USA > Iowa > A history of the Sixth Iowa infantry > Part 23
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The Sixth Iowa occupied a conspicuous and important position in the line directly in front of the town and the railroad depot. The Confederate troops for the assault had been selected and massed with unusual care under the command of their most distinguished officers, and it was only by the most determined and stubborn resis- tance that they were repulsed and driven from the field. Again the Army of the Tennessee had held the flank po- sition in a grand battle maneuver, and successfully re- sisted the combined assaults of Hardee's and Lee's army corps, which constituted two-thirds of Hood's army.
.Owing to the protection furnished by the breastworks, the casualties in the 15th Corps during the day were only
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154 killed and wounded, while the loss of the enemy was over 2000 killed, wounded, and missing.
On September 1st, the whole force of the Union army closed down on the position at Jonesborough and the 14th Army Corps connected with the left of the line formed by the Army of the Tennessee, where it made a successful charge, late in the evening, on the enemy's position on the railroad north of town. From the position of the Sixth Iowa there was had a fine view of the field of op- erations, where the 14th Corps made the assault. Gen- erals Sherman, Howard, Logan, and other distinguished officers of the army viewed the fight from the same point. The occasion afforded a rare opportunity for the men to be near the commanding general and his chief officers, while directing the movements of a great battle.
The sight of thousands of intelligent men being mar- shaled in military array, marching in battle lines and heavy columns of masses preparatory to mortal combat, excites martial enthusiasm to the highest tension. In the terrific crash and climax of a battle contest and amid the shouts of the victors - where hundreds in the prime and vigor of manhood go down in death - there is still another view later. As the smoke of battle rolls away and the shadows and stillness of night settle over the field, the piteous moans and wailings of the thousands of maimed and mortally wounded present a heart-rending scene that chills the blood in the veins of the boldest.
Loud explosions were heard during the night in the direction of Atlanta, indicating the blowing up of pow- der magazines. At daylight on September 2nd, the skir- mishers advanced, found the works abandoned, and skir- mished through the town with the rear guard, covering the retreat of the enemy.
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The Second Brigade led the advance in the pursuit of the enemy, who had fled south along the Macon Railroad. At a short distance south of town the enemy's rear guard, composed of dismounted cavalry, was encountered strongly posted behind rail barricades, so the 100th In- diana and the 6th Iowa were deployed in front as skir- mishers, the 6th on the left and the 100th on the right of the wagon road leading south to Lovejoy's Station on the Macon Railroad. Both regiments charged the barri- cades with loud yells and a volley from their rifles that quickly dislodged the enemy. The skirmishers continued to advance, from cover to cover and from tree to tree, ex- posed to a brisk and skillful fire by trained riflemen for a distance of a quarter of a mile, where another stand was made and they were again driven away, after a sharp engagement.
At the next barricade encountered the enemy opened with canister and shells from two pieces of artillery, when, owing to the intense heat and the exhausted condition of the men on the line, a short halt was made to rest. The line again moved forward rapidly, driving the enemy from every position taken, until the main column was overtaken five miles south of Jonesborough near Cedar Bluff, where the enemy opened with such furious can- nonading and fierce fire of musketry, that a halt was again ordered.
The men of both regiments were so overcome with the heat and so much exhausted by the four hours constant skirmishing, advancing through thick and tangled brush, up steep hills and through marshy places filled with mud and water, that they were relieved by the 46th Ohio and 103rd Illinois. They at once assailed the enemy with determination and great gallantry, driving them into a
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line of works which were found to be very strong and filled with men. In the afternoon the Second Brigade advanced in line of battle, together with the Fourth Di- vision and the rest of the 15th Army Corps, to the crest of a ridge, within easy musket range of the enemy's main line of works. The movement was made in the midst of bursting shells and flying canister from more than 30 guns at close range.
It was while in the open field giving orders and per- sonal directions for the movement that General Logan and his staff became a conspicuous target for the enemy's fire. A huge shell fell and exploded on the ground im- mediately under the General and his horse, without ser- ious injury to either; but others of the party and their horses were hit by the flying fragments which inflicted only slight injuries. The enemy made a determined but futile attempt to drive the line back later in the afternoon, after which the First and Fourth divisions were placed in position in the front line and the Second in reserve, and all fortified.
The advance from Jonesborough to Lovejoy's was marked by the most skillful art of skirmish fighting. The active and almost every day practice on the skirmish line and in the rifle-pits, during the past four months, had made every man thorough in the arts and methods of that mode of warfare.
The lines as established were maintained, while an in- cessant skirmish fire and sharp artillery practice was kept up each day. The works were continually being strengthened until a formidable line of defense covered the front of both divisions. The enemy's sharpshooters were specially vigilant and kept up a destructive fire, in- flicting an unusually heavy list of painful casualties.
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The city of Atlanta was evacuated during the night of September 1st, by General Hood with his last remaining corps commanded by Lieutenant-General Stewart, and on the next morning, September 2nd, General Slocum commanding the 20th Army Corps, posted at the Chatta- hoochee bridge, marched in and occupied the city with- out opposition.
General Hood joined General Hardee at Lovejoy's Station with Stewart's Corps on September 3rd, when his three army corps were again united and posted across the Macon Railroad in a very strong defensive position, confronting General Sherman's army.
The anny was in position fronting south, as follows: the Army of the Cumberland, General Thomas command- ing, on the right; the Army of the Ohio - 23rd Army Corps - General Schofield commanding, on the left; and the Army of the Tennessee, General Howard command- ing, in the center, where the Second Brigade held the key position of the line on the high hill, which General Howard instructed General Harrow to hold to the last in case of assault by the enemy.
Atlanta being the prize fought for in the campaign, and fairly won by the movement and battle at Jones- borough, the army was successfully withdrawn from the lines in front of Lovejoy's, on the night of September 5th, and returned by easy marches to the vicinity of At- lanta, without serious annoyance by the enemy. The withdrawal was commenced at 9 p. m., and attended with much hardship, on account of the Egyptian darkness and the deep mud, caused by the hard rains during the day. The movement was also made difficult, on account of the vigilant watchfulness of the enemy to take advantage of any opportunity to strike a successful blow. It was
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trying and fatiguing for the troops, to stand in line for weary hours, under a hot fire of musketry and artillery and to march through the bottomless mud. The Second Brigade arrived at Jonesborough at 2 a. m., September 6th, and camped in the works built by them in front of the town. General Cockrell's brigade of Missouri Con- federates assailed the rear guard about 8 a. m., south of town, and. after a spirited engagement with small arms and artillery, they were driven away, which practically ended the pursuit.
On the morning of September 7th, the Second Brigade again withdrew from the works, along with the rest of the army, crossed the Flint River and camped for the night at Morrow's mill. The next day the march was continued to East Point, where the troops were formed in line and camped in position to fortify. The Army of the Cumberland was assigned to the city of Atlanta and the Chattahoochee railroad bridge; the Army of the Ohio 23rd Army Corps - to Decatur on the Augusta Rail- road, S miles east of town; and the Army of the Tennes- see to East Point, the junction of the Macon and Mont- gomery railroads, S miles southwest of the city.
The casualties in the Sixth Iowa during the movement around Atlanta were as follows: at Jonesborough, wounded -- Private Asa N. Callahan, Company B, in the left arm. severely; Sergeant Thomas Foster, Company D, slightly : Musician James H. Hobbs, Company D, rifle ball in the elbow, severely ; at Lovejoy's station, killed - Private Alexander R. Savage, Company K; wounded - - Private Joseph Ellis, Company D, in the neck, severely ; Private Charles M. Main, Company D, in the neck, severe- ly; Private Isaac Day, Company F, severely; Corporal John W. Waite, Company G, in the side, severely; Cor-
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poral Norval W. Mckay, Company I, gunshot through right shoulder; total, killed 1, wounded 8; aggregate, 9 men.
From May 5 to September 5, 1864, the Sixth Iowa sustained casualties as follows : killed and died of wounds 45, wounded 126, missing in action 3; aggregate, 174 men. The five regiments composing General Walcutt's Second Brigade, to-wit: 46th Ohio, 40th Illinois, 103rd Illinois, 97th Indiana, and 6th Iowa, sustained casualties as fol- lows : killed, 12 officers and 129 men; wounded, 37 officers and 559 men; missing in action, 15 men; total, 141 killed, wounded 596, missing 15; aggregate, 767 men. 24
General Harrow's Fourth Division lost -- killed, 28 officers and 271 men; wounded, 79 officers and 1429 men ; missing, 10 officers and 150 men; aggregate, 1987 men. General Logan computed the losses in the First, Second and Fourth divisions of the 15th Army Corps, at - killed, 57 officers and 588 men, total 645; wounded, 196 officers and 3271 men, total 3467 ; missing, 32 officers and 614 men, total 646; aggregate, 4758 men. The Army of the Ten- nessee sustained losses as follows : killed, 91 officers and 1357 men, total, 1447; wounded, 365 officers and 6628 men, total 6993; missing 77 officers and 1796 men, total, 1873; aggregate, 10,314 men.
At the beginning of the Atlanta campaign, the effec- tive strength of Sherman's army had been 110,123. This army lost by casualties in battle during the campaign --- killed, 6922; wounded, 25,772; missing, 4810; aggregate,
2+ The official return of casualties during the Atlanta campaign gives the Sixth Iowa losses as follows: killed, 31; wounded, 119; missing, 4; total 154. The Second Brigade losses are given as follows: killed, 143; wounded, 590; missing, 19; total 572. -- War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. XXXVIII, Pt. 3, p. 115.
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37,504 men. 25 The total number of sick and wounded re- ceived and treated in the field hospitals during the cam- paign was 79,920 and of this number only 32,675 returned to duty, showing a permanent loss of 47,245 men, on ac- count of wounds and disease. The army fired 149,670 artillery shots and 22,137,132 rounds of infantry and cavalry [small arms] ammunition.
Summing up the part taken by the Sixth Iowa, Lieu- tenant-Colonel Miller said :
Of the conduct of my officers and men it is unnecessary to speak. They belong to, and they have never disgraced, the Army of the Tennessee.
Brigadier-General Walcutt, who commanded the Sec- ond Brigade throughout the campaign, said:
The brigade has suffered terribly in both officers and men, which shows plainly the hard work they have done. . . Colonel Dickerman, One hundred and third Illinois; Lieuten- ant-Colonel Barnhill, Fortieth Illinois; Major Giesy, Forty- sixth Ohio ; Major Ennis, Sixth Iowa, and Major Heath, Forty- sixth Ohio, all of whom were the very best of officers, were killed while leading their regiments. Lieutenant-Colonel Wright, Major Willison, and Captain Post, One hundred and third Illinois; Lieutenant-Colonel Miller, Sixth Iowa, and Ma- jor Hall, Fortieth Illinois, were each severely wounded while in command of their respective regiments, making in all 10 field officers killed and wounded, while engaged in battle. . All deserve the highest praise for the cheerfulness with which they have performed their part in this arduous campaign.
25 A compilation of the returns of casualties in the three armies under Sherman's command, during the Atlanta campaign gives the following: killed, 5284; wounded, 26,127; missing, 5679; aggregate loss, 37,090. -- War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. XXXVIII, Pt. 1, p. 175, Pt. 2, p. 520, Pt. 3, p. 48.
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General Howard made honorable mention of the corps commanders in the Army of the Tennessee, saying, that, "for patriotic zeal and untiring effort for the success of our cause they are only rivaled by the great body of the officers and soldiers under their command".
The occupation of the city of Atlanta by the Union forces was the successful culmination of the great cam- paign and the troops were justly entitled to the period of rest there provided for them. The camps were pitched about the city in pleasant places, where supplies were furnished and all made comfortable.
XXI THE PURSUIT OF HOOD
After the withdrawal at Lovejoy's, the army returned to the vicinity of the city of Atlanta, where the troops were established in pleasant camps and soon settled down to the quiet routine of daily ceremonies and the dull mo- notony of camp-life. From being under fire almost con- stantly during the four months of the campaign just closed, the habit of groping about in the trenches and behind the breastworks was fixed upon the soldiers' con- duct. Because of a lingering sense of ever present danger, many of the men still caught themselves crouch- ing down close to the ground, while going about attend- ing to the ordinary affairs of the camps.
Large fatigue details from each regiment were kept steadily at work, until the grounds in and about the camps were cleared of every vestige of brush and litter, giving the whole space occupied by the camps the appearance of well kept lawns and public parks. Regimental parade grounds were laid out and graded down smooth in front of each command. The general sanitary condition of the camps and localities was thoroughly and critically in- spected and everything was put in the best possible con- dition, looking to the health and comfort of the troops. Supplies of rations and clothing were issued in abun- dance and the men were soon cleanly shaved, had their hair cut, were washed, and dressed in brand-new cloth- ing.
The Fourth Division headquarters was a bower of
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flowers and evergreen, so skillfully constructed that it was a floral beauty. This was voluntarily made by the soldiers of the command, showing their esteem and re- gard for the division commander, Brigadier-General William Harrow, as well as exhibiting their skill and handiwork. The corps headquarters and many of the brigade and regimental headquarters were artistically arranged and beautifully decorated; but none of them compared with the Fourth Division in elaborate display, beauty of design, and skillful construction.
The mail was received daily from the northern States, and newspapers were plentiful in the camps. The news concerning campaigns on other fields of operations was greatly sought after and especially the pending political campaign for President. That President Lincoln was honest, loyal, and wholly unselfish in the administration of public affairs was steadfastly fixed in the minds of the soldiers of General Sherman's Atlanta army; that he sincerely sympathized with and was the personal friend of every individual soldier in the Union army, they fully believed; that he was free from prejudice in the selec- tion of the army commanders ; and, above all, that he was honestly devoted to the task of suppressing the Rebellion and restoring the Union was their honest conviction.
The candidacy of General George B. McClellan (Little Mack) made a strong appeal to the soldier pride of the men, and many had great confidence in him as a com- mander and as a steadfast patriot. Still they were ad- monished in many ways to stand firm for Old Abe. Chief among the reasons was the endorsement of McClel- lan by the "peace at any price" party in the northern States and the fact that his election was the hope of the soldiers in the Confederate army.
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General Logan, General Blair and many other officers and soldiers in the army who were prominent in political affairs at their homes and good campaigners on the stump, as well as good soldiers, were granted leaves and re- turned to their States, where they entered actively into the campaign until the election in November.
General Sherman's orders requiring all citizens re- maining in the city of Atlanta to move out, giving them the choice of going north or south as they might prefer, was the chief episode of the camps and caused great in- dignation among the residents and in the Confederate army. General Hood, answering General Sherman, said that "the unprecedented measure transcends, in studied and ingenious cruelty, all acts ever before brought to my attention in the dark history of war"; to which General Sherman replied: "Talk thus to the marines, but not to me. . . who will this day make as much sacri- fice for the peace and honor of the South as the best born Southerner among you".
A ten days truce was arranged by General Sherman and General Hood for the purpose of carrying into effect the evacuation orders and for the exchange of prisoners captured during the campaign. There was furnished from each army a guard of 100 men commanded by a field officer, who met at Rough and Ready, six miles south of East Point on the Macon Railroad, where they went into camp and conducted the exchange of prisoners and the transfer of citizens from the city on their way south. Ten Sixth Iowa men served on the detail at Rough and Ready, where they had quite an exciting, but pleasant, experience with a like number of Confederate soldiers, all in the same camp for ten days.
It was during the month, while in camp at East Point,
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that the Army of the Tennessee was reorganized by con- solidating all the troops of the department present with the Atlanta army into the 15th and 17th army corps, the 15th Corps embracing the following commands: infantry - First Division, Brigadier-General Charles R. Woods commanding, 6155 men; Second Division, Brigadier-Gen- eral W. B. Hazen commanding, 5426 men; Third Divi- sion, Brigadier-General John E. Smith commanding, 5653 men; Fourth Division, Brigadier-General John M. Corse commanding, 6100 men; total infantry, 23,334 men and 9 batteries of artillery with 42 guns.
Only the divisions of Woods and Hazen were encamped at East Point, while Smith's division still guarded the railroad north to Chattanooga, and Corse's division had been sent to Rome as a garrison for that important post. By the reorganization, General Harrow's Fourth Divi- sion was broken up and General Walcutt's brigade desig- nated as the Second Brigade of the First Division of the 15th Army Corps. General Harrow was relieved of com- mand in the Army of the Tennessee, but before his de- parture, the officers and men of the command assembled at his headquarters where appropriate addresses were made expressive of the warm sentiments of friendship entertained for him personally and as a commander throughout the division and the army. Each and all ten- dered their good wishes for his future good health and success on other fields. Everything was in the air as to future movements of the army, but it was certain that the Confederate army had changed its position from the Ma- con Railroad to the West Point and Montgomery road west of Atlanta. President Jefferson Davis had visited Hood's army at Palmetto, where he delivered a speech to the army, which aroused great enthusiasm.
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On September 30th, General Howard and General Os- terhaus reviewed the First Division, General Woods commanding, the ceremony being held in the fields and on the open plain near the camps. The three brigades composing the division were formed in line, extending nearly a mile in length and in that posi- tion the command was formally presented and inspected by the commanders, who were attended by a large reti- nue of staff officers in full dress with escort commands, all superbly mounted and gaily caparisoned. The whole cavalcade passed down in front of the line and back in the rear, making a close inspection of the troops and their equipment. When the reviewing party had re- turned to their station the division was formed in column prepared for passing in review, each regiment forming in column of companies, the Sixth Iowa forming with six equalized companies of 40 men each. At the signal by the bugles the column marched around the quadrangular space, passing the reviewing officers, and returned to the same position in line. The ceremony was resplendent with field music and all the display of elegant military trappings, presenting a scene grand and imposing, with 5000 men in line.
Just at the moment the column had completed the marching, General Sherman, accompanied by his wife and daughter in a carriage, arrived on the field and re- quested of the division commander that the troops be marched in review again. Probably there were not more than three or four men then living who could make such a request of that body of valiant soldiers, and have the fatiguing ceremony of marching three miles performed cheerfully, but General Sherman was one who could do it. Every man in the command did his proudest march-
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ing as the column passed the commander of the army, whose kindly acknowledgment and pleasant expression were full compensation for the trying ordeal.
General Sherman was the idol of his army and every man in it had the most implicit confidence in him as com- mander and leader. His soldiers loved him with a de- votion as steadfast as their courage was indomitable and their spirit unconquerable.
Many of the veteran regiments in the Army of the Ten- nessee had served in all the campaigns from the begin- ning under Grant and Sherman, and had been almost con- tinually under fire since Shiloh and Corinth, so that some of them had lost 70 per cent of their number by casualties in battle and disease. Brigades, at the close of the cam- paign, had less than 800 men present for duty. These skeleton organizations were models of military adminis- tration and discipline, with good corporals and sergeants, and competent Lieutenants and Captains, who are just as important for successful military operations as compe- tent Generals.
It seemed like more than their share of the burdens to continue putting these old regiments, with their thinned ranks, into the front rank of the fierce battle. The right policy would have been to fill up the old regiments with the new levies as they were called for so that with a fresh influx of recruits the living would not have felt so perceptibly their great losses. A loss of three or four killed and ten or twelve wounded, in an old regiment dur- ing an engagement, was more distinctively felt by the sur- viving than an equal number from a company was at the beginning of the war, before such warm personal attach- ments had been formed as in the after trials and hard- ships of the service.
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The practicability of such a policy was clearly demon- strated by the experience had in the Sixth Iowa with the recruits who came to the regiment with the returned vet- erans, and who, without previous preparation or drill, were placed in the ranks by the side of the veterans, where they performed full duty from the first day to the last day of the campaign, sustaining fully their propor- tion of casualties.
The northern newspapers received in the camps caused some political enthusiasm, but the sentiment in the army was so nearly unanimous for the reelection of Abraham Lincoln, that organized opposition was not attempted. The three weeks of camp life having sufficed to rest from the labors of the summer campaign, the rumors on Oc- tober 1st, of marching orders, were hailed with delight.
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