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 8
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Much was expected of General Halleck at Corinth, He had command of the finest army that had ever been marshaled in the South West. The enemy, in his disasters at Shiloh, had lost his best general; his troops were dispirited; and it was expected, nay demanded, that Beauregard and his army be either routed or captured. But, if General Grant had been lazy in pressing the enemy after his defeat at Shiloh, so was Halleck cautious not to push him to a new engagement. He thought he would capture the whole thing, never dreaming, 1 suppose, but what Beauregard was fool enough to sit still and be surrounded.
But, presto change ! At a quarter before six, on the morning of the 30th of May, a deafening explosion was heard in the direction of Corinth, and, instantly, dense clouds of smoke were seen rising over the city. But few wondered at the cause. Pope had told Halleck several days before that Beau-
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regard was evacuating; and that time Pope told the truth. Many privates, even, could have told as much. Pope had beggel eagerly for permission to swing the left wing against the enemy's works; but, No! The severe jar that all had just felt was caused by the explosion of the enemy's magazines. And so the enemy escaped, and the government gained -- a little, sickly, strategical point. The whole army was at once put under arms, and marched, a part into Corinth and a part in pursuit of the enemy. With the divisions of Sherman and Ilurlbut, there was a strife to see who would be first in the city: who was the winning party, I never learned. I only know that we, of Pope's command, were put in pursuit.
Corinth fell on the 30th of May, 1862, and, seven days later, Memphis was surrendered to Captain, now Rear-Admiral Charles HI. Davis. On the 2d of June, and before the fall of Memphis, the 4th and 5th Divisions, under General Sherman, left Corinth, and marched west in the direction of the last named eity. The object of this movement was, I believe, to co-operate with the fleet of Ellett and Davis in the capture of Memphis, and ultimately to open up the railroad between that place and Corinth. The news of the fall of Memphis reached these troops while they were camped on the high bluffs that overlook the Big Hatchie-that stream which, four months later, General Hurlbut's Division was to render historic. Before them, where they were then encamped, lay the future battle-field of Matamora.
After considerable delay at La Grange and Moscow, General Sherman resumed the march to Memphis, where he arrived with his command on the 21st of July. The 3d Iowa led the van of its division into the city. On the 6th of September following, General Hurlbut was ordered back in the direction of Corinth; and, on the departure of his division from Men- phis, the ad Iowa was again in the van.
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On the 13th of September this command was encamped at a point on Spring Creek, where it remained till the 19th instant, when a detachment of it, consisting of the 1st Brigade and two battalions of the 2d Illinois cavalry, under General Lauman, marched south to create a diversion in favor of General Grant. It will be remembered that this was the date of the battle of Iuka; and the reason of this movement on the part of General Lauman will be found elsewhere. General Lauman's scouts came on the enemy in the vicinity of La Grange. They were moving north in force; the column, on the march, was a mile and a half in length. The force of Laumau being unequal to engage them, that general beat a hasty retreat, and marched till he came within supporting distance of General Hurlbut; but the enemy, although they pursued, declined to give battle. Northern Mississippi was at this time full of scouting parties of the enemy: they were actively developing their plans for the re-capture of Corinth and the destruction of General Grant's army. Price was disheartened by his defeat at Iuka; but Van Dorn resolved to strike again at Corinth.
While General Hurlbut was encamped near Bolivar, Tennes- see, on the 3d of October, 1862, he received orders to march promptly in the direction of Corinth; and the next morning reveille beat at one o'clock. Soon after the column was in motion. He had his own division, and, in addition to these troops, the 68th Ohio and 12th Michigan, two regiments of Ross' command that had come down from Jackson. The march was to be made in light trim -only two wagons to the regiment. The ambulances were to go along, and the men knew that all this meant fighting. The march was pushed rapidly, and, just beyond Pocahontas, the cavalry van-guard came on the enemy's pickels. That night the column reached the Big Muddy, about two miles west of the Hatehie, and that same forenoon Van Dorn and Price had been repulsed and
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utterly routed at Corinth. All that afternoon, the enemy had been in rapid retreat in the direction of the Hatchie; but of all this General Hurlbut was ignorant.
The 1st Brigade had just stacked their arms, and were pre- paring supper, when it was reported that the cavalry in front were engaging the enemy. Instantly orderlies began flying to and fro, and for a time there was much apprehension; but the firing soon ecased and all remained quiet till morning. That night General Ord arrived from Jackson ria Bolivar, and reported the defeat of the enemy and his subsequent retreat in the direction of the Hatchie. He would probably be met on the morrow, and all nerved themselves for the conflict. Gen- eral Ord, who was the ranking officer, now assumed command of the forces. In the early part of the engagement which fol- lowed he was wounded, and retired from the field, leaving Hurlbut in command of the Federal forces. To Hurlbut, therefore, belongs the credit of that brilliant victory.
The battle of the Hatchie, or Matamora, was fought on the 5th of October, 1862, and was an unequal and most desperate engagement. It was good fortune for the 4th Division that the enemy had been previously routed and demoralized ; and also that he was being hard pressed by Rosecrans: had this not been so, General Hurlbut and his command must have been certainly crushed. Even after the demonstration of the Fed- eral cavalry of the previous evening, on the west bank of the Hatchie, the enemy never dreamed that there was any consid- erable force to resist his advance. He supposed it was a small cavalry command, sent forward to harrass him on his retreat. Therefore, on the morning of the 5th, he began pushing his infantry across the Hatehie with all confidence; his surprise can be imagined, when he met the division of Hurlbut. Beat- ing a hasty retreat back across the bridge, he took up a strong position on the bluffs opposite; but the particulars of this
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engagement appear in the sketch of General Lauman. The 3d Iowa was one of the regiments that was filed to the right, into the pocket, and, with the other troops there stationed, was sub- jected to a murderous fire, without being able to protect itself, or return it. But for the movement round the bluffs to the left, General Hurlbut must have been defeated before Rose- erans came up.
The disproportion in killed and wounded of the 3d Iowa was unprecedented : two only were killed, while nearly sixty were wounded. One of the former was Lieutenant Dodd. He was struck by a shell just before reaching the bridge, and killed instantly. Captains Weiser and Kostman were wounded, as also were Lieutenants Hamill, Foote. and C. E. Anderson. * The latter was wounded just at the close of the battle, after having done his duty nobly. In their conduct in the battle, the men of the regiment vied with the officers; and their names should all be recorded, to go down in honor to posterity.
After the fighting had closed and the result of all three bat- tles learned, there was both sadness and rejoicing. The 3d. Iowa, with its division, marched back to Bolivar, and there tendered and received congratulations. General Hurlbut was lavish of his praises to all his troops: - " Comrades in battle, partakers of the weary march and long watches! the title of the Fighting Fourth, earned at Shiloh, has been burnished with additional splendor." He was now Mr. Hurlbut, and no longer General. ITis heart was as warm and tender as a woman's. But he had covered himself with glory, had been made a major-general, and was now taking leave of his divis- ion.
After the battle of the Hatchie, the seven subsequent months were not eventful to the 3d Iowa Infantry. General Lauman succeeded General Hurlbut in the command of the 4th Divis- ion, and under him the regiment remained, and, in the follow-
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ing spring, followed him to Vicksburg. It had in the mean- timie made many fatiguing marches, the most important of which was that under General Grant, through Central Missis- sippi to the Yoekona. For many weeks it was stationed on guard-duty at Moscow, on the line of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. During these seven months, there had been many changes in the regiment, the chief one of which was the resignation of Colonel Williams, and the promotion of Major Brown to that rank.
On the 18th of May, 1864, the 3d Iowa left Memphis for Vicksburg. Its days of rest and quiet camp life had passed, and now, for many months to come, it was to endure the hard- ships and breast the dangers of active field service. With its brigade it sailed up the Yazoo River, at day-light of the 21st of May. The object was to open up communication with Sher- man, then just foreing the enemy back into his inner-works at Vicksburg. It is claimed that companies G and K, of the 3d Iowa, were the first to occupy the enemy's strong works at Haine's Bluff; but about this there must be some mistake.
One incident in the passage of the 3d Iowa from Memphis to Vicksburg, I must not omit to mention. The Crescent City, on which the regiment was embarked, had arrived, in the afternoon of the 19th instant, at the bend of the river near Island No. 65, and was sailing on unsuspectingly, when it was suddenly opened on with two howitzers from the eastern bank. Thirteen men of the regiment were wounded at the first dis- charge, one of them mortally; but, before the guerillas had time to re-load, a gunboat came up and drove the wretches from their cover. This circumstance will be remembered, when I state that the 41st and 53d Illinois, having landed and pursued the guerillas without being ablo to overtake them, returned and burned to the ground the village of Greenville, some two miles below the scene of murder. If reports were true, its fate
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was merited, and for other reasons; for it was said that, early in the war, a father and his son, Union residents of Greenville, were headed up in barrels by the fiendish citizens, and rolled down the steep bank into the Mississippi:
Before Vicksburg, the services of the 3d Iowa were the same as those of the other troops, buried in the heated trenches around that beleaguered city.
I now hasten to the most eventful chapter in the history of the 3d Iowa Infantry-its charge on the enemy's works at Jackson, Mississippi, on the 12th of July, 1863. Vieks- burg had fallen, and the 3d Iowa had marched with the forces of General Sherman against Johnson, who, for several weeks, had been raising the siege-with official dispatches. On the advance of Sherman, Johnson had fallen back and planted himself behind his works at Jackson ; and there he was on the 12th of July, in a state of siege, confronted and watched by three corps-the 9th, under Parke, on his right; the 15th, under Steele, in his front; and the 13th, under Ord, on his left. General Lauman was in Ord's command, and his division held the right of Sherman's army. And thus matters stood on the morning of the 12th of July.
At the date above mentioned, it was thought by General Ord that the position of Lauman's Division was too much retired. He therefore ordered it forward, so that its left should dress on the right of General Hovey, whose division, from right to left, came next in order. Its right was to be thrown forward so as to correspond with the advance on the left. The object was to horten and strengthen the line, and not to bring on an engage- ment; nor would one have followed, but for the aspirations of an ambitious general, who was charged by his own men with hunting for promotion among the slaughtered and mangled soldiers of his command.
The scene of this merciless butchery is south of the city of
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Jackson, and between the New Orleans and Jackson Railroad and Pearl River. "At about 9 o'clock in the morning," (I quote from Major Crosley's official report) "the 3d Iowa, 41st and 53d Illinois Infantry, and the 5th Ohio Battery of six guns erossed the New Orleans and Jackson Railroad, at a point about two miles south of Jackson, and one mile from the enemy's works. After crossing, line of battle was formed, skirmishers thrown out, and the line ordered forward. After advancing about one-fourth of a mile, the line was halted; and the battery, placed in position one hundred yards in our rear, opened fire with shell, and continued to fire rapidly for about twenty minutes. The enemy replied promptly with two guns, getting our range the first shot. As soon as the battery ceased firing, the line again moved forward. We advanced half a mile through timber and a dense under-growth, our skirmislı- ers meeting with no opposition, when, coming to the edge of an open field, the line was again halted. Here we were joined by the 28th Illinois, which took position on our right." Ther e the line should have rested; but General Lauman now coming up, ordered it forward.
This was now the position: In front were open, undulating fields, cleared of every thing that could afford protection or cover, even down to corn-stalks; about four hundred yards in advance were the enemy's skirmishers, backed by reserves, and, a little further on, a strong line of works, so constructed as to give the enemy a concentrated fire on a charging column. Behind these works, in addition to two brigades of infantry, were fourteen cannon-more than two full batteries, whose dark mouths spoke almost certain death to assailants. There was in addition, a formidable abattis, constructed with occa- sional gaps, to pass which, it would be necessary for the charging party to break its line and assemble in groups. This formidable strong-hold was to be carried by less than one
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thousand men, and that, too, without any diversion in their favor.
The brigade advanced in compliance with orders, until it had reached, forced back and occupied the position of the enemy's skirmishers. The order had been to move forward; but Colonel Pugh, the brigade commander, believing there must be some mistake, again reported to General Lauman-this time in person. He explained to the general the point his command had reached, the position of the enemy, and the character of his works, and then waited for further orders; but they were still the same-to move forward. There could be no mistaking the general's purpose. All, from field-officers to privates, saw the situation; but, although the movement filled them with amaze- ment, there was no faltering. Literally, they were to enter the jaws of death; but they would not sully their good name by disobeying orders.
The order to advance was given, and the whole line moved forward at double-quick and in perfect order, when-but what need of further recital? They were, of course, repulsed. Many, passing the abattis, advanced to within pistol-shot range of the enemy's works; they could go no further, and, after struggling a few moments, retreated precipitately. As soon as the exhausted, bleeding troops reached the edge of the timber, whence they had advanced before encountering the enemy's skirmishers, they rallied promptly, and, soon after, were marched back to the point on the railroad at which they had crossed in the morning. All the dead, and nearly all the wounded, were left upon the field; nor would the enemy allow them to be reached and rescued by flag of truce; and there they lay, mangled and bleeding, beneath the rays of the scorching sun, comrades in agony, as they had long been comrades in battle.
The escape of any from death was almost miraculous; and
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yet, in the 3d Iowa, the loss was only about fifty per cent. The regiment went into the engagement with an aggregate of two hundred and forty-one officers and men, and lost, in killed, wounded and missing, one hundred and fourteen. Company B lost all three of her officers, killed-the two Ruckmans and Lieutenant Hall. Colonel Brown was severely wounded. The loss of the 53d Illinois was greater than that of any other regi- ment. Among others, it lost its gallant colonel. He was struck by a charge of canister, and fell from his horse, literally torn in pieces. It is said that General Lauman wept when he looked on the remnant of his old brigade.
After the lamentable affair at Jackson, the 3d Iowa returned with its division to Vicksburg, and sailed thence to Natchez. In the following Winter it again returned to Vicksburg, and accompanied General Sherman on his march to Meridian. The regiment re-enlisted as veterans, and came North in the early spring of 1864. Returning to the front, it was ordered to join General Sherman, already on the march against Atlanta. Before the fall of that city, Colonel Brown, and a majority of the field- and line-officers resigned their commissions. In re-officering the regiment, a lieutenant was promoted to the lieutenant-coloneley: it was entitled to no colonel, on account of the fewness of its numbers. On the memorable 22d of July, 1864, before Atlanta, the regiment was again put in the thickest of the fight, and lost heavily. Among the killed was its lieu- tenant-colonel, who had only the day before received his commission. The regiment was soon after consolidated with the 2d Iowa Infantry, and lost its organization as a regiment.
In closing this sketch of Colonel Brown and his regiment, I will add an extract from a letter of Captain J. HI. Reid, of the 15th Iowa:
"Our men. captured on the 22d of July, were taken through Atlanta that day, and their names reported to the provost-
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marshal-general, when they were marched to East Point the same night. In passing through the city, whenever a shell fell in the streets from our batteries, they cheered and sang, 'Rally Round the Flag.' Rebel officers told them to dry up, they were prisoners of war; but they answered, 'We will always cheer a Yankee shell.' A squad of rebel cavalry was passing through the streets with the flag of the 3d Iowa Infantry, cap- tured after the color-sergeant fell, literally pierced through and through with bullets. Some of that regiment among the prisoners saw their old flag in the hands of the enemy. They made a rush for it, wrested it from its captors, and, amid torrents of threats and curses from the guards, tore it into a thousand shreds."
I never saw Colonel Brown; but, from what I can learn of him, he must be a large man, with phlegmatie temperament, and an easy-going disposition. He may not be a brilliant man, but he was certainly a brave and faithful officer.
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MAJOR-GENERAL GRENVILLE M. DODGE.
FIRST COLONEL, FOURTH INFANTRY.
GRENVILLE MELLEN DODGE is a native of Massachusetts, and was born at Danvers, Essex county, on the 12th day of April, 1832. His father, Sylvanus Dodge, was, prior to 1844, a provision dealer; but subsequently, and up to the time of his removal West, was Postmaster of the town of Danvers. Gren- ville remained with his father till he was sixteen years of age, having prior to that time been afforded only a limited common school education; for his father's business had been such as to require much of his son's assistance. At the age of sixteen, he was sent to the Academy at Durham, New Hampshire, then to that of Newbury; Vermont, and in 1850 was entered a student of Norwich Military University, at that time under the super- intendence of the late Captain Alden Patridge. Here he com- pleted his education, which was thoroughly practical, scientific and military.
In 1851, he left Norwich, and, coming West, lived for a time in Peoria, Illinois, where he obtained a situation in an Engi- neer Corps on the Rock Island Railroad. His skill as an engineer, with his remarkable judgment and great ability to control men, soon discovering themselves, he was entrusted with the survey of this road to Peoria. On the completion of this survey, he came to Iowa, and was for several years in the employ of the Mississippi and Missouri River Railroad Con- pany, during which time he projected surveys from the Mis- sissippi River to the Missouri, and up the valley of the Platte. As a civil engineer, young Dodge was very successful.
In May, 1851, he was married to Miss Annie Brown, of
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Peoria, Illinois, and for a short time resided in Iowa City. In the fall of the same year, he removed to Nebraska, where, in connection with his father and brother, he remained nearly a year, taking up claims on the Elkhorn River. At that day, this section of Nebraska was the extreme limit of the frontier settlements, and of easy access to the hostile tribes of Indians, who, in the latter part of 1855, commenced their hostilities against the white settlers. In consequence of these troubles, G. M. Dodge returned to Iowa, and settled in Council Bluffs; where, engaging in the banking business, he continued to reside till the beginning of the war.
The excitement produced at Council Bluffs by the first news of the firing on Fort Sumter had hardly subsided, before Gen- eral Dodge was recruiting a company for the service. Having filled his company, he reported, early in the spring of 1861, to Governor S. J. Kirkwood, who, after learning what he had done, was so much pleased with him that he clothed him with proper authority, and sent him to Washington in quest of arms and munitions of war for the State. The promptness with which he discharged the duties of his commission attracted the notice of the War Department, and he was offered a commission in the regular army; but this honor he declined, for he pre- ferred to serve his own State. On his return from Washington, he was commissioned colonel of the 4th lowa Infantry, his commission dating the 17th of June, 1861.
In less than two weeks after his regiment was organized, and before he had been assigned to duty, he marched against Poin- dexter, drove him from Northern Missouri, and returned to Council Bluffs. On the 13th of August following, he reported at St. Louis, Missouri, for duty; and was ordered to Rolla, to which place he at once proceeded. In the following October, he was made Commandant of the Post. On the first of Novem- ber, 1861, he led an expedition to Huston and Salem; and met
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and defeated the enemy at both places. In December, he was quite severely wounded, but in what manner I am unadvised. On recovering from this wound, he was assigned by General Curtis (then organizing his army for an advance on Price) to the command of a brigade. With this command he led the advance against Springfield, on the morning of the 13th of February, 1862.
Company E, of the 4th Iowa Infantry, one of the regiments of Colonel Dodge's Brigade, being deployed as skirmishers under Lieutenant Stitt and ordered forward, never halted until it had taken possession of the city. Company H, Captain D. A. Craig, of the- 17th Iowa, performed a similar feat at Jack- son, Mississippi, the 14th of May, 1863. At Springfield, the entree and occupation of the city was attended with much sport. After the company had routed the enemy, who were principally stragglers, and made their captures of prisoners, horses &c., they broke for the city saloons and bakeries; and when General Curtis, accompanied by his staff and body-guard, came riding through to the public square, there he found them, feasting on beer and ginger-bread -their first spoils of war.
The object of General Curtis' campaign was not simply the capture of Springfield: it was the defeat of General Price's army ; and accordingly, on the morning of the fourteenth, the Army of the South West started in pursuit of the enemy. In this pursuit, Colonel Dodge's command met and engaged the enemy at Cane Creek, Sugar Creek, and Blackburn's Mill: in the last of these engagements, the rebels were led by the notorious Gates. These encounters took place on the 14th, 17th, and 27th of February, 1862, respectively.
How Van Dorn, uniting with Price after that general's flight from Missouri, marched on General Curtis at Pea Ridge has been already given, as has also the desperate fighting that
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occurred on the right, between Carr's Division and the rebel forces.
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