Posted by mobushwhacker on Tue, Jun 7, 2011, at 11:50 PM:
The Birds Point intentional breech by the Army Corps of Engineers has been a major news story this year to some and a major inconvenience for others. It's not the first time.
In December, 1861 it was a major inconvenience for an army and where a certain General named U.S. Grant failed in his attempt to catch General M. Jeff Thompson (the swampfox) at Belmont.
From the book "The Army Life of an Illinois Soldier" by: Charles Wright Wills...
" Bird's Point, November 13, 1861. Home once more. We all call this home now. Just as we landed last night the Iowa 7th was forming for dress parade. One company had but 11 and another but 15 men; all that came out of the Belmont fight safely. Other companies had half and some three-fourths of their men they started with. General Grant tries to make out that there were about 150 or 175 men lost on our side, but I'll stake my life that we lost not less than 500. I am sure that the 22d Illinois lost not less than 175, the 7th Iowa at least 200, and the other three regiments 150 more. Grant says that he achieved a victory and accomplished the object of his expedition. It may be so (the latter part of it) but almost every one here doubts the story. He says his object was to threaten Columbus, to keep them from sending reinforcements to Price. Well he has threatened them, had a fight, and why they can't send reinforcements now as well as before, is more than I know. I never will believe that it was necessary to sacrifice two as good regiments as there were in the West, to accomplish all that I can see has been done this time. Altogether there were some 6,000 men from here, Cape Girardeau and Ironton, on the expedition that our regiment was on marching by different roads. Grant says now that we were all after Jeff Thompson. I don't believe it. I think the Paducah forces were to take Columbus, Grant was going to swallow Belmont, we were to drive all the guerrillas before us to New Madrid, and then with Paducah forces and Grant's we were to take Madrid and probably go on to Memphis or maybe join Fremont with our Army of say 15,000 men. Well, Grant got whipped at Belmont, and that scared him so that he countermanded all our orders and took all the troops back to their old stations by forced marches. There was some very good fighting done at Belmont by both sides. The 226. Illinois and 7th Iowa did about all the fighting, and sustained much the heaviest loss. The boys are not the least discouraged and they all want to go back and try it again. The whole camp has the Columbus fever, and I don't believe there are 20 men that would take a furlough if they thought an advance would be made on Columbus while they were absent. The enemy there are very well fed, clothed and armed. Arkansas and Tennessee troops with some Mississippians. The retreat was a route, for our men were scattered everywhere. I don't care what the papers say, the men that were in it say that every man took care of himself, and hardly two men of a regiment were together. The men ran because they were scattered and saw that the force against them was overwhelming, but the universal testimony is that there was no panic, nine out of ten of the men came on the boats laughing and joking. They had been fighting six or seven hours, and cannon and musketry couldn't scare them any more. There are hundreds of stories, and good ones, out but I always spoil them by trying to put them on paper.
Bird's Point, November 20, 1861 Part of Pitt's (Col. W. Pitt Kellogg's) cavalry are here. We are glad to see them as it will relieve us of considerable picket duty. But otherwise cavalry are of not much service in this brushy, swampy country. That fox of a Jeff Thompson that we chased down to New Madrid last week, had the impudence to follow us right back and we had hardly got our tents pitched here at the Point before he passed within 12 miles of us to the river above, and captured a steamboat. Report says that there were nearly a dozen officers on the boat, and a paymaster, with money to pay off the Cape Girardeau troops. Jeff is a shrewd one, and the man that captures him will do a big thing. Back in the country where we were, he made the natives believe that he whipped Ross and company at Fredericktown, and killed 400 federals with a loss of only ten of his men. Don't it almost make you sick the way that 17th brag and blow about themselves? That affair at Fredericktown didn't amount to a thing. From the best information I can get, there was not to exceed 50 Rebels killed, and I'm sure not that many. Thompson is stronger to-day than ever. This thing of sending infantry after him is all bosh, although we tried it again yesterday. It failed of course. The boys came back through the rain last night about 10, tired and mad as the deuce. A thousand cavalry may possibly get him some day, but they will be sharp ones, sure. In this fight at Belmont 1,200 of our men at first completely whipped 2,400 of theirs, four regiments, then the whole of ours, 2,600 ran like the devil before and through 5,600 of theirs. These are the true figures.
Bird's Point, Mo., November 24, 1861.
Sabbath morning, 10 o'clock.
I'm in clover. I've got a great big "comfort," weighs a ton, that has been sent to my partner and myself from a young lady in Bloomington. We've tramped so much since I received that pair of blankets from you, and we never know when we start whether we're coming back here again or no, that being unable to carry them I sold them. We have had considerable cold weather. Lots of frost, and for the last two days it has been freezing all the time. We have always slept perfectly warm and getting used to it by degrees.
I never hear anyone complain. Yesterday we made a furnace in our tent that works admirably and now I wouldn't give a snap for any other winter quarters. This furnace is a grand thing. It keeps our tent dry and healthy and is as comfortable to me now as ever our house was. Don't trouble yourself in the least about our underclothing. We all have more than we want and can get any quantity at any time. Other clothing the same. We commenced building log houses for winter quarters this morning. Theo Thornton and Clem Wallace of our mess are up the river now cutting logs for them. We never drill Sundays, but for anything else we have no Sunday. We have no chaplain in our regiment. Our captain is religious but he is out now doing as much work as any of the men. We can enjoy ourselves very well here this winter, but of course we are very much disappointed in not getting into active service. I think that when our gunboats get here we will at least be allowed a trial on Columbus, but you know, and I know, that I don't know anything about it. We have had two awful rains within a week as the ponds covered with ice on our parade ground will testify. The first one caught six of our boys fifteen miles up the river cutting logs for our huts. It wet them beautifully. In camp for some reason they had doubled the pickets, strengthened the camp guard and ordered us to sleep on our arms. I think they were troubled with the old scare again. About 10:30 while the storm was at its height heavy firing commenced all at once right in the middle of the camp. What a time there was. Colonel Oglesby got his signals ready, regiments formed in the rain and the devil was to pay generally. It turned out that it was a green Iowa regiment that had just returned from another unsuccessful chase after Jeff. 'Twas an awful trick and only the greenest troops would have done it."
Replies (6)
Thanks,
I found your post interesting reading and will file it for future reference.
-- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Wed, Jun 8, 2011, at 1:04 PM
General Lee had alot of ties to our area as well. He was a army engineer in St. Louis in the late 1830's. He did alot to improve navigation on the river in a very short time, so in true army fashion was pulled from the job and brought back to D.C. I wonder if Lee would have pushed the plunger on the Birds Point levy?
-- Posted by Joe Dirte on Wed, Jun 8, 2011, at 1:48 PM
Good post. Thanks
-- Posted by We Regret To Inform U on Wed, Jun 8, 2011, at 7:17 PM
Mobushwacker, I enjoy the blogs of James Baughn and have Bob Priddy's 3 volumes of Across Our Wide Missouri.
Your post are just as intresting and well presented.
Don't be shy in sharing more!
-- Posted by Old John on Sat, Jun 11, 2011, at 12:42 AM
Really enjoyed the post.
-- Posted by Robert* on Sat, Jun 11, 2011, at 8:02 PM
Thanks Y'all, more will be on the way!!
-- Posted by mobushwhacker on Sun, Jun 12, 2011, at 12:18 AM
Menu
The Birds Point intentional breech by the Army Corps of Engineers has been a major news story this year to some and a major inconvenience for others. It's not the first time.
In December, 1861 it was a major inconvenience for an army and where a certain General named U.S. Grant failed in his attempt to catch General M. Jeff Thompson (the swampfox) at Belmont.
From the book "The Army Life of an Illinois Soldier" by: Charles Wright Wills...
" Bird's Point, November 13, 1861. Home once more. We all call this home now. Just as we landed last night the Iowa 7th was forming for dress parade. One company had but 11 and another but 15 men; all that came out of the Belmont fight safely. Other companies had half and some three-fourths of their men they started with. General Grant tries to make out that there were about 150 or 175 men lost on our side, but I'll stake my life that we lost not less than 500. I am sure that the 22d Illinois lost not less than 175, the 7th Iowa at least 200, and the other three regiments 150 more. Grant says that he achieved a victory and accomplished the object of his expedition. It may be so (the latter part of it) but almost every one here doubts the story. He says his object was to threaten Columbus, to keep them from sending reinforcements to Price. Well he has threatened them, had a fight, and why they can't send reinforcements now as well as before, is more than I know. I never will believe that it was necessary to sacrifice two as good regiments as there were in the West, to accomplish all that I can see has been done this time. Altogether there were some 6,000 men from here, Cape Girardeau and Ironton, on the expedition that our regiment was on marching by different roads. Grant says now that we were all after Jeff Thompson. I don't believe it. I think the Paducah forces were to take Columbus, Grant was going to swallow Belmont, we were to drive all the guerrillas before us to New Madrid, and then with Paducah forces and Grant's we were to take Madrid and probably go on to Memphis or maybe join Fremont with our Army of say 15,000 men. Well, Grant got whipped at Belmont, and that scared him so that he countermanded all our orders and took all the troops back to their old stations by forced marches. There was some very good fighting done at Belmont by both sides. The 226. Illinois and 7th Iowa did about all the fighting, and sustained much the heaviest loss. The boys are not the least discouraged and they all want to go back and try it again. The whole camp has the Columbus fever, and I don't believe there are 20 men that would take a furlough if they thought an advance would be made on Columbus while they were absent. The enemy there are very well fed, clothed and armed. Arkansas and Tennessee troops with some Mississippians. The retreat was a route, for our men were scattered everywhere. I don't care what the papers say, the men that were in it say that every man took care of himself, and hardly two men of a regiment were together. The men ran because they were scattered and saw that the force against them was overwhelming, but the universal testimony is that there was no panic, nine out of ten of the men came on the boats laughing and joking. They had been fighting six or seven hours, and cannon and musketry couldn't scare them any more. There are hundreds of stories, and good ones, out but I always spoil them by trying to put them on paper.
Bird's Point, November 20, 1861 Part of Pitt's (Col. W. Pitt Kellogg's) cavalry are here. We are glad to see them as it will relieve us of considerable picket duty. But otherwise cavalry are of not much service in this brushy, swampy country. That fox of a Jeff Thompson that we chased down to New Madrid last week, had the impudence to follow us right back and we had hardly got our tents pitched here at the Point before he passed within 12 miles of us to the river above, and captured a steamboat. Report says that there were nearly a dozen officers on the boat, and a paymaster, with money to pay off the Cape Girardeau troops. Jeff is a shrewd one, and the man that captures him will do a big thing. Back in the country where we were, he made the natives believe that he whipped Ross and company at Fredericktown, and killed 400 federals with a loss of only ten of his men. Don't it almost make you sick the way that 17th brag and blow about themselves? That affair at Fredericktown didn't amount to a thing. From the best information I can get, there was not to exceed 50 Rebels killed, and I'm sure not that many. Thompson is stronger to-day than ever. This thing of sending infantry after him is all bosh, although we tried it again yesterday. It failed of course. The boys came back through the rain last night about 10, tired and mad as the deuce. A thousand cavalry may possibly get him some day, but they will be sharp ones, sure. In this fight at Belmont 1,200 of our men at first completely whipped 2,400 of theirs, four regiments, then the whole of ours, 2,600 ran like the devil before and through 5,600 of theirs. These are the true figures.
Bird's Point, Mo., November 24, 1861.
Sabbath morning, 10 o'clock.
I'm in clover. I've got a great big "comfort," weighs a ton, that has been sent to my partner and myself from a young lady in Bloomington. We've tramped so much since I received that pair of blankets from you, and we never know when we start whether we're coming back here again or no, that being unable to carry them I sold them. We have had considerable cold weather. Lots of frost, and for the last two days it has been freezing all the time. We have always slept perfectly warm and getting used to it by degrees.
I never hear anyone complain. Yesterday we made a furnace in our tent that works admirably and now I wouldn't give a snap for any other winter quarters. This furnace is a grand thing. It keeps our tent dry and healthy and is as comfortable to me now as ever our house was. Don't trouble yourself in the least about our underclothing. We all have more than we want and can get any quantity at any time. Other clothing the same. We commenced building log houses for winter quarters this morning. Theo Thornton and Clem Wallace of our mess are up the river now cutting logs for them. We never drill Sundays, but for anything else we have no Sunday. We have no chaplain in our regiment. Our captain is religious but he is out now doing as much work as any of the men. We can enjoy ourselves very well here this winter, but of course we are very much disappointed in not getting into active service. I think that when our gunboats get here we will at least be allowed a trial on Columbus, but you know, and I know, that I don't know anything about it. We have had two awful rains within a week as the ponds covered with ice on our parade ground will testify. The first one caught six of our boys fifteen miles up the river cutting logs for our huts. It wet them beautifully. In camp for some reason they had doubled the pickets, strengthened the camp guard and ordered us to sleep on our arms. I think they were troubled with the old scare again. About 10:30 while the storm was at its height heavy firing commenced all at once right in the middle of the camp. What a time there was. Colonel Oglesby got his signals ready, regiments formed in the rain and the devil was to pay generally. It turned out that it was a green Iowa regiment that had just returned from another unsuccessful chase after Jeff. 'Twas an awful trick and only the greenest troops would have done it."
Replies (6)