Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 2.djvu/395

 changes had taken place in the Twenty-seventh regiment; several officers had resigned, and the losses from death, discharges and transfers had been about eighty. On the other hand many recruits had been secured, so that there were about eight hundred names on the roll. In February the regiment was sent down the river to the Gulf of Mexico and to Dauphin Island, near Mobile Bay, and soon after joined General Canby’s army in a movement against Mobile. While on the march, to open communication with General Steele, General Gilbert had a narrow escape from death by a torpedo buried in the road which was exploded by his horse walking over it. After joining General Steele’s army the Twenty-seventh regiment did good service during the parallels by night, continually under fire. On the 9th of April under Major Howard it joined in the assault which resulted in the surrender of the fort and garrison. General Gilbert’s brigade captured six hundred prisoners and eight pieces of artillery. Soon after this victory the brigade joined the Sixteenth Corps marching upon Montgomery, where it remained more than two months. On the 16th of July, 1865, the Twenty-seventh regiment began the journey home by way of Selma, Jackson and Vicksburg and up the river by steamer to Clinton, where it was mustered out on the 8th of August. General Gilbert was brevetted Major-General, serving until he close of the war. Colonel Lake, in his farewell address to the regiment as it was disbanded, states that it had traveled since it entered the service a distance of more than 12,000 miles.

THE TWENTY-EIGHTH IOWA INFANTRY

This regiment was composed of Company A of Benton County, Company B of Iowa and Tama counties, Companies C and H of Poweshiek County, Company D of Benton County, Company E of Johnson County, Company F of Tama County, Company G, Iowa County; Company I,