USA > Iowa > A history of the Sixth Iowa infantry > Part 33
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On Wednesday, May 24, 1865, at break of day, the col- umns of Sherman's army commenced moving into their designated positions for the march through the capital city and to pass in grand review before the President, the Lieutenant-General, members of the Cabinet, heads of military and civil departments, governors of States, members of Congress, the Diplomatic Corps, and thou- sands upon thousands of citizens assembled from all sec- tions of the country to witness the grand ceremony.
The 15th Army Corps, Major-General John A. Logan commanding, formed on Maryland Avenue in the follow-
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ing order: First Division, Major-General Charles R. Woods commanding; Second Division, Major-General W. B. Hazen commanding; Fourth Division, Major-General John M. Corse commanding; Artillery Brigade, Lieu- tenant-Colonel William H. Ross commanding. The strength in line was 15,000 men and four batteries of ar- tillery of four guns cach.
The First Division took up its position in the street at the north entrance to the capitol grounds formed in the following order: First. Brigade, Brigadier-General William B. Woods commanding; Second Brigade, Brig- adier-General Robert F. Catterson commanding; Third Brigade, Brigadier-General George A. Stone command- ing. The strength was 5000 men in ranks. The divi- sion held the position at the head of the grand column of review.
The troops were formed in column of companies closed in mass, with short intervals between regiments, brigades, and divisions. Companies were equalized, as were the battalions. The artillery formed in rear of the infantry, battery front. During the interval, while the forma- tions were being made, the capitol grounds were made a rendezvous for all the general officers accompanied by a full retinue of staff officers, all superbly mounted and presenting an array of military splendor probably not witnessed more than once in a century. General Sher- man looked superb, and, as he sat on his horse, was peer- less in the eyes of his soldiers.
It was while waiting in the capitol grounds that his daughter appeared with a large wreath of beautiful flow- ers, which she placed on his horse's neck, a touching tri- bute by a charming daughter for a noble father. The act was heartily applauded by all who witnessed it and
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the father made graceful and loving acknowledgment to the daughter, then raising his hat in salute to the men, he said, "This is the nice part of soldiering".
General Sherman's young son was noticed wearing the 15th Army Corps badge, and, asked why he wore that particular one, he answered: "I want to belong to the best corps in the army, and papa says the 15th Army Corps is the best body of soldiers in the world".
The general officers, regimental commanders, and regi- mental colors were all decorated with beautiful floral wreaths - designed and presented by friends of the dif- ferent commands. Great interest had been excited, by the stories told in the newspapers, about the "Bum- mers", a title given to the mounted foragers, and all the assembled thousands were anxious to see them. It took much explanation, on the part of the troops, to convince them that the neat and gentlemanly soldiers there in their presence were the real "Bummers", the only change being that they were dismounted and dressed up for the great ceremonial occasion.
At precisely 9 o'clock a. m., a signal gun was fired by the leading battery, whereupon the head of the column wheeled into Pennsylvania Avenue at the foot of the capi- tol hill, and the army marched in review through Wash- ington City in the following order: Major-General Wil- liam T. Sherman, accompanied by his staff and a large escort of cavalry, formed in sections; Major-General O. O. Howard, with his staff and escort; the First Regiment of Michigan Engineers and the First Regiment of Mis- souri Engineers; the Fifteenth Army Corps, Major-Gen- eral John A. Logan commanding; the Seventeenth Army Corps, Major-General Frank P. Blair commanding; the Army of Georgia, Major-General Henry W. Slocum
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commanding; the Twentieth Army Corps, Major-Gen- eral Joseph A. Mower commanding; and the Fourteenth Army Corps, Major-General Jefferson C. Davis com- manding. The total strength was about 60,000 men.
The troops were supplied with two days rations in haversacks, and marched without knapsacks. Six am- bulances, three abreast, followed each brigade. The pio- neer corps of each division marched with the same front and formation as the infantry, with axes and spades at right-shoulder shift. Drum and fife corps, massed at the head of each brigade, wheeled out of column opposite the reviewing stand, and played while their commands passed. Brass bands continued in the column and played, one at a time, in each division, during the march. Corps and division commanders after passing the re- viewing officer, President Johnson, dismounted, and, ac- companied by one staff officer, took position on the re- viewing stand near the commander of the army, during the period their command was passing, then rejoined their troops.
The colors of each regiment and detachment were un- furled during the entire march, and, on passing the re- viewing officer, made the regulation salute. The troops marched in cadence step, at shoulder arms with bayonets fixed, to the United States Treasury Building, where the guns were brought to right shoulder shift. The column moved down Pennsylvania Avenue, past the re- viewing stand in front of the White House, and thence to the bivouacs selected, by the most convenient routes of march.
Never before had the city contained such an immense crowd of people, drawn from every section throughout the northern States, to witness the grand military pag-
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eant of the returning soldiers. The streets on the line of march had been packed with crowds of anxious human- ity from early morning. Public and private buildings, stands for State delegations, and huge banners stretch- ing across the streets, were all inscribed with words of welcome or with patriotic mottoes. Banners, naming the principal battles, were displayed, thus: "Donelson", "Shiloh", "Corinth", "Vicksburg", "Lookout Moun- tain", "Missionary Ridge", "Atlanta", "Savannah", "Columbia", and "Raleigh". The greeting tendered to General Sherman and his army was a continuous demonstration of cheering and waving of flags. Amid the roar of artillery, the playing bands, and shouts of the great multitude, the veteran troops -- every man with head erect and proud as his commanding general - marched in perfect alignment, elbow to elbow, tramp! tramp! tramp! - until the reviewing stand was passed, when route step was taken and the march made in a leisurely manner to the camp at Piney Wood Hotel, near the race track, north of the city.
The Sixth Iowa, Lieutenant-Colonel William H. Clune commanding, with 219 men, rank and file, present marched in the column of the Second Brigade, formed in column of divisions closed in mass, reducing the space occupied by the command to very small proportions. Every one who lived to participate in that last grand ceremony will never forget the sensations of patriotic pride he enjoyed, while witnessing the marching columns of the 15th Army Corps, that filled the avenue, and, General Sherman at the head of the column, turning at the Treasury Building, thence sweeping up the broad street to the reviewing stand, erected on the White House grounds, where they were greeted by the President, Gen-
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eral Grant, and all the distinguished officers of the gov- ernment, civil and military, There was no position in that column so humble but that it was filled by a hero.
Iowa was conspicuous in the column, being represented in the First Division, 15th Army Corps, by the Fourth, Sixth, Ninth, Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth, Thirtieth, and Thirty-first regiments of infantry; in the Second Di- vision, by the Tenth and Seventeenth regiments of in- fantry; in the Fourth Division, by General Corse com- manding the division, and by the Second, Seventh, and Thirty-ninth regiments of infantry; in the 17th Army Corps, by the Crocker Brigade, composed of the Eleventh, Thirteenth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth regiments of infan- try. Each one of these regiments was heartily greeted by the people occupying the Iowa stand at the south end of the Treasury Building.
It was late in the afternoon when the last command of the 14th Corps had passed, more than six hours being re- quired for the whole column to pass the reviewing stand. Never before nor since has there been witnessed in this country such a grand and imposing military demonstra- tion, as that made by the armies of General Meade and General Sherman in the capital city in May, 1865.
XXIX HOMEWARD MARCH: MUSTER OUT
The next day after the review a refreshing rain set in and continued for twenty-four hours cooling the heated atmosphere and laying the stifling dust. The troops were encamped in regular order in camps established in a pleasant suburb of the capital city; the routine of camp duties was taken under strict police order, which was faithfully enforced by heavy details for camp and patrol guards.
All field and staff officers, and company officers, with their clerks, were at once busily engaged at making up the long delayed quartermaster and ordnance returns, reports of campaigns, and the muster and payrolls for their commands. The opportunity and convenience for performing such necessary clerical duties had been very limited during the past year, and many of the officers were woefully in arrears with their property and ord- nance returns.
There was a fixed and justified belief in the minds of the men in Sherman's army that a wanton injustice had been done the commander of the army by officials of the government high in authority, led by General Halleck and the Honorable E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War, concerning the negotiations for the surrender of John- ston's army at Raleigh, North Carolina. The men, like their commander, felt the sting of humiliation inflicted by the unjust aspersions and insult, cast upon the good name and character of the commander and the army, and
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were quick to resent any chaffing indulged in by soldiers from other commands. A few altercations of small con- sequence had occurred in the city, probably between tipsy soldiers, which were reported to the police and military authorities in the city. These reports being grossly magnified caused unofficial correspondence be- tween General Grant and his best trusted subordinate. General Sherman defended the good name and conduct of his men, as follows:
I was on the streets until midnight, and assure you I never saw more order and quiet prevailing. I had also, during yes- terday, ridden all through the camps and observed no signs of riot and drunkenness, and believe I may assure you that there is no danger whatever that the men we know so well, and have trusted so often, will be guilty of any acts of public impro- priety.
Time's cooling influence and the logic of events have verified the truth, so often asserted at the time, that the great generals and leaders of the armies, on both sides, were honest, unselfish soldiers, imbued with the highest ideals of true patriotism, truly loyal to the principles of an American Republic, and devoted to the best interest and welfare of all the people in all the land. They were safer and better qualified to dictate the terms and condi- tions for peace, than were those who assumed that ex- clusive prerogative -men who had trained all their lives as politicians, many of whom were influenced in their official acts solely by selfish gain and political pre- ferment. The acts and deportment of Grant and Lee, and Sherman and Johnston, in the closing scenes of the war, will be honored and revered by a nation of patriotic and united people, so long as honesty and patriotism, moral courage and Christian devotion are recognized as the highest qualities of human character.
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Orders were soon published directing the immediate muster out of all troops in the command, whose term of service would expire during the next thirty or sixty days, and ordering the rest of the army to Louisville, Kentucky, so that nothing else occurred on account of "Sherman's Bummers" to disturb the peaceful serenity of the capital city and its police regulations.
Each day a limited number of passes was granted to the officers and men of each regiment, to visit the city and view the government buildings, departments, and in- stitutions. These passes had to be countersigned at all the headquarters, from the regiment to the Army of the Tennessee, and then approved at the provost headquar- ters and War Department, in the city.
Many changes in commanders occurred while at Wash- ington, among them being the assignment of General Lo- gan to the command of the Army of the Tennessee, and General Hazen to the command of the 15th Army Corps.
Pursuant to General Orders 94, Adjutant-General's Office, dated May 15, 1865, enlisted men of the 25th and 30th Iowa Infantry Volunteers, whose terms of service would expire subsequent to October 1, 1865, were, on May 30, 1865, transferred to the Sixth Iowa Veteran In- fantry Volunteers.
On May 31st, the First Division of the 15th Army Corps broke camp at 5 o'clock a. m., and marched down through the city in the order of the First, Second, and Third brigades, to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad de- pot, where it boarded the cars, pursuant to the orders for. the Army of the Tennessee to proceed to Louisville, Ken- tucky. The trains pulled out of the depot with the Sec- ond Brigade at 10 a. m., made up entirely of freight and stock cars, which, when loaded, were packed inside and on top with men, affording very cramped and uncomfort-
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able quarters, but far better than floundering through the swamps and over the corduroy roads in South Caro- lina.
The trip across the Allegheny Mountains at that par- ticular season of the year, when all the picturesque scenery of that mountain region was decked in its most charming beauty, was highly interesting, pleasurable, and greatly enjoyed by all. Every foot of the railroad was then historic ground, having been destroyed by both armies and rebuilt several times, and the principal towns en route - Harper's Ferry, Martinsburg, Cumberland, Grafton, and Piedmont - were all points of interest, for they had been the scene of stirring events during the pro- gress of the war.
June 2nd, at 10 a. m., the trains arrived with the com- mand at the depot in Parkersburg, where the troops left the cars, marched through the city to the levee on the Ohio River, where the Sixth Iowa was embarked on board the little steamer "Navigator". The whole fleet of steamers carrying 7000 men, the first installment of Sher- man's army on its homeward march, cast loose and start- ed down the river just as the sun was going down behind the rugged hills, on the Ohio shore. Blennerhassett's Island, associated with tragic events in the early history of the locality, was passed in the twilight of the evening, after which the men spread their blankets on the decks of the smooth gliding steamer, where, in pleasant dreams, they forgot the long and tiresome ride, in the box-cars, over the mountains. The steamers pursued their wind- ing course down the river during the night and at the dawn of a beautiful day the men were up to enjoy the scenery along the shores of the prettiest river in Ameri- ca.
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Every house in sight from the river displayed flags and the people, assembled along the shores of the river, cheered the boats as they passed by. Large crowds of people were gathered at the towns, where salutes were fired, bands played, and the whole populace cheered and snouted a welcome to the returning army, the men who had cut through and encompassed the Confederacy.
Many exciting and pleasing incidents occurred during the passage, but none that elicited such hearty cheers from the men as three young women, who appeared on the levee at an Ohio hamlet, dressed to represent the colors, red, white, and blue. The first appeared and took a position in plain view attired entirely in red, the second in white, and the third in blue, and, standing with locked arms, they presented a living picture of patriotism. The incident aroused the enthusiasm of the men to the highest pitch.
The "Navigator", with the rest of the thirty steamers, composing the fleet, kept its place in the column, each boat following the other in line at short intervals, pre- serving the same order as the regiments marching in column.
The fleet arrived at the city of Cincinnati at 11:50 p. m., where the boats landed for a short time and then pro- ceeded down the river to the city of Louisville, Kentucky. The troops disembarked during the day and at evening en- camped above the city near the water-works. Not much effort was made at fixing up a camp, but the great and absorbing question put by everyone, was, "When will the troops be mustered out ?"
A flutter of excitement was caused throughout the camps by a seemingly well authenticated rumor that the Army of the Tennessee would be sent to Texas to pre-
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serve order in that turbulent section, and to have an eye on the French army in Old Mexico. Much as the move- ment promised of excitement and adventure, scarcely a man expressed a desire to go or to remain in the service.
After campaigning for more than a year through the South and participating in the most stirring events of the war, the men of the Sixth Iowa were back again in the thrifty city of Louisville, where they had been in May, 1864, en route to the front, after having spent thirty days at home on veteran furlough.
In anticipation of the coming of Sherman's army to camp in and about the city, dealers in all sorts of goods rushed in and added to the resident merchants and trad- ers, so that the town was a bazaar of beauty and traffic. All places of amusement were open, with bills advertis- ing the best talent in the country, and the soldiers went nightly and packed the houses. Visitors by the thousand flocked to the city, from far and near, to meet their rela- tives and friends in the army.
The army paymaster was soon abroad in the camps, and, on June 13th, the Sixth Iowa received six months pay. The weather was excessively hot, the thermome- ter registering from 90 to 101 degrees during the month of June, which was only relieved by refreshing rains at the end of the month. On June 30th, the troops were mustered for pay for the months of May and June, and the rolls were made up to date. The muster being passed many of the men took "French leave" and visited their homes, while the army was lying idle in camp.
Despite the delays and frequent disappointments, on July Sth, orders were read on parade for the immediate muster out of the veterans in the Army of the Tennessee, to the inexpressible delight of all. The clerical work of
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making up the final property and ordnance returns, and the muster out rolls was entered into with spirit and en- ergy by officers and detailed clerks. The fact that they were the last and final reports to be made inspired more than the usual vigor in the prosecution of the work.
July 17th was hailed as the fourth anniversary of the regiment's muster into the service, but was not celebrat- ed by any organized demonstration in the command. It was, however, adopted as an opportune time for a re- counting of the services performed, the scenes and in- cidents, the long and exhausting campaigns, the dreary winter camps, and the many battles and skirmishes, par- ticipated in during the four years that had elapsed since the muster into service at Burlington, Iowa.
With pleasant anticipations of an early departure for home, officers and men would gather about the campfires at evening, where war songs were sung, reminiscences of pleasures and hardships related. Stories were told of the early service at Athens on the Des Moines River, where Colonel McDowell, with parental affection for the men, directed them to take off their shoes and socks be- fore wading the river at the shallow ford, with the enemy in plain view on the hills in Missouri. There were re- called the pleasant days spent in La Fayette Park at St. Louis; the fruitless march to Springfield, Missouri; the cold and dreary camp at Sedalia, celebrated for sole- leather pies; the bleak camp on the river bluff at La Mine bridge, with the thermometer registering ten de- grees below zero; the morning prayers, with the men in line at daybreak; the winter march to Tipton and the camp pitched on the snow and frozen ground; and the glad farewell to Missouri and the trip to Shiloh on board the splendid river steamer "Crescent City". The men
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again lived through the battle of Shiloh, the siege of Corinth, and the march to Memphis and the long tour of garrison duty in that city; the "Yockney" campaign in North Mississippi; and the long winter camp at Grand Junction - the darkest period of the war.
The story was again told of the campaigning in Miss- issippi, mounted on mules; of the trip down the Missis- sippi River to Vicksburg, fighting in the Big Black River swamps and the assaults on the breastworks at Jackson; of the journey back up the river and the fatiguing march from Memphis to Chattanooga and the battle of Miss- ionary Ridge; of the relief expedition to Knoxville, amid the frost and ice of winter; and of the return march in December to North Alabama and the winter camp in that pleasant region.
The men recalled their reenlistment and veteran fur- lough to Iowa; the Atlanta campaign with its one hundred and twenty days of incessant battle and skirmish; the chase back north after Hood; the march to the sea and the fierce little battle of Griswoldville, where the Second Brigade did the fighting and received the glory; fair Savannah and the trip on the old ocean; the South Caro- lina swamps and the holocaust at Columbia; Bentonville, Raleigh, and the surrender. They told of the march from Raleigh to Washington, through Richmond and over the great battlefields in Virginia; and of the grand review in Washington and the homeward march. All the events were rehearsed over and over, detailing hundreds of in- cidents then fresh in the memory of their young manhood, covering operations in a vast territory, and fraught with battle incidents, which, could they have been preserved in their modest simplicity and truthfulness, would make invaluable additions to the history of the war.
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Farewell addresses, by army and corps commanders were read to the troops at parade and distributed about the camps in printed form. The distinguishing feature of these was the highly eulogistic and intensely patri- otic sentiments expressed. Any veteran is entitled to be proud to say, "I belong to the Army of the Tennessee", which was organized and commanded by the two great generals produced by the war- Grant and Sherman. This is shown by General Logan's Farewell Address, which was as follows:
Headquarters Army of the Tennessee, Louisville, Ky., July 13, 1865. Officers and Soldiers of the Army of the Tennessee :
The profound gratification I feel in being authorized to re- lease you from the onerous obligations of the camp, and return you laden with laurels, to homes where warm hearts wait to welcome you, is somewhat imbittered by the painful reflection that I am sundering the ties that trials have made true, time made tender, sufferings made sacred, perils made proud, heroism made honorable, and fame made forever fearless of the future. It is no common occasion that demands the disbandment of a military organization, before the resistless power of which moun- tains bristling with bayonets have bowed, cities have surren- dered, and millions of brave men have been conquered. Al- though I have been but a short period your commander, we are not strangers; affections have sprung up between us during the long years of doubt, gloom, and carnage, which we have passed through together, nurtured by common perils, sufferings, and sacrifices, and riveted by the memories of gallant comrades whose bones repose beneath the sod of a hundred battle-fields, which neither time nor distance will weaken or efface. The many marches that you have made, the dangers you have de- spised, the haughtiness you have humbled, the duties you have discharged, the glory you have gained, the destiny you have discovered for the country for whose cause you have con-
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quered, all recur at this moment in all the vividness that marked the scenes through which we have just passed. From the pens of the ablest historians of the land, daily are drifting out on the current of time, page upon page, volume upon volume of your heroic deeds, which, floating down to future generations, will inspire the student of history with admiration, the patriotic American with veneration for his ancestors, and the lover of republican liberty with gratitude for those who, in a fresh bap- tism of blood, reconsecrated the powers and energies of the Republic to the cause of constitutional freedom.
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