Thirty-Third Iowa Volunteer Infantry

The Thirty-third Regiment of Iowa Infantry was organized under the proclamation of President Lincoln, bearing date July 2, 1862. The ten companies of which the regiment was composed were ordered into quarters by Governor Kirkwood; between the dates August 10 and September 6, 1862. The rendezvous designated in the orders was Oskaloosa, Iowa, and, as the companies arrived, they were assigned to quarters at Camp Tuttle, located upon the County Fair Grounds, near Oskaloosa, and named in honor of Brigadier General James M. Tuttle, formerly Colonel of the Second Iowa Infantry. The organization of the regiment was perfected, by the muster into the service of the United States of the enlisted men and the field, staff and line Officers, by Lieutenant Charles J. Ball, of the Regular Army, of the 18th day of October, 1862. The term of service was for three years or during the war. At the completion of the muster, the rolls showed the aggregate strength of the regiment was nine hundred sixty-nine. Early additional enlistments of sixteen men brought the number up to nine hundred eighty-five.

Colonel Samuel A. Rice had been chosen by Governor Kirkwood to organize and command the regiment, and a better selection for that important office could not have been made. Colonel Rice was a man of high character and superior ability. He had held the office of Attorney General of Iowa from 1856 to 1861, had discharged the duties of that office with acknowledged ability, and was well and favorably known throughout the State. The regiment was also fortunate in the selection of good and capable men to fill the other positions, of field, staff and line Officers. The enlisted men came from all the avocations of life, and many of them were entirely capable of discharging with credit to themselves and the regiment the duties of commissioned Officers, which they demonstrated whenever the opportunity for promotion came to them. There was a larger proportion of married men, among both the Officers and those in the ranks of the regiments which were organized at this and the later periods of the war, than in those earlier organizations which responded to the first call of the President. While no less patriotic than the men who had preceded them to the field, they had remained with their families until it became evident that their services were required, and they were then ready to make the great sacrifice which their country called upon them to make, when 300,000 more men were needed at the front, to reinforce the brave men who were contending against the armed hosts of treason and rebellion.

The proclamation of the President was promptly supplemented by that of Governor Kirkwood, and there was no lack of volunteers in response to the call. The Thirty-third was one of the five infantry regiments required to make up the number of men apportioned to the State of Iowa.

On the morning of November 20, 1862, the regiment left its rendezvous at Camp Tuttle, and marched to Eddyville the same day. It was conveyed from to the latter place to Keokuk, where it embarked on transport and proceeded to St. Louis, where it arrived on the evening of the 22d. Colonel Rice reported to Major General Curtis for orders, and the regiment was temporarily assigned to duty in the city - a portion of it guarding prisoners and another portion acting as provost guards. It continued in the discharge of these duties, to the entire satisfaction of the General commanding, until the morning of December 22d, when it again embarked on transport and proceeded down the Mississippi River, to Columbus, Kentucky., where, on the morning of December 24th, it disembarked, marched a short distance below the town and took position in line of battle, ready to meet an attack from a rebel force, which was reported to be advancing from that direction. Colonel Rice ordered his men to construct a line of breastworks, and the work was promptly begun and continued far into the night, but no enemy appeared. The regiment occupied this same position until New Year's Day, 1863, on which date it was conveyed to Union City, Tennessee, to assist in repelling a threatened attack upon that place; but the enemy again failed to appear, and the regiment was ordered to return to Columbus, where it arrived on January 3d. The only casualty sustained thus far was one man accidentally wounded. A detailed description of the Yazoo Expedition would occupy many pages of this historical sketch. Conservation of space compels the omission of such details. The compiler can only give a condensed history of the leading events, and will devote the largest amount of space to the description of the operations of the regiment when in direct conflict with the enemy, and its achievements in battle, as shown by the official reports.

On the morning of January 8, 1863, Colonel Rice received orders to proceed with his regiment to Helena, Arkansas, and, again embarking on steamer, the regiment was conveyed to that place, arriving there on the 13th, and going into camp half a mile south of the town. The weather was exceedingly disagreeable. It rained most of the time during the winter, and the regiment suffered greatly from sickness. There were several other Iowa regiments at Helena and all had the same gloomy experience, their numbers being constantly reduced by deaths from disease and discharge for disability incurred from same cause. On February 9th the officers and men of the Thirty-third Iowa who were able for duty proceeded with other troops, to the Yazoo Pass, and assisted in the arduous labor of clearing that devious and narrow channel from obstructions, preparatory to the expedition against For Pemberton. On February 23d the troops returned to Helena, and, on the next day, joined the main expedition and moved down the Pass towards the Fort. The troops suffered greatly upon this expedition, which proved a failure, and finally returned to Helena, where, on April 9th the Thirty-third Iowa went into camp; in a new location on higher ground, half a mile northwest of the town. During its service on the Yazoo Pass Expedition, the brigade to which the Thirty-third Iowa was attached was commanded by General Fisk. He continued in command of the brigade until June 11, 1863, upon which date Colonel Rice succeeded him, and Lieutenant Colonel Cyrus H. Mackey succeeded Colonel Rice as commander of the regiment.

From the date of its return to Helena, the Thirty-third Iowa was engaged in the ordinary duties of camp and garrison life. It was thoroughly drilled, both in the manual of arms and in the various movements and evolutions that might become necessary in an engagement with the enemy, both as a regiment and as part of a brigade, and became quite proficient in executing such movements. Its officers and men were impressed with the necessity of strict discipline, and the regiment was thus prepared to render efficient service when called upon to meet the enemy in battle. There were occasional expeditions into the country in the vicinity of Helena, in which the regiment participated for the purpose of watching the movements of the enemy, of whose approach there were constant rumors. Only small scouting parties of the enemy's cavalry were discovered, however, and the infantry did not become engaged on any of these expeditions; at least there is no record of the Thirty-third Iowa having come into direct conflict with the enemy until the morning of July 4, 1863. Upon that date the effective strength of the garrison which manned the works at Helena was about four thousand men. Major General B. M. Prentiss was in command of the post, with Brigadier General Salomon in active command of the division of troops which defended the works. The brigade, commanded by Colonel Samuel A. Rice, consisted of the Twenty-ninth, Thirty-third and Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry, the Third Iowa Battery, and the Thirty-third Missouri Infantry. The town of Helena was strongly fortified. The position was naturally a strong one, as the ridges occupied by the forts were high and broken by deep ravines. The roads leading into the town over these ridges had been blockaded with fallen trees, for the purpose of retarding the approach of the enemy. The gunboat "Tyler," stationed in the channel of the river, in front of the town, was also an important factor in its defense. It was partly owing to these advantages, on the part of the defensive forces, that the greatly superior strength of the enemy did not prove sufficient to capture the post, but the splendid manner in which the Union troops were handled. and the courage and determination with which they met and repulsed the repeated assaults of the rebel army of ten thousand men, was the determining factor in the successful defense of Helena, on the same day that the rebel stronghold at Vicksburg surrendered to General Grant, and the rebel army was defeated at Gettysburg. The official report of Lieutenant Colonel Mackey, showing the conspicuous part taken by his regiment in the battle of Helena, is here given in full:

HEADQUARTERS THIRTY-THIRD IOWA INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS
HELENA, ARK., July 6, 1863
To COLONEL SAMUEL A. RICE
Commanding Second Brigade, Thirteenth Division, Thirteenth Army Corps
Colonel: I have the honor to make the following report of the part taken by the Thirty-third Regiment Iowa Infantry, in the battle at this position the 4th instant. On the morning of the 4th of July, in compliance with orders from brigade headquarters, I formed the regiment in line and marched to Fort Curtis, arriving there at half past two o'clock A. M. Shortly after three o'clock, firing commenced on the part of the picket line occupied by my regiment, it being to the right and left of the Little Rock road. At four o'clock A. M. I received orders from Brigadier General Salomon to move my regiment to the foot of the hill on the said road and, from that place to reinforce Batteries C and D, when attacked. I had no sooner arrived at this point with the regiment when the enemy in strong force attacked Battery D. I immediately detached Companies B and G, under command of Major H. D. Gibson, to the assistance of this battery. Discovering at the same time that the enemy were making preparations to assault Battery C, I sent forward Companies A and F, to the support of this battery. Finding that the force I had sent to Battery D was not sufficient to cope with the enemy, I ordered Companies H, E, I and K forward, and occupied the rifle-pits on the Little Rock road. At the same time, ordered Company D into the rifle-pits on the left of Battery C. I then occupied the ravine between the batteries with Company C. The assault on Battery D lasted about thirty minutes, when the enemy was repulsed and driven back in confusion. By this time the position of the enemy was concealed by a heavy fog, which did not rise until eight o'clock A. M. During this time the enemy sent forward heavy bodies of skirmishers and sharpshooters, and once attempted to charge the battery, but did not succeed in bringing their forces forward. At eight o'clock A. M. they charged Batteries D and C, bringing forward Generals Fagan and Parson's Brigades. They succeeded in carrying Battery C, but not until they had many of their men and Officers killed and wounded: but their superiority in numbers was so great that they completely overpowered our force at the battery. The three companies from my own regiment and two from the Thirty-third Missouri constituted the entire force at this battery. The men retired from the battery in the direction of Fort Curtis, about two hundred fifty yards. By this time we had completely routed the enemy in front of Battery D. They succeeded here only sufficiently to get possession of the extreme left of the rifle-pits. Our force at this battery consisted of six companies of my own regiment, six of the Thirty-third Missouri and two of the Forty-third Indiana. I now withdrew Companies I and K, and formed a new line with them and Companies A, F, D and C, to the rear of Battery C, two hundred fifty yards, which succeeded in completely stopping any further progress of the enemy. Finding themselves repulsed at all points, they commenced to fall back to the timber. Things at this battery remained in this condition for some time. Many of the enemy, instead of falling back to the timber, took refuge in the woods around the battery, and kept up a desultory fire therefrom. Finding that the enemy was not going to attempt anything more in this direction, I withdrew the two companies I had brought here, and returned to the Little Rock road, in front of Battery D; arriving there, I ordered the while force to charge forward on this road. The entire force advanced with a will that carried everything before them, and in ten minutes I had complete possession of the entire battleground on this road, and obtained several hundred prisoners and two stands of colors. As soon as I had completed this movement, I ordered a flank movement from this road, on the enemy, who were in front of Battery C. I selected Companies B and K for this purpose, and ordered them forward. I then ordered my right wing to attack the enemy in front in conjunction with a part of the First Indiana Cavalry, dismounted, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Pace. This movement only partially succeeded, caused, as I suppose, by misapprehension by Colonel pace of an order of General Prentiss. We succeeded so far, however, as to capture about one hundred prisoners. This last movement terminated the battle. It was now ten o'clock A. M. The men were very much exhausted, having been constantly engaged for six hours. From eighty to one hundred rounds of ammunition had been expended to the man. The loss of my own regiment was: killed on the field seventeen; wounded fifty-two; taken prisoners, seventeen (three men were taken at Battery C). Eight of the wounded have since died from their wounds. I went to the engagement with five hundred men. The officers and men of the entire command behaved themselves splendidly. The force we had to contend with was at least five to one, and I feel perfectly safe in saying that the regiment took as many prisoners as we had men in action. They all did so well that it is a difficult matter for me to attempt to particularize who id best. I take particular pleasure in mentioning the names of Major H. D. Gibson, Captain John P. Yerger, Captain John Lofland, Lieutenant Cheney Prouty and Captain L. W. Whipple. The manner in which these officers conducted themselves is deserving of the highest praise. I would also call your attention to the good conduct of Second Lieutenant Sharman, of Company G, who had command of the picket guard. He succeeded in holding the enemy in check until we were fully prepared to receive them, brought his guard all off (except a number that were killed and wounded) in good order, and joined the regiment. He was wounded in the head very severely but I think not dangerously. The foregoing report, hastily written, and not so complete as I should have wished, is most respectfully submitted.

The regiment remained at Helena until August 11, 1863, of which date it took up the line of march--with its brigade and division--toward Little Rock; Ark. Colonel Samuel C. Rice had been promoted to the rank of Brigadier General of August 4, 1863, in recognition of his distinguished service at the battle of Helena, and was now in command of a division to which the brigade--which he had formerly commanded--was attached, and of which the Thirty-third Iowa still formed a part. Colonel Benton, of the Twenty-ninth Iowa, succeeded Colonel Rice as commander of the brigade.

The army marched to Clarendon, where it crossed White River, and, resting there for a few days, continued its march to Devall's Bluff, of the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad, where a hospital and depot of supplies was established. The weather was excessively hot and dry, and the men had suffered so greatly upon the march from Helena to Clarendon that, when the latter place was reached, there were over one thousand men of General Steele's army who were sick, and had to be conveyed by transports to Devall's Bluff, where they were left In hospital. When the army again moved forward towards Brownsville, the men were compelled to endure even greater hardships of account of the intense heat and lack of water while crossing Grand Prairie. Many were prostrated with sunstroke. There was not a sufficiency of room in the ambulances for one-half the number who were unable to march. Under such terrible conditions it became a necessity to fill the ambulances to their utmost capacity, send them ahead of the marching column, as far as it was deemed safe to go, leave them by the road-side, and return for others.

Thus, for the greater part of two days, the sick were subjected to intense suffering, from which many deaths resulted and many more were rendered unfit for further service. After a few days' rest at Brownsville, the army again moved forward toward Little Rock. In the operations which ensued, resulting in the capture of that place, the cavalry division, under General Davidson, took the advance and were the first troops to enter the city. There was little fighting done by the infantry, and the cavalry and artillery were fully entitled to the credit of driving the rebel troops before them and suffering most of the casualties that were indicted by the enemy, who made a stubborn but brief defense before yielding possession of that important post.

The infantry had followed closely however, and the Thirty-third Iowa had performed its full share of arduous duty upon the march, and was ready to have participated in the conflict, had its services been required. The regiment remained at Little Rock during the remainder of the summer and autumn of 1863. In November it took part in an expedition--commanded by General Rice--in pursuit of a force of rebels under General Marmaduke, then retreating from Pine: Bluff, where he had been repulsed with heavy loss. General Rice's command marched rapidly as far as Rockport, of the Washita River, but did not succeed in overtaking the rebel force. This ended the active operations of the regiment for the year 1863.

The regiment remained in winter quarters at Little Rock until March 23, 1864, upon which date it marched with the army under General Steele, to cooperate with the army under General Banks, who was then engaged in his ill-fated Red River campaign. Instead of being able to cooperate with each other, however, both these Generals soon found themselves confronted by such strong forces of the enemy that it no longer became a question of their being able to unite the two armies, but the problem which presented itself to each of them was that of successfully defending their respective armies against the courageous and desperate attacks of their rebel foes.

That they finally succeeded in extricating themselves from their perilous situation was due more to the magnificent courage and fortitude of the troops they commanded, and the skill and efficiency of their subordinate Officers, than to their own fitness and capacity as army commanders. Had General Banks kept his forces together at Pleasant Hill and had General Steele not have continued his advance upon Camden, when his line of retreat to Little Rock was still open. the results would have been more favorable to the reputations of both. In the case of General Banks, however, it seems to have been a lack of confidence in himself and the fighting qualities of his troops; while General Steele seems to have had unbounded confidence in himself and in the troops under his command. Of the two, therefore, General Steele must be accorded the greater credit. He made a heroic effort to carry out his .instructions. His error consisted in attempting to accomplish the impossible and in subjecting his troops to conflicts and privations which might have been avoided by the exercise of greater prudence and kill on the part of their General.

The brigade commanded by General Rice, during the expedition to Camden and until after the battle of Jenkins' Ferry, consisted of the Twenty-ninth and Thirty-third Iowa, the Fiftieth Indiana and the Ninth Wisconsin Regiments of Infantry. Colonel was sick at the time the regiment left Little Rock, and Major Gibson was in command of the regiment on the march to Camden, where Colonel rejoined the regiment, he having sufficiently recovered to take charge of the supply train which was sent from Little Rock. The objective point of General Steele's army was Shreveport, but--as will subsequently be shown--he was prevented from reaching that place and was compelled to return to Little Rock, the retrograde movement involving many severe conflicts with the enemy and great suffering to the troops under his command. The first conflict with the enemy in which any of the regiments of General Rice's Brigade were engaged was at and near Terre Noir Bayou, on April 2d, where the Twenty-ninth Iowa-acting as rear guard to the supply train-successfully repulsed an attack of the enemy's cavalry. The Fiftieth Indiana was sent to the support of the Twenty-ninth Iowa, but the Thirty-third Iowa and Ninth Wisconsin did not become engaged at that time. During the engagement at Elkin's Ford, on April 4th, where the Thirty-sixth Iowa so greatly distinguished itself, General Rice was ordered to the front with a portion of his brigade, but did not reach the field of conflict until the enemy had begun to retreat. General Rice was slightly wounded in that engagement. The enemy retreated to Prairie D' Ane, and was there found drawn up in line of battle in the edge of the timber on April 10, 1864.

It was here that General Steele received intelligence of the disasters that had overtaken General Banks' army on Red River, and it was here that prudence seemed to demand the beginning of the retreat of General Steele's army towards Little Rock, before the rebel army in his front had been heavily reinforced. Instead of retreating at this time, however, General Steele boldly advanced with his army, his advance constantly skirmishing with the army, until, on April 16th, he reached and took possession of the town of Camden. He was there nearly surrounded by the enemy, whose numbers were daily increasing. He was far from his base of supplies, and his army was threatened with destruction. Only one of his supply trains from Little Rock had succeeded in getting through. His army was suffering for lack of food. Forage trains were sent into the surrounding country, heavily guarded. These trams were frequently attacked by the enemy, and severe conflicts took place. Many of the train guards were killed or wounded, and many were captured, together with a large number of teams and wagons. At length, on the night of April 26, 1864, General Steele yielded to the inevitable and ordered a retreat to Little Rock.

The enemy followed in pursuit and, on the evening of April 29th, was close upon the heels of the retreating army, near Jenkins' Ferry. General Steele had that day made a rapid march in order to put the Saline River between his army and that of the enemy. It was after dark, on the 29th, when the troops commenced crossing the river on a pontoon bridge, but the darkness and rain, and the exhausted and almost starving teams, made it impossible to effect the crossing of the entire army during the night.

The Thirty-third Iowa had been sent back to the rear to reinforce Colonel Englemann's Brigade--which constituted the read guard of the army--and remained on picket guard during the night. When daylight came, a brigade of rebel troops was discovered marching to the left of the position occupied by the Thirty-third Iowa. General Rice, who had been in consultation with General Steele, knowing that not more than one-half the army had crossed the river before daylight, realized the danger which threatened that portion of the army which remained in the rear. Upon riding back to ascertain the position of the enemy, he found his old regiment occupying the post of greatest honor-and peril-in the extreme rear of the army. He immediately ordered the Fiftieth Indiana to move back to the support of the Thirty-third Iowa and, with the Twentieth Iowa and Ninth Wisconsin in reserve, awaited the attack of the enemy.

Upon finding, however, that the brigade of the enemy that had been seen marching to the left, was getting in position to outflank his two advanced regiments, General Price ordered the Thirty-third Iowa and Fiftieth Indiana to change front and retire to a New position, for the purpose of protecting his left flank The movement had only just been completed when the enemy made an attack upon a portion of the Twenty-ninth Iowa and a detachment of another brigade, posted on the right, for the purpose of diverting attention from his main force, which was moving against the left. The enemy delivered his attack upon the Thirty-third Iowa and Fiftieth Indiana with a greatly superior force, and compelled the left wing of the Thirty-third to give way and fall back some little distance, but, at that critical juncture, the Twelfth Kansas Infantry came to its support, led by General Rice, the ground was quickly regained, and the enemy not only held in check but driven back for a considerable distance. In the meantime, the Twenty-ninth Iowa and Ninth Wisconsin had been fighting against the largely increased force of the enemy until their ammunition was nearly exhausted, when another Kansas regiment (the Second Colored) came to their support, and the enemy was also driven back on the right, with heavy loss, and the capture of one of his batteries of artillery.

The enemy renewed his attack upon the left, and a conflict of great stubbornness ensued. The Thirty-third Iowa, part of the Fortieth Iowa, the Fiftieth Indiana, the Twelfth Kansas, and detachments from other commands, withstood the fierce onslaught of the enemy. The battle raged until noon. General Rice was severely wounded and borne from the field. Colonel Salomon, of the Ninth Wisconsin, succeeded to the command of the brigade. Three battle flags, a battery and a considerable number of prisoners had been captured from the enemy, and the battle of Jenkins' Ferry had been fairly won by the heroism and fortitude of the Union troops. They had suffered heavy loss. The Thirty-third Iowa sustained a loss of one hundred twenty-three, killed and wounded. Among the severely wounded was the gallant Colonel Mackey, the command of the regiment passing to Captain Cyrus B. Boydston, who bravely led it through the remainder of the engagement. Colonel Mackey subsequently wrote the official report, in which he states that all the Officers and men of the regiment bravely performed their duty, but makes special mention of none.

General Steele immediately ordered all his troops to cross the river and went into encampment for a brief rest before continuing his retreat. Three days later, the men and Officers of General Steele's army, who had survived the battles and terrible hardships of that miserable and fruitless campaign, were again at Little Rock. The official reports show that the total casualties sustained by the Thirty-third Iowa of the Camden expedition, resulting directly from conflict with the enemy, were one hundred thirty-three, but to this list must be added the number who died of were discharged for disability incurred from the hardships and exposure endured upon that expedition. Reference is made to the subjoined roster for the names of all the officers and men of the regiment who were killed or wounded or who died from disease from March 23, 1864--the date when the regiment started of the expedition--to May 3, 1864, the date of its return to Little Rock. It is a fearfully long list, and tells more eloquently than words can describe the terrible experience through which the regiment passed during that period of its service.

From May 3 to October 30, 1864, the regiment remained of garrison duty at Little Rock, engaged in the ordinary duties performed by troops stationed at a military post. Major Gibson had resigned of April 22, 1864, at Camden. 9 Captain John Lofland, of Company D, had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and was in command of the regiment while Colonel Mackey was absent recovering from his wound. Captain Cyrus B. Boydston, of Company A, had been promoted to Major and, upon the return of Colonel Mackey, the regiment again had its full complement of field officers. The history of the subsequent operations of the regiment is condensed, by the compile., from the official reports of Colonel Cyrus H. Mackey.

The regiment, under command of Colonel Mackey, left Little Rock of October 30, 1864, as escort to a supply train of two hundred wagons, and marched to Fort Smith. Ark. The march to and return from the Fort was made in twenty-six days, and the distance covered was three hundred sixty miles. While of this march the regiment captured two officers and thirty-eight men, who belonged to the rebel General Price's army, then of its retreat from Missouri, and returned to Little Rock without the loss of a single soldier or team. On January 21,1865, the regiment again left Little Rock, and marched to Mount Elba, Ark., of the Saline River, and returned on February 4, 1865, having marched one hundred sixty miles. No casualties reported.

The regiment left Little Rock of February 14, 1865, under orders to report to Major General Canby at New Orleans. It was conveyed by railroad to Devall's Bluff, and from thence by steamboat to New Orleans, and. upon its arrival there, on February 23d, proceeded by rail to Lakeport, where it embarked on transport and was conveyed to Navy Cove, Ala. At the latter place the regiment became a part of the force which was concentrated there for the purpose of operating against the defenses of Mobile, Alabama of March 17, 1865, the march began. The country through which the troops moved for a distance of forty-five miles was known as "The Wilderness." Many miles of corduroy roads had to be constructed, in order to get the trains and artillery through to the mouth of Fish River, and consequently the troops made very slow progress. of the 25th of March, the army began its march towards Spanish Fort, twenty-five miles from the mouth of Fish River, and, on the evening of March 27th, the movement of investing the fort began, and was completed of the following morning. In the series of siege operations which followed, the Thirty-third Iowa bore a conspicuous part and acquitted itself with honor.

On the first night of the siege the regiment gained an important position, so close to the enemy's works as to enable it to keep up such a constant fire upon the rebel gunners as to prevent them from serving their guns to good advantage. The casualties of the regiment were, therefore, comparatively small, considering the length of time it was under fire. The fort was captured of the evening of April 8, 1865. The Thirty-third Iowa had maintained its advanced position during the siege, with a total loss of two commissioned officers and ten enlisted men, all more of less severely wounded.

On April 9, 1865, the regiment marched from Spanish Fort to Fort Blakely reaching the latter fort in the evening, only in time to witness its capture by the Union forces under command of General Steele. On the morning of April 10th the regiment crossed Mobile Bay on transport, and that evening entered the city of Mobile. of the following day the regiment again took up the line of march and, at Whistler Station, twelve miles from Mobile, had a slight skirmish with the enemy, in which no casualties are reported. At that point the regiment captured a considerable amount of rolling stock of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. It remained at Whistler Station until April 19th of which date it marched to McIntosh Bluff, Ala., where it remained until June 1, 1865, of which date it received orders to embark of the ocean steamer "Continental," and was conveyed to Brazos Santiago, Texas. Remaining at the latter place one week, it moved to the Rio Grande, opposite the town of Bagdad where it remained in camp until June 26th, when Colonel Mackey received orders from Major General Steele to embark his regiment on the steamer "Warrior" and proceed to Galveston, Texas, and there report to Major General Granger. The regiment arrived at Galveston of July 3d, and was ordered to proceed to New Orleans and there report to Major General Sheridan. Upon arriving at New Orleans, on July 7th, colonel Mackey was ordered to disembark his command, go into camp, and begin the preparation of the muster out rolls of his regiment, The recruits which had joined the regiment were transferred to the Thirty-fourth Iowa and were subsequently mustered out with that regiment.

Upon the completion of the rolls. by the Adjutant, the Thirty-third was mustered out of the service of the United States at New Orleans, Louisiana., July 17, 1865. As stated in the official report of Colonel Mackey, the number of enlisted men borne upon the rolls at the date of muster out was four hundred and the number of commissioned officers thirty, making a total of but four hundred thirty remaining of the nine hundred eighty-five borne upon the original muster-in rolls of the regiment. The day following its muster out of the service, the regiment was furnished with transportation to Davenport, Iowa, where it arrived August 1st, and where it was finally disbanded of the 8th day of August, 1865.

In its comparatively limited field of operations, the Thirty-third Regiment of Iowa Infantry Volunteers won for itself as notable and honorable a record as any of the regiments which the State of Iowa sent into the field during the great War of the Rebellion. It was not given the opportunity to participate in the greatest battles of the war, but its achievements were none the less glorious of those battlefields where it met and defeated the enemy with the odds so tremendously against it. Its Officers and men exhibited the highest degree of courage and fortitude, under the almost incredible hardships and privations to which they were subjected. It is, therefore, entitled to take an honored place in military history and to the lasting gratitude of every loyal son and daughter of the great Commonwealth of Iowa.

SUMMARY OF CASUALTIES.
Total Enrollment -- 1242
Killed -- 36
Wounded -- 177
Died of wounds -- 41
Died of disease -- 197
Discharged for wounds, disease or other causes -- 171
Buried in National Cemeteries -- 147
Captured -- 74
Transferred -- 32