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 4
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After remaining in the vicinity of the battle-ground for nearly a month, the enemy no longer appearing in any force near his front, General Curtis, by a difficult march, moved across the Boston Mountains to Batesville, on White River. Here he remained till the 23d of the following June, when he began his celebrated march through Arkansas to Helena. At that day it was a celebrated undertaking, and the papers throughout the country were filled with its recital ; but to-day, when contrasted with the wonderful movements of Sherman, it seems only an ordinary affair. The skirmishes and engage- ments which resulted from this movement will be given elsewhere. That was now accomplished which General Fre- mont claimed he would have effected six months earlier, had his hands not been tied by the President-the west bank of the Mississippi was gained at a point below Memphis.
General Curtis remained at Helena until the following Aug- ust. His head-quarters were established at the magnificent residence of the rebel General Hindman, which is situated near the base of one of the hills that look down on that sickly,
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detestable village. While here he organized many expeditions, one of which penetrated the waters of the Yazoo River. Another went down the Mississippi, and captured a partially prepared battery; and still another was sent to Richmond, a considerable town in Louisiana, eighteen miles west of Vieks- burg. It was through this same town that Grant marched, when on his way to the rear of Vicksburg.
But, though burdened with the cares of a large military command, General Curtis did not forget that magnificent enterprise, for the success of which he had, in civil life, labored ro untiringly, and, I may add, so successfully. Having been made one of the corporators, he obtained a leave of absence from the War Department to attend the Pacific Railroad Con- * vention at Chicago. He was chosen and acted as President of that body. In the future, that assemblage will be looked upon as a land-mark of a new era ; for it organized and inaugurated the great work which is now in progress, to connect the two oceans and bind the continent together with iron bands.
On the 19th of September, 1862, General Curtis was assigned to the command of the Department of the Missouri, with head-quarters at St. Louis. At that time this department included the States of Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, the Territo- ries of Nebraska, Colorado, and the Indian Territory. The military forces consisted of the armies of the South West, the Frontier, and South-east Missouri. The department was sub- sequently diminished by the withdrawal of Arkansas. While in command of this department, his troops fought the following battles: Cane Hill, Old Town, Wayne, Prairie Grove, Spring- field, Hartsville, Cape Girardeau, besides capturing Fort Smith and Van Buren, Arkansas. There were also many skirmishes and engagements of lesser note. But General Curtis was too ralival for that early day of the struggle. His anti-Slavery spirit was distasteful to the conservative governor of Missouri,
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and, harassed by the importunities of that official, and other influential conservative men of the State, the President relieved the general of his command, after a successful and, with the true friends of the Government, a popular administration of eight months. The President expressly stated that he had no fault to find with the general's administration, but that he was willing to yield to the wishes of the conservative party, headed by Governor Gamble, and see, if by inaugurating a more lenient policy, he could not conciliate hostile factions, and heal the breach in the Union Party of Missouri. But the Pres- dent, though honest in his intentions, (as he always has been), was in error, as the subsequent triumph of anti-Slavery princi -. ples in that State evidences. Indeed, the history of the Balti- more Convention of 1861 is conclusive proof in this matter ; for the Missouri delegation was the only one which cast its vote against Mr. Lincoln in that body.
General Curtis' next command was the Department of Kan- sas, to which he was assigned the first day of January, 1864. It inchided Kansas, and the Territories of Nebraska and Colo- rado, with head-quarters at Fort Leavenworth. Fort Smith and the Indian Territory were at first included, but these were subsequently given to General . Steele, whose head- quarters were at Little Rock. During the summer and fall of 1864, the general was engaged in protecting the exposed settle- inents on the frontier from the depredations of hostile Indians, and in guarding lines of travel west. He was at Fort Leaven- worth, and his troops scattered in every quarter of his con- mand, when he first learned of the rapid and almost unopposed march of Priec into Missouri. The course of the rebel general was bearing toward the borders of Kansas, and General Curtis, although his available force was scarcely three thousand men, began preparations to meet him. The Kansas Militia were at once organized under General Deitzler, and, with the
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volunteer forces under General Blunt, General Curtis took the field. The part taken by the general in routing and driving Price from Missouri was active and successful. I quote from a statement of one of his staff officers:
"The sudden rallying of the people of Kansas, under Curtis, checked the movements of Price, who had boasted that he would capture Fort Leavenworth and city, and lay the State waste. The first resistance actually confronting the advance of Price was the advance of General Blunt, under Curtis, at Lex- ington, on October 19th."
"Rosecrans and Pleasanton were south-east of the rebel gen- eral, while Curtis, Blunt and Deitzler, with their little band of volunteers, were to his west, near Kansas City, on the border of Kansas. Blunt advanced to Lexington, where he was attacked by Price, and, as he was ordered only to feel the enemy, fell back to the Little Blue. In the battles of Little Blue and Big Blue, on the 20th and 22d of October, Curtis delayed the advance of the rebel general, and held him a severe engagement. At Westport, on the 23d, the battle was renewed ; and General Curtis, with his whole force, completely checked Price's westward movement, and turned him south. After the rebel retreat had commenced, Pleasanton joined in pursuit, and the retreat became a rout. Price was driven south along the border of Kansas.
"After the battle of Westport, Price successively fought and lost the battles of Marias des Cygnes, [Swamp of the Swans] Mine Creek, Osage, and on October 25th, the battle of Char- lotte, losing two thousand men and two guns. The rebel generals Marmaduke and Cabell were captured, and large quantities of Price's equipments were burned and scattered in the retreat. The rebel generals Graham and Slemmons were killed. Price passed within a few miles of the richly stored military depot of Fort Seott; but was too closely pressed to attempt its capture. The same night he burned five hundred of his wagons, and a large quantity of his stores. The pursuit was continued on October 26th, and on the 28th, at Granby, the rebel rear-guard was struck. At Newtonia, five miles beyond, Blunt, being in advance, attacked the enemy with parts of two brigades, holding his ground for three hours, until the arrival of Curtis with Sanborn's Brigade on the field. The enemy
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was soon routed, and again retreated in great disorder, having lost some six hundred men. On this night Rosecrans with- drew all his forces, and, as the Kansas Militia had been dis banded at Fort Scott, General Curtis' whole force did not now exceed twenty-two hundred men.
"The next day, in accordance with orders from Lieutenant- General Grant, Curtis continued the pursuit of Price. The Missouri troops were included in the order; but for some reason did not overtake General Curtis. At Keetsville, Colonel Benton with a small brigade of veterans of the 16th Army Corps, making Curtis' force about three thousand men, joined in the pursuit, which was continued over the old Pea Ridge battle-ground to Cross Hollows. From this point a forced march was made to the relief of Fayetteville, for three days invested by Price's forces, who hastily retired, on the approach of General Curtis, who, they supposed, still retained the whole force that operated in Missouri. The pursuit was continued over Cane Hill battle-ground, and through a portion of the Indian Territory, to a point on the Arkansas River, thirty iniles above Fort Smith. Here, on November Sth, Price suc- ceeded in crossing the river, a parting volley of shells being fired at his rear. General Curtis now returned by easy marches to Fort Leavenworth.
"In a campaign of thirty-eight days, a march of nearly one thousand miles had been accomplished ; nine battles had been fought, with a Union loss of eighteen hundred men, killed and wounded. From Lexington to Cane Hill, the rebels admitted a loss of ten thousand five hundred killed, wounded and miss- ing. General Curtis was welcomed back to liis post with a grand reception by the people of Leavenworth; and the Legis- lature of Kansas tendered him their thanks for his noble defense of the State, and recommended his promotion in the regular army."
General Curtis has recently been assigned to the command of the Department of the North West, with head-quarters at Mil- waukee, Wisconsin. It is the same command recently held by Major-General Jolin Pope, including the States of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, and the Territories of Dacotah and Idaho.
If we except two instances, General Curtis has served with-
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out reproach, from the time he entered the war to the present. Hle was charged with dealing in cotton, while commanding in Arkansas, and rebels gave their affidavits to impeach him ; but the President was kind enough to inform the general of the styret assaults on his character, and the overwhelming proof which he offered of the integrity of his command in Arkansas, not only served with the President, but with the people, as a full vindication against the foul slander. He was also charged with appropriating two camels, which he had captured from the enemy, the remnant of those imported by the Government to traverse the sandy plains of the Southern Overland Route; but, on inquiry, it appeared that they were kept by, and prop- erly accounted for, by the staff quarter-master, awaiting, at any time, the disposal of the Government. It further appeared that they were only sent to Iowa to secure them from re-cap- ture, and to preserve them for the Government, to which they rightfully and notoriously belonged. Even the genial-hearted Claggett, editor of the Keokuk "Constitution," and the bitter political opponent of General Curtis, vindicated him from this unjust and unmanly charge.
Of the Iowa major-generals, General Curtis is the largest in per-on. He has a tall, fine form, and, though nearly sixty years of age, is ereet and vigorous. His large, hazel eyes give his countenance an expression of gravity and thoughtfulness which comports well with the dignity of his movements and manners. But, if he is sedate, and if he never laughs boister- ously, he is nevertheless easily approached and sociable; he is kind and generous-hearted, and would not knowingly injure the feelings of the most humble or unfortunate.
Hle has one trait which is not in keeping with his general character. He is nice and precise in dress, and in this respect has been noted for the serupnlousness with which he has com- plied with the Army Regulations. He never, when on duty,
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omits a regulation trapping. In many respects he is not unlike General Grant; but not in this.
Intellectually, General Curtis is not brilliant. He has excel- lent judgment, and great available ability. To these, and to unremitting labor, he is indebted for what he is. He is a most excellent mathematician, and, as a civil-engineer, has I believe no superior in the West. This remarkable endowment made him the leader in Congress of the great Pacific Railroad enter- prise.
As a soldier, General Curtis is able, magnanimous and brave ; and why, against his known wishes, he has recently been kept from the front, I do not understand. Perhaps he too much resembles the great military chieftain of the day; for I have noticed that, in nearly every instance, commands at the front have been given to those who, as regards sprightliness and dash, are the direct opposites of General Grant.
General Curtis has a proud record, whether before, or during the War of the Rebellion; and when this great conflict shall have closed, and a true love of the Nation's ancient motto re-enshrined in the hearts of all, he will stand, with the honest historian, as one of the most practical and deserving men of his day.
BRIGADIER-GENERAL JAMES M. TUTTLE.
SECOND COLONEL, SECOND INFANTRY.
General JAMES MADISON TUTTLE, was born near Summer- field, Monroe county, Ohio, on the 24th of September, 1823; and was educated at "the people's college"- the Common School. Emigrating to Indiana with his father's family, in the winter of 1833, he settled in Fayette county, whence, after a residence of thirteen years, he removed to Farmington, Van Buren county, Iowa, where he soon after engaged in mercantile pur- suits.
Prior to entering the United States Service, General Tuttle was a quiet citizen, and not known to any great extent, outside of his own county. In the fall of 1855, he was elected to the office of sheriff of Van Buren county, and in 1857, to that of treasurer and recorder, and was known as a prompt, honora- ble and accurate official -but nothing further. He cared little for public celat ; and what little public life he had seen, was not so much attributable to his own efforts, as to the solicitation and labor of his friends. In his case, as in many others, the war developed latent powers that otherwise would doubtless have remained dormant.
Early in 1861, in response to the call of the President for sev- enty-five thousand men, General Tuttle closed up his business hastily, and recruited a company, of which he was elected cap- tain ; but the quota of the State's three-months men being already full, his company, in the following May, was assigned to the 2d Iowa Infantry. At its rendezvous, he was chosen lieutenant-colonel of that regiment, and on the 6th of the fol- lowing September, was made its colonel.
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There are few officers, who have a better military record than General Tuttle-none a fairer ; and from the time he led his regiment in its gallant and reckless charge against Fort Don- elson till August, 1863, when he accepted the Democratic nom- ination for Governor of Iowa, there were none, except confessed sympathizers with the rebellion, who were not loud in his praise ;- and he merited his great popularity.
That the 2d Iowa Infantry, Colonel James M. Tuttle con- manding, and the glory incident to the capture of Fort Don- elson are inseparable, is known not only in Iowa, but in every loyal State; but, it is not so generally known that the tender of the "forlorn hope" had been previously made by General Smith to several other regiments, by all, of which, through their commanders, it had been declined.
"Colonel, will you take those works ?"
"Support me promptly, and in twenty minutes I will go in."
And he did go in; but the glory was dearly purchased. The dangers met, and the obstacles encountered and overcome in this assault, were of the most prodigious character; and the heroism that inspired the assailants has never been fully ap- preciated. It is without question the most gallant, reckless and successful charge of the whole war. On the right of the Fort Henry, or Dover Road, a fierce struggle had been going on during all the forenoon of the 15th, with results so favorable to the enemy that, abandoning their purposes of retreating, they returned to their works, confident of being able to force the en- tire Federal position ; and, to show that their hopes of success were not unreasonable, it is only necessary to state that with the exception of a few regiments-only two brigades-the whole Federal force had been encountered and sadly worsted. McClernand and Wallace had both been defeated. I am aware that the Rev. John S. C. Abbott, our able and pleasant histori-
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an, does not corroborate this statement; nor does the rebel Gen- eral Pillow, whom Mr. Abbott cites as authority; but the former was doubtless misinformed, and, as for the latter, he would not tell the truth if a lie would better suit his purpose. Indeed his own flaming dispatch, forwarded to Nashville just on the eve of the Confederate successes, contradicts his official report of the battle-"On the honor of a soldier, the day is ours;" and so at that hour it was.
In the disposition of the Federal troops at Fort Donelson, the 2d Iowa Infantry held the extreme left of General Grant's forces. Its position from the rebel lines, at the point where the attack was to be made, and where, I may add, a whole brigade had made an assault the day before and been repulsed, was some six hundred yards distant. The character of the ground, intervening between the 2d Iowa and the intrenched line of the enemy, was such as to throw all the advantages in the enemy's favor. In front of the regiment, and just beyond the open field in which it formed for the charge, was a ravine whose sides, thickly lined with tangled brush, were very diffi- cult of passage. Beyond, was the steep, obstructed hill-side, along the crest of which, and parallel to the ravine, were the earth-works of the enemy. Not more than one hundred yards in front of these works was a formidable abattis, to pass which an assaulting column must break its line of battle, and move by the flank. Beyond the abattis there were no obstructions except the enemy's breast-works.
The assaulting party consisted of three hundred men of the 2d Iowa, under Colonel, afterwards General Tuttle; and here. Mr. Abbott is again in error ; for he says: " General Smith led the charge on horseback. It was a sublime sight, as this mass of troops, in unbroken line emerged from the woods, and com- menced its firm, resolute, silent tramp up the steep hill in the face of the battery of the foe." General Smith remained at
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the foot of the hill till the charge had been made, and the enemy's defenses gained.
But to return: When all was in readiness, the order to advance was given, when Colonel Tuttle, with the left wing of his regiment, forcing his way through the ravine, began scal- ing the hill-side. The abattis was reached, and that obstruc- tion passed without the firing of scarcely a gun, but the instant after, and hardly before the gallant band had again come into line, it received the concentrated fire of three rebel infantry regiments -- not less than two thousand men. The slaughter was terrible. At the first fire, one hundred and fifty of these three hundred gallant men fell, either dead or wounded. Among them were the lamented captains, Slaymaker and Cloutman. But the ardor of the surviving was in no manner cooled. Their good name had been impeached at St. Louis, by an unjust and unwarranted order of General Hamilton; and the last man was to die or be a victor. Without a perceptible halt, the assaulting party, closing up its ranks, moved steadily on. Such daring was too much for the enemy; and two whole regiments, with the exception of a few men who were promptly put to the bayonet, fled from their defences in precipitate flight. A Mississippi regiment to the right, still remained; but, the right wing of the 2d Iowa now coming up, this also fled to the ravine below.
The key to the rebel position had now been wrested from the enemy, and yet the fighting was not more than half done. Between the main fort and the position the 2d Iowa now held was a deep ravine, through which the enemy having passed, had taken up a position on the high ground, which bounded its opposite side. Colonel Tuttle, wishing to avail himself of their present fright, promptly formed his regiment, and moved against them. He had reached the ravine, and was engaging the enemy, when that Indiana regiment, just having gained the
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hill for the first time, commenced pouring a severe musketry- fire upon his rear. Momentary confusion followed. Colonel Tuttle first waved his sword, and in other ways endeavored to induce the Indianians to cease their firing; but they believed they were engaging the enemy, and no token but the white flag would they accept. Alarmed for the safety of his own regi- ment, Colonel Tuttle now determined to run back to them, and inform them in person of their mistake; but he had not gone far before he stopped short, and, turning his face in the direction of the enemy's fire, began moving backward. The reason for this maneurer of the colonel was then unknown, and for sometime after; but it afterwards turned out that he was fearful of being shot in the back by the enemy, which he had declared should never happen. My informant was a member of his old regiment.
Order was now restored. In the meantime General Smith, having come on the hights to superintend movements in per- son, recalled the 2d lowa, and, with the other troops of his command, stationed the regiment behind the captured works of the enemy. Random firing was kept up till late in the evening, and the next morning the fort surrendered.
Fifteen thousand prisoners, many ordnance stores, and much other property, were the fruits of the victory. There were other fruits, though these were not to be relished by the publie palate. The commander-in-chief, and every division commander in the fight, were made major-generals, and every brigade commander was made a brigadier. The 2d Iowa Infantry, therefore, not only made U. S. Grant, C. F. Smith, J. A. McClernand and Lew Wallace, major-generals; but Lauman and some ten others, brigadiers. It also broke the line of the enemy's defences, which extended in the South West, from Bowling Green to Columbus, and opened up the enemy's country south, to the Memphis and Charleston
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Railroad. The regiment did still more; it forced General Johnson to evacuate Bowling Green, captured Buckner, and frightened into flight Pillow at Fort Donelson, and compelled Polk to evacuate Columbus, on the Mississippi. Glorious old Regiment ! Well might General Halleck say : "The 2d Iowa proved themselves the bravest of the brave." Richly did the regiment deserve its place in the van of the triumphal march into the rebel stronghold !
And yet, after the surrender of the fort, the colonel of the Indiana regiment, who had ordered his men to fire into the 2d Iowa, had the impudence to claim the honor of being the first in the enemy's works; but in justice to General Smith, let me say, his claims were met only by reprimands and cursings.
In adding the roll of honor, I shall quote from the official report of Colonel Tuttle:
" When I come to speak of those who particularly distin- guished themselves for coolness and bravery, so many exam- ples occur to me that it seems invidions to make distinctions. Of those few who were in the most responsible positions, Lieu- tenant-Colonel Baker, Major Chipman and Adjutant Tuttle, to say that they were cool and brave would not do them justice. They were gallant to perfection. Lientenant-Colonel Baker had a ball pass through his cap and come out near his temple. Major Chipman was among the first to fall, severely wounded, while cheering on the men of the left wing, and refused to be carried from the field ; but waved his sword and exhorted the men to press forward. Captains Slaymaker and Cloutman fell dead, at the head of their companies, before they reached the entrenchments. Near them also fell Lieutenant Harper. His death was that of a true and brave soldier. Captains Cox, Mills, Moore and Wilkins were at the head of their companies, marked examples of gallantry and efficiency. Lieutenants Schofield, Ensign, Davis, Holmes, Huntington, Weaver, Mastie, Snowdon and Godfrey-in fact nearly all of iny officers, commissioned and non-commissioned, deported themselves nobly throughout the engagement. Sergeant-Major Brawner deserves very honorable mention for his gallant con-
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duet. Surgeons Marsh and Nassau also deserve the highest praise for their skill and untiring devotion to the welfare of the wounded. Dr. Nassau was particularly noticed for his bravery on the field, taking off the wounded during a heavy fire of the enemy."
I cannot omit, in this report, an account of the color-guard:
"Color-Sergeant Doolittle fell early in the engagement, pierced by four balls, and dangerously wounded. The colors were then taken by Corporal Page, company B, who soon fell dead. They were again raised by Corporal Churcher, company I, who had his arm' broken, just as he entered the entrench- ments, when they were taken by Corporal Twombly, com- pany F, who was almost instantly knocked down by a spent ball, but immediately rose and bore them gallantly to the end of the fight. Not a single man of the color-guard but himself was on his feet at the close of the engagement."
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