Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 2.djvu/229

 the enemy’s works. Success was impossible and the brigade, after a terrible conflict, was driven back with a loss of nearly five hundred men. The Third Iowa, led by Major G. W. Crosley, fought with desperate valor and lost one hundred and fourteen men. General Lauman was at once relieved of command by General Ord. On the 16th Colonel Corse, in command of the skirmishers of the First Division of the Sixteenth Corps, made a strong reconnaissance of the enemy’s works to ascertain the strength and position of his batteries. The Sixth Iowa was in the command, and at a signal, the men dashed forward with a shout, driving in the pickets and skirmishers and charging a strong battery. Here the men were ordered to lie down, as the battery was too strong to be taken. After ascertaining the strength of the lines and defenses, the troops were skillfully withdrawn with small loss. The Sixth received special commendation on this occasion from General Smith for coolness and bravery under a terrific fire. On the same night the Confederate army evacuated the city and retreated toward the east. The loss of the Sixth during the siege was about seventy men. When General Sherman marched to Chattanooga, in the fall of 1863, the Sixth Iowa was with him, and participated in the Battle of Missionary Ridge, losing sixty-nine men. Major Ennis was severely wounded and Captain Robert Allison was killed. After the great victories at Chattanooga, the Sixth was sent with Sherman’s army to relieve General Burnside, who was besieged by Longstreet at Knoxville. The march was begun on the 1st of December, over roads almost impassable; the bridges had been destroyed and many of the rivers could not be forded. The weather was cold and the army in its forced march could carry neither baggage nor provisions. Early in 1864, the sixth went into camp at Scottsburg, Alabama, where it remained until spring. Early in March, 1864, most of the men reënlisted, were granted furlough, and the Sixth became a veteran regiment. On the 27th of