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Jonathan Pipes
Company "C" 15th Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Last Updated on April 15, 2001
Jonathan Pipes was the son of Joseph Pipes and Hannah (Johnson) Pipes. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1830 and after the death of his father in 1849, his mother located the family to eastern Iowa. Jonathan was married in 1853 to Mary Loughrey and they had one daughter, Sophia. Mary died in 1854 and he remarried in 1863 to Phoebe Allard, a native of Canada. They had 7 children form 1863 to 1877 and during that time Jonathan enlisted in the 15th Iowa.
He apparently served from 1864 to 1865 and was with the unit at the grand review in Washington D.C at the end of the war. He passed away in 1878 and most of the information about his family comes from a pension application filed by his wife Phoebe after his death.
FIFTEENTH IOWA INFANTRY
The companies making up this regiment were recruited in many counties, principally Clinton, Linn, Polk, Mahaska, Wapello, Van Buren, Fremont, Mills, Marion, Warren, Harrison and Pottawattamie. The companies began to assemble at Keokuk as early as September, 1861, but the regiment was not organized until February, 1862. The field and staff officers were: E. T. Reid, colonel; William Dewey, lieutenant-colonel; W. W. Belknap, major; George Pomutz, adjutant; J. M. Hedrick, quartermaster; S. B. Davis, surgeon; and W. W. Eastbrook, chaplain.
On the 19th of March the regiment embarked for the seat of war and landed at St. Louis, where arms and equipments were received. On the 1st of April it started to join General Grant's army at Pittsburg Landing, and reached that place amid the roar of cannon, the fierce crashes of musketry and the bursting of shells of the first day's battle. It was a trying ordeal as the regiment landed from the steamer and witnessed the panic stricken hundreds who were fleeing from the field. Colonel Reid was ordered to the front, but while on the way the Fifteenth and Sixteenth were directed to form a line and stop the fugitives. The effort was in vain, however, and the regiments were sent toward the front, taking a position on McClernand's line. Here the Fifteenth made a good stand for a new regiment until the order came to retreat, when it fell back in confusion. A portion of the men were rallied and took part in the battle later in the day and on Monday. Colonel Reid had been severely wounded, and Major Belknap, Adjutant Pomutz and many of the company officers behaved with great coolness and courage in this their first battle. The loss of the regiment was one hundred eighty-eight in killed, wounded and missing. Captain Hedrick was severely wounded and captured while leading his company in a charge. Among the wounded officers were Major Belknap, Adjutant Pomutz, Captains Eutcheroft, Blackner, Day, Lieutenants Porter, Goode, Ring, and Reid.
Soon after the battle the Iowa Brigade was formed, in which the fifteenth was placed. After Halleck's slow march on Corinth and its evacuation by Beauregard's army, the Fifteenth was one of the regiments left to occupy the place. and Major Belknap was made provost marshal. In the Battle of Corinth, on the 3d of October, Colonel Reid was ill. Lieutenant-Colonel Dewey had been transferred to the Twenty-third, leaving Major Belknap in command of the Fifteenth. The regiment was handled with skill and fought with conspicuous bravery. Among the killed were Lieutenants J. D. Kinsman, William Cathcart and R. H. Eldridge, while Major W. T. Cunningham, Captain R. L. Hanks and Lieutenant Logan Crawford were wounded. The loss to the regiment in killed, wounded and missing was eighty-five. During the nest four months the Fifteenth was employed in various expeditions in Tennessee and Mississippi. In January, 1863, it joined the army operating against Vicksburg. In April, Captain Hedrick, after a long captivity, rejoined the regiment and was promoted to major in place of Cunningham, resigned. On the 21st of April the Fifteenth was sent to Milliken's Bend; Colonel Reid was in command of a brigade and the Fifteenth, under Lieutenant-Colonel Belknap, was in the Iowa Brigade, then commanded by Colonel Chambers of the Sixteenth. From this time until the close of the campaign, the Fifteenth was engaged in active service, but fortunately met with no losses. In June, Belknap was promoted to colonel, Hedrick to lieutenant-colonel, and Pomutz to major of the regiment and Lieutenant E. H. King became adjutant. The regiment remained in Vicksburg until August, then accompanied General Stevenson's expedition to Monroe, and, returning from that unfortunate and disastrous raid, exhausted by hardships, remained in Vicksburg until February, 1864. A portion of the regiment reenlisted as veterans in January and accompanied Sherman on his Meridian raid. The non-veterans of the brigade were organized into the Iowa Battalion under command of Major Pomutz. The veterans visited their homes in March and returned to duty in April. In May the Iowa Brigade joined Sherman on his march to the sea. The Fifteenth participated in the battles of Kenesaw Mountain, Nickajack Creek and before Atlanta on the 21st of July, losing in killed and wounded nearly one hundred men.
On the 20th of July, General Sherman was closing his army corps around Atlanta. General Stood was now ill command of the Confederate army and assuming the offensive. On the 20th he had made a vigorous attack upon our advancing forces and a bloody battle ensued. On the 21st the enemy occupied a strong position on a range of hills and was well entrenched in lines which overlooked the valley of Peach Tree Creek, about four miles from Atlanta.
General Dodge with the Sixteenth Corps became warmly engaged. General McPherson had been killed and was succeeded by General Logan. The enemy had broken through our lines and a heavy fire in the rear created a panic, some of our regiment flying in confusion. Wood's Division of the Fifteenth Corps, in which were several Iowa regiments and an Iowa brigade, charged on the advancing enemy with great fury and regained the broken line, recapturing several guns that had been taken. Generals Dodge and Blair were making a gallant fight against the desperate assaults of the enemy from various points.
The Iowa Brigade in General Smith's Division was warmly engaged. General Smith speaks as follows of the battle in that quarter:
"Another and still more desperate assault was now made from the east side in the rear of Colonel Hall's brigade. The men sprung over the works and the most desperate fight of the day now took place. The enemy under cover of the woods could approach within twenty yards of our works without discovery. The Confederates would frequently occupy one side of the works and our men the other. Many individual acts of heroism here occurred. Men were bayoneted across the works and officers with swords fought hand to hand with men with bayonets. Colonel Belknap, of the Fifteenth Iowa, took prisoner Colonel Lampley of the Forty-fifth Alabama, by pulling him over the works by his coat collar, being several times fired at by men at his side. The colors of his regiment were captured at the same time. This combat lasted three-quarters of an hour, when the enemy slowly retired. The battle lasted seven hours with few pauses. The fury of the charges has seldom been equaled during the war. Again and again Confederate regiments were hurled against our lines with reckless fury, only to meet a wall of fire which swept them down by the hundreds."
There were thirteen Iowa regiments in this great battle. The Second and Seventh in General Dodge's command fought with their usual valor; the remnant of the Third was almost annihilated. The Fourth, Ninth, Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth and Thirtieth, in General Wood's Division, fought bravely. The Eleventh, Thirteenth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth of the Iowa Brigade were among the bravest. The Fifteenth lost one hundred thirty-two men, of whom ten were killed, forty wounded and eighty-two captured. Lieutenant-Colonel Hedrick was severely wounded. On the 28th another severe battle was fought in which the Fifteenth participated. Soon after Colonel Belknap was promoted to Brigadier-General. As Colonel Hedrick was permanently disabled by his wounds Major Pomutz, who was promoted to lieutenant-colonel, took command of the regiment. After the evacuation of Atlanta the Fifteenth went into camp at Eastport. In October it joined in the pursuit of Hood's army and was in the march to Savannah. In the Battle of Pocataligo Captain R. B. Kellogg, a brave young officer, was mortally wounded. The regiment marched to Goldsboro, Raleigh and Washington. On the 24th of July, 1865, it was mustered out and returned to Iowa, at this time numbering seven hundred twelve men. Colonel Hedrick was Brevet Brigadier-General, and Captain J. S. Porter was promoted to major.
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