USA > Iowa > Scott County > Davenport > Reunion of the Second Iowa Cavalry Veteran Association, 1882 > Part 6
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At Bird's Point, finding that we were to be sent on every wild goose chase, such as that to Liberton at night, through cypress swamps, dur- ing which many of us were uncomfortably wet, and returned to camp
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without hats, our heads ornamented with handkerchiefs as substitutes, dispatching a private messenger to General Pope, who with the gallant Army of the Mississippi was then approaching New Madrid. a return messenger brought orders for us to report to him. and thus enabled us to take part in the operations at Madrid, and Island No. 10, which in its results was one of the most brilliant campaigns of the war.
Do you remember the miraculous escape in our camp at Madrid, when some of you formed a circle lying down, and exploded a shell placed in the center of this circle, yet not a man or horse was injured. Pieces of the shell fell near the quarters of the commanding General.
Our crossing after dark the Mississippi river, and scout up the river, the capture of steamboats, munitions and prisoners of war, which we transferred to troops on steamers from above; then scouting down by Redfoot lake to Tiptonville ; our embarkation for Fort Pillow and oper- ations in that vicinity, until recalled for the reinforcement of Grant's army around Corinth, and daily reconnoissances in front of Corinth; the first cavalry raid of the war, with the companion regiment of our brigade, the gallant Second Michigan Cavalry, its Colonel afterwards the distinguished General, and now Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Sheridan. [Cheers. ] The importance of this raid has not been fully set forth in any history of the war yet written. I was assured by the lamented McPherson, who was chief engineer of the army at Corinth, but for the capture of engines and cars from the enemy by that raid, he could not have supplied the army, the Tennessee river being too low to admit of the transportation of supplies by water.
Our reconnaissance towards Blacklands, its object to develope the strength of the enemy, soon gave pretty active employment to the brigade and its artillery, and enabled us to report to the Commanding General, that the enemy in force was yet in our front.
The promotion awarded me on the 11th of June, 1862, through your gallantry and efficiency, caused my transfer to another field of duty. I took leave of you with the warmest feelings of attachment and regret, and followed your record throughout the war, with the privilege of seeing you but once, and that was during the pursuit of what was left of Hood's fleeing army, after the battles around Nashville. You were in the advance of my division of the 4th corps, at the crossing of Rutherford Creek, south of Franklin.
During the National Encampment of the Grand Army of the Re- public at San Francisco, in 1886, I had the pleasure of meeting about fifteen of you. On reaching my residence at the close of the day's work, (for I would have you know I am yet a working man, ) my youngest daughter met me at the door with the remark : "Papa, your regiment is in the parlor." [Laughter. ] So glad was I to see them, as was also my good wife, who always had your interests at heart, we arranged for an evening with us ; some said their wives and daughters were with them ; we said: "Bring them with you and we will have a regimental family dinner." [Laughter and cheers. ] They came, and I wish you had all been there, and with your families, for it was to me and to my family the most pleasant feature of the encampment. We gave them the best California could offer. In addition to the fruits and flowers and Cavalry colored ribbons with which the table was deco- rated, I was surprised to find the same crimson sash and sabre I had worn while serving with you. had been suspended under the gaslight, as an additional ornament. [Cheers.]
I have wanted to be with you at your former reunions, but distance, and other reasons, have prevented ; but the meeting at San Francisco,
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which I have mentioned, caused me to resolve that I would be with you this year, if it were possible.
Proud as I was of you as your commander, this meeting has been the happiest of my life. It has been a pleasure to learn, as a body, you are prosperous. Let us not allow polities to eause any dissension- among us, but let us stand by each other as honorably discharged sol- diers of the Second Iowa Cavalry, a regiment which had few equal- and no superiors. [Cheers.] I feel that I have fulfilled a duty I owed you, to be with you at this reunion. I hope we may be spared to meet again. Wishing you health and prosperity, I say, God bless you, one and all.
The General retired under a storm of plaudits long continued.
The orchestra regaled the house with the "Come Again " march.
The President announced that the audience was most fortunate in having in prospect another maiden speech, and from a very modest .man, and the ladies would please turn their heads in sympathy with the diffidence of General Hatch, whom he now presented.
The second ovation of the evening was paid by both regiment and house, to this idolized commander and former citizen of Muscatine. The General appeared in citizen's dress, with his right hand carried in the breast of his Prince Albert, and showing a white bandage which seemed to betoken a recent brush with the Indians, but instead told of a bad laceration inflicted in an encounter with a grizzly. He wore a clean-shaven face, excepting the white moustache, which comported well with the silvered locks, prematurely whitened in his early cam- paigns.
GENERAL HATCH'S SPEECH.
He said that Colonel Egbert was quite right in introducing him as about to make his maiden speech. But though never before facing his old regiment as an "orator," he hoped it was not too late to express hi- gratitude to those whom he led out a quarter of a century ago. Since he commanded the Second Iowa, he had commanded all but three of the regiments in the regular army, and could testify that for valor, gallantry and daring under fire, the old Second Iowa stood first. [Cheers. ] Summarily transferred from them to other commands, and unable to attend former reunions, this was his first opportunity to express his grateful sense of what they did, not only for their country, but for such men as himself, and no commander could be prouder of his followers than was he of one and all of the Second Iowa.
The General concluded amid the ringing applause of the house.
President Egbert : "We'll now have ' Marching Thro' Georgia,' from the glee club, and we want to have you whoop it up, boys, on the chorus."
The club sang the old song, and the boys dashed into the chorus like a cavalry charge.
The president introduced Comrade Lawrence.
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SPEECH OF COMRADE JOHN LAWRENCE.
Expressing his gladness at meeting so many of the old regiment, he proceeded to the narration of an incident illustrative, he said, of the qualities of Colonels Hatch and Horton. He enlisted at Muscatine, at the age of twenty, with a younger brother, and at the time knew but that fraternal face in the whole regiment. He had met to-day the com- rade who was the first to offer him a share of his bunk. "My brother," he went on to say, "fell at Waterloo, mortally wounded. While you left for Coffeeville, I was permitted to remain with my brother, fearing that the next day's sun would not rise on him alive. About 4 o'clock P. M., a couple of stragglers came in and said you were all cut up-you remember you had it pretty hot at Coffeeville. During the night, the clinking of sabres was heard, and Captain Horton's voice saluted me, asking : 'How is your brother?' I answered that he was just alive. ' We'll take him back with us,' said the captain. I wouldn't have had the courage to ask that my brother be taken back, but the captain read my heart and answered it. A surgeon protested, and said it was no use -that the boy would die before morning. But Captain Horton insisted and Colonel Hatch said : 'If he dies, we'll stop and bury him.' Thank God that, after twenty-five years, I have lived to take these noble offi- cers by the hand. I am glad to meet Colonel Horton in his own city. I rejoice that I did duty under men brave as lions, but whose hearts beat for humanity. Sometimes we soldiers got to be a little supersti- tious, and I have often thought that if General Hatch had been like other men, that minnie ball that passed through him would have killed him. He couldn't be spared. Many of you remember, as he lay pant- ing on the ground, how he aroused himself and said : 'Boys, if you let the enemy pass that stream, I'll never speak to one of you again.' " [Applause.]
Comrade Lawrence was well cheered, and his speech was one of the most effective of the evening.
The glee club sang "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are March- ing," and the boys did not forget to swell the chorus.
The president said that the boys might now take the meeting into their own hands, and call for whom they wanted. "Call on Jones, if you've a mind to; or Horton."
Vociferous shouts for both Jones and Horton were given ; but the latter insisted upon the former taking the floor, and he came forward.
SPEECH OF "KANSAS" JONES.
The appearance of " Kansas" Jones on the stage was the signal for a burst of cheers and merriment. Standing over six feet, heavily bearded, and peering benignly upon the house in spectacles, he waited for the cheering to subside, and then gravely remarked that he was sorry to say this was his maiden speech. [Laughter.] A lady had 3
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asked him to-day where he came front. Kansas. "What State is that in?" she asked. The State of Starvation. [Laughter. ] Had a rain down there lately, which had swelled things up some, and he did not feel so shrunken as he had been. [Laughter.] He was amused to hear General Elliott say that he wished the whole regiment had taken dinner with him in San Francisco. The general had forgotten the speaker's red-headed brother. [Explosive laughter.] He had that brother down in Kansas eight days, and fed him -a farm! [Laughter. ] Took him to a friend's at Washington, and their host soon said : " Go to Muscatine!" [Laughter.] And you here will say to him: "Get thee back to New York !" [Everybody laughing, and looking around for the red-headed brother.] This regiment is no mutual admiration society. When the speaker did any of that kind of talk, it was about Kansas, a State 400 miles long, 200 miles wide, and 13 inches deep. [Laughter.] There is where we raise the biggest hogs, biggest corn, and biggest liars in the world. [Continued laughter ] He was not like the mayor-afraid of his wife. Down in Kansas, where they have prohibition, they say man and wife are one. That is a sad mistake; they are two, though the wife counts for about one and a half. [Laugh- ter.] Boys, if Lincoln had seen that first conglomerated mass of humanity trying to shoulder a musket, or handle a sabre, or mount a horse, he never would have called for '300,000 more." [Shouts of laughter.] Shall I ever forget, said the speaker, how our first captain up in Linn county taught us to " front face?" He marched us around and around and around a blacksmith shop, and, coming to a halt, he shouted : " When I tell you to ' front face,' turn your backs on the shop." [Roars of laughter. ] When the regular officer came, he forgot to bring a shop, and we were all at sea. [Explosive shouts.] After three weeks' training, they gave us a gun ; and when we had learned to put the powder into one end, they gave us another gun and made us load at the other end. [Convulsive laughter.] That Coon of a colonel was great at a battalion. Great Cæsar! what a voice he had ! [Laugh- ter.] I am not as scared at that voice as I used to be. It was a voice for a Memphis regiment of 600 men, 900 women, and 1,500 children. [Roars of laughter from the regiment.] The speaker said that as long as he lived and had a cow or stove to sell, or a wife to go out washing, he was going to attend these reunions. We'll charter a train, and bring the whole family next time. He may not have done as well as Horton [laughter], but his family were like a pair of stairs, with two- year steps, and they are well educated. All Kansas is well educated ; it has to be-for all the men are preachers or agents. [Laughter.] One time, a boat came to the Muscatine landing, and the ladies here gave him and that boat-load of hungry soldiers the best dinner that was ever set. [Cheers. ] He had for years wanted to see those Muscatine Jadie- who raised those. thirty bushels of potatoes to the acre for the soldiers.
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[Cheers.] God bless those ladies. He was fond of ladies, anyway [laughter]; and it had got to be a very homely woman that he wasn't fond of. [Laughter.] The meanest thing that had occurred to him that day, was when he introduced his wife to a comrade. The wretch looked at her from head to foot, and coolly wanted to know if that was the wife he had in Memphis. [Shouts of laughter. ] It made me mad ; it would have made you mad, General Elliott. [Laughter.] The speaker closed by hinting what he would like to do for the boys, if he was President ; and said if they liked his " views," he was always to be found in Kansas, and ready for the highest responsibilities.
Long continued applause and merriment followed " Kansas" Jones from the stage.
COLONEL HORTON'S GREETING.
Colonel Horton was loudly called for, and came forward amid enthu- siastic cheering :
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, Comrades:
I am more than glad to see so many of the grand old regiment at this my old home. and I heartily thank you for coming. You have already been greeted and tendered the freedom of the city by His Honor, the Mayor, and I will only add this: "If you want anything you do not see, just call for it,"' with the one exception of chickens, for I will tell you confidentially, that there has not been heard throughout the region, from the raging Cedar to the great Father of Waters, the honest,clear notes of a chanticleer, since the First Iowa "regiment boys" were here last August. [Laughter.]
And now Mr. President, with your permission, I desire to take this occasion to thank, for myself and the comrades of the Second Iowa Cavalry residing in this vicinity, Colonel Beach, and through him as chairman the local committee of the First Iowa Infantry, for the gen- erous spirit of comradeship in which they turned over, for our use, a very handsome surplus fund. Such action is worthy of those who fought the battle of Springfield after their term of service had expired, and who, by their gallantry, won for themselves and our State so proud a record, [cheers] a record that no regiment that followed could afford to tarnish. Colonel Beach, we again tender you a soldier's thanks. But I came here not to make a speech, but simply to see and swap yarns with the boys.
We have with us here to-night, for the first time, two of our old commanders, Generals Elliott and Hatch ; and I want you to join me in giving them three cheers, such cheers as you sent up from the first fort at Nashville to let old "Pap Thomas" know that our flag was there : Hip,- -
(The regiment sprang to its feet, and there burst forth cheers that will ring in the memory of those chiefs until stilled in the silences of the grave.
Colonel Horton resumed, but was soon stopped by another enthu- siastic outburst from the boys, who caught sight of Colonel Hepburn. that moment arriving and taking his seat on the stage.
"That lets me out!"' exclaimed Colonel Horton, and he stepped back
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to greet his old fellow-officer. But the hall resounded with cries of "Horton," "Horton," and he was compelled to return to the footlights.)
Elliott, the Father of the Regiment : He found us a noisy, enthu- siastic band of volunteers, 1200 strong-boys representing the best homes in our State, fresh from the farm, the counting room, the office and the shop, full of brave and patriotic intentions, willing and ready to do, but wholly ignorant as to the manner of doing. Colonel Elliott came to us with the prestige of a West Point graduate, and the expe- rience of 14 years as captain in the regular army, and by his energy and untiring zeal in drill and discipline, soon transformed this body of wild, enthusiastic youth, into a regiment of trained and disciplined soldiers, with cool heads and nerves of steel, veterans in all save actual conflict, before he would consent to take the field ; and in this he was right.
Colonel Elliott led us on our first scout through the swamps around Bird's Point, Mo., after Jeff. Thompson ; gave us our first lessons in actual warfare at Island No. 10, New Madrid, and in the skirmishes around Corinth; and then as brigade commander, led on that first great cavalry raid of the war, when he captured vast stores at Boone- ville, and won for himself a star. [Applause. ]
Hatch, the gallant, dashing and brilliant cavalry leader of the west, for him no march was too long, no night too dark, no stream too wide or deep for him to bridge or swim. He knew no such word as fail. [Cheers.] General Hatch started out as Captain of Co. A ; led the reg- iment as Lieutenant-Colonel ; led us on that desperate sabre charge at Farmington ; and as regimental, brigade or division commander, was ever our loved and trusted leader. During the first day's fight at Nash- ville, Hatch's division captured the first three forts taken in that battle, and during the three days' fight, captured every gun fired at him-28 pieces in all. But, Mr. Chairman, it is superfluous for me to tell this audience anything about Hatch. The old Second Iowa boys. know all about him, and the story of his gallantry is so well known, that his name has long since been held as a household word in the homes of this city.
It is indeed a proud and happy moment to me, when I am again permitted to grasp by the hand, and to look into the eyes, of the gal- lant boys with whom it was my privilege to have been so closely and intimately associated, during the trying years from August of '61, to October of '65. And as I look in their faces, as I stand here, numbers of acts of personal gallantry and heroism come back to my memory, but which would consume more than our allotted time were I to tel the half.
Boys, we are growing old ; your locks are sprinkled with gray ; your carriage is not so erect ; your step not so elastic as of old. But I see the same old fire in your eye, and the same proud bearing so indicative of a determination to bear well your part in the battle of life.
You have come from far and near to meet and greet comrades of those other days, and as I have mingled with you in yonder hall, I have noticed the little groups of twos and threes and fives, seldom , more, all that is left of those other groups who were wont to gather around the old camp fires; and I have heard, yes, shared in the words of sympathy and cheer, given in return for the story of your trials and troubles. I have seen the face light up with a new courage, and your step grow more elastic, under the influences of the hour; and you will go home the better and stronger for this meeting.
Yes, go back to your homes and loved ones, tell your children of the
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ties and comradeship that bind us together ; tell them the story of the war; see that they read aright the history of the great conflict, the great sacrifice of life and treasure, necessary to the preservation and perpetu- ation of the Union ; but teach them no sectional bitterness; instill within their hearts no hatred or animosity toward the boys in gray, who met us in honorable warfare. Teach them that they were as brave as gallant as any men who ever drew sabre or shouldered a musket. Teach them that we are one people, whose aims and interests. hopes and fears, should and must be the same. But teach them the difference between loyalty and treason ; teach them that the cause for which the Union army fought, was the cause of justice and humanity ; that it was right-eternally right. That the cause of secession and disunion was . the cause of oppression, and was of necessity wrong, eternally wrong. Teach your boys to love and venerate the old flag with the same senti- ment, the same enthusiasm, that led you to rally in her defense. Teach them all this, and you will leave the flag, and all that it represents, in the hands and to the protection of sons worthy of the sires to whose gallantry and patriotism we owe the present prosperity and grandness of this Nation. [Long and tumultuous cheering. ]
" Rally 'round the Flag, Boys," was grandly sung by the glee club.
President Egbert said there was a request for "Curly" Jones, of New York, to show himself.
A shout of voices arose for "Jones," and the "red-headed brother" came forward and was presented, amid a welcome of cheers. He spoke as follows :
REMARKS OF "CURLY" JONES.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen. Comrades of the Second Iowa, Fellow Bummers :
(A long breath, and an awkward pause.)
A Voice-" Get there, Eli !" [Laughter.]
JONES-I was only wondering what I would talk about. [Laugh- ter.] I have got several subjects. [Laughter. ] There is one sentiment that has been woefully neglected at these reunions. It is always thrust in the background, out of sight. I propose to bring it out. [Laughter.] No toast strikes me so near as "The Bobtail Veteran." [Laughter.] This sentiment is a paradox, seemingly. A veteran is supposed to be one who went through to the end. The " Bobtail" didn't re-enlist. He escaped the closing perils of the war, and didn't become a veteran. But we are now all veterans. I am a veteran, though a " Bobtail "- the same as my big brother from Kansas, who got there with both feet. [Laughter.] After three years' service, the boys re-enlisted sufficiently to preserve the organization. I should have re-enlisted, but my brother said he'd liek me if I did ; and as he was considerably the bigger, and always had lieked me when he gave his word, I staid out. [ Laughter. ] Some didn't re-enlist on account of wives and sweethearts. This didn't deter me; I had a sweetheart, but she went back on me and married another fellow. [ Laughter.] God bless her! [Great merri- ment.] We "Bobtails" had a picnic at Fort Pickering. We loaded a messenger with substantials, and sent him to get us some-other sub- stantials [laughter] ; and, by marking our tent "small-pox," had it all to ourselves. Finally, we parted with you with light hearts-we were
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going home. I wanted to see the sweetheart that had married the other fellow. [Loud laughter. ] Came up to St. Louis ; they didn't banquet us there. At Muscatine, there was no dinner spread before u -. [Laughter.] At Davenport, no band welcomed us to shore. [Laugh- ter.] Marched up into the city. "What regiment is that?" somebody asked. "Second Iowa Cavalry," we answered. "Guess not," thes said, "the Second is fighting down in Mississippi." We concluded to march on to another street. [Laughter. ] Marched to a hotel, and they asked us who we were. "Second Iowa." No, they didn't want to take us in. [Laughter. ] Marched to a saloon, on Fourth street, where there was board by the day or week. It was kept by an Irishman and his wife ; mainly by the wife, as the husband was drunk most of the time. [Laughter. ] They welcomed us home [laughter], and we fared sumptuously. Best in the land-roast beef, Irish potatoes, and free admittance to the bar when the old man was drunk. [Uproarous laughter. ] We had a mess kit in a box, as big as a coffin, filled with government china. [Laughter.] Traded the kit to the landlady for three drinks of whisky a day per man. [Laughter.] Stayed there until we got our pay, and went home. There are a good many " Bob- tails" here. They served their time out honorably, and had good rea- sons for not re enlisting. I would like to gather with the old squad around that Fourth street bar in Davenport, and take a smile. [Roar> of laughter.] Am aware that I am in a prohibition State-have been aware of it several times. [Laughter.] It's worse here than it is in Kansas, and that is bad enough. How long have I spoken, Mr. Chair- man? [Laughter, and cries of "Go on."] I came from a long dis- tance, and at great expense. [Loud laughter.]
" KANSAS" JONES : "You dead-beated the whole way." [Laugh- ter.]
"CURLY": I thought you had left for refreshments. [Laughter.] What time has it got to be, Mr. Chairman ? [Laughter. ] Good night.
The speaker bowed himself off the stage, followed by the merry laughter and cheers of the house.
The president now introduced the orator of the evening, Colonel Hepburn, who was received with enthusiastic cheering.
COLONEL HEPBURN'S ADDRESS.
My Comrades, Ladies, and Gentlemen :
The chairman of this meeting doesn't seem to have divested himself of military authority, in thus pressing me into service before I have had time to shake hands and become infused with the reunion. I have noticed that after a lapse of years of growing old, in the retrospect by comrades, the perils they have shared, their trials, and all their rough experiences-everything is blotted from sight save the pleasant, con- genial things they have shared together-the whole past become- tinged with the golden lustre of their comradeship. I don't believe . Second Iowa man ever meets a comrade without feeling an impetu- e; blood, a thrill of nerve, a quickening of every sympathetic impul- [Cheers. ] We were in a common and glorious service. It has U twenty-two years since we were together in those wonderful & which gave to our nation an imperishable destiny, and solved the est menace that ever threatened a government.
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