Colonel William H. Kinsman
Born July 11, 1832, in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia
| | Killed in Battle of Black River Bayou May 17, 1863 | |
of Council Bluffs,
Lieutenant and Captain Co. B.
4th Iowa Infantry,
Lieutenant-Colonel and Colonel
23rd Iowa Infantry.
[Dedicated] May 17, 1902
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By mid-May, 1863, the Union Forces of Major General Ulysses S. Grant had captured Jackson, Mississippi and wheeled west to attack and encircle Vicksburg. In the vanguard of the Federal assault was the Twenty-Third Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment commanded by Colonel William H. Kinsman of Council Bluffs.
On the morning of May 16, 1863, the Twenty-Third led the charge against the Confederate troops defending the Black River, the last natural barrier protecting the South's remaining vital city on the Mississippi River. Kinsman was fatally wounded as he led the Iowans into a volley of Confederate fire; he died the following morning and was buried at the battle site.
In the late 1800's, veterans of Kinsman's command, with the encouragement and help of General Grenville M. Dodge, recovered and returned the colonel's remains to Council Bluffs. On May 17, 1902, the monument celebrating the colonel's life, military career and devotion to the Union was dedicated. General Dodge presided at the ceremony.
A Project of the Bluffs Arts Council,
Council Bluffs, Iowa, November 11, 1997
Funded by a gift in memory
of James A. Fox, 102nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment,
of Peder Pederson, 46th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment,
of Charles Jordan, 17th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and
of William Robinson, of the Ship's Company, U.S.S. Thomas A. Benton, an ironclad of the Mississippi River Flotilla.
Erected 1902 by His Comrades and the Citizens and School Children
this page online
Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1863.
Location. 41° 16.338′ N, 95° 51.02′ W. Memorial is in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in Pottawattamie County. It is on Lainson Court. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: Fairview Cemetery Oakland and Lafayette Avenues, Council Bluffs IA 51503, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this memorial is in Western Iowa, in Loess Hills, and in Greater Omaha. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Kanesville Mormon Cemetery (approx. 0.3 miles away); Abraham Lincoln's 1859 Visit (approx. 0.3 miles away); Temporary Settlements, Lasting Contributions (approx. 0.7
Also see . . . "Colonel William H. Kinsman," by Grenville M. Dodge, in Annals of Iowa (1902). Internet Archives website entry (Submitted on April 17, 2016, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
Credits. This page was last revised on June 24, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 17, 2016, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,214 times since then and 61 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on April 17, 2016, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 2. submitted on June 24, 2024, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. submitted on April 17, 2016, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
