Not Till Then Can the World Know: Replacement Companies of the Fourteenth Iowa Infantry in the Trans-Mississippi

Not Till Then Can the World Know: Replacement Companies of the Fourteenth Iowa Infantry in the Trans-Mississippi

While the 14th Iowa Infantry was being organized in 1861, its first three companies (A, B, and C) were sent to the Dakota Territory. The remaining seven companies entered the Civil War in 1862, but to be complete the regiment still had to recruit replacements for the first three. This regimental history focuses on the replacement companies and on what the war was like for the men of the regiment in camp, on the march, and in battle in 1863 and 1864.The first part is the diary kept by 8th Corporal Valentine L. Spawr, a member of the new Company C and the 14th Iowa color guard, in camp at Fort Halleck, Ky., in 1863. The second part covers the regiment’s fighting in the Trans-Mississippi in 1864—Sherman’s Meridian Expedition, Banks’s Red River Campaign, and battles at Tupelo, Miss., and Pilot Knob, Mo. It includes the controversy over the dismissal of Colonel William T. Shaw, the regiment’s organizer and first commander—later a brigade and division commander in the 16th Army Corps—for publicly criticizing General Nathaniel Banks and other officers after the battle of Pleasant Hill, La.Busch used primary sources as much as possible, incorporating letters from soldiers in the same regiment and brigade, newspaper articles, and officers’ reports. Besides the diary, the book contains illustrations, a roster of the replacement companies, an index, and extensive notes. Spawr's diary provides "original, or at least rare, coverage," an "informative thread in the vast tapestry of published Civil War firsthand accounts," and Busch's "narrative strikes a good balance between being attentive to the experiences of the replacement companies while also keeping the bigger picture in focus." - Civil War Books and Authors [I]t's a solid account of that time at Columbus and it's another reminderthat Civil War soldiers didn't spend all their time fighting... Ms. Busch's footnotes expand upon specific individuals and events that he mentions in the diary... Almost all of the sources consulted for the rest of the book are primary (including letters from Iowans published in period newspapers)... [T]his part of the bookis more of a "big picture" view than just the three replacementcompanies (at least to the regimental and brigade level) but itcertainly does provide a sketch of the service the men in thosecompanies would have experienced." Andy Papen, The Western Theater in the Civil War