USA > Iowa > History of the Fifteenth Regiment, Iowa Veteran Volunteer Infantry, from October, 1861, to August, 1865, when disbanded at the end of the war > Part 41
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May 23d, the regiment, with brigade and division marched 8 miles, through Alexandria to south of Washington, and went into camp close to the Long Bridge, in full view of the city so often threatened by repeated incursions of rebel armies, and so gloriously rescued and saved by the citizens soldiery of the country, and which henceforth is bound to become the political center of civilized man- kind, through the irresistible influence of the example shown by the loyal people and the heroic army during the four years of ter. rible war.
General Grant says in his Memoirs: "There was no incident worthy noting in the march northward from Goldsboro, to Rich- mond or in that from Richmond to Washington City. The army, however, commanded by Sherman, which had been engaged in all the battles of the west and had marched from the Mississippi through the southern States to the sea, from there to Goldsboro, and thence to Washington City, had passed over many of the battle- fields of the Army of the Potomac, thus having seen to a greater extent than any other body of troops, the entire theatre of the four years war for the preservation of the Union.
The march of Sherman's army from Atlanta to the sea, and north to Goldsboro, while it was not accompanied with the danger that was anticipated, yet was magnificent in its results, and equally magnificent in the way it was conducted. It had an important bearing, in various ways, upon the great object
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we had in view, that of closing the war. All the States east of the Mississippi river up to the State of Georgia, had felt the hardships of the war. Georgia and South Carolina, and almost all of North Carolina, up to this time, had been exempt from invasion by the northern armies, except upon their immediate sea-coasts. Another great advantage resulting from this march, and which was calculated to hasten the end, was the fact that the great storehouse of Georgia was entirely cut off from the Confederate armies. As the troops advanced north from Savannah, the destruction of the railroads in South Carolina and the southern part of North Carolina, further cut off their resources and left the armies still in Virginia and North Carolina dependent for supplies upon a very small area of country, already very much exhausted of food and forage. In due time the army from Raleigh, North Carolina, arrived and went into camp near the Capitol as directed. The troops were hardy, being inured to fatigue, and they appear- ed in their respective camps as ready and fit for duty as they had ever been in their lives. I doubt whether an equal body of men of any nation, take them man for man, officer for officer, was ever gotten together that would have proved their equal in a great battle."
May 24th, the army of General Sherman was reviewed in Washington. The corps moved in the following order: 15th, 17th, 20th and 14th, the head of the column, commencing to move through Pennsylvania Avenue at 9 o'clock A. M., towards the stand on which the reviewing officer Lieutenant General U. S. Grant and President of the United States, with the members of his Cabinet, and Chiefs of the Departments, as well as members of the Diplo- matic Corps, took their stand. The rear of the army passed by at half past 4 o'clock P. M. It was impossible to view the marching columns on this, as well as those on the previous day, (the Army of the Potomac, ) passing in company front, closed in masses, with- ont arriving at a realization of the immense power the Government
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of the Great Republic can command, and of the salutary lesson it imparted to the evil disposed rebel element on this continent, as well as to any and all other powers on the face of the earth. The regiment, with its brigade, in going through the performances of the review, earned the high commendation of the superior head- quarters, and the applause of the generous people. After march- ing 12 miles on this day, the command went into camp west of Washington. The total distance marched from the Neuse river, May 1st to 25th was 359 miles.
General Grant writes: "The review commenced on the 23d and lasted two days. Meade's army occupied over six hours of the first day in passing the grand stand which had been erected in front of the President's house. Sherman witnessed this review from the grand stand which was occupied by the President and his Cabinet. Here he showed his resentment for the cruel and harsh treatment that had unnecessarily been inflicted upon him by the Secretary of War, by refusing to take his extended hand.
Sherman's troops had been in camp on the south side of the Potomac. During the night of the 23d he crossed over and bivouacked not far from the Capitol. Promptly at ten o'clock on the morning of the 24th, his troops commenced to pass in review. Sherman's army made a different appearance from that of the Army of the Potomac. The latter had been operating where they received directly from the north full supplies of food and clothing regularly ; the review of this army therefore was the review of a body of 65,000 well drilled, well disciplined and orderly soldiers innred to hardships and fit for any duty. But without the experience of gathering their own food and supplies in an enemy's country, and of being ever on the watch.
Sherman's army was not so well-dressed as the Army of the Potomac, but their marching could not be excelled; they gave the appearance of men who had been thoroughly drilled to endure hardships, either by long and continuous marches or through ex ..
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posure to any climate, without the ordinary shelter of a camp. They exhibited also some of the order of march through Georgia where the "sweet potatoes sprung up from the ground" as Sherman's army went marching through. In the rear of a company there would be a captured horse or mule loaded with small cooking utensils, captured chickens and other food picked up for the use of the men . The sight was varied and grand; nearly all day for two successive days, from the Capitol to the Treasury building, could be seen a mass of orderly soldiers marching in columns of companies. The National flag was flying from almost every house and store; the windows were filled with spectators; the doorsteps and sidewalks were crowded with colored people and poor whites who did not succeed in securing better quarters from which to get a view of the grand armies."
EXTRACT FROM A LETTER OF LINKENSALE TO THE KEOKUK GATE CITY.
THE GRAND REVIEW .--- SHERMAN'S TROOPS WIN THE LAU- RELS. --- THE IOWA BOYS .--- GENERAL BELKNAP.
Washington City, May 29, 1865.
The irrepressible telegraph has given you the general outlines and many of the more interesting details pertaining to the late grand review. Let me jot down something thereunto appurte- nant, more with the view of congratulating the good people of Iowa upon the part taken therein by the troops from our state than of writing a full account of the magnificent display.
The review on Tuesday was of the troops composing the Poto- mac Army, a part of the Army of James, and Sheridan's cavalry. That of Wednesday was of the troops under Major General Sher- man-the Army of the Tennessee, under Logan, and the Army of Georgia, under Slocum. On either day the display was very
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fine. Had the review ended on Tuesday it would have been justly considered as the most magnificent military display ever witnessed in America -- as altogether worthy the greatest, best government on earth. Yet in many respects the review of Wednesday was superior. The officers were, generally, more manly in appearance and evidently much better horsemen, whilst the men looked more intelligent, more hardy, more self-reliant. The marching on Wed- nesday was, confessedly, greatly superior to the marching on Tues- day. In fact, it seemed to be absolutely perfect. Every man kept his eyes to the front, and the whole column, not less than twenty miles in length, kept step to the music of the Union as one man. This precision, this perfection of marching, was the wonder of the spectators, not less those of the Potomac Army than citizens. It was in every man's mouth. All praised it. Certainly the sub- limest spectacle of a military nature ever witnessed on this side the ocean, was the army of General Sherman as it marched up the avenue that day, not a man out of line, or a gun awry in the whole pageant, so splendid and animated.
The northwest was proud of it, and none the less so because everybody admitted that the " western boys were ahead." In this rejoicing the citizens of Iowa were specially jubilant being about as proficient in the matter of jubilation as any folks ever get to be. Not a man from the state but felt proud of his citizenship. From Secretary Harlan, of the cabinet, down to the humblest em- ployee of the government, there was glad rejoicing and lots of it.
In the 17th Corps is " The Iowa Brigade," General W. W. Belknap commanding. Your readers at all familiar with the his- tory of Iowa troops know the grand record of this command, composed of the 11th, Lieutenant Colonel Beach, 13th, Lieutenant Colonel Kennedy, 15th, Lieutenant Colonel Pomutz, and 16th, Add. Sander's old regiment, by whom now commanded I cannot remember. These regiments went into the war at the battle of Shiloh, and here they were the other day, having marched and
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fought, and seiged and " flanked " through eight states of the Confederacy. General Belknap at their head, appeared every inch a soldier. There is no finer looking officer in the army. Just in front of Willard's he was presented with a boquet of flowers, and a floral wreath was thrown around his horse's neck. Then the shoutings for the Iowa Brigade made the welkin ring again. No doubt it was the proudest day of General Belknap's life. Surely he had good right to be proud, for in all that column that marched in review before General Grant on Tuesday and Wednesday, there was not a brigade equal to the Iowa Brigade -- not one. I saw them all-all those forty miles of troops-and I declare solemnly that such is the truth.
I do not mean to say that the troops of the Iowa Brigade are any better troops than those in other regiments from our state, any or all of them. I am only saying that in this grand review the Iowa Brigade made the finest appearance in the whole column, and I will maintain that assertion against all comers, devoutly leaving the decision to the day of judgment. Nobody disputes it here, however. Our boys all did much more than well. They did nobly. The citizens of the state here have many times rejoiced with a joy unspeakable at the great things they have done for themselves, for Iowa, and for the Union, but I think they never rejoiced more heartily than they did the other day upon witnessing the fact that those of other states gladly conceded to them the highest meed of praise.
But they have all done their duty everwhere, and done it man- fully, heroically. No summer soldiers, no sunshine patriots they, but brave, earnest men, who have written all over our state escut- cheon in colors of living light a record of undying fame, for which they shall ever receive the love and thanks of man and woman. LINKENSALE.
While in camp near Washington, 164 enlisted men of the 15th Iowa (five men of the recruits who enlisted in 1862 and 159 draft-
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ed men) whose term of service would expire previous to October 1st, 1865, were mustered out in compliance with orders from the War Department and forwarded to Davenport, Iowa, for pay and final discharge, May 28th. General Giles A. Smith, having been relieved from the command of the 4th Division, and transferred to Weitzel's army in Texas, General Wm. W. Belknap, heretofore in command of the 3d Brigade, took command of the 4th Di- vision, May 31st, and Lieutenant-Colonel Ben. Beach, of the 1Ith Iowa, being senior officer, took command of the 3d Brigade temporary .
SPECIAL FIELD ORDERS NO. 76.
Headquarters Military Division of the Mississippi, in the Field. Washington, D. C. May 30, 1865.
The General commanding announces to the Armies of the Ten- nessee and Georgia, that the time has come for us to part. Our work is done, and armed enemies no longer defy us. Some of you will be retained in the service until further orders. And now that we are about to separate, to mingle with the civil world, it becomes a pleasing duty to recall to mind the situation of national affairs, when, but little more than a year ago, we were gathered about the twining cliffs of Lookout Mountain, and all the future was wrapped
in doubt and uncertainty . Three armies had come together from distant fields, with separate histories, yet bound by one common cause-the union of our country and the perpetuation of the govern- ment of our inheritance. There is no need to recall to your mem- ories Tunnell Hill, with its Rocky Face Mountain, and Buzzard Roost Gap, with the ugly forts of Dalton behind. We were in earnest, and paused not for danger and difficulty, but dashed through Snake Creek Gap, and fell on Resacca, then on to the Etowah, to Dallas, Kenesaw; and the heats of summer found us on the banks of the Chattahoochee, far from home and dependent on a single road for supplies. Again we were not to be held back
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by any obstacle and crosssed over and fought four heavy battles for the possession of the citadel of Atlanta. That was the crisis of our history. A doubt still clouded our future; but we solved the problem and destroyed Atlanta, struck boldly across the state of Georgia, se- cured all the main arteries of life to our enemy, and Christmas found us at Savannah. Waiting there only long enough to fill our wagons, we again began a march, which for peril, labor and results, will compare with any ever made by an organized army. The floods of the Savannah, the swamps of the Combahee and Edisto, the high hills and rocks of the Santee, the flat quagmires of the Pedee and Cape Fear rivers, were all passed in midwinter, with its floods and rains, in the face of an accumulating enemy; and after the battles of Averysboro and Bentonville, we once more came out of the wilderness to meet our friends at Goldsboro. Even then we paused only long enough to get new clothing, to re-load our wagons, and again pushed on to Raleigh, and beyond, until we met our enemy, sueing for peace instead of war, and offering to submit to the in- jured laws of his and our country. As long as that enemy was defiant, nor mountains, nor rivers, nor swamps, nor hun- ger nor cold had checked us; but when he who had fought us hard and persistently, offered submission, your general thought it wrong to pursue him further, and negotiations followed, which resulted, as you all know, in his surrender. How far the opera- tions of the army have contributed to the overthrow of the Con- federacy, of the peace which now dawns on us, must be judged by others, not by us. But that you have done all that men could do has been admitted by those in authority; and we have a right to join in the universal joy that fills our land because the war is over and our government stands vindicated before the world by the joint action of the volunteer armies of the United States.
To such as remain in the military service, your General need only remind you that successes in the past are due to hard work and dis- cipline, and that the same work and discipline are equally impor-
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tant in the future. To such as go home, he will only say, that our favored country is so grand, so extensive, so diversified in cli- mate, soil and productions, that every man may surely find a home and occupation suited to his tastes; and none should yield to the natural impotence sure to result from our past life of excitement and adventure. You will be invited to seek new adventure abroad; but do not yield to the temptation, for it will lead only to death and disappointment.
Your General now bids you all farewell, with the full belief that as in war you have been good soldiers, so in peace you will make good citizens; and if, unfortunately, new war should arise in our country, Sherman's Army will be the first to buckle on the old armor and come forth to defend and maintain the government of our inheritance and choice. By order of MAJ .- GEN. W. T. SHERMAN. L. M. DAYTON, Asst. Adjt. Gen.
June 1st, the Army of the Tennessee, now under General John A. Logan, was ordered to Louisville, Kentucky, and the troops of the 15th Corps embarked by divisions on the subsequent days.
The 4th Division, of the 17th Corps left its camp near Wash- ington on the 7th of June, took cars on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad via. Harper's Ferry to Parkersburg, (400 miles) on the Ohio river, where it embarked on steamboats; the 15th Iowa on steamer Bertha, and were conveyed to Louisville (370 miles ), arriv- ing there on June 12th, and going into camp eight miles west of the town.
On the 15th of June moved to a healthier location on the Bards- town pike, five miles southeast of town. On June 17th, Brevet Brigadier General A. Hickenlooper was assigned and took com- mand of the 3d Brigade. On the 21st the 2d Brigade, General Stolbrand, (of the 4th Division, 17th Corps), was ordered away and started for St. Louis.
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GENERAL ORDERS NO. 108. War Department, Adjutant General's Office, Washington, D. C., June 2, 1865 . 5
Soldiers of the Armies of the United States:
By your patriotic devotion to your country in the hour of danger and alarm-your magnificent fighting, bravery and endurance- you have maintained the supremacy of the Union and the Consti- tution, overthrown all armed opposition to the enforcement of the laws, and of the proclamations forever abolishing slavery-the cause and pretext of the rebellion, and opened the way to the rightful authorities to restore order and inaugurate peace, on a per- manent and enduring basis, on every foot of American soil.
Your marches, sieges and battles; in distance, duration, resolu- tion and brilliancy of result, dim the lustre of the world's past military achievements, and will be the patriot's defence and right in all time to come.
In obedience to your country's call, you left homes and families, and volunteered in its defence. Victory has crowned your valor, and secured the purpose of your patriot hearts; and with the gratitude of your countrymen, and the highest honors a great and free nation can accord, you will soon be permitted to return to your homes and families, conscious of having discharged the highest duty of American citizens.
To achieve these glorious triumphs, and secure to yourselves, your fellow-countrymen and posterity, the blessings of free insti- tutions, tens of thousands of your gallant comrades have fallen, and sealed the priceless legacy with their lives. The graves of these, a faithful nation bedews with tears, honors their memories, and will ever cherish and support their stricken families.
U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant General. [Official ] E. D. TOWNSEND, A. A. G.
On June 20th an official communication from the War Depart- ment, A. G. O., dated June 5th, 1865, was received, to the effect
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that Brevet Brigadier General J. M. Hedrick, Colonel of the 15th Iowa Veteran Infantry, was to be retained in the service until the completion of the cases before the General Court Martial, of which he was a member. (Colonel Hedrick was brevetted March 13th, 1865, while at Washington, but no official communication ever reached the regiment as to his appointment.
June 25th to the 30th, leaves of absence were granted to officers, and furloughs from five to ten per cent. of the men. General Belknap having left on the 26th, General B. F. Potts assumed temporary command of the division. Adjutant W. C. Stidger, of the 15th, having left on the 29th, 2d Lieutenant Edward A. Cham- bers, of D Company, was appointed acting adjutant.
June 30th, Special Orders No. 326, from War Department, Ad- jutant General's office, Washington, dated June 23d, 1865, was re- ceived detailing Brevet Brigadier General J. M. Hedrick, Colonel 15th Iowa Veteran Infantry, as member of a general court mar- tial to meet at Washington on June 24th, 1865, or as soon there- after as practicable, for the trial of such prisoners as might be brought before it.
July 2d, at midnight, orders were received detailing the 3d Bri- gade ( commonly known as the Iowa Brigade ) for an escort of re- ception for General W. T. Sherman, expected to arrive in Louis- ville early next morning from Cincinnati. The regiment, with the rest of the brigade, Brigadier General Hickenlooper command- ing, moved from camp at 3 o'clock A. M. of July 3d, arriving at the levee in Louisville, at 5 o'clock, and forming on Fifth street in open lines, fronting each other. When the General arrived, the regiments of the brigade escorted him to a friend's residence, and soon after passed in review before him. At the introduction, by General Hickenlooper, of the regimental commanders to the General, he expressed his determination to keep free from any en- gagements on next day, as he intended to see " His Boys" on the 4th of July in their camps.
A. HICKENLOOPER, BOT. BRIG. GEN'L.U.S.VOLS.
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July 4th, according to the programme published the evening before, General Sherman was to visit all the brigades of the Army of the Tennessee, stationed at Louisville, in their own camps.
He arrived at the camp of the 3d Brigade at noon, without any staff of his own, when, according to his desire, the line of the brigade at once formed by battalions in mass and in front of the 15th Iowa. He then spoke to the officers and men of the com- mand for twenty minutes, saying, He came on this 4th of July to see the men who could not celebrate the great day with their friends and relatives at home; he came once more to see the men who were associated with him for many years, through many of the fiercest battles of the war, before they should be discharged, and return home. He thanked them for the important services they had rendered their country for nearly four years, braving the enemy's steel and iron hail in hundreds of battles, and cheerfully enduring and conquering all hardships and privations, which on many occasions were beyond description. He well remembered the regiments of the Iowa Brigade from as early as the battle of Shiloh; he knew that it was the oldest brigade organization in the Army of the Tennessee, from the time when Colonel, afterwards General, Crocker, of Iowa, was in command of it, early in 1862. He exhorted the men to be proud of their record and the name they had so well earned; to honor it themselves, by being peace- able citizens, when they should return to their homes; to remem- ber that they must continue to take care of the country and its in- terests, until the great questions now at hand will be solved; for that purpose to stand together, and to vote as one body in the right direction; to remember that there was and must continue to re- main a connecting link between all the officers and men of the Army of the Tennessee, as it connected them in the common glory achieved by their brave arms; and when again the country would need men to stand by it, he was sure he could look to the men once under his command to be ready to put on their armor
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and try their weapons again, as they had done before; when he concluded with " God bless you all; farewell." An involuntary outburst of heartfelt cheers rent the air, and the veterans, with tears in their eyes, could not cease their enthusiastic shouting until he was fairly out of sight.
There never was a chief more beloved by his men than the General, once commanding the Grand Army of the Military Divi- sion of the Mississippi, when parting from his men on the 4th of July, 1865. There was no happier class of men within the vast domin- ions of the United States on that same 4th of July than the men of the "Old Iowa Brigade."
July 6th, the order of the War Department was announced, to prepare the troops of the Armies of the Tennessee and Georgia, (I5th, 17th, 20th and 14th Corps,) for muster out of the service.
At the same time orders were received from the several superior headquarters, making regiment and company commanders responsi- ble for the completion of the records, books, returns, and reports of their commands from the time of their entering into service to the day of their muster out, also for the making out of correct muster- out and pay rolls, agreeably to instructions from the Inspector- General and Assistant Commissaries of Musters of their respective commands.
In compliance with the above orders, and for the special future benefit of the members of the regiment, the officers of the 15th Iowa who were directly concerned, at once set to work to fully ac- complish the task. All the various returns and reports, monthly and quarterly, due either to Adjutant-General office, Quartermaster, and Ordnance Departments of the General Government, or to the State of Iowa, were made, and back returns, and such as were lost in transmission furnished. All the books and records of the several companies, also the full correspondence of the regiment, and all orders from army, corps, division, brigade, and regimental head- quarters, were posted up and finished to the last day; deficiencies
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