Irving W. Carson

Irving W. Carson ( – April 6, 1862) a captain in the U.S. Army, served as a scout during the American Civil War under the direction of General Ulysses S. Grant, and as a sideline was a journalist for the Civil War. He was in the Battle of Shiloh at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, Tennessee, USA and was killed there by artillery, which made him the first journalist to be killed during the war. He signed on with the Chicago Tribune as a correspondent while with the Dragoons.

Military service He enlisted as a private in an organization called Barker's Dragoons, which lasted from April 19 to August 18, 1861. The men that belonged to these Independent Illinois Volunteer Cavalry Companies refused to enlist for 3 years. While some members broke away from Charles W. Barker, Carson stayed loyal. As a member of the Dragoons, he served as a scout for Gen. Benjamin M. Prentiss. Later, he became a scout for General Ulysses S. Grant at the rank of captain. According to Grant, correspondence on March 26, 1862, indicate that Carson traveled to reach General Don Carlos Buell, by walking for four days and passing three Confederate States of America camps.

Funeral Carson was given full military honors at his funeral that was held at First Baptist Church in Chicago on April 20, 1862. The procession happened on Laselle Street, it involved a cavalcade and many officers who served him. It went all the way through the city and ended at Rosehill Cemetery, where his ashes were buried among the other Civil War soldiers.

Context After the Battle, members of the military, including General William Tecumseh Sherman, and the public, were angry that General Grant had not properly acknowledged Carson and others for their role.

Impact During the Civil War, between eight and 16 journalists died either through sickness or battlefield-related causes, including Carson. It's possible that Carson's connections to the Chicago Tribune and his serving under Grant eventually promoted him to captain.

Reactions Ebenezer Hannaford and the soldiers in the 10th brigade said that Carson's death was a ghastly event that became part of the history of the 6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment. General Sherman himself expressed great displeasure with Grant's failure to say anything about the death of Carson. Sherman had every member who commanded troops at battle provide statements for protection against such untruthful assaults in the future.

As a source Carson's reports have found their way into the works of Civil War history.The USS Carondelet: A Civil War Ironclad on Western Waters by Myron J. Smith, Jr.