Submitted by:
Donald P. Bond,
a great-grandson of Daniel A. Bartke

This is a copy of a newspaper article published in the Glenwood (Minnesota) Herald on October 22, 1925.

The article was copied by: Edward Karrigan for the Pope County Minnesota Historical Society on Feb. 20, 1942

Background:

The letter writer in this article, Daniel A. Bartke (b.1832 in Prussia), was a Civil War veteran having served with Company E of the Iowa 27th Infantry from Aug 16, 1862 until Aug 8, 1865. He suffered a number of injuries during his military service. In his later years, he spent considerable time in a veteran’s hospital, where he died in 1892. This correspondence was authored from the field, on the day before a battle against Confederate fortifications at the mouth of Mobil Bay in Alabama.

In later action, two Union columns moved against Confederate forces at Mobile, Alabama, one from forts captured during the Battle of Mobile Bay, March 17, 1865, and one overland from Pensacola three days later. Mobile was occupied on April 12 by Gen. Edward Canby, the officer who accepted the surrender of Generals Richard Taylor and Nathan B. Forrest on May 4, 1865, ending the war in this area of the country.

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Glenwood Herald - October 22, 1925 Page 8 Col 1-2

LETTER FROM FRONT - DURING CIVIL WAR

Interesting document penned at battle front in Alabama in 1865 by well known Glenwood, Minnesota pioneer.

Below is reproduced a letter that is very interesting. It was written in 1865 by Daniel Bartke to a friend in Plainview. Mr. Bartke was at that time in the Northern Army and was near Mobile, Alabama.

Mr. Bartke later, after the end of the war, came to Pope County and first served as a stagecoach driver between Glenwood and Kensington, Minnesota. At that time he met Miss Mary Olson, who later became his wife. Later he became the owner of the Glenwood Hotel where he conducted a drugstore and the only hall in town. Mr. Bartke was somewhat of an accountant and for some years was Register of Deeds and was Treasurer of Pope County. The letter is the property of Miss Emma Bartke who has allowed us to copy it. It is written in a very fine hand:

In a field near Mobile, Alabama, March 16, 1865.

Respected Friend,

Our soldering at present day is very hard. We are laying under heavy shot and shell and musketry since March 25th. Our campaign is a rather hard one and our every day occurance would fill a volume of interesting items to you at home.

But home is a secret home, a peaceful home, yes, and a lovely home in far away Minnesota and therefore stories of thundering and roaring canons, of bloodshed and murder ought not to enter the premises of such a home as yours, and my story from here can be told in only such terms as stated and told in subjects as said above.

You have an idea in geographical view of the surrounding country of Mobile, of which I will try and explain our situation. The two rivers, Tombigbee, and Alabama are running nearly parallel. When Alabama makes a channel to Tombigbee, and ending there for the balance of the Alabama to the bay is the Tensan River. From this cutoff or channel the Tensan River is fortified for a distance of five miles, called Blakely fortifications. From the mouth of Tensan to the eastern corner of Mobile Bay, the Spanish fortifications lie which have a water battery and four heavy gunboats. The bay and the surrounding country are involved in a maze of torpedoes and wherever we go we have first to clear the roads of these infernal machines. Our forces at present are on this triangular line of these fortifications. We arrived and engaged the enemy on the 25th U Timo.

Still our progress as far as this has been only small and our time has been occupied in preparing for a grand finale.

On the 3rd about 140 pieces of artillery, calibre 64 to 250 lb. Ball, engaged Fort Spanish and did do great execution. The engagement lasted about four hours and about 5000 shots were sent to the rebat works. Our side gained so much as to silence all their guns except the gunboats which extended at a distance suitable to them and our gunboats could not follow them on account of torpedoes. Tomorrow Sunday, there will be another attack made on united forces of Spanish and Blakely fortifications by which a part of the Spanish fort will be blown up. Our gunboats at a fair distance have been engaged all the time and consequently thundering noise ceases in our camp. I believe if you were here you would say farewell, sleep for a week, more or less, still we are used to it and sleep under any circumstances.

Our comrades consist of three divisions of the 15th A. C. Com’d’g Gen’l Gordon Granger, two divisions of the 13th A. C. and one division of 16th A. C. with a detachment of a provisional division Com’d’g Gen’l A. G. Smith, Gen’l Canby Com’d’g the whole, Gen. Steele and one division of A. G. Smith’s forces are engaged at Fort Blakely and the balance on Fort Spanish.

Our duty is every third day to be in rifle pits which lay about 150 yards off the rebel fort; as the relief can be made only at night, we lose consequently two nights rest and one night in three to sleep. You may think that our sleep is sweet, on such terms. The rebel force opposing us is estimated 5,000 in Fort Blakely and 8,000 in Fort Spanish. The rebels are very strong here, they have large amounts of guns of heavy caliber, and are raining shot and shell almost constantly above our heads, but we as far as this are very lucky, though hard laboring, though nightly advancing and closing nearer up; yes, crowding the rebels, nightly digging new rifle pits under fire of musketry and artillery; fire without end, but so far nobody hurt in our 27th Iowa and only few in our brig. (couple in our 6th Minnesota).

The rebels have now twice made a charge at us but they were repulsed with heavy slaughter by our determined boys, leaving their dead to decay on the field (as nobody can take them away). Our side for this fort had no artillery in position as it is impossible to place a battery without prepared fortification in face of so many batteries rebels have; we have to move nightly and are progressing finely. We have prepared places for 12 pieces of 32 lb. caliber and for three of 100 to 200 pd. calibre guns of which the rebels know nothing and they will be surprised when the Yanks will reach their hands for a bloody welcome to hospitable graves. Our lines are so close that at night when a little quiteness prevails we can hear their pieces cocking for the fireing of the same.

My love and respect to all at your noble home.

Your friend,

Daniel Bartke

P.S. Please write soon as I would be very glad to hear from you. Oh write often to me.