Congratulations!

The American Battlefield Protection Program of the National Park Service has awarded $1.3 million for its 2012 grants to endangered battlefields. Among the grant recipients are three organizations that seek to preserve trans-Mississippi battle sites. The following is taken from the ABPP’s website:

“Friends of Jenkins Ferry Battlefield

Arkansas

$40,000

The Battle of Jenkins Ferry, April 30, 1864, was a rear guard action fought at the end of the Camden Expedition during the Civil War. Federal forces succeeded in repelling repeated Confederate attacks and escaping across the Saline River to Little Rock, Arkansas with their supplies intact. This project will assess and prioritize preservation objectives for the battlefield. With only a small portion of the Jenkins Ferry battlefield currently preserved, assessing and prioritizing the entire battle landscape will provide a blueprint to aid in establishing and pursuing preservation objectives.

Missouri's Civil War Heritage Foundation, Inc.

Missouri

$28,500

Missouri was a border state during the Civil War and both sides recruited heavily from the state's population. One such recruitment mission, led by Confederate Colonel Joseph Porter, was disrupted by the battles of Kirksville, Florida, and Moore's Mill. This project will undertake an archeological survey to find and delineate the battlefield of Moore's Mill, the only one of the three believed to still be intact. The results will then be used to prepare a battlefield preservation plan and a National Register nomination.

North Dakota State University

North Dakota

$43,219

The frontier post of Fort Abercrombie was besieged for approximately six weeks as part of the 1862 Sioux War. At the time Fort Abercrombie wasn't designed for defense and had no stockade, so the garrison had to defend individual buildings. Although the boundaries of the fort itself are known, this project will delineate the battlefield boundaries surrounding the fort through an archeological survey. The findings will be used to amend the fort's National Register nomination.”

Fighting Hawkeyes: The 6th Iowa Infantry

William F. Fox included the 6th Iowa Infantry in his list of “Three Hundred Fighting Regiments” and rightfully so! Although the 6^th Iowa Infantry was present at the Athens skirmish, the unit mostly guarded Missouri railroads early in its service. Closely associated with William T. Sherman, the unit went on to see extensive service in Mississippi, the Atlanta campaign, the March to the Sea, and the Carolina campaign.

For more information about the 6^th Iowa, go to the following:

Iowa in the Civil War: a history and a complete roster are on this site

Wright, Henry H. A History Of The Sixth Iowa Infantry. Iowa City: State Historical Society of Iowa, 1923.

“Hick's Brigade —W. S. Smith's Division--Sixteenth Corps.

(1) Col. John A. McDowell.

(2) Col. John M. Corse; Bvt. Major-Gen.

(3) Col. William H. Clune.

Companies.		killed and died of wounds.			died of disease, accidents, in Prison, &c.			Total Enrollment.
		Officers.	Men.	Total.	Officers.	Men.	Total.
Field and Staff		2		2				14
Company	A		14	14		15	15	104
	B	1	14	15		14	14	109
	C	2	14	16		17	17	97
	D	1	14	15	1	9	10	120
	E		19	19		12	12	105
	F	1	15	16		14	14	116
	G		14	14		15	15	108
	H		9	9		11	11	104
	I		19	19		10	10	115
	K	1	12	13	1	9	10	110
Totals		8	144	152	2	126	128	1,102

152 killed =13.7 per cent.

Total of killed and wounded, 572; died in Confederate prisons (previously included), 14.

Battles.	K. & M. W.
Shiloh, Tenn.	63
Jackson, Miss. (May 14, 1863)	1
Vicksburg, Miss.	1
Jones’s Ford, Miss.	2
Jackson, Miss. (July 16, 1863)	6
Guerrillas	3
Missionary Ridge, Tenn.	13
Resaca, Ga.	7
Dallas, Ga.	10
New Hope Church, Ga.	1
Big Shanty, Ga.	4
Kenesaw Mountain, Ga.	9
Atlanta, Ga.	10
Ezra Chapel, Ga.	8
Lovejoy’s Station, Ga.	1
Griswoldville, Ga.	8
Columbia, S. C.	1
Bentonville, N. C.	1
Goldsboro, N. C.	2
Place unknown	1

Present, also, at Athens, Mo.; Siege of Corinth, Miss.; Chulahoma, Miss.; Holly Springs, Miss.; Ezra Chapel, Ga.; Jonesboro, Ga.; East Point, Ga.; Coosaw River, S. C.; Savannah, Ga.

Notes.--Organized at Burlington, Iowa, July 17, 1861, moving to Keokuk on August 2d, and to St. Louis on the 19th. In October it participated in Fremont’s Missouri campaign against Price, and during the winter of 1861-2, the regiment guarded the railroad from Sedalia to Tipton. In March, 1862, it moved to Pittsburg Landing, where it was assigned to Sherman's Division, Colonel McDowell being placed in command of the brigade. The battle of Shiloh occurred soon after, in which the regiment was commanded by Captain John Williams, its casualties in that battle amounting to 52 killed, 94 wounded, and 37 missing; a total of 183, out of less than 650 engaged. The Sixth continued in Sherman’s Division during the Siege of Corinth, after which McDowell's Brigade moved to Memphis, remaining there several months. The regiment passed the winter of 1862-3 at LaGrange, Tenn. Under command of Colonel Corse, the regiment distinguished itself on the skirmish line at Jackson, Miss., July 16, 1863, its gallantry there eliciting a special complimentary order from General William S. Smith, the division commander. At Missionary Ridge, the regiment was in Ewing’s Division, Fifteenth Corps; its loss there was 8 killed and 57 wounded. Colonel Corse received a serious wound in that battle, and soon after was promoted General for his gallant services. He afterwards made a national reputation by his gallant defense of Allatoona, where he received the historic dispatch signalled from Sherman, to ‘Hold the Fort, etc.’” (Fox, p. 406)