JOHN WESLEY POWELL IO3 



hate war to see such sights — to ride by and hear the poor boys 

 crying for their mothers in tones that must have made the angels 

 weep. That tield was where this man played a glorious part, 

 losing his right arm. This injury incapacitated him for active 

 service for several months. From January 19 to July 4, 1863, he 

 took a conspicuous part in the siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi ; 

 from February 3 to March 6, 1864, he was with an expedition 

 to Meridian, Mississippi, and from September 29 to November 

 31, 1864, he took part in the campaign in northern Georgia 

 and northern Alabama. Such is the account in brief. 



Powell enlisted at the beginning of the war on May 8, 1861, 

 as a private soldier, but before his company was mustered into 

 the United States service the governor of Illinois commissioned 

 him to be a second lieutenant. He was a scientific soldier. 

 While sergeant-major in the Twentieth Illinois he obtained per- 

 mission to go to Chicago to get a copy of the tactics, which he 

 studied. His previous study had made him a good civil engi- 

 neer. This was evidenced at Cape Girardeau, when, in the 

 fall of 1861, he was detached from his command in order to 

 plan the camp and entrenchments and to fortify the city. There 

 he had wide experience, and attracted the attention of General 

 Grant. It was his desire to give up the engineering work and 

 return to his regiment, but General Grant had other plans for 

 him, and made him a captain of artillery. In his campaign up 

 the Tennessee River he had an excellent battery, made up of 

 fine-looking, well-drilled, capable men. At Shiloh, as I have 

 already said, he and his battery pla3'ed a glorious part. After 

 recovering from the wound and returning to his battery, he 

 entered enthusiastically into the siege of Vicksburg. 



It is hard to properly measure the value of this young engi- 

 neer's services in planning the siege works. The bridges he 

 built and the corduroy roads he laid out, and the consequent 

 success with which the troops were transported across the 

 country, so difficult to traverse because of the swamp lands, were 

 tributes to his great ability and untiring energy. On the march 

 toward Vicksburg, Captain Powell took part in the battles of 

 Champion Hill and Black River Bridge. It is thrilling to read 

 the story of the building, by him and his men, of the two 



