Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1862-05-16
Correspondence Of the Gazette.
From the Third Iowa Infantry

| Correspondence Of the Gazette.
From the Third Iowa Infantry
SHiLon, May 2, 1862.
Already nearly four weeks have passeo
since the battle of Shiloh and still the two
armies that were contcnding at that time lie
stretched out opposed to each other and max
ing preparations for that struggle to come
when the destruction of one Of the armies is
to take place. b.. .s- ri ~ Il .es-
The smoke of the first battle has passed
away and men begin to look at stern rcali-
ties with front face and ask why was our
army taken by surprise, aud why were not
| the rcinforcemcnts at Savannah and Crump's
Landing ordered up more promptly? OF
course there will be all sorts Of shifting to
avoid the, responsibility as there was at Balls
Bluff, and the enquiry no doubt will be raised
" Have we a dead Baker amongst us upon
whom to cast the blame 2" But the truth
will come out sooner or later noticed the
remarks of correspondent in some paper
who undertook to throw the responsibility of
the battle upon Col. Peabody, who was killed
in the first part of the enea cement, charging
him with bringing on the battle because he
advanced with some two hundred men and
endcavorcd to sustain the pickcts who were
| being driven in. Now the correspondent
forgot the fact known to all, that BeauregarL
marched out of Corinth for the purpose of
making the attack, and that at the time the
pickets were driven in, that his WHOLE force
was OH the move. The act Of Peabody gave
our advance camps little more time in which
to form their lines and resist the first dash
Of the enemy. Col. Peabody is in his grave,
and it is due to his name that he threw him
self into the contest, against overwhelming
numbers, to stay the force Of the first shock
Of the advance Of the enemy till our lines
could be made up, and in the front of the bat
tie he went down like hero Much has
been said of the run of several regiments, Il
don't mean Iowa regiments.) 1t is due to
these regiments that the facts should be given
as they exist, that they were new troops
and had seen no scrvice--that they were
placed IN alrance, and some of them had no
compelled to take the surprise. Is it strange
then that these men should be discouraged
and disheartened? They knew that there
was large army pittcd against them, COM
manded by the best generals in the Southern
Conicderacy, and the first question they ask
cd themselves was "Arc we commanded by
a man who has allowed the enemy to steal
upon us unawares ?" If this is his general.
ship in the calm OF a tented field, what will
il be in battle? There was hardly soldier
or officer in the army that did not expect that
Bcaurcgard would make an attack upon us,
and if We could not keep our pickets orscouts
out, the army should have been drawn up in
line Of battle every morning at three o'clock.
With these facts standing out in bold relief,
was it strange that some Of the Ohio troops
retrcatcd at the irst fire IT,
Iowa may well be proud of her troops in
this war; AT Springfield, the Iowa LIST,
though their time Of enlistment had expired,
would not leave the brave Lyon, and
still remained and enacted their part in the
hottest of the fight At Belmont the glori-
Gus old 7th saved U. S. Grant from disgrace
at the expense of nearly half their number
at Fort Donclson, the I'd charged the enemy S
works at the point of the bayonet, and car
ricd them, where other regiments had quail.
cd. At Pea Ridge, no better fighting was
done than that of the 4th, 9th, and the LIST
and I'd Iowa batteries and in the battle Of
Shiloh, the third never fell back, except
when the regiments upon either side had fall
ell back, and they were obliged to take up a
new line to prevent a flank. The I'd, 9th,
9Th, 13th and 14th, fought to the last the
last three standing their ground when other
regiments had fallen back, and were thus sur
rounded and taken prisoners OF course
newspaper correspondents in the interest Of
Illinois and Ohio troops, must glorify their
own troops, and let Iowa and Indiana troops
stand out in the cold but these troops can
take care of themselves. BY the way some
of the Indiana regiments here are the best
! troops in the service.
i Shiloh church, that gives a name to the
I battle field, is little log house, half finished.
that was commenced some two years since,
should judge by it appearance, but never was
finished.