Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 2.djvu/238

 bore an honorable part in the battle, serving in the brigade commanded by Colonel Lauman, losing thirty-nine men. In March Colonel Lauman was promoted to Brigadier-General and took command of a brigade in General Hurlbut’s Division. Major E. W. Rice succeeded to the command of the Seventh Regiment, and Captain J. W. McMullen, of Company C, became major. The regiment joined Grant’s army at Pittsburg Landing. It fought bravely at the Battle of Shiloh, serving in the Iowa Brigade commanded by Colonel J. M. Tuttle, and lost thirty-four men during the engagements. Moving with Halleck in his slow and cautious approach on Corinth, following in pursuit of the leisurely retreat of General Beauregard and returning to Corinth, the Seventh rested until the middle of September, when it was sent to Iuka, but was not engaged in the battle of the 19th. In the two days’ battle at Corinth on the 3d and 4th of October, the regiment took a conspicuous part, maintaining the reputation it had won at Belmont, Donelson and Shiloh and losing nearly one-third of its number. Captain B. K. Smith was among the killed and Lieutenant-Colonel Parrott, Major McMullen, Captain Conn and Lieutenants Bennett, Camp, Hope and Irvin were among the wounded. The regiment remained at Corinth during the winter of 1862-’63 and most of the season following was engaged in uneventful but necessary duties connected with guarding and occupying the vast regions wrested from the Confederacy in Mississippi and Tennessee. There were railroad lines to be held, bridges to be rebuilt and guarded, wagon trains to protected over long routes and frequent scouts and foraging parties to be sent out. At Pulaski the Seventh remained some time and the men made themselves comfortable by erecting “shebangs,” as the army named the huts erected at various stopping places. Unoccupied buildings furnished the material and there was always skill among the western troops to enable them to construct comfortable houses to shelter them from sun, storms and chilling winds. In raids