
Jones’
slender volume is appealing because it is based on his diary, written in a
straightforward fashion, and chronicles a regiment that served in all three
theaters of the war. The 22nd Iowa Infantry was one of Fox’s “300
Fighting Regiments” and was featured earlier in this blog. Jones’ discussed service
in Missouri and then his involvement in the Vicksburg campaign where his Iowa
regiment suffered severe losses during the May 22nd assault. Later
in the war, the regiment was one of three Iowa units that served in the 1864
Shenandoah Valley campaign.
Here
is a brief sampling about a mud march in Missouri on this date in 1862:
“February
8th. We leave West Plains. We take up our march going northeast on
the Thomasville road, a very muddy one. Marched ten miles and go into camp for
the night.
We start out on our march early this
morning. The wagon trains and artillery started out earlier than we did. We
found wagons and artillery stuck in the mud, some of the wagons abandoned. The
moving of the trains and artillery was almost an impossibility. There was much
wrath and confusion. We had it to do and we tried to make the best of it. We
reached Thomasville at 3 p. m. Our teams did not come in till ten p. m. We
could get nothing to eat until they came, therefore, we got our supper about
eleven o’clock.
We went into camp here on the banks
of Eleven Point river” (pages 18-19).
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