| Contact:
Jeff Morgan, Jeff.Morgan@iowa.gov,
(515) 281-3858
(DES
MOINES) – The State Historical Society
of Iowa will rotate battle flags in the Capitol rotunda
Monday, returning the 6th Iowa Infantry National flag
to storage and putting the 10th Iowa Infantry Regimental
flag on display.
The event will be at 11 a.m. in the Capitol rotunda.
The public is invited and encouraged to attend and
observe the rotation. For preservation concerns, the
6th Iowa Infantry will be stored in the State Historical
Building’s Battle Flag laboratory and will not
be available for public viewing for the next three
to four years. The 10th Iowa Infantry is the first
regimental flag to go on display at the Capitol after
receiving full conservation treatment.
“The 360 battle flags in our collection not
only carry the stories of the soldiers who fought
under them, they also carry the history of Iowa,”
said Cyndi Pederson, director of the Iowa Department
of Cultural Affairs. “When we took possession
of the flags several years ago, many of them were
in extremely poor physical condition. We rotate them
into exhibits as they are conserved and properly prepared
for public display.”
The 10th Iowa is a standard Regimental Civil War
flag. It is a blue silk flag, rectangular in shape,
with gold silk fringe extending around three sides
of the flag, excluding the hoist end. The flag is
71” high and 77” wide.
It is machine sewn with hand-painted images and stenciled
letters. The field consists of two crescent shaped
rows of 32 gold pigmented stars and soldiers snipped
pieces of the decorative hand-painted eagle down the
middle for souvenirs. The eagle’s out-stretched
wings and talons clutching the olive branches and
arrows are intact and the hand-painted banner below
the eagle reads “Tenth Iowa Veterans.”
The 10th Iowa Infantry was organized and mustered
into service August and September, 1861, from the
counties of central Iowa. It was destined to see action
in the Western theatre along the Mississippi River
and into Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas. It
was commanded at the beginning by Colonel Nicholas
Perczel of Davenport.
After mustering was completed at Camp Fremont near
Iowa City, the regiment headed south into Missouri.
Their first skirmish occurred at Charleston in southeastern
Missouri when Confederates ambushed them on the march
during a thunderstorm on January 8, 1862. Despite
the ambush, the 10th Iowa dispersed the enemy with
minimal casualties.
They settled into Charleston and did not see much
action until near the end of the winter. In March,
under the command of Brigadier General John Pope,
the 10th Iowa joined the general campaign to take
control of the Mississippi River.
Their first engagement in this campaign was the bombardment
of New Madrid, which the Confederates evacuated on
March 13. The following morning, the 10th Iowa was
the first regiment to enter the town to find that
the enemy “had left their suppers untouched,
their candles burning in their tents.”
Shortly thereafter, the 10th Iowa saw action at Island
No. 10, Iuka, and Corinth. The 10th Iowa went on to
serve the Union cause at Vicksburg, Champion Hills,
the Seige of Jackson and Missionary Ridge.
In June, 1864, the 10th Iowa was granted a month-long
furlough due to its high re-enlistment rate.
During that furlough, its flags were turned in to
the Iowa Adjutant General’s office. The Adjutant
General turned them over to the Historical Society
with the admonition that “…they (the flags)
have been borne gallantly and I send them to you as
sacred mementos of the men who have never faltered
in the hour of danger. Preserve them faithfully.”
When the Adjutant General recalled the flags in 1868
to the State Arsenal, SHSI sent two regimental colors
of the 10th Iowa, but retained the national flag.
After its furlough, the 10th Iowa was stationed near
Kingston, Georgia, northwest of Atlanta. It participated
in Sherman’s maneuvers that forced the Confederate
evacuation from Atlanta at the end of August. The
regiment also marched with Sherman to Savannah, into
the Carolinas, and into Columbia. It eventually reached
Washington, D.C. and marched in the Grand Review in
May 1865. The 10th Iowa Infantry was mustered out
of service in August 1865 at Little Rock.
One color bearer from the 10th Iowa Infantry has
been identified: Sgt. Jacob W. Gower, Company C, of
Toledo. Another color bearer was either Private Franklin
Sanders, Company F, of Deep River or Corporal Franklin
A. Sanders, Company I, of Independence.
Following is a summary of casualties and other statistics
involving the 10th Iowa Infantry:
Total enrollment: 1319
Killed: 63
Wounded: 277
Died of wounds: 35
Died of disease: 135
Discharged for wounds, disease or other causes: 288
Buried in national cemeteries: 60
Captured: 17|
Transferred: 49
The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs is responsible
for developing the state’s interest in the areas
of the arts, history and other cultural matters with
the advice and assistance from its two divisions:
the State Historical Society of Iowa and the Iowa
Arts Council. DCA preserves, researches, interprets
and promotes an awareness and understanding of local,
state and regional history and stimulates and encourages
the study and presentation of the performing and fine
arts and public interest and participation in them.
It implements tourism-related art and history projects
as directed by the General Assembly and designs a
comprehensive, statewide, long-range plan with the
assistance of the Iowa Arts Council to develop the
arts in Iowa. More information about DCA is available
at www.culturalaffairs.org.
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