning inspection. They promptly marched for 
 ward to a piece of heavy timber on the edg: of a field across which the 
 enemy s line of battle was advancing. The position was held for nine 
 hours, all the time under a galling fire of canister, grape and shell. 
 The loss was not severe, but again the number killed was large in com 
 parison with the wounded. It stood 10 to 17." 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 21 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 INCIDENTS OF THE BATTLE OF BELMONT. 
 
 A correspondent, giving an account of the burial of the Union 
 dead upon the field of battle of Belmont, by a party which returned, 
 after the battle, with a flag of truce, relates the following incidents: 
 
 "Our dead were mostly lying upon their backs, and everything 
 taken from their bodies that could be of value to the enemy. The 
 countenances of the dead were mostly expressive of rage. One or two 
 features were expressive of lear. One poor fellow, after he was wound 
 ed, bethought himself to smoke. He was found in a sitting position, 
 against a tree, dead, with his pipe in his nand, his knife in the other, 
 and his tobacco on his breast. 
 
 "A young lad about sixteen was found lying across a log, just as 
 he fell, grasping his musket with both hands. 
 
 "A wounded man, with both legs nearly shot off, was found in 
 the woods, singing the Star-spangled Banner; but for this circumstance 
 the surgeons say they would not have discovered him. 
 
 "A Captain of one of the regiments was looking at the prisoners 
 captured at Belmont, and recognized one as his own brother. 
 
 BELMONT AFTER THE FIGHT. 
 
 John Seaton, Captain of company "B," in the Twenty-second Il 
 linois regiment, relates tne following incidents: 
 
 "The day after the battle, Col. Hart was in command of the party 
 that went down with a flag of truce to bury the dead, and take up the 
 wounded that still lay on the battle-field. Of my company, there were 
 Lieut. Morgan, Corporal B. B. Gould, privates T. C. Young, J. \V. 
 Young, and Phil. Sackett, They relate some very affecting scenes they 
 witnessed upon the battle-field, one of which was the finding of the 
 body of Lieut. Col. Wentz by his wife. There lay the corpse on that 
 blood-stained field, ghastly in the embrace of death. She stands gazing 
 at it fixidly, and motionless as though rooted to the spot; presently 
 her eyes nil with tears, and she breaks out in a low, agonizing cry: 
 Poor poor soul is it gone? and falls prostrate upon his body. Then 
 it was that stout and hard-featured men wept. Every rebel officer took 
 out his pocket handkerchief to wipe away the tears that came trickling 
 down their cheeks. One of them remarked, I d give ten thousand dol 
 lars to recall that man 10 life." And the boys say they believe he 
 meant it. They found many poor fellows badly wounded" that had lain 
 there since the battle. The rebels had been around during the night 
 
22 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 and given them water, and other necessaries, and had taken a great 
 many into the hospitals. 
 
 "I believe we did meet the flower ot the Southern army, for they 
 fought bravely, and their arms were all superior to ours. Every piece 
 I saw was rifled, and had all the latest improvements; and there were 
 a great many Sharp s six-shooting rifles. Their officers uniforms were 
 splendid and gorgeous, but the mens clothes were nearly all of a 
 brownisn gray, coarse, home-spun jeans. In the early part of the fight 
 two men of Company C brought a long, lean prisoner to me. He was 
 about six feet two inches, and belonged to the Second Tennessee regi 
 ment. He was very much scared. I asked him how many men we were 
 fighting; he raised his hands above his head, and spoke in that pecu 
 liar style so much in vague in the rural districts of Slave States, where 
 they see so much of the nigger. To God, stranger, I can t tell; this 
 ground was jist kivered with men this mornin ; swar me in, stranger;^ 
 I ll take the oath right now; I ll fight for you; only please don t kill 
 me." I told him he should not be hurt, if he behaved himself, and tied 
 him, commanding him to lie down and remain there till I came back, 
 and then left him. I saw him no more tnat day, but some one else 
 brought him along before night. 
 
 The following incident connected with this battle illustrates the 
 chances and experiences of war: Immediately before the war, Philip 
 Fouke was in Washington as a member of congress from Illinois, John 
 V. Wright was a congressman from Tennessee. Fouke and Wright 
 were both Democrats, and though fast friends both politically and 
 socially, they differed with respests to the question of secession. When 
 they parted at Washington Wright shook Fouke s hand remarking: 
 "I expect the next time we meet, Phil, it will be on the battle-field." 
 It happened so. Fouke commanded the 30th 111. which confronted the 
 13th Tennessee commanded by Col. Wright at Belmont. Wright was 
 mortally wounded and 60 of his regiment were captured by the 30th. 
 
 BELMONTER. 
 
 OFFICIAL REPORT. 
 
 "On the eveningof the 6th I left this place in steamers with Mc- 
 Clernand s Brigade, consisting of Twenty-seventh Regiment Illinois 
 Volunteers, Col. N. B. Buford; Thirtieth Regiment Illinois Volunteers, 
 Col. Philip B. Fouke; Thirty-first Regiment Illinois Volunteers, Col. 
 John A. Logan; Dollins Company Independent Illinois Cavalry, Capt. 
 J. J. Dollins; Delano s Company Adams County Illinois Cavalry, Lieut. 
 J. K. Catlin; and Dougherty s Brigade, consisting of Twenty-second 
 Regiment Illinois Volunteers, Lieut. Col. H. E. Hart; Seventh Regi 
 ment Iowa Volunteers, Col. J. G. Lauman, amounting to 3,114 men 
 ol all arms, to make the demonstration against Columbus. I proceeded 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 23 
 
 down the river to a point 9 miles below here, where we lay until next 
 morning, on the Kentucky shore, which served lo distract the enemy 
 and led him to suppose that he was to be attacked in his strongly for 
 tified position at Columbus. 
 
 About 2 o clock on tne morning of the 7th I received information 
 from Col. W. H. L. Wallace at Charleston (sent by a messenger on 
 steamer W. H. B.) that he had learned from a reliable Union man that 
 the enemy had been crossing troops from Columbus to Belmont the day 
 before, for the purpose of following after and cutting off the forces un 
 der Colonel Oglesby. Such a move on his part seemed to me more than 
 probable, and gave at once a twofold importance to my demonstration 
 against the enemy namely,the prevention of reinforcements to General 
 Pric e and the cutting off of the two small columns that I had sent, in 
 pursuance of directions, from this place and Cape Girardeau, in pursuit 
 of Jeff. Thompson. This information determined me to attack vigor 
 ously his forces at Belmont, knowing that should we be repulsed, we 
 would re-embark without difficulty under the protection of the gun 
 boats. The following order was given: 
 
 ON BOARD STEAMER BELLE MEMPHIS, 
 
 November 7, 1861 2 o clock a. m. 
 
 The troops composing the present expedition from this place will 
 move promptly at 6 o clock this morning. The gunboats will take the 
 advance, and be followed by the First Brigade, under command of Brig. 
 Gen. John A. McClernand, composed of all the troops from Cairo and 
 Fort Holt. The Second Brigade, comprising tne remainder of the troops 
 of the expedition, commanded by Col. Henry Dougherty, will follow. 
 The entire force will debark at the lowest point on the Missouri shore 
 where a landing can be effected in security from the rebel batteries. 
 The point of debarkation will be designated by Captain Walke, com 
 manding naval forces. 
 
 ? JOHN A. RAWLINS. 
 
 Assistant Adjutant-General. 
 
 Promptly at the hour designated we proceeded down the river to 
 a point just out of range of the rebel bateries at Columbus and debarked 
 on the Missouri shore. From there the troops were marched, with skir 
 mishers well in advance, by flank for about a mile towards Belmont, 
 and there formed in line of battle. One battalion had been left as a re 
 serve near the transports. Two companies from each regiment were 
 thrown forward as skirmishers, to ascertain the position of the enemy, 
 and about nine o clock met and engaged him. The balance of my force, 
 with the exception of the reserve, was promptly thrown forward, and 
 drove the enemy foot by foot, and from tree to tree, back to his encamp 
 ment to the river bank, a distance of over two miles. Here he had, 
 
24: HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 strengthened -his position by felling the timber for several hundred 
 yards around his camp, making a sort of abatis. Our men charged 
 through this, driving the enemy under cover of the bank, and many of 
 them into their transports, in quick time, leaving us in possession of 
 everything not exceedingly portable. 
 
 Belmont is situated on low ground,. and every foot is commanded 
 by the guns on the opposite shore and of course could not be held for a 
 single hour after the enemy became aware of the withdrawal of his 
 troops. Having no wagons with me, I could move but little of the*cap- 
 tured property, consequently gave orders for the destruction of every 
 thing that could not be moved and an immediate return to our trans 
 ports. Tents, blankete, &c., were set on fire ond destroyed, and our re 
 turn march commenced, taking his artillery and a large number of cap 
 tured horses and prisoners with us. Three pieces of artillery being 
 drawn by hand, and one by an inefficient team, were spiked and left on 
 the road; two were brought to this place. 
 
 We had but fairly got under way when the enemy, having receiv 
 ed re-inforcements, rallied under cover of the river bank and the woods 
 on the point of land in the river bend of the river above us, and made 
 his appearance between us and our transports, evidently with a design 
 of cutting off our return to them. 
 
 Our troops were not in the least discouraged, but charged the 
 enemy and again defeated him. We then, with the exception of the 
 Twenty-seventh Illinois, Col. N. B. Buford commanding, reached our 
 transports and embarked without further molestation. While waiting 
 for the arrival of this regiment, and to get some of our wounded from a 
 field hospital near by, the enemy having crossed fresh troops from 
 Columbus, again made his appearance on the river bank, and commenc 
 ed firing on our transports. The fire was returned by our men from the 
 decks of the steamers, and also by the gunboats with terrible effect, 
 compelling him to retire in the direction of Belmont. In the mean time 
 Colonel Buford, although he had received orders to return with the 
 main force, took the Charleston road from Belmont, and came in on the 
 road leading to Bird s Point, where he had formed a line of battle in 
 the morning. At this point, to avoid the effect of the shells from the 
 gunboats that were begining to fall among his men, he took a blind 
 path direct to the river, and. followed a wood road up its bank, and 
 thereby avoided meeting the enemy, who were retiring by the main 
 road. On his appearance on the river bank a steamer was dropped 
 down, and took his command on board, without his having participated 
 or lost a man in the enemy s attempt to cut us off from our transports. 
 
 Notwithstanding the crowded state of our transports,the only loss 
 we sustained from the enemy s fire upon them was three men wounded, 
 one of whom belonged to cne of the boats. 
 
COL. H. DOUGHERTY, 22o ILLS., 
 
 who commanded the brigade at the battle of Belmont. 
 Wounded in three places, losing a leg. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 25 
 
 Our loss in kiied on the field was 85, 301 wounded (many of them, 
 however, slightly), and 99 missing. Of the wounded, 125 fell into the 
 hands of the enemy. Nearly all the missing were from the Seventh 
 Iowa Regiment, which suffered more severely than any other. All the 
 troops behaved with great gallantry, which was in a great degree attrib 
 utable to the coolness ana presence of mind of their officers, particu 
 larly the colonels commanding. 
 
 General McClernand was in the midst of danger throughout the 
 engagement, and displayed both coolness and judgment. His horse was 
 three times shot under him. 
 
 Colonel Dougherty, Twenty-second Illinois Vounteers, command 
 ing the Second Brigade, by his coolness and bravery entitles himself to 
 be named among the most competent of officers for command of troops 
 in battle. In our second engagement he was three times wounded, and 
 fell prisoner in the hands of the enemy. 
 
 Among the killed was Lieut. Col. A. Wentz, Seventh Iowa Volun 
 teers, and among the wounded were Col. J. G. Lauman and Maj. E. W. 
 Rice, of the Seventh Iowa. 
 
 The reports of sub commanders will detail more fully particulars 
 of the engagement, and the conduct of both officers and men. 
 
 To my staff, Capt. John A. Rawlins, assistant adjutant-general; 
 Liems. C. B. Lagow and William S. Hillyer, aides-de-camp, and Capt. 
 R. B. Hatch, assistant quartermaster, I am much indebted for the 
 promptitude with which they discharged their several duties. 
 
 Surg. J. H. Brinlon, U. S. volunteers, chief medical officer, was on 
 the field during the entire engagement, and displayed great ability and 
 efficiency in caring for the wounded, and in organizing the medical 
 corps. 
 
 Maj. J. D. Webster, acting chief engineer, also accompanied me 
 on the field, and displayed soldierly qualities of a high order. 
 
 My own horse was shol under me during the engagement. 
 
 The gunboats Tyler, Capt. Walke, and Lexington, Capt. Stem- 
 bel, convoyed the expedition, and rendered most efficient service. Im 
 mediately upon our landing they engaged the enemy s batteries on the 
 heights above Columbus, arid protected our transports throughout. For 
 a detailed acount of the part taken by them I refer with pleasure to 
 the accompanying report of Capt. Walke, senior (No. 3). 
 
 In pursuance of my request, General Smith,commanding at Padu- 
 cah, sent on the 7th insiant a force to Mayfield, Ky., and another in the 
 direction of Columbus, with orders not to approach nearer, however, 
 than 12 or 15 miles of that place. 1 plso sent a small force on the Ken 
 tucky side towards Columbus, under Col. John Cook, Seventh Illinois 
 Volunteers, with orders not to go beyona Elliott s Mills, distant some 12 
 miles from Columbus. These forces having marched to the points desig- 
 
26 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 natecl in their orders, returned without having met serious resistance. 
 
 On the evening of the 7th Jafoi nation of the result of the engage 
 ment at Belmont was sent to Colonel Oglesby commanding expedition 
 against Jeff. Thompson and orders to return to Bird s Point by way of 
 Chariostown, Mo. Before these reached him, however, he had learned 
 that Jelf. Thompson had left the place where he was reported to be when 
 the expedition started (he having gone towards New Madrid or Arkan 
 sas) and had determined to return. The same information was sent to 
 the commanding oficer at Cape Gii&rdeau with directions for the 
 troops to I e brought hack that had gone out from that place. 
 
 From all the information 1 have been able to obtain since the en 
 gagement, the enemy s loss in killed and wounded was much greater 
 than ours. We captured 175 prisoners, all his artillery and transporta 
 tion, and destroyed his entire camp and garrison equipage. Independ 
 ent of the injuries inflicted upon In 11 and the prevention of his re-en 
 forcing Price or sending a force to cut oft the expeditions against Jeff. 
 Thompson the confidence inspired in our troops in the engagement will 
 be of incalculable benefit to u.s in the future. 
 
 Very respectfully your cbetfient servant, 
 
 U. S. GRANT, 
 
 Brigadier-General. 
 Brig. Gen. FE1H WILLIAMS, 
 
 Assistant Adjutant-General, Washington, D. C. 
 
 REPORT OF COMMANDER HENRY WALKE, U. S. NAVY. 
 
 U. S. GUNBOAT TYLER, 
 Mound City, November 9, 1861. 
 
 GENERAL: Agreeably to your instructions, I proceeded on the 
 evening of the 6th, in company with the U. S. gunboat Lexington, un 
 der Commander Stembel, down the Mississippi, convoying a number of 
 transport steamers as far as opposite Norfolk and near the Kentucky 
 shore, where we all anchored .for the night. At 3 o clock the following 
 morning the gunboats Tyler and Lexington proceeded down the river 
 with the intention of engaging the enemy at Iron Banks but after run 
 ning a short distance we were met by such a dense fog as to render any 
 further progress hazardous and unfeasible. We therefore rounded to, 
 and returned to the point from whence we started. I received your 
 special order, and at 6 o clock we all started, the gunboats taking 
 the lead. We proceeded to the extreme end of Lucas Bend, where I 
 supposed we were out of the range of their guns. After our troops were 
 disembarked and under marching orders about 8:30 o clock, the two 
 gunboats proceeded to engage the batteries on Iron Banks. We each 
 expended several rounds of shell with seemingly good effect, but their 
 balls from the rifled cannon flew by and over us to a great extent, some 
 of the shot going half a mile beyond the transports. Fortunately, how- 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 27 
 
 ever, they did us no damage, and we returned to the transports, where 
 they kept firing at us for a considerable length of time. I finally re 
 quested the captains of the transports to move above and out of the 
 range of their guns, which subsequently they did, we ourselves doing 
 likewise. 
 
 At 10 o clock, hearing the battle at Belmont, our two boats again 
 proceeded down to engage their batteries, this time expending more 
 shell and receiving no injury. After an engagement of about twenty 
 minutes in the meantime the shots flying thickly about us we again 
 returned to the transports, continuing our fire as long as our shells 
 reached them. 
 
 At noon, hearing the continued firing at Belmont, the two gunboats 
 made their third attack upon the enemy s batteries, this time going 
 nearly a quarter of a mile nearer. We opened a brisk fire of shell, 
 directing many of them to the enemy s camp at Belmont, their rifled 
 balls still passing beyond and around us, but one of their 24 pounders 
 struck us on the starboard bulwarks, continuing obliquely through the 
 spar deck, and in its course taking off the head of one man injuring 
 two others, one quite seriously. 
 
 After firing a few more rounds we returned, keeping up our fire 
 from the stern guns till out of reach. It is truly miraculous that we 
 have in all our engagements escaped with so little damage. After 
 nearly all the troops had re-embarked and were about ready to start, a 
 sudden attack was made upon the transport vessels by an apparently 
 large re-enforcements of the rebels. Our boats being in good position, 
 we opened fire with our grape, canister, and 5-second shells, and com 
 pletely routed them we learn with great slaughter. After silencing 
 the enemy, we continued our fire with the broadside guns, throwing 
 shell on the banks ahead with the bow gun to protect the transports, 
 and throwing shell from the stern gun upon the enemy s ground so 
 long as we were in reach. 
 
 After passing a few miles up the river we met the Chancellor, 
 with Brigadier-General McClernand on board, who stated that some of 
 their troops had been left behind, and by his direction both gunboats 
 returned some distance, picking up between us all there to be seen, to 
 gether with a large number of prisoners, some wounded and sick. 
 Every attention was paid to alleviate the sufferings of the wounded, 
 Acting Surgeons Kearney and Goddard dresing their wounds, and 
 the crew of the ships furnishing them with their own hammocks and 
 bedding. We then returned to Island No. 1; met the Rob Roy, with 
 instructions from you; turned over to her all our soldiers and prisoners, 
 and remained there till an hour after Colonel Cook s return from a 
 reconnaissance down the Kentucky side. We then weighed anchor and 
 proceeded to Cairo. Commander Stembel, with the Lexington as con- 
 
28 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 sort, supportd me in all the duties of the day with most commendable 
 energy and in a most effective manner. 
 
 Most respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 H. WALKE, 
 Commander, U. S. Navy. 
 BRIG. GEN. U. S. GRANT, 
 
 Commanding District Southeast Missouri. 
 
 LIEUT. COL. WENTZ AT BELMON/T. 
 
 My recollection of this officer covers but a short time. He was 
 a German and universally beloved and admired. There was in 
 camp at the time of the battle of Belmont a number of the wives of 
 officers Col. Wentz among them. They saw their husbands off the 
 evening before as they embarked on the steamers and turned their 
 heads down stream towards the enemy. The emotions of that hour 
 who may tell? The trial was only one of many thousands repeated 
 again and again all over the land in that awful four years horror. 
 
 The morning of the battle as we had moved close up to the skirm 
 ish line and heard the brisk fire of the skirmishes and saw now and then 
 one of them being brought to the rear all covered with their blood it 
 seemed a very trying moment. Col. Wentz came riding along slowly 
 laughing and talking to the men and telling them how badly scared 
 the enemy were thus breaking the force of that sickening sight. No 
 doubt this helped many a poor fellow to stand up and do his duty 
 creditably that day. 
 
 After going through the main battle and as the regiment was mov 
 ing off the field and n earing the timber on the west, while I was 
 momentarily back with Co. "B," Major, afterwards Gen. E. W. Rice, 
 rode up and told us that Col. Wentz was wounded and had fallen 
 from his horse then a little ways to rear and ordered four of us to go 
 back and bring him off the field; we went and found him, picked him 
 up and carried him a ways until he requested us to lay him down. He 
 felt he could go no further. We laid him down in the shelter of a 
 large high stump. We ministered to him there as best we could 
 giving him water and in trying to loosen his clothing could not get his 
 sword belt undone and had to cut it to get it off. 
 
 As he could not bear 10 be carried further and was fast sinking a 
 hurried consultation was held. We were in extreme danger of being 
 captured as our forces had gone. The spot was swept by the batteries 
 from Columbus and they were using them, several shots striking close 
 to us and no telling how soon the infantry would be upon us. It was 
 said he is good as dead and we had better save ourselves from being 
 captured. 
 
 So two of the four started to catch the regiment and in a short 
 time the third man thought it right for him to go too. I gave the Col. s 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 29 
 
 revolver to him and told him if possible to take that back to the Coh s 
 wife. 
 
 The end soon came as he sank rapidly. He had requested me to 
 stay with him and now having done all I could I gathered up his sword 
 and struck out after the command afoot and alone; caught up after 
 awhile with the 27th Ills., and came off with them and back up the river 
 on one of the gun boats to Cairo and over to our camp at Bird s Foint 
 about 2:00 o clock at night. Next morning reported my experience to 
 company headquarters and turned over the sword to Mrs. Wentz and 
 received her thanks and some personal effects of the Col s for keep 
 sakes. Here let me explain another matter. The question was asked 
 why did you not also take his watch and other valuables? I was young 
 and the experience was new and terribly exciting. The thought of tak 
 ing those things back to his wife came to me, but the thought of poing 
 into thn dead man s pocket was repugnant to me, and should I be 
 wounded, killed or captured with those things found in my possession 
 with the possibility of my motives in taking them being misconstrued 
 was just terrible. So I took only his sword thinking his family would 
 prize that more than anything else. 
 
 I think it only a just portrayal of the temper of those times to 
 state that when in a day or two, under a flag of truce, some of our army 
 went back to bury the dead they found Col. Wentz where we laid him 
 down but his body had been stripped of his clothing down to his un 
 derwear and everything of value on his person taken. It may be well 
 for the coming generations to know that the pure hellishness of our 
 enemies at that time seemed but one remove in atrocity above a black- 
 foot Indian. 
 
 Respectfully submitted, 
 
 SERGT. J. C. PERCY, 
 
 Co. E, 7th Iowa Infty. 
 CONFEDERATE REPORT. 
 HD.QRS. FIRST DIV., WESTERN DEPARTMENT, 
 
 Columbus, Ky., November 10, 1861. 
 
 I have the honor to submit the following report of the operations 
 of the army under my command in the battle of Belmont the 7th inst: 
 
 From information received from several sources I had reason to 
 believe it was the intention of the enemy to attack my position at this 
 place at an early day, provision to meet which was made accordingly. 
 Between 2 and 3 o clock on the morning of the 7th a courier arrived at 
 my headquarters, Informing me of the movement of a strong force de 
 signed to attack General Thompson s position at Bloomfleld and New 
 Madrid. When, therefore, I was informed shortly after daybreak, 
 through a member of my staff, that the enemy had made his appear 
 ance in the river with gunboats and transports, and was landing a con- 
 
30 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 siderable force on the Missouri shore, 5 or 6 miles from Belmont, I 
 became satisfied it was his intention to make the attack general. I 
 dispatched immediately messengers to the general officers of division 
 to inform them of my impressions and the position of affairs, with 
 instructions to make such disposition of their commands as the emer 
 gency required. 
 
 The same information was conveyed to Colonel Tappen, who was 
 in command of the force at Belmont. To General Pillow, whose division 
 was nearest the point immediately threatened, I gave orders in person 
 to move immediately to the relief of Colonel Tappen with four of his 
 regiments. For this service he detailed Colonel Russell s, Colonel 
 Wright s, Colonel Pickett s, and Colonel Freeman s regiments of Tenn 
 essee volenteers. These, with Colonel Tappan s Thirteenth Arkansas, 
 Captain Beltzhoover s Watson Battery, and a squadron of Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Miller, s battalion of cavalry, composing the force on the other 
 side, were deemed sufficient to resist the column reported to have land 
 ed. Having an adequate number of steamers at the landing, this order 
 was promptly executed. * * 
 
 Having examined and found the batteries in the fort in a proper 
 condition, I proceeded up the river to examine the dispositions of Gen 
 eral McCown,who was charged with the defences of the left flank. These 
 I found to be satisfactory. He had already advanced a battery of long- 
 range guns, under the comand of Capt. R. A. Stewart, of the Louisana 
 Pointe Coupee Battery, to a position from whence he could reach with 
 ease the enem y,s gunboats. 
 
 From this point and that occupied by the heavy siege battery, un 
 der command of Captain Hamilton, as also from several of the guns of 
 the fort, he opened a heavy fire, which was d uly responded to by the en. 
 emy. After half an hour s engagement the boats were driven up the 
 river. At a subsequent period they again dropped down and renewed 
 the conflict, throwing shot and shell into the works. This was contin 
 ued for an hour, when they again were forced to retire. 
 
 Ascertaining that the remaining portion of General Pillow s divi 
 sion, as well as that of General Cheatham, was in proper position, I re 
 turned to the river bank opposite to Belmont. At 10:20 o clock the fir 
 ing of the enemy s advanced guard upon our pickets was heard, and in 
 about forty minutes afterwards the engagement became general with all 
 arms. 
 
 Taking my position on the river bank midway between the two 
 points of expected attack, I dispatched one of my aides to the Missouri 
 shore to inform General Pillow of my position and readiness to afford 
 him such support as he might require. In reply he requested me to send 
 him additional ammunition, a regiment of infantry, and a section of ar 
 tillery, to be held as a reserve. The ammunition and Col. Knox Walk- 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 31 
 
 er s regiment were sent him immediately and instead of a section of ar 
 tillery I dispatched him two field batteries those of Capts. W. H. Jack 
 son and Polk. Such a force of field artillery had become necessary 
 from the fact that Captain Beltzhoover s battery from want of ammu 
 nition had ceased firing, and the enemy had opened fire with a heavy 
 battery, of the presence of which upon the field I had until then not 
 been apprised. The steamer transporting these batteries, in her attempt 
 to land them on the Missouri shore, by some means lost her stage pianks 
 and the landing at that moment became impossible. She was forced 
 to return to the Kentucky shore. Captain Folk s battery was landed 
 at a later hour, but too late to render service in operations of the day. 
 By this time it was obvious that further re-inforcements had be 
 come necessary, and Colonel Caroll s Fifteenth Tennessee and Colonel 
 Marks Eleventh Louisiana Regiment, which had been ordered to the 
 river bank and held as a reserve, were ordered forward. I directed 
 Colonel Marks to land his regiment higher up the river, with a view to 
 a flank movement which he was ordered to make. Shortly after his 
 landing he was met by General Pillow, who directed him, with his regi 
 ment and that of Colonel Carroll, to move rapidly on the enemy s flank. 
 General Pillow directed Colonel Russell, with his brigade, to support 
 that movement, and himself accompanied this command during the ex 
 ecution of the movement under Colonel Marks. Captain Jackson, who 
 had reported to General Pillow that he could not get his battery ashore, 
 was attached to his staff, and directed to lead this column. In aiding 
 Lieutenant Colonel Barrow, who was in immediate command of the 
 Eleventh Louisiana, to bring a portion of the column into line, he fell 
 severely wounded. 
 
 It was obvious, from the yielding of our columns to the heavy 
 pressure of the masses of the enemy s infantry and the fierce assaults 
 of their battery, that further re-inforcements were necessary. I ordered 
 down General Cheatham, with the First Brigade of his divison, under 
 command of Colonel Preston Smith. The General, having arrived in ad 
 vance of his brigade, was directed by me to take the nearest steamer 
 and to move promptly across the river to rally and take command of 
 the portions of regiments within sight on the shore, and to support the 
 flank movement ordered through Colonel Marks. This he did promptly 
 and effectively. 
 
 At this juncture the enemy fired on our tents, and advancing his 
 battery nearer the river bank opened a^ heavy fire on the steamers which 
 were transporting our troops, in some instances driving shot through 
 two of them at the same time. Their commanding pilots and other of- 
 ficers,nevertheless, stood firmly at their posts, and exhibited a fearless 
 ness and energy deserving of the highest praise. These boats were 
 the Prince, under Captain Butler, who particularly distinguished him- 
 
32 
 
 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 self, the Charm, under Captain Trask, and the Hill, under Captain 
 Newell, with the Kentucky, under Captain Lodwick. 
 
 I directed Capt. Smith s Mississippi battery to move to the river 
 bank, opposite the field of conflict, and to open upon the enemy s posi 
 tions. I also directed Maj. A. P. Stewart, in. command of the heavy 
 guns in the fort, to open upon the same position, it being now seen that 
 these guns could be used without causing danger to our own troops. 
 
 This joint flre was so terriflc as to dislodge the enemy, silence his 
 battery, and cause him to take up his line of march for his boats. He 
 had scarcely put himself in motion when he encountered Colonel Marks 
 flrst and afterwards General Cheatham in his flank, with both of whom 
 severe conflicts followed, and by whom he was driven in with great loss. 
 
 On the arrival of General Cheatham s brigade, I took charge of 
 it, together with Captain White s company of Lieutenant Colonel Log 
 wood s battalion of cavalry, and proceeded with them across the river, 
 having first ordered two regiments of General McCown s division to 
 follow. 
 
 On landing I was met by Generals Pillow and Cheatham, whom I 
 directed, with the regiments of General Cheatham s command and por 
 tions of others, to press the enemy to the boats. This order was exe 
 cuted with alacrity and in double-quick time. The route over which 
 we passed was strewn with the dead and wounded of the conflicts of 
 Colonel Marks and General Cheatham, already alluded to, and with 
 arms, knapsacks, overcoats, &c. 
 
 On arriving at the point where his transports lay, I ordered the 
 column, headed by the One hundred and fifty-fourth senior regiment 
 of Tennesssee Volunteers, under cover of a field thickly set with corn, 
 to be deployed along the river bank within easy range of the boats. 
 This being accomplished, a heavy fire was opened upon them simulta 
 neously, riddling them with balls, and, as we have reason to believe, 
 with heavy loss to the enemy. Under this galling fire he cut his lines 
 and retreated from the shore, many of his soldiers being driven over 
 board by the rush of those behind them. Our fire was returned by the 
 heaviest cannonading from his gunboats, which discharged upon our 
 lines showers of grope, cannister, and shell as they retired with their 
 convoy in the direction of Cairo. It being now sunset, and being left 
 in possession of the field, I ordered the troops to retire. 
 
 My first acknowledgements of this signal triumph of our arms 
 and the defeat of the machinations of our enemies are due to the favor 
 ing providence of Almighty God, by which his plans were unvailed and 
 frustrated, and by which the hearts of our troops were made strong in 
 the day of battle. Confiding in the justice of our cause, we have tilt 
 we could put our trust in His protection and defense, and He has given 
 us the victory. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 33 
 
 Our thanks are due to the brave officers and soldiers who, under 
 God, were the instruments of this victory. To Brigadier-General Pillow, 
 to whom the -duty of receiving the enemy s atack was assigned, is due 
 the credit of meeting that attack with firmness, and of sustaining the 
 heat of the conflict in. the early part of the engagement. This he did 
 with persistent energy and gallantry, courageously supporting and en 
 couraging his troops by cheering words and personal example. 
 
 The firmness with which Col. J. V. Wright and his gallant regi 
 ment sustained themselves on the left flank of the first line of battle, as 
 elsewhere, merits strong commendation. 
 
 The Watson Battery was served with decided ability and unflinch 
 ing courage by its commander, Captain Beltzhoover, who retired his 
 guns from the field only after he had exhausted his ammunition. In 
 this connection also, as belonging to the same command, it is due to 
 Colonel Tappan and his regiment to say that the promptness with which 
 they prepared for the enemy, and the determined courage with which 
 they sustained their part of the general conflict are entitled to appro 
 bation. 
 
 To Capt. M. Smith, of the Mississippi battery, and to Maj. A. P. 
 Stewart, who directed the artillery in the fort, I am particularly in 
 debted for the skill and judgment manifested in the service of the guns 
 under their command, to the joint fire from which I feel not a little in 
 debted for turning the fortunes of the day. 
 
 But to recite in detail all the instances of skill and courage dis 
 played by individual commanders and their several commands would be 
 to run well through the list of those who were engaged, and to partici 
 pate also the reports of the division and regimental commanders. 
 
 The battle was fought against great odds, both as to numbers and 
 position. The Mississippi River dividing the field placed us at a disad 
 vantage which it was necessary to overcome, and although we expe 
 rienced an occasional reverse, these reverses were soon repaired, and 
 the results of the day proved beyond all doubt the superiority ot our 
 troops in all the essential characterictics of the soldier. 
 
 To Acting Asistant Adjutant-General Blake, C. S. Army; Lieuten 
 ant Dixon, C. S. Army Engineers; Captain Champney, Ordinance; 
 Lieutanent Snowden, C. S. Army Topographical Corps; Maj. H. W. 
 Winslow, acting aide-de-camp, all members of my staff, I feel indebted 
 for their prompt*. ,s and activity in execution of my orders and for 
 their support in directing the operations of the day. 
 
 In a conflict continued through so many hours and so hotly con 
 tested the list of casualties must be expected to be large. Our loss in 
 killed was 105; wounded, 419; missing, 117. Total, 641. 
 
 The number of prisoners taken by the enemy, as shown by their 
 list furnished us, was 106, all of whom have been returned by exchange. 
 
34 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 Of the enemy s loss we have no means of accurate information, 
 but from all sources open to us, the condition of the field, the list of 
 prisoners taken by us, the report of those returned to us, and the re 
 ports of the enemy, I am satisfied it cannot fall short of 1,500; fourteen- 
 fifteenths of that number must have been killed, wounded and drowned. 
 After making a liberal exchange of the captured with the enemy 
 100 of their prisoners remain still in my hands. I have also a stand of 
 colors, a fraction over 1,000 stand of arms, with knapsacks, ammuni 
 tion, and other military stores. 
 
 Respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 L. POLK, 
 Major-General, Commanding. 
 
 After the battle of Belmont the regiment returned to their camp at 
 Birds Point, the wounded being taken to Mound City, 111., six miles 
 above Cairo, on the Ohio river, where the general hospital was located. 
 On the 14th of Nov., we were relieved by the Tenth Iowa; embarked on 
 board the steamer Memphis for St. Louis to rest and recruit. We were 
 honored by a salute from the batteries and accompanied by the bands 
 to the boat. We arrived at St. Louis on the 16th. We marched through 
 the city to Benton Barracks being reviewed enroute by Major General 
 Curtis; at the barracks we were greeted with cheers and salutes by 
 four new Iowa regiments in line at the entrance; after we were set 
 tled, details were made from officers and men to go to Iowa on recruit 
 ing service to fill up the depleted ranks caused by the heavy losses in 
 the late strife and service. The regiment remained at the barracks un 
 til the 13th of January, when they embarked on the steamer Continen 
 tal bound again south for the front, before we had time to get recruits 
 or much recuperation. In the meantime Captain Parrott was appoint 
 ed Lieut. Colonel, in "the place of Lieut. Col. Wentz, killed at Belmont. 
 The weather was bitter cold; as there was only room in the cabin for 
 a small portion of the command, the men crawled under the boilers 
 and anywhere to try and keep warm; during the night of the 14th the 
 steamer froze fast in the ice in mid stream near Sulphur Springs. Af 
 ter ah unsuccessful effort to free the boat, the regiment debarked, car 
 rying the baggage, camp and garrison equipage ashore on their backs 
 over the ice; we were then loaded on the cars and returned to St. Louis 
 and billeted in the Chamber of Commerce bulling, where we thawed out 
 and filled up with hot coffee, regular rations and next day we crossed 
 the river and took train for Cairo, where we arrived on the 18th. Dur 
 ing the trip one man in company "F" had both legs crushed under the 
 cars and died from the effects. On the 19th the regiment was loaded 
 on the steamer Memphis and taken to Fort Holt where we debarked, 
 
VFTERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 35 
 
 went into camp and remained until the 24th the river rose and drove us 
 out, so that we had to abandon our camp, go aboard the steamer Chan 
 cellor where we proceeded to Smithland, Ky., leaving our sick at the 
 hospital at Mound City en-route. The weather having been cold, wet 
 and disagreeable since leaving our sick at the hospital at Mound City 
 and disagreeable since leaving St. Louis there was much sickness and 
 suffering during that time. We arrived at Smithland, Ky., at the 
 mouth of the Cumberland river, on the 25th and went into camp at Fort 
 Smith, where we had opportunity to rest; other regiments arrived and 
 General Lew Wallace took command. On the 5th we again embarked 
 on steamers and proceeded to Paducah, Ky., arriving the same day, 
 in the midst of a heavy down pour of rain; we tied up remaining on 
 board all night and the next moning proceeded and debarked about 3 
 miles below and in sight of Ft. Henry .occupied by the enemy. As soon as 
 the regiment could be got together.it was ordered to the interior,to get 
 in rear of the fort to cut off the rebel retreat, in case the fleet, then 
 in the river should succeed in shelling them out. The roads were al 
 most impassible with mud and swollen streams caused by constant rains 
 so that it took us until dark. We finally got within half a mile of the 
 fort to find it evacuated, as they could not stand the fire from the 
 fleet. On the morning of the 7th we marched into the fort, saw the 
 dead confederates and the havoc made by the gun boats in the naval 
 battle the day before. General Grant in his memoirs says that; "All 
 the gunboats were hit many times. The damage, however, beyond 
 what could be repaired by a small expenditure of money, was slight, 
 except to the Essex. A shell penetrated the boiler of that vessel and ex 
 ploded it, killing and wounding forty-eight men, nineteen of whom 
 were soldiers who had been detailed to act with the navy. After the 
 fall of Fort Henry Captain Walke, commanding the iron-clad Caron- 
 delet, at my request ascended the Tennessee river and thoroughly de 
 stroyed the bridge of the Memphis and Ohio railroad." 
 
 The weather at this time was cold, wet and disagreeable and we 
 had very little to eat, so that the troops had to resort to foraging from 
 the surrounding country, the most of which consisted of sheep, cattle 
 and hogs, all of which were spring poor, making it very unpalatable, 
 but it was a case of that or nothing, until we could get rations from 
 our base of supplies. We occupied the rebels shebangs, as our camp 
 equipage had not arrived. Heavy details werejnade while we were 
 there to fix roads and build bridges, until the camp was threatened with 
 inundation, when we were compelled to remove. On the 12th we broke 
 camp and marched across country twelve miles to Ft. Donaldson, under 
 direct command of General Grant. 
 
 We remained at Fort Henry until the 12th, furnishing heavy de 
 tails to fix roads and build bridges on roads leading to Fort Donaldson; 
 
36 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 the river rose so rapidly that we were practically driven out of our 
 camp. The regiment arrived at Fort Donaldson after a hard march of 
 twelve miles through mud, wet, dirty and exhausted; the weather clear 
 ed up and was very cold and we were without any means of shelter, 
 many of the men having thrown away their wet blankets and over 
 coats to keep from str agling. Our brigade as now organized consist 
 ed of the 2nd, 7th, and 14th Iowa and the 25th Indiana, under command 
 of our old Colonel, J. G. Lauman, in General Smith s Division. 
 
 BY W. R. AKERS. 
 
 On the day following our entrance into Port Henry there occurred 
 an amusing and rather bellicose incident, which many of our comrades 
 will recall. From the hour that we decamped from our transports a 
 few miles below the fort, until by a circuitous, and somewhat belated 
 course, we arrived at the Fort, we were treated to frequent and copious 
 showers of rain*; and it was with great difficulty that we were at all 
 able to make progress, on account of swollen bayous and "black wa 
 ter," or find a dry spot on which to rest or sleep for the brief intervals 
 during which the command halted, to find a way out, or await the ap 
 proach of morning. 
 
 When at length we reached the already fallen and abandoned 
 Fort, it was in a bedraggled condition everybody thoroughly soaked, 
 and arms of all kinds in sore need of overhauling and a general clean 
 ing and polishing up, in this work of love, for such the majority of 
 our comrades regarded a few hours spent on their pet guns, small arms, 
 and accruterments, almost the entire command was engaged. It will be 
 remembered, that we had taken possssion of the rather comfortable 
 huts of the enemy and were having a sort of free and easy, "happy go 
 lucky" time of it, in the absence of the usual camp restrictions or re 
 straints of any kind save such as were self imposed. 
 
 The Tennessee River was swollen out of its banks, and countless 
 objects, such as logs and stumps, etc., etc., were drifting down from 
 the upper tributaries and overflowed valleys presenting fine oppor 
 tunities for the display of good and bad marksmanship, as the splash 
 of the ball overreaching or falling short could be plainly seen and 
 marked for a distance of fully a mile or more. It will no doubt forever 
 remain a secret past finding out, who the comrade was who first oiled 
 up his revolver and stepped out to take a shot at a far distant black 
 object a "floater" mayhap in the midst of that rushing watery waste. 
 
 But in this case as in most others, example was contagious, and 
 in shorter time than it takes to tell the story, the irregular margin of 
 the river was lined for a half a mile with the boys, each anxious to 
 establish his claim, for the best shooting iron in the company as well 
 as his own unerring marksmanship. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 37 
 
 The result was a regular fussilade, that resembled nothing so 
 much as a spirited attack upon our pickets and the warm reception 
 our boys were in the habit of extending to our visiting friends (?) in 
 grey. In the mean time Gen. Grant, just then upon the threshhold of 
 his immortal career, was making a personal examination of the en 
 vironments of Ft. Donaldson, and the several roads, leading thereto, 
 over which he proposed, in a few days to lead his conquering army. 
 
 Returning to Ft. Henry, he was no doubt greatly surprised, and 
 probably a little worried, on hearing what seemed to him, a veritable 
 "Opening of the ball." Had the enemy, in some mysterious manner, 
 eluded him and returning to the scene of their recent defeat, were now 
 driving in his pickets, preparatory to an assault upon his devoted little 
 army. Certain it is, that he was greatly disturbed by this inexplicable 
 "breaking out," and no less annoyed and provoked when on the extreme 
 left of the fray, far in advance of his staff, and bespattered with mud, 
 he arrived upon the scene of the^-shooting match. 
 
 Th 7th Iowa had the honor of guarding the extreme left of that 
 invincible line, and also the greater honor of receiving the General as 
 he rode, furious and pell mell, into their astonished ranks. 
 
 "Tush" Harrington, of Co. "G," had just borrowed my revolver, 
 and had just fired the "last shot in the locker," as the General seized 
 him by the nape of the neck or the top of the head (I was so interested 
 and excited party justat that critical moment and did not pay special 
 attention to particulars) and commanded him to fork over the afore 
 said and still smoking revolver. "Tush" never did particularly object 
 to forking over anything he could spare and especially free and good 
 hearted was he in this regard, when the property belonged as in this 
 case, to the other fellow as was usually the case with most things 
 that "Tush" was caught fooling with. 
 
 The now irate fifer proceeded to take a hand. Instinctively di- 
 Tining that some dire disaster was about to overtake his favorite 
 "poper" and in blissful ignorance of who the gentleman in mud might 
 be, he grabbed the barrel of the revolver, and not only arrested the 
 transfer of the property, but badly frightened the General s horse 
 and General, horse, and irate fifer, all went into the revolver business. 
 The resulting scene would have been capital material for a modern 
 moving picture. Now the General rose in his stirups and lifting John 
 out of his boots, so to speak, surged, and jerked and yanked, while his 
 horse reared, and whirled, carrying the "fifer" in circles around him, 
 his heels in the air, holding on like grim death to the revolver with one 
 hand, and to some part of the enemies outfit with the other. A con 
 siderable crowd has quickly gathered in a circle about the "storm cen 
 ter," and were silent spectators. At length nature and hair brained 
 pluck gave way to superior forces, and John went sprawling in the 
 
38 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 mud. But tho breathless and exhausted true to his well known fail 
 ing, he proceeded to lavish upon the General some of his choicest bou 
 quets of "sass." 
 
 The staff had long since arrived and viewed with undisguised 
 surprise this encounter between the infantry and the cavalry. An "or 
 derly" is quietly ordered to arrest the boy with the mouth and here 
 General Grant made one mistake, if he never made another rising 
 in his stirrups he threw the revolver into the river, and galloped away 
 amid the shouts and jeers of the crowd, for few, if any of them knew 
 that he was General Grant. 
 
 And now for the sequel. 
 
 John was escorted to the steamer "New Uncle Sam," which lay 
 at the wharf and was being used as guard house and prison in the ab 
 sence of any other. Within half an hour the sergeant returned and 
 told him to go to "his quarters. 
 
 The point into which the revolver was thrown happened to be over 
 flow, and not more than waist deep, and in a few minutes the boys had 
 "waded in" and recovered the revolver and had it high and dry when 
 John got back. Thus ended probably the only hand to hand combat 
 with which General Grant ever honored a private soldier. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 39 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 BATTLE OF FORT DONALSON. 
 
 Early in the morning of the 13th we were hastily formed in line, 
 on the extreme left of our army to advance through the mud to take 
 position, about three quarters of a mile of the Fort, where we laid all 
 day under artillery fire. We could distinctly hear the gun boats en- 
 engaging the enemy on the river front all day. On the 14th, after 
 spending a sleepless night in the cold snow and sleet without shelter, 
 we were held in reserve for the day while the gunboats were bombard 
 ing the Fort. The fleet failed to dislodge them, so after doing consid 
 erable damage to the fleet and wounding Commodore Foote, they with 
 drew, without apparently accomplishing much. During the night of the 
 15th it snowed again and being without fires or shelter the troops suf 
 fered intensely. Fires were not allowed at night as it drew the fire of 
 the enemy from the fort; as it was they sent shells over occasionally 
 into our camp, creating a good deal of confusion at times. On the right 
 we could hear very heavy firing, where the rebels made a desperate 
 charge on McClernand s division, trying to escape, they did break 
 through his lines at one time creating considerable confusion and de 
 moralization, but General Thayer went to his support with a brigade, 
 drove them back and re-established our lines. At about three o clock 
 p. m., our brigade was formed in column by regiments for the final 
 charge, in the following order: 2nd Iowa in advance, to be followed 
 by the 25th Indiana,7th Iowa,and the 14th Iowa; they laid low under the 
 protection of the hill, awaiting the order, which soon came. For some 
 unaccountable reason the 52nd Indiana did not respond, so the 7th 
 jumped over their prostrate forms, followed by the 14th, and charged 
 up the hill close up to the 2nd, going over the outer works about the 
 same time with the gallant 2nd which stood the brunt of the charge 
 and the heaviest loss. General Smith who commanded our division, 
 displayed great gallantry and coolness, advancing mounted with the 
 men, cheering and urging them on, distinguishing himself and 
 commanding admiration in the minds of all who witnesesd his daring 
 exposure, amid a murderous fire of shells, grape, canister and 
 musketry. 
 
 It was impossible to keep much of an allignment in the charge, 
 on acount of the obstruction, abitis and natural conformation of the 
 land, so that the men went over the works in some disorder, but 
 
40 HISTORY^OF.THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 the result was accomplished, the outer works taken and held, although 
 the charging command found it necessary to crawl back on the out 
 side of the works to get away from the fire of the enemy in the fort 
 proper, at so close range, as it was night the troops without orders 
 contented themselves with holding their ground, when morning dis 
 played the white flag over the main fort and General Smith had 
 received a note from the Confederate General Buckner, asking for an 
 armitice to arrange terms of surrender, which was submitted to General 
 Grant, and elicited his immortal reply. "No terms except an uncon 
 ditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to 
 move immediately upon your works." to which General Buckner re 
 luctantly but immediately acceeded -to and the battle was over. 
 
 As usual they claimed an inferior force; but reports show 
 that the troops engaged on each side were about equal. General Grant 
 had all told 27,000 men of all arms. Our commissary general of 
 prisoners reported having issued 14,623 rations to prisoners captured; 
 Generals Floyd and Pillow got away on their transports, the night 
 of the 15th with 3,000 men. Forrest sneaked up under the river bank 
 with 1000 cavalry and forded the river at the shoals and escaped and 
 others got away singly and in squads all night and General Pillow 
 reported his loss at 2,000 in the battles in defence of the fort. 
 
 The loss in the Second Iowa in this charge was forty one killed 
 and one hundred and fifty-seven wounded, while the losses in the 
 Seventh were thirty-nine killed and wounded. The charging troops 
 were allowed the privilege of occupying the rebel quarters, which 
 in that inclement season of the year, made it more comfortable than 
 sleeping in the snow without tents or shelter. The losses from 
 sickness and exposure on this campaign were more severe than the 
 casualities of battle as we were so long without shelter, proper ra 
 tions and camp equipage. 
 
 General Grant s memoirs recites that, "There seems from sub 
 sequent accounts to have been much consternation, particularly among 
 the officers of high rank, in Dover during the night of the 15th. 
 General Floyd the commanding officer, who was a man of talent 
 enough for a civil position, was no soldier and, possibly, did not 
 possess the elements of one. He was further unfitted for the command, 
 for the reason that his conscience must have troubled him and made 
 him afraid. As Secretary of War he had taken a solemn oath to 
 maintain the Constitution of the United States and to uphold the 
 same against all its enemies. He had betrayed the trust. As Secre 
 tary of War he was reported through the northern press to have 
 scattered the little army the country had so that the most of it could 
 be picked up in detail when secession occurred. About a year before 
 leaving the Cabinet he had removd arms from northern to southern 
 
E. W. HERMAN, CO. " G. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY j 41 
 
 arsenals; He continued in the Cabinet until abont the first of January 
 
 1861, while he was working vigilantly for the establishment of a Con 
 federacy made out of United States territory. Well may he have been 
 afraid to fall into the hands of National troops. He no doubt would 
 have been tried for mis-appropriating public property, if not for 
 treason, had he been captured. General Pillow, next in command, was 
 conceited and prided himself on his services in the Mexican war. 
 He telegraphed to General Johnston at Nashville, after our men were 
 in the rifle pits,, and almost on the eve of making his escape, that the 
 Southern troops had had great success all day. Johnston forwarded 
 the dispatch to Richmond, while the authorities at the capital were 
 reading it Floyd and Pillow were fugitives. 
 
 A council of war was held by the enemy at which all agreed that 
 it would be imposible to hold out longer. General Buckner who was 
 third in rank in the garrison, but much the most capable soldier, 
 seems to have regarded it a duty to hold the fort until the general 
 commanding the department, A. S. Johnston, should get back to his 
 headquarters at Nashville. Buckner s report however showed that 
 he considered Donelson lost and that any attempt to hold the place 
 longer would be at the sacrifice of the command. Being assured that 
 Johnston was already at Nashville, Buskner to agreed that surrender 
 was the proper thing. Floyd turned over the command to Pillow, who 
 declined it. It then developed upon Buckner, who accepted the re 
 sponsibility of the position. Floyd and Pillow took possession of all 
 the transports at Dover and before morning were on their way to 
 Nashville, with the brigade formerly commanded by Floyd and some 
 other troops." 
 
 INCIDENTS OF FORT DONELSON. 
 
 By Major S. Mahon. 
 The army under Gen. Grant advanced on the 12th of February, 
 
 1862, across the narrow peninsula separating the two forts, Henry and 
 Donelson, the one on the Tennessee and the other on the Cumberland 
 river. There was little or no camp equipage or rations carried by the 
 army in the hasty campaign involving the capture of the two forts. 
 The 12th was a warm day and many of the men threw away their blan 
 kets in the march. . 
 
 The army reached the vicinity of Fort Donelson during the af 
 ternoon of the 12th and passed the night in comparative comfort, as the 
 weather was still warm. The next day was occupied in developing the 
 enemy s lines and establishing a regular blockade of seig"e of the fort 
 and its defences. 
 
 Co. A and F were detached on this day and sent to support a 20 
 pounder parrott which was placed in position to shell the enemy s 
 lines. The detachment was under Capt. Reed of Co. A, Co. F being 
 
42 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 commanded by Lieut. Mahon. * The detachment was halted at "order 
 arms" immediately behind the gun, fully exposed to the return fire 
 of the enemy. The first shot from the 20 pounder brought an instant 
 reply from a whole battery of the enemy about three hundred yards to 
 our front. This discharge killed or wounded most of the gun corps, 
 but fortunately went over the heads of the supporting infantry, they 
 being slightly below the position of the gun. 
 
 The men, on their own account, lay down until the fusilade was 
 over, when the detachment assisted in moving the gun from its per 
 ilous position, it having fired only one shot. The detachment was 
 then ordered to rejoin the regiment. 
 
 The demonstration perhaps was useful in developing the position 
 of the enemy. 
 
 The following night was one long to be remembered. The rain 
 fell in torrents wetting every man in the command to the skin from 
 private to general. Towards morning the rain changed to snow and 
 it became bitter cold; this continued all day and the following night. 
 No fires were allowed on the lines as that would indicate our position 
 to the enemy, but small fires were permitted in the deep hollows be 
 hind, where men and officers were permitted to take turns in falling 
 back to warm themselves. 
 
 On this mission the writer approached a struggling fire late in 
 the night, at the same time with several soldiers, who were also hast 
 ening toward the grateful warmth: they uncerimoniously elbowed those 
 who were already enjoying the influence of the fire, until a mild pro 
 test arose from one of those already crouching close to the blaze. This 
 proved to be none other than Gen. Charles F Smith, our division com 
 mander, who shared his little fire with the perishing soldiers, who ap 
 proached to partake of its warmth. The incident only illustrates how 
 necessity levels rank and station. 
 
 Another incident of this distinguished officer which will ever live 
 in the writer s memory, was seeing him next day when our brigade 
 stormed the enemy s entrenchments, ride up the hill mounted on a 
 white horse, and crossing the enemy s works almost abreast of the 
 head of the column. He was then sixty years old, with hair and mus 
 tache as white as snow but looked every inch the splendid soldier 
 that he was. 
 
 His death occurred a couple of months later at Pittsburg Landing, 
 caused by exposure in the Donelson campaign. Had he lived, his name 
 might now be inscribed on the scroll of honor with Grant, Sherman 
 and Sheridan. 
 
 While recuperating from an arduous campaign, the officers pro 
 ceeded to a reorganization of the forces ana the First Iowa brigade 
 was formed, consisting of the 2d, 7th, 12th, and 14th Iowa regiments 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 43 
 
 and Colonel Lanman given the command. 
 
 On the sixth of March we placed our sick upon the transports 
 and sent them north to the hospitals and left the fort with only 
 108 met fit for duty, marched six miles to Iron Furnace works and 
 camped. 7th broke camp and marched to the Tennessee river, which 
 was out of its banks, we had to lay here until the 12th awaiting boats 
 to transport us, during which time rations are scare. This day we 
 embarked on the steamer White Cloud and proceeded up the river. 
 We arrived at Savannah, Tenn., on the 14th, where some of our 
 convalescents joined us; continued on our journey up stream on the 
 14th. Transports are so crowded that men fell overboard and are 
 drowned. Arrived at Pittsburg landing on the 16th, but did not go 
 ashore until the 18th, when we debark and go into camp on the bank of 
 a small creek about a mile north and west of the river where we lay 
 drilling and doing guard duty. Large reinforcements of new troops 
 with batteries arriving every day. 
 
 The reenforcements of General Grant s army here were for the 
 most part, raw recruits, or inexperienced in warfare. Some of them 
 had fought in Missouri and Donelson. Few of them had any experi 
 ence, either officers or men, in actual service. 
 
 It is well known to the soldiers at the outposts that the rebels 
 were in force, close to our front, days before the attack, if the officers in 
 high command did not know it, it was their own fault. Where were 
 the cavalry? that should have been scouting around all this time. 
 There were plenty of them there, who should have been on the look out 
 to appraise us. As a matter of fact the rebeis were in force within 
 three miles of our lines, under their most experienced officers; John 
 son and Beauregard two days before the battle of Shiloh. Nevertheless 
 our outposts were unprotected and the pickets were the thinnest; of re- 
 connissances there was none, whilst our camps were utterly unprotect 
 ed by works of any sort whatever As a matter of fact, as shown by 
 the enemy s official reports we were to be attacked Saturday morning 
 instead of Sunday if it had not been for a heavy rainstorm; all this time 
 they were in our immediate front, in force much stronger than our own, 
 ready to hurl their heavy columns on our unprotected camps, with our 
 Generals in blissful ignorance of their proximity. According to the 
 rebel reports, their line and columns were in motion at half past five 
 in the morning. According to our Colonels report our regiment was on 
 their Sunday morning inspection, with no thought of being attacked. 
 Hardee s corps was on the right, Bragg s in the center, Folk s on the 
 left, with Breckenridge in reserve. Advancing rapidly, they swept our 
 pickets out of the way, or followed their heels, nearly into our camps, 
 first striking Prentiss, and, almost in the twinkling of an eye, the 
 leit front of Sherman s main body. In an incredibly short time whole 
 
4:4 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 regiments of raw troops being surprised, ran pell mell through the re 
 serve lines to the rear perfectly demoralized with confusion, and before 
 the troops in rear could get into position. There were gaps between 
 Sherman, through which the enemy came through without encounter 
 ing any opposition, succeeding in getting to our rear, creating the ut 
 most confusion and demoralization, even before General Grant got upon 
 the field to direct the troops; he did not start from his headquarters, 
 at Savannah twelve miles below, until after the battle was on in all its 
 fury. Parts of the line were held with more tenacity than others, and 
 the battle raged from east to west, regiments and brigades here giving 
 way, there holding back the enemy s advance, so the line crumbled 
 away, or fell back in confusion. Commands were seperated from one 
 another, which ought to have fought side by side and there was an ut 
 ter want of unity in the management. We gave the rebels heavy blows 
 here and there stunning or retarding their lines, but as a whole they 
 had advanced from six o clock in the morning driving us from posi 
 tion, until night we were driven back to the river, where we could go 
 no farther and like a tiger at bay we stood to our guns and like Well 
 ington the night before the battle of Waterloo, who wished for night and 
 Elucher,we wished for night and Buell, which we got and saved the bat 
 tle of Shiloh for the Union, as the next morning Nelson s Brigade with 
 others went to the fight ing line followed by the re-organized troops 
 from the remnants of the forces of the first days battle and snatched 
 victory from defeat. 
 
 After the first day of Shiloh,the rain fell in torrents,which added to 
 the discomforts of the harassed condition of the troops. The rest which 
 was broken by discharge at measured intervals of heavy shells from 
 the gunboats in the river. Again and again our troops were brought 
 forward to the charge. But hour by hour,thus opposed to the enemy, 
 constantly reinforced, invariably drive back the foe. No serious pur 
 suit was attempted. It also rained all night the t night of the 7th and 
 the roads became impassible. 
 
 It is said by a staff officer who was trying to stop the stampede 
 to the rear that he asked one man who was making a lively sprint 
 for the river, "What are you running for?" He answered, "Because I 
 can t fly." To another he said, "What are you crying like a baby for?" 
 His answer was, "I wish I was a baby, on mother s lap, and a girl 
 baby at that" 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 45 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 SHILOH. 
 
 Confederate Colonel William Preston, Aid-de-camp to General 
 Johnston, among other things in his official report of the battle of 
 Shiloh; dated April 20th, 18G2, says: 
 
 "On the morning of the 5th of April the rains were excessive, 
 so th.at the movement was retarded, but on the afternoon of the same 
 day our advance was within three miles of the enemy, who evidently 
 did not suspect that we were in force in the neighborhood." 
 
 Colonel Jacob Thompson, Aid-de-camp to General Beauregard, 
 in his official report says: "The order of battle was drawn up and 
 ready for delivery, early on Thursday morning, April 3rd. On Friday, 
 the 4th, at 11:15 a. m., General Beauregard and Staff were in the sad 
 dle, at two were at Monterey, six miles from Shiloh." The attack 
 should have been made Friday morning, but was deferred on account 
 ol heavy rains. Thirteen of our prisoners were taken that day. At 
 9:30 Friday morning fireing was heard on the left of General Hardee s 
 line. At 11:40 "eight volleys of musketry was heard in quick succes 
 sion." The whole army did not take their respective positions until 
 3:00 p. m. The Confederate troops slept, on their arms, so it was de 
 termined to defer the attack until Sunday morning." 
 
 Colonel Preston, in his report says: "The surprise was com 
 plete. The Union camps were captured between 7:00 and 8:00 o clock, 
 and its colors, arms and ammunition were abandoned. The breakfasts 
 of the men were on the table, the officers baggage and apparel left in 
 the tents, and every evidence remained of unexpected conflict and 
 sudden rout." 
 
 On the night after the second days contest the regiment return 
 ed to its camp and dr ew long needed rations and rest. The tents how 
 ever were filled with the wounded of both armies, so the men had to 
 content themselves with lying on the wet ground. On the 8th we went 
 reconnoitering to the front returning in the evening, in the mean 
 time the sick and wounded had been sent to the hospital, so we oc 
 cupied the tents again. 
 
 Colonel Tuttle commanded our brigade during the battle, as 
 Colonel Lauman had been promoted to Brigadier General for gallantry 
 at Ft. Donaldson and had been assigned to another Division. As Gen 
 eral W. F. L. Wallace, our Division Commander, was killed during 
 
46 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 the battle, Colonel Tuttle commanded the Division after his, General 
 Wallace s, death. 
 
 General Tuttle in his official report of the battle of Shiloh, among 
 other things says. "The Second Iowa on second day of battle, was sent 
 to General Nelson s Division and was ordered by him to charge bayo 
 nets across a field on the enemy, who were in the woods beyond, which 
 they did in the most gallant manner." The Seventh Iowa, under or 
 ders from General Crittenden, charged and captured one of the enemy s 
 batteries." Among the officers especially mentioned for gallantry on 
 that occasion, were Lieut. Col. Parrott and Major Rice, of the Seventh 
 Iowa. The losses as officially given in the regiment in the two days 
 battle were: commissioned officers killed, one; enlisted men ,nine; 
 wounded, seventeen, and seven men taken prisoners; total thirty-four. 
 
 The 2nd and 7th Iowa on the first day made such stubborn de 
 fense, holding their ground after the rest of the Division were taken 
 prisoners, that that spot was designated by the rebels as the "Hornet s 
 Nest," which gave authority for the name of the society of the "Hor 
 nets Nest Brigade." A sunken road and ravine prevented more severe 
 loss and enabled them to hold their ground longer than the other regi 
 ments that were taken prisoners under General Prentiss. 
 
 Fletcher Johnson in giving a description of Sherman s doings 
 at the battle of Shiloh, says: "Let us turn to the fate of Hurlburt s 
 companion Division that of Brigadier General W. H. L. Wallace, 
 which included the Second ^and Seventh Iowa, Ninth and Twenty- 
 eighth Illinois, and several other regiments of Maj. General Smith s 
 old Division; with three excellent batteries. * * * The fight began 
 about ten o clock, as already described. From that time until four 
 in the afternoon they manfully bore up. The musketry was absolutely 
 continuous; there was scarcely a moment that some part of the line 
 was riot pouring in its rattling volleys, and artillery was admirably 
 served with but little intermission through the entire time. 
 
 Once or twice the infantry advanced, attempting to drive the 
 continually increasing enemy, but though they could hold what they 
 had, their numbers were not equal to the task of conquering any more. 
 Fo^r separate times the rebels attempted to turn to charge them. 
 Each time the infantry poured in its quickest volleys, the artillery re 
 doubled its exertions, and the rebels retreated with heavy slaughter. 
 The division was eager to remain, even when Hurlbut fell back, and 
 the fine fellows with guns were particularly indignant at not being 
 permitted to pound away; but their supports were gone on either side; 
 to have remained in isolated advance would have been madness. 
 Just as the necessity of retreat was becoming apparent, General Wal 
 lace, whose cool, collected bravery, had commanded the admiration 
 of all, was mortally wounded and borne away from the field. At last 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 47 
 
 the Division fell back. Its soldiers claim justly, I believe the proud 
 distinction of being the last to yield, in the general break of our lines, 
 that gloomy Sunday afternoon, which at half past four o clock had 
 left most of our army within half a mile of the landing, with the 
 rebels up to a thousand yards of their position." * * * 
 
 After the battle Major Rice was promoted to Colonel and Captain 
 McMillen, of Co. "C," was appointed Major. Lieut. Col. Parrott was 
 assigned to command the remnants of the 8th, 12th and 14th Iowa, and 
 the 58th Ills., being the convalescents and those who escaped being 
 taken prisoners of those regiments with General Prentiss; all together 
 they did not constitute as many as the ordinary regiment. They were 
 designated as the "Union Brigade." They fought against the consoli 
 dation and were forced to submission by order of General Davies, 
 who threatened to shoot them if they did not submit. They were an 
 unruly mob and much trouble, until their prisoners were liberated and 
 the regiments were re-organized. 
 
 General Grant was severely censured for his generalship and 
 handling the army under his command at the battle and the disposi 
 tion of the troops. The concensus af opinion at the time was that he 
 was surprised and* unprepared; in fact he was relieved of his com 
 mand and General Halleck took full charge. 
 
 In the battle of Shiloh we were in the Second Division, com 
 manded by Brig. General W. H. L. Wallace, who was mortally wounded 
 the first day of the battle, when Colonel J. M. Tuttle of the Second 
 Iowa, assumed command. 
 
 General Grant s official report of the battle of Shiloh gives a 
 total as follows: killed 1,754, wounded 8,408, captured or missing 
 2,885, total 13,047. 
 
 General Halleck arrived at Pittsburg landing on the llth of 
 April and immediately assumed command in the field. On the 21st 
 General Pope arrived with his army, 30,000 strong, and went into camp 
 at Hamburg landing five miles above Pittsburg. Halleck had now three 
 armies: the army of the Ohio, Buell commanding; the army of the 
 Tennessee, and the army of the Mississippi, Pope commanding. General 
 Thomas was given command of the army of Tennessee, composing the 
 right wing; Buell the center and Pope the left wing, with McClernand 
 the reserve with the remnants of his old Division and Lew Wallace s. 
 
 General Grant was again under a cloud, relieved from com 
 mand and says himself in his memoirs: "For myself I was little 
 more than an observer. Orders were sent direct to the right wing or 
 reserve, ignoring me. My position was so embarressing in fact that I 
 made several applications during the siege to be relieved." * .*. * "I 
 was ignored as much as if I had been at the most distant point of ter 
 ritory of my jurisdiction; and although I was in command of all en- 
 
48 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 gaged at Shiloh I was not permitted to see one of the reports of Gen 
 eral Buell or his subordinates in that battle, until they were pub 
 lished by the War Department long after the event." 
 
 After the physical and mental strain incident to the excitement 
 and strenuous exertions of the battle, together with the inclement 
 weather and discomforts of exposure and lack of proper food and pro 
 tection from the elements there was a reaction, which the dreary 
 weather enhanced, so that there was much sickness and suffering, with 
 no proper places to care for the wounded or sick, so they were loaded 
 on transports and sent north to hospitals and places where there were 
 buildings to house them. Pittsburg landing was nothing but a ham 
 let, with landing without docks, with steep, slippery banks, up which 
 all supplies for the army, including forage for stock, had to be carried 
 on the backs of the men, causing heavy details of all the well men, 
 most of the time for such drudgery and fatiguing duty. These priva 
 tions and duty produced a serious effect on the health of the troops, 
 and dysentery and malaria of a threatening type prevailed among the 
 officers and men. This was enhanced by the unwholesome water and the 
 impure atmosphere from the gases arising from the decomposition of 
 the killed men and animals, which were buried among the camps 
 with such shallow covering that limbs protruded from many pits. 
 These causes had the effect of depleting the army to an alarming ex 
 tent, so they laid in wait in camp for rest, recuperation and for the 
 accumulation of supplies, for a forward movement until the 27th. In 
 the meantime the/roads leading to Corinth, were bridged corduroyed * 
 by the engineer corps mith heavy details from the ranks of the regi 
 ments. 
 
 COLONEL PARROTT S REPORT. 
 
 Head Quarters 7th Regiment Iowa Infantry, 
 Pittsburg, Tenn., April 10th, 1862. 
 
 Sir: In compliance with your order, dated April 8th, 18G2, I have 
 the honor herewith to make a report of the part taken by the Seventh 
 Regiment Iowa Infantry in the battle of Pittsburg, Tenn., on April 
 6th, 7th and 8th. 
 
 On the morning of the 6th at 8:00 o clock, I received your or 
 der to hold the regiment in readiness for a forward movement, the 
 rebels having attacked our outposts. The regiment was formed im 
 mediately, and at about 9:00 a. m. it was ordered to move forward 
 and It took position on the left of the Second Iowa Infantry. It then 
 moved forward by the flank until within a short distance of the ad 
 vancing rebels, where it was thrown into line of battle, being In heavy 
 timber, when it advanced to the edge of a field, from which position 
 we got a view of a portion of the rebel forces. I ordered my men to 
 lie down and hold themselves in readiness to resist any attack, which 
 

 COL. J. ( . PARROTT, 
 Seventh Iowa Infantry. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 49 
 
 they did, and remained in that position until ordered to fall back at 
 about 5:00 p. m.; holding the rebels in check and retaining every inch 
 of ground it had gained in the morning, being all the time under a 
 galling fire of cannister, grape and shell, which did considerable exe 
 cution in our ranks, killing several of my men and wounding others. 
 The regiment when ordered back fell back in good order and passed 
 through a galling fire from the enemy. When it gained cover of the 
 timber it rallied in good style and helped to hold the enemy in check 
 for some time, when it was again ordered to fall back upon the main 
 river road, and there bivouacked for the night, exposed to a heavy 
 rain of several hours duration. 
 
 On Monday morning, the 7th, I was so completely stiffened by 
 fatigue and exposure that it was impossible for me to advance with 
 the regiment, but I knew it was placed in good hands when I turned the 
 command over to Major Rice, who led them that day to the enemy s 
 stronghold, and from him I was proud to learn that it did its duty 
 unflinchingly not only against the rebels, but in keeping many of our 
 troops from falling back and leaving the field in disorder. At night 
 the regiment returned to camp and for the first time in two days had 
 warm food and good nights rest. 
 
 On Tuesday morning I again moved the regiment forward about 
 two miles and remained in line all day, not getting in sight or hearing 
 of the enemy. At night it returned to camp in good order. 
 
 In conclusion I am proud to say, that the officers and men of the 
 Seventh Iowa Volunteers, with a few exceptions, did their duty nobly 
 and sustained the proud position won for it on former occasions of 
 which our State may feel proud. The delinquents, although few, will 
 be strictly dealt with according to the Articles of War. 
 
 Our casualities are as follows: One Lieutenant and ten privates 
 killed; 17 wounded and six privates missing; making a total of 34 
 killed, wounded and missing. 
 
 J. C. PARROTT. 
 Lieut. Col. Commanding 7th Iowa Infty. 
 
 To Colonel J. M. Tuttle, 
 
 Commanding First Brigade 2nd Division. 
 
 General Grant had been relieved from command most of the time 
 during the month of March on some trumped up charges made by 
 General Halleck who could not sustain them at Washington so he 
 was restored to his command again on the 13th of March 
 
 REPORT OF GENERAL BEAUREGARD. 
 
 Corinth, Miss., April 9, 1862. 
 
 Sir: In consequence of information brought from General Cheat- 
 ham on Wednesday, April 3, that the enemy was marching in force 
 
50 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 along the Purdy road from Pittsburg, it was decided by yourself, 
 General Johnson, and General Bragg to take up the line of march for 
 the enemy s camp situated 2^ miles west of the Tennessee river, 
 about equidistant between Owl and Lick creeks, on the Pittsburg road. 
 
 The order of battle was drawn up and ready for delivery early 
 on Thursday morning, and tfie corps of Major-General Hardee was on 
 the Ridge road from Corinth to Pittsburg by 12 o clock. It was soon 
 followed by the corps of General Bragg. 
 
 On Friday, the 4th, at 11:15 a. m., General Beauregard and staff 
 were in the saddle and moved forward by the Monterey road, and ar 
 rived at Monterey at 2:30 o clock, where a large number of the troops 
 were overtaken, and also Generals Johnston and Bragg. 
 
 Thirteen prisoners were brought in during the evening. 
 
 The whole army was under orders to move forward at 3 a. m. 
 next day and form a line of battle in advance of the divergence of the 
 Bark and Pittsburg roads. 
 
 General Johnston and yourself slept Friday night at Monterey. 
 
 During the night there was a heavy fall of rain. Soon after light 
 the clouds began to break, and before sunrise General Johnston and 
 yourself, with your respective staffs, moved forward along the road 
 leading by the Mickey house. As we approached this latter place it 
 was evident, frotn the large number of troops found drawn up on each 
 side of the road, that it would be impossible to form all the different 
 divisions in battle array at an early hour. As we pased General Bragg 
 beyond the Mickey house the order was given for a forward movement, 
 and you and General Johnston proceeded to a point on the Pittsburg 
 road, beyond the fork of the Pittsburg and Bark, or Hamburg roads. 
 On reaching them it was ascertained that Major-General Hardee s 
 corps was drawn up in line of battle on the right and left of the Pitts 
 burg road, about half a mile beyond the place you halted. Knowing 
 that you were not far from the camp of the enemy, there was a momen 
 tary expectation of conflict. 
 
 At 9:30 o clock firing was heard on the left of General Hardee s 
 line; but it lasted only a moment, and was therefore supposed to be 
 from our own troops. 
 
 At 11:00 a. m. there had been fired eight volleys of musketry in 
 quick succession on the right of General Hardee s line, which induced 
 a general expectation that the combat was about to begin. 
 
 About this time General Hardee came forward and pressed you 
 to ride along his line, that the men might be satisfied that you were 
 actually in the field. You accepted his invitation, and after reviewing 
 his whole line you returned with your staff to your temporary head 
 quarters and awaited the coming up of the Reserve Corps, commanded 
 by General Polk. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 51 
 
 The whole army did not reach their respective positions till past 
 3 o clock, when, upon consultation, it was determined to postpone a 
 further forward movement until morning. The troops slept on their 
 arms, and the front lines were allowed no fires, although the night 
 was quite chilly. 
 
 Next morning (Sunday, the 6th) the sky was without a cloud 
 and the sun arose in cheering brilliancy. 
 
 About 5 a. m. the first firing was heard in the center, down the 
 Pittsburg road. In less than three minutes firing was heard on the 
 left. Intermittent firing in the center and on the right until 6:05 
 o clock. 
 
 At 6:30 o clock I brought an order from you to General Brecken- 
 ridge, who commanded the reserve, that he must hurry up his troops, 
 inasmuch as General Polk was moving forward, which was promptly 
 delivered and promptly obeyed. 
 
 Soon after this General Johnson called on you and expressed 
 himself satisfied with the manner in which the battle had been opened. 
 The greatest enthusiasm prevailed both with officers and men. When 
 you established your headquarters on the high point between the Pitts- 
 burg and Hamburg roads heavy firing was heard on our right. The 
 first cannon was discharged on our left at 7 o clock, which was followed 
 by a rapid discharge of musketry. 
 
 About 7:30 o clock" I rode forward with Colonel Jordan to the 
 front, to ascertain how the battle was going. There I learned from 
 General Johnston that General Hardee s line was within half a mile of 
 the enemy s camps, and bore from General Johnston a message that 
 he advised the sending forward strong reinforcements to our left, as 
 he had just then been advised that the enemy was there in great force. 
 
 Under this advice two of General Breckenridge s brigades were 
 started to the support of the left; but before he had proceeded far I 
 bore a message to General Breckenridge to send but one brigade, and 
 to order forward two brigades towards Lick Creek, on the right. This 
 change was made in consequence of information brought by a carrier 
 that the enemy was not strong on our left and had fallen back. 
 
 From 8 to 8:30 o clock the cannonading was very heavy along 
 the whole line, but especially in the center, which was in the line of 
 their camps. 
 
 Soon after General Breckenridge moved down the Bark road to 
 the right a courier arrived, bringing the information that the Boiling 
 and Turner Fords, on Lick Creek, were unmolested. 
 
 About 10 o clock you moved forward with your staff and halted 
 within about half a mile of their camps, at which time our troops were 
 reported to be in full possession of the enemy s camps. Here we met 
 large numbers of wounded and stragglers from the ranks. Immediately 
 
52 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA ^ 
 
 your whole staff was ordered to rally the stragglers and send them 
 forward to their regiments. I was charged with the duty of hurrying 
 forward the ammunition wagons to a safe point immediately in the rear 
 of our lines engaged in the conflict. I succeeded in carrying forward 
 several loads of ammunition beyond the first encampment of the enemy 
 to a point of safety just outside the firing. After passing over the 
 second ridge, where the conflict was maintained with the greatest in 
 tensity, I observed the enemy was gradually giving back before the 
 galling fire of an impetuous infantry. I returned to your quarters, and 
 found you had moved up to the old house on the ridge where we first 
 entered the encampment of the enemy. On my return I observed a 
 regiment drawn up in line of battle in the hollow west of the second 
 ridge. I rode up to the regiment and inquired why they remained 
 there idle while our brave companions were hotly contesting every inch 
 of ground so near them and needed assistance. An officer stepped for 
 ward whom I took to be a captain and said, with great emotion, that 
 they had no officers, and that he did not know what to do. I requested 
 him to remain in his position a few minutes, keeping his men in line, 
 and I would inform General Beauregard of his condition, who I had no 
 doubt would send him an officer. 
 
 Upon informing you of the situation of this regiment you im 
 mediately assigned the command of this regiment to Colonel Augustin, 
 a member of your staff, and I was directed to return with him and in 
 troduce him to the regiment. When we arrived at the place where I 
 had left them I found they had gone and saw nothing more of them. 
 
 About 2 o clock you moved forward along the Pittsburg road to 
 the third encampment, where the road takes a direct eastern direction. 
 Here we came within range of the enemy s fire, and remained there 
 some half an hour. One regiment (Colonel Smith s) passed you in the 
 finest spirits, cheering their general as they went. The cheering at 
 tracted the notice of the enemy, and he directed a heavy fire directly to 
 the. point whre you stood. Under your orders I advanced in the direc 
 tion of the firing, rallying the stragglers, which were marched in dou 
 ble-file, and, after overtaking Colonel Smith s regiment, ordered them 
 to fall in and go on with him. 
 
 After remaining at this point some time I came back with you to 
 the hospital, and spent the remainder of the evening in aiding to col 
 lect stragglers, for the purpose of sending them forward, visiting the 
 different tents and appointing guards for the more valuable of them. 
 In the evening, toward sundown, a large number of prisoners was 
 brought in and the day was declared to be ours. 
 
 April 7, at 8.07 o clock, heavy firing was heard on our right, and 
 news was brought to General Beauregard that the enemy was in great 
 force. Previous to which, however, he had learned that the enemy was 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 
 
 53 
 
 in force on our left, and he had sent in that direction a large support 
 ing force. The battle raged furiously for four hours, and the enemy 
 was completely silenced on the right and in the center. 
 
 About 11:30 o clock it was apparent that the enemy s main attack 
 was on our left, and our forces began to yield to the vigor of his at 
 tack. Stragglers in great numbers came in, and although great and 
 unremitting efforts were made to rally them yet the complaint of ex 
 haustion was such that it was impossible to rally them only to a lim 
 ited extent. The fire and animation had left our troops. 
 
 While I was engaged in rallying our disorganized troops to the 
 left and rear of the church, you seized the banners of two different 
 regiments and led them forward to the assault in face of the fire of the 
 enemy; but from the feebleness of the response I became convinced 
 that our troops were too much exhausted to make a vigorous resist 
 ance. I rode up to you and advised that you should expose yourself no 
 further, but should dispose your troops so as to retire from Shiloh 
 Church in good order. 
 
 In front of the church our troops gradually gave ground, and, 
 upon observing a regiment in the bottom, near the church, you fell 
 back, and placed them in position to receive the advancing columns 
 of the enemy. 
 
 After placing this regiment in position, you, with a portion of 
 your staff, retired to a ridge on this side of the camp, planted several 
 pieces of cannon, and drew up a brigade in that commanding position. 
 The forces being here disposed of, you fell back to the Wood house and 
 planted, in front of the house in the open ground, another battery. We 
 then came to the high ground which overlooks the Pittsburg and Ham 
 burg roads, where General Breckenridge was found in force; after 
 which we returned to Monterey, and thence, on Monday evening, to 
 Corinth. 
 
 During the day of Monday I bore several orders to different com 
 manders, but in the excitement I failed to note the hour of their deliv 
 ery, and therefore omit any notice of them. 
 
 With great respect, your obedient servant, 
 
 J. THOMPSON, Aide-de-Camp. 
 GENERAL G. T. BEAUREGARD. 
 
 REPORT OF GENERAL JOHNSTON. 
 
 Corinth, Miss., April 20, 1862. 
 
 General: This morning you requested me to give you such in 
 formation as I possess- in relation to the events which occurred at the 
 battle of Shiloh before the death of the commander, General Johnston. 
 The general having determined to attack the enemy, near Pitts- 
 burg, on the Tennessee River, moved the forces under his command 
 
54 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 through Monterey and by a farm house called Mickey s, in the direc 
 tion of a little country chapel called Shiloh, in the vicinity of which 
 they were encamped. On the morning of the 5th of April the rains were 
 excessive, so that the movement was greatly retarded, but on the af 
 ternoon of the same day our advance was within three miles of the 
 enemy, who evidently did not suspect that we were in force in the 
 neighborhood. 
 
 Strong reasons demanded an immediate attack, as delay increas 
 ed the danger of discovery, but the exhaustion of the men and the hour 
 of arrival required it to be deferred till the following morning. Men 
 and officers bivouacked for the night 
 
 The morning of the 6th of April was remarkably bright and 
 beautiful. The country toward Shiloh was wooded with small fields 
 interspersed and with bold undulations from the hills bounding the 
 river. The troops moved in two parallel lines with the brigades under 
 General Breckenridge arranged on either side of the wood as a re 
 serve. 
 
 Between dawn and sunrise sharp skirmishing was heard rather 
 more than half a mile in advance in the forest. General Johnston rode 
 forward when we found the action commenced by General Hindman s 
 brigade which was suffering under a heavy fire. There were many 
 dead and wounded and some stragglers breaking ranks whom General 
 Johnston rallied in person. I rode forward and found General Hind- 
 man rallying and animating his men who were advancing towards the 
 camp. General Johnston then, through me, ordered General Bragg, 
 who was half a mile in the rear, to advance, but it had been anticipat 
 ed, and the order, having been given by Captain Wickliffe ten minutes 
 before, waa being executed. Our forces then entered the enemy s 
 camp under a heavy fire of musketry and artillery. 
 
 Passing to the left, General Johnston reconnoitered, from two 
 cabins at the edge of a field of about 150 acres, the position of the 
 enemy in front. This field extended toward the river and beyond was 
 fringed with a woodland, and 200 or 300 yards beyond was the enemy s 
 camp. Through this field General Cleburne s brigade moved in fine or 
 der, with loud and inspiring cheers to attack the camp. The surprise 
 was complete. It was carried between 7 and 8 o clock, and its colors, 
 arms, stores, and ammunition were abandoned. The breakfasts of the 
 men were on the table, the officers baggage and apparel left in the 
 tents and every evidence remained of unexpected conflict and sudden 
 rout. It was ocupied as I learned from the wounded and dying and 
 from the colors taken by some troops from Wisconsin. 
 
 During this time heavy continued musketry and artillery fire, 
 with receding sounds, attested the steady advance of Gens. Bragg and 
 Hardee on the center and left. General Hardee reported in person to 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 55 
 
 General Johnston about 9 o clock at the Wisconsin camp and they re- 
 connoitered a second line of camps 600 or 800 yards farther on in the 
 direction of the river. The enemy then, apparently attracted by the 
 staff commenced shelling the camp where we stood, and some heavy 
 gunboat shells burst over us. At the same time the enemy deployed 
 their forces in the wood near the advanced camp. Captain Lockett, 
 about half past 9 or 10, sent a report that the enemy were strongly 
 posted on the left. General Johnston then determined to order for 
 ward the reserve, under General Breckenridge, to the right, so as to 
 force and turn the enemy s left. Captain Wickliffe and I were ordered 
 to Indicate the positions to General Breckenridge. General Johnston 
 joined Bowen s brigade. The movement was masked by the forest and 
 the troops moved so as to occupy a position oblique to the general line, 
 and extending eastward to the river, in en echelon of brigades, with 
 Chalmers , and Statham s 800 yards in rear of Bowen s. Statham s bri 
 gade was then moved forward, and at about 12 o clock or 12:30 it 
 occupied the point of the hill so as to attack the advanced camp. Meet 
 ing you, we found it halted, and, after consulting a moment with me as 
 to the importance of immediate advance, you put it in motion against 
 the camp, and Rutlidge s battery was put in position at the same time 
 on an adjacent hill. 
 
 Riding back toward the advanced camp, I found Breckenridge s 
 men entering it and engaging with the enemy. Turning down the ra 
 vine, I reported the condition of affairs to General Johnston. This was 
 between 1 and 2 o clock. He was with Bowen s brigade, and ordered 
 me to direct General Bowen to ground on which he could deploy and 
 support Breckenridge, who I understood was with Statham s brigade 
 in the enemy s camp. This was done, and General Johnston advanced 
 with Bowen s brigade in person. He directed me then to bring over 
 Rutlidge s battery, which I did, to the opposite field . 
 
 In the meantime Breckenridge was hotly engaged and Bowen s 
 brigade vigorously supporting him. Riding forward in the direction 
 of the enemy s fire, I halted at the flank of the Washington Battery, 
 I believe, of New Orleans, then actively served and engaged with the 
 enemy. Two small cabins were near, and from a ravine about 100 
 yards to the north of the cabins, where I was, Colonel O Hara rode, in 
 forming me that General Johnston was wounded and lying in a ravine. 
 He conducted me to the spot, and went for a surgeon, whom he could 
 not obtain until too late. 
 
 Descending the ravine I found the general lying on the ground 
 and near his head Governor Harris, of Tennessee, and only one or two 
 other persons. He had neither escort or surgeon near him His horse 
 was wounded and bleeding. He breathed for a few minutes after my 
 arrival, but did not recognize me. I searched but found no wound up- 
 
56 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 I 
 
 on his body. I attempted to revive him, but he expired without pain a 
 few minutes after, and about fifteen minutes after he received his 
 death wound. 
 
 Immediate information of the fact was transmitted by me through 
 his volunteer aide-de-camp, Governor Harris, to General. Beauregard. 
 His remains were taken to his camp and left in charge of a friend, Mr. 
 Throckmorton, and Captain Wickham. The other gentlemen of the 
 staff reported to General Beauregard for service and remained until the 
 close of the day when his body was taken by them to New Orleans. 
 
 General Johnston died at half past 2 o clock the artery of his 
 right leg having been severed by a ball. He was also struck by two 
 other balls, and his horse was wounded twice. 
 
 During the day General Johnston was actively and efficiently as 
 sisted by Colonel Gilmer, his chief engineer; Captain Brewster, assist 
 ant adjutant-general; Capt. N. Wickliffe, assistant adjutant-general; 
 Lieutenants Jack and Baylor, aides-de-camp; Captain O Hara, assist 
 ant inspector-general, Maj. Albert J. Smith, quartermaster, Captain 
 Wickham, assistant quartermaster, and by Surg. D. W. Yandell, who 
 was with him in the morning. 
 
 Governor Harris, of Tennessee, and Messrs. E. W. Munford, D. M. 
 Hayden, Calhoun Benham, and myself served as volunteer aides-de 
 camp during the day. 
 
 I have the honor to remain, your obedient servant, 
 
 W. PRESTON. 
 
 I think the men with the musket at the front observed things 
 as they were and to each other can talk plainly without fear of suffer 
 ing among themselve for their frankness; there has been too much of 
 a disposition to forgive and condone acts and things done that amount 
 ed to criminal negligence and cowardice; sometimes officers in high 
 command refused to give aid when they could and it was sorely need 
 ed for jealousy; sacrifice thousands of lives rather than render as 
 sistance for fear others would get credit for the victory. Fitz John 
 Porter was a frightful example of this kind, after being found guilty 
 of cowardice or treason by a court martial he was restored to rank 
 and back pay of a Major General, a generation after the crime was 
 committed and all were dead that knew anything of the circumstances. 
 Those who fought the first day at the battle of Shiloh thought then 
 that Wallace might have rendered valuable assistance, had he chose 
 to do so. Official investigations and reports made at the time proved 
 this beyond dispute; yet he has by his persistence been able to official 
 ly make himself right on the record, but not with the man behind the 
 gun. Could the readers of this book see the modifications and oblit- 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 57 
 
 erations in the personal diaries that I have made before going into 
 the printers hands and read official reports made at the time, when all 
 facts were before them, as I have done they would be convinced of these 
 facts as I have been. 
 
 If Buell was criticised for not being on hand sooner; how much 
 more so should Wallace be, as the former had the flooded Tennessee 
 to cross and was twelve miles away when the battle opened; while 
 Wallace was only six. 
 
 Grant heard the battle open when at Savannah 12 miles away, 
 while eating his breakfast. He left it, boarded, his dispatch boat and 
 hurried to the fray, stopping on the way to tell Wallace to be ready 
 to move at a moments notice. Wallace said he had his trains parked 
 at Crumps landing and was ready to move then. As soon as Grant 
 arrived at Pittsburg he at once sent Capt. Baxter of his staff to hurry 
 Wallace forward. He notified him at 8:30. Wallace stood on a 
 technicality, claiming a written order before he would move. Again 
 Grant sent Col. McPherson, who was then an aid on his staff, found 
 him lost in the woods, got him started right, when he insisted on 
 stopping for an hours nooning and getting his dinner, allowing his 
 command to do the same; the result was he never got there until the 
 battle of the first day was over. 
 
 He claims different things. But he has made his reputation as 
 a writer of fiction, probably from his experience in his attempts to 
 explain his absence from the battle of Shiloh when so sorely needed; 
 at least his men were. 
 
 General Grant gives as a reason for not fortifying, that he re 
 garded the campaign as an offensive one and had no idea that the 
 enemy would leave strong intrenchments at Corinth to take the in 
 itiative when he knew he would be attacked where he was if he re 
 mained. 
 
 General .Grant in his official reports, denounced General Lew 
 Wallace for his dilatory movements and lack of support on the first 
 day of Shiloh and thought there was no excuse for not coming as or 
 dered to his assistance. 
 
 Following are extracts from official reports made at the time. 
 General Grant says: "Sent two more of my staff, Col. McPherson and 
 Capt. Rowley, for Wallace at 1:00 p. m. The road that Wallace might 
 have taken from Crump s landing was direct and near the river. Be 
 tween Crump s landing and Pittsburg landing a bridge had been 
 built over across Snake Creek by our troops, at which Wallace s com 
 mand had assisted, expressly to enable the troops at the two places to 
 support each other in case of need; so there was no excuse for Wal 
 lace getting lost in going a distance of five miles. 
 
58 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 Headquarters Department of the Tennessee, 
 
 Before Vicksburg April 13, 1863. 
 COL. J. C. KELTON, 
 
 Assistant Adjudant-General, Washington, D.. C.: 
 
 Colonel: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of 
 a communication of Maj. Gen. Lewis Wallace to Major-General Hal- 
 leek, of date of March 14, 1863, relative to his failure to participate in 
 the first day s fight at Pittsburg Landing, and submitted to me for my 
 remarks. 
 
 Instead of making a detailed report myself in answer to said com 
 munication I called upon Maj. Gen. J. B. McPherson, Lieut. Col. John 
 A. Rawlins, and Maj. W. R. Rowley, all of whom were members of my 
 staff at that time and were cognizant of the facts for their statements 
 in reference to the same, and these I herewith respectfully transmit. 
 
 All these reports are substantially as I remember the facts. I 
 vouch for their almost entire accuracy; and from these several state 
 ments, separate and independent of each other, too, a more correct 
 judgment can be derived than from a single report. 
 
 Had General Wallace been relieved from duty in the morning, 
 and the same orders communicated to Brig. Gen. Morgan L. Smith 
 (who would have been his successor), I do not doubt but the division 
 would have been on the field of battle and in the engagement befor 10 
 o clock of that eventful 6th of April. There is no estimating the differ 
 ence this might have made in our casualities. 
 
 I am, Colonel, very respecfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 U. S. GRANT, 
 Major-General, Volunteers. 
 Galena, April 4, 1863. 
 COL. JOHN A. RAWLINS, 
 
 Assistant Adjutant-General: 
 
 Colonel: Yours, requesting a statement as to my knowledge of 
 the part taken by General Lewis Wallace in the first day s fight at the 
 battle of Shiloh, on the 6th of April, 1862, is just received. 
 
 In reply, I would state that at that time I was an aide-de-camp 
 on the staff of General U. S. Grant, with the rank of captain, and on 
 the morning of the 6th of April I accompanied the general, together 
 with the other members of the staff, from Savannah to Pittsburg land 
 ing. When the steamer upon which we embarked arrived 
 near to Crump s Landing General Grant directed that it should be run 
 close in to the shore, as he wished to communicate with General Wal 
 lace, who was standing" upon the commisary boat lying at that place. 
 General Grant called to General Wallace, saying, "General, you will 
 get your troops under arms immediately, and have them ready to move 
 at a moment s notice." General Wallace replied that it should be done, 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 59 
 
 adding (I think) that the necessary orders had already been given. 
 This was between the hours of 7 and 8 o clock a. m. We passed on up 
 the river, meeting the steamer Warner, which had been sent by Gen 
 eral W. H. L. Wallace (as I understood) with a messenger to inform 
 General Grant that a battle had been commenced. The Warner round 
 ed to and followed us back to Pittsburg Landing. 
 
 Upon reaching the Landing General Grant immediately mounted 
 his horse and rode upon the bank, and after conversing a moment 
 with some officers turned to Captain Baxter, assistant quartermaster, 
 and ordered him to proceed immediately to Crump s Landing, and 
 direct General Wallace to march with his division up the river and 
 into the field on the right of our line as rapidly as possible. 
 
 This order was given to Captain Baxter about the hour of 8 
 o clock. I think not later than that. We immediately rode to the front. 
 At about 11 o clock General Grant expressed considerable solicitude at 
 the non-appearance of General Wallace, and sent an orderly to the ex 
 treme right to see if he could see anything of him, remarking that it 
 could not possibly be many minutes before he would arrive. 
 
 Shortly after the hour of 12 o clock m., as we were riding tow 
 ards the right line, a cavalry officer rode up and reported to General 
 Grant, stating that General Wallace had positively refused to come up 
 unless he should receive written orders. After hearing the report Gen 
 eral Grant turned to me, saying, "Captain, you will proceed to Crump s 
 Landing and say to General Wallace that it is my orders that he bring 
 his division up at once, coming up by the River road, crossing Snake 
 Creek on the bridge (which General Sherman would protect), and from 
 his division on the extreme right, when he would receive further or 
 ders; and say to him that it is important that he should maks haste." 
 Adding, "It has just been reported to me that he has refused to come 
 up unless he receives a written order. If he should require a written 
 order of you you will give him one," at the same time asking me if I 
 had writing materials in my haversack. I started at once, when the 
 general called to me again, saying, "You will take with you the cap 
 tain (referring to the cavalry officer before mentioned, who was still 
 sitting there on his horse his name I do not reccollect), and two or 
 derlies, and see that you do not spare horse flesh." This was at the 
 hour of 12:30 o clock m., as near as I can reccollect. 
 
 I proceeded at once to General Wallace s camp, back of Crump s 
 Landing, and being well mounted, it took me but a short time to reach 
 it. Upon arriving there I found no signs of a camp, except a baggage 
 wagon that was just leaving. I enquired of the driver as to where Gen 
 eral Wallace and his troops were; he replied that they had gone up to 
 the fight. I enquired what road they took; to which he replied by point 
 ing to a road, which I understand to be the Purdy road. 
 
60 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 While sitting there upon my horse I could hear the firing upon 
 the battle-field quite distinctly. I then took the road pointed out by 
 the teamster and rode a distance of between 5 and 6 miles, as I judged, 
 when I came up with the rear of General Wallace s division; they were 
 at a rest, sitting on each side of the road, some with their arms stacked 
 in the middle of the road. I passed the entire division (except the 
 cavalry), all being at a halt. When L reached the head of the column 
 I found General Wallace sitting upon his horse, surrounded by his 
 staff, some of whom were dismounted and holding their horses by the 
 bridles. 
 
 I rode up to General Wallace and communicated to him Geoeral 
 Grant s orders as I had received them, and then told him that it had 
 been reported to him (i. e., General Grant) that he had refused to 
 march without writen orders; at which he seemed quite indignant, 
 saying that it was a "damned lie!" that he had never refused to go 
 without a written order, in proof of which he said, "Here you find me 
 on the road." To which 1 replied that I had certainly found him on a 
 road, but I hardly thought it the road to Pittsburg Landing. It cer 
 tainly was not the road that I had come down from there on, and that 
 I had traveled farther since I had left his camp than I had in coming 
 from the battle-field to the camp, and, judging from the sound of the 
 firing, we were still a long distance from the battle-field. To which 
 the general replied that this was the road his cavalry had brought him, 
 and the only road he knew anything about. He then ordered one of 
 his aides to ride ahead and bring the cavalry back. I then asked him 
 where his road came into Pitsburg Landing; to which he replied that 
 it crossed the creek at a mill (I think he called it Veal s Mill) and in 
 tersected the Corinth and Pittsburg Landing road in front of where 
 General McClernand s camp was. I then told him that I thought it 
 would be impossible for him to get in upon that road, as the enemy 
 now had possession of these camps, and that our line of battle was to 
 the rear of them. At this moment his cavalry came back and General 
 Wallace rode forward to communicate with them. When he came back 
 he remarked that it was true that the enemy was between us and our 
 army; that the cavalry had been close enough to hear the musketry. 
 The order was then given to counter-march; upon which I remarked to 
 General Wallace that I would ride on and inform General Grant that 
 he was coming; to which he replied. "No, Captain; I shall be obliged 
 to keep you with me to act as guide, as none of us know the River road 
 you speak of." I accordingly remained. 
 
 The march toward the old camp was continued to a point about 
 one-half mile north of it, where the troops filed to the right and came 
 into the River road. At the point of filing off we were met by Lieuten 
 ant Colonel (now Major-General) McPherson and Major Rawlins, mem- 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 61 
 
 bers of General Grant s staff, who had also come to look after General 
 Wallace. The march was continued up the River road until the battle 
 field was reached, which was just as it was getting dark and after the 
 fighting for the day was over. 
 
 Of the character of the march after I overtook General Wallace 
 I can only say that to me it appeared intolerably slow, resembling more 
 a reconnaisance in the face of the enemy than a forced march to relieve 
 a hard-pressd army. So strongly did this impression take hold of my 
 mind, that I took the liberty of repeating to General Wallace that part 
 of General Grant s order enjoining haste. The same idea seemed to 
 have taken possession of the minds of Colonel McPherson and Major 
 Rawlins, as on the march from the camp to the battle-field Major Raw- 
 lins on several occasions rode back for the purpose of trying to hurry 
 up the troops and to ascertain what was the cause of the delay. I 
 have no means of judging as to what distance General Wallace was 
 from the battle-field when I found him, except that I could hear the 
 firing much more distinctly at the camp he had left than I could at the 
 point where I found him. 
 
 I -remain, colonel, your obedient servant, 
 
 W. R. ROWLEY, 
 Major and Aide-de-camp. 
 
 Headquarters Seventeenth Army Corps, 
 Departmen of the Tennessee, 
 Lake Providence, La., March 2G, 1863. 
 Lieut. Col. JOHN A. RAWLINS, 
 
 Assistant Adjutant-General: 
 
 Colonel: I have the honor to submit the following in relation to 
 the position of the troops and the battle of Shiloh: 
 
 When the troops first disembarked at Pittsburg Lnnding the Ten 
 nessee River was very high, the water backing up in all the streams, 
 covering the bottoms in the vicinity of the river from 2 to 6 feet, ren 
 dering Lick and Snake Creeks impassible. 
 
 Four divisions of the army were enecamped on the field of Shiloh 
 in the relative positions indicated in the sketch, and one division (Maj. 
 Gen. Lewis Wallace s) at Crump s Landing, about 6 miles below. 
 
 My attention was frequently called to the crossing at Snake 
 Creek, on the direct road from Pittsburg Landing to Crump s, as it was 
 considered very important that a line of land communication between 
 the two portions of the army should be kept open. 
 
 As soon as the water subsided sufficiently the bridge across the 
 creek was reconstructed, and a company of cavalry sent through to 
 
62 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 communicate to General Wallace s command. This was on Thurs 
 day, previous to the battle. 
 
 Sunday morning, the first day of the battle, I was with Brig. Gen. 
 W. H. L. Wallace, who, in consequence of the severe illness of General 
 C. F. Smith, commanded the division. It was well known the enemy 
 was approaching our lines, and there had been more or less skirmish- 
 Ing for three days preceding the battle. 
 
 The consequence was our breakfasts were ordered at an early 
 hour and our horses saddled, to be ready in case of attack. Sunday 
 morning, shortly before 7 o clock, word came to the Landing that the 
 battle had commenced. I immediately started, in company with Gen 
 eral W. H. L. Wallace and staff; found his division in line ready to 
 move out. At this time, not later than 7:30 a. m., General McClernand 
 had moved a portion of his division up to support General Sherman s 
 left. General Hurlbut had moved to the support of General Prentiss, 
 and General W. H. L. Wallace s division was moved up to support the 
 center and right. I was actively engaged on the field, and did not see 
 General Grant until some time after his arrival, when I met him on the 
 field, with Brig. Gen. W. H. L. Wallace. He informed me that when 
 he came up from Savannah, at 7:30, he had notified Maj. Gen. Lewis 
 Wallace, at Crump s Landing, to hold his command in readiness to 
 march at a moment s notice, and that immediately on his arrival at 
 Pittsburg Landing, finding that the attack was in earnest and not a 
 feint, he had sent Captain Baxter, assistant quartermaster, with orders 
 to him to move up immediately by the River road and take a position 
 on our right. Shortly after this Captain Baxter returned, certainly 
 not later than 10:30, and said that he had delivered the order. 
 
 At about 12 m., General Wallace not having arrived, General 
 Grant became very anxious, as the tide of the battle was setting against 
 us, and shortly after dispatched Captain Rowley, one of his aides, to 
 hasten up General Wallace. The battle still continued without cessa 
 tion, our troops being forced back gradually at all points, though fight 
 ing most heroically. Two hours rolled around and no news from Gen 
 eral Wallace, when at 2:30 p. m. General Grant directed me to go in 
 search of him, report to him how matters stood, and hasten him for 
 ward, if possible. I asked Captain (now Lieutenant-Colonel) Rawlins 
 to accompany me, and taking two orderlies, we started at a rapid pace 
 on the River road, expecting to meet the command at every step; push 
 ed on to the junction of the Purdy and Crump s Landing road; saw 
 some soldiers, who could give us no information where General Wal 
 lace was; galloped down toward the Landing a short distance and met 
 a surgeon, who said he had started some time before with his command 
 for Pittsburg Landing on a road branching off between Adamsville 
 and the River road; pushed on in this direction, and at the point D 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 63 
 
 met his Second Brigade returning, the rear of the First Brigade having 
 just filed off on the road DA. We pushed on to the head of the column 
 and found General Wallace, when I delivered my instructions, and 
 told him for "God s sake to move forward rapidly." 
 
 I understood him to say that his guide had led him wrong, and I 
 was most decidedly Of the impression that he had mistaken the road, 
 for his command had already marched a great deal farther than was 
 necessary to reach the battle-field. 
 
 I told him, however, to hurry on and we might yet be there in 
 time. I thought we could get there; sun three-quarters of an hour high. 
 We did not, however, reach the ground until after dark. 
 
 After I reached the head of the column I must say it seemed to 
 me that the march was not as rapid as the urgency of the case required. 
 Perhaps this arose in a great measure from my impatience and anxiety 
 to get this force to the field before dark as I knew very well unless 
 we arrived before sunset we could be of no use in that day s battle and 
 would not be able to retrieve the fortunes of the day. 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 JAS. B. McPHERSON, 
 
 Major-General. 
 
64 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ADVANCE, SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF CORINTH. 
 
 April 29th the army broke camp and commenced the forward 
 movement on Corinth, 20 miles distant. The roads were bad and pro 
 gress was slow; we did not go far before encountering the outposts of 
 the enemy who gave ground at the advance of our skirmishers and 
 sharpshooters, but at some expense of loss of killed and wounded each 
 day, which in the aggregate was quite considerable. On the first of May 
 our Brigade was reinforced by the 52nd Illinois and Colonel Sweeney of 
 that regiment was placed in command of our Brigade. He had been 
 a Captain in the regular army, had seen service and lost an arm in 
 the Mexican war. He was a brave, gallant Irishman, but austere, ar 
 rogant, abusive, officer; he enforced strict regular discipline on the 
 command, which did not set well upon the intelligent volunteers, caus 
 ing much complaint and friction; but as General Da vies, our Division 
 commander, was also a regular army officer, we had to stand it. With 
 the exception of an occasional false alarm, some cannonading and skir 
 mishing, which kept us in line most of the time we had no serious op 
 position. 
 
 On the 8th our Division had grand review; it was a swell affair. 
 General Davies wore a chapeau, epaulets and gorgeous uniform in full 
 regulation style, making the volunteer officers in their fatigue, service 
 suits look cheap; but that was the first and last time we saw such 
 finery during the rest of the service until we struck the Army of the 
 Potomac at the Grand Review, at Washington, after peace was de 
 clared. 
 
 After getting within ten miles of Corinth, we began to meet with 
 more determined opposition from the enemy; lines of battle were form 
 ed, the batteries were brought to the front and the woods in front were 
 thoroughly shelled and the lines advanced, breastworks were thrown up, 
 only to be abandoned without use the next day, when we proceeded 
 in a similar manner, building about four lines of temporary works dur 
 ing our advance and seige of Corinth, before it was evacuated. Pope on 
 the left and Sherman on the right encountered quite serious opposition, 
 but not enough to stop the onward movement of the army. On the ad 
 vance we were annoyed by the sharpshooters in trees, and lookouts to 
 
CAPT. R. G. REINIGER, CO. "G. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 65 
 
 find from whence shots came from, that killed and wounded some of 
 our men each day. Our sharpshooters, the 66th Ills., crawled up and 
 discovered their sharpshooters with long range target rifles in ambush 
 among the foliage of the tree tops, who had been doing the mischief. 
 A puff of smoke from the dense fo.iage of a leafy tree top, brought a 
 response from our riflemen causing havoc and consternation among 
 that kind of Indian warfare that soon broke up their game, so that 
 we were not annoyed that way any more during the campaign; it was 
 claimed that it was the Creek Indians in the service of the enemy that 
 adopted that style of warfare, but as soon as our buck tailed regiment 
 got after them they quickly abandoned it. 
 
 In order to bring out a phase of army life not .generally touched 
 upon, I herewith re-produce an article I wrote about fifteen years ago, 
 and which was published in the quarterly "Annals of Iowa." This oc 
 curred at this time on the advance and seige of Corinth. 
 
 THE SAD WAR EXPERIENCES OF TWO IOWA BROTHERS. 
 
 Thre were only two of us, Peter and I. Notwithstanding that 
 we were the only sons of a widowed mother, with two younger sisters, 
 living on a farm in Cerro Gordo, then a frontier county in the state, 
 we had both enlisted early in the war, and were among the first who 
 started for the front. I had gone first, early in 1861, with mother s con 
 sent and blessing, with the understanding that my brother should re 
 main at home and work the farm. He staid, apparently contented, 
 until the following winter, when I returned on a furlough from Mound 
 City hospital, where I had been for treatment for a gun-shot wound 
 in the right shoulder, received at the battle of Belmont, Mo., Novem 
 ber 7, 1861. 
 
 They laid me on mother s bed when I was brought home. My 
 brother was away at the time and did not return until evening. When 
 he came home, mother told him to go into her bedroom and see who 
 was there. The first intimation he had that I had returned was when 
 he saw me there. I never shall forget his looks at that time. I was 
 very much emaciated from the effects of my wound and the exposure 
 and neglect following, having been lett on the battle-field in the hands 
 of the Rebels and receiving no medical attendance until over twenty- 
 four hours after the battle. He was very much affected at seeing me 
 in that condition. He was then about nineteen years of age, with a form 
 and physique the perfection of manhood and health; well rounded out 
 by a life of toil and privation on the frontier of Iowa. His face at first 
 flushed; then every drop of blood seemed to leave it and it was blanched 
 and grew hard, and the bloodless lips set in straight, cruel lines. It 
 was some time before he could control his feelings so he dared attempt 
 to speak. He finally calmed down and talked to me about the war, 
 
66 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 asked where my regiment was, and a few particulars about my route 
 home, when he said: "I shall have revenge for this. I have been 
 chafeing to get away to the front ever since you went to the war, and I 
 can stand it no longer." He said: "Say nothing to mother and sis 
 ters about it at present," and he was gone. 
 
 He went straight to the front, joined my regiment, the 7th Iowa 
 Infantry, in time to take an active part in the dangerous and arduous 
 campaign with General Grant, in the siege and capture of Forts Henry 
 and Donelson being assigned to Lauman s Brigade which led the charge 
 in the capture of Fort Donelson. He endured all the privations of the 
 rain, mud and snow, away from tents and supplies, in the most in 
 clement season of the year, incident to that campaign; from there he 
 went to Shiloh, where he was wounded in the shoulder by a fragment 
 of a shell, the first day of the battle, being in that portion of the field 
 dsignated by the rebels as the "Hornet s Nest," on account of the stub 
 born resistance encountered at that part of our line they having been 
 unable to break through at that point. Notwithstanding he Was 
 wounded and nearly disabled, he refused to go to the rear, but staid 
 with his company and fought all through both days of the battle. 
 
 By this time I had sufficiently recovered from my wound so as to 
 be able for light duty, and had returned to my regiment. During the 
 night, between two days fight, our regiment was ordered not to move 
 from their tracks and not a man left the ranks. At dark the battle grad 
 ually subsided from a continuous roar of artillery and musketry to de 
 sultory firing here and there along the line, and the men were allowed 
 to lie down on their arms and take a much-needed rest. My brother s 
 place in the ranks came in the road, which had been used through the 
 day by the troops, artillery, ammunition wagons and ambulances, 
 passing back and forth, and, being wet, had been churned into a per 
 fect pudding of mud, on which he spread his blanket and laid down. 
 The night set in dark and rainy, and no fires were allowed in the 
 front. Its stillness was broken by occasional musket shots and the 
 regular firing of nine-inch shells every fifteen minutes from the gun 
 boats, Lexington and Tyler, in the river, which went screeching over 
 head and bursting among the enemy in the woods beyond, and the 
 moaning of the wounded as they were carried through the lines to the 
 hospital tents in the rear. All night long the tramp of the ambulance 
 corps with the stretchers and suffering loads of humanity could be 
 heard, and the pitiless rain poured down incessantly, making both 
 wounded and well uncomfortable. In the morning my brother got up 
 out of his mud wallow, soaking wet, and so stiff and sore he could 
 scarcely move, leaving his blanket where it laid, but could not be in 
 duced to go to the hospital or to the rear. He staid with the company 
 and participated in the battle until the Rebels were routed and driven 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 67 
 
 from the field. Sunday morning when the battle began our regiment 
 was away from our camp on inspection, and was ordered from there 
 to the left of the army without going back to quarters. On our return 
 to our tents after the battle, we found they had been occupied by the 
 enemy. They had gone so suddenly that they left many of their wound 
 ed in our camp. Prom my tent they had taken everything they could 
 carry, including my violin, and left one of their wounded, a mere 
 youth, whom we tenderly nursed and cared for several days, until he 
 was taken to the field hospital. 
 
 My brother had a perfect horror of going to the hospital, and 
 insisted in staying in camp when it was apparent that he was failing 
 every day. He staid with the company until the army was ready to 
 move on the campaign to Corinth, and insisted that he was able to 
 march with the regiment. He fell in with the company with his knap 
 sack, gun and accoutrements, and started on the march, only to fall 
 behind the first mile. I dropped back with him and encouraged him 
 by first carrying his gun; he went on a little farther and gave out 
 again. After resting awile I took his haversack and accroutrement 
 and he went a little farther and gave out again. We sat down beside 
 the road until darkness began to overtake us, when an orderly came a- 
 long, piloting our regimental teams, and told us that the regiment had 
 gone into camp about two miles beyond, pointing the direction they 
 were. The teamster took my brother s gun and knapsack, but refused 
 to let him ride, as he had such a load, and had strict orders not to let 
 any one ride. We started through the woods to camp in the direction 
 indicated by the orderly, leaving the traveled road. We were not yet 
 off the battlefield, when darkness overtook us; it began to rain and we 
 got lost, stumbled and wandered around until finally we could see the 
 camp fires, toward which we started. My brother fell into a shallow 
 trench or grave where some of those killed in battle had been buried. 
 The bodies had been entombed just long enough to become decomposed 
 and there being scarcely any earth over them, he got nearly up to his 
 knees in putrified humanity. I pulled him out amid such a horrible 
 stench that I could scarcely stand it, and we made our way to camp 
 where we arrived about twelve o clock at night. He smelled so badly 
 that the boys could not stay in the tent with him in that condition, so 
 we stripped him of all his clothing, rolled him up in a blanket and laid 
 him in the tent, as he did not have a change of clothing, and I took his 
 clothes to a creek and washed them out and hung them by the camp fire 
 to dry. He had a burning fever all through the night and was not able 
 to sit up the next morning, so the regimental surgeon sent him back 
 to the hospital in an ambulance. 
 
 Until after the battle of Shiloh, the discipline in camp and field 
 nad been somewhat lax, and the experience of carelessness and sur- 
 
I 
 
 68 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 prise at that time had led the officers to see the necessity of being more 
 strict and watchful for a wary foe, until they had gone almost to the 
 other extreme of strictness and dicipline, as they saw the stern fact 
 of a long and pitiless war upon us. 
 
 We continued our march and approach to Corinth, skirmishing, 
 fighting, entrenching and advancing every day, and I heard nothing 
 from my brother until about the 10th of May, when word came to me 
 from the rear that he was on the hospital steamer City of Memphis at 
 Pittsburg Landing, dying, and wanted to see me. I went to my Colonel 
 E. W. Rice, and asked him for a two days leave of absence to go to him 
 He said he would be willing to grant my request, only that he was a- 
 fraid I might get captured by the Rebel Cavalry, or guerrillas if I went 
 alone, and suggested that I might get detailed as one of the guards to 
 the wagon trains that were hauling supplies from our base on the Ten 
 nessee River. I told him I would undertake to do so if he would give 
 me permission and a pass; he did so, and had it approved by General 
 Davies, our division commander. I looked around, among the wagon- 
 masters of the different divisions to find one going to the landing, 
 but could not find any going that day, so I made up my mind to go a- 
 lone and take the night for it. I made my way to the rear of the army 
 and waited for darkness. As soon as it became dusk I started, 
 skirting the roads so as to avoid meeting or being overtaken by guer 
 rillas or bushwhackers. I heard squads of horsemen several times 
 during the night, when I would skulk in the brush or slide behind trees 
 and wait until they passed. It was too dark for me to discern whether 
 they were friends or foes. 
 
 I arrived at the outposts at the landing at daylight having march 
 ed over twenty miles by the road, the latter part of the journey being 
 over the battle ground of Shiloh, where I had to pick my way through 
 fallen trees, skeletons of horses, unknown graves and the general de 
 bris of the late strife. I encountered a few pickets near the landing, 
 who allowed me to pass. 
 
 The gunboats Lexington and Tyler I could dimly see in the 
 dusky fog anchored in mid-stream, with their black hulls and big guns 
 looking angrily out of the port holes, guarding the supplies on the 
 bluffs, and the hospital steamer whose bow was stuck in the mud of 
 the bank, with her stern swung out in the stream. It was just getting 
 daylight and there was no stir on board as yet. I stepped upon the 
 gang-plank to go on board, when I was confronted by two guards with 
 fixed bayonets, and cold unfeeling looks, who refused to let me pass. 
 I explained my mission and begged them to allow me to go on board, 
 which they refused to do, saying they had positive orders not to pass 
 any one. I asked to see the surgeon or officer in charge, but they said 
 he had not yet got up, so I sat down on the bank and waited. The first 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 69 
 
 officer I saw was a young doctor who came out of the cabin, and Began 
 fishing over the stern of the steamer. I hailed him and explained to 
 him my errand and asked him to be allowed to go aboard and see my 
 brother. He said he could not allow me to do so, giving as a reason 
 that men had got on the boats upon one pretext or another, and had 
 gone north on French furlough or deserted that the orders were not 
 to allow any soldiers on board but the guards, nurses and wounded. 
 I told him I would pledge my word as a soldier and gentleman that if 
 he would grant me an interview with my brother, I would go ashore 
 and return to my regiment at the front at once. I held my pass in my 
 hand and asked him to come and read it for himself, stating that it was 
 given by Colonel Rice and approved by General Davies, but he was 
 inexorable and relentless, and no amount of persuasion would induce 
 him to change or modify his decision; so I sat down sorrowfully on 
 the bank to devise some way to circumvent the orders, or, Micawber- 
 like, "wait for something to turn up." 
 
 I realized that whatever was done must be done soon, as my 
 leave of absence would expire on the morrow, and my regiment was 
 over twenty miles away, and advancing. I was tired, hungry and 
 foot-sore from my all night s march. As I sat there eating hard-tack 
 and raw bacon, and watching the doctor fishing, he would occasionally 
 look at me, and I fancied he was uneasy and that his heart was soften 
 ing. He finally hailed me and asked me if I could find him some 
 angle-worms for bait. I told him pleasantly I would do my best to do 
 so. I thought if I could find them he would allow me to go on board 
 and see my brother. I dug around the bank with my bayonet, but was 
 unsuccessful, so I went back about half a mile to a field and was for 
 tunate in finding some, and returned and called to him that I had them. 
 He told me to come on board and bring them to him, which I very 
 gladly hastened to do. I went again to the gang-plank, and was again 
 stopped by the same guards. I again went and called the doctor, and 
 he ordered them to let me pass. I passed to the stern, handed the 
 bait to the doctor and hurried up the after gang-way to the cabin. It 
 was a very large steamer, the state-rooms were full of sick and wound 
 ed, and there was a long row of cots full, on each side of the cabin. 
 I searched for some time among the mass of suffering humanity before 
 I found my brother, and when I did I scarcely knew him, he was so 
 emaciated, weak and low, as to be hardly able to speak. He was en 
 tirely overcome when he saw me; we clasped hands, and I waited for 
 him to grow calm and get strength enough to talk, which seemed a 
 long time. I was so overcome with grief that I dared not trust myself 
 to speak, and we did nothing for some time but look tearfully into 
 each other s eyes. I could see plainly that I should see him no more 
 after this interview, for the mark of death was plainly upon his brow. 
 
70 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 We finally got calm and talked a little; wifh tearful eyes, and a 
 weak and nervous convulsive motion of his lips, he told me he was 
 aware he had not long to live and was so glad I Had come to see him. 
 He was about delivering a message for me to send fo mother and the 
 folks at home, when an officer and a detail of soldiers came down the 
 aisle and with a braggart s important air, which broke so harshly on 
 our feelings of grief and affection, absolutely drove me from the boat 
 at the point of their bayonets, in the face of my dying brother s plead 
 ing and imploring helplessness and my begging to allow him to finish 
 his last message and to bid me good-bye; but it was of no avail; I 
 was mercilessly thrust ashore and I never saw him again. 
 
 I saw over four years of service in the war, two and a half in the 
 ranks and the remainder of the time as a commissioned officer, always 
 in the very front, but this was the hardest thing I ever have had to 
 bear, either in war or peace. 
 
 I realize that after the surprise, the confusion and demoraliza 
 tion during the battle of Shiloh, it was necessary to have strict orders 
 and thorough discipline, but in the face of all this, conceding every 
 thing, as time has softened many things and explained others, I still 
 think, and always expect to, that for a cowardly, cold-hearted piece 
 of meanness, that capped the climax; and I shall always think that 
 nobody but cowardly officers and soldiers who skulked and sought duty 
 in the rear, would ever be guilty of such acts. They certainly might 
 have discriminated in their orders enough to allow my dying brother 
 to finish his message to our widowed mother. 
 
 He died on the 12th of May, 1862, among strangers, without a 
 friend to comfort him, on the hospital steamer City of Memphis, on 
 his way to Keokuk hospital, and was buried on the banks of the Mis 
 sissippi River, below Quincy. 
 
 Could he have only survived to reach home, and laid his suffer 
 ing and weary head . on the mother s bosom that had nourished him 
 to strength and manhood, to go forth to do battle for his country, he 
 would have died satisfied; and what a comfort it would have been to 
 her -through all these long years, to have had the privilege of minister 
 ing unto him in his last moments! 
 
 To this day I have never had the courage to tell our mother the 
 circumstances of his death, and I hope she may never know them. 
 
 The recollections of that time, and the circumstances, come 
 back fresh to me over the lapse of a third of a century, with a vivid 
 ness as though it were but yesterday and they were my saddest ex 
 periences of the war. 
 
 H. I. SMITH. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 71 
 
 General Hallock advanced very cautiously, by slow marches, in 
 trenching every day. Step by step, tree by tree, position to position; 
 clinging to stumps and hillocks, closely followed by the pioneer corps 
 and details of men with entrenching tools; contest was raging along 
 the lines each day. Beauregard concentrated his army at Corinth and 
 strongly fortified his position; he summoned to his aid, all the avail 
 able troops of the southwest, including the armies of Price and Van- 
 Dorn, from Missouri and Arkansas, as well as the militia of the states 
 of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and prepared for a determined 
 defense. Beauregard was inciting his troops and fighting for his fading 
 prestige of invincibility with obstinacy and desperation. r Soldiers of 
 Shiloh and Elkhorn," he said to his troops, "we are about to meet once 
 more in the shock of battle the invaders of our soil, the despoilers of 
 our homes, the disturbers of our family ties, face to face, hand to hand. 
 * * * With your mingled banners, for the first time during this war, 
 we meet the foe in strength that should give us victory. Soldiers can 
 the result be doubtful? Shall we not drive back into Tennessee the 
 presumptous merceanaries collected for our subjugation? One more 
 manly effort, and, trusting to God and the justice of our cause, we 
 shall recover more than we have lately lost." 
 
 Bragg, too, addressed his men in the same strain, telling them: 
 "You will encounter him in your chosen position, strong by nature and 
 improved by art, away from his main support and reliance gunboats 
 and heavy batteries and for the first time in this war, with nearly 
 equal numbers." 
 
 We continued advancing and fighting, canonading and entrench 
 ing, until the 30th, when we heard heavy explosions, rumbling of rail 
 road trains and terrific rumbling sounds, which we afterwards learned 
 was caused by the destruction of amunition and stores before the 
 evacuation of Corinth by the enemy. Soon curriers returned stating 
 that our skirmishers were in the city which had been evacuated dur 
 ing the night, when the most of the army were put in hasty pursuit. 
 On the ridges around Corinth could be seen the remains of the aban 
 doned camps of the enemy, everything indicating a speedy and hasty 
 retreat. In the town itself many houses were still burning and the 
 ruins of warehouses and buildings containing commissary stores were 
 still smouldering; but there still remained piles of cannon balls, shells 
 and shot, sugar, molases,beans,rice and other property, which the enemy 
 had failed to carry off or destroy. We captured many of the enemy s 
 pickets who were sacrificed to make a show of resistance, until the last 
 of the army could get away. 
 
 The pursuit was pushed as far south as Boonville, but bridges 
 were destroyed and roads obstructed as they retreated, making it 
 necessary for us to clear them to allow our artillery and ammunition 
 
72 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 trains to follow, so that they succeeded in getting most of their army 
 away, by abandoning and destroying most of their stores an d supplies 
 and leaving their heavy artillery. Thus ended the seige and capture 
 oi Corinth. 
 
 According to General Beauregard s official report made on the 
 22nd of April, 1862, he had four corps for the defence of Corinth, Polk s 
 Bragg s, Hardee s 1 and Breckenridge s, besides cavalry, &c. 
 Total of 80.804 men of all arms. In his official report made May 26th, 
 just before the evacuation, he had 112,017. Our force aggregated about 
 150,000 of all arms. It must be remembered, however, that they were 
 strongly fortified, on ground of their own choosing, they were in their 
 own country, among friends holding the inside of the circle which took 
 much less force to show the same frontage strength than we, who were 
 encircling them in the open. They boldly challenged us to meet them at 
 Corinth. We accepted, came slowly, without concealment to the ground 
 of their own choosing and they fled, after making all preparations and 
 strong fortifications. 
 
 General Grant says in his own memoirs that,"The most anxious per 
 iod of the war, to me, was during the time the army of the Tennessee 
 was guarding the territory acquired by the fall of Corinth and Mem 
 phis and before I was sufficiently reinforced to take the offensive." 
 The enemy also had cavalry operating in our rear, making it necessary 
 to guard every point of the railway back to Columbus on the security 
 of which we were dependent for all our supplies." 
 
 We returned after the pursuit to Corinth on the 13th of June es 
 tablished permanent camp about two miles south of the city, designat 
 ing it Camp Montgomery, why the name? I never knew. It was a 
 nice, shady place, which we proceeded to brush, trim up and police; our 
 tents, camp and garrison equipage were brought up and we laid out 
 camp in regular camp order and proceeded to drill and perfect our 
 selves in warfare and take a much needed rest. We established post hos 
 pitals in the buildings where we could give our sick and wounded proper 
 care. Rations of flour were issued to us for the first time since we left 
 Pittsburg; we made dutch bake ovens out of clay and our cooks pre 
 pared us soft bread; we were also provided with fresh meat all of which 
 was relished after long use of hardtack and salt meat. We also dug 
 wells and secured wholesome and palatable water, which had the effect 
 of improving the health of the troops. Many of our officers resigned 
 here, which made quite a change in the line -officers of the regiment. 
 The war department issued orders about this time that regiments and 
 companies" not having a minimum number of men would not be allowed 
 a full complement of commissioned officers and as our regiment had 
 been so depleted from the casualities of war, few of the companies had 
 enough for a full quota, so we were not allowed but two commissioned 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 73 
 
 officers to a company. But we got rid of a lot of useless officers by their 
 resignations, that were subject to cold feet. 
 
 Some of the regiments and companies were sent to surrounding 
 towns on outpost duty and guarding the railroad to Memphis; while 
 others made short expeditions in the surrounding country trying to 
 head off or capture Forrest s or Roddy s cavalry that were harassing 
 our outposts or destroying our communications. A daily train went 
 to Memphis to bring forward army supplies to be accumulated for fu 
 ture campaigns and furnish the army. A company of infantry were 
 detailed each day to guard the train from attack by guerrillas, a block 
 house was built on a flat car, on which was placed a piece of artillery 
 to be fired through port holes which was pushed ahead of the locomo 
 tive to protect the engineer and trainmen; the scheme had the effect 
 of keeping raiding parties of rebels from tearing up the road, burning 
 bridges, &c. The trains and railroads were mostly operated by details 
 from men, who had been in the business before they enlisted in the 
 army. The cabs of the engines were armored to keep guerrillas from 
 picking off the engineer, fireman and armed guards riding with them. 
 
 Soon after the capture of Corinth General Grant was restored to 
 the command of the Army of the Tennessee. General Buell was sent 
 with his army to Huntsville, Stevenson and Chattanooga, and General 
 Sherman s Division was distributed along the line of the Memphis and 
 Charleston Railroad, between Memphis and Grand Junction. He re 
 built the bridges, put the road and equipments in running order, which 
 furnished transportation facilities to carry forward supplies to the 
 front at Corinth. General Sherman in the meantime was promoted to 
 a full Major General, and things generally evened up. 
 
 We remained quietly in quarters in Camp Montgomery until the 
 15th of September, when we accompanied the expedition under Rose- 
 crans in the march which resulted in the recapture of luka, and while 
 we did not directly participate in the battle, we were in position as or 
 dered. Gen. Hamilton with a portion of the command who were in the 
 advance, met a force of the enemy and was beaten back before we 
 could get to him to assist, losing a battery and a large number killed 
 and wounded, the 5th Iowa being nearly annihilatel. During the night 
 Price evacuated and retreated, when we marched into town the next 
 morning without opposition and participated in the pursuit, in which 
 they escaped. 
 
 We returned to camp Montgomery, where we laid and rested un 
 til the memorable two days battle of Corinth, which occurred on the 
 3rd and 4th of October, 1862. 
 
74 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 BATTLE OF CORINTH. 
 
 We left Camp Montgomery on the morning of the 3rd with two 
 days rations and 100 rounds of cartridges each in light marching order, 
 leaving those unfit for duty in camp, with teamsters and convalescents 
 to guard the camp and trains; marching through and two and one-half 
 miles northwest of the town of Corinth, taking position in the old 
 rebel rifle pits in support of a section of Company I battery of the First 
 Missouri Light Artillery. The defensive works had been built while 
 the enemy occupied the city; they had cleared the timber and brush sev 
 eral hundred yards in front, so that we had good view and range. We 
 had no sooner got in position than we saw them forming in the woods 
 in our front, from which they soon emerged in three columns, close col 
 umn by division. We were ordered to hold our fire for close work, ex 
 cept the battery, so it gave us a good opportunity to see the charge. 
 They charged the brigade, General Ogelsby s, immediately to our left. 
 It was the grandest sight I think I ever witnessed. Their columns 
 were simply invincible; they came on without hesitating or wavering 
 in the least, breaking our line with the very force and impact of their 
 solid massed divisions with a valor and determination worthy of a 
 better cause. The brigade to our left gave way which obliged us to fall 
 back, not until we had given them an enfilading fire from our battery, 
 which, while it did i earful havoc, it never stopped them for a moment. 
 The line and circle we occupied was built for an army of 100,000 men 
 which they had before the evacuation, hence with our small numbers 
 we could not expect to maintain, as they had force enough to overlap 
 us on both flanks. We fell back to a ridge near the White house, filed 
 to the left, taking position perpendicular to the road and waited for 
 them again. The timber and brush here was so thick we could not see 
 far in advance, as soon as their skirmish line discovered our new po 
 sition, they cautiously withdrew and proceeded to ^give us a vigorous 
 shelling with their batteries for half an hour or so which was responded 
 to by Lieut. Bruner with a section of Battery "H" First Missouri 
 Light Artillery; and failing to dislodge us in this way, they 
 again came on with their solid masses of infantry, with 
 such force and determination that we were again obliged to yield 
 to their superior strength, aiter a severe loss of men and nearly all our 
 battery horses. It was with difficulty that we got our guns off the field; 
 in fact we lost two cassions and some guns of a 30 pound Parrott bat 
 tery in the brigade to the right; these guns are too large and un- 
 wieldly to handle at close range, especially in the timber without roads, 
 so we lost two; but they were recaptured in t heir defeat the next day, 
 together with a portion of the Dubuque battery which had been pre 
 viously lost by our troops in the battle of Pea Ridge, Ark. Our brigade 
 
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 1 1 
 
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 o d 
 
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VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 75 
 
 commander, General Hackelman, was mortally wounded while gallant 
 ly leading us, and sad havoc was made in tfie field officers and men of 
 the brigade. Col. Parrott, Major McMullen and Sergt. Major Cameron 
 were wounded. Capt. B. K. Smith was killed, Capt. Conn wounded, and 
 Lieuts. Irvin, Bennett, Gale, Hope, Morrison and Smith; with a total 
 casuality in the two days batle of 127. The Second Iowa which fought 
 by our side had a loss more severe, losing their Colonel, James Baker, 
 and Lieut. Colonel Mills mortally wounded, together with a large list 
 of officers, rank and file. 
 
 After they had driven us into the town, which was after nightfall, 
 General Vandorn sent an officer under a flag of truce, with a demand 
 for surrender, stating that they had us completly surrounded, the de 
 mand was accompanied by a threat to shell us out with their artillery 
 if it v/asn t complied with. Rosecrans, our commander, refused to sur 
 render. At 3:30 o clock in the morning they opened up on us with all 
 their artillery, about fifty pieces. It was yet dark. As a noisy pyro- 
 technical display it was magnificent and terrible; the heavens were 
 lit up with flying missies, with burning fuses, with long lines of sheet 
 flame and screeching shells, presenting a scene grand and sublime; 
 but they shot too high and did little damage, only to the skulkers in 
 the rear and field hospitals. 
 
 I was orderly sergeant of Co. "B" and present with the company; 
 in the battle on the first day the color guards were all killed or wound 
 ed, making it necessary to make new details for the next day; the 
 Adjutant called for a sergeant from company "B." It was my duty as 
 the orderly sergeant to make the selection; I had no sergeant for duty 
 and as it was corporal Channers next turn for duty, I detailed him. 
 He seemed to have a premonition that if he went he would be Killed 
 and so stated, saying if it was his turn for detail he would go if I said 
 so. I convinced him it was his turn and he reluctantly went, saying he 
 knew he would be killed. He was killed before noon bravely defending 
 the flag. He was a noble specimen of a robust, intelligent, volunteer sol 
 dier and I have always felt condemned for doing my duty in sending 
 him in the face of his conviction. 
 
 After Channer fell and Alex. Fields the color bearer was wound 
 ed, George Craig, a drummer of company "B," sprang for the colors and 
 held them up. He was a little wiry, nervy fellow, not overly strong; 
 the exertion and excitement of the battle completely unnerved him; 
 he kept up bravely until after the fight, then taking the colors to Col 
 onel Rice he handed them to him saying, "Colonel, I ve got the sand, 
 but not the bottom," fainted and sank to the ground. The boys gather 
 ed around him, fanned him with their hats, gave him water and he re 
 vived, but he was completely exhausted. 
 
76 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 Company "K" being on outpost duty escaped the trying ordeal 
 of the battle. 
 
 THE GUN "LADY RICHARDSON." 
 
 A rebel account of the capture of the 30 pound Parrott gun Lady 
 Richardson at the battle of Corinth. Only the heavy guns had individ 
 ual names. 
 
 (The News is requested to reprint this piece of war reminiscence. 
 It is from the Confederate Veteran and explains itself.) 
 Rev. A. T. Goodloe, Station Camp, Tenn.: 
 
 "This magnificent and somewhat celebrated cannon belonged to a 
 Yankee battery at Corinth, which was stormed and captured by the 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama and Ninth Arkansas regiments, October 3, 1862. 
 General Rust, then commanding our brigade, was in the immediate rear 
 of the Thirty-fifth Alabama, to which I belonged when he ordered the 
 charge, and he thought this regiment alone did the work, as the regi 
 ment between us and the Ninth Arkansas did not advance. After the 
 fight he brought Gen. Lovell, then commanding that army, around to 
 our regiment and presented us to him as the troops that drove the 
 massed forces of Yankee infantry from their entrenchments and cap 
 tured their battery. General Lovell remarked: "Well, boys, you did 
 that handsomely." I have thought that Gen. Rust did not observe, in 
 the rush of the battle, tliat the Ninth Arkansas and Thirty-fifth Alabama 
 touched each other before we reached the battery. The Yankees gave up 
 the "Lady Richardson" very reluctantly, and W. G. Whitfield, a private 
 in Company D, Thirty-fifth Alabama, gave chase to the last one that 
 left it, nearly catching him at the start, but the Yankee was too fleet 
 for him. This incident was the occasion of Whitfield being made the 
 first sergeant of the company at my suggestion. He is now a prosper 
 ous tobacco leaf merchant at Paducah, Ky. 
 
 I have written this mainly to correct a mistake of an honored 
 comrade in the June Confederate Veteran in regard to the capture of 
 the "Lady Richardson" at the Corinth fight. I was acting as lieuten r 
 ant of Company D of my regiment at the time, but it was before my 
 commission had reached me. 
 
 "W. G. Whitefield, First Sergeant, Company D, Thirty-fifth Alabama 
 Regiment, Paducah, Ky.: 
 
 "I have seen several articles about the thirty-pound Parrott gun, 
 "Lady Richardson," but have never seen any account of who captured 
 it. The Thirty-fifth Alabama and Ninth Arkansas captured it Octo 
 ber 3, 1862, at Corinth, Miss. One of her shots struck a large tree, just 
 a few feet from my head and tore it to pieces. One of my company, 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 77 
 
 who was deaf, W. C. Collins, turned his head to one side and looked 
 up as though he had heard it. Lady Richardson" was named for the 
 wife of Senator Richardson, of Illinois, and I understood that it was 
 manned by a Chicago company. I can testify that they stood to their 
 work bravely, for many of them never left their posts. I was the first 
 man, or with the first, to pass by within a few feet of this gun. The 
 Ninth Arkansas and Thirty-fifth Alabama were the two regiments who 
 charged her from the west, passing on and reforming some two hun 
 dred yards beyond, when some other troops came, apparently from the 
 north side, wounded one of my regiment and placed their flag on the 
 guns. Our first impression was that the Yanks were flanking us. I 
 suppose we opened fire on the "lady" at about two hundred yards range 
 and never ceased until we halted some two or three hundred yards be 
 yond. Mr. Henry Hand, Gen. Rust s adjutant, is living here, and says 
 my statement is correct. Rev. A. T. Goodloe, of Station Camp, Tenn., 
 will, I expect, be heard from, as he had me promoted for trying to 
 catch the last Yank who left the "Lady." 
 
 I am of the opinion that the Twenty-second Mississippi really 
 believed she captured the "Lady." I did not do a great deal in the 
 four years in infantry but I do want my own and no more. 
 
 THE REBEL FLAG CAPTURE. 
 
 Account of capture of rebel colors by George Rollet of com 
 pany "H." 7th Iowa. 
 
 Chicago, 111., July 28th, 1894. 
 Mr. George Rollett, Fort Madison, Iowa. 
 
 Friend and Comrade: Your s of recent date asking for my 
 recollections of the capture of the rebel flag at Corinth, Miss 1 ** Oct. 4th, 
 1862, is at hand. I remember the circumstances well. The rebels had 
 charged close up to our lines when the reception we gave them was so 
 warm they were forced to seek shelter behind the many stumps and 
 logs near them. Immediately in front of our company, from behind a 
 stump, a rebel color-bearer was waving his flag. I tried my marks 
 manship on the confederate gentleman, but the flag still waved. When 
 our line was forced to give way. five or six of Company D remained 
 long enough to take one more shots at our southern cousins. I finished 
 loading first and was priming when I saw the bearer raise and ad 
 vance with the colors. I called the attention of our squad to him. We 
 all fired at him about the same time, except yourself. At the crack 
 of your gun the bearer and flag went to earth. Later on when the 
 field was once more ours, you was first to reach the spot where lay the 
 dead cojor-bearer, holding with a death-grip the staff of the flag he 
 had so bravely carried. You secured the flag and passed it up to Col. 
 
78 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 E. W. Rice, who carried it until the close of the battle. I have read 
 the statement of W. E. Davis claiming that Wm. Barry, of the Second 
 Iowa, captured a flag at Corinth. That may be so, but if he did and 
 it was taken from him, some one else (not Gen. Rice) took it, for those 
 who knew him would never accuse Gen. Rice of stooping so low as 
 to take a trophy from its captor and giving it to another. He carried 
 but one flag through that fight, and that was the one you captured, 
 Comrade Rollett. 
 
 I cannot believe that any member of the brave old Second Iowa 
 would intentionally deprive one of the Seventh, who to the Second 
 were as brothers during the four bloody years of the war, of any honor 
 that was rightfully his simply a mistake on the part of Mr. Davis. 
 
 Make any use of this statement you wish. 
 
 Yours in F. C. and L., 
 
 J. D. HAMILTON, 
 Late Co. D, Seventh I. V. V. I. 
 
 General Grant says in his memoirs that, "The battle of Corinth 
 was bloody, our loss being 315 killed, 1,812 wounded, and 223 missing. 
 The enemy lost many more. Rosecrans reported 1,$23 dead, and 2,225 
 prisoners. Among the killed on our side was General Hackleman. 
 General Oglesby was badly wounded, it was for some time supposed 
 mortally wounded. I received a congratulatory letter from the Presi- 
 d?nt, which expressed also his sorrow for the losses." In describing 
 that battle I can not do better than quote from Kilmer s description 
 of that fight. 
 
 At Corinth, Miss., Oct. 3 and 4, 1862, General Earl VanDorn at- 
 temped to wre-st the great prize of the valley from the grasp of Grant. 
 The fall of Corinth into the hands of the Confederates would mean 
 that Grant s victories at Port Henry, Donelson and Shiloh early in 
 the year had been in vain. Corinth at the time was the advance post 
 of the Federals in the southwest. Grant was at Jackson, Tenn., and 
 maintained a force of 12,000 at Bolivar, with another at Memphis under 
 Sherman numbering 7,000. The garrison at Corinth mustered 23,000 
 and was commanded by Rosecrans. VanDorn, having united his own 
 army with that of . Sterling Price, Villepigue, Lovel and Rust, after 
 the repulse of Price at luka Sept. 20, had over 40,000 troops in the 
 field, and he boldly considered striking Memphis, Bolivar or Corinth. 
 
 Grant was in doubt where VanDorn would appear. A large Con 
 federate army was across the border in Kentucky, and every Federal 
 soldier that could be spared from the defense of the Memphis and 
 Corinth region was needed to defend the line on the Ohio. Grant and 
 his generals must therefore fight it out with VanDorn alone. 
 
HENRY I. SMITH, 
 
 First Sergeant Company "B, i862. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 79 
 
 VanDorn and Price were vehement, not to say rash, leaders 
 in battle. They planned to surprise Rosecrans at Corinth with one 
 column and, engaging him in his works, bring up a fresh column 
 and clinch the victory. But Rosecrans was bold as well. When he 
 heard that the enemy was after Corinth he marched his troops out 
 to give battle in front of the works. 
 
 Rosecrans center division under General Davies was first at 
 tacked by three Confederate divisions. VanDorn s line was so long 
 that, it overlapped Davies, and his troops fought heroically, but had 
 to give ground step by step. Every one of his brigade commanders 
 fell early in the fight. General Hackleman was mortally wounded 
 while rallying the troops. General Oglesby of Illinois was shot down 
 at the same time. Some soldiers stooped to carry Oglesby from the 
 field, but he cried out: "Never mind me! Look yonder!" The Con 
 federates had broken the line and were rushing on to Corinth. Col 
 onel Baldwin, leader of the Third brigade, also fell. 
 
 Countless deeds of heroism were enacted on Davies line, for it 
 was in a forlorn hope to keep the head of the Confederate column at 
 arm s length until Rosecrans could draw his line back to the works. 
 Lieut. Maxwell of Hackleman s brigade rushed forward into the enemy s 
 ranks and recaptured a regimental standard that had just been lost. 
 Tn falling back from an old redan which had been used at the begin 
 ning of the fight the Ffty-second Illinois left Private Murray alone 
 behind the rampart. "It is orders to hold the fort to tlie last," he ex 
 claimed. A Confederate captain demanded Murray s surrender and 
 when it was refused shot him with a revolver. Murray shot the cap 
 tain dead and also a private who attacked him. 
 
 Both army leaders sighed for one hour more of daylight when night 
 put an end to the battle on Oct. 3. In spite of the heroic fighting in the 
 center of Rosecrans line, VanDorn had carried his army to within 600 
 yards of Corinth. But in fighting his way up VanDorn had merely 
 driven a wedge between the Federal right and left, Rosecrans right 
 division under General Hamilton was ready when the sun went down 
 .to fall upon the Confederate rear. After dark Rosecrans drew all his 
 troops back inside the line of fortifications and stood ready for the 
 battle which VanDorn sprung at daylight Oct. 4. After a short duel 
 of artillery the Confederates ceased fighting. The division which had 
 the most important part in heading the charge did not move, but about 
 8 o clock the charging line marched out from the cover of the woods 
 in splendid style. Rosecrans troops, lying down in front of the bat 
 teries, could see the southern flags and the glint of the sun upon the 
 advancing bayonets. The first Federal line attacked was unfortunate 
 ly placed, and the troops gave way. Rushing pellmell, the Confeder 
 ates were caught by the fire of Rosecrans batteries. The force of the 
 
80 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 charge was broken by the shells, but some of the boldest Confederates 
 dashed on into the Federal reserve artillery. 
 
 The bloodiest fighting of the day was at Battery Robinett, a little 
 work holding three guns, with a ditch in front five feet deep. This 
 battery was assaulted again and again until the dead Confederates 
 lay piled in ranks before it. When the head of the column at last 
 reached the ditch, Colonel Rogers, leading the Second Texas, dismount 
 ed and, taking his flag from the hands of a dead color-bearer, the fifth 
 to fall in the desperate charge, planted it upon the bank and stood by 
 rallying his men until he was pierced by eleven bullets. 
 
 Colonel Rogers fell in front of the Eleventh Missouri infantry. 
 That regiment lay, or knelt, rather, out of sight of the enemy in rear 
 of the battery. The moment the force of the southern charge was 
 broken the Missourians arose with wild cheers and charged bayonets. 
 But the dead in front of Battery Robinett were not all Confederates. 
 At the beginning of the fight the Sixty-third Ohio lay about forty rods 
 in advance of the Missouri regiment. A cloud of sharpshooters pre- 
 ceeded the Confederate column and took the Ohioans for their prin 
 cipal target. So deadly was their fire that when the charging column 
 headed by Colonel Rogers reached the little fort the Ohio regiment 
 had entirely disappeared. When the Ohioans arose to meet the Con 
 federate onslaught, there were 13 officers and 275 men in the line. 
 More than half of the men and nine officers were killed or wounded, 
 but the remnant, with the Eleventh Missouri, rushed after the Con 
 federates with their bayonets at the end of the last desperate charge. 
 
 One of the Ohio boys made the most desperate flag capture of the 
 day. In the last charge a gallant Texan marched in front of the col 
 umn straight for the fort. He was shot, and Private Orin B. Gould 
 of Company G sprang forward to seize the flag. A Confederate cap 
 tain called out to his followers, "Save your colors." Gould was hit in 
 the breast with a revolver shot, but brought off the trophy in triumph. 
 
 The fight at the works of Corinth did not last over an hour. The 
 Federal Battery Powell was captured by a brigade of Price s Missou 
 rians, but before help could come up to hold it the assailants had been 
 routed. By noon the Confederates were in full retreat. VanDorn drew 
 his army south into Mississippi, and it took no further part in the 
 campaign around Corinth or the game General Bragg was playing in 
 the invasion of Kentucky. 
 
 GEORGE L. KILMER. 
 
 Gen, Grant said: "The battle was recognized by me as being a decid 
 ed victory." * * * 
 
 Since the war it is known that the result, as it was, was a crushing 
 blow to the enemy, and felt by him much more than it was appreciated 
 
C. H. TROTT, 
 
 Regimental Quartermaster. 
 
 Afterwards Captain and A. A. Gen., U. S. V. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 81 
 
 by the north. The battle relieved me from any further anxiety for the 
 safety of the territory within my jurisdiction, and soon after receiv 
 ing reinforcements I suggested to the General-in-chief a forward move 
 ment against Vicksburg." . 
 
 The following heroic incident is contributed by C. H. Troot, at 
 that time Quartermasters Sergeant of the 7th Iowa, who formerly be 
 longed to Co. "B." As a piece of unrecorded history it is certainly 
 worthy of record. These warehouses contained millions of rations, am 
 munition and army stores that had been gathered and accumulated 
 for the army for months, and now that Price had destroyed all the 
 supplies at luka, only a short time before, it will readily be seen what 
 an immense damage to the army it would have been had they been de 
 stroyed. It would have necessitated the withdrawal of the army to 
 its base for food, if nothing more. So that two enlisted men of the 
 7th Iowa can be truthfully credited with saving the retreat of the army 
 and abandonment of territory captured at such an expense of life, 
 suffering and treasure. 
 
 A NARROW ESCAPE. 
 
 The following incident was known only to two others of our 
 regiment besides myself, and it has probably never received any pub 
 licity. All who were at Corinth, Miss., during the months proceeding 
 the battle of Corinth on Oct. 3rd and 4th, 18G2, were aware of the large 
 ware houses* erected by the government along the line of the Memphis 
 railroad. That which contained the commissary stores was an im 
 mense frame building, and at the time of the battle was filled to the 
 very roof with millions of rations which had been shipped in for the 
 purpose of provisioning the entire army. It was reported at the time, 
 that the Confederates had brought large wagon trains to take away 
 the supplies they so sorely needed and expected to capture. 
 
 On the second day of the battle (Oct. 4), the regiment was lying 
 in line of battle with Welkor s battery "H," 1st Missouri Light Artil 
 lery on its right. It was a quiet, but hot afternoon, and for awhile 
 there was nothing heard but the firing of our skirmishers and the 
 discharge at regular intervals of shells from the battery. Taking 
 advantage of the convenient opportunity to procure the rations which 
 would be required to supply the regiment that evening, I proceeded 
 with one wagon to the commissary warehouse. The wagon went to 
 the open door at the extreme end of the building, where the supplies 
 were being delivered by Ben. Barbour afterwards Capt. of Co. I, 7th 
 Iowa, and who at that time had charge. Probably more than twenty- 
 five wagons were congregated about this door , from other regiments. 
 Hitching my horse, I entered at the rear end of the long building. Before 
 I had reached less than one-third its entire length, I heard a terrific 
 
82 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 cannonading, and hurrying back to the entrance to ascertain the mean 
 ing, I realized that the fight was on. Shells struck the building and 
 passed through it and our boys were driven into the very streets of 
 the town. From the outside looking toward where the wagons had 
 halted, I saw nothing but a cloud of dust in the wake of the teams 
 that were flying out of harms way. Every store on the main street 
 was hastily deserted and stragglers and camp followers helped them 
 selves to what they wanted. The mule and Eorse corrals adjoining 
 were emptied of stock, and citizen clerks were riding in hot haste to 
 the rear, in the direction of the Tennessee river. 
 
 Ben. Barbour came up the length of the building to where I was 
 all his assistants, except one roustabout, having fled and we de 
 bated what was best to be done. At this point the office clerk who 
 represented the Chief Commissary in his absence from town, came 
 riding to the warehouse, armed with sword and pistols and with a 
 handful of matches, and orders that a barrel of whiskey be dumped 
 from the pile, broken open, and the building fired immediately, to pre 
 vent its falling into the hands of the enemy. The situation certainly 
 looked critical, but neither Ben. Barbour nor myself shared in the ex 
 citement of our friend, though we thought the place was doomed. 
 However, through much argument, we finally persuaded him that the 
 matches be left with us, and at the "last moment" we would fire the 
 building and take our chance of escape on foot. The firing along the 
 lines was continuous, and from a rear door we distinctly saw the 
 charges on Fort Robinett. After perhaps a half hour of suspense the 
 enemy was driven back and from that moment the Confederates con 
 tinued their retreat and the battle was won. 
 
 What the effect on our boys and on the enemy would have been, 
 had the stores been destroyed is a matter for conjecture, but it was 
 a narrow escape for them. 
 Junction City, Kansas. C. H. TROTT. 
 
 Captain Trott is too modest to say that he was soon afterward 
 promoted to Quartermaster of the Regiment with the rank of First 
 Lieutenant, and that probably his heroic conduct and judgment in the 
 foregoing affair had much to do with his promotion. He was also in 
 1864, promoted to Captian and Asst. Adjutant General, in which posi 
 tion he served to the close of the war. 
 
 Rosecrans entire force, including reinforcements received the 
 second day of the battle, in round numbers consisted of 20,000 men of 
 all arms, while the combined forces of VanDorn and Price consisted 
 of 40,000 men. 
 
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VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 83 
 
 In General Van Dorn s address at his court martial in defense of 
 his misconduct and mismanagement of his army at tfie battle of Cor 
 inth, he says." * * * "From all the sources accessible to a com 
 mander I was satisfied that the Union force at Corinth and its outposts 
 did not much exceed 20,000 men. Some of their outposts were at a 
 distance from Corinth of 15 or 20 miles. By a sudden and rapid at 
 tack on the place I expected to throw upon it a force superior to that 
 of the enemy, and I hoped to carry the place before the re-enforcements 
 of the outposts could be drawn in. To this end I masked my attack on 
 Corinth by threatening Bolivar. My advance on Bolivar had drawn the 
 division off from Corinth to that point. I marched suddenly from 
 Ripley to Pocahontas, equidistant between Bolivar and Corinth. My 
 cavalry was thrown forward to both points. I turned quickly toward 
 Corinth, masking my infantry with cavalry up to Indian creek, within a 
 short distance of the exterior works of Corinth, making it uncertain 
 which place was the object of my attack. I cut the railroad between 
 Bolivar and Corinth and no re-enforcements came from Bolivar to 
 Corinth. Further to cover my design I worked on a bridge at Poca 
 hontas and left it unfinished. By the proof of the case it is manifest 
 that I fell upon Corinth defending by less than 15,000 men." 
 
 A WIFE ON THE BATTLE-FIELD. 
 
 The following extract from a letter, dated at Corinth, on the 
 6th of October, 1862, vividly portrays the fearful emotions and anxious 
 thoughts which torture the mind of an observer during the progress of 
 battle, and narrates but one of the many harrowing scenes of war: 
 
 "O, my friend! how can I tell you of the tortures that have near 
 ly crazed me, for the last three days? Pen is powerless to trace, words 
 weak to convey one tithe of the misery I have endured. I thought my 
 self strong before. I have seen so much of suffering that I thought 
 my nerves had grown steady, and I could bear anything; but today I 
 am weak and trembling, like a frightened child. 
 
 "But do not wonder Pvt it. My dear husband lies beside me, woun 
 ded unto death, perhapu. I have lost all hope of saving him, though I 
 thank God for the privilege of being this moment beside him. And, 
 besides this, all around me the sufferers lie moaning in agony. There 
 has been little time to tend them, poor fellows. True, the surgeons are 
 busy all the time, but all the wounded have not yet been brought in, 
 and it seems as if the time will never come when our brave men shall 
 have been made comfortable as circumstances may permit. It is awful 
 to look around me. I can see every imaginable form of suffering, and 
 yet am helpless to aid them any of consequence. 
 
 "Since night before last I have not left my husband s side for a 
 
84 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 moment, except to get such things as I required, or to hand some poor 
 fellow a cup of water. Even as I write, my heart throbs achingly to 
 
 hear the deep groans and sharp cries about me. F is sleeping, but 
 
 I dare not close my eyes, lest he should die while I sleep. And it is to 
 keep awake, and in a manner relieve my overburdened heart, that I 
 am now writing you under such sad circumstances. 
 
 "On the morning of the third instant the fight began. The at 
 tack was made on Gen. McArthur s division, and we could plainly hear 
 the roar of the artillery here, as it is about two miles and a half dis 
 tant from this place. O, the fearful agony of that awful, awful day! 
 I had only seen F a moment early in the morning, but it was only a 
 moment, when he bade me goodby,saying, hurriedly, as he tore himself 
 away.: Pray for me, my wife, and if I fall, God protect you! There 
 was something in his look and tone which struck a chill to my heart, 
 and every moment after I knew the fight had begun, I felt as if he had 
 indeed fallen. I cannot tell how long it was before I heard that Ogles- 
 by s brigade was engaged, but it seemed an age to me. After that my 
 agony was nearly intolerable. I never had a thought of fear for myself; 
 
 I was thinking only of F . Then I got the word that he had been 
 
 hotly pursued by the rebels, and had fallen back. 
 
 "Late in the afternoon I succeded in gaining a little intelligible 
 information. Poor Gen. Hackleman was shot through the neck, while 
 giving a command, and fell mortally wounded. He died between ten 
 and eleven o clock the same night, I have since learned. Up to the 
 time of receiving the wound he had acted with the greatest bravery and 
 enthusiasm, tempered by coolness that made every action effective. 
 When dusk at last put an end to the first day s conflict, I learned that 
 Gen. Oglesby had been dangerously wounded, but could gain no in 
 telligence of my husband. I could not bear the suspense. Dark as it 
 was, and hopeless as it seemed to search for him then, I started out 
 to the battle-field. 
 
 "0, how shall I describe the search of that night? It looked like 
 madness. But all night long I staggered amongst bleeding corpses, over 
 dead horses, trampled limbs, shattered artillery everything that goes 
 to make up the horrors of a battle-field when the conflict is over. 
 They were removing the wounded all night. O, think how awful to 
 stumble over the dead, and hear the cries of the wounded and dying, 
 alone, and in the night-time. I had to start off alone, else they would 
 not have let me go. 
 
 "A.s you may suppose, I could not find him, either among the 
 living or the dead. But the next morning, just after sunrise, I came 
 to a little clump of timbers, where a horse had fallen his head shot off, 
 and his body half covering a man whom I supposed dead. His face was 
 to the ground; but, as I stooped to look closer, I perceived a slight 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 85 
 
 movement of the body, tben heard a faint moan. I stooped and turned 
 the face upward. The head and face were covered with blood, but when 
 I turned it to the light, I knew it in spite of its disfiguration. O God! 
 the agony of that moment sickened me almost to suffocation. With a 
 strength I thought impossible in me, I drew him, crushed and bleeding, 
 from beneath the carcass of our poor old horse, whom we had both so 
 loved and petted, and dipping my handkerchief in a little pool of wa 
 ter among the bushes, bathed his face, and pressed some moisture be 
 tween his parched, swollen lips. He was utterly senseless, and there 
 was a dreadful wound in his head. Both limbs were crushed hopelessly 
 beneath his horse. He was utterly beyond the reach of human skill 
 to save, but as soon as possible I had him conveyed to the hospital. 
 I have nursed him ever since hopelessly, and with a heart breaking 
 with grief. O, how many wives, how many mothers, are to-day mourn 
 ing the dead and dying as I mourn my dying! He has not opened his 
 eyes to look at me, or spoken to me, since he fell. O, could he but 
 speak to me once before he dies, I should give him up with more resig 
 nation. But to die thus without a look or word! O, my heart is 
 breaking!" 
 
 We bivouaced on the battle-field on the night of Saturday the 
 fifth, and on Sunday morning joined in the pursuit; the position, of 
 our division being in the rear and being ordered to gather the prop 
 erty abandoned in their retreat, we only advanced a few miles. The 
 next morning we returned to Corinth and buried our dead who had be 
 come bloated and decomposed. The enemy s cavalry had attacked our 
 camp during our absence, but the teamsters and convalescents left there 
 on guard had made such a vigorous defense that they did not succeed 
 in doing much damage. The report of the wagonmaster of the Union 
 Brigade in charge was that with a force of 18 men he repulsed a hun 
 dred of the enemy, killing four and wounding three, with a loss of only 
 one man wounded. General Davies, who commanded the division re 
 ported the Seventh Iowa captured six prisoners and one stand of 
 colors. The Second, 31 prisoners and a stand of colors. Lieut. David 
 son, of the 52nd Ills., on General Sweeny s staff, also captured a 
 stand of rebel colors. He also says, "I also wish to particularly mention 
 Colonel E. W. Rice of the 7lh Iowa, for gallantry and meritorious 
 conduct on the field." 
 
86 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 REPORT OP COL. ELLIOTT W. RICE, SEVENTH IOWA INFANTRY. 
 
 Hdqrs. Seventh Regt. Iowa Infantry Vols. 
 
 Rienzi, Miss., October 10, 1862. 
 
 Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report of the part 
 taken by the Seventh Regiment Iowa Infantry in the battle of Corinth 
 on October 3 and 4: 
 
 On the morning of the 3rd I received the order of Brigadier-Gen 
 eral Hackleman, commanding the First Brigade, Second Division, Army 
 of the Tennessee, to march my command from Camp Montgomery via 
 Corinth in the direction of Chewalla. I left camp with 327 men and 
 26 officers, my largest company (K) being on detached service, guard 
 ing the railroad, 5 miles east of Corinth. Line of battle was formed 
 1 mile west of Corinth, with my regiment on the left of the brigade. 
 This line was changed to one three-quarters of a mile in front (west). 
 After this line was formed I was ordered to proceed with my regiment 
 and one section of the First Missouri Light Artillery and reconnoiter 
 the front as far as the old line of breastworks. I moved my command 
 cautiously and gained the position designated without discovering the 
 enemy, placed the battery in favorable position, with my regiment to 
 support it, and dispatched my adjutant to report the result of the recon 
 naissance. The whole division then advanced, and my command was 
 again on the left of the brigade. 
 
 About 1 p. m. a successful charge was made by the enemy on the 
 fortifications defended by the brigade on my left. Our position was 
 flanked, and I was ordered to move my command about one-half mile 
 to the rear, where line of battle was again formed. This line was soon 
 changed to one still farther to the rear, and I was ordered to support 
 the battery. I placed my command in favorable position immediately 
 on the right of the battery and ordered my men to lie down. The 
 enemy s battery was placed directly in front of my command, and a 
 most terrific cannonading ensued. My men held this position firmly and 
 unflinchingly for an hour and a quarter exposed to a murderous fire 
 of shell and canister. Our battery, having exhausted its ammunition, 
 retired, and the rebel infantry advanced in strong force. My men were 
 kept concealed until the enemy advanced to within short range, when 
 I opened fire upon them from my whole line and for a time held them 
 in check. They soon rallied, and I was ordered to take position farther 
 to the rear. The enemy moved on, our whole brigade made a sudden 
 charge, and the enemy were again checked, thrown into some confusion, 
 and repulsed. This gave an opportunity to take a more favorable po 
 sition, and another line was formed between the white house and Bat 
 tery Robinett at a point where the two howitzers were posted. This 
 position was held until most of the wounded had passed to the rear 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 87 
 
 and my ammunition was entirely exhausted, when, by order of General 
 Davis, my command was placed to support a battery on the left of 
 Battery Robinett. Gaining this position, I immediately supplied my 
 men with 40 rounds of ammunition. Night coming on, the battle of the 
 3rd was ended and I had lost many noble men. 
 
 At 10 p.m. I received Colonel Sweeny s order to proceed with my 
 command to a position east of Corinth, and at 1 o clock the following 
 morning my regiment was moved to a line north of Corinth, when a 
 line of battle was formed fronting west, my position in the brigade being 
 still on the left. At 3:30 o clock the enemy s artillery commenced 
 shelling the town, and at about 10 o clock I was ordered to proceed 
 with my command to the front and deploy it as skirmishers. This 
 deployment was made and the two center companies held as a reserve. 
 After advancing a short distance I ascertained that the enemy were 
 crossing the railroad in force to a position on the right. I immediately 
 dispatched Lieutenant-Colonel Parrott to General Davies with this in 
 formation, who at once ordered me to return to my former position. I 
 had but gained it for a short time when the enemy appeared and charged 
 on the battery defended by the brigade on the right of the first. The 
 brigade on my left was attacked at the same time. I opened a vigorous 
 oblique fire on the enemy charging the battery and continued ft until 
 General Rosecrans ordered me to cease firing. Soon the brigade on my 
 left fell back. The enemy gaining position on my left flank, I was 
 ordered to retire a short distance. I halted my command about 50 
 yards in the rear. An advance was soon ordered, and I immediately 
 gained the position just abandoned and the enemy was driven into 
 tne woods. They made another attempt, directly in front of my regi 
 ment, to charge the battery. My men held their position firmly, check 
 ing the enemy, who took refuge from the storm of bullets which was 
 rained upon them in the abatis. The Seventeenth Iowa coming up on 
 my left flank, I advanced rapidly upon the rebel position, when they 
 broke and ran in great confusion. My command had fired the whole of 
 the 40 rounds of cartridges with which it had been supplied in the 
 morning, but was immediately supplied, without leaving the field, by 
 my excellent quartermaster, Lieutenant Forsha, who, regardless of per 
 sonal safety, was ever ready to supply my command with ammunition 
 even in the heat of battle. I remained in position during the balance 
 of the day and at night bivouaced on the battle-field. 
 
 The following morning I received orders to move on the road tow 
 ard Chewalla in pursuit of the enemy. When about 3Mj miles from Cor 
 inth I was ordered to report with my command to General Rosecrans. 
 By his order I bivouaced for the night at the college. The day following 
 I was ordered 2 miles south of Corinth, and on the 7th of this month 
 was ordered to this post. 
 
88 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 Those in the battle, with few exceptions, stood nobly with their 
 colors, dealing death and destruction to he enemy and only leaving 
 their place when severely wounded or ordered to change position. 
 
 I must make special mention of Lieutenant-Colonel Parrott, who 
 with great bravery and coolness cheered and encouraged the men to 
 renewed vigor. Nothing but the most undaunted courage and bitter 
 determination could have been successful for a moment in holding in 
 check the overwhelming numbers that pressed down upon us on the 
 3rd. Yet with our little band the enemy were twice checked and re 
 pulsed. 
 
 Before we were ordered to the last line on Friday my ammunition 
 was entirely exhausted. 
 
 It is with pleasure I make favorable mention of almost all my offi 
 cers who were engaged in the two days battle. Major McMullen did effi 
 cient service until he was wounded and disabled on the evening of the 
 3rd. Capt. Conn, although wounded, remained with his command 
 through both days battle. Captains Hedges and Mahon, left in camp 
 sick, left their beds and came on the battle-field on Saturday, and did 
 efficient service. Their companies were well commanded Friday by 
 Lieutenants Dillin and Sergent. Lieutenant Gale displayed great gal 
 lantry, and was very severely wounded in the battle of the 4th, after 
 which the company was bravely led by Lieutenant Morrison. Cap 
 tains Irvin and Reineger also performed their duties nobly. I must 
 also mention Lieutenants Hope, Loughridge, Irwin, McCormick, Ben 
 nett, and Bess. Captain Smith, who was killed in the last hour of the 
 battle of the 4th, was one of the most promising young officers of the 
 service. He was brave, cool, and deliberate in battle, and very efficient 
 in all his duties. Color Sergt. Aleck Field was wounded in the bat 
 tle of the 3rd. Afterwards the colors were borne by William Akers, of 
 Company G, who was also wounded. They were then carried by George 
 Craig, of Company B, all the color guard, with the exception of one, 
 being either killed or wounded. Sergeant-Ma j or Cameron, severely 
 wounded, must not escape favorable mention for his bravery and valu 
 able duties upon the field. 
 
 While it is a pleasure to record the noble and heroic conduct of so 
 many of the officers and men we mourn the loss of our gallant d ead, 
 sympathizing deeply with the unfortunate wounded. More than one- 
 third of those taken into action are wounded or lie dead beneath the 
 battle-field. With this sad record we can send to Iowa the gratifying 
 word that her unfortunate sons fell with their faces to the enemy, bat 
 tling gloriously for their country s holy cause. 
 
 Surgeon Lake (to whom I am indebted for the remarkagle healthy 
 condition of my command) and his assistant labored day and night to 
 alleviate the sufferings of the wounded. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 
 
 89 
 
 We captured a number of prisoners and one stand of rebel colors. 
 
 The death of Brigadier-General Hackleman cast a gloom over all 
 who were under his command. His coolness, bravery, and eminent abil 
 ity secured for him the entire confidence and esteem of all under His 
 command, and I beg leave to expess for my command the entire confi 
 dence they repose in yourself and Brigadier-General Davies. 
 
 "With sentiments of high regard, colonel, I am, very truly, your 
 obedient servant, 
 
 ELLIOTT W. RICE, 
 Colonel Seventh Iowa Infantry. 
 Col T. W. SWEENY, 
 
 Commanding First Brigade, Second Division. 
 
 IN THE RIFLE PIT. 
 
90 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 REPORT OF COL. THOMAS W. SWEENY. 
 
 Headquarters First Brigade, Second Division, 
 
 October 15, 1862. 
 
 Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report of the part 
 taken by this brigade in the battle of Corinth, on the 3rd and 4th in 
 stant, and the subsequent pursuit of the enemy. 
 
 In compliance with orders from division headquarters we left Camp 
 Montgomery at daybreak on the 3rd with three Jays rations in haver 
 sacks, and marched through Corinth to the rebel breastworks, about 2^ 
 miles northwest of the town, where we formed line of battle. General 
 Sullivan s brigade took position on a hill about three-fourths of a 
 mile on our right, and General Oglesby s brigade immediately on our 
 left. I detailed two companies of the Ffty-second Illinois and posted 
 them about 400 yards to the right of the brigade to watch the move 
 ments of the enemy in that direction. We formed line of battle when 
 first we went out about 1 mile in rear of the above position. From 
 this point we were ordered by General Davies to send forward one regi 
 ment of infantry to support a section of artillery and to feel the enemy. 
 The Seventh Iowa was sent forward as far as the breastworks, which 
 the brigade occupied shortly afterward. This regiment penetrated the 
 swamps on the left of our position and reported no enemy there. About 
 10 a.m. our skirmishers, who had been thrown out in front of the breast 
 works, met those of the enemy, and sharp firing continued for a few 
 minutes, when our skirmishers fell back behind the breastworks. The 
 artillery now opened a brisk fire, and in a few minutes the Second Bri 
 gade, commanded by General Oglesby, was hotly engaged with the 
 enemy, the latter charging in heavy columns on the breastworks in the 
 face of a well directed fire of artillery and infantry. After a sharp 
 struggle the Second Brigade gave way before overpowering numbers of 
 the enemy, leaving our left flank entirely exposed. The artillery con 
 tinued pouring grape and cannister into the ranks of the enemy, appar 
 ently without effect, though they must have suffered severely. Word 
 was now sent to General Davies of the condition of things in front, who 
 ordered the line to fall back. The Second division fell back about half 
 a mile, the First Brigade retiring in perfect order, when we again 
 formed line of battle in an open field; but the enemy appearing on our 
 left flank, our lines fell back still farther and took up a position in front 
 of the white house, this brigade occupying the extreme right. 
 
 The regiments composing the brigade were posted as follows: The 
 Fifty-second Illinois on the right, the Second Iowa on the left of the 
 Fifty-second, and the Seventh Iowa on the left of the Second. The 
 Union Brigade came up at this point from Danville and was posted on 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 91 
 
 the left of the battery, which was in position on the left of the Seventh 
 Iowa. 
 
 About 2 p. m. a sharp artillery duel commenced between our bat 
 tery and that of the enemy, which was posted about 600 yards in front of 
 our line near the white house, which was subsequently converted into a 
 temporary hospital. While this was going on I suggested to General 
 Hackleman the necessity of taking some measures to protect our right 
 flank, there being none of our troops in that direction as far as I could 
 see, and the enemy s columns could be plainly seen moving that way. 
 With his permission I placed the Ffty-second Illinois in position across 
 the railroad about 200 yards on our right. The enemy s skirmishers 
 were seen in the woods at this point, but after exchanging a few shots 
 with us they hastily withdrew. After a careful reconnaisance I was 
 convinced that the rebels gave up the idea of attacking us at this point, 
 and moved the regiment back to its original position on the right of 
 the brigade. It had hardly been placed in line when the enemy burst 
 from the woods in front in magnificent style in columns by divisions, 
 and moved swiftly across the open field until within point-blank range, 
 when they deployed into line and opened a tremendous fire, moving 
 steadily to the front all the time. Our men, who had been ordered to 
 lie down, now rose and poured in their fire with such deadly effect that 
 the foe, after a short but sanguinary struggle, reeled, broke, and fled in 
 dismay. Again they advanced, but were forced back at the point of 
 the bayonet with great slaughter, our men driving them across the open 
 field and into the woods. 
 
 It was in this charge that brave Col. Baker fell mortally wounded. 
 His last words. "I die content; I have seen my regiment victoriously 
 charging the enemy," were worthy of him. The enemy now receiving 
 heavy re-enforcements, the fighting between him and the Ffty-second 
 Illinois and Second and Seventh Iowa became desperately fierce, the 
 right of the Union Brigade having given way at the very beginning 
 of the engagement. Just at this juncture part of Mower s brigade 
 moved up to our support, but before they could be deployed into line 
 they become panic-stricken and broke in confusion. 
 
 It was while endeavoring to rally these men that Generals Hackle 
 man and Oglesby were wounded. The former received his death-wound 
 while thus rallying troops to sustain his own gallant brfgade. His last 
 words were, "I am dying, but I die for my country. If we are victo 
 rious, send my remains home; if not, bury me on the field." No nobler 
 sentiment was ever uttered by soldier or patriot. After he fell the com 
 mand of the brigade devolved upon me, and the fight continued with 
 unabated fury until our ammunition was almost expended; but by this 
 time the enemy had almost disappeared from our front, although it 
 was evident he was massing his troops on our left, for the purpose of 
 
92 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 turning our flank. About this time a regiment of Colonel Mower s bri 
 gade relieved the Fifty-second Illinois, which was out of ammunition, 
 and an order being received from General Davies a few minutes after 
 to fall back, we retired in good order and took positions on the 
 right of Fort Robinett. It was now 5 p. m., and a fresh supply of am 
 munition was here distributed to the troops. 
 
 Our loss in this fight was heavy, but that of the enemy must have 
 been terrible. The fire was so hot and well sustained by the men that 
 several officers of the Fifty-second Illinois told me that the gun-barrels 
 were so heated the men could scarcely hold them, and the charges ac 
 tually exploded while being loaded, and wanted to know what they 
 would do. I told them to continue the fire, if necessary, until the guns 
 burst. About 10 p. m. I received an order to move my brigade to the 
 rear of General Ord s old headquarters and form line of battle facing 
 to the north. From this place I was ordered about 2:30 o clock on the 
 morning of the 4th to take position on the Purdy road, in the suburbs 
 of the town, to the north, the right of my brigade resting on the redan 
 occupied by Lieutenant Green, of the First Missouri Artillery, with 
 four guns. Two more were placed in the interval between the Fifty- 
 second Illinois and Second Iowa. Here the brigade stacked arms in 
 line of battle and bivouaced till daybreak. 
 
 From early dawn until 8 a. m. a brisk fire was kept up between 
 our batteries and those of the enemy until the latter were silenced or 
 captured. About this time I received orders to send out a regiment from 
 my brigade to the support of Colonel Burke s sharpshooters, who were 
 then sharply engaged with the enemy in the woods to the right and 
 front of my position. The Seventh Iowa was detached for this purpose, 
 but had scarcely been deployed when it was recalled. I also ordered in 
 two companies, sent out the night before to guard the Purdy road on 
 our right. An ominous silence took place for a few moments, when a 
 sharp rattling of musketry was heard, accompanied by heavy volleys, 
 and the enemy s columns burst through the woods in front and to the 
 right, driving the sharpshooters before them and following close upon 
 their heels. Colonel Burke s regiment fought like heroes and disputed 
 every inch of ground as they fell back on my position. I cautioned 
 my men, who were lying on the ground, to reserve their fire until the 
 enemy got within point-blank range, and then fire low and keep per 
 fectly cool. It was a terribly beautiful sight to see the enemy s col 
 umns advance, in despite of a perfect storm of grape and cannister, shell 
 and rifle ball; still on they marched and fired, though their ranks were 
 perceptibly thinned at every step. The brigade stood firm as a rock, 
 and the men loaded and fired with the coolness a,nd precision of vet 
 erans, when all of a sudden the troops on the right of the redan (a bri 
 gade of Hamilton s division) gave way and broke. The Fist Missouri 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 93 
 
 Artillery, in the redan, and the two pieces on the left of the Ffty-sec- 
 ond, limbered up and galloped off in wild confusion through our re 
 serves, killing several of our men and scattering the rest. My line re 
 mained still unbroken, pouring deadly volleys into the enemy s ranks, 
 who, taking advantage of the panic on the right, moved their columns 
 obliquely in that direction and charged up the redan. Unfortunately 
 the officer in command of the Fifty-second Illinois, Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Wilcox, instead of meeting the enemy boldly, ordered the regiment to 
 fall back without authority, and before I could halt it the regiment 
 broke. The Union Brigade gave way simultaneously with the Fifty- 
 second, but portions of the Second and Seventh Iowa still held their 
 ground and kept the enemy in check until the rest of my brigade was 
 rallied, when I ordered the colors of the Second and Seventh Iowa to 
 fall back and form their regiments on the side hill, out of range of the 
 enemy s fire, which they did almost immediately. I now ordered the line 
 to charge on the enemy, who had by this time gained the crest of the 
 hill in our front. With a shout that was heard through our whole lines 
 the men of the First Brigade rushed upon the enemy. Those who had 
 given way a short time before, being evidently ashamed of the momen 
 tary panic that had seized them, seemed determined to wipe out the 
 stain upon their courage by their reckless daring. The foe, reluctant to 
 abandon the advantage he had gained, fought stubbornly for a while, 
 but was finally compelled to give way, retreating in great confusion 
 through the swamps and abatis to the woods, hotly pursued by our men. 
 Here I stopped the pursuit until the batteries on the hill to our left and 
 rear should cease firing, as they shelled the ground directly in front of 
 us. I sent an order to that effect to the officer in command of the bat 
 tery, and the firing ceased in a short time. I detailed some men of my 
 brigade to work one of the recaptured guns, there being no artillery 
 men present, and "General Lyon" (the name of gun) did good execu 
 tion on the flying enemy. 
 
 In this charge we retook the rednn nnd the guns tFiat were aban 
 doned by the artillery, 12G prisoners, and 4 stands of colors. Among the 
 prisoners were 3 colonels, 4 captains, and 3 lieutenants. Thus ended 
 the battle of the 4th. 
 
 On Friday morning the brigade left Camp Montgomery with 77 
 commissioned officers and 1,021 enlisted men. The Union Brigade joined 
 it that afternoon with 15 commissioned officers and 326 men, making a 
 total of 92 commissioned officers and 1,347 men. 
 
 On Saturday night we bivouaced on the field, so warmly contested 
 that day, with a loss of 31 commissioned officers and 38G enlisted men, 
 thus showing a loss of one-third of the brigade during the two days 
 conflict of the 3rd and 4th. 
 
94 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 On Sunday morning we commenced the pursuit of the enemy, and 
 proceeded by the Chew alla road as far as Ruckersville, from which 
 place we were ordered back, and arrived at Camp Montgomery on the 
 12th, much fatigued, but in good spirits. 
 
 .On the 5th instant the Second and Seventh Iowa were detached 
 from my brigade and ordered back to Corinth to report to General 
 Rosecrans. 
 
 On the 6th I was detached, with a regiment of infantry (the Fifty- 
 second Illinois) and a section of artillery, to guard the passage of the 
 river at Young s Bridge, on the Tuscumbia. While making the neces 
 sary preparations for that purpose I received information from skir 
 mishers which I had thrown across the river that mounted pickets were 
 seen in the woods about half a mile in front. I gave orders to ad 
 vance cautiously and find out who they were. In a short time a pris 
 oner was brought in, who informed me that he belonged to a Kansas 
 regiment of cavalry, two companies of which were thrown out as scouts 
 to watch the ford I was guarding, and that they Felonged to Colonel 
 Lee s command, which was at Bone Yard, 9 miles distant. I sent across 
 the river for the officers of this detachment and they confirmed the 
 statement of the prisoner. A little before this I received a note from 
 General Davies, informing me that the enemy were completely routed 
 and dispersed in the woods and to join my command immediately. 
 This news I communicated to Captain Houston, of the Kansas Scouts, 
 and requested him to inform Colonel Lee of it, that he might take the 
 necessary steps to intercept and cut off the flying enemy. 
 
 Before closing this report I gladly bear witness to the heroic con 
 duct of officers and men of this brigade, who so nobly fought, bled, and 
 died to sustain the honor of that glorious flag under whose folds they 
 had so often marched to victory. Particularly do I regret the loss of the 
 heroic General Hackleman, the gallant Colonel Baker, Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Mills (Second Iowa), and the chivalric Lieutenant Brainard, 
 Fifty-second Illinois. I also acknowledge the valuable services ren 
 dered me by Captains Randall and Lovell, assistant adjutant-generals, 
 and Lieutenant Everts, aide-de-camp, on Saturday, the 4th. 
 
 Dr. E. Winchester, surgeon of the Fifty-second Illinois, deserves 
 great credit for his indefatigable exertions during the battle in alleviat 
 ing the suffering of the wounded. While in charge of the principal 
 nospital at the Corinth House, during the shelling of the town by the 
 enemy, on the morning of the 4th, he removed nearly 10U patients from 
 there to a place of safety with no other assistance than that rendered 
 him by Dr. Rohr, of the Fifty-second Illinois, and some of the proprie 
 tors of the Corinth House. 
 
 My orderlies also did me good service on the 4th, particularly John 
 Colley and Michael F. Mee, of the Fifth Ohio Cavalry, the latter being 
 
J. B. MORRISON, LIEUT. CO. " D." ?TH IOWA. 
 Aide-de-camp 1st Brig., rid Div., 16th A. C. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 95 
 
 severely wounded in the head and the former Saving two balls pass 
 through his clothes one through his hat and the other through the 
 leg of his pants while in the performance of their duty. 
 
 Lieutenant Maxwell, of the Union Brigade, seeing the colors of his 
 regiment in the hands of a rebel, gallantly rushed into the ranks of the 
 enemy, rescued the colors, and brought them back in triumph to his 
 regiment. 
 
 Private Murray, of Company E, Fifty-second Illinois, when the 
 regiment fell back from the redan, refused to retire, saying "it was Col 
 onel Sweeny s orders to hold the fort to the last." He was ordered by a 
 rebel captain to surrender, and upon his refusing to do so was fired at 
 and wounded in the hand by the captain s revolver; whereupon Murray 
 shot him dead. He was then attacked by a private, whom he also 
 dispatched. He brought off the captain s revolver as a trophy of his 
 bravery. By this time our troops rallied, "came to his rescue, and drove 
 the rebels out of the redan. 
 
 Captain Wilcox, of the Fifty-second Illinois, was taken sick on the 
 morning of the 3rd, and in consequence did not participate in the en 
 gagements of either the 3rd or 4th. As for myself, the only injury I 
 sustained was having my horse shot under me. A spent ball struck me 
 on the right leg, but did no harm. 
 
 I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 T. W. SWEENY. 
 Comdg. First Brig., Second Div., Army of West Tennessee. 
 
 On the 7th of October we went to Rienza where we did outpost 
 duty for a short time, thence to Boneyard, Miss., 10 miles from Corinth, 
 where we established camp continuing outpost and vidette duty. The 
 weather was cold and disagreeable, being wet, with snow, some 
 thing unusual in Mississippi. The duty here was arduous; men be- 
 ins required to do picket duty every other night, with many sick and 
 exhausted from the late strenuous battle and marching. While here 
 our rations were short, necessitating more or less foraging from the 
 country to appease hunger. Nicholas Hoit and four men of Co. "C," 
 were surprised and taken prisoners by rebel cavalry while out on 
 an expedition after food. They were taken to Holly Springs, thence 
 to Jackson, and with twelve others taken to Vicksburg, Miss.; it was 
 ordered that four of the party should be retained as hostages and were 
 required to draw lots to see who should be the unfortunate four; Hoit 
 was one of the number and they were put in close confinement in the 
 jail, until a few days before the surrender of Vicksburg, when they 
 were relieved as hostages and allowed the privilege of the jail yard 
 
96 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 as ordinary prisoners of war. Just before the surrender all prisoners 
 there were paroled and sent to St. Louis. 
 
 On the 30th of October, 1862, Brigadier General G. M. Dodge 
 succeeded General Davies in the command of the Division; subsequent 
 ly he was promoted to Major General and given command of the left 
 wing of the 16th Army Corps, which he retained until the 18th of 
 August, 1864, when he was serverely wounded in a rifle pit before and 
 at the siege of Atlanta, when he resigned on account of his severe 
 wound. During all this time we were under his immediate command. 
 
 It was not until the winter of 1862 that the army in the west 
 was organized into army corps, when the 13th Corps was made up of 
 troops under Grant s army and he was put in command of the same, 
 with General Sherman commanding the right wing of that gorps. Our 
 Division was in that Corps under General Grant. 
 
 We remained at Boneyard, Miss., doing outpost duty during the 
 winter of 1862 and 63. It was a desolate, uninteresting hamlet with 
 a post office and one store, our supplies had to be hauled through the 
 woods and swamps by team, and our mail by mounted couriers who had 
 to run the gauntlet of guerillas who infested the country. Heavy 
 details also had to be sent with the teams to guard them when haul 
 ing the supplies from Corinth twelve. miles distant. 
 
 In the spring we broke camp and marched to Bethel, Tenn., on 
 the Mobile and Ohio R. R. Headquarters of the regiment were estab 
 lished at Bethel, with some of the companies scattered along the rail 
 road to guard bridges and patrol the road. Captain Reiniger of com 
 pany "B,"was appointed Provost Marshal, and Co."B"was sent to Farr s 
 Mills. We relieved an Illinois regiment who had been there through 
 the winter. They had built log huts at each post, with stockades for 
 protection in case of attack by superior forces. As we had left our 
 tents at Corinth it was very convenient for us to move into the com 
 fortable quarters vacated by these regiments. As we had nothing to do 
 but patrol the road once a day and guard the bridges, to keep the 
 rebel cavalry or disloyal citizens from burning bridges and destroy 
 ing our communication, we had the most comfortable and easiest 
 time of our whole service. 
 
 We found some of the citizens of the country very loyal and 
 congenial. During our stay there a regiment of cavalry was raised 
 at Purdy, the county seat, which was only six miles distant. As we 
 felt that we were in a country with some loyal friends, and the regi 
 ment was so scattered that dress parade, drill and inspection were not 
 required and duty light, for diversion all hands tSrew aside restraint 
 and set out to have a good time after the rigorous service we had 
 passed through. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 97 
 
 Company "B" built a log building 20x40 for a ball room, took 
 up part of the floor of Fair s mill and relaid it in our company hall 
 to dance on. The roof was covered with shakes rove by hand out of 
 the adjoining timber, where all material except floor was obtained; 
 all being constructed by the work and ingenuity of the men. When 
 completed it was quite a creditable building, if it was somewhat crude. 
 The hall was opened by a grand ball given by company "B," to which 
 all the regimental officers and some others were invited. As it was 
 to be a swell affair, great preparations were made for the ban 
 quet and opening. Billy Mason was chosen floor manager, Lieut. Fol- 
 som fiddler, with the orderly sergeant as first asssistant. Dave An 
 drews was put in charge of the cuisine and menu, with nigger George 
 as cook. Dave secured some dried apples somewhere and real butter 
 from the country; so that with coffee and our army rations we had a 
 great feast. We had slumgullion, desicated potatoes, boiled ham, fried 
 bacon, soft bread, hard tack, coffee with brown sugar and condensed 
 milk, pie and apple pie, butter. on two plates, and apple sauce all over 
 the table; with commisary cigars for the men and snuff for the ladies 
 to chew, and gum for those who did not dip. 
 
 The banquet and ball were held in the afternoon, as the mama s 
 objected to have the girls go to camp after dark. There were no spring 
 vehicles in the country everybody in that country goes horseback. As 
 we had nothing but heavy wagons, we borrowed the army mules of the 
 wagon master to convey the ladies in from the country. The writer 
 succeeded in getting two mules to convey two girls he had engaged; 
 one rode behind him, the other riding the off mule by his side with 
 an army blanket for a saddle. 
 
 "After the feast the tables were carried out and the floor cleared 
 for the dance. Billy Mason, the manager, had got hold of a paper 
 collar somewhere, put bacon grease on his hair, blacked his shoes, so 
 that with his important position, suave manners and general good 
 looks, he rather put the rest of the company in the shade and was 
 the favored of the ladies and the envy of the rest of the boys. Col. 
 Parrott with Katy .the belle of the balliwick,led the grand march,with 
 Adjutant Bowler and other officers in dress suits. Lieut. Folsom 
 agitated the feline intestines on the fiddle that brought out the pat 
 riotic goose pimples all over us, and with feelings of pride, 
 the festivities went off with eclat and ES-Spirit-DE CORPS, or 
 something of that kind at any rate it went off. The program consist 
 ed mostly of Virginia Reel, Money Musk, cotillions and other flat dances 
 as the people in that country did not know much about the round 
 dances. After a while Billy Mason, the floor manager, thought he 
 would like to change to a round dance. The leader of the orchestra 
 was asked to play a waltz and Billy started to show them how to do 
 
98 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 it. I was sitting next to Bily s girl, she was an ancient dame of gothic 
 style of architecture, with stained amber teeth, made so by snuff dip 
 ping which many of the ladies of the soutn were addicted to, when he 
 came up to her in his most gallant and persuasive manner and asked 
 her to waltz with him. She declined, giving as a reason that lt made 
 her puke." That settled it, the round dances were given up. I told 
 some of the boys of her answer, and ever afterwards the by-word to 
 Billy Was, "Oh, go off, you make me puke." He threatened to murder 
 me for it, but never did. 
 
 Dan. Shannon, of company "B," married a girl residing near 
 there, built a cabin in the camp, lived with her while we staid and af 
 ter the war brought her to Iowa and lived with her until he died. 
 
 On the 7th of June, 1863, companies of the regiment were got 
 together for the first time since early spring, broke camp and march 
 ed to Corinth, where we arrived on the next day and re-united with 
 the brigade; which now consisted of the 2nd and 7th Iowa, the 52nd 
 Ills., and 66th Indiana. 
 
 We established camp inside the heavy fortifications of the 
 town; as all indications pointed to wintering there, we proceeded to 
 erect permanent quarters, when not engaged in drilling, picket duty, 
 or target practice. Most of the men being handy with tools and with 
 al ingenious, some being mechanics, frame buildings were erected 
 instead of tents, material being had from the adjoining woods and 
 abandoned houses in the town. The regimental teams were sent to the 
 timber, with details of men with axes, under guard, where timbers 
 were cut and hewed for frames and logs got out, of which shingles 
 and siding were rove by hand with crude tools made by the regimen 
 tal blacksmiths. The regimental streets were laid out systematically 
 and the houses built somewhat uniformly, giving them a neat ana 
 comfortable appearance. They were nicely cleaned and policed each 
 day, making them healthy and homelike; but we had no sooner got nice 
 ly settled in them when we were ordered away and they had to be 
 abandoned. While in charge of the details getting material for the 
 buildings outside the picket line, Levi Bean, wagon master of our regi 
 ment, was ambushed and killed by the guerillas who hovered in the 
 woods in that vicinity. They also captured prisoners and wounded 
 others of the different commands encamped at Corinth and the out 
 posts. Aside from losses in this manner, the troops enjoyed the best 
 health during their service, as generally the rations were good, we got 
 a lot of fruit and vegetables from the country, and we had time and 
 were required to attend to the sanitary conditions of our camps. 
 
 During our stay here we shot for desertion two members of the 
 First Alabama cavalry (Union). The regiment was raised in that vicin 
 ity. The victims were tried by court martial and found guilty; they 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 99 
 
 were aggrevated cases in that they had deserted the second time and 
 gave information to the enemy. They were captured, taken in Confed 
 erate uniform fighting our cavalry; the evidence showing that they evi 
 dently enlisted for the purpose of acting as spies and giving Informa 
 tion to our enemies. They were taken out on the common, seated on 
 rough coffins, blind-folded and tied; the troops being paraded in three 
 sides of a hollow square, when a double file of soldiers were told off, 
 who were given muskets loaded by others. Two guns in the detail were 
 loaded with blank cartridges, so that no one of the firing squad knew 
 for a certain who shot them. They fired in a volley at short range. 
 They fell over backwards off their coffins with scarcely a struggle, when 
 the troops were marched by to show them a frightful example of the 
 penalty of desertion. 
 
 A SKIT FROM THE DRUM CORPS. 
 
 The following hazardous trip by Dunham and Akera of the drum 
 corps, was made surreptitiousaly and without leave by the adventurous 
 youths, and is not for the reading of the girls they left behind in Iowa. 
 John forgot to mention that the missive that was sent them, that 
 decided them to make he trip, wound up with the following original, 
 fetching pome. 
 
 "Tis hard for youens to sleep in camp; 
 
 Tis hard for youens to fight; 
 Tis hard for youens through snow to tramp; 
 
 In snow to sleep at night; 
 But harder for weans from youens to part, 
 
 Since youens have stolen weans heart." 
 
 H. I. SMITH, 
 
 Dear Comrade: I have no particular pride in having been a party 
 to the escapade which, at your request, I will try to relate, but inas 
 much as we are all disposed in these years of the "sear and yellow 
 leaf," to draw the veil of charity over the faults and failings of our 
 comrades; and inasmuch as every one concerned at the time includ 
 ing dear old Col. Parrott, Captain Hedges, and Mr. Nelson himself, so 
 generously condoned, an offense which under other circumstances and 
 in other hands, might have been -severely punished, I will make a 
 clean breast of the whole matter and throw myself and my comrade 
 upon the mercy of the court. 
 
 During our long and pleasant stay at Bethel, Tenn., several of 
 our comrades, including Jas. Dunham, whom I am sure all will remem 
 ber as one of our leading drummers, and myself, made the acquaint 
 ance of some very nice and attractive young ladies living midway 
 
100 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 between Bethel and Purdy, Tenn. Most of us were members of a string 
 band, and on numerous occasions, after evening had thrown her sable 
 mantle over the camp and che lights were out, we made our way through 
 the devious and uncertain windings of that path through the swamp, 
 to spend a few hours in making mirth and rather poor music. 
 
 On taking our departure for Corinth, Miss., it was with many 
 protestations of undying affection and fidelity, and with solemn prom 
 ise to return, should fortune favor our deep laid plans and kind provi 
 dence spare us life and limb. 
 
 On the night of July 3rd, 1863 can it be that that was forty 
 years ago Dunham and myself decided to make the perilous ride. The 
 distance from Corinth to Purdy was about thirty miles, and the in 
 tervening country, having been given over to tTIe enemy, was lousy 
 with loose "Johnny Rebs," and marauding bands of all descriptions. 
 
 Dunham had previously made the journey alone, and being an 
 adept at this particular line the "preparation for de arrange 
 ments," as the sable lass at Pulaski said to Jim Mclntire, was left en 
 tirely to him. He was to get the countersign and a pair of horses, 
 and to be at a designated and secluded spot where I was to, and did, 
 meet him. I was surprised to find that he had Mr. Nelson s, the sutler, 
 mules. But it was too late, and the pulse of love s young dream," was 
 beating too high to draw back then, and so the rabbits were headed 
 toward Purdy and "turned loose." Halted by tfie pickets "Jim" dis 
 mounted and gave the countersign and we were off, as I well remem 
 ber, with a strange admixture of feelings, between those wide ex 
 tremes of "Who s afraid," and "I wish I hadn t." 
 
 The weird forms and shadowy phantoms that peopled those woods, 
 and the awful silence, broken only by the bay of hounds or the hoot 
 of the owls, will never be forgotten. We had passed the last line of 
 breast works and were fully ten miles from Corinth when a trifling 
 accident occurred to break the monotony of that silent ride. 
 
 At the foot of a sharp and rocky decline, down which we had 
 walked the mules, we came upon a carriage or top buggy standing in 
 the middle of the road. The owner had no doubt heard us coming and 
 hurriedly unhitching his horse, had concealed himself in the bushes. 
 His little dog had remained under the buggy, and as I rode round the 
 vehicle he too sought the cover and safety of the bushes and was stepped 
 on by the mule. Of all the unearthly ki-yi-ing that he set up no mor 
 tal ever heard. We had pressing business on ahead and so did not 
 stop to play the "Good Samaritan" or to ask or make explanations. 
 I should say that we were unarmed, and realized the folly of lingering 
 to make a fine target for those whom we could not see. 
 
 Nothing further occurred, worthy of mention, until we were 
 within ten miles of Purdy at which point we came upon three horses 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 101 
 
 tied to the fence just beside the road. Their backs were still wet from 
 the saddle blanket, and we quickly divined that their owners were 
 asleep just over the fence. There was one very large roan horse, a small 
 bay and a black horse. We met these horsey again as the sequel will 
 show. Fearing that we might be followed we left the road for a time 
 and waited for developments. Being satisfied at length that the party 
 were as fraid of us as we were of them, we returned to the road and 
 pushed on toward Purdy. 
 
 Jim led the way to a thick grove of young hickories, in the center 
 of which we dismounted and slept until daylight. Resuming our jour 
 ney we soon arrived at the home of some young lady acquaintances 
 who were cousins to the girls we were going to see. The household 
 was already stirring and we sat on our mules in the chip yard and 
 chatted and joked a few minutes, and then galloped away to cover the 
 half mile that still separated us from our friends. This family never 
 seemed to be really friendly, but we always attributed that to the fact 
 that we preferred the society of their cousins. We were received with 
 boundless welcome and a bountiful breakfast. 
 
 The old gentleman seemed restless and uneasy. Finally he took 
 our mules out of the stable and put them into the stone basement of 
 the barn which was quite dark and locked them in. Then he said 
 to us, "Now I want you folks to go into the parlor (?) and draw the 
 blinds, and remain there." You may imagine how such a cruel and 
 heartless edict as that, was received by Dunham. Well, there we 
 staid until dinner, after which we bantered the girls to go to the 
 woods for blackberries. This looked braver and suited us much bet 
 ter than the stuffy little room. 
 
 Returning for tea we lingered fondly reluctant to say what we 
 knew would probably be the last good-bye. But our leave-taking over 
 we were at length on the homeward journey with many little inci 
 dents to chat about. Halting for a few minutes at the "cousins" we 
 laughed and joked with them and with their parting injunction to 
 "Look out for gorrillas, " we gave them a sample of the speed of the 
 rabbits, and were soon out of sight. Midway between this house and 
 Purdy we were making good time over a nice level stretch of road, 
 with low hazel brush on our left, when a man sprang up some thirty 
 or forty feet to the front and left of us and commanded, "halt." But 
 being under fair headway already the mules responded to the spurs, 
 and slipped away like greased lightning, while "bang" "bang" sa 
 luted our ears from the double-barreled shot gun in the hands of the 
 daddy of the "Cousins." At least this is the way we figured it out. 
 We did not see him in the evening and the entire family behaved 
 peculiarly. He wanted the mules, but was too much of a coward to 
 
I 102 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 stand in the road, and take them, as he might have done, after dispos 
 ing of us. 
 
 To pass through the streets of Purdy in the early evening was 
 a rather ticklish piece of business; but there was no way of avoiding 
 it. We entered the main street and rode leisurly through two lines of 
 men in their shirt sleeves sitting on porches in front of the stores, 
 shops and dwellings that lined the street on either side. When we had 
 reached the suburbs, we quickened our pace and were soon two or three 
 miles out of town, when "Jim" made an important discovery. We were 
 on the wrong road, and there was nothing to do but to return to an 
 inter-section of streets in the very center of the town. This we did as 
 quietly as possible, and making sure that we were right this time, we 
 showed Purdy a lot of clean heels, until we were beyond danger from 
 that source. 
 
 The night wore away without incident, until we were within a- 
 bout ten miles of Corinth. Our comrades will remember that rocky hill, 
 with precepitous sides, covered ith logs, rock, and brush, I think it 
 was called the "hog back." 
 
 We were passing along this narrow road, at a lively pace, our 
 mules making a good deal of clatter over the stones, when I remarked 
 to Dunham that I saw something ahead. "So do I" said "Jim", what is 
 that? "I don t know" I replied; "but come on, we must go through 
 it whatever it is." I really thought it was horses or cattle bunched in 
 the road. We put the mules down to their level best, and I am sure we 
 created the impression that a cavalry regiment was coming in full 
 charge. We were within forty yards of the obstruction, when suddenly 
 tongues of fire leaped from a half dozen muskets and lit up the whole 
 situation, dissolving the mystery in short order and filling the astound 
 ed woods with what seemed nothing less than billows of thunder. 
 "The obstruction" was a party of men, half a dozen I should say, who 
 were picking up negroes, for some purpose, probably to work on south 
 ern fortifications. 
 
 We were surprised to meet again the same three horses, which 
 we had seen tied to the fence near Purdy the night before, and on each 
 of these horses they had securely tied two strapping negroes, who were 
 so frightened that they looked pale by moonlight. On hearing us ap 
 proach, they had arranged their horses, "quartering" across the road 
 and had concealed themselves as best they could behind their fore 
 quarters and legs, and stooping so as to get their guns under the necks 
 of the horses, they let drive at us, and, of course, overshot us. They 
 evidently thought that Napoleon s "Old Guard" was in full charge, for 
 seeing that their fire had not arrested our speed,tfiey scattered like par 
 tridges into the brush, while our mules dashed into and slipped through 
 their barricade of horses and negroes. They must have felt cheap, to 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 103 
 
 find that we were but two "yanks," for we gave them the "horse laugh" 
 and plenty of "sass" as far as we could make them hear. This too 
 lengthy story is about ended. We had settled down to the serious 
 question of getting through the lines, disposing of our mules, and 
 slipping into our quarters. As we turned into the inclosure formed by 
 the short apron in front of and protecting the opening in the works, 
 four men simultaneously rose up out of the earth, as it seemed to us, 
 and we received the order to halt. We were trapped and so we halted. 
 J. R. Nelson, for he was one of the four men approached me, and ask od 
 "Is that you Akers"? I replied "Yes, its all that s left of me." "Well" 
 he continued, "I did not expect to find you here" I retorted quickly, 
 "I did not expect you would either." After an awkward moment 
 of silence, he directed the others to bring Dunham, and said "Akers 
 you come with me." As we rode silently for a few minutes, I said, 
 "Well Mr. Nelson, I suppose you intend to make me -all the trouble you 
 can for this business." "When I found my mules were gone" he re 
 marked, "of course I was very angry, and I said I d give the boys who 
 had taken them, the full benefit of the law, if I ever got hold of them" 
 A moment more- of silence "But now that I know you did it without 
 any real malicious or criminal intent, and seeing that you have re 
 turned the mules, I feel differently and so far as I am concerned the 
 matter shall be dropped. "Of Bourse," he continued, "I promptly re 
 ported the matter to Colonel Parrott and he will no doubt feel com 
 pelled to take some notice of it; but I shall use my influence to have 
 your punishment made as light as possible." 
 
 I remember how in my embarrassment and gratitude, I tried to 
 thank him for such kind and generous treatment. He talked to me 
 like a father to his returning "prodigal" and simply said at last, "Give 
 me the mule and go to your quarters." 
 
 In the moring Col. Parrott sent for me, and I got another good, 
 kind, scolding without one word that hurt. I remained two weeks 
 in my quarters under arrest, at the end of which the Colonel sent for 
 me again. I found my captain Capt. Christian Hedges with the 
 Colonel, and after giving me a seat Col. Parrott said, "Captain, what 
 do you think we ought to do with John for that foolhardy trip to 
 Purdy?" The Captain replied, "I think I should take a months pay 
 from him." And that was the upshot and the end of it. 
 
 J. W. AKERS. 
 
 On the eighteenth of August we embarked on box cars with camp 
 and garrison equipage, horses and artillery loaded inside and troops on 
 top, headed for Memphis. When near La Grange, our train was stopped 
 by the explosion of bombs and torpedoes under the track; placed there 
 
104 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 by guerillas The regiment hastily unloaded, a skirmish line formed 
 on each side of the train, and an examination made to see the cause 
 of the trouble. Then it was discovered that 32 pound percussion shells 
 had been buried between the ties under the rails, in which had been 
 fixed gun tubes with percussion caps that just reached up to the un 
 der side of the rails, so that when the train passed over it settled the 
 track enough to explode the caps, which ignited the loaded bombs, 
 exploding them. They did but little damage but cause delay. We ex 
 pected to be attacked during the delay but were not. We debarked 
 at Moscow, Tenn., and camped, where we did some scouting and 
 raiding over the country, trying to run down Forrest s cavalry, but 
 never got a shot at them. On the 17th of September we debarked 
 again on cars for La Grange, where we remained several weeks guard 
 ing the railroad and doing some scouting and making expeditions 
 into the interior on wild goose chases after rebel cavalry, which did 
 no good only to keep up our muscle. 
 
 While in camp at La Grange, General Sherman came through 
 on the train, with an escort of a battalion of his own regiment, the 
 13th regulars. When near Moscow, a post guarded by the 66th Indiana 
 of our brigade, his train was attacked by a large force of the enemy s 
 cavalry and driven into the defences at Moscow, where tfrey had a 
 spirited skirmish and nearly succeeded in capturing him and his lit 
 tle command there. Word was sent to us for assistance, when we hast 
 ily went twelve miles distant, but the enemy had decamped before we 
 got there without accomplishing their object. 
 
 During our service at La Grange, we made expeditions into the 
 interior, "scouting and trying to run down and capture Forrest s and 
 Wheeler s cavalry, but they always eluded us. While absent on a 
 forced march of this kind, out in the vicinity of Holly Springs, the 
 regiment held an election for state officers, as the Iowa troops were 
 allowed to do. The writer was clerk of election for the regiment. We 
 were on a forced march, and could only vote as we marched, or 
 stopped to rest beside the road. A ballot box was improvised out of 
 a wooden candle box with a slit in the top, and carried under the arm 
 of the clerk and judges by turn, and votes gathered and registered on 
 the march or by the roadside. I have forgotten how the vote stood, 
 but at the Presidental election in 1864, where the issue was between 
 Lincoln and McClellan, our regiment only gave the democratic ticket 
 three votes, giving the Republican ticket 338. The vote of the Second 
 Iowa, in the same brigade, was 71 for McClellan and 296 for Lincoln. 
 The third and Eighteenth regiments did not cast a democratic vote. 
 The 40th cast 194 democratic votes, and the 6th cavalry cast 176, near 
 ly half of their entire vote. 
 
 On the fifth of November we struck camp, turned over our tents 
 and surplus baggage to the post quartermaster, and started on the 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 105 
 
 march overland to Pulaski, Tenn. The troops going on the expedition 
 consisting of the 2nd and 4th Divisions of the 16th army corps,compris- 
 ing the left wing of the 16th army corps, under command of Maj.-Gen. 
 G. M. Dodge, of Iowa. We spent a hard night on the 7th inst, crossing 
 the Tennessee river at Eastport and starting before daylight on the 
 march. On the eighth we broke camp again before day and put in a 
 hard days march as rear guard, the rivers and creeks being swollen 
 and difficult to cross and did not get into camp until midnight. On the 
 9th we marched hard all day, crossing Shoal river, arriving at Pu 
 laski, Tenn., on the 13th of Nov., 1&63, where we established camp near 
 the city. General Dodge s headquarters being established at Athens. 
 Colonel James B. Weaver, of the 2nd Iowa, was put in command of 
 the post at Pulaski. 
 
 During the time we were at Pulaski most of the regiments re- 
 enlisted for a second term. We staid there until after the holidays, and 
 in the meantime spent our time in expeditions and rafds over the 
 country and guarding supply trains back and forth over the Granny 
 White Pike from our base, the terminus at Columbia, forty miles 
 away, to Chattanooga, the front. In our raids and expeditions we cap 
 tured many of the rebels in that vicinity, some of whom were home 
 on furlough or without leave. Among those captured were several spies, 
 some of whom escaped, others tried by court martial and punished; 
 among whom was one Sam Davis, whom we hung. Papers, maps, &c., 
 were found on his person, pegged in his shoes and upholstered in his 
 saddle bags, outlining our defences at Nashville and other places, to 
 gether with number and disposition of our troops, which made the 
 evidence conclusive as to his guilt. In 1896 a monument was erected 
 to his memory, a clipping from the Confederate Magazine gives an in 
 teresting detailed sketch of him and his career. 
 
 SAMUEL DAVIS. 
 
 I see some of the papers are devoting considerable space relat 
 ing to heroic deeds done on both sides in the late war. But here s one 
 by a twenty-year old boy that I do not think has its equal in the an 
 nals of any war at least I have never been able to find anything sim 
 ilar to it. There are thousands of examples of men who have died 
 fearlessly in battle, under the excitement of the contest, and numerous 
 examples of soldiers who have been executed rather than betray their 
 country or its cause, as was the case of the martyr, Nathan Hale, in 
 our war with Great Britain. But I cannot find where anyone died 
 
106 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 rather than break his word to the enemy, as did Sam Davis, the hero 
 of this short sketch. 
 
 In November, 18G3, when General Bragg was at Missionary Ridge, 
 he wished to secure correct information concerning the movements of 
 the Federal army in Middle Tennessee, and to find out if it was moving 
 from Nashville to Corinth to re-inforce Chattanooga. The duty was a 
 most hazardous one and four or five scouts were selected for the pur 
 pose; but before going were told that the chances were small for any, 
 of them getting back alive. The men selected were Joshua Brown, 
 now a physician in New York City, W. J. Moore, now a successful far 
 mer and horseman, Columbia, Tenn., and Capt. E. Coleman, command 
 ing Coleman s scouts. Each went a different route, but Coleman alone 
 got through, Brown, Moore and Davis being captured, the latter hanged 
 and Moore escaping from the guards before being condemned to death. 
 Of these Davis had obtained the most important information. He had 
 counted every regiment and all the artillery in the Sixteenth Corps, 
 found out they were moving on Chattanooga, and had in his saddle 
 seat full and complete maps of the fortifications at Nashville and 
 other points and an exact report of the Federal army in Tennessee. 
 Mounted on a superb horse he was recklessly brave, and exposed him 
 self unnecessarily several times. He remained over three days after 
 he left, to see his sweet-heart, and when chased from near her home 
 by Federal cavalry the night before he was captured, he ran away 
 from them in the dark. Then turning, he ran back on them again, and, 
 to demonstrate the superiority of his mount, he slapped their horses 
 in the face with his cap as he ran by. He was captured in a thicket 
 while resting the next day, by the Seventh Kansas Cavalry. 
 
 Gen. G. M. Dodge, the general in command at Pulaski, near which 
 Davis was captured, found the papers in the saddle seat to have been 
 taken from his own table, and correctly surmised that some one very 
 close to him had proved traitorous. A court-martial consisting of Col. 
 Madison Miller 18th Missouri infantry, Col. Thos. W. Gaines, 50th 
 Missouri infantry, and Major Lathrop, 39th Iowa infantry, condemned 
 Davis to be hanged, but Gen. Dodge, who pitied his youth and admired 
 his manliness, and who was very anxious to find out the traitor in his 
 own camp, offered Davis his freedom if he would tell the name of the 
 party who gave him the papers. This Davis with great firmness and 
 dignity, refused to do. Gen. Dodge says: "I took him in my private 
 office and told him that it was a very serious charge brought against 
 him; that he was a spy, and from what I found upon his person, he 
 had accurate information in regard to my army and I must know how 
 he obtained it. I told him that he was a young man and did not seem 
 to realize the danger he was in. Up to that time he said nothing, but 
 then he replied. in the most respectful and dignified manner: 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 107 
 
 "Gen. Dodge, I know the danger of my situation and I am willing 
 to take the consequences." 
 
 "I asked him then to give me the name of the person who gave 
 him the information, that I knew it must be some one near head 
 quarters, or who had the confidence of the officers of my staff, and I 
 repeated that I must know the source from which it came. I insisted 
 that he should tell me, but he firmly declined to do so. I told him I 
 would have to call a court martial and have him tried for his life, and 
 from the proofs we had they would be compelled to convict him; that 
 there was no chance for him unless he gave the source of his informa 
 tion. He replied: "I know I will have to die, but I will not tell where I 
 got my information and there is no power on earth can make me tell. 
 You are doing your duty as a soldier, and I am doing mine. If I have 
 to die I do so feeling I am doing my duty to God and my country." 
 I pleaded with him and urged him with all the power I possessed to 
 give me some chance to save his life, for I discovered he was a most 
 admirable young fellow, of the highest character and strictest integ 
 rity. He then said: "It is useless to talk to me. I do not intend to 
 tell it. I would rather die than break my word. You can court mar 
 tial me or do anything else you like, but I will not betray the trust 
 imposed on me." He thanked me for the interest I had taken in him 
 and I sent him back to prison. I immediately called a court martial 
 to try him." 
 
 The day before he was executed Davis wrote the folowing letter 
 to his mother: 
 
 Pulaski, Giles Co., Tenn., Nov. 26, 1863. 
 
 Dear Mother: Oh, how painful it is to write you! I have got to 
 die tomorrow morning to be hanged by the Federals. Mother, do not 
 grieve for me. I must bid you good-bye forever. Mother, I do not fear 
 to die. Give my love to all. Your son, 
 
 SAMUEL DAVIS. 
 
 Mother, tell the children all to be good. I wish I could see you 
 all once more, but I never will any more. Mother and father, do not 
 forget me. Think of me when I am dead, but do not grieve for me; 
 it will do no good. Father, you can send after my remains if you 
 want to do so. They will be at Pulaski, Tenn. I will leave some 
 things, too, with the hotel-keeper, for you. S. D. 
 
 Gen. Dodge became more anxious to save him and sent a lady 
 in Pulaski, an old friend of his mother, to the prisoner to beg him to 
 give the information and save his life. She says that Davis wept and 
 told her he would rather die than break his word, even to an enemy. 
 
108 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 She made two other attempts to persuade him, but without avail. 
 
 On Friday, November 27, Davis was handcuffed, placed in his 
 coffin and driven in a wagon out to the suburbs of Pulaski, where a 
 rope had been arranged for the execution. Gen. Dodge, who was a 
 most kind-hearted gentleman, hoped he would weaken at the last mom 
 ent, and tell him the name of the traitor in his camp, and after the 
 rope was adjusted he begged Davis to tell him the name of the person 
 who gave him the papers and promised then to liberate him, give him 
 his horse, his side arms and a safe escort back to the Confederate lines. 
 Davis thanked him and said: "If I had a thousand lives I would lose 
 them all before I would betray my friends or the confidence of my in 
 former." He then gave the provost marshal some keepsakes for his 
 mother and turned and said: "I am ready. Do your duty, men." 
 
 No wonder the people of the south are erecting a monument to 
 Sam Davis. Nearly two thousand d ollars has been subscribed, some 
 of it from Gen. Dodge, his staff and officers. Capt. H. I. Smith, of 
 Mason City, la., in sending his contribution recently, wrote: 
 
 "It was a heart-rending, sickening sight to me, and every heart 
 went out to him in sympathy and sorrow, to see him sacrificed for an 
 act ot duty, that he was ordered to perform as a soldier, and which was 
 not a crime. The stern necessities of grim war seemed to demand 
 that an example should be made of some one and fate decreed that it 
 should be Samuel Davis. I don t know of a more noble specimen of 
 manhood that could have been chosen as a martyr for the sacrifice. I 
 had nothing to do with his capture or trial, being then only a non-com 
 missioned officer of one of the regiments in Gen. Sweeney s division 
 in camp at Pulaski. I was close enough to see his features and coun 
 tenance when he was executed. He was young and seemed to be 
 possessed of superior intelligence and manliness, and when it was un 
 derstood that he was offered life and liberty if he would divulge the 
 name of the party who furnished the information in his possession 
 when captured, and would not betray the sacred trust, none of us 
 could help but admire his trustworthiness and nobleness of character. 
 It was a fearful test to be put to; a young man with life and a bright 
 future before him, but he proved equal to it. I think he is worthy of 
 a monument to forever perpetuate his memory, as a noble specimen 
 of valor as an American soldier. I saw many of our hardened and 
 bronze-visaged veterans, who had seen much of carnage and suffering, 
 draw the back of their rough hands across their eyes as they secretly 
 wiped away tears. I think it was Gen. Sherman who said: War is 
 hell, and so it seemed to me on that occasion. Everybody was deeply 
 affected. There were few dry eyes among those who were the sorrow 
 ful witnesses and when the drop fell there was such a pall of sadness 
 and silence that the air seemed oppressive. He was captured, I think, 
 
BRIG. GEN. G. M. DODGE. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 109 
 
 by Lieut. E. B. Spalding, of the Ffty-second Illinois infantry, who 
 now resides at Sioux City, la. I have heard him speak in sorrow and 
 praise of him and that war and fate should decree his untimely and 
 ignominous death. I served four years in the war, was twice wounded, 
 and lost my only brother at the battle of Shiloh, and believed then and 
 do now that our cause was right. I have no animosity against my 
 former foes and want to see all sectional bitterness wiped out. I want 
 no north, no south, east or west, but one common, united country, in 
 which brotherly love, and loyalty to a common flag will prevail, and 
 I rejoice in the fact that both Yank and Jonny share equally in the 
 benefit of our victory." 
 
 This is a manly letter arid Capt. Smith has struck the right chord 
 no south, no north, no east, no west, and every example of loyalty 
 to duty, every example of bravery, courage, devotion and glory, wher 
 ever found between the seas, to go, as this one, to the credit of the 
 American soldier. Such sentiments, thank God, nave almost wiped 
 out the animosities of the war, and the time will come when the heroic 
 deeds of both sides will be common property of the whole American 
 people. 
 
 At the Columbia opera house last Thursday evening the people 
 of the city assembled to honor the memory of Samuel Davis. The build 
 ing was crowded and a substantial sum realized for the monument. The 
 following poem was written, by request, for the occasion: 
 
 "Tell me his name and you are free," 
 The General said, while from the tree 
 The grim rope dangled threat ningly. 
 
 The birds ceased singing happy birds, 
 That sang of home and mother-words. 
 The sunshine kissed his cheek dear sun; 
 It loves a life that s just begun! 
 The very breezes held their breath 
 To watch the fight twixt life and death. 
 And O, how calm and sweet and free 
 Smiled back tne hills of Tennessee! 
 bmiled back the hills, as if to say, 
 "O, save your life for us to-day!" 
 
 "Tell me his name and you are free," 
 The General said, "and I shall see 
 You are safe within the rebel lines 
 I d love to save such life as thtne." 
 
110 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 A tear gleamed down the ranks of blue 
 
 (The bayonets were tipped with dew) 
 
 Across the rugged cheek of war . 
 
 God s angels rolled a teary star. 
 
 The boy looked up twas this they heard: 
 
 "And would ^you have me break my word?" 
 
 A tear stood in the General s eye: 
 "My boy, I hate to see thee die 
 Give me the traitor s name and fly!" 
 
 Young Davis smiled, as calm and free 
 
 As he who walked on Galilee: 
 
 "Had I a thousand lives to live, 
 
 Had I a thousand lives to give, 
 
 I d lose them nay, I d gladly die 
 
 Before I d live one life, a lie!" 
 
 He turned for not a soldier stirred 
 
 "Your duty, men I gave my word." 
 
 The hills smiled back a farewell smile, 
 The breeze sobbed o er his hair awhile, 
 The birds broke out in glad refrain, 
 The sunbeams kissed his cheek again 
 Then, gathering up their blazfng bars, 
 They shook his name among the stars. 
 
 O, stars, that now his brothers are, 
 
 O, sun, his sire in truth, and ligM, 
 Go, tell the list ning worlds afar 
 
 Of him who died for truth ana right! 
 For martyr of all martyrs he 
 Who dies to save an enemy! 
 
 TROTWOOD. 
 
 We also hung a member of the 9th His. who brutally murdered 
 his captain, after due trial by drum head court martial. 
 
 On our return from our veteran furlough of thirty days, we moved 
 o.ir camp to Prospect, Tenn., fifteen miles below Pulaski, on the "Elk 
 river, where the enginer corps built a stockade. We also estab 
 lished a nigger corral to confine the negroes in who -infested our camps. 
 Some of the males enlisted, companies were organized, to be left in 
 the stockades along the lines of communication, and guard the rear. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 111 
 
 Daniel McTaggert and O. 0. Poppleton, of Co. "B, n organized a com 
 pany, the former being made captain, and the latter a Lieut. They 
 were sent to Huntsville, Alabama, to guard there when we went on 
 the Atlanta campaign and when Hood made his raid in the rear of 
 Sherman s army, when he started for the sea, McTaggart and his com 
 pany were captured, as most of the others were on Hood s campaign 
 to Nashville, which resulted so disastrously to him and his army. 
 
 On the first of May the army was organized for the historic At 
 lanta campaign. Colonel Rice was given command of the 1st Brigade, 
 in the 2nd Div. (Sweeney s) of the 16th Army Corps, in the Army of 
 the Tennessee, composed of the 15th corps under General Logan, 16th 
 under General Dodge, and 17th under General Blair. The Army of the 
 Tenn. being under command of Maj. General McPherson. 
 
 During our visit to Iowa on our furlough we filled up our de 
 pleted ranks with young recruits who were anxious to join the regiment 
 that had made its name famous. It did not take them long to learn 
 drill and duty, sandwiched as they were among the old veterans; they 
 were soon able to do their full share eo that it was not long before the 
 veteran or the recruit could not be distinguished one from the other. 
 The following article is contributed by one who enlisted early in T864. 
 
 "WE ARE COMING FATHER ABRAHAM THREE HUNDHED THOU 
 SAND MORE." 
 
 THE YOUNG RECRUITS RESPONSE. 
 
 A little before daylight on April 12th, 1861, a flash was seen about 
 the bay, and city of Charlston. A sudden flash, from a land battery, 
 followed by a dull, heavy roar. The light of a bomb, describing a 
 semicircle in the heavens, was seen to fall upon a fort, barely outlined 
 in the darkness. 
 
 It was the "first shot" in the war of the Rebellion. Its dull rumb 
 ling roar was "heard around the world." It was the signal for the 
 commencement of the greatest event in American history. 
 
 Two days of heroic defense of the flag on Sumter, the loyal little 
 band surrendered. 
 
 The war to destroy the government had begun. A war that was 
 to cost a million human lives, billions of treasures, and agony im 
 measurable, -n twenty-four hours, news of the event had penetrated 
 to every accessible corner of the American Republic. 
 
 In the south it was lightly hailed as the harbinger of dissolution 
 of the government and the establishment of a new empire, whose foun 
 dation stone should be "Human Bondage." In the north it was receiv- 
 
112 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 ed with mingled sadness and anger; followed by a quick determination 
 to resent the outrage and save the government of the people. 
 
 A call by the President for volunters to defend the flag, and pre 
 serve the union/ was readily filled, and thousands of other loyal men 
 were ready to enlist. Soon another call for troops was issued, and as 
 readily the call was filled, and others in like manner. 
 
 By this time it was seen that the Rebellion was a formidable 
 power, and the cost to overthrow it would be terrible; but what 
 ever the cost, it must be met boldly. Already many bloody encounters 
 with the enemy had been fought. Thousands of loyal sons had given 
 their lives for the union, many mothers hearts made sad, and our 
 armies being defeated at some points, and beaten back. 
 
 Many thousands of younger sons, whose loyal hearts beat with 
 the same patriotic blood that filled the hearts of their brothers who 
 had fallen, were anxiously waiting for the time when they could fill their 
 places in the "ranks of the old regiments." 
 
 The "Old 7th" whose ranks had been reduced to a mere "squad" 
 received quite a re-enforcement of "recruits" on their return from vet 
 eran furlough in February, 1864. No braver men than these ever en 
 listed on fought in any army. They knew well at this stage of the 
 war there would be something to do to subdue so formidable an enemy 
 behind entrenchments so nearly impregnable. These were "trying 
 days" on the nerves and souls of men. For all this it had to be met 
 and these young "recruits," many of them mere lads, with hearts true 
 and loyal to the flag, did much to save the "young republic" from 
 dissolution. 
 
 Had they refused to respond to the call for aid the enemy would 
 easily have won. But with the old regiments all filled, every company 
 mustering 100 men, strong and brave, meant an army that was in 
 vincible. With God on our side, and prayers of their loyal mothers and 
 sisters at home, they moved on through the enemy s land, "Conquering 
 unto conquer." 
 
 It took more than merely the stirring up by patriotic speeches, 
 a.nd the beatins; of the war drum, as many seemed to think, to get these 
 brave boys to enlist. They knew well the danger and hardships they 
 must meet, and of a sullen, cowardly enemy they were to leave in the 
 rear. They felt however that their first duty to God and country must 
 be obeyed; thereby save that for which their brothers and fathers life 
 blood had been shed, that it be not shed in vain. 
 
 The anxious pleading with father and mother to let them go was 
 often refused; but when they arrived at the age of 18 years they felt 
 they must go. Many at an earlier age than this, enlisted and fought 
 valiantly on the field of battle. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 113 
 
 At Lays Ferry, Ga., the first opportunity these recruits had for 
 trying their skill, gave evidence of their bravery and their worth as 
 soldiers. Within the space of only two short months since they en 
 listed, they were now face to face with the enemy, doing effective ser 
 vice for the cause. Though this little fight lasted but 15 minutes, the 
 7th Iowa lost 7 men killed and 45 wounded. The enemy was driven from 
 their works, thereby letting enough x of our troops across the river at 
 this place to turn the left flank of Johnson s army, and they were com- 
 peljed to evacuate their stronghold at Resaca. 
 
 So, all through the remainder of the war the "raw recruit" played 
 an important part. In all the bloody battles he was found on the front 
 line and none fell nearer the enemy s works than he. On the hard 
 march, if any stood the heat and fatigue of the day and reached camp, 
 the gun of the recruit was in the "stack." No better foragers were ever 
 detailed than these young boys. The greatest trouble was the lack of 
 wagons to haul in what they confiscated. 
 
 In front of Atlanta, To the Sea, Through the Carolinas, and On to 
 Richmond, none -did better service than the "recruits" whose loyal 
 hearts were filled with patriotism and love for the flag. Always at their 
 post, ready for any duty assigned them. 
 
 The real effect was when the veterans returned from their homes, 
 bringing with them their young sons and brothers to fill their broken 
 ranks, the enemy began to inquire along the picket line how long we 
 could keep that up. The reply to them was, as long as you want it. 
 The north is full of such boys who will soon be old enough. 
 
 After the boys "skill and grit" had been tested, the enemy soon 
 found it useless to attempt to stand their "withering fire." 
 
 We broke camp May 1st, and started on the march overland to 
 Chattanopga to join the army under General Sherman to take part in 
 the Atlanta campaign. The weather was wet, raining most of the time 
 the first two days of the march; we had to wade streams which kept 
 us wet and uncomfortable, and progress was slow on account of the 
 condition of the roads. We arrived at Huntsville, Ala., Saturday night 
 and spent Sunday the 3rd camped near a beautiful spring that supplied 
 the city with water; where we had an opportunity to dry our clothes 
 and doctor our sore feet. The weather had cleared up and the country 
 was beautiful. Some cf the boys spent the day in viewing the sights 
 In the city; we passed many going to and from the churches. The 
 citizens did not appear to welcome us very heartily; they usually gave 
 us the sidewalk as we parsed and with cold looks and haughty disdain 
 did not speak as we passed by. It is a beautiful city among the hills 
 and mountains, with fertile valleys with fine farmsteads ensconsed 
 among the hills, through which we marched the next day. After march- 
 
114 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 ing about fifty miles since we started from Prospect, we embarked 
 on the cars, passed through Stevenson, crossing the Tennessee river at 
 Bridgeport, debarking on the bank of the river at the foot of Lookout 
 Mountain, where we bivouaced for the night. The only water we had 
 to use was from the river which was contaminated from dead mules 
 which Genl. Rosecrans had killed and thrown into the river to save his 
 rations when besieged by Bragg a short time before. It was necessary 
 to strain the water before using to get out the maggots and skippers. 
 The next day we marched out over the battlefield of Missionary Ridge 
 going into camp on the Chickamauga battlefield. 
 
 In order to better understand the situation at this time and com 
 prehend the future campaign and movements of Sherman s army in the 
 great campaign it should be understood that General Grant had just 
 been promoted to Lieutenant General and given the entire command of 
 the combined armies of the United States; had been called to the east 
 to operate against Lee on the Rapidan before Richmond and had turn 
 ed over the command of the armies of the west to General Sherman, 
 outlining in a general way his plan of operations. Grant and Sherman 
 met at Nashville by appointment on the 14th of March and talked the 
 matters over when the plans were gone over for a general mode of pro- 
 ceedure, which was to be the beginning of the end. 
 
 SKETCH OF OUR GREAT COMMANDER GENERAL SHERMAN. 
 
 Most of our great commanders on both sides were West Pointers, 
 Education tells everywhere, but nowhere more than in "War Days." 
 Bravery mere brute courage is not an uncommon quality among men; 
 but military brains a natural aptitude for arms and the best culture 
 West Point can give him that is what an army commander needs, 
 and Sherman was well dowered in that way. He was a native of Ohio. 
 Like all (or nearly all) who rose to prominence during the civil war 
 on both sides, he served in the Mexican War. Afterward he resigned 
 from the army, and failed as a banker in San Francisco and as a law 
 yer at Leavenworth evidently having few gifts that way. When Sump- 
 ter was fired upon (April, 1861) he was principal or superintendent of 
 a State Military Academy down in Louisiana, on a comfortable salary, 
 but promptly resigned, with the frank and manly declaration: "On no 
 earthly account will I do any act or think any thought hostile to or in 
 defiance of the old Government of the United States." 
 
 Aided by his brother, Hon. John Sherman, then and ever since 
 United States Senator from Ohio, he was early appointed Colonel of the 
 Thirteenth United States Infantry (he had been previously offered the 
 "chief clerkship" of the War Department!), and served with credit at 
 our first Bull Run, July 21, 1861, commanding a brigade there. Soon 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 115 
 
 afterward he was appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers, and order 
 ed to Kentucky, Aug. 24, 1861, and here took such large views of the re 
 bellion, and of the force required to subdue it in the West, that the then 
 Secretary of War (Cameron) thought him "insane," and relieved him of 
 his command. His estimate was that we needed two hundred thousand 
 men to conquer and hold the Southwest; but subsequently, in 1864, he 
 himself commanded over three hundred and fifty thousand there. 
 
 However, events soon convinced the government of his thorough 
 sanity, and April 6, 1862, found him at Shiloh or Pittsburg Landing, un 
 der Grant, in command of our advance division there. Here he suffered 
 severly, but fought gallantly and skillfully, and did much to retrieve 
 our hard fortunes there. Next he campaigned with Grant down the 
 Mississippi and around Vicksburg (1862-63), and though not always suc 
 cessful, yet he won and deserved the full trust and confidence of that 
 incomparable soldier. When after the disastrous field of Chickamauga, 
 Grant was summoned to Chattanooga to take chief command there 
 and smash Bragg, if possible Sherman was at Memphis, but on orders 
 from Grant gathered up all his Army of the Tennessee that could be 
 spared and hastened overland to Chattanooga by way of Bastport and 
 Huntsville. He took the railroad, so far as it went, absorbing all its 
 cars and locomotives, and then proceeded by forced marches eastward, 
 at times mounting part of his men on horses and mules did everything 
 to speed his column to Chattanooga arriving there in advance of the 
 time anticipated, much to the delight of General Grant. It was such 
 loyalty and devotion as this, without an atom of envy or jealousy, 
 that endeared Sherman to the heart of his great chief, and it was no 
 wonder that henceforth Grant trusted him absolutely and affectionate 
 ly. He well knew the value of time, and never wasted it an item of 
 prime importance in military affiars. 
 
 In the great operations that soon followed at Chattanooga (Nov. 
 25, 1863) Sherman commanded the left wing, and crossing the Ten 
 nessee on pontoon bridges in the night, attacked Bragg s right next 
 day with vigor and fire. He attacked gallantly and skillfully, achiev 
 ing important results and managed his part of affairs at Chattanooga 
 with signal ability and credit. Immediately, straight from the battlefield, 
 hot from the pursuit of Bragg, without waiting to return to Chatta 
 nooga for their blankets and overcoats even, though cold and inclem 
 ent weather had set in his column set out for the relief of Knoxville, 
 and by forced marches reached there just in time to save Burnside 
 from Longstreet. 
 
 When Grant was ordered east to assume command of all our 
 armies (March 3, 1864), doubtless he found it difficult to choose his suc 
 cessor in the west, as he well knew the great merits of both Sherman 
 and Thomas. But as he knew Sherman better had "summered and 
 
116 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 wintered" with him at Vicksburg and elsewhere, had seen his very heart 
 and soul, indeed, and felt he could trust him all through, whatever hap 
 pened naturally he selected Sherman. It is certain Thomas did not 
 nke this was much aggrieved thereby, as he then outranked Sherman, 
 and commanded the Army of the Cumberland, a larger and more im 
 portant command than Sherman s Army of the Tennessee but he loy 
 ally "obeyed orders," nevertheless, and continued on in the service. 
 
 Now came the great and memorable spring of 1864, with Grant 
 commanding in the East and Sherman in the West both resolved on 
 victory, and believing they could achieve it. They had agreed to time 
 their operations so as to -give the Confederates no chance to reinforce 
 anywhere. Sherman said the day he left there for Chattanooga (about 
 April 28): "I am going to move on Joe Johnson the day General 
 Grant telegraphs me he is going to hit Bobby Lee; and if you don t have 
 my army supplied, and keep it supplied, we ll eat your mules up, sir 
 eat your mules up." Fortunately, he was not reduced to such rations; 
 but it well shows his loyalty and spirit. Such was General Sherman 
 at the beginning of the Atlanta campaign. 
 
 Grant proposed to move against Lee on May the 5th, it was ar 
 ranged that Sherman should at the same time against Johnston. For 
 this work Sherman now put forward his preparations with all possible 
 zeal and thoroughness. On April 27th he ordered all his troops to Chat 
 tanooga, and the next day placed his own headquarters there. On May 
 6th his mighty host was marshalled for the advance. Three armies 
 were under his command. The Army of the Tennessee was on the bank 
 of Chickamauga creek, near Gordon s mill. It comprised the Fifteenth 
 and parts of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Army Corps, under Gens. 
 Logan, Dodge and Blair, with the gallant McPherson in general com 
 mand. The Army of the Cumberland was at Ringgold. It included the 
 4th, 14th and 20th Corps, under Howard, Palmer and Hooker, with 
 Thomas in general command. The Army of the Ohio was near Red 
 Clay, north of Dalton, Georgia. It consisted of the 9th and 23rd Corps, 
 and was commanded by General Schofield. The strength of these arm 
 ies was as follows: Tennessee Infantry 22,437, Artillery 1,404, Cav 
 alry 624, total 24,465; guns 98. Cumberland Infantry 54,568, Artillery 
 2,377, Cavalry 3,828, total 60,773; guns 130. Ohio Infantry 11,193, Ar 
 tillery 679, Cavalry 1,679, total 13,559; guns 28. Sherman had planned 
 an army of 100,000 men and 250 gun. He actually had 98,797 men and 
 254 guns. 
 
 The opposing Rebel army was now commanded by General Joseph 
 E. Johnston, who had succeeded Bragg, and comprised three corps, 
 under Hardee, Hood and Polk. According to Johnston s official state 
 ment, its total strength in April, 1864, was 51,992, and in the middle 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 117 
 
 of May, when the battle of Resaca was fought, 71,235. The number of 
 guns on both sides was about equal. 
 
 To those not versed in the science of war it might seem on ac 
 count of the difference in numbers, that we had the advantage, but it 
 should be borne in mind that they were acting on the defensive, behind 
 fortifications, on ground of their own choosing on which they were 
 familiar, had the inside of the circle, and that they reaped the advan 
 tage that troops enjoy while acting in a country where the people are 
 friendly. We had to have the country guarded back to our base of 
 supplies, which necessitated our leaving heavy details along the roads 
 to guard our communication as we advanced; more men were required 
 the farther we penetrated the enemy s country. 
 
 On the sixth of May, we are ready for the fray, both armies being 
 in position. On the seventh we march slowly and cautiously, as we 
 close UK to the enemy in force at Dalton, Buzzards Roost and Rocky 
 Face; while McPherson with the army of the Tennessee, was ready to 
 force his way through Snake Creek Gap on the right flank, while Hooker 
 was keeping the enemy busy on the left. 
 
 On the seventh we moved forward until about the middle of the 
 afternoon, threw out pickets and videttes, and bivouaced for the night, 
 without encountering the enemy. The 8th we again advanced to Snake 
 Creek Gap and camped; the cavalry scouring our front. On the 9th we 
 , attempted to advance, found the enemy in force, which the skirmishers 
 engaged vigorously; heavy cannonading could be heard on the left, 
 from which we awaited news before pressing them too forcibly. We 
 advanced slowly all day under fire until late at night, then are ordered 
 to the rear to protect the train. On the 10th there was a terrific rain and 
 thunder storm extending well into the night; when in much excitement 
 we are called into line, so dark that it causes great confusion in keep 
 ing track of the moving column. We finally form a line on the crest 
 of the hills and hurriedly throw up breastworks, working all night at 
 it. All the next day we were kept in line strengthening the works and 
 expecting attack. The 12th we laid still all day under arms. 
 
118 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 BATTLE OF RESACA. 
 
 May 13th, 1864, under command of Major General G. M. Dodge, 
 the left wing of the 16th Corps, two divisions, moved out at early 
 morning at 8:00 o clock a. m., marched about six miles and formed 
 on the hills surrounding Resaca, took position on tfie right of the 15th 
 A. C., the 4th, General Veach s, on the right of General Osterhaus 
 division. Sweeney s 2nd division of the 16th corps (ours) forming on 
 the right of General Veach. First brigade on the right of 2nd division; 
 the 52nd Illinois being on the right of the brigade and the right of the 
 whole army. The day was bright and pleasant, the lines advancing 
 in columns by regiments, with battery "H" in the center between the 
 lines. The men moved with spirit and enthusiasm w r ith movements well 
 executed and with the colors waving, it was beautiful to behold. At 
 2:00 o clock the battle .opened Smith s Osterhaus and Veach s di 
 visions on the left being heavily engaged; our lines steadily advanc 
 ing, with the enemy giving ground and falling back inside their in- 
 trenchments, until darkness put an end to the conflict. Most of .the 
 fighting in our front was done by our battery from hill to hill, so that 
 the loss to our regiment was very slight. 
 
 On the 14th our brigade is withdrawn with the rest of our di 
 vision, to lay pontoons and effect a crossing of the Oostanaula river four 
 miles below; the left wing of the regiment was ordered to support bat 
 tery "H" First Missouri, which was advanced to the bank of the river 
 in an open field. On the opposite side of the river was General Walk 
 er s rebel division with a battery and earth works, and the bank of 
 the river lined with sharpshooters. Why we were ordered in such an 
 exposed position on the bank of a navigable river not over 150 feet 
 wide, which the enemy could not cross without boats, when the battery 
 could have done just as efficient service without us, I never have been 
 able to understand. We simply laid flat on the ground close to the 
 battery; while the two batteries had a terrific duel until our artillery 
 made it so hot for them that they abandoned their guns and took shelter 
 behind a brick house near their works. There was a rail fence just 
 in our rear, which was knocked all to pieces in the melee, showing 
 us how uncomfortably close the cannon balls came to us, but we hugged 
 the earth and held our ground. 
 
 Every old soldier knows that the hardest thing in connection with 
 a battle is supporting artillery and not being allowed to return the 
 
A. D. CAMERON, ADJUTANT TTH IOWA, 
 Afterwards Captain of Company " H." 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 119 
 
 fire or the waiting under fire for orders to move. To push forward in 
 the fight is exciting work, so exciting as to call out all the energies of 
 a man, and to keep his mind full of thoughts of that which he has to 
 do for the moment. He has no time to think of danger, or to specu 
 late upon chances. But when he has to stand or lie, in line, with the 
 bullets whistling about him, or with the sound of the battle in his ears, 
 and with nothing to do in- the nature of action or of effect, he is sure 
 to be thinking of danger, and fearing the results of delay, and to be 
 suffering from the strain upon his nerves, which is all the intenser be 
 cause there is nothing for his muscles to do. 
 
 A part of the regiment was detailed to assist the Pioneer corps 
 and help in laying the pontoons. They were canvas pon 
 toons, put together in the timber in the rear, and when 
 all ready a dozen men would take each one on their shoulders and run 
 down the road, throw them in the stream, where they were immediately 
 filled with skirmishers and propelled across the river, under fire of their 
 sharpshooters, when they would scramble under cover of the banks 
 awaiting sufficient force to make the advance. Many were wounded 
 and the frail canvas boats were perforated before a crossing could be 
 effected. A cannon ball tore through the men that were carrying one 
 pontoon down, killing 3 and wounding 4 of Co. "C," and it fell on top of 
 them. During the fray, a private in our brigade, Ashel M. Pyburn, of 
 the 66th Indiana, discovering their battle flag floating from their works, 
 stripped, swam the river and captured it under fire without getting a 
 scratch. After triumphantly returning he proudly marched the length 
 of our front in the costume of the statue of Apollo Belvidere, exhibiting 
 it to the command amid the fire of the rebel skirmishers on the oppo 
 site bank. It was the nerviest thing to do I ever witnessed, but did 
 not display much judgment. We succeeded in getting a few men of 
 Yates sharpshooters across but they could not accomplish anything and 
 we withdrew them after dark, during which time a detail from our regi 
 ment of about a hundred men secured some of the pontoons which had 
 got adrift and floated down the stream during the engagement. About 
 midnight the brigade withdrew about four miles back to Snake Creek 
 Gap in order to get a chance to get out of range of the enemy and where 
 there was water and opportunity to get our meals. We left as an out 
 post and command of observation, two companies of the 52nd Illinois, 
 under command of Lieut. E. B. Spalding, who held the position 
 until the next morning. He reported that he could hear what purported 
 to be the cries of the wounded across the river, but fearing it was a 
 ruse to lure some of his command across and capture them, did not 
 respond. 
 
120 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 BATTLE OF LAY S FERRY, OR CALHOUN. 
 
 May 15th. After a night s rest we again returned to effect the 
 crossing at Lay s Ferry (by the rebels called Calhoun). This time we 
 were successful. Battery "H" First Mo., Capt. Welker, was placed in 
 position as before which gave the woods on the opposite side a vigorous 
 shelling, the pontoons were launched, 2 Cos. of the 66th Ills, sharpshoot 
 ers were sent over, followed by the 2nd Iowa in support, then the 52nd 
 Ills., then the 66th Indiana, when the 7th Iowa, under command of Maj. 
 McMullen (Col. Parrott being sick) crossed over and took position in 
 advance. Companies "B" and "F" were deployed as skirmishers, under 
 command of Captain Mahon, and were soon engaged. The battle was 
 short and decisive; it did not last over fifteen minutes; the 7th Iowa 
 had the enemy on the run almost before the support could come up to 
 take a hand. The principal loss was in the 7th Iowa which had fifty- 
 three killed and wounded. For a detailed description of the battle, I 
 add the following written by Major Mahon, who was in the front and 
 thickest of the fray with the skirmishers and conspicuous for his gal 
 lantry, to which I can personally testify, being with, him with company 
 "B" on the skirmish line. 
 
 HOW THE FIRST BRIGADE EFFECTED THE CROSSING OF 
 
 OOSTENAULA RIVER, WHICH FORCED JOHNSTON S ARMY 
 
 IN THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN TO EVACUATE THE 
 
 STRONG POSITION AT RESACA. 
 
 By Major Mahon. 
 
 The memorable campaign resulting in the capture of Atlanta was 
 inaugurated by the movement of the Army of the Tennessee through 
 Snake Creek Gap, some thirty miles south of Chattanooga. On May 
 9th, the leading division, which was the 2nd division of the 16th army 
 corps, debouched into Sugar Valley and by rapid march of about ten 
 miles, reached the vicinity of Resaca, in the afternoon. The town, 
 though well fortified, was practically undefended and could have been 
 easily taken on the spot. Either through untimely timidity, or mis 
 understanding of orders, a retreat was ordered when the prize was al 
 most within our grasp, which would have placed this portion of Sher 
 man s army squarely across Johnston s communications. 
 
CAPT. SAMUEL MAHON. CO. " F." 
 
 Afterwards Major and Commander of Regiment. 
 
122 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 For the time occupied in this action, it was one of the severest 
 for the regiment s of the whole Atlanta campaign, as the regiment lost 
 53 men inside of five minutes, being 15 per cent of the command. The 
 result of the movement was of great importance, as its success vir 
 tually decided the fate of the position of Resaca and compelled the 
 retreat of Johnston s army. The regiment however, never had any 
 voluble correspondent nor chroniclers, hence the event was passed 
 as a mere incident of the campaign. The event illustrated to the nar 
 rator the almost invincible force of a determined body of men in 
 close quarters. 
 
 General Johnston in his official report gave as a reason of hia 
 evacuation of Resaca and the abandonment of his heavy fortifications 
 there , that it was on account of our forced crossing of the Oostanaula 
 river, which flanked his position and threatened his rear. We were 
 opposed at the crossing by Walkers Confederatj division, composed 
 mostly of Mississippians. Our regiment captured 23 prisoners in the 
 engagement. 
 
 On the 16th we advanced our line two miles when we ran into 
 a heavy line of their skirmishers again, which we engaged briskly and 
 formed a line of battle, placed our artillery in position, opening on 
 them at short range, they responded with a battery, but stub 
 bornly gave ground on the approach of our battle line until they came 
 to Rome cross-roads, where we bivouaced for the night. Our loss 
 in this affair was 25 or 30 killed and wounded mostly among Birge s 
 sharpshooters (66th Ills.) and the battery. All the general officers 
 from General McPherson down were close observers throughout the 
 day, but did not seem to deem it prudent to press matters more 
 vigorously I suppose on account of the fact that the left of the army 
 was not sufficiently advanced. We could hear Old Joe Hooker, as 
 he is familiarly termed, pounding away all day on the left, evidently 
 meeting with stubborn resistance on that part of the line there also. 
 We had left our knapsacks in rear a week before, in order to be in 
 light fighting trim; they were brought up in the evening by the regi 
 mental teams. On the 17th the 15th Corps took the advance, which gave 
 us respite from the fighting line, we bringing up the rear as support. 
 It rained frequently during the day, some attributed it to the heavy 
 connonading. May 18th we moved out, getting a late start on account 
 of the roads being occupied by batteries and teams, going to the front. 
 A heavy force of the enemy could be seen across the railroad retreating 
 in the direction of Adairsville. As the 15th Corps had the advance 
 and right of way we had to wait for their movements, which is al- 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 123 
 
 ways tiresome to do. We marched all night, passing through Adairs- 
 ville arriving at Kingston the next clay. The railroad was repaired, 
 the trains came up with rations and Quartermasters stores, when 
 rations were issued, and clothing which was very much needed was 
 distributed. Heavy cannonading was heard through the day, de 
 noting that General Logan with the 15th Corps was doing business at 
 the front as usual. On the 20th we remained in camp all day bathing 
 and getting a much needed rest. Some of the boys drained a mill 
 pond, from which they got a nice lot of fresh fish.* The sanitary com 
 mission came forward with some sauer kraut and potatoes and dis 
 tributed them among the command, which had the effect of counter 
 acting our scurvy condition brought about by our long subsistance 
 on salt meat and hard bread. The 22nd we remained in camp all day. 
 On the 23rd broke camp in the afternoon, hot and dusty crossed the 
 Etowah river, passing what was said to be Alexander H. Stevens plan 
 tation; the march was exceedingly tiresome, being dusty with fre 
 quent delays; did not arrive in camp until after nine o clock p. m. 
 On the 24th we marched in rear guarding Battery "H," we having to 
 march in the brush beside the road in order to give the road to the 
 battery and ammunition train. Showery through the day and heavy 
 rain at night before we go in to bivouac. We had a hard march mak 
 ing slow progress through mud and swollen streams. 25th we broke 
 camp early in the morning. Made slow progress on account of the 
 condition of the roads; artillery and wagon trains were mired in the 
 mud and the men were required to help extricate them and build 
 corduroy roads around places that had become impassible; had to 
 camp on low, wet ground where it was impossible to find a dry place to 
 lay down. We passed over Lime Mountain among abandoned gold 
 mines, which seemingly had not been worked for many years. 
 
 On the 26th we broke camp at three o clock in the morning, be 
 fore we had time to get breakfast, marched until noon when we 
 were given time to eat; we had no sooner sat down on the ground to 
 do so when a volley of bullets was shot into us from a log house in 
 an open field, which was occupied by rebel sharpshooters, a bullet 
 passed through private Delaps tin plate he was eating off and one man 
 in company "D" was wounded; a section of a battery was run up to the 
 front and opened up on the Johnnies, when they hurriedly vacated 
 the premises and we finished our meal in peace. We crossed Pumpkin 
 Vine creek and formed in line of battle in front of Dallas, three hun 
 dred yards in rear of front line where the advance threw up a line of 
 works for defense. On the 27th we advance our line in face of heavy 
 skirmishing to a ridge and threw up a line of defensive works through 
 the night. 28th, heavy skirmishing all day, when the enemy under 
 
124 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 Clebourne attempt to drive back our line, but were repulsed and se 
 verely punished; our loss was small as we fought behind our defenses. 
 We are continually required to lay on our arms and ordered not to 
 remove our accoutrements. 29th, heavy skirmishing day and night, 
 nothing apparently accomplished on either side. On the 30th the 
 rebels charged us again in the night, firing terrific, and darkness lit 
 up with flash of firearms in the attack and defense, making it sub 
 lime, grand, appalling and terrific. The 2nd Brigade went over the 
 works and attempted to drive the enemy but were repulsed and had 
 to retire behind our defenses. We are compelled to leave our wound 
 ed until dark to remove them from the front where they fell among 
 the enemy s dead. 31st there was an attempt to withdraw the line for 
 the purpose of moving the army to the left, but the enemy watched 
 us so closely and followed us so that it had to be abandoned. We are 
 within talking distance and have considerable amusement jollying 
 them; whenever anything displeasing is said, the retort is given back 
 with a volley of musketry, which sometimes makes a cutting and 
 stinging reply. 
 
 June 1st, 1864. There was heavy firing along the line all night, 
 which is getting to be a common occurrence; about 8 o clock our line 
 was withdrawn to the left -and rear, about .three miles where we oc 
 cupied a line of works evidently prepared by the Pioneer corps for 
 us. The right of the army was undoubled to left and rear^ falling 
 back in good order and without haste by brigades, covered by a heavy 
 skirmish line. We held this position until the Army of the Tennessee 
 had retired through our lines when we took up the march as a rear 
 guard. The enemy s cavalry followed closely in sight, which had the effect 
 of keeping stragglers from falling behind. Lieut. Spalding, of the 
 52nd Ills., in our brigade, in his dairy relates that: "Our brigade line 
 runs by quite a large hewed log house. Battery "H" was located so as 
 to command the road over which we came; no sooner was the troops 
 in position than the people living in the house were moved out with all 
 their goods, as carefully as time permitted, and off came the roof and 
 down came the logs and inside of an hour, with logs and earth, a 
 good fort covered our battery. Felt sorry for the people as they stood 
 looking at the transformation of their home into breastworks, but 
 self protection has first claim on one. * * * The enemy s cavalry followed 
 us in our movements, taking good care to keep within safe distance 
 without molesting us. At the picket line, some of the boys thought 
 it would be a fine thing to play a trick on the enemy, so one of them 
 went back on the road a ways and sat down, as though he was a 
 straggler resting, while the rest concealed themselves it being the 
 arrangement that this man should sit there until the enemy s cavalry 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 125 
 
 should come in sight and then to run and have them chase him and 
 by that means get them close to our concealed line, so that the boys at 
 close range could knock them off their horses. The man sat on the 
 log and saw the enemy coming; but in his desire to draw them on 
 in good shape, he waited too Ions, and when he started to run, he 
 came with all his might, with them close after him, but they were 
 getting so close upon him the boys were compelled to open fire at long 
 range. They saved him and did not have the fun they expected. It 
 came near being a serious thing for the fellow; the cavalry pulled up 
 as soon as they discovered what was ahead of them and the man 
 came in out of breath." This movement was another ruse, or flank 
 movement to the left to gain posession of the railroad and Allatoona 
 Pass and get within supporting distance of Hooker and Thomas who 
 had been unsuccessful in the attack at New Hope church. Allatoona was 
 taken, railroad communication was established and Sherman s real 
 object was gained. On the 2nd we worked at building breastworks well 
 into the night; heavy skirmishing to our left in front of 15th Corps. 
 It rained during the night. 3rd, quiet all day in our front, could see 
 the enemy s cavalry and trains maneuvering on the hills in our front 
 and Lost Mountain in the distance. 3rd, held our position all day; 
 no fighting in our immediate front, but heavy skirmishing all day to 
 our left. 4th, rained in forenoon and nasty work building breast 
 works; heavy skirmishing still going on to our left. 5th, moved out about 
 noon, afer drawing three days rations; weather damp and sultry; 
 marched six miles to left of army and went into camp; our rations 
 have been very short for past two weeks. 6th, broke camp at 6:00 
 o clock p. m. and marched until midnight being delayed by wagon 
 trains and artillery occupying roads. 7th, rest all day waiting for 
 trains and cavalry to pass. 8th and 9th, waiting for some cause unknown 
 to the ordinary soldier. 10th, moved out at six o clock in the morning, 
 halted in the valley of Lookout Mountain; rained very hard, heavy fir 
 ing by our forces in our front; several sallies were made forcing the 
 enemy back to the foot of the mountain. General Blair with two di 
 visions of the 17th Corps and a brigade of cavalry joined the army; 
 these reinforcements nearly making up our Tosses made since the 
 beginning of the campaign. 10th, marched in a pouring rain six miles 
 and bivouaced near station of Big Shanty. Flat and wet, troops 
 crowded together with no dry place to lie down. Kenesaw mountain in 
 front with a range of wooded hills trending off to northwest, terminat 
 ing in a peak called Brush Mountain. To the right was a smaller hill 
 called Pine Mountain, and beyond it in the distance, Lost Mountain. 
 All these, though links in a continuous chain, present a sharp, conical 
 appearance, prominent in the vast landscape that presents itself from 
 
126 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 any of the foothills that abound in that region. Pine Mountain forms the 
 apex, and Kenesaw and Lost Mountain tne base of the triangle, per 
 fectly covering the town of Marietta and the railway back to the 
 Chattahoochee river. On each of these peaks the enemy had his signal 
 stations, in plain view of the naked eye. The enemy s line was fully five 
 miles long. The Army of the Tennessee was ordered to move towards 
 Marietta, his left on the railroad. General Thomas on Kenesaw and 
 Pine Mountain, and General Scofield off towards Lost Mountain, with 
 General McCook loking to the rear and communications; our lines 
 were now close up and dispositions were made to break the enemy s 
 lines between Kenesaw and Pine Mountains. Our signal corps got 
 hold of the cipher, for a few days, of the enemy s signals and read 
 that during our cannonade o: the 14th Major General Leonidas K. 
 Polk, of the Confederate Army was killed, and Major General Lovell 
 succeeded to the command. 
 
 The enemy have heavy fortifications in our front witn heavy bat 
 teries on the summit of the hills and mountains comanding our po 
 sitions awaiting our approach. It seems as though the 16th corps was 
 like a whip cracker, and is suddenly snapped from one flank of the 
 army to the other; marching in the rain by night and in the day in 
 the heat, and with the Army of the Tennessee, performing most of 
 the remarkable flanking movements of the campaign. On the 15th, 
 the brigade broke camp and moved up and occupied the advance, close 
 up to the enemy s lines and base of Kenesaw Mountain, we occupied 
 temporary works erected by the troops we relieve, and are close up 
 to the enemy who are heavily fortified on the hills and mountains 
 above us. Heavy skirmishing with some cannonading most of the 
 time; the right wing of the army seems to be making some progress, 
 forcing the lines of the enemy back. Our wounded men on the skir 
 mish line are being brought back frequently, together with prisoners 
 they capture. We are obliged to keep low in the wet ditches exposed 
 to the burning sun by day, as if we expose ourselves, it causes a vol 
 ley from the enemy, in their works above us in close range. The foot 
 hills seem to be alive wita Johnnies who keep up a fussilade of shoot 
 ing to intimidate us. The enemy charged our skirmishers, but they 
 held their ground knowing that their supports were near. Two entire 
 companies with their officers were taken prisoners in our front and 
 brought back by the men on "ie outposts. They belonged to the 31st 
 and 40th Alabama. On the irth we were ordered to hold ourselves in 
 readiness for action at a rronaents notice, special examination was 
 made of our cartridge boxee J o ece that they were supplied with am 
 munition, and that the arms v:ere in serviceable condition. 17th, we laid 
 still all day under arms awr.lting orders; heavy skirmishing and can- 
 
TRAILING BATTERY UP FOOTHILLS AT KENESAW MOUNTAIN. 
 
VFTERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 127 
 
 nonading going on all the time obliging us to keep close to the ditches 
 and ground all the time; men have no opportunity to get exercise and 
 keep clean and get restless; some are overcome with the heat lying 
 in the sun and are taken to the rear. Much useless shooting going 
 on all the time as the timber and undergrowth in our front is so 
 dense. While we were pressing the left center, the army to the right 
 turned Johnston s flank, capturing Lost Mountain and all the hills 
 except Kenesaw. For weeks thereafter the Union army vainly sought 
 to dislodge Johnston from the heights of Kenesaw. It seemed an 
 impossible task. The whole mountain was a fortress. There were 
 miles of strong entrenchments. Nearly all the time the rain fell in 
 torrents, the low lands being flooded. The roads were almost impass 
 ible. Shermans soldiers worked knee deep in mud. But they kept on 
 working. 
 
 On the 30th of June, our regiment was sent to the skirmish line; 
 while marching up a straight road up the mountain, the rebel sharp 
 shooters fired at iis at long range. One shot struck B. C. Burdick of 
 Co. "B" in the breast, went through him, crashed through the vertebra 
 in his back entering his knapsack, puncturing twenty-three thicknesses 
 of his folded blanket. He was marching just ahead of and fell a- 
 gainst me. I asked him if he was hurt; he replied "not much", and im 
 mediately expired. I left him with fifer Thayer and went on with the 
 company. We marched nearly a half a mile up the mountain before we 
 left the road and deployed; so the shot must have been at range of near 
 ly a mile. The bullet that killed him was about as large as the little fin 
 ger and as long; it was sent to his mother. We captured some prisoners 
 after that with those weapons and they said they were a British arm 
 and cost four bales of cotton each. We had four men wounded near 
 there. 
 
 The army was not content with besieging Kenesaw, but kept try 
 ing to work its way around the mountain. Disquited by these events, 
 the enemy sought to check them on the 22 by a sharp attack on Hooker 
 at Kulps farm, which was repulsed with heavy losses. Five days later, 
 the 27th of June, Sherman ordered an attack to be made just south of 
 the mountain, by Thomas, and a supporting movement by McPherson 
 northward. They were both repulsed with heavy losses, and Sherman 
 decided to waste no more lives in direct attack, but to turn the enemy s 
 position, as he had done several times before. So on July 1st, McPher 
 son marched toward Turners Ferry, there to cross the Chattahoochee. 
 The movement was effective. Johnston immediately abandoned Ken- 
 esaw,and retreated 5 miles.to Smyrna Camp Ground. Our heaviest losses 
 were not in the assults and engagements of the campaign, but in the 
 daily skirmishing. This was kept up continually for seventy days, 
 
128 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 during which time the two armies never lost their grapple. It became 
 customary, in taking up a new position, to entrench the skirmish line 
 until it was only less strong than the main one. These lines were well 
 manned, and the roar of musketry on it was sometimes scarcely distin 
 guishable from the sound of a general engagement. Confederate Gen-* 
 eral Johnston in his narrative says, "The Federal troops approached 
 Walker s line on the south were driven back by a fire of artillery directed 
 against their left flank by General French; but the main body, un 
 checked by Cockrell s skirmishers, pressed forward steadily under fire 
 of the brigade, until within twenty or thirty paces of its line. Here 
 it was checked and ultimately repulsed, by the steady courage of the 
 Missourians. The action had continued over an hour, with spirit, 
 during most of which time fifty field pieces were playing upon our 
 troops. 
 
 But the most determined and powerful attack fell upon Cheat- 
 ham s division and the left of Cleburne s. The lines of the two armies 
 were much nearer to each other there; therefore the action was begun 
 at much shorter range. The Federal troops were in greater force 
 and deeper order, too, and pressed forward with a resolution always 
 displayed by the American soldier when properly led. An attempt to 
 turn the left was promptly met and defeated T)y Cheatham s reserve 
 Vaughn s brigade. After maintaining the contest for three-quarters 
 of an hour, until more of their soldiers lay dead and wounded than 
 the number of British Veterans that fell in General Jackson s cele 
 brated battle of New Orleans, the foremost dead lying against our 
 breast works, they retired unsuccessful because they had encountered 
 intrenched infantry unsurpassed by that of Napoleon s Old Guard, or 
 that which followed Wellington into France, out of Spain. The Con 
 federate loss in this affair was reported at 908. They estimated our loss 
 7,500, which was very exaggerated, as our losses all told according to 
 General Sherman s official report was only 7,530 from June 1st to 
 July 3rd. 
 
 On the 29th of June a truce was agreed upon to permit the burial 
 of the dead between the lines. 
 
 Having given a daily detail of the movements of Sherman s army 
 since the beginning of the Atlanta campaign, since the first of May, it 
 will be interesting reading to give a daily diary of the itinerency and 
 doings of the army opposing us, so I herewith give a diary from the offi 
 cial records of the "War of the Rebellion," being a journal kept at 
 headquarters, Confederate Army of the Tennessee, by Lieut. T. B. 
 Mackall, on General J. E. Johnston s staff, who was detailed for that 
 purpose. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 129 
 
 JOURNAL OP OPERATIONS OF THE ARMY OF TENNESSEE. 
 
 Saturday, May 14. Several attacks made on our line, beginning 
 on our left and extending toward the right as far as Stevenson s left; 
 only vigorous in front of Hindman. Our loss during the day gener 
 ally slight, except in officers and artillery horses. At 6 p. m. Stewart 
 and Stevenson, supported by Walker (two or three brigades), swing 
 round, driving the enemy easily. Stevenson s movement particu 
 larly "prompt and vigorous;" Stewart not engaged; no enemy in 
 his front. 
 
 P. S. About 4:20 p.m. I was sent to General Hardee to tell him 
 to feel if any enemy was in his front, as enemy was attacking Hind 
 man vigorously, so that, if possible, General Hardee might aid Gen 
 eral Hood. Found the former behind Bate s line, where fighting 
 was brisk. Just then a staff officer came from Cleburne and said 
 that though not at that time engaged he could see two lines of battle 
 and he "could hold his position." General Hardee then sent word 
 to General Mackall that so far from being able to aid Hood he could 
 not "weaken Cleburne to aid Bate. He thought two of Walker s 
 brigades had better be brought from south of the river; one to be 
 placed on right of Hood and one on the left on Bate s right, where 
 he joined Hood, the weakest point. If Walker could not be brought 
 up Loring s second line could be spared very well." (Walker had 
 already been ordered up, two brigades being in reserve in woods 
 on south bank; Stevens (brigade) guarding crossing on the Calhoun 
 road.) 
 
 On returning to headquarters General Walker s troops were just 
 coming up the road; delivered message. General Johnston rode off 
 to put Mercer in position behind Stewart; was soon followed by 
 General Mackall. After remaining behind a short time to forward 
 dispatches, etc., join the general on high hill to the left of point 
 where Dalton dirt road and railroad meet. About 6 p. m., Hood 
 driving enemy rapidly. I am sent to tell him that Mr. Wigfall had 
 just taken two brigades of General Walker s division in behind 
 Stewart; that a third brigade of Walker s would soon be up (part 
 of Loring s division; Featherstone s brigade also brought up). I was 
 directed to say also that preparations must be made to continue the 
 movement (swinging around our right) at daylight next morning. 
 "Let the troops understand it." Rode up Dalton and Resaca dift 
 road in search of General Hood; inquired but could learn nothing 
 of him; turned back to near hill where I started from and went 
 up the railroad. There, in a cut where Stewart s line was in the 
 morning, were generals Johnston, Hood, Walker, and Mackall. I 
 
130 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 reported to latter that I had taken wrong road, etc. Presently two 
 prisoners were brought in and questioned by the generals; not com 
 municative. A third brought up said their line of battle ran north 
 east and southwest; he belonged to Whitaker s brigade, Stanley s 
 division, Fourth Army Corps. They expected to be victorious, had 
 massed their forces near our bridge. About dark Wheeler came up 
 to the cut, and after consulting brought up his cavalry which went 
 out the railroad. All then rode in to the little house behind Selden s 
 battery where headquarters are at night. 
 
 The enemy did not offer much resistance to Hood s right; batteries 
 limbered up and iell back at the approach of our skirmish line. All 
 in good spirits at gaining ground and the railroad, and at the prospect 
 .of renewing the attack at daylight and cutting the enemy off from 
 Snake Creek Gap. On the way to headquarters for the night it was 
 found that a severe engagement had taken place on Folk s line. As 
 we attacked on the right, Sherman, supposing our left weakened, 
 promptly assaulted our lines and the battle raged hotly according to 
 all accounts for an hour and a half. The firing, strange to say, was 
 not heard where we were. Major Clare says he reported that the 
 enemy had effected a lodgment on the hill opposite to the house where 
 headquarters were established the night of General Johnston s ar 
 rival from Dalton. 
 
 When we reached the house heavy firing of musketry was going 
 on. Accounts confused. Some said hill was to be retaken; two 
 regiments were ordered to retake it by one of the generals on the line. 
 Hardee at headquarters on General Johnston s arrival; General 
 Hood had accompanied the general. About same time news received 
 from General Martin that enemy had crossed Oostenaula (two divis 
 ions). Featherstone, of Loring s command, who had been sent to 
 report to Hood, was ordered to move promptly and occupy trenches 
 south of Sheldon s battery. Walker and staff sent for. Only six of 
 our guns of thirty on Folk s front are said to have opened to keep 
 back the enemy. Officers of one staff in Folk s corps said the enemy 
 holds the hill gained in evening; others said it had been retaken; 
 others that it was to be. Impossible to learn the truth. 
 
 N. B. In the afternoon, when General Johnston ordered me to 
 tell General Hood to make preparations to "continue the movement" 
 the next day at daylight, following up the success, he directed me 
 to impress upon General Hood his wish that in executing the plan 
 he should keep his face toward the mouth of Snake Creek Gap, the 
 mouth of the gap the object to be reached. 
 
 T. B. MACKALL, 
 
 Aide-de-Camp. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 131 
 
 RESACA. 
 
 May 15, 1864. Sheldon s battery, 5:30 a. m., sharp skirmishing on 
 our left. Enemy appears to be preparing for a general attack in the 
 fog. Last night General Walker crosses to south of Oostenaula. 
 (>:45 a. m., very sharp skirmishing and an occassional cannon on 
 Hardee s line during last hour. Our skirmishers last night occupied 
 original position on extreme left; enemy not holding the hill com 
 manding railroad and wagon bridge (see Uslow). 
 
 (Two divisions of enemy reported on south side of river; wagon 
 train has been started; pontoon bridge laid yesterday above exposed 
 bridges; no chance of Cockrell, advance of French, getting up to 
 Rome to-day.) 
 
 7 a. m., General Johnston has been on the hill where Selden s bat 
 tery is posted since firing began; is just going to ride to the right, 
 leaving General Mackall here. Skirmishing and artillery still going 
 (on). 10 a. m., General Johnston returned to Sheldon s battery an 
 hour ago. Answer sent to cipher of the President received yesterday: 
 
 Sherman cannot re-enforce Grant without my (General J. s) know 
 ledge, and will not as skirmishing along our entire line. We (are) in 
 presence of whole force of enemy assembled from North Alabama 
 and Tennessee. 
 
 Ferguson s brigade of cavalry, also Brigadier-General Jackson 
 have reached Rome. Wheeler has just gone to upper pontoon bridge, 
 which will not be ready for crossing for fifteen minutes. It is in long 
 range of the 6-gun battery put up last night on the hill which they 
 captured. 11 a. m., very heavy musketry and artillery firing going 
 on, apparently on Hindman s line. Just before it became so rapid 
 General Johnston rode up the Dalton road, apparently on account of 
 some news brought by Hampton from Hardee. 12 m., about 11:15 
 battery en our extreme right opened. Firing slackened on Hind 
 man s front. Battery on hill on our left enfilades our trenches; 
 riflemen annoying to our gunners. 12 m., General Johnston has 
 come back to Sheldon s battery. The firing on extreme right three- 
 quarters of an hour ago caused by enemy s cavalry crossing Conne- 
 sauga in rear of Hood, capturing Hood s hospital. A brigade of 
 our cavalry after them, supported by a brigade of Stewart s. Cap 
 tain Porter, who went with General Johnston, came back. Says 
 last reports represent our troops driving enemy s cavalry. 1:30 p. 
 m., heavy musketry and artillery on Hindman s front; began about 
 fifteen minutes ago. Lieutenant Wigfall has just come up to say 
 enemy are making a very determined attack on Hindman. General 
 Johnston preparing to mount to ride to Hood s. Firing continuous. 
 
132 HISTORY 0V THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 3:30 p. m., few minutes after writing above rode off to General 
 Hood s with General Mackall, who accompanied General Johnston. 
 Found Hood where Dalton dirt road and railroad are near each 
 other and where we now are. Hindman, a few minutes after we 
 arrived, repulsed the enemy, who came up in some places to his 
 breast-works. Our reserves not used. Orders given for Stewart to 
 take enemy in flank; for wagons which were sent back to be brought 
 up to Resaca. Stevenson and Hindman to take up movement of 
 Stewart. Featherstone brought from Folk s line, also Maney and 
 from Cheatham. These supports came up in very short 
 time. Stevenson, however, sent word that enemy in three lines 
 were preparing to attack Stewart s center. 3:40 p. m., (in rear of 
 Stewart s line near railroad), Stewart directed to receive attack 
 and pursue. But slight skirmishing now; enemy not making attack. 
 9:30 p. m., at house behind Sheldon s battery (headquarters at night). 
 Orders given to withdraw from this place; arrangements made 
 and trains moving. This afternoon, about 4:30 p. m., Stewart, in 
 obedience to orders to attack if his position was not assaulted, ad 
 vanced; soon his line was broken by a terrible fire of Hooker s 
 corps, who were ready to attack. I had been sent to accompany 
 Major Ratchford to General Featherstone (held in reserve), to order 
 him in the general s name to take position in support of Stewart, 
 near Green s house. 
 
 Monday, MaylG. On Calhoun and Adairsville road, two miles 
 south of Calhoun. While in field in rear of Stewart s line and near 
 railroad last night, about dark, corps and division commanders as 
 sembled, and instructions given to effect withdrawal of army to south 
 bank of Oostenaula. Enemy had crossed force to south bank of 
 river, at Dobbin s Ferry; reported two divisions. Walker was facing 
 them, immediately in our front. He was intrenched, his line extend 
 ing from Oostenaula River to Tilton, on Connesauga. Stewart had 
 been repulsed in attempting to flank him. What was to prevent 
 him from detaching 40,000 and striking our communications, hold 
 ing on at same time to their works with a force equal to ours? We 
 could not send a force sufficient to beat the force in our rear and at 
 same time hold present position. In two hours after Stewart s re 
 pulse Cheatham, Hindman, Cleburne, etc., were assembled around 
 the camp-fires. Hardee had been there all evening. Routes and 
 times fixed; cars to be sent for wounded; wagons and ambulances 
 and most of artillery to cross pontoons above; troops and artillery 
 on Folk s line on railroad and small trestle bridge; an hour occupied 
 in giving orders, etc., and all dispersed, going to their headquarters. 
 We rode in; wagons not brought over, After writing dispatcher 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 133 
 
 to dictation of General Mackall to Polk, Hood, and Hardee, telling 
 latter to notify P.; after troops and skirmishers driven in, lay down 
 (sleeping on porch of house in rear of Sheldon s battery); waked by 
 noise firing, confusion, etc.; saddle and mount. General Loring 
 comes up; all ride to roadside at foot of Sheldon s battery, passing 
 through Hindman s column going to railroad bridge; Cheatham s 
 pass from his line over small trestle bridge below. Night cloudy. 
 Firing of musketry and small-arms on Hood s line, which was rapid 
 and continuous on first waking; decreased. These troops (Cheat- 
 ham s and Hood s) did not seem at all alarmed, rather noisy and in 
 very good humor. Enemy s line on river remarkably quiet. Mat 
 ters had been alarming on Hood s front. Enemy learning probably 
 through (sic). Near Calhoun, 5:30 p. m., order given to send 
 wagons back one mile and a half south of Adairsville; 6:30 p. m., our 
 wagons parking; saddling. 
 
 Tuesday, May 17, 1864. We reached Adairsville just before day, 
 a little ahead of troops. Cultivated, rolling country from Resaca to 
 Adairsville. ************ 
 
 9:45 p. m., this morning and forenoon guns heard at intervals at 
 distance; Wheeler skirmishing; 2:30 p. m., dispatch received from 
 Wheeler (2:10), saying enemy pressing rapidly two and a half miles 
 from town, and he would have to fall back. General had ridden out to 
 Hood s line; original sent to him and copies of to H. and H. (Hood and 
 Hardee). (Hardee) did not receive his until after his infantry in 
 formed him. At this time cavalry were coming in. General soon 
 came in. By 5 p. m. Cheatham, who was one mile in advance, was 
 skirmishing. Pack up and saddle. Troops who had not been in line, 
 but massed in bivouac, quickly formed, while firing going on. Sent 
 to Hardee to ask what dispositions he had made; found him on his 
 left; Cheatham in advance of all infantry; Walker on his right, 
 Cleburne next, part crossing Oothkaloga Creek; Bate in reserve. 
 Returned soon, all the lieutenant-generals and Wheeler. Enemy re 
 ported on west of Oothkaloga Creek. Bate sent over; 6,000 cavalry 
 reported six miles of Cartersville. Pontoons at Cassville. Jackson s 
 division cavalry ordered back. One brigade had no corn for three 
 days. (Pontoons ordered to Etowah.) Firing heard at Rome, while 
 all this going on. Telegram from Lieutenant-Colonel Steever, 
 Rome, saying enemy in force, shelling town. I sent after General 
 P. about 6 p. m. All in council. Can the army be withdrawn when 
 so many roads into Calhoun? Carry a dispatch in room; General 
 W. W. (Mackall) and J - looking at map. Latter traces road 
 from here to Cassville; asks how long will it take all to go down 
 one road? (Hood) says can t be done. (Hardee) said we will have 
 
134 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 to fight. (Hood) has been anxious to get from this place south of 
 Etowah. 9:10 p. m., Roy and Cunningham have just been called 
 for. In waiting. On 16th May received cipher from General S. 
 D. Lee, Demopolis; not transcribable. Repetition received on 17th, 
 at night. Forrest will start on 20th from Corinth to cross Tennessee 
 at Florence with 3,500 picked men and 2 batteries. Colonel Hill 
 reported on authority of scout that enemy were moving down toward 
 Rome, on Calhoun and Rome road, Palmer s corps in advance, wagon 
 trains along, and one brigade cavalry. Did not learn whether any 
 other force was behind. 
 
 CASSVILLE. 
 
 Wednesday, May 18. Reached creek near Cassville about 7:30 
 a. m.; got into camp 9:30 a. m.; no firing so far (just after break 
 fast). Left headquarters just beyond Adairsville and Kingston road, H 
 Hardee s corps moved on Adairsville and Kingston road, Hood s and 
 Folk s on Adairsville and Cassville. Sear s brigade, French s 
 division, reached Adairsville yesterday. French with Cockrell s 
 this a. m. at Kingston; cars gone for Ector s. French had one bri 
 gade about starting from Rome to join this army when town was 
 attacked. Cockrell s detained to aid in defense and protect the other 
 brigade. 4 p. m., cipher from S. D. Lee, of 17th, Meridian, re 
 ceived. Forrest s move for 20th suspended on account of demon 
 strations from Memphis. Colonel Hannon just reports enemy s 
 cavalry in force advancing on Fairmont road rapidly, and four 
 miles from here. Armstrong ordered to support of Hannon. 
 
 (Following written Thursday, 19th) : Hood and Hardee and Polk 
 at headquarters discussing over map plans for morning. Prisoner 
 of Hooker s corps brought in; I questioned him. His command was 
 behind Howard s; latter skirmished with Cheatham afternoon of 17th 
 and all army was assembled close by. Next morning (on IBth) 
 whole command in motion. Howard moved to Adairsville, halted, 
 and cooked dinner. Prisoner got lost among Howard s men and was 
 told Hooker had moved toward our right, and endeavoring to join 
 his regiment was captured by our cavalry; was told that an addi 
 tional corps was following behind Hooker; knew nothing of other 
 commands. All appear in good spirits. Telegram received in 
 afternoon from Thrasher reporting enemy acknowledge loss of 
 45,000 and 31 generals in Virginia. General J (ohnston) said Confed 
 eracy was as fixed an institution as England or France. Troops very 
 much worried by night marches; in good spirits and confident; 
 press confident. Anxiety, however, to fight, particularly among 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 135 
 
 officers, certain of whom thought good effect of Virginia and Lou 
 isiana news in raising gold in New York to 210 would be impaired 
 by this retreat. Many thought Sherman would not fight merely 
 wanted to drive us across Etowah and to occupy territory acquired 
 and send reinforcements .o Grant. 
 
 Thursday, May 19. Moved out to attack enemy, but column re 
 ported advancing on Cartersville road; line changed; brisk skir 
 mishing. General Ross reports enemy throwing pontoons across 
 Etowah at Wooley s Bridge, and crossed a force main force. 
 
 (Following written May 21 near Alltoona) : Line changed under 
 fire. Brisk skirmishing in afternoon and toward evening to effect 
 the change. New line principally along a ridge running nearly 
 north and south, covering Cassville and Cass Station road and facing 
 westwardly. The signal corps and General Hardee reported in 
 forenoon that enemy in front of Cassville were moving toward 
 Kingston, all advantageous to the designed attack on his left flank. 
 An order was written about 7 or 8 a. m. thanking troops for patience, 
 and telling them they would be led against enemy. General J (ohns- 
 ton) rode over to General Hood s and then passing by general head 
 quarters rode out Spring Place road, north of creek, with Hood and 
 Polk and Hardee to show former where he was to form his line for 
 attack. General M (ackall) rode from headquarters east of town to 
 join him; found Generals J (ohnston, P (oik), and Hardee returning 
 (Sears Mississippi brigade formed across road). Riding back, all 
 passed Cockrell s Missouri brigade resting on road, and in town met 
 Hindman s column, advance of Hood s corps, moving to take posi 
 tion on Folk s right. After a few moments in town rode rapidly 
 back out Spring Place road; General saw Hood and returned to 
 camp-ground and dismounted; Hood s corps passing, Folk s troops 
 shifting. About this time, 10:20 a. m., a few discharges of artillery 
 on Adairsville and Cassville road, and in ten minutes report of artil 
 lery in easterly direction. General M (ackall), who had ridden out 
 to Hood with directions "to make quick work," sent word back by 
 courrier, who reported to me that "enemy in heavy force close 
 to Hood on Canton road." I tell general, who says it can t be. 
 (Armstrong on that road reported none.) Called for map; said if 
 that s so General Hood will have to fall back at once. Presently 
 General M (ackall) rode up at a rapid rate, spoke with General, who 
 sent him back in haste, riding one of his horses. Mason went off 
 on another; still firing had ceased; confusion in passing backward 
 and forward of Hood s and Folk s troops. At this time could be 
 heard officers all around reading orders to regiments and cheers of 
 troops. Some regiments in field where headquarters were. Polk 
 
136 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 detains two of Hood s brigades, as Hardee on his left had not closed 
 up a gap. Headquarters wagons sent beyond Cassville. Corps com 
 manders and Wheeler arrive. 
 
 Instructions to change line. Generals J(ohnston) and M(ackall 
 and Polk ride on high hill overlooking town and back from original 
 line. New line marked out, and troops rapidly formed on it and 
 along a ridge. Late in afternoon considerable skirmishing and ar 
 tillery. Enemy s skirmishers occupied town. At one time confu 
 sion; wagons, artillery, and cavalry hasten back; noise, dust, and 
 heat. Disorder checked; wagons made to halt. Consternation of 
 citizens; many flee, leaving all; some take away few effects, some 
 remain between hostile fires. 
 
 General M(ackall) and I remain several hours on roadside (Cass 
 ville and Cartersville road). Governor Harris brings lunch. Gen 
 eral J(ohnston), about 5 p. m. in afternoon, rides down to Hardee s, 
 leaving General M(ackall); I remain. About 6 p. m. General 
 M(ackall) sets out to find our camp; meets the General, and both go 
 back to a field near road in rear of Polk, as skirmishing brisk. 
 General J(ohnston) tells Governor Harris he will be ready for and 
 happy to receive enemy next day. Wheeler comes up; cavalry falls 
 back behind infantry. Dark ride to camp. By a muddy brook near 
 General P(olk s) find supper ready and tents pitched. After supper, 
 General J(ohnston) walks over to General P(olk). General M(ac- 
 kall) and rest turn in. Soon General J(ohnston) sends word by 
 courier to send him two of inspector-general mounted; then one of 
 Folk s staff officers brings word that all the staff must report mounted; 
 I was directed to remain. 
 
 General Mackall returned to camping-place, where most all staff 
 waited until about 2 a. m., when they rode to Cartersville, passing 
 trains and artillery parked in field; all hurried off without regard 
 to order. Reach Cartersville before day, troops come in after day. 
 General Johnston comes up all hurried over bridges; great con 
 fusion, caused by mixing trains and by trains which crossed first 
 parking at river s edge and others winding around wrong roads; 
 about 2,000 wagons crowded on bank. 
 
 Friday, May 20 (written May 22). General Mackall and staff 
 reach Cartersville about 4 a. m., General J(ohnston) later; confusion, 
 hurrying wagons and artillery across Etowah bridge. Supply train 
 parked on plain on south side; two pontoon bridges, one wagon trestle 
 bridge, one railroad bridge, wagons and artillery blocked up on road; 
 trains mixed. Dust and heat, country rough and hilly, little water 
 near railroad, army in line on north side. Wagons move toward Al- 
 latoona on two roads. After great delay trains removed out of range. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 137 
 
 In afternoon headquarters established near Moore s house (Hardee s 
 headquarters), near a crossing of railroad and lower Allatoona road, 
 one mile and a half from Allatoona. Etowah Iron Works most 
 valuable machinery, teams, wagons, and negroes removed by G. W. 
 Smith. Bridges burned this p. m., including railroad bridge by mis 
 take. Troops jaded, artillery and cavalry horses particularly; Geor 
 gia troops dropped off; all in pretty good spirits up to falling back 
 from Cassville. Change of line not understood but thought all 
 right, but night retreat after issuing general order impaired confi 
 dence; great alarm in country around. Troops think no stand to be 
 made north of Chattahoochee, where supply train is sent Dispatch 
 of President of May 18 received; he had read dispatch of - - with 
 disappointment. Governor Brown has ordered all militia to assem 
 ble at Atlanta. 
 
 Saturday, May 21. Headquarters still near Moore s house on 
 Etowah and Allatoona road. Every measure taken to prevent strag 
 gling and bring back absentees. Went to Acworth to see General 
 D. Saw Colonel Beard?- inspector-general, who said he could find but 
 few stragglers; many broken-down men with sick tickets going to rear. 
 Marietta reported full of stragglers. Over - - thousand barefoot 
 men. Some dissatisfaction, but all will be rectified by rest of few 
 days. Campaign unusually severe, according to officers who have 
 been through those in Virginia. President s dispatch of 18th an 
 swered and misstatement of dates in General J(ohnston s) previous 
 dispatch corrected. (Mistake owing to my giving date of leaving 
 Dalton instead of Resaca, which I understood was asked.) About 
 dusk enemy s cavalry appear near Etowah; our cavalry drive them 
 away. In night Brigadier-General Jackson (Walker s division) re 
 ports considerable skirmishing near railroad crossing enemy occu 
 pying works on north side. 
 
 (Later) : Armstrong, commanding Jackson s cavalry, all west of 
 railroad. Jackson (disabled) reports enemy s cavalry crossed at 
 Gillem s Bridge (south of Kingston) and infantry and artillery on 
 north side. Colonel Ewell telegraphs to know if service of conscripts 
 will be received; thousands can be had. Newspapers of to-day say 
 nothing of retreat south of Etowah. Expect battle at Cassville. 
 Supply trains south of Chattahoochee Kiver. Other wagon trains 
 moved south of Allatoona to a more open country. Return called for. 
 
 NEAR MOORE S HOUSE. 
 
 Sunday, May 22, 1864. Memorandum: On the 20th asked General 
 M(ackall) who reported force of enemy on Canton road on 19th 
 when we were at Cassville. He said General Hood, who said they 
 
S HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 had a line of battle close to him. General M(ackall) could see noth 
 ing and didn t believe it.) 9:30 a. m., dispatch this morning, written 
 last night by Allen, of cavalry, gives report of a scout. Enemy for 
 tifying on both sides of river at Gillem s bridge; their cavalry had 
 gone out several miles to Stilesborough; inquired minutely about 
 roads; said that to-day an army of 150,000 (?) strong would march out 
 on Cedartown road to Atlanta; expected but little opposition, think 
 ing this army utterly demoralized. Enemy on short rations. (Memo 
 randum: Left Cleveland and Ringgold with twenty days .) This re 
 port sent back to Wheeler, with note advising him not to carry out 
 his expedition without being fully informed of position of enemy. 
 Immediately afterward he was sent for to come to headquarters, 
 where Hood and Hardee are. Copy of said report sent to Armstrong. 
 Wheeler not yet arrived. Jackson s division cavalry picketing river 
 below as far as Rome; Wheeler s above as far as Canton. Wheeler 
 is to cross the river. Wheeler started in afternoon after consider 
 able delay, crossing near Etowah bridge. At 3:30 p. m. lieutenant- 
 generals and chief of artillery notified to ha^e everything in readi 
 ness to move at moment s notice. Major Moore notified that troops 
 are to carry three days rations in haversacks. Guides obtained for 
 country south of Etowah and west of railroad. Two bridges being 
 built over Pumpkin Vine Creek, and road made, cutting off consid 
 erable distance in moving down river. Country hilly and rocky. 
 Heat oppressive and road dusty. Many disloyal people in this sec 
 tion. 
 
 Monday, May 23, 1864. (After sunset, near Moore s house, one 
 mile and a half from Allatoona.) After breakfast, headquarters 
 wagons packed and horses saddled, ready for a move; awaiting in 
 formation from cavalry. During day, Wheeler, who had crossed 
 with escort night before, and was followed by his command in morn 
 ing, sent back several dispatches giving reports of scouts sent to 
 Cartersville, Cassville, Cass Station, etc. Enemy s infantry (force- 
 not known) at Cartersville. Hooker s corps and headquarters at 
 Cassville. (Following written 24th:) (Memorandum: Learned 
 about failure at Cassville from - ; mistake about name of road, 
 "Canton.") Wheeler sent word in evening that more than one 
 division at Cartersville. Hooker s headquarters and corps at Cass 
 ville. Thomas between Cassville and Kingston. Wheeler ordered 
 off on expedition to cut communications. Burning of Etowah Iron 
 Works and of town of Cartersville afternoon of 22nd, and small force 
 then observed at Cartersville and few cavalry east. Had produced 
 impression on some that entire force of enemy either moved consid 
 erably to our left or were falling back. Many rumors of latter kind. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 
 
 139 
 
 Wheeler, after crossing Etowah, said citizens said enemy reported 
 they were falling back. One report that they were going to Knox- 
 ville. Jackson s cavalry, under Armstrong, sent unsatisfactory 
 reports, but in afternoon and night reported 5,000 cavalry crossed 
 at Milam s Bridge, apparently to cover passage of infantry. Heavy 
 columns of dust and of infantry and wagons seen moving on north 
 bank of Etowah toward our left, and Ferguson thought main army 
 on north bank. Ferguson reported infantry having crossed. Dur 
 ing day Hardee moved ten miles southwest, and Polk moved on road 
 from Allatoona to Dallas. Hood still watching crossings near rail 
 road. At night orders reiterated for Hardee to move to Dallas and 
 Atlanta road, and Polk to do same and communicate. General 
 Hardee made mistake; sent word back (date 10 p. m.; received 11:50 
 p. m.) that unless received further orders would cross Chattahoochee 
 at Nelson s ferry; would start his command 2 a. m. Major 
 M(ason) sent to correct mistake, and note sent by courier telling 
 him he was to take position near intersection of road on which he 
 was, with Atlanta and Dallas road, and protect it, supported by 
 General P(olk). Armstrong s cavalry, in moving farther to left, 
 strangely had fallen back to Burnt Hickory, leaving enemy s cavalry 
 unobserved. Armstrong told of utmost importance to have strong 
 force at position held by Ross and observe enemy closely. Imme 
 diate information necessary. Jackson s commanders think main 
 Yankee army west of our position, from Milam s Bridge to Rome. 
 Telegram from General B. received. Quarles ordered from M(issis- 
 sippi) on 21st. After terrible crisis, sacrificing communications, all 
 well in Virginia. Expect great results here, from tone of army re 
 ported. S. D. L(ee) ordered -part of Roddey to Talladega; Chalmers 
 division from Tupelo to - . Blair passed Paducah on lOtTi, to 
 join Sherman; thirty-seven transports and gun-boats. Headquarters 
 wagons unpacked. 3 p. m., go into camp. Wheeler told to observe 
 particularly what force could march directly from Cartersville on 
 Allatoona. 
 
 Tuesday, May 24. (Near Moore s house, one mile and a half to 
 Allatoona.) All ready to move to Folk s command. 
 
 (May 25, yesterday all rode from headquarters near Bartow Fur 
 nace (near Moore s) to Powder Mill and Dallas road, and camped at 
 night on the road four miles from Dallas. Hood moved his troops 
 by afternoon nearer Dallas from Etowah bridge, and headquarters 
 where Hardee s had been night before, at Doctor Smith s. Hardee 
 at night camped in supporting distance of Dallas. Polk camped on 
 Marietta and Dallas road. In afternoon lour of enemy s cavalry 
 run into lines of a brigade at Dallas and carry off some of our men; 
 
140 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH lOWA 
 
 not a gun loaded. Jackson s opinion that main army of enemy 
 approaching Dallas and one corps and 2,500 cavalry going by Villa 
 Rica. This information sent to Hood, who is told to move early in 
 morning, that his advance may reach New Hope Church (on Alla- 
 toona and Dallas road), about four miles and a half from Robinson s, 
 in order to guard against separation. Polk is to move up on Mari 
 etta and Dallas road to Robinson s. Join hands to be ready to fight. 
 Witherspoon, of Quarles staff, reports brigade coming 2,800.) 
 
 Wednesday, May 25, 1864. (5:30 p. m., at Robertson s house, four 
 miles south of Dallas, near intersection of road from Marietta, 
 Atlanta, ana Aiiatoona to Dallas.) Half hour ago few discharges 
 of artillery near New Hope Church, where Hood is three miles dis 
 tant. Prisoner says Hooker s corps is in front of him. General 
 J ^.ohnston) rode there an hour ago. We have been waiting here 
 nearly all day. Few developments of enemy. Reports of their 
 having crossed Pumpkin Vine Creek; citizens think moving around 
 our left. All quiet in front of Dallas. This morning all of Hardee s 
 division in line. Polk got in wrong place. Wheeler reports cap 
 tured and brought off from near Cassville 30 wagons loaded, and 
 destroyed 170 and took 150 prisoners. Stewart s division repulsed 
 Hooker s corps. 
 
 Saturday, May 28, 1864. (11 a. m., Cleburne s intrenched line, 
 where enemy were repulsed last afternoon, Rogers house.) Few 
 minutes ago started with General M(ackall) to Wheeler s to see Gen 
 eral Hood; met him after going few yards and returned. Brisk 
 cannonading apparently in front or Loring, and slight skirmishing 
 along line. Blanton, of Hood s staff, came from the right about 9 
 a. m., after our arrival here (Cleburne s headquarters), with a mes 
 sage from General H(ood), who was at Wheeler s headquarters. 
 Captain McFarland, of Cleburn s staff, who came with him, says 
 Hood found enemy s right on Aiiatoona road intrenched, could not 
 attacK; dissapointed in not being able to get in his rear, as he ex 
 pected last night and this morning. Wrote at sunrise his corps had 
 not crossed; feared he would have some difficulty in crossing Little 
 Pumpkin Vine Creek, where our right last evening rested; when he 
 crossed he would be in enemy s rear. At 11 a. m. fight on French s 
 line; 11:30 generals ride away; follow in fifteen to twenty minutes; 
 when I leave, Cleburne says his skirmishers pressed in. However, 
 no attack on him. All rode to house where headquarters are estab 
 lished at night. While on Cleburne s line walk over field; about 
 700 dead left by Howard. Prisoners from Palmer and Scofield, 
 who were supporting but not engaged, captured. Enemy advanced 
 in five to six lines. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 141 
 
 Monday, May 30. (8 a. m., Widow Wigley s deserted house on 
 Dallas and Allatoona road, three-quarters of a mile from New Hope 
 Church.) All very quiet along line except occasional cannon oppo 
 site French; hardly a musket fired. Last evening early, on account 
 of reported movement of enemy toward our left, extending from 
 Pumpkin Vine Creek, from which point forces said to be moving to 
 Dallas, arrangements made to move to Lost Mountain, six miles 
 east. At same time enemy s pickets on their left were contracted, 
 and reports of troops moving to re-enforce Dallas. At 9 o clock at 
 night some cannonading on French s and Cantey s line; 10 p. m., 
 wagons (at) headquarters packed to move; some tremendous firing, 
 artillery and musketry, on French s line kept up more than half hour 
 and renewed two or three times later. About 11 p. m., cannonading 
 heavy on Bate s line for two hours, fortunately Cleburne support 
 ing; various conjectures at the time and since about origin 
 Cantey s line very weak and sevent} r -five yards from enemy s in- 
 trenchments; second line* was being made 200 yards in rear. Was 
 enemy attempting to prevent working? Making genuine attack? 
 False alarm? Latter general impression, confirmed toward morning 
 by officers who reported no enemy seen either in front of Cantey or 
 Bate. Cantey said it was a stampede on part of his men. There we 
 did most of firing. On left it was principally enemy s artillery; 
 great waste of ammunition; reminded some of occurrences at York- 
 town; both sides aroused by false alarm. On the heavy firing, 
 movement of the night suspended; all unsaddle; intrenching tools 
 sent to lines. Toward morning scouts reported enemy moving to 
 our left. For several days he has been approaching railroad gradu 
 ally, intrenching at every point. Yesterday Hood on right, Polk in 
 center, holding Hood s former position, while Hardee on left, his line 
 extending several miles, and for long intervals only skirmishers, 
 principally on the Ellsberry Hills. Bate in front of Dallas, sup 
 ported by Cleburne, moved up yesterday. In enemy s line a similar 
 gap opposite Cheatham; enemy a mile distant. Stewart on Hood s 
 extreme right across Little Pumpkin Vine Creek; enemy also across 
 creek. Information received now by Hill s, Granbury s, and Jack 
 son s and Wheeler s scouts more regular and reliable. One of Long- 
 street s scouts reports heavy baggage sent back from Chattanooga, 
 and all forage and substance sent forward, twenty days , of which 
 ten had been exhausted. Small garrison at Chattanooga. Other 
 day man reported small garrisons at Tuflahoma and Huntsville; 
 1.500 at Bridgeport. Many rumors of Forrest having crossed Ten 
 nessee River, but nothing from Mississippi to show suspension of 
 order revoked. Forrest would be of more service between Sherman 
 
142 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 and Chattanooga. Mississippi threatened by raid from Memphis, 
 and other day information that A. J. Smith had landed troops from 
 Red River at Vicksburg. Southwest drained of troops to strengthen 
 this army. Fleet and transports with 2,800 infantry off Mobile. 
 No infantry except enough to man batteries. Tennessee over the 
 bar and down the bay; admiral hesitates to attack. 9:30 a. m., 
 Major Preston says firing on right originated by enemy s heavy line 
 of skirmishers advancing on Cantey s line where new fortifications 
 being built. Firing there only few minutes taken up by other 
 troops; now new line on ridge farther back. Sharpshooters trouble 
 some; artillery lose heavily in men and horses 40 men and 40 
 horses in one battalion; ammunition wasted; only forty rounds al 
 lowed to each man. 
 
 Tuesday, May 31, 1864. (Three-quarters of a mile from New Hope 
 Church at Widow Wigley s; headquarters same for several days.) 
 Prisoner of Ffteenth (Logan s corps), captured night before last in 
 front of Bate, and brought to headquarters yesterday afternoon, 
 says Fifteenth and Sixteenth Corps near Dallas, on enemy s right; 
 doesn t think any corps immediately on left; said Seventeenth came 
 up two days before. In night, without drawing in pickets, firing was 
 suddenly commenced by his people; he lay down, and when all was 
 quiet, in endeavoring to escape, got among our skirmishers so the 
 enemy raised false alarm on Bate s line as Cantey did. Bate reported 
 enemy made several attacks. In the previous affair when B(ate) 
 advanced, became hotly engaged, effected lodgment temporarily in 
 enemy s breast- works, and was forced to retire with loss; he says 
 ardor of men could not be restrained, went to"o far before could be 
 recalled. Lewis, who lost most, and other brigadiers say orders 
 positive to take works. 
 
 Jackson s scouts report enemy s cavalry between Dallas and 
 Draketown moved back during attack of Sunday night; don t know 
 which road they have gone; told (by) citizens, horses starving, forced 
 to go back. (Prisoners say army on half rations for several days, and 
 various confirmations of short supplies; stock suffering.) Captain 
 Johnson, of a Georgia regiment, under Wheeler, just from a scout 
 north of Etowah River, says no enemy at Etowah, Cartersville, or 
 Cassville; 1,000 to 2,000 infantry and one regiment cavalry at 
 Cass Station and Kingston; 5,000 infantry at Resaca; citizens and 
 soldiers say two supply trains cut off. Forrest captured Chatta 
 nooga (no official information received here of his having started). 
 On 29th S. D. Lee telegraphed that Roddey had been driven back 
 to Jonesborough by 10,000 infantry, artillery, and cavalry from Deca- 
 tur; yesterday said they had returned, probably a diversion to cover 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 143 
 
 movement of troops to Kingston (probably those landed at Clinton). 
 War Department day or two ago gave notice that nineteen trans 
 ports with troops had passed Grand Gulf and stopped at Vicks- 
 burg, supposed to be Smith s troops from Red River (on way to 
 Sherman doubtless). Yesterday afternoon late, brisk skirmishing 
 and rapid artillery firing on Stewart s line. With this exception, 
 day and night remarkably quiet. Enemy s sharpshooters in trees 
 very annoying. Yesterday colonel and captain of First Missouri killed 
 in trenches. Some supposed 150 guns in position would open. Sick 
 and wounded had been moved back and many thought army would 
 change position. Troops in good spirits. Press in southwest sup 
 port the General. A victory will confirm all. In one or two weeks 
 enemy will have considerable reinforcements. Logan s corps go 
 out service in three months. Lincoln calls for 400,000 more. 
 
 Gap in enemy s line, General believes force (McPherson) in 
 front of Bate is there only to cover roads. Hooker in center, then 
 Howard, Palmer, and Scofield. Wheeler s scouts learn from citi 
 zens that from questions (of) enemy s engineers, who examine coun 
 try and roads to Allatoona, a movement to Allatoona is contem 
 plated. 
 
 Thursday, June 2. (Sunset.) Headquarters moved yesterday 
 evening from Widow Wigley s to camp in woods three miles farther 
 to our right in rear of Kood on settlement road leading into Marietta 
 road. Yesterday telegram sent to General Bragg (last was on 28th) ; 
 another to Governor Brown. The quiet of the enemy on Tuesday 
 on the left, sharpshooting only, no reply oeing made to our bat 
 teries, and the small force observed from Ellsberry Mountain, oppo 
 site Walker, induced the belief that the force at Dallas was small. 
 Yesterday morning at daylight enemy commenced moving his forces 
 from Dallas to his left. From left of Mercer s brigade on Ellsberry 
 Mountain heavy columns of infantry well closed up became visible 
 at 7 o clock, and continued in sirht until 9 or 10 a. m. Major Lee 
 and others observed them from the mountain, and reported frequently. 
 About midday the General rides to mountain. In front of Walker 
 the enemy kept their skirmishers close to ours, but no troops at the 
 time to support them in the entrenchments, two lines of which had 
 been erected several days before. We could see a few wagons pass 
 ing in their front on the Burnt Hickory road, but in the distance 
 the roods to Burnt Hickory and that from Burnt Hickory to New 
 Hope Church could be seen miles off, and wagons three miles off 
 passing continually. The dust marked the progress when the road 
 could not be seen. Wagons were, moving to New Hope Church, and 
 the dust also showed traveling beyond the cross-roads to Burnt 
 
144 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 Hickory, in direction of river. Officers observing the movements 
 early in the day, said a column moved from left and occupied breast 
 works in front of Mercer and Cheatham to cover passage of others 
 along road. Afterward line of battle was formed at right angles to 
 fortifications. I saw line of battle when rode first to mountain to 
 see Major L(ee) and observe with map. Jackson s scouts reported 
 same movement, and about 1 o clock Armstrong entered Dallas. He 
 reported one-half enemy had taken the Burnt Hickory or Carters- 
 ville road leading toward Douthardt s bridge (so General Walker 
 was told by residents) and the other corps had taken the Acworth 
 road leading from Dallas to New Hope Church. No cavalry at Dal 
 las since Sunday. Cleburne was moved from supporting distance of 
 Walker farther to right. Last evening heavy column of cavalry, 
 with artillery, moved from Cartersville, and encamped at Allatoona; 
 another cavalry column, reported 5,000, moved last evening up Dal 
 las and Allatoona road to Allatoona. It seems all their cavalry is 
 on our right. Yesterday confidential circular directing withdrawal 
 at night to Lost Mountain recalled 4 p. m. Last night all quiet; 
 also to-day, except some cannonading on Hood s line. About noon 
 Hood reported enemy double-quicking to his right and attack ex 
 pected. Bate, Cleburne, and Walker sent on right; attack expected 
 in morning, though all quiet now (dusk) ; all quiet in front of 
 Wheeler. Yesterday information about movements of enemy from 
 Decatur toward Sherman received from S. D. Lee; from Jackson s 
 and Wheeler s scouts, 7,000 or 8,000 moved from Decatur on Somer- 
 ville road on 2nd. 
 
 Saturday, June 4 ,1864. (Midday.) No attack yesterday by 
 enemy, as Generals Hood and Hardee expected. Headquarters un 
 changed. Telegram yesterday from General Bragg. Lee in line 
 near Mechanicsville, confronting Grant. Butler gone to join 
 G(rant). Beauregard at Richmond. Two more ciphers from Lee 
 yesterday (S. D.); the last said the Sixteenth Army Corps, with 
 eighteen pieces of artillery, was moving toward Okolona rapidly, and 
 that Forrest had been recalled from Russellville, and he would have 
 to withdraw most of his cavalry from Middle Alabama. So, the great 
 results anticipated from a raid of the Mississippi cavalry in Sher 
 man s rear are not to be fulfilled at an early day. This column from 
 Memphis may eventually endeavor to join Sherman. Before re 
 ceipt of these dispatches General J (ohnston) had telegraphed Lee 
 that a raid between S(herman s) army and Chattanooga would do 
 much harm. Telegraphed also to General B. for information to move 
 ments of Mississippi cavalry, to which reference was made in B. s 
 dispatch, Accounts of progress of the column moving toward 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 145 
 
 Rome; from many sources expected at Gadsden on 1st of June, four 
 days march from Rome; according to one account 1,000 sent from 
 HuntsviFle by rail. Chalmers was to move from Montevallo to 
 Blue Mountain a day or two ago. Rumor already places him at 
 Rome. Blair (or Griffin) said to be moving rapidly fourteen miles 
 per day; made forced marches from Clinton and Pulaski. He hasn t 
 over 6,000 to 10,000; is mounting infantry as fast as (he) can seize 
 horses, desolating the country. One account represented this force 
 from Louisiana, that from Memphis no doubt is. Large detach 
 ments were made from Sixteenth and Seventeenth Army Corps, and 
 sent, under A. J. Smith, to Red River. Besides these reinforce 
 ments prisoners and scouts report 100-day men coming down to 
 guard communications. One of Thomas couriers recently cap 
 tured says nineteen regiments expected soon. Scouts say 3,000 of 
 100-days cavalry at Columbia, Middle Tenn. Many officers of this 
 army, as well as the people arid army in the East, think there is very 
 little disparity in the size of this army and Sherman s, and urge an 
 immediate attack. S(herman) has at least 60,000 effective infantry 
 now, supposing him to have lost 12,000 to 15,000 since leaving Chat 
 tanooga. Our effective total infantry about 44,000. Rousseau ex 
 pected with a division from the rear. Since leaving Dalton our entire 
 loss not over 6,000. Many new troops sent to rear foot-sore will 
 come up. Army better fed (one-half pound bacon with meal or 
 hard bread) than ever, whisky or coffee occasionally issued. Troops 
 in fine spirits. Implicit confidence. All baggage wagons south of 
 Chattahoochee. One wagon for cooking utensils of a brigade de 
 tached from general train. This campaign of a month shows that 
 the army can get along with no baggage, and can be supplied 
 twenty miles from railroad. General Jackson says captured letters 
 of General Hazen show enemy to be in straits about rations not 
 paid for three months. (Thomas orders say men and horses well 
 fed.) Enemy yesterday reported commencing to rebuild Etowah 
 railroad bridge; his line moving gradually to right, followed by 
 ours; will not attack, but will fortify on Allatoona Heights and 
 wait for supplies and reinforcements. No fight for two weeks. 
 Cheatham on extreme left, next Polk, then Hood and Hardee (and 
 their divisions) on right. Colonel Cole, transportation quartermas 
 ter, here. Feeling in army: One lieutenant-general talks about attack 
 and not giving ground, publicly, and quietly urges retreat." 
 
 July 1st, 1864. On the skirmish line occupying light skirmish pits 
 with head logs, erected by troops we relieved, lots of skirmishing and 
 random firing all day. A new Wisconsin regiment join us on the left 
 
146 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 in which there are many Indians, who seem to prefer to practice their 
 mode of skirmishing to that laid down in the tactics; as it is a free and 
 easy fight with every man for himself, their officers allow them to adopt 
 their bushwhacking tactics. On the second we were relieved from the 
 skirmish line taking position in support of our batteries on the foot 
 hills in plain view of the heavy fortifications on the crest of Kenesaw. 
 Early in the evening about fifty of our pieces opened up on them; they 
 replied vigorously from their fort for a short time; we could plainly see 
 the dirt flying around the embrasures of their works, which made them 
 desist and seek shelter. As soon as it was dark we muffled the wheels 
 of our artillery, quietly withdrew to the right, swinging around Kene 
 saw and by daylight we were well in rear of the mountain headed for 
 the Chatahoochee river causing Johnston to abandon Kenesaw and 
 Marietta and fall back to Smyrna Camp Ground, where he was not al 
 lowed to linger long as we were making good time for the river and his 
 rear. 3rd, we made a hurried march, in the hot sun, many fell out of 
 the ranks prostrated with the heat, marched until late in the night 
 when we were ordered to build breastworks; men worked with credita 
 ble energy and cheerfulness, notwithstanding the tedious march of the 
 day; camped about four miles from the Chatahoochee river within sight 
 of Kenesaw. 4th. We needed no blank cartridges to celebrate our 
 National holiday, as a battle was raging all around us with plenty of 
 noise from shotted guns and plenty of fire-works in the evening, 
 from the burning fuses of screeching shells, like rockets and roman can 
 dles in the heavens above that lit up with a lurid light a scene of horror. 
 Early in the morning the 4th division moved out on the Ruff s Station 
 road, and, encountering the enemy, pressed him back for a distance of 
 two miles and until he was developed in a strong line of entrenchments 
 in heavy force. Prisoners taken from Hoods entire Corps were in our 
 front; the 2nd division was brought up and placed in position on the 
 right of the 4th division, and the command proceeded to intrench and 
 develop fully the enemy s position. At 4 p. m. a charging column of 
 our division, consisting of the 39th and 27th Ohio, the 64th Illinois of 
 the 4th division, under command of Col. E. F. Noyes; and the 81st 
 Ohio and 66th Ills., and 2nd Iowa Infantry of our division, was formed, 
 and gallantly charged and carried the enemy s works, capturing over 
 100 prisoners. In this charge our loss was about 140 killed and 
 wounded. Among the latter was Colonel Noyes who lost a leg. During 
 this charge our regiment was laying supporting, battery "H" 1st Mis 
 souri and were subjected to a heavy cannonading by the enemy s bat 
 teries opposing us. The enemy soon abandoned his entire line and re 
 treated to the Chatahoochee. Many prisoners were taken who seemed 
 to be discouraged at the prospects for their cause. Marched 5 miles. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 147 
 
 Men make a private truce with the Johnnies, freely converse with them 
 and trade coffee to them for tobacco. 6th, remained in camp all day, 
 weather hot and dry. 7th, still in camp; can hear cannonading in the 
 distance on the river. 8 th, in camp remaining in uncertainty. Oc 
 casionally a cannon can be heard to our left and front, with some 
 musketry. Wild blackberries, large and luscious, grow in profusion, 
 from which we feasted. 9th, broke camp at 11 a. m., marched until 
 10 p. m., passing through Marietta, camping two miles beyond. Heavy 
 cannonading all day in the front. Heat excessive and roads dusty, caus 
 ing much straggling. Yesterday we were on the extreme right of the 
 army; now we seem to be moving to the extreme left. This makes the 
 third time on this campaign that our corps has been transferred from 
 one flank of the army to the other; these movements require forced 
 marches, and in the hot weather are extremely hard on men. Marched 
 14 miles. 10th, moved out at 3 o clock a. m., passing through Rosswell, 
 arrive at the Chatahoochee river, which is rapid and about a half mile 
 wide and from one to four feet deep, which we proceed to. cross immed 
 iately by wading; as we emerge from the river we get a thorough 
 drenching from a heavy downpour of rain, but as we are wet through 
 anyway from fording, it makes no difference; in fact it is refreshing 
 after marching in the dusty roads. The storm extended well into the 
 night, accompanied by heavy thunder and lightning. We are without 
 tents or other protection except our rubber ponchos. It hardly seems 
 possible that men can endure such privations and hardships and live. 
 We worked building breastworks during the night, llth, remained in 
 position all day strengthening our works and making abatis in front; 
 battery H" brought up and placed in position in the works between our 
 regiment and the 66th Indiana. The pioneer corps built a foot bridge 
 across the river and built a wagon bridge on the abutments and piers 
 of the bridge burned by the rebels. General Dodge also constructed 
 the railroad bridge to replace the one destroyed by the enemy. It is 
 a high trestle and required skilled engineering ability to plan it, which 
 luckily Gen. Dodge possessed, he having been a civil engineer and 
 engaged in the construction of railroads before the war. 12th, still 
 in camp; details for fatigue duty are exceedingly heavy in carrying on 
 the works of building the bridge and roads in the rear of our line so 
 the wagon trains could pass. All quiet on the Chatahoochee. Men not 
 on detail engaged in picking wild blackberries, with which the country 
 abounds. 13th, all quiet m camp, still engaged in building bridge and 
 fatigue duty. 14th, still retain our position; have inspection. In the 
 evening there was a terrific electric storm; it was reported that in a 
 Michigan regiment camped near us there were five killed and fourteen 
 wounded by lightning while lying under their stacks of arms, also 
 
148 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 some battery horses. Having no tents we got a good soaking. 15th, 
 remained quiet in camp all day; visited by General McPherson and staff. 
 17th, still remain in our position with orders to be ready to move at 
 a moments notice, with forty rounds of cartridges in boxes and twenty 
 extra rounds in haversacks, which indicates there is business in front 
 in prospect for us. Moved out of our works at noon, advancing towards 
 Decatur, delayed by waiting for the 15th corps to pass, as there was 
 only one road; our advance came across the enemy in force about four 
 miles out at Cross Keys and were checked for a short time; went into 
 bivouac in line of battle ready for action. 
 
 18th, marched at 6 a. m., our brigade and battery in advance; 
 movements made very cautiously, with flanks well up and protected, 
 as though we expected to meet the enemy in fo rce. Rebel cavalry 
 watching us closely and suddenly falling back, with little opposition. 
 Camped about noon, distance marched seven miles; we are now seven 
 miles from Decatur and 13 miles from Atlanta. The interval of waiting 
 was employed in collecting stores at Allatoona, Marietta and Vining s 
 Station, strengthening the railway guards and garrisons, and improv 
 ing the bridges and roads leading across the river. 17th, the whole 
 army advanced from their camps and formed a general line along Peach 
 Tree Creek and road. The same day Jefferson Davis relieved General 
 Johnston from the command of the Confederate Army of the Tennessee, 
 and designated Lieut. General Hood as his successor; the reason given 
 for it that Johnston had failed to arrest the advance of the Union army 
 to the vicinity of Atlanta and had expressed no confidence that he 
 could defeat it. Johnston with an army larger than he had at the be 
 ginning of the campaign, behind secure fortifications, was preparing 
 to attack the Union army, largely reduced by losses, by detachments, 
 and by expiration of enlistments, in a position south of all the barriers 
 it had passed, where defeat would be so decisive for us, as to cost us all 
 the fruits already gained and months of delay, but undecisive for the 
 confederates, who could retire behind their works, v too strong for as 
 sault and too extensive for investment. At this crisis of the campaign, 
 Johnston prudent, wary and exhaustive in his plans, brave and skillful 
 in their execution, was displaced by his successor, brave but rash, 
 The Confederate tactics were changed, and the battle that Johnston, 
 at the very moment when he was relieved, was about to deliver upon 
 the decisive point with thorough preparation, was delivered by Hood 
 upon the first point that presented itself, with impetuosity. This was 
 an opportunity that we long had sought, when our oponents would 
 come out in the open and give us a fair open fight. 
 
 19th. Marched slowly and cautiously all day passing through 
 Decatur where were stored a lot of rebel supplies, among which is a 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 149 
 
 lot of cavalry lances about ten feet long, with a small flag on each; 
 should think they would not be of as much practical use in battle as 
 a ball club. The whole army is forming battle line, connecting wi f h 
 each other from right to left. 2oth, advance with skirmishers hotly 
 engaged, until the enemy s front is fully developed, when intrenching 
 tools are distributed and heavy details are set to work throwing up de 
 fenses. During the afternoon the enemy sallied from his works in 
 force against Newton s division of Howard s corps, and Johnson s 
 division of Palmer s corps. The blow was sudden and unexpected, 
 but General Newton had hastily covered his front by a line of rail 
 piles, which enabled him to meet and repulse the attack on him. Gen 
 eral Hooker s corps, although uncovered, and compelled to fight on 
 comparatively open ground, after a severe battle, drove the enemy 
 back to his intrenchments. The action in front of Jackson s division 
 was comparatively light as the position was well intrenched. Sher 
 man s entire loss was about fifteen hundred killed, wounded and miss 
 ing chiefly in Hooker s corps, by reason of its exposed position. 
 
 Johnston in his narrative explains his plan of operations when 
 relieved, as follows: 
 
 "In transferring the command to General Hood I explained my 
 plans to him. First, I expected an opportunity to engage the enemy 
 on terms of advantage while they were divided in crossing Peach-Tree 
 Creek, trusting to General Wheeler s vigilance for the necessary in 
 formation. If successful, the great divergance of the Federal line of 
 retreat from the direct route available to us would enable us to secure 
 decisive results; if unsuccessful, we had a safe place of refuge in our 
 entrenched lines close at hand. Holding it, we could certainly keep 
 back the enemy, as at New Hope Church and in front of Marietta, un 
 til the State troops promised by Governor Brown were assembled. 
 Then, I intended to man the works of Atlanta on the side toward Peach- 
 Tree Creek with those troops, and leisurely fall back with the Con 
 federate troops into the town, and, when the Federal army approached, 
 march out with the three corps against one of its flanks. If we were 
 successful, the enemy would be driven against the Chattahoochee where 
 there are no fords, or to the east, away from their communications, as 
 the attack might fall on the right or left. If unsuccessful, the Con 
 federate army had a near and secure place of refuge in Atlanta, which 
 it could hold forever, and so win the campaign, of which that place 
 was the object. The passage of Peach-Tree Creek may not have given 
 an opportunity to attack; but there is no reason to think that the sec 
 ond and far more promising plan might not have been executed." 
 
150 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 Following are the plans of movements arranged by General Sher 
 man as shown in his memoirs: 
 
 "On the 17th we began the general movement against Atlanta, 
 Thomas crossing the Chattahoochee at Power s and Paice s, by pon 
 toon bridges; Scofield moving out toward Cross Keys, and McPherson 
 toward Stone Mountain. We encountered but little opposition except 
 by cavalry. On the 18th all the armies moved on a general right wheel, 
 Thomas to Buckhead, forming line of battle facing Peach-Tree Creek; 
 Scofield was on his left, and McPherson well over toward the railroad 
 between Stone Mountain and.Decatur, which we reached at 2 p. m. of 
 that day, about four miles from Stone Mountain, and seven miles east of 
 Decatur, and there he turned toward Atlanta, breaking up the railroad 
 as he progressed, his advance-guard reaching Decatur about night, 
 where he came into communication with Schofield s troops, which had 
 also reached Decatur. About 10 a. m. of that day (July 18th), when 
 the armies were all in motion, one of General Thomas staff-officers 
 brought me a citizen, one of our spies, who had just come out of At 
 lanta, and had brought a newspaper of the same day, or of the day be 
 fore, containing Johnston s order relinquishing the command of the 
 Confederate forces in Atlanta, and Hood s order assuming the com 
 mand. I immediately inquired of General Scofield, who v/as my class 
 mate at West Point, about Hood, as to his general character, etc., and 
 "learned that he was bold even to rashness, and courageous in the ex 
 treme; I inferred that the change of commanders meant "fight." No 
 tice of this important change was at once sent to all parts of the army, 
 and every division commander was cautioned to be always prepared 
 for battle in any shape. This was just what we wanted, viz., to fight 
 in open ground, on any thing like equal terms, instead of being forced 
 to run up against prepared intrenchments; but, at the same time, the 
 enemy having Atlanta behind him, could choose the time and place of 
 attack, and could at pleasure mass a superior force on our weakest 
 points. Therefore, we had to be constantly ready for sallies. 
 
 "On the 19th the three armies were converging toward Atlanta, 
 meeting such feeble resistance that I really thought the enemy in 
 tended to evacuate the place. McPherson was moving astride of the 
 railroad, near Decatur; Scofield along a road leading toward Atlanta, 
 by Colonel Howard s house and the distillery; and Thomas was crossing 
 "Peach-Tree" in line of battle, building bridges for nearly every di 
 vision as deployed. There was quite a gap between Thomas and Sco 
 field, which I endeavored to close by drawing two of Howard s divisions 
 nearer Scofield. On the 20th I was with General Scofield near the center, 
 and soon after noon heard heavy firing in front of Thomas s right, 
 which lasted an hour or so, and then ceased. I soon learned that the 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 151 
 
 enemy had made a furious sally, the blow falling on Hooker s corps 
 (the Twentieth), and partially on Johnson s division of the Fourteenth, 
 and Newton s of the Fourth. The troops had crossed Peach-Tree Creek, 
 were deployed, but at the time were resting for noon, when, without 
 notice, the enemy came pouring out of their trenches down upon them, 
 they became commingled, and fought in many places hand to hand. 
 General Thomas happened to be near the rear of Newton s division, and 
 got some field-batteries in a good position, on the north side of Peach- 
 Tree Creek, from which he directed a furious fire on a mass of the 
 enemy, which was passing around Newton s left and exposed flank. 
 After a couple of hours of hard and close conflict, the enemj retired 
 slowly within his trenches, leaving his dead and many wounded on 
 the field. Johnson s and Newton s losses were light, for they had par 
 tially covered their fronts with light parapet; but Hooker s whole corps 
 fought in open ground, and lost about fifteen hundred men. He reported 
 four hundred rebel dead left on the ground, and that the rebel wound 
 ed would number four thousand; but this was conjectural, for most of 
 tnem got back within their own lines. We had, however, met success 
 fully a bold sally, had repelled it handsomely, and were also put on 
 our guard; and the event illustrated the future tactics of our enemy. 
 Tnis sally came from the Peach-Tree line, which General Johnston 
 had carefully prepared in advance, from which to fight us outside of 
 Atlanta. We then advanced our lines in compact order, close up to 
 these finished intrenchments, overlapping them on our left. From var 
 ious parts of our lines the houses inside of Atlanta were plainly vis 
 ible, though between us were the strong parapets, with ditch, fraise, 
 chevaux -de-frise, and abatis, prepared long in advance by Colonel 
 Jeremy F. Gilmer, formerly of the United States Engineers. McPherson 
 had the Fifteenth Corps astride the Augusta Railroad, and the Seven- 
 teentn deployed on its left. Scofield was next on his right, then came 
 Howard s, Hooker s, and Palmer s corps, on the extreme right. Each 
 corps was deployed witn strong reserves, and their trains were parked 
 to their rear. McPherson s trains were in Decatur, guarded by a bri 
 gade commanded by Colonel Sprague of the Sixty-thiru Ohio. The 
 Sixteenth Corps (Dodge s) was crowded out of position on the right o. 
 McPherson s line, by the contraction of the circle of investment; and, 
 during the previous aiternoon, the Seventeenth Corps (Blair s) had 
 pushed its operations on the farther side of the Augusta Railroad, so 
 as to secure possession of a hill, known as Leggett s Hill, because 
 General Leggett s envision had carried it by assault. Giles A. Smith s 
 division was on Leggett s left, deployed with a weak left flank "in air," 
 in military phraseology. It was in carrying this hill that General 
 Gresham, a great favorite, was badly wounded; and there also Colonel 
 
152 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 Tom Reynolds, now of Madison, Wisconsin, was shot through the leg. 
 When the surgeons were debating the propriety of amputating it in his 
 hearing, he begged them to spare the leg, as it was very valuable, being 
 an "imported leg." He was of Irish birth, and this well-timed piece of 
 wit saved his leg, for the surgeons thought, if he could perpetrate a joke 
 at such a time, they would trust to his vitality to save his limb. 
 
 "During the night, I had full reports from all parts of our line 
 most of which was partially intrenched as against a sally, and finding 
 that McPherson was stretching out too much on his left flank, I wrote 
 him a note early in the morning not to extend so much by his left; for 
 we had not troops enough to completely invest the place, and I intended 
 to destroy utterly all parts of the Augusta railroad to the east of Atlan 
 ta, then to withdraw from the left flank and add to the right. In that 
 letter I ordered McPherson not to extend any farther to the left, but to 
 employ General Dodge s corps (Sixteenth), then forced out of position, 
 to destroy every rail and tie of the railroad, from Decatur up to his 
 skirmish-line, and I wanted him (McPherson) to be ready, as soon as 
 General Garrard returned from Covington (whither I had sent him), to 
 move to the extreme right of Thomas, so as to reach if possible the rail 
 road below Atlanta, viz., the -Macon road. In the morning we found 
 the strong line of parapet, "Peach-Tree line," to the front of Scofield 
 and Thomas, abandoned,and our lines were advanced rapidly close up to 
 Atlanta. For some minutes I supposed the enemy intended to evacuate, 
 and in person was on horseback at the head of Scofield s troops, who 
 had advanced in front of the Howard House to some open ground, 
 from which we could plainly see the whole rebel line of parapets, "and 
 I saw their men dragging up from the intervening valley, by the dis 
 tillery, trees and saplings for abatis. Our skirmishers found the enemy 
 down this valley, and we could see the rebel main line strongly 
 manned, with guns in position at intervals. Scofield was dressing for 
 ward his lines, and I could hear Thomas farther to the right engaged, 
 when General McPherson and his staff rode up. We went back to the 
 Howard House, a double frame-building with a porch, and sat on the 
 steps, discussing the chances of battle, and of Hood s general character. 
 McPherson had also been of the same class at West Point with Hood, 
 Scofield, and Sheridan. We agreed that we ought to be unusually cau 
 tious and prepared at all times for sallies and for hard fighting, be 
 cause Hood, though not deemed much of a scholar, or of great mental 
 capacity, was undoubtedly a brave, determined, and rash man; and 
 the change . of commanders at that particular crisis argued the dis 
 pleasure of the Confederate Government with the cautious but prudent 
 conduct of General Jos. Johnston. 
 
 "McPherson was in excellent spirits, well pleased at the progress 
 of events so far, and had come over purposely to see me about the order 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 153 
 
 I had given him to use Dodge s corps to break up the railroad, saying 
 that the night before he had gained a position on Leggett s Hill from 
 which he could look over the rebel parapet, and see the high smoke 
 stack of a large foundry in Atlanta; that before receiving my order 
 he had diverted Dodge s two divisions (then in motion) from the main 
 road, along a diagonal one that led to his extreme left flank, then held 
 by Giles A. Smith s division (Seventeenth Corps), for the purpose of 
 strengthening that flank; and that he had sent some intrenching-tools 
 there, to erect some batteries from which he intended to knock down 
 that foundry, and otherwise to damage the buildings inside of Atlanta. 
 He said he could put all his pioneers to work, and do with them in the 
 time indicated all I had proposed to do with General Dodge s two divi 
 sions. Of course I assented at once, and we walked down the -road a 
 short distance, sat down by the foot of a tree where I had my map, and 
 on it pointed out to him Thomas s position and his own. I then ex 
 plained minutely that, after we had sufficiently broken up the Augusta 
 road, I wanted to shift his whole army around by the rear to Thomas s 
 extreme right, and hoped thus to reach the other railroad at Bast 
 Point. While we sat there we could hear lively skirmishing going on 
 near us (down about the distillery), and occasionally round-shot from 
 twelve or twenty-four pound guns came -through the trees in reply to 
 those of Scofield, and we could hear similar sounds all along down the 
 lines of Thomas to our right, and his own to the left; but presently the 
 firing appeared a little more brisk (especially over about Giles A. 
 Smith s division), and then we heard an occasional gun back toward 
 Decatur. I asked him what it meant. We took my pocket-compass 
 (which I always carried), and by noting the direction of the sound, 
 we became satisfied that the firing was too far to our left rear to be 
 explained by known facts, and he hastily called for his horse, his staff, 
 and his orderlies." * 
 
 Such was the condition of matters on the eve of the battle of 
 Atlanta. 
 
 On the evening of the 21st, we advanced our lines cautiously up 
 
 o the skirmishers and hurriedly threw up works; we got close up to 
 
 their skirmish line under cover of timber and brush and dug holes like 
 
 adgers to protect ourselves before being discovered. It is astonish- 
 
 ig how quick men will entrench and get temporary cover, under per- 
 
 lasion of sharpshooters of an enemy. They need no urging to keep 
 
 icm busy as beavers until they get protection from oullets. There 
 
 as heavy fighting on Bald Hill to our left throughout .he day, and 
 
 la Joe Hooker was pounding them back in his front towards Atlanta. 
 
154 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 BATTLE OF ATLANTA. 
 
 July 22, 1864, an ever memorable date to those who participated 
 in the terrible battle of Atlanta. Our regiment being on the advance 
 line, at the right of the army, commenced at daylight to press the 
 enemy s sidrmishers in to the main works around Atlanta, advancing 
 slowly but steadily; about 8 o clock a. m. we heard heavy firing to our 
 left, when we were hastily withdrawn to the left and rear, and are or 
 dered to double quick across the railroad and about three miles to the 
 extreme left of the army, where from the sound a battle was raging 
 in all its fury. We pass many teams going to :he rear in much confus 
 ion and Keep on in the hot sun on the run; staff officers urging our 
 pace to the limit, some men falling out exhausted by the roadside; 
 we are halted in a by-road in the brush, waiting for orders to be placed; 
 we can not see any enemy but the bullets corns whistling up the road, 
 infalading our line as we wait; those who have knapsacks or blankets 
 1?. them down and get behind them to protect themselves from the 
 bullets that begin to come thick and fast, some being wounded before 
 they got sight of the enemy. We had not laid in this position but a few 
 minutes wnen we were nastily ordered lorwarcl arid lormed in an open 
 field on a side hill, where we can see the enemy in the woods at the 
 foot of the nill, massing in our front; skirmishers were at once sent 
 out, who immediately engaged the enemy who were forming in the tim 
 ber, while the regiment nastily gathered rails from fences near by and 
 piled them up in a row on the ground for protection; our batteries 
 were formed on an eminence above us to our right and rear, in close 
 range of the enemy, they had their guns double shotted with grape 
 and cannister, when they emerged in double column, and tneir officers 
 goading them on, with an apparent determination to drive us back 
 and overwhelm us; but our batteries tore great gaps through their 
 ranks and we heid our ground. Our batteries being in rear and above 
 us they could fire over our heads without danger of doing us mucn 
 damage, but with terrible effect on our foes, which we could plainly 
 see. They would waver, fall back, form and come again, only to be 
 hurled back again with greater slaughter, until broken 
 demoralized and disheartened they sullenly and reluctantly withdrew 
 The 17th corps to our right, refused their left, we continued the same 
 formation, so that the left of the army formed shape like a fish-hook 
 On the first formation of our lines our brigade occupied the extreniB 
 left of the army, with only the 2nd Iowa to the left of our regiment 
 the 16th corps forming the bow and point; as the 17th corps were 
 fronted and fighting west, and most of the 16th corps fighting east, we 
 were exposed to fire both front and rear. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 155 
 
 About half past ten o clock Lieut. Col. Wm. T. Clark, McPher- 
 son s Asst. Adjt. General, rode up and communicated to General Sher 
 man the appalling intelligence that General McPherson was killed. 
 That he had ridden to General Dodge s column, which was being 
 placed in position, and had sent off nearly all his staff and orderlies 
 on various errands, and himself had passed out through a gap that led 
 to the left and rear of General Giles A. Smith s division, which was the 
 extreme left of the 17th corps; that a few minutes after he had entered 
 the woods a sharp volley was heard in that direction, and his horse 
 had come back riderless and wounded in two places. There was no 
 time to yield to grief caused by this terrible calamity. Not an instant 
 was to be lost. Sherman instantly dispatched a staff-officer to General 
 Logan to tell him what had happened and that he must take immediate 
 command of the Army of the Tennessee, and hold stubbornly the ground 
 chosen. 
 
 The troops of the 17th corps gained the outer works of the enemy, 
 and fought back and forth over them, sometimes on one side and 
 sometimes on the other. They were so close together at times that 
 General Belknap reached over the works and dragged rebels over by 
 hand, sending them to the rear as prisoners. The enemy broke through 
 our lines in General Fuller s front, when General Dodge sent him 
 reinforcements from our division, who drove them back and re 
 established our lines. 
 
 The battle was determined and desperate for over four hours. 
 Taught by sad experience of defeat, thy held their own, only giving 
 way inch by inch, clinging with desperate tenacity, even when all hope 
 of ultimate success was gone, to the colors now little more than 
 shreds, by which they stood, with a courage and gallantry which won 
 our admiration. 
 
 Finally they were checked and driven back behind their works, 
 leaving more than three thousand dead upon the field, together with 
 thousands of wounded, and one thousand prisoners. Their total loss 
 must have been at least eight thousand, while our loss in killed and 
 wounded and prisoners was 3,722. 
 
 Fearing a depressing effect upon the troops, the knowledge of 
 General McPherson s death was kept from the troops until after the 
 battle. He was a true soldier; tall, straight, and of commanding ap 
 pearance. He appreciated the fighting man and mourned the loss of 
 brave men in battle. When necessary he willingly suffered the same 
 privations as the enlisted man; he combined all that appeals to an 
 ideal soldier integrity, courage and kindliness, and was beloved and 
 his death mourned by the whole army. 
 
156 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 Night closed the slaughter and carnage, and the victory was 
 ours, but at a fearful cost of life and suffering. After the battle the 
 stillness was almost appalling; those who in the morning were eager 
 for the fight and who now are dead, lie there in the darkness as they 
 fell, forming yet another tableau of cruel war. As if by common con 
 sent the fighting flags on both sides sink down exhausted 
 
 "The weary to sleep, 
 And the wounded to die." 
 
 And the living and wakeful to appreciate and contemplate the 
 grim reality. This was the shadow of coming events; it was the fore 
 cast of the end. 
 
 This was a battle between the Army of the Tennessee and Hood s 
 whole army, as the Armies of the Cumberland and the Ohio were not 
 brought into action, the battle being fought on the left wing, with the in 
 tention as Hood said of crushing our left then in turn sweeping down 
 our line and attacking the other wing after defeating us; but he found 
 all the fighting he wanted on the left; we punished him so severely that 
 he gave up the job before he got through with us. After the battle 
 we changed front a little, facing towards Decatur and proceeded to build 
 breastworks, working through the night. It will be remembered that 
 just before this that General Stoneman and McCook had been sent 
 with a large cavalry force to the rear of Atlanta to cut their communi 
 cations and if successful to proceed to Macon and Andersonville and 
 liberate our prisoners confined there; they succeeded in destroying the 
 railroad, but farther than that were unsuccessful; The Confederate 
 Generals Wheeler and Iverson with the combined forces of the enemy s 
 cavalry defeated General Stoneman, taking him prisoner with the larger 
 portion of his command. McCook got away with a portion of his 
 command with the loss of most of his artillery, but badly defeated 
 and demoralized. The remnants of the cavalry left were organized 
 into divisions under Kilpatrick and Garrard. 
 
 REPORT OF GENERAL G. M. DODGE. 
 
 Hdqrs. Left Wing, Sixteenth Army Corps, 
 Near .Atlanta, Ga., August 11, 1864. 
 
 Colonel: I have the honor to herewith report the part taken by 
 this command in the battle in front of Atlanta, Ga., July 22, 1864: 
 
 On the morning of the 22nd my troops were disposed as follows: 
 One division (Second) was in position on the right of the Army of 
 
MAJ. GEN. G. M. DODGE. 
 
VFTERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 157 
 
 the Tennessee, with one brigade in reserve. The First Brigade, of 
 the Fourth Division, was in reserve near the left of the army, and in 
 rear of the center of the Seventeenth Army Corps, being held as a 
 reserve to the left flank of the army. The Second Brigade, of the 
 Fourth Division, Col. J. W. Sprague commanding, was posted at 
 Decatur, to hold that place and cover our trains during the absence 
 of the cavalry. At daylight the pickets in front of Second Division 
 discovered the enemy had evacuated works in our front. They 
 pushed on, finding the enemy in his works surrounding Atlanta. 
 About 8 a. m. I received a verbal order from Major-General McPher- 
 son to move the Second Division from the right to the extreme left 
 of the army, and mass it in rear of the new position to be selected 
 for the Seventeenth Army Corps, and to place one brigade of the 
 Fourth Division in position on the left of this new position. The 
 Second Division moved promptly, and halted about half a mile south 
 of the railroad, in a position marked A on the map on the road 
 running parallel to and three-quarters of a mile in rear of the posi 
 tion of the Seventeenth Army Corps. The brigade of the Fourth 
 Division had not yet moved. I went in person to select a position 
 for this brigade, and also to select good ground to mass the Second 
 Division. I had just accomplished this when, ascertaining that the 
 Seventeenth Army Corps would not move into its new position until 
 night, I sent orders for the Second Division to bivouac where it then 
 was and await orders. I also ordered Brig. Gen. J. W. Fuller, com 
 manding Fourth Division, to send out working parties to intrench 
 the position he was to occupy. About 12:00 m., while at General 
 Fuller s headquarters, straggling shots were heard in the rear of the 
 left of the Seventeenth Army Corps, and reports came in that the 
 enemy were in force in our rear. Brig. Gen. T. W. Sweeney, com 
 manding Second Division, sent out skirmishers in that direction, 
 who immediately developed the fact that the enemy in considerable 
 force was in the timber in rear of the Seventeenth Army Corps. 
 Hearing the shots, I immediately sent orders to the Second Division 
 to go into line on the ground it then occupied, facing east and south. 
 At the same time I ordered General Fuller to post one regiment to 
 cover the right flank of the Second Division. The Second Divison 
 had hardly gone into position when it was discovered that C.e enemy 
 were in heavy force in our front. General Fuller perceiving this, 
 ordered out his entire brigade instead of one regiment, and went 
 into position on the right of the Second Division. Two batteries, 
 H, First Missouri, and Fourteenth Ohio Battery, were posted in the 
 center of the Second Division. Scarcely was the line formed when 
 the enemy in three columns emerged from the timber on our left, 
 
158 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 front, and right. My whole line immediately became hotly engaged, 
 and the fact of the enemy occupying the timber between me and the 
 Seventeenth Army Corps was clearly demonstrated. I saw that I 
 could not prolong my line to connect with the Seventeenth Army 
 Corps, a long belt of timber lying between my right and its line of 
 battle that faced west. I sent an aide to General Giles A. Smith, 
 notifying him of the position of the enemy, and requesting that he 
 would refuse his left in order to form a connection with my right. 
 Seeing that the enemy was pressing in column still beyond my right 
 and far down the line of the Seventeenth Corps and in its rear, I 
 sent another staff officer to General Smith, who found him hotly 
 engaged and then unable to connect. The enemy pressed forward 
 in my front and left, exposing the flank of his center column. 
 Detecting this, I at once pushed forward the Twelfth Illinois and 
 Eighty-first Ohio, which caught the enemy partly in flank. Our 
 fire in his front and flank was so destructive that he soon gave way. 
 A charge was ordered, and his two columns in my front and left 
 were broken and driven back to the timber. General Fuller at the 
 same time ordered a charge on his front, which was gallantly made, 
 and the enemy driven from it. The enemy pressing past my right 
 in the timber had not ere this been fully developed. General Ful 
 ler s advance soon drew a heavy fire on his right flank. He promptly 
 drew back the regiments that had charged, changed front to the rear 
 under galling fire, and moved on the enemy in the timber, clear 
 ing that point. The fighting on my right, or rather in rear of 
 my right, continued heavy, and I immediately made preparations to 
 connect as near as possible with the Seventeenth Corps, so as to 
 bring the enemy entirely in our front. Ascertaining where the left 
 of the Seventeenth Corps rested, it having refused its line in order 
 to check the column passing in its rear, my right was swung 
 around, using the left as a pivot, until my command occupied a line 
 facing a little west of south, and a short distance to the rear of my 
 first line. Temporary intrenchments were immediately thrown up. 
 
 Major-General McPherson fell on the right of my line about one 
 hour after the commencement of the battle, but it was not known to 
 me for some time after. As soon as I ascertained that fact I sent a 
 stall officer to Major-General Logan to report the exposed condition 
 of my left, and request that troops be sent there; also reporting the 
 gap between me and the Seventeenth Corps. A brigade, Colonel 
 Martin s, of the Fifteenth Corps, was immediately sent to the left, 
 arriving just as the enemy again made his appearance on my ex 
 treme left, but his demonstration was weak and soon repulsed. Soon 
 after, I should judge about 4 p. m., Major-General Logan called in 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 159 
 
 person for aid to drive the enemy back on the main Decatur and 
 Atlanta road, where he had gained a temporary advantage. The 
 Second Brigade, Second Division, Col. August Mersy, commanding, 
 was immediately sent, Major-General Logan accompanying it. The 
 brigade immediately went into line, and participated in the charge 
 that retook the works and batteries, and gained and re-established 
 our lines. As the brigade operated under the immediate direction 
 of the general commanding the department, and detached from my 
 command, I cannot give a full account of its operations, but respect 
 fully refer to the reports of brigade and regimental commanders 
 forwarded herewith. General Logan instructed me, if I needed aid 
 on my left, after weakening it by detaching this brigade, that I 
 should call on General Cox, commanding division of Twenty-third 
 Corps, who was near me. At 5 p. m. the enemy making a demon 
 stration on my extreme left caused, me to request General Cox to 
 send me a brigade, which he promptly did. The enemy, however, 
 only opened with artillery. At 12 o clock that night General Logan 
 ordered two regiments of Colonel Mersy s brigade to occupy the 
 hill so hotly contested for in front of the Seventeenth Corps, and 
 relieve a portion of the troops then fighting. They promptly obeyed 
 the order, and soon securely intrenched themselves. Colonel 
 Sprague, who had with him three small regiments and six guns, the 
 Chicago Board of Trade Battery, belonging to General Garrard s 
 division of cavalry, which had reported to him, and one section of 
 C Battery, First Michigan Artillery, was attacked by overwhelming 
 numbers. Two divisions of Wheeler s cavalry, dismounted, poured 
 down upon him from three directions. Colonel Sprague immedi 
 ately concentrated his command, and, by determined, unyielding 
 fighting, held the enemy in check and gained a position north of the 
 town, which he was able to hold. By so doing he saved the trains of 
 the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Army Corps, then on the 
 road from Roswell to the commands. 
 
 Great credit is due Colonel (now General) Sprague and his bri 
 gade for their conduct on this occasion. We were, no doubt, saved a 
 serious disaster by his cool judgment and excellent dispositions. The 
 Ninth Illinois Infantry (mounted) and Forty-third Ohio Infantry 
 joined him during the engagement and promptly went into action. 
 
 Light Battery F, Second U. S. Artillery, belonging to the Fourth 
 Division, had reported the day before to the Seventeenth Army 
 Corps, and was placed in posion on the front line. Soon after the 
 commencement of the fight it was ordered to return and take a posi 
 tion on the right, of my line, covering as well as possible the space 
 between the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Army Corps. The battery 
 
160 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 was on its way to comply with the order, when the enemy, in press 
 ing through the gap, struck it and captured the guns, most of the 
 men escaping. The battery had no opportunity to save itself, being 
 on a road in the timber, in the rear of the Seventeenth Corps, and 
 in a place, which, under most circumstances, would be considered 
 perfectly safe. Its position when captured is marked. I cannot con 
 sider any one at fault or to blame for its loss. 
 
 I cannot speak too highly of the conduct of both officers and men 
 during the engagement. It was a critical moment for our army, 
 and any failure on our part to have checked the advance of the en 
 emy in our rear would have proved fatal. With three brigades dis 
 posed in a single line, numbering some 4,500 men, over one-half of 
 Hardee s corps, viz., Walker s, Bate s, and a portion of Cleburne s 
 divisions, was met, and driven back with great slaughter, leaving 
 their dead and severely wounded on the field. 
 
 During the engagement on my front, prisoners were taken from 
 49 different regiments, 8 brigades, and 3 divisions; 351 prisoners 
 were captured, not including those taken by Colonel Mersy s bri 
 gade on the line of the Pfteenth Corps, 8 battle-flags, and some 1,300 
 muskets were captured and turned over; 422 of the enemy s dead 
 were buried in my front. 
 
 Where all did so well it is impossible to particularize. General 
 Fuller had a critical position, and handled his command with great 
 skill and good judgment. The brigade commanders, Colonels Rice, 
 Mersy, Morrill, and Sprague, were ever where duty demanded, and 
 by their personal presence and exertion gave their officers and men 
 that advice and encouragement . that enabled them to so well and 
 bravely hold their lines. 
 
 Battery H, First Missouri Artillery, and the Fourteenth Ohio 
 Battery, massed in the center of the Second Division, by holding fast 
 and working their guns; even when the enemy were 150 feet dis 
 tant, and pouring upon them a terrible fire, aided effectively in 
 driving back his advancing columns, more especially Bate s division, 
 upon which they had a direct and point-blank range. 
 
 To Lieut. Col. J. J. Phillips, Ninth Illinois, who was temporarily 
 serving on ,my staff, I am greatly indebted; his clear and quick 
 conception of the situation enabled him to render me invaluable 
 service, and I commend him to the attention of the commanding 
 general. 
 
 I also desire to call attention to the efficient service of Lieut. Col. 
 William T. Clark, assistant adjutant-general of the department. I 
 noticed him, particularly after the fall of Major-General McPher- 
 son, giving that aid and direction the situation required. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 161 
 
 My staff were prompt, energetic, and active in rendering me that 
 /aluable and cheerful aid that enables -a commander to successfully 
 carry through an engagement. 
 
 In our victory, all that gladness and joy that would otherwise 
 have been experienced, was lost to us in the fall of our brave and 
 efficient commander. This corps has served under him throughout 
 the entire campaign, and that he was greatly beloved and respected 
 by all was evident by the sorrow and gloom cast over us by the knowl 
 edge of his death. No one knew him but to love and respect him. 
 His name and memory in this army is imperishable. 
 
 I take great pleasure in calling the attention of the general to the 
 accompanying reports of division, brigade, regimental, and battery 
 commanders, and to the special mention made therein of officers 
 and men. I trust full justice may be done them. 
 
 I am, colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 G. M. DODGE, 
 Major-General, Commanding. 
 
 July 23rd. Worked on breastworks, two companies sent out on 
 picket, Co. "P" and another cojnpany, in charge of Lieut. Folsom. Ad 
 vanced the une occupying the ground held by the rebels the night 
 before; found some of the rebel wounded in the woods whom they had 
 not yet removed, among which was a major who was mortally wound 
 ed; he evidently was out of his mind, as he cursed us when we helped 
 him to the rear where he could get assistance from the surgeons; the 
 doctors said there was no hope for him, gave him something to al 
 leviate his distress and he died that day. 
 
 24th. Pickets were formed into skirmishers and ordered to ad 
 vance the lines up the hill and through, the timber; soon found the 
 enemy s skirmishers who gave ground on our approach. T. E. Rollins 
 of company "B" found a Johnnie behind a log he was stepping over, 
 he jumped up and both fired at the same time; the rebel shot Rollins 
 through the foot and Rollins missed him entirely but he took him 
 prisoner; while questioning and parleying with him we heard some 
 one calling, "Valentine! Valentine!" We asked him who it was and he 
 said it was his comrade who had gone back to the reserve to get 
 something to eat for them; we made him answer the call and tell him 
 to come on, when two of their pickets came up out of a ravine and 
 we took them prisoners. Rollins in the meantime was sitting down 
 crying because he had missed the Johnnie and cursing him because he 
 had shot him through the foot. 
 
 General O. O. Howard assumed command of the Army of the Ten- 
 
162 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 nessee and General Logan went back to command of the 15th Corps. 
 General Hooker took umbrage because he was not given the posi 
 tion and asked to be relieved from command of the 20th Corps, which 
 was granted and he went home or to the east. 
 
 25th. Ordered not to leave the ranks; expecting attack. General 
 Dodge, Fuller and Sweeney had trouble and dispute; Sweeney and 
 Fuller coming to blows in rear of our regiment. General Sherman or 
 dered Sweeney under arrest, sent him to the rear and deprived him 
 of his command, placing Colonel Rice temporarily in command of the 
 division. Sweeney was not reinstated again during the war. Next day 
 Brigadier General John M. Corse was assigned to command the 2nd 
 division and Colonel Rice to the command of the Brigade. 
 
 26th. Aroused at daylight; ordered to remain in works; expect 
 ing attack; rockets as signals fired during the night, for some purpose 
 not understood by men and subordinate officers. 
 
 27th. At midnight last night withdrew from our works to the 
 right and rear, passing in rear of 4th corps where we halted to get some 
 thing to eat; at 5 o clock p. m. went to the front through the 
 works of the 14th corps; threw out skirmishers forming brigade in two 
 columns and proceeded to advance the lines; during these movements a 
 heavy shower came up, raining hard for a time. All things in readi 
 ness for the advance, the bugle sounded, when the command moved 
 forward in fine order, good alignment with banners flying, making 
 a magnificent sight to behold; skirmishers soon became engaged, but 
 the enemy gave away before the supports came up; we continued to ad 
 vance until we reached the position desired to be entrenched; we came 
 upon a crest overlooking the city of Atlanta where we placed battery 
 "H" 1st Missouri Light Artillery. Marched and advanced through the 
 day 15 miles 
 
 28th. The 15th and 17th A. C. extended their line to the right, 
 during which time the enemy made a fierce and determined attack on 
 the 15th corps, making four distinct and desperate charges on General 
 Logan s front; called for reinforcements and more ammunition, when 
 General Dodge sent him four regiments from our division and two 
 wagon loads of cartridges, the latter under guard of Lieut. H. I. Smith 
 in command of company "I" of the 7th Iowa, which was promptly de 
 livered. General Logan succeeded in repelling the attack and holding 
 and fortifying his position, but at a large sacrifice of killed and wound 
 ed. This is known as the battle of Ezra Church. General Logan s loss 
 in this affair was reported to be 562 killed , wounded and missing. He 
 reported burying 600 dead of the enemy in his front the next day, and 
 that he captured five battle flags, 2,000 stand of arms, and 106 prisoners. 
 During the night he built strong defensive works. Our division was 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 163 
 
 subjected to heavy artillery fire during this engagement, in order as we 
 supposed to divert our attention and keep us from going to the assist 
 ance of the right of the army, where they were making such fierce 
 and determined assault. If they had succeeded in crushing Logan 
 they would have probably taken us in flank and turn; but they found 
 their match in the 15th corps under General Logan. 
 
 After the battle of Atlanta, Lieut. Lazenbee, the only commis 
 sioned officer present of Co. "I" was taken sick; as Co. "B" had two 
 officers present for duty. 1st Lieut. H. I. Smith was transferred to Co. 
 "I" to command. Soon afterwards Co. "D" lost their only commissioned 
 officer, when Lieut. Smith was given that Co. also, both of which com 
 panies he commanded a portion of the time during the balance of the 
 Atlanta campaign; taking company "I" through the march to the sea, 
 when he was detailed as Aid-de-camp on the staff of General E. W. 
 Rice, with whom he staid until the war was over and was mustered 
 out of the service. 
 
 29th. Skirmishing all day returning to the reserve in the even 
 ing. No casualities in our regiment. 30th. The enemy open upon 
 LI s with their big guns from their forts. We hug the bottom of the 
 ditches behind our works, hold our ground with little loss. 31st. It 
 rained hard during the day; the rebels kept up their fire upon us 
 from the fort, keeping us in the trenches which were partly filled with 
 water from the rain; we were wet, cold and uncomfortable all day. 
 One large 84 pound shell went over us, to the rear striking General 
 Dodge s headquarter tent, smashing his cook tent and outfit, cutting 
 short their repast, and killing some horses tied to trees near the 
 General s headquarters. Heavy details made to strengthen the works. 
 August 1st. The non-veterans whose time expired on the 24th 
 ultimo were allowed to go home; great credit should be given them for 
 staying, fighting and doing duty for a week after their time was out, 
 when they could not have been compelled to do so. 
 
 The rebels continued to shell us at intervals from the forts all 
 through the day, doing little damage only to make us hug the bottom 
 of the wet ditches while they do so. It seemed to annoy them to see 
 us strengthening our works and putting up obstructions; whenever 
 the working parties appeared they would open up with their heavy ar 
 tillery from the forts. The boys call their bomb shells camp kettles, 
 as they arc about as large. In the evening when our company nigger 
 cook was bringing our coffee from the reserve line to the skirmish 
 pits in front where we were, the rebels opened up on us, one of the big 
 shells struck near him, making a hole in the earth like a cellar, it 
 scared him so that he spilled our coffee, when he got in the hole and 
 laid there. Some of the boys thinking he was killed went back to see 
 
164 HISTORY OF THE SEVKNTH IOWA 
 
 what had become of him. He was lying in the bottom of the hole 
 and said that lightning never struck twice in the same place and he 
 thought the same rule applied to cannon balls, so laid there as being the 
 safest place. 
 
 Aug. 2nd. Weather cloudy and cool; heavy cannonading on both 
 sides today, especially to the left of us; army seems to be extending 
 our lines to our right and withdrawing from the left; 23rd Corps pass 
 ing to right and rear all day. Rations short and poor. Have slept in 
 our clothes since the first of June, with very little time or opportunity 
 to wash and keep ourselves or clothes clean; it was a long arduous 
 campaign with fighting without cessation all summer. 3rd. Weather 
 changeable and showery; fighting and cannonading all along the line, 
 still extending our lines to the right, apparently to get possession of 
 the Macon railroad and cut off their supplies. 4th. Quiet in the fore 
 noon. Ordered into line under arms at 2:30 p. m. Drove the enemy 
 back into their works, while our batteries were shelling them. They 
 rallied, came back at us in force and we retire behind our works, quit 
 and call it a draw; heavy cannonading from the enemy s forts all 
 afternoon. Wild shooting, lots of noise, but not much loss, apparently 
 barren of results. Men ordered to keep their accoutrements on with 
 guns by their side and not to leave the ranks, evidently expecting 
 an attack, or an advance to be ordered. 5th. In line of battle behind 
 our works. After dark our skirmishers crawled quietly up nearer the 
 enemy s lines, dug skirmish pits, surprising the Johnnies in the morn 
 ing. They opened up a fusilade of musketry on our men in the skir 
 mish pits and bombarded them from their forts but could not drive 
 them out. 6th. Kept up all night by continuous firing from the 
 enemy s lines and working strengthening our advance lines gained 
 yesterday. Rebels made a desperate attack on the 20th Corps to our 
 left, also on the 4th Corps; they gained our works, but were repulsed 
 and driven back with heavy loss. They seem determined to hold 
 their ground and Atlanta; they have strengthened their works and 
 put out formidable obstructions in our front. In the declivity interven 
 ing there is Chev-aux-de-friz, tru-de-loupes and pit falls, with wires 
 stretched in the grass to trip charging troops, all of whicn would have 
 to be removed before the works could be taken by assault. 7th. Rath 
 er quiet all day, men busy strengthening breastworks. Some fighting 
 going on to our right. 8th. Whole regiment ordered into the skirmish 
 pits, which duty comes on every two or three days, as nearly half the 
 force occupy the advance line of works. Men are getting almost de 
 formed humping to keep their heads down to keep from exposing 
 themselves from the enemy s sharpshooters. Rained again making 
 the pits wet, muddy- and disagreeable; no opportunity to lie down 
 
BREVT. MAJ. GEN. ELLIOTT W. RICE. 
 
VFTIRAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 165 
 
 day or night. 9th. Strengthening our works; when dark crawl nois- 
 lessly and cautiously close up under the enemy s works with entrench 
 ing tools and dig rifle pits which surprises and annoys the rebels to 
 find us in such close proximity to them when daylight appea rs; they 
 open on us with a fusilade, but our boys hug the bottom of the 
 ditches, holding their ground waiting for them to come out, or show 
 themselves when they return the fire, and so it goes from day to day, 
 keeping up a constant strain of mind, muscle and anxiety to keep 
 out of the way of murderous missies with which the air is constantly 
 full. We lose men from day to day, which in the aggregate amounts 
 to a considerable loss. It seems to be the policy to take Atlanta by 
 regular siege and approaches. 32-pound Rodman rifle siege guns 
 placed in position to the left of our regiment in redans built for that 
 purpose; after getting them in position they are fired at regular in 
 tervals into the city in plain view. We can see the destruction made 
 by them around the railroad shops and depots, a mile or so distant. 
 Rain, rain, rain. 10th. Lieut. Spaulding s dairy reads: "Before day 
 light the line beliind us was under arms waiting for whatever turned 
 up. Weather cloudy and misty. Could see our men in front throwing 
 dirt. Private Walling wounded this morning while sleeping. Men 
 have to seek cover continuously, away from the protection of the 
 works no one is safe any moment. At 11 a. m. the regiment, except 
 the skirmishers, was moved to the left to occupy the works of the 
 2nd Iowa; 12th Ills, sent to occupy tne works vacated by us; as the 
 works taken possession by us were not in good condition, the men set 
 to work again to strengthen them. The men didn t like this much and 
 were disposed to complain as being not fair treatment; still they 
 went to work again, with spirit and energy, although they were nearly 
 played out, on account of loss of sleep and exposure and hard work. 
 They were stimulated by the enemy who threw into the works a few 
 shells; the boys felt it but to render their cover more secure. About 2 
 o clock, having occasion to go to the rear, left the skirmish line; 
 Capt. Kurd being in command of the company. On my return, on the 
 way, the shelling by the enemy began and was promptly replied to 
 by battery "H." The shells went screaming overhead no danger to 
 me at first; but as I got near the front line the problem was, how to 
 get into the works without getting hurt; as I got within about 200 
 yards of our line, the enemy seemed to let up somewhat and I concluded 
 to keep on and take the chances. A darky cook was a rod or so ahead 
 of me with a camp kettle in each hand and one balanced on his head, 
 all full of water. He having been to the spring. We kept on, he keep 
 ing the same distance in front of me until he was just opposite the 
 end of the ditch in front of the opening through the breastworks, when 
 a big shell came screeching along, and the darkey without stopping to 
 
165 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 let down his kettles, dove into the diich head first, landing on his back. 
 My hair raised a little, for the shell was close, but there was little use 
 diving into the ditch, as the shell was past before we started. He got 
 out looking sort of foolish to see what had come of the shell. The 
 boys saw his performance and began yelling at him and giving him 
 advice as only soldiers can do. Got in and returned to the skirmish 
 line safely, but lucky enough not to get hit by any of the bullets fly 
 ing so continuously. About 4 o clock we were moved again into the 
 works to the right of the fort; the 81st Ohio taking possession of the 
 works vacated by us. Just before we on the skirmish line were re 
 lieved, private Wm. Dorman of Co. "C" was badly wounded. Relieved 
 about 6 o clock p. m. and went to the rear, without further loss. Back 
 in this line we have a prospect for a good night s rest and sleep." This 
 is a fair sample of the daily routine of duty for weeks during the 
 siege of Atlanta. 
 
 August llth. 7th Iowa occupied front line of rifle pits. 66th 
 Ills. Sharpshooters ordered out to drive back the rebel skirmishers, 
 66th Indiana in support. Enemy offered feeble resistance; the advance 
 resulted in wresting from the enemy the ridge in front of the 16th corps. 
 The reserves quickly threw up temporary works, under rapid tiring 
 from the artillery of the enemy; several killed by shells in 66th Ind. 
 and a number wounded in 2nd and 7th Iowa, and two wounded in 
 52nd Ills. Regiment relieved by 52nd Ills, in the evening. Works 
 strengthened during the night and obstructions In the way of abattis, 
 etc., built in front. The enemy kept up brisk cannonading all night 
 with their heavy guns, but did not succeed in shelling us out, we hold 
 ing the ground gained during the day. Ordered under arms, expect 
 ing attack. Hugh \oung Co. "I" wounded. 
 
 August 12th. 7th Iowa occupy front line of works, with compan 
 ies "I" and "D" in the skirmish pits in front, under command of Lieut. 
 H. I. Smith of Co. "B." Sharp skirmishing and artillery duel by both 
 the enemy s and our own batteries all day. When our battery fires 
 we have to lay low to allow our guns to fire over our heads, as they 
 have to depress their pieces just so that their balls will clear our 
 works and they do not always do that." Battery "H" is immediately 
 in our rear about thirty rods, ground about level behind us. In the 
 evening while sitting in the bottom of the ditch, with faces towards 
 our own battery while they were in action, Sergeant Thomas of Co. 
 "D" and the writer were sitting side by side, both drinking our coffee 
 out of the same cup; when a ten pound Parrott shell blew Sergt. Thom 
 as head completely off, scattering his brains all over my shoulder, leav 
 ing his upper lip and mustasche in the bank behind me; the cup we were 
 drinking from was filled with his brains and blood, doing no damage 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 167 
 
 to me but destroying my supper and filling me with sorrow for my 
 comrade; but such things were of such frequent occurrence that we 
 became hardened and accustomed to them. 
 
 As there is an interim, or missing link in the diary kept of the 
 movements of our regiment, I herewith substitute a part of diary kept 
 by Lieut. E. B. Spaulding of the 52nd Illinois, that regiment being 
 in our brigade and relieving and alternating duty with us almost every 
 day until the close of the war; so that the daily doings of that regi 
 ment is almost a duplicate of the routine of our own. Lieut. Spalding s 
 diary enters into details minutely and I am sure will be read with 
 interest. 
 
 August 12th, 1864. In compliance with orders the regiment was 
 up at daylight and under arms in line and it stood for an hour, ready 
 for the enemy, if they should wish to make a morning call. Weather 
 foggy, but little shooting on our skirmish line. Anticipate a stormy 
 day when the fog clears away, as it is understood that our artillery 
 has orders to open fire. In such event it will bring our company be 
 tween two fires. Battery "H" will fire directly on our heads and the 
 enemy s return fire at the Battery will also be on us, or rather at us. 
 Private Henry Sprague of Co. B was shot dead early this morning. He 
 was standing just outside of the trench a short distance to the rear 
 when a bullet struck him in the head, and with a groan the poor boy 
 fell dead. Soon after this a man of the 66th Ind., as he was getting over 
 our breastwork to return, to the skirmish line was seriously wounded 
 in the arm. About 9 o clock a. m. it was announced that Battery "H" 
 was going to open fire with its six 12 Ib. Brass Napoleans. Lieut. 
 Blodgett of the 39th Iowa infantry, who is in command of the bat 
 tery, when all was ready went four or five rods to the right of the 
 battery and getting up on the breastwork took a position behind a 
 tree that was there and leveling his field glass to watch the aim of 
 his gunners, called for No. 1 to fire, and bang roared the gun. Blod 
 gett watched for shell to strike and directed the gunner how to cor 
 rect his aim; then Blodgett called for number 2 and watching its shot 
 corrected its gunner, and he did so with each gun and had each gun 
 fire twice in that way, and then he jumped down and called to his 
 men to fire and to us fellows in the ditch in front of the battery it 
 seemed that "hell had broken loose." The guns being so they would 
 just clear the ground, when they now first fired they just swept the 
 surface of everything movable dirt in dust and chunks, leaves and 
 sticks came whirling in upon us along with bits of broken tin, from 
 the tin straps on the ammunition many of us got cut from time to 
 time by this tin. At the second discharge a stick about the size of a 
 walking cane came whirling into our ditch and striking the bank just 
 
Iftg HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 above my head as I sat leaning forward, bounded back and hit me a 
 smart blow across the back thought first a musket had fallen upon me. 
 Blodgett s first gun waked up the enemy and they opened on him with 
 siege guns from their forts, one directly in front that he fired at and 
 one on either side. Blodgett gave no heed to either of the side forts. 
 They were all pounding away at him and us by the time he had got 
 his range, and when the six guns of Battery "H" all began talking the 
 uproar was simply terrific for us fellows in the ditch. It seemed as 
 if the concussion every time the guns fired was more than we could 
 stand. I put my fingers in my ears and got under the protection of the 
 bank as much as possible. At first it seemed to be an unequal contest, 
 but after thirty minutes the guns in the fort opposite were silenced. 
 Blodgett could fire a dozen shells to their one slow work handling 
 heavy siege guns. He just poured the shell into them; with the aid of 
 glasses we could see the fort in a damaged condition and one gun 
 dismounted, the others drawn back. Then Blodgett got up behind his 
 tree and began some tactics on the right fort and he silenced it, and 
 getting up again he went for the fort to the left and silenced it. At 
 a range of a mile, as these were heavy guns and no match for well 
 served field guns, although the enemy did their best no doubt, and 
 their big shells flew and. struck in front of us and around us and behind 
 us and exploding, neither we in the trench nor the battery had a man 
 hurt by them. However, Private Eli Clemens of Co. "C," next to Co. 
 "E," was seriously wounded in the ankle by a gravel stone thrown from 
 embrasure in our fort by one of Battery "H" guns. Our position is a 
 bad one the ground is clear or open and of such foundation that 
 there is safety for no one outside of the trenches. The enemy s strong 
 rifle pits a breastwork is only about one hundred and fifty yards 
 from our skirmish line, which is behind a strong breastwork, and the 
 firing is continual day and night. To-day Lieut. Col. Bowen was struck 
 in the shoulder by a spent bullet, hit him a glancing blow so he escaped 
 injury. 
 
 August 13th, 1864. To-day I went back to the line the 52nd 
 first occupied to make up muster and pay rolls for June 30th. This 
 was the first opportunity lor making them since that date. Began 
 making them several days since, but only just completed, them and 
 turned them over to Lieut. Col. Bowen. About 9 o clock a. m. the 
 "Johnnies" sent a big shell whizzing over our heads. It is now our 
 shell as they are done with it. This was only the first. Our guns 
 opened immediately. For thirty minutes tne duel continued and for 
 us between the two fires and in front of our guns the uproar was 
 terrific. The enemy ceased first. Their aim is not as accurate as yes- 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 109 
 
 terday. They are becoming demoralized. Our artillery is too much 
 for them. One solid shot or shell that didn t explode struck our 
 breastwork, but did no damage. However, we in the trench couldn t 
 tell what moment one would hit so as to lift things, ourselves in 
 cluded. Put cotton in my ears to relieve them as much as possible from 
 concussion. Great danger of being made permanently deaf. During 
 the day Private A. M. Barnard Co. "I" wounded in the head by mus 
 ket ball not serious. Go s. "G," "I" and "K" sent out to the skir 
 mish line about six p. m. and relieved 7th Iowa. About 7 p. m. I 
 was ordered to report at brigade headquarters for duty. Reported and 
 was put in command of a detail of one hundred and fifty men to work 
 all night in building a fort just to the left of the 52nd on a rise of 
 ground overlooking the enemy s lines and the city. The fort is to be 
 for a 32 Ib. Rodman. Men could only work on the fort under cover of 
 darkness because the ground is in easy and in clear range of the enemy s 
 musket fire; cautioned the men against any laughing, talking, or making 
 any noise. Marched the detail after dark to the ground and began 
 throwing dirt, and the bank of dirt began to grow until 10: 00 o clock. 
 While standing up on -top of the bank showing the men where to throw 
 the dirt, a bullet clipped my hat. The enemy had become suspicious 
 of something as going on and opened fire in our direction, but I 
 chanced their bullets until one hit my hat this I took as a hint to 
 get down, and at once did so. In digging the men struck rock down 
 about a foot from the surface, and it was the noise of shovels hitting 
 stones that the enemy heard. 
 
 August 14th, 1864. Worked my men by reliefs all night no re 
 lief for me, however. When we began we expected to have the fort 
 done all completed before daylight this morning, but the rock we 
 struck, boulders and large stones, seriously interfered. Hadn t got 
 the fort done when daylight came, but the work was far enough ad 
 vanced to use. The 32 Ib. Rodman was brought up and placed in posi 
 tion during the day. I with my men was relieved at daylight. A 
 few shots were fired from the Rodman when the trail broke couldn t 
 fire any more until trail is repaired. Continuous fire on skirmish line. 
 Blodgett occasionally pays his complements to the "Johnnies" by toss 
 ing them a 12 Ib. shell, to which they make no reply. Guess they are 
 willing to let their artillery remain idle, if ours will only keep quiet, 
 for every shell they send us they get ten in return, and our artillery 
 fire, as can be seen, is much more effective than theirs, although the 
 enemy s works are in plain view, but very few of the "Johnnies" can 
 be seen. The great number of our musket balls flying over their way 
 and to them the uncertain destination of our shells compel the 
 "Johnnies" to lie low for safety and protection. Musket balls cause 
 
170 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 us more more concern than shells. These missies of death are con 
 tinually whizzing over and past us grazing the top of our breastwork, 
 striking the ground. When a man gets out of the trench and goes 
 to the rear he takes his life in his hands. There is no safety out of 
 the ditch. Men been working to-day to complete the fort. A ditch 
 is also being dug from near the center of the line of the 52nd out to 
 the skirmish, so that it will not be so dangerous to pass out and back. 
 
 August 15th, 1864. Still in the front line. Picket firing con 
 tinues steadily with an occasional cannon shot. Bullets whizzing past 
 us continually. Reliable news from our own army out of the ques 
 tion. How tiresome it is to be confined so closely night and day to 
 our work. A new trail having been made for our 32 pounder at 5 p. 
 m. it was again in position and I began tossing shells into thje doomed 
 city of Atlanta. Lieut. Smitn 2nd U. S. A. has ordered that a shell be 
 thrown into Atlanta every 15 minutes during the night. Orders receiv 
 ed placed the troops on three-quarter rations, because of the opera 
 tions of the rebel cavalry in our rear. Reported that the enemy is 
 in possession of our railroad near Dalton and still holding it. Gen. 
 Sherman so far has indeed been fortunate in keeping open his com 
 munications. From this time on the railroad will no doubt require 
 strong guards. Battery "H" to-day fired a few shells to stir up the 
 enemy. Being located directly in front of the battery, I am not able 
 to endure the concussion when they fire, although I have cotton in my 
 ears and I also cover them with my hands; when a gun is fired the 
 pain is intense, so much so that fearing permanent deafness I moved 
 toward the left of the 52nd after the battery began firing to-day. 
 
 August 16th, 1864. All night long last night our large gun was 
 throwing shell into the city. Far to our left another large gun was also 
 thus speaking to the inmates of the doomed city. Surely this must be 
 annoying to the people of Atlanta to the non-combatants. Continual 
 explosion of shells along the silent hours of night cannot possibly pro 
 mote quiet and peaceful sleep, so much to be desired by the inhabi 
 tants. Fires are frequent occurrences of late in the city. Two conflag 
 rations occurred last night supposed to be caused by our exploding 
 shells. 
 
 To-day Battery "H" is constructing a furnace in which to heat 
 solid shot so that it may throw red hot shot into the city. It is re 
 ported that Gen. Hood has been lately reinforced by troops from Lee s 
 army. No doubt he is continually receiving reinforcements, but I 
 think Lee has sent none Lee has none to spare so long as he has 
 our old Commander Grant to face. 
 
 Soon after daylight the trail of our pet gun broke again. Dur 
 ing the day it will be repaired, and I hope by night it will again be 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 171 
 
 performing its duty of shelling the city. The first thing I saw this 
 morning when I opened my eyes, was a bullet sticking in the dirt 
 about eight inches above my head where it had struck sometime during 
 the night. Reports say that Gen. Kilpatrick has returned from a raid 
 on the Macon Railroad that he tore up several miles of the track 
 and destroyed a large amount of rebel stores. More quiet to-day, but 
 little firing on our skirmish line. Orders now received from Gen. How 
 ard, commanding Army of the Tennessee, instructing all officers to 
 curtail as much as possible the skirmisu firing the trouble with our 
 communications is the probable cause of the order. Prudence would 
 counsel us to save our ammunition until the way is open for freeh 
 supply. Once more 6 p. m. our 32 pounder is throwing shell into 
 the city. May they prove destructive. 
 
 August 17th, 1864. Very quiet during the night save the regu 
 lar discharge of our pet gun, the 32 pounder. The 52nd and the 2nd 
 Iowa furnished detail for the skirmish line during last night. Rebels 
 opened some artillery to our right during the afternoon, but none in 
 our front. They appear to entertain a wholesome regard for Battery 
 "H." Although our artillery is used more than at any other one point, 
 the rebels are careful how they "talk back." Since decreasing our 
 skirmish fire, the enemy has increased theirs. At 3 p. m. Private Hart- 
 wick, of Co. "F," came in from the skirmish line wounded by musket 
 ball in right arm just below the elbow. Gen. C. being sick this 
 evening Gen ; Rice is in command temporarily of the Division, and 
 Lieut. Col. Bowen notified by Gen Rice to take command of our brigade 
 in event of any trouble. During the night about 11 o clock heavy 
 picket firing to our right which lasted but a few minutes when all be 
 came as quiet as it had been. 
 
 August 18th, 1864. The enemy began shelling our line at day 
 light as if they suspected that we intended the execution of some sly 
 movement. Our batteries including Battery "H" immediately replied 
 giving them ten shells for one. The uproar was great for a time. 
 As usual I walked towards the left of the 52nd far enough to get away 
 from being directly under the guns of Battery "H" to save my hear 
 ing. At 10 o clock a. m. the men of the 52nd out on the skirmish line 
 just in front ordered to make a demonstration by opening a heavy fire 
 and continuing it until each man had fired 15 rounds. At the same 
 time our artillery kept up a continuous fire. To this demonstration the 
 enemy made but a feeble reply. The sound of battle was complete 
 and I suppose the demonstration answered its purpose. The enemy 
 speedily reinforced their skirmish line in our front with two regiments. 
 This demonstration was quite general all along the line of the army of 
 the Tenn. Supposed object was to hold the enemy in our front 
 
172 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 while an expedition sent out this morning under Genl. Kilpatrick 
 cut the R. R. south of Atlanta. Reported that Kilpatrick is under 
 orders to destroy the railroad or sacrifice his command. When the 
 enemy opened on us this morning our batteries replied so vigorously 
 that the enemy seemed glad to quit our batteries. So far have been 
 too much for those of the enemy. On several occasions they have tried 
 to silence our guns, and as often have failed. No battery in our army 
 is handled better than Battery "H" under command of Lieut. Blodgett 
 of the 39th Iowa Infty. Wishing this morning to wash my face and 
 hands I got out of the c-.ch up on the bank with Sergt. Watson to 
 pour water out of a canteen on my hands. Soon Watson and I heard 
 a minnie "singing." Charlie and I looked at each other and stood still 
 no time to jump bullet went between us and the washing was 
 quickly finished. All cooking is done to the rear by the company 
 cooks. Each company has two darkey cooks regularly mustered into 
 the service as such with regular pay and clothing. These cooks have 
 indeed a great time in getting to us three times a day with hot coffee. 
 They come to us on the run afraid of their lives, as indeed they have 
 a right to be, and with their dodging and running sometimes they 
 manage to spill a good share of the coffee, which makes the boys 
 swear. This morning our cook, Pete, came to us with coffee he jump 
 ed down into the ditch laughing as though in a fit. I asked him 
 "What s the matter, Pete?" and he said, "Why, I was just comin along 
 ober dar, whar you see them trees, and de bullets dey got a hummin 
 pooty thick, an so I just got behind a big tree, and jus den a white 
 man he come along and he say, you darky, dar, what for you get be 
 hind a tree? an right dar befo I could say anything one of dem big 
 shells come right along dar, a screechin an a rippin and dat white 
 man he jus jump for my tree too." And when Pete finished telling 
 his story he went off in a fit of laughter. 
 
 August 19th, 1864. Very quiet in our front during the forenoon 
 aside from the regular discharges of our big gun and the usual crack 
 of muskets along the skirmish line. It is said that Gen. Sherman 
 claims good execution is being done by our big gun. About 150 shells 
 are thrown by it daily. Battery "H" has been throwing hot shot into 
 the city. The Battery boys heat the shot to red heat in the furnace they 
 built and the guns are loaded all but the hot cannon ball wet wadding 
 that will be next to hot ball then they bring the red hot ball from 
 the furnace in a sort of iron frame carried by two men get it 
 into the gun and away it goes. If it lodges in wood its sure to kindle 
 fire. About noon to-day saw Gen. Dodge, who commands our corps, go 
 through our regiment, geuing over our breastwork and going out to the 
 skirmish. Men all watched him heard one of my men say "The 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 11 
 
 damned old fool, he ll get a bullet sure." I thought the same thing, 
 for Gen. Dodge is an engineer and certain to want to see the ground 
 and enemy in front with his own eyes. Our line is so close to the 
 enemy, only about 15 rods between, that both sides have to shoot 
 from cover. Our men have holes through the top of breastwork with 
 brush on outside to conceal its exact locality. The instant a head or 
 person on either side is exposed, a dozen bullets are let loose. I 
 watched Gen. Dodge, therefore, anxiously, knowing the danger, saw 
 him reach the line and saw him getting up to a place where he could 
 tcke a look and then he reeled and fell in a heap. Sure enough just 
 as we had feared, he had got a bullet. Some of the o2nd men picked 
 up our "stretcher" and ran over to where he was and brought him 
 back to our line. He had been hit on top of the head cutting the 
 scalp half an inch lower and the bullet would have ended him. As 
 it was it knocked him senseless, but he soon re2overed consciousness. 
 It was a close call for him. At 3:00 p. m. another demonstration ap 
 parently was made on our right. Rapid firing of cannon and continuous 
 musketry distinctly heard. About 4 o clock p. m. Private Elias Floyd, 
 of Co. "B," was seriously wounded by musket ball. He was carried 
 off to the rear on the "siretcher" to go to the hospital. When hit he 
 was standing near the fort. Many a man on this campaign has been 
 hurt or lost his life by being exposed. About 6 o clock p. m. the 7th 
 Iowa relieved the 52nd and we marched back to the rear a short dis- 
 tnnce and camped beaind a hih for protection. The 52nd has been nine 
 days confined to their ditch it was hard on the men and it began to 
 affect them so the regiment was relieved and sent to the rear to get 
 a rest. The hillside where we camped is rather steep for a place 
 to sleep and is covered with much stone. However, it is a comparatively 
 safe place, and that s worth something. 
 
 Aujrvst 20th, 1864. Expected to have a good sleep last night, 
 but it didn t turn out -so, though I fared better than most did. I got 
 a long plank^!4 to 1C feet long and about 15 inches wide to sleep 
 upon. Would like to have cut it in the middle it was so long, but 
 I had no way to do it. Built, up a pile of stone to elevate the down 
 hill end of the plank so I wouldn t slide off of it,and I built a "shebang" 
 wih small poles and my rubber blankets over the plank. Laid down 
 to sleep early; bright moonlight. Soon asleep, but about 9:00 o clock 
 was o wakened by a gust of wind. I raised up just in time to catch 
 my blankets, as the string broke with more wind saw that a thunder 
 storm was right upon us. At once I tucked one rubber over my feet 
 and legs and other rubber over the rest of my body and Vny head as 
 I laid there at full length on the plank, as I did it the storm broke 
 out and how it did pour, and how,the men did howl and swear. Their 
 
174 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 "shebangs" had gone to pieces like mine and they were out in the 
 rain. My blankets protected me and as I laid there flat on my back, 
 I congratulated myself on my condition, but suddenly I felt a stream 
 of cold water running down my backbone. The end of my long plank 
 stuck 7 or 8 feet above my head and all the water it caught ran right 
 down my back. However, I laid still would rather be wet in one 
 place than all over. Storm ended as suddenly as it began, but the men 
 were soaked through and they stood around fires most of th e night in 
 the effort to get dried out. I turned my plank over and went to sleep 
 again. It was a hard night for the men the rain was cold and catching 
 them unprepared, the men got thoroughly soaked it makes, them feel 
 stiff this morning. Clear this morning later clouded up had fre 
 quent showers during the day. Go s. "B" and "C" are on tl^e skirmish 
 line. About 2:00 o clock p. m. Private Sidney Hallwick, of Co. "C" was 
 brought in from the skirmish line, dead. He received a center shot in 
 forehead, killing him instantly. No other casualities during the d:-iy. 
 We have more rest in this position though we are still in the range 
 of bullets. 
 
 August 21st, 1864. As quiet all day as usual, as quiet as it can be 
 with two armies facing each other as we are, close up. No news to 
 day either to discourage or cheer. Surely our men would like it if some 
 thing would take place to relieve us of constant anxiety and sus 
 pense. The army needs rest. It s only the toughest kind of men that 
 can stand this kind of life. The 52nd has sent away over 150 sick, prob 
 ably not half of them will ever come back. Two of my men, Private 
 Cias. Murray and Austin Hoben, have died good, sound young men. 
 And besides this continual crack of muskets and this whizzing of 
 bullets has indeed become a bore. How pleasant it would be if one could 
 only get away from such living as this for awhile, where one could lie 
 down to sleep without the danger of being pierced with a bullet. I 
 haven t slept a single night with my clothing off since the latter part 
 of June, and all I have to cover me, wet or dry, is two rubber blan 
 kets which I carry. 
 
 August 22nd, 1864. Matters remained through the day the same as 
 yesterday the same cracking of muskets and the same whizzing of bul 
 lets. About 6 o clock p. m. my Co. ("E") and companies "G", "I" 
 and "K," all under command of Capt. Barto of Co. "K" went out on 
 the skirmish line. My Co. relieved Co. "I" of the 7th Iowa. Lieut. 
 H. I. Smith, in command of the company, told me he was on duty 
 when Gen. Dodge came out to take a look. That Dodge asked him 
 where was a good place 10 look and he said to Dodge, "Here is a good 
 place to look;" and he said to Dodge, "Here, General, is a good place 
 where I ve just been shooting," and the lieutenant showed me the 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 175 
 
 little hole he had made to shoot through.- And then he added, "Lieu 
 tenant, you can t imagine how I felt as when I was helping the General 
 up to look, the bullet came and he fell back into my arms, as I thought 
 a ded man." The 7th boys marched off and taking their places our men 
 were soon at it bang, bang, of muskets on our side and whiz, whiz, 
 spat, spat, of bullets the rebels sent back at us. No sleep or quiet for 
 us this night. 
 
 August 23rd, 18G4. Under instructions received the men kept 
 up a strong firing all last night and to-day until relieved about 6 
 o clock p. m. Men complain of feeling the effect of so much shooting 
 shoulders lame. Had no men hurt on the skirmish line. The troops 
 including that part of the 52nd not on the skirmish were under arms be 
 fore daylight in readiness for anything that might happen. Last night 
 1st Sergt. H. C. Williamson of Co. "H" while sleeping was seriously 
 wonncled in the leg by a musket bail. Reported to-day that General 
 Kilpotrick has returned from his raid, and he destroyed in places 
 ten miles of railroad track, that he lost ninety men captured, and that 
 he captured a brigade of rebels, but couldn t bring tnem along pa 
 roled them. Brought away cue piece of artillery and spiked four more 
 and destroyed eight caissions. Brought in his own wounded. My 
 cousin, Frank Spaulding, in the 92nd Illinois Mounted Infantry, is 
 in his command. Frank Hope is safe and sound. 
 
 August 24th, 1864. Very quiet and monotonous in our camp dur 
 ing the forenoon. During the afternoon the enemy sent frequent 
 shells to stir us up as if to make -inquiries as to our whereabouts and 
 probable intentions. They seem to act as if they thougnt we were about 
 to make some change of base in our operations, and in this they may 
 be right. The indications for several days past have pointed to an early 
 irove by our forces, but just what the generals only know. 
 
 August 25th, 1864. During yesterday afternoon and last night 
 trains and troops reported as passing in our rear and to our right. The 
 siei?e guns to our front were taken to the rear last night. The an 
 ticipations are that the left of our army will pass to the extreme right. 
 4rhis morning orders were received for tie 52nd to be in readiness to 
 march at 7 o clock a. m., but th,e order was soon countermanded this 
 suggests that quite likely we will make a silent move during the night. 
 Our wagons sent to the re-jr with the trains. About 4 o clock p. m. 
 the 52nd in obedience to orders reported to Capt. Barber 7th Iowa, 
 Chief of Out Posts, 2nd Division, 16th A. C. Marched one and one-half 
 miles to the rear five companies of the 52nd were deployed as skir 
 mishers in front of works to be occupied temporarily by our Division 
 the other five companies, including mine, held in reserve. -During 
 the night the 16th A. C. passed through our line and went into po- 
 
176 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 sition in new works three-fourths of a mile in our rear. The entire 
 army to our left is in motion to our right. Report says 
 that the 20th A. C. is to retire to Vinings Station on the Chattahoochee 
 River and guard the crossing while the balance of the army will move 
 to the right for the purpose of flanking Hood at East Point. Night 
 so cool that I got quite stiff with the cold while sitting in the darkness 
 waiting for troops to pass through. Distance marched one-half mile. 
 August 26th, 1864. Owing to the tardiness of the 4th A. C. in 
 moving our skirmish, of 16th A. C., line was not ordered back from the 
 front line until 3 o clock a. m. Soon after sunrise Gen. Corse, command 
 ing our Div., directed Col. Bowen to send a company back to the front 
 to patrol the road and to establish a vidette post at Walker s fort I 
 was directed to report at once all movements of the enemy I saw and 
 when pressed by the enemy to slowly retire skirmishing. On reaching 
 the fort about a mile from where the 52nd was, I took twelve men up 
 into the fort for vidette post, leaving balance of the company at the 
 bottom of the hill. Could see from the fort all along the front to 
 the front and right all our old breastworks had been vacated 
 the left and in the first breastwork in advance of the one I was in, 
 could see two companies of the 7th Iowa commanded by Lieut. H. I. 
 Smith, skirmishing with the enemy. The enemy kept gathering in force 
 until at last they made a rush at one side. I could see them getting 
 ready knew the symptoms and knew what was coming. When the 
 enemy made their rush our men made to the rear and got into the same 
 line that I was in, but to the left a distance. Again I saw the enemy 
 getting ready to make another rush at our men, and they gathered to 
 the n-imber of one hundred or more directly in my front expecting to 
 flank our fellows had kept my men quiet and refts hadn t noticed 
 us. Directed my men to be ready and when the enemy jumped over 
 the breastwork to make their rush and not until then, to give them 
 a volley and surprise them. Soon they jumped over with a yell when 
 my men gave them a volley, as I expected, it was a surprise and they 
 scrambled back. We now received attention and bullets came our way 
 pretty thick, and we could see they were preparing and gathering to 
 make a rush upon us. Leaving Sergeants Smith and Buchanan to fire 
 at them to keep up appearances, I took the rest of the men to the Co. 
 and deployed the Co. as skirmishers in the timber at the rear of the 
 fort, and then I went back to the fort to watch events. Three times 
 I thought they were on the point of starting to investigate, and as 
 many times I started to leave, but went back. At last saw they were 
 coming sure. I left with the Sergeants reached my men and gave 
 them caution then they took position in front where I could see the 
 top of hill and the fort. Presently saw the enemy coming over into the 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 177 
 
 fort and yelling and swinging their hats. As I turned to go to my line 
 about fifty yards back, 1 saw two regiments (of the 4th A. C. so it 
 proved) coming up the road silently, but on the double quick. A 
 turn in the road prevented the rebels from seeing them till quite close 
 just as our boys were charging up the hill at them, and suddenly the 
 rebel yelling ended, and I could see them go tumbling over the fort 
 like sheep over a fence it was indeed comical. The rebels ran back, 
 the regiment marched off, and I re-established my vidette port, and 
 the shooting was renewed. They seemed afraid to come over again, 
 though had they known I had only about forty men against their two 
 hundred about, we wouldn t have been permitted to stay long. Noti 
 fied Col. Bowen from time to time of events. With about a dozen 
 men, I kept a bold front in the old fort and returned the evenings 
 fire. The 4th A. C. was passing along a road about half a mile in 
 rear of us going to the right. About 3 o clock p. m. could hear the 
 skirmishing going OR between the rear guard of 4th A. C. and the 
 enemy that the enemy that was following along the road. Waited 
 for orders to rejoin the regiment for the firing was getting closer 
 and closer, until at last the enemy held the road over which I had 
 marched. I determined to stay no longer and I assembled the men 
 and just started to return to the regiment when an orderly reached 
 me with orders from Col. Bowen to rejoin the regiment at once to make 
 no delay else we might be cut off. I kept the course on which 1 had 
 started to make a circuit around the enemy s skirmishers could 
 keep track of their whereabouts by the firing, and we marched on until 
 at last we came out of the timber to open ground, across which was 
 our skirmish line came out of the timber at the same time that 
 enemy s skirmishers came out of the timber a short distance to my 
 right. Col. Bowen was glad to see us appear he seemed to feel re 
 lieved. We marched through thick timber without road or path 
 only the sound of firing to guide us. Rebels didn t know that a com 
 pany of "yanks" was in the timber along side of them marching a 
 little faster than they were going along the road. After exchanging 
 a few shots with our skirmishers the enemy withdrew and everything 
 became quiet in our front. The 20th A. C. is said to be falling back 
 to Vinings Station on the Chattahoochee River. Can hear some 
 firing far to our right. Frequent showers. It was expected that we 
 would march during the day, but night found us still in position 
 it s certain now that we will have a night march of it we are ordered 
 to be ready to move on a moment s notice. Had no men hurt today, 
 but some of my boys had pretty close calls did some good dodging 
 in the old fort. There were some two hundred rebs keeping up a fire 
 upon us for about three hours. 
 
178 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 August 27th, 1864. At 12:30 last night the 52nd was ordered to 
 draw in its skirmish and march to rejoin the brigade the troops 
 by that time having all got by and out of our way. The 2nd Division 
 (ours) was acting as rear guard of the army of the Tenn. The 15th, 
 17th and 16th A. C. were ordered to move out to the right and rear at 
 8 o clock p. m. and the entire skirmish line was to be retired under 
 the direction of Col. Strong, Inspector of Army of the Tenn. Owing 
 to the distance between the position of the 52nd on the extreme left 
 and the rest of the command (Army of the Tenn.) to the right it 
 was directed that the 52nd should withdraw in advance 01 other parts 
 of skirmish line to our right. The 15th A. C. retired on one road and 
 the 17th A. C. followed by our 16th A. C. retired on another. Being 
 behind the 17th A. C. our moving was delayed until midnight and until 
 after the skirmish lines to our right had been withdrawn, and this left 
 us necessarily very much exposed. We reached the rest of the bri 
 gade about, 2:30 a. m., to find Col. Rice very uneasy, fearing that we 
 had been cut off. The enemy kept following after us, firing shells, some 
 of which went over us,and they kept up a constant fire on this skirmish 
 line after we retired, which we could hear after we marched as long as 
 the sound could reach us in the distance. Soon after the 52nd joined 
 the brigade the 9th Ills. Infty. and the 25th Ind. Infty. (both mounted) 
 came, then we began our march. We were guided to keep on our pro 
 per road during this night march by fires kindled along the road at in 
 tervals. We continued our march without a halt until 6 o clock a. m. 
 This morning when our brigade reached the rest of the command 
 breakfasting. After a rest of about 2 hours the march was resumed. The 
 day grew to be hot our road about noon was along a ridge and through 
 pine barrens little or no water the troops were pushed along without 
 any halting or resting, making a forced march to gain position ap 
 parently in the execution of a grand flank movement on the enemy, 
 when time was everything. Men gave out rapidly from exhaustion. I 
 saw mules drop dead in the road, right in the harness, given out and 
 overcome by the heat, but there was no stopping mules might die in 
 the harness and men be left by the roadside, still on and on we pushed. 
 Not many men that can march farther or that can endure more than I, 
 but about 2 p. m. it did seem that it was more than I could stand. I 
 had only five men left of my company, and there were not to exceed 
 fifty all told of the regiment still with the colors. It was simply 
 terrific. I looked ahead anu seeing some trees that would afford good 
 shade, I determined to stop there anyway, if the command was not 
 halted, but before we reached the place I had fixed upon, the order 
 came to halt and rest. We made the position arrived at, The strag 
 glers came on gradually joining us. After resting for a couple of 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 179 
 
 hours we moved on a short distance further and about 5 o clock p. m. 
 went into camp near Campbelltown, Ga. The entire movement was 
 successfully made without interference on the part of the enemy, if 
 indeed they knew what we are up to. Distance marched twenty miles. 
 
 August 28th, 1864. Remained in our camp until noon when our 
 (16th) Corps marched following the 17th A. C. moving on the Campbell- 
 town road towards the Montgomery and Atlanta R. R. During the 
 afternoon the 17th A. C. took position on the railroad and fortified. 
 The 16th A. C. went into position about a mile in the rear of the 
 17th A. C. The 4th Division on the right and ours (2nd) Div. on the 
 left 1st Brig, on the lett of Div. and the 52nd on the left of Brig, and 
 thereby on the extreme left of the 16th A. C. The 52nd camped in a 
 fine grove good water such a nice camp. There is an abundance of 
 green corn men foraged it freely and feasted. It was quite an addition 
 to our regular grub of bacon, hardtack, cofree, sugar three times a 
 day on which we have been living now so long. Almost any time one 
 could see men sitting by camp fires with an ear of corn stuck on a 
 stick roasting the corn and eating about as fast as the corn was roasted. 
 As we advanced this morning there was some rebel cavalry in front, 
 but the enemy made but little resistance, falling back as fast as our 
 men advanced. Our men are all in high spirits. They feel that some 
 thing is going to happen. Gen. Sherman is in charge of this excursion 
 and a change in the management of the Montgomery road is likely 
 to take place with a new time table for trains. Distance marched 
 to-day, six miles. 
 
 August 29th, 1864. The 16th A. C. inarched early this morning, 
 the 4th Division in advance. Our (1st) Brigade, 2nd Division in the 
 rear. The entire command moved with sixty rounds of ammunition. 
 The men were well supplieu with axes and picks. Marched through 
 the 17th A. C. thence to the right to Fairburn on the Montgomery R. 
 R. Beginning at a point about two miles south of Fairburn the entire 
 corps was engaged during the day tearing up the railroad track. 
 
 "On the morning of the 29th it assisted in destroying the At 
 lanta & West Point Railroad, near Fairburn Station. On the morning 
 of the 30th with the Second Iowa Infty. we were ordered to support the 
 cavalry "under the command of General Kilpatrick, in the flank move 
 ment in rear of Atlanta, taking the main road leading to Jonesboro, 
 the command moved out, on the double quick in a burning sun, carry 
 ing besides arms, ammunition, rations, a number of intrenching 
 tools. A fence of the enemy s cavalry with one piece of artillery at 
 Stithville P. O., six miles northwest of Jonesboro, posted on a hill, 
 across the road, in an open field, with derense of rails and logs, the 
 cavalry fell back and the two small remnants of the 7th and 2nd Iowa, 
 
180 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 under command of Major Hamhill of the 2nd. Kilpatrick s whole 
 division of cavalry armed with " Spencer repeating carbines gave us 
 the road and we marched between them, jeering and guying them 
 for their timidity in calling upon us with inferior arms to do a little 
 job like that. The command moved out cautiously until it arrived 
 at the edge of a field, wnen it deployed in column and tne charge was 
 ordered, the 2nd leading, supported in close touch. With a shout 
 the command moved in good order, carrying the crest ana defenses in 
 fine style. Major Hamhill and a number of men were wounded and the 
 advance was continued under command of Captain Mahon of the 7th, 
 which regiment then took the advance; they made one or two feeble 
 stands, one near Liberty Hill, but hardly delayed our onward march 
 to Flint river. Arrived at Flint river late on the same day. Took 
 position on the right center of the Brigade, and on the morning of 
 the 31st fortified. Crossed the river at noon, and the enemy making an 
 attack about the same time, was ordered to support the 2nd Brigade. 
 Formed in rear of the 81st Ohio Infantry, moving up at double-quick 
 and in fine style. From this was moved to the right, forming in the 
 front line on the right of the 52nd Illinois Infantry, filling a gap 
 between that regiment and the river. One company G under com 
 mand of Lieut. DeMuth, was thrown out to the front and right to 
 support the skirmish line, and the front rank men, those in the rear 
 rank holding the arms, with rails from a tence near ai hand, had 
 soon constructed a barricade, from which the regiment could easily 
 have repulsed three- times its own number. 
 
 August 31st, 1864. Last night about 1 o clock there was a sud 
 den outburst of musketry that started us up. This morning we learn 
 that it was caused by the 92nd Illinois Infantry (mounted) in General 
 Kilpatrick s command having run up against the enemy as the 92nd 
 was advancing on foot in the darkness, and quite a fight occurred, but 
 the 92nd held its own. At 10 o clock a. m. the 52nd was ordered to 
 change front by refusing the left and advancing the right; were then 
 ordered to construct temporary rail works sufficient to protect the men 
 in the event that we should receive attack. Matters indicate a lively 
 day 12:30 p. m. The 52nd was ordered to march left in front with 
 the rest of the brigade to follow. Crossing Flint river we proceeded 
 a short distance on the Jonesboro road and turning to the right were 
 placed in the rear of our 2nd brigade. The 52nd has the left front of 
 the 1st brigade. The 2nd brigade is in the front line of battle behind 
 breastwork and joins the of the 15th A. C. The 1st brigade is held 
 in reserve to the 2nd brigade or any part of the line near that may need 
 assistance. 3 p. m. The enemy are now shelling our line quite vigor 
 ously muskets rattle and bullets are flying freely. Our position is in, 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 181 
 
 a grove on ground higher than the battle line a little grove about 
 large enough to hold us, so that we catch bullets from the front it s 
 clip, clip through the trees all the time. When the firing was quite 
 brisk in front of us, a negro wench came running towards us from a 
 house near the front she was badly scared the men began calling 
 to her "Dinah, whar you going?" etc., when she stopped running and 
 began to talk back, but just then a snell from the enemy came crush 
 ing along and completely demoralized her. The men yelled and called 
 to her, but nothing could then stop her flight to the rear. From the 
 indications no doubt the enemy are preparing to charge our lines. Our 
 position is a bad one without any protection whatever, and with noth 
 ing to do we are waiting for what may happen. Private Griffin of Co."D" 
 was just now wounded in the calf of the leg by a musket ball 3:30 
 p. m. The noise of battle increases and Battery "H" to our front is 
 pounding away. The 66th Indiana, which is on the right of the 52nd 
 has just been ordered out to the front to go into position on the right 
 of the 2nd brigade. The 2nd Iowa quickly followed on double-quick. 
 The 7th Iowa followed tae 2nd, and thus the 52nd followed the 7th 
 Iowa, going on the double-quick. The order to move came in good 
 time and was a great relief to us to move to the front, for twenty min 
 utes previous to the order the sheils of the enemy had annoyed us 
 very much, as they seemed to have our range. The 52nd went about 
 twenty-five or thirty rods on the run to get to the front, going left in 
 front and swing into line by the side of Battery "H" which at that 
 time was pounding away with its six guns at a brigade of the enemy 
 that had started to capture it. As our men went into line on the run 
 they sent up a cheer. The line of the 52nd faced a dense pine thicket, 
 but as we afterwards learned it was but a short distance through it 
 (about ten rods) and the end of the thicket came up towards the bat 
 tery (H). The enemy were on the other side of the thicket advanc 
 ing on battery "H," but as they heard our cheer they halted. Lieut. Col. 
 Bowen directed me to take my company and deploy them as skir 
 mishers to advance through the thicket, but he at once countermanded 
 the order, and sent Capt. Compton with Co. "C" to the front as my 
 company was the last one out on company duty. Soon the 2nd Iowa 
 took position to our right and Capt. Compton who was covering our 
 right flank was recalled. As the enemy did not appear immediately 
 every other man was ordered to step out of the ranks, to work building 
 a rail breastwork his comrade in the ranks to hold his gun for him 
 in his place and in twenty minutes the breastwork was completed. 
 The men used rails from a fence near by things just flew how men 
 can work under such excitement. While this is going on a man from 
 Battery "H" came running along the line shouting for a blacksmith. 
 
182 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 I spoke to one of my men who was a blacksmith to go with him, and 
 so the forge of the battery was in full blast just behind the battery 
 making iron bands to put around and hold together the trail of a 
 gun, which had been cracked or split by the recoil of the gun in its 
 firing. We expected the enemy upon us every minute didn t expect 
 them to give us any time in which to prepare for them. Again they 
 began to advance and firing, but the 2nd brigade sent up a cheer 
 along the whole line that told them that we were in position and in force 
 too much for them, and the enemy halted. Col. Bowen had by this 
 time ordered Lieut. Doty with Co."K" to go to the front as skirmisher 
 and about at this time Co. "K" had passed through the thicket to the 
 other side and opened fire on the enemy, who then began to retire. A 
 few of the rebels (four or five) didn t run, but surrendered. Just as the 
 52nd came into line Private Geo.C. Chapman of Co."B" was wounded 
 by musket ball in the shoulder, but not seriously. No part of the 
 52nd, except Co. "K" was engaged, we were waiting for them to get 
 them at close range when shooting would tell. Although bullets flew 
 thickly and the 52nd was a good deal exposed while moving to the 
 front, and while in position during the continuance of the battle, yet 
 it had only two men wounded. From prisoners captured it appears 
 that Cheatham s division of Hardee s corps made the attack on the 
 16th A. C. and Bates division of same corps assaulted the 15th A. C. 
 The enemy made a vigorous assault on our lines, but the attack on the 
 15th A. C. seemed to be more determined than in front of 16th A. C. 
 The loss of the enemy according to statement of prisoners captured must 
 have been five to our one. We had much the advantage by the pro 
 tection offered by our breastworks. When the enemy began to retire 
 we began to use our entrenching tools to strengthen our works,thinking 
 they might come back upon us. On this movement every four men by 
 turns had to carry either an axe or spade or shovel, so we had our 
 tools at hand to use. It was hard worK to carry them in addition 
 to the rest of the soldier s load, but handy to have when wanted. In 
 formation said to be reliaole has been received that Gen. Sherman 
 during the afternoon attacked the enemy at Rough and Ready between 
 our position and Atlanta, and gained possession of the railroad at that 
 point and had succeeded in cutting off a corps of Hood s army, which 
 was attempting to reinforce Hardee here at Jonesboro. It is ascertained 
 that the loss of the army of the Tenn. in to-day s battle has been ex 
 tremely light will not exceed two hundred killed and wounded. Men or 
 dered to sleep on their arms to-night and to be in line under arms at 
 3 o clock in the morning. Distance marched to-day, one and one-hall 
 miles. 
 
 September 1st, 1864. The order to be under arms at 3 o clock 
 
BADGE, 15TH ARMY CORPS. 
 
 The badge of the 15th Army Corps was suggested by a witty Irish 
 man s joke: 
 
 At the beginning of the Atlanta campaign all the corps in Sher 
 man s army had distinctive badges, which were required to be worn on 
 the hats. It was customary when marching the command on a hot day 
 to occasionally halt the troops to give them a chance to rest, when they 
 would sit down, each side of the road, and those who had given out or 
 straggled would take that time to catch up with their respective com 
 mands. As these stragglers were marching along in the middle of the 
 road, between the resting troops, they were generally subjected to the 
 jokes and jeers of the men who had halted. At such a time, an Irishman, 
 a straggler, was woiking his way to the front, when someone asked him 
 to what corps he belonged. He replied, "The 15th, General Logan s." 
 He was then asked, "What s your badge ? " His reply was, slapping his 
 cartridge box which hung at his hip on his belt behind him, "This and 
 forty rounds, forty rounds being the number of cartridges held by the 
 box. This reply pleased General Logan so much that a minature cart 
 ridge box with the inscription, "Forty Rounds," was adopted as the 
 corps badge, and enough little brass badges were ordered made by Tiffany 
 & Co., New York, to supply each man of the corps, and they were required 
 to wear them by general orders. 
 
 The badge was placed on a square diagonally; the square was color 
 ed to denote the division the wearer belonged to : Red denoting first, 
 White second, Blue third, and Yellow fourth division the latter color 
 being worn by the 7th Iowa. 
 
 The above cut is a fac similie both as to the shape and size worn. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 183 
 
 countermanded as the enemy are supposed to be retreating. At day 
 light the skirmishers of our brigade advanced without much resist 
 ance about one mile when tne enemy were found in position building 
 works. In obedience to orders Col. Bowen carried a detail of a Ser 
 geant and fifteen men to be made to bury the enemy s dead in front 
 of the 52nd. The Sergeant and his men buried three commissioned 
 officers and fourteen men. About 9 o clock a. m. Co. "I" on the skir 
 mish line sent in to Col. Bowen ten prisoners which they had captured. 
 At 10 o clock a. m. Co. K" was sent out to relieve Co. "I" as skir 
 mishers. Rather quiet during the afternoon. Artillery fire on our 
 part continued more or less. Many think tne enemy is getting away 
 as fast as possible, but it is probable there will be more fighting first. 
 Noon A congratulatory order from Gen. Howard upon the 1 splendid 
 victory achieved by the army of the Tenn. yesterday has just been re 
 ceived and published to the men. During the afternoon the 15th 
 A. C. was ordered to keep up a heavy demonstration in its front. No 
 doubt it was for the purpose of aiding our other forces operating further 
 to the left and in rear of Hardee. Late in the afternoon heavy mus 
 ketry could be heard far to our left supposed to be the 14th A. C. 
 Fighting continued until dark. Rumor has it that our forces succeeded 
 in turning the rebel right and doubled it up badly, capturing one brigade 
 of rebel infantry and fourteen pieces of artillery. Apparently all ar 
 tillery of the army of the Tenn. was placed on the front lines and every 
 piece was brought into action shelling Jonesboro. Just before dark 
 the rain of shot and shell into the devoted town of Jonesboro was 
 just terrific. Late in tne afternoon or evening the 17th A. C. moved 
 into position on the right of the 16th A. C. Gen. Hardee must get 
 his army out of its present position to-night or to-morrow it will be 
 crushed. This appears to be the situation and is understood by the 
 soldiers. Men are in high spirits. 
 
 September 2nd, 1864. The enemy commenced leaving our front 
 last night soon after darK. Long before daylight this morning our 
 skirmish line under command of Capt. D. C. Newton of the 52nd ad 
 vanced and found the enemy gone from their works. During the 
 advance a man of Co. "K" captured a rebel officer (Lieut.) and brought 
 him in to Col. Bowen. Another Co. "K" man captured two rebel sol 
 diers and brought them in to Col. Bowen. Co. "K" secured fifteen 
 stands of arms, but not being able to send them in readily, broke them 
 up. Newton with his skirmishers was the first into and through the 
 town, Soon after daylight columns of troops were in motion in pur 
 suit of the enemy. The 15th A. C. marched through the town on the 
 main road running parallel into the R. R. in the direction of Lovejoy s 
 Station. The 14th A. C. is said to be advancing on the left of the 15th 
 A.C. The 16th A.C.is advancing to the right of the 15th A.C.and through 
 
184 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 fields making its own road as it goes. The 17th A. C. advanced on 
 a road running along to the right of the 16th A. C. The morning is 
 bright and clear and the men feel elated and its a grand sight to see 
 the masses and lines of troops leading out seeking the enemy. The 
 enemy made but little resistance to our advance until near Lovejoy s 
 Station, we came in sight of the enemy in position and hard at work 
 building breastworks. The country here is quite open giving one a 
 chance to see more than has been usual. The 14th, 17th and a part 
 of the 15th A. C. advanced cautiously upon the enemy s works late 
 in the afternoon, and more for the purpose of getting into position 
 than to i ress the enemy, though quite a brisk skirmish took place caus 
 ing the f-nemy to give ground. Night coming on all operations ceased. 
 Between the hours of 2 o clock a. m. last night and daylight this morn 
 ing heavy sounds could be heard in the direction of Atlanta, resembling 
 heavy and continuous cannonading. We conjecture that it is caused 
 by the enemy blowing up and destroying magazines and ordnance 
 stores while evacuating Atlanta stores that the enemy is unable to 
 take away. Thus far Gen. Sherman s plans have been successfully 
 executed. Sherman divided his army and with this part of it has 
 thoroughly defeated a large part of Hood s army under Hardee and 
 what is left of Hardee s force is being pursued. Here we are firmly 
 planted on Hood s communications his only remaining railroad. The 
 air is full of rumors to-day among other things it is rumored that 
 Gen. Slocum with the 20th A. C. took possession of Atlanta to-day, 
 the enemy having previously evacuated the city. The army of the 
 Tenn. lost but few killed and wounded comparatively in the engage 
 ments of August 31st and September 1st, while the loss of the enemy 
 was exceedingly heavy. Distance marched to-day, six miles. 
 
 September 3rd, 1864. This morning Gen. Sherman issued a 
 circular order to his army stating that he had official information 
 that Gen. Slocum took possession of Atlanta at 11 o clock a. m. on 
 yesterday the enemy had evacuated the city destroying magazines and 
 stores in large quantities. Sherman says our work has been well done 
 that all destruction of railroads will cease at once. The publication 
 of this circular to the various regiments called forth loud and pro 
 longed cheering. The soldiers of our own army can appreciate better 
 than any others the fall of the stronghold of rebeldom. How jubi 
 lant are the men. All is quiet when suddenly without a word some 
 one man sends up a cheer and it is taken up by others who join in 
 and the cheer goes spreading and speeding and swelling up to high 
 Heaven along the lines away off in the distance as far as the ear can 
 hear. And this cheering is kept up all day as the men feel too good 
 to keep quiet. And no wonder the boys are jubilant over the fall of 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRV 185 
 
 Atlanta, after having toiled and suffered and skirmished and fought 
 as they have for the last four months to secure it as a prize. The 
 enemy is still in our front in force apparently entrenching to stub 
 bornly resist our further advance. Hardee desires evidently to main 
 tain his present position until Hood can join him with the rest of his 
 army. It is said that Gen. Sherman stated to-day that he would con 
 front the enemy for a few days to let the boys have a chance to eat 
 corn and sweet potatoes, and that he would move back to Atlanta and 
 give us a rest. About 2 o clock p. m. our (2nd) division marched to 
 the front and right going into position on the right of the 17th A. C. 
 and on the extreme right of our army. The 4th division 16th A. C. 
 moved out to our rear and right to protect our flank. 1st brigade 
 on the right of the 2nd division the 52nd on the left of 1st brigade. 
 The 52nd by way of protection, constructed light rail and earthwork 
 during the afternoon to cover its front. No enemy in our front. To 
 our left and in front of 17th A. C. they appear to be in force and skir 
 mishing continues briskly. Showers during the day. Marched two 
 miles. 
 
 September 4th, 1864. Quiet in our front, weather cloudy and 
 cool. Men in high spirits. All entrenching tools returned to brigade 
 headquarters, but about 9 o clock a. m. Gen. Corse, commanding our 
 division, directed that we construct an abattis in front of our works, 
 The 52nd obtained axes and the work began immediately and soon 
 completed it is done by way of precaution. Green corn and sweet 
 potatoes in abundance. The sanitary condition of our men has improv 
 ed so much since leaving the entrenchments around Atlanta and the 
 morale of our army never was better than it is now. Our victory is 
 complete and the men seem to fully comprehend it. We have received 
 no mail since we started from Atlanta on this excursion. 
 
 September 5th, 1864. This morning as the commanding officer of 
 my company, and having been in command of it during the cam 
 paign, I was notified by general orders to prepare and forward to army 
 headquarters a written report of the operations of my company from 
 May 3rd last to the present time. All commanding officers of regi 
 ment, companies and batteries are requested to make such report. 
 I began at once and finished my report about 2:00 o clock 
 p. m., having written several pages of foolscap, and I de 
 livered same to Lieut. Col. Bowen to forward through the regular 
 channels. In the afternoon all our teams moved off to the rear to get 
 out of our way, apparently. This means that we will move soon, 
 probably to-night. It is reported that orders have been issued for the 
 Army of the Tennessee to garrison East Point. The Army of the 
 Ohio to garrison Decatur, and the Army of the Cum- 
 
186 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 berland to garrison Atlanta and guard the railroad from Atlanta to 
 Chattanooga. A few weeks rest will indeed be welcome. About 5 
 o clock p. m. we had a heavy shower rain fell in torrents. All the 
 men get wet wind strong, upsetting nearly all the "shebangs." 
 
 At 8 o clock p. m. we marched out of our works following the 2nd 
 Iowa marched two miles towards Jonesboro and halted to rest. Rainy, 
 dark and roads muddy. March continued towards Jonesboro for some 
 distance, then we marched to the right about a half a mile and occu 
 pied some old works until daylight to cover the backward movement 
 of the 17th A C. It was hard marching in the darkness and rain 
 through the mud, but the men took it all good naturedly and didn t com 
 plain. Distance marched, five miles. 
 
 September 6th, 1864. Marched at daylight from the works oc 
 cupied by us during the latter part of the night passed through 
 Jonesboro to the works built by the 52nd in front of Jones 
 boro on the Shoal Creek the 31st of August. Here the regiment 
 remained during the day. Took matters easy to-day lying in the 
 shade and resting. Everybody feeling good. Distance marched to 
 day, four miles. 
 
 September 7th, 1864. At 6 o clock a. m. fhe command took up 
 the line of march for East Point, We retired for a short distance on 
 the road on which our corps advanced upon Jonesboro, and then the 
 march was continued to the vicinity of Morrows Mills where we went 
 into camp about one o clock p. m. Marched most of the way over 
 good roads. Weather cloudy and cool. Distance marched, eight miles. 
 
 September 8th, 1864. Marched early in the morning for East 
 Point. Soon came to the Montgomery and Atlanta Railroad. Crossed 
 the railroad and followed the rebels works around to the west of East 
 Point. Our (2nd) division went into camp about one mile northwest of 
 town. The 4th division occupied a position to our left fronting south. 
 The 15th A. C. holds the center the 16th A. C. the right and the 17th 
 A. C. the left of the line of the army of the Tennessee. We are glad 
 to get into a quiet and permanent camp once more. We anticipate at 
 least to have thirty days rest from the fatigue of our long and ar 
 duous campaign, and for a time at least not to smell burning powder 
 and to be rid of hearing whizzing of bullets. As soon as we were as 
 signed our position the men began building "shebangs" to protect 
 themselves from the weather. Our wagons came to us and we again 
 had our blankets and "good clothes." I built a bunk for myself with 
 poles supported on short crotches, put up poles and rubber blankets 
 overhead to protect me from the sun and from rains. Long before 
 night I was quite well fixed. When we first stacked arms and broke 
 ranks, I wanted to take a smoke, but I hadn t a match left with which 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 187 
 
 to light my pipe. We were all out of matches and I watched the lines 
 waiting for a fire to be kindled somewhere, and I waited and watched 
 a long time, and no one seemed to be able to light a camp fire. At 
 last a fire was kindled in the 7th Iowa I saw the smoke going up, 
 but I was not the only one that saw it, for as I started for it that I 
 might light my pipe, I saw men coming from all directions. The two 
 men that built tne fire to cook their dinner were not able for half an 
 hour to make any use of it, because of the number that crowded 
 around to get "a little fire." It was spread, however, and one could 
 see smoke going up all along the line and all was well. Distance 
 marched, four miles. 
 
 September 9th, 18b4. I expected to have a good and peaceable 
 sleep last night, but I didn t. I had a good bunk fixed up and had all 
 my blankets from the baggage wagon and a decent sort of a bed for a 
 soldier, and I undressed and went to bed soon after "taps." Last night 
 was the first time that I have laid down at night to sleep without be 
 ing fully dressed and ready for anything since the 27th of June 
 for more than two months I have not slept (neither have the men) a 
 single night with my clothes off, and so last night as soon as I was 
 asleep I was the victim of dreams and troubled thoughts in my sleep 
 I seemed to be aware that I was in bed undressed and that it was not 
 proper so to be, I felt and the thoughts would trouble me until they 
 woke me up. I would remember where we were and that it was all 
 right and getting composed in mind would go to sleep again, only to 
 have the same dreams to wake me up again. I went through the whole 
 night just in that way, and this morning I feel anything but re 
 freshed. Have had many a better nights sleep when cannon boomed 
 and muskets cracked through the night. Last night as soon as I was 
 asleep I got nervous, apparently. 
 
 Yesterday may be said to end the Atlanta campaign since April 
 29th. The 52nd Illinois has been constantly in the "field" and has 
 shared its full complement of the hardships and dangers attending 
 so long and so hazardous a campaign. 
 
 Success may be said to have attended Gen. Sherman in the 
 execution of all of his plans against the enemy from Dalton to Jones- 
 boro. He not only captured Atlanta, but he demonstrated the fact that 
 Northern men can campaign during the summer months, and endure 
 the heat as well, if not better, than the men of the south. To-day 
 Gen. Sherman issued an order publishing to the troops the congratu 
 lations of the President of the United States and of Gen. Grant. The 
 dispatches read were as follows: 
 
 Washington, D. C., September 3rd, 1864. The Nation s thanks 
 are rendered by the President to Major General W. T. Sherman and 
 
188 HISTORY of THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 the gallant officers and soldiers of his command before Atlanta, for 
 the distinguished ability and perserverance displayed in the cam 
 paign in Georgia, which, under Divine favor, has resulted in the cap 
 ture of Atlanta. The marches, battles, sieges, and other military 
 operations, that have signalized the campaign, must render it famous 
 in the annals of war, and have entitled those who have participated 
 therein to the applause and thanks of the nation. 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 
 
 President of the United States. 
 
 City Point, Virginia, September 4th, 1864. 
 Major General Sherman: 
 
 I have just received your dispatch announcing the capture of 
 Atlanta. In honor of your great victory I have ordered a salute to be 
 fired with shotted guns from every battery bearing upon the enemy. 
 The salute will be fired within an hour, amia great rejoicing. 
 
 U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant General. 
 
 The reading of these dispatches to the men at dress parade 
 called forth the most hearty cheers from the men of the various regi 
 ments, who of all others should have the nation s gratitude for this 
 endurance and prolonged and faithful efforts resulting in the great 
 victory. 
 
 September 10th. Remained quietly in camp; men took advantage 
 of the opportunity to clean up their clothes and wash themselves up and 
 build shebangs to make themselves as comfortable as possible with 
 material to be had. llth. Laid in camp all day and rested; in the 
 evening had dress parade, first for a long time. 12th. Remained in 
 ca.mp all day taking it easy; light details for camp guard; had com 
 pany inspection in the afternoon. 13th. All quiet in camp; heavy 
 mail from the north, first we have had for nearly a month. 14th. 
 Still resting in camp. Had general inspection in the afternoon. Men 
 getting rested, cleaned up and look more like soldiers; dress parade 
 in the evening. 15th. All quiet on the Chattahoochee, doing regular 
 camp duty, dress parade each evening. IGth. Remained in statu quo, 
 doing regular routine duty, resting and making ourselves as com 
 fortable as possible under the circumstances. 17th. In camp resting, 
 washing and preparing for regular Sunday inspection. Sunday, the 
 18th. Inspection, heavy rain afterwards. Promised pay long past due. 
 19th. In camp, supplies coming forward from Chattanooga, small 
 amount of clothing distributed, more promised soon which is very 
 much needed. 20th. Broke camp and marched to Atlanta. 21st. 
 Camped in the city of Atlanta; regiment detailed to put up tents and 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 189 
 
 police ground for field hospital for the Army of the Tennessee. At 
 the field hospital one of the men died in the night. The Chaplain took 
 the nurse to task for not calling him to administer spiritual consola 
 tion before he died. The nurse s excuse was, that he thought he 
 cc-.ild do it himself and not disturb the Chaplain s rest. The Chaplain 
 asked him what he said to console him. "On," he said, "I told him 
 the Lord in His wisdom had planned but for two places to go to, Heaven 
 and Hell; and as he had not lived such a life as would entitle him to 
 fro to the former, he would have to go to hell; and he ought to be 
 thankful that the Lord had prepared a place for him at all." Contin 
 ued on detail working at field hospital until Monday the 26th, when 
 we broke camp at noon and embarked on cars and went to Ackworth 
 and following day took train again fcr Rome, arriving on the 27th, 
 went into camp near the city. 28th. Laid around all day awaiting the 
 arrival of our camp and garrison equipage. "Rained, no tents for pro 
 tection against the weather. 29th. Rained all day. 30th. Remained 
 in camp all quiet; a lot of men in the guard house for going to town 
 without leave. October 1st, 1864. Moved camp to hill overlooking 
 city; policed ground ready for tents. 2nd. Drew few tents and fixed 
 up quarters; weather continues wet and disagreeable. 3rd. All quiet 
 fixing up tents and quarters and doing routine duty and guard. 4th. 
 Ordered into line of march, went to depot, stacked arms waiting for 
 train. Wednesday, 5th. Second brigade loaded on cars hurriedly 
 and started for Allatoona, followed by our brigade under command of 
 Colonel Martin of the 66th Indiana, General Rice being sick. Bridge 
 damaged by train ahead with 2nd Brigade and we had to debark 
 near Kingston and march the balance of tlie way, so did not arrive to 
 take active part in the battle of Allatoona, our threatened approach 
 in the rear of the attacking force, together with reinforcements coming 
 from the south probably caused Hood to hurriedly abandon the field, 
 giving us a bloody victory. We did not arrive on the battlefield until 
 after dark, where we bivouaced in a pittiless rain all night without 
 shelter among the dead, killed in the battle. Jerome Hunt of our 
 regiment, according to official report, was killed; otherwise the regi 
 ment met with no casualties. We were accorded the right to inscribe 
 on our flag "Allatoona" as we were there as ordered, but not in time 
 to participate, on account of the accident on the railroad. There has 
 been a good deal of foolishness and gush written about that battle 
 in reference to messages wig-wagged and signaled by General Corse 
 and General Sherman that never occured. I got the name of be 
 ing an iconaclast because I took the trouble to look the matter up, ver 
 ify the truth, and publish the same some years ago. In the interest of 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 189 
 
 police ground for field hospital for the Army of the Tennessee. At 
 the field hospital one of the men died in the night. The Chaplain took 
 the nurse to task for not calling him to administer spiritual consola 
 tion before he died. The nurse s excuse was, that he thought he 
 cc-.ild do it himself and not disturb the Chaplain s rest. The Chaplain 
 asked him what he said to console him. "On," he said, "I told him 
 the Lord in His wisdom had planned but for two places to go to, Heaven 
 and Hell; and as he had not lived such a life as would entitle him to 
 fro to the former, he would have to go to hell; and he ought to be 
 thankful that the Lord had prepared a place for him at all." Contin 
 ued on detail working at field hospital until Monday the 26th, when 
 we broke camp at noon and embarked on cars and went to Ackworth 
 and following day took train again for Rome, arriving on the 27th, 
 went into camp near the city. 28th. Laid around all day awaiting the 
 arrivel of our camp and garrison equipage. Tlained, no tents for pro 
 tection against the weather. 29th. Rained all day. 30th. Remained 
 in camp all quiet; a lot of men in the guard house for going to town 
 without leave. October 1st, 1864. Moved camp to hill overlooking 
 city; policed ground ready for tents. 2nd. Drew few tents and fixed 
 up quarters; weather continues wet and disagreeable. 3rd. All quiet 
 fixing up tents and quarters and doing routine duty and guard. 4th. 
 Ordered into line of march, went to depot, stacked arms waiting for 
 train. Wednesday, 5th. Second brigade loaded on cars hurriedly 
 and started for Allatoona, followed by our brigade under command of 
 Colonel Martin of the 66th Indiana, General Rice being sick. Bridge 
 dsmaged by train ahead with 2nd Brigade and we had to debark 
 near Kingston and march the balance of the way, so did not arrive to 
 take active part in the battle of Allatoona, our threatened approach 
 in the rear of the attacking force, together with reinforcements coming 
 from the south probably caused Hood to hurriedly abandon the field, 
 giving us a bloody victory. We did not arrive on the battlefield until 
 after dark, where we bivouaced in a pittiless rain all night without 
 shelter among the dead, killed in the battle. Jerome Hunt of our 
 regiment, according to official report, was killed; otherv/ise the regi 
 ment met with no casualties. We were accorded the right to inscribe 
 on our flag "Allatoona" as we were there as ordered, but not in time 
 to participate, on account of the accident on the railroad. There has 
 been a good deal of foolishness and gush written about that battle 
 in reference to messages wig-wagged and signaled by General Corse 
 and General Sherman that never occured. I got the name of be 
 ing an iconaclast because I took the trouble to look the matter up, ver 
 ify the truth, and publish the same some years ago. In the interest of 
 
190 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 history and fact, I insert an article by myself, published in the Des 
 Moines Capital December 19th, 1895: 
 
 "HOLD THE FORT." 
 
 FURTHER DISCUSSION AS TO WHO WAVED THE SIGNAL AT 
 
 KENESAW. 
 
 Editor Daily Capital: As the question of who and how the his 
 toric dispatches were sent from Kenesaw to Allatoona is up for discus 
 sion in the Capital, and Captain Adams the signal officer at one end 
 of the line has been heard from, I wish to submit Captain Cole s letter, 
 the signal officer in charge at the other end of the line, both of whom 
 were there and ought to know what they are subscribing to, and I 
 think they do. 
 
 It is almost too bad to smash the idols and spoil a good story, 
 but as a matter of fact no such message as "Hold the Fort, I am Com 
 ing," was ever sent by Sherman to General Corse at that or any other 
 time, but it was a poetical effusion which originated in -the fertile 
 brain of a gospel hymn singer. 
 
 In the official records of the war of the Rebellion, public docu 
 ments published and tabulated under- the direction of the secretary of 
 war, and furnished free to all the libraries in the United States, are 
 printed all the official reports, orders, communications and dispatches, 
 whether sent by telegraph, signal, courier or otherwise, of all the 
 campaigns and battles of the war (both union and confederate). In 
 series 1, volume 39, part 3, pages 88, 96, 97 and 113 are copies of all dis 
 patches sent to and from Kenesaw Mountain and Allatoona during or 
 about that battle, which are as follows: 
 
 Allatoona, Ga., Oct. 5, 1864. 
 FIRST. 
 
 Signal Officer Kenesaw General Corse is here. Where is Gen 
 eral Sherman? 
 
 (Signed:) ADAMS, Signal Officer. 
 
 SECOND. 
 
 General Sherman Corse is here. 
 
 (Signed:) TOURTELLETTE, Lieut. Col. Commanding. 
 
 THIRD. 
 
 8 a. m. We held out. General Corse here. 
 
 (Signed:) ADAMS, Signal Officer. 
 
SERGEANT McKENZIE WIG-WAGGING THE SIGNALS, 
 at Battle of Allatoona. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 191 
 
 FOURTH. 
 
 4 p m \v e still hold out. General Corse is wounded. 
 
 (Signed:) ADAMS, Signal Officer. 
 
 FIFTH. 
 
 We are all right, so far. General Corse is wounded. Where is 
 
 General Sherman? 
 
 (Signed:) ADAMS, Signal Officer. 
 
 SIXTH. 
 
 Kenesaw Mountain, Oct. 5, 1864. 
 
 Commanding Officer Allatoona Near You. 
 
 (No Signature.) 
 
 SEVENTH. 
 
 Kenesaw Mountain, Oct. 5, 1864. 
 
 Tell Allatoona hold on. General Sherman says he is working 
 hard for you. 
 
 (No Signature.) 
 
 EIGHTH. 
 
 Kenesaw Mountain, Oct. 6, 1864. 
 Allatoona: How is Corse? What news? 
 
 DAYTON, Aid-de-camp. 
 
 NINTH. 
 Rec d 3:15 p. m. 
 
 Allatoona, Ga., Oct. 6, 1864, 2 p. m. 
 
 Captain L. M. Dayton, Aid-de-camp: I am short a cheek bone 
 and one ear, but am able to whip all hell yet. My losses are heavy. 
 A force moving from Stiles joro on Kingston gives me some anxiety. 
 Tell me where Sherman is. 
 
 JOHN M. CORSE, Brigadier General. 
 
 In part 1 of same volume on page 397 is Lieutenant Adams re 
 port of the part taken by his detachment of the signal corps during 
 the battle, to Lieutenant Sherry, signal corps, United States army, 
 commanding detachment, 15th A.C., from which I extract the following: 
 
 Allatoona, Ga., Oct. 5, 1864.* * * At 9 a. m. the enemy had us 
 surrounded on every approachable side, and the engagement became 
 general. As soon as I could see Kenesaw I called and sent them a mes 
 sage, stating the arrival of our reinforcements, etc. This was about 10 
 a. m. and after I had moved over to the fort with my flag. This message 
 was flagged under a sharp fire, and I wish to make special mention of 
 
192 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 the coolness and bravery of J. W. McKenzie, acting sergeant, and 
 Frank A. West of the signal corps. West was on his way to join his 
 party at the front, and happened to be detained here on account of 
 the railroad being cut. I was not aware of his presence until I saw 
 him voluntarily get up on top of the works and relieve McKenzie at 
 the flag. The message was flagged with remarkable coolness and ac 
 curacy by these two men. * * * 
 
 I sent a message to General Sherman that we were all right, 
 and General Corse was wounded. * * * R. O. McGinty and A. F. Fuller 
 flagged this message from the top of the fort. I have not a word of 
 censure for any man of the detachment. When I moved to the fort 
 I took three men with me to flag; the balance (nine men) I instructed 
 to see to their revolvers and get into the rifle pits; also if they saw 
 a man wounded not to let his musket lay idle. After the fight was over 
 I came back to my old place. I found that each of the men had mus 
 kets, and had fired each from thirty to ninety rounds of cartridges. *** 
 
 (Signed) J. Q. ADAMS. 
 
 Second Lieutenant Signal Corps, U. S. Army Commanding Detachment. 
 
 Above is a portion of the official record made on the spot, and 
 just after the battle by officers in command, which is indisputable and 
 cannot be controverted, which shows Judge McKenzie to have been 
 a brave and intelligent young soldier, who did his whole duty, but the 
 trouble is Judge McKenzie s over-zealous friends are claiming too 
 much for him, and in the John H. King letter resurrected by J. F. 
 Lewis the balance of the detachment are done an injustice and made 
 out to be a squad or shirks and cowards and a discredit to the service. 
 The article has more the appearance of making King the cham 
 pion than McKenzie the hero, and is a ridiculous and absurd article 
 written by one who never was in the service or knew anything about it 
 is shown on the face of it. 
 
 At the services of the dedication of the Chickamauga battlefield 
 at Chattanooga last September one Sergeant Frankenberg was brought 
 upon the platform, and introduced as being the party who sent these 
 important and celebrated messages from Kenesaw Mountain to Alla- 
 toona, and he exhibited the identical flag he used at the time; when 
 up jumps the Hampton Recorder, published at the home of the late 
 Judge McKenzie, and claims Sergeant Frankenberg a fraud, and that 
 Judge McKenzie was the one who did it,when as a matter of fact he only 
 claimed to be the other end of the line at Allatoona, twenty miles 
 away at the time, and Hood s rebel army between him and Kenesaw. 
 
 I belonged to General Corse s division, was at Allatoona and 
 talked with Judge McKenzie the next day after the battle, was person- 
 

 
 BRIG. GEN. JOHN M. CORSE. 
 Hero of Allatuona. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 193 
 
 ally acquainted with him up to the time of his death, and he never 
 made such statements or claims to me and I Taelieve him to have been 
 too brave, honorable and modest a soldier and conscientious a citizen 
 to have made them to anyone else. I was at Allafoona Gap last Sep 
 tember in company with a squad of the Seventh Illinois and Thirty- 
 ninth Iowa who participated in the bloouy battle. We went over the 
 ground and discussed the fight and Judge McKenzie s bravery, point 
 ing out the identical spot on the ramparts where he and West stood. 
 There was nothing said or known about the lack of courage or re 
 fusal of the others to do their duty. 
 
 H. I. SMITH. 
 
 Captain Cole and Lieut. Adams, signal officers in charge when 
 all the messages were sent, the former at Kcnesaw Mountain, and the 
 latter at Allatoona, both substantiate the truth of the foregoing. 
 
 If there is any doubt that the Gospe l hymn was not inspired by 
 the incident and messages sent at the battle of Allatoona, attention is 
 called to the book of Gospel hymn s and to the hymn "Hold the Fort, 
 I am Coming" itself, at the head of which is the quotation from 2nd 
 chapter of Corinthians, 25th verse, reading, "That which ye have al 
 ready hold fast till I come," suggesting the fact that the hymn was 
 inspired by the sentiment in that passage. There is certainly nothing 
 in General Corse s sulphuric reply, when he sent the answer to General 
 French when a demand for his surrender was received, that he would 
 "whip hell out of him yet," that would make good material for Gospel 
 hymns or Sunday school literature. 
 
 On the 6th camped on battlefield and assisted in burying the 
 dead. 7th Illinois and 39th Iowa s loss was most severe. Lieut. Blod- 
 gett of the 39th, who had commanded our battery so creditably all 
 through the campaign and had been promoted to Major a few days 
 before and returned to his regiment, was killed, together with Lieut. 
 Col. Redfield of that regiment, and the 7th Ills, boys literally laid in 
 rows where they were killed in the rifle pits which curtained the 
 redan into which our men were driven by the impact of the deter 
 mined and desperate charge of the enemy. On the 7th we were hur 
 riedly started on our return to Rome, as the whole rebel army seemed 
 to be headed in that direction, arriving at Cartersville that evening. 
 On the 8th marched from Cartersville to Kingston, arriving at Rome on 
 the 9th, where we resumed our old camp. llth. Could see the enemy 
 by the columns of dust passing in force to the west, with straggling 
 cavalry skirting the hills in sight, our force was too small to in 
 tercept them; the balance of our corps together with other troops 
 were in their rear hurriedly prodding tnem along, llth. Remained 
 Jn camp in statu quo. Same on the 12th. Lieut. H. I. Smith detailed 
 
194 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 as acting Adujutant of the regiment on account of the sickness of 
 Adjutant Cameron. 13th. Regiment ordered out in the direction of 
 the enemy, reconnoitering; went as far as Cave Springs without en 
 countering the enemy, excepting a few straggling cavalry, who quickly 
 retreated on our appearance. Returned to camp at night. 14th. Re 
 mained in camp all day, other regiments of the brigade took their 
 turn reconnoitering with about the same results. 15th. Marched out 
 in a northwest direction scouting, returning to camp at night. 16th 
 remained in camp all day; had regimental inspection. 17th. Had 
 company drill and dress parade. Received orders to march with one 
 day s rations. 18th. Moved out at 5 o clocK in the direction of Cedar 
 Bluffs, returning in the evening. 19th. Reported the enemy is ad 
 vancing upon us. 20th. All quiet in camp. 21st. Same. 22nd and 
 23rd remained in camp in statu quo. 24th. Moved out early in the 
 morning; camped at Cedar Gap. 25th. Marched back to Rome. 26th. 
 Remained in camp doing routine duty until Nov. 5th, when we were 
 paid off. No change until the 8th, when we had election; the regi 
 ment casting 344 votes, Lincoln receiving 342 votes and McClellan 
 getting two. Remained in camp 9th and 10th. 
 
 MARCH FROM ATLANTA TO THE SEA. 
 
 Sherman s plans for his future campaign were entirely original 
 and his own, being altogether different from the science of war as 
 laid down in the text books taught in the schools and were regarded 
 with misgivings by General Grant and others in authority and only 
 reluctantly consented to after repeated urging by Sherman. It was 
 regarded as an experiment and a novel procedure to cut loose, abandon 
 a base, burn bridges behind you and proceed through the enemy s coun 
 try without a definite objective point. But, as Sherman said, "I 
 can make the march and make Georgia howl." And again: "Hood 
 may turn into Tennessee and Kentucky, but I believe he will be forced 
 to follow me. Instead of being on the defensive I would be on the 
 offensive. Instead of guessing at what he means, he would have to 
 guess at my plans. The difference in war is fully twenty-five per cent. 
 I can make Savannah, Charleston, or the mouth of the Chattahoochee. 
 I prefer to march through Georgia, smashing things to the sea." He 
 now proposed to General Grant to modify his plans, so as to give the 
 ehoice of either of the three alternatives just named. 
 
 "I must have alternatives," he said; "else being confined to one 
 route the enemy might so oppose that delay and want would trouble 
 me; but having alternatives, I can take so eccentric a course that no 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 195 
 
 general can guess at my objective. Therefore, when you hear I am 
 off, have lookouts at, Morris Island, S. C. ; Ossaba Sound, Ga.; Pensacola 
 and Mobile bays. I will turn up somewhere, and believe me I can 
 take Macon, Milledgeville, Augusta and Savannah, and wind up with 
 closing the neck back of Charleston, so that they will starve out. 
 This movement is not purely military or strategic, but it will illus 
 trate the vulnerability of the South." 
 
 General Grant promptly authorized the proposed movement, 
 indicating, however, his preference for Savannah as the objective, 
 and fixing Dalton as the northern limit for the destruction of the 
 railway. Preparations were instantly undertaken and pressed forward 
 for the consummation of these plans. 
 
 On the 26th of October, Sherman detached the Fourth Corps 
 under Maj. General Stanley, and ordered him to proceed to Chat- 
 anooga and report to General Thomas at Nashville. On the 30th of 
 October, he also detached the Twenty-third corps, Major General 
 Schofield, with the same destination, and delegated to Maj. Gen. Thomas 
 full power over the troops, except the four corps with which he himself de 
 signed to move into Georgia; together with a division of cavalry under 
 General Kilpatrick. 
 
 The ranks of the veteran regiments were very much depleted 
 about this time by the mustering out of those who did not re-enlist, and 
 the army reduced in strength by the mustering out of regiments whose 
 term of service had expired. 
 
 The army organized for the march to the sea, were practically 
 men who volunteered for the hazardous campaign; having full faith 
 in their commander, that he would lead them to victory and success; 
 any one offering the least excuse, feigning sickness or fear, were 
 allowed to go back for garrison or post duty; they were men made of 
 heroic stuff, robust and stalwart, willing to undergo with fearless 
 abandon, hardship or danger and follow their leader. They were to 
 go in light marching order, stripped to the buff, as it were, and were 
 a host unto themselves: 
 
 Men of iron, of lusty brain and brawn, 
 
 And never did they worry gainst the coming of the dawn, 
 But buckled on their harness as befitted those of might 
 That cared but for the out-tide and a field of bitter fight. 
 
 They were the survival of the fittest, that long and arduous 
 marches, military training and privations had made them seasoned 
 warriors; animated by indomitable debonnair spirit, glad and free, 
 with every faculty alive, with intelligence, clear heads, willing to do 
 and dare. Not reckless vagabonds without faith, courage or loyalty; 
 not swashbuckling, freebooting adventurers, organized for plunder 
 
196 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 and cruelty; but intelligent, gentlemanly soldiers, most of them fit to 
 adorn any society. 
 
 The following order issued by General Sherman just before em 
 barking on the campaign will best give his idea of the expedition: 
 
 General Thomas was now at Nashville, and Scofield enroute near 
 Pulaski, Tennessee, ready to deal with Hood on his northwestern march. 
 In Sherman s army there were few non-combatants and sick men. 
 There was a goodly supply of ammunition, but provisions were scanty. 
 It was the intention of the army to live off the enemy s country as 
 they marched through it. Sherman s orders for the campaign were 
 as follows: 
 
 "I. For the purpose of military operations, this army is divid 
 ed into two wings, viz., the right wing, Major General O. O. Howard 
 commanding, composed of the Fifteenth and Seventeenth corps; the 
 left wing, Major General H. W. Slocum commanding, composed of , the 
 Fourteenth and Twentieth Corps. 
 
 "II. The habitual order to march will be, whenever practicable, 
 by four roads, as nearly parallel as possible, and converging at points 
 hereafter to be indicated in orders. The cavalry, Brigadier-General 
 Kilpatrick commanding, will receive special orders from the com- 
 mander-in-chief. 
 
 "III. There will be no general trains of supplies, but each corps 
 will have its ammunition and provision trains distributed habitually 
 as follows: Behind each regiment should follow one wagon and one 
 ambulance; behind each brigade should follow a due proportion of 
 ammunition wagons, provision wagons and .ambulances. In case of 
 danger, each army corps commander should follow a due proportion of 
 march by having his advance and rear brigade unencumbered by wheels. 
 The separate columns will start habitually at 7 a. m., and make about 
 15 miles per day, unless otherwise fixed in orders. 
 
 "IV. The army will forage liberally on the country during the 
 march. To this end, each brigade commander will organize a good and 
 sufficient foraging party, under the command of one or more discreet 
 officers, who will gather near the route travelled corn or forage of any 
 kind, meat of any kind, vegetables, corn-meal, or whatever is needed 
 by the command, aiming at all times to keep in the wagon trains at 
 least ten days provisions for the command, and three days forage. 
 Soldiers must not enter the dwellings of the inhabitants, or commit 
 any tresspass; but during the halt, or at camp, they may be per 
 mitted to gather turnips, potatoes, and other vegetables, and drive 
 in stock which is in sight of their camp. To regular foraging parties 
 must be intrusted the gathering of provisions and forage at any dis 
 tance from the road travelled. 
 
 "V. To army commanders alone is intrusted the power to de- 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 197 
 
 stroy mills, houses, cotton-gins, etc., and for them this general prin 
 ciple is laid down: In districts and neighborhoods where the army is 
 unmolested, no destruction of such property should be permitted; but 
 should guerrillas or bushwhackers molest our march, or should the in 
 habitants burn bridges, obstruct roads, or otherwise manifest local hos 
 tility, then army corps commanders should order and enforce a de 
 vastation more or less relentless, according to the measure of such 
 hostility. 
 
 "VI. As for horses, mules, wagons, etc., belonging to the in 
 habitants, the cavalry and artillery may appropriate freely and without 
 limit, discriminating, however, between the rich, who are usually hos 
 tile, and the poor and industrious, who are usually neutral or friendly. 
 Foraging parties may also take mules or horses to replace the jaded 
 animals of their trains, or to serve as pack mules for the regiments or 
 brigades. In all foraging, of whatever kind, the parties engaged will 
 refrain from abusive or threatening language, and may, when the 
 officer in command thinks proper, give written certificates of the facts, 
 but no receipts, and they will endeavor to leave with each familj a 
 reasonable portion for their maintenance. 
 
 "VII. Negroes who are able-bodied, and can be of service to 
 the several columns, may be taken along, but each army commander 
 will bear in mind that the question of supplies is a very important 
 one, and that his first duty is to see to those who bear arms. 
 
 "VIII. The organization at once of a good pioneer battalion 
 for each corps, composed, if possible, of negroes, should be attended 
 to. This battalion should follow the advance guard, should repair roads, 
 and double them if possible, so that the columns may not be delayed 
 on reaching bad places. Also, army commanders should study the 
 habit of giving the artillery and wagons the road, and marching the 
 troops on one si de, and also instruct their troops to assist wogons at 
 steep hills or bad crossings of streams, 
 
 "IX. Captain O. M. Poe, chief engineer, will assign to each 
 wing of the army a pontoon train, fully equipped and organized, and 
 the commanders thereof will see to its being properly protected at 
 all times." 
 
 On November 12th, at Cartersville, Sherman sat on the edge of a 
 porch to rest. The telegraph wire had been torn down, but the opera 
 tor connected the end of it with a small pocket instrument which he 
 held in his hand as he stood at Sherman s side. A dispatch was re 
 ceived from Thomas at Nashville. Sherman answered it, "All right." 
 The wire was detached from the instrument, and then a burning 
 bridge fell in ruins, dragging down more of the line, and Sherman was 
 absolutely isolated from the North. 
 
 As they marched away from Atlanta, Slocum s men passed the 
 
i98 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 very spot where McPherson fell, and sit the moment, doubtless with 
 a grim satisfaction, looked back at the pall of smoke that hung above 
 Atlanta, as above a fitting funeral pyre for their dead comrade and 
 leader. Then some one in the ranks, or one of the bands, struck up 
 "John Brown s Body," and a minute later the Army of Georgia was 
 singing that famous battle hymn, and marching forward with quick 
 ened pace to its inspiring strains. 
 
 Nov. 4th, General Sherman ordered General Corse as follows: 
 "* * * On receiving notice to evacuate Rome by telegraph, of which 
 he will give you as much notice as possible, that you destroy in the 
 most effective manner, by fire or otherwise, all bridges, founderies, 
 shops of all kinds and description, barracks, warehouses and build 
 ings especially adapted to armed use, lumber or timber, as also cars 
 off the track, or material that cannot be removed, and to move your 
 command by Kingston and Allatoona to Marietta and report to Gen 
 eral Howard, commanding Army of Tennessee. 
 
 We stayed in Rome doing camp and routine duty until Novem 
 ber the 5th, when we were paid off. On the 8th we had regimental 
 election. 
 
 November llth we broke camp and started on the memorable 
 march "From Atlanta to the Sea." Being at Rome our division had 
 fifty miles more to march than the balance of the army. General 
 Sherman fearing the wagons might be incumbered with extra baggage, 
 ordered that all tents, camp and garrison equipage that had not been 
 sent to the rear at that time be burned. The wagons were only 
 loaded with ammunition, hospital supplies and small amount of rations 
 in case of need for the sick. The army was ordered to forage and 
 subsist upon the country. Even General Sherman himself did not take 
 a tent; his headquarters simply had a tent fly for his Adjutant Gen 
 eral s office. All the protection the men had for the winter march was 
 what they carried on their backs. The writer was officer of the picket 
 guard the night before we started .and when I returned to camp in the 
 morning the regiment was in line ready to march, everything in the 
 shape of tents, camp and garrison equipage had been burned, and in 
 the shakeup my woolen blanket was missing; so I visited some of 
 the vacant houses to see if I could not find a bed quilt for a substitute, 
 but was unsucceessful, but found a feather bed, which I split open and 
 emptied out the feathers, twisted it up and carried it on my shoulder 
 for a blanket all through the march to the sea; the down came off, 
 stuck to my clothes, making me look more like a young robin than 
 an army officer; but I loved my country all the same. We marched 
 through and three miles beyond Kingston the first day. On the 12th 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 199 
 
 we marched to Allatoona and bivouaced. The 13th we marched to 
 Marietta and camped at the foot of Kenesaw Mountain. On the 14th 
 marched to Chattahoochee river and camped. On the 15th marched 
 to Atlanta, drew our last rations and clothing, marched out three miles 
 beyond, where we joined the main army. 16th marched and camped 
 near Lovejoy Station. 17th marched fifteen miles, camping near Grif 
 fin. 18th laid in camp all day, foragers detailed and sent out in the 
 country for forage and rations; they brought in a lot of potatoes and 
 meat which we cooked and eat, moving out of camp at dark and march 
 ed until midnight and camped; two men were taken prisoners that day. 
 19th. Marched at daylight, crossed the Ocmulgee river after dark 
 and camped. Sunday, 20th. Marched to Monticello, camped half mile 
 from town. 21st. Marched to Hillsboro, rained throughout the day. 
 22nd. Marched. along the Macon railroad, roads very bad, trains and 
 artillery mired in the mud and men detailed to help extricate them. 
 23rd. Worked getting teams and artillery out of the mire until noon 
 then moved out and marched until midnignt. 24th. Marched to Gor 
 don where we went into camp at noon. General Sherman took posses 
 sion of the State Capital at Milledgeville, which they captured without 
 firing a gun. The legislature fled at their approach without waiting 
 for the formality of adjournment, and the panic spread among the 
 citizens to such an extent as to depopulate the place, excepting a few 
 old men and negroes; the latter welcoming our approach with ecstatic 
 exclamations of joy. During this time our army was making a feint 
 on Macon. The 17th corps had a fight and captured Gordon, destroying 
 a lot of the Georgia Central R. R. Kilpatrick and" General Woods 
 division had quite a severe engagement also at Griswoldville, defeat 
 ing them after a determined fight with part of General Hardee s old 
 corps, reinforced with state militia and troops which came up from 
 Savannah. The enemy s loss was 300 killed and wounded and two 
 thousand prisoners. This was a severe lesson to them and had a dis 
 couraging effect. By this time our ambulances became pretty well 
 loaded up with wounded as we could not leave them or the sick. 25th. 
 Marched through Irvington, camping five miles east of the town. 
 26th. Moved out at seven in the morning, crossed the Oconee river 
 at Moorings ferry. Sunday the 27th. Out at 5 o clock a. m., marched 
 to the Georgia Central R. R., tore up about five miles of the track. 
 28th. Marched at daylight. 29th. Country barren and swampy; 
 weather warm, rations short. 30th. Marched at daylight; country 
 swampy and roads bad. 
 
 As it has been charged by the people of the south that General 
 Sherman and his officers encouraged pillaging and looting of property 
 on the march, extracts are here given from his official orders pub 
 lished before the march to refute the charge. 
 
200 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 "The general commanding calls the attention of all officers to the 
 necessity of enforcing the most rigid discipline, in order to prevent 
 straggling, pillaging, marauding, and the evils attendant upon the 
 evacuating of an important town. 
 
 "The provost marshal and officers of the rear guard will exercise 
 the severest and most summary means to prevent disorder and will 
 not hesitate to shoot any one caught firing private houses or pillaging 
 inoffensive or helpless families." 
 
 There were many things done by a few on the expedition 
 that were disgraceful, and were deplored on the campaigns, where 
 the army was obliged to subsist upon the country, especially where 
 they were required to discriminate between public and private property 
 that was to be destroyed which would be of use to the enemy; but every 
 effort was made by those in authority to suppress lawlessness and 
 stop it; details of mounted men were sent under humane officers to 
 arrest such characters and in many instances whei caught they were 
 found to consist of the \vorst element of both armies joined together 
 for lawless purposes, and some of them were found to be convicts who 
 were liberated from the prisons of the south on promise that they 
 would join the Confederate army. 
 
 Thursday, December 1st, 1864. Marched at daylight parallel with 
 the Ogechee river; swamps and low country, roads bad; very difficult 
 getting trains and artillery along. 
 
 Friday, December 2nd, 1864. Marched at daylight; crossed the 
 Ogechee river in the afternoon and worked at destruction of railroad 
 all day, and the 3rd crossing back and bivouacing on the other side 
 at night. 
 
 Sunday, December 4th, 1864. Marched in southeasterly direction; 
 heavy firing to our left and rear, as though the enemy were getting 
 in our rear. 
 
 Monday, December 5th, 1864. Moved out at daylight; forced 
 march of twenty-two miles over sandy roads. 
 
 Tuesday, December 6th, 1864. Laid still all day. 
 
 Wednesday, December 7th, 1864; Our brigade crossed over the 
 river, met the enemy s skirmishers, drove them in, and in a very hand 
 some manner routed a battalion of rebels behind rail piles, capturing 
 seventeen prisoners, and killing and wounding several more. The 
 brigade lost two killed and three wounded. It then formed a junction 
 with a brigade of Wood s division at Edan Station. 
 
 Thursday, December 8th, 1864. As the enemy was reported in 
 some force near the 12 mile post, having a line of works in his front, 
 General Howard resolved to turn his position by sending two divisions 
 of our corps down the west bank of the Ogechee to force a crossing 
 of the Cannouchee, and throw forward sufficient detachments to break 
 
ifl 
 
 1^^^ 
 
 SURGEON E. EVERINGHAM, 7m IOWA INFTY. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 201 
 
 the Gulf railway, and if possible secure King s bridge over the Ogechee. 
 We found the road obstructed with felled trees, which were quickly 
 removed. On reaching the Savannah canal, the bridge over it was 
 found to be burned; a new one was quickly made, when we 
 crossed over. We passed through some well constructed and aban 
 doned earthworks on the way. The Ogechee river at Dillon s ferry 
 was found practicable for a pontoon bridge. General Corse sent for 
 ward a reconnoissance, which discovered the enemy in force at the 
 junction of this road King s bridge and Savannah road. 
 
 The next day, December 9th, the Seventeenth Corps came upon 
 the enemy in rifle-pits, three and a half miles from Station No. 2. 
 General Blair drove the rebels from them, but soon came upon an in 
 trenched line with guns in position. At this place the road led through 
 a swamp densely covered with the wood and undergrowth peculiar to 
 this region, and apparently impassable; but General Blair moved three 
 lines of battle, preceded by a skirmish line, along on the right and 
 left of the road for some two or three miles, occasionally in water 
 knee-deep, drove the enemy from every position where he made a 
 stand, and encamped for the night near Pooler, or Station No. 1. 
 The detached brigades of the Fifteenth Corps succeeded in reaching 
 the Savannah and Gulf railway at different points, and destroying it. 
 The third division, General John E. Smith, closed up on ours at the 
 canal. As soon as he was within supporting distance, General Corse 
 moved forward towards Savannah. We encountered about six hun 
 dred rebel infantry with two pieces of artillery near the cross-roads. 
 Our advance brigade quickly dislodged them, capturing one piece of ar 
 tillery and several prisoners. We followed them up across the .Little 
 Ogeechee, and by General Howard s direction took up a strong position 
 about twelve miles from Savannah, and thence sent out a detachment 
 to break the Gulf railway. Our advance crossed Little Ogeechee, and 
 halted about eight miles from the city. King s bridge had been burned 
 by the rebels. All the enemy s force was withdrawn from our corps 
 front in the morning, except the independent garrison at Fort Mc 
 Allister, situated on the right bank and near the mouth of the Ogeechee. 
 During the day that section of the pontoon brfdge which had been 
 with General Blair s column, was sent to Dillon s Ferry, near Fort 
 Argyle, and laid across the Ogeechee, thus substantially uniting the 
 two right columns of Howard s army. 
 
 As the coast neared, the surface of the country became flat and 
 swampy. Large ponds or pools were met every mile or so, and the 
 creeks spread out into miry branches. The roads between the creeks 
 and ponds, though apparently of sand, and of substantial character, 
 proved to be upon a thin crust, which was soon cut through by the 
 long trains into the deep quicksand, thus requiring miles of corduroy. 
 
202 HISTORY Of THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 At several of the swamps, the enemy had attempted to obstruct the 
 inarch by felling timber. 
 
 Baird s division, with Kilpatrick s cavalry, was ordered to move 
 in the direction of Waynesboro , and after crossing Buckhead Creek, 
 to move down the east bank of that stream and take position near 
 Reynolds, not far from Buckhead bridge. 
 
 On the 5th, alter a hard day s march over country roads, which re 
 quired much repairing, the whole corps, with Kilpatrick s cavalry, en 
 camped in the vicinity of Jacksonboro , the advance being Buck Creek 
 Post-office, on the Savannah road. 
 
 During the nightthe bridge across Beaver-dam Creek,at Jackson 
 boro , which had been destroyed, was rebuilt by Colonel Buell, of the 
 Fifty-eighth Indiana, and his pontoniers; and early on the morning 
 of the 6th, the whole column marched on the river road, and went into 
 camp at and in advance of Hudson s Perry, on the Savannah river, 
 making an average march of about twenty miles. 
 
 On the 7th, the column moved in the same order of march, Baird 
 and Kilpatrick, with Colonel Atkins brigade, unencumbered by the 
 trains, covering the rear. Morgan s division, with the pontoon train, 
 reached Ebenezer Creek late in the evening, and began cutting away 
 the fallen timber which obstructed the roadway through the immense 
 swamp which skirts the creeks on both sides at this point. Notwith 
 standing an exceedingly hard day s march, the pontoniers, under Col 
 onel Buell, set to work at once to reconstruct the bridge, and by noon 
 the next day the column commenced crossing this formidable defile; 
 but in spite of the immense amount of labor expended upon the road 
 and bridge to make them passable, much was still required to main 
 tain them in condition, and it was not until daylight on the 9th that 
 the rear of the column had completed the crossing. 
 
 During the 8th, the enemy s cavalry made several attempts to 
 drive in the rear pickets of the Fourteenth Corps, but did not succeed. 
 The loss in the corps during these attacks was but slight, although at 
 times the skirmishing was quite animated. 
 
 On the morning of the 9th, the crossing of Ebenezer Creek being 
 now completed, as already stated, the corps marched from its camp at 
 Ebenezer Church to Cuyler s plantation, where General Morgan, who 
 was in the advance, found the enemy occupying a strongly-erected 
 field-work, and disposed to dispute the advance. Morgan immediately 
 placed two field-pieces in position and opened fire upon the work. His 
 infantry was soon deployed for an attack, but the near approach of 
 night, and the impossibility of assaulting the position, through the 
 impassable swamp in the front, caused General Davis to defer the 
 attack until morning, when it was discovered the enemy had abandoned 
 his position. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 203 
 
 On the 10th, Morgan s and Carlin s divisions, with trains, moved 
 to the Ten-mile House, and went into camp, giving the road to the 
 Twentieth Corps, advancing from Montieth and intersecting the 
 Augusta road. Baird s division was left to cover the rear, and tear up 
 the railway track in the vicinity of the crossing of the Savannah river, 
 and if possible to destroy the bridge at that point. 
 
 To preserve the historical sequence, it is necessary to glance 
 separately at the movements of the cavalry division under Kilpatrick, 
 already briefly touched upon so far as they were directly connected with 
 the operations of the several corps. 
 
 On the 2nd of December, as has been seen, Kilpatrick moved 
 from the vicinity of Louisville, on the Waynesboru road, supported 
 by Baird s division of the Fifteenth Corps, to cover the movement of 
 several columns on Millen. A small force of the enemy was encounter- 
 de and dispersed by the Eighth Indiana, Colonel Jones, and the Fifth 
 Kentucky, Colonel Baldwin, nine miles from Waynesboro, not with 
 out a severe skirmish. On reaching Rocky Creek, the enemy was 
 found in considerable force on the opposite bank. Baird s division 
 came up, and a force of both cavalry and infantry crossed the creek 
 and simultaneously charged the enemy, who rapidly retreated towards 
 Waynesboro and Augusta, closely pursued for some distance by the 
 cavalry. 
 
 On the 3rd, Kilpatrick marched to Thomas Station and en 
 camped for the night, having made such disposition of his forces as 
 to protect Baird s division, then deployed along the railway and en 
 gaged in its destruction. Wheeler, who had been encamped between 
 Waynesboro and Briar Creek, moved in the early part of the evening 
 to Waynesboro , and, with a portion of his command, made a vigorous 
 attack upon one of Colonel Atkins regiments, stationed upon the rail 
 way, three miles south of town. 
 
 The enemy was found occupying a second line of barricades, 
 with artillery, as before, and his flanks so far extended that it was 
 useless to attempt to turn them. Kilpatrick therefore determined to 
 break his center. Colonel Murray, having the advance, was directed 
 to make a disposition accordingly. The Eighth Indiana, Colonel Jones, 
 was dismounted and pushed forward as skirmishers; the Ninth Penn 
 sylvania, Colonel Jordan, in columns of fours, by battalions, had the 
 left; the Third Kentucky, Lieut. Colonel King, the center; the 
 Fifth Kentucky, Colonel Baldwin, and Second Kentucky, 
 Captain Foreman, the right. The advance was sounded, and in less 
 than twenty minutes the enemy was driven from his position, the 
 town gained, and Wheeler s entire force completely routed. The Fifth 
 Ohio, Fifth Kentucky, and a portion of the Ninth Pennsylvania Cav 
 alry, followed in close pin suit to Briar Creek, a distance of eight miles 
 
204 HISTORY Of THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 from the point from where the first attack was made. After burning 
 the bridges above and below the railway bridge, as well as the latter, 
 the cavalry marched to Alexander, on the Waynesboro and Jack- 
 sonboro road, and encamped for the night. 
 
 On the 5th, Kilpatrick marched from Alexander to Jacksonboro , 
 covering the rear of the Fourteenth Army Corps. 
 
 Thus, on the 10th of December, 1864, the enemy s forces under 
 Hardee were driven within the immediate defenses of Savannah, and 
 Sherman s entire army having leisurely marched over three hundred 
 miles in twenty-four days with trifling opposition through the vitals 
 of the enemy s country, subsisting upon his stock-yards and granaries, 
 was massed in front of the city, entirely across the peninsula lying be 
 tween the Ogeechee and Savannah rivers, and occupying all lines of 
 railway communication and supply. 
 
 A CHRISTMAS GIFT. 
 
 The defensive works constructed by the enemy to cover the rear 
 of Savannah, and now garrisoned by the Confederate forces under 
 Lieutenant-General Hardee, followed substantially a swampy creek 
 which empties into the Savannah River about three miles above the 
 city, across to the head of a corresponding stream flowing into the 
 Little Ogeechee. These streams proved singularly favorable to the 
 enemy as a cover, being very marshy and bordered by rice fields, which 
 were flooded either by the tide-water or by inland ponds, the gates 
 to which were controlled and covered by his heavy artillery. The 
 only approaches to the city were by five narrow causeways, namely, 
 the two railways, and the Augusta, the Louisville, and the Ogeechee 
 roads, all of which were commanded by the enemy s heavy ordnance. 
 
 To assault an enemy of unknown strength at such a disadan- 
 tage appeared to Sherman unwise, especially as he had brought his 
 army, almost unscathed, so great a distance, and could surely attain 
 the same result by the operation of time. He therefore instructed his 
 army commanders closely to invest the city from the north and west, 
 and to reconnoitre well the ground in their respective fronts, while he 
 gave his personal attention to opening communications with the flee*, 
 which was known to be waiting in Tybee, Wassaw, and Ossabow 
 sounds, in accordance with the preconcerted plan. Williams twen 
 tieth corps held the left of the Union line, resting on the Savannah 
 river, near Williamson s plantation; Jefferson C. Davis fourteenth 
 corps was on its right, extending from the Augusta railway, near its 
 junction with the Charlestown railway, to Lawton s plantation, be 
 yond the canal; Blair s seventeenth corps next, and Osterhaus fifteenth 
 corps on the extreme right, with its flank resting on the Gulf railway, 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 205 
 
 at Station No. 1. General Kilpatrick was instructed to cross the Ogee- 
 chee by a pontoon bridge, to recannoitre Port McAllister, and to pro 
 ceed to St. Catherine s Sound, in the direction of Sunbury or Kilkenny 
 Bluff, and open communication with the fleet. General Howard had 
 previously sent Captain Duncan, one of his best scouts, down the 
 Ogeechee in a canoe for a like purpose; but it was also necessary to 
 have the ships and their contents, and the Ogeechee river, close to 
 the rear of the camps, as the proper avenue of supply. 
 
 The enemy had burned King s bridge over the Ogeechee, just below 
 the mouth of the Cannouchee; but although a thousand feet long, 
 it was reconstructed in an incredibly short time, and in the most sub 
 stantial manner; and on the 13th of December, Hazen s division of 
 our corps crossed the bridge, gained the west bank of the Ogeechee, 
 and marched down the river with orders to carry by assault Fort 
 McAllister, a strong ineJo?ec! redoubt, manned by two companies of 
 artillery and three of infantry, numbering in all about two hundred 
 men, and mounting twenty-three barbette guns and one mortar. 
 
 On the morning of the 13th of December, General Sherman and 
 General Howard went to Dr. Cheves rice-mill, whence Fort McAllister 
 was in full view. At the rice-mill a section of DeGrass battery was 
 firing occasionally at the fort opposite, three miles and a half distant, 
 as a diversion, having for its principal object, however, to attract the 
 attention of the fleet. During the day the two commanders watched 
 the fort and the bay, endeavoring to catch glimpes of the division 
 moving upon the work, and of the vessels belonging to the fleet. 
 About noon, the rebel artillery at McAllister opened inland, firing oc 
 casionally from three or four different guns. By their glasses the 
 generals could observe Hazen s skirmishers firing on the fort; and 
 about the same time a movable smoke, like that from a steamer, at 
 tracted their attention near the mouth of the Ogeechee. . 
 
 Signal communication was established with General Hazen, who 
 gave notice that he had invested the fort, and also that he observed 
 the steamer. General Sherman signalled him from the top of the mill 
 that it was important to carry the fort by assault that day. 
 
 The steamer had approached near enough to draw the fire of 
 tlie fort when her signal-flag was descried. Captain McClintock, of 
 the Signal Corps, aided by Lieutenant Sampson, speedily communi 
 cated with the vessel, and ascertained that she was a tug, sent by 
 General Foster and Admiral Dahlgren for the purpose of communi 
 cating with the army. The signal-officer of the steamer inquired, "Is 
 McAllister ours?" 
 
 Just at that moment a brisk firing was observed at tke fort. 
 Hazen had sounded the charge, and instantly his brave division had 
 rushed through the torpedoes and abattis which obstructed the ap- 
 
206 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 proach to the fort, and gaining the parapet, after a hand-to-hand strug 
 gle of a few moments deration, the garrison had surrendered. 
 
 From their position at the rice-mill, Sherman and Howard 
 could see the men discharge their pieces in the air, and hear their 
 shout of triumph as they took possession of the fort and raised the 
 old flag over their conquest. 
 
 Hazen s loss in killed and wounded was about ninety men, while 
 the garrison lost between forty and fifty, killed and wounded; and the 
 remainder, about one hundred and fifty in number, were captured, 
 together with twenty-two pieces of artillery and a large quantity 
 of ammunition. 
 
 The substantial fruit of this victory, however, was to be found 
 in the fact that communication with the sea was established, and the 
 prompt receipt of supplies secured. 
 
 As soon as he saw the Union colors planted upon the walls of 
 the fort, Sherman ordered a boat, and, accompanied by General How 
 ard, went down to the fort, and there met General Hazen, who had not 
 yet communicated with the steamer, nor indeed seen her, as the view 
 was interrupted by some trees. Determined to communicate that 
 night with the fleet, Sherman got into another boat, and caused him 
 self to be rowed down the Ogeechee, until he met the navy tug-boat 
 Dandelion, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Williamson, who 
 informed him that Captain Duncan, who, it will be remembered, was 
 sent down the river a few days previously by General Howard, had 
 safely reached Major-General Foster and Rear-Admiral Dahlgren, 
 commanding the land and naval forces on the South Atlantic coast, 
 and that these officers were hourly expected *to arrive in Ossabaw 
 Sound, where the Dandelion was then lying. 
 
 At mdriight, Sherman wrote brief notes to General Foster and 
 the admiral, and a dispatch to the secretary of war, recounting the 
 main facts of the campaign, and the present situation. 
 
 "The weather has been fine," he said to Mr. Stanton, "and sup 
 plies are abundant. Our march was most agreeable, and we were not 
 at all molested by guerrillas ..... We have not lost a wagon on 
 the trip, but have gathered in a large supply of negroes, mules, horses, 
 etc., and our trains are in far better condition than when we started. 
 My first duty will be to clear the army of surplus negroes, mules, 
 and horses ..... The quick work made with McAllister, and 
 the opening of communication with our fleet, and the consequent 
 independence for supplies, dissipates all their boasted threats to 
 head me off and starve the army. I regard Savannah as already 
 
 He then returned to Fort McAllister, and before daylight was 
 overtaken by Major Strong, of General Foster s staff, with intelligence 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 207 
 
 that General Foster had arrived in the Ogeechee, near Fort McAllister, 
 and was very anxious to meet General Sherman on board his boat. 
 Sherman accordingly returned with the major, and met General Foster 
 on board the steamer Nemaha; and, after consultation, determined 
 to proceed with him down the sound, in hopes of meeting Admiral 
 Dahlgren, which, however, they did not do until about noon, in Wassaw 
 Sound. General Sherman there went on board the admiral s flagship, 
 the Harvest Moon, after having arranged with General Foster to 
 send from Hilton Head some siege ordnance and boats suitable for 
 navigating the Ogeechee river. Admiral Dahlgren furnished all the 
 data concerning his fleet and the numerous forts that guarded the 
 inland channels between the sea and Savannah; and Sherman ex 
 plained to him how completely Savannah was invested at all points, 
 save only the plank-road on the South Carolina shore, known as the 
 "Union Causeway," which he thought he could reach from his left flank 
 across, the Savannah river. The general also informed the admiral 
 that if he would simply engage the attention of the forts along Wil 
 mington Channel, at Beaulieu and Rosedew, the army could carry the 
 defenses of Savannah by assault as soon as the heavy ordnance arrived 
 from Hilton Head. 
 
 On the 15th, Sherman returned to the lines in the rear of 
 Savannah. 
 
 Having received and carefully considered all the reports of di 
 vision commanders, he determined to assault the lines of the enemy as 
 scon as the heavy ordnance should arrive from Port Royal, first mak 
 ing a formal demand for surrender. On the 17th, a number of thirty- 
 pounder Parrott guns having reached King s Bridge, Sherman proceeded 
 in person to the headquarters of Major-General Slocum, on the Augusta 
 road, and dispatched thence into Savannah, by flag of truce, a formal 
 demand for the surrender of the place, accompanied by a copy of Hood s 
 threat, at Dalton, to take no prisoners, and on the following day receiv 
 ed an answer from General Hardee conveying his refusal to accede 
 thereto. In his reply, General Hardee pointed out that the investment 
 \vas still incomplete. 
 
 In the meantime, further reconnoissances from the left flank 
 had demonstrated that it was impracticable and unwise to push any 
 considerable force across the Savannah river, since the enemy held the 
 river opposite the city with iron-clad gunboats, and could destroy 
 any pontoons laid down between Hutchinson s Island and the South 
 Carolina shore, and thereby isolate any force sent over from that flank. 
 Sherman, therefore, ordered General Slocum to get into position the 
 siege-guns, and make all the preparations necessary to assault, and 
 to report the earliest moment when he could be ready. 
 
 General Foster had already established a division of troops on 
 
208 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 the peninsula or neck between the Coosawhatchie and Tullifinney 
 rivers, at the head of Broad river, whence he could reach the railway 
 with his artillery. Sherman himself went to Port Royal, and made 
 arrangements to reinforce that command by one or more divisions, 
 so as to enable it to assault and carry the railway, and thence turn tow 
 ards Savannah until it should occupy the causeway. He made the 
 voyage on board Admiral Dahlgren s flag-ship, the Harvest Moon, which 
 put out to sea the night of the 20th; but the wind was high, and in 
 creased during the night, so that the pilot considered Ossabaw Bar 
 impassable, and ran into Tybee, whence the steamer proceeded through 
 the inland channels into Wassaw Sound, and thence through Romney 
 Marsh. But the ebb-tide having caught the Harvest Moon, so that she 
 was unable to make the passage, Admiral Dahlgren took the general 
 in his barge, and pulling in the direction of Vernon river, the army- 
 tug Red Legs was there met, bearing a message from Captain Dayton, 
 assistant-adjutant-general, dated that morning, the 21st, to the effect 
 that the troops were already in possession of the enemy s lines, and 
 were advancing without opposition into Savannah. Admiral Dahlgren 
 proceeded up the Vernon river in his barge, while General Sherman 
 went on board the tug, in which he proceeded to Fort McAllister, and 
 thence to the rice-mill, whence he viewed the assault, and on the morn 
 ing of the 22nd rode into the city of Savannah. 
 
 After firing heavily from his iron-clads and the batteries along 
 the lines, all the afternoon, and late into the evening of the 20th, Har- 
 dee had evacuated the city during the night, on a pontoon bridge, 
 and marched towards Charleston on the causeway road. The night 
 being very dark and a strong westerly wind blowing, although the 
 sounds of movement were heard in Geary s front, it was impossible 
 to make out its direction or object, and when the pickets of that di 
 vision advanced early on the morning of the 21st the evacuation had 
 been completed, and nothing remained but to occupy the city. 
 
 Immediately on his arrival, Sherman dispatched the following 
 brief note to President Lincoln, announcing this happy termination 
 of the campaign: 
 
 "I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, 
 with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and 
 also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton." 
 
 The number of pieces of artillery captured, as subsequently as 
 certained by actual inspection and count, was one hundred and sixty- 
 seven. 
 
 Thus, as the result of this great campaign, was gained the posses 
 sion of what had from the outset been its chief object. 
 
 Its present value was mainly as a base for future operations. 
 
 The army marched over three hundred miles in twenty-four days, 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 209 
 
 directly through the heart of Georgia, and reached the sea with its 
 subsistence trains almost unbroken. In the entire command, five offi 
 cers and fifty-eight men were killed, thirteen officers and two hundred 
 and thirty-two men wounded, and one officer and two hundred and 
 fifty-eight men missing; making a total list of causualties of but 
 nineteen commissioned officers and five hundred and forty-eight en 
 listed men, or five hundred and sixty-seven of all ranks. Seventy- 
 seven officers, and twelve hundred and sixty-one men of the Confed 
 erate army, or thirteen hundred and thirty-eight in all, were made pris 
 oners. Ten thousand negroes left the plantations of their former mas 
 ters and accompanied the column when it reached Savannah, with 
 out taking note of thousands more who joined the army but from 
 various causes had to leave it at different points. Over twenty thou 
 sand bales of cotton were burned, besides the twenty-five thousand 
 captured at Savannah. Thirteen thousand head of beef-cattle, nine 
 million five hundred thousand pounds of corn, and ten million five 
 hundred thousand pounds of fodder were taken from the coun 
 try and issued to the troops and animals. The men lived mainly on the 
 sheep, hogs, turkeys, geese, chickens, sweet potatoes, and rice, gath 
 ered by the foragers from the plantations along the route of each day s 
 march. Sixty thousand men, taking merely of the surplus which fell 
 in their way as they marched rapidly on the main roads, subsisted 
 for tkree weeks in the very country where the Union prisoners at 
 Andersonville were starved to death or idiocy. Five thousand horses 
 and four thousand mules were impressed for the cavalry and trains. 
 Three hundred and twenty miles of railway were destroyed, and the 
 last remaining links of communication between the Confederate 
 armies in Virginia and the West effectually severed, by burning every 
 tie, twisting every rail while heated red hot over naming piles of 
 ties, and laying in ruin every depot, engine house, repair shop, water 
 tank, and turn-table. 
 
 From the time that the army left Atlanta, until its arrival be 
 fore Savannah, not one word of intelligence was received by the Gov 
 ernment or people, except through the Confederate newspapers, of its 
 whereabouts, movements, or fate; and it was not until Sherman had 
 emerged from the region lying between Augusta and Macon, and reach 
 ed Millen, that the authorities and the press of the Confederacy were 
 able to make up their minds as to the direction of his march. 
 
 Marching in four columns, on a front of thirty miles, each col 
 umn masked in all directions by clouds of skirmishers, Sherman was 
 enabled to continue till the last to menace so many points, each in 
 such force that it was impossible for the enemy to decide whether 
 Augusta, Macon, or Savannah were his immediate objective; the Gulf 
 
210 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 or the Atlantic his destination; the Flint, the Oconee, the Ogeechee, 
 or the Savannah his route; or what his ulterior design. 
 
 Immediately upon receipt of Sherman s laconic message, Presi 
 dent Lincoln replied: 
 
 Executive Mansion, 
 Washington, D. C., Dec. 26, 1864. 
 "My Dear General Sherman: 
 
 "Many, many thanks for your Christmas gift, the capture of 
 Savannah. 
 
 "When you were about to leave Atlanta for the Atlantic coast, 
 I was anxious, if not fearful; but feeling you were the better judge, and 
 remembering that nothing risked is nothing gained, I did not inter 
 fere. Now, the undertaking being a success, the honor is all yours, 
 for I believe none of us went further than to acquiesce. And taking 
 the work of General Thomas into count, as it should be taken, it is 
 indeed a great success. 
 
 "Not only does it afford the obvious and immediate military ad 
 vantages, but in showing to the world that your army could be divided, 
 putting the stronger part to an important new service, and yet leaving 
 enough to vanquish the old opposing forces of the whole Hood s army 
 it brings those who sat in darkness to see a great light. 
 
 "But what next? I suppose it will be safe if I leave General 
 Grant and yourself to decide. 
 
 "Please make my grateful acknowledgements to your whole army, 
 officers and men. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 A. LINCOLN." 
 
 In concluding his official report, Sherman thus speaks of the 
 services rendered by his subordinate commanders, and of the charac 
 ter of his army; 
 
 "Generals Howard and Slocum are gentlemen of singular capac 
 ity and intelligence, thorough soldiers and patriots, working day and 
 night, not for themselves, but for their country and their men. Gen 
 eral Kilpatrick, who commanded the cavalry of this army, has handled 
 it with spirit and dash to my entire satisfaction, and kept a superior 
 force of the enemy s cavalry from even approaching our infantry col 
 umns or wagon trains. All the division and brigade commanders 
 merit my personal and official thanks, and I shall spare no efforts to 
 secure them commissions equal to the rank they have exercised so well. 
 
 "As to the rank and file, they seem so full of confidence in them 
 selves, that I doubt if they want a compliment from me; but I must 
 do them the justice to say that, whether called on to ftght, to maron, 
 to wade streams, to make roads, clear out obstruction^ build bridges, 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 211 
 
 make corduroy or tear up railroads, they have done it with alacrity 
 and a degree of cheerfulness unsurpassed. A little loose in foraging, 
 they did some things they ought not to have done, yet on the whole 
 they have supplied the wants of the army with as little violence as 
 could be expected, and as little loss as I calculated. Some of these 
 foraging parties had encounters with the enemy which would, in or 
 dinary times, rank as respectable battles. 
 
 "The behavior of our troops in Savannah has been so manly, 
 so quiet, so perfect, that I take it as the best evidence of discipline and 
 true courage. Never was a hostile city, filled with women and chil 
 dren, occupied by a large army with less disorder, or more system, 
 order and good government. The same general and generous spirit 
 of confidence and good feeling pervades the army which it has ever 
 afforded me especial pleasure to report on former occasions." 
 
 While in Savannah, General Sherman received a visit from the 
 Secretary of War, Mr. Stanton, and had the satisfaction of obtaining 
 the promotions he had recommended on his subordinate commanders. 
 
 General Sherman placed General Gearry in temporary command 
 of the city of Savannah, and directing him to restore and preserve or 
 der and quiet, adopted at the same time a policy of conciliation and 
 justice which soon bore its fruit in the altered tone of the former 
 adherents of the Confederate cause. The mayor, R. D. Arnold, who but 
 a short time before had called upon the inhabitants to arm and go 
 to the trenches to defend their city against the invaders, now invoked 
 the citizens to recognize the existing condition of affairs and to yield 
 a ready obedience to the actual authorities. The mayor was con 
 tinued in the exercise of his functions, so far as they were exclusive 
 ly connected with persons not in the military or naval service. 
 
 A large public meeting of citizens was held, at which Mayor 
 Arnold s views were substantially adopted and Governor Brown re 
 quested take measures for restoring the state to the union. A na 
 tional bank was established, and active measures taken to resume 
 trade with the North and foreign nations so soon as the military re 
 strictions should be removed. Divine service was resumed in the 
 churches, and soon Savannah was more tranquil than it had been at 
 any time since its capture was first threatened in 1862. 
 
 On the 14th of January, General Sherman issued the following 
 orders, in regard to internal trade, the conduct of the citizens, and 
 the outrages of the Confederate guerrillas: 
 
 "It being represented that the Confederate army and armed 
 bands of robbers, acting professedly under the authority or the Con 
 federate government, are harrassing the people of Georgia, and en 
 deavoring to intimidate them in the efforts thy are making to secure 
 to themselves provisions, clothing, security to life and property, and 
 
212 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 the restoration of law and good government in the state, it is hereby^ 
 ordered and made public: 
 
 "I. That the farmers of Georgia may bring into Savannah, Fer- 
 nandina, or Jacksonville, Florida, marketing such as beef, pork, mut 
 ton, vegetables of any kind, fish, etc., as well as cotton in small quan 
 tities, and sell the same in open market, except the cotton, which 
 must be sold by or through the treasury agents, and may invest the 
 proceeds in family stores, such as bacon and flour, in any reasonable 
 quantity, groceries, shoes, and clothing, and articles not contraband 
 of war, and carry, the same back to their families. No trade-stores 
 will be attempted in the interior, or stocks of goods sold for them, 
 but families may club together for mutual assistance and protection 
 in coming and going. 
 
 "II. The people are encouraged to meet together in peaceful as 
 semblages to discuss measures looking to their safety and good gov 
 ernment, and restoration of state and national authorities, and will 
 be protected by the National army when so doing; and all peaceable 
 inhabitants who satisfy the commanding officers that they are earnest 
 ly laboring to that end, must not only be left undisturbed in property 
 and person, but must be protected as far as possible consistent with 
 the military operations. If any farmer or peaceful inhabitant is 
 molested by the enemy, viz., the Confederate army of guerrilas, be 
 cause of his friendship to the National government, the perpetrator, 
 if caught, will be summarily punished, or his family made to suf 
 fer for the outrage; but if the crime cannot be traced to the actual 
 party, then retaliation will be made on the adherents to the cause of 
 the rebellion. Should a Union man be murdered, then a rebel select 
 ed by lot will be shot; or if a Union family be persecuted on account of 
 the cause, a rebel family will be banished to a foreign land. In aggra 
 vated cases, retaliation will extend as high as five for one. All com 
 manding officers will act promptly in such cases, and report their 
 action after the retaliation is done. 
 
 A few days before the evacuation of Savannah by the enemy, 
 the writer was detailed as Aide-de-camp on the staff of General E. W. 
 Rice, who commanded our brigade, and the division a portion of the 
 time, and remained with him until the end of the war. As I was at all 
 times with the division, I was always able to keep in close touch with 
 all movements and doings of the regiment. 
 
 The following was the personnel of the commander and staff at 
 that time: 
 
 Brig. General E. W. Rice, Commanding. 
 
 C. H. Trott, Captain and Asst. Adjt. General U v S, V, 
 
 T. S. Moffat, Capt Asst. Inspector General. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 213 
 
 H. I. Smith, First Lieut. 7th Iowa Infty., Act, Aid-de-Camp. 
 
 E. E. Swearingin, First Lieut. 17th Iowa Infty., Act. Aid-de-Camp. 
 
 Dewitt C. Smith, Capt. and Act. Ordnance Officer. 
 
 - Martin, First Lieut. 66th Ind. Infty., A. A. Q. M. General. 
 
 The brigade consisted of the 2nd and 7th Iowa, 52nd Ills., 66th 
 Ind., and Battery "H" 1st Missouri Light Artillery. 
 
 General Logan rejoined us at Savannah, relieving General Aus- 
 terhaus, who had commanded our Corps so ably and creditably on 
 the campaign to the sea. 
 
 December 22nd, 1864. We established camp at Fort Brown near 
 the banks of the Savannah river, outside of the city limits. 
 
 Dec. 24th. Had Grand Review of the whole army on south Broad 
 street; reviewed by General Sherman. Remained at Savannah rest 
 ing and recuperating from the arduous campaign, where we drew 
 rations and clothing, until the 19th of January, 1865; in the meantime, 
 on the 7th inst., we were again reviewed in the city by General How 
 ard, and visited by Governor Stone, of Iowa. 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN THROUGH THE CAROLINAS. 
 
 January 19th. Crossed the Savannah River into South Carolina 
 when we were deluged with a violent downpour of rain all day, inun 
 dating the whole flat country, obliging us to return to camp that 
 night, where we remained until the 28th inst., when we moved out on 
 the Louisville Pike up the Savannah river 18 miles. Weather very 
 cold and uncomfortable. 
 
 Jan. 29th. Started out at sunrise, marching all day through a 
 very swampy country; worked hard corduroying and fixing roads in 
 order to get artillery and trains along; went into camp at dark near 
 Springfield, Ga. Weather very cold, freezing hard and no shelter. Dis 
 tance marched 15 miles. 
 
 Jan. 30th. Moved out of camp before daylight, marched 14 miles, 
 going into camp in open field near Sisters Ferry, where we laid until 
 the 4th of Feb. waiting for pontoon bridge to be laid to cross the 
 Savannah river. A gunboat, some transports, and sutlers boat came 
 up while there. 
 
 Feb. 4th. Crossed the river again into South Carolina; while 
 marching over corduroy road on bottom on the opposite side had 
 three men wounded by explosion of torpedoes placed under road by 
 the enemy; column was halted and prisoners captured in that vicinity 
 were compelled to dig up and remove those not exploded in order 
 that we might continue our advance without such barbarous mode 
 of warfare. The rebels selected to remove the explosives seemed to 
 
24 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 know the exact location of the bombs, so that they removed them very 
 carefully without much danger. Officers and men realized as they set 
 foot upon South Carolina soil that it was the first and foremost in 
 the cause of secession, had fired the first gun against the flag, and 
 had done more than all others to bring upon the country the horrors 
 of civil war. This was an unfortunate introduction to the state. Plant 
 ing torpedoes for the defense of a position is legitimate warfare, but 
 our soldiers regarded the act of placing them in a highway where 
 no contest was anticipated, as something akin to poisoning a stream 
 of water, and is not recognized as legitimate warfare, so that the men 
 were not in the best of humor and could not help feeling bitter against 1 
 such a mode of cowardly defense. If South Carolina suffered more 
 severely than any other it was due in part to the barbarous blunder 
 ing of those who were more cruel than wise. During our rest awaiting 
 crossing we had drill, dress parade and review, and were visited and 
 addressed by Rev. King, of Cornell College, Iowa, in behalf of free 
 schools for disabled soldiers and soldiers orphans. Contributions 
 were raised to be paid the next pay day. 
 
 Feb. 5th. Did not move out of camp until sundown, being de 
 layed by troops and trains, marching over corduroyed causeway across 
 swamp three miles wide. Marched three miles. Camped on Capt. 
 Robert s plantation at 10:00 p. m. 
 
 Feb. 6th. Marched at 7:00 a. m.; march 12 miles; camp at dark 
 on Mix plantion. Country bad, rained all day. Foragers brought in 
 some sweet potatoes, sugar and fresh pork, which was issued to the 
 troops. 
 
 Feb. 7th. Broke camp before daylight and hurried off before break 
 fast. Our regiment, together with the 12th Ills, were detailed to build 
 bridges and corduroy roads across swamp; rained hard throughout the 
 day; roads a perfect quagmire. Bivouaced at Hickory Hill. 
 
 Feb. 8th. Resumed our march at 8:00 p. m.; rear guard; pro 
 gress slow; weather clear, cold and windy. Marched 10 miles, camp 
 ing at Whippy Swamp. 
 
 Feb. 9th. Moved out of camp at 6:00 a. m. Rebels made a stand 
 on opposite side of swamp at River s Bridge. General Mower effected 
 a crossing by fighting, wading in water with cartridge boxes fastened 
 to the necks of the men to keep the powaer dry, while u.e rest of the 
 force got the trains and artillery over by corduroying, pontooning and 
 bridging. It seemed a grand day s work to have accomplished, as we 
 sank down in our miry bivouac. The gallant General Swayne lost 
 his leg in the Salkehatchie encounter, with many others killed and 
 wounded. Luckily for the wounded, we were not too far from our 
 base to send back with strong escort, to Pocotaligo. 
 
 We destroyed about forty miles of Charleston and Augusta rail- 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 215 , 
 
 road, and, by threateneing the route beyond which we intended to 
 take, we deluded the enemy into concentrating at Augusta and other 
 places, while we marched rapidly away, leaving him well behind, 
 and nothing but Wade Hampton s cavalry, and the more formidable 
 obstacle of the Saluda river and its swamps, between us and Columbia, 
 our next objective point. 
 
 Feb. 10th. Moved out before daylight in advance; roads better; 
 aarched 21 miles. Major Mahon, in command of foragers, brought 
 in over 200 hogs and 150 head of cattle captured in the. country, giving 
 us plenty of fresh meat which we greatly needed, as rations were 
 getting scarce. Crossed Little Salkehatchie at Catman s bridge. 
 
 Feb. llth. Marched at sunrise; marched 15 miles, crossing the 
 South Bdisto river at Bimpkin s bridge at 2:00 p. m., going into camp 
 on Cooper s plantation. Captured a lot of molasses on General Jen- 
 ning s plantation. 
 
 It was somewhat sad to see the destruction of property; as South 
 Carolina was regarded as the hot-bed and cradle of secession, there 
 was not so much restraint enforced among bummers and foragers as 
 in other states, the country being left to taKe care of itself, and be 
 come a howling waste. There was marauding, pillaging, and out 
 rages committed outside of the column that was unauthorized, un- 
 sanctioned and to be deplored. Some of the culprits fell victims to 
 the mercies of Wheeler s cavalry and were never heard of again, 
 earning a fate richly deserved. 
 
 Feb. 12th. Moved at 6:00 a. m.; marched eight miles, going into 
 camp at noon near North -Edisto river. Our brigade skirmished with 
 the enemy while the 17th Corps flanked them and effected a crossing. 
 
 Feb. 13th. Starteti before daylight, without breakfast; 7th Iowa 
 in advance; marched 20 miles without opposition, going into camp 
 at Beaver Creek. 
 
 Feb. 14th. Started out at 8:00 o clock; marched in rear of train; 
 marched eight miles; went into camp at Sandy Run. A large amount 
 of meat, molasses, and clothing found buried and hidden along the 
 route; that which was of use was appropriated; among the hidden 
 effects was a piano. 
 
 Feb. 15th. Moved out at 10:00 a. m. in rear of division; went 
 into camp on Congaree Creek in camp occupied by the enemy in the 
 morning. Cannonading ana skirmishing during the day. 
 
 Feb. 16th. Moved at 9:00 a. m., crossing Congaree Creek; went 
 into temporary bivouac at 3:00 p. m. on Congaree Creek. Skirmish 
 ing with enemy all day, the batteries shelling the woods on opposite 
 side of the river. Marched again at 5:00 p. m.; crossed Saluda river 
 at Saluda Factory on pontoons; Columbia, the capital of South Caro- 
 
216 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 lina, occupied by the enemy in plain view; went into camp in open 
 field; company "B" detailed as skirmishers; deployed and advanced 
 to bank of river and laid down, skirmishing with the enemy on the 
 opposite side. 
 
 Feb. 17th. Crossed Broad river and marched into Columbia, 
 which had been evacuated by the enemy in much haste, they not having 
 time to take along many of our prisoners, which they abandoned, 
 almost naked and starved. Although our clothes were scant we di 
 vided with them, together with our rations. After filling them up 
 we laid down beside the -fire and listened to their life and suffering 
 in rebel prison. 
 
 Our command was about the first organized troops to march into 
 the city; I rode with the General at the head of the column, hence 
 had a good opportunity to see. Some of the 13th Iowa had crossed 
 over the river in a boat below the city in advance and were raising 
 their flag on the State House when we entered. In order that the 
 large supply of cotton stored at Columbia should not fall into our 
 hands, the Confederates had piled it up several bales high in the mid 
 dle of the streets, and before evacuating they had set it on fire. It 
 had just got nicely under way when we marched in. As soon as the 
 rope binders on the outside were burned off the cotton in blazing 
 sheets was taken up by the fierce wind that was blowing and swept 
 all over the city, alighting on the roofs, setting the buildings on fire, 
 so that soon the whole city was. enveloped in flames. The citi 
 zens, in order to gain the good will of the soldiers, had rolled out 
 barrels of whiskey on the sidewalks, broken in the heads, furnishing 
 cups to drink it as the troops marched through; in some instances 
 passing it to the soldiers marching by. General Slocum said, "I be 
 lieve the immediate cause or the disaster was the free use of whiskey 
 which was supplied to the soldiers by citizens with great liberality." 
 Our corps went into camp about a mile south of the city; a division 
 of the 17th Corps was left to guard the eity. After the brigade was 
 settled in camp, I, together with two of the orderlies, rode back to the 
 city to witness the conflagration. 
 
 Devastation and pandemonium raged supreme, and war with 
 its ironic fate had been brought to the capital city of the first state 
 to incite the people of the South to rebel nearly four years before, 
 bringing about a long array of attendant horrors and suffering. Where 
 peace had hitherto held sway, grim war was noiv holding forth with all 
 its fury. Whole families were fleeing panic stricken from their burn 
 ing homes with such of their personal effects as they could carry on 
 their backs. Women with their childern and nuns were sitting in the 
 parks and public places to escape the heat and flames, watching their 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 217 
 
 babes and personal effects, saved from their homes laid bare by fire, 
 shot, and shell. 
 
 To those who have never seen a burning town or city in war 
 time it is not given to know, though they may imagine, the effects 
 on its surroundings. Thus it is not easy to conceive how, in the fitful 
 light especially in a gale of wind the faces of those striving for dear 
 life, at one moment lit up like ghosts, while the next they are lost in 
 utter darkness. There was an attempt by the troops in the city on 
 guard to suppress the fire with the crude fire apparatus at hand, but 
 some miscreants cut the hose between the reservoir and the hand 
 engine, rendering thjCm useless; so the efforts were directed to save 
 the women and children from the burning flames, with such of their 
 personal belongings as could be hurriedly gathered together and carried 
 away. Cavalry were clattering through the paved streets trying to 
 bring order out of chaos, but it was no use, "hell was out for recess." 
 Water ran short, so that when, in the general confusion, any attempt 
 was made to .save property, it almost invariably failed. 
 
 The incidents which came under one s notice were innumerable, 
 some as pathetic as others were amusing. I remember that as we were 
 riding by a large building, we heard shrieks of distress by some fe 
 male; the building was surrounded by a high stone wall which we 
 attempted to scale with timbers to go to her rescue. When we had 
 after much trouble got about over a man came along and asked us 
 "what we were trying to do," we told him we were trying to rescue 
 the woman who was screaming; when he said, you blamed fools, that 
 is an insane asylum, and she is a lunatic and has been yelling that 
 way for ten years. We came down from the wall looking cheap. As 
 we were riding through the streets a lady ran out to ask us to drive 
 out ome men who were looting her premises; we went in and drove 
 out some Missouri batterymen, when she brought up a basket of 
 choice bottled wine, some of which we drank, putting the rest in 
 our saddlebags, which we used on our return to camp to assuage the 
 anger of the General for our absence from camp all night without leave. 
 
 Oh, what a motly mob; what a crowd of all sorts there was 
 there! It was a strange sight. Negro looters, city criminals, rushing 
 here and there, evading the guards with their ill-gotten gains; women 
 with loose negligee apparel, some with brazenly looser morals, solicit 
 ing and brushing against nuns and sisters of charity on errands of 
 mercy. It was a curious picture, that capital city possessed by the 
 mob and soldiery. 
 
 Efforts of every possible kind were made by the officers and 
 guards, and some of the people, to save the city. It was not however 
 until it was about burned out and daylight that the excitement was 
 allayed and quiet restored. 
 
218 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 Some sacrilegious robbers broke into the cathedral and stole 
 the golden images from the sacred altars. The priests reported the 
 theft to General Sherman, and the next day, while on the march, an in 
 spection and search of all personal effects was suddenly ordered with 
 out notice, thinking perhaps the culprit with the loot might be caught 
 unawares; but it was not found among the troops. It was probably 
 taken by jail birds who were let loose on the evacuation of the city. 
 
 General Slocum wrote in reference to the campaign as follows: 
 
 "From Columbia the army moved toward Payetteville the left 
 wing crossing the Catawba river at Rocky Mount. While the rear of 
 the Corps was crossing, our pontoon-bridge was swept away by flood- 
 wood brought down the river, leaving the Fourteenth Corps on the 
 south side. This caused a delay of three days. 
 
 On the 3rd of March we arrived at Cheraw, where we found a 
 
 large supply of stores sent from Charleston for safe-keeping 
 
 The march through South Carolina had been greatly delayed by the 
 almost incessant rains and the swampy nature of the country. More 
 than half the way we were compelled to corduroy the roads before 
 our trains could be moved. To accomplish tnis work we had been sup 
 plied with axes, and the country was covered with saplings well suited 
 to the purpose. 
 
 Three or four days prior to our arrival at Fayetteville General 
 Sherman had received information that Wilmington was in possession 
 of General Terry, and had sent two messengers with letters inform 
 ing Terry when he would probably be at Fayetteville. Both messen- 
 genrs arrived safely at Wilmington, and on Sunday, the day after our 
 arrival at Fayetteville, the shrill whistle of a steamboat floating the 
 Stars and Stripes announced that we were once more in communica 
 tion with our own friends. As she came up, the banks of the river 
 were lined by our soldiers, who made the welkin ring with their cheers. 
 The opening of communication with Wilmington not only brought us 
 our mails and a supply of clothing, but enabled us to send to a place 
 of safety thousands of refugees and contrabands who were following the 
 army and seriously embarrassing it. We were dependent upon the 
 country for our supplies of food and forage, and every one not con 
 nected with the army was a source of weakness to us. On several oc 
 casions on the march from Atlanta we had been compelled to drive 
 thousands of colored people back, not from lack of sympathy with 
 them, but simply as a matter of safety to the army. The refugee-train 
 following in the rear of the army was one 01 the most singular fea 
 tures of the march. Long before the war, the slaves of the South had 
 a system of communication by which important information was trans 
 mitted from one section of the country to another. The advance of Sher 
 man s army through a section never before visited by a Union soldier 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 219 
 
 was known far and wide many miles in advance of us. It was natural 
 that these poor creatures, seeking a place of safety, should flee to the 
 army, and endeavor to keep in sight of it. Every day as we marched 
 on we could see, on each side of our line of march, crowds of these 
 people coming to us througn roads and across the fields, bringing with 
 them all their earthly goods, and many goods which were not theirs. 
 Horses, mules, cows, dogs, old family carriages, carts, and whatever 
 they thought might be of use to them was seized upon and brought to 
 us. They were allowed to follow in rear of our column, and at times 
 they were almost equal in numbers to the army they were following.* 
 As singular, comical, and pitiable a spectacle was never before present 
 ed. One day a large family of slaves came through the fields to join 
 us. The head of the family, a venerable negro, was mounted on a 
 mule, and safely stowed away behind him in pockets or bags attached 
 to ti.e blanket which covered the mule were two little pickaninnies, 
 one on each side. This gave rise to a most important invention, i. e., 
 "the best way of transporting pickaninnies." On the next day a mule 
 appeared in column, covered by a blanket with two pockets on each 
 side, each containing a little negro. Very soon old tent-flies or strong 
 canvas was used instead of the blanket, and often ten or fifteen pock 
 ets were attached to each side, so that nothing of the mule was vis 
 ible except the head, tail, and feet, all else being covered by the black 
 woolly heads and bright shining eyes of the little darkies. Occas- 
 sionally a cow was made to take the place of the mule; this was a de 
 cided improvement, as the cow furnished rations as well as transporta 
 tion for the babies. Old stages, family carriages, carts and lumber 
 wagons filled with bedding, cooking utensils and "traps" of all kinds, 
 with men, women, and children loaded with bundles, made up the 
 balance of the refugee-train which followed in our rear. As all the 
 bridges were burned in front of us, our pontoon-trains were in constant 
 use, and the bridges could be left but a short time for the use of the 
 refugees. A scramble for precedence in crossing the bridge always 
 occurred. The firing of a musket or pistol in rear would bring to the 
 refugees visions of guerillas, and then came *a panic. As our bridges 
 were not supplied with guard-rails, occasionally a mule would be 
 crowded off, and with its precious load would float down the river. 
 
 Having thoroughly destroyed the arsenal buildings, machine- 
 shops, and foundries at Fayetteville, we crossed the Cape Fear river 
 on the 13th and 14th and resumed our march. We were now entering 
 upon the last stage of the great march which was to unite the Army 
 of the West with that of the East in front of Richmond. If this march 
 could be successfully accomplished the Confederacy was doomed. 
 General Sherman did not hope or expect to accomplish it without a 
 struggle. He anticipated an attack and maae provisions for it." 
 
220 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 On the 18th we moved out on the South Carolina Ry. and de 
 stroyed two miles of track. Camped five miles from Columbia. 
 
 19th. Moved at daylight; destroyed the 13th mile of track. Roads 
 good; plenty of forage, sweet potatoes, meat and molasses. Camped 
 on Confederate General Hopkin s plantation. 
 
 20th. At 7:00 a. m., marched 16 miles, joined the Corps and went 
 into camp at Muddy Springs; country sandy, barren, with very little 
 water. 
 
 21st. Moved out at sunrise, march forced and uncommon hard; 
 made over 20 miles; roads heavy and hilly; can see from the emin 
 ences in all directions, smoke from the burning cotton and other stuff 
 that comes in the wake of the army. 
 
 22nd. Marched at 10:00 a. m.; marched seven miles and camp 
 ed near Peay s Ferry. Enemy in force across the river in our front. 
 Nothing but corn meal issued for rations. All other rations of the 
 command exhausted. Said to be ordered to prohibit foraging after 
 we leave South Carolina. 
 
 23rd. Left camp about nine o clock, crossed the Wateree river, 
 passed through Liberty Hill, pretty little place with splendid gar 
 dens! had a tiresome march, not getting into camp until nine o clock; 
 weather wet, rained all night, no shelter. 
 
 24th. Marched at 9:00 o clock; roads muddy and stnl raining; 
 marched until long after dark. Marched over 20 miles over the worst 
 roads yet; one of the hardest days march ever experienced, over roads 
 almost impassible; camped near Camden on battlefield of Revolution 
 ary war. 
 
 25th. Resumed our march; weather still gloomy, cloudy and 
 chilly; marched eight miles and camped on Scape Creek; men .built 
 shanties of rails and blankets, built fires and made themselves as 
 comfortable as circumstances would permit; rained, thundered and 
 lightened all night. 
 
 Sunday, 26th. Moved at 6:00 a. m., marched sifc miles to Lynche s 
 Creek, wnich was so high as to be out of its banks; men had to wade 
 in cold water three feet deep to bridge; cross the stream and again 
 wade to bank; marched one mile, met the enemy in force, drove them 
 back and went into camp where we had to wait two days for water 
 to subside so that trains could cross. Mustered for pay while waiting. 
 Rations scarce, only five ounces? of meal issued with a little coffee and 
 sugar for each man per day. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 221 
 
 ADAPTED FROM THE DIARIES OF C. B. SENIOR AND C. H. TROTT, 
 OF COMPANY r B." 
 
 March 1st. "Co. "B" on picket out in front where the skirmish 
 was on the 26t"h. Everything quiet at present. We marched eleven 
 miles and camped. It was about eleven p. m. when we got into camp. 
 We did not get any supper as it was dark and about a mile to water. 
 We laid and slept till reveille in^the morning, when we arose and made 
 our mealy, mushy breakfast. 
 
 2nd. Regiment camped till afternoon, when we fell in and 
 marched over Beaver Dam creek and towards Cheraw. We inarched 
 about five miles and got into camp about ten p. m. We are getting 
 exceedingly short on rations, our three days ration of meal being 
 used up. There is -a good prospect of going hungry for a day or two. 
 
 3rd. We started out early this morning and marched about 
 fifteen miles towards Cheraw. We got within about ten miles of town 
 and camped at Thompson s Creek, near some rebel works that the 14th 
 Corps had taken from them last night. We heard that the 14th Corps 
 had taken Cheraw and the rebels had retreated across the Pedee river. 
 The weather is cloudy and gloomy with a prospect of rain. 
 
 4th. Marched about ten a. m. Marched through Cheraw. The 
 streets were broad and regular with avenues of trees. We expected 
 to cross the Pedee river to-day, but did not. Some of our regiment 
 were mustered out, having served their three years term. The weather 
 was cloudy with some wind and rain, but it cleared off in the evening. 
 
 5th. Laid still all day about two miles west of Cheraw; suppose 
 that we were waiting for the troops to cross the river. Fighting with 
 cannonading over the river. 
 
 Gth. Moved out about nine a. m. and marched back through town 
 and crossed the r^edee river. As we were approaching town, a terrible 
 explosion was heard that shook the ground even where we were. When 
 we reached town, the windows were shattered all to pieces, hardly a 
 pane of glass was left and some doors and windows were blown sash 
 and all across the street. It was caused by the carelessness of some 
 of our men who were destroying rebel ammunition stored in the town. 
 Several of our men were killed and many wounded in the explosion. 
 
 BY F. B. STAATS, CO. "K." 
 
 "In S. C. in March, 1865, when the rebel lines were fast receding 
 before Sherman s army; when their railroads were destroyed, their 
 cities in some instances .burned, their country laid waste, when deserted 
 homes were heaps of smoking ruins, when the carefully hoarded pro 
 visions of that not very fruitful country were appropriated to supply 
 
222 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 an army, when the hopes so long and fondly cherished of a govern 
 ment of aristocracy for its edifice and slavery for the foundation, were 
 fast waning, a portion of the army encamped a day or two at Cheraw, 
 a little aristocratic town on the right bank Of the Great Pedee river. 
 While here, a soldier visiting the tomb of one of the patriots of the 
 Revolution, wrote the following inscription upon the tombstone. The 
 lines were copied by H. C. Steel, Hospital Steward of the 7th Iowa, 
 from whom I received a copy: 
 
 Ye shades of patriots slumbering neath the sod, 
 
 Know ye the woes of your unhappy state, 
 Know ye the turf has drank your childrens blood, 
 
 And your loved homes are spoiled and desolate? 
 
 Know ye the fane on which your fathers toiled, 
 
 And which ye guarded as a sacred trust, 
 Your wayward sons have entered and despoiled, 
 
 And cast its glorious idol in the dust? 
 
 Know ye that treason o er its sunny clime, 
 
 Has blown its breath of perjury and strife, 
 Know ye your sons espoused the hideous crime, 
 
 And strucK with madness at the Nation s life? 
 
 Know ye that the haughty and the proud like ones 
 
 Are fleeing to the wood, the cane, the swamp, 
 Know ye ycur mountains, plains, and fair young groves, 
 
 Are trailing neath an angry army s tramp? 
 
 How can ye rest, how can your ashes sleep, 
 While war s dread chariot rolls above your head; 
 
 Do not your bones with holy horror creep, 
 As falls the blood your perjured sons have shed? 
 
 Rouse, slumbering patriot, view the ruins made, 
 And bid the traitor crew in shame disperse; 
 
 Bid them restore the Union they destroyed, 
 And doubly damn them with a father s curse. 
 
 The above verses are supposed to be the production of Comrade 
 Frank Herrington, of Co. "G," the 7th Iowa poet, and have been in my 
 possession since the war time days of 61 to 65. 
 
 We marched across the river and camped about five miles from 
 it. 7th. Marched out at 7 a. m. in a southeast direction till we reached 
 the main line. Our course northeast. We marched about eight miles 
 toward Bennettsville, where we camped. We were unusually early 
 in cr.mp to-day, it being noon. The camp was in a pretty grove of 
 hard pine and close to brigade headquarters. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 223 
 
 8th. Started this morning at 8:00 a. m., moved on Lawrence- 
 burg road. It was misting slightly with a prospect of rain, which 
 soon proved to be a very wet day. Our progress was slow; we did not 
 make more than seven miles. The roads were bad and had to be 
 corduroyed nearly all the way in order to get the trains along. We 
 crossed the line of South Carolina to-day into North Carolina. The 
 country is rich, being nearly all settled and abounding in forage which 
 had been taken by the advance troops. 
 
 9th. Moved out at 6:00 a. m. and marched right along for sev 
 eral hours, on Laurel hill road, when our progress became slow on 
 account of bad roads and swampy ground. Towards night we came 
 to a creek swollen with the heavy rains. The bridge gave way, pre 
 cipitating the mules and the trains into the river. Then the next 
 thing was to fix the bridge, which was not done till midnight, the 
 rain pouring down in torrents. We got no rest, many men never cross 
 ed the creek, but straggled off, built fires and slept. 
 
 10th. Moved cany this morning. The rain had ceased; the 
 sky was hung with heavy, fleeting clouds; the air was cold, with a pros 
 pect of clearing up. We marched about seven miles and went into 
 camp as we supposed about 4:00 p. m., but after dark the orders came 
 to be ready to move immediately. The drum beat to fall in. We had 
 to shoulder our knapsacks and start. ^ We fooled along with the swamps 
 and corduroy roads till 3:00 a. m., when we camped again. The night 
 was very cool with white frost in the morning. Two nights without 
 any sleep whatever. 
 
 llth. We moved shortly after sunrise to Bethel church. The 
 roads were worse than for some days previous. Marched about eigh 
 teen miles and camped within twelve miles of Fayetteville on Rock- 
 fish river. No knowledge as yet whether the rebels hold town or not. 
 Report says that our men are in possession of it. The army is getting 
 nearly barefoot, men are picking up old mules and riding them. There 
 is an enormous refugee train with us, negroes of all sizes, ages, sexes, 
 and many white people going along with us. 
 
 12th. Started out about 8:00 a. m.; marched rapidly, as the roads 
 were good, till we were in about two miles of Fayetteville, when we 
 camped. Country barren and sandy, covered with pitch pine trees, 
 wh ich had been scarified to get the sap for turpentine, resin and 
 pitch. (The principal production of tnat vicinity. Ed.) Out of ra 
 tions, nothing to eat but meat; nothing expected until boats come up 
 the river with supplies. 
 
 13th. Laid still all day; wrote a letter home; we put in a requi 
 sition for clothing, but no idea when we shall get it. Received no 
 mail or news. Do not expect any until we get to Goldsboro. Heard 
 the rebels were at Kingston in force. 
 
224 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 14th. Moved this morning toward the river; stacked arms at the 
 bank and waited for the 17th Corps to cross on pontoons. We then cross 
 ed over, marched across swamp to dry ground and -camped. Could see 
 gunboats and transports in the river from Wilmington. (First com 
 munication since we left Savannah. Ed.) 
 
 15th. Moved out this morning, our regiment as advance guard. 
 Marched about thirteen miles and came to Black river. Our regi 
 ment was selected to effect a crossing whHe the division made a feint 
 on the main road. Lieut. Folsom, with four volunteers in a small 
 boat, reconnoitered and selected route. Before pontoons were laid he 
 drove back rebel pickets, who were cooking their supper, which they 
 captured and brought back after effecting a landing. The rebels 
 were on the other side fronting the road with two pieces of artillery. 
 While laying the pontoons they threw some shells and shot at us,but did 
 nothing more than scare some of the boys. I was chopping some 
 kindling from a stump. I heard rebel cannon, cast my eye that w~y 
 and see a bill coming, flying, tumbling, like a foot ball. It was nearly 
 spent and came so close that I had a chance to dodge. It stopped with 
 in ei^ht feet of the stump that I was chopping. I went and picked it 
 up, as I knew it was a solid shot. It was quite warm. If it had been 
 a shell, my business was to get behind the nearest tree as quick as 
 possible. We went up the stream about a mile and put in pontoons 
 across the main channel, which was ten feet deep. On the other side 
 was a swamp about 400 yards wide, and some places over four feet 
 deep, which we had to wade after it was getting quite dark. The 
 Johnnies evacuated. We came to their fires where they were cooking 
 sapper. We should jud^e there were a good many of them by the 
 fires. We expected, a warm reception, but they retreated without mak 
 ing defense. We came to drive them out and we advanced to the top 
 of the hill without much opposition one men in compiny "B" wound 
 ed. We went into camp and sent skirmishers out to the front. We 
 could hear the skirmishers pop, pop, bang, balls whistling, shells 
 shrieking amongst us as we advanced, while we were wading the 
 swamp. We advanced to tneir works and camped. 
 
 THE CROSSING OF BLACK RIVER IN NORTH CAROLINA. 
 By Major Saml. Mahoon. 
 
 It will be remembered that the campaign of Sherman s army 
 through the Carolinas was made in February and March, the period 
 of heavy rains in that latitude, in consequence of which the num 
 erous rivers to be crossed were running full and overflowing their 
 banks, covering the adjacent bottoms. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 225 
 
 On Wednesday, March 15, 1865, our division and brigade had the 
 advance, and reached Black River about 2:00 o clock in the afternoon, 
 only to find the bridge destroyed, with the enemy s cavalry in force on 
 the other side, and with the river at flood stage covering the low 
 bottoms. 
 
 Two companies of the 7th regiment were at once detailed, in 
 command of the Major, to reconnoitre for a crossing. About two 
 miles above the road and burnt bridge, an old mill was found on high 
 ground, and fortunately also a small rowboat. In front the river was 
 a roaring torrent, and beyond its natural bed could be discovered from 
 the higher bank the low heavily timbered ground, flooded as far as 
 sight could reach through the timber. The boat was at once launched 
 with two trusty rowers and an officer on board, and started on its per 
 ilous reconnoissance across the river, and finally disappeared in the 
 flooded bottoms beyond, to ascertain, firstly, how far the flooded bot 
 tom extended, and secondly, if the bottom after crossing the main 
 channel was fordable for infantry. 
 
 The first attempt was unsuccessful, but a second attempt under 
 Lieut. Folsom, of Co. B, proved more successful. They discovered 
 high ground a quarter of a mile or more across the bottom, and re 
 ported that frequent soundings of the route developed the feasibility 
 of infantry wading through it. No sooner was the report made to 
 headquarters than the whole regiment was hurried to the scene, pon 
 toons were rapidly placed across the main channel, the men directed 
 to tie their cartridge boxes and haversacks round their necks, and 
 with the reconnoitering party as guides, the adventurous advance be 
 gan across an expanse of flooded bottom, with the chance of the enemy 
 opening fire at any moment, while the command were struggling in 
 the water. By this time it had become pitch dark, but the regiment 
 reached the high ground on the opposite side of the river soaked to 
 the skin and shivering in the chill of a March night. At intervals 
 across the submerged ground could be heard the cries of comrades who, 
 siezed with cramps, could not proceed, and were hanging to the trees 
 and shrubbery awaiting help to rescue them from their perilous po 
 sition. 
 
 The regiment, however, formed immediately and moved down the 
 river toward the bridge, driving the enemy from that side. The 66th 
 Illinois later made an attempt to cross at the same place to reinforce 
 the 7th regiment, but in the pitch darkness the guide lost his bearings, 
 and striking deep water the regiment had to double back on itself 
 and return to the hither side. 
 
 After crossing the river and gaining the bridge head on the 
 enemy s side, the regiment was compelled to weather out the night 
 
HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 without rations or blankets, but succeeded "in drying their wet cloth 
 ing by building fires. 
 
 The pioneer corps worked all night on the bridge from which 
 the enemy had been driven, and at daylight next morning the Army 
 of the Tennessee began crossing. 
 
 16th. We did not move till 10:00 a. m., when all the rest of 
 the division had crossed the river and passed. Considering the hard 
 night we had had, General Howard told Col. Parrott not to hurry our 
 regiment to-day, nor march them until they had rested and had been 
 fed. We marched about twelve miles and camped. Terrible rain in 
 the night with heavy wind. 
 
 17th. Resumed our march about sunrise. Quite a contrast be 
 tween last night and this morning. Marched about seven miles and 
 camped about noon near Little Cahara Creek, when we were ordered 
 to throw up works, which we did, the first time we had fortified on 
 this campaign. 
 
 18th. Moved out at 9:00 a. m., went back on the main road. 
 Marched about twelve miles and camped about sundown. Just about 
 when we were camping, passed a sign board that said, "48 miles from 
 Raleigh, and 28 miles from Goldsboro." The country was settled with 
 very many large plantations. Weather clear and pleasant. 
 
 March 19th. Marched very slowly this morning with occasional 
 stoppings until about dusk, when we began to travel; crossed Fallen 
 Creek. Heavy cannonading in the afternoon to our left. Reported 
 that the 14th and 20th Corps had been repulsed. Knew that there was 
 some business going on from the heavy cannonading. Did not get 
 into camp at all this night. 
 
 BATTLE OF BENTONVILLE. 
 
 20th. Morning found us still marching, trying to turn right flank 
 of the enemy. By 2:00 p. m. from sunrise this morning we had made 
 fifteen miles. Run on to the rebels. Very hard skirmishing in our 
 front. Saw General Sherman, Logan and Blair. Sherman walked 
 around as unconcerned as if nothing was going on. He came and 
 stood by our regiment for some time, looking over our temporary 
 works. Went out in front. It seemed dangerous for him to do so, as, 
 if he should get hurt, we would lose a host in one man. 
 
 21st. Hard skirmishing and fighting all day. Rebels seemed 
 quite stubborn. The fife major of our regiment was wounded. 
 
 22nd. Laid still all day in our works. The rebels left this 
 morning retreated. Went out in our front where the fight, was yester 
 day, saw a lot of dead rebels; some that had been wounded and not able 
 to get away were burned in the timber fire and leaves which had been 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 227 
 
 set by the battle. It was a horrible sight; the flesh was literally 
 roasted and charred. A pile of arms and legs where the rebels had 
 a field amputation table. 
 
 23rd. Marched towards Goldsboro. 
 
 24th. Resumed the march towards Goldsboro, crossed the 
 Neuse river and entered Goldsboro in the afternoon. As we passed 
 through we were reviewed by General Sherman. We were rejoined 
 by the 23rd Army Corps, which we left at Atlanta. 
 
 25th. Remained in camp all day; mail went out to-day. Camp 
 on the Newburn & Goldsboro R. R. Not received rations yet prom 
 ised them to-morrow. Company "B" detailed for picket duty down near 
 the R. R. No mail yet. 
 
 26th. Company relieved from picket; drew full rations of hard 
 bread, sugar, and coffee, but no meat; laid out a permanent camp, 
 expecting to remain here until another general movement. Com 
 menced cutting logs and making shanties. 
 
 27th. Remained in camp all day; received mail for the first 
 time since we came here; weather good. 
 
 28th. Yet in camp; not many supply trains running on R. R. 
 Said to be busy at Newburn. Weather good. 
 
 29th. Weather cloudy, threatening rain. Received some potatoes, 
 pickles and kraut from friends in Iowa for troops. They were dis 
 tributed by special agents from home to see that they were given to 
 the soldiers. Drew clothing and put in requisition for more. 
 
 31st. Weather fine; had dress parade in the evening. 
 
 April 1st. In camp still; no mail or news. 
 
 2nd. Cloudy, looks like rain. Dress parade. 
 
 3rd. Clear and pleasant. No mail. Drill and dress parade in 
 the after noon. 
 
 4th. Weather warm and beautiful; no mail. 
 
 5th. In camp all day. No mail; no news. 
 
 6th. In camp. Heard that Richmond had fallen. 
 
 7th. In camp. Fall of Richmond confirmed. Dress parade. 
 
 8th and 9th. Remained in camp statu-quo. 
 
 10th. Broke camp; left Goldsboro on Pikeville road; marched 
 14 miles in rain in the direction of Raleigh; did not camp until mid 
 night. Weather gloomy. 
 
 llth. Resumed our march at 10:00 a. m.; went through a very 
 swampy country. Marched all night and rested at Buffalo swamp; 
 halted in the morning only long enough to get our breakfast. March 
 ed twelve miles. 
 
 12th. Moved out and marched 18 miles; got in camp at 10:00 
 p. m.; men extremely fatigued and the roads lined with stragglers. 
 
228 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 Men fell out of the ranks exhausted, falling asleep by the roadside. 
 Heard of the surrender of Gen. Lee to Gen. Grant. 13th. While halted 
 at noon official order read of General Lee s surrender, near Lowell. 
 (The troops were ordered formed in close, column by division and 
 General Corse read the order to us from the top of a stump, and troops 
 went wild with enthusiasm and excitement. Ed.) Only four miles 
 from Raleigh. Rained in the morning but cleared up in afternoon. 
 Country beautiful and fertile, best we have seen since leaving Tennes 
 see or Alabama. People said to be nearly all Quakers, and I believe 
 a great many of them are for the Union. 
 
 14th. Marched out from our camp at 7:00 a. m., through Raleigh. 
 Reviewed by General Sherman from the Capitol steps. Raleigh is a 
 beautiful place, but small. The country is not surpassed by anything 
 I have seen in the south; the trees are in new leaf; fruit trees all in 
 blossom; everything has a bright, fresh and beautiful appearance. 
 Camped one mile west of the city. 
 
 15th. .Marched in a northwest direction this morning, six miles 
 on Hillsboro road towards Morrisville, moved rapidly making 21 miles, 
 but at night was only 12 miles from Raleigh. In the morning it rained 
 in torrents, roads streaming with water, every hollow was a creek, the 
 brooks were swollen to the size of rivers, and we had to wade fre 
 quently in water two and three feet deep. Camped on the R. R. 12 
 miles from Raleigh. 
 
 16th. Laid still all day. Various reports as to surrender of 
 Johnston with his army current, but nothing known, had a very wet 
 place for our camp. We occupied camp vacated by Kilpatrick s cav 
 alry; weather clear and pleasant. 
 
 17th. Laid in camp all day. Rumored that Abraham Lincoln 
 was assasinated; believed it; some did not; the effect was apparent, 
 a gloom fell over the army, fearing it might be true. Many believe 
 that negotiations are going on between Sherman and Johnson in re 
 gard to capitulation. 
 
 18th. The confirmation of the assasination of President Lin 
 coln officially announced by General Sherman. It is a terrible blow 
 to the country and army. At the same time the joyful news was pro 
 claimed of the surrender of General Johnson with his army from the 
 Rio Grande to the Potomac. 
 
 19th. Remained in camp. The war really seems to be over, 
 but we can hardly realize it. Various reports as to when we are go 
 ing home, nothing known. Our camp is in an extremely nasty wet 
 place, and very unhealthy. We expected to move back to Raleigh to 
 take up camp there. Remained in camp at Morrisville. The only topic 
 of conversation is when will we go home? Many of General Lee s 
 paroled men around. Weather warm and beautiful. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 229 
 
 21st. Moved back and took up our camp near Raleigh, expect 
 ing to remain here until we start home. Many reports as to how we 
 are to go. Some say we will be transported; others that we will have 
 to march through to the James river. The weather is warm and, 
 beautiful, crops looking well, corn just peeping out of the ground, 
 wheat up three inches high. This appears to be about the best wheat 
 country we have -visited. 
 
 22nd. Clearing up camp, cutting and burning brush; will have 
 a beautiful camp when we get it cleared up. Drew three days rations. 
 Weather fine. 
 
 23rd. Remained in camp all day. No drill or dress parade since 
 we came here. 
 
 25th. Grant inspects the division and army. 
 
 29th. Moved in advance of division, and in rear of balance of 
 Corps, 10 miles to Neuse river; crossed and went into camp at dark; 
 roads dusty. In camp till 
 
 May 1. Moved at 9:30 in rear Div. train 18 miles to near Louis- 
 burg on Tan river; passed through Rollsville; went into camp at dark. 
 
 2nd. Moved at 5:00 a. m. through Louisburg to near Rich Lick 
 Creek, three miles from Warrenton; passed through shady grove; went 
 into camp at 5:00 p. m. 
 
 3rd. Moved at 5:00 a. m. through Warrenton, N. C. Went 
 into camp at noon on bank of Roanoke river; distance 15 miles. 
 
 4th. Moved across river at noon; crossed state line into Vir 
 ginia one mile out; went into camp at near Moore s plantation, 10 
 miles from Maherrin river at dark; distance 15 miles. 
 
 5th. Moved at 6:00 a. m.; crossed Maherrin river and Reedy 
 Creek to Nottaway river at Double Bridge; went into camp at dark; 
 distance SO miles. 
 
 6th. Moved at 6:00 a. m., crossing Nottaway river, and into 
 camp on Stony Creek at 1:30 p. m.; distance 16 miles. The country 
 traveled over almost entirely destroyed. 
 
 7th. Moved at 6:00 a. m., 15 miles to near Petersburg; passed 
 Ports Duchene and Wadsworth, Gen. Grant s and the enemy s main 
 works and rifle-pits; went into camp at 2:00 p. m. within the old rebel 
 works 
 
 9th. Moved at 8:30 a. m.; passed thVough Petersburg in review; 
 moved out on road to Richmond; went into camp at 3:00 p. m. 11 miles 
 from Petersburg, between Proctor s and Kingsley s Creek and in sight 
 of James River; distance 13 miles. 
 
 10th. Marched at 7:00 a. m. towards Manchester and went into 
 camp at noon near James River, one mile from Manchester and in 
 view of Richmond. 
 
 llth. Visited Richmond, Libby Prison, Castle Thunder, etc. 
 
230 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 13th. Marched at 6:00 a. m.; crossed James River at Manchester 
 on pontoons; passed through the principal streets of Richmond; 
 moved out on Brook Ave. towards Hanover Court House, crossing 
 Chickahominy Creek; went into camp at dark on Mallory s plantation, 
 15 miles from city and 17 miles from camp; weather hot; wagons did 
 not join command owing to bad roads. 
 
 14th. Moved at 6:00 a. m. six miles to Hanover C. H.; overtook 
 17th Corps; went into camp at depot. 
 
 15th. Moved at 9:00 a. m.; crossed Pamunky River on pontoons; 
 overtook the train; 1st Div. halted about three hours; moved about 
 noon to White Chimney, near Reedy Creek; went into camp at 6:00 
 p. m. nine miles from Hanover C. H. 
 
 16th. Moved at 5:30 a. m.; crossed Reedy Creek and Mottapony 
 River; passed through Bowling Green at noon and went into camp on 
 Mill Creek at 5:00 p. m.; distance 18 miles. 
 
 17th. Moved at 5:00 a. m. on Fredericksburg road; passed 
 through that place at noon; visited tomb of Martha Washington; went 
 into camp at 5:30 p. m. on Potomac Creek; weather hot; distance 
 24 mile*. 
 
 18th. Moved at 5; 00 a. m. in advance Div.; passed Stafford C. 
 H.; crossed Agina Creek at Agina; crossed Copawawsee Creek and 
 rested three hours on bank of Guantico Creek at Dumfries; went into 
 camp at 6:00 p. m. near Powell s Creek; distance 20 miles; heavy 
 rain in evening. 
 
 19th. Moved at 10:00 a. m.; crossed Occaguan Creek at noon; 
 went into camp at dark; distance 15 miles. 
 
 20th. Moved at 5:30 a. m.; passed through Alexandria; went 
 into camp at 1:00 p. m., two miles from town up the river; distance 
 nine miles. 
 
 21st and 22nd. In camp. 
 
 23rd. Moved at 10:00 a. m. to near Long Bridge; went and 
 camped on the Potomac, opposite Washington, near Long Bridge. 
 Preparing to take part in the Grand Review tomorrow. Army of the 
 Potomac being reviewed today, together with the cavalry of the East 
 ern Army. Sherman s Army are getting to look well in their new uni 
 forms, and will make a good appearance to-morrow. Drew some 
 sanitary goods Saturday, such as pickles, can fruit, tomatoes, and 
 pocket handkerchiefs. Weather beautiful. 
 
 24th. Moved out this morning, crossed Long Bridge, passed in 
 review in the City of Washington. Reviewed by Generals Grant, 
 Sherman and others, also President, Secretary of War, members of 
 the Cabinet with their ladies and others. It was a splendid military 
 show. We were welcomed by the people of Washington and the na- 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 231 
 
 tion. The city was beautifully decorated with festoons of drapery, 
 flags and banners with mottoes of "Welcome, 1 "All Hail Western 
 Heroes," "Vicksburg," "Shiloh," "Atlanta," "Savannah," "Raleigh," 
 "Mission Ridge," "Welcome 15th and 17th Army Corps," and other 
 tokens. I think this was the proudest day of my life. We had heard 
 so much about the superiority and appearance of tne Eastern army 
 that we were a little fearful they might outdo us in show and drill, 
 especially after our long, arduous campaigns and marches just finish 
 ed, and before we had opportunity to drill and brush up; but we hired 
 their bands and with a determination to do our best, started in. I 
 witnessed the review of the Eastern troops the day before, and while 
 I did not think them so stalwart and robust as the boys of the West, 
 I had to acknowledge they made a fine appearance. I was then an 
 aid-de-camp on the staff of Brevt. Maj. General Rice, and rode with 
 him, heading the Fourth Division of the Fifteenth Army Corps, We 
 came around the Capitol building and heacted up Pensylvania Ave. 
 marching in column; it seemed to me the alignment was perfect, and 
 the majestic cadence of that triumphant army that had never been 
 defeated was simply grand and magnificent. As the head of the col 
 umn wheeled to the right at the Treasury building, I turned in my 
 saddle and looked back the length of the avenue, and, as I saw that 
 triumphant army, keeping exact step to the inspiring music of the 
 bands, amid the mad enthusiasm of the spectators, I could not restrain 
 the tears of joy and pride. Then when Sherman s Bummers, with 
 their mules loaded with camp kettles and mess pans, crested with 
 crowing roosters and negroes, there was such a vociferous yell of de 
 light by the multitude that witnessed it that it fairly rent the heavens. 
 We marched out H street to where now is the Soldiers Home and 
 went into camp. 
 
 25th. Remained in camp cleaning up, policing, and putting up 
 tents; will have a beautiful camp when we get cleaned up. We are 
 allowed to cut small timber to make bunks with, but not allowed to 
 use or burn any rails. We are about three miles north of Washington, 
 (out H street) but not in view of the city. Weather gloomy with 
 prospect of rain. A visitor was here to-day from Charles City, Iowa, 
 Frank Wright, who was well acquainted with some of the boys. 
 
 26th. Visited Washington to-day. Went through the Capitol, 
 Patent Office and Smithsonian Institute. Was in the President s room, 
 Halls of Congress, etc. It is not possible to describe the grandeur of 
 the building. It is sufficient on first entering to fill the spectator with 
 awe. 
 
 27th. Remained in camp to-day; many went visiting Wash 
 ington. Should have gone myself, but did not like to stay away from 
 camp so much without permission. No drill or dress parade as we 
 
232 HISTORY OF *HE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 generally have had before. Some visitors in camp, people from the 
 North, visiting the boys in the army. 
 
 28th. Everything still to-day; weather beautiful; no inspection 
 or dress parade. It appears as though discipline is not going to be 
 strictly enforced as previously. Heard of Gen. Kirby Smith s surrender. 
 All men not having one year to serve are being mustered out. Ex 
 pect to be paid this week. Read "Napoleon and His Marshals." 
 
 29th. Everything quiet; weather beautiful. We are longing for 
 the time to come when we shall start homeward. Papers say Army of 
 Georgia ordered to Virginia side of Potomac, and the Army of the 
 Tennessee to Louisville, Ky., there to be disbanded and sent to their 
 own states and mustered out. It was not an order but I hope it may 
 be true. 
 
 30th. In camp all day; had orders to have everything prepared 
 to start on our journey home, with four days cooked rations. Go by rail 
 to Parkersburg, from there by boat down the Ohio river to Louisville, 
 Ky. Had dress parade. 
 
 31st. Laid still all day; dress parade in the evening. 1st Div. 
 and part of the 2nd started for Louisville. Expect to leave to-morrow. 
 Regiment required to wear their Corps badges. 
 
 June 1st. Laid still all day. Expect to leave to-morrow for 
 Louisville. Weather beautiful. 
 
 2nd. Marched out to depot about 10:00 a. m.; drew two days ra 
 tions and embarked on the cars; at 2:00 p. m. at Annapolis Junction, 
 took the left hand road via Harpers Ferry, where we arrived at 
 daylight in the morning. 
 
 3rd. Still on our railroad journey; slow progress, only made 
 150 miles. 
 
 4th. Reached Grafton Junction at daylight. Go from here to 
 Parkersburg; crossed the Alleghanies; had to put on two locomotives 
 to climb them. 
 
 5th. Found ourselves at Parkersburg this morning; had a chance 
 to make coffee for the first time; marched down to the Ohio river; 
 found a fleet of boats waiting for us; boarded a stern wheeler called 
 the Camelia; run down the river about fifty miles; changed boats for 
 a larger one called the Telegraph, a side wheeler, splendid boat. 
 
 6th. Still on our journey down the Ohio. 
 
 7th. Arrived at Cincinnatti at 2:00 p. m., reached Louisville at 
 6:00 p. m.; debarked and marched about six miles and went into camp. 
 It was exceedingly warm and the men fell out exhausted; straggling 
 equal to anything ever witnessed. Men feel bitter that they should be 
 forced to such extremes now that the war is over. 
 
 8th. Moved our camp this morning to place selected. Have a 
 beautiful place, with beech and mulberry trees for shade; water handy. 
 Drizzling rain. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 
 
 9th. Remained in camp. Went to Woodlawn races in the af 
 ternoon. Rained some. 
 
 10th. Went to the races in the afternoon; saw Asteroid run 
 a three mile heat and win the race against Red Oak and Loadstone. 
 Loadstone bolted and Red Oak distanced. Half the regiment in the 
 guard house for running the guards and going to the races. All re 
 leased soon after dark. (The race track was less than half a mile 
 from camp. Ed.) 
 
 llth. Remained in camp. Was told by the officers several days 
 ago that we should have lumber to build bunks to keep us off the 
 damp ground, which promise is not yet fulfilled. No wood to cook 
 with and strict orders not to burn fences. Men restless, threatening 
 to do something desperate if something is not done for us soon. 
 Heat unbearable. 
 
 12th. Remained in camp, nothing of importance going on. 
 Men are getting very uneasy with an intense desire to go home. 
 Went to meeting in the evening to a church near the Woodlawn race 
 course. Weather showery; heat desperate. 
 
 13th. Laid in camp all day. Nothing done about lumber, are 
 compelled to lay on the ground. We are told that we were going 
 home, but that appears to be about the same as the fuel arid lumber 
 question. I know of nothing more outrageous than this treatment, 
 whether from the government or others in power. Had dress parade. 
 
 14th. Remained in camp. Regiment went on guard along the 
 road. A sutler opened up, claiming the right to sell to our regiment. 
 Weather beautiful. 
 
 15th. Remained in camp; regiment on grand guard. Weather 
 beautiful. 
 
 16th. Remained in camp. Had inspection. 52nd Ills, being paid 
 off. Weather very warm. 
 
 17th. Paid off to-day, getting once more some of Uncle Sam s 
 greenbacks. 
 
 18th. Nothing transpiring to-day; heavy rain storm in the 
 evening. 
 
 19th. Laid in camp; everything quiet; had inspection of arms. 
 
 July 3. Prize drill on Woodlawn course. 
 
 4th. General Sherman takes farewell of the Division. 
 
 5th. 52nd Ills, mustered out. 
 
 9th. 12th Ills, mustered out. 
 
 llth. 7th Iowa mustered out. 2nd Iowa mustered out. 
 
 12th. 50th Ills, mustered out. 
 
 The regiment was mustered out at Ridgeway station, near 
 Louisville, K., July 14th, 1865, and sent to Davenport, Iowa, and there 
 provided with transportation to our different homes. 
 
234 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 WHAT I REMEMBER OF COMPANY "B." 
 By Andy Pelt. 
 
 Soon after the fall of Port Sumpter there commenced the or 
 ganization of an independant volunteer company in Chickasaw coun 
 ty designated "The Lincoln Guards." In May, if memory serves me 
 right, the company was organized by the election of Gideon Gardner 
 Captain, Robt. G. Reniger 1st Lieutenant, George Dodge 2nd Lieu 
 tenant, Fred Bosworth Orderly. This company became Co. "B," of 
 the famous Seventh Iowa Infantry. It was a bitter disappointment 
 to all of us that many weeks elapsed before we were sworn into the 
 U. S. service at Camp Warren, Burlington. I shall never forget the 
 trip from Nashua to Dubuque. There were "copperheads" in those 
 days. Soon after our arrival attention was called to the fact that 
 Dennis A. Mahoney had failed to display the flag at his newspaper 
 office as "The Lincoln Guards" marched by it. Lieut. Reniger, Mr. 
 Tisdale and myself were appointed a committee to call on Mr. Ma- 
 honey and ask him to hoist the flag over his office. Being the only 
 democrat on the committee, the writer was named to "speak" to Mr. 
 Mahoney. The flag was put up at once and all was serene. 
 
 You and I will never forget our reception at St. Louis. "Hurrah 
 for Jeff Davis" was frequently heard and, looking back at the inci 
 dent, after all that has passed, the wonder is that there was not a 
 riot before we reached Benton Barracks. 
 
 Lieut. Dodge and the writer had leave to visit the city one day 
 and went to the hospital near Fourth and Olive to visit some of our 
 boys sick with measles. There were hundreds of cases in the hospital. 
 I noticed few men in attendance, but scores of "Sisters of Mercy," 
 caring for our sick comrades. This is mentioned because it illustrates 
 how one little incident may knock a car load of prejudice out of a 
 human heart. From that day to this, devoted Protestant as I am, I 
 have never met any member of the Catholic woman s benevolent so 
 cieties that I have not lifted my hat and bowed my head, in memory 
 of that St. Louis hospital in 1861. It taught me more clearly the les 
 sons of charity and fraternity than all previous experience and ob 
 servation. 
 
 Companies "B" and "H" were sent on detached duty to Potosi 
 to watch the lead interests. Our captain was post commandant, and 
 the writer was post adjutant. Perhaps the boys will remember the 
 little paper we published "Lauman s Left Bower." Wish I had a 
 copy of it. The unique name was my suggestion. Za Rutnerford and 
 the writer slept in the office while the little paper was being born, 
 for fear the Johnnies would steal it. Now don t you laugh! You re- 
 
VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 235 
 
 member "The Flag Order?" Wasn t it absurd? Some of the boys 
 had hoisted the stars and stripes over a red barn. Some fellow sadly 
 in need of a baptism of patriotic common sense went to the comman- 
 dent and roared because of that flag raising. The commandant told 
 tne adjutant to write an order forbidding such flag raisings. The 
 adjutant handed him this: "If any man haul down the American 
 Flag, shoot him on the spot. John A. Dix." That ended the flag 
 incident so far as the adjutant was concerned. 
 
 Another amusing thing comes to my mind. A Connecticut 
 Yankee owned a farm and many fat sheep near fotosi. The boys 
 had peaches, cream and mutton! That Yankee was one of the mean 
 est rebels in that neck of the woods. He would neither fight or run 
 away. He complained to the commandant that our boys were eating 
 his sheep. The captain thought that impossible, but the taste of lamb 
 was in his mouth so he referred the fellow to the adjutant. The lat 
 ter replied that sheep had often invaded the camp and had been killed 
 in self detense. The old chap s comments would not read well in print. 
 
 You remember we found Mose Conger, of Floyd, residing at 
 Potosi. Charlie Trott, as brave and true a man as lives, was taken 
 ill of fever. My request secured for him good care and quarters at 
 the Conger residence. After the raid on Webster, where we captured 
 several tons of bacon, I ordered the driver to leave several hundred 
 pounds of that bacon at Congers. You see my idea was that Charlie 
 Trott would be cured by the bacon, ana that the Congers needed it 
 in their business. I reported all the Webster capture to headquarters 
 at St. Louis, but did not mention the bacon left at Congers. That is 
 the only act of the writer that can be construed as defrauding Uncle 
 Sam. 
 
 One day news came that Jeff Thompson was burning bridges 
 and that we were cut off from St. Louis. Telegraph wires were cut. 
 There was a Union force at Ironton south ol us. I volunteered with 
 G. J. Tisdale to go to Ironton for supplies of cartridges and other 
 things. We went on a locomotive from Mineral Point. It was an ex 
 citing ride. The engineer was a staunch Union man. He said to us, 
 "All you fellows have to do is to hang on!" That locomotive danced 
 all sorts of jigs on that crooked track, and it seemed to me that we 
 would certainly be "spilled" out, but we arrived at Ironton all right. 
 If it was to do over again, the writer would let the other fellow take 
 the ride. The order for supplies was safely hidden in my shirt pocket. 
 Adjt. Gen. Dutch told me I had better wash my face before seeing the 
 commandant. A glance at the mirror told me that the coal dust and 
 smoke had made me black as a negro. Dutch was the son of Alfred 
 Dutch, formerly of a Chicago daily paper, and treated us royally. He 
 said his mother was a Felt. "There is something in a name." We 
 
2,36 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 secured the supplies and returned to Potosi, and companies "B" and 
 "H" were sure they could "put down the rebellion" in short order. 
 
 A few years ago Hon. Wm. Tucker wrote me from Washington, 
 enclosing a letter I had written him from Potosi. He said it contained 
 a prophecy worth preserving. In that letter I had written him that 
 the rebellion would never be conquered until the slaves were treated 
 as contraband of war the same as mules and other property. That 
 was the sentiment of every man in Co. "B" so far as could be learned 
 at that time. Years afterward the entire North applauded Gen. Butler 
 for uttering the same sentiment entertained by Co. "B" in September, 
 1861. But events make history and the dictum of a major-general far 
 outweighs the expression of private soldiers. 
 
 STORY OF THE MAN IN THE BLOUSE. 
 
 Soon after the detachment joined the regiment at Ironton, Col. 
 Lauman ordered a detail of twenty-seven from Co. "B" for headquarter 
 guard duty. The writer was made officer of the guard. 
 
 This incident showed how little our officers then knew of mili 
 tary usage. 
 
 The brigade at Ironton was commanded by U. S. Grant. None 
 of us had ever heard of him. We were all in love with Col. Lauman. 
 The officer of the day was from Hecker s regiment. When we went 
 on duty as guards at the court house the officer instructed me, "Do 
 not allow any person to approach that commissary building." After 
 the guards had been stationed, unearthly noises in the basement of 
 the court house began to annoy me. Toward sundown my investiga 
 tion showed that a score of Hecker s men were confined there and 
 had been there since the night before, sent up for drunks and disor 
 derly conduct. Not a word of instruction had been given me regarding 
 the men in the guard house, so, after dark, when the noisy complaints 
 of the prisoners became unbearable, I unlocked the door and told 
 the men to "go and sin no more." Why I was not locked up for the 
 trick I cannot understand. If there was a more verdant man in the 
 army than the writer, he has not been discovered. 
 
 About 10:00 p. m. I heard the sentinel at the commissary ouilding 
 cry, "Halt!" and at once went to learn the cause. He (it was Frank 
 Hurley, I think) told me that two men had tried to pass him toward 
 the building, and he told them "Halt, damn you, or I ll shoot." The 
 men vanished. 
 
 I praised him for his courage and returned to the court house 
 and was making an entry on the guard book when a man in uniform 
 and sword entered and said, "Where is the officer of the guard?" He 
 was promptly told that the writer was the officer of the guard. He 
 seemed to doubt my word. My uniform was a pair of citizen s pants, 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 237 
 
 shoes, a grey wool shirt and an old slouched hat. He eyed me keenly 
 and finally said, "You will report at General Grant s headquarters at 
 once." It was my turn to look at him pretty sharp. I replied, "Tell 
 the General I will come down pretty soon." If the look of surprised 
 casdain on that officers face could be placed on canvas it would sell 
 for a fortune. A few minutes later I went down to the cottage in the 
 orchard where Grant had his headquarters. The sentinel told me 
 there was a screw loose. The door was open and I walked in without 
 removing my hat. "Young man you should remove your hat when you 
 enter here." This was said by a handsome man in a new uniform 
 whom I promptly saluted, thinking to myself that Grant was a good 
 looker and fine dresser. There was a cheap table in the room, behind 
 which sat a smallish man with a sandy beard. He wore an old blouse 
 and I supposed he was the cook or hostler. He addressed me. "Are 
 you the officer of the guard? What order did you give the sentry 
 at the commissary building?" 
 
 The surprise at being thus addressed by "the man in the blouse," 
 almost dazed me. But direct answers were made to his inquiries. 
 Then came this, "Did yon order him to shoot without asking the 
 countersign?" It was explained to him that no countersign had been 
 given to us and orders given to shoot. Then "How are the members 
 of my staff who sleep in that building to go in there tonight?" "Your 
 staff nor any one else can enter that building. My orders are to allow 
 no person to pass the guard line." 
 
 If you could have seen the look on the face of the sandy bearded 
 "man in the blouse" at that moment you would never have forgotten 
 the scene. His lips were set like a steel trap. His eyes gave a steady 
 light, causing it to dawn on my dull mind that "the man in the blouse" 
 was General Grant! 
 
 It seemed to me he would never stop looking into my eyes. But 
 it was only for a few seconds. Then a smile seemed to be struggling 
 for a place on his lips and he said in a pleasant tone: 
 
 "Young man, you can go to your post again." 
 
 The young man went. Little did I then dream that in later life 
 in two national conventions my vote would be cast for that sandy 
 bearded "man in the blouse" for President of the United States. 
 
 No member of Grant s staff slept in that commissary building 
 that night. The interview in the orchard cottage gave me a night 
 mare for the remaining hours on duty, and when the writer related 
 the affair to Col. Lauman the next day, that grand, brave commander 
 of the 7th Iowa, said: "Don t worry, young man; you obeyed orders 
 to the letter, and I will -stand by you." That was the last of it so 
 far as the writer knows, but this Grant incident is properly enough 
 
238 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 related in these confessions of a chump who knew but precious little 
 of military affairs, but did the best he knew. 
 
 One of the worst scares I had in the service was at Charleston 
 bridge where Co. "B" had been sent from Bird s Point. We had gone 
 into camp at dusk. The Johnnies had fired the bridge and fled. It 
 was October. Eights out; no fires. Our position was to be kept secret. 
 The night was dark. Suddenly a gun shot on the picket line. "Every 
 body fall in!" Then came the loud spuealing or a pig. Everybody was 
 hungry in a minute. No enemy but the pig. He was a Johnny cross 
 ing the picket line and was shot. Order for secrecy reversed. A 
 fire was kindled. The pig was roasted and eaten. Then fate was 
 grim again. A picket came in and said hundreds of Johnnies were at 
 the bridge. The fire cast a dim light over the river bottom and there 
 seemed to be hundreds of men standing west of the bridge. Not much 
 sleep. All ready for trouble at daybreak. The dawn solved the mys 
 tery. Not a Johnny within five miles. Clumps of cypress knees out 
 lined in the firelight had caused the fright. "One may as well be 
 killed as frightened to death." 
 
 Nov. 9th the regiment embarked at Bird s Point with the Grant 
 Brigade to drive the enemy from Belmont. Lieut. Dodge and the 
 writer had tented together. His manner that morning impressed me 
 deeply. He insisted that we should leave our watches and valuables 
 in the tent. He seemed sure that he would be killed that day. No 
 reasoning of mine could remove the shadow from his heart. There 
 was a Damon and Pythias affection between us. His mood saddened 
 me. He was of faultless deportment, brave, generous and true. In 
 the midst of the battle, when the air was sulphurous with bursting 
 shell, and the leaves under the trees were on fire; when all was confu 
 sion; after Col. Lauman and Capt. Gardner had been shot and left 
 the field; when dead and dying men in blue and gray were tinting the 
 earth with their life blood, Geo. Dodge was seeking to rally the scat 
 tered men. Panic was in the air. An Illinois soldier was dying at 
 my feet; he begged for water. I lifted his head, gave him water from 
 my canteen, and tried to make him more easy. Dodge ran up to me 
 saying: "Hurry Andy! We are being surrounded." 
 
 I intended to follow him at once but the dying man implored 
 me to loosen his belt, which I did just as his life went out. Troops 
 were hurrying past and at that moment a field officer rode up and com 
 manded the remnant of boys to pull a cannon up a little mound. His 
 order was obeyed. There were not over forty of us of different regi 
 ments. Col. Wentz rode up and pointed to a steamer laden with John 
 nies coming across from Columbus. The gun was aimed at the boat 
 and the ball went through the smoke stack, we were told later. A 
 volley from the woods west of us wounded some of tmr men. It seemed 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 239 
 
 to me that the Illinois regiment in cadet uniform was firing upon us 
 by mistake. Moving a few paces toward them as they had ceased fir 
 ing, I yelled to them "Don t fire, this is the Seventh Iowa." Then they 
 gave the "yell" and started towards us on the double quick. 
 
 Then one of those fool things happened. So soon as it was seen 
 that we were in a cul de sac our boys fired at them. We had then 
 about thirty men unhurt. The regiment of Johnnies returned the fire 
 and in a moment were upon us. Tannahill was standing by my side 
 when the hail storm of bullets broke loose. Placing his hand to his 
 chin I noticed that his chin whiskers had been plowed through, draw 
 ing blood from a skin wound on his throat. Col. Wentz was killed. 
 Morton shot through the abdomen. Howard and Za Rutherford badly 
 wounded in the arm. Calab Green shot in the breast. Every man 
 there had a close call. A dozen men of other companies were badly 
 wounded. Something occurred to me then. A dozen Johnnies seemed 
 determined to have a ring from my finger. Then my tongue broke 
 loose. It never did have any sense. An officer dressed in a red shirt 
 and slouched hat pushed the men aside and said: 
 
 "I will take charge of this man." 
 
 My thought was, "Grevious words stir up anger" and my doom 
 is at hand. The officer pointed to my breast and uttered words I un 
 derstood. Then I noticed that the belt passing over my shoulder had 
 been ripped by a bullet revealing a mystic pin fastened to the breast 
 of my coat. He had noticed the pin. 
 
 At the moment a mounted Johnny came riding up carrying the 
 blood stained and bullet torn flag of one of our regiments. Then in 
 spite of my efforts to be calm, my lips quivered and the unbidden tears 
 rolled down my cheeks. Seeking for my handkerchief, and not finding 
 it, it came to my mind that it had been used to bind up the wounded 
 hand of comrade Cotton several hours before. The officer said, "I will 
 take you to the boat and go with you to Columbus." He was informed 
 that Za Rutherford and Caleb Greene must be taken with me, and 
 that they must be cared for. He promptly assented. So the solemn 
 march began. The boys were dying of thirst. A Johnny said he 
 would fill my canteen for me. The canteen never came back. 
 
 The trip oVer the river was short but it seemed an age to me. 
 Co. "B" had been cut to pieces. I recalled that H. I. Smith had been 
 terribly wounded while almost at my elbow. The picture of all the 
 boys from Floyd and Chickasaw passed before my eyes like a vivid 
 dream. 
 
 At Columbus the sidewalks were literally covered with the 
 bodies of dead and dying men; many of them Seventh Iowa boys, but 
 mostly of Illinois regiments, and many boys in gray. We were taken 
 to a dirty barge lying at the wharf and surprised to find it nearly 
 
240 HISTORY OP THE 8EVENTH IOWA 
 
 full of prisoners taken over the river ahead of us. Am sorry have lost 
 name of the Tennessee captain in the red flannel. He took my brother-in- 
 law, Za Rutherford, to the rebel hospital and took me along to assist him. 
 From this the rebels mistook me for a surgeon. I helped dress Ruth 
 erford s very serious wounds, but soon convinced the Johnnies that 
 I knew no more of surgery than a cat does of Kansas politics. The 
 rebel hospital was over the post office, and the discovery soon made 
 that the rebel dead and wounded far outnumbered ours. It was an 
 awful place. 
 
 On Sunday the postmaster came in and said to me, "Gen. Jeff 
 Thompson is down stairs and wants to see you." That was not the 
 kind of news to make me happy, but down stairs we went. Gen. Jeff 
 said, "When mayor of St. Joseph, Mo., I went off to Chicago on a big 
 drunk with several Iowa mayors, perhaps you know them and can 
 tell me about them." It happened that two of them were friends of 
 mine. (One was Gen. Hodgdon, of Dubuque.) So the visit with Jeff 
 was a short respite. When he left he said,"Come,Iowa,give us a toast." 
 I promptly replied, "Well, General, here is to the American Union!" 
 
 Quick as a flash he poured water into the glass of brandy, and 
 said, "All right, Iowa, half and half," and shaking my hand hastily, 
 off he went. He was witty of speech and a dangerous bushwhacker. 
 
 The wounded were taken up the river and exchanged. That left 
 105 who were taken down the river. Seven of these, I think, were of 
 Co. "B." The balance mostly Illinois men. There were several cap 
 tains and staff officers. Morton died on the barge. The fact that Geo. 
 Dodge had been killed was not known to me for more than a year. 
 Dan McTaggart escaped, was captured and escaped again. He was 
 murdered in cold blood in southern Kansas a few years ago. We were 
 boated to Memphis. We had a reception. The roofs and streets were 
 covered with people anxious for a sight of the hated "Yanks." They 
 hurled missies at us and rained anathemas upon our defenseless 
 heads, but no one was hurt. First they quartered us in a cotton shed, 
 then moved us to Bird Hill s slave markets. When we marched in 
 there, Capt. Twiss, Col. John A. Logan s wagon master, literally ex 
 ploded. Twiss said: 
 
 "Don t this beat hell! The last time I was here it was to bring 
 in a lot of runaway niggers, when I was U. S. marshal under President 
 
 Buchanan! Now these d d southerners are trying to break up 
 
 the Union!" 
 
 Then Capt. Twiss said something really profane. The boys or 
 ganized a mock U. S. senate with all the states represented. The 
 writer was the presiding officer. 
 
 The rebels were not in love with these senate discussions, and 
 soon stopped the proceedings and we were moved to the Botanical 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 241 
 
 Medical College out on Corinth road. Before the removal three of us 
 were selected by lot to go to Columbus, they said to be exchanged. 
 Three more happy mortals never lived. Alex. Sutton, of Logan s regi 
 ment, was one of them. He now lives in Illinois. Regret cannot re 
 call name of third man. At Columbus we were kept under close guard 
 three days and the Rebs told us we had been brougnt up to be shot 
 in retaliation for some Yank s meanness. We each weighed a ton on 
 our arrival at Columbus, but that bit of news reduced us to normal 
 weight. We did not believe the story but there was something about 
 the statement not a bit consoling. 
 
 You may regard this statement as confidential. Had we known 
 the brutal treatment to come in the following summer, a sentence of 
 death then* and there would not have been as hard to bear. We were 
 surprised when we were again on a steamer headed for Memphis. 
 Why we were taken to Columbus is yet a mystery. At New Madrid 
 several Rebs came aboard. Among them Dr. McDowell, of St. Louis, 
 one of the most blatant secessionists of that period. Col. Branden 
 burg, of Arkansas, soon opened up a talk with me and was taken 
 aback when told that three Democratic Congressmen from Illinois 
 were leading regiments in Grant s brigade. He knew Logan and 
 Foulke. Said he was a Douglass elector in Arkansas the year before 
 and had told his people that they could never cut the Mississippi 
 river in two, and that secession was a mistake. The talk wound up 
 by his insisting that we go into the cabin and take dinner with him. 
 We went. A handsomely dressed rebel Major from Charleston, South 
 Carolina, sat directly opposite me, and he was very angry at seeing 
 the blue uniforms at the cabin table and talked abusively of "The 
 d d Yankee abolitionists of the North who were invading the 
 South." He looked insultingly at me. I felt that anger was master 
 ing my discretion, and finally in a voice of wrath said to him: 
 
 "I am a prisoner of war, but if allowed to speak here, would 
 like to reply to your misstatements." 
 
 There was a commotion in that cabin. Every knife and fork 
 was dropped. Col. Brandenburg, who sat next to me, brought his big 
 fist down on that table with such force that the glass and china 
 danced a jig. Col. B. said: 
 
 These gentlemen are my guests, and an insult to them is an 
 insult to me. Young man, you can talk all you please." 
 
 Then the rebel Major heard some "hot stuff." He was told among 
 other things that the writer was named after Andrew Jackson who, 
 three decades before had notified a distinguished South Carolinian 
 that nullification was treason, and that the man who fired upon the 
 American flag was a traitor and ought to be hung. 
 
 The rebel Major was white with rage and left the table, and 
 
242 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 we saw no more of him. But the incident drew Col. B. closer to us, 
 and upon our arrival at Memphis the next day, when the armed guards 
 ordered us to fall into line and march up to the prison. Col. B. said, 
 "No! These gentlemen will first go with me to the Gayosa hotel for 
 dinner." And we did. It was a square meal and the last one we had 
 for nearly a year. Col. B. wanted to buy me a suit of clothes and to 
 accept some money. His generous offer was firmly declined, "as we 
 should not be prisoners long." He bade us a sad good-bye. Col. Bran- 
 denberg was a brave,true,generous man. Wish we could meet him again. 
 
 In December a serious attack of fever found me lying on the 
 floor in the college. Wisner, Nye and Tannahill were greatly worried. 
 One day Tannahill said the rebel in charge had told him we could all 
 get out if we would not take up arms again. "What do you think of 
 that, Andy?" "Tannahill, you have children and must decide for 
 yourself. As for Andy, ne will die first." Tannahill took my nand, 
 rubbed my aching head, and said "Andy, I will stay with you to the 
 end." Brave fellow! He was a living skeleton when we reached Ann 
 apolis late in October, 1862, and died the following day. Tannahill 
 was a hero. His widow lives in Kansas now. The elder Morton, of 
 Co. "B," died in Kansas. 
 
 Soon after that I was taken to the Overton Hospital and was 
 kindly and skillfully treated by Dr. Curry, of Nashville, I remember 
 him with gratitude. Yellow jaundice and rheumatism attacked me. 
 For several months could not raise my left hand to my lips. The doc 
 tor would not allow me to talk, but told me the North would be 
 whipped; that the slaves would raise crops and the Southern whites 
 do the fighting. The writer suggested that the slaves would aid the 
 North when posted. Dr. Curry said, "My body servant will watch 
 with you to-night. If he knew you was a Northern soldier he would 
 run from the hospital." Along in the night I was awakened and saw 
 at the foot of the cot a fat yellow boy neatly dressed. His intent look 
 made me nervous. He said, "Massa, ain t you one of dem Linkum 
 soldiers? Massa Curry told me you was one of dem Arkansaw fellers, 
 but the more Massa Curry tell me dat the more dis chile no belebe 
 him." 
 
 It seems the doctor had brought him in while sleep came to 
 my rescue. Finding me so sleepy the slave said: "Well, massa, I know 
 you is, and you have lots of friends down in the kitchen." He tried 
 to hide oranges under my pillow. Here was a revelation. This was 
 in December, 1861. Even then the slaves in the towns had a myster 
 ious knowledge boding no good to their masters. But the treachery 
 of Dr. Curry s slave disgusted me. Dr. Curry never heard of it. 
 
 One day three women walked into the little room and took a 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 243 
 
 long look at me, as a live "Yank" in a hospital with hundreds of 
 wounded Johnnies was a curiosity. Noting my wakefulness, one 
 woman gave me a lecture on the horrid conduct of the "Yankees." 
 She boasted of her South Carolina birth and consigned me and the 
 entire "Yankee" race to the "bottomless pit." Her talk served as 
 a tonic; it amused and strengthened me and I managed to tell her 
 I was not a "Yankee." but a native of New York. Like a spitfire 
 she replied: "The meanest Yankees I know are New Yorkers." That 
 squelched me entirely. The other two women tried to talK viciously 
 but did not succeed very well. They left me feeling amused and 
 really better for their visit. 
 
 A very singular thing happened the following day after sur 
 geons call, when one of the three ladies aforenamed entered and 
 placed on the chair near my head something covered with a white 
 cloth. She said, "We talked roughly to you yesterday. Hope you 
 are no worse. I have brought you a bowl of soup." 
 
 I looked at the bowl she lifted irom the chair, then looked square 
 ly into her eyes, but did not speak. She said, "I know you think this 
 has poison in it." There was a moisture in her eyes; a sadness in her 
 face that made me hate myself for thinking evil of her for she had 
 read my thoughts correctly. 
 
 She continued, "You have many friends in Memphis. Three 
 of my brothers are in the Union army from Ohio. I was teaching 
 here when hostilities began and could not get away. So I have to 
 be a pretty good rebel while here." Am so ashamed that her name 
 was not taken at that time. Weeks after,when my strength was return- 
 ing.she brought me a book to read, "The Last Days of Pompeii," and it 
 gave me solid comfort. God bless that dear woman wherever she may 
 be. In March early, all prisoners were taken to Mobile, via Corinth 
 by rail, thence by steamer to Tuscaloosa. Dr. Curry said the trip 
 might kill me, but it didn t. Was so ill when taken to the steamer 
 at Mobile that I remember nothing of it. 
 
 Dr. David Whitnell, John A. Logan s surgeon, was one of the 
 prisoners and looked after me. He told me later that the boat cap 
 tain gave him a bottle of Georgia peach brandy, and he dosed me with 
 it. Probably made me full as a tick, but it didn t make me feel like 
 a peach. When senses returned was in a room in hospital of prison 
 at Tuscaloosa. Dr. Thomas Fishburn Lee was surgeon in charge at 
 Tuscaloosa, and he treated me more like a brother than a foe. That 
 was the third time that the little mystic pin on my now ragged blue 
 coat had, without my knowledge, brought me aid in the sorest need. 
 The rations at Tuscaloosa were horrid. The corn bread was in flat 
 cakes three feet square, three inches thich, and so hard that the boys 
 used iron pokers to break it. 
 
244 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 One April day after the wounded from Shiloh were brought 
 there, that infamous wretch, Wertz, came into the room where not 
 a man was able to walk. He had a revolver in each hand and threat 
 ened to shoot the entire party of prisoners. His language was too vile 
 to print. He was hung in Washington at the close of the war for his 
 inhuman treatment. He is the only person at whose death the writer 
 really rejoiced. 
 
 One day, crawling to an open window, my head was out to 
 catch the fresh air. The click of a gun lock caused my eyes to glance 
 downward. There was a Johnny aiming at me with his old musket. 
 I was angry enough to bite a file. He said, "You Yanks must keep 
 your heads in or we-uns will shoot. Them s orders." His inimit 
 able drawl as he lowered his gun, would have drawn a smile from 
 a tombstone. The next morning the affair was reported to Dr. Lee, 
 who said the order was infamous but that it was posted on the prison 
 doors, properly signed by Gen. Winder. He told me that an Iowa boy 
 had been shot for standing in an open doorway. It was a fiendish 
 murder. Gen. Winder s infamous, brutal order was a disgrace to 
 American civilization. 
 
 Later, last of May, perhaps, the prisoners were moved to Mont 
 gomery. Several men died of small pox in Tuscaloosa hospital. I 
 was too ill to be moved with my comrades to Montgomery, but was sent 
 Ihere later. Met Col. Knight, of Floyd, there and he gave me a 
 breakfast that astonished my stomach. In due season the prisoners 
 were moved to Camp Oglethorpe,Macon,Ga. That camp was another 
 name for Hell with a big capital H. It was"a plaoe of torment." Major 
 Rylander had charge. He was not a soldier. He was a bushwhacking, 
 cowardly "home guard." He was not "a man." Simply a "thing" 
 in boots and spurs. He had no heart and only an apology for a 
 gizzard. Rylander was a small edition of Wertz. He is probably 
 still living. The Devil wouldn t accept him. No bullet could find him 
 and no alligator, would eat him. When thinking of Camp Oglethorpe 
 I try to exercise a Christian spirit, but its memories make me feel 
 like the Devil! 
 
 Hundreds of our brave fellows were literally starved to death. 
 Many were shot on the dead line. The water was filthy. The food 
 would upset the stomach of a Hottentot. The sand, the blankets, 
 the clothing, the air, literally alive with vermin. Several thousand 
 prisoners were there that year, 1862, coming and going. If the un 
 known graves could only speak what a horrid story they would tell. 
 There were days and nights of horror in that camp no pen can describe, 
 no tongue can tell. Why it was permitted, God only knows. How any of 
 us survived its horrors is an unsolved mystery. 
 
 Amid all its horr<?rs I never heard a company "B" man utter a 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 245 
 
 word that denoted failing courage. Hope inspired each of them. 
 July Fourth, 1862, will never be forgotten by those living who were 
 in Camp Oglethorpe that day. The boys grouped together and sang 
 The Star Spangled Banner and America. They entered into the spirit 
 of the glorious day. They were in bondage but the spirit of freemen 
 burned within them. The Rebel guards came close to the dead line 
 and sang The Bonnie Blue Flag and Dixie. The writer sat by Hank 
 Wisner* on the sand and thought over the story of Bunker Hill and of 
 Marion and his men. 
 
 Our rations were rice, meal, densely populated side meat and 
 "coffee made of parched grain and bugs, principally bugs. Our bed 
 was rough boards with a ragged blanket. Charlie Webster came to 
 my bed one day saying, "We shall all die here. We are being starved 
 to death." Wisner and Nye tried to argue him out of that idea. That 
 night Webster lay down upon the sand and died. A broken heart! 
 He was from Fort Madison. August was a terrible month. A sand 
 dune in front of our quarters was "the dead pile." Every morning 
 those who had died at night were thrown on that sand heap. Nye 
 and Wisner lay upon my right and left. My limbs were useless. My 
 blood seemed frozen in spite of the heat. No men were ever more 
 loyal to a brother than Nye and Wisner to me. Will some one send 
 me Wisner s address? One day Nye said, "Andy, I am going to leave 
 you. I know it. I dreamed last night that the ground was white. 
 I saw a cutter drive .up to the old home in York state, and my mother 
 came to the door, received a letter and said, My boy is dead. It 
 means me, Andy, I cannot shake it off." His mind was shaken. 
 
 Nye and the writer were lovers. It was said in prison that we 
 looked alike. His words were so solemn that it nearly killed me, 
 but Wisner and I tried to talk him out. of it. Within two days Nye was 
 dead. A more genuine comrade never lived. After his body was 
 carried to the dead pile, one of the boys came to my side, looked at me 
 intently, and said, "Why, Andy, you are alive? I just saw you on 
 the dead pile." How is it that human beings become used to the 
 ways of savages? 
 
 Once when I was unable to open my eyes or move a muscle, 
 Wisner begged the rebel surgeon to give me some medicine. The sur 
 geon brutally replied, "That fellow is as good as dead; no use wasting 
 time on him." That s one time my horrid temper saved my life. 
 His heartless tone, as if speaking to a dog, aroused me to life again. 
 Speech and sight were denied me, but inside my heart of hearts was 
 an indignation meeting that Wisner and the surgeon knew not of. 
 Something said to me, "You will live you have a work yet to do." 
 The next day Wisner was dumbfounded when told that I heard it all. 
 That jar was a tonic! In all the year in prison the cowardly home 
 
24:6 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 guards were to be dreaded. The real soldiers in grey were gentle 
 men. One day a party of Georgians from Camp Douglass called upon 
 us. One said to me. "It is a shame the way you are treated here." 
 
 We were taken to Richmond in September, packed in box cars 
 like sheep. At Columbia, S. C., we were lifted from the cars and 
 laid in the sun to dry. A driving rain wet us through. It was my first 
 real washing for months. My feet were bare, my trousers worn out 
 nearly to the knees, and my coat a mass of rags. While lying there 
 racked with pain and in abject misery, a car inspector was tapping 
 the wheels. He looked at me and said, "Don t give up, you boys have 
 lots of friends down here." The south was honeycombed with Union 
 sentiment. If a hundred hot headed politicians had been called to 
 Heaven in 1861 the rebellion would have been in hell early in 1862. 
 
 Have no recollection of arrival at Libby prison hospital. Re 
 call that one morning a dead man was at my right, another at my 
 left. Late in October we were taken to a flag of truce boat on the 
 James river. The boys said that when the stars and stripes went up 
 it would get such a cheer as was never heard before. The flag went 
 up when in sight of Fortress Monroe. I saw men weep. Heard them 
 sob. Their joy was too great for cheers. The flag never seemed so 
 bright to my poor eyes. It covered all the earth and sea. It brigh 
 tened all the sky. From that hour to this I never see the flag float 
 ing above me that my heart does not swell and my eyes moisten in 
 memory of that scene on the James River. 
 
 Was insensible soon after and when consciousness returned 
 was in a strange place. It seemed like Heaven. By degrees I noted 
 that my rags had disappeared and a robe of white covered me. By 
 slow degrees my mind reached the conclusion that a great change had 
 come over me. The attendant told me it was ward 17, naval hospital, 
 Annapolis, Maryland. I asked for Co. "B" boys. But was left alone 
 with the attendant. I begged for a mirror. Had not seen my face for 
 nearly a year. Was not sure it was Andy Felt. It seemed so like a 
 dream. My requests were not granted. "Where is the doctor?" 
 "He examined you and will be here again soon." It was days before 
 fully conscious of my condition. The iron cot was pushed to the window. 
 The flag was floating over a steamer. The stars and stripes. The 
 tears came. .Could not keep them back. My heart said, "God bless 
 Old Glory!" The scene was a transformation from torment to rest. 
 Finally the "B" boys called. They said Gov. Kirkwood was in Wash 
 ington. "Can you write to him?" Propped up on the cot, my hand 
 wrote him that Co. "B" boys just from Richmond, wanted to join 
 the dear old Seventh again. The Governor replied: "Am called 
 to Iowa at once, but the Secretary of War will grant request." On 
 Christmas we were all taken into a big dining room and filled with 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 247 
 
 roast turkey and oyster stuffing. I never did have much sense. Tur 
 key has never tasted good to me since Christmas, 1862. My attend 
 ant was a 20th New Yorker, wounded at Antietam. The doctor was 
 constantly importuned to let me go outside. I could walk a little, 
 proud of my new uniform. One day he gave me a pass good for an 
 hour outside the grounds. Looked in a mirror. Almost fainted. It 
 was not the writer 1 . It was a skeleton with sunken eyes and grey 
 beard. Was I bewitched? Went to the scales. Tipped the beam at 
 eight-five pounds. Scales not right. Should weigh one hundred and 
 thirty. Tried other scales. Same result. Told doctor wanted some 
 thing to make me fat. He said, "If you live to get home eat foods to 
 make blood. You have been starved to death!" I promised to do 
 it. Have been eating ever since. Am now as fat as a match. 
 
 Early in January came an order for me to take the boys to St. 
 Louis. We reported to Gen. Woods at Benton Barracks. After a 
 rest we started for Corinth and saw Co. "B" once more. 
 
 We all went out (mostly in ambulances) to Hamburg, and 
 thence up the river. Gen. Rice was in command. Never knew what 
 we went after. Gen. Rice and Gapt. Reniger came to the tent and 
 handed me my appointment as a sergeant. Gen. Rice saia, "Mr. Pelt." 
 Couldn t understand it. He then handed me my discharge dated back 
 in December. "By special order of Sec. of War, on report of Surgeon 
 General." If General Rice had struck me he could not have surprised 
 me more. Rice said, "You go home, recruit a few men, and you will 
 get a Lieutenant s Commission." I went, but disease soon laid me 
 up and I have been a physicial wreck ever since. I loved every man 
 in the original Co. "B." No. better 106 men went out in 1861. It has 
 been my chief regret that their "march to the sea" was without me. 
 God bless all the surviving comrades. Trott is at Junction City, 
 Kansas, loved by all who know him. Za Rutherford publishes a paper 
 at bavannah, Mo., and doing well. Now, my dear Captain, here is 
 love to you. And with "tears for the dead, and cheers for the living" 
 here is to the remnant of oM Co. "B. 
 
 ANDY FELT. 
 Seneca, Kansas, March, 1903. 
 
 To Capt. H. I. Smith, Historian Seventh Iowa Infantry. 
 
248 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 It is refreshing to turn from the gruesome records of war, to 
 the beneficent results of peace. The North and South fought in cour 
 ageous rivalry. There was honest differences between the two in ref 
 erence to state sovereignty and slavery; this being fanned by ambi 
 tious partisans, there had grown up a spirit of antagonism, which, 
 seemingly, could not be settled or reconciled without test of arms 
 and strength. The Civil war was the result; it was an inevitable and 
 irrepressible conflict to settle the grave questions involved. Victors 
 and vanquished bravely played their part; to say otherwise we be 
 little each other. I have charity enough to believe that most of them 
 were honest in their convictions, that they were fighting for a prin 
 ciple; that they thought their homes and territory were being 
 assailed and that their institutions and land were being in 
 vaded without just cause. The Civil war settled these questions. 
 Might was in the right and right prevailed. It is settled in such a 
 way that both sides share equally in the results of the victory. It 
 should not be reopened. It should be settled so permanently that no 
 blasts of the future can shake it; sectionalism and bitterness should 
 find no place in this Great Nation. Obedience and submission to 
 law should be our first duty. 
 
 As victors we can afford to be magnanimous, we should scorn 
 to glory in our triumph; our former foes should fear no humiliation 
 from us in their defeat. Let us as Americans worthy of the name, 
 see that nothing be done to revive the animosities of the past. Let 
 us be charitable; it is our duty as patriotic citizens to encourage a 
 spirit of friendship and brotherly love, generosity and loyalty. I 
 think such sentiments should prevail and be taught. I am not in 
 favor of apologizing or doing anything humiliating. It is not suffi 
 cient that a man fought to save his country, but the true patriot 
 should strive to perpetuate it, and it should be the constant duty of 
 every good citizen to work for the perpetuation of this glorious re 
 public; and none can do it better than the Union and Confederate 
 soldier. I believe it is the duty for the Union soldier to take the 
 initiatory. Whenever the Southern soldier or citizen is willing to 
 accept the results of war and bear their allegiance to the flag, I am 
 willing to bury all differences and forget that we were enemies. A 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 249 
 
 mother chastizes an erring child when he goes astray or does wrong, 
 but should she love him any less or thrust him away when he asks 
 to be forgiven and wishes to return? There is a nobleness of character 
 in a man who will soundly thrash an antagonist, and when he cries 
 enough will raise him up and call it square. The Confederates had 
 not much left after the war, than the recollections of their valor, suf 
 ferings and sacrifices, and I am not one to begrudge them that; I cherish 
 no revenge. 
 
 Schiller said, "A merely fallen foe may rise again, but the re 
 conciled one is truly vanquished." Emerson said, "There can be no 
 deep peace between two spirits, never mutual respect, until, in the 
 decalogue each stands for the whole Nation." Grant said, "Let us have 
 peace." And Milton, "Peace hath her victories no less renowned 
 than war." 
 
 Shriveled sectionalism and party prejudice should find no place 
 or lodgement in our country. 
 
 The example of reconciliation is set by the veterans more than 
 all others, they have most to forgive and forget. "When brave men 
 sheathe their swords the quarrel is done." 
 
 Senator Dolliver said, referring to General Joseph Wheeler, 
 when he was about to go to Cuba, I warned him he was too old and 
 that he would never return. "My boy," he said, as if to atone for the 
 part he had taken in the rebellion, "I prayed for ten years for an op 
 portunity to die in the uniform of the United States." I like to quote 
 such utterances from our former foes. Let the spirit of sectional hate 
 perish under the memories of heroes and their deeds. 
 
 The Spanish war has done much to wipe out the differences that 
 have existed between the North and South; the unanimity with which 
 they have joined, to be a unity for the Nation, and the spirit that pre 
 vailed between the young men of both sections to fraternize and join 
 together in the defense of the flag, has been most cheering and com 
 mendable. Henry Watterson uttered a grand triith in speaking of 
 the Spanish war when he said: 
 
 "In these warlike spectacles, everywhere manifest, ic has al 
 ready united us as nothing else could have united us emancipating 
 both sections of the Union from the mistaken impression that we ever 
 were, or ever could be, anything else than one people. In the brilliant 
 achievement of that typical Green Mountain boy on the other side of 
 the globe it has already exploited us as a naval power, and, as you 
 yourselves shall show, it will presently demonstrate us no less a mili 
 tary power, before whose legions the enemies of liberty and humanity 
 will do well to look before they leap. Surely these were consumma 
 tions devoutly to be wished. They are worth all the war has cost 
 us, or will cost us. I know what war means. 
 
 "Obedience, submission, is the first and perhaps the hardest 
 
250 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 of the soldiers first duties. If officers seem capricious or tyrannical, 
 do your duty. It will come round all right. If the powers that be 
 seem partisan or unfair, do your duty. The end will justify you. Be 
 sure that, in the long run, the man who does his duty passes beyond 
 the reach of wrong; for, as there is a God who saith Vengeance is 
 mine; I will repay, so is there a people whose voice is the voice of 
 God, who will visit upon those that would convert the places of trust 
 which they chance to nold into places of private or political advantage, 
 a punishment as complete as it is certain, as blighting as it is over 
 whelming. 
 
 "In the nature of the case but few of you can hope to attain to 
 great commands or to acquire exceptional distinction. In the end most 
 of you must lay aside your uniforms and resume the habiliments of 
 civil life. But there is no one of you who cannot do his duty and 
 doing it, can be happy and contented. A neighbor of mine came to 
 me the other day to ask me to exert my supposed influence in getting 
 his son a commission. I assured him that I had no influence. 
 
 "But, said i: I have two sons carrying muskets in the ranks 
 sons whom I dearly love but for whose advancement I shall not put 
 fortii the slightest effort. It is enough for me to know that they are 
 serving their country, and if it please God to bring them back to their 
 mother and me safe and sound,! shall bless His name as long as I live. 
 
 "In that prayer let me include each and every one of you; 
 though I would rather see my boys, and each and every one of you, 
 lying by the side of that brave and loyal sailor lad whom North 
 Carolina has just given up as heaven s first sacrifice upon the altars 
 of the nation and mankind, than that one feather should be plucked 
 from the eagle s wing, or a syllable of reproach justly cast upon the 
 name and fame of our dear Kentucky." 
 
 "Let us have peace." 
 
 THE SEVENTH IOWA COLORS HONORED. 
 
 The first colors of the regiment, having been carried in General 
 Grant s first battle of the Civil war, have the distinguished honor .of 
 being deposited Deside the remains of General Grant in the mausoleum 
 at Riverside Drive, New York, having been sent by Major Mahon, in 
 accordance with the instructions in the following correspondence: 
 
 Ottumwa, Iowa, Feb. 17, 1903. 
 Gen. Grenville Dodge, New York City, 
 
 Dear General: Some time last fall when in the city, I visited 
 the Grant monument. I found the niche on Gen. Grant s side of the 
 
FIRST FLAG OF THE REGIMENT. 
 
 Carried during Grant s first battle, Behnont, Mo., Nov. 7. 1861. 
 Now deposited in Gen. Grant s Tomb, Riverside Drive, New York. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 251 
 
 tomb, devo.ted to the flags of the Army of the Tennessee, quite well 
 filled. In the other niche on the side of Mrs. Grant s resting place, 
 there were no flags, and the custodian informed me they were unable 
 to procure them from the different states, as they held them at their 
 own capitals. 
 
 I have in my possession the flag carried by the 7th at Belmont, 
 Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, the advance on Corinth, and the 
 engagements at Corinth Oct. 3rd and 4th, and luka a few weeks earlier. 
 Meantime the colors had faded out of the flag to such an extent that 
 it was unrecognizable, and we drew a new stand of colors. Gen. 
 Elliott W. Rice secured the old flag and carried it in his trunk up to 
 the time of his promotion to be Brigadier-General in August 64. At 
 that time, I being in command of the regiment, he gave the flag to 
 me; it followed my fortunes with my limited belongings to the close 
 of the war. 
 
 I still have it and prize it highly, but recognizing that it has 
 a significance outside of personal sentiment, I desire to know if you 
 would care to have it to place in the Grant mausoleum. If you should 
 consider the offer, I would like to have the engagements of the regi 
 ment inscribed on the flag, or rather on a strip fastened to it, as the 
 present material is too frail, I fear, to take any printing. I would 
 also ask the great privilege of having my name attached as the donor. 
 
 With kind regards, I remain, 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 SAM L MAHON. 
 
 GRANT MONUMENT ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Office of Vice President. 
 
 No. 1 Broadway. 
 
 New York, Feb. 20, 1903. 
 Major Samuel Mahon, Ottumwa, Iowa. 
 
 My Dear Comrade: I am in receipt of yours of February 17th. 
 We would be very glad to have you send us the flag, and have inscribed 
 on a card in typewriting or large letters, first oy whom it was donated, 
 second its history, and attach this to the flag. By its history, I 
 mean the name of the regiment and the battles it was engaged in, 
 If there is a staff to it will have to be boxed and sent to Colonel Mid- 
 dleton, Custodian of the Grant Tomb, Riverside Drive, New York City. 
 
 Thanking you for your thoughtfulness in the matter and assur 
 ing you that the Grant Monument Association appreciate your offer, 
 I am, Very truly yours, 
 
 G. M. DODGE, Vice President. 
 
252 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 The drum corps of the regiment was organized by W. E. Thayer, 
 a drummer of company "B," who was appointed Drum Major August 
 27th, 1861. The corps was made up from details from the regiment, 
 and the original members were as follows: 
 
 Drummers: Fifersf 
 
 George Craig, Wm. Johnson, 
 
 George Kesler, E. M. Thayer, 
 
 James Dunham, Charles Goodno, 
 
 John Conaha, Isaac Friedney, 
 
 David Bales. John Akers. 
 
 Major Thayer, who is now living (1903) at Ruthven, Iowa, con 
 tributes the following sketch: 
 
 The boys were rather raw at first, but by drilling soon became 
 a good band, always ready for duty and obey orders. 
 
 At the first battle, Belmont, Mo., I ordered one each to take 
 places in rear of each company and to assist wounded to the rear, 
 and assist the surgeons. (There was no Red Cross Society in the 
 Civil war). They stood the test of the battle very well. In the course 
 of the fight our regiment was ordered to fall back a few paces; there 
 were two boys that fell so far back that I did not see them again until 
 we got back to the fleet. I do not think it best to say who they were. 
 The Rebels got possession of our instruments which we had stacked 
 during the battle. The regiment soon afterwards made a charge, 
 recovering our ground and our instruments, except one fife and one 
 drum head busted. After the battle the boys and myself assisted 
 in caring for the wounded on the return to Cairo. 
 
 In the hurried return to the boats, as there was not room for all 
 the wounded in the wagons used to convey the wounded from the 
 field to the boats, I assisted Henry Benson, of Co. "B," who was severe 
 ly wounded in the ankle, by holding on to the end board of the wagon 
 and letting him lay across my arms, carrying him in that way about 
 two miles to the fleet. It was a four mule team and was hurriedly 
 driven through the woods, over stumps and sticks, without roads, 
 making me exceedingly lame and sore before I got him to the boats. 
 What made it more difficult for me was that Captain Parrott, on the 
 return, became so weak from his wounds that he had to hang to my 
 coat tail to keep up. 
 
 Dear Comrade: As I wrote you, I was wounded in the fierce 
 encounter we had with the rebel force sent over from Columbus to 
 intercept us when returning to the boats after the encampment was 
 destroyed and our purpose for invading Belmont, achieved. 
 
 While lying where I fell a rebel soldier attempted to bayonet 
 
W. E. THAYER, 
 
 Drum Major 7th Iowa Infantry. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 253 
 
 me and only the interference of his commanding officer saved my life. 
 I was conveyed to the river bank and there laid with my cap over 
 my eyes. How long I had laid there I don t know, but suddenly my 
 cap which was the only article of a soldier s equipment I had been 
 able to secure was lifted by a rebel Lieut, who exclaimed: "Why, 
 Caleb, where did you come from?" He was an old friend I knew in 
 St. Louis, and was leading his company in pursuit of the Yanks. 
 Seeing I had not the strength to talk my wounds were still bleeding 
 he hurriedly left me but not before promising to see me in Columbus, 
 where he said I would be taken. 
 
 The next thing I was conscious of was being dumped into a 
 wagon and seated between the outstretched legs of a comrade behind 
 me the method adopted in packing all of us. This done we were 
 tnmdled to the hospital over a plank road of which every other plank 
 was off on furlough or "mustered out." To my poor comrades the 
 jolting of that springless wagon was torture most exquisite. 
 
 On reaching our destination it was discovered that we had col 
 lapsed and run over like a tallow dip. But we quickly revived; for 
 when taken out of the wagon we again were telescoped regardless of 
 fractured bones. 
 
 If "Freedom" did not "shriek" as "when Kosciusko fell," is must 
 have been because she could not shriek and swear at the same time. 
 
 When taken into the hospital I was set up on a stair of a flight 
 and thoughtfully bid to hang on to the banister, but the banister, 
 being more merciful than my masters, reversed the order and hung 
 on to me when I fell over against it, thus preventing my rolling to 
 the bottom as a doctor assured me, some time after, I would have 
 done had he not reached me when I was slipping from my perch. 
 When I returned to consciousness I was lying on a pallet surrounded 
 by a mixed, kindly disposed and staring multitude, evidently at 
 tracted by my civic attire. But let me hasten to say that on entering 
 this hospital I did not "leave hope behind" but to the. contrary, felt 
 its inspiring presence for the first time. I had fallen among gen 
 tlemen whom to describe as humane, would but inadequately convey 
 even a faint idea of their kindness, tenderness and affectionate 
 warmth. The surgeons, their untutored male nurses, and even those 
 who idly wandered into the building, were conspicuously kind and 
 sympathetic and desirious to be useful to me. I know not to what 
 to ascribe such friendliness nor at this late day can I account for it. 
 
 Tis true, that at this early stage of the war nothing had trans 
 pired to embitter them and arouse a personal hostility. Defeats, 
 blasted hopes and disappointed ambition later wrought a great change 
 in their feelings and treatment of prisoners. 
 
 It was one surgeon in particular whose devotion was conspic- 
 
254 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 uous for its warmth and steadfastness. It really bordered on the ro 
 mantic. He never left my bedside but for professional reasons and 
 before going would place me in charge of Patrick, his faithful ser 
 vitor, who, though as rough in appearance" as a clod of his native 
 peat, was tender, loyal and true. 
 
 The doctors liked to converse, and I think the danger I was in 
 at Mound City and even when at Columbus, was due in no slight 
 degree to the excitement and exertion of talking, though I spoke 
 only when obliged to and in a tone scarcely audible. And the doctors 
 discussed such exciting topics generally war questions! They were 
 invariably polite and respectful both in manner and expression, and 
 while no honey dropped from my lips, they spoke not in bitterness and 
 yet, when I "saw a head, I hit it." 
 
 One day my surgeon conducted some ladies into the hospital 
 and introduced me to them as his "pet rebel." They were pleasant 
 and kindly and one of them was very curious to know why I was in 
 citizens attire? Up to this date I had evaded the question, intending 
 when I could better bear the strain, to use the incident to "point a 
 moral" in the interests of our cause and in imitation of Columbus 
 who made capital on one of his voyages by frightening some hostile 
 savages into submission by an ingenious application of an eclipse 
 of the moon. Convinced that the time had come to preach my little 
 sermon, I responded to my fair inquirer in this wise: Though the 
 incident you would have me explain is in itself of slight importance, 
 it is nevertheless not devoid of a certain significance, for when a man 
 shows such extraordinary eagerness to serve his country as to go 
 from his fireside to the battlefield without stopping even to exchange 
 his citizen s dress for a soldier s uniform, he necessarily appreciates 
 and in an overwhelming degree, tae fact that there is a stupendous 
 wrong to be redressed and no less heinous than that of rebellion,and the 
 earnestness and determination of an humble son of the republic is 
 but a faint suggestion of the tremendous awakening in the army, 
 now engaged in a struggle for the preservation, protection and per 
 petuity of the Union. And, Madam, I would that you could see in 
 this awakening a handwriting on the wall of your Confederacy, and 
 a handwriting that no Daniel need be called to^ interpret, as " he 
 who runs may read." To this my fair auditor simply said, and more 
 in grief than in anger, "You are cruel." I replied then in the words 
 Hamlet addressed to his mother: "I must be cruel only to be kind." 
 
 On another occasion I was asked by one of the doctors if we 
 were not waging war for the purpose of giving freedom to the slaves? 
 I assured him that such a thing had not entered into the plans of the 
 government and that the institution never would be disturbed unless 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 255 
 
 as a war measure, unless it became an obstruction in our path to 
 Richmond, in which case we should not climb over it or make a de 
 tour to avoid it, but would summarily remove it, thereby making it 
 necessary for the Confederate government to draw against their fight 
 ing force for men to raise crops w r herewitli to support the people and 
 the depleted army. And by way of illustration I cited the classic 
 story of Venus, who not being able to destroy Jupiter, whose thunders 
 annoyed her, slew those who forged his bolts. 
 
 The devil was not more successful in disturbing the harmonies 
 of Eden than in marring the serenity and sacredness of our sick room 
 the chamber of suffering and death! But to patricularize. One morn^ 
 ing there suddenly appeared in the doorway a genteel looking woman 
 who, after a minute s survey of the spacious area alloted to the wound 
 ed of both armies, stepped in and from the basket on her arm pro 
 ceeded to distribute dainties, and with rigid discrimination in favor 
 of the Confederates. In no instance was a Union soldier made the 
 recipient of her bounty, notwithstanding the Blue and the Gray were 
 lying side by side. Though it was a revolting spectacle, I made no 
 comment, but when she stood at the side of a dying man a Lieut, 
 who died at night-fall and made him the victim of her venomous 
 tongue and heart, telling him that she had no sympathy for him, was 
 glad he so soon was reaping his reward and hoped he would not live 
 to do any more injury to her kindred and friends, I say, not till then 
 did I appeal to the doctor to protect the helpless men in his charge, 
 and notwithstanding he was shocked at the exhibtion he had wit 
 nessed, he replied: "She is a woman and I can do nothing." "No, 
 doctor," I said, "she is not a woman in the sense that she is entitled 
 to mercy. She has unsexed herself and so far, too, as to baffle all at 
 tempts to classify her and to determine to what order of demon she 
 belongs." 
 
 At last arrangements for an exchange or prisoners were completed 
 and I was removed, but riot as I was brought to the hospital. My sur 
 geon friend had me lifted on my mattress onto a cot which by his 
 order was borne by four soldiers to the Confederate steamer and put 
 down where there would be the least motion. Then he directed that a 
 blanket and pillow be brought from a certain stateroom which he 
 designated I still have the blanket and these he adjusted with 
 judicious care. Of course I supposed that when the time for starting 
 for the point on the river where our boat was in waiting that he 
 would take his leave of me, but instead of doing so he seated himself 
 at the head of my cot and there remained. Near by and lying on a 
 pallet of straw, was a wee drummer boy severely wounded and evi 
 dently had not long to live. At brief intervals he would cry: "O, 
 
256 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 Mamma! Do come! Do come and see your poor boy!" Then after 
 a few minutes of silence, during which the thought must have oc 
 curred to him that were his mother present her heart would break to 
 see him die, he suddenly exclaimed most piteously, "No mamma, don t 
 come! don t come! it would kill you to see your poor boy." Where 
 can a parallel to such heroism in a child be found? Where an instance 
 of so sublime an example of filial devotion and self sacrifice and in a 
 child of not more than fourteen years of age? Rather than his mother s 
 heart should break at the sight of his wee torn body going down to 
 death, he would die alone, would forego the manifold and endearing min 
 istries a child in trouble yearns for at the hands of his mother. And what, 
 would his mother not have sacrificed to be kneeling at his lowly bed 
 side that she might soften the shadows of death and signal the spirit 
 as it broke away? Gen. Sherman spoke truly if inelegantly when he 
 said, "War is hell." 
 
 On the meeting of the boats, my surgeon friend with unabated 
 loyalty and regard for my comfort, directed my transfer to the Union 
 steamer, not neglecting to see that my cot was located with reference 
 to my ease; then spying Miss Safford more of her anon he asked her 
 to prepare a cup of tea for me which commisson she executed with such 
 promptness as to suggest that her angel wings had slipped down to her 
 feet, where with characteristic modesty and humility she preferred to 
 wear them. While the Confederate officers who had been engaged in 
 the exchange of prisoners were dining below as the guests of the Union, 
 my friend who declined an invitation to dinner sat by me and related 
 the following story: "When the war broke out I was the editor of a 
 paper in Memphis, Tenn., and being a physician I at once joined the 
 Confederate service and proceeded to Columbus, Ky. I am a widower 
 with one child, a girl, who now is with Mrs. Stephen A. Douglas in 
 Washington, who, having been an intimate friend of my wife, offered 
 to take charge of her. Now I am going to ask you to call on Mrs. Doug 
 las should you ever be in Washington, and tell her how thankful I am 
 that my child is in her hands, and that my heart is filled with gratitude 
 to her. He then wrote his name and address on the margin of a news 
 paper and tucked the slip under my pillow. Tis not strange that it was 
 lost. 
 
 I may as well say here that on my own return to New York I wrote 
 to Mrs. Stephen A. Douglas all the circumstances of the case and in due 
 time received a very courteous reply to the effect that some other Mrs. 
 Douglas must have been referred to as the facts I had stated were un 
 known to her. 
 
 Miss Safford, the soldier s devoted friend, was the maiden sister 
 of the brothers Safford, bankers in Cario, as late as 1864 for I called 
 on her in that year to learn something of their noble sister and if possi- 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 257 
 
 ble, to pay my respects to her. To my grief I was told that she was in 
 Paris undergoing treatment for a disease that was produced by exposure 
 and excessive labor in military camps and hospitals. In 65 I learned 
 that she had died in Paris. One of her brothers conducted me from his 
 office in Cairo at the time I called on him in 64, to his home and showed 
 me with pride many huge packages of letters written to his sisters by 
 soldiers of high and low degree and these he said and he held up a 
 large bundle of them are the labored productions of untutored men and 
 more highly prized by my sister than those addressed to her by gifted 
 officers in exalted positions. He referred to some letters of the former 
 class that gave evidence of a chiro^raphical and a mental struggle on the 
 part of the writers that was most touching. 
 
 I can fancy this humane, tenderhearted and loving woman bending 
 over one of these and when, after much patient study, its sweet mes 
 sage of esteem and gratitude breaks upon her like the sun from a rift 
 in a cloud, it drops from her trembling hand and she surrenders herself 
 to tears of joy otherwise unspeakable. 
 
 The hospital in Mound City was in charge of Dr. Pranklyn of St. 
 Louis, who lived with his family in Mound City. An able and zealous 
 staff of younger doctors resided in the hospital building as did the nur 
 ses who belonged to a Catholic Order in Indianapolis called "The Sisters 
 of the Holy Cross" and an exceeptionally worthy band they were in 
 every way. They were presided over by an elderly matron known as 
 Mother Angela for whom I had the highest respect and esteem, a senti 
 ment I entertained for all sisters but Mother and Sister Angela were my 
 particular friends. Before entering the order Sister Angela lived in 
 Philadelphia. She was an American and had not long been a member 
 of the Romish church for which she forsook the Espiscopal. She was a 
 very superior women intellectually and possessed many accomplish 
 ments which, together with a comely face and many personal graces, 
 made her a very interesting and attractive person. Many a chat we had 
 and no subject of mutual interest was neglected or forgotten. 
 
 I must relate an experience of her s that illustrates her amiability 
 and kindness and also how prone the uncharitable and bigoted are to 
 inflict pain. 
 
 A poor fellow whose life was fast ebbing away, asked her as she was 
 passing his bed, to please hold his hand as his wife wo .ild do were she 
 present that he felt lonely and desolate. Of course she acceded to his 
 request. Not a word was spoken by either and ten minutes before he 
 died the ward master happened along and angrily charged her with 
 proselyting and rudely ordered her away, notwithstanding she explained 
 how she came to be thus situated. Gently placing the wasted hand upon 
 the breast where it so soon was to repose in death, she came to me 
 
258 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 weeping, and acting upon my suggestion, she complained to Dr. Frank- 
 lyn who at once returned her persecutor to his regiment. 
 
 From the beginning my nourishment came from the doctor s table, 
 by whose authority and whose instrumentality I never knew nor do I 
 remember that I inquired, and also from the day I entered the hospital 
 Mrs. Dr. Franklyn sent me very frequently from her home in Mound 
 City, the most sumptuous dishes, and the major portion of what I re 
 ceived each day from both sources, I gave to those in the ward who 
 most needed nourishing food and in this way each one in his turn was 
 served. The stewardess a good friend of mine and who came up 
 daily to see me never failed to congratulate me on my robust appetite, 
 and would say with a chuckle of glee, that my dishes were returned to 
 the kitchen with not a suggestion of food on them. The good soul 
 didn t know that others beside myself partook of her abundance. 
 
 One morning and at an hour so early that the outlines of objects 
 could be but dimly discerned, I was aroused by a cold hand laid upon 
 my face. On opening my eyes I beheld an apparition a veritable ghost 
 or has the poor fellow I asked myself who was borne yesterday to 
 the "dead room" been resurrected, and while speculating on the origin 
 of the figure clad in white and so attenuated ias to seem only fit to hang 
 on the wall as a text in anatomy, the mystery was explained by a 
 skull bending over me and in a voice tremulous with weakness whis 
 pering: "When your breakfast comes in, won t you give me some of 
 your fried potatoes?" When sufficiently composed to speak for I was 
 deeply moved by his plaintive appeal I assured him he should have all 
 he wanted. I recognized in him the poor consumptive who occupied the 
 bed nearest the door through which Mrs. Franklyn s servant entered 
 with my breakfast from which was exhaled the delicious aroma of the 
 dish he craved. 
 
 You can perhaps realize the overpowering strength of his desire 
 when I tell you at what cost "he secured its gratification. For a week 
 and more he had been daily expected to die so rapid had been the pro 
 gress of his disease and when the doctors learned of what he had done, 
 they were amazed. His feebleness was so extreme that he could not 
 stand steadily and he fairly tottered as he traversed the long ward and 
 would certainly have fallen had he not found support in the row of bed 
 steads along the wall. After he had eaten his fried potatoes, at my re 
 quest, I was carried in my chair to his bedside to enquire if he had en 
 joyed them. He actually laughed when he told how nice they were and 
 the scene was altogether so pathetic as to bring tears to the eyes of the 
 stalwart fellows my comrades who were kind enough to carry me to 
 him. I recalled the following stanza of The Last Leaf: 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 259 
 
 But now his nose is thin, 
 And it rests upon his chin 
 
 Like a staff, 
 
 And a crook is in his back, 
 And a melancholy crack 
 
 In his laugh. 
 
 When about to leave the hospital I was examined, as I desired to 
 remain in the service, and the decision was that I would not again be fit 
 for military duty. I must now bring these war recollections to a close 
 notwithstanding my stock of them is by no means exhausted. In read 
 ing the foregoing I find I have omitted to say that my St. Louis friend 
 who discovered me lying on the river bank and who promised to see 
 me in Columbus, was granted permission by Gen l Polk to take me to 
 his home in Jackson where his wife, also my friend, had a warm corner 
 and a warmer heart awaitinj me. The surgeons said they would not 
 answer for my life were I moved, and consequently I remained where I 
 was. 
 
 CALEB GREEN. 
 
 1 enlisted in the army, June 15th, 1861, at Oskaloosa, Iowa, Co. C. 
 7th Iowa Inft. Regiment rendezvous at Burlington, Iowa; went from 
 there to St. Louis, Jefferson Barracks, and was ordered from there to 
 Wilson s Creek, Md., but had no arms; after a few hours delay, we re 
 ceived arms and animunMicii, and started, but were stopped on the way, 
 the battle being over. We turned back, and were soon ordered to Ken 
 tucky. After scouting around through the country for a while, we 
 finally crossed the river, and took up c.imp at Birdspoint, Mo. Soon our 
 men on picket post were being shot from ambush. Gen. McClernard 
 sent out scouting parties, to find the enemy which they soon located at 
 Belmont, with Jeff. Thomson in command. He resolved to break up his 
 camp forthwith. So on the 6th of November we were ordered on 
 transport, five regiments, amounting to at out 3000 men, and two or three 
 pieces of artillery. Gen. Grant in command, on a trip proceeded 
 down the river, accompanied by two gun-boats, within a few miles of 
 Columbus, Ky. On the morning of the 7th we landed on the Missouri 
 side, in a dense woods leaving the gun-boats to guard the river and 
 transport. We marched towards Belmont, two or three miles, when we. 
 were called to a halt. While resting the Confederates on the height at 
 Columbus saluted us with a 64-pound shot from the cannon they called 
 the Lady Pope; it passed over us about the tree tops, striking the ground 
 just in our rear and disappearing in the ground. This was the first 
 signal of war we had heard. It caused great excitment among the boys, 
 We were soon on the march again, and formed a line of battle within 
 
260 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 a half a mile of the enemy s camp, and for the first time loaded our guns 
 for action. By this time we could see the enemy forming in line, both 
 armies advancing until we met within close range and the fighting be 
 came general. We had orders to charge the enemy; they gave way and 
 retreated over the river bank, a great many surrendering. In the mean 
 time there had been a detachment of men sent below to keep the enemy 
 from escaping down the river. They got lost in a swamp and had trouble 
 to find their way back; this detained us for about one hour. A stray shot 
 from the river bank gave me a slight wound in the leg. Seeing there 
 were several miles between pur army and the boats, the enemy crossed 
 over the river several thousand men and stationed them between us and 
 the boats; seemingly the gun-boats knew nothing about this; we were 
 ordered to retreat, and in five minutes one of the terrible slaughters 
 took place, as they were formed in line on both sides of us they shot 
 their own men as well as ours. 
 
 In running the gauntlet, Lieut. Col. Wentz, of the 7th Iowa, (who 
 was Capt. of the 1st Iowa at the battle of Wilson s Creek,) lost his life. 
 After running the gauntlet, I was sent back after him, and without being 
 molested, found the lieutenant colonel in a dying condition. He beg 
 ged to be left alone. I started for the Union boats, but before I got there 
 the fight became general again. I arrived in time to see our boats 
 pulling away leaving myself and others on the bank with the enemy. 
 I was called on to surrender, which I did, and was soon hustled to the 
 rear. On going back to the river, we met many Confederates who were 
 drunk and very abusive at different times. The officer had to interfere 
 to keep them from carrying out their threats. I was finally put on 
 board a steamer, close to the first battle ground, and was taken across 
 the river to Columbus, with many others, and was lodged in an old 
 wharf-boat. The next day we received many Confederate visitors, 
 some who called to see their first Yankee. After a short stay on the 
 .boat, we were removed to a transport. The first exchange of. prisoners 
 now tooK place. Grant and .Cheatham negotating the exchange. Cheat- 
 .ham gave up the wounded for what was captured of his men. 
 ^ . When the, Confederate. prisoners. came down the river, Gen.Cheatham 
 .ordered a. salute fired . from,,.the Lady Pope, (the large cannon used .in 
 che fight.)- But on the. day of., the fight, they got .a ball fast in it and 
 could not get it out. When the prisoners .arrived, Gen Cheatham listen 
 ed for the salute, and failing to hear it, rode up to the cannoneers and 
 asked,, "Why in h 1 they didn t fire that salute," and, jumping from his 
 ;.iorse, called for the match .and line and fired the cannon himself. It 
 bursted and killed fifteen men and wounded him badly. (I state the 
 above as I heard it.) We were taken from here to Memphis and lodged 
 in an old slave pen. The pen was floored with rock, and on frosty morn 
 ings was very slippery. While I was hobbling around on my wounded 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 261 
 
 leg I slipped on the rock and very near dislocated my knee. By this time 
 we were getting very hungry as we had, had nothing to eat since we left 
 Columbus and the question arose as how we were to be fed. The good 
 ladies of Memphis proposed to feed us, which they were granted the priv 
 ilege of doing, and about four o clock that evening we were treated 
 to baker s bread, roasted beef, and sweet potatoes; all we wanted. We 
 fared sumptuously for some time. But Capt. May who had charge of the 
 city found out that we were better fed than his soldiers, and had a heavy 
 stockade, twelve feet high, built around the medical college, and changed 
 our quarters to that place, entirely cutting off our supplies and putting 
 us on one-fourth rations, giving the guards very strict orders concerning 
 our liberties. We stayed here several months, sometimes going two or 
 three days without anything to eat; at one time so long that the men 
 got desperate and declared at four o clock if they did not get rations, 
 they would sell their lives as dearly as possible. Some one carried this 
 word to the guards and the authorities of the town were notified. All 
 the troops of artillery were ordered to the scene. 
 
 We had just formed in line when an officer rode up and plead with 
 us to wait a few minutes, that provisions were coming, which arrived 
 about twenty minutes after four, and settled all the trouble. We had 
 cards and tobacco furnished us by the guards, especially after the 
 Creoles guarded us, for they seemed loyal to the northern cause. So the 
 time passed on without anything of great importance until the last 
 day of February, when we got orders that we would be moved on the 
 first day of March to the Commercial Exchange building and be placed 
 with Ft. Pillow prisoners. Now I imagined that if I could conceal myself 
 I could make my escape, so I immediately began to look for a place 
 to hide. The house was large with several rooms and three stories high. 
 After searching some time for a place, I decided there was but one, 
 and that was under the stair-way leading up to the attic. I looked for 
 someone to go with me and found two stout robust boys, Danial McTa- 
 gart and Sylvanus Haughey of Co.B,able to stand the hardships with my 
 self. In the morning of March 1st, after eating breakfast we resolved 
 to secrete ourselves. We secured a heavy bar of iron to raise the steps 
 out of their grooves, which we did with the aid of Wm. Moore of Oska- 
 loosa, Iowa and J. Foster of Alton, 111. We three crawled in, just filling 
 the hole full, taking the bar of iron with us to assist us in getting out. 
 Then Moore and Foster placed the steps back in place and sprink 
 led and swept the steps, hiding all traces. Now we were cooped up with 
 two canteens of water, a wash pan and a blanket apiece, without any 
 thing to eat, expecting to come out that evening. About ten o clock the 
 prisoners were ordered to fall in line, forming in the house. The officer 
 of the guard went to the door and called the roll, and as each man s 
 name was called he passed out. When our names were called i-e inquired 
 
262 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 where we were. Some said they had not seen us for a week or ten days, 
 while others, ignorant of our whereabouts, said they had seen us there 
 that morning. They passed on with the balance of the names and then 
 said they would find the Yankees. They, believing that we were some 
 where in the house searched every nook and corner, with tneir revolvers 
 in their hands, swearing they would kill us if they found us. They 
 searched some time for us and at one time in coming down the steps 
 paused for a moment about the steps we had removed. Thinking they 
 had seen the marks on the steps caused our hearts to beat so loud we 
 were afraid they could hear us, but they passed on and seemed to oe as 
 much or more excited than we were. 
 
 By this time they had established headquarters for recruiting their 
 army with officers and about one hundred men. They occupied all the 
 rooms except the one where we were concealed under the steps, as luck 
 would have it, making their kitchen directly under us. They had for 
 their cook an old negro woman. The weather being very cool we had to 
 sneeze and cough, and at one time the old lady became uneasy and de 
 clared to the master that the house was haunted. He said that you could 
 not expect anything else, that hundreds of bodies had been dissected in 
 this room, "Before God no wonder the Spirits are here," and this ended 
 the ghost story. We remained here in this position until the 6th of 
 March, and decided that we had better get out of there while we could. 
 At twelve o clock, while the officers and men were at dinner, we heard 
 an officer tell the men not to leave as they were going down town to be 
 sworn in. Thinking this would be our chance we prepared ourselves 
 for getting out but when the time came we found ourselves too weak to 
 raise the steps. These steps had been built across the window, leaving 
 part above and part below, just enough below to let us pass out. The 
 question now arose whether we had strength enough to hold our weight 
 with our hands. We decided we could not, but we agreed to help each 
 other, so we hoisted the window and I started out first and with the aid 
 of the other two made the circuit around the steps; landed safe on the in 
 side and called for the next. All three of us were soon in the room; 
 but sitting in one position for six days and without anything to eat, our 
 legs became unmanageable. We rolled and tumbled around the room 
 and kept exercising until we could walk. There was a guard left at the 
 gate of the stockade and we were forced to pass down below the house, 
 finding a box about four feet high in front of the house, where there 
 were two or three women standing looking at us, and they hallooed, 
 "Hurrah for the boys, get away if you can!" We strated north and were 
 soon on the business street of the city, ragged and dirty, and so weak 
 we could hardly walk. We started east, whistling Dixie, and were soon 
 out of danger. We got about six miles from the city and stopped and 
 asked for something to eat. The lady said they did not have much to 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 263 
 
 eat, but if we would wait until they could cook it we were welcome 
 to it. Of course we waited, and on short notice we were invited into 
 the house and served with a cup of rye coffee and a small piece of corn 
 bread. The folks all leaving the room, we had no more than tasted our 
 coffee when a young lady with a Confederate officer s hat on entered 
 the room and said her brother was a recruiting officer for the Confed 
 erate army, and he was at the barn putting his horse away. Fearing 
 trouble we took our little piece of corn bread and started for the woods; 
 by this time it was raining and sleeting. We skulked around until dark 
 and took shelter in a corn shock; in the morning we were awakened by 
 dogs which followed us for three days and nights. 
 
 It was our intention to strike the Tennessee River above Ft. Henry, 
 and in order to do this we wanted to pass through Fayette county, 
 Tenn., and travel northeast, but being crowded close with dogs and 
 men, we circled around and travelled almost due west, and crossed the 
 railroad sixteen miles north of Memphis, and went into the Mississippi 
 swamps and stayed there two days and nights trying to find our way out. 
 We had to travel all the time to keep out of reach of the dogs. After 
 finding our way out we travelled north on the railroad till we came in 
 sight of what we understood to be Bear Creek, where we saw soldiers 
 guarding the bridge. Seeing the dogs behind us and the men in front, 
 we turned toward the east and inquired of a lady for a place to cross 
 the river. She cited us to a foot-log two miles above. We found the log 
 just about dark, which was about twenty feet above the water, and being 
 about run down, we either had to kill the dogs or surrender, for they 
 were close at our heels. We soon devised a plan to kill the dogs. We 
 got a good club apiece and the boys lifted me into a tree, and then 
 they passed over the foot-log and hid behind a tree right on the 
 bank; up came the dogs and passed directly under me and mounted 
 the log to cross. Immediately we sprang to each end of the log. One 
 blow across the back felled one to the water below, the other met the 
 same fate at the other end and we were once more free. Through the 
 excitement and exertion of killing the dogs I was unable to crosa 
 without the aid of the other boys, but finally got across and went up the 
 river. We came to a log hut where we got something to eat and stayed 
 all night. After supper the lady wanted to know where we were going, 
 and of course we were going to join a Confederate regiment. She asked 
 our opinion concerning the war, and how it would terminate. Of course 
 we gave favorable answers to all the questions, which were many. 
 
 She said she hoped the war never would be in her part of the 
 country, but if it was, she had enough strychnine in the house to kill 
 a dozen Yanks, and she would use it too. Of course I was no Yankee for 
 I believed that woman was in earnest. We retired for the night and had 
 a splendid nights rest. After eating a hearty breakfast we set out on 
 
264 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 our journey in a very good spirit. We did not travel more than a day 
 and a half until we ran into a part of Forrest s army. The country seem 
 ed to be full of soldiers, and for our own saftey we had to hide in day 
 time and travel at night, which was slow work and deprived us of any 
 thing to eat. We kept this up until forced to call for something to eat. 
 So on the night of the 17h of March, we went to a house where a man 
 lived by the name of Taylor, and asked for something to eat and lodg 
 ing. We were accommodated and ate the first ham and eggs for several 
 months. After supper we decided that we were in a bad place. At 
 this time my right knee was giving me a great deal of trouble, and I 
 advised the boys to go on, but they said no. We sat by the fire until bed 
 time. Being worn out and chilled we thought we would take the chances 
 and stay all night, and retired. There were men coming and going all 
 night, which convinced us there was trouble ahead. We had plenty of 
 chances to go to the woods, but we knew it would be of no use for we 
 were near worn out and had to rest. We got so weak we were hardly 
 able to climb a rail fence. So in the morning about sunrise, eight or 
 ten men arrived at the house and said they had orders to arrest any 
 one, white or black, that was going north or south, east or west, that 
 did not have papers to show who they were or where they were going. 
 So we were made prisoners once more, taken to Jackson, Tenn., and 
 turned over to the Provost Marshal and put in jail. This was the 18th 
 day of March. 
 
 The jailor, an old man, as he was accused of leaning toward the 
 Union side, begged us not to get away from him, as the people there 
 would mob him. We told him that we would not get away if he would 
 feed us. The jail was made of wood and lined with heavy timbers set 
 endways and driven full of nails, so that a mouse could not have es 
 caped. We fared well and had many visitors. All seemed to be sociable 
 enough except one schoolma am from the northern states. She thought 
 we ought to be hung, possibly to keep herself from hanging. We were 
 confined in jail until the 6th of April. Then the authorities of the town 
 becoming uneasy as the result of the battle, now in full blast at Shiloh, 
 and distinctly heard by us, put us aboard the cars and started south with 
 us to Corinth, Miss., where we landed about dark and were placed in 
 a small house with a sign over the door "Secession Saloon," with twelve 
 guards to guard us. They had orders to shoot us if we tried to get away, 
 and things looked like ^we were there to stay, the building being two 
 stories high. They abused us some, and told us to try and get away, 
 for they wanted a chance to shoot a Yankee. The guards off duty had 
 laid down and were asleep; all was quiet except the patter of the rain. 
 Just at this time Gen. Prentice and 700 men who had been captured at 
 Shiloh, were marched in front of the building. The guards, anxious to 
 see the Yanks, rushed to the door. I took my departure through the 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 265 
 
 Jack door, up the steps, and in a moment was followed by one of the 
 //ther boys. Thinking it might be the guard I fixed to jump from the 
 window, and then watched to see who it was. Seeing that it was one 
 of my comrades, I stepped back to an old bedstead, picked up one of the 
 rails, handed it to him, and told him to put it from the window onto the 
 roof of another house. I picked up a piece of carpet and threw it across 
 the bed rail, and in less than a half of a minute we were both plodding 
 our way through the rain and mud, leaving the third man for them to 
 guard. As I passed out behind the building I picked up a club, seeming 
 to be a wagon spoke, and carried it in my hands. We were soon halted 
 by a guard and advanced to give the countersign; seized the end of his 
 gun and hit him over the head, then ran out of the way, passing in front 
 of Gen. Johnson s headquarters, and we saw a large crowd of men 
 gathered around the door. We stopped and looked, and while standing 
 there a man rode up to us in a great hurry and asked us if Gen. John 
 son was dead. We told him we did not know. From here we started 
 east, travelled all night in the rain. Thinking we were far from Corinth, 
 made inquiry of a colored man how far it was to Corinth, and found to 
 our astonishment we were outside of the breastworks which were not 
 over three miles from the town. We concealed ourselves as well as we 
 could, and remained hid all day in hearing distance of Monday s fight 
 at Shiloh. Getting the direction and feeling more determined than ever, 
 at dark started on our way, passing around guards at different places. 
 We kept our course better than the night before. Getting very tired 
 we sat down on a log to rest. We heard cavalry coming toward us, 
 and laid ourselves down close to the log, our heads together, to let them 
 pass us. They rode over the log, directly over our heads, covering our 
 heads completely with mud. One man remarked: "Lieutenant, them 
 Yankees fight like h 1, don t they " He answered: "They do." After 
 awhile another says, "Jim, how many men did we lose in this fight?" 
 "Lots of them; we would have whipped had Gen. Johnson not been 
 killed." This was the first we knew of the victory. There seemed to 
 be a space of about fifty yards in the cavalry when I spoke to my partner 
 and asked him if one of the horses stepped on his head would he hallow. 
 "No," he answered, "not since I heard what Jim said." The rest of 
 the cavalry followed the same path without speaking but few words. 
 
 After they passed it left us free to resume our journey. Then we 
 met some artillery but did not hide ourselves as the whole woods were 
 full of soldiers. We kept out of the light of the torches. We were go 
 ing one way and they the other until daylight. They were so scattered 
 that it was impossible to ^nd a hiding place. We kept moving around 
 them all day,far enough away from them not to be recognized. Late in 
 the evening we found we had passed the main army of the Confederates. 
 Just at dusk we came to a house, and there being no one at home, we 
 
266 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 went in and searched for something to eat, but found nothing but mo 
 lasses and parched coffee. We partook of the small quantity of both, 
 and being somewhat tired, we went to the woods and laid down be 
 tween two logs to rest and talked the matter over. We decided we were 
 out of danger if we did not lose our way. We lay here all night, and 
 had a very good nights rest. In the morning we started out very cau 
 tiously, for it was still cloudy, determined to not lose our way. We 
 watched the house for some time, and seeing no one but a woman 
 moving about we ventured up to inquire. I asked the nearest road to 
 the Confederate camp. She stepped to the end of the porch, pointed 
 down the road and said it was a half mile to where they were guarding 
 a bridge. Just at this time we heard drums beating to our left. On 
 inquiring where they were she said: "My goodness, men, don t go 
 over there, or the Yankees will get you." To our surprise a man stepped 
 to the door and said the doctor wanted to see one of us. I stepped to 
 the door and saw eight or ten men sitting by the bedside. A man lay 
 on the bed. The doctor wrote on a piece of paper and handed to me 
 with, "Please give this to the Lieutenant at the bridge." It read as fol 
 lows: "Lieutenant wounded so bad we dare not move him. Send -or 
 ders at once." Taking this paper we started toward the bridge. 
 
 When we got out of sight of the house, we stuck the note in a 
 bush by the road side, and started for the Yankee drums. We soon 
 came to Owl Creek, and followed down slowly, watching both right and 
 left. Seeing some men we found out they were guards, but could not 
 tell who they were. Taking no chance we turned to the left, going to 
 the top of the hill, we struck the main road. Seeing there had been no 
 travel on the road since the rain we felt tolerably safe, and started 
 east; we came to a swamp, and seating ourselves on a log, and won 
 dering where we were and where the Tennessee River was, and what 
 was best to do, we saw a man forty or fifty yards away. We hid be 
 hind a log. He circled around to within a rod of where we were on 
 the opposite side of the log. We rose up and told him to halt, which 
 he did. We asked him what army he belonged to. In a kind of a posi 
 tive way he said: "The Union army, of course." I asked him what 
 regiment he belonged to. He said: "The 57th Illinois." I asked him 
 his Colonel s name and his division commander, which names were fa 
 miliar to me. Satisfying ourselves that he was a Union man, we told 
 him we wanted to go to his camp, which he allowed we were joking, 
 but seemed willing to go, leading off, and we following, within three 
 minutes we were inside of the line. We inquired for our regiment but 
 could hear nothing of it. We went to a hospital and told the doctor 
 that we were very near starved. He gave us a drink of wine, examined 
 our pulse, and pronounced us in a critical condition. He ordered us 
 some potato soup and hardtack, and watched to keep us from eating 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 267 
 
 too much, he requested us to stay all night, which we did. Next 
 morning we ate breakfast and started out to inquire for our regiment. 
 In a short time we found it, where we were mer with a "Hurrah." 
 After a short stay with the company of the colonel took me to Grant s 
 headquarters, where I stayed some time, and then returned to my regi 
 ment, but was not able for duty for several weeks. 
 
 JOHN W. PIBRSON. 
 
 Tebbetts, Callaway Co, Mo. 
 
 Charles City, Iowa, Jan. 12, 1903. 
 Mr. H. I. Smith, Mason City, Iowa. 
 
 Dear Sir: Your "last call" has come too late to get response 
 from my brother, W. H. Mason, to whom it was addressed. He died 
 three years ago at his home in Ottawa, Kan., where his widow and 
 son now reside. I will forward to Mrs. Mason one of the two circu 
 lars you sent here. 
 
 I will enclose with this a clipping from the Bolckow (Mo.) Her 
 ald, edited by Za Rutherford, formerly of Co. B. 7th Iowa Regt, re 
 lating to a meeting between him and my brother some fifteen years 
 ago. It shows the strong bond of attachment formed by the boys 
 who shared the dangers and endured the hardships of war together 
 another proof that "Dangers shared is friendship proved." 
 
 I was a girl of sixteen when the war broke out, full of patriot 
 ism, and gave much of my time to what I believed to be a patriotic 
 duty of answering each and every letter from the twenty-two soldier 
 friends many of them schoolmates whom I had more or less in 
 fluenced to enlist. Oh, those days of recruiting officers, war meetings, 
 martial music, floating flags, marching soldiers! Can the picture 
 ever fade? To this day the fife and drum strikes a chill to my heart 
 that is indescribable. The shrill notes of the fife and the marching 
 beat of the drum recall the enthusiasm of those war times, of the 
 "Golden Circle" meetings, the picking of lint, sewing bandages, ty 
 ing comforters, packing boxes, watching the papers for news from 
 the last battle, the long lists of killed and wounded read with bated 
 breath lest we come to names of our own boys. Truly, Mr. Smith, those 
 were days of anxiety unknown only to those who were urging dear 
 ones to face death upon Southern battlefields, weeping and praying 
 for them after they were gone. They cannot even now be described 
 though sensibly felt them. Then there were those furloughs, that took 
 every other thought away from us, when every boy who wore the 
 blue was made a hero, but some did not return. Fortunate indeed 
 the home that was not darkened, and happy the heart that did not 
 meet its bitterest grief in all the carnage of those four dreadful years. 
 
268 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 I am keenly alive to all that pertains to war reminiscences, 
 and especially so to that of Co. B of the valiant old 7th Iowa regiment 
 in which my brother served all through the war and which numbered 
 in its ranks the battle-scarred heroes of more than a score of battles, 
 beginning with Grant at Belmont and ending with Sherman in that 
 march to the sea, then on to Washington to that Grand Review and 
 from Washington triumphantly back to the outstretched arms of a 
 grateful people. Glory enough to brighten the last days of the old 
 veterans until they are called to respond to that last summon, 
 "Lights Out!" 
 
 You may add my name to the subscription list for a copy, cloth 
 bound, of your forthcoming book. Wishing you success, I am very sin 
 cerely, Your comrade s sister, 
 
 MRS. B. F. WRIGHT. 
 
 WE MEET A COMRADE. 
 ( From Bolckow, Mo., Herald.) 
 
 One morning lately as we stepped in to the office at the \alley 
 House, we met there all unexpected a iriess mate of twenty-seven years 
 ago, Billy Mason, who of late years has been travelling for a Chicago 
 wholesale house. Tears dimmed our eyes. For moments neither could 
 speak. The surprise was mutual. But who is Billy Mason, say you? 
 Billy Mason was the chum and confidential friend of our soldier life. 
 When the throes of civil war waged hot we went together and at the 
 same time enlisted in defense of our country s flag. The greater the 
 danger the stronger the attachment. On the 7th day of November, 1861, 
 we parted. Parted on the field of battle, amid the roar of cannon and 
 din of musketry. Both wounded and both prisoners. Neither knew 
 the fate of the other. In that long twenty-seven years from the fatal 
 day on the battlefield of November, 61, till the happy meeting in 
 Bolckow, each mourned the other. Neither had a spark of hope that he 
 would ever again on this earth look upon the face of his lost comrade. 
 We thought we were strong but our eyes grew moist, and our throat 
 filled with emotion, as we once more stood face to face with our friend 
 and comrade. We never before fully realized what ecstatic bliss that 
 thrills the hearts of old soldiers to meet each other. Old soldiers? As 
 our mind flits back to the day we put on our uniform, it looks like we 
 were robbed of our boyhood sports. Gave up the pleasures of youth 
 for dreary marching and heavy muskets. Poets and painters have at 
 tempted in vain to picture the" sundering of sacred ties and the greet 
 ings of long lost friends. But the wings of the muse nor the brush of 
 the artist can paint the feelings true. To part as we parted and meet 
 again as we met is living life over again. In the few moments we 
 

 i 
 
 DIFFERENT FLAGS CARRIED BY THE REGIMENT DURING SERVICE. 
 Deposited in the State Capitol at Des Moines. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 269 
 
 stood face to face there flashed across our minds the whole panorama 
 of the past twenty-seven years. The parting on the battlefield. The 
 wound of the bullet healed, but the pain of that parting to the prison 
 pen never ceased. The recollection of our comrade never left our mind. 
 The varying vicissitudes of life never wilted the affection that budded 
 and bloomed in our youthful breasts. That meeting was joy unstinted. 
 Weakness it may appear to be, but it is a weakness we shall ever 
 sacredly cherish. Would that a Morris, a Fisher, a Birdsall, a Felt, a 
 McTaggart, a Smith, and others of old Co. B could have united in our 
 reunion a week ago. Will it ever come? 
 
 COMPANY "B" FALL IN. 
 
 New York City, April 12, 1889. 
 Ed. Bolckow Herald: 
 
 Dear Comrade: Your hearty welcome to Billy Mason and ex 
 ceeding gladness in hearing from H. I. Smith, induces the belief that 
 a "sign" from another member of Co. B will contribute still further to 
 your pleasure. 
 
 If I have entered more into personal details in the following 
 sketch than may seem modest, please bear in mind that I have writ 
 ten for the eyes of comrades whose fellow feeling will render of in 
 terestI feel assured the most trivial incident of my narrative. 
 
 It was in the attempt to cut through the force sent over the 
 river from Columbus, Kentucky, to intercept us when returning vic 
 torious to the boats waiting to take us back to Birds Point, that a 
 minnie ball or two of them pierced my arm and body and spun me 
 like, a top onto a pile of dead brush which, by the way, I have since 
 encountered in some western mattresses. I had no sooner fallen 
 than I was surrounded by infuriated "Johnnies," by one of .whom sum 
 marily dispatched had not his commanding officer humanely interposed. 
 Lifted to my. feet and, supported by two Johnnies I was marched .to .the 
 .river. .bank, notwithstanding I .was. faint from pain and. hemprrh.age. 
 On reaching the shore I was laid on my back and then left alone. .Some 
 time after how long, I can t determine, I was suddenly aroused by the 
 exclamation, "Why, Green, where did you come from?" On opening my 
 eyes I was surprised and delighted to behold an old St. Louis friend 
 who was in the uniform of a Confederate officer. After briefly explain 
 ing to him my situation, he told me he was in pursuit of "you fellows," 
 and would have to go, but would visit me in the hospital in Columbus, 
 where I would be taken. 
 
 Later on, I was borne on board a steamer and conveyed to Col- 
 
270 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 umbus then in command of Bishop Polk who believed, no doubt, that 
 in shooting down the Yanks he was spreading the gospel. On reaching 
 the Kentucky shore I was dumped with other helpless men into a wag 
 on and trundled to the hospital over a road as much out of repair as 
 the politics of Kentuckey at that time. The exquisite torture to which the 
 torn and bleeding occupants of that jolting wagon were subjected, lan 
 guage is impotent to convey an idea. I was moved to the profoundest 
 pity for my suffering companions, many of whom were worse wounded 
 than myself. The hospital reached it was a tavern before the war 
 I was dragged out of the wagon and carried in and seated on a flight of 
 stairs, down which I would have rolled had I not been supported by 
 the banisters against which, in my weakness, I had fallen. 
 Near me sat another company B, waiting with heroic patience to have 
 his shattered arm examined. Years after I met this young hero in 
 Cincinnatti, where he was serving the government in a clerical 
 capacity writing with his left and only hand. From the stairs I was 
 moved to the room below and laid on a pallet on the floor which was 
 strewn with wounded and dying. Shall I ever forget the relief af 
 forded by that humble bed! Let me quickly say that just here ended 
 all rough and harsh treatment, and at the hands of one surgeon in 
 particular, a man about forty years old, of grave demeanor and personal 
 grandeur, I was the recipient of care so tender and devoted as to ap 
 proach quite on the verge of affection. It was as if a mother s love had 
 been instantly let loose upon me. His devotion is still a mystery. A 
 number of surgeons soon came and looked at me curiously and inter 
 rogatively, then two knelt beside me and in the kindest tones inquired if 
 I was badly hurt and how I came to be in the army in such a garb. 
 I have neglected to mention that the battle occurred so soon after my 
 enlistment that there had not been time to provide me with a uniform 
 and consequently I had gone into the field caporisoned like a city man 
 of fashion, and it was my apparel that paralyzed the doctors. During 
 the examination one of the surgeons turned to me and with a smile re 
 marked: "What a pity to have spoiled such nice clothes." I asked him 
 good naturedly to please interest himself in the bones they covered. 
 "Oh," he quickly observed, "you want to live to fight another day." 
 "Yes," I said, "unless in the meantime you repent and return to your 
 father s house." "What, Abraham s bosom?" "Of course," I replied, 
 "which you wickedly forsook for Beelzebub s." After my wounds were 
 dressed the surgeon lingered at my side. His heart, inspired by his un 
 accountable attachment, suggested many delicate devices for jny com 
 fort which his gentle hands nimbly executed. 
 
 The other surgeons frequently visited me and one of them intro 
 duced me to some lady visitors as "our pet rebel." They sometimes in 
 dulged in good humored banter concerning the war, which exposed 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 271 
 
 them to some wholesome if not eloquent oratory. But one day an 
 order came for an exchange of prisoners to be executed somewhere on 
 the Mississippi river. A couple of soldiers in grey brought a stretcher 
 to my bedside one morning and were about to lift me by legs and 
 shoulders. When my surgical and steadfast friend sternly rebuked them 
 for their lack of feeling and judgment, and directed them to transfer 
 the bed to the stretcher with me upon it. This done, I was borne direct 
 to the steamer, my surgeon walking by my side. The boat reached, 
 the doctor had me put on a cot amidships where there would be the 
 least motion, then covering me with two blankets which he took from 
 a state room, he seated himself at my head. 
 
 Let me digress to describe a scene that exhibited more vividly 
 than any other of my brief military experience, the dreadful realities 
 of war. Near my cot lay a dying drummer boy. At short intervals 
 he cried in tones so child-like and pitiful: "Mamma, come! Come 
 mamma!" Then his filial love rising to the sublime height of self- 
 sacrifice, he exclaimed: "No, mamma, don t come! don t come! It 
 would kill you to see me; it would kill you." That night he died and 
 was at rest. But his poor mother what rest for her when she saw 
 his name among the dead, and perchance, read of his having reached out 
 his hands for her to clasp and his last breath lovingly spoke her name. 
 Go not to the battlefield to witness the horrors of war, but rather to 
 the myriad homes where hearts are bleeding and breaking. 
 
 On reaching the Union steamer my friend superintended my trans 
 fer, and while he was sitting by he received an invitation to dine with 
 the Union officers but declined it, preferring to remain with me, and 
 with me he stayed till the last minute of the truce. Our steamer pro 
 ceeded at once to Mound City where I had not a few unusual experiences 
 in the great hospital presided over by Dr. Franklin, of St. Louis. On 
 leaving it, the surgeons discouraged my continuing in the army and 
 consequently I was mustered out. 
 
 CALEB GREEN. 
 
 BATTLE OF BELMONT. 
 
 Mason City, Iowa, March 3, 1889. 
 Za Rutherford: 
 
 Dear Old Comrade: Your article in the Herald touched a sympa 
 thetic chord in my nature, ana I write to thank you for the marked copy 
 you sent me. I should probably never have known where you were or 
 what you were doing had it not been for your meeting of one our old 
 comrades, which you so pathetically describe, who probably divulged 
 my whereabouts to you. I believe I separated from you under about 
 the same circumstances that you so grapically picture wounded, and 
 
272 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 a prisoner only that I was left on the field to die, while you being able 
 to walk, was marched off to a worse fate, a prisoner of war. Soon af 
 ter you were taken away, Gen. Logan, who was the Colonel of the 31st 
 Ills., made a gallant charge with his regiment through the rebel lines 
 and took me along with thirteen others in an army wagon and we 
 escaped, although there were three dead in the wagon when we ar 
 rived at the boats. From there I was taken to Mound City hospital, got 
 better, returned to the regiment, was again wounded, at battle of 
 Corinth; again recovered, and served until the war closed, making me 
 a little over four years service. How few there are left of that old 
 regiment and how they are scattered; you can scarcely find two in the 
 same county from where they were enlisted. 
 
 I met one of the old company this winter and it broke me all up. 
 He was a pauper, and came to see me about getting a pension. He 
 served through the war and went to California, secured employment and 
 had to give up his position on account of deafness, caused by a shell 
 bursting near his head at the siege of Atlanta. I took him home with 
 me and kept him over night. In the evening we talked over our ser 
 vice together, he was so deaf I had to use a lamp chimney for an ear 
 trumphet, as he had lost his on his way here. I furnished him a proper 
 certificate as to the cause of his disablity, secured him transportation 
 and sent him back to his family happy. In the morning when we came 
 to part I was completely unmanned. We both broke down in spite of 
 all we could do, notwithstanding there were neighbors and strangers 
 looking on. So you can see you are not the only one who was moved 
 to tears on such occasions. Don t be ashamed, I think it is Bayard who 
 says: 
 
 "The bravest are the tenderest, 
 
 The loving are the daring." 
 
 There is something indescribable about these meetings of old 
 comrades; a sort of painful pleasure, too sacred and tender to be appre 
 ciated Or understood by any but those who went through the fiery or 
 deal, in those dark portentious days, sharing dangers, privations and 
 death, together, shoulder to shoulder. I think there is no man who 
 has more cause for thankfulness than I in my social and friendly re 
 lations, especially in my immediate family, with a loving wife and 
 five interesting children, blessed with health and happiness, and I think 
 there is none who enjoy and appreciate home more than I do. Yet there 
 are times when even sitting at my own hearthstone with all these happy 
 surroundings, when the shades of evening gather round, and that sac 
 red hour of twilight when the sun has sunk to rest, a time which con 
 spires to bring out our best nature, and engender beautiful thoughts, 
 that it seems almost sacrilegious for even my own family to disturb 
 my reveries which hang like a pall of sadness over me at such times, 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 273 
 
 and I weave in my imagination a cypress vine around the shrine of those 
 who gave up their young lives in the cause, and who we buried in un 
 known graves on the field or by the roadside on our onward march to 
 victory gained at such a terrible cost. 
 
 I never shall forget that day you speak of, as you were taken 
 prisoner. You probably did not see Lieut. Gardner. He was shot down 
 and then clubbed over the face and head with the butt of a musket, 
 and left for dead, but he was carried off and taken to the hospital and 
 lived several days. His face was so disfigured you would not have 
 known him. He was unable to speak or see. I laid the next cot to him 
 and could not rest for his moans from pain and suffering, and the 
 memory of it to this day clings to me like a horrid nightmare. I could 
 fill page after page of such trials and sufferings if I had time, space 
 and descriptive powers to do so, but I cannot do it. 
 
 I wish I could meet yo.i. I looked up your location on the map 
 only to find that I had passed through your town about two years ago 
 and on the same trip went within a short distance of where Dave An 
 drews lived in Nebraska, and did not know it at the time or would 
 have stopped over and seen you both. 
 
 Did you ever look up the record in the Adjt. General s office of our 
 old regiment? It shows 484 killed and wounded. This does not include 
 those who died from disease or in prison. There were 130 killed and 
 mortally wounded. The latter figures were not surpassed by any regi 
 ment from Iowa, and only equalled by one, the 6th infantry. I know that 
 some make greater claims for their regiments, but they are not borne 
 out by the record. The total causalities of the regiment during the 
 .war was 880. 
 
 The years glide swiftly by, and the gray hairs come creeping in. 
 It is riealry 28 years since we donned the blue together, and marched 
 out of that little church at Charles City, that beautiful Sabbath morn 
 ing. The probabilities are that we shall never meet again this side of 
 eternity, but let us hope and pray that aro md the throne of the Eternal 
 God we shall all be there to answer to roll call when the last bugle 
 sounds the assembly. 
 
 God bless and prosper you and yours is the prayer of your old 
 comrade in arms. 
 
 Co. B, 7th Iowa, Vet. Infantry. H. I. SMITH. 
 
 ECHOES FROM COMPANY "G." 
 
 In company "G" there was an odd genius whose name was Cor 
 nelius Devore (by the way as good a soldier as ever shouldered a mus 
 ket), and who was a great admirer of Abraham Lincoln. Always when 
 the names of great men were under discussion, Devore would wind up 
 by saying, "Abe Lincoln is the greatest and best man in the world." 
 
274 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 His admiration for Lincoln was so great that he was finally nicknamed 
 Lincoln, and by that name he went through the remaining three 
 years of service, and many who knew him well, knew him by no other 
 name. 
 
 On one occasion some one suggested to him that his great ad 
 miration for Lincoln was all for nothing, that Abe Lincoln wouldn t 
 speak to him if he should meet him in the road. Devore got excited 
 at this statement, and declared that he would write a letter, or have 
 one written, to Abe Lincoln, that Lincoln would answer in person 
 himself. The wager was accepted, and all entered into the matter 
 with a great deal of interest, and Devore dictated the letter. He 
 asked the President in the first place to secure his discharge from the 
 army, and gave as his reason that he was the son of an aged widowed 
 mother, who was not only getting very old but very feeble; that he 
 had a little brother who was a cripple for life, and that both these 
 people were in a large measure dependent on him for support; that 
 his mother was a good, true, loyal woman, and that out of love for 
 her country she had consented for him to go into the service in its 
 defense; that he had been out now over two years, had done his whole 
 duty, been a brave and true soldier, and that now it looked to him 
 as though the war might last much longer, and that he believed there 
 were others much more able and who had not the same duties to 
 perform as he had, and who were willing and able to do the fighting 
 for the country, and that he thought it was now his duty to go home 
 and look after his old mother and his crippled brother. About two 
 weeks later Devore received a letter enclosed in the well known white 
 envelope of the Executive Mansion at. Washington. 
 
 Of course this news flew from one to another with the rapidity 
 of lightning that Devore had received a letter from the President of 
 the United States, and in less time than it takes to write it, company 
 "G" was assembled to hear it read. The great and good man acknow 
 ledged the receipt of a letter and opened his sympathetic heart and 
 told Devore how sorry he was for his good old patriotic mother and 
 his little brother and stated how glad he would be to assrst him; 
 also acknowledged that it was within his power to have him dis 
 charged from the army, but stated that it would be a very bad pre 
 cedent, and that if he should allow himself to be moved by the sym 
 pathetic and honest appeals which were coming to him from all parts 
 of the country, and discharge all who were similarly situated, that it 
 would actually cripple the service. The boys had lots of fun over the 
 letter, but the great and good Lincoln never knew ttiat the letter 
 written to him by Devore was the result of a wager, and that Devore 
 had no thought and no desire to be discharged from the army. Not 
 withstanding, every word in the letter that he wrote to the President 
 was the truth. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 275 
 
 A RARE RELIC OF THE WAR. 
 
 COVERED WITH GORE, AND AN INTERESTING DESCRIPTION OF 
 THE SAME, BY ONE OF OUR CITIZENS, WHO 
 
 WAS AN EYE WITNESS. 
 ( Froni Cerr-i Gordo County Republican.) 
 
 N. P. Dodge, of Council Bluffs, passed through here last week 
 and left with Capt. Smith, his brother s, Maj. Gen. G. M. Dodge, com 
 mission which the General had in his pocket when he was wounded be 
 fore Atlanta during the war. It is a rare relic of the war, is printed 
 on parchment, bears the genuine signature of President Abraham Lin 
 coln, and Edwin M. Stanton, Sec. of War, and over one-half of its sur 
 face is covered with the blood that flowed from his wound. Capt. Smith 
 was in the rifle pit with him when he was wounded, and Mr. Dodge 
 has askea him to write out the particular circumstances of his being 
 wounded, which with the commission is to be deposited in the State 
 Library. Capt. Smith will take pleasure in showing it to any one who 
 will call at the First National Bank. 
 
 N. P. Dodge, Council Bluffs, lov/a. 
 
 Dear Sir: In compliance with your request, I write to say that 
 I am only too glad to give you my recollections of the circumstances 
 under which your brother, Maj. Gen. G. M. Dodge, was wounded Aug. 
 18, 1864, before Atlanta. On the Atlanta campaign the General had com 
 mand of the left wing of the 16th Army Corps in the Army of the Ten 
 nessee, commanded by Maj. Gen. McPherson; who was killed at the bat 
 tle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864. 
 
 After the battle of the 22nd we swung round to the right of At 
 lanta; had a severe fight on the 28th, in which Logan s 15th corps was 
 principally engaged and suffered the heaviest loss. Our corps took ad 
 vantage of the comparative light resistance in our front, and pushed 
 our line, the 16th corps, close up to the main rebel works around At 
 lanta; and held the line until we could throw up temporary works of 
 our own, which we strengthened from day to day, or I should say from 
 night to night, (as it was not very healthy to be exposed building 
 breastworks there in daylight) until we had a pretty strong line of 
 works. The rebels main works, in our front, were only about 40 rods 
 beyond. They had two 64 pound seige guns, with so many obstruc 
 tions in their front, such as chev aux de friz trou de loups, and wires 
 stretched about four inches high to trip charging troops, and posts or 
 palisades in the hollow, too close to get between and too high to climb, 
 over which they could fire from their works on the hill beyond. After 
 we had this line of works completed, the General ordered up a 32 Ib. 
 Rodman gun, drawn by sixteen yoke of oxen, placed it at the left of 
 
276 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 our regiment, the 7th Iowa, and ordered it fired every five minutes, 
 night and day, at the rebel works, or at the troops arriving on trains, 
 or about the depot, which was in plain sight about a mile distant. On 
 the right of our brigade he placed Co. H, 1st Mo. Light Artillery, which 
 had two 10 pound Parrots, and four 12 pound brass Napolean guns. We 
 built a furnace out of clay, cut wood from the surrounding timber, and 
 fired red-hot shot from 1 the smooth-bore guns, and solid conical shot 
 from the rifled Parrots, and laid regular siege to the city. Gen. Dodge s 
 profession as civil engineer, came in good play about this time; he 
 planned and ordered built advance works or rifle pits in front of our 
 main line, with ditches extending to them from our main works, 
 through which those on duty could pass back and forth without much 
 exposure to the enemy s sharpshooters, and it was in this skirmish or 
 rifle pit that the general was wounded. The pits were made narrow 
 and long enough to hold a company of men, but the ranks had become so 
 depleted from the causal ies of war, that the companies were not half 
 full, and in our regiment there was not an average of one commissioned 
 officer to a company, so that usually there would be the remnant of 
 two companies and one commissioned officer in the pits at one time, 
 bringing the details in the pits on duty every 3rd or 4th day. I was then a 
 first, lieutenant and belonged to Co. "B," but that day I had command 
 of Co. "I" and another company of my regiment, Co. "D," which had 
 no commissioned officer, and was on duty in the skirmish pits, and the 
 general crawled through the ditch followed by one member of his staff 
 to us. I told him to be careful about exposing his head above the 
 works, as it would call forth a volley from the rebel sharpshooters, 
 and to prove my assertions I put my cap on a bayonet, stuck it above 
 the works, and at once there was at least a dozen shots came whizzing 
 at it. The General talked with the men and myself about the proba 
 bilities of getting over the rebel works and obstructions in front in 
 case of a charge. We told him it would be utterly impossible to charge 
 the works in our front, and to more thoroughly convince him, I in 
 vited him to the left of the pit, where we had a peep hole through the 
 bank to look and shoot through. He followed me to it; private Cahill, 
 Oo."I,"a little Irishman, was shooting through the hole. I told him to 
 step to one side and let Gen. Dodge look through,and he did so. I looked 
 first to see if all was clear, and stepped back and the general stepped 
 in my front, and just as he was looking through, a minnie ball came 
 through the loop-hole and struck the general in the forehead, peeled 
 a ribbon off his scalp laying his skull bare; glanced off the top of his 
 head and went through the top of his black slouch hat he wore. He 
 fell across my feet pinning me fast in the ditch; he quivered and bled, 
 and I supposed he was killed. I sent two men to the rear for a stretcher, 
 and the men released me and we watched him with no expectation that 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 277 
 
 he would ever revive. After the general was taken off I picked up a piece 
 of his scalp with the hair on it, and after the war brought it home and 
 kept it a number of years. The look-out hole in the works was made 
 by splitting a piece off the corner of an empty pine cartridge case, V 
 shaped, laying it on top of the works and covering it with dirt. The 
 bullet struck the pine board and glanced to the general s head, which 
 saved his life, as the force of the ball was partially spent when it 
 struck him. 
 
 I have a very vivid recollection of all the circumstances, and 
 others also that occurred in that same pit. A day or two afterwards 
 in the same place we were sitting in the pit, eating our supper, wjien 
 a cannon ball took the head off a sergeant, Ben. Thomas,, Co. "D," 
 who sat beside me ; my coat was covered with his blood and the tin cup 
 of coffee from which we were both drinking was filled with his brains. 
 Another time a shell came through the works with the fuse still burn 
 ing, struck a soldier, .Nick Swenson, bruising his knee, and with the 
 utmost coolness and presence of mind he picked it up, threw it back 
 over the works, when immediately it burst on the outside doing no 
 damage. Again we were waiting and watching our colored company 
 cook coming out with a camp-kettle of coffee on his head, when the 
 Rebel batteries suddenly opened on us, and a 64 pounder struck near 
 the cook and he disappeared from sight. After the firing had ceased 
 I sent a detail to look him up and found him curled up in the hole in 
 the ground the cannon ball had made. The coffee was spilled, and he 
 said he had acted on the principle that lightning never struck twice 
 in the same place, and had gone in the hole for safety. At another 
 time a soldier was sitting writing a letter home, and a minnie ball 
 was shot through the letter and the board he was writing on. He fin 
 ished his epistle with the utmost coolness, explaining the circumstances 
 and sent it home. I recollect Gen. Dodge s headquarters were in the 
 edge of the woods in rear of the main line, supposed to be so far away 
 as to be out of range of the artillery, and the rebels opened up about 
 supper time with their big guns and the shells burst so near that it 
 upset the supper table and cut short their repast. After a heavy rain 
 the pits would be nearly half full of water,in which we would have to 
 stand or sit until dried up; and in the fair days it would be so hot we 
 were nearly cooked. They were so close to the Rebel works that we 
 had no trouble in talking with the occupants, and frequently did so. 
 if we said anything that- displeased them they usually replied with a 
 shot or volley. 
 
 The general was beloved by the officers and soldiers of his com 
 mand. We had full confidence in him as a commander, and he always 
 manifested an interest in our welfare. We felt as though we had lost 
 our best friend and we were orphans after he left. Shortly after he 
 
278 HISTORY OF_THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 left us, one division was transferred to the 15th Army Corps, and the 
 other to the 17th and Gen. Dodge s command lost their identity as one of 
 the grand divisions of Sherman s victorious army. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 H. I. SMITH, 
 Ex- Captain 7th Iowa Veteran Infantry. 
 
 YULETIDB IN THE ARMY FORTY YEARS AGO. 
 ( From Mason City Globe-Gazette.) 
 
 After a service of two and a half years on the fighting line in the 
 Civil War the Seventh Iowa Infantry with General Dodge s command 
 were sent to Pulaski, Tenn., to rest and recruit It was there that the 
 regiment, with others, veteranized; those who volunteered again for 
 another three years were given a thirty days furlough home. During 
 the interim we were given enough duty scouting, raiding and guarding 
 supply and ammunition trains, etc., to work out our muscle and keep 
 us out of mischief. The terminus of the railroad was at Columbia, forty 
 miles over the Granny White Pike, thence to Chattanooga, the front. 
 Those who did not re-enlist were left to keep open the cracker line 
 and get ready for the Atlanta campaign. It was not until after the 
 holidays that we were mustered and ready to go home. 
 
 Christmas tide brings memories of home and feasts. In the spirit 
 of good cheer, our mess thought we would celebrate the event; as we 
 had not had an opportunity before since we first enlisted,the"corporal" 
 being a good forager and provident provider, was chosen Chancellor 
 of the mess with full power to purchase supplies, secure an extra chef, 
 fix up the menu and run the whole push. Being a native of the Isle s, 
 he thought an English plum pudding with necessary frills would be 
 about the proper thing, so proceeded to get flour, suet, raisins, currants, 
 flavors and soft bread. For chef Sugar Bill, a saffron son of Senegambia 
 was chosen (he cooked for the Colonels horses). He claimed to be a 
 shurnuff cook. We chopped up the stuff, tied it up in a cloth with a 
 string and put it in the camp kettle to boil. Somehow it did not work 
 like the Loyal baking powder, pictured in advertisements; it did not 
 lift the pot lid, or strain the pudding bag like mother s used to; but 
 seemed sad, dejected, and the flavors that arose were disappointing. 
 It had a pungent horse medicine smell. Members of the mess dropped 
 around during the preparation of the feast, volunteering cynical re 
 marks more or less exasperating. Tim Spence said the shortening 
 should have been renovated. Dave Andrews thought if salt-rising 
 emptings had been put in, it would have been light. Sam Folsom said 
 put in concentrated lye to kill the oder and seidlitz powders to make 
 
"SUGAR BILL," 
 Chancellor of Horse to General Rice. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 279 
 
 it light. Jim Wilson yelled to the boys to come and listen to it stink. 
 This of course was somewhat exasperating, but I stood pat and bided 
 my time. We boiled it three hours, but like hard tack, the longer it 
 boiled the smaller and tougher it got. We had been on half rations, 
 had ravenous appetites; it w.as a ground hog case that or nothing, so 
 we swallowed it down with wrath and commissary sauce flavored with 
 peppermint, which was all we could get. At retreat the feast was served. 
 No grace was said, but the Corporal quoted from Spokeshave, "He that 
 hath no fight for this feast let him depart." 
 
 In those days we were young, tough and hungry, with stomachs 
 that would digest a grindstone. We smoked, chewed and drank to take 
 the taste out of our mouth, and tried to work it off with a stag dance, 
 but it was no use. It would not down. Taps sounded, which meant to 
 turn in and keep quiet. We rolled up in our blankets and laid down 
 and tried to. There was "no sleep till morn," joy was the reverse of 
 unconfined. Ordinarily if we could get enough to eat we could sleep 
 like babes, or with the calm consciousness of a Christian (with four 
 aces.) 
 
 The muffled conversation in the dog tents, within sound was about 
 as follows: Lieut. Folsom said he could taste soap and kerosene. Abe 
 Talbot said his distillery was working sour mash. Curt. Ford thought 
 he could taste seven brands of apple jack. Dave Andrews said he was 
 going to get up and get some deoderizer to neutralize his duodeum and 
 counter effect the acid juice in his gastritus. Bill Akers said Andrews 
 needed a counter irritant, hit him and put him out of the game. A 
 classical cuss in Co. "B" recited: "Our stomach roars, it s contents 
 seek for flight and I will fling it up in the clouds. I feel as though I 
 was in the flame and it in me. All my life and all the veins of it, and 
 all the days of it, and all old things in it, far away things," right here 
 he was fatally hurt and died in poignant agony, before the regimental 
 soul mender could be got. It served him right. His assassin was 
 acquitted, and so it went. The sergeant of the guard came around, or 
 dered quiet, saying this is not a "hollerday" season, but should be a 
 time of peace and good will. Someone crooned, "Home Sweet Home," a 
 shoe shied at his head reminded him that anything softening was not 
 according to camp etiquette. One at a time we sneaked out to the 
 timber line, choking and gasping, until there was a quartette with heads 
 hanging over one log turning ourselves inside out and giving everything 
 back. The captain of Co. "G," a most devout swearer, was officer of 
 the day that night; he came around to warn us to keep quiet and asked 
 me if I was sick. I asked him if he thought I was pukeing for fun. He 
 said something that sounded like "Helen s babies," don t you know that 
 it is after taps and lights are out? I said,"Yes,and I am on tap, my lights 
 and liver are both out and I am retching for the other functions." 
 
280 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 with coldness he said: "Consider yourself under arrest and report at 
 headquarters in the morning." I told him I would be glad to have him 
 arrest this business now. He referred me to the doctor. 
 
 After running through the whole gamut of agony, daylight and 
 the end came and I crawled back to my pup tent to try and rest. 
 
 A few days before we had publicly hung one of the Ninth Illinois 
 who had brutally murdered his captain, together with a rebel spy, Sam 
 Davis, on the campus of the school grounds. (See page 105.) 
 
 The Ninth Illinois man deserved his fate, but I have always 
 thought that Davis ought not to have been hung, although there was 
 no doubt of his guilt. To somewhat ease my conscience and atone for 
 my small part in the affair, about ten years ago I contributed towards 
 building his monument at Nashville. For some reason my letter of 
 transmittal was published in the proceedings at the dedication of the 
 monument. Extracts from the letter follow, together with poem of 
 Trotwood, the latter a touching tribute: 
 
 Davis had minute information, facts and figures of number of 
 troops and where stationed upholstered in his saddle and pegged in 
 his boots, that he could not have got anywhere except from General 
 Dodge s staff. The general offered him his life, liberty and escort to 
 the enemy s lines if he would tell who gave the information. He refus 
 ed to do so, saying, "if he had a thousand lives to sacrifice, he would 
 not do it." He died game with his secret. We could endure to fight if 
 men braved to stand up, shoot, give and take, but such ghastly busi 
 ness as tying men s hands behind them and doing hangman s duty is 
 not to the taste of the soldier. The gruesome thoughts hung like a black 
 shadow over us, invoking hideous specters enough to give us the buck 
 ing nightmare, so that we did not need indigestion to keep us awake. 
 Night wore apace and the gastronomic contortions continued until 
 morning, when four of us lined up for sick call. The doctor diagnosed 
 our cases as follows: Ford had St. Vitus dance, Wilson water brash, 
 and Talbot appendicitis, and Doc said he could not tell whether I was 
 love sick or had a jaundiced liver, but he gave us all tickets to the 
 hospital steward. He gave us each a calomel pill, about as big as a 
 tumble bug ball and one-fourth pound of Epsom salts for a finisher, 
 and ordered us to report again in the morning. We lived in spite of the 
 doctor. 
 
 The report of the committee who examined the cook shows that 
 he claimed he put in two cups of condition powder, as he was not fur 
 nished baking powder, and he thought it would give it tone and color, 
 but that he unintentionally put in too much. They simply kicked 
 him more and vigorously than usual and let it go at that. After the 
 festivities were over, as soon as I was able, I went around to see the 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 281 
 
 doctor and asked him why having guessed me different from the rest, 
 that he prescribed the same for me. He said I was a pathological puz 
 zle. "Yes," I said, "but what makes me so hoarse all the time?" "Oh," 
 he said, "that s easy you are such a vociferous liar." So I cashed in 
 my chips, quit the game and have not prevaricated since. 
 
 WOMEN OF THE WAR. 
 
 I cannot close this book without rendering to the women of the 
 war that meed of praise due them, for their patience, endurance and 
 loyalty to the cause of the country and loved ones at the front during 
 the long struggle for the life of the Nation. Because of their modesty, 
 their share of the work has not been credited, and their experiences 
 and suffering have not been heralded as they should; it is due them 
 that their deeds be recorded, so that future generations may know of 
 their loyal sacrifices, their silent endurance and lofty patience. 
 
 There is no doubt that it was easier for the men to endure the 
 hardships, wounds, death and service at the front in the hotly contest 
 ed struggle, especially where victory resulted and the paens of joy 
 drowned the cries of the wounded. 
 
 The resigned and tranquil suffering of the women during the 
 war; their bereavements and anxious waiting and working during 
 the absence of their kin and loved ones at the front where their lov 
 ing hands could not minister to their suffering; their deeds of noble 
 ness in the country s extremity. 
 
 Their work in the Sanitary Commision, with its numerous Aid 
 Societies, needed by the emergencies of the time. The letters of in 
 spiration and encouragement from home; the heroism and unselfish 
 ness of the noble army of women at home and nurses in field and 
 hospital who worked untiringly while the war lasted, "exerted a 
 greater moral force on the nation than the army that carried muskets." 
 
 Who has not been the recipient of care fro m Mother Bickerdyke 
 or some of her organized corps of nurses in the hospitals, or herself 
 on the battlefield? "With lantern in hand groping in the dark among 
 the dead. Stooping down and turning their cold faces toward her, 
 she scrutinized them searchingly, uneasy lest some might be left to 
 die uncared for. She could not rest while she thought any were over 
 looked who were yet living." 
 
 "At the battle of Corinth, on the second day of the fight, Mother 
 Bickerdyke and her hospital csme within range of the enemy s ar 
 tillery, and the fearful missies of death fell with fatal precision 
 among the helpless men. There was no alternative but to remove them 
 again. Worn out with the heat and her unparalleled labors, while 
 
282 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 shot and shell and grape and canister were dealing death around 
 her, she bent her energies to this unaccustomed work. They were 
 removed to a beautiful grove within the range of the hostile guns, 
 where shot and shell passed harmlessly over them. After the battle 
 they were carried back to their hospitals." 
 
 The zeal and devotion of the women never nagged. 
 
 Men, fired with enthusiasm and inspired by drums, march to 
 the cannon s mouth. But for women to send forth their husbands, 
 sons, brothers and lovers to the fearful chances of battlefield, know 
 ing the risks they run, involves agony and suffering calling forth 
 heroic fortitude not required in prowess or fearlessness. This the 
 women did throughout the country, forcing their white lips to utter 
 a cheerful goodbye when their hearts were nigh breaking. , 
 
 They were willing to forego pleasure, endure hardships, take the 
 place of men in field, counting room, or shop. They retrenched their 
 expenditures and heeded not the mandates of fashion; their patriotism 
 arose to the loftiest height of devotion and they were ready to bear, 
 or to suffer, for their beloved country, even in the country s defeat 
 and in the face of the news of the death of their loved ones, they con 
 tinued to give the government their faith, and patiently prayed, 
 worked and waited in anguish. 
 
 Protestant and Catholic vied with each other in their errands 
 of mercy and work for the comfort and encouragement of the men in 
 the army. Sisters of Charity and the Red Cross Society dropped all 
 questions of caste or conventionalism, and scraped lint and rolled ban 
 dages and made garments for the hospitals and nursed the suffering 
 wherever needed and arose to the height of every emergency. 
 
 Many .died from exertion and overtaxed strength in the work 
 they performed in hospital and field. A noble example of one of these 
 was one Miss M. H. Fales, a highly cultured lady of middle age who 
 died in a St. Louis hospital, exhausted by over work as a nurse, after 
 giving over two years of her life in the service. A beautiful letter to 
 the writer, who never met her, follows, showing her sweet 
 nature and fervor for her country. Who shall say she was not as 
 much a martyr to the cause as though she gave her life on the battle 
 field. Then there was Doratha Dix, Mary A. Livermore, Jane C. Hoge, 
 Cordelia Harvey, and Mary J. Safford, and a host of others who sac- 
 rifieced health and comforts for the cause. Let us reward them all due 
 credit and praise. , 
 
 BREVET WIDOWS OF WAR. 
 
 I can remember it as distinctly as if it all happened yesterday, 
 though I was only a child of eight at the time; indeed, if I should live 
 to be eighty, I think the departure of the soldiers for the front in the 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 283 
 
 summer of 1861 must ever remain among my most vivid recollections. 
 Such scenes became very familiar as the years of carnage went on, 
 but this particular occasion impressed me, because it was the last time 
 I ever saw my father. I recall him as a tall man of 35, looking particu 
 larly handsome in his blue and gold lieutenants uniform. There were 
 tears in his voice as he kissed me good bye, and when he held my young 
 mother and my baby sister in his arms, with his bearded face between 
 their s, the scene swam before my brimming eyes, and my lips were 
 hot and my throat so lumpy and dry that I could not cry out as much 
 as I wanted to. 
 
 And there was Jennie Somers, my mother s pretty young cousin I 
 think her pretty still, though the sweet face has pain lines in it, and the 
 wavy brown hair has changed to gray Cousin Jennie was engaged to 
 Frank Edwards, a sergeant in father s company, and I remember seeing 
 the two with their hands interlocked. while cheering troops were pouring 
 into the cars that were waiting to hurry them to the red fields of death 
 in the South. 
 
 My father fell before Fort Donaldson, and his is one of the un 
 known and unmarked graves. Frank Edwards succeeded to the com 
 mand, and he, too, died with the cheers of his men ringing in his ears 
 from the captured crests of Atlanta. 
 
 From the hour when the bullet that slew my father flew over 
 rivers and hills till it reached our home in Montgomery county and 
 found its final resting place in my mother s heart, she wore black till 
 a year ago, when she changed the widow s weeds for the white robes 
 of immortality. And Jennie Somers, she is single still; people do not 
 speak of her as "the widow of a gallant soldier," as they did of my 
 mother, yet she is as much one as if she had been Frank Edward s 
 wife. Only a few weeks ago I passed her window. I saw her looking 
 at the picture of a handsome young soldier, and I raised my hat without 
 her seeing me, for I knew as well as herself the change that would have 
 come to her life had the original of that picture lived. 
 
 Years and years ago the case of Jennie Somers, no uncommon 
 one in the north and south, set me a thinking, and in my travels I was 
 surprised at the number of unmarried women of her age that I met. 
 These are the women who would have married, had not the war killed 
 off on both sides about five hundred thousand single men. 
 
 Look over the last census report and you will be surprised to see 
 that the number of unmarried women between the ages of forty-five and 
 fifty-five, corresponds very nearly to the number of unmarried men 
 who fell in the war. These women were either engaged to the men 
 who never came back, or in the usual course of events they would 
 have been engaged, and so I have come to call them and I think the 
 name a good one "Brevet War Widows." 
 
284 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 Far be it from me to underestimate the valor and the heoric 
 suffering of the American soldier in that long and bloody contest, but 
 I think that in contemplating what was done and endured on battle 
 field and in prison pen by the men, we are apt to overlook the heroic 
 patience and the ceaseless heart torture of the mothers, the wives, 
 and the sweethearts whose dear ones had gone to the war, and of the 
 long subsequent suffering of the widows real and brevet. 
 
 When the great battle was over, the roll call accounted for the 
 present and the absent, but there were no morning and evening roll 
 calls for the women of the land. They heard of fierce battles and the 
 dread that was never absent deepened into a feeling of horror. They 
 did not dare to read the list of the killed and wounded, fearing that 
 the loved name would meet the gaze. They feared to meet the neigh 
 bors who had read the papers, lest an expression of sympathy might 
 reveal the dreaded truth. Oh, the horror of the days of waiting when 
 every mail was watched and relief came only with the sight of the 
 familiar writing of the dear hand. 
 
 And then, worse than the direct news of among the many un- 
 coffined and unknown, or what was equally horrible, he might be a 
 prisoner, wounded perhaps, and suffering in those hells of agony, a 
 roofless, foodless prison pen. 
 
 No, the men never suffered as did the women, for a wound must 
 cease sometime to torture; but the awful anxiety of the mothers, wives 
 and sweethearts had no cessation, but continued till the worst was 
 learned, or relief came with the firing of the last gun. 
 
 And so I honor in my heart the old maids, brevet war widows 
 of the land. Bach one suggests to me a gallant soldier dead, each one 
 brings vividly to mind a noble sacrifice made without ostentation, and 
 a loveless life endured without complaint. 
 
 HOWARD S. PENTON. 
 
 The correspondence, of which the following letter formed a part, 
 was brought about by the following peculiar coincidence: In the winter 
 of 1862, one of Cerro Gordo s boys in the war was returning to the front 
 after being home on a wounded furlough, having been severely wounded 
 at the battle of Belmont, Nov. 7, 1861, and while on the train in Illinois, 
 a sister of the lady who wrote the letter bought an orange of the pea 
 nut boy and told him to give it to the soldier in the front end of the 
 car, and to tell him she was the mother of a wounded soldier. The party 
 turned around in his seat, bowed thanks to the giver, and nothing was 
 said until the train arrived at the junction, where the lady was to get 
 off, and as she did so she passed by the soldier, extended her hand and 
 said she always wanted to shake hands with every soldier she saw. She 
 

 I 
 
 . , 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 285 
 
 inquired his name and to what command he, belonged, and the answer 
 developed the fact that her son belonged to the same company, was 
 wounded in the same battle, and both were in the hospital together; 
 and in the hurried talk she could do nothing but chide herself and ex 
 press her sorrow at having ridden in the same car nearly all day with 
 a comrade of her son whom she had not seen since he enlisted, and 
 not finding it out until the time came to part. She went to Quincy, 
 where her sister, the writer of the letter, lived, and related the circum 
 stances. Afterward at the battle of Shiloh, a brother of the party to 
 whom the letter was written was wounded and put on board a hospital 
 steamer and died on his way to Keokuk hospital was put off and 
 burfed at Quincy, 111., and as they supposed it was the same soldier 
 they met on the cars, they took so much interest in him that they 
 fixed up the grave, planted flowers over it and put up a head board, 
 and wrote to a friend in the company the particulars, and he gave the 
 letter to the party to whom the letter is addressed, who answered it, 
 and the letter printed is in response. She was a maiden lady and died 
 before tne war closed, and hence they never had the pleasure of meet 
 ing. 
 
 AN INCIDENT OE THE WAR. 
 
 Nearly seven years have elapsed since the war. Thrilling tele 
 grams from the South no longer come to startle the heart with dread 
 fears; to cast thousands of homes into deep mourning for the loved 
 ones who have gone down; to electrify with the glad news of victory, 
 or to cast down with the tidings of defeat. We are at peace, and only 
 the memory of those days* is left with us. But in how many homes 
 are treasured as the last souvenir of some gallant one who has gone 
 down in the shock of battle, or given up his life in the dreary hospital, 
 a sword, a musket, a faded coat, or some other little memento of the 
 soldier hero. These are constantly reminding us of those silent sleepers 
 in the National Cemeteries or in the un-marked graves where they 
 have fallen; and the thoughts of the soldiers who were permitted to 
 return, are often led back to the time when they wore the blue. A 
 thousand things to them serve to keep fresh in mind the incidents, the 
 scenes, of soldier days 1 . One meets his comrades on the street, and 
 they stop to talk over old times; he may open some long forgotten 
 drawer, he will find a package of letters received while in the army, 
 and carefully treasured. What a romance may be written and folded 
 in the yellow and time worn coverings! what words of cheer from 
 friends at home, and from loyal hearts who felt that a soldier, though 
 a stranger, was near and dear to them. They have not lost their power 
 to bless, to make the heart better and stronger, even now, though the 
 writing is faded, and the paper yellow and musty with age. 
 
 Many a gallant soldier knows how his heart grew stronger and 
 
286 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 his arm was nerved to the contest by the reception of such letters as 
 we have spoken of. It made him feel that there were those who cared 
 for him in the north; that all loyal hearts were looking to him their 
 prayers were for him and their benedictions upon him. 
 
 While in our office the other day Capt. H. I. Smith, a gallant 
 soldier who fought his way up from the ranks in the 7th Iowa, related 
 to us the incident we are about to narrate, which we give in his own 
 words as we can remember. 
 
 On his return from a wounded furlough to his regiment in the 
 winter of 1861-2 in the cars of the Illinois Central R. R., he was pre 
 sented with an orange by the train boy who told him that the orange 
 had been paid for by a lady in the forward end of the car, who told him 
 (the boy) to tell the captain that she was the mother of a wounded 
 soldier. The captain bowed his thanks, and nothing more was said 
 until the cars reached the Junction where the lady was to change cars. 
 As she passed out she extended her hand to him, remarking that she 
 felt a deep interest in all soldiers, especially wounded ones; and in 
 the course of the conversation it was discovered that her son was a 
 member of the captain s company bmith did not wear the bars of a 
 captain, it must be remarked. A little of the captain s history was 
 given, at the request of the lady, and they parted. In the summer of 
 1862 the captain s brother, who was with him in the same company, 
 was wounded at the battle of Shiloh, and was placed on a Hospital 
 boat bound for one of the northern hospitals. He died on this boat, 
 and was buried at Quincy, Illinois. 
 
 A sister of the lady, whom the Capt. had met on the cars, hap 
 pened to be in the hospital, at that point, taking care of her nephew 
 who was sick in the hospital, and one day while wandering thro the 
 National Cemetery she discovered the Capt. brother s grave. Suppos 
 ing it to be the grave of the Captain, she had the grave fixed up, and 
 planted snow drops, and flowers upon it. She then wrote to one of 
 the boys of the Captain s company informing him of what she had 
 done. The young man who received the letter showed it to the cap 
 tain, who replied to it, giving her, as she had manifested such a deep 
 interest in him, his family as well as his military history. To this he 
 received the following reply: 
 
 Quincy, August 12, 1863. 
 
 My Dear Friend. I thank you for your deeply interesting letter 
 which I received the first of this week. I appreciate the kind feeling 
 and confidence which led you to give me the family details, which it 
 is so gratifying for me to know. I trust that you will still further oblige 
 me by informing me of your mother s residence, and by writing to me 
 from time to time, that I may know of your welfare, until I shall have 
 the privilege to greet you face to fa e. My sister and myself have felt 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 287 
 
 anxious to know if you had escaped the hazards of war. It will give 
 us heartfelt pleasure to give you the welcome of a son or nephew, when 
 you are able to return hither. I am anxious that you should not feel 
 like a stranger. At first we grieved over the little mound in our ceme 
 tery as being your resting place, for we did not know you ever had a 
 brother in Co. "B." In visiting the hospitals we always inquired if 
 there were any of the Iowa 7th there. My sister s heart was particularly 
 drawn towards any of her son s comrades who were suffering. When 
 you met her on the cars she was on her way to visit me, having just 
 become a widow. 
 
 Very soon after your brother s burial, I found his grave, and wrote 
 to my nephew, who had left the hospital in Mound City in February. 
 I will copy part of his reply: "I do not know whether there is any 
 young man in Co. "B" or not by the name of Peter Smith. I recollect 
 a clever young fellow by the name of Smith probably the one mother 
 met on the cars when on her way to Quincy. I can t recall the surname 
 of this youth. He was a young man singularly amiable, correct in his 
 general deportment, and one who, I thought, possessed unusual, though 
 none the less becoming, simplicity. He was fragile and sickly when 
 he went to Belmont, where he was not much improved by the wounds 
 he received. I can t imagine why. he should be taken to Quincy, unless 
 it was thought he would there be best cared for. Poor fellow! mur 
 dered! and in the foulest sense of the word. Traitors, the Recording 
 Angel has put that down on the debit side of your account. You ll 
 see it too at the proper time. You may well be drawn to that little 
 mound. I should think the very grave-stones would weep o er the spots 
 they mark. Grave-yards grow fat, while the hearts of households grow 
 lean and starve! I once expected to rest in some humble grave myself. 
 I could not see any way to escape, but one was taken and the other left. 
 I was left. The cot on my left I saw vacated, time and time again. In 
 the sunlight and at midnight, the tread of men would cease, and the 
 creak of the busy stretcher would suddenly pause at the foot of my 
 neighbor s cot. The gleam of the lantern, dimly burning, would re 
 veal but for a moment the face of the dead; again the creak of the stret 
 cher was heard, momentary shuffling of feet followed and then the heavy 
 tramp, tramp, tramp, as all that was mortal of that tender-hearted, 
 meek-eyed patriotic boy was removed to the dead room. Traitors, 
 there are not angels enough in heaven to record your infamous deeds. 
 That s right, let Charley hear from you; he will know about this young 
 Smith. Can t a board, if nothing more, be placed at the head of his 
 grave? I forgot; I recollect there is a slab. I did not know, even by 
 name, many of "the boys" of Co. "B." I was with them but a week. 
 One of these times I shall have a word or two to say concerning some 
 
288 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 of the boys of Co. "B" those that were of more than ordinary inter 
 est in regard to talents and in other respects." 
 
 After receiving this letter from my nephew, I heard from Mr. 
 Trot (Charley) that it was your brother who was left in our keeping, and 
 that you were with your regiment, although you had not been well. 
 We knew before that your brother was left in Quincy, because he died on 
 the "City of Memphis," when on his way to Keokuk. He was buried 
 on the 18th of May, 1862, my cousin, Rev. S. Hopkins Emery, officiat 
 ing as the clergyman. Four others were buried at the same time two 
 of them from the same boat, Iowa "boys," who died on the way to 
 their own state. In my next letter I will give you the names of these 
 men, for it may be interesting for your mother to know them. Yester 
 day I rode out to the cemetery with Mr. Emery, following the remains 
 of another soldier a Tennessee refugee who died in one of our hos 
 pitals, where my cousin acts as chaplain. Mr. Emery prayed at the 
 grave most feelingly for the bereaved friends of all the soldiers who lay 
 there. 
 
 I read your letter to Mr. Emery in the morning, and he mentioned 
 your brother s name during the services at the hospital, and had your 
 mother and her family particularly in his mind when praying. Mr. 
 Emery is the pastor of one of our Congregational churches in Quincy, 
 but is so earnestly interested for the soldiers that he has been appointed 
 assistant chaplain to the hospitals in Quincy. You will find him 
 a most cordial friend. His son, Frank Emery, was formerly in 
 "Curtis Horse," but that body of cavalry is now incorporated in the 
 5th Iowa Cavalry. He is with Rosecrans, but if you ever have an op 
 portunity I hope you will make yourself known to him as my friend. 
 Frank is about your age, and is a warm hearted boy, whom I know 
 you will like. I trust he is a Christian, which is an inexpressible com 
 fort, now that he is exposed to so much danger. 
 
 When you come to Quincy you must enquire for me without de 
 lay. I have rooms at the Quincy House (hotel) and the proprietor, Mr. 
 Miller, will give you the necessary information to find me. You must 
 not feel that you come hither to search for your brother s grave his 
 precious dust is left in our keeping, and we will watch over it tenderly 
 always. My mother rests very near him. She died a little more than 
 two years before this unhappy war begun, but her heart would have 
 yearned over the brave defenders of the co intry she loved with the in 
 tense devotion of "revolutionary days" she was born in 1780. Her 
 only son died last September in the service of his country, and her 
 grandsons and nephews represent her zeal in the army, from the Po 
 tomac to New Mexico. Give our earnest sympathy and regards to 
 your mother and sister. I cannot express to you our gratification that 
 "wie) can be of any comfort to her in her sorrow. If it will be any satis- 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 289 
 
 faction to you, or will strengthen you when about to encounter peril 
 in the presence of the enemy,! want you to know that your name is daily 
 remembered and presented to the God of battles, that he would "cover 
 your head" in the midst of dangers, and bring you safely to comfort your 
 widowed mother s last days, if it be His will, and if not, that you may 
 "rest in Jesus," redeemed by His precious blood, whether you are gath 
 ered to your last sleep on the field of battle, or in any unknown grave. 
 I earnestly hope to see you, thus having the opportunity to know you 
 personally. 
 
 I hope you will see Mr. Carnaby whenever it is convenient, and he 
 can give me tidings of you. But I hope you will write yourself, and 
 keep me informed of your movements. Do not forget to give me your 
 mother s address when you write. My sister wishes to be most kindly 
 remembered. Direct your letter as you did before, to Quincy, 111. 
 
 Truly your friend, 
 
 M. H. FALES. 
 
 Just such letters, and just such interest as this did more to make 
 strong the hearts of the men who fought our battles, to inspire them 
 to great deeds and heroic endurance, than can ever be told. The let 
 ter, as we have said of others above, has not lost its interest even 
 though the war has long been over, and the grave of the gallant soldier 
 the writer cared for, and those of thousands of others, have sunk like 
 the waves of the sea from the sight of men. To the Captain the letter 
 is all the more precious, now that the writer of it is dead is resting 
 from her labors in the long sleep of death. Cerro Gordo Republican. 
 
 A WAR STORY. 
 
 The generations which have come up since the rebellion will 
 never realize what the vicissitudes of the civil war brought about in the 
 division of not only a people which it caused, but which also extend 
 ed to families and even to the separation of brothers, and in some 
 cases to a final farewell forever of husbands and wives; nor will his 
 tory ever record all the sacrifices some made for loyalty; actual occur- 
 ences read like romances. Colonel Brutton and Captain Smith, both 
 members of the Loyal Legion, met in town a short time ago, and the 
 Colonel related some of his personal experience. 
 
 He stated he was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, and 
 when the war broke out he was the happy possessor of a loving wife 
 and two interesting children and was a lieutenant of the Lexington 
 Rifles, a local crack company of which the famous General Morgan 
 was the captain. 
 
 Early in 1861, the citizens arranged 10 present the company with 
 
290 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 a flag, a large gathering of the people of the town and country, with dis 
 tinguished citizens from abroad were in attendance. Lieut. Brutton was 
 selected to receive the colors in behalf of the company and respond in 
 a speech of thanks. The first flag presented was the state oclors with 
 the Kentucky coat of arms as the emblem, which was properly and 
 appropriately received by Lieutenant B-rutton with thanks. The next 
 offered, instead of being the stars and stripes was the stars and bars, 
 or the rebel flag. Lieutenant Brutton was much amazed at being of 
 fered it and very properly refused to accept it in behalf of the com 
 pany. He was hissed by the crowd and asked to resign from the com 
 pany, which he promptly did and his resignation was as promptly ac 
 cepted there and then. It is needless to say that a young man who 
 dared to express his loyal convictions before a vast crowd whose sen 
 timents were the opposite, had the stuff in him for a brave soldier, and 
 as it was not safe for anyone holding his views to stay there, he, as 
 soon as possible came north to Cincinnatti and tendered his services 
 on the side of the Union, was accepted, and assigned to the Sixth Ohio 
 Infantry. And he went to the front to wage war against his kinsmen, 
 neighbors and friends, winning honors and promotion for bravery and 
 duty until he was the comander of his regiment. 
 
 Years rolled on, and his wife s people were all Confederates and 
 her sympaties were with the south; feeling ran so high that she re 
 nounced her husband, applied for and was granted a divorce on the 
 grounds of desertion. At the battle of Chickamauga he was severely 
 wounded and sent to Cincinnatti hospital. While there convalescent, 
 General Morgan made his daring and reckless raid north into Ohio 
 and Indiana, and Colonel Brutton being sufficiently recovered to ride, 
 was invited to join the command in pursuit of Morgan and his band 
 of fearless riders, which he did. He assisted in Morgan s capture and 
 had the satisfaction (being among those to whom General Morgan sur 
 rendered) of capturing the identical flag from his old company that 
 he refused to accept in 1861; and when he exhibited it in triumph to 
 General Morgan, then a prisoner of war, the general remarked that 
 he seemed more anxious to take the flag than he did when offered it 
 at Lexington before the war. 
 
 Colonel Brutton is now a resident of Minnesota, and still has the 
 flag which he prizes as a trophy and rare relic of the war. He never 
 returned to Kentucky or his first love, but married again and has a 
 happy, interesting family and is a prosperous and respected citizen 
 of our adjoining state. 
 
 After the war he was commissioned an officer in the regular 
 army and with others sent to Europe where he was for three years in the 
 government service and upon his return to the United States he re 
 signed and engaged in civil pursuits. He is an entertaining, intelli- 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 291 
 
 gent, hospitable southern gentleman of the old school, but loyal to 
 the core; and is reaping the reward of his loyalty by a generous pen 
 sion awarded him by a grateful government for his crippled condi 
 tion caused by honorable wounds while in defence of his country, as 
 well as having the satisfaction of knowing that time has vindicated 
 that he chose right. Globe-Gazette. 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS OP THE BATTLE OF SHILOH. 
 By a Member of Company "D." 
 
 On Easter Sunday morning, April 6, 1862, the sun rose brightly 
 over the forests of Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., and the call for Sunday 
 morning inspection brought the ten companies of the 7th Iowa Infantry 
 into line in company quarters, where they stood waiting the call for 
 forming the regiment in line. At this time ominous distant cannonad 
 ing was heard, and soon orders came to be ready to march at a mom 
 ent s notice with forty rounds of ammunition, this being almost In 
 stantly followed to make it eighty rounds, and before these orders were 
 executed the order to march followed. 
 
 The march was out toward the front, and before going one mile 
 fleeing soldiers were met flying toward the Tennessee River, saying the 
 woods were full of Rebels and everything was lost. The farther we 
 proceeded toward the front the larger was the number of panic- 
 stricken soldiers. 
 
 To go back to the beginning. The troops from Ft. Donnelson 
 and Cairo, which latter included the new regiments from Indiana, 
 Ohio and Wisconsin, were all ordered up to Pittsburg Landing on 
 steamboats, there being for this purpose some fifty or sixty steam 
 boats provided, which were loaded with troops. The 7th Iowa was go 
 ing there from Ft. Donnelson. They landed and chose a camp at the 
 right of the road near the top of the hill leading up from the landing. 
 Other troops went farther out, some choosing shady ground,others slop 
 ing ground and some a clearing, but all apparently naving orders to 
 land and select a camp ground to suit themselves, and it so happened 
 that the new regiments selected positions well to the front and were, 
 therefore, the first to receive the Rebel attack on Easter Sunday 
 morning. These troops being raw and never before under fire, and 
 being attacked so early in the morning, became confused and panic 
 stricken. 
 
 I met a Rebel officer a few years ago who was on the staff of one 
 of the generals of Johnson s army, and he said he was ordered to go 
 to the front before daylight on that Easter Sunday morning and see 
 what he could find. He went out and expected to find a picket line, 
 
292 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 and as he advanced from tree to tree without striking any pickets 
 he was astonished, but kept advancing and soon discovered the camps 
 of the Union army. And standing behind a tree he saw the quiet 
 camp in this early morning hour, and as he watched a few soldiers 
 here and there came out of the tents some of them to wash them 
 selves and others to get a fire started for breakfast, but all apparently 
 unconscious of the fact that a hostile army was within two miles of 
 their camp. This officer told me he watched the scene for some time 
 and then hurriedly left to report to his general. 
 
 The result was an attack on our unprepared troops, followed by 
 the flying to the rear of the men we met as we advanced to the front 
 from our camp near the river bank. 
 
 Notwithstanding the loud and repeated assertions that certain 
 death awaited us if we went out to the front, we marched steadily for 
 ward and soon found the fighting line and were assigned to a posi 
 tion along with the Iowa brigade, commanded by Brigadier General 
 Tuttle, the 7th occupying an old sunken road facing a small field. 
 We could see the Rebel column marching to our left along a road on 
 the opposite side of the field, and it must have been at least two 
 hours in passing. We could see the officers riding at the heads of the 
 various regiments and tne guns and bayonets glistening in the morn 
 ing sun. 
 
 The attack was soon begun and was stubbornly resisted. The 
 roar of the musketry would go rolling along the line and the sound 
 could be followed for miles, and this was augmented by the rapid 
 firing of batteries on both sides, and the roar of war was awful to 
 hear and still more so to be in the midst of. Repeated attacks were 
 made during the day on the line held by the Iowa brigade, but our 
 position was so good and the troops so cool and experienced that no 
 impression was made on our line, although the Rebel dead was fairly 
 piled up in our iront. 
 
 This position was afterwards known as the "Hornet s Nest," 
 being so named in the Rebel reports of the battle. 
 
 We were unconscious of what was going on to our right or 
 left, except the conclusions we reached by listening to the constant 
 roar of battle, and that the roar of musketry was receding toward our 
 rear on both our left and right. 
 
 About four o clock in the afternoon, General Albert Sidney 
 Johnston, the Rebel Commander in Chief, came to our front and or 
 dered a charge on our line, telling his troops that the lines were 
 broken on both sides and this position must be carried without fur 
 ther delay, and when told of the repeated failures to dislodge our 
 line he said, "Form your columns for a charge and I will lead you 
 to death or victory." This was received with cheers and as the col- 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 293 
 
 umns were being formed, an officer who was mounted near General 
 Johnston noticed he was very pale, and glancing down at his high top 
 boots noticed blood running over the top and down. He asked, 
 "General, are you hurt? Let me assist you to dismount." Just then 
 he reeled and fell heavily to the ground and in a moment was dead. 
 A shot from our line had struck an artery in his thigh and he bled 
 to death. 
 
 All was instantly confusion in the Rebel lines. Orders were 
 sent hurriedly to General Beauregard in a distant part of the line, 
 and in the interval between the death of Johnston and the assuming 
 of command by Beauregard, a precious hour was lost. 
 
 Our line fell back and cut its way through the curving Rebel 
 line, which had almost completed the circle Behind us, and we reached 
 a position near our camp ground just at dusk. A Rebel cavalry 
 column appeared in our front, evidently preparing to charge our thin 
 line, and General Grant came along and ihimself directed the forma 
 tion of our line four deep with the front line kneeling, and we were 
 ready with fixed bayonets to receive the charge. It was now growing 
 dark and the Rebels evidently concluded to wait for morning, and the 
 Rebel cavalry wheeled to the rear and was soon lost in the gathering 
 darkness. 
 
 All night long the heavy artillery and howitzers near the river 
 kept up a fire of shells into the Rebel camp, and at midnight Buell s 
 Army reached the north bank of the Tennessee River and began cross 
 ing. The second day s battle with Buell s fresh troops to take the 
 lead was begun with the break of aay, and by nine o clock the Rebel 
 army was in full retreat and the Union arms were again victorious. 
 
 In this dreadful battle fully 20,000 men were killed and dis 
 abled on both sides out of a total of 125,00*0 engaged about 60,000 in 
 Johnston s army, 40,000 in Grant s and 25,000 in Buell s. These figures 
 may not be exact, but the official records will no doubt show that the 
 proportion of each is approximately correct. 
 
 In this great battle General Grant learned a lesson he. never 
 forgot. He had put raw troops in camp without protecting them with 
 earth works. These works could have been erected by the idle sol 
 diers who were there for weeks with nothing to do. Grant never 
 after that moved his army a mile and went into camp over night in 
 the west without throwing up earth works. 
 
 Buell s army had marched from Bowling Green, Ky., to join Grant 
 at Pittsburg Landing for the purpose of a forward movement. John 
 ston was aware of this and he determined to prevent the function of 
 the two armies, and by whipping them in detail leave the road to 
 Cincinnati, Ohio, open tor his army. What prevented this disaster 
 to our arms from being carried out? Nothing but a bullet from the 
 
294 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 rifle of an Iowa boy. The hour so much needed by the Rebel army, 
 was lost in the change of commanders incident to Johnston s 
 death (whose plans had died with him), meant the lives of thousands 
 of men and millions of money and pillage which would have been lost 
 if Johnston s army had invaded the North, and who can say that such 
 an invasion into the heart of the central west would not have pro 
 longed the war for years and possibly have resulted in a final victory 
 for the South and the establishing of the Southern Confederacy? The 
 tide was turned. The critical moment arrived and stopped the career 
 of the skillful general who was carrying out his plans to wipe out 
 Grant and then with his victorious hosts, cross the Tennessee River 
 and wipe out Buell. 
 
 Who this Iowa boy was will never be known, but who can doubt 
 he was an humble instrument in the hands of God to remove the foul 
 blot of human slavery from this land of Promise? 
 
 COMPANY "D," SEVENTH IOWA. 
 
 This company was organized at Port Madison, Iowa, in April, 
 1861, and the first officers were Captain J. P. Harper, First Lieutenant 
 J. B. Sample, Second Lieutenant D. T. Bowler. 
 
 When the company joined the Seventh Iowa Infantry at Bur 
 lington Bowler was chosen adjutant of the regiment, and Ben B. Gale 
 made 2nd Lieutenant of Co. "D." The ranks were not quite filled, 
 so Capt. Harper enlisted seven or eight "river rats" at Burlington to 
 complete the quota of the company, so we could be mustered in. 
 These toughs were ever after a source of trouble but were finally dis 
 posed of in vorious ways, two being "drummed out." The most of the 
 company who enlisted at Ft. Madison were mere boys, and Capt. 
 Harper had personally vouched for their proper looking after to their 
 fond mothers, who with streaming eyes saw their boys march away. 
 We went from Burlington to St. Louis on the steamer Jennie Whip- 
 pie. These good mothers and sweethearts had prepared a great feast 
 at Ft. Madison, expecting the boat to stop, and when she sailed rapidly 
 by without stopping the weeping mothers and gushing sweethearts 
 gathered up the untouched feast of good things and made a donation 
 to the poor and needy. It has ever since been a source of regret to the 
 surviving members of Co. "D" that they and their comrades never 
 got to digest that dinner. 
 
 In due time arrived in St. Louis and went into camp at the 
 Arsenal. This was where Joe Morrison got his old pistol repaired by 
 the U. S. government. The march down through Missouri to Ironton 
 and the various points in the deep woods to Cape Girardeau was livened 
 by many incidents and funny experiences. The natives were of the 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 295 
 
 "poor white trash" style, and the honey in the bee trees tasted as 
 sweet as such things usually do when worked hard for. 
 
 At Birds Point we had a tough time, and the daily and some 
 times hourly funerals cast a gloom over the camp, and the result was 
 that when a soldier got into the hospital the chances were that in 
 a few days there would be a funeral, and the strains of the funeral 
 march, "Poor Old Soldier, Poor Old Soldier, Rattle his bones, over the 
 stone, Poor Old Soldier," would be heard. The boys lived on batter 
 cakes fried in grease, and added to this the low malarial location, 
 easily accounted for the mortality. Cairo was across the river, and 
 was a good place to go to get your leg pulled in some den of iniquity. 
 
 The battle of Belmont was fougnt with Co. "D" in the thick of 
 it, and five of our best boys were killed and about twenty more wound 
 ed and missing. Here Lieut. J. B. Sample captured the rebel flag, 
 and Li- ut. Gale was cut over the head with a Rebel sabre, and left 
 for dead on the field. In fact Ben thought he actually was dead, 
 and when he came to he didn t know which world he was in. His 
 first discovery was the dead body of the officer who struck him, lying 
 close by, whom Sergt. Sapp, of Co. "E," bad killed. Sergt. Morrison 
 had also shot another Rebel, who jumped about three feet off the ground 
 and fell dead. These were isolated cases; the rebel line in our front 
 got the medicine good and straight, as their piles of dead and wound 
 ed easily testified. Jule Coriel was wounded amongst many others, 
 and Sergt. Morrison stayed with him on the boat until it reached 
 Mound City and saw him safely in the Hospital under the care of the 
 good Sisters. During that terrible night trip on the boat many of 
 the wounded died. 
 
 The return to St. Louis to recuperate the embarkation from St. 
 Louis with every man (who would take it) provided with a bottle by 
 some would-be generous citizen of St. Louis, will be remembered by all 
 the boys. The freezing up in the river and return to St. Louis in 
 a half frozen condition on open cars the crossing of the river to 
 East St. Louis, and long hours of hard work with the camp equipage 
 was a chapter in the soldier s life that no one liked or would ever 
 care to have repeated. Co. "D" was among the first into Port Henry 
 on the Tennessee River when it was captured, and at Fort Donnelson 
 Co. "D" started up the hill with the rest of the regiment in support of 
 the Second Iowa Infantry, and were all day under fire, and at night 
 when the Rebel line at the crest of the hill was captured, there were 
 only seven or eight men left on duty under charge of Sergt. Morrison, 
 all of the officers and most of the men being killed, wounded or miss 
 ing. After the Rebels surrendered and we marched in, we found an 
 other army more numerous than the one we had captured, which soon 
 captured us, the " gray backs." They were literally everywhere 
 
296 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 we went and soon covered the men. Body lice were a common thing 
 amongst the Rebel soldiers, but our boys couldn t get reconciled to such 
 companions, and you could see them around the outskirts of camp with 
 their clothes off, sitting patiently picking the varmints out of the seams 
 of their pants and blouses and putting them to death. 
 
 After Donnelson came Pittsburg Landing, where Charley Oatman 
 won so much money with his elegant cards, and where the "johnnies" 
 came in to visit us daily disguised as farmers, peddling sole leather 
 pies made of dried apples. Co. "D" was with the regiment in the 
 "Hornet s Nest" line and every man did his duty. While at Shiloh, 
 Henry Rogers and Foster Walker joined the company again. They 
 had been captured at Belmont, and after great suffering finally dug a 
 tunnel out of the prison pen at Tuscaloosa, Ala., and with others 
 escaped. Hank Rogers was a man of great ingenuity and determina 
 tion, and was one of the prime movers in this enterprise and took 
 his friend Walker along. Rogers now lives at Kansas City, Kans. 
 
 By the way, Walker was appointed to write up this history and 
 accepted the task, but for some unknown reason he refused to carry 
 out the deal. He was supposed to have a large fund of information 
 which was very necessary, but has not furnished it. This imperfect sketch 
 is written by another at the last moment, and being from memory 
 must necessarily be very imperfect, and does not do justice to the 
 gallant boys of Co. "D." 
 
 After Shiloh came Corinth, and at that desperate battle Addi- 
 son Leavett fired his gun so close to Bill Berry s ear that the ear 
 drum was split, and to this day you have got to get on the "other 
 side" of Bill and yell to make him hear if you are asking him for 
 money, but when Maj. Mahon entertained the boys at his elegant 
 home in Ottumwa last summer I noticed when the young lady asked 
 Bill in a low voice if he wanted another dish of ice cream, he an 
 swered yes before the words were hardly out of her mouth. By the 
 way, Bill is now 62 and looks and acts like a boy. He got a pension 
 all right for the ear drum, and I helped him get it too. This reminds 
 me about Frank Redding commonly known as "Flop Eye." Frank 
 was one of the best soldiers in Co. "D" or any other company for 
 that matter. He was always ready for duty whether it was his turn 
 or not, and didn t know fear. After the war Frank got married, and 
 in the course of time he developed a family of nine children, which 
 with his faithful wife were his principal assets. I tried to get Frank 
 to apply for a pension, but he said, "No, I got all the government 
 ever agreed to give me and even more, for I started in at $11.00 a 
 month and they raised me to $13.00." Frank had been shot in the liver 
 and the ball lodged, making a wound almost exactly like President 
 Garfield s, but Frank was young and he lived many years and wouldn t 
 
I 
 
 I 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 297 
 
 have a pension, although I offered to help him. One day in a coughing 
 fit the ball which had become incisted in his liver, broke loose, and 
 coming up in his throat (with a part of his liver) choked him to 
 death. I then took up the matter with Senator Gear, and it wasn t 
 long until the government "coughed up" a pension with back pay 
 amounting to $1800.00, and as worthily bestowed as any pension ever 
 was. 
 
 The battle at Corinth on Oct. 3rd and 4th, 1862, was desperately 
 fought by the half starved and half drunk Rebels, but the Northern boys 
 were bound to hang on to what they had. Geo.. Rollett here killed 
 a Rebel color bearer and captured his flag. George was true blue; he 
 didn t say much but was generally found "sawing wood." He still 
 lives in Fort Madison, highly respected by the community. 
 
 In the thickest of the fight, when the Rebels were charging our 
 line, some Rebel shot off his gun and the bullet found the shin bone 
 of Lieut. Morrison. The lieutenant thought his entire foot and leg 
 was gone, and immediately began dancing a horn pipe, but discov 
 ered the leg and foot still there and that only the thin skin was 
 taken from over the shin bone, but the sock and pants were badly 
 wounded. After this the lieutenant was madder than ever at the 
 Rebels and assisted in reforming our line; the Rebel advance had 
 spent itself and we turned the tide and drove them back again. 
 
 At this time Lieut. Morrison saw a wounded Rebel who could 
 b&ulely raised his hand, and stooping low to see what he wanted he 
 whispered "water," which was given, and the poor man with a look of 
 thankfulness in his eye fell over and died. The lieutenant saw a loaded 
 rifle lying on the ground and picked it up, and was just then met by 
 Genl. Rosencrans who told him not to bother with the gun but help 
 rush up the men; but when he explained that it was only picked up to fire 
 its contents at the fleeing foe the general said all right. 
 
 After Corinth came luka, where Co. "D" was detailed to search 
 every house in the town, hoping to catch a spy which had escaped 
 during the night from Genl. Sweeney s headquarters. 
 
 At Pulaski, Tenn., we had a comfortable rest and got acquainted 
 with all the girls. 
 
 At Pulaski Co. "D," along with the Seventh regiment, veteranized 
 that is, agreed to re-enlist, and here gallant Lieut. Dave Hamilton 
 led the boys in re-enlisting as he had in battle. 
 
 When the company reached Fort Madison the citizens received 
 them with open arms (I mean the girls did) and as happy a thirty 
 days as ever happened was enjoyed with round after round of enter 
 tainment. 
 
 Among the recruits were Geo. Smith and Dennis A. Morrison, 
 now honored citizens of Ft. Madison. Morrison had the misfortune 
 
298 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 to have his thumb in line with a bullet and he has done without a 
 thumb on his right hand ever since. This incapacitated him for ser 
 vice in the comapny and he was made quarter master sergeant and af 
 terwards acting quarter master of the Seventh Iowa until the end of 
 the war. 
 
 Of the march to Atlanta and numerous battles of that summer 
 of 1864 a volume could be written. Co. "D" was always there. In the 
 meantime Ben. Gale had become Captain. J. B. Morrison First Lieu 
 tenant, and Dave Hamilton Second Lieutenant. Jim Sample had been 
 promoted to staff duty on General Mower s staff, and was promoted 
 to the rank of major. Capt. Gale was wounded again and ordered 
 home. He resigned and Lieut. Morrison was commissioned captain, 
 but declined to be mustered in, and Dave Hamilton was then promoted 
 and served as captain and Serg. Maynard was made 2d Lieut. Capt. Harper 
 had left the company after Belmont and was on detached duty. Lieut. 
 Morrison had been assigned to staff duty with Gen. E. W. Rice and 
 preferred such duty to again joinng the company and didn t wish to 
 deprive the company of a captain. He remained with Genl. Rice un 
 til after Atlanta was captured and then resigned and returned home. 
 He was offered the position of Asst. Adjutant General with Genl. Rice 
 and also a commission as Lieut. Colonel of a colored regiment but de 
 clined, and was afterwards by act of Congress commissioned Lieut. 
 Colonel of Volunteers. During the Atlanta campaign many oppor 
 tunities were offered for personal bravery and the constant duty al 
 most day and night was very trying on the soldiers. 
 
 Before Atlanta a double bullet was picked up by Lieut. Morri 
 son, showing that a Rebel and Union bullet had met in the air and 
 melted together. After Atlanta fell the march to the sea. Then the 
 victorious march up Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington and the boys 
 returned home to lay aside the weapons of war and take up the pur 
 suits of peace. 
 
 Tom Cunningham, who was nicknamed "nail keg," has developed 
 into sort of a doctor. About twenty years ago he fell in with a travel 
 ing quack in Texas who gave Tom some lessons, so he is now known 
 as "Dr. Cunningham." I think he travels mostly in the south. They 
 had a sort of tube which could be put against the naked side of a 
 person, and inside the tube was the fac-simile of an old dried-up 
 diseased lung, and by an arrangement of the light this would appear 
 to be the regular lung inside the person. This discovery of the terri 
 ble condition of the lung would alarm the family so $3 could easily 
 be gotten for a bottle of "colored water." Tom told me the people 
 loved to be humbugged and he might as well do it as somebody else. 
 
 Luman VanHoosen is a prosperous farmer in Nebraska. Calvin 
 Cowles is there too. Trank Vail and Billy Griffith live in Kansas. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 299 
 
 The latter has a fine family and lives in good shape on his broad acres, 
 and is spending the evening of his days in peace and plenty. Hiram In- 
 gersoll lives near Nauvoo, 111., on a fine farm of his own. Isaac Brown 
 and Andy Summerville live at Oskaloosa, la. Geo. Martin at Liberty- 
 ville, la., and Jack and Henry Pickard live at Cotton wood, Lee county, 
 la. Jno. Schiller lives in Kansas City, Mo. Lieut. Maynard lives on 
 his beautiful farm in Hancock Co., 111., and takes the world easy as he 
 deserves to. Win. Berry lives in Burlington, la., where he has a host of 
 friends and wants all the boys to be sure and come and see him and 
 stay a week. Charley Oatman lives in Denver, and keeps a cigar store. 
 Capt. Dave Hamilton lives in Chicago, where he has prospered and 
 loves to talk over the old campaigns and meet the Co. "D" boys to 
 fight over again the old battles. Jim Stevens lives in California, or did 
 at last accounts. Bill Blair and Bill Young also live there. The two 
 Bills are preachers now. Never heard either one preach, but suppose 
 they are doing their level best. Wm. H. Powell is an engineer on the 
 C., B. & Q. road between St. Louis andKeokuk and is doing well. 
 
 There are others of Co. "D" still alive I think, but I don t know 
 where they live. Several I have mentioned I don t know much about. 
 We show a picture of Co. "D" as they appeared at the prize drill in 
 Corinth, Miss., and where they captured the first prize. It is a long 
 time to remember accurately and the boys must overlook mistakes and 
 errors. There is one thing sure, Co. "D" was always on hand for a 
 skirmish, a night march, a sweet potato patch, a barn yard, or a battle. 
 The company had four sets of officers during the four years of service, 
 and of the total number enrolled (about 108) she lost in killed, wounded 
 and missing over 90 men, and participated in about 29 battles. 
 
 PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF GEN. E. W. RICE. 
 
 Elliott W. Rice enlisted in Company "C," Seventh Iowa, and was 
 made sergeant of the company. He was a young lawyer of good family 
 and fine prospects in his profession, but quit all to enter the service 
 of his country. His home influence secured him the appointment of 
 major of the regiment after he entered the service, and after the pro 
 motion of Colonel Lauman to brigadier general, Rice was promoted to 
 colonel. He made a fine officer constantly on the alert for the com 
 fort of his men and on the field of battle he was a host in himself 
 and a man of fine physique. He was constantly on duty and in the 
 many battles the regiment was engaged in was the bravest of the 
 brave. 
 
 When he entered the service he was an admirer of Miss Mollie 
 
300 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 Harlan, the daughter of U. S. Senator Harlan of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. 
 Mr. Harlan entered the cabinet of President Lincoln and naturally 
 watched the career of young Rice and hearing so much in his favor 
 he told Mr. Lincoln of it and requested a commission for him as 
 brigadier general. Mr. Lincoln entertained the request favorably and 
 one day when Harlan again mentioned it, he picked up a piece of paper 
 and wrote a note to Secretary Stanton to "appoint Colonel Rice of 
 Iowa, brigadier general." Stanton received the note and a few days 
 later took the matter up and asked a clerk to look at the Iowa roster 
 and get the initials of Colonel Rice. The clerk found the name of 
 Colonel Samuel A. Rice, who was colonel of the Thirty-third Iowa, 
 and a brother of E. W. Rice. 
 
 Very much to the surprise of Colonel E. W. Rice, the commission 
 promised didn t come, and after a month or so he received a letter 
 from Samuel A. Rice saying that very much to his surprise he had 
 received a commission as Brigadier General, and upon investigation 
 the mistake was discovered. Whereupon, E. W. Rice refused to have 
 it changed and S. A. Rice was mustered on the commission. It was 
 finally decided, as both were deserving, that both should be promoted, 
 and our colonel received his commission as brigadier general about 
 a year afterwards. 
 
 Colonel Rice at one time was in command at Bethel, Tenn., 
 this being an outpost from Corinth, Miss., on the railroad. A good 
 amount of cotton was hid in the vicinity and some of the citizens 
 proposed to Colonel Rice that if he would assist them in getting it 
 shipped into Memphis they would divide the proceeds equally with him. 
 As there was a large amount of the cotton, Rice s share would have 
 amounted to many thousands of dollars. He told them, "No, sir; I 
 am in the service of my country and not here to speculate. Where 
 is your cotton?" They told him to save arrest, and the entire lot of 
 several carloads was brought in and confiscated for the government. 
 
 Prior to his commission as brigadier general and afterwards 
 also, lie was in command of the First Brigade, Second Division, 16th 
 Army Corps. This brigade consisted of the 2nd and 7th Iowa, 52nd 
 Illinois and 66th Indiana Inf. and Welker s Battery. 
 
 When Sherman s Army reached the Oostanaula River on the 
 Atlanta campaign, it was found impossible to dislodge the Rebel army, 
 and as the river was guarded for many miles up and down stream 
 and fortified by earthworks on the south bank, General Sherman was 
 put to his wits end to find a way to dislodge them. Many attempts 
 failed until General Rice volunteered to force a crossing. His offer was 
 accepted by General Sherman and he proceeded through the woods by 
 a circuitous route to a point on the river known as Lays Ferry, which 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 301 
 
 he reached with his brigade after dark. At this point a rising field 
 extended back from the river, forming a sort of ridge, over which the 
 road from the ferry passed, and on the summit of the hill the ferry 
 man s house was located. Welker s battery was masked behind these 
 buildings before daylight the next morning. During the night the 
 pontoon boats, made of duck, were stretched over the frames, and 
 volunteers of men to carry the boats on their shoulders and others to 
 go along with arms were called for, and three or four times the num 
 ber wanted volunteered to go, so those who got the job were finally 
 selected by lot from the volunteers. 
 
 The rebels were in strong force on the south side of the river, 
 which was about one hundred and fifty yards wide, with deep earth 
 works along the south bank. 
 
 At daylight the 66th Indiana was posted north of the crest of 
 the ridge in the field. Welker s Battery was loaded with shells and at 
 the signal of the discharge of the guns of the battery the 66th In 
 diana was to charge over the ridge and down through the field to the 
 river, yelling like demons. The men with pontoons and their 
 guards were to run to the river at ferry landing and form the bridge 
 across the river, just ferrying a few men over to engage the enemy. 
 At the given signal pandemonium shook the old hills with the booming 
 of the cannon and the yells of the soldiers, and the scene became at 
 once from the silence of the woods, the active scene of a battle. Gen 
 eral Rice turned to the writer and said, "Morrison, go down and cross 
 in the first boat." The General s staff winked and said, "Good bye, 
 Morrison." By this time the noise and excitement was at fever heat. 
 The men with the pontoons reached the river, crossed over and the 
 Rebel line gave way in confusion, and the south side was gained and 
 held first by the left wing of the 7th Iowa later the right wing, and 
 finally the whole brigade. By this time the Rebels came to their 
 senses and realized what they had lost and a charge was made by 
 a Rebel division, but our men could not be dislodged. The victory 
 was complete and that night the Rebel army fell back again, and the 
 next day Sherman s army crossed the Oostanaula River. 
 
 The writer was a member of his staff, intimately acquainted with 
 General Rice, and knew him in all phases of his character. 
 
 After Atlanta was captured he urged me to stay with him and 
 offered every opportunity in his power to insure my advancement. We 
 took a walk in the woods one day and, sitting on a log, he told me how 
 much he was attached to me and that if I would stay with him he 
 would see to it that I was advanced, but being young and never away 
 from home before, I told him it was no use as home was my destination. 
 
 After the war was over and General Rice returned home, he 
 wrote me one day from Oskaloosa that he had decided to leave Iowa 
 
302 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 and go to Washington to live. I wrote him at once, urging him to 
 stay in Iowa and be a candidate for governor, but he said, "No, he 
 had no political ambition." He went to Washington and dropped out 
 of Iowa history, much to the regret of his many friends. He finally 
 came back to the state, broken in health and a confirmed invalid and 
 died a few months later at Sioux City. 
 
 J. B. MORRISON. 
 
 THE FORAGER IN SHERMAN S LAST CAMPAIGN. 
 By Major Samuel Mahon. 
 
 In discussing the military situation in the southwest after the 
 fall of Atlanta, General Sherman in his memoirs uses the following 
 language: "I knew that an army which had penetrated Georgia as far 
 as Atlanta could not turn back; must go ahead; but when, how, and 
 where, depended on many circumstances." 
 
 The enormous difficulty of supplying the army on the Atlanta 
 campaign over a single line of communication nearly 400 miles from 
 its base, demonstrated the impossibility of attemptng to supply an 
 army that should move any distance south of the captured city, and it 
 was then that the idea took form of planning a campaign on which the 
 army should cut entirely loose from its base of supplies and depend 
 mainly on the country for its support; it was a new departure in the 
 miltary operations of the war. 
 
 In looking back on the march to the sea after the fact, and at the 
 apparent ease with which it was executed makes it easy to under-rate 
 the difficulties and uncertainties under which it was accomplished. The 
 first conception belongs undoubtedly to General Sherman, and it was 
 sometime after he had become convinced of its importance, before he 
 could persuade the higher military authorities of its feasibility, and 
 only at the last moment did he obtain certain though reluctant consent 
 to proceed on the campaign; it was as late as November 2nd that he 
 received General Grant s unqualified assent to go on as he proposed. 
 Special Field Orders Nos. 119 and 120, dated November 8th and 9th give 
 the cue to the general plan of the proposed campaign. It is with Sec 
 tions 3 and 4 and part of Section 6 Qf Order 120 which this paper has 
 more particularly to deal with, which I quote as follows: 
 
 "3. There will be no general train of supplies, but each corps will 
 have its ammunition train, distributed habitually as follows: Behind 
 each regiment should follow one wagon and one ambulance; behind 
 each brigade should follow a due proportion of ammunition wagons, 
 provision wagons and ambulances. In case of danger, each corps com- 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 303 
 
 mander should change this order of march, by having his advance and 
 rear brigades unencumbered by wheels. The separate columns will 
 start habitually at 7 a. m., and make about fifteen miles per day, unless 
 otherwise fixed in orders." 
 
 "4. The army will forage liberally on the country during the 
 march. To this end, each brigade commander will organize a good and 
 sufficient foraging party, under command of one or more discreet offi 
 cers, who will gather, near the route traveled, corn or forage of any 
 kind, meat of any kind, vegetables, corn-meal, or whatever is needed 
 by the command, aiming at all times to keep in the wagons at least ten 
 days provisons for his command, and three days forage. Soldiers must 
 not enter the dwellings of the inhabitants, or commit any trespass; but, 
 during a halt or camp, they may be permitted to gather turnips, pota 
 toes, and other vegetables, and to drive in stock in sight of their camp. 
 To regular foraging parties must be intrusted the gathering of pro 
 visons and forage at any distance from the road traveled. 
 
 "6. Forage parties may also take mules or horses to replace the 
 jaded animals of their train or to serve as pack-mules for the regi 
 ments or brigades. In all foraging of whatever kind, the parties will 
 refrain from abusive or threatening language, and may, where the 
 officer in command thinks proper, give written certificates of the fact, 
 but no receipts; and they will endeavor to leave with each family a 
 reasonable portion for their maintenance." 
 
 The other sections of Field Order No. 120 directs the general 
 formation and movements of the army. Field Order No. 119 is in 
 the nature of a communication to the army destined for this im 
 portant expedition, outlining the great work before it and asking their 
 highest efforts in discipline, patience and courage to overcome the 
 grave obstacles to be encountered, which the general commanding 
 fully comprehended; and an appeal to share the enormous responsi 
 bilities which he had taken upon himself in the prosecution of the 
 campaign. It seems to have been undetermined at the outset of 
 the campaign what objective point on the Atlantic or Gulf coast would 
 be made for the army, it being left to future circumstances and events 
 as to whether it would be Mobile on the Gulf, or Savannah or some 
 point further north on the Atlantic coast. Two things were abso 
 lutely necessary in the movement of the army; first, to avoid any 
 serious engagements, and second, that it should be constantly on 
 the move, as forty-eight hours halt in any particular section practically 
 exhausted the supplies to be obtained in the vicinity. 
 
 Forage parties were organized at the outset of the campaign 
 in accordance with the general orders, usually consisting of about 
 seventy-five men for each division, properly officered and under the 
 general direction of an officer appointed to command the division detail. 
 
304 HISTORY PO THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 The detachment for each brigade numbering, say, twenty-five men, 
 under command of an officer, foraged separately and were directed 
 each day to take different directions, by the commander of the division 
 foragers; this prevented the different parties from interfering with 
 each other or foraging over the same section. 
 
 Central Georgia was, at this time, the granary of the South 
 and teemed with supplies of every description both for man and beast. 
 Abundant supplies for use of the army were obtained within the line 
 of march, and, owing to the strategic movements of the different 
 columns of the expedition, the movements of the enemy were paralyzed 
 and but little opposition was encountered by either the forage parties or 
 the columns in march. 
 
 How serious the problem of keeping the army supplied by the 
 forage parties (as it approached Savannah and its progress became 
 necessarily slower) was demonstrated by the sudden shortening of 
 the supplies as it traversed the country in the immediate vicinity of 
 that city, which was mainly devoted to the cultivation of rice, the 
 army being compelled to subsist for several days on rice alone; and 
 those whe were present will remember with me, that rice in the sheaf 
 was issued to the regiments, which the men patiently thrashed out on 
 their rubber blankets, requiring almost the constant work of the 
 men to provide sufficient in this way to sustain life, until the capture 
 of Fort McAllister and the opening of the Ogechee River put us in com 
 munication once more with our cracker line. 
 
 The campaign of the march to the sea having been successfully 
 terminated by the capture of the city of Savannah, the further move 
 ments of the army under Sherman was a question of grave discussion 
 between the commander and the authorities at Washington. One scheme 
 proposed by General Grant was to move the army bodily, by transports, 
 to some point on the coast in supporting distance of the armies besieg 
 ing Richmond and Petersburg, but General Sherman again urged the 
 feasibility of a campaign through the Carolinas and the greater results 
 in destroying the enemy, to be obtained therefrom. The obstacles to 
 be encountered and overcome were much more serious than on the 
 march to the sea. The season of the year was less propitious, the 
 topography of the country more difficult, and possible supplies of forage 
 much less on account of the poorer character of the country; but again 
 the commander was allowed his own way. The developments and 
 success of the march to the sea made the march through the Carolinas 
 possible, and accordingly, after a little over a month s stay in and about 
 Savannah, about February 1st, Sherman s army, organized substan 
 tially as it was in the march to the sea, began its adventurous career 
 and memorable campaign through the Carolinas; its objective point 
 being Goldsboro in the state of North Carolina, with contingencies de- 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 305 
 
 pending on circumstances of striking the coast at some point farther 
 south, if so compelled. 
 
 The same general orders were in force on the coming campaign 
 as were observed in the previous one, and a few days later than the 
 date above mentioned, Sherman s army was once more severed from 
 all communication with its friends in the North, except what was 
 gleaned through Rebel sources. Forage companies were promptly or 
 ganized as in the previous campaign, but they soon found themselves 
 facing obstacles and difficulties hitherto unknown. The scattered 
 forces of the enemy in the South had been concentrated to oppose the 
 advance, and the enemy taking their cue from the success of the for 
 age parties in supplying the army on the march to the sea, broke a 
 portion of their cavalry into detached parties to harass, and, if possible, 
 drive in the foragers on the main column and prevent them obtaining 
 supplies. 
 
 The numerous rivers and creeks, at that season of the year swol 
 len out of their banks, greatly impeded a free movement of the for 
 age parties, and, together with the comparative poverty of the coun 
 try, rendered their task a serious and adventurous one. The men of 
 the different parties were compelled to keep closely together, and 
 ready at all times to encounter or evade the enemy s detachments; 
 the duty was quickly reduced to a system, and entailed a responsibil 
 ity unknown in the previous campaign. 
 
 The forage parties were compelled, to begin with, to furnish 
 their own mounts from animals foraged in the country, and were also 
 compelled to furnish transportation necessary to bring supplies to the 
 column from the same sources. Foraging on foot was impracticable 
 where a divergence of five to fifteen miles from the flank of the column 
 became a necessity. And the first necessity was to obtain mounts. 
 This was very soon accomplished, with every description of animal 
 in the zoological line, from the humble donkey to the thorougnbred 
 pet of the plantation, and perhaps a zebra or two occasionally. The 
 equipment of bridles and saddles was as various and indescribable as 
 the mounts; from the rope halter and corn sack saddle to the preten 
 tious gilt-mounted bridle with blinder attachment of the family car 
 riage team and a side saddle. The long Springfield muskets habitually 
 slung at the back were about as useless for the mounted forager, of 
 fensive or defensive, as a corn stalk or tent pole; hence, on the first in 
 timation of danger, the squad would be compelled to dismount as a 
 requisite for fighting purposes. It was not a pleasant reflection for a 
 forage party, perhaps fiiteen miles from its column, encumbered with 
 a half dozen loads of promiscuous forage, loaded on unreliable vehicles, 
 drawn by unreliable animals, in unreliable harness, with unreliable 
 drivers usually negroes to be notified by the shots of the advance 
 
306 HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 guard that they had encountered in their front a party of the enemy 
 on, perhaps, the only known road by which they could successfully 
 reach the column; and it often required a degree of courage, judgment 
 and prudence on the part of the commander of the party to extricate 
 his command and their convoy, which would have earned him repu 
 tation in a larger command. 
 
 The life of the forager on the Carolina campaign was a dan 
 gerous and exciting one. Woodcraft was a first necessity, as roads had 
 frequently to be abandoned for a course through the woods or across 
 the country, and with every sense constantly on a strain to discover 
 or elude a possible enemy, which, together with the long hours in the 
 saddle, usually from sixteen to eighteen in the twenty-four, physical 
 endurance was often taxea to exhaustion. The different parties of the 
 division made it a rule, if possible, to join the column every night, 
 where general directions for the ensuing day, with the routes to be 
 pursued in seeking forage, were discussed and decided. The usual 
 plan was to start from the column about daylight, or about an hour 
 before the column moved, take roads leading from either flank, gen 
 erally endeavoring to travel at a diverging angle from the line of march 
 of the column that day, ride until sufficient forage was obtained 
 twelve to fifteen miles being generally the limit of distance; having 
 loaded *he forage, supposing them to have ben unmolested, they then 
 took roads converging toward the column where they were expected 
 to camp the same night. 
 
 When the party was fortunate, it would strike the head of the 
 column, but sometimes they would reach the road over which the 
 column passed some hours before; then followed a long, tiresome march 
 over roads already cut to pieces, and it was sometimes midnight or 
 after before the jaded detachment was able to turn over its forage to 
 its quartermaster; and more than once the brigade waited for its 
 supper until the welcome advent of the forage party. In this way 
 supplies of all description were gathered. Cattle were the easiest man 
 aged and could be driven quite a long distance. Swine had to be 
 abandoned unless comparatively close to the column. Flour, bacon, 
 potatoes, corn meal, sorghum, poultry, rice, etc., had to be loaded into 
 vehicles, carts, plantation wagons, and even carriages being impressed. 
 Of mules there was plenty, but the harness of such unreliable descrip 
 tion that frequent halts were required to patch and mend. Often the 
 concealed supplies of the plantation had to be discovered before being 
 taken, but the negroes were our allies here, as well as on every other 
 occasion, and the supplies were soon found and exhumed from the pits 
 where they had been consigned and carefully covered up from sight. 
 Corn meal and flour was always a welcome ration for the men, and 
 every country mill encountered was utilized in grinding corn as long 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 307 
 
 as the column remained in safe distance. It was only necessary to call 
 for a miller to have one step to the front, and he had the willing as 
 sistance of the squad in furnishing grist and sacking and loading the 
 product. 
 
 I had in my mind a small water mill, taken possession of by a 
 squad of foragers a full day s march in advance of the army, which 
 ran constantly three days and nights, until the rear guard was nearly 
 a day s march beyond, turning out corn meal, the corn being hauled 
 in from the neighborhood when the mill stock was exhausted. 
 
 On another occasion, forage being scarce, two parties being com 
 bined, making about fifty men in the command, made a bold ride twen 
 ty miles on the flank to a plantation reported to have plenty of sup- 
 ulies. The start was made about three o clock in the morning and the 
 plantation reached between ten and eleven. Abundant supplies were 
 found and some six or eight wagons loaded, and without delay headed 
 towards the road on which the column was moving. Wjth about thirty 
 miles to ride, all went well until darkness set in when the party be 
 came uncertain as to its road, and it was discovered that the negro 
 guides were only reliable for a distance of eight or ten miles from 
 their own neighborhood. A new guide, however, was soon found and 
 the command moved on until stopped by an alarm (from the advance 
 guard) of a burning bridge. The command was quickly dismounted, 
 formed and moved to the front, the fire put out, skirmishers crossed, 
 but the enemy probably discovering the strength of the party, con 
 cluded not to molest them. The command at last reached the column 
 after being in the saddle twenty-two hours. 
 
 The numerous rivers encountered in the march made foraging 
 difficult, rorage parties were compelled to cross in advance and scout 
 the country beyond, realizing that they had a river in their rear and 
 no supports to fall back on. One such instance occurs to me, at the 
 crossing of Lynch Creek in South Carolina. The creek was out of its 
 banks for probably one-fourth of a mile on each side of the bridge 
 and it was only large animals that could cross the overflowed bottom 
 without swimming. Two parties of foragers met at the bridge, which 
 was guarded by some companies of cavalry, who warned them of the 
 presence of the enemy on the other side. Supplies, however, were im 
 perative, and the two parties crossed and at once divided at the cross 
 roads beyond. One party found forage of all descriptions at a large 
 plantation about three miles from the river, and at once began loading 
 into wagons and preparing to move the forage back to the cross-roads, 
 there to await the advance of the column across the river. Suddenly 
 an orderly dashed out of the timber hatless and excited, with the in 
 formation that the enemy s cavalry had occupied the cross-roads and 
 that the detachment must find its way back as best it could. He proved 
 
308 
 
 HISTORY FO THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 to be an orderly of General Elliott W. Rice, commanding the First 
 Brigade of the Fourth Division, Fifteenth Army Corps, who, riding 
 down to the creek in advance of his command and learning that a 
 large party of foragers had crossed, crossed with his staff and had 
 just reached the cross-roads when they were ridden into by a party 
 of the enemy. Himself and staff dispersed in the woods, eluding the 
 enemy s party, the orderly being directed to ride out and find the forage 
 party and bring them in; returning nastily to the cross-roads, ready to 
 dismount and engage at a moment s notice, the foragers found no 
 sign of the enemy, but a very angry general instead, who had been 
 compelled, much against his inclination, to bushwhack in the brush 
 to avoid capture. 
 
 The foragers were at once ordered to proceed on the other road 
 and find the enemy, and if possible draw them toward the crossing, 
 where they were promised a warm reception by the infantry, who had 
 by this time begun to arrive, having undressed and waded the over 
 flowing bottom and were hurrying up in the same straggling manner 
 in every form of dishabille, their teeth chattering from the cold bath 
 they had taken in the river. The foraging party moved promptly out 
 avoiding the road for about a mile, the commander aware of the fact 
 that the second forage party was still out on that road. As the com 
 mand approached the road where it descended into a hollow, a lively 
 fusilade broke out a short distance in front. Instantly the men were 
 on their feet, abandoning their mounts, and ready for action. The 
 advance of the column was plainly in sight, filling the road in front, 
 dressed in blue uniforms, which were instantly divined to be our second 
 party being driven in, and the command was quickly given to wait until 
 our men had passed before opening fire. The uniforms however, were 
 deceptive, and covered, not friends, but enimies, and they rode into 
 the squad commanding them to surrender. The bewilderment of the 
 deception, however, lasted but a moment and with each man at a tree, 
 the enemy soon found that they had stirred up a hornet s nest, and 
 were not slow in getting out of that immediate vicinity. The com 
 mander of that detachment found himself, on this occasion, in a very 
 ludicrous predicament; unfortunately he had remained mounted, the 
 better to observe the movement in the timber, and found himself un 
 expectedly surrounded by a half dozen excited Confederates calling on 
 him to surrender, and who were so much in each other s way that 
 their weapons were useless. With a quick touch of the spurs, the 
 little gray broke through the circle, and the inglorious spectacle was 
 presented of the commander taking French leave of his men, mean 
 time deploring the luck that had induced him to remain mounted in 
 a bush-whacking skirmish. To make the situation more embarrassing 
 the infantry skirmishers were met a few yards to the rear and the 
 
. VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 309 
 
 joke on the commander soon spread through the brigade. The forage 
 squad had meantime disposed of the enemy and left nothing for the 
 skirmishers to do. The second party, strange to say, soon came back 
 with a good supply of provisions and forage, having encountered no 
 enemy whatever, and were only hastened back by hearing the firing. 
 Events proved that the whole of Butler s Confederate Division of 
 Cavalry was in the immediate vicinity and detained the advance of 
 the army after crossing for over a day. 
 
 In this campaign of surprises in military annals, the fact was 
 demonstrated that the forage parties were not only efficient in procur 
 ing supplies for the army, but that they served another and import 
 ant purpose. 
 
 The whole forage force of the army, say fourteen divisions, 
 amounted to 1,000 to 1,200 men; these were distributed in about fifty 
 separate parties. They foraged probably a day s march in advance of 
 the army and from ten to nfteen miles on either flank, forming a cur 
 tain or skirmish line which effectually concealed the movements of 
 the different columns. They were composed of picked men, and were 
 brave, intelligent and prudent. They were scouts as well as foragers 
 and often conveyed important information. Habitually in the ad 
 vance, they always first encountered resistance where it was offered, 
 and obtained the crossing of the various rivers, except where the 
 streams were too large to ford or swim, or the bridges burned. 
 
 General Sherman tells a good story on General Howard, who, 
 at the beginning of this campaign, had deployed the leading division 
 of the Seventeenth Corps and was moving with great caution towards 
 Midway, a station on the South Caroline road, which was very import 
 ant should be occupied. The leading division was moving across 
 country in line of battle well supported, General Howard sitting by 
 the roadside watching the movement, when a forager came riding 
 rapidly down the road from the direction of Midway, on a white horse 
 with a rope bridle, and a blanket for a saddle, who, as he came near, 
 shouted, "Hurry up, General, we have got the railroad!" "So," says 
 General Sherman, "while we, the Generals, were proceeding deliber 
 ately to prepare for a srious battle, a parcel of our foragers had got 
 ahead and actually captured the South Carolina Railroad, a line of 
 vital importance to the Rebel government." 
 
 The forager was usually denominated a bummer, an epithet 
 which does not imply very high military characteristics; it was ap 
 plied, I think, largely for the reason that many of the irregularities 
 and unauthorized plundering, inevitable to a military campaign, were 
 attributed to him. I want to vindicate the regular forage parties from 
 any such imputation; the robberies and plunderings were done by 
 stragglers, traveling singly or in pairs, skulking through the country 
 
3lO HISTORY Of THE SEVENTH IOWA 
 
 for the sole purpose of plunder; such wretches could easily avoid the 
 enemy by dodging in the woods and concealing themselves. They only 
 appeared when there was none but women and children to oppose them 
 and camped at night away from the column and concealed in the woods. 
 
 The forage parties were compelled to keep together for safety 
 and sucess, under the command of an officer, and habitually rejoined 
 the column at night; they had but little opportunity for plunder and 
 no means of caring for it if obtained. The qualities displayed in the 
 execution of their duties were of the highest order, and it is greatly 
 to be regretted that the implied slur remains on their good name even 
 to this day. 
 
 An honest endeavor was made by the regulur foragers to carry 
 out the letter of the general order. I never knew of an instance where 
 people were left destitute of food, no matcer how pressing were the 
 needs of the army; enough was left to keep the people from hunger, 
 and I verily believe that the system, harsh at best, was carried out in 
 as humane a manner as ever has been done in civilized warfare. 
 
 From Sunday, the 5th of February, 1865, the day on which the 
 forage parties of the Fourth Division, Fifteenth Army Corps, were 
 organized, until Friday, March 24th, when the army crossed the Noose 
 River and went into camp near Goldsboro, was a period of nearly seven 
 weeks; and for each week, the man who served contiuously on forage 
 duty, lived, I believe, one year of his life. The strain of physical fatigue 
 and mental anxiety has no parallel in the severest active service, and 
 it was a welcome day when the order came dismissing the forage 
 detail. 
 
 March 10, 1896. 
 
 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER. 
 
 A writer in Philadelphia relates the following: "In one of our 
 beautiful cemeteries was employed a venerable man. For a number 
 of years past he had prepared the last resting place for those called 
 from among us. Though poor, he raised four gallant boys, giving to 
 each of them a moderate education and a good trade. The two older 
 went to New Orleans before the war, where prosperity attended their 
 industry. 
 
 The two younger brothers remained with their father. George 
 and Frederick were their names. The latter was but seventeen years 
 of age. When the war broke out, both enlisted. The elder brothers 
 had constantly written home, and frequent presents accompanied 
 their letters. At the battle of Fredricksburg, in the very front of the 
 line, at the church upon the rifle pits back of the town, were the two 
 boys, Frederick and George. A sortie was made by the rebel riflemen 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 311 
 
 upon the retreating Federals, and among those who dropped were the 
 two youngest sons of the grave digger. A minnie ball had pierced 
 the bodies of each. 
 
 The Rebel soldiers who had done the deed, were clad in rags of 
 linsey. They ran with alacrity to secure the clothing and canteens 
 of the men they had laid low. The foremost one reached the body of 
 his dead enemy, turned it over for the face was downward and to 
 his horror beheld the corpse of his younger brother, his woolen shirt 
 stained with a stream of blood that oozed from a bullet hole above the 
 heart. Our informant, a chaplain of the army, could tell us nothing 
 of the other Rebel brother. But this one made his way into the Union 
 lines, went to the hospital and became a hopeless maniac. We learn 
 that in their childhood this youngling of the flock had been the especial 
 charge of the elder brother. When he left for New Orleans it was 
 with the expectation of entering business to which he could bring up 
 the boy. That boy he lived to shoot down with his own hands. The 
 father died of a broken heart. This is a simple statement of fact. 
 It is doubtless one of many never to be written." 
 
 AFTER THE BATTLE. 
 
 It was after the din of the battle 
 
 Had ceased, in the silent and gloom, 
 When hushed was the musketry s rattle, 
 
 And quiet the cannon s deep boom. 
 The smoke of the conflict had lifted, 
 
 And drifted away from the sun, 
 
 While with soft crimson light, slowly fading from sight. 
 Flashed back from each motionless gun. 
 
 The tremulous notes of a bugle 
 
 Rang out on the clear autumn air, 
 And the echoes caught back from the mountains 
 
 Faint whispers, like breathings of prayer. 
 The arrows of sunlight that slanted 
 
 Through the trees touched a brow white as snow, 
 On the bloody sod lying, mid the dead and the dying, 
 
 And it flushed in the last parting glow. 
 
 The dark crimson tide slowly ebbing 
 
 Stained red the light jacket of gray; 
 But another in blue sadly knelt by his side 
 
 And watched the life passing away. 
 Said the jacket in gray, "I ve a brother 
 
 Joe Turner he lives up in Maine. 
 Give him these and say my last message 
 
 Was forgiveness." Here a low moan of pain 
 Checked his voice. Then "You ll do me this favor, 
 
 For you shot me" and his whispers sank low. 
 Said the jacket in blue, "Brother Charlie, 
 
 There s no need I m your brother I m Joe." 
 
 V. Stuart Mosby, 
 
IOWA S KILLED AND WOUNDED. 
 
 The following table, complied from the adjutant general s report of 
 1867, shows the number of killed and wounded in the different Iowa regi 
 ments in the war for the suppression of the rebellion . 
 
 INFANTRY REGIMENTS. 
 
 NUMBKE OF REGIMENTS AS THEY RANK 
 
 Comm d Officers 
 killed in action.... 
 
 Oomm d Officers 
 died of wounds ._ 
 
 Comm d Officers 
 wounded 
 
 W 
 
 8 
 
 cc 
 
 r- 
 
 IB 
 gs 
 
 T 
 
 Enlisted men died 
 of wounds 
 
 Enlisted men 
 
 
 
 y> 
 
 Fifteenth 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ninth 
 
 
 
 94 
 
 
 
 388 
 
 
 Seventh ... 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 2-2 
 
 95 
 
 o- 
 
 
 
 Sixth 
 
 7 
 
 
 18 
 
 1UO 
 
 jn 
 
 JOJ. 
 
 
 Third 
 
 
 
 34 
 
 
 
 
 
 Fourth 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 ta 
 
 
 
 458 
 
 Sixteenth . .... 
 
 tj 
 
 .} 
 
 21 
 
 57 
 
 01 
 
 000 
 
 ifK 
 
 Thirteenth . 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 19 
 
 66 
 
 39 
 
 980 
 
 4l)o 
 
 Second 
 
 g 
 
 4 
 
 25 
 
 63 
 
 in 
 
 98 
 
 
 Fifth 
 
 
 K 
 
 17 
 
 KQ 
 
 
 
 
 Twenty-four 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 17 
 
 58 
 
 53 
 
 240 
 
 377 
 
 Twenty-two 
 
 4 
 
 
 21 
 
 KO 
 
 
 
 
 Tenth 
 
 g 
 
 ** 
 
 16 
 
 56 
 
 33 
 
 9V4 
 
 Of> < 
 
 Twenty-eight .... .... 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 IB 
 
 52 
 
 24 
 
 230 
 
 oo U 
 
 
 2 
 
 g 
 
 19 
 
 43 
 
 18 
 
 9 >^ 
 
 01 rj 
 
 Eleven 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 54 
 
 94 
 
 216 
 
 307 
 
 Eight . . 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 13 
 
 49 
 
 43 
 
 188 
 
 297 
 
 Thirty 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 17 
 
 39 
 
 23 
 
 oo 
 
 288 
 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 
 53 
 
 33 
 
 180 
 
 279 
 
 Twelve 
 
 3 
 
 I 
 
 11 
 
 30 
 
 32 
 
 197 
 
 274 
 
 Eighteen . ... .... .... 
 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 26 
 
 7 
 
 225 
 
 2^5 
 
 Thirty-three 
 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 25 
 
 37 
 
 166 
 
 240 
 
 Twenty five 
 
 
 2 
 
 19 
 
 39 
 
 22 
 
 154 
 
 236 
 
 Thirty-two 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 57 
 
 33 
 
 131 
 
 36 
 
 Twenty-six ... 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 22 
 
 42 
 
 28 
 
 137 
 
 235 
 
 Fourteen ... 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 27 
 
 22 
 
 160 
 
 2-^0 
 
 Twenty-one 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 11 
 
 37 
 
 29 
 
 135 
 
 216 
 
 Thirty-six 
 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 35 
 
 24 
 
 142 
 
 206 
 
 Twenty-three 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 39 
 
 30 
 
 122 
 
 205 
 
 Thirty-nine 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 b 
 
 32 
 
 21 
 
 103 
 
 170 
 
 Twerty-seven 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 132 
 
 160 
 
 First .. 
 
 1 
 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 5 
 
 137 
 
 159 
 
 Twenty -nine 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 20 
 
 17 
 
 97 
 
 143 
 
 Thirty-five 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 23 
 
 19 
 
 91 
 
 139 
 
 Thirty-one 
 
 2 
 
 
 8 
 
 11 
 
 16 
 
 75 
 
 112 
 
 Twenty 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 5 
 
 41 
 
 61 
 
 Forty 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 41 
 
 58 
 
 Thirty-four 
 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 12 
 
 21 
 
 Thirty-eight 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 Thirty-seven 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 CAVALRY REGIMENTS. 
 
 Third .. 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 58 
 
 20 
 
 T50 
 
 245 
 
 Second. . 
 
 1 
 
 
 12 
 
 37 
 
 22 
 
 152 
 
 224 
 
 Fourth 
 
 3 
 
 
 7 
 
 37 
 
 11 
 
 108 
 
 166 
 
 First... 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 34 
 
 20 
 
 81 
 
 141 
 
 Eight .. 
 
 3 
 
 
 .10 
 
 24 
 
 9 
 
 7o 
 
 121 
 
 Five 
 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 36 
 
 7 
 
 47 
 
 103 
 
 Seuen 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 28 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 34 
 
 Sixth 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 16 
 
 5 
 
 15 
 
 38 
 
 Nine . 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 13 
 
 28 
 
 ARTILLERY BATTERIES. 
 
 First 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 3 
 
 27 
 
 37 
 
 Third 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 14 
 
 17 
 
 Second 
 
 
 
 
 j 
 
 1 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 Fourth 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 It will be seen by the above table that the Sixth and Seventh regi 
 ments lost the heaviest in killed and mortally wounded 130 each. 
 
VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY 313 
 
 SOME CIVIL WAR FIGURES. 
 
 When the southern states seceded from the Union over one- 
 eighth of the population of the country consisted of slaves. Of these, 
 175,000 entered the United States service before the close of the war 
 and fought nobly for their own freedom. 
 
 The first troops were volunteers, and there was no drafting or 
 conscripting until 1863. In the army and navy forces there were nearly 
 3,000,000 of *nen engaged in the defense of the flag. Of this number 
 something like 67,000 were regulars or belonged to the standing army 
 of the United States. 
 
 Of the trooops in the Union army, two-thirds were American 
 born, and of the one-third foreign born most of them were naturalized 
 citizens. They enlisted at first for "three months," and were called 
 "ninety-day" men; then the enlistments were made for a year, and 
 toward the end for "three years or the war." 
 
 The Northern army was divided into twenty-five army corps, con 
 secutively numbered, and one cavalry corps. 
 
 It is estimated that of every 1,000 men in the Union army sev 
 enty-three men on the sick-list and 234 absent for various reasons was 
 the general average, leaving 693 reporting for duty. 
 
 The number of men who deserted reached 199,045; those dis 
 missed trom the service, 2,423; those dishonorably discharged, 2,693; 
 cashiered, 274; executed by sentence, seven, making a total of 204,442 
 who disgraced the army blue. 
 
 The number of men killed in battle and died on the field was 61- 
 362. There were 34,773 died of wounds, 183,287 died of disease, 306 were 
 accidentiy killed, G,749 were missing in action and never accounted for, 
 174,577 were honorably dis2harged, 224,306 were discharged for disa 
 bility, and 22,281 resigned. 
 
 Summing up all the losses from disease, battle, and casuality, it is 
 estimated that half a million men lost their lives in the war of the 
 rebellion. They found death on 2,400 fields worthy a name in history, 
 averaging two battles 3 day for each day of the war. In 150 of these 
 battles the loss in each was over 500 men. 
 
 The North raised money on loans from abroad, increasing the 
 United States debt from $85,000,000 in 1861 to $2,617,000,0000 in 1865. 
 The whole cost of the war is estimated to have been $3,400,000,000, or 
 about $2,500,000 a day. 
 
 There are buried in the national cemeteries 318,870 men who 
 died in battle and in prison, or from the effects of one or both. 
 
 At the close of the war there were 1,000,000 men in the service; 
 of this number 650,000 were available for active duty. St. Paul Globe. 
 
51128 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY