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Iowa and the Rebellion
CHAPTER XXVI.Lurton Denham Ingersoll Philadelphia, Lippincott, 1866 TWENTY-SECOND INFANTRY.
ORGANIZATION AT IOWA CITY—MOVE TO ST. LOUIS—TO ROLLA—EMBARK AT ST. GENEVIEVE FOR THE FRONT-JOIN THE THIRTEENTH ARMY CORPS IN LOUISIANA—BATTLE OF PORT GIBSON—IN RESERVE DURING THE BATTLE OF CHAMPION HILLS—BATTLE OF THE BIG BLACK RIVER— THE ASSAULT UPON THE OUTER WORKS AT VICKSBURG—THE SIEGE THE JACKSON CAMPAIGN THE Twenty-Second Infantry was for the most part recruited in the old capital county of the State, Johnson, which contributed to this noted command no less than seven companies. There was one company from Jasper County, one from Monroe, and one from Wapello, so that the whole was from the Fourth District, since represented in Congress by the Honorable Josiah B. Grinnell. The companies went into rendezvous at "Camp Pope," near Iowa City, during the month of August, 1862, and were there mustered into the service on the 9th of the following month. William M Stone, who had been Major of the Third Infantry, and who was at this time a paroled prisoner of war, was appointed Colonel; John A. Garrett, Lieutenant-Colonel; Harvey Graham, Major; J. B. Atherton, Adjutant; C. F. Lovelace, Quartermaster; William H. White, Surgeon, with Drs. O. Peabody and Alfred B. Lee, Assistants; and Reverend R. B. Allender, Chaplain. Having remained at Camp Pope but a few days after organization, the regiment moved by rail to Davenport, and thence by steamer to St. Louis Thoroughly equipped for service in the field, the command left Benton Barracks on the 22d for Rolla, arriving on the next day. This post was garrisoned by the Twenty-second for about four months, the troops also at times escorting trains to the Army of Southwest Missouri. In the latter part of January, 1863, the regiment moved to West Plains, and joined the Army of Southeast Missouri, forming a part of the First Brigade, First Division thereof, Colonel Stone commanding the brigade, which consisted of his own regiment, the Twenty-first and Twenty-third Iowa, and the Eleventh Wisconsin. Halting at West Plains a few days, the army marched, with much hardship, to Iron Mountain, where another halt was made. The 9th of March, our regiment marched for St. Genevieve, and having encamped there about a fortnight, embarked for the south, under orders to join the forces under Grant, about to commence operations against Vicksburg. In the organization of the army for this campaign, the Twenty-second remained in brigade with the same regiments above noted, Colonel Harris commanding the brigade, General E. A. Carr the division, it being the Fourteenth of the Thirteenth Corps, General John A. McClernand. The brigade marched on the 12th of April, and going by Richmond and Carthage, encamped at Perkins' Landing to await the rest of the Corps. Thence the troops moved by transports, which had run the blockade of Vicksburg, to Hard Times, a landing not far above Grand Gulf, but on the opposite side of the river. Here the troops witnessed the unsuccessful attack of the navy on the batteries of Grand Gulf, on the 29th. The corps marched down the river under cover of the levee, and on the morning of the 30th embarked on steamers and gunboats, and moved down to Bruinsburg, where a disembarkation was made about the middle of the afternoon. 2 The advance did not tarry long at Bruinsburg. The line of march for the interior" was speedily taken up, and the brigade to which the Twenty-second belonged being in the advance, Colonel Stone commanding brought on the battle at Port Gibson, the first of the campaign, before midnight. 3 This engagement, the first battle in which the regiment took part, was a fine victory for the Union arms. It has been already described The Twenty-second took honorable part therein, and received the encomiums of the army for its good conduct. Major Atherton was here in command. The loss of the regiment was about twenty. The regiment remained at Bayou Pierre, with the brigade, a few days after the battle. Taking up line of march, it moved by Raymond to Mississippi Springs, where it halted, in guard of trains. The city of Jackson having succumbed to our arms, McClernand aboutfaced and moved against Pemberton who had marched from behind the works of Vicksburg with the hope of catching Grant's Corers in air, and retrieving the disasters which the campaign had thus far inflicted upon the insurgent cause. The consequence of this maneuver was the Battle of champion Hills, a splendid Union victory, gained by the divisions of Hovey, Crocker, and Logan. During this fine fight, the Twenty-second was posted with the reserves, but it joined in the pursuit of the beaten rebels and captured many prisoners. The next day, in the battle of Black River Bridge, wherein the Twentythird Iowa was most prominently engaged, our regiment took part, but, covered by the river bank from the enemy's fire, lost only two men wounded on the field made forever memorable in Iowa by the death of Colonel Kinsman of the Twenty-third. General Grant pushed on his columns without delay, and on the morning of the 19th, had his army in position around Vicksburg, Sherman on the right, McPherson in the center, and McClernand on the left. There was an assault by part of the army on the afternoon of this day, ordered by General Grant in the hope that the enemy, demoralized and discouraged by recent defeats, might not defend his works with vigor. He was mistaken, and the attack, which was by no means a general assault, failed. Meantime, the troops continued to arrive, and by the evening of the 21st had Vicksburg regularly invested. The troops had been marching and fighting battles—every one a victory—for twenty days on five days' rations. They had begun to feel the want of bread. Though the communications were completely opened up on the 21st, General Grant, reflecting upon what his army had already accomplished, that Johnston was not far in his rear with a considerable power, which was being daily increased by reenforcements, which might soon be strong enough to raise the siege, determined upon trying to carry the enemy's works by assault. ASSAULT AND SIEGE OF VICKSBURG.
The assault was ordered for ten o'clock precisely on the morning of May 22d, thesame to be rapid, by the heads of columns. In order that it might be simultaneous by all the assaulting columns, the corps commanders set their watches by General Grant's. They were ordered to precede the assault by a heavy, constant cannonading of the rebel works. Undoubtedly those works were stronger than General Grant supposed. The defenses of Vicksburg consisted of a system of detached fortifications on commanding points, with the usual profile of field works, connected by rifle-pits. The best engineering skill of the Confederacy had been lavished upon the works, till the place was compared to Sebastopol and Gibraltar. But it was not art alone which made it strong. It was by nature a formidable position. The frowning bluffs on the river-side made it there impregnable. To the rear, whence the assault was to come, the country was broken, so as to afford excellent defensive positions—ridges and knolls with deep ravines intervening, covered with a tangled growth of vines, cane, and saplings, through which an army could not move in line. 4 The ridges were natural parapets and the ravines natural ditches, so that, what with the works of nature and those of their own construction, the rebels had a series of strong lines, each one of which was formidable in the extreme Early on the morning of the assault the cannonading began. The great guns from the fleet and all the guns which could be put in position on the investing lines ushered in the day with their awful thunder. They continued their work till nearly ten o'clock, when they suddenly ceased. Partial breaches of the enemy's works were effected, some of his guns silenced, and a number of his caissons exploded Our sharp-shooters and skirmishers also annoyed him by a galling fire, picking off many of his gunners, and compelling the garrison to keep well behind their cover. At ten o'clock precisely, the bugles having sounded the charge, the assaulting columns moved forward at quick time, with bayonets fixed, and without firing a gun. Pressing forward over the rough ground, through the obstructions which nature and art had placed in the way, they approached within musket range of the works without receiving the fire of the enemy. Then every available gun was opened on the heads of the columns, already somewhat disordered by the difficult advance, and the rebel infantry rising in the trenches, poured into our masses rapid volleys which had a fearful effect, covering the ground with our dead and wounded Still the brave troops pressed on, to meet with the same fate, the columns of the various corps vying with each other in gallant emulation in their endeavors to carry the works. It was in vain. The terrible fire of the garrison checked the assault, stayed the advance, threw the assailants into disorder. They betook themselves to such covers as could be found, and by a common impulse abandoning the fight by bayonet, maintained their position, galling the garrison with musketry. Thus it was with Sherman and McPherson, who early saw and admitted the unsuccess of the assault so far as their columns were concerned. With McClernand it was somewhat different. The principal work in his front was Fort Beauregard—a strong fortification, containing a heavy armament, well manned, covered by other works in flank and rear. The Twenty-second Iowa led the column which assaulted this work. It was accompanied by the Twenty-first Iowa, Major Van Andy, and the Eleventh Wisconsin General Lawler being in command of the brigade. The Twentysecond had taken an advanced position on the right of the Twenty-first, where, under cover of a ridge, the order for the assault was awaited. Receiving it, Colonel Stone shouted "Forward !" and his gallant command leaped over the hill to the charge, and in an instant came in full view of the frowning Fort. The column moved steadily, silently, to within fifty yards of the work passing through a murderous fire, under which many fell in death and wounds, among the latter Colonel Stone. The line became disordered, but Lieutenant-Colonel Graham assuming command rallied his men around the flag, and himself pressed forward with about sixty officers and men. The fort was reached, the colors planted on the ramparts, Sergeant Joseph E Griffith and a number of others. making ladders of themselves, scaled the wall, entered the fort, and captured a number of prisoners. Colonel Stone, being borne from the field, conveyed this intelligence to General McClernand, and a renewed assault took place all along the lines, but without success. Sergeant Griffith and private David Trine alone escaped from the fort, which, covered by works in rear, was entirely untenable. Lieutenant-Colonel Graham and several men were captured in the ditch. As they were conducted within the rebel works, the troops engaged in the assault retired behind friendly protections and the fearful slaughter was ended. The Union losses in this assault of Vicksburg w ere not far from three thousand, being nearly three-fourths of the loss sustained by General Grant's forces during the entire siege—from the 19th of May to the 4th of July In this assault there were not less than sixteen regiments of Iowa infantry engaged— the Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Twelfth, Seventeenth, Twenty-first, Twentysecond, Twenty-fourth, Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth Twenty-eighth, Thirtieth, Thirty-first, and Thirty-fifth—whilst the First and Second Batteries were in position and performing well their duty on the line of investment. The Second Battery Is specially mentioned by General Sherman in his official report, there spoken of as Spoor's battery. All our troops engaged behaved most worthily, so that it is impossible to say one regiment was more meritorious than another. The Fourth, Ninth Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth, Thirtieth, and Thirty-first regiments were on the right, and did all that mortals could to carry the day. The Eighth, Twelfth, and Thirty-fifth, were in the division commanded by General James M. Tuttle, who fully sustained, throughout the entire campaign of Vicksburg, the reputation of a gallant commander which he had fairly gained on former fields. The Fifth and the Tenth were in the brigade of the heroic Boomer, of Missouri, who was slain on this field. The Seventeenth supported an assaulting column, and met with slight loss. The Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-eighth were in Hovey's Division, which, having suffered most severely at Champion Hills, here met with slight loss. The Twenty-first, the Twenty-second, and Twenty-third were in the same brigade, but the Twenty-third having but a few days before borne the brunt of the battle at Black River Bridge, was now absent in guard of prisoners, and the other Iowa regiments in the command took the leading part in this day's bloody work. General Grant, in his report of the Vicksburg campaign, speaking of the assault of the 22d of May, says: "No troops succeeded in entering any of the enemy's works with the exception of Sergeant Griffith, of the Twenty-second Iowa Volunteers, and some eleven privates of the same regiment; of these none returned except the sergeant and possibly one man." Those who participated with Sergeant Griffith in this famous exploit were . John Robb, Munson L. Clemmons, Alvin Drummond, Hezekieh Drummond, William H. Need ham Ezra Is. Anderson, Hugh Sinclair, N. C. Messenger, David Trine, William Griffin, Allen Cloud, David Jordan, and Richard Arthur. Of these, both the Drummonds, Anderson, Arthur and Griffin paid for their temerity with their lies, being slain within the fort. The total loss of the regiment in the assault was one hundred and sixty-four, killed, wounded, and captured. The assault, though unsuccessful, was gallant in the extreme on the part of all the troops, and did not weaken their confidence, or that of the commanding general, in their ability to ultimately succeed. General Grant determined upon a regular siege. It was forthwith entered upon. The troops went to work with alacrity, and it was not long till they were an army of engineers. They labored day after day, night after night, creeping upon the enemy slowly but surely by lines of entrenchments, living pent-up, enduring many hardships, uttering no word of complaint. They held on to their prey with the tenacity of Grant himself, who knew no such word as fail. Through the hot days and the sultry nights these devoted troops learned the great lesson of how to labor and to wait most thoroughly. Johnston threatened attack from the rear. Grant sent Sherman to watch him. He ordered reenforcements from the north, with whom came more Iowa troops, so that before the final victory there were about thirty of our regiments, besides artillery, engaged in the reduction of the stronghold. To relate in detail the operations of the siege were a tedious and unnecessary labor. They were crowned with success on the anniversary of our national independence, when the garrison capitulated, and our troops entered the city in joyous triumph. It is gratifying to know that among the gallant troops who took part in the greatest campaign of the acknowledged captain of the age, those of Iowa won the most conspicuous renown. No troops bore a more prominent part at Port Gibson than Colonel Stone's Brigade. It was General M. M. Crocker who stormed the works of Jackson, where our Seventeenth regiment surpassed all others in daring. No troops in Hovey's Division fought more bravely, or more tenaciously, than our Twenty-fourth and Twenty-eighth regiments at Champion Hills, where Crocker again rushed in to the aid of hard pressed friends, and like the black knight in Ivanhoe, saved the day by vigor almost superhuman. At the Black River Bridge, our Twenty-first regiment was only surpassed by our Twentythird, whose bravery and sacrifices can never be forgotten while courage continues to be a virtue. What soldiers but those of Iowa entered the works of Vicksburg on the assault of the 22d ? When the battle was over, only our dead were found within those works. In this campaign, all the Iowa regiments engaged suffered less or more severely, and all those which took part in the assault had many slain and wounded. The Twenty-second lost during the campaign about two hundred. 2 Colonel Stone, as we have seen, was wounded during the assault, and Lieutenant-Colonel Graham captured. Captain Gearkee, and Lieutenants Remick and Mullins were severely wounded in the same action. In this campaign, all the Iowa regiments engaged suffered less or more severely, and all those which took part in the assault had many slain and wounded. The Twenty-second lost during the campaign about two hundred. 2 Colonel Stone, as we have seen, was wounded during the assault, and Lieutenant-Colonel Graham captured. Captain Gearkee, and Lieutenants Remick and Mullins were severely wounded in the same action. The regiment marched against Jackson immediately after the surrender of Vicksburg, and took honorable part in that campaign of great labors and of great results. Captain Free, of Company F. was specially mentioned for gallant conduct on the skirmish line, on the 9th. Colonel Stone, who had been meanwhile nominated for Governor by the dominant park of the State, resumed command of the regiment in front of Jackson, and was soon placed in command of the brigade. His command reached Vicksburg on its return from the Jackson campaign in the latter part of July. He soon afterwards resigned, and returned to Iowa, and was elected Governor at the October election by a large majority. I should have stated before that Major Atherton had resigned during the siege of Vicksburg, and that, it afterwards coming to the knowledge of the War Department, that his letter of resignation was a tissue of falsehoods, the acceptance was revoked, and he was dishonorably dismissed the service—the only instance, says the generally accurate State Register, among all Iowa officers, upon whom such disgrace was cast. Captain E. G. White, a highly meritorious officer and excellent man, was promoted Major. The 13th of August, Lieutenant-Colonel Graham embarked on the transport Baltic, and arrived at Carrollton on the 16th, where the regiment went into camp. Its next campaigning was on what has been called the "Bayou Teche Expedition," to the west of Berwick Bay. The regiment was engaged on this expedition from early in September till the middle of November, and it participated in several skirmishes, near Iberia and beyond, but without mentionable loss. It reached Algiers November 18th. |