Colonel Milo Smith: He Led From the Front

Milo Smith was living in Iowa when the call for volunteers went out in 1862. That summer he helped raise the 26th Iowa Infantry, a regiment drawn largely from eastern Iowa counties along the Mississippi River. The men elected Smith colonel, a decision Iowa papers treated as practical rather than sentimental. The Clinton Herald said he was “steady and methodical in the discharge of duty, attentive alike to discipline and the welfare of his command.” But that might not have been the complete story. A soldier’s letter in The Morning Democrat said the officers of the 26th were all “well liked, especially our Colonel, Milo Smith, who goes around among the men like a father.”

 

The 26th Iowa was mustered into federal service in September 1862 and sent south almost immediately. The regiment traveled downriver into Arkansas as part of Union efforts to secure the Mississippi River system and suppress Confederate positions along its tributaries.

 

The regiment’s first major engagement came in January 1863 at Fort Hindman, commonly known as Arkansas Post. The Confederate fort guarded the Arkansas River and posed a continuing threat to Union supply traffic on the Mississippi. Union commanders determined to remove it, assembling a combined force of infantry and gunboats for the attack.

On January 11, after a prolonged naval bombardment, Union infantry advanced against the fort’s outer defenses. In his official report, the brigade commander said the approach required troops to cross “open ground swept by artillery and musketry from the enemy’s works.” The 26th Iowa was placed in the attacking line and ordered forward under heavy fire.

 

Smith led from the front. Multiple accounts describe him moving ahead of the regiment’s colors, directing the advance under sustained fire. The Dubuque Times said Colonel Smith was “conspicuous in urging his men forward while exposed to a severe and continuous fire.” Smith “maintained his position in advance of the line, encouraging the men by word and example.”

 

The advance slowed as casualties mounted. Confederate fire intensified as the regiment closed on the works, and the ground offered little cover. In an official report submitted after the action, a Union officer noted that the 26th Iowa “held its position under a heavy fire until ordered to halt,” despite significant losses. The regiment remained close to the enemy works as the engagement continued.

 

During the assault, Smith was exposed repeatedly to enemy fire while actively directing the movement of his regiment. Contemporary accounts emphasize how narrowly he escaped injury as the line pressed forward. The command structure held under pressure, and subordinate officers carried out orders as the fighting continued. The 26th Iowa remained engaged until Confederate forces surrendered later that day. Fort Hindman fell, but the cost was high. The regiment suffered substantial casualties in its first major action.

 

News of the battle reached Iowa within days. Newspapers reported the regiment’s losses and praised its conduct under fire. The Iowa State Register said the 26th Iowa had been “severely tried in its first engagement,” singling out Colonel Smith for his steady leadership while the regiment was under heavy fire. The Clinton Herald described the action as “a hard baptism of battle” and credited Smith with maintaining discipline during the advance.

 

Several papers stressed the circumstances under which the regiment fought. One said Smith “was constantly at the front during the engagement.” He “remained on the field throughout the action, directing his men under fire.” His conduct at Arkansas Post established his reputation within the regiment.