One of my readers recently encouraged me to write about the 23rd Iowa Infantry at Milliken’s Bend. Although they played a central and important role in the battle, I find that often I must omit them for lack of time when I speak about the battle to groups. This is unfortunate. The 23rd was the only combat-tested regiment on the field that day (on either side), and they were the only white troops present on the Union side. Just half of the regiment was present, numbering a mere 120 men – but they took enormous casualties of 54%. Many of the officers of the Colored Troops pointed the finger at the Iowans and declared them cowards, accusing them of running away, but surely, such casualties prove otherwise.

I recently stumbled across an interesting book entitled American Patriotism, or Memoirs of ‘Common Men’ by Leonard Brown (1869). I was unaware of this title when I wrote my book; it would have added some nice touches if I had had it. Thanks to Google Books, it is easy to search out those passages concerning Milliken’s Bend, and to learn more about some of the individual soldiers that were there. Most of the men mentioned in this book were from Polk County or the Des Moines area.

Randolph Foster Harber “aquitted himself well” at Milliken’s Bend. (p. 274), and Lawrence Leonard was also involved at the fight. (p. 277)

Henry C. West wrote his family of the battle:

Sgt. James O’Bleness wrote this line in his diary the day before Milliken’s Bend:
“June 6 – were called out in line this morning to fight, but we did not have any fight.”
Sadly, this would be his last entry; he would die the next day in battle, leaving behind a wife and seven children. Excerpts from some of his letters are also included in the book. (p.292-296)

 Corwin Brown Frederick described the battle thus:

Corporal William Wilson, Jacob L. Springer, Luther W. Stanhope, Robert H. Fink, all of Company E, fell on the field that day. (p. 317).

Robert’s brother, William Fink, who survived, wrote this to his parents:

 

The following of Co. G were killed on the field of battle: First Sgt. Daniel J. Sturgeon (p. 327); Enoch Harlan (p. 332); and Sgt. Jacob B. Moon (p. 333).

Among the wounded of the regiment were: Maj. Leonard B. Houston (p. 490); Joseph H. Linn (p. 502); Henderson Stover (p. 529); and John S. Walker, all three enlisted men of Co. B (p. 535); and Austin Warnock of Co. C (p. 536).

I’m very fond of these old books that detail the individual soldier’s experiences, and especially find them helpful when they reprint some of the personal writings of the soldiers. I found this particular title when I learned about Google’s Ngram Viewer, which allows you to narrow your searches easily by timespan. The opening screen can be a little confusing, but if you just type your terms into the search box, you’ll get your results.