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Chapter XXVIII
Pictures included in this chapter are: General Fitz Henry Warren,
Colonel H. C. Caldwell, and Lt.-Col. William P. Hepburn
The Fortieth Iowa Infantry
This was the last in
point of numerical number of infantry regiments enlisted for three
years, organized by Iowa. But it was not the last to leave the
State. Three or four other regimental, when the “Hundred Days”
regiment was formed, it was numbered the Forty-fourth. The Fortieth
was in war times called “The Copperhead Regiment” for the
insufficient reason that a large number of its members were
Democrats. An active Republican member of this regiment wrote thus
indignantly on the subject:
In the
summer of 1862 our party friends urged that the Democrats did to but
should enlist and bear their portions of the burdens of the war.
Under these circumstances the men of this regiment, Democrats as
well as Republicans, left their homes, and responded to their
country’s call. With perhaps a few exceptions from both sides they
had endured every hardship, braved every danger, performed every
duty and obeyed every order with a hearty and unselfish patriotism
which might be beneficially emulated by those who denounce them as
“Copperheads,” because they differ in the matter of politics. As
between those who enter the army and fight Rebels wherever
opportunity offers and vote the Democratic ticket and those who stay
at home and disparage the men who fight, because they cannot control
their votes at the polls, it is not difficult for me to make choice.
I hold the former in the highest esteem and have nothing but
contempt for the latter.
The regiment was made up of four
companies from Marion County, two from Jasper and one each from the
counties of Poweshiek, Mahaska, Keokuk and Benton. John A. Garret,
of Jasper, was appointed colonel; Samuel F. Cooper of Poweshiek,
lieutenant-colonel; S. G. Smith of Newton, major, and L. A. Duncan
of Iowa City, adjutant. On the 15th of November, 1862,
the regiment, nine hundred strong, was mustered into service at Iowa
City, where it remained in camp a month. The men were armed with
Enfield muskets and on the 17th of December started for
Cairo, going form there to Columbus, Kentucky. Here the regiment
remained during the winter. Sheltered only by dog tents, the men
were exposed to the sudden and severe changes of that climate, a
succession of cold driving rains, deep mud, snow and hard freezing.
Unaccustomed to such exposure many were stricken by disease and
died. The monotony of post duty unrelieved by the excitements of
active service in the field was depressing in the extreme and there
was great rejoicing when the order came to embark for Paducah,
seventy miles up the river. Here in comfortable quarters the men
soon recovered their health. They remained at Paducah nearly three
months, on light duty, becoming well drilled and disciplined. On the
last of May the regiment moved down the river to join General
Grant’s army, then engaged in the Vicksburg campaign. It was not
called to take part in the numerous brilliant battles which followed
in rapid succession but was employed in the swamps of the vicinity
where sickness and death thinned the ranks. Bad water and the
malaria of the swamps were more fatal to the men than hard fought
battles. In August the Fortieth joined general Steele’s army in the
campaign against Little Rock. With about 12,000 men General Steele
marched against the city. On the 10th of September the
Fortieth led the advance in crossing the Arkansas River at a point
below the city, where the enemy was thought to be in force on the
opposite side in the timber. It supported the batteries during the
laying of the pontoons, a part of the time under fire, but met with
no losses either there or at the crossing. The enemy fled and Little
Rock surrendered. The colonel being ill the regiment was under
command of Lieutenant-Colonel Cooper, who was barely able to mount
his horse. The march had been a hard one and of the seven hundred
and fifty men in the regiment less than two hundred and fifty were
able to keep their places in the ranks. Before General Steele’s army
had marched half the distance from Helena to Little Rock, more than
1,000 men had been sent to the hospital at Duvall’s Bluff. The
Fortieth Regiment was with General Steele in his disastrous Camden
expedition and suffered all the hardships of that badly managed
campaign. The army moved from Little Rock on the 22d of March, 1864,
the Fortieth forming a part of the Third Brigade of the Third
Division. On the 3d of April the regiment was in a heavy skirmish
near Okalona, in which Lieutenant Roberts was wounded. In the
running engagement at Prairie d’Anne on the 10th of April
the regiment was conspicuous, losing eight men wounded. On the 27th
General Steele began his disastrous retreat, the enemy pursuing. On
the 29th the main body of the Union army was in camp on
the bottom lands of the Saline River at Jenkins’ Ferry. Heavy
skirmishing at once began which was continued at intervals until
after dark.
Battle of Jenkins’ Ferry
Rain had been falling all day and
came down in torrents during the entire night. Wet to the skin and
covered with mud, the soldiers worked with desperate energy to save
the army, but morning came before the passage was completed and with
the first rays of light the enemy opened the attack. The situation
was perilous in the extreme. A battle must be fought against greatly
superior numbers or the army must surrender. The Thirty-third Iowa
under Colonel Mackay held the extreme rear near the bluff. At
daylight this regiment was fiercely attacked. It was hastily
reinforced by the Fiftieth Indiana, but the line was gradually
forced back by superior numbers. The Ninth Wisconsin and
Twenty-ninth Iowa were posted in a strong position about half a mile
to the rear of the line first taken, their right resting on the
creek, their left to some extent protected by a marsh, while in
front was an open field. The Thirty-third Iowa and Fiftieth Indiana
now fell back behind this line not far from where Colonel Engleman’s
Brigade was stationed. In a short time the battle was raging
furiously, requiring all the troops on the right bank of the river
and reinforcements from those who had already crossed. General Rice
of Iowa here commanded and as the regiments came to his aid,
personally posted them as advantageously as possible. The
Confederates hurled three divisions against our little army, each of
which was repulsed with great slaughter. At one time a movement
against our right flank was threatened and the Forty-third Illinois
and a detachment of the Fortieth Iowa were sent to the point of
danger, driving the enemy back. The Confederates now advanced from
all quarters in a grand attack upon our left and center, forcing our
line on the left, held by the Thirty-third Iowa, which had stood its
ground until the ammunition was exhausted. Four companies of the
Fortieth under Colonel of the Thirty-third and, forming under a
withering fire, restored the line. Within an hour these regiments
had advanced more than half a mile, driving the enemy entirely from
the field. It was a battle of musketry. A section of Confederate
artillery was planted and fired one round when the Twenty-ninth Iowa
and Second Kansas, colored charged across the filed and brought the
guns back in triumph. The battle was fought largely by the brigades
of General Rice and Colonel Englemann on the Union side. At
half-past twelve o’clock the Confederates had retired from the field
and the Union army crossed the river in safety. The battle was
fought in the mud where the men sunk to their horses’ knees and in
many places stood in water up to their own. The Fortieth did not
fight in a body at any time during the engagement. Early in the
morning two companies under Captain Campbell had been sent out as
skirmishers. Later four companies under Major Smith crossed the
creek on the right and remained there during the engagement. The
remaining companies under the colonel did a large part of the
regiment’s hard fighting and suffered much of the loss.
“The four companies holding the
extreme left,” says Colonel Englemann in his report, “were hard
pressed by the enemy, but maintained their position with the most
commendable bravery, suffering, however, in proportion to the number
of men composing those companies, the most severe loss of any of our
troops engaged at Jenkins’ Ferry.”
Out of one hundred men these
companies lost six killed, thirty-four wounded and five captured.
Shortly after midnight on the morning of May 4, orders were issued
limiting transportation to one team for each brigade and directing
the destruction of all surplus baggage. This done, the army
continued its retreat. The men were short of food and the horses
were in starving condition. Corduroy roads had to be constructed
through swamps over which men helped to drag the artillery as the
horses sank down exhausted. The heavy guns and caissons had to be
dragged by the weary soldiers. New roads had to be cut through the
dense forests and causeways built by men famishing with hunger. It
was one of the most desperate retreats of the war. The army
struggled along day after day bearing the pangs of hunger and all of
the fearful hardships with stern endurance and stout hearts, finally
reaching Little Rock. In November a detachment of the Fortieth was
sent up the Arkansas River to guard the steamer Alamo. When near
Darenelle the boat was attacked by two hundred cavalry who were
driven off with loss after a spirited fight. General Bussey, in
command of the Fort Smith district, called for duty on the staff of
General Reynolds and did not again join the regiment. Colonel
Garrett being for some time in command of a brigade, the regiment
was under Captain Ridlen. Colonel Garrett was assigned to the
command of the District of South Kansas with headquarters at Fort
Gibson and retained the place until his regiment was mustered out.
On the 2d of August, 1865, the Fortieth Iowa was mustered out of the
service and after a journey by steamer of 1,500 miles, reached
Davenport on the 10th, and was soon disbanded.
The Iowa Regiment of Colored Troops
According to the census of 1860 there were about 1,000 persons of
African descent in Iowa. The beginning of the Rebellion sent more
into our State from Missouri and it is likely that the negro
population had increased to nearly 2,000 before 1863. These realized
early in the gigantic struggle that their race had a vital interest
in the results of the war. The success of the Union armies would
almost certainly bring emancipation to the slaves. As soon as our
Government determined to enlist colored soldiers the negroes of Iowa
hastened to volunteer their services. The Sixtieth regiment of
United States colored troops was largely made up of Iowa men. Six
companies of this regiment went into camp at Keokuk, where they were
mustered into the service of the united States on the 13th
of October, 1863. The four companies which completed the regiment,
entered the service at St. Louis at different times during the two
following months. The regiment numbered about nine hundred. It was
not employed in any of the great campaigns of the war but through no
fault of the patriotic men who were anxious for participation in the
fighting line. Assigned to garrison duty at St. Louis, while serving
about a year and a half, it performed valuable guard and garrison
duty. The Sixtieth was afterwards employed on similar duties in
other parts of the Mississippi Valley. The chief officers of the
regiment were Colonel John G. Hudson, Lieutenant-Colonel Milton F.
Collins, Major John L. Murphy, Adjutant T. W. Pratt.
The regiment performed every duty
required of it faithfully, was well drilled and soldierly in
appearance. Upon returning to Iowa the members addressed a memorial
to the people of the State on the subject of equal political rights,
which received the earnest attention of the thoughtful and
fair-minded citizens. A few years later the State removed the unjust
discrimination and granted the race full citizenship.
The First Iowa Cavalry
The first regiment of cavalry
raised in Iowa was recruited from the State at large. Six companies
were in camp at Burlington as early as July, 1861. Others were soon
ready and in August the regiment was organized. Fitz Henry Warren,
one of Iowa’s most able and accomplished public men of Iowa, was
commissioned colonel, Charles E. Moss was lieutenant-colonel, E. W.
Chamberlain, James O. Gower and W. M. G. Torrence were the majors,
while J. C. Stone was adjutant. The regiment numbered 2,200 men when
it embarked for Saint Louis early in October. The first and second
battalions were soon sent into the field. The third remained at
Saint Louis under Colonel Warren. The eight companies sent into the
field were employed most of the winter in patrolling the State which
was infested with guerillas and many were hunted down and shot be
the First Cavalry. Four of the companies, with a detachment of the
First Missouri Cavalry, attacked and routed a party of the enemy
under Poindexter at Silver Creek in January. The same companies in
February, made a raid on Warsaw and captured several Confederate
officers. In similar services the eight companies spent the winter
almost constantly in the saddle on either side of the Missouri River
everywhere protecting Union men. Early in March the third battalion
was ordered to Sedalia where it joined the first battalion under
Major Torrence. On the 12th the two battalions marched to
Clinton, where they established headquarters and remained until the
8th of April.
Colonel Warren marched with a part
of his regiment to the river Marias des Cygnes and returned with
thirty prisoners and a quantity of ammunition. In July Major Gower
defeated the notorious guerrilla Quantrill in a fight, killing and
wounding many of his men. Our loss was three killed and ten wounded.
On the 2d of August Captain Heath with one hundred men, attacked a
greatly superior force of the enemy posted in a grove on Clear Creek
and with the help of Captain Caldwell, was victorious; Captain Heath
lost four men killed and fourteen wounded. On the 8th of
August all of the companies of the regiment were united for the
first time since leaving Burlington. Although the separated
battalions had rendered valuable services in hunting down bands of
desperadoes that were a terror to the Union men of Missouri, that
kind of warfare brought them no glory. It was full of hardships and
dangers and helped materially to hold Missouri in the Union. In
September Colonel Warren was promoted to Brigadier-General and,
bidding farewell to his comrades of the First Iowa Cavalry, departed
to assume his new duties. He was succeeded in command by Colonel J.
O. Gower, promoted from lieutenant-colonel. Soon after the regiment
marched to Springfield and was employed in protecting that region
from hostile bands. In December the regiment marched to Cane Hill
and joined General Blunt’s army taking part in the Battle of Prairie
Grove and rendering valuable service.
The Capture of Van Buren
After General Hindman’s defeat at
Prairie Grove he retreated toward Van Buren. On the morning of the
27th of December General Blunt moved his army toward that
place and at night rested on the north side of Lee’s Creek. Early
the next morning the army crossed the swollen stream, the cavalry
was ordered forward, the First Iowa taking the lead. At ten o’clock
the advance came upon two regiments of Confederate cavalry at
Dripping Springs eight miles north of Van Buren. The First Cavalry
promptly charge upon them supported by the remaining mounted troops
of the army and by four mountain howitzers, keeping up a running
fight into the town. After a few shots form the howitzers the
cavalry made a dash into Van Buren, galloping down the hill at a
great speed. Some rode to the landing to prevent the escape of the
Rebel cavalry, while others descended the bank of the river to
capture steamboats which were making off. The boats were captured
and brought back to the landing. The enemy now opened on our cavalry
with artillery from the south side of the town but the guns were
soon silenced by Blunt’s howitzers. Before four o’clock in the
afternoon our army was in complete possession of the town and had
captured a large amount of property consisting of wagons, commissary
stores, four steamboats, a ferry boat, camp equipage, mules, a large
quantity of ammunition and about one hundred prisoners. The total
loss to the Confederate cause from this foray was estimated at about
$300,000. Blunt’s army returned to Prairie Grove. The early months
of 1863 found the First Cavalry in Arkansas and Missouri scouting
over a great extent of country, dispersing guerrilla bands and
capturing many prisoners. On the 26th of April a night
attack was planned on the advance guard of a Confederate force near
Jackson and the charge was intrusted to the First Iowa Cavalry under
Major Caldwell. At midnight Lieutenant Hursh with a platoon of eight
men and a howitzer loaded with musket balls steadily approached to
within thirty yards of the unsuspecting foe and, discharging
howitzer and carbines simultaneously, effected great slaughter among
the enemy. A moment later the First Iowa Cavalry charged and not a
man of the entire force escaped, all who were not killed or wounded
being taken prisoners. Guns, horses, camp equipage and several
thousand dollars’ worth of property were captured by the Union army.
The affair was a most brilliant one
and the Iowa regiment returned without the loss of a man. The
pursuit of Marmaduke’s army was continued to Chalk Bluff, on the
Saint Francis River with skirmishing all the way. Major Caldwell,
who had the advance, lost but five men wounded. In March the
regiment was armed with Colt’s navy revolvers, five hundred new
sabers and six hundred Sharp’s breech-loading carbines, making a
much more complete armament than it had ever before possessed.
General Steele was now preparing for his Little Rock Campaign and
the First Iowa Cavalry accompanied the expedition. When the advance
approached Brownsville, midway between the White and Arkansas
rivers, on the 26th, there was a sharp skirmish, the Iowa
Cavalry having the extreme front. The enemy was driven from his
works but on the next day strongly posted behind a bayou, made a
stubborn resistance. The First Iowa made a dashing charge to capture
a bridge which afforded the only crossing of the deep and miry
stream. The charge was made with drawn sabers on full gallop under a
heavy fire from the enemy’s artillery and sharpshooters. But it was
not possible to save the bridge as every preparation for this
destruction had been made beforehand. Lieutenant-Colonel Anderson
had his horse shot from under him and the regiment in the brief
charge lost thirty-seven men in killed and wounded. When the army
approached Little Rock the Second Brigade of cavalry was placed in
the advance the Frits moving in front as skirmishers. During the
fighting which continued nearly all day our regiment was on the
extreme front sometimes fighting its way on foot, again charging
with drawn sabers, often under heavy and continuous fire. It
recaptured from the enemy two howitzers which had been taken from
the Tenth Illinois Cavalry. Thought the regiment had been under fire
most of the day, its loss was but one killed and three wounded,
among the latter Major Caldwell.
Many changes had been made in the
field officers of the regiment, during the year 1863. When Colonel
Warren was promoted to Brigadier-General, Lieutenant-Colonel Bryan
was elected to succeed him as colonel but Governor Kirkwood
exercised his power and gave the commission to Major Gower.
Lieutenant-Colonel Bryan, who stood first in line of promotion and
was an excellent and popular officer, regarded the action of the
Governor as unjust and resigned his commission. Colonel Gower who
made an excellent officer, resigned August 20th on
account of failing health and died at his home in Iowa City in the
fall of 1865 from disease contracted in the army. Captains Chase and
William Thompson were promoted to majors and Lieutenant-Colonel
Anderson was made colonel of the regiment upon the resignation of
Colonel Gower. Major Caldwell was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and
Captain McQueen was at the same time made major. During the campaign
which closed with the capture of Little Rock, the regiment suffered
greatly from sickness. Disease brought on by hardships and exposures
of the march prostrated hundreds of men and death sadly thinned the
ranks. During the last two months of the year the men were most of
the time in the saddle scouring the country in the vicinity of
Little Rock in search of forage or dispersing bands of the enemy. It
was with Steele’s Camden expedition and had many brushes with the
enemy during that disastrous campaign, losing five men killed and
twenty-five wounded. Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell was in command of
the Third Brigade at this time and Captain Crosby of the First
Cavalry. The recruits and non-veterans of the regiment were now left
in command of Colonel Anderson while the veterans with
Lieutenant-Colonel Anderson while the veterans with
Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell were granted furloughs and while on
their way North they overtook the retreating army of General Steele
near Jenkins’ Ferry and participated in the severe battle of that
place. Reaching Little Rock on the 2nd of May they
continued their homeward journey, returning to the army about the
middle of July. On the 27th of September the guerilla
Anderson captured a train near Centralia, murdering all of the
soldiers on board numbering about thirty. Among them were seven
members of the First Iowa Cavalry.
Colonel William Thompson, promoted
from major, was in command of the non-veteran portion of the
regiment which was on duty at Memphis. Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell,
after three and a half years’ honorable service, was mustered out in
the fall of 1864. He was succeeded by Major Alexander McQueen.
Toward the close of the year 1865 the regiment was sent to Texas
where it served until February 15th when it was mustered
out. Its history is a record of hard and faithful service, extending
through a period of nearly five years. Although not its fortune to
participate in many of the great battles of the war, no regiment
sent out of Iowa performed a greater amount of arduous labor for the
Union cause. It was one of the first in the field and one of the
last mustered out.
The Second Iowa Cavalry
In the summer of 1861 steps were taken to
organize the Second Regiment of cavalry and companies were recruited
from the State at large. They went into camp at Davenport during the
months of August and September numbering 1,050 men. Captain W. L.
Elliott of the regular army was appointed colonel, Edward Hatch,
lieutenant-colonel; W. P. Hepburn of Marshall County, Datus E. Coon
of Cerro Gordo and H. W. Love of Johnson were the majors. The
adjutant was Charles F Warden. The regiment remained at Davenport
nearly three months undergoing thorough drill and when it entered
upon active service in the field the men were expert in the use of
the saber. Before the departure of the regiment for the South,
Adjutant-General Baker, on behalf of the State, presented it with a
stand of colors.
On the 7th
of December the Second Cavalry left Davenport for Benton Barracks
near Saint Louis. While here the men were crowded into close
quarters where a great amount of sickness prevailed resulting in
sixty deaths. On the 17th of February, 1862, the regiment
entered upon active service in southwest Missouri, making hard
marches through a swampy region. It was with General Pope at the
siege and capture of New Madrid, and was for a long time thereafter
employed in scouting, guarding trains and picket duty. Upon the fall
of Island Number Ten the regiment crossed the Mississippi and the
advance under Lieutenant Schmitzer was the first body of Union
troops to land on the island. Eighty-six prisoners were captured
before the remainder of the regiment captured in all about two
hundred prisoners. General Pope’s command soon after joined General
Halleck’s army which was cautiously approaching Corinth and was
engaged in skirmishes, losing several men and capturing many
prisoners. On the 29th of May General Paine was occupying
a position in advance of General Pope’s camp, where he was attacked
by the Confederates under Price and Van Dorn. About ten o’clock
Lieutenant-Colonel hatch was sent with the Second Cavalry to
reinforce Paine. Coming upon the field Paine was found to be
retreating before overwhelming numbers, meanwhile making a strong
fight. The Union forces were obliged to cross a creed on a poor
bridge and were in a dangerous position. The Confederates were
preparing to charge in order to gain an eminence from which their
artillery would command this bridge and render passage over it
impossible. To prevent the seizure of this eminence, the Second
Cavalry was ordered to charge. Drawing sabers the men swept forward
in a resistless charge upon the artillery and drove the men from
their guns. But the Confederate infantry assailed them in
overwhelming numbers driving them back. The charge however had
served its purpose as the army had time to cross the creek.
When the
Second regained its position the battle was ended. The charge had
been a desperate one but had saved the army from great disaster and
during the brief time, fifty of the brave men had fallen killed or
wounded. Among the wounded were Captains Henry Egbert and William
Lundy and Lieutenant Benjamin Owen, the latter being captured. Not a
member of the regiment flinched from the desperate and hopeless
encounter; every man was a hero. It was one of the sudden
emergencies liable to come, when a sacrifice is demanded. While
Halleck’s army was lying before Corinth, Colonel Elliott was sent
with the Second Iowa Cavalry and the Second Michigan to destroy the
railroad at Boonville as well as such property of the enemy as might
be found. Starting at midnight on the 28th, by forced
marches he reached the Mobile and Ohio Railroad at Boonville on the
30th. He proceeded at once to destroy several miles of
the railroad blowing up a culvert, burning a depot, a locomotive and
a train of twenty-six cars loaded with supplies. He also destroyed
10,000 stands of arms, three pieces of artillery, a great quantity
of clothing and ammunition and paroled 2,000 prisoners. The loss of
the Second Iowa on this expedition was but two killed and six
captured. Fro his success in this affair Colonel Elliott was
promoted to Brigadier-General. Hatch was soon after made colonel of
the regiment, Major Hepburn succeeded him as lieutenant-colonel and
Captain F. A. Kendrick was promoted major. About this time the
Second Michigan Cavalry received a new commander in Colonel Philip
H. Sheridan who developed into one of the greatest generals of the
Union army. In the latter part of June Sheridan was in command of a
brigade made up of the Second Iowa and Second Michigan Cavalry. On
the 1st of July while at Boonville, he was attacked by
General Chalmers with 5,000 men. After skirmishing for some time
Sheridan fell back toward his camp situated on the margin of a
swamp, where he could not be easily flanked. Here he held the enemy
at bay for some time. Finding there was danger of being surrounded
Sheridan had recourse to that rare strategy for which he afterwards
became so distinguished. He sent a detachment of the Second Iowa,
numbering about one hundred men, to the rear of the enemy by a
detour of several miles with orders at a certain time to make a
vigorous attack while he at the same time was to attack in front.
The detachment gained the rear without being discovered and emptying
their carbines on the enemy charged with drawn sabers. The
Confederates, taken by surprise and supposing they were assailed by
a strong force, were thrown into confusion. Before they had time to
recover, Sheridan charge them in front with such fury that they fled
in utter rout leaving many dead and wounded in our hands. They
retreated twenty miles throwing away arms, knapsacks, coats and
every impediment to their flight. This brilliant affair made
Sheridan a Brigadier-General. He had be his superior strategy,
defeated nearly 5,000 men with a force of eight hundred. Colonel
Hatch with the Iowa cavalry in this affair cooperated in the most
skilful manner, aiding greatly in winning the brilliant victory. The
loss of his regiment was twenty-two killed and wounded.
While in
camp near Rienzi the command was attacked by a Confederate force
under General Faulkner. After a lively fight the enemy was driven
off and pursued many miles with heavy loss. In this affair the
Second Iowa lost ten men. During the fall campaign the regiment
participated in the battles of Iuka and Corinth and in Grant’s
campaign in Central Mississippi. On the day of the Battle of Iuka
the cavalry had a sharp skirmish with Faulkner’s troopers at
Payton’s Mills routing them with considerable loss, many prisoners
falling into our hands. The Second Iowa Cavalry this day marched
forty-five miles, had a sharp skirmish with the enemy and captured a
Rebel camp with much property. At the Battle of Corinth it did good
service on the right, acting as couriers and joining in the pursuit.
In
Grant’s Mississippi campaign it was continually employed; entering
Holly Springs, driving the enemy out and on the 19th
marched on Ripley, dispersing a large force of the enemy capturing
many prisoners, horses, and mules. The Battle of Coffeeville was
fought on the 5th of December in which the Union forces
under Colonel Dickey were defeated. The Second Iowa here lost
twenty-two men in killed and wounded. It soon after marched to La
Grange, where it went into winter quarters.
The Grierson Raid
The
orders for this expedition were issued on the 16th of
April, 1863. The army consisted of the Second Iowa Cavalry, the
Sixth and Seventh Illinois with five pieces of artillery. The object
of the raid was to cut railroad communications with the Confederate
army at Vicksburg, in the rear of that city, to inflict damage on
the enemy’s resources in central Mississippi and to make way as best
it could into the Union lines of the Department of the Gulf.
Colonel
B. H. Grierson of the Sixth Illinois Cavalry was in command. On the
morning of the 17th the troops began one of the most
daring raids of the war. At Clear Spring Colonel Hatch with his
command separated from the main body and managed to attract the
attention of the enemy to his regiment, concealing by stratagem the
march of the main body under Grierson. This he did so successfully
as to give the principal column nearly two days’ start of the
enemy’s forces gathered to resist the invaders. After obliterating
Colonel Grierson’s trail, Hatch marched in the direction of West
Point and, when near Palo Alto, was attacked in rear and on both
flanks by a large force under General Gholson, while between him and
West Point was an Alabama regiment with several pieces of artillery.
Hatch made a most gallant fight driving the enemy some three miles,
capturing many arms and horses and releasing a company which had
been cut off on the first attack. Hatch then moved on northward I
face of an enemy which greatly outnumbered him, arriving safely at
La Grange. He had attacked Okolona driving before him the enemy’s
cavalry, burning barracks for 5,000 men and destroying stores and
ammunition; he had repulsed Chalmers with loss near Birmingham and
Molino; had marched in by-ways and bridle paths and through fields;
had, beside the damage inflicted on the enemy already noted,
captured twenty-five horses, and mules, fifty prisoners and killed
and wounded more than one hundred men. Upon his return to La Grange
Colonel Hatch took command of a brigade consisting of West Tennessee
Cavalry and four pieces of artillery. He made frequent raids in
different directions captured horses, mules and prisoners. He was
attacked at Wall Hill by Chalmers whom he defeated. During the
summer he made a raid on Panola capturing much property. He marched
against Forrest, who had entered Tennessee and fought with him near
Jackson, where the Union loss was fourteen and that of the
Confederates was one hundred and seventy-five.
In the
raid on Grenada Major Coon commanded detachments form the Second
Iowa, Third Michigan and Eleventh Illinois, numbering five hundred
mounted men. After reaching Grenada through great difficulties, he
destroyed two depots, sixty locomotives, five hundred cars, machine
shops, two flouring mills and a large number of army wagons. In
November the regiment under Lieutenant-Colonel Hepburn marched to
Collierville to the relief of the garrison threatened by Chalmers
and coming upon the enemy had a lively engagement, defeating
Chalmers, killing forty-one, wounding about two hundred and
capturing fifty prisoners. On the 28th of November
Colonel Hatch in command of his own regiment, the Sixth and Ninth
Illinois, moved out to Moscow where Lee was threatening the
garrison. A battle was fought in which Lee was defeated with heavy
loss. Hatch lost eleven killed, thirty wounded and forty missing.
Hatch received a dangerous wound with a Minie´ ball which passed
through his lungs. In February, 1864, the Second Iowa under command
of Major Coon accompanied an expedition under General W. S. Smith,
sent to cooperate with General Sherman who was marching on Meridian
in Mississippi. Hepburn was in command of a brigade. The expedition
was a failure. On his retreat from West Point there was heavy
fighting, in which the Second Iowa bore a conspicuous part. AT one
time it fought and retreated for sixty consecutive hours, saving the
whole column by its bravery and endurance. The losses of the
regiment during the expedition were heavy. In March, a sufficient
number of the regiment having reenlisted, the Second Iowa Cavalry
Veteran Volunteers were mustered into the service. The regiment now
numbered 1,028, of which three hundred and sixty were veterans. On
the 7th of April the veterans departed for home on
furlough and on the 15th of the following month returned
to service. Major Coon was now colonel, while Captains C. C. Horton,
Gustavus Schmitzer and Charles P. Moore were promoted to majors of
the regiment. The men were remounted and armed with Spencer
seven-shooting carbines. In the summer of 1864 the regiment took
part in General A. J. Smith’s campaign in central Mississippi
fighting in the battle of Tupelo. It was with General Thomas in his
campaign against Hood in Tennessee and won additional fame. Hatch,
who had been made a Brigadier-General, commanded the Fifth Cavalry
Division and own great renown. In the Battle of Nashville, General
Hatch’s Division took a brilliant part and, with the Second Iowa,
was in the severest of the fight. In this battle and the pursuit of
Hood, Colonel Coon’s Brigade did gallant service. It captured 1,186
prisoners, fifteen pieces of artillery and a great amount of other
property. The Second Cavalry had fourteen men killed and forty-seven
wounded.
The
regiment continued to serve with great efficiency until September
19, 1865, when it was mustered out of the service at Selma, Alabama.
No sketch so brief as this can do justice to this superb regiment.
The long term of service, extending through four years, was filled
with deeds of daring, suffering a heroic endurance that have seldom
been surpassed in modern warfare. It was always noted for vigor,
fire and dash. Officers and men were of the best material to be
founding the service. They seemed to be endowed with superhuman
energy and endurance. No march was too long, no peril too great for
these superb horsemen. Their fame will live in the annals of Iowa
and make one of the brightest pages of her glorious war record. |
