Polk County IA Archives Obituaries.....LUNT, SAMUEL H. July 28, 1865 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ia/iafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Kathryn !Gaskill katielouscrafts@mchsi.com January 6, 2006, 7:57 pm "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. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ia/polk/obits/l/lunt204gob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/iafiles/ File size: 3.8 Kb