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Civil War Diary of George H. Fuller, Hospital Steward in the 27th Iowa Infantry. ...
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Description
Civil War Diary of George H. Fuller, Hospital Steward in the 27th Iowa Infantry. 3.25" x 5" leather-bound pocket diary with 162 filled pages dating from August 25, 1862 to March 4, 1865. Entries are all written in pencil and include daily reports of Fuller's experience in the field as well as miscellaneous memoranda, personal accounting, and a record of letters sent and received. Fuller mustered into Company C of the 27th Iowa Infantry as a private on October 3, 1862. He then became a hospital steward and mustered out on August 5, 1865.During Fuller's time with the regiment, the 27th Iowa fought in Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Alabama. Soldiers fought in multiple engagements that included the capture of Little Rock, the Red River Campaign, and the sieges of Fort Blakely and Spanish Fort. The regiment only lost one officer and twenty-three enlisted men in battle.
Fuller's diary offers a comprehensive account of troop movements and initiatives throughout the war; most notably, he provides detailed reports of the Red River Campaign from March to May 1864. On March 14, he describes the capture of Fort DeRussy, writing, "Had reville [sic] at 4 a.m. and marched at daylight; came pretty fast till ten o'clock then saw the enemy, turned north, crossed the bayou; our regiment was in advance and crossed on an old flatboat, and skirmished through the wooded bottom. It had been hazing up all the forenoon and now rained a little. We waited awhile for bridges to be built and the column to come up, and then moved on very rapidly up a steep bank; and onto and over a beautiful prairie, settled by French creoles; peeped through several villages. About five o'clock our artillery became engaged, and soon after our regiment halted, and let most of the division go by, but was soon ordered forward again, and helped the brigade charge open and take the rebel Fort De Russy, on the Red River, with about two or three hundred prisoners and several cannon, one man mortally wounded of our regt; thirty or forty in all wounded."
The first push in Major General Nathaniel P. Banks' Red River Campaign, the capture of Fort DeRussy allowed Union troops to push forward to Alexandria, Louisiana. Although this initial assault was successful, the Red River Campaign was seen overall as a failure and poor use of resources. Banks' motivations behind the campaign largely centered around his own political ambitions. The general hoped that the initiative would launch him onto the national stage and allow him to secure the Republican nomination for the 1864 election.
On April 9, 1864, Fuller described his experience in the Battle of Pleasant Hill, writing, "Our brigade skirmished till three P.M. and were then furiously attacked and after hard fighting flanked and driven back, falling behind the 19th Army Corps, who advanced and drove the enemy back; fight closed at dark with victory on our side, and field in our hands. We followed regiment to the field with the ambulances but had to fall back about four o clock; then worked till after dark among the wounded with rear; then Mr. B. chaplain and I found the regiment, and chaplain and I went forward onto the field, came back in a couple of hours, and went down to the hospital of 3rd div..."
Also known as the Battle of Mansfield, Pleasant Hill was a decisive Union loss in the Red River Campaign. Although Banks had successfully advanced up the Red River to threaten the Confederate Louisiana capital of Shreveport, he was defeated by Confederate Major General Richard Taylor and forced to retreat towards Alexandria on April 9.
Finally, between May 16 and 18, 1864, Fuller detailed the Battle of Yellow Bayou, the final action in the failed Red River Campaign. On May 16, he wrote, "About seven o clock hard cannonading commenced in our front; about eight we marched south about three miles, most of 16th and 19th corps in line of battle on the prairie, and several batteries playing; we moved into line of battle in the right and advanced a mile or so; enemy gradually withdrew, and our whole line moved by left flank...none lost in our brigade, a few in our division; loss small on both sides..."
Two days later, he described another Union push, writing, "Started at sunrise, and marched a little below the earthworks; skirmishing in our rear, about eleven o'clock our division started back, went about a mile formed in line of battle, went on another mile, and lay down during the first part of the fight; some moved up to support a battery on our left, and drove the rebels from it; very sharp fighting for awhile; brigade afterwards charged through the timber for three quarters of a mile, driving the rebels before them till they were checked by heavy firing from a large battery. Rebels withdrew, followed by our cavalry. Dr. Bermer and I mostly at works at the hospital, a mile back from the field. Regiment, after dark, moved down and camped near a small bayou. Weather extremely hot. Our regiment lost three killed and thirteen wounded."
Though Union soldiers successfully pushed back against Confederate charges, the intense heat caused severe exhaustion and sunstroke. Brigadier General Joseph A. Mower ordered his troops to retreat into a thicket to rest; however, the woods caught fire and prevented them from pursuing the rebels any further. This final retreat ended the Red River Campaign and humiliated Banks, dashing any hopes for a presidential nomination.
Condition: Leather binding scuffed on both flaps and spine. Chipping to head and tail of spine as well as fore-edge flap. Binding fully detached from the text block with several sheets of paper also detached. Toning along edges with staining and foxing throughout. One detached page is also torn in half.
Auction Info
2023 September 21 Historical Manuscripts Signature® Auction #6272 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
September, 2023
21st
Thursday
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