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Iowa and the Rebellion
CHAPTER XV.Lurton Denham Ingersoll Philadelphia, Lippincott, 1866 SIXTEENTH INFANTRY.
ORGANIZATION—IMMEDIATELY MOVE TO THE THEATRE OF WAR—BATTLE OF SHILOH— RECONNAISSANCE TO PURDY—FORM PART OF THE IOWA BRIGADE— SIEGE OF CORINTH— ACTIVE OPERATIONS AROUND BOLIVAR, TENNESSEE—BATTLE OF IUKA—PURSUIT OF PRICE—BATTLE OF CORINTH—PURSUIT OF THE REBELS—THE CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI CAMPAIGN—RETURN TO TENNESSEE— MOVE TO LOUISIANA—THE CAMPAIGN OF VICKSBURG—THE LOUISIANA EXPEDITION—QUIET—THE MERIDIAN RAID The Sixteenth Regiment of Infantry from Iowa was the last of those regiments from the State which were mustered into the service of the general government under the proclamations of the President calling for volunteers, during the first year of the war. Of the fifteen regiments of foot which preceded this, fourteen had entered the service for three years, and a majority of them had been mustered by Captain Alexander Chambers, Eighteenth United States Infantry, general mustering and disbursing officer for the State. No man could have well performed the functions pertaining to that office without making many enemies. Captain Chambers had graduated with honor at the national military academy, and had performed meritorious and gallant services in the field. He was well qualified by talents for almost any military position, and he did his duty well in Iowa, but not without bringing upon himself considerable animadversion. By the first proclamation, Iowa was called upon, as we have seen, for but one regiment of three-months men. Governor Kirkwood and Adjutant General Jesse Bowen both resided at Iowa City, in the interior of the State, remote from telegraphs. Captain Chambers was posted at Keokuk, in the extreme southeastern part of the State. The people were at first aroused by a martial enthusiasm amounting to furor, and besieged the Governor and the Adjutant-General as vigorously as Grant ever besieged Vicksburg or Richmond. The Governor was equal to the emergency, but General Bowen, as good, as worthy a man as we had in the State, could not tell the difference, perhaps, between an epaulette and a cockade, and was not suited to the office in time of war. But the Governor, the Adjutant-General, and the mustering officer all came in for a good share of complaint and vituperation, and the mustering officer for most of all. The government ration of bread was only twenty-two ounces, and Captain Chambers was denounced for that. He could not find it in the regulations to pay for officers' white vests under the appropriation for army clothing, and he was denounced for that. In short, the Captain received quite as many curses as ever fell upon the head of any mustering and disbursing officer, and that is saying a great deal. Nevertheless, he continued in the performance of his duties with great imperturbability, and the Sixteenth being supposed to be the last which the State would be required to raise, Governor Kirkwood asked him to take command of it, which he consented to do. No better class of men than those who composed this regiment ever entered the army. They came from nearly every portion of the State, but Muscatine County, with her usual patriotic generosity, enrolled two companies within her borders, and her citizens predominated in the regiment in point of numbers. The counties of Scott, Clinton, Dubuque, and Clayton also contributed liberally to its ranks, whilst about forty others were represented less or more liberally in the organization. The formation of the companies which made up the regiment began in the fall of 1861, and continued throughout the succeeding winter. The campaign of the summer had depressed the spirits of the people, and the new commander-in-chief, having exhausted his genius by the splendid organization of the grand army around Washington, seemed to be content with "all quiet on the Potomac," and imposing reviews. Of the new style of Napoleonic warfare the country became quite sick at the stomach. Enlistments went on very nearly as slowly as McClellan. It is not surprising, therefore, that though the first company of the regiment in Iowa formed during this "quiet" period went into quarters in September, the last was not filled till six months thereafter. The companies were mustered into the service at various times, from the 10th of December, 1861, to the 24th of March, 1862, —seven at Davenport, one at Keokuk, and the others at Benton Barracks, Missouri, where the organization of the regiment was completed at the date last mentioned. The incomplete regiment had left Camp McClellan, near Davenports about three weeks before. Upon organization, the roster of officers was as follows: Alexander Chambers, Colonel; Addison H. Sanders, Lieutenant-Colonel; William Purcell, Major; George E. McCosh Adjutant; Charles W. Fracker, Quartermaster; Dr. J. H. Camburn, Surgeon, with Dr. Josiah L. Phillips, Assistant. Company A, Captain J. H. Smith, Lieutenants William H. Hoyt, M. D. Madden; Company B. Captain David Stuhr, Lieutenants Lewis Bunde, Frederic Wiedemann; Company C, Captain Alpheus Palmer, Lieutenants, Jesse H. Lucas, Thomas Purcell; Company D, Captain C. W. Williams, Lieutenants Robert Alcorn, George H. Holcomb, Company E, Captain John D. Turner, Lieutenants George Lawrence, John A. Hines; Company F. Captain E. S. Frazer, Lieutenants Josiah Heavner, Peter Miller; Company G. Captain John Ruehl, Lieutenants Henry Meyer, Leo Schumacher; Company H. Captain E. M. Newcomb; Lieutenants Frank N. Doyle, John F. Conyngham; Company I, Captain M. C. Fuller; Lieutenants Henry D. Williams, William C. Wilson; Company K, Captain Michael Zettler, Lieutenants J. F. Alexander, and A. N. Stringer. The regiment was without a chaplain. A waggish correspondent afterwards wrote: "There never was a chaplain in the Sixteenth, for several reasons. 1st. Because it was a moral regiment, and the office would have been a sinecure; 2d. The regiment was always either marching or fighting, and in this way got sufficient exercise; 3d. Because the form of prayer adopted by the colonel was such that it could be said by any one, being in fact the Episcopal collect for storms at sea, and our regiment never was at sea; 4th. There was only one deck of cards allowed in the regiment." 6 In the severe engagement of Corinth continuing through two days, the regiment was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Sanders, an officer brave almost to a fault, until he fell severely wounded, on the evening of October 3d, when the command devolved upon Major Purcell, an officer of considerable experience. The battle of Corinth, as we shall hereafter see, was remarkable for the skill and effect with which our artillery was handled, and, inasmuch as the rebels insisted upon butting their heads against our batteries and forts, there were portions of the line of battle in which our infantry did not severely suffer, albeit the engagement was one of the bloodiest which had yet occurred. The losses of the Sixteenth were comparatively light. As soon as the rebel generals concluded they did not want Corinth, "Old Rozey," as the troops familiarly called General Rosecrans, politely assisted them to make their retreat on Holly Springs lively, by goading their rear with the bayonet. The chivalrous rebels, no doubt grateful for this politeness, kept giving us their guns, small arms, and wagons all the way to Ripley. The Sixteenth took part in this pursuit, thereby making a march which, on account of its rapidity, the rain, and the horrible condition of the roads, is universally pronounced by those who made it as one of the most toilsome marches of the war. Our regiment returned to camp at Corinth in about ten days, and there remained in quiet until the beginning of the following month. On the 1st of November the regiment struck tents, and moved to Grand Junction, now properly so called for the first time, for here General Grant formed a grand junction of his western armies, wherewithal to move against Vicksburg through central Mississippi. The army commenced this campaign near the close of November. It failed. Our regiment, taking part therein, marched to Abbeville, where it remained a considerable time, and then marched to the "Yockeney." The right about having been made necessary, the regiment ate its Christmas turkey and mince pie, this time consisting of very short rations of salt pork and hard bread, at Holly Springs, whence it marched to Lafayette, Tennessee, arriving there on the 1st of January, 1863. Here, a few days afterwards, the regiment sustained a painful loss in the death of Captain Heavner, who died of smallpox. An officer and two soldiers attended him during his illness, and performed the rites of burial when he died. It was just sunset as they lowered his coffin to the grave, and at this instant the report of the evening gun, fired thirty miles off, in Memphis, was distinctly heard. There was no other volley fired over this gallant and modest young soldier's grave. Up to the time of his sickness, he had acted as adjutant of the regiment, since the death of Lieutenant Lawrence at Iuka. On the next day the command marched for Memphis, and arrived there on the day after. Colonel Chambers now rejoined the regiment. Here officers and men received pay, and spent a "comfortable week in the snow !" Then they embarked on steamers, and moved to Young' s Point, Louisiana, where they disembarked. But, happily, they were not required to endure the noted discomforts of the encampment here more than a fortnight. They moved up the river, and went into pleasant encampment on the banks of Lake Providence. Here the regiment, and the brigade, remained until the grand campaign of Vicksburg had been fairly inaugurated. During the encampment here, Major William E. Strong, Inspector-General Seventeenth Army Corps, visited the brigade, and in his official report has the following highly complimentary paragraphs in relation thereto: "Iowa may well be proud of the Third Brigade, of the Sixth Division, Colonel M. M. Crocker, commanding. It is composed of the following troops, viz.: Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Lieutenant-Colonel Abercrombie commanding; Thirteenth Iowa, Lieutenant- Colonel Shane commanding; Fifteenth Iowa, Colonel Reid, commanding; and the Sixteenth Iowa, Colonel Chambers. It turned out for inspection one thousand nine hundred and thirty-five, rank and file; it was a sight to see and a sight seldom seen. I have no desire, nor is it proper, to pronounce a eulogy on the Third Brigade, but it would not be doing that command and its gallant commander justice should I fail in giving them credit and praise, which are justly and honestly due them, or should I fail in expressing, so far as I am capable, my satisfaction and admiration at the manner in which the brigade acquitted itself throughout the entire inspection. "Since I have been a soldier it has happened that I have seen many brigades of many different army corps, both in the Eastern and Western armies, but never have I seen a brigade that could compete with this Iowa Brigade. "I am not prejudiced in the slightest degree. I never saw any of the officers or soldiers of the command until the day on which I saw them in line of battle, prepared for inspection. "It made my heart swell with honest pride, and I envied the colonel commanding the brigade, and the commanding officers of these four Iowa regiments, when I stood on the right of their lines, one after another, and saw them drill, and go through their different evolutions in the manual of arms. Every rifle flashed in the sunlight, and all moved as one. When they ordered arms, it was ordered arms; and nothing else—one sound and no more. When they charged bayonets in line of battle, the point of every bayonet was at the height of the eye, and the small of the stock rested against the hip at exactly the same instant. When they broke into column of companies, wheeling upon fixed pivots, it was like clock-work— perfect. "In every regiment will be seen many large men; but take this brigade together, and I never saw such a splendid body of men. I passed down the ranks in front and rear, I saw every man in the brigade, and I can fully say that I saw no small men, no 'pony squad ;' the fourth section of every company was just as large as the first. The guns, ammunition, accouterments, and equipments were in most excellent condition: nothing was needed, everything was complete. I cannot say that any one regiment of the brigade appeared better than another, they all appeared so well. The Eleventh was the strongest; it had five hundred and twenty-eight enlisted men and twenty officers present for duty; the Thirteenth had four hundred and seventy enlisted men and twenty-two commissioned officers; the Fifteenth had four hundred and twenty-eight enlisted men and twenty-nine commissioned officers; the Sixteenth had four hundred and five enlisted men and thirtythree commissioned officers. In the entire brigade there was not to exceed a dozen men unable to be present on inspection. . In the different hospital tents of the brigade, I counted eleven men, and not one of these was confined to his cot. In this connection there is one thing I wish to mention, and that is the intelligence and ability of the line officers of the brigade. Every one of them was fully posted, knew all about his company, the number of men present for duty, the number absent and where they were, the number sick and those on detached service. I speak of this for the reason that many of the commanding officers of companies whom I have heretofore met on inspection are not in the slightest degree acquainted with their companies, and cannot account for their men without referring to their Orderly Sergeants. Of the hospitals, the commissary and quartermaster's departments, the company and regimental books, the transportation also, it is useless for me to say anything. Look at the army regulations and see what instructions are laid down, and what is required of troops in the field, and then you will exactly know how I found the Third Brigade of the Sixth Division of the Seventeenth Army Corps. "Once more I say, that the officers and soldiers of the Third Brigade, commanded by Colonel Crocker, are an honor to the division and corps to which they are attached, and an honor to the Army of the Tennessee, an honor to their fiends at home, to their State and to their country, and I know from their record in the field that they must be a terror to the foe." Praises like these, coming from an old soldier who knew better how to handle swords, and muskets, and artillery, than the pen of a ready writer— praises so manifestly sincere and enthusiastic—are worth much to the troops receiving them. Inspector-General Strong seemed, indeed, as thoroughly pleased with the Iowa Brigade as we may suppose Frederick the Great would have been upon beholding a division of six-footers. 1 It is proper to state that many medals were awarded, and that this whole scheme of rewarding merit by medals, was practically abandoned on account of the difficulty in distinguishing the meritorious, who were so numerous In the Vicksburg campaign the Sixteenth was all the time with the brigade, Colonel Chambers commanding a considerable part of the time, which, as we have seen, performed many difficult and arduous services before settling down into the duties of the siege. And after it sat down before the rebel works, it was constantly exposed to the enemy's fire, and its gallant men were called upon to perform as many deeds of daring, to suffer as many hardships, as the troops of any other command. In all which our regiment made an honorable record. During the long siege, there were many combats which called forth severe and heroic fighting, and there was not a day or an hour of absolute quiet or freedom from danger. Medals of honor were afterwards presented to the three men in each corps, whose conduct had been most meritorious during the siege. The first medal of honor for the Seventeenth Corps was awarded to Lieutenant Samuel Duffin, of Company K, Sixteenth Iowa. He was a citizen of Davenport, and the Gazette, more than a year afterwards, and when Duffin had sealed his patriotic devotion with his life, thus speaks of the distinguished honor won at Vicksburg by this brave officer of the Sixteenth: "Davenport has the honor to contain within its boundaries the ' Gold Medal,' presented by the War Department to the bravest and best soldier of the Seventeenth Army Corps during its operations around the city of Vicksburg in 1863. When it is remembered that the bold and chivalrous McPherson was the commander, the honor of being the recipient of the medal will be enhanced. Three medals, one of gold and two of silver, were bestowed, by the recommendation of the corps commander, upon three soldiers of the corps who most distinguished themselves for bravery. Lieutenant Samuel Duffin, of Company K, Sixteenth Iowa Infantry, was, of all the heroes of the Seventeenth Army Corps which gathered at Vicksburg, the one designated by General McPherson as the 'bravest of the brave ' and most worthy to receive the gold medal. It is semi-elliptical in shape, the top ornamented with a bunch of leaves, the center-piece in the usual shape of the shield with the stars and stripes, and on the outer edge the words 'Vicksburg, July 4, 1863 ;' pendant is a gold star engraved 'Seventeenth,' and attached to a narrow piece of red, white, and blue ribbon, with a pin that it may be worn on the coat or vest. It is very beautiful in design and workmanship. But the brave officer was not permitted to live to enjoy his honors so nobly won. At the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, June 27th, 1864, in the discharge of his duty, this officer received a mortal wound. " After the stronghold fell into our hands, the regiment went into encampment near Vicksburg, and there remained in quiet—except during the severe march in the latter part of August and first part of September, to Monroe, Louisiana, and return, whereby it suffered heavily in common with all the unfortunate troops who took part in that illadvised and cruel expedition—until General Sherman's raid to Meridian. It joined this expedition on February 4th, 1864, and one month afterwards was again at Vicksburg, having participated throughout in that bold stroke of war, which originated a new system of campaigning in America, and placed William T. Sherman on the advance line of modern warfare. |