USA > Iowa > Clayton County > Strawberry Point > Address to the surviving members of the Twenty-first Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry, on occasion of their fourth reunion, at Strawberry Point, Iowa, September 3d, 1889 > Part 1
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TWENTY-FIRST REG'T
TOWA VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
FOURTH REUNION,
Ger:amber Od. 1999.
VORT GLASON.
HIG BLACK RIVER BRIDGE.
Gc 973.74 Io9ca 1780736
TEXT OF IOWA Y OF THE REPUBLIC JOINES, IOWA
M. L.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00824 0662
ADDRESS C
To SURVIVING MEMBERS OF THE TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT IOWA VOLUNTEER INFANTRY, ON OCCASION OF THEIR FOURTH REUNION, AT STRAWBERRY POINT, IOWA, SEPTEMBER 3D, 1889.
BY William D. Crooke,
(Late Major of the Regiment. )
PRINTED FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION BY REQUEST OF COMRADES.
Chicago: Pettibone, Wells & Co., Printers, 1889.
*
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012
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tel-81-8 -9 ×1 2 021
Pier - Rydia Gra
July 2'51
2219n Lake Dr Milwaukee 2 Wis
From Samelle Mallet
1780736
COMRADES:
Thirty years ago I was living in this beautiful town. It was less beautiful then than now, for the love of flowers and trees inherent in the human heart has wrought wonders here, as , at so many other places in the West. Many men, afterwards our Comrades in the far South, were either residents of the village or of the immediate surrounding country. They jostled each other in the various branches of business or pastimes of life. None of them anticipated then that partnership in dan- ger and suffering they were soon to form. They worked, they played, they mourned and laughed by turns, as men have always done, in every land-under every sky.
I see some familiar faces here before me-not of our Comrades. I could call familiar names. In walking the streets to-day I missed many whom I used to know. Some have doubtless moved away to other places; many I fear have moved into that Great Camping Ground of the tribes of men, where, equal alike in rank and wealth, they await in silence and repose the beating of the "long roll."
Four miles away from here, in the southwest, lies " Garden Prairie," completely hid from us by a belt of timber lining the stream which separates it from the prairie on this side. One morning we were all called into the street to see a wonderful thing. A beautiful mirage had lifted Garden Prairie into the sky, and we saw its farm houses and gardens, its fields and cattle, with a distinctness and detail which astonished and delighted us. But the objects were all reversed. As we gazed and commented upon the strange but charming spectacle, it faded away. We returned to the occupations which had been interrupted, of pleasure or of pain. The years sped on and all was peace. No one dreamed of war, though one of the
4
THE CALL TO ARMS.
most thrilling and eventful dramas of the world's history lay just behind the curtain which hid the immediate future from human eyes.
Suddenly and unexpectedly the curtain rose and we saw a tragedy upon the stage. Armed men, with naked weapons and frowning faces, threatened each other, while the scenery showed the world upside down. We saw what had been peace- ful and cultivated fields turned into camps of soldiers or the battling ground of armies. We found ourselves with hearts beating faster and with ears on the ground, listening to the thunder of guns which reverberated across the Continent. Startled and amazed, many of us hoped and almost believed that the war scenes would pass away like the mirage, even while we looked and listened ; but such hopes were vain. Slavery had wrought its malign influence upon the minds and hearts of its white victims; had uttered its fearful curse against freedom and free institutions ; and finally had unsheathed the fateful blade, never, alas, to be sheathed again, until in the words of immortal Lincoln: "Every drop of blood drawn by the lash should be repaid by one drawn by the sword."
The country was about to put on mourning; mourning which should become darker and darker, until that day when in the North, "widow's cries and mother's sobs" should be drowned "in the shouts and jubilations of victory," but in the South should still further embitter the humiliation and anguish of defeat.
The whole North became animated with the glow and fervor of patriotism. The fires of national sentiment burned brightly; alike in the East, and in the West, on mountain and prairie. When the martyr President made his call in the sum- mer of 1862 for "three hundred thousand more," the quiet art- izans left bench and shop, farmers abandoned their fields, min- isters their pulpits, professors and students their schools and colleges, and from every vocation in life came the answer: "We are coming, Father Abraham."
The Twenty-First Iowa Infantry was enlisted and organ- ized at this time, and almost without effort. Company B was enrolled in this place, Companies D and G in the county, and the others in Dubuque, Delaware, Buchanan, Fayette and Mitchell. After a few weeks of cursory drill and preparation, it was sent into the field to do its work as one of the incor- porated factors of the great struggle. It was a completed ma- chine, but one which nevertheless needed adjusting, sharpening
5
EARLY EXPERIENCE.
and polishing to enable it to act with precision and most ef- fective force. The real drill and discipline were to be acquired in the process of adaptation to new physical conditions; amid new intellectual and moral influences.
It has always been an interesting study to me, to recall the various stages of our regimental development, and it has at the same time, been a matter of surprise and wonder, to note how short a time sufficed to render efficient this instru- ment built up out of a heterogeneous mass taken from the shop, the plow and the counting house, with only the faintest, crudest ideas of military art, with very little notion of subordination, and with absolutely no conception of that subtle force which enables one thousand men of diverse wills, capacities, faculties and character, to move in tactical evolution as an individual.
A survey of this process in the case of a single regiment enables one to understand, measurably at least, how it happened that a million of men-two millions of men-called from private life to the practice of arms, should have become in so short a period such competent organizations as to elicit commendation from military critics, not only of this country, but of the Old World, where the military art is of constant application on an extensive scale, and where it is supposed to require long peri- ods of preparation and experience to produce efficiency. The qualities which inspire respect in observers are order with celer- ity, fortitude under difficulties, courage with calmness in the face of danger, energy and daring in critical moments, patient endurance of unavoidable defeat, moderation and generosity in the hour of triumph. It must be a source of pride and grati- tude to every member of this Twenty-First Regiment, that when put to the test it was found to possess these high qual- ities. They were attained, however, not without sacrifice, nor without suffering. It was natural that men used to comfortable homes, to liberty of action and regular hours of labor and rest, should chafe under the new conditions; that many should be- come restless, uneasy, unhappy, without knowing exactly what was the matter. The process of getting used to restraints of freedom, to inclemencies of weather, to hard beds, and new forms of food, sometimes not well cooked, was not always a pleasant one. Habits of obedience had to be formed, and these to men in the ranks were doubtless the most irksome of all. Officers also had lessons to learn-lessons of self-restraint, patience, exercise of command with minimum of restriction ' upon personal liberty. Annoyances, vexations, discomforts were
1
6
FITZ HENRY WARREN.
in the air, unavoidable, and came to all alike; but they were useful, and prevented in many those brooding reflections which would otherwise have occupied the mind. Under their chast- ening, as well as invigorating influences, friendships and at- tachments were formed and cemented which will last through all our remaining days. We can look back now to those first months in Missouri and feel grateful for that experience of marching and counter-marching, of forming camp and strik- ing tent, of camp police, picket duty, drill, inspection and parade, with the thousand details which then at times seemed so very irksome and unnecessary. We can see now that all these things went to form character, and confer capacity, to make us self-respecting as a regiment and as individuals.
Of late years, also, I have felt more and more that it was peculiarly fortunate that we fell into the hands of Fitz Henry Warren. He was feeble in health, extremely irritable, even violent in temper, and of doubtful-because untried-ca- pacity as a General in active operations. But he had the sense of order so abnormally developed as to become a passion, and the indomitable will to enforce it wherever he commanded. He was a hard task master, and the curses heaped upon him were often deep, but never loud. His discipline was rigorous, but healthful, and always more charitably judged when he was not present or in command. It is reported of one of his own regiment, the First Cavalry, that when asked how they used to like Warren, he replied : "We cordially hated him while he was our Colonel, but, as for me, I would now rather have one of his old boots to command us than any other man I ever saw." While none of us would feel like using such an extravagant comparison, it remains true, I think, that he was a great moral force operating upon us in our formative period, and that his influence remained for good, long after we drifted away from him.
The personal influence which sometimes one man has upon another or upon masses of men, is something wonderful and awe-inspiring. It is rarely, perhaps never found, except in conjunction with other great qualities, and entails upon the in- dividual corresponding great duties and responsibilities. To me, this influence was manifested more strongly than at any other time, when we went to Milliken's Bend and first came under General Grant's command. You all remember the gloom which pervaded the regiment at West Plains, and throughout the march to the Mississippi. When ordered to join Grant there was no change in this feeling; indeed, the whole country
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7
"THE OLD COMMANDER."
was despondent over the situation of affairs. Grant himself was under a cloud. The surprise or mistake, or appearance of one at Pittsburg Landing, and the entire failure to make any impression upon Vicksburg, had dimmed his fame and forfeited public confidence. There were loud calls from press and public for his retirement. It was at this time that we were ordered to join him. With no jubilant feet did we tread the mud of Milliken's Bend and the cotton plantation on which we camped. We thought we had come to shake the hand of malaria and to lie down with fever, as so many thousands had done before, and-was it for this we had enlisted? Were our loved ones at home robbed in vain of their friends, and for this? But, presto! change! In twenty-four hours a new spirit was upon us; we had come in contact with Grant's men, and found them im- bued with the most unbounded confidence in their General. This confidence we imbibed with every breath we drew, and in a few hours the " captives of despair" were transformed into "prisoners of hope," and never again, through all the eventful days that came, alike when in the low lands of Louisiana, with river and bayous overflowing, active and vigilant foes cutting the levees to overwhelm us, we worked in drench- ing rain and the darkness of night to restrain the encroaching waters; when, after Port Gibson, he spread his army over the face of the country like a fan, at Jackson, Raymond, Clinton, Bolton, Champion Hills; or when, shut in by frowning walls on one side and a treacherous river on the other, with a hostile army on either side seeking our destruction, never again did a doubt of the genius of Grant enter the brain or heart of a soldier of the Twenty-First Iowa. He sleeps. His military fame grows brighter with the lapse of time, and his career crowded with illustrious deeds, needs no eulogy from us, but ,we should fail in duty to ourselves if we did not remember his simplicity of character, his generosity and amiability as a com- mander, and take a just pride in the reflection that we served under the immediate eye of one of the most distinguished * Generals, in one of the most brilliant campaigns recorded in military annals.
It was my intention when I commenced this paper to con- fine myself to incidents of the Vicksburg Campaign, but I can- not refrain from one other reference. I intimated a few moments ago that the Regiment, when put to the test, had estab- lished the right to claim for itself high soldierly qualities. There were many occasions in your experience which went to
1
8
AN ORDER TO MARCH.
make this claim good, very many, which, if standing alone would be sufficient; but leaving for the present out of consid- eration the West Plains expedition, the march to Grand Gulf, the battle of Champion Hills, the charge on the Fortifications of Vicksburg on the 22d of May, the siege itself, the ex- pedition to and siege of Jackson, the Bayou Teche cam- paign, the Texas expedition, Spanish Fort, Blakely, and Mobile; there were three others, and to my mind, three supreme tests, which must ever be your special glory and pride: Hartville, Port Gibson and Big Black River Bridge. I will deal with these in the order named. I believe that I can give some incidents in regard to each not generally known, and which may interest you. It is not my purpose to quote reports of our own officers, but to give as far as possible the statements of rebel officers, and when these fail me, to cite the reports of others than those of our own regiment, with a single exception.
And first, Hartville:
A soldier is always interested in the incidents of his first engagement. Had this fight taken place in the first year of the war, under the same circumstances, it would have become celebrated in story and song, as it deserved to be, but as the country became accustomed to struggles be- twixt great masses of men, engagements of smaller bodies ac- quired little celebrity, although the deeds of the actors therein may have been equal to anything done by the same number on the larger field. You all know how we came to go to Hartville, and how many went. A rebel raid into Missouri, an attack upon the fortified post of Springfield, a cry for help, and the march of a detachment. The orderly of each com- pany called up and directed to furnish twenty five men in full marching order. Ten companies, 25 from each, 250 altogether .from the 21st Iowa, with the proper complement of officers. The same number from the 99th Illinois; 500 infantry alto- gether; 200 cavalry under Major Duffield; a section of artillery, 2 guns, with the artillerymen; afterwards reinforced by 180 additional men of 3rd Iowa and 3rd Missouri Cavelry; scant 900 men altogether. The superior officers present were Col. Merrill in command, Lieut. Col. Dunlap, Lieut. Col. Parke, Major Duffield, Captains Black and Bradley of the cavalry and Lieut. Waldschmidt of the artillery. What was the rebel force? I read in General Marmaduke's first report to his district com-
9
MEETING MARMADUKE.
mander that he started with 1600 men under Col. Shelby, 270 under Col. McDonald, and joined 600 under Col. Portor. He claims to have lost 100 men before meeting Merrill. He does not state the number of field pieces with him, but we know from others there were at least five. Marmaduke magnifies Merrill's force and calls them 2000; 1500 infantry and 500 cav- alry. Two weeks later he thought that was not enough, and so in a second report he calls them 2,500 Illinois, Iowa, Mich- igan and Missouri Troops. But in that second report he also mentions some other men of his own which he had forgotten, viz: Carroll's brigade of 500 effective men under Col. Monroe. Porter's men were now put at 700 instead of 600, making alto- gether by his own account 2970 present at Hartville.
The engagement commenced at 2 o'clock in the morning by Marmaduke's force marching southeasterly from Springfield coming in contact with our picket on the main road seven miles from Hartville. Skirmishing continued until day-break when it was discovered that Marmaduke was marching on Hartville by the hill road. Our force was immediately counter-marched by the valley road, and having the shorter distance, arrived at one side of the town and took position on the high ground, at the same time as the rebels appeared on the opposite hill. The batteries opened fire almost at the same instant, and about eleven o'clock. Our men then had 40 rounds of ammunition. By four o'clock that ammunition was practically exhausted. For five hours at some portion or other of the line there had been continuous fighting. By five o'clock both sides were with- drawing from the field. Ours for lack of ammunition to con- tinue the combat, and theirs doubtless for good reasons.
Marmaduke reports further, as follows:
"On the night of the 10th, the column was put in motion toward Hart- ville. A little before daylight the advance encountered a federal force coming from Houston, via. Hartville to Springfield, and hearing that a strong cavalry force was in my rear, I deemed it best not to put myself in battle between the two forces, but to turn the force in my front and fight them, after I had secured, in case of defeat, a safe line of retreat. This I did, by making a detour of seven miles, and fought the enemy, 2,500 Iowa, Illinois, Michigan and Missouri troops, at Hartville.
The federal position at Hartville was a very, strong one, and the battle hotly contested for several hours, till the enemy gave way and re- treated in disorder, leaving the dead and wounded, many arms, ammuni- tion, and clothing on the field and in my possession.
I have established a hospital, leaving surgeons and attendants suffi- cient to take care of the dead and wounded, confederate and federal. Here
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Lebanon
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Morning Skirmish
Valley Road
Houston
1
e
1
Gasconade diver
"Woods fork
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Collins
Still Road
Brown
Federals . .
Rebels
HARTVILLE.
II
A WARM RECEPTION.
4
fell the chivalrous McDonald, Lieut. Col. Wimer, and Major Kirtley, noble men and gallant officers, and other officers and men equally brave and true. Here, too, was seriously wounded Col. J. C. Porter, a brave and skillful officer. He was shot from his horse at the head of his troops."
Marmaduke's report is not a true statement of facts in several respects, and is impeached by the reports of his brigade and regimental commanders. The men who fought him num- bered only 900, he did not remain in possession of the field, and he did not care for our dead and wounded. On the con- trary both parties sent in flags of truce who met at Hartville and each party took care of its own.
Col. J. O. Shelby, the commander of the 1,600, made his report. It is characteristic of him, but it shows how the men of the 21st Iowa with their comrades of the 99th Illinois and the cavalry behaved themselves.
On the morning of the 11th, Col. Porter, leading the advance, came upon them and formed to fight, waiting in line until my brigade came up, which it did in splendid spirits. After maneuvering for a while, at your order we marched hurriedly to the town of Hartville, and found the enemy in position. My brigade was immediately dismounted and formed for the attack, and Collins stationed on a commanding hill with his three gun bat- tery. Lieut. Col. Gordon held the left, Lieut. Col. Gilkey the center, and Col. Thompson the right, the other portions of your division being disposed by your immediate command. Almost immediately after dismounting, I threw out skirmishers, and advanced the whole line upon the town and upon the woods beyond, knowing that in the dark shades of the timber the crouching federals were waiting for the spring. After gaining the town, and just upon entering the woods, the brigade received a terrible and well directed fire, which was so sudden that it alinost became a surprise. The men stood its fury well, and it was not until the tornado had passed did they begin to waver; some fell back, it is true; some stood firm, and others crouched behind the obstructions that sheltered them; but the left of the first regiment closed in on them, and the fight raged evenly there. Gordon fell back a little with his regiment, formed their lines anew, and marched again upon the foe. Shanks, with three companies on the right, covered Porter's artillery, and fought long and well. Thompson gets away from the noise and confusion of the start, and comes up sternly on the right. Gordon advances his regiment on the left again, and death's black banner is waving there, and his best and bravest are falling around him. Gilkey comes up to Gordon's aid, and Shanks and Thompson are doing all that men can do to stem the tide. Maj. George R. Kirtley, of the first, and Capt. C. M. Turpin, of company I, first also, are dead. Captains Dupuy, Burkholder, Jarrett, and Webb, of the second are wounded. Capt. Garrett, first sergt., Wm. Buckley and private C. B. Bullard, of Company G., all of
1
I2
MISHAPS OF PORTER.
the first regiment, and all lioned hearted are badly wounded, and more are falling. Gordon's Ensign is shot down, but Lieut. Corder, of company C. catches the fallen beacon, and the banner of the bars waves again high over the lurid light of the fight. Collin's battery is busy with its work of death, and his men stand nobly to their posts. But the conflict wanes, and federals are retreating. I drew off my brigade, mounted them, and left Gordon's regiment to bring up the rear. No pursuit was attemped, for the condition of horses and men forbade it, and prudence demanded that we should fall back nearer to our base, which began on the night of the 11th, and continued until the evening of the 20th., suffering from cold, hunger, fatigue, rain, snow and all the ills our exposed condition presented."
Nearly a month after the fight Col. Porter made his report. It also shows the character of the contest. He calls his own force "seven hundred effective men." After reciting the preliminary skirmishing at Woods Fork 7 miles from Hartville, he proceeds.
At 7 A. M., 11th January, I was ordered to fall back and follow your command, which I did, however, keeping my battery, Capt. Brown in position for a time, when I perceived federal cavalry advance up the road, when I ordered Capt. Brown to open on them; upon which Capt. Brown fired two rounds, dispersed them, doing no other damage to them. Capt. Brown then limbered up his guns and fell back with the other command. After march- ing, per order, until about 1 P. M. (11 o'clock A. M.) we again neared the town of Hartville. I was then ordered to dismount my command and place Capt. Brown's battery in position on the left. Before having completed or carried out the last order, I received information that the enemy was in full retreat from the town of Hartvillle, and at the same time an order to remount my command and pursue the enemy. On arriving at the Court House with the head of my column, I found the enemy formed in the brush just above the town, within 50 yards of my command. Immediately upon perceiving the enemy in position, I ordered my men to dismount; but the enemy poured upon us such a heavy volley of musketry that my command was compelled to fall back somewhat in disorder, I being at the same time wounded in leg and hand. I ordered my adjutant to report the fact to you. Having, at the same time that I ordered my command to dismount, ordered Capt. Brown's battery to take position near the head of my column. After Capt. Brown took position as ordered, he was compelled, for want of ammunition (his ammunition being carried off by his horses stampeding, and a galling fire of the enemy) to retire, leaving his pieces on the field, which were afterward brought off by a part of Col. Greene's and Burbidge's men.
Major Bennett of Mac Donald's cavalry also made his report reciting the death Col. Mac Donald, and his own action during the engagement, but only adds one further item of int- erest. He says:
13
ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI.
"We camped the night of the 11th., 7 miles from Hartville, and biv- ouacked on an open prairie until sunrise, when I was ordered to report at your headquarters in person for orders. I was ordered to fall in rear of the entire command, with one piece of artillery, commanded by Lieut. Collins."
It is not necessary to make further quotations. These cannot be called partial to you, but they tell a story of courage and fortitude which was not excelled on any other field from that day till Appomatox.
It was your first fight my comrades, but it was more than a fight. It was a prophecy and a monument.
I turn to Port Gibson:
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You remember, of course, that after witnessing the attack upon the batteries at Grand Gulf (which the iron clads were unable to silence), a spectacle of grandeur never to be for- gotten, we marched in the evening of April 30th, by a short cut on the levee to De Schroon's plantation. That same night the transports ran past the batteries and the next morning the second brigade embarked upon them and cross- ing the river debarked at Bruinsburg 10 miles below, from which place a road led to Port Gibson, a small but very beau- tiful town on Bayou Pierre in rear of Grand Gulf, and where there were good bridges across the bayou. This of course would enable us to attack from the land side if the position was not in the meantime evacuated. It was to be expected that if this was not very promptly done the forces from Vicks- burg would be run out, joined with those at Grand Gulf, and hurled upon Grant's troops to crush them before a sufficient number could be brought over to withstand the onset. It was in the nature of things that we should be attacked by the largest number of troops which could be collected at the earliest possible moment. It was essentially important that the first contact with this enemy should be made on our part with such impulse and force as to dispell all doubt of our intentions and create a moral effect upon his mind which should last through- out the campaign.
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