Nicholas S. Bouquet

Under Enemy Fire, He Saved the Abandoned Cannon

Nicholas S. Bouquet (November 14, 1842 – December 27, 1912) was a German-born American Civil War soldier and Medal of Honor recipient who distinguished himself at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri, on August 10, 1861. Serving as a private in Company D of the 1st Iowa Volunteer Infantry, he voluntarily left the Union battle line under heavy enemy fire to help recover a riderless horse and prevent an artillery gun from falling into Confederate hands. His actions earned him the Medal of Honor on February 16, 1897.

Bouquet was born in Landau, Bavaria, on November 14, 1842. He emigrated to the United States during his youth and eventually settled in Burlington, Iowa. Before the Civil War, he worked as a cooper, making and repairing wooden barrels and similar containers. Historical accounts also identify him as having worked with copper and other metals.

When the American Civil War began in April 1861, Bouquet enlisted in the Union Army at Burlington. He joined Company D of the 1st Iowa Volunteer Infantry, one of the earliest Iowa regiments organized for military service following the outbreak of the conflict.

The 1st Iowa was organized for a short period of service and was assigned to Union military operations in Missouri. During the summer of 1861, Federal forces under Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon attempted to maintain control of the southwestern part of the state while confronting Confederate troops and the Missouri State Guard.

By early August, the 1st Iowa's original enlistment period was approaching its conclusion. The soldiers were offered the opportunity to leave military service or remain long enough to participate in an expected engagement near Springfield, Missouri. The regiment agreed to continue serving.

On August 10, 1861, Union forces attacked Confederate positions near Wilson's Creek, approximately twelve miles southwest of Springfield. The opposing armies fought a prolonged engagement across wooded ridges, open fields, and difficult terrain.

Bouquet's Company D, together with Company E of the 1st Iowa Infantry, was assigned to support an artillery battery commanded by Captain James Totten. The battery occupied an exposed position where Confederate infantry repeatedly advanced against the Union line.

As the fighting continued, the Iowa soldiers helped defend Totten's guns against successive Confederate attacks. The Union position came under sustained pressure, and the battle resulted in heavy casualties on both sides.

During the engagement, General Lyon was killed, leaving the Union command to Major Samuel D. Sturgis. With ammunition running low and Confederate forces continuing to threaten the Federal position, Sturgis eventually ordered the Union troops to withdraw toward Springfield.

The withdrawal created an immediate problem for Totten's artillery battery. One of the horses attached to a gun had been killed during the fighting, leaving the artillery piece unable to move with the retreating troops.

Without a replacement horse, the gun was in danger of being abandoned and captured by Confederate forces. Recovering it required someone to leave the relative protection of the Union line while enemy soldiers were still close enough to direct fire across the battlefield.

Bouquet was serving on the skirmish line when an artilleryman called for his assistance. A riderless horse was moving between the opposing forces, and the gunner believed that capturing the animal would make it possible to remove the disabled cannon.

Bouquet agreed to help. Leaving his position, he accompanied the artilleryman into the exposed ground between the Union and Confederate lines.

The two men pursued the loose horse while gunfire continued around them. Despite the danger, they managed to capture the animal and lead it back toward the artillery piece.

Their task was not complete until the replacement horse could be attached to the gun. Working under the continuing threat of enemy fire, Bouquet and the artilleryman secured the animal to the equipment and prepared the cannon for movement.

Once the horse was harnessed, they succeeded in moving the gun away from the battlefield. The artillery piece was brought safely back to the withdrawing Union forces, preventing its capture by the Confederates.

Bouquet's actions were later described in a historical account based on his recollections of Wilson's Creek. The account established that he had acted alongside an artilleryman rather than recovering the gun alone.

Although the Union Army withdrew from the battlefield and Confederate forces retained control of the area, Bouquet's intervention successfully saved the artillery piece during the retreat.

After completing his initial military service with the 1st Iowa Infantry, Bouquet returned to civilian life for a period. In 1862, he enlisted again, joining Company E of the newly organized 25th Iowa Volunteer Infantry.

The 25th Iowa entered federal service in September 1862 and subsequently participated in extensive Union operations in the Western Theater. Bouquet continued serving with the regiment through the remaining years of the Civil War and advanced to the rank of sergeant.

His second period of military service included participation in the Vicksburg Campaign of 1863. Union forces under Major General Ulysses S. Grant conducted operations against the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg, Mississippi, eventually surrounding the city and compelling its surrender on July 4, 1863.

Later that year, Bouquet served during the Chattanooga Campaign in Tennessee. His documented military record included the fighting at Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, where Union forces attacked Confederate positions overlooking Chattanooga.

In 1864, the 25th Iowa participated in Major General William T. Sherman's Atlanta Campaign. The regiment was engaged in operations against Confederate forces defending northern Georgia, including fighting around Kennesaw Mountain.

Following the capture of Atlanta, Bouquet continued serving during Sherman's March to the Sea, which carried Union forces across Georgia toward Savannah. The regiment subsequently participated in the Carolinas Campaign during the final months of the war.

Bouquet completed his service with the 25th Iowa in June 1865. His military career had extended from the opening months of the Civil War through the collapse of the Confederacy, with service in two Iowa infantry regiments and advancement from private to sergeant.

After the war, Bouquet returned to Burlington, Iowa, where he pursued several civilian occupations. He worked as a grocer, served in the local police force, and operated a restaurant. He also held the position of sergeant-at-arms for the Iowa House of Representatives.

Bouquet married Elizabeth Lang, and the couple had eleven children. Historical family accounts record that two of their children died before reaching the age of three.

His association with the 25th Iowa Infantry continued after military service. When the regiment was disbanded, fellow soldiers entrusted Bouquet with its regimental colors for safekeeping. He retained the flags throughout the remainder of his life.

More than thirty-five years after the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Bouquet received formal recognition for the courage he had displayed in 1861.

On February 16, 1897, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. His official citation recognized his voluntary departure from the battle line under heavy enemy fire, his assistance in capturing the loose horse, and his role in saving the disabled artillery gun from capture.

The award acknowledged an action performed when Bouquet was a private in the 1st Iowa Infantry, before his later service and promotion in the 25th Iowa.

Nicholas S. Bouquet died in Burlington, Iowa, on December 27, 1912, at the age of seventy. He was buried in Aspen Grove Cemetery in Burlington, in Block 168, Lot 3, Grave 4.

Bouquet's documented military career included service at Wilson's Creek, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Atlanta, and in the final Union campaigns through Georgia and the Carolinas. His Medal of Honor commemorates the defining action of his service: on August 10, 1861, he and an artilleryman ventured under enemy fire to capture a loose horse and recover a disabled cannon during the Union retreat from Wilson's Creek.