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On a summer evening in 1987, my father-in-law, Marvin Day, and I were discussing a book on the Civil War when he proudly showed me the obituary of his great-grandfather, Samuel Day. Among other details of his life, the small newspaper clipping stated, "He served three years in the war of the rebellion, filling the place of second lieutenant, Company E, 22nd Iowa Volunteer Infantry(1)." Filled with curiosity, I began my search to find out what Samuel Day did in the Civil War. After two years of research, I am now able to give an almost day-by-day account of Samuel Day and his regiment, the 22nd Iowa Infantry.
Since no written record exists of Samuel Days exact involvement during his service in the 22nd Iowa, I pieced this story together from the recorded experiences of those who fought with the regiment. This work, therefore, became not so much a personal history of Samuel Day, but a history of the 22nd Iowa. Because of a lack of specific information on Samuel in the records, we have to assume his experiences were similar to those of the other enlisted men in the regiment. In cases where personal information is known, I included it in the text.
I used two main sources to construct this account. The first source was Samuel Days military, medical, and pension records obtained from the National Archives in Washington D.C. From these documents, I was able to determine Samuels whereabouts, basic facts about his military service, and life after the war. By far the most important single source of information was the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, a 128 volume series that records the activities of Union and Confederate forces in the Civil War(2). Written by eyewitnesses to these events, this series contains detailed accounts of the 22nd Iowas involvement in the Civil War, including battle reports and statistics. Although Samuel Day was not mentioned by name in the Official Records, this was not an unusual occurrence. These accounts were written by officers and failed in most cases to specifically mention enlisted personnel. However, we know the events recorded by the officers of the regiment were performed mainly by those unnamed enlisted personnel.
I consulted several other sources during the writing of this book¾ two more in particular require mention. One is the diary of Samuel Calvin Jones, Company A, 22nd Iowa, that chronicles his experiences with the regiment(3). The other is a two part series from the Iowa Journal of History titled, "Reminiscences of Jacob C. Switzer of the 22nd Iowa" outlining his recollections of the regiments history(4). Several accounts from these "diaries" were used to represent experiences of the common soldier that Samuel Day may have experienced. These references provide insight into the life of the average soldier of the 22nd Iowa, information that could not be obtained from the Official Records.
Another invaluable source of information was Volume III of a five part series titled, Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers in the War of the Rebellion, giving a history of the 22nd Iowa and a complete unit roster(5). This was the only source I found which specifically mentioned Samuel Day by name, giving only a brief summary of his service.
The references I just mentioned provided the basis of my research. Since no one can describe the events and incidents of the 22nd Iowa better than the eyewitnesses who were there, I transcribed most accounts exactly as written. In some cases, grammatical or spelling errors were left just as they appeared in the record. I also used extensive footnotes to provide clarity and for additional information.
The reports and eyewitness accounts represent the experience of the soldiers of the 22nd Iowa, and those of Samuel Day. This then is Samuel Days story as told through the men of the 22nd Iowa.
Iowa In the Civil War
