General Samuel Rice
Samuel A. Rice, then Iowa's attorney general, organized the 33rd Iowa Infantry Regiment in the summer of 1862 and was named its colonel. Stationed in Helena, Rice played a prominent role in the July 4, 1863 battle there and was promoted to brigadier general on Aug. 4, 1863. Rice led troops in the campaign to capture Little Rock and in the Camden Expedition. He was wounded at Elkins' Ferry but was still at the head of his brigade when he led the Union defense of Jenkins Ferry on April 30, 1864. An ankle wound there led to his death on July 6.
Confederate Cannons Captured
At the height of the April 30, 1864, battle of Jenkins Ferry, S.T. Ruffner's Confederate artillery was deployed. Troops of the 29th Iowa and 2nd Kansas Colored Infantry charged and captured the battery. The Kansans killed 3 men as they tried to surrender in revenge for the killing of black troops at Poison Spring on April 18. The Iowans prevented them from killing others as they dragged the captured cannons to safety. 2nd Kansas soldiers roamed the field after the battle, killing wounded Confederates as the Union army continued its retreat to Little Rock.
Comments 0 comments