Author Topic: Spencers at the Battle of Columbus - April 16, 1865  (Read 1019 times)

Offline nactorman

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Spencers at the Battle of Columbus - April 16, 1865
« on: April 16, 2014, 07:21:19 PM »
Today is the 149th Anniversary of the Battle of Columbus, GA. The 3,000+ Union cavalry troopers who participated in the fight were armed with Spencers. Much of the battle was fought at night. There was no moon to light the battlefield, it having set earlier in the afternoon. The intense fire of the Union soldier's repeaters led the Confederates manning the trenches to believe that they faced as many as 10,000 of the enemy.

The following is from my book on this battle:

The troopers of the 3rd Iowa, followed by the men of the three companies
of the 5th Iowa, leaped from their positions and in a single rank
surged forward toward Fort 3 in an all- out dash. As they ran they worked
the actions of their Spencers and yelled at the top of their lungs. “Up and
at ’em boys! Get in them works and don’t stop until you are in, and there
hold them,” shouted the officers of the 5th Iowa as they charged toward the
enemy lines. “Up and away on full run we rushed, our carbines in full play,
and they were pumped never before faster,” recalled Conzett. “Their shell
and shot, as well as their musket or infantry balls, flew screaming over our
heads. . . . Their rapid fire from . . . their entrenchments lit up the darkness
and made the night look bright as day, but it blinded us so that no doubt
our aim was bad, but we shot straight ahead and just as fast as we could
work our carbines.”


Today our family placed a wreath at the all but forgotten little monument near where the battle reached its end in honor of the more than 6,000 soldiers who participated in the fight, and the more than 148 who were killed, wounded, or missing.



For more info see:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0817316760/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1PTDAMK3FA1CADT8DR2M&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

 

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