Big Black River Bridge Engagement

update to addendum

Researched and documented by Carl Ingwalson cingwalson@cfilaw.com

I am not from Iowa, am not a descendant of anyone who served in the regiment, and have no interest in anything but accuracy. Twenty years ago I was given numerous original documents regarding the regiment, that piqued my interest and, since then, I've visited every place it visited, spent thousands of dollars purchasing military and pension records from NARA for hundreds of its members, visited sites in Iowa, amassed a library of more than 400 books almost exclusively relating (albeit sometimes remotely) to actions of this regiment, reviewed many rolls of microfilm, purchased numerous Iowa newspapers from the era, purchased additional records from the State Historical Society, conducted many hours of on-line research, obtained 135 original letters and copies of many other letters and documents, purchased photographs, made a presentation to the Des Moines Civil War Roundtable, secured copies of five diaries, etc.

The erroneous information relates to the regiment's participation in the three-minute assault at the Big Black River during General Grant's Vicksburg Campaign. The account says:

Although not stated in the article, there's an implication that Colonel Merrill "suddenly" became sick to avoid participating in the assault (something for which another officer was discharged), that Lieutenant Colonel Van Anda led the assault, that Colonel Merrill came up "in the rear" after the assault that he was wounded by a prisoner, and that the wound was slight. There is nothing in the mass of materials I've reviewed that even hints at such things, nothing except the single account in the 1878 History that was repeated in 1914, and there is a considerable amount of documentation to the contrary.

In fact, there is no indication Merrill was taken sick, he is one who suggested an initial movement, he is the one who gave the order to charge, and he led the charge of his regiment. He was not sick and there is nothing in his military or pension records or anywhere else that even hints at such a thing. He gave the order. He led the regiment up and out of a ravine in which they had been concealed. During the charge he was shot with the ball striking high on his right thigh and passing through both thighs (accounts that say he was shot in the hips were wrong). The wounds were extremely serious, he fell on the field, and some even reported he had been killed (that erroneous report was repeated most recently in Steve Meyer's book, "Iowa Valor ", in which he has a photo of Merrill with the caption that he "was killed in action in the Engagement at Big Black River Bridge").  When Merrill fell, the charge continued with Van Anda then the commanding officer, although there wasn't much commanding to do since the entire assault lasted only three minutes, was already in progress, and the men, exposed to fire the entire time, were understandably running as fast as they could from start to finish with no time to re-load after their initial volley - into the bayou, through barbed wire, over trees and other obstructions, and into the enemy trenches. Merrill did not come up "in the rear." He couldn't walk. He was carried from the field and laid next to his Adjutant, Henry Howard, who was mortally wounded during an earlier movement. He wasn't shot by a prisoner. He wasn't "slightly" wounded. He was sent north to recuperate and was not well enough to rejoin the regiment until almost nine months later, on February 11, 1864 in Texas. Even then his wounds prevented him from riding a horse and he resigned four months later.

Since there is absolutely no doubt about what happened, one might question how the article could be so wrong.

Merrill had a very successful career, serving two terms as Governor of Iowa, and then moving to California where he was a co-founder of several small cities near Los Angeles. His 1899 funeral was attended by governors and ex­governors of half a dozen states as well as numerous other dignitaries. 

Documentation used to make the corrections concerning the Colonel Merrell and the Big Black River Engagement.

The article is also wrong regarding the number of casualties. It did not lose 83. There are a documented 7 killed and 18 fatally wounded; another 38 suffered non-fatal wounds, some very slight and their service was not impaired. It's possible there were other casualties that don't appear in the record, but I'd have to order military records for the balance of the regiment to know.