Gus Linn's Civil War Experience and The Battle of Pleasant Hill

Gustus Magnus Olausson Linn was my great-great grandfather, a Civil War Veteran and POW. It is because of Gus that I entered this world of genealogy. Back in the early 70's, I decided to learn more about him and his service. It started with a visit to the Iowa State Historical Building where I saw memorabilia from his unit. From there, I climbed narrow stairs into dusty archives to look at the brittle pages of old censuses. And then, I sent (old snail mail then) for Gus's Civil War record. I was hooked on knowing more about him and then, about all of our ancestors.

Born in Sweden on April 17, 1829, Gus lived in comfort where he was the youngest of 8 children. But when Gus was just one year old, his father died. This meant moving from his comfortable home in Dodringshult, Jonkoping County, to a shack down a dirt road that he shared with his mother and 2 older brothers, John and Peter.

Gus became a farm laborer at a very young age, moving from farm to farm. He met and married Catarina Lundblad in 1851 and, together with their young son John, left for the United States and to Iowa where his brothers John and Peter had already immigrated and set up households.

For the next two weeks, I will write about the part of Gus' life that involved the Civil War. This week's posts are in two parts. The first about Gus' entry into the service and the battle of Pleasant Hill and the second about conditions he endured as a POW. Next week will include a post about Gus' homecoming and pension.

Iowa furnished 76,534 men for service in the Union Army. While the Civil War was not popular with all Iowans, many reasons compelled men to volunteer to serve, including Gus. There was money including $13 a month for a private and a $100 bonus to be had at the end of service; strong feelings against slavery; pressure from friends and family to join; and the desire to support, as an immigrant, your new country. From the over 75,000 Iowans who served, 3,500 died of wounds, and 8,500 died of diseases.

Gus was almost 35 years old when he volunteered to serve. He left a wife, 3 young sons, and the memory of the deaths of two young daughters as he entered the service. He mustered into Company D of the 32nd Infantry in January 1864, out of Dubuque, Iowa.

Gustus Linn Enlistment in his own handwriting with his signature

The Red River Campaign which Gus was a part of, began in March of 1864 when troops had made the long trek through  the "morass and pine forest" of Mississippi to a gathering place where rumors were building of a major campaign. A Sergeant Boyd states that "we were designed to form a part of the grand army of General Sherman that was to disembowel the Southern Confederacy on his march to the sea." But a change in instructions was made to lend several units from Sherman's March to aid General Banks in dissecting the critical cotton and sugar regions in western Louisiana and to capture Shreveport. This was to take no more than 30 days at which time the soldiers would return to Sherman's leadership.

I wish I could do justice, in a succinct way, to the 30 days that ended in the Battle at Pleasant Hill as part of the Red River Campaign, but when I read accounts that are clear and compelling from people who actually lived it, I must refer the reader to those:

32nd Infantry of Iowa During the Civil War Begin reading at Chapter XVI, page 127. The rain, the long marches, the lack of supplies and food, at one point the entire 32nd nearly being wiped out by shell fire, word that earlier Union units in the area had been beaten, all of this and more is made more interesting when heard in the first person.

From Sergeant Boyd's words, the Battle of Pleasant Hill in Chapter XVII, page 137: The Battle of Pleasant Hill.

One short passage from Sergeant Boyd's words makes me shudder: "In a very short time, six companies, to wit: A, B, H, E, G, and D [Gus's unit] lost over twice as many men as the entire state of Texas lost and killed and wounded in the Mexican War." This defeat meant that the troops were ordered to retreat and leave their dead and wounded. Food was scarce; men were tired. Stories continue in the above book on the 32nd Infantry, stories from those who were wounded, who saw death, who knew the starvation and pain. I think they are worth reading to get a better idea of the conditions under which Gus was serving and then was captured and held.

Later, on page 164, another first-hand account of the battle shows how Gus was probably captured: "When the right of the Regiment began to fall back, noting the withdrawal of the 27th Iowa, that the movement extended to Company D [Gus's unit] and when checked...only a part of the men of that Company heard the order and resumed the former position, in which they remained until they were captured." In other words, Gus and Company D were left vulnerable to the enemy, captured because of a lack of communication. The capture of the soldiers of Company D was perhaps preventable because these brave soldiers were from the ONLY company that stayed to fight while the others were retreating. They bravely stood their ground, thinking that they were just one of many contingents fighting, only to find out after their capture that they were standing alone.

I believe that the recollections of someone who was in Gus' Company D, from Boone County from the same book, beginning on page 165 are important to understanding Gus' capture. Sergeant D. S. Jewett speaks of how demoralized Company D was in learning that they had not been given the correct orders.

The Red River Campaign had concluded with the battle at Pleasant Hill which, by many accounts, was the largest Civil War battle west of the Mississippi. Estimated casualties were Union, 1,100; Confederate, 2,000. Although the Union, under Major General Banks technically won this battle, the Union forces retreated without ever capturing Shreveport. And my great-great Grandpa Gustus Linn was captured.