“There she is!” Cried an excited Willis DeLay as they marched down the trail from the bluff to the river quay.
“Side-wheeler packet,“ observed Reuben. “Looks like a lot of folks are there to see us off.”
“Here we are marching off to war with no guns,” mused their cousin, John.
“Speak for yourself, cuz,” chuckled Reuben as he patted the revolver tucked into his pants. He’d kept the weapon from his days as a Kansas Jayhawker.
The day was November 4, 1861. The Third Iowa Cavalry was about to embark on its great adventure. The men were excited, but apprehensive. For many, it would be the first time leaving home. A few men would get to see their families at the departure ceremony.
The 3rd Iowa was bound for Benton Barracks, Missouri. Their horses and tack would follow on another riverboat. Reuben had assisted I Company’s new Quartermaster Sergeant in inspecting the horses to ensure they were ready for the trip.
Colonel Bussey marched at the head of the column. The men looked sharp in their new uniforms. They were developing the swagger and the cohesion of a well-drilled team. Bussey led their ranks to a position in front of a temporary reviewing stand. They halted, faced right, and stood at attention as the crowd erupted in applause. Captain Rankin and his wife stood on the platform waiting for the applause to die down.
“The Third Iowa has blessed this state and this community with its dedication to the cause of the Union. We will not soon forget your presence in our midst. In all of Iowa, indeed the nation, it would be difficult to find nobler men. We know that victories in the field will reward your hard work and dedication. As our parting blessing, let me present you with this flag to serve as your guidon in the many contests you will likely face.”
Mrs. Rankin handed a folded flag to her husband. She had stitched it herself.
“Would Colonel Bussey please come forward to receive the colors of this great nation?”
Bussey mounted the stage and began to speak.
“You have greatly honored this regiment with the presentation of these colors. We cannot and we will not fail you in the trust you have placed in us. This symbol of liberty and unity will be cherished by me and all members of this command. We thank you for bestowing this sacred ensign upon us.”
Someone shouted, “Three cheers!”
“Hip, Hip, Hooray! Hip, Hip, Hooray! Hip, Hip, Hooray!”
Bussey dismissed the men to mingle with the crowd for a few minutes before boarding. Old men shook their hands. Women provided everything from pies to roasted chickens. Then Bussey called the men to attention and had them file onto the steamer.
After boarding, Reuben made his way up two flights to the Hurricane Deck. It offered a good view of the river and its surroundings. Had it still been Summer, the breeze would have been welcome. All around him, men sprawled on the deck or leaned on the rails to get a look at the preparations for their departure.
Underneath them, stokers were busy building up a head of steam. Men on shore cast off the lines. The whistle sounded as the paddles reversed. The packet slowly backed into the river and turned south. Dusk was approaching as the boat picked up speed. Lights began to twinkle from the lamps of towns and farmhouses. Men smoked as they watched the lights go by. The moonlight lit the silver wake behind them. It was late in the night before the boat slept.
Morning came bright and clear, but it was chilly. The men were shivering, but a good hot breakfast soon had them moving about the boat. The fall foliage was brilliant. They had Illinois on their left and Missouri on their right. People waved to the troops from the shore. One little town on the Illinois side saluted them with a cannon.
Someone remarked, “I hope the Rebel cannons are just as welcoming.”
The boat pulled in a few times for fuel as the day faded into night. The next stop was St. Louis. Though the city billed itself as the “Gateway to the West’ it also served as the staging area for troops headed south.
The packet made the port of St. Louis on November 5th. The docks were a hub of activity as troops and war material poured in. There was no fanfare at docking. The men grabbed their gear and formed up on the street. Bussey led the march on a borrowed horse.
Wartime St. Louis was bursting at the seams. Unionist refugees had poured in from the small towns being terrorized by Rebel militias and guerrillas. Those who hadn’t fled sent their children to stay with friends and relatives. The city was relatively quiet. General Frémont had placed the city under martial law in August. Those with Confederate sympathies did not express them for fear of losing their life, liberty, or property. Some citizens turned out with welcoming waves while others just glowered at the marching Union troops. There were very few young men in St. Louis. They had left to join the Army. For some, that meant traveling south to join the Rebels. The majority had joined the Union Army. The Union had recruited large numbers of German immigrants from the St Louis area. The Rebels derisively referred to them as “lop-eared Dutchmen.”
As they marched along, Reuben wondered if the old warrant for horse theft still applied to him. Probably not. Martial law would take precedence, and that Missouri Sheriff might now be a wanted guerrilla subject to Frémont’s order.
Benton Barracks awed the troops as they marched into its central parade field. It was flanked by five huge, one-story barracks buildings, each measuring over 700 feet long. The cooks were delighted to find cookhouses with brick ovens and piped-in water. The camp included stables and plenty of room for practicing cavalry maneuvers.
At Benton Barracks, the troopers and their officers learned the latest cavalry tactics. Their officers carefully studied The Instructions, Formations, and Movements of The Cavalry of the Army and Volunteers of the United States by Col. Philip St. George Cooke. At the outbreak of the war, many of the cavalry’s best officers had joined the Confederacy, taking their expertise with them. The Union cavalry would have to learn some hard lessons as they were confronted by such Rebel cavalry leaders as J.E.B. Stuart and Nathan Bedford Forrest.
The men were taught the many roles performed by the cavalry during the Civil War. They were the eyes and ears of their commander, conducting patrols to probe the enemy’s location and strength. They’d raid behind enemy lines to disrupt communications, supplies, and transportation. In the heat of battle, they could be quickly deployed to guard the Army’s flanks. Sometimes they would execute a rapid charge on an enemy position to throw them off guard. If placed in the battle line, they fought dismounted, with one in four troopers holding their horses.
It was at Benton Barracks that the men finally got their arms. The rifles of the day were mostly muzzle-loaders and unsuited for cavalry operations. Not until the last years of the war would breech-loading and repeating carbines become available for the troopers. At this point in the War, their weapons were limited to revolvers and sabers.
The men were excited to get their revolvers. These were state-of-the-art rapid-firing weapons. Their multiple loads offered the troopers a chance to wreak havoc on a nearby enemy before retreating to safety. Reloading involved pouring the powder into the cylinder and tamping the ball down with a lever. Once all the chambers were loaded, grease was applied to prevent cross-firing. The final step was inserting the percussion caps into the back of each cylinder. Obviously, reloading was not something one did on horseback in the heat of battle. That’s what the cavalryman’s saber was for. Their sabers had 35-inch blades, a brass handle, and a leather grip. They were lethal at close quarters.
When firing practice began, Reuben took his brother Willis under his wing.
“Hold it like this and squeeze the trigger gently. Get used to the kick. Let the muzzle drop back down before firing the next shot. Above all, keep it clean.”
The saber was new to Reuben. He had to learn how to handle it with the others. Horsemanship was another skill that Reuben helped impart to the uninitiated boys. The men and their horses quickly adapted to the movements of the cavalry. They practiced charging imaginary foes. Once, they had a mock battle with another regiment. It was quite a melee as confusion and chaos reigned.
By February, the Third Iowa Cavalry was ready, trained, and equipped. The troopers felt like they could now take on the Rebels on their own ground. But like Midwestern schoolboys anxiously awaiting the arrival of their first circus, they had yet to “see the elephant.”
Index- Unbowed: The Saga of a Civil War Cavalryman- Unbowed: The Saga of a Civil War Cavalryman-Index – Outlaws, Outrages and Outright Lies
Outlaws, Outrages and Outright Lies 