Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 2.djvu/437

 they moved over the low ridges. The artillery opened upon them doing great execution but not checking their progress; on they came with the fierce “Rebel yell” and captured the battery. The artillerymen and infantry fell back in some confusion but rallied at the foot of the hill and acted as sharpshooters to protect the gunners of the principal work, Fort Curtis. Against this fort now came the exultant enemy, shouting and cheering, confident of victory. Five twenty-four pounder siege guns and one thirty-two pounder columbiad now opened upon the black mass of men as it swept up the hill. The broadside of the gunboat “Tyler” sent a storm of bursting shells into the moving column. The vast surging crowd was riddled and torn with the unceasing shower of death-dealing missiles. At last horror-stricken with the sight of heads, limbs and mangled bodies left, torn and bleeding on every side by the storm of iron, the Confederates turned and fled. In front the officers attempted to rally the men but the roar of cannon and the deadly fire of our sharpshooters made it impossible. Our infantry and dismounted cavalry now swept over the hills driving the enemy and capturing many prisoners. At eleven o’clock the battle was won and the Confederate army in full retreat toward Little Rock. This brilliant defense of Helena under the direction of General Salomon of Wisconsin, was overshadowed by the great victories of Vicksburg and Gettysburg coming at the same time and did not receive the attention it deserved. The Iowa troops who fought here were the Third Battery, Captain Hayden; Twenty-ninth Regiment, Colonel Benton; Thirty-third, Colonel Mackay; Thirty-sixth, Colonel Kittridge; Colonel Rice commanded a brigade. No regiment did better service during the engagement than the Thirty-third. It had the most exposed position and suffered the greatest loss of any in the battle. The next service in the field was with the expedition against Little Rock, where after the capture of the city, the regiment remained until March, 1864. It was