The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1905-12-28
CHAMPION HILLS.
Col. Boemer's Brigade Of lows, Missouri
and Illinois Troops.

In Opening Of the Mississippi" In issue
OF Oct. 1S regarding the Champion Hills
incident as follows: 1.-The enemy was
HI overpowering force
upon Hovey, and Col. Boomer and Col.
Holmes, with two brigades, went to his
assistance from Crocker's Division; but
In spite OF the most stubborn fighting
Hovey was pushed back" The forego-
Ing is misleading, and does injustice to
The facts OF their movements. inciden-
tally mentioning Gen. Logan's Division,
are about as follows: The early morn
ing OF May Is found Hovey in contact
with the enemy, under Pemberton, at
Champion Hills. with Logan's command
in close touch. Quinby's Division. M.
M. Croker in command, was miles in
the rear, and still in camp. when the
distant boom OF cannon announced the
opening Of the Champion Hills battle,
Col. Boomers Brigade-the 5th. 10th
Iowa, 26th Mo. and 93d Ill.-having
just eaten a hasty breakfast of such
things as could be foraged off the coun-
try. hastily fell into line. left in front,
the 10th Iowa holding the rear Of col
umn, andemarched rapidly away toward
the distant booming cannon. Occasion
ally the double-quick was resorted to to
keep the rapidly-moving column in
close touch. Some time from to 10
spell. where the impedimenta of the
battlefield was held awaiting the issues
of the then raging battle, and which as
yet was rather felt by us than heard.
Here we also stripped for the coming
fray. Each man was required to have
1G0 rounds Of ammunition. We again
moved forward, now at the double
quick. Shortly turning sharp to the
left, we assembled quite an eminence
through body of timber, coming out
OF which we were at the house and
cotton-gfn where Gen. Grant had es-
tablished his headquarters. Moving out
in front OF there we were halted in the
road and awaited orders. Hovey was
heavily engaged on the left front in and
beyond the woods covering the top Of
Champion Hills. Logan was in the
open to the right of the Hill, rapidly
gaining ground toward Bakers Creek,
which was to the rear of Pemberton's
line. We were soon moving forward in
line OF battle, moving rather as sup
porting Logan than Hovey. Crossing
slight swale, we were halted on high
er ground, with Logan'S battle line in
full view. He had just dislodged the
enemy from a line of fence to which
they had held most tenaciously, and
the men were cheering Justify over their
success. To our left, in the wood, we
could hear above the din Of crashing
musketry the piercing yell of the enc
my, who, having succeeded in checking
Hovey's impetuous advance, were turn
ing an apparent glorious victory into a
singing defeat. Hovey, however, was
10th to yield that which had been SO
hardly gained, and though being pressed
back by sheer weight of numbers, he
vas calling for reinforcements to
strengthen his lOng-extended and sadly
depleted line.
At this time, not far from noon, an
Aid dashed out Of the wood Riding
to where Col. Boomer and Gen. Crocker
were, almost directly in front of our
company, saluting, he said: General,
for Gods sake, move your men to Gen.
Hovey's aid. We are being driven from
the field" Gen. Croker, pointing to
where Gen. Grant was, said: 1--WE were
ordered here. Go for orders. 1 will
begin moving my men to the left" Still
left in front, moving by the left flank,
we moved to the support of Gen.
Hovey's Division. Our pace heightened
and quickened. On the double-quick
We entered the wood. The hiss Of bull
lets, in rapid flight, was in our ears.
The scream and crash Of bursting shell
was overhead. The drift Of overwhelmed
In moment, at the summit of the hill,
we were in the hell Of battle. The shock
was terrific. Men were falling every
where. The agonizing cry of the
wounded was heard above the din of
battle. But We were the nucleus to
which many Of Hovey's men adhered.
For more than two hours we, in con-
junction with Hovey's rallied troops,
held the key to the battlefield against
all the force Pemberton had to dash
against 1t. 1t is true, the left Of our
line, by further break in the lines Of
Hovey to the left, found itself in air
and was forced back like a huge door
upon its hinges from the road on the
ridge 1t first occupied to the same road
on the ridge nearly at right angles with
its first position, but the right Of the
line OF Col. Boomers Brigade held fast
to the end. A hundred rounds of am
munition per man was expended. The
ammunition Of the killed and wounded
was gathered and used by the men in
line. A continuous flaming of musketry
swept along our front, which no rebel
force could penetrate. Our battery, the
9th Wis, with other guns, had been
placed to enflade from the right the
enemy's line. At this time Col Holmes
brought his brigade into action, and in
spirited charge in connection with
the fiankfng fire from the batteries,
swept the enemy off their feet and
drove them in confusion from the field.
Logan's Division should also have a
large share In the final outcome Of the
engagement, for they pushed ahead so
Iar against the left OF the enemy'S line
that their line Of retreat was in great
danger, and they were forced to pull
back to protect it.
/ find further on that In this engage
ment 1.-The Union loss was 41O killed,
l,S44 wounded and 1877 missing. Hoyey
alone lost 1900 killed and wounded. or
about one-third of his division" If you
will examine the records, I think, in
the War Department, you will find that
Col. Boomers Brigade lost more than
500 in killed and wounded out of less
than 1900 present for duty on May 16,
1868; or about 40 per cent. 1 do not
write this in spirit of controversy or
to critfcise, but to do justice to the liy-
ing and dead who belonged to a brigade
OF true, faithful soldiers, and who
through the irony of fate failed to re-
ceive just credit for that they did we'll.
Col. Boomer was killed within six DAYS.
Col. Matthias succeeding to the com
mand. M. M. Croker, who was in tenn
porary command Of the division, was
relieved by the division commander,
Gen. Quimby. who in turn was displaced
by Gen. j. E. Smith, and the division
itself was transferred during the siege
OF Vicksburg from j. B. McPherson's
Seventeenth Corps to w. T. Shermans
Fifteenth Corps, and little later from
the Army Of the Mississippi to the
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