USA > Iowa > Iowa colonels and regiments: being a history of Iowa regiments in the war of the rebellion; and containing a description of the battles in which they have fought > Part 11
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The part which the 5th Iowa took in the battle of Chani- pion's IJill, or Baker's Creek, was most brilliant and sanguin- ary. This battle, which came off on the 16th of May, 1863, "was fought mainly by Hovey's Division of McClernand's Corps, and Logan's and Quimby's Divisions (the latter com- manded by Brigadier-General M. M. Crocker) of McPherson's Corps;" and in it the Iowa troops were consequently largely represented. On the evening of the 15th instant, General Grant made his head-quarters at Clinton. Early on the fol-
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lowing morning, two employees on the Jackson and Vicksburg Railroad were brought to him, who represented that, on the previous night, they had passed through General Pemberton's army. They also represented that Pemberton had marched out from Vicksburg with a force consisting of about eighty regiments, with ten batteries of artillery, the entire command numbering about twenty-five thousand men. The object of Pemberton was, to come up with and attack General Grant in rear, before he should be able to overcome General Johnson at Jackson; and it had been before reported by prisoners that, on General Johnson's arrival at Jackson in the evening of the 13th instant, he had sent peremptory orders to Pemberton to make this movement. The evidence was conclusive to General Grant that a great battle was near at hand; and he therefore ordered a rapid concentration of his troops, even sending back to Jackson for General Sherman's Corps, which had been left behind to destroy the railroads and rebel government property. This done, he mounted his horse and rode rapidly to the front. In the march from Jackson back in the direction of Vicksburg, the divisions of Logan and Crocker (excepting the 2d brigade) reached a point some five miles west of Clinton; and were, therefore, only about seven miles east of Champion's Hill, and not far distant from General Hovey, who, with his divi- sion, was in the extreme advance. The next morning, the 16th of May, the troops of Hovey's Division left their camp at Bolton's Station, and moved in the direction of Champion's Hill, three and a half miles distant. These troops were the first to meet the enemy. The engagement was just opening as the 5th Iowa, with its brigade, came up.
"The enemy had taken up a very strong position on a nar- row ridge, his left resting on the hight where the road makes a sharp turn to the left approaching Vicksburg. The top of the ridge, and the precipitous hill-side to the left of the road, are
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covered by a dense forest and under-growth. To the right of the road, the timber extends a short distance down the hill, and then opens into cultivated fields on a gentle slope, and into a valley, extending for a considerable distance. On the road and into the wooded ravine and hill-side, Hovey's Divi- sion was disposed for the attack."
But Logan and Crocker fought on the right of the road, hav- ing come into line in the above named open fields. Logan's Division held the extreme right, and next to his was Crock- er's; and now the fighting opened in earnest. The rebel, as compared with the Federal force, was more than two to one; for Pemberton had not less than twenty-eight thousand men; whereas the divisions of Hovey, Crocker and Logan would not number thirteen thousand. Confident of success with his superior numbers, the enemy massed heavily on the right of Hovey's Division, which was near the road, and forced it back. His left they also flanked, and soon after forced back his whole line. The 3rd Brigade, to which the 5th Iowa was attached, held the left of Crocker's Division, and, seeing Hovey's right driven in, and their own left flank threatened, they faced to the left, and double-quicked down to the road to meet the enemy and check their further advance. The 93d Illinois was the extreme left regiment of the brigade, and, next to that, was the 5th Iowa: a portion of the 93d crossed the road, so that the 5th was but a few paces distant from it. And right here the fighting was most obstinate and sanguinary. The trees, living, though insensible witnesses to this terrible contest, stand there still, bearing on their shattered branches and lacerated trunks, thrilling evidence of these hours of bloody strife. From one tree near the road-side, more than five hundred bullets were afterward extracted; and it was not three feet through.
In that immediate vicinity, the 5th Iowa with its brigade, maintained its position in the unequal confliet for more than
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an hour and a half, and, during the last half hour, it had no ammunition, or only such as could be taken from the cartridge- boxes of the dead and wounded. In the meantime, the enemy at this point had been reinforced, and were being led on with the promise of certain victory. To withstand longer such odds and desperation was impossible, and the gallant 3d Brigade began to break, retiring over the hill in its rear, and back into the open fields. McClernand, with the balance of his corps, was momentarily expected, and was now looked for with the greatest anxiety; but relief came from another and unexpected quarter. Just then two regiments of the 2d Brig- ade, which had been left the night before at Clinton, as a sort of body-guard to General Grant, came in view, down the road, at double-quick. The 17th Iowa was in the advance, and was closely followed by the 10th Missouri ; and both regiments did not number more than five hundred and fifty men. In the instant that these troops were seen by Colonel Putnam of the 93d Illinois, he came riding back at full run, without his hat, and his brown, wavy hair streaming in the wind, shouting to Colonel Hillis, of the 17th: " For God's sake, Colonel, hurry up-we can not stand another minute;" and the fields to the right, which were filled with the affrighted and fleeing strag- glers, were proof of what he said. With the handful of reinforcements thus brought up, the scale of battle was turned; and, before MeClernand had arrived, the enemy were hasten- ing in total rout back in the direction of Vicksburg.
To show the determination and valor with which the 5th Iowa and its brigade fought, I will give one instance, which came under my own observation. On arriving at the top of the hill from which our lines had been driven, I noticed a noble young boy lying near the road. He was shot through both legs, and was unable to stand; but he had his musket in his hands, and was loading and firing on the advancing enemy.
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We were now under a galling fire, and I saw no more of the brave boy till the enemy were driven from the field. On returning afterward to look for the dead and wounded of my company, I saw him lying in the same spot, but he was dead. I do not know his name or his regiment; but he must have belonged to the 5th Iowa, or the 93d Illinois.
The 5th Iowa, in this engagement, lost nineteen killed and seventy-five wounded, out of an aggregate of three hundred and fifty officers and men. There were many individual instances of gallantry; but I am able to mention only the names of Captains Tait, Lee and Pickerell.
The same night of the battle, the 5th Iowa marched two miles in the direction of Vicksburg; and the next night 1 camped on the Big Black. On the 19th instant, the regiment with its brigade arrived in rear of Vicksburg; and, from that time until the fall of the city, its history is the same as that of the 10th Iowa, and the other regiments of its brigade. I might add that, from the fall of Vicksburg up to the winter of 1864, its history is the same as that of its brigade. Early in September, 1863, the 5th Iowa left with its division for the purpose of join- ing the army of General Steele in Arkansas; but, on arriving at Helena, learned that no reinforcements were needed in that quarter. From Helena it moved up the river to Memphis, and from that point marched across the country with General Sher- man to Chattanooga, where with its brigade it took a distin- guished part in the engagement of the 25th of November. On the night of the 24th instant, the regiment stood picket near the Chattanooga and Knoxville Railroad, just where it passes the north point of Mission Ridge; and the next day, at noon, joined its brigade and moved out through the open fields as elsewhere described, to engage the enemy. After arriving at the White House, which was near the base of the hill for which General Sherman was fighting, the chief portion of the
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regiment was deployed as skirmishers to the right and front of its brigade, and remained thus deployed till a retreat was ordered. The total loss of the 5th Iowa in this engagement was one hundred and six; but the greater portion of these were captured in the sudden left flank movement of the enemy. Two commissioned officers were wounded, and eight captured; among the latter were Major Marshall and Adjutant Byers. .
Subsequently to Grant's victory at Chattanooga, there is little in the history of the 5th Iowa Infantry of striking interest. It joined its division in the pursuit of Bragg, as far as Graysville, Georgia, and then returned to Chattanooga. After going into several temporary camps along the road, it finally reached Huntsville, Alabama, where it passed the following Winter. In April, it came North on veteran furlough; returned to the field early in May ; served for a short time on the Huntsville and Decatur Railroad, and was then ordered to Kingston, Georgia. On the 8th of August, 1864, the veterans of the regiment, by special order of the War Department, No. 262, were transferred to the 5th Iowa Cavalry, and assigned as Companies G and I, under the following officers: Captain Albert G. Ellis, 1st Lieutenant Jeremiah M. Lembocker, and Second Lieutenant William S. Peck, of Company G; Captain William G. M'Elrae, Ist Lieutenant Robert A. MeKee, and 2d Lieutenant John Q. A. Campbell, of Company I.
At Mission Ridge Colonel Danbury showed great courage, riding constantly under the heavy artillery- and musketry- fire of the enemy. The same night of the engagement, he was assigned to the command of his brigade; for General Matthies, the brigade commander, had been wounded as I have already stated. There is one other item in the colonel's military history, which I should not omit to mention. At the battle of Corinth, October 8d and 4th, 1862, he commanded the 17th Iowa Infantry; and led it in the charge in which the
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regiment captured the colors of the 40th Mississippi, and between one and two hundred prisoners.
Although I served in the same division with Colonel Banbury for many months, I never saw him to know him; but I am told by good authority that "he is reticent in manners, intelligent though not educated, honest, upright, and thoroughly reliable." As a soldier, he ranked among the best officers of his division ; and, had he possessed sufficient impudence, would doubtless have been promoted to a brigadier- general.
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COLONEL JOHN ADAIR M'DOWELL.
FIRST COLONEL, SIXTH INFANTRY.
JOHN A. MCDOWELL is a younger brother of Major-General Irwin McDowell, who led the Federal forces in the first great battle of the war. Colonel MeDowell was born in the city of Columbus, Ohio, the 22d day of July, 1825, and was graduated at Kenyan College, Gambia, Ohio, in the year 1846. While at Kenyan College he devoted much time to the study of military tactics, under the instruction of Professor Ross, a former Pro- fessor of Mathematics and Tactics in the West Point Military Academy, New York, and the widely known translator of Bourdon and other mathematical works. Colonel McDowell's experience as an officer began as captain of the Kenyan Guards, an independent military company, which, in its day, attained much celebrity for its proficiency in discipline and drill.
Leaving college with the highest oratorical honors of his class, he entered, in 1847, the office of Judge Swan, and pre- pared himself for the practice of law. The vast mineral wealth of California was, in 1818 and 1849, attracting thousands of emigrants from the States to that country ; and, fer young men of enterprise and talent, the prospects seemed flattering. Hav- ing completed his legal studies in 1848, he left in the following Spring for California, in company with the 2d United States Dragoons. He arrived on the shores of the Pacific in the following Fall, and without incident, if we except the passage of the Rio Grande. In crossing that river, he came near losing his own life, in his generous efforts to save the life of a friend. Locating in Monterey, he began the practice of law, and soon became a publie man; for, in 1851, he was elected mayor of
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that city. Those were, in California, the days of vigilance con- mittees, and the duties of his office required great caution and judgment; but his management was firm and judicious, and he secured the confidenee of the public.
In 1852 he returned to the States, and, the following year, settled in Keokuk, Iowa. During Colonel McDowell's resi- dence in Iowa, and prior to his entering the service, he followed the profession of civil engineering. He was at one time the City Engineer of Keokuk, but, at the outbreak of the war, was Superintendent and Chief Engineer of the Keokuk, Mount Pleasant and Minnesota Railroad.
In the spring of 1861, Colonel McDowell visited Washington for the purpose of obtaining authority to raise a regiment of infantry. Authority was granted by the War Department, and he returned to Burlington, which was to be the rendezvous of his regiment. The 6th lowa Infantry was enlisted princi- pally from the counties of Linn, Lucas, Hardin, Appanoose, Monroe, Clark, Johnson, Lee, Des Moines and Henry. It was mustered into the United States service on the 17th of July, 1861: its camp was Camp Warren. On the 2d of the following August, Colonel MeDowell was ordered to Keokuk, and, during his week's stay there, a portion of his regiment took part in the affair at Athens, between the Union forces under Colonel Moore, and the Confederates under Green. On the 19th instant the regiment left for St. Louis, where, reporting to General Fremont, it was retained for five weeks in camp, at La Fayette Park. The first campaign on which the 6th Iowa marched, was that from Jefferson City to Springfield.
Lyon had been killed at Wilson's Creek, and Sturgis, his suc- cessor, had fallen back to Rolla; when, instantly, the rebellious citizens of Missouri, from every quarter, made haste to join Price, their deliverer. Price, strongly reinforced, in council with that mean, cowardly traitor, Claib Jackson, resolved on a
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inarch northward. Small detachments of Federal troops with- drew from his line of march; and, on the 12th of September, he laid siege to Lexington. Fremont, in command of the Western Department, having made ineffectual efforts to relieve Mulli- gan, quit St. Louis, and concentrated an army at Jefferson City, with which to march ou Price, and either rout or capture his forces. Some claim more for this fossil hero ;- that, after Price's annihilation, he was to march south, and, flanking Columbus, Hickman, Memphis, and a long stretch of the Mississippi, was to enter, in triumph, Little Rock. With him were Sigel, Hunter, Asboth, Mckinstry, Pope, Lane, and his royal guard under Zagonyi. Price left Lexington on the 30th of September, and, the 8th of October, Fremont marched from Jefferson City. Such, briefly, is the history of what preceded the first great campaign in Missouri.
Passing through Tipton, Warsaw on the Osage, and thence south, Fremont arrived in Springfield the 29th of October. Price was then at Neosho. And this is all that there is of Fremont's celebrated campaign in Missouri; for he was now relieved by the President, and his command turned over to General Hunter, who forthwith ordered a return in the direc- tion of St. Louis. I cannot forbear adding that Fremont was a better man than Hunter; for, if he had style, he also had pluck and confidence. On this campaign the 6th Iowa Infantry was under Brigadier-General Mckinstry, and in three day's time marched seventy-five miles.
During the winter of 1861-2, Colonel McDowell was stationed on the Pacific Railroad, which he guarded from Sedalia to Tipton; but, in the opening of the Spring Campaign, was relieved at his own request, and sent to the front. Early in March he sailed with his regiment up the Tennessee River, and landed at Pitt-burg Landing, where he was immediately assigned to General Sherman's Division, and placed in
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command of a brigade. At the battle of Shiloh his command held the extreme right of General Grant's Army, and was stationed near the Purdy road. The 3d Iowa, it will be remembered, was stationed near the extreme left. The 11th and 13th Iowa, under McClernand, were to the left of Sherman ; and the 2d, 7th, 8th, 12th and.14th Iowa, in Smith's Division, commanded by W. H. L. Wallace, and to the left of MeClern- and. The 15th and 16th Iowa fought on their own hook. The Sth Iowa, however, fought under Prentiss. These were all the Iowa troops in the battle of Shiloh.
The 6th Iowa was commanded at Shiloh by Captain John Williams; and, to show the part acted by the regiment, I quote briefly from his official report : 1
"On Sunday morning, when the attack was made on General Grant's centre, the regiment was immediately brought into line of battle, and was then moved about fifty yards to the front, along the edge of the woods. Company I was thrown out as skirmishers, and Companies E and G were moved to the left and front of our line, to support a battery just placed there. We were in this position for more than two hours, when we were ordered to fall back to the rear of our camp, on the Purdy road. The battle at this time was raging fiercely in the centre, and extending gradually to the right. The line was slowly yieldling to a vastly superior force, and it now became evident that we must change our position or be entirely cut off from the rest of the army.
"The regiment then marched by the left flank about six hundred yards, crossed an open field about one hundred and fifty yards wide, took a position in the edge of the woods and formed a new line of battle, which was succeeded by another line, nearly perpendicular to the former, the right resting close to the Purdy road."
This left flank movement was to the left and rear; but this position was held but a very short time, when the regiment was marched to the rear about half a mile; for MeClernand's Division, and the left of Sherman's, had been driven back rap- idly. The next position taken by the regiment was in the
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edge of the woods, and formed a part of that line which, for several hours, held the enemy successfully at bay. At this hour, things looked more hopeful .; and, had all the troops that had stampeded and straggled been now in their proper places, Grant would probably have suffered no further reverses at Shi- loh. It was in this last position that the 6th Iowa suffered its severest loss. Captain Williams was wounded here, and the command of the regiment turned over to Captain Walden.
Of less than six hundred and fifty men that went into the engagement, sixty-four were killed, one hundred wounded, and forty-seven missing. The 6th Iowa, as a regiment, was not engaged in the second day's battle, and its losses were slight. Among the wounded in the first day's fight were Cap- tain Williams, and Lieutenants Halliday and Grimes. The names of the killed I have failed to learn. "In regard to the bravery, coolness and intrepidity of both officers and men, too much can not be said. Where all did so well, to particularize would seem invidious." The regiment continued with Sher- man during the siege of Corinth, and Colonel McDowell in command of his brigade. The 6th was one of the regiments of his eommand.
After the fall of Corinth, Colonel McDowell marched with his brigade to Memphis, where he remained the balance of the Summer, and during the following Fall. In November, he marched with his division on the campaign down through Oxford, and to the Yockona, after which he returned to La Grange, Tennessee, where he passed the Winter. While on the march from Corinth to Memphis, he was attacked with a dis- ease, pronounced by his surgeon an affection of the sciatic nerve. It had been contracted through exposure and by almost constant duty in the saddle, and was extremely painful ; but he continued on duty. Finally, receiving no relief, he tendered his resignation, which was accepted late in the winter of 1862-3.
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While stationed at Memphis, he received from General Sher- man a recommendation for brigadier-general, which was endorsed, I am informed, as follows :- "I think it but right and just that a gallant officer, who has discharged faithfully the duties of a brigadier for many months, should enjoy in full the rank and pay of the position." On leaving the service, his regiment presented him with a costly silver set, which, in its own language, was "a token of their esteem for him as a man, and their appreciation of his merit as an officer."
Colonel MeDowell is a large man, and well proportioned, but a little too fleshy to look comfortable. He is above six feet in hight, and erect ; has a mild blue eye, light complexion, and a good-natured countenance. Usually, he seems kind and approachable, but, when aroused, the flash of his eye makes him look, as he really is, a most formidable opponent. He has large self-esteem, a good education and fine social qualities. ITis conversational powers are remarkable. He is fond of mer- riment, to be convinced of which you have only to look on his shaking sides : he laughs, like Momus, all over.
Colonel MeDowell has fine ability, but is naturally, I believe, inelined to be a little lazy. He is a close observer, and forms positive opinions. His experience in the army destroyed his faith in field artillery. "There are occasions, " he once said, "when it is invaluable; but, as a general thing, it is vox pro- ter-er nihil. If you fight to whip, you must fight to kill ; and whoever heard of a dead or wounded artillery-man ? These things that you hold straight at a man, are the things that hurt."
As a soldier, Colonel McDowell excelled as a disciplinarian and tactician : he was a splendid drill-master, a fact attested by his regiment, which was one of the best drilled in the volun- teer service.
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BREVET MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN M. CORSE.
SECOND COLONEL, SIXTH INFANTRY.
JOHN M. CORSE is the only military prodigy the State has furnished in the War of the Rebellion. For his family and intimate friends I am unable to speak, but I have knowledge positive that, with all others, his brilliant military career has created the greatest surprise. Iri civil life, though possessing large self-esteem, he was looked on as having only ordinary ability ; and, therefore, his promotion in the army to nearly the highest rank in the volunteer service, was wholly unlooked for.
General Corse is a native of Pennsylvania, where he was born in about the year 1833. When young, he accompanied his parents West and settled with them in Burlington, Iowa; where he has since resided. He was at one time a cadet in the West Point Military Academy, New York; but had spent, I think, hardly two years at the institution, when he was politely informed that, should he tender his resignation, it would be accepted. At all events, he left West Point, and returned to Burlington, where he entered the book-store of his father. Not long after he became a partner in the business, and was thus engaged at the outbreak of the war.
HIe entered the service as major of the 6th Iowa Infantry, and, up to the time of its arrival at Pittsburg Landing, has a military history similar to that of his regiment. During the siege of Corinth, he was a staff-officer of General Sherman-I think, his inspector-general. From the time of their first meeting, he was held in high esteem by that general. He was mustered a lieutenant-colonel the 21st of May, 1862; and,
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on the resignation of Colonel McDowell, was made colonel of his regiment, and returned to its command. From that time forward, he grew rapidly popular.
During his colonelcy and after, the history of the 6th Iowa is one of great interest. It is the same as that of Sherman's old Division. It was the only Iowa regiment in that division. On the assignment of General Sherman to the command of the 15th Army Corps, its division was commanded by General William L. Smith, who, during the siege of Vicksburg, joined the army of General Grant in rear of the city. "Smith's and Kimball's Divisions, and Parke's Corps were sent to Haine's Bluff. * This place I [Grant] had fortified to the land-side, and every preparation was made to resist a heavy force." After the fall of Vicksburg, the 6th Iowa marched with Sherman to Jackson, where it made itself conspicuous- with the exception of the 3d Iowa, more conspicuous than any other Towa regiment. On the morning of the 16th of July, Colonel Corse was put in command of the skirmishers of the 1st Division, 15th Army Corps, and ordered to report to Major-General Parke, commanding the 9th Corps. The 6th Iowa was included in the colonel's command; and, to show the part taken by the regiment in the advance of that morning, I quote from his official report:
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