I c m CARLETON THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES GIFT OF Rabbi Ernest R, Trattner "The brigade goes down the road upon the run. MY DAYS AND NIGHTS BATTLE-FIELD. CHARLES CARLETON COFFIN, >3THOB OF "STORY OF LIBERTY," "BOYS OP '76," " OUR NEW WAY MOCND THE WORLD," " FOLLOWING THE FLAG," "WUJiirNQ HXS WAY," ETC. BOSTON DANA ESTES AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS Copyright, 2887, BY ESTES AND LAUKIAI CONTENTS. Age To THE YOUTH OP THE UHTTBD STATM . . 1 CHAP. I. How THE REBELLION CAMK ABOUT ... II. THB GATHERING OF A GEKAT ARMT ... 29 ffl. THE BATTLE OF BULL Ruir . 87 IV. THB CAPTUBK OF FOKT HBNBY 08 V. THB CAPTURE OF FOBT DOMKLSOJT ... 89 Thursday . M Friday ... . . 104 Saturday ... Ill VI. THE SURKKNDEK 182 VH. THB AKMT AT PITTBBUBO LANDIWQ . . .168 Vin THE BATTLE OF PITTSBURG LAHDIXO. From Daybreak till Ten o'clock 171 From Ten o'clock till Four 187 Sunday Evening 2C6 Monday 21 H. EVACUATION OF COLUMBUS 239 X. OPERATIONS AT NEW MADRID ... , 287 XI. OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEJT ... 247 XH. FROM FORT PILLOW TO MEMPHIS . , . .281 Xm. THE NAVAL FIGHT AT MEMPHIS .... Ml 2029212 LIST OF DIAGRAMS. fte Bofl Bnn Battle-Gronnd .60 The Fight at Blackburn's Ford 62 The Country around Fort Henry and Fort Donekon ... 69 Fort Henry HI Fort Donelson 6 The Attack on McClernand ... v V . 114 The Second Engagement . . . ; V " "V '' 123 The Charge of Lanman's Brigade 128 Pittebnrg Landing and Vicinity 166 Disposition of Troops at the Beginning of the Battle . . 173 The Fight at the Ravine 208 A Rebel Torpedo . . . .. * *. * . . Ml bland No. 10 239 A Mortar . . . . ' ^ . v . . . . 248 Ths Naval Fight at Memphis ... IN MILITARY TERMS. Abatis. Trees cut down, their branches made sharp, aad utS to block a road, or placed in front of fortifications. Advance, Any portion of an army which is in front of ths rest. Aides-de-camp. Officers selected by general officers to assist them in their military duties. Ambulance*. Carriages for the sick and wounded. Battery. A battery consists of one or more pieces of artillery. A full battery of field artillery consists of six cannon Battalion. A battalion consists of two or more companies, but less than a regiment Bombardment. Throwing shot or shells into a fort or earth- work. Canister. A tin cylinder filled with cast-iron shot When the gun is fired, the cylinder bursts and scatters the shot over a wide surface of ground. Caisson. An artillery carnage, containing ammunition for immediate use. Casemate. A covered chamber in fortifications, protected by earth from shot and shells. Columbiad. A cannon, invented by Colonel Bomford, of very large calibre, used for throwing shot or shells. A ten-inch colum biad weighs 15,400 pounds, and is ten and a half feet long. Column. A position in which troops may be placed. A col umr en route is the order in which they march from one part of the country to another. A column of attack is the order in which they go into battle. Countersign. A particular word given out by the highest officer nil MILITARY TERMS. in command, tntrarted to guards, picket*, and wntinett, and I* those who may hare occasion to pass them. Embranrt. An opening cat in embankments for the mnxalas of the cannon. EnJOatk. _ To sweep the whole length of the inside of a fbrti- flcation or a line of troops. Field -Work*. An embankment of earth excavated from ditch surrounding a town or a fort. Flank. The right or left side of a body of men, or place. When it is said that the enemy by a flank march outflanked our right wing, it is understood that he pnt himself on our rignt hand. When two armies stand face to face the right flank of one is opposite the left flank of the other. File. Two soldiers, a front rank and a rear rank man. Fuse. A slow-burning composition in shells, set on fire by the flash of the cannon. The length of the fuse is proportioned to the intended range of the shells. Grape. A large number of small balls tied up in a bag. Howitzer. A cannon of large calibre and short range, com- monly used for throwing shells, grape, and canister. Limber. The fore part of a field gun-carriage, to which the horses are attached. It has two wheels, and carries ammunition die same as the caisson. Pontoon. A bridge of boats for crossing streams, which may be carried in wagons. Parabola. The curve described by a shell in the air. Range. The distance to which shot, shells, or bullets may b fired. Reveille. The first dnun-beat in the morning. Rifle-Pitt. Excavations in the earth or other shelter for riie- ?ien. Spherical Cote. A. thin shell of cast-iron filled with outlets, with a fuse, and a charge of powder sufficient to burst it. It con- tains about ninety bullets. Wingt. The right and left divisions of a body of troops, di anguished from the centre. MI DAYS AND NIGHTS ON THE BATTLE-FIELD. INTRODUCTORY. TO THE YOUTH OF THB UNITED STATES. TN my boyhood, my young friends, I loved to *- sit beside my grandfather and listen to his stories of Bunker Hill and Saratoga, how he and his comrades stood upon those fields and fought for their country. I could almost see the fight and hear the cannon's roar, the rattle of the musketry, and the shouts of victory. They won their independence, and established the best government the world ever saw. But there are men in this country who hate that government, who have plotted against it, and who have brought about the present Great Rebellion to destroy it. I have witnessed some of the battles which have been fought during this war, although I have nol INTRODUCTORY. been a soldier, as my grandfather was, and I shall try, in this volume, to picture those scenes, and give correct descriptions of the ground, the march- ing of the troops, the positions they occupied, and other things, that you may understand how your father, or your brothers, or your friends, fought for the dear old flag. CHAPTER I. HOW THB REBELLION CAJTB ABOTTT. Fountain-Heads. Th gbraun of HIM. MANY of you, my young readers, have seen the springs which form the trickling rivu- lets upon the hillsides. How small they are You can almost drink them dry. But in the valley the silver threads become a brook, which widens to a river rolling to the far-off ocean. So is it with the ever-flowing stream of time. The things which were of small account a hundred years ago are powerful forces to-day. Great events do not usually result from one cause, but from many causes. To ascertain how the rebellion came about, let us read history. Nearly three hundred years ago, when Eliza beth was Queen of England, Sir Walter Raleigh sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to explore the newly discovered Continent of America. Sir Walter was a sailor, a soldier, and one of the gentleman attendants of the Queen. He was so courteous and gallant that he once threw his gold-laced scarlet cloak upon the ground for a mat, that the Queen might not step her royal HOW THE REBELLION CAME ABOUT. foot in the mud. At that time America was an unexplored wilderness. The old navigators had sailed along the coasts, hut the smooth waters of the great lakes and rivers had never been ruffled by the oars of European boatmen. Sir Walter found a beautiful land, shaded by grand old forests ; also fertile fields, waving with corn and a broad-leaved plant with purple flowers, which the Indians smoked in pipes of flint and vermilion stone brought from the cliffs of the great Missouri River. The sailors learned to smoke, and when Sir Walter returned to England they puffed their pipes in the streets. The people were amazed, and wondered if the sailors were on fire. So tobacco began to be used in England. That was in 1584. We shall see that a little tobacco-smoke whiffed nearly three hundred years ago has had an influence in bringing about the rebellion. Twenty years rolled by. London merchants dreamed of wealth in store for them in Virginia. A company was formed to colonize the country. Many of the merchants had spendthrift sons, who were also idle and given to bad habits. These young fellows thought it degrading to work. In those Western woods across the ocean, along the great rivers and upon the blue mountains, they saw in imagination a wild, roving, reckless life. They could hunt the wild beasts. They could HOW THE REBELLION CAME ABOUT. The tint Colonist*. Apprenticed Men. live without the restraints of society. They had heard wonderful stories of exhaustless mines of gold and silver. There they could get rich, and that was the land for them. A vessel with five hundred colonists was fitted out. There were only sixteen men of the five hundred accustomed to work ; the others called themselves gentlemen and cavaliers. They set- tled at Jamestown. They found no rich gold- mines, and wealth was not to be had on the fertile plains without labor. Not knowing how to cultivate the soil, and hating work, they had a hard time. They suffered for want of food. Many died from starvation. Yet more of the same indolent class joined the colony, young men who had had rows with tutors at school, and who had broken the heads of London watchmen in their midnight revels. A historian of those times says that " they were fitter to breed a riot than found a colony." The merchants, finding that a different class of men was needed to save the colony from ruin, sent over poor laboring men, who were appren- ticed to their sons. Thus the idle cavaliers were kept from starvation. Instead of working them- selves, they directed the poor, hard-working men, and pocketed the profits. Smoking began to be fashionable in England. Lawyers in big wigs, ministers in black gowns, 6 HOW THE REBELLION CAME ABOUT. Baying Wire*. TUeret mod Yrbond*. Negro BUrei. merchants seated in their counting-houses, ladies in silks and satins, all took to this habit of the North American Indians. Tobacco was in de- mand. Every ship from America was freighted with it. The purple-flowered plant grew luxuri- antly in the fields of Virginia, and so through the labor of the poor men the indolent cavaliers became rich. As there were no women in the colony, some of the cavaliers sent over to England and bought themselves wives, paying a hundred pounds of tobacco for a wife. Others married Indian wives. The jails of London were crowded with thieves and vagabonds. They had committed crime and lost their freedom. To get rid of them, the magis- trates sent several ship-loads to Virginia, where they were sold to the planters as servants and laborers. Thus it came to pass that there were distinct classes in the colony, men having rights and men without rights, men owning labor and men owing labor, men with power and men without power, all of which had something to do in bringing about the rebellion. In August, 1620, a Dutch captain sailed up James River with twenty negroes on board his ship, which he bad stolen from Africa. The planters purchased them, not as apprentices, but as slaves. The captain, having made a profitable voyage, sailed for Africa to steal more. Thus the HOW THE BEBELLKN CAME ABOUT. 1 "'H-E<. EUnUUoM. Public Offloen. African slave-trade in America began, which be- came the main fountain-head and grand cause of the rebellion. The Virginia planters wanted large plantations. Some of them had influence with King James, and obtained grants of immense estates, contain- ing thousands of acres. All the while the com- mon people of England were learning to smoke, snuff, and chew tobacco, and across the English Channel the Dutch burghers, housewives, and farmers were learning to puff their pipes. A pound of tobacco was worth three shillings. The planters grew richer, purchased more land and more slaves, while the apprenticed men, who had no money and no means of obtaining any, of course could not become land-owners. Thus the three classes of men planters, pool white men, and slaves became perpetually distinct. By the charter which the company of London merchants had received from the King, owners of land only were allowed to have a voice in the management of public affairs. They only could hold office. A poor man could not have anything to do with enacting or administering the laws. In 1705, a historian, then writing, says : " There are men with great estates, who take care to supply the poor with goods, and who are are to keep them always in debt, and conse HOW THE REBELLION CAME ABOUT. Ktoh Men In Pomr. How they look upon Labor. quently dependent. Out of this number are chosen the Council, Assembly, Justices of the Peace, and other officers, who conspire together to wield power."* Thus a few rich men managed all the affairs of the colony. They were able to perpetuate their power, to hand these privileges to their sons, through successive generations. At the present time there are many men and women in Virginia who consider themselves as belonging to the first families, because they are descendants of those who settled the country. The great estates have passed from the family name, squandered by the dissolute and indo- lent sons. They are poor, but very proud, and call themselves noble-born. They look with con- tempt upon a man who works for a living. I saw a great estate, which was once owned by one of these proud families, near the Antietam bat- tle-field, but spendthrift sons have squandered it, and there is but little left. The land is worn out, but the owner of the remaining acres, poor, but priding himself upon his high birth, looking with haughty contempt upon men who work, in the summer of 1860, day after day, was seen sitting upon his horse, with an umbrella over his head to keep off the sun, overseeing- hit two negro women, who were hoeing corn ! HOW THE REBELLION CAME ABOUT. Pirate, welcomed at OharlMton. All of these springs which started in Virginia tinged, entered into, and gave color to society throughout the South. There were great estates, privileged classes, a few rich and many poor men. There were planters, poor white men, and slaves. In those old times pirates sailed the seas, plun- dering and destroying ships. They swarmed around the West India Islands, and sold their spoils to the people of Charleston, South Caro- lina. There, for several years, the freebooters refitted their ships, and had a hearty welcome. But the King's ships of war broke up the busi- ness, and commerce again had peaceful possession of the ocean. These things gave direction to the stream, in- fluencing the development and growth of the col- onies, which became States in the Union, and which seceded in 1861. While the Dutch captain was bargaining off his negroes to the planters in 1620 at Jamestown, another vessel was sailing from Plymouth har- bor, in England, for a voyage across the Atlantic. Years before, in the little town of Scrooby, a man with a long white beard, by the name of Clifton, had preached what he called a pure religious doc- trine. Those who went to hear him, and who believed what he preached, soon came to be 10 HOW THE REBELLION CAME ABOUT. The PnrlUM at Oapa Cod. Democratic OorernmenL called Puritans. Most of them were poor, hard- working English farmers and villagers. There was much discussion, controversy, bigotry, and bitterness in religion at that time, and these poor men were driven from county to county, till finally they were obliged to flee to Holland to escape persecution and save their lives. King James himself was one of their most bitter perse- cutors. He declared that he would " harry every one of them out of England." After remaining in Holland several years, they obtained permission of the King to sail for North America. On a December morning the vessel, after five months' tossing upon the ocean, lay at anchor in the harbor of Cape Cod. Those on board had no charter of government. They were not men who had had midnight revels in London, but men who had prayers in their families night and morning, and who met for religious worship on the Sabbath. They respected law, loved order, and knew that it would be necessary to have a form of government in the colony. They assem- bled in the cabin of the ship, and, after prayer, signed their names to an agreement to obey all the rules, regulations, and laws which might be enacted by the majority. Then they elected a governor, each man having a voice in the elec- tion. It was what might be called the first town- meeting hi America. Thus democratic liberty and HOW THE REBELLION CAME ABOUT. Snail Parma. Common BchjoU. Christian worship, independent of forms estab- lished by kings and bishops, had a beginning in this country. The climate was cold, the seasons short, the soil sterile, and so the settlers of Cape Cod were obliged to work hard to obtain a living. In consequence, they and their descendants became active, indus- trious, and energetic. Thus they laid the founda- tions for thrift and enterprise. They did not look upon labor as degrading, but as ennobling. They passed laws, that men able to work should not be idle. They were not rich enough to own great estates, but each man had his own little farm. There was, therefore, no landed aristocracy, such as was growing into power in Virginia. They were not able to own labor to any great extent. There were a few apprenticed men, and some negro slaves, but the social and political influ- ences were all different from those in the South- ern colonies. The time came when apprenticed men were released from service, and the slaves set free. These hard-working men did not wish to have their children grow up in ignorance. In order, therefore, that every child might become i in- telligent citizen and member of society, they es- tablished common schools and founded colleges. In 1640, just twenty years after the landing at Plymouth, they had a printing-prees at Cam bridge. 12 HOW THE REBELLION CAME ABOUT. What Oc The cavaliers of Virginia, instead of establish- ing schools, sent their sons to England to be educated, leaving the children of the poor men to grow up in ignorance. They did not want them to obtain an education. In 1670, fifty years after the Dutch captain had bartered off his ne- groes for tobacco, fifty years from the election of the first governor by the people in the cabin of the Mayflower, the Bang appointed Commis- sioners of Education, who addressed letters to the governors of the colonies upon the subject. The Governor of Connecticut replied, that one fourth of the entire income of the colony was laid out in maintaining public schools. Gov- ernor Berkeley, of Virginia, who owned a great plantation and many slaves, and who wanted to keep the government in the hands of the few privileged families, answered, "I thank God there are no free schools nor printing in this colony, and I hope we shall not have them these hundred years." All the Northern colonies established common schools, and liberally supported them, that every child might obtain an education. The Southern colonies, even when they became States, gave but little attention to education, and consequently the children became more ignorant than their fathers. Thus it has come to pass, that in the Northern States nearly all can read and write, while in the HOW THE REBELLION CAME ABOUT. 18 School* In I860. Southern States there are hundreds of thousands who do not know the alphabet. In 1850 the State of Maine had 518,000 inhab- itants ; of these 2,134 could not read nor write, while the State of North Carolina, with a white population of 553,000, had eighty thousand native whites, over twenty years of age, who had never attended school ! The six New England States, with a population of 2,705,000, had in 1850 but eight thousand unable to read and write, while Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama five States, with a population of 2,670,000 whites had two hundred and sixty-two thou- sand, over twenty years of age, unable to read a word! In the Northern States educational facilities are rapidly increasing, while in the South they are fast diminishing. In 1857 there were 96,000 school-children in Vermont, and all but six thousand attended school. South Caro- lina the same year had 114,000 school-children ; of these ninety-five thousand had no school privi- leges. Virginia had 414,000 school-children ; three hundred and seventy-two thousand of them had no means of learning the alphabet ! In Missouri, in some of the counties, the school lands given by Congress have been sold, and the money distributed among the people, instead of being invested for the benefit of schools. With 14 HOW THE REBELLION CAME ABOUT. The DeIgn of the BUreholden. Cotton. each generation ignorance has increased in the Southern States. It has been the design of the slaveholders to keep the poor white men in igno- rance. There, neighbors are miles apart. There are vast tracts of land where the solitude is un- broken by the sounds of labor. Schools and news- papers cannot flourish. Information is given by word of mouth. Men are influenced to political action by the arguments and stories of stump- speakers, and not by reading newspapers. They vote as they are told, or as they are influenced by the stories they hear. So, when the leading conspirators were ready to bring about the rebel- lion, being hi possession of the State governments, holding official positions, by misrepresentation, cunning, and wickedness, they were able to de- lude the ignorant poor men, and induce them to vote to secede from the Union. Two thousand years ago the natives of India manufactured cloth from the fibres of the cotton- plant, which grew wild in the woods. The old historian, Herodotus, says that the trees bore fleeces as white as snow. A planter of South Carolina obtained some of the seeds, and began to cultivate the plant. In 1748 ten bags of cot- ton were shipped to Liverpool, but cotton-spinning had not then begun hi England. In 1784 the custom-house officers at Liverpool seized eight bags which a planter had sent over, on the HOW THE REBELLION CAME ABOUT. 15 Cotton. KUWhltamy. ground that it was not possible to raise so much in America. The manufacture of cotton goods was just then commencing in England, and cot- ton was in demand. The plant grew luxuriantly in the sunny fields of the South, but it was a day's work for a negro to separate the seed from a pound, and the planters despaired of making it a profitable crop. A few years before the Liverpool custom-house officers seized the eight bags, a boy named Eli Whitney was attending school in Westboro', Mas- sachusetts, who was destined to help the planters out of the difficulty. He made water-wheels, which plashed in the roadside brooks, and windmills, which whirled upon his father's barn. He made violins, which were the wonder and admiration of all musicians. He set up a shop, and made nails by machinery, and thus earned money through the Revolutionary War. When not more than twelve years old, he stayed at home from meeting one Sunday alone, and took his father's watch to pieces, and put it together again so nicely that it went as well as ever. It was not the proper business for Sunday, how- ever. When a young man, he went South to teach school. He happened to hear General Greene, the brave and noble man who had been a match for Lord Cornwallis, wish that there was a ma- 16 HOW THE REBELLION CAME ABOUT. The Planteri steal his InTentton. The Bplnning-Jennj chine for cleaning cotton. He thought the matter over, went to work, and in a short time had a machine which, with some improvements, now does the work of a thousand negroes. He built it in secret, but the planters, getting wind of ii, broke open his room, stole his invention, built machines of their own, and cheated him out of his property. About this time there was a poor cotton-spinner in England who thought he could invent a ma- chine for spinning. He sat up late nights, and thought how to have the wheels, cranks, and belts arranged. At times he was almost dis- couraged, but his patient, cheerful, loving wife encouraged him, and he succeeded at last in making a machine which would do the work of a thousand spinners. He named it Jenny, for his wife, who had been so patient and cheerful, though she and the children, some of the time while he was studying upon the invention, had little to eat. The gin and the jenny made cotton cloth much cheaper than it had been. Many manufactories were built in England and in the New England States. More acres of cotton were planted in the South, and more negroes stolen from Africa. In the North, along the mill-streams, there was the click and clatter of machinery. A great many ships were needed to transport the cotton from HOW THE REBELLION CAME ABOUT. 17 The gUTehotdan think Cotton U King. the agricultural South to the manufactories of the commercial, industrious, trading North. The cot- ton crop of the South in 1784 was worth only a few hundred dollars, but the crop of 1860 wag worth hundreds of millions, so great had been the increase. This great demand for cotton affected trade and commerce the world over. The planters had princely incomes from the labor of their slaves. Some of them received $ 50,000 to $ 100,000 a year. They said that cotton was king, and ruled the world. They thought that the whole human race was dependent upon them, and that by with- holding their cotton a single year they could com- pel the whole world to acknowledge their power. They were few in number, about three hundred thousand in thirty millions of people. They used every means possible to extend and perpetuate their power. They saw that the Northern States were beehives of industry, and that the boys swarming from the Northern school-houses were becoming mechanics, farmers, teachers, engaging in all employments, and that knowledge as a power was getting the better of wealth. The men of the North were settling the new States of the West, and political power in Con- gress was slipping from the hands of the South. To retain that power they must bring additional Slavo States into the Union. They therefore de- 18 HOW THE REBELLION CAME ABOUT. What thay demanded. The Mrrt Families of Virginia. maiided the right to take their slaves into new Territories. The Northern school-boys who had grown to be men, who had gone into the far West to build them homes, could not consent to see their children deprived of that which had made them men. They saw that if slavery came in, schools must go out. They saw that where slavery existed there were three distinct classes in society, the few rich, unscrupulous, hard- hearted slaveholders, the many poor, ignorant, debased white men, and the slaves. They saw that free labor and slave labor could not exist together. They therefore rightfully resisted the extension of slavery into the Territories. But the slaveholders carried the day. The North was outvoted and obliged to yield. The descendants of the first families of Vir- ginia raised slaves for a living. It was degrading to labor, but a very honorable way of getting a living to raise pigs, mules, and negroes, to sell them to the more southern States, to sell their own sons and daughters ! Their fathers purchased wives : why should they not sell their own children ? It was very profitable to raise negroes for the market, and the ministers of the South, in their pulpits on the Sabbath, said it was a Christian occupation. They expounded the Bible, and bowed the benevolent designs of Gcd in estat> HOW THE REBELLION CAME ABOUT. 19 How Northern Men were treated. lisliing slavery. It was right. It had the sanc- tion of the Almighty. It was a Divine missionary institution. Their political success, their great power, their wealth, which they received through the unpaid labor of their slaves, and from selling their own sons and daughters, developed their bad traits of character. They became proud, insolent, domi- neering, and ambitious. They demanded the right not only to extend slavery over all the Territories of the United States, but also the right to take their slaves into the Free States. They demanded that no one should speak or write against slavery. They secured the passage of a law by Congress enabling them to catch their runaway slaves. They demanded that the Constitution should be changed to favor the growth and extension of slavery. For many years they plotted against the government, threatening to destroy it if they could not have what they demanded. They looked with utter contempt upon the hard-work- ing men of the North. They determined to rule or ruin. Every Northern man living at the South was looked upon with suspicion. Some were tarred and feathered, others hung, and many were killed in cold blood ! No Northern man could open his lips on that sub- ject in the South. Men of the North could not travel there. The noble astronomer, Mitch- 20 HOW THE REBELLION CAME ABOUT. The SlaTeholders' Plot. They brought on the War. ell, the brave general who has laid down his life for his country, was surrounded by an igno- rant, excited mob in Alabama, who were ready to hang him because he told them he was in favor of the Union. But Southern orators and political speakers were invited North, and lis- tened to with respect by the thinking, reasoning people, the pupils of the common schools. Climate, trade, commerce, common schools, and industry have made the North different from the South; but there was nothing hi these to bring on the war. When the slaveholders saw that they had lost their power in Congress to pass laws for the ex- tension of slavery, they determined to secede from the Union. When the North elected a President who declared himself opposed to the extension of slavery, they began the war. They stole forts, arsenals, money, steamboats, everything they could lay their hands on belonging to govern- ment and individuals, seceded from the Union, formed a confederacy, raised an army, and fired the first gun. They planned a great empire, which should ex- tend south to the Isthmus of Darien and west to the Pacific Ocean, and made slavery its corner- stone. They talked of conquering the North. They declared that the time would come when they would muster their slaves on Bunker Hill, HOW THE REBELLION CAME ABOUT. 21 They brought on the War. when the laboring men of the North, " with hat in hand, should stand meekly before them, their masters." * They besieged Fort Sumter, fired upon the ships sent to its relief, bombarded the fort and captured it. To save their country, their gov- rnment, all that was dear to them, to protect Jieir insulted, time-honored flag, the men of the North took up arms. CHAPTER II. THE GATHERING OF A GREAT ABMY. Iking upon Port Somter Th Pmtdeofi OmD. fllHE Rebels began the wax by firing upon Fort JL Sumter. You remember how stupefying the news of its surrender. You could not at first believe that they would fire upon the Stars and Stripes, the flag respected and honored every- where on earth. When there was no longer a doubt that they had begun hostilities, you could not have felt worse if you had heard of the death of a very dear friend. But as you thought it over and reflected upon the wickedness of the act, so deliberate and terrible, you felt that you would like to see the traitors hung ; not that it would be a pleasure to see men die a felon's death, but because you loved your country and its flag, with its heaven-born hues, its azure field of stars ! Not that the flag is anything in itself to be protected, honored, and revered, but be cause it is the emblem of constitutional liberty and freedom, the ensign of the best, freest, no blest government ever established. It had cost suffering and blood. Kings, aristocrats, despots, THE GATHERING OF A GREAT ARMT. 23 Th Old TUc- The aeadewCTM. and tyrants, in the Old World and in the New hated it, but millions of men in other lands, suf- fering, abused, robbed of their rights, beheld it as their banner of hope. When you thought ho-w it had been struck down by traitors, when yo-i heard that the President had called for seventy*. five thousand troops, you hurrahed with all your might, and wished that you were old enough and big enough to go and fight the Rebels. i?j drums beat in the street. You saw the soldiers hasten to take their places in the gather- ing ranks. You marched beside them and kept step with the music. The sunlight gleamed from their bayonets. Their standards waved in the breeze, while the drum, the fife, the bugle, and the trumpet thrilled you as never before. You marched proudly and defiantly. You felt that you could annihilate the stoutest Rebel. You followed the soldiers to the railroad depot and hurrahed till the train which bore them away was out of sight. Let us follow them to Washington, and see the gathering of a great army. The Rebels have threatened to capture that city and make it their seat of government, and it must be saved. We have been a quiet, peaceable nation, and have had no great standing armies of a half-mil- lion men. We know but little about war, The Northern States are unprepared for war. Pres- 24 THE GATHERING OP A GREAT ARMY. . a Thief Fiord. The Machinery of War. The Boldieo to OMB^ " ident Buchanan's Secretary of War, Floyd, has proved himself a thief. He has stolen several hundred thousands of muskets, thousands of pieces of artillery, sending them from the North- ern arsenals to the South. The slaveholders have been for many years plotting the rebellion. They are armed, and we are not. Their arsenals are well filled, while ours are empty, because President Buchanan was a weak old man, and kept thieves and traitors in places of trust and power. At the call of the President every village sends its soldiers, every town its company. When you listened to the soul-thrilling music of the band, and watched the long, winding train as it van- ished with the troops in the distance, you had one little glimpse of the machinery of war, as when riding past a great manufactory you see a single pulley, or a row of spindles through a window. You do not see the thousands of wheels, belts, shafts, the hundred thousand spindles, the arms of iron, fingers of brass, and spring? of steel, and the mighty wheel which gives motion to all, and so you have not seen the great, complicated, far-reacning, and powerful machinery of war. But there is activity everywhere. Drums are beating, men assembling, soldiers marching, and hastening on hi regiments. They go into camp and sleep on the ground, wrapped in their blan- kets. It is a new life. They have no nankins. THE GATHERING OF A GREAT ARMY J& Bard TtnOt and Chicken. Drilling. The High* Altrm. no table-cloths at breakfast, dinner, or suppe.', no china plates or silver forks. Each soldier has his tin plate and cup, and makes a hearty meal of beef and bread. It is hard-baked bread They call it hard-tack, because it might be tacked upon the roof of a house instead of shingles. They dso have Cincinnati chicken. At home they called it pork ; fowls are scarce and pork is plenty in camp, so they make believe it is chicken ! There is drilling by squads, companies, battal- ions, and by regiments. Some stand guard around the camp by day, and others go out on picket at night, to watch for the enemy. It is military life. Everything is done by orders. When you become a soldier, you cannot go and come as you please. Privates, lieutenants, captains, colonels, generals, all are subject to the orders of their superior offi- cers. All must obey the general in command. You march, drill, eat, sleep, go to bed, and get up by order. At sunrise you hear the reveille, and at nine o'clock in the evening the tattoo. Then the candle, which has been burning in your tent with a bayonet for a candlestick, must be put out. In the dead of night, while sleeping soundly and dreaming of home, you hear the drum-beat. It is the long roll. There is a rattle of musketry. The pickets are at it. Every man springs to his feet " Turn out ! turn out !" shouts the coloneL " Fall in ! fall in ! " cries the captain. 26 THE GATHERING OF A GREAT ARMY. The Night AUrm. A great Army la Omap. There is confusion throughout the camp, a trampling of feet and loud, hurried talking. In your haste you get your boots on wrong, and buckle your cartridge-box on bottom up. You rush out in the darkness, not minding your steps, and are caught by the tent-ropes. You tumble headlong, upsetting to-morrow's breakfast of beans. You take your place hi the ranks, nervous, excited, and trembling at you know not what. The regiment rushes toward the firing, which suddenly ceaset. An officer rides up in the darkness and says it is a false alarm ! You march back to camp, cool and collected now, grumbling at the stupidity of the picket, who saw a bush, thought it was a Rebel, fired his gun, and alarmed the whole camp. In the autumn of 1861 the army of the Potomac, encamped around Washington, numbered about two hundred thousand men. Before it marches to the battle-field, let us see how it is organized, how it looks, how it is fed ; let us get an insight into its machinery. Go up in the balloon which you see hanging in the air across the Potomac from Georgetown, and look down upon this great army. All the country round is dotted with white tents, some in the open fields, and some half hid by the forest-trees. Looking away to the northwest you see the right wing. Arlington is the centre, and at Alexan- dria is the left wing. You see men in ranks, in THE GATHERING OF A GREAT ARMY. 27 flow long the Line. Uow the Army I* organised. How It U mored. files, in long lines, in masses, moving to and fro, marching and countermarching, learning how to fight a battle. There are thousands of wagons and horses ; there are from two to three hundred pieces of artillery. How long the line, if all were on the march ! Men marching in files are about three feet apart. A wagon with four horses occu- pies fifty feet. If this army was moving on a narrow country road, four cavalrymen riding abreast, and men in files of four, with all the artillery, ammunition-wagons, supply-trains, am- bulances, and equipment, it would reach from Boston to Hartford, or from New York city to Albany, a hundred and fifty miles ! To move such a multitude, to bring order out of confusion, there must be a system, a plan, and an organization. Regiments are therefore formed into brigades, with usually about four regiments to a brigade. Three or four brigades compose a division, and three or four divisions make an army corps. A corps when full numbers from twenty-five to thirty thousand men. When an army moves, the general command- ing it issues his orders to the generals command- ing the corps ; they issue their orders to the division commanders, the division commanders to the brigadiers, they to the colonels, and the colonels to captains, and the captains to the com- panies. As the great wheel in the factory turni 28 THE GATHERING OF A GREAT ARMY. lood nd Olothtaf . all the machinery, so one mind moves the whole army. The general-in-chief must designate the road which each corps shall take, the time when they are to march, where they are to march to, and sometimes the hour when they must arrive at an appointed place. The corps commanders must direct which of their divisions shall march first, what roads they shall take, and where they shall encamp at night. The division commanders direct what brigades shall march first No corps, division, or brigade commander can take any other road than that assigned him, without pro- ducing confusion and delay. The army must have its food regularly. Think how much food it takes to supply the city of Bos ton, or Cincinnati every day. Yet here are aa many men as there are people in those cities. There are a great many more horses in the army than in the stables of both of those cities. All must be fed. There must be a constant supply of beef, pork, bread, beans, vinegar, sugar, and coffee, oats, corn, and hay. The army must also have its supplies of cloth- ing, its boots, shoes, and coats. It must have its ammunition, its millions of cartridges of different kinds ; for there are a great many kinds of guns in the regiments, Springfield and Enfield mus- kests, French, Belgian, Prussian, and Austrian guns, requiring a great many different kinds of THE GATHEBING OF A GREAT ARMY. 29 The HoBpttalt. ammunition. There are a great many differ- ent kinds of cannon. There must be no lack of ammunition, no mistake in its distribution. So there is the Quartermaster's Department, the Commissary, and the Ordnance Department. The Quartermaster moves and clothes the army, the Commissary feeds it, and the Ordnance officer supplies it with ammunition. The general-in-chief had a Quartermaster-General, a chief Commissary and a chief Ordnance officer, who issue their orders to the chief officers in their departments attached to each corps. They issue their orders to their subordinates hi the divisions, and the division officers to those in the brigades. Then there is a Surgeon-General, who directs all the hospital operations, who must see that the sick and wounded are all taken care of. There are camp surgeons, division, brigade, and regimental surgeons. There are hospital nurses, ambulance drivers, all subject to the orders of the surgeon. No other officer can direct them. Each depart- ment is complete in itself. It has cost a great deal of thought, labor, and money to construct this great machinery. In creating it there has been much thinking, energy, determination, and labor; and there must be constant forethought in anticipating future wants, necessities, and contingencies, when to move, where, and how. The army does not exist of it* own accord, but by constant, unremitting effort. 30 THE GATHERING OF A GREAT ARMY. What the People determined. A Look at the Machinery. The people of the country determined that the Constitution, the Union, and the government be- queathed by their fathers should be preserved. They authorized the President to raise a great army. Congress voted money and men. The President, acting as the agent of the people, and as Commander-in-Chief, appointed men to bring all the materials together and organize the army. Look at what was wanted to build this mighty machine and to keep it going. First, the hundreds of thousands of men ; the thousands of horses ; the thousands of barrels of beef, pork, and flour ; thousands of hogsheads of sugar, vinegar, rice, salt, bags of coffee, and immense stores of other things. Thousands of tons of hay, bags of oats and corn. What num- bers of men and women have been at work to get each soldier ready for the field. He has boots, clothes, and equipments. The tanner, currier, shoemaker, the manufacturer, with his swift- flying shuttles, the operator tending his looms and spinning-jennies, the tailor with his sewing- machines, the gunsmith, the harness-maker, the blacksmith, all trades and occupations have been employed. There are saddles, bridles, knap- sacks, canteens, dippers, plates, knives, stoves, kettles, tents, blankets, medicines, drums, swords, pistols, guns, cannon, powder, percussion-caps, bul lets, shot, shells, wagons, everything. THE GATHERING OF A GREAT ARMY. 31 In the Department*. The Duly of the General*. Walk leisurely through the camps, and observe the little things and the great things, see the men on the march. Then go into the Army and Navy Departments in Washington, in those brick build- ings west of the President's house. In those rooms are surveys, maps, plans, papers, charts of the ocean, of the sea-coast, currents, sand- bars, shoals, the rising and falling of tides. In the Topographical Bureau you see maps of all sections of the country. There is the Ordnance Bureau, with all sorts of guns, rifles, muskets, carbines, pistols, swords, shells, rifled shot, fuses which the inventors have brought in. There are * great many bureaus, with immense piles of papers and volumes, containing experiments upon the strength of iron, the trials of cannon, guns, mortars, and powder. There have been experi- ments to determine how much powder shall be used, whether it shall be as fine as mustard-seed or as coarse as lumps of sugar, and the results are all noted here. All the appliances of science, industry, and art are brought into use to make it the best army the world ever saw. It is the business of the government to bring the materials together, and the business of the generals to organize it into brigades, divisions, and corps, to determine the number of cavalry and batteries of artillery, to place weak materials in their proper places, and the strongest where they will be most needed. 32 THE GATHERING OF A GREAT ABMY The'oknenl-in-Chiet Every one must do hU Duty. The general commanding must have a plan of operations. Napoleon said that war is like a game of chess, and that a commander must make his game. He must think it out beforehand, and in such a manner that the enemy will be com- pelled to play it in his way and be defeated. The general-in-chief must see the end from the begin- ning, just as Napoleon, sticking his map of Europe full of pins, decided that he could defeat the Aus- trians at Austerlitz, the Prussians at Jena. That is genius. The general-in-chief makes his plan on the supposition that all his orders will be obeyed promptly, that no one will shirk respon- sibility, that not one of all the vast multitude will fail to do his duty. The night before the battle of Waterloo, Napo- leon sent an order to an officer to take possession of a little hillock, on which stood a farm-house overlooking the plain. The officer thought it would do just as well if he let it go till morn- ing, but in the morning the English had posses- sion of the spot, and in consequence of that officer's neglect Napoleon probably lost the great battle, his army, and his empire. Great events often hang on little things, and in military oper- ations it is of the utmost importance that they should be attended to. From the beginning to the end, unless every man does his duty, from the general in command THE GATHEBING OF A GREAT ARMY. What * dUdpllnad Army o*n do. The Plan of the Bottle. to the private in the ranks, there is danger of failure. Thus the army is organized, and thus through organization it becomes a disciplined body. In- stead of being a confused mass of men, horses, mules, cannon, caissons, wagons, and ambulances, it is a body which can be divided, subdivided, separated by miles of country, hurried here and there, hurled upon the enemy, and brought to- gether again by the stroke of a pen, by a word, or the click of the telegraph. When a battle is to be fought, the general-in- chief must not only have his plan how to get the great mass of men to the field, but he must have a plan of movement on the field. Each corps must have its position assigned. There must be a line of battle. It is not a continuous line of men, but there are wide spaces, perhaps miles wide, between the corps, divisions, and brigades. Hills, ravines, streams, swamps, houses, villages, bushes, a fence, rocks, wheat-fields, sunlight and shade, all must be taken into account. Batteries must be placed on hills, or in commanding positions to sweep all the country round. Infantry must be gathered in masses in the centre or on either wing, or deployed and separated according to circum- stances. They must be sheltered. They must be thrown here or there, as they may be needed to hold O.T to crush the enemy. They are to stand * a 84 THE GATHERING OF A GREAT ARMY. The Soldier's Duty. The Gteneral'i Tent. BleepleM Nighte. still and be ploughed through by shot and shell, of rush into the thickest of the fight, just as they may be ordered. They are not to question the order ; " Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs bat to do and die." There are sleepless nights in the tent of the general-in-chief. When all others except the pickets are asleep, he is examining maps and plans, calculating distances, estimating the strength of his army, and asking himself whether it will do to attack the enemy, or whether he shall stand on the defensive ? can this brigade be relied upon for a desperate charge? will that division hold the enemy in check ? At such times, the good name, the valor, the bravery of the troops and of the offi- cers who command them is reviewed. He weighs character. He knows who are reliable and who inefficient. He studies, examines papers, consults reports, makes calculations, sits abstractedly, walks nervously, and lies down to dream it all over again and again. The welfare of the country, thousands of lives, and perhaps the destiny of the nation, is in his hands. How shall he arrange his corps ? ought the troops to be massed in the centre, or shall he concentrate them on the wings ? shall he feel of the enemy with a division or two, or rash upon THE GATHERING OF A GREAT ARMY. 85 Brerything t Stake. The Danger of Failure. him like an avalanche ? Can the enemy outflank him, or get upon his rear ? What if the Rebels should pounce upon his ammunition and supply- trains ? What is the position of the enemy ? How large is his force ? How many batteries has he ? How much cavalry ? What do the scouts report ? Are the scouts to be believed ? One says the enemy is retreating, another that he is advancing. What are the probabilities ? A thousand questions arise which must be answered. The prospect of success must be carefully calculated. Human life must be thrown remorselessly into the scale. All the sorrows and the tears of wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters far away, who will mourn for the dead, must be forgotten. He must shut up all tender thoughts, and become an iron man. Ah ! it is not so fine a thing to be a general, per- haps, as you have imagined ! It is an incomplete, imperfect, and unsatisfactory look which you have taken of the machinery of a great army. But you can see that a very small thing may upset the best-laid plan of any com- mander. The cowardice of a regiment, the failure of an officer to do his duty, to be at a place at an appointed moment, the miscarriage of orders, a hundred things which you can think of, may turn a victory into a defeat. You can see that a great battle must be a grand and terrible affair ; but though you may use all your powers of imagina- 86 THE GATHERING OF A GREAT ARMY. The DMgar of f dtaure. . -^ tion in endeavoring to picture the positions of the troops, how they look, how they act, how they stand amid the terrible storm, braving death, how they rush into the thickest fire, how they fall like the sere leaves of autumn, you will fail in your conceptions of the conflict. You must see it, and be in it, to know what it is. CHAPTER III. THE BATTLE OF BULL EUH. first great battle of the war was fought near Bull Run, in Virginia. There had been skirmishing along the Potomac, in Western Vir- ginia, and Missouri ; but upon the banks of this winding stream was fought a battle which will be forever memorable. The Rebels call it the battle of Manassas. It has been called also the battle of Stone Bridge and the battle of War- renton Road. Bull Run is a lazy, sluggish stream, a branch of the Occoquan River, which empties into the Potomac. It rises among the Bull Run Moun- tains, and flows southeast through Fairfax Coun- ty. Just beyond the stream, as you go west from Washington, t,re the plains of Manassas, level lands, which years ago waved with corn and to- bacco, but the fields long since were worn out by the thriftless farming of the slaveholders, and now they are overgrown with thickets of pine and Mk. Two railroads meet upon the plains, one run THE BATTLE OF BULL BUN. The Rebel Ann?. What Beaurejrwrd intended to do. Army of the Potomac. ning northwest through the mountain gaps into the valley of the Shenandoah, and the other run- ning from Alexandria to Richmond, Culpepper, and the Southwest. The junction, therefore, be- came an important place for Rebel military opera- tions. There, hi June, 1861, General Beauregard mustered his army, which was to defeat the Union army and capture Washington. The Richmond newspapers said that this army would not only capture Washington, but would also dictate terms of peace on the banks of the Hudson. Hot-headed men, who seemed to have lost their reason through the influence of slavery and secession, thought that the Southern troops were invincible. They were confident that one Southerner could whip five Yankees. Ladies cheered them, called them chivalrous sons of the South, and urged them on to the field. But General Beauregard, instead of advancing upon Washington, awaited an attack from the Union army, making Bull Run his line of de- fence, throwing up breastworks, cutting down trees, and sheltering his men beneath the thick growth of the evergreen pines. The army of the Union, called the Army of the Potomac, assembled at Arlington HeightE and Alexandria. General McDowell was placed in command. Half of his soldiers were meo who had enlisted for three months, who had THE BATTLE OP BULL BUN. 39 Whfttwu expected. A Walk up Boll Bon. The lords. Buddenly left their homes at the call of the President. Their term of service had nearly ex- pired. The three years' men had been but a few dcys in camp. Hilitary duties were new. They nothing of discipline, but they con- fidently to defeat the enemy and move on to Richmond. Few people thought of the possibility of defeat. Let us walk up the valley of Bull Run and notice its fords, its wooded banks, the scattered farm-houses, and fields of waving grain. Ten miles from the Occoquan we come to the rail road bridge. A mile farther up is McLean's Ford; another mile carries us to Blackburn's, and another mile brings us to Mitchell's. Above these are Island Ford, Lewis Ford, and Ball's Ford. Three miles above Mitchell's there is a stone bridge, where the turnpike leading from Centreville to Warrenton crosses the stream. Two miles farther up is a place called Sudley Springs, a cluster of houses, a little stone church, a blacksmith's shop. The stream there has dwindled to a brook, and gurgles over a rocky bed. Going back to the stone bridge, and standing upon its parapet, you may look east to Centre- ville, about four miles distant, beautifully situated on a high ridge of land, but a very old, dilapidated place when you get to it. Going west from the 40 THE BATTLE OF BULL BUN. Ttow from the Stone Bridge. Th Varm-honiM. The Ridge*. bridge, you see upon your right hand a swell of land, and another at your left hand, south of the turnpike. A brook trickles by the roadside. Leav- ing the turnpike, and ascending the ridge on the north side, you see that towards Sudley Springs there are other swells of land, with wheatrfields, fences, scattered trees, and groves of pines and oaks. Looking across to the hill south of the turnpike, a half-mile distant, you see the house of Mr. Lewis, and west of it Mrs. Henry's, on the highest knoll. Mrs. Henry is an old lady, so far advanced in life that she is helpless. Going up the turnpike a mile from the bridge, you come to tha toll-gate, kept by Mr. Mathey. A cross- road comes down from Sudley Springs, and leads jouth towards Manassas Junction, six miles dis- tant. Leave the turnpike once more, and go northwest a half-mile, and you come to the farm of Mr. Dogan. There are farm-sheds and haystacks near his house. This ground, from Dogan's to the ridge east of the toll-gate, across the turnpike and the trickling brook to Mr. Lewis's and Mrs. Henry's, is the bat- tle-field. You see it, the ridges of land, the houses, haystacks, fences, knolls, ravines, wheat- fields, turnpike, and groves of oak and pine, a territory about two miles square. On Saturday, June 20th, General Johnston, with nearly all the Rebel army of the Shenan- THE BATTLE OF BULL RUH. 41 The JLrmy of the Shenando&h. How General Johnston posted his Brigade*. doah, arrived at Manassas. Being General Beau- regard's superior officer, he took command of all the troops. He had about thirty thousand men. On Thursday, General Richardson's brigade of General McDowell's army had a skirmish with General Longstreet's brigade at Blackburn's Ford, which the Rebels call the battle of Bull Run, while that which was fought on the 21st they call the battle of Manassas. General Beauregard expect- ed that the attack would be renewed along the fords, and posted his men accordingly. Going down to the railroad bridge, we see Gen- eral EwelPs brigade of the Rebel army on the western bank guarding the crossing. General Jones's brigade is at McLean's Ford. At Black- burn's Ford is General Longstreet's, and at Mitch- ell's Ford is General Bonham's. Near by Bon- ham's is General Barley's, General Bartow's, and General Holmes's. General Jackson's is in rear of General Bonham's. At Island Ford is General Bee and Colonel Hampton's legion, also Stuart's cavalry. At Ball's Ford is General Cocke's brig- ade. Above, at the Stone Bridge, is the extreme left of the Rebel army, General Evans's brigade. General Elzey's brigade of the Shenandoah army is on its way in the cars, and is expected to reach the battle-field before the contest closes. General Johnston has between fifty and sixty pieces of artillery and about one thousand cavalry. 4*2 THE BATTLE OF BULL RUN. General McDowell. Hia Plan. The Morning. General McDowell had also about thirty thou- sand men and forty-nine pieces of artillery. His army was in four divisions, General Tyler's, General Hunter's, General Heintzelman's, and General Miles's. One brigade of General Tyler's and General Miles's division was left at Centreville to make a feint of attacking the enemy at Black- burn's and Mitchell's Fords, and to protect the rear of the army from an attack by Generals Ewell and Jones. The other divisions of the army five brigades, numbering eighteen thousand men, with thirty-six cannon marched soon after mid- night, to be ready to make the attack by sunrise on Sunday morning. General Tyler, with General Keyes's brig- ade, General Sherman's, and General Scheiick's, marched down the turnpike towards the Stone Bridge, where General Evans was on the watch. General Tyler had twelve pieces of artillery, two batteries, commanded by Ayer and Carlisle. It is sunrise as they approach the bridge, a calm, peaceful Sabbath morning. The troops leave the turnpike, march into a cornfield, and ascend a hill overlooking the bridge. As you stand there amid the tasselled stalks, you see the stream rippling beneath the stone arches, and upon the other bank breastworks of earth and fallen trees. Half bid beneath the oaks and pines are the Rebel regiments, their gun-barreli THE BATTLE OP BULL BUN. 48 the flnrt Chin. The new Position. Ayert Battery. and bayonets flashing in the morning light. Be- yond the breastworks ,upou the knolls are the farm-houses of Mr. Lewis and Mrs. Henry. Captain Ayer, who has seen fighting in Mexico^ brings his guns upon the hill, wheels them into position, and sights them towards the breastworks. There is a flash, a puff of smoke, a screaming in the air, and then across the stream a handful ol cloud bursts into view above the Rebel lines. The shell has exploded. There is a sudden movement of the Rebel troops. It is the first gun of the morning. And now, two miles down the Run. by Mitchell's Ford, rolling, echoing, and reverber- ating through the forests, are other thunderings. General Richardson has been waiting impatiently to hear the signal gun. He is to make a feint distracted country. Had I a second life to live, I would willingly sacrifice it for the cause of the Union!" 66 THE BATTLE OF BULL BUN. The ZooTe and the Virginian. His eyes closed. A smile lighted his counte- nance, as if, while on the border of another world, he saw once more those who were dearest on earth or in heaven. He raised himself convulsively, and cried, "Mother I Father!" He was dead. He sleeps upon the spot where he fell. His name is unknown, but his devotion to his country shall shine forevennore like a star in heaven ! When the Union line gave way, some of the soldiers were so stupefied by the sudden change that they were unable to move, and were taken prisoners. Among them was a Zouave, in red trousers. He was a tall, noble fellow. Although a prisoner, he walked erect, unabashed by his cap- tivity. A Virginian taunted him, and called him by hard names. "Sir," said the Zouave, I have heard that yours was a nation of gentlemen, but your insult comes from a coward and a knave. I am your prisoner, but you have no right to fling your curses at me because I am unfortunate. Of the two, I consider myself the gentleman." * The Virginian hung his head in silence, while other Rebel soldiers assured the brave fellow that he should not again be insulted. So bravery, true courage, and manliness will win respect even from enemies. Charleston Mercury THE BATTLE OF BULL BUN. 67 DM Mbct of the Battle. The North not dlootrmg*L No accurate reports have been made of the number of men killed and wounded in this battle ; but each side lost probably from fifteen hundred to two thousand men. It was a battle which will always have a memo- rable place in the history of this Rebellion, because having won a victory, the slaveholders believed that they could conquer the North. They became more proud and insolent. They manifested their terrible hate by their inhuman treatment of the prisoners captured. They gave the dead indecent burial. The Rebel soldiers dug up the bones of the dead Union men, and carved them into orna- ments, which they sent home to their wives and sweethearts. One girl wrote to her lover to " be sure and bring her Old Lincoln's skelp " (scalp), so that the women as well as the men became fierce in their hatred. I have seen the letter, which was found upon a prisoner. The North, although defeated, was not discour- aged. There was no thought of giving up the contest, but, as you remember, there was a great uprising of the people, who determined that the war should go on till the Rebellion was crushed CHAPTER IV. THB CAPTURE OF POBT HKHKY. TnmeMMe and Kentucky. FT1ENNESSEE joined the Southern Confederacy, J- but Kentucky resisted all the coaxing, threat- ening, and planning of the leaders of the Rebellion. Some Kentuckians talked of remaining neutral, of taking no part in the great contest ; but that was not possible. The Rebels invaded the State, by sailing up the Mississippi and taking possession of Columbus, a town twenty miles below the mouth of the Ohio. They also advanced from Nashville to Bowling Green. Then the State decided for the Union, to stand by the old flag till the Rebellion should be crushed. The Rebels erected two forts on the northern line of Tennessee. Looking at your map, you see that the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers are near together where they enter the State of Kentucky. They are not more than twelve miles apart. The fort on the Tennessee River was named Fort Hen- ry, the one on the Cumberland, Port Donelson. A good road was cut through the woods between them, so that troops and supplies could be readily THE CAPTUBE OF FOET HENBT. 69 removed from one to the other. Fort Henry was on the eastern bank of the Tennessee, and Fort Donelson on the western bank of the Cumber- land. They were very important places to the Rebels, for at high water in the winter the rivers are navigable for the largest steamboats, the Cumberland to Nashville and the Tennessee to Florence, in Northern Alabama, and it would be very easy to transport an army from the Ohio River to the very heart of the Southern Confed- eracy. The forts were built to prevent any such movement of the Union troops. THX Fours. The bluffs of the Mississippi River at Columbui are two hundred feet high. There the Rebel* 70 THE CAPTURE OF FOBT HENBI. What the Bebeli laid. Captain loote and his Gunboat* C*nx erected strong batteries, planting heavy guns, with which they could sweep the Mississippi fai up stream, and pour plunging shots with un- obstructed aim upon any descending gunboat. They called it a Gibraltar, because of its strength. They said it could not be taken, and that the Mississippi was closed to navigation till the in- dependence of the Southern Confederacy was ac- knowledged. Early in the war it was seen that a fleet ef gun- boats would be needed on the Western rivers, and Captain Andrew H. Foote of the navy was placed in charge of their construction. They were built at Cincinnati and St. Louis, and taken to Cairo, where they received their armament, crews, and outfit. You have heard of Cairo. I do not mean the ancient city on the banks of the Nile, but the modern town on the tongue of land at the mouth of the Ohio. Charles Dickens has given a de- scription of the place in one of his delightful books, Martin Chuzzlewit. It was a forest, with a few log-huts, when Mark Tapley resided there, and all the people were smitten with fever and ague. It is a town now, with several thou- sand inhabitants. In the spring the town is sometimes overflowed, and the people navigate the streets with boats and rafts. Pigs look out of the chamber windows, and dogs, cats, and THE CAPTDBE OF FOKT HENBT. 71 iter. A hx* t tba PUce. Muddy 8tMrt. chickens live on the roofs of houses at such times. Let us take a look at the place as it appeared the first day of February, 1862. Stand with me on the levee, and look up the broad Ohio, the *' la belle riviSre," as the French called it. There are from fifty to a hundred steamboats lying along the bank, with volumes of black smoke rolling up from their tall chimneys, and puffs of steam van ishing in the air. Among them are the gunboats, a cross between a floating fort, a dredging-ma- chine, and a mud-scow. The sailors, who have been tossed upon the ocean in stately ships, call them mud-turkles. There are thousands of sol- diers on the steamboats and on the shore, waiting for the sailing of the expedition which is to make an opening in the line of Rebel defences. There are thousands of people busy as bees, loading and unloading the steamboats, rolling barrel* and boxes. When Mark Tapley and Martin Chuzdewit were here it was muddy, and it is muddy now. There is fine, thin, sticky, slimy, splashy, thick, heavy, dirty mud. Thousands of men and thousands of mules and horses are treading it to mortar. It is mixed with slops from the houses and straw from the stables. You are reminded of the Slough of Despond described by Bunyan in the Pilgrim's Progress, a place for all the filth, sin, and slime 72 THE CAPTURE OF FOBT HENBT. of this world. Christian was mired there, and Pliable nearly lost his life. If Bunyan had seen Cairo, he might have made the picture still more graphic. There are old houses, shanties, sheds, tables, pig-sties, wood-piles, carts, wagons, barrels, boxes, and all the old things you can imagine. Pigs live in the streets, and there are irrepressible conflicts between them and the hundreds of dogs. Water-carts, drays, army-wagons, and artillery go hub deep in the mud. Horses tug and strive, rear, kick, and flounder. Teamsters lose their footing. Soldiers wade leg deep in the street. There are sidewalks, but they are slippery, dan- gerous, and deceptive. It is Sunday. A sweet day of rest in peaceful times, but in war there is not much observance of the Sabbath. It is midwinter, but a south- wind sweeps up the Mississippi, so mild and balmy that the blue-birds and robins are out. The steam- boats are crowded with troops, who are waiting for orders to sail, they know not where. Groups stand upon the topmost deck. Some lie at full length in the warm sunshine. The bands are playing, the drums beating. Tug-boats are dan- cing, wheezing, and puffing in the stream, flitting from gunboat to gunboat. The shops are open, and the soldiers are pur- chasing knickknacks, tobacco, pipes, paper, and pens, to send letters to loved ones far away. THE CAPTURE OF FORT HENRY. 78 The Dead Boldler. Going to Church. a gingerbread stall, a half-dozen are taking a lunch. The oyster-saloons are crowded. Boys are crying their newspapers. There are laugh- able and solemn scenes. Yonder is the hos- pital. A file of soldiers stand waiting in the street. A coffin is brought out. The fife begins its mournful air, the drum its muffled beat. The procession moves away, bearing the dead soldier to his silent home. A few months ago he was a citizen, cultivating his farm upon the prairies, ploughing, sowing, reaping. But now the great reaper, Death, has gathered him in. He had no thought of being a soldier ; but he was a patriot, and when his country called him he sprang to her aid. He yielded to dis- ease, but not to the enemy. He was far from home and friends, with none but strangers to minister to his wants, to comfort him, to tell him of a better world than this. He gave his life to his country. Although there is the busy note of preparation for the sailing of the fleet, there are some who remember that it is Sunday, and who find time to worship. The church-bells toll the hour. You tuck your pants into your boots, and pick your way along the slippery, slimy streets. There are a few ladies who brave the mud, wearing boots suited to the walking. Boots which have not been blacked for a fortnight are just as shiny as those cleaned but an hour ago. At the door of th 74 THE CAPTURE OF FORT HENRY. A Virit to tto Gunboat*. church you do as everybody else does, tako a chip and scrape off the mud. Half of the congregation are from the army and navy. Commodore Foote is there, a devout worshipper. Before coming to church he visited each gunboat of his fleet, called the crews together, read to them his general orders, that no unneces- sary work should be done on the Sabbath, and enjoining upon the commanders the duty of hav- ing worship, and of maintaining a high moral character before the men. Let us on Monday accept the kind invitation of Commodore Foote, and go on board the Benton, his flag-ship, and make an inspection of the strange- looking craft. It is unlike anything you ever saw at Boston or New York. It is like a great box on a raft. The sides are inclined, made of stout oak timbers and plated with iron. You enter through a porthole, where you may lay your hand upon the iron lips of a great gun, which throws a ball nine inches in diameter. There are four- teen guns, with stout oaken carriages. The men are moving about, exercising the guns, going through the motions of loading and firing. How clean the floor ! It is as white as soap and sand can make it. You must not spit tobacco-juice here, if you do, the courteous officer will say you are violating the rules. In the centre of the boat, down beneath the gun-deck in the hull, are the THE CAPTURE OF FORT HENRY. 75 Scenes on Board. The Sacred Place. engines and the boilers, partly protected from any shot which may happen to come in at a porthole, or which may tear through the sides, through the iron and the oak. Near the centre is the wheel. The top of the box, or the casemate, as it is called, is of oak timbers, and forms the upper deck. The pilot-house is on this upper deck, forward of the centre. In shape it is like a tunnel turned down. It is plated with thick iron. There, in the hour of battle, the pilot will be, peeping out through narrow holes, his hands grasping the wheel and steering the vessel. Its guns, which the sailors call its battery, are very powerful. There are two nine-inch guns, and also two sixty-four-pounders, rifled, at the bow. There are two forty-two-pounders at the stern, and those upon the side are thirty-twos and twenty-fours. There are rooms for the officers, but the men sleep in hammocks. They take their meals sitting on the gun-carriages, or cross-legged, like Turks, on the floor. Captain Foote is the Commodore of the fleet. He points out to you the Sacred Place of the ship, a secluded corner, where any one of the crew who loves to read his Bible and hold secret devo- tion may do so, and not be disturbed. He has given a library of good books to the crew, and he has persuaded them that it will be better for them to give up their allowance of grog than to drink 76 TKK CAPTURE OF FOKT HENBf, Bailing of th ItoupMitloo. The Soontj on Shore. Torpedo**. it He wdkr among the men, and has a kind word for all, and they look upon him as their father, Thej" have confidence in him. How lustily they cheer him! Will they not fight bravely under such a commander ? On Monday afternoon, February 2d, the gun- boats QincinnaU, Essex, St. Louis, Carondelet, Lex- ington, Tyler, i Inu action*. What he said to th Orawi. take me about an hour to reach the fort, for I shall steam up slowly. I am afraid, General, that the roads are so bad the troops will not get round in season to capture the enemy. I shall take the fort before you get into position." General Grant thought otherwise ; but the roads were very muddy, and when the engage- ment commenced the troops were far from where they ought to have been. Commodore Poote had prepared his instructions to the officers and crews of the gunboats several days before. They were brief and plain. " The four iron-clad boats the Essex, Caron- delet, St. Louis, and Cincinnati will keep in line. The Conestoga, Lexington, and Tyler will follow the iron-clads, and throw shells over those in advance." To the commanders he said : " Do just as I do!" Addressing the crews, he said ; " Fire slowly, and with delibeiate aim. There are three reasons why you should not fire rapidly. With rapid firing there is always a waste of am- munition. Your range is imperfect, and your shots go wide of the mark, and that encourages the enemy; and it is desirable not to heat the guns. If you fire slowly and deliberately, you will keep cool yourselves, and make every shot tell." 80 THE CAPTUBE OF FORT HENBY. ~ The Line of Battle. Xb* Beginning of the Fight With such instructions, with all things ready, decks cleared for action, guns run out, shot and shell brought up from the magazines and piled on deck, confident of success, and determined to take the fort or go to the bottom, he waited the appointed hour. The gunboats steam up slowly against the current, that the troops may have time to get into position in rear of the Rebel intrench- ments. They take the channel on the west side of the island. The Essex is on the right of the battle line, nearest the island. Her Com- mander is William D. Porter, who comes fronc good stock. It was his father who commanded the Essex in the war with Great Britain in 1813, and who fought most gallantly a superior force, two British ships, the Phebe and Cherub, - in the harbor of Valparaiso. Next the Essex is the Carondelet, then the Cincinnati, the flag-ship, with the brave Com- modore on board, and nearest the western shore the St. Louis. These are all iron-plated at the bows. Astern is the Lexington, the C ones toga, and the Tyler. The boats reach the head of the island, and the fort is hi full view. It is thirty-four minutes past twelve o'clock. There is a flash, and a great creamy cloud of smoke at the bow of the Gincin nati. An eight-inch shell screams through the THE CAPTURE OF FORT HENRY. 81 fort Henry. air. The gunners watch its course. Their prac- tised eyes follow its almost viewless flight Your 82 THE CAPTTTOE OF FORT KENBY. The ?ort replies. watch ticks fifteen seconds before you hear from it. You see a puff of smoke, a cloud of sand thrown up in the fort, and then hear the ex- plosion. The commanders of the other boats remember the instructions, " Do just as I do ! " and from each vessel a shell is thrown. All fall within the fort, or in the encampment beyond, which is in sight. You can see the tents, the log-huts, the tall flagstaff. The fort accepts the challenge, and instantly the twelve guns which are in position to sweep the river open upon the advancing boats. The shot and shell plough fur- rows in the stream, and tlirow columns of water high in air. Another round from the fleet. Another from the fort. The air is calm, and the thunder of the cannonade rolls along the valley, reverberating from hill to hill. Louder and deeper and heavier is the booming, till it becomes almost an unbroken peal. There is a commotion in the Rebel encamp- ment. Men run to and fro. They curl down behind the stumps and the fallen trees, to avoid the shot. Their huts are blown to pieces by the shells. You see the logs tossed like straws into the air. Their tents are torn into paper-rags. The hissing shells sink deep into the earth, and then there are sudden upheavals of sand, with imoke and flames, as if volcanoes were bursting THE CAPTURE OF FOBT HENKY. 88 The Kebel Soldiers Terror stricken. Effect of the Shelli in the fort. forth. The parapet is cut through. Sand-bags are knocked about. The air is full of strange, hideous, mysterious, terrifying noises. There are seven or eight thousand Rebel sol- diers in the rifle-pits and behind the breastworks of the encampment in line of battle. They are terror-stricken. Officers and men alike lose all self-control. They run to escape the fearful storm. They leave arms, ammunition, tents, blankets, trunks, clothes, books, letters, papers, pictures, everything. They pour out of the intrenchments into the road leading to Dover, a motley rabble. A small steamboat lies hi the creek above the fort. Some rush on board and steam up river with the utmost speed. Others, in their haste and fear, plunge into the creek and sink to rise no more. All fly except a brave little band in the fort. The gunboats move straight on, slowly and steadily. Their fire is regular and deliberate. Every shot goes into the fort. The gunners are blinded and smothered by clouds of sand. The gun-carriages are crushed, splintered, and over- turned. Men are cut to pieces. Something un- seen tears them like a thunderbolt. The fort is full of explosions. The heavy rifled gun bursts, crushing and killing those who serve it. The flagstaff is splintered and torn, a? ^y inteusest lightning. 84 THE CAPTURE OF FORT HENBY. Kffect of the Ball* on the Boite. the Bei The Bebeta take Courag Yet the fort replies. The gunners have the range of the boats, and nearly every shot strikes the iron plating. They are like the strokes of sledge-hammers, indenting the sheets, starting the fastenings, breaking the tough bolts. The Cincin- nati receives thirty-one shots, the Essex fifteen, the St. Louis seven, and the Carondelet six. Though struck so often, they move on. The distance lessens. Another gun is knocked from its carriage in the fort, another, another. There are signs that the contest is about over, that the Rebels are ready to surrender. But a shot strikes the Essex between the iron plates. It tears through the oaken timbers and into one of the steam-boilers. There is a great puff of steam. It pours from the portholes, and the boat is enveloped in a cloud. She drops out of the line of battle. Her engines stop and she floats with the stream. Twenty-eight of her crew are scalded, among them her brave commander. The Rebels take courage. They spring to their guns, and fire rapidly and wildly, hoping and expecting to disable the rest of the fleet. But the Commodore does not falter ; he keeps straight on as if nothing had happened. An eighty-pound shell from the Cincinnati dis- mounts a gun, killing or wounding every gun- ner. The boats are so near that every shot ia sure to do its work. The fire of the boats in- THE CAPTURE OF FORT HENRY 85 She BomiMtor. Commodore Foote and General Tilghmn" creases while the fire of the fort diminishes. Coolness, determination, energy, perseverance, and power win the day. The Rebel flag comes down, and the white flag goes up. They surren- der. Cheers ring through the fleet. A boat puts out from the St. Louis. An officer jumps ashore, climbs the torn embankment, stands upon the parapet and waves the Stars and Stripes. " Hurrah ! hurrah ! hurrah ! " You hear it echoing from shore to shore. General Lloyd Tilghman commanded in the fort. He went on board the flag-ship. " What terms do you grant me ? " he asked. "Your surrender must be unconditional, sir. I can grant you no other terms." " Well, sir, if I must surrender, it gives me pleasure to surrender to so brave an officer as you." " You do perfectly right to surrender, sir ; but I should not have done it on any condition." " Why so ? I do not understand you." " Because I was fully determined to capture the fort or go to the bottom." " I thought I had you, Commodore, but you were too much for me." " How could you fight against the old flag, General ? " " Well, it did come hard at first ; but if the North had only let us alone, there would have 86 THE CAPTURE OF FORT HENRY. The Line of Defence Droien. The Troop*. been no trouble. They would not abide by the Constitution." "You are mistaken, General, and the whole South is mistaken. The North have always been willing that the South should have all her rights, under the Constitution. The South be- gan the war, and she will be responsible for the blood which has been shed to-day." Thus, in an hour and twelve minutes, the fort which the Rebels confidently expected would pre- vent the gunboats from ascending the river was forced to surrender, and there was unobstructed water communication to the very heart of the Southern Confederacy. Their line of defence was broken. There was but little loss of life in this engage- ment, twenty to thirty killed and wounded on each side. If the Rebel army had not fled almost at the first fire, there would have been terrible slaughter. When Commodore Foote was in- formed that there were several thousand troops in the fortifications, said he, " I am sorry for it, because if they stand their ground there will be groat destruction of life from the heavy shells; for I shall take the fort or sink with the ships." If the troops under General Grant had been in position to have intercepted the Rebel force, the whole panic-stricken crowd would have been cap- tured, but being delayed by the mud, the fleet- THE CAPTURE OF FORT HENRY 87 The Return to Cairo. Commodore Foot* at Church. footed Rebels were far on their way towards Fort Donelson when General Grant reached the rear of the intrenchments. In their haste and terror the Rebels abandoned nine pieces of field artillery on the road, and a large supply of ammunition. The battle was fought on Thursday. On Friday Commodore Foote returned to Cairo, to send his despatches to Washington, also to repair his gun boats and to see that the poor scalded men on the Essex were well taken care of. I was writing, at Cairo, the account of the battle. It was past midnight when the Commodore came to my room. He sat down, and told me what I have written of his plan of the battle, and his talk with General Tilghman. He could not sit still. He was weary and exhausted with his labors. " I am afraid, Commodore, that you have over- worked. You must have rest and sleep," I re marked. " Yes, I have been obliged to work pretty hard, and need rest, but I never slept better in my life than night before last, and I never prayed more fervently than on yesterday morning before going into the battle ; but I could n't sleep last night for thinking of those poor fellows on board the Essex," was the reply. On Sunday morning he was at church as usual. The minister was late. The people thought there would be no meeting, and were about to leave 88 THJ CAPTURE OF FOBT HENRY Credit due him. the house. Commodore Foote went to one of the Elders of the church, and urged him to con- duct the worship. The Elder declined. But the Commodore never let slip an opportunity for doing good. He was always ready to serve his country and his God. He went into the pulpit, read a chapter, offered a prayer, and preached a short sermon from the words, " Let not your hearts be troubled. Ye believe in God; believe also in me." It was an exhortation for all men to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world. Some who heard him, as they went home from church, said that they also believed in Commodore Foote ! To him belongs the credit not only of taking Fort Henry, but of planning the expedition. When the true history of this Rebellion is writ- ten, you will see how important a thing it was, how great its results, and you will admire more and more the sterling patriotism and unswerving Christian principles of a man who struck this first great blow, and did so much towards crushing the Rebellion. CHAPTER V. THB CAPTURE OP FORT DONEI4ON. ~ General Pnmt'g PUn. "" /GENERAL GRANTS plan for taking Fort V_J Donelsou was, to move the first and second divisions of his army across the country, and attack the fort in the rear, while another division, accompanied by the gunboats, should go up the Cumberland and attack the fort from that direc- tion. Commodore Foote informed the General that it was necessary to repair the gunboats which had been injured before commencing operations ; but General Grant determined to make no delay on that account. Without fully perfecting his ar- rangements, or calculating the time needed for the steamboats to go from Fort Henry down to the Ohio and up the Cumberland, he ordered the two divisions to march. General Lewis Wallace was left at Fort Henry with a brigade, while six regiments of his division, the third, were em- barked on the steamboats, which sailed down the Tennessee in fine style, turning back other boats, and all proceeded up the Cumberland. There are steep hills, sandy plains, deep ravine*, 90 THE CAPTUBE OF FORT DONELSON. The Country. The Taraen. The Birooac. trickling brooks, and grand old forest-trees be- tween Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. The road winds along the hillsides, over the plains, and descends into the ravines. There are but few farm-houses, for the soil is unproductive and the forests remain almost as they have been for hun- dreds of years. The few farmers who reside there live mainly on hog and hominy. They cultivate a few acres of corn, but keep a great many pigs, which live in the woods and fatten apoii acorns and hickory-nuts. The regiments which marched to Fort Donelson bivouacked the first night beside a stream of water about four miles from Fort Henry. They had no tents. They had been in barracks at Cairo through December and January, but now they must lie upon the ground, wrapped in their blankets. The nights were cold, and the ground was frozen. They cut down the tall trees and kindled great fires, which roared and crackled in the frosty air. They scraped the dead leaves into heaps and made them beds. They saw the pigs in the woods. Crack ! crack ! went their rifles, and they had roast sparerib and pork-steaks, delicious eating to hungry men. The forest was all aglow with the hundreds of fires. The men told stories, toasted their toes, looked into the glowing coals, thought perhaps of homo, of the dear ones there, then wrapped their blankets about them and went THE CAPTUBE OF FORT DONELSON. 91 The PickeU. The Troop* in General Grant's Army .^ to sleep. Out towards Fort Donelson the pickets stood at their posts and looked into the darkness, watching for the enemy through the long winter night. But no Rebels appeared. They had been badly frightened at Fort Henry. They had re- covered from their terror, however, and had determined to make a brave stand at Fort Don- elson. They had been reinforced by a large body of troops from General Albert Sidney Johnston's army at Bowling Green, in Kentucky, and from General Lee's army in Virginia. General Grant's two divisions, which marched across the country, numbered about fifteen thou- sand. There were four brigades in the first divis- ion, Colonel Oglesby's, Colonel W. H. L. Wal- lace's, Colonel McArthur's, and Colonel Morri- son's. Colonel Oglesby had the Eighth, Eigh- teenth, Twenty-ninth, Thirtieth, and Thirty-first Illinois regiments. Colonel Wallace's was com- posed of the Eleventh, Twentieth, Forty-fifth, and Forty-eighth Illinois regiments. In Colonel McArthur's were the Second, Ninth, Twelfth, and Forty-first Illinois, and in Colonel Morrison's the Seventeenth and Forty-ninth Illinois regi- ments. Schwartz's, Taylor's, Dresser's, and McAllister's batteries accompanied this division. There were three brigades in the second di- vision. The first, under the command of Colonel 92 THE GAPTUBE OF FORT DONELSON. The 8h*rphooton. Cook, was composed of the Seventh Illinois, Twelfth Iowa, Thirteenth Missouri, and Fifty- second Indiana. Colonel Lauman commanded the second brig- ade, composed of the Second, Seventh, Fourteenth, and Twenty-eighth Iowa regiments, the Fifty-sec- ond Indiana, and Colonel Birges's regiment of sharpshooters. The third brigade, commanded by Colonel Morgan L. Smith, was composed of the Eighth Missouri and Eleventh Indiana. Major Cavender's regiment of Missouri artil- lery was attached to this division, composed of three full batteries, Captain Richardson's, Cap- tain Stone's, and Captain Walker's. The Fourth Illinois cavalry and three or four companies of cavalry were distributed among the brigades. Colonel Birges's sharpshooters were picked men, who had killed many bears, deer, and wolves in the Western woods. They could take unerring aim, and bring down a squirrel from the top of the highest trees. They wore gray uniforms of felt, with close-fitting skull-caps, and buffalo-skin knapsacks, and a powder-horn. They were swift runners. Each man carried a whistle. They had signal-calls for advancing, or retreating, or moving to the right or the left. They glided through the forests like fleet-footed deer, or crept aa stealthily THE CAPTTO7, OF FOKT DONELSON. 93 as an Indian along the ravines and through the thickets. They were tough, hearty, daring, cour- ageous men. They thought it no great hardship to march all day, and lie down beside a log at night without supper. They wanted no better fun than to creep through the underbrush and pick off the Rebels, whirling in an instant upon their backs after firing a shot, to reload their rifles. Although attached to Lauman's brigade, they were expected in battle to go where they could do the most service. As you go up the Cumberland River, and ap proach the town of Dover, you see a high hill om the west bank. It is crowned with an embank- ment of earth, which runs all round the top witk many angles. At the foot of the hill are tw other embankments, fifteen or twenty feet above the water. There are seventeen heavy guns im these works. Two of them throw long bolts of iron, weighing one hundred and twenty-eight pounds, but most of the guns are thirty-two- pounders. If you go into the batteries and into the fort, and run your eye along the guns, you will see that all of them can be aimed at a gunboat in the river. They all point straight down stream, and a concentrated fire can be poured upon a single boat. The river makes a bend as it approaches the batteries, so that the boats will be exposed OB their bows and rides 94 THE CAPTUBE OF FORT DONELSON. The Keld-Worki. A mile above the fort you see the little village of Dover. Beyond the village a creek comes in. It is high water, and the creek is too deep to be forded. On the south side of the hill, beyond the fort, between the fort and the village, are log-huts, where the Rebel troops have been encamped through the winter. A stream of clear running water comes down from the hills west of the village, where you may fill your canteen. Going up the hill into the fort, and out to its northwest angle, you see that the fortifications which the Rebels have thrown up consist of three distinct parts, the fort and the water-batteries, a line of breastworks west of the village, called field-works, and a line of rifle-pits outside of the field-works. You begin at the northwest angle of the fort, face to the southwest, and walk along the field-work which is on the top of a sharp ridge. The embankment is about four feet high. There are a great many angles, with embrasures for can- non. You look west from these embrasures, and see that the ground is much broken. There are hills and hollows, thick brush and tall trees. In some places the trees have been cut down to form an abatis, an obstruction, the limbs lopped off and interlocked. As you walk on, you come to the Fort Henry and Dover road- Crossing thai, instead of walk THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. 95 Fort Donelion. ing southwest, you make a gradual turn towards the southeast, and come to another road, which FOBT DONELSON. 1 Thfort. 1 field-works. 8 3 Rifle-pita. 4 Town of Dover. 6 Log-huts. 8 Water-batteries. 7 General McClernand's division. 8 General Lewis Wallace's division. 9 General Smith's division. 10 General Grant's Headquarters. 11 Gunboats. 12 Light Creek. leads from Dover southwest towards Clarksville and Nashville. Crossing that, you come to the creek which empties into the Cumberland just 96 THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONEL80N. The Rtfle-PlU. abore the town. The distance from the creek back to the fort, along the line of breastworks, is nearly two miles. Going back once more to the northwest angle of the fort, you see that the slope of the hill is very steep outside the works. You go down the slope, planting your feet into the earth to keep from tumbling headlong. When you reach the bottom of the ravine you do not find a level piece of ground, but ascend another ridge. It is not as high as the ridge along which you have travelled to take a view of the works. The slope of this outer ridge runs down to a meadow. The Rebels have cut down the tall trees, and made a line of rifle-pits. The logs are piled one above another, as the backwoods- man builds a log-fence. There is a space five or six inches wide between the upper log and the one below it. They have dug a trench be- hind, and the dirt is thrown outside. The Rebel riflemen can lie in the trench, and fire through the space between the logs upon the Union troops if they attempt to advance upon the works. You look down this outer slope. It is twenty rods to the bottom, and it is covered with fallen trees. You think it almost impossible to climb over such a hedge and such obstructions. You see a cleared field at the base of the hill, and a farm-house beyond the field, on the Fort Henry road, which is General Grant's head THE CAPTUBK OF FOBT DONELSON. 97 Oeoenl Grant'* Head-quarter*. General Jloyd The Bebel Army. quarters. The whole country is broken into hills, knolls, and ridges. It reminds you of the waves you have seen on the ocean or on the lakes in a storm. General Floyd, who was Secretary of War under Buchanan, and who stole all the public property he could lay his hands on while in office, com- manded the Rebel forces. He arrived on the 13th. General Pillow and Brigadier-General Johnson were placed in command of the troops on the Rebel left wing west of the town. General Buckner commanded those in the vicinity of the fort. General Floyd had the Third, Tenth, Eigh teenth, Twenty-sixth, Thirtieth, Thirty-second, Forty-first, Forty-second, Forty-eighth, Forty- ninth, Fiftieth, Fifty-first, and Fifty-third regi- ments of Tennessee troops, the Second and Eighth Kentucky, the First, Third, Fourth, Fourteenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-sixth Mississippi regi- ments, the Seventh Texas, Fifteenth and Twenty- seventh Alabama, the Thirty-sixth, Fiftieth, Fifty first, and Fifty-sixth Virginia, also two battalions of Tennessee infantry, and a brigade of cavalry. He had Murray's, dorter's, Graves's, Maney's, Jackson's, Guy's, Ross's, and Green's batteries, in all about twenty-three thousand men, with forty- eight pieces of field artillery, and seventeen heavy guns in the fort and water-batteries. General Grant knew but little of the ground, or i 98 THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. The Troops march towarfrthe Fort. The Morning . the fortifications, or of the Rebel forces, but ha pushed boldly on. On the morning of the 12th the troops left their bivouac, where they had enjoyed their roast spare- ribs and steaks, and marched towards the fort. The cavalry swept the country, riding through the side roads and foot-paths, reconnoitring the ground, and searching for Rebel pickets. Soon after noon they came in sight of the Rebel encampments. The ground was thoroughly ex- amined. No Rebels were found outside the works, but upon the hills within the intrenchments dark masses of men could be seen, some busily at work with axes and shovels. Regiments were taking positions for the expected attack ; but it was already evening, and the advancing army rested for the night. THURSDAY. The night had been cold, but on the morning of the 13th there were breezes from the south- west, so mild and warm that the spring birds came. The soldiers thought that the winter was over. The sky was cloudless. All the signs promised a pleasant day. The troops were early awake, replenishing the fading fires, and cook- ing breakfasts. With the dawn the sharpshooters and pickets began their work. There was a rat tling musket-fire in the ravines. THE CAPTUBE OF FOET DONELSON. 99 The Batteries begin to fin. General MoClernand's Adrance. Before the sun rose the Rebel batteries began throwing shells across the ravines and hills, aim- ing at the camp-fires of Colonel Oglesby's brigade. Instantly the camp was astir. The men fell into line with a hurrah, the cannoneers sprang to their guns, all waiting for the orders. The clear, running brook which empties into the Cumberland between Dover and Fort Donel- son winds through a wide valley. It divides the Rebel field-works into two parts, those west of the town and those west of the fort. The road from Fort Henry to Dover crosses the valley in a southeast direction. As you go towards the town, you see at your left hand, on the hill, through the branches of the trees, the Rebel breastworks, and you are almost within musket-shot. General McClernand moved his division down the Dover road, while General Smith remained opposite the northwest angle of the fort. Ogles- by's brigade had the advance, followed by nearly all of the division. The batteries moved along the road, but the troops marched through the woods west of the road. The artillery came into position on the hills about a half-mile from the breastworks, and opened fire, Taylor, Schwartz, and Dresser west of the town, and Cavender, with his heavy guns, west of the fort. The Rebel batteries began a furious fire. Their shells were excellently aimed. One struck almost 100 THE CAPTUBE OF FORT DONELSON. lUJor C>TeDder-t Qua*. Colonel WtUao* nufret *a at the feet of Major Cavender as he was sighting a gun, but it did not disturb him. He took delib- erate aim, and sent shell after shell whizzing into the fort. Another shot fell just in rear of his battery. A third burst overhead. Another struck one of Captain Richardson's men in the breast, whirling him into the air, killing him instantly. Major Cavender moved his pieces, and then returned the fire with greater zeal. Through the forenoon the forests echoed the terrific cannonade, mingled with the sharp crack of the riflemen, close under the breastworks. At noon the infantry fight began. West of the town, in addition to the line of rifle-pits and breastworks, the Rebels had thrown up a small redoubt, behind which their batteries were se- curely posted. General McClernand decided to attack it. He ordered Colonel Wallace to direct the assault. The Forty-eighth, Seventeenth, and Forty-ninth Illinois regiments were detached from the main force, and placed under the command of Colonel Hayne, of the Forty-eighth, for a storming party. McAllister's battery was wheeled into position to cover the attack. They form in line at the base of the hill. The shells from the Rebel batteries crash among the trees. The Rebel riflemen keep up a rattling fire from the thickets. The Loops are fresh from the prairies. This is their first battle, but at the THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. 101 How U Troop. tdTtnoe. They *rt> withdrawn. Haw the BJuquhooten fought word of command they advance across the inter- vening hollows and ascend the height, facing the sheets of flame which burst from the Rebel works. They fire as they advance. It is not a rush and & hurrah, but a steady movement. Men begin to drop from the line, but there is no wavering. They who never before heard the sounds of battle stand like veterans. The Rebel line in front of them extends farther than their own. The Forty- fifth Illinois goes to the support of Wallace. The Rebels throw forward reinforcements. There is a continuous roll of musketry, and quick dis- charges of cannon. The attacking force advances nearer and still nearer, close up to the works. Their gallantry does not fail them ; their courage does not falter ; but they find an impassable obstruction, fallen trees, piles of brush, and rows of sharp stakes. Taylor's battery gallops up the road, and opens a rapid fire, but the Rebel sharpshooters pick off his gunners. It is madness to remain, and the force retires beyond the reach of the Rebel musketry ; but they are not disheartened. They have hardly begun to fight. Colonel Birges's sharpshooters are sent for. They move down through the bushes, and creep up in front of the Rebel lines. There are jets of flame and wreaths of blue smoke from their rifles. The Rebel pickets are driven back. The sharp- shooters work their way still nearer to the trenches. 102 THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON Talk between the Sklrmfchers! Reinforcemen The bushes blaze. There are mysterious puffs of smoke from the hollows, from stumps, and from the roots of trees. The Rebel gunners are com- pelled to let their guns remain silent, and the infantry dare not show their heads above the breastworks. They lie close. A Rebel soldier raises his slouched hat on his ramrod. Birges's men see it, just over the parapet. Whiz ! The hat disappears. The Rebels chuckle that they have outwitted the Yankee. " Why don't you come out of your old fort ? " shouts a sharpshooter, lying close behind a tree. " Why don't you come in ? " is the answer from the breastworks. " 0, you are cowards ! " says the voice at the etump. " When are you going to take the fort ? " is the response from the breastwork. The cannonade lasted till night. Nothing had been gained, but much had been lost, by the Union army. There were scores of men lying in the thickets, where they had fallen. There were hundreds in the hospitals. The gunboats and the expected reinforcements had not arrived. The Rebels outnumbered General Grant's force by several thousand, but fortunately they did not know it. General Grant's provisions were almost gone. There was no meat, nothing but hard bread. The south-wind of the morning had THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. 103 The Btorm. ~~~~~~~ A horrible Night. changed to the east. It was mild then, but piercing now. The sky, so golden at the dawn, was dark and lowering, with clouds rolling ap from the east. The rain began to fall. The roads were miry, the dead leaves slippery. The men had thrown aside their overcoats and blan- kets. They had no shelter, no protection. They were weary and exhausted with the contest. They were cold, wet, and hungry. The rain increased. The wind blew more furiously. It wailed through the forest. The rain changed to hail. The men lay down upon frozen beds, and were covered with icy sheets. It grew colder. The hail became snow. The wind increased to a gale, and whirled the snow into drifts. The soldiers curled down behind the stumps and fallen trees. They built great fires. They walked, ran, thumped their feet upon the frozen ground, beat their fingers till the blood seemed starting from beneath the nails. The thermome- ter sank almost to zero. It was a night of hor- ror, not only outside, but inside the Rebel lines. The Southern soldiers were kept in the intrench- ments, in the rifle-pits, and ditches, to be in read- iness to repel an assault. They could not keep up great, roaring fires, for fear of inviting a night attack. Through the long hours the soldiers of both armies kept their positions, exposed to the fury of the winter storm, not only the severest 104 THE CAPTUBE OF FORT DONELSON. Oat of ProTtatoM. A critical How. What General Oglaby Mid. itorm of the season, but the wildest and coldest that had been known for many years in that sec- tion of the country. FRIDAY. Friday morning dawned, and with the first rays of light the rifles cracked in the frosty air. The sharpshooters, though they had passed a sleepless night, were in their places behind rocks and stumps and trees. Neither army was ready to recommence the struggle. General Grant wa out of provisions. The transports, with supplies and reinforcements, had not arrived. Only one gunboat, the Carondelet, had come. It was a critical hour. What if the Rebels, with their superior force, should march out from their intrenchments and make an attack ? How long oould the half-frozen, exhausted, hungry men maintain their ground? Where were the gun- boats ? Where the transports ? Where the rein- forcements ? There were no dark columns of smoke rising above the forest-trees, indicating the approach of the belated fleet. General Grant grew anxious. Orders were despatched to General Wallace at Fort Henry to hasten over with his troops. There was no thought of giving up the enterprise. " We came here to take the fort, and we intend to do it," said Colonel Oglesby. THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. 106 The GuriboaU arrlTe. The Troop* forget their Bufferings. Reinforcement.. A courier came dashing through the woods. He had been on the watch three miles down the river, looking for the gunboats. He had descried a dense cloud of black smoke in the distance, and started with the welcome intelligence. They were coming. The Carondelet, which had been lying quietly in the stream below the fort, steamed up against the current, and tossed a shell towards the Rebels. The deep boom of the columbiad echoed over the hills of Tennessee. The troop* answered with a cheer from the depths of the forest. They could see the trailing black ban ners of smoke from the steamer. They became light-hearted. The wounded lying in the hospi- tals, stiff, sore, mangled, their wounds undressed, chilled, frozen, covered with ice and enow, forgot their sufferings. So the fire of patriotism burned within their hearts, which could not be quenched by sufferings worse than death itself. The provisions, troops, and artillery were landed at a farm, three miles below the fort. A road was cut through the woods, and communication opened with the army. A division was organized under General Lewis Wallace. Colonel Cruft commanded the first brigade, composed of the Thirty-first and Forty- fourth Indiana, the Seventeenth and Twenty-fifth Kentucky regiments. The second brigade was composed of the Forty M 106 THE CAPTUBE OF FORT DONELSON, General Wallace has the Centra. The Gunboat* prepare for Action. sixth, Fifty-seventh, and Fifty-eighth Illinois regi- ments. It had no brigade commander, and was united to the third brigade, commanded by Colonel Thayer. The third brigade was com- posed of the First Nebraska, the Sixteenth, Fifty- eighth, and Sixty-eighth Ohio regiments. Several other regiments arrived while the fight was going on, but they were held in reserve, and had but little if any part in the action. Wallace's division was placed between General Smith's and General McClernand's, near General Grant's head-quarters, on the road leading from Fort Henry to Dover. It took all day to get the troops into position and distribute food and am- munition, and there was no fighting except by the skirmishers and sharpshooters. At three o'clock in the afternoon the gunboats steamed slowly up stream to attack the water- batteries. Commodore Foote repeated the in- structions to the commanders and crews that he made before the attack at Fort Henry, to fire slow, take deliberate aim, and keep cool. The Pittsburg, St. Louis, Louisville, and Car- ondelet, iron-plated boats, had the advance, fol- lowed by the three wooden boats, the Tyler, Lexington, and Conestoga. A bend in the river exposed the sides of the gunboats to a raking fire from the batteries, while Commodore Foote could only use the bow guns in reply. The fort on tlw THE CAPTURE OF FOBT DONELSON. 107 Commodore Foote's Plan. The Attack of the Gunboate. hill was so high above the boats that the muzzles of the guns could not be elevated far enough to hit it. Commodore Foote directed the boats to engage the water-batteries, and pay no attention to the guns of the fort till the batteries were silenced ; then he would steam past them and pour broadsides into the fort. As soon as the gunboats rounded the point of land a mile and a half below the fort, the Rebels opened fire, and the boats replied. There was excellent gunnery. The shots from the fort and batteries fell upon the bows of the boats, or raked their sides ; while the shells from the boats fell plump into the batteries, cutting the embankments, or smking deep in the side of the hill and bursting with tremendous explosions, throwing the earth upon the gunners in the trenches. Steadily on- ward moved the boats, pouring all their shells into the lower works. It was a continuous storm, an unbroken roll of thunder. There were con- stant explosions in the Rebel trenches. The air was filled with pieces of iron from the exploding shells and lumps of frozen earth thrown up by the solid shot. The Rebels fled in confusion from the four-gun battery, running up the hill to the intrenchments above. The fight had lasted an hour, and the boats were within five hundred feet of the batteries; fifteen minutes more and the Commodore would 108 THE CAPTUBE OF FOBT DONELSON. Ibe Bebel Onnnen lee their AdranUge. The GunboattdSabled. ~ be abreast of them, and would rake them from bottom to top with his tremendous broadsides. But he had reached the bend of the river ; the eight-gun battery could cut him through cross* wise, while the guns on the top of the hill could pour plunging shots upon his decks. The Rebels saw their advantage, and worked their guns with all their might. The boats were so near that every Rebel shot reached its mark. A solid shot cut the rudder-chains of the Carondelet and slie became unmanageable. The thirty-two-pound balls went through the oak sides of the boats aa you can throw peas through wet paper. Another shot splintered the helm of the Pittsburg, and that boat also became unmanageable. A third shot crashed through the pilot-house of the St Louis, killing the pilot instantly. The Commo- dore stood by his side, and was sprinkled with the blood of the brave, unfortunate man. The shot oroke the wheel and knocked down a timber which wounded the Commodore in the foot. He sprang to the deck, limped to another steering apparatus, and endeavored with his own hands to keep the vessel head to the stream ; but that ap- paratus also had been shot away. Sixty-one shota had struck the St. Louis ; some had passed through from stem to stern. The Louisvilto had received thirty-five shots. Twenty-sij had crashed into and through the Carondetet. On THE CAPTUBE OF FORT DONELSON. 101 The Victory almost won. What Commodore Foote wrote. of her guns had burst, killing and wounding six. of the crew. The Pittsburg had been struck twenty-one times. All but the Louisville, of the iron-plated boats, were unmanageable. At the very last moment when the difficulties had been almost overcome the Commodore was obliged to hoist the signal for retiring. Ten minutes more, five hundred feet more, and the Rebel trenches would have been swept from right to left, their entire length. When the boats began to drift down the stream they were running from the trenches, deserting their guns, to escape the fear- ful storm of grape and canister which .they knew would soon sweep over them. Fifty four wer Mlled and wounded in this attack. At night Commodore Foote sat in the cabin of the St. Louis and wrote a letter to a friend. HM wound was painful, but he thought not of hii own sufferings. He frequently asked how the wounded men were getting along, and directed the surgeons to do everything possible for their comfort. This is what he wrote to his friend : " While I hope ever to rely on Him who con- trols all things, and to say from my heart, * Not unto us, but unto thee, Lord, belongs the glory,' yet I feel bad at the result of our attack on Fort Donelson. To see brave officers and men, who say they will go where I lead them, fall by my side, it makes me sad to lead them to almost car tain death." 110 THE CAPTUBE OF FOBT DONELSON. General Floyd hold* a Council of War. So passed Friday. The gunboats were disabled. No impression had been made on the fort. Gen- eral Grant determined to place his army in posi- tion on the hills surrounding the fort, throw up intrenchments, and wait till the gunboats could be repaired. Then there would be a combined attack, by water and by land, which he hoped would reduce the place. On Friday evening there was a council of war at General Floyd's head-quarters in the town. General Buckner, General Johnson, General Pil- low, Colonel Baldwin, Colonel Wharton, and other commanders of brigades were present. General Moyd said that he was satisfied that General Grant would not renew the attack till the gunboats were repaired, and till he had received reinforcements. He thought that the whole available force of Union troops would be hurried up by steamboat from St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Cairo ; and that when they arrived a division would be marched up the river towards Clarksville, above Dover, and that they in the fort would be starved out and forced to surrender without a battle. It was very good and correct reasoning on the part of General Floyd, who did not care to be taken prisoner after he had stolen so much public property. It was just what General Grant intended to do. He knew that by such a course the fort would be obliged to surrender, and he would save the lives of his men. THE OAPTUBE OF FORT DONELSON. Ill He prepares to attack General Grant. The Plan. General Floyd proposed to attack General Grant at daylight on Saturday morning, by throw- ing one half of the Rebel army, under Pillow and Johnson, upon McClernand's division. By making the attack then in overwhelming force, he felt pretty sure he could drive McClernand back upon General Wallace. General Buckner, with the other half of the army, was to push out from the northwest angle of the fort at the same time, attack General Wallace, and force him back upon General McClernand, which would throw the Union troops into confusion. By adopting this plan he hoped to win a victory, or if not that, he could open a way of escape to the whole army. The plan was agreed to by the other officers, and preparations were made for the attack. The sol- diers received extra rations and a large quantity of ammunition. The caissons of the artillery were filled up, and the regiments placed in posi- tion to move early in the morning. SATUBDAY. General B. R. Johnson led the Rebel column, and Colonel Baldwin's brigade the advance. It was composed of the First and Fourteenth Missis- sippi and the Twenty-sixth Tennessee regiments. The next brigade was Colonel Wharton's. It was composed of the Fiftieth and Fifty-first Vir ginia. McCousland's brigade was composed of 112 THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONLLSON. luellebelB more from their Intrenchmento. McClernand'i Position. the Thirty-sixth and Fifty-sixth Virginia ; David- ion's brigade was composed of the Seventh Texas, Eighth Kentucky, and Third Mississippi ; Colonel Drake's brigade was composed of the Fourth and Twentieth Mississippi, Garven's battalion of rifle- men, Fifteenth Arkansas, and a Tennessee regi- ment. Hieman's brigade was composed of the Tenth, Thirtieth, and Forty-eighth Tennessee, and the Twenty-seventh Alabama. There were about thirty pieces of artillery, and twelve thousand men in this column. McArthur's brigade of McClernand's division was on the extreme right, and a short distance in rear of Oglesby. The Rebels moved down the Union Ferry road, which leads southwest towards Clarksville, which brought them nearly south of Oglesby and McArthur. Oglesby's regiments stood, the Eighth Illinois on the right, then the Twenty ninth, Thirtieth, and Thirty-first, counting towards the left. Schwartz's battery was on the right and Dresser's on the left. Wallace's brigade was formed with the Thirty-first Illinois on the right, close to Oglesby's left flank regiment, then the Twentieth, Forty-eighth, Forty-fifth, Forty-ninth, and Seventeenth Illinois. McAllister's battery was between the Eleventh and Twentieth, and Tay lor's between the Seventeenth and Forty-ninth. Colonel Dickey's cavalry was in rear, his horses picketed in the woods and eating corn. North of THE CAPTUKE OF FORT DONELSON. 113 fhe Union Army anpreprd. The Beginning of the Battle. the Fort Henry road was Colonel Cruft's brigade of General Lewis Wallace's division, the Twenty- fifth Kentucky having the right, then the Thirty- first Indiana, the Seventeenth Kentucky, the For- ty-fourth Indiana, with Wood's battery. These are all the regiments which took part in the terrible fight of Saturday forenoon. Thej were unprepared for the assault. The soldiers had not risen from their snowy beds. The reveille was just sounding when the sharp crack of the rifles was heard in the thickets on the extreme right. Then the artillery opened. Schwartz's, Dresser's, McAllister's, and Taylor's men sprang from their blankets to their guns. It was hardly light enough to see the enemy. They could only distinguish the flashes of the guns and the wreaths of smoke through the branches of the trees ; but they aimed at the flashes, and sent their shells upon the advancing columns. The Rebel batteries replied, and the wild uproar of the terrible day began. Instead of moving west, directly upon the front of Oglesby, McArthur, and Wallace, the Rebel column under Pillow marched down the Union Perry road south a half-mile, then turned abrupt- ij towards the northwest. You see by the ac- companying diagram how the troops stood at the beginning of the battle. There is McArdrar'i brigade with Schwartz's battery, Oglesby' brig 114 THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. How the Rebels attacked McClernand. The Regiments first engaged. ade with Dresser's battery, Wallace's brigade with McAllister's and Taylor's batteries, all facing the town. Across the brook, upon the north side of the ravine, is Cruft's brigade. You see Pillow's brigades wheeling upon McArthur and Oglesby, and across the Fort Henry road, coming down from the breastworks, are General Buckner's brigades. THB ATTACK ON MCCLERNAJTO, 1 McArthur's brigade. 4 Craft's brigade. 2 Oglesby's brigade. 6 Pillow's division!. 8 W. H. L. Wallace's brigade. 6 Buckner'3 diYision*. Schwartz, Dresser, and McAllister wheel their Ains towards Pillow's column. The Rebels open with a volley of musketry. The fire is aimed at the Eighth and Twenty-ninth Illinois regiments, which. THE CAPTURE OP FORT DONELSON. 115 ColonU Logan. The Kebel Cavalry sweep round to the Bear. you remember, are on the right of Oglesby's brig- ade. The men are cold. They have sprung from their icy beds to take their places in the ranks. They have a scant supply of ammunition, and are unprepared for the assault, but they are not the men to run at the first fire. The Rebel mus- ketry begins to thin their ranks, but they do not flinch. They send their volleys into the face of the enemy. Another Rebel brigade arrives, and fires upon the Thirtieth and Thirty-first Illinois, the two regiments on the left of Oglesby's brigade. Colonel John A. Logan commands the Thirty- first. He told the Southern conspirators in Con- gress, when they were about to secede from the Union, that the men of the Northwest would hew their way to the Gulf of Mexico with their swords, if they attempted to close the Mississippi. He is not disposed to yield his ground. He encourages his men, and they remain immovable before the Rebel brigades. Instead of falling back, he swings his regiment towards the Rebels, and stands con fronting them. But while this is going on, the Rebel cavalry have moved round to the rear of McArthur. They dash down a ravine, through the bushes, over the fallen trees, and charge up the hill upon the Ninth and Eighteenth regiments of McArthur's brigade. They are sent back in confusion, but the onset ha? 116 THE OAPTUBE OF POBT DONBLSON. Cbefte*lnentiooapne4to&aitMck. 1. Ohnge of front been so fierce and the charge so far in the rear, that Me Arthur is compelled to fall hack and form a new line. The Rebels have begun to open the door which General Grant had closed against them. The brigades in front of Oglesby are pouring murderous volleys upon the Eighth and Twenty-ninth. The falling back of McArthur to meet the attack on his rear has enabled the enemy to come up behind these regiments, and they are also compelled to fall back. The Rebels in front are elated. They move nearer, working their way along a ravine, shel- tered by a ridge of land. They load their mus- kets, rush up to the crest of the bill, deliver their fire, and step back to reload ; but as often as they appear, McAllister and Dresser and Taylor give them grape and canister. The Eleventh and Twentieth Illinois, on the right of Wallace's brigade, join hi the conflict, upporting the brave Logan. Colonel Wallace swings the Forty-eighth, Forty-fifth, and half of the Forty-ninth round towards Pillow's brigades, leaving the other half of the Forty-ninth and the Seventeenth to hold the line towards the Fort Henry road. If you study the diagram carefully, you will see that this manoeuvre was a change of front. At the beginning the line of battle faced mortheast, but now it faces south. There is a ridge between Wallace's brigade and THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. 117 ihe Bush upon theJBatteriea. Cruft'i Brigade _gocg to aaglit McOternand. tfae Rebels. As often as the Rebels advance to ihe ridge, Taylor and McAllister with the infantry drive them back. It is an obstinate and bloody contest. The snow becomes crimson. There are pools of clotted blood where the brave men lie down upon the ground. There are bayonet- charges, fierce hand-to-hand contests. The Reb- els rush upon McAllister's guns, but are turned back. The lines surge to and fro like the waves of the sea. The dying and the dead are trampled beneath the feet of the contending hosts. Wallace hears a sharp fire in his rear. The Rebels have pushed out once more towards the west and are coming in again upon the right flank of the new battle line. McClernand sees that he is contending against overwhelming num- bers, and he sends a messenger in haste to Gen- eral Lewis Wallace, who sends Cruft's brigade to his assistance. The brigade goes down the road upon the run. The soldiers shout and hurrah. They pass in rear of Taylor's battery, and push on to the right to help Oglesby and McArthur. The Rebels have driven those brigades. The men are hastening to the rear with doleful sto- ries. Some of them rush through Cruft's brig- ade. Gruft meets the advancing Rebels face to face. The din of battle has lulled for a moment, but now it rolls again louder than before. The Rebels dash on, but it is like the dashing of th 118 THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. General Buckner advance!. Attack upon the Artillery. The Gum lort. waves against a rock. Craft's men are unmoved, though the Rebels advance till they are within twenty feet of the line. There are deafening volleys. The smoke from the opposing lines becomes a single cloud. The Rebels are held in check on the right by their firmness and endur- ance. But just at this moment General Buckner's brigades come out of their intrenchments. They pass in front of their rifle-pits at the base of the hill, and march rapidly down to the Dover road. Colonel Wallace sees them. In a few minutes they will pour their volleys into the backs of his men. You remember that the Seventeenth and part of the Forty-ninth Illinois regiments were left standing near the road. You hear from their muskets now. They stand their ground and meet the onset manfully. Two guns of Taylor's battery, which have been thundering towards the south, wheel round to the northeast and sweep the Rebels with grape and canister. Three fourths of tho Rebel army is pressing upon McClernand's one division. His troops are disappearing. Hundreds are killed and wounded. Men who carry the wounded to rear do not return. The Rebels see their advantage, and charge upon Schwartz's and McAllister's batteries, but are re- pulsed. Reinforced by new regiments, they rush on again. They shoot the gunners and the horsei THE CAPTUEE OF FORT DONELSON. 119 great Josa of Officer*. Colonel Wallace's Position. and seize the cannon. The struggle is fierce, but unequal. Oglesby's men are overpowered, the line gives way. The Rebels push on with a yell, and seize several of Sell > z's and McAllister's guns. The gunners fight determinedly for a moment, but they are few against many, and are shot or taken prisoners. A l^Gssissippi regiment attempts to capture Taylor's gins, but he sweeps it back with grape and canistor. Up to this moment Wallace has not yielded an inch. Two of Oglesby's regiments next to his brigade still hold their ground, b.it all who stood beyond are in full retreat. The Rebels have picked off a score of brave officers hi Oglesby's command, Colonels Logan, Lawler, and Ran- som are wounded. Lieutenant-Colonel White of the Thirty-first, Lieutenant-Colone! Smith of the Forty-eighth, Lieutenant-Colonel Irvin of the Twentieth, and Major Post of the Eighth are killed. The men of Oglesby's brigade, although they have lost so many of their leaders, are not panic-stricken. They are overpowered for the moment. Some of the regiments a/e out of am- munition. They know that reinforcements are at hand, and they fall back in ordur. To understand Wallace's position it this stage of the battle, imagine that you stan 1 with your face towards the south fighting a powerful antago- nist, that a second equally powerful it coming up 120 THE CAPTUBE OP FORT DONELSON. H* ratMte In good order Qnerml Wallace ndi Thayert BrigafeT oil your right hand, and that a third is giving heavy blows upon your left shoulder, almost in your back. Pillow, with one half of his brigades, h in front, Johnson, with the other half of Pillow' i command, is comming up on the right, and Buck- ner, with all of his brigades, is moving ''.own upon the left. Wallace sees that he must retreat. The Elav* enth and Thirty-first Ransom's and Logan's regiments are still fighting on Wallace's right There is great slaughter in their ranks, but they do not flee. They change front and march a few rods to the rear, come into line and fire a volley at the advancing Rebels. Forest's cavalry dashei upon them and cuts off a few prisoners, but th* line is only bruised, not broken. Thus loading and firing, contesting all the ground, the troop* descend the hill, cross the clear running brook, and march up the hill upon the other side. But there are some frightened men, who fling away their guns and rush wildly to the rear. An officer dashes down the road, crying : " We are cut to pieces ! The day is lost ! " " Shut up your head, you scoundrel ! " shouts General Wallace. It has had an effect upon his troops. They are nervous, and look round, expecting to see the enemy in overwhelming numbers. General Wal- lace sees that there has been disaster. He doei not wait for orders to march. THE CAPTUBE OF FOBT DONELSON. 121 Wood'i Battery tent for. " Third brigade, by the right flank, double- quick, Forward, March ! " Colonel Thayer com- manding the brigade repeats the order. The men break into a run towards the front along the road. General Wallace gallops in advance, and meets Colonel Wallace conducting his brigade to the rear. " We are out of ammunition. The enemy are following. If you will put your troops into line till we can fill our cartridge-boxes, we will stop them." He says it so coolly and deliberately that it astonishes General Wallace. It reassures him. He feels that it is a critical moment, but with men retiring so deliberately, there is no reason to be discouraged. He leads Thayer's brigade up to the crest of the hill, just where the road begins to descend into the ravine, through which gurgles the clear ru- ning brook. " Bring up Company A, Chicago Light Artil- lery ! " he shouts to an aid. A few moments, and Captain Wood, who commands the battery, leads it along the road. The horses are upon the gat ^p. The teamsters lash them with their whips. They leap over logs, stones, stumps, and through the bushes. They halt at the crest of the hill. '* Put your guns here, two pieces hi the road, and two on each side, and load with grape and canister." 122 THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. The new Line of Battle. Ck oral Pillow telegraphs The men spring to thoir pieces. They throw off their coats, and work in their shirt-sleeves. They ram home the cartri Iges and stand beside their pieces, waiting for the enemy. The battery faces southeast. On the right of the battery, next to it, is the 1 irst Nebraska, and be- yond it the Fifty-eighth Illinois. On the left of the battery is Captain Davison's company of the Thir- ty-second Illinois, and beyond it the Fifty-eighth Ohio. A few rods in rear s the Seventy-sixth Ohio and the Forty-sixth and 1 Hfty-seventh Illinois. Me Arthur, Oglesby, Wallav'/e, and Cruft have all fallen back, and their regiments are reforming in the woods west of Thayer's position, and filling their cartridge-boxes. The Rebels halt a little whiU upon the ground from which they have driven McClernand, rifling the pockets of the dead and robling the wounded. General Pillow feels very well. He writes a de- spatch, which is telegraphed to Nashville, " On the honor of a soldier, th 3 day is ours ! " Buckner unites his brigades to Pillow's, and they prepare for a second advance. It gives Gen- eral Wallace time to perfect his line. Willard's battery, which was left at Fort 3enry, has just arrived. It gallops into position in the woods west of Thayer's brigade. Drest-er and Taylor also come into position. They aiM ready. The Rebels descend the hill 01 the east side THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. 123 floneral Floyd alters hla Plan. The second Battle. of the brook, and move up the road. They are flushed with success, aud are confident of defeat- ing General Grant. General Floyd has changed his mind ; instead of escaping, as he can do by the road leading to Nashville, he thinks he will put the army of General Grant to rout. 1 Tnyer' brigade with Wood's battery. a MoCleraand'i brigade*. 8 Cruft'i brlfuda 4 Rebels. The advancing columns step across the brook, and begin to ascend the hill. The artillery opens its fire. The Rebel batteries reply. The infantry rolls its volleys. The hill and the hollow are en- veloped in clouds of smoke. Wood's, Dresser's, Willard's, and Taylor's batteries open, twenty- four guns send their grape and canister, shrap- nel and shells, into the gray ranks which are vainly endeavoring to reach the top of the hill 124 THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. The Rebels are repulsed. General Grant ranlves to attack the Intrenohmenti The Rebels concentrate their fire upon Wood'i battery and the First Nebraska, but those hardy pioneers from beyond the Missouri, some of them Rocky Mountain hunters, cannot be driven. The Rebels fire too high. The air is filled with the screaming of their bullets, and a wild storm sweeps over the heads of the men from Nebraska, who lose but ten men killed and wounded in this terrible contest. The Nebraska men are old hun- ters, and do not fire at random, but take deliber- ate aim. The Rebels march half-way up the hill, and then fall back to the brook. They have lost courage. Their officers rally the wavering lines. Again they advance, but are forced back by the musketry and the grape and canister. They break in confusion, and vain are all the attempts of the officers to rally them. General Floyd's plan, which worked so successfully in the morning, has failed at noon. General Pillow's telegram was sent too soon by a half-hour. The Rebels retire to the hill, and help themselves to the overcoats, blankets, beef, bread, and other things in McClernand's camp. General Grant determined to assault the enemy's works. He thought that the rifle-pits at the north- west angle of the fort could be carried ; that then he could plant his batteries so near that, under their fire, he could get into the fort. General THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. 125 The Eighth Missouri and Eleventh Indianv The AdYcnse. Smith's division had not been engaged in the battles of the morning. His troops had heard the roar of the conflict and the cheers of their comrades when the Rebels were beaten back. They were ready for action. They were nerved up to attempt great deeds for their country. The Rebels had been repulsed, and now they could defeat them. General Grant directed General Wallace to move forward from his position, across the brook, drive the Rebels back, and then assault their works. A large body of Rebels still held the ground, from which McClernand had been driven. General Wallace placed Colonel Morgan L. Smith's brigade in front. There was conten tion between the Eighth Missouri and Eleventh Indiana, for each wanted the honor of leading the assault. The Eleventh yielded to the Eighth, with the understanding that in the next assault it should have the advance. Thus with generous rivalry and unbounded enthusiasm they prepared to advance. The Eleventh followed the Eighth. Colonel Cruft's brigade, with two Ohio regiments under Colonel Ross, completed the column. Colonel Cruft formed in line of battle to the right of Colonel Smith. They crossed the brook. It was a dark and bloody ravine. The Rebel dead and wounded were lying there, thick almost as the 126 THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. How they fought. General Smith ' Attack withered forest-leaves. The snow was crimson. The brook was no longer a clear running stream, but red with blood. General Wallace was aware of the desperate character of the enterprise. He told his men what they were to do, to drive the enemy, and storm the breastworks. " Hurrah ! that 's just what we want to do. Forward ! Forward ! We are ready ! " were their answers. They could see the Rebel lines on the hill. The Rebels knew that they were to be at- tacked, and were ready to receive them. Colonel Smith moved up the road. His point of attack was clear, but Cruft's was through brush and over stony ground. A line of skirmishers sprang out from the Eighth Missouri. They ran up the hill, and came face to face with the Rebel skirmishers. They fought from tree to tree, firing, picking off an opponent, then falling upon the ground to reload. The regiments followed. They were half-way up the hill, when a line of fire began to run round the crest. " Down ! down ! " shouted Colonel Smith. The regiments fell flat, and the storm swept harmlessly over their heads. The Rebels cheered. They thought they had annihilated Colonel Smith's command Up they rose, and rushed upon the THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. 127 The Rebel Position on the Left enemy, pouring in their volleys, falling when the fight was hottest, rising as soon as the Rebels had fired Thus they closed upon the enemy, and pushed him back over all the ground he had won in the morning, driving him into his works. General Wallace was preparing to assault the works, when an officer dashed down the line with cheering news of success upon the left. Returning now to General Smith's division, we see him preparing to storm the works near the northwest angle of the fort. Colonel Cook's brig- ade is directed to make a feint of attacking the fort. Major Cavender brings his heavy guns into position, and opens a furious cannonade, under cover of which Colonel Lauman is to advance upon the rifle-pits on the outer ridge. If he can get possession of those, Cavender can plant his guns there and rake the inner trenches. Colonel Hanson's brigade, the Second Ken- tucky, Twentieth Mississippi, and Thirtieth Ten nessee, are in the rifle-pits. There are six pieces of artillery and another brigade behind the inner intreuchments, all ready to pour their fire upon the advancing columns. Colonel Hanson's men lie secure behind the trunks of the great forest oaks, their rifles thrust through between the logs. It is fifteen or twenty rods to the bottom of the slope, and there you find the frilen trees, with their branches interlocked, and sharp stakes driven 128 THE CAPTUEE OF FORT DONELSON. Laoman'u Brigade. into the ground. Beyond is the meadow where Lauman forms his brigade. The Rebels have a clear sweep of all the ground. General Smith leads Lauman's men to the meadow, while Colonel Cook moves up on the left and commences the attack. The soldiers 1-^ar, far down on the right, Wallace's brigades driving the enemy from the hill. TUB CHARGE OF LAUXAX'S BSIGADB. 1 IAUUUI'I brigade. S Cook's brigade. 8 3 Cavender's batteries, with Infantry. 4 Rebel rifle-pita. 6 Rebel inner wort It is almost sunset. The rays of light fall aslant the meadow, upon the backs of Lauman's men, and into the faces of the Rebels. The ad vancing brigade is in solid column of regiments, THE CAPTUBE OF FORT DONELSON. 129 In the Meadow. the Second Iowa in front, then the Twenty-fifth Indiana, the Seventh and Fourteenth Iowa, four firm, unwavering lines, which throw their shadows forward as they advance. Birges's sharp- shooters, with their unerring rifles, are flung out on each flank. The brigade halts upon the meadow. General Smith rides along the line, and informs them that they are to take the rifle-pits with the bayonet alone. He sits firmly on his horse, and his long gray hair, falling almost to his shoulders, waves in the evening breeze. He is an iron man, and he leads iron men. The Rebel cannon cut them through with solid shot, shells burst above and around them, with loud explosions and terrifying shrieks from the flying fragments, men drop from the ranks, or are whirled into the air torn and mangled. There are sudden gaps, but not a man flinches. They look not towards the rear, but towards the front. There are the fallen trees, the hill, the line of two thousand muskets poised between the logs, the cannon thundering from the height beyond. There is no whispering in those solid ranks, no loud talking, nothing but the " Steady ! steady ! " of the officers. Their hearts beat great throbs. Their nerves are steel, their muscles iron. They grasp their muskets with the gripe of tigers. Before them rides theii General, his cap upon his sword, his long hair * i 130 THE CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. LMun&n'i Irresistible Charge! The wild Hurrah. Btone'i Battery streaming like a banner in the wind. The color- bearer, waring the stars and stripes, marches by his side. They move across the meadow. All around them is the deafening roar of the conflict. Cav- ender is behind them, Cook is upon their left, the enemy is in front, and Wallace away upon their right. They reach the fallen trees at the foot of the hill. The pile of logs above them bursts into flame. A deadly storm, more terrible than the fiercest winter blast, sweeps down the slope into their faces. There are lightning flashes and thunderbolts from the hill above. Men drop from their places, to lie forever still among the tangled branches. But their surviving comrades do not falter. On, on, creeping, crawling, climbing over the obstructions, un terrified, un- daunted, with all the energy of life centred in one effort ; like a tornado they sweep up the slope, into the line of fire, into the hissing storm, up to the logs, into the cloud, leaping like tigers, thrusting the bayonet home upon the foe. The Rebels reel, stagger, tumble, run ! " HUBBA H ! " It is a wild, prolonged, triumphant shout, like the blast of a trumpet. They plant their banners on the works, and fire their volleys into the re- treating foe. Stone's battery gallops over the meadow, over the logs, up the hill, the horses THE CAPTUBE OP FOBT DONELSON. 131 The Victory won. leaping and plunging as if they, too, knew that victory was hanging in the scale. The gunners spring from their seats, wheel their pieces and throw their shells, an enfilading fire, into the upper works. " Hurrah ! hurrah ! hurrah ! " rings through the forest, down the line to Wallace's men. " We have carried the works ! " " We are Inside ! " shouts an officer bearing the welcome news. The men toss their caps in the air. They shake hands, they shout, and break into singing. They forget all their hardships and sufferings, the hungry days, the horrible nights, the wounded and the dead. The success is worth all the eao rifioe. CHAPTER VI. THE SURRENDER. How they held the Ground. The Bogle-CUL ALL through the night the brave men held the ground they had BO nobly won. They rested on snowy beds. They had no supper. They could kindle no fires to warm the wintry air. The cannon above them hurled down shells, and sent volleys of grape, which screamed above and around them like the voices of demons in tne darkness. The branches of the trees were torn from their trunks by the solid shot, and the trunks were splintered from top to bottom, but they did not falter or retire from that slope where the snow was crimsoned with the life-blood of hundreds of their comrades. Nearly four hun- dred had fallen in that attack. The hill had cost a great deal of blood, but it was worth all it cost, and they would not give it up. So they braved the leaden rain and iron hail through the weary hours of that winter night. They only waited for day- break to storm the inner works and take the fort. Their ardor and enthusiasm was unbounded. As the morning approached they heard a bugle- THE SURRENDER. 133 The F ig of Trace. Rebel Council of War. Floyd and Pillow blame Buokner. call. They looked across the narrow ravine, and saw, n the dim light of the dawn, a man waving a whi te flag upon the intrenchments. It was a sign for a parley. He jumped down from the embankment, and descended the hill. "Halt! Who comes there?" shouted the picket "Flag of truce with a letter for General Grant." An )fficer took the letter, and hastened down the slope, across the meadow, up to the house on the Dover road, where General Grant had his head-qi arters. During the night there had been a council of war at ( reneral Floyd's head-quarters. Nearly all the Rebol officers commanding brigades and regi- ments were there. They were down-hearted They hal fought bravely, won a victory, as they thought, but had lost it. A Rebel officer who was there toLl me what they said. General Floyd and General Pillow blamed General Buckner for not advancing earlier in the morning, and for making what they thought a feeble attack. They could have escaped after they drove McClernand across the brook, but now they were hemmed in. The prospect was gloomy. The troops were exhausted by the lonj; conflict, by constant watching, and by the cold. What bitter nights those were to the men who came from Texas, Alabama, and Missis 134 THE SURRENDER. cannot hold his Position. Hia Appearance. Floyd's Opinion. sippi, where the roses bloom and the blue-birds sing through all the winter months. What should be done ? Should they make another attack, and cut their way out, or should they surrender? " I cannot hold my position a half-hour. The Yankees can turn my flank or advance directly upon the breastworks," said General Buckner. " If you had advanced at the time agreed upon, and made a more vigorous attack, we should have routed the enemy," said General Floyd. " I advanced as soon as I could, and my troops fought as bravely as others," was the response from General Buckner, a middle-aged, mediun. sized man. His hair is iron gray. He has thin whiskers and a moustache, and wears a gray ker- sey overcoat, with a great cape, and gold lace on the sleeves, and a black hat with a nodding black plume. " Well, here we are, and it is useless to renew the attack with any hope of success. The men are exhausted," said General Floyd, a stout, heavy man, with thick lips, a large nose, ovil eyes, and coarse features. " We can cut our way out," said Major Brown, commanding the Twentieth Mississippi, a tall, black-haired, impetuous, fiery man. " Some of us might escape in that way, but the attempt would be attended with great slaughter,' responded General Floyd. THE SUBRENDKB. 135 General Pillow wants to wait another Day Floyd will not be taken Prisoner. " My troops are so worn out and cut to pieces and demoralized, that I can't make another fight," said Buckner. " My troops will fight till they die," answered Major Brown, setting his teeth together. " It will cost the command three quarters of its present number to cut its way through, and it is wrong to sacrifice three quarters of a command to save the other quarter," Buckner continued. " No officer has a right to cause such a sacri- fice," said Major Gilmer, of General Pillow's staff. " But we can hold out another day, and by that time we can get steamboats here to take us across the river," said General Pillow. " No, I can't hold my position a half-hour, and the Yankees will renew the attack at daybreak," Buckner replied. " Then we have got to surrender, for aught I see," said an officer. " I won't surrender the command, neither will [ be taken prisoner," said Floyd. He doubtless remembered how he had stolen public property, while in office under Buchanan, and would rather die than to fall into the hands of those whom he knew would be likely to bring him to an account for his villany. " I don't intend to be taken prisoner," said Pillow. " What will you do, gentlemen ? " Buckner asked. 136 THE SURRENDER. He means to escape. Oenenl Pillow ready to shirk BeBpomrtbiili jT' " I mean to escape, and take my Virginia bi ig- ade with me, if I can. I shall turn over the com- mand to General Pillow. I have a right to escape if I can, but I have n't any right to order the entire army to make a hopeless fight," said Floyd. " If you surrender it to me, I shall turn it over to General Buckner," said General Pillow, who was also disposed to shirk responsibility and de- sert the men whom he had induced to vote to secede from the Union and take up arms against their country. " If the command comes into my hands, I shall deem it my duty to surrender it. I shall not call upon the troops to make a useless sacrifice of life, and I will not desert the men who have fought st nobly," Buckiier replied, with a bitterness which made Floyd and Pillow wince. It was past midnight. The council broke up. The brigade and regimental officers were aston- ished at the result. Some of them broke out into horrid cursing and swearing at Floyd and Pillow. " It is mean ! " " It is cowardly ! " " Floyd always was a rascal." " We are betrayed ! " " There is treachery ! ' said they. " It is a mean trick for an officer to desert hi? men. If my troops are to be surrendered, I shaV stick by them," said Major Brown. " I denounce Pillow as a coward, and if I evei THE SURRENDER. 187 How Floyd and Pillow ascaped. General Grant's Terms. meet him, I '11 shoot him as quick as I would a dog," said Major McLain, red with rage. Floyd gave out that he was going to join Colonel Forrest, who commanded the cavalry, and thus cut his way out ; but there were two or three small steamboats at the Dover landing. He and General Pillow jumped on board one of them, and then secretly marched a portion of the Virginia brigade on board. Other soldiers saw what was going on, that they were being deserted. They became frantic with terror and rage. They rushed on board, crowding every part of the boat. " Cut loose ! " shouted Floyd to the captain. The boats swung into the stream and moved up the river, leaving thousands of infuriated soldiers on the landing. So the man who had stolen the public property, and who did all he could to bring on the war, who induced thousands of poor, igno- rant men to take up arms, deserted his post, stole away in the darkness, and left them to their fate. General Buckner immediately wrote a letter to General Grant, asking for an armistice till twelve o'clock, and the appointment of commissioners to agree upon terms by which the fort and the pris- oners should be surrendered. " No terms, other than unconditional and im- mediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works," was Gen era! Grant's reply. 138 THE SUBBENDEB. Bneknw thinki it onchiralroM. How Backner twlndled a MInbUr. General Buckner replied, that he thought it very unchivalrous, but accepted the terms. He meant that he did not think it very honorable in General Grant to require an unconditional sur- render. He professed to have a high sense of all that was noble, generous, honorable, and high- minded. But a few days before he had so forgot- ten those qualities of character, that he took some cattle from Rev. Mr. Wiggin of Rochester, Ken- tucky, one of his old acquaintances, and paid him with a check of three hundred dollars on the Southern Bank at Russelville. When Rev. Mr. Wiggin called at the bank and presented the check, the cashier told him that General Buckner never had had any money on deposit there, and the bank did not owe him a dollar ! He cheated and swindled the minister, and committed the crime of forgery, which would have sent him to the state-prison in time of peace. The morning dawned, Sunday morning, calm, clear, and beautiful. The horrible nights were over and the freezing days gone by. The air was mild, and there was a gentle breeze from the south, which brought the blue-birds. They did not mind the soldiers or the cannon, but chirped and sang in the woods as merrily as ever. I saw the white flag flying on the breastworks. The soldiers and sailors saw it, and cheered. Gen- THE SURRENDER. 189 Sunday Morning. Scene on the River Entering the Vert. eral Grant had moved his head-quarters to the steamboat Uncle Sam, and, as I happened to be on board that boat, I saw a great deal that took place. The gunboats, and all the steamboats, fifty or more, began to move up the river. Dense clouds of smoke rolled up from the tall chimneys. The great wheels plashed the sparkling stream. Flags were flying on all the staffs. The army began its march into the fort. The bands played. How grand the crash of the drums and the trumpets ! The soldiers marched proudly. The columns were winding along the hills, the artillery, the infantry, the cavalry, with all their banners wav- ing, and the bright sunshine gleaming and glis- tening on their bayonets ! They entered the fort, and planted their standards on the embankments. The gunboats and the field artillery fired a grand salute. From the steamboats, from the hillside, from the fort, and the forest there were answer ing shouts. The wounded in the hospitals forgot, for the moment, that they were torn and mangled, raised themselves on their beds of straw, and mingled their feeble cheers in the universal re- joicing ! Thirteen thousand men, sixty-seven pieces of artillery, and fifteen thousand small arms were surrendered. A motley, care-worn, haggard, anx- ious crowd stood at the lauding. I sprang ashore, and walked through the ranks. Some were 140 THE SURRENDER. ow the BbeU looked. A Talk with the PrUono*. standing, some lying down, taking no notice of what was going on around them. They were prisoners of war. When they joined the army, they probably did not dream that they would be taken prisoners. They were to be victorious, and capture the Yankees. They were poor, ignorant men. Not half of them knew how to read or write. They had been deluded by their leaders, the slaveholders. They had fought bravely, but they had been defeated, and their generals had deserted them. No wonder they were down-hearted. Their clothes were of all colors. Some wore gray, some blue, some butternut-colored clothes, a dirty brown. They were very ragged. Some had old quilts for blankets, others faded pieces of carpeting, others strips of new carpeting, which they had taken from the stores. Some had caps, others old slouched felt hats, and others nothing but straw hats upon their heads. " We fought well, but you outnumbered us," said one. " We should have beaten you as it was, if it had n't been for your gunboats," said another. " How happened it that General Floyd and General Pillow escaped, and left you ? " I asked. " They are traitors. I would shoot the scoun- drels, if I could get a chance," said a fellow in snuff-colored coat, clenching his fist. THE 8UBEENDEB. 141 Vhat they said about the War. What I saw In the T->wn. " I am glad the fighting is over. I don't want to see another such day as yesterday," said a Ten- nesseean, who was lying on the ground. " What will General Grant do with us ? Will he put us in prison ? " asked one. " That will depend upon how you behave. If you had not taken up arms against your country, you would not have been in trouble now." " We could n't help it, sir. I was forced into the army, and I am glad I am a prisoner. I sha'n't have to fight any more," said a blue- eyed young man, not more than eighteen years old. There were some who were very sullen and sour, and there were others who did not care what became of them. I went up the hill into the town. Nearly every house was filled with the dying and the dead. The shells from the gunboats had crashed through some of the buildings. The soldiers had cut down the orchards and the shade-trees, and burned the fences. All was desolation. There were sad groups around the camp-fires, with de- spair upon their countenances. how many of them thought of their friends far away, and wished they could see them again ! The ground was strewed with their guns, c^r tridge-boxes, belts, and knapsacks. There were bags of corn, barrels of sugar, hogsheads of mo- \y42 THE SURRENDER. A. VMt to the fart. The Scene H the Rlfl^Ptto. lasses, tierces of bacon, broken open and trodden into the mud. I went into the fort, and saw where the great shells from the gunboats had cut through the em- bankments. There were piles of cartridges beside the cannon. The dead were lying there, torn, mangled, rent. Near the intrenchments, where the fight had been fiercest, there were pools of blood. The Rebel soldiers were breaking the frozen earth, digging burial-trenches, and bring- ing in their fallen comrades and laying them side by side, to their last, long, silent sleep. I looked down the slope where Lauman's men swept over the fallen trees in their terrible charge ; then I walked down to the meadow, and looked up the height, and wondered how men could climb over the trees, the stumps, the rocks, and ascend it through such a storm. The dead were lying where they fell, heroes every one of them! It was sad to think that so many noble men had fallen, but it was a pleasure to know that they had not faltered. They had done their duty. If you ever visit that battle-field, and stand upon that slope, you will feel your heart swell with gratitude and joy, to think how cheerfully thev gave their lives to save their country, that you and all who come after you may enjoy peace and prosperity forever. How bravely they fought! There, upon th THE 8UKKENDER. 148 fte Ninth DUnota. Haw a Soldier of the Second Iowa Mt cold ground, lay a soldier of the Ninth Illinois. Early in the action of Saturday he was shot through the arm. He went to the hospital and had it bandaged, and returned to his place in the regiment. A second shot passed through his thigh, tearing the flesh to shreds. " We will carry you to the hospital," said two of his comrades. " No, you stay and fight. I can get along alone." He took off his bayonet, used his gun for a crutch, and reached the hospital. The surgeon dressed the wound. He heard the roar of battle. His soul was on fire to be there. He hobbled once more to the field, and went into the thickest of the fight, lying down, be- cause he could not stand. He fought as a skir- misher. When the Rebels advanced, he could not retire with the troops, but continued to fight. After the battle he was found dead upon the field, six bullets having passed through his body. One brightreyed little fellow, of the Second Iowa, had his foot crushed by a cannon-shot. Two of his comrades carried him to the rear. An officer saw that, unless the blood was stopped, he never would reach the hospital. He told the men to tie a handkerchief around his leg, and put snow on the wound. " 0, never mind the foot, Captain," said th 144 THE SUEEENDEB. The two Bharpshooten. brave fellow. "We drove the Rebels out, and have got their trench ; that 's the most I care for ! " The soldiers did as they were directed, and his life was saved. There in the trenches was a Rebel soldier with a rifle-shot through his head. He was an excel- lent marksman, and had killed or wounded sev- eral Union officers. One of Colonel Birges's sharpshooters, an old hunter, who had killed many bears and wolves, crept up towards the breastworks to try his hand upon the Rebel. They fired at each other again and again, but both were shrewd and careful. The Rebel raised his hat above the breastwork, whi z ! The sharpshooter out in the bushes had put a bullet through it. " Ha ! ha ! ha ! " laughed the Rebel, sending his own bullet into the little puff of smoke down in the ravine. The Rocky Mountain hunter was as still as a mouse. He knew that the Rebel had outwitted him, and expected the return shot. It was aimed a little too high, and he was safe. " You cheated me that time, but I will be even with you yet," said the sharpshooter, whirling upon his back, and loading his rifle and whirling back again. He rested his rifle upon the ground, aimed it, and lay with his eye along the barrel, his finger on the trigger. Five minutes passed. " I reckon that that last shot fixed him, said the Rebel. " He has n't moved this five minutes." THE SUBBENDEB. 145 ' How the gharpri>ooten iflen^ed Battery. Attempt to kffi M*>or Mudd. He raised his head, peeped over the embank- ment, and fell back lifeless. The unerring rifle- bullet had passed through his head. If you could go over the battle-ground with one of those sharpshooters, he would show you a little clump of bushes, and some stumps, where three or four of them lay on Saturday, in front of one of the Rebel batteries, and picked off the gunners. Two or three times the artillerymen tried to drive them out with shells ; but they lay close upon the ground, and the shells did not touch them. The artillerymen were obliged to cease firing, and re- treat out of reach of the deadly bullets. Some of the Rebel officers took their surrender very much to heart. They were proud, insolent, and defiant. Their surrender was unconditional, and they thought it very hard to give up their swords and pistols. One of them fired a pistol at Major Mudd, of the Second Illinois, wounding him in the back. I was very well acquainted with the Major. He lived in St. Louis, and had been from the beginning an ardent friend of the Union. He had hunted the guerillas in Missouri, and had fought bravely at Wilson's Creek. It is quite likely he was shot by an old enemy. General Grant at once issued orders that all the Rebel officers should be disarmed. General Buckner, in insolent tones, said to General Grant that it was barbarous, inhuman, brutal, unchivalroua. 146 THE SURRENDER, General Grant's plain Talk to Qtoen Bockner. and at variance with the rules of civilized war- fare ! General Grant replied : " You have dared to come here to complain of my acts, without the right to make an objection. You do not appear to remember that your surren- der was unconditional. Yet, if we compare the acts of the different armies in this war, how will yours bear inspection ? You have cowardly shot my officers in cold blood. As I rode over the field, I saw the dead of my army brutally insulted by your men, their clothing stripped off of them, and their bodies exposed, without the slightest re- gard for common decency. Humanity has seldom marked your course whenever our men have been unfortunate enough to fall into your hands. At Belmont your authorities disregarded all the usages of civilized warfare. My officers were crowded into cotton-pens with my brave soldiers, and then thrust into prison, while your officers were permitted to enjoy their parole, and live at the hotel in Cairo. Your men are given the same fare as my own, and your wounded receive our best attention. These are incontrovertible facts. I have simply taken the precaution to disarm your officers and men, because necessity compelled me to protect my own from assassination." General Buckner had no reply to make. He hung his head in shame at the rebuke. Major Mudd, though severely wounded, recov THE SUBRENDER. 147 Major Madd'g Story. The Lon of Donelson a tevere Blow to the Kebeb. ered, but lost his life in another battle. One day, while riding with him in Missouri, he told me a very good story. He said he was once riding in the cars, and that a very inquisitive man sat by his side. A few rods from every road-crossing the railroad company had put up boards with the leir ters W. R. upon them. " What be them for ? " asked the man. " Those are directions to the engineer to blow the whistle and ring the bell, that people who may be on the carriage-road may look out and not get Fun over by the train," the Major answered. " yes, I see." The man sat in silence awhile, with his lips working as if he was trying to spell. " Well, Major," he said at last, " it may be as you say. I know that w-r-i-n-g spells ring, but for the life of me I don't see how you can get an R into whistle ! " The fall of Fort Donelson was a severe blow to the Rebels. It had a great effect. It was the first great victory of the Union troops. It opened all the northwest corner of the Confederacy. It compelled General Johnston to retreat from Bowl- ing Green, and also compelled the evacuation of Columbus and all Central Tennessee. Nashville, the capital of that State, fell into the hands of the Union troops. On Sunday morning the Rebels at Nashville 148 THE SUBBENDEB. The Newspapers. The People JjtnUnt were in good spirits. General Pillow had tele- graphed on Saturday noon, as you remember, " On the honor of a soldier, the day is ours." The citizens shouted over it. One sober citizen said : " I never liked Pillow, but I forgive him now. He is the man for the occasion." Another, who had been Governor of the State, a wicked, profane man, said : " It is first- rate news. Pillow is giving the Yankees hell, and rubbing it in ! " * It is a vile sentence, and I would not quote it, were it not that you might have a true picture from Rebel sources. The newspapers put out bulletins : " ENEMY RETREATING ! GLORIOUS RESULT ! ! OUB BOYS FOLLOWING AND PEPPERING THEIR REAR ! ! A COMPLETE VICTORY ! " The bell-ringers rang jubilant peals, and the citizens shook hands over the good news as they went to church. Services had hardly com- menced, when a horseman dashed through the streets, covered with mud, and almost breathless from hard riding, shouting, " Fort Donelson has surrendered, and the Yankees are coming ! " The people poured out from the churches and their houses into the street. Such hurrying to and fro was never seen. Men, women, and chil- dren ran here and there, not knowing what to do, * Mobile Tribune. THE SURRENDER. 149 News of the Surrender. General Floyd's Speech. imagining that the Yankees would murder them. They began to pack their goods. Carts, wagons, carriages, drays, wheelbarrows, all were loaded. Strong men were pale with fear, women wrung their hands, and children cried. Before noon Generals Floyd and Pillow arrived 011 steamboats. The people crowded round the renegade officers, and called for a speech. Gen- eral Floyd went out upon the balcony of the hotel, and said : " Fellow-Citizens : This is not the time for speaking, but for action. It is a time when every man should enlist for the war. Not a day is to be lost. We had only ten thousand effective men, who fought four days and nights against forty thousand of the enemy. But nature could hold out no longer. The men required rest, and hav- ing lost one third of my gallant force I was com- pelled to retire. We have left a thousand of the enemy dead on the field. General Johnston has not slept a wink for three nights ; he is all worn out, but he is acting wisely. He is going to entice the Yankees into the mountain gaps, away from the rivers and the gunboats, and then drive them back, and carry the war into the enemy's coun- try."* General Johnston's army, retreating from Bowl- ing Green, began to pass through the city. The Lynchburg Republican. 150 THE SURRENDER. The Flight from the City. The poor People help themselves to Rebel Btorem. soldiers did not stop, but passed on towards the South. The people had thought that General Johnston would defend the place, the capital of the State ; but when they saw that the troops were retreating, they recklessly abandoned their homes. It was a wild night in Nashville. The Rebels had two gunboats nearly completed, which were set on fire. The Rebel storehouses were thrown open to the poor people, who rushed pell-mell to help themselves to pork, flour, molasses, and sugar. A great deal was destroyed. After John- ston's army had crossed the river, the beautiful and costly wire suspension bridge which spanned it was cut down. It cost two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and belonged to the daughters of the Rebel General Zollicoffer, who was killed at the battle of Mill Springs in Kentucky. The Rebel officers undertook to carry off the immense supplies of food which had been accumulated ; but in the panic, barrels of meat and flour, sacks of coffee, hogsheads of sugar were rolled into the streets and trampled into the mire. Millions of dollars' worth were lost to the Confederacy. The farmers in the country feared that they would lose their slaves, and from all the section round they hurried the poor creatures towards the South, hoping to find a place where they would be secure. Throughout the South there was gloom and THE SURRENDER. 151 The Feeling throughout the Countr/. despondenov. But all over the North there was great rejoicing. Everybody praised the brave soldiers who had fought so nobly. There were public meetings, speeches, processions, illumina- tions and bonfires, and devout thanksgivings to God. The deeds of the brave men of the West were praised in poetry and song. Some stanzas were published in the Atlantic Monthly in Boston, which are so beautiful that I think you will thank me for quoting them. " O gales that dash the Atlantic's swell Along oar rocky shores, Whose thunders diapason well New England's glad hurrahs, " Bear to the prairies of the West The echoes of our joy, The prayer that springs in every breast, ' God bless thee, Illinois ! ' O awful hours, when grape and shell Tore through the unflinching line ! 1 Stand firm ! remove the men who fell I Close up, and wait the sign.' It came at hut, Now, lads, the steel ! ' The rushing hosts deploy ; Charge, boys ! ' the broken traitors reel, Huzza for Ulinoui 1 162 THE SUBBENDER. The feeling throughout the Country. In Tain thy rampart, Donelaon, The living torrent bars, It leaps the wall, the fort is won, Up go the Stripes and Stan. Thy proudest mother's eyelids fill, As dares her gallant boy, And Plymouth Bock and Banker J Team to thee, Blinov." CHAPTER VII. THE ARMY AT PITT8BUKO LANDING. Shiloh Chore*. ON the 6th and 7th of April, 1862, one of the greatest battles of the war was fought near Pittsburg Landing in Tennessee, on the west bank of the Tennessee River, about twelve miles from the northeast corner of the State of Mississippi. The Rebels call it the battle of Shiloh, because it was fought near Shiloh Church. I did not see the terrible contest, but I reached the place soon after the fight, in season to see the guns, cannon, wagons, knapsacks, cartridge-boxes, which were scattered over the ground, and the newly-made graves where the dead had just been buried. I was in camp upon the field several weeks, and saw the woods, the plains, hills, ravines. Officers and men who were in the fight pointed out the places where they stood, showed me where the Rebels advanced, where their batteries were, how they advanced and retreated, how the tide of vic- tory ebbed and flowed. Having been so early on the ground, and having listened to the stories of a great many persons, I shall try to give you 164 THE ARMY AT PITTSBURG LANDING. Conflicting Stories. What took Place after the Capture of Doneteoa. a correct account. It will be a difficult task, however, for the stories arc conflicting. No two persons see a battle alike ; each has his own stand-point. He sees what takes place around him. No other one will tell a story like his. Men have different temperaments. One is ex- cited, and another is cool and collected. Men live fast in battle. Every nerve is excited, every sense intensified, and it is only by taking the accounts of different observers that an accurate view can be obtained. After the capture of Fort Donelson, you remem her that General Johnston retreated through Nashville towards the South. A few days later the Rebels evacuated Columbus on the Mississippi. They were obliged to concentrate their forces. They saw that Memphis would be the next point of attack, and they must defend it. All of their energies were aroused. The defeat of the Union army at Bull Run, you remember, caused a great uprising of the North, and so the fall of Donelson stirred the people of the South. If you look at the map of Tennessee, you will notice, about twenty miles from Pittsburg Land- ing, the town of Corinth. It is at the junction of the Memphis and Charleston and the Mobile and Ohio Railroads, which made it an important place to the Rebels. "Corinth must be defended," said the Memphis newspapers. THE ARMY AT PITTSBUBG LANDING. 166 aoremor Harris's Proclamation. General Beauregard sent Wrt. Governor Harris of Tennessee issued a proo- lamation calling upon the people to enlist. PITMBUKO LANDDIO AJTO Vicnrrrr. " As Governor of your State, and Commander- in-Chief of its army, I call upon every able-bodied man of the State, without regard to age, to enlist in its service. I command him who can obtain a weapon to march with our armies. I ask him who can repair or forge an arm to make it ready at once for the soldier." General Beauregard was sent in great haste to the West by Jeff Davis, who hoped that the fame and glory which he had won by attacking Fort Sumter and at Bull RUJX would rouse the people 156 THE ARMY AT PITTSBURu LANDING. The Southern Army. Troops from all Quarters. Old Men and Boys enlUt of the Southwest and save the failing fortunes of the Confederacy. To Corinth came the flower of the Southern army. All other points were weakened to save Corinth. From Pensacola came General Bragg and ten thousand Alabamians, who had watched for many months the little frowning fortress on Santa Rosa Island. The troops which had been at Mobile to resist the landing of General Butler from Ship Island were hastened north upon the trains of the Mobile and Ohio road. Genera) Beauregard called upon the Governors of Tenner see, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana for addi- tional troops. General Polk, who had been a bishop before the war, sent down two divisions from Columbus on the Mississippi. General Johnston with his retreating army hastened on, and thus all the Rebel troops in the Southwestern States were mustered at Corinth. The call to take up arms was responded to ev- erywhere; old men and boys came trooping into the place. They came from Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri. Beauregard labored with unre- mitting energy to create an army which would be powerful enough to drive back the Union troops, recover Tennessee, and invade Kentucky. General Grant, after the capture of Donelson, moved his army, on steamboats, down the Cumber* THE ARMY AT PITTSBUBO LANDING. 157 Grant at Savannah. General Duett's Movement*. Beauregard't PUa land and up the Tennessee, to Pittsburg landing. He made his head-quarters at Savannah, a small town ten miles below Pittsburg Landing, on the east side of the river. General Buell, who had followed General John ston through Nashville with the army of the Ohio, was slowly making his way across the country to join General Grant. The Rebel generals had the railroads, by which they could rapidly con centrate their troops, and they determined to at tack General Grant at Pittsburg, with their supe rior force, before General Buell could join him. Beauregard had his pickets within four miles of General Grant's force, and he could move his entire army within striking distance before Gen- eral Grant would know of his danger. He calcu- lated that he could annihilate General Grant, drive him into the river, or force him to surren- der, capture all of his cannon, wagons, ammuni- tion, provisions, steamboats, everything, by a sudden stroke. If he succeeded, he could then move against General Buell, destroy his army, and not only recover all that had been lost, but he would also redeem Kentucky and invade Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. All but one division of General Grant's army was at Pittsburg. Two miles above the Landing the river begins to make its great eastern bend- Lick Creek comes in from the west, at the hend. 158 THE ARMY AT PITTSBUKG LANDING. Location of General Grant's Army. The Country. The Boadt. Three miles below Pittsburg is Snake Creek, which also comes in from the west. Five miles further down is Crump's Landing. General Lewis Wallace's division was near Crump's, but the other divisions were between the two creeks. The banks of the river are seventy-five feet high, and the country is a succession of wooded hills, with numerous ravines. There are a few clear- ings and farm-houses, but it is nearly all forest, tall oak-trees, with here and there thickets of un- derbrush. The farmers cultivate a little corn, cotton, and tobacco. The country has been set- tled many years, but is almost as wild as when the Indians possessed the land. Pittsburg is the nearest point to Corinth on the river. The road from the Landing winds up the bank, passes along the edge of a deep ravine, and leads southwest. As you go up the road, you come to a log-cabin about a mile from the river. There is a peach-orchard near by. There the roads fork. The left-hand road takes you to Hamburg, the middle one is the Ridge road to Corinth, and the third is the road to Shiloh Church, called also the Lower Corinth road. There are other openings in the woods, old cotton-fields. Three miles out from the river you come to Shiloh Church. A clear brook, which is fed by springs, gurgles over a sandy bed, close by the church. You fill your cant- THE ARMY AT PITTSBUBG LANDING 168 The Church. The Battle- Ground. teen, and find it excellent water. On Sunday noons, the people who come to church sit down beneath the grand old trees, eat their dinners, and drink from the brook. It is not such a church as you see in your own Tillage. It has no tall steeple or tapering spire, no deep-toned bell, no organ, no singing-seats or gallery, no pews or carpeted aisles. It is built of logs. It was chinked with clay years ago, but the rains have washed it out. You can thrust your hand between the cracks. It is thirty or forty feet square. It has places for windows, but there are no sashes, and of course no glass. As you stand within, you can see up to the roof, sup- ported by hewn rafters, and covered with split shingles, which shake and rattle when the wind blows. It is the best-ventilated church you ever saw. It has no pews, but only rough seats for the congregation. A great many of the churches of this section of the country are no better than this. Slavery does not build neat churches and school -houses, as a general thing. Around this church the battle raged fearfully. Not far from the church, a road leads north- east towards Crump's Landing, and another north- west towards the town of Purdy. By the church, along the road leading down to the Landing, at the peach-orchard, and in the ravines yoii find th battle-ground. 160 THE AKMY AT PITTSBURG LANDING. The Rebel Generals. The Rebel Army. Why they hastened the Attack. General Johnston was senior commander of the Rebel army. He had Beauregard, Bragg, Polk, Hardee, Cheatham, all Major-Generals, who had been educated at West Point, at the expense of the United States. They were considered to be the ablest generals in the Rebel service. Gen- eral Breckenridge was there. He was Vice-Presi- dent under Buchanan, and was but a few weeks out of his seat in the Senate of the United States. He was, you remember, the slaveholders' candi- date for President in 1860. Quite likely he felt very sour against the Northern people, because he was not elected President. The Rebel army numbered between forty and fifty thousand men. General Johnston worked with all his might to organize into brigades the troops which were flocking in from all quarters. It was of the utmost importance that the attack should be made before General Buell joined General Grant. The united and concentrated forces of Beauregard, Bragg, and Johnston outnumbered Grant's army by fifteen thousand. General Van Dora, with thirty thousand men, was expected from Arkansas. They were to come by steamboat to Memphis, and were to be transported to Corinth by the Memphis and Charleston Railroad ; but Van Dora was behind time, and, unless the attack was made at once, it would be too late, for the com- bined armies of Grant and Buell would outiium- THE ABMY AT iTTTSBUBQ LANDING. 161 lfrch of the Bebeli. A bio-Mom. The Rebel* delayed. ber the Rebels. At midnight, on the 1st of April, Johnston learned that General BuelTs advance divisions were within two or three days' march of Savannah. He immediately issued his orders to his corps commanders, directing the routes which each was to take in advancing towards Pittsburg. The troops began their march on Thursday morning. They were in excellent spirits. They cheered, swung their hats, and marched with great enthusiasm. The Rebel officers, who knew the situation, the ground where General Grant was encamped, believed that his army would be annihilated. They assured the troops it would be a great and glorious victory. The distance was only eighteen miles, and Gen- eral Johnston intended to strike the blow at day- light on Saturday morning, but it rained hard Friday night, and the roads in the morning were so muddy that the artillery could not move. It was late Saturday afternoon before his army was in position. It was too near night to make the attack. He examined the ground, distributed ammunition, posted the artillery, gave the men extra rations, and waited for Sunday morning. The Union army rested in security. No in- trenchments were thrown up on the hills and along the ridges. No precautions were taken against surprise. The officers and soldiers did not dream of being attacked. They were 162 THE AKMY AT PITTSBUBG LANDING. OtenenJ Grant not expecting an Attack. Picket* fired at. 8k innUhinj. pared. The divisions were not in order for battle. They were preparing to advance upon Corinth, and were to march when General Halleck, who was at St. Louis, commanding the department, should take the field. On the evening of Friday the pickets on the Corinth road, two miles out from Shiloh Church, were fired upon. A body of Rebels rushed through the woods, and captured several officer? and men. The Seventieth, Seventy-second, and Forty-eighth Ohio, of General Sherman's division, were sent out upon a reconnoissance. They camo upon a couple of Rebel regiments, and, after P sharp action, drove them back to a Rebel battery, losing three or four prisoners and taking sixteen. General Lewis Wallace ordered out his division, and moved up from Crump's Landing a mile o; two, and the troops stood under arms in the rain, that poured in torrents through the night, to be ready for an attack from that direction ; but noth- ing came of it. There was more skirmishing os Saturday, a continual firing along the picket lines. All supposed that the Rebels were making a reconnoissance. No one thought that one of the greatest battles of the war was close at hand General Grant went down the river to Savanna!) on Saturday night. The troops dried their clothe* in the sun, cooked their suppers, told their even- ing stories, and put out their lights at tattoo, as usual. THE ARMY AT PITTSBURG LANDING. 163 The DiviiioiM of General Grant In Camp. To get at the position of General Grant's army, let us start from Pittsbnrg Landing. It is a very busy place at the Landing. Forty or fifty steam- boats are there, and hundreds of men are rolling out barrels of sugar, bacon, pork, beef, boxes of bread, bundles of hay, and thousands of sacks of corn. There are several hundred wagons waiting to transport the supplies to the troops. A long train winds up the hill towards the west. Ascending the hill, you come to the forks of the roads. The right-hand road leads to Crump's Landing. You see General Smith's old division, which took the rifle-pits at Donelson, on the right- hand side of the road in the woods. It is com- manded now by W. H. L. Wallace, who has been made a Brigadier-General for his heroism at Donelson. There have been many changes of commanders since that battle. Colonels who commanded regiments there are now brigade commanders. Keeping along the Shiloh road a few rods, you come to the road which leads to Hamburg. Instead of turning up that, you keep on a little farther to the Ridge road, leading to Corinth. General Prentiss's division is on that road, two miles out, towards the southwest. Instead of taking that road, you still keep on the right-hand one, travelling nearly west all the while, and you come to McClernand's division, which is encamped 164 THE ABMY AT PITTSBUBG LANDING. Sherman'* and McClernand'i DivfcloM In a bad Position. Btoart'i Brigade^ in a long line on both sides of the road. Here you see Dresser's, Taylor's, Schwartz's, and McAl- lister's batteries, and all those regiments which fought so determinedly at Donelson. They face northwest. Their line is a little east of the church. Passing over to the church, you see that a number of roads centre there, one coming in from the northwest, which will take you to Purdy ; one from the northeast, which will carry you to Crump's Landing; the road up which you have travelled from Pittsburg Landing ; one from the southeast, which will take you to Ham- burg ; and one from the southwest, which is the lower road to Corinth. You see, close by the church, on both sides of this lower road to Corinth, General Sherman's division, not facing northwest, but nearly south. McClernand's left and Sherman's left are close together. They form the two sides of a triangle, the angle being at the left wings. They are in a very bad position to be attacked. Take the Hamburg road now, and go southeast two miles and you come to the crossing of the Ridge road to Corinth, where you will find Gen- eral Prentiss's division, before mentioned. Keep- ing on, you come to Lick Creek. It has high, steep banks. It is fordable at this point, and Colonel Stuart's brigade of Sherman's division i THE ARMY AT PITTSBURG LANDING. 165 Picket* not far enough oat. The Commander-ln-Chief absent. there, guarding the crossing. The brook which gurgles past the church empties into the creek. You see that Prentiss's entire division, and the left wing of McClernand's, is between Stuart's brigade and the rest of Sherman's division. There are detached regiments encamped in the woods near the Landing, which have just arrived, and have not been brigaded. There are also two regiments of cavalry in rear of these lines. There are several pieces of siege artillery on the top of the hill near the Landing, but there are no artillerists or gunners to serve them. You see that the army does not expect to be attacked. The cavalry ought to be out six or eight miles on picket; but they are here, the horses quietly eating their oats. The infantry pickets ought to be out three or four miles, but they are not a mile and a half advanced from the camp. The army is in a bad position to resist a sudden attack from a superior force. McClernand ought not to be at right angles with Sherman, Stuart ought not to be separated from his division by Prentiss, and General Lewis Wallace is too far away to render prompt assistance. Besides, Gen- eral Grant is absent, and there is no commander- in-chief on the field. You wonder that no prepa- rations have been make to resist an attack, no breastworks thrown up, no proper disposition of the !brces, no extended reconnoissances by the 166 THE ARMY AT PITTSBUBG LANDING. The Rebel Plan of Attack. General Hardee. General Bragg 1 a Line. cavalry, and that, after the skirmishing on Friday and Saturday, all hands should lie down so quietly in their tents on Saturday night. They did not dream that fifty thousand Rebels were ready to strike them at daybreak. General Johnston's plan of attack was submit- ted to his corps commanders and approved by them. It was to hurl the entire army upon Prentiss and Sherman. He had four lines of troops, extending from Lick Creek on the right to the southern branch of Snake Creek on the left, a distance of about two miles and a half. The front line was composed of Major-General Hardee's entire corps, with General Gladden's brigade of Bragg's corps added on the right. The artillery was placed in front, followed closely by the infantry. Squadrons of cavalry were thrown out on both wings to sweep the woods and drive in the Union pickets. About five hundred yards in rear of Hardee was the second line, Bragg's corps in the same order as Hardee's. Eight hundred yards in rear of Bragg was General Polk, his left wing sup- ported by cavalry, his batteries in position to advance at a moment's notice. The reserve, under General Breckenridge, followed close upon Polk. Breckenridge's and Folk's corps were both reckoned as reserves. They had instructions to act as they thought best. There were from ten to twelve thousand men in each line THE ARMY AT PITTSBURG LANDING. 167 The Bebel Army move in Silence. The Council of War. The Rebel troops had received five days' rations on Friday, meat and bread in their haversacks. They were not permitted to kindle a fire except in holes in the ground. No loud talking was allowed ; no drums beat the tattoo, no bugle-note rang through the forest. They rolled themselves in their blankets, knowing at daybreak they were to strike the terrible blow. They were confident of success. They were assured by their officers it would be an easy victory, and that on Sunday night they should sleep in the Yankee camp, eat Yankee bread, drink real coffee, and have new suits of clothes. In the evening General Johnston called his corps commanders around his bivouac fire for a last talk before the battle. Although Johnston was commander-in-chief, Beauregard planned the battle. Johnston was Beauregard's senior, but the battle-ground was in Beauregard's depart- ment. He gave ructions to the officers. Mr. William G. Stevenson, of Kentucky, who was in Arkansas when the war broke out, was impressed into the Rebel service. He acted as special aide-de-camp to General Breckenridge in that battle. He escaped from the Rebel service a few months later, and has published an inter- esting narrative of what he saw.* He stood out- ride the circle of generals waiting by his horse * Thirteen Months in the Bebel Service." 168 THE ARMY AT PITTSBURG LANDING. Mr. SWvencon's Statement. Beanregftrd't Appearance. General Johnston. in the darkness to carry any despatch for his commander. He gives this description of the scene : "In an open space, with a dim fire hi the midst, and a drum on which to write, you could see grouped around their ' Little Napoleon,' as Beauregard was sometimes fondly called, ten or twelve generals, the flickering light playing over their eager faces, while they listened to his plans, and made suggestions as to the conduct of the fight. " Beauregard soon warmed with his subject, and, throwing off his cloak, to give free play to his arms, he walked about the group, gesticulating rapidly, and jerking out his sentences with a strong French accent. All listened attentively, and the dim light, just revealing their counte- nances, showed their different emotions of con- fidence or distrust of his plans. " General Sidney Johnston stood apart from the rest, with his tall, straight form standing out like a spectre against the dim sky, and the illusion was fully sustained by the light-gray military cloak which he folded around him. His face was pale, but wore a determined expression, and at times he drew nearer the centre of the ring, and said a few words, which were listened to with great attention. It may be he had some forebod- ing of the fate he was to meet on the morrow, THE ARMY AT PITTSBUBG LANDING. 169 The Council break* up. . The Union Amy Mleep. for he did not seem to take much part in the di* cussion. " General Breckenridge lay stretched out on a blanket near the fire, and occasionally sat upright and added a few words of counsel. General Bragg spoke frequently, and with earnestness. General Polk sat on a camp-stool at the outside of the circle, and held his head between his hands, buried in thought. Others reclined or sat in various positions. "For two hours the council lasted, and as it broke up, and the generals were ready to return to their respective commands, I heard General Beauregard say, raising his hand and pointing in the direction of the Federal camp, whose drums we could plainly hear, * Gentlemen, we sleep ID the enemy's camp to-morrow night.' " The Confederate General, the same writer says, had minute information of General Grant's posi- tion and numbers. This knowledge was obtained through spies and informers, some of whom lived in the vicinity, had been in and out of Grant's camp again and again, and knew every foot of ground. Under these circumstances, with a superior force, with accurate knowledge of the position of every brigade in General Grant's army, with troops in the best spirits, enthusiastic, ardent, expecting a victory, stealing upon a foe unsu 170 THE ARMY AT PITTSBURG LANDING. General Onmt't Army unprepared for Battle. picious, unprepared, with brigades and divisions widely separated, with General Grant, the com- mander-in-chief, ten miles away, and General BuelPs nearest troops twenty miles distant, the Rebel generals waited impatiently for the coming of the morning. CHAPTER VIII. THE BATTLB. The Bebeli under Ann*. The Union Amy rtill Mtoef FKOM DATBKKAK TILL TBM O'CLOCK. IT was a lovely morning. A few fleecy clouds floated in the sky. The trees were putting out their tender leaves. The air was fragrant with the first blossoms of spring. The birds were singing their sweetest songs. At three o'clock the Rebel troops were under arms, their breakfasts eaten, their blankets folded, their knapsacks laid aside. They were to move unencumbered, that they might fight with more vigor. The morning brightened, and the long lines moved through the forest. The Union army was asleep. The reveille had not been beaten. The soldiers were still dream ing of home, or awaiting the morning drum-beat. The mules and horses were tied to the wagons, whinnying for their oats and corn. A few teamsters were astir. Cooks were rekindling the smoulder- ing camp-fires. The pickets, a mile out, had kept watch through the night. There had been but little firing. There was nothing to indicate the near approach of fifty thousand men. Beau 172 THE BATTLE. 9en. PrenttM'i Pickets. The flnt ShoU. Col. Moore sends to Gen Prentte. regard had ordered that there should be no picket- firing through the night. General Prentiss had strengthened his picket- guard on the Corinth Ridge road Saturday night. Some of his officers reported that Rebel cavalry were plenty in the woods. He therefore doubled his grand guard, and extended the line. He also ordered Colonel Moore, of the Twenty-first Mis- souri, to go to the front with five companies of his regiment. Colonel Moore marched at three o'clock. General Prentiss did not expect a battle, but the appearance of the Rebels along the lines led him to take these precautions. About the time Colonel Moore reached the pickets the Rebel skirmishers came in sight. The firing began. The pickets resolutely main- tained their ground, but the Rebels pushed on. Colonel Moore, hearing the firing, hastened for- ward. It was hardly light enough to distinguish men from trees, but the steady advance of the Rebels convinced him that they were making a serious demonstration. He sent a messenger to General Prentiss for the balance of his regiment, which was sent forward. At the same time Gen- eral Prentiss issued orders for the remainder of his division to form. His entire force was seven regiments, divided into two brigades. The first brigade was com- manded by Colonel Peabody, and contained the THE BATTLE. 173 PITTSBURG LANDING. 1 Hurlburt's division. 2 W. H. L. Wallace's division. 3 McClernand's division. 4 Sherman's division. 5 Prentiss's division. 6 Stuart's brigade. 7 Lewis Wallace's division. 8 Gunboats. 9 Transports. 10 Ravine. A Hardee's line. B Bragg'sline. C Folk's line. D Breckenridge's reserves. 174 THE BATTLE. Chmenl PrentiM'i Diriaion. Bewon why the Camp wu not looner alarm**. Twenty-fifth Missouri, Sixteenth Wisconsin, and Twelfth Michigan. The second brigade was com- posed of the Eighteenth and Twenty-third Mis- souri, Eighteenth Wisconsin, and Sixty-first Illi- nois. The Twenty-third Missouri was at Pittsburg Landing, having just disembarked from a trans- port, and was not with the brigade till nearly ten o'clock. When the firing began, its commander, having been ordered to report to General Prentiss, moved promptly to join the division. General Prentiss also sent an officer to Generals Hurlburt and Wallace, commanding the divisions in his rear, near the Landing, informing them that the Rebels were attacking his pickets in force. The firing increased. The Twenty-first Missouri gave a volley or two, but were obliged to fall back. There had been a great deal of practising at target in the regiments, and every morning the pickets, on their return from the front, discharged their guns, and so accustomed had the soldiers become to the constant firing, that these volleys, so early in the morning, did not alarm the camp. The orders which General Prentiss had issued were tardily acted upon. Many of the officers had not risen when the Twenty-first Missouri came back upon the double-quick, with Colonel Moore and several others wounded. They came in with wild cries. The Rebels were clo^e upon their heels. THE BATTLE. 1Y5 The Kobel Troop*. General Johnston had, as you have already seen, four lines of troops. The third corps was in front, commanded by Major-General Hardee, the second corps next, commanded by General Bragg ; the first corps next, commanded by Major- General Polk, followed by the reserves under General Breckenridge. General Hardee had three brigades, Hindman's, Cleburn's, and Wood's. General Bragg had two divisions, containing six brigades. The first di- vision was commanded by General Ruggles, and contained Gibson's, Anderson's, and Pond's brig- ades. The second division was commanded by General Withers, and contained Gladden's, Chal- mers's, and Jackson's brigades. General Polk had two divisions, containing four brigades. The first division was, commanded by General Clark, and contained Russell's and Stew- art's brigades. The second division was com- manded by Major-General Cheatham, and con- tained Johnson's and Stephens's brigades. Breckenridge had Tabue's, Bowen'^, and Stat- ham's brigades. General Gladden's brigade of Withers's division was placed on the right of Har- dee's line. It was composed of the Twenty-first, Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth Alabama, and First Louisiana, with Robertson's battery. Hindman's brigade joined upon Gladden's. Gladden fol* lowed Colonel Moore's force, and fell upon Preo tiss's camp. 176 THE BATTLE. A ireftt Ooounotion. PrtatUi'i ActiTlty. Gp between PrentiM *od Instantly there was a great commotion in the camp, shouting, hallooing, running to and fro, saddling horses, seizing guns and cartridge-boxes, and forming in ranks. Gladden advanced rap- idly, sending his bullets into the encampment Men who had not yet risen were shot while lying in their tents. But General Prentiss was all along his lines, issuing his orders, inspiring the men who, just awakened from sleep, were hardly in condition to act coolly. He ordered his whole force for- ward, with the exception of the Sixteenth Iowa, which had no ammunition, having arrived from Cairo on Saturday evening. There was a wide gap between Prentiss's right and Sherman's left, and Hardee, finding no one to oppose him, pushed his own brigades into the gap, flanking Prentiss on one side and Sherman on the other, as you will see by a glance at the diagram on page 173. Behind Gladden were Withers's remaining brig- ades, Chalmers's, and Jackson's. Chalmers was on the right, farther east than Gladden. He had the Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth Mississippi, and Fifty-second Tennessee, and Gage's battery. Jackson had the Second Texas, Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Ninteenth Alabama, and Girar- dey's battery. Chalmers moved rapidly upon Prentiss's left flank. Gage's and Robertson's bat THE BATTLE. In Colooel Peabodj rllle the Troop*. teries both opened with shell. Jackson came up on Prentiss's right, and in a short time his six regiments were engaged with twelve of Bragg' a and two batteries. They curled around Prentiss on both flanks, began to gain his rear to cut him off from the Landing, and separate him from Stuart's brigade of Sherman's division, which was a mile distant on the Hamburg road. The regiments on the left began to break, then those in the centre. The Rebels saw their advantage. Before them, dotting the hillside, were the much-coveted tents. They rushed on with a savage war-cry. General Prentiss, aided by the cool and deter- mined Colonel Peabody, rallied the faltering troops in front, but there was no power to stop the flood upon the flanks. "Don't give way! Stand firm! Drive them back with the bayonet ! " shouted Colonel Pea- body, and some Missourians as brave as he re- mained in their places, loading and firing delib- erately. " On ! on ! forward boys ! " cried General Glad- den, leading his men ; but a cannon-shot came screaming through the woods, knocked him from his horse, inflicting a mortal wound. The com- mand devolved on Colonel Adams of the First Louisiana. But the unchecked tide was flowing past Pren- 178 THE BATTLE. fhe Boat Hnrlbvt In Line. Rebels in HurlbartV Camp. tiss's gallant band. Prentiss looked up to the right and saw it there, the long lines of men steadily moving through the forest. He galloped to the left and saw it there. The bayonets of the enemy were glistening between him and the brightening light in the east. His men were los- ing strength. They were falling before the gall- ing fire, now given at short range. They were beginning to flee. He must fall back, and leave his camp, or be surrounded. His troops ran in wild disorder. Men, horses, baggage-wagons, ambulances, bounded over logs and stumps and through thickets in indescribable confusion. Colonel Peabody was shot from his horse, mor- tally wounded, and his troops, which had begun to show pluck and endurance, joined the fugi- tives. Prentiss advised Hurlburt of the disaster. Hurl- burt was prepared. He moved his division for- ward upon the double-quick. Prentiss's disor- ganized regiments drifted through it, but his ranks were unshaken. The Rebels entered the tents of the captured camp, threw off their old clothes, and helped them- selves to new garments, broke open trunks, rifled the knapsacks, and devoured the warm breakfast. They were jubilant ; they shouted, danced, sung, and thought the victory won. Two or three hundred prisoners were taken, disarmed, and THE BATTLE. 179 Sherman's Pickets driven in. Alarm on the Right. Hardee makes a Mistake. their pockets searched. They were obliged to give up all their money, and exchange clothes with their captors, and then were marched to the rear. While this was taking place in Preutiss's divis- ion, Sherman's pickets were being driven back by the rapid advance of the Rebel lines. It was a little past sunrise when they came in, breathless, with startling accounts that the entire Rebel army was at their heels. The officers were not out of bed. The soldiers were just stirring, rubbing their eyes, putting on their boots, washing at the brook, or tending their camp-kettles. Their guns were in their tents ; they had a small supply of ammunition. It was a complete surprise. Officers jumped from their beds, tore open the tent-flies, and stood in undress to see what it was all about. The Rebel pickets rushed up within close musket range and fired. " Fall in ! Form a line ! here, quick ! " were the orders from the officers. There was running in every direction. Sol- diers for their guns, officers for their sabres, artil lerists to their pieces, teamsters to their horses There was hot haste, and a great hurly-burly. General Hardee made a mistake at the outset. Instead of rushing up with a bayonet-charge upon Sherman's camp, and routing his unformed brig- ades in an instant, as he might have done, he un limbered his batteries and opened fire. 180 THE BATTLE. Brigades first engaged. Waterhoune'g Battery. Taylor't Portion. The first infantry attack was upon Hildebrand's brigade, composed of the Fifty-third, Fifty-ninth, and Seventy-sixth Ohio, and the Fifty-third Illi- nois, which was on the left of the division. Next to it stood Buckland's brigade, composed of the Forty-eighth, Seventieth, and Seventy-second Ohio. On the extreme right, west of the church, was McDowell's brigade, composed of the Sixth Iowa, Fortieth Illinois, and Forty-sixth Ohio. Taylor's battery was parked around the church, and Water- house's battery was on a ridge a little east of the church, behind Hildebrand's brigade. Notwithstanding this sudden onset, the ranks did not break. Some men ran, but the regiments formed with commendable firmness. The Rebel skirmishers came down to the bushes which bor- der the brook south of the church, and began a scattering fire, which was returned by Sherman's pickets, which were still in line a few rods in front of the regiments. There was an open space be- tween the Fifty-seventh and Fifty-third regiments of Hildebrand's brigade, and Waterhouse, under Sherman's direction, let fly Ms shells through the gap into the bushes. Taylor wheeled his guns into position on both sides of the church. Hiudman, Cleburn, and "Wood advanced into the gap between Sherman and Prentiss, and swung towards the northwest upon Sherman's left flauk. Ruggles, with his three brigades, and Hodgson's THE BATTLE. 181 battery of Louisiana artillery, and Ketchum's bat- tery, moved upon Sherman's front. He had Gib- son's brigade on the right, composed of the Fourth, Thirteenth, and Nineteenth Louisiana, and the First Arkansas. Anderson's brigade was next in line, containing the Seventeenth and Twentieth Louisiana, and Ninth Texas, a Louisiana and a Florida battalion. Pond's brigade was on the left, and contained the Sixteenth and Eighteenth Louisiana, Thirty-eighth Tennessee, and two Lou- isiana battalions. When the alarm was given, General Sherman was instantly on his horse. He sent a request to McClernand to support Hildebrand. He also sent word to Prentiss that the enemy were in front, but Prentiss had already made the discovery, and was contending with all his might against the avalanche rolling upon him from the ridge south of his position. He sent word to Hurlburt that a force was needed in the gap between the church and Prentiss. He was everywhere present, dawn- ing along his lines, paying no attention to tLe constant fire aimed at him and his staff by the Rebel skirmishers, within short musket range. They saw him, knew that he was an officer of high rank, saw that he was bringing order out of confusion, and tried to pick him off. While galloping down to Hildebrand, his orderly, Halli day, was killed. 182 THE BATTLE. The Fight at Sunrise. The Tield south of the Brook. Taylor's iMtructlont The fire from the bushes was galling, and Hil- debrand ordered the Seventy-seventh and Fifty- seventh Ohio to drive out the Rebels. They advanced, and were about to make a charge, when they saw that they were confronted by Hardee's line, moving down the slope. The sun was just sending its morning rays through the forest, shining on the long line of bayonets. Instead of advancing, Hildebrand fell back and took position by Waterhouse, on the ridge. When Hildebrand advanced, two of Waterhouse's guns were sent across the brook, but they were speedily withdrawn, not too soon, however, for they were needed to crush Hindman and Cleburn who were crossing below Hildebrand. Upon the south side of the brook there was a field and a crazy old farm-house. Ruggles came into the field, halted, and began to form for a rapid descent to the brook. His troops were in full view from the church. " Pay your respects to those fellows over there," said Major Taylor to the officer commanding his own battery. Taylor was chief of artillery in Sherman's division, and was not in immediate command of his own battery. When he first saw them come into the field he thought they were not Rebels, but some of Prentiss's men, who had been out on the front. He hesitated to open fire till it was ascertained who they were. THE BATTLE. 188 Artillery Tin. Attack on HUdebrand's left Flank. Waterhouse cf ieck It. He rode down to Waterhouse, and told him to fire into the field. He galloped up to McDowell's brigade, where Barrett's battery was stationed, and told the officer commanding to do the same. In a moment the field was smoking hot, shells burst- ing in the air, crashing through Ruggles's ranks, and boring holes in the walls of the dilapidated old cabin. The Rebels could not face in the open field so severe a fire. Instead of advancing di- rectly against the church, they moved into the woods east of the field, and became reinforce- ments to the brigades already well advanced into the gap between Sherman and Preutiss. They came up on Hildebrand's left flank. The thick growth of hazel and alders along the brook concealed their movements. They advanced till they were not more than three hundred feet from the Fifty-third and Fifty-seventh Ohio before they began their fire. They yelled like demons, screech- ing and howling to frighten the handful of men supporting Waterhouse. Taylor saw that they intended an attack upon Waterhouse. He rode to the spot. " Give them grape and canister ! " he shouted. It was done. The iron hail swept through the bushes. The yelling suddenly ceased. There were groans and moans instead. The ad vance in that direction was instantly checked. But all the while the centre brigades of Hardee were pushing ink the gap, and, without serious 184 THE BATTLE. The Rebel* gain the Ridge. McClernand's Dlriilon opposition, were gaining Sherman's left flank. Water-house began to limber up his guns for a retreat. Taylor feared a sudden panic. " Contest every inch of ground. Keep cool. Give them grape. Let them have all they want,'' said Taylor. Waterhouse unlimbered his guns again, wheeled them a little more to the east, almost northeast, and opened a fire which raked the long lines and again held them in check. Taylor sent to Schwartz, Dresser, and McAllister, connected with McCler- nand's division, to come into position ana stop the flank movement. This took time. The Rebels, seeing thvrr ad- vantages, and hoping to cut off Sherman, pushed on, and in five minutes were almost in rear of Waterhouse and Hildebrand. They gained the ridge which enfiladed Hildebrand. Cleburn and Wood swung up against Waterhouse. He wheeled still farther north, working his guns with great rapidity. They rushed upon him with the Indian war-whoop. His horses were shot. He tried to drag off his guns. He succeeded in saving three, but was obliged to leave the other three in their hands. General McClernand had promptly responded to Sherman's request to support Hildebrand Three regiments of Raitt's and Marsh's brigadei were brought round into position in rear of Hil THE BATTLE. 186 to. atlll holds out. debrand. You remember that McClernand's c vision was facing northwest, and this movement, therefore, was a change of front to the southeast. The Eleventh Illinois formed upon the right of Waterhouse. The other two, the Forty-third and Thirtieth Illinois, were on the left, in rear. The fight was in Hildebrand's camp. There was a fierce contest. Two thirds of Hildebrand's men had been killed and wounded, or were missing. Most of the missing had fled towards the river. The regiments that remained were mixed up. The sudden onset had thrown them into con- fusion. There was but little order. Each man fought for himself. It was a brave little band, which tried to save the camp, but they were out- numbered and outflanked. The Eleventh Illinois lost six or eight of its officers by the first volley, yet they stood manfully against the superior force. Meanwhile, Buckland and McDowell were in a hot fight against Anderson and Pond, who had moved to the western border of the field, and were forming against McDowell's right. Barrett and Taylor were thundering against them, but there were more cannon replying from the Rebel side. They were so far round on McDowell's flank, that the shells which flew over the heads of McDowell's men came past the church into Hildebrand's ranks. Sherman tried to hold his position by the church. He considered it to be of the utmost importance. 186 THE BATTLE. How Sherman'* Hone* were shot. He did not want to lose his camp. He exhibited great bravery. His horse was shot, and he mounted another. That also was killed, and he took a third, and, before night, lost his fourth. He encouraged his men, noi only by his words, but by his reckless daring. Buckland's and McDowell's men recov- ered from the shock they first received. They became bull-dogs. Their blood was up. As often as the Rebels attempted to crowd McDowell back, they defeated the attempt. The two brigades with Taylor's and Barrett's batteries held their ground till after ten o'clock, and they would not have yielded then had it not been for disaster down the line. Hildebrand rallied his men. About one hun- dred joined the Eleventh Illinois, of McClernand's division, and fought like tigers. In the advance of Bragg's line, Gibson's brigade bocame separated from Anderson and Pond, Gib- son moving to the right towards Prentiss, and they to the left towards Sherman. Several regiments of Folk's line immediately moved into the gap. It was a reinforcement of the centre, but it was also a movement which tended to disorganize the Rebel lines. Gibson became separated from his division commands, and the regiments from Polk's corps became disconnected from their brigades, but General Bragg directed them to joLi General Hindman. THE BATTLE. 187 ft Rebels advance upon McClemand. Sherman obliged to give up hii Camp. They moved on towards McClernand, who was changing front and getting into position a half- mile in rear of Sherman. They were so far ad- vanced towards Pittsburg Landing, that Sherman saw he was in danger of being cut off. He reluc- tantly gave the order to abandon his camp and take a new position. He ordered the batteries to fall back to the Purdy and Hamburg road. He saw Buckland and McDowell, and told them where to rally. Captain Behr had been posted on the Purdy road with his battery, and had had but little part in the fight. He was falling back, closely followed by Pond. " Come into position out there on the right," said Sherman, pointing to the place where he wanted him to unlimber. There came a volley from tho woods. A shot struck the Captain from his horse. The drivers and gunners became fright- ened, and rode off with the caissons, leaving five unspiked guns to fall into the hands of the Rebels ! Sherman and Taylor, and other officers, by their coolness, bravery, and daring, saved Buckland and McDowell's brigades from a panic ; and thus, after four hours of hard fighting, Sherman was obliged to leave his camp and fall back behind McCler- nand, who now was having a fierce fight with the brigades which had pushed in between Prentisa and Sherman. The Rebels rejoiced over their success, Their 188 THE BATTLE. The Retell help themielTeg. Hurlburt'i Preparation*. Veatch'B Brigade. loud hurrahs rose above the din of battle. They rushed into the tents and helped themselves to whatever they could lay their hands on, as had already been done in Prentiss's camps. Officers and men in the Rebel ranks alike forgot all disci- pline. They threw off their old gray rags, and appeared in blue uniforms. They broke open the trunks of the officers, and rifled the knapsacks of the soldiers. They seized the half-cooked break- fast, and ate like half-starved wolves. They found bottles of whiskey in some of the officers' quar- ters, and drank, danced, sung, hurrahed, and were half-crazy with the excitement of their victory. Having taken this look at matters hi the vicinity of the church, let us go towards the river, and see the other divisions. It was about half past six o'clock in the morn- ing when General Hurlburt received notice from General Sherman that the Rebels were driving in his pickets. A few minutes later he had word from Prentiss asking for assistance. He sent Veatch's brigade, which you remembei consisted of the Twenty-fifth Indiana, the Four- teenth, Fifteenth, and Forty-eighth Illinois, to Sherman. The troops sprang into ranks as soon as the order was issued, and were on the march in ten minutes. Prentiss sent a second messenger, askir>^ foi immediate aid. Hurlburt in person led his othei THE BATTLE. 189 Hurlbort'B Line of Battle. Th Peaoh-Orohaid. two brigades, Williams's and Lauman's. He had Mann's Ohio battery, commanded by Lieutenant Brotzman, Ross's battery, from Michigan, and Meyer's Thirteenth Ohio battery. He marched out on the Ridge road, and met Prentiss's troops, disorganized and broken, with doleful stories of the loss of everything. Prentiss and other officers were attempting to rally them. Hurlburt formed in line of battle on the border of an old cotton-field on the Hamburg road. There were some sheds, and a log-hut with a great chim- ney built of mud and sticks, along the road. In front of the hut was a peach-orchard. Mann's battery was placed near the northeast corner of the field. Williams's brigade was placed on one side of the field, and Lauman's on the other, which made the line nearly a right angle. Ross's bat- tery was posted on the right, and Meyer's on the left. This disposition of his force enabled Hurl- burt to concentrate his fire upon the field and into the peach-orchard. You see the position, the long line of men in blue, in the edge of the woods, sheltered in part by the giant oaks. You see the log-huts, the mud Chimney, the peach-trees in front, all aflame with pink blossoms. The field is as smooth as a house floor. Here and there are handfuls of cotton, the leavings of last year's crop. It is perhaps forty or fifty rods across the field to the fores^ 190 THE BATTLE. The Fugitives stopped. The Attack upon Hurlbnrt. upon the other side. Hurlburt and his officers are riding along the lines, cheering the men and giving directions. The fugitives from Prentiss are hastening towards the Landing. But a line of guards has been thrown out, and the men are rallying behind Hurlburt. The men standing in line along that field know that they are to fight a terrible battle. At first there is a little wavering, but they gain confidence, load their guns, and wait for the enemy. Withers's division, which had pushed back Prentiss, moved upon Hurlburt's right. Gage's and Girardey's batteries opened fire. The first shot struck near Meyer's battery. The men never before had heard the shriek of a Rebel shell. It was so sudden, unexpected, and terrifying, thai officers and men fled, leaving their cannon, cais- sons, horses, and everything. Hurlburt saw no more of them during the day. Indignant at the manifestation of cowardice, he rode down to Mann's battery, and called for volunteers to work the abandoned guns ; ten men responded to the call. A few other volunteers were picked up, and although they knew but little of artillery prac- tice, took their places beside the guns and opened fire. The horses with the caissons were dashing madly through the forest, increasing the confusion, but they were caught and brought in. You see that in battle men sometimes lose their presence THE BATTLE. 191 A dark Look for the Union Army. General Grant's Operation*. of mind, and act foolishly. It is quite likely, how- ever, that the troops fought all the more bravely for this display of cowardice. Many who were a little nervous, who had a strange feeling at the heart, did not like the exhibition, and resolved that they would not run. At this time the fortunes of the Union army were dark. Prentiss had been routed. His com- mand was a mere rabble. Hildebrand's brigade of Sherman's division was broken to pieces ; there was not more than half a regiment left. The other two brigades of Sherman's division by the church were giving way. Half of Waterhouse's battery, and all but one of Behr's guns were taken. Sherman and Prentiss had been driven from their camps. Four of the six guns com- posing Meyer's battery could not be used for want of men. The three regiments which McCler- nand had sent to Sherman were badly cut to pieces. The entire front had been driven in. Johnston had gained a mile of ground. He had accomplished a great deal with little loss. General Grant heard the firing at Savannah, ten miles down the river. It was so constant and heavy that he understood at once it was an at- tack. He sent a messenger post haste to Genera] Buell, whose advance was ten miles east of Savan- nah, and then hastened to Pittsburg on a steam boat. He arrived on the ground about nine o'clock 192 THE BATTLE. The Rebel force In the form of * Wedge. Up to that hour there was no commander-in-chief, but each division commander gave such orders as he thought best. There was but little unity of action. Each commander was impressed with a sense of danger, and each was doing his best to hold the enemy in check. The wide gap between Prentiss and Sherman, and the quick routing of Prentiss's regiments, enabled Hardee to push his middle brigades to the centre of the Union army without much oppo- sition. Both of Hardee's flanks had been held back by the stout fight of Sherman on one side the weaker resistance of Prentiss on the other. This gradually made the Rebel force into the form of a wedge, and at the moment when Hurl* burt was waiting for their advance, the point of the wedge had penetrated beyond Hurlburt'i right, but there it came against General W. H. L. Wallace's division. When Hurlburt notified Wallace that Prentiss was attacked, that noble commander ordered his division under arms. You remember his posi- tion, near Snake Creek, and nearer the Pittsburg Landing than any other division. He at once moved in the direction of the firing, which brought him west of Hurlburt's position. You remember that General McClernaiid had sent three regiments to General Sherman, and that they were obliged to change front. Having THE BATTLE. 198 MaClernand change* front. Hit PotlUon. done that, he moved his other two brigades, the first under the command of Colonel Hare, includ- ing the Eighth and Eighteenth Illinois infantry and the Eleventh and Thirteenth Iowa, with Dresser's battery, and the third brigade with Schwartz's and McAllister's batteries. It was a complete change of front. These movements of Wallace and McClernand were directly against the two sides and the point of the wedge which Hardee was driving. Wallace marched southwest, and McClernand swung round facing southeast. They came up just in season to save Sherman from being cut off and also to save Veatch's brigade ot Hurlburt's division from being overwhelmed. McClernand's head-quarters were in an old cot ton-field. The camps of his regiments extended across the field and into the forest on both sides. He established his line on the south side of the field in the edge of the forest, determined to save his camp if possible. His men had seen hard fighting at Port Donelson, and so had General Wallace's men. They were hardened to the scenes of battle, whereas Sherman's, Prentiss's, and Hurlburt's men were having their first ex- perience. Schwartz, McAllister, and Dresser had confronted the Rebels at Donelson, and so had Major Cavender with his eighteen pieces, commanded by Captains Stone, Richardson, and Walker. THE BATTLE. A W*Ik along the Line. The Regiments in Line of Battle. The Bight. This is a long and intricate story, and I fear you will not be able to understand it. The regi- ments at this hour were very much mixed up, and as the battle continued they became more so. Later in the day there was so much confusion that no correct account can ever be given of the positions of the regiments. Thousands of you, I doubt not, had friends in that battle, and you would like to know just where they stood. Let us therefore walk the entire length of the line while the Rebels are preparing for the second onset. Commencing on the extreme right, we find Sherman reforming with his left flank a little in rear of McClernand's right. There is McDow- ell's brigade on the right, the Sixth Iowa, Fourth Illinois, and Forty-sixth Ohio. Buckland's brig- ade next, the Forty-eighth, Seventieth, and Sev- enty-second Ohio. A few men of Hildebrand's brigade, not five hundred in all, of the Fifty-third, Fifty-seventh, and Seventy-sixth Ohio. Next the regiments of McClernand's division, the Eleventh Iowa, Eleventh, Twentieth, Forty-eighth, Forty fifth, Seventeenth, Twenty-ninth, Forty-ninth, Forty-third, Eighth, and Eighteenth Illinois. Next Wallace's division, Seventh, Ninth, Twelfth, Fif- tieth, and Fifty-second Illinois, the Twelfth, Thir- teenth Iowa, and the Twenty-fifth, Fifty-second, and Fifty-sixth Indiana. I think that all of those regiments were there, although it is possible that THE BATTLE. Stuart's Position. one or two of them had not arrived. These are not all in the front line, but you see them in two lines. Some of them lying down behind the ridges waiting the time when they can spring up and confront the enemy. Next in line you see Yeatch's brigade of Hurl* burt's division, the Twenty-fifth Indiana, the Four- teenth, Fifteenth, and Forty-sixth Illinois ; then Williams's brigade, the Third Iowa, the Twenty- eighth, Thirty-second, and Forty-first Illinois, by the log-huts of the cotton-field on the Hamburg road. Here are Cavender's guns, eighteen of them. Next is Laumau's brigade, not the one he commanded at Donelson in the victorious charge, but one composed of the Thirty-first and Forty-fourth Indiana, and the Seventeenth and Twenty-fifth Kentucky. Behind Wallace and Hurlburt Prentiss is re- forming his disorganized regiments, the Twenty- first, Twenty-third, and Twenty-fifth Missouri, Sixteenth and Eighteenth Wisconsin, and the Twelfth Michigan. You remember that Stuart's brigade of Sher- man's division was keeping watch on the Ham- burg road at the Lick Creek crossing, towards the river from Prentiss. When Prentiss was attacked, he sent word to Stuart, who ordered his brigade under arms at once. He waited for orders. He saw after a while the Rebel THE BATTL. The Attack upon Stuart The Rebels try to eat him off. bayonets gleaming through the woods between himself and Prentiss. He placed the Seventy- first Ohio on the right, the Fifty-fifth Illinois in the centre, and the Fifty-fourth on the left. These three regiments compose his brigade, and com- plete the list of those engaged in the fight on Sunday. When the fight began in the morning, Stuart sent two companies across the creek to act as skirmishers, but before they could scale the high bluffs upon the south side, Statham's and Bowen's brigades, of Breckenridge's reserves, had posses- sion of the ground, and they returned. Statham's batteries opened upon Stuart's camp. Brecken- ridge had moved round from his position in rear, and now formed the extreme right of Johnston. There were eight regiments and a battery in front of Stuart. The battery forced the Seventy-first Ohio from its position. It retired to the top of the ridge behind its camp-ground, which Stuari could have held against a superior force, had he not been outflanked. The Seventy-first, without orders, abandoned the position, retreated towards the Landing, and Stuart saw no more of them during the day. He took a new position, with his two regiments, on the crest of the hill. East of him was a ravine. Breckenridge sent a body of cavalry and infantry across the creek to creep up this ravine, get in reai THK BATTLE. 197 The right in the Barine. gfcurt compelled to Betreat. of Stuart's left flank, and with the masses hurry- ing past his right cut him off. Stuart determined to make a gallant resistance. He sent four compa- nies of the Fifty-fourth Ohio, who took their posi- tion at the head of the ravine or gully which makes up from the creek towards the north. They crept into the thick bushes, hid behind the trees, and commenced a galling fire, forcing the cavalry back and stopping the advance of the infantry. The remainder of his force kept Statham back on the front. His line of fire was across an open field, and as often as Statham attempted to cross it, he was sent back by the well-directed volleys. Stuart received assurances from General McArthur, commanding one of Wallace's brigades, that he should be supported, but the supports could not be spared from the centre. Stuart maintained his position more than two hours, till his cartridge-boxes were emptied. When his ammunition failed, Statham and Bowen made another rush upon his left, and he saw that he must retreat or be taken prisoner. He fell back to Hurlburt's line, and formed the remnant of his brigade on the left, thus completing the line of battle which was established at ten o'clock. FKOM TBW O'CLOCK TILL Fou*. Generals Bragg and Folk directed the attack on McGlernand and Wallace. Pond's brigade waa 198 THE BATTLE. The Bebels Confident. Attack on McClernsnd. northwest of the church, Anderson's by the church, Cleburn's and Wood's east of it. Hindman's and the regiments of Folk's corps which had broken off from their brigades were in front of Wallace's right. These regiments belonged to Cheatham's division. The whole of his division was in front of Wallace. " Russell, Stewart, and Gibson were in front of Wallace's left. Gladden, Chalmers, and Jackson vere on Hurlburt's right, while Breckenridge, having driven back Stuart, came up on his left. The Rebels, confident of final victory, came up *ith great bravery, and commenced attacking McClernand, but they were confronted by men equally brave. Pond and Anderson charged upon tLe regiments on McClernand's right, but the charge was broken by the quick volleys of the Eleventh, Twentieth, and Forty-eighth Illinois. Cleburn and Wood rushed upon the Forty-fifth, Seventeenth, and Forty-ninth, which were in the centre of the division, but were repulsed. Then they swuug against the Eleventh and Eighteenth, in front of McClernand's head-quarters, but could not break the line. For a half-hour more, they stood and fired at long musket range. Dresser, McAllister, and Schwartz gave their batteries full play, but were answered by the batteries planted around the church, on the ground from which Sherman had been driven. Bragg advanced hi* THE BATTLE. 199 Charge upon the Batterie*. men to short musket range, fifteen to twenty rods distant. Trees were broken off by the cannon- shot, splintered by the shells ; branches were wrenched from the trunks, the hazel-twigs were cut by the storm of leaden hail. Many trees were struck fifty, sixty, and a hundred times. Officers and men fell on both sides very fast. Folk's brigades came up, and the united forces rushed upon the batteries. There was a desperate strug- gle. The horses were shot, Schwartz lost six- teen, Dresser eighteen, and McAllister thirty. The guns were seized, Schwartz lost three, Mc- Allister two, and Dresser three. The infantry could not hold their ground. They fell back, took a new position, and made another effort to save their camp. The woods rang with the hurrahs of the Rebels. The ground was ihick with their dead and wound- ed, but they were winning. They had the largest army, and success stimulated them to make an- other attack. Bragg reformed his columns. McClernand's second line of defence was near his camp. His men fought bravely to save it. Folk's brigades moved to the front, and charged upon the line, but they were checked. McCler- nand charged upon them, and in turn was re- pulsed. So the contest went on hour after hour. Buckland and McDowell, of Sherman's com- mand, were too much exhausted and disorganized 200 THE BATTLE. The great Attack on MoClernand'i Bight. Beaoregard'i Ate* by their long contest in the morning to take much part in this fight. They stood as reserves. Bar- rett and Taylor had used all their ammunition, and could not aid. McClernand's right was unprotected. Bragg saw it, and moved round Anderson's, Pond's, and a portion of Stewart's brigades. There was a short struggle, and then the troops gave way. The men ran in confusion across the field swept by the Rebel artillery. The pursuers, with ex- ultant cheers, followed, no longer in order, but ^ach Rebel soldier running for the plunder in the tents. The contest was prolonged a little on the left, but the camp was in the hands of the Rebels, and McClernand and Sherman again fell back towards Wallace's camp. Wallace was already engaged. The tide which had surged against Sherman and McClernand now came with increased force against his divis- ion. Beauregard aimed for the Landing, to seize the transports, using his force as a wedge to split the Union army off from the river. He might have deflected his force to Grant's right, and avoided what, as you will presently see, pre- vented him from accomplishing his object ; but having been thus far successful in his plan, he continued the direct advance. General Wallace was a very brave man. He was cool, had great presence of mind, and pos- THE BATTLE. 201 tenrl W*Ue. Hli Biwry. He npabe* the Brtxk. eessed the rare qualification of making his sol- diers feel his presence. He could bring order out of confusion, and by a word, a look, or an act Inspire his men. He posted Cavender's three bat- teries in commanding positions on a ridge, and kept his infantry well under cover behind the ridge Cavender's men had fought under the brave General Lyon at Wilson's Creek in Mis- souri, and had been in half a dozen battles. The creaming of the shells was music to them. From eleven till four o'clock the battle raged in front of Wallace. The men who had fought their first battle so determinedly at Donelson were not to be driven now. Four tunes Hardee, Bragg, and Cheatham rushed upon Wallace's line, but were in each in- stance repulsed. Twice Wallace followed them as they retired after their ineffectual attempts to crush him, but he had not sufficient power to break their triple ranks. He could hold his ground, but he could not push the superior force. His coolness, endurance, bravery, stubbornness, his quick perception of all that was taking place, his power over his men, to make each man a hero, did much towards saving the army on that disastrous day. General Bragg says : " Hindman's command was gallantly led to the attack, but recoiled under a murderous fire. The noble and gallant Jeadei 202 THE BATTLE. Breckenrfdge In front of Stout. The Attack at the Orchard. (Hindman) fell severely wounded. The com- mand returned to its work, but was unequal to the heavy task. I brought up Gibson's brigade, and threw them forward to attack the same point. A very heavy fire soon opened, and after a short conflict this command fell back in considerable disorder. Rallying the different regiments by my stall officers and escort, they were twice more moved to the attack only to be driven back." * In the morning, when the Rebels commenced the attack, you remember that Breckenridge, with the Rebel reserves, was in the rear ; that he moved east, and came down towards the river in front of Stuart's brigade. General Johnston and staff were upon the hills which border the creek, ex- amining the ground in front of Stuart and Hurl- burt. Ross, Mann, and Walker were throwing shells across the creek. General Breckenridge rode up to General John- ston and conversed with him. " I will lead your men into the fight to-day, for I intend to show these Tennesseeans and Ken- tuckians that I am no coward," said Johnston to Breckenridge.f The people of the Southwest thought he was a coward, because he had abandoned Nashville with- out a fight. Breckenridge brought up Statham's and Bow- Bragg'i Report. t SteYnon. THE BATTLE. 203 Horlburt oat of Ammunition. en's brigades against Hurlburt. He formed hia line in the edge of the woods on the opposite side of the field. After an artillery fire of an hour, he moved into the centre of the field, rushed through the peach-orchard, and came close to Hurlburt's line by the log-cabin. But the field was fenced with fire. There was constant flash- ing from the muskets, with broad sheets of flame from the artillery. The Rebels were repulsed with shattered ranks. Breckenridge sent his special aid to General Johnston for instructions.* As the aid rode up, a shell exploded above the General and his staff. A fragment cut through General Johnston's right thigh, severing an artery. He was taken from his horse, and died on the field at half past two o'clock. General Beauregard assumed command, and gave orders to keep General Johnston's death a secret, that the troops might not be discouraged. Three times Breckenridge attempted to force Hurlburt back by attacking him in front, but as often as he advanced he was driven back. It was sad to see the wounded drag themselves back to the woods, to escape the storm, more terrible than the blast of the simoom, sweeping over the field. Hurlburt's regiments fired away all their ammunition, and Prentiss- who - els were driven from Missouri ! CHAPTEE XI. OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TKN. Commodore Foote's Flotilla. The Morton. /COMMODORE FOOTE, having repaired the \-^ gunboats disabled at Fort Donelson, sailed from Cairo the day that New Madrid fell into tju" hands of General Pope. He had seven gunboats and ten mortars, besides several tugs and trans- ports. Colonel Buford, with fifteen hundred troops, accompanied the expedition. The mortars were untried. They were the largest ever brought into use at that time, weigh- ing nineteen thousand pounds, and throwing a shell thirteen inches in diameter. The accompa- nying diagram will perhaps give you an idea of their appearance. You see the mortar mounted on its carriage, or bed as it is called. The figures 1, 1 represent one cheek of the bed, a thick wrought-iron plate. The figures 2, 2 represent the heads of the bolts which connect the cheek in view to the one on the other side. The bed stands on thick timbers, represented by 3, and the timbers rest on heavy sleepers, 4. Figure 5 repre- sents a thick strap of iron which clasps the trunion 248 OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. or axis of the mortar, and holds it in its place. This strap is held by two other straps, 6, 6, all iron, and very strong. The figure 7 represents what is called a bolster. You see it is in the shape of a wedge. It is used to raise or depress the muzzle of the mortar. The figure 8 represents what is called a quoin, and keeps the bolster hi its place. The figure 9 represents one of the many bolts by which the whole is kept in place on the boat. AMOBTAB. The boat is built like a raft, of thick timbers, hiid crosswise and bolted firmly together. It is about thirty feet long and twelve wide, and has iron plates around its sides to screen the men from Rebel sharpshooters. The mortar is more than four feet in diameter. It is thicker than it te long. To fire a mortar accurately requires a good knowledge of mathematics, of the relation* OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. 249 Mortar-firing. Captain Maynadtor. The Onm In the IT- of curves to straight lines, for the shell is nred into the air at an angle of thirty or forty degrees. The gunner must calculate the distance from the mortar to the enemy in a straight line, and then elevate or lower the muzzle to drop his shell not too near, neither too far away. He must calcu- late the time it will take for the shell to describe the curve through the air. Then he must make his fuses of the right length to have the shell explode at the proper time, either high in the air, that its fragments may rain down on the encamp- ment of the enemy, or close down to the ground among the men working the guns. It requires skill and a great deal of practice to do all this. The mortar flotilla was commanded by Captain Henry B. Maynadier, assisted by Captain E. B. Pike of the engineers. There were four Masters of Ordnance, who commanded each four mortars. Each mortar-boat had a crew of fifteen men ; three of them were Mississippi flatboatmen, who under- stood all about the river, the currents and the Band-bars. Commodore Foote's flotilla consisted of the Benton, 16 guns, which was his flag-ship, covered all over with iron plates, and commanded by Captain Phelps ; the Mound City, 13 guns, com- manded by Captain Kelty ; the Carondelet, 13 guns, Lieutenant Walke ; the Cincinnati, 18 guns. Captain Stemble ; the St. Louis, 13 guns, 11* 250 OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. What the Southern People thought. Captain Dove ; the Louisville, 13 guns, Lieutenant Paulding; the Pittsburg, 13 guns, Lieutenant Thompson ; the Conestoga, 9 guns, Lieutenant Blodgett ; in all, 103 guns and 10 mortars. The Conestoga was used to guard the ammunition- boats, and took no part in the active operations. Commodore Foote had several small steam-tugs, which were used as tenders, to carry orders from boat to boat. The Southern people thought that Island No. 10 could not be taken. On the 6th of March a newspaper at Memphis said : " For the enemy to get possession of Memphis and the Mississippi Valley would require an army of greater strength than Secretary Stanton can concentrate upon the banks of the Missis- sippi River. The gunboats in which they have so much confidence have proved their weakness. They cannot stand our guns of heavy calibre. The approach of the enemy by land to New Mad- rid induces us to believe that the flotilla is one grand humbug, and that it is not ready, and doe8 not intend to descend the river. Foote, the com- mander of the Federal fleet, served his time under Commodore Hollins, and should he attempt to descend the river, Hollins will teach him that some things can be done as well as others." * On Saturday, the 15th of March, the fleet aj> * Memphis Argiu. OPEEATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBEB TEN. 251 A Rebel Bteamer. Captain Charter What he uld to the Rebel* preached ^e island. The clouds were thick and lowering. The rain pattered on the decks of the gunboats, the fog settled upon the river. As the boats swopt round a point of land, the old river pilot, who was on the watch, who knew every crook, turn, sand-bar, and all the objects along the bank, sung out, " Boat ahead ! " The sailors scrambled to the portholes ; Captain Phelps sprang from the cabin to the deck. There she was, a steamer, just visible through the fog a mile ahead. It was the Grampus, owned by Captain Chester of the steamer Alps, who had two of the mortar-boats in tow. He be- longed to Pittsburg, and used to carry coal to Memphis. When the war broke out the Rebels seized his steamboats and his coal-barges, and refused to pay him for the coal they had already purchased. The act roused all his ire. He was a tall, athletic man, and had followed the river thirty years. Although surrounded by enemies, he gave them plain words. " You are a set of thieves and rascals ! You are cowards, every one of you ! " he shouted. He took off his coat, rolled up his shirt-sleeves, bared his great brawny arms, dashed his hat upon the ground. " Now come on ! I '11 fight every one of you, you infernal rascals ! I '11 whip you all ! I challenge you to fight me ! You call yourselvei 252 OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NTJMBEB TEN. Tiring at the Gnunpw. chivalrous people. You say you believe in fail play. If I whip, you shall give up my boats, but if I am beaten, you are welcome to them." They laughed in his face, and said : " Blow away, old fellow. We have got your boats. Help yourself if you can." A hot-headed secessionist cried out, " Hang the Yankee ! " The crowd hustled him about, but he had a few old friends, who took his part, and he succeeded in making his escape. Captain Phelps looked a moment at the Gram- pus. He saw her wheels move. She was starting off. " Out with the starboard gun ! Give her a shot I " Lieutenant Bishop runs his eye along the sights of the great eleven-inch gun, which has been loaded and run out of the porthole in a twinkling. There is a flash. A great cloud puffs out into the fog, and the shot screams through the air and is lost to sight. We cannot see where it fell. Another another. Boom ! boom ! boom ! from the Cincinnati and Carondelet. But the Grampus is light-heeled. The distance widens. You can hardly see her, and at last she vanishes like a ghost from sight. We were not more than four or five miles from the head of the island. One by one the boat* OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NTJMBEB TEN. 253 ' Approaching the Iihnd. A Pl^rlng. A View of the E Mmy .~ rounded to along the Kentucky shore. The Bailors sprang upon the land, carrying out the strong warps, and fastening us to the trunks of the buttonwood-trees. There was t< Bearing and a miserable log-hut near by. The family had fled, frightened by the cannonade. We found them cowering in the woods, a man, his wife and daughter. The land all around them was exceedingly rich, but they were very poor. All they had to eat was hog and hominy. They had been told that the Union troops would rob them of all they had, which was not likely, because they had nothing worth stealing ! They were trembling with fear, but when they found the soldiers and sailors well- behaved and peaceable, they forgot their terror. The fog lifts at last, and we can see the white tents of the Rebels on the Tennessee shore. There are the batteries, with the cannon grim and black pointing up stream. Round the point of land is the island. A half-dozen steamboats lie in the stream below it. At times they steam up to the bend and then go back again, wandering back and forth like rats in a cage. They cannot get past General Pope's guns at New Madrid. On the north side of the island is a great floating- battery of eight guns, which has been towed up from New Orleans. General Mackall has sunk a steamboat in a narrow part of the channel on the 254 OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. Sunken ftetmbott. The Mcctan opea fire. The Challenge Moeptet. north side of the island, so that if Commodore Foote attempts to run the blockade he will be compelled to pass along the south channel, ex- posed to the fire of all the guns in the four bat- teries K>n C i Tennessee hore, as well as those upon fea islakd. Two of the mortar-boats were brought into position two miles from the Rebel batteries. We waited in a fever of expectation while Captain Maynadier was making ready, for thirteen-inch mortars had never been used in war. The largest used by the French and English in the bombard- ment of Sebastopol were much smaller. There came a roar like thunder. It was not a sharp, piercing report, but a deep, heavy boom, which rolled along the mighty river, echoing and re-echoing from shore to shore, a prolonged re- verberation, heard fifty miles away. A keg of powder was burned in the single explosion. The shell rose in a beautiful curve, exploded five hun- dred feet high, and fell in fragments around the distant encampment. There was a flash beneath the dark forest-trees near the encampment, a puff of white smoke, an answering roar, and a shot fell into the water a half-mile down stream from the mortars. The Rebels had accepted the challenge. Sunday came. The boats having the mortars in tow dropped them along the Missouri shore. OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. 255 BwxUy Morning. Ohvrch Berrfet. How it WM eondnetod. The gunboats swung into the stream. The Ben- ton fired her rifled guns over the point of land at the Rebel steamboats below the island. There was a sudden commotion. They quickly disap- peared down the river towards New Madrid, out of range. During the morning there was a deep booming from the direction of Point Pleasant The Rebel gunboats were trying to drive Colonel Plummer from his position. Ten o'clock came, the hour for divine service. The church flag was flung out on the flagstaff of the Benton, and all the commanders called their crews together for worship. I was on board the Pittsburg with Captain Thompson. The crew assembled on the upper deck. There were men from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, from the Eastern as well as the Western States. Some of them were scholars and teachers in Sabbath-schools at home. They were dressed in dark-blue, and each sailor ap- peared in his Sunday suit. A small table was brought up from the cabin, and the flag of our country spread upon it. A Bible was brought. We stood around the captain with uncovered heads, while he read the twenty-seventh Psalm. Beautiful and appropriate was that service : " The Lord is my light and my salvation ; whom shall I fear ? The Lord is the strength of my life ; of whom shall I be afraid ? " 256 OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. The Cannonade. The Mirage. After the Psalm, the prayer, " Our Father which art in heaven." How impressive ! The uncovered group stand- ing around the open Bible, and the low voices of a hundred men in prayer. On our right hand, looking down the mighty river, were the mortars, in play, jarring the earth with their heavy thunders. The shells were sweeping in graceful curves through the air. Upon our left hand, the Benton and Carondelet were covering themselves with white clouds, which slowly float- ed away over the woodlands, fragrant with the early buds and blossoms of spring. The Rebel batteries below us were flaming and smoking. Solid shot screamed past us, shells exploded above us. Away beyond the island, beyond the dark-green of the forest, rose the cloud of another bombardment, where Commodore Hollins wasi vainly endeavoring to drive Colonel Plummer from his position. So the prayer was mingled with the deep, wild thunders of the cannonade. A light fog, like a thin veil, lay along the river. After service, we saw that strange and peculiar optical illusion called mirage, so often seen in deserts, where the thirsty traveller beholds lakes, and shady places, cities, towns, and ships. I was looking up stream, and saw, sweeping round the wooded point of land, something afloat. A boat, or floating battery it seemed to be. There were OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. 257 An optical D.luaion. Actirity, It vanishes. chimneys, a flagstaff, a porthole. It was seem- ingly two hundred feet long, coming broadside towards us. " Captain Thompson, see there ! " He looked at it, and jumped upon the pilot- house, scanned it over and over. The other officers raised their glasses. " It looks like a floating battery ! " said one. " There is a porthole, certainly ! " said another. It came nearer. Its proportions increased. " Pilot, put on steam ! Head her up stream ! " said Captain Thompson. " Lieutenant, beat to quarters ! Light up the magazine ! We will see what she is made of." There was activity on deck. The guns were run out, shot and shell were brought up. The boat moved up stream. Broadside upon us came the unknown craft. Suddenly the illusion vanished. The monster three hundred feet long, changed to an old coal- barge. The chimneys became two timbers, the flag-staff a small stick of firewood. The fog, the currents of air, had produced the transformation. We had a hearty laugh over our preparations for an encounter with the enemy in our rear. It was an enemy more quickly disposed of than the one in front. The Rebels in the upper battery waved a white flag. The firing ceased. Commodore Foote sent Q 258 OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. Rebel Signal. Lieutenant Bishop and the Bbel Officer. Lieutenant Bishop down with a tug and a wnite flag flying, to see what it meant. He approached the battery. " Are we to understand that you wish to com- municate with us ? " he asked. " No, sir," said an officer wearing a gold-laced coat. " Then why do you display a white flag ? " " It is a mistake, sir. It is a signal-flag. I regret that it has deceived you." " Good morning, sir." " Good morning, sir." The tug steams back to the Benton, the white flag is taken down, and the uproar begins again. Lieutenant Bishop made good use of his eyes. There were seven thirty-two-pounders and one heavy rifled gun in the upper battery. Commodore Foote was not ready to begin the bombardment in earnest till Monday noon, March 17th. The Benton, Cincinnati, and St. Louis dropped down stream, side by side, and came into position about a mile from the upper batteries. Anchors were dropped from the stern of each gunboat, that they might fight head on, using their heavy rifled guns. Their position was on the east side of the river. The Mound City and Caronde- let took position near the west bank, just below the mortars. The boats were thus placed to bring a cross fire upon the upper Rebel battery. OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBEK TEN. 269 All the Mortar* open Fir*. The Bhefla. " Pay no attention to the island, but direct your fire into the upper battery ! " is the order. A signal is raised upon the flag-ship. We do not understand the signification of the flag, but while we look at it the ten mortars open fire, one after another, in rapid succession. The gunboats follow. There are ten shells, thirteen inches in diameter, rising high in air. There are handfulfl of smoke flecking the sky, and a prolonged, in- describable crashing, rolling, and rumbling. You have seen battle-pieces by the great painters ; but the highest artistic skill cannot portray the scene. It is a vernal day, as beautiful as ever dawned. The gunboats are enveloped in flame and smoke. The unfolding clouds are slowly wafted away by the gentle breeze. Huge columns rise majesti- cally from the mortars. A line of white a thread-like tissue spans the sky. It is the momentary and vanishing mark of the shell in the invisible air. There are little splashes in the stream, where the fragments of iron fall. There are pillars of water tossed upward in front of the earthwork, which break into spray, painted with rainbow hues by the bright sun- shine. A round shot skips along the surface and pierces the embankment. Another just clears the parapet, and cuts down a tree be- yond. The air is filled with sticks, timbers, branches of trees, and earth, as if a dozen thun 260 OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEH. Bntre JaUowi. A toot itrik* the Benton. QnaAoox of the derbolts had fallen upon the spot from a cloudless sky. There are explosions deep under ground, where the great shells have buried themselves in their downward flight. There are volumes of smoke which rise like the mists of a summer morning. There are some brave fellows behind that breastwork. Amid this storm they come out from their shelter and load a gun. There it comes ! A flash, a cloud, a hissing, a crash ! The shot strikes the upper deck of the Benton, tears up the iron plates, breaks the thick timbers into kindlings, falls upon the lower deck, bounds up again to the beams above, and drops into Commodore Foote's writing-desk ! All around, from the gunboats, the mortars, from all the batteries, are flashes, clouds of smoke, and thunderings, which bring to mind the gorgeous imagery of the Book of Revelation hi the New Testament, descriptive of the scenes of the Last Judgment. The firing ceased at sunset. The Benton was struck four times, and the Cincinnati once. No one was injured by these shots, but one of the guns of the St. Louis burst, killing two meo instantly, and wounding thirteen. When the bombardment was at its height, Com modore Foote received a letter from Cairo, con- taining the sad information that a beloved son OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. 261 A Talk with Commodore Foote. His Care for the Wounded. had died suddenly. It was a sore bereavement, but it was no time for him to give way to grief, no time to think of his great affliction. After the firing had ceased, I sat with him in the cabin of the Benton. There were tears upon his cheeks. He was thinking of his loss. Were he living now, I should have no right to give the conversation I had with him, but he has gone to his reward, leaving us his bright example These were his words, as I remember : " It is a terrible blow, but the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be His name. It is hard for me to bear, but no harder than it will be for the fathers of the noble men who were killed on the St. Louis. Poor fellows ! I feel bad for the wounded." He called the orderly who stood outside th cabin. " Orderly, tell the surgeon that I want to see him." The surgeon came in. " Surgeon, I wish you to do everything you can for those poor fellows on the St. Louis. Don't omit anything that will contribute to their com- fort." " It shall be done, sir," said the surgeon, as ho left the cabin. " Poor fellows I I must see them myself. It is a great deal worse to have a gun explode than to 262 OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. The Commodore's Patriotism!! Hia f aith in God. The Firing at Night have the men wounded by the enemy's shot, foi they lose confidence. I have protested again and again to the Department against using these old thirty-two-pounders, which have been weakened by being rifled ; but I had to take them or none. I had to pick them up wherever I could find them. I have tried my best to get the fleet in good trim, and it is too bad to have the men slaughtered in this way. I shall try to do my duty. The coun- try needs the services of every man. We shall have a long war. I would like to rest, and have a little breathing spell, but I shall not ask for it. I shall try to do my duty to my country and to God. He is leading this nation in a way we know not of. My faith is unshaken in Him. He will bring us out of all trouble at last." Thus, in the hour of battle, while attending to his duties, while bearing up under the intelligence that a beloved son had died, he talked calmly, cheerfully, and hopefully of the future, and mani- fested the care and tenderness of a father for tha wounded. Although the gunboats ceased firing at sunset, the mortars were in play all night. It was beau- tiful to see the great flash, illuminating all the landscape, the white cloud rolling upward and out- ward, unfolding, expanding, spreading over the wide river, and the bright spark rising high in the air, turning with the revolving shell, reaching its OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBEK TEN. 268 Reconnoitring the Batteries. Watching the M>rt-Ariu. " altitude and sailing straight along the arch of the parabola, then descending with increasing rapid- ity, ending in a bright flash, and an explosion which echoes and re-echoes far away. The next dz.r I went with Captain Maynadier across the point to reconnoitre the batteries on the island and watch the explosions of the shells. We passed a deserted farm-house, and saw a squad of Colonel Buford's soldiers running down pigs and chickens. Crossing a creek upon a corduroy bridge, we came to a second squad. One was playing a violin, and several were dancing ; they were as happy as larks. We stood upon the bank of the river opposite the island. Before us was the floating battery, which was formerly the New Orleans dry-dock. It mounted eight guns. There were four batteries on the Tennessee shore and several on the island. We could see the artille- rists at their guns. They saw us, and sent a shell whizzing over our heads, which struck in a corn- field, and ploughed a deep furrow for the farmer owning it. We went where they could not see us, and mounted a fence to watch the effect of the mortar-firing. It was interesting to sit there and hear the great shells sail through the air five hundred feet above us. It was like the sound of far-off, invisible machinery, turning with a con- stant motion, not the sharp, shrill whistle of a rifled-bolt, but a whirr and roll, like that which 264 OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. How some Officers went into the Air. you may sometimes hear above the clouds in a thunder-storm. One shell fell like a millstone into the river. The water did not extinguish the fuse, and a great column was thrown up fifty feet high. Another buried itself deep in the ground before it burst, and excavated a great hole. I learned, after the place surrendered, that one fell through a tent where several officers were sitting, playing cards, and that the next moment the tent, furniture, officers, and fifty cartloads of earth were sailing through the air ! None of them were wounded, but they were bruised, wrenched, and their nice clothes covered with dirt. At night there was a storm, with vivid light- ning and heavy thunder. The mortars kept up their fire. It was a sublime spectacle, earth against heaven, but the artillery of the skies was the best. You would have given a great deal, I dare say, to have seen all this ; but there is another side to the story. Can you eat dirt ? Can you eat grease in all its forms, baked, boiled, fried, simmered ? Can you bear variegated butter, variable in taste and smell ? Can you get along with ham, hash, and beans for breakfast, beans, hash, and ham for dinner, and hash, ham, and beans for supper, week after week, with fat in all its forms, with cakes solid enough for grape-shot to fire at the Rebels, with OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. 266 IndUbnnoe to the Scene* of Wr. Ckneral Tope wtnU StoambotU. blackest coffee and the nearest available cow fifty miles off? with sour molasses, greasy griddle- cakes, with Mississippi water thick with the filth of the great valley of the West, with slime from the Cincinnati slaughter-houses, sweepings from the streets, slops from the steamboats, with all the miasma and mould of the forests ? The fairest countenance soon changes to a milk and molasses color, and energy lags, and strength becomes weak- ness under such living. In boyhood, at the sound of a bugle, a drum, or the roar of a cannon, how leaped the blood through my veins I But it becomes an old story. I was quartered within a stone's-throw of the mor- tars, which fired all night long, and was not dis- turbed by the explosions. One becomes indiffer- ent to everything. You get tired of watching the cannonade, and become so accustomed to the fire of the enemy, that after a while you do not heed a shot that ploughs up the dirt or strikes the water near at hand. General Pope sent word, that, if he had trans- ports and a gunboat, he could cross to the Ten nessee shore and take the batteries in the rear. The river was very high and the country over- flowed. Near New Madrid there is a bayou, which is the outlet of a small lake. It was deter- mined to cut a canal through the forest to the lake. Colonel Bissell with his regiment of engi- is OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. What the Englneera did. The Bombardment kept up. A wild NIgk*. neers went to work. Four steamboats were fitted up, two barges, with cannon on board, were taken in tow, and the expedition started. They sailed over a corn-field, where the tall stalks were waving and swinging in the water, steamed over fences, and came to the woods. There were great trees, which must be cut away. The engineers rigged their saws for work under water. The path was fifty feet wide and the trees were cut off four feet below the surface. In eight days they cut their way to New Madrid, a distance of twelve miles. In one place they cut off seventy-five trees, all of which were more than two feet in diameter. While this was doing, Commodore Poote kept the Rebels awake by a regular and continuous bombardment, mainly upon the upper battery. He determined to capture it. On the night of the 1st of April, an armed expedition is fitted out from the squadron and the land forces. There are five boats, manned by picked crews from the gunboats, carrying forty men of the Forty-second Illinois, under command of Colonel Roberts. The party numbers one hundred. It is a wild night. The wind blows a gale from the south, swaying the great trees of the forest and tossing up waves upon the swift- running river, which boils, bubbles, dashes, and foams in the storm. There are vivid lightning- OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBEB TEN. 267 AD Expedition. The BoaU approach the Battery. 8pUdag Ue Chua. flashes, growls and rolls of deep, heavy thunder. The boats cast off from the fleet. The oars have been muffled. No words are spoken. The soldiers sit, each with his gun half raised to his shoulder and his hand upon the lock. The spray dashes over them, sheets of flame flash in their faces. All the landscape for a moment is as light as day, and then all is pitch darkness. Onward faster and faster they sweep, driven by the strong arms of the rowers and the current. It is a stealthy, noiseless, rapid, tempestuous, dangerous, daring enterprise. They are tossed by the waves, but they glide with the rapidity of a race-horse. Two sentinels stand upon the par- apet. A few rods in rear is a regiment of Rebels. A broad lightning-flash reveals the descending boats. The sentinels fire their guns, but they are mimic flashes. " Lay in quick ! " shouts Colonel Roberts. The oars bend in the row-locks. A stroke, and they are beside the parapet, climbing up the slip- pery bank. The sentinels run. There is a rat- tling fire from pistols and muskets ; but the shots fall harmlessly in the forest. A moment, and all the guns are spiked. There is a commotion in the woods. The sleeping Rebels are astir. They do not rally to drive back the invaders, Hut are fleeing in the darkness. Colonel Roberts walks front gun to gun, to 2t>8 OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. TheKHorn. Chagrin of M*ck*lL The Owoodelet rone put the Bttrlefc ' see if the work has been effectually accom- plished. All right ! AU aboard ! Push off! " He is the last to leave. The boats head up-stream. The rowers bend to their oars. In a minute they are beyond musket range. Their work is accom- plished, and there will be no more firing from that six-gun battery. Now the gunboats can move nearer and begin their work upon the remaining batteries. In the morning General Mackall was much chagrined when he found out what had been done by the Yankees. It is said he used some hard words. He flew into a rage, and grew red in the face, which did not help the matter in the least. At midnight, on the night of the 3d of April, the Carondelet, commanded by Captain Walke, ran past the batteries and the island. It was a dark, stormy night. But the sentinels saw her coming down in the darkness, and every cannon was brought to bear upon the vessel. Shells burst around her ; solid shot, grape, and canister swept over her ; but she was not struck, although exposed to the terrific fire over thirty minutes. We who remained with the fleet waited in breathless suspense to hear her three signal-guns, which were to be fired if she passed safelj , They came, boom I boom ! boom ! She OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. 269 The Carondalet illenoet the Rebel Batterie*. General Poje'i Operation*. was safe. We cheered, hurrahed, and lay down to sleep, to dream it all over again. The Carondelet reached New Madrid. The soldiers of General Pope's army rushed to the bank, and gave way to the wildest enthusiasm. " Three cheers for the Carondelet ! " shouted one. Their caps went into the air, they swung their arms, and danced in ecstasy. " Three more for Commodore Foote ! " " Now three more for Captain Walke ! " " Three more for the Navy ! " " Three more for the Cabin -Boy ! " So they went on cheering and shouting for everything till they were hoarse. The next day the Carondelet went down the river as far as Point Pleasant, had an engage- ment with several batteries on the Tennessee shore, silenced them, landed and spiked the guns. The next night the Pittsburg, Captain Thompson ran the blockade safely. The four steamboats which had worked their way through the canal were all ready. The Tenth, Sixteenth, Twenty- first, and Fifty-first Illinois regiments were taken on board. The Rebels had a heavy battery on the other side of the river, at a place called Wat- Bon's Landing. The Carondelet and Pittsburg went ahead, opened fire, and silenced it. The steamers advanced. The Rebels saw the prepara- tions and fled towards Tiptonville. By midnight. 270 OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. night of the Kebeli. The Surrender. General Pope had all his troops on the Tennes see shore. General Paine, commanding those in advance, pushed on towards Tiptonville and took possession of all the deserted camps. The Rebels had fled in confusion, casting away their guns, knapsacks, clothing, everything, to escape. When the troops in the batteries heard what was going on in their rear, they also fled towards Tiptonville. General Pope came up with them the next morn- ing and captured all who had not escaped. Gen- eral Mackall and two other generals, nearly seven thousand prisoners, one hundred and twenty-three pieces of artillery, seven thousand small arms, and an immense amount of ammunition and supplies fell into the hands of General Pope. The troops on the island, finding that they were deserted, surrendered to Commodore Foote. It was almost a bloodless victory, but one of great importance, opening the Mississippi River down to Fort Pil- low, forty miles above Memphis. When the State of Tennessee was carried out of the Union by the treachery of Governor Harris, and other men in high official position, there were some men in the western part of the State, as well as the eastern, who remained loyal. Those who were suspected of loving the Union suffered ter rible persecutions. Among them was a citizen of Purdy. His name was Hurst. He told me the story of his wrongs. OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. 271 The Vigilance Committee and Mr. Hunt. Soon after the State seceded, he was visited by & number of men who called themselves a vigi- lance committee. They were fierce-looking fel- lows, armed with pistols and knives. " We want you to come with us," said the leader of the gang. " What do you want of me ? " " We will let you know when you get there.*' Mr. Hurst knew that they wanted to take him before their own self-elected court, and went with- out hesitation. He was questioned, but would not commit him- self by any positive answer, and, as they could not prove he was in favor of the Union, they allowed him to go home. But the ruffians were not satisfied, and in a few days had him up again. They tried hard to prove that he was opposed to the Confederacy, but he had kept about his own business, had refrained from talking, and they could not convict him. They allowed him to go for several months. One day, in September, 1861, while at work in his field, the ruffians came again. Their leader had a red face, bloated with whiskey, chewed tobacco, had two pistols in his belt, and a long knife in a sheath. He wore a slouched hat, and was a vil- lanous-looking fellow. " Come, you scoundrel. We will fix you thii time," said the captain of the band. 272 OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBEB TEN. Mr. Hont't third Arrest. Wht the Bnffians ukt He U put In Cf*. ~ " What do you want of me ? " "You are an Abolitionist, a Yankee spy. That 's what you are. We '11 make you stretch hemp this time," they said, seizing him and marching him into town, with their pistols cocked. Six or eight of them were ready to shoot him if he should attempt to escape. They called all who did not go for secession Aboli- tionists. " I am not an Abolitionist," said Hunt " None of your sass. We know what you are, and if you don't hold your jaw, we will stop it for you." They marched him through the village, and the whole population turned out to see him. He was taken to the jail, and thrust into a cage, so small that he could not lie down, a vile, filthy place. The jailer was a brutal, hard-hearted man, a rabid secessionist. He chuckled with delight when he turned the key on Hurst. He was kept in the cage two days, and then taken to Nashville, where he was tried before a military court. He was charged with being opposed to the Confederacy, and in favor of the Union; also that he was a spy. Among his accusers were some secessionists who owed him a grudge. They invented lies, wore that Hurst was in communication with OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. 273 He to condemned to be hung. Allowed to go Home. the Yankees, and gave them information of all the movements of the Rebels. This was months before General Grant attacked Donelson, and Hurst was two hundred miles from the nearest post of the Union army ; but such was the hatred of the secessionists, and they were so bloodthirsty, that they were ready to hang all who did not hurrah for Jeff Davis and the Confederacy. He was far from home. He was not permitted to have any witnesses, and his own word was of no value in their estimation. He was condemned to be hung as a spy. They took him out to a tree, put the rope round his neck, when some of his old acquaintances, who were not quite so hardened as his accusers, said that the evidence was not sufficient to hang him. They took him back to the court. He came un der heavy bonds to report himself often and prove his whereabouts. He was released, and went home, but his old enemies followed him, and dogged him day and night. He discovered that he was to be again arrested. He told his boy to harness his horse quick, and take him to a side street, near an apothecary's shop. He looked out of the window, and saw a file of soldiers approaching to arrest him. He slipped out of the back door, gained the street, Mid walked boldly through the town. is* 274 OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBEB TEN. The Soldier* after him. How he wepd. " There he goes ! " said a fellow smoking a cigar on the steps of the hotel. A crowd rushed out of the bar-room to see him. They knew that he was to be arrested ; they expected he would be hung. As he walked into the apothecary's shop, he aw his boy coming down the alley with his horse. He did not dare to go down the alley to meet him, for the crowd would see his attempt to escape. They saw him enter the door, and rushed across the street to see the fun when the soldiers should arrive. " Come in here," he said to the apothecary, as he stepped into a room in the rear, from which door opened into the alley. The apothecary followed him, wondering what he wanted. Hurst drew a pistol from his pocket, and held it to the head of the apothecary, and said, " If you make any noise, I will blow your brains out ! " He opened the door, and beckoned to his boy, who rode up. " I have four friends who are aiding me to escape," said he. " They will be the death of you if you give the alarm ; but if you re- main quiet, they will not harm you." He sprang upon his horse, galloped down the alley, and was gone. The apothecary dared not give the alarm, and was very busy about his business when the soldien to arrest Hurst. OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBEE TEN. 27o Hb Beturn with the Union Army. How the Jailer got into Jan. When they found he was gone, they started in pursuit, but were not able to overtake him. He made his way to the woods, and finally reached the Union army. When General Lewis Wallace's division entered the town of Purdy, Hurst accompanied it. He asked General Wallace for a guard, to make an important arrest. His request was granted. He went to the jail, found the jailer, and demanded his keys. The jailer gave them up. Hurst un- locked the cage, and there he found a half-starved slave, who had been put in for no crime, but to keep him from running away to the Union army. He released the slave and told him to go where he pleased. The colored man could hardly stand, he was so cramped and exhausted by his long confinement and want of food. " Step in there ! " said Hurst to the jailer. The jailer shrunk back. " Step in there, you scoundrel ! " said Hurst, more determinedly. "You don't mean to put me in there, Hurst! " said the jailer, almost whining. " Step in, I say, or I'll let daylight through you ! " He seized a gun from one of the soldiers and pricked the jailer a little with the bayonet, to let hi know that he was hi earnest. The other soldiers fenced him round with a glittering line *76 OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. HBI* >. the Kay. The 0*- The JoUy Irlihman." of sharp steel points. They chuckled, and thought it capital fun. The jailer stepped in, whining and begging, and saying that he never meant to harm Hurst. Having got him inside, Hurst locked the door, put the key in his pocket, dismissed the soldiers, and went away. He was gone two days, and when he returned, had lost the key ! The cage was built of oak logs, and bolted so firmly with iron that it took half a day, with axes, to get the jailer out. He never troubled Hurst again, who joined the Union army as a scout, and did excellent service, for he was well acquainted with the country. While operations were going on at Island No, 10, 1 went up the river one day, and visited the hospitals at Mound City and Paducah. In one of the wards a surgeon was dressing the arm of a brave young Irishman, who was very jolly. His arm had been torn by a piece of shell, but he did not mind it much. The surgeon was performing an operation which was painful. " Does it hurt, Patrick ? " he asked. " Ah ! Doctor, ye nadent ask such a question as that ; but if ye '11 just give me a good drink of whiskey, ye may squeeze it all day long." He made up such a comical face that the sick and wounded all' around him laughed. It did them good, and Patrick knew it, and so, in the OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NIMBEB TEN. 277 The Young Bharptbooter. Why he joined the Army. Hte Kzaaaple. kindness of his heart, he kept on making up faces, and never uttered a word of complaint. " He is a first-rate patient," said the surgeon as we passed along. " He keeps up good spirits all the time, and that helps all the rest." In another part of the hospital was one of Birges's sharpshooters, who did such excellent service, you remember, at Fort Donelson. He was a brave and noble boy. There were several kind ladies taking care of the sick. Their pres- ence was like sunshine. Wherever they walked the eyes of the sufferers followed them. One of these ladies thus speaks of little Frankie Bragg: " Many will remember him ; the boy of fifteen, who fought valiantly at Donelson, one of the bravest of Birges's sharpshooters, and whose an- swer to my questioning in regard to joining the army was so well worthy of record. " * I joined, because I was so young and strong, and because life would be worth nothing" to me un- less I offered it for my country! ' " * How noble ! There are many strong men who have done nothing for their country, and there are some who enjoy all the blessings of a good government, who are willing to see it destroyed rather than lift a finger to save it. Their names shall go out in oblivion, but little Frankie Bragg shall live forever ! His body lies in the hospital Hospital Incidents, New York Port, October J2, 186S 278 OPERATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBER TEN. What he ground at Paducah, but the pure patriotism which animated him, and the words he uttered, will never die ! The good lady who took care of him writes : '* I saw him die. I can never forget the pleading gaze of his violet eyes, the brow from which ring- lets of light-brown hair were swept by strange fingers bathed in the death-dew, the desire for some one to care for him, some one to love him hi his last hours. I came to his side, and he clasped my hand in his own, fast growing cold and stiff. " ' 0, 1 am going to die, and there is no one to love me,' he said. ' I did not think I was going to die till now ; but it can't last long. If my sisters were only here ; but I have no friends near me now, and it is so hard!' " Frankie,' I said, < I know it is hard to be away from your relatives, but you are not friend- less ; I am your friend. Mrs. S and the kind Doctor are your friends, and we will all take care of you. More than this, God is you friend, and he is nearer to you now than either of us can get. Trust him, my boy. He will help you.' " A faint smile passed over the pale sufferer' i features. " < 0, do you think he will ? ' he asked. " Then, as he held my hands closer, he turned bis face more fully toward me, and said : ' My OPEKATIONS AT ISLAND NUMBEK TEN. 279 How he died. mother taught me to pray when I was a very little boy, and I never forgot it. I have always said my prayers every day, and tried not to be bad. Do you taink God heard me always ? ' " ' Yes, most assuredly. Did he not promise, in his good Book, from which your mother taught you, that he would always hear the prayers of his children ? Ask, and ye shall receive. Don't you remember this ? One of the worst things we can do is to doubt God's truth. He has promised, and he will fulfil. Don't you feel so, Frankie ? ' " He hesitated a moment, and then answered, slowly : " Yes, I do believe it. I am not afraid to die, but I want somebody to love me.' " The old cry for love, the strong yearning for the sympathy of kindred hearts. It would not be put down. " Frankie, I love you. Poor boy ! you shall not be left alone. Is not this some comfort to you?* " * Do you love me ? Will you stay with me, and not leave me ? ' " ' I will not leave you. Be wmforted, I will stay as long as you wish.' " I kissed the pale forehead as if it had been that of my own child. A glad light flashed over his face. " ' 0, kiss me again ; that was given like my sister. Mrs. S , won't you kiss me, too ? I 280 OPERAIIONS AT ISLAND NUMBEB TEN. Where he sleeps don't think it will be so hard to die, if you will both love me.' " It did not last long. With his face nestled against mine, and his large blue eyes fixed in per- fect composure upon me to the last moment, he breathed out his life." So he died for his country. He sleeps on the banks of the beautiful Ohio. Men labor hard for riches, honor, and fame, but few, when life is over, will leave a nobler record than this young Chris tian patriot CHAPTER XII. FBOM FORT PILLOW TO MEMPHIS. The Lgiilture of Tenoenee! The Oouplnton. ON the 6th of May, 1861, the Legislature "of Tennessee, in secret session, voted that the State should secede from the Union. The next day, Governor Harris appointed three Commis- sioners to meet Mr. Hilliard, of Alabama, who had been sent by Jefferson Davis to make a league with the State. These Commissioners agreed that all the troops of the State should be under the control of the President of the Confederacy. All of the public property and naval stores and munitions of war were also turned over to the Confederacy. The people had nothing to do about it. The conspirators did not dare to trust the matter to them, for a great many persons in East Tennessee were ardently attached to the Union. In Western Tennessee, along the Mississippi, nearly all of the people, on the other hand, were in favor of secession. At Memphis they were very wild and fierce. Union men were mobbed, tarred and feathered, 282 FEOM FORT PILLOW TO MEMPHIS. BartmritlM at Memphis Wht the Memphis Avalanche Mid. ridden on rails, had their heads shaved, were robbed, knocked down, and warned to leave the place or be hung. One man was headed up in a hogshead, and rolled into the river, because he stood up for the Union ! Memphis was a hotbed of secessionists ; it was almost as bad as Charleston. A Memphis newspaper, of the 6th of May, said : " Tennessee is disenthralled at last. Freedom has again crowned her with a fresh and fadeless wreath. She will do her entire duty. Great sacrifices are demanded of her, and they will be cheerfully made. Her blood and treasure are offered without stint at the shrine of Southern freedom. She counts not the cost at which in- dependence may be bought. The gallant volun- teer State of the South, her brave sons, now rush- ing to the standard of the Southern Confederacy, will sustain, by their unflinching valor and death- less devotion, her ancient renown achieved on so many battle-fields. " In fact, our entire people men, women, and children have engaged in this fight, and are animated by the single heroic and indomitable resolve to perish rather than submit to the des- picable invader now threatening us with subjuga- tion. They will ratify the ordinance of secession amid the smoke and carnage of battle ; they will write out their indorsement of it with the blood FROM FORT PILLOW TO MEMPHIS. 283 "Tearing down the >Ug. It Burtml. BuUdlng the QnnboaU. of their foe ; they will enforce it at the point of the bayonet and sword. " Welcome, thrice welcT^a, glorious Tennessee, to the thriving family of Southern Confederate States ! " * On the same day the citizens of Memphis tore down the Stars and Stripes from its staff upon the Court-House, formed a procession, and with a band of music bore the flag, like a corpse, to a pit, and buried it hi mock solemnity. They went into the public square, where stands the statue of General Jackson, and chiselled from its pedestal his memorable words : " The Federal Union, - it must be preserved." They went to the river bank, and seized all the steamboats they could lay their hands upon belonging to Northern men. They resolved to build a fleet of gunboats, which would ascend the river to St. Louis, Cin- cinnati, and Pittsburg, and compel the people of those cities to pay tribute, for the privilege of navigating the river to the Gulf. The entire population engaged in the enter- prise. The ladies held fairs and gave their jewelry. The citizens organized themselves into a gunboat association. When the boats were launched, the ladies, with appropriate ceremo- nies, dedicated them to the Confederacy. They * Memphis Avalanche. 284 FBOM fOBT PILLOW TO MEMPHIS, fort Pillow. Commodore Davit. Colonel fillet's Rams. urged their husbands, brothers, sons, and friends to enlist in the service, and the young man who hesitated received prints of hoop-skirts, petti- coats, and other articles of female wearing ap- parel. Eight gunboats were built. Commodore Hollins, as you have seen, commanded thorn. He attempted to drive back General Pope at New Madrid, but failed. He went to New Orleans, and Captain Montgomery was placed in command. When Commodore Foote and General Pope took Island No. 10, those that escaped of the Rebels fell back to Fort Pillow, about forty miles above Memphis. It was a strong position, and Commodore Foote made but little effort to take it, but waited for the advance of General Hal- leek's army upon Corinth. While thus waiting, one foggy morning, several of the Rebel gunboats made a sudden attack upon the Cincinnati, and nearly disabled her before they were beaten back. Meanwhile, Commodore Foote, finding that his wound, received at Donelson, was growing worse, was recalled by the Secretary of the Navy, and Commodore Charles Henry Davis, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, was placed in command. Besides the gunboats on the Mississippi, was Colonel Ellet's fleet of rams, nine in all. The> were old steamboats, with oaken bulwarks three feet thick, to protect the boilers and engines. FROM FOBT PILLOW TO MEMPHIS. 285 Krent* at Fort Pillow. Their bows had been strengthened with stout timbers and iron bolts, and they had iron prows projecting under water. They carried no cannon, but were manned by sharpshooters. There were loop-holes through the timbers for the riflemen. The pilot-house was protected by iron plates. They joined the fleet at Fort Pillow. The river is very narrow in front of the fort, - not more than a third of its usual width. It makes a sharp bend. The channel is deep, and the cur- rent rushes by like a mill-race. The Tennessee shore was lined with batteries on the bluff, which made it a place much stronger than Columbus or Island No. 10. But when General Beauregard was forced to evacuate Corinth, the Rebels were also compelled to leave Fort Pillow. For two or three days before the evacuation, they kept up a heavy fire upon the fleet. On the 3d of June, a hot, sultry day, just before night, a huge bank of clouds rolled up from the south. There had been hardly a breath of air through the day, but now the wind blew a hurri- cane. The air was filled with dust, whirled up from the sand-bars. "When the storm was at its height, I was surprised to see two of the rams run down past the point of land which screened them from the batteries, vanishing from sight in the distant cloud. They went to ascertain what the Rebels were doing. There was a sudden waking 286 FROM FORT PILLOW TO MEMPHIS. Betel Gunboat gives a Challenge. The Rebel* born their Barrack*. up of heavy guns. The batteries were in a blaze. The cloud was thick and heavy, and the rami returned, but the Rebel cannon still thundered, throwing random shots into the river, two or three at a time, firing as if the Confederacy had tons of ammunition to spare. The dust-cloud, with its fine, misty rain, rolled away. The sun shone once more, and bridged the river with a gorgeous arch of green and gold, which appeared a moment, and then faded away, as the sun went down behind the western woods. While we stood admiring the scene, a Rebel steamer came round the point to see what we were about. It was a black craft, bearing the flag of the Confederacy at her bow. She turned leisurely, stopped her wheels, and looked at us audaciously. The gunboats opened fire. The Rebel steamer took her own time, unmindful of the shot and shell falling and bursting all around her, then slowly disappeared beyond the headland. It was a challenge for a fight. It was not accepted, for Commodore Davis was not disposed to be cut up by the shore-batteries. The next day there were lively times at the fort. A cannonade was kept up on Commodore Davis's fleet, which was vigorously answered. We little thought that this was to blind us to what was going on. At sunset the Rebels set fire to their barracks. Fhere were great pillart FBOM FO. . i Kracuation of the Fort. The Steamer Borereiffn. of flame and smoke in and around the fort. The southern sky was all aglow. Occasionally there were flashes and explosions, sudden puffs of smoke, spreading out like flakes of cotton or fleeces of white and crimson wool. It was a gorgeous sight. In the morning we found that the Rebels had gone, spiking their cannon and burning their sup- plies. That which had cost them months of hard labor was abandoned, and the river was open to Memphis. On the 5th of June, Commodore Davis's fleet left Fort Pillow for Memphis. I was sitting at dinner with the Commodore and Captain Phelps, on board the Benton, when an orderly thrust his head into the cabin, and said, " Sir, there is a fine large steamer ahead of us." We are on deck in an instant. The boat- swain is piping all hands to quarters. There is greit commotio] "Out with tk gi Qi k! hot Lie ten-int Bishop. :. re -s 3 t! rop the trucks creak, nd c. grc-xt el 3n-ii - gu t already loaded, is out in a twinkling. Men are bringing up shot and shell. The deck is clearing of all superfluous furniture. There she is, a mile distant, a beautiful steamer, nead up-stream. She sees us, and turns her bow. Her broadside comes round, and we read " Sover 288 FROM FORT PILLOW TO MEMPHIS Chase for the Sovereign. The Spitfire in Pomrit eign" upon her wheelhonse. We are on the upper deck, and the muzzle of the eleven-inch gun is immediately beneath us. A great flash comes in our faces. We are in a cloud, stifled, stunned, gasping for breath, our ears ringing ; but the cloud is blown away, and we see the shot throw up the water a mile beyond the Sovereign. Glorious ! We will have her. Another, not so good. Another, still worse. The Louisville, Carondelet, and Cairo open fire. But the Sovereign is a fast sailer, and is increasing the distance. " The Spitfire will catch her ! " says the pilot. A wave of the hand, and the Spitfire is alongside, running up like a dog to its master. Lieutenant Bishop, Pilot Bixby, and a gun crew jump on board the tug, which carries a boat howitzer. Away they go, the tug puffing and wheezing, as if it had the asthma. " Through the chute ! " shouts Captain Phelps. Chute is a French word, meaning a narrow pas- sage, not the main channel of the river. The Sovereign is in the main channel, but the Spit- fire has the shortest distance. The tug cuts the water like a knife. She comes out just astern of the steamer. Bang ! goes the howitzer. The shot falls short. Bang ! again in a twinkling. Better. Bang ! It goes over the Sovereign. FROM FORT PILLOW TO MEMPHIS. 289 The Capture. Burning CottonT " Hurrah ! Bishop will get her ! " The crev* of the gunboats dance with delight, and swing their caps. Bang ! Right through her cabin. The Sovereign turns towards the shore, and runs plump against the bank. The crew, all but the cook, take to the woods, and the steamer it ours. It would astonish you to see how fast a well- drilled boat's-crew can load and fire a howitzer. Commodore Foote informed me that, when he was in the China Sea, he was attacked by the natives, and his boat's-crew fired four times a minute ' The cuase for the Sovereign was very exciting, more so than any horse-race I ever saw. The crew on board the Sovereign had been stopping at all the farm-houses along the river, setting fire to the cotton on the plantations. They did it in the name of the Confederate gov- ernment, that it might not fall into the hands of -.he Yankees. In a great many places they had rolled it into the river, and the stream was cov ered with white flakes. The bushes were lined with it. As soon as the people along the banks saw the Federal steamboats, they went to work to save their property. Some of them professed to be Union men. I conversed with an old man, who was lame, and could hardly hobble round. He i* 290 FKOM FOKT PILLOW TO MEMPHIS. The two Pilot*. At poke bitterly against Jeff Davis for burning his cotton and stealing all his property. While descending the river, we saw a canoe, containing two men, push out from a thick cane- brake. They came up to the Benton. We thought they were Rebels, at first, but soon saw they were two pilots belonging to the fleet, who had started the day before for Vicksburg, to pilot Commodore Farragut's fleet to Memphis. They had been con- cealed during the day, not daring to move. The evacuation of Fort Pillow rendered it unnecessary for them to continue the voyage. They said that eight Rebel gunboats were a short die:. .nee be- low us. We moved on slowly, and came to anchor about nine o'clock, near a place called by all the rivet men Paddy's Hen and Chickens, about two milei above Memphis CHAPTER XIII. THE NAVAL FIGHT AT MEMPHIS. ~ Commodore Montgomery 'i Speech. Excitement at Memphto. ON the evening of the 5th of June, wuile *re were lying above Memphis, Commodore Montgomery, commanding the fleet of Rebel gunboats built by the citizens and ladies of Memphis, was making a speech in the Gayoso Hall of that city. There was great excitement. It was known at noon that Fort Pillow was evac- uated. The stores were immediately closed. Some people commenced packing up their goods to leave, expecting that the city would be burned if the Yankees obtained possession. Com- modore Montgomery said : " I have no intention of retreating any farther. I have come here, that you may see Lincoln's gun- boats sent to the bottom by the fleet which you built and manned." The rabble cheered him, and believed bis words. On the morning of the 6th, one of the newspapers assured the people that the Federal fleet would not reach the city. It said : " All obstructions to their progress are not yet THE NAVAL FIGHT AT MEMPHIS. BxpecUttoni of the People. Petition of Commodore D*Tto. removed, and probably will not be. The prospect is very good for a grand naval engagement which shall eclipse anything ever seen before. There are many who would like the engagement to occur, who do not much relish the prospect of its occurring very near the city. They think deeper water and scope and verge enough for such an encounter may be found farther up the river. All, however, are rejoiced to learn that Memphis will not fall till conclusions are first tried on water, and at the cannon's mouth."* I was awake early enough to see the brighten- ing of the morning. Never was there a lovelier daybreak. The woods were full of song-birds. The air was balmy. A few light clouds, fringed with gold, lay along the eastern horizon. The fleet of five gunboats was anchored in a line across the river. The Benton was nearest the Tennessee shore, next was the Carondelet, then the Louisville, St. Louis, and, lastly, the Cairo. Near by the Cairo, tied up to the Arkan- sas shore, were the Queen City and the Monarch, two of Colonel Ellet's rams. The tugs Jessie Benton and Spitfire hovered near the Benton, Commodore Davis's flag-ship. It was their place to be within call, to carry orders to the other boats of the fleet. Before sunrise the anchors were up, and the Memphis Avalanche. Jane 6, 1863 THE NAVAL FIGHT AT MEMPHIS. 293 Th BeeonnolMHioe. The Crowd OB the Show. boats kept their position in the stream by the slow working of the engines. Commodore Davis waved his hand, and the Jessie Benton was alongside the flag-ship in a moment. " Drop down towards the city, and see if you can discover the Rebel fleet," was the order. I jumped on board the tug. Below us was the city. The first rays of the sun were gilding the church-spires. A crowd of people stood upon the broad levee between the city and the river. They were coming from all the streets, on foot, on horseback, in carriages, men, women, and chil- dren, ten thousand, to see Lincoln's gunboats sent to the bottom. Above the court-house, and from flagstaff's, waved the flag of the Confederacy. A half-dozen river steamers lay at the landing, but the Rebel fleet was not in sight. At our right hand was the wide marsh on the tongue of land where Wolfe River empties into the Mississippi. Upon our left were the cotton-trees and button- woods, and the village of Hopedale at the termi- nus of the Little Rock and Memphis Railroad. We dropped slowly down the stream, the tug floating in the swift current, running deep and strong as it sweeps past the city. The crowd increased. The levee was black with the multitude. The windows were filled. The flat roofs of the warehouses were covered 294 THE NAVAL FIGHT AT ME The Rebel Fleet take Portion. Tb Line oC Bttl. wfth the excited throng, which surged to and "fro as we upon the tug came down into the bend, almost within talking distance. Suddenly a boat came out from the Arkansas shore, where it had been lying concealed from view behind the forest, another, another, eight of them. They formed in two lines, in front of the city. Nearest the city, in the front line, was the Gen- eral Beauregard ; next, the Little Rebel ; then the General Price and the Sumter. In the second line, behind the Beauregard, was the General Lov- ell ; behind the Little Rebel was the Jeff Thomp- son ; behind the General Price was the General Bragg ; and behind the Sumter was the Van Dora. These boats were armed as follows : General Beauregard, 4 guns. Little Rebel (flag-ship), 2 " General Price, * " Sumter, General Lovell, i General Thompson, General Bragg, 3 General Van Dorn, _4 " Total, 28 The guns were nearly all rifled, and were of long range. They were pivoted, and could be whirled in all directions. The boilers of the boata THE NAVAL FIGHT AT MEMPHIS. 295 The Position at Memphis. were casemated and protected by iron plates, but the guns were exposed. 1ULJL. NAVAL FIGHT AT MEMPHIS, June 6, 1 Federal Gunboats. 2. 2 General Beauregard. 3. 3 Little Rebel. 4, 4 General Price. 5, 5 Sumter. 6, 6 General Lovell. 7, 7 General Thompson. 8, 8 General Bragg. 9, 9 General Van Dorn. Q Queen City. M Monarch. The accompanying diagram will show you the position of both fleets at the beginning and at the loco of the engagement. 296 THE NAVAL FIGHT AT MEMPHIS. Bertn* to Qnarten. Clearing the Deck. Breaktut. Slowly and steadily they came into line. The Little Rebel moved through the fleet, and Com- modore Montgomery issued his orders to each captain in person. The Benton and St. Louis dropped down to- wards the city, to protect the tug. A signal brought us back, and the boats moved up-stream again, to the original position. There was another signal from the flag-ship, and then on board all the boats there was a shrill whistle. It was the boatswain piping all hands to quarters. The drummer beat his roll, and the marines seized their muskets. The sail- ore threw open the ports, ran out the guns, brought up shot and shells, stowed away furni ture, took down rammers and sponges, seized their handspikes, stripped off their coats, rolled up their sleeves, loaded the cannon, and stood by their pieces. Cutlasses and boarding-pikes were distributed. Last words were said. They waited for orders. " Let the men have their breakfasts," was the order from the flag-ship. Commodore Davis believed in fighting on full stomachs. Hot coffee, bread, and beef were car- ried round to the men. The Rebel fleet watched us awhile. The crowd upon the shore increased. Perhaps they thought the Yankees did not dare to fight. At length the Rebel fleet began to move up-stream. THE NAVAL FIGHT AT MEMPHIS. 297 The Beene. The flrrt Shot "Round to; head down-stream; keep in line with the flag-ship," was the order which we on board the Jessie Benton carried to each boat of the line. We returned, and took our position between the Benton and Carondelet. I stood on the top of the tug, beside the pilot- house. Stand with me there, and behold the scene. The sun is an hour high, and its bright rays lie in a broad line of silver light upon the eddying stream. You look down the river to the city, and behold the housetops, the windows, the levee, crowded with men, women, and chil- dren. The flag of the Confederacy floats defi- antly. The Rebel fleet is moving slowly towards us. A dense cloud of smoke rolls up from the chimneys of the steamers, and floats over the city. There is a flash, a puff from the Little Rebel, a sound of something unseen in the air, and a column of water is thrown up a mile behind us. A second shot, from the Beauregard, falls beside the Benton. A third, from the Price, aimed at the Carondelet, misses by a foot or two, and dashes up the water between the Jessie Benton and the flag-ship. It is a sixty-four-pounder. If it had struck us, our boat would have been splintered to kindlings in an instant. Commodore Montgomery sees that the boats of the Federal fleet have their iron-plated bow? is* 298 THE NAVAL FIGHT AT MEMPHIS The Bopfr. The Cannonade! up-stream. He comes up rapidly, to crush them at the stern, where there are no iron plates. A signal goes up from the Benton, and the broad- sides begin to turn towards the enemy. The crowd upon the levee think that the Federal boats are retreating, and hurrah for Commodore Montgomery. There has been profound silence on board the Union gunboats. The men are waiting for the word. Jt comes. " Open fire, and take close quarters." The Cairo begins. A ten-inch shot screams through the air, and skips along the water towards the Little Rebel. Another, from the St. Louis. A third, from the Louisville. Another, from the Carondelet, and lastly, from the Benton. The gunners crouch beside their guns, to track the shot. Some are too high, some too low. There is an answering roar from all the Rebel boats. The air is full of indescribable noises. The water boils and bubbles around us. It is tossed up in columns and jets. There are sudden flashes overhead, explosions, and sulphurous clouds, and whirring of ragged pieces of iron. The uproar increases. The cannonade reverberates from the high bluff behind the city to the dark-green forest upon the Arkansas shore, and echoes from bend to bend. The space between the fleets is gradually lessen THE NAVAL FIGHT AT MEMPHIS. 299 Ho* yu feel, The Queen preparing for the light. ing. The Yankees are not retreating, but ad- vancing. A shot strikes the Little Rebel. One tears through the General Price. Another through the General Bragg. Commodore Montgomery is above the city, and begins to fall back. He is not ready to come to close quarters. Fifteen minutes pass by, but it seems not more than two. How fast one lives at such a time ! All of your senses are quickened. You see everything, hear every- thing. The blood rushes through your veins. Your pulse is quickened. You long to get at the enemy, to sweep over the intervening space, lay your boat alongside, pour in a broadside, and knock them to pieces in a twinkling ! You care nothing for the screaming of the shot, the burst- ing of the shells. You have got over all that You have but one thought, to tear down that hateful flaunting flag, to smite the enemies of your country into the dust ! While this cannonade was going on, I noticed the two rams casting loose from the shore. I heard the tinkle of the engineer's bell for more fire and a full head of steam. The sharpshooters took their places. The Queen came out from the shelter of the great cotton woods, crossed the river, and passed down between the Beiiton and Caron- delet. Colonel Ellet stood beside the pilot, and waved his hand to us on board the Jessie Bonton The Monarch was a little later, aiid, instead of 300 THE NAVAL FIGHT AT MEMPHIS. The Course at th