The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-05-16
DIED ON TRIP VI
The Iowa ed Cavasry--The part it
play ed i'm Col. GriersOn's Raid.
CAMP ID Iowa CAVALRY, !

EDITOR AWK-EYE Having noticed in
the different papers of the day, many ina
correct accounts of the doings OF our Cav
airy Brigade in the late raid made by us
under the command of Col. Grierson, of
the 9th Illinois Cavalry, / thought a brief
account of It, from participant, might be
of interest to your readers.
The Cavalry Brigade, 18th Army Corps,
consisting Of the 9th and 18th Illinois caval-
ry, I'd Iowa cavalry, and five 2-pound cam
non-Monitor Howitzers, commanded by
Col. Grierson, left camp at La Grange on
the morning of the 10Th ult., and moved to
the South. The planning of the raid had
been kept so secret, that none knew and
few even guessed, the object of the move
We took with us ten days rations of coffee
and crackers, trusting to Southern hospi-
tality for meats, forage, DC. Our regiment
cd Iowa. We're almost destitute of service
able horses, and all the old broke-down
horses and train mules were employed in
mounting the men-everything that could
carry a man a half days ride, was saddled,
so that as we moved out, we presented a
very picturesque if not very grand APP
pearance. Every horse or mule we passed
on the way, was taken along to supply the
places Of the failing ones.
Nothing worth mentioning occurred in
our march, until the morning of the Dist,
when we were one hundred miles south of
camp, and 38 miles northwest of Column
bus, where the road torked, the left leading
to Columbus, and the right leading direct
ly South. Here the Brigade separated
Col Grierson, with the 9th and It'll Illinois
cavalry, and four of the cannon, taking the
right, while Col. Hatch with the I'd Iowa,
and one cannon, took the left. The object
OF this movement was to draw the rebel
force which was following after Col. Hatch
and thus leave Col. Grierson to move on
unmolested to the railroad between Vicks-
burg and the East. In order to make the
foe believe that all the force had taken to
the left, part of our regiment followed
Grierson short distance, and then return
ed in column Of tours, thus celebrating all
the outward bound tracks. The ruse sue
ceeded to charm. Col. Hatch pushed on
until he reached Palo Alto, small place
10 miles from Columbus, when we were at
tackled in the rear by Co.'s. Barlow and
smith, with force twice our number. A
brisk little fight ensGed, in which the reb-
els, to escape the effect of our long range
rifles, fled in every direction, having lost
70 OF their number, killed, wounded and
five prisoners. No blood was drawn from
our regiment or from our horses.
At the time of the attack, part of Col.
Cts command were off in an adjoining
swamp after horses, and were cut off and
surrounded, but by dint of hard fighting.
they all made their way back to the regi-
ment but four, who were captured. Two
OF these boys who were separated from the
rest OF the squad, having captured some
tine horses, started for the column, but on
entering the road, found to their dismay.
that they were in the midst of rebel SOL
dlers, who were drawn up in line of battle,
as a reserve for the advance which was at
lacking US. Their case was ANYTHING but
pleasant one-retreat was impossible.-
One OF them, private Canata, of Col, CTS
command, who was wounded at Browns
vile, IN our raid made before the eyacua-
ton of Corinth, and tasted the sweets of a
Southern prison life for six months last
Summer, preferring death to capture. and
possessed OF the true metal of a soldier. he
drew his revolver and dashed up to the re-
bells crying. Fall in boys, the Yankees are
in our rear!" In this way he rode thro
them, when ne cried, Forward bows,
charge them" So complete were the reb-
els fooled Ivy this trick, that although dres-
sed in full Federal uniform, he did not re-
ceive a shot until so far from them that
their balls took no effect, and he reached
our lines in safety.
We now took the back track. and the re-
bells supposing Grierson's entire force with
US, sent all their energies towards setting
traps for US at the bridges and fords in our
homeward course. But Col. Hatch sprung
none of these traps. He would move ali.
rectly towards some defended bridge or
,ord, until within a few miles of it, when
ne would take across some field, and then
Wy Dind plantation road down into a
vast swamp, which are so abundant in the
couth. IheSe swamps were full of splen-
dld horses and mules, which had beeI RIM
there by the planters to hide them from the
Yankees. These animals were In charge