In the battle of Shiloh the Fourteenth Iowa Infantry formed part of that
self-constituted forlorn hope which made the victory of April 7, 1862,
possible. It held the center at the "Hornet's Nest," fighting the
live-long day against fearful odds. Just as the sun was setting, Colonel
William T. Shaw, seeing that he was surrounded and further resistance
useless, surrendered the regiment. These officers and men were held as
prisoners of war until October 12, 1862, when, moving by Richmond,
Virginia, and Annapolis, Maryland, they went to Benton Barracks, Missouri,
being released on parole, and were declared exchanged on the 19th of
November. This photograph was taken while they were held at Richmond,
opposite the cook-houses of Libby Prison. The third man from the left in
the front row, standing with his hand grasping the lapel of his coat, is
George Marion Smith, a descendant of General Marion of Revolutionary fame.
It is through the courtesy of his son, N. H. Smith, that this photograph
appears here. The Fourteenth Iowa Infantry was organized at Davenport and
mustered in November 6, 1861. At Shiloh the men were already veterans of
Forts Henry and Donelson. Those who were not captured fought in the battle
of Corinth, and after the prisoners were exchanged they took part in the
Red River expedition and several minor engagements. They were mustered out
November 16, 1864, when the veterans and recruits were consolidated in two
companies and assigned to duty in Springfield, Illinois, till August,
1865. These two companies were mustered out on August 8th. The regiment
lost during service five officers and fifty-nine enlisted men killed and
mortally wounded, and one officer and 138 enlisted men by disease. Iowa
sent nine regiments of cavalry, four batteries of light artillery and
fifty-one regiments of infantry to the Union armies, a grand total of
76,242 soldiers.
[Illustration: THE MOUNTED POLICE OF THE WEST.]
Stalwart horsemen such as these bore the brunt of keeping order in the
turbulent regions fought over by the armies in the West. The bugle call,
"Boots and Saddles!" might summon them to fight, or to watch the movements
of the active Confederates, Van Dorn and Price. It was largely due to
their daring and bravery that the Confederate forces were held back from
the Mississippi so as not to embarrass the movements of Grant and the
gunboats. Of this unattached cavalry of the Army of the Ohio were the men
in the upper picture--Company D, Fourth Kentucky Volunteers, enlisted at
Louisville, December, 1861.
[Illustration: OFFICERS OF THE FOURTH KENTUCKY CAVALRY.]
[Illustration: THE FLEET THAT CLEARED THE RIVER