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 16
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During the winter of 1863-4, the 9th Iowa was stationed near Woodville, Alabama, and, in the following spring, marched with its brigade and division to the front. It participated in the entire Atlanta Campaign, but most distinguished itself on the 22d of July, 1861, before the city. An account of general movements on these two memorable days may be given with interest. We begin with the 21st instant; for the advance to and beyond Decatur has been already given.
The 21st day of July closed with the enemy in their line of works, just beyond Decatur, and from which Sherman had tried unsuccessfully to force them: it closed with a vigorous fire of musketry along the whole line, and with the prospect that the enemy would not abandon their position till forced to do so. The night following was a magnificent one: the firing ceased late in the evening, and, not long after, the moon rose in all its splendor, lighting up dimly the seene of the recent conflict. Before mid-night, every thing was quiet, with the exception of an incessant rattling of wagon-trains and artil- lery, away off to the left and front. The sentinels said to each other, that Hood was evacuating Atlanta; and they were happy in the thought that they were to possess the Gate City without further blood-shed ; but they were doomed to wretched disappointment.
When morning broke, no enemy were in view. They had abandoned their long line of works, extending from the right
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of General Thomas to near the left of General McPherson ; and where, on the 21st instant, they had brought General Sherman at bay. An advance was, of course, at once ordered. The line of march of the Army of the Tennessee was nearly due west, and along and parallel with the Decatur road. Before the advance was made, the 16th Corps held the right, and joined the 23d ; the 15th Corps the centre; and the 17th the left. After the movement was made, and the Army of the Tennessee dis- posed in line, the 15th Corps covered the Atlanta and Decatur Railroad, leaving the 17th Corps still at its left, and south-east of Atlanta. But the lines were shortened so as to crowd the 16th Corps out ; and at the time the enemy made their assault, it was in reserve, in rear of the 15th and 17th Corps. This, as subsequent events proved, was most fortunate.
The enemy had not fled. They were soon discovered in a new and strong line of works, not more than a mile and a half back from those they had just abandoned. Sherman moved up and took position, shortly before twelve o'clock, at noon.
In this maneuver of his forces, the rebel Hood showed strat- egy. He could count on Sherman's advance in the morning, and, having massed a heavy force on his left, he would strike him, just after the advance was begun. There were two obsta- cles to his success -the tardiness of his troops in coming into position, and the courage and endurance of the 17th Corps. But the 9th Iowa was attached to the 15th Corps, and was not less than four miles north of the Federal left, when the Iowa Brigade, commanded by Colonel Hall, received the first attack of the enemy.
As soon as the firing commeneed on the left, Wood's Divis- ion, to which the 9th belonged, was put under arms, and rested in line. On the left of Wood's Division was Morgan L. Smith's. Separating these two commands was a deep and
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difficult ravine, along the bottom of which ran a small stream. The sides of the ravine were covered with brush and fallen timber; and the banks of the stream, with thick bramble. In front of Smith's right, and near the ravine, was a bald knob, on which the enemy had erected a crescent-shaped work, (now vacant) to cover the approaches from the east. West of this work and in the direction of Atlanta, the ground was descend- ing, and heavily timbered. In front of Wood's right was the Howard House, where Sherman was making his head-quarters, and where the body of the gallant and lamented McPherson was brought, soon after he was killed. I should further state that, the position of Wood's and Smith's commands was along the line of works the enemy had abandoned the, previous night : portions of these had already been reversed.
The attack of the enemy broke with great fury on the left. The deep and prolonged roar of musketry, broken, occasion- ally, by the booming of artillery, seemed constantly approach- ing and increasing. Soon there were other evidences of the enemy's success. Aids, with despair in their faces, hurried to and from Sherman's head-quarters; and the general himself grew anxious and nervous. General officers were sent for, or reported without orders; and among them were Thomas, Howard, and Logan. General MePherson had already been killed in rear of the 17th Corps, and news of the calamity brought to Sherman. The ambulance bearing his dead body was then approaching the Howard House.
All this had been witnessed by the right wing of Wood's Division, when its attention was suddenly drawn in the oppo- site direction. Morgan L. Smith was being attacked by the enemy, and not only the smoke of the battle could be seen, but the shouts of the combatants distinctly heard. Smith's command stood firmly for only a few moments, and then broke in confusion, the enemy occupying their works. But these
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successes were only temporary ; and yet, at that instant, with its left wing forced back and its centre broken, it looked as though the Army of the Tennessee was overwhelmed with disaster. In this gallant charge, the enemy captured several prisoners, besides De Grass' Battery of twenty-pounder Par- rots. This affair took place in plain view of Sherman's head- quarters; and, if I am rightly informed, the general was himself a witness to it. Wood threw back the left wing of his division promptly, so as to confront the advancing enemy. Colonel, now General, J. A. Williamson commanded the right brigade, the extreme right of which was the pivot on which the line turned. Sherman was still present and, after the new line was formed, said, "that battery must be re-cap- tured." Wood accordingly selected the 2d Brigade, only three regiments of which were present -the 4th, 9th and 25th Iowa: the 31st Iowa was detached, and at Roswell, doing guard- and picket-duty. Between Colonel Williamson and the enemy was the ravine of which I have spoken; for the enemy held the works just before occupied by Smith. With the 4th on the right, the 9th on the left, and the 25th in reserve, Colonel Williamson entered the ravine, and, after having with much difficulty worked his way to the opposite slope, shot out on the enemy's flank with such impetuosity as to give them little time for resistance. The 4th and 9th Iowa re-captured De Grass' Battery, and turned it again on the foe. A portion of the 16th Corps now came up, and claimed a share of the honor ; but it was awarded by both Generals Sherman and Wood to the 2d Brigade, Ist Division, 15th Army Corps.
For the part taken by these troops, during the balance of this engagement, I refer to the report of Colonel Williamson :
"Leaving the 9th Jowa in the works, I sent the 4th to the right, to occupy a rebel battery which commanded the head of a ravine, leading to our line in the only place where there was
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not a breast-work. The regiment had not more than formed, when it was assaulted by a brigade of rebel infantry, under command of Colonel Backer, and a very stubborn fight ensued; but the regiment held its position, and finally repulsed the assaults, inflicting great loss on the rebels in killed, wounded, and prisoners.
"The 37th Alabama (rebel) was, according to the statements made by prisoners, nearly annihilated in this engagement. After the last assault made by the rebels was repulsed, the command went to work changing the rebel works and con- strueting new ones, completing them against day-light. I now received orders to move to the left of the 16th Corps, some two or three miles to the left of our position."
In the movement of the 27th instant from the east to the west side of Atlanta, the 9th Iowa with its brigade was given the post of honor: it covered the rear of its division, in the line of march. Marching all that day and until about ten o'clock at night, it rested on its arms till day-light of the 28th, and then, in line of battle, moved forward to its new position in line. The loss of the 9th lowa and its brigade in this day's fighting was slight, the enemy making their desperate assaults on the forces to its right. Among the wounded was Colonel Carsakaddon. He was struck by a musket-shot in the forehead, receiving a wound very simi- lar to that received by General Dodge a few days after. Only a portion of Colonel Williamson's Brigade was engaged in the battle of the 28th. This brigade was relieved on the 3d instant, and placed in reserve, the 9th Iowa being sent to picket the extreme right. On the 13th of August, having re-joined its brigade, the regiment took part in assaulting the enemy's skirmish line, which resulted in capturing the entire force in the pits. .
In the march to Jonesboro, which elosed the memorable campaign, the 9th Iowa took part. It reached the Montgom- ery Railroad in the forenoon of the 28th of August, where it
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remained with its brigade one day, destroying the road, and then marched to within one mile north of Jonesboro. While lying before Jonesboro on the 31st instant, the enemy made a desperate assault on the 1st Division; and the part which a portion of the 9th took in repelling this assault is thus given by the brigade commander:
"During the assault, four companies of the 9th Iowa, under Captain MeSweeny, went forward and took a position in an interval between the right of the 4th Division and the left of the 3d Brigade, where there were no intrenchments, and, while the battle continued, succeeded in throwing up temporary works, which enabled them to hold the position."
The loss of the 2d Brigade in the Atlanta Campaign (and the 4th and 9th Iowa suffered the most severely) was two hundred and eighty. -
An account of the march from Atlanta to Savannah, and thence, through the swamps of South Carolina to Goldsboro and Raleigh, will be found in the sketch of Colonel William Smyth, 31st Iowa. After the fall of Atlanta, the 30th Iowa was attached to the 15th Corps' Iowa Brigade, and the brigade itself changed from the 2d to the 3d. On the march from Savannah to Goldsboro, the brigade was commanded by Colo- nel George A. Stone of the 25th Iowa, and met the enemy at three different points on the line of march. Of the part taken by the 4th and 9th Jowa on the Little Congaree Creek, near Columbia, South Carolina, Colonel Stone says:
"I was ordered to form in two lines of battle, two regiments front, and the other regiment (the 4th Iowa) to cover the front as skirmishers, and to move forward to effect a crossing of the Little Congaree Creek, if possible. Immediately in front of the 4th Iowa was a swamp about waist-deep, and some three hun- dred yards wide. The regiment did not falter at this obstacle, but gallantly plunged in, led by its commanding officer, Lieu- tenant-Colonel Nichols. We were now about five hundred yards above the position held by the rebels on Little Congaree Creek; but a branch of that same stream intervened between
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us and the creek itself. It was discovered our position flanked an out-post of the enemy on the same side of the stream we were on, and three companies of the 4th Iowa and four compa- nies of the 9th Iowa were ordered to attack this out-post. Major Anderson of the 4th Iowa commanded the skirmishers making the attack, and Captain Bowman of the 9th com- manded the reserve. The attack was made with great vigor, and was entirely successful. The enemy could not withstand the impetuosity of the skirmishers, and broke, after a few minutes' fighting, to the opposite side of the creek. I now ordered my command forward to the branch of the Little Con- garee, separating us from the main creek, and with the 4th Iowa went about three-fourths of a mile up the ereek, to a point beyond the enemy's right flank, and in their rear. Here I ordered the 4th Iowa to cross on a log as quickly as possible, intending, as soon as that regiment had crossed, to support it with two others, and attack the enemy from the rear .? '
But the movement was discovered, and the enemy retired.
On the march through the Carolinas, the 9th Iowa was com- manded by Lieutenant-Colonel Abernethy, a most excellent officer. He is a brother of the late Lieutenant-Colonel John Abernethy of the 3d Iowa, who was killed on the 22d of July, before Atlanta. Both entered the service as first sergeants, and rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
After Colonel Carsakaddon was wounded on the 28th of July, he received leave of absence and eame North. He did not re-join his regiment till after its arrival at Savannah, Georgia, and, before it left that point on its final campaign, he tendered his resignation.
The colonel is a short, stocky man, with black hair and eyes, and has the appearance of much energy and determi- nation. I am told he is a good sample of a Western man - unpretending and practical, but rather illiterate. He was a brave man, and a gallant officer ; and there are few of his old regiment, who do not entertain for him the greatest good-will and affection.
COLONEL NICHOLAS PERCZEL.
FIRST COLONEL, TENTH INFANTRY.
NICHOLAS PERCZEL is a native of Hungary, where he was born in the year 1813. He has a military education, and passed a number of years in active service, before coming to this country. For several years, he has been a resident of Daven- port, Iowa, where he has been engaged in the business of merchant and trader. He was made colonel of the 10th Iowa Infantry, on the 1st day of September, 1861, and held that position till the 1st of November, 1862, when he resigned his commission.
Authority to recruit the 10th Iowa Infantry was granted by the War Department to J. C. Bennett, in July, 1861. Mr. Bennett was afterward major of the regiment. He, aided by F. M. Mills, Esq., of Des Moines, a brother of the late Colonel Mills of the 2d Iowa, had nearly completed the regiment's enlistment, when it was ordered to rendezvous at Iowa City. The manner in which the regiment was officered created con- siderable dissatisfaction; but this will not be matter of interest, either to the old members of the regiment, or to the public.
Colonel Perezel first served with the 10th Iowa in Missouri. He was engaged in the skirmish near Charleston, on the morn- ing of the 6th of January, 1862, his loss being eight killed, and sixteen wounded. These were the first men the 10th Iowa lost in battle. The colonel was also present at the capture of New Madrid, and I-land No. 10; and with his regiment formed a part of the force which, at Tiptonville, captured five thousand of the enemy. After operations were completed in this direc- tion, the 10th lowa sailed with the command of General Pope
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to Hamburg Landing, on the Tennessee, and served with that general during the siege of Corinth, on the left of the besieging army.
Colonel Perezel commanded a brigade before Corinth, two regiments of which were his own and the 17th Iowa; and during the siege of that eity was engaged in two important reconnoissances and skirmishes. The first of these was made on the afternoon of the 26th of May, with a force consisting of the 10th Iowa, and four pieces of artillery. With the enemy, this skirmish assumed the importance of an engagement ; for, saying nothing of his wounded, he admitted a loss of one hundred and twenty-five in killed. The 10th Iowa, the only troops on our side that suffered loss, had only eight men wounded. The losses were so disproportionate as to give the above statement an air of improbability ; but its truth is well vouched for.
On the morning of the 28th of May, two days later, the 17th Iowa and the 10th Missouri of the same brigade had a skirmish with the enemy, in which the losses were nearly as dispropor- tionate. These troops were sent out under the immediate command of Colonel Holmes of the 10th Missouri; and mov- ing against the enemy's extreme right, which was held by the commands of Price and Van Dorn, came within musket-range of the two strong forts on the hills to the south of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. The enemy supposed they were being attacked in force, and came swarming out of their works and down the steep hills to oppose the advance; while their piekets, skirmishers and reserves, hurried with greater haste in the opposite direction. Corinth was evacuated that night, and, on passing over the ground the next morning, where the skirmish took place, ninety-three new graves were counted. The Union loss in this encounter was about thirty in killed and wounded.
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On the fall of Corinth and the hasty retreat of the enemy, the division of General Schuyler Hamilton, to which Colonel Perezel's Brigade was attached, followed in pursuit, and marched as far south as Boonville, on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. The route from Corinth lay through the heavily- timbered swamps, which form the head-waters of the Tombig- bee River, and which would be, at any season of the year, difficult of passage to a large army with baggage-trains and artillery. There was but little fighting; but, one day of the march it rained incessantly, which rendered the corduroy roads almost impassable. Add to this the fact that the army had for a long time been lying before Corinth inactive, and the hardships and fatigue of the march can be imagined. One -
scene on the road, at a point some six miles north of Boon- ville, will never be forgotten by those troops who, on the night of the 2d of June, ascended from the swamps to the up-lands, near mid-night. On an open, even, but gradually-sloping field, containing not less than two thousand acres, and facing the Corinth road to the north-east, just in front of where it rises from the bottom-lands and turns to the left, were encamped nearly two entire divisions. The previous afternoon had been rainy, and the soldiers, cold and wet, had built large and bril- liant camp-fires throughout their entire encampment. The sky was still hung with dark, heavy clouds, which, as viewed from the point in the road above mentioned, formed the back- ground of this magnificent scenery -the grandest I ever witnessed. It was literally a city of fire, and was ample com- pensation for the slippery, hazardous, mid-night-march over the never-to-be-forgotten one-mile-of corduroy.
Pursuit was made to a few miles south of Boonville; but the - enemy, with the exception of some hundreds of stragglers and deserters, had made good his escape with his shattered legions. To pursue further would so extend the line of communications
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as to imperil a safe return ; and a "right about " was therefore ordered to Corinth. Returning to the vicinity of Corinth, the the 10th Iowa went into camp at Clear Springs, a place three and a half miles south of Corinth, and so called from the beautiful, translucent springs which gush out from the foot of the hills, on which the camp was made. The regiment remained here and at Jacinto, the county-seat of Tishamingo county, and some twenty miles south of Corinth, till the 18th of the following September; when, with the balance of Gen- eral Rosecrans' command, it was ordered out to engage the forces of General Price, then supposed to be intrenching themselves near Juka. In this heedless, blundering fight, the 10th Iowa held the left of its brigade, and, like the other regi- inents of its brigade, suffered severely.
The pursuit of the enemy in his hasty retreat on the morning of the 20th, and the bloody battle at Corinth on the 3d and 4th of the following October, and subsequent pursuit of the rebel forces to and beyond the Hatchie, form the next chapter in the history of this regiment. With the elose of these operations also closed the coloneley of Nicholas Perczel ; for, as has already been stated, he resigned his commission on the first of the following November.
IIe had in the meantime been recommended for promotion to brigadier-general, but for some reason was not appointed by the President.
Among the officers of the 10th Iowa with whom I became acquainted early in the regiment's history, were Major, after- wards Lieutenant-Colonel Nathaniel MeCalla, Captain Albert Stoddard and Lieutenant and Adjutant John Delahoyd; and I hope that, in giving their names special mention, I shall do no injustice to other officers of the regiment equally deserving. I never met Major McCalla without thinking of an old Roman lieutenant. Ife is rough in exterior and in manners, and as
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gallant and generous as rough. Captain Stoddard is a hand- some and most genial fellow, and was, in the spring and summer of 1863, Judge-Advocate of the old 7th Division. In the hour of battle, and at the convivial board, he always took his place in the front. Lieutenant Jolin Delahoyd was one of the most reckless aids and adjutant-generals that ever carried a dispatch in the face of the enemy. He distinguished himself at Corinth. Having ridden out with the 17th Iowa to assign it a position, he put the regiment under a terrific fire of grape and eanister, and then, directing it to lie down, sat and watched the enemy from his horse. Whenever the enemy were about to fire, he would say : "Lay low, Seven- teenth." It is a wonder how he escaped being killed. He was General Sullivan's adjutant-general, and was one of the most popular officers of the brigade.
During the siege of Corinth, (I believe it was on the 22d of May) and while his brigade was encamped near Farmington, an incident occurred which the colonel will never forget. That morning a company of the 3d Michigan Cavalry, which, like all the troops before Corinth, had seen but little service, was stationed beyond the picket-line, as vedettes on the extreme left. And I should add further that, an attack from this direc- tion was being anticipated, and the extreme left wing, by reliefs, was engaged in digging rifle-pits, and in cutting the timber which would form a cover for the approach of the enemy, and obstruct the range of the artillery. All was quiet, and the work was steadily progressing, until about two o'clock in the afternoon, when, instantly, a ery of alarm was heard in the direction of the enemy, and, turning the eye down the road, a cavalry-man was seen coming at the top of his speed, standing upright in his saddle, and whirling his drawn sword about his head in the wildest manner. In an instant he had passed, shouting in a frantic, broken voice, "The enemy are
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coming against the left in force! The enemy are coming against the left in force!" All were instantly under arms, and, with breathless determination, stood waiting the approach of the enemy. The guns of the 6th Wisconsin Battery, hurriedly charged with canister, were turned in the direction of the threatened attack, when Colonel Perczel, riding down the road and out through a large, open field to the right, suddenly saw-that he was sold. The captain of the 3d Michigan Cav- atry had been frightened at the approach of one of our own scouting parties. Colonel Perczel was chief in command, and felt the sell most keenly; but he only said: "Whare es dat cap'n ob de Third (?) Mee-che-gan Cabalry, wat run widout firing one gun?"
Colonel Perezel is about six feet in hight, and both slender and erect. He has a lively, gray eye, and, in the service, wore a long, heavy, gray beard. Naturally he is excitable, but in danger was cool and brave, and was greatly loved by his command. Ile knew his merit as a military man, and was chagrined at being placed under the command of officers who were not only his inferiors in military knowledge, but who would get beastly drunk on duty. To escape this unpleasant situation, I am advised, was the chief cause of his leaving the service. The general, whom he most despised, died late in 1862, at Corinth, of mania a potu.
COLONEL WILLIAM E. SMALL.
SECOND COLONEL, TENTH INFANTRY.
WILLIAM E. SMALL, the successor of Nicholas Perezel to the colonelcy of the 10th Iowa Infantry, is a native of the State of Maine. At the time of entering the service, in September, 1861, he was a resident of Iowa City, and a practicing lawyer. He was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the 10th Iowa Infantry, the 10th of September, 1861; and with this rank served till the second of November, 1862, when, Colonel Perczel resigning, he was promoted to the coloneles of the regiment.
During his colonelcy, as also from the time of its organiza- tion, the 10th Iowa Infantry has a proud and interesting history. From the second of November, 1862, till after the fall of Vicksburg, the time of Colonel Small's discharge, this regiment was always at the front; and, if there was any fight- ing to be done, like the other lowa regiments of the 7th Divis- ion, 17th Army Corps, the 10th was sure to have part in it.
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