USA > Iowa > Roster and record of Iowa soldiers in the War of the Rebellion : together with historical sketches of volunteer organizations, 1861-1866 > Part 47
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13Report of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1864, pages 524, 5.
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Second Lieutenant Cornelius A. Stanton, Company I. A list of the names of the officers and men killed, wounded and missing accompanies this report. My advanced guard-twenty-nine men of Company D under command of Lieutenant Niblack14_ deserve partieular notice for the manly stand they made against the enemy, whose hottest fire they withstood with the most determined bravery. Lieutenant Stanton was at the head of the column, and fearlessly assailed the enemy with his command -- Company I. He was wounded in his left arm very severely early in the engagement. and from loss of blood was compelled to retire from the field. Adjutant Glenn Lowe was also at the head of the column, and throughout this uneven contest displayed a heroism of an unusual character. His horse was shot from under him as soon as he came up with the enemy. He at once mounted another and, as the attack in the rear commenced, drew his saber and encouraged our men with his voice. At this time he was shot through the ankle and afterwards fell into the hands of the enemy, who treated him with kindness and left him in a neighboring house without paroling him. Sergeant Breeding, Company A, and Corporal Birdsall, Company B, attacked a party of the enemy who had five prisoners and, killing two of the rebels, released our men, who thus escaped. Many minor skirmishes took place during our retreat, in all of which a continuous resistance was made, with fatal effect to the enemy. I do not desire to give particular praise when all did as well as men could do against such odds. and I have only to regret that my force was not greater. With the valor of my men I am satisfied. The loss inflicted on the enemy was not less than forty men killed and wounded. Many of their dead were seen upon the field.
On the 25th of May, Lieutenant McKee, Company B, with fifty men of Companies A and B, encountered the enemy in superior force seven miles from Helena and sustained a loss of five men wounded and two missing. The official report of Lieutenant McKee shows how well the honor of the regiment was sustained in that engagement.15
The headquarters of the regiment had now been located at Helena for about eleven months. Colonel Bussey was anxious to have his regiment trans- ferred to General Grant's army, at Vicksburg, and had made frequent requests for such transfer. On the 4th of June, 1863, the long wished for order came and the regiment, with its camp equipage and horses, was soon embarked on transports, which landed at Snyder's Bluff on June Sth. Upon his arrival, Colonel Bussey was assigned to the position of Chief of Cavalry and immediately entered upon the discharge of his important duties. The rebel army, under General Johnston, was concentrating along Black River and watching for the opportune moment (which never came) to hurl his forces on the rear of Grant's army and raise the siege of Vicksburg. The gigantic struggle for the possession of that mighty stronghold was in progress, and constant and unre- mitting activity was required of all the troops. From the day the Third Iowa Cavalry disembarked until the surrender of Vicksburg, the officers and men had but brief intervals of rest. They were almost constantly in the saddle, scouting the country along the Big Black, guarding the fords and ferries and keeping watchful eyes upon the movements of the enemy. It was the turn- ing point in the great conflict, and every nerve was being strained-on both sides-to achieve the victory which meant either the triumph of the rebellion or the beginning of its certain defeat and the absolute assurance of a restored Union.
Upon the surrender of Vicksburg, (July 4, 1863,) a cavalry brigade, con- posed of the Third and Fourth Iowa, Second Wisconsin and Fifth Illinois. under command of Colonel Cyrus Bussey of the Third Iowa Cavalry. crossed
14It will be noted by the reader that this gallant officer had been severely wounded less than one month before this engagement. He could, therefore, hive scarcely had time to fully recover from his wound before he was again in the sad lle and ready to meet the enemy. A typical Iowa soldier, whose memory should be revered.
15Report of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1864, pages 526, 7.
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the Big Black River at Messinger's Ferry, and at once took the advance of the army, under command of General Sherman, which General Grant had ordered to proceed against the rebel army commanded by General Johnston. From the morning of the 6th to the 11th of July, Colonel Bussey's command was constantly at the front, covering the movements of the infantry and artillery in his rear, having daily skirmishes with the enemy's cavalry, until the rebel army was driven into its intrenchments at Jackson. While General Sherman's army was prosecuting the siege of Jackson, Colonel Bussey's caval- ry command, acting under the orders of General Sherman, had proceeded to destroy a portion of the railroad to the north of the enemy's works, and then marched in the direction of Canton, twenty-five miles further to the north, and, in conjunction with a force of infantry and artillery, engaged the ene- my, driving him into Canton on the night of July 17th. That night the ene- my evacuated Canton, and the next morning Colonel Bussey marched into the town with his command, and procceded to destroy factories and machine shops, which had been engaged in the manufacture of equipments for the rebel army, also a large number of cars and locomotives which had been used in transporting supplies for the rebels. A part of Colonel Bussey's command was sent to destroy the railroad bridge over the Big Black River, together with the railway property at Way's Bluff, which was successfully accomplished, and the command was again concentrated at Canton that night. The next day Colonel Bussey marched with his command to Messinger's Ferry and went into camp. From the 5th to the 20th of July, the Third Iowa Cavalry had performed a series of important operations, as a part of the brigade under the command of its gallant Colonel Bussey, and had received his earnest commendation for the prompt and skillful manner in which it had executed all his orders. Had the record of the regiment ended with that glorious campaign, its fame and that of its gallant Colonel would have been secure.18
The official report of Colonel Bussey, as Chief of Cavalry, while covering the movements of all the cavalry forces during this history making period. shows that the Third Iowa Cavalry performed its full share of duty and fully sustained the good record it had made by its previous service. At the con- clusion of his report Colonel Bussey acknowledges the valuable service ren- dered him by Captain H. D. B. Cutler, A. A. A. G., and Lieutenant D. E. Jones. A. A. Q. M., of his staff, both of whom were officers of the Third Iowa Cavalry.17
The operations of the regiment connected with the campaign and siege of Vicksburg covered the period from June S to August 10, 1863. The latter date found the regiment encamped upon the bank of the Big Black River, in rear of Vicksburg, where it remained until August 10th, in the enjoyment of a well earned rest. Major Scott having resigned, the regiment was now under the command of Major Noble.
On the 10th of August the regiment was again upon the march, attached to an independent cavalry brigade composed of the Third and Fourth Iowa and Fifth Illinois regiments. under command of Colonel E. F. Winslow, of the Fourth Iowa Cavalry. Major John W. Noble in his official report fully describes the operations of his regiment on this important expedition. The total strength of the brigade was but eight hundred men. but the damage
16In Vol. 2, of the Report of the Adjutant General of Iowa, pages 546 to 549. will be found the official report of Colonel Cyrus Bussey, Chief of Cavalry, giving a detailed account of the operations of his command during the expedition against Jackson.
17Report of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1864, pages 558 to 561 inclusive. Official Report of Colonel Bussey.
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they inflicted upon the enemy, in killed, wounded and prisoners, and the destruction of rolling stock of the Mississippi Central 'Railroad, was very great and out of all proportion to the loss sustained by the brigade, which was only two killed, five wounded, and six missing. The casualties in the Third Iowa Cavalry were four men wounded. The brigade marched two hun- dred sixty-five miles, mostly through country occupied by the enemy, arriv- ing at Memphis, Aug. 22, 1863. On the 26th of August the regiment embarked at Memphis with orders to return to Vicksburg, but, on reaching Helena, was ordered to disembark and report to General Steele, then on the march with his army to Little Rock, Ark. The regiment marched from Helena, by way of Clarendon and reached Little Rock (which had been occupied by Gen- eral Steele's army on the 10th of September) on the 1st day of October, and was ordered to proceed immediately to Benton, Ark., an important outpost of the army, occupied by the other six companies of the regiment, and com- manded by Lieutenant Colonel H. C. Caldwell. Here the entire twelve com- panies were reunited, after a separation of nearly two years. The cordial greetings exchanged by these war-worn soldiers and the intense interest with which they listened to each others' description of the trials and dangers through which they had passed during this long period of separation may well be imagined.
The duties performed by the regiment at this outpost were arduous. Forage trains requiring heavy guards were sent out almost daily, and de- tachments were frequently sent on scouting expeditions extending forty to fifty miles into the surrounding country. On the 26th of October the regiment was ordered to reinforce the post at Pine Bluffs, and arrived at that place after a day and night march. The enemy had been repulsed and was then moving toward Arkadelphia. The regiment followed, surrounded the town and captured a number of prisoners, arms, horses, mules and wagons, belong- ing to the rear guard, but the main body of the enemy succeeded in escaping. Early in November the regiment engaged in an expedition for the purpose of bringing into the Federal lines several hundred refugees-loyal citizens of Arkansas, who had banded together and taken refuge in the mountains to escape the rebel conscription. Nearly three hundred men and horses were brought out from their hiding places. These men were glad to be given the opportunity to enlist in the Union army. During this expedition the regi- ment captured a rebel Major with twenty-five soldiers of his command. Dur- ing the month of November Colonel Bussey commanded the cavalry division, (General Davidson being absent,) but, upon the General's return, on the 1st of December, Colonel Bussey resumed command of the First Brigade and the Post at Benton. On the 10th of December he conducted an expedition to Princeton, where a force of the enemy was encountered, several of whom were killed and wounded and thirty prisoners captured. On the 20th of De- cember, having exhausted all the forage in the country, the post of Benton was evacuated and the regiment, with the brigade, returned to Little Rock.
On the 1st of January, 1864, more than six hundred men of the regi- ment re-enlisted for three years as veteran volunteers. This number em- braced nearly all the men who were at that time present and able for duty. A few days later the regiment was relieved from duty and provided with transportation to Iowa. Keokuk was designated as the place at which the men were to receive their furloughs and the rendezvous at which they were to assemble when the furloughs should end. the time being limited to thirty days. On the 12th of February the men left Keokuk for their respective homes and, on the 12th of March, had reassembled at Keokuk, bringing with them seven hundred recruits for the regiment, which was immediately ordered
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to proceed to St. Louis, and, upon its arrival there, was provided with a new and complete equipment of arms, horses and everything necessary for active service in the field. The aggregate strength of the regiment was now greater than when it first left the State of Iowa, in November, 1861, and it was ready to again take the field under the most favorable conditions. In the meantime, Colonel Cyrus Bussey had been promoted to Brigadier General, and Lieutenant Colonel H. C. Caldwell succeeded him as Colonel of the regi- ment. On May 23, 1864, President Lincoln appointed Colonel Caldwell judge of the United States district court for the State of Arkansas, and the Colonel resigned to accept the appointment. Lieutenant Colonel John W. Noble was then promoted to Colonel and Major George Duffield to Lieutenant Colonel: Captains Jones and MeCrary were promoted to Majors.18 The regiment moved from St. Louis to Memphis, where it arrived in the latter part of April and where it performed patrol and picket duty-when not absent on expeditions- until late in December. During the months of June, July and August the regiment was engaged in the expeditions to Guntown, Tupelo and Oxford, Miss. In the months of September, October and November, the available por- tion of the regiment took part in the campaign in Missouri, against the army of the rebel General Price.19
The expedition to Guntown, under the command of General Sturgis, was a disastrous blunder and failure, owing entirely to the incompetency of the General in command. In his official report of the operations of the Third Iowa Cavalry on this expedition, Colonel Noble gives a most complete and accurate description of every movement of the regiment, and shows the importance of its service-in connection with the other regiments of the cavalry brigade to which it was attached-in acting as rear guard during the retreat and saving the army from being utterly overwhelmed and captured by the enemy .? After describing in detail the movements of the regiment and its encounters with the enemy during the advance and up to the time the battle at Brice's Cross Roads began, Colonel Noble thus describes the situation at the most critical period of that battle:
At this juncture, my whole command was relieved by regiments of infantry, and was retiring when the infantry became engaged. We formed a new line immediately in their rear. rather than in appearance to leave them in an emerg- ency. After the order was received for us to retire to our horses, this regiment did so in the best order, mounting by companies and forming a column of squadrons. The contest on the field and in line lasted but a short time after this, and the enemy was hotly pressing his vietory. The infantry was filing past us in great numbers. The train was turned to the rear, and it became necessary for us to take a second position, mounted, to protect the retreating column. A column of squadrons was again formed, facing the enemy, who failed to attack with small arms, but finally opened upon this regiment a heavy canonade of round shot and shell. These fell around my men, wounding a number, but causing not the least disorder. By order we moved further to the rear something near half a mile, and again formed in squadrons faced to the enemy, who kept at a distance and used his artillery only. Our own artillery was being retired and did not protect us. After holding our posi- tion for some time, we were ordered to retire, which we did in the best order, not an officer or soldier being out of his place. The greatest difficulty was found in recrossing the bayou or swamp in our rear, and in it were caught most of the
isReport of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1867, Vol. 1, pages 13, 14.
19The official reports of Colonel John W. Noble, covering the operations of his regiment during this period and subsequently, to the close of the war, would occupy more space than the compiler is able to give to this entire sketch. He can, therefore, only make occasional extracts from them and refer the reader to the volumes of mill- tary history in which they may be found.
"0Report of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1865, Vol. 2, pages 949 to 954 inclusive.
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artillery and train of the army. Arriving at Stubbs' plantation, on our camping ground of the night previous, we rested from about 11 P. M. to 2 A. M., when we again moved toward Ripley, holding the rear. After daylight, two squadrons were sent by me a mile to the rear, and a line formed by battalion to support them, when the few infantry who had not already passed us were brought up and sent forward. But after this the enemy began to assail us with great determination, and it was only by the greatest energy and courage that my squadrons. Companies L. M and A, united under Captain Brown, and Company B, under Captain DeHuff, were able to hold the bridge leading to Ripley. They did so, however, until relieved by the Fourth Iowa Cavalry, who now took the rear. My regiment now accompanied General Grierson to Ripley by his own personal orders.
Arriving at Ripley I was notified that the enemy was about to attack on the left, and to prepare for him. I formed in a column of squadrons, faced to the rear immediately, and at the same time was ordered to support the Fourth Iowa Cavalry then in action. My advance in line was under severe fire, and over fields broken by high fences and deep ditches. The enemy was checked, and the position held until, his object obtained. General Grierson ordered me to retire. To retire at this point was a matter of no little difficulty, for the enemy, having no resistance elsewhere. were flanking as well as pressing from the rear. Their fire was redoubled as we moved again upon the road. In this stand we lost Lieutenant Miller, of Company D, who fell wounded, bravely fighting and facing the foe ; also Corporal Gilchrist, Company C, was killed, and others wounded.
1 have the satisfaction of knowing that the enemy did not escape without punishment ; his flag was seen to fall three times under our fire, and many of his men were killed and wounded. To hold the rear of a rapidly retreating column against a superior and assailing enemy now became the task of my regiment, and resulted in considerable loss to us. Companies I and K were thrown to the rear, under the command of Major Jones. A column of the enemy, advancing through the surrounding thickets. came upon them while they were gallantly holding another regiment at bay, and charging them suddenly, after much resistance, by overpowering numbers captured most of those who are reported in the accompanying tables. Platoon after platoon was thrown out right and left along our road, and, faring to the rear, presented front to the rebels. This method of defense was continued throngh- out the morning and afternoon. A cavalry force of our men and an infantry com- mand now gave my regiment temporary relief. But the enemy still pressing. the cavalry failed to hold their place and a portion of the infantry was thrown into con- fusion and captured. I immediately formed another battalion line, supporting it with squadrons placed at advantageous points, the infantry left passed through my line, and I was once more contending with the advance of the enemy. The duty was severe, and, in view of what had already been performed, somewhat unexpected ; but, as it had been assigned to help others, it was persevered in without complaint as long as strength was left to resist. I was finally relieved by the Fourth Iowa Cavalry, and they by the Second New Jersey. After this my command was not again under fire. The rest of the day the column advanced without food or rest, except a short halt at evening, when, the enemy approaching, the column was again put in motion. and the march continued through the night and next morning to LaFayette.
Colonel Noble concludes his report by a description of the remainder of the march to Memphis. This was the most unfortunate expedition in which the regiment participated during its long term of service. That it maintained its well won reputation as a fighting organization and demonstrated most com- pletely the efficiency of the cavalry arm of the service, both upon the advance and retreat of the army, is shown by the foregoing extracts from Colonel No- ble's report, which is also verified by other official reports of cavalry and infantry commanders upon that expedition 21 The compiler has given minch
":Report of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1866. Official Reports. "Battle of Brice's Cross Roads," and "Guntown Expedition," pages 120 to 131 inclusive.
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more space to this report than he will be able to devote to those which follow, for the reason, drawn from his own experience and that of others, that it is the severest test of the bravery and fortitude of soldiers and their commanders to obey orders and persist in fighting under the demoralizing conditions result- ing from the blunders and incapacity of a General unfit to command an army. It is under such conditions that men and officers exhibit the nearest approach to total self abnegation of which human nature is capable, save only that matchless spirit of self sacrifice shown by the Union soldiers who suffered in the prison pens of the South. At the close of his report, Colonel Noble says:
I refer to the accompanying tables for a more definite statement of my losses in this most unfortunate expedition, in which my command labored so hard and fought so well. My officers and men behaved universally so well that I cannot make much distinction among them. But, for their aid in getting a new line to face the enemy at one particular emergency, I deem Captain Curkendall, of Company D, and Lieuten- ant McKee, of Company B, worthy of particular notice. Major Jones was constantly at his post, and did all a good and brave officer could. If occasion offers, I hope to bring the merits of others of the brave men more prominently forward than I can do now.
The aggregate number of the regiment engaged upon this expedition was five hundred forty-five. Its aggregate loss was seventy. The report of Colonel E. F. Winslow of the Fourth Iowa Cavalry, who commanded the brigade, shows an aggregate loss in his command of one hundred twenty-six. He also reports the loss of horses on the expedition, as follows: Forty killed, one hundred eighteen wounded, and two hundred twenty-eight abandoned, of which number the Third Iowa Cavalry lost nineteen killed, forty-one wounded and one hun- dred abandoned.22 The figures show conclusively the hard and persistent fighting done by the cavalry as the rear guard of that army.
The regiment arrived at Memphis on June 14th, and remained in camp until the 24th, when all the officers and men able for duty started upon another expedition, this time under the command of that able and energetic officer, Ma- jor General A. J. Smith, who knew how to handle men in battle and care for them on the march. The regiment was engaged in many skirmishes on this expedition, participated in the battle of Tupelo, and performed its full share of duty with the other cavalry regiments associated with it. The enemy was defeated in every encounter and the disasters of the previous campaign were fully retrieved. In his official report Colonel Noble gives a detailed account of the operations of his regiment, and especially commends the valor displayed by his officers and men in an encounter which occurred on the 13th of July, at Oldtown Creek, in which the enemy was driven from a very strong position.23 Special mention is made of the meritorious conduct on this occasion-and at all times during the expedition-of Major Duffield, Captain Crail and Captain Brown, commanders of battalions, and Captains Mccrary and Johnson. The regiment returned to Memphis on July 13th, having marched nearly four hun- dred miles while on the expedition, during which the casualties were as fol- lows: Enlisted men killed one; wounded seventeen; missing one. Horses, killed, eighteen; wounded eighteen; worn out and abandoned eleven.
On the 25th of July, 1864, all the cavalry at Memphis-consisting of four- teen regiments-was organized as a cavalry army corps, composed of two divi- sions, the first under command of General Hatch, (former Colonel of the Second Iowa,) and the second under command of Colonel Winslow, of the Fourth
22Report of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1866, Tabulated Statement, page 124. The horses abandoned of course included the wounded and those worn out on the march.
23Report of Adjutant General of Iowa, 1865, Vol. 2, pages 954 to 959 inclusive.
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Iowa, the whole under command of General Grierson. The Second Brigade of the Second Division was composed of the Third and Fourth Iowa and Tenth Mis- souri, with Colonel Noble as Brigade Commander, and Major B. S. Jones in command of the Third Iowa. On the 5th of August this cavalry force left Memphis and, in co-operation with General A. J. Smith's Division of Infantry, proceeded upon an expedition to Oxford, Miss. The Third Iowa performed its share of duty upon this expedition, but did not suffer any serious casualties. It returned with the other troops to Memphis, on August 30th, just in time to start upon one of the most important campaigns in the history of its service-that against the rebel army commanded by General Price, which had again invaded the State of Missouri.
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