USA > Iowa > Webster County > Fort Dodge > History of Fort Dodge and Webster County, Iowa, Volume I > Part 17
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Wright, Nathan, age twenty ; residence, Homer ; nativity, Missouri ; enlisted, September 24, 1862; mustered, September 24, 1862; mustered out, September 26, 1863.
Wright, William, age twenty-two; residence, Homer; nativity, Missouri; enlisted, September 24. 1862; mustered, September 24. 1862; mustered out, August 26, 1863.
APOSTROPHE TO THE BLUE AND THE GRAY
In this hour of sacred eulogy of our dead, no noble soul will deny a slight chaplet to those who fell on the other side. Their cause is lost forever ; indeed. the genius of liberty and the spirit of modern civilization foredoomed it to defeat. Never braver men stood embattled with a losing cause, and their ruined homes, and broken fortunes, and the last trenches of defeat and disaster, filled with the best blood of their race, attest their sincerity and devotion. But cour- age and devotion are never wholly lost; and when the perfect union of these people shall have come,-the union of which our fathers dreamed, and for which their sons died,-then the lustrous courage of our foemen shall become part of the common history of our common race and common blood. I lift my soul into a vision of a noble future, when strife and clamor between the sections shall be hushed, forever, and one people, with one flag, and one des- tiny, shall teach only the gospel of peace and good will, from our northern bound- ary to where the southern cross blazes above the southern ocean. Enlarged patriotism, and enlightened statesmanship, should hasten the day. Its dawn is almost here. Let the loyalty and courage of the blue and the courage and devo- tion of the gray be given as the most patriotic duty of the hour toward absolute reconciliation. It is as holy a cause as was the war for the unity of these states. The blue and the gray sleep in peace, side by side, on every hill top, and in every
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valley of all the battlefields of the Republic; over them bend these same heavens, above them shine the same stars, fixed, immutable; over them sweeps the same flag, free and immortal. Fallen comrades of the blue! Fallen foemen of the gray! Ye have pitched your tents together in the Eternal Bivouac beyond the stars, where ye shall camp forever, in that mysterious and unknown silence that shall be broken only by the reveille of the life immortal .- Captain J. A. O. Yeoman, Memorial Address, Omaha, Nebraska, May 30, 1891.
On March 9. 1864. the Thirty-second Iowa, with its brigade and division, embarked on transports and proceeded to the mouth of Red river. There were nineteen transports conveying Gen. A. J. Smith's Division of the Sixteenth Corps, consisting of about ten thousand infantry and three batteries of artillery. A fleet of eleven gunboats accompanied the transports from Vicksburg and at the mouth of the Red river they were joined by several larger gunboats. This formid- able naval force was under the command of Admiral Porter, of the United States navy, who was to act in conjunction with the land forces under command of Major General Banks, on the Red river expedition. The fleet of gunboats and transports entered the cut-off, into which the Red river empties, and into which the Atchafalaya flows, on March 12th, and passed down the latter river to Simis- port, where the troops disembarked. The regiment was now a part of the Second Brigade of the Third Division, Sixteenth Army Corps. The troops composing the brigade were the Fourteenth, Twenty-seventh and Thirty-second Regiments of Iowa Infantry, the Twenty-fourth Missouri Infantry and the Third Indiana Battery. Col. William T. Shaw of the Fourteenth Iowa, the senior officer in rank, . was in command of the brigade.
At 6:00 A. M. on the morning of March 14, 1864, the Second Brigade was ordered to take the advance, and marched rapidly in the direction of Fort De Russy, the first objective point of the expedition. The march was conducted with great vigor, and late in the afternoon, the brigade reached the village of Marks- ville, two and one-half miles from the fort, where Colonel Shaw was ordered to detach one regiment of his brigade to act as rear guard of the division. The Twenty-seventh Iowa, was detailed for that duty. The other regiments of the brigade, and the battery, then moved forward and soon came within range of the enemy's guns in Fort De Russy. In his official report Colonel Shaw describes the skirmish fighting which occurred prior to the time the order was given for a general assault upon the fort. Colonel Scott was ordered to take position with the Thirty-second Iowa, on the right of the brigade, in support of the skirmishers of the Fourteenth Iowa and the Third Indiana Battery. The order was promptly obeyed and the position gained with but slight loss. The battery was returning the fire of the enemy's guns from the fort, and the Fourteenth and Thirty-second Iowa had taken possession of a line of rifle-pits from which the enemy's skirmishers had been driven, and from which an incessant musketry fire was kept up. making it difficult for the enemy's gunners to serve their artillery. This preliminary skirmishing was still in progress when Colonel Gilbert arrived with the Twenty- seventh Iowa, and relieved the skirmishers of the Fourteenth Iowa who had exhausted their ammunition. General Mower, who had been directing the move- ments of the First Brigade, now joined the Second Brigade and placing himself at the head of the Twenty-fourth Missouri, ordered an immediate assault upon the fort. All the regiments advanced promptly when the command was given.
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The Twenty-fourth Missouri, led by General Mower in person, had the honor of being the first regiment of the Second Brigade to plant its colors on the walls of the fort; the advance was, however, so nearly simultaneous with the whole brigade that the different regiments reached the fort at nearly the same time. At 6:00 P. M. the fort, with the rebel troops which composed its garrison, was in pos- session of the Union troops. Near the close of his official report Colonel Shaw says, in part, "My command had in twelve hours marched twenty-eight miles, fought two hours, and assisted in storming and capturing Fort De Russy." He commends the officers and men of the battery and of each of the regiments of his brigade for the promptness and good order with which they went into action, after the long and fatiguing march, and closes by saying, "I am proud to say that not a single instance came under my observation of any officer or soldier attempting to shun danger or duty during the engagement, and my opportunity was good for observing each regiment as it came under fire."
The official report of Colonel Scott as to the part taken by his regiment in the action at Fort De Russy, coincides with that of the brigade commander. Limi- tation of space prevents its insertion in this sketch. He commends the good con- duct of the officers and men of the Thirty-second Iowa, and at the close of his report says, "With devout thankfulness that the list is so short, I append state- ment of casualties." It seems almost incredible that the regiment should have gone through the engagement without having suffered greater loss than shown in Colonel Scott's report, but, as shown by the official reports of Gen. A. J. Smith, the entire loss of the two brigades engaged in the capture of the fort was but three killed and thirty-five wounded, while the loss of the Thirty-second Iowa was one man killed and two severely wounded. The rebel garrison at Fort De Russy consisted of but 350 men, and it must be admitted that, considering the great disparity between their number and that of the attacking force, they made a gallant defense before surrendering the fort. The incessant fire of the batteries and musketry of the two brigades kept down the fire of the rebels to such an extent as to prevent heavy loss on the part of the Union troops.
The prompt and energetic movement of General Smith's command had inau- gurated the Red river campaign with an importat victory. Had General Smith then been placed in command of all the troops engaged in the expedition, there is every reason to believe that the disasters which ensued might have been pre- vented. After dismantling Fort De Russy and effectually destroying it as a work of defense, the troops moved forward to Alexandria, Louisiana, where, in obedience to his order, General Smith awaited the arrival of General Banks with the other troops under his command. The following extracts from the report of Col. John Scott will show the movements of the Thirty-second Iowa. from the date of its arrival at Alexandria to the close of the battle of Pleasant Hill, on April 9, 1864:
"Went into camp near the town on March 16th, and remained until the morn- ing of the 28th, when we started by the Bayou Rapids road, with rations for three days, to meet the transport at Bayou Cotile Landing, above the rapids. Marched eighteen miles on the 28th and nine miles on the 29th, reaching the landing at one o'clock P. M., where we remained until April 2d, when we again embarked on transport, and, on the next day. landed at Grand Ecore. On April ist had bat- talion drill, with all the companies together for the first time since we left
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JUDGE J. L. CHENEY
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E. E. COLBURN, WHO OPENED THE "COLBURN VEIN" OF COAL
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
AS n", L' NOX AND TIC. FOUNDATIONS.
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Dubuque in November, 1862. Remained in camp on the bank of Red river, one mile above Grand Ecore, until the morning of April 7th, from which date until the night of the 9th, the following official reports will show our movements and attendant incidents. The distance from Grand Ecore to battlefield near Pleasant Hill is about thirty-seven miles. The total number of the regiment when it started on the march on April 7th, was four hundred sixty-nine, field, staff and line. We entered the battle with about four hundred twenty rifled mus- kets. * * On the morning of April 7th, moving from Grand Ecore, accord- ing to the order of march for that day, my regiment was in the rear of the brigade. Everything progressed satisfactorily until about two o'clock P. M., when we encountered the headquarters train of Major General Banks, entirely block- ading the way. *
* * In this manner two brigades, including artillery and trains, were delayed more than four hours, in the midst of a heavy rain storm. Finally the troops passed by in an effort to reach the assigned camping ground before dark, but failed, and camped two miles short of the proper position ; subsistence and camp equippage did not come up until the night was far advanced. On the 8th we moved forward twenty miles, and camped near Pleasant Hill at sunset. For several hours had heard heavy artillery firing some miles in advance. During the night our camp was overrun with stragglers from the front, who cir- culated the wildest stories of disaster and loss of men, artillery and trains. On the morning of the 9th these were repeated and exaggerated. The road was seen filled with teams crowding to the rear. Evidences of past defeat and prospective retreat were everywhere visible. These were the moral surroundings as my command was moved to the extreme front, and took position in line of battle at ten o'clock A. M., relieving a portion of the Nineteenth Corps. My position in line on the extreme left of the brigade was supported on the right by the Twenty- seventh Iowa Infantry, the other regiments of the brigade extending to the right. My left, for some reason still unknown to me, was without support, though threatened, and might be considered a key to the whole position. I rested in the edge of a wood, in the rear of an old field, across which my skirmishers occasion- ally exchanged shots with the enemy's pickets throughout the day, but without casualty to my command.
* * About four o'clock P. M., the activity of the enemy's skirmishers increased and, in a short time, he advanced across the open space in our front in heavy force, moving in column by battalion, deploying as he advanced. My skirmishers were recalled and my left company, which had been thrown forward and to the left to cover my exposed flank, was forced back with some loss, and took its position in the line. The fire of my command was reserved until the enemy was within easy range, and when opened was so destructive that he fal- tered, passed to my left through the open space, and to my rear, losing heavily by the fire of my left wing as he passed, but threatening to cut off my command from our main forces. I at once sent information to my superior, and to the commander of the troops on my immediate right, of this peril to the whole line; but, without orders to abandon my position, though very critical, I could do nothing but change the front of my extreme left to face the new danger, and to protect my flank and rear, if possible. This was done and a well-directed fire kept up to the front and left, which kept the enemy at bay. Meanwhile he was steadily pouring his columns past my left, and working across to the rear of my position. so that
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in a short time the battle was in full force far in my rear. In this state of affairs I discovered that all the troops on my right had been withdrawn, taking with them a portion of my right wing. Lieutenant Colonel Mix, in charge of the right wing, and Captain Miller, commanding Company B, on my extreme right, fell, fatally wounded. My attention had been chiefly directed to the front and left, as the most exposed directions, and I only came to a knowledge of the retrograde of the right when the first three companies were already gone. The timber and undergrowth were so thick that I could not observe my whole line from any one point. The movement was promptly checked, but the ground thus left vacant was almost immediately occupied by the enemy, and a destructive fire opened upon us from a new direction, rendering it necessary that it should be met by a new line, which was done. My lines now faced in three directions. I was com- pletely enveloped, without orders, and virtually in the hands of the enemy, had he dared to close in and overwhelm us with his masses now around us. This was my position until after sunset, by which time the enemy had left my front. Pass- ing now by my right to the rear, where the fight was still raging, and observing by the fire and cheers of our men that the enemy had been forced back on the left, and that our forces in that direction could not be far distant, I moved by the left flank about two hundred yards to the left and rear, where I met and joined our most advanced troops. My brave men were nearly out of ammunition, which for the past hour had been well husbanded; they were exhausted but not dis- mayed, and we felt that the battlefield was ours. I inclose a list of the killed, wounded and missing, a total of two hundred and ten. * * As we could not
pass the picket lines during the night to reach our wounded still upon the field where they had fallen, and were compelled to abandon them in the morning, I fear the number of fatal casualties will exceed the number stated, and that of those reported as missing many are either killed or wounded. Our position was such that many of the wounded, passing to the rear, must have
fallen into the hands of the enemy. * * . Lieut. Col. Edward H. Mix and Capt. Amos B. Miller fell at their posts, while cheering and encouraging their men. In them, as also in Capt. Hubert F. Peebles, Capt. Michael Ackerman, First Lieut. John Devine, all dangerously wounded, and First Lieut. Thomas O. Howard, fatally wounded, I mourn the loss of good men as well as gallant soldiers. The record of others is found in casualty list in the body of this report. To Capt. Jonathan Hutchison my special thanks are due, not only for his gal- lantry but also for repressing reckless exposure among the men of his command. and thus saving valuable lives. His son, a youth of much promise, was killed by his side, early in the action."
Then follows the long list of casualties, a summary of which shows that there were thirty-eight killed, one hundred and sixteen wounded and fifty-six missing ; total two hundred and ten, about fifty per cent of the number of the regiment engaged in the battle. Many of those reported as missing were sub- sequently found to have been either killed or wounded. In the official report of the brigade commander, Col. William T. Shaw, of the Fourteenth Iowa, mention is made of the Thirty-second Iowa and its gallant commander, as follows :
"I cannot speak too highly of my regimental commanders. Of Col. John Scott, Thirty-second Iowa. it is sufficient praise to say that he is worthy to com- mand the Thirty-second Iowa Infantry, a regiment which after being entirely
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surrounded and cut off from the rest of the command, with nearly one-half its number either killed or wounded, among them many of its best and most prom- inent officers, successfully forced its way through the enemy's lines, and was in line, ready and anxious to again meet the enemy, in less than thirty minutes."
The total loss of Colonel Shaw's brigade at the battle of Pleasant Hill was four hundred and eighty-three. The losses by regiments were as follows : Fourteenth Iowa, eighty-nine; Twenty-seventh Iowa, eighty-eight ; Thirty-second Iowa, two hundred and ten; Twenty-fourth Missouri, ninety-six. There were fifteen regiments belonging to the detachment of the Sixteenth Corps, commanded by Gen. A. J. Smith, engaged in the battle, with a total loss of seven hundred and fifty-three. It will thus be seen that the four regiments of Shaw's brigade sus- tained nearly two-thirds of the entire loss of General Smith's command. With a sufficient number of troops under his command to have defeated the enemy had they all been brought into the engagement and properly handled, General Banks utilized only a portion of his army at Pleasant Hill, and thus demonstrated his unfitness for the command. He admitted to General Smith, on the field, that the valor of the troops of the Sixteenth Corps had saved his army.
Early on the morning of April 10, 1864. General Banks ordered a retreat of the entire army to Grand Ecore, during which the Thirty-second Iowa, with its brigade was assigned to the position of rear guard. From Grand Ecore the retreat was continued to Natchitoches, and thence to Alexandria. The enemy had followed closely. Colonel Shaw's brigade still occupied the post of greatest danger, in the rear. From Alexandria the brigade was sent below the town and occupied a position near Governor Moore's plantation, where it had frequent skir- mishes with the enemy. On May 13th, Alexandria was evacuated, and the army began its retreat down Red river. The rebel army continued to follow closely. and there were frequent skirmishes. On May 18th a severe engagement took place at Bayou De Glaize, in which the Thirty-second Iowa and the other regi- ments of the brigade bore a prominent part. The regiment was at that time under the command of Major Eberhart, from whose official report the following extracts are taken :
66 * * At ten o'clock A. M., my regiment was ordered forward with the brigade to engage the enemy. In the brigade we occupied the position of Third Battalion ; on the right the Twenty-seventh Iowa and Twenty-fourth Mis- souri, on the left the Fourteenth Iowa During the first part of the action, being on the second line, we were under a heavy fire of artillery. Some guns from the Third and Ninth Indiana batteries being thrown forward on the left, the Four- teenth Iowa was detached as support. At this time I received orders to move by the left flank into the woods, but the enemy having advanced so rapidly as the batteries came out. Brigadier General Mower in person gave me orders to change front by filing the battalion to the left, which was done in time to meet the attack. The enemy was repulsed after a brisk action of ten or fifteen minutes. We were afterwards thrown forward into the woods. but were not again under fire. Owing to the intense heat and necessary rapidity of our movement many of the men were entirely exhausted and had to be car- ried from the field. Officers and men conducted themselves in a creditable manner during the engagement."
In this engagement, First Lieut. William D. Templin, of Company E, was
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very severely wounded, four enlisted men were also severely, and one slightly, wounded. Major Eberhart and the other regimental commanders were highly commended by Colonel Shaw for the prompt and efficient manner in which they handled their respective regiments in this engagement.
On May 19th the brigade lay in line of battle all day and until two o'clock A. M., of the 20th, when it again took up the line of march, and on the 22d reached the mouth of Red river, where it embarked on transports and was conveyed to Vicksburg, arriving there on May 24th. The operations of the Thirty-second Iowa and the troops with which it was associated on the Red river campaign will ever stand conspicuous in military history, for lofty courage, true devotion, and that noble spirit of sacrifice which was shown under circumstances of the most dis- couraging character. No troops displayed greater heroism during the War of the Rebellion.
On May 27, 1864, Colonel Scott tendered his resignation and severed his relations with the regiment. Both officers and men regretted to part with their brave commander. In a short parting address he gave his reasons for resigning, and carried with him the lasting friendship and good will of those with whom he had so long associated. The regiment remained at Vicksburg until June 5th, when it again embarked and proceeded up the river to Greenville, Mississippi, at which place, and at Point Chicot, Arkansas, the rebel, General Marmaduke, with a considerable force of infantry and artillery, was endeavoring to blockade the river, and had inflicted much damage by his attacks on the Federal transports. Disembarking on the Arkansas side of the river, June 6th, Gen. A. J. Smith moved his command rapidly against the main force of the enemy. In the engagement which ensued the enemy was driven from the field with heavy loss. The Thirty- second Iowa, with its brigade, participated in the engagement and lost eight men, killed and wounded. Having accomplished the object of the expedition, the troops marched to Columbia, Arkansas, and taking transports there, were con- veyed to Memphis, arriving there June 10th, and remaining until June 24th, when with its brigade and division, it started on the expedition to Tupelo, Mississippi. Major Eberhart had been promoted to lieutenant colonel and had been in command of the regiment since the resignation of Colonel Scott. Colonel Gilbert of the Twenty-seventh Iowa, had succeeded Colonel Shaw in command of the brigade. The Thirty-second Iowa sustained its full share of hard service on this expedition, and participated in the battles of Tupelo and Old Town Creek, under command of Major Hutchison, where, owing to its position in line, its losses were compara- tively light ; but it obeyed every order promptly and acquitted itself with honor. Returning to Memphis, it remained in camp until August 4th, upon which date it started, with its brigade and division, upon the expedition to Oxford, Missis- sippi, in which it again bore its full share of hardship, marching in pursuit of the elusive enemy, with whom it did not come into contact, and returned to Memphis at the close of the month.
On September 5th the regiment, with its brigade and division, embarked on transports and was conveyed to Cairo, Illinois, thence to Jefferson Barracks, Mis- souri, and from there by rail to Mineral Point, Missouri, returning to Jefferson Barracks on September 29th. On October 2d it marched with the army under Gen. A. J. Smith in pursuit of the rebel army under Gen. Sterling Price. This remarkable march extended to the Kansas line. There is no record of the regi-
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T.H.I.CO.
HAVILAND HOME, BUILT IN 1860, AND .AS REMODELED
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
" O'L' NOX AND TIN " FOUNDATIONS.
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ment having come into conflict with the enemy on this long march. There was a strong cavalry force which kept in advance and did most of the fighting. The rebel army was driven out of the state of Missouri, the cavalry keeping up the pursuit as far as the Ozark mountains, and the infantry returning to St. Louis. On this remarkable campaign the regiment had marched seven hundred miles, and upon its return to St. Louis on November 18th, many of the men were almost barefoot. The hardships to which they had been subjected were so great as almost to reach the limit of endurance, but they were only allowed a single week in which to rest and recuperate before entering upon another campaign.
On November 25th the regiment, with the army under Gen. A. J. Smith, embarked on transports and proceeded to Smithland, Kentucky, and thence up the Cumberland river to Nashville, Tennessee, where the troops landed on Deceni- ber Ist, marched three miles south of the city and went into camp. On the 15th and 16th of December, 1864, the regiment, with its brigade and division, advanced with the army, under Major General Thomas, to the attack of the rebel army under General Hood. On the 15th, the Thirty-second Iowa, occupying the position on the right of its brigade and conforming its movements to those of the troops on its right and front, advanced in line of battle for more than a mile. It continued on the reserve line during the day and did not come into direct conflict with the enemy. When the enemy's works had been carried by the troops in its front, the regiment moved forward one mile and a half and bivouacked on the field for the night. On the morning of the 16th the regi- ment, with its brigade, took the advance and soon came within range of the enemy's artillery from their second line of works. Here it was halted and remained for five hours, awaiting orders. The subsequent movements of the regiment on that day are described in the official report of Lieutenant Colonel Eberhart, as follows :
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