376 
The Colorado River 
SO well that it received the unqualified commendation of 
General Fremont. The second lieutenant of Company H re¬ 
signing, Powell was elected to fill the vacancy. After a service 
of a few weeks with his company he was put in charge of the 
fortifications he had constructed, being retained in this post 
after the departure of his regiment. In the early winter of 
1861-62 he recruited a company of artillery, largely from loyal 
Missourians. This company was mustered into service as Bat¬ 
tery V, 2 d Illinois Artillery, John Wesley Powell, Captain. 
After drilling a few weeks he was ordered to proceed with his 
battery to Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, where he arrived the 
latter part of March, 1862. The battery took part in the 
battle of Shiloh, April 6th of that year, and during the en¬ 
gagement, as Powell raised his arm, a signal to fire, a rifle 
ball struck his hand at the wrist glancing toward the elbow. 
The necessary surgery was done so hastily that later a second 
operation was imperative, which left him with a mere stump 
below the elbow-joint. Never for long at a time afterward was 
he free from pain and only a few years ago a third operation 
was performed which brought relief. 
As soon as the original wound was healed he went back to 
his command, assisting as Division Chief of Artillery in the 
siege of Vicksburg. After the fall of this place he took part 
in the Meridian Raid. Then he served on detached operations 
at Vicksburg, Natchez, and New Orleans until the summer of 
1864, when he was re-assigned to the former command in the 
Army of the Tennessee. In all the operations after the fall of 
Atlanta he bore an active part, and when Sherman commenced 
the march to the sea, Powell was sent back to General Thomas 
at Nashville, in command of twenty batteries of artillery. At 
the battle of Nashville he served on the staff of Thomas and 
continued with this command till mustered out in the early 
summer of 1865. As a soldier his career was marked by a 
thorough study and mastery not only of the details of military 
life, but of military science. Especially was he apt in utilising 
material at hand to accomplish his ends—a trait that was also 
prominent in his civil life. Bridges he built from cotton-gin 
houses, mantelets for his guns from gunny bags and old rope. 
