History of the Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry.

    The following sketch was kindly furnished by Hon. Josiah T. Young, a member of the regiment:

    "This regiment was organized in August, 1862, from the counties of Appanoose, Monroe, and Wapello. C. W. Kittredge,of Ottumwa, was its first colonel.He had seen service as captain in one of the companies of the Seventh Iowa Infantry, and was wounded in the battle of Belmont, Mo. Being somewhat recovered, Governor Kirkwood commissioned him for the Thirty-sixth. F. M. Drake was made lieutenant-colonel, E. B. Woodward major, A. H. Hamilton adjutant. The place of rendezvous was Camp Lincoln, on the banks of the Mississippi River above Keokuk. By the

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20th of September, 1862, the companies had arrived and were assigned quarters in commodious barracks. The Thirtieth Iowa, Colonel Abbott, was then preparing for active service at the front. Our regiment settled down at once to the duties of camp life. The companies had received some instructions before leaving home in infantry drill. Scott's Tactics was used, and 'Hay foot, straw foot!' could be heard

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on the drill-grounds. Major J. B. Teas, of Albia, had seen service in the Black Hawk War and was instructor for Companies A and K a portion of the time. At Camp Lincoln the company officers were soon able to instruct their commands in all the drill necessary in the school of a soldier.

    "The first guns used were Belgian or Austrian rifles with sword bayonets. Our blue uniforms came ere long,and each man soon began to feel himself a soldier. The regiment was regularly mustered into the service of the United States on the 4th day of October, 1862, at Camp Lincoln, Iowa, by Lieutenant C. J. Ball, of the regular army.

    "The fall election came on for the choosing of State officers and members of Congress, and the Thirty-sixth Iowa voted in camp. Captain M. J. Varner was on the board of election. Mr. J. B. Grinnell was elected to the lower house. On November 28, 1862, six companies were embarked on board the Fred Lorenze, and on the 29th the remaining four companies on the Harrison, and next day landed in St. Louis and marched out to Benton Barracks, where the command found quarters and engaged in the duties incident to the preparation for the active life of soldiers. Regular details were made on us for men to serve on camp guard, fatigue duty, policing camp, etc. The regiment was in Benton Barracks from December 1st to 19th; on the latter day orders came to "fall in," for we didn't know where. The order was obeyed, and the regiment was soon on board the Jennie Deans and Warsaw, which landed it in Memphis, Tenn., Tuesday evening, December 23, 1862.

    "On this trip, when nearing Columbus, Kentucky, the regiment was ordered to prepare for battle, which it did. On reaching the landing place in Columbus, we were hurried on shore, marched to an open place, and formed into line of battle—rifles freshly loaded and forty rounds in cartridge-boxes—to wait for Forrest. The night wore away, Forrest did not come, and the regiment marched on board of the boats. The first night in Memphis the men of the command slept by their guns in Court Square, Memphis, around the marble bust of General Jackson—a beautiful place, nice shade-trees, every prospect pleasing. A day or two later we were moved to Fort Pickering, being the exact line where General Jackson prepared to receive Packenham and his army in 1815. The stay here was brief, as on the last day of the old year we were landed in Helena, Arkansas, in the midst of a rain-storm.

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    "Helena was and is the county seat of Phillips County, Arkansas. At the time of our arrival it was held by some 5,000 Union forces. It was a sort of supply station for our army, and was garrisoned largely by convalescent soldiers. Fort Curtis was manned by several heavy guns located so as to command the shores and hills of the river. The regiment went on duty in whatever capacity placed, and was fast learning a soldier's duties, when General Gorman sent a force of men to Moon Lake on the east bank of the river, about twelve miles below Helena, and blew up the embankment, letting water from the river overrun the whole country.

    "By the 26th of February, 1863, the Yazoo Pass expedition, several thousand strong, was on its way down toward Fort Pemberton, Mississippi. General Clinton B. Fiske was in command. The Thirty-sixth Iowa was on the steamboats Mariner and Lavina Logan. The river was crooked, narrow, and deep—trees on its bank hung over the water, making navigation slow and difficult. Many times the boats were greatly injured—in some cases their smoke-stacks were knocked down and the "gingerbread work" nearly all broken off. Two or three rebel boats were in our front; these were chased by our fleet. One, the Parallel, a large boat loaded with cotton, was fired and abandoned by the enemy. The burning bales illumined far and near the wooded shores of the crooked river. Fort Pemberton was situated at the confluence of the Yallabeesha and Tallahachie rivers. Below this the stream is known as the Yazoo River. Major-General W. W. Loring was in command of the fort. We were halted at the village of Greenwood by obstructions in the river. The Chillicothe, one of our gun-boats, first engaged in an artillery duel with the enemy, which made a loud noise, but no results.

    "Next day, March 13, 1863, our regiment was sent to the front, and held in battle-line while the naval forces on the Union side carried on a furious fight with great guns, which lasted several hours. The next morning witnessed the renewal of artillery fight with Pemberton until an 18-pound shot from the enemy's line entered one of the port-holes of the Chillicothe, killing 4 and wounding 7 of her men. The fight was kept up on our part by the gun-boat De Kalb and by our land batteries until sundown. The next morning the commander of the Union forces concluded to give it up and start back up the river, which he did.

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    "General Quimby, with a force of several thousand men, met us on the 27th of March and assumed command. All our forces were soon in motion, going down to give Fort Pemberton another turn. But on March 23d he received an order from General Grant to go back up the river, abandoning the siege of Fort Pemberton. While in camp in front of Fort Pemberton the Thirty-sixth was ordered out on an expedition of exploration to find a way of approach to the fort, but no way was discovered. Water was in our way in all directions. That trip made many cases of sickness in our ranks. The men were compelled to wade in water waist-deep in some places, and exposure brought on sickness, which resulted in death during the spring and summer. The regiment reached Helena again on the 8th day of April, 1863, and went into camp near Fort Curtis, where it did garrison duty. About the 2d day of May the Third Iowa Cavalry got into a fight with Dobbins' rebel guerrillas at Lagrange, about twenty miles from Helena, and lost several men, killed, wounded, and prisoners, including Adjutant Lowe, son of Governor Lowe, who was mortally wounded. The Thirty-sixth Iowa, with other troops, was ordered out to help the cavalry. We went, but the rebels were such good runners that we did not overtake them. The men of the command got lots of good chickens and other things good to eat. Time passed, and soon it began to be in the talk of those best posted that the rebels would attack us.

Battle of Helena, July 4, 1863

    "General B. M. Prentice was in command of our forces. He had about 3,800 men for duty, behind strong earth-works mounted with good guns. The gun-boat Tyler, Lieutenant J. M. Pritchett commanding, was in the river in front of the town. Batters A, B, C, and D were so located as to favor the defensive and prevent the bringing up of artillery by the enemy. The rebel general Holmes brought 7,646 men to the attack early on Saturday morning, July 4, 1863. Having arrived within five miles on the morning of the 3d, his front well covered by cavalry, who permitted no one to pass them riverward, he rested his men till midnight, when they were moved to within a mile or so of the outworks, where they halted till daybreak, and then pushed on. General Price, with a force of 3,095, assaulted Battery C under a

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withering fire from the Union lines, Fort Curtis, and the gun-boat Tyler. He succeeded in capturing some of our guns, but only for a little time. The fire from our guns was more than could be endured by men alive. Some regiments took refuge behind a church; in an incredibly short space of time that church was lying in splinters over the hillside scene of conflict, and 700 men surrendered to our people and were marched down the river, placed on board of boats, and were on their way to prison at Alton, Illinois, before the battle was over. The Thirty-sixth took part in the engagement from opening to close. It was in the rifle-pits at Battery A with a reserve, with its line reaching to the Sterling road. 'General Marmaduke was here trying to force his way in.' The Twenty-ninth, Thirty-third, and Thirty-sixth Iowa won their first laurels in battle.

    "Hon. John F. Lacey, was present and saw, says: 'Price's charge with his Missourians was a terrible one.' The hills and ravines were full of his dead and wounded. So it was with Fagan in front of Battery D. The rebel columns came down over the hills during the gray of the morning of that 4th of July. They came with the rebel yell so well known by Union soldiers. Solomon Reynolds, a Thirty-sixth man on picket, was killed by the first volley from the advancing rebel line. When Price took Battery C, swarms of his men ran for Fort Curtis. Instantly all the great guns on the fort and in the Tyler down at the river belched forth their volleys of death, which caused the invaders to 'about face.' Colonel Kittredge led the Thirty-sixth in this battle, and was well pleased with the gallantry of his men and the result of the fight. The enemy retreated to Little Rock, and left their dead to be buried by our men on Sunday, July 5, 1863.

    "Holmes admits his total loss at 1,636. General Prentice says: 'We captured 1,100 prisoners and buried nearly 300 rebels, while our loss was less than 250 in all.' The battle lasted from daylight until 11 o'clock. The Thirty-sixth had not eaten breakfast when the long roll sounded, and there was no time to eat till after the battle.

Capture of Little Rock

    "The surrender of Vicksburg and other victories having left General Grant's army unemployed, Major-General Fred Steele was sent to Helena to fit out and lead an army for the capture of Little Rock, Ark. About 6,000 men, with 22 guns

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left Helena on August 11, 1863, under General Steele, for Little Rock. The weather was very hot and dry, and marching was slow and difficult. The sick-list was very large. Those of the Thirty-sixth were sent in charge of Lieutenant D. H. Scott, on a boat, via the mouth of the White River, to Devall's Bluff, and set off on the ground without sufficient tents to shelter them. Captains Varner, of Company A, and Webb, of Company K, were very sick and soon died; at least 1,000 men were on the sick-list when, on August 30th, Steele's forces left White River for Brownsville, which was reached September 1st.

    "On the 3d they reached Bayou Metoe, passing over the ground where a fight between our cavalry and the enemy had taken place. Some cavalry men of the First Iowa were killed. Colonel Dan Anderson's horse fell under him and the colonel made a narrow escape. General Davidson, with 6,000 cavalry men and 18 guns, added to our fighting ability very much. The skirmish fighting at Brownsville and Bayou Metoe was by our cavalry and artillery. The enemy had erected a fort on the level land north of the Arkansas River and placed in it men and arms to defend it against the 'Yanks.' Long-handled pike-poles were provided, with sharp iron points, with which to prod men to death. Steele caused the banks of the river to be cut down and a pontoon bridge laid six or eight miles east of the city of Little Rock, and sent several regiments, including some of our Iowa cavalry, across to the south side of the river, thus flanking the fort entirely. The enemy soon found this out and evacuated the fort, retreating pell-mell for the city. We had camped the night before at Mill Bayou, from which a forced march began, which ended in the capture of Little Rock. A large Union flag floated from the tall flagstaff on the State-house at 5 o'clock p. m. The fighting, began by the rebel skirmishing parties early in the morning, lasted nearly till sundown. This was on September 10, 1863. The rebels set fire to and partly burned their pontoon bridge over the Arkansas below town, also a boat fitting up for a gun-boat (the Pontchartrain), about six cars, a machine shop, and other public property, and fleden masse from the city in the direction of Arkadelphia. Steele's forces marched into camp, the bands playing 'Yankee Doodle' and the men shouting with all their might. Great clouds of dust arose from the tramping of the enemy and our cavalry in pursuit,

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The sound of our cannon was heard away into the night, while in pursuit. Many old citizens fled along with the rebel army, leaving their houses and other property in the hands of the 'Yanks.' At first the Thirty-sixth went into camp north of the river, and later established permanent quarters for the winter near the State arsenal, southeast of the city. We supported a battery on the north bank of the river, which required much double-quick marching on the 10th, and the men of our command were very tired when night put an end to the contest. We lost no men in battle, but the mortality by sickness was terrible.

    "One of the notable events of that winter was the capture and execution of a rebel spy. David O. Dodd, a young man, was caught, tried, and condemned to hang on the 8th of January, 1864. The writer witnessed his execution—a sad sight indeed. He was hung on the campus of St. John's College, Little Rock, the school in which he had received his education. A hollow square of Union troops was formed, into which the wagon containing the condemned man and his coffin and a chaplain was driven, under the gallows. After prayer by the chaplain, at a signal given, the end-gate of the wagon fell, and with it the young man, dangling between earth and sky. One or two shrugs of the shoulders and drawing up of the lower limbs, and all was over. A copy of a letter written by him a short time before may serve to impress the reader with the solemnity of this case.

" 'Military Prison, Little Rock,
" 'January 8, 10 o'clock a. m., 1864

    " 'My dear Parents and Sisters,—I was arrested as a spy and tried, and was sentenced to be hung to-day at 3 o'clock. The time is fast approaching, but, thank God! I am not afraid to die. I expect to meet you in heaven. Do not weep for me, for I will be better off in heaven. I will soon be out of this world of sorrow and trouble. I would like to see you all before I die, but let God's will be done, not ours. I pray God to give you strength to bear your troubles while in this world. I hope God will receive you in heaven. There I will meet you. Mother, I know it will be hard for you to give up your only son, but you must remember it is God's will. Good bye. God will give you strength to bear your troubles. I pray that we may meet in heaven. Good-bye. God will bless you all.

Your son and brother,
" 'David O. Dodd.'

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Camden Expedition

    "General Steele left Little Rock on March 23, 1864, in command of the Seventh Army Corps, to coöperate with General Banks' Red River expedition. After the first day out from Little Rock, we had about thirty days' fighting, sometimes in front—at other times in the rear or on either flank. At Spoonville it began, and Elkin's Ford, Prairie de Ann, Camden, and Mark's Mills were each in turn the scene of conflict. Company K started on this march with 53 men all told. The Thirty-sixth was present and took part in each of these fights. Its loss was inconsiderable until at Mark's Mills; in that fight it had 8 men killed or mortally wounded. The regiment lost in all 49 killed and the remainder captured; only one or two men escaped. Jonathan Witham, of Company K, was knocked down by a spent ball, and when he became conscious he found himself alone. He walked all the way to the Union lines at Little Rock, hiding in daytime, traveling at night, he was nearly dead when he reached our outside pickets. Lieutenant-Colonel Drake was in command of the brigade, the Forth-second Indiana. Thirty-sixth Iowa and Seventy-seventh Ohio, and received a wound in one of his lower limbs above the knee, which seemed mortal. He and all others severely wounded were left behind and finally paroled and exchanged, but those able to march were taken in a southwesterly direction towards Texas.

    "The battle occurred on the forenoon of Monday, April 25, 1864; the march to prison began that afternoon, and continued without stopping until sundown Tuesday, when we reached the Washita River. At this point the prisoners were allowed to rest and eat whatever they were fortunate enough to find. The writer snatched an ear of corn from a mule at the roadside, just before stopping; a fire was kindled, some dry sticks burned, and the corn was roasted in the ashes; this, with coffee from grounds in Robert Turner's can, which had been boiled and used Monday morning for breakfast served for a meal for 'Mess 3.' Chaplain Hare said it was the best coffee he ever tasted. Our marches were kept up until on Sunday, May 15, 1864, the big gate of the prison stockade at Camp Ford, Smith County, Texas, swung wide open to received the 1,200 or more new men. We were marched into our future home, halted in line, and listened to a speech from Colonel Hill, commander of the camp. Then we sat down, looked about us, and wondered how long we

View of Camp For Prison-Pen, Tyler, Texas
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would have to stay in that horrible place—no shade, shelter, or anything else necessary to our life. We were very hungry and began to hunt for something to eat. The writer paid a one-dollar greenback for one 'pone' of coarse corn-bread. A little later he sold his blue dress coat for $75, Confederate money, and bought for that sum nearly seven pounds of flour. Corporal Eads set a can of old-fashioned 'salt-rising,' and with it baked a loaf of bread. In this way we had a little bread. confederate beef, Texas long-horns, came in about every third day. Weevil-eaten corn, ground into coarse meal on the horse-mill, was dealt out every second day. The ration was one-quarter of a pound of meat and a pint of meal a day.

    "On the 23d of July, 1867 (1864?), Major A. H. Hamilton and Captain John Lambert, of Company K, and Allan W. Miller, of Company C, made their escape. At that time the writer was lying sick under an old gum-blanket, stretched on poles, which served as some protection by day and night. The major came to my bed to say 'good-bye.' Before going, he advised to make a soldier's will, by leaving word with some of my comrades as to the disposition of my effects at home. He told me I was a very sick man, and might not get well. I thanked him for his advice, but told him I expected to come out of that prison. I never for one moment gave up to die there. If I had, I would in all probability have died there. The three men walked to the west gate and presented a pass to go to the blacksmith shop south of the camp. It seemed properly signed and counter-signed, and the guard let them out. From my lowly bed, lying on my side, I watched them go away past headquarters and over the ridge towards the south out of sight. They had hired a darky to bring some grub to them in the woods, which he did. Lambert was a good blacksmith, and they were carrying two old axes that need up-setting. The axes were soon left by the roadside and those three men were many days traveling north before they reached the Union line. Miller and Lambert soon died, but Major Hamilton survives.

    "On the night of the 28th a subterranean tunnel was opened through the stockade, by prisoners, and a lot of them escaped. Most of them were brought back, having been caught by blood-hound. That tunnel was weeks in preparation, having been begun in a shanty many rods from the

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stockade. The dirt was carefully deposited in small quantities here and there over the ground, so as not to attract attention. The boys going out made a mistake; they kept passing out until after daylight, and a sentry, seeing them pass out from the tall weeds and grass as though they had come up out of the earth, fired his gun and raised the alarm.

    "On Tuesday, June 21st, from my place in camp, I looked across the narrow depression of the land between us and the rebel headquarters south, and saw a rebel officer flog a colored woman. My attention was drawn by her cries as he laid on the blows across her naked shoulders and back with the cat-o'-nine-tails. I was not brought up an abolitionist, but this sight made one of me. Two or three little children of hers stood partly behind the cabin and saw their mother being beaten, and the little fellows cried too. I also got mad. It was no wonder this country suffered so terribly in the war.

    "Along about July 1st, the prisoners began to die very fast. Three died during the night of that day.

    "On the 2d some prisoners tried to escape, and the next day the following order was posted upon a board at the meal-box:

" 'Headquarters Camp of Federal Prisoners,
" 'Near Tyler, Texas, July 3, 1864.
" 'General Order No. —,

    " 'Hereafter, any Federal prisoner detected in trying to make his escape from prison, either in the act or after he has made his escape, will be shot by the one capturing him.

    " 'By order of Lt.-Col. J. P. Border,

" 'B. W. McEachen,
" 'Lieutenant and A. A. Adjutant.'

    "Camp Ford was an enclosure of possibly 6 acres of land, 4 miles north of Tyler, Smith County, Texas. The stockade was made of half-logs 12 feet in length, 4 feet of same set in the ground. The spring supplying water was in the southwest corner of the stockade. It was fairly good water. Wood for use in cooking and fuel was cut on the lands nearest the camp, and usually carried on the shoulders of the men. There were two gates—one in the north, the other at the southwest corner of the camp. The boys of the Thirty-sixth were paroled for exchange in February, and on

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the 15th of that month they bade adieu to Camp Ford forever, and took up their line of march for Shreveport, La. At that place they were embarked on board rebel transports, the Nina Sims, Doubloon, and Texas, and reached the mouth of Red River, Louisiana, February 25, 1864 (1865?), where they were exchanged for a like number of rebels. When we reached the mouth of that crookedest of rivers, the Yankees on board began to yell for joy, and it is the private opinion of the writer that those old Spanish live-oaks on the banks of the Mississippi had not witnessed such noise since they began their life. A great big flag floating over the United States gun-boat Tennessee caused the yelling. The Magenta, a large lower-river steamer, came up the river and was drafted into the service to carry the 'boys' to a camp of distribution in New Orleans, which was reached by daylight February 26th. The Louisiana cotton-press camp of distribution furnished good quarters for the squad of 1,500, who went to work getting hair cut, beards trimmed, new clothes, new everything—and in a short time all were ready to go north. Those who had been prisoners were granted prisoners' furlough of thirty days from Cairo, Ill. They came up, enjoyed the fresh air and good victual in Iowa homes, and returned and rejoined their regiment (that portion of it left at Camden, Ark.) in April, 1864 (?), at Saint Charles, Ark. These escaped Camp Ford, but they were participants in the battle of Junkins' Ferry under Steele on his retreat from Camden.

    "The reunited regiment remained on White River, at St. Charles, Devall's Bluff, and at the mouth of the river, doing such duty as came to hand, till August 24, 1865, when they received their discharges and were sent to Davenport, Iowa, and paid off, about September 7, 1865. Colonel Kittredge issued his farewell order, which I copy in closing:

" 'Headquarters 36th Iowa Inft.,
" 'Davenport, Iowa, Sept. 6, 1865.

" 'General Orders No. 20.

" 'Officers and Soldiers:

    " 'Your commanding officer, upon the final discharge of the regiment and its return to civil life, desires to express his admiration of the conduct of both officers and men for the past three years; and to express the hope that in civil

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life all will prove, as heretofore, true men and worthy of the high distinction of being called Iowa soldiers and citizens—and I have no doubt that the new duties devolving upon you will be as promptly and faithfully performed in the future as those of the past have been.

    " 'In bidding the command farewell, your commanding officer is happy to express his high appreciation of the meritorious services of the command and his personal knowledge of their individual worth, and trusts that your future may be as happy and prosperous as our past has been arduous and illustrious; and now bids you adieu with heartfelt wishes for your individual happiness and prosperity.'

    " The number of men enlisted in the regiment at first was 988, total aggregate, old soldiers and recruits, was 1,240; killed or mortally wounded at Mark's Mills, 49. There had been 280 deaths since organization; 20 more died soon after discharge; we lost 30 men on the road and at Camp Ford. We started on the Yazoo Pass expedition with 600 men.

"Josiah T. Young,
"Sergeant Co. K, 36th Iowa"