USA > Iowa > Story County > History of Story County, Iowa: A Record of Settlement, Organization. > Part 28
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T. J. MILLER.
Vol. 1-16
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CHAPTER XXIII.
THIRTY-SECOND IOWA INFANTRY.
Company K of the Thirty-second, was probably more exclusively a Story County organization than was any other of the commands enlisted here or in this vicinity. It was enlisted mostly in August, 1862, and was mustered into service on October 6, 1862, and its first officers were: Rev. Joseph Cadwallader, of Story County, captain; Gideon Wheeler of Marshall County, first lieutenant and afterwards captain; George Child of Story County, second lieutenant and afterwards first lieutenant. Captain Cad- wallader was a very popular preacher from the south part of the county and later became regimental chaplain. Sergeants, who subsequently reached the grade of second lieutenant, were Vincent Tomlinson and William A. Fallas. The regimental organization also pertained in a very especial degree to Story County. The regiment was organized from the fifth and sixth congressional districts of the state, comprising most of the north half of the state, and it was understood from the beginning that the regiment would be commanded by Col. John Scott of Nevada. Col. Scott had come to Nevada in 1856, had come in a short time to be recognized as the leading citizen of the county, had been tendered the nomination for state representative in 1857, and had been nominated and elected to the state senate in 1859. He had been the first captain of Company E of the Third Infantry. had been immediately promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy upon the organization of the 3d regiment ; and by reason of his gallant service in the field and general standing in the state, was naturally the choice of Gov. Kirkwood for the command of the regiment, which in the autumn of 1862 was to be raised in this portion of the state. Col. Scott was authorized by the governor to choose his own regimental staff, and he very fortunately chose T. C. Mc- Call, then representative in the general assembly and in after years both representative and senator, for his regimental quartermaster. His adjutant was never a resident of Story County; but for the most of his active life, he was a familiar figure and much beloved friend with very many of the Story County people. This was Hon. Chas. Aldrich, then editor of the Hamilton Freeman, at Webster City; later publisher of the Marshall Times; previously chief clerk of the general assembly, and in later years, representa- tive therein and curator of the State Historical Library.
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With the assurance that the regiment would thus be commanded by a Story County citizen, and with the prospect of exceptional prominence and opportunity in the regiment for Story County men, it is not surprising that the company which was to go from Story County to this regiment should have been very easily recruited. The regiment was mustered into service at Dubuque on the 6th of October; but it was not until November 16th that it started by boat down the Mississippi to St. Louis, where it ar- rived on the 22d. Major General S. R. Curtis was there in command, and at the very beginning of its service, he made for the regiment an assignment that was not appreciated at the time, and which, for nearly a year and one- half, was prejudicial to the general interest of the regiment as a military unit. This assignment was to send four companies, A, D, F and G under Major Eberhart to Cape Girardeau. The other six companies, under com- mand of Col. Scott, and including K from Story County, were sent to New Madrid.
The work to which these separate divisions of the regiment were as- signed, was to watch bushwhackers, chase guerrillas, and to try to keep the supposedly peaceful citizens of southern persuasion in southeastern Mis- souri from interfering too much with the traffic up and down the river. This service was trying and arduous and important but inglorious and af- fording very little satisfaction. At one time, the regiment was still further split up, Companies B, E and I, under Captain Miller, being transferred to Columbus, Kentucky; Company C, under Captain Peebles, being mounted and doing cavalry service around Union City, Tennessee, and Companies H and K, under Captain Benson, being what was left at headquarters on Island No. 10. During a part of this time, Col. Scott was in command of the post at Columbus, Kentucky, while Lieutenant Colonel Mix was serving as member of a court martial at Cairo. During the occupation of New Ma- drid by the six companies, the rebels raided in that vicinity in large force, and Col. Scott was imperatively ordered by the union commander nearest him, at Columbus, Kentucky, to evacuate Ft. Madrid, and transfer his force across the river. This he did with many regrets, and the movement was quite unsatisfactory to Gen. Curtis, who, being at St. Louis, was distant from the theatre of action, but was in general command of the department of Mis- souri. The controversies arising out of this incident were one of the circum- stances rendering unpleasant the earlier service of this regiment; although the strict compliance with the orders of a superior officer relieved Col. Scott of any blame for what was undoubtedly an ill advised action by the com- mander at Columbus.
Very much of the field record of the regiment and particularly of the record of the companies under Major Eberhart at Cape Girardeau, is fur- nished by Sergeant J. M. Boyd of Company F, who was a good observer, had literary qualities and kept a diary. A fair sample of the sort of service the various companies went through in southeastern Missouri, between November of 1862, and the early part of 1864, is furnished in a report by
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Sergeant Boyd of an excursion which the four companies made from Cape Girardeau westward, in March, 1863. The Sergeant says: "The 14th of March brought marching orders for Bloomfield, the county seat of Stoddard County, Missouri, and the boys rejoiced at the prospect of release from gar- rison duty. Arriving at Bloomfield on the 16th, the detachment was camped east of town near Henry Miller's big spring, Miller's big log house becom- ing headquarters and boarding house for our officers. Here for the soldier was another term of guard duty, picketing the roads and guarding the old log jail, generally well filled with rebel prisoners. These prisoners presented a medley of humanity. One of them was a Baptist minister of Alabama, with the rank of first lieutenant in the rebel army, an educated and accomplished gentleman. Another was a Methodist preacher from Kentucky. Another claimed to be a native of French Guiana, South America. He no doubt had been an adventurous fellow, had seen much of the world and could tell many thrilling stories of his adventures and hair-breadth escapes by sea and by land. Many an hour was spent in social chat by the guards and some of the prisoners, sitting on the ground along the guard line. One day a cavalry officer brought in a squad of prisoners and turning them over to the sergeant of the guard said, 'There is a hard one, look out for him, point- ing to a man that some of the other prisoners called Judge Taylor. He was a stout, well built man of muscle and nerve, and no doubt a man of great physical ability. and endurance. His countenance and skin looked as though he had been steeped in filth and tobacco juice. His clothes and butternut suit were dirty and filthy. His physiognomy would indicate much low cun- ning, and native shrewdness, mixed with a disposition of cruelty. He was the spokesman and leader among the swamp bushwhackers, who infested the swamps and low lands of southeastern Missouri, and bore the titles of judge provost, marshal and recruiting officer. Just after he was passed into the guard lines, his wife approached the line with a change of clothing. The sergeant of the guard was required to carefully examine the clothing and pass his thumb and finger over every seam to see that they contained noth- ing contraband. This was easily done with the clothes brought by the wo- man; for, if they were not clean, but if the dirt was boiled in, the gray-backs were boiled dead; but when the sergeant was compelled to stand over the old judge while he changed suits and examine the cast off clothes before turning them over to the woman, then came the tug of war. To hold his nose as far away as possible from the stench, and to hold the clothes away so that the gray-backs might not fall upon himself were the two main points, but every seam was carefully examined, despite the falling gray-backs, while officers and soldiers, standing by, enjoyed the sport at the sergeant's expense. "One of the most notorious of these bushwhackers was a desperado, known as Jack Cato, who boasted that he had made at least eighty Union men bite the dust. Some forty rods down the hill, east of the old jail, was a piece of timber land, and at the point of the timber was a tree, a large limb or branch spreading over the plowed ground, on the upper side of which
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the bark was worn off, and Jack boasted that it was done by the rope, hang- ing Union men thereon. Three Union men were caught, and made to dig three graves under that tree. The first was hung and thrown into the first grave. The second one hung and put into the second grave. The third was hung up and then let down and ordered to go and report to the Yankees, and his grave left open. Just as the first ray of light could be seen in the east on a beautiful April morning, Jack was taken from jail, marched to that grave, where a rough coffin was placed, required to about-face and kneel upon the coffin, when the unerring bullet from the gun of one of the guards, selected for that purpose, sped to his heart. He fell upon his coffin, with a terrible oath on his lips, and soon filled a felon's grave. On the night before the execution of the wretched man, some of the boys were on guard at the jail, and when they informed him of his fate, he swore that he did not care; he had had his satisfaction in killing Union men, at least 80 Yankees had died from the shot of his rifle when they did not know he had the drop on them. Chaplain Wood called to see him, but was only met by defiant sneers and curses."
While Col. Scott was in command of the post at Ft. Pillow, another in- cident occurred which was illustrative of the service of the regiment and of the conditions under which the service was rendered, and of this incident an interesting souvenir has remained for nearly fifty years in the sheriff's office of this county, Capt. Geo. Child told the story in a letter to W. G. Allen, who was then postmaster at Nevada, the letter being written at Ft. Pillow, Tennessee, on March 18, 1863. At the time, Col. Scott had just returned to his command, after a temporary absence for the purpose of explaining to his superiors his evacuation of New Madrid. The explanation, as before noted, had been conclusive so far as he was concerned; although no ex- planation was ever quite satisfactory as to General Davis, in accordance with whose orders the evacuation had taken place. The souvenirs mentioned are some shackles of excellent but unusual design, which the sheriff of Story County has found occasion to use sometimes, when especially hard char- acters have come into his charge. They were acquired by Captain Child under circumstances related in his letter, and by him sent home and de- posited for safe keeping with the proper officer of Story County. Captain Child's letter is of permanent value and the bulk of it is inserted here:
"Captain Cadwallader and Lieut. Wheeler, Quartermaster McCall and Adjutant Aldrich with sixteen men have just returned from a little scout. On the evening of the 16th a man came into camp and went to the provost marshal and asked for a permit to take two black men out to Ripley, a little town some twenty-five miles from here, and try them for stealing. The permit was granted by the provost, the black men chained and taken out of our lines. Col. Scott, hearing of this, ordered the provost under arrest and sent Capt. Cadwallader to bring them back. Accordingly the captain started yesterday morning in pursuit, and after traveling twenty-five miles they came upon them, finding them at the same house where they captured the
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Rebel Cushman, who broke jail at Columbus, Kentucky, a short time ago. They found the two black men chained together and digging up a stump, with a man standing over them with a gun. This, understand, they were having to do after traveling on foot for twenty-five miles over bad roads with their arms tied behind them. And more than that, after coming up to the poor black men our men found a large lot of hickory and willow, as large at the butt as a broom-handle and eight feet long. James M. Applegate told me that he could not reach around the pile and lift it. They were just cut for the purpose to whip these men; and more than that, they had gotten paddles made with holes in them to beat and blister them, and then they say they wash them with salt and water. This is the Union as it was. God only knows how many of these poor creatures have lost their lives by this treat- ment. The captain was just in time to save these men from that cruel punishment. I think there are one or two Democrats spoiled by that trip, and if the boys had caught them whipping the negroes, they surely would have been hurt, if nothing more. Captain Cadwallader presented me with the shackles with which the two black men were chained, and I will send them by John McBarnes to the sheriff of Story County for the use of the county until called for. McBarnes will start for home in a few days, and I hope some of my Democratic friends will call and see the shackles."
Captain Child also relates another incident not so striking but neverthe- less significant of the service of Company K. He adds in the same letter as that quoted above :
"I have been out thirty or forty miles on scouts. I was at Ripley, the county-seat of this country, also at Durhamville. I think the places are about half as large as Nevada and some very good houses but mostly de- serted. I saw some fine country in that vicinity and some good plantations. For instance, we called at one about three o'clock in the morning. There were about one hundred and twenty-five men of us, all mounted. We got feed for our horses, and some twenty got good beds to take a short nap. About six o'clock they commenced eating breakfast, and we all got a good breakfast and were away before eight o'clock. The folks complained some and said their help had left them. I counted about sixty around there of large and small, black and white, some as white as anyone. I saw in one lot some sixteen cabins vacant. and in this lot one family had mules, cattle. hogs and such property, and it looked as though in good times, or in times of peace, it was a regular stock-yard; but property in man is about played out.
"I have heard a good deal about the poor whites in the south but never believed there was such a poor and ignorant class. I believe the blacks of northern Missouri are as intelligent as the poor whites of Tennessee. When this war closes you will see that instead of using shackles they will use school houses."
Still another citation to show the sort of incidents that livened matters up for the 32d during its service in the guerrilla country is taken from E. G.
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Day, who resigned the county clerkship to go into the quartermaster's ser- vice under Captain McCall and who was on duty at New Madrid, which was long the headquarters of the larger portion of the 32d, including company K. Writing about January of 1865 he said :
"The monotony of camp life at this post was somewhat relieved on yes- terday by the following occurrence which took place about eight or nine miles outside the lines. It seems a couple of negroes who were living inside the lines, concluded they would make a short excursion in the country, whether for pleasure or profit, I cannot say, but sure it is, that the niggers made the trip, as some of the Rebs can testify to their sorrow. While travel- ing along the road, the aforesaid niggers were accosted by some two or three white men, who ordered them to fall into line, as they were going to march them down south. The negroes, it seems, had taken the precaution to arm themselves with pistols before leaving home, and having no relish for a journey in a southerly direction, took the studs and refused to accompany the fellows, and upon their attempting to enforce the demand, one of the niggers drew his pistols, fired away and killed one of the chaps as dead as a mackerel, blowing the whole top of his head off; when the balance fled for safer quarters, and the darkies took the dead Reb's horse and came back to the post. The commander of the post ordered out a scout who went and in- vestigated the affair, finding that the fellow killed had been a lieutenant in the rebel army for some two years past."
Concerning the fate of the kidnappers that Captain Child tells about, we do not know that there is any available record, but Col. Scott used to tell a story, that, we think, pertained to these parties. The story, as it is now re- called, was that after the chief kidnapper had been brought to camp, he was tried by court martial for nigger-stealing, condemned and sentenced to be hanged. The finding of the court martial was forwarded by Col. Scott, to the department commander, who later acknowledged its receipt and ordered the colonel to execute the judgment of the court martial. This the colonel had done, and the man was most properly hanged and buried. Some months afterwards, however, in the course of routine in the war department, the original finding of the court martial came back, through regular channels, to the colonel, with the endorsement of the department, that the sentence of death was disapproved, and directing that nothing further be done in the premises; and, as we understand the matter, nothing further, in fact, was done in the premises. It was all a part of the fortunes of war, and one vil- lain had met his deserts, even though the manner of his meeting them was somewhat irregular.
In the course of time, the 32d regiment was relieved from the work of chasing bushwhackers and catching nigger-stealers, and was reunited and sent into active campaigning. The first of these campaigns however was the Meridian campaign, in which the six companies only of the regiment saw their first hard fighting, but they were fortunate in escaping considerable losses. For this reason therefore, the trials of the march were quite as
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strongly impressed upon those concerned as were the incidents of battle and Captain Cadwallader, who had gone out in command of Company K, but who was now regimental chaplain, sent home to his wife a vivid account of the matter as he saw it. This letter was written from Vicksburg after the campaign was over and in it he said :
"I can no longer write, as I used to, that the 32d knows but little of the hardships of the war or the field. We have experienced both. A march by those on foot of more than 340 miles, carrying knapsack, canteen, haver- sack, and cartridge-box with fifty or sixty rounds of cartridges with the musket, resulted in many a blistered foot and wearied frame. Many a man gave out and had to be hauled. Some nights we traveled until 12 o'clock or . I or even 2 o'clock, snatched a bite of meals, either cooked or raw, or hard tack if fortunate enough to have it, and down on the ground to sleep, when perhaps in one hour the bugle would sound and the drums call their weary limbs again to action-a little coarse-ground, confiscated corn meal without sifting mixed with some muddy water and the outside burned in the camp fires or the frying pan, with a tin of boiling coffee and, if time would permit, some fried meat, all rapidly swallowed and accouterments buckled on ready to fall in at the first tap of the long roll. After the first week out we were scarce of bread, the rations from wagons being either one half or one fourth only of the usual amount issued to soldiers. There was not meal enough (though the country was scoured for miles by parties sent out to forage) to supply an army of 30,000 men. There was no lack for meat and good meat too, fresh smoked hams, shoulders and sides, fresh beef, chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese and pigs by thousands. Neither was there any lack of corn and blades for all the horses.
"We saw but few men. Women and children would beg hard for meal and meat to be left for their subsistence; but the boys answered, 'As your niggers are going away, you will not need much.' Some bore to have their houses sacked and even their bureau drawers without a word, manifesting either sullen silence or stoical indifference, while others would weep and wring their hands.
"I was sent in advance from Canton (on the railroad north of Jackson) with a train of teams and sick. Well, on the morning of the first of March at half past three it began to rain almost cold enough to freeze and con- tinued until near ten o'clock. The negro teams, being mostly cattle, had been ordered to continue their march all night accompanied by infan- try as guards. We had encamped in a low bottom near a little river which began soon to rise so that new additions to the log and rail bridges continually being made. The banks were so steep they had to double team to get out. Their wagons had no covers, and from 17 to 34 children in each wagon on top of their stuff, all drenched, and yet military law said 'Stop not a moment.' Little children three or four years old were out in the mud, bare headed, bare footed, bare handed and crying; women being confined, both refugees and negroes, in the wagons
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just as they were; officers ordering men swearing, mules and oxen giving out and dying; wagons and confiscated carriages and buggies breaking down; add to this scene, 400 sick and convalescent soldiers, either crowded into wagons on loads of corn or wet and shivering around a fire almost ex- tinguished by the pelting rain. Many will never recover from the effects of that morning; a number have since died; of the number is Geo. Pearson of Company K, 32d. He died in the wagon at 9 o'clock p. m. The same night at II o'clock when I had just begun to sleep, I was sent for to get a detail and bury him, and also a soldier from the 58th Illinois. I never witnessed so much sorrow in any month of my life as in that dismal forenoon."
THE RED RIVER EXPEDITION.
Returning by a roundabout course from the Meridian expedition, the regiment was finally united and was sent down the river, and with the rest of the Sixteenth Corps under General A. J. Smith was assigned tem- porarily to service with the army of General Banks for the Red River cam- paign. This campaign was probably one of the most inglorious in which any Union army engaged during the war; and the fact that, in the most important engagement of the campaign, the 32d Iowa and the Iowa Brigade of which it was a part, rendered the most trying service on field of battle that was rendered by any command during that campaign, and did all that soldiers can do to hold their lines with success against superior numbers, themselves embarrassed by incompetent generalship and bad disposition of supporting troops, is one of the facts such as have to be recorded some- times in war, and the rewards of which have to be, in a large part, the satisfaction of duty heroically done.
What was the real purpose of the Red River campaign has never been made entirely clear to the historian and commentator of the Civil war. It was a campaign across Louisiana, on the line of the Red River, its apparent objective being Shreveport in the northwestern part of that state. It was an expedition into the enemy's country, but it threatened no strategic point, and could not, if successful, have any other effect than the reduction or destruction of his supplies. Such supplies, however, were west of the Mis- sissippi, which river was already 'held, from its source to its mouth, by the Union forces, was patrolled by gunboats, and subject to be crossed by the rebels only by stealth. Supplies from that quarter, therefore, could not be made to reinforce, to any extent, the rebel armies against which the forces of Grant and Sherman were then battling in Virginia and Tennessee. Be- ing in the nature of a side expedition, the effects of the Red river campaign could only be temporary ; and that a considerable army should have been thus employed, at a time when it might have been used in cutting the main body of Confederates into smaller bodies, has always been a matter of wonderment. As a matter of fact, the expedition resulted unsatisfactorily. It was a joint expedition of army and navy, the navy being represented by
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