Some Hideous Dream: The 4th Minnesota at Iuka

     Sergeant Major William T. Kittredge saw battle for the first time at Iuka, Mississippi. "I tell you the sensation was a strange and awful one," the 27-year-old confessed to his father Dr. William F. Kittredge back in Ohio. "I cannot describe the next hour. It will live forever in my memory, but words fail utterly to picture its horrors."

    Kittredge's regiment, the 4th Minnesota Infantry, went into action the afternoon of September 19, 1862 wet and weary but determined to take a crack at the Rebels. For the past few days, the regiment had marched all over the muddy roads and bogs of northern Mississippi trying to fend off General Sterling Price's army. But as the men marched towards Iuka, up ahead lay the Confederate battle line in position along a thickly wooded ridge. The Federals quickly took position, the 4th Minnesota taking position to the left of the 11th Ohio Battery commanded by First Lieutenant Cyrus Sears. (to see the 11th Ohio Battery story, click here). The fighting soon broke out in earnest as the Confederates made a bold attempt to overrun the battery. "My position in the line brought me to the extreme left of the brigade from the the circular position of the line, I could witness the entire scene," he wrote. "As soon as the Rebels came up in full view, the infantry opened fire on them and they replied. The din was awful, awful!"

    Kittredge survived the battle and his heroism at Iuka and later at Corinth earned him a battlefield commission; by the end of the year he was the regimental adjutant and finished the war as a captain in the Adjutant General's Department of the U.S. Army. After the war, the Ohioan moved to the west coast and took up farming in Los Angeles County, California. An active member of the G.A.R., he died January 3, 1892 and is buried at Santa Rosa, California.

    Kittredge's letter was published in the October 7, 1862 issue of the Norwalk Reflector of Norwalk, Ohio; Kittredge's father was a Norwalk resident and shared his son's description of Iuka with the Reflector's editor. 

 
Captain William T. Kittredge (1835-1892), 4th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry
Kittredge was awarded a brevet promotion to the rank of major on March 13, 1865
(Photo courtesy of Find-A-Grave)

In camp near Jacinto, Mississippi

September 26, 1862

Dear Father,

          A hasty scrawl dated the 20th instant has I trust reached you ere this and relieved your anxiety on my account. I now sit down to sketch the events of the past two weeks. Two weeks ago, we broke camp here and moved off we know not whither. Since that time, we have endured almost everything man can endure and live.

          We have marched by day and by night through mud, rain, and scorching heat without food or drink or a change of clothing, sleeping when we slept at all fully dressed with our arms by our side and in momentary expectation of an attack. Add to this that we have fought a bloody battle and you will not wonder that we are rejoiced to have a short rest and review the past which now seems like some hideous dream.

          It has been known for some time that General Sterling Price was advancing towards Corinth with a large force. We had but one division at Corinth. Our division, the Third, was in Kentucky with the exception of our brigade (the First) and General Sullivan’s brigade (the Second). We held the advance of our army about 20 miles from Corinth, two brigades of about 3,000 men each. To us was assigned the duty of holding our long picket line so as to conceal the weakness of our forces, to watch the advancing enemy and attack him at every opportunity. General Schuyler Hamilton, the commander of our division, discharged this duty splendidly. Our train was sent away, excepting the ammunition wagons, and we went hither and thither, forward and back, with a celerity that would have astonished Stonewall Jackson himself. Whenever the Rebels dashed at our pickets, away went nearly our whole force to strike at them and thus we completely fooled Price and kept him from attacking our lines.

Map of the Battle of Iuka with the location of the 11th Ohio Battery highlighted; the 4th Minnesota Infantry took position to the left of the battery and assisted in driving back the ferocious Confederate assault that eventually overran the battery. The 4th Minnesota then took part in the counterattack that recovered the guns. 

          He turned off to the right and took Iuka 29 miles northeast and drove away our small force. Away we went after him, General Sullivan’s brigade following us. About noon on the 19th, we met his pickets and drove them steadily back for several miles with slight loss until about 4:30 p.m. when we suddenly came upon them in force and in line of battle. We formed in line with the 5th Iowa on the right, the 4th Minnesota on the left with the 11th Ohio Battery in the center. I cannot describe the excitement of that time. The Rebels fired rapidly at us from the woods and brush. We came up on the double quick, forming our line in the face of their fire on a ridge semi-circular in form, and opened fire.

Then there was a lull and we could collect our thoughts. I knew then that I was actually in a battle for the first time and I tell you the sensation was a strange and awful one- hard to be described. A battery came up on our left and wheeled into position. Officers rode about, speaking to the men. The wounded were carried to the rear, their groans and cries being distinctly audible. Then the Rebel colors were brought out on a ridge in front of us and distant about 300 yards and their line was formed. I for one looked curiously at them. Then on they came three regiments deep towards the 11th Ohio, the evident point of attack. I cannot describe the next hour. It will live forever in my memory, but words fail utterly to picture its horrors.

"For nearly three hours the roar of musketry was incessant; the monotonous roar of small arms was accentuated by the sharp, quick explosions of the bronze Napoleons of the 11th Ohio Battery and the pieces of the enemy. The spiteful whistling of Minie balls with the serpent-like hiss of canister as both went tearing through that thick underbrush in a way that was intended to scare a green soldier such as we were right out of his boots." ~ Private Thomas M. Young, Co. A, 4th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry

Our battery opened first, report following report in quick succession. My position in the line brought me to the extreme left of the brigade and from the circular position of the line I could witness the entire scene. As soon as the Rebels came up in full view, the infantry opened fire on them, and they replied. The din was awful, awful! Our fire told with terrible effect on their dense ranks, but they pressed on to within 50 yards when they broke and fell back, only to reform and come on again. And thus, it went on for little over an hour!

Colonel John S. Sanborn
4th Minnesota Infantry

At length the 11th Ohio Battery was taken when three-fourths of the men and all its horses but three were shot and the infantry on its flanks being outflanked were borne back by sheer weight of numbers. The firing died away, and the air rang with the exultant shouts of the Rebels. But our reserves were ordered up, our regiment was withdrawn from the left, and hurried around to the spot. All I remember was a rush, a deafening volley, another and another, and we held the battery again, while the Rebels fell back to return no more. Darkness came on and there we lay in line ready for action amid the dead and wounded until 9 p.m. when we were relieved by part of Sullivan’s brigade and went to the rear for fresh ammunition. We then formed in line again and lay there awaiting dawn to open another battle. All night long as we lay there, fresh troops came pouring in and we felt that victory was sure on the morrow. I had not eaten a morsel since daylight and was parched with the terrible thirst of battle and shivering with the cold, wet dew as I lay there without any covering. And then the groans and yells of the wounded men as they lay upon the field…I slept but little I assure you.

          Morning came and the roar of artillery brought us to our feet, and we trudged on, forgetting everything in the excitement. But the Rebels had left town during the night and by 6 a.m. we were in possession of Iuka while fresh troops pressed on in pursuit. All that forenoon we were bringing in the wounded, burying the dead, etc. Such sights as I witnessed there, such awful mutilation, such agony of suffering, I do not like to think of it. All that one has read comes short of reality. In the afternoon, we marched back about six miles and halted for rest. Foraging parties were sent out and we soon had plenty of fresh beef and sweet potatoes and they were eaten with hearty relish. About 4 p.m. we started again and marched 15 miles to where we now are.

          We have lost in all 55 men from our regiment but our brigade of about 2,100 men lost 584 killed and wounded and 24 missing, nearly one out of every three engaged. A fearful loss for so short a time. Our sheltered position alone saved us. We lost nearly all of our in that few minutes we were near the battery. Our division command General Hamilton says we did nobly- obeyed every order and held every position assigned to us though for the first time under fire. General Buford who commands our brigade was absent and Colonel John S. Sanborn of our regiment took command and in the opinion of all earned the stars of a brigadier and will very likely get them.

 

Your affectionate son,

Will


Sources:

Sergeant Major William T. Kittredge, 4th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, Norwalk Reflector (Ohio), October 7, 1862, pg. pg. 2

Private Thomas M. Young, Co. A, 4th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, Ohio Soldier, March 31, 1888, pg. 524

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular Posts

Arming the Buckeyes: Longarms of the Ohio Infantry Regiments

Image
     A common question that comes up in conversation about Civil War Buckeye regiments is "What were they armed with?" We are fortunate in that the state of Ohio kept good records of how the regiments were armed when they went into service, this being especially true for those regiments which went into service in 1861 and 1862. The state adjutant general's reports for 1861 and 1862 have been heavily drawn upon to construct this article, as well as consultation with Phil Spaugy who has done extensive research on how Ohio's troops were armed during the war.      Buckeyes carried a fairly wide variety of weapons into the field, and the below article breaks this down into weapons of both domestic manufacture and imported arms. The early days of the war found the state of Ohio practically bereft of longarms; as an example, when the 1st and 2nd Ohio Volunteer Militia left the state in late April 1861, they left unarmed, being armed at Lancaster, Pennsylvania on their way to
Read more

Bullets for the Union: Manufacturing Small Arms Ammunition During the Civil War

Image
       Civil War bullets are perhaps the most common item collected from the era; the two armies expended bullets by the millions during the four years’ conflict and spent or deformed bullets of all shapes and sizes have made fascinating and affordable collectibles since the guns went silent in 1865.       I recently acquired a display piece featuring 35 different types of small arms ammunition used during the Civil War, including everything from a small .28 caliber ball up to a .69 caliber three-ring Minie and it triggered some questions: how did the Federal army obtain its small arms ammunition during the war? Where did the lead come from to make the bullets, and where and how was the ammunition manufactured? This post seeks to answer those questions. A typical .58 caliber 3-ring Minie bullet   “Whenever the blasts of war blow in the ears of men who trade in the implements of destruction, they are apt to experience more joy than the true warrior, for then comes the harvest of gain.
Read more

Dressing the Rebels: How to Dye Butternut Jeans Cloth

Image
     In the early days of the Civil War,  the Southern states found themselves with an abundance of cotton but a shortage of cloth with which to make army uniforms. The trade in cloth prior to the war had largely been to send raw cotton or wool north to New England (or Great Britain) where it was converted into usable cloth; but now that trade was broken and the Southern states were thrown upon their own resources in their efforts to properly clothe the Confederate army.  This collection of Confederate enlisted men's frock coats and shell jackets gives some indication of the variety of shades of butternut worn during the war. All of them are shades of yellow brown, some heavier on the yellow and some heavier on the brown. The blue used around the collar or as rank insignia indicates that the soldier was in the infantry. Surviving Confederate uniforms are considered rather rare and command quite a healthy price in the collecting market. For an in-depth study of how Confederate jacke
Read more

The Wizard of Oz and the Civil War

Image
T he 1939 film The Wizard of Oz has delighted viewers for 85 years and ranks as a personal favorite, especially during the Halloween season. While watching it with the family the other night, I wondered if there were any connections between the film and the Civil War. Not surprisingly, the answer is yes and those connections touch both the blue and the gray.           Interestingly both “witches” in the film not only had Civil War ancestors but had connections with Civil War soldiers from Ohio. Margaret Hamilton, the “Wicked Witch of the West,” was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 9, 1902, to attorney Walter Jones Hamilton and his wife Mary Jane Adams; Margaret’s grandfather was Judge Edwin Timothy Hamilton. Judge Hamilton had served as a private in Co. D of the 84 th Ohio Infantry during the summer of 1862. The 84 th Ohio, a three months’ regiment, served nearly the whole of its service attached to the Railroad District in western Maryland, performing provost duty at Cumberlan
Read more

The Vaunted Enfield Rifle Musket

Image
     The English-made Model 1853 .577 caliber Enfield Rifle Musket was widely regarded as the best infantry arm in the world at the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861. Favorable international press describing its efficiency in the Crimean War and in suppressing the Indian rebellion led to the widespread desire of American infantrymen (both Federal and Confederate) to be armed with these accurate and well-made arms. The lock plate of this well-worn P1853 Enfield rifle musket produced in 1862 shows the typical markings of a British-made weapon that made it through the Federal blockade.  ( Army of Tennessee Relics ) Enfield-pattern weapons were imported into the states by the tens and hundreds of thousands during the war years; one estimate stated that the Federal government purchased 500,000 while the Confederates purchased another 400,000. The Confederate government dispatched Captain Caleb Huse to Europe in April 1861 to purchase weapons and Huse focused on securing all the Enfi
Read more

In front of Atlanta with the 68th Ohio

Image
  The arrow corps badge of the 17th Army Corps was worn by many members of the 68th Ohio in the latter days of the war.       Private Edward A. Bigelow of Co. F of the 68th Ohio Volunteer Infantry wrote this brief account of the Battle of Atlanta just two days afterwards to his father back home in Henry County, Ohio. The regiment formed a part of Colonel Robert K. Scott's three regiment all-Ohio brigade consisting of the 20th, 68th, and 78th regiments, being designated the Second Brigade of the Third Division of Frank Blair's 17th Army Corps. Bigelow's letter originally appeared in the Napoleon Press newspaper and was copied in the Toledo Daily Commercial which was providential as no known copies exist today of the wartime Napoleon Press.  
Read more

Charging Battery Robinett: An Alabama Soldier Recalls the Vicious Fighting at Corinth

Image
W riting 30 years after the Battle of Corinth, James A. McKinstry of the 42 nd Alabama recalled his experiences storming Battery Robinett with Colonel William P. Rogers of the 2 nd Texas and expressed guilt that it was perhaps his action that brought about the colonel’s demise. “On seeing a line of Federals approaching, and before giving the situation a thought, I immediately raised my gun and fired full into the breast of a Federal sergeant, who was in front of the column, and only a short distance from us.  'Twas then that Captain George Foster shouted, "Cease firing, men! cease firing!" and waved his handkerchief, then I realized the true situation. 'Twas too late! That fatal volley had been turned on our little band from the muzzles of 1,500 muskets. I was still standing just as I was when I fired my last shot, and within a few feet of Colonel Rogers, when a Minie ball went crashing through my left hip and turned me half round; another went tearing through my
Read more

Federal Arms in the Stones River Campaign

Image
  T he following list, constructed after many years of research, lists unit by unit which type of weapons were carried by the Army of the Cumberland during the Stones River campaign. A number of sources were consulted including state ordnance reports, Federal quarterly ordnance reports (thank you Research Arsenal ), Ken Baumann’s Arming the Suckers, regimental histories and memoirs, captured ordnance reports, and consultation with knowledgeable experts in the field of firearms. Some of this information has been shared on the blog before in “ Rosy’s Heavy Metal: Artillery of the Army of the Cumberland ” or “ Shoulder Arms: How Sheridan’s and Davis’s Divisions Were Armed at Stones River ” but this is the first time the army as a whole has been presented. The overall conclusion I drew from looking at this data is that the Army of the Cumberland in December 1862 was an organization in the midst of transformation as far as arms. Many of the regiments still retained their original issue
Read more

Cook & Brother of New Orleans

Image
    The lockplate of a New Orleans-made Cook & Brother Enfield rifle produced in 1862 shows the fine craftsmanship that became the hallmark of the maker throughout the Civil War. Note the stars and bars flag at left, an emblem used on C&B's production throughout the war and the Cook & Brother, N.O. 1862 markings. Earlier production weapons at New Orleans had the flag located just above the maker's name while later weapons produced in Athens, Georgia would have a modified flag and Athens on the plate followed by the serial number.        In the spring of 1861, two English-born businessmen, Ferdinand and Francis Cook of New Orleans, perceived the need for the South to have its own domestic production of firearms and  set out to prove "that rifles could made here as well as in Yankee land or in Europe." The brothers  elected to produce copies of the British Model 1853 .577 caliber Enfield rifle as this was considered the benchmark longarm at the outset of the
Read more

Revisiting Snodgrass Hill: Memories of a 21st Ohio Officer

Image
Captain Isaac Cusac, Co. G, 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry proudly displaying his rank as captain in an image likely dating from early 1863. One of his shoulder straps was shot off in the final stages of the 21st Ohio's fight atop Snodgrass Hill on September 20, 1863. Cusac brought it back to Chickamauga 50 years later.  I n September 1913, 83-year-old Isaac Cusac, a retired Presbyterian minister from the little town of McComb, Ohio, returned to Chattanooga to attend the national G.A.R. encampment. The former captain of the 21 st Ohio returned to Snodgrass Hill on the old Chickamauga battlefield on the 50 th anniversary of the battle carrying with him a precious relic of his wartime experiences. “He carried with him there an epaulet that was shot from his shoulder at the battle,” it was reported. “The bullet clipped off the epaulet and then struck him on the left hand, injuring two fingers.”           The flood of memories as he walked the grounds must have been overwhelming. The f
Read more