After the fall of Vicksburg, the regiment camped at the Black River Bridge from 27th of  July to 23rd of September, 1863. The regiment suffered greatly from malaria while camped in this area, which caused considerable sickness among the men and officers. When orders were came to break camp, no one was sad to be leaving the area.[1] George Newkirk, younger brother of Abraham, was a member of the same regiment. He died of disease on the 9 June 1863 at Young's Point, Louisiana. This must have been a very sad and trying time for Abraham.[2] The Civil War Service Records for Abraham indicated that he was sick much of this time. It must have been a miserable experience. 

            From the 23rd of September, 1863 to the 9th of March, 1864, the regiment marched to Vicksburg, then took a transports to Memphis, Tennessee, rode by rail to Corinth, Mississippi, then marched to Iuka, Mississippi, and onto Tuscumbia, Alabama. The regiment then marched  across the Tennessee River at Chickasaw, then onto Chattanooga by way of Florence, Pulaski, Stevenson and Bridgeport. 

           The regiment had marched 315 miles since entering upon the campaign, much of the time without tents, over difficult roads, and across mountain ranges. The regiment engaged in several skirmishes and in three battles. Notwithstanding the hardships endured upon the march, the men's health improved under the more favorable climatic conditions.

           On the 9 March 1864, the regiment was ordered to move to Vienna, Alabama to establish an outpost. The regiment were involved in regular picket duty and patrolled the country along the Tennessee River.[3]

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[1] Abraham and George Newkirk, American Civil War Regiments. Ancestry.com [database on-line]. Accessed 8 November 2012, Document 105; Abraham and George Newkirk, Roster and Record of Iowa Troops In the Rebellion, Vol. 3 By Guy E. Logan on-line http://www.ancestry.com data downloaded 7 November 2012. 

[2] George S. Newkirk, Roster and Record of Iowa Troops In the Rebellion, Vol. 3,  Guy E. Logan, Historial Sketch of the Twenty-Sixth Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry. Ancestry.com [on-line database]. Accessed 28 September 2012.

[3] Abraham and George Newkirk, American Civil War Regiments. Ancestry.com [database on-line]. Accessed 8 November 2012, Document 105; Abraham and George Newkirk, Roster and Record of Iowa Troops In the Rebellion, Vol. 3 By Guy E. Logan on-line http://www.ancestry.com data downloaded 7 November 2012.