Col. Moore’s Report.
Headquarters 21st Mo. Infantry Vols., } 1st Brigade, 6th Division. Corinth, Miss., October 17, 1862.
Capt. J. Bates Dickerson,
Ass’t Adjt. Gen. 1st and 2d Brigades, 6th Division.Captain:—I have the honor to report the part taken by the 21st Mo. Vols, in the engagement before Corinth, Miss., October 3 and 4, 1862. On the afternoon of Oct. 2, 1862, I was relieved from outpost duty and command of the post of Kossuth, Miss., by Col. Smith, 43d Ohio. We returned to our camp at Corinth, Miss., the same night, arriving at 3 o’clock a. m. About 4:30 a. m. we heard artillery fire some distance to the front; the battalion was formed promptly in line, and shortly after we were directed to take position upon the Memphis & Charleston R. R., in support of battery E; here we remained until 9 a. m., when we were ordered to march two miles to the front and take position upon a high ridge to the left of the Memphis & Charleston R. R., and upon the extreme left of the line of battle, continuously with the 16th Wisconsin Vols., of the 6th Division, and two regiments of Gen. Davie’s Division, who were stationed immediately to the right of the railroad. We had been in position but a few minutes when the enemy opened fire on our flank and front. We replied promptly and continued showing the most determined resistance, the enemy being in so far superior numbers that we were temporarily driven from the line. About this time my horse was shot under me, bruising severely my amputated leg. I here turned the command over to Major Moore, who, with great gallantry, assisted by the officers of the regiment, rallied the men and repeatedly drove the enemy from the hill. The fire to the right became very severe,—the regiment stationed there, and battery, gave way before the masses of the approaching enemies. Seeing this, and our men being nearly out of cartridges, having fired forty rounds, the battalion was ordered to fall back, which was done in good order and firing. It is with pleasure I notice the bravery of my field staff and line officers—they were equal to the emergency. Corporal Jesse Roberts, Company I, 21st Mo. Inf. Vols., showed great bravery; he gallantly seized the colors (after Color Sergeant had fallen back), causing great enthusiasm among the men. Respectfully, your obedient servant,
D. Moore,
Col. Com’d’g 21st Mo. Inft. Vols.
| Headquarters 21st Mo. Infantry Vols., | } |
| 1st Brigade, 6th Division. | |
| Corinth, Miss., October 17, 1862. |
Maj. Ed. Moore’s Report.
Headquarters 21st Mo. Infantry Vols. } October 18, 1862.
Lieut. R. Rees,
Adjt. 21st Mo. Infantry Vols.Sir:—I have the honor to report the part taken by the 21st Mo. Vol. Infantry Regiment in the Battle of Corinth, Miss., on Friday and Saturday, the 3d and 4th of October, 1862. After Col. Moore, commanding the regiment, was carried off the field, I assumed the command. The men were going back from their original position. With the assistance of the line officers I succeeded in rallying the men, who went boldly forward to the front and drove the enemy from the position that we occupied at the commencement of the engagement. As soon as the position was gained fighting became desperate, our lines being distant from those of the enemy less than fifty paces. The command held this ground until the force upon our right, consisting of artillery and infantry, had given away and was in full retreat. About this time the enemy was flanking us on our left and dense columns of infantry pressed us on our front. I ordered the regiment to retire. In doing so some of our men got scattered. We succeeded again in rallying the men, and formed on the flanks of a line being formed by Brig. Gen. McArthur, to construct a temporary breastwork of logs, and did so; but before completing the same we were ordered to a position on the extreme left in the vicinity of the seminary. We were engaged with the enemy while in this position. About 2:30 P. M., I was ordered to proceed to Battery C and report to Brig. Gen. McArthur. Having three companies of skirmishers in the rear, under his direction we scoured the woods but found no enemy excepting a few stragglers. We then took the south bridge road in the direction of Mr. Alexander’s, the rebel cavalry fleeing before our advance. We succeeded in capturing a great number of prisoners, from one of whom I learned the rebel hospitals were in the vicinity. It was now dark. I pushed forward and took possession of all property and persons. A great many prisoners were taken that night and early next morning trying to escape through the lines. The total number captured, including the wounded, amounted to nearly 900 officers and men. We also captured 460 muskets, 400 cartridge boxes and a quantity of belts, etc. Under the instructions of Brig. Gen. McArthur I remained at the hospitals with the command until Sunday about noon, when Col. Moore took command of the regiment. Our loss during the engagement is one killed, seventeen wounded and six prisoners. I mention with satisfaction the behavior of the line officers. They used every exertion to keep their men together and remained with them during the engagement, thereby setting a good example to the men to do their duty. During the action a great many of our guns were useless; after firing fifteen or twenty rounds of ammunition it was impossible to load them.
I have the honor to be,
Your obedient servant, Edwin Moore,
Maj. 21st Mo. Infantry Vols.
| Headquarters 21st Mo. Infantry Vols. | } |
| October 18, 1862. |
At the close of the Corinth engagement the whole number of the regiment did not exceed 400 men. Over 600 during the period the command had been in active service had been lost either in battle, sickness or captured by the enemy. While at Chewalla a detail had been sent home to muster recruits and a few days after the Corinth fight the whole regiment, or what was left of it, was furloughed for thirty days. The men returned home, where they found recruiting offices had been opened by the detail of men sent from Chewalla, at Memphis and Edina. North Missouri was still bubbling over with patriotism for the Stars and Stripes. The tattered and worn condition of the 400 survivors of the 21st, with their battle torn flag, gave a new impetus to the war spirit. Volunteers sprung up from every side and in an incredibly short while the regiment was recruited to double its number. Canton was the rallying point for the men and from that place on the 10th of December, 1862, tents were folded, good-byes to loved ones said, and the gallant old 21st once more started for the bloody theatre of war. The objective point was Holly Springs, Miss., where the old 6th Division of the Army of West Tennessee was encamped.
At St. Louis the regiment boarded the steamer known in history as the Di Vernon, and got as far as Columbus, Ky., on December the 20th, where the command was stopped. Instead of proceeding to Holly Springs, the regiment was ordered by Gen. Asboth, commander of the Columbus Post, to Union City, Tenn., twenty miles from Columbus, to do outpost duty guarding Gen. Grant’s line of communication between Columbus and Corinth, which had been interrupted by raids of Confederate cavalry under Gen. Forrest.
Here barracks of logs and stockades were built and the men camped for the winter, doing guard duty and everything else incident to a military camp, facing a vigilant enemy. In this time Gen. Grant had gotten as far as Milliken’s Bend, on his way to Vicksburg, and on the first of March, 1863, the regiment pulled up stakes to join him. But again the fortunes of war decreed otherwise. Gen. Forrest, of the Confederacy, had made another raid in the rear of Gen. Grant, and at Columbus the regiment was switched off to Clinton, Ky., where for two months it was engaged again in the same kind of service as at Union City. On May 11th orders again came to move on towards Vicksburg. At Columbus the regiment boarded the steamer J. J. Rowe and started south to join the old 6th Division operating under Gen. Grant. On May 15th Memphis was reached and orders were found waiting us to report to Gen. Hurlburt, Post Commander there. Here the regiment was kept at garrison duty until about January 25th, 1864. While in garrison at Memphis the 21st was attached to the 1st Brigade, 3d Division, of the 16th Army Corps, commanded by Gen. A. J. Smith. The 1st Brigade was composed of, besides the 21st, the 89th Indiana, 119th Illinois, 58th Illinois, and the 9th Indiana Battery, commanded by Col. David Moore. On January the 28th the command boarded a steamer en route for Vicksburg. On the way down the river, opposite Islands Nos. 70 and 71, the vessel was fired on from the shore by Confederates under Gen. Marmaduke, and three men were killed and four wounded. With no other incident the regiment reached Vicksburg on the 1st of February.
On the next day, with the army under Gen. Sherman, the march to Meridian, Miss., began. They met and skirmished with the enemy at Champion Hills, on February 5th, Brandon on February 12th, and Meridian on February 14th.