Rosecrans and the Battle of Iuka
1040 PM St Louis Sept. 20th 1862
as I Teleg’h’d you it was
expected a Battle was fought yesterday
& today in which the gallant
Rosecrans came out Victorious we have
no particulars, as soon as they
come I will Telegraph them praise
God Schofield has taken the field
8 PM 1040 PM St Louis Sept. 20th 820 PM
Second dispatch reliable man Telegraphs that
our forces caught Rebels at Iuka
today whipped & drove them south
hotly pursued by our cavalry who
hope to intercept & capture their
artillery & train Rosecrans did all
the fighting captured five hundred prisoners
our loss all told five hundred
L.C. Weir
It’s kind of entertaining to imagine a giant William Rosecrans towering over the Confederate Army at Iuka, fighting all of them at once, but I get the feeling that’s not what actually happened. The reference to Schofield seems to be an aside, and may refer to his rallying the militias in Missouri and Kansas to repulse Confederate forces. A month later the Union troops would be organized into the Army of the Frontier, which Schofield led for a little over a month.
Decoding the Civil War 
Alone probably refers to the fact that Grant didn’t participate in the battle which was supposed to be a pincer movement with Grant leading one of the attacking points
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That is a far more plausible and practical interpretation of the message than my own, David. I’m glad someone around here has their head on straight 🙂
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