Pictorial History of the War For the Union, Vol 1 of 2

The Navy Yard and forts in the harbor of Pensacola, from their extent and importance, were particularly the objects of insurgent ambition. General Bragg and his counsellors had so adroitly arranged their plans that it was confidently expected that the government forts, buildings and property would fall into their peaceable occupation. On the 12th of January, the navy yard and barracks, together with Fort Barrancas, fell into their possession, and shortly afterwards Fort McRae met with the same fate; but Lieutenant Slemmer, the United States officer in command of the forts of Pensacola harbor, courageously threw his small force of eighty-two men into Fort Pickens, and had thus far held at bay the large army of insurgents who were preparing to attack him.

The harbor of Pensacola is probably the largest and finest on the whole coast of the Mexican Gulf. The bay is six miles wide and about twelve long. The Warrington navy yard was seven miles by land from Pensacola and six miles and three-quarters by water. About a mile from the navy yard, west, stood Fort Barrancas, and a mile farther Fort McRae, which commands the bar. Opposite Fort McRae was Fort Pickens, the channel running between them. Near Fort Pickens was a redoubt. On the opposite side of Pensacola, across the bay, Santa Rosa island extends several miles to the bar, at the extremity of which is Fort Pickens. A vessel coming into the harbor must necessarily pass between Fort Pickens and Fort McRae, and in close proximity to Barrancas.

47Fort Pickens is a bastioned work of the first class, built of New York granite; its walls forty-five feet in height and twelve in thickness. It is embrasured for two tiers of guns, placed under bomb-proof casemates, besides having one tier en barbette. The work was commenced in 1848 and finished in 1853, at a cost of nearly one million dollars. Its war complement of soldiers is 1,260. Its full armament consists of 210 guns, howitzers, and mortars, of all calibres.

Simultaneous with the determination to reinforce Fort Sumter, the government resolved to send relief to Fort Pickens, which was then threatened by a force of 7,000 men under General Bragg, strongly entrenched, and occupying the other forts in the harbor.

A fleet of six United States vessels lay in the harbor, and they had been notified by General Bragg that he would immediately open fire upon them and Fort Pickens also, should they attempt to reinforce the garrison.

Previous to the 10th of April, the steam frigate Powhatan and the transports Atlantic and Illinois had sailed from New York with troops, ordnance and provisions, for Fort Pickens; but before their arrival at that place, a bearer of dispatches from Washington reached the commander of the naval forces in the bay, with instructions to reinforce the fort. Between the hours of 11 and 12 o’clock on Friday night, April 12th, this was accomplished without bloodshed. “As soon as it became dark,” said an officer on board the sloop-of-war Brooklyn, one of the blockading fleet, “we began work with good will and in earnest. At first the marines from the frigate Sabine and the sloop St. Louis, came on board our vessel, and immediately after the accomplishment of this, the anchor was hoisted by the jolly old salts, with the merry chant of—

We ran as close to the shore as possible, came to anchor, and without a moment’s delay, lowered the boats and filled them with troops.

“At 11 o’clock, Lieutenant Albert N. Smith, of Massachusetts, being in command, they started on their mission, uncertain if they would live to see the light of another day. As they left the side of the vessel, many a ‘God cause you to succeed,’ came from the lips of the loyal men at my side. If I live a thousand years I shall never forget the feelings I experienced when I saw those brave fellows shake hands with their old comrades. A tear would now and then glisten in the gloom, but be instantly wiped away with a clenched hand. These men knew 48their danger, and with the knowledge, dared to face it with a courage eminently worthy of praise—and may they receive it!

“The party were instructed to send up signals should they be attacked, and I do assure you never were keener eyes than ours on that eventful night, as we pierced into the darkness, momentarily expecting to see a rocket light up the midnight gloom; but none appeared. While we were thus anxiously awaiting some evidence of the success or non-success of their mission, a boat was hailed. A faint answer comes back: ‘Lieutenant Smith and the boat’s crew!’ and in whispers we hear the news, ‘they have been successful!’ Brother officers shake hands, and give Lieutenant Smith that praise justly deserved by him. They went around inside of the harbor, passed under the guns of Forts McRae and Barrancas without being heard, and safely landed all the troops without molestation.

“This being successfully accomplished, it was almost instantly concluded to make a new attempt, and orders were given that all the marines in the squadron should take to their boats, preparatory to their being put in the fort. This being done, the steamer Wyandotte took them in charge, and towed them as far as she could go, when they left her and pulled into the harbor, taking the same course the first party had, and in good time reached the fort, and safely landed all who were in the boats. Just as the day was breaking, we saw from our deck the boats shoving off from the beach; and when they returned to us, our anchor was instantly ‘up,’ and we steaming to our old anchorage with very different sensations from those we had when we started for the work. Thus the Brooklyn accomplished what she was sent here for,—the reinforcement of Fort Pickens in spite of General Bragg.”

A few days after this fort had been so nobly reinforced, the splendid steamer Atlantic sailed into the Union fleet, laden with troops for the fort. The next day she was joined by the frigate Powhatan, and again by the Illinois, all laden with troops and military stores. Thus a thousand more troops were thrown into the stronghold, which, with the fleet outside, made it impregnable.

There is no doubt that an attack upon Fort Pickens was contemplated the very night these reinforcements arrived. The assaulting party was composed of five hundred picked men, two hundred and fifty of whom were from the Mississippi Ninth, to be led by C. H. Harris of the Home Guard; fifty from the Tenth Mississippi, and the others from other troops at Pensacola. All necessary preparations were made for moving about 11 o’clock at night. The storming party were led down to the Navy Yard, from whence it would probably have embarked in boats.

It is surmised that Colonel Forney would have been the leader. There was no doubt entertained of his success. Before the force arrived it 49was evident the fort had been reinforced, and all thought of the meditated assault was abandoned. The men picked for this special service lay on their arms all night in the Navy Yard.

The ordinance of secession of the State of Virginia was adopted in secret session on the 17th of April, and the Governor of the State, John Letcher, immediately issued orders for the seizure of the Federal posts and property by the military of the State. A most important post to be first secured comprised the extensive and valuable arsenal, with all its workshops and machinery for the manufacture of arms, at Harper’s Ferry, a place which had been rendered familiar as a household word, from its seizure by John Brown and his party, in the autumn of 1859.

Harper’s Ferry is situated in Jefferson county, Virginia, at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, and is 173 miles distant from Richmond, 57 from Washington, and 80 from Baltimore. The population was about 5,000. The arsenal at this place contained 15,000 stand of arms, in addition to other military stores, then in charge of Lieutenant R. Jones, with a detachment of U. S. Rifles, numbering 43 men. Lieutenant Jones had received advice from Washington that his post was in imminent danger. He was directed to be prepared for any emergency that might arise. On the 17th he received information from various sources that an attack would be made on the night of the 18th. Early in the evening of that day, the little garrison commenced preparations to destroy the arsenal and its contents by fire. The windows and doors of the buildings were then thrown open, that the flames might have a full current of air. At nine o’clock authentic information reached Lieutenant Jones that 2000 men were close at hand.

The men worked bravely, cutting up planks and splitting timbers into kindling-wood, which were heaped ready for the flames. They emptied their mattresses, filled them with powder, and carried them thus into the buildings, that no suspicion might be excited among the people. The arms were then placed in the best position to be destroyed by the explosion, and the combustibles deposited in different places in the shops, that all might be ready.

When all was completed, the fires were started in the combustibles heaped in the carpenters’ shop. The trains leading to the powder were ignited, and the men were led forth.

All at once a cry of fire rang through the town. The frightened inhabitants 50rushed from the houses, and as Lieutenant Jones and his men entered the gateway of the bridge, an excited crowd pursued him with menaces and threats of vengeance. He wheeled his men into line, and announced his determination to fire upon the pursuers if they molested him. The people then fell back, and he escaped by the canal and took refuge in the woods.

A quarter of an hour after, when this band of valiant men were grouped in the darkness of the woods, the first thunders of the explosion echoed through the hills, and flames leaped forth from the burning buildings, illuminating the grand scenery of the place into wonderful beauty. The water, the village, and those glorious mountain passes that surround Harper’s Ferry with a grandeur which the whole world recognizes, were illuminated into all their green and crystal depths. After pausing a moment to witness the result of their own noble work, this gallant officer and his brave men turned their faces northward, and left Harper’s Ferry, saluted by fresh bursts of explosion, and lighted onward by jets of flame that leaped up from the surging clouds in which the arsenal was enveloped, till the sky glowed above them like a golden canopy.

Leaving the scene of conflagration behind, Lieutenant Jones made a hurried march toward Hagerstown, Maryland, wading through streams and swamps, and reached that place at seven o’clock on the morning of the 19th. There he immediately procured means of conveyance, and started for Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, which he reached in the afternoon in an exhausted condition. The men were covered with mud and dirt, and were overcome with fatigue and hunger, having eaten nothing since leaving Harper’s Ferry. They were hospitably entertained by the inhabitants, and departed in the afternoon train for Carlisle barracks. Lieutenant Jones and his men received the approbation and thanks of the Government for their judicious conduct on this occasion, and he was commissioned Assistant Quartermaster-General, U. S. A., with the rank of Captain.

The arsenal buildings were immediately taken possession of by the rebel authorities, and used for the purpose of making and repairing arms, until they again came into possession of the Federal authorities.

A terrible civil war, destined to be without parallel for bitter intenseness, was now fully revealed. The curtain that had so long screened the enemies of the Union in their machinations against the Government, had been raised at Fort Sumter; and in the seizure of Harper’s 51Ferry arsenal, although its usefulness to them had been seriously impaired by the true hearts and hands that applied the torch, and rendered the darkness of night lurid with its conflagration, desolation and ruin had already began their march, leaving their footprints in ashes among the lovely scenes of civilized life, and rioting amid the legendary grandeur and time-honored places of the Old Dominion.

It needed but one act more to encircle us with the thunders of war—to plunge the nation into an almost fathomless ocean of civil hatred and revenge, and leave upon the pages of history the unhappy record of many an ensanguined field. The green sward of a happy, prosperous and free land only remained to be crimsoned with blood! The heart of some martyr freemen needed only to be drained of its life-blood, and the stripes of our old flag dyed a deeper crimson in the precious flood. Soon, too soon, alas! this last fatal act was accomplished. The day after the burning of Harper’s Ferry saw the streets of Baltimore red with sacred blood, and a nation shuddered as the lightning spread the fatal news from State to State.

For months threats had been whispered that Washington should be seized; that an armed mob should revel in the capital and drive Lincoln from the White House. These threats were not idle boastings, as the confidence, celerity, and preparation of the insurgents proved. While the country north of the Potomac was solacing itself with dreams of peace—while plenty was filling every coffer to overflowing, great preparations had been making, and that for a very long time, to secure the end they now had in view. Sudden, unexpected, like the deep tolling of a midnight alarm-bell, the news fell upon the country. Fear, amounting almost to panic, seized upon the people, and when the orders were issued for the instant assembling of troops, the rush to arms was proof positive of this deep alarm.

As in the olden days, the sons of Massachusetts—brave, hardy, fearless as their own sea-washed rock—rushed first to arms and responded to the call. In less than twenty-four hours, seventeen hundred men were waiting in Boston—armed, ready and anxious to march. The order came, and early in the morning of the nineteenth of April—a day memorable in the history of the country, as the anniversary of the battle of Lexington—the Sixth Regiment of Massachusetts militia, commanded by Col. E. P. Jones, of Pepperell, and accompanied by three companies from another regiment, attached temporarily to his command (comprising, in all, about one thousand men), left Philadelphia for Washington, arriving in Baltimore at ten o’clock, A. M. The same train also contained about twelve hundred men from Philadelphia, under the command of General Small. These were unarmed, provision 52having been made for their being supplied, in this respect, on their arrival at Washington.

On the arrival of the train at the President-street depot, the locomotives were detached, and horses substituted, occasioning much delay, for there was an inadequate supply. A very large crowd had gathered around, and though the reception was not one of courtesy, yet no one would have anticipated serious trouble.

Six cars passed in safety, before the fast-increasing mob (for it could now be called by no other name), succeeded in obstructing the track, and thus cutting off three companies of the Massachusetts troops from their comrades, besides General Small’s command, who had remained at the depot of the Philadelphia road. A hasty consultation was held, and it was determined by the officers to march the Massachusetts companies to their destination; and the detachment, under the command of Captain Follansbee, at once set out.

Then it was that the long-smothered fires burst out openly, and were not to be controlled. In the streets of the Monumental City, in the face of a little band of patriots, and in defiance of the civilized world, a secession flag—a mutilated effigy of the stars and stripes—was flaunted in the face of these Massachusetts men, with taunts and sneers, which they received in grave silence. Hemmed in, surrounded, cut off from assistance, the sons of Massachusetts were forbidden to proceed, and boastfully taunted with their inability to march through the city. Cheer upon cheer rang forth for the South, Jeff. Davis, Secession and South Carolina, and mocking groans for the tried and true friends of the Union.

But the sons of men who fought at Bunker Hill, at Monmouth, and Valley Forge, could not be made to understand the words, “Turn back.” The blood of patriots had been transmitted to them, and no shame could fall upon the memories of their revolutionary fathers by their acts. They had started for Washington—started to help form a nation’s bulwark around a nation’s heart, and were not to be stayed by sneers or threats.

“Forward the Sixth,”—the command given and obeyed in that moment of peril, has rendered the Sixth regiment of Massachusetts immortal! Forward, as at Lexington, with fearless hearts, unblenching lips, and unswerving tread, they marched on boldly, as they would have gone up to the cannon’s mouth.

“Forward!” A bridge half destroyed, torn up, difficult of crossing, was passed; then the air was darkened with missiles of every dangerous name and character, showered upon their devoted heads. Stones, brick-backs, clubs, anything savage hands could clutch, were hurled from street and house-top, while the hissing rush of shot and ball played wildly from musket and revolver.

53Ah! it was a cruel, cold-blooded murder of innocent men—of brothers. An act of treachery unparalleled in the history of any nation, whether civilized or savage—a rendering of the “Monuments” of Baltimore a mockery for all time.

Struck down by shot and stones, wounded, surrounded, hopeless of help, these brave men yet stood their ground and even questioned whether it would be right to retaliate. A question without a parallel and proving the pure gold of those brave hearts.

ATTACK ON THE MASSACHUSETTS SIXTH IN BALTIMORE.

But the time when forbearance ceases to be a virtue, came at last to these heroic men—these tender-hearted, christianized soldiers; when self-preservation, the sternly just primal law of our nature commanded them to defend themselves. With firm front, but with sad hearts they prepared to execute the command, and many a form that would not have trembled amid the shock of battle, trembled now as his musket rang the death peal.

Unable to stand the charge, to face the deadly music their own cowardly hearts had awakened—afraid to listen to the awful tumult of battle, the mob broke and sought also to arm themselves. Save from private sources, stores, gunshops and the like, they failed in securing any, for the armories had been well protected in anticipation of this 54possible event. An incessant storm of stones, however, answered every musket shot, and while the fearless “Sixth” still pressed on, more than one of their number fell by the way, and was borne off helpless and wounded, by the police.

The fight was a running one, terrific in its results, as it was rapid in its execution, and though the soldiers at length succeeded in reaching the depot, with the loss of only two killed and nine wounded; while their assailants’ loss was nine killed and eight severely wounded, yet the streets were stained with American blood, drawn by American hands. The pavement stones were red with the life-tide of brothers. Stained indelibly, for though the marks have long since been effaced by the pure rains of a merciful heaven, and the ceaseless tramp of busy feet, yet they are graven on the records of the age with a pen of fire, carving deeper than steel, and more lasting than marble!

The unarmed Pennsylvania troops, taking the alarm, were sent back, though not without injury from the infuriated mob.

The band of the glorious Sixth, consisting of twenty-four persons, together with their musical instruments, occupied a car by themselves from Philadelphia to Baltimore. By some accident the musicians’ car got switched off at the Canton depot, so that, instead of being the first, it was left in the rear of all the others, and after the attack had been made by the mob upon the soldiers, they came upon the car in which the band was still sitting, wholly unarmed, and incapable of making any defence. The infuriated demons approached them, howling and yelling, and poured in upon them a shower of stones, broken iron, and other missiles; wounding some severely, and demolishing their instruments. Some of the miscreants jumped upon the roof of the car, and, with a bar of iron, beat a hole through it, while others were calling for powder to blow them all up in a heap.

Finding that it would be sure destruction to remain longer in the car, the poor fellows jumped out to meet their fiendish assailants hand to hand. They were saluted with a shower of stones, but took to their heels, fighting their way through the crowd, and running at random, without knowing in what direction to go for assistance or shelter.

As they were hurrying along, a rough-looking man suddenly jumped in front of their leader, and exclaimed: “This way, boys! this way!”

It was the first friendly voice they had heard since entering Baltimore; they stopped to ask no questions, but followed their guide, who took them up a narrow court, where they found an open door, into which they rushed, being met inside by a powerful-looking woman, who grasped each one by the hand, and directed them upstairs. The last of their band was knocked senseless just as he was entering the door, by a stone, which struck him on the head; but the 55woman who had welcomed them, immediately caught up their fallen comrade, and carried him in her arms up the stairs.

“You are perfectly safe here, boys,” said the brave woman, who directly proceeded to wash and bind up their wounds.

After having done this, she procured them food, and then told them to strip off their uniforms and put on the clothes she had brought them, a motley assortment of baize jackets, ragged coats, and old trowsers. Thus equipped, they were enabled to go out in search of their companions, without danger of attack from the mob, which had given them so rough a reception.

They then learned the particulars of the attack upon the soldiers, and of their escape, and saw lying at the station the two men who had been killed, and the others who had been wounded. On going back to the house where they had been so humanely treated, they found that their clothes had been carefully tied up, and with their battered instruments, had been sent to the depot of the Philadelphia railroad, where they were advised to go themselves. They did not long hesitate, but started in the next train, and arrived at Philadelphia just in time to meet the Eighth regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers.

Contrast this generous act with that of an old gray-haired man, aged more than sixty-five years, who saw one of the Massachusetts soldiers in the act of levelling his musket, when he rushed in his shirt sleeves from his shop, disarmed the man by main force, and killed him with the bayonet—and you have some idea of the conflicting elements which composed the Baltimore riot.

Increasing by what it had fed on, the lawless spirit ran still more high; its black waves rolled and surged, and no power could be found strong enough to control them. The demon spirit that ran riot during the days of Robespierre, and the fiendish hours of the “Reign of Terror,” appeared in the streets of Baltimore, and foul lips sang rebellious songs. Secession and murder mingling together in rude discord.

The rulers were impotent to check the storm, or control the whirlwind. The people were for the time masters—the authorities helpless.

On this memorable 19th of April, the writer of these pages was on her way from Washington to New York. The train in which she travelled was loaded down with persons going northward, for Washington was not considered a safe place to sojourn in that week, especially for ladies.

About ten miles from Baltimore we met the train which bore the Sixth Massachusetts regiment from the scene of its late encounter. Both trains slackened speed, and instantly it flew like wildfire along the cars that there had been riot and bloodshed in Baltimore, and the brave fellows 56we had passed had been attacked in their passage through the town. The news was received with great excitement, that grew more and more intense until our engine thundered into the depot. The fighting was over, but a mob of morose and cruel-looking men, with a few black women and children, still hung around the building, and we passed out through a lane of scowling faces.

The horse railroad had been torn up and so blockaded that there was no hopes of reaching the Philadelphia cars by that way. With difficulty we procured a carriage and were drawn over the scene of conflict. The railroad was almost obliterated; piles of lumber, fifteen feet high, were heaped upon it. Immense anchors lay across it, forming an iron barricade. Every window along the line was crowded with eager, scared faces, mostly black, and those that were white, evidently of the lowest order.

It became impossible to pass along the railroad, for it was completely blocked up. We turned into a side street, and at last took our places in the Philadelphia train. Here two or three men in uniform entered the cars, and after the train started they were seen talking earnestly with the conductor near our seat. It seemed that the Pennsylvania regiment had been scattered, and while a train had returned toward Philadelphia with the larger portion of the men, some twenty-five or thirty were grouped on the wayside, some miles from the city, hoping that our train would take them in.

The conductor was inexorable. His orders were to proceed direct—besides, he had no room, every seat was crowded. This was true; but all the gentlemen, among whom was Senator Wilkinson, of Minnesota, and several ladies that sat within hearing, pleaded that the men should be taken in, and all offered to surrender their own seats. But it was of no avail—the conductor had his orders.

A few minutes after the officers had retreated we passed a platform on the wayside on which these unlucky soldiers were grouped, in anxious expectation that the train would stop, but it went steadily by, leaving the most disappointed and gloomy faces behind that one often looks upon.

We afterwards learned that these poor fellows wandered around the country for three days, and many of them came back to Philadelphia on foot.

If they were sad at being left, those in the cars were both sorrowful and indignant that they had not been taken up. It seemed to them an act of wanton cruelty; and one of the company, at least, has not yet been able to change her opinion on the subject.

At Wilmington we passed the town in which were the companions of these deserted men. Their train had paused in the town, which we found one blaze of excitement. As the news spread, cheer after cheer arose for 57the stars and stripes, the soldiers, the government, and everything else around which a patriotic cry could centre, rang up from the streets. The people were fairly wild when they saw that the soldiers were driven back.

In every town and at every depot this wild spirit of indignation increased as we advanced. Philadelphia was full of armed men; regiments were rushing to the arsenals, groups of men talked eagerly in the streets—martial music sounded near the Continental Hotel at intervals all night. The city was one scene of wild commotion. In the morning the Seventh New York regiment came in. The day before they had left the Empire City one blaze of star-spangled flags and in a tumult of patriotic enthusiasm. That morning they were hailed in Philadelphia with like spirit. Expecting to march through Baltimore, they panted for an opportunity of avenging the noble men who had fallen there. The citizens met them with generous hospitality, and their passage through Philadelphia was an ovation.

But their indignation towards the Baltimorians was not to be appeased by fighting their own way through that city. Orders reached them to advance toward Washington through Annapolis, and they obeyed, much against the general inclination of the regiment.

I have said that the authorities in Baltimore were powerless; they had no means of learning how far the secession spirit had spread through the city. It is true the riot of the 19th had been ostensibly the action of a low mob, but how far the same spirit extended among the people no one could guess.

On the 20th the mob became more and more belligerent. It assembled at Canton, fired a pistol at the engineer of the Philadelphia train when it came in, and forcing the passengers to leave the cars, rushed in themselves and compelled the engineer to take them back to Gunpowder bridge. There the train was stopped while the mob set fire to the draw bridge, then returned to Bush river bridge, burned the draw there, and finished their raid by burning Canton bridge.

While this was going on outside the city, materials for fresh commotion were gathering in the streets.

All through the day the accessions from the country were coming in. Sometimes a squad of infantry, sometimes a troop of horse, and once a small park of artillery. It was nothing extraordinary to see a “solitary horseman” riding in from the country, with shot-gun, powder-horn and flask. Some came with provender lashed to the saddle, prepared to picket off for the night. Boys accompanied their fathers, accoutred apparently with the sword and holster-pistols that had done service a century ago. There appeared strange contrasts between the stern, solemn bearing of the father, and the buoyant, excited, enthusiastic 58expressions of the boy’s face, eloquent with devotion and patriotism; for mistaken and wrong, they were not the less actuated by the most unselfish spirit of loyalty. They hardly knew, any of them, for what they had so suddenly came to Baltimore. They had a vague idea, only, that Maryland had been invaded, and that it was the solemn duty of her sons to protect their soil from the encroachments of a hostile force.

In the streets of the lower part of the city, were gathered immense crowds among whom discussions and the high pitch of excitement which discussion engenders, grew clamorous. The mob—for Baltimore street was one vast mob—was surging to and fro, uncertain in what direction to move, and apparently without any special purpose. Many had small secession cards pinned on their coat collars, and not a few were armed with guns, pistols and knives, of which they made the most display.

Thus the day ended and the night came on. During the darkness the whole city seemed lying in wait for the foe. Every moment the mob expected the descent of some Federal regiment upon them, and the thirst for strife had grown so fierce that terrible bloodshed must have followed if the troops from Philadelphia or Harrisburg had attempted to pass through Baltimore then.

On Sunday, April 21, the city was in a state of unparalleled excitement. Private citizens openly carried arms in the streets. Along the line of the railroad almost every house was supplied with muskets or revolvers and missiles, in some instances even with small cannon. Volunteers were enlisting rapidly, and the streets became more and more crowded. Abundance of arms had sprung to light, as if by magic, in rebellious hands. Troops were continually arriving and placing themselves in readiness for action.

A great crowd was constantly surging around the telegraph office, waiting anxiously for news. The earnest inquiry was as to the whereabouts of the New York troops—the most frequent topic, the probable results of an attempt on the part of the Seventh regiment to force a passage through Baltimore. All agreed that the force could never go through—all agreed that it would make the attempt if ordered to do so, and no one seemed to entertain a doubt that it would leave a winrow of dead bodies from the ranks of those who assailed it in the streets through which it might attempt to pass.

As the wires of the telegraph leading to New York had been cut, there was no news to be had for the crowd from that direction.

The police force were entirely in sympathy with the secessionists, and indisposed to act against the mob. Marshal Kane and the Commissioners made no concealment of their proclivities for the secession movement.

Amid this tumult the Mayor of Baltimore and a committee of citizens 59started for Washington. Their object was to influence the President against forwarding troops through the city in its present agitated state. But the knowledge of his departure did nothing toward allaying the excitement.

About eight o’clock, the streets began again to be crowded. The barrooms and public resorts were closed, that the incentive to precipitate action might not be too readily accessible. Nevertheless there was much excitement, and among the crowd were many men from the country, who carried shot and duck guns, and old-fashioned horse-pistols, such as the “Maryland line” might have carried from the first to the present war. The best weapons appeared to be in the hands of young men—boys of eighteen—with the physique, dress and style of deportment cultivated by the “Dead Rabbits” of New York.

About ten o’clock, a cry was raised that 3,000 Pennsylvania troops were at the Calvert street depot of the Pennsylvania railroad, and were about to take up their line of march through the city. It was said that the 3,000 were at Pikesville, about fifteen miles from the city, and were going to fight their way around the city. The crowd were not disposed to interfere with a movement that required a preliminary tramp of fifteen miles through a heavy sand. But the city authorities, however, rapidly organized and armed some three or four companies and sent them towards Pikesville. Ten of the Adams’ Express wagons passed up Baltimore street, loaded with armed men. In one or two there were a number of mattresses, as if wounded men were anticipated. A company of cavalry also started for Pikesville to sustain the infantry that had been expressed. Almost before the last of the expedition had left the city limits, word was telegraphed to Marshal Kane by Mayor Brown from Washington, that the government had ordered the Pennsylvania troops back to Harrisburgh, from the point they had been expected to move on to Baltimore. It seemed incredible, but, of course, satisfactory to the belligerents.

The moment it was known that the government had abandoned the intention of forcing troops through Baltimore, this intense commotion settled into comparative calm, but the city was forced to feel the effect of its own folly. The regular passenger trains north had been stopped.

Many business men have been utterly ruined by the extraordinary position into which the city was plunged through the action of the mob. Capital has been swept away, and commercial advantages sacrificed, that no time or enterprise can replace. Those engaged in trade, have no part in these troubles except to suffer. The mob had them in complete subjection, and a stain has been cast on the city which no time can efface. Yet the whole of this attack was doubtless the work of those classes who form the bane and dregs of society, in every great city; 60after events have proved that it was the uprising of a lawless mob, not the expression of a people. But the Mayor of the city and the Governor of the State were for a few days in which these revolters triumphed alike powerless. In this strait they notified the authorities in Washington that troops could not be passed through that city without bloodshed.

The difficulties and dangers of the 19th of April were speedily removed by President Lincoln’s determination to march troops intended for Washington by another route, backed by the determination and efficiency of the government and by the supplies which were sent to the aid of loyal men of the city and State, and thereby Maryland has been saved from anarchy, desolation and ruin. The work of impious hands was stayed—a star preserved to our banner, and the right vindicated without unnecessary loss of life! But nothing save great caution and forbearance almost unparalleled in civil wars, rescued Baltimore from destruction.

When the news of the disaster to the brave Massachusetts regiment reached the old Bay State, a feeling of profound sorrow and deep indignation seized upon the people. Troops gathered to the rescue in battalions, armed men arose at every point, and every railroad verging toward Washington became a great military highway. Not only Massachusetts, but all New England looked upon the outrage with generous indignation, as if each State had seen its own sons stricken down. It seemed to be a strife of patriotism which should get its men first to the field. Directly after the Massachusetts troops, the first regiment of Rhode Island Volunteers passed through New York, on their way to the South. Governor Sprague, who had magnanimously contributed one hundred thousand dollars to the cause, accompanied these troops, as commander-in-chief of the Rhode Island forces. His staff consisted of Colonels Frieze, Goddard, Arnold, and Captain A. W. Chapin, Assistant Adjutant-General. And this was followed by a continued rush of armed men till all the great thoroughfares leading to the capital bristled with steel, and reverberated with the tramp of soldiery.

Governor Andrews sent to Maryland requesting that the martyred soldiers should be reverently sent back to Massachusetts, that the State might give them honored burial. This request was complied with, Governor Hicks responding in a delicate and sympathetic manner, and not only Massachusetts but a whole nation awarded them the glory of first dying for a country that will never forget them. The names of these men were, Sumner H. Needham, of Lawrence; Addison O. Whitney, of Lowell City Guards; and Luther C. Ladd, Lowell City Guards.

The attack by an armed mob upon the Massachusetts regiment had called the attention of the entire country to the State of Maryland, and her future course was the subject of deep feeling. Indirectly, Washington was, of course, menaced by her movements, and it became a matter of vital importance that she should be retained in the Union and restored to her fidelity. Not here alone were keen eyes watching her future. England and France, in their eager thirst for dominion and their jealousy of America and her liberal institutions, scrutinized every action, with reference to their own future course. Second only to Washington, therefore, for the time, became the “Monumental City.”

67

69From the 19th of April, the day when the banner of the Massachusetts Sixth was baptized in blood, until the 14th of June, all was suspense, and those who still retained their fealty were reluctant to express their loyalty from fear of personal violence. Then an election was held for members of Congress, and every district, save one, returned decisive majorities for unconditional Union men. The majority of the Legislature were unreserved in their expressions of disunion, and were secretly, if not openly, urging on the State to revolt. As early as December, 1860, Governor Hicks had been solicited to call a Convention for that purpose, and emissaries of the rebel government had labored with untiring zeal to spread secession sentiments among the people. The Governor, knowing the heart of the masses to be true, refused, and his decision came like a thunder-clap upon the Southern partizans who hoped to find him a pliant tool in their hands.

The proclamation of the President, of the 15th April, was tortured into a means of exciting popular clamor, and every effort was made to fan the fires of secession, until they should burst forth in fierce flame. Meetings were held for that purpose, and every possible means resorted to for its accomplishment. While very many of the wealthy and commercial classes of Maryland, and particularly of Baltimore, were in favor of disunion, eminent and influential citizens, some of whom were among the most distinguished public men of the State, and whose names are inseparably connected with its civil and political history, were committed irrevocably to the support of the government. In this cause the industrial classes—the working-men and the farmers—were true to the principles they had always professed. Whatever political parties they had sympathized with, it had been ever on the broad basis of the Union and the Constitution.

An illustration of this was given on the 18th of April, the day previous to the attack on the Massachusetts regiment. A party of secessionists had raised a rebel flag in the suburbs of Baltimore, and had a cannon with which they saluted it, but a vast crowd of working-men from the neighboring foundries assembled, tore down the flag, and threw the cannon into the river. His Excellency, Thomas H. Hicks, Governor; John P. Kennedy, Secretary of State under President Fillmore; Reverdy Johnson, John R. Kenley, ex-Governor Francis Thomas, Hon. Henry Winter Davis, Edwin H. Webster, Alexander Evans, and many others boldly stepped forward, and planted themselves 70in the foreground, to resist the tide of dishonesty, passion, and frenzy, into which the State was plunged by the conspirators. Five thousand citizens of Baltimore addressed a letter to Governor Hicks, on January 2d, approving his course in refusing to call the Legislature together to authorize a Convention, and public meetings were held throughout the State for the same purpose. Notwithstanding this great demonstration of popular opinion, the secessionists were resolved upon making the attempt; and, though foiled in their measures, seized the opportunity afforded by the passage of Northern troops through Baltimore, to enkindle the flames of civil war, hoping, in the confusion, to urge their schemes to a fulfilment.

The pressure upon the Governor after this event became almost insupportable. All the combined influences of political, social and commercial classes were brought to bear upon him, and the wild denunciations and contemptuous and bitter invective and threats hurled incessantly upon Baltimore and Maryland by a large portion of the northern press were persistently used to press the Executive to the commission of the fatal act. Thus urged on all sides, he was compelled, in deference to the sudden and violent appeals of the people, to request the government to send no more troops through Maryland. The proclamation of the President of the 15th of April, and the call for troops, was represented by the secessionists of Maryland, as in other States, as an attempt to “coerce,” “invade” and “subjugate” the Southern States. They used this appeal with great effect on the popular mind, and the passions of the people were so inflammable, that many whose convictions were utterly opposed to the disunion measures were determined to resent this attempt to “subdue” them. On the 17th of April an excited disunion meeting had been held in Baltimore, and great efforts were made to commit the citizens to the secession movement. On the following day Governor Hicks and his Honor George Wm. Brown, Mayor of Baltimore, issued proclamations calling upon all citizens to keep the peace. The Governor assured the people that no troops should be sent from Maryland, except to defend the national capital. The arrival of Massachusetts troops and the fatal occurrences of the 19th, caused an almost entire cessation of business, and all commerce was suddenly prostrated.

The secessionists were determined to render it impracticable for any more troops to reach Washington, and for this purpose destroyed the bridges and a considerable portion of the tracks of several railroads both north and south of Baltimore.

The Pennsylvania Northern, Philadelphia, Annapolis Junction, and Baltimore and Ohio roads suffered extensively; and in consequence of these lawless proceedings, the greatest difficulty was apprehended in getting 71troops to Washington in time to protect the capital from the threatened attack.

On the 21st the government announced that it took possession of the Philadelphia and Baltimore railway as a military road. During the temporary delay and obstruction to the travel, it was almost impossible for travellers to pass either way. Many were molested in Baltimore; some were placed in confinement under false charges by the secessionists, and all were compelled to pay exorbitant prices and resort to the rudest means of conveyance to pursue their journeys, when permitted so to do. On the 22d the Mayor and Police Board of Baltimore laid an embargo on provisions and necessary supplies, as the interruption to transportation threatened a deficiency of food.

The Governor, under these extraordinary circumstances, called a special session of the Legislature, which assembled at Frederick, on the 26th of the month, the capital, Annapolis, being then in possession of General Butler, who threatened to arrest the whole body if an ordinance of secession were passed. The secession members of the Legislature then attempted to procure the organization of a Board of Safety, which should have discretionary power during the crisis, but public meetings were immediately called, which were loud in their denunciations of this covert transfer of the State to its enemies, and it was abandoned. Resolutions protesting against the war, and recommending the President to desist, and resort to arbitration, were adopted, and a committee appointed to visit the President and induce him to promise that no more troops should be passed through Maryland. The President replied that the public necessity must govern him, and that he would consult the wishes of the people to the utmost extent that the national welfare would permit.

The Legislature, after the report of the Committee had been submitted, on May 6, discussed the questions at issue, and on the 10th adopted a preamble and resolution, declaring Maryland sympathized “with the South in the struggle for their rights, solemnly protests against this action, and will take no part in it, denouncing the military occupancy of the State, and transportation of troops, and imploring the President, in the name of God, to cease this unholy war.”

The reorganization of the military departments for the war was progressing with all possible dispatch. The Department of Washington was assigned to Colonel Joseph K. F. Mansfield, the Department of Annapolis to Major-General Butler, and that of Pennsylvania to Major General Robert Patterson.

On the 5th of May, General Butler took possession of the junction of the Baltimore and Washington and Baltimore and Ohio railroads, at the Relay House, nine miles south of Baltimore. Four days afterwards 72a body of United States troops landed at Locust Point in that city, and were conveyed by the cars through it without interruption. The Marshal of the city, John K. Kane, was known to be deeply implicated in the work of rebellion, and he was arrested and search was made at the police headquarters for concealed arms and supplies.

The people of Maryland held views which her disloyal legislators had misrepresented. On the 14th of May, a meeting was held at East Baltimore, at which strong Union resolutions were adopted, pledging “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor,” to its defence, declaring the right of the government to convey troops through the State, and their own right and duty to aid them in the work.

General Butler the same day occupied Federal Hill, at Baltimore, and issued a proclamation which was scattered in immense numbers among the people, and contributed in a high degree to the restoration of confidence and harmony among all classes. An important step was also taken by Governor Hicks, who, on the same day issued a proclamation calling for the State quota of four regiments of volunteers for three months, to sustain the government and to protect the capital. General Butler had seized various military stores intended for the rebels, and also took possession of arms and powder belonging to loyal parties, to prevent their being removed by enemies to the government.

Brigadier-General Butler, having been appointed Major-General, and placed in command of the military Department of Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee, a most important position, was transferred to Fortress Monroe, and was succeeded by General Cadwallader on the 20th. Fort McHenry was reinforced, and put into the most effective condition for immediate service, and the conspirators of Baltimore were restrained from further disorders by the apprehension that any attempt at insurrection would be the signal for a bombardment of the city. After Cadwallader came into command, several arrests of prominent persons had been made. Among these was Mr. John Merryman, who applied to Chief-Justice Taney for a writ of habeas corpus. This was granted; and General Cadwallader, in answer, said that the prisoner had been arrested on charge of various acts of treason—of holding a command in a company having in possession arms belonging to the United States, and of avowing his purpose of armed hostility to the Government of the United States. In such cases General Cadwallader said he was authorized by the President to suspend the habeas corpus act; he therefore requested Judge Taney to suspend further action until instructions could be had from the President.

Judge Taney thereupon issued a writ of attachment against General Cadwallader for contempt of court. The Marshal proceeded to Fort McHenry to execute the writ, but was refused admission. Judge 73Taney urged that the President had no authority to suspend the act of habeas corpus, or to authorize others to do so. An elaborate opinion to that effect was prepared by the Judge and has since been published.

A sufficient number of troops were also at this time stationed in Baltimore, and the loyal citizens were assured that they would be protected in all their rights and privileges, at every hazard. Thus fortified, protected and encouraged, the loyalty of the people was fully displayed, while the disloyal were held in check. Maryland, glorious in her past history, and her devotion to the Constitution, was saved from destruction, and her loyal citizens will in generations to come receive the plaudits of millions whose gratitude will be deep enough to overwhelm her few days of revolt.

The splendid naval and military establishment at Gosport, Virginia, belonging to the Federal Government, was, at the time Virginia seceded, in the possession of the United States. It was supplied with immense quantities of military and naval stores; and several old vessels which had been withdrawn from service, and others of great value, were either waiting orders to sail or undergoing repairs. The entire establishment, whether on land or water, was indispensable to the conspirators, for the possession of the Navy Yard would give them immediate control of ordnance stores and property worth $30,000,000.

The seizure of this vast establishment having been determined upon, five or six vessels had been sunk by the rebels in the channel of the Elizabeth river, below the Navy Yard, thus effectually preventing the passage of larger vessels.

General Taliaferro was placed in command of the insurgent forces then rapidly concentrating at Norfolk. Commodore McCauley, who commanded at the Navy Yard, had been reluctant to adopt any measures which would bring him into hostility with the State troops, and thus inaugurate the war. The rebels took advantage of this leniency, but for once they were disappointed in their expectations of success. The Commodore determined to destroy the immediate agencies of the war, leaving the armories, ship wood, docks and dwellings unharmed, hoping that, although they might for a time be occupied by the insurgents, the stars and stripes would eventually float over them in triumph.

At 8½ o’clock on Saturday evening, the 20th April, the Pawnee, containing 600 Massachusetts troops from Fortress Monroe, arrived at Gosport harbor, the Commodore’s flag at its mast-head the white sails, 74relieved by the dark blue sky, appearing more like the floating wings of the dove of peace than heralds of destruction. The scene that followed is thus graphically described by an eye-witness.

Her coming was not unexpected, and as she glided to her place at the dock, the men on the Pennsylvania and the Cumberland, several hundred in number, greeted her with a volley of cheers that echoed and re-echoed till all Norfolk and Portsmouth must have heard the hail. The men of the Pennsylvania fairly outdid themselves in their enthusiasm on this occasion. They clambered into the shrouds, and not only answered to the “three cheers,” but volunteered “three times three,” and gave them with a hurricane of heartiness. This intense feeling on their part is easily explained. They had been a long time almost imprisoned on shipboard, on a ship imbedded in the river, motionless and helpless, and subject to promises from the secessionists of speedy demolition. In the advent of the Pawnee they saw deliverance from such durance, and they exulted with tremendous emphasis.

All Portsmouth and Norfolk were thoroughly aroused by the arrival of the Pawnee. They did not expect her, and were not prepared for her. They were seized with trepidation, thinking, perhaps, she had come, and along with the Cumberland and Pennsylvania, meant to bombard the towns for having obstructed the channel, and for having, the night before, rifled the United States magazine, just below Norfolk, of about 4,000 kegs of powder. Being utterly defenceless and quite terrified, the secessionists made no protest against the Pawnee’s presence, nor did they venture too near the Navy Yard.

The Pawnee made fast to the dock, and Colonel Wardrop marched out his regiment and stationed them at the several gates of the Navy Yard to oppose the entrance of any forces from without, in case an attempt to enter should be made. Having adopted this precaution, the Commodore set the marines on the Pennsylvania, the Cumberland, the Pawnee, and in the yard, to work. All the books and papers, the archives of the establishment, were transferred to the Pawnee.

Everything of interest to the Government on the Pennsylvania was promptly transferred to the Cumberland. On this latter vessel, it was also said, a large amount of gold from the Custom House at Norfolk had been in good time placed. Having made safe everything that was to be brought away, the marines were next set to work to destroy everything on the Pennsylvania, and the other ships, and in the yard, that might be of immediate use in waging war upon the government. Many thousand stands of arms were destroyed. Carbines had their stocks broken from the barrels by a blow, and were thrown overboard. A large lot of revolvers shared the like fate. Shot and shell by thousands went with hurried plunge to the bottom. Most of the cannon had been 75spiked the day and night before. There were at least 1,500 pieces in the yard—some elegant Dahlgren guns, and Columbiads of all sizes.

It is impossible to describe the scene of destruction that was exhibited. Unweariedly it was continued from 9 o’clock until about 12, during which time the moon gave light to direct the operations. But when the moon sank behind the western horizon, the barracks near the centre of the yard were set on fire, that by its illumination the work might be continued. The crackling flames and the glare of light inspired with new energies the destroying marines, and havoc was carried everywhere within the limits of orders. But time was not left to complete the work. Four o’clock of Sunday morning came, and the Pawnee was passing down from Gosport harbor with the Cumberland, the coveted prize of the secessionists, in tow—every soul from the other ships and the yard being aboard of them, save two. Just as they left their moorings, a rocket was sent up from the deck of the Pawnee. It sped high in air, paused a second, and burst in shivers of many-colored light. As it did so, the well-set trains at the ship-houses, and on the decks of the fated vessels left behind, went off as if lit simultaneously by the rocket. One of the ship-houses contained the old New York, a ship thirty years on the stocks, and yet unfinished. The other was vacant; but both houses and the old New York burnt like tinder. The older and unserviceable vessels, the Pennsylvania, the Raritan, the Columbia, the Dolphin, were fired without compunction; while the Merrimac, Plymouth and Germantown were sunk, and the immense lifting shears used for raising vessels was broken down and rendered useless. The old Delaware and Columbus, worn out and dismantled seventy-fours, were scuttled and sunk at the upper docks on Friday.

The grand conflagration now burst in judgment on the startled citizens of Norfolk, Portsmouth, and all the surrounding country. The flames leaped from pitchy deck to smoking shrouds, and writhed to their very tops around the masts that stood like martyrs doomed. It was not thirty minutes from the time the trains were fired till the conflagration roared like a hurricane, and the flames from land and water swayed, and met, and mingled together, and darted high, and fell, and leaped up again, and by their very motion showed their sympathy with the crackling, crashing roar of destruction beneath. But in all this magnificent scene, the old ship Pennsylvania was the centre-piece. She was a very giant in death, as she had been in life. She was a sea of flame, and when her bowels were consuming, then did she spout from every porthole of every deck torrents and cataracts of fire that, to the mind of Milton, would have represented her a frigate of hell pouring out unremitting broadsides of infernal fire. Several of her guns were left loaded, but not shotted, and as the fire reached them, they sent out on the 76startled morning air minute guns of fearful peal, that added greatly to the alarm that the light of the conflagration had spread through the surrounding country. The Pennsylvania burnt like a volcano for five hours and a half before her mainmast fell. At precisely 9½ o’clock the tall tree that stood in her centre tottered and fell, and crushed deep into her burning sides, whilst a storm of sparks filled the sky.

As soon as the Pawnee and Cumberland had fairly left the waters, and were known to be gone, the gathering crowds of Portsmouth and Norfolk burst open the gates of the Navy Yard and rushed in. They could do nothing, however, but gaze upon the ruin wrought. The Commodore’s, residence, left locked but unharmed, was burst open, and a pillage commenced, which was summarily stopped. As early as six o’clock a volunteer company had taken possession in the name of Virginia, and run up her flag from the flagstaff. In another hour several companies were on hand, and men were at work unspiking cannon, and by nine o’clock they were moving them to the dock, whence they were begun to be transferred, on keels, to points below, where sand batteries were to be built.

Notwithstanding the splendor of the scene, and the great destruction of property, the result was incomplete, and a large amount of artillery and munitions of war fell into the hands of the Virginians.

President Lincoln, on the 15th of April, issued a proclamation stating that the laws of the United States had been and are opposed in several States, by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings; he therefore called for 75,000 troops from the several States. The first service assigned to this force would probably be to repossess the forts and other places and property which had been seized from the Union. An extra session of Congress was also to meet on the 4th of July.

When President Lincoln issued his proclamation on the 15th of April, dispatches were sent from the Secretary of War, addressed to the Governors of the several States, designating the quotas assigned to each State, under this proclamation. The Executives of the slaveholding States, with the exception of Maryland and Delaware, peremptorily refused to comply with this requisition. Governor Ellis, of North Carolina, replied, “I regard the levy of troops made by the Administration for the purpose of subjugating the States of the South as in violation of the Constitution, and a usurpation of power. I can be no party to 77this wicked violation of the laws of the country, and to this war upon the rights of a free people. You can get no troops from North Carolina.” Governor Jackson, of Missouri, answered, “There can be, I apprehend, no doubt but these men are intended to form part of the President’s army to make war upon the people of the seceding States. Your requisition, in my judgment, is illegal, unconstitutional and revolutionary in its objects, altogether inhuman and diabolical, and cannot be complied with. Not one man will Missouri furnish to carry on such an unholy crusade.” Governor Magoffin, of Kentucky, replied, “In answer, I say emphatically, that Kentucky will furnish no troops for the wicked purpose of subduing her sister Southern States.” Governor Letcher, of Virginia, answered, “I have only to say that the militia of Virginia will not be furnished to the powers at Washington for any such use or purpose as they have in view. Your object is to subjugate the Southern States, and a requisition made upon me for such an object—an object, in my judgment, not within the purview of the Constitution, or the Act of 1795—will not be complied with. You have chosen to inaugurate civil war, and having done so, we will meet it in a spirit as determined as the Administration has exhibited toward the South.” Governor Harris, of Tennessee, refused, in terms equally explicit, to comply with the requisition of the Government. In his Message to the Legislature, dated April 25, he takes strong ground against the action of the Administration, which he says is designed for the subjugation of the Southern States. He recommended the immediate passage of an Act of Secession, and an Act for the union of Tennessee with the Southern Confederacy, both to be submitted separately to the people at an early day. He also recommended an appropriation for arming the State, and the creation of a large military fund, to be placed under the direction of a special board.

The position of Virginia is of the greatest importance to a thorough understanding of the difficulties in which the country was placed. At the breaking out of hostilities, the State Convention was in session. A resolution was passed, expressing an earnest desire for the re-establishment of the Union in its former integrity: an amendment, declaring that Virginia ought not to accept a form of adjustment which would not be acceptable to the seceding States, was rejected. Commissioners were appointed to wait on the President, and ascertain the policy which he intended to pursue. An amendment, denying the right of the Federal Government to deal with the question of secession, was rejected. A resolution was adopted, expressing a willingness that the independence of the seceding States should be acknowledged. An amendment, declaring that Virginia would secede in case the proposed amendments to the Constitution were rejected by the non-slaveholding 78States, was lost. And resolutions were adopted, opposing any action on the part of the Federal Government for retaining or retaking forts in the seceding States, and affirming, that any measures of the Government, tending to produce hostilities with the Confederate States, would leave Virginia free to determine her own future policy. When the proclamation of the President, calling for troops, was issued, the Convention went into secret session, on the 17th of April, passed an ordinance to repeal the ratification of the Constitution of the United States, by the State of Virginia, and to resume all the rights and powers granted under such Constitution.

When the proclamation was received at Montgomery, President Davis issued a proclamation, dated on the 17th of April, inviting all persons to apply for letters of marque and reprisal, to be issued under the seal of the Confederate States. President Lincoln thereupon, on the 19th, issued a proclamation, announcing the blockade of all the ports of the seceding States, and that a competent force would be stationed to prevent the entrance and exit of vessels at these ports. On the 27th, the President issued a proclamation extending the blockade to the ports of North Carolina and Virginia. It was announced that the blockade would be maintained by at least fifty vessels of war, accompanied by a fleet of steam transports, capable of conveying an army of 20,000 men. On the 3d of May the President issued another proclamation, calling into service 42,000 volunteers to serve for a period of three years, unless sooner discharged; ordering that the regular army should be increased by 22,714 men; and directing the enlistment, for the naval force of the United States, of 18,000 seamen, for a period of not less than one or more than three years.

The Congress of the Confederate States met at Montgomery on the 29th of April. The message of President Davis announced that the permanent Constitution had been ratified by a sufficient number of States to render it valid, and that it only remained to elect officers under its provisions. The message of President Lincoln, calling for volunteers, was characterized as a declaration of war, which will render it necessary to adopt measures to replenish the treasury of the Confederation, and provide for the defence of the country. Proposals had been issued, inviting subscriptions for a loan of five millions; more than eight millions was subscribed for, none under par. The whole amount had been ordered to be accepted; and it was now necessary to raise a much larger sum. The Confederate States had in the field, at Charleston, Pensacola, and different forts, 19,000 men, and 16,000 were on route for Virginia. It was proposed to organize and hold in readiness an army of 100,000 men. “We seek no conquest,” says Mr. Davis, “no aggrandizement, no concession from the Free States. All 79that we ask is to be let alone; that none shall attempt our subjugation by arms. This we will, and must, resist to the direst extremity. The moment this pretension is abandoned, the sword will drop from our grasp, and we shall be ready to enter into treaties of amity and commerce mutually beneficial.” In the meanwhile warlike and aggressive measures had been pushed forward with all possible activity. The forces besieging Fort Pickens had been augmented, and new batteries had been constructed against it. Vessels belonging to the government and to individuals had been seized. Among these was the steamer Star of the West, which had been dispatched to Indianola, Texas, to bring away the United States troops collected at that port. The vessel was lying at anchor, awaiting the arrival of the troops. At midnight, of the 19th of April, the steamer Rusk approached, and the captain of the Star of the West was informed that she had on board 320 United States troops, which were to be embarked.

Every assistance was given for the reception of the supposed soldiers, who, however, proved to be Texan troops. As soon as they were on board they took possession of the steamer, which was taken to New Orleans, the crew being detained as prisoners of war. Shortly after, 450 of the United States troops attempted to make their escape from Indianola on board of two sailing vessels. They were pursued by two armed steamers, manned by the Texans, overtaken, and made prisoners.

The loyal States had not only been patriotic in sending troops to the capital, but in supplying money also. The Legislature of New York appropriated three millions of dollars for arming and equipping troops; Connecticut appropriated two millions; Vermont one million; New Jersey two millions, and other States in proportion. The Common Council of the city of New York appropriated one million. Besides the public appropriations, in every considerable town and city private subscriptions were made for the same purposes, and to support the families of volunteers. The aggregate of the sums thus furnished was estimated at twenty-five millions—all raised in a few days.

Meantime the Confederate government had adjourned on the 20th of May to meet in Richmond, Virginia, on the 20th of July, or some other convenient place to be selected by the President.

On the 6th of May an act was passed “recognizing the existence of war between the United States and the Confederate States, and concerning letters of marque, prizes, and prize goods.” This act gave the President of the Confederate States authority to use the whole land and naval forces of the Confederacy to meet the war thus commenced, and to issue letters of marque and reprisal against the vessels and property of the United States and their citizens, with the exception of the States belonging to the Confederation or expected to join it.

80An act was passed prohibiting the export of cotton or cotton yarn from any of the Confederate States except through the sea-ports. It was proposed in Congress that the cotton planters should be invited to put their crops in the hands of the government, receiving bonds for its value, the government to dispose of it in Europe for cash. The Postmaster-General, on the 1st of June, took charge of the transmission of the mails in the Confederate States; and the Postmaster-General of the United States announced that on that day postal communication would close with the seceding States, with the exception of some counties in Western Virginia. All letters for these States were sent to the Dead Letter Office at Washington.

Two more States—Arkansas and North Carolina—had formally seceded from the Union, and joined the Confederate States. In Arkansas the State Convention, on the 18th of April, had passed an ordinance submitting the question of secession to the people, at an election to be held on the 3d of August. When the requisition of President Lincoln was received, Governor Rector, on the 22d of April, replied to the Secretary of War, “In answer to your requisition for troops from Arkansas to subjugate the Southern States, I have to say that none will be furnished. The demand is only adding insult to injury. The people of this Commonwealth are freemen and not slaves, and will defend to the last extremity their honor, lives and property against Northern mendacity and usurpation.” On the same day the Governor gave orders for the seizure at Napoleon of a large quantity of military supplies belonging to the United States. On the 6th of May, the Convention, which had re-assembled, unanimously passed an ordinance of secession.

Tennessee also virtually, though not in form, joined the Southern Confederacy. The Legislature passed a Declaration of Independence, which was to be submitted to the people on the 8th of June. Meanwhile a military league had been formed with the Confederate government, in virtue of which the forces of Tennessee were to be employed to aid the Confederate States.

In Kentucky a determined effort was made to preserve a strict neutrality. Governor Magoffin, as before noted, refused peremptorily to comply with the President’s requisition for troops. On the 20th of May he issued a proclamation declaring that every indication of public sentiment in Kentucky showed a fixed determination of the people to take neither side, but to maintain a posture of self-defence, forbidding the quartering upon her soil of troops from either section, in the hope that the State might yet become a mediator between the parties. He therefore warned all States, whether separate or united, and especially the Confederate and the United States, against any armed occupation within the State of Kentucky, without the permission of the Legislature 81and Executive authorities. All citizens of Kentucky were forbidden to make any demonstration against either of the sovereignties, but were directed to make prompt and efficient preparations for the defence of the State. Of similar purport were the proceedings of the “Border States Convention,” held at Frankfort. Virginia, North Carolina and Arkansas, having joined the Southern Confederacy, of course sent no delegates; none appeared from Maryland, and only one from Tennessee, and four from Missouri. The remainder were from Kentucky. Senator Crittenden was chosen President. Two addresses, one to the people of the United States, and the other to the people of Kentucky, were adopted. The essential point in the first address is the recommendation that Congress would propose such Constitutional amendments as should secure the legal rights of slaveholders; and if this should fail to bring about a pacification, that a Convention be called composed of delegates from all the States, to devise measures of peaceable adjustment.

The address to the people of Kentucky defended the action of the Executive in refusing troops to the Federal Government, as called for by the peculiar circumstances in which the State was placed. “In all things,” says the address, “she is as loyal as ever to the constitutional administration of the government. She will follow the stars and stripes to the utmost regions of the earth, and defend it from foreign insult. She refuses alliance with any who would destroy the Union. All she asks is permission to keep out of this unnatural strife. She has announced her intention to refrain from aggression upon others, and she must protest against her soil being made the theatre of military operations by any belligerent.” The address goes on to censure the conduct of the States who have withdrawn from the Union, affirming that there was in the Constitution a remedy for every wrong, and provisions to check every encroachment by the majority upon the minority. In withdrawing the States committed “a great wrong, for which they must answer to posterity. But Kentucky remained true to herself, contending with all her might for what were considered to be the rights of the people, and although one after another of the States that should have been by her side ungenerously deserted her, leaving her almost alone in the field, yet she did not surrender her rights under the Constitution, and never would surrender them. She would appear again in the Congress of the United States, not having conceded the least atom of power to the Government that had not heretofore been granted, and retaining every power she had reserved. She would insist upon her constitutional rights in the Union, and not out of it.” The address went on to say that if the war should be transferred to Kentucky, her destruction would be the inevitable result; “and even the institution to preserve or control which the wretched war was undertaken, would be exterminated in the general ruin.”

82In Virginia the vote upon secession resulted in a large majority in its favor. In the north-western part of the State the vote was largely in favor of the Union. A Convention of the Western Counties convened at Wheeling on the 13th of May, at which resolutions were passed pronouncing the ordinance of secession null and void. The Convention adjourned to meet on the 11th of June.

The position of Missouri was similar to that of Kentucky. The State endeavored to avoid taking part in the war. Troops had been organized with hostile designs against the Government. These were forced to surrender by Captain Lyon, (afterward appointed General). At St. Louis an attack was made by the populace, on the 10th of May, upon the United States volunteers; they returned the fire, killing some twenty; an émeute on the next day resulted in the loss of several lives. General Harney, who had been put in command of this district, entered into an agreement with the State authorities, that was disapproved by the Government, and he relieved from the command, which was then given to General Lyon.

The attitude assumed by the great powers of Europe in relation to the American war was important. That of England, indicated by the royal proclamation issued on the 14th of May a determination to maintain a strict neutrality in the contest between the contending parties. The proclamation went on to forbid all British subjects from taking part in any way in the contest, by enlisting in the army or navy of either party; by fitting out or arming any vessel; by breaking any lawfully established blockade, or carrying to either, troops or any articles contraband of war. This proclamation, taken in connection with the explanations of the Ministers and the speeches in Parliament, had an unfriendly aspect toward the United States, recognizing, as it did, the Confederate States as belligerents, and, by implication, entitled equally to the right of carrying prizes into the ports of Great Britain. In the House of Commons, Lord John Russell said that the character of belligerency was not so much a principle as a fact; that a certain amount of force and consistency acquired by any mass of population engaged in war entitled them to be treated as a belligerent. A power or a community which was at war with another, and which covered the sea with its cruizers, must either be acknowledged as a belligerent or dealt with as a pirate. The Government had come to the opinion that the Southern Confederacy, according to those principles which were considered just, must be treated as belligerent. In this critical condition was the country when the Government prepared to advance its armies into Virginia.

The first engagement on the field occurred at Great Bethel, about ten miles north of Newport News, on the road from Hampton to Yorktown, Virginia, the place having derived its name from a large church, near which the rebels had an entrenched camp.

Under cover of night, the forces, who were under the command of General B. F. Butler, had been repeatedly annoyed by the secession forces, whose rendezvous was Little Bethel, distant about eight miles 89from Newport News, and the same distance from Hampton, where, also, a church was used as the headquarters of their cavalry, thus literally putting “holy things to an unholy use.” The Union-loving, or, at least, Union-respecting citizens, were continually robbed—slaves were impressed to work upon their fortifications, and all that forethought could suggest was recklessly accomplished.

Determined to put a stop to these forays, General Butler organized an expedition for the purpose of surprising the rebels at Little Bethel, giving to the officers commanding discretionary powers, as no positive information could be obtained with regard to their defences or forces.

General Pierce, of Massachusetts, who had the command at Hampton, was instructed to detach Colonels Duryea and Townsend’s New York regiments, and Colonel Phelps, commanding at Newport News, was also commanded to start an equal force, about an hour later, to make a demonstration in front. One regiment from each command was directed to repair to a point about one mile from Little Bethel, and there await further orders. Should the design prove successful, they were, when directed, to follow close upon the enemy, drive them into their entrenchments at Big Bethel and attack them.

A naval brigade—a new volunteer organization, stationed at Hampton Roads, had been exercised in the management of scows, with capacity for carrying about one hundred and thirty men, besides those at the oars, and when the night came settling down in darkness, they set out, with muffled oars, passed the mouth of Hampton river, and silently proceeded up the stream. Moored at the hither shore of Hampton, at midnight they awaited the time when the blow was to be struck.

Three companies of Duryea’s New York Fifth, under the command of Captain Kilpatrick, crossed and went forward on the Bethel road, followed soon after by the remainder of the regiment, and Colonel Townsend’s New York Third. One hour later, five companies, each of the Vermont First and Massachusetts Fourth, under Lieutenant-Colonel Washburne; six companies of the New York Seventh, Colonel Bendix, and a squad of regulars, with three small field pieces under Lieutenant Greble, moved forward from Newport News.

At about one o’clock, A. M., the three companies under Captain Kilpatrick reached New Market Bridge—at about three o’clock they were joined by the main body and started for Little Bethel. The pickets of the enemy were surprised, the officer in command captured, and the Union forces, flushed with success, were pushing forward, when the sound of heavy firing in their rear checked them.

Meantime, the force from Newport News came up the road from that 90place, and took the road from Hampton to Bethel, not far behind the Fifth; but they left at the junction of the roads, under Colonel Bendix, a rear guard of one hundred and seventy men and one field piece, with the order to hold this position at all hazards, where they were to be joined by Colonel Townsend’s regiment from Hampton. Almost immediately after, the Third New York regiment came up the Hampton road. It was still dark, and their colors could not be seen. Their approach also was over a ridge, and as General Pierce and staff, and Colonel Townsend and staff, in a body, rode in front of their troops, and without any advance guard thrown out, as customary, to reconnoitre, they appeared from Colonel Bendix’s position to be a troop of cavalry. It was known that the Federal force had no cavalry, and the fire of this rear guard was poured into the advancing body, at the distance of a quarter of a mile. But the road in which the Third was marching was a little below the level of the land along the edge, and was bordered on either side by fences, forming a partial cover, and rendering the fire comparatively harmless. Fifteen men, however, were wounded and two killed. The Third then fell back and formed upon a hill, and the force again moved in the following order: Colonel Duryea with the New York Fifth; Lieutenant-Colonel Washburne with the companies from Newport News, and Greble’s battery; Colonel Townsend, with the New York Third; Colonel Allen, with the New York First; and Colonel Carr, with the New York Second.

The advance was made with great rapidity and fearlessness, and soon the lurid flames of Little Bethel shot upwards in the murky air, and lighted up the country far and wide. Great Bethel was reached next, and our troops received their first intimation of the location of the enemy that was pouring hissing shot upon them from a masked battery. But they were not to be stayed by the iron rain. Steadily, unflinchingly, though death was threatening them every instant, they marched on and gained a position within two hundred yards of the enemy’s works. For two hours the whirl and clash and roar of the battle was terrific. Every soldier fought as if upon his individual efforts rested the chances of the day. Charge after charge of the greatest gallantry was made by the infantry against their invisible foemen, and though suffering terribly from the deadly fire, still pouring fiercely upon them, no one thought of retreat. At length, however, General Pierce deemed the exposure too great, and the chances of success too small to warrant a more persistent struggle, and the troops were withdrawn in good order.

Where all fought so nobly, it would be simply invidious to particularize. But one brave heart there was called home from amid the smoke and tumult of battle that cannot be forgotten. Theodore Winthrop, Major, and formerly of the New York Seventh, there gave his life for 91his country—his blood as an offering of sacrifice. A gentleman and scholar as well as a soldier—rich in the rare gifts of genius, he had earned fame in literature before he found that glorious death upon the battle field. He had been one of the foremost to press forward in the hour of his country’s need, and breathed his last, nobly struggling for her honor, with wild battle notes ringing in his ear, and the starry flag waving unconquered above him.

Lieutenant Greble, also, an officer of great promise—of coolness, energy and discretion, won for himself a deathless name and a soldier’s grave in this battle. Many others, too, of whom fame will not always be silent, men of noble hearts and fearless courage, hallowed the cause with their blood, and when the records of a nation’s jewels shall have been perfected, will be found side by side with the hero-author of Great Bethel.

Information that an attempt would be made to destroy the bridges on the Loudon and Hampshire railway, between Alexandria and Vienna, having been conveyed to General McDowell, he dispatched the First Ohio regiment, Colonel McCook, under the direction of Brigadier-General Schenck, to guard the road.

The train of seven cars, backed out by a locomotive, left Alexandria about noon, and proceeded on its way, dropping detachments all along the road, and meeting with no interruptions until entering a straight line near Vienna. Then a man stepped out upon the road and waved his hand, beckoning the train to stop, and warned them “for God’s sake not to go on,” as they were dead men if they proceeded; that there was a battery and strong force of the enemy ahead.

The officer in front of the Federal troops paused a moment with his hand on his forehead, as if turning the matter over in his mind, and then beckoned to the engineer to go on.

They proceeded a short distance, when a battery on the high ground, to the right of the road leading to Vienna, opened fire upon the train, and poured well-aimed and rapid discharges into the compact body of Federal soldiery. Some four hundred passengers, troops and laborers, were on the train, and many of them were necessarily on the platforms and the tender. The fire of the enemy, which seemed to be more especially directed in the start to disabling the engine, was particularly destructive amongst the men huddled upon the tender.

A number were killed and wounded here upon the first discharge. 92A destructive fire was also poured upon the troops as they leaped from the cars. The engine was struck by a six-pound shot upon a wheel-box, and next upon the cylinder of the engine, which it fractured. The engineer, finding that his engine was in danger, detached it (with one car) from the train, and started back to Alexandria.

Fearful, indeed, was the effect of this deadly storm of fire and iron hail upon the soldiers, helplessly confined, closely packed in the cars. The slaughter intended for them was a species of murder, for, like sheep in the shambles, they were completely in the power of their enemies. Vain was the strong arm, vain was courage and heroism then. Vain the good cause and the longing for victory, or, at least, a soldier’s death. Confined within narrow limits, and crowded upon each other, the deadly shot was poured in upon them. It was an hour in which the stoutest heart might have trembled, and yet the men of the North met the iron death manfully. Taken completely by surprise, suffering under every disadvantage, they yet made a good stand. With desperate courage they leaped from the riddled cars and coolly formed into line.

Finding the enemy’s batteries strongly posted and supported by cavalry and infantry, they could not hope to carry them until reinforced, and withdrew to the cover of a neighboring wood, carrying with them, however, their dead and wounded.

The enemy’s force, estimated at 1,000 to 1,200 strong, had evidently moved down from Fairfax Court-House the preceding night.

Ayre Hill, where the batteries were stationed, is a very commanding point, and is, perhaps, the highest ground in Fairfax County. The purpose of the enemy was evidently to get the cars with the Federal troops on the straight line of the road before opening their murderous fire. There were three six-pound guns in the battery.

The Ohio companies behaved with much credit in their unpleasant position, and General Schenck, particularly, displayed perfect coolness and self-possession. There had been undoubtedly a lack of forethought in neglecting to send scouts in advance, as the country is favorable to such reconnoitering; but when once in the difficulty, both men and officers acted bravely.

They kept undisputed possession of the point where they had posted themselves, the enemy not deeming it prudent to follow up the attack, but contented themselves with burning the cars, although, with greatly superior numbers, they might easily have captured the entire Federal force.

A loss of eight killed and twelve wounded on the part of the Federalists was the sequel to the sad and disastrous transaction, and when the Sixty-ninth New York advanced to Vienna the next day, no trace could be found of the enemy. The place was deserted, and silence reigned where the little band of men had been so nearly sacrificed.

From the time of the President’s proclamation calling for troops until the 12th of July, immediately preceding the advance of the Grand Army under General McDowell, to attack the rebel forces at Bull Run, the time had been industriously employed in preparation. Fortifications had been erected on the north side of the Potomac, at eight or ten points within a radius of three miles from Washington and Georgetown. No military force of the rebels was then known to exist on the Maryland shore; but from Mount Vernon to the mouth of the Chesapeake on the south, and from the Chain Bridge to the junction of the Shenandoah at Harper’s Ferry on the north, they held undisputed possession.

General Patterson had crossed the Potomac early in July, with a force of thirty thousand men, and was encamped at Martinsburgh, on the 12th, having instructions from the Commander-in-chief to hold the rebel army under General Johnston in check, should he attempt to move forward to Manassas for the purpose of reinforcing Beauregard’s command at that point. Johnston was at Winchester, on the direct route to Manassas Gap, twenty-five miles from Martinsburgh, and it was a matter of vital importance that he should be prevented from making a further advance.

The entire marching force of General McDowell was but about fifty-five thousand, while twenty thousand were left as a reserve at Washington and vicinity, under the command of General Mansfield.

And thus the combatants stood, when a day of fearful, bloody ending dawned upon them—a day almost without a parallel in the world’s history for deeds of daring and stubborn endurance, unflinching bravery, and wild panic.

Manassas was selected by the Confederates on account of its controlling position. Nature had done very much towards rendering it a second Gibraltar, and art had completed the work. The country around was wild and broken, with but few roads fit for the movements of an 95army, and those easily guarded. Centreville was twenty-two miles distant from Washington, and Manassas Junction six or seven more. About midway between the two flowed the little rivulet of Bull Run, in a general direction from north-west to south-east. A road led from Centreville to the Junction, crossing the Run three miles from that place, at “Blackburn’s Ford,” while a turnpike running towards Warrenton, also crossed Bull Run at Stone Bridge, four miles distant. Somewhat east of south, a country road from Centreville crossed Bull Run, and the railroad at “Union Mills.”

The Confederate force was distributed along the Run from Union Mills to the Stone Bridge, with reserves and a strongly fortified position near the junction.

The array of General McDowell, when it marched to attack that position, numbered about 30,000 men, consisting, with the exception of 700 or 800 regular troops, of raw volunteers, none of whom had been under military discipline more than two or three months. Added to this must be remembered the fact that, within three days, ten thousand of the number would have a right to claim their dismissal, as their term of enlistment (three months) would then expire. An army, consequently, less prepared to march to the attack of a strongly fortified position it would have been difficult to assemble; and this was rendered more fatal in its effects from the fact that the officers, with the exception of a few who had fought in the Mexican war, were unused to actual fighting, and almost totally unacquainted with their different commands.

Under these unpromising auspices, the army marched from the banks of the Potomac on the afternoon of July 16th. It advanced in four columns, toiling along under the burning sun and over the hot ground. One by the turnpike, one on the right, and one on the left of the railroad, and another between the turnpike and railroad. Expecting to encounter the enemy at Fairfax Court-House, seven miles this side of Centreville, where they had thrown up intrenchments, the three columns were directed to coöperate at that point. But the place was entered about noon on the 17th, only to find the intrenchments abandoned and signs of a hasty retreat visible.

96

97

98On the morning of the 18th, the different columns commenced their march from Fairfax to Centreville. While General McDowell made a personal reconnoissance to the left, making the forward movement a mere demonstration, Major J. G. Barnard, chief-engineer of the staff, proceeded to examine the enemy’s position in front. In this, however, he had been anticipated by General Tyler, who had pushed a brigade on towards Blackburn’s Ford. Troops were in motion on the plateau of Manassas, moving up to reinforce the enemy’s lines, and though no attack had been intended by the commanding general at that particular point, they opened upon them with two twenty-pounder guns in hope of ascertaining the position of these batteries. A reply was soon obtained—a battery, invisible except by the smoke, poured forth rapid discharges, and it required the assistance of a battery of rifled six-pounders to enable the Union troops to silence it. The brigade was then filed down to the stream and skirmishing maintained for some time. This battle, though apparently of small importance, was disastrous, inasmuch as it disorganized the arrangements of the commander-in-chief, and was accompanied by great loss of life, when compared with the magnitude of the undertaking and any beneficial result that could have sprung from it. The possibility of charging into Manassas, even under the most fortunate circumstances, was so remote, that the wisdom of an action at that point and at that time has been gravely questioned by the best military authorities. That night the columns of the army united, and encamped about a mile in the rear of Fairfax Court House, upon a broad hill-side, and on the extended plain at its base. A stream of water which crossed the grounds rendered the spot peculiarly important to the soldiers.

The next day was spent in reconnoitering, and in determining how and where an attack should be made. The Stone Bridge was guarded by batteries, and the ground beyond obstructed by formidable abattis. The roads leading to fords between Blackburn’s and the Stone Bridge were mere by-paths, and the opposite bank of the stream steep, tangled, and obstructed. Two miles above, however, there was a good ford, but slightly guarded, at Sudley’s Spring.

On these data the plan of attack was based, as follows: One division, under Colonel Miles, to make, with one of its brigades, a false attack on Blackburn’s Ford; another division (Tyler’s) to move up the turnpike to the Stone Bridge and threaten that point, and at the proper time carry it, and unite with the principal column, which consisted of Hunter’s and Heintzelman’s divisions; then by a flank movement reach the Sudley Ford, and descending the right bank of the stream, take the defences in the rear of Stone Bridge, and give battle with the united force, strike at the enemy’s railroad communication, or otherwise, as circumstances should dictate.

Bull Run, that once unknown name, is marked with great crimson letters upon the scroll of time! Tears wrung from the anguished soul, tears hot and blinding, still fall at the mere mention of its ill-omened name. A nation’s miserere has been tolled from uncounted steeples over 99its dead, and a whole nation put on weeds of mourning when its battle cloud spread slowly over the land, filling it with gloom.

With bayonets for pens, and precious human blood for ink, the record of this first great battle of the Union War should be written in the history of the world;—the ensanguined page illuminated with iron hail and leaden sleet—with hissing shot—whirlwinds of death-missiles, and the fire-belching portals of masked batteries. O, day of doom, day of sad errors and illustrious deeds, when blood was poured forth like water, until the reeking earth shuddered as it drank in the crimson deluge! Generations shall hereafter look back on thee with painful wonder, for they will remember that the first pitched battle in which Americans met Americans in mortal strife, was fought on thy soil, beneath “the bloody sun at noon.”

On the morning of the 21st, McDowell’s forces were encamped in and around Centreville. The divisions were under orders to march at half-past two o’clock, that they might reach the ground early and avoid the heat. Before this time the encampments were in motion; but the troops were not yet sufficiently disciplined for the exigencies of a prompt march, and some delay arose with the first division in getting out of camp. Thus the road was obstructed, and other divisions thrown two hours out of time. But there was no lack of energy or zeal; the very want of discipline which caused delay rendered the scenes in the various encampments more grand and imposing. It was indeed a beautiful spectacle. A lovely moonlight flooded the whole country. Soft mists lay in the valleys—the hill-tops were studded for miles around by the camp-fires which thirty regiments had left, kindling the landscape with their star-like gleams. In the hollows, along the level grounds, and among the trees, thousands on thousands of armed men moved athwart the fires, harnessing horses to artillery, getting out army wagons, preparing ambulances and filling haversacks with the three days’ rations ordered for their subsistence. No man of all that vast host was idle—want of order there might have been, but no lack of energy.

Now, thirty thousand men, horses, ordnance and wagons, were all in place, ready for a march through the beautiful night, and under that serene moon, which many of them would never look upon again.

McDowell and his staff moved with the first—Tyler’s—central column, and the advance commenced. The picturesque encampments were soon left behind; the fires grew paler and twinkled out in a glow of mist; the tents dwindled into littleness, till they seemed more like great flocks of white-plumaged birds, nestled in the foliage, than the paraphernalia of war. Nothing could be more quiet and peaceful than the country the troops had left—nothing more solemnly grand than the advance. It was an army of Americans, marching through the still 100night to meet Americans for the first time in a great pitched battle. Nothing but holy patriotism and a stern sense of duty could have led these men into the field. They marched on, with thousands of bayonets gleaming in the moonlight, and casting long-pointed shadows over the path; staff officers formed imposing groups as they moved forward in the moonlight, casting pictures upon the earth that were like broken battle scenes.

In the ranks there was something more than stern courage; generous enthusiasm and honest emulation were eloquent there. Comrade greeted comrade, for the coming danger made friends brothers; and common acquaintances fell into affectionate intimacy. Many a touching message was exchanged between men who had never met out of the ranks, for while they panted for victory, each man prepared to earn it with his life.

These men knew that a terrible day’s fighting lay before them; but the previous defeat of Thursday rankled in their proud hearts, and each man felt it as an individual reproach which must be swept away. From the central column to the rear, this feeling prevailed among the men.

The troops of the old Bay State, of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York, entered into a spirit of generous rivalry. Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota entered the list with true Western fervor, while the rich Celtic humor rose in fun and pathos from the Irish troops.

The officers shared this enthusiasm with their men. Tyler moved on, burning to atone for his noble rashness at Blackburn’s Ford—Burnside, Corcoran, Keyes, Spidel, Meagher, and many another noble fellow, thought exultingly of the laurels to be gathered on the morrow. General McDowell’s carriage halted at the two roads, a spot that he deemed most convenient for receiving despatches from the various points of the battle-field.

Here the column of General Hunter diverged from the main body and went away through the moonlit country on its assigned duty, which led him around the enemy’s flank by a long and harassing route. With him went Heintzelman, Porter, Burnside and Sprague with their valiant Rhode Islanders, and Wilcox, that bravest of young men and most brilliant author, who met a fate almost worse than death in the hottest of the coming battle. There, too, was Slocum, Haggerty, and many another valiant fellow, marching forward to a glorious death. Each and all of these, with their regiments or brigades, swept to the right, to meet their comrades again in the hottest of the battle.

A mile from the Cross Roads, and the dawn of a bright July day broke pleasantly on the moving troops—a morning cool with dew, fresh with verdure, and tranquil and peaceful, save for the armed men that made the earth tremble under their solid tread as they moved 101over it. The mists of a dewy night were slowly uplifted, and beautiful reaches of the country were revealed. On the left was the station assigned to Richardson and Davies; beyond it, the valley which one unfortunate conflict had so lately stained with blood.

When Tyler’s division came to the edge of a wooded hill overlooking these scenes, the sun arose, flooding them with rosy splendor. The soldiers knew, but could not realize that this scene, so beautiful and tranquil, had been a field of carnage, and would, before that sun went down, be red with the blood of many a brave heart beating among them then. They knew well that in a brief time the pure atmosphere, which it was now a joy to breathe, would be heavy with stifling smoke; that the noble forests whose leaves trembled so pleasantly in the newborn sunshine, were but a concealment for masked batteries—fearful engines of destruction, and men more ravenous for their lives than the wild animals that civilization had driven away from them.

From the point of view just described, where the road falls gently down to a ravine, the enemy first appeared. A line of infantry was drawn up in a distant meadow, close upon a back-ground of woods.

The second and third regiments of Tyler’s brigade, under Schenck, was at once formed into line in the woods on either side, the First Ohio, Second Wisconsin, Seventy-ninth, Thirteenth, and Sixty-ninth New York regiments succeeding each other on the right, and the Second Ohio and Second New York being similarly placed on the left, while the artillery came down the road between.

A great 32-pound rifled Parrott gun—the only one of its calibre in the field service—was brought forward, and made to bear on the point where the bayonets of the enemy had suddenly disappeared in the woods, and a shell was fired at fifteen minutes past six A. M., which burst in the air; but the report of the piece awoke the country for leagues around to a sense of what that awful day would prove. The reverberation was tremendous, and the roar of the revolving shell indescribable. Throughout the battle that gun, whenever it was fired, seemed to hush and overpower everything else. No answering salute came back, so the 32-pounder sent a second shell at a hill-top, two miles off, where it was suspected that a battery had been planted by the rebels.

The bomb burst close at the intended point, but no answer came. General Tyler ordered Carlisle to cease firing, and bring the rest of his battery to the front of the woods and get the column ready for instant action.

Tyler’s position was before the valley of Bull Run, but the descent was gradual, and surrounded by thick woods down almost to the ravine through which the stream flows. The enemy, on the contrary, had cleared away all the obstructing foliage, and bared the earth in every 102direction over which they could bring their artillery upon the Union forces. Clumps of trees and bushes remained wherever their earthworks and other concealed defences could be advantageously planted among them. The ground on their side was vastly superior to that of the assailants. It rose in gradual slopes to great heights, but was broken into hills and terraces in many places, upon which strong earthworks were planted, some openly, but the greater portion concealed. Nature had supplied positions of defence which needed but little labor to render them desperately formidable. How thoroughly these advantages had been improved was established by the almost superhuman efforts which were required to dislodge their troops, and by the obstinate opposition which they displayed before retiring from one strong point to another. It was now about seven o’clock—for an hour everything was silent. At eight, the deep sullen boom of Richardson’s and Davies’ batteries at Blackburn’s Ford broke the stillness, and from that quarter constant cannonading was kept up for some time.

By this time scouts reported the enemy in some force on the left. Two or three Ohio skirmishers had been killed. Carlisle’s battery was sent to the front of the woods on the right, where it could be brought to play when needed. A few shells were thrown into the opposite thicket, and then the Second Ohio and Second New York marched down to rout the enemy from their hiding places. As they rushed toward a thickly-covered abatis on the banks of the Run, the rebels came swarming out like bees, and fled to the next fortification beyond.

General Schenck’s brigade was moved forward to the left, but half way to the Run met the full fire of a masked battery effectually concealed by the bushes.

A few dead and wounded began to be brought in, and the battle of Manassas had commenced. Carlisle’s howitzers and the great rifled gun were opened in the direction of the battery, which answered promptly, and a brief but terrific cannonading ensued. In less than half an hour the enemy’s guns were silenced, two of Carlisle’s howitzers advancing through the woods to gain a closer position, and Schenck’s brigade retired to its first lines.

At eleven o’clock, the artillery, which resounded from every portion of the field, extending from Davies and Richardson’s position on the extreme left, to the right near Sudley, gave startling evidence that Hunter was making his way around the enemy. The roll and thunder was incessant—great volumes of smoke surged over the vast field, impaling it in the distance, and making the air around the near batteries thick with smoke.

It was true, Hunter’s and Heintzelman’s columns had taken the field on the extreme right.

McDowell in his plan of battle had calculated that the marching colunm 103should diverge from the turnpike by early daylight (a night march being deemed imprudent), and reach Sudley Ford by six or seven, A. M. The Stone Bridge division did not clear the road over which both, for a certain distance, had to pass, so that the column could take up its march, until after the time. The route to Sudley proved far longer and more difficult than was anticipated. The column did not reach the Sudley Ford till near half-past nine, three or four hours “behind time.” When it reached the ford, the heads of the enemy’s columns were visible on the march to meet it.

The ground between the stream and the road, leading from Sudley south, was for about a mile thickly wooded; on the right, for the same distance, divided between fields and timber. A mile from the ford the country on both sides of the road is open, and for a mile further large, irregular fields extend to the turnpike, which, after crossing Bull Run at the “Stone Bridge,” passes what became the field of battle, through the valley of a small tributary of the Run.

But, notwithstanding a fearful march over broken grounds in the hot sun, with his men suffering from heat and thirst, Hunter had reached his point of operation, late it is true, but from no fault of his. The weary soldiers uttered exclamations of joy when they saw the limpid waters of the Run, and plunging into its current bathed their hot hands and burning faces as they waded through, and came out on the other side greatly invigorated. While his thirty men were refreshing themselves with cool draughts of water, Hunter sent a courier to General McDowell, reporting that he had safely crossed the Run.

The General was lying on the ground, having been ill during the night, but at once mounted his horse and rode on to join the column on which so much depended.

The halt had not lasted two minutes when Col. Burnside led his different regiments into their position on the field. The Second Rhode Island entered first to the extreme right; then the Rhode Island battery of six pieces, and two howitzers of the Seventy-first, and after it on the left, the First Rhode Island and the Second New Hampshire, all formed in line of battle on the top of the hill.

Shortly after the leading regiment of the first brigade reached the open space, and whilst others and the second brigade were crossing to the front and right, the enemy opened his fire, beginning with artillery, and following it up with infantry. The leading brigade (Burnside’s) had to sustain this shock for a short time without support, and met it bravely. Gov. Sprague himself directed the movements of the Rhode Island brigade, and was conspicuous through the day for gallantry. The enemy were found in heavy numbers opposite this noble brigade of our army, and greeted it with shell and long volleys of battalion 104firing as it advanced. But on it went, and a fierce conflict now commenced.

The enemy clung to the protecting wood with tenacity, and the Rhode Island battery became so much endangered as to impel the commander of the second brigade to call for the assistance of the battalion of regulars. At this time news ran through the lines that Colonel Hunter was seriously wounded. Porter took command of his division; and, in reply to the urgent request of Colonel Burnside, detached the battalion of regulars to his assistance, followed shortly afterwards by the New Hampshire regiments. Shortly afterward the other corps of Porter’s brigade, and a regiment detached from Heintzelman’s division to the left, emerged from the timber, where some hasty disposition of skirmishers had been made at the head of the column, in which Colonel Slocum, of the Second Rhode Island regiment, distinguished himself for great activity.

The rattle of musketry and crash of round shot through the leaves and branches, had warned them when the action commenced, and the column moved forward before these preliminaries were completed, eager for a share in the fight.

The head of Porter’s brigade was immediately turned a little to the right, in order to gain time and room for deployment on the right of the second brigade. Griffin’s battery found its way through the timber to the fields beyond, followed promptly by the marines, while the Twenty-Seventh took direction more to the left, and the Fourteenth followed upon the trail of the battery—all moving up at a double-quick step. At this time General McDowell with his staff rode through the lines and was loudly cheered as they passed within six hundred feet of the enemy’s line.

The enemy appeared drawn up in a long line, extending along the Warrenton turnpike, from a house and haystack upon their extreme right, to a house beyond the left of the division. Behind that house there was a heavy masked battery, which, with three others along his line, on the heights beyond, covered the ground through which the troops were advancing with all sorts of projectiles. A grove, in front of Porter’s right wing, afforded it shelter and protection, while the underbrush along the road in the fences, screened to some extent his left wing.

Griffin advanced to within one thousand yards, and opened a deadly fire upon these batteries, which were soon silenced or driven away.

The right was rapidly developed by the marines, Twenty-Seventh, Fourteenth, and Eighth, with the cavalry in rear of the right; the enemy retreating in more precipitation than order as the line advanced. The second brigade (Burnside’s) was at this time attacking the enemy’s right with great vigor.

105The rebels soon came flying from the woods toward the right, and the Twenty-Seventh completed their rout by charging directly upon their centre in face of a scorching fire, while the Fourteenth and Eighth moved down the turnpike to cut off the retiring foe, and to support the Twenty-Seventh, which had lost its gallant Colonel, but was standing the brunt of the action, though its ranks were terribly thinned in the dreadful fire. Now the resistance of the enemy’s left was so obstinate that the beaten right retired in safety.

The head of Heintzelman’s column at this moment appeared upon the field, and the Eleventh and Fifth Massachusetts regiments moved forward to support the centre, while staff officers could be seen galloping rapidly in every direction, endeavoring to rally the broken Eighth, but with little success.

The Fourteenth, though it had broken, was soon rallied in rear of Griffin’s battery, which took up a position further to the front and right, from which his fire was delivered with such precision and rapidity as to compel the batteries of the enemy to retire in consternation far behind the brow of the hill in front.

At this time Porter’s brigade occupied a line considerably in advance of that first occupied by the left wing of the rebels. The battery was pouring its withering fire into the batteries and columns of the enemy wherever they exposed themselves. The cavalry were engaged in feeling the left flank of the enemy’s position, in doing which some important captures were made, one by Sergeant Socks, of the Second Dragoons, of a General George Stewart, of Baltimore. The cavalry also did brave service.

General Tyler’s division was engaged with the enemy’s right. The Twenty-Seventh was resting on the edge of the woods in the centre, covered by a hill upon which lay the Eleventh and Fifth Massachusetts, occasionally delivering a scattering fire. The Fourteenth was moving to the right flank, the Eighth had lost its organization, the marines were moving up in fine style in the rear of the Fourteenth, and Captain Arnold was occupying a height in the middle ground with his battery. At this juncture there was a temporary lull in the firing from the rebels, who appeared only now and then on the heights in irregular masses, but to serve as marks for Griffin’s guns. The prestige of success had thus far attended the efforts of the inexperienced but gallant Union troops. The lines of the enemy had been forcibly shifted nearly a mile to their left and rear. The flags of eight regiments, though borne somewhat wearily, now pointed toward the hill from which disordered masses of the rebels had been seen hastily retiring.

Rickett’s battery, together with Griffith’s battery, on the side of the hill, had been objects of the special attention of the enemy, who had 106succeeded in disabling Rickett’s battery, and then attempted to take it. Three times was he repulsed by different corps in succession, and driven back, and the guns taken by hand, the horses being killed, and pulled away. The third time the repulse seemed to be final, for he was driven entirely from the hill, and so far beyond it as not to be in sight. He had before this been driven nearly a mile and a half, and was beyond the Warrenton road, which was entirely in Federal possession, from the Stone Bridge westward. The engineers were just completing the removal of the abatis across the road, to allow reinforcements (Schenck’s brigade and Ayers’ battery) to join in. The enemy was evidently disheartened and broken.

But at this moment, when everything pointed to a speedy victory, orders came through Major Barry of the Fifth artillery, for Griffin’s battery to move from the hill upon which the house stood, to the top of a hill on the right, with the “Fire Zouaves” and marines, while the Fourteenth entered the skirt of wood on their right, to protect that flank, and a column, composed of the Twenty-seventh New York, Eleventh and Fifth Massachusetts, Second Minnesota, and Sixty-Ninth New York, moved up toward the left batteries. It had taken position, but before the flanking supports had reached theirs, a murderous fire of musketry and rifles opened at pistol range, cutting down every cannonier, and a large number of horses. The fire came from some infantry of the enemy, which had been mistaken for Union forces; an officer in the field having stated that it was a regiment sent by Colonel Heintzelman to support the batteries.

As soon as the Zouaves came up, they were led forward against an Alabama regiment, partly concealed in a clump of small pines in an old field.

After a severe fire they broke, and the greatest portion of them fell to the rear, keeping up a desultory firing over the heads of their comrades in front; at the same moment they were charged by a company of rebel cavalry on their rear, who came by a road through two strips of woods on the extreme right. The fire of the Zouaves dispersed them. The discomfiture of this cavalry was completed by a fire from Captain Colburn’s company of United States cavalry, which killed and wounded several men. Colonel Farnham, with some of his officers and men, behaved gallantly, and many of his men did good service as skirmishers later in the day. General Heintzelman then led up the Minnesota regiment, which was also repulsed, but retired in tolerably good order. It did good service in the woods on the right flank, and was among the last to retire, moving off the field with the Third United States infantry. Next was led forward the First Michigan, which was also repulsed, and retired in considerable confusion. They 107were rallied, and helped to hold the woods on the right. The Brooklyn Fourteenth then appeared on the ground, coming forward in gallant style. They were led forward to the left, where the Alabama regiment had been posted in the early part of the action, but had now disappeared, and soon came in sight of the line of the enemy drawn up beyond the clump of trees. Soon after the firing commenced, the regiment broke and retired. It was useless to attempt a rally. The want of discipline in these regiments was so great that the most of the men would run from fifty to several hundred yards in the rear, and continue to fire, compelling those in front to retreat.

During this time Rickett’s battery had been captured and retaken three times by Heintzelman’s forces, but was finally lost, most of the horses having been killed—Captain Ricketts being wounded, and First Lieutenant D. Ramsay killed. Lieutenant Kirby behaved gallantly, and succeeded in carrying off one caisson. Before this time, heavy reinforcements of the enemy were distinctly seen approaching by two roads, extending and outflanking Heintzelman on the right. General Howard’s brigade came on the field at this time, having been detained by the General as a reserve. It took post on a hill on Heintzelman’s right and rear, and for some time gallantly held the enemy in check. One company of cavalry attached to Heintzelman’s division, was joined, during the engagement, by the cavalry of Colonel Hunter’s division, under the command of Major Palmer.

Colonel W. B. Franklin commanded the first brigade of Heintzelman’s division. A portion of that brigade rendered distinguished service, and received official commendation from the commanding general.

General Tyler, who kept his position at the Stone Bridge, to menace that point, and at the proper moment to carry it and unite with the turning column, had sent forward the right wing of his command to co-operate with Hunter as soon as he was discovered making his way on the flank.

Two brigades (Sherman’s and Keyes’) of that division had passed the Run. Colonel Sherman joined himself to the divisions of Hunter and Heintzelman, and was soon engaged in the hottest part of the action.

The famous Irish regiment, 1,600 strong, who have had so much of the hard digging to perform, claimed the honor of a share in the hard fighting, and led the van of Tyler’s attack, followed by the Seventy-ninth (Highlanders), and Thirteenth New York, and the Second Wisconsin.

It was a brave sight—that rush of the Sixty-ninth into the death-struggle—with such cheers as proved a hearty love of the work before them! With a quick step at first, and then a double-quick, and at last a run, they dashed forward and along the edge of the extended forest. 108Coats and knapsacks were thrown to either side, that nothing might impede their work. It was certain that no guns would slip from the hands of those determined fellows, even if dying agonies were needed to close them with a firmer grasp. As the line swept along, Meagher galloped toward the head, crying, “Come on, boys! you’ve got your chance at last!”

BRILLIANT CHARGE ON A REBEL BATTERY.

Sherman’s brigade thus moved forward for half a mile, describing quite one-fourth of a circle on the right, Colonel Quimby’s regiment in front, the other regiments following in line of battle—the Wisconsin Second, New York Seventy-ninth, and New York Sixty-ninth in succession. Quimby’s regiment advanced steadily up the hill and opened fire on the enemy, who had made a stand. The regiment continued advancing as the enemy gave way, till the head of his column reached the point where Rickett’s battery had been cut up. The other regiments followed under a fearful cannonading. At the point where the road crossed the ridge to the left, the ground was swept by a fire of artillery, rifles, and musketry. Regiment after regiment were driven from it, following the Zouaves and a battalion of marines.

When the Wisconsin Second was abreast of the enemy, it was ordered to leave the roadway and attack him. This regiment ascended 109the hill, was met with a sharp fire, returned it gallantly, and advanced, delivering its fire. But the response was terrific, and the regiment fled in confusion toward the road. It rallied again, passed the brow of the hill a second time, and was again repulsed in disorder. By this time the New York Seventy-ninth had closed up. It was impossible to get a good view of the ground. In it there was one battery of artillery, which poured an incessant fire upon the advancing column, and the ground was irregular, with small clusters of pines, which afforded shelter to the enemy. The fire of rifles and musketry grew hotter and hotter. The Seventy-ninth, headed by Colonel Cameron, charged across the hill, and for a short time the contest was terrible. They rallied several times under fire, but finally broke and gained the cover of the hill.

This left the field open to the New York Sixty-ninth, Colonel Corcoran, who, in his turn, led his regiment over the crest, and had in full open view the ground so severely contested. The firing was terrific, the roar of cannon, musketry, and rifles, incessant. The enemy was here in immense force. The Sixty-ninth held the ground for some time with desperate courage, but finally fell back in disorder.

At this time Quimby’s regiment occupied another ridge to the left, overlooking the same field, fiercely engaged. Colonel Keyes, from Tyler’s division, had formed in line with Sherman’s brigade, and came into conflict on its right with the enemy’s cavalry and infantry, which he drove back. The further march of the brigade was arrested by a severe fire of artillery and infantry, sheltered by Robinson’s house, standing on the heights above the road leading to Bull Run. The charge was here ordered, and the Second Maine and Third Connecticut regiments pressed forward to the top of the hill, reached the buildings which were held by the enemy, drove them out, and for a moment had them in possession. At this point, finding the brigade under the fire of a strong force behind breastworks, the order was given to march by the left flank, with a view to turn the battery which the enemy had placed on the hill below the point at which the Warrenton turnpike crosses Bull Run. The march was conducted for a considerable distance below the Stone Bridge, causing the enemy to retire, and giving Captain Alexander an opportunity to pass the bridge, cut out the abatis which had been placed there, and prepare the way for Schenck’s brigade and the two batteries to pass over. Before this movement could be made on the enemy’s battery, it was placed in a new position; but Colonel Keyes carried his brigade, by a flank movement, around the base of the hill, and was on the point of ascending it in time to get at the battery, when he discovered that the troops were on the retreat, and that, unless a rapid movement to the rear was made, he would be cut off. At this moment, the abatis near the Stone Bridge had been 110cleared away by Captain Alexander, of the engineers, and Schenck’s brigade (the third of Tyler’s division) was about to pass over and join Keyes.

But one rash movement had decided the day—that movement the last change of position given to Griffin’s battery, throwing it helpless into a murderous fire, which no protecting force could encounter.

When the Zouaves broke on that fatal hill, the Union cause for that day wavered. When hordes of fresh troops poured in upon the Union battalions, beating back as brave regiments as ever trod the battle-field, one after another, overwhelming them with numbers, and driving them headlong into utter confusion, the battle was lost; and after this any description of it must be wild and turbulent as the scene itself—in no other way can a true picture of the tumultuous fighting and more tumultuous retreat be truly given.

We have described the battle of Manassas, Stone Bridge, or Bull Run, as it is variously called, in its plain details, giving each regiment, so far as possible, its share in the glorious fight; for up to mid-day and after, no braver fighting was ever done than the Union troops performed on that 21st of July. Now a wilder, more difficult, and very painful effort taxes the pen. The heat, turmoil and terrible storm of death rolls up in a tumultuous picture—troops in masses—stormy action—the confused rush of men—all these things have no detail, but hurl the writer forward, excited and unrestrained as the scene to be described.

At high noon the battle raged in its widest circumference. The batteries on the distant hills began to pour their volleys on the Union troops with terrible effect. Carlisle’s and Sherman’s batteries answered with tremendous emphasis, while the great 32-pounder hurled its iron thunderbolts first into one of the enemy’s defences, then into another, tearing up everything as they went. The noise of the cannonading grew deafening, and kept up one incessant roll. Compared to it the sharp volleys of riflemen were like the rattle of hail amid the loud bursts of a thunder tempest. The people of Centreville, Fairfax, Alexandria, and even Washington, heard the fearful reverberations, and trembled at the sound.

Five powerful batteries were in operation at once, joined to the hiss and hurtle of twenty thousand small arms! No wonder the sky turned black, impaled with death-smoke—no wonder the sun shone fierce and red upon the pools of warm human blood that began to gather around those batteries, where the slain were lying in heaps and winrows!

Still amid this roar and carnage, the Federal forces were making 111sure headway, and driving the enemy before them. Except one brigade of Tyler’s division, the entire force of eighteen thousand men was in fierce action. As the Union forces pressed upon the enemy, approaching each moment to the completion of their plan of battle, the rebels grew desperate. The batteries on the western hills poured forth their iron tempest with accumulated fury. The Union guns answered them with fiercer thunder. The roar of the cannonading was deafening, drowning the volleys of riflemen, and sweeping off in one overpowering sound the rattle and crash of musketry. The clamor of the guns was appalling—the rush and tumult of action more appalling still. The whole valley was like a vast volcano, boiling over with dust and smoke. Through this turbid atmosphere battalions charged each other and batteries poured their hot breath on the air, making it denser than before. Now and then the dust would roll away from the plain, and the smoke float off from the hills, revealing a dash of cavalry across some open space, or a charge of infantry up to a fortified point where the struggle, success, or repulse, was lost or vaguely seen through volumes of rolling smoke—columns of ruddy dust trailed after the infantry, broken now and then by the fiery track of a battery masked in foliage. A sullen report, and horrid gaps appeared in what a moment before was a living wall of men. A curl of blue vapor rose gracefully from the trees, and it was only the dead bodies blackening the ground that made the sight so awful.

But the fight gathered fiercest on the westward hill, from which the booming thunder rolled in long incessant peals. Its sides swarmed with armed men, changing positions, charging and retreating. Curtains of smoke, swayed by the wind, revealed the horses around a battery, rearing, plunging and falling headlong, dozens together, in one hideous death. Then in mercy the smoke drifted over the hill again. The enemy were giving ground at every point. The Mississippians had fled in dismay from the batteries, and desperately taken to the field in wavering columns. Other regiments were actually fleeing before the Union troops, but they were generally moving with sullen steadiness to the rear. The entire line which arrayed itself against Tyler in the morning had been relinquished, except one fortified elevation. Still their peculiar mode of warfare was kept up. Masked batteries were constantly opening in unexpected places, leaving heaps of slain in the track of their fiery hail.

On the uplands whole regiments, seen from the distance, seemed to drive against or drift by each other, leaving beautiful curls and clouds of smoke behind; but under this smoke lay so many dead bodies that the soul grew faint in counting them.

Through all this the Federal troops progressed toward a union of 112their attacking columns. Tyler had already spoken to McDowell, and the two forces were drawing nearer and nearer together. Victory appeared so certain that nothing but a junction of the two columns was wanting to a glorious result, and this now seemed inevitable.

The clamor of the artillery was checked for a little time on both sides. Red-handed death cannot rush panting on the track forever. Black-mouthed guns will get too foul for belching fire, and the swarthy men who feed them must have breathing time. As the fight flagged, and the men paused to draw breath, their terrible suffering was apparent in the parched lips that had tasted water but once through all that hot day, and the bloodshot eyes with which each man seemed to beseech his comrade for drink which no one had to give. Still, with dry lips and throats full of dust, they talked over a thousand details of valor performed on the field. They spoke sadly of the loss of brave Cameron, the wounding of Hunter, the fall of Haggerty and Slocum, the doubtful fate of noble young Wilcox. They discussed the impetuous dash and resolute stand of the Irishmen, the murderous shock sustained by the Rhode Island regiments, how the Hignlanders had done justice to their own warlike traditions, and the Connecticut Third had crowned its State with honors. They told how Heintzelman had stooped down from his war-horse to have his wounded wrist bound up, refusing to dismount—of the intrepid Burnside, and of Sprague, the patriotic young Governor, who led on the forces his generosity had raised, to one victorious charge after another, till with his own hands he spiked the Rhode Island guns when compelled to leave them to the enemy.

So tranquil was the field during this short period of rest, that the soldiers who had foreborne to throw their rations away in the march, unslung their haversacks and sat down upon the grass to share the contents with their less prudent companions; those who had been fortunate enough to pick up the enemy’s haversacks, cast off in retreat, added their contents to the scanty store.

While a few thus snatched a mouthful of food, others climbed up the tall trees and took a triumphant view of the vast battle-field their valor had conquered. The scene of carnage which it presented was awful. Dead and dying men heaped together on the red earth, crippled horses struggling desperately in their death-throes, wounded men lying helplessly on the grass to which they had been dragged from under the hoofs of the war-chargers—all this grouped where the angry waves of battle had rolled down the beautiful valley, with its back-ground of mountains, looking immovable and grandly tranquil against the sky, was a picture which no man who saw it will ever forget.

The army, far advanced within the enemy’s defensive lines, believing 113itself victorious, was thus falling into quiet. The great struggle of the contending forces, each to outflank the other, had ceased. The prestige of success belonged to the Union, whose stars and stripes shone out triumphantly as the smoke which had engulfed the combatants rolled away.

All at once those in the tree-tops saw a commotion in the far distance. Columns of troops were moving toward them with flashing bayonets, and Southern banners, unfurling the stars and bars to the sun. On they came—rank after rank, column after column, one continuous stream of armed men, pouring down upon the battle-field with bursts of music and wild shouts of enthusiasm.

It was Johnston’s reinforcements, marching up from the railroad. On they rushed, fresh, vigorous, and burning with ardor, through masses of wounded soldiers that lay by the road. The infantry broke from the double-quick to a swift run—the cavalry rode in on a sharp gallop—the artillery wagons were encircled with men eager to get their ordnance in place against the thrice-exhausted Union troops. In a continuous stream these columns swarmed into the woods, the greater force centering around the hill about which the storm of battle had raged fiercest.

In an instant the whole battle commenced again. The officers sprang to their guns, anxious but not appalled. The men fell into rank ready for a new onset, tired as they were.

Then it was that Griffin’s battery changed position, and the Fire Zouaves coming up under a terrible fire, broke and scattered down the hill-side, but rallied again in broken masses to rescue Rickett’s battery, dragging the guns off with their own hands from amid the pile of dying horses that lay around them. Then it was that the Sixty-ninth and Seventy-ninth New York swept through the meadows from the north across the road, and charged up the hill with such daring courage, resisting the shock of battle fifteen minutes, and breaking only when mortal valor could withstand the storm of bullets no longer.

Then the bold Connecticut regiments charged up the hill. Thousands of the impetuous enemy fell upon them, but in spite of all they planted the star-spangled banner and sent its folds sweeping out from the crest of the hill. Not till this was done, and a long last shout sent ringing after the banner, were these heroic regiments driven from their position. But beaten back at last, they retired step by step, fighting as they went.

Then the Zouaves broke into the fight once more, scattered on the ground, some prostrate on their faces, others with limbs huddled together as if dead—while many stood with their eyes to the sun, waiting the onset of the Black Horse cavalry that came galloping upon 114them from the woods. A few of these eccentric warriors were making a feint of defending themselves while the cavalry stood hesitating on the margin of the wood, but the rest seemed to have been cut down by the sweep of some deadly cannonade, and lay in the grass like a flock of partridge shot down in full flight.

Out from the woody cover the Black Hawks thundered on, their arms flashing and the jetty necks of their horses flinging off the sunshine. The handful of Zouaves now flocked together in front of their prostrate comrades, seeming doubtful whether to fight or flee. On the black chargers came, champing the bit and tossing their heads angrily, the riders ready to trample the scattered Zouaves under hoof, as too easy a conquest for their flashing swords. A sudden, sharp ringing yell, and the dead Zouaves sprang to life, confronting the horsemen in a wall of bristling steel. A sharp volley—the horses reared, plunged, and ran back upon each other, some falling dead with quivering limbs as the fatal bullets rent their vitals, and gushes of blood crimsoned their coal-black chests; others staggering from a dozen wounds, rushed madly through the broken ranks of the terrified cavalry.

Before the chargers could again be brought into line, the Zouaves flung away their rifles, and sprang like tigers upon them. Seizing them by the bit, they wound themselves up over their arched necks—a flash of bowie-knives gleamed like chain-lightning across the ranks, and many a wild black horse plunged on riderless with burning eyes, streaming mane, and ringing empty stirrups, headlong through the already half-disorganized ranks, and scouring over the battle-field, scattering dismay as they went.

A last struggle now ensued, with desperate men and broken forces—then a retreat, so wild, so impetuous and reckless, that all organization was given up. Regiments lost their officers, broke, mingled into others, and rushed across the field a headlong torrent, which no human power could arrest. On they went, plunging through the sea of carnage that surrounded the hill—the surging, angry broken waves of a brave army hurrying tumultuously from what had been a victorious field but an hour before.

Down from the hills, broken into frightened masses, pallid, reeling with exhaustion, they swept onward like a whirlwind, bearing the protesting officers with them, or trampling them under foot; for human life was nothing to them in that hot, mad race. The contagion of retreat spread like a prairie fire, from one point of the battle-field to another, scattering the army in wild confusion.

Still it was not quite a panic; two regiments, the Seventy-first New York and Second Rhode Island, kept their ranks in all this confusion, and were led in order from the field, over the road they had passed in 115the morning. Other regiments were led off in a wild, scattered way, but most of the great army was broken up, battalions and regiments surging together, and dashing through each other, till they became one mighty scene of confusion.

THE ENEMY LARGELY REINFORCED—DESPERATE FIGHTING OF THE UNION TROOPS AGAINST SUPERIOR NUMBERS.

The enemy pursued them in a broken, hesitating way, like men astonished at their own success; wanting confidence, they did not venture in force to follow the retreating army, but captured many of the scattered bands dispersed over the wide field of conflict. One detachment of cavalry charged on a helpless crowd of wounded, who were gathered near a hospital building; when a handful of unorganized men, mostly civilians, seized upon the first weapons at hand, and repelled it bravely.

Up to this time Schenck’s brigade had kept its position at Stone Bridge. Captain Alexander, with his sappers and miners, had just cut through the abatis by the side of the mined bridge, that Schenck might lead his forces after those of Sherman and Keyes, when the torrent of retreat rolled toward him; his protecting battery was taken, and a force of cavalry and infantry came pouring into the road at the very spot where the battle of the morning commenced.

The first battery attacked that day had been silenced, but not taken; 116and there, in the woods which protected it, four hundred South Carolinians had been concealed during the entire battle, to swarm out now and fall upon the Union infantry in this most critical moment. A sudden swoop of cavalry completed that unhappy day’s work. The Union infantry broke ranks, and plunging into the woods fled up the hill. A crowd of ambulances and army wagons had concentrated close to this spot, and civilians, led to the field by curiosity, blocked up the ground. The panic which had swept the battle-field seized on them. Kellogg of Michigan, Washburne of Illinois, and it is said, Lovejoy of Illinois, flung themselves in the midst of the fugitives, and entreated them to make a stand. Ely, of New York, was taken prisoner in a rash effort to restore confidence to the panic-stricken masses of men. But the maddened crowd plunged on. The teamsters urged their frightened horses into a headlong rush for the road; everything and everybody, brave or craven, were swept forward by the irresistible human torrent. It was a stampede which no power could check or resist. From the branch road the trains attached to Hunter’s division had caught the contagion, and rushed into the staggering masses, creating fresh dismay and wilder confusion.

It was a frightful scene, more terrible by far than the horrors of the battle-field. Broken regiments, without leaders, filled the road, the open fields, and skirted the fences, in one wild panic. Army wagons, sutler’s teams and artillery caissons rushed together, running each other down, and leaving the wrecks upon the road. Hacks were crushed between heavy wagon wheels and their occupants flung to the ground. Horses, wild with fright and maddened with wounds, galloped fiercely through the crowd, rearing and plunging when the worn-out fugitives attempted to seize them and save themselves from the destruction that was threatened at every step.

Wounded men, who had found strength to stagger off the battle-field, fell by the wayside, begging piteously to be taken up. Now and then a kind fellow would mount a wounded soldier behind him, and give the horse he had caught a double load; most of the poor fellows were brought forward in this way. Sometimes a wounded man would be picked up by two passing companions, and carried tenderly forward—for the sweet impulses of humanity were not all lost in that wild retreat.

Then came the artillery—for much was saved—thundering through the panic-stricken crowd, crushing everything as it went, dragged recklessly along by horses wild as the men that urged them on. Rifles, bayonets, pistols, blankets, haversacks and knapsacks were flung singly or in heaps along the way. Devoured by intense thirst, black with powder, famished and halting, these stricken men plunged into the fields, searching for water. If a muddy pool presented itself, they staggered 117to its brink with a pitiful laugh, and lying down on their faces, drank greedily, then arose with tears in their eyes, thanking God for the great luxury.

As they passed by the few houses on the road, women—God bless them!—would come out, some with curt, but genuine hospitality, others with tears streaming down their cheeks, and gave drink and food to the wounded men as they halted by. Those who fell upon the wayside were taken in and tended kindly till the next day. Boys came from the wells, bearing pailsful of water, which their little sisters distributed to the jaded men in their own tin cups.

But this panic, like all others, was of brief duration. When the fugitives reached Centreville, they found Blenker’s brigade stretched across the road ready to guard the retreat. Some of the fugitives rallied and formed into line, but they had flung away their arms, and the highway from Stone Bridge to Centreville was literally covered with these cast-off weapons and munitions of war, hurled from the army wagons by reckless teamsters. In places the road was blocked up by the wagons themselves, from which the drivers had cut their teams loose and fled on the relieved horses.

Blenker, of Miles’ division, whose duty up to this time had been one of inaction at Centreville, now did good service at his important post. With three regiments he kept the road, expecting every moment to be assailed by an overpowering and victorious enemy, eager to complete his fatal work. As the darkness increased, the peril of his position became imminent. At eleven o’clock the attack came upon the advance company of Colonel Stahel’s rifles, from a body of the enemy’s cavalry, which was, however, driven back, and did not return. At this time Richardson and Davies were both in Centreville with their brigades, which composed the entire left wing, all well organized and under perfect command. These troops were put under the command of Colonel Davies, who led them off the field—Blenker’s brigade being the last to leave the town it had done so much to protect.

The cause of this stupendous stampede no one ever has or can explain. Cowardice it certainly was not. Those men had fought too bravely, and suffered too patiently for that charge to be brought against them. They were in fact victorious soldiers, for the rout of a single half hour, disastrous as it proved, should have no power to blot out the deeds of heroism that had marked the entire day. Was it excitement, acting on an exhausted frame?

Let those answer who bore the flag of our Union through the long hours of that July day, carried it under the hot sun through the fierce fight, the dust and smoke and carnage, when the sky was one mosaic of flame, and the earth groaned under the vibrations of artillery. They 118had marched twelve miles fasting, and with but one draught of water; marched without pause straight on to the battle field, and for nearly five hours fought bravely as men ever fought on earth. Many who had food found no time to eat it till the battle was at its close, but in the rash eagerness for the field, these men, new to the necessities of war, had flung their rations away, restive under the weight. They had started not far from midnight, from camps in a tumult of preparation, and therefore lacked sleep as well as food.

To all this was added THIRST—that hot, withering thirst, which burns like lava in the throat, and drives a man mad with craving. Panting for drink, their parched lips were blackened with gunpowder; and exhausted nature, when she clamored for food, was answered by the bitter saltness of cartridges ground between the soldiers’ teeth.

Think of these men, famished, sleepless, drinkless, after fighting through the fiery noon of a hot day, suddenly overwhelmed in the midst of a positive victory—called upon to fight another battle, while every breath came pantingly, from thirst, and every nerve quivered with the overtax of its natural strength. Think of them under the hoofs of the Black Horse cavalry, and swept down by the very batteries that had been their protection. Think of all this, and if men of military standing can condemn them, war is a cruel master, and warriors hard critics.

It is very easy for civilians, who sit in luxurious parlors and sip cool ices under the protection of the old flag, to sneer at this panic of Bull Run, but many a brave man—braver than their critics, or they would not have been in the ranks—was found even in the midst of that stampede.

What if all along the road were the marks of hurried flight—abandoned teams, dead horses, wasted ammunition, coats, blankets? Were there not dead and dying men there also? brave and hardy spirits, noble, generous souls, crushed beneath the iron hoof of war—sacrificed and dying bravely in retreat, as they had fought in the advance?

Never on this earth did the proud old American valor burn fiercer or swell higher than on that day and field. And a reproach to the heroes who left the impress of bravery, and gave up their lives on that red valley, should never come from any true American heart.

On the morning of the 21st, according to McDowell’s plan of battle, the left wing, composed of Colonel Miles’ division, was stationed at Centreville and at Blackburn’s Ford, the scene of Tyler’s disaster on the 18th. Thus during the heat and struggle of that awful day the greater portion of the left wing was six miles from the centre of action. But 119notwithstanding, no better service was rendered to the country on that day than that of this comparatively small handful of men. The first brigade of this command, under Colonel Blenker, occupied the heights of Centreville.

The second brigade, under Colonel Thomas A. Davies, of New York, and Richardson’s brigade, were ordered by Colonel Miles to take position before the batteries at Blackburn’s Ford, near the battle-ground of the 18th, to make demonstrations of attack. In pursuance of General McDowell’s order, Colonel Davies, being ranking officer, took command of Richardson’s brigade.

On his route from Centreville in the morning, when about half way to Blackburn’s Ford, Colonel Davies, while conversing with the guide who rode by him, saw a country road, apparently little used, leading through the woods to the left. “That road,” said the guide, a fine, intelligent fellow, “will give position farther left and nearer the enemy, for it runs directly to Beauregard’s headquarters.”

Colonel Davies, who had graduated at West Point and served in the Mexican war, was prompt to recognize the importance of a point which might enable the enemy to move upon his rear. He ordered a halt, and detailed the Thirty-first New York regiment, Colonel Pratt, and the Thirty-second, Colonel Mathewson, with a detachment of artillery, to guard the road at its junction, and deployed another regiment with a section of artillery on the road, which was shaded and hedged in on both sides by a heavy growth of timber.

This duty performed, the troops continued their march. Davies took his position in a wheat field with what was left of his brigade, leaving Richardson to make his own arrangements to defend the position in front of the enemy’s batteries at Blackburn’s Ford, the battle-ground of the 18th. Richardson posted his command in this place, on the road from Centreville heights to Blackburn’s Ford.

The wheat field which Davies occupied contained a hill which overlooked a ravine, thickly wooded, on the opposite slope. On this hill Hunt’s battery, commanded by Lieutenant Edwards, was placed, having been exchanged from force of circumstances for Green’s battery, which belonged to Davies’ command, but was now with Richardson. The battery was supported by Davies’ own regiment, the Sixteenth New York, and the Eighteenth, Colonel Jackson. This hill commanded a broad view of the country on every side. The battle-ground of the right wing, six miles off, was in full sight. Opposite his position, across the stream, was the road which led from Bull Run to Manassas, and also to Beauregard’s extreme right. Parallel with the river to his extreme left, it was plainly traced, except where groves and clumps of trees concealed it. This road, with all the high grounds sloping from Manassas, 120covered with broken ridges, rich pasture lands and splendid groves, lay before the men as they placed their battery.

On their rear the Centreville road stretched along a beautiful tract of country, hidden by a waving sea of luxuriant foliage. Indeed all the converging roads that threaded the vast battle-field were plainly visible from that point.

Posted in this commanding position, Davies opened his demonstration with two twenty-pound rifle guns from Hunt’s battery. The first shot hurled a shell into Beauregard’s headquarters, which sent the rebels scattering in every direction. Richardson also commenced firing across the Run, producing the desired effect of keeping the enemy at their defences in the neighborhood.

At ten o’clock Colonel Miles visited the command. Finding the two regiments and artillery posted at the country road, he ordered the regiments to move forward one-fourth of a mile, and the artillery to join Davies’ command, leaving the road exposed. He then sent two companies to reconnoitre the enemy’s position. They had a skirmish on the stream, at Blackburn’s Ford, and came back with little damage.

The moment Miles rode back to Centreville, Davies ordered out his brigade pioneer corps, all sturdy lumbermen of the North, with orders to fell trees and block up the country road thus left exposed.

For two hours these sturdy men swung their axes among the heavy timber, answering the distant roar of the battle-field with a wild, crashing music, that broke with a new and more startling expression of war through the familiar roll of cannon. With sharp, crashing groans, the great trees were hurled to the earth, locked their splintered and broken boughs across the road, and covered it with mangled foliage, forming a barricade one-fourth of a mile long, impassable as a thousand cactus hedges. The roar of cannon afar off, and the batteries belching iron close by, failed to drown the groaning rush of these forest monarchs; and when the near guns were silent for a little time, as often happened, the almost human shiver of a tree, in its last poise before it rushed downward with a wail in all its leaves and branches, conveyed an idea of death more thrilling than any noise that battle-field had to give. At twelve o’clock, just after the pioneers had returned to position, a body of the enemy came down this road from Bull Run, intending to march on Centreville and take Miles’ division in the rear. Clouds of red dust rising from the trees betrayed them just as they had discovered the barricade, and a storm of shell and shrapnel hastened their backward march.

About this time the road on the other side of Bull Run was one cloud of flying dust. It was Johnston’s forces, a close line, going up to snatch victory from the brave army at Stone Bridge. The advance of these forces became visible at first in tiny curls of dust rising from the 121woods. Then it swelled into clouds, through which jaded horses and tired men seemed struggling onward in a continued stream.

At this time the distant cannonading became louder and more continuous; the far-off woods rolled up vast volumes of smoke, and where the battle raged, a black canopy hung suspended in mid-air. How those brave men, chained to their post by inevitable military law, panted to plunge into that hot contest! The inaction forced upon them when a struggle of life and death was going on in the distance, was worse than torture. They suspected the character of those troops moving forward in the red cloud, and followed them with eager, burning eyes. But they soon had work of their own to do!

The firing on the right slackened between three and four o’clock, growing fainter and fainter. About five, Colonel Davies received a line from Richardson, saying: “The army is in full retreat;” but the line was written in the haste and agitation of bad news, and was indistinct. Davies read it: “The enemy is in full retreat.” But for this providential mistake, the battle of that day would have had a darker record than we are making now; for the retreat, disastrous as it was, would have been cut off, and Washington probably taken.

Believing the army victorious, these brave men bore the restraints of their position more patiently, but still panted for a share in the work.

At this time Beauregard’s telegraph, opposite the left of Davies’ position, had been working half an hour; and from lines of dust concentrating there and at Davies’ front, he anticipated an attack, and made disposition accordingly.

At five o’clock, the enemy appeared on the left, as Davies formed in line parallel to Bull Run, and about eight hundred yards distant. Between the hill which he occupied, and the slope down which they came from the road, was the valley or ravine, about four hundred yards from Hunt’s battery.

They filed down the road and formed in the valley, marching four abreast, with their guns at right shoulder shift, shining like a ripple of diamonds in the sunshine, and moving forward in splendid style.

At first Davies viewed them in silence, and standing still; but as the column began to fill the valley, he changed front to the left, and ordered the artillery to withhold its fire till the rear of the enemy’s column presented itself, and directed the infantry to lie down on their faces, and neither fire nor look up without orders. This was done that the enemy might not learn his strength and charge on the battery.

The rear of the column at last presented itself, an officer on horseback bringing it up. Then an order to fire was given, and Lieutenant Benjamin, a brave young fellow from West Point, fired the first shot from a twenty-pound rifled gun.

122A cloud of dust, with a horse rearing, and its rider struggling in the midst, was all the result that could be observed. The rear of the enemy’s column then took the double-quick down the valley, and six pieces of artillery opened on them. The effect was terrible; at the distance of only four hundred yards, the enemy took the raking downward fire in all its fury. An awful cry rang up from the valley; the men had been swept down like wheat before a scythe, and their moans filled the air.

This murderous fire was repeated over and over again. There was no waiting to swab the guns, but, fast as powder and ball could be served, the ordnance sent out its volleys. The enemy made a desperate stand, but every shot swept down the men in masses. A vacant space appeared for a moment, then fresh men filed in. Twice they attempted to reform and charge the battery, but the rapidity with which the pieces were served, and the peculiar nature of the ground, rendered every shot effective, and they were swept back, cut down, speedily disorganized, and fled for the woods.

During all this action, Lieutenant-Colonel Marsh, of the Sixteenth, and Colonel Pratt, of the Thirty-first (the former since killed, and the latter wounded before Richmond), controlled their men perfectly. Not an infantry shot was fired during the engagement. Balls from the enemy struck the ground in volleys before the men, filling their eyes with dust. No man gave way; they were compelled to change position three times during the fight. Although so many of the enemy were killed, this spot being named, in the secession reports, as giving the heaviest mortality of the day, only two men of Davies’ command were hurt. One man was wounded, and Lieutenant Craig, a brave young officer from West Point, was killed.

This brilliant engagement, so important in its results, sprang out of a singular series of accidents: first, in the mistake made in reading Richardson’s dispatch, and again in a failure of orders. When the main army began its retreat past Centreville, at four o’clock, Colonel Miles sent his aid, Captain Vincent, to order Davies and his command back to Centreville, but Vincent, instead of coming first to Davies, stopped to give orders to Richardson, and two regiments of Davies’ brigade, stationed to guard his rear. After ordering Richardson back, Vincent came over the ravine to deliver his orders to Davies, when he heard his firing on the extreme left, went back to Centreville, to report, and returned just as the firing ceased, to direct Colonel Davies to retire on Centreville.

Davies, ignorant that Richardson had already fallen back, rode over to order his retreat, but to his astonishment, almost horror, found that the whole brigade, with two regiments of his own forces left to guard 123his rear, had been gone a full hour. Thus it happened that this important engagement had been fought and won with a single battery and two regiments of infantry, utterly alone and unsupported on the deserted battle-field, against a large body of men, endeavoring to sweep to the rear and cut off the army in its retreat.

It was near six o’clock when this contest terminated—two hours after the main army were in full retreat. If ever delay and accident were providential on this earth, it was here; for brave as these men were, no sane leader would have felt justified in exposing them to such peril upon a deserted battle-field, and in the face of a whole victorious army, after all chance of protection had been withdrawn.

When this band of victorious men reached Centreville, a stream of jaded, wounded and heavy-hearted men were pouring through the village, while General McDowell was making a desperate effort to collect all the troops that still kept a show of organization, under his own command. These troops were principally composed of the left wing, which came off the ground in good order. McDowell, about eight o’clock, left Centreville for Fairfax Court House. Before going Colonel Miles was relieved from his command of the left wing, and the following order, written on the back of a visiting card, was handed to Colonel Davies:

Colonel Davies is consigned to the command of the left wing, as the troops are now formed. By command,

July 21.

Under this running order Colonel Davies assumed command of all that was left of the army in Centreville, and marched them in good order to Alexandria and Washington, Blenker’s division being the last to leave the field. This gallant officer had been among the bravest and most resolute in protecting the retreat, and had by his firmness held the enemy in check during the afternoon and evening.

THE BATTLE-FIELD AT NIGHT.

At night the calm air, the gently falling dew, visited that blasted earth sweetly as they had done the night before, when the valley was fresh with verdure and beautiful with thrifty crops. But the scene it presented was O, how different! In mercy the deep shadows cast by the woods concealed its worst features, and the smoke had risen so densely between earth and sky that the moon looked down upon it mournfully, through a veil. The battle-field was still, save when the solemn shiver of the leaves came like a painful and mighty sigh, or the 124troubled waves of the Run continued it in hoarser murmurs. If human moans broke the stillness, they were lost on that vast field, and only heard by the pitying angels.

But solitary lights wandered over the field, like stars dropped by a merciful heaven to light the departing souls through the valley and shadow of death. They were indeed heavenly rays, for all that is divine in human mercy sent them forth. Kind men, and more than one heroic woman carried them from point to point over that dreary battle-field, searching among the dead for those who, breathing yet, might suffer for water or Christian comfort.

There was a house on the hill-top where Griffin’s battery had stood, and where the Connecticut troops had planted the stars and stripes in their last desperate charge. Through all the fight, a helpless and frightened family had found precarious shelter in their own dwelling. The household was composed of a son, a daughter, and the mother, a gentle Christian woman, who had been confined to her bed for years. There was no hopes of flight for her, poor soul, and neither son nor daughter would abandon her when the storm of battle was at their threshold. Hoping to find a place of safety, the devoted children carried her to a neighboring ravine, sheltering her with their own persons.

But this spot became at last more dangerous than the house. So the harassed children took their parent back to her home, and placing her in bed again, stood to screen her from the bullets that broke like hail through the walls and windows. While her house was riddled with cannon balls and musket shot, and the missiles of death plunged through her chamber and into her bed, three bullets pierced her frail person. Still she outlived the battle tempest that raged around her, a tempest that she had not even dreamed of approaching her dwelling when that fatal day dawned upon it. When the night came on she died peacefully, and the troubled moon looked down on a mournful scene here also. Within the riddled walls and under the torn roof, this gentle woman lay, in a quieter sleep than she had known for many a long night, and by her bed knelt the bereaved children who had dared so much, weeping that a life so peaceful should have met that violent ending. Painful as this was, there lay many poor soldiers on the field that hour, whose children would never have the privilege of weeping over them.

In an orchard of young trees, just forming their fruit, lay many a prostrate Southron, sent to his long account; for the enemy had suffered terribly there. The northern verge of the field was blackened by a fine grove in which a Georgia regiment had fought, and under its black shadows the dead lay thick and numerous. Here Lamar had fallen, 125and many a brave Northman slept side by side with the foe he had sent into eternity but a moment in advance of himself. The fatal hill, scorched and blackened in every tree and blade of grass, was strewn with the dead of both sections, among them some of the bravest leaders that the enemy boasted.

There have been rumors of great cruelty on the battle-field after the fight was over—of men prowling like fiends among the dead, and murdering the wounded; but these things should be thrice proven before we believe them of American citizens. Rumor is always triple-tongued, and human nature does not become demoniac in a single hour. One thing is certain, many an act of merciful kindness was performed that night, which an honest pen should prefer to record. Certain it is that Southern soldiers in many instances shared their water—the most precious thing they had—with the wounded Union men. A soldier passing over the field found two wounded combatants lying together—one was a New Yorker, the other a Georgian. The poor wounded fellow from New York cried out piteously for water, and the Georgian, gathering up his strength, called out: “For God’s sake give him drink; for I called on a New York man for water when his column was in retreat, and he ran to the trench at the risk of his life and brought it to me!”

One brave young enemy lost his life after passing through all the perils of the battle, in attempting to procure drink for his wounded foes.

If there were individual instances of cruelty on either side, and this is possible—let us remember that there was kindness too; and when the day shall come—God grant it may be quickly—when we are one people again, let the cruelty be forgiven and the kindness only remembered.

And now our record of the battle of Bull Run is at an end. It was valiantly contended on both sides, and won only from superior numbers and reinforcements of fresh troops, poured upon the exhausted soldiery of the Union. To gain this contest the South sent her best and very bravest generals. Her forces were led by Beauregard and Johnston, both experienced officers. They were also cheered by the near presence of Jefferson Davis, who came upon the field when the victory was assured, amid the shouts of a soldiery, the more enthusiastic because they had just been rescued from almost certain defeat. They had the choice of position and had fortified it with wonderful skill; a thorough knowledge of the country, and troops unwearied by long marches—indeed, the advantages were altogether on their side. The North, never dreaming that an open rebellion would break out, was utterly dependant on undisciplined troops; while the South, having premeditated resistance to the Government, had been drilling men for 126months, if not years. There was no one point except in the actual bravery of their leaders and soldiers in which the enemy was not superior to the Union forces. In personal valor the Southerners themselves have never claimed to surpass that exhibited in this battle by their foes.

The smallest estimate of the forces actually engaged on the Southern side is eighteen thousand—while the Union forces which crossed Bull Run did not at any time count more than thirteen thousand. One brigade of McDowell’s eighteen thousand was not in the action, except in a vain effort to check the retreat. This brigade, of General Tyler’s division, was stationed at Stone Bridge, and never advanced upon the actual battle-field. The attack repulsed by Davies on the left wing, at Blackburn’s Ford, took place nearly two hours after the army was in retreat.

In the loss of officers, the enemy was even more unfortunate than the Union army. The fall of General Bee, one of the bravest of their leaders, Bartow, Colonel Thomas, Colonel Hampton, Colonel Johnson, Lamar, and others, shed a gloom upon their victory, and greatly weakened their cause in the future. The Union loss was heavy, for the men who fell or were taken prisoners were among the bravest that marched with the army, but the loss of officers by death was inferior to that of the enemy, and though Corcoran and Wilcox were wounded and taken prisoners, they were not lost to their country. In ordnance and munitions of war the conquest was less important than might have been supposed. Many of the Union guns were rescued from the field during the next day. Of the fine horses attached to the ordnance a large proportion were killed, and others were saved by their drivers, who cut the traces, and rode them from the scene of battle. The loss in killed and wounded on the Union side, was 481 killed, 1,011 wounded, and 1,216 missing: total, 2,708. That of the enemy numbered, by Beauregard’s report, 393 killed, 1,200 wounded.

The victory was a very important one to the South, as it gave prestige and force to a rebellion which, had the position of things been reversed, would, it is probable, have expired before the year went out. But in the North it only served to arouse the people to a pitch of excitement hitherto unparalleled; if troops had been sent forth in regiments before, they came in brigades after that defeat.

127

Brigadier-General Thomas A. Morris arrived at Grafton on the evening of June 1st, and took command of the Union forces. An expedition was immediately organized to surprise and attack the rebels at Philippi, under the command of Colonel Porterfield. The troops left in two divisions. The First Virginia regiment, part of the Ohio Sixteenth, and the Seventh Indiana, under Colonel Kelly, moved eastward, by rail to Thornton, a distance of five miles, and from there marched on twenty-two miles, to Phillipi, reaching the town on the lower side. The second division, consisting of the Sixth and Seventh Indiana, the Fourteenth Ohio, and a section of artillery under Lieutenant-Colonel Sturgis, met by detachments at Webster, on the North-western Virginia railroad, and marched twelve miles to Phillipi. The combined forces were commanded by Colonels Dumont and Lander, and at eight o’clock on the night of the 2d of June marched forward through one of the most overwhelming storms known to our country that year. Lander had been detailed to a special command by General Morris, and in the terrible march that followed, through darkness, mud and rain he led the way, sometimes exploring the route three miles ahead of his forces, in the midst of profound darkness, and through mud so deep and tenacious that every forward step was a struggle. The men followed, bravely toiling through the miry soil, staggering forward in thick darkness, and pelted by the rain so violently that they could not have seen the road had it been daylight. Still, not a murmur was heard. Against the whole force of the elements the brave fellows struggled on, eager for the storm of fire which was soon to follow the deluge that poured upon them. Now and then Lander’s majestic form, seated upon his charger, would loom upon them through the darkness, returning from his scouting duty to cheer them with his deep, sympathetic voice, which aroused them like a trumpet. Thus they moved on, supported by one stern purpose, through woods, across valleys, and over hills, the storm drowning their approach till they drew up on the edge of the town 132overlooking the enemy. But it was not altogether a surprise. Just before they reached the town the troops had passed a farm-house. A woman within that house sprang from her bed as she saw the lines of troops filing slowly by in the misty gray of the dawn, and guessed their object. She instantly aroused her little son and sent him by a short cross-road to give the alarm. The boy was quick of foot, but the hopes of conflict had so aroused the energies of these jaded men that he was but a few minutes in advance of them.

Lander’s troops took position on a hill across the river and below the town, commanding it and the encampments around. He at once planted two pieces of artillery, and prepared to open fire at exactly four o’clock, the hour agreed upon for the attack, which was to be made at once by both divisions. Lander was to assault them in front, while Kelly was to attack the rear and cut off all retreat. But Lander found his division alone before the enemy. The terrible night, the almost impassable roads, and a march of twenty-two miles had delayed Kelly’s forces, and when he did arrive it was to come in by mistake below the town.

The presence of Lander’s troops aroused the town and threw it into terrible commotion. In vain Lander searched the distant hills, impatient for Kelly’s appearance. The hour of attack had arrived and passed. The men became impatient as their leader, who, in his indomitable courage commenced the battle with a portion of his forces.

When Lander gave the order his eager men sprang to their posts, and the artillery opened fire. As the first gun awoke its thunder on the encampments, Kelly advanced, but in the wrong direction. He instantly comprehended Lander’s action, and with prompt courage charged upon the encampments. The batteries had by this time obtained the range, and were pouring in their messengers of terror and death, tearing through tents and cabins, and scattering the rebels like chaff in every direction. After firing a volley of musketry, Lander advanced.

Colonel Kelly’s command was close upon the enemy, the Virginia troops in advance, the Henry Clay Guards in front, and Colonel Kelly and Captain Fordyce leading, while Colonel Lander’s force came rushing down the hill to the bridge and joined in an impetuous pursuit of the fugitives. Colonel Kelly, who, with a bravery amounting almost to rashness, had been foremost from the very first, was shot by a concealed foe, the ball entering the left breast and lodging beneath the shoulder blade. As his men conveyed him to a place of safety, this brave man, while in the agony of his pain, exclaimed, “I expect I shall have to die. I would be glad to live, if it might be, that I might do something for my country, but if it cannot be, I shall have at least the 133consolation of knowing that I fell in a just cause.” But he was not destined to be cut off in the zenith of his fame and usefulness. After a few weeks of danger and anguish he was again performing noble duty for the country he loved so well.

In this dashing victory fifteen of the rebels were killed, a large number wounded, and ten taken prisoners, together with a quantity of camp equipage, arms, &c. The organization of the rebels at that point was completely broken up, and the men driven to the mountains.

The bitter animosity of the rebel army was strikingly illustrated on the 23d July, by the destruction of a large number of locomotives and cars of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad by secession troops under the command of Colonel Thomas J. Jackson. Forty-eight locomotives and three hundred cars were blown up or burned, one of the engines having been previously wrapped in our national ensign. The road had been rendered impassable by the destruction of bridges, and, therefore, the rolling stock could not have been rendered available. The estimated loss was about three-quarters of a million of dollars.

General McClellan, during the time that elapsed since his appointment, had been actively engaged in organizing his forces and getting them ready for efficient service. Scouting parties—an important feature of his department—were detailed for service, and raw troops replaced by experienced men. Colonel Kelly, who was now recovering from the wounds received at Phillipi, had been appointed by Governor Pierpont to the command of the Virginia brigade of volunteers. Gens. Morris, Hill, Schenck and Schleich were assigned their respective positions—the telegraph lines were put in order, and new ones for military purposes were constructed where necessary. The arrival of fresh regiments, among which Colonel Rosecranz made his appearance, added great activity to the department. On the side of the enemy were Generals Robert S. Garnett, Henry A. Wise, Ex-Governor, John B. Floyd, Ex-Secretary of War, and Colonel Pegram.

Columns of Federal troops were dispatched to attack the enemy, simultaneously, at three different points, and the first collision between them occurred on the 10th of July.

The rebel entrenchments at Rich Mountain were very strong in their position, and were evidently to be taken only by a great sacrifice of life. They had rolled great trees down the steep sides of the mountain, and banding their branches into a general entanglement, filled the open spaces with earth and stones. The dense forest on all sides made the approach almost impassable. General Rosecranz was accordingly directed to attack them in their rear. For this purpose he took with him the Eighth and Tenth Indiana, and the Nineteenth Ohio, and under the leadership of an experienced guide, started about daylight to ascend the mountain. The path was exceedingly difficult and tedious, most of the distance being through thick laurel underbrush, almost impenetrable woods, and a broken, rocky region, which gave them a toilsome march of nearly nine miles. Meantime a courier from General McClellan with dispatches for General Rosecrans, had been captured by the rebels, who instantly took the alarm, and a body of 2,500 men were sent to the top of the mountain by a short route 136which they commanded, and on the arrival of the Union forces they stood ready for defence. The rebels had three cannon in place, and awaited the troops, facing that part of the road where they would emerge from the timber. For some time there was skirmishing, the rebels firing their cannon into the woods at random. The Union troops had no cannon, and left the sheltering trees only long enough to deliver a volley at any one time, and then retired back to the bushes. They thus succeeded in drawing the enemy from his earthworks, and leading him into the open fields, where the encounter took place.

BATTLE OF RICH MOUNTAIN.

Colonel Lander called for twenty sharpshooters, who speedily left the cannon without men to work them. Their places were filled by others, when the Nineteenth Ohio, which had gained a position on high ground in the rear, poured in a tremendous volley, and giving loud cheers, rushed forward for a closer struggle. The Eighth and Tenth immediately charged upon the guns and carried them, and then the entire entrenchment. The enemy found it impossible to resist the impetuous and daring onset, and broke up instantly in a total rout. The action was short, but fiercely contested. One hundred and forty rebels were found killed, while the Federal loss was only twenty-five or thirty.

137The victors attempted to follow the flying enemy, but after proceeding a short distance were recalled, and formed in line, in anticipation of an attack from the fort, at the foot of the mountain. It appeared, however, that when their cannon ceased firing they gave up all as lost, and deserted their works. General Rosecranz remained on the field burying the dead, and taking care of the wounded, till next morning, when he marched down to the fort with his forces, and took possession. Several hundred prisoners were taken on the field, and Colonel Pegram, after wandering about nearly two days without finding a chance to escape, surrendered unconditionally to General McClellan, with the remnant of his command, numbering six hundred men.

While these stirring events were transpiring, General Garnett, hearing of the combined movements, and conscious that he would be unable to maintain his position, or make a successful retreat if defeated, withdrew his forces from the Laurel Hill camp, and was proceeding towards Beverly, when he received intelligence of the surrender of Colonel Pegram and the rapid advance of General Rosecranz, accompanied by the intrepid Colonel Lander, towards the spot he was himself approaching. He then struck off on the Leading Creek Pike, half a mile from Leadsville, and commenced a rapid retreat towards St. George, in Tucker county.

General Morris’s brigade entered the rebel camp at Beverly at 10 A. M. of Friday, the 12th of July. At 11 o’clock the Federal troops detailed to follow General Garnett started in pursuit, under Captain Benham. The advance comprised Colonel Steedman’s Ohio Fourteenth, Colonel Milroy’s Ninth and Colonel Dumont’s Seventh Indiana, and two pieces of artillery, with forty men—total about eighteen hundred and fifty. At two o’clock on the morning of the 13th they set out in a pitiless storm, guided by the baggage, tents, trunks, blankets, knapsacks, and clothing thrown away by the enemy. The roads had been obstructed by the retreating foe. A guide, however, led them by a cross-road, which enabled them to gain rapidly on the enemy. On reaching the track again, it was found necessary to keep an advance of axemen to clear the obstructions. This was performed with the greatest zeal and alacrity, while the storm raged furiously around them.

About noon General Garnett had reached and passed Kahler’s Ford, twelve miles from St. George. When the advance of the Federal troops emerged from the ford they caught sight of the rear of the enemy, and 138they were instantly nerved with new life. The retreating Southerners were also excited, and redoubled their speed, if possible, throwing away everything that encumbered their progress. General Garnett had become thoroughly convinced that there was no alternative but to make a stand, and thus test the question of superiority without delay. He continued his course, however, until he came to the fourth ford on the river, known as Carrick’s Ford, and prepared to receive his pursuers. On the left bank of the river were level bottom lands, cornfields, and meadows. On the right high bluffs commanded the fields below, and its bank was thickly hedged in with impenetrable thickets of laurel. Fording the river, and placing his men on the high bluff on the right, they were completely concealed, while the situation gave his artillery every advantage. The wagon train was left standing in the river, evidently to mislead his pursuers with the idea that they were unable to cross the rocky bed of the stream. The Federal troops advanced to seize the train, and were consequently within range of his artillery on the bluff.

The Federal columns pushed rapidly forward, Colonel Steedman’s Fourteenth Ohio in front, and as they approached the teams their drivers called out that they would surrender. The position, and the conduct of the teamsters, however, excited the suspicions of the regiment, and the men were disposed in order, with skirmishers thrown out towards the ford, the line moving down after them in the finest order. Just as the advance were approaching the stream, and only about two hundred yards from the steep bluff on the other side, an officer rose from the bushes and gave the order to fire. Immediately a volley of musketry was followed by a discharge of artillery. The Fourteenth Ohio and Seventh Indiana were directly under the fire, and returned it, doing good execution, while that of the enemy flew harmlessly over their heads. The Fourteenth Ohio, being nearest the ford, were almost exclusively aimed at, and for a time the storm of war was frightful. The roar of cannon, the crashing of trees, the bursting of the shells, and quick volleys of musketry made the wild scene of terrible and appalling havoc. Amid it all our men stood undaunted, and returned the fire with great rapidity, and in superior order. Burnett’s artillery then came up, and opened, and under cover of their fire the Seventh Indiana was directed to cross the river and climb the bluff on the enemy’s left. They made the attempt, and two companies had already reached the top, when they were directed to descend and make the ascent so as to turn the enemy’s right. Colonel Dumont led his men down the stream with such dispatch, that the enemy could not turn his pieces upon them until they were concealed from view by the smoke, and beyond the guns on the bluff. During this movement the Fourteenth Ohio, and Colonel Milroy’s Ninth Indiana, with our artillery, kept up a brisk 139fire in front, until suddenly Colonel Dumont’s men, having scaled the bluff, appeared on the right, and poured in a volley. The appearance of our troops there was the signal for a retreat, and the enemy instantly broke up in rout and disorder, precipitately flying from the field.

Our regiments and artillery then crossed the river in hot pursuit. At a distance of a quarter of a mile the road again crosses the stream, and General Garnett sought in vain to rally his troops at this point. Major Gordon of the Seventh Indiana led the advance, and soon reached the spot where General Garnett, on the opposite side of the river, was endeavoring to rally his forces around him. Gordon called upon Captain Ferry’s company, and ordered them to fire. The rebels greeted Major Gordon with one volley and fled. General Garnett turned to call his men, and motioned them back, but all in vain. At this moment, Sergeant Burlingame, of Captain Ferry’s company, raised his piece, took aim, and fired. General Garnett fell backward, his head lying towards our forces, and with open mouth, as though gasping for breath. He uttered not a groan, and when Major Gordon reached him, a few moments afterwards, he was just expiring. The Major stooped down, tenderly closed his eyes, disposed his limbs, and left a guard of loyal soldiers around him to protect all that remained of the chivalrous and honored, but mistaken leader of Western Virginia.

Every Virginian among the followers of this gallant man fled, and left him to fall and expire alone. But a young soldier wearing the Georgia uniform and button, sprang to his side, only to share his fate, for a musket shot answered this devotion with death, and he fell side by side with his commander. The Federal troops, even in the glow of victory, stopped to pay a tribute of respect to this generous youth. They placed a board at his grave and cut rudely upon it, “A brave fellow, who shared his General’s fate and fell fighting by his side. Name unknown.”

The loss of our troops was killed, two; wounded, twelve. The enemy lost eight on the field, three died in hospital, and ten others were wounded. A large number of prisoners were taken, including six Georgia captains and lieutenants, a surgeon, and a number of non-commissioned officers. Beside prisoners, there were also captured two stands of colors, one rifled cannon, forty loaded wagons, hundreds of muskets and side arms, with other effects of various kinds.

This action is honorable in the highest degree to all engaged in it. They had pursued and overtaken an enemy who had twelve hours advance; they had made a forced march of nearly thirty miles in less than twenty-four hours, over the worst of roads, and with scarcely any food, some of the men having been without nourishment for thirty-six hours. They then fought a battle, cut off the enemy’s baggage train, captured 140their cannon, routed their army, and found themselves in full possession of the field. The day and the event will ever be memorable, and Ohio and Indiana may well be proud of their sons.

The remainder of General Garnett’s army effected their escape through the Cheat Mountain Gap, which was seized and fortified by General McClellan. In these two engagements 150 of the enemy were killed, 300 wounded, upwards of 1000 prisoners were taken, and nearly all their war material fell into the hands of the victors.

The loyal troops were too much exhausted by the incessant labors and privations of their three days’ struggle to pursue the scattered and dispirited enemy any further through the mountains, and went into camp at Huttonville and Laurel Hill, to await the next call to duty. General McClellan closed his dispatch of July 14th, with the words, “I firmly believe that secession is killed in this section of the country.”

During the battle an incident illustrating the coolness, bravery and generosity of Colonel Lander towards a brave foeman occurred, that deserves honorable mention. The horse of the Colonel had been shot from under him, and he, dismounted, had taken his stand upon a rock directly in front of a rebel gun. Discharging musket after musket, as fast as they could be loaded for him, he remained a noted mark for the enemy to shoot at. At a short distance, all the men belonging to a cannon of the Confederates had been shot down or fled, and their Lieutenant was undauntedly serving and firing it, single-handed. Three times had it belched forth flame and ball, when Colonel Lander, noticing the bravery of the man, called out to him—

“If you fire that gun again you are a dead man!”

“Sir, I shall fire it as long as I have life in my body!” was the cool, fearless and curt reply.

This was an instance of noble courage well calculated to be appreciated by a true soldier, and the Union Colonel, leaping from the rock, shouted to his men—

“Boys, that is too brave a man for me to kill.”

On the 21st of July the Federal army under General McDowell, having suffered severely, and retreated from Manassas, General McClellan, who by his achievements had earned a brilliant prestige, was ordered, on the 22d, to Washington, to take command of the Department of the Potomac, and General Rosecranz was appointed to succeed him in the Department of the Ohio.

The geographical position of Missouri is such, that if thrown into the scale, she would weigh heavily either for or against the Union. When the war broke out her people were divided, though the majority were believed to be loyal to the Constitution; and when the Governor refused to meet the requisition of the President for troops to sustain the national flag, Hon. Frank P. Blair and other prominent citizens of the State, replied, on their personal responsibility, that the quota of four regiments should be raised, without either the aid of the Governor or his consent. In order to give character and legality to their proceedings, and to guard against the power of the State rulers, Captain Nathaniel Lyon, of the United States army, then in command of the Arsenal at St. Louis, was directed by the Government, on the 30th of April, to enrol in the military service of the United States, from the loyal citizens of the city and vicinity, 10,000 men, for the purpose of maintaining the authority of the Government—for the protection of the peaceable inhabitants 144of Missouri, and to guard against any attempt on the part of the secessionists to gain military possession of the city of St. Louis. Captain Lyon was also instructed that this force should be disbanded when the emergency ceased to exist.

Recruiting offices were opened, under his direction, the loyal citizens were prompt in their response, and on the 2d of May, Colonel F. B. Blair announced that the four regiments called for from that State had been enrolled, equipped, and mustered into service.

The Police Commissioners of St. Louis had called upon Captain Lyon, on the opening of recruiting stations, and demanded the removal of the United States troops from all places and buildings occupied by them in the city outside of the Arsenal grounds, but he declined compliance, and the Commissioners referred the matter to the Governor and the Legislature, alleging that such occupancy was derogatory to the Constitution of the United States—that Missouri had “sovereign and exclusive jurisdiction over her entire territory,” and had delegated a portion of that territory only (the Arsenals, etc.,) to the United States for military purposes.

In response to Governor Jackson’s order directing the military in certain districts to go into encampments for the purpose of improvement in the tactics of war, a camp had been formed at Lindell’s Grove, in the suburbs of St. Louis, called “Camp Jackson.” On the 4th of May it was inaugurated, under the charge of General D. M. Frost, and within a week numbered 800 men. Having received intelligence that it was the purpose of Captain Lyon to break up this encampment, General Frost addressed him a letter, dissuasive in its tone—disclaiming any intention on the part of himself and men of hostility to the Government, and containing an offer to preserve the public peace and guard the property of the United States.

The answer to this, was the surrounding of the camp by 5,000 Federal troops, and the following notice from Captain Lyon:

“Sir,—Your command is regarded as hostile towards the Government of the United States. It is, for the most part, made up of those who have avowed their hostility to the General Government, and have been plotting for the seizure of its property and the overthrow of its authority. You are openly in communication with the so-called Southern Confederacy, which is now at war with the United States, and you are receiving at your camp, from the said Confederacy and under its flag, large supplies of material of war, most of which is known to 145be the property of the United States. These extraordinary preparations plainly indicate none other than the well-known purpose of the Governor of this State, under whose orders you are acting; and whose purpose, recently communicated to the Legislature, has just been responded to by that body in the most unparalleled legislation, having in direct view hostilities to the General Government and co-operation with its enemies.”

Actuated by these considerations, and also by the failure to break up the camp, in obedience to the Presidential Proclamation of April 15th, Captain Lyon demanded its immediate surrender. After a hasty consultation with his officers, General Frost complied, and the place was surrendered unconditionally. But when the result was announced to the troops, it was received with the wildest yells, curses and groans. Some railed out against treachery, but the more loyal were rejoiced at the prospect of escaping from what they denominated a school of secession. Numbers of outsiders, also, when the news became known, rushed into the camp and gave loud voice to their feelings of indignation. The camp had in reality become a vast mob. Hurrahs for Jeff. Davis were given—many of the now disarmed soldiers joining in them. The United States troops were insulted in every possible manner, and rowdyism ruled the hour triumphantly. Officers had broken their swords and privates their guns before surrendering them. The task of marching the men out was a work of great difficulty, but at last it was accomplished, and the prisoners surrounded by two files of loyal troops. This act brought the fury of the mob to a climax, and when most of the troops had left, the few German soldiers that brought up the rear were attacked by the crowd, and showers of stones rattled upon them. The Federals presented their muskets, for the purpose of intimidating the mob, but without avail. The order to fire at length became necessary. It was given and executed with terrible effect, and the swiftly retreating mob left behind them from thirty to forty of their number, either dead or lying on the ground weltering in blood.

Many of the prisoners took the oath of fidelity to the Constitution and the laws, and were set free. A large amount of arms, ammunition, stores, camp equipage and stock was seized.

The event roused the secessionists in the city of St. Louis to the highest fury, and the night was made hideous by bloody encounters, in which several lives were lost.

The Legislature, then in session at Jefferson City, alarmed by these vigorous measures on the part of the Government, passed, the same afternoon, a “Military Bill,” authorizing the Governor to call out and equip the State militia, and appropriating all the available funds of the State for that purpose, in addition to the issuing of bonds to the amount 146of $1,000,000, and authority to borrow $500,000 from the State banks. The bill also gave to the Governor supreme authority in all military matters, and subjected every able-bodied man in the State to such authority, under penalty of $150 fine. The telegraph was seized by order of Governor Jackson, and the bridges on roads leading from St. Louis destroyed, from fear that Federal troops might reach Jefferson City by railroad and arrest the conspirators.

The loyal citizens of St. Louis trembled for their safety—fearful alike of an uprising of the secessionists in their midst and invasion from without. The “Home Guard” was organized—a reserve of volunteers proceeded to the arsenal for arms, and to take the oath of fealty, and other measures adopted for defence. On the afternoon of the 11th, a body composed mostly of Germans was assailed by a mob on their return from the arsenal. A fierce struggled ensued, and several were killed on either side.

The following day Brigadier-General Harney, of the regular army, reached St. Louis, and assumed command of the Military Department. Being himself a citizen of Missouri, and enjoying the confidence of the people in a very large degree, his presence produced a marked and salutary effect. By proclamation he demonstrated the madness and futility of any attempt to withdraw the State from her allegiance, and gave warning that any disturbance would be promptly suppressed. On the 14th he issued a second proclamation, declaring the “Military Bill” in conflict with the Constitution and laws of the United States, and therefore a nullity—equivalent to an ordinance of secession, and cautioned all good citizens against obeying it. The geographical position of the State, and her best interests, he asserted, rendered it absolutely necessary that she should remain in the Union, no matter what might be the position of the cotton States; and he emphatically declared that the whole power of the United States would be exerted, if necessary, to keep her within the national domain.

But secession influences were exceedingly active in almost all parts of the State, and the fact that the Governor and members of the Legislature were disorganizers, occasioned great apprehension in regard to her future destiny. The neighboring States of Iowa, Illinois, and Kansas made tender of liberal aid to the loyal men of Missouri, whenever required, to maintain their rights and their freedom. The secessionists now threw off their disguise, and resorted to violent aggressions and bitter persecutions of Union men. Many loyal citizens of Potosi, Washington county, seventy miles from St. Louis, were driven from the town, and their property injured or appropriated by the rebels.

Previous to the arrival of General Harney at St. Louis, Captain Nathaniel Lyon was commissioned a brigadier-general, having command 147of all the troops at St. Louis. On Tuesday, the 14th of May, he sent Captain Cole, of the Fifth Missouri Volunteers, with one hundred and fifty men, to Potosi, who surrounded the town before daylight, and arrested about one hundred and fifty persons. They were marched to the court-house, and fifty of them required to give parole not to take up arms against the Government. Nine of the leaders were taken to the St. Louis arsenal. On his return to St. Louis, Captain Cole led his troop through De Soto, Jefferson county, where a body of secession cavalry was collected, who fled at his approach. Thirty of their horses were captured by Captain Cole, and a large secession flag seized, which they had just raised on a pole in the town, and the stars and stripes elevated in its place.

On the 21st of May, General Harney was induced by Price to enter into an arrangement which was professedly designed to “allay excitement,” and “restore peace;” and for this common object, the “general officers of the Federal and State Governments were to be respected.” Price was recognized as “having by commission full authority over the militia of the State,” to direct the whole power of the State officers, and to maintain order. General Harney admitted that this, faithfully performed, was all he required; and that he had no wish to make any “military movements” on his part. This was all that Price desired. Having by these plausible pretences tied the hands of General Harney, knowing that he would regard his obligations, the secession leaders continued their plots, and took measures for consummating the rebellion in the State. Loyal men in Missouri, as well as in other States, soon perceived the situation of affairs. The General Government became cognizant of the embarrassment in which General Harney was placed, and to release him from his engagements with General Price, as well as to secure the most efficient action at this stage of the rebellion, relieved him and appointed General Lyon to the command. Under his administration, vigorous, all-observant, prompt, and decisive, General Price found himself under a pressure very different from what he had anticipated.

148

SECTION OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

SHOWING THE DISTANCES FROM NEW ORLEANS, AND THE ISLANDS BY THEIR NUMBERS.

149

SECTION OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

SHOWING THE DISTANCES FROM NEW ORLEANS, AND THE ISLANDS BY THEIR NUMBERS.

The enemy were exceedingly well posted, having had every advantage in the selection of their position. They occupied the summit of the ground, which rises upward from the river in a long slope, and were prepared to give the loyal troops a warm reception. General Lyon opened a heavy cannonade against the rebels, who retreated and dispersed into the adjacent wood, where, hidden by bushes and trees, they opened a brisk fire on his troops.

Arriving at the brow of the ascent, Captain Totten renewed the engagement by throwing a few nine-pounder explosives into their ranks, while the infantry filed oblique right and left and commenced a terrible volley of musketry, which was, for a short time, well replied to. The enemy were posted in a lane running towards the river from the road along which the army of the United States were advancing, and in a brick house on the north-east corner of the junction of the two roads. A couple of bombs were thrown through the east wall of that house, scattering the rebels in all directions. The well-directed fire of the German infantry, Lieutenant-Colonel Schaeffer, on the right, and General Lyon’s company of regulars and part of Colonel Blair’s regiment on the left of the road, soon compelled the enemy to seek a safer position. They clambered over the fence into a field of wheat, and again formed in line just on the brow of the hill. They then advanced some twenty steps to meet the Federal troops, and for a short time the artillery was worked with great rapidity and effect. Just at this time the enemy opened fire from a grove on the left of Lyon’s centre, and from a shed beyond and still further to the left.

General Lyon halted, faced his troops about, and bringing his artillery to bear, opened fire on the rebels, and after a short engagement, killed thirty-five and took thirty prisoners, while the remainder fled in all directions, leaving many of their guns on the field. This accomplished, the General moved forward and took possession of the town. Neither General Price nor Governor Jackson were on the field of battle, though the latter was a spectator, and took an early opportunity to withdraw.

On the 17th of June, Colonel Boernstein was appointed Military Governor at Jefferson City, including Cole and the adjoining counties, the Governor and officers of the State having fled. Colonel Boernstein, on being questioned as to how long he should remain, replied, “I don’t know, perhaps a year; so long as the Governor chooses to stay away. 152I am Governor now, you see, till he comes back!” His idea of freedom of speech and the press he expressed freely, like this: “All people zall speak vot dey tink, write vot dey pleazhe, and be free to do any tink dey pleazhe—only dey zall speak and write no treason!”

The loyal people of the State now entered with zeal into the work of defence. Union Home Guards were organized at Hannibal, Herman, Rolla, Potosi, and many other places, and troops stationed at various points, of which two thousand five hundred kept guard over the Hannibal and St. Joseph, and one thousand over the North Missouri railroad; three thousand took their position also at Rolla, on the south-west branch of the Pacific railroad.

At Booneville, on the 18th, General Lyon issued a proclamation, in which he exposed the misrepresentations of the conspirators. The views they had endeavored to inculcate, that the United States would overrun the State with “military despotism,” and “destroy State rights,” were pronounced false—the glaring inconsistencies of the secessionists exposed,—and all malcontents solicited to return to their allegiance to the old flag.

On the same day, eight hundred Union Home Guards, under Captain Cooke, at Camp Cole, were surprised and routed by a body of rebels from Warsaw. Twenty-five were killed, fifty-two wounded, and twenty-three taken prisoners. The rebel loss was forty-five killed and wounded. At this time, Colonel Siegel, General Sweeney, and Colonel Brown, with their commands, were in the south-western part of the State, keeping the insurgents at bay.

General Price and Jackson were employed in raising all the turbulent elements of the State, and rallying followers to their standard. They were also greatly inspirited in their labors by the rumor that Ben. McCulloch was approaching with eight or ten thousand men to aid them in the overthrow of the government. On the 3d of July, General Lyon left Booneville with two thousand men, for the south-west. General Sweeney, who was in command of the south-west expedition, at Springfield, published a proclamation to the people, inviting them to remain loyal, and warning all rebels to disperse, take the oath of allegiance, and escape the penalties of their lawless career.

Colonel Siegel arrived at Springfield on the 23d of June, and there learned that the rebel troops, under Jackson, were making their way southwardly through Cedar county. He immediately proceeded with 153his command, numbering over a thousand men, and a small field battery, towards Mount Vernon, for the purpose of intercepting him. On arriving at that point, he learned that General Price, in command of one thousand two hundred of the State troops, was encamped at Neosho, the county seat of Newton county, situated in the south-west corner of the State. His object there was to prevent Jackson going south, or Price going north. He appears to have decided to move southwardly and capture Price if possible, and afterwards attend to the Governor.

As he neared Neosho, on the 30th, the reports began to come in of the strength of Price, until his force was swelled to thirty-five hundred men, including Arkansas volunteers. The inhabitants expressed their welcome for Colonel Siegel, and detailed the most pitiable accounts of the oppression of the rebel soldiers.

On the 1st of July, the entire force entered the town without opposition, and encamped there, the enemy having retreated.

On the 2d, Colonel Siegel, learning that the forces of Price, Rains and Jackson had united at Dry Fork Creek, eight miles from Carthage, and having communicated with and received orders from Brig.-Gen. Sweeney, proceeded at once to attack them. He took up his line of march on the 3d, and on the morning of the 4th came upon the enemy, who were in great force.

The Federal command was about one thousand two hundred strong, including part of Colonel Salomon’s regiment. They met the enemy in camp on an open prairie, three miles beyond Dry Fork, and after approaching within eight hundred yards, took position. The artillery was placed in the front; two six-pounders on the left, two six and two twelve-pounders in the centre, and two six-pounders on the right.

The fight commenced about half-past nine, the balls and shells of the enemy flying over the Union troops, and exploding in the open prairie.

At eleven o’clock the rebel twelve-pounders were silenced, and much disorder visible. About two o’clock the enemy’s cavalry having attempted to outflank the Federal troops, they fell back upon their baggage trains to prevent their capture, Colonel Siegel changing his front. Proceeding in their retreat without serious casualty, they reached Dry Fork Creek, where eight hundred rebel cavalry had concentrated to cut them off; but a cross-fire of canister and shrapnell soon broke their ranks, and they fell into wild confusion. Thence the Federal troops proceeded toward Carthage. Just before entering the town, Siegel posted three companies at Buck Creek, while the residue, in two columns, made a circuit around the town, the artillery pouring in a well-directed fire on the pursuing enemy. Night was approaching as the retreating army passed through Carthage, while the rebel horsemen withdrew to the woods on the Mount Vernon road.

154Colonel Sigel, notwithstanding the great fatigue of the day—his men having been in action nearly twelve hours, and suffering severely from the heat and from lack of water—ordered his men to press on in retreat from Carthage. A forced march was made to Sarcoxie, in the south-east corner of Jasper county, (Carthage being the county seat,) a distance of twelve or fourteen miles. There they went into camp at three o’clock Saturday morning. In the afternoon of the next day, the retreat was continued to Mount Vernon, in Lawrence county, sixteen or eighteen miles east of Sarcoxie, where Siegel took a stand, and where his headquarters were located.

The Union loss was thirteen killed and thirty-one wounded; while, according to the most reliable accounts, the loss of the enemy could not have been less than three hundred in killed and wounded, and forty-five prisoners.

Before daylight, on the morning of the 10th, Colonel Smith, with about six hundred men of the Sixteenth Illinois Volunteers, while encamped near Monroe Station, thirty miles west of Hannibal, was attacked by one thousand six hundred rebels under the command of Governor Harris. After a successful skirmish with the enemy, Colonel Smith retired to the Academy buildings for greater security. Here he was again attacked by an increased force of the rebels, and again succeeded in repulsing them. Determined on keeping them at bay, he sent messengers to Hannibal and other places for reinforcements, while the long-range rifles of his men told with fearful effect on his besiegers, and rendered two inferior pieces of artillery which they had brought to bear on him of but little use.

Three companies from Hannibal arrived first to the rescue, with two pieces of cannon of superior power to that of the enemy, and Colonel Smith immediately assumed the offensive. Toward evening, a body of cavalry under the command of Governor Wood, of Illinois, arrived and fell upon the rear of the enemy, when the struggle soon ended, and the rebel besiegers fled, with a loss of thirty killed and wounded, seventy-five prisoners, one gun, and a large number of horses. Of the Union troops, but four or five were severely wounded—none killed.

General Lyon being thus compelled to act, and relying upon the steadiness and efficiency of his army and superior artillery, decided to meet the advancing foe with his small force, rather than retreat and leave a large district of country exposed to secession ravages. In order to meet the enemy on an open field he led his army as far south as Crane Creek, 10 miles below Springfield. The march commenced at 5 o’clock, on the afternoon of August 1st. The weather was intensely hot—the baggage wagons were scattered over a distance of three miles—the march slow, and one of great fatigue; and it was not until 10 o’clock that the camping ground was reached and the march ended, only to be resumed on the following morning, under a burning sun and with but a very scanty supply of water. Slight skirmishes occurred during the day, but the shells of Captain Totten’s battery caused a hasty retreat on the part of the rebels. On the arrival at Dug Springs the advance continued on, while the skirmishers maintained a brisk fire with the retreating pickets of the enemy; Captain Steele’s regular infantry taking the lead to the left, supported by a company of cavalry, the rest of the column being some distance in the rear. A body of rebel infantry were now seen approaching from the woods with the design of cutting off the Union forces. Captain Stanley drew up his cavalry, and opened upon them with Sharp’s carbines. It was a desperate undertaking to keep the rebels in check—scarce one hundred Union cavalry against more than five times that number of the enemy. The rebel infantry kept up the firing for some minutes, when an enthusiastic lieutenant, giving the order to “charge,” some twenty-five of the gallant regulars rushed forward upon the enemy’s lines, and, dashing aside the threatening 157bayonets of the sturdy rebels, hewed down the ranks with fearful slaughter. Captain Stanley, who was amazed at the temerity of the little band, was obliged to sustain the order, but before he could reach his company they had broken the ranks of the enemy, who outnumbered them as twenty to one. Some of the rebels who were wounded asked, in utter astonishment, “whether these were men or devils—they fight so?”

The ground was left in possession of the Unionists, strewed with arms, and the men were seizing the horses and mules that had been left, when a large force of the enemy’s cavalry were seen approaching—some three hundred or more. At the instant when they had formed, in an angle, Captain Totten, who had mounted a six and twelve-pounder upon the overlooking hill, sent a shell directly over them; in another minute, the second, a twelve-pound shell, landed at their feet, exploding, and scattering the whole body in disorder. The third, fourth, fifth and sixth were sent into their midst. The horsemen could not control their horses, and in a minute not an enemy was to be seen anywhere.

The Union loss was four killed and five wounded, one of whom subsequently died, while that of the enemy was very heavy, fully forty killed and an hundred wounded.

Having routed the enemy, General Lyon continued his march until he arrived at Curran, in Stone county, twenty-six miles from Springfield, where he encamped in order to avail himself of a choice of position. Here, from information that had been obtained of the opposing force and movements, a consultation was held with Generals Sweeney and Sigel, and Majors Schofield, Shepherd, Conant and Sturgis, and Captains Totten and Schaeffer, when it was determined to retire towards Springfield. The enemy was threatening a flank movement, and the necessity of keeping a communication open with Springfield was apparent to all the officers, and induced General Lyon to return to that point. An important consideration was, their provisions had to be transported one hundred miles—the depot being at Rolla—and the men were exhausted with the excessive heat, labors and privations of the campaign.

On the 5th of August they encamped at and near Springfield, and awaited the expected encounter with firm hearts, resolute bearing, and a determination to do or die.

While General Lyon and his noble associates were preparing to repel the anticipated attack of the forces of McCullough and Price, another event occurred that demands attention, and we turn to the town of 158Athens, situated on the Des Moines river, twenty-five or thirty miles from Keokuk, Iowa.

For three or four weeks that portion of Missouri had been in a state of anarchy. There had been no security for life or property, nor any effectual efforts made to enforce the laws and restore order. Actual force had not as yet been resorted to, but the secessionists, determining to drive the Unionists out of the country, had visited their houses in squads—insulted the women, and threatened death, both by the rifle and rope, unless their orders to leave the country were complied with. Union men and their families, thus kept in a state of perpetual alarm, in many instances abandoned their homes and possessions, and obeying the cruel command, left the State. Some determined men, however, resolved not to be trampled to the earth without resistance, and formed companies of “Home Guards;” but they were powerless to protect themselves or friends from assassination, and being scattered far apart, were almost useless in a sudden emergency. Day by day the rebels became more bold, until finally the Unionists went into camp, at the town of Cahokia, eighteen miles from the Mississippi, in Clarke county, about six hundred strong, with a brave commander who had seen service in Mexico. They soon received two hundred and forty stand of arms from St. Louis, and thus became, in a measure, prepared to protect themselves and sustain their country’s honor.

In the mean time, the rebels had formed a camp at Monticello, the county seat of Lewis county, about thirty miles south of Cahokia, under Martin Green, a brother of the ex-Senator.

A few days subsequently the Unionists received word that Green was about to attack them with eight hundred men, and sent to Keokuk and Warsaw for assistance. Keokuk did not respond, but the Warsaw Grays, Captain Coster, fifty in number, went over to the Union camp, though with the intention of acting only on the defensive; but no enemy appearing, Colonel Moore determined to rout the prowling bands of secessionists who were hovering around him, and for three days his men searched in vain to find an enemy to give them battle. Numerous secessionists were arrested, but liberated on taking the required oath, and Moore finally marched his command to Athens. A peace in the vicinity was proposed by the enemy, with the object of lulling the suspicions of the Union men, and inducing them to disperse; and through these influences the Colonel soon found his forces dwindled down to one-half their original number.

But Green had not been idle. Constant recruiting had increased his force to nearly fifteen hundred men, and he visited Scotland and Knox counties, driving out the loyal citizens, insulting and abusing their families, and committing fearful depredations upon them. At 159length it was evident that he was about to attack the Unionists at Athens, and again they sent to Keokuk for assistance. Seventy of the militia from that place went up to Croton, a small town on the Iowa side of the Des Moines river, opposite Athens, but refused to cross. Moore, however, received reinforcements until his command reached four hundred, and encamped in the town, awaiting the moment of action, with his main force stationed on a street parallel to, and his right and left wings extending to the river.

There and in this order the Federalists were attacked by a force of from twelve to fifteen hundred men, with no chance of retreat, except by fording a stream fully three hundred yards in width, and exposed to a murderous fire. They were without artillery, while the enemy had an eight-pounder, which was placed on the brow of the hill, in a position to rake the principal street, while two imitation guns were placed in sight, intended to inspire a fear, which few men of that little band were capable of experiencing. The attack opened between five and six o’clock in the morning. At its very commencement, Lieutenant-Colonel Callahan, who commanded a company of cavalry in the rebel ranks, retired across the river and continued his flight until he reached the Mississippi river at Montrose.

A portion of Moore’s infantry were also seized with a momentary panic, and fled across the river; but on seeing their companions stand firm, many returned and took part in the action. About three hundred only of the Unionists bore the brunt, and firm as regulars, delivered their fire with coolness and precision.

The fight, regular and irregular, lasted about an hour and a half, and then Colonel Moore led his centre to a charge, which routed the enemy, and left him and his brave associates undisputed masters of the field. The loss of the Unionists was ten killed and the same number wounded, and that of the rebels fourteen killed and forty wounded.

General Lyon having returned to Springfield after his expedition to Curran, found himself greatly embarrassed by his position, and was forced by circumstances to determine the question whether he should, with his inferior force, give battle to the enemy now pressing upon him, or attempt a retreat to Rolla, encumbered with an immense train, and exposed to the probability of being compelled to defend himself at any point on the route where they might see fit to attack him. Their cavalry force was large, and with this they could by their celerity of 160movement cut off his communication and flank him whenever disposed. His appeals for reinforcements had not been granted, yet he was daily indulging the hope that he would soon be furnished a sufficient force to enable him to meet the enemy with a reasonable prospect of success. The days were passing on, the enemy was drawing nearer, and General Lyon was compelled to make his decision. The alternative was before him, either to retreat and leave the finest section of the State open to the ravages of the enemy, or make the attempt to expel the foe, even though he might sacrifice his own army in the effort. On the afternoon of the ninth of August, he held a consultation with his officers, when after a full discussion of the question, it was deemed advisable to attack the enemy in his camp at Wilson’s Creek, nine miles south of Springfield. The attack was to be made simultaneously by two columns, at daylight on the following morning, Saturday the 10th; the first under command of General Lyon and the second under General Sigel.

The rebel leaders were Generals Sterling Price, Ben McCulloch and Brigadier-General John B. Clark. Somewhat singularly, both parties had planned an attack at the same hour, but the darkness of the night induced the rebels to postpone their movement. Their tents were pitched on either side of Wilson’s Creek, extending a mile east and south of the road, crossing to two miles west and north of the same, the creek running nearly in the shape of a horizontal ᔕ. At the crossing of the Fayette road the hills on each side of the stream are from two to three hundred feet high, sloping gently on the north, and abrupt to the south side. The valley is about half a mile wide.

While on the verge of this, his last engagement, General Lyon was impressed with a sad presentiment—not regarding his own fate—but a fear for his brave command. A terrible responsibility rested upon him. With no adequate strength with which to cope with the enemy, hemmed in and growing weaker every day, his position was both perilous and painful. Unsupported, with his cry for help passed over, he saw nothing before him but the barren satisfaction of dying, bravely performing his duty, and protecting to the last the little army that he felt to be doomed. With these feelings—sadly bitter they must have been—this glorious man entered upon his last battle field.

The following day was one of remarkable quiet, and enlistments in the Springfield regiment went on rapidly. During the afternoon, Captain Woods’ Kansas cavalry, with one or two companies of regulars, drove five hundred rebel rangers from the prairie west of the town, capturing eight and killing two men, without loss on their part.

At eight o’clock in the evening, General Sigel, with six pieces of artillery and part of Colonel Salomon’s command, moved southward, marching until near two o’clock, and passing around the extreme camp 161of the enemy, where he halted, ready to press forward as soon as he should be apprised by the roar of General Lyon’s artillery that the attack had begun. The main body, under General Lyon, had moved at the same time, and halted about five miles west of the city, from whence, after resting, they proceeded again about four miles in a south-westerly direction, and slept until 4 A. M. on Saturday, the day of battle.

At five o’clock the pickets of the enemy were driven in, and the northern end of the valley, with its thousands of tents and camp-fires, became visible, and this most destructive battle, when the numbers engaged are considered, commenced. The roar of the artillery was terrible,—the rattling of the musketballs was like a storm of great hailstones, and the clash of steel like hammers ringing on countless anvils.

Riding forward in the thick of the fight, his war-horse bearing him more proudly than usual that fatal day, General Lyon performed the work of a dozen heroes. A stern sadness was on his face—a resolute fire burned in the gray depths of his eyes. Twice was he wounded, leading on his men, and his war-steed fell under him, pierced to the heart with a bullet. Those who loved him grew anxious for his safety, for there was something wonderful in the steady courage that made him forget the wounds that would have driven another man from the field.

A member of his staff approached him as he stood by his dead horse, and seeing blood upon his forehead, asked if he was hurt.

“I think not seriously,” he answered; and mounting another horse, he plunged again into the terrible melee.

At one time, when the whirlwind of battle was at its height, General Lyon desired his men to prepare for a charge, and the Iowans at once volunteered to go, and asked for a leader. On came the enemy, crushing in their strength, and there was no time for choice.

“I will lead you,” exclaimed the impetuous and fearless General. “Come on, brave boys,” said he, as he took his position in the van, while General Sweeney prepared to lead on a portion of the Kansas troops, and the serried ranks of glittering deadly steel resistlessly moved on.

In the very act of leading those valiant men, with his hand uplifted in an effort to cheer them on, and his noble face turned partly to his command, but not altogether away from the enemy, a bullet pierced him, and he fell, regretted not only by his devoted little army, but by every man, woman and child who ever heard how bravely he fought for the flag they love.

The battle continued from six until eleven o’clock, with but little cessation; and then the gallant Unionists, overwhelmed by superior numbers, were forced to retreat. In good order they accomplished it, and the enemy made no attempt to follow, though their combined forces 162amounted to about 20,000, while General Lyon’s command did not exceed one-quarter of that number.

DEATH OF GENERAL LYON.

The Federal loss was 223 killed, 721 wounded and 292 missing; the rebel loss, (McCulloch’s report,) 265 killed, 800 wounded, 30 missing; Price’s report of Missouri troops, 156 killed and 517 wounded.

The death of the brave General Lyon was universally deplored. Countless were the tributes to his memory, and deep the sorrow when his body was borne homeward, surrounded with military honors. From amid the murky smoke and fearful glare of battle his soul was called home—the flashing eye dimmed—the good right hand unnerved, and the fiery spirit, that scorned danger and hated treason, was quenched forever.

Brigadier-General Nathaniel Lyon was born in the State of Connecticut, in the year 1818, and entered the military academy at West Point in 1837, where he graduated four years afterwards with the rank of Second-Lieutenant of the Second Infantry. In February, 1847, he was made First-Lieutenant, and for gallant conduct in the battles of Contreras and Cherubusco, during the following August, was breveted Captain. On the 13th of September he was severely wounded in a 163most desperate assault, and in June, 1851, was promoted to a captaincy, which rank he held at the time of the troubles in Kansas. As has been stated, he was in command of the Missouri Volunteers at the capture of Camp Jackson, and was for his well-proven bravery and eminent ability, promoted to the rank which he held at the time of his death. In personal appearance he was about five feet and eight inches in height, his frame wiry and muscular. His hair was long and thick, his whiskers sandy and heavy, and his eyes of a blueish gray. His forehead was high and broad, with a firm expression of the lips, and a countenance that indicated an intellect of no ordinary capacity. He was a strict disciplinarian, endeared to his soldiers, and universally regretted by the whole country which followed him to the grave with deep and mournful affection. In his will, made before he started on his last campaign, he left his entire property to the country for which he gave his life.

The Federal troops remained in Springfield until Monday morning, and then started on their retreat towards Rolla, unmolested by the rebels. The enemy entered the town immediately after its evacuation by the Federal forces, having suffered the loss of a large portion of their tents, baggage and camp stores by the attack of Sigel.

Hundreds of the inhabitants of this section were now compelled to leave their homes, and the exiles were seen every day on the roads leading to St. Louis, fleeing for refuge beyond the lines of the insurgents, plundered of everything and destitute, having been forced to abandon their homes and property to save their lives.

The loyal people who remained were favored with proclamations by McCulloch and Price, which abounded in abuse and misrepresentation of the Federal army, and were filled with professions and promises which strikingly contrasted with their administration and conduct.

This calamity was not merely disastrous by its positive loss, but it gave a prestige of success to the rebel leaders, and afforded an opportunity for them to increase the spirit of rebellion among the people, as well as to nerve themselves to other enterprises. On the 17th, fifteen hundred recruits had assembled in Saline county, and were preparing to join General Price, or to engage in local operations in the surrounding counties. On the 18th, about one thousand men from Chariton county crossed the Missouri at Brunswick, with a large number of horses and wagons, on their march to join Price’s division.

The rebels were so much elated with the death of General Lyon and the abandonment of Springfield by the Federal troops, that they became more reckless than ever in their depredations and persecutions of the loyal citizens. In St. Louis on the 14th, after the retreat became 164known, they became so bold and defiant that General Fremont proclaimed martial law, and appointed Major J. McKinstry as Provost-Marshal.

On the 20th, a train on the Hannibal and St. Joseph’s railroad was fired into, and one soldier killed and six wounded. The train was immediately stopped, and two of the guerrillas were killed and five captured.

Five days afterwards, on the 25th, Governor Gamble issued a proclamation calling for forty-two thousand volunteers to defend the State, restore peace and subdue the insurrection; the term of service to be six months, unless sooner discharged.

Kentucky occupies a central position among the States, and is about four hundred miles in length, by one hundred and seventy in width at the widest point, where the State stretches from the boundary of Tennessee across to Covington, opposite Cincinnati, on the Ohio river. This river, from the Virginia line, follows a circuitous course along the Kentucky border, a distance of six hundred and thirty-seven miles, until it flows into the Mississippi at Cairo. The Cumberland and Tennessee rivers pass through the western part of the State, as they approach their confluence with the Ohio. Big Sandy river, two hundred and fifty miles in length, forms for a considerable distance the boundary between Kentucky and Virginia. The Kentucky river rises in the Cumberland Mountains and falls into the Ohio river fifty miles above Louisville. These geographical facts are necessary to a perfect understanding of the struggles in that State, and are worthy of remembrance.

When the President of the United States, on the 15th of April, 1861, issued his proclamation, in which the Governors of the States that had not already committed themselves to the cause of secession, were called upon to furnish their quota of seventy-five thousand men for the national defence, Beriah Magoffin, Governor of Kentucky, replied by saying, that, “Kentucky will furnish no troops for the wicked purpose of subduing her sister States.”

This act was looked upon with both sorrow and surprise by the loyal people of that State, and was hailed with delight by the Confederate Government at Montgomery. The rebel Secretary of War congratulated Governor Magoffin on his “patriotic” response, informed him that Virginia needed aid, and requested him to send forward a regiment of infantry without delay to Harper’s Ferry. Though sympathizing with the enemies of the Union, Governor Magoffin was not prepared to set at defiance the wishes of the people of Kentucky, and 165commit himself unqualifiedly to the work of overthrowing the Federal Government.

Many of the prominent men of Kentucky, including a large number of the wealthy citizens, were zealous in the promotion of the secession interests. The most indefatigable efforts were made by them to force the State into the ranks of the revolted States, and thousands of her young men were induced to enlist, and encamp on the adjoining borders of Tennessee, waiting for the hour when they could sweep Kentucky with the rush of armed battalions, and overwhelm her peace and prosperity with the clash of arms, and the thunders of artillery. The loyal sentiment was, however, in the ascendant, although it was subdued and overawed to a considerable extent. Between the two forces, therefore, it was deemed expedient by her rulers that Kentucky should hold a neutral position, and not ally herself with either the Federal or the Confederate interest.

To render this neutrality more certain, on the 8th of June, General S. B. Buckner, then the acknowledged commander of the State militia, entered into negotiations with General McClellan, at Cincinnati, the terms of which stipulated that Kentucky should protect the United States property, and enforce all the United States laws within her limits—that her neutrality should be respected by the Federal army, even though the Southern forces should occupy her soil; “but in the latter case General McClellan should call upon the authorities of the State to remove the said Southern forces from her territory;” if the State were unable to accomplish this, then the Federal forces might be called in.

This negative position was found, however, to be one of positive advantage and aid to the traitors. They desired to secure a “masterly inactivity” on the part of loyal men, of which they might avail themselves by secret organizations. Taking advantage of this confessed neutrality, large numbers of the young men of Kentucky were enticed into Buckner’s camp; while bodies of men from Tennessee were thrown into several localities in the southern and western portions of the State, and boldly avowed their determination to march on Frankfort, the capital, and revolutionize the State. Home Guards were organized by the loyal men, and it became apparent, that if the tide were not resisted by active measures, there was no security for Kentucky.

The election for members of the Legislature, however, early in August, the result of which showed an overwhelming majority in favor of the Union, signed the death-warrant of neutrality, and thenceforth Kentucky was regarded as loyal to the Union. The Legislature assembled at Frankfort on the 5th of September, ordered the United States flag to be hoisted on the court-house, and proceeded to adopt various measures calculated to promote the Union cause in the State.

166

SECTION OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

SHOWING THE DISTANCES FROM NEW ORLEANS.

167

SECTION OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

SHOWING THE DISTANCES FROM NEW ORLEANS.

168The great Union majority now revealed gave such decided evidence that Kentucky was not likely to be seduced from her loyalty, that the secessionists became convinced of the necessity of accomplishing their purpose by other means. The rebel forces were, therefore, ordered to take possession of several important points, which they did on the 4th of September, and commenced fortifying Hickman and Columbus—the former being in the western part of the State, near the line, and the latter some twenty-five miles further north, on the Mississippi river. Generals Pillow and Polk now took command of the rebel troops, and were soon reinforced, their combined forces amounting to thirteen regiments of artillery, six field batteries, a siege battery, three battalions of cavalry, three steamers, and a gunboat. In the mean time, Jefferson Thompson, with two regiments, took possession of Belmont, on the Missouri side, opposite Columbus. The assumed neutrality having thus been broken by this invasion, the Federal commander, General U. S. Grant, then at Cairo, Illinois, lost no time in making a movement to intercept the further progress of the rebels northward. He accordingly sent a sufficient force up the Ohio, to the mouth of the Tennessee river, and effected

On Thursday evening, the 5th of September, the gunboats Tyler and Conestoga were ordered to convey the troops to Paducah. The Ninth Illinois, under the gallant Major Philips, and the Twelfth Illinois, Colonel John McArthur, with four pieces of Smith’s Chicago Artillery, under Lieutenant Charles Willard, embarked on the steamers G. W. Graham and W. H. B., and left Cairo at 11 o’clock, P. M., the gunboat Tyler, Captain Rogers, leading, and the Conestoga, Captain Phelps, in the rear. The fleet pushed out into the stream amid the cheers of thousands of spectators, and steamed grandly up the Ohio.

They reached Paducah about eight o’clock, A. M., on Friday, the 6th. The troops were speedily disembarked. Colonel McArthur’s regiment landed at the Marine Hospital, in the lower part of the city, and the Ninth at the foot of Main street. The Twelfth found quarters at the hospital, and the Ninth repaired to the depot of the Ohio and New Orleans railroad. The citizens were sullen and unfriendly, and closed their places of business.

On arriving at the depot the troops found that the rolling stock of the road had all been removed, but a large quantity of stores for the confederate army was discovered, and promptly seized. They were marked for Memphis, New Orleans, and other points south, and were worth about $20,000.

169Captain Rogers immediately took possession of the telegraph office. The post-office was next visited, and a large amount of rebel correspondence secured. Five companies of infantry, and a battery of Smith’s Light Artillery, Lieutenant Willard, were sent under Major Philips down the railroad about seven miles without meeting any of the rebel troops. Pillow was reported to be advancing, and a large bridge and trestle work were burnt to prevent him from reaching Paducah and falling upon the place by surprise.

A rumor became current that a large force of rebels from Tennessee were on their way down the Tennessee river in steamboats. To ascertain the facts, and to intercept their progress, the gunboat Conestoga was dispatched up the river some thirteen miles to watch the rebel movements, and to capture suspicious vessels. Although no hostile forces were seen, a steamer was discovered on Friday, which, on seeing the Conestoga, turned about, was run ashore, and the officers and crew abandoned her. It was the Jefferson, a small stern-wheel boat, loaded with a cargo of tobacco. On Saturday the Conestoga captured a fine propeller, called the John Gault, and a boat called the Pocahontas, belonging to John Bell, of Tennessee. The prizes were all safely taken to Cairo.

The inhabitants of Paducah were now seized with panic, and large numbers left the town, apprehending an attack from Pillow, in which case they expected the gunboats would freely use shell. On Saturday part of Colonel Oglesby’s Eighth regiment, the Forty-first Illinois, and the American Zouave regiment, from Cape Girandeau, entered the town, increasing the forces to about 5,000 men.

On the 9th of September a dispatch from General Polk to Governor Magoffin was laid before the Legislature, the substance of which was that he had occupied Columbus and Hickman, on account of reliable information that the Federal forces were about to possess those points; that he considered the safety of Western Tennessee and of the rebel army in the vicinity of Hickman and Columbus demanded their occupation, and that, as a corroboration of that information, the Federal troops had been drawn up in line on the river opposite to Columbus prior to its occupation by them, causing many of the citizens of Columbus to flee from their homes for fear of the entrance of the Federal troops. General Polk proposed substantially that the Federal and rebel forces should be simultaneously withdrawn from Kentucky, and to enter into recognizances and stipulations to respect the neutrality of the State.

But it was well known that the cry of neutrality was only an invention of the enemy to work his plans in Kentucky, so that when the appointed time should come Kentucky would swarm with rebels from 170Tennessee and Virginia; and two days afterwards both branches of the Legislature, by a vote of 71 to 26, adopted a resolution directing the Governor to issue a proclamation ordering the rebel troops then encamped in the State to evacuate Kentucky. A counter-resolution, ordering both Federal and rebel troops to leave the soil, was negatived under the rules of order. Governor Magoffin accordingly issued a proclamation to the effect that “the government of the Confederate States, the State of Tennessee, and all others concerned, are hereby informed that Kentucky expects the Confederate or Tennessee troops to be withdrawn from her soil unconditionally.”

After this decisive action of the Legislature, which effectually destroyed the hopes entertained by the conspirators of obtaining a semblance of legal authority for their designs, their next expedient was to hold an informal meeting at Russelville, a small town in the southern portion of the State, on the 29th of October. Here they drew up a declaration of grievances, in which they charged the majority of the Legislature with having betrayed their solemn trust, by inviting into the State the “armies of Lincoln,” with having abdicated the government in favor of a military despotism, and thrown upon the people and the State the horrors and ravages of war. They recommended the immediate arming of a “Guard” in each county, of not less than one hundred men, to be paid as Confederate troops, subject to the orders of the “Commanding General.” Finally, they called for a Convention to be held at Russelville, on the 18th of November, to be “elected, or appointed in any manner possible,” by the people of the several counties, for the purpose of “severing forever our connection with the Federal Government.”

John C. Breckinridge, late Vice President of the United States, was appointed one of the commissioners to carry out the orders of the convention. This Convention met at the time designated, composed of about two hundred persons, professing to represent sixty-five counties, though self-appointed, and without any form of election. On the 20th of November they adopted a “Declaration of Independence, and an Ordinance of Secession,” and appointed a “Provisional Government, consisting of a Governor, and a Legislative Council of Ten,” and dispatched H. C. Burnett, W. E. Simms, and William Preston, as commissioners to the Confederate States. On the 9th of December, the “Congress’” of the Confederate States, in session at Richmond, passed an “Act for the admission of the State of Kentucky into the Confederate States of America,” as a member “on equal footing with the other States of the Confederacy.”

171George W. Johnson, of Scott county, who was chosen as Provisional Governor, by the Convention, in his “Message,” declared his willingness to resign “whenever the regularly elected Governor [Magoffin] should escape from his virtual imprisonment at Frankfort.”

Governor Magoffin, in a letter, dated December 13, 1861, says of this Convention, “I condemn its action in unqualified terms. Situated as it was, and without authority from the people, it cannot be justified by similar revolutionary acts in other States, by minorities to overthrow the State Governments. My position is, and has been, and will continue to be, to abide by the will of the majority of the people of the State, to stand by the Constitution and laws of the State of Kentucky, as expounded by the Supreme Court of the State, and by the Constitution and laws of the United States, as expounded by the Supreme Court of the United States. To this position I shall cling in this trying hour as the last hope of society and of constitutional liberty.”

While Pillow and Polk were invading the south-western part of the State, General Zollicoffer was operating in the east. With some six thousand rebels he came to Cumberland Ford—which is situated near the point where the corner of Virginia runs into Kentucky—capturing a company of Home Guards. On the 17th of September the Legislature received a message from Governor Magoffin communicating a telegraphic dispatch from General Zollicoffer, announcing that the safety of Tennessee demanded the occupation of Cumberland and the three long mountains in Kentucky, and that he had occupied them, and should retain his position until the Federal forces were withdrawn and the Federal camp broken up.

That portion of Kentucky lying west of the Cumberland river was then declared under insurrectionary control, and Secretary Chase instructed the Surveyor at Cairo to prevent all commercial intercourse with that section, and to search all baggage and all persons going thither. Just about the same time the gunboat Conestoga captured the rebel steamers Stephenson and Gazelle, on the Cumberland, and one of them was found to contain one hundred tons of iron.

When the seditious plans of General Buckner became too plain for concealment, the Legislature found it necessary to depose him from the command of the State troops, and General Thomas L. Crittenden, a loyal citizen, was appointed to fill that position. Governor Magoffin, in obedience to the resolutions and the enactments of the Legislature, promptly issued a proclamation, authorizing that officer to execute the 172purposes contemplated by the resolutions of the Legislature in reference to the expulsion of the invaders, and General Crittenden ordered the military to muster forthwith into service. Hamilton Pope, Brigadier-General of the Home Guard (Union), called on the people of each ward in Louisville to meet and organize into companies for the protection of the city.

Great excitement existed at this time in Louisville. The Union Home Guards began to assemble, while other Union forces were arriving and being sent to different portions of the State. At nine o’clock on the morning of the 18th, when the Government troops reached Rolling Fork, five miles north of Muldragh’s Hill, they found that the bridge over the fork had been burned by rebels under General Buckner, who were then upon the hill.

The Legislature passed, over the veto of the Governor, a resolution to the effect that, as the rebels had invaded Kentucky and insolently dictated the terms upon which they would retire, General Robert Anderson, the hero of Fort Sumter, one of Kentucky’s sons, should be invited to take instant charge of that department, and that the Governor must call out a sufficient force to expel the invaders from her soil. General Anderson, who had been previously appointed by the Government to command in Kentucky, responded to the call, and on the 21st of September issued a proclamation calling upon the people of Kentucky to rally to the support of the Union.

General S. B. Buckner, who had previously acted under neutrality pretences, now gradually assumed an attitude of hostility, and in September was openly arrayed against the Government. On the 12th he issued an inflammatory proclamation to the people of Kentucky, in which he declared that he sought to make no war upon the Union, but only against the tyranny and despotism of the Federal Government, which was about to make the people of Kentucky slaves. By such means as these he aimed to arouse the freemen of that State to arms and to rebellion. The proclamation was dated at Russelville, while he was entrenching a position at Bowling Green, about thirty miles from the Tennessee line, on the Louisville and Nashville railroad.

Very soon the Government formed a new department, consisting of Ohio, Indiana, and that part of Kentucky within a commanding distance of Cincinnati, placing it under the charge of General Mitchell, in order to relieve General Rosecranz in Western Virginia and General Anderson of a part of their responsibility, and enable them to give greater attention to their own specific departments. The department under General Anderson seemed to require similar military discipline to that of Annapolis and Maryland, and, as a commencement, Martin W. Barr, the telegraphic news reporter of the Southern Associated Press, the medium for the transmission of correspondence from traitors at the North to rebels in the South, was arrested, together with ex-Governor Morehead and Reuben T. Murrett, one of the proprietors of the Courier, a rebel sheet.

173

175The State had now become a portion of the ground which was to be so fiercely contested. Rebel journals and leaders made no concealment of their purpose to wrest Kentucky from the Union at every hazard. The Ohio river was to be the boundary of the Southern empire, and notwithstanding the emphatic voice of her people, all the energy of the combined forces of the rebel armies were to be brought to bear upon the work. The fact could be no longer disguised from the people, and the loyal men, finding that their patience and confidence in the disloyal portion, with their previous consent to a negative position of neutrality, were in vain, boldly declared that the time had come to arouse and resist the impending ruin. The attempt of the conspirators of the Cotton States to make Kentucky the battle-field, along with Virginia, was to be defeated at every cost, and the people, rising to a comprehension of their responsibility, hastened to the work of organization and defence.

Among the loyal men of the State to whom the highest honor is due for their bold and stirring advocacy of the Union, and for the most summary measures which patriotism and honor could dictate, were Hon. Joseph Holt, and Hon. Lovell S. Rousseau, of the State Senate, and the gifted divine, R. J. Breckinridge, D.D.

At the commencement of hostilities the Government was unprepared to meet the naval requirements incident to the contest which had so suddenly been forced upon it. The necessity of a stringent blockade of the entire southern coast had become apparent; while the protection and supply of the naval stations in the rebel States still in possession of our forces, and the recapture of those which had been seized, required a navy vastly greater than that at the command of the Government; and no time was lost in preparing as far as practicable to meet this emergency.

Long before the attack on Fort Sumter, the enemy had given evidence of a determination forcibly to destroy their relations with the Government by seizing the revenue cutters belonging to the United States stationed in the harbors of Charleston, Pensacola and New Orleans, contemporaneously with their appropriation of the forts, arsenals, marine depots and other property belonging to the Government within the limits of the disloyal States.

Immediately upon the opening of hostilities, and to give the pretence 176of law and authority to the proceedings now determined on, Jefferson Davis, on the 17th of April, 1861, by proclamation, invited men of every class, without regard to nationality, to become privateers under letters of marque, to be issued by the Confederate Government.

A “reward” of twenty dollars was offered by the Confederate Congress for every life taken by these privateers in conflict with a Federal vessel, and twenty-five dollars for each prisoner. In view of the extensive commerce of the United States, the large number of vessels sailing to all parts of the world, and the supposed inefficiency of our navy, confident expectations were entertained by the rebels of a rich harvest of wealth from this source, as well as of the destruction of our commerce. The hope was also indulged that many vessels would be secretly fitted out in northern ports to engage in this enterprise. This hope soon proved to be futile; while the want of proper vessels for the service in their own ports, and the scarcity of able seamen, and, more potent than either, the rigorous blockade that was soon established, presented insurmountable obstacles to their plans. The English Government, by the Queen’s proclamation of June 1, decided that privateers should not take prizes to any of her ports; and France and Spain also declared that such vessels should remain but twenty-four hours within their harbors, and prohibited either confiscation or sale during such stay.

The first offensive act of the war on the part of our navy was the attack on Sewall’s Point battery, in Virginia, on May 18, 1861. This battery, then not completed, was situated at the mouth of Elizabeth river, commanding also the entrance to James river. On the 18th the United States steamer Star, two guns, and transport Freeborn, of four guns, opened their fire and dislodged the enemy from their entrenchments. During the night, however, the works were repaired and occupied by a larger force. On the following day the steamer Star again opened fire on them, and after exhausting her ammunition retired.

On the 31st of May, the United States steamers Thomas Freeborn, Anacosta and Resolute attacked the rebel batteries at the railroad terminus at Acquia Creek. As the tide was out, the vessels could not approach near enough to accomplish their reduction. On the following day the fire was renewed by the vessels, under command of Captain Ward, and returned by the enemy with spirit from three batteries on the shore, and one on the heights above. They were soon driven from the shore batteries, but that on the hill was at an elevation which could not be reached by shot from the gunboats. The vessels were struck several times, with but little damage, and two men were wounded. The loss of the enemy was not ascertained.

On the 6th of June, while reconnoitering on the James river, the steamer Harriet Lane discovered a heavy battery at Pigs Point, at the 177mouth of the Nansemond river, opposite Newport News. She opened fire on it to discover its character, and finding from the response that it was too formidable for her guns, she withdrew, having five men wounded in the encounter.

On the 27th of June, Commander J. H. Ward of the steamer Freeborn, accompanied by a party of men from the Pawnee, under Lieutenant Chaplin, who were engaged in erecting a breastwork at Matthias Point, on the Potomac, were attacked by a large force of the enemy. The men on shore were exposed to a galling fire, but made good their retreat in their boats, three only being wounded, taking all their arms and implements with them. Commander Ward immediately opened fire from his vessel on the attacking party, and drove them to cover. While sighting one of the guns of the Freeborn, Commander Ward was struck by a rifle ball, mortally wounded, and died within an hour.

Captain James H. Ward was born in the year 1806, in the city of Hartford, Connecticut. His early days were spent in the usual studies of youth, and on the 4th of March, 1823, he entered the United States service, sailing as midshipman, under Commodore McDonough, in the frigate Constitution. After serving faithfully for four years with McDonough, he was promoted to the position of lieutenant, and was for some time attached to the Mediterranean service. Many years of his life were spent on the coast of Africa, and he was also in the gulf, as commander of the United States steamer Vixen. Nearly all his naval life was spent on the ocean. For some time he had a very responsible professorship in the naval school at Annapolis, and later was in command of the receiving ship North Carolina. His talents were not entirely devoted to naval affairs, for he is well known as an author by his works, entitled “Steam for the Million,” “Ordnance and Gunnery,” and “Naval Tactics.” The news of his death brought sorrow to many, and his memory is safely embalmed in the heart of an appreciating nation.

The first naval achievement of the war which was attended with any important result was the successful attack of the fleet under Commodore Stringham, accompanied by General B. F. Butler, and his land forces, upon Forts Hatteras and Clark, at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina.

178

ATLANTIC COAST FROM FORTRESS MONROE TO FORT MACON.

179The whole length of the Atlantic coast from Chesapeake Bay to Charleston has a peculiar character. A long line of low, sandy beaches, of variable width and elevation, rise above the surface of the ocean, broken at occasional intervals by a passage, ordinarily of shallow depth of water, communicating from the open sea with the lagoons inside. These bodies of water, by the indentations of the main land and the mouths of the rivers, expand into large bays, of which Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds are the principal. These two form capacious highways of safe and easy communication along the coast, and through the Dismal Swamp Canal connect with the Chesapeake Bay, on the north, at Norfolk, Va.

At the south-western extremity of the long, narrow island or beach, the outer angle of which has received the name of Cape Hatteras, and which gives its name to the inlet, the rebels had erected two strong fortifications known as Forts Hatteras and Clark. Captain Samuel Barron, late of the United States navy, was here in command of the naval forces, while Colonel William F. Martin, of the Seventh North Carolina Volunteers, and Major W. S. G. Andrews, commanded the garrisons.

Hatteras Inlet was one of the principal passages through which the vessels of the Confederacy made their way, in defiance of the blockade, and which it was desirable to command with the Federal forces and fleet. An expedition was accordingly planned, and the preparations were far advanced when General Wool reached Fortress Monroe. All things having been made ready, on the 26th of August, the fleet, under Commodore S. H. Stringham, left Hampton Roads for its destination. It consisted of the flag-ship Minnesota, Captain G. A. Van Brune, having in company the United States steamers Wabash, Captain Samuel Mercer; Monticello, Commander John P. Gillis; Pawnee, Commander S. C. Rowan; Harriet Lane, Captain John Faunce; United States chartered steamers Adelaide, Commander Henry S. Stellwagen; George Peabody, Lieutenant R. B. Lowry; and tug Fanny, Lieutenant Pierce Crosby, all of the United States navy. The transports Adelaide and George Peabody, towing schooners with surf-boats on them, and the Monticello and Pawnee surf-boats only.

General Butler embarked his land forces on the two transports Adelaide and George Peabody, having with him five hundred of the Twentieth New York regiment, Colonel Weber; two hundred and twenty of the New York Ninth regiment, Colonel Hawkins; one hundred of the Union Coast Guard, Captain Nixon; and sixty of the United States Second Artillery, Lieutenant Larned.

The expedition left Fortress Monroe on Monday, the 26th, at one o’clock, P. M., and the last vessel had arrived at Hatteras Inlet by four o’clock on Tuesday afternoon. Preparations for landing troops were made the same evening, and at daylight the next morning dispositions were made for an attack upon the forts by the fleet, and the landing of the troops.

A series of active events in Western Virginia now claim our attention.

Governor Wise, on hearing of the death of General Garnett, and the defeat and dispersion of his army, commenced a retreat up the Kanawha, cautiously followed by General Cox. He intended to make a stand at Gauley’s Bridge, at the junction of Gauley and Kanawha rivers, and had erected defences for that purpose; but in consequence of the demoralization and desertion of his men, and learning that General Rosecranz had dispatched a large force to intercept him, he fled without fighting, on the 28th of July, destroying the bridge to cut off his pursuers. He left behind him a thousand muskets, and a quantity of powder, which were seized by General Cox. Early in the month of August, General Floyd was reinforced by fresh troops from the eastern 183section of the State, while Jackson was also advancing with a new army to attack the position of Rosecranz at the Cheat Mountain Pass, and General Loring, another rebel commander, was marching towards Huttonsville to act in conjunction with Jackson’s forces.

On the morning of the 26th of August, the Seventh Ohio regiment, Colonel Tyler, attached to General Cox’s brigade, had just encamped at a position in the mountains called Cross Lanes, near Summersville, about twenty-four miles from Gauley Bridge, and eighteen from Twenty-mile Creek, where the main body of General Cox’s forces were.

While at breakfast they were surrounded and attacked in front and on both flanks simultaneously, by a rebel force of three thousand infantry, four hundred cavalry, and ten guns. Colonel Tyler’s men were immediately formed for battle, and fought bravely, though in an almost hopeless position. The enemy proving too powerful, the Colonel dispatched an orderly to the baggage train, which was coming up, but three miles distant, and turned it back towards General Cox’s camp, where it arrived in safety. The regiment met the advancing foe with desperate valor, and finally succeeded in cutting their way through the superior force by whom they were encompassed, Lieutenant-Colonel Creighton capturing the enemy’s colors and two prisoners in their progress. The ranks were much broken, and companies B, C and I suffered severely. The line was soon formed again, and prepared for a renewal of the attack, but they were permitted to make good their retreat without further molestation. Captains Dyer, Shurtleff and Sterling, Adjutant De Forrest, Lieutenant Narrent, and Sergeant-Major King were killed. The total loss is reported at fifteen killed, forty wounded, and thirty prisoners. The loss of the enemy is not known, but could not have been less.

More than a month had now elapsed since General Rosecranz had been entrusted with the Federal command in Western Virginia, and the commanders of the hostile forces had been intently watching the movements of the opposing armies, anxious for an opportunity to strike a decisive blow.

From his headquarters at Clarksburg, General Rosecranz moved forward 184to resume active operations, and at two principal points the enemy prepared to give him battle. The popular impression was that he intended to attack General Lee, at Cheat Mountain Gap, his nearest and most accessible opponent, then held in check by General Reynolds. Floyd had been permitted to cross the mountains at Summersville, and was known to be then in the Kanawha region, some eighty or a hundred miles distant, where it was the intention of the Federal commander to seek him. It was not until Monday, the 9th of September, that the General reached Birch river, where he concentrated his force, drawn from various encampments, and which had marched in detached bodies to the rendezvous appointed. After leaving the valley of the Big Birch the route lay through a mountainous and densely wooded country, infested with guerrillas, who gave them much annoyance; and as no reliable guide accompanied the army, Rosecranz was obliged to rely chiefly upon the inhabitants for information of the geographical and topographical features of the country. The position of Floyd’s forces was also unknown to him, and it was not until he had reached Cross Lanes, eight miles from Summersville, that he received reliable information that the enemy was strongly posted somewhere in the range of hills that line either side of the Gauley river, immediately facing that village. Floyd was known to be advised of the approach of the Federal army, as his scouts and skirmishers had been encountered frequently on the previous day, and it was the plan of Rosecranz to carefully reconnoitre the position of the enemy before advancing any considerable force within range of his guns; but the eager and importunate requests of various officers, as well as the impetuosity of the men, urged him forward.

Colonel McCook was first sent with a squadron of Chicago cavalry to Carnifex ferry, by a road which led through ravines to the Gauley river. In an attempt to destroy a boat found here he was fired upon by the enemy, who were out of range of the carbines of the cavalry. To overcome this opposition, he dispatched a man asking that ten infantry should be sent to his aid. By some mistake the whole of Colonel Lytle’s Tenth Ohio, an Irish regiment, came hurrying down, eager for a fight, and opened fire on the woods on the opposite side that speedily banished the enemy. Colonel Lytle’s regiment continued in the advance, acting as skirmishers, and shortly drove in a detachment of the rebels from an exposed camp on the left, of the road. This road was very narrow, and shut in to the very wagon tracks with the jungle of underbrush.

General Rosecranz, who was still ignorant of the precise position of the enemy, or of the nature of his entrenchments, now sent orders to General Benham that Lytle should proceed down this road to make a 185reconnoissance, to be supported, if necessary, by the remainder of Benham’s brigade. Lytle was still a mile in advance of the rest of the brigade, pushing cautiously forward, with companies A, B, C and E, as skirmishers. They suddenly found themselves in front of some kind of fortification, and the enemy discovered them at the same time. At first there was sharp and scattered firing, when suddenly a terrific crash of musketry was followed by a storm of bullets. The enemy had opened along his whole front. The remainder of the Tenth was hurried forward to support the advance, and General Benham sent orders for the Thirteenth, Colonel Smith, and the Twelfth, Colonel Lowe, to come forward. The Federal troops stood their ground with the greatest heroism, in the face of a heavy battery. The firing on either side was not effective; and though the Tenth suffered severely, the loss was not great.

The Thirteenth, Colonel Smith, came in on the left, a little in the rear of the Tenth, and deploying towards Floyd’s right, opened in fine style. In the thickest of the firing, Colonel Lytle dashed forward in front of the enemy’s works, leading several companies, and as they left the cover of the woods, he received a severe wound. The ball which disabled him also wounded his horse, who dashed his rider to the ground, and in his death agony plunged over the parapet into the enemy’s works. Colonel Lytle was carried to a house near by, and lay in great pain, within hearing of the contest he was unable to share. The Tenth, discouraged and embarrassed by the loss of their leader, became somewhat scattered in the woods, but held their position and kept up a steady fire.

Meantime, Colonel Lowe came up with the Twelfth, and was led by Adjutant-General Hartsuff into the woods near the spot where the Tenth first received the enemy’s fire. He was leading up his regiment, waving his sword to cheer on his men, when he was struck in the forehead by a musket ball, and fell heavily from his horse. He died bravely, a soldier’s death, in front of the foe, and in the presence of his men.

The reconnoissance that was designed, had now grown into a severe and general engagement. But the unknown position of the enemy, and the necessity of calling up other regiments to support the advance, had led to a premature struggle. McMullen’s howitzer battery, and Captain Snyder’s battery were brought forward as speedily as possible, and rendered efficient service. General Rosecranz dispatched Adjutant-General Hartsuff to order up Colonel McCook’s brigade, who rushed forward in a state of wild enthusiasm when they were informed that they would have the honor of storming the batteries. Meantime the General, who had been making a careful survey of the whole field, found that the work would be too hazardous, and cost too many valuable lives, if it were then attempted, and countermanded the order. It was now too 186dark to distinguish the foe, and it became absolutely necessary to withdraw the troops.

The men had marched seventeen miles and a half, and many of them were exhausted with scouting and skirmishing all day over the hills. They retired slowly, galled with disappointment, and bivouacked, wearied and supperless, within musket range of the rebel front. Sentinels were posted to prevent any attempt of the enemy to surprise them, and guard against the retreat of Floyd if possible. But total ignorance of the country, and the intense darkness of the night, made it impossible to secure all the avenues of retreat. General Rosecranz himself was up all night long, taking care of his position with jealous and anxious solicitude; but notwithstanding, the foe slipped from his grasp.

The troops expected to storm the position and take it by sunrise, but before that time it was discovered vacant. Floyd began the evacuation as soon as he ascertained that Rosecranz did not intend to storm him, and by three o’clock the next morning the enemy put the deep and turbulent Gauley, and some miles of rugged road, between himself and the disgusted Federal army—sinking the flats and destroying the trestle bridge by which he had secured his retreat.

The Union troops immediately took possession of Floyd’s camp, in which he had left his own personal baggage, that of his officers, and their parade stores, the baggage and blankets of private soldiers, large numbers of muskets, squirrel guns, powder, lead, cartridges, forage, large quantities of commissary stores, and some horses and wagons.

He took nothing with him, in fact, excepting his guns, part of his tents, and a small supply of rations. It was also ascertained that he threw at least a portion of his cannon into the Gauley.

The loss of Rosecranz’s army in the engagement was 16 killed, and 102 wounded. That of the enemy was probably small, as they were well protected from the Federal fire. Twelve rebel prisoners were taken, and 25 of Colonel Tyler’s Seventh Ohio, mostly wounded, who had been captured at Cross Lanes on the 26th of August, were released.

On the 12th of September, General Reynolds, commanding the Federal brigade on Cheat Mountain, was attacked by General Lee of the Secession army, with a force computed at 9,000 men. The Cheat Mountain Pass lies between the valley of the South branch of the Potomac river and those of Elk and Gauley rivers, tributaries of the Great Kanawha.

The first position held by General Reynolds was at the foot of the 187mountain, but subsequently two fortifications had been erected on the summit of two adjacent spurs, seven miles apart by a bridle path, which were called Cheat Summit and Elk Water. General Reynolds’s headquarters was at Elk Water, while Colonel Kimball of the Fourteenth Indiana, held a subordinate command at Cheat Summit.

The enemy was well informed of the position and strength of these defences, but had no desire to attack General Reynolds in either of his strongholds. Their leader had hopes, however, of escaping the vigilance of the Federal commanders by making a detour and marching on beyond, and was engaged in this enterprise when he met with unexpected reverses.

The two Federal posts were in constant communication by a telegraphic line, and pickets guarded every avenue of approach.

On the 12th, the enemy, five thousand strong, with eight pieces of artillery, under command of General R. E. Lee, advanced on this position by the Huntersville Pike. Our advanced pickets—portions of the Fifteenth Indiana and Sixth Ohio—gradually fell back to our main picket station; two companies of the Seventeenth Indiana, under Colonel Hascall, checking the enemy’s advance at the Point Mountain Turnpike, and then falling back on the regiment which occupied a very advanced position on our right front, and which was now ordered in. The enemy threw into the woods on our left front three regiments, who made their way to the right and rear of Cheat Mountain, took a position on the road leading to Huttonville, broke the telegraph wire, and cut off our communication with Colonel Kimball’s Fourteenth Indiana Cavalry on Cheat Summit.

At the same time an equal force of the enemy advanced by the Staunton Pike on the front of Cheat Mountain, and threw two regiments to the right and rear of the mountain, thus uniting with his other column. They advanced towards the pass, in order to get to the rear of Elkwater, when three companies of the Thirteenth Indiana, and one from the Fourteenth, met them. The encounter resulted in the rout and retreat of the enemy.

A large portion of the rebel troops were now closing in on Cheat Mountain, when detachments of the Fourteenth Indiana, and Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Ohio, numbering in all about three hundred, held them in check. Affairs rested in this condition till dark. Determined to force a communication between the detached portions of his command, General Reynolds ordered the Thirteenth Indiana, under Colonel Sullivan, to cut their way, if necessary, by the mail road, and the greater part of the Third Ohio and Second Virginia, under Colonels Manon and Moss, respectively, to do the same by the path; the two commands starting at three o’clock, A. M. on the 13th, the former from 188Cheat Mountain Pass, and the latter from Elk Water, so as to fall upon the enemy simultaneously, if possible. Early on the 13th, the small force of about three hundred from the summit, engaged the enemy with such effect, that notwithstanding his great superiority in numbers, he retired in great disorder, leaving large quantities of clothing and equipments on the ground. The relieving forces failing to encounter the enemy, marched to the summit, secured the provision train, and reopened the communication. While these events were proceeding on the mountain, General Lee advanced on Elk Water, apparently for a final attack. A rifled Parrot gun from Loomis’ battery was run to the front about three-quarters of a mile, and after a few shots, which told with fine effect on their ranks, they retreated to a place beyond its range. On the 14th, the enemy was again in position in front of Elk Water, but were repulsed by the gallant Fifteenth Indiana, who held their ground and fired with the most telling effect. The enemy also made an effort to reach the pass, but they were again repulsed, and withdrew to a point some ten miles distant. On the 15th, the rebels appeared again in much stronger force than before, and attempted a flank movement by the left, but they were driven back and compelled to retire from the field by the vigilant and heroic garrison on the summit.

One hundred of the enemy were killed and wounded, and about twenty were taken prisoners. The Federal forces lost nine killed, and about sixty prisoners. Lieutenant Junod, of the Fourteenth Indiana, was among the killed, and Captain James Bense, and Lieutenants Gillman and Shaffer, of the Ohio Sixth, and Lieutenant Merrill, of the Engineers wounded.

One of the most important incidents of this engagement was the death of Colonel John A. Washington, of the rebel army, aid-de-camp to General Lee.

A brilliant affair took place at Chapmansville, Logan county, Virginia, on the 25th of September, when a body of the enemy under Colonel Davis, numbering about five hundred, was defeated and driven from behind their breastworks by five hundred and fifty men of the Thirty-fourth Ohio, under Colonel Piatt.

The want of men in Western Virginia had induced the Government to call this regiment into the field before its ranks were full, and they had been on duty but one week when the affair at Chapmansville took place. With only six hours notice they marched from Cincinnati, and on the 19th of September arrived at “Camp Enyard,” on the Kanawha, 189occupied by Colonel Enyard with three hundred of the First Kentucky and two hundred of the Home Guards of Virginia.

Three days subsequently they learned that the enemy were in force fifty miles distant, and marched, in company with Colonel Enyard’s command to Peytona, where they separated, Colonel Piatt proceeding to Boone Court-house. A march of about sixteen miles the next day brought them in contact with the advance cavalry guard of the enemy, who were quickly driven in. The force was immediately made ready for battle, and proceeded on for two hours, constantly skirmishing with the retreating foe. Though unable to ascertain the position or force of their opposers, they yet marched bravely, with Colonel Piatt in advance, until the dim outline of a breastwork became visible through the dense underbrush, situated on the slope of a hill between two mountain ridges on the right and a small ravine on the left. The brush had been cut down on the right and a force of the enemy, comprising about one hundred men, were stationed there to rake the advancing troops, and their fire was poured in incessantly. The Federals returned the fire and advanced fearlessly, in four columns, with company A, Captain Rathbone, deployed to the right, directly up the side of the mountain, for the purpose of outflanking the enemy on the left; company C, Captain Miller, dispatched for a similar purpose to the left; company I, Captain Anderson, marching up the ravine, and the centre moving directly up the road. When within about twenty yards of the breastworks they were suddenly fired upon from all quarters. The order from Colonel Piatt to storm the entrenchments was responded to with hearty cheers, and the men dashed on, regardless of the storm of bullets that tore up the earth around them.

Captain Anderson was the first to mount the breastworks, his men following steadily and with unflinching courage. Captain Miller on the left, and Captain Rathbone on the right, were impeded by obstructions, but quickly overcoming or dashing through them, joined in the charge. A few minutes sufficed to reach the inside and break the ranks of the enemy, who fled to the mountains. They left twenty-nine dead behind and had fifty wounded, among them Colonel Davis, of North Carolina, who afterwards died. The Federal loss was four killed and eight wounded.

Colonel Piatt marched into Chapmansville, the former headquarters of the enemy, encamped for the night, and then returned to Camp Enyard, almost without provisions, and forced to wade through swollen streams and surmount rugged mountains.

One of the most exciting events of the war in the West was the defence of Lexington, Missouri, by Federal troops, commanded by Colonel James B. Mulligan, consisting of the Chicago Irish Brigade, eight hundred strong, four hundred Home Guards, and a part of the Missouri Eighth, under Colonel White; the Missouri Thirteenth, six hundred and fifty men, Colonel Peabody; Illinois First Cavalry, four hundred men, Colonel Marshall. In addition to these, Captain Graham, Lieutenant-Colonel White, Lieutenant-Colonel Given, and Major Wright had also small commands—in all, 2,780 men.

Lexington is the capital of Lafayette county, and contains a population of about five thousand. It is on the right bank of the Missouri river, one hundred and twenty miles west of Jefferson City, and three hundred miles from St. Louis. The heights on which the town is built command the river, and to a considerable extent the back country. Old Lexington, an earlier settlement, is situated east of the new town, back of the river, on the hills, where the main body of Price’s army was posted, while the attack was made from different points. Colonel Mulligan’s fortifications were between the two towns, and consisted of heavy earthworks, ten feet in height, with a ditch eight feet in width.

On the 1st of September, Colonel Mulligan, whose regiment was then encamped at Jefferson City, received orders to march to the relief of Lexington, then threatened by the enemy, and in six hours the regiment was on its way, and in nine days after entered the town, which they found occupied by Colonel Marshall’s cavalry, and a body of Home Guards. On the 10th a letter was received from Colonel Peabody, saying that he was retreating from Warrensburg, twenty-five miles distant, and that Price was pursuing him with ten thousand men. A few hours after, Colonel Peabody, with the Thirteenth Missouri, entered Lexington.

194On the 12th, as the enemy drew near the city, two companies of the Thirteenth Missouri were ordered out as skirmishers, who recognized General Price (by the aid of glasses), leading on the advance guard of his men. Company I of the Irish Brigade held them in check until Captain Dillon’s company of the Thirteenth Missouri drove them back. Subsequently six companies of the Missouri Thirteenth and two companies of the Illinois cavalry were dispatched in search of the retreating enemy.

They engaged them in a cornfield, fought with them gallantly, and harassed them to such an extent as to delay their progress, in order to give time for constructing intrenchments around the camp on College Hill. This had the desired effect, and the Federals succeeded in throwing up earthworks three or four feet in height. This consumed the night, and was continued during the next day, the outposts still opposing the enemy, and keeping them back as far as possible. At three o’clock in the afternoon of the 14th the engagement opened with artillery. A volley of grapeshot was thrown among the officers, who stood in front of the breastworks. The guns within the entrenchments immediately replied with a vigor which converted the scene into one of the wildest excitement. At seven o’clock the enemy withdrew and the engagement ceased for the night.

Next morning General Parsons sent in a flag of truce, asking permission to bury his dead. The request was cheerfully granted, and the Federal troops willingly assisted in burying the fallen foe. On Tuesday the work of throwing up intrenchments went on. It rained all day, and the men stood knee-deep in the mud, building them. Troops were sent out to forage on the three succeeding days, and returned with large quantities of provisions and fodder.

All this time the pickets were constantly engaged with the enemy, well aware that ten thousand men were threatening them, and knowing that the struggle was to be a desperate one. Earthworks had been reared breast-high, enclosing an area of fifteen to eighteen acres, and surrounded by a ditch. Outside of this was a circle of twenty-one mines, and still further down were pits to embarrass the progress of the enemy. During the night of the 17th they were getting ready for the defence, and heard the sounds of preparation in the camp of the enemy for the attack on the morrow. At nine o’clock on the morning of the 18th, the drums beat to arms, and the terrible struggle commenced. The enemy’s force had increased to twenty thousand men and thirteen pieces of artillery. They came as one dark moving mass of armed men, as far as the eye could reach. Two batteries were planted by them in front, one on the left, one on the right, and one in the rear, and opened with a terrible fire, which was answered with the utmost bravery and determination. The batteries opened at nine o’clock, and never ceased 195to pour deadly shot upon the garrison. About noon the hospital was taken. It was situated on the left, outside of the intrenchments. They besieged it, took it, and from the balcony and roof their sharpshooters poured a deadly fire upon the Federal troops. The hospital contained the chaplain and one hundred and twenty wounded men. But it could not be allowed to remain the possession of the enemy. The Montgomery Guard, Captain Gleason, of the Irish Brigade, was brought out, and the word to “charge” given. They stormed up the slope to the hospital, took it, and drove the enemy in wild confusion down the hill. The fire of the rebels was for the time lessened, only to be increased towards evening, and word was sent that if the Federal troops did not surrender before the next morning, the black flag would be hoisted and no quarter given.

The next morning the fire was resumed and continued all day. A fierce bayonet charge was made by the garrison, that served to show the enemy that the Union troops were not yet worn out. All that day the soldiers in that little band stood straining their eyes and searching the distance in hopes that some friendly flag might be coming to their assistance. But no welcome flag came in sight, and with the energy of despair they determined to do their duty at all hazards. It was intensely hot—the lips of the men were parched and blistering. They were without water, and yet no word of murmuring was heard. That night two wells were dug. The morning of the next day, the 20th, dawned sadly upon them, and still the battle raged furiously. The rebels had constructed moveable breastworks of hemp bales, rolled them up the hill, and advanced their batteries so as to command the fortifications. Heated shot were fired at them but without avail, they having been thoroughly water-soaked. The outer breastworks were soon carried by a charge from the enemy, the Federal lines broken, and the rebels rushed in. At point after point they were repulsed, but the cartridges of the Union troops had given out, and it was evident that the struggle could not be protracted. Of a sudden the firing ceased, and it was subsequently ascertained that the Home Guards had hoisted a white flag. It was taken down, but again raised by the same hands from the centre of the fortifications—when the fire of the enemy slackened and ceased. Under this state of affairs, Colonel Mulligan, calling his officers into council, decided to capitulate, and Captain McDermott went out to the enemy’s lines, with a handkerchief tied to a ramrod, and a parley took place. Major Moore, of the brigade, was sent to General Price’s headquarters, at New Lexington, to know the terms of capitulation. These were soon made known; the officers to be retained as prisoners of war, the men to be allowed to parole, with their personal property, surrendering their arms and accoutrements.

196Reluctantly this was acceded to, and the surrender took place. At four P. M. on Saturday, the Federal forces, having laid down their arms, were marched out of the intrenchments to the tune of “Dixie,” played by the rebel bands. They left behind them their arms and accoutrements, reserving only their clothing. Many of the men wept on leaving their colors behind, as each company in the brigade had its own standard presented by its friends. At the surrender, the muster-rolls of the companies were taken to General Price’s headquarters, the list of officers made out, and they ordered to report themselves as prisoners of war.

The scenes at the capitulation were extraordinary. Colonel Mulligan shed tears. The men threw themselves upon the ground, raved and stormed; well nigh frenzied, demanding to be led out again and “finish the thing.” In Colonel Marshall’s Cavalry regiment, the feeling was equally intense. Much havoc had already been done among their horses during the siege, and but little more than half of them remained. Numbers of the privates actually shot their own horses dead on the spot, unwilling that their companions in the campaign should now fall into the enemy’s hands.

The privates, numbering some one thousand five hundred strong, were first compelled to take the oath not to serve against the Confederate States, when they were put across the river, and in charge of General Rains marched on Saturday night to Richmond, sixteen miles, whence on Sunday they marched to Hamilton, a station on the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad, where they were declared free to go where they pleased.

No reliable statement of the casualties at the siege of Lexington seems to have been published. Of the irregular army of General Price, large numbers of whom were not enrolled, but were outside volunteers, many were killed and buried on the spot, no record being made of their loss. One hundred and forty Federals were left in the hospital, many of whom were suffering from sickness, and not from wounds. Colonel Mulligan lost probably two hundred in killed and wounded, while the rebel loss could not have been less, and according to some estimates must have reached three or four times that number. General Price’s force was estimated at numbers varying from twenty to thirty thousand, the lowest being probably nearest the actual number, with twenty-one pieces of artillery.

General Price, in his official report to Governor Jackson, inventoried his acquisitions as follow:—“Three thousand five hundred prisoners, including the colonels, and one hundred and eighteen commissioned officers, five pieces of artillery and two mortars, over three thousand stand of infantry arms, a large number of sabres, about seven hundred and fifty horses, many sets of cavalry equipments, wagons, teams, ammunition, more than a hundred thousand dollars’ worth of commissary stores, and a large amount of other property.”

197

199For daring and patient suffering—fighting day after day without water, the battle of Lexington stands almost without a rival in history. It was stubbornly contested, and evinced in the most striking manner the devotion and faithfulness of the adopted citizens of our country.

Santa Rosa Island is a long, narrow strip of low land, partially covered with bushes and stunted trees, lying opposite Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, on the western coast of Florida. The Bay of Pensacola is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by this island, which varies in width from one hundred yards to five-eighths of a mile. At the western extremity of the island Fort Pickens stands, commanding the channel, and on the mainland, a short distance west of the Navy Yard, is Fort San Carlos de Barrancas.

General Bragg, commanding at Pensacola, had matured a well-devised plan by which he designed to surprise and capture Fort Pickens, but in which he was signally defeated by the watchfulness and bravery of the troops at the fort, and on the island. The Federal force encamped on the island was a part of the New York Sixth Volunteers, known as Wilson’s Zouaves, numbering about three hundred men; and the destruction or capture of this force, was the first design of the leaders of the expedition, who confidently hoped, in the confusion arising from a night attack and rout, to obtain possession or destroy the batteries on the island, if not to capture Fort Pickens itself.

On the morning of Wednesday, the 9th of October, at two o’clock, the enemy silently commenced their advance upon the camp from a point about four miles distant, where they had landed during the night, about fifteen hundred strong, under General Anderson. The night was extremely dark, and it was almost impossible to distinguish any object at a distance of twenty yards. The Zouaves, numbering about three hundred, were encamped a mile from the fort, on the shore, but between the fort and the approaching foe, with their pickets thrown out a mile in advance. About three o’clock, the rebels, having driven in the pickets, who made a gallant resistance, reached the camp of Colonel Wilson, and owing to the confusion and darkness, before he had time to form his men, they were driven from their tents, many of which were burnt or destroyed by the enemy.

On the first alarm, Colonel Harvey Brown, commandant of the fort, 200dispatched Major Vogdes, with two companies of regulars, to the scene of conflict. The men soon became intermingled with the enemy, who succeeded in taking the Major prisoner. Major Arnold, with two additional companies, was soon after sent out from the fort, and favored by the light of the burning tents, they were enabled to ascertain the position and force of the enemy, and gallantly rushed to the attack. Captain Hildt, now in command of the two companies which had been led on by Major Vogdes, extricated his men from their perilous position, and opened a well-directed fire on the enemy, compelling them reluctantly to give way. Colonel Wilson, who had succeeded in bringing a body of his men together after their sudden surprise, formed them into line, and now joined in the battle, when the insurgents were very soon thrown into confusion, and made a rapid retreat to their boats, pursued by a victorious force of only one-fourth their number.

Colonel Brown, in his report, says that “the plan of the enemy’s attack was judicious; and, if executed with ordinary ability, might have been attended with serious loss to the Unionists. But he failed in all save the burning of one-half of the tents of the Sixth regiment, which, being covered with bushes, were very combustible, and in rifling the trunks of the officers. He did not reach within five hundred yards of either of the batteries, the guns of which he was to spike; nor within a mile of the fort he was to enter with the fugitives retreating before his victorious arms!”

Many of the rebels were wounded by the sharp firing continued by the Federal troops during their re-embarkation. One of their flatboats sunk, and many bodies were found floating in the water on the following day. The Federal loss was fifteen killed, forty-one wounded, and eighteen prisoners; that of the rebels in killed and wounded was over one hundred, and thirty-five of them remained prisoners in the hands of the Federal forces.

Perhaps no event in the course of the war thus far produced a more profound sensation than the news of the Battle of Ball’s Bluff, which occurred on the 21st of October. The loss of life was heavy on the part of the Federals. Several accomplished and valuable officers were killed, among whom was the distinguished and eloquent Senator from Oregon, General Baker. The fatality attending this battle caused it to be regarded with peculiar interest, and remembered as fruitful in daring deeds and memorials of terrible bloodshed.

201The north and south banks of the Potomac river, from the Great Falls, a few miles above Washington, to Harper’s Ferry, were held by the Federal and secession troops respectively. Great care was taken by the Government to defend the north bank, in order to prevent the threatened incursion of the enemy into Maryland, from whence, aided by the disunion sympathizers of that State, they designed to make the long contemplated attack upon the capital. Among the troops stationed on the Potomac, extending from Great Falls to Edwards Ferry, was the division of General Banks; from Edwards Ferry to Conrad’s Ferry, a division under General Stone; while Colonels Lander, Geary, and others held the line thence to Harper’s Ferry.

On the south side of the river, two strong positions were held by the enemy—Dranesville and Leesburg. The latter is the terminus of the Loudon and Hampshire railroad, about five miles from the Potomac, and opposite Edwards Ferry. The Southern commanders having determined to abandon their design of crossing the Potomac, had commenced the withdrawal of their troops from various points towards Manassas.

General McClellan, anxious to ascertain whether any movement of the forces at Leesburg and Dranesville had been made, directed General McCall, on the 18th, to push a reconnoissance in force in the direction of Dranesville. General McCall penetrated to that town, found that the enemy had evacuated the place, and was informed that Leesburg had also been abandoned.

While this reconnoissance was progressing, General McClellan informed General Stone of the fact, and directed him to make careful observations of the movements of the enemy, to ascertain what effect was produced by the expedition of General McCall. He also suggested that a slight demonstration on his own part might be successful in expediting their removal.

In obedience to these orders, General Stone, on the 20th, made a feint of crossing the river at Edwards Ferry, while four companies of the Fifteenth Massachusetts were sent to Harrison’s Island, in the Potomac, situated between Edwards and Conrad’s Ferries. At ten o’clock, P. M., Lieutenant Howe, Quartermaster of the Fifteenth Massachusetts, reported that Lieutenant Philbrick had returned to the island from his reconnoissance to Leesburg, and that he had been within one mile of that place, discovering only a small encampment of thirty tents, and without encountering any of the enemy—no pickets being out at any distance from their camp.

The Federal forces in that vicinity were then posted as follows:—General Stone, with General Gorman’s brigade, Seventh Michigan, two troops of Van Alen cavalry, and the Putnam Rangers, at Edwards Ferry; five companies of Massachusetts Volunteers, under Colonel 202Devens, at Harrison’s Island; and Colonel Lee, with a battalion of the Massachusetts Twentieth, a section of the Rhode Island battery, and the Tammany regiment, were sent to Conrad’s Ferry. A section of Bunting’s New York battery was planted at Edwards and a section of Rickett’s battery at Conrad’s Ferry.

When the report of the scouts was received, orders were sent to Colonel Devens to march four companies to the Virginia shore, from Harrison’s Island, and under cover of the night, take up a position near the camp referred to, and attack it at daybreak, drive out the enemy, pursue them as far as prudent, and return to the island. Orders were also sent to Colonel Baker, to march the First California regiment to Conrad’s Ferry, to arrive there at sunrise, and to have the remainder of his brigade ready to move at an early hour.

Lieutenant-Colonel Wood, of the Fifteenth Massachusetts, was also ordered to move with a battalion to the river bank opposite Harrison’s Island by daybreak. Two mounted howitzers in charge of Lieutenant Trench, of Rickett’s battery, were ordered to the tow-path of the canal opposite Harrison’s Island.

This disposition of the troops having been made for the commencement of the movement, it was necessary to provide the means for their transportation across the river, which is quite rapid at this point. Edwards Ferry is below the island, which is about three miles in length, and Conrad’s Ferry is a short distance beyond the upper end. The island lies about a third of the distance from the Virginia shore, while a swift current of three hundred yards separates it from the Maryland banks, traversed by a tow-path of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal. The Virginia bank opposite the island is steep, and is backed by a precipitous bluff, varying in height from eighty to one hundred and fifty feet, covered with brush, trees and undergrowth.

There was no adequate preparation to effect the passage of troops at these points. The means were scanty either for reinforcement, or for retreat, if that should become necessary. On the Maryland side of Harrison’s Island were two scows, capable of carrying thirty persons each, which could make two trips hourly, thus conveying one hundred and twenty men. On the Virginia side was one scow and a small boat. At Edwards Ferry there were two scows and a ship’s yawl. With these insufficient means of transportation an attempt was made to land the forces on the opposite shore.

The landings at both of the ferries are good, but stretching almost the entire distance between them is the high and steep bank known as Ball’s Bluff, where the crossing was attempted, and which has given its name to this bloody struggle.

Passing along and up the steep and difficult way from the landing 203below the bluff until it turns at the top, the road enters an open field of some six acres, surrounded on all sides by a forest. In this field the battle took place, the rebel forces being posted in the woods.

At daybreak, four companies of the Massachusetts Fifteenth, under Colonel Devens, had reached the opposite shore, and after reconnoitering had formed their line on Ball’s Bluff, on the edge of the cornfield. While in this position they were attacked by a considerable body of the enemy, with whom an irregular skirmish was kept up. Colonel Baker had during the morning been transferred from Conrad’s Ferry to Harrison’s Island, and appointed to the command. About noon the reinforcements began to come up, consisting of three companies of the Massachusetts Twentieth, six hundred of the California regiment, two companies of the Tammany regiment, with two howitzers and one rifled gun, in charge of Lieutenant Bramhall of the New York Ninth.

In the mean time the rebels, well informed of the difficulties of the Federal position, and only awaiting the arrival of a larger number that they might add to the magnitude of the victory which was within their grasp at any moment, having engaged the Federals by a series of irregular skirmishes during the earlier part of the day, concentrated their forces on General Baker’s command at half-past two o’clock. With a force of three thousand men they commenced a vigorous attack from the woods on three sides of the Federal position. A portion of Colonel Gorman’s command at Edwards Ferry crossed over, but from want of means of transportation could not make either their numbers or presence of effective service.

The real battle, however, commenced on the left. Baker threw the whole responsibility of that wing upon Wistar. The latter did not like the appearance of the adjacent wood region, and threw forward companies A and D of his battalion to test them. Captains Markoe and Wade, the former well ahead, accordingly advanced on their hazardous duty; passed through the forest to the horn-like projection of the field, crossed it, and had arrived within ten paces of the further thicket, when a murderous fire blazed out upon them.

The poor fellows gallantly sprang through it upon their assailants, and were in a moment fighting in the woods. Not half of this noble band ever came back. The rebels, taking this as a signal for the commencement of the action, now bestirred themselves in force, and fired a terrific volley along their whole front. Only the sheeted flash showed itself from those frowning forests; the foe still clung to cover; but the hail of bullets rattled against the Union lines, and many brave souls were sent into eternity by that first fiery revelation of the enemy’s strength. The reply was instant and extended. In a second both ends of the field were clouded with smoke, the day’s skirmishing was over, 204and the contest that was to rage so hotly for an hour had commenced its fury.

The battle on the part of the Federals was fought heroically, and in a true sacrificial spirit. The enemy was in force in front; he began to creep down the treacherous sides of the enclosure; his sharpshooters climbed the trees everywhere, picking out the stateliest and most gallant forms for the death they so unerringly dealt. The lines thus received a scathing fire from the front, from above, and a cross-fire at angles right and left. All they could do in reply was to aim steadily and swiftly at the places whence the loudest yells and deadliest volleys proceeded. But the men dropped everywhere, and were borne by dozens to the gory skiffs below. On the right the Massachusetts men were more than decimated by the regular, unavoidable shower of bullets. But against the left, where Wistar commanded, the rebels, confident of their force and the effect of their deadly fire in front, began to make venturesome charges, each one repelled by the gallant fire of the Californians, but each one getting nearer the Federal lines than the last. On the fourth charge they actually flanked the left, and sprang forth, savage and eager, from the thicket beyond the ravine. Down this they were about to plunge. “Hold!” cried Wistar to his men; “not a man of you must fire;” and he dashed at the piece of one; “wait till they reach the bottom of the ravine; then we’ll have them.”

So they charged down the hill, only to meet the most effective volley fired on the Union side during that day. When the smoke rose their front ranks lay fallen in the hollow of the valley of death, and the rear had broken and fled in disorder through the forest.

Lieutenant Bramhall had posted his gun near the centre of the line, and opened fire to the best advantage possible. When he mounted the piece, he had eight artillerists, three riders, a corporal and sergeant. In ten minutes, five of these were shot down; in the end, all but two were killed, wounded or missing. Lieutenant Bramhall himself was severely wounded, but stood by his gun. Colonel Coggswell saw the necessity of the case, informed Colonels Wistar and Lee, Adjutant Harvey (of Baker’s brigade), and Stewart (of General Stone’s staff, present on the field); and those five distinguished officers and determined men manned the piece themselves. Coggswell and Harvey, understanding the business, would load, while Lee and Wistar were giving orders to their commands, and spurring them into the fight; then Wistar and Stewart would wheel the gun forward to position; Coggswell would take aim and give the word to Harvey, who held the percussion lanyard. In this way and by these men a dozen of the twenty rounds used were fired, doing more effect than all the musketry volleys. When the enemy was making his fifth charge on the left, the cannon had just been loaded 205and was pointed at the woods in front. Captain Beiral, of the Californians, who was with his company supporting the piece, exclaimed to Coggswell,

“Look to the left! look to the left!”

Coggswell saw the dark column of the rebels sweeping across the spur of the field, wheeled the terrible gun around, and discharged it square at their centre. The shell opened a lane through the charging force, a score or more falling never to fight again, and the column retreated upon the main body behind.

But the end was fast approaching. The thinning Union forces were assailed by four times their number. From every side death stormed upon their unsheltered bodies. Half their line officers were wounded or killed. The undaunted leaders were also falling. Ward, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Fifteenth, had received a frightful wound; Coggswell was shot through the wrist; Lee, Devens, Harvey and Stewart were still fighting sadly and in vain; a ball shattered Wistar’s sword arm—he dropped the weapon, picked it up with his left hand, and General Baker himself restored it to the scabbard. The shouting enemy began to break from the wood and through the smoke upon the confused lines. The crisis had come. There was some hand-to-hand fighting; a few of the gray-coats got entangled with the Federal forces, who took a prisoner and passed him to the rear; the enemy took a dozen, and made charge after charge. Just then a body of men appeared, pressing down from the left. The General ordered the troops around him to stand firm, and cried, “Who are those men?” “Confederate troops!” was the reply; and they rushed almost within bayonet distance. One of them drew a revolver, came close to Baker, and fired four balls at the General, every one of which took effect, and a glorious soul fled through their ghastly openings. Captain Beiral seized the slayer by the throat, and blew out his brains—the hero and the traitor falling within the same minute, and face to face. In a second the enemy swarmed over the spot. “For God’s sake, boys,” cried Adjutant Harvey, in his hot English way, “are you going to let them have the General’s body!”

An angry howl was the answer, and a dozen charged, with set teeth and bayonets fixed, upon the rebels, who recoiled from the shock, and surrendered their priceless trophy. The body of this thrice heroic man was passed down the bluff, and safely conveyed to the island. But now the Union lines were hopelessly disordered. The rebels came through both the field and woods in final force. Coggswell saw that the day was lost, and that the desperate, impossible retreat had come. So he ordered his scattered men to retire for embarkation, and the field was given up to the foe.

Large numbers of the Union troops had anticipated the order to 206retreat; for an hour the shore had been lined with stragglers and wearied men. Still, the reinforcing business had not ceased from the island, and during the fiercest of the action the two boats, which were bringing away the dead and wounded, returned from each trip laden with the residue of the Tammany and Massachusetts regiments. The life-boat proved a death-boat, for it swamped, from some cause, while conveying to the battle-field the last of the Tammany companies.

DEATH OF COLONEL BAKER.

Down the hill they came, in every direction and without order, hotly followed by the rebels to the very edge of the descent. Then the pursuers paused, too cautious to meet the chance of volleys from Harrison’s Island, but throwing a plunging fire upon the retiring loyalists, and aiming ruthlessly at the hundreds trying to swim the rapid river channel. The tumult and agony of that headlong descent, the clamor and crowd along the shore, the rush into one wretched skiff, already over-laden with wounded men, which forced it beneath the surface and brought the horror of death by water upon men who had already so fairly faced the battle-field are beyond description. Who can depict the wild struggle 207with those turbid waters, and the desperate calmness with which each wretched soldier went down at last? Who can tell of those who, struck down by the fire from above, slipped in their own blood upon the clayey river bank; of those who wasted too feeble strength in swimming half way across the cruel stream; of the shouts for help where no help came. A few, more fiercely courageous than the rest, dragged the cannon to the edge of the hill and plunged them over, thus rendering them useless to the enemy. The colonels who had fought so steadily still refused to surrender, but guarded the retreat, so far as desperate courage could do it, to the end. Led by Coggswell and Lee, several organized companies charged up at their tormentors, once and again returning dangerous volleys. They kept the enemy at bay till long after nightfall closed upon the scene. All who could pass over to the island had escaped, and midnight was close upon them before the two colonels and the other field officers still on the shore saw that their duty was accomplished, and surrendered themselves and the remnant of their commands to the enemy.

A most painful scene transpired at the sinking of the launch, in which were some sixty wounded men, and twenty or thirty members of the California First. The launch had been safely taken half way across the river, when, to their utter consternation, it was discovered that it was leaking, and the water gradually, but surely, gaining upon them. The wounded were lying at the bottom, suffering intolerably from their various dislocations, wounds and injuries, and all soaking in water, which at the very start was fully four inches deep. As the water grew deeper and rose above the prostrate forms of the wounded, their comrades lifted them into sitting postures that they might not be strangled by the fast rising stream. But the groans and cries, screams and moanings of the poor fellows who were thus tortured, were most distressing and indescribable. Despite all that could be done, the fate of the launch, and all that were in it, with the exception of a few expert swimmers, was sealed; suddenly, and like a flash of lightning, the fragile craft sunk, carrying with it at least fifty dying sufferers, and some twenty or thirty others, who had trusted their lives to its treacherous hold.

The very skies were pitiless that evening. O the misery of the black, tempestuous night, when the rain poured down upon that narrow island where those who escaped the flood and field were bivouacked, huddled together and bereft of their comrades-in-arms! Scores of the dead were guarded by sullen watchers; the wounded were tended in every possible shelter. The river swelled in a kind of savage triumph over the havoc it had made, its current darkling and murmuring on the east and west, while on the opposite shore lay their dead comrades, 208whose white faces the rain beat in merciless fury, but all unfelt, and far more harmless than it fell upon the living victims.

Next morning boat loads of dead and wounded were brought from the battle-field under a flag of truce; and a dispatch had been published in Washington stating that General Stone had successfully thrown his force across the Potomac, and held his position secure against any hostile force.

The statistics of this conflict show that the total number of Federal troops that crossed the Virginia channel was about 1,853 officers and men. Of these 653 belonged to the Massachusetts Fifteenth, 340 to the Massachusetts Twentieth, about 360 to the Tammany regiment, and 570 to the first battalion of the First California. The Massachusetts Fifteenth lost in killed, wounded, and missing 322, including a lieutenant-colonel (wounded), and 14 out of 28 line officers who crossed. The Massachusetts Twentieth lost in all 159, including a colonel, major, surgeon, and adjutant (prisoners), and 8 out of 17 line officers who crossed. The Tammany companies lost 163, including a colonel, and 7 out of 12 line officers who crossed. The Californians lost 300, including their colonel (the general commanding), lieutenant-colonel (wounded), adjutant, and 15 line officers out of 17 who crossed. Total engaged in the fight, 1,853; total losses, 953; field officers crossing, 11; returning uninjured, 3; line officers crossing, 74; returning uninjured, 30.

The troops that were successful in reaching Harrison’s Island remained there during the night of the 21st, and on the morning of the 22d were all passed over in safety to the Maryland shore, no attempt being made by the rebels to interfere with the movement. The condition of many of the men was pitiful. Some of them in their encounters with the enemy, and in struggling through the trees and thorny undergrowth, or plunging down the rocky steep, having been almost stripped of clothing. In a short time they were encamped in comfortable quarters, and the wounded were provided for with the greatest care.

Large bodies of rebel troops had been brought up to Leesburg after the battle, to defend that point, and to make an offensive movement, if deemed expedient. About four thousand Federals, under the command of General Stone, occupied the Virginia shore immediately opposite Edwards Ferry, and were in imminent danger of attack from the now rapidly increasing force of rebels threatening their front. Generals McClellan and Banks, who had repaired to Edwards Ferry, on the Maryland shore, and were ready to furnish large reinforcements in the event of a general engagement, watched with anxiety the rebel movements on the opposite side of the river. Becoming convinced that the means of transportation were entirely inadequate to properly reinforce General Stone’s command, the commander-in-chief ordered a withdrawal 209of all the Federal forces to the Maryland shore, which was safely accomplished on the night of the 23d.

Colonel E. D. Baker, whose death will make this battle-field immortal, was born in England, early left an orphan, and emigrated to this country. Few men have had a more eventful career, and few men have done so much to win the admiration of the people. He was, without question, one of the ablest speakers in the country; when he addressed public audiences he thrilled them with the electricity of his eloquence, and kindled them by his earnestness as a storm of fire sweeps over the prairie. For many years, whether at the bar, in the Congress of the nation, or before wild wood caucuses; in speaking to citizens, jurors, statesmen or soldiers; on the slope of the Atlantic, in the valley of the Mississippi, at the head of legions in Mexico, before the miners of California, or upon the banks of the Columbia, he held a place with the best men and finest orators in the land.

At the age of nineteen he was admitted to the bar in the State of Illinois. Subsequently he twice represented that State in the lower house of Congress. In 1846 he resigned in order to lead the Fourth Illinois regiment to Mexico. At Cerro Gordo, after the fall of General Shields, as senior Colonel he took command of the brigade, and fought through the desperate battle in a manner that drew an especial compliment from General Twiggs.

Returning home, he was, after his recovery from a severe wound received on the Rio Grande, again elected to Congress. Later in life he was connected with the Panama railroad; still later, in 1852, he removed with his family to Oregon, where he was elected United States Senator.

The struggle for the Union came, and he hastened to New York, where his fiery eloquence stirred the heart of its people. When they rushed impetuously to arms, he warned the country of the magnitude of the struggle, and was foremost in support of the Government. He was not, however, a speaker only, but a worker as well. In a little time he had gathered about him an effective regiment. Men from all States rushed to fill up the ranks. Refusing to resign his position in the Senate and be promoted to a Major-Generalship, he retained his simple title of Colonel, and died with no higher rank.

He was killed at the head of his brigade, and with his life’s blood sealed the vow he had made to see America a free and united people or die in the struggle. Courageous, upright, earnest, indomitable spirits like his can never be forgotten; they are the jewels of a nation, which brighten as they pass into eternity. In his own words, the words that from his eloquent lips rung over the grave of Broderick, let us give him to immortality.

The town of Romney is located in Hampshire county, Virginia, on the south branch of the Potomac, one hundred and ninety miles north-west from Richmond. It had been the theatre of previous military adventures between the loyal troops and their enemies, who were on several occasions compelled to retire from the place, but afterwards took advantage of the absence of the Federal forces to return. Brigadier-General B. F. Kelley, who commanded a portion of the forces in the encounter at Phillipi, where he was wounded, was encamped with part of his command at New Creek. He resolved to dislodge the rebels from Romney, and ordered his forces to unite in a march on the town on the morning of the 26th of October. The Fourth and Eighth Ohio, and Seventh Virginia, were in the brigade, with the addition of the Ringgold Cavalry.

The forces, after a march along their various routes of from twenty to twenty-five miles, united, and about half-past two o’clock in the afternoon, encountered the outposts of the enemy at Mill Creek, five miles from Romney. These they drove in, and advanced to the Indian Mound Cemetery, west of the town, where the rebels made a stand, and opened fire with a twelve-pound rifled gun, placed in a commanding position in the cemetery, and with a mountain howitzer from the high grounds on the east bank of the river, at a point which commanded the road for half a mile. At the east end of the bridge the enemy had thrown up intrenchments, from which they kept up a constant fire of musketry upon the head of the column. They were responded to by a twelve-pounder and two six-pounders, until in about half an hour the General understood the position, when he gave the command to charge upon the enemy’s entrenchments. The cavalry, led by Captains Keys and McGhee, dashed across the river at the ford, with enthusiastic shouts, while the infantry, under the command of Colonels Mason and De Puy, Lieutenant-Colonel Kelley, and Major Swearingen, rushed over the bridge to encounter the enemy at the mouth of his guns. As soon as they saw this movement, they immediately abandoned their positions, 213and retreated precipitately through the town, flying in the direction of Winchester.

General Kelley captured a considerable number of the enemy, among whom was Colonel Angus McDonald; two hundred horses, three wagon loads of new rifles, three cannon, a large quantity of corn, wagons, tents, and, in fact, everything they had.

Colonel Johns, with seven hundred men of the Second Potomac Home Brigade, under orders from General Kelley, started from North Branch bridge early in the morning, passing through Frankfort, having been instructed to make a diversion with his force toward Springfield to withdraw the attention of a portion of the enemy stationed there from General Kelley’s movements. When within a mile and a half of Springfield the rear of his column was fired upon by the rebels, occasioning a delay of nearly an hour. The march was then renewed through Springfield, disclosing evidences of the retreat of the enemy on the way. On arriving at the bridge crossing the south branch of the Potomac, they were discovered on the opposite side of the river, when a brisk fire was commenced. After skirmishing half an hour, Colonel Johns determined to cross the bridge, but found that a portion of the planking had been torn up and removed. The enemy at the same time kept up a sharp fire, killing one, and wounding six of his men. The passage of the bridge being impracticable, and the firing having ceased in the direction of Romney, Colonel Johns inferred that General Kelley was in possession of the town. His own purpose having been accomplished in producing a diversion of the rebel forces, and the necessity of joining Kelley no longer existing, he withdrew his command to Oldtown, in Maryland, about nine P. M., after a march of twenty-five miles.

Brigadier-General U. S. Grant commanding at Cairo, Illinois, being informed that the rebel recruits under Colonel Jeff. Thompson and Colonel Lowe, were congregating in Madison county, Missouri, ordered Colonel J. B. Plummer, of the Eleventh Missouri Volunteers, to proceed to Frederickton. Colonel Plummer was in command at Cape Girardeau, and on the 18th, the day following the receipt of the order, he marched with about fifteen hundred men, composed of the Seventeenth and Twentieth Illinois Volunteers, Colonels Ross and Marsh, the Eleventh Missouri, under the immediate command of Lieutenant-Colonel Pennabaker, Lieutenant White’s section of Taylor’s battery, and Captains Steward and Lansden’s companies of cavalry.

214On arriving at Frederickton, Colonel Plummer found that the rebels had evacuated the town the evening before, and that Colonel Carlin, with about three thousand Federals from Pilot Knob, had occupied the place a few hours before him. The enemy had retired in the direction of Greenville, and Colonel Carlin having reinforced Colonel Plummer with the Twenty-first and Thirty-third Illinois Volunteers, under Colonels Alexander and Hovey, six companies of the First Indiana Cavalry, Colonel Baker, and one section of Major Schofield’s battery, under Lieutenant Hascock, they started in pursuit. The column, thus reinforced, was put in motion at about one o’clock, P. M., but had not proceeded more than three-quarters of a mile when the enemy was discovered a short distance in advance.

Colonel Ross, whose regiment was the leading one of the column, immediately deployed it to the left into a lane, and threw forward two companies as skirmishers, to feel the enemy, whose exact position and strength it was difficult to determine. Colonel Plummer directed Colonel Ross to move forward his regiment into the cornfield in support of his skirmishers, and ordered up Lieutenant White’s section of Taylor’s battery, which immediately opened fire, and by its effectiveness soon caused the enemy to respond. Their artillery consisted of four pieces, masked, upon the slope of a hill about six hundred yards distant. The principal body of their infantry, under Colonel Lowe, was posted in the cornfield to the left of the road. With them the Seventeenth Illinois was soon engaged. The other regiments of the column were deployed to the right and left of the road as they came up. Colonel Plummer then ordered forward the Thirty-eighth Illinois from the town, which promptly came upon the field under one of its field officers, leaving there the Eighth Wisconsin, under Colonel Murphy, and one section of Major Schofield’s battery in reserve—a post of honor, though one disagreeable to them, as all were eager to participate in the engagement.

As soon as it was practicable, Major Schofield, of the First Missouri Volunteer Light Artillery, brought upon the field two sections of his battery under Captain Matter and Lieutenant Hascock, which were placed in position, and did efficient service. Major Schofield rendered valuable aid in bringing the regiments on the right of the road into line of battle, and in directing their movements.

In the mean time the enemy were falling back before the steady advance and deadly fire of the Seventeenth and Twentieth Illinois, and a portion of the Eleventh Missouri. Their retreat soon became a rout, and they fled in every direction, pursued by the Union troops.

215

217At this time the enemy’s infantry on the right, where Thompson commanded in person, being in retreat, the Indiana Cavalry charged and pursued them. Thompson, however, had rallied a portion of his troops, about half a mile in the rear of his first position, and brought one gun into battery on the road, supported by infantry on either side. The cavalry charged and took the gun, being exposed at the same time to a deadly fire from the enemy’s infantry; but as the column that had been ordered forward to their support did not reach the point in time, the enemy were enabled to carry the piece from the field. It was here that Major Gavitt and Captain Highman fell.

The rout now became general, and the enemy were pursued by the Union troops several miles, until the approach of night induced Colonel Plummer to recall them to town. Captain Stewart, however, with his squadron of cavalry followed them until late in the night, and brought in several prisoners.

Jeff. Thompson had left Frederickton on the previous evening, marching ten miles on the Greenville road, and then turning to meet Colonel Plummer at a point where he had intended to make the attack in the morning. On learning that the national troops had taken a different road, he led his force back to the point near Frederickton where the encounter took place. The rebel force was about two thousand five hundred. Colonel Lowe, his colleague, was killed, and one hundred and twenty-five dead were left on the field; the number of their wounded is not definitely known. Four of their guns and eighty prisoners were taken. The loss of the Federal army was seven killed, and sixty wounded.

Subsequent to the death of General Lyon, Springfield had been made a rebel stronghold, and General Price, when the advancing army of General Fremont compelled him to retreat from the central part of the State, had established his headquarters there. During the month of October, however, being warned by approaching columns of the Federal troops, he had commenced the withdrawal of his forces and the immense train and supplies he had accumulated in case he should be compelled to retreat to Arkansas.

On the 20th of October, General Sigel, who commanded the Federal advance, was near Bolivar, and General Sturgis’ command was one day behind. General Lane was at Osceola; Hunter’s and McKinstry’s divisions, as well as General Ashboth, were at or near Warsaw; General Pope was near Louisville; while General Fremont and his staff were at Pomme de Terre river, en route for Quincy.

Having obtained information from his scouts that only about three 218hundred of the enemy were at Springfield, General Fremont dispatched Major Zagonyi, with 150 of his Body-guard, and also an equal force of Prairie Scouts under Major F. J. White, who was then attached to Sigel’s command, to combine their forces before reaching Springfield, and attack the rebel camp by surprise.

The distance from the camp on the Pomme de Terre river to Springfield was fifty-one miles. The Body-guard started on Thursday, the 24th, at 8½ P. M., and reached the neighborhood of Springfield, at 3 P. M. on the 25th, having overtaken the command of Major White, dispatched from the camp of General Sigel to take part in this enterprise. Major White, who was suffering from severe illness, was obliged to stop for an hour or two to rest, and when he again started to join his command, expecting to find them in the direct road from Bolivar to Springfield, he was captured by the rebel scouts, who had been informed of the approach of the Federal cavalry. Zagonyi had deemed it necessary to change his plan of attack, and to approach the rear of the rebel camp, of which fact Major White had not been informed. The change was occasioned by unexpectedly meeting a small body of the enemy, who thus became aware of the designed attack.

Major Zagonyi, on approaching within about eight miles of Springfield, came upon a small foraging party, five of whom he captured, and the remainder returned to the city and gave the alarm. Proceeding further on, the Major gained additional information from Union citizens and learned that the place was held by a force at least five or six times as large as was supposed. Notwithstanding this he resolved to press on and examine for himself, but the farther he proceeded the more positive was the information that the town was held by a large force.

The first that was seen of the enemy was a short distance from the town, where the advance discovered a full regiment drawn up on selected ground, near the road, and prepared to receive them. The ground being unfavorable for offensive operations, Major Zagonyi resolved not to attack them, but to cross the prairie to the westward and approach the city by the Mount Vernon road.

This was successfully accomplished, and upon arriving within about a mile, the citizens notified him that the enemy, two thousand strong, were awaiting his coming a quarter of a mile distant. Major Zagonyi was entreated not to risk his little band in the encounter; but he had not made a forced march of fifty miles to gain possession of a town without at least making an attempt to fulfil his instructions; and placing the Body-guard in front, and himself leading, he gave the order to advance.

As the Major was to approach from the west, the rebels had scattered skirmishers throughout the dense woods or chaparral on either 219side, who greeted his approach with a scathing fire which emptied several saddles. The woods and rough bushy ground to the south of the road, was also full of their skirmishers, hidden in the branches and behind bushes and trees. The main body of the force, however, was drawn up in the form of a hollow square, in a large open field to the north of the road, the infantry bordering along a high Virginia rail fence, nearly to the brook, and also at the head of the field bordering on the woods, and the cavalry on the other side of the field also supported by the forest.

DESPERATE CHARGE OF FREMONT’S BODY-GUARD.

Upon reaching the vicinity of this place, Major Zagonyi ordered an advance at a trot, and when fairly in the woods, the pace was increased to a gallop. When the fire opened, the two companies of the First Missouri Cavalry, and the Irish Dragoons, composing Major White’s battalion, countermarched to the left. Major Zagonyi’s command alone proceeded down the road through the fire of the enemy. Upon reaching the open field, an attempt was made to tear down the fence and charge upon the enemy. It was soon discovered, however, that this would be impossible without a heavy loss, and they immediately made a rush down the road, over a brook, where, in a measure shielded from the enemy’s fire, they levelled the rails and effected an entrance. Here, 220in the midst of the briars and stubble bordering the brook, he succeeded in forming his men, and with the Major at their head, they gallantly charged up the hill of the open field, right into the midst of their foes. As they charged, the command spread out fan-like, some to the right, some to the left, and others straight up to the woods in front.

The cavalry to the right were scattered almost instantaneously; the infantry made a somewhat firmer stand, but it was only for a moment. The charge was so furious, so well directed, and so compact, that the rebel ranks were quickly scattered. Under the well-directed fire of the enemy’s sharpshooters, the little band of one hundred and sixty-two rank and file, contending against one thousand eight hundred, necessarily suffered severely.

Pursuing a portion of the rebels into town, the Major here assembled his command, or such portions of it as were at hand, raised the stars and stripes upon the court-house, detailed a guard to attend to his wounded, and then fearful that the enemy might become cognizant of his small force, and rally, determined to retrace his steps toward Bolivar, where he could meet reinforcements, the more especially as they had ridden over eighty miles and been over twenty-four hours without food.

In the mean time Major White’s command had made a detour through the cornfield, and after making a successful charge and defeating the rebel forces stationed there, he reached the town a little while after Zagonyi had left, and took possession of it.

The loss of the enemy, as nearly as could be ascertained, was one hundred and six killed, wounded not known; that of the Federals but fifteen killed, twenty-seven wounded and ten missing.

The death of General Lyon and the defeat of the Federal army at Wilson’s Creek, on the 10th of August, and the disastrous consequences—followed on the 20th of September by the loss of Lexington and its noble band of defenders, filled the whole land with discontent. The commanding officer of the Department at this time was Major-General Fremont. The public, asking for success, and confident that it could be achieved, were impatient of the delays and heavy expenditure of money that seemed at least to fetter the Missouri Department. From General Fremont the public had expected the most vigorous and brilliant campaign. The difficulties and obstacles with which a commander must contend in organizing a military force sufficient to encounter a large army of dashing and lawless insurgents, are not always properly understood and considered by the public; and their expectations, no doubt, led far in advance of the possibilities of the situation. Occupying a field which had just been made the scene of open hostilities, and where the Governor and the Legislature, as a body, were hostile to the General Government, the entire work was to be done after General Fremont had entered upon it. The difficulty of supplying reinforcements where needed, with no reserves upon which he could draw, left no alternative to Lyon and Mulligan but that of retreat or collision with an overpowering enemy. In these reverses they suffered a cruel defeat, but won imperishable fame.

221

SECTION OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

SHOWING THE DISTANCES FROM NEW ORLEANS.

222The loss of General Lyon, and the reverses to the national army, afforded cause for great exultation to the secessionists of St. Louis and its vicinity, and their demonstrations of hostility became so marked that General Fremont, on the 14th of August, was compelled to resort to the extreme measure of declaring martial law in that city. This had the effect of restraining the rebel sympathizers in immediate proximity with the headquarters of the Commander, but was not regarded in the State at large. Under these circumstances General Fremont followed this proclamation with another on the 30th of August, establishing martial law in the State, and fixing the lines of the army of occupation as extending from Leavenworth by way of the posts of Jefferson City, Rolla and Ironton, to Cape Girardeau, on the Mississippi river. All persons taken with arms in their hands were to be tried by courts-martial, and if found guilty, shot. The property of persons taking up arms against the United States was declared confiscated to public use, “and their slaves, if any they have, are hereby declared free men.”

This proclamation produced a profound excitement throughout the country, and was received by the people with varied emotions—enthusiastically applauded by some, and bitterly condemned by others.

The President, on the 2d of September, addressed a letter to General Fremont, recommending him to modify his proclamation. General Fremont desired the President to make an order for the modification in his own name, a request with which the Chief Magistrate complied, and under date of September 11th, communicated to General Fremont, that the proclamation in question should be made to conform to the act of Congress of August 6th, which confiscated only property used in rebellion; and referred the question regarding slaves to the determination of the courts, or to subsequent legislation.

While in St. Louis, General Fremont was actively engaged in the organization of his forces, and making preparations for his approaching campaign. To protect the city he had extensive fortifications constructed. He also projected and ordered the building of the gunboats, which have since rendered such signal service. The necessity of massing a 223large army near Washington, after the defeat at Bull Run, compelled the withdrawal of many regiments which had been assigned to the Missouri Department. It was not until the 27th of September that Fremont was prepared to enter upon an offensive campaign. Accordingly on that day he left St. Louis, and with fifteen steamers and fifteen thousand men, sailed up the Missouri to Jefferson City. Here he halted several days to collect additional material necessary for his march into the interior.

On the 29th, two days after General Fremont’s departure from St. Louis, General Price commenced the evacuation of Lexington, leaving a small force as a guard. On the 7th of October, General Fremont left Jefferson City, marching in the direction of Sedalia, for the purpose of attacking the rebel commander at the earliest opportunity.

On the 16th, two hundred and twenty men of the First Missouri Scouts, under Major F. J. White, surprised the rebel garrison at Lexington, and recaptured the place, with the Federal sick and wounded there, together with two pieces of cannon, a quantity of guns, pistols and other articles which the rebels threw away in their flight. The garrison numbered three hundred men. The victorious troops found the inhabitants in a deplorable condition. Some portions of the town had been plundered of everything that could be appropriated, and many persons were suffering for the necessaries of life. It was a painful scene, and formed one of those early pictures of the war which have since been multiplied so fearfully in the border States.

On the 1st of November, General Fremont, then at Springfield, entered into an arrangement with General Price, to facilitate the exchange of prisoners, agreeing to release any who had been made prisoners “for the mere expression of political opinions;” and providing also that “the war in future be confined exclusively to the armies in the field.” Armed bodies, unauthorized by the commanders, were to be disbanded, and persons guilty of violence and lawless acts were to be subject to trial by courts-martial. This agreement was signed by Major Henry W. Williams and D. Robert Barclay, Esq., for General Price, and J. H. Eaton, Assistant-Adjutant-General, for General Fremont. A proclamation, announcing this negotiation, was accordingly published on the first of November.

The next day, General Fremont received from the Department at Washington, an order relieving him from his command. General David Hunter was appointed to the Department of Missouri, temporarily as his successor. General Fremont returned to St. Louis, and soon afterwards reached New York city, where he awaited the orders of the Government.

The Federal army was now withdrawn from the south-western portion 224of the State, and the whole of that vast field was reoccupied by the insurgent forces, and thousands of recruits were gathered into their ranks.

On the 4th of November, the antagonist forces were commanded as follows:—General Hunter, 5,000; General Sigel, 4,000; General Ashboth, 4,500; General McKinstry, 5,500; General Pope, 4,000; General Lane, 2,500; General Sturgis, 1,000. The rebels under General Price numbered 15,000; under General McCulloch, 7,000.

The disloyal members of the Legislature held a session at Neosho, Newton county, in the extreme south-western portion of the State, and on the 19th of November passed an ordinance of secession, and sent their Commissioners to the Confederate Congress at Richmond. Missouri, as represented by them, was admitted to the Confederacy on the 27th of November.

On the 30th of November, General Price, then at Neosho, issued a proclamation to the people of Missouri, calling upon them in the most earnest manner for recruits to the rebel army. He called for fifty thousand men, who might rendezvous at headquarters with anything in the shape of arms that they could find; and if unarmed, to enroll themselves, and they would be supplied. He represented the hopelessness of the cause, and the certain defeat of the rebel army unless immediately reinforced. His appeals had some effect in promoting sedition, and in securing enlistments, but they fell far short of the number he demanded.

On the 1st of December, Gen. Price was at Osceola, with 18,000 men.

On the 6th of December, Independence was entered by a band of rebels, who seized several citizens and compelled them to take an oath not to bear arms against the Southern Confederacy.

On the 13th of the same month, Governor Jackson, at New Madrid, issued a proclamation to the insurgent army, in which he attempted a defence of the rebellion, and asserted that the people of Missouri were in favor of secession. Unfortunately for the veracity or the knowledge of Governor Jackson, wherever the people of the State were delivered from the terrorism of the rebels and marauders, they adhered to the Union, as was verified by the fact, that up to the 20th of January, 1862, no less than 33,882 Missourians had entered the Federal service for three years, and 6,000 had volunteered for three months.

Major-General Henry W. Halleck was now in command of the Department. He was compelled to adopt rigorous measures in some cases in consequence of the pertinacious conduct of the secessionists. A memorable event of the month of January was the annual election for officers of the Mercantile Library Association, in which loyalty and secession were antagonistic elements. General Halleck officially announced that each officer of the Association would be expected to take 225the oath of allegiance within ten days from the date of his order, and in default thereof the officers failing should be deemed to have resigned their offices. Any officer refusing to take the oath of allegiance, who should exercise or attempt to exercise the functions of his office, should be arrested and dealt with under the laws of war.

He also ordered that all carriages bearing the enemy’s flag should be seized and confiscated; and that women resorting to the neighborhood of the military prison and insulting the Federal troops, or communicating with prisoners by exhibiting and waving secession flags, should be imprisoned. Disloyal persons who, under the military rules, were liable to assessment for the support of loyal fugitives from their homes, should be compelled to pay their assessment. All persons of every rank or position, violating the laws, or interfering with their execution, should be dealt with under strict penalties.

This energetic administration had the desired effect; and the violent minority who were determined, at every hazard, to plunge the State into war, were restrained, and order and peace assured and restored.

Notwithstanding all the activity and watchfulness of the blockading vessels off the Southern coast, many instances were exultingly heralded by the Southern press, as well as in Europe, of the successful running of the blockade by vessels bound both outward and inward. The logic of these occurrences was very simple on the part of the secessionists and their sympathizers. The frequent evasion of the blockade proved that it was “inefficient” on the part of the Federal government, and therefore not only to be disregarded, but officially declared by foreign governments to be incomplete, and practically null and void. This declaration was expected to be sufficient to warrant the free movements of commerce, and any attempt to interfere on the part of the United States would be a challenge for the intervention of England and France.

The repeated instances of vessels escaping rendered it an imperative necessity for the government to adopt some measure that would, if possible, prevent their recurrence at the principal ports of the South. For this purpose it was determined to close several of the harbors by placing obstructions in the channels. Most of the harbors of the Southern coast, in consequence of the deltas, and numerous islands at their entrances, have several channels, through which vessels of light draft may pass, while those of the heaviest draft are confined to one principal channel. This is the case in the approach to both Charleston and 226Savannah. The obstructing of these two principal channels was therefore assigned for the month of December.

For this purpose a number of old whaling vessels were purchased at New Bedford and New London, freighted with granite from the Bay State, and taken to Port Royal as a rendezvous, whence they were to be convoyed to their destination. The people of Savannah, after the capture of Port Royal and Beaufort, anticipating the approach of the Federal fleet, volunteered the work on their own behalf and blockaded their own port by similar means. The fleet was therefore at liberty to repair to Charleston, and within sight of the walls of Sumter, to shut out the rebellious people of that city from the ocean.

The “Stone Fleet” sailed from Port Royal on the 18th of December, accompanied by the steamers Cahawba, Philadelphia and Ericsson, to tow and assist, the whole convoyed by the Mohican, Captain Gordon, the Ottawa, Captain Stevens, and Pocahontas, Captain Balch.

The fleet arrived off Charleston harbor the next day and preparations were made for sinking them in their places. Each of the weather-beaten and storm-tossed old vessels that had so long borne the stars and stripes in every latitude, were now to make a stubborn protest against treason by keeping watch at the very door of its birth-place. They were furnished with ingenious contrivances and plugs, the withdrawal of which would allow the water to flow in and sink them on the floor of the channel.

The sinking of the fleet was intrusted to Captain Charles H. Davis, formerly on the Coast Survey, and ever since more or less intimately connected with it. It is remarkable that when, in 1851, an appropriation was made by the Federal Government for the improvement of Charleston harbor, and, at the request of South Carolina, a commission of army and navy officers was appointed to superintend the work, Captain Davis was one of the commission, and for three or four years was engaged in these operations. The present attempt was of somewhat different character. The entrance by the main ship channel runs from the bar to Fort Sumter, six miles, nearly south and north. The city is three miles beyond, bearing about N. W. The other channels are Sanford’s, Swash, the North, and Maffit’s, or Sullivan’s Island, which need not to be particularly described. Only the latter is practicable for vessels of any draught, but all serve more or less to empty the waters discharged by the Ashley and Cooper rivers. Over the bar, at the entrance of the main ship channel, is a narrow passage, through which vessels may carry eleven feet at low water; about seventeen at high water. The plan of Captain Davis for closing the harbor proceeded on the following principles:

The obstructions were to be placed on both sides of the crest of the 227bar, so that the same forces which created the bar might be relied on to keep them in their places.

The bar was not to be obstructed entirely; for natural forces would soon open a new passage, since the rivers must discharge themselves by some outlet; but to be only partially obstructed, so that, while this channel was ruined, no old one, like Swash or Sanford, should be improved, or a new one formed.

The vessels were so placed that on the channel course it would be difficult to draw a line through any part of it that would not be intercepted by one of them. A ship, therefore, endeavoring to make her way out or in could not, by taking the bearings of any point of departure, as she could not sail on any straight line.

The vessels were placed checkerwise, at some distance from each other, so as to create an artificial unevenness of the bottom, remotely resembling Hell Gate and Holmes’s Hole, which unevenness would give rise to eddies, counter-currents and whirlpools, adding so seriously to the difficulties of navigation that it could only be practicable by steamers, or with a very commanding breeze.

The execution of this plan was begun by buoying out the channel and circumscribing within four points the space where the vessels were all to be sunk, as follows:

The distance between the points from S. W. to N. E. is about an eighth of a mile; the breadth perhaps half as much. It was no part of the plan to build a wall of ships across, but to drop them at a little distance from each other, on the principles above stated, closing the channel to navigation, but leaving it open to the water.

Work was resumed on Friday morning, the 20th, the Ottawa and Pocahontas bringing the ships to their stations. The placing of them was an operation of considerable nicety, especially as some of the vessels were so deep as to be with difficulty dragged on the bar, except at high water. A graver hindrance to their exact location was found in the imperfection of the arrangement for sinking, several of the ships remaining afloat so long after the plug was knocked out, that they swung out of position. They were, nevertheless, finally placed very nearly according to the plan. Great credit was earned by Mr. Bradbury and Mr. Godfrey for the successful execution of so difficult an undertaking. The last ship, the Archer, closed the only remaining gap, and the manner in which Mr. Bradbury took her in with the Pocahontas and then extricated the latter from her perilous position, filled the fleet with admiration for his skillful seamanship and cool daring. By half-past ten 228the last plug was drawn, and every ship of the sixteen was either sunk or sinking.

One of the vessels, the Robin Hood, with upright masts, stood erect, in water too shallow to submerge her. As evening drew near she was set on fire, and in a little time the evening sky was lighted up with the pyrotechnic display, while the inhabitants of Charleston, the garrison of Fort Moultrie, and the surroundings, were compelled to look on and see the temporary completion of the blockade they had so long derided and defied.

This event provoked loud and vindictive complaints and assaults in France and England, and the measure was denounced as an outrage on civilization, and a sufficient warrant for interference in the war. But an examination of the historical precedents afforded by British practice closed the mouths of the declaimers in Parliament as well as through the press, and once more American practice was permitted to pass, justified by the verdict of opinion as well as of illustrious example.

On Thursday morning, December 12th, Brigadier-General R. H. Milroy started from his headquarters on Cheat Mountain Summit, with fifteen hundred men, with the design of attacking a rebel camp on the Alleghany mountains, twenty-five miles distant. The column started at eight o’clock, and after a fatiguing day’s march arrived, at eight P. M., at the old Camp Bartow, on the Greenbrier river, the scene of General Reynolds’ rencontre on the 3d of October previous. Here the troops rested until eleven P. M., when the General divided his force into two columns, with the intention of reaching the enemy’s camp on the summit of the mountain, about eight and a half miles distant, from two opposite points, at four o’clock, A. M., of the 13th.

The first division, consisting of detachments from the Ninth Indiana, Colonel Moody, and Second Virginia, Major Owens, about one thousand strong, took up its march on the old Greenbank road to attack the enemy on the left.

The second division consisted of detachments from the Thirteenth Indiana, Twenty-fifth and Thirty-second Ohio, and Bracken Cavalry, under Major Dobbs, Colonel J. A. Jones, Captain Hamilton and Captain Bracken. Brigadier-General Reynolds and his staff conducted this division, numerically about the same as the first division. This column took the Staunton pike, and marched cautiously until they came in sight of the enemy’s camp, where, after throwing out more skirmishers, the division left the road and commenced to ascend the mountain to the 229enemy’s right. After driving in some of the hostile pickets they reached the summit in good order. The enemy were fully prepared to receive them. The fight on the enemy’s right commenced about twenty minutes after daylight.

Lieutenant McDonald, of General Reynolds’ staff, with one company of the Thirteenth Indiana, formed the line of battle, placing the Twenty-fifth Ohio on his left, part of the Thirteenth Indiana on their left, and part of the Thirty-second Ohio on their left. The enemy immediately advanced to attack the Federal troops, but after a few rounds retreated in great confusion, leaving their dead and wounded. Colonel Moody’s division not appearing to attack the enemy on the left, the rebels seeing the inferior force opposed to them, were again encouraged to advance toward their assailants, which they did with a far superior force, pouring in their fire with vigor. Some of the Federals now commenced falling to the rear, all along the line; but Captains Charlesworth and Crowe, of the Twenty-fifth Ohio, Lieutenant McDonald, Captains Myers and Newland, of the Thirteenth Indiana, and Hamilton, of the Thirty-second Ohio, rallied them, and brought them into line in a few moments. The enemy again fell back and attempted to turn their right flank, but was immediately met and repulsed. The fortunes of the day appeared to alternate between the respective armies for three hours, the Federals holding out bravely against the superior numbers of the enemy, who were enabled to concentrate their entire army of two thousand men and four or five pieces of artillery against this comparatively small force.

Colonel Moody’s force not having then been heard from, Colonel Jones, who had charge of the division now in action, after exhausting his ammunition, withdrew his men from the field.

Almost at this juncture, Colonel Moody’s command, which had been detained by obstructions placed in the road over which they were compelled to pass, arrived, and attacked the enemy vigorously on his left, and in turn maintained an obstinate contest, unaided, against the entire rebel command, which they did with much courage and skill, until three o’clock, P. M., when they too were compelled to retire before the superior force of their opponents.

Though thwarted in his plan of attack by the unexpected obstructions which Colonel Moody’s division had to encounter, General Milroy was far from being disconcerted by the result. The men had evinced a high order of courage, and the divisions had alternately maintained an obstinate fight against an army of nearly three times their number.

The official report of the casualties on the Federal side gives the number of killed, twenty; wounded, one hundred and seven; missing, ten. The rebel loss is acknowledged by the Richmond Enquirer to have been about the same.

On the eighteenth of December, Brigadier-General Pope, commanding the Federal troops in the central district of Missouri, made a brilliant and successful movement, which resulted in the capture of a considerable number of the enemy.

233

235It will be recollected that the withdrawal of the Federal troops from Springfield and the leading points of both central and southern Missouri, had given free scope to the action of the enemy. Seditious proclamations had been issued by Ex-Governor Jackson and General Price, and had been thoroughly circulated. Enlisting agents, also, had been very active, and some two thousand recruits, mostly drawn from the northern counties, were proceeding by slow stages southward, to unite with the main body under General Price.

A well laid plan was matured by Generals Halleck and Pope to capture these reinforcements; and two brigades of General Pope’s division were dispatched without exciting any suspicion as to their destination, to intercept the enemy on their march. The brigades were constituted as follows:

First Brigade, Acting Brigadier-General Steele.—Twenty-seventh regiment Ohio Volunteers, Colonel Kennett; Twenty-second regiment Indiana Volunteers, Colonel Hendricks; First regiment Kansas Volunteers, Colonel Thayer; one battery First Missouri Volunteers, Lieutenant Marr; four companies regular cavalry, Colonel Amory.

Second Brigade, Acting Brigadier-General Jeff. C. Davis.—Eighteenth regiment Indiana Volunteers, Colonel Patterson; Eighth regiment Indiana Volunteers, Colonel Benton; Twenty-fourth regiment Indiana Volunteers, Lieutenant ——; one battery First Missouri Artillery, Lieutenant Klaus; one squadron First Iowa Cavalry, Major Torrence.

The whole was under the immediate command of General Pope. The four companies of regular cavalry were the fragments of the original companies, B, C, D, and E, and numbered but a little over a hundred men. They were under the command of Captain Crittenden, of the regular army, son of Hon. John J. Crittenden.

The command started from Sedalia on Sunday, the 15th, and encamped at night eleven miles distant on the road to Clinton. The next day they marched twenty-six miles, and at sunset arrived at Shawnee Mound, in Henry county. Here reports of various companies of rebels began to come in from residents and from Union scouts. One company of near five hundred was heard of at a point about twelve miles north-west, and several smaller bodies directly south, from Clinton to Butler. General Pope then dispatched his whole available force of cavalry, nearly seven hundred, before they had secured three hours’ rest, after the five hundred near Morristown. The cavalry under Lieutenant-Colonel Brown, of the Seventh Missouri Volunteers, pushed on all night, and arriving at the rebel camp they found it vacated. The enemy had received warning and fled precipitately, leaving numerous evidences of haste. The cavalry, notwithstanding their forty miles’ continuous march, pushed on after the fleeing rebels till they reached Rose Hill, picking up some twenty or thirty stragglers on the road. At Rose Hill the rebels separated into several squads, some taking the road west, others 236taking the south route to Butler, and Colonel Brown had no other alternative than to rest his exhausted horses, and finally to make his way back to the main column next day, near Warrensburg. He brought in nearly one hundred prisoners.

General Pope in the meantime kept advancing in a direction west of north to Chilhowee, a most important point, being the centre of numerous cross-roads. This was near the site of the rebel camp just referred to, and here the pickets brought in some few straggling men who were bound for Price’s army. At Chilhowee they heard of a rebel force of 1,800 from the north, and of the scouring of the country south of Clinton by Major Hubbard, of the First Missouri Cavalry. The direction of the Union forces was at once east, toward Warrenburg. That night (Wednesday) they encamped two and a half miles west of Warrenburg. The reports were confirmed by a loyal man, who was on his way to give the information. He gave their location as at Kilpatrick’s mill, on the Clear fork of Blackwater Creek. (Milford is the post-office name.) Early on Thursday morning they started in the direction of Knob Noster, being directly south of the enemy. Colonel Merrill’s Horse was ordered to take the direct road running parallel with the course of the Blackwater, so as to intercept them in case they took a western course.

The brigade of Colonel Davis was placed in the advance, with orders to keep well up to the cavalry, a section of artillery being ready to support the cavalry upon a minute’s warning. General Pope, with the main body, kept due west for Knob Noster, ready to come up if necessary. Colonel Davis, finding that the enemy was still in camp at Milford, diverged to the left, and put the regular cavalry, under Lieutenant Amory, in the advance, the four companies of the First Iowa Cavalry, under Major Torrence, being next. On approaching the mill, the men discovered that the rebels were posted on the opposite side of the bridge, across the dam. Finding that it would be dangerous to charge the bridge mounted, Lieutenant Amory ordered the men to dismount and skirmish with pistols and sabres, as infantry, the fourth man holding the horses of the other three. This they instantly did, and advanced under the lead of Lieutenant Gordon, of Company D. Some ineffectual skirmishing took place between the regulars, who were sheltered behind a barn on the south of the creek, and the rebels, who were on the north side. During this interval the Iowa Cavalry filed off to the left, in the attempt to cross the stream higher up, but after vainly traversing its steep sides and muddy bottom for a mile, returned to find Lieutenant Amory charging across the bridge, the rebels having deserted it upon seeing Colonel Davis, with the artillery advancing. Lieutenant Amory followed the road, thinking that the rebels might flee to the north. Lieutenant Gordon immediately dashed after some of the scattering 237fugitives through the wood, and after penetrating a few rods, received a volley from the enemy, whom he just then discovered formed in line. He instantly formed in line, and ordered his men to fire.

The cavalry, under Major Torrence, and the regulars, under Lieutenant Amory, had in the mean time reached the flank and rear of another body of the enemy, who was thus enclosed on one side by a long marsh, on the other by a deep and muddy mill-pond, and on the third by our cavalry. Colonel Davis had by this time come up in the rear. A white flag was displayed, and Colonel Alexander, a young man, came forward and asked if thirty minutes would be allowed them for consultation. Colonel Davis’s answer was “that as night was closing in, that was too long.” Colonel A. then asked if he would be allowed to go to headquarters and bring back the answer of the commander of the corps, Colonel Robinson. Permission being granted, he returned in about five minutes, with the response that “they would be obliged to surrender as prisoners of war.” The arms were stacked, and the men formed in line and marched between two files of infantry, the Eighteenth and Twenty-fourth Illinois, with all the honors of war. Colonel Davis immediately sent dispatches to General Pope announcing his success, and as night was closing around, the arms were hastily stowed in wagons, and the Federal troops commenced the march for camp. One thousand guns of all kinds were captured, with a full supply of clothing and provision. One of the enemy was killed, and several wounded. Two Federals were killed and eight wounded.

Dispatches were received Thursday evening from General Halleck ordering the Union troops to fall back to Sedalia. General Pope, therefore, accompanied with the victors as an escort, and the wounded men, started and made the journey (twenty miles) by two o’clock.

Following close upon them was the brigade of Colonel Hovey, of the Twenty-fourth Indiana, who had been dispatched with two regiments, a battery, and two squadrons of the First Missouri Cavalry, on the Clinton road some twelve miles from Sedalia, where the cavalry, under Major Hubbard, some two hundred and fifty in number, made a reconnoissance of the country extending westward and southward, as far as the Grand river, beyond Clinton. Here they came upon the pickets of General Rains, who, with an advanced cavalry force was guarding the Grand river. The pickets were driven in, one shot, about sixty prisoners taken within the lines of General Rains, and a mill near Clinton burned.

The detachment of cavalry under Lieutenant-Colonel Brown also burned a mill near Johnstown, on the borders of Bates county. His force travelled two hundred and fifty miles in six days.

Colonel Hovey, of the Twenty-fourth Indiana, effected a successful 238ruse, whereby he succeeded in making a capture of six prisoners and two hundred bushels of corn meal. He was ordered by General Turner to reconnoitre with about a hundred men on the road to Clinton. He left on Monday morning, taking Fairview and Siseonville on his route. Learning on Tuesday that a party of the enemy was encamped at a mill near Chapel Hill, he adopted a scheme for capturing the whole of them next day.

He ordered his men into the wagons, and had them drawn, with the exception of a small guard, resembling a provision train. As they approached Hall’s store the rebels appeared in the brush ready to seize the train. One of his officers rode around a hill to see the whereabouts of the party, when he encountered a mounted rebel, who raised his shot-gun, when he was brought to the ground by a revolver. Colonel Hovey then ordered his men to emerge from their concealment, and a search was made for the enemy. One of them was wounded in the fray, and one killed, two balls lodging in his neck. A few horses and mules were captured, some of which were branded U. S. The mill was afterward burned, and the meal put in Hovey’s wagons.

The total number of prisoners taken exceeded sixteen hundred. The march was accomplished in exceeding cold weather, and many of the troops suffered severely.

In the month of December, the Pennsylvania reserve regiments, under the command of Major-General McCall, constituted the right wing of the great Potomac army. The division occupied an extensive range of country, beyond Langley’s church and tavern, the encampments stretching toward Lewinsville. Beyond this, north-westwardly, an open country extended, in the direction of Leesburg, some twelve or fifteen miles, unoccupied by hostile forces. Midway was the village of Dranesville, a small town, almost deserted.

It having been determined to send a foraging party to take possession of a quantity of hay, oats and provender known to be in this neighborhood, the brigade of General E. O. C. Ord, the third of McCall’s division, was assigned to the duty.

The force consisted of the Sixth regiment, Colonel W. W. Rickets; Ninth, Colonel C. F. Jackson; Tenth, Colonel John S. McCalmont; Twelfth, Colonel John H. Taggart. The regiment of riflemen known as the Bucktails, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas L. Kane; a battery of two twenty-four-pounders and two twelve-pounders, commanded by Captain 239Easton, and a detachment of cavalry from Colonel Bayard’s regiment, also accompanied the expedition. Each regiment was strongly represented, and there were about four thousand men in the expedition. The order for march was received on Thursday evening, the men being directed to take with them one day’s rations. The morning was clear, and rather cold, with a slight mist around the sun, and a thin layer of frost whitening the road and coating the grass. The Bucktails were assigned the advance of the infantry column, the cavalry preceding as scouts, and battery being in reserve. Colonel Taggart’s regiment brought up the rear. A number of teams were also in company. Each regiment had two companies of flankers thrown out, on either side of the column, to scour the woods, search the thickets, and prevent the column from falling into an ambuscade. They halted at Difficult Creek, a narrow stream, with a heavy stone bridge. The stream is fordable, the average width being thirty feet.

The march continued. The day became warm, the sky soft and clear, as the soldiers approached Dranesville. About noon the flanking companies of the Twelfth regiment came in and reported that a large body of rebels could be seen from a neighboring hill. At another part of the line shots were exchanged between the hidden enemy and the Union flanking companies. Instantly a line of battle was formed, but no enemy appeared, and the firing ceased.

The delay was that of a few minutes. The Union men were anxious, expectant, and enthusiastic. Suddenly a fire was opened upon our line from a wood or thicket nearly a mile distant. The enemy’s battery contained six guns, and was placed in a road skirting the wood, and sheltered by it. Their guns were of large calibre, and they fired shells. At first they passed over the column and exploded beyond. The rebel artillerymen discovered this, altered their range, and their shells fell short. In the mean time, Easton’s battery was brought into position on the side of an elevation in front of the Twelfth regiment, which was in line of battle. General Ord himself sighted the guns, and a sharp fire was opened upon the enemy.

The Union infantry laid down on their arms, awaiting the orders of their superior officers. At length the fire of the enemy began to be irregular and uncertain, proving that they either intended to retreat or change position. At this time Colonel Kane, who was on the right of the column, discovered the infantry of the enemy passing through an open clearing near the wood, evidently intending a flank movement, or designing to occupy a brick house within a hundred yards of his regiment. He sent a detachment of twenty men, under command of Lieutenant Rice, to take the house, which they did, and, under shelter of its walls, opened fire upon the advancing regiments. Having bestowed 240the family found in this house safely in the cellar, the small garrison demolished the windows and attacked the enemy, which was afterwards discovered to be an Alabama regiment, under command of Colonel John H. Forney; a Kentucky regiment, commanded by Colonel Tom Taylor; and a South Carolina regiment. They took the shelter of underbrush, and, under the supposition that the house was filled by Union troops, opened a heavy fire upon it, supported by two small guns, which threw shot and shell upon it. They advanced nearer and nearer every volley, the brave Union riflemen firing rapidly and with great effect. Colonel Kane was among them all the time, inspiring them with his example. They fell on the ground, they loaded their pieces, rising suddenly, taking deliberate aim, and lying down to load again. The burden of the enemy’s fire was directed at the house, and it was shattered and pierced, the roof being broken, and some of the walls giving way.

The Federal fire was so terrific that the enemy fell back from the advanced position they had assumed, abandoned their flanking manœuvre, and retreated to the woods under cover of their battery, which kept up an irregular and uncertain fire. The Bucktails advanced in pursuit. As they rose to follow, Colonel Kane, who was leading them, was wounded. He fell, but instantly arose, and continued to advance. In the mean time General Ord ordered the line to charge and take the battery. The order was given to the Twelfth regiment, Colonel John H. Taggart commanding. It was received with a cheer by the men, and they advanced in the direction of the unseen battery. They proceeded to the edge of the wood and entered, keeping the line as straight and precise as on dress parade. The wood was dense, and so impenetrable that the men found it difficult to proceed. Colonel Taggart threw his scabbard away and preceded his men with his drawn sword in one hand and his pistol in the other.

They came into an open clearing, only to find that the rebels had retreated in the most precipitate manner. While the Union troops were crowding through the woods, the enemy had started along the Leesburg road, taking their cannon, but leaving their dead and wounded, and large quantities of arms and ammunition. A single caisson remained. Their magazine had been struck by a shell, and exploded with appalling effect. Around it the dead and dying were heaped in masses—fifteen men and five horses being killed. The Union men were wild with the enthusiasm of victory, and having placed the wounded in the houses near by, and chopped the gun-carriages to splinters, they started in pursuit of the retreating foe.

This was about three o’clock. General McCall, with his staff, had arrived on the ground only to hear of a victory won. Knowing that an 241advance would be fatal, he ordered a recall, and with the wounded and dead, and the trophies of war, the troops returned from the field.

The brave and victorious band arrived at Langley’s about nine o’clock in the evening, where they were met by thousands of their shouting and exultant comrades.

The rebel troops engaged in this battle were on the same errand. Two hundred wagons had been sent out by General Stuart, their commander, under the care of a foraging party, escorted by the Eleventh Virginia, Colonel Garland; the Sixth South Carolina, under Lieutenant-Colonel A. J. Secrest; the Tenth Alabama, Colonel John H. Forney; the First Kentucky, Colonel Sam. Taylor; the Sumter Flying Artillery, Captain Cutts, and detachments from Ransom’s and Radford’s Cavalry. The rebel troops fought well, and did honor to themselves as soldiers, whose nerve and bravery would have been worthy of triumph in a sacred cause. Their loss was seventy-five killed, one hundred and fifty wounded, and thirty prisoners. Of the Federals, seven were killed and sixty-one wounded.

General B. F. Butler, after having been stationed for a short time at Fortress Monroe, was assigned to the North-Eastern Department, and located his headquarters at Boston, where he superintended the organization of the New England troops, and the fitting out of an expedition intended to make a demonstration at some point on the Southern coast. A portion of his troops sailed from Boston on the 23d of November, in the steam transport Constitution, which arrived at Fortress Monroe on the 26th, with the Twenty-sixth Massachusetts, and the Ninth Connecticut regiments, and Captain Manning’s battery—making a total of one thousand nine hundred men. Brigadier-General J. W. Phelps here took the command, and reached Ship Island harbor, in Mississippi Sound, December 3.

On the west end of this island there was a partly-finished fort, occupied by Lieutenant Buchanan and one hundred and seventy sailors and marines, with several ship guns in position. The rebels had evacuated the island in September, destroying what they could not carry away with them.

General Phelps, on assuming the command of Ship Island, published a proclamation “To the loyal citizens of the South-west,” in which he defined the political “motives and principles” by which his command would be governed. He then at the very opening of his address, 242declared that every slave State admitted into the Union since the adoption of the Constitution, had been admitted in direct violation of that instrument. That every slave State that existed as such at the adoption of the Constitution, was by that act placed under the “highest obligation of honor and morality to abolish slavery.” The rest of the “proclamation” was in harmony with these statements. General Phelps made an official report of his expedition to General Butler, who reported the facts to the Adjutant-General of the United States. General Phelps was commended for the successful manner in which he had performed his military duties, but his proclamation was pronounced superfluous and uncalled for.

The occupancy of Ship Island being secured, the forces remained in undisturbed possession, awaiting the future movements of the commander of the expedition.

On the 23d of December, General Prentiss, commanding the army of Northern Missouri, having his headquarters at Palmyra, received orders to disperse a body of the enemy’s forces that had concentrated in Boone County. In pursuance of his instructions he started on the following morning with two hundred of the Third Missouri Cavalry, Colonel John Glover, and five companies of Sharpshooters, under Colonel Birge, and arrived at Sturgeon on the evening of the 26th.

During the following day, having learned that there was a concentration of rebels near the village of Hallsville, in Boone County, General Prentiss sent forward one company of cavalry, commanded by Captain Howland, to reconnoitre in that vicinity. Captain Howland proceeded to Hallsville, but found no rebels. After proceeding about two miles beyond, his advance guard encountered the rebels in force, commanded by Colonel Dorsey. Captain Howland endeavored to draw off his company, having taken nine prisoners, but was overpowered. Being wounded, and having lost his horse, he was taken prisoner, with one private of his company. The remainder of his men made good their retreat, arriving at Sturgeon at nine o’clock, P. M.

Having learned the position of the enemy, General Prentiss ordered his command, numbering in all four hundred and seventy, to march at two o’clock, A. M., at which hour he started, and after marching a distance of sixteen miles, at eight o’clock A. M. of the 28th inst. found one company of rebels, commanded by Captain Johnson, in position to the left of the road leading from Hallsville to Mount Zion. General Prentiss 243ordered two companies of sharpshooters to pass to the rear of the enemy, and one of cavalry to dismount and engage them in the front.

Colonel Glover opened fire, and succeeded in killing five and capturing seven prisoners, from whom was ascertained the number and position of the main force—the enemy being posted at a church, known as Mount Zion, in Boone County, one mile and a half in advance, numbering near nine hundred men. General Prentiss ordered the cavalry under Colonel Glover forward, accompanied by two companies of Birge’s sharpshooters. Colonel Birge, arriving near the encampment, ordered one troop of cavalry to dismount and engage the enemy. The sharpshooters were afterward ordered through a field on the right to skirmish with the enemy’s left, and if possible drive them from the woods.

The firing being heavy, and these three companies proving unable to drive the enemy from his cover, Colonel Glover, with his available force, moved in double-quick to their aid, and for half an hour longer the battle raged and became a hand-to-hand fight. Captain Boyd’s company of sharpshooters were in the midst of the rebel camp. Also, Major Carrick, with Company C of the Cavalry. When Colonel Glover arrived, the enemy retreated, leaving in the Federal hands 90 horses and 105 stand of arms. The battle was brought to a close about 11 A. M.

The reserve of two companies coming into action at the moment the enemy gave way, the victory was complete. After collecting the wounded, the Federals proceeded to care for those of the enemy, placing them in the church, and sent for farmers and friends in the vicinity to render assistance, when they returned to Sturgeon, where they arrived at 9, P. M. The loss in the battle of Mount Zion, and in the engagement of the evening previous, was: Killed, 3; slightly wounded, 46; severely wounded, 17. Rebel loss: Killed, 25; wounded, 150.

The prominent and active men in the State of Arkansas, and particularly all who held official positions, were allied politically with the South Carolina conspirators, while the majority of the people, in the early stages of the insurrection, were loyal. Hence, the leaders were slow in their movements to carry the State out of the Union; but when the Confederate government had become organized, and transferred to Richmond, and the rebellion had been fully inaugurated by the attack on Fort Sumter, followed by the proclamation of President Lincoln, they deemed that the time had come for the development of their plans. 244The Governor of the State, Henry M. Rector, on the 22d of April, 1861, directed the seizure by State troops of the United States stores at Napoleon; followed on the 24th by the capture of Fort Smith by the forces under Colonel Borland.

The Legislature being convened at Little Rock, an unconditional ordinance of Secession was passed on the 6th of May, and on the 18th the Confederate Congress at Richmond declared the admission of Arkansas to the Southern Confederacy.

It was the misfortune of the loyal men of the State that they did not number in their ranks any citizens of power and influence, who had energy sufficient to organize the Unionists, and oppose a barrier to the acts of the enemies of the Federal Government. Unarmed and unorganized, while the conspirators were in a state of preparation for any resistance that might be made, protest and opposition were of no avail, and the loyal men of the State were compelled to submit, and endure the persecutions and depredations of the more numerous secessionists.

A great deal of excitement was occasioned during the month of November by the discovery that the Union men of Izard, Fulton, Independent and Searcey counties had secret organizations and societies for mutual protection and co-operation. This accidental disclosure exasperated the conspirators, who adopted the most violent measures to disperse the Unionists, and break up their associations. Many were taken to Little Rock and hanged, while others were arrested in the woods, attempting to escape beyond the State, and shared the same fate. Large numbers of refugees, however, succeeded in reaching Missouri, where they remained, and subsequently, under Captain Ware, a member of the Arkansas Legislature, organized as a military body at Rolla, Missouri, and entered the service under General Curtis, receiving large accessions on the marching of Curtis’ expedition into the State.

Impressed with the importance of securing the services of the Indian tribes within the limits of Arkansas, as well as the adjoining territory, the agents of the Richmond government were instructed to negotiate with the Cherokees and Creeks on the borders of Arkansas, promising the payment of the United States annuities by the Confederacy in case of their allegiance. On the 24th of August an agreement was entered into by some of the Cherokee chiefs, and the two tribes raised 2,000 men for the war. The nations were divided on the question, the most intelligent being convinced that loyalty to the Federal Government was their true policy not less than their duty. The Choctaws, Chickasaws, and other tribes were treated in a similar manner, and with the same results—secession having the effect of dividing the Red Men of the forest as it had divided the pale faces of the east.

From authentic sources it was learned from the Seminole agency 245that Opothleyoholo, a loyal chief, had collected together four or five thousand Indians, and about thirteen hundred negroes, who had gone to him with the hope of being rendered free. When General Cooper (rebel,) at the head of the Creek, Choctaw and Chickasaw regiments, with other Indians, amounting to near five thousand, advanced upon Opothleyoholo’s camp, his followers fled, leaving all behind. Opothleyoholo left with a few adherents for the south-west. Most of his followers were reported to be with Colonel Cooper, who was said to have a very large Indian force with him.

On the 1st of January, 1862, Fort Pickens with the rebel forts and batteries on the Bay of Pensacola again awoke the thunders of their heavy artillery, whose tremendous explosions reverberated for thirty miles along the Florida coast.

The loyal garrison at the fort had been long chafing under the restraints of continued inaction. The commander, Colonel Harvey Brown, Fifth United States Artillery, had been anxiously awaiting the time when a sufficient force would be at his command to drive the unwelcome foe from his position near the fort.

Lieutenant Adam J. Slemmer, of Pennsylvania, of the First United States Artillery, the former brave commander, who saved the fort by his courage and loyalty, on the 12th of January, 1861, had been relieved, on account of ill-health. He received a Major’s commission in the Sixteenth United States Infantry, May 14th, 1861.

On the first day of the year a small steamer was seen from Fort Pickens making her way toward the Navy Yard. She was a saucy, defiant looking craft, and some one on board waved a secession flag ostentatiously in sight, as if challenging a fire. This was an exasperating insult to the restive men shut up in the fort. Colonel Brown had frequently warned General Bragg against forcing the presence of these insolent steamers upon him, and when this presumptuous little craft approached Fort Pickens, with its flag in commotion, he opened fire upon her. She drew in her flag and retreated instantly with a crestfallen, retrograde movement, in amusing contrast with her first approach.

The fire from Fort Pickens was directly answered by all the rebel batteries, and in a brief time the engagement became general. The firing on both sides was kept up through the entire day, and at night Pickens maintained a slow fire from her thirteen-inch mortars, which was promptly returned by the rebels.

About midnight a conflagration broke out in the Navy Yard. It 246flamed up furiously, consuming the buildings of the Yard, and spreading to the town of Woolsey, adjoining the Navy Yard on the north, where it raged all night.

The scene during the night was wonderfully magnificent. Every shell could be tracked in its course through the air from the moment it left the gun until it exploded, scattering destruction all around. These shells, rising up against a cloud of surging flame, which sent its red light in a continued glare landward and seaward, formed an appalling spectacle. The minutest outline of the grim fort seemed sketched on a back-ground of fire, rendering the light which Colonel Brown hung out from its walls, in scornful bravado, offering a sure mark to the enemy, scarcely more than one of the ten thousand sparks that filled the atmosphere with gleams of gold. Far off over the beautiful land the light of that conflagration spread, filling the inhabitants with alarm; and so brightly did it flame over the ocean, that the United States steamer Mercedita floated in the glow of its ruddy light when over twenty miles at sea.

Through the heat of this conflagration the guns kept up their slow booming thunder, adding to the sublime interest of the scene. The firing on both sides was remarkable for its extreme accuracy. Shells in countless numbers fell inside of Fort Pickens, and were returned with double vigor by its guns.

All the batteries were engaged, and did their work admirably. Fort McRae, which had been so roughly handled by the Federal squadron at the last engagement, resumed its accustomed vigor, and Battery Scott kept up a constant fire throughout the engagement.

Several ships of the squadron were present, but took no part in the fight. It was well they did not, for nothing could have been gained, and probably much would have been lost had they attempted to oppose their wooden sides to stone walls and earthworks.

The bombardment was the old story of fort against fort, at a distance too great for any decisive result. The Unionists gained nothing, yet expended a large amount of powder, shot and shell, and the enemy had no greater advantage. Apart from the burning of Warrington, the Navy Yard and Woolsey, no injury worth speaking of was sustained. The next day Fort Pickens stood out against the sky grim and strong as it was before the bombardment. There were but few if any casualties worth recording during this affair. Even Colonel Brown’s lantern, hung out to guide the rebel shot, failed to invite any real injury; and except that it left a wide field of devastation behind, the bombardment of Fort Pickens had few important results.

Having recruited his men by a night’s rest at Paintsville, Colonel Garfield was preparing to start in immediate pursuit on the morning of the 8th, but receiving information of the superior force of the enemy, he awaited the arrival of the Fortieth Ohio regiment, and Wolford’s Kentucky cavalry, by way of Mount Sterling. These troops joined him on that day, raising his effective force to about two thousand four hundred men, after deducting Colonel Bolle’s Virginia cavalry, which, in obedience to orders, had returned to Guyandotte in that State. On the 9th, Colonel Garfield detailed from the Forty-second and Fortieth Ohio, and Fourteenth Kentucky each three hundred men, and from the Twenty-second Kentucky two hundred men, and taking the immediate command, supported, however, by Colonel Craner of the Fortieth, and Major Burke of the Fourteenth. After detaching Colonel Wolford’s and Major McLaughlin’s cavalry up Jennie’s Creek, he marched up the river road leading to Prestonburg. Early on the morning of the 10th, Colonel Sheldon of the Forty-second Ohio, in command at the camp, received a dispatch from Colonel Garfield, stating that he had found the enemy, and asking reinforcements. In compliance with the order, at six A. M. on the tenth, Colonel Sheldon marched with eight hundred men, who eagerly pressed forward on their way to the scene of action. As Colonel Garfield had 249stated, he had found the enemy two miles from Prestonburg, on Middle Creek, in a chosen position among the hills, with between four and five thousand men and four pieces of artillery. The Fifth Virginia regiment, Colonel Trigg, Colonel John S. Williams’ Kentucky regiment, Colonel Moore’s Kentucky regiment, Markham and Wicher’s cavalry, and the Fourth Virginia infantry, lay in full strength on the hills at the forks of the creek, while their battery seemed to forbid all approach. Nothing deterred by the formidable position and number of the enemy, Colonel Garfield, not fully aware of their exact locality, sent skirmishers forward with a view of drawing the enemy’s fire, and thus ascertaining his whereabouts. Not succeeding in this, about noon he sent forward his escort of cavalry, some twenty strong, in a headlong charge. This accomplished the object, for the enemy, thinking the whole Union force upon them, opened with musketry, shot and shell upon the cavalry, and a small party of the skirmishers under Adjutant Olds of the Forty-second, then in a cornfield immediately in front of the position of Colonel Williams’ Kentucky regiment, and flanked on the left by the artillery and Trigg’s Virginia regiment. The cavalry made a hasty retreat, and the enemy concentrated their whole fire on Adjutant Olds and his party, but without effect. After replying with some fifteen rounds of musketry, and observing a large force thrown out on his right, with intent to cut him off, he fell back upon the main body. The position of the enemy thus disclosed was as follows: Colonel Williams’ regiment was behind a ridge at the head of the gorge, and on the right of the road, so that his fire commanded the gorge and road for a half-mile. Colonel Trigg’s regiment, the Fourth Virginia, was on the crest of the crescent-shaped hill on the left of the road, commanding it by their flanking fire. The artillery was between the two at the forks of the creek and the turn in the road and gorge. The evident design of the enemy was to draw the Unionists up the road in front of their cannon and between the cross-fire of the three regiments, but this well-formed plan failed in its execution, as in their impotence or nervousness they neglected to reserve their fire for the approach of the main body. The remainder of their force were in the rear of their cannon, in a strong supporting position. Occupying Graveyard Point, the end of a high ridge on the right of the creek north of his main body, Colonel Garfield dispatched a hundred men across the creek to ascend the horn of the crescent farthest up the gorge. The ascent was most difficult, the men being compelled to creep on their hands and knees most of the way. On attaining the summit, they were greeted with the whole fire of Trigg’s regiment, stationed at the base, and deployed along the other horn; also by a fire from the artillery and the reserve in the rear. On the top of the ridge, and at points nearly equi-distant from each other, were three piles of 250stone, the possession of which was eagerly sought for by the contending parties.

The small band on the summit of the ridge were now reinforced by two hundred men, and assisted by the reserve at Graveyard Point, who poured a galling fire on the deployed right flank of the enemy, they soon drove him from the first stone pile, and took possession of it.

A force of two hundred men was then thrown out by Colonel Garfield for the ascent of the lower horn of the crescent. These soon reached the summit, where being reinforced by Colonel Craner of the Fortieth with three hundred men, they captured the third stone pile, while the rebels were thus confined to the second or central one. The fire was now exceedingly heavy. Both parties betook themselves to the shelter of the rocks and trees, and the battle raged furiously, the shots tearing through the branches and surging up the defiles of the mountains in a wild tumult of sounds.

About half-past four a burst of loud cheering heralded in reinforcements for the Union troops. A detachment of brave soldiers came in simultaneously with the shouts that welcomed them, panting, and almost breathless from the fatigue of a long march; for fifteen miles they had struggled through the mud of a broken road without breakfast, and at a tiresome pace. Excited by the sound of the conflict, they had marched the last two miles on the double-quick, and came in bathed with perspiration, bespattered with mud, and half the men carrying their coats on their arms.

Though fatigued with the forced march, and faint with hunger, these noble fellows demanded only to be led at once into battle. After a short rest, they were thrown across the creek to ascend the right horn of the crescent, but were finally ordered back, as it had now become too dark to advance with safety, and the storm of battle, by mutual consent, ceased. Resting upon their arms, determined to renew the battle in the morning, the Union troops spent the night; but when morning dawned, the enemy, it was found, had vanished. Under cover of the darkness he had burned his heavy baggage and retreated. He left twenty-seven dead on the field, and it is definitely ascertained had some one hundred and twenty-five wounded, of whom forty-two subsequently died. The Federals lost two killed and twenty-five wounded.

The Richmond papers claimed a brilliant Confederate victory on this occasion, estimating the Federal forces at 8,000 men, and their loss at 400 killed and wounded.

Tybee Island, lying at the mouth of Savannah river, immediately below Fort Pulaski, on Cockspur Island, was occupied by Federal troops very shortly after the capture of Port Royal by Commodore Dupont, the Flag-officer of the South Atlantic blockading squadron. It was late in December, however, before a garrison was established there. This was the first step toward the investment of Fort Pulaski, whose heavy embrasures frowned in stern defiance at the Federal fleet investing the harbor.

Late in December, from his headquarters at Tybee Island, an island 263forming the eastern shore of Calibogue Sound, and lying north of Savannah harbor, General Sherman, commanding the army in this district, had dispatched several reconnoitering parties to explore the small rivers, creeks and inlets which intersect each other at various points on the left of the Savannah river, forming the series of islands which dot the map of the harbor. A well grounded hope was entertained that an inside channel would be discovered, connecting with the Savannah river, of sufficient depth to float the gunboats to a point on that river far above Fort Pulaski.

In order to understand the nature of the reconnoissance, it will be necessary to have a clear apprehension of the geography of the country. Savannah is about fifteen miles from the mouth of the river, and on the right or southern bank. Approach to it by water is defended by Fort Pulaski, a casemated fort on Cockspur Island, at the mouth of the river, and Fort Jackson, a barbette fort on the mainland, only four miles below the city. The left bank is formed by a succession of islands, and the channel also is interrupted by large and numerous islands, the most important of which is Elba, whose upper extremity is immediately opposite Fort Jackson. Lower down in the stream is Long Island. The network of creeks and bays that surrounds Hilton Head terminates southward in Calibogue sound, which is divided from the Savannah river at its mouth by Turtle and Jones Island. The waters that form two sides of Jones Island, which is triangular in shape, are called Mud and Wright rivers; the latter is the southernmost, and separates Jones from Turtle Island, which lies next to Dawfuskie Island, the western shore of Calibogue sound. The islands on the Savannah are all very low and marshy, overgrown by high grass, and frequently without a solitary shrub or tree; they are all liable to be submerged by a very high tide. Jones Island is a broad, marshy, uninhabited island, five miles above the fort, not more than five miles long, by two or three broad. About half way between its upper and lower angles, and fronting on the Savannah, is Venus Point.

This first reconnoissance was undertaken by Lieutenant J. H. Wilson, of the topographical engineers. Taking with him two boats and a company of Rhode Island soldiers, together with his negro oarsmen and pilots, he started on the dangerous expedition, making all the necessary explorations by night, while his boats were hidden by the tall grass on the marshy and swampy shores he traversed. To the rear of Jones Island he discovered a canal called Wall’s Cut, connecting the Mud and Wright rivers, the former emptying into the Savannah six, and the latter two miles above Fort Pulaski. The navigation of Wall’s Cut had been obstructed by three rows of piles, driven across its entire width by the rebels, but at high tide the boats were got over these obstructions, 264and soon after floated on the waters of the Savannah, at night, unobserved by the rebels. The feasibility of traversing this route with the gunboats had been demonstrated, but the movement was betrayed to the rebels before the plan could be consummated.

A reconnoissance in force, through a corresponding series of channels on the right of the Savannah river, was then determined on, and Captain C. H. Davis was dispatched with the gunboats Ottawa, Lieutenant-Commanding Stevens; Seneca, Ammen; and the steamers Isaac Smith, Nicholson; Potomska, Watmough; Ellen, Budd; Western World, Gregory; in company with the transports Cosmopolitan, Delaware and Boston, having on board the Sixth Connecticut, Fourth New Hampshire, Ninety-seventh Pennsylvania; in all twenty-four hundred men, commanded by Brigadier-General H. G. Wright. Commander C. R. P. Rodgers accompanied the expedition.

Captain Davis sailed from Port Royal harbor on the 26th of January, and anchored in Warsaw Sound the same evening. The next morning he entered the Little Tybee river, or Freeborn Cut, and at half-past one passed up that river above Fort Pulaski, and within long range of the rebel guns, but was unmolested, as they were not prepared for an enemy on that side. After passing the high land on Wilmington Island, the principal one on their route, they were arrested by a heavy double row of piles, driven across the channel. The island was now carefully explored, and found to have been deserted. The launches were also dispatched to examine the numerous creeks leading to the river, and to explore the main stream. At five o’clock five rebel steamers made their appearance in the Savannah river to reconnoitre the proceedings of the Federal fleet. At this hour Captain Ammen made his way through the marsh and cut the telegraph wire communicating with Fort Pulaski.

Captain John Wright, who had been dispatched by Flag-officer Dupont with a number of gunboats up the Wright river on the left of the Savannah, by the route previously explored, made his appearance on Tuesday, the 28th, and by means of the new army signals communication was opened between the two fleets. At eleven o’clock, the rebel steamers again made their appearance in the Savannah, and attempted to pass below the fort, when a spirited engagement commenced between them and the two Federal fleets. Three of the rebel steamers succeeded in passing, but the other two were driven back disabled.

The attempt to reach the Savannah river with the gunboats having been abandoned, measures were undertaken to blockade the river, and interrupt communication between Fort Pulaski and Savannah, by land approaches, and the establishment of batteries on the banks of the river. It was resolved to erect a battery on Jones Island, the rear of which could be reached by the national flotilla. The first attempt was made 265on the night of February 7th, but owing to storms and other causes, it was not successful. A few days after, General Sherman issued orders for a second expedition to Jones Island, and, if practicable, erect a battery there, so as to command the Savannah river. This was to be done without the assistance of the naval forces.

The expedition was placed under the command of Brigadier-General Viele, and consisted of the Forty-eighth New York Volunteers, Colonel Perry, two companies of volunteer engineers, and two companies of the Third Rhode Island artillery. The troops, with six large guns, (thirty-two pounders,) were embarked in flatboats at Dawfuskie Island, and in tow of light-draught steamboats. The expedition reached Jones Island, a preliminary reconnoissance was made of all the points on the island, and a site at Venus Point was selected for the erection of a fortification. The swampy character of the soil seemed to forbid the landing of troops on the island, much more to erect batteries and mount heavy guns thereon. It was determined, however, to erect the battery at the point already designated, and to carry the guns a distance of a mile through the swamp. To facilitate matters, Colonel Perry undertook the construction of a corduroy road from the place where the troops landed on the Mud river side of Jones Island to Venus Point. The road was constructed, and by the untiring labor of the troops, the guns were at last placed in battery.

While the construction of the road was going on, another detachment of Colonel Perry’s regiment attempted to erect breastworks to cover the guns. The mud, as fast as it was piled up for the battery, slipped and sunk away; but the platforms were laid and the guns mounted. The guns were landed on a wharf made of bags filled with sand, and long planks laid across them. Tramways were laid along the marsh, constructed of planks thirty feet long, placed in parallel lines; two sets of these parallels were used for each gun, and as fast as the pieces were taken over one set, it was taken up and placed still further in advance. Holes were drilled in the planks, and ropes looped through the holes, so that the planks might be more easily dragged by the troops. In this manner the guns were conveyed across Jones Island to the chosen position. Colonel Perry, Lieutenant J. H. Wilson, of the United States Engineers, and Lieutenant Horace Porter, of the Ordnance Department, superintended the removal of the guns. On the first night the heavy guns were dragged two hundred yards. The second night the work proceeded, and the guns were dragged the remainder of the route, and before morning all were in position. The work of tugging the guns was performed entirely by the Forty-eighth New York regiment, commanded by Colonel Perry. In the morning a rebel gunboat came down the river to reconnoitre, and doubtless was amazed to find the Federal 266fort confronting her; but by hugging the western shore she was enabled to pass the guns on Jones Island without serious injury. This demonstrated the necessity of another battery on the west end of Bird Island, in the middle of the river opposite, which was subsequently erected, and the river thus effectually blockaded. On the 15th, four rebel gunboats attacked the batteries on Venus Point, Jones Island, but were all driven back, and one of them disabled.

By the erection of these batteries Fort Pulaski was cut off from all supplies and reinforcements; and General Hunter now commenced the erection of batteries for the reduction of the fort.

The comprehensive scheme of the rebel leaders was not confined to the mere occupancy of the Cotton States, or the entire section of the Union south of the Ohio river, but included within its future all the vast domain west of the Mississippi and south of Kansas. The restoration of peace, and the independence of the Southern Confederacy, would then enable it to carry its victorious arms into Mexico, and a vast empire would be erected, subject to the control of the Confederate government. In order to accomplish these purposes with the greatest promptitude, it was determined to take possession of New Mexico and Arizona at an early day, and bodies of armed men were dispatched from Texas upon this errand.

They reached the Territories during the month of July, 1861; one portion of the invading force entering Arizona, and the other took their line of march toward Santa Fé, in New Mexico, under the command of Brigadier-General H. H. Sibley. There was no military organization of the inhabitants of either New Mexico or Arizona to favor the rebel cause, excepting, perhaps a very few recent emigrants from Texas or other Southern States, who joined the invading forces—the natives were for the most part loyal.

Fort Fillmore, then under command of Major Lynde, of the United States army, who had seven hundred regulars for its defence, was surrendered or betrayed on August 2d, to a force of Texan troops inferior to his own. The men were paroled, and finally brought to the east, where they were stationed by the Government at various posts on the northern lakes. Subsequently Forts Davis, Bliss and Stanton were easily captured by the rebel chieftains. The want of military organization among the people, their unprotected towns, and the scarcity of arms, 267prevented any effective resistance, and they were compelled to submit to the invasion, while waiting anxiously for the relief which they felt assured the Government would send.

At length the Governor of New Mexico, Henry Connelly, issued a vigorous and stirring proclamation, on the 9th of September, calling upon the citizens to enrol themselves for the defence of their homes against the invaders, who were coming to subdue them to the rule of the Texan authorities. He ordered an organization of the militia in the several counties of the State, and the Adjutant-General was instructed to carry the orders into effect.

On the 9th of November, New Mexico was constituted a military department, and Colonel E. R. S. Canby, of the United States army, was appointed to the command. Colonel Canby immediately entered upon his duties, and pushed his work with so much energy, that by the end of December he had retaken Forts Craig and Stanton. Federal forces also held Fort Massachusetts to the north, and Fort Union, on the south-east of Santa Fé, the capital of the Territory.

On the 2d of December, the Legislature assembled, and the Governor recommended the adoption of measures to secure the loyal adhesion of such of the Indian tribes as had not been betrayed into the hands of the Confederate agents. While loyal to the Government in their sentiments, they found themselves apparently cut off from its protection and support, under the circumstances in which they were placed; and pressed on all sides, they were somewhat divided. While some remained loyal, and were willing to enlist in the Federal service, others joined the Confederates; but the great body desired to pursue a course which would be entirely neutral.

On the 30th of December, General Sibley, the rebel commander, issued a proclamation from his headquarters, notifying the people that he took possession of New Mexico in behalf of, and for the benefit of the Confederate States. He declared, that “by geographical position, by similarity of institutions, by commercial interests, and by future destinies, New Mexico pertains to the Confederacy.” General Sibley also declared the United States tax laws abolished.

Colonel Canby had no intention of remaining inactive while the rebel leader was thus earnestly endeavoring to persuade the people into willing submission to Confederate power, or of permitting him by an apparent triumph to exercise his authority for the subversion of the 268legitimate government. He accordingly prepared for the important business of expelling him from the territory, determined to accomplish this, whatever effort it might involve. The rebels, on their way through the territory, followed the valley of the Rio Grande, and consequently would be obliged to pass Fort Craig. At this place Colonel Canby resolved to dispute their advance. His force was composed in part of United States regulars, and in part of New Mexican volunteers. With these he descended the river to meet the invaders. They were informed of his approach, and on the 19th crossed the river in order to take a position on the other side, from which they could shell the fort, and obtain command of the stream above it, by which movement they could cut off his communications. On the afternoon of the 19th, Colonel Canby ordered the detachments of the Fifth, Seventh and Tenth United States Infantry, under Captains Selden and Wingate, and Colonels Carson’s and Pino’s regiments of volunteers to cross the river and occupy an elevation opposite the fort, which would otherwise be appropriated by the rebels. On the afternoon of the 20th, Captain McRae’s battery and the cavalry under Major Duncan were ordered to cross the river, and were brought into position. The enemy were thus cut off from the river, and suffered from want of water. Their mules were so much exhausted that it was found necessary to double the teams in order to draw the wagons; but this resort at last failed, and the animals gave out entirely. The rebels finding the desperate strait to which they were reduced, opened a heavy cannonade upon the Federal troops. Being protected by the elevations between them and the enemy, the Union troops suffered no injury, except one man, who was wounded by a fragment from a ball, which struck a rock, and was shattered by the blow. The night closed on the antagonists. About two hundred mules were captured by the Union scouts, and a number of wagons burned.

On the morning of the 21st, at about eight o’clock, Colonel Canby ordered Colonel Roberts, with his cavalry, Colonel Valdez’s cavalry, Colonel Carson’s volunteers, the regular infantry, and Captain McRae’s and Lieutenant Hall’s batteries to proceed up the west bank of the Rio Grande, and prevent the Texans from reaching the water, at the only point where the river was fordable by the sloping banks. This position was seven miles north of the fort, and when Colonel Roberts’ command reached it, he found that the enemy had gained the water first. Colonel Roberts immediately opened his batteries upon them, on which they retreated with a loss of twenty-five or thirty killed, and one cannon. The gun was dismounted, spiked, and rendered unfit for use. Colonel Roberts then crossed the river, and held his position until the issue of the battle was decided.

269After one o’clock Colonel Canby came upon the ground with his staff, followed by Colonel Pino’s regiment of volunteers, and took the command in person. Up to this time the fighting had been principally with the batteries. Captain McRae’s battery occupied the left, and Lieutenant Hall’s battery the right of the line. On the left flank, and within about a hundred yards of McRae’s battery, was a piece of woods, where bodies of the enemy were seen to collect, but out of range of the guns. Two companies of regulars and two companies of volunteers were assigned to support this battery. Lieutenant Hall’s guns were to be supported by the cavalry and Colonel Carson’s volunteers.

Thus disposed, Colonel Canby intended to make an advance, when suddenly a brisk fire of musketry was opened towards the right of the field. This was entirely unexpected, but the object was soon discovered to be a ruse to divert attention from an attempt which was immediately made to take the batteries. Advancing to the front, in two divisions, the enemy rushed on and made their charges against the batteries in the most determined and gallant manner. The charge against Lieutenant Hall’s battery was made by the cavalry, who dashed forward with an unbroken front, in the face of the destructive fire to which they were exposed. Standing true to their posts, the experienced gunners worked their pieces with such deadly effect, that the enemy was appalled by the carnage, and compelled to retire from the field.

The charge upon McRae’s battery was made on foot, and was never surpassed for the cool and deliberate determination with which the rebel infantry pressed forward undismayed to their work. The iron hail belched forth from the guns swept through their ranks, opening a pathway through the columns, which closed up and moved onward, apparently heedless of the losses they sustained. Volley after volley from the batteries poured destruction on the advancing foe. But still they came on steadily under the fire, pouring forth in return volley upon volley, and closing with their revolvers and bayonets, until the last brave man was shot down while standing faithfully by his gun. During all this time the New Mexicans remained inactive, and when once convinced of the danger they were in, fled in haste, leaving the thrice heroic McRae alone with his gunners, who fell one by one till he stood alone before the enemy. When this fearless man saw that he was utterly abandoned, he sat down, with sublime coolness, on one of his useless guns, with his face to the enemy, waiting for the glorious death which soon came to his relief. A ball struck him on the forehead, and he fell by the gun his courage had defended to the last.

Captain Plimpton’s regulars stood their ground and fought until one-half their number were wounded, or dead and dying on the field, when they were compelled to retire.

270When the battery was lost, the day was decided in favor of the enemy, and the Federal forces retreated to Fort Craig.

Colonel Canby had in the engagement about 1,500 men, consisting of regulars and volunteers. The force of the enemy, under Colonel Steele, was from 1,500 to 2,000. Our loss, according to the best information, was 50 or 60 killed, and about 140 wounded. The loss of the enemy was estimated at from 100 to 200 killed and wounded. Captain Rossel, of the regulars, was taken by the Texans, his horse having been drowned in crossing the river.

The immediate consequence of the battle of Valvende was that the insurgents marched directly past Fort Craig, which for want of men and provisions they were powerless to invest or capture, direct on Albuquerque and Santa Fé, which fell into their power without resistance. Albuquerque was the depot of United States Government stores, most of which was removed on the advance of the insurgents, and the rest destroyed. The occupation of Santa Fé was followed by the proclamation of a provisional government, which however never entered into practical operation. Fort Craig still remained in the rebel rear, and Fort Union in the possession of the national troops, on the north-east, from which direction reinforcements might be expected. The policy of the insurgents was therefore either to capture Fort Union before relief could arrive, or maintain their position, isolating Fort Craig until that post should be compelled to surrender for want of supplies.

Meantime, news of the critical condition of affairs having reached the Colorado territory and Kansas, troops were at once organized to go to the relief of the threatened positions. By forced marches, scarcely paralleled in history, a Colorado regiment 950 strong, under Colonel Hough, reached Fort Union on the 13th of March. Here he gathered around him all the troops available, or possible to obtain, and marched for Santa Fé, to give battle to the invaders. The latter moved their forces forward to meet him. The numbers on both sides were nearly equal—between 1,200 and 1,500. They met at a point called Apache Pass.

271

273The main fight took place at Apache Cañon, eighty miles from Fort Union, and twenty miles from Santa Fé. Three battalions, one under Major Chivington, one under Captain Lewis, and one under Captain Wynkoop, advanced to the cañon, on the 28th, when the pickets reported no enemy in sight. The command then advanced, when shots were fired at them by the Texans, who were in ambush and succeeded in killing four privates. The Union men, under Hough, rushed on them, killing 20 or 30 Texans, wounding many of them, and taking seven prisoners, four officers and three privates. Major Chivington’s command, which went ahead and surprised the Texan pickets, taking 67 prisoners, and 64 provision wagons, now arrived, and a plan of action was determined upon. It was to meet the enemy in front and flank them at the same time.

About 12 o’clock they advanced, and the action became general, the Coloradans doing wonders. The battery under Captain Ritter, and also the howitzer battery under Lieutenant Claflin, swept the Texans from the field. The fight lasted until four o’clock, when flags of truce were interchanged to bury the dead and care for the wounded. The enemy had about 2,000 men and one 6-pounder. The Unionists had 1,300 men, one six and one 12-pounder, and four howitzers. The enemy lost their entire train (64 wagons and provisions), 230 mules, about 150 killed, 200 wounded and 93 taken prisoners, among whom were 13 officers.

The Texans, when surprised, supposed it was Colonel Canby’s force that was coming. The Texan officer in command, with two of his companies, made several attempts to charge on the Union men and seize their batteries, but they were each time repulsed, with tremendous loss, while daring, noble deeds were performed by the Federal soldiers. At one time, the Texan companies charged within a few yards of the Union batteries.

The defeat at Apache Pass proved an effectual check on the invaders, and so far weakened their forces as to compel their abandonment of the territory, and its complete restoration under the national authority.

The enemy fled into Arizona, where they found it useless to remain, and applied to the authorities of Mexico for permission to cross their territory on their return home, but were refused; they however succeeded in reaching Texas. A reinforcement of Federal troops soon after arrived in New Mexico.

To General F. W. Lander’s brigade had been assigned the perilous duty of protecting the Baltimore and Ohio railroad at Cumberland, Md., and the various towns and strategic points in Virginia within a radius of forty or fifty miles from that centre, at several of which his troops were quartered.

On the 13th of February, Lander received information that a brigade of rebels under General Carson had occupied Blooming Gap, a strong 274pass in the mountains seven miles beyond the Cacapon river, whose turbid waters, swollen by the storms of winter, were deemed an impassable barrier to the advance of the Federal forces. No bridge spanned the torrent, and the blackened buttress and crumbled pier gave evidence that the incendiary torch had been at work.

Lander was then at Pawpaw Tunnels, on the Maryland shore of the Potomac, a station on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, midway between Hancock and Cumberland, with a small force. He immediately marched to New Creek, in Hampshire county, Va., to join the detachment of troops at that point, where he also hastily concentrated all his available command. Taking twenty wagons loaded with lumber, he proceeded to a point on the Cacapon river, seven miles south of the railroad, and between the hours of nine and one o’clock at night he improvised a bridge one hundred and eighty feet long, by placing the wagons in the river as a foundation, over which he marched his force of four thousand men, and advanced upon the enemy’s pickets before the dawn of day.

With five hundred of the First Virginia cavalry, under Colonel Anastanzel, he had designed to charge through the rebel camp at the Gap, and then form immediately in his rear, cut off the retreat, and capture the whole force, after the Federal infantry, following up the cavalry charge, should have completed the discomfiture of the enemy. But the rebels had retired before Lander’s approach; and when led by the General and his staff, the cavalry flew through the Gap and beyond it, they met with no opposition. Colonel Anastanzel was at once ordered to push forward on the Winchester road with the cavalry, reconnoitre, and, if possible, overtake and capture the baggage of the enemy.

General Lander meantime brought up Colonel Carroll with the Eighth Ohio regiment, and the Seventh Virginia, Colonel Evans, for a support. Colonel Anastanzel encountered the enemy at the head of the pass, two miles from Blooming. He was met by a sharp fire, and halted his command. On hearing the firing, General Lander came up and led the charge, followed by Major Armstrong, Assistant Adjutant-General; Lieutenants Fitz-James O’Brien, the well-known poet of his staff, and Major Bannister, Paymaster U.S.A., who had volunteered for the expedition. A group of rebel officers were distant about three hundred yards, encouraging their men. General Lander being the best mounted, outran the rest of the party, and cut off the retreat of the rebel officers.

“Surrender, gentlemen,” he said, coolly dismounting, and extending his hand to receive the sword of Colonel Baldwin, over whom an instant before he had appeared to be riding.

Five of the rebel officers surrendered to General Lander, and four others immediately afterward, to the officers of his staff, among them the Assistant Adjutant-General of General Carson.

275By this time the rebel infantry, perceiving the small number of their adversaries, commenced a heavy fire from the woods, but the cavalry had recovered from its panic, and now rushed up the hill. General Lander ordered Anastanzel to charge up the road, and capture the baggage of the enemy. The cavalry dashed forward, and the advance guard soon overtook and turned fifteen wagons and horses out of the road. Colonel Evans now came up with his regiment of infantry, and captured many more of the rebels. Colonel Carroll cleared the road as he went, both infantry regiments behaving admirably, following and engaging the enemy to the last, until ordered back. The pursuit was continued eight miles.

The result of this affair was the capture of eighteen commissioned officers, and forty-five non-commissioned officers and privates. Thirty-three of the rebels were killed and wounded, with a loss on the Union side of seven killed and wounded.

During this engagement Lieutenant Fitz-James O’Brien was shot mortally while in advance of his comrades, and like the author-soldier Winthrop, immortalized his name with the sword, as he had before proved himself great with the pen.

General Dunning, of Lander’s command, returned to New Creek the same day from an expedition to Moorfield, forty miles south of Romney, having captured 225 beef cattle and 4,000 bushels of corn. In a skirmish two of his men were wounded, and several rebels killed.

The history of the world has never exhibited more exalted devotion to an idea, nor a more splendid patriotism than that of the people of East Tennessee. We may almost challenge the records of religious history to produce anything more like holy enthusiasm, than the lofty inspiration which has characterized these people. In no country, and among no class can be found more heroic persistence or unfaltering adherence to principle than has exalted the patriotism of this region. With many inhabitants of the eastern portion of the State, loyalty and devotion to the Union became in truth a part of their religion.

The rebel leaders knew that they had very little sympathy in East Tennessee, and took measures to crush out all Union sentiment with the iron heel of military despotism. Any expression of sympathy with the Union cause, any co-operation of its inhabitants with the loyalists, either for their own protection or for the aid of the Government, was punished as a crime. The presses of that part of the State had all been silenced or converted to their own use by the Secessionists, with one exception. 276The Knoxville Whig remained true to the Union. Its vigorous defence of the Government, its exposures and denunciations of the rebel leaders, its unsparing invective against the rebellion, and its bold, defiant appeals to the people, rang like a clarion through the hills and valleys of East Tennessee, and as the echo gathered from thousands of loyal voices, it made itself heard through all the valleys and mountain passes of that noble border State.

The heroic editor of this paper was not to be silenced either in his voice or his press without a vigorous struggle. The Rev. Wm. G. Brownlow had learned how to denounce and how to endure, for that is a lesson most Methodist clergymen are called upon to learn; and being brave in deeds as well as words, he stood forth in defence of the country he loved, when she greatly needed the power of his eloquence and the strength of his arm. The popularity which this man had won by his uprightness, his courage, and firm adherence to the Constitution, gave his opinions a force that made him an object of peculiar importance to the enemy—yet they hesitated to lay violent hands upon a man whose words were more potent than their bayonets.

He was frequently threatened by soldiers passing through Knoxville from other States, yet none dared to execute their threats. His family were inspired with the same lofty heroism, and on one occasion when a company of rebels came to his house to haul down the Stars and Stripes, which was kept floating over his domicil, one of his daughters stepped out to meet them, and by her courage and decision protected the flag.

The suppression of this undaunted advocate of the Union, and faithful and fearless witness against secession, became an inevitable necessity; and at last, in the hope that he would at least become silent on political affairs, it was resolved to offer him the alternative of the oath of allegiance or the cell of a prison. He chose the latter, and in a valedictory to his readers, published October 26, which must ever be memorable for its heroic defence of the Union, its bold denunciation of the rebels and their course, he announced to his readers the suspension of his paper. This remarkable address, which, under the circumstances, rises to the sublime in its moral courage, closed with these words:

“Exchanging, with proud satisfaction, the editorial chair and the sweet endearments of home for a cell in the prison, or the lot of an exile, I have the honor to be, &c.

Mr. Brownlow was sent to prison, and for months occupied a room with several other patriots who preferred imprisonment to denial of the government they loved. Here he was in daily expectation of being led forth to execution. Though suffering from ill-health he was no way 277daunted by the dark fate that threatened him. Nor were these anticipations groundless, for during his stay there, many a brave man left that prison to meet a violent death, and he had no reason to expect a happier destiny.

During the closing months of the summer and fall the hopes of the people were excited by promises of aid from the government. Loud and earnest appeals were made for help, and with the energy of despair the people clung to their principles, through every species of persecution, robbery, arson, and imprisonment. Hundreds were hung or assassinated, and the records of Tennessee are among the most heart-rending that this war for the Union will leave to posterity.

The position of the rebel armies in western Tennessee was at that time very strong, but the importance of keeping their lines of communication open with the Atlantic States was great, and thoroughly understood by the loyalists. To cut these lines was to the Federals a work of pressing necessity; and in view of the probable redemption of East Tennessee, the loyalists organized, and on the night of November 8 they destroyed several bridges, and broke the lines. Two of these were on the Georgia State road, two on Chickamanye Creek, Hamilton county, and one on the East Tennessee and Georgia railroad, on Hiawassee river, Bradley county. Besides these, two bridges on the East Tennessee and Georgia railroad on Lick Creek, Green County, and another on Holstein river, were also burned. The rebels were thrown into consternation by these events, and their leaders took the most active measures to arrest and punish the perpetrators. A correspondence between some of the prominent men ensued, and a large portion of the letters was discovered among other papers and effects captured after the battle of Mill Spring, which took place on the 19th of January, 1862. This correspondence, in which the names Colonel William B. Wood and General F. K. Zollicoffer appear, prove that the majority of the people were unalterably for the Union, and that they could only be restrained by the most oppressive and cruel measures. Colonel Wood wrote to J. P. Benjamin, the Secretary of War, asking what disposition should be made of the bridge-burners, to which Mr. Benjamin replied—“All such as can be identified as having been engaged in bridge-burning are to be tried summarily by drumhead court-martial, and if found guilty, executed on the spot by hanging. It would be well to leave their bodies hanging in the vicinity of the burnt bridges.”

The loyalists were encouraged in their cause by the devotion of Hon. Andrew Johnson, U. S. Senator, and Hon. Horace Maynard, M. C., for Tennessee, whose eloquent and powerful appeals, and confident assurances of aid, cheered the hearts of the people.

Thousands of East Tennesseeans escaped by night, wandering along 278unfrequented roads, until they reached Kentucky, where they organized regiments, under the direction of the Federal commanders. Their cherished desire was to return to their own State, with a powerful army, and redeem their soil. The atrocity of the rebel guerrillas drove them almost to a passion of revenge, and when disappointed at the announcement that their time had not come, and that they must await a more favorable condition of the army, hundreds of them, when ordered to retreat from the border lines of their State, strayed from the ranks, despairing and heart-sick, and falling down by the way, wept bitterly. Several of them, exhausted by hard labor and forced marches, never rose again, but were afterwards found dead on the road to Mount Vernon.

On the 26th of November the house of a gentleman named Bell was attacked by an armed party of the enemy and set on fire. The inmates, a large family of nine persons, were consigned to the flames. Two alone of the whole household escaped this horrible fate.

On the 29th a band of twenty-one Union prisoners at Nashville were compelled to take the oath of allegiance, and enter a company in the rebel army.

Leadbetter, the secession commander in East Tennessee, had his headquarters at Greenville, and on the 30th of November issued a proclamation promising protection and pardon to all who would lay down their arms and submit to the Confederate government. From this clemency he excepted bridge-burners and destroyers of railroad tracks. He closed his proclamation with the assurance that “they will be tried by drumhead court-martial, and be hung on the spot.” This terrible order was put into execution a few days afterward. Jacob M. Hemslier and Henry Fry, two Unionists, being tried and pronounced guilty of these offences, were hung.

The days of hope for the Unionists were weary and prolonged, but deliverance was drawing nigh. The loyal men of the western part of the State organized to oppose the measures of the leaders, and early in January a bold resistance was made in Carroll, Weakly, McNairy, and other counties, against the conscription act. Rebel troops were sent into these counties to compel submission, and enforce obedience.

The defeat and death of Zollicoffer, the breaking up of his army, and the destruction of his stronghold, at last gave a brilliant promise to these persecuted people that their deliverance was drawing nigh. This event, succeeded in a few weeks by the capture of Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, the evacuation of Bowling Green and Columbus, and the occupation of Nashville, filled every true heart with rejoicing, and the good old flag once more swept its folds freely over the houses of East Tennessee.

279

BOMBARDMENT OF FORT HENRY, FEB. 6, 1862.

281The appointment of Hon. Andrew Johnson as military governor of Tennessee was greeted with enthusiasm by the people. His reputation and conservative principles were a guarantee for the character of his administration, and he soon began to rally to his support the wavering and timid of the people who were still apprehensive that the Confederates would return and restore their rule.

Parson Brownlow, after having borne a long and severe confinement in prison, in which his health suffered terribly, was released, and sent beyond the military lines of the Confederates. His reception by the Federal guards was enthusiastic and joyous in the extreme. As soon as his health permitted he visited several cities in the West, where he was greeted with overwhelming demonstrations of popular admiration and respect. On his arrival at New York, May 17th, he was honored with a public reception at the Academy of Music, which was densely filled with a brilliant audience, eager to welcome him.

The brilliant victory obtained by General Thomas’ army over the Confederate forces at Mill Spring, on the 19th of January, laid open the rebel lines to the successful advance of the Federal arms, and served to stimulate the commanders of the land and naval forces to avail themselves of the opportunity thus afforded.

Previous to the battle of Mill Spring, General Grant, with a large force, had left Cairo and marched toward Columbus, for the purpose of reconnoitering the country, and to prevent rebel reinforcements moving from that point to the assistance of General Buckner, at Bowling Green, Ky., who was then threatened by the approach of General Buell’s army. Upon the return of General Grant’s division to Cairo, a combined movement of the land and naval forces was determined on for the purpose of capturing Fort Henry, on the Tennessee river, in Henry county, Tenn., just beyond the Kentucky State line.

Fort Henry and its approaches were reconnoitered on the 21st January by the United States gunboat Lexington, with a view to ascertain its strength and the position of the rebels. She went within two miles of the fort, and flung a number of shells into it without eliciting any reply. At first it was thought the rebels had evacuated the work, but on approaching it still nearer pickets were discovered at various points. The heavy guns on the work were seen distinctly; also a number of field pieces. In addition to the fort proper, numerous earthworks had been thrown up on a high bluff above the fort, on the west bank of the river. This additional work, named Fort Hieman, commanded Fort Henry.

282On the 22d January, Brigadier-General C. F. Smith, commanding the second division of General Grant’s army, was at Crown Point, Ky., where he had arrived with 6,000 men after a fatiguing march of over 100 miles from Paducah. He proceeded thence on a personal reconnoissance, on the gunboat Lexington, in the direction of Fort Henry. The gunboat advanced up the west channel of the river to a point within one mile and a half from the fort. General Smith obtained an excellent view of the rebel fort, camp and garrison, and sent his report to headquarters. He then marched his division back to Paducah.

The flotilla of gunboats, which had been so long in course of preparation on the Ohio and Mississippi, was now ready to take part in the impending battles of the nation, and to assume that prominence in the momentous events which were to follow to which they have proved themselves justly entitled.

Flag-officer Andrew H. Foote was appointed by the Government to command the naval forces on the Upper Mississippi and the Western waters, and now led forth his gallant fleet to attack the enemy, in conjunction with the land forces under General Ulysses S. Grant. The fleet consisted of

Fleet Officers.—Flag-Officer Andrew H. Foote; Fleet Captain, Commodore A. M. Pennock; Ordnance Officer, Lieutenant J. F. Sanford; Ordnance Lieutenant, Byron Wilson; Flag Lieutenant, James M. Prickett. Essex, 9 guns, Commander William D. Porter. St. Louis, 13 guns, Lieutenant-Commanding Leonard Paulding. Cincinnati, 13 guns, Commander R. N. Stembel. Carondelet, 13 guns, Commander Henry Walke. Conestoga, 9 guns, Lieutenant-Commanding —— Phelps. Tyler, 9 guns, Lieutenant-Commanding W. Gwin.

For several days, at Paducah, the utmost vigilance was exercised at the headquarters of the Provost Marshal, in issuing passes, and on Sunday and Monday, the 3d February, no persons were allowed in or out of the lines. Half a dozen gunboats steamed leisurely into port and brought their black forms to anchor opposite the levee, in the centre of the river.

Monday afternoon, steamers commenced coming up from Cairo, laden with troops and stores, and by night the whole landing in front of the town was crowded with the arrivals. The fleet which came up brought General Grant and Staff, and the first division, under command of Brigadier-General McClernand. The steamers were under command of Commodore G. W. Graham, and consisted of the following boats: City of Memphis, Iatan, D. A. January, Chancellor, Alp, “W. H. B.,” New Uncle Sam, Rob Roy, Alex. Scott, Minnehaha, Illinois, Emerald, and Fanny Bullett.

The first division, on these boats, was made up of two brigades, 283composed as follows, and commanded by General John A. McClernand:—First Brigade, Colonel Oglesby, Commanding.—Seventh Illinois, Colonel Cook; Eighth Illinois, Lieutenant-Colonel Rhoades; Eighteenth Illinois, Lieutenant-Colonel Lawler; Twenty-ninth Illinois, Colonel Reardon; Thirtieth Illinois, Lieutenant-Colonel Dennis; Thirty-first Illinois, Colonel John A. Logan; Swartz’s and Dresser’s Batteries; Stewart’s, Dollins’, O. Harnett’s and Carmichael’s Cavalry.

Second Brigade, W. H. L. Wallace, Commanding.—Eleventh Illinois, Lieutenant-Colonel Hart; Twentieth Illinois, Colonel Marsh; Forty-fifth Illinois, Colonel Smith; Forty-eighth Illinois, Colonel Harney; Taylor’s and McAllister’s Batteries—in the latter four siege guns; Fourth Illinois Cavalry, Colonel Kellogg; Seventh Illinois Cavalry, Colonel Dickey.

Soon after arriving, General Grant and staff paid a visit to General Smith, and had a conference, in which it was determined to forward the division of General McClernand that night, and after landing them at some point below Fort Henry, out of range of its guns, send the boats back after General Smith’s division at Paducah. It was nearly midnight before the boats took their departure.

The point at which the troops were landed is about four or five miles below Fort Henry, opposite a small town in Kentucky, called Buffalo. Immediately at the place is a clearing of about one hundred acres, surrounded on three sides by high bluffs densely timbered, and reaching down to the river. The troops, on landing, immediately took possession of these eminences, and planted batteries which commanded the country in every direction, and then awaited the arrival of the remaining forces, under General Smith.

Tuesday afternoon, while the troops were disembarking, the Osband Cavalry, with Carson’s and Carpenter’s scouts thoroughly examined the country in every direction, even up to within two miles of Fort Henry. Tuesday night was beautiful; a thousand camp-fires flashed through the shadows that lay upon the amphitheatre of wooded hills. The sky was warm and serenely purple, as if brooding over the first sweet blossoms of May. The silver crescent of a new moon glittered in the western sky, shedding a faint radiance over the tree-tops and sloping hill sides. All at once the music of half a dozen bands broke through the stillness of this lovely scene, and the “Star-Spangled Banner,” “Red, White and Blue,” and “Columbia the Gem of the Ocean,” filled the night with bursts of patriotic music. Then some dreamy strain followed, hushing the soldier’s heart with thoughts of “Home, Sweet Home.”

On Wednesday, parties were out reconnoitering near the enemy’s works, and in one case a squad of cavalry went within a mile of the fort and encountered two hundred rebel horsemen. Both sides fired, when 284the rebels ran, leaving one of their number dead, and carrying off three severely wounded. One man on the Union side was shot through the brain, and killed instantly. He was the first man who gave up his life in the vicinity of Fort Henry.

It had been noticed that a steamer belonging to the rebels was busily engaged in running from the fortifications to some point up or across the river, which was doubtless bringing in reinforcements. Two of the gunboats—the Taylor and Conestoga, ran up to nearly the centre of the island, and dropped a few shells in the direction of the fort and the steamer, with what result was not known. They effected a thorough reconnoissance on both sides, and discovered two ugly torpedoes sunk in the west channel, which they carefully hauled out and towed down to the shore below.

During the day and night the division of General Smith, from Paducah, arrived, and was landed on the west shore of the river, with a view of operating against batteries supposed to be on that side, and also to counteract a large body of troops, which scouts reported to be concentrating opposite the fort.

Wednesday night was cold and most disagreeable. About eight o’clock a heavy storm set in, which speedily quenched the camp-fires, and sent the troops wet and disconsolate under any shelter that could be found. All over the southern horizon, in the direction of Fort Henry, a tremendous thunder storm swept its way, filling the hills with flashes of fiery blue lightning, and shaking the forests with loud reverberations of thunder. Hailing this burst of heaven’s artillery, rolling southward toward the enemy, as a good omen, the Union soldiers pulled the wet blankets closer around them, turned drearily in the yielding mud, and fell asleep.

Thursday dawned cloudily, but towards nine o’clock it cleared up and the sun came out warm and gloriously. Nature nowhere seemed to anticipate the bloody event which gives the day prominence. A few more troops arrived, among whom were the Ohio Seventh, Colonel Lauman, and the Ohio Twelfth, Colonel Wood, both from Smithland, and which, together with the Seventh Illinois, Lieutenant-Colonel Bancock; Thirteenth Missouri, Colonel Wright; the Fifteenth Illinois, Colonel ——, and Company D, First Missouri Artillery, made the Third Brigade, Colonel John Cook commanding, assigned the right wing of the advance up the Tennessee shore.

About ten o’clock the gunboats started slowly up the river, four iron clad steamers leading abreast—the Essex, Captain Porter, on the right, and the Cincinnati, Commodore Foote, on the left. The three wooden gunboats ranged themselves abreast and followed, half a mile or so to the rear.

The iron-clad boats moved up abreast, keeping up the west or high 285water channel. Almost immediately on passing the lower end of the island, the boats and the forts were in each others’ range, but on both sides an ominous silence was preserved—a silence that betokened deadly intent on the part of the belligerents. On swept the boats, coming in full view of the long line of breastworks that broke the east shore—in full view of the black muzzles of the heavy guns which seemed watching the approach of the gallant little fleet in ominous silence—in full view of the flag waving defiantly from a high staff in the centre of the works, until one could almost see down the huge bore of the guns, the bright straps of the shells, which seemed like leashes to prevent the deadly missiles from springing forth upon their work of destruction—and yet not a trigger was pulled on either side.

Less than a mile separated the fleet and the fort, and yet not a word was said. The insurgents appeared to be confidently anticipating the conflict; and grouped like statues around their guns, with lanyards stretched, they waited for the onset.

When about six hundred yards from the fort, the bow-guns of the flag-ship poured their contents into it, and so close after, that the reports seemed almost one, the other three poured in their fire. Scarcely had the smoke cleared from the muzzles of the pieces, ere the whole ten guns of the rebels belched forth their contents, sending a terrific iron shower in, above and around the gunboats. Taking their cue from the others, the three wooden gunboats, which were about a mile below, opened from their bow-guns, and then the contest was fairly begun. For one hour the roar was so incessant that the successive reports of the guns could not, in many cases, be distinguished. Occasionally there would be a momentary lull—then a single reverberating roar would give the key-note, and an instant after all the voices would swell together in one tremendous chorus.

A thick cloud of smoke enveloped the boats, hiding them completely from view. Over them hovered a dense white vapor, from which quick flashes of flame leaped and quivered, incessantly followed by delicate balloon-like forms of smoke, which burst like ghostly shadows from the enemy’s shells.

From the very first, the fire of the rebel guns seemed directed at the Essex. In their first volley two thirty-two pound shots struck the Essex on the starboard bow, indenting deeply the iron sheathing, and then glanced off, down the river, while a perfect storm of the iron missiles whistled over her decks, and plowed into the water on either side. She received in all eleven shots—one of which carried death through the whole length of the vessel. It entered a larboard port, carried off the head of the master’s mate, and passing on, entered the boiler. The steam and water poured out, filling the whole space between 286decks, and causing more destruction than all the enemy’s missiles put together—four men were instantly suffocated, and some twenty-five severely scalded, among whom was the gallant Commander Porter. The two pilots, who were in the pilot-house above, had no escape except through a passage from below, and up this the steam rushed, as if coming from a safety-valve, and of course with fatal effect. Both these poor men perished.

Of course the Essex was thenceforth unmanageable. She slowly drifted down the main channel, and was soon after met by a steamer, which towed her down to the place occupied by the boats before starting. Soon after the Essex became disabled, the pelting of the iron storm proved too hot for endurance, and the rebel flag came rapidly down. The firing on the part of the gunboats immediately ceased, and messengers were sent off from the flag-boat, which found, upon landing, that the rebels were disposed to an unconditional surrender. In scarcely more than an hour after the first attack, the flag of Fort Henry was in the dust.

The fort was soon after taken possession of, and it was found that the sum total of rebel prisoners was between seventy and one hundred, the balance having left the night before on the steamer Dunbar.

Among those who surrendered were Brigadier-General Tilghman, Major Corrico, Colonel Carmichael, Captain Hayden, of the Engineers, and Captain Miller, with several other commissioned officers.

Ten of the rebels were found killed, and some twelve or fifteen wounded. Three hundred and six tents were found on the west side of the river, and about as many near the fort, all of which bore evidences of the haste with which the rebels had evacuated their quarters. Several hundred stands of arms were found, chiefly squirrel rifles and double-barrelled shot-guns, also a large amount of clothing, forage, provisions, wagons, mules and horses.

There was a large supply of ammunition, and when the Union forces entered the fort there was beside each gun an abundance unexpended. The tents were new and of excellent make, sufficient to shelter five or six thousand men. The enemy had flour, corn, bacon and sugar in large quantities, but no salt, and not a large supply of beef.

There were nineteen guns in position, of the following calibre: two 128-pounders, one 80-pounder, two 42-pounders, rifled, ten 32-pounders, two 24-pound howitzers, two 12-pound howitzers. Three 6-pound smooth bores, five 6-pound rifles, found outside the intrenchments.

A twenty-four-pound rifled gun exploded on the fourth round, and near the close of the fight a shell from one of the Union boats entered the eighty-pounder and burst, disabling it. Several caissons were captured in the redan upon the west side of the river, but no guns were in position.

287Evidences abounded on all sides of the deadly accuracy of the Federal gunners. Every one of the eleven log buildings within the ramparts was perforated with shot, the roof of one of the small magazines was torn open, hurdle-work scattered in all direction, half the guns knocked out of place, and great gulleys cut in the parapet and the ground. A thirty-two pounder bearing upon the gunboats had been struck by a Union shell, completely shattering the muzzle. The ground beside the embrasure was stained with blood, which lay in pools on the uneven surface. Beside one of the buildings, with gray blankets thrown hastily over them, lay six dead soldiers, all fearfully mutilated. Inside, ten wounded men were stretched upon cots, or on the ground, some insensible, and others rending the air with groans, while the surgeons of the garrison were attending upon them. Just above, on the river, was the hospital ship of the rebels, the stern-wheel steamer R. M. Patten, which had been captured with the fort. The ensign of disease, the yellow flag, was flying from the staff, waving off destruction from sixty invalids.

Upon a high plateau, the heavy trees had all been cut away over a large area. They were designed for the construction of an abattis, and though nothing had been done beyond chopping down the heavy timber, the large trunks and limbs, lying in all directions, would have presented almost insurmountable obstacles to the approach of cavalry or artillery, had the rifle-pits, just beyond, been filled with men.

Crossing the rifle-pits, the Unionists were in the enemy’s camp, though still more than half a mile from the fort. Here were the wall tents of a regiment, all standing in complete order, with the camp-fires still blazing, the copper pots of soup for dinner boiling over them, and the half-made biscuits in the pans. Inside the tents everything was just as the enemy had left it—pistols, shot-guns, muskets, bowie-knives, clothing, tables partially set for dinner, letters half-written, with the ink scarcely dry upon the open page, cards thrown down in the midst of the game, overcoats, blankets, trunks, carpet sacks, and so on through all the articles of camp life. It seemed as if the men were out at guard-mounting, and expected to return in ten minutes.

Along the river bank were long rows of log barracks, enough to accommodate two or three thousand men, and finished comfortably. Inside they bore the same indications that the inmates had decamped without a moment’s warning.

In accordance with the instructions of Commodore Foote, given before the attack on Fort Henry, immediately after the capture of the fort, February 6, the gunboats Conestoga, Lexington and Tyler, under the command of Lieutenant Phelps, advanced up the river twenty-five miles, to the crossing of the Bowling Green and Memphis railway, breaking up a portion of the railway bridge, and rendering it impassable. They next proceeded to destroy the rebel gunboats and transports, capturing large quantities of munitions of war and supplies, and advanced up the river for upwards of two hundred miles to Eastport, in Mississippi, and Florence, at the foot of Muscle Shoals, in Alabama, annihilating the rebel flotilla in the Tennessee river. The expedition was welcomed at every point by the inhabitants. Twenty-five Tennesseans enlisted at Cerro Gordo, where also three steamers were seized, containing 250,000 feet of valuable ship timber.

Toward the latter part of February, intelligence reached Fort Henry that the rebels were fortifying a point on the Tennessee river, near the Mississippi State line, whereupon Lieutenant-Commanding William Gwin, with the gunboats Tyler and Lexington, were sent forward to reconnoitre the position.

Having learned that the rebels had occupied and were fortifying a place called Pittsburgh, nine miles above, on the right bank of the river, he determined to attack them.

At twelve M. the Taylor, followed by the Lexington, Lieutenant-Commanding Shirk, proceeded up the river. When within twelve hundred yards of Pittsburgh, they were opened upon by the rebel batteries, consisting of six or eight field pieces, some rifled. Getting within one thousand yards, the Taylor and Lexington opened a well-directed fire, and had the satisfaction of silencing the batteries.

They then proceeded abreast of the place, and, under the cover of grape and canister, landed two armed boats from each vessel, containing, besides their crews, a portion of company C, Captain Thaddeus Phillips, and company K, First-Lieutenant John C. Rider, of the Thirty-second regiment, Illinois Volunteers (sharpshooters). Second-master Jason Gondy, commanded the boats of the Taylor, and Second-master Martin Dunn, commanded the boats of the Lexington. The landing was successfully accomplished. This small force drove back the rebels, and held them in check until they had accomplished their difficult object, which was to discover the real strength and purpose of the enemy, and to destroy a house in close proximity to the batteries. In addition to their artillery, the enemy had a force of not less than two regiments of infantry, and a regiment of cavalry.

289

SECTION OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

SHOWING THE DISTANCES FROM NEW ORLEANS.

After a detention of three weeks in sight of Hatteras Inlet, occasioned by the severity of the storm, and the difficulty of piloting the heavily-laden vessels through the inlet, the expedition received sailing orders on the 4th of February, and proceeded on the next day to the point of attack. The fleet anchored on the night of February 5, about ten miles below the southern point of Roanoke Island, from whence they 293again weighed anchor at eight o’clock on the morning of the 6th. A storm retarded their progress, and they remained over night without passing through Roanoke Inlet to Croatan Sound.

At ten o’clock on the morning of the 7th, the gunboats, under the lead of the Flag-officer’s ship, moved forward, and were soon inside the narrow passage leading into Croatan Sound, known as Roanoke Inlet. The mainland juts eastward, forming a point of marshy land at the southern extremity of Croatan Sound, which is the only navigable water leading past Roanoke Island. A small island forms the eastern boundary of the channel, while the western shore is a low marshy point. Following Commodore Goldsborough’s squadron were the gunboats of the coast division, all of which passed through without interruption.

The S. R. Spaulding, with General Burnside on board, next passed through, but the remainder of the transports were detained about two hours. The rebel gunboats could now be seen close in shore, evidently under the guns of batteries on shore. As the fleet passed into the sound, a signal was fired from one of the rebel gunboats, to announce its approach. This was about half-past ten o’clock. At half-past eleven the first gun was fired from the flag-ship, and was replied to by the rebels. The Flag-officer hoisted the signal: “This day our country expects that every man will do his duty.” The effect was electric. The men worked their guns with unflagging energy, determined that their country should have nothing to complain of in relation to them. As the Federal vessels came within shorter range, the fire became more rapid, but the regular fire did not commence until noon, when the flag-ship displayed the signal for close action.

The number of the rebel gunboats visible in the early part of the engagement was seven. As the vessels came into closer action, they moved to the northward, with the design of drawing the Union fleet after them, and bring them under the guns of their batteries on the island. At twelve o’clock the engagement became general, between the retreating gunboats of the rebels and the Union fleet, varied by an occasional shot from a battery on shore. The firing was exceedingly brisk for some time, but the distance was evidently too great for destructive effect. The one hundred-pound Parrott gun on board the Southfield, to which the Flag-Officer transferred his flag, boomed forth terrific explosions, followed by the roar and crash of flying shells. The puff of smoke in the air was almost simultaneous with the splash of fragments in the water. The rebel gunboats kept up a steady fire in reply. Their fire was varied at times by the louder report of a hundred-pound Parrott gun on board one of their vessels. The Sawyer gun on board the Fanny, which was captured by the enemy at Hatteras Inlet, was the most annoying in its effects, as the range was long and very accurate.

294The fire from the fort indicated a weak force working the guns. The rebel gunboats retired steadily a considerable distance up the sound. A line of piles driven into the bed across the principal channel, obstructed the progress of the Union vessels in the pursuit of the retreating rebels, who occupied an inner channel under the guns of their battery. The Union fleet now turned their attention to the fort, which kept up a steady and rapid fire.

On the afternoon of the 7th, the transports, with the land forces, were all brought safely through Roanoke Inlet, and clustered securely in rear of the bombarding fleet. General Burnside gave immediate orders for landing the forces, which was done at a small cove, known as Ashby’s Harbor. In less than an hour four thousand men were landed, and by eleven at night, the entire force, excepting one regiment, were on the island, and their bivouac-fires lighted up the shore and the woods for the distance of a mile.

At nine o’clock on the morning of the 8th, a few shots were exchanged between the Federal gunboats and the battery, which ceased after fifteen minutes’ duration, and was not renewed during the day. The rebel gunboats had retreated, and all interest now centered in the movements of the land forces.

From definite information received by General Burnside, the position of all the works on the island was clearly known, and his movements were based on this knowledge. The plan of attack consisted of a central attacking column, led by Brigadier-General Foster; a left flanking column to attack the right of the enemy’s work, under Brigadier-General Reno, and a right flank column to attack the left of the enemy’s position, under the command of Brigadier-General Parke.

The approach to the enemy’s position was through a swampy wood, with a dense undergrowth, rendering it almost impenetrable. An ordinary cart-road leading through this wood from the shore to the fieldwork, a distance of about a mile, was the only mode of communication. The woods in front of the battery had been cut down a distance of three hundred yards, forming an open space to be played on by the rebel guns, about two hundred feet wide. The woods immediately in rear of the work were also cut down to permit the manœuvreing of their own forces.

Their battery consisted of an earthwork with three faces covering the open space before, and the woods at each side of the open space, but with a general direction of fire to the front. The guns were mounted in embrasure, and consisted of a twenty-four-pounder brass Dahlgren howitzer, a long eighteen-pounder brass field-gun, and a twelve-pounder brass field piece. In front of the work was a ditch eight feet wide and about three feet deep, filled with water. The earthwork was about thirty-five 295yards wide, and was erected across the road. The ground in front of the work was a deep marsh, on which the trees which were felled still lay. The difficult nature of this ground was increased by the pits from which the turf and earth for the fieldwork had been taken. Branches were strewn over the front of the work, making it impossible to discover it from the wood in front.

The defending force consisted of about three hundred men, within the breastwork, and about two thousand as a reserve, partly deployed as skirmishers on the left of the battery. The rebels relied chiefly for the defence of their flanks on the almost impenetrable nature of the wood on each side. Their entire force, with the exception of the force working the battery, was scattered in front and in the woods on the left as skirmishers.

The Federal army advanced from the bivouac-ground of the evening previous, where they had spent the night with nothing but thin overcoats to protect them from a cold, driving rain. They had left their knapsacks and blankets on the transports, each man carrying nothing but his haversack, with three days’ provisions, and his cartridge-box, with forty rounds of ball-cartridge. The centre, under the command of General Foster, was composed of the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts, Colonel Upton; Twenty-third Massachusetts, Colonel Kurtz; Twenty-seventh Massachusetts, Colonel Lee, and the Tenth Connecticut, Colonel Russell, and moved forward about eight o’clock. They were followed by the second column, under General Reno, consisting of the Twenty-first Massachusetts, Lieutenant-Colonel Maggi; the Fifty-first New York, (Shepard Rifles,) Colonel Ferrero; Ninth New Jersey, and the Fifty-first Pennsylvania, Colonel Hartraaf. The third column, led by General Parke, was formed of the Fourth Rhode Island, Colonel Rodman; First battalion, Fifth Rhode Island, Major Wright; and Ninth New York, Colonel Hawkins.

A brilliant, well contested fight of two hours’ duration put the Federal forces in possession of Roanoke Island, with all the batteries, mounting thirty guns, and Fort Forrest, on the mainland, mounting eight guns. It resulted in the unconditional surrender of the rebel army on the island, numbering 2,500 men, with all their arms and munitions of war. Captain O. Jennings Wise, son of ex-Governor Wise of Virginia, lost his life in this engagement. The Governor himself, being absent from his command on the day of battle, escaped.

Colonel Russell, of the Tenth Connecticut, and Lieutenant-Colonel De Monteuil, of the New York Fifty-third, were killed.

The Federal loss was fifty killed and one hundred and fifty wounded. That of the rebels was about twenty killed, and sixty wounded.

Bravely as the army of the West had sustained the honor of the Union, the crowning glory of taking Fort Donelson remained to be accomplished. To attack a strongly-defended fort, formidable by nature and rendered almost impregnable by military art, was a work of extreme danger, nay, of impossibility to less resolute men.

299

ATTACK ON FORT DONELSON BY THE FEDERAL GUNBOATS.

THE SURRENDER OF FORT DONELSON.

301The relative positions of Fort Henry and Donelson, the former on the Tennessee river and the latter on the Cumberland, should be clearly understood, in order to comprehend the difficulties of this undertaking.

Fort Henry had been occupied by Federal troops, and it became necessary to effect the reduction of Fort Donelson, in order to open the river to the navigation of the national flotilla, and to reach Nashville, the capital of Tennessee.

The surrender of Fort Henry took place on the 6th of February. One of the gunboats, the Essex, being disabled, was obliged to return to Cairo for repairs, while the Lexington, Conestoga and Tyler, returned to the Ohio, in order to reach the Cumberland river to make the ascent to Fort Donelson. Commodore Foote having completed his preparations, left Cairo on the 11th of February for the scene of action—the Carondelet having previously been sent forward to reconnoitre the position.

On the same day General Grant issued his orders for the movement of the land forces in two divisions, on the following morning. The distance from Fort Henry to Fort Donelson across the land lying between the two rivers, is fourteen miles. There are several roads running from Fort Henry to Dover, near which Fort Donelson was situated. The divisions were disposed by brigades, one of which was to be thrown into Dover to cut off the retreat of the enemy, if attempted by that route.

Fort Donelson takes its name from Andrew Jackson Donelson, a citizen of Tennessee, and its construction was commenced as early as May, 1861. It occupied the best position for defence on the Cumberland river, standing on the summit of a fine slope, rising to the height of one hundred and fifty feet from the river, on its right bank, and mounted sixteen guns. There were two water batteries, one of which was about twenty or thirty feet above the river, and defended by nine pieces, eight thirty-two-pound guns, and one ten-inch columbiad. The second was some sixty feet above, and was mounted with one ten-inch columbiad, and two thirty-two pound carronades.

Both these batteries were sunken or excavated in the hill-side. In the lower one, strong traverses were left between the guns, to secure them against an enfilading fire. The elevation above the water at the time of the gunboat attack, gave them a fine command of the river, and made the task of attacking them in front an arduous one. The range of the guns in arc, was, however, quite limited.

The third occupied the summit of the hill, and mounted four 128-pound guns. The camp was behind the fort on the hill, but within range of gunboats on the river.

On the night of February 11th, the St. Louis, (the flag-ship,) Louisville, and Pittsburg, sailed from Cairo. The Carondelet, as already stated, had been dispatched a day or two in advance, and at Paducah, on the noon of the 12th, the fleet was joined by the Conestoga and Tyler. Of these the three first were iron-clad vessels. From Paducah the fleet was accompanied by sixteen transports, carrying six thousand infantry, and cavalry and artillery.

The fleet followed the flag-ship of Commodore Foote, as they turned out of the Ohio, and began the ascent of the Cumberland. Passing onward from the Ohio, sweeping through Kentucky and Tennessee up to the western boundaries of Virginia, the fleet carried the national ensign, which was met with continual cheers and responses from the people on the banks.

About four o’clock in the afternoon, a messenger steamer, the Alps, met the fleet, with a dispatch from General Grant, requesting all haste to be made, as the gunboats were anxiously expected. Putting on steam, the Alps took the St. Louis and Louisville in tow, leaving the transports to hasten as rapidly as they could be urged. The former arrived within two miles of the fort at twelve o’clock, on the night of Thursday, the 13th.

On the morning of that day, the Carondelet, by order of General Grant, had bombarded the fort, and single-handed, commenced the attack on the works. On the previous day she had advanced and fired eight shots, but without drawing out any reply. The attack of the 13th was differently met by the fort, as the shells were briskly responded to, and a vigorous fire was maintained for two hours. The Carondelet kept her bows hard on the fort, carefully guarding against presenting her broadside to the enemy. She fired one hundred and twenty-eight shots in ninety-five minutes. At the end of that time, a ball from one of the 128-pound guns entered her port-bow, and struck a portion of her machinery. Six men were slightly wounded by the splinters which flew from the ship’s timbers. She retired beyond the range of the guns, to ascertain the amount of damage, and in the afternoon, after repairing, was again ordered to the charge, and fired a number of shots, but without sensible effect.

The morning of the 14th found the flotilla lying in the wake of the flag-ship. The transports had arrived, and the troops, with the artillery, were landed about two miles from the fort. The arrival of the fleet, and the thousands of determined soldiers, inspired the troops already at the scene of action with new vigor; long and tumultuous cheers came down the hills from the army under General Grant, which could be seen 303in the distance, watching the movements of the fleet. General Grant and his staff had gone on board the St. Louis, before daylight, and an attack by the land forces was agreed upon, to be made as soon as the signal gun should be given from the river. Accordingly, at two o’clock, P. M., all the vessels comprising the flotilla, the iron-clad boats St. Louis, Carondelet, Pittsburg, and Louisville, and the two wooden boats, Conestoga and Tyler, got under way. They were then about two miles from the fort. The line of battle was immediately formed, the flag-ship taking the extreme right, with the Louisville, Pittsburg, and Carondelet at the left, four abreast; the Conestoga and Tyler, not being iron clad, remained in the rear, about a quarter of a mile. The fleet proceeded at a speed of about three miles an hour, up the river. At twenty-five minutes to three o’clock they reached the termination of a long range of woods to the right, and came in full view of the fort.

The fortifications were distinctly visible, consisting of three tiers of frowning batteries, on the slope of a steep hill, one hundred and fifty feet in height. About half-past two o’clock, the enemy opened fire from a battery about twenty feet above water level, by discharging a 32-pounder, but the shot fell far short. This was followed by another ball of larger dimensions, which also fell short. The Union men were anxious to show the enemy a specimen of their fighting power, but the Commodore would not permit them to fire a gun for fifteen minutes, until they got within certain range of the fort. At a few minutes before three o’clock, the St. Louis opened the battle on the national side, and the other boats quickly followed. For a while all the shot fell short of the mark.

The boats kept advancing slowly and steadily for about half an hour, when the order was given to slack the engines, so as to prevent them from coming in too close range. The firing then increased to a terrific rate on both sides. The enemy poured 32 and 64-pound balls into the vessels with great effect, and the gunners returned their 8-inch shell and 64-pound rifle balls with unusual skill. In the heat of the action, a shot from the enemy’s water battery carried away the flagstaff of the St. Louis; almost the next shot took the chimney guys of the same boat. A well sent ball from the St. Louis soon struck the flagstaff of the enemy, which was on the top of the hill behind the batteries. This terrible fire lasted about half an hour, when a 64-pound ball from the middle battery cut the tiller ropes of the gunboat Louisville, rendering her steering apparatus unmanageable. About the same time a shot entered one of the windows of the pilot-house of the Carondelet, mortally wounding the pilot. Thus the control of two Union boats was in a great degree lost. Shortly after this, a 32-pound ball penetrated the pilot-house of the St. Louis, mortally wounding one of the pilots, injuring two other pilots, and 304severely wounding Flag-officer Foote. There were five men in the pilot-house at the time, only one of whom escaped injury. The room was filled with pieces of the broken wheel, chains, room furniture and rubbish of every sort; there was no one there to take the helm save the Commodore—no chance to call another to his aid—so, equal to the emergency, the gallant old Commodore seized the remaining handles of the wheel, and for a quarter of an hour acted the double part of commander and pilot, and at last, when compelled to fall back, he kept bow to the foe, and gave his orders as calmly and coolly as when first entering the action.

At about the middle of the engagement, a 32-pound rifle shot took away the flagstaff and Commodore’s pennant. In a moment half a dozen men sprang out of the ports, caught the mutilated staff upon their shoulders, hoisted the “blue flag” to its place, where they stood and held it for several minutes, in the face of a most murderous fire.

Thus three powerful vessels were disabled by accidents that do not happen twice in a hundred times. The men on board were unwilling to give up the fight. The enemy had been driven from the lower battery, and their fire had slackened perceptibly. What remained to be done? To fight in such a current, with unmanageable boats, would, the Commodore knew, be worse than folly. Reluctantly, therefore, he ordered them to fall back.

The vessels then stopped their engines and floated slowly from their positions. They had been within two hundred yards of the fort. The enemy soon saw the condition of the fleet, and redoubled their fire. They ran to the lower batteries and opened them on the retiring vessels with terrific force. One of the guns of the Carondelet had burst in the middle of the action, and the Pittsburg had received two balls below water mark, causing her to leak rapidly. But they replied well to the reinvigorated foe, and fired the last shot.

The fleet retired in good order, and anchored two miles below the fort. The injuries to the gunboats were not very great. The principal damage to the St. Louis was that sustained by the shot entering her pilot-house. She was struck 61 times; the Pittsburg 47; the Carondelet 54; and the Louisville about 40. The enemy fired about 500 shots.

The fleet fired a little more than 300, about 75 of which were 8-inch shells.

The demeanor of Commodore Foote during the engagement was the subject of admiration with every man in the fleet. His countenance was as placid and his voice as mild in the heat of the action as if he had been engaged in social conversation. He stood in the pilot-house for a long time, watching the effect of every shot. When he saw a shell burst inside of the fort, he instantly commended the deliberate aim of the marksman, by a message through his speaking tube. When the balls fell short, he expressed his dissatisfaction in such words as “A little further, man; you are falling too short.” During a part of the action he was on the gun-deck, superintending the care of the wounded. In the end, nothing but the pilot’s assurance that his vessel could not be managed with her broken wheel, induced him to consent to a withdrawal.

305

306Incidents on board the Louisville were not wanting. Captain Dove had just complimented one of the gunners on a splendid shot, when the shot that played such havoc entered his port, and completely severed the gunner in twain, scattering his blood and brains over Captain Dove’s person. But the Captain never blanched; he only wiped his face, and in an instant was superintending the replacement of another gun as if nothing had happened. Cool, brave and determined, he was throughout the action a support to his men and an honor to his country.

In addition to the two water batteries already described, a third had been commenced, but was not at the time completed. The fort stood on a hill, and within its ample lines nearly a hundred large and substantial log-houses had been erected for quarters. In order to prevent any lodgment of an opposing force on the hills back of the fort, it was necessary to construct a line of defenses around the fort, at the distance of a mile, and in some places more than a mile, from the principal work. These outworks extended from a creek on the north side of the works to another which entered a quarter of a mile below. Both of these streams were filled with backwater from the swollen river, for the distance of three-quarters of a mile from their mouths. This chain of breastworks and the miry bed of the creeks formed a most complete impediment to the marching of an artillery force within sight of the main fort. This line of works was not less than three miles in length, breast high, and formed from a ditch on either side, so as to answer the purpose of rifle-pits and parapets. At intervals on every elevation platforms had been constructed and mounted with howitzers and light field pieces. Such were the works, defended by from 20,000 to 25,000 men, that the national troops were determined to take by assault.

Early on the morning of the 12th of February, the national troops left Fort Henry with two days’ rations in their haversacks, without tents or wagons, except such as were necessary to convey a surplus of commissary stores and ammunition, and ambulances for the sick.

The expedition under the command of Brigadier-General U. S. Grant, was divided into three columns—the division under Brigadier-General McClernand, taking the road from Fort Henry to Dover, running to the 307south of the enemy’s position; the second division, under command of Brigadier-General C. F. Smith, taking the direct or telegraph road to the fort; the third division, subsequently placed under the lead of Brigadier-General L. Wallace, being sent round by Paducah and Smithland, ascending the Cumberland, under the escort of the gunboats. Each of these divisions consisted of about ten regiments of infantry, batteries, and cavalry.

First Division, Brigadier-General McClernand.—1st Brigade, Col. Oglesby, acting.—8th Illinois, Lieut. Col. Rhodes; 18th Illinois, Col. Lawler; 29th Illinois, Col. Reardon; 13th Illinois, Col. Dennis; 31st Illinois, Col. J. A. Logan; Schwartz’s battery; Dresser’s battery; 4 battalions Illinois cavalry. 2d Brigade, Col. W. H. L. Wallace, acting.—11th Illinois, Lieut. Col. Hart; 20th Illinois, Col. Marsh; 48th Illinois, Col. Smith; 49th Illinois, Col. Hainey; Taylor’s battery; McAllister’s battery; 4th and 7th Illinois cavalry, Cols. Kellogg and Dickey.

Second Division, Brigadier-General C. F. Smith.—1st Brigade, Col. Cook, acting.—7th Illinois, 50th Illinois, 12th Iowa; 13th Missouri, Col. Wright; 52d Indiana; 3 batteries Missouri 1st artillery, Maj. Cavender commanding; Capts. Richardson, Stone, and Walker. 2d Brigade, Col. Lauman, acting.—7th Iowa, Lieut.-Col. Parrott; 2d Iowa, Col. Tuttle; 14th Iowa, Col. Shaw; 25th Indiana, Col. Veatch; 56th Indiana.

Third Division, Brigadier-General Lewis Wallace.—1st Brigade, Col. Croft, acting.—17th Kentucky, 25th Kentucky, 31st Indiana, 44th Indiana, Col. Hugh B. Reed. 2d Brigade, Col. Thayer, acting.—1st Nebraska, Lieut. Col. McCord; 13th Missouri, Col. Wright; 48th Ohio, Col. Sullivan; 58th Ohio, Col. Bausenwein; Willett’s Chicago battery.

By nine o’clock all the forces were on the march. The division of General McClernand took the upper or southern road to Dover. The division of General Smith proceeded by the northern or telegraph road, running directly to the fort. The route lay through broken and undulating lands. Small streams of the purest water were crossed at every ravine. The hills were in places covered with green pines and tall, heavy timber. The weather was mild and spring-like; the men in admirable spirits, marching in regular order, and the surrounding scenery almost tropical in its luxuriance. At about two o’clock in the afternoon the advanced skirmishers of McClernand’s division came in sight of the enemy’s tents stretching between the hill upon which the fort was situated, and the next, on Dover ledge.

Word was passed back to General Grant that the enemy and his camp had been sighted. General Grant at once ordered up the rear of the column. Dresser’s battery was posted on an eminence overlooking the tents, and a few shells sent into the camp. There was a general and 308promiscuous scattering of men from the camps into the earthworks to right and left. General Grant immediately ordered the division of General Smith into line of battle on the ravine back of the main elevation. A column of men was pushed up on the left of the fort. Scouts returned saying that the breastworks could be discovered on the extreme left. An hour or two was then spent in reconnoitering along the various hills surrounding the enemy’s position.

This preliminary skirmish was soon over, and the enemy had fallen back within his intrenchments, when the shades of night fell upon the two armies. Many of the Federal soldiers, in anticipation of an engagement, had relieved themselves of their overcoats, blankets, and haversacks, and were altogether unprepared for the experience of the night. But cheerfully kindling their camp-fires, under a mild and genial temperature, they gathered around the cheerful blaze and gradually fell into slumberous dreams of home, of conquest, or of love.

During the night the enemy made a sortie on the extreme right of the Federal lines, which by its suddenness created some confusion for the time, but he was repulsed and compelled to retire.

On Thursday, the 13th, the attack commenced. The morning sun rose brightly on the scene. The men were soon engaged in cooking what provisions could be obtained. Several hogs running at large in the woods had been shot for breakfast, and a sumptuous meal was made from their flesh. At sunrise the firing of riflemen commenced. The enemy could be descried behind his breastworks. The most available positions were selected for batteries, and by eight o’clock a regular exchange of shot and shell had commenced across the ravine which separated the combatants. Taylor’s battery was on the extreme right, next came Schwartz’s, further to the left. Further still was a section of an Illinois battery. Across a deep ravine and in the centre of the position was Captain Richardson’s First Missouri Light Artillery, on the point of a ridge provokingly near the enemy’s lines. Higher upon the same rise was McAlister’s battery of twenty-four pound howitzers, and on the left could be heard at intervals an Iowa battery.

The long established form of opening the fight by a contest of sharpshooters and artillery was observed. For two hours nothing was to be heard but the loud thuds of cannon, with the relief of a sharp crack of rifles, and an occasional report of a musket, which in the distance could hardly be distinguished from a field piece. Major Cavender, of the Missouri First, sighted his twenty-pound Parrott rifle guns. Two or three shots had been sent whizzing through the trees, when “clash” came a shot in front of the piece. Without moving a muscle the major completed his task, and bang! went a response. Bang went another from the sister-piece under the intrepid captain. A second was received 309from the fort, passing over the hill, exploding just in the rear, a third burst directly over head, and the combat was kept up with spirit. Dresser’s battery poured out shell from his large howitzers in splendid style. The enemy held a slight advantage in position, and had the range with accuracy. The shells were falling fast around the batteries, doing however but little injury. A few minutes and a round shot passed over the gun, and carried away the shoulder and part of the breast of artilleryman Bernhard of Richardson’s battery, killing him almost instantly. The captain shifted his position three times during the morning, whenever the enemy got his range with too much accuracy.

On the extreme right Schwartz and Taylor were blazing away fearlessly. The ground between them and the intrenchments was nearly cleared of trees, and they could observe by the smoke the position of each other with accuracy. The firing from the batteries in McClernand’s division was continuous. An attempt had been made by the enemy to capture Taylor’s battery, which had been gallantly repulsed. The rebels had reached close upon the battery, and only an incessant shower of canister saved it from capture, the infantry not being formed in position to support it effectually. The Twentieth Illinois came up in time to drive the enemy into their works.

In the afternoon General McClernand determined to make a formidable assault of a redoubt of the enemy, fronting the centre of his right. The redoubt was the only one which could be distinctly seen, owing to timber and undergrowth. At this point the ground was for the most part void of large timber, the barren extending even beyond the road on the ridge which the Union troops passed. The batteries of this redoubt had a very perfect range, and gave the troops considerable uneasiness, by blazing away at them whenever they passed over the brow of the hill. Three regiments were detailed for the work—the Forty-eighth, Seventeenth and Forty-ninth Illinois. They advanced in line of battle order, the Forty-ninth, Colonel Morrison, on the right, the Seventeenth, under command of Major Smith, in the centre, and the Forty-eighth, Colonel Hainley, on the left. Colonel Morrison, as senior Colonel, led the attack. The advance was a most beautiful one. With skirmishers arrayed in front, the three regiments swept down the hill, over a knoll, down a ravine, and up the high hill on which the redoubt was situated, some two hundred and fifty or three hundred feet in height, covered with brush and stumps, all the time receiving a galling fire of grape, shell and musketry, with a precision which would have done them credit on the parade ground. The breastworks were nearly reached, when Colonel Morrison, while gallantly leading his men, was struck by a musket ball. The captain of the company on his right was also killed, while the Forty-ninth fell into some confusion; but unappalled the 310Seventeenth still gallantly pressed forward and penetrated even to the very foot of the works. But it was not in the power of man to scale the abattis before them. Brush piled upon brush, with sharp points, fronted them wherever they turned; so, after a few interchanges of musketry with the swarming regiments concentrated there, the word for retiring was given. It was done in good order, by filing off to the left and obliqueing into the woods below; but many a gallant soldier was left behind underneath the intrenchments he had vainly sought to mount. They were not, however, destined to die unavenged. Scarcely, had their retiring columns got out of range, ere Taylor’s Chicago battery opened on the swarming rebel masses with shell and shrapnell. The effect was fearful. Each gun was aimed by the captain himself, and when its black mouth belched out sudden thunder, winrows of dead men fell in its track.

While this heavy firing had been heard on the right, General Smith, had ordered the enemy to be engaged on the left. The Twenty-fifth Indiana, at the head of a brigade, led the way. They had reached a position on the brow of a hill where the successful assault was afterwards made, and were met by the enemy in force, who swarmed behind the works, pouring a deadly hail of bullets and grape into them. The leading regiment broke in disorder after sustaining a hot fire, and the whole line fell back out of range. The object of the sortie had been accomplished, and the enemy’s forces drawn from the other side, but the advantage did not result, as might have been anticipated, in the occupation of the fort on the right by General McClernand.

Six companies of the famous regiment of riflemen, raised by Colonel Birge, accompanied the expedition from Fort Henry, and two companies afterwards arrived by the transports. This was a corps of picked men skilled in the use of the rifle, drawn from the North-west.

These hardy pioneers started out in the morning, with a hard biscuit in their pocket and a rifle on their shoulder, for the rebel earthworks, where they remained until relieved by a fresh gang. So adventurous were they, that many of them crept within fifty yards of the rifle-pits and exchanged words as well as shots with the enemy.

One piece in front of Dresser’s battery was kept in silence during the morning by the sharpshooters picking off their gunners. At last a shell from a Union battery, falling short, drove them away. One valiant southerner, to prove his bravery, jumped into the rampart to take aim; in an instant he was pierced by three balls, and fell out of the intrenchment, where he lay till nightfall.

The firing for the rest of the day was slow, and appeared by general consent to be abandoned. The Unionists seemed to have failed in every attempt on the fort. Wounded men were being brought in on stretchers; 311some limped along, supported by comrades, others staggered forward with bleeding hands and battered heads tied in handkerchiefs. The ambulances had brought in the maimed and seriously wounded. In the gray dusk of evening men came forth with spades to dig the graves of their fellow-soldiers, whose remains, stiffened in death, were lying under the pale stars.

Hardly had the camp-fires been kindled for the night when a drizzling shower set in, which soon turned into a steady fall of rain. The wind grew suddenly colder. The weather, hitherto so pleasant, was chilled in an hour to a wintry blast. Snow began to fall, and the mercury sank below freezing point.

Many of the soldiers had lost their overcoats and blankets during the day. Not a tent, except hospital tents, in the command. Provisions growing very scarce—the muddy, wet clothing freezing upon the chilled limbs of the hungry soldiers. It was a most comfortless night. Not five houses could be found within as many miles, and these were used as hospitals. Various expedients were devised to ward off the cold. Saplings were bent down and twigs interwoven into a shelter; leaves piled up made a kind of roof to keep off the snow. Large fires were kindled, and the men lay with their feet to the fire. The victims who perished of cold, exposure, hunger and neglect, on this night, will fill up a long page in the mortality record of that eventful siege.

On Friday, the conflict was maintained only by the pickets and sharpshooters, General Grant having concluded to await the arrival of additional forces, before assaulting the works.

Hitherto the investment had been made by the divisions of Generals McClernand and Smith, about ten thousand men each, including the cavalry and artillery. A third division had been sent up the Cumberland, and should, by reasonable calculation, have been opposite Fort Henry on Wednesday night. Here was Friday morning and no transports arrived. What could have befallen them? General L. Wallace, who had been left in command at Fort Henry, was summoned over, and arrived on Friday evening with two regiments of his brigade. Couriers were seen dashing along from the headquarters to the point where the boats were expected to land. About ten o’clock came the joyful intelligence that the gunboat fleet, with fifteen transports, had landed five miles below the fort. The troops from Fort Henry were pouring in, and close upon them came the troops from the boats. The men had heard something of the fighting, and moved up in splendid order, expecting to be marched directly into battle.

At about half-past two o’clock the sound as of thunder, with long reverberations in the distance, told that the river guns had at last opened their mouths, and were paying their compliments grandly to 312the rebel batteries. Now and then could be seen in the distance, high up in the air, a sudden puff of white smoke, which sprang as if from nothing, slowly curling in graceful folds, and melting away in a snow-white cloud; it was a bursting shell, instantly followed by the rumble of the gun from which it had been sent. The loud roar of the cannon kept growing thicker and faster. The heavy columbiads and Dahlgrens in the fort were returning the fire. One, two, three, and then half a dozen at once! The terrible game of death becomes wildly exciting!

The gunboats were advancing—the bombardment had fairly begun. The cheers went up in ten thousand voices. The death-dealing bolts of Fort Henry were falling thick and fast into Fort Donelson. But little did the besiegers know what protection and defence nature had laid against the ingenuity of art, which the insurgents had seized upon to accomplish their purpose! No one considered the importance of those great natural traverses and curtains of rock which had been thrown up by the primeval subterranean fires, nor what bomb-proofs and lunettes the waters of a thousand years had worn into the sides of those hills. The area of the place was so large that nearly the whole force could be removed from the water front, and thus leave the shells to explode against the bleak hill sides, or crush through the deserted huts of the enemy.

Meantime an occasional shot from the batteries surrounding the outer lines of defence must have told upon the enemy on the other side. The enemy replied but feebly. The entire morning had been in anxious expectancy, neither party being willing to risk the chances of another trial of valor. The weather was keen and frosty, the roads slippery and clogged with stiff mud.

Saturday, which was destined to witness the grand denouement of the painful tragedies enacted about Donelson, was cold, damp and cheerless. The enemy, during the night, had transferred several of their batteries to portions of their works, within a few hundred feet of which the extreme right wing of the Federals was resting. Upon the first coming of dawn, these batteries suddenly opened on the Ninth, Eighteenth, Twenty-ninth, Thirtieth and Thirty-first regiments, comprising Oglesby’s brigade, which had the advance. Simultaneously with the opening of the batteries, a force of about twelve thousand infantry and a regiment of cavalry was hurled against the brigade with a vigor which, made against less steady and well-disciplined troops, must surely have resulted in their entire demolition.

Sudden and unexpected as was this sally on the part of the enemy, it did not find the gallant Illinoisans unprepared to meet them. The attack was made in columns of regiments, which poured in upon the little band from no less than three different directions. Every regiment 313of the brigade found itself opposed to two, and in many cases to no less than four different regiments. Undismayed, however, by the greatly superior force of the enemy, and unsupported by adequate artillery, the brigade not only held their own, but upon two occasions actually drove the rebels fairly into their intrenchments, but only to be pressed back again into their former position. At last having expended every round of their ammunition, they were obliged to retire and give way to advancing regiments of Colonel W. H. L. Wallace’s brigade, the Eleventh, Twentieth, Seventeenth, Forty-fifth, Forty-eighth Illinois, and Forty-ninth Indiana regiments.

By rapid firing from the two batteries of Taylor and Schwartz, the enemy was driven back. The Union regiments which had suffered so much were withdrawn. The enemy had by this time concentrated their broken troops for another attack. General McClernand had already prepared for the emergency. Anticipating that an attempt would be made to force a passage through, he ordered a brigade to the rear and extreme right to form behind the regiments then in front.

An hour had elapsed when the enemy returned in a dense mass, renewing the fight. The battery of Captain Schwartz seemed to be the object of their attack. On they came, pell mell, with deafening volleys of fire. The Union batteries, well nigh exhausted of canister, poured a storm of shell into their ranks. Ammunition caissons were sent back in haste to get a fresh supply of canister. The Ninth, Eighteenth, Thirtieth and Forty-first were the next regiments to be brought up. The crest of the hill was contested with variable success for a full hour, when the enemy was finally driven back. The line of battle was so much confused that no connected account of the movements can be detailed. The utmost bravery was displayed on both sides, until the struggle degenerated into a wild fierce skirmish. The rebels finally retired a third time.

The Union men had expended their ammunition. It was during this lull, and before the men could realize the fact that they had driven the enemy before them, that the fourth and last attempt was made to seize the battery. The horses being shot, the enemy succeeded in gaining possession of the battery of Captain Schwartz, and were on the point of turning the guns on the Federal troops, when Captain Willett’s Chicago battery, which had just toiled up fresh from Fort Henry, arrived on the ground and poured in a perfect storm of canister, just in time to save the day. The rebels fell back in disorder, dragging the guns of Schwartz with them down the hill, and gained entrance to the fort before the Federals could overtake them. Some eager regiments followed them to the embankments, a few men climbing over, who were driven back for want of support.

314The regiments which suffered most in this morning’s engagement were the Eighteenth and Eleventh Illinois; next them, the Thirty-first and Eighth. The expenditure of ammunition must have been excessive, on the hypothesis that each man had his cartridge-box full on going into action. Forty rounds of the standard cartridge is enough to fight with, and more than enough to carry with other accoutrements of battle.

There were many instances of men who displayed the utmost heroism in this action—some refused to be called off the field, fighting to the last moment; others returned after having their wounds dressed. One of the artillerymen, who received a wound, walked to the hospital, a mile or more, had the ball extracted, and then insisted on going back to his battery. The surgeon refused, when he quaintly said: “Come, come, put on some of your glue and let me go back.”

General McClernand, who had been a conspicuous mark during the whole of this fight, bore himself with firmness, exhibiting great decision and calmness in the most arduous situation. The tumult on the left having subsided, he sent a messenger back to General Grant to know if the left wing of General Smith was secure; if so he was ready to advance. As the day waned, an occasional shot was to be heard from the gunboats, but no satisfactory account could be received of their operations. A lull followed the storm. Both armies were preparing for the grand coup de main, by which Fort Donelson was to be taken.

It was resolved to storm the fort. The honor of accomplishing this difficult and perilous exploit on the left wing was given to General Smith. When Colonel Lauman led his brigade in solid columns up the steep sides of the hill, he drove the enemy from his entrenchments, pouring a fearful volley into their disorganized and broken ranks. The national ensign was immediately flung out from the earthworks, and greeted with deafening cheers from ten thousand loyal voices.

The shades of night cast their canopy over the contending hosts, and compelled the Federal commander to delay the completion of his victory till morning. Soon after daylight, the Federal columns advanced in battle array, prepared to storm the works at all points, when their eyes were greeted with innumerable white flags, thrown out by the enemy at every threatened position.

What followed may be told in few words. The enemy seeing that the Unionists had gained one of his strongest positions, and successfully repulsed him in his most daring attempts to raise the siege, took advantage of the darkness, and called a council of war, in which it was determined to surrender. With all possible haste some 7,000 troops were dispatched up the river by night. The rebel Generals Floyd and Pillow made their escape. The fort, with all its contents, fell into the conquerors’ hands. More than 13,000 prisoners, Brigadier-General Buckner, with twenty Colonels and other officers in proportion; sixty-five cannon, forty-eight field and seventeen siege guns, a million and a half dollars in stores, provisions, and equipage, twenty thousand stand of arms—was glorious result, purchased at comparatively small loss. The Federal loss in killed and wounded was 2,200; that of the rebels 1,275.

315

317At the storming of Fort Donelson many acts of personal valor might be recorded. An instance of reckless gallantry, and fortitude under a most painful surgical operation, that of Hamilton, a son of Professor Leiber, is worthy of record. This young man was twice wounded in the battle of Fort Donelson. The first was a flesh wound, of which he made nothing. Presently, however, he was struck by a Minie ball in the same arm; this shattered his elbow, with the bones above and below, and he sank to the ground, fainting with loss of blood. He was picked up towards night, carried to a house, and thence, over a rough road, in an army wagon, to the river bank, a distance of three miles, which necessarily caused the greatest suffering. Arrived at the river bank, he was put on board a boat and conveyed with other wounded to an hospital, where his arm was amputated. When the operation was over, the brave young fellow’s first words were, “How long will it be before I can rejoin my company?” At that time young Leiber was a Lieutenant of the Ninth Illinois regiment. He was appointed aid-de-camp by General Halleck soon after the battle of Donelson as a reward for his great bravery.

After the surrender of Fort Donelson, on the 16th of February, it became evident to the Confederate leaders that the cities of Nashville and Memphis, and other important positions must soon fall into the hands of the victorious Federal army. Public meetings were held at both these cities, in which it was recommended to defend them to the last extremity, and if necessary to prevent their occupancy by the Union troops, many of the more violent and reckless of the military determined that they should be burned, and every description of property destroyed. At Nashville, the Governor, Isham G. Harris, pledged himself to “shed his blood, fight like a lion, and die like a martyr,” rather than submit to the enemy; and at the same time efforts were made, but with little success, to organize additional forces for defence.

During the progress of the siege at Fort Donelson, dispatches were sent to Nashville, announcing a series of rebel successes, and on Saturday night information was conveyed that the Federals had again been 318defeated both on land and water, but they had been reinforced and might renew the attack in the morning. With these hopeful and exulting assurances, the city rested in peace, confident that the light of the morning would open upon a glorious victory for the rebel arms.

Early on the morning of Sunday the first rumors of this heavy calamity to the rebel cause had been conveyed to the leaders in Nashville. At first, suppressed whispers and grave countenances indicated that something important had transpired. But the people generally were confident and hopeful as on the evening before, and anticipated that any hour of the day would give the signal for a grand jubilee and rejoicing. The time for public service in the churches drew near, and the people repaired to their several places of worship. The churches were partly filled and the streets crowded with the passing multitude, when a startling rumor broke the peaceful stillness of the day. The Federals were victorious! Fort Donelson had surrendered! Fifteen thousand Confederate prisoners had laid down their arms to the invaders! Fear, added to imagination, ran riot in the town.

It was said that the Federal troops had already reached Robertson, a place about twenty-five miles from Nashville, connected by railroad, and that the gunboats were at Clarksville, on the river, on their way to the city. Governor Harris, taking advantage of his early information, had hastily convened the members of the Legislature, then in session at Nashville, which had met, and adjourned to convene at Memphis. These circumstances becoming known, gave plausibility to the exciting rumors of the celerity of the Federal movements, and the people were panic stricken.

Before nightfall hundreds of citizens, singly and in families, were making their way South, many of them having no idea why they were thus recklessly abandoning comfortable homes, or where they were going. Toward night it was announced that the military authorities would throw open the public stores to all who would carry the property away.

This excitement continued throughout Sunday night, constantly gaining strength, aided by the destruction of two gunboats which were in process of construction—two fine New Orleans packets, the James Woods and James Johnson, having been taken for that purpose. The army of General Johnston commenced its retreat, encamping by regiments at convenient points outside of the city. On Monday morning, great excitement prevailed; the public stores were distributed to some extent among the people, while the army and hospitals were making heavy requisitions, and pressing all the vehicles and men that could be obtained to carry supplies to their camp. At the same time, considerable quantities of stores were removed to the depots for transportation south. 319Evening came, and no gunboats—no Federal army from Kentucky. General Johnston left for the South, placing General Floyd in command, assisted by Generals Pillow and Hardee. The apprehensions of the near approach of the enemy having been found groundless, it was determined by General Floyd that the distribution of the stores was premature. An order was sent to close the warehouses, and a force detailed to collect what had been given out. This was done, so far as practicable—but on Tuesday the distribution commenced again, and continued with slight restrictions, under the eyes of the most judicious citizens, until Saturday morning. Tuesday night the iron and railroad bridges across the Cumberland were destroyed, in spite of the most earnest and persistent remonstrances of leading citizens. The iron-bridge cost about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and the railroad bridge two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. It was one of the finest drawbridges in the country.

The scenes which were enacted during the following days, up to Monday morning the 24th, were still more exciting. The untiring energy of the Mayor and city authorities, who throughout this whole affair acted with prudence and zeal, was inadequate to keep the excited people under control.

On Sunday morning, twenty-five Federal pickets breakfasted in Edgefield, opposite the city, and during the morning eight of them seized a little stern-wheeled steamer that had been used as a ferry, and refused to permit it to continue its trips. Mayor Cheatham immediately crossed in a skiff, but found no officer with whom he could negotiate. In the evening, Colonel Emmet, of the Fourth Ohio Cavalry arrived, and sent a message to the Mayor, requesting his presence. The interview was satisfactory on both sides, though the formal surrender of the city was deferred until the arrival of General Mitchell, who was expected on Sunday night or Monday morning.

On Monday morning the city became comparatively quiet. In the evening Generals Buell and Mitchell arrived in Edgefield, and understanding that the authorities had appointed a committee, consisting of the Mayor and several of the leading citizens, he sent a message requesting an interview. The hour of the interview was fixed at eleven o’clock, A. M. on Tuesday. In the mean time General Nelson arrived in the city about eight o’clock, A. M., in command of a fleet, consisting of one gunboat, the Cairo, and eight transports. Transports continued to arrive during the day, and at night the number reached eighteen or twenty. A large portion of this army disembarked during the morning, and occupied the public square, encamping in the vicinity at night. At eleven o’clock, the committee of citizens were conveyed by order of General Buell to Edgefield, on the steamer Hillman. They were met at the landing 320by Generals Nelson and Mitchell, and escorted to General Buell’s headquarters. The interview was an amicable one, General Buell giving assurance that the personal liberty and property of all citizens would be fully protected, and no State institutions of any kind interfered with.

The first business of General Buell, after having thus established a cordial understanding with the officers of the city, was to inaugurate his military authority by the appointment of a Provost-Marshal, to preserve order, and regulate the intercourse of the Union troops with the citizens. Colonel Stanley Matthews, a highly respected and well-known gentleman, conservative in politics, was selected for this responsible position, an appointment which was greeted with satisfaction by the citizens. The post-office was continued in the hands of Colonel J. H. Markland, a native Kentuckian, and a gentleman of high character and social standing.

General Buell immediately restored the mail facilities, which had so long been denied the people by the rebellion, and adopted every measure to ensure and restore confidence among the citizens. Many of them had fled their homes during the panic, the stores and places of business were closed, and the whole community were perfectly paralyzed during the week that had intervened between the fall of Fort Donelson and the occupation of the city. Eight days of terror afforded them a fearful illustration of lawlessness and violence: and when the Federal troops took possession, their sobriety, decorum and uprightness, amazed the people with the contrast. The loss of many of their relatives, the deep hostility that had been engendered in their breasts, and the doubts as to the ultimate restoration of the Federal authority, made the development of loyal sentiments a work of time and patience. The retreat of the national forces from Nashville, and the withdrawal of the protection of the Government, would be the death-warrant of any person committing himself too openly for the Union cause; and many citizens allowed these contending motives to restrain their welcome to the flag under which they had so long enjoyed peace, prosperity and repose.

The government at Washington took an early opportunity to appoint a military governor for the State of Tennessee, in the person of Hon. Andrew Johnson, a man who had long represented its people as Governor and United States Senator.

Some of the ladies of Nashville were peculiarly ardent in their dislike of the Union occupation, and took especial pains to avoid or sneer at the glorious old flag which was directly hoisted in the most prominent parts of the town.

Over the large gate at the Provost-Marshal’s splendid headquarters—Elliott’s female school—a Union flag was hoisted. A very ardent secesh lady, who wished to see Colonel Matthews, was about to pass 321through the gate, when looking up she beheld the proud flag streaming on the breeze. Starting back horror-struck, she held up her hands and exclaimed to the guard:

“Dear! I can’t go under that dreadful Lincoln flag. Is there no other way for me to enter?”

“Yes, madam,” promptly replied the soldier, and turning to his comrade, he said:

“Here, orderly, bring out that rebel flag and lay it on the ground at the little gate, and let this lady walk over it!”

The lady looked bewildered, and after hesitating a moment, concluded to bow her head to the flag which had so long protected her, and passed under it with submissive grace.

On the 28th of February, 1862, Commodore S. F. Dupont, commanding the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, set sail from Port Royal, S. C., the headquarters of General Sherman, for the purpose of taking military possession of the forts and towns on the coasts of Georgia and Florida. Brigadier-General Wright accompanied him, as commander of the land forces. The squadron consisted of twenty vessels of war, seven transports, and a few schooners and smaller vessels.

The first point of attack was to be Fernandina, Fla., an important seaport near the entrance of St. Mary’s river, the boundary between Georgia and Florida. The main channel is between Cumberland and Amelia islands, with fourteen feet of water on the bar.

Fort Clinch, a regular bastioned work of brick, with heavy casemates, and guns mounted en barbette, commanded the entrance. This place had been strongly fortified by the rebels and mounted with guns of the heaviest calibre. Commodore Dupont anticipated a stubborn resistance, but the garrison, on learning the approach of the formidable expedition, deemed their position indefensible, and evacuated the fort, leaving twelve of their heaviest guns behind.

The town of Fernandina was also occupied by the Federal forces without any resistance. Many of the inhabitants had fled, and those remaining were terrified on the approach of the vessels, having been assured by the rebels that the national forces would subject them to unrestrained pillage and abuse. The kind and conciliatory government instituted by General Wright soon restored confidence, and the people returned to their homes and occupations.

The city of Columbus stands on the Kentucky shore of the Mississippi, twenty-five miles below Cairo, which is at the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. It is a place of great natural strength, from the high and precipitous bluffs upon which the city is built. This important position had been early seized as a stronghold by the enemy, and herculean labors had been performed in the erection of batteries and fortifications, and the mounting of immense guns of the heaviest calibre. The necessity of holding Columbus against the Federal approach, in order to protect Nashville, Memphis, Vicksburg and New Orleans, was one of the great incentives to the rebel commanders in expending so much labor and time in its defence. But all their calculations had been shaken by the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson, and the evacuation of Bowling Green. Their line of defence was broken by these brilliant movements, their flank was exposed, and they were in danger of having their retreat cut off by a vigorous movement of the Federal army flushed by brilliant successes. There was no alternative but to risk a similar defeat and capture, or to evacuate their works. The latter course was adopted, and on February 27th, the army commenced its retreat from the apprehended foe. They carried away with them large quantities of commissary stores, ammunition, guns, and war material of every description, and by March 2d, had abandoned their works and the city.

333On the same night, Lieutenant-Colonel Hogg, of the Second Illinois Cavalry, left Paducah to reconnoitre in the direction of Columbus. At the same time, the flotilla at Cairo was being put in a state of complete readiness for a movement, which was kept a profound secret from all but the commander and his advisory officers. Commodore Foote, himself, was not acquainted with the movement of Lieutenant-Colonel Hogg.

On the morning of the 4th, at daylight, the flotilla left Cairo, and dropped down the river. Commodore Foote and General Collum were on board the flag-ship Cincinnati, accompanied by the gunboats St. Louis, Louisville, Carondelet, Pittsburgh, Lexington, and four mortar boats. General Sherman commanded the transports Aleck Scott, I. L. McGill and Illinois, with the following troops aboard: Twenty-seventh Illinois, Colonel Buford, Forty-second Illinois, and two batteries.

On reaching that part of the river which makes a curving sweep toward Columbus, the vessels took up various positions, the mortar-boats being placed at a favorable point on the Missouri shore, where they could shell the rebel works, and be out of sight and range of their guns. While the gunboats were gradually nearing the fortifications, a flag was discovered flying from the summit of the bluffs. It was at too great a distance to be distinctly discerned, but the possibility of the Federal flag flying on that spot was not to be entertained. General Sherman, on a tug-boat, advanced and turned the bend in the river, out of sight of the fleet. No shot was fired, and the gunboats followed in time to discover the General and some of his men scaling the summit of the bluff. The stars and stripes were floating magnificently where only a few hours before the flag of the enemy asserted dominion. The General soon ascertained that Lieutenant-Colonel Hogg had arrived on the afternoon of the 3d, and quietly occupied the abandoned fortifications, and raised the national colors on their walls.

The works were extensive, of massive strength, capable of resisting a protracted siege, and supplied with guns, of which 128-pounders formed a part. The natural position, as well as the immense defensive preparations which had been made, seemed to render them impregnable to an attacking force. Yet with all these advantages the enemy had spiked many of their guns, rolled them down the bluff into the river, destroyed large amounts of stores, burnt their buildings and retired.

The Federal forces, jubilant with their easy conquest, and spared the horrors of bloodshed, took possession of the place in a spirit of cheerful triumph. There was no drawback to the rejoicing—no dead to bury, no wounded to send their groans through the cheering shouts that rang far and wide from under the stars and stripes when they were once more flung to the wind. Columbus was drawn back to the Union almost without an effort.

Newbern, in Craven county, N. C., is situated at the confluence of the Trent and Neuse rivers, which flow into Pamlico Sound, from whence, through Ocrakoke Inlet, communication is had with the Atlantic. It is eighty miles N. E. of Wilmington, and one hundred from Raleigh; has a population of six thousand, and considerable commerce.

343

BATTLE OF NEWBERN, N. C., MARCH 14, 1862.

345The importance of Newbern was early appreciated by the rebels, who adopted vigorous means for its defence. The approaches to the city on the south bank of the Neuse, the only available route of an assailant, were defended by formidable earthworks, and, as a protection against gunboats, a line of vessels, backed by a chevaux-de-frise, was placed in the channel, commanded by heavy batteries.

The expedition designed to operate against Newbern sailed from Hatteras Inlet on the 12th of March, the land forces under General Burnside, and the naval forces under Commander Rowan. The land forces consisted of the brigades of Generals Foster, Reno and Parke, much reduced, however, by regiments left behind at Roanoke Island and Hatteras Inlet, and not exceeding eight thousand men. They were supported by McCook’s battery of boat howitzers, three companies of marines, and a detachment of the Union Coast Guard. The distance from Hatteras Inlet to the entrance of Pamlico Sound is twenty-three miles; thence, through the sound and up the river to Newbern, about fifty miles.

Early on the morning of the 12th the entire force started for Newbern, and that night anchored off the mouth of Slocum’s Creek, some eighteen miles from Newbern, where General Burnside decided to make a landing. The landing commenced by seven o’clock the next morning, under cover of the naval fleet, and was effected with the greatest enthusiasm by the troops. Many, too impatient for the boats, leaped into the water, and waded waist deep to the shore; then, after a toilsome march through the mud, the head of the column moved within a mile and a half of the enemy’s stronghold, at eight P. M., a distance of twelve miles from the point of landing, where they bivouacked for the night, the rear of the column coming up with the boat howitzers about three o’clock next morning. This detention was caused by the shocking condition of the roads, consequent upon the heavy rain that had fallen during the day and the whole of the night. It required a whole regiment to drag the eight pieces which had been landed from the navy and the vessels of General Burnside.

By signals agreed upon, the naval vessels, with the armed vessels carrying the land forces, were informed of each others’ progress, and were thereby enabled to assist the march by shelling the road in advance.

At daylight on the morning of the 14th, an advance of the entire division was ordered. General Foster’s brigade marched up the main country road to attack the enemy’s left; General Reno up the railroad, to attack their right, and General Parke was to follow General Foster and attack the enemy in front, with instructions to support either or both brigades.

346On the morning of the 14th, at seven o’clock, the column of General Reno, on the railroad, was the first to move, the Twenty-first Massachusetts, as the right flank regiment, leading the advance. The regiment had not proceeded far before it saw a train of cars standing on the track. In front of the locomotive, on a platform car, a large rifled gun was placed in position to rake the road. The men advanced at the double-quick and poured in a volley with such accuracy of aim that the enemy, who had already rolled the gun and caisson off the car, did not stop to unload the carriage, but ran into the intrenchments, and the train was backed towards Newbern, leaving the platform car standing on the track. The Twenty-first had got within short range of the enemy’s earthworks, but now fell back, and, forming line of battle in the woods, opened fire. The Fifty-first New York was moved to the left and ordered forward to engage a series of redans, the Ninth New Jersey occupying the left of the line, and the Fifty-first Pennsylvania held in reserve, in rear of the Ninth, a little to the left.

Meanwhile General Foster’s brigade had advanced up the main road to the clearing, when the Twenty-fourth Massachusetts was sent into the woods to the right of the road, and opening a heavy fire on the enemy commenced the action of the first brigade. The Twenty-seventh was sent to their left to support them, and, news being received that the enemy were trying to outflank the Federals on the right, the Twenty-fifth was sent to resist the movement. The Twenty-third being moved to the front next in line of battle, opened fire upon the enemy, which was replied to by very heavy volleys, and a cannonade from a park of field pieces behind the breastwork. The very first cannon-shot killed Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Merritt of the Twenty-third. General Foster’s line of battle was completed by moving the Tenth Connecticut to the extreme left, a position which they were compelled to maintain under the most discouraging disadvantages. The ground was very wet, swampy, and cut up into gulleys and ravines, which opened toward the enemy, offering no protection from his fire.

General Parke’s brigade, which had followed the first brigade up the main road, was placed in line between the Tenth Connecticut and Twenty-first Massachusetts, the Fourth Rhode Island holding the right of line, the Eighth Connecticut the next place, the Fifth Rhode Island, next, and the Eleventh Connecticut on the left. The line of battle was now complete, the Twenty-fourth Massachusetts on the extreme right, and the Fifty-first Pennsylvania at the extreme left, and extended more than a mile. The naval battery was in position at the centre, with Captain Bennett’s and Captain Dayton’s rifles alongside, and were all worked with the greatest gallantry throughout the day.

The fire of the enemy was now telling so severely upon the Twenty-first 347that Colonel Clark ordered the regiment forward on a double-quick, and at the head of four companies entered the breastworks from the railroad track in company with General Reno, and the colors were taken into a frame house which stood near, and waved from the roof. The men at the nearest guns seeing the movement, abandoned their pieces and fled, and the four companies being formed again in line of battle, charged down the line upon the battery. Colonel Clark mounted the first gun, waved the colors, and had nearly reached the second when two full regiments of the enemy emerged from a grove of young pines and advanced upon his men, who, seeing that they were likely to be captured or cut to pieces, leaped over the parapet and retired to their position in the woods.

On being driven from the battery, Colonel Clark informed Colonel Rodman of the Fourth Rhode Island of the state of affairs inside, and that officer decided upon a charge with the bayonet. His regiment had been firing, like the rest of the line, by companies and otherwise. When the command was given to charge, they advanced at the double-quick directly up to the battery, firing as they ran, and entered at the right flank, between a brick-yard and the end of the parapet. With a steady line of cold, sharp steel, the Rhode Islanders bore down upon the enemy, and, routing them, captured the whole battery, with its two flags, and planted the stars and stripes upon the parapet. The Eighth Connecticut, Fifth Rhode Island and Eleventh Connecticut, coming up to their support, the rebels fled with precipitation, and left the Union troops in undisputed possession.

General Reno’s brigade were still attacking the redans and small battery on the right of the railroad, and the firing was very heavy. The Twenty-first was engaging the battery of five small pieces, the Fifty-first New York the first of the redans, and the Ninth New Jersey the next two. The Fifty-first Pennsylvania was still in reserve, drawn up in a hollow or ravine, from which they would move up to the top of the eminence, discharge their volleys, and retire to such cover as the inequalities of ground might furnish. General Reno, becoming impatient at the loss of life which his regiments, particularly that of Colonel Ferrero, was suffering, urged that regiment to advance as soon as possible; so Lieutenant-Colonel Potter took a color over the brow of the hill into another hollow, and from thence charged up an acclivity and over brushwood and abattis into the redan. The Fifty-first Pennsylvania was ordered up to participate in the decisive charge of the whole brigade upon the line of redans, and passing through the Fifty-first New York, as it was lying on the ground after having exhausted all its ammunition, came under the heaviest fire, and without flinching or wavering moved to its place, and rushed, with the other regiments, upon the defences of the enemy. 348The movement of Colonel Hartranft’s regiment was executed splendidly, and proved a complete success.

The movement of the Third brigade was supported by a charge of the Fourth Rhode Island from the captured main battery upon the works which were being assailed, and the enemy, already demoralized by the breaking of their centre, fell back before the grand charge upon the left and front of their position, and fled in confusion. On the extreme right the brave Twenty-fourth and its supporting regiments had been advancing inch by inch, standing up against the enemy’s musketry and cannonade without faltering, and almost at the time when the Fourth Rhode Island charged in at the right flank, the colors of the Twenty-fourth were planted on the parapet at the left, and the whole of the First brigade poured into the fortification. The whole line of earthworks was now in Union hands, and the cheers of the Federal men, from one end of it to the other, broke out with fresh spirit as each new regimental color was unfurled on the parapet.

The approaches to Newbern were defended by a line of water batteries or forts communicating with extensive field fortifications. The lower fort is about six miles from the city; the next communicates with the unfinished batteries and breastworks; the others were distributed about equal distances along the shore. The line of fortifications attacked and stormed was some three miles in extent. At the river bank a hexagonal fort, or water battery, with a large bomb-proof and thirteen heavy guns, commanded in addition, the river approach. By means of pivot carriages the cannon could be turned upon an advancing land force, and even sweep the line of breastworks itself in case the garrison should be driven out. From the fort to the centre of the line a well-made breastwork extended, with a deep moat in front. At the centre was a bastion and sallyport, after which the breastwork was continued to the railroad embankment, which was used as a means of defence. Beyond the railroad, but completely protecting the right flank of the main battery, was a small battery, of irregular shape, communicating with a system of thirteen redans, or rifle-pits, each pair of which were constructed on a knoll rising between ravines, the conformation of the ground furnishing in itself a most admirable basis for field-works. The locality was chosen with rare judgment, and all that engineering skill could accomplish was done to make these fortifications an impassable barrier to hostile troops. From the railroad westward, a swift, deep brook, with muddy bottom, and a wide border of swamp on both sides, ran in front of the redans; and on the side of approach, the timber was so very heavy, that, when felled, it presented a barricade which would seem enough of itself to stop any army of French Zouaves. On the brow of each mound, brushwood had been piled with regularity to the height 349of four feet in front of the redans, rendering it extremely difficult to take them by assault from the front. The redans were constructed of heavy timbers, covered with at least five feet thickness of earth, while an interior ditch say three feet in depth gave complete protection to the garrison from volleys of musketry, or discharges of grape and canister shot.

Inside, the battery presented a most revolting appearance. Beneath the parapet, in the ditch, on the open ground under the gun-carriages, lay the dead and mangled bodies of rebels. On every side lay heaped the bleeding carcasses of artillery horses, killed by musket or rifle balls. Here and there a broken gun-carriage, or caisson, lay tilted into the mud. Stores of all kinds were scattered over the ground or trampled in the black mire. Muskets with broken stocks or bent barrels were thrown about in every direction. It was a scene of wild confusion on all sides.

It was not known with certainty that there was no other battery erected formidable as this still further up the road; but thinking it best to increase the panic which had seized upon the enemy, General Burnside ordered an advance. General Foster immediately sent forward the Twenty-fourth, Twenty-fifth, Twenty-seventh, and the whole brigade by the straight road. In the charge on the rifle-pit about one hundred rebels, among them the Colonel of the Thirty-third North Carolina and a number of commissioned officers, were captured. When these were secured in an old brick-kiln and placed under guard, Generals Reno and Parke moved their brigades after General Foster’s, the former going before up the railroad track and the latter by the country road. The march to Newbern was unobstructed, the enemy having apparently all he could do to get away on any terms, and early in the afternoon the Union forces reached the bank of the river immediately opposite the city. Long before they came in sight of it, however, dense volumes of smoke were seen rising in that direction, and the suspicion that the place had been fired by the enemy was fully realized when its steeples and houses came in view. Newbern had been fired in seven different places, and if the wind had not mercifully subsided there would hardly have been a house left standing by nightfall. The splendid railroad bridge, seven hundred yards long, had been set on fire by a scow load of turpentine which had drifted against it, and the great structure was wrapped in one grand sheet of flame. Preparations were made by General Foster to move his forces across the river. This was accomplished by the assistance of a light draft stern-wheel steamer which had been captured with four or five small side-wheel boats by the naval gunboats, which by this time were quite up to the city wharves.

To the eastward of the city a very large rebel camp, with barracks and tents, was found deserted and taken possession of. Stragglers 350from different regiments wandered through the city and committed some acts of depredation; but were speedily checked by a strong Provost-Guard appointed by the commanding General.

The forts taken were Fort Dixie, 4 guns; 1 100-pound rifle and 3 32-pounders. Fort Thompson, 12 guns; 2 100-pound rifle and 10 32-pounders. Fort Ellis, 8 guns; 1 8-inch columbiad, 1 100-pounder, under casemate, and 6 32-pounders. Fort Lane, 4 guns; 2 100-pounders and 2 32-pounders. Two forts, at the foot of the city, mounting 2 guns each. Three guns on a car and two lying on the wharf.

The Federal loss was about 100 killed and 450 wounded. That of the rebels, who were protected by their fortifications, about 220 in killed and wounded. About 300 prisoners were taken by Lieutenant Hammond of the gunboat Hetzel, who was serving one of the guns of McCook’s battery.

The naval operations under Commander Rowan, were conducted with great skill and success. The navigation was impeded in every possible way by the rebels. Sunken vessels closed the main channels at all accessible points, while torpedoes, chevaux-de-frise and fire-rafts threatened destruction on every side. Captain Rowan hoisted his pennant on Thursday morning on board the steamer Delaware. At half-past eight A. M., the gunboats commenced shelling the woods in the vicinity of the proposed place of landing, taking stations at intervals along the shore to protect the advance of the troops. At half-past nine A. M., the troops commenced landing, and at the same time six naval boat howitzers with their crews, under the command of Lieutenant R. S. McCook, of the Stars and Stripes, were put on shore to assist the attacks. The army commenced to move up the beach at half-past eleven A. M., the debarkation of troops still continuing. In the mean time the vessels were slowly moving up, throwing shell in the woods beyond. At a quarter-past four, P. M., the first of the enemy’s batteries opened fire on the foremost of the gunboats, which was promptly returned at long range. The troops were now all disembarked, and steadily advancing without resistance. At sundown the firing was discontinued, and the fleet came to anchor in position to cover the troops on shore. At half-past six, A. M., Friday, 14th instant, there was heard a continuous firing of heavy guns and musketry inland, and immediately the fleet commenced throwing shells in advance of the position supposed to be held by the Union troops. The fleet steadily moved up, and gradually closed in towards the batteries. The lower fortifications were discovered to have been abandoned by the enemy.

A boat was dispatched to it and the stars and stripes planted on the 351ramparts. As they advanced, the upper batteries opened fire. The fire was returned with effect, the magazine of one exploding. Having proceeded in an extended line as far as the obstructions in the river would permit, the signal was made to follow the movements of the flag-ship, and the whole fleet advanced in order, concentrating their fire on Fort Thompson, mounting thirteen guns, on which rested the enemy’s land defences. The army, having driven them out of these defences, the forts were abandoned. Several of the vessels were slightly injured in passing the barricades of piles and torpedoes which had been placed in the river. The upper battery having been evacuated on the appearance of the combined forces, it was abandoned and subsequently blew up. They now steamed rapidly up to the city. Upon the approach of the Federals, several points of the city were fired by the enemy, where stores had been accumulated. Two small batteries, constructed of cotton bales, and mounting two guns each, were also fired by them. Two small steamers were captured, another having been burned. A large raft, composed of barrels of pitch and bales of cotton, which had been prepared to send down upon the fleet, was fired, and floating against the railroad bridge, set it on fire and destroyed it. In addition to the prizes, a quantity of pitch, tar, and a gunboat, and another vessel on the stocks, several vessels afloat, and an immense quantity of arms and munitions of war, fell into their hands.

Washington, Morehead City and Beaufort were in turn occupied by General Burnside’s forces without resistance, and the inhabitants generally evinced a friendly spirit. The commandant of Fort Macon having refused to surrender, preparations were immediately made to invest and capture that place.

Shortly before the evacuation of Columbus, General Pope, with a large force, was dispatched by the commander of the Department to besiege the town of New Madrid, on the Mississippi river, in the extreme south-eastern section of Missouri. This place had been strongly fortified by the rebels, and garrisoned by five regiments of infantry and several companies of artillery. The town is about seven miles below Island No. 10, but owing to a bend in the river, lies nearly west. Its possession was deemed important, in order to advance the Union forces down the Mississippi.

352

SECTION OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

SHOWING THE DISTANCES FROM NEW ORLEANS, AND THE ISLANDS BY THEIR NUMBERS.

353

SECTION OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

SHOWING THE DISTANCES FROM NEW ORLEANS, AND THE ISLANDS BY THEIR NUMBERS.

354The enemy had one bastioned earthwork, mounting fourteen heavy guns, about half a mile below the town, and another irregular work at the upper end of the town, mounting seven pieces of heavy artillery, together with lines of intrenchments between them. Six gunboats carrying from four to eight heavy guns each, were anchored along the shore, between the upper and lower redoubts.

The country is perfectly level for miles around the place, and the river was so high just then, that the gunboats looked directly over the banks; and the approaches to the town for seven miles were commanded by direct and cross-fire from at least sixty guns of heavy calibre.

The column under General Pope left Commerce, Mo., on the 27th of February, and, after six days of hard marches through and over the interminable jungles of the great Mingo or Nigger Wool swamp, sat down before the town. They had scarcely been in camp a day before the river batteries opened upon them, forcing the right wing back a few hundred yards further from the river.

Trials and dangers now beset the Federal army, which would have discouraged less brave men. It would not have been difficult to carry the intrenchments, but it must have been attended with heavy loss, and they could not have been held half an hour exposed to the destructive fire of the gunboats. It therefore became necessary to bring down a few heavy guns by land to operate against those of the enemy. They were accordingly sent for; and meantime, forced reconnoissances were pushed over the whole ground, and into several parts of the town. Some brisk skirmishes resulted, in which the enemy invariably retreated precipitately. It was found impossible to induce them to trust any considerable force of their infantry outside of their intrenchments. While awaiting the arrival of the heavy guns, Colonel Plummer, of the Eleventh Missouri, was dispatched to Point Pleasant, eight miles below, with three regiments of infantry, three companies of cavalry, and a field battery of 10-pound Parrott and rifled guns, with orders to make a lodgment on the river bank; to line the bank with rifle-pits for a thousand men, and to establish his artillery in sunk batteries of single pieces between the rifle-pits. This arrangement was made in order to present the smallest possible marks to the shells of the gunboats, and to render futile the use of round shot from their heavy guns. Colonel Plummer, after some cannonading from the gunboats which he found there, succeeded in making a lodgment, constructing his batteries and rifle-pits, and occupying them in sufficient force to maintain them against any open assault.

After repeated and persistent cannonading from the gunboats, the enemy found it impossible to dislodge him. He maintained his position, and effectually blockaded the river to transports, during the whole siege. Meantime, the enemy continued every day to reinforce New Madrid, until, on the 12th, they had nine thousand infantry, besides a 355considerable force of artillery and nine gunboats. The fleet was commanded by Commodore Hollins, the land forces by Generals McCown, Stewart and Gantt. On the 11th, the Federal siege guns were delivered to Colonel Bissell for his engineer regiment, who had been sent to Cairo. They were at once shipped to Sykestown, reached New Madrid at sunset on the 12th, and were placed in battery during the same night, within eight hundred yards of the enemy’s main work, commanding the river above it. They opened fire at daylight on the 13th, just thirty-four hours after they were received at Cairo.

A brigade, consisting of the Tenth and Sixteenth Illinois, under Colonel Morgan, of the Tenth, was detailed to cover the construction of the battery, and to work in the trenches. It was supported by Stanley’s division, consisting of the Twenty-seventh and Thirty-ninth Ohio, under Colonel Groesbeck, and the Forty-third and Sixty-third Ohio, under Colonel Smith. Captain Mower, First United States infantry, with companies A and H of his regiment, was placed in charge of the siege guns.

The enemy’s pickets and grand guards were driven in by Colonel Morgan, from the ground selected for the battery. The work was prosecuted in silence, and with the utmost rapidity, until at three o’clock, A. M., two small redoubts connected by a curtain, and mounting four heavy guns were completed, together with rifle-pits in front and on the flanks for two regiments of infantry. The batteries opened as soon as the day dawned, and were replied to in front and on the flanks by the whole of the enemy’s heavy artillery on land and water.

The Union guns were served by Captain Mower with vigor and skill. In a few hours they disabled several of the gunboats, and dismounted three of the heavy guns in the enemy’s main work. Shortly after the Union batteries opened, one of the 24-pound guns was struck in the muzzle by a round shot from the enemy’s batteries and disabled.

The cannonading was continued furiously all day by the gunboats and land batteries of the enemy, but without producing any impression. Meantime the Union trenches were being extended and advanced toward the bank of the river. General Paine now made a demonstration against the rebel intrenchments on the left, supported by Palmer’s division. The enemy’s pickets and grand guards were driven in, and the skirmishers forced their way close to the main ditch.

A furious thunder storm began about eleven o’clock that night, and continued almost without interruption until morning. Just before daylight, General Stanley was relieved in his trenches with his division by General Hamilton. A few minutes after daylight, a flag of truce approached the batteries, bearing information that the enemy had evacuated his works. Small parties were at once advanced by General 356Hamilton to ascertain the truth of this report; and Captain Mower, First United States infantry, with companies A and H of that regiment, were sent forward to plant the United States flag over the abandoned works.

The enemy had made a hasty and precipitate flight. Their dead were found unburied, their suppers stood untouched on the tables—candles were burning in the tents. Private baggage of officers and knapsacks of the men were left behind. Neither provisions nor ammunition were carried off—everything gave evidence of a panic. Artillery, field batteries and siege guns, amounting to thirty-three pieces; magazines full of fixed ammunition of the best character; several thousand stands of inferior small arms, with hundreds of boxes of musket cartridges; tents for an army of ten thousand men; horses, mules, wagons, intrenching tools, etc., were among the spoils.

Their flight was so sudden that they abandoned their pickets, and gave no intimation to the forces at Island No. 10.

The Union loss was fifty-one killed and wounded. The enemy’s loss could not be ascertained. A number of his dead were left unburied, and over a hundred new graves were found.

When the necessity of an early evacuation of Columbus became apparent to the rebel leaders, they commenced the fortification of Island No. 10, in the Mississippi river, forty-five miles below Columbus and twenty-six from Hickman. It is located 250 miles below St. Louis and 997 from New Orleans; and when chosen by the secessionists it was deemed impregnable. The earthworks were constructed with great skill, and well calculated to resist any assault which could be made from the river above, while they held undisputed control of the navigation below, and had at their command a formidable fleet of gunboats. New Madrid, on the Missouri shore of the river, a few miles below, was fortified and garrisoned by rebel troops, and they had easy communication and abundant facilities for supplies and reinforcements, if needed.

The energy and perseverance of General Pope, which enabled him, despite the most serious obstacles, to invest and capture the town of New Madrid, was the first note of warning received by the rebels at Island No. 10 that their position was no longer tenable.

The topography of the peninsula on the Tennessee shore, immediately back of the island, where most of the rebel forces were located, is very peculiar; and if the disadvantages of position which the course of events gradually unfolded could have been foreseen, the site would never have 357been selected. Commencing at a point about a mile and a half above the island is a range of high land, which extends back south-eastwardly to Reelfoot Lake, a distance of four miles. This lake, in the rear of the peninsula, is fifteen miles in length, and terminates in a swamp, which extends south of Tiptonville, a town on the river bank, below the peninsula. The swamp at that time varied in width from one and a half to eight miles, its narrowest point being four miles above Tiptonville, where the rebels had prepared a corduroy road and bridge, as a means of escape from their position, should retreat by land become necessary.

On the 15th of March, the gun and mortar-boats comprising the fleet of Commodore Foote commenced the investment and bombardment of Island No. 10, and the rebel batteries and camps at the adjacent peninsula on the Tennessee shore.

The fleet consisted of eleven gunboats, and twelve mortar-boats, each of the latter carrying one immense mortar, throwing a shell of two hundred and twenty pounds weight a distance of from two to three miles. The Commodore engaged the rebel batteries almost daily for three weeks, deeming it imprudent to risk the destruction of his vessels by close action, as any misfortune to them would have placed all the towns on the Upper Mississippi at the mercy of the armed steamers of the enemy.

The rebels had eighty guns of heavy calibre in the batteries on the island and the adjacent peninsula, while the iron-clad ram Manassas, and a fleet of twenty vessels—gunboats, steamers and transports, were moored under their guns, prepared to act as opportunity or emergency might require.

One or more gunboats would advance to attack a shore battery from the right hand of the river—or engage the water battery on the island, approaching from the left bank. The mortars kept continually changing positions, generally hugging the shore on the left bank where the rebel batteries could not reach them, as they were covered by a promontory, or neck of land, made by the bend of the river; and their fire was kept up so unceasingly, that frequently a mortar-shell was thrown every hour during the night.

At two o’clock on the morning of April 1, a most daring enterprise on the part of Colonel Roberts, of the Forty-second Illinois regiment, was crowned with success. Taking advantage of a severe storm while the elements were raging furiously, and a dreadful hurricane, accompanied with thunder and lightning, was sweeping the earth and driving the vessels from their moorings, he started with forty picked men, in six yawl boats, and with muffled oars rowed towards the upper water battery on Island No. 10, keeping close to the edge of the river bank. The boats, favored by the intense darkness, approached within 358a few rods of the battery, when a blinding sheet of lightning flashed across the water, revealing the adventurous party to the enemy’s sentinels. The dark object looming out from the storm alarmed the sentinels, who fired wildly and at random, fleeing with the first discharge. The Union boats made no reply. A few minutes more brought them to the slope of the earthworks, and the men at once sprung over the parapet. In less than five minutes the huge guns on the battery were securely spiked. They were all of large calibre, consisting of two 64, two 80-pounders and one splendid 9-inch pivot gun. Their desperate work accomplished, the boats returned safely to the fleet, having performed a perilous exploit with wonderful success.

After the surrender of the forts at New Madrid, Colonel Bissell’s engineer regiment was engaged for four days unspiking guns, changing batteries, and establishing new works. Then they were sent over by General Pope to ascertain whether it would be practicable to establish batteries opposite Island No. 10, and enfilade the rebel works on the Tennessee shore. They spent three days in the swamps, living in their canoes with negroes, but found the project impracticable. Colonel Bissell, however, stated that he could by hard labor get steamboats and flatboats through the woods and bayous, and by that means avoid the batteries on the island, and bring the vessels to New Madrid, whence General Pope’s army could be transported to a point nearly opposite, and take all the enemy’s works in the rear.

General Pope at once gave him a carte blanche, and he sent to Cairo for four steamboats, six flats, and such guns as could be spared. They sent the steamers W. B. Terry, John Trio, Gilmore, and Emma, with the barges, a quantity of lumber, etc., and one eight-inch columbiad and three thirty-two pounders. Tools were not needed, for the regiment carried everything, from the heaviest ropes and screws down to fine steel drills for unspiking guns.

The route was about twelve miles long, of which two traversed were through thick timber, and the remaining ten narrow, crooked bayous, choked up with brush and small trees. They cut their way through, the track being fifty feet wide, of which thirty feet was required for the hulls of the boats. The timber was cut four feet below the surface of the water. In one short stretch they cut seventy-five trees, not one less than two feet through. The machines were rigged from rafts and flats, and each worked by about twenty men. In the first place three large launches went ahead to cut out and clear away the underbrush and driftwood; then three rafts followed, on which were the axemen, followed by the saws, two large barges, and one of the steamboats. Very large lines were provided to run from the capstan of the steamboat and haul out by snatchblocks what the men could not handle. Men were engaged all the time in the fleet which followed, converting the flatboats into floating batteries.

359

BOMBARDMENT OF ISLAND NO. 10.

1. Rebel Floating Battery.—2. Rebel Gunboats and Rams.—3. Federal Gunboats.—4. Point Pleasant.—5. Island No. 10.—6. Smith’s Landing.—7. Mortar Boats.

361From the starting point on the river to the levee the distance is about five hundred feet; here the water was shallow and the route full of stumps. It took one whole day to pass this point. Then they cut in the levee. Here the fall was over two feet, and the rush of water tremendous. The largest boat was dropped through with five lines out ahead. Then a corn field, overflowed from a cut in the levee, where a channel was cut by the swift water, and floated them onward nearly a quarter of a mile to the woods. Here was great labor—two straight and long miles to the nearest point in the bayou. It took eight days to get through this distance. Then came Wilson’s Bayou, East Bayou, and St. John’s Bayou, which empties into the Mississippi at New Madrid. It sometimes took twenty men a whole day to get out a half sunken tree across the bayou; and as none of the rafts or flats could get by, this always detained the whole fleet. The water, after they got in the woods, was about six feet deep, with a gentle current setting across the peninsula. In the East Bayou the current was tremendous, and the boats had to be checked down with heavy head lines. Here they found some obstructions, caused by heaps of driftwood, but a few sturdy blows dislodged some of the logs and sent the whole mass floating down the current.

While the engineers were engaged in this herculean enterprise, the gunboat Carondelet ran safely by the rebel batteries on the island, and reached New Madrid on the night of April 4th. On the succeeding night another boat, the Pittsburg, ran the gauntlet of the enemy’s fire unscathed, in time to convoy the transports as they entered the river.

On the 6th of April the two gunboats attacked and destroyed four batteries erected by the rebels on the Tennessee shore. On the 7th, by daylight, the divisions of Generals Paine and Stanley were marched to Tiptonville, fifteen miles down the river from New Madrid. The rebels had retreated in that direction the afternoon before, and it was thought that they were endeavoring to cross over Reelfoot lake. The troops were pushed forward with all possible speed, and at night encamped at Tiptonville and Merriwether’s, while a strong force was posted at the only point where by any possibility the rebels could cross the lake, some four miles from the town. Squads of rebel soldiers kept in sight of the Union pickets during the night, and at times would come boldly up and surrender themselves as prisoners of war. At daylight General Pope 362and staff, and Assistant Secretary of War Scott, went down to the locality, and General Pope assumed the full command. It was expected that some resistance would be made, and no one surmised that the enemy, who it was learned had marched over from Island No. 10, had concluded to give himself up. But shortly after sunrise General Pope received a message from the General commanding the Confederates, stating that he had surrendered the island and fortifications to Commodore Foote the night before, and that the forces under his command were ready to follow the “fortunes of war;” and he requested General Pope to receive and march them into camp. General Pope gave directions for the Confederate troops to come into camp and go through the formula. Accordingly about four thousand rebels were marched in and stacked their arms.

On the same day Island No. 10 was surrendered to Commodore Foote, with all its war material; and all the gunboats and transports fell into the hands of the victors.

On the 21st of March, General Shields, commanding a division of the Fifth Army Corps of the Potomac, under General Banks, was stationed at Winchester, with a force of about seven thousand men. General Jackson, with a rebel force of ten thousand men, and twenty-eight pieces of artillery, was then at Strasburg, ten miles distant, closely scrutinizing the movements of the Federal army, and only awaiting the arrival of General Johnston, his superior, who was daily expected with a much larger force. With these united, they expected to strike a telling blow on the army of General Banks, and thus prevent any combined action on his part with General McClellan.

Not anticipating an immediate attack from General Jackson, General Banks had just left Winchester for Harper’s Ferry, and General Williams’ division had marched the same day towards Centreville. Of these movements the rebel General was duly notified, as his numerous spies within the Federal lines lost no opportunity of supplying the enemy with full details of all the actions of the Federal commanders.

Though looking for reinforcements from Generals Longstreet and Smith, Jackson determined to attack Shields’ troops;—but his attempt to surprise them was frustrated by the vigilance of that officer. Apprehensive that the enemy designed an early advance, General Shields had just completed a hasty reconnoissance to Strasburg, by which he obtained important information of Jackson’s numbers and intentions. 363This induced him to withdraw most of his men to a position two miles north-east of Winchester, while his pickets extended five miles beyond, on the Strasburg road. The enemy were led to believe that the town was open to their occupation, and that the greater portion of the Federal troops had been withdrawn from the vicinity.

On Saturday afternoon, March 22, about a quarter-past two o’clock, the Federal advanced pickets on the Strasburg road discovered the rebel cavalry, under Colonel Ashby, about half a mile beyond them, reconnoitering the woods on both sides of the turnpike, and steadily advancing. The pickets consisted of a few men of the Fourteenth Indiana infantry at that point, and they fell back half a mile to the hamlet of Kernstown, four miles from Winchester. Steadily did the troopers advance as the Union men wheeled to aim and fire. The first volley sent many rebels reeling from their saddles, and threw the rest into confusion. Before they could be again rallied for a charge, the gallant little band of infantry was beyond their power, without having lost a man killed or wounded. General Shields hearing of the advance of the rebel cavalry, ordered four advanced companies of infantry to rally to the support of the pickets, and hold the rebels in check till he could move down the division. These companies were one from the Maryland First, one from the Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania, one from the Forty-sixth Pennsylvania, and one from the Twenty-eighth New York. Their regiments had marched away under General Williams.

A battery of artillery was also sent forward, and General Shields, after ordering out the division, rode to the front, accompanied by his staff. While engaged in directing the fire of the artillery, a shell from the rebel battery of four guns, which now began to play on them, burst near him, and a splinter from it struck him in the left arm, just above the elbow, fracturing the bone and creating a painful wound. But without heeding it he gave a fresh order to the artillery, and continued on the field till satisfied that all was right.

The Federal division began to arrive in force on the field towards dark; the rebels, perceiving this, did not push their advance, but halted about three miles from Winchester for the night, lighted their camp fires and bivouacked, while the opposing army lay between them and the town.

About ten o’clock on Sunday, reinforcements of five regiments of infantry and two batteries of artillery having arrived from Strasburg, under General Garnett, were welcomed by vociferous and prolonged cheers from their lines. The attack was not long delayed. The enemy advanced his army, which now consisted of sixteen regiments of infantry, numbering eleven thousand men; five batteries of artillery, with a total of twenty-eight field pieces, and three battalions of horse, under Ashby 364and Stewart. His line of battle extended about a mile on the right of the village of Kernstown, and a mile and three-quarters on the left of it. The village lay on the road between the rebel right and centre. There is a mud road branching from the turnpike a mile or so from Winchester to the right of the road going towards Strasburg. This road passed through the left of the enemy’s centre, and was one of their points of defence. Beyond that is a grove of trees, and farther on, a ridge of hills with a stone wall about breast-high running along its summit. This was the rebel line of offence and defence on the right of the Union line.

The most advanced regiment on the Union side was the Eighth Ohio, of General Tyler’s brigade. The rebels made a furious onslaught about half-past ten o’clock, A. M., on Thursday, with the intention of turning the right flank. The Ohio Eighth met them with a deadly fire of rifles. Five times did the enemy emerge from the woods and from behind their stone parapet with vastly superior numbers, and strive in vain to accomplish their object. The Union left wing, consisting of the Thirteenth Indiana, Seventh Ohio and a battery of the Fourth regular artillery, under Captain Jenks, had a feint made on it, while the real attack of the enemy was being directed against the Union right wing. The feint on the left was a heavy fire of artillery posted on both sides of the village and the turnpike, which, however, did trifling damage. The Union battery replied, silencing those of the enemy, though the firing was well maintained for a long time on both sides. The Union centre consisted of the Fourteenth Indiana, the Eighth and Sixty-seventh Ohio, and the Eighty-fourth Pennsylvania. Two artillery batteries belonging to the First Ohio artillery, and the cavalry, consisting of the First Michigan and First Ohio, were drawn up in the rear. The Union right wing was made up of the Fifth and Eighth Ohio regiments and a battery of the First Virginia regiment. The reserves consisted of the Twelfth Indiana, the Thirty-ninth Illinois and a squadron of the Michigan cavalry. General Shields was unable to appear on the field in person, and the command consequently devolved upon Acting Brigadier Kimble, who led the centre. The right was commanded by Acting Brigadier General Tyler, while Colonel Sullivan directed the operations on the left.

The battle raged along the whole line with great fury from eleven A. M. till half-past two P. M., when General Shields, who received accounts of the progress of the fight on his couch, ordered the right, where the contest raged the hottest, to charge upon the enemy. That was an awful charge. The left of the enemy prepared desperately to repel the gallant troops, but their rush was irresistible. Previous to this the Union line of battle had been somewhat changed. The Eighty-fourth 365Pennsylvania reinforced its right, and also a battery of artillery. The whole Union force now engaged was about six thousand men, while that of the enemy was at the lowest estimate eight thousand. The rebels had also changed their line, and extending both their wings, presented a concave front. They had reinforced their left wing, and the charge to be made by the Union right was all important in its consequences. On it, at three o’clock, depended the fate of the entire battle. Tyler led the charge, sword in hand. The rebels fired from the woods with artillery and small arms, while the Federals advanced against their murderous showers of lead and iron, returning few shots and reserving their fire.

SPLENDID CHARGE OF THE RIGHT WING, UNDER GENERAL TYLER.

Up to this time the armies had not been much nearer to each other than three hundred yards, unless in some few instances. The wood was soon cleared at the point of the bayonet, the Unionists discharging their pieces at twenty and even five yards distance from the rebels, and then dashing at them with the bayonet.

The rebels fought well. They contested the ground foot by foot, and marked every yard of their retreat with blood. They retired behind the stone wall, on the ridge, but the Unionists jumped over, and drove them in the greatest confusion and with fearful slaughter upon their centre. The panic was contagious. Kimble ordered a charge along the whole line, and for a short time the fighting was desperate. The roar of the cannon was no longer heard, unless in occasional bursts, but the rattle of musketry was more deafening than ever.

The rout of the rebels had fairly commenced; two of their guns and four caissons were taken, and though many of them turned and fired 366again and again at the pursuing host, many more threw away muskets and bayonets without hesitation. Darkness and the extreme fatigue of the Union troops, however, saved them for the time, and the Federals retired about two miles and bivouacked.

At daybreak General Shields ordered the rebel position to be attacked, and the enemy, after replying by a few shots from his artillery, continued his retreat. Meantime General Banks, who had been at Harper’s Ferry, arrived, and taking command of the troops in person, continued the pursuit with about ten thousand men, and pressed the rebels beyond Middleburg, cutting off many stragglers. The object was to capture his whole force, if possible. General Williams, with his forces, arrived on the field, too late to participate in the action. They joined in the chase.

The loss of the enemy in killed and wounded was six hundred. The number of prisoners taken was three hundred.

The Union loss in killed was one hundred, and about four hundred wounded. Though the enemy had a much larger force, four pieces of cannon more than the Federals, the selection of fighting ground, and every other advantage, yet all the trophies of the occasion belong to the Union army.

The rebels had an Irish battalion of one hundred and fifty men, of whom forty were killed on the field, and many of the rest wounded. Their commander, Captain Jones, was captured, having lost both eyes by a bullet.

The loss on the Union side was heaviest in the Eighty-fourth Pennsylvania regiment. Of the five companies of three hundred men, in all, engaged, they lost Colonel Murray, a brave officer; one captain, one lieutenant, twenty-three privates and non-commissioned officers killed, and sixty-three wounded. The loss in the Eighth and Fifth Ohio regiments was about seventy-five and sixty, respectively, killed and wounded.

Lieutenant-Colonel Thorburn, of the Third Virginia, was among the wounded. These were the only field officers killed or wounded in the Union forces.

The battle-field after the struggle was a terrible sight. The night was dark and cold. After the battle the ambulances were busily engaged removing the wounded. The enemy carried off most of their wounded and some of their dead. The wounded were intermingled with the dead, and their sufferings before they were removed to the hospitals were heart-rending. The next day was spent in burying the dead. The ghastly aspect of the field after the wounded were removed, and before the dead were interred, was appalling.

The fatigue and suffering experienced by the victorious army at Pittsburg were too severe for an immediate pursuit of Beauregard’s forces on their retreat from the battle field on the 7th of April. On the morning of the 8th, however, General W. T. Sherman was ordered by General Grant to follow up the enemy, with a small force. With two brigades of infantry, and Colonel Dickey’s Illinois cavalry, he advanced on the Corinth road, to the forks, several miles beyond the battle field. The abandoned camps of the enemy lined the road, in all of which were found more or less of their wounded with hospital flags thrown out for their protection. At that point, reconnoitering parties were sent out on both roads, which reported the enemy’s cavalry in force in either direction. A Federal brigade under General Wood, which had been stationed in that vicinity, was ordered to advance on the left hand road, while General Sherman led the third brigade of his division up the right. About half a mile from the forks was a clear field, through which the highway passed, and immediately beyond it a space of two hundred yards of fallen timber; beyond that an extensive camp of the enemy’s cavalry could be seen. After a reconnoissance, the two advanced companies of the Ohio Seventy-seventh, Colonel Hildebrand, were ordered to deploy as skirmishers, and the regiment itself to move forward into line, with intervals of one hundred yards. In this order they advanced cautiously until the skirmishers were engaged.

Taking it for granted that this disposition would clear the camp, Gen. Sherman held Colonel Dickey’s Fourth Illinois cavalry ready to charge. The enemy’s cavalry came down boldly, breaking through the line of skirmishers, when the regiment of infantry wavered, threw away its guns and fled. The ground was admirably adapted to a defence of infantry against cavalry, it being miry and covered with fallen timber. 404As the regiment of infantry broke, Colonel Dickey’s cavalry began to charge with their carbines, and fell into disorder. General Sherman instantly sent orders to the rear for the brigade to form in line of battle, which was promptly executed. The broken infantry and cavalry rallied on this line, and as the enemy’s cavalry came up to it, the Union cavalry in turn charged and drove them from the field. General Sherman then advanced the entire brigade upon the same ground, and sent Colonel Dickey’s cavalry a mile further on the road. On the ground which had been occupied by the Seventy-seventh Ohio, were fifteen dead and about twenty-five wounded. Two hundred and eighty Confederate wounded and fifty of the Federals were found in the camp from which the enemy were driven.

General Halleck attributed the victory at Pittsburg greatly to the bravery and skill of General Sherman, and recommended that he should be promoted to a Major-Generalship, which rank was conferred upon him by the President.

On the same day that General Buell left Nashville for Pittsburg, he dispatched General Mitchell’s division on a hazardous expedition through Tennessee, to Huntsville, Ala.

Leaving Murfreesborough, Tenn., on the 5th of April, they marched to Shelbyville, twenty-six miles, in twelve hours, amid a cold, drizzling rain. They experienced a warm welcome from the inhabitants of that beautiful city. Here they were obliged to remain two days, awaiting the arrival of their supply train; and on the 8th, after a march of twenty-seven miles, they reached Fayetteville, Lincoln Co., a town where the secession sentiment was almost universal. Fifteen miles beyond they crossed the State line and entered Alabama, continuing their course due south. A Northern journal says:

“It stirs the blood with enthusiasm to read the exploits of General Mitchell, in Alabama—so full are they of dash, enterprise and daring. When the General was on his way to Bridgeport, he met a ‘native,’ whom he asked to show him a point where a certain stream could be forded. The Alabamian declined to furnish the information. ‘Bind him and march him to the head of the column,’ said the General. Then every man of three thousand in the ranks was ordered to take a rail from the adjacent fences, and these were thrown into the river, extemporizing a bridge on which the troops crossed. At another place, they came upon a stream three hundred feet wide, and twenty feet deep. ‘Never mind,’ said the General, ‘I have a pontoon bridge;’ and he ordered his men to roll down the bales from a load of abandoned cotton near by. Some of the officers laughed at the idea of making a bridge of such materials, but he told them he had calculated the buoyancy of cotton, and found it to be four hundred and eighty-six pounds to a bale. The bridge was made, and the calculation proved correct.

405

407“On reaching a bridge near Sunrise, it was found to be on fire, with a piece of rebel artillery stationed to command it. General Mitchell entered the bridge and asked who would volunteer to save it. A sergeant of the Thirty-third Ohio sprang after him. ‘You are my man!’ said the General. In a moment the bridge was thronged with volunteers, and they saved it. At another place the General himself was found in the mud with his coat off, working at a bridge on which his command crossed a swamp.”

As the army advanced, an eager curiosity became manifest to know the point of destination. On the way, the General met a man travelling on foot. He asked him how far it was to Huntsville.

“Eleven miles.”

“Do they know we are coming?”

“No; they have not the least idea of it.”

Huntsville, then, was the desired haven. Ten miles from the place the General called a halt, to wait for the artillery and infantry to come up. No tents were pitched, but for miles away the impatient invaders could be seen around their camp-fires. The General flung himself down by an old log, overrun with moss, and on this novel bed snatched two hours’ rest. Just as the moon was going down, the bugle call was sounded. The soldiers sprang to their feet, and in a few minutes they were ready to move.

The Simonson battery led the way, supported by Kennett’s and Colonel Turchin’s brigade. The army passed a magnificent plantation, with many negroes, owned by the rebel ex-Secretary Walker. Four miles from Huntsville, the shrill whistle of a locomotive was heard. In a few moments the train hove in sight, and was stopped by the outbreak of Simonson’s brass guns. The train was captured, together with one hundred and fifty-nine prisoners.

On to the town was the cry. Daylight was dawning, and the citizens quietly sleeping as the foe entered the silent streets. The clattering noise of the cavalry aroused them from their slumbers, and they flocked to the doors and windows, exclaiming, with blanched cheeks and sinking hearts, “They have come—the Yankees have come!” Never in the history of any military movement was a surprise so complete. Men rushed into the street half dressed, women fainted, children screamed, the negroes laughed, and for a short time a scene of perfect terror reigned. 408This state of affairs soon subsided, when these startled people realized that the Union soldiers were disposed to treat them kindly.

Colonel Gazley, of the Thirty-seventh Indiana, was appointed Provost-Marshal, and his regiment occupied the city as Provost-Guard.

At the extensive depot was found seventeen first-class locomotives, and a great number of passenger and freight cars. At the foundry, two or three cannon with several small arms. The General soon made good use of the engines. Ere the close of the night, one hundred miles of the Memphis and Charleston railroad was in his possession, stretching in one direction as far as Stevenson, in the other as far as Decatur, capturing at the latter place the entire camp equipage of a regiment, which left very hastily on the approach of the Union troops.

Making Huntsville his headquarters, where he remained for six weeks, General Mitchell rendered essential service by intercepting the enemy’s communications, and capturing or destroying his supplies. He evinced marked ability, and met with uniform success in fitting out many smaller expeditions through that region of country. He extemporized a gunboat on the Tennessee, which aided him materially when visiting the eastern side of the river.

Fort Pulaski, the key to the city of Savannah, stands on Cockspur Island, at the mouth of the Savannah river, about fourteen miles below the city. It was built by the United States Government at a cost of nearly one million of dollars. It is of a pentagonal form, and covers several acres of ground. The walls are forty feet high, presenting two faces towards the sea, the ranges of fire radiating at opposite angles. It was a position of immense strength, being constructed for a full armament, on the lower tier, of sixty-five 32-pounders, and the upper tier for fifty-three 24-pounders, four 18-pound flanking howitzers, one 13-inch mortar, twelve 8-inch columbiads, and seven 10-inch mortars—altogether, one hundred and fifty guns. The interior of the fort was well supplied with large furnaces for heating shot, quarters, barracks, ammunition, etc.

Tybee Island, and the lighthouse, had been previously evacuated by the rebels. The investment of Fort Pulaski was a work of great magnitude, and long and careful preparations for its reduction were necessary. Batteries were erected at several points, after severe labor on the part of the Federal forces, and at the end of the month of March the final arrangements were drawing to completion.

Cockspur Island, on which Fort Pulaski stands, is low and marshy, 409and the nearest solid land is Tybee Island, lying to the seaward, and within three-quarters of a mile distant. Tybee Island stretches out from a point known as Goat Point, two or three miles to the sea—the nearest point to the fort being that just named. General Q. A. Gillmore took command at Tybee Island on February 20th, which had been previously evacuated by the rebels, and here were built the heaviest breaching batteries; but others were erected at intervals along the shore for a distance of nearly two miles. The subjoined table gives their strength and armament:

These works were erected wholly at night, as they were all within range of Fort Pulaski. Their faces were bomb-proof, while in the rear of those most exposed lay a long wide swamp, into which it was supposed that a great portion of the shot and shells from Fort Pulaski would fall. The supposition proved correct. The magazines were bomb-proof, and trenches connected the batteries on Goat’s Point; besides this, splinter-proofs were provided for the reliefs, so that every protection possible was secured to the men. The result proved with how great success these preparations were made; during the bombardment of thirty hours the gunners lost but one man killed or wounded. The work occupied six weeks, and was chiefly performed by the Seventh Connecticut, Colonel Terry, the Forty-fifth New York, Colonel Ross, and a detachment of Volunteer Engineers, under Lieutenant-Colonel Hall. When the guns were nearly all in position, a battalion of the Third Rhode Island Volunteer Artillery was sent to Tybee to assist in manning the guns, and later the Eighth Maine regiment, Colonel Rust.

The mounting of ordnance was executed under the direction of Lieutenant Porter, of the U. S. army; he also assumed the entire charge of all duties connected with the ordnance department on the island, supervised 410the landing of ammunition and implements, and directed the transportation of all the guns. This was a task of infinite labor. The transportation of heavy guns, always difficult, was here rendered peculiarly so. They had to be landed through a bad surf on an open beach, and thence dragged by the soldiers for nearly two miles through a yielding sand. The works were placed so as to be hidden from the enemy until they opened fire. Battery Totten was nearly 1,700 yards from the fort; Batteries Sigel and McClellan 1,620; Battery Scott nearly 1,677; Battery Halleck 2,400; Battery Burnside and others were all more than 3,000; Battery Grant 3,500 yards away. Breaching casemated forts at this distance had never been supposed practicable in modern warfare; indeed, 800 yards is the greatest distance at which it was ever attempted.

On the 9th of April the batteries were completed, the guns placed, and the magazines filled. General Viele had constructed a co-operating battery on the southern extremity of Long Island, in the Savannah, and not more than two miles, if so far, from the fort. The purpose of this was to obtain a reverse fire during the bombardment, which otherwise would proceed entirely from Tybee Island. This battery was not completed in time to engage in the first day’s action, but opened fire on the second.

A day or two before the bombardment actually commenced, General Hunter (who had superseded General Sherman in command of the land forces at Hilton Head) and his aids, and General Benham with his staff, came down on steamers from Hilton Head to be present during the engagement, though the command was left with General Gillmore.

On the 9th of April General Gillmore issued orders when the bombardment should be opened, and the part which each of the batteries should take in the work. General Hunter sent a letter to Colonel Charles H. Olmstead, First Regiment Georgia Volunteers, demanding an unconditional surrender of the fort to the United States; and representing the loss of life which would occur if resistance were made to the numerous batteries with which he was surrounded. Colonel Olmstead replied briefly, saying in language worthy of a more sacred cause, “I am here to defend the fort, not to surrender it.” When Lieutenant J. H. Wilson returned with this reply, orders were given to open fire from the batteries, and at half-past seven A. M., the first shot was fired from Battery Halleck. The other batteries followed, and Fort Pulaski promptly responded.

The guns for some time not obtaining the proper range, were ineffective. The Federal gunners after a little time learned to distinguish the various shot fired by the enemy, and the range they had. When a gun was fired, and the shot was seen approaching, the cry of “casemate” or “barbette” was given, and they sheltered themselves accordingly. Still later in the engagement they distinguished the shot 411by the cry “barbette” and “rifle,” and when the latter was fired they protected themselves under cover, as far as possible. The same skill was attained by the rebels in the fort.

The bombardment had continued several hours, when two mortar batteries along the shore outside of the fort, on Goat’s Point, opened, and to them the enemy directed his hottest fire.

About one o’clock the halyards attached to the flagstaff were shot away, and the flag came down, but was immediately raised in a less conspicuous place. During the afternoon an embrasure in the pancoupe, on the south-east angle of the fort, was struck repeatedly, and pieces of the brick work gave way. This angle was the nearest point to the batteries, and in a direct line with the magazine of Fort Pulaski—a fact well known to the Federals from plans of the work in their possession. Afterwards all efforts to effect a breach were directed to this spot. Several of the most important guns, however, were out of order; the mortar shells were observed to fall mostly wide of the mark; and no great result could be noticed even when one fell within the fort. Numerous marks, however, all along both faces of the work which were exposed, told the force and accuracy of the firing. By nightfall, the breach was so far effected that it was evident it could eventually be converted into a practicable one. The bombardment was discontinued at dark, three mortar batteries firing one shell each at intervals of five minutes all night long, worrying the enemy, and preventing any attempt to stop the breach, but without any idea of doing material harm. Several of his guns had evidently been dismounted, and others silenced, during the day. The breach had been commenced, but on the whole the result did not seem especially encouraging. The men and officers were very thoroughly tired with the severe work they had undergone, and the still more fatiguing excitement; few had found time to eat or drink. Many, however, had night duties to perform. Strong infantry pickets were placed, and still stronger supports, in expectation an attempt would be made to relieve the garrison.

Shortly after daybreak all the batteries were opened again. The reply was more vigorous than on the day before. On the Federal side every gun was in readiness, and did good service. The great columbiads under Captain Pelouze were especially effective; they certainly shook the walls of old Pulaski, and damaged them to a considerable extent. All along the line the firing was more rapid and more accurate, five shots striking the walls within as many seconds. Rebel officers said that, on an average, one out of three shots that were fired took effect, and that during all of the second day one shot or shell every minute was the average they received. Early in the morning Captain Seldenkirk, of Battery Sigel, was relieved, and Captain C. P. R. Rodgers, of the 412frigate Wabash, with a portion of her crew, worked several of the guns of this battery during the remainder of the fight. At the same time Captain Turner, Chief of Commissary on General Hunter’s staff, and Lieutenant Wilson, undertook to drill a detachment of the Eighth Maine Volunteers (Colonel Rust). These men went to work, were drilled under fire, and in ten minutes were able to serve their guns with more than tolerable accuracy, and did some of the most effective service rendered that day. This same regiment lay not more than half a mile in the rear of Battery Halleck, for more than half of the entire engagement, covered only by some brushwood, but perfectly content with their exposed position.

Early on the second day, especial attention was directed to the breach. Every gun that could be brought to bear upon the pancoupe was trained that way, and directly the aperture began to show the effects. In an hour it became large enough for two men to enter abreast, and the nearest embrasure on its left was also considerably enlarged. Meanwhile, all the other effects of the day before were enhanced; shots struck all over the two exposed faces of the fort; the mortar batteries on the shore of Cockspur Island were silenced, and several of the casemate guns were struck through the embrasures. The battery put up by General Viele, on Long Island, opened fire that morning, and received repeated replies, rendering good service by the destruction it occasioned. The gunboat Norwich, laying on the right of the fort, also became engaged—the distance, however, was too great for her to render any special assistance,—still she got an occasional answer from the garrison. On this day clouds of red dust were seen to rise more frequently from the fort, indicating that the brickwork of which it is constructed was breaking up, and after a while, the great breach became so large that the propriety of a storming party was discussed. The lower part of the aperture was partly filled by the debris that fell from above; the arch of the casemate was laid bare, while evidently shaken, a gun in barbette, immediately over the breach, was tottering and ready to tumble below. The breach by its side was also momentarily becoming wider, and just as General Benham was questioning whether a messenger should not be sent to demand a surrender, before risking so great a loss of human life as must be incurred in an assault, the rebel flag on old Pulaski was lowered half way, and a final shot fired from a casemate in the fort. As the flag was not completely hauled down, the Unionists were for a moment uncertain of its import, but all firing was ordered to cease. In a minute more the white flag was raised, and with cheer after cheer all along the batteries on Tybee, came down the stars and bars. It was on the 11th of April, a year to a day from the time when the stars and stripes were first dishonored by Americans at Fort Sumter.

413General Hunter was aboard the McClellan with his aides, watching the engagement. Generals Gillmore and Benham were active, and rode rapidly out to Goat’s Point. On arriving at this place, General Gillmore, with his aid, Mr. Badeau, and Colonel Rust, entered a boat and put off for the fort. The passage was rough, the channel unknown, and the skiff got aground, and was nearly upset; but at last, soaked and dripping, the party landed on Cockspur Island.

They were met near the landing-place by Captain Sims, of the Georgia Volunteers, who conducted them to the fort. Colonel Olmstead, the commandant, stood at the entrance, and received them courteously. He invited General Gillmore into his own quarters, for a private interview. The terms of capitulation were arranged, and General Gillmore was then conducted over the fort by the Colonel, and took his leave, accompanied by Colonel Rust. General Hunter, in the mean time, had sent messengers to the fort. Colonel Olmstead showed them around the works, and conducted them to the interior, when the swords were delivered. This took place in the Colonel’s headquarters, all standing. Major Halpine represented General Hunter. As soon as this ceremony was over, the American flag was raised, and the stars and stripes floated again on the walls of Fort Pulaski. In giving up his sword, Colonel Olmstead said, “I yield my sword, but I trust I have not disgraced it.”

The arms of the privates had been previously stacked on the parade, and the men marched to quarters. Both officers and men were allowed to remain all night in their usual quarters. The interior of the fort presented a sorry picture. Blindages had been put up extending on all the rampart, and a part rendered bomb-proof; but shot and shell had burst through many of the sides—knocked in walls, broken down stairways, entered casemates, upset guns, and piled up masses of rubbish and debris all around. Seven guns on the parapet were dismounted; nearly every traverse had been struck and partly torn to pieces; all the passageways were obstructed by piles of stones and fallen timber; the magazine had been struck, and part of its outer casing of brick torn away, while at the breach, the havoc was, of course, greatest of all. The breach was entirely practicable; the ditch, sixty feet across, was more than half filled up by the fragments that had fallen, and half a dozen men abreast could have entered the aperture. The Colonel declared, however, that he should have held out until nightfall, had the magazine not been struck. This, of course, settled his fate, and rendered any prolonged resistance a useless risk of human life. Forty thousand pounds of powder, seven thousand shot and shell, and forty-seven guns were captured. The prisoners were three hundred and sixty in number, and belonged to the Georgia Volunteers, the Oglethorpe Light Infantry, and to a German regiment. The Colonel excited the sympathies of his captors 414by a bearing at once soldierly and subdued. The officers invited the Unionists to their quarters, where several took supper, and some even slept with the rebels whom they had been fighting a few hours before. There was no apparent bitterness on either side; no desire to introduce personal animosities.

This long and severely contested siege resulted in the loss of only two lives, while the number of wounded was very small. This fact is remarkable, in view of the immense amount of shot and shell exchanged during the bombardment.

On Sunday, the 13th, the men were divided into two parties—the officers and about two-thirds of the men forming the first, who were placed on the Ben de Ford—the remainder on the Honduras, and taken to Bay Point. Here they were transferred to the McClellan and Star of the South, to be sent to Fort Columbus, in the harbor of New York.

A short but severely contested engagement took place on the 20th of April, between the command of General J. L. Reno, and a body of rebels posted in a strong position to intercept the supposed advance of the Federal troops on Norfolk. General Burnside directed General Reno to make a demonstration on that city, and the latter, taking with him from Newbern the Twenty-first Massachusetts and Fifty-first Pennsylvania, proceeded to Roanoke, where he was joined by detachments of the Eighty-ninth New York and Sixth New Hampshire. With these forces he started for Elizabeth City, and commenced disembarking at midnight, on the 19th, at a point about three miles below the city, on the east side.

By three A. M. Colonel Hawkins’ brigade, consisting of the Ninth and Eighty-ninth New York, and Sixth New Hampshire, were landed and ready to move. Colonel Hawkins proceeded with his brigade toward South Mills. General Reno remained to bring up the other two regiments, which had been delayed by the grounding of their vessels at the mouth of the river. They came up at daylight, and were landed by seven A. M. General Reno marched directly toward South Mills, and about twelve miles out met Colonel Hawkins, with his brigade, who, either by the treachery or incompetency of his guide, had been led some miles out of his way. As his men were very much jaded by the long march, they were ordered to follow the Second brigade, about four miles further, to within a mile and a half of South Mills.

The rebels were posted here, and opened a fire of artillery, before the 415advanced guard discovered them. General Reno reconnoitered their position, and found that they were posted strongly in a line perpendicular to the road, their infantry in ditches, their artillery commanding all the direct approaches, and their rear protected by a dense forest. He ordered the Fifty-first Pennsylvania immediately to file to the right, and pass over to the edge of the woods, to turn their left—the Twenty-first Massachusetts pursuing the same course; and when Colonel Hawkins came up with his brigade, he was sent with the Ninth and Eighty-ninth New York to their support.

The Sixth New Hampshire was formed in line to the left of the road, and its commander ordered to support the four pieces of artillery. Owing to the excessive fatigue of the men, they met with some delay in reaching their position. Meanwhile the enemy kept up a brisk artillery fire, which was gallantly responded to by the small pieces under charge of Colonel Howard, of the Coast Guard. As soon as the Fifty-first Pennsylvania and Twenty-first Massachusetts had succeeded in turning their left, they opened a brisk musketry fire, and, about the same time, the Ninth New York, also coming in range, eager to engage, unfortunately charged upon the enemy’s artillery. It was a most gallant charge, but they were exposed to a deadly fire of grape and musketry, and forced to retire, but rallied immediately upon the Eighty-ninth New York. General Reno then ordered both regiments to form a junction with the Twenty-first Massachusetts. In the meantime, the Fifty-first Pennsylvania and Twenty-first Massachusetts kept up an incessant fire upon the rebels, who had withdrawn their artillery, and commenced to retreat in good order. The Sixth New Hampshire had steadily advanced in line to the left of the road, and when within about two hundred yards poured in a deadly volley, which completely demoralized the enemy and ended the battle.

The men rested under arms in line of battle, until about ten o’clock, P. M., when they were ordered to return to the boats, having accomplished the principal object of the expedition, that of conveying the idea that the entire Burnside Expedition was marching upon Norfolk. Owing to a want of transportation, sixteen of the most severely wounded were left behind. Assistant-Surgeon Warren was left with them. Only about ten or fifteen prisoners were taken. Most of them belonged to the Third Georgia regiment. The Ninth New York suffered most severely, owing to their premature charge. The total loss of the Federal troops in killed and wounded was about ninety, some sixty of the number belonging to that regiment.

Just as the decisive volley of the Sixth New Hampshire had compelled the rebels to abandon their position, a terrific thunder storm broke upon the scene of conflict, and a heavy rain rendered the hope of 416pursuit futile. After burying the dead, and taking a brief rest, General Reno and his command took up their march for headquarters, at Newbern. On the advance the sun beat fiercely upon his exhausted men, the weather was intensely hot, and they were almost prostrated with the fatigue of the battle and the labor of the march, before they reached a place of rest.

The occupation of the town of Beaufort and Morehead City by the Federal troops, on the 24th of March, was followed by active preparations for the reduction of Fort Macon, which commanded the entrance to the harbor. It was anticipated that on the retreat of the rebel troops from Beaufort the overwhelming numbers and equipment of the national forces would demonstrate to the commander of the fort the hopelessness of any attempt to resist the armament that would be brought against him in the event of his refusal to surrender. This hope was not realized. Colonel M. J. White, the commander, resolved to meet the Union forces with every possible resistance, and if the fort was captured by the Federal arms, the doughty rebel determined that it should be purchased at no slight cost.

Fort Macon is situated on a bluff on Bogue’s Bank, nearly two miles from the town of Beaufort. It commands the entrance to the harbor, and no vessel can enter the main channel without coming within range of its guns. Opposite the fort, at the entrance of the harbor, is Shackelford Banks, distant about one mile and a half. Fort Macon is of a hexagonal form, and has two tiers of guns—one in casemated bomb-proof, and the other en barbette. Its armament consisted of twenty 32-pounders, thirty 24-pounders, two 18-pounders, three field pieces for flank defence, twelve flank howitzers, eight 8-inch howitzers (heavy), eight 8-inch howitzers (light), one 13-inch mortar, three 10-inch mortars, and two Cohorn mortars—total, 89 guns. The war garrison of the fort was 300 men. There are large furnaces in the fort for heating shot, and before the investment there was a considerable quantity of powder in the magazine. The construction of Fort Macon was commenced in 1826, by Captain Eliason, of the United States Engineer Corps, and was finished in 1860, by Captain, afterwards Brigadier-General John G. Foster.

This fort, like most others in the Southern States, at the opening of the rebellion, was in an almost defenceless condition. Ordnance Sergeant Alexander was the sole guardian of this important position in April, 1861.

417In March, the vote on the question of calling a State Convention was taken in North Carolina, and a majority was given against the Convention. Governor Ellis assured the officer in command that the fort would not be taken from under the control of the government, but on the 11th of April, a citizen of Beaufort, in the interest of the secessionists, collected a body of fifty men, with whom he crossed over to the fort and demanded its surrender. Sergeant Alexander delivered up the keys, and the rebel flag was hoisted on its walls. Subsequently stores and supplies for a garrison of 500 men were collected and placed within it, and an efficient body of troops took possession, under Colonel White.

On March 25th, 1862, Morehead City, on the mainland, opposite Bogue Island, was occupied by a portion of General Parke’s division of Burnside’s army. A few days subsequently a landing had been effected on Bogue Island, and a camp established for the force selected to operate against Fort Macon. On the 11th of April the enemy’s pickets were driven in by the Fifth Rhode Island regiment and one company of the Fourth Rhode Island, and eligible localities for the batteries were selected by Captain Williamson, Topographical Engineer on General Burnside’s staff. On the next day a working party commenced the erection of the main battery, and from that time the labor proceeded night and day. The troops employed in this service were the Fourth and Fifth Rhode Island and the Eighth Connecticut regiments. The labor was most severe. The men were often on duty twenty-four hours at a time, and labored zealously to accomplish their task in the shortest possible period. What rest they got when on duty was obtained by sleeping on the sands, as no tents or barracks could be erected, since these would have informed the rebels of the location of the troops, and indicated the position of the batteries. The picket duty performed by the men was also very severe. All their work had to be done under a continuous and often severe fire from the fort. From this, however, they were protected by the peculiar formation of the ground, which consisted of a succession of sand-hills up to within about half a mile of the fort.

Previous to the bombardment the garrison were allowed to send letters to their friends at Beaufort.

Three batteries were erected for the reduction of the fort. The first was mounted with four ten-inch mortars, and was built under cover of a large sand-hill, near the edge of the marshes which line the northern shore of the island, at a distance of about 1,400 yards from the fort. This battery was allotted to Lieutenant Flagler, and manned by a portion of battery I, New York Third artillery. The second was in advance 100 yards, built and worked by Captain Lewis O. Morris, and Lieutenants Gowan and Pollock. Three long thirty-pound siege Parrott 418guns, rifled, composed its armament. The last battery consisted of four eight-inch mortars. It stood 100 yards in advance of the second battery, and was placed in charge of Lieutenant Prouty, and manned by a detachment of battery I, Third New York artillery. Rifle-pits and trenches were also excavated.

On the 24th of April, the preparations having been completed, General Burnside arrived from Newbern, on the steamer Alice Price, having in tow two barges, the Schrapnel and Grenade, fitted up as floating batteries, each armed with two thirty-pound Parrott guns. The Schrapnel had in addition a twelve-pounder rifled Ward gun. They anchored about three miles below the fort.

During the afternoon a flag of truce was sent to the fort, in charge of Captain Biggs, of General Burnside’s staff, with a demand for its surrender. Colonel White refused to yield to the demand, and announced his purpose to defend the fort to the last extremity. An understanding was obtained, however, that the commander should have a personal interview with General Burnside on the following morning.

Accordingly, at an early hour on the 25th, the steamer Alice Price, under a flag of truce, proceeded down the bay to a point previously indicated, where General Burnside was soon joined by Colonel White. The meeting was courteous. Colonel White said that he had been placed in command of the fort for the purpose of holding it, and should defend it to the best of his ability.

On the following morning, the 26th, the Federal forces took their respective posts at an early hour. The morning mists had not yet disappeared, when orders were given for the opening of the siege, and before six o’clock the loud thunder of the guns and the deep boom of the heavy mortars broke on the ears of the sleeping citizens of Beaufort, and roused the slumbering garrison of the belligerent fort. Booming loudly over the waters, and rolling away in the distance, the explosions followed in rapid succession for half an hour before the garrison was ready to respond. When prepared, the rebels bravely assumed their allotted positions, manned their guns, and Fort Macon opened upon the national flag.

During the forenoon the eight-inch mortar battery of Lieutenant Prouty sent its shells with regularity and precision into the fort, and at each explosion the red dirt and sand of the glacis’ slopes, ramparts, parapets and terrepleins were dashed in a cloud many feet into the air. The flagstaff, with its defiant colors floating at the top, was at times completely obscured in the smoke and dust which rose with the bursting of the missiles. The ten-inch mortar battery was not so successful in the morning. The shells from it burst beyond or high in air over the fort, scattering the fragments of iron far and wide into the water; 419but in the afternoon the battery played with an effect that was evidenced in the decreased fire from the fort.

The battery of Parrott guns under command of Captain Morris, in the mean time, kept up an incessant fire upon the ramparts. The difficulty of obtaining accurate range was for some time experienced, and the shots either went over the fort, ricocheting across the water towards Shackleford Banks, or fell short and buried themselves in the sand and glacis on its westerly side. But the range grew more accurate with every shot, and from twelve o’clock until the close of the fight Captain Morris seldom failed to plant his terrible conical balls among the guns, on the edges of the ramparts, and against the walls. The latter were pierced in two places, the balls passing through into the casemates, from which their unceremonious visit hastily expelled the occupants. Wherever these shots struck they tore through all obstacles with a force that hurled fragments of iron and brick, stones, grass-sods and sand bags about in every direction. Many of the rebels were knocked down senseless by the flying sods. When it is considered that the walls of the fort were protected by the slopes of the glacis, the accuracy of the firing from the Parrott battery will be perceived. That part of the walls just protruding above the ramparts of the glacis was the only target presented whereat to aim for the purpose of penetrating the casemates.

About two o’clock, P. M., Major Allen went out with a flag of truce to carry letters written to the garrison from their friends in Beaufort. Many of these entreated the officers to prevail upon Colonel White to surrender the fort. Some ladies in Beaufort set on foot a petition to that effect.

The precision attained by the practice of the forenoon, and the facility of loading and firing, which even the experience of a few hours had given, were now evidenced in the successful results of each shot from the Union batteries. The scene assumed its grandest aspect after two o’clock. A flash and a puff of smoke betokened a discharge; an interval elapsed, which terminated with the report of the piece; then came the sonorous hum of the shell as it flew through the air; another puff of smoke soon followed by a second report, and the deadly missile had exploded.

With glasses every manœuvre in the fort could be distinctly seen. The look out was ensconced behind a pile of sand bags upon the ramparts, and spectators fancied they could hear him ejaculate the word “Down!” as he marked the approach of every shot. Its effect was like magic. As he himself disappeared, down out of sight went the crowd of men around the guns, to reappear again when the shot had accomplished its errand.

Little remains to tell of the bombardment. The garrison had at first 420responded with some seven or eight guns, exclusive of carronades, which were made to serve the purpose of mortars. The squads of gunners could be observed passing about, alternating with the pieces as they became hot under the discharges. Gradually the fire slackened to four, then to three, and then to two guns. The Federal shot and shell were doing their duty, and subsequent examination showed that fifteen guns were dismounted or disabled on the fort.

To those who worked the mortars of the Federal batteries, the matter was entirely new, and to Captain Ammon’s men, of the Third New York artillery, the greatest praise is deserved for their cool and unflinching conduct in this their first experience under fire. The exposed nature of Captain Morris’ battery of siege guns drew upon it almost the concentrated fire of the fort, and shot and shell rained around it. The only injury sustained by the battery was the temporary dismounting of one of the guns by a thirty-two-pound solid shot, which came through the embrasure and carried off a wheel. Another carriage was in readiness, and the gun was soon remounted. One of the guns was slightly dented by a solid shot, which struck the reinforce or band around the breech, and then glanced off. The sand bags in all the batteries were disturbed more or less by the concussions, and the embrasures of the three-gun battery were begrimed and black with powder. Eleven hundred shots in all were fired on the Federal side, and of these five hundred and sixty struck the fort.

The firing from the fort gradually slackened as the guns one after another became disabled, until at last the iron thunderers ceased to respond to the continuous peals of the Federal batteries. About half-past four o’clock a white flag was run up over one of the guns, dimly seen through the smoke that had just before issued from it in a heavy cloud. Not long after two officers left the fort, bearing a flag of truce. They advanced towards the batteries, and Captain Pell, of General Burnside’s staff, and Lieutenant Hill, of General Parke’s staff went out to meet them. They were Captains Pool and Guion, with a message from Col. White, asking the terms of surrender. General Parke replied that the only terms were unconditional surrender, but that he would communicate with General Burnside, who might make different arrangements. The inquiry was telegraphed to Beaufort, and a messenger was sent off to General Burnside, who was on board the Alice Price, some distance up the river. In the morning General Burnside returned to the harbor, and had an interview with Colonel White, on board the Alice Price, when the terms of capitulation were agreed upon. The fort, armament and garrison were to be surrendered to the United States, the officers and men being released on parole, until properly exchanged, returning to their homes with their private effects, such as clothing, bedding, books, etc.

421Immediately after the return of Colonel White to his quarters, preparations for the surrender commenced. After a little interval the gates were thrown open and a train of soldiers marched out, and forming a square on the green, just outside, stood a few moments in impressive stillness. Then they formed into line, where they stacked their arms, and returned to their quarters.

General Burnside, General Parke, and Captains Biggs and King directly after this ceremony, returned from the fort, and the Fifth Rhode Island being ordered into line, came up. General Burnside unfolded the new colors presented by the State of Rhode Island, inscribed with the words “Roanoke” and “Newbern,” which had been just received, and returned them to the color-bearer, who took his place at the head of the column. The regiment then moved forward in order, to take formal possession of the fort.

The time had at last come for the great event. The wharves and houses of Beaufort were crowded with spectators. The surrounding waters were covered with small craft, hovering near the scene. The squadron of gunboats, with steam up and colors flying, lay off and on outside the bar. At half-past ten o’clock a squad of men from the garrison, detailed by Colonel White for the purpose, cut loose the halliards and hauled down the rebel flag. Ten minutes later four of the Rhode Island boys hoisted the American ensign, the glorious stars and stripes, and a loud cheer broke from the men, which was caught up and echoed by the sailors on shipboard, and even by the citizens over the harbor, in Beaufort, whose shout came cheerily on the breeze.

The Federal fleet, consisting of the steamers State of Georgia, Chippewa, Daylight, and bark Gemsbok, under command of Flag-officer S. Lockwood, took an active part in the bombardment in the forenoon.

The destruction effected by the bombardment was like that at Fort Pulaski. The works outside as well as inside, gave incontestible proof of the execution of the heavy projectiles hurled at the fort. They also showed as clearly the bravery of the men who defended it, and proved that though they were engaged in rebellion, they had the courage and energy of heroic soldiers.

The garrison consisted of about four hundred and fifty men, exclusive of the officers. There were found in the fort nearly twenty thousand pounds of powder, shot and shell in proportion, and a large quantity of provisions.

The rebel loss was 7 killed, 18 wounded; Federal, 1 killed and 3 wounded.

422

423

The work of opening the Mississippi river, which had been so magnificently commenced and prosecuted by that portion of the army and fleet above Memphis, was destined to find an equally imposing, if not more brilliant counterpart, in the naval operations near the city of New Orleans, once more to open that important commercial point to the world, and restore its citizens to the protection of the national flag. As an important auxiliary to this grand enterprise, a fleet of mortar-boats was fitted out in Brooklyn, N. Y., and other places, which formed a rendezvous at Ship Island, awaiting orders. Commodore David D. Porter was assigned to the command of the mortar fleet. The entire fleet, under the command of Commodore D. G. Farragut, was composed as follows:

430

SECTION OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

SHOWING THE DISTANCES BELOW NEW ORLEANS.

431First Division of Ships, Flag-officer D. G. Farragut, commanding—Hartford, R. Wainright; Brooklyn, Craven; Richmond, Alden.

Second Division of Ships—Pensacola, Morris; Portsmouth, Swartwout; Mississippi, Smith.

First Division of Gunboats, Captain T. Bailey—Oneida, Lee; Varuna, Boggs; Katahdin, Preble; Kineo, Ransom; Wissahickon, Smith; Cayuga, Harrison.

Second Division of Gunboats, H. H. Bell—Iroquis, De Camp; Sciota, Donaldson; Kennebeck, Russell; Pinola, Crosby; Itasca, Cauldwell; Winona, Nichols. Total, 18.

The mortar flotilla consisted of twenty-one brigs and schooners, and was divided into three squadrons of seven each. Besides these, five steamers, the Harriet Lane, (flag-ship,) Miami, Owasco, Westfield, and Clifton, were connected with the mortar flotilla, and these were afterwards joined by the Octorora, a new boat, commanded by Captain George Brown, of Indiana, which afterwards became Porter’s flag-ship.

The entire fleet, thus constituted, numbered forty-six vessels, carrying two hundred and eighty-six guns. On the morning of April 16th, it made a rendezvous in the river, at a distance of about four miles below Forts Jackson and St. Philip, the two formidable fortifications on the river, which it was necessary to pass before reaching the city of New Orleans. On the morning of the 16th, Commodore Porter brought up several schooners, and stationed them about two miles and a half from the forts, in order to ascertain the range of the mortars before opening the bombardment. After several hours of practice, in which the range was admirably obtained, and the execution on the works was plainly visible, Commodore Porter expressed himself fully satisfied, and suspended operations for the night.

Fort Jackson, which is by far the stronger work, is a regular pentagonal bastioned fortification, having two fronts bearing on the river, and three on the land side. The land fronts have each a glacis and covered way, and the channel is commanded by a battery of twenty-five guns. A wet ditch, from forty to seventy feet wide, and six feet deep, surrounds the main work on the river, and a similar ditch, one hundred and fifty feet wide, the land fronts. There is also a wet ditch, six feet deep, and thirty feet wide, around the channel-bearing battery. The two channel-bearing fronts have each eight casemated guns, which are the only casemated ones in the work. The ditches are defended by twenty-four-pounder howitzers at either flank. The parapet is carried across the gorge of the bastion, so that there is no flank parapet defence. The bastions are only arranged for musketry fire from the 432walls. The main work of the lower battery mounts in the aggregate one hundred and twenty-five guns, of which one hundred bear on the channel. There was a one-story brick citadel within the fort, having two tiers of loop-holes for musketry defence, the walls of which are five feet thick. The entrance to the work is by a wooden bridge on the west side, connected with a draw bridge ten feet wide.

Fort St. Philip consists of a main work and two attached batteries, which bear respectively up and down the river. The principal work is irregular in form, having seventeen faces. It is surrounded by a wet ditch six feet deep, and from twenty to thirty feet wide. At the foot of the glacis is a ditch from seventy to one hundred and forty feet wide. There is a glacis and covered way entirely around the fort. Outside of the principal ditch is another, which was dug to furnish earth for the levee, and this is twenty feet wide, and four feet deep. Fort St. Philip mounts one hundred guns, of which seventy-five bear on the channel. All the guns were mounted en barbette. The scarp works were strengthened by relief arches, which were pierced with loop-holes for musketry.

Both forts are built of brick. The guns of Fort Jackson are twenty-five feet above the level of the river, and those of St. Philip nineteen feet. The guns of the outer batteries of both forts are fourteen feet above the river. When the rebels took possession of these forts there were only thirty-six guns mounted, none of which were of larger calibre than thirty-two-pounders. All the carriages were poor. The plans for completing these forts were taken from the Custom house at New Orleans, just after the rebellion broke out, and the works were finished in accordance with the original intention. From centre to centre of the forts the distance is three-quarters of a mile, and the river between them half a mile in width.

On the 17th the rebels commenced their defence against the Federal fleet, by sending down the stream a fire raft. This incendiary messenger was a common flat-boat, about one hundred and fifty feet long, fifty broad and eight deep, filled with pine knots and other combustible matter, which burned fiercely, and sent a dense column of black smoke rolling heavily upwards as it was borne along by a fresh breeze that blew up the river. As soon as the raft floated near enough it was fired into and destroyed, without damage to the fleet, and then ran ashore. It was a timely warning to the squadron, for during the day the vessels were fitted up with grapnel-ropes, fire-buckets, axes and other appliances with which to attack other of these fiery islands that might be set adrift by the enemy.

The arrangements were scarcely completed, and the review made, when, about ten o’clock at night, a brilliant fire appeared on the river, 433flaming out from a heavy dense column of smoke, which rolled up and displayed another of the fiery pioneers of the rebel flotilla lying near the forts. It burned magnificently, and made a splendid pyrotechnic display for the sailors, who were waiting impatiently to reach the grand magazine whence it issued. Signals were made, and in a few moments a vast crowd of boats were launched upon the waters and moved rapidly toward the island of fire. The Westfield came plowing her way up and plunged her prow into the blazing mass, at the same moment opening her steam-pipes and pouring a heavy force of water into the hottest of the conflagration. Amid the steam and smoke and seething struggle of the flames, the men leaped upon the raft with their buckets, and completely extinguished the fire. Then the blackened and smoking mass of logs was sent contemptuously adrift to follow its companion.

The sailors of the mortar fleet enjoyed this amusement with the greatest zest, and pursued their work among the logs with laughter and enthusiastic cheering. When the floating monster had been sent blackened and smoking down the river, they retired to their various boats and slept soundly in preparation for the contest of the following day.

On the mortar fleet a portion of the day was given to the very singular duty of disguising the vessels. Large quantities of branches were cut from the forest trees on the banks of the river, which were bound with all their fresh leaves to the masts, rigging, and around the hulls. This was so adroitly done that from the distance it was impossible to distinguish the fleet from the groups of trees on the banks, thus concealing the position of the vessels entirely from the enemy.

On the following morning, Good Friday, April 18th, at early dawn, the towing vessels of Commodore Porter’s fleet took each five mortar boats, and proceeded up the river to their fighting station. The fleet thus in motion presented a splendid spectacle—the noble steamers leading a group of vessels, each embowered in green, as though some oasis of lofty trees had migrated from their forest home and were on an excursion to a distant shore. The larger number were anchored on the right bank of the river, while five were put in position on the left bank.

At nine o’clock precisely, and before all the mortar boats had taken their position, the rebels opened fire. It was instantly returned by the mortars, and the grandest naval engagement of the war, and one of the most memorable bombardments in the history of the world commenced.

For some time the fire of the forts fell short of the range, but after about an hour their shot passed over the vessels and fell harmless beyond the fleet. The mortar practice for the first half hour exhibited a similar defect, but the range was then obtained, and the bombs fell thick and fast over and around the entrenched foe. At ten o’clock the 434Iroquois, Cayuga, Sciota and Wissahickon opened upon the forts with their 11-inch shells and fifteen-second fuses.

The scene now became one of thrilling grandeur. The loud roar of the mortars as they hurled their immense projectiles into the air, the quick succession of guns from the war ships, and the rapid discharges from the forts in reply; the flashes of fire, the clouds of smoke, as they rolled blackly together, filling the air, and the shells flying up to a great altitude, then pencilling their arching line against the blue sky as they sped to their mark, passing and repassing in almost momentary rapidity, presented a spectacle awfully sublime. At times eight or ten of the destructive missiles were to be seen rushing away on their errands of death and destruction at the same moment, sometimes exploding and scattering the fragments in wide circles over the water, throwing it up in vast silver columns, or on the shore plowing up the earth and sending soil and foliage in thick masses high in the air.

The rebels diversified their operations during the day by again sending two immense fire-rafts down the river, which would have occasioned much confusion among the fleet, but for the precautions already taken, and the previous experience of the sailors in the reception of these pyrotechnic visitors. The sailors not employed at the guns were allowed to witness the contest from the yards and rigging of the vessels. As soon as the rafts appeared they were called down from their places, manned the boats, and soon piloted these burning islands to the shore, where they were left to smoulder away for the entertainment of the fleet. These rafts were now regarded as a side-play. At six o’clock Fort Jackson was reported to be on fire, and at half-past six the Harriet Lane signalled the mortar boats to cease firing. Two of these boats were struck during the day. The cabin of one was destroyed by a shot, and a ball plunged through the magazine of another which sent her out of the action for an hour in order to make repairs. The men on board had been exhausted by their heavy labors, and when the night came they were heartily glad to rest.

A morning of serene beauty dawned upon the fleet, with a light south-east wind, that gradually increased in volume till about ten o’clock. Notwithstanding the breeze, the sun was warm, and the heat sometimes oppressive. At half-past six the mortar boats opened the bombardment. The fire at first was slow, and the vessels which were on the left bank of the river the day before, were placed in position on the other bank near the anchorage. At seven o’clock the gunboats Oneida, Pinola and Sciota were sent up to support and cover the mortar vessels, while the Wissahickon and Cayuga were relieved—having been on duty twenty-four hours. As soon as these vessels had opened fire, Fort Jackson replied from her casemate guns, and kept up a very heavy fire.

435At half-past eleven o’clock a rifle shot went through the schooner Maria J. Carlton, and she sunk in about twenty minutes. Everything was saved from her except the mortar, and only two or three men were injured slightly by splinters.

Just after the sinking of the M. J. Carlton the gunboats Itasca and Kineo were ordered into close action, the Owasco being sent up by Captain Porter to assist. The firing now was frequent and terrific. Each moment it seemed as if some one of the boats must be sunk. The Oneida attracted much attention by her coolness and her heavy fire. At two o’clock she was struck twice, one ten-inch solid shot from a Columbiad striking a thirty-two pounder gun-carriage and knocking off one of the trucks, and passing out of the ship on the port side. Shortly afterwards another shot of the same description hit the forward part of the starboard after port, striking the carriage of an eleven-inch pivot gun and then lodging on deck. This shot wounded nine men, but none mortally. One poor fellow lost his left hand. The pivot gun of the Oneida was not injured, but the pivot rail was slightly damaged, and to repair it she hauled out of action.

At about half-past three o’clock the firing from the forts began to slacken. At four o’clock Fort Jackson was silent, and only the water battery and Fort St. Philip were at work. The mortar shells were falling all around the fort. One appeared to fall into the water battery soon afterward, and silenced it. The gunboats were throwing shells with fine effect, the Kineo in particular. At five o’clock General Butler and his staff went on board the Hartford to confer with Commodore Farragut, and at half-past six the signal was given to discontinue the firing.

A number of men were wounded during the day, and were placed on board of the Katahdin, to be conveyed to the hospital at Pilot Town, down the river.

Night closed around the fleet as it lay at its moorings. The mortar-boats kept up the firing during the night at stated intervals, by divisions, and so continued until the morning of Sunday, the 20th, when the contest was renewed on both sides, with the same zeal and industry as had marked the bombardment of the first two days. During the forenoon a deserter from Fort Jackson came to the shore, and hailed one of the mortar vessels. A boat was immediately dispatched to him, and he was taken on board the Harriet Lane, where he had an interview with Commodore Porter. He was a citizen of Pennsylvania, and reported that great execution had been done by the well-directed fire of the fleet.

Commodore Farragut began to fear, from the protracted resistance of the forts, that they would hold out so long that the supply of shells and material of the fleet would become exhausted, and the enterprise 436result in a simple blockade. He therefore issued orders for running the forts, at an early opportunity, and arranged the vessels in several divisions for this important undertaking, when the signal should be given to move. While passing the forts, Commodore Porter’s mortar fleet were to engage the batteries, in order to distract and divide the fire of the forts.

During the afternoon, Fort Jackson suspended its fire, but Fort St. Philip sent its iron messengers about the fleet in a perfect hail, without, however, doing much injury. After continuing this work for a short time the fire was slackened, and gradually fell off, a shot only being sent at long intervals.

During the afternoon preparations were made for removing the obstructions which the rebels had placed in the river. The principal of these was a strong and heavy iron chain thrown across the stream, supported by six or eight vessels, which formed a line across from shore to shore. Beyond this battery, and above the forts, lay a fleet of eighteen gunboats, and a monster ram, called the Manassas, a massive and heavily mailed vessel, built expressly for running down and destroying any vessel that it might attack.

About two o’clock the expedition to accomplish this work started on its errand. The night was as dark as could be desired, and, closely watched by the fleet, the Itasca and Pinola left their moorings to cut the chain, and, if possible, destroy some of the vessels supporting it. At a given signal the mortar vessels, which had been keeping up a slow fire, opened a tremendous volley of shell, presenting a spectacle which has seldom been witnessed in naval warfare. The sky was like a vast arch in conflagration from the explosions of the shells, which vaulted upwards, and fell in a meteoric shower upon the forts. From three to eight or ten were in the air almost all the time, and the beauty and grandeur of this vast pyrotechnic display was heightened by the use of the Caston signal lights. Dimly in the distance could be seen the Iroquois, Winona, and Kennebec, who were in the advance of the mortar fleet. A signal light was sent up from Fort Jackson, and both forts opened fire with all their heavy guns.

An hour was spent in this manner, when the Pinola sent a boat down to report that the chain was cut, and that the Itasca was ashore. The forts had slackened their fire, and there was good cause to fear that if she were not rescued before the moon rose, she would be captured by the rebels. Orders were immediately sent to the picket boats, which repaired to her aid, and although the project of blowing up some of the supporting schooners was not accomplished, the vessels all returned in safety, having cleared the river of its barrier. The mortar fleet then subsided into the accustomed routine of a bombshell at regular intervals, 437to prove to the rebels at the forts that their visitors were at the post of duty.

At two o’clock on Monday morning, the 21st, the moon rose clear and beautiful, lighting up the entire scene. It was the fourth day of the bombardment, and with accustomed promptitude the entertainment of the day commenced with a fire raft, sent down the river from Fort Jackson, larger and more formidable than any that had preceded it. The current was running swiftly, the wind was fresh, and the blazing mass sped fiercely over its watery pathway. It burned with terrific fury, a high wind sweeping its flames back in fiery banners; while the pine knots, crackling and roaring, sent their forked flames leaping like tongues of fire through the dense column of smoke which rolled its huge black pall against the azure of the sky, as it floated past the fleet, scattering a storm of harmless fire on the water. The mortar boats took it in charge, and the men fell to work extinguishing the flames. When this was done it was towed ashore to keep company with its forerunners, a harmless, charred mass of timbers.

During the day the bombardment was continued. The forts for a time responded with more determination even than they had previously exhibited. Attempts were made by the rebels to repair the massive fragments of the chain, and to destroy one of the Federal vessels by a submarine torpedo, but without success. The fifth day proved like the others, but it became apparent that the crisis of the contest was approaching. The mortar boats continued their usual practice during the night, and on the return of day, (Wednesday, the 23d,) renewed the severer labors of the bombardment.

There was an ominous silence on the part of the forts. The look-outs at the mast-heads reported that the shells were doing their work at Fort St. Philip, and that there were twelve steamers in sight. The forts maintained profound silence during the day, and this circumstance occasioned much discussion on the Federal vessels. On consideration, it was deemed that the time had come to hazard an attempt to run the forts, destroy the rebel fleet, and ascend to New Orleans. The Itasca was selected as the picket boat, to advance and ascertain whether the chain had been repaired; and the fleet of ships and gunboats was alive with enthusiasm and excitement, at the prospect of running the gauntlet of fire which would be opened on either side when their desperate attempt became known. Not only were the two forts to be passed, but the rebel fleet, with its monster of destruction, the Manassas, and the fire-rafts which would be let loose upon them, to spread conflagration and death in their most fearful forms: while a foe desperate with energy and hate, was working the formidable engines of destruction.

At eleven o’clock, P. M., the Itasca signalled that the chain was clear. 438Everything was quiet around the fleet, save the hissing of the steam as it escaped from the boilers. The night was moderately dark, and a gentle southerly wind made the weather rather hazy. The mortar vessels kept up an incessant roar, and bright globes ascended high aloft to curve downward in fury at the forts. The second division, under Captain Bailey (of the Colorado), formed on the left bank of the river, while the third division was in the centre of the lines—the first division lying on the right bank of the river.

The fleet was to sail in the following order:—

First Division—Flag-officer Farragut commanding: Hartford, Brooklyn, Richmond.

Second Division—Captain Bailey commanding: Cayuga, Pensacola, Mississippi, Oneida, Varuna, Katahdin, Kineo, Wissahickon, Portsmouth, towed by J. P. Jackson.

Third Division—Captain Bell commanding: Sciota, Iroquois, Pinola, Itasca, Winona, Kennebec.

At one o’clock all hands were called, hammocks stowed, and everything put in readiness to weigh.

At two o’clock on the morning of the 24th, red lights at the peak of the Hartford announced the time to get underweigh. At three o’clock the moon rose, and a silvery path was marked out on the swift waters of the river, so soon to be the scene of one of the grandest naval fights known to history. The moon had lifted itself above the horizon just thirty minutes, when the fleet sailed in order for the battle-ground. In the dim distance could be seen the signal fires of the enemy, built to light up the river, and reveal the position of the fleet.

At precisely twenty minutes of four o’clock the enemy opened fire from Fort St. Philip. At that moment the star-spangled banner was hoisted at the peak of the Hartford. Full speed was given to the ship, the engineers performed their duty nobly, and on she went, as it were, into the jaws of death. At the time the enemy opened fire the mortar vessels went to work, and the rapidity with which they threw shells at the enemy was terrific.

At five minutes to four o’clock the bow gun of the Hartford belched forth fire and smoke, and a messenger, in the shape of a nine-inch shell, was sent to Fort Jackson. In a few minutes more the broadside firing was commenced. Both forts were replying as fast as they could. Broadside after broadside was delivered to them in rapid succession, while the mortar vessels lent their aid to make the scene one of wonderful grandeur.

439

BOMBARDMENT OF FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP, APRIL 24, 1862.

1. Fort Jackson.
2. Fort St. Philip.
3. Federal Ships of War and Gunboats.
4. Rebel Gunboats and Rams.

441A scene like this has probably never before been witnessed. Steadily the vessels steamed on, the forts firing rifle shot and shell, ten-inch columbiads, forty-two, thirty-two and twenty-four pounder balls, while the thirteen steamers of the enemy, and the floating battery Louisiana, were pouring into and around the fleet a storm of iron perfectly indescribable. Not satisfied with this, one fire raft after another was kindled, and set adrift to do their fiery work. The ram was busy trying to force them under the bows of the Federal vessels. One of them approached the Hartford, when Captain Broome opened on her with two nine-inch guns. An explosion—a loud burst of terrific cries and wails,—a careen, and the rebel steamer, with its wretched multitude of victims, plunged beneath the waters, and disappeared from view. The rebel vessels were crowded with troops, who fired volleys of rifle balls, most of which did no harm. Their steamers were bold and fearless; but no sooner did they come in sight of our gunners than they were sunk. The Varuna sunk six of them one after another.

In the midst of this awful scene a tremendous fire raft came down the river, and the ram shoved her under the port-quarter of the Hartford. The flames caught her rigging and side, and for a moment it seemed as though the flag-ship must fall a prey to the flames. A fire was also burning on the berth-deck. The fire hose was on hand, and the crew soon subdued the flames, and gave the ram a return of rifle shell. She, however, returned to the onset, when some other vessel assaulted her, and she hauled off. During this stage of affairs the Hartford grounded, and her fate seemed to be sealed; but the men worked splendidly, and the engineers soon got the ship astern and afloat. The scene of the engagement at this time almost defies the power of description. The river and its banks were one sheet of flame, and the messengers of death were moving with lightning swiftness in all directions. Steadily the Federal fleet poured upon the enemy their shell and grape, interspersed with shrapnel. The rebel boats were fast being riddled by well directed broadsides, and their commanders who were able made for the shore to run them on the bank and save their lives. Some were on fire and others were sinking. The crews of the Union fleet broke out in frequent cheers as they saw the havoc that was made, and the retreat of the rebel vessels. The flag-ship had been on fire three times, and was riddled from stem to stern. The cabin was completely shattered, the starboard steerage torn up, and the armory severely damaged.

After being under a terrific fire for one hour and twenty minutes, the Federal vessels passed the forts. The flag-ship was badly cut up with a shot through the mainmast, two in the stern, and several through her. Language cannot give an adequate idea of the engagement. Wrapped up in smoke, shot and shell were whistling around, above, before and in the rear; flames from fire-rafts encircling the ships, splinters flying in all directions, shells bursting overhead; while the roar and booming of the guns rolled almost incessantly, and made the contest as destructive as it was terrible.

442So effective had been the work of the fleet, that at half-past five o’clock no less than eleven rebel steamers were in flames along each side of the river. The Federal vessels steamed up to the Quarantine to anchor, when the Manassas made her appearance, and saucily fired at the Richmond.

The Mississippi being near at hand, put about for the ram, with the intention of running her down. The Manassas endeavored to elude the attack, but finding the Mississippi gaining on her, ran into the bank of the river, and immediately about thirty men came up out of the hatch and went on shore. The Mississippi fired two or three broadsides into her, and boarded her, but finding that she was of no importance, again fired into her, and she drifted down the river, sinking very fast.

Besides the ram, the rebels had a heavy floating battery, called the Louisiana, which carried eight large guns, and which occasioned a good deal of annoyance, although, to use the language of the Charleston Mercury, it was a complete failure. In addition to this, they had an immense steam-ram, called the Mississippi, which had just been launched, but which was then unfinished. She was a propeller, with three screws and six engines, and to be mounted with twenty guns of the largest calibre. She was twice as large and powerful as the Merrimac, and without a gun would have been almost sufficient to have run down the Federal fleet. There was, however, about forty days’ work required to complete her, and to prevent her falling into the hands of the victors, she was scuttled, set on fire and sunk.

At six A. M., the Varuna, Commander Boggs, was attacked by the Morgan, iron-clad about the bow, commanded by Beverly Kennion, an ex-naval officer. This vessel raked her along the port gangway, killing four and wounding nine of the crew, butting the Varuna on the quarter, and again on the starboard side. Three three-inch shells were fired into her abaft her armor, also several shot from the after rifled gun, when she dropped out of action, partially disabled.

While still engaged with her, another rebel steamer, iron-clad, with a prow under water, struck the Varuna in the port gangway, doing considerable damage. The Varuna’s shot glanced from her bow. She backed off for another blow, and struck again in the same place, crushing in the side; but by going ahead fast, the concussion drew her bow around, and the Varuna was able with the port guns to give her, while close alongside, five eight-inch shells abaft her armor. This settled her and drove her ashore in flames. Finding the Varuna sinking, she was run into the bank, when they let go her anchor, and tied her up to the trees. During all this time the guns were actively at work, crippling the Morgan, which was making feeble efforts to get up steam.

The fire was kept up until the water was over the gun-trucks, when 443attention was turned to getting the wounded and the crew out of the vessel. The Oneida, Captain Lee, seeing the condition of the Varuna, had rushed to her assistance, but was not needed, and the Morgan surrendered to her, having over fifty of her crew killed and wounded. She was set on fire by her commander.

In fifteen minutes from the time the Varuna was struck, she was on the bottom, with only her topgallant forecastle out of water. The officers and crew lost everything they possessed, no one thinking of leaving his station until driven thence by water.

The Federal vessels made their rendezvous at the Quarantine, some miles above the forts, and took possession of the camp of the Chalmette regiment of rebel sharpshooters, some of whom escaped, while the others surrendered, and were paroled. The officers were taken to the flag-ship and paroled. The wounded men of the various ships were now carefully attended to. The heroic dead who had fallen in defence of their flag were taken ashore, and laid in their last resting-place, in a manner worthy of the cause in which they had shed their blood, and the national flag was left floating over their graves. The Federal loss was 30 killed and 120 wounded. The loss of the rebels was very severe, some of the estimates making it as high as 800 or 1,000 in killed and wounded.

When the fleet started in its attempt to pass the forts, the mortar vessels opened a tremendous fire, which was continued until five o’clock, when they were signalled to cease. During the forenoon, Commodore Porter dispatched Captain Grant, in the Owasco, with a flag of truce, to demand the surrender of the forts. The vessel approached Fort St. Philip to within about a mile, when the batteries were opened upon her and five shots were fired, upon which she withdrew. The flag of truce was hauled down, but soon afterwards a boat flying a flag of truce at her bows, and the secession flag at her stern, approached, and Captain Grant went out and held a conference with the rebel officer. He offered an apology in behalf of his superior officer for the unintentional firing upon the flag of truce, declaring that its color had not been seen, and could not be distinguished in the distance. He then returned to the fort, and the bombs again commenced their thunders, which lasted until Commodore Porter ordered the fleet down the river.

Oh the 25th, Commodore Porter sent six of the mortar vessels to guard the bayous in the rear of Fort Jackson, when three of them, the Henry Janes, Kittatinny and Geo. W. Maryham, on the 26th, drifted off to Fort Livingston, a stronghold of the rebels, guarding one of the passages. There was a flag of truce flying on the fort, and on boats 444being sent ashore, they found the place deserted by all except several men, women and children, who resided on the island. The Federals found eleven 32-pounders, three 12-pound howitzers, two 24-pounders, one 8-inch columbiad, one 80-pound rifled cannon, one thousand 32-pound shot, and other articles of minor importance. The fort was in good condition, with all its property. It was left in charge of Acting Master Tamsen, of the U. S. navy.

On the 28th, Lieutenant-Colonel Higgins, commanding the forts, sent a communication to the Commodore, offering to surrender. The Harriet Lane (flag-ship) accordingly steamed up to the forts, and received the commander on board, when the articles of capitulation were drawn up and signed. Not to prolong the contest by very exacting terms, Commodore Porter received the forts and property, and allowed Brigadier-General Duncan, commander of coast defences, and Lieutenant-Colonel Higgins, commanding the forts, to retain their side arms, under parole. The other officers and privates were to retire on parole, giving up all arms and accoutrements, the United States to transport the men from the forts.

Three steamers of the rebel fleet remained, and were under the direction of Commander J. K. Mitchell. Lieutenant-Colonel Higgins said he had no command over them, and was not responsible for their conduct. While the flag of truce was up, and the capitulation was under conference, they towed the iron floating battery, Louisiana, to a place above the forts, set it on fire, and turned it adrift upon the Federal fleet. The guns soon becoming heated, began to discharge, throwing their shot around the river, and in a little while the battery itself exploded with a terrific report, scattering the fragments all over the river, and wounding one of their own men in Fort St. Philip.

As soon as the terms of capitulation were concluded and signed, Commodore Porter started for the rebel fleet. One vessel had been sunk by the Federal guns during the consultation, and another was taken by the Commodore. He immediately put the officers in close confinement, for the attempt to blow up the Federal vessels while under the flag of truce.

While the reduction and surrender of the forts was effected apparently by the fleet, it was evident that they could have held out in defiance of the bombardment for an indefinite period. The successful passage of the gunboat fleet threw an immense force above the forts, while a competent force remained below. In addition to this, General Butler had succeeded in finding a passage for a portion of his land forces through the channels in the rear of Fort St. Philip, and thus threatened the forts in a direction where they were easily vulnerable. Under these circumstances a considerable part of the garrison revolted, 445on the night of the 27th, refused to serve, and demanded a surrender, because defence was no longer of the least service to their main purpose, that of defending the approach to the city. The discontented part of the troops, about two hundred in number, were permitted to leave the fort, and they proceeded to the Quarantine and gave themselves up to General Butler. This timely co-operation of General Butler led to the decision of the commander, and on the following morning the capitulation was completed, and the national flag was restored to the walls of Forts Jackson and St. Philip.

The forts were placed in command of General Phelps. Fort Jackson suffered most from the bombardment, the chief object being to compel its surrender, Commodore Porter knowing that the other would inevitably follow. Nearly 8,000 shells and round shot were thrown from the Federal fleet, of which more than 2,000 fell into or exploded over the forts. More than 1,100 were counted on the ground near the forts, lying around after the capture.

At eleven o’clock, A. M., on the 24th, the flag-ship raised her anchor, and led the way up the river towards New Orleans. Commander Farragut had been apprised of the obstacles which he would meet, and was therefore prepared to encounter them. There was no occurrences of moment on the way up the river, except the demonstrations of joy or of opposition made by the people, according to their loyal or disloyal sympathies. Boats loaded with cotton were burnt or burning along the river as they passed, and fragments of the Mississippi battery floated down the stream.

At about the same hour of the next day, the fleet reached two forts, one on either side of the river, about two miles below the city, known as the Chalmette batteries, which had no flags flying. At eleven o’clock they opened on the Cayuga, which was then in the advance. After a short time spent in firing the bow-guns, the Hartford poured in a terrific broadside, which appeared to be very destructive. Other discharges followed from other vessels, and the garrison abandoned the works without hoisting a flag. The guns being silenced, and the forts evacuated, the fleet passed on and came to anchor opposite the city about one o’clock. The river was filled with vessels on fire, and along the levee cotton, stores, and other property were wantonly burned, filling the atmosphere with suffocating smoke, and adding to the heat of the day. Vast amounts of property were thus destroyed. On shore and on the wharves the people hastened to and fro, some cheering for Jeff. Davis and the Confederacy, Beauregard, and others, while some of the more exulting loyalists cheered for the Union and the old flag.

446

NEW ORLEANS AND VICINITY.

SHOWING THE DISTANCES ON THE MISSISSIPPI, AND THE ISLANDS BY THEIR NUMBERS.

447At two o’clock Commodore Farragut sent Captain Bailey on shore to communicate with the authorities, and demand a surrender of the city. He started with a flag of truce, and on reaching the levee was greeted with curses by the mob. With some difficulty he reached the City Hall, with the officer who accompanied him, and there found the Mayor, City Council, and General Lovell, the commander of the rebel forces in the city. New Orleans being under martial law, the civil authorities could do nothing, and General Lovell declared he would never surrender it. He was informed that the city was then in the power of the Federal fleet, and the responsibility of any suffering or destruction that might follow his obstinate determination must rest with him. If no resistance were made, nothing would be injured. General Lovell then agreed to evacuate the city, and restore it to the control of the civil authorities. Captain Bailey and Lieutenant Perkins entered a carriage and returned to their boats. Just before they reached the levee, the new ram Mississippi, already mentioned, floated down the river wrapt in flames. The rebels had attempted to tow her up the river, but finding some of the Federal vessels on the alert in pursuit, they set her on fire. Two or three other similar vessels, partly built, were in the shipyards of the city and Algiers, on the other side of the river, which were also destroyed.

When the news of the passage of the forts by the Federal fleet had been telegraphed to the city, the popular excitement was unbounded. Under apprehension that the city would be pillaged, and given up to the violence of a body of Northern desperadoes, the mob, led on by some of the most bitter secessionists, were anxious to fire the public buildings, and reduce the city to ruin in advance. But other counsels prevailed, and they were fortunately restrained from the commission of these atrocities.

On the following morning, the 26th, at half-past six o’clock, the Mayor sent his secretary and chief of police to see the Commodore, informing him that he would call a meeting of the Council at ten o’clock. Commodore Farragut replied to the message of the Mayor, and sent him a formal demand for the unqualified surrender of the city. The Council met, and on hearing a message from the Mayor, John T. Monroe, that body adopted resolutions in accordance with the message, and the Mayor made a reply to the Commodore, stating that the city was subject to his power. Both the message of the Mayor, and his reply to Commodore Farragut, breathed a spirit of bold defiance to the Federal authority, declaring that they submitted only to stern necessity, and that they still maintained their allegiance to the Confederate States.

At ten o’clock two officers were sent on shore, with a body of marines, to raise the flag on the Custom House; but the protest of the Mayor 448was so urgent, under the apprehension that the mob would resist this attempt to plant the old flag in its rightful place, that the Commodore deemed it advisable to recall the order. About the same time the Pensacola sent a boat to raise the flag on the mint. A general order for a thanksgiving service at eleven o’clock, on shipboard, had been issued, for the success of the expedition, and while thus engaged, the stars and stripes were torn down by a mob. The Pensacola fired a howitzer, killing one man, which occasioned intense excitement.

On the surrender of the forts, General Butler hastened with his forces to the city, where he arrived, with his transports, on the afternoon of the 28th.

On the morning of the 29th, Pierre Soulé, one of the most prominent men of New Orleans, visited the Commodore for the purpose of a private interview. Soon after he left the ship, the marines of the fleet went ashore in the small boats to raise the flag on the Custom House and Post Office. Two howitzers were in the company, to assist, if necessary, in maintaining order. The duty of hauling down the State flag of Louisiana, and replacing it with the national emblem, was assigned to Commander H. H. Bell. When the boats reached the levee, the men formed in line of march, and proceeded to the Custom House, where the stars and stripes were once more flung to the southern breeze. After leaving the Custom House, they proceeded to the City Hall, where Captain Bell generously yielded the distinction of raising the flag to George Russell, boatswain’s mate of the Hartford, who had won general approbation by his heroic conduct.

General Butler established his headquarters in the city, proclaimed martial law, and commenced his administration without opposition. With this peaceful and successful result was crowned one of the most brilliant achievements in naval history.

As the month of April was passing away, dispatches from the peninsula gave assurances that the two great armies now confronting each other before Yorktown would in a few days be compelled to test their relative strength in a general engagement, should neither, meantime, voluntarily abandon the position. The daily bulletin of casualties gave evidence of closer and more sanguinary contests among the working or reconnoitering parties, or from the batteries erected on new parallels of rugged embankments springing up daily in closer proximity. A most 449arduous portion of the soldiers’ labor during the siege is thus graphically described:

Working in the Trenches.—A working party is detailed for night duty. With muskets slung on their backs and shovels and picks on their shoulders, they proceed to the selected ground. The white tape marks the line of excavation—the dark lanterns are “faced to the rear”—the muskets are carefully laid aside—the shovels are in hand, and each man silently commences to dig. Not a word is spoken—not one spade clicks against another. Each man first digs a hole large enough to cover himself—he then turns and digs to his right-hand neighbor. Then the ditch deepens and widens, and the parapet rises. Yet all is silent—the relief comes and the weary ones retire. The words and jests of the enemy are often heard, while no noise from the men disturbs the stillness save the dull rattle of the earth as each spadeful is thrown to the top. At daylight a long line of earthworks, affording complete protection, greets the astonished eyes of the enemy, while the sharpshooters’ bullets whisper terror to his ears.

On the 2d of May the rebels opened fire from an immense gun mounted on a pivot at a corner of the main fort on the heights of Yorktown, which inflicted serious injury on the Federals, who replied with much spirit from their No. 1 battery, mounting one and two hundred-pounder Parrot guns. On the twenty-third discharge of the enemy’s gun it burst into a thousand pieces, tearing up the parapet, and making fearful havoc among the immense crowd surrounding it. The Federal guns on No. 1 battery were then brought to bear on the rebel works at Yorktown and Gloucester, and on their shipping, with marked effect, to which they were unable to reply.

From the 1st to the 4th of May the Confederate army evacuated Yorktown, without awaking the suspicions of the besiegers, making a safe retreat with all their field artillery and most of their stores. Eighty heavy guns at Yorktown and Gloucester, with large quantities of ordnance stores, fell into possession of the Federals, who occupied the rebel ramparts on the morning of the fourth.

On the same day the iron battery Merrimac made her appearance off Sewall’s Point, and the Federal gunboats availed themselves of the opportunity to go up the York river, convoying a portion of the army transports, with the design of intercepting the retreating enemy, while most of the cavalry and horse artillery, followed by the infantry, started in immediate pursuit by land.

When within two and a half miles of Williamsburg, at two o’clock on May 4th, General Stoneman’s advance came up with the enemy, who threw out a body of cavalry to check the pursuit. Captain Gibbon’s battery was brought to bear on the horsemen, who on their approach 450were met by a charge of the First and Sixth regular cavalry, who drove them back, capturing twenty-five of their number. Two of the Federals were killed, and about twenty wounded; and twenty of Captain Gibbon’s horses were killed.

The evacuation of Yorktown, which occupied several days, was completed on the morning of Sunday, the 4th of May, the main body of the retreating rebels taking the principal road through Williamsburg, and smaller portions of the army passing along the road near the banks of the York river. A line of entrenchments had been run about two and a half miles from Williamsburg, and became the scene of a fiercely contested engagement on May 5th.

The rebel forces had succeeded in passing through the city, and left a force of about five thousand men to engage and retard the advance of the Union army.

The approach to Williamsburg from the lower part of the peninsula is by two roads, one on the James river side, from Warwick court-house, and the other from Yorktown, on the York river side. Both these roads lead through a dense forest, broken only by occasional openings, and over alternate soils of sand, reddish clay and swamp. The heavy rains had saturated the soil, and the retreat of the rebels, with their ponderous trains, had cut the roads up to an extent that made them almost impassable. In very many places where they led over swampy ground, horses and wagons would sink together, and other teams were necessary to draw them out and place them upon soil that was firm only by comparison. This was the general character of both these roads. They gradually approach each other through the forest, and meet at a sharp angle about forty rods beyond the edge of the forest, in a large open plain, which stretches away on either side, and lies directly in front of the village of Williamsburg, at a distance of about two miles. Beyond this intersection of the two roads, and directly ahead, was a long earthwork, some hundred rods in advance, called Fort Page, (also called Fort Magruder,) commanding with its guns and the infantry who were concealed behind its walls both these converging roads. Looking to the right, the eye ranges over a broad open field, stretching a mile or more away, with a rolling surface, backed by a swamp, and dotted with five separate earthworks, placed to command the plain in advance and concentrate their cross-fire upon the troops approaching by the roads. Looking to the left, there are three other works of a similar character, commanding the approaches on that side. Here the woods came closer up to the road, and for a space of some twenty or thirty acres lying along the James river road, the trees had been cut down, and the ground in part had been filled with rifle-pits.

451

BIRDS-EYE VIEW OF THE COUNTRY FROM RICHMOND TO YORKTOWN.

1. Richmond.—2. Manchester.—3. Hanover C. H.—4. Mechanicsville.—5. Beaver Dam.—6. Gaines Mills.—7. New Bridge.—8. Cold Harbor.—9. Garnetts.—10. Golding.—11. Trent.—12. Couch.—13. Savage’s Station.—14. Fair Oaks.—15. Seven Oaks.—16. Bottoms Bridge.—17. White Oaks Bridge and Swamp.—18. Charles City Roads.—19. Malvern Hills.—20. Turkey Bridge.—21. Turkey Creek.—22. Turkey Island Bend.—23. Berkeley.—24. Harrison’s Landing.—25. City Point.—26. Fort Darling.—27. Dispatch Station.—28. Summit.—29. White House.—30. Cumberland Landing.—31. New Kent C. H.—32. West Point.—33. Williamsburg.—34. Yorktown.—35. Gloucester Point.—36. James River.—37. Chickahominy River.—38. York River.—39. Pamunky River.—40. Mattapony River.—41. Riemkatank River.—42. Rappahannock River.—43. Richmond and York Railroad.—44. Virginia Central Railroad.—45. Richmond and Fredericksburg Railroad.—46. Richmond and Danville Railroad.—47. Petersburg and Richmond Railroad.—48. Appamotox.

453As soon as the evacuation of Yorktown was ascertained, on Sunday morning, General Stoneman, with several regiments of cavalry, followed by light field batteries, including horse artillery, started in pursuit of the enemy. About noon General Hooker’s division left the camp in front of Yorktown, followed by General Kearney’s division, both belonging to General Heintzelman’s corps, and marched towards Williamsburg, to support General Stoneman, and assist him in cutting off the enemy’s retreat. The cavalry followed close upon the rear guard of the enemy, and during the day there was occasional skirmishing between them. After having advanced about six miles the cavalry halted to await the arrival of the infantry. The divisions of Generals Smith and Hooker met at a crossing of the roads, and continued on their routes, and met again at the junction below Fort Page. It was now late in the day, and General Sumner, who desired to engage the enemy, was compelled to defer an attack until the morning.

The troops bivouacked at night in the best positions they could secure. General Hooker’s division was in front of the centre of the enemy’s works. General Smith’s infantry, and General Stoneman’s artillery and cavalry were on the right. Generals Kearney and Couch had also come up, and halted in the rear, while other divisions took position where they could be disposed to the best advantage. Rain had fallen almost constantly during the day, and now a stormy night drew its dark mantle over them, while the wearied army lay upon the wet earth, and sought repose.

Early on the following morning, the 5th, the troops commenced their march, and soon came up to the point where the road passes out of the woods into the open plain before the fort. The first who came up formed a part of General Hooker’s division. As they advanced from the James river road to the opening, they were greeted with a storm of balls and grape from the bastion; and as the men were deployed in the woods, and attempted to pass over the fallen timber, they were met by a heavy fire from the rebel infantry, close in front, concealed in their rifle-pits or behind the trees.

General Hooker ordered up Bramhall’s battery, but just as it left the woods and was coming out into the open ground, the wheels stuck fast in the deep clay mire, in which the horses vainly floundered in the effort to draw them out. The rebels had pushed their infantry into the woods on their right, and were pouring deadly volleys into the ranks of the 454Federal troops, which compelled them to retire. One gun was abandoned. General Hooker’s men struggled nobly against the terrible disadvantages under which they were fighting,—for the rebels, seeing the progress they were making, sent back for reinforcements, and they increased during the day until not less than twenty-five thousand of their troops turned back from their retreat.

As the enemy gradually augmented in number, the fight became more severe, and was hotly contested on both sides. General Hooker had resolved to maintain his position. General Grover’s brigade, (the First, Eleventh and Sixteenth Massachusetts, and Second New Hampshire,) was on the left; General Sickles’ brigade, (the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Excelsior of New York,) and General Patterson’s New Jersey brigade, (the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth,) occupied positions nearer the right of the column. Near these were company “H,” United States First Artillery, Captain Bramhall, and company “O,” New York Volunteer Artillery, Captain Smith. These regiments took positions along the edge of the woods, and the artillery opened on the forts, when the struggle became general nearly along the whole line.

At an early period of the battle it was perceived that the enemy was endeavoring to turn the left of the Federal line, when a part of the First and the Eleventh Massachusetts were ordered forward to anticipate and prevent the movement. While the Eleventh was engaged at a point about fifty yards from the enemy, a rebel officer displayed a white flag, and shouted, “Don’t fire on your friends!” Colonel Blaisdell immediately ordered his men to cease firing, and Michael Doherty, a private of company A, stepped forward to meet the flag, upon which the officer called out to his men, “Now, give it to them!” The command was immediately obeyed, and a heavy fire was poured into the regiment, by which a number of men were cut down. Doherty fell among the rest, but he fired his piece at the dastardly officer, who fell dead upon the spot.

The First Massachusetts remained at its post, doing severe execution among the enemy until all its ammunition had been expended, when it was relieved by the Seventy-second New York, Lieutenant-Colonel Moses, which was in turn relieved by the Seventieth New York, Colonel Dwight, who was also aided by a portion of the Second New Hampshire.

The reinforcements of the enemy were pouring in, and adding continually to the severity of the struggle. Colonel Moses was ordered to the front, for the purpose of silencing a battery on the left. He was soon confronted with a most murderous fire, when he was relieved by the Seventieth New York. The rebel regiments in front were reinforced by another, and soon successfully engaged. Colonel Dwight was slightly wounded in the leg, and Colonel Farnum, being severely wounded, was 455carried to the rear. The regiment fought with determined bravery, against superior numbers, when Colonel Dwight ordered a charge through the fallen timber. The Soldiers, with invigorating cheers, advanced upon the rebels, and with irresistible ardor put them to flight. The regiment held its position till its ammunition was exhausted, and then supplied themselves from the cartridge-boxes of their dead and wounded comrades.

On came the rebel reinforcements. Massive and determined columns pressed forward, and at last the helpless regiment, which had expended all its ammunition, was pressed vigorously by the enemy, and Colonel Dwight and many of his men were taken prisoners. They were carried to Williamsburg, where they were rescued the next day, when the Federal army reached that city. The heroism of this regiment may be seen from the fact that out of thirty-three commissioned officers who went into the action, no less than twenty-two were killed or wounded.

BATTLE OF WILLIAMSBURG.

The engagement had now become one of grand proportions. Two regiments of the New Jersey brigade were conducted by General Patterson to the front, to assist in repelling another attempt of the enemy to turn the Federal left. They occupied the heavy timber which interrupted the view of the enemy’s works. When they advanced they were also met by fresh regiments of the enemy, and for a time the advantage alternated between the contending forces, and the tide of battle was seen to ebb and flow on either side, uncertain as to the issue. The forces of the enemy suffered severely as well as the Federals, who delivered 456their fire while lying upon the ground. Just then, Colonel Johnson came up with the Eighth New Jersey, in time to check the flanking movement of the enemy, which was rapidly reaching round to the left. Again the orders of the rebel officers, to the front and rear were heard, and again the surging columns of the foe were met and driven back. In this position for nearly five hours the New Jersey brigade stood the fire of superior numbers, and with all the coolness and determination of veterans resisted the advance of the enemy. At a late hour in the day the arrival of fresh troops relieved them from the ground they had disputed with such undaunted courage.

Generals Heintzelman and Sumner united their commands toward the right, on the line of the Yorktown road. General Hooker, finding himself so severely pressed, sent to General Heintzelman for reinforcements, but he was away, and the message was read and returned to General Hooker by General Sumner, who endorsed it, “opened and read by the senior officer on the field.” After some time spent in painful suspense by General Hooker, he was cheered by the arrival of General Peck with his brigade, forming the advance of General Couch’s division, which arrived on the ground at one o’clock, having marched up from Lee’s Mills, ten or twelve miles, that morning, in the midst of a pouring rain, and through mud ankle deep. General Hooker being sorely pressed, the men were marched at once into the field, taking a position on his right, in the centre of the army, where they were at once exposed to the full force of the enemy’s fire. For two hours they held their position against terrible odds. Twice they were driven back, and twice they rallied again, and recovered their ground.

When the brigade first reached the field, the One Hundred and Second Pennsylvania advanced to the front, delivered its fire, and fell back, giving place to the Ninety-eighth Pennsylvania, which held the ground until the One Hundred and Second rallied, and the two maintained the position. The Fifty-fifth New York, De Trobrian’s Zouaves, came up on the left and then retired, while the Sixty-second New York held the rebels in check, and the One Hundred and Second and Ninety-eighth Pennsylvania delivered a cross-fire. The Fifty-fifth then formed a new line of battle, and advanced to the support of the Sixty-second, and the Ninety-third Pennsylvania came up and opened fire on a battery commanding the road, until the rebels were driven back at all points.

The Federal reinforcements were at last coming up to the scene of action. Urgent requests for aid had been sent to the rear, and Governor Sprague rode back from the field to Yorktown, to report the facts to General McClellan and urge forward the requisite assistance. In the mean time General Kearney, with his division, a part of General Heintzelmar’s corps, had received orders from him to press on with the 457utmost haste, which was done. He arrived, closely followed by General Berry, with his brigade, when they took a position on the extreme left, in order to prevent flanking by the enemy. The Third Michigan was ordered to the left as a support, while General Berry moved forward with the remaining regiments, arriving on the ground at about half-past two o’clock, P. M. The Fifth Michigan, Colonel Terry, proceeded to the left of the road, in front of some fallen timber and the rifle-pits, while the Thirty-seventh New York, Colonel Hayman, went still further to the left. The Second Michigan occupied a position on the right of the road. As soon as these arrangements were completed, an order was given for the troops under General Berry to advance and charge, which they did in a splendid manner, driving the enemy entirely out of the timber. At this charge the enemy lost sixty-three men killed. The rebels, being posted in the rifle-pits, caused the Federal troops much annoyance. The Fifth Michigan, however, soon compelled them to retreat, although it lost a great many of its men in the effort.

The enemy had the advantage of protection, while the Union men were obliged to expose themselves in bold relief. The Federal bullets could not penetrate the earthworks around the rifle-pits, and the only way to drive the enemy out was to make a bayonet charge. This charge was made in splendid style by the Fifth Michigan in front, and the Thirty-seventh New York at the left, the men pushing up to the pits near enough to bayonet the riflemen behind them. By this charge considerable loss was occasioned on both sides.

When General Kearney’s troops were coming into action, they met the lengthened files of General Hooker’s wounded being carried to the rear. The shrieks of the lacerated and bleeding soldiers, who had been fighting so long and so well, pierced the air, and this, joined to the mud and rain, and the exhaustion of those who had come several miles on a forced march, was not calculated to produce a favorable impression on them as they were going into action. General Heintzelman, however, ordered several of the bands to strike up national and martial airs; and, when the strains of these familiar tunes reached the ears of the wounded, their cheers mingled with those of the soldiers who were just rushing into the battle. The effect was wonderful on the other side; for some of the prisoners state that when they heard the bands strike up the Star-Spangled Banner, followed by that enthusiastic cheer, they knew that the victory would be ours.

The Third and Fourth Maine regiments having been detached from General Birney’s brigade, and temporarily assigned to General Emory, General Birney came forward with the two remaining regiments,—the Thirty-eighth New York, Colonel J. H. Ward, and the Fortieth New York, Colonel Reilly. These were deployed to the right of the Hampton 458road, and, like those under General Berry on the left, relieved fragments of regiments which had borne the brunt of the battle since its commencement. All this time the rebel artillery was sending a rapid fire into the Federal ranks.

The Thirty-eighth New York regiment was ordered to charge down the road and take the enemy’s rifle-pits in front by the flank. Colonel Ward led seven companies of his regiment in this most brilliant and successful charge. The other three companies, under Lieutenant-Colonel Strong, were doing efficient service in an adjacent portion of the field.

The battle had now been raging uninterruptedly from an early hour in the morning, and seemed at last to be checked by the heroic conduct and successful charge of General Kearney’s troops. The extreme left was still heavily pressed, however, by the obstinate force of the rebels in that part of the line.

To General Hancock was intrusted the most dangerous, because the boldest manœuvre of the day. He passed with his brigade—the Fifth Wisconsin, Colonel Cobb; the Sixth Maine, Colonel Burnham; the Forty-ninth Pennsylvania, Colonel Lowrie; the Seventh Maine, Colonel Mason, and the Thirty-third New York, Colonel R. F. Taylor, supported by Lieutenant Cowan’s and Captain Wheeler’s batteries—to the right, for a mile parallel to the front, but completely hidden by the forest. Thence across a fifty-acre heath edged with timber, north to the extreme left of the enemy’s line of works. At this point the rebels had dammed a creek which empties into York river, and straight across the narrow causeway frowned an earthwork, which looked imposing as a castle from its commanding position on the opposite hill.

General Hancock found this singular defence deserted, but it was with caution his skirmishers ventured across the dam and planted the Federal flag on the parapet, fifty feet above water mark. Then the whole force went over at double-quick, turned to the left, and followed a narrow, dangerous road, a gorge cut in the hill-side by the pond, till it emerged in turn, from the east, on the open battle-field.

A splendid picture met the eye. Two miles distant Hooker was fighting the rebels on the other side of Fort Page. From the latter point the rebel artillery was playing upon his lines. Between Hancock and the fort were two lesser works, at intervals of half a mile. Their garrisons quickly retreated on seeing him, and retired on the main force—the movement before practiced on the left, and one which plainly indicated that the rebel force was too small to hold the line. But it was also evident, from the determined stand made in and near Fort Page, that the rear guard was under orders to make a desperate maintenance of its position.

Although Hancock had a regiment with him besides his own, yet his 459force was scarcely five thousand, all told, and totally separated from the main body. If overpowered in front, retreat would be utterly impossible through the narrow gorge behind them. General Keyes appeared on the field at this moment, and told General Hancock that he did not visit him to assume the command as ranking officer, but to see him, Hancock, “carry the left.” General Keyes at once sent back for a support of cavalry and artillery. This was about one o’clock in the afternoon. For some reason, General Sumner omitted ordering the reinforcements forward.

A regiment was soon in the enemy’s deserted works (No. 3 from York river). The old flag was raised with wild cheers from its parapet; and eight cannon were quickly unlimbered in the field beyond. A smaller, intermediate outwork was still held between this and Fort Magruder. In front of it a line of rebel skirmishers deployed, but were quickly dispersed and forced to retire. In five minutes the Union guns were playing, some on the great fort at six hundred yards distance, the rest on the woods to the north, through which the rebels were retreating on their main body.

Just then the clouds broke away in the west, and a flood of light came in upon the whole panorama. Nothing could be more beautiful and inspiriting. The deserted rebel forts, surmounted with Federal colors; Hancock’s infantry awaiting orders in battle line; a signal officer waving to the centre his flag-signals from the parapet of work No. 3; the long fire-belching, smoke-canopied curve of Fort Page in the distance; still further beyond, white flashes, and huge clouds of smoke appearing from Hooker’s battle-ground on the left, of whose desperate contest the stunning roll of musketry and roar of cannon gave true token—all these combined formed a broad battle-picture worthy of Varney.

Wheeler’s artillery fired with precision and rapidity for an hour, the fort answering gun for gun. But the rebel infantry seemed to have their hands full in managing Hooker, and as it was not yet practicable to storm the fort, the Union forces found little to do, and stood under fire of the artillery with small loss, awaiting a share in the business. It was not long in coming, and came in the shape which more than one observer had feared from the outset. It was preceded at four o’clock by one of those dead, ominous half hour pauses which so often make the decisive turn of an engagement. Many thought the enemy were retreating. Others, who have had occasion to dread these still and awful lapses from the bloody work of a field-day, prognosticated an unknown danger impending close at hand.

Suddenly there burst from the woods on the right flank a battalion of rebel cavalry! Then, to the right and left of the horse, three regiments of infantry supporting it!

460But General Hancock was equal to the crisis. Forming his infantry against this sudden attack, he held them in magnificent order, while the rebel foot and horse came on, cheering, firing, and charging in gallant and imposing style. Wheeler’s battery turned and poured hot volleys into them as they came, and over five thousand muskets riddled them through and through. But they kept on—nearer—nearer—closing up, cheering, and sure of their power to sweep the Federals before them.

Thus they came, swifter than it can be told, until their line, now broken and irregular, was within two hundred yards of the unwavering columns. Then Hancock showed himself the coolest and bravest of the brave. Taking off his hat, and using the courtly prefix of the olden time, he said: “Ready, now! Gentlemen, CHARGE!” The whole line swept forward, as the reaper’s sickle rushes through the grain. Its keen edge had not yet touched the enemy, when his ranks broke simultaneously, fled in confusion to the rear, and the field of Williamsburg was won.

About five o’clock P. M. some excitement was caused in the rear, and soon an officer, with his staff, rode to the opening in the woods where he could get a view of the field. It was General McClellan. The moment he was seen, loud and deafening cheers rose up along the lines of the centre, and rolled away to the right and left, imparting a new enthusiasm to the forces. The chief officers were quickly consulted, and reinforcements were sent to the aid of Hancock and Hooker. Hancock’s 461brilliant and successful charge had already won the day on the right, and the effect of it in the panic and rout of the rebels was becoming sensibly felt in front of Hooker’s division, when the long-looked for assistance came to his side. The rebels promptly retired, and the desperate struggle of the day closed on a splendidly contested field. The men were compelled to bivouack on the ground, with the rain still falling, in proud anticipation of a renewal of the conflict in the morning.

The rebels had been reinforced as late as five o’clock, and it was expected that General Johnston would command them in the morning in person, but the opportune appearance of the Federal reinforcements, together with the successful movements of General Hancock, created a panic among them, and they fell back on Williamsburg, and commenced their hasty retreat from that place. At two o’clock on Tuesday morning the Federal forces began to move. As they approached Williamsburg they found the way clear, and on coming up to the city the rear guard of the foe were flying on the road toward Richmond, leaving the town to be occupied by the Federal troops. General McClellan appointed General Jameson Military Governor of the place, and the troops marched through the main street of the city to the homely, but glorious and soul-stirring strains of “Yankee Doodle.”

The houses, churches, barns and stables were found filled with the wounded of the rebel army, as well as the Federals whom they had taken prisoners. It was a sad, heart-rending scene, those brave soldiers mangled, dying and dead. The Federal troops immediately commenced the work of burial, while the surgeons found incessant occupation in the discharge of their duties. The battle field presented a frightful scene of carnage, and several days passed before all the dead and wounded stragglers were found in the woods and among the underbrush where they had fallen.

The loss of the Federals was about 500 killed, 1,600 wounded, and 623 prisoners. That of the rebels was somewhat greater in killed and wounded. Five hundred prisoners fell into Federal hands. Some hundred of the rebel dead were buried on the day following the battle. Lieutenant-Colonel Irwin, of the Eighth Alabama, formerly United States Senator, was found dead on the field.

Thirty-five regiments of the rebels were engaged in the action, that number being represented by the wounded men left after the battle.