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 2
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Having received the Democratic nomination for Governor of New Hampshire, he was, in 1854, triumphantly elected. This result was hardly looked for by his party, and demonstrated his unbounded popularity in the State. It was unlooked for, since the change of its national policy had weakened his party in the State; and, in addition to that, there were three aspir- ants in the field, and it required a majority-not a plurality to elect.
As Governor of New Hampshire, General Baker's administra- tion was characterized with his usual promptness and energy ; but his name in some way got mixed up with the Know-Noth- ing Party, which ruined his popularity in the State. His term expired in 1855, and in the following year he came to Iowa, and setthyl in Clinton, which has since been the residence of his family. In Clinton, he practiced his profession till the fall of 1500, when, not yet cured of his political aspirations, he con- sented to become a candidate for the State Legislature from Clinton county. He was elected and served the following ses- sion in that body.
On the 25th of July, 1861, he was appointed by Governor Kirkwood Adjutant-General of Iowa, and, in 1864, was re-ap- pointed by Governor Stone ; and, in his fitness for the position, I believe he has no equal in the State. The skill and ability which he has shown, in the discharge of his duties, would do credit to one of extensive military experience and education. His promptness and energy, and the systematic manner in 2
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JOWA COLONELS AND REGIMENTS.
which he has conducted the business of his office have elicited flattering compliments from the public press in nearly every loyal State. Indeed, his services as Adjutant-General of Iowa, tone well with those of the Iowa troops in the field. Jowa may well be proud of him. That I am impartial in my judgment, the following, from one of the leading papers of Chicago, Illinois, is evidence :
" Almost simultaneously with the close of 1864, the State of Iowa gives to the public its Adjutant-General's Report for the year. The fact that Iowa is the only State which has an excess over all calls for men, attaches a peculiar interest to its military operations, and the same circumstance will warrant more than a mere passing allusion to the prominent share this gallant young State has taken in the contest.
"In looking over the full and handsomely printed report of Iowa, a citizen of Illinois will be mortified at the contrast, as he compares it with those of his own State. The Iowa Report is most creditable to the State. Iowa has a voting population of from one hundred and twelve, to oue hundred and fifteen thousand, and, of this sparse number, nearly or quite sixty thousand have been put into the field. To-day a number equal to one-half the voters of the Hawk-Eye State are under arms. Nor are the men who have been sent to the field canaille- bought in the social kennels of Europe, or refuse negroes, picked up among the camps.
"To the general reader, the most interesting portion of Gen- eral Baker's Report is that which contains a record of the opera- tions of every Iowa regiment. Fully one-half of the volume is devoted to the history of the regiments in the field; and it gives, either in an official or narrative form, the performances of each regiment, during the year. By the employment of this plan, a record of the troops is kept. The regiments are en- couraged, by knowing that their labors all reach the publie ; and furthermore, a condensed account is preserved, which only needs the amplification of the author to become history."
The following, which needs no explanation, shows how Gen- cral Baker's services are appreciated by the War Department at Washington :
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NATHANIEL B. BAKER.
" GENERAL ORDERS, NO. 6.
" HEAD-QUARTERS SIXTH DIVISION, CAVALRY CORPS, M. D. M., EDGEFIELD, TENNESSEE, Dec. 28, 1864.
"It has come to the knowledge of the General commanding, that in the Iowa regiments serving in this division, and per- haps in those from other States, it has been customary, under the supposed authority of some regulation or order from Head- quarters of the so-called ' Army of Iowa,' or other authority of like character, to furnish to the Adjutant-General of the State of Iowa, and other States, copies of the monthly returns, lists of casualties, reports of operations and other reports.
" Not only military propriety, but the danger of such papers falling into the hands of improper persons, forbids this prac- tice.
" It is therefore ordered, that in future no such reports, re- turns, or others of like character, or copies thereof be furnished to the Adjutant-General of the State of Iowa, or any other State, or any person, persons, or authority except as now re- quired, or as may be hereafter required by orders from the War Department, or Department Head-quarters.
" The time of the officers of this command is too precious to be devoted to the preparation of official documents for the satisfaction or curiosity of civilians at home. This must be left to the newspaper correspondents.
"Officers will understand that they and their troops are in the service of the United States, and in their military capacity have no relations whatever to the States from which they come, or the Executive thereof.
" By command of Brigadier-General JOHNSON.
"E. T. WELLS, Assistant Adjutant-General.
"Official copy for the information of the Adjutant-General of Iowa.
"E. T. WELLS, Assistant Adjutant-General."
General Baker forwarded the letter to the Secretary of War, with the following endorsement :
"GENERAL JOHNSON : .
" The Adjutant-General of the State of Iowa, acknowledges the receipt of the extraordinary ' General Orders. '
"The State Officials have asked nothing improper, and the AAdjutant-General cannot comprehend the motives of Brigadier-
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IOWA COLONELS AND REGIMENTS.
General Johnson in issuing the ' General Orders, ' of which the within is a copy.
" The State wishes to keep up the records of the volunteers sent from this State.
"No other General, that this department is aware of, has heretofore attempted to prevent the completion of said records.
" These records are absolutely essential for the protection of soldiers and their families here at home.
" (Signed) N. B. BAKER, " Adjutant-General of Iowa." " SPECIAL ORDERS NO. 53. "WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, February 2, 1865. (Extract). * *
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40. So much of General Orders No. 6, December 28, 1864, from Head-quarters 6th Division, Cavalry Corps, Military Di- vision of the Mississippi, as forbids the rendition of certain returns and reports called for by the Adjutant-General of Iowa, is hereby revoked, it being improper in its tone, and dis- respectful to the State authorities.
* *
* * " By order of the Secretary of War.
"E. D. TOWNSEND. "
General Baker has not only secured merited distinction for the accurate, systematic and elaborate manner with which he has conducted every thing properly connected with his office, but he has manifested an interest in the Iowa soldier, beyond the limits of the State and outside of his legitimate duties, which has won him the lasting gratitude of many. One of the many instances that might be cited is the case of the railroad disaster in Indiana; where, by a publie order, he gave notice to the friends of all Iowa soldiers, murdered or maimed by the criminal negligence of the railroad, not to settle with the cor- porators, or their agents, pledging his official word that justice should be obtained for the injured parties.
General Baker is a large man, being six feet and one inch in hight, and weighing about one hundred and ninety pounds.
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NATHANIEL B. BAKER.
He has a fine, well formed person, intelligent, gray eyes, and a large prominent forehead. In person, he is prepossessing, and he would be in manners and conversation, were he less rough and unguarded in his language. He has Puritanic blood in his veins, and, like the old Puritans, is plain-spoken and earnest ; but, if he inherited all their virtues, one of the cardinal ones lie has squandered. Iowa would give him anything he could ask if he would only become a teetotaler. He has no secretiveness, and never talks in a whisper; and in his walk, which is another index of his character, he has none of that creeping, cat-like gait that stamps all sinister two-sided men.
General Baker is a man of much ability. He has large con- centrativeness, a masterly memory, and, for the amount of business he is able to accomplish in a given time, he has few equals.
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COLONEL JOHN FRANCIS BATES.
FIRST INFANTRY.
JOHN FRANCIS BATES was the first colonel of the first regi- ment furnished by the State for the War of the Rebellion. He was born the 3d day of January, 1831 ; and is a native of Utica, Oneida County, New York. His parents were poor, and, thrown upon his own resources in acquiring his education, he defrayed his expenses for six years at the Utica schools, by sweeping the school-room and by building fires. Two years, he subsequently passed in the office of the Utica Daily "Gazette," and then became a book-keeper and salesman in a mercantile establishment of that city. From 1852 to 1855, he was engaged in the insurance business in New York City, since which time he has been a resident of Dubuque, Iowa. In Dubuque, he has been an insurance agent, a land-broker and a county politician. He was elected in 1858 to the clerkship of the District Court for Dubuque County, and was holding that office at the time of entering the volunteer service. After the expiration of his term of service, he was again elected to that office.
The 1st Iowa Infantry was the only Iowa regiment furnished by the State for the first call of the President. It was the only three-months Iowa regiment in the war. But, though its term of service was short, it made a brilliant record, and what sacred memories cluster about its name !
During the long four-year's bitter struggle that is now about to close, Iowa, in practical patriotism, in the promptness with which she has filled her quotas, and in the general efficiency of her troops, stands second to none of the loyal States. I will not say first, where all have done so well; but a press of the metropolis of our sister Empire State gives " All honor to the
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enterprise and gallantry of Iowa. She has, uncomplainingly and unselfishly, borne more than her share of the onerous bur- dens of the war; and in the field her sons have carried the Stars and Stripes well in the front, and made the name of Iowa soldiers synonymous with heroism and invincibility."
The 1st Iowa Infantry was the oldest of her sister regiments, and how much her example at Wilson's Creek had to do in making her junior sisters " heroic and invincible," it is impos- sible to say ; but we believe that no State, whose military sun rose in such splendor as did lowa's, would allow it to set in disgrace. All honor to the 1st Iowa Infantry !
To know the counties from which this regiment was made up will be matter of interest, as it also will to know the names and subsequent history of many of its officers and enlisted men. The members of the regiment had their homes in the counties of Dubuque, Muscatine, Scott, Johnson, Des Moines, Henry and Linn. Muscatine gave companies A and C; Des Moines, D and E; Dubuque, Hand I; Johnson, B; Henry, F; Scott, G ; and Linn, K.
Of Company A, Captain Markoe Cummings was subse- quently lieutenant-colonel of the 6th Iowa Infantry; Lieuten- ant Benjamin Beach, a captain of the 11th; First Sergeant H. J. Campbell, major of the 18th; and private Robert B. Baird, quarter-master of the 35th.
Of Company B, Lieutenant Harvey Graham was subse- quently lieutenant-colonel of the 22d Jowa Infantry ; and Sergeants Charles N. Lee and J. H. Gurkee, captains in the same regiment.
Of Company C, Lieutenant W. Pursell was subsequently major of the 16th Iowa Infantry; First Sergeant W. Grant, a captain of the 11th, and Corporal A. N. Snyder, a captain of the 35th.
Of Company D, the facetious, jolly captain, Charles L.
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IOWA COLONELS AND REGIMENTS.
Matthies, was subsequently lieutenant-colonel of the 5th Iowa Infantry, then colonel, and then brigadier-general.
Of Company E, Lieutenant J. C. Abercrombie was subse- quently lieutenant-colonel of the 11th Iowa Infantry; private W. J. Campbell, a captain of the 14th; private C. A. Cameron, a captain of the 39th; and private A. Roberts, lieutenant- colonel of the 30th.
Of Company F, Captain Samuel M. Wise was subsequently major of the 17th Iowa Infantry ; Lieutenant George A. Stone, colonel of the 25th ; private J. S. Clark, a lieutenant of the 34th ; private C. W. Woodrow, a lieutenant of the 17th; and private T. J. Zollars, captain of Company 1, 4th Iowa Cavalry.
Of Company G, Captain Augustus Wentz was subsequently lieutenant-colonel of the 7th Iowa Infantry, and was killed at Belmont; and private Ernest Arp, a lieutenant of the 12th Missouri Infantry.
Of Company H, Sergeant Charles Schaeffer was subsequently a major of the 5th Iowa Cavalry, and a staff officer of General Curtis; private T. Groetzinger, a lieutenant in the 27th In- fantry.
Of Company I, Captain F. J. Herron was subsequently lieu- tenant-colonel of the 9th Iowa Infantry, then brigadier-gen- eral, and then major-general; Sergeant Samuel F. Osborn, a lieutenant in the 21st; private N. E. Duncan, adjutant of the 12th ; private David Greaves, a captain in the 21st; private D. B. Green, a captain in the 3d Missouri Infantry ; and private C. A. Reed, an assistant-surgeon of the 9th Infantry.
Of Company K, First Sergeant John HI. Stibbs was subse- quently a captain, then lieutenant-colonel of the 12th Iowa Infantry ; Sergeant Edward Coulter, a captain in the 20th ; private G. C. Burmeister, a captain in the 35th ; and private Jackson D. Furguson, a lieutenant in the 12th. He was killed at the battle of Shiloh.
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JOHN F. BATES.
In its line officers and enlisted men, this noble old regiment has been represented in a majority of the Iowa regiments, since formed; and, from these officers and men, it has fur- nished officers of every grade in the army, from a second lieu- tenant to a major-general. Its example at Wilson's Creek was not the only influence it had on the military history of the State.
The 1st Iowa rendezvoused at the city of Keokuk, and its camp was Camp Ellsworth. War, at that day, was a novelty, and there was no end to the curiosity that a boy, dressed in uniform, excited. And an officer-my! One who visited the. camp of this regiment at Keokuk discourses thus:
"Their mode of life was a great novelty to us; those senti- nels marching to and fro, so stern, so mute! All within ten feet of their beat was forbidden ground. What did all this signify? Their officers were putting on style, we said, and the men were learning to be soldiers pretty easily. Then there was a gate, where stood sentinel No. 1. Through this, all who went in or out were compelled to pass. And there stood the officer of the guard-how magnificently attired! If men's merits were to be judged by their appearance, we would have supposed him a hero of twenty battles. But we forgot to salute him. What daggers he looked at us! We asked him to let us pass in.
' Where do you belong ?'
'To the Third Regiment !'
' What do you want here?'
' To see some friends. '
'Sentinel, pass them in, sir. '"'
Farther along the author says:
"We plied them with all manner of questions, in reply to which they told us prodigious stories of what they had already seen and suffered for their country's sake. If we were to believe them, they were suffering greatly now. They had been in the service six weeks and a half, and the government had furnished them no clothing, and not a cent of pay ! Besides, they were half-starved ; and the rations furnished them were not fit for a dog ! And their officers treated them shamefully too."
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IOWA COLONELS AND REGIMENTS.
Thousands will recognize this as a true picture of their early soldiering.
If in the spring of 1861, a soldier in rendezvous was a nov- elty, he was on the eve of his departure for the field, still more so. He became an object of veneration; and, as he moved through the streets, he stirred in the hearts of the citizens the deepest emotions. "Brave, noble boy ! He is going to defend our rights and the glory of the flag; and will probably never return." Big tears started in many a manly eye that had never known weeping before.
The 1st Iowa Infantry received orders from General Lyon to report at Hannibal, Missouri, on the 12th of June, and the next day the regiment left on transports. The 2d Iowa Infantry under Colonel, now Major-General Curtis, left only the day before for the same destination. The good people of Keokuk were wild with excitement, and lavish of their hospi- talities; and when all was in readiness and the boats were about to drop out into the stream, a vast assemblage stood on the wharf, waving and weeping their adieus. But how all was changed in one year's time! The same people wished the 15th and 17th Iowa on their departure for the field, "good rid- dance;" they still admired the soldier's intrepid spirit; but they had become impatient of his mischievous conduct.
Colonel Bates was at first assigned to duty with his regiment on the line of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. His sec- tion extended from Hannibal to Macon City. The character of these services appears in the sketch of Colonel Wilson G. Wil- liams, and need not be repeated. The duties, which were arduous, and which required the greatest vigilance, were dis- charged with much credit, and the regiment became popular with the loyal citizens of Missouri.
Early in July, Colonel Bates was relieved from guard duty
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JOHN F. BATES.
on the railroad, and ordered to report to General Lyon at Brownsville. Soon after, the long and tedious march over the . Missouri prairies in the direction of Springfield began.
At that day, the people of the entire State of Missouri were in a state of anarchy. The great dividing lines were being drawn, and both the Federal and Confederate authorities were, In the same district, and often in the same county, recruiting their forces. Everything seemed to threaten civil order in Missouri. We know little of the terrors of civil war in Iowa. Citizens upon our southern border only have had a foretaste. All business pursuits were not only suspended, but no one at night could rest soundly, for fear of the knife, bullet or torch of the assassin.
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Harris, Green and others, had large rebel forces even north of the Missouri river. Near Springfield, the enemy were concen- trating. They boasted that they would capture St. Louis, which was Fremont's excuse for his elaborate fortifications around that city. General Lyon resolved to march on and disperse the enemy, though his force consisted of not more than six thousand men, and the enemy claimed more than treble that number. He marched from Springfield on the First of August, in the direction of Dug Springs, and at that place encountered the enemy in force; but after slight skirmish- ing they retired. He followed them into Northern Arkansas; but not bringing them to a stand, and fearing for his own safety on account of being so far removed from his base, he fell back to Springfield. On this march, the 1st Iowa Infantry had sey- eral skirmishes with the enemy. So soon as Lyon began retracing his steps the enemy followed, and on his arrival at Springfield, or soon after, they had reached Wilson's Creek.
Why did General Lyon fight the battle of Wilson's Creek ? Why, if necessary, did he not fall back in the direction of Rolla, and await reinforcements ? General Lyon fought this battle, I
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IOWA COLONELS AND REGIMENTS.
believe, for the same reasons that would have controlled any - other brave, resolute general at that stage of the war. He believed that the enemy, though strong in numbers, were weak in that strength which arises from a sense of being in the right, and on the side of law and order. As a bailiff with his posse disperses a crazy, lawless mob, so he believed he could triumph over the combined rebel forces; and, had he not fallen, he might have done so, though probably not.
The battle of Wilson's Creek was not great in its propor- tions-only great in results. In the South West, it demon- strated the falsity of Southern boasting, that one of the chivalry " could whip six northern mud-sills;" indeed it well nigh demonstrated the converse of the proposition. It resulted in establishing military prestige in the South West in favor of the federal arms-a prestige which was never after lost.
Wilson's Creek is a tributary of White River, and, at the point where was fought the celebrated battle which bears its name, is about twelve miles west-south-west of Springfield. In the vicinity of the battle-ground, the country through which it runs is hilly and barren, and, to a considerable extent, covered with dense scrub-oak. To the west and south-west of Springfield, the stream is crossed by two roads, the one west leading to Little York and Mount Vernon, and the one south- west to Fayetteville, Arkansas. The distance between these two roads at the points where they cross the creek is between three and four miles. Nearly mid-way between these the bat- tle was fought.
On the afternoon of the 9th of August, 1861, Lyon, with all his forces, was at Springfield, and the enemy in their camp on Wilson's Creek. That afternoon, in council with his officers, he determined to move out again-t them, and his plan of attack was as follows :- Sigel, with a small force, going down
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JOHN F. BATES.
the Fayetteville road, was to move on the enemy and attack them in rear, while Lyon, with the chief part of the troops, was to move west over the Little York and Mount Vernon road, and attack them in front. The attack was to be made at day-light of the 10th instant. Sigel, though successful in sur- prising the enemy, was afterwards defeated and narrowly escaped capture. This was early in the day. Lyon's command, therefore, did the chief fighting at Wilson's Creek. The First Iowa Infantry was under Lyon, and the movements of this officer I will therefore trace.
About six o'clock in the evening of the ninth instant, Lyon ordered his troops under arms, and without music, marched quietly out from Springfield. His course for nearly two miles was the same as that followed by Sigel. Continuing his course westward till arriving in the neighborhood of Wilson's Creek, he then took a blind or by-road to his right; for a portion of the enemy were encamped near the junction of the main road with the creek, on the bluffs south-west of the stream ; and these, to make his surprise the more complete in the morning, he wished to avoid. Before midnight, and without disturbing the enemy, he gained the bluff's south-west of the creek, and at a point some three miles distant from their main camp. His position was on their left flank, and their vedettes and pickets were not far distant. There he bivouacked till three o'clock in the morning. Sigel, on the other hand, halting in the low ground on the north-east side of the creek, rested till about the saine hour, with only the high bluffs of the creek separating him from the enemy.
At three o'clock, Lyon put his troops under arms, and with his skirmishers thrown out, moved down the bank of the creek in the direction of the enemy. The enemy's pickets and their reserves were encountered and driven in, about five o'clock, and very soon after quite a strong force was met on a high
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IOWA COLONELS AND REGIMENTS.
point, some quarter of a mile north of where they were form- ing their main line of battle. These were engaged and par- tially driven back by the First Kansas Volunteer Infantry and a battalion of Regular Infantry under Captain, afterwards, General Plummer; and near this spot, let me say, was done the principal fighting of that day. The Reverend John S. C. Abbott represents the fighting as having taken place on the north-east bank of the creek, but Mr. Abbott was misinformed. He was also misinformed as to the spot where General Lyon fell. That General was shot some four rods in rear of the First Iowa, and was not at the time leading a charge.
The First Iowa Infantry first formed line of battle on the ground in question, and on the left of Dubois' Battery, which it was ordered to support. After taking position, Lieutenant- Colonel Merritt, commanding the regiment, and who it is but just to add distinguished himself by his coolness and courage, at once sent out as skirmishers companies D and E, com- manded respectively by Lieutenants Keller and Abercrombie.
The topography of the Wilson Creck battle-ground is nearly as follows: Between the Federal and Confederate forces was a ravine, penetrating the bluffs of the creek in a semi-circular course from the west. Its bed and its sides were partially wooded as before stated-enough so, to afford eover to an attacking party. On the north bank of this ravine was Lyon, and on its south bank, McCulloch. Price had in the bed of the ravine, artillery supported by infantry. Between these guns and those of Dubois, an artillery duel opened. For a time the infantry engaged each other at long range; but pres- ently the First Kansas, stationed down the hill, were assaulted and repulsed, when instantly the First Iowa was ordered for- ward to relieve them. Advancing, the regiment met the First Kansas retreating in confusion. They dashed through Colonel
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