USA > Iowa > Winneshiek County > Past and present of Winneshiek county, Iowa; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 11
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"It was found necessary, on the 21st of July, to remove the wounded to Vicks- burg. The journey had to be made in ambulances. Lieutenant McMurtrie was among the unfortunates that had to submit to the removal. Words cannot express the suffering this trip entailed upon him in his weakened condition.
"On the 23d he was placed on a hospital boat to be sent North, but died before the boat left the wharf, at 2 p. m., July 25. 1863.
"Lieutenant MeMurtrie was born at Homer. Michigan, June 30. 1837. He came to lowa in 1856. Ile was promoted first lieutenant of Company D. May 21, 1862.
"Lieutenant McMurtrie was endowed with a great moral character, which lost none of its noble attributes by his army career. He died a brave soldier, lamented by his comrades in arms and all who knew him.
"C. W. Burdick was promoted first lieutenant, to fill the vacancy caused by Lieutenant MeMurtrie's death, which post of duty he held from that time until his three years enlistment had expired. At this time Lieutenant Burdick was the only commissioned officer in the company. During three years' service. Lieutenant Burdick was off duty but twelve days. He took an active part in every skirmish and battle in which his company was engaged, and was never touched by an enemy's fire. Few men, and I doubt if any, in lowa can show a better record than this.
"The engagement at Jackson was the last of any note in which Company D took an active part. The time of enlistment of Company D expired on the 10th of June, 1864. The Company was stationed at Kingston. Georgia. All that did not reenlist, started home to be mustered out of the service. Many of the boys remained. At the memorable battle of Atlanta, fought July 22d. the Third Jowa literally fought itself to death.
"The boys of the Third and Company D went into this battle with that Spartan valor that had characterized them, individually and collectively. in many a hard fought engagement. As the battle grew raging hot and desperate, a handful of our undaunted men, among whom were a remnant of Company D. gathered amidst the pelting shower of shot and shell, and there around our flag and banner they stood its guard in the most perilous moments. The color-bearer, the bravest of the brave, relinquished his hold by death alone. Still the mass stood there fighting madly for its defence. Their number fast decreasing by death, their hopes began to fail, and as they surrendered themselves to the enemy, they tore the emblem of our nationality, and regimental designation, into pieces and into shreds, which concealed, they proudly brought back to us, untouched and unsoiled by impious and traitorous hands.
COMPANY II-"IOWA GREY HOUNDS"
"Company H, Ninth lowa Volunteer Infantry, was organized at Decorah, in the months of August and September, 1861, and was mustered into service at Dubuque, on the 24th of September, the same year.
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CONCRETE BRIDGE OVER UPPER IOWA RIVER, DECORAH
PULPIT ROCK, DECORATI
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"After remaining at Camp Union, Dubuque, until the middle of October, the regiment was sent to St. Louis, and went into camp at Benton barracks. A few weeks were passed in the usual routine of camp duty, when the regiment was ordered to Pacific City, Missouri, and passed some little time in guarding rail- roads and arresting guerrillas. During this time the regiment was perfecting its discipline ; and the diseases incidental to the climate and season, joined to the hardships of camp life, were thinning the ranks of all men who were deficient in physical vigor.
"When the expedition against Price was organized, the Ninth was ordered to Rolla, Missouri, and after a week spent in camp at that place, started on the march for Springfield. The march was made in winter, and the crossing of the Gasconade, the roads knee-deep in mud, and the cold, inclement weather tested the endurance of the men, and when the regiment was placed in the advance, after the capture of Springfield, it earned its title, 'The Iowa Greyhounds,' by marching one hundred and thirty-five miles in four days in pursuit of Price. Company H received its 'baptism of fire' at l'ea Ridge, and the day before the fight marched forty miles on a half-pint of cornmeal to the man. It mustered fifty-two men when the fight opened ; twenty-two were unwounded at the close of the struggle.
"On that field the boys, most of them beardless, who six months before were laboring on farms and in workshops, showed themselves able to defeat the prac- ticed riflemen of Missouri and Arkansas, the rangers of Texas, and the trained regiments of Louisiana.
"The march across Arkansas, in the summer of 1862, followed the conflict at Pea Ridge. Some time was passed in camp Helena and in December the regi- ment took part in the first attack on Vicksburg. The expedition up the dark Yazoo and its unfortunate results, were amply avenged at Arkansas Post, Janu- ary 10, 1863.
"In all the operations that culminated in the capture of Vicksburg the Ninth was actively engaged-from digging in the canal to storming rifle-pits and bat- teries. And in the charge on the 22d of May, Company H lost eighteen men killed and wounded out of a total twenty-six men in action, and of these nine were killed on the field or mortally wounded. From Vicksburg to Jackson, thence back to Vicksburg, up the river to Memphis, thence to Tuscumbia, where a severe conflict took place, then up the sides of Lookout mountain, under the lead of Osterhous, followed by a rapid pursuit of the routed foes, and the fight at Ringgold, is a brief outline of the work Company H took part in during 1863. The majority of the company re-enlisted as veterans, and after their return from furlough the boys found themselves a part of the mighty host Sherman was about to lead 'to the sea.'
"For seventy days from the opening of this memorable campaign, members of Company H who participated in the operations, were constantly under fire, with perhaps slight intermission prior to the crossing of the Chattahoochee. The fights at Resaca. New Hope church, Burnt Hickory and Kenesaw mountain, showed the valor and discipline of the Ninth. On the 22d of July the Ninth was one of the lowa regiments that, under the eye of Sherman, recaptured the battery of DeGress, and drove the rebels, at the bayonet's point, from the en- trenched line they had wrested from the loyalists. At Ezra's church, on the 28th
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of July, and at Jonesboro, where the fate of Atlanta was decided. the boys of Company H were actively engaged.
"After the capture of Atlanta and the pursuit of Hood, who was left to the 'tender mercies' of Thomas, the boys followed Sherman to the sea, and Com- pany H furnished its full quota of able and accomplished 'bummers.' From Savannah the company marched through the Carolinas, taking part in any 'little unpleasantness' that came in the way, and actively participating in the closing fight at Bentonville. After resting a few days at Raleigh, the regiment marched to Washington and took part in the 'Grand Review, and was shortly after mustered out of the service at Louisville, Kentucky.
"That Company I did its whole duty, the following figures, taken from the adjutant general's report, prove :
"Company H. gth lowa-Total killed and wounded. 53
"Total killed and died of wounds
"Company D. 3d lowa-Total killed and wounded. 33
"Total killed and died of wounds.
"Company G. 12th lowa-Total killed and wounded.
"Total killed and died of wounds 4
"Company E. 38th lowa-Total killed and wounded. O
"Company K. 38th Iowa-Total killed and wounded I
"Total killed and died of wounds I
"Company D. 38th Iowa-Total killed and wounded. I
"Total killed and died of wounds I
"The above table shows the extent of the loss sustained by Company 11 in battle, as compared with the reported losses of the other companies organized in this county from the same cause. I do not think the above figures do full justice to Companies E. K and D. Thirty-eighth lowa, for no regiment organized in the country suffered to such an extent by disease. Stationed in localities where to breathe the air was to inhale death, the boys of Companies E. D and K per- formed their alloted duty, sustained by naught save the feeling of patriotism. and faced death uncheered by 'the shout of victory, the rapture of the strife."
"Died of disease: Company D. 3d lowa, 10; Company 11, oth lowa. 15: Company G. 12th lowa. 17: Company E. 38th Iowa. 34 : Company D. 38th lowa. 37; Company K. 38th lowa, 37.
"Company 11, at the time it was mustered in, was commanded by M. . 1. Moore, who achieved no particular distinction. He resigned in the spring of 1863, and was succeeded by O. M. Bliss, who enlisted as a private and secured promotion by meritorious services. Captain Bliss was as true a soldier as ever drew a sword. Brave, earnest and patriotic, he 'dared to lead where any dared to follow." After facing death on twenty fields he died from injuries received by a fall from his horse while acting as major, after the capture of Atlanta. J. 11. Phillips succeeded to the captaincy, and commanded the company until its serv- ice was ended.
"In writing this brief sketch of the career of Company 11, embracing a period of nearly four years, and services performed in eight states, from the Ozark moun- tains to the Atlantic ocean, a hundred incidents and memories crowd on the mind
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that space will not permit me to relate. Nearly sixteen years have elapsed since 'we took the oath of muster with right hand raised to heaven,' and in looking back, the boys of Company H will instinctively date their memory of army life from the bitter, persistent struggle in the wild ravines of the Ozark, where their first blood was shed. And during all subsequent campaigning. Pea Ridge was the standard whereby to measure the severity of the conflict. And the boys of the Ninth will ever remember, with proud gratification, the tribute their valor re- ceived from the ladies of Boston-a stand of colors emblazoned with the name . of their fiercest battle.
COMPANY G, TWELFTH IOWA
"The third company raised in the county was one that became Company G, Twelfth Iowa. It was enrolled at Decorah in September, 1861. ordered into quarters at Dubuque, September 30, and mustered into the United States service November 5, 1861. It was officered as follows:
"Captain-C. C. Tupper.
"First Lieutenant-L. D. Townsley.
"Second Lieutenant-J. F. Nickerson.
"Orderly Sergeant-J. E. Simpson.
"The company became a portion of the regiment from the date of its muster in, and from that time on until disbanded always acted well its part. Company G was noted in its regiment for its excellent moral status and soldierly efficiency. It saw hard service, and took an active part in the following hotly-contested battles : Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, siege of Corinth. Corinth, Jackson, Vicksburg, Jackson siege and capture, Brandon, Tupelo, Nashville and Brent- wood Hill. Besides these battles, the company did excellent service as skirmish- ers. The company early met with a severe loss in the death of its first captain, C. C. Tupper.
"Captain C. C. Tupper was born at Auburn. New York, December 24, 1832, and came to Decorah in May, 1857. He had received a liberal education, and prior to taking a residence in Iowa had served as agent of the Associated Press and local manager of the telegraph offices at Buffalo and St. Louis. He was ad- mitted to the bar soon after his arrival, but for a brief time edited the Decorah Journal, a democratic newspaper. When the war broke out he took an active and intensely patriotic interest in every movement. Military life was always at- tractive to him, and he was unusually well versed in the manual of arms. He assisted in organizing the two companies from Winneshiek county that found place in the Third and Ninth regiments, and helped prepare them for the field. When it became evident that a third company must be drawn from the county, all eyes turned toward Captain Tupper to take its lead. Although of a frail con- stitution, and physically unfitted for the severe trials of army life, his patriotism overrode all prudence, and he consented. The company was rapidly recruited, and assigned to the Twelfth Regiment of Iowa Volunteers. But Captain Tup- per's association with the company was only a brief one. He was idolized by his men, beloved by all his associate officers, and thoroughly respected by his superiors. But these could not protect and defend him from disease and death. While going from Dubuque to St. Louis with the regiment he caught a severe cold, and in
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six weeks died at Benton Barracks, in St. Louis, a victim of capilliary bronchitis. In his death the terrible evils of war was first brought directly home to the com- munity of which he had been a member. He had been the leader in the best social circles, the active abettor of every public enterprise, and his death carried sadness and mourning to almost every household in the county. Of friends who mourned his death there were scores upon scores ; of enemies, none.
"The sad event narrated above necessitated the promotion of Lient. L. D. Townsley to the captaincy of the company, which office he held until mustered out of the service, November 25, 1864. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Shiloh, in which engagement he sustained a severe wound in the left arm, and suffered with the rest of his brother officers the hardships of prison life. After his exchange he was often employed in important detached duties, which he al- ways filled with credit to himself and country. He served out his entire term of service, and is now residing in Chicago.
"Lieut. J. F. Nickerson was made first lieutenant, and was stunned at the battle of Fort Donelson with what was supposed to be a solid shot from the enemy's batteries. From this he never recovered, was sick and ill the morning of the Shiloh fight, but persisted in going out with his company to the front, was taken prisoner, and died in rebel prison at Montgomery, Alabama, May 31, 1862. Kind but firm, a noble, brave man, beloved by his friends and all who knew him, a martyr to the cause.
"Orderly Sergeant J. E. Simpson was promoted to be second lieutenant, but resigned on account of ill-health in 1862, and is now living in Decorah.
"A. A. Burdick, second sergeant, was made orderly and then first lieutenant. and was killed at the battle of Tupelo, July 14. 1864. He was the quartermaster of the regiment, and had been ordered to the rear with his train; but after see- ing his wagons properly 'parked' he came to the front, and volunteered to assist in bringing forward ammunition. While thus engaged he was struck by a shell and instantly killed. He died as a soldier would wish to die, with his face to the enemy and in the heat of battle. Lamented and mourned by all who knew him, no better man or braver soldier ever offered up his life that his country might be saved.
"Anton E. Anderson, third sergeant, became second lieutenant. served with credit to himself until mustered out, at expiration of term of service, December. 1864, and died at his farm, some years after the war, near Ellorado. lowa.
"Robert A. Gibson, fifth sergeant, became orderly sergeant, March 27, 1863, was promoted to first lieutenant December 2. 1864, became captain of his com- pany January 23, 1865, and for a time was captain and provost marshal at Selma, Alabama, and served with great credit to himself to the end of the war. He was then appointed second lieutenant in the regular army, and was killed by the accidental discharge of a pistol at Fort Randall in 1867.
"Jacob 11. Womeldorf, first corporal. became fifth sergeant, was taken pris- oner with his company at Shiloh ; was held prisoner for some time, and suffered great hardships that so broke down his health as to compel him to return home in 1863. He was afterward sheriff of Winneshiek county.
"Nelson B. Burdick was eighth corporal, and but a youth at school when he went into the service. He contracted the measles at Benton Barracks, and was never well afterwards. He took part in the battles of Fort Henry. Donelson and
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Shiloh. Warm-hearted, generous towards all, he became a universal favorite. The hardships endured in rebel prisons were too much for his impaired frame. He reached home and died among his friends.
"John Steen, private, became quartermaster sergeant in 1864, and his whole term of service to the end was marked with ability and efficiency. Since the war he has held several positions of responsibility and trust, and is now living at Wahoo, Nebraska.
"The regiment was ordered to Davenport for final pay and discharge, January 25, 1866.
THREE MORE COMPANIES
"In 1863 Winneshiek county again came to the front and contributed, for the suppression of the rebellion. three companies in addition to the brave men she had before sent. The companies were, respectively, D, K and E, and formed a part of the Thirty-eighth Regiment. Henry A. Cleghorn was captain of Com- pany E.
"Company K was officered as follows :
"Captain-Samuel B. Califf.
"First Lieutenant-Levi Freeman.
"The officers of Company D were:
"Captain-George R. Humphreys.
"First Lieutenant-Newton Richards.
"Second Lieutenant-F. J. Barker.
"These companies were mustered into service at Camp Randall, Dubuque, Iowa. From here they were transferred to Benton Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri. where they spent Christmas and New Years, 1863-4. They were next trans- ferred to Fort Thompson, which they retained charge of nearly six months.
"The Thirty-eighth Regiment was next transferred to the main forces then besieging Vicksburg. In this siege the Thirty-eighth, including the three com- panies from Winneshiek county, formed the extreme left of the Union line. Their position was in the very heart of a malarious swamp, and here was con- tracted the germ of a disease which afterwards carried off these brave men by the hundreds. Within ten days after the surrender of Vicksburg the Thirty- eighth was ordered to Yazoo City, on the Yazoo river. At Yazoo City the regi- ment remained about a week. While there the disease bred in the swamp oppo- site Vicksburg began to break out, and many men died. The regiment returned to Vicksburg. They were next ordered to Port Hudson to aid in the subjugation of that place, but did not reach the scene of action until the stronghold had fallen. The Thirty-eighth remained at Port Hudson about a month, and while here the disease contracted in the swamps broke out in all its virulence. So universal was the prostration of the soldiers, that during the month, there were on an average from three to fifteen only in the whole regiment that reported able for duty. Almost hourly the death of a companion in arms was announced to his sick and dying comrades. It was while lying here that the regiment met with its severest losses. Here it was they lost their beloved colonel.
"D. H. Hughes was commissioned colonel of the Thirty-eighth Regiment by Gov. Samuel Kirkwood. He was born in Jefferson county, New York, Sep- Vol. 1-7
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tember, 1831. and died Aug. 7. 1803. He died from the disease which carried almost universal death to his entire regiment. Colonel Hughes graduated at the Albany Normal Institute in 1853. In 1854 he was employed on the Prairie Farmer, Chicago. He married Adaliza Matteson, in Watertown. Jefferson county, New York, in March, 1855, and immediately thereafter came to Decorah, engag- ing in the practice of law. Colonel Hughes was a man of commanding stature, fine presence, the soul of honor, and became a lawyer of considerable repute. Ile was a democrat in politics, but was elected county judge of Winneshick county in the fall of 1859, notwithstanding the county then. as now. was of strong republican complexion. He was the candidate of his party for state senator in the fall of 1861, and only failed of an election of nine votes. The colonel was a war democrat from the outset, and pending the consideration of a petition of prominent republicans and democrats to become an independent candidate for judge of the district court of the tenth judicial district, hearing the cry of his country for more troops. Judge Hughes promptly cast aside his political oppor- tunity to enter upon a patriotic duty ; and. warmly espousing her cause, made a stirring canvass of the county in that behalf, and thus drifted into the army.
"Colonel Hughes, while stationed at New Madrid, was called to St. Louis as judge advocate in some trials then pending, and from his bearing on that occa- sion, and the ability he displayed, upon the conclusion of the trials the court ( and it was a court of strangers to him, too) unanimously recommended his promotion to brigadier-general, which document, however, he would not allow to go for- ward, alleging as a reason his brief experience as a military commander, and that there were already lives enough under his charge. Such was his modesty and noble character. Colonel Hughes died respected and beloved by all his sol- diers, and not more universal was the mourning in camp over the death of their commander than that of his host of friends at home.
"The Thirty-eighth took their departure from Port Hudson for New Or- leans, where they remained about three months. It was next transferred to Point Isabel, on the Rio Grande river. After leaving Port Hudson Company E was without a commissioned officer for nearly a year. The regiment was next sent to Brownsville, Texas. While here Quartermaster T. R. Crandall was made captain of Company E, and Walter Green was made its first lieutenant.
"August, 1864. again found the regiment in New Orleans. From here it was sent to Morganzie Bend. While at Morganzie Bend the Thirty-fourth and Thirty-eighth were consolidated, and afterwards known as the Thirty-fourth. The new regiment numbered 1,056 men. Company E, of Winneshick, and Company F, of Fayette, were likewise consolidated, and afterward known as Company K. Captain Rogers, of Company F, and Lieutenant Green, were re- lieved of duty, and T. R. Crandall made captain. H. T. Shumaker, of the original Company F. was made first lieutenant, and (). J. Clark made second lieutenant. Companies D and K were likewise consolidated. The Thirty-fourth participated in the siege of Fort Gains and Fort Morgan, on Mobile Bay, and here it re- mained until these forts capitulated. The Thirty-fourth was also present at the charge on Fort Fisher. The regiment was engaged in the last battle of the war, which was the taking of Fort Blakesly, the day before Lee's surrender. In this engagement, in just eighteen minutes, over 1,500 U'nion sokliers were slain and
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wounded. The regiment was mustered out of the service at Houston, Texas, but did not disband until it reached Davenport.
COMPANY D. SIXTHE IOWA CAVALRY
"Company D, Sixth Iowa Cavalry, was the last company donated to the Union cause by Winneshiek county. Although the men composing this company enlisted with the intention and expectation of fighting rebels, they were trans- ferred to other fields of duty-which was even more undesirable -- that of fighting Indians. The company was mustered into the United States service in Febru- ary, 1863, with the following officers :
"Captain-T. W. Burdick.
"First Lieutenant -- Sherman Page.
"Second Lieutenant-Timothy Finn.
"Orderly Sergeant-W. H. Fannon.
"The United States forces, in which was Company K, had several engagements with the Indians, each time coming out victorious, with great loss to the Indians and small loss to themselves."
In 1840, Fort Atkinson was erected to provide headquarters for the super- vision of the Winnebago Indians and to protect them from predatory bands from other tribes. The fort was commenced June 2, 1840.
In June, 1842, Old Mission, about four miles southeast of Fort Atkinson, was established for the education of the Indians.
In 1840 a government teamster froze to death between Joel Post's and Fort Atkinson.
June 6, 1841, the first white child, Mary Jane Tupper, was born at Fort At- kinson.
In 1843, first gristmill, erected by Colonel Thomas, of Old Mission.
In 1846, Capt. E. V. Summer, afterwards General Summer, who commanded at the fort from the first, left to join the United States army in the Mexican war, and Capt. James Morgan, of Burlington, succeeded to the command of the in- fantry, and Capt. John Parker, of Dubuque, to the command of the cavalry.
In 1847. Captain Morgan's company was mustered out, and Captain Parker given charge of the fort till the Indians were removed in 1848.
In 1848, Gotlob and Gotleib Kruman and others are said to have come and settled near Fort Atkinson. Details are given elsewhere.
In 1848 the Winnebago Indians were ordered removed and the permanent settlement of the county commenced; for details of which, see earlier chapters and the township histories in succeeding chapters.
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