Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 2.djvu/413

 by crossing the river on pontoon boats with 8,000 men and fortifying his position with trenches and rifle-pits. Before noon a pontoon bridge was laid across the river over which the remainder of Sherman’s troops crossed and occupied the northern extremity of Missionary Ridge. General Hooker was now fighting one of the most brilliant battle on record among the clouds on Lookout Mountain. Forcing a way among the rocks of the rugged ascent, step by step the men climbed the mountain side, drove the Confederates from their trenches and seized the summit of Lookout.

On the morning of the 25th of November Sherman moved against the enemy’s right, General John M. Corse of Iowa leading the assaulting column. His command was soon heavily engaged in a most desperate conflict with varying success. General Matthies of Iowa, with two brigades, was sent to reënforce him and the battle raged with great fury. Corse and Matthies were shot down and borne from the field. General Thomas advanced from the center steadily pushing his lines of veterans up the sides of Missionary Ridge in the face of a most terrific fire of artillery and musketry. Before midnight our army had been successful at all points. The great battle was won and the Confederate army was in full retreat. In many respects this was the most remarkable victory of the war and one of the most brilliant in history. The Confederate army held a much stronger position than General Meade with the Union army occupied at Gettysburg. The ground over which Hooker, Thomas and Sherman made their assaults was infinitely more difficult to approach than that at Gettysburg, where the veterans of Longstreet and Pickett made their famous charge. How different the results! On these two famous battle-fields of the war, the superior military ability of Grant over Lee is most clearly demonstrated. Grant planned and won a campaign beset with almost insurmountable obstacles. Lee failed where all of the conditions favored his success. Iowa was largely