Civil War Letter From 6th Iowa Infantry 1863

This letter from the 6th Iowa Infantry at Oak Ridge, Miss., dated August 24, 1863, was printed in the Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye on September 12, 1863.

6th Iowa Infantry on a scouting expedition

Having just returned from a sojourn at Paducah, Ky., made in consequence of a wound received at Black River on the 6th of July, I thought an account of a few things noticed on the trip down the river might not prove uninteresting to your readers. 

 

And first, allow me to say that the hospitals at Paducah are just what they ought to be. Those who have friends there may rest assured that everything possible is being done to make them comfortable, and if they do not recover, it will not be because they are beyond the reach of medical skill and the equally important attention of the kindest and best nurses. 

At Cairo, we were directed to the soldiers’ home for lodging, as it was necessary for us to tarry there overnight. But we found it necessary to shift our quarters to the Saint Charles Hotel, in consequence of the dirt, bedbugs, fleas, mosquitoes, and various other vermin.

 

We escaped from all the above evils except the mosquitoes by the change. I would advise all travelers to walk ten miles into the country and bivouac in the woods rather than passing a night in Cairo. And all soldiers are warned against stopping at “Home” there on any occasion, as that institution is monopolized by the insect kingdom.

6th Iowa Infantry boarding the steamboat Von Phil

At Cairo, we got an order for transportation to Memphis, after awaiting the convenience of the government officials paying for our tickets rather than wait for another day. We went on board the steamer “Von Phil,” and after some difficulty with the gentlemanly (?) mud clerk, who wanted to quarter us on the lower deck in company with 60 government wagons and 360 heads of mule, we took passage on the middle deck, where we were quite comfortable. 

 

I mentioned this circumstance to show the spirit manifested to soldiers by the steamboat men, since Ge. Grant’s  order fixing the fares which soldiers traveling on furlough should pay. These sharks, who have been coining money out of the country’s misfortunes for the past two years, expected to make a big thing out of the travel arising from the furlough system. General Grant’s very wise and just order, while it allows them a reasonable compensation, defeats their scheme of extortion; consequently, they are indignant and will do all in their power to make those to whom they owe the privilege of navigating the lower river, uncomfortable, while on their boats. Fortunately, our soldiers are able to take care of themselves.

 

At Memphis, we found business lively. And, by the way, the soldier’s lodge at Memphis is a very different affair to that at Cairo; furnishing very comfortable quarters to all who choose to stop there on the way home or to their regiment. A good many of our regiment are sick with fevers brought on by the fatigue and exposure of the late campaign. Those of our regiment wounded at Jackson are here in the regiment hospital. They are all doing well under the skillful treatment of Doctors Lambert and Haldermann. The second wounded are to be sent home on furlough as soon as they can travel.

 

The weather here is not any more impressive than on the Ohio River. The days are extremely hot, but the nights are cool and pleasant. A late rumor placed four regiments of rebel cavalry on this side of Black River a day or two ago; but nothing has been seen, except a few squads of half a dozen, engaged in picking up these orders from the parole camp of General Pemberton‘s Army.

 

6th Iowa Infantry collecting wounded on battlefield

Twenty men of our regiment under Lieutenant Holmes, Co. A, are mounted and engaged in patrolling the country in this region. A company of Negroes has been organized and attached to this brigade for outpost duty.

 

We are waiting patiently for the cool weather, when we expect to go to work and finish up the war, i.e. if the powers that be will permit

 

Truly yours, Linton.