Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1864-04-15
siTsq 80 i.95E saf For the N uscatins journal.
fxetter from the 3Slh Regiment.

l. dl,oALExANDRIA, La, March 2Oth, 1864.
l. We started from the Atchafalya river .
dark, and marched about eight miles starte
nezt morning, about daylight, and marche
twenty-five miles. We had brisk fight Q
an hour and fifteen minutes and captured Fl
DeRussy and about 200 men. The Fedora
loss vast killed and IA or sixteen wounded
We captured eight guns Of different calibre-
viz: two 9-inch Columbiads, two A. pound
siege guns, two S2-pound howitzers, one AZ
pound riAed Parrott, and one smooth Ga
FOUNDER. One 8 gun battery was clad will
railroad iron. The iron was fitted so as t.
make smooth, solid surface. This battery
was . water. battery, intended to- operate or
the guhboat q The garrison were Texans
and fought we'll; but our men charged and
took the fort by storm. Gen. Mower led the
charge. He commands Tuttle's division. :
The l4thl Iowa got into the fort frst. The
l4th lost 4 killed and several wounded.
Iowa has more regiments on this TRIP
than any other Stste.3.lsr s- sGe.a
We have IL or a iron-clads with US =
They did not co4eup in time to help US any
Tee river waaS Eof timber. They had tim
brrs drivenin Is if they were going to build
2 bridge, then they Aoated the river (above
that) full of timber. This was to stop thu
gunboats, and It did stop them for awhile, but
only long enough for US to take the fort
without their assis ance. Our brigade was
not in the fight. We have only two r 81.
.ments in our brigade. One bris4de and one
battery OF light artillery were left in charge
Of the fort, while the rest Of US came on up
the river to this place. 5.. q
. MARCH 24-since writing the above we
have been OH a little srout.
On the evening Of the goth we received
orders to be ready to march next morning.
We started at seven o'clock, in the rain, and
marched all day. only stopping twice, fpr a
short rest. T,wards evening we came with.
in two miles Of the rebel camp They saw
US coming and threw Several shells at u.s.
The first one killed three men Of the 9th
Mi i,souri cavalry, They were ahead of US.
Battery G Of the 9th Regulsrs fred several
shots, without doing any harm, as we after
wards found. We rested few minutes. and
then started, as a supposed. after them. We
pronounced "Rapeeds. " and wound around
through swamps, over shoe top in slush and
mud. There were only two regiments Of in
fantry on foot, one mounted irfantry req.
ment and two pieces of artillery crossed the
bayou. The regiments were the 35th Iowa,
33d Missouri, 10th (mounted) Indiana, and
two guns of Battery G, 5th Regulars. Gen.
Mower commanded. After tramping around
four or five hours we came into a piece OF
pine timber, and stopped. Co. c was sent
out as skirmishers. 1t had been raining
ever since we crossed the bayou, and we were
wetto the skin. Besides, it had turned very
cold, so We had to keep walking to keep
warm. By hard work We finally got fire,
and soon the whole woods were lit up. just
ABOUT the time we were getting little warm,
we had to skedaddle again, and this time in
anothec} direction. Pretty soon ord RS were
received for, company D to take charge Of
prisoners. Sure enough, we had gobbled a
squad Of twenty.seven-ca cavalry at that
They were advance pickets. After that, we
took one. picket post after another without
any trouble. After the pickets were all taken
we went right into their camp and gobbled
nearly all OF them, with their horses and
equipments. We also captured four brass
field pieces, two Founders and two l2-
pound howitzers, with the caissons and hors-
Is. We took them by surprise, and found
most of them asleep. We got the three field
officers of the regiment. The cavalry was
the I'd Louisiana, and the battery the Frs
Texas. After We had got the prisoners we
started back 10 camp, about two miles, where
we arrived about three o'clock the next
morning, wet, tired and hungry.
From the time we started from here until
we went to camp with the prisoners rye
marched f,rty niles, through rain and mud
During those twenty hours we captured
nearly 800 men, their arms, horses and co!ors,
and the best battery the rebels had west Of
The MississiPpi,--(so they said themselves.
horses and all. More than one-half OF our
regiment was mounted coming back. By
taking the prisoners we had a chance to ride
their horses. Robert D. BoDMAN.