Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-12-07

long struggle. Captain Charles +.
Brown of this city, while on a visit IN
Colorado recently wrote to his brother,
w. G. Brown of Chicago, description
of an exciting battle in Missouri dur
ing the early days of the war, when
Mr.. Brown was a corporal and a mere
youth Especial interest will be taken
in the account by people all over the
sixth Iowa district, inasmuch as it was
in the same engagement that MAJOR
John F. Lacey, now representative in
congress from this district, was made
a prisoner of war Captain Browns
letter. copy of which he has kindly.
given the Courier, is as follows:
Captain Browns Letter.
S15 East willamette Ave.
Colorado Springs Sunday am.
Sept. II, 1905.
My dear brother:
This is royal Colorado morning;
about as near perfect as the weather
ever gets to be, guess.
The 18th of September always takes
me back in recollection to the memoir
able Tuesday afternoon in 1861, when
the Third Iowa infantry got It's first
real baptism Of fire. We had been un-
der fire. in skirmishes, small ambushes
and affairs many times before; but
Blue Mills was q bloody, desperate
fight for the brief time it lasted. No
one participating was likely ever to
forget it. Most of its incidents are
as plainly impressed on my mind to-
day, as though of recent occurrence.
Death was as near neighbor on that
afternoon as at any time in the war,
and until the final "hour and article"
will never be any nearer.
On Sunday. September Is, we were
at Macon City, Mo. An early order put
the regiment, probably four hundred
men, for duty on board Hannibal Il
st. Joe freight train and we started
west
The track was rough, and the way
that train rocked and ratified along
was a caution. We were evidently go
Ing somewhere and getting there as
fast as possible About the middle of
the afternoon, we stopped at Cameron,
and unloaded. Hastily impressing as
mary farm teams as were available,
for our rations, ammunition and bag
gage, we put out to the southwark.
Some miles out, as night was falling,
we turned into meadow, (stubble) at
the road side. A convenient hay
stack furnished bedding, and in a
light dfizzle of rain, we wrapped up
in our blankets, in the open air, for
the night.
remember awakening in the night,
with the rain falling on my face, cover
ing it with a corner of my blanket, and
doing off again.
The sky was clear and the stars
shining, when in the gray of early
dawn we were up and on the march
again. All day we went at swinging
pace, hating for the night at the lit
tie hamlet of Centerville about twelve
miles from Liberty.
Here we got from scouts and union
men. reliable information Of con-
federate force of several thousand
men. en- route from st. Joe to Licking
ton and in camp for the night, within
ten miles of us. We were never near
enough to hear artillery firing by this
command.
Fight Against Big Odds.
They outnumbered us ten to one,
easily. Shortly after midnight, we
were quietly aroused. absolute silence
strictly enjoined and we again head
ed south. The roads were getting
hilly, and led through timber and the
moonless night made it as dark as
Egypt.
Lieut.. Col. John Scott, of our regi-
ment, was in command, and we had
some mounted Missouri union men,
and six FOUNDER field piece from a
German Missouri battery; altogether
between five and six hundred men.
At daylight next morning Tuesday
"a beautiful bright day, we climbed
the long hill leading into Liberty; a
large confederate force leaving the
place just ahead of us.
Years after the war, Col Scott then
lieutenant governor of Iowa, in an ad-
dress said his proudest recollection
of the gallant old regiment was Of that
morning, when
with the eye Of an eagle. and the
tread of wild stag the boys closed
that heavy march, momentarily ex-
pecting to meet a vastly superior force
of the enemy"
Under orders of Major General
John Pope, then commanding in North
Missouri, force of three regiments
of infantry, one of cavalry, and two
batteries of light artillery, was to join
us at Liberty at daylight that morn
ing.
We were the only ones to reach
the point on time, and we had no
word from the other commands.
We bivouacked on the hill in the
north part of the pretty little town.
and couriers were sent out on all the
roads on which the balance Of the
force was looked for.
The confederates were under orders
from Major General Sterling Price, to
join him at Lexington, (where he was
besieging Colonel Mulligan), with all
possible dispatch. General Pope's OBJ
ject was to intercept and detain, fight
and defeat this force, and thus re-
lieve Mulligan. About noon, Colonel
Scott learned that the confederates
were crossing the Missouri at Blue
Mills Ferry. about five miles from
town.
Couriers were again sent out on all
the roads over which achievements