First Brigade - Second Division - Army
of the Tennessee
Colonel James M. Tuttle
This brigade of four regiments was encamped near the river north of the Corinth road. It moved to the front Sunday morning, April 6, 1862, by the Eastern Corinth road. When near the southeast corner of Duncan field, Colonel Tuttle, riding at the head of his brigade, discovered the enemy in the woods beyond the field. He at once turned the head of his brigade to the right and threw his regiments into line in an old road behind Duncan Field in the following order from left to right: Fourteenth Iowa, Twelfth Iowa, Seventh Iowa, Second Iowa. The right reaching to the Corinth road, the left extending one regiment beyond, or south of, eastern Corinth road; the three right regiments behind a field; the left regiment behind a dense thicket. About 9:30 a.m. Confederate batteries opened fire upon the brigade. This was soon followed by infantry attack coming through the thick brush on the left. At about 10:30 a.m. Stephen's brigade made an attack through the field. He was repulsed when he reached the middle of the field. This was closely followed by a second attack by Stephens, assisted by General Stewart, commanding Hindman's division. About noon Gibson's brigade was sent against Tuttle's position, and made four determined but unsuccessful charges lasting until after 2 p.m., when it withdrew and Shaver made his third attack, in which Lieutenant Colonel Dean of the Seventh Arkansas was killed within a few yards of the front of the Fourteenth Iowa. General Ruggles then assembled sixty-two pieces of artillery on west side of Duncan Field and concentrated their fire upon Tuttle and the batteries in his rear. At the same time Ruggles sent Wood, Anderson, and Stewart to reenforce Shaver in a renewed attack at the front. While meeting this attack Tuttle was ordered at 5 p.m. to withdraw his brigade. He gave personal direction to the Second and Seventh Iowa and with them retired to the right of Hurlbut's division, near the siege guns, where he assumed command of the remnant of the Second Division and formed his line near the camp of the Fourteenth Iowa. The staff officer sent by Tuttle to order the Twelfth and Fourteenth Iowa to fall back directed the commanding officers of those regiments to "about face and fall back slowly." Marching by the rear rank about 200 yards, these regiments encountered Confederate troops across their line of retreat. These they engaged and forced back to the camp of Hurlbut's First Brigade, where the Confederates were reenforced and the two regiments, together with two from the Third Brigade, and a part of Prentiss' division were surrounded and captured at 5:30 p.m. The Fourteenth Iowa surrendered to the Ninth Mississippi of Chalmers' brigade, which had occupied the extreme right of the Confederate army. The Twelfth Iowa surrendered to Colonel Looney, of the Thirty-eighth Tennessee, Pond's brigade, from the extreme left of the Confederate Army. The Second and Seventh Iowa were with Tuttle's command on Monday in reserve to General Crittenden. During the day the Second Iowa was sent to reenforce Nelson's left and in a charge across a field defeated an attempted of the enemy to turn the left of the Army of the Ohio. Later the Seventh Iowa charged a battery in Crittenden's front.
2nd Iowa - Lieutenant Colonel James Baker
7th Iowa - Lieutenant Colonel James C. Parrott
