Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 2.djvu/317

 hundred seventy-five men and officers, and was mustered into service in August, 1862, at Clinton. The first field and staff officers were: John Edwards, colonel; Thomas F. Cook, lieutenant-colonel; Hugh J. Campbell, major; Charles E. Braunlich, adjutant; Sidney S. Smith, quartermaster; John H. Allen, surgeon; and David N. Smith, chaplain.

In August the regiment was ordered to join the Army of the Southwest at Springfield, Missouri, then under command of General Schofield. A tedious campaign of hard marches, over bad roads, in bad weather, began in Missouri, extending into Arkansas, bringing much suffering to the soldiers who were learning their first lesson in the hard duties of army life in the enemy’s country. The Eighteenth regiment was sent back to Springfield with the sick and prisoners late in November, which place remained its headquarters until October of the next year. Here it was employed for nearly a year in guarding a great depot of army supplies, fortifying the place, operating against guerrilla bands and scouting.

THE BATTLE OF SPRINGFIELD

On the 7th of January, 1863, General E. B. Brown, who was in command of the Union army of the Springfield district, learned that the Confederate General Marmaduke with an army of several thousand men had crossed the White River and was marching toward Springfield with several pieces of artillery. Reënforcements were called in by couriers sent to the various stations within reach, and energetic efforts were promptly made to strengthen the defensive works about the city. Three pieces of light artillery were hastily mounted on wheels and placed in one of the forts. All night troops, aided by the citizens, worked on the barricades and other defenses. The convalescents in the hospitals were armed and organized into a brigade. The Eighteenth Iowa was the only effective regiment in the city. The entire force that could