The 22nd Iowa Infantry in the Assault on Vicksburg May 22nd, 1863

May 22nd finds us in line of battle along the edge of the ravine under the fort. We were awakened before day and moved a little to the left of where we were. Orders are given

Lt. S.C. Jones 22nd Iowa Infantry

in a whisper. Company “A” (commanded by Lieutenant S.C. Jones, the only commissioned officer present) was ordered to the left, and deployed as sharpshooters. Company “B” (Captain John H. Gearkee in command) was ordered to the right with the same orders…About 9 a.m., cannonading commenced all around out line simultaneously. The Confederates replied, but not vigorously. They knew this was a prelude to something more desperate and only fired when the men required action. Inaction under incessant fire demoralizes. Hundreds of guns and mortars opened their mouths and belched forth flame and missiles of death. For an hour or more the chasing shot and shell from both sides passed over us…About 10:15, our army arose at once as if by magic out of the ground. Then commenced the ordeal. The regiment on a charge started for the Fort. At once the Confederates opened with grape and canister, plowing gaps through our ranks. Steadily, we pushed on up the slope into the ditch and over the parapet, placed the flag on the fort, and kept it there for some time. Thirteen prisoners were taken out of the fort, only a few of our boys got into the fort and they had to come out of it, and remained in the ditch outside. By this time the Confederates that fled or were driven away returned with re-enforcements, so we now had to protect ourselves the best we could. On the open we dug holes for our bodies in the ground, or in the wall of the ditch with our bayonets, or maybe a friendly stump protected us. As the regiment moved forward, it was met with a torrent of shot and shell and minnie balls. The Rebels for a moment stood on the top of the rifle pits, pouring their deadly shot into us. Then was our sharpshooters’ opportunity, and well they made use of it. Many of the Confederates paid with their lives for their foolhardiness. The noise of battle was fearfully awful, with shrieking shot, exploding shells, and the groans of the wounded and dying. Missiles of all kinds, dust and powder smoke filled the air. This state of things continued for hours, then quieted down. About three o’clock reenforcements were sent, and an attempt was made to follow up our victory, but it proved useless. By that time the few left of our regiment had secured partial safety till darkness would assist us to fall back to the rear…As soon as it became dusk we darted from our secluded places and ran to the rear, each for himself.

Captain Charles N. Lee submitted the 22nd Iowa’s after action report for the Vicksburg Campaign. He wrote this about the regiments action that day:

On May 22, in accordance with an order issued by General Grant, the whole line made an assault upon the enemy’s works. The position to be gained by the Second Brigade was a strong one—a fort surrounded by a ditch 10 feet deep, 6 feet wide, the walls being 20 feet high; the front subject to an enfilading fire of musketry and artillery from almost every direction. Taking our position on the night of May 21, we lay on our arms and patiently awaited the hour to come.

Lt.. Col. Harvey Graham, 22nd Iowa Infantry. Captured at Vicksburg May 22, 1863

At 10 o’clock on the morning of the 22d, when the appointed time had arrived, the Twenty-second Iowa deployed two companies (A and B) as skirmishers and advanced, followed by the other regiments of the brigade, to the front, determined to dislodge the enemy or die in the attempt. Onward they went through the most galling fire of musketry, grape, and canister, until retarded by an almost impassable abatis. This obstacle overcome, they gained the top of the hill, gathered around, driving the enemy from the rifle-pits in front, and planting the Stars and Stripes on the ramparts. About fifty men of the Twenty-second scaled the walls and entered the fort, driving the enemy before them and taking 15 prisoners. There being a series of rifle-pits in the rear, it was impossible to hold it with such an inadequate force under a terribly destructive fire, and they withdrew, with a loss of nearly half their number killed, wounded, or captured. Knowing unless we would be supported properly by re-enforcements we would have to tall back, we held our position until nightfall, when, tailing to receive re-enforcements, we retired under cover of the night, with a loss of 164 killed, wounded, and missing.

In this desperate charge the Twenty-second Iowa had the advance, and won new laurels to add to those already won by the brave soldiers of Iowa. It would be with seeming injustice that I would attempt to make any distinctions among men who on that memorable day behaved so nobly, advancing apparently to certain destruction or death. None faltered in their duty…

The assault on May 22nd ended in failure. Lawler’s brigade suffered 368 total casualties, the highest total of any Union brigade engaged. The 22nd Iowa’s casualty breakdown was 27 killed, 118 wounded, and 19 missing or captured. After this assault, Grant decided to engage in siege operations against the city, which ultimately were successful. The Confederates at Vicksburg surrendered July 4th, 1863.

Sources:

The Campaign for Vicksburg Volume III by Edwin C. Bearss

Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies in the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XXIV, Part 2.

Reminiscences of the Twenty-Second Iowa Volunteer Infantry by S.C. Jones.

The Vicksburg Campaign by Ulysses S. Grant. In Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Volume III.