USA > Iowa > Lucas County > Past and present of Lucas and Wayne counties, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 20
USA > Iowa > Wayne County > Past and present of Lucas and Wayne counties, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 20
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"Our riffe pits now run to within a few feet of the rebel fort, and they are kept filled with men every night. Yester-
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day the rebs threw some hand grenades over into the pits and killed a man from the Ninety-ninth Illinois, and wounded two negroes. The men become careless as they become ac- customed to the danger.
"There are forty cannon playing around our camps most of the time, and the furthest one not over thirty rods from where I slept, but still I sleep soundly. An occasional rifle ball will drop into our camp. Our chaplain stopped one of them with his arm the other day, and he carries his arm in a sling. It was a spent ball, but it bruised his arm consider- ably.
"Reports and rumors are common, but one universal opin- ion is that Vicksburg will have to surrender in a short time.
"The Johnnies are saving their ammunition, and do very little firing. A division on our Right blew up a fort the other day, which was a signal for a general fusilade along our whole lines, which lasted about an hour and a half and was terrific. When the fort was blown up we could see the men blown into the air from ten to thirty feet."
"REAR OF VICKSBURG, July 4, '63.
"Vicksburg surrendered today, and we are ordered to be ready to march this evening with five days' rations and 150 rounds of ammunition, beside what we carry in our cartridge boxes. We go in the direction of Black river, and it is sup- posed we are going to re-take Jackson or try Joe Johnson again on the other side of Black river.
"Our regiment is entirely unfit to march. I never had better health, but am the only one in the company that can say that. There are now four privates and one Sergt. reported for duty in Company D. Grant is well liked by the boys, but it is reported that he is parolling all the prisoners taken here, and if such is the case he will have the soldiers down on him.
"I have to be ready to march by 6 o'clock this evening. and don't have time to write any more."
"IN CAMP NEAR JACKSON, Miss., July 14, 1863.
"I have time to write but a very few lines before the mail goes out, and have to do that in the open air, and a quarter before 5 o'clock in the morning.
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"Our company numbers thirty-eight men all told, present, and the regiment has only sixty men present. Two and a half months ago we crossed the Mississippi river at Bruins- brugh with upwards of six hundred able-bodied men, and now we have only about ten of them present. The majority of them were used up with hard work, bad water, hot weather, malarious air and rebel lead.
"We have Jackson almost surrounded and it appears to me that we are going to take it with the spade, as we did Vicksburg. I do not know how much of an army we have here. The rebels are supposed to number about forty thou- sand, but I think this is an exaggeration. We have not had any special engagement here yet. The cannon balls pass over our heads frequently, and we have had a few men wounded. The balls sound something like a cat being hurled through the air and keeping up their usual squall.
"Our officers consist now of one Major and four Lieuten- ants."
"VICKSBURG, Miss., July 26, '63.
"We are again in camp on the mighty Mississippi, but this time about a mile below the city. The health of the regiment is improved very much, though there is still plenty of room for improvement. Our company is being reduced very fast. We have had twenty deaths and one dying-twelve discharged and three deserted.
"We stayed at Jackson about ten days, done some fight- ing and had the pleasure of seeing the place evacuated and the rebels scoot. We captured a few prisoners. The day after the evacuation of Jackson, we were ordered back two miles to rest and clean up. After fixing camp, to help us to take our rest, we marched about five miles and tore up about five miles of railroad.
"I have not been in Vicksburg yet. Jackson is a very ordinary town for the capital of a state."
"VICKSBURG, Miss., Aug. 2, 1863.
"We are still camped below Vicksburg, but expect to go further down the river soon. General Smith started down the river this morning. We have now present with Co. 26 men-12 of them are sick.
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"Aug. 3. We have received marching orders for down the river."
"VICKSBURG, Miss., Aug. 6, 1863.
""Tis just one year ago today that I remember well that I left my home that I held so dear and came out to fight the battles that had to be fought to preserve the honor of our Country, and uphold the principles of truth and justice, that is held dearer than all besides. One year has passed, and by the providence of God I have been protected from the enemies' bullets, and from the ravages of disease in a great measure, more so at least than any of our company. I have passed through the fire trial that soldiers must expect to go through if they do their duty, and come out unharmed or nearly so.
"I think I have done as I told you I would do. I told you that I would not rush into danger recklessly, but would go where duty called me, regardless of consequences. This I think I have done, at least as far as I know how. I don't think any one can say that I flinched from duty either in camp or in battle."
"CARROLLTON, La., Aug. 22, 1863.
"I have delayed writing to you, expecting to get a fur- lough but I heard the General say today that furloughs had played out for the present.
"The health of the company is improving. The troops were reviewed here today by General Banks. We got to see our new commander. He appears to be a very fair man, but puts on lots of style.
"Sabbath, Aug. 23. It is reported that we have marching orders, or rather to be ready to march at any time.
"Carrollton is situated six miles above New Orleans by land, and ten miles by water. We have a splendid place for camp; the nicest we have ever had, level as a floor and cov- ered with a good coat of short grass. We are about a mile from the town."
"CARROLTON, La., Sabbath, Aug. 30, 1863.
"I have been down to see Crescent City. and think it a very nice place, though built a little too much on the French style. The streets are too narrow. and they are run at too
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many different angles to be very beautiful. The weather is very warm, though not so oppressive as you might suppose. We are far enough south to be affected by the sea breezes; the weather is not so sultry as at Vicksburgh. We are not more than eighty miles from the Gulf on a straight line and then Lake Ponchatrain is within about five miles of us, and the breezes from the two keeps the air cool and refreshing most of the time. The health of the regiment is improving, but the sick list is still large. Company D has 33 men pres- ent and 14 of them are sick vet."
"IN CAMP BAYOU BOUF, La., Sept. 5, 1863.
"I write at present sitting on the bare ground, with the book on my knee for a desk, about seventy-five miles south- west of New Orleans, and seven miles from Brashear City, the terminus of the railroad.
"We started our camp equipage on Thursday evening and on Friday the Thirteenth Army Corps was received by Gen- erals Banks and Grant. It was quite a grand affair. Grant was cheered by every division as he passed and every one seemed glad to see him. There was quite a contrast between him and Banks. Grant is the same here as he has always been. As common as any farmer. A person would not sus- pect him of being the hero of seventeen battles and one of the greatest generals in the United States at the present time, by his appearance. You would not know he was a General, except by his straps. No sword. sash or epaulets; nothing but his shoulder straps and brass buttons, but such is Grant.
"Banks was the very opposite. as much so as he could well be. Grant came on to the field with Banks, and riding his (Banks) horse, with a slouch hat and coat unbuttoned. Banks told our Division Commander one day that his men looked rather shabbily dressed, and their arms were not in first-class condition, and that he would hardly feel safe with them in a fight. Our Commander told him that his men had had something else to do beside dressing and that they had done it in the right kind of style too. If Banks could not trust the Thirteenth Corps, Grant could. It is absolutely true that the soldiers that put on the most style and do the most blowing and bragging do the least fighting.
"After our review on the 4th we marched to the river and embarked on steamer, ran across the river to Algiers.
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HUMESTON EEDS, HAY, SON. & COAL.
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ALVA HUMESTONESOM
FREE OF CHARGE.
COAL, GRAIN, SEED & FEED
4.
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ENOX FOUNDATIONS
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opposite New Orleans, where we took the cars in the evening and arrived here about 10 o'clock last night, without tents and nothing but what we can carry. Our outfit will probably be here today or tomorrow.
"Sept. 6. We are still here and may stay a week. We had some rain yesterday, and I caught some of it by setting a bucket under the edge of the tent (we call them dog tents.) I thought I would get one good drink for a change, as the water here is not quite as good as we have in Iowa.
"The Confederacy is rotten, but I supposed that the rot- tenness did not extend much above the ground, but from the taste of that water it must extend upward at least five miles. I could not drink it. The water out of the puddles around your father's barn would be good compared to it. There might possibly have been something on the tent to taste the water, but at any rate it was not good.
"Our camp is about three rods from a bayou of nice look- ing water, and we have to carry the water we use for drink- ing and cooking about a mile.
"The country is perfectly flat from here to New Orleans and how much further west it continues I don't know. Igno- rance is the principal ingredient in a soldier's pill, and duty is the other and the two must be well pulverized and mixed and taken in allopathic doses.
"Our present movements are in the direction of Galves- ton, Texas, but where we go remains to be seen. Our orders before leaving Carrollton were to go in light marching order with forty rounds of ammunition. We go from here to-I must take one of the above pills."
"BRASHEAR CITY, La., Sept. 14, 1863.
"We are now about eight miles west of our last camp, and on another bayou. We can't use the water, except to bathe; it is salty. We are about twenty miles from the Gulf and can see a difference in the breezes.
"On the night of the 12th some of our division were de- tailed to unload two car loads of provisions, and some eastern troops were guarding the train, and some of our boys kicked up a little row with them and made quite a little noise. Some of the boys went up to see the fun. Matters got rather warm, and two New York regiments were brought out to quiet the boys. They had their arms with them. Some of our boys
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got some of their guns and broke them and told the d-d Yorkers, as they call them, to go to h-1, but the guards out- numbered the fatigue party and quiet was finally restored, but not until there had been considerable mischief done. Our boys told them that if they had just two more men they would whip them out, guns and all.
"They have some of the First and Second Brigades in the guard house, and will make it hot for them if they can prove who broke the guns, but a thing of that kind is hard to prove as a soldier never sees another do anything wrong.
"As luck would have it, none of the Twenty-third were there, well none of them were caught."
"IN CAMP NEAR BRASHEAR CITY, La., Sept. 29, '63.
"Our camp is now about two miles from Brashear City on the west side of Berweck Bayou. We moved over here on the 24th inst. The rain has been falling since last evening, and everything looks blue and the report is in circulation that we have marching orders for tomorrow. Won't that be nice ? The roads will be so soft and pleasant our corns will not hurt much.
"Sept. 30. The rain fell in perfect torrents during the night, and the camp is covered with water. Our tent is on a small raise in the ground so that the water does not affect us much, but most of the boys have to lie in water from one to three inches deep or else stay out in the wet.
"We had grand review on last Sabbath by General E. O. C. Ord, commanding the Thirteenth Corps. He appears to be a very fair man, and quite a plain one."
"BERWICK BAYOU, Oct. 2, 1863.
"The weather has moderated and is nice at present. We march tomorrow morning at 6 o'clock."
"CAMP IN THE FIELD, 50 MILES FROM BRASHEAR CITY, La., Oct. 8, 1863.
"Since I wrote you last we have marched four days at the rate of 12 to 15 miles per day, with splendid roads, splen- did weather and through a splendid country where the weather is dry. The whole country is as level as a floor, and the people are generally rich. We camped here on the 6th and will probably stay a few days.
"The health of the regiment, or of what are here, is good."
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"VERMILLIONVILLE, La., Oct. 12, 1863.
"We have stopped in our march for three or four days to wait for provisions, and we can send out some mail on Wednes- day (the day after the election.) Mr. Houston, our major's father, is our election Commissioner.
"We are now about 175 miles west of New Orleans, and the country continues flat, although we passed some hills on the road. I will finish this letter after the election tomorrow.
"Oct. 14th. I don't have time to write more, only that the election went off yesterday. We have to go out on brigade drill and the Commissioner will be gone before we get back. The vote of the Twenty-third and Twenty-first and Twenty- second Iowa gave the democrats 35 and the republicans about 250 votes."
"VERMILLION, La., Oct. 15, 1863.
"I did not get to finish my letter yesterday on account of having to drill so will try again, though I have no idea when I can send it out. We had brigade drill yesterday, the first since we left Millikens Bend. I was in command of the Com- pany. My first experience in this drill, but got through all right. The Colonel had his horse killed by lightning last Monday night. He now has no horse, but he borrowed the Surgeon's and the surgeon rides a pony of small dimensions and poor qualifications.
"Since 4 o'clock yesterday we have heard firing in front. I should judge it was about twenty miles away. The Third division is moving out now to the front, but it is not expected that they will have much to do. We have had the advance on this march till now (of the Thirteenth A. C.)
"At the election the Ohio troops voted as follows:
"The Sixteenth, 23 democrats, 156 republicans; Forty- second, 7 democrats ; One Hundred and Fourteenth, 21 dem- ocrats.
"Oct. 17. We are still here. All our men that are away on furlough and have overstayed their time three weeks are marked deserters today by order of Gen. Ord. Several of Company D are included in the order, and it is hard to do because they are generally good men. It is reported that five officers of the Twenty-first were dropped from the rolls for being absent too long."
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"VERMILLION, La., Oct. 21, 1863.
"As we march in the morning at 6 o'clock I will write a few lines though it is 9 o'clock P. M. Captain Woodbury's resignation was accepted today and he starts home in the morning, and I will send this by him.
"The boys are enjoying themselves. They have got a fiddle and one of the boys is playing it, and they have a lot of niggers dancing."
"NEW IBERIA, La., Nov. 2, 1863.
"Since writing last we marched twenty-eight miles north- west to Opelousas, La. Camped two days, when we were ordered back to this place. We are now twenty-four miles nearer New Orleans than when I wrote last. The last day we marched we came between 5 and 1 o'clock. This is a little the hardest marching we ever done. I would have stood it very well, but I had the rheumatism in one of my knees and sprained my left ankle, so that I had to ride about five miles in the ambulance.
"I have been in the service now fifteen months and never was in an ambulance before, and have been with the regiment all the time.
"Some of the boys stole General Lawler's shirts the night before the march and the boys claim that he forced the march for revenge. Every little while the boys would call out to the General, 'Here's your shirt.'
"On the evening before the march spoken of (we had orders for no foraging). York got after a hog. The hog run and York run; the hog was in the lead and it run into Law- ler's tent. York followed and caught it there; Lawler got the hog, and York was sent back to company headquarters under guard.
"Nov. 3. I had to stop writing yesterday to go on duty as officer of the day. We are camped on a bayou about sixty miles from the Gulf and the country is so level that the tide runs from the Gulf up here. Boats run on the Bayou, but it is so narrow that the boats (common river boats) almost fill it to both shores, and when they want to turn around and go the other way they have to pull them around with men. There are a few places that boats can pass each other."
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"BERWICK BAYOU, La., Nov. 13, 1863.
"Since writing last we have marched about 60 miles; 30 miles the first day and 25 the second and camped within 5 miles of this place, which is just across the Bayou from Brashear City, and marched in the next day. This is con- sidered very hard marching. The boys think it was done on a bet, as we know of no reason for a hurry. A man could walk across the country alone double the distance and not be so tired at night as he is after a march of this kind.
"We were ordered today to be ready to march in ten min- utes. We packed everything and loaded them on the wagons and then the order was countermanded and we were ordered to be ready to march at 6 o'clock tomorrow. We have sent our baggage across the bayou tonight and we will cross in the morning. We got to New Orleans and from there to Browns- ville, Texas. A part of the first brigade started yesterday from here by ship. They will run down the Bayou to the Gulf and from there to Brownsville. This is only conjecture, but we may go up the Mississippi instead.
"Nov. 14 .- We are now at Algiers across the river from New Orleans, and I am sitting on the ground in the open air, writing on my knee by the light of the camp fire.
"We are going to start for Brownsville in the morning. Captain Evans is expressing his opinion of some of the neighbors at home, concerning their treatment of the colored boy he sent up there to help Mrs. Evans. His opinion of those neighbors is not very flattering.
"The boys are all taking a part in the abuse of the Knights of the Golden Circle, as they learn from their friends at home that there is an organization of the kind in Wayne county."
"FORT ESPERANZA, Texas, Dec. 1, '63.
"This is all the paper I can get, as my trunk has not arrived and I have just two minutes in which to write.
"The health of the company is good. We are detailed to stay here and hold a fort that we took on the 29th of Novem- ber. Our regiment lost none, and the brigade only lost one killed and four wounded. The Rebs evacuated on the night of the 29th, and we took possession the next day."
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FORT ESPERANZA, Texas, Dec. 19, '63.
"The weather here is very disagreeable a good part of the time caused by Northerners or North winds. We have a Norther about every three days. I would like to be at home better than anything else, but I don't think I could be con- tented there under present circumstances. I know that my country needs my services, and if necessary I had better leave our children in a way that they can consider themselves as good as anybody, although they may be poor orphans, than to go home and stay with them and let the government sink and then they may have to bow their heads, bend their knees or take off their hats to a Monarch, which I believe will be the case if the Rebs are successful. My efforts alone will not amount to very much but, 'little drops of water, little grains of sand, make the mighty ocean and the pleasant land', and if I make'one drop in the mighty ocean I will have done my duty, and with the blessing of God it will be that much done that no one else will have to do, and if every man in the north would put one drop in rather than take one out, the government would have no lack of material or means to stop this accursed rebellion at once, and the 'glor- ious old banner, the flag of the free' would float proudly over every city and hamlet, every mountain and valley in this once happy, though at present, distracted country, but the evil one (Copperheadism) is daily going about seeking whom he may devour, and this is why all truly loyal men are called on to use every means in their power to carry on the mighty work. This call for more men that the President has just issued should not be filled by volunteers, as none but republi- cans and war democrats will enlist. There should be a draft ordered, and make the Copperheads stand their chance with the loyal men. The fire in the rear party should have the full benefit of the draft."
"FORT ESPERANZA, Texas, Dec. 28, '63.
"The army or a part of it has moved up Matagorda Bay about twenty-five miles; the balance are here, but expect to move at any time. Our sutler has not arrived vet, and the other regiments are in the same fix, or have been till a day or two ago. The Sutler of the Eighteenth Indiana came a few days ago. I was not naked, but nearly so. I bought a flannel shirt of him, also a pair of drawers, cost $4.00, washed
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them and laid them out to dry. I suppose they are dry by this time, as some cuss who did not have the fear of God before his eyes, dried them for me. I suppose they are dry, and I hope he is too. I will have to wait for another as there are none here. I don't have a change of underclothing, and have not had for some time, and as you suppose I am not in a very good shape to attend a social party, though my health is good.
"We are guarding the fort now, and a colored regiment is working on it, repairing the parts that were blown up by the Rebs when they evacuated it. They have got one of the magazines finished, and are at work on four more.
"We had oysters for supper tonight. I had to open the shells and cook the oysters. The oysters are small and it took me a long time, but I got through and had a square meal."
"FORT ESPERANZA, Texas, Jan. 10, 1864.
"The weather is cold, and has been since Dec. 30th. We had a Northerner commenced that night, and it has kept it up without ceasing ever since. It blows continually, harder than I ever saw it blow in Iowa, and cold enough to make ice one inch thick. This is something unusual for Texas. The weather is not often so cold, or to last as long as it has this time.
"The army here consists of the Thirteenth and Fifteenth Maine, Second Louisiana engineers, Fourteenth Rhode Island Heavy Artillery (the last two colored) and the Twenty-third and Thirty-fourth Iowa. There are several regiments across the bay, and several further up the bay at Indiana. The troops here have had nothing to eat for about a week except fresh beef and are beginning to want a change. Our Com- missary boats are now in the harbor and we will have some by tomorrow."
"FORT ESPERANZA, Texas, Jan. 14, 1864.
"Our base of operations are about to be changed to the front, and leave a 'big headed Colonel of a nigger' regiment in command of this post. Captain Baker of the Engineer Corps went over yesterday to try and have the Twenty-third left here to guard the post, but was told that the Twenty-third was a good fighting regiment, and he was going to have it at the front."
Vol. 1-15
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"OLD INDIANOLA, Texas, Jan. 21, 1864.
"One week has passed since I commenced this letter, and we are fifteen miles up Matagorda Bay. The negroes are guarding the fort.
"The day I commenced writing this we were ordered to the Fort. That night I took the ague. The next day the regiment was ordered to move. We tore down everything and lay around till evening, then marched 11/5 miles to the boat landing, lay there till the next evening, embarked on board the Matamoras and landed at Powderhorn about 8 o'clock, marched one mile, camped in the courthouse that night; at 9 o'clock the next morning (18th) we marched to this place, and went into camp. Captain Evans resigned and started home on the 17th inst.
"The country here is perfectly level and sandy, but no rocks. I have, not seen a rock since we left Vicksburgh, except at New Orleans and they were shipped there.
"The rebels made a slight demonstration here a few days before we came up, but have not showed themselves since."
"OLD INDIANOLA, Texas, Feb. 7, 1864.
"We have a beautiful camp here. Nothing to do. Plenty of oysters by going into the Bay after them. Have a pleas- ant time with the natives, but nothing of particular interest."
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