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 13
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and turned, which compelled them to abandon the bluffs ; - and thus the day was saved from disaster.
This pocket-blunder of General Ord, and the subsequent indiscretion of General Lauman, have been considered by some as connected with the latter's ill-fortune at Jackson, Missis- sippi, in the summer of 1863. The story is as follows: - In the winter of 1862-3, a supper was given in Memphis, where Generals Ord, Veatch, Lauman and others, were present. When the wine was passing, and all were merry, the affair on the Hatchie occurred to General Lauman, and he remarked to General Ord: - "General, that was a bit of a blunder, in put- ting us into that pocket, wasn't it ?" (I may not give the language, but I give the idea.) General Ord, it is said, made no reply; but gave his eyes a wicked leer, which, even then, some thought meant mischief.
Soon after the battle of Matamora, General Hurlbut was made a major-general, and assigned to the command of the District of Jackson, Tennessee. General Lauman succeeded him in the command of his division.
If we except the march of General Grant into Central Mis- sissippi, in which General Lauman joined with his division, his military history, for the six months following the battle of Matamora, is void of great interest. During this time, he had his head-quarters, first at Bolivar, then at Moscow, and then at Memphis. When Vicksburg was beleagured, he left Mem- phis to report to General Grant in rear of that city; and, on the fall of Vicksburg, marched with his division on the, to him, unfortunate campaign to Jackson. ITis position before Jack- son, and what happened on the 12th of July, appear in the sketch of Colonel Aaron Brown, of the 3d Iowa Infantry. With reference to a further history of this affair, I shall only add an extract from the official report of General Sherman.
"On the 12th [July], whilst General Lauman's Division was
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moving up into position, dressing to his left on General Hovey, the right of his line came within easy range of the enemy's field artillery and musketry, from behind his works, whereby this division sustained a serious loss, amounting in killed, wounded and missing to near five hundred men. This was the only serious loss which befell my command during the campaign, and resulted from misunderstanding or misin- terpretation of General Ord's minute instructions, on the part of General Lauman."
At the time of the occurrence of this misfortune, General Ord's head-quarters were to the right of the Clinton and Jack- son road, and near where the left of his command rested. Near that of General Ord's, was the tent of Surgeon Wm. L. Orr of the 21st Iowa. When the heavy firing opened in front of General Lauman's command, Ord, in a tone of much sur- prise and alarm, called hurriedly to one of his aids: "What does that mean? what does that mean? Ride out there quickly and see." General Lauman was at once relieved of his ยท command, and ordered to report to General Grant at Vicksburg. Upon his departure he issued the following order:
"HEAD-QUARTERS FOURTR DIVISION, SIXTEENTH ARMY CORPS, "IN THE FIELD, NEAR JACKSON, MISS., July 12th, 1863.
"FELLOW-SOLDIERS:
Having been relieved from the command of the 4th Division by Major-General Ord, the command is turned over to Briga- dier-General Hovey. To say that I part with my old comrades with sorrow and regret, is simply giving expression to my heart-felt feelings. I shall ever remember the toils and hard- ships we have endured together, and the glory which the Old Fourth has won on hard-fought fields, and the glory which clusters around their names like a halo -- with pride and satis- faction.
"And now, in parting with you, I ask a last request, that, in consideration of your past fame, you do nothing, in word or deed, to mar it; but that you give to your present or future commander that prompt obedience to orders which has always
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characterized the division, and which has given to it the proud position which it now enjoys.
"Officers and soldiers, I bid you now an affectionate farewell.
"J. G. LAUMAN, Brigadier-General."
But for his ill-fated blunder at Jackson, General Lauman would doubtless ere this have been made a major-general.
Reporting to General Grant, he was sent, I think, to an Eastern Department, and assigned a command somewhere in Northern Virginia; but before his arrival, the command had been given to another. He was then ordered to report to his home in Burlington to await further orders from Washington, which, thus far, he has failed to receive. The general, I am informed, has made frequent efforts to secure an investigation of the causes, whereby he was thrown under opprobrium, but without success. Rumor says that both Grant and Sher- man have put him off with, "we have no time to convene courts-martial."
The war is now closing, and he will, probably, go out of the service, without being restored to a command. Indeed, his health is broken down, and he is now totally unfit for service.
Like the majority of the Towa general officers, General Lauman is of only middle size. His person is slender, and his weight about one hundred and forty pounds. He has a nervous, excitable temperament, and a mild, intelligent countenance.
As a military leader, he is brave to a fault, but he lacks judgment. He would accomplish much more by intrepidity, than by strategy; and, if his intrepidity failed him, he might lose every thing.
He has been a successful merchant, and stands among the wealthy men of Burlington. As a citizen, he has always been held in the highest esteem, and is noted for his kind-hearted- ness and liberality.
BRIGADIER-GENERAL ELLIOTT W. RICE.
SECOND COLONEL, SEVENTH INFANTRY.
ELLIOTT W. RICE, a younger brother of the late General Samuel A. Rice, who died in the summer of 1864, of a wound received at the battle of Jenkins' Ferry, is a native of Pitts- burg, Pennsylvania, where he was born on the 16th of November, 1835. In 1837, he removed with his father's family to Belmont county, Ohio, where he made his home till the year 1855. He was regularly graduated at Franklin College, Ohio, in 1854; and immediately after entered the Law Uni- versity at Albany, New York. In 1855, he came West, and became a law-partner of his late brother at Oskaloosa, Iowa.
Early in the spring of 1861, General Rice enlisted as a private in the 7th lowa Infantry ; but was, on the 30th of the following August, promoted to the majority of the regiment. IIe served with his regiment with that rank till after the battle of Fort Donelson, when he was commissioned colonel, rice Colonel Lauman promoted to brigadier-general. This promotion was endorsed by the almost unanimous voice of the officers of his regiment, and was a high compliment to his military talent and worth. One of the brightest pages in General Rice's military history was made prior to the date of his colonel's commission, on the battle-field of Belmont. The enemy had been forced through the low, timbered bottoms that skirt the west side of the Mississippi above Columbus; they had been driven back to their encampment, and beyond, to the banks of the Mississippi below Columbus; their camp had been burned, and their flag- Harp of Erin -captured, when word came, "we are flanked." Colonel
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Lauman had already been wounded and taken to the rear. At the very moment that orders were received to fall back, the enemy rallied in front, and Lieutenant-Colonel Wentz fell, mortally wounded. Under these circumstances, Major Rice took command of his regiment to conduct the retreat. He had already been severely wounded, though he said he was not hurt. Placing himself at the head of his regiment, which he had hastily re-formed, (for all just then was confusion) he dashed through the lines of the enemy that had been inter- posed between the Federal forces and the landing, disregarding all calls of "surrender!" In the terrific enfilading fire through which he passed, his horse was pierced with twenty bullets; his sword-scabbard was shot in two; his sword-belt shot away, and his clothes riddled; but he saved a remnant of his regiment, and brought it safely back to the transports. His gallant conduct in this engagement made him the idol of his regiment.
The history of the 7th Iowa Infantry, subsequently to the battle of Fort Donelson, when Major Rice was promoted to colonel, is briefly as follows : -- For three weeks after the battle, the regiment rested in rebel barracks, constructed by the enemy for winter quarters. Then, marching back to the Tennessee, it took the steamer White Cloud at Metal Landing for Pittsburg.
As already stated, the 7th Iowa fought at Shiloh with the 2d, 12th, and 14th Iowa regiments. It was commanded by Lien- tenant-Colonel J. C. Parrott, and lost in the engagement thirty- four in killed, wounded and missing. Lieutenant John Dillin, a resident of Iowa City, was killed, and no other commissioned officer of the regiment was struck. After the fall of Corinth, and the pursuit of the enemy to Boonville, the 7th returned and established, with its brigade, what was known as Camp Montgomery. Here the regiment passed the chief portion of its time till the battles of Juka and Corinth.
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At the battle of Corinth, the 7th Iowa suffered severely, the list of casualties amounting to one hundred and twenty-three. In speaking of the conduct of his officers and men in the engagement, Colonel Rice said :
"I must make special mention of Lieutenant-Colonel Par- rott, who, with great bravery and coolness, cheered and encouraged the men to renewed vigor. * * It is with pleasure that I make favorable mention of almost all my officers who were engaged in the two day's battle. Major MeMullen did efficient service until he was wounded and dis- abled, on the evening of the 3d. Captain Conn, although wounded, remained with his command through both day's battle. Captains Hedges and Mahon, left in camp sick, left their beds and came on the battle-field on Saturday, and did efficient service. Their companies were well commanded Fri- day by Lieutenants Dillon and Sergeant. Lieutenant Gale displayed great gallantry, and was severely wounded in the battle of the 4th, after which the company was bravely led by Lieutenant Morrison.
"Captains Irvin and Reiniger performed their duties nobly. I must also mention Lieutenants Hope, Loughridge, Irvin, McCormick, Bennett and Bess. Captain Smith, who was killed in the last hour of the battle of the 4th, was one of the most promising young officers of the service. He was brave, cool and deliberate in battle, and very efficient in all his duty. Color-Sergeant Aleck Field was wounded in the battle of the 3d: afterwards the colors were borne by William Akers of Company G, who was also wounded, when they were carried by George Craig, of Company B. All of the color-guard, with the exception of one, were either killed or wounded. Sergeant- Major Cameron, severely wounded, must not escape favorable mention for his brave and valuable services on the field.
" While it is a pleasure to report the noble and heroic conduct of so many of my officers and men, we mourn the loss of the gallant dead, and sympathize deeply with the unfortunate wounded. More than one-third of those taken into action are wounded, or lie dead beneath the battle-field. With this sad record, we can send to Iowa the gratifying word that her unfortunate sons foll with faces to the enemy. *
For nearly a year and a half prior to the month of October,
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1863, the 7th Iowa Infantry remained at and near Corinth, Mississippi; but, at the above named date, marched with General Dodge from Corinth to Pulaski. In the winter of 1863-4, the regiment re-enlisted and came North on veteran furlough, and, on its return to the field, marehed to the front with the 2d Iowa, ria Prospect, Elkton and Huntsville.
In Sherman's celebrated Atlanta campaign, Colonel Rice commanded his brigade, composed of the 2d and 7th Iowa, the 52d Illinois and 66th Indiana, (the same that he had com- manded for nearly a year before) and, at the battles of Resaca, Lay's Ferry, Rome Cross Roads, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, and Nick-a-jack Creek, distinguished himself. For his gal- lantry and promptness to duty, he was recommended by General Sherman for promotion to a brigadier-general, and was appointed and confirmed to that rank, his commission dating the 20th of June, 1864.
The engagement on Oostanaula River is worthy of special mention. Crossing his brigade in the face of the rebel General Walker's entire Division, he drove it in disgrace from the south bank of the stream, and, secured a position which was generally believed to have necessitated the evacuation of Resaca.
Of the different regiments in his command, the 7th Iowa Infantry suffered the most severely in this engagement. The regiment was moving through heavy timber, when it was suddenly charged by a whole brigade of rebel infantry. The charge was gallantly sustained, and a counter-charge made, which resulted in driving the enemy from the field. The loss of the regiment here was between sixty and seventy.
The preliminaries to the battle of Dallas are briefly as fol- lows: Having arrived at Kingston, a small railroad station about eighty miles south of Chattanooga, the enemy were found posted across the Etowah River, in the Allatoona Moun-
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tains. Their position, which was one of great natural strength, was to be carried by a flank movement; and General McPher- son, moving south-west, reached and crossed the Etowah River, and marched directly for Atlanta. The enemy, when advised of the movement, abandoned their position on the Allatoona Mountains, and pushed for Dallas, some thirty-five miles south of Kingston. Hardee's rebel Corps, leading the advance, reached Dallas and strongly fortified itself before McPherson's arrival. What followed is well given by an officer of General Rice's command:
"At early dawn, on the 28th of May, the two contending armies were on the qui vive. All looked forward for the deeds the day might bring forth. Heavy skirmishing was kept up, which, at times, almost swelled into volleys; and, at short intervals, stretcher-men, with their precious burdens going to the rear, attested the accuracy with which the 'Johnny rebs' handled their long Enfields. At four o'clock P. M., the threatening storm burst out in all the fury of battle, just on the extreme right of Logan's Corps, where it sounded like the wind roaring through a pine forest. The breeze wafted it dismally toward us. On came the wall of fire, nearing us at every instant, until it broke in all its violence on our front. Here was the rebel right. Their assaulting column reached along the whole line of Logan's Corps, and over on to Dodge's front far enough to engage Rice's Brigade, which was posted in the front line. The rebel forces consisted of Hardee's Corps-three divisions. Their men were told that we were one-hundred-day men; and their charge was a desperate one. In front of Rice's Brigade (two regiments being in line, the 2d Iowa and 66th Indiana) there was a brigade of the enemy, known as the Kentucky Brigade, consisting of the 2d, 3d, 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th Kentucky Infantry. They charged in columns six lines deep, and, as they neared our works, yelled in that unearthly style peculiar to themselves. They were met by men who were equal to the emergency. Not a man left the works, unless he was wounded. They stood there like a wall of iron, their comrades from the reserve carrying ammunition to replenish their exhausted supplies. Yet still the rebel hosts poured up to the works, those behind being cursed by their
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officers and rushed up so as to prevent those in front from fall- ing back. Thus they continued, hoping against hope, and all the time being mowed down like grass by the fire of our brave veterans, and the grape and canister of Welker's Battery. Pushing forward till they were almost hand-to-hand, they continued the deadly struggle for one hour and a half; when, completly exhausted, they broke and fled, amid the loud huzzas of our splendid fellows. I never wish to know a prouder day than that.
"Our brigade that day fought for the first time behind breast-works. Although they had built miles of them, this was the first chance to use them. Too much praise can not be given to Colonel Rice, who was ever where the danger was the thickest, mounted on his magnificent gray. He looked the personification of the brave soldier. IIis example appeared to inspire the men : they fought as only the best and bravest of soldiers ean fight, and never left the works. 1
" After the action, I noticed him riding to the different regi- ments to ascertain, I suppose, the extent of our casualties. He was everywhere met with loud and prolonged cheers; but he modestly attributed it all to them, and kindly thanked them for their great bravery. Such men as he are not made of the ordinary stuff. Though young in years, he is already a vete- ran-hero of nearly a score of battles; and has, since this cam- paign, made a reputation for himself and the brigade he so gallantly commands, unequalled by any in this army."
No one has been a warmer admirer of the gallantry of Gen- eral Rice than myself, whenever it has fallen to his lot to meet the enemy ; but still I think it hardly just to say that the repu- tation of himself or of his brigade was "unequalled by any" in that magnificent Army of the Tennessec. The general himself would not claim this; nor would the author, from whom I have quoted, on sober reflection. He wrote under the inspiration of recent victory.
General Rice, I believe, most distinguished himself on the memorable 22d of July before Atlanta. In that engagement, though assaulted by an entire division of Hardee's Corps, he held his ground firmly, and inflicted most bitter punishment
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upon the enemy. Besides capturing one hundred prisoners of war, and six hundred stand of arms, he buried in his front, on the morning of the 23d, one hundred and twenty of the ene- my's dead, which is evidence that his brigade placed nearly one thousand rebels out of battle.
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After General Dodge was wounded before Atlanta, the division to which General Rice's brigade was attached was assigned to the 15th Army Corps: since that time, the services of the general and, I may add, of the 7th Iowa, are the same as those of General Logan's command. Marching first in pursuit of General Hood back nearly to Dalton, and round through Snake Creek Gap, they then returned, and, with the other troops, pushed through to Savannah, and thence north, through South Carolina and North Carolina to Raleigh.
The operations of the 7th Iowa in rear of Savannah, are thus given by Lientenant-Colonel Parrott:
" December 11, moved to the rear, and encamped on Ander- son's plantation, where we remained in camp until the 21st, keeping up all the time a lively skirmish on the picket line. On the night of the 19th, my regiment was ordered to effect a crossing of the Little Ogechee. The regiment marched to the vicinity of the river, Company A, being detailed to carry boards for the purpose of crossing sloughs, and Company B to carry a boat for the purpose of crossing a detachment to recon- noitre the opposite bank. Major Mahon, with four picked men, crossed the river, and from his reconnoissance it was found impossible to cross the regiment on account of swamps and morasses on the opposite bank. At 12 midnight, the regi- ment was ordered back to camp.
"December 20th was quiet all day. December 21st, reports were in circulation, at an early hour, that the enemy had abandoned his stronghold on the Little Ogechee. The brigade was ordered to move to the front, and at 2 P. M. entered the city of Savannah without firing a gun, the enemy having made a hasty retreat."
The only time I ever saw General Rice was in the summer
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of 1862, and not long after he had received his colonel's com- mission. He was in company with Captain, now Major, Mahon, and on a visit to some friends at Camp Clear Springs, Mississippi. He was dressed in a brand-new uniform, and I thought him a gallant and handsome looking officer.
He is a man of middle size, and has a fine form. His com- plexion, and the color of his hair and eyes, are much like those of his late distinguished brother. He is reputed a more brilliant man than was his brother, but not so able. His neighbors say he has one of those minds that learn from observation, rather than from hard study. When he entered the service, he was so young that he had had little opportunity to gain distinction. He has made a brilliant record in the army ; and his friends expect that his course in civil life will be equally brilliant.
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MAJOR-GENERAL FREDERICK STEELE.
FIRST COLONEL, EIGHTH INFANTRY.
FREDERICK STEELE is a native of Delhi, Delaware county, New York, where he was born in the year 1819. He was the second regular army officer appointed to a field office from Iowa. Entering the West Point Military Academy in the year 1839, he was regularly graduated in 1843, and appointed a brevet 2d lieutenant in the 2d Infantry. He served with General Scott in the Mexican War, and greatly distinguished himself in the battles of Contreras and Chapultepec. He commanded his company at the capture of the City of Mexico, having been brevetted Ist lieutenant and captain, on account of gallant con- duct in the two previous engagements.
On the declaration of peace, he reported, under orders, to General Riley, in California, and was made his assistant adju- tant-general, which position he retained for several years. At the outbreak of the war, he was serving in Missouri, and, with the 1st Iowa Infantry, fought under General Lyon at the battle of Wilson's Creek. Captain Steele was commissioned colonel of the Sth Iowa Infantry, on the 23d of September, 1861; but his connection with this regiment was brief; for, his good conduct at Wilson's Creek coming to the ears of the War Department, he was, on the 29th of January, 1862, made a brigadier-general. If we except the time he served with Sher- man around Vicksburg, in the spring and summer of 1863, and the time he served under General Canby, at Pensacola and around Mobile, in the spring of 1865, General Steele has, at all other times, held commands in Missouri and Arkansas. He was in command at Helena, Arkansas, in December, 1862, just
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before joining the expedition under General Sherman, which left that point in the latter part of that month for Chickasaw Bayou. On this expedition he commanded the 4th Division, 13th Army Corps; and, with two brigades of it, led the attack against the bluffs, over the long and narrow causeway that leads to the Walnut Hills from above the mouth of Chickasaw Bayou.
Immediately after this unfortunate affair, General Steele sailed with his command up the Arkansas River; and on the night of the 10th of January, 1863, marched to the rear of Arkansas Post, through the brushy swamps that were well-nigh impassable for infantry, and quite so for the ambu- lances and baggage-wagons. It is to the patience, and valor of General Steele's troops that the country is chiefly indebted for the capture of these formidable works. We next find General Steele with Sherman, in command of his division on the final march against Vicksburg; and, after the fall of that city, on the second march against Jackson, in command of the 15th Corps. General Sherman approached Jackson in three columns, General Steele's com- mand holding the centre, General Ord's the right, and General Parke's the left. On this march, "nothing worth recording occurred till the head of Steele's column was within six hun- dred yards of the enemy's line, on the Clinton road, when [July 9th, S A. M.] a six-inch rifle-shot warned us to prepare for serious work." Indeed, if we except the heedless affair of General Lauman, who commanded a division of General Ord's Corps, and the reconnaissance of Colonel, now General Corse, in command of the 6th Iowa and other troops, nothing of special interest occurred, during the eight day's siege of the city.
On the evacuation of Jackson by General Johnson, and after the destruction of the railroads and the rebel government property in and around the city, General Steele returned to
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Vicksburg; and, immediately after was appointed to the command of the Department and Army of Arkansas. He arrived at Helena on the 31st of July, 1863.
This was his first distinct and important command; and, for the manner in which he managed some matters of detail, he has been severely criticised. As a fighting-general, lie proved himself all the loyal North could ask. It was the policy he adopted in governing the people of a subjugated district - nearly all of them bitter rebels-which lost him much of his early popularity ; but, without questioning the wisdom of his plans, it is but just to say that, he was doubtless honest in his motives. He believed that the speedier way to bring a disaf- fected people back to a love of the Union was to treat them with kindness. He was right in principle: he only forgot that he was dealing with those who were rotten with treason, and totally destitute of principle.
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