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Subject: CV Times, Aug. 4, 1864, 12th Iowa at Tupelo
Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 19:31:59 EDT

The Cedar Valley Times
Cedar Rapids, Linn Co., Iowa

August 4, 1864.

From the 12th Iowa Regiment.

We are permitted to publish the following letter written by Lt. [Homer]
Morehead, to his sister in this city; it will be found very interesting:

Memphis, Tenn., July 23d, 1864.

Dear Sister:--Your very welcome favor of the 5th inst. came to hand to-day; I
presume I should have received it sooner but was not where I could get it.
You are aware that we were out with Gen. A. J. Smith after [Gen. Nathan
Bedford] Forrest. Well, after a hard march of ten days in the hottest weather I have
ever experienced in this or any other country, we found the man we went to
seek, and gave him a good, sound thrashing.

Our little Regiment done better than I gave it credit for. On the 13th
inst., our regiment was guarding the wagon train, and we were attacked by a
Brigade, (four regiments) but we repulsed them with a loss of 16 wounded, one killed
and one missing. Company "D" lost one killed, John Nickolas [Nicholas]; four
wounded, Corporal J. [James] L. Cowell, in arm [severely]; Den[n]is Conley,
hand amputated; [Henry W.] Bailey and Wensel Dolashall [Wentzel Doleshall], both
in breast, slightly; and Edwin A. Buttolph missing--he was out as a
flanker--and we found out through a rebel prisoner that he (Ed.) was taken prisoner;
they fired a volley at him but did not hurt him; he was in a position where he
could not get away, so when they came up he fired, shooting a man's nose off,
and remarked that he was not going to be taken with a loaded gun. We drove
them off and they left their colors-- but as we had to move to the left to
support a battery, another regiment picked them up.

On the night of the 13th we camped at Tupelo, the point we had started for.
On the morning of the 14th we were roused up at 2 o'clock, and waited in line
of battle for the rebs to come up, which they did as soon as it was light
enough. Our brigade was put in advance; we lay down behind an old torn-down fence
which was about four rails high. Just at 4 o'clock the first shot was fired
at the pickets and they fell back; we heard the rebs as they came with a yell,
then the battery opened; not a gun was fired from our side; on they came in
three columns and in good order; our boys got anxious for the order--but soon
it came, "up boys and at them;" then there was another cry quite different from
the first; our boys gave a yell of defiance, and fired volley after volley;
the rank of the rebs were broken and they fell back behind a little hill and
reformed and came again, but with no better success; they tried it three times
and were driven back each time. Our little regiment stood it like veterans; we
charged and drove them back and captured a number of wounded. Our loss was 7
killed and 42 wounded, several of them mortally. We had two in Company "D"
wounded--W. Whitnack [Wm. W. Whitenack], in elbow, severe; S. [Samuel]
Bumgardner, in side, slightly.

The next morning we had to start back, as the rations had become scarce;
one-third rations was all the boys had for five days, and no meat or sugar, except
what was foraged. We skirmished along until noon and sent the train ahead to
get a good start; then we started. We had one wounded while
skirmishing--Jeremiah Williams, a boy we brought down this spring--he was wounded severely in
the thigh--making 64 lost in our regiment, and 8 out of Company "D." It is
estimated that there was 1600 of the enemy killed and wounded in front of our
brigade. There was three Colonels, acting Brigadier Generals, killed in front
of our brigade; I saw two of them. It was rumored that Forrest was killed
[false], but I do not credit it; Col. Forrest, the General's son, was taken
prisoner, being wounded. Our Quartermaster was killed with a shell, and one Captain
wounded, who were all the officers in our regiment hurt.

Our Chaplain [Frederick Humphrey] is a noble man; he worked like an old
soldier; on the march he carried water, helped the sore-footed along, and had a
cheering word for all; when the fight commenced he carried off wounded, took them
to the Hospital, carried water, helped dress their wounds, cooked, and was
general superintendent; and when the train with the wounded got to La Grange, he
ordered everybody to help get the sick and wounded into the cars; he had all
the 44th Iowa, 100 day men, helping him, and they got to Memphis five hours
sooner than they otherwise would. The first time I heard him was at the graves
of seven of the regiment, who were buried on the battle-field; it was very
impressive.

Homer [Morehead].


[Jeremiah Williams, Co. D, wounded at Tupelo on July 14, 1864, later died of
his wounds, on Oct. 14, 1864, at Keokuk, Iowa. He'd enlisted just three
months before, at the age of 17. He is buried in Oakland Cemetery at Keokuk.]


Sources:
"Roster and Records of Iowa Troops in the Rebellion, Vols. 1-6." Civil War
and Iowa: Greyhounds and Hawkeyes. CD-ROM. Creston, IA: O. J. Fargo, 2000.

and

Iowa Adjutant General’s Office.
“Roster and Records of Iowa Soldiers in the War of the Rebellion, Together
With Historical Sketches of Volunteer Organizations, 1861-1866.”
Des Moines, IA: E. H. English Printer, 1908-1911, Vol. I-VI.


Sue Trout Reisdorph

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