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PRISON ACCOUNTS: LIEUTENANTS luther w. jackson, company h A Prison Diary This account by Second Lieutenant Luther W. Jackson of Company H comes from a diary in the Civil War Documents Collection (Misc. Personal — 77, Box 32 [H874/J135], Folder 14.J 135) at the State Historical Society of Iowa in Des Moines. It chronicles Jackson’s time in Southern prisons from his capture at Shiloh until days before his death in Macon. The diary only includes the time of imprisonment, due most probably to the fact that many of the men left the diaries they had kept since their enlistments with their other personal belongings at the camp at Pittsburg Landing. To support this theory, the diary is a small notebook of 51 ⁄2 by 4 inches with a leatherlike cover over boards. On the front is a picture of a part of a steamboat and the cutoff words: ‘‘James Bat.’’ The steamer that transported Jackson was the James Battle, so this notebook almost certainly came from the steamer, whether pilfered or purchased. Edward Van Duzee’s prison account notes that Lieutenant Nathaniel E. Duncan, adjutant of the 12th Iowa and a friend of Jackson’s from his hometown of Dubuque, preserved and delivered a flag owned by Jackson to his widow. It seems most likely that Duncan also preserved the diary. An earlier edition of the diary appeared in the Annals of Iowa ([3rd Series] 19: 23–41); however, due to the large number of errors in that edition, this version has been prepared from the original manuscript. Sunday, April 6, 1862. Pittsburgh [sic] Landing Tenn (Shiloah [sic]). — About 1⁄2 after 7 this morning we heard a fierce cannonading and heavy rolling of musketry . . . the enemy under Beauregard Bragg Hardee & Polk had attacked us in force — 60,000. We marched out & fell in with the 2nd, 7 & 14th Iowa vets & marched to a position about two miles out . . . the enemy had got 1 mile or 11 ⁄2 miles inside of our lines . . . we took our position — which we were ordered to hold — in sight of the enemy . . . at about 11 o’clock a.m. the 4th Lousiana [sic] were discovered { 65 } by myself, & T Clendenen & Chas Collins Co E advancing through the brush . . . our boys lay down ready for them . . . They were recd with a volley which staggered them . . . our boys (the left wing) charged upon them & they ran . . . we killed & wounded several, they ran so that we could not catch them. I commanded our company . . . Capt. Playter staid in camp & Lieut. Fishel came a few rods & ret . . . we maintained our position until about 5 o’clock, when the enemy was driving in our left — we were ordered to fall back, & as we were falling back in good order saw the enemy driving the 23rd Missouri & 14th Iowa . . . we halted and fired at them, & after a few volleys they broke & ran . . . as they did that, the enemy having flanked us on the right, came up in our rear . . . those in front turned & we were exposed to a fire on 3 sides . . . Col Wood was wounded in the calf of his leg & through the hand. Genl Prentiss held up a white flag as we were surrounded by a force of 20,000 & it was impossible to cut our way out, and we surrendered. A Lieut took my sword & pistol but promised to give them to me next morning. I haven’t seen him since. I was detailed by Dr. Lyle to take care of Col Woods & was on the way to get some help to carry the Col off to a safe place when Col Brewer who commanded the escort who guarded us to Corinth forced me into the ranks & I saw the Col no more . . . we marched about 2 miles & halted for the night in a corn field . . . a terrible thunder storm arose in the night but I had made a raise of a pr [pair of] blankets & a coverlet, so Lt. O’Neill & myself lay under it & kept dry. Monday, April 7, 1862. — At sunrise this morning we were marched off for Corinth, about 20 miles over a muddy road . . . we were tired but were put through without anything to eat & arrived at Corinth about 5 o’clock p.m. — went onto the cars for Memphis . . . nothing to eat, and we were not allowed to go to a hotel to buy our supper . . . it began to rain, rained all night . . . we were comfortable in the cars. Tuesday morning, April 8. — started in the morning for Memphis. Nothing to eat yet! . . . we arrived at Memphis about dusk...

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