Polk County IA Archives Obituaries.....LUNT, SAMUEL H. July 28, 1865
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 "AMERICAN PATRIOTISM" OR, MEMOIRS OF 'COMMON MEN.'" by LEONARD BROWN, 1869
CAPTAIN SAMUEL H. LUNT
THE following beautiful sketch of the life of Captain Lunt, who died of disease
at Mobile, Ala., July 28, 1865, was written by Mrs. Lunt at my request:
"Captain S. H. Lunt enlisted in the 2d Iowa Regt. of Infantry (Captain Crocker
commanding), the day after the fall of Sumter (April 14, 1861), as a private
soldier. He followed the REGIMENT through the State, down to Keokuk; from there
to St. Joseph, Mo.; from there back across the State, and thence to Cairo and
Bird's Point, where they rested through the long summer months, under order of
General Grant, prepared any moment to receive the enemy. 
He was promoted to Capt. A. Q. M. in the field, and here for four years shared
the fate of the common soldier. This he enjoyed; for Captain Lunt was a true
soldier, and could only be satisfied when in the field and at the scene of
action. He was at once ordered across the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee to
Knoxville, Tenn., with an immense supply train. After a long and tedious
journey, and suffering many privations, both from sickness and hunger, they
reached Knoxville. His corps, the 23d, under Gen. Hartsuff, was the first to
enter the town, amid flying shells and whistling bullets. Here he was stationed,
and soon became the centre of a large circle of business, -acting part of the
time as disbursing officer, or paymaster, for that portion of the army. But he
was destined not to rest here long. After the town was captured and quietly in
our possession, he was ordered to the far South, where he participated in a
series of marches, at the close of which he lost his life, July 28, 1865.
“While enduring the march across the enemy's country, he writes: 'The Northern
people do not realize nor even imagine the destruction war makes. I have seen,
many times, mothers begging bread for their children, with the marks of
starvation in their faces; others driven from their homes, having been robbed by
guerillas, come to us to ask assistance; and there have been several instances
where Union men, old and infirm, have been shot dead before their own homes. But
these, guerilla bands have been  growing “beautifully less," and the harvest
will assist the poor for a while.' After a perilous trip down the Mississippi to
New Orleans, where they did not remain long enough to get rested, his corps
joined in the wearisome march through the wilds of Alabama to Montgomery and
back again to Mobile, which place they reached just as the bombardment of
Spanish Fort commenced, in which his corps participated.
"Just as the war was over, and he was ready to return home, he was stricken by
disease, contracted in those marches, and so he gave up his life; as many
another soldier has done, for his country. One of the many talented and gifted
young men who died to maintain our glorious Union."

Additional Comments:
This is taken from "AMERICAN PATRIOTISM" OR, MEMOIRS OF 'COMMON MEN.'" by
LEONARD BROWN, published by Redhead & Wellslager, 41 Court Ave.Des Moines,IA. 1869.
This book contains remembrances of fallen soldiers from Polk County during the
Civil War. This includes some genealogical material as well.

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