USA > Iowa > Buchanan County > History of Buchanan County, Iowa, with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 46
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The rebels laid every possible obstruction in our way-felled all the timber they could across our path, and did all in their power to annoy us. But thanks to a kind providence we are now near civilization. We are out of the wilderness, and strange as it may seem, the men are in excellent health and spirits. Only one death has occurred, and that from sunstroke, and but few seem to be any worse for the rough march. Sergeant Curtis arrived here yesterday, so that we heard from home once more. All the men of our company are well or on the gain. King is getting quite strong; Rich is also gaining fast; Cates has been unwell, but is much better. W. C. Gillian arrived yesterday, and tells us that Lukey and Rouse are at Helena.
LETTER NO. LXVIII.
CAMP NEAR COURTLAND, ALABAMA, July 30, 1862.
FRIEND RICH :- The monotony of camp life, under the most favor- able circumstances, soon becomes irksome. An inglorious rest of five weeks succeeded our unsuccessful pursuit of the enemy from Corinth. We did not need it, and were restless under it; although we tried to persuade ourselves that it would be impossible for us to operate effect- ively against the enemy during the heats of July and August. General Halleck's movement against Corinth was not exhaustive, reports to the contrary notwithstanding. The trench digging probably killed nobody, and surely the fighting was not like that before Richmond. As for our regiment, we were more inclined to fight, on the fourteenth day of June, when we went into camp at Big Springs, Mississippi, than ever before, and we rested uneasily under our oak shades until the order was received on the nineteenth instant, to prepare for a march.
There has been much anxiety at the north to know the effect of the extreme heat of this latitude upon our soldiers. It has been generally supposed that it would be impossible for them to manifest much energy before the cooler days of autumn; but the recent movements of Mitch- ell, Buell, and others, prove quite the contrary. It is my opinion that active operations, properly managed, are more conducive to the health of the army, even in this latitude, than is inactivity in the camp, This was most strikingly exhibited on our march to and from Springfield, Missouri, last fall. We had the most favorable weather, but the com- mander of our regiment foolishly and boyishly drove us into racing with the regiments with which we were immediately connected. The result was, we attained the reputation of being the fastest walkers on the road, but at the dear cost of loss of health to many a poor fellow who would otherwise have been this day an efficient soldier. It was not the distance marched, but the manner of marching it, that pro- duced such unhappy results. The want of judgment manifested by some of our supposed efficient generals, in these matters, is quite astonishing. We were ordered, and wiscly, to start at half-past five o'clock A. M., of the twenty-first instant. Our preparations were made accordingly, and at the appointed hour we were ready; but, for some unaccountable reason, we did not hear the command, impatiently waited for, "fall into line," until about 9 o'clock. The force consisted of two brigades-nine regiments and two batteries-constituting the first division of the "army of the Mississippi." The weather was exceedingly warm, and the delay in starting threw our march into the heat of the day. The consequence was the loss, from the Tenth and Fourteenth Michigan regiments, of six men, who were overcome by heat before I o'clock P. M. At that hour we had made eight miles, and were all, ready to 'give out." Halting till 5 o'clock, we proceeded four miles further, and camped for the night. Had we started at the hour indicated in the first order, those victims of a lack of energy would have been spared-our troops would have marched from 5 till 9 A. M., rested till 5, and completed the day's work in the cool of the evening. On the second day we marched very slowly, resting during the heat of the day, and reaching Iuka, a pleasant summer resort, four miles west of the Alabama line, before dark. We were becoming rapidly accustomed to the heat, so that, on the twenty-fourth, we made twenty-two miles, much easier than we had the first eight of the march. We were now four miles from Tuscumbia, Alabama, a fine town on the Memphis & Charleston railroad. We had passed from a Missis- sippi wilderness to the beautiful valley of the Tennessee. Around us was a beautiful undulating country, ornamented with the elegant resi- dences of the rich planters. Evidences of former prosperity were everywhere visible; but how sadly has war changed the face of the loveliest landscapes! Immense cotton fields on every hand lie fallow-
corn has dethroned the old king; but he wields the scepter with a feeble, trembling hand.
The next day we entered Tuscumbia. Quite a number of troops were already quartered here, and more were left from our division. Activity prevailed, but it was the activity of war. About noon news came that a band of guerillas had torn up the railroad track and burned one of the bridges between Tuscumbia and Decatur, capturing and dispersing our small guard at the bridge. The non-arrival of the eastern train confirmed the rumor, and our regiment was put aboard a train, and sent to hold the doughty warriors in check. An additional force of infantry and cavalry was dispatched at twelve o'clock the same night to assist in scattering the guerrillas, who were of course already, after their manner of warfare, well out of harms way. They accom- plished their object, in obstructing communication, but did not choose to wait for the superior force they knew would soon be upon them. They make a brilliant dash, working perhaps immense injury, and are quickly off to their mountain retreats, where it is vain to follow. To end this kind of warfare, we need a vastly increased force, and a vastly improved policy. We are altogether too amiable. The rebels laugh at us-we should make them fear us.
We are now stationed at the burned bridge, near the village of Courtland, twenty-six miles east of Tuscumbia. The feeling, in this part of Alabama, is intensely southern. In Courtland, but one man is known to profess union sympathies, and his life has long hung upon a thread. One planter, whose estate lies near the bridge, professed attachment to the old flag, and has offered his ne- groes, to the number of sixty, to assist in throwing up defenses. Rec- ollect this is northern Alabama, said to be so strongly union in senti- ment.
Now let us look a little at our management here. The guerillas have in the mountains, fifteen miles south, a force of some twelve thousand, There is also a regular force of ten thousand. There is nothing between them and this railroad, but our pickets. There are numerous bridges to be guarded, and our forces are cut up into de- tachments, one of which is stationed at every important bridge. The consequence of such rashness is exemplified in the capture of the force recently stationed at this point. They can quite safely capture us by squads.
We have chosen our positions and are hastily fortifying them, work- ing day and night. It is really wearing ont our men. The work be- fore Corinth was poetry in comparison. And yet, here are thousands of negroes to be had by simply taking them, and an abundance of sub- sistance throughout the country to support them. We might easily have had three hundred negroes at work on the very day of our arri- val. But no, the commandant of this post, Colonel Harrington, of the Twenty-seventh Illinois, could not think of the thing. We must not harm the enemy, even in feelings-He might not like it, should we use his negroes, so we kill off our own men as rapidly as possible, and in addition, considerately guard every secesh well, orchard, cornfield, and onion patch ; make, forsooth, this war a humbug and farce: We guard a rebel henroost at night, and, in the morning, receive a jeer, a curse, or a bullet, for our pains. The army is becoming sick of such tomfoolery. We do not wish to harm the innocent ; we would protect the helpless wife and children of the guilty rebel ; but we would de- prive him of everything that could possibly aid him in waging war against us. Bitter and more bitter grow the feelings of the soldier, as he plods along the dusty highways, thirsty and hungry, to find union bayonets thrust in his face as he seeks a drink of cold water at the first well, or ventures to take a ripe, luscious peach from an orchard of a thousand trees. Perchance he questions the negro, grinning hard by, as to the whereabouts of his master, the owner of these touch-me-nots. "O! Massa, he be wid de seceshers in de mountain ; missus say he soon clar out dese nasty Yankees." And these bayonets ale to guard his property ! Would not your blood boil? This milk-and-water pol- icy is rapidly making a milk-and-water army of our once spirited and enthusiastic soldiers.
J. L. LOOMIS.
LETTER NO. LXIX.
FROM THE FIFTH.
CAMP NEAR CORINTH, July 28, 1862.
FRIEND RICH :- I am about to break the long silence which has ex- isted between us and inflict on your readers another of those intermin- able letters. If the prodigies of valor displayed by the Fifth, during their memorable campaign with the musquitos, fleas, and bugs of every conceivable shape and color indiginous in this part of Dixie, have of jate been unrecorded, I can only say I am sorry. But so great has
166
HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.
been the heat, provoking a listless languor and laziness, impossible to resist (the more especially as the numerous specimens of animated na- ture effectually prevent the closing of our eyes at night), that to write a letter has been a task of no mean magnitude. The only thing a per- son can do in this latitude, with any considerable degree of success, is sleeping. As soon as coffee is swallowed in the morning the soldier, if not on duty, procures a paper, and turns into his bunk for a comforta- ble season. The telegraphic dispatches are hastily glanced over; the letters from our "Special Correspondent " read, and he is just ready to dip into a lengthy editorial on the " state of the country," or the "policy of the Government," or of some of the commanders of departments; when, all at once, the hand that held the paper forgets its office. the eyes close, and a snore of tremendous volume proclaims the fact that the ar- dent disciple of Mars, is fast asleep. Mid wars and rumors of wars, with a generous supply of hard bread in the larder, or on short rations, with a plethoric purse or "nary rel," with a letter in his waistcoat pocket conveying the blest assurance that his sweetheart is faithful to him or keeping company with another chap, it is all the same. He will sleep on perfectly oblivious of all external things, until the orderly sergeant arouses to answer roll call; and, failing to shake off the drowsy influence in time to appear, he will get stuck on double duty.
That part of the army of the Mississippi, until lately under the com- mand of General Pope, is now camped four miles south of Corinth' near a small stream called Clear creek. The ground is admirably suited for a summer cantonment, there being high ridges covered with a fine pine and other forest trees, which afford a grateful shade, while good, pure spring water is found in abundance. New England herself can- not show anything to excel these springs. They gush forth from the base of the bluffs and ripple through the cool ravines with their silvery music, now hiding beneath the dense foliage of myrtle and interlacing vines, and now gleaming through the interstices of the leaves like molten silver. A large tank, or reservoir, has been built over the fountain head, and a spont inserted, through which all the water is con- ducted into an aqueduct below. It is quite a sight to stand here and view the crowds that come "hither to draw." First comes the sturdy volunteer, smoking his pipe of sweet brier, and bearing a miscellaneous assortment of canteens, mess kettles, coffee pots, etc., etc., which he has probably come the distance of a mile to fill. Here is a sweaty, dirty, ragged, mule driver, who drinks and drinks as though he never could get enough, vowing meanwhile that it is "just the nicest water old Adam ever brewed." Next comes a stout, dumpy daughter of Ham, bearing on her head a large washtub, and followed by a group of pica- ninies, whose black skins glisten in the sun-the cunningest looking urchins in the world. The mother makes a reverential curtesy to the soldiers, and asks if they wouldn't be "jis kind enuf to let her have some water to rinse with. '
The troops have recently been paid off, and are now luxuriating on the good things the sutlers' shops afford. Strawberries and pine apples one dollar and twenty-five cents per can, meet with a ready sale. Or- anges, lemons, and dried fruits sell by the wholesale, while through all the camps extempore peddlers are vending pies, candy, and buckets full of lemonade. It would seem as though the whole western army had given themselves up to feasting and merriment. All that the soldier ever dreamed of in his wildest flights of fancy, can be procured at Corinth, with the exception of strong drinks, which, much to his grief, has been vigorously interdicted.
General Rosecrans, our present division commander, is render- ing himself quite popular, and his administrative capacity is un- questioned. As yet sickness has not prevailed among the troops to an alarming extent, and the report that is circulating in Iowa, to the effect that the Fifth regiment has but three hundred men fit for duty is a great mistake. I think there never has been less than five hundred men who were ready to take up the line of march. The most rigid sanitary measures are pursued to guard against contagious diseases, and but slight fear is entertained of a visit from his saffron- colored majesty.
Yesterday the quiet of our camp was disturbed by the cheering intelli- gence that Bragg, with an army of sixty thousand, was marching upon us. Two deserters who came within the lines of the Seventeenth Wis- consin, brought the news-and it may be perfectly reliable. Whether a demonstration is made upon us here, depends very much upon their success in Virginia. The appointment of General Halleck to the com- mand of all the land forces of the United States gives universal satis- faction here, while the recent acts of Congress, discarding the conserv- ative policy that has been pursued, is cheering. It remains to be seen whether the generals in the field will come fully up to the letter and spirit of their instructions. C. J. R.
LETTER NO. LXX.
A proud day for the Ninth was that on which the presentation to the regiment of a splendid stand of colors, by the ladies of Boston, Massachusetts, for gallant conduct at Pea Ridge was made.
CAMP OF THE NINTH IOWA, HELENA, ARKANSAS, Angust 3, 1862. 5 1
FRIEND RICH :- To-day has been a proud and glorious time for the Iowa Ninth. At 2 o'clock this afternoon we were called into line, not to fight, but to receive one of the finest stands of regimental colors in the army of the southwest, presented to us by the ladies of Boston, Massachusetts. The regimental flag is of white silk on one side and crimson on the other. On the white side is beautifully inscribed, in gold letters, "Pea Ridge, Arkansas, March 7 and 8, 1862." In the centre held by two greyhounds, is the scroll with the words, "lowa Greyhounds." This is over the eagle, which is in the centre of the flag with the lowa coat-of-arms; all of which is encircled with a beautiful gold border. On the opposite side, handsomely embellished in gold letters, are the words, " From Your Countrywomen of Massa- chusetts, " with the coat-of-arms of the old Bay State, and the words "l'ea Ridge" again inscribed on the field, under the coat-of-arms, and surrounded by the same border as on the opposite side. On the flag- staff is a fine gold-bronzed eagle, with a splendid gold tassel in his beak. The staff is so arranged that the flag can be detached by a spring, and folded in a moment, making it very convenient when neces- sary to dispose of it in a hurry. The other is the national flag, with its blue field, and its broad stripes ; one large star in the centre of the field, encircled by thirty-four in a gold ring, or border, and the words "Pea Ridge, March 7 and 8, 1862," inside the circle ; the flagstaff and tassel the same as the other.
The color guard is composed of eight corporals and one sergeant, and is placed on the left of the right centre, forming on the left of company C. Sergeant Charles Curtis, of company C, is the color sergeant ; the eorporals are taken one from each company. Need 1 tell you that we were proud when those beautiful flags were unfurled to the breeze, to be carried forward to victory by the lowa Ninth? If you could have seen those patriotic tears roll down the cheeks of our brave boys, while our noble colonel, with a heart almost too full for utter- ance, was replying to the patriotic sentiments of the mothers and sisters of Massachusetts-a copy of which I enclose, with the reply -- you would jom with me in saying the flag is in safe hands.
We are ready to march somewhere, perhaps to Little Rock. The loyal men of Arkansas are coming out every day and joining the Union army. A L'nion man cannot live in the foul air of treason ; he is driven from his home. How can a traitor live in the patriotic air of Towa ? Will some one tell us?
Yours truly, R. W. W.
ADDRESS OF THE LADIES.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, July 10, 1862.
OUR COUNTRYMEN, SOLDIERS OF THE NINTH IOWA VOLUN- TEERS :- We desire to present you with these our national colors, as an evidence of our interest in you as soldiers of the Union, and a token of our grateful admiration for the valor and heroism displayed by you on the memorable field of Pea Ridge.
We greet you not as strangers, but as true and loyal friends ; for though but one of your number is personally known to us in far off Massachusetts, our hearts have followed you with prayer, and with a hopeful expectation of being gladdened by your success.
We have anxiously waited for tidings of you from those early Sep- tember days when you were first assembled at Camp Union, to the cold, dark days of the late winter ; and although the order onward was long delayed, yet when it came, so readily did you obey it, that we found it no easy task, even in imagination, to keep up with the "double quick " of the Iowa greyhounds. The memory of the patient devo- tion with which you have unflinchingly borne toil, fatigue, hunger and privation, and the recollection of your brave and gallant deeds on the seventh and eighth of March, 1862, will long be treasured in our hearts ; and although we think with sorrow of the sad price of such a victory, and the unbidden tears must flow at the thought of the brave hearts now stilled forever, yet we feel a pride in the consciousness that her noble sons feel no sacrifice too great for their old and beloved country.
God bless the Union ! God bless you and all soldiers of the Union armies, is the fervent prayer of your countrywomen in Massachusetts.
167
HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.
COLONEL VANDEVER'S ADDRESS ON PRESENTING AND UN- FURLING THE FLAG.
OFFICERS AND MEN :- I unfold before you to-day a stand of colors, presented by your countrywomen of Massachusetts. It is our county's standard, with the arms of Massachusetts and Iowa combined. The east and the west embrace that proud old flag, resolved at every hazard, and every cost to maintain it as an emblem of an undivided nationality, against foes without and traitors within.
Why this regiment, among the many who have rendered distin- guished services upon the battle fields of the west, should be chosen as the recipient of so noble and generous a testimonial, I know not, but this I know, that no other could more highly appreciate the honor of such a choice. From that noble commonwealth has sprung many martyrs, heroes and statesmen, whose deeds shed imperishable luster upon the American name. Their example we will ever emulate. While we all cherish, in grateful remembrance, the thought that the daugh- ters of such sires have deemed us not unworthy of their tokens of ap- proval, many of you remember with tenderest emotions the kindred of the old Bay State. Here is a kind offering from home, to remind you of the stock from which we sprung. In this noble struggle, men of every State and clime, have mothers and sisters speaking heroic words of cheer to animate and strengthen the soldier in the path of duty and peril. Thus encouraged, let your resolve be, that by the help of God, no traitor's band, raised to dull the luster of this flag, shall prosper. This resolution, abiding in the hearts of sire and son, our country shall live and prosper so long as the granite foundations of the old Plymouth State shall endure, or the floods of the west flow to the ocean. Upon the folds of this flag is inscribed an allusion to your heroic deeds on the seventh and eighth of March, 1862. Of the small band of five hundred and sixty-six of this regiment, that marched so boldly to bat- tle, two hundred and thirty-nine lay dead or wounded on the field, at the close of the contest ; nor shall it be forgotten that on the day pre- ceding the battle, you performed a march of forty miles between day- light and dark to reach the field of anticipated strife. To you and to Colonel Phelps' Missouri regiment, comrades on the march, and to Captain Hayden's battery, was the post of honor assigned on the morning of the seventh, at the Elkhorn Tavern. There, amid a terri- ble fire from greatly superior numbers, the brave general commanding our division, expressed fears that the position could not be held till noon.
I answered him that you would perish rather than yield the ground. The general-in-chief, being informed how hotly we were pressed, sent word to persevere ; you did persevere until night closed the contest. You wearily sank upon your arms, but to renew the struggle with the morning light. The result is known. These flags will henceforth, whenever they are unfurled, commemorate the sweet records upon their folds and testify that Massachusetts, so highly honored, is proud to call you countrymen ! Our hearts are saddened by thoughts of those who fell beside us on that day of slaughter, but we trust in God that the storm has drifted them to a haven of peaceful rest, and that the sacrifice they have made may cement the Union of loyal hearts and bands, and result in extending the blessings of liberty to the oppressed of every name and elime.
LETTER NO. LXXI. CAMP OF THE NINTH IOWA VOLUNTEERS, { HELENA, ARKANSAS, July 28, 1862. 5
FRIEND RICH :- Some time has elapsed since I have had an oppor- tunity to write to you, as we have been on a long and tedious march from Batesville, which place was left about the twenty-eighth of June. Arrived at Jacksonport the next day, a distance of about twenty-five miles. This place is situated at the junction "of the Black and White rivers-a very pleasant village in time of peace, but now everything is desolate and deserted. The fifth of July we again took up the line of march, and the third day arrived at Angusta, fifty miles still farther down the river. Our sick came down to Augusta in flat-boats, and when twenty miles from that place were fired upon by a band of guer- illas from the bank, killing one man and wounding two. From Augusta the sick were brought in wagons arranged for that purpose. The weather was very hot from Jacksonport. We were up in the morning at 2 o'clock, and sometimes it was dark before we camped, and after 10 before the men could get their suppers. This wore out the men, and many of them gave out. Our company stood the trip very well, and we finally arrived here all safe, and all gratified to be once more where we could hear from home and friends.
While at Batesville the news came of Captain Bull's nomination as paymaster in the United States army; also of its being confirmed. He
left for St. Louis immediately. Now came the time for the company to elect a captain. Lieutenant Wright received the entire vote of the company.
Our regiment has found a great deal of cotton, and the teams to-day are all out for the purpose of bringing it in. We have now been in this camp one month, and though the weather is too warm for soldiers to enjoy good health, our boys are tolerably well. The gunboats came up from Vicksburgh, but have now returned down the river.
Colonel Vandever has command of the Second brigade, Second di- vision, You have doubtless heard of the colors presented to us by the women of Massachusetts. C. G. Curtis is color sergeant.
Our company is in need of about twenty good men, and we depend upon the patriotic citizens of Buchanan county to fill the ranks that have been thinned by the hand of death. When in St. Louis last fall our number was one hundred and one; to-day our aggregate is seventy- seven, and several of this number are disabled, perhaps for life. Are we to call in vain? 1 do not believe it. Some of our company have been killed on the field, others have died of wounds received there. Some (worthy of equal honor) have died from sickness, and others have been disabled by over-exertion in long marches or exposures. We know the men of Buchanan county will fill our ranks if they have a chance, and they will have one, as a recruiting officer is to be sent in a few days, and we have entire trust in his success.
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