USA > Iowa > A history of the Sixth Iowa infantry > Part 12
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The recent success had been correspondingly inspir- ing to the Confederate soldiers and their people, causing great enthusiasm and activity in every department of their governmental affairs and army operations. On Christmas day, there had been a grand and imposing re- view of all the Confederate troops at Grenada, Mississip- pi, at which were present President Jefferson Davis, General Joseph E. Johnston, and many other noted and distinguished celebrities of the army and Confederate government.
It was .on that day, in the midst of the great fête, that the news of General Van Dorn's success at Holley Springs reached them, and the brilliant exploit, with its far reaching effects at such an opportune time, did much to relieve that officer from the universal disapprobation attaching to him on account of his personal character and the "lower than the lowest depth" to which he had fallen in the estimation of all Christian men. An acquittal by a court-martial of angels would not have relieved him of the odium. 12
12 A Confederate Court of Inquiry convened at Abbeville, Mississippi, exonerated Major General Earl Van Dorn of charges of neglect of duty, cruelty, and drunkenness, the report being approved November 28, 1862. - War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. XVII, Pt. 1, pp. 414-459.
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The campaign from Memphis, though short, had been attended with great hardship, and much disagreeable ex- posure, being the most trying experience for the men of the regiment since entering the service. The recent cruel barbarities practiced by both sides were revolting in the extreme, and there was exhibited a spirit of hatred and unbridled passion, unparalleled in the history of the war.
The murderous methods adopted by the partisan bands infesting every neighborhood, and the high handed pil- laging and wanton destruction of private property by straggling bands of Union soldiers had engendered such feelings of resentment and such a desire for retaliation, that civilized methods for conducting military campaigns seemed to have been abandoned and the worst passions of human nature given full sway.
XI WINTER CAMP AT GRAND JUNCTION
The camp of the Sixth Iowa was located in the south west angle of the railroad crossing, on a piece of rising ground, fronting to the west. The other regiments com- posing the garrison for the post were located close about the crossing with a view to a proper defense of the po- sition. A much larger force was encamped at La Grange, two miles west, where the division headquarters were located.
Without much regard to uniformity of construction or regularity in position, each company erected a line of rudely constructed barracks, the size of each hut and barrack being regulated by the material at hand for its erection. Some were provided with sheet-iron stoves, others with stick chimney fire-places, and not a few were without any means for heating.
Full rations were issued and prepared by company cooks, who served each man separately with a bountiful supply of bread, meat, beans, potatoes, sugar, coffee, tea, and at stated times, a limited supply of other vegetables. The regimental bakery supplied a fine quality of soft bread and the meat ration was composed of fresh beef, salt pork, and bacon, in ample quantity and good quality.
New clothing, blankets, and other equipment necessary for immediate comfort, were issued to the full amount required. The pleasant days were occupied with com- pany and battalion drills. Large details were made each day to procure fuel, erect fortifications, and police the
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camps. The details for picket guards or outpost duty and escorts for wagon trains going to the country for for- age, were made by company - each company taking its turn at a tour of duty.
Local bands of partisans and larger commands of reg- ular Confederate cavalry scoured the country continual- ly making it extremely hazardous for small detachments to venture far beyond the lines of the established camps. Many spirited engagements occurred between the escorts and the roving bands, resulting in loss of life and the capture of prisoners by both sides.
A limited number of officers and enlisted men received furloughs to visit their homes in Iowa. Those were favored who would have the most influence in correcting the many damaging reports and stories circulated among parents and friends at home, which were calculated to greatly injure the Union cause and create dissatisfaction with the conduct of the war. The furloughs were much sought after by officers and enlisted men and it was only natural and human that a little partiality should be shown by those who had authority to grant them.
Resignations, discharges, and promotions were of fre- quent occurrence in the regiment during the winter, when many notable changes were made in the regimental and company organizations. The resignation of Colonel John Adair McDowell was accepted, to take effect on March 12, 1863, when Lieutenant-Colonel John M. Corse, was pro- moted to Colonel; Major Alexander J. Miller, to Lieu- tenant-Colonel; Adjutant Thomas J. Ennis, to Major; Commissary-Sergeant Peter F. Crichton, to Quartermas- ter, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Quar- termaster James Brunaugh, an efficient officer, who quit the service on account of continued ill health.
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Of the original Captains all were out of the service, ex- cept Captain Galland of Company H, who had been ab- sent as a prisoner of war since the battle of Shiloh. The new company commanders were men of ability and cour- age, who had discharged every duty with fidelity and were highly respected for their sterling manhood and their soldierly qualities. Captain Charles T. Golding, Com- pany A; Captain David J. McCoy, Company B; Captain Robert Allison, Company C; Captain John L. Bashore, Company D; Captain Leander C. Allison, Company E; Captain Calvin Minton, Company F; Captain James J. Jordan, Company G; Captain George R. Nunn, Company H; Captain William HI. Clune, Company I; and Captain George W. Holmes, Company K, were men worthy to as- sume the duties laid down by their distinguished pred- ecessors.
No less distinguished and capable were the young men who were raised from the ranks to be Lieutenants in the several companies, as follows: R. F. Barker, D. S. Sig- ler, H. C. Clock, F. F. Baldwin, T. J. Elrick, C. P. Wright, E. A. Canning, A. C. Rarick, E. G. Fracker, W. H. Samp- son, E. F. Alden, G. W. Clark, O. F. Howard, W. H. Ar- nold, and J. L. Cook. They were officers of tried cour- age, and men of character and gentlemanly bearing. To make the selections to fill the vacancies in the non-com- missioned staff was a task attended with much perplexity and not a little embarrassment, where so many were qual- ified and deserving.
Officers were granted the privilege of visiting the city of Memphis, ostensibly to purchase equipment, but it was confidently believed by the men that the trips were usual- ly made for pleasure more than business.
The construction of Fort Star, a small earthwork lo-
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cated in Major Smith's field north of the junction a few hundred yards, was commenced and the work prosecuted by heavy details daily, during the winter.
Frequent expeditions were made out in the country to capture noted characters and returned Confederate sol- diers. These were generally conducted at night and were attended with much fatigue and great hardship, on ac- count of bad roads, caused by heavy rains and some snow. The captures and attendant results of such expeditions were never very compensating for the efforts made and hardships endured by those engaged; however, there was never a lack of volunteers to engage in any and all such forays.
General 'Van Dorn, with his corps of 8000 cavalry, had joined Forrest and Wheeler in Middle Tennessee, where they were operating against the Army of the Cum- berland at Nashville and Murfreesborough. He left the roving bands and detachments under Richardson, Falk- ner, Blythe, White, Smith, and "Sol" Street to harass and annoy the Union forces guarding the railroads. They made frequent attacks, attended with some success. A report sent in to headquarters of an attack on a train or of an obstruction placed on the track would cause great excitement and the calling out of the troops in full battle array.
The months of January and February, 1863, were a period of great anxiety to those charged with the prepar- ation and organization of the army for the approaching campaign for the capture of Vicksburg and the opening of the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico.
The forced inactivity of the army during the winter added fuel to the adverse criticisms on the conduct of military affairs in the department and of the war gener-
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ally. Northern newspapers were eagerly sought after by the soldiers in the camps to learn the extent of the clamor raised by those who were opposed to the adminis- tration and its conduct of the war. The unjust assaults made on General Grant personally and on many of his leading officers, by jealous rivals in the army and through unfriendly newspapers, caused orders to be issued, ex- cluding the Chicago Times from circulating in the army. That was probably the darkest and most depressing per- iod in General Grant's war experience.
It is a notable fact that during all that gloomy period his faith and confidence in the intelligence and loyalty of the rank and file of his army never abated nor weakened; neither did the men in the ranks waver in their loyalty to him as a commander. Inspired and supported by such true and unselfish patriots and commanders as Sherman and McPherson in the army, and Admiral David D. Por- ter of the gunboat fleet, and through the abiding faith and confidence reposed in him by President Lincoln, Gen- eral Grant matured his plans with deliberation, and pro- ceeded with great energy and wisdom in the organiza- tion of his army, and in making the dispositions that won the victory.
Political meddling had a baleful influence in many regi- ments, but was never developed in the administration of the Sixth Iowa sufficiently to cause any serious disturb- ance at any time.
The frequent capture of individual soldiers and some small parties, while in the country three or four miles be- yond the camp guards, who turned up in camp the next day with parols, granted by "Sol" Street or "Bob" Smith, two partisan leaders in the vicinity, and asked to be sent to the northern exchange camps, caused investi-
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gation to be made. It developed that this was a system- atic method adopted to get north to the exchange camps, where they would take "French leave" and visit at their homes for months. Orders were issued refusing to rec- ognize the parols issued by Smith and Street, and this soon broke up the practice, for the reason that no one would care to fall into the hands of the rangers, under legitimate circumstances, after having violated his pa- rol. To the credit of the Sixth Iowa it can be said truth- fully that they did as much scouting and escort duty as any regiment at the post, and with the least complaint on account of captures, desertion, and absence without leave.
The many and rapidly shifting events in the prosecu- tion of the war had caused Union commanders in the field and leading counselors in the administration at Washing- ton to materially change their first impressions, generally held, as to the political features of the war and its prob- · able duration. The idea of a speedy peace through some kind of a compromise was fast giving way to a settled conviction that the Confederate leaders were determined in their purpose to establish an independent government ; that they had counted the cost and were prepared to make the sacrifice to the last man and every available re- source.
General Grant, in common with thousands of soldiers in the ranks of the Union armies, had expected to see the "Union as it was" restored after a hard-fought battle or two; and, to avoid a radical change in the future destiny of a race of people, he had desired to see the negro slaves in the South remain with their old masters. But he was never guilty of employing a large part of his army to pro- tect the property of those engaged in the Rebellion;
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neither did he enter into the business of returning fugi- tive slaves or driving them from the camps back into cap- tivity. The sentiments of the commander were quickly disseminated throughout the army and crystallized all opinions into one harmonious unity. Human slavery and the southern Confederacy had become one and insepar- able; and, after January 1, 1863, the existence of both was staked upon the issue of battle.
When sworn into the military service of the United States and clothed in the uniform, General Grant recog- nized the colored man as an American soldier, entitled to all the rights and subject to the same regulations as the white man. In orders to the army on the subject, he said, "It is expected that all commanders will specially exert themselves in carrying out the policy of the Admin- istration, not only in organizing colored regiments and rendering them effective, but also in removing prejudice against them".
He warned the Confederate authorities, after the Milli- ken's Bend affair, 13 that the same retaliation would be inflicted for the mistreatment of colored soldiers and their officers, as for white soldiers and their officers. General Richard Taylor's chivalrie reply did him credit as a soldier and son of a President of the United States. He denounced the act of executing the captured officer and his colored soldiers as "disgraceful alike to humanity . and the reputation of soldiers". No more executions occurred, for General Grant's reputation as a commander was respected in the Confederacy.
13 The affair referred to was the alleged hanging of a white Union Captain and several negroes captured at Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, by Confederate troops belonging to Brigadier General R. Taylor's command. The charge was denied by General Taylor. - War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. XXIV, Pt. 3, pp. 425, 426, 443, 444.
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Hundreds and hundreds of negroes -- men, women and children, who were born and reared in slavery -- fled from the old plantation homes and were congregated in and about the camps, where they constructed and lived in rude huts and shanties arranged with some regularity and order, but with a total disregard of sanitary condi- tions. Their subsistence was mostly furnished by the commissary department of the army. The young men were enlisted in the colored regiments forming in the de- partment, while the old men, and the women and children were employed at whatever there was to do about the camps. The dawn of freedom was breaking, the glad day of jubilee had arrived, and they were happy.
The large corral, established near the camp of the regi- ment, was the scene of much religious enthusiasm, where protracted revival meetings were conducted with fer- vent devotion and great sincerity of purpose. Well meaning soldiers attended the meetings and gave them encouragement in their new relations to life and liberty.
Ignorant as they were, their Christian faith was sub- lime and attractive in its simplicity. They firmly be- lieved that they were translated from bondage to free- dom by the divine interposition of God, and that departed friends and relatives would ascend immediately into the happy realms of a never ceasing Heaven of holy bliss and glorified bodily comforts. The chanting of hymns was intensely dramatic in manner and inspiring in its sweet melody, and was greatly enjoyed by all lovers of song music.
They were appreciated and universally befriended by the soldiers for their devoted and trustful loyalty to the Union. Their confidence in the supreme wisdom and di- vine goodness of the Union soldier was unbounded. They
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were ever ready and quick to anticipate his slightest wants and to perform menial and laborious tasks at his mere request. The trusting confidence of the colored people was frequently abused by mischievous soldiers playing all manner of pranks on them, which caused them great annoyance and in some instances much hardship.
The refugees collected at the Grand Junction camps had become so numerous that the authorities arranged to move them north and a long train of flat cars was loaded with five or six hundred people and all their goods and chattels. Having little or no knowledge of military rank and recognizing all soldiers as men with authority, they obeyed any and all orders with alacrity. Just at the op- portune time a soldier, filled with mischief, ordered in a commanding tone of voice, "Every one of you people get off of these cars this minute, or you will be carried back to your old masters in Mississippi". The train was at once cleared of every negro and every vestige of plunder. A perfect bedlam of confusion reigned until the govern- ment agent came to the rescue, when all were reembarked and started on their journey north, shouting hosannas of great joy.
President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation had met with some political opposition throughout the north- ern States, but all truly loyal citizens and the soldiers accepted the issue and had resolved in a new covenant to fight the war to a triumphant victory over slavery and rebellion.
On January 11th, the camp was thrown into great ex- citement by an attack on a train a mile north of town. The long roll was beat and the troops assembled under arms, but no serious damage was done and the enemy scampered away. On January 15th, it snowed all day
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and all night, covering the ground to a depth of 6 inches. On January 24th, the regiment received two months pay. January 29th to 31st - being pleasant weather - was devoted to company and battalion drills. February 4th, large fatigue details were engaged repairing the wagon road between Grand Junction and La Grange, when a "gigger" of whiskey was issued to each man. February 5th, it snowed two inches deep. The whole number in the regiment, who reported for duty, were engaged for ten days working on Fort Star. February 17th, six com- panies made a night foray into the country, captured three men of "Bob" Smith's guerrilla band, and returned to camp at daylight, the distance traveled being 17 miles.
Sunday, February 22nd, general inspection was held in the morning and at noon a cannon salute of thirty guns was fired from Fort Star in honor of Washington's birthday. February 23rd to 27th, company and battalion drills occupied much time. Five companies went on a scout on the 24th, and on the 28th, the regiment was mus- tered for pay. From March 2nd to the 6th, company and battalion drills were practiced every day, and all the troops at the post were reviewed by General Denver, the division commander. On March 8th, the left wing, com- posed of 5 companies, marched to La Grange and camped, while Company I served as provost guard in town. A downpour of rain continued for two days and nights, without ceasing, flooding the country. March 11th, the left wing companies were relieved at La Grange and re- turned to their old camp. From the 12th to the 17th, every day was occupied with company and battalion drills.
The morning guard mounts and evening parades held by the regiment were daily ceremonies that attracted the attention of the whole garrison. The paymaster put
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in an appearance again on the 18th and the regiment re- ceived two months pay. On the 21st, a train was cap- tured three miles north of the Junction, causing the troops to form and remain in line until evening, ready to give the marauders a warm reception. General J. R. Chalmers reported the incident to General J. C. Pember- ton, as follows:
Captains S. G. Street and Wilson with 80 men, made a gal- lant dash behind the enemy at Grand Junction; threw a con- struction train off the track within 5 miles of the Junction, and burned it; captured 16 white prisoners and 16 free Americans of African descent.
For 10 days it rained almost without ceasing, causing the most gloomy and disagreeable period of the whole winter. On April 2nd, new tents were issued to the regi- ment and the camp pitched near Fort Star.
General Chalmers had command of the mounted forces of the enemy hovering about the neighborhood of La Grange and the Junction, composed of all the partisan bands and detachments of cavalry under Falkner, Guirk [Quirk ?], Major Chalmers, Blythe, Smith, Street, and White, numbering 172 men ready for duty. To oppose them was Colonel Grierson's brigade of cavalry at La Grange, composed of the 6th and 7th Illinois, and 2nd Iowa Cavalry, numbering 2500 men, superbly mounted.
The troops distributed along the railroad from Mem- phis to Corinth were assigned to the protection of West Tennessee, the destruction of the enemy under Chalmers, and to prevent the raising of a crop in North Mississippi.
General Hurlbut, commanding the 16th Army Corps, opened the spring campaign by ordering columns to move south from Corinth to Pontotoc, La Grange to Oxford,
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Memphis to Panola, and a brigade of infantry and artil- lery from La Grange and Grand Junction to accompany the expedition by following south on the Mississippi Central Railroad - in which order the Grierson raid was authorized. April 1st to 5th was a period of rain, block- ing all operations, on account of deep mud.
On the 6th, a salute of thirty guns was fired at Fort Star in honor of the first anniversary of the battle of Shiloh, when the day's labor was closed with a battalion drill. Foraging expeditions to Middletown, Tennessee, occupied the next 10 days. The whole regiment was en- gaged, all returning to camp on the 16th, when orders were received to march the next morning, with 5 days rations. The men of the Sixth Jowa entered the spring campaign in splendid condition, great enthusiasm and hopeful anticipations of many victories, for the year.
The winter encampment at the Junction was not entire- ly devoid of interest and pleasure; but, on the part of many it was rather the contrary. The general health of the troops was good, as compared with the preceding win- ter in Missouri. Many found time and pleasure in read- ing the newspapers and all the books they could purchase, procure from home, or borrow from obliging citizens in the vicinity.
Many interesting and descriptive letters were written by members of the regiment to their friends and relatives at home.
The following extracts are taken from a brother's let- ter to his sister, dated February 12, 1863, which is de- scriptive of the situation and reflects the true soldier sentiment at that time:
As often as I have written to you since we arrived in true "Dixie", I have never written of this famous country. How-
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ever, one that has read as much as you, must surely have formed an idea of what it is. I know I had, and a pretty good one too. The name it bears, does it no more than justice; it is the beauti- ful."sunny south". We are now living in the most beautiful portion of Tennessee. The land is good, though the soil is not deep. An Illinois farmer coming here would hardly think of trying to raise a crop on such soil as this. Yet, it is such, that it will produce the best of corn or wheat; but is better adapted to the growing of cotton. Farming is carried on entirely differ- ent, than at the North. Instead of the beautiful little farms and houses every quarter or half mile along the roads, you see the large plantation and mansion. You might travel for half a day and see nothing but one continuous cotton-field, with not a sign of a house; but, after awhile comes to your sight that strange building - the Cotton Gin and Press. They all look alike, except that some are new and some are old and dilapidat- ed. You pass by this and into the evergreen timber and sudden- ly, as if by magic, looms up a beautiful and grand old mansion, or Hall, as they fancy to call them. One unacquainted with them would think he had surely found some State House or College - so grand and handsomely carved are its pillars. Their inhabitants are so desirous of making the world believe they are the descendants of some nobility, that they cause to be erected these stately houses of ancient pattern. To them it would be low and degrading to live in a house of "Yankee Style". May God have mercy on their poor Souls! There is a similarity in all Southern houses; no matter how poor the man may be, if he erects a house, must have those columns, which invariably cost quite as much as all the rest of the building. Many a time have I seen a beautiful palace tottering under the "power" of some "Yankee Soldier" -- he having set fire to it! While on our retreat from Mississippi - to every one of those houses left standing. we would see the lone blackened chimneys ("Jennison Monuments", as the soldiers call them) of two that had been burned !
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