Sunday, December 09, 2018

Nathan W. Kendall and the 1863 Battle of Springfield


Russell's Nathan W. Kendall had just turned 78 and was reaching back in memory 57 years when he sat down during March of 1920 to write a brief, evocative and powerful account of his first Civil War battlefield experience --- at Springfield, Missouri, on Jan. 8, 1863. It was in the form of a letter to the editor of The Chariton Leader and was published on March 18.

Nathan and his older brother, Elijah, were members --- along with dozens of other Lucas County men --- of Company C, 18th Iowa Volunteer Infantry, mustered at Camp Kirkwood, Clinton, during late July 1862. Although reasonably well trained and equipped, the men of the 18th were inexperienced when dispatched to Springfield, in southwest Missouri, during November 1862 to help guard that state from further Confederate invasion and to protect the Union supply depot there.

Both the Kendall boys were fifers --- Elijah eventually would be appointed regimental fife major. Every Union infantry unit had fifers and drummers who, in peaceful interludes, formed the regimental band and at all times helped facilitate camp morale, order and discipline. When their units were in combat, the men picked up guns and fought, served as stretcher-bearers or filled other support positions.

That's Nathan at center above, with his fife, flanked by regimental drummers Owen Kinsman and Albert J. Phillips, during a 1921 reunion of the 18th Iowa held in Chariton. They're standing near one of the courthouse cannons, scrapped during World War II. The photo is from the Lucas County Historical Society collection. We also have Elijah's fife and tintype images of both Nathan and Elijah in uniform in the collection. Here is Nathan's account:

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Russell, Iowa --- Editor, Chariton Leader: Please allow me space in your paper to give a short sketch of the first battle that our regiment, the 18th Iowa Infantry, engaged in, which was on the 8th day of January, 1863, at Springfield, Mo.

Springfield at that time was about three times as large as Russell is now and there was about 2,500 troops there --- the 18th Iowa and (Missouri) state militia, and about four companies of the Second Kansas Cavalry and the Second Indiana Battery of six 12-pound brass pieces, known as Capt. Rab's battery.

Our regiment was camped in Fort No. 1 about one-fourth of a mile west of the city, and General B. Gratz Brown was in command of the entire force at that time, and on the morning of that fateful day the sun arose with all its splendor and the blue sky was cloudless; the air was cool and crisp, and all things were lovely till about 1 o'clock p.m., when a scout dashed into the city from the south, his horse dripping with sweat. He notified General Brown that Rebel General Marmaduke with about 6,000 troops was marching on the city.

In a short time all was confusion, the bugles were calling, the fifes and drums were playing, and the battle cry was "to arms, to arms." In a short time there came an order for a detail of 50 men out of each company to go to the front. I was not on the first detail, the but two McKinley boys, older brothers of Alonzo and S.C. McKinley, of Russell, were, and George Gilbert and Stanley Prindle were in the first detail.

Now here allow me to digress and speak of what sounded like a presentiment. There were two men in our company (Company C) by the name of Sams, Simon and Daniel. Simon was the older, ad he was the most devout man that I ever saw. He prayed every morning and evening aloud, irrespective of his surroundings, and when his name was called he calmly and silently gathered up all his trinkets, such as books, letters and pictures, and put them in his knapsack and handed it to his brother, Daniel, who was on the sick list, with instructions to send them to his wife and say to her that his last message to her was that he died in defense of his country.

The first detail was now rushed to the front and the battle was on. They had commenced to shell the city. Our first line of battle was drawn about one-fourth of a mile south of the city. The battle had been raging about forty minutes when Stanley came back to the fort. I do not know what impelled him to come back, whether it was a yellow streak, and he told me the two McKinley boys and George Gilbert and Simon Sams were all killed.

Oh what a shock that was to me. I can never forget the gloom that it cast over me. Gilbert and the McKinley boys and I were school mates together in our boyhood days.

Pretty soon there came an order for every man to go to the front; we were not long getting ready, and when we got to the front sure enough Simons Sams was killed, shot through the head, and Geo Gilbert was  mortally wounded and died, I think the next day, but the two McKinley boys were very much alive, loading and firing, fighting like demons. I do not think that in all my life I ever was half so glad to see those boys.

The battle was now in all its fury; they were slowly but surely driving us back; we had such great odds against us; but we were hotly contesting every foot; our battery was doing splendid execution; we had a stockade at the south edge of the city which held about 100 rebel prisoners and about 5 p.m. they made a desperate charge on us and drove us back till they got possession of the stockade; they smashed the door down and released the prisoners and charged our battery and took one section, two guns, but Lieutenant Landis, who was in command, spiked the guns and got away.

We were driven now to our last inner forts, and as the shades of darkness settled over the city the firing ceased, and they retreated under the cover of darkness. The prisoners that we had taken said that General Marmaduke thought that we were expecting large reinforcements the next day, but we were not whipped.

Our ambulances during the battle had taken all of our dead and wounded to the rear to a place of safety; the rebels took their wounded to the rear, but they left the dead lay just where they had fallen. That night there came a shift of snow, about enough to track a rabbit. The next morning, after daylight, some of us boys went over the battlefield and it sure was the most gruesome sight that I had ever seen up to that time. There they lay, scattered around thick, dead stiff and covered with snow. I well remember one man who had been shot in the forehead; he had his index finger up to his head in the wound.

About 10 o'clock that day there came an order for a detail of about 25 men with pick and shovel to go down on the battlefield and dig a trench about 75 feet long and 6 feet wide and 4 feet deep. Then we placed blankets in the bottom and laid the Johnnies in this trench, side by side, crossways, then spread blankets over them and filled the trench up and so far as I know them poor fellows are sleeping their last long sleep there to this day.

Our regiment lost about 65 killed and wounded. Our captain, W.R. Blue, was mortally wounded and died a few days later, and our lieutenant, A.B. Conaway, was severely wounded. And so ends the battle of Springfield, Mo., January 8, 1863.

Yours very truly,

N.W. Kendall

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Thus ended what generally is known as the Second Battle of Springfield, a victory for the North because Confederate forces although superior in numbers failed to breech Union defenses, then withdrew. The supply depot was secure and the Union supply lines were uninterrupted.

Capt. W.R. Blue was William R. Blue, age 30, of LaGrange, who had been promoted rapidly from third sergeant when mustered to second sergeant and on Nov. 19, 1862, to captain. His remains now rest in Springfield National Cemetery along with those of George Gilbert, also of LaGrange, and 18 when he was mortally wounded; and Simon Sams, age 28.

A.B. Conaway was Asbury B. Conaway, a young Chariton attorney who returned to his practice after the war, served a term in the Iowa Legislature, then high-tailed it for Wyoming where he was serving as chief justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court at the time of his death during 1897.

Daniel Sams was discharged for disability during February of 1863 and made it home to Lucas County, where he recovered. He then re-enlisted and continued to serve. A third brother, George Sams, also was lost to the war, dying of disease at St. Louis during late 1863.

The McKinley boys, John W. and Wallace D., fought on and were mustered out together at Little Rock on July 20, 1865, with the remainder of their regiment. Nathan and Elijah Kendall were mustered out on that date at Little Rock, too, and returned to Lucas County to live long and productive lives.

Elijah Kendall's son, Nathan E. Kendall, named for his uncle, became one of Iowa's great progressive governors, serving two consecutive terms from 1921-25. 

Nathan W. Kendal was very near his 83rd birthday when he died at Russell on Jan. 13, 1925. He is buried in the Russell Cemetery.

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