Iowa History Project
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The counties of Decatur, Lee, Van Buren, Polk, Wapello,
Appanoose, Washington, Marion, Louisa and Dallas furnished the men who formed the
Seventeenth Regiment which was organized at Keokuk in March and April, 1862,
and consisted of nine hundred thirty-five men. The first field and staff
officers were: John W. Rankin, colonel; David B. Hillis, lieutenant-colonel; S.
W. Wise, major; S. Guthrie, adjutant; Nathan Udell, surgeon; E. J. Aldrich,
quartermaster; William L. Wilson, chaplain. On the 19th of April the
regiment was sent to St. Louis, and early in May joined Halleck’s army near
Corinth. After the close of that campaign it was on duty in that region until
September 18th, when it marched to reinforce General Rosecrans’ army
at Iuka. Upon arriving at the front it was hurried into battle, of which Stuart
says:
“Its
position was at the cross-roads and along the open ridge. Just across a narrow
ravine filled with dense brush was the enemy. Hardly had the regiment come into
line, when it was met with a terrible fire of grape, canister and musketry, and
General Sullivan ordered it to a less exposed position. While Colonel Rankin
was giving the command for the movement, a portion of General Rosecrans’
bodyguard in reconnoitering at the front encountered a terrible fire from the
enemy, rode hurriedly back and finding the Seventeenth Iowa drawn up across the
road, dashed through its ranks, knocking down and injuring several men. About
this time Colonel Rankin’s horse was shot and becoming unmanageable ran and
threw him, his head striking a tree which rendered him insensible. Standing
under fire for the first time, overrun and its ranks broken by stampeding
cavalry; its commanding officer disabled, is it a matter of wonder that the
Seventeenth was throw into temporary confusion and partially discouraged? A
portion of the left wing got separated from the right, but the greater part of
the regiment was present through out the engagement. Indeed it may be said that
in all its hard fought battles the Seventeenth Iowa never did better, all
things considered, than it did in its luckless fight at Iuka.”
After the Battle of Iuka the Confederates, under Price and
Van Dorn, with large reinforcements, increasing the army to 38,000 men,
commanded by General Van Dorn, moved against Corinth, held by General Rosecrans
with an army of 20,000. On the morning of the 3d the Union army was in line of
battle; General Hamilton on the right, between the Hamburg and Purdy roads;
General Davis held the center, between the Memphis and Columbus roads; while
General McKean held the extreme left facing the west on the Chewalla road.
General Hamilton on the right, between the Hamburg and Purdy roads; General
Stanley’s Division was in reserve; cavalry covered the flanks and front on the
north and east. This position was some distance from the town, and was ordered
to be held until the force and position of the enemy was fully developed. It
was then proposed by General Rosecrans to take a new position behind strong
earthworks defended by artillery near Corinth. At 9 o’clock in the morning the
Confederate army began the attack, Van Dorn leading the right wing and Price
the left. They were met with a heavy fire all along our line. But their
superior numbers gradually pressed our army back from one line of intrenchments
to another, in spite of the most determined resistance, and with heavy losses
to both sides. Colonel Baker, of the Second Iowa, fell mortally wounded. When
night came the Union army had been forced back into the strong intrenchments of
the inner line of defenses, where the heavy guns were mounted. Stanley’s
reserves were in line of battle early the next morning, while the earthworks
had been everywhere strengthened. Van Dorn, before daylight, opened the battle
with artillery, and the sharpshooters on both sides were soon warmly engaged.
At nine o’clock the enemy’s batteries were withdrawn and the columns were
formed for assault. They came on between the railroads presenting a huge,
wedge-shaped form, moving direct upon our center. Our batteries opened upon the
advancing army with grape, canister and shells, tearing huge gaps in the
compact mass, but on it came without faltering. Soon the wedge opened,
spreading out right and left in great wings, sweeping onward over the whole
field. Then the musketry opened upon the advancing host, before which hundreds
fell. Still on they came, closing up the great gaps in their ranks in front and
on the flanks, and the slaughter became fearful. Davis’ Division gave way
before them and the heads of the columns began to enter the town. General
Sullivan, in whose brigade was the Seventeenth Iowa, hurried to the support of Davis,
charging with bayonets and driving the enemy back in confusion, Davis’ Division
rallied, joining in the charge upon the charge upon the Confederate lines.
Lovell led his division against our left and a fearful combat ensued all along
the line, but nothing could long stand against our left and a fearful combat
ensued all along the line, but nothing could long stand against the steady
advance of the victorious Union army. The Confederate charge was defeated, and
Van Dorn saw that the battle was lost. Soon after noon, he reluctantly gave the
order to retire and abandoned the field to General Rosecrans. The Iowa troops
who bore a conspicuous part in this battle were the Second, Fifth, Seventh,
Tenth, Eleventh, Thirteenth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Infantry and
the Second Cavalry. The “Union Brigade” consisting of the remnants of the
Eighth, Twelfth and Fourteenth regiments, which had escaped capture at Shiloh,
was also engaged. The Second Infantry, under Colonel James Baker, went into the
battle with three hundred forty-six men, lost in killed, wounded and missing
one hundred eight, among whom were Colonel Baker and Lieutenant-Colonel N. W.
Mills, mortally wounded. Major Clark R. Wever, upon whom the command devolved,
paid a glowing tribute to the unflinching bravery of the officers and men of
the regiment. The Seventh, under Colonel E. W. Rice, lost one-third of its
number. The Seventeenth was under the command of Major Banbury, of the Fifth,
and smarting under the censure cast upon it at Iuka, went into the Battle of
Corinth with a resolve to redeem its good name from undeserved reproach. It
fought with superb valor all through the fierce engagement. In the crisis of
the battle, when Davis’ Division gave way and the army was in great peril, the Seventeenth
made a heroic charge on the advancing foe, arrested the fierce onset and
followed up the confused retreat. General Sullivan, in sending a stand of
colors captured in this charge to Governor Kirkwood, wrote:
“I
have never led braver men into action than the soldiers of the Seventeenth
proved themselves in the desperate and bloody Battle of Corinth.”
The colors were captured from the Fortieth Mississippi by
Corporal John King, of Company G, from Marion County, who was afterward
mortally wounded at Champion’s Hill. General Rosecrans issued a special order
commending the gallant conduct of the Seventeenth at Corinth. The regiment in
this battle inflicted as heavy loss on the enemy as any in the engagement, but
by good management lost but twenty-five from its own ranks. After many months’
service in various expeditions in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas, in
April, 1863, it returned to the army General Grant was concentrating for the
most brilliant campaign of the war. In that wonderful march into the heart of
the enemy’s country, where by rapid movements he prevented the junction of the
two Confederate armies of Pemberton and Johnston, the Seventeenth Iowa was in
the fighting line. On the 12th of May it participated in the Battle
of Raymond, where the enemy was defeated. Two days later it was in the front
brigade of General Crocker’s Division, crowding the enemy into Jackson, where
it fought bravely in that bloody battle, losing twenty-five per cent. of its
men. On the 16th it reached the battle-field at Champion’s Hill, and
took part in that desperate conflict where Pemberton made a determined stand to
beat back Grant’s army. But nothing could withstand the fierce assault of
Grant’s western regiments, and the Confederate army was again forced to retreat
with heavy loss. The Seventeenth Iowa captured a battery, a stand of colors and
nearly two hundred prisoners, and received the personal commendation of General
Grant. The regiment remained on the battle-field several days to assist in
burying the dead and caring for the wounded of both armies, and then joined the
army which was now investing Vicksburg from the rear. Toward the last of May
Colonel Hillis resigned, Lieutenant-Colonel Wever was promoted to the vacancy,
Major Archer to lieutenant-colonel and Captain Walden to major.
During
the siege of Vicksburg the Seventeenth Iowa was engaged in one fierce encounter
with the enemy. A strong defensive work had been erected by the Confederates on
the Jackson road named Fort Hill. This post had been mined under direction of
General John A. Logan. On the 25th of June it was ready to be fired
and the Seventeenth was one of the two regiments chosen to assault and hold the
works after the explosion. Early in the afternoon the center of the fort was
blown up and some of the troops rushed into the breach and held it, but were
not able to make much impression on the enemy. At eleven o’clock at night the
Seventeenth Iowa entered the breach and for three hours made a desperate effort
to dislodge the enemy. Our men stood on the summit of the shattered parapet and
kept up a continuous fire. The enemy hurled shells and hand-grenades among the
assailants continuously. Thus the combat continued for three hours, when the
regiment was relieved by the Thirty-first Illinois. Its loss in this conflict
was three killed and thirty-three wounded, many of whom died. Major Walden was
in command of the regiment in this assault.
After
the surrender of Vicksburg the Seventeenth remained in the city until the 9th
of September, when the division of which it formed a part embarked for Helena,
to reinforce General Steel’s army, and participated in the capture of Little
Rock. Soon after the regiment was sent to General Sherman and marched with the
Army of the Cumberland to Chattanooga. It took a conspicuous part in this
brilliant campaign, fighting with great valor on Missionary Ridge, where it
lost fifty-seven men, killed, wounded and prisoners. For several months the
regiment was employed in Georgia and Alabama scouting, guarding foraging trains
and lines of railroad. During the two years’ service the Seventeenth had
traveled over 4,000 miles, taken part in twelve battles, two sieges of
Confederate strongholds and a score of skirmishes. Its numbers had been reduced
to four hundred seventy-nine men, all of whom reenlisted as veterans on the 1st
of April, 1864. For several months the regiment was employed in Tennessee,
Alabama and Georgia, guarding lines of communication. In July it was sent to
Tilton. In August, two companies, H and I, were attacked two miles from Dalton
by a greatly superior force of the enemy, and, after a brave resistance were
compelled to surrender.
On
the 13th of October the Confederate General Stewart with a large
force appeared before Tilton. Lieutenant-Colonel Archer, of the Seventeenth
Iowa, had two hundred seventy-five men with which to defend the place. The
blockhouse built of heavy timbers, would hold seventy-five men. Two hundred
were placed in the trenches, and as the enemy approached a heavy fire was
opened by the little garrison, which was so effective that the Confederates
were held off for several hours. General Stewart then sent in a flag of truce,
demanding unconditional surrender. Lieutenant-Colonel Archer refused to
surrender and again opened fire on the enemy. Stewart next brought up several
pieces of artillery and opened on the blockhouse at close range. Every shot
struck the building, shattering the heavy timbers, and piercing the roof in
many places. Still the little garrison undismayed kept up a hot fire from the
loopholes. Thus the fight went on until nearly three o’clock, when Archer’s men
had less than a dozen rounds of ammunition left. A shell crashed through the
shattered wall, exploded among the brave defenders, prostrating and wounding
many. Colonel Archer realizing that further resistance was hopeless,
reluctantly surrendered after eight hours steady fighting. Twenty-four of the
brave little garrison were wounded, but none killed. Colonel Clark R. Wever, of
the Seventeenth, was at this time in command of a brigade at Resaca. On the 12th
of October General Hood approached with his army and opened an attack. Colonel
Wever’s force numbered but seven hundred men with four pieces of light
artillery. In order to deceive the enemy as to the size of his little army
Colonel Wever so placed his men and artillery in the forts as to give the
appearance of a formidable army. Hood began to attack with artillery and
musketry on three sides. The garrison opened upon his army with a rapid fire,
running guns from one embrasure to another in quick succession, while a steady
and deadly fire of musketry was belching from the forts. For hours the roar of
cannon and rattle of musketry was kept up and no progress was made by Hood. At
four o’clock he sent a flag of truce to the fort demanding immediate and
unconditional surrender. Colonel Wever refused and the combat opened again with
renewed vigor and was kept up until long after dark. In the meantime Colonel
Watkins, with five hundred cavalry, had come up from below, crossed the river
and gone into the fight to reinforce the garrison. Other reinforcements came
during the morning and the battle went on until afternoon, when, upon the
approach of General Sherman’s army, Hood made a hasty retreat. All but about
forty members of the Seventeenth had been made prisoners at the surrender of
Tilton. The remnant of the regiment took part in the campaign in Georgia and
the Carolinas. Colonel Wever joined Sherman’s army at Savannah and commanded a
brigade through the campaign, serving with great efficiency. The few men left
of the Seventeenth remained with the Army of the Tennessee until the regiment
was disbanded in August, 1865.
The companies making up the Eighteenth Infantry were
recruited from the following counties: Company A from Linn, Clinton, Jones,
Dubuque and Winneshiek; B from Clarke; C from Lucas and Monroe; D from Iowa,
Keokuk and Mahaska; E from Muscatine, Louisa and Linn; F from Wapello and
Appanoose; G from Marion, Warren and Polk; H from Fayette, Benton and Clinton;
I from Washington, Polk; H from Fayette, Benton and Clinton; I from Washington,
Polk and others; K from Muscatine and Mahaska. The regiment numbered eight
hundred seventy-five men and officers, and was mustered into service in August,
1862, at Clinton. The first field and staff officers were: John Edwards,
colonel; Thomas F. Cook, lieutenant-colonel; Hugh J. Campbell, major; Charles
E. Braunlich, adjutant; Sidney S. Smith, quartermaster; John H. Allen, surgeon;
and David N. Smith, chaplain.
In
August the regiment was ordered to join the Army of the Southwest at
Springfield, Missouri, then under command of General Schofiled. A tedious
campaign of hard marches, over bad roads, in bad weather, began in Missouri,
extending into Arkansas, bringing much suffering to the soldiers who were
learning their first lesson in the hard duties of army life in the enemy’s
country. The Eighteenth regiment was sent back to Springfield with the sick and
prisoners late in November, which place remained its headquarters until October
of the next year. Here it was employed for nearly a year in guarding a great
depot of army supplies, fortifying the place, operating against guerrilla bands
and scouting.
On the 7th of January, 1863, General E. B. Brown,
who was in command of the Union army of the Springfield district, learned that
the Confederate General Marmaduke with an army of several thousand men had
crossed the White River and was marching toward Springfield with several pieces
of artillery. Reenforcements were called in by couriers sent to the various
stations within reach, and energetic efforts were promptly made to strengthen
the defensive works about the city. Three pieces of light artillery were
hastily mounted on wheels and placed in one of the forts. All night troops,
aided by the citizens, worked on the barricades and other defenses. The
convalescents in the hospitals were armed and organized into a brigade. The
Eighteenth Iowa was the only effective regiment in the city. The entire force
that could be mustered in defense of the vast depot of army stores here
collected did not exceed 1,500 men, including militia, volunteer citizens,
convalescents and soldiers. The forts designed for defense of the city were all
unfinished. But General Brown was determined to make a desperate defense.
Sharpshooters met the enemy three miles out and opened a galling fire from
every sheltered spot, retreating slowly as the army advanced. Marmaduke had
formed his line of battle with artillery in the center, strongly supported by
infantry, while heavy bodies of cavalry were spread out on each wing. As they
advanced from the south over the open prairie in battle array, firing from a
battery of rifled guns in the center, it was an imposing sight. The moment it
came within range of our guns the artillery opened fire which, for a short
time, checked the advance. Colonel King, with the Third Missouri Cavalry, and
Colonel Hall, Fourth Missouri Cavalry, all militia, bravely charged the enemy’s
right and center, but were unable to check the advance. The artillery from Fort
Number Four now opened on the foe and for a time held the center in check and
forced it back. After the battle had been raging along the entire line for more
than an hour and but little progress had been made by the enemy, Marmaduke
massed his forces in compact lines and advanced upon our right and center. To
meet this formidable movement Captain Landis of the Eighteenth Iowa, with his
piece of artillery, was ordered to the front supported by three companies of
the regiment under Captains Blue, Van Meter and Stonacre. The enemy at once
charged upon the gun and a desperate struggle ensued. Surrounded by
overwhelming numbers our men made a heroic fight to save the gun. Captains Blue
and Van Meter fell mortally wounded among their slaughtered comrades, while
Captain Landis lost his gun after receiving a severe wound. The Confederates
captured a stockaded building in the south part of the city, which they used as
a fort from which a deadly fire was poured into our ranks. It was now the
middle of the afternoon and the enemy was still pressing heavily upon our lines
at several points, and it seemed that the lines would be pierced in spite of
the utmost efforts of the defenders. Colonel Crabb now led a fierce assault on
the enemy’s left center, driving it from position. General Brown rode forward
encouraging the militia who were making a desperate fight against overwhelming
numbers, when he was shot down and carried from the field. The command devolved
upon Colonel Crabb and the battle continued with varying fortune. At one time a
part of the Missouri militia gave way before superior numbers, and for a time
it looked as though Springfield was lost. But soon rallying, it charged the
enemy with great spirit, while at this critical time five companies of the
Eighteenth Iowa, stationed at an outpost some distance from Springfield,
reached the battle-field. Under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Cook they
went into the fight with such effect as to drive the enemy’s center into the
stockade. The garrison, which had for many hours been hard pressed and fighting
desperately a greatly superior force, was now encouraged by this reinforcement,
and, as night came on, the Confederate army retired to the east and the battle
was ended. The Eighteenth regiment had something over five hundred men engaged
in the battle and its loss was fifty-six. By the splendid courage and heroic
resistance of this Iowa regiment and the Missouri militia, Springfield and its
valuable army stores were saved from the enemy, who lost more than two hundred
men in the engagement. Our loss was about the same. The Eighteenth remained at
Springfield several months after the battle, and in April, Colonel Edwards
joined it and assumed command of the post. In the fall it marched into Arkansas
and on to Fort Smith, where Colonel Edwards was placed in command and the
Eighteenth was again assigned to garrison duty. In the spring of 1864, Colonel
Edwards was in command of a brigade composed of his own regiment, the First and
Second Arkansas and the Second Indiana Battery in the expedition under General
Steele into Louisiana. It was a campaign of inefficiency, blunders, needless
suffering, heavy losses of trains and useless loss of life. While retreating
from Camden the rear guard of General Steele’s army was fiercely attacked by
the Confederates near Moscow. The brigade of Colonel Edwards for a while stood
the brunt of the battle. Afterward it was reinforced by two other brigades and
the conflict lasted several hours, throughout the whole of which the Eighteenth
was engaged. On the 17th of April the regiment with a battery was
sent to reinforce the First Kansas, which was guarding a forage train
threatened by a large force of the enemy. The Eighteenth took its position in
the rear of the train, the Kansas regiment being at the front. On the morning
of the 18th several thousand Confederates made a fierce attack. The
Kansas regiment was overwhelmed and driven in confusion through the lines of
the Eighteenth Iowa, which promptly closed up to resist the assault. Seven
times the Confederates charged on the regiment with great impetuosity, often
piercing its lines, but meeting the most determined resistance. Thus the
struggle went on until the Iowa troops were surrounded by vastly superior
numbers. Then, charging with fixed bayonets, a bloody path was cut through the
enemy’s lines and the survivors returned to Camden, leaving on the field
seventy-seven of their comrades killed, wounded and captured. In the retreat of
General Steele’s army, which continued before a powerful and victorious
Confederate force, the Eighteenth Iowa shared all the hardships and suffering
which attended this disastrous campaign. For more than three weeks its march
continued through swamps and miry forests short of provisions, subsisting
chiefly upon raw corn. The gallant army bore its sufferings, defeats and
disasters with fortitude. At the Battle of Jenkins’ Ferry the Twenty-ninth,
Thirty-third, Thirty-sixth and Fortieth Iowa regiments fought with their
old-time valor, and the lamented Samuel A. Rice received a wound which proved
fatal. The Eighteenth Iowa was in the reserve under Colonel Edwards guarding
the ordnance train and was not engaged in the battle.
At
the close of the campaign the regiment returned to Fort Smith, and for several
months was employed in that vicinity. Colonel Edwards had been promoted to
Brigadier-General, and Lieutenant-Colonel H. J. Campbell was made colonel of
the Eighteenth, with J. K. Morey as major. During the winter the regiment made
a hard march on short notice beyond Fort Gibson. It was sent to protect a train
of six hundred wagons of army supplies, Indian goods and sutlers’ wares. The
men for a part of the time subsisted on corn in the ear, and after their return
to Fort Smith often suffered for food. The supplies which came by steamboats
were often delayed by attacks from the enemy. The Eighteenth remained in the
service until late in the summer of 1865, when it mustered out and returned to
Iowa. While it had been engaged in none of the great battles of the war and
thus deprived of winning the fame and glory shared by many other Iowa regiments
whose brilliant achievements are associated with historic fields, it can be
truthfully recorded that the Eighteenth Iowa never failed to render faithful
service in every station in which it was placed.