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Iowa and the Rebellion
CHAPTER XXX.Lurton Denham Ingersoll Philadelphia, Lippincott, 1866 TWENTY-SIXTH INFANTRY.
ORGANIZED AT CLINTON—MOVE TO ST. LOUIS—TO HELENA—CAMPAIGNING IN ARKANSAS AND MISSISSIPPI—THE BATTLE OF CHICKASAW BAYOU—THE CAPTURE OF ARKANSAS POST—THE CAMPAIGN OF VICKSBURG-THE CAMPAIGN OF JACKSON The Twenty-sixth Regiment of Iowa Volunteers, Colonel Milo Smith, was organized at "Camp Kirkwood," near the beautiful and flourishing town of Clinton, on the 30th of September, 1862, eight of the ten companies being then and there mustered into the service by Captain H. B. Hendershott, of the regular army, one having been previously mustered, and one being mustered the next day. The regiment has been called by correspondents the "Clinton Regiment," because all the companies were enrolled in the magnificent county of that name, celebrated for its many thriving towns, the beauty of its scenery, the intelligence and generosity of its people. It is, moreover, celebrated as the home of "Nat. Baker," Ex-Governor of the Old Granite State, Adjutant-General of Iowa, and of the eloquent Magill, with a voice like Jupiter Tonans. However, though the companies are all stated in the Adjutant-General's Report to have been enrolled in Clinton, it is but just to state that Jackson and Jones counties were liberally represented in this noted command. Several other counties also contributed of their patriotic citizens to the "Clinton Regiment." Its roster of officers was as follows: Colonel Milo Smith; Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel G. Magill; Major Samuel Clark; Adjutant Thomas G. Ferreby; Quartermaster Joseph H. Flint; Surgeon A. T. Hudson; Assistant Surgeons William Mac Quigg, George F. Weatherell; Chaplain Reverend John M. Leish, Jr.; Captains Sherman R. Williams, John W. Eckles, George W. Johnson, N. A. Merrell, John Lubbers, Joel B. Bishop, James H. Heavy, Charles M. Nye, Edwin A. Temple, Nelson C. Roe; First Lieutenants Asa Franklin, Alva Wilson, Peter L. Hyde, James H. Runyon, Edward Svendsen, William R. Ward, John Quinn, James S. Patterson, John L. Steele, Nathan D. Hubberd; Second Lieutenants A. D. Gaston, Thomas B. Harrison, James McDill, John F. Gilmore, Preben Hansen, Silas Freeman, Philip McCahill, John Barrett, E. W. Bennett, Lucius Pomeroy. The regiment was about nine hundred strong, officers and privates. Having had but little time for drill and discipline, the regiment was ordered to St. Louis, where it arrived on the 25th of October, but under orders from Major-General Curtis proceeded to Helena, arriving on the 28th. The command was here temporarily attached to the First Brigade, Fourth Division, Army of the Southwest. It went into encampment near Helena, whence it joined General Hovey's forces on the White River expedition, and the march subsequently made into Mississippi, in support of Grant, whose well known unsuccessful attempt to take Vicksburg in rear occurred about this time. 2 The regiment, after the Mississippi expedition, was assigned to the Third Brigade, First Division, Fifteenth Army Corps. In this organization it took part in the first of its campaigns accompanied by battle. This was the campaign which closed with the defeat of the Union army under General Sherman on the field of Chickasaw Bayou, made forever memorable in Iowa by the unequaled gallantry and sad losses of the Fourth Infantry, Colonel James A. Williamson. In this battle, the Twenty-sixth was under fire, but was not called into engagement, strictly so considered. It suffered no loss. The 2d of January, 1863, the regiment embarked on transport "Tecumseh," and moved down to the mouth of the Yazoo River, where a halt was made, and where General John A. McClernand, the most voluminous commander who ever handled a sword or a goose-quill, took command of the army, thereby making General W. T. Sherman his subordinate. The fleet bore the army up to the mouth of White River, where a disembarkation was made on the east bank of the Mississippi. Here the troops quietly remained until the 8th, when, the commanding general having fully informed himself of General Sherman's preconceived plan of attack on the Post of Arkansas, put his troops again aboard transports to move against the enemy's works. The glorious result was THE CAPTURE OF ARKANSAS POST.
Post Arkansas is a small village on the left bank, and about fifty miles from its mouth,of the principal river of the State of Arkansas. At the time of which we write it was defended by considerable field works, and a strong, full-bastioned fort. It was, in truth, the key to central-Arkansas, and was garrisoned by a force of well disciplined troops, chiefly Texans numbering about seven thousand, under command of Brigadier-General Churchill. The works had a fine armament of heavy artillery—Parrott guns and columbiads. General McClernand moved against this stronghold, transporting his army up the White River, by a bayou called the "Cut Off" to the Arkansas, and thence to Notrib's Farm, a few miles below the Post, where the transports "tied up" on the evening of the 9th. The voyage had been one of great gloom. This part of Arkansas is by nature uninteresting, and has been sparingly improved by the hand of man. The Arkansas River was found to be finely navigable, but its course ran through forests and swamps, with here and there only small patches of cultivation. It was decidedly the land of corndodgers and of fiddlers. The story of Tosso, the only man who ever lived that could make a violin talk, was found to be true. His Arkansas Traveler was a veritable reality, as was by this voyage fully discovered. A few cabins relieved the dull monotony, and from nearly every one was heard the sound of rude music. Chickasaw Bayou could not be forgotten, in such a country, with such burlesques on divine melody. So the troops gloomily disembarked; but the prospect of battle and of victory gave them renewed hope, and by noon of the 10th the army may truthfully be said to have been again enthusiastic. Its confidence was sublime. John A. McClernand was its leader, and it confided in him. By this time, too, the disembarkation had been made, and an army on land, after a voyage on transports, is apt to be joyful. Dispositions for attack were immediately made. McClernand's army consisted of two divisions of the Thirteenth, and two of the Fifteenth Corps, General Morgan commanding the former, Sherman the latter. Sherman moved into position on the right of the line, Morgan on the left. On account of swamps, and bayous, and other obstructions, the investment was some time in being made complete, especially on our right. But it was at length effected. 3 General Steele's Division was on the extreme right, of this command, Hovey's Brigade being next to the river, Thayer's next, and Blair's on the left of the division. Then came Stuart's Division of the same corps. The position on the left was easily gained. Colonel Lindsay, commanding a brigade of General Morgan's Corps, had landed some distance below the post, on the right bank of the river, and before the army was in position on the left bank, had been well posted on the opposite side of the stream so as to both annoy the enemy and to prevent his escape in that direction. Admiral David D. Porter, with a considerable fleet of gun-boats, was in cooperation with the army. In the maneuvers whereby the army gained its position around Arkansas Post, from the river above to the river below, there were many difficulties of march overcome, and there was much fighting with the enemy, who kept up a constant fire of artillery from Fort Hindman, and of musketry t from rife-pits and breastworks. Not long before sunset, the fleet began a bombardment of the enemy's main work, which was continued with great vigor and considerable effect until after nightfall. The troops passed a cold night in swampy bivouac, without fires, but on the morning of the 11th, the sun came up grandly in a cloudless sky. About ten o'clock both corps were in position and ready to commence the attack. But it was not commenced until three hours later. Then the gun-boats opened fire, which was immediately followed by the fire of artillery from Sherman's Corps on the right, with which the artillery of the Thirteenth Corps soon joined, the whole making a sublime cannnonade, under cover of which the infantry moved against the enemy. Within thirty minutes after the cannonading began, the brigades of Hovey, Thayer, Giles A. Smith, and T. K. Smith on the right, had crossed in double-quick time a narrow space of clear ground in their front, and gained position in a belt of woods which extended quite to the enemy's rife-pits. But, meeting with a terrible fire of musketry and artillery, these brave troops were checked for a time. Presently, they boldly resumed the advance, and passing under a severe fire, approached, supported by Blair's Brigade, within short musket range of the rebel works, and found shelter from the enemy's missiles in some ravines lined by underbrush and fallen timber. Meantime, our artillery all along the lines continued its fire, damaging the enemy's works. The infantry of Morgan's Corps also advanced, and gained position close to the enemy's defenses. The battle continued to rage with great fury. The enemy defended his position with the utmost bravery. The rebel Lieutenant General Holmes, promising reenforcements, had ordered Churchill to hold the post until the last man was dead, and the garrison, inspired by the specious eloquence of traitors, fought with a valor which would have done men honor in an honest cause. Though the guns of Fort Hindman had been silenced by the artillery of the navy and army, the rebels continued the fight with desperate courage. It became evident that if Arkansas Post were to be taken quickly, it must be carried by storm. General McClernand ordered an assault. The brigade of General S. G. Burbridge, a former citizen of Iowa, of General A. J. Smith's Division on our left, and Colonel Sheldon's Brigade of Osterhaus' Division, dashed forward under a deadly fire to the enemy's works, and regiments from these commands were the first to enter the intrenchments. About the same time Sherman's command stormed the rebel works in his front, in an equally brilliant and effective manner. The rebels forgot their promises to die to the last man, and exhibited white flags along the ramparts. The victorious Unionists rushed in with loud huzzas, the gun-boats thundered a joyful salute, and before five o'clock the Sag of the Union floated in triumph from the citadel of Fort Hindman. 4 The fruits of this victory were five thousand prisoners of war, including one general and many field and line officers; seventeen pieces of artillery; several thousand stands of small arms, with nearly fifty thousand rounds of ammunition therefore and much ammunition for artillery; nearly six hundred horses and mules, and considerable quantities of commissary and quartermaster stores, besides a number of wagons and other articles of property destroyed for want of means to carry them away. The moral fruits of the triumph were of even more value. Arkansas Post wiped out Chickasaw Bayou. The country was gratified, the army was reassured of its power. Even the grandiloquence of McClernand was valuable, and the inevitable victory, a perfect military necessity, figured before the people in the gorgeous coloring of a splendid stroke of military genius. So McClernand rested on his honors, and poor Sherman, just at this time in one of his lunatic fits, passed under a cloud! History has already lifted that cloud. Still, Arkansas Post must be accounted a fine victory. The fighting of the troops was gallant in the extreme. Those of Iowa were in the thickest of the fight. Our regiments, there engaged, were all in General Steele's First Division of Sherman's Corps. The Twenty-fifth and Thirty-first regiments were in General C. E. Hovey's Second Brigade. They both fought well and suffered heavily. The Twenty-Fifth here lost Adjutant Kirkwood Clarke, mortally wounded, and many other officers and men, hors-de-combat. General Hovey, in his official report of the engagement, passes a hearty eulogium upon Colonel Stone, and his regiment generally. He also speaks kindly of the Thirty-First, Colonel William Smyth. Thayer's Third Brigade of Steele's Division, consisted entirely of Iowa troops—the Fourth, Ninth, Twenty-sixth, Thirtieth, and Thirty-fourth regiments of infantry. The Fourth, which had won immortal honors at Pea Ridge, and the first laurels of Chickasaw Bayou, did not fail in duty at Arkansas Post. Nor was its comrade regiment, the Ninth, forgetful of former renown or present duty. The Thirtieth, here for the first time heavily engaged, gave promise of that daring which was afterwards universally conceded to it, and which sadly but gloriously lost one Colonel, Abbott, at Vicksburg, and another, Torrence, at Cherokee, Alabama. The Thirty-fourth had also fought at Chickasaw Bayou, but not as here, in the thickest of the contest. It was on this field that the chivalric, accomplished Captain Daniel H. Lyons fell, mortally wounded, whilst bravely leading his command to the charge. The "star regiment," as the Thirty-fourth was called because its number agreed with the number of stars on the flag of the Union, was behind none of its comrade regiments at the Post of Arkansas. I suppose there was no regiment in all the Army of the Mississippi which fought better, or suffered more than the Twenty-sixth Iowa. The regiment afterwards passed through many severe ordeals—the campaigns of Vicksburg, and of Jackson, of Chattanooga, and of Atlanta—fighting in the hottest of several battles, and engaging in so many before closing its career that their names could scarcely be printed on its colors, and in all with credit, yet it nowhere behaved more meritoriously than at Arkansas Post, where it was for the first time actively engaged with the enemy. The official reports of superior officers, the narratives of intelligent correspondents, are full of commendations of the Iowa regiments here engaged, and none receive more just encomiums than Colonel Milo Smith's Twenty-sixth Iowa Infantry. Colonel Smith was wounded. Lieutenants Peter L. Hyde, and James S. Patterson were slain. Lieutenant James McDill receded a mortal wound. Adjutant Thomas G. Ferreby, Captain N. A. Merrill, Lieutenant Edward Svendsen were wounded. The total number of casualties in the regiment was about one hundred and twenty. 5 The works of Arkansas Post having been destroyed, the army embarked on transports again, and moved down the river. The Twenty-sixth remained two days at Napoleon, but without debarking. The transport then moved on down the river to a point four miles above Vicksburg, where the command left the vessel and, marching across the peninsula to the river four miles below Vicksburg, went into encampment. It remained encamped on the peninsula opposite Vicksburg, but not in the same camp, about two months and a half, most of the time furnishing heavy details for work on the canal—work valuable, no doubt, as giving the troops exercise, and to some extent withdrawing their minds from contemplation of the general sickness prevailing in the army, but entirely without result in changing the course of the mighty river. April 2d, the command left this scene of many sufferings, and with General Steele's Division moved to Greenville, Mississippi, and took part in that expedition under his command, the principal events of which have already been noted in this work. The regiment met the enemy in skirmish on Deer Creek, on the 7th, and again, two days afterwards, on Black Bayou, but without loss. While the division was returning to Greenville, laden with rich spoils, a sergeant and four privates of the Twenty-sixth were captured by the enemy, while foraging. They were, however, soon afterwards exchanged. The regiment went into camp at Greenville on the 10th, and remained there in quiet till the 26th, when it embarked and moved to Young's Point, thence up the river to Milliken's Bend, and went into camp. But on the 1st of May the command was again in motion. Marching by Richmond, Perkins' Plantation and Hard Times, Colonel Smith crossed the river into Mississippi at Grand Gulf, and having there made a short halt, marched by Cayuga, Raymond and Mississippi Springs, to Jackson, there joining the corps in time to take part in the capture of the Capital on the 14th. The 16th, the Twenty-sixth joined in the march on Vicksburg, and two days afterwards was skirmishing with the enemy on Walnut Hills, directly in rear of the stronghold, to gain position around which General Grant had already fought and gained five great battles. In the investment of Vicksburg, the Twenty-sixth had position on the left of General Thayer's Brigade of Steele's Division. It took part in the partial assault of the 19th, in the general assault of the 22d, in the long siege. In the assaults and the siege the regiment, at this time numbering scarcely two hundred officers and men present on duty, lost nearly one-fourth its effective force in killed and wounded. Colonel Milo Smith was here again wounded. Vicksburg in our possession, the Twenty-sixth regiment at once took up line of march against Jackson with the expeditionary army. Colonel Smith on this campaign was in command of the brigade, Lieutenant-Colonel Ferreby commanding the regiment. This officer, it will be recollected, was severely wounded, then Adjutant, at Arkansas Post. He had returned to duty during the siege of Vicksburg? with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, the original Lieutenant-Colonel and Major having both been mustered out of the service in the latter part of 1862. He led the regiment through the campaign of Jackson, successfully. It took part in the siege, followed the enemy as far as Brandon, where there was a brisk skirmish, and returned to the Black River Railroad bridge in the latter part of July, without having suffered mentionable casualty during the whole campaign, which was, indeed, one rather of labor and of results than of fighting. On the bank of the Black River the regiment rested about two months. A number of the officers and men had the Mississippi ague, but it was a period in which the command, as a whole, gained greatly in health and strength. |