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 21
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"I withdrew the regiment, with the rest of the brigade, by your order, at six o'clock P. M."
Among the wounded of the 14th Iowa in this engagement, were Lieutenant Holmes, and Sergeants Ford, Parmenter, Nichol and M. L. Roberts -- the last mortally. Private S. J. Parker had his head blown completely off by a shell.
Disregarding former services, his conduct in this engagement alone should have made Colonel Shaw a brigadier-general ; but he was disgusted with the weakness of certain general officers, and the exhibitions of his manly wrath procured his dismissal from the service. He was dismissed for publishing a letter
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in the Dubuque "Times," from which the following is an extract : .
"I reported to General Emery at about ten o'clock in the morning: he then appeared to be both drunk and a coward. I relieved General McMillan, who was drunk. I did not see General Emery again till after dark, and the fighting had ceased. He was. then beastly drunk. I saw General Stone, General Banks' Chief of Staff, thirty minutes before the main attack was made, and pointed out to him my position, which he approved and said it must be held at all hazards."
I am informed by officers, who were with Colonel Shaw at the battle of Pleasant Hill that he stated in his letter nothing but the truth; but, though that be so, the publication of the letter was an ill-judged act, and in violation of wise and imperative rules. The colonel received his dismissal in the fall of 1864, and while he was with his command in Missouri, aiding to drive Price from that State. He returned at once to his home in Anamosa.
The last three months' service of the 14th Iowa was per- formed in Missouri. After the death of Colonel Newbold, the regiment was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel W. C. Jones, the original and celebrated "Paul Bentley," who, in the winter of 1862-3, entrapped Mrs. Jeff Thompson and Rosa at St. Louis. The history of this affair need not be repeated. I will only add the compliment the colonel received from General Curtis. "You have," he said, "done me more service than all my troops stationed at St. Louis."
The 14th Iowa, with its division, took part, during the month of October and a portion of September, in driving Gen- eral Price from Missouri. Leaving Memphis on the steamer Bostona, the 5th of September, it arrived by way of Cairo at Jefferson Barracks, and, after a stay of a few days, left for Pilot Knob. It left at mid-night of the 24th of September. Part of the regiment was distributed along the Iron Mountain Railroad
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for purposes of defense, while the balanee went forward with General Ewing to Pilot Knob.
Having been re-called to Jefferson Barracks, or that portion of it stationed along the railroad, it left with its division for Jefferson City, and marched thence to Tipton. From the last named point, it returned to St. Louis without meeting the enemy, and, on the 6th of November, reached Camp Kinsman, Davenport. Here the non-veterans were mustered out, and the others-two companies, as I have before stated - were organized into the Residuary Battalion. This battalion, which has sinee served at Camp Butler, Illinois, was officered as fol- lows :- Company A: Hugo Hoff bauer, captain; Joseph D. McClure, 1st lieutenant; Addison Davis, 2d lieutenant. Company B: Orville Burke, captain; Thomas B. Beach, 1st lieutenant ; Perry L. Smith, 2d lieutenant.
Colonel Shaw is of only medium size, being five feet and ten inches in hight, and sparely built; though there is something about him which makes him appear larger. He is rough and abrupt in his manners, is careless in dress, and by no means comely in person. His eyes are gray and deep-set, and his cheek-bones prominent. His mouth is large, and has about it an expression of stubbornness, which, I believe, is his most prominent trait of character.
Colonel Shaw is a man of great experience, and large and varied acquirements. Indeed, there seems to be no profession or science, with which he is not, in a good degree, familiar. HIe can talk law, divinity or physic; and, by his blunt shrewd- ness, surprises even those who, by these callings, obtain a livelihood. In nearly all questions, he is noted for assuming the negative; and, when once interested, he will talk and argue from morning till night. Many days of his prison-life were passed in this way. In prison, Major, now Governor Stone, was his chief opponent.
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It is a mystery to some why Colonel Shaw was never made a brigadier-general. He was brave and efficient in the field, and never met the enemy without distinguishing himself; and many, destitute of these qualifications, have been made general officers. He doubtless would have been promoted, had he been more reticent on the conduct and merits of his superiors. It was against his nature to let a blunder pass unnoticed; and he would quarrel with a superior, sooner than with a subordinate.
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BRIGADIER-GENERAL HUGH T. REID.
FIRST COLONEL, FIFTEENTH INFANTRY.
HUGH THOMPSON REID Was born in Union county, Indiana, the Sth day of October, 1811. His father, who was a native of South Carolina, had left that State only a year before his son Hugh's birth. General Reid worked on his father's farm, in Indiana, till the year 1830, when he entered the Miami Uni- versity, then under the tutorship of Professor Bishop. He graduated at the Indiana College, in 1837. Choosing the law for a profession, he studied for two years in the office of Judge Perry of Liberty, Indiana, and was then admitted to the bar. He came to Keokuk, Iowa, in 1813, and began the practice of his profession. Keokuk has since remained his home.
General Reid first became widely known in Southern Iowa, from his connection with the Keokuk and Des Moines River Railroad: indeed, to his energy and perseverance, more than to the efforts of any other man, this road is indebted for its existence. At one time its abandonment was talked of; but he would not consent, and the work was pushed forward. Its present flourishing condition evidences the soundness of his judgment.
Late in the summer of 1861, General Reid began recruiting a regiment for the service. Then, recruiting dragged heavily. On every hand he met with discouragements; but he finally succeeded, for he never turned his back on an enterprise once undertaken. The 15th Iowa Infantry was mustered into the United States service on the 22d day of February, 1862.
The 15th Iowa left its rendezvous in Keokuk on the 17th of March, 1862, and, after a stay of only ten days in St. Louis, 281
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proceeded to the front. At St. Louis the regiment received its arms and camp equipage. It arrived at Pittsburg Landing at six o'clock on Sunday morning, the first day of the battle. Its opening chapter was an eventful one. It fired its first gun at Shiloh.
General Grant's head-quarters were then at Savannah, eight miles below, on the river; and at that point Colonel Reid had, the night before, been assigned to the division of General Prentiss. On arriving at the Landing, on the morning of the sixth, his first business was to report to that general, and, mounting his horse, he rode out toward the front for that pur- pose; but for some reason, he did not reach the front till the battle had opened with great fierceness, and he was unable to effect his object. He therefore returned to the river, and, dis- embarking his regiment, drew it up in line on the high bluffs, and waited for orders. It was now hardly nine o'clock, and yet the frightful stampede had already begun. Long lines of fugitives, many of them hatless and coatless, and all of them frightened to desperation, came streaming to the river-bank, and nothing could stop them.
Colonel Reid first received orders to arrest these fugitives, and effect their re-organization; but it was utterly impossible, and he was therefore, after considerable delay, ordered to pro- ceed hastily to the front.
I have already stated that the 15th Iowa received their arms at St. Louis, just before embarking for the front : it is therefore unnecessary to add that the regiment had never been instructed in the manual of arms. In the process of loading and firing, they were all novices; but it was fortunate that they were nearly all of them accustomed to a gun, and could handle it with efficiency.
Under the guidance of a staff officer of General MeClernand, and followed by the 16th Iowa, Colonel Chambers, Colonel
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Reid started with his regiment for the front ; and, after a long, circuitous march occasioned by the ignorance or confusion of the guide,- first to the right, in almost the opposite direction from where the firing was the heaviest, and then to the left in a south-westerly direction -finally entered a large, open field, the west side of which was bordered by timber and held by the enemy. On his right, too, the field was bordered with timber and held by the enemy; and here they had artillery in position, with which, as soon as he came into view, they opened on him with great vigor. They used shell, grape and canister, and fired with precision; but Colonel Reid, heedless of danger, advanced to engage the enemy in his front. He was so confident, or so forgetful, that he did not even take the precaution to deploy his regiment in line of battle; but marched it by the right flank, into the very face of the enemy. Some of his regiment said after the engagement that, if the enemy had opened their lines, he would have marched straight through and been captured; but it is needless to say that these were the colonel's enemies.
When he had reached a point where he was met both in front and on the right by a most galling fire, he drew his regiment out into line of battle; and the manner in which he did it, showed his great courage. He first filed it to the left, in a line parallel to that of the enemy, and then counter-marched it into a position to return the enemy's fire. All this time he was suffering loss. Such coolness must have been a strange spectacle to the enemy; and such troops they must have encountered with hesitancy.
As soon as the regiment was brought to a front, it engaged the enemy, first by a rapid fire, and then with the bayonet; and thus the struggle continued for nearly two hours, when, flanked on both the right and left, the order to fall back was given. The regiment fell back, as did nearly all the troops on
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that field, in confusion. But that is not strange: what is strange, is how, undisciplined as it was, the regiment main- tained itself so long, and with such courage.
About this time, Colonel Reid was severely wounded. A shot struck him in the neck, and paralyzed him. Seeing him fall from his horse, Major Belknap ran to him, and raised him up, when he said: "Tell my wife that I died gloriously, fight- ing for my country." Brave man! He thought he was hit mortally -dulce pro patria mori; but it fortunately proved otherwise. He revived in a half-hour, and resumed command of his shattered regiment.
There are various accounts of the particular part taken by the 15th Iowa at Shiloh: indeed, hardly two men of the regi- ment saw the thing alike. One says the regiment did not file left in coming into line, but that it formed "forward on first company." Another says that, a portion of the regiment filed left, and the other right, and thus got separated, (which is true); and still another that, it engaged the enemy across a large ravine, to the right and front, while standing by the right flank and before it was formed in line of battle. To show how great was the confusion, I may further add that, one of the regiment's field officers, the day after the battle had closed, was not able to find the field in which the fighting was done.
The following is Colonel Reid's statement of casualties, and his roll of honor :
"Fifteen of the thirty-two commissioned officers, who went on the field, had been killed, wounded, or taken prisoners: twenty-two officers and men had been killed, and one hundred and fifty-six wounded.
"Adjutant Pomutz distinguished himself during the action, for his coolness and courage. He, too, was wounded. Cap- tains Kittle, of Company A; Smith, of Company B; Seevers, of Company C; Madison, of Company D; Huteheraft, of Com- pany E; Cunningham, of Company G; Day, of Company I;
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and Hedrick, of Company K, who was captured in a charge upon the enemy, all distinguished themselves for their gal- lantry and courage, in leading forward and encouraging their men. Captain Blackmar, of Company F, was wounded in the action, and disabled; 1st Lieutenant Goode of the same company was also wounded. Captain Clark, of Company H, was not in the engagement, having been left sick in the hos- pital at St. Louis. Captains Hutchcraft and Day were both severely wounded. Second Lieutenant Penniman of Company A, and Hamilton of Company I, were killed whilst bravely performing their duty. First Lieutenant King, and 2d Lieu- tenant Danielson of Company HI, were both severely wounded, while acting well their part, thus leaving the company without a commissioned officer. First Lieutenants Studer, of Company B; Porter, of Company D; Craig, of Company E; Hanks, of Company G; J. Monroe Reid, of Company 1, who, though wounded himself, continued in command of the company after the captain was disabled and the 2d Lieutenant killed; and Eldridge, of Company K; all deserve special praise for the manner in which they conducted themselves on the field. Second Lieutenants Lanstrum, of Company B; Brown, of Company E; Herbert, of Company C; and Sergeant-Major Brown, who was severely wounded, conducted themselves well on the field. The non-commissioned officers generally, were at their posts, and performed their duty. The color-Ser- geant, Newton J. Rogers, who fought in the 1st Iowa at Springfield, gallantly bore our standard forward, and planted it among the enemy, where it was bravely maintained and defended by portions of Companies C, E, I, and K. * * The Reverend W. W. Eastbrook, too, for a time laid aside his sacred office, and resumed the use of the surgeon's scalpel with great success."
In no respect is Colonel Reid too lavish of his praise. The 15th Jowa did nobly. During the war, no cruder troops have met the enemy; and but few have borne themselves with greater eredit.
In the retreat from the front to the Landing, Captain Kittle, of the 15th Jowa, a handsome and brave young officer, was reported the hero of an incident which I would like to tell,
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but it is not well vouched for. The following is true. Soon after arriving at the Landing, a lieutenant-colonel -a staff officer - rode up to the frightened crowd on the river bank, and shouted: "Is there no officer here?" Captain Kittle step- ping forward said: "Yes, Sir, I am an infantry officer: what shall I do?" "For God's sake, organize these men, and bring them out to the new line." . Going at the work, he gathered in line, by threats and entreaties, a respectable battalion, and started with them to the front; but the greater part of them were so filled with terror, that they soon broke and fled back to the Landing. With the balance, he went on and took part in repelling the last assaults of the enemy, that were made that afternoon. There were many other instances of special gallautry among the line officers of the 15th Iowa; and the names of Captains Hedrick, Madison and Blackmar ; and Lieutenant J. S. Porter, may be mentioned specially, for their conduet was admirable.
Colonel Reid continued with his regiment till the 23d of April, 1869, when he received his commission as brigadier- general. A portion of this time he had been in command of a brigade. Subsequently to the battle of Shiloh, and up to the time he received his promotion, the history of his regiment is the same as that of the other regiments of the Jowa Brig- ade. General Reid was promoted to the rank of brigadier on the special recommendation of General Grant; and the general may well be proud of this compliment; for General Grant, knowingly, never compliments the undeserving.
During the spring of 1863, and till the 6th of the following August, General Reid commanded the District of Lake Provi- dence, with the following named troops comprising his com- mand: the 16th Wisconsin, the 122d Illinois, portions of the 17th and 95th Illinois, and the 1st Kansas Mounted Infantry. At the last named date, orders were given for the evacuation
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of the place. They were issued on account of the siekliness of the locality. After visiting his family on leave of absence, the general was placed in command at Cairo, Illinois. He was holding this command at the time of tendering his resignation, which was in the spring of 1864.
Colonel Reid does not look like the man he is. From what he has accomplished, I judge him to be a man of more than ordinary ability. He is tall, and slightly stooping in person, has coarse features, and a large, sandy, bushy head. He has large perceptive organs, and small, gray eyes, sunk deeply in his head. He is perhaps a little more comely than Colonel Shaw of the 14th, but not much.
In character, he is brave and determined. A neighbor of his, of long acquaintance, speaks thus of him:
"In the early history of the Half-Breed Tract in Lee county, which included the city of Keokuk, there was much trouble about titles to real estate, and at times, a state of things border- ing upon civil war. In these contests, General Reid was conspicuous, and had to undergo many dangers. On several occasions, his life was threatened by an infuriated mob; but he maintained his rights with so much courage, as to secure a local fame for prowess, which, more recently, has become national, by his military achievements."
In the essentials, General Reid was a fine soldier. He was brave, and had good judgment; but he could never master tacties. "He could not," say many of his regiment, "drill a company, to say nothing about a regiment;" and many instances are given, showing how he used to handle his regi- ment. In passing an obstacle, he once gave the following command: "File left, boys; and follow my horse round this stump!" But his regiment noticed this deficiency more, on account of the great contrast, in this respect, between himself and his successors, Generals Belknap and Hedrick. Both those officers are fine tacticians.
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The following incident occurred while General Reid was colonel of the 15th Iowa: He was stationed with his regiment at Lake Providence, Louisiana, in February, 1863, when Adju- tant-General Thomas visited Grant's army, to institute negro recruiting; for the Government had at last come to the conclusion that, for a black man to shoot a rebel, was no mur- der. McArthur's Division, of MePherson's Corps, was drawn up in hollow square, and addressed by Generals Thomas, McPherson and McArthur. Finally, Colonel Reid was called to the stand. Some officers of his regiment felt anxious for him; but he soon relieved their minds, for he made the best speech of them all.
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BRIGADIER-GENERAL W. W. BELKNAP.
SECOND COLONEL, FIFTEENTH INFANTRY.
WILLIAM WORTH BELKNAP, the successor of Colonel Reid to the colonelcy of the 15th Iowa Infantry, is a son of the late General Belknap, who, as a colonel, distinguished himself in the Mexican War. Entering the United States Army in 1812, the late General Belknap continued in the service till the day of his death. For his efficient services in the Mexican War, he was made a brevet brigadier-general. He died in Texas soon after the publication of peace, and near the fort bearing his own name. He was, at the time of his death, traveling in an ambulance from one portion to another of his command.
William, the subject of this sketch, was born in the year 1830, at Newburg, New York. He was named after General William J. Worth, a warm friend of his father's family. In about the year 1856, he came to Jowa, and located in the city of Keokuk. Prior to coming to Jowa, General Belknap had studied the law, and, soon after settling in Keokuk, he entered upon its practice. As a lawyer, he was quite successful. He is one of the few young attorneys, who, settling at that day in the city of Fast Living and High Prices, was able to secure a paying practice, and establish himself as a permanent resident. . He was engaged in the practice of his profession at the out- break of the war, and till as Jate as the fall of 1861, when he abandoned it to enter the service.
In compliment for his successful efforts in assisting to recruit the 15th lowa Infantry, he was commissioned major of the regiment. With this rank he accompanied it to the field. On
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the promotion of Lieutenant-Colonel Dewey to the coloneley of the 23d Iowa Infantry, he was made lieutenant-colonel, and still later - the 22d of April, 1863- was commissioned colonel, rice Colonel Reid, promoted to a general officer.
If we except General Belknap's services at the battle of Corinth, where he distinguished himself, his military record, that has made his name familiar in Iowa, and secured his appointment as brigadier-general, was almost wholly made in General Sherman's campaign against Atlanta. The same is true of his old regiment. Brigaded with the 11th Iowa, the 13th and 16th ever since the spring of 1862, the history of the 15th Iowa is almost identical with that of these regiments. It took part in the battle of Corinth, October 3d and 4th, 1862; but, with this exception, the 15th, with the balance of the Iowa Brigade, escaped every hard-fought battle until the spring of 1864; and this, too, notwithstanding it was always in the front, and present in the Department that, of all others, was characterized by its bloody battle-fields and vigorous cam- paigns.
Of the different regiments of the lowa Brigade, the 15th most distinguished itself at the battle of Corinth. The following is from Colonel Crocker's report, the brigade commander:
"The execution of the order to move back had just com- menced, when the enemy, in greatly-superior force, attacked the front of the line (the 15th and 16th Iowa). The officers and men of these regiments, acting with signal determination and bravery, not only held the enemy in cheek, but drove him back, and held their position, until notice was received that the artillery had passed safely to the rear, when they were ordered to fall back and form in line of battle on the right of the second line, which they did in good order, the enemy declining to follow. This engagement lasted three-quarters of an hour. The firing was incessant, and the regiments, especi- ally the 15th, suffered severely. I deom it my especial duty to particularly mention Lieutenant-Colonel Belknap, who com-
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manded the 15th regiment. This regiment was under the hottest fire, and Colonel Belknap was everywhere along the line, mounted, and with sword in hand encouraging, by voice and gesture, his men to stand their ground." *
The opening of General Sherman's campaign in the spring of 1864, forms a new and sanguinary chapter in the history of the lowa Brigade. Returning from veteran furlough, the brigade proceeded to the front at Kenesaw Mountain, after which, for nearly sixty days, it was almost constantly under fire; and its scores of killed and wounded, during this period, are witnesses of its conspicuous gallantry. From the time the enemy was flanked at Kenesaw Mountain, till he was forced back to and into his entrenchments at Atlanta, there were few engagements in which this brigade did not take part. But the greatest battle of the campaign was precipitated, just at the time it was supposed the contest for the Gate City had closed.
During the greater part of the night of the 21st of July, 1864, the rumbling of artillery, and the confusion so common in the movements of large bodies of men, were distinctly heard by our troops, in the direction of the enemy; and it was sup- po-ed by many that, General Hood was evacuating Atlanta; McPherson thought otherwise, and was anxious and watchful. In the disposition of our forces in this engagement, the 17th Army Corps held the left, and on the extreme left of this corps, was the Iowa Brigade. The position held by this brigade, was a commanding ridge on the east side of the MeDonough road, and almost at right angles with the main line of battle, which was west of, and nearly parallel with, the above named road. The head-quarters of the 15th Iowa were not more than two and a half miles north of the Atlanta and Macon Railroad, and about three miles south-east of the city of Atlanta. The coun- try on every si le was broken, and for the most part, heavily wooded; but that portion lying in the direction of the Macon
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