USA > Iowa > A history of the Sixth Iowa infantry > Part 21
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COMPANY I
Killed: Sergeant John Hannum.
Wounded: Private Jacob Cestine; Private George Houtz; Sergeant Harvey B. Linton, musket ball in left thigh and right calf of leg, severely; Private William A. Prussell, slightly; Sergeant James Turner, severely.
COMPANY K
Killed: Private John H. Robertson.
Wounded: Private William Gallager, in the hand and arm, severely.
Total: killed 6, died of wounds 3, wounded 52; aggre- gate loss, 61 men.
The other assaulting columns in the Army of the Cum- berland had met with no better success and the fact was soon learned throughout the army that the effort was a failure. The army had sustained heavy losses in killed and wounded, and especially in distinguished and valued
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officers, the aggregate loss being put at 3000, while the enemy - being secure behind his well constructed breast- works - sustained comparatively small losses.
It was a supreme test of the confidence had in the com- manding general by the troops, and he -by his keen perception - saw that the troops realized that it was his first mistake in the campaign. He also knew it would not do to be very long inactive, owing to its influence, and accordingly he pressed the flank movements to the right, causing the enemy to extend south from Kenesaw to pro- tect his communications in the direction of the Chatta- hoochee River.
Major-General O. O. Howard, then commanding the 4th Army Corps, reporting the engagements, said :
My experience is that a line of works thoroughly constructed, with the front well covered with abatis and other entangle- ments, well manned with infantry, whether with our own or that of the enemy, cannot be carried by direct assault. The excep- tions are, where some one of the above conditions is wanting or where the defenders are taken by surprise.
The position on Little Kenesaw was held by General S. G. French's division of the late General L. Polk's corps, with General F. M. Cockrell's Missouri brigade holding the works assailed by Walcutt's Second Brigade. In his report of the engagement, dated the same day, General Cockrell said:
My skirmishers fought very stubbornly and were pressed back up the gorge on the right, followed by the enemy at the distance of thirty to forty paces. In front of Colonel [James] McCown's regiment. they made an assault in force and succeeded in getting within twenty-five paces of the works, and by secreting themselves behind rocks and other shelter held the position for fifteen or twenty minutes, and were distinctly heard
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by my officers in the main line to give the command "fix bayo-
. nets". . The bodies of 1 lieutenant-colonel, 1 captain, 1 lieutenant, and some 30 soldiers of the enemy were left dead in my front, and so close to my lines that they could not be carried off. . . My loss. . 10 killed, 2 mortally wounded, 27 severely, 28 slightly, and 42 missing. aggregate 109.
Colonel McCown's regiment was composed of the 3rd and 5th Missouri Infantry consolidated. General Cock- rell's brigade was composed entirely of Missouri troops, and was greatly distinguished in the Confederate Army of Tennessee.
The daily picket skirmishing was resumed and main- tained with great energy by both sides. Captain William H. Clune assumed command of the regiment, Major En- nis having gone to the hospital sick, on June 29th. The regiment was mustered for pay at 6 a. m., June 30th. Heavy cannonading continued during the day, and there was a heavy fall of rain.
The field hospitals were taxed to their limit to care for the more than 3000 wounded men, and the scenes, where arms and legs were amputated by the hundred, would make the stoutest hearts quail. The railroad had been repaired and army supplies were being delivered at Big Shanty. Engines and trains were frequently run up so near to the enemy's lines that they drew fire from the artillery on the mountain. The rations issued by the commissary consisted almost solely of salt pork or fat bacon, hard crackers, poor fresh beef, with coffee and sugar. Seldom if ever were beans, rice, soap, vinegar, or other small rations issued. The lack of utensils preclud- ed cooking by messes or company cooks, and the result was the worst kind of cooking, or none at all.
On July 2nd orders were given to march at 4 a. m. the
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next morning, the division to follow the rest of the 15th Corps toward the Chattahoochee River. But at the first dawn of day on July 3rd, it was discovered by the ad- vance skirmishers that the enemy had evacuated his strong position on the mountain during the night, and, in an incredible short space of time, they were waving the flag from the parapets of the enemy's works on the crest of the mountain. The flank movements to the right after the assault had proved successful, and the stubborn foe was again in flight, while the Union troops were shout- ing over the victory. The brigade marched with the rest of the Fourth Division and camped near the pretty little county seat town of Marietta, situated at the south base of Kenesaw, on the railroad.
On the 4th of July, the whole army pressed forward after the retreating enemy and the natal day was marked by a continuous roar of battle from one flank to the other of the army, a line more than ten miles long. At night the enemy was found posted in a new line of works of more than usual strength, covering the railroad bridge and pontoon bridges at the crossing of the Chattahoo- chee River. The Army of the Tennessee held the right of the line, resting on the river below the bridges at Nick- ajack Creek; the Army of the Cumberland held the left, resting on the river above the railroad; while the Army of the Ohio remained in reserve.
The regiment marched 13 miles, with the Fourth Di- vision, during the day to a position on the right of the army, where it camped in position at 3 p. m. The heat was intense and caused much suffering during the day, on account of the troops being marched in close order in anticipation of forming for battle at any moment.
On the 5th, the Sixth Iowa marched 3 miles to the right
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in support of the 17th Corps and on the 6th took position on Nickajack Creek and fortified. On July 7th, the enemy shelled the lines vigorously all day, while an incessant rattle of musketry was kept up by the skirmishers in the pits.
After dark the lines were advanced about a mile in a blaze of musketry and artillery firing, and new fortifica - tions were built. No former position occupied by the regiment had ever compared with the one at Nickajack in density of small growth of timber, canebreak, tangling vines, and rank growth of vegetation covering the whole surface along the creeks, in the swamps and on the bottom lands of the Chattahoochee River. The presence of my- riads of insects, venomous worms and reptiles, caused great annoyance, and the added persistent and deadly fire of the enemy's sharpshooters made the position very uncomfortable. The locality was a genuine fever breeder and many strong men who had withstood all the hard- ships up to that point were compelled to give up on ac- count of raging fever, and seek the cheerless comforts of the field hospitals.
In the midst of terrific shelling during the 9th, sorties were made with varying success, by both sides, and on the 10th, at daylight it was found that the enemy had evacu- ated his fortifications and retreated to the south side of the river. The abandoned works were found to be the strongest encountered during the campaign. An immense amount of slave labor had been expended on them, under the direction of skilled engineers of the Confederate army. If there had been any doubt or want of confidence in the skill and ability of General Sherman to success- fully direct the campaign it all vanished, when the Con- federates crossed the Chattahoochee River.
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On July 11th, the troops went swimming in the river and on the 12th, at 5 p. m., took up the line of march, traveled 5 miles and camped at 11 p. m. The Army of the Tennessee was en route to the left flank of the army at the Roswell Factories on the Chattahoochee River, 25 miles above.
The command passed through Marietta on the 13th and crossed the Chattahoochee River on the 14th at the Ros- well Factories, on a temporary bridge constructed for the crossing of troops and on a pontoon bridge laid by the pontooniers, and camped one mile south of the river, where a line of breastworks was built. Major Ennis returned from sick leave, resumed command and the regi- ment went on picket guard at the front. The night was made uncomfortable, on account of a hard rain with loud peals of thunder. The Union cavalry had destroyed the large factories at Roswell, which had supplied the Con- federates with large quantities of cloth, from the begin- ning of the war. The river at this point is 200 yards wide, with a rapid current, rocky bottom, shallow water, and is very muddy.
At 3 p. m. on the 15th, the regiment was relieved on out- post duty and the making out of the muster out rolls and discharges for the non-veterans was commenced. On the 16th of July, at 6 p. m., 160 non-commissioned officers and privates were mustered out and discharged from the ser- vice, having served the three years term for which they had enlisted in 1861. The muster out of these men marked a very important event in the history of the regi- ment. Their going depleted the regiment to a mere bat- talion, but they had performed their contract with the government faithfully and honorably and were justly en- titled to their honorable discharges. They were season-
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ed soldiers inured to the service and their places could not be filled by raw recruits. It is notable that they partici- pated in the battles and skirmishing up to the hour of their discharge and in the assault on Kenesaw privates Buck- ingham and Bixby were killed, when only a few days ser- vice separated them from home and friends. Many oth- ers were wounded and maimed for life during the last thirty days of their term of service. Such honorable de- votion to duty marks the highest type of the true soldier and patriot citizen. At an early hour the next morning they departed for Marietta, where they were furnished transportation on the railroad, on their road home.
Not all of the non-veterans were present with the com- mand at the muster out, many being absent on account of sickness or wounds, but all were finally mustered out by reason of expiration of their term of service.
The aggregate strength of the regiment on December 31, 1863, on the return from Knoxville, was 571. A total loss of 214 had been sustained of whom 9 had died of dis- ease, 28 had been killed in battle, 10 had been discharged for disability, while 7 had deserted. The remaining loss was due to the discharge of the 160 non-veterans, leaving in the regiment on July 17, 1864, a total of 357.
On account of the extreme rigors of the campaign, an unusually large per cent of the officers and men were ab- sent in field and general hospitals. The average per cent absent on account of wounds and other disabilities, as shown by medical statistics, was 25 to 35 of the aggre- gate strength of the regiments engaged in the campaign. The fighting strength of the Sixth Iowa, based on the foregoing statistics, was substantially 214 men, it being estimated that 143 men were sick, wounded, or on special detail or detached service.
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The Army of the Tennessee moved south in the direc- tion of the Augusta Railroad, with the enemy disputing every inch of the ground. The Second Brigade camped in line of battle on the south side of Nancy's Creek on the Cross Key's road, built temporary works, with the First and Third brigades of the Fourth Division in supporting distance, on the north side of the creek. The advance was engaged in active skirmishing during the day, with the enemy present in considerable force and defiant, when the halt was made for the night. On the 18th, the Second Brigade made a diversion in the direction of Stone Moun- tain and returned to the column in the evening and camped at Henderson's Mill, near Decatur, on the 19th, where the Army of the Tennessee had assembled.
The Confederate army had been forced into the forti- fications around the city of Atlanta and General Sher- man had crossed his entire army to the south side of the Chattahoochee River, with Thomas at the river and his line extending southeast along Peach Tree Creek, Scho- field in the center and McPherson at Decatur, 8 miles east of the city. On the 20th, the column passed through De- catur, a nice little county seat town on the Augusta Rail- road, and went into position half way between Decatur and Atlanta, on the south side of the railroad, where brisk skirmishing was had with the outposts of the enemy and a line of works was hastily built.
On July 21st, the Fourth Division in line on the left of the 15th Army Corps, moved forward in conjunction with the 16th and 17th army corps, then forming the left flank of the army, to the works of the enemy two miles southeast of the city, where the Second Brigade relieved the right brigade under Colonel B. F. Potts, in the line of the 17th Army Corps. The fighting had been spirited
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during the day, but resulted in the Army of the Tennes- see holding at evening a commanding position, within plain view of the city, from where Captain De Gress fired the first shots, with his twenty-pounder Parrott guns, that entered the city. The Sixth Iowa, as skirmish- ers in the advance during the evening, was under heavy fire of musketry and artillery and pressed the enemy's outposts and skirmishers into their main works built for the protection of the city.
On July 20th, the enemy had assaulted the Army of the Cumberland while it was moving to the south side of Peach Tree Creek, and had been repulsed with heavy loss. At this time it was learned that General Johnston, who had so skillfully commanded the Confederate Army of Tennessee from the beginning of the campaign, had been relieved on the 18th and that Lieutenant-General John B. Hood, one of his corps commanders, had been placed in command of the army. It was evident from the character of the first movement that General Hood had changed the tactics of the campaign and hard knocks would now be delivered instead of evading them, under the shelter of breastworks. It will always be a mere conjecture as to what would have been the result had General Johnston remained in command, but there will never be any doubt about the amount of fight there was left in his army, or their loyalty to him as a commander.
Friday, July 22, 1864, dawned bright and beautiful, but the heat became oppressive as the sun rose to the zenith. The enemy had abandoned the works in front during the night, and at daylight the division advanced and took possession, when the works were immediately reversed. It was the impression of all throughout the command
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that the enemy had given up the city and that it would be occupied by the Union forces during the day, as simi- lar positions had been, during the campaign; but, at 12 noon, the enemy attacked the left flank of the Army of the Tennessee in front and rear with heavy columns of infantry, artillery, and cavalry, having passed completely around the left flank of the army during the night and early morning. They assailed the position with great fury, the 16th and 17th Army Corps receiving the first onset of the charging lines.
The 15th Army Corps held the position across the Augusta Railroad, with the First Division on the right and north of the railroad, connecting with the Army of the Ohio -23rd. Corps; the Second Division in the cen- ter and covering the railroad cut at the white house; and the Fourth Division on the left, south of the railroad, connecting with the right of the 17th Army Corps. The First Brigade held the right of the Fourth Division, with the Third Brigade in the center and the Second Brigade on the left, joining with the 17th Army Corps.
From the position of the Second Brigade, the enemy was seen advancing through the woods in the rear of the 17th Corps, among the teams and wagons. Then the bri- gade front was promptly and skillfully changed to the left rear facing the threatened danger, and at once be- came hotly engaged with the advancing foe. The strug- gle was short and decisive, checking their advance and driving their lines back to the cover of the woods. While engaged to left and rear the space made vacant in the front line by the movement was filled by extending the lines of the other brigades to the left, placing the division in two lines, one fighting to the front and the other to the
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rear, with only a narrow strip intervening between the lines.
A short term of quiet prevailed in the vicinity of the position held by the Fourth Division and then the enemy, from the direction of Atlanta, assailed the 15th Army Corps in front with great fury, breaking through the lines of the Second Division at the railroad and passed to the right rear of the Fourth Division in heavy force, causing the First and Third brigades to make rapid movements in that direction to resist and check the vic- torious onset of the enemy. It was at the moment when all hearts were filled with greatest anxiety, the battle raging in its wildest delirium of slaughter and just at the climax of recovering the position in the line and the De Gress battery, that General John A. Logan dashed along the lines mounted on his black horse, a perfect image of inspiration to heroic effort. That he passed through that storm of shot and shell and lived is the wonder of all who witnessed his gallant daring.
The Second Brigade had changed its position fre- quently during these engagements and fought the enemy from the front and rear of the same line of breastworks. At night the enemy had been repulsed and the lines re- stored on every part of the field, but at a fearful cost to the Army of the Tennessee. The death of its beloved commander, Major-General James B. McPherson, sad- dened the heart of every soldier in the army. The sight of his horse and the empty saddle brought tears to the eyes of many strong men. The Confederate soldier who fired the fatal shot that killed the noble man and gallant soldier in that lonely woods, if living, knows it; but, like hundreds and thousands of brave men, who marched and
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fought in the ranks of both armies, his heart is sorely grieved at having taken such a noble life and he will never divulge his identity.
The Sixth Iowa heroically sustained its battle record throughout the engagement and was skillfully led by Major Ennis, although he was suffering with a fever, contracted in the campaign. Major Joshua W. Heath, commanding the 46th Ohio, was killed while leading his regiment in the thick of the fight, doing his whole duty. He had just received his commission as major to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Major Giesy, who had been killed at Dallas.
Colonel Lucien Greathouse, commanding the 4Sth Illi- nois, with whom the Sixth Iowa had been brigaded at Jackson, was killed while leading his regiment in the battle. Although only 22 years old, he had displayed great qualities for military command. No braver or better soldier ever gave his life in the service of his country. His memory will ever be revered by those who participated in the battles and campaigns, with the 15th Army Corps. The Army of the Tennessee sustained an aggregate loss of 3722 in killed, wounded and prison- ers.22
The Sixth Iowa loss was as follows: killed - Private Alonzo F. Gale, Company D; Private Austin A. Hull, Company G; Private Charles M. Peterson, Company I; total 3 men; wounded - Sergeant Jacob I. Corbly, Com- pany A, skull fractured, severely ; Corporal Harvey Ford, Company B, right fore finger amputated; Sergeant James E. Thomas, Company B, in the shoulder, severely; Pri-
22 Major General John A. Logan, in his report of this battle, gives the total Union loss as 3521 men and 10 pieces of artillery. - War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. XXXVIII, Pt. 3, p. 21.
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vate Charles W. Watson, Company B, in the arm, severe- ly; Private Benjamin F. Devore, Company D, in the leg, severely; Captain Thomas J. Elrick, Company D, in the hand, slightly; Private Benjamin F. Kimler, Company E, in the nose, severely; Private William M. Rife, Com- pany F; Private Enoch Davis, Company G, in the leg, severely; Sergeant Robert J. Jones, Company G, in the foot, slightly; total, 11; 23 aggregate, 14 men.
The movement by the enemy, which precipitated the Battle of Atlanta, was commenced in the night by draw- ing General Hardee's corps out of the fortified lines around the city and marching it southeast around the left flank of the army, entirely enveloping the Army of the Tennessee. The attack was made with spirit and great determination and maintained with varying success and defeat from noon until sundown, when the field was abandoned by the enemy and a glorious victory again perched upon the banners of the Army of the Tennessee.
The Confederates had to mourn the loss of Major-Gen- eral W. H. T. Walker, commanding a division in General Hardee's corps, who was killed while leading his com- mand in the action. Many other officers of rank and reputation were killed and maimed for life, and, in Gen- eral Hardee's corps the loss of veteran troops was irre- parable, numbering many more than the loss in the Union army.
The position gained was maintained and the trenches occupied without particular incident, other than the usual picket firing and the daily strengthening of the works, un- til July 27th, when the movement changing the Army of
23 A list of wounded, prepared by the author and accompanying the manuscript, gives Lloyd Wailes of Company D as the eleventh man who was wounded.
21
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the Tennessee to the right flank of the army was com- menced. The troops were quietly and successfully with- drawn from the trenches at one a. m., and marched, pass- ing in the rear of the whole army then besieging the city, to the extreme right of the lines, west of the railroad and northwest of the city. The regiment camped for the night in the rear of General Corse's division of the 16th Corps, then in position on the line; having marched a distance of 15 miles.
On that day Major-General O. O. Howard assumed com- mand of the Army of the Tennessee, to which he had been assigned by the President at the request of General Sher- man, and General Logan resumed the command of the 15th Army Corps. Every soldier in the Army of the Tennessee was jealous of its reputation, and the assign- ment of an eastern army man to the command was viewed with much concern and some forebodings, on account of the ill success attending his service in the Army of the Potomac.
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XX EZRA CHURCH AND JONESBOROUGH
During the morning of July 28th, the Army of the Ten- nessee went into position in prolongation of the lines to the right; the 16th Corps, General G. M. Dodge com- manding, connecting with the right of the Army of the Cumberland; the 17th Corps, General Blair, next in line ; and the 15th Corps on the flank fronting south and run- ning parallel with Lick Skillet road, the left flank of the corps resting at the Ezra Church. The following dis- positions were made in the 15th Corps: First Division, Brigadier-General Charles R. Wood commanding, on the left ; Fourth, Brigadier-General William Harrow, in the center; and the Second, Brigadier-General Morgan L. Smith, on the right, forming the right flank of the army. The Fourth Division was formed as follows: Third Bri- gade, Colonel Oliver commanding, on the left; First, Col- onel Reuben Williams commanding, on the right; Second, Colonel Charles C. Walcutt commanding, in reserve, ly- ing along the little creek or ravine behind the ridge oc- cupied by the other two brigades, and sheltered from the enemy's fire.
At about 11 a. m., when the lines were not fully formed and before the troops had constructed even temporary works, the enemy suddenly and with great fury assaulted the right and center of the 15th Corps. This first en- gagement continued for more than an hour and the as- saulting columns were repulsed after a severe struggle, when, at one p. m., the whole front of the 15th Corps was
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assailed by heavy masses of the enemy, formed in two and three lines of battle following close after each other, each pressing forward with steady step and unwavering lines. The regiments of the Second Brigade were separated and sent to the support of different portions of the line, the 103rd Illinois, 97th Indiana, and 46th Ohio went in support of Colonel Oliver's brigade, while the 40th Illi- nois and the 6th Iowa were conducted by General Logan on the double-quick to the right of the corps line and charged upon a force of the enemy who had gained a lodgment on the crest of the ridge held by a portion of the Second Division.
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