USA > Iowa > Monroe County > An illustrated history of Monroe County, Iowa > Part 10
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Battle of Helena, July 4, 1863.
"General B. M. Prentice was in command of all our forces. He had about 3,800 men for duty, behind strong earth-works mounted with good guns. The gun-boat Tyler, Lientenant J. M. Pritchett commanding, was in the river in front of the town. Batteries A, B, C, and D were so located as to favor the defensive and prevent the bringing up of artillery by the enemy. The rebel general Holmes brought 7,646 men to. the attack early on Saturday morning, July 4, 1863. Having arrived within five miles on the morning of the 3d, his front well covered by cavalry, who permitted no one to pass them riverward, he rested his men till midnight, when they were moved to within a mile or so of the outworks, where they halted till daybreak, and then pushed on. Gen- eral Price, with a force of 3,095, assaulted Battery C under a
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withering fire from the Union lines, Fort Curtis, and the gun-boat Tyler. He succeeded in capturing some of our guns, but only for a little time. The fire from our guns was more than could be endured by men alive. Some regiments took refuge behind a church; in an incredibly short space of time that church was lying in splinters over the hillside scene of conflict, and 700 men surrendered to our people and were marched down the river, placed on board of boats, and were on their way to prison at Alton, Illinois, before the bat- · tle was over. The Thirty-sixth took part in the engagement from opening to close. It was in the rifle-pits at Battery A with a reserve, with its line reaching to the Sterling road. 'General Marmaduke was here trying to force his way in.' The Twenty-ninth, Thirty-third, and Thirty-sixth Iowa won their first laurels in battle.
"Hon. John F. Lacey, who was present and saw, says: 'Price's charge with his Missourians was a terrible one.' The hills and ravines were full of his dead and wounded. So it was with Fagan in front of Battery D. The rebel columns came down over the hills during the gray of the morning of that 4th of July. They came with the rebel yell so well known by Union soldiers. Solomon Reynolds, a Thirty-sixth man on picket, was killed by the first volley from the advanc. ing rebel line. When Price took Battery C. swarms of his men ran for Fort Curtis. Instantly all the great guns on the fort and in the Tyler down at the river belched forth their volleys of death, which caused the invaders to 'about face.' Colonel Kittredge led the Thirty-sixth in this battle, and was well pleased with the gallantry of his men and the result of the fight. The enemy retreated to Little Rock. and left their dead to be buried by our men on Sunday, July 5, 1863.
"Holmes admits his total loss at 1,636. General Prentice says: 'We captured 1,100 prisoners and buried nearly 300 rebels, while our loss was less than 250 in all.' The battle lasted from daylight until 11 o'clock. The Thirty-sixth had not eaten breakfast when the long roll sounded, and there was no time to eat till after the battle.
Capture of Little Rock.
"The surrender of Vicksburg and other victories having left General Grant's army unemployed, Major-General Fred Steele was sent to Helena to fit out and lead an army for the capture of Little Rock, Ark. About 6,000 men, with 22 guns,
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left Helena on August 11, 1863, under General Steele, for Little Rock. The weather was very hot and dry, and march- ing was slow and difficult. The sick-list was very large. Those of the Thirty-sixth were sent in charge of Lieutenant D. H. Scott, on a boat, via the mouth of the White River, to Devall's Bluff, and set off on the ground without sufficient tents to shelter them. Captains Varner, of Company A, and Webb, of Company K, were very sick and soon died; at least 1,000 men were on the sick-list when, on August 30th, Steele's forces left White River for Brownsville, which was reached September 1st.
"On the 3d they reached Bayou Metoe, passing over the ground where a fight between our cavalry and the enemy had taken place. Some cavalry men of the First Iowa were killed. Colonel Dan Anderson's horse fell under him and the colonel made a narrow escape. General Davidson, with 6,000 cavalry men and 18 guns, added to our fighting ability very much. The skirmish fighting at Brownsville and Bayou Metoe was by our cavalry and artillery. The enemy had erected a fort on the level land north of the Arkansas River and placed in it men and arms to defend it against the 'Yanks.' Long-handled pike-poles were provided, with sharp iron points, with which to prod men to death. Steele caused the banks of the river to be cut down and a pontoon bridge laid six or eight miles east of the city of Little Rock, and sent several regiments, including some of our Iowa cavalry, across to the south side of the river, thus flanking the fort entirely. The enemy soon found this out and evacu- ated the fort, retreating pell-mell for the city. We had camped the night before at Mill Bayou, from which a forced march began, which ended in the capture of Little Rock. A large Union flag floated from the tall flagstaff on the State- house at 5 o'clock p. m. The fighting, began by the rebel skirmishing parties early in the morning, lasted till nearly sundown. This was on September 10, 1863. The rebels set fire to and partly burned their pontoon bridge over the Arkansas below town, also a boat fitting up for a gun-boat (the Pontchartrain), about six cars, a machine shop, and other public property, and fled en masse from the city in the direction of Arkadelphia. Steele's forces marched into camp, the bands playing 'Yankee Doodle' and the men shout- ing with all their might. Great clouds of dust arose from the tramping of the enemy and our cavalry in pursuit. .
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The sound of our cannon was heard away into the night, while in pursuit. Many old citizens fled along with the rebel army, leaving their houses and other property in the hands of the 'Yanks.' At first the Thirty-sixth went into camp north of the river, and later established permanent quarters for the winter near the State arsenal, southeast of the city. We supported a battery on the north bank of the river, which required much double-quick marching on the 10th, and the men of our command were very tired when night put an end to the contest. We lost no men in battle, but the mortality by sickness was terrible.
"One of the notable events of that winter was the cap- ture and execution of a rebel spy. David O. Dodd, a young man, was caught, tried, and condemned to hang on the Sth of January, 1864. The writer witnessed his execution-a sad sight indeed. He was hung on the campus of St. John's College, Little Rock, the school in which he had received his education. A hollow square of Union troops was formed. into which the wagon containing the condemned man and his coffin and a chaplain was driven, under the gallows. After prayer by the chaplain, at a signal given, the end-gate of the wagon fell, and with it the young man, dangling be- tween earth and sky. One or two shrugs of the shoulders and drawing up of the lower limbs, and all was over. A copy of a letter written by him a short time before may serve to impress the reader with the solemnity of this case.
" 'Military Prison, Little Rock, "'January S, 10 o'clock a.m., 1864.
"'My dear Parents and Sisters,-I was arrested as a spy and tried, and was sentenced to be hung to-day at 3 o'clock. The time is fast approaching, but, thank God! I am not afraid to die. I expect to meet you in heaven. Do not weep for mne, for I will be better off in heaven. I will soon be out of this world of sorrow and trouble. I would like to see you all before I die, but let God's will be done. not ours. I pray God to give you strength to bear your troubles while in this world. I hope God will receive you in heaven. There I will meet you. Mother, I know it will be hard for you to give up your only son, but you must remember it is God's will. Good bye. God will give you strength to bear your troubles. I pray that we may meet in heaven. Good-bye. God will bless you all. Your son and brother.
"'David O. Dodd.'
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Camden Expedition.
"General Steele left Little Rock on March 23, 1864, in command of the Seventh Army Corps, to cooperate with General Banks' Red River expedition. After the first day - out from Little Rock, we had about thirty days' fighting, some times in front -at other times in the rear or on either flank. At Spoonville it began, and Elkins' Ford, Prairie de Ann, Camden, and Mark's Mills were each in turn the scene of conflict. Company K started on this march with 53 men all told. The Thirty-sixth was present and took part in each of these fights. Its loss was inconsiderable until at Mark's Mills; in that fight it had S men killed or mortally wounded. The regiment lost in all 49 killed and the remainder cap- tured; only one or two men escaped. Jonathan Witham, of Company K, was knocked down by a spent ball, and when he became conscious he found himself alone. He walked all the way to the Union lines at Little Rock, hiding in daytime, traveling at night; he was nearly dead when he reached our outside pickets. Lieutenant-Colonel Drake was in com- mand of the brigade, the Forty-third Indiana, Thirty-sixth Towa and Seventy-seventh Ohio, and received a wound in one of his lower limbs above the knee, which seemed mortal. He and all others severely wounded were left behind and finally paroled and exchanged, but those able to march were taken in a southwesterly direction towards Texas.
"The battle occurred on the forenoon of Monday, April 25. 1864; the march to prison began that afternoon, and con- tinned without stopping until sundown Tuesday, when we reached the Washita River. At this point the prisoners were allowed to rest and eat whatever they were fortunate enough to find. The writer snatched an ear of corn from a mule at the roadside, just before stopping; a fire was kindled, some dry sticks burned, and the corn was roasted in the ashes; this, with coffee from grounds in Robert Turner's can, which had been boiled and used Monday morning for breakfast, served for a meal for 'Mess 3.' Chaplain Hare said it was the best coffee he ever tasted. Our marches were kept up until on Sunday, May 15, 1864, the big gate of the prison stockade at Camp Ford, Smith County, Texas, swung wide open to receive the 1,200 or more new men. We were marched into our future home, halted in line, and listened to a speech from Colonel Hill, commander of the camp. Then we sat down, looked about us, and wondered how long we
VIEW OF CAMP FORD PRISON-PEN, NEAR TYLER, TEXAS.
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would have to stay in that horrible place-no shade, shelter, or anything else necessary to our life. We were very hungry and began to hunt for something to eat. The writer paid a one-dollar greenback for one 'pone' of coarse corn- bread. A little latter he sold his blue dress coat for $75, Con- federate money, and bought for that sum nearly seven pounds of flour. Corporal Eads set a can of old-fashioned 'salt-rising,' and with it baked a loaf of bread. In this way we had a little bread. Confederate beef, Texas long-horns, came in about every third day. Weevil-eaten corn, ground into coarse meal on the horse-mill, was dealt out every second day. The ration was one-quarter of a pound of meat and a pint of meal per day.
"On the 23d of July, 1867, Major A. H. Hamilton and Captain John Lambert, of Company K, and Allan W. Miller, of Company C, made their escape. At that time the writer was lying sick under an old gum-blanket, stretched on poles, which served as some protection by day and night. The major came to my bed to say 'good-bye.' Before going, he advised me to make a soldier's will, by leaving word with some of my comrades as to the disposition of my effects at home. He told me I was a very sick man, and might not get well. I thanked him for his advice, but told him I expected to come out of that prison. I never for one moment gave up to die there. If I had, I would in all probability have died there. The three men walked to the west gate and presented a pass to go to the blacksmith shop south of the camp. It seemed to be properly signed and counter- signed, and the guard let them out. From my lowly bed, lying on my side, I watched them go away past headquarters and over the ridge towards the south, out of sight. They had hired a darky to bring some grub to them in the woods, which he did. Lambert was a good blacksmith, and they were carrying two old axes that needed up-setting. The axes were soon left by the roadside and those three men were many days traveling north before they reached the Union lines. Miller and Lambert soon died, but Major Hamilton survives.
"On the night of the 28th a subterranean tunnel was opened through the stockade, by prisoners, and a lot of them escaped. Most of them were brought back, having been caught by blood-hounds. That tunnel was weeks in prepara- tion, having been begun in a shanty many rods from the
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stockade. The dirt was carefully deposited in small quan- tities here and there over the ground, so as not to attract attention. The boys going out made a mistake; they kept passing out until after daylight, and a sentry, seeing them pass ont from the tall weeds and grass as though they had come up out of the earth, fired his gun and raised the alarm.
"On Tuesday, June 21st, from my place in camp, I looked across the narrow depression of the land between us and the rebel headquarters south, and saw a rebel officer flog a colored woman. My attention was drawn by her cries as he laid on the blows across her naked shoulders and back with the cat-o'-nine-tails. I was not brought up an abolitionist, but this sight made one of me. Two or three little children of hers stood partly behind the cabin and saw their mother being beaten, and the little fellows cried too. I also got mad. It was no wonder this country suffered so terribly in the war.
"Along about July 1st, the prisoners began to die very fast. Three died during the night of that day.
"On the 2d some prisoners tried to escape, and the next day the following order was posted upon a board at the meal-box:
"'Headquarters Camp of Federal Prisoners, "'Near Tyler, Texas, July 3, 1864. " 'General Order No. - 一
"'Hereafter, any Federal prisoner detected in trying to make his escape from prison, either in the act or after he has made his escape, will be shot by the one capturing him.
" 'By order of Lt .- Col. J. P. Border. "'B. W. McEachen, " 'Lieutenant and A. A. Adjutant.'
"Camp Ford was an enclosure of possibly 6 acres of land, 4 miles north of Tyler, Smith County, Texas. The stockade was made of half-logs 12 feet in length, 4 feet of same set in the ground. The spring supplying water was in the southwest corner of the stockade. It was fairly good water. Wood for use in cooking and fuel was cut on the lands nearest the camp, and usually carried on the shoulders of men. There were two gates-one in the north, the other at the southwest corner of the camp. The boys of the Thirty-sixth were paroled for exchange in February, and on
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the 15th of that month they bade adieu to Camp Ford forever, and took up their line of march for Shreveport, La. £ At that place they were embarked on board rebel transports, the Nina Sims, Doubloon, and Texas, and reached the mouth of Red River, Louisiana, February 25, 1864, where they were exchanged for a like number of rebels. When we reached the mouth of that crookedest of rivers, the Yankees on board began to yell for joy, and it is the private opinion of the writer that those old Spanish live-oaks on the banks of the Mississippi had not witnessed such noise since they began their tree life. A great big flag floating over the United States gun-boat Tennessee caused the yelling. The Magenta, a large lower-river steamer, came up the river and was drafted into the service to carry the 'boys' to a camp of distribution in New Orleans, which was reached by daylight February 26th. The Louisiana cotton- press camp of distribution furnished good quarters for the squad of 1,500, who went to work getting hair cut, beards trimmed, new clothes, new everything-and in a short time all were ready to go north. Those who had been prisoners were granted prisoners' furlough of thirty days from Cairo, Ill. They came up, enjoyed the fresh air and good victuals in Iowa homes, and returned and rejoined their regiment (that portion of it left at Camden, Ark.) in April, 1864, at Saint Charles, Ark. These escaped Camp Ford, but they were participants in the battle of Junkins' Ferry under Steele on his retreat from Camden.
"The reunited regiment remained on White River, at St. Charles, Devall's Bluff, and at the mouth of the river, doing such duty as came to hand, till August 24, 1865, when they received their discharges and were sent to Davenport, Iowa, and paid off, about September 7, 1865. Colonel Kittredge issued his farewell order, which I copy in closing:
"'Headquarters 36th Iowa Inft., " 'Davenport, Iowa, Sept. 6, 1865. " 'General Orders No. 20.
" 'Officers and Soldiers:
"'Your commanding officer, upon the final discharge of the regiment and its return to civil life, desires to express his admiration of the conduct of both officers and men for the past three years; and to express the hope that in civil
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life all will prove, as heretofore, true men and worthy of the high distinction of being called Iowa soldiers and citizens- and I have no doubt that the new duties devolving upon you will be as promptly and faithfully performed in the future as those of the past have been.
" 'In bidding the command farewell, your commanding officer is happy to express his high appreciation of the meritorious services of the command and his personal knowledge of their individual worth, and trusts that your future may be as happy and prosperous as your past has been arduous and illustrious; and now bids you adieu with heartfelt wishes for your individual happiness and prosperity.'
"The number of men enlisted in the regiment at first was 988; total aggregate, old soldiers and recruits, was 1,240; killed or mortally wounded at Mark's Mills, 49. There had been 280 deaths since organization ; 20 more died soon after discharge; we lost 30 men on the road and at Camp Ford. We started on the Yazoo Pass expedition with 600 men.
"Josiah T. Young,
"Sergeant Co. K, 36th Iowa."
History of the Twenty-second Iowa Infantry.
The Twenty-second Iowa Infantry was organized in 1862, and on the 10th day of June of that year, the regiment, commanded by Colonel Wm. M. Stone, afterwards Governor of Iowa, rendezvoused at Camp Pope in Iowa City. There were seven companies of this regiment organized from Johnson County, one from Jasper, one from Monroe, and one from Wapello County.
The regiment was mustered into the United States ser- vice on the 9th of September, 1862. On the 14th of Septem- ber the regiment was shipped by rail to Davenport. From that point it was transported to St. Louis, on board the steamer Metropolitan. Arriving in St. Louis, the men were assigned quarters at Benton Barracks, and here the regi- ment remained for a week or more. On September 22d the regiment was placed on cars and shipped to Rolla, Mo., where it remained until January 27, 1863, when it was assigned to the army of General Davidson at West Plains, Mo. It was then brigaded with the Twenty-first and Twenty-third Iowa Infantry, the Eighth and Eighteenth Indiana Infantry. and the Eleventh Wisconsin regiments. These regiments
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constituted the First Brigade of the First Division of the Army of Southeast Missouri.
The army, after remaining at West Plains for about two weeks, took up its line of march for Iron Mountain, at which place it arrived on the 26th day of February, 1863. The army remained at Iron Mountain until the 9th day of March, when orders were issued to join General Grant at Vicksburg. The army marched by way of Ste. Genevieve and Milligan's Bend, La. The corps staid on the west bank of the river and remained about two weeks. By the first day of April the entire Army of Southeast Missouri had concentrated their strength at Milligan's Bend, where Grant was making preparations for the Vicksburg campaign. When the troops were concentrated at this point, the Twenty-second Iowa, Eleventh Wisconsin, the Twenty-first and Twenty-third Iowa, constituted the Second Brigade, Fourth Division, Thirteenth Army Corps. General Carr commanded the division, and General McClernand com- manded the corps.
On the morning of the 12th of April, 1863, the brigade proceeded to Richmond, La., where they had a brush with a small body of rebel cavalry, defeating it. The brigade then pushed on to Perkins' Landing to await the arrival of the corps.
A fleet of transports and gun-boats, having succeeded in getting past Vicksburg, arrived in the vicinity of Grand Gulf on the 28th of April. The Thirteenth Corps, having gone on down the river from Milligan's Bend, arrived in the vicinity of Grand Gulf, and were taken on board the assembled transports, with a view to making an assault on the rebel batteries along the river. In front of the trans- ports were the Federal gun-boats, pouring their shot and shell into the rebel batteries. It was a terrific duel, and the troops on board the transports saw it all in plain view. The engagement lasted all the afternoon of the 29th of April, and on the 30th the Union forces passed on down the river and crossed a short distance below. The fleet which engaged the rebel batteries was headed by the gun-boat Benton, and every soldier of the Twenty-second Iowa has a vivid recollection of seeing the white sheets of smoke rolling out over the surface of the river from the gun-boats, followed by the tremendous report of the cannon. Then they saw the batteries on shore, responding with their deafening re-
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tort. They watched the duel all the afternoon. It was a terrible cannonade, but no results of any consequence were achieved, save the dismounting of some of the enemy's guns. The object in taking the troops on board the transports was evidently to use them in a combined attack on the rebel stronghold, but it was soon ascertained that they were too strongly fortified. The troops were landed and marched down the levee, three miles below Grand Gulf, and waited until morning.
During the night the gun-boats and transports suc- ceeded in passing the rebel batteries, and arrived in time to take on board the Thirteenth Army Corps, which had proceeded by land. The corps was transported down the river about sixteen miles below Grand Gulf, near the village of Bruinsburg, Miss., and here it took up its line of march for Port Gibson. In the attack at Port Gibson the Twenty- second Iowa Infantry was placed in the extreme front. The night was dark, and, notwithstanding the uncertainty of firing in the darkness, the enemy poured a steady stream of shot and shell into the ranks of the advancing Union column. The Twenty-second Iowa was joined by the Twenty-first and Twenty-third Iowa Infantry, and the Eleventh Wisconsin Infantry, but before these regiments took position the Eighth and Eighteenth Indiana Infantry were first to follow the Twenty-second in the assault. These regiments, comprising the brigade, were in command of Colonel Wm. M. Stone, of the Twenty-second lowa.
The fight began at about 1 o'clock on the morning of May 1st, when the advancing column was within about three miles from Port Gibson. In the midst of the opening as- sault, the First Iowa Battery had been placed in position and the Twenty-second Infantry was ordered to support it. The rebel line was composed of artillery in front and infantry back of it. After about one hour's fighting, the rebel line was forced back to a stronger position about a half-mile to the rear. At this juncture firing ceased on both sides, on account of the darkness, and the Union forces lay down on the field and slept on their guns until daylight. When day dawned, other regiments had come up and taken their positions in the Union ranks, and the enemy was strongly entrenched on Thompson's HIill. Two companies of the Twenty-second (Company H, Captain Shrader, and Company G, Captain Hawkins) were sent out as skirmishers to feel
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the enemy. The entire brigade followed and then the corps. Up the hill the advancing Federal column swept, like lines of breakers against a reef. The enemy resisted stubbornly for a time, but finally began to relinquish its footing. Then at this stage there arose a series of prolonged cheers from the assaulting columns, which ran along the entire line. The rebels were releasing their grasp like some monster in its death struggles. They finally gave way and broke in con- fusion. Their whole line was thrown into a rout, and they fled in great confusion in the direction of Jackson. The Union forces captured several hundred prisoners and a few pieces of artillery. The rebels, after being pursued three or four miles, re-formed and took up a position on the outskirts of the town, to endeavor to cover the retreat of their panic-stricken army. An artillery duel was kept up for several hours, when the rebel batteries were silenced.
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