The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1902-09-19
The FORTIETH
Anniversary Of the Battle
of Iuka.
Desperate Fighting, With In
p0rtant Results to the
Union Cause.
The Most Holly Contested Battle
in Which We We're
Ever Engaged.
BY J. Q A. CAMPBELL.
BY J. Q A. CAMPBELL.

1t is not an unworthy pride that
cherishes the memory OF ones most i'm
portant service of his country. In the
battle of Iuka, Miss, which was fought
just forty years ago today, Friday,
Sept l9. 1862, it was our fortune as q
member of the 5th Iowa Infantry to
have place In the line OF battle. Our
regiment was in the front to do the
skirmishing and drive back the rebel
skirmishers for four miles; was the first
to form the line of battle; was at the
pivotal point in the battle; lost more
than twice the men that any other regi.
ment lost; held its position by the most
desperate fighting till It had lost 40 per
cent Of its men; kept its place Till
darkness fell upon the field, until the
men had used all their ammunition,
and were using the cartridges of their
dead comrades; and when ordered back
To the ammunition wagons to replenish
their cartridge boxes, were then ready
with their thinned ranks to march
again into the battle had not darkness
stopped the lighting. Having been in
the battle from START to finish we have
always felt an humble pride In the
record our regiment made, and feeling
that the character Of the battle, and
even the battle itself has been but lit
tie known, having been overshadowed
by the great battles of the war, We give
the following account OF It, hoping 1t
may interest our readers:
In the Fall of 1862, disaster attended
the Union arms, and great concern for
the Union cause was felt by the nation.
Gen. Grant, in his Memoirs, says;
This was the most anxious period oi
the war to me-" and MANY loyal peo.
pie despaired in the Fall of 1862 of ever
saving the Union. The army of Nc
Clellan had at this time fallen back
from in front of Richmond to the de
Tense of Washington, and the Army O
the Ohio under Buell. had been com
PEELED by Bragg to fall back from III,
Tennessee to the Ohio. 1t was unde
these circumstances that Grants force
fought the battle Of Iuka, and by de
feating the Confederates there and a
Corinth. he was enabled to retain his ad
vanced position on the Mississippi bor
der. while the Union forces in the othe
departments were forced back TO tn
base from which they started in tn
Summer of 1861.
1t was under these conditions, tha
Grant and Rosecrans, moving upo
Iuka, on roads from the west and south
west, sought to catch the Confederat
General Price in q trap, and captur
his whole force. Price was completed
surprised, but the plans Of Grant an
Rosecrans failed of the complete suC
cess intended, because each waiting 70
and not hearing from the other, whel
they got near Iuka, failed..to attack wit
vigor, and Price, after defeat, escape
in the night with his defeated army.
Prices army lay in front of Grant
force on the west of Iuka. Learnin
with surprise of the force of Rosecran
advancing upon the town from tn
south, Price double-quicked three brl
| gades back through the town, an
throwing them against Rosecrsns
front, checked his advance till dark
and then escaped with his force, ate
the battle, under cover of the.darkness
The forces of the two armies were abou
equal, 10000; but less than one-third @
either army, however, was engaged Il
the battle Grant, with 5000 men, Ia
idle four miles west of the town, Will
Rosecrans let one of his two brigade
fight three brigsdes OF the rebels. whe
he could have crushed them and cal
tured Prices army by promptly bring
ing his whole force into action.
The battle, ON the Union side, wa
fought by seven regiments out of tn
sixteen that constituted Rosecran'
force. It was really fought by thre
regiments, four companies and one bal
terry, the others who suffered loss be
ing in support, and not in the fghtin
hne. Not 5000 men were In the figh
on the Union side, and these met
Confederate force of $500.
1 After the battle opened, the Confes
crates had no battery engaged. o
the Union side the 11th Ohio batter
J stood the brunt of the fight, and To-
more than half its men, killed an
wounded-losing more men than ar
battery in any other single battle OF u
! war. The men, despite this carnag
stood to their work, and fired the
double-shotted guns upon the chargir
Confederstes till the latter swarms
: upon them and shot them down at the
guns.
= The heaviest fighting occurrt
3 around this battery. The 5th low
t upon its right, the 4Sth Indiana ON i
left, and four companies of the 26
/ Missouri in its immediate rear, he
r their position for over an hour, q
: darkness fell upon the field and Il
r battle ended. The losses of the bs
terry, and of these two regiments and
e part of q regiment were 4S5 out of
, total loss of all the Union forces e
n gagged Of 6S9-Or more than two-thir