Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1911-05-24
THE SIMPLE Life OF A COMMONER
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

sion through the swamps and abattis
to the woods, hotly pursued by oul
men. In this charge we retook the
redan and the guns that were aban.
doned by the artillery, 1875 prison.
ers, and 4 stands of colors. Amons
the prisoners were three Colonels
four Captains and three Lieutenants
Thus ended the battle of the 4th
On Friday morning the brigade left
Camp Montgomery with II commits.
'oned officers and 1,021 enlisted
q. The Union brigade joined ii
t. e. tternoon with Is commissioned
Off, Y and 326 men, making total
of o. mmissioned officers and
1,347 L. N On Saturday night we
bivouaceo the field, so warmly
contested t. day, with a loss OF
81 commissioned officers and 3S6
enlisted men, thus showing loss of
one-third of the brigade during the
two days conflict of the 3rd and
4th. On Sunday morning we COM
menced the pursuit of the enemy, and
proceeded by the Chewalla road as
far as Ruckersville, from which
place We were ordered back, and
arrived at Camp Montgomery on the
18th much fatigued but in good
spirits. On the 5th instant the Sec
ond and Seventh Iowa were detached
from my brigade and ordered back
to Corinth to report to General Rose
GRAMS"
The Second Iowa went into the
battle under command of Colonel
James Baker with 3 field, 2 staff
and 21 line officers and 800 enlist
ed man, making an aggregate of 346.
OF this nd.hber, our aggregate loss
in officers and men amounted to 103,
which was one-third of our entire
number. The part of Mowers bri-
gade," to which Colonel Sweeney
refers in his report as becoming
panic stricken and breaking in con-
fusion, must have been the Eighth
Wisconsin, for the Major command
ing that regiment says in his report:
"Ip front Of the right wing of my
regiment in the hollow, was an Iowa
regiment engaged with the enemy.
My position upon the ridge was ex-
posed to the long range guns OF the
enemy and my left wing became
engaged and the right wing not en-
gagged, on account of the Iowa regi-
ment being in front and the Lieu
tenant-Colonel being wounded. At
this juncture | ordered the regiment
forward across the hollow, partially
massing the right wing with the left
wing of the Iowa regiment" The
Iowa regiment referred to by Major
Jefferson in his report was the Sec
ond Iowa.
| / distinctly remember that when
our ammunition was exhausted on
the afternoon of the 3rd, and we
were ordered to fall back farther up
the hill where we were to receive a
new supply of ammunition and at
the same time be given an oppor-
tunity to recover as far as possible
from the effects of the charge we
had withstood, part of the Eighth
Wisconsin was ordered forward to
relieve us, but they did not remain.
Abe" the eagle carried by that regi-
ment and so much talked about,
perched on a board borne by a
brawny soldier, about twenty PAGES
in front of us as we were moving
to the rear. The trouble did not
| lie with the soldiers, it was a mis-
take of some officer, who instead of
advancing the Wisconsin boys in
column by company so as to have
made intervals for us to have march
ed through in our passage to the
rear, he had evidently ordered them
forward in line of battle which caus-
ed so much confusion that they be-
came temporarily panic stricken and
broke to the rear ahead of us. The
Eighth Wisconsin was as good a
body OF men as there was in the
field but some one had blundered
The Second Iowa made a fine rec
ord in the conflict at Corinth, as
also did others, on both sides, in
that hotly contested battle which
will always rank as one of the great
est Of the war. The regiment sue.
ceeded in capturing 81 prisoners and
one stand of colors. At this point
it may not be out of place to re-
mark that during the whole wal
Iowa lost five colonels, two of whom
were from the Second Iowa, viz
Baker and MILLS, for though Mills
was our Lieutenant Colonel at thu
beginning of the battle he was com
missioned Colonel before he died
From what have here set down |
must not be supposed that othe