ince escaped, that we
fought more like devils than human beings. The rebel colonels (several
of them) inquired of our boys who those black-coated fellows were, and
who led them. They said there must have been at least 3,000 of them.
When the boys told them there were less than 600 of them, the Colonels
said they needn't tell them any such stuff as that; that they knew it
was a damned lie. But they sent their compliments to Colonel Dodge for
the bravery of himself and his command, and well they might, for
opposed to Colonel Dodge's Brigade of 1,050 men, and two guns of the
First Iowa Battery, were six regiments of Confederate troops, a large
force of Confederate Missouri State troops, and eighteen guns, and
many of these Confederate troops were the men who did the hard
fighting at the Wilson Creek battle. All day, from 8:30 in the morning
till 5:30 at night, Dodge's Brigade held its ground, dealing death
into the rebel ranks, and, when dark came, with ammunition expended,
the Fourth Iowa walked away from the field in good order, with the
sullen savage tread of men who might be driven by main strength, but
could not be conquered. Although this was one of the first battles of
the war, the Northern men showed their desperate fighting qualities;
and on the second day the South met and faced great slaughter.

Fayel, the correspondent of the Missouri Democrat, gives this account of
the part Colonel Eugene A. Carr's Fourth Iowa Division took in the battle
at Elk Horn Tavern:

Having given an account of the battle fought by Brigadier-General Jeff
C. Davis's Division, which occurred the same day, on our left, I will
now attempt to give some details of the Elk Horn Battle--the latter
having commenced early in the morning. First in order comes a
description of the locality near Elk Horn Tavern.

The house is on the Fayetteville and Springfield road, about four
miles north of Sugar Creek, between which two points our camp was
pitched, on the elevated ridge constituting the northern bank of the
creek. Leading north from the tavern, the road drops into the head of
the long gorge running towards Keetsville seven miles, known as the
"Cross Timbers."

Into the strong fastness north of the Tavern the enemy had obtained a
lodgment from 10,000 to 15,000 strong in the rear of our wing, on the
morning of the 7