The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1865-08-11

The EIYEEBN11-O94 GnIA& H1euo ana
luoudam correspondent, Capt. J. n. neid,
,alled upon ~ yesterday. Glad 70 zee him
home ssie ssifom the WARS There were
-four years Of failure which put down tho
The Captain was the 6fst Kodak
ian to volunteee 10 defence Of the Govern
nent ct the commencement of the rebellion,
md stood firm by the old flag during oil the
contest. He is, also, the only original line
,fficer remaining Of the entire regiment, He
,ands ss tie Dsvenpost Qasstds, coshising :
engthy notice Of the arrival Of the regiment
1t Davenport, a report Of the eloquent address
II welcome delivered By Judge Dillon, and .
,rief history of the regiment which latter we
publish: iss. l4a. .tols ..sa
Mustered in at Keokuk in 1862, it was sent
Town to do duty on the Tennessee riyer.
rhey Joined Grants army at Pittsburg Lsnd-
M, and in the battles Of the 9Th and 18th they
ost one-f fourth of their number. Until the
ell of Vicks6urs, in the fall of 1858, they
we're in all the service Of Gen. Grant's army,
,ut after that event were thrown under Gen
sherman, in the Military Division of the Mis-
sissippi, and participated in all the glorious
,ictories Of that gallant army. At Shiloh, in
April, 1862, they we're brigaded with the 1lth,
18th and 18th Iowa regiments, under the
command of Col. NJ. NJ. Croker, Of the 18th
.owa, and were therefore the Oldest brigade
organization in the Army of the Tennessee.
As an instance of the severity Of the service
to which this regiment was exposed in the
earlier part of its campaigning, it may here
De stated that Mt the time of its original mus
"a 1cJ 4 A fhoh 10 ofC lob
t went in with but 760 effective men, and of
these there were 1s6 lost in killed, wounded
and missing in that engagement After the
capture Of Corinth, in the siege of which place
The 18th did noble service, it performed for
some time the duties Of Provost Guard
there, its Major, w. w. BeIknap, being Pro-
vost Marshal, under Gen. Ord. In August
hey were required to reinforce Gen. Ross in
The protection of Bolivar, then threatened by
the enemy, and having. driven of the foe
there, it was marched TO the rescue Of Iuka,
n the middle of September, and from there
pack to Corinth, reaching the latter place just
time to sustain the first shock Of the great
cebel army under Price, Van Dorm and VII.
,ipigue, who made the attack ON October Sd
aud 4th. In that engagement the regiment
lost S3 officers and men killed and wounded.
1t participated IN the winter campaign Of
1923 to Grand junction, Holly Springs, Ok
ford, Abbeville and Grenada, and by way of
Memphis to Millikens Bend and Lake Proyi-
dence, La. In the eventful year of 1863,
during which the tide of battle turned 80 sig
Tally in favor of the Federal arms, the 10th
Iowa participated in the movements Of the
grand army under Grant, by way Of Warren
on, and later by Haines' Bluff, to the invest
nent of Vicksburg. When that place was
aptured and tire regiment was put under
Sen. Sherman's command, il joined in the
expedition aft>r Johnston, from Black river
to Clinton and jackson, duly and August.
and also that to Monroe, La, in September
1865. II also joined in Sherman famous
: Meridian raid, and in June, 1864, shared
in the terrible battles of Big Shanty, MONDAY
Creek, Bushy Mountain and Kenesaw.
On July 4th, it led the advance in the
bloody encounter at Nickajack Creek, at its
junction with the Chattahooche. where the
enemy was whipped and driven to his worls
at Turner Ferry. Fighting was kept up at
this point for five DAYS. and then the rebels
evacuated their fort On July 10Th and 2lst
the 18th was again engaged in the bloody bat
ties of those days in front of Atlanta s defen-
slve works. Here, on the I'D of july. the
Iowa brigade. in which was the 10Th, being
on the extreme left of the line had to sustain
the tremendous assault of Hoods army in
front, flank aud rear. and, although losing
heavily, not only held its ground, but cap
tured Bald Hill, the key To that side of At
lanta. On the 2sth. having been changed TO
the extreme right of the line, this regiment
again had the brunt of the battle at Ezra
Church to sustain. From that day on, Hood
having abandoned the offensive. our lines
we're rapidly advanced. The Iowa brigade
made seven advances within three weeks,
finally to within one and q half miles of At
lanta, and to within three hundred Yards of
the heavy rebel outerworks along the East
point Railroad. Skirmishing was heavy and
eonstant-men were frequently killed in the
camp just behind the skirmish line, and even
half mile to the rear OF camp-and the final
assault was hourly expected On August
10Th, the Iowa brigade left its position at
night and participated in the grand flank
movement by way of Fairburn to Jonesboro.
whence, after the engagement of the 3lst,
they pursued the retrea,ing enemy TO Love
joy. There they heard Of the capture of At
lanta, and returned to Eastport. They after
wards participated in the reconnaissance to
fairburn and Powder Springs also in the
pursuit of Hoods army to Kesaca, meeting
the enemy at Snake Creek Gap. Just before
starting on the Savannah expedition they
were reinforced by 438 recruits From the
10th to the 18th of December, they were I'M
der fire at Savannah. and as on all previous
occasions, distinguished themselves BY their
gallantry and steadiness. With Sherman it
marched down to the sea, adding to its glo-
rious roll of victories those of Gardens Cor
ner. Big Salkehatchie Swamp, Oraneebureh,
Columbia, Fayetteville and Bentonville, and
took part in the capture of Raleigh.
The 18th Iowa regiment was commanded
by Col. H. I. Reid from February 22d, 1862.
to April I'D, 1868, when he was promoted to
the rank of Brigadier General. Col. W. w.
Belknap commanded until July 3lst, 1864.
when he also became Brigadier General. The
present commander, Lieut.. Col. Geo. Pomutz.
took command before Atlanta, August LIST.
1854, having, at his own request, been re-
lieved from service on staff at corps headauar-
tiers. The following figures are from the
records of the regiment
Original strength of regiment ,ess
Recruits received by ..... 275 |
Drafted men and substitutes received by
regiment 500
Aggregate strength. ....................1.763
Ofthese only 712 remain on the roll Of the |
and only 535 Offices and men were
present to be mustered out on July 9th at |
Louisville. Their several marches, added |
together, show that during its service the |
regiment has marched 1913 miles