24th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 24th Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War . Service . The 24th Iowa Infantry was organized at Muscatine , Iowa and mustered in for three years of Federal service on September 18 , 1862 . The regiment was mustered out on July 17 , 1865 . History . Soon after the receipt of the President ’ s Proclamation of July 2d , 1862 , calling for three hundred thousand volunteers , Governor Kirkwood issued a commission to Eber C . Byam , of Linn County , authorizing him to raise a regiment to be called " The Iowa Temperance Regiment . " Circulars were accordingly distributed by Byam through Linn and the adjoining counties . In a very short time more than double the requisite number of companies were organized and ready to march to the appointed rendezvous . They were composed of men of temperance principles and temperance habits — that is to say , of men who touched not , taste not , handle not spirituous or malt liquor , wine or cider . If the men have since adopted other principles or other habits , it has only been at such times as they were under the overruling power of military necessity . Out of the companies reported as ready to join the regiment , choice was made as follows : three from Linn County , F , G , and H , under Captains Dimmitt , Vinson , and Carbee ; two from Cedar , B and C , Captains Rathburn and Johnson ; two from Jackson , A and I , Captains Henderson and Martin ; Company D from Johnson , Captain Casbeer ; Company E from Tama , Captain Clark ; and Company K from Jones , Captain Williams . E . C . Byam was duly commissioned colonel ; John Q . Wilds , lieutenant - colonel ; and Ed Wright , major . The rendezvous of the companies was at Camp Strong , near the city of Muscatine , where the Thirty - fifth was also rendezvousing at the same time . After medical inspection of the Twenty - fourth , some of the companies were more than full . Those making the excess were transferred to the Thirty - fifth . On the 18th of September the regiment was mustered into the service of the United States , and was henceforward officially known as the Twenty - fourth Iowa Infantry , though it was long called by the public and by the newspaper correspondents the Temperance Regiment . The command remained at Camp Strong more than a month after the muster in , having a great deal of fun , drill , parade , and bad water , and a good deal of measles in camp . Marching orders came on October 19 , and on the next day the regiment embarked for St . Louis . On reaching that city , orders were received commanding the regiment to proceed forthwith to Helena . It reached that place on the 28th , disembarked , and went into camp about one mile south of town on the bank of the Mississippi River . In this its first encampment on the theatre of war the Twenty - fourth numbered nine hundred and fifty , officers and men , who at the time of landing were nearly all in apparent good health . In a short time , however , on account of exposure during the late voyage , the steamers having been much crowded , and of the unhealthy locality , more than an hundred were on sick - list . During the winter the regiment remained at Helena , except during three or four short periods in which it marched with certain expeditions , one or two of which had a military purpose in view , the others having no purpose whatever that has ever yet been discovered . This was the era when so many general officers had " expedition on the brain . " On the 17th of November , Brigadier - General A . P . Hovey took some transports , and made an expedition . He took his command to the mouth of the White River , and then back again , without having disembarked or seen an enemy . The Twenty - fourth was with him . The regiment , on the 28th , marched under the same general , in the direction of Cold Water , Mississippi . The command now had its first experience in marching , and found no difficulty in keeping up with veteran troops . Arrived at Cold Water , the brigade in which was our regiment halted , while another with a small force of cavalry , advanced to Oakland , some twenty miles further . On the afternoon of December 1 , artillery firing was heard in the direction of Oakland — the first sound of actual battle that had yet reached the ears of the Twenty - fourth . The brigade at Cold Water was at once formed , and soon moved to the front on the double - quick . Having thus marched several miles , they heard the retreat of the enemy , and themselves about - faced , and returned to Cold Water . They reached Helena again on the 7th of December . On the morning of January 11 , 1863 , our regiment embarked with the troops who endured so much suffering during General Gorman ’ s White River Expedition , of which I shall relate many particulars in my account of the Twenty - eighth regiment . Suffice it here , that the sufferings of all the regiments which went on this unfortunate and unprofitable expedition were well nigh unendurable , and left marks in each organization which have never been effaced . When the regiment reached Helena on its return , the old encampment had to be abandoned on account of the rising waters . A new camp was made on the first range of hills in rear of the town and about a mile distant . Helena was soon inundated . It became a miserable burlesque of Venice . The citizens could go from house to house only in canoes or skiffs , which were constantly plying from place to place . All the streets and alleys were navigable . The government transports bringing supplies could with the greatest difficulty find places where the stores could be landed . Water , water everywhere . When the floods subsided , deep unfathomable mud took the place of the waters . Sign - boards were everywhere stuck on poles , telling the unlucky teamsters of " No Bottom . " It is impossible there can be a place in the world so uninteresting , in the very air of which there are so many blue devils , as Helena in Arkansas . During this rainy winter the troops there quartered were unspeakably miserable . It was the darkest period of the war for them all . There could be no drills , no dress parades . The troops who were well enough to sit up at all sat in their cheerless quarters , ruminating on their own unhappiness , barely noting the drum - beat for the dead , beating evermore . General Fisk , commanding brigade , was so good a man and officer , so thoroughly appreciative of the situation , that he accomplished what mortal could accomplish toward driving off the clouds of despondency settling on the army . The expedition under General Washburne , which left Helena on February 15 , to open the Yazoo Pass to navigation aroused the army from its lethargy . It gave the troops who performed that heavy labor , change , which they greatly needed , and it gave all , hopes of active movements in the field . Of this expedition , General Fisk ’ s brigade formed a part . From its return till the commencement of the campaign against Vicksburg , our regiment had daily drill , and almost daily dress parade . The command under the skillful and experienced instructions of Lieutenant - Colonel Wilds rapidly improved , and by the time the operations under General Grant commenced , was distinguished for its efficiency and discipline . When the army was reorganized for the active operations of spring , the Twenty - fourth was attached to the Thirteenth Corps . It was known to all that the taking of Vicksburg was to be the object of the campaign , and all looked forward to the hour of departure with joy . Nevertheless , when the troops moved , their hearts were filled with deep and solemn feelings . Not one but had a brother or a favorite comrade sleeping the last sleep on the bluffs above or in the vale by the river ’ s bank below . The Twenty - fourth had , I suppose , suffered neither less nor more than the other regiments . During the first three months of the year fifty of its members were buried near Helena . More were sent to the hospitals of Memphis , Cairo , and St . Louis . When the fleet was ready to sail on the 11th of April , the regiment could muster but little more than six hundred , rank and file . The world knows how active was the grand campaign actually begun by the disembarking of the army at Milliken ’ s Bend on the 14th of April , till after the assault of the 22d of May , and how hard were the duties of the investing army till the campaign was crowned with complete success on the 4th of July . The march , in Louisiana , from the point of debarking to a place named Perkins ’ Landing , was made difficult and laborious by reason of the high waters . Bridges had to be built , corduroy roads made for the passage of trains . Here the army embarked on transports and barges , and proceeded on its way down the river to a point about four miles above Grand Gulf , and which is well named Hard Times , it having the appearance of being able to maintain a very poor family in a very poor way during a favorable season . Here the army , without disembarking , witnessed the cannonading between the gun - boats and the rebel batteries at Grand Gulf . The batteries could not all be silenced . The army accordingly disembarked , marched across the levee below Grand Gulf , where the transports reached them , having run the batteries successfully . The Battle of Port Gibson , or Thompson ’ s Hill as it is sometimes called , and with more geographical accuracy , was fought and won very soon after the Thirteenth Corps landed at Bruinsburg . In this engagement , the Twenty - fourth was almost all the time supporting artillery . Its loss was slight — six wounded , one mortally . From this time until the Battle of Champion Hills , our regiment did much marching , skirmishing , and foraging , but was not engaged at Raymond or at Jackson . On the 2d of May , the column marched into the beautiful town of Port Gibson , and bivouacked in the streets . The beauty and fashion of this place had made great preparations for a grand ball in honor of the victory over our fleet at Grand Gulf . The Battle of Port Gibson had altogether changed the programme . Many of our troops partook of the viands which had been prepared for guests of another sort . Here the column halted three days . The country roundabout Port Gibson is one of the richest cotton - growing regions of Mississippi . The white inhabitants were wealthy , cultivated after the Southern fashion , and aristocratic according to Southern notions . The war had hitherto not been carried into their door - yards . Their dwellings were magnificent mansions . They had fine carriages and blooded horses . Many of them had blooded negroes , too , for coachmen . They fared sumptuously every day . Thus were they living till our troops landed , when the most of the wealthy planters suddenly decamped . Our foraging parties met with all the embarrassment of riches . They would return , loaded down with supplies — beef , bacon , pork , poultry , vegetables . One might see gorgeous family carriages coming into Port Gibson from all directions , filled with geese , ducks , and chickens , or coming from the mills , laden with great bags of meal . Yet no man ’ s property was destroyed , or even taken for the use of the army , without there being first obtained evidence of his disloyalty to the Union , which evidence very often consisted of the fact that he had run away from the Union army . No houses were burned , no cotton was destroyed . The Union troops simply did what the planters had done before them . They fared sumptuously every day . Having remained here long enough to get together a large quantity of supplies , the column moved on the 6th to Rocky Springs . On the next day , it moved to Big Sandy Creek , and was there reviewed by General Grant . On the 10th it moved still farther northward , halting near Cayuga . Here the grand army first came together , and marched forward in an unbroken line of several miles extent , making a grand sight . McClernand ’ s Corps was on the left . On the morning of the 12th , his advance Division , being that of General Hovey , to which the Twenty - fourth belonged , moved to Fourteen Mile Creek , in the direction of Edwards ’ Depot . Here he had a sharp skirmish with the enemy , and deployed his men in line of battle . The main rebel army from Vicksburg , twenty - five thousand strong , as reported , was drawn up two or three miles in advance . Meantime , while Hovey was here amusing the enemy , McPherson whipped the rebel force at Raymond . Hovey then withdrew , and taking a new road just made by his pioneers , passed through Raymond on the day after the battle , and reached Clinton on the 14th . On the next morning the Thirteenth Corps turned about , and marching westward , reached Bolton Depot in the evening . In the battle of Champion Hills , fought on the 16th , and which was the most severe engagement of the campaign except the assault of Vicksburg itself , Hovey ’ s Division bore the brunt of the contest for hours , fighting with a valor and obstinacy which conferred eternal honor upon the troops . The Twenty - fourth Iowa was second to no regiment in the splendid fighting on this bloody field . Not an officer or a man engaged but did his duty meritoriously , yes with special gallantry . At one time in the fight the regiment advanced , unsupported , to charge a battery of five guns whose grape and canister were rapidly thinning the Union ranks . The Twenty - fourth rushed to the charge with the greatest enthusiasm , trampled down the gunners , and by their own momentum the men pressed far beyond the battery , driving the infantry supports away in wild confusion . But they were in turn attacked by overwhelming numbers , and compelled to give way . It was in this daring charge that Major Wright was severely wounded . Here were slain Captains Silas D . Johnson and William Carbee , and Lieutenant Chauncey Lawrence - gallant officers as ever lived of died in the cause of American nationality and of man . The loss of the regiment was severe . Forty - three officers and men were slain , forty more were borne with mortal wounds from the field to the grave , nearly thirty were maimed for life , and the whole loss , killed , wounded and captured , out of the four hundred and seventeen who entered the fight as one hundred and ninety - five . Such was the great sacrifice of the Temperance Regiment on the glorious field of Champion Hills . 3 The Regiment , with the division to which it belonged , did not join in the rapid pursuit of the enemy which followed the great victory , and did not take part , consequently in the Battle of Black River Bridge , the next day , where the Twenty - first and Twenty - third Iowa regiments won the first honors and suffered the saddest losses . It joined the beleaguering army soon , however , and bore its full share in the siege of the rebel stronghold . When Vicksburg surrendered , there were few regiments in all the army which had accomplished more , or suffered more , in bringing about the great victory the Twenty - fourth . But it was not yet to have rest , for at once joining General Sherman ’ s expeditionary army , it took part in the campaign of Jackson — a campaign of great labors and of great results , but without a general battle . having been driven far to the eastward , and central Mississippi laid waste , the army under Sherman Returned to the vicinity of Vicksburg , and most of the troops which had been instrumental in the reduction of that place were granted rest . But the thirteenth Corps , now commanded by General Ord , was transferred to the department of the Gulf , having had only about a fortnight ’ s repose after the Jackson campaign . The history of the Twenty - fourth in this department until it joined the army on the Red River Expedition was devoid of memorable events . It took part , in the fall and early winter of 1863 , in one or two expeditions , but though the troops marched much , labored much , and sometimes met the enemy in small forces , their marches , laborers , and skirmishes , were barren of results . The first of the year 1864 found the regiment encamped at Algiers , weather very wet , the mud and water rendering the camp almost impassable to man or beast . Recollections of Helena came forcibly to the men ’ s minds , but the 14th of January , quarters were obtained in warehouses . The 21st , the command moved , and the next day encamped near the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain , By Madisonville . This was the most pleasant camp the regiment ever had , after leaving Camp Strong , near Muscatine . It was evacuated on the evening of February 26 . The regiment was reviewed by General McClernand at Algiers on the 3d of March , and received the special commendations of that officer . From Algiers the Twenty - fourth moved by rail to Berwick Bay , and Thence on the 13th joined the Red River Expedition under General Banks . The 1st of April , the command reached Natchitoches , after a march of nearly three hundred miles from Berwick Bay . Here it remained in camp till the morning of the 6th , when the army resumed the march for Shreveport . Encamped near Pleasant Hill on the evening of the 7th . On the next day was fought The Battle of Sabine Cross Roads . It was the intention of General Banks , when his forces moved from Grand Ecore on the morning of the 6th , that the advance should reach Springfield Landing on the 10th , and there effect a junction with Admiral Porter preparatory to the final combined movement against Shreveport . His army moved in unique fashion . The cavalry had the advance . It was followed by prodigious trains , enough , one might suppose , to have formed the impedimenta of the army of Xerxes . The Thirteenth Corps came next after this prodigious train , but marching in disjointed manner , one division far in advance of the other . The Nineteenth Corps was several miles in rear . Now when it is considered that the roads in this part of Louisiana are narrow and bad , that the country is covered with a dense pine timber , rendering military operations on a large scale impracticable , except in a few localities , and cavalry absolutely useless , it might seem that common prudence should have dictated the most careful compression of the line of march , the utmost caution against surprise , the greatest care in the selection of a position on which to deliver battle , and constant vigilance in keeping the troops in hand . On the contrary , the enemy having hitherto offered the merest show of resistance to our advance , it is not too much to say that General Banks had his army all the while in air . Thus his troops were moving recklessly , blindfold , as it were , when on the afternoon of the 8th , at Sabine Cross Roads , near Mansfield , the mounted advance came upon the enemy in force , and , fighting on foot , was soon defeated . The enemy ’ s line overlapped ours on both flanks . Embarrassed by their horses , astonished at the unexpected fury of an enemy whose heels only they expected to see , the cavalry melted away , and speedily became a rout of shrieking men on frightened horses . The Thirteenth Corps was hurried into action division at a time , but though each fought gallantly to stem the tide of defeat , each was compelled to give way . The troops fell back in confusion . The enemy pursued , and , flushed with victory , fell upon the Nineteenth Corps , in the very act of deploying into line of battle , but met with the first check of the day . But he was not repulsed , and the whole army was soon in retreat , having lost two thousand , killed , wounded , and prisoners , several batteries of artillery , and large quantities of property . Such was the disastrous battle of Sabine Cross Roads , in which the troops engaged fought with great valor , but which was lost to the Union arms by reason of unskilful generalship on the part of the commanding officer , and by that alone . Few troops ever fought more bravely than those who were compelled to pass under the yoke of this defeat , and it is impossible that any could ever have been handled worse . The defeat , therefore , brought unmixed disgrace upon General Banks , but no discredit to his troops generally . Only half of the Twenty - fourth regiment took part in this engagement , five of the companies on guard duty with the train in the rear . To get into the fight , the command was marched several miles on the double - quick , and then pushed into battle with the division , after the other division of the corps had been thoroughly defeated . The regiment fought for more than an hour , and then gave way with the division . Major Wright commanding says his officers and men behaved handsomely , standing firmly at their posts until ordered to retreat . The regiment lost thirty - four , wounded and captured . Captain Wilbur C . Dimmitt , a brave officer and accomplished gentleman , was severely wounded . He fell into the hands of the enemy , and not long afterwards died . General Ransom , an intrepid commander , beloved by his troops as General McPherson was by his , was wounded at Sabine Cross Roads . The detachment of the Thirteenth Corps — Third and Fourth Divisions — which he commanded on this expedition took charge of the train after the battle , moving in guard thereof to Grand Ecore . In the retreat from Grand Ecore , the Twenty - fourth frequently met the enemy in skirmish , and lost several men wounded . After the army reached Morganza on the 22d of May , the regiment joined in a reconnaissance to the Atchafalaya , during which Captain B . G . Paul was slain and a number of men wounded . Lieutenant - Colonel Wilds had rejoined the regiment at Alexandria , after a considerable absence in Iowa on recruiting service . About the middle of June the command left Morganza , and having encamped at Greenville , near New Orleans , a few days , and at Kennerville a few days more , hastened to Thibodeaux in the latter part of the month to repel an enemy who turned out to be imaginary . Having stayed here a few days the regiment returned to Algiers , whence on the 22d of July , it commenced the voyage by river , gulf , and ocean to Alexandria , in Virginia , arriving on the evening of the 30th . Passed through Washington the next day , and moved right on by cars to Mopnocacy , Maryland . Soon afterwards , it moved to Harper ’ s Ferry , and joined the forces under General Sheridan , to take part in that officer ’ s campaign of the Shenandoah Valley . The first great engagement of the campaign was the battle of Winchester . In this long and severe contest the Twenty - fourth , as we have seen in the history of the Twenty - second regiment , fought with prominent gallantry , and lost many of its officers and men . Captain Joseph R . Gould and Lieutenant Sylvester S . Dillman were slain while leading their men in the hottest of the fight ; Adjutant Daniel W . Camp , Lieutenants W . W . Edgington , and Royal S . Williams were wounded . The entire loss of the regiment was seventy - four , killed , wounded , and captured , there being only three captured . Leaving the killed to be buried , and the wounded cared for by the proper details of men , the regiment pushed on up the valley with the army . The Battle of Fisher ’ s Hill . Immediately after the battle of Winchester , Early withdrew to Fisher ’ s Hill , a strong position just beyond Strasburg , and commanding the town . Here he made a stand , his right resting on the base of Massanutten Mountain , his left on the Little North Mountain , his line thus extending across the Strasburg Valley . Notwithstanding the strength of the rebel position , General Sheridan determined to deliver battle . His army was in position early on Thursday morning , the 22d , Crook ’ s Eighth Corps , the Army of Western Virginia on the right , the Sixth Corps in the centre , the Nineteenth Corps on the left . There was considerable maneuvering until after noon . Emory demonstrated on the left , Ricketts ’ Division of the Sixth Corps advanced directly in front , and Averill ’ s Cavalry drove in the enemy ’ s pickets . Under cover of these demonstrations Crook moved out to the extreme right , and by an arduous march gained the enemy ’ s left and rear , and , charging with splendid impetuosity , drove him from his intrenchments in utter confusion . Wright and Emory at the same time moved against the enemy , who fled in disorder and rout before the dashing attacks of the whole Union army . It was a short fight , and a magnificent victory . Nearly twelve hundred prisoners of war , sixteen cannon , and immense spoils besides fell into our hands . The loss of the rebels was also great in killed and wounded , whilst that of the Unionists did not probably exceed five hundred , all told . The enemy ’ s fire was wild . He was thrown into panic by the suddenness with which Sheridan dashed against him with his whole force . And hence the troops , looking at their small losses , not thinking that they won the battle by their legs and their enthusiasm , did not regard it as so great a victory as that of Winchester , which preceded , of that of Cedar Creek , which followed it . In sober truth , there were but few so great victories during the war , gained with such little cost of life and blood . In this engagement , the Twenty - fourth took active part , but as it lost only five wounded , it was a matter of doubt for some time whether its operations should be reported ! So apt are even the most skillful and gallant officers to associate great victories with great losses , instead of results . The regiment moved from its position in the line to the extreme left , passing with almost miraculous safety , through a shower of shells . It went into position , in support of a Maine battery , and there remained under fire , but covered much by the nature of the ground , till Sheridan ’ s signal ordered the charge along the whole line , When it dashed forward with yells that made the welkin ring . The quick , decisive battle over , the regiment at once took up the pursuit , and marching the livelong night close to the enemy ’ s rear , reached Woodstock early on the morning of the 23d . During this march Captain McKinley was severely , and several men were slightly , wounded by the enemy ’ s fire . Pursuing as far as Harrisburg the regiment went into camp . Countermarching with the army it took position on the line of the Cedar Creek , which was soon well fortified on the left and centre . Early having been heavily reinforced , turned this position on the morning of the 19th of October , and came near ruining our army be a similar plan to that of Sheridan against him on the field of Winchester . Sheridan was at the time at Winchester , on his return from Washington . His wild ride to the field of battle , and his saving the day , can never be forgotten , for they have been made immortal by the genius of T . BUCHANAN READ , whose thrilling poem upon this subject is the most soul - searching lyric of the war . In this last and crowning victory of the campaign , the Twenty - Fourth bore a brilliant part , losing here its commanding officer , mortally wounded , and many others in death and wounds . Nearly an hundred of its officers and men were placed hors - de - combat on this bloody field , on which no regiment in all the Union army fought more heroically , or more steadfastly than the Iowa Twenty - fourth . The same may be safely said , too , of its conduct at Winchester and Fisher ’ s Hill . During the campaign its losses were nearly two hundred , officers and men . With the battle of Cedar Creek , the campaign of the Shenandoah Valley was brought to an end . Our regiment did not afterwards meet the enemy . It performed heavy escort duty for a time , marching and countermarching between Cedar Creek and Martinsburg , and I the latter part of November went into cold , airy encampment on the Opequan . The men constructed huts , however , and got to be quite cozy , but near the close of the month the command was ordered to Winchester , where it remained on post duty till ordered south in the early part of January , 1865 . At this time the officers of the regiment were : Lieutenant - Colonel Ed . Wright ; Major , Leander Clark ; Adjutant , William H . Smouse ; Surgeon , Doctor Henry M . Lyons , with S . S . Cook , J . M . Lanning , assistants ; Quartermaster , A . B . Eshelman . Company A — Captain Seymour J . McKinley ; Lieutenants Charles E . Davis , William B . Davis . Company B — Captain William T . Rigby ; Lieutenants William Kelly , W . W . Edgington . Company C — Captain Edwin H . Pound ; Lieutenants A . J . Scott , Andrew Pierce . Company D — Captain Charles A . Lucas ; Lieutenants J . B . Swafford , D . W . Ott . Company E — Captain James Rokes ; Lieutenant William T . Holmes . Company F — Captain C . B . Bradshaw ; Lieutenant Thaddeus L . Smith . Company G — Captain William W . Smith ; Lieutenant j . m . Hord . Company H — Captain A . R . Knott ; Lieutenants F . R . Jones , A . R . Hodgkins . Company I — Captain James W . Martin ; Lieutenant J . W . McMichael . Company K — Captain Aaron W . Loomis ; Lieutenants Royal S . Williams , James L . Hall . The 6th of January , 1865 , the Twenty - fourth bade farewell to the Shenandoah Valley . Moving by cars to Baltimore , the regiment was there quartered in stables ! - - an insult which could have been nowhere else offered to troops who had proudly borne the colors of the Union at Port Gibson , Champion Hills , Vicksburg , Jackson , Sabine Cross Roads , Winchester , Fisher ’ s Hill , and Cedar Creek . Thence the regiment moved by steamship to Savannah , Georgia , where it had quiet for some two months . It then moved to Morehead City , North Carolina , in which State it performed heavy duties for some time , helping on the transportation between Goldsboro and Raleigh . After the capitulation of Johnston it returned to Savannah , and thence made the same movement to Augusta and back , which has been noted in the history of the Twenty - second regiment . It was mustered out of service at Savannah , and from there moved to Iowa , and was finally disbanded in the early part of August . Summary . The Twenty - fourth Iowa Infantry , sometimes called our " Temperance , " sometimes our " Methodist " regiment was among the most distinguished of our Iowa commands . Colonel Byam , a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal Church , was compelled to leave the service by reason of ill health in the summer of 1863 . Lieutenant - Colonel Wilds , who succeeded in the command , took faithful , conscientious charge of his troops , till he gave up his life in the cause of his country . Wright , the last commanding officer , was one of our most successful soldiers as he had been one of our most noted men in the walks of civil life . All the officers , and the men generally , were remarkable for their bravery , their powers of endurance , their moral rectitude . Not the stern soldiery which , under the inspiration of Hampden and the leadership of Cromwell overturned the monarchy of England , ever fought more bravely , or suffered more patiently , than the Twenty - fourth Iowa Volunteers . It is impossible that men should have ever gone to war out of a higher sense of duty than did those of this command ; and it is to the praise of morality , of temperance , of Christianity , that throughout a long career of as gallant service as was ever performed , they were as brave as they were virtuous . No troops left the service with a cleaner record than did these Methodist Volunteers , when , the war ended , they laid aside the sword of the Lord and of Gideon . Total strength and casualties . A total of 1204 men served in the 24th Iowa at one time or another during its existence . It suffered 6 officers and 69 enlisted men who were killed in action or who died of their wounds and 1 officer and 208 enlisted men who died of disease , for a total of 284 fatalities .