of
Muscatine County Iowa
1911
| History of Muscatine County Iowa 1911 | |
Source: History of Muscatine County Iowa, Volume I, 1911, pages 137-141
ELEVENTH IOWA INFANTRY. Ten companies, composing the Eleventh Iowa Infantry, were ordered into quarters by the governor on dates ranging from August 20 to September 23, 1861. The designated rendezvous was Camp McClellan, near Davenport, Iowa, and there, on dates ranging from September 14 to October 19, 1861, the ten companies with field and staff and company officers were mustered into the service of the United States for the term of three years by Captain Alexander Chambers, of the United States army. The total number, rank and file, to muster in was nine hundred and twenty-two. The regiment was one of the number required to complete the quota of the state of Iowa under the proclamation of the president, dated July 23, 1861. Its first field, staff and company officer were: Colonels, Abraham M. Hare and Benjamin Beach; assistant surgeon, D. P. Johnson; adjutants, Cornelius Cadle and Frederick P. Candee; quartermasters, Richard Cadle and Henry Le Jarboe; chaplain, C. H. Remington; sergeant major, Lyman Banks; drum major, John M. Dunn. The records show that the regiment was well armed, clothed and equipped before leaving the state and that it had made some progress in drill and in learning the duties of the soldier while at Camp McClellan. November 16th the regiment embarked at Davenport on the steamer Jennie Whipple and proceeded to St. Louis, arriving there on the 19th and going into quarters at the camp of instruction in Benton Barracks. Here it remained until the 8th of December, receiving instruction in drill and camp duty, in which it became fairly proficient before taking the field for active service against the enemy. It left St. Louis December 9, 1861, and from that date was engaged in a winter campaign, suffering much from hardship and exposure. It went first to Jefferson City, then up the Missouri to Boonville, from which point it sent out scouting parties but only found small bodies of the enemy which, being mounted and familiar with the country, scattered upon the approach of the Union troops. The regiment soon returned to Jefferson City.
THE FIRST WINTER. On the 23d of December a detachment of five companies was sent by rail to California, Missouri, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Hall. The other five companies under command of Colonel Hare, in whose honor Colonel Hare Circle of this city was named, went to Fulton, Missouri. While the records do not show any official report of the operations of these two detachments during the remainder of the winter and while no event of special importance seems to have transpired, the service performed was important because of the fact that the presence of these Union troops and others stationed at different points in Missouri insured protection to the lives and prosperity of Union citizens. A large number of rebel soldiers had been raised in that state and had joined the rebel army then in camp on its southwestern border, while small bands infested almost every county and many depredations were committed, notwithstanding the presence of the Union troops. Early in March the two detachments of the Eleventh Iowa were ordered to St. Louis and March 10, 1862, the regiment was again united and two days later was being transported by steamboat down the Mississippi river to Savannah, Tennessee, where it remained until March 23, and then moved to Pittsburg Landing, becoming apart of the great army then being concentrated at that point and destined to soon be engaged in one of the greatest battles of the war.
IN ARMY OF TENNESSEE. The Eleventh Iowa was assigned to the First Brigade of the First Division of the Army of the Tennessee. Major General John A. McClernand commanded the division and Colonel A. M. Hare of the Eleventh Iowa was in command of the First Brigade. Colonel Crocker's regiment, the Thirteenth Iowa, was also attached to this brigade. Early on the morning of April 6, 1862, the firing on the picket lines in front and to the right and left of the camps of the First Brigade indicated the advance of the enemy in force, and the long roll promptly called the troops into line. Preparations to meet the attack were instantly made. The Eleventh Iowa was detached from its brigade at the very beginning of the battle and during both days received its orders direct from general officers, and at no time was the regiment directly connected with any other organization during the battle, except Dresser's battery.
Colonel Hare says in his report as brigade commander that he placed the Eleventh Iowa and the battery on the right of the Second Brigade to form a reserve line, and at the close of his report he says that he did not see his own regiment or battery after they took the position to which he had assigned them in the morning. Colonel A. M. Hare says that early on the morning of the 6th, at the first alarm, he formed his brigade in front of their respective encampments in readiness to remove promptly upon the receipt of orders from his division commander.
COLONEL HARE WOUNDED. Colonel Hare was severely wounded at 4:30 p. m. on the 6th, aud Colonel M. M. Crocker, of the Thirteenth Iowa, was left in command of the brigade until the close of the battle on the 7th. At the close of his official report he says: "Of Dresser's battery and the Eleventh Iowa, I can say nothing except that I found what was left of them in camp upon my return on the evening of the 7th, they having been separated from the brigade during all the time it was under my command." Lieutenant Colonel Hall, who commanded the Eleventh Iowa, has described in detail the different positions occupied by his regiment during the remainder of the battle. In the terrible and protracted contest with the enemy in their first position, the men fought until their ammunition was exhausted. General McClernand then ordered another regiment to occupy its place, while the Eleventh Iowa was ordered to the rear long enough to procure a fresh supply of ammunition, when it again proceeded to the front, this time under the personal order and direction of General Grant, and was soon engaged in fierce conflict with the enemy at close range. At this point Lieutenant Colonel Hare detailed twelve men from Company G of his regiment to take charge of two abandoned twelve howitzers, which they used with good effect against the enemy, although they were without training in the handling of artillery. In every position to which it was assigned, the regiment rendered effective service. When darkness ended the fighting of the first day, the regiment lay upon its arms in line of battle, exposed to the heavy rain which began to fall soon after the firing had ceased, without food, but with undaunted courage, ready to renew the conflict at the coming of daylight.
On the morning of the 7th the regiment was ordered to the front and went into action in support of a battery. It was now the enemy's turn to be driven from one position to another. Late in the afternoon the enemy was in full retreat and the battle ended in a complete victory for the Union army.
The regiment returned to its camp sadly diminished in number, but while the survivors mourned for their brave comrades lying dead upon that historic battlefield, they rejoiced in the victory won and in the consciousness that the regiment had performed its full duty. At the close of his report Lieutenant Colonel Hall commended his officers and men for their bravery and good conduct in battle and makes special mention of Captain John C. Marven, who had not been able for duty for ninety days and who arose from a sick bed to go into battle. The gallant First Lieutenant John F. Campton, of Company E, was killed while bravely discharging his duties. The loss of the regiment was as follows: killed, thirty-three; wounded, one hundred and sixty; missing, one; total, one hundred and ninety-four. Among the gallant wounded were Colonel A. M. Hare, Lieutenant Colonel William Hall, Major John C. Abercrombie and Captain Charles Foster.
Soon after the battle of Shiloh the regiment was assigned to a brigade composed as follows: The Eleventh, Thirteenth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth Regiments of Iowa Infantry under the command of Colonel M. M. Crocker of the Thirteenth Iowa. From the date of the organization of this brigade, April 27, 1862, down to the close of the great war, these four regiments served together, and while it was commanded by different officers, it retained the name of Crocker's Iowa Brigade. It won for itself a reputation that reflected great honor upon its state.
The Eleventh Iowa participated in the advance upon the siege of Corinth and after the evacuation of that rebel stronghold, May 30, 1862, went into camp there. July 28th, the Eleventh Iowa was ordered to Bolivar, Tennessee, where it assisted in the construction of defensive works and guarding the railroad. Colonel Hare resigned on account of disability contracted from wounds and sickness on the 31st of August, 1862, and Lieutenant Colonel Hall was promoted to colonel. From Bolivar the regiment was ordered to Corinth and thence to Iuka, but a few days before the battle at the latter place it was again ordered to Corinth, arriving there just before the battle of the 3d and 4th of October. In these two days of battle the Eleventh was for the greater part of the time held in reserve.
Crocker's Brigade participated actively in the pursuit of the rebel army. In November it started on the expedition under General Grant through central Mississippi, which failed to accomplish the result expected on account of the capture of the enemy of the garrison at Holly Springs. In the spring of 1863 the Eleventh Iowa entered upon the greatest campaign it had thus far taken. It left Lake Providence on the 23d of April, 1863, and from that time until the surrender of Vicksburg was actively identified with all the operations of the brigade and division.
MUCH SUFFERING. After the surrender of Vicksburg and the evacuation of Jackson, the Eleventh Iowa, together with other troops of this brigade and the army which had been engaged in the great campaign, enjoyed a period of well earned rest. About the middle of August the Iowa Brigade, with the Third Division of the Seventeenth Corps and a considerable force of cavalry and artillery, constituting an expeditionary force of about five thousand men, embarked on steamers and moved to Goodrich's Landing. After landing, they began a long and toilsome march into Louisiana, penetrating to Monroe, and returning to Vicksburg September 3d. The results accomplished by this expedition were meagre, while the suffering endured by the soldiers engaged in it was very great. Many died from the effects of the hardships to which they were subjected and many never fully recovered from the diseases contracted while passing through that malarial region during the hottest days of the summer. Upon its return from the expedition, the brigade went into camp, where it remained until early in February, 1864, when it participated in the famous Meridian expedition under General Sherman. Although this expedition was conducted in midwinter and the men were without tents and subsisted almost wholly upon the country through which they passed, they suffered less than they did on the Louisiana expedition, while the results accomplished were of very great importance. Before starting upon the Meridian expedition a majority of the men of the Eleventh Iowa had reenlisted for another term of three years and had earned the title of veterans. Early in March the veteran organization was granted a furlough of thirty days to begin after reaching Iowa. They embarked at Vicksburg on the steamer Continental, which conveyed them to Davenport, from which place they departed for their respective homes.
April 22, 1864, the veterans of the regiment again assembled at Davenport. Many recruits had joined them and with its ranks thus greatly strengthened, the regiment at once proceeded upon its long journey to the front. At Cairo, Illinois, the regiment boarded transports and were conveyed to Clifton, Tennessee, at which place it landed and marched to the mountains of Georgia, where it joined the army under General Sherman, then engaged in one of the most remarkable campaigns in the military history of the world. The Iowa brigade was reunited, the other three regiments having returned from veteran furlough and joined the army at Ackworth, Georgia, June 8, 1864. In this campaign the Eleventh Iowa first came under fire at Kenesaw Mountain. After the enemy had been driven from that stronghold, the regiment, with the Iowa brigade, participated in the operations at Marietta, and on until the enemy was encountered in strong force in front of Atlanta.
After the fall of Atlanta the Eleventh Iowa had several weeks of rest. It then joined in the pursuit of Hood's army into northwestern Alabama. By the middle of November it returned to Atlanta and when the great march to the sea began, the regiment with its brigade was in its place in line. Arriving at Savannah, another period of several weeks' rest and recreation was enjoyed.
Early in 1865 the regiment with its brigade embarked for the short voyage on the Atlantic to Beaufort, South Carolina, and from that place again took up the line of march for the north. In this closing campaign of the war, noted for the great hardships endured by the troops upon the long and toilsome march, the skirmishes and conflicts with the retreating rebel army, which was compelled to surrender when successful resistance was no longer possible, the Eleventh Iowa performed its full share of duty. After the surrender of Johnston's army at Raleigh, North Carolina, the Union troops marched on to Washington. Arriving there, it went into camp and when the veteran troops of the Tennessee marched down Pennsylvania avenue, no state was more proudly represented in that great marching column of war-worn and battle-scarred veterans than Iowa, and among all the Iowa regiments none presented a more soldierly appearance or received greater honor from the cheering multitude than the Eleventh Iowa and its associate organizations in the old Iowa Brigade.
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