USA > Iowa > A history of the Sixth Iowa infantry > Part 22
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The yells of the victors and the flying bullets made plain the objective and the two little regiments, number- ing scarcely 400 muskets, assailed the position with great determination and gallantry. The men struggled up the rugged and rocky ascent, through tangled brush and briars, driving the enemy from the ridge and holding the position. At this point they assisted in successfully re- sisting four distinct assaults, made by veteran troops - the flower of the Confederate army - led by their most distinguished officers and army commanders.
Major H. W. Hall, 40th Illinois, was severely wounded and disabled just as he gained the crest of the ridge, and was succeeded in command of the regiment by Captain Michael Galvin. Major Thomas J. Ennis, 6th Iowa, was mortally wounded while leading his regiment in the charge and died the same evening, on the battlefield. In his report of the engagement, General Walcutt said that the death of Major Ennis was "a great loss to his regi- ment and country. He possessed every quality of a good soldier." Captain William H. Clune, Company I, as- sumed the command when Major Ennis fell and gallantly
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performed the duty to the end of the engagement. Cap- tain Thomas J. Elrick, Company D, was mortally wound- ed while gallantly leading his company in the storm-cen- ter of the charge and died while being borne from the field.
The regiment lost besides the officers named : killed -- sergeants Ira Linton and Charles H. Loomis, Company K; Private Michael Ditto, Company G; Private William M. Hughes, Company D; Private Daniel F. M. Mussel- man, Company B; Private Merritt Jamison, Company I; total killed, S men; wounded - Sergeant M. Westenhav- er, Company D, in the thighs, severely; Private John Martin, Company D, in the shoulder, severely, while car- rying the colors to the crest of the ridge; total severely wounded, 2 men. The loss in the 15th Army Corps was 50 men killed, 439 wounded, and 73 missing; aggregate, 562 men.
The Confederates made the assaults with the veteran divisions of T. C. Hindman, H. D. Clayton, and E. C. Walthall, composed of 65 regiments of infantry, under the command of Lieutenant-General Stephen D. Lee and Lieutenant-General Alexander P. Stewart.
In W. A. Quarles' brigade of Stewart's corps, com- posed of the 1st Alabama, 42nd, 46th, 48th, 49th, 53rd, and 55th Tennessee, the total killed and wounded was 414 and the casualties in officers were: killed - 1 Colonel, 1 Lieutenant-Colonel, 1 Major, and 12 line officers ; wounded -1 Colonel, 1 Major, and 17 line officers. General Quarles said of the officers:
They had for many months been exiled from their homes and families, having long ago given up their fortunes to the cause. They completed and sanctified the sacrifice with their lives. Truer and more earnest-hearted patriots never lived,
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and the purity of their private character gracefully softencd the ruder virtues of the soldier.
The aggregate loss sustained by the Confederates in the battle did not fall below 3000 men killed and wounded, with the loss of an unusually large proportion of valuable officers, including Lieutenant-General A. P. Stewart and Major-General W. W. Loring, disabled by wounds. The burial details reported 617 of the enemy's dead buried on the battlefield where they fell, the bodies of officers of high rank being found within a few yards of the Union line.
The battle was fought by the 15th Army Corps and its lines were assaulted six times between 11 a. m. and sun- down and in every instance the attacks were met and re- pulsed with great slaughter. The fight was made with- out the advantage of breastworks on either side, and was the most stubbornly contested and bloodiest battlefield of the campaign. General Harrow, in his report, said :
If the soldiers of the Fifteenth Army Corps had no other claim to consideration than their efforts on that day, it would be enough to entitle them to the lasting gratitude of their country.
Ammunition and rations were brought up to the front and issued to the regiments engaged in the battle, and a line of defensive works was completed during the even- ing. From July 29th to August 3rd, the lines were ad. vanced about a mile, which movement was attended by several sharp conflicts and necessitated the erection of two lines of fortifications.
On August 3rd, General Harrow organized a force of 1000 men, detailed from all the regiments in the Fourth Division with Major William B. Brown, 70th Ohio, in
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command, who charged and drove the enemy from the rifle-pits on the ridge in front, captured 83 prisoners and held the position. The contest was sharp and spirited, and the detail suffered a loss of 92 killed and wounded. General Logan said that "this maneuver was highly cred- itable to General Harrow and the officers and soldiers who were engaged in it". Although eminently success- ful it was purchased at a fearfully high price, causing the death of Major Brown, and the death or disabling for life of a large number of his command. When Major Brown fell mortally wounded he said to those near him, "Say to General Harrow I died like a soldier doing my duty".
On August 4th,. Lieutenant-Colonel Miller returned from his absence on account of a wound and assumed command of the regiment. The 100th Indiana and 26th Illinois regiments were transferred from the First to the Second Brigade, and the entire Third Brigade trans- ferred to the First, thus consolidating the division into two brigades. The First Brigade was commanded by Colonel John M. Oliver of the 15th Michigan, and the Second by Brigadier-General Charles C. Walcutt. Thus organized the division was assigned to a place in the new line established, covering Green's Ferry and Lick Skillet road. Heavy and well constructed earthworks were at once built covering the position, which extended over un- even ground, through woods and brush, cultivated patches and open fields, orchards and gardens, over hills and across narrow ravines, in total disregard of proper- ty and homes. Large details were made each day and the work of the siege prosecuted day and night, until a feeling of security from assaults and sallies pervaded along the line.
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The main lines occupied by the contestants at this point were about 800 yards apart, with the enemy holding a well constructed line of rifle-pits, with head-logs and loop- holes for sharpshooters, 500 yards in advance of their main works. The skirmish pits of the Fourth Division were about 200 yards in advance of their main works, re- ducing the distance between the firing lines to an aver- age of about 100 yards. The firing from the riffe-pits was incessant during the day, and oftentimes continued through the night. By the persistent vigorous efforts of the men, the saps and pits were being continually ad- vanced at some portion of the lines, in some instances by rolling huge logs forward and by digging zig-zag trenches, and in this manner approaches were made so near the enemy's lines that ordinary conversation was indulged in by the pickets in the opposing pits.
Marksmanship had again become the test for qualifica- tion as an effective soldier, as it had been at Corinth and Vicksburg. It was often asserted at the time, and it was probably true, that the two or three hundred qualified riflemen then composing the rank and file of the regi- ment were more effective in battle than were the 600 men who fought at Shiloh, scarcely any of whom had ever fired a gun to exceed a half dozen times, and then not at an ob- ject. The range was ascertained with such certainty and the fire made so effective, that a head appearing above . the works was sure to receive a message from an unerr- ing rifle.
All communication had back and forth with the skirm- ishers in the advance pits was through a system of zig- zag trenches dug for that purpose, which furnished cover from the sharpshooters. The operations of the siege as conducted required the men to be on duty almost con-
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stantly and each regiment took a tour of twenty-four hours in the advance rifle-pits, every third day. The op- pressive heat of an August sun pouring down for twelve long hours during the day, together with the element of danger ever present on account of a watchful and deadly foe, made a tour of duty in the pits a test of endurance and courage, that tried the best soldiers in the army. The guards at the front were usually changed at night- time and those in the pits at daylight were compelled to remain there during the day, under a burning sun and a continual spat! spat! of rifle balls, fired by a vigilant foe.
The incessant fire of small arms was supplemented each day by a general bombardment of the lines in the evening, from the heavy siege guns in the enemy's main works near the city, sending their hundred pound shells a dis- tance of two or three miles, crashing through the timber and bursting far in the rear of the lines, among the horses and mules with the wagon trains.
With 150,000 men and 50,000 animals crowded into the space occupied by the two great armies in the siege oper- ations about the city, all the flowing creeks in the vicin- ity became badly fouled, so that a drink of good pure water was considered a great luxury, during the siege.
Soon after the siege operations began, it was learned that the works in the immediate front of the Second Brigade were occupied and defended by an Alabama bri- gade composed of the 19th, 22nd, 25th, 39th, and 50th regi- ments and the 17th Alabama battalion of sharpshooters, commanded by Brigadier-General Z. C. Deas. It was the custom to each day ascertain, from each other, what regi- ment was on duty in the pits. There was frequent cord- ial exchange of compliments between the men, and coffee was sometimes traded for tobacco.
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A wave of religious enthusiasm agitated the soldiers of the Confederate army during the long siege operations. The exercises were frequently carried on until a late hour at night, when the shouting and singing could be distinct- ly heard in the Union lines.
A spontaneous outburst of firing, called demonstra- tions, was of frequent occurrence and happened mostly at night, when musketry and artillery firing became fur- ious. They were attended with all the roar and excite- ment of a real battle, but it was seldom that any one was injured by the tons of ammunition thus expended.
Tobacco also became a rare luxury and was indulged in . only by those who had plenty of money. Two Ohio citi- . zens were visiting their sons in the 46th Ohio, and learn- ing about the scarcity of tobacco, paid a large sum of money for a whole caddy of plug for that regiment, and, having seen the close friendship existing between the men of the regiments, they generously extended a portion of the gift to the men of the Sixth Iowa, which is a sacred memory in the army archives of many old veterans. Where the trenches were in the open and exposed to the burning sun, brush bowers were erected over them at night, which became special targets for the enemy's ar- tillery practice during the daytime.
The army ration was fixed at a very limited quantity - of hardtack, fat bacon, coffee, and sugar. At long inter- vals fresh beef and beans were issued, but there being no convenient facilities for cooking, they were usually lost to the men serving in the trenches.
In August, Governor William M. Stone, of Iowa, visited all the Iowa regiments engaged in front of Atlanta, and it was on the 5th that he paid his respects to the Sixth Iowa. The regiment was formed in a ravine in the rear of the
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lines, sheltered from the enemy's sharpshooters for the formal reception, when the Governor said, "Colonel, that seems to be a safe position for that company". To which Colonel Miller, with visible emotion, replied, "Sir, that is the regiment". The Governor spoke a few words complimentary to the regiment and the ceremony was finished.
Promotions were made in the regiment and commis- sions were issued by the Governor as follows: Captain William H. Clune, to be Major; Sergeant-Major Andrew T. Samson, to be First-Lieutenant and Adjutant; Hos- pital-Steward Aaron Vanscoy, to be First-Lieutenant in Company B; First-Sergeant W. H. Alexander, to be Captain, and Fourth-Sergeant Eugene C. Haynes, to be First-Lieutenant of Company D; First-Sergeant Edwin R. Kennedy, to be Captain, and Third-Sergeant Francis M. Kyte, to be First-Lieutenant of Company F; and head- quarters clerk Robert Stitt, Company K, to be Sergeant- Major. Never before had promotions been so fairly earned and so eminently deserving as were the commis- sions given to the non-commissioned officers, while serv- ing in the trenches in front of Atlanta.
The casualties in the regiment during the siege were as follows: August 2nd, Private Enoch Davis, Company G, wounded in the left arm, severely; Private Daniel W. Green, Company G, wounded in both hips, severely; August 3rd, Private Allen Dupree, Company B, wounded ; August 4th, Private Charles W. Wright, Company F, mortally wounded and died August 8th; August 7th, Pri- vate Charles A. Erickson, Company I, wounded in left leg, severely; August 10th, Private Jacob Chapman, Company H, and Private Charles B. Shipman, Company I - both killed; August 14th, Private Thomas Frazier,
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Company K, wounded slightly, and Private Thomas G. Vinson, Company F, wounded in hand, severely; August 15th, Private David Sherck, Company H, wounded in the breast; August 18th, Corporal Eli B. Way, Company K, wounded in left side, severely, and Private Nathan B. Moore, Company E - killed; August 21st, Private Sam- uel Sumner, Company D -- killed; August 22nd, First- Lieutenant Eugene C. Haynes, Company D, wounded ---- right arm amputated; August 25th, Sergeant Casper S. Troutman, Company G, wounded in right leg, severely; Corporal Edward Chambers and Private Marlain M. Stewart, Company F, wounded; Lieutenant William H. Oviatt, Company C, wounded; 5 killed, 13 wounded; total 18 men.
The strength of the Confederate army defending At- lanta, July 31, 1864, was 43,448 infantry, 17,313 cavalry, 4840 artillery ; total present 65,601 ; aggregate present and absent, 126,430 men. The effective strength of the Un- ion army at the same time was 75,659 infantry, 10,517 cavalry, 5499 artillery; total present 91,675 men. The return of General Harrow's Fourth Division for July 31st, shows how much the commands were exhausted by the rigors and casualties of the campaign, thus : pres- ent, 3342, present and absent, 7310.
Major-General G. M. Dodge, commanding the 16th Army Corps, was severely wounded in the face, August 19th, and relinguished his command; Brigadier-General J. A. J. Lightburn was wounded and retired from the field. On August 22nd, Brigadier-General Morgan L. Smith was granted leave for an indefinite period, on ac- count of wounds received at Vicksburg and Brigadier- General William B. Hazen was assigned to the command of the Second Division, 15th Army Corps.
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From the 28th of July to the 26th day of August, the troops had been kept constantly in the trenches, where the slightest exposure above the works endangered their lives. The instances of personal daring during the siege, by men and officers, were so frequent that an enumera- tion of them would be to mention nearly every man in the regiment.
The operations had been a steady prolongation of the lines to the right in the direction of East Point, the junc- tion of the Montgomery and Macon railroads. Large cavalry expeditions had been sent against the enemy's communications south of Atlanta, but had mostly proved disastrous to the Union forces. The enemy's cavalry, under General Wheeler's command, had made sad havoc with the railroad and the garrisons guarding it in the rear of the Union army at Dalton, and had captured large herds of beef cattle on their way to the army at the front, which were skillfully conducted to the hungry Confeder- ates in the trenches at Atlanta. A heavy rain on August 20th was refreshing to men and animals and hailed with joy, by friend and foe alike.
On August 26th, the crowning operations of the cam- paign were commenced, when, at 8 p. m., the 15th Army Corps joined in the grand maneuvers of the whole army to the south of Atlanta. The Sixth Iowa was deployed and left the trenches of the Fourth Division to perform the delicate and dangerous duty of keeping up a demon- stration from the works, while the troops were being with- drawn and marched away. The withdrawal commenced at 8 p. m., and progressed in quiet and great secrecy, un- til the whole corps was out of the works and gone, leaving only the Sixth Iowa with its thin line of skirmishers to hold the works and cover the movement. Evidently the
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enemy suspected the movement for they at once opened a furious fire of musketry and artillery, bringing into ac- tion all their field artillery and the heavy guns in the main forts near the city. The situation in the trenches seemed most critical to the little band of defenders and put to the test their true soldier courage. It was known that the troops had marched away; the darkness of the night was made luminous with the flash of cannon and bursting shells; the air was filled with bullets singing like swarm- ing bees, which, with the shouts and threatening yells of the defiant enemy, made a scene highly tragical - even in war - that almost chilled the blood.
At 10 p. m., the order to fall back to the main works was passed from one to another along the line and the movement was successfully accomplished, when the enemy's skirmishers at once advanced and occupied the vacated pits with the wildest demonstrations of shouting and musketry firing. Without tarrying long in the su- perb breastworks - built at a cost of so much labor - the line continued the movement to the rear. Owing to the darkness of the night and the consequent confusion, the line soon fell into disorder and then every man for himself made his way through the abandoned works and tangled brush until they were safely out of range of the firing and the further night pursuit by the enemy.
While the situation of the regiment was attended with most threatening consequences, the loss was very slight, the firing being done mostly at random in the darkness The men were assembled and rejoined the brigade on the morning of the 27th. In the afternoon the brigade marched with the corps a distance of 15 miles in the midst of a heavy rain storm and over difficult country roads to a position on Camp Creek, which it fortified.
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On August 28th, the column started forward again at 8 a. m., but since the narrow country roads were gorged with troops and trains, an entirely new road was cut through the dense woods, parallel with the established roads, to the West Point Railroad, two miles north of Fairburn station, near the Shadna Church. Here the corps was placed in position, covering the railroad, and fortified. On the 29th, the 15th Corps remained in po- sition all day with slight skirmishing at all the outposts. Green corn, just in good roasting-ears, was found in abun- dance on the farms and plantations and also a variety of wild fruits in the forest, which were eagerly sought after and heartily relished by the troops after their long siege of hardtack and bacon.
After having thoroughly destroyed the railroad track in the vicinity, the march was resumed on the morning of August 30th, in the direction of Jonesborough. The Second Division led the advance. Brisk skirmishing took place all the time and spirited engagements occurred at the crossing of Pond Creek and Shoal Creek. This caused the column to keep closed up and the advance brigades to frequently go into position. The crossing of Flint River was effected late in the evening and the 15th Army Corps went into position a short distance beyond, after dark, by extending the line to the right and left of the road leading into Jonesborough, which was distant only three-fourths of a mile.
The line occupied a bold ridge, mostly covered with timber and brush, running parallel with the railroad in front with its right and left flanks resting on Flint River and covering the county seat town of Jonesborough. The Second Brigade held a position in the line to the right of the road and near the center overlooking the
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town. The troops worked all night fortifying the po- sition and at daylight a substantial line of works had been completed within 1000 yards of the depot in Jones- borough. All during the night and in the morning, trains from Atlanta arrived at the depot loaded with troops, who were placed in position to defend the town.
The 15th Army Corps was again in position on the ex- treme right in a bold flank movement by the whole army, and every soldier in the corps was conscious that the enemy would make a desperate attempt to crush it before the supporting columns could aid it.
On the morning of August 31st, it was perfectly evident to all that the battle for the possession of Atlanta would be fought in the vicinity of Jonesborough, thirty miles south of that city. The 16th and 17th army corps closed up during the morning and were in position ready for the fray, when, at 12 noon, the batteries that were in position and covered by parapets, opened a furious can- nonade on the enemy's works and the railroad depot in the town. Skirmishers were advanced all along the front until the firing became general, inflicting severe punish- ment on both sides. The enemy's earthworks were in plain view, crowning the crest of a ridge on the opposite side of a ravine, which intervened between the lines. The morning hours had been occupied by the troops in strengthening the weak points in the line in anticipation of an assault and every man was in the trenches fully equipped for battle.
At 2 p. m., the enemy opened fire with a battery of 30 pieces of artillery at close range and kept up the fire for about an hour, sending a perfect storm of shot and shells that went crashing through the light barricades and far
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to the rear through the timber and brush. During the firing, their infantry formed in two lines of battle, on the sloping ground in front of their works, with the precis- ion of a field parade, where regimental organizations were distinguishable as they marched into position, and mounted staff and field officers were plainly seen adjust- ing and perfecting the lines. The formation being com- pleted, the firing ceased and the column moved forward, slowly and resolutely, but with spirit and determination that seriously threatened the safety of the 15th Corps' position in its light fortifications. The distance between the lines to be traveled by the assaulting column was from 1000 to 1200 yards, over rather rough and difficult ground.
The Union skirmishers fell back hurriedly as the enemy approached and when all were safe in the works, the whole line opened a perfect sheet of fire with rifles and cannon, accompanied with loud yells of defiance, which soon caused their lines to waver and in many places halt and seek shelter from the deadly fire. In several places the enemy gained positions within pistol shot of the works. These positions were resolutely maintained and a hot fire opened on everything appearing above the breastworks, but a most terrible and destructive fire was directed on them from the works, at a distance of 50 to 100 paces, and in less than an hour they were compelled to fall back to their works in disorder.
The position of the Second Brigade was assailed by Brigadier-General Joseph H. Lewis' Kentucky brigade, composed of the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 9th Kentucky regiments, whose bold assault - though made by an en- emy -- was admired. The skirmishers pursued the re- treating lines of the enemy, when some sharp conflicts
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ensued and resulted in the capture of Colonel J. W. Moss, Major Harvey McDowell, a Captain, 2 Lieutenants, and 25 men of the Second Kentucky. Colonel Moss was se- verely wounded in the arm, which was afterwards ampu- tated at the field hospital. The enemy made two more assaults, but with far less spirit, which were easily re- pulsed. Their loss was greater than it had been in any former engagement, except at Ezra Church, near At- lanta. General Patton Anderson, while leading a divis- ion in the assault, was seriously wounded and carried from the field, as were many other distinguished veteran Confederate officers - both killed and wounded.
The assault was immediately followed by a most ter- rific cannonade by all the Confederate artillery, lasting for nearly an hour, which raked the works with solid shot and shells. At dark all firing ceased, except an oc- casional rifle shot on the picket line, and the night was passed in comparative quiet, the troops on both sides having had their power of endurance put to a severe test during the past 5 days.
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